Rukawa awoke in an unfamiliar room. He froze, laying still under the warm cover, moving nothing but his eyes.

He was laying in a single bed, covered by a blue blanket. The door was closed. From a hook on the back hung a few unfamiliar sweaters. Men's clothing. There was a desk nearby, fairly tidy. A closed laptop was plugged in and charging. A few folders and papers scattered. Pens and pencils in a ceramic cup with a skateboarding brand logo on the side.

No one else was there.

He waited, breathing, confused.

His head hurt. And his mouth tasted disgusting.

Where the hell was he?

He tried to think back. He'd been sitting in the bar. Sawakita… had been there. He'd drunk a bunch of cocktails. He'd probably… said something stupid. And then… and then what?

Could this be Sawakita's room?

But no… he frowned. The visiting Warriors were staying at a budget inn near the university. This room was far too lived in. It wasn't a hotel room.

Nervously he got up and discovered that he was still dressed in the same white t-shirt as yesterday. There were some questionable green stains on it.

He put a hand to his forehead with a quiet groan as he righted himself.

What on earth-?

He got to his feet and moved to the door, feet a little unsteady as his headache made the room throb. He listened with one ear against the wood, trying to hear if there were noises outside. He thought he could maybe hear voices, but they sounded muffled. Frowning even deeper he turned back around to consider the room. There ought to be… something… some clue as to where he was?

His eyes lifted to the shelves of books above the desk. Thick textbooks. His eyes dragged along their spines. Tort. Contract. Criminal Law. Constitutional Law.

Oh… no.

Oh, no, no no.

Cringing inside he reached for the doorknob, twisting it and pulling the door ajar to peer out into a corridor. The voices came to him a little clearer. There were people talking somewhere – in another room he guessed. He looked in that direction and realised he was looking towards the front door of the unit. He blinked. Maybe he could just sneak out…? It was quite a distance away, but if he was fast - and quiet - then maybe he could get past the room with the voices and…

"Good morning," a familiar voice came from the opposite direction.

Rukawa whipped around at once, only to see an unfamiliar person coming towards him from the other end of the corridor. He had a folded towel and a new toothbrush in his hands, still in its box.

"I was coming to give you these," the stranger said.

Rukawa stared at him in confusion. He was tall, like Sendoh. Handsome, with soft blue eyes and pleasant smile. Did Sendoh have a… brother?

The stranger tilted his head. "Are you okay?" he asked, in the face of Rukawa's puzzlement. "Kaede?"

Rukawa's brilliant eyes blinked once. Twice.

"Akira?" he realised finally in astonishment.

Their voices had drawn the attention of the others who had been chatting in the kitchen, and three heads suddenly appeared, looking out into the corridor to see what was going on.

Rukawa was standing in the open doorway, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Sendoh nearby still held the toothbrush and towel and a look of confusion.

Koshino snorted. "I told you not to go around with your hair down," he called out to Sendoh. "You'll scare people."

"Oh!" Sendoh lifted his hand and brushed it through his limp hair. "Right. Sorry. I forgot about that."

Rukawa continued to stare at him. With his usually-spiky hair drooping over his forehead, he hadn't recognised his friend at all.

"Why-" Rukawa managed to croak, his throat still feeling uncomfortable, "Why am I here?"

"You drank a bit too much," Sendoh told him. "Don't you remember?"

"N- no?"

Sendoh let out a low chuckle. "I didn't know where you lived so I bought you back here instead. I hope you don't mind."

Rukawa's eyes were wide. "What about Eiji?"

"Oh…" Sendoh paused, and his smile melted a little into a small frown, "He helped me make sure you were okay."

There was a long and awkward silence. In that moment, the two of them were thinking of different things.

The dog was thinking how the cat's thoughts had turned so quickly to "Eiji".

The cat was thinking that the same "Eiji" might have revealed certain embarrassing secrets to the dog.

Finally, Sendoh smiled awkwardly and held out the towel and the toothbrush. "Anyway, here," he said. "Bathroom is through there. I'll find some of my clothes for you."

Rukawa took the objects silently.

By the time Rukawa emerged from the shower, Sendoh's flatmates were no where to be found. He dressed in Sendoh's room, checked his phone, and found a new message from Sawakita.

Good morning kitten. Hope you're safe with your friend. Come and meet me at the campus cafe at 1pm. I know a great hangover cure, and I'll buy you lunch. Eiji.

Rukawa glanced at the time on his phone. It was already noon. Put his fingers to his temples and rubbed unhappily. A hangover cure and lunch was exactly what he needed. He typed back a quick message of agreement.

He left Sendoh's room and crept through the now quiet unit until he reached the kitchen and peered inside. Sendoh was busy making coffee, his back to the door, and he hadn't heard Rukawa approach.

"Akira?"

"Ah!" Sendoh turned around at once to see him. "Everything okay?" His eyes flickered over Rukawa who was dressed in some of Sendoh's clothes. "Lucky they fit."

In truth, the clothes were a little large, but it was not very noticeable. Sendoh had lent him a red jumper and black slacks. Not as sporty as the things Rukawa usually wore, but sufficiently casual that he still felt comfortable in them.

"Mm," Rukawa acknowledged quietly, lifting one hand again to press against his temple.

"Oh-" Sendoh noticed his motion. "Right. You drank a lot. I bet you've got an outrageous headache." He reached for a glass of something that looked like a green smoothie. "Hiro made this for you," he said. "He said it's an apology for him being rude the other day."

"What is it?"

"A kombucha. Hangover cure." Sendoh held it out, and Rukawa took the glass uncertainly. "It's saved me more than a few times, believe me."

Rukawa took a sip and wrinkled his nose. It tasted very strange.

"Where are they?" he asked, looking around.

"Oh, they had to leave to catch the train."

"Train?"

"Yeah," Sendoh turned back to continue adding milk to his coffee, stirring it lightly with a spoon. "It's Saturday. They always go home on the weekends."

Rukawa looked up. "Don't you go home too?"

"Nope-!" Sendoh turned around, coffee mug in hand. "My parents live pretty far. It's too far to go every week. I only go home for holidays."

"Oh."

Another silence came over them. Sendoh took another sip of coffee, brows furrowing slightly, and tried to think of something to say.

His eyes fell on the TV in the living room. "Hey-" he suddenly said, straightening as if he'd just thought of something. "Since I'm here by myself, do you want to come over tonight and watch Ju-On Origins with me?"

Rukawa blinked at him momentarily. "Ju-On what?"

"Ju-On Origins! I've been planning to watch it for ages! It's scary! Have you seen it?"

Rukawa shook his head.

"I love scary shows," Sendoh continued excitedly. "This one looks horrible. It's about a haunted house and this ghost woman and… there's this investigator and… and then this other guy kills his wife… and, oh my god, I heard that he cuts out her…" he let out a dramatic breath. "I'm gonna have nightmares for a whole week!" He sounded incredibly pleased about this fact.

Rukawa frowned a little. "Then... if it's so scary... why do you watch it?"

Sendoh looked scandalised, "Because that's the whole point!"

"O...okay."

"So how about it?" Sendoh pressed him.

"Uhm-" Rukawa was not much of a TV watcher, but he wasn't unwilling. And besides, if he was honest, the idea of spending more time with Sendoh was a pleasant one. So he shrugged. "Okay. What time should I come round?"

"Whenever you like," Sendoh looked delighted. "You can stay for lunch now, if you want?"

Rukawa pressed his lips together for a moment. He thought of Sawakita's invitation. "Actually I'm… I've got… I'm meeting someone."

"Oh-" Sendoh nodded in comprehension. "Eiji, right?"

Rukawa squinted at him for a moment, but was unable to make sense of Sendoh's tone, so he just nodded. But something in the way Sendoh raised his cup to his lips, the way his eyes slid away from Rukawa as if bothered by something, the smallest tick in his eyebrow…

Maybe it's because I acted like such an idiot last night, Rukawa guessed. I can't believe I drank so much.

Did I… do something stupid? Say something weird?

He probably wants me to leave.

"I'd better go," he decided, placing the weird tasting drink back down on the counter. But instead of leaving he found himself waiting for a moment. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps he was half-hoping Sendoh would… say something. Ask him again to stay. But Sendoh said nothing. Rukawa glanced up at him uncertainly. "Uhm, thanks. For last night."

"No problem."

"So should I still… come by tonight?"

Sendoh looked up at him then. Despite the lingering tension in the air, the strangeness that Rukawa couldn't comprehend or place, Sendoh's expression quickly softened. His eyes were sincere, and his lips formed a gentle smile, in a way that made that particular warmness curl in Rukawa's stomach. That unfamiliar feeling that felt so… nice.

"I'd really like that," Sendoh admitted.

Rukawa gave a small nod. "Okay," he said. "I'll… call."

-tbc

ANs: oh my gosh you guys. I got like a ton of emails overnight O.O I don't think I've ever got so many notifications in one day in my entire life. Thank you very much, I'm very humbled T.T

Sorry for the delay. It's Chinese New Year here. Wish everyone lots of luck in the Tiger year!

Thank you as always for your support. I appreciate it so much. Me, Kaede4ever, RokudaimeLove, Caro, Noble Ood, and Ari