Posted on LJ before. Sequel to Dreams. InuKai, shounen-ai, not mine.
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26.6
by Ryuuza
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Kaidoh hated asking for advice, but when it was absolutely necessary, he went to Echizen.
It may have seemed like an unlikely source, especially since the other boy was younger. But he was straightforward and often presented the simplest solutions to complicated problems. There was none of that "but how do you feel" crap, or any of it "maybe you should sit down and talk it out" nonsense. He and Kaidoh often thought alike.
The dunk smash idiot was out of question, of course, because Kaidoh would rather deal with a year's worth of prepubescent drama than let Momoshiro know about his personal traumas. Tezuka was out, as well, simply because he was buchou and Kaidoh was embarrassed; likewise with Kawamura.
Not Kikumaru because he was loud…and Kaidoh really preferred to keep his personal problems, well, private. Even Oishi wasn't Kaidoh's favorite person to ask advice of—while he was an extremely sympathetic listener, he tended to recommend things like "sharing your feelings." Kaidoh didn't do sharing. He didn't like sharing. He was very possessive of what was his.
And even Kaidoh knew better than to even think about approaching Fuji with his problems; the boy was pure, unadulterated sadism packaged behind a pretty, innocent smile. Though most of Fuji's plans did end up successful, it was usually after much suffering on the parts of all misfortunate enough to be involved.
Kaidoh would talk to Inui, except this time, he was the problem.
So he approached Echizen after practice.
The younger boy blinked and stared at him. "So what do you want?" he asked after Kaidoh's halting explanation (punctuated by awkward pauses and glares).
What did he want? Kaidoh didn't know.
"Tell me what to do."
Echizen's stare was unwavering and unnerving Kaidoh more and more. "Inui-senpai likes you," he said simply.
At least there was no condescension in that tone. "I know," Kaidoh said gruffly. He tugged at his jacket uncomfortably. That was the crux of the problem, wasn't it? "What am I supposed to do?"
"Do you like him?"
Straight to the heart of the matter. Kaidoh fidgeted and wondered why he'd come to Echizen. The boy was far too direct. No respect for his senpai, honestly.
The younger boy raised an eyebrow at the lack of response. "You could always go talk to Fuji-senpai," he suggested, golden eyes not even bothering to feign guilelessness.
Apparently he'd said that out loud.
Kaidoh hissed. He scruffed the toe of his sneaker against the cement floor of the locker room. "Maybe," he said at last. "But Inui-senpai thinks I won't accept him."
For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Then Echizen shrugged and turned away, breaking eye contact. He began zipping up his bag. "Prove him wrong."
So the next morning Kaidoh met Inui early out on the courts and reflected that, no, twenty-four hours was definitely not enough time to work up his courage. The air was cold and Kaidoh crossed his arms across his chest, not only for warmth but to prevent Inui from seeing him fidget some more.
He'd have to tell his senpai if only to get rid of that annoying twitching habit he'd picked up.
"Would you like to start your warm-up exercises now, Kaidoh?" Inui didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.
"No."
But now he glanced at Kaidoh, a bit stiffly, because things had been uncomfortable between the two of them since Inui's partial confession the previous week.
"Senpai," Kaidoh said, deciding that Echizen's hobby of staring people down was not in his new slew of hobbies (which included fidgeting, blushing, and feeling extremely awkward).
"Yes?"
It was the air that made his cheeks red, Kaidoh reasoned to himself. The chill and the brisk pace at which it was rushing past his face were responsible for the flush. Perfectly logical. Inui was sure to agree.
"There is a 26.6 chance that I won't reject an advance from you," he blurted out, because saying something like "I like you, senpai" was too hard. Too straightforward and blunt and—well, damn it, he wasn't Echizen.
Inui looked startled, though it was hard to tell. "Yes," he confirmed after a long pause. "That is correct." He sounded unsure.
Kaidoh wasn't one for words. He was never all that eloquent anyway. And he was tired of fidgeting. So he turned toward Inui and looked at him at last, and then leaned forward and kissed him.
Maybe Echizen's direct method had something to it, after all.
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end