Author: Kyoto
Pairing: SenHana
Rating: PG
Status: Finished
Warnings: Yaoi (obviously)
Summary: Some things are worth waiting for... And so are some people.
Disclaimer: Fanfiction, focus on the fan.
A/N: I just got this idea, and decided to type it up. The whole concept is basically placed around the fact that Sendoh is a very patient person, as shown through his playing, and his comment about slowly building the team back up. Thanks to the wonderful Toshi and Nal for taking the time to beta this and get it into (hopefully) readable material.
"I love you, Hanamichi."
He should have been shocked, yet he wasn't. In fact, he had almost expected it to happen, as if it was an inevitable occurrence. After all, since the very first time he had met the blue-eyed boy, he had known that there was something between them. To be perfectly honest, the said boy had occupied a large portion of his mind since their first auspicious meeting, and beating him had become his goal. However, the more time they spent together, the less he thought in terms of defeat and more in terms of advancement. After all, he was one of the few basketball players that he would readily admit to respect. There were subtle clues that even he had been able to notice; the occasional soft glance, a gentle smile, and even the seemingly casual contact that happened once too many times to be unintended.
So when he heard the words, he wasn't startled but he was surprised. Maybe it was because he thought that the basketball court was the last place he had expected to hear a confession of love, though it seemed oddly fitting since basketball was a common bond between them both. Or it could be the fact that very few people would have the courage to even try to talk to the red-haired boy after just thoroughly thrashing him during a one-on-one, let alone use the moment for such an important declaration. But the most plausible reason for his surprise was most likely the fact that he wasn't entirely sure what to say in response... So he said the first thing that came in mind.
"I'm not ready. Please wait for me, Sendoh." The red-haired boy pleaded the older boy. Though he was disappointed with the response, Sendoh could do nothing but agree. After all, this was one thing worth waiting a lifetime for.
Despite the not-quite rejection, the two of them spent even more time together continuing their ritual one-on-one matches and often just hanging out with each other. In fact, it became quite customary to see the Ryonan and Shohoku basketball teams seated next to one another during the Kanagawa Prefecture basketball games while observing the matches. The captain of Ryonan, Sendoh Akira, and Shohoku's self-proclaimed tensai, Sakuragi Hanamichi were always seated side-by-side. Whenever the two teams had a match, you could guarantee that the team not playing would be in the stands cheering for the other. Soon, it became almost habitual to associate one with the other.
Despite that, on an almost daily basis, Sendoh would repeat his confession to Hanamichi and he would always get the same response, "Please wait for me."
So wait he did. As a year turned into two, the older boy left for a nearby college and Sakuragi continued to improve his basketball skills. During his senior year, with the help of Rukawa, they finally managed to lead Shohoku to conquer the nationals. When the final buzzer went off in their last game declaring to all of Japan that Shohoku was strong, no one was whooping and cheering louder in the stands than the spiky-haired boy. The enthusiastic crowd rushed the floor to congratulate the victors. It didn't seem at all unnatural for either of them when Hanamichi found himself enfolded within Akira's arms.
Once again Sendoh confessed his undying love to Hanamichi, and once again he found himself agreeing to wait.
Time passed quickly for the two, though the frequent visits never seemed to be quite enough for either of them. Eventually Hanamichi graduated from high school, despite his teacher's earlier predictions(1). At the graduation ceremony, his eyes raked over the numerous people attending, looking for one particular person. When he spotted Akira in the crowd waving at him, a grin brightened his own face and he quickly went to join him. To celebrate the occasion, the two had one of their customary one-on-one matches. Despite playing his best, after a long and grueling game, for the first time in the three years that they had known each other, the older boy found himself succumbing to Sakuragi's overwhelming growth. As he watched the final basket fall through the hoop with a perfect swish, marking the final score as 15-14, Sendoh was immensely proud that he had been able to witness Hanamichi's growth from being a total novice in the game to actually reaching his full potential.
Turning around to congratulate the younger boy and to express his thoughts, he instead he found himself engulfed in a warm embrace. A gentle pair of lips pressed themselves against his and felt his heart throbbing happily. After what seemed to be an eternity but in reality couldn't have been longer than a few minutes, he gently disengaged himself from Sakuragi and shot him a questioning look.
"Wha-" but his sentence was cut short as a slender finger found it's way to his lips, preventing him from saying another word. "Shh..." Sakuragi smiled as he tilted his head to look up at Sendoh, his face revealing all the tenderness and love he felt towards the spiky-haired boy.
"I love you, Akira. Thank you for waiting."
The End
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(1)In the second volume (chapter 15) while Hanamichi is getting jumped by Aota's (Judo Man... I love him ) goons, his teacher is complaining about him not showing up and says Hanamichi will probably drop out within 3 months.
So, the question is why did he want him to wait. It really isn't about beating Sendoh at basketball, but if that's what you think that's okay. Sooo, this would be my first Slam Dunk fic, not to mention my first yaoi fic, so I hope you enjoyed it. Glad the first one was SenHana since I thought it would actually be HanaHana or SenHanaRu. Oh, and since I'm sure Toshi would never forgive me if I don't mention it, join us (us being SD obsessed Yaoi fans) on IRC at #SDYaoi on irchighway(dot)net