Chapter 22

May 2017- Okinawa

"Sendoh is hurt."

Rukawa turned his head from where he was lying on the couch to look at his mother. "What makes you say that, Mom?" he asked.

"He's protecting his ribs. You can tell by the way he was angled. Look," she said, pointing at a slo-mo replay on their television. "Right there. He turns away from the hit. He could have taken Sawakita off there, but he chickened out."

Mom was right, of course. Rukawa already knew that Sendoh was secretly playing the second round of the playoffs with bruised ribs.

Shohoku had been knocked out in the first round by Kainan, and Rukawa felt terrible about that. Kainan had squeaked into the playoffs, and it should have been an easy round for Shohoku. But Rukawa hadn't been able to play, and their Center had gotten some sort of fever, so the team had struggled and, ultimately, lost.

Rukawa should have been there, helping his team, but instead he was recovering at his parent's house in Okinawa. His headaches were getting better, but he was still very tired. His collarbone was mostly healed.

He hadn't heard from Sendoh as often as he would have liked, but he knew he was busy. Focused.

"I think Sannoh is going to win the Cup," his mother said.

"Sannoh, eh?"

"Yes. Eiji Sawakita is determined. You can see it. Nine seasons with a cup! He'll make sure he gets this one too." Yuna Rukawa was rarely wrong about these things.

"Well," his father said cheerfully, "at least we won't have to watch Sendoh lift the cup."

Rukawa grimaced. In truth he would love to see Sendoh lift the cup.

"It was nice of him to visit Kaede in the hospital, though," Mom pointed out. "He gets points for that." Dad made a noise of agreement.

Rukawa wished he could remember the details of that hospital visit. His brain had been muddled by the injury, and more muddled by the drugs. He could remember Sendoh's gentle fingers on his face and in his hair. He remembered being so happy to see him. Even now, just knowing that Sendoh had made the trip to the hospital filled Rukawa with a tingly warmth.

Rukawa was so completely in love with him. He would hit his head all over again just to be alone in that quiet hospital room with those careful fingers and those concerned eyes.

He was in love with him and he could never, ever tell him that.

But maybe...maybe he could at least tell his parents...part of the truth?

Damn, but how? Just...blurt it out? How did people do this?

Not while watching basketball together, surely.

"Have you heard from Luna Yumilee lately?" his mother asked, completely out of nowhere. And wasn't that a fucking sign?

"Yeah, she texted me when I was in the hospital. She saw that I got hurt."

His mother looked pleased by that.

Well, no time like the present. "We're not...we're just friends, Mom."

"I know. Your schedules would make a relationship very difficult. But other players do it. Look at Dai Moboroshi and that Hanako what's-her-name from TV."

"No, it's..." Rukawa sat up a little, and winced at the pain in his head. "It's not our schedules. I mean, yeah, that would make it hard, but that's not the reason."

His mother looked at him sympathetically. "When the right one comes along, you'll know," she said.

And Rukawa chickened out. Because he couldn't tell them that the right one had come along, and it was the pissed-off spiky of Ryonan player who was currently heading to the penalty box on their television.

"Yeah," he said, "I know."

He had the most ridiculous urge to send Sendoh a text that just said I love you. He had those words trapped inside of him, filling every part of him, and, the strain of keeping them from slipping out was getting harder to endure.

Instead, he texted Luna.

Kaede: My mom is wondering when we're getting back together.

She replied a few minutes later.

Luna: Ha!

Then...

Luna: Sorry. It's not really funny. How are you? How's your head?

Kaede: Getting better. I can watch tv without sunglasses now.

Luna: But watching tv with sunglasses on is COOL!

Rukawa replied with the sunglasses face emoji.

Luna: Do you have a hot male nurse taking care of you?

Rukawa laughed, which caused both of his parents to look at him.

Kaede: No. I'm at my parents' house.

Luna: That's a shame.

Kaede: Maybe I could ask them to hire me a hot male nurse? Is that a good way to come out?

Luna: I legit, Kaede.

Rukawa laughed too.

"Who are you texting?" his mother asked.

"No one," Rukawa said quickly. "Sakuragi." Lies upon lies.

"How's the baby?"

Baby? Oh! "Great. You know. Sakuragi and Haruko are totally in love with her." Probably.

"You shouldn't be looking at your phone so much. It's not good for your concussion."

"I know, Mom!" Rukawa snapped.

She threw her hands up dramatically. "Sorry for caring about the health of your brain!"

He rolled his eyes. "Trust me. Plenty of people are concerned about the health of my brain."

He'd been staying with his parents since leaving the hospital, and it was starting to wear on him. He was lucky to have them, and he couldn't imagine having no suffer through this recovery on his own, but he was craving his independence.

Although, there was one person he wouldn't mind having around. But that person was looking frustrated as hell on his television.

Sexy too, though. Now all Rukawa could think about was wanting to feel that lips rub against his thighs.

The thing that he had been trying not to worry about too much- because his situation was depressing enough- was that he wasn't entirely confident that he would feel any part of Sendoh rubbing against him ever again. And wouldn't that be the world's saddest joke? As soon as Rukawa finally admitted to himself that he wanted to be with Sendoh, their weird arrangement might be permanently off the table.

Not that either of them had said anything specific about ending things. They hadn't said much of anything to each other since the day Sendoh had left Rukawa's hospital room. Rukawa just had a sense that maybe this whole thing had become too much. It had become more difficult to contain, or to pretend it didn't mean anything. The only safe option was to walk away.

Rukawa was expecting Sendoh to tell him as much as soon as the playoffs were over. And it was looking, as the final minutes of the game ticked away, like the playoffs would be over for Sendoh tonight.

The stupid part of Rukawa wanted to fight for Sendoh. For them. The sensible part- the part that was in control of most things in Rukawa's life- knew there couldn't possibly be a future with Sendoh. There couldn't be a present with Sendoh. They needed to end things quickly, and cleanly, and never look back. The other path led to nothing but heartache and scandal and misery and...soft Russian words being breathed against Rukawa's skin. It led to falling asleep with strong arms wrapped around him, and waking up to a lazy, crooked smile and playful kisses. It led to homemade tuna melts and the precious times when Sendoh would offer Rukawa the tiny pieces of himself that he usually kept so carefully guarded.

The game ended. Sendoh's season was over. It was only a matter of time before everything would be over. And Rukawa didn't know what he could do to prevent it.

But he knew he wanted to.


June 2017- Ryonan

Ruru: I wasn't surprised Sannoh is finally going to win the cup.

Sendoh wasn't surprised it either. Eiji fucking Sawakita was going to be a MVP champion in about forty seconds.

Kiki: I hate Sawakita.

Ruru: No you don't.

Kiki: I do.

Ruru: Stop. I'll get jealous if you keep talking like that.

Sendoh laughed. Alone, in his penthouse in Ryonan, he laughed.

The final seconds of the final game of the final series of the playoffs ticked down, and then the game was over. The court filled with excited men in white jerseys, and Sendoh turned his full attention to his phone so he wouldn't feel the sting of envy too sharply.

He was bored. The playoffs had ended for him weeks ago. At a loss for what to do or where to go, he'd holed up in Ryonan. It was his only home now, though he had no real friends in the city. There were teammates who stayed for the summers, but none he was close to.

But his car collection was here, and that wasn't nothing.

Though the last time he had visited his garage, three days ago, it had kind of felt like nothing.

He wasn't inviting Novelia over anymore because...just because.

So he was watching basketball, alone, and texting the man he desperately wished he could be sharing his summer with.

Kiki: Do you think Sawakita is going to drink tea out of the cup?

Ruru: Caffeine? No way. Sawakita isn't that hard-core.

Sendoh laughed again.

Kiki: Milk then.

Ruru: Warm milk. And then straight to bed! Because he is crying baby!

Sendoh glanced up at the television and saw the Trophy of MVP being handed to a beaming Eiji Sawakita.

Ruru: I'm happy for him.

Kiki: Of course you are.

He'd had every intention of ending things with Rukawa. He hadn't been able to do that. Not yet. For now they could text each other and tease each other and pretend they were just friends or whatever.

Rukawa's invitation for Sendoh to come to his cottage still existed. Rukawa wasn't pushing it, and Sendoh wasn't acknowledging it, but it was there. If it weren't the worst idea in the world, Sendoh would be on his way to Wherever-the-Fuck, Okinawa, already.

Players on the television were kissing their wives and holding their children. It would be nice, Sendoh thought, to have someone to kiss after winning the Cup.

Maybe that should be his goal for next year: forgot about Rukawa, and find himself a woman he could like enough to keep around until the end of the playoffs.

Sendoh reached for the remote, and was about to turn off the television when...

Holy shit.

Holy. Shit.

Eiji fucking Sawakita was kissing a man. Not, like, one of his teammates on the cheek in an 'I love you, bro' kind of way. Eiji Sawakita was kissing a man wearing street clothes full on the fucking mouth. It looked like tongues were involved.

Sendoh's phone buzzed.

Ruru: Holy shit.

Ruru: Are you seeing this?

Ruru: What the fuck!!!? Is that his boyfriend???!!!

Sendoh just stared at the television, at Eiji Sawakita and his probable boyfriend. Or Eiji Sawakita and the random cute man he had pulled out of the crowd. Sendoh couldn't process what he was seeing. How could it possibly be real?

But there Sawakita was, smiling at this mystery man like he was the only thing that mattered in the world. And holding his face as he leaned in to kiss him again. Sendoh felt like he was watching all the worst things about his life getting sucked up by a tornado.

Then the cameras cut away, and Sendoh looked at his phone.

Ruru: What is happening??!!! Did he really just do that???!!!

Sendoh stabbed the call button.

There was only one ring before, "Holy shit, Akira! Can you belie-"

"I'm coming to the cottage."

TBC


PauPau: Cuties! I was very appreciated your each review! TQ, PauCutey. Hehe. Sendoh is dramatic, yes? HAHAHA! muahh!

Girl: Sweety! aww. Don't cry.. I don't want you to cry! Ruru was okay. Hehe... No need tissue, because, you'll smiling later. aw. Hehe. muahh!