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Pay Attention Please
by Annie D

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Kusao Takeshi - the seiyuu of Sakuragi Hanamichi - for being able to do the do’aho’s manic laughter on cue. I’m sure that was fun in the studio… O_o

Chapter 6: Just Telling It Like It Is

Sakuragi was scandalised.

He was also lying on his back staring at the ceiling of the hospital ward as the doctor chattered on and on, and was also the recipient of Haruko, Ayako, Akagi and Ryota’s concern as they hovered around the small curtain-secluded area. But mostly Sakuragi was busy being scandalised.

“Hanamichi, are you listening?” Haruko asked.

Blink blink. “Hm?”

“The doctor said the physiotherapist will be here in an hour or two,” said Haruko. “You just need to lie still and wait for him.”

“Oh. Okay.” He continued to stare at the ceiling.

Somewhere in the background their voices continued to drift over him, Akagi asking how serious the injury was and whether he would need a back brace, the doctor replying that things were still uncertain, Haruko gasping every now and then in horror and concern, Ayako trying to comfort her, Ryota muttering reassuring words.

But within Sakuragi’s head the only thing he could see was Rukawa looking at him… like… like… “Aaaargggh!”

“Sakuragi-san, your back?” the doctor asked quickly.

Sakuragi didn’t hear him. “Stupid kitsune!”

Akagi and Ryota sweatdropped. Ayako snorted as she attempted to hide a giggle. The doctor frowned.

“Kitsune?” the doctor repeated.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” Ayako said quickly. “Hanamichi’s fine, we’ll stay with him until the therapist arrives. Thank you so much for your time, doctor.”

“You're welcome,” said the doctor, and he left them.

On the bed, Sakuragi had covered his face with his hands. “Argh… K’so!”

“Hanamichi’s just upset that Rukawa’s the one responsible for saving his back from even more serious injury,” said Ryota, waving it off. “It kills him to be indebted to that guy.”

Sakuragi slapped himself a few times, but the image of Rukawa’s face still wouldn’t leave him alone. “K’so!”

“Woi, there are other patients here, you know,” Akagi scolded.

Ayako crossed her arms as she looked at the invalid. “I don’t think he’s listening to you. Akagi-sempai, Ryota, why don’t you guys go get us a drink or something? Haruko and I will… take care of him.” There was a shuffling of feet as the captain and ex-captain walked off.

Sakuragi felt like clawing the skin of his face. Why had the kitsune looked at him like that? Why? And why the hell did it bother him so much? And it wasn't only that look but also how Rukawa had held him. He could still remember everything painfully clear: Rukawa’s smell, the comfortable strength of his chest, the sound of his heartbeat, how his arms had fit so snug around him.

What upset him even more was the rather obvious answer that was flashing before his eyes in neon lights. But that just wasn't possible... It was Rukawa for crying out loud!

K’so… Sakuragi scrunched his eyes shut. K’so.

“You know, it was so sweet of Rukawa, what he did,” Haruko said.

Sakuragi stopped cursing, and carefully opened his eyes a mere tiny fraction. Haruko was looking at Ayako, not him, apparently in conversation with the team manager.

“Wasn’t it sweet of him?” Haruko asked Ayako again.

Sakuragi’s mouth opened and closed. No. No. Not sweet.

Ayako nodded, also smiling. “Yeah. I wish I could have been there to see it.”

Nani?! What for?!

Haruko’s eyes softened. “You know, Ayako-san, when I first arrived at the gym and I saw them there on the floor, the look on Rukawa’s face was like…” She shivered, hugging herself. “He looked so lost. And even scared. I think he was almost in as much pain as Hanamichi-kun.”

Lost? Pain? Huh?

Ayako blinked in surprise. Softly, she said, “Really?”

Haruko nodded. “You know, I think I finally understand what you’ve been trying to tell me.”

Ayako grinned. Then, at the exact same time, both girls turned to look at Sakuragi, who was staring wide-eyed at the both of them in return.

“Nani?” Sakuragi said.

“Shall I go or shall you?” Ayako asked the other girl.

“You go,” said Haruko. Ayako nodded and walked off, giving Sakuragi a little wave as she disappeared behind the divider curtain.

“What was that about?” Sakuragi asked.

Haruko smiled at him. “You’ll see.” She leaned forward and squeezed Sakuragi’s hand. “Don’t let your tensai ego get in the way, Hanamichi-kun.”

“What are you babbling about?” Sakuragi demanded. “Why were you talking about the kitsune like that? What’s going on?”

The divider curtain opened a fraction and Ayako’s face peeked in. “He’s here.”

“Who?!” Sakuragi demanded.

“Your Rukawa,” said Haruko.

Sakuragi sputtered. What does she mean *my* Rukawa?!

Haruko smiled at him again before leaving with Ayako. The divider curtain drew shut, and a few seconds later a dark shadow appeared behind the thin plastic, this one much too tall to be girls or Ryota, and too lanky to be Akagi.

Sakuragi let out a little shriek and quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

He heard the divider curtain slide open and the soft footsteps of someone approaching his bed. Well, not just any someone, because it was Rukawa. Even with his eyes shut, Sakuragi knew it was Rukawa. There was no mistaking that presence. K’so.

“Oi.” Yup, Rukawa.

Sakuragi forced his facial muscles to remain perfectly still. Maybe the kitsune’ll think I’ve fallen asleep and go away. Yeah, just lie still for long enough and he’ll go away. Go away. Go away! Now!

Then there was the sound of a chair being scraped across the floor and rested against the bed, then the sound of a body dropping into said chair.

K’so. I’m asleep, go away!

After a while there was the sound of faint snoring.

Sakuragi carefully opened his eyes to see that Rukawa had apparently fallen asleep in the chair next to him, his head nodding dangerously close to the bed.

Ugh. Sakuragi tried to scoot away from Rukawa although his back wouldn’t let him move an inch. But just then a strong hand jumped out to clamp his wrist and Sakuragi found himself once again under the intense scrutiny of icy blue eyes. Correction, deep blue eyes. They were most certainly no longer icy, and noticing that fact didn’t do much to reduce how disconcerting it was.

Sakuragi tried to tug his wrist away. “Let go.” Usually Mr Superman, his strength seemed to have mysteriously abandoned him at the moment - though he couldn't really be blamed for that considering the current circumstances, yar?

Rukawa continued to stare at him, and to Sakuragi’s horror a blush started to work its away up his neck. And that was wrong, because blushes are strictly reserved for… K’so.

“Let go.”

“How’s the back?” Rukawa asked, grip tightening slightly on the wrist.

Sakuragi scowled. “Okay.”

Rukawa nodded. “Good.”

“Let go, please?” Sakuragi asked, and to his surprise Rukawa complied. “Thank you.” *Why* did I just say thank you?

Rukawa sighed a bit, then settled back into his chair.

“What are you doing, kitsune?”

“Keeping you company, do'aho.”

“I don’t need your company! Get Haruko, or Ayako, or Ryocchin, or even Gori!”

Rukawa narrowed his eyes at him. Then, slowly and deliberately, Rukawa got out of his chair, and with surprisingly liquid grace, climbed onto the bed on top of Sakuragi, bracing his hands on either side of the do’aho’s head and knees outside of Sakuragi’s own.

Sakuragi blubbered stupidly, forgetting that under more normal circumstances he could easily punch or kick Rukawa off him - except that now of course there was the matter of his (curse curse curse) back. Oh, and also because every single muscle cell in his body had been knocked into total non-mobility at the sight of Rukawa being so close to him once again.

Despite how dry his throat felt, Sakuragi managed to squeak, “What are you doing?”

“Looking at you.”

Sakuragi's eyes popped even wider. “Uh…”

“Hm.”

I am not blushing, I’m not! Oh my god, is that *amusement*? How dare he take advantage of the tensai like this and… Oh no, he’s looking in me that way again… I… can't… breathe…

And all of Sakuragi's brain activity stoppped as Rukawa lowered his face down, drew his lips together and kissed… his cheek.

Then Rukawa climbed off the bed and went to the divider curtains, face still expressionless as though what he had done had been the most natural thing in the world. “I’ll get the others.” He left.

Sakuragi stared after him, then raised a trembling hand to touch his cheek. He knew he was supposed to feel disgusted and angry. Supposed to be. And he was definitely not supposed to feel disappointed.

But at least now he knew what Rukawa was thinking.

Being unable to headbutt the floor, Sakuragi picked up the phone directory on the counter and slammed it against his forehead, cursing all blue-eyed kitsunes to hell.

Everyone knew that Rukawa never laughed, but if there was ever a moment where he would want to laugh, this would be it.

He stepped out of the ward and lifted a hand to greet the others.

“That’s it?” Ayako asked in surprise. “That was fast.”

Rukawa shrugged. His face was starting to twitch, and he needed to get the others out of the way pronto before they noticed it.

“Okay, let’s go in then,” said Ryota, and the four of them entered the ward, leaving him alone in the hallway.

Rukawa sat down in a waiting chair and carefully covered his face with both hands as the smile forced its way across his features. The smile became a grin. The grin was threatening to become laughter, but Rukawa Kaede never laughed, so he fought it down.

The look on Sakuragi’s face when he had bent down to kiss him had been priceless.

Rukawa shut his eyes and brushed a finger against his lips. The do’aho’s skin had been surprisingly soft, and Rukawa had had to bite down his tongue from licking him or even moving toward Sakuragi's lips to learn what those tasted like, too.

And then there was the look on Sakuragi’s face when Rukawa had just turned around and walked away. Just walking away, too, had taken incredible self-control. It would have been terribly easy to take advantage of the do’aho then as he was still helpless on the hospital bed, but this way was admittedly much more fun.

One would have thought Rukawa would react rather negatively to the discovery of his feelings toward Sakuragi. Even Rukawa had been taken by surprise by how easily his brain had switched off its "hate the do'aho" mode. But, being the more intelligent one of the pair, he figured that the real reason he had been angry with Sakuragi for so long was because he couldn't identify how he really felt for him. Now that he knew... well, things were much easier.

It was also quite a relief to see that Sakuragi felt quite the same way. After all, no matter how much Sakuragi could fling curses and insults at him, there was no denying how intensely he had blushed just a few moments ago.

Rukawa sighed and forced his expression to draw back into its usual blank mask. Then he stood up and brushed himself off as he prepared to leave.

“Rukawa-kun, you’re leaving?” He turned to see Ayako standing in the doorway of the ward.

Rukawa nodded slowly. “For a while.”

“Hanamichi’s rather agitated,” Ayako said carefully.

His right eye twitched.

Ayako’s face broke into a wide grin. “Okay. I, um… You go on ahead. I’ll um…” She gestured a bit with her hands then quickly re-entered the ward.

Rukawa clamped his hands over his mouth again to hide another smile. Two smiles in one day, he hadn't thought it was possible. But then again, this was Sakuragi, who always brought out the best (and sometimes the worst) in him.

“Do'aho,” he sighed, but this time the word was filled with affection, not contempt. He took one last glance at the ward door, then walked away.

-TBC-

This chapter is also known as: Rukawa Can Be Smarmy If He Wants To Because He’s A Very Repressed Person

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