InsaneJournal

[Slam Dunk] Five Times Sendoh Tries to Confess to Sakuragi (and One Time He Succeeds)
fandom Slam Dunk
characters Sendoh, Sakuragi
for pastles


“Hi, Sakuragi-kun,” Sendoh says to the back of Sakuragi’s head. When this spectacular conversational gambit doesn’t get him a response, he adds, “Are you, um, thirsty?”

Sakuragi finally glances at him, then back at the vending machine he’s standing in front of, and he gives Sendoh a disbelieving look. “Uh, yeah? What, you think this genius is just standin’ here ‘cause he looks really cool or somethin’?”

“Ahaha,” Sendoh says in a vaguely apologetic tone, and can’t think of anything else to say other than the way your hair is growing out looks really good on you and would you mind if I ran my fingers through it? so he doesn’t say anything at all.

Sakuragi buys his drink, gives Sendoh another suspicious look, then rejoins his teammates down the hall; Sendoh watches him walk away.

***

“Hi, Sakuragi-kun,” Sendoh says, and this time he gets Sakuragi’s attention straight away -- or at least, the basketball he’s holding in his hand does.

“Sendoh,” Sakuragi says, his eyes fixed on the ball. “Wanna play a game?”

“Sure,” Sendoh replies quickly, and tries not to wince at how eager he sounds.

The outdoor court is already being used by some shady-looking guys with more beer cans than skill, but one glimpse of Sakuragi and they clear out pretty fast. Sendoh takes it easy during the game, not wanting to beat the other boy too badly, though Sakuragi surprises him once or twice. They play until it gets too dark to see the ring, and the scores are pretty even, so Sendoh doesn’t expect the hand suddenly fisted in his shirt, dragging his face so close to Sakuragi’s that he can feel warm breath on his cheek as Sakuragi yells, “What the fuck was that!”

Sendoh blinks in confusion. “Huh?” he says intelligently, and resists the urge to move even closer.

“You were goin’ easy on me, you asshole!” Sakuragi punctuates this statement with a shake of his fist, and Sendoh feels his teeth rattle slightly.

“Um,” he says, and tries to think around the heat of Sakuragi’s body and the scent of his skin, like sweat and leather and sun. “But, um, your back...”

Sakuragi stares at him for a long, long moment, and when he speaks again his voice is quiet. “I don’t need your fuckin’ charity.” He lets go of Sendoh’s shirt, practically throwing Sendoh away from him, and stalks off the court.

Sendoh squints after Sakuragi in the dim light until he can no longer see the other boy, and then he sighs. “Well, shit.”

***

“Hi, Sakuragi-kun,” Sendoh says, and watches Sakuragi jump like a startled cat; the sight is ridiculously cute.

“Sendoh! Fuck, you surprised me,” Sakuragi grumbles, and the people around them turn to frown at him for speaking so loudly, though they quickly glance away again. Either not noticing or not caring, he continues at the same volume, “Why do I keep runnin’ into you lately? It’s like you’re followin’ me around or somethin’.”

Sendoh laughs weakly, and says, “Just coincidence, I guess?”

Sakuragi looks at him rather doubtfully, but all he says is, “Hn.”

They fall silent, and for several stops Sendoh tries to work up the courage to say something that isn’t meaningless and inane; finally, he manages to mumble, “I’m sorry about last time.”

“Huh?” Sakuragi says, looking up from his perusal of the advertisement on the wall. “What’d you say?”

“I said, I’m sorry about last time!” Sendoh repeats in a louder voice just as they arrive at the next station, and he suddenly has the feeling that everybody in the carriage is staring at him; he coughs and ducks his head, wishing for once that he weren’t quite so tall.

“Oh,” Sakuragi says, and Sendoh half-expects him to get angry again; unpredictable as ever, though, Sakuragi just shrugs. “It wasn’t a serious game, so I s’pose I can forgive you. But if you ever do that in a real game, I’m gonna kick your ass, you got that? After I kick your ass on the court.”

Sendoh nods, and smiles because it feels impossible not to when Sakuragi is looking at him with that gleam in his eyes, bright and focused and determined. He opens his mouth to say something else, but the train arrives at another station and Sakuragi gets off, throwing out a casual farewell over his shoulder, and the words remain stuck in Sendoh’s throat, heavy and awkward.

***

“Hi, Sakuragi-kun,” Sendoh says.

“Oh, hey, Sendoh,” Sakuragi says cheerfully, and for one brief moment Sendoh feels absurdly excited, until he realises that Sakuragi’s good mood probably has less to do with Sendoh and more to do with the cute girl beside him.

“Hi, Sendoh-san,” the girl says shyly. “I’m Akagi Haruko, Shohoku’s assistant manager.”

“Oh. You must be Akagi-senpai’s sister,” Sendoh says.

She nods, and smiles at him sweetly.

Sendoh wonders if the smile on his own face looks as stiff and fake as it feels, and decides that he doesn’t want to stick around to find out. “Sorry to bother you guys. I just wanted to say hi,” he says, and turns to leave.

“Hey, wait--” Sakuragi says, but Sendoh keeps walking.

***

“Hi, Sakuragi-kun,” Sendoh says, and offers his hand to Sakuragi. Beside him, Koshino scowls, while Fukuda looks slightly less bored than usual; Sendoh ignores them both.

“Hey,” Sakuragi says, and takes his hand. Sendoh has a sudden flash of déjà vu -- they shook hands the first time they met, too, and his hand hurt for three days afterwards.

This time, though, Sakuragi just squeezes it lightly, then lets go, and even after the game begins, Sendoh can remember the feeling of Sakuragi’s palm against his own, warm and certain.

***

“Hey, Sendoh,” Sakuragi says, and after a pause, Sendoh slips out from behind some trees and walks onto the court.

“Uh, hi,” he says with a friendly smile, and hopes that he doesn’t actually come off all creepy and stalker-like. “How’d you know I was there?”

Sakuragi shrugs. “I could just tell.” He loops the ball in his hands around his waist a few times, then says, “You’re kinda always there. You sure you’re not followin’ me around or nothin’?”

Sendoh makes a vague sort of noise at the back of his throat that isn’t an answer at all, and he wonders if it’s about time he gave up. The words are right there on the tip of his tongue, but trying to force them out of his mouth is harder than anything he’s ever had to do before in his life, and he’s never been any good at doing things that don’t come easily to him.

The silence between them is painfully awkward, until Sakuragi suddenly says, “I guess I wouldn’t mind if you are.”

Sendoh tilts his head to one side. “If I’m what?”

“Y’know, followin’ me around.” Sakuragi shrugs again, and before Sendoh has a chance to think with any sort of coherency, he asks, “Wanna play a game?”

Like the last time, they play until it gets dark, but unlike the last time, Sendoh doesn’t go easy on Sakuragi at all. Surprisingly, the results are pretty much the same, and Sendoh opens his mouth to apologise again only to hear himself say, “I like you.”

And Sakuragi says, “I know.”

It’s too dark to see the ring, but not to see the grin that flashes over Sakuragi’s face and the gleam in his eyes, bright and focused and determined.

Sendoh smiles.


.fin


A/N: Writer's block + completely uninspiring pairing = terrible giftfic that's two weeks late. Happy holidays, Pastles?