Author's Notes: As always, I am LATE in my special day fics. This was supposed to be my SenRu day offering this year, but it came almost a week late. Dammit. Anyway, hora, enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: Like, duh, if I owned Slam Dunk, I probably wouldn't be posting this here.
LOCKED OUT
By Kumagoro Meowzaki
The key was nowhere to be found. It was not under the mat where he usually hid it. It was not in his bag not in his pockets. It was not anywhere it could possibly be. Simply put, Rukawa Kaede was locked out.
He frowned. The sky was a smudge of grays and purples, the hour being past the most glorious part of sunset. He kicked the door, not really expecting it to open, but he wished it would just disappear. Poof.
But it did not. It looked sternly at him, like it was reprimanding him for having lost the key.
He left, slowly climbing the stairs to the third floor. He was quite exhausted after practicing his three-pointers with Mitsui at the school gym, and he was more than eager to rest. He walked to the end of the corridor and rang the doorbell of his landlady's apartment. Pin. Pon. Pin. Pon. Pin. Pon.
No answer. He tried knocking. Still nothing. The sound came hollow.
It was shitty. Shitty being locked out. The sky was more purple than gray now. He took out his cellphone and dialed the only number in his directory. Upon hearing the ringback—a recording of the Rukawa Shinetai—he could not help but cringe.
"Hey, what's up?"
"I got locked out."
There was a vainly suppressed chuckle at the other line. "Your landlady doesn't have a spare?"
"She's out."
Laughter. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"OK."
Rukawa sighed as he hung up. He didn't want to call him, but the only one he had was Sendoh Akira. Sometimes he wondered if his dependence on Sendoh was becoming unhealthy, but it was not a welcome question now, after he had called him for help.
He went back to his apartment and sat down in front of the locked door. Twenty minutes was enough to get some sleep.
The ring of the elevator bell woke him. Puzzled, he looked at his watch. Sendoh was early for once.
"Hi! Got here as fast as I can."
Rukawa grunted. Sendoh was panting, sweat flowing down his face. But as usual, he greeted Rukawa with his smile.
"Ever heard of the bus? Do'ahou." Rukawa stood up, brushing off dirt from his school uniform.
"Good exercise," Sendoh said briefly. "Let's go." He grabbed Rukawa's hand and the other did not protest.
They crossed their pinkies as they walked, giving Sendoh a kind off schoolgirl thrill. No one knew about their relationship, and he wondered how their schoolmates would react if they saw the two of them together. In public, they were rivals; it would be a commotion if they were found out. So it wasn't that he was crossing pinkies with a guy that gave Sendoh a thrill, but that he was crossing pinkies with the untouchable Rukawa Kaede of Shohoku, the famous Ice Man.
"Where are we going?" Rukawa asked. He was not too familiar with this part of town. There was a kind of extreme darkness and extreme brightness in the streets and the building that sharply clashed against each other, and it was rather strange to Rukawa.
"Here," Sendoh said, pulling Rukawa into a building. Rukawa barely saw the pink neon sign: Peony Lodge. It sounded like a love hotel. Sendoh and his stupid ideas, Rukawa thought, sighing. He let himself be dragged inside.
It was brisk business. In less than a minute, they were in a small, dimly-lit room on the third floor. There was a bed, a TV and a low shelf of videos. On the bed was a pair of hotel yukata, purple as the night sky, and a guestbook. The bathroom was to the right of the door, and Rukawa saw through the tinted glass a toilet and a bathtub.
The purple walls were bare, and there were no windows, but there was a frame on the ceiling right above the bed where a mirror should have been, now empty. Rukawa wondered briefly what had happened to the mirror.
Sendoh sat himself on the bed. "Wanna watch something? Although I doubt that they have NBA games here."
"What are we doing here?" Rukawa asked. He didn't ask to be taken there. In fact he didn't ask for anything. He just thought he wanted to be with someone and Sendoh was all he had.
Sendoh pointedly ignored the question and just looked through the video titles. It annoyed Rukawa slightly, because he felt helpless, ignorant. He decided to make the most out of the situation and took one of the yukata, sighing as he entered the bathroom.
When he emerged, Sendoh had also changed into the yukata and was sitting on the bed, reading the guestbook. He smiled at Rukawa and closed the guestbook. "I think I know why you got locked out."
This was one of Sendoh's stupid statements, Rukawa just knew it. He kept quiet, choosing to ignore Sendoh as he had been ignored earlier. Finally, Sendoh sighed and walked towards him and pushed him gently to one of the purple walls. "The key didn't want to be found," Sendoh whispered.
"Do'ahou. If you wanted to have sex, we could've done it at your place."
Sendoh grinned. Only Rukawa could be this cute when he's trying to be obnoxious. "That wouldn't be fair," he whispered. "I want us to be locked out together." He slowly undid the belt of Rukawa's yukata, smiling against Rukawa's ear as he did so. A long low release of air from Rukawa's lips. Rukawa lowered his stare, resting upon Sendoh's hand on his belt.
The belt fell to the floor, and Rukawa's yukata fell open. Sendoh watched as the white skin he had touched many times before revealed itself inch by inch. He hummed with pleasure, lips brushing against Rukawa's teasingly. Rukawa caught them with his lips, softly pressing, nibbling. Sendoh slid his hand inside Rukawa's open yukata, on the smooth, firm flesh of Rukawa's waist. He felt it ripple beneath his fingers, felt Rukawa's lips tremble. Then his hand went down and finger by finger wrapped itself around the hardening flesh between Rukawa's legs.
Rukawa gasped, and it was instantly devoured by Sendoh's mouth. He tried to keep his legs from buckling. His left hand closed tightly upon Sendoh's upper arm, the right pulling Sendoh by the neck closer to him.
Sendoh's hand worked him, sliding and squeezing in the right places. Rukawa's legs went weaker with every stroke, and he raised his head for breath. Sendoh dipped his head to kiss his neck and Rukawa slid two inches down the wall. He could hardly keep himself standing and it took almost all his strength to keep his feet on the ground.
With his remaining energy, he pried open Sendoh's yukata without so much as removing the belt. He slid it down his shoulders and it pooled on his elbows. He planted his lips on the bare glistening skin of Sendoh's shoulder. Sendoh gasped, almost letting go of Rukawa's manhood. He stroked it faster.
Rukawa's head shot up, colliding with the wall rather painfully. A moan escaped his lips. With his free hand, Sendoh played with the flesh of Rukawa's broad chest. Rukawa answered with another louder moan.
"Sendoh—I'm—" Rukawa breathed out, unable to finish his statement because of the overwhelming pleasure in his nerves.
"Yes, that's right, say my name." Sendoh's voice was low. He concentrated on his strokes, building speed and pressure. He could tell by the look on Rukawa's face—the quivering lips, the flushed and sweaty cheeks, the half-closed eyes—that he was close. Then with a sharp gasp, Rukawa came, falling limp onto Sendoh. Sendoh almost fell to the floor with Rukawa's weight.
Sendoh half-carried Rukawa onto the bed, himself sitting beside him. He watched as Rukawa regained his breath, and saw his white chest heave between the folds of his open yukata. He thought Rukawa needed more work on his stamina, in basketball and otherwise.
"What?" Rukawa caught him looking at his tired body. Sendoh laughed. The distant rumble of a train blended with Sendoh's laugh.
Rukawa's arm reached for Sendoh's belt and tugged, letting the belt slide to the floor. Sendoh bent to kiss him, his hands cupping Rukawa's face. He straddled him and they gasped, their groins accidentally making contact. They kissed again, fiercely.
They made love on the bed, blanketed by the yukata they still wore. The yukata clung to their damp skin, and where the folds were loose, they pooled around their writhing bodies, like a dull pond of purple liquid. Rukawa briefly glanced at the celing. What would the mirror show, if it was still there?, he wondered. In his mind he saw the wanton look on his face, his body rocking violently with Sendoh's above him. He moaned, digging his heels deeper into Sendoh's back.
Then came the moment of release, their hoarse cries exploding the silence around them. They searched for each other's lips, cushioning the force of their orgasm. They kissed absently, minds still hazy, incapable of coherent thought. Their damp chests heaved together, their breaths short. Sendoh buried his head between Rukawa's neck and shoulder, exhausted. He felt for Rukawa's hand and took it in his own.
Rukawa tenderly kissed Sendoh's cheek. Sendoh smiled; it was these little moments of unguarded affection that rewarded his efforts. He knew that these tokens of affection were only for him, and he didn't mind flying anywhere to where Rukawa was because he knew that Rukawa needed him to fill that huge gap of solitude in his life.
Rukawa sighed and ran his fingers on Sendoh's nape. Before they got together, he'd always be alone, sulking. He loved Sendoh because he didn't feel alone with him. He didn't often show it, but he knew Sendoh knew how he felt. He realized he didn't care about locked doors anymore. He could come home to Sendoh, wherever they may be, whether in their houses or in some love hotel.
Sendoh felt Rukawa's lips curve against his cheek.
-OWARI-