Shohoku didn't win the nationals but they were pretty damn close. They didn't claim first place but it was still a victory – their victory. Naturally a celebration for their efforts was in order.

And how would one celebrate?

With a party, obviously.

The captain's parents would conveniently be out on a business trip the weekend after the nationals, entrusting the house to their two responsible children.

Boy would they be in for a surprise.

Apparently it wasn't a party unless the whole team was there. Therefore Rukawa had as much say in his attendance as Hanamichi had in choosing who Haruko liked.

In other words he had no choice.

Which brings us to his current predicament.

With each step he takes towards the Akagi household Rukawa questions his sanity even more. He knew nothing good would come from dealing with these lowlifes he has for teammates, so why is he still going?

In fact, he should turn around and walk away right n–

"Rukawa-kun!"

Haruko waves from where she stands at the front door, clearly spotting him. He sighs; it's too late to run away now. He drags his feet towards her at an achingly slow pace, intent on delaying his entrance as much as possible.

That's when he notices the attire she's wearing.

How on earth did she manage to put that on without her brother flipping out? A piece of black material – too short to be even considered a shirt – tightly squeezes her hourglass figure, barely reaching the bottom of her firm rear. The plunging neckline of her 'dress' is a tease to any male with hormones; although Rukawa doesn't show it as much as the normal male, he's still in that category. The long chain around her neck trails down tantalizingly into valley between her…

"Are you coming in?"

His eyes snap up to her face. He pretends to not have been checking out his captain's little sister and walks in, hoping she doesn't notice the red creeping up his neck as he passes by her.

He's in for a long night.

The stench of alcohol literally punches him in the face the moment he sets foot within the household. The repetitive sound of a bass reverberates in his body as techno music greets his ears. He swears he can almost see a smell trail of alcohol leading into the living room.

When he enters the lounge, he makes a mental list of the people already present and very very much intoxicated.

Mitsui's loitering around the dinner table, engaging in what seems like a deep conversation with one of the bench warmers – he thinks his name is Kakuta. For once Rukawa is willing to have a conversation with the sharpshooter: everyone else looks too drunk to function.

He joins the pair by the table. Mitsui turns to face their newcomer with a drink in hand. He nods at ace in greeting and Rukawa replies with "Hn."

"So, Rukawa…"

Contrasting to the gleeful expressions on everyone else's faces, the sharpshooter wears a serious expression. To be honest, the rookie is surprised that the ex-gangster isn't as tipsy as the rest of their teammates. He gains some newfound respect for the ex MVP; this guy can hold his liquor.

Then a shit-eating grin breaks out on Mitsui's face. "Would you eat a hot-dog with noodles in it?"

Rukawa sighs and walks away. So much for a sober conversation.

He wonders around the living room, sidestepping Ryota – who was on the ground, passionately making out with a sofa cushion – and starts searching for their captain. It's customary to greet the host when you attend a party.

Thankfully he doesn't have to look for long.

"Rukawa!" Takenori scrutinises his face, looking for any signs of alcohol in his system. When the ace raises a brow at his senior's actions the older student sighs in relief.

"I take it you just came. I'm sorry about…" he gestures around him, "…this. The party was fine until this guy," the captain glares at Mitsui - who's in the middle of a speech about monkeys in heat, "showed up with a supply of 80-proof tequila which he called 'water'."

("HEY GUYS! WHO'S THIRSTEHH?!")

They both turn to survey their surroundings, dismayed at how things turned out. He came here to celebrate their team's success at the nationals; now he's stuck babysitting these children.

A bundle of curly brown hair clouds his vision as Ayako appears – clad in a crop top and a miniskirt – energetically bouncing towards them. "Captain!" she gives him a mock salute.

"It's about time you showed up." He frowns, "I need you to watch over Haruko… make sure nobody looks at her the wrong way."

Rukawa resists the urge to snort. Has he seen what his sister's wearing or is his sight as messed up as his free throws? Nevertheless he attempts to put the tempting image of Akagi Haruko at the front door very far back in his mind.

He sits on the cushioned sofa, trying to tune out his surroundings. Everything is messed up. Maybe he isn't keen on socialising with his teammates but he definitely doesn't want to hang around a bunch of teenagers getting as high as sloths on opium.

Out of sheer boredom, Rukawa mentally goes over the list of people present again.

Mitsui is doing a rather convincing impersonation of the statue of liberty atop the dining table.

Ayako is sitting beside Haruko at said table, listening to Ryota beg her for forgiveness for cheating on her with a cushion.

("I thought she was you, I swear!")

The five bench warmers are scavenging through the fridge, apparently hungry for something dairy after being poisoned with alcohol.

Takenori – who's sitting beside Kogure and a slumbering Yasuda – doesn't seem to be too bothered about the kids raiding his fridge. He's probably given up on subduing them.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Sometime during Rukawa's musings Haruko sits beside him on the couch. It takes him a while to notice her presence and once he has, it takes him a while to pretend not to notice her. Rukawa may be called a lot of nasty names; a liar was not one of them. Girls may not be the first thing on his mind but even he would be lying if he doesn't admit that Haruko looks striking tonight.

Of course, he won't say it out loud.

"No thanks."

He briefly scans the room before his eyes lock on hers, "Where's the do'ahou?"

Her reaction is almost immediate. Eyes widen, lips part, breathing stills. She looks like she's just seen a ghost. Heck, she looks like she's been surprise attacked by a serial killer. Her head whips left and right as she frantically searches the room for him before her startled eyes meet his. Simultaneously, they both look up.

And then they wish they hadn't.

"CAUSE WE ARE LIVING IN A MATERIAL WORLD, AND I AM A MATERIAL GIRL!"

Because right there - dangling on the ceiling fan above them belting out Madonna's lyrics - is Sakuragi Hanamichi.

After the initial shock wears off, they both make a flying leap off the couch before the fan detaches from the ceiling onto them. Surprisingly, despite the redhead's weight this does not happen.

Sakuragi's voice is like a magnet, attracting everyone – sober and drunk – towards him. The sober teenagers instantly set to work on bringing him back to the ground and into the guest's bedroom, all the while conjuring up ways to coax him into slumber.

The drunk ones sing along with him.

Once the redhead is in bed the party resumes. Apparently Hanamichi is a lightweight, getting tipsy even before the ace arrived. Takenori had let him sleep in his room so he wouldn't' cause any commotions.

However whilst they were distracted with more party business, the rebounder woke up and stealthily made his way back towards the centre of the party. In his hazy state, he mistook the ceiling fan for a basket and attempted to dunk an imaginary ball into it. Yet since everyone else was too busy to pay attention to him, he decided to hang on to the 'basket' until they noticed his 'amazing dunk shot'.

Hence the predicament they found him in.

Rukawa sits on the couch with the girls as they fill him in on the details. Once he's updated, the topic of the conversation changes.

"Haruko-chan! You're too uptight!" Ayako wears her trademark grin, making the younger Akagi even more uncomfortable.

"Well… I don't party much…"

"You should loosen up!" She continues as though the freshman never spoke in the first place. "HERE! Have a drink!"

A cup of clear liquid magically appears in her hands.

Rukawa always knew their team manager was mischievous but this is too much. Is it just a matter of convenience that Takenori is too busy tending to his other guests to notice?

The ace knows how protective his captain is of his little sister and he knows that he entrusted his imouto to the manager (which is now proving to be a big mistake).

A wave of sympathy for his captain overcomes the rookie. Takenori is a good person: he keeps up with his studies, plays the role of an older brother well (from what he's seen, though he never really notices) and is an admirable leader. Sure he lacks in the looks department – of course not everyone is as blessed as the ace with his handsome features – but he's still a good guy.

Since Ayako is clearly incapable of taking care of his little sister, Rukawa assumes the role for himself. Their captain has too much to deal with tonight and it's the least the rookie can do to repay his captain for everything he's done for the team.

Besides, it's not like he has anything better to do right now anyway.

Unfortunately nobody expects the rookie to be considerate (he's never shown it before, why start now right?). So when Rukawa grabs the cup from Ayako's clutches, both girls are confused.

"Rukawa?" "Rukawa-kun?"

He doesn't like the pressure of their inquiring gazes. Beads of perspiration roll down his temple as they maintain their focus on him. What would they say if he told them he intends to watch over Haruko and make sure she stays sober and unharmed the entire night?

Ayako – who by now has caught on to his thinking – smirks knowingly, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Rukawa's eyes narrow dangerously, he knows that she's caught on. However, from the looks of it, she's assumed that it's for a completely different reason.

Judging by the rosy hue on Haruko's cheeks, it appears that Ayako's not the only one who thinks that way.

"Is someone being a bit overprotective?" She elbows his side sheepishly.

He curses his luck. Here he is: trying to help out his captain by protecting his little sister and what happens? They assume that… they assume that he's in love with her!

This is why he never bothers to help people: it always backfires on him somehow.

He couldn't help but partly blame himself for not seeing it coming. He'd so blatantly taken the drink from Ayako's hands just before she could give it to Haruko. They're high school girls looking for any hint of romance in their lives, and he'd pretty much handed them a plate full of it.

There's only one thing he can do now.

Tilting his head back Rukawa downs the shot of tequila in one gulp.

And a couple more shots after that.

"Rrrrukawaaaaaa! Or should I say…" in an insanely high pitch Mitsui croons, "RUKAWA-KUUUN!"

Everyone roars in laughter at their ace's discomfort. At some point during all the chaos, Takenori manages to arrange all his guests into a circle in the living room. While he says it's for bonding purposes, those who can still walk in a straight line know it's so he can keep an eye on those who can't.

"I don't get it." The laughter halts. Although he's piss drunk, Ryota speaks with as much seriousness as Maki from Kainan. "With the way girls throw themselves at you, why aren't you a player?"

A chorus of agreements follows.

"I mean SERIOUSLY!" he waves his hands dramatically, "If I were you, I'd bring home different girls every week!"

All the males cheer and Rukawa is the only one who notices Ayako flinch beside him. He's not sure if it actually happened or if hallucinations were just one of the many results from an over-dosage of tequila.

"It's sucks that you're gay though." Mitsui slurs.

The laughter dies immediately. Rukawa – in his drunken haze – took several moments to register the silence around him. He looks around to find the other guests staring at him in anticipation. His eyes met Mitsui, who was looking at him expectantly. What were they waiting for?

That's when his words registered.

'It sucks that you're gay though.'

'…sucks that you're gay…'

'…you're gay…'

He doesn't know what offends him more: Mitsui's comment or the fact that nobody's laughing at it. Were they seriously considering the possibility of him being…

"That does explain a few things."

Before anybody can react, Kogure cuts in. "Now now, let's not jump to conclusions here."

The guy definitely deserves a medal-

"I mean so what if he doesn't talk about girls or ogle them like the rest of us? So what if he only hangs out with us guys? So what if he doesn't have a girlfriend? So what if his arguments with Sakuragi may just be a way to cover up their sexual tension?"

-or maybe a punch to the throat.

But the damage is done. Now all his teammates think he's a homosexual.

Sure he never pays attention to girls. That's because he has no time for romance. Basketball is his top priority and he'd always believed that his teammates understood him.

("Woah! Imagine what was going through his head whenever we're changing…")

Apparently he's wrong.

(*Sigh* "It's always the handsome ones…")

Normally he doesn't care about what everyone else thinks of him. But these are his teammates and sadly, he needs at least four of them to play basketball. Who would be willing to cooperate with him on the court now that they think he has a crush on them?

Which, by the way, he doesn't.

("Ayako, I think he prefers to be called pretty.")

Unfortunately, nobody believes him.

He could see it now: in his player statistics – right below his impressive list of average baskets, rebounds, steals and free throws per game – would be his relationship status: interested in men.

There's no way in hell that he'd let that happen.

Rukawa sharply turns to his left, pinning Ayako with a smouldering stare and ceasing his teammates' musings. He moves towards her at an excruciatingly slow pace, taking pleasure in her growing discomfort. (He faintly hears Ryota shrieking in the distance).

Just when their noses are brushing and their lips are inches apart, he whispers, "Move aside."

Broken out of her trance, she wordlessly complies.

("THAT'S RIGHT! Stay away from my Aya-chan!")

All the party guests watch as Rukawa and Ayako swap seats. Nobody understands his purpose for doing so until they realise his position: he's sitting in between the team manager and their captain's little sister.

Before anyone has time to react, Rukawa grabs her face with both his hands and places his lips over hers.

The kiss went as quickly as it came. Haruko barely registers the feel of his lips on hers before they part; the warmth on her lips serving as the only proof that the kiss actually happened. When she recovers from her shock, she gauges her friends' expressions.

If everyone was drunk before, they've completely sobered up now.

Instinctively she looks around for her brother. When she doesn't spot him anywhere (he probably went to check on Sakuragi) relief washes over her fear.

Rukawa doesn't know why he chose to resort to such extreme lengths to prove his sexual orientation. Nor does he know why he chose Haruko instead of Ayako. Maybe it has something to do with the eight shots of tequila he drank a couple of minutes ago. Maybe it's because Haruko is the only girl out of the two (or out of every other girl) that he could possibly feel something remotely close to attraction towards.

Either way when he sees everyone's reactions the ace smirks at their astonished faces. If there was ever an inkling of doubt about his sexuality, that kiss had just demolished it.

However all good things come to an end.

"Hah." Mitsui scoffs, "You're passion for the female race is as lacking as it is for basketball."

Rukawa's eyes narrow at the smirking sharpshooter. It's one thing to question his sexual orientation, but it's another to question his dedication towards basketball. There is no way he'll ever let the ex-gangster get away with making such an insult. But since he can't shut the guy up with his fists, he'll have to do it another way.

Perhaps if he is in the right frame of mind, he would realise Mitsui's plan.

But he's not.

So instead of backing away from the trap, he plunges head first straight into it. 'Sober Rukawa' knows Mitsui's intentions. 'Drunk Rukawa' doesn't give two shits.

From the challenging look in Mitsui's eyes, the ace knows that he doesn't expect him to prove the senior wrong. But his competitive nature has taken over his sense of reasoning: he's too far gone to back out now.

Shooting a haughty smirk in the ex-MVP's direction, he hauls Haruko onto his lap and smashes his mouth onto hers.

Challenge accepted.

She freezes. It takes a while for her to register his lips on her again and when she does, she doesn't know what to do. This has been her dream since the first time she saw him play basketball. She'd always imagined that it would be more private and romantic; she'd fantasize about their kiss being gentle and slow at first, getting more passionate later on.

Yet it is nothing like her daydreams.

He is relentlessly attacking her lips with his own, using her as a means to prove himself to his friends. This is what she wants, but it's not how she wants it. Although a part of her withers in disappointment at the thought, another part of her argues that she'd never get this chance if he's sober. Beggars can't be choosers.

So she slowly starts kissing him back, tuning out everything but the feel of his smooth lips on hers and his muscular arms wound around her waist. When he feels her respond, he relaxes. His ruthless movements against her lips are reduced to more tender caresses.

He knows that he's made his point. Nobody will question his sexuality for a long time. Why isn't he pulling away? Could it be that he's actually enjoying this?

His thoughts are interrupted when Haruko shifts on his lap and he stifles his groan in her mouth.

Oh fuck it all. He's drunk.

A series of wolf whistles and cat calls from his teammates interrupts their teeth-clacking, tongue-battling kiss. When they finally pull away the cheers increase in volume. Out of sheer embarrassment, Haruko hides her face in the crook of his neck and clenches the front of his shirt in her shaking fists.

They may both be inexperienced, but that kiss was…

Rukawa growls when he feels her nose brush against his collarbone, her eyelashes fluttering against the column of his neck. If possible, his rapid heartbeat speeds up even more. He doesn't need a mirror to know that his face is red (he blames it on the lack of oxygen, of course). His arms tighten around her waist, but not as an act of possessiveness: he needs her to stop moving. He's had a lot of control over his hormones in the past, but it seems that those shots of tequila opened those gates to a flood of raging testosterone.

He's still a teenage boy for goodness sake!

She finally settles down on him once the noise stops. Rukawa - puzzled by the lack of whooping - looks away from the girl in his arms to see what happened and stiffens. He doesn't know when the cheers stopped, but he knows why.

Towering over their form with a menacing expression on his face is Akagi Takenori.

And he does not look happy.

With each step he takes away from the Akagi household Rukawa questions his sanity. He'd faced the wrath of the gorilla and narrowly escaped with his life. Only a moron would make out with the beloved little sister of perhaps the most dangerous person on the planet.

Would Takenori still let him be on Shohoku's basketball team after that?

Would he live long enough to find out?

As crazy as it sounds, he couldn't find it in himself to care about that right now. His mind is preoccupied with other things, constantly drifting back to the… moment he shared with Haruko. He lifts his fingers to his lips: still warm.

He smirks to himself.

No. He is definitely not gay.

This fic is dedicated to Maplerivers - (i love this girl!)

[Your 6 words: handsome, ceiling, hungry, monkey, children, walk]

Wanna join in? PM me with YOUR OWN six words and I'll write a fic with them.

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Sooooooo... how was it?