Warnings: Yaoi / shounen ai.
Pairing: RuHanaRu.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Dude, where's my rights? Oh yeah, I'm a fan, I don't have any.
Notes: I love kawaii-ness and will find any excuse to write it, even if I have no plot whatsoever. And there is no depth to the story, because I consider it a surface fic from Akagi's point of view.
Cookie Jar Smile
by Annie D
[email protected]
It was amazing. Astounding. Bewildering. Mind-boggling.
And downright suspicious.
Akagi eyed the two boys sitting across from him at the dining table. To the right was Sakuragi Hanamichi, bent diligently over his textbook, eyebrows furrowed, lips drawn in, eyes skimming the text as his right hand furiously highlighted various passages. To the left was Rukawa Kaede, scribbling carefully on a mock test paper, occasionally punching numbers into a calculator, nodding once in a while as he achieved an answer, and WIDE AWAKE.
It was almost… as if… they really were studying.
Akagi resisted the urge to pinch himself as he glanced at the clock above the kitchen door, which informed him that the pair had been peacefully sitting next to each other for a whopper of 52 minutes without so much as an insult or punch or evil glare exchanged between them. Sure, there had been a bit of a fuss when Akagi had ordered both of them to his house for an emergency study session the day before, but other than that, there had been absolutely no trouble whatsoever. There were actually doing their work.
What the hell were they up to?!
"How are you doing?" Akagi asked.
Sakuragi waved a hand irritably. "Just let me finish this chapter."
Rukawa just shrugged and lifted his half-finished mock test paper up for Akagi to see.
"Ermm… good," Akagi said, unable to think of anything better to say. He watched them for another few minutes, hoping for some sort of clue to explain their strange behaviour. It wasn't just that they were doing work, they were actually ignoring each other. Even in the best of times it was too much to hope that Sakuragi wouldn't spontaneously pick a fight with Rukawa, and yet there they were, just sitting quietly and doing their work.
Akagi sighed and stood up, opting to get a drink although he was far more confused than thirsty. He cast one last suspicious glance at the pair before going off to the kitchen.
Haruko was already there, preparing drinks on a tray to bring out to the dining room. "How are they doing, oniichan?"
Akagi looked at her, hoping he didn't look as confused as he felt. "They're… working very hard."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Haruko exclaimed. She handed him the tray. "Here you go, take it out to them, I'll get the snacks ready."
Akagi nodded, then carefully toed the kitchen door open to re-enter the dining room.
Both boys were still sitting quietly in their seats, bent over their work. Akagi placed the tray in front of them and said, "Some refreshments. Have a drink if you want."
Rukawa took a glass and sipped some of the orange juice before returning to his work. Sakuragi just nodded, but didn't look up from his book nor did he reach for the drink.
Akagi blinked, just then noticing a slight amiss. Sakuragi's highlighter, which had been swiftly passing over the text just a few moments ago, was no longer in the red-head's fingers. Instead of mentioning it, Akagi stood up and nonchalantly looked around, finally spotting the highlighter on the floor, at the leg of one of the cabinets, a good ten feet away from the dining table.
He then glanced back at Sakuragi and Rukawa, who looked exactly as they had been. Sakuragi didn't even seem to notice that his highlighter was missing.
Wait a minute. They weren't exactly as they had been. Sakuragi was stiffer around the shoulders, while Rukawa looked more awake than he had been before.
"Hm," Akagi said, more to himself than anyone else.
Turning carefully, Akagi went back into the kitchen, where Haruko was arranging various pieces of fruit on a plate. "How long more do you think?" he asked.
"Give me ten minutes," Haruko said cheerfully. "You just sit with them, I'll bring it out myself."
Akagi nodded, then returned to the dining room.
Raven-head and red-head, still sitting side by side, not acknowledging each other, doing their work.
It was not a peaceful silence, Akagi noticed. It was a tense silence. And Akagi knew as well as anyone that Sakuragi had close to zip of self-control when he was angry or annoyed, so why on earth was he behaving this way? And as for Rukawa... well... although his face was still the usual unreadable mask, it was quite disconcerting for Akagi to see his blue eyes well alert when not on a basketball court.
Akagi walked up behind them and peered over their shoulders, as though to see how much they'd accomplished, and that was when he noticed the large smear across the mock test paper that Rukawa was working on. It was as though Rukawa's pen had been rushed across the paper, and Akagi knew for certain that that smear had not been there when he saw the paper just moments ago.
"Good, you're working very hard," Akagi said. "I'm very proud of both of you."
"Thanks, Gori," Sakuragi said, nodding quickly, but still he didn't lift his eyes from the textbook.
Akagi hmphed again. "I'm going to the bathroom for a while. Stay put."
And he walked off, making sure not to glance back lest they get suspicious that he was suspicious. Something was up, and by the sickening feeling in his stomach, Akagi was starting to get a vague idea of what it was. Anyone else would immediately dismiss such a notion as nonsense, but Akagi knew that things were never that straightforward with the spontaneously-combustible pair that was Sakuragi and Rukawa.
Carefully taking his time and being as noisy as he could, Akagi went into the bathroom and shut the door. In the brief seconds between the door shutting and his hand turning on the tap, he just made out a soft shriek and weak thump that would have completely overlooked by anyone who hadn't been waiting for it. Akagi scowled at the sink as he washed his hands, then came back out and returned to the dining room table behind the pair.
Hah! They were still working quietly, but this time Akagi could see the little details, as if they could hide from their captain.
"Stop your work, the both of you," Akagi said.
"Just a few more pages…" Sakuragi said.
"STOP NOW!" Akagi roared.
Sakuragi jumped, and finally stopped reading. He looked up at Akagi, who at once saw why Sakuragi hadn't been able to meet his eyes – if he had, Akagi would have immediately seen the little bleeping lights in them that said GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY. Rukawa, on the other hand, just put down his pen and calmly looked up.
"Now is there anything you want to tell me?" Akagi asked.
Rukawa still had his blank look. Sakuragi had his oh-shit-oh-shit-oh-shit look.
Akagi took a calming breath and pressed a hand against his temple carefully. "I am happy that the both of you are so readily willing to study, but there are certain rules in this household that need to be followed, although I hadn't mentioned them to you as I hadn't thought it would be necessary."
"Rules?" Sakuragi squeaked.
Akagi glared at the both of them. "I will not tolerate my players using study time to make out!"
Rukawa looked politely surprised. Sakuragi just fell off his chair, wheezing frantically.
"Get off the floor, Sakuragi!" Akagi roared, feeling strangely relieved to finally be able to shout all he wanted at them. Akagi stood up and grabbed Sakuragi by the collar to stuff him back on his chair.
"But-but-but how—" Sakuragi sputtered.
"Every time I leave the room you lunge at each other, right?" Akagi demanded. "And in your haste, the highlighter gets tossed away, ink smears across the paper, and you…" Akagi reached a hand over Rukawa's head and carefully pulled out a few strands of clearly distinguishable red strands. "…shed all over each other."
Sakuragi blushed until he looked like he was about to burst. Rukawa still had his blank look.
Akagi made a low growling sound in his throat. "I don't want to know the details. I don't want to know when it started, or how it happened, or how long you've been hiding it, or whatever else you've been up to. That's your business, but you will NOT behave in such a manner when you're in my house! And when Haruko's just in the next room, for crying out loud!"
Sakuragi hung his head in embarrassment. Rukawa just blinked.
"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Akagi barked.
"I… Well… It's…" Sakuragi's eyes darted around frantically. "It's all the kitsune's fault! He started it! I can't sit next to him for too long without him—" His voice trailed off when Rukawa's hand landed gently on his shoulder. Sakuragi's shoulders stiffened and he peeked timidly at Rukawa.
Akagi crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, Rukawa?"
Rukawa said nothing. But then, so quickly it took Akagi and Sakuragi by surprise, the blank look melted into a smile. It was a smile of one who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar but didn't give a damn because it liked that cookie jar and the whole world should bloody well back off because that cookie jar was his his HIS!
Akagi's eyes widened in surprise. So did Sakuragi's, but sweat was actually starting to accumulate on his temple.
And then Rukawa turned his face, aiming the smile directly at Sakuragi.
"K'so," Sakuragi breathed. "That's beautiful." And he threw himself at Rukawa – lip-first.
By the time Akagi's brain had finally regained control over his shocked self, Sakuragi and Rukawa were already underneath the table, clawing and groping at each other while making a range of *ahem* sounds.
The kitchen door started to open, and Haruko's voice came through, "The snacks are ready—"
Akagi leapt across the room, gripped the door with one strong hand and carefully pushed Haruko back into the kitchen. "Give me five minutes, Haruko."
"Oniichan!" Haruko exclaimed through the almost-shut door.
"Five minutes," Akagi barked. "Stay in there. Understand?"
There was a pause, and then Haruko said quietly, "Yes, oniichan."
Akagi exhaled, and then turned around. The sounds had stopped, and one head sporting bright red hair peeked up from underneath the table.
Little vein throbbing at a corner of his forehead, Akagi stomped around the table, grabbed the two boys by their necks, and yanked them to their feet. "Not in my house, do you understand?! You both still have your supplementary exams day after tomorrow which you will have to pass if you want to continue playing, and for that you have four more hours of study time to go, during which you will keep your hands to yourself or you can consider yourself off the team."
Sakuragi and Rukawa looked at him with identical expressions of horrified surprise.
"Now SIT!" Akagi barked. They sat.
Just then Sakuragi looked at Rukawa out of the corner of his eye, and that earned him a neat knock to the head.
"No!" Akagi roared. "You will pay attention to your work, or I'll lock both of you in different rooms where you will study alone!"
The horrified expressions got even worse.
"Now continue your work!"
Their heads immediately dropped to their work. For a moment they were still, before realising they had each other's work, and quickly switched.
There was a timid knock from the kitchen door.
"Yes, Haruko, you can come in now," Akagi called.
The door opened, and Haruko entered the dining room, her eyes still wide with worry and confusion. "Err… the snacks are ready." She lifted the tray to show them. Akagi gestured at the table, and Haruko carefully walked toward it and put the tray down.
"Thank you, Haruko," Akagi said. He sat down in his chair and sighed heavily. He reached out for a glass and sipped the orange juice.
"Sakuragi-kun, Rukawa-kun, you're studying so hard, that's so wonderful!" Haruko squealed as she looked at the both of them. "And here I was worried that you wouldn't be able to concentrate because you can't keep your hands off each other."
Akagi choked on his drink. Sakuragi smiled sheepishly. Rukawa shrugged.
"Are you okay, oniichan?" Haruko asked, patting her brother on the shoulder.
"How—how did you know they were…" Akagi trailed off. "Wait, scratch that. I don't want to know."
"She matchmade us," Rukawa said monotonously.
"I said I don't want to know!" Akagi snapped.
"They're so sweet, aren't they, oniichan?" Haruko giggled. "And look, they've been getting along so well and being able to concentrate on the work you give them even though there's all this sexual tension when they're in the same room together and…"
Sakuragi and Rukawa looked at each other. The air sizzled.
"…yet they are able to control themselves!" Haruko finished.
"They will have to control themselves while they are in our house," Akagi said over the rim of his glass. "And they still have four hours to go. If they do not… they will have to pay the consequences." Haruko looked at her brother in surprise.
Sakuragi made a little groan at the sound of 'four hours', but quickly swallowed and peeled his gaze away from Rukawa to try and open the textbook with his shaking hands. Rukawa, on the hand, was trying to continue writing on the test paper, but the pen kept twisting out of his grip. Sakuragi cleared his throat a few times, Rukawa shifted a few times in his chair, and both of them most pointedly did not look at each other.
Akagi looked at them through narrowed slits. Sexual tension, indeed. No wonder they'd been ignoring each other the whole time. But at this rate, with the ban hanging over them, they wouldn't get any work done.
"FINE!" Akagi roared, causing Rukawa and Sakuragi's heads to jerk up in surprise. "Every half an hour, you have a five minute break outside the house." Both pairs of eyes lit up. "But only if you both behave yourselves while in here and finish all the work I give to you, got it?!" Akagi paused. "Or would you rather I separate both of you into different rooms, or we have separate study sessions for each of you?" Akagi asked.
"No no no!" Sakuragi said quickly, at the same time Rukawa started shaking his head frantically.
"They just got together, oniichan, and you know how things are for new couples. They need to stay near each other all the time," Haruko said, but Akagi waved at her to be quiet.
Akagi glared at the pair. "Then do. Your. Work." He paused. "First break will be in 25 minutes."
"Hai!" Sakuragi said, quickly flipping open his textbook.
Rukawa's head jerked into a nod, and then he looked down at the unfinished mock paper.
And as they continued their work in peace, the same little smile appeared over their features. We were caught but we don't care nyah nyah nyah...
Akagi, clearly recognising the smile, sighed. "If it's not one thing with them, it's another."
Haruko giggled. "But better this than the alternative, right, oniichan?"
Akagi just barely turned his head to glance at the pair out of the corner of his eye. Sakuragi had turned to look at Rukawa through mischievous half-lowered lids, a goofy little smile on his face. Akagi just barely heard Sakuragi whisper, "I bet I can finish my work before you."
Rukawa hissed back, "You're on, do'aho."
They would always be a headache to Akagi, no matter if they were at each other's throats, or just at each other. So he looked at his sister and shrugged. "We'll see."
FIN