Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Loving Koshino ❯ Momentary Truce ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimers: I don't own Slam Dunk. I am not making money out of this, so please don't sue. No copyright infringement intended.

Loving Koshino
from Kokoro no Kigen (Temper of Heart) Arc
by AJ Maxwell

Chapter Two: Momentary Truce

Koshino Hiroaki stepped into the elevator the next day with a huge headache. He sorely wanted to take a day off, but he remembered that he had this top-priority lunch meeting with one of their potential major investors that he just couldn't miss. He might be loathing the whole world right then, with Sendoh Akira and his own father Koshino Akira at the top of his black list, but he just couldn't let himself neglect his work. It was the only thing that tied him down to normalcy, and considering what had happened the night before, his life was veering far from what he had gotten used to in the past several years.

Why did he have to come back? he asked himself again. It was one of the questions that robbed him of much-needed sleep. He could've just stayed in the U.S. and play basketball forever--no one could've stopped him if he chose to. Uncle Hiroaki might be disappointed in him, but Sendoh always got what he wanted.

He closed his eyes for a second, inwardly cursing for forgetting to put on his contact lenses before he came to work. Good thing I have my spare reading glasses in my drawer...

"Koshino-san? Are you all right? You don't look very well..."

He quickly looked up, the sudden movement making him reel. The woman tried to hold him steady, and when he found that his vision was not swimming anymore, he nodded slowly. "I'm fine. I just need some coffee," he said, smiling graciously.

The woman smiled back, worry still evident in her eyes. "I saw Jin by his desk earlier. You'll get your coffee soon."

"That's good to hear."

The conversation did little to alleviate his bad mood, and the tension that he felt rose with the steady ascent of the elevator. He was well aware that it was Sendoh's first day in the company. His Uncle Hiroaki briefed him the night before, and though his head still swam of awful thoughts, most of it sank in. So he'll have to be trained for the first six months. Incompetent bastard. He flies off to play basketball and disappears for seven years, and now he just comes back and be vice president? It wouldn't be so easy for him now. I slaved in college and in taking up my master's degree while working from the bottom for my training, and now that I am given the task of showing him the ropes...

The doors slid open, and Koshino stepped out, a sadistic smile on his face.

±

Jin Soichiro spotted the familiar form of his boss and friend, Koshino Hiroaki, and quickly stood up from his chair. He had to tell him first of Sendoh's intrusion into his office, and that the man was inside waiting for him. From what Hiroaki told me, he really hated Sendoh-san. I tried to stop him and told him to wait in his own office, but the man just wouldn't budge. Hiroaki's going to kill me when-- "Koshino-san," he greeted formally as the company's President walked past him, seemingly preoccupied.

He abruptly noticed that there was something peculiar in his friend's mood. Wait. He's not scowling like he usually does in the morning, and he doesn't look like his always immaculate self. What's wrong with him?

He ran to catch up with Koshino, but the other man had already opened his office door and stepped inside.

Oops.

±

"Ohayo, Hiro--kun!"

Koshino whipped his head around to find the source of all his misery sitting comfortably on his chair, with feet propped up on his desk. The corner of his right eye twitched at the unwelcome sight, and he resisted the urge to throw those feet off his desk.

He closed his eyes again, and took deep calming breaths. When he opened them, the same unwanted sight greeted him with an eternally cheerful smile. "Sendoh," he acknowledged, not even bothering to mask the note of irritation in his voice.

The other man continued smiling at him.

I wonder what drug he's on. He couldn't fight the sour look that stole upon his features as he sauntered up to his desk, and gestured sharply at Sendoh's feet.

Sendoh silently complied, taking his feet down with a rueful grin.

"Why are you here? And get out of my chair."

The spiky-haired VP-in-training opted to stay seated, unperturbed. "I've been waiting for you."

Koshino didn't answer, and Sendoh cheered inside. Good. He doesn't seem as angry at me as before. If he was acting normally I'm sure he would've taken the opportunity and shoved me against the glass walls to fall headfirst to my death, and to hell with his precious chair. Maybe he'd vented enough last night. I really thought he was going to kill me...but if he'll be so agreeable like this, I'll be glad to let him do it again. He inwardly rolled his eyes. Just shows how crazy I am about him.

Koshino was looking at him, suspicion evident in his piercing gaze. The other man was grinning to himself, as if he was infinitely pleased about something. He must be up to no good, with that smile...kawaii...he looks so free when he smiles like that. So free...not like me. When he realized that he'd been thinking of how cute Sendoh was, he mentally smacked himself. Baka ne! Why are you thinking like that?! Sendoh Akira is certainly NOT cute! He's... "He's a damn nuisance!" he unwittingly said aloud.

"Nani? Who's a nuisance?"

Koshino shook his head as if to clear it, and said, "You. Who else?"

Sendoh just smiled disarmingly at him, and Koshino mentally smacked himself again as he felt the faintest blush on his cheeks. Why am I acting so weird like this? This is insane! Maybe headache, lack of sleep, and skipping breakfast causes severe mental damage? Hm. That must be it...That should be it, or something similar... not something else.

"So, how about breakfast, Hiro-kun?"

"Iie," Koshino automatically declined. "I have a lot to do. We have a lot to do."

Sendoh got out of the chair and made his way to stand next to the other man. "But Hiro-kun! I haven't eaten yet!"

Koshino snorted. "Whose fault is that?" Right after the words left his mouth, his stomach grumbled loudly. Koshino winced, and when he looked up, Sendoh was grinning triumphantly at him.

"So breakfast it is!" With that, the taller man dragged Koshino out of the office and into the closest elevator. The employees stared in surprise--no one dared to touch their boss like that.

Jin stared wide-eyed at his bosses as they walked past his desk. What's going on?!

Everyone's eyes stayed on the pair until they boarded the empty elevator, and before it finally slid closed, they heard their boss scream, "Get your hands off me, you hentai!"

±

Sendoh gazed fondly at the man before him, who was obviously still fuming while shoveling food into his mouth. Now I'm sure he's not mad at me anymore. If he was, then he wouldn't have conceded to have breakfast with me...he did struggle and he made my ears ring with his shouting in the elevator, but he wouldn't have cared to stop just because other people started coming in if he was really angry....right? Right. "Slow down, Hiro-kun. You might choke."

It was as if the words had power, because right after saying the words, Koshino choked and coughed.

Sendoh's eyes widened in alarm and quickly waved for the waiter to get them some more water while he pounded Koshino's back with his palm.

±

Sendoh gazed fondly at the man before him, whose aggravation had doubled since his choking fit.

Koshino, meanwhile, was glaring daggers at Sendoh, who looked as if Koshino was crooning sweet nothings over coffee, instead of scowling at him to death. They lasted like that for a few minutes, when Koshino finally couldn't take any more of it, and broke the silence. "Why are we here, anyway?" he snapped.

Blue eyes blinked at him, and out flowed Sendoh's smooth, sexy laugh, as if no one tried to throttle him the night before.

Koshino blushed, and glared some more. "Well?"

Sendoh shrugged, and replied, "We just had breakfast, didn't we?"

A muscle jumped in Koshino's right cheek, which Sendoh noticed. He held out his hands in a placating gesture, and said, "That was a joke, Hiro-kun. Loosen up!"

"I don't have time for jokes, Sendoh, and stop calling me that," Koshino gritted out. "Tell me the real reason why we're here."

"Okay." The other man finally gave in, looking more uncomfortable by the second. "Because we need to talk."

Koshino would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't disturbed with the discovery that he wasn't used to not seeing Sendoh smile. "I gathered as much," he replied distractedly. "Go on."

"I just wanted to talk to you...about last night."

He visibly froze. Is he going to ask me why I strangled him? Is he insane? Who wouldn't be so pissed with him after pulling a stupid stunt like that?! He nearly gave me a heart attack, that jerk!

Sendoh continued, oblivious to Koshino's reaction. "Last night, I...I'm sorry." It was then that he looked into Koshino's eyes, and repeated his apology. "I'm sorry for doing that. I knew it wasn't very nice, and that it was really childish of me. I just want you to know that I hate seeing you cry, Hiro-kun."

Koshino blinked, and a hot flush stole up his face to the roots of his hair. He was so put off guard by those earnest blue eyes that he forgot to deny that he had cried, and that he should be demanding not to be called 'Hiro-kun'. "Ah, uhm..okay," he mumbled instead, still red as a tomato.

When he got to his bearings, he tried to salvage what was left of his dignity...tried too hard was more like it. "But I wasn't really worried about you, you know," he said airily. "I was more worried about otousan and Uncle Hiroaki finding out that you're dead, because they'd be really crushed, you know? Especially otousan...er, scratch that. Especially your father...er...I'm not really sure who'd be more crushed, but you do know my father treats you like his own son, ne? He treats you better than his own son...anyway, it would've been such a mess if you really died in the balcony, because we'd have to clean you up and just imagine what the papers would say! I wouldn't be surprised if my own father accused me of killing you just because I found you first, and imagine what hell Jameson would have to go through if you really died there. My closest family are old men, Sendoh, and they're fragile with their heart diseases and stuff. You should really go easy on them, you know, with your stunts that aren't for the weak-hearted--"

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Sendoh interjected, effectively breaking Koshino's babbling with his words and reverent tone. His right index finger stroked the back of Koshino's hand back and forth.

Koshino blinked, and blinked again. He felt a tingling start from where Sendoh was touching him so gently, spreading throughout his skin, reaching his throat, caressing his heart. The sensation tickled his lips into a smile, but before it could fully show, he bit his lower lip. What's happening?! his brain thought in panic. It was like he was separated to four parts: his body, which demanded to get more of that touch; his heart, which wanted to burst and shower confetti and announce its happiness; his soul, which wanted to drown in the breathtaking blue eyes before him and meld with the soul behind it; and his mind, which was in a frenzy in denying and trying to stop the other three parts in doing what it thought were the craziest things on earth. I hate him, don't I? his mind reminded him. I hate him...I hate......

Sendoh's touch changed, still feather-light, but conveying as much of his bottled-up feelings as he could. Koshino's heart leapt at this, and he was all the more confused with what he was feeling from the simple caress. I...why did I hate him again? His mind was overcome by his other three parts that ganged up on it. His reasons--he knew he had his reasons why he absolutely detested the man before him, but for the moment he couldn't remember.

Hope sparked within Sendoh. He drank in the warring emotions in Koshino's eyes; it was obvious that he was confused, and Sendoh knew that Koshino was not yet ready to acknowledge whatever feelings he had for him. This saddened him a bit, but he could wait. I know you're not yet ready for big things like that, Hiro-kun, but please give me a chance. Give yourself a chance, onegai. He stopped the pattern that he was making on the fair skin beneath his finger, and when this seemed to alert the other man for a second, he drew letters, relaying his message through touch. Truce?

The word echoed in his mind. Each letter throbbed, in sync with the beating of his heart. Mesmerized, he nodded once, and then his lips curved into a small smile.

Finished July 28, 2002