Slam Dunk Fan Fiction ❯ Normal ❯ One-Shot

Disclaimer: Slam Dunk and related characters are Inoue-sensei's creation. I am but a humble fan expressing my love for his work.

Comments: Fataliste wanted "something [at least shounen-ai(ish), please?] with Mitsui, Kogure, Sukiyaki and hashi [chopsticks]." I was happy to oblige. ^_~ I hope you like it.

Rating: PG

Feedback: Yes, please.

"Do you ever think about what it would be like to be normal?"

Mitsui turned, half-thinking that Kogure would have his eyes on the hotpot, but Kogure was looking at him steadily. It was Mitsui who averted his gaze first, staring at a small plate of thinly-sliced beef as if it held the answer to the meaning of life.

In some small, dimly-realised way, perhaps it did. It represented the last weekend of the winter term, when Mitsui would take the shinkansen from Yokohama to Kyoto. Kogure would purchase Kobe beef -- a rare luxury for a medical student -- and they would have sukiyaki in Kogure's one-room apartment. Later Kogure would move his small betta tank from its usual spot by his bed, and together they would compensate for having to turn the heater off early to save money.

It was habit. It was comfort. It was normal.

Except that normal guys eventually stop sleeping with their best buddy and marry a nice girl.

"Nah," Mitsui grunted, looking over the table at Kogure. "Why should I? I don't know what your okama friends have been telling you, but we are normal."

The relief on Kogure's face, brief as it was, shamed him in a way he didn't think he could ever express. Mitsui fiddled with his hashi box, noticing that Kogure had carefully re-written his name, tracing over faded characters.

He took out his chopsticks and, not looking at Kogure, picked out the tenderest-looking cut of beef in the hotpot. Mitsui dipped the piece in egg and dropped it into Kogure's bowl, feeling awkward and stupid.

Kogure's smile, though, was somehow worth the discomfort. Mitsui knew it was a terribly unmanly thought, but his machismo was silenced by the sight of Kogure's tongue curling around the slice of meat.

Mitsui swallowed.

Kogure chuckled. "You should meet my 'okama friends' sometime, Mitsui Hisashi."

"I'm not going anywhere." Mitsui poured out the sake, sneaking a grin Kogure's way. "Besides, I want them to know you're mine."

-owari-