Red Spider Lily (Valentine's Day fic)
Sakuma fidgeted on his seat, watching over Kidou's frantic movements around the clubroom as he searched for his missing cape. His jaw was tight, and a bead of sweat slid to the floor.
Sakuma swallowed and looked away.
When his sight locked with Fudou's, he immediately broke eye contact, calling out to Genda and leaving his chair. He imagined Fudou smirking, taunting him as if he had caught him red-handed. He had a way of reading his mind. To be honest, it was disturbing.
Practice ended, and the team members left one by one. Sakuma smiled and waved at Doumen, Henmi, and Narukami before resuming to put away his sweaty soccer uniform and other belongings.
"See you tomorrow, Sakuma," Kidou said with unmasked disappointment. The cape wasn't found.
Sakuma's heart sank, a little voice in the back of his head whispered he was to blame. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." Sakuma plastered a fake smile, not that Kidou would notice. He was so dense with other people's emotions. "I'll lock up so don't worry," he added perkly.
Kidou nodded obediently, closing the door with a dry click.
Sakuma finally relaxed, the strain on his shoulders falling like a mantle of hay as he sighed. He took out the red cloth from his schoolbag. He was torn between Kidou's dejection and his own goodwill. Sakuma just wanted to help.
He checked his work one last time, a stitch in the lower corner of the fabric. He couldn't help being paranoid about the little hole, even if Kidou's reaction was ambivalent. The hole had been almost imperceptible, as big as the tip of his pinky, but Sakuma was able to catch a glimpse of it about a week ago. He had been looking at Kidou's back for quite a while after all.
Sakuma reached for Kidou's locker when a voice made him jump, slamming his back in the locker's cold door.
"Goddamit Fudou, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Sakuma snapped. "Where did you come from?"
"I have been here the whole time," Fudou replied. "Not my fault you were in your fantasies."
"I-I wasn't fantasizing!" Sakuma stuttered, hiding the cape behind him as Fudou set his eyes on it.
"What will Kidou-kun think if he saw you?" Fudou's eyes narrowed. "He was under the weather the whole practice."
"If he finds out, I'll just apologize." Sakuma turned, gripping the locker's handle.
"'Disgusting.' Wouldn't he think that?" Sakuma didn't answer nor moved. Fudou continued, "It's obvious you look up to him, but I didn't think you were this much of a creep."
Sakuma hanged his head, trying to push away Fudou's accusatory words. It wasn't true. It wasn't true.
"What's wrong with doing something nice for someone?" He chocked out, guilt eating away his excuses for self-justification.
Sakuma heard a snap and turned, finding Fudou with a cellphone in hand pointed towards him.
His thoughts stopped, a wave of hatred swallowing each fragment of rationality and morality, just like his past Shin Teikoku self. Next thing he knew, he was walking towards Fudou, his sole objective snapping that phone in two.
"GIVE ME THAT, FUDOU!" Sakuma yelled, reaching for the flip phone.
"No~" Fudou swiftly moved it behind his back. In the struggle, Fudou slipped it in his pants with a grin. But the chair he was sitting on toppled, bringing Sakuma and him crashing on the floor.
Sakuma grunted, looking up in a daze at Fudou's smirk. His blood boiled, but he had collected himself enough to not put his hand in... there. Instead, he grabbed Fudou's wrists and pinned him to the floor. No matter how strong Fudou was, he was still shorter.
"What do you want, Fudou? Or are you bothering me just for fun?" Sakuma hissed coldly.
"Who knows?" Fudou sang. The asshole was definitely enjoying each second Sakuma was about to lose it. He would love to Koutei Penguin No.1-him right now.
"I'll give you whatever you want if you delete the picture and don't send it to anyone." Sakuma made sure to convey his desperation. He couldn't win against Fudou. He had never won before. He couldn't even prevent him from taking his place around Kidou.
Fudou's snicker echoed in his head, but he didn't care anymore. He couldn't allow the picture to be spread. He would lose his teammate's admiration and Kidou's trust. Sakuma couldn't bear to lose the latter.
"We all know you admire Kidou, but you deny you have feelings for him. That's a lie, isn't it? You like him. Admit it."
The room grew silent after Fudou's words died. Sakuma stared into the brunette's eyes, stormy grey eyes that had gone through so much. They went through the whole Shin Teikoku fiasco together; idiots who listened to the temptation of a rock and a criminal. Perhaps Fudou was curious about love, but he had too much pride to ask. Kidou was ignorant on the topic so it was a process of elimination. Genda hadn't forgiven him.
"I do... I like Kidou, and there's nothing wrong about it," Sakuma finally said, calmly as if he had finally come to terms with it.
To his surprise, Fudou's eyes widened, letting out a bored "I see" before looking away. Was that tint of pink embarrassment? Sakuma smiled, earning a frown from the midfielder.
"I'll let go of your hand, okay?" Sakuma watched as Fudou retrieved the phone and typed, the device slightly tilted towards Sakuma. He freed Fudou's other hand when he confirmed the photo's deletion and stood up without a word, walking towards Kidou's locker and hanging the cape with the utmost care.
"Did you wash it?" Fudou asked.
"No, I didn't have the guts."
"I see."
"What's wrong with you?" Sakuma turned, gazing at Fudou's back.
Sakuma saw hesitation in Fudou's small back, patiently waiting for an answer.
Fudou turned his head slightly. "Nothing."
Didn't he think I would confess? Sakuma could swear Fudou was hurt. But before he could ask, Fudou left wordlessly.
Sakuma huffed and crossed his arms, a sense of guilt awkwardly setting in his stomach.
"Oh, well. He'll be back to normal tomorrow. It's Fudou after all."
Sakuma held a warm smile. He placed a hand on Kidou's locker, whispering with a softness he was too shy to use with the boy. "I'm sorry, Kidou. I'm always making trouble for you. I wanted to give back to you somebway. I couldn't think of another way. I don't need thanks. I'm just happy you are happy."
He took his bag and the clubroom's keys, closing the room as promised.
Kidou had flourished in a tragic environment. Losing his little sister, being betrayed by the man who admired the most, enduring harsh training. He was like a higanbana blooming from a corpse. He was strong, mentally and emotionally. Stronger than him.
Love doesn't disappear if it isn't reciprocated. I can keep it alive all by myself and watch over you.