Challenge 01
....this is such a terrible fic.
Don't Stop
Challenge:
SanaYuki or AtoJi
A bus pass, a battery, and an apple
Warning(s): Slight spoilers for Rikkai...if you don't know why we love to angst about them...
When he thought about it, a lot of the things parents told their children weren't actually true.
"If you don't stop that, your face is going to freeze that way." "The Easter Bunny came last night!" "Yes, and he has nine reindeer--one with a bright red nose..." "Eat it. It's good for you." "Many hands make light work!" "Don't be ridiculous! See, Mommy likes it! Mmmmmmm..." "It's going to make you big and strong. Now eat your spinach." "An apple a day keeps the doctor away..."
None of it was true. None of it at all.
None of the inevitable advice that parents seemed to be able to pull out of nowhere, saying the right thing at exactly the right time, had helped Yukimura.
He was here, after all. No amounts of apples or spinach had kept Yukimura out of the hospital, where all he ever saw were white walls and doctors, day in and day out. Unless, of course, somebody came to visit him. Unless, of course, Yukimura couldn't--wouldn't--open his eyes.
Two weeks after the initial outbreak of that terrible disease, and all there was of the Rikkaidai captain was seemingly asleep in that hospital bed, breathing quietly to the gentle yet insistent hum of the respirator. Not in a coma, but unable--unwilling, maybe--to open his eyes. Maybe not even asleep--the doctors said Yukimura was probably very much conscious, trapped and frustrated in his weakened, paralyzed condition. They said that apart from not having the strength, he probably wasn't opening his eyes because he didn't want to see anything. Though it was all up to him to pull out of this, perhaps he had lost the will to live.
"Yukimura. It's me."
Sanada didn't believe that. Not for an instant. Yukimura wouldn't give up. Not when they were so close--not when there was so much at stake. Not when his team was going to go to Nationals, not while Sanada was still breathing sweat and tears to get them there, no matter the cost.
He couldn't give up. Sanada wouldn't let him.
"Marui lost his bus pass and was late to practice. I gave him thirty laps."
Those few, terrible days where there was no reaction from his captain, Sanada still came. He never made it home until late, spending hours after an already extensive tennis practice to sit by a hospital bed and talk, tuning out the snow piling up on the windowsill and the machines keeping his friend alive. He talked until his voice was hoarse, day in and day out, trying to lend strength with his voice and never sure it was working.
"He also ate the cake he meant to send you. He says he'll get you another when you're better."
The heart monitor beeped steadily and encouragingly at him. That was the only response he got, but somehow it was enough to inspire him to keep going.
Sanada had never really cared much about electricity and storms before, but now he was terrified. Terrified that a storm would come along any day now, fierce enough and strong enough to knock out the power, shutting off all those lights, those heaters, those machines and everything between Yukimura and death. If the hospital's generator, that giant electrical battery, didn't kick in...
At that point was when he told himself to stop worrying. This wasn't the rainy season, and it certainly wasn't going to snow hard enough to turn off the power. Yukimura would be just fine. Any day, any hour, any minute now he'd open his eyes and smile and apologize for the trouble this was causing Sanada. Any day now.
"The water fountain wouldn't turn on today. Renji thinks the pipes froze again."
Besides, if the power did go out, the battery would kick in. It was just like them. Yukimura's power might be out, but Sanada was still there. Still there, still running, determined to keep going until something changed and Yukimura had the strength to live again.
"He submitted a complaint to the school, and hopefully they'll get it fixed."
So Sanada kept talking, watching Yukimura's pale face and waiting for those eyes to open.
Like the generator, he knew there was far too much at stake for him to stop.
Don't Stop
Challenge:
SanaYuki or AtoJi
A bus pass, a battery, and an apple
Warning(s): Slight spoilers for Rikkai...if you don't know why we love to angst about them...
When he thought about it, a lot of the things parents told their children weren't actually true.
"If you don't stop that, your face is going to freeze that way." "The Easter Bunny came last night!" "Yes, and he has nine reindeer--one with a bright red nose..." "Eat it. It's good for you." "Many hands make light work!" "Don't be ridiculous! See, Mommy likes it! Mmmmmmm..." "It's going to make you big and strong. Now eat your spinach." "An apple a day keeps the doctor away..."
None of it was true. None of it at all.
None of the inevitable advice that parents seemed to be able to pull out of nowhere, saying the right thing at exactly the right time, had helped Yukimura.
He was here, after all. No amounts of apples or spinach had kept Yukimura out of the hospital, where all he ever saw were white walls and doctors, day in and day out. Unless, of course, somebody came to visit him. Unless, of course, Yukimura couldn't--wouldn't--open his eyes.
Two weeks after the initial outbreak of that terrible disease, and all there was of the Rikkaidai captain was seemingly asleep in that hospital bed, breathing quietly to the gentle yet insistent hum of the respirator. Not in a coma, but unable--unwilling, maybe--to open his eyes. Maybe not even asleep--the doctors said Yukimura was probably very much conscious, trapped and frustrated in his weakened, paralyzed condition. They said that apart from not having the strength, he probably wasn't opening his eyes because he didn't want to see anything. Though it was all up to him to pull out of this, perhaps he had lost the will to live.
"Yukimura. It's me."
Sanada didn't believe that. Not for an instant. Yukimura wouldn't give up. Not when they were so close--not when there was so much at stake. Not when his team was going to go to Nationals, not while Sanada was still breathing sweat and tears to get them there, no matter the cost.
He couldn't give up. Sanada wouldn't let him.
"Marui lost his bus pass and was late to practice. I gave him thirty laps."
Those few, terrible days where there was no reaction from his captain, Sanada still came. He never made it home until late, spending hours after an already extensive tennis practice to sit by a hospital bed and talk, tuning out the snow piling up on the windowsill and the machines keeping his friend alive. He talked until his voice was hoarse, day in and day out, trying to lend strength with his voice and never sure it was working.
"He also ate the cake he meant to send you. He says he'll get you another when you're better."
The heart monitor beeped steadily and encouragingly at him. That was the only response he got, but somehow it was enough to inspire him to keep going.
Sanada had never really cared much about electricity and storms before, but now he was terrified. Terrified that a storm would come along any day now, fierce enough and strong enough to knock out the power, shutting off all those lights, those heaters, those machines and everything between Yukimura and death. If the hospital's generator, that giant electrical battery, didn't kick in...
At that point was when he told himself to stop worrying. This wasn't the rainy season, and it certainly wasn't going to snow hard enough to turn off the power. Yukimura would be just fine. Any day, any hour, any minute now he'd open his eyes and smile and apologize for the trouble this was causing Sanada. Any day now.
"The water fountain wouldn't turn on today. Renji thinks the pipes froze again."
Besides, if the power did go out, the battery would kick in. It was just like them. Yukimura's power might be out, but Sanada was still there. Still there, still running, determined to keep going until something changed and Yukimura had the strength to live again.
"He submitted a complaint to the school, and hopefully they'll get it fixed."
So Sanada kept talking, watching Yukimura's pale face and waiting for those eyes to open.
Like the generator, he knew there was far too much at stake for him to stop.