Admiration of the Best Kind (3/6)
Title: Admiration of the Best Kind
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP and ex-Ya-ya-yah
Genre: Angst , Romance and Fluff.
Pairings: Hikabu, Hikanoo, Yamabu
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2167
Summary: With the support of his best friend, Hikaru is finally able to get over his feelings for Yabu. However, what happens when Inoo gets sick and does something unexpected?
Original date written: November 4, 2008.
Disclaimer: My last name is not Kitagawa-enough said.
Chapter 3: Where’s the silver lining in this?
When there were no more tears left to shed, Inoo reassuringly gently cleaned my cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt. He smiled at me, but I only had enough strength left to give him a weak smile. I felt embarrassed for showing Inoo such a weak side, but he didn’t seem to mind as much.
Instead he looked at me with a happy twinkle in his eyes and said, “Shall we go to my house?”
Not knowing how to respond in such a drained emotional state, I nodded dumbly. He giggled and took a hold of my hand as we walked to his house. We didn’t talk much on the way, but that was fine with me, because holding his hand was all the comfort that I needed.
[~ ~ ~ ~]
Later that night, I lay in my sleeping bag next to Inoo’s bed, staring at the ceiling of his room. It had been a few hours since the Yabu and Shoon incident, but my eyes were still red and puffy from the excessive crying. I sighed, seeing the heart-breaking scene re-play in my head like a broken record. As much as I didn’t want to think about it, I felt that it helped prepare me to get over my feelings for Yabu.
However, I couldn’t get over the certain sting in my heart when I saw Shoon’s lips place a delicate, but quick kiss on Yabu’s-
“Hikaru-kun?”
Inoo’s sleepy voice broke through my train of thoughts.
“Hmm?” I turned on my side to look at him and saw that he was still awake. “Eh, Inoo-chan, why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I should be asking you the same question,” he answered with a laugh.
I turned to look at the ceiling again so he wouldn’t see my sad facial expression. “I couldn’t really sleep, that’s all. Too much thinking, I guess.”
Inoo nodded, knowing that it was best not to inquire what my thoughts were about. He laid back down into his bed and a comfortable silence fell between us.
I was the first to break it. “Ne, Inoo-chan?”
“Nani, Hikaru-kun?”
I sighed to myself before asking a question my mind had been wrestling to answer for the past few hours. “Inoo-chan,” I began and I felt my voice crack a little, “What if I’m not able to let go of my feelings for Yabu? I mean, I’ve been in love with him for so long that I don’t know how to not love him. I don’t even know where to start. Or what if it takes me forever to get over him? I don’t think I’m strong enough to-”
“Don’t say that!” Inoo suddenly cried. His voice sounded hurtful, but encouraging as he continued, “That’s a horrible thing to say, Hikaru-kun! Don’t put yourself down. You’re one of the strongest persons I’ve ever met! I know you feel like you can’t do it right now, but in time you will get over Yabu. And it doesn’t matter if it takes weeks or months, just as long as you get over him, right?”
The moment Inoo finished speaking; his words hung in the night air and pierced right through me.
Inoo was right. Why was I acting so weak and stupid? I felt wretched and hopeless, and yet, here was Inoo trying to instill some encouragement in me. I turned to look at him and found the hope I could only find in his eyes.
“You really think so?” I gave him an optimistic smile.
He smiled back at me and I felt my world be at ease. “Sure do! Don’t worry, Hikaru-kun, you’ll be over Yabu before you even know it and I’ll be right by your side to make sure you don’t waver.”
Its funny how in a matter of a few minutes, I became confident to whole-heartedly let go of my feelings and face Yabu. His words and cheerful smile made my heart flutter. I smiled at the warm feeling spreading from my chest and snuggled back into bed.
“Thanks, Inoo-chan. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I happily thanked, but frowned when he didn’t quickly reply. I turned towards his bed and saw that he had fallen asleep. His adorable sleeping face was the last thing I saw before falling into a content slumber.
[~ ~ ~ ~]
A Few Days Later…
I should have known that at the next practice Yabu would inquire about my odd and sudden leave from his house. I had forgotten how much of an observant and caring leader he was. It didn’t help that I couldn’t hide from him, because he was my fellow Ya-ya-yah member and we shared a dressing room with Taiyou and Shoon.
I had come early that day with plans on spending it with Inoo, but he didn’t show up on his usual time. The dressing room was empty and I had just set my bag down on the couch when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to find myself face-to-face with the boy my heart had always yearned for.
“Hey, Hachibee, can I talk to you for a moment?” Yabu asked in a concerned voice with a reassuring smile on his face.
At first, my heart went all doki-doki at the thought of being alone with Yabu. But I quickly quieted it, trying to remind myself that I had to let go of my feelings. I hesitated, wondering if I was strong enough to talk to him, but remembered Inoo’s words.
“Uh, sure, Yabu-kun,” I agreed in what I hoped was a confident voice.
“Oh, good.” He sat down on the couch and motioned for me to sit next to him. This time it was hard for me to steady my rapidly-beating heart from the small distance between us. He was so close that I could smell the laundry scent from his clothes.
Mmm.. it smelled pretty good. I wonder what kind of fabric softener-Stop it! Focus!
I shook my head and tried to distract myself by starting the conversation, “What did you want to talk about, Yabu-kun?” I put on an innocent facial expression as if I didn’t already know what he was going to talk about.
“Well,” Yabu began and gave me the familiar worried look, “I just wanted to talk about the other day when you and Inoo stopped by my house.”
“What about it?”
That’s right, just play dumb and make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. Don’t worry Yabu with your one-sided feelings for him, but why did it hurt to even think about that day?
“What do you mean ‘what about it’? You left abruptly without saying good-bye and I think I saw tears in your eyes. Is anything wrong, Hachibee? You know I’m here for you, right?” Yabu asked with a somewhat stunned expression.
Oh, how much I wanted to believe those words and answer you truthfully, Yabu.
Despite the sudden ache in my heart, I pretended to remember something and plastered a smile on my face, “Oh, that? That was nothing. I just remembered I had to do an errand for my sister and felt something get caught in my eye, that’s all.” I made myself laugh to make Yabu brush the issue off, but it felt so fake and dry.
But Yabu didn’t catch the false tones of my laughter, because he smiled back. “Oh, ok. You had me worried for a second. I thought something had happened.” He sighed and patted my shoulder.
For Kame-sama’s sake, Yabu, why did have to be so care so much? Why couldn’t you just be a rude and heartless person so I could turn my love into hatred? It would have been so much easier for me.
But then again, you wouldn’t be the same wonderful person I had fallen in love with in the first place.
I sighed to myself, glad to be in a reasonable state of mind. Lately, it was rare when I was by his side, so I stayed quiet and cherished my alone time with him. He didn’t feel the need to break our comfortable silence and left his hand on my shoulder.
It felt like hours until someone stumbled into the open doorway. I looked up and saw Inoo leaning on the doorframe, but he didn’t look well. His face was pale with sweat and his nose was a light shade of red. A large jacket hung on his small shoulders and a tissue box was stuffed in the pockets. He saw me and started to walk toward me, but his knees failed him halfway and he fell squarely on his butt onto the floor.
He looked up at me with lethargic eyes and said, “H-Hikaru-kun?”
“Inoo-chan?” I worriedly called and rushed to his side. I helped him over to the couch and put my palm to his forehead, only to pull it quickly away. “Atsui!”
“Eh? What’s going on?” Yabu asked, but took notice of Inoo’s ill state.
“I think Inoo-chan’s sick.” With my face wrought with fret, I unbuttoned his jacket and saw that his shirt was drenched with sweat. “Inoo-chan, you’ve got a fever! What happened?”
It took him a moment or two to answer, “I-I’m fine. It’s just that m-my.. sister got s-sick yesterday… and I had to.. had to take care of her last night.” I gasped as his head lulled to the side and he fainted.
“Inoo-chan! Wake up!” I called while lightly shaking him, but to no avail.
“Oh, no, he seems pretty out of it,” Yabu said and felt his forehead as well. “You better take him home. He’s way too sick to practice.”
I felt my heart fail at the sight of Inoo’s sick face. I nodded to Yabu and he helped me put Inoo on my back.
Inoo-chan, are you really alright? Why did you come when you look so sick?
[~ ~ ~ ~]
Half an hour later, I was in Inoo’s bedroom, helping him into his bed. It’s a good thing he was light, because it made it easier for me to carry him. Since his parents were away at work and his siblings at school, I took Inoo’s house keys from his pocket and let both of us into the empty house.
Save for Inoo’s heavy breathing, it was quiet as I tucked him into bed. I left his side to get a bowl of cold water and a small towel. With my knees folded at the side of his bed, I dipped the towel into the water and dabbed at Inoo’s forehead, trying to cool his fever.
I stayed by his bedside until I felt his fever go down. It had only been three hours since I got him into bed, but the color was already starting to reappear in his face. His breath was also turning back to normal and I smiled at his fast recovery.
“Inoo-chan, what am I going to do with you?” I teasingly whispered, but knew he couldn’t hear me. I turned the towel over so that the cool side was pressed against his forehead.
Not long after, I felt Inoo stir in his sleep and his eyelids slowly fluttered open. He looked around as if he didn’t know how he ended up his bed.
“Inoo-chan?” I called and he turned to me.
“Eh, Hikaru-kun?” He replied in a sleepy voice and struggled to sit up, but to no avail. I gently held his back and helped him lay back into bed. Despite his swift recovery, he still looked like he needed more rest. “How did I get here?”
“You fainted in the Ya-ya-yah dressing room and I carried you back here,” I informed him and took the towel off to put it into cold water again. “Inoo-chan, why did you come to practice when you knew you were sick?” I laughed at his blushing face and put the towel back on his forehead. I felt my heart flutter at his blushing cheeks, but I brushed it away as Inoo’s usual prettiness.
He whispered something, but it was too low for me to hear. I leaned toward him so that my ear was near his lips. “What? I can’t hear you.”
Inoo repeated his words, but I could only catch the last word. “You? What? Inoo-chan, speak up, because I can’t hear you.” I looked into his eyes and saw that he was still in a feverish daze. I didn’t know he had such glistening black eyes. It was then did I realize that our faces were only a few inches apart, but Inoo was slowly closing the already small space between us. “Inoo-chan?”
“I.. I w-wanted to.. see you,” he stuttered in a small, but sweet voice that made me turn a bright shade of red. Before I could respond or even let the words register in my head, I felt his soft lips descend upon mine in a tender kiss.