BLURRY EYES

Sakuya was more thoughtful than irritated by his brother's sudden and rather reckless actions.

"Do you think Fujima is interested in Nobu-aniki?" he dropped casually as he used a damp napkin to clear the stain on his pants.

Sendoh was slightly startled, "Well, do you guys despise this kind of relationship?" sounding a little apprehensive.

"Huh? Nah." Sakuya gave a short laugh, "We're perfectly fine with it...I don't actually think the three of us are really straight anyway...Damn, this stain wouldn't come off!"

Sendoh heaved a sigh of relief and remembering suddenly of his offer to help, gave a small grin and said, "Hey, get behind a cubicle and take off your pants."

Sakuya froze, sweeping a glance at Sendoh, he coughed, "What?"

Sendoh chuckled a little and said, "Don't think that way, kiddo." Sakuya nodded.

Behind the cubicle, Sakuya was feeling totally uncomfortable in his boxers and his white shirt. Forcing himself to maintain a light conversation with Sendoh, he fidgetted ever so often and wished Sendoh would hurry up and finish cleaning the coffee stain.

Sendoh on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the company of Sakuya and Sakuya only. Leisurely scrubbing the stain, he livelily kept Sakuya talking and listening with his accounts of past matches and his own life. After what seemed like infinity to Sakuya, Sendoh gave a cheery whoop and threw his pants over the cubicle door. "Washed and dry clean, young master!"

Sakuya caught the pants and swiftly put it on and exiting the cubicle. He felt a flush of heat on his face as he mumbled his thanks. To his astonishment, Sendoh had indeed managed to totally remove the stain on his pants.

As the two returned to join the rest, they discovered a sullen Shinobu and a rather dazed Fujima back at their seats. Sakuya launched into a moody silence too as Shinji, Sendoh and Maki enthusiastically carried on their topic on basketball. Sakuya stole a look at Sendoh and felt like jumping off a cliff as he felt another rush of warmth on his face and when Sendoh caught his eye and gave him a gentle smile, he had enough.

Slamming a hand down on the table ala Shinobu, he dug into his pockets for some spare change. Finding nothing but a couple of hundred bucks, he carelessly tossed them on the table, muttered to Shinji about paying the bill for him and prepared to stride out the door. Shinobu took the chance to excuse himself as well as he caught up with Sakuya.

Shinji blinked a little and after apologizing to their surprised companions, dropped another few hundred dollar bills and went after his brothers in a state of great discomfort as he waddled a little from his inner injury.

Fingering the cash, Maki asked in awe, "Do they even know the value of money?"

Chapter 8