[Fic] A Knowing Smile

[branchandroot]

Cross-post from my archive.

Fandom/Arc: Eyeshield 21, Standalone
Characters/Pairings: Hiruma Youichi, Kobayakawa Sena, Shin Seijuurou, Shin/Sena
Summary: Shin offers Sena some help, and gets back a bit more than he bargained for. Or possibly a bit less.
Meta: Continuity Free, Humor with UST, I-2
Wordcount: 931

He tried again to think calming thoughts, like training and football technique, and found himself thinking of new tackles he might try on Sena.

That wasn't helping.

---

A Knowing Smile

Sena

Sena breathed a sigh of relief as the end of the second quarter was called, and then tried not to wince visibly.

"Hey, fucking manager! Get the fucking moron some water."

Mamori-neesan grumbled as she turned away to rummage in her bag. "One of these days, Hiruma-kun, you’re going to learn how to actually ask a favor…"

Hiruma-san snorted, and added very quietly as Sena passed behind him, "Cold packs are in my bag in the changing room. Hurry up."

Sena smiled and bobbed a grateful nod and hurried before Mamori-neesan could finish and ask if he was all right. He also carefully kept his lips buttoned over any observations about how Hiruma-san was still protecting him from Mamori-neesan, even after she had stopped protecting him from Hiruma-san. He already hurt enough without getting shot anywhere.

The changing room was deserted, so he let himself hiss and yelp as he peeled his shirt and padding off. He couldn’t see any bruise, craning his neck to look over his shoulder, but it felt like his ribs were jabbing his kidneys with every breath.

Holding a cold pack on his lower back when it hurt to flex his arms too far was a bit of a challenge. He’d just fumbled the pack for the second time when the door opened.

"Mm. I thought so."

Sena blinked. "Shin-san." He smiled a bit wryly. "It was a very good tackle." It had just been a slightly bad landing, was all; on someone’s shoe, he thought.

"Just a cold pack won’t be enough," Shin-san told him, letting the door fall shut as he came to hand Sena a small jar. "Use this."

The scent, when Sena unscrewed the lid, was sharp and spicy and very strong. He looked up at Shin-san, tipping his head in question.

Shin-san frowned just faintly. "If you don’t play your best in the second half, winning won’t mean anything."

Which wasn’t the question Sena had meant, but was one he’d had, so he smiled and ducked his head and scooped up a fingerful of the stuff. "Thank you, Shin-san."

Spreading something on his back turned out to be even harder than holding something there. After a moment the bench creaked as Shin-san sat down behind him.

"Here."

Sena gave the jar back with a sigh of relief. It turned into a bitten-off gasp as two large fingers smoothed the salve over a lot of his lower back and briskly rubbed it in. He twitched a bit as what had to be a huge bruise twinged, but whatever was in that stuff was warm, and the warmth seemed to dissolve the knot over his kidney.

"Ah." Sena sighed out. "Oh, that’s better." Shin-san silently spread another layer over his skin and rubbed it in a bit more firmly. That seemed to find another layer of twinges and they jerked and pulled at him, drawing him taut. He kept his teeth clenched on his yelps and sighed gratefully as the heat unwound the twinges again. "Ahh… oohhhh… " Maybe the gasping for breath had made him lightheaded, or maybe it was just the pain going away, but whichever it was was just fine with him, really.

Shin

Seijuurou smiled faintly as Sena sighed, that wincing tension easing, and then blinked as Sena swayed back against his chest. Sena’s eyes were closed and his lips were parted on a slow breath, and he was rather flushed. Probably with relief from the pain; he was familiar with how that went. Seijuurou’s body was interpreting things a little differently, though, and he had to swallow in a dry throat as Sena relaxed bonelessly against him.

"Is that," he cleared his throat, "better?" He tried to find something to think about besides how slim and strong Sena’s body was against his, and how nice Sena’s bare skin felt. It didn’t work very well.

Sena opened his eyes and smiled. "Lots. Thank you." And then he blinked, and seemed to realize that he was more or less lying in Seijuurou’s arms, and shot upright, stammering. "Ah! Um, I, um, excuse me please!"

The relief was only partial, because Sena was still very close and, now that Seijuurou was thinking of it, he had an even better view of how sleek and taut Sena’s body had gotten. He tried again to think calming thoughts, like training and football technique, and found himself thinking of new tackles he might try on Sena.

That wasn’t helping.

The door flew open to a firm kick and Hiruma looked in. "Hey, aren’t you done yet?" His brows rose as he took in who all was present.

Sena smiled brightly. "All finished, Hiruma-san! Shin-san was very kind and helped out. I’m fine now!"

Hiruma’s brows rose further as he eyed the two of them. "Right, then. Get going." A corner of his mouth curled up as he looked at Seijuurou. "As for you. I said I’d bring him to you. I didn’t say you could have him."

Seijuurou rose silently and strode out of the room as well as he was able at the moment, trying not to pay any attention to Hiruma’s wicked laugh and just be grateful for Sena’s look of total incomprehension.

There had better be time for a cold shower before halftime was over.

 

End

Comments

[wombat1138.livejournal.com]

Merrily Baird's Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design may have more info of that sort, though I haven't yet flipped through the book myself-- it's out of print and dauntingly expensive, though there's a copy in my local library system that I keep forgetting to chase down.

[branchandroot]

*grins* This is where having a spouse who's a librarian comes in handy. I'll get him to find me a copy. And thank you; it's really quite frustrating, I'm only finding hanakotoba sites/information in Japanese. There are maybe three in English that seem at all reliable. And ikebana seems to use a somewhat different approach and meaning-set, far more philosophical and intertwined with buddhist theory. *sighs*

[wombat1138.livejournal.com]

If you get hold of it, I'd love to know your overall opinion of the book; it certainly seems to be potentially useful.

Also, Gilles Poitras' two Anime Companion books may have some floral symbolism among the entries, though I don't specifically recall offhand.

[branchandroot]

Yeah, that's a book I have to get for myself. I've always found Poitras all kinds of useful.

Ken found a copy in his own library, so I'll let you know!

[branchandroot]

So I've browsed through Baird. It's mostly a compendium of what motifs are used (at all, anywhere) and a brief explanation of what the things in question are (what an oni is, what a nadeshiko flower is, etc.) It looks like a good basic reference for people who are getting lost in the stylized renderings of symbolic plants, animals, gods, whatnot, but it doesn't actually tell you what those things are supposed to be symbols /of/. *wry*

On the bright side, it reminded me of the Eight Immortals, which will be useful in my Saiunkoko fangirling, so that's good.

[wombat1138.livejournal.com]

Yargh. It figures, just when I finally managed to buy a lightly-used copy of Baird-- I've made two or three previous attempts that were foiled by out-of-date online inventory listings.

I hve a vague memory of several other sources I've checked recently for flower-symbolism info, but not particularly whatever I managed to turn up; the local Borders has several recently-published books devoted to origami flowers, and there's also a chapter of flower-based patterns in Kumiko Sudo's Omiyage: Handmade Gifts from Fabric in the Japanese Tradition. IIRC ikebana books have been surprisingly unhelpful :b

[branchandroot]

Yeah, ikebana has its own thing going, which is much more zen and much less romaticism and popular culture. *laughing* It seems as though most origami goes the same way, but the omiyage book might be useful.

'nother book

[wombat1138.livejournal.com]

The Elements of Japanese Design by John W. Dower. Primarily a kamon compendium, but does have brief descriptions of each motif, e.g. (p. 62): "528-30. Lotus (hasu). Although the lotus is as much a symbol of Buddhism as the cross is of Christianity, symbolic of enlightenment, supreme truth, and of purity emerging from impurity, it appears surprisingly few times as a motif in Japanese heraldic design."

Because of its historical weighting, it contains relatively little info on elements introduced by Western influence (roses, dahlias, tulips).

Re: 'nother book

[branchandroot]

I'll add that, then. I did take a look at Leher, which has /beautiful/ illustrations, but little in the way of hanakotoba symbolism. It looks more like ikebana. Good book for identifying the way flowers are stylized in Japanese are, though.

[written-in-blue.livejournal.com]

*snerks* I did like the switch to the lotus flowers.

[branchandroot]

*sparkles* Distant emotionally, mentally, geographically... and they all apply differently to each of her possible suitors. *sparklesparkle* And the lightning. *sparklesparklesparkle*

Though I do think Shuurei could profitably work on her boot-'em-in-the-balls technique. It seems both useful and applicable. >_>