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The waiting room is empty when Kimura comes back with the drinks, but the sound of laughter leads him to Ippo's hospital room. It figures that not only did he have to buy drinks for everyone, but now he's also missing quality entertainment. Who even knew Itagaki was so good at janken.
He finds a familiar scene inside — Ippo propped up on a few pillows, half-covered in bandages, with their friends gathered near his bed.
"There you are, Kimura!" Aoki says, making grabby hands at the cans. "They gave Ippo the good stuff, this is awesome."
Takamura unburdens him of the drinks (Kimura barely manages to save one for himself) and starts passing them around. "Yeah, watch this. Hey Ippo, you like the coach?"
Ippo smiles dopily. "The coach is great."
"Everyone is great," says Aoki in a stage whisper.
"He taught me so much, you know? He knows a looot. But he's kind of scary."
Takamura crosses his arms and nods seriously. "Yeah, he gets pretty intense. I can see how a wimp like you would get scared."
Instead of taking offence, Ippo just blinks at him slowly. "No. His hair." He raises his hand and points a finger at his forehead. "He's got a bit of hair here, right? What's up with that? Scary."
"This is fucking gold," Takamura says once they're done cracking up. He wipes away a tear of joy. "We should've brought Fujii-chan with a camera."
Itagaki bumps his fist into his palm triumphantly. "Oh, what about Yagi-san?"
Kimura tsks and shakes his head, because that is weak as hell. As if anyone would have anything outrageous to say about Yagi-chan, much less Ippo.
And sure enough: "Yagi-san is great! Sometimes I just really want to hug him, you know? He's so soft."
"You don't get enough cuddles from Wanpo?" Aoki asks.
"Nooo, Wanpo is a great dog! He gives great cuddles, and he's so good at fetch." Then Ippo's face falls a little. "Everyone cuddles and pets him a lot..."
Kimura and Aoki look at each other, then back at Ippo. "What, you jealous?"
Ippo fiddles with the bland hospital bedspread with clumsy fingers, face settling into a pout. "I mean, it's just... nobody wants to cuddle and pet me..."
There's a moment of silence, and then a strangled "Oh my God" from Aoki.
"I don't know if I should laugh or cry," says Takamura, but he's pretty much doing both already.
Itagaki looks at them with wide eyes, probably wondering if that's his cue to provide the cuddles. He actually would, too, and Kimura's about to suggest it, but his eyes catch on the figure on the other side of the hospital bed.
In his typical fashion, Miyata's leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, but he actually looks faintly amused. He's partly hidden behind the IV stand and it seems like Ippo hasn't noticed him yet, which explains why he's got even a shred of attention to spare for the rest of his guests. Kimura almost forgot that Miyata's here at all, but now he can feel his lips stretch into a grin. "What about Miyata?"
"Ooh, this is gonna be good," Aoki says quietly. Miyata shoots them a sour look.
Ippo's face relaxes like warm dough and he lets out an absolutely lovesick sigh. "Isn't Miyata-kun just the best?" he says, turning to Kimura with a look best described as dreamy.
"Uh-huh," he agrees, hoping for more. Ippo doesn't disappoint.
"Have you seen his title match? It was just the coolest ever."
"Yeah, man, we were there with you," Aoki reminds him.
Ippo looks at him for a moment, probably searching his memory for things tragically overshadowed by Miyata. "Oh, yeah," he agrees finally, gracing Aoki with a hazy smile. "He got the championship belt then. That was totally, just, the best."
Takamura clears his throat pointedly. "I've got a championship belt, too, you know."
"Oh, right," Ippo says, but then he's back to grinning dopily. "But Miyata-kun is so great. When he posed with the belt, he looked so cool."
"This is starting to piss me off," Takamura announces.
He gets ignored while Ippo's face actually pinks up in a blush. "So cool," he repeats with a happy sigh. "I love watching him fight."
"Mine is bigger," Takamura declares, still stuck on his own (apparently not cool enough) belt. Well, probably.
"I doubt it," Aoki mutters, and a second later he's being choked in a headlock.
Itagaki's looking between them all like he's watching a tennis match, but Kimura ignores those two idiots in favor of Ippo, who's just getting started. "His footwork is so elegant, you know? And his counters are just so deadly. He throws all his soul into them, it's out of this world."
"Sooo," Kimura starts, seeing a chance for himself, "out-boxers are cool, huh?" Itagaki perks up like a puppy.
For the first time Ippo looks less enthused, squinting a bit. "Not just all out-boxers, you know? Miyata-kun is like, in a league of his own."
Kimura tries not to deflate as obviously as Itagaki. Miyata drags a hand down his face, but Kimura can still see him smirk a bit.
"He was already great when he was fighting overseas, but now he's just... wow." Ippo flaps his hand, apparently out of words for Miyata's coolness.
Aoki takes a break from digging his elbow into Takamura's side to ask: "Wait, you've seen those fights?"
"Just a few, on tapes I got from Fujii-san. I would go, but it was too far... Miyata-kun went so far away..."
Itagaki flails a bit, alarmed by his idol suddenly looking sad. "But he came back, right?"
Ippo brightens right back. "Yes! He came back so strong, and so cool! And winning everything. I guess he's still far away from me..." His hand clenches into a fist. "I have to get a lot stronger to reach him."
Miyata's been still, staring at Ippo from his vantage point in the back, but now he makes a move like maybe he intends to make a run for it. Takamura takes a step to better situate himself between him and the door, grinning like a shark. All the movement draws Ippo's fragile attention to his other side and his hazy eyes grow wide.
"Miyata-kun! You came to see me?" He tries to move closer, propping himself up on his elbow, but Itagaki and Aoki jump in to push him back with cries of "Senpai!" and "Stay down, man."
"He was worried," says Takamura, earning a glare from Miyata.
It's more that Takamura looped an arm around his neck and bodily dragged him along when they left for the hospital, laughing about making Ippo's year. But since Miyata allowed them to catch him loitering around Ippo's locker room, maybe he really was worried.
"Don't worry, Miyata-kun! I'll be back to training in no time." Ippo attempts a fist pump, with limited success. His hand flops back down, outstretched towards Miyata. "I'm keeping our promise!"
Miyata sends a narrow-eyed look at the spectators, then his gaze helplessly settles on Ippo. "Uh. That's good."
Kimura gets distracted by a sound suspiciously like a coo coming from Aoki, who bristles at Kimura's raised eyebrows. "What?" Aoki whispers furiously, crossing his arms. "It's kind of sweet."
He's saved from mocking (for now) by his personal goddess. "Masaru, guys," Tomiko calls from the door. "Let the patient sleep it off before I lose my job."
"Sorry Ippo, you heard the lady. We'll come tomorrow!" Aoki skips to the door and falls lips first into Tomiko. They all say their goodbyes and file off after him, Kimura pushing Itagaki along so he doesn't try to hide and stay with Ippo.
There's a rustle and he looks back from the doorway to see Miyata lagging behind. He's moved into Ippo's range and now there's a fist curled into his shirt while Ippo blinks up at him with heavy eyelids. Miyata's smiling slightly, looking resigned to his fate. He says something too quiet for Kimura to hear properly.
Ippo, who has no filters around Miyata even when he's not drugged up to his eyeballs, isn't nearly as quiet when he replies: "I will, I'll be good soon."
"I know," Miyata says on a sigh, and haltingly reaches out to pet Ippo's hair. Ippo moves his head into the touch, his eyes sliding closed.
Kimura turns back and hurries down the hall after his friends, getting a questioning look from Aoki when he falls into step with him and Tomiko. He scratches his cheek with a finger. "I guess they are kind of cute."
Aoki elbows him with a grin. "Fucking told you."
"Yeah, whatever." Kimura rolls his eyes, pokes him right back, and smiles.