A Little Love in the Moonlight - Prince of Tennis - Oneshot

The restaurant was a nice secluded place tucked away in the corner of the street. It wasn’t big or grand, but it wasn’t shabby either. It was homey. The way both Sanada and Janey liked it. Above the restaurant was her apartment that she shared with her friends, Sarara, Claire and Rie. Sometimes Sanada’s sister, Kuririn and her entourage (just Tora actually), would come over and hang out.

But really, that’s just Sanada’s excuse to see Janey, his newly-wedded wife. He’s just too shy to come over without an excuse much to Kuririn’s annoyance.

“I heard that there will be a meteor shower tonight, Genichirou, let’s go and watch,” she suggested after he had paid the bill.

“I was planning to go back to your apartment and maybe play shougi or something,” he said with a frown. With the number of people coming and going into Janey’s apartment, it was a rare moment to have the apartment just for the two of them alone. Sanada had after all, gone to the length of ‘asking’ his sister to bring everyone out for a walk that night.

“Please? We don’t get to see meteor showers every day.”

“But it’s a January night. I don’t want to spend a winter night lying around outside.”

“We can bring blankets. And I’ll even let you cuddle me,” she persuaded. Okay, the cuddling part does sound tempting. Usually, she would hit him with her katana if he even tried to touch her.

“Fine, we can go,” he said. Janey kissed his cheek in glee and ran up to get blankets for the stargazing, not noticing the ever growing blush on his cheeks as he quickly rushed out of the restaurant to get some fresh air and cool down.

=========

Not thirty minutes later, the newly-weds found themselves being covered in warm fluffy blankets and cuddling against each other to gaze at the star filled sky. “Thirty minutes to the shower,” Janey announced as she checked Sanada’s wristwatch. It was a wedding present his sister’s fiancé gave to him. Yes, an Atobe-class wristwatch.

She turned to her side to face him and snuggled closer in search of warmth. “Genichirou, when the stars fall, what are you going to wish for?”

“I don’t believe in wishing stars.”

“Then I will wish for something in behalf of you,” Janey told him.

“Like what kind of wish?”

She smiled and gave him a brief kiss. Before he could return it, she pulled away, and smiled at him, “That is a secret.”

Sanada frowned when they both gazed back at the star filled sky waiting for the shower. One good thing about clear winter nights is the stars after all. And the fact that the beach is empty and they were the only people crazy enough to be there on such a cold night.

“It’s so cold. We could’ve been inside your apartment right now.”

“And do what? Play shougi?”

“What’s wrong with shougi?”

“Nothing, it’s just not romantic,” Janey said with a sigh. Sanada is like a block of dense rock. Sometimes, she wishes he knows what she wants. What girls want in general.

“So what’s your idea of romantic? Freezing in the winter air at the beach?”

“I was thinking more of…” Janey started and decided to let her actions finish her sentence as she slipped a hand under his shirt. She felt him tense under her touch and tried to suppress a smirk as she made careful eye contact with him. It was almost cute how much he blushed just from the light touches.

“Janey…” he breathed out, trying hard to regulate his breathing. He can feel the Goosebumps forming on his skin as her fingers, cold from the night air, brushed past the muscles in his stomach and travelled upwards under his shirt and jacket.

 Janey leaned in for another kiss, this time lingering long enough for him to react. She can feel his hands moving downwards, his thumb hooking into the inside of her jeans and trying to tug them down.

“Patience,” she whispered as they broke away for air. She crawled above Sanada and straddled him, resuming where they left off with the lip-locking. Sanada pushed her body closer to his as she took the initiative and took off his jacket, slowly unbuttoning his shirt, exposing his well-toned chest to the cold air.

Janey pulled back to view the delectable sight before her, licking her lips a little unconsciously as she watched the flush in Sanada’s exposed body and the puffs of breaths he breathed out into the air. He was feeling hot despite the cold weather, and Janey can’t help but smile at the reason why.

“We are going to miss the shower,” Sanada groaned out as Janey grinded into him and leaned down to suck on the nape of his neck.

“Do you want me to stop?” she whispered into his neck and he shook his head.

“No,” he said and flipped them around, tugging the clothes off her.

“Genichirou… Please, I want more of you,” the desperation in her voice being shown and supported through her actions of trying to get him out of his pants. He complied and not long after, they were both stripped naked, and the only thing keeping the cold air out was the thick blanket that covered them and the body warmth they shared between them.

Janey instinctively wrapped her legs around her husband as she felt his aroused and throbbing manhood rubbing against the insides of her thighs.

“Janey, I can’t…”

“Don’t hold back anymore, Genichirou,” she cut him off before he could continue; “I want this too.”

Sanada nodded and thrust himself inside of her. She gave a loud cry and arched her back against him, shutting her eyes to feel the pleasure in the pain. It was like something inside of her had ignited and no matter how much she tries, the feeling won’t go away. She likes how only Sanada can unwrap her like this.

He moved in and out of her, trying not to get too rough as he doesn’t want to hurt her, but the self-control is proving to be too much of a challenge as he picked up pace. Janey moved back against him in time to his thrusts, and soon, they were both on the verge of reaching climax.

“Genichirou, Genichirou….” She moaned over and over again, taking turns to whisper and yell his name during intervals.

It took him one last snap of his hips against her before they both yell out each other’s names and he collapsed on top of her, panting and trying to catch his breath, regulating his heartbeat back to normal. He rolled to his sides and look up to the stars.

“Janey, the shower already started,” he said and turned his head sideways to face her. She was snuggled against him, eyes closed.

“I already made my wish,” she mumbled. “And it’s already fulfilled.”

She slowly opened her eyes to meet his.

“Tired?” Sanada asked and she nodded. He hugged her close to his body and sighed as he continued to watch the stars fall.

Kami-sama, let me stay with this girl forever and bless us with a happy life from now on and in the future.

=========

“Janey,” he called her name softly, in case she already fell asleep.

“Mmm… What do you want, Genichirou?” she asked, her voice telling him that she’s already half asleep. They were both back in the warmth of her apartment, snuggled against each other in her bed. She felt Sanada shifts beside her and felt him loom over her, his shadows blocking out the dim night lights from reaching her.

“I’ve been meaning to give this to you; sorry it’s a little late.”

Janey opened her eyes and came face to face with a silver key.

“What is this?”

“It’s the key to our new apartment. Our new home. Where we can start a family and grow old together.”

Janey’s smile grew as she wrapped the key in her hands and held it tightly in her hands. Despite herself, she can feel the tears threatening to fall out of her eyes, “Genichirou… this is…”

“Happy birthday, Janey,” he whispered and leaned in again for another kiss. “Aishiteru.”

Bedtime Stories - Prince of Tennis - Oneshot

“Keigo-sama, was there a reason why you called me in here?”

“Ah, Kuririn-chan. Yes, ore-sama did call you in here for a reason,” he said and pushed himself off his study desk and walked over to his bookshelf. He picked a book off the shelf and handed it to Kuririn.

“What is this Keigo-sama?” she asked as she turned the book around in her hands, studying it. Something in German or some equally alien language to her was written across the cover. Atobe did a graceful flop onto his bed and motioned Kuririn to come closer, patting the empty space beside him. She sat down on the bed.

“Read to ore-sama.”

“This might come as a shock, but I don’t understand German,” she said.

“Flip the book around, there is a Japanese translation on the other side.”

Kuririn did so. “Ah, The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang van Goethe.”

“Yes, Goethe. Die Leiden des jungen Werthers,” he said in perfect fluent German.

“Right, of course,” she said and flipped the book open to the first chapter and proceeded to do as she was told. She started reading the first paragraph. “‘How happy I am that I am gone! My dear friend, what a thing is the heart of man!’”

Atobe closed his eyes and made himself comfortable next to her as she continued to spout sentences she barely understood because of how deep the stuff she was reading was. “‘To leave you, from whom I have been inseparable, whom I love so dearly, and yet to feel happy! I know you will forgive me. Have not other attachments been specially appointed by fate to torment a head like mine? Poor Leonora! And yet I was not to blame.’”

“No, no, no,” Atobe suddenly spoke up and Kuririn stopped to look at her picky young master. “You read that sentence wrongly. It should be read as “‘Die arme Leonore! Und doch war ich unschuldig.’”

“Sorry, Keigo-sama,” she said and re-read that last sentence the way her young master wanted it to be read. She tried her best to imitate the expressions and the tone he had used in Japanese, “‘Poor Leonora! And yet I was not to blame. Was it my fault, that, whilst the peculiar charms of her sister afforded me an agreeable entertainment, a passion for me was engendered in her feeble heart? And yet am I wholly blameless?’”

“No, Kuririn-chan. That sentence was also wrong. Werther is trying to tell Wilhelm that he himself was not to be blamed. You should express out his frustration at being wronged. It should be something more like, ‘Konnt' ich dafür, daß, während die eigensinnigen Reize ihrer Schwester mir eine angenehme Unterhaltung verschafften, daß eine Leidenschaft in dem armen Herzen sich bildete?’”

“‘Was it my fault, that, whilst the peculiar charms of her sister afforded me an agreeable entertainment, a passion for me was engendered in her feeble heart? And yet am I wholly blameless?’” she repeated, feeling unsure.

Atobe sat up and Kuririn faced him once more. “Give me that book and lie down here. Ore-sama will take the time to show you how to read a Goethe literature.”

She handed him the book and he took it, flipping it over to the German side. “Here, lie down here,” he insisted and shifts around a bit. Feeling a little unsure of herself, but feeling the need to obey Atobe’s every command, she laid down on his outstretched arm that curled around herself to take hold of the book. He took off where she had stopped, “‘Und doch – bin ich ganz unschuldig? Hab' ich nicht ihre Empfindungen genährt? Hab' ich mich nicht an den ganz wahren Ausdrücken der Natur, die uns so oft zu lachen machten, so wenig lächerlich sie waren, selbst ergetzt? Hab' ich nicht – o was ist der Mensch, daß er über sich klagen darf!’”

Mmm… he smells good, Kuririn thought to herself as she snuggled closer to him and his sweet-smelling expensive cologne all over his chest… and then scold herself internally. Focus on the book, not him. The book. Him reading!

“‘Ich will, lieber Freund, ich verspreche dir's, ich will mich bessern, will nicht mehr ein bißchen Übel, das uns das Schicksal vorlegt, wiederkäuen, wie ich's immer getan habe; ich will das Gegenwärtige genießen, und das Vergangene soll mir vergangen sein.’”

But he smells fresh. And very manly. She likes manly. How could anyone resist that manly smell anyway?

“Kuririn? Are you paying attention to ore-sama?”

Kuririn snapped herself out of her thoughts and out of his chest. “Huh? What? Oh yes, of course. Please continue, Keigo-sama,” she said.

He continued and she went back to her train of thoughts. Not that she knew a lot of expensive colognes, but the one Atobe uses smells like a Clive Christian. It’s got a smooth citrus leathery vanilla oriental smell. Weirdly, a pretty good combination if she says so herself. She feels like a creep smelling him like that, but it’s a much better option that listening to him droning on and on in German. She could swear he was chanting a sleeping spell as her eyes got heavier and heavier.

“‘Er hat mich zu sich gebeten, und ich will ihn ehster Tage besuchen. Er wohnt auf einem fürstlichen Jagdhofe, anderthalb Stunden von hier, wohin er nach dem Tode seiner Frau zu ziehen die Erlaubnis erhielt, da ihm der Aufenthalt hier in der Stadt und im Amthause zu weh tat.’”

Atobe stopped. Kuririn haven’t moved in a while and he was getting a bit suspicious. “Kuririn? Kuririn?” He looked down and Kuririn was happily dozing off on his arm, her face buried in his chest. He sighed and was about to wake her up, but there’s something about her sleeping form that makes him waver.

Now what?

He set the book down on the bedside table and tried in vain to remove his arm from under her head. She clings on like a three year old to a teddy bear. He lied down beside her instead, feeling sleepy himself. Oh, whatever. He covered both of them with his expensive goose down blanket and decided to go to sleep, hugging her close to him. He had never slept as comfortably as he did that night. 

Serendipity - Prince of Tennis - Oneshot

‘When a girl sulks, it’s a sign that they want to be kissed.’

Fuji Yuuta can finally rest after a day-long of rigorous training from the new training menu Mizuki-san decided to whip up and test it on him on a whim even though it’s their rare Saturday off from training. He crashed on his bed without even bothering to change out of the sweaty jersey he was currently adorning.

He can feel himself drift off to sleep as the cold air hit him and chilled off his heated body. He had not bothered to turn on the heater because he was now basking in the coldness and freshness the air offers. But of course, his peacefulness just has to be interrupted. Like every single time.

“YUUTA! YUUTA! YUUTA!”

Yuuta can instantly tell who was at his door, knocking as if for dear life and all thoughts of spending a quiet evening flew out the window. He pushed himself off the bed and crawled towards the door, standing up at the last minute only to open the door. As he had guessed earlier, it was indeed Kuritsu Suzuyo. She had decided to wear her green-framed spectacles today, hiding her beautiful blue eyes behind the thick lenses.

“Ah, Suzu… What do you want?” he asked and walked back to his bed, crashing on his covers and burying his face in the pillow. His pillow and blankets are also cool to the touch and he wants them to last in futile as they rapidly absorb his body heat.

“Yuuta, let’s watch go on a date and watch an anime together!” Suzuyo said and bounced over to his bed and knelt beside it, shaking his shoulder. “The library had a cool one! It’s got spaceships and androids in it!”

“Go watch it yourself, the TV is just there,” he mumbled into the pillow, pointing to the TV resting on the other side of his dorm room on the floor. He had took the time to deliver it from home because Suzuyo had always bugged him to watch some sort of show with her and he honestly can’t visit the leisure room anymore without getting glares from his schoolmates because of how often Suzuyo hogged the TV to themselves.

“But I wanted to watch it with you. I can’t go on a date alone!” she frowned and shook him harder. He flipped around to face her. “Watching an anime yourself is not a hard thing to do. I am tired and want to go sleep,” as if to make his point, he rolled away from her again.

“But Yuuta…” she whined and pouted. Yuuta just continued ignoring her and rolled as far as possible to the other side, trying to get some rest. But the unsettling aura of the girl beside him made it impossible as she continued to whine and complain.

“Fine! If you’re going to be like that, then I will just go!” she yelled at him and ran out of the room. Yuuta sighed, knowing he had to go after her. “Oh! What the heck!” He mumbled to himself and ran out of her room after her, ignoring the glances people are giving him.  He can see her in the distance and easily caught up to her, grabbing on her left wrist before she could get too far. He was the athlete here after all, not her.

“I am sorry. We’ll watch it you want,” he said, giving in to her wants, but she won’t even look at him.

“Don’t force yourself, it’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said and pulled away, walking towards the exit. Yuuta groaned and fell into step beside her.

“Yes, I want to. I really, really want to! More than anything else in the world to watch anime with you that has… spaceships and androids in it.”

She stopped in her tracks and Yuuta looked back at her, confused. “You sound like you’re making fun of me,” she said and scowled at him. He mentally smacked his own forehead and rolled his eyes.

“I am sorry, I did not mean to. And I really do want to watch it with you, okay? Believe me,” he said, with as much sincerity as he could muster. Suzuyo looked down at her feet and after thinking over it, nodded.

“Okay…” she mumbled, still not entirely convinced, but followed Yuuta back to his room anyway. She put on the DVD as he changed into a normal shirt and they leaned back against his bed to watch. Yuuta wrapped his arm around her because she would usually force him to cuddle with her like that during watching sessions, but today, she pushed him away and climbed onto his bed to watch instead.

“Are you still mad?” he asked her. The opening song came on screen. She shook her head, propping it on her hand and used the remote control to increase the volume. Yuuta climbed onto the bed beside her. She ignored him and glued her eyes to the TV screen instead. He nudged her on the shoulder.

“Hey, come on. I am sorry, okay? Please let it go?”

Still, she ignored him. Sighing, Yuuta sat up and concentrated on the TV screen, but the atmosphere hung heavy in the air. “Suzu? Suzu… Suzu…” he decided to use the ‘annoy her’ tactic and started nudging and poking her. In the end, she got pissed off and turned around to face him, but was met with a kiss on the cheek instead.

“Eh… Eh… Yuuta?” she stammered, her face blushing a thousand shades of vermillion. Yuuta looked away and cleared his throat, his face also looking embarrassed.

“Don’t sulk so much, it doesn’t suit you. You’re better off smiling,” he said and pinched her cheeks in an effort to make light of the situation.

“Ouch, ouch,” she swat off his hands and rubbed her cheeks, the tears of pain pooling around the side of her eyes. “Sorry…”

Yuuta just shrugged, “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

Suzuyo smiled at him. She can’t help it, he was being so sweet. He glanced down at her and smiled himself, the grin plastering itself across his face, “See? You look so much better that way.”

Christmas Mixer - Tenimyu - Oneshot

“A goukon? But it’s Christmas!” Ueda Yuusuke complained when his fellow Tenimyu actors had told him that they had arranged a goukon with some of Mitsuya Ryou’s friends.

The word ‘goukon’ sounds alien to his ears. To him, girls who went to goukons are just looking for some fun with the guys. They usually have no class and in his eyes, they just look desperate.

“It’s not like you have any plans for Christmas, right? You might as well join us,” Mitsuya tried to persuade him. The words went through Ueda’s heart like a knife.

“But I am not desperate to look for a girlfriend! What’s wrong with spending Christmas by yourself at home, accompanied by good food and a movie marathon?” he shot back defensively. MItsuya glanced at Aoki Tsunenori who only shrugged and shook his head. Not wanting to give up, Mitsuya decided to use a different approach.

“Think about it this way, if you don’t go, we won’t have an equal number of boys and girls. Think about the girl who won’t have a partner. Don’t you feel sorry for her?”

“I don’t see why you can’t ask someone else.”

“Everyone else had better plans to spend Christmas that doesn’t involve them being alone at home… with good food and a movie marathon,” Aoki added pointedly.

“So you will join, right?” Mitsuya asked again.

“I shall think about it,” Ueda replied, but Mitsuya keeps looking at him hopefully. He sighed, “Alright! I’ll go!”

“Yes!” Mitsuya and Aoki fist pumped each other.

“Sensei, you should really go,” Kuririn whined at her mentor when she had heard from one of her senpais that Rie had refused to go to the mixer. “A Christmas mixer will be fun, look, even I am going!”

“And I don’t see why you would want to go, they’re probably all old and desperate men,” Rie told her, “They probably don’t have guys your age.”

“Senpai told me she had asked her friend, Mitsuya-san, to arrange that. I mean, senpai went all through the trouble to arrange the goukon so everyone could have fun. Don’t you feel bad for the person who won’t have a partner later on if you don’t go?”

“But…. I had plans to sleep at home during the day,” Rie argued lamely and Kuririn shot her an ‘are-you-even-serious’ look. “Fine, I will go, happy?”

“Yes, yes I am,” Kuririn beamed.

“Who are we waiting for?” Ueda asked Mitsuya when he met him in front of the train station.

“Yutaka, Tsune and Seiya-kun,” Mitsuya told him and glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost 3, the time of the meeting, but those three haven’t arrived yet.

“Even Seiya is coming? How old are the girls we are meeting?” Ueda asked, feeling a bit uncertain.

“My friend requested I bring someone young, I am not sure what for,” Mitsuya explained and looked past Ueda’s shoulder, “Oh look, they arrived!”

“The guys are late…”

“Are you sure you got the right time, senpai?”

“Of course I did… I’ll give Mitsuya a call. Wait here you guys,” with that, she disappeared outside of the Christmas-decorated café. Kuririn watched her dial somebody through the glass windows.

“How can they be late? Some guys they are. Don’t they know it’s not right to keep girls waiting?” Rie said out loud to no one in particular.

“I am pretty sure something came up. They’ll definitely be here,” the girl sitting on Kuririn’s left said.

“Yeah, I am sure,” Kuririn agreed and turned around to look out the windows again. Her senpai walked back into the café.

“They’ll be he here in five minutes,” she said cheerfully and beamed at everybody.

Rie sighed again. She so doesn’t want to be here.

“We are late,” Kobayashi Yutaka pointed out.

“You don’t say…” Mitsuya sighed as he closed his cell phone.

“-zu ni ikou,” Aoki continued and everyone shot him a weird look.

“You don’t say-zu ni ikou? Get it? It’s like a pun of ‘Yudan Sezu ni Ikou’… Ah, why isn’t Kuma here? He would get it.”

Everyone decided to ignore him.

“Okay, since everyone is here, let’s go,” Mitsuya said and led the way.

“Nice to meet you, Konishi-san… Ano… I am Kuririn… Merry Christmas to you,” Kuririn shyly approached the young man known as Konishi Seiya. The mixer had gone on for some time and everyone else is enjoying themselves. Mitsuya and Kobayashi smirked in satisfaction when they saw their fellow young actor finally hitting it up with a girl.

On the other hand though, they were worried for Ueda who still stayed silent and politely refuses to talk to any of the girls. Mitsuya’s friend, who was currently sitting in Aoki’s lap and flirting openly with him, told him that one of their friends, Rie, is also not mingling so well. It’s then that they knew they will do anything to set Rie and Ueda up. The first problem is though… they’re sitting on opposite ends of the table.

 But Mitsuya Ryou isn’t Mitsuya Ryou if he lets such a petty problem hinder his plans. And everything has to be in perfect sync with Kobayashi’s scenario.

“Sensei… nee, Sensei…” Kuririn persisted despite the annoyance on her mentor’s face. “Just give it a try. I am sure you won’t regret it.”

Rie firmly shook her head, refusing to listen to Kuririn. On the other side of the table, Mitsuya sat next to Ueda, both of them deep in conversation.

“You’re already here anyway; why not give it a try. It might lead to something much better. She looks like a nice girl. Even Seiya-kun is with somebody, how could you lose to him?”

“I… It’s not about losing or winning! I just don’t feel comfortable with these kinds of setups.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic. Just give it a go,” Mitsuya is at the end of his ropes. He is really on the brink of giving up if it wasn’t for Kobayashi who is as equally, if not more, persistent as him.

“If you miss on this chance, you might not get another one,” Kobayashi said and Mitsuya just agreed readily.

“Nee, Rie, this is a chance you don’t want to miss. It was sort of hard for me to arrange this goukon. Don’t let my efforts go to waste,” Mitsuya’s friend told her. Rie can already see that between Kuririrn and this girl pestering her, there wasn’t much choice.

At the other end of the table, Ueda realized the same thing.

“Hello, my name is Ueda Yuusuke. Nice to meet you,” he said, feeling shy and self-conscious in front of the cute lady he was currently forced to accompany. Not that he really minded now that he looked at her up close, she was pretty cute and adorable.

“My name is Rie, nice to meet you too,” Rie too, felt a bit awkward in the presence of a guy like Ueda. She really likes the way he smiles and well, sort of everything about the way he looked. Rie wasn’t normally materialistic when it comes to her partners, but with Ueda, it felt like an added bonus. Of course she would still be turned off if his attitude was that of a stick. She just hoped it wasn’t.

The two of them are totally aware that there are other pairs of eyes on them, especially from Kuririn, Seiya, and Mitsuya who are currently exchanging gleeful looks.

“So, what are some of the things you like to do?” Ueda ask, trying to strike up a conversation. It won’t do for him if he knows the girl he’s with is not enjoying herself. And he’s pretty sure sitting around and fidgeting awkwardly fits in that category.

“How old-fashioned,” Kuririn whispered to no one in particular and the two guys she’s with is trying hard not to giggle too much. They watched in amused silence as the two exchanged small conversations. It was apparent after the first five minutes that both of their awkward outer shells are crumbling apart as they warmed up to each other and able to speak more freely. Satisfied with how much the two got along, everyone else decided to leave them alone.

“Konishi-san and I are leaving,” Kuririn announced out of the blue once the night had worn off. Everybody looked at them curiously.

“Don’t overthink, we’re just going for a walk,” Seiya told everybody who quietly sighed in relief. They do not want to be responsible for any accidents two hormonal teenagers might make. As they walked out the door, Rie turned back to Ueda.

“Would you like a walk too?” she asked and Ueda nodded.

“Guys, we are going for a walk too,” Ueda announced out loud and before anyone could react, they’re both out of the café and into the chilly but warm Christmas air. “Anywhere you like to go in particular?”

“Not exactly,” Rie replied. “I was thinking that a nice walk would suffice.”

“I see…” Ueda said and started walking aimlessly, Rie by his side. “To be honest, in the beginning, I didn’t really want to attend this mixer. Especially since it’s Christmas. I hope I don’t offend you though, it was nice meeting you. You weren’t what I expected.”

“Really? I hadn’t really wanted to come either,” she said and Ueda smiled a little, glad he wasn’t the only one.

“I am glad I did though,” he continued and stopped, turning around to look at her.

“Me too,” she whispered softly as their eyes met. Drops of something white, soft and cold landed on her nose. “It’s snowing, it’s so pretty!”

“Yes it is pretty,” he said and looked up into the sky with her. It was a white Christmas. Slowly, they both faced each other again, “You are also pretty.”

“What?” Rie asked, dumbly, feeling her own face going hot… and even hotter as Ueda leaned over her and she realized what’s going to happen next. She quickly shuts her eyes and awaits the sensation. As her lips met his and the snow kept on falling over them, they both realized this is one of the most memorable and meaningful Christmases they will ever live through, all because this is a start of something new. And it all happened because of some random goukon they were forced to attend on a lonely Christmas night.

Between Affinity and Infinity - Prince of Tennis - Oneshot

“Fuji Yuuta is affinity,” she could hear An going on in her head as she stared out of the kitchen door to watch the said boy finishing a slice of strawberry shortcake, while remnants of yesterday’s conversation played inside her head like a broken record.

“You and him were bound by fate and were meant to meet each other despite having nothing in common. It’s an opportunity you were meant to take and cherish to the fullest.”

“It’s not by fate,” she remembers herself replying to her cousin’s so called ‘wise words’. “It’s through tennis, remember? You and Kippei-nii forced me to try out street tennis last week even though I didn’t even know how to grip a racket. I ended up almost killing three people and making a fool out of myself in front of him.”

“Just listen,” An had almost snapped at her, “My instincts tell me that destiny has something in store for both you and Fuji-kun and my instincts are almost always never wrong.”

Her boss cleared his throat and she  jolted out of her train of thoughts and wheeled around to come  face to face with a toad-like, red-faced middle aged man and trying to look as apologetic as she could.

“Are you planning on blocking everyone’s path in and out of the kitchen all day, Hayashi? Or are you planning to deliver that?” he said and glanced at the chocolate cake and apple juice Risami balanced on the tray.

“Er… no, Sir! I was just going to serve this,” she quickly said, turning around and walking away from her boss before he could spray her with any more saliva. Nervously, she walked towards the boy she was staring at only a moment ago. “Chocolate cake?”

Fuji Yuuta felt her presence and looked up from where he was just eating the last of the cake. He quickly swallowed when he saw Risami.

“Hayashi-san? Do you work here?” he asked, looking as if he wasn’t expecting to meet her again. She can’t blame him since he was one of the three people whom she had almost killed last week. She saw the Band-Aids covering one part of his arm and cringed at the memory.

“Well… yes, I do,” she said as she placed his orders on the table next to the… five clean plates stacked neatly on top of each other in front of him. “Can I clear that away?”

Yuuta looked at the plates and nodded. “It’s good to see you again,” he said as Risami made a turn towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, you too,” she said and hurried away before her boss could see her chatting with a customer and finds another reason to pick on her again. “I am blaming An for putting weird thoughts in my head…” she muttered as she glanced behind her to get one last look at him, her heart pounding against her chest. What did An said he was? He was affinity.

----------

“How is work?” Atobe Keigo asked casually as Risami placed the cup of coffee – no, not coffee, Atobe will chew on her head if he heard her say coffee – café au lait on the table in front of him.

“Still able to differentiate between a cup of macchiato and a cup of mocha, thank you very much,” she said.

Atobe nodded in approval, “Good, very good. Ore-sama’s lecture was not in vain.”

As she walked away from the table, she can hear An invading her head again. “On the other hand, Atobe Keigo is like infinity.” she had said. “There’s a never-ending mystery about him. And of course, he has infinite talents, infinite admirers, infinite authority, infinite presence, infinite money and an infinite ego. But that last one might just be my bias talking.”

Risami had scoffed at her choice of similes and metaphors to describe the two boys, but she can definitely see where An was going with this. Once again, her boss pulled her attention away, “Hayashi! I’ve called you ten thousand times!”

“Sorry, what is it, Sir?”

“The young master is calling for you,” he said and waved her towards Atobe. She blinked on the spot and the saliva-spraying commenced. “Well, don’t keep him waiting all day! He’s the son of the owner! If I receive a complaint about you from him, I’d like to see you feed the two children and the old lady I have at home!”

Risami quickly walked past him and towards Atobe. “Yes, Atobe-san? How may I help you?” she mustered as politely as she could, remembering her boss’s threat just five seconds ago. She waited until he finished sipping his coffee – café au lait – and set it down in front of him.

“Hayashi, sit. Ore-sama would like to chat.”

“Sorry, but I can’t. The manager warned us ‘stupid and clumsy part-timers’ against communicating with the customers and to keep it to a minimum,” she said and glanced over at her boss who was biting someone else’s head off for God knows what.

“Hmph, how preposterous! Ore-sama is technically not a customer,” he said.

“Well, that is true… Oh heck,” Risami said and sat down where Atobe had told her to. Atobe looked satisfied with himself.

“So, how did you find tennis? I heard Tachibana Kippei had you try out street tennis. It is nothing compared to real tennis of course and my facility is still the best,” he said and gestured out of the café and into the wide lobby area of one of the Atobe gyms to prove his point. “But tell me, how did you find the sport?”

“It was… interesting?”

“Elaborate.”

“Erm, I almost killed three people with nothing more than a racket and a fuzzy yellow ball, so that’s good.”

“I see… That does sound interesting. Ore-sama will let you try out Ore-sama’s private court when we have the chance.”

“Thanks, Atobe-san. But I don’t think I’ll try tennis again anytime soon. How’s the café au lait?”

“Ah, you remembered what Ore-sama told you. Ore-sama is glad. The term ‘coffee’ is so… plebeian. Café au lait sounds more sophisticated and more fitting for someone of Ore-sama’s status.”

“Okay. How is it?”

“Good, did you brew this?”

“No, one of the kitchen personnel did. I only asked for conversation’s sake.”

“Well, Ore-sama would like to try your café au lait one day, Hayashi.”

“I am afraid I can only do ‘coffee-level’,” she said with a frown.

“You’ll learn, It’s still better than nothing.” Atobe took one brief glance at his million-dollar wristwatch and slightly frowned. “Ore-sama must take his leave now as Ore-sama has pressing matters to attend to.”

After watching Atobe leave the café in his usual confident strut, she turned to the cup of coffee sitting abandoned in the table. Risami dared herself to take a sip and was wondering what kind of coffee Atobe would suit his tastes when her manager came to yell at her again.

“If you have the time to sit around and drink coffee and take up chair space, why don’t you take out the trash!?”

“It’s café au lait, not coffee,” she told the manager, echoing the start of Atobe’s previous lecture on coffees. It soon becomes apparent to her that her boss did not appreciate it as he went redder in the face and looks ready to burst.

“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT’S CALLED! GO AND TAKE THE TRASH OUT!”

Risami decided it’s better for her to do as told and ran to the kitchen to get the trash. It was a much more delicate procedure when Atobe had told her to call it café au lait instead of coffee. Okay, maybe An was right, maybe he did have that never-ending aura of authority and presence or whatever she worded it in. The main point was the same. He was infinity.