Happy Santa_Smex, marksykins!

[reposoir]

To: marksykins
From: alice_and_lain

Title: Do Captains Dream of Electric Datamen?
Recipient's name: marksykins
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Inui/Tezuka
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created by Konomi Takeshi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Thanks ever so to Glorious Beta #1 and Brilliant Beta #2. marksykins, I hope you like this. Happy Holidays!



"I've created a new Juice," Inui announced.

"Hm." Tezuka sat at Inui's kitchen table, working on his math homework. He steadfastly didn't look up, hoping that Inui wouldn't ask him to try it.

"That's your reaction? I admit to being disappointed. A new Juice should be greeted with more fanfare."

Tezuka sighed and looked up briefly. Inui was grinning, like he always did when he was talking about his experiments. "Does this one get the result that you wanted?"

"Yes." Inui put down a beaker full of orange liquid on the table. "I knew I would figure it out with enough testing. Would you like to try it?"

Tezuka hid a shudder. "I think you have mistaken me for Fuji. If you're so eager to show me the results, you'll have to drink it yourself."

"An easy enough task. After all, genius requires an audience." Inui pointed a finger at the last equation that Tezuka had solved. "Your solution is interesting, but the square root of the Jack Knife does not equal two. Think about pineapples and you'll realize why."

Tezuka squinted at the paper and saw that Inui was right. "Just drink your Juice and get it over with," he said as he began to cross out the row of hearts that he had used to get his solution. He heard Inui pick up the beaker and drink it, the swallows audible in the quiet kitchen.

"Well?"

Looking up, Tezuka raised an eyebrow at Inui's new plaid complexion. Green and blue lines crisscrossed all over the skin that was visible. "How is that the result you wanted?"

"With some minor adjustments of the recipe, I'll be able to produce a camouflage effect," Inui explained.

"I thought you were aiming to becoming invisible?"

"Camouflage was a greater challenge. Anyone can become invisible and I don't want to be simply anyone." Inui sighed and sat down at the table. "When are you going to wake up? I'm tired of watching you do those equations incorrectly."

"I only did one incorrectly. You know full well that my score in mathematics is excellent."

"Pay attention, Tezuka. What did I ask you?"

"When am I going to..." Tezuka looked down at the crossed-out mess on his paper. "Ah. I'm dreaming."

"Of course you are. If I ever did discover a way to become invisible, the world would be in serious jeopardy." Inui chuckled and the plaid design on his face crinkled at the movement. "But there is no danger if I only find a way to duplicate the skin coloration and I would, in all probability, greatly appreciate such a Juice advancement. As you wake up, try to remember this: the recipe ingredients are wasabi, the moon, pine nuts, and one..."

"...banana," Tezuka murmured and opened his eyes to stare at the dark ceiling.

That dream had been decidedly odd; when Tezuka dreamed, which wasn't often, it was about tennis balls and nets and trying to return a smash that was always two inches too far away from the edge of his racket. Dreaming about his teammates simply did not happen.

Sighing, Tezuka turned over and dismissed the dream from his mind, including the dubious camouflage recipe. Regardless of what Dream Inui thought, Tezuka had no intention of giving Inui anymore inspiration to bring more of his Juices into the world.

* * *

"Twenty laps!" Tezuka shouted and everyone groaned, as if on cue.

"Buchou is in a really bad mood today," Momoshiro groused and then cringed as Tezuka looked at him sternly. "I mean, Buchou is really concerned about our running!"

"I wish he were less concerned about it," Kikumaru complained. "I wish he were more concerned about video games and ice-cream!"

"Come on, Eiji," Fuji said, smiling, "I'll run with you. It'll go faster if we run together."

"Hah, you're the best!" Kikumaru said, pumping a fist into the air.

Tezuka stood, arms crossed and face impassive, as he watched the Seigaku tennis team run their laps. The overall pace was slower than he'd like, but it wasn't slow enough to reprimand them. He watched to make sure that someone wasn't getting over-tired, to make sure that someone hadn't become injured and was trying to hide it. He watched Inui, in particular, for any signs that Inui was overdoing his personal training but didn't see anything to indicate as such. In fact, Inui was moving rather well, Tezuka was glad to see.

Five lap. Six laps. Seven laps. Tezuka fought down a yawn. He'd much rather be running with them than just watching. However, Ryuuzaki was late today and he needed to act as the authority figure.

Eighteen laps. Nineteen laps. As everyone finished their twentieth lap, Tezuka tried to make a mental note of who was in the front of the group, who was towards the end, who was tired and who was not. The regulars and Inui were in good shape, as always, but part of the Captain's responsibility was to look towards the future of the tennis team. The non-regulars were that future and he had to try to prepare them the best he could.

"I can give you a list later," a voice said over his shoulder and Tezuka nodded. He took it as normal that Inui would know what he was thinking about and he tried to ignore the tiny chill of foreboding he got whenever he had to speak with Inui. Maybe Inui was too tired to talk this time.

"Twenty laps is five more than what you normally assign," Inui persisted and Tezuka turned grudgingly to Inui's attempt at conversation. "I wonder about the validity of Momoshiro's initial hypothesis."

"We need to increase our training. Our opponents are only going to become more difficult, now that the Kantou Tournament will be starting."

Inui smiled. "I was joking, Tezuka."

Sighing, Tezuka raised his voice. "Everyone, walk to cool down. We'll be splitting up, the regulars are on court D, the third years on court B, the second years on court C, the first years on court A. When you've cooled down, go to your assigned court."

Laughter broke out as the team began to walk around and head to where they were supposed to go. Instead of immediately joining them, Inui crouched down beside Tezuka and rolled up one leg of his sweatpants. "I had better get ready to help the regulars on court D. There are some new training exercises that I've developed that Ryuuzaki has approved for everyone to try."

Tezuka nodded and frowned as Inui began to poke his now-exposed leg. "Inui, did you injure yourself?"

"No, I simply need to - ah!" Inui triumphantly poked a spot near his ankle and the skin of his leg parted with a hydraulic hiss. A mess of wires and circuits were now visible and Inui pulled a screwdriver from his pocket. "I need to re-calibrate the wyzijizik sensor, it keeps glitching on my weight distribution. Perhaps you could help me?" Inui held out the screwdriver and Tezuka took it. "Just give it a few hits."

Tezuka crouched down next to Inui. "Be careful with your pants. I don't want to catch them on fire from the sparks this time," he said and then woke up with a jerk.

* * *

The next few days were not Tezuka's best. He wasn't sleeping well and had to be careful to not snap at everyone around him, in classes and practice. The dreams stayed odd and nonsensical, continuing to feature Inui in some fashion. Furthermore, Inui seemed to be everywhere Tezuka was while he was awake; it was getting so that Tezuka was starting to look for Inui before he appeared.

"May I sit here?"

Tezuka looked up from his lunch and nodded his head slightly. He was sitting in the clubhouse, a place where Inui typically had lunch as well. Inui sat down on the bench next to him. "How is your lunch?"

Tezuka glanced at his rice and vegetables and fish. "It's fine."

"Considering that you bring that lunch approximately 85% of the time, I should think so," Inui said as he unpacked a thermos and several foil-wrapped objects from his bento.

"If you knew that this is what I normally have, then why did you ask how it was?"

"I'm making conversation." Inui unwrapped one of the foil objects; it looked like a green tomato. "I'm thinking about getting into robotics."

Tezuka froze, his chopsticks stopped a few inches from his mouth. "Robotics?" Was he dreaming? It seemed too coincidental.

"As a hobby. There might be some practical applications with tennis as well." Inui unwrapped another part of his lunch that Tezuka couldn't identify. It was some orange gourd-like vegetable.

"Don't you think you have too many hobbies?" Tezuka continued eating, looking at Inui cautiously.

"I have many interests. Do you like robots?" Inui asked.

"I haven't really thought much about them."

"It would be interesting to build some robots to play tennis. You could run some simulations on theoretical moves, program past games into them for analysis." Inui took a small knife from his bento box and began to cut up the green tomato. "I think that a lot of things could be improved by robots."

"Ah." Tezuka kept giving Inui quick looks. This was probably not a dream but he still wasn't certain. Any moment now, Inui would start levitating or it would start raining grass or he would find out that he and Inui were the King and Queen of Tennitopia. Tezuka wanted to be prepared for whatever weirdness may happen so that he could get it over with and wake up quickly.

"Do I have something on my face?" Inui's eyebrow was raised and Tezuka realized that he was looking too often.

Tezuka shook his head. He didn't like the effect that four straight nights of Inui dreams was having on him. Abruptly, he packed up his half-finished lunch. "Excuse me, I have to start thinking about the rankings matches. I will see you at practice after school."

"Ah. Of course."

Either I need to figure out why I am having these dreams or I need to make them stop, Tezuka thought as he exited the clubhouse. He couldn't keep acting like this.

* * *

Ryuuzaki looked over Tezuka's shoulder. "Have you finished the blocks for the ranking matches yet?" The classroom that they frequently used as the tennis team office was empty except for the two of them.

"I have it half-finished," Tezuka answered and slid the grid over on the desk so that Ryuuzaki could see it easier.

"Hm. Kikumaru and Kawamura. Oishi and Echizen. I see that you put Inui with Momo." Ryuuzaki cocked her head and shot him a questioning look. "Who do you plan to put in as the third for Block A?"

That was something that Tezuka had been giving extra thought to. "I thought about putting myself," he said carefully.

She crossed her arms and slowly began to nod her head as she thought about it. "Huh. Well, I guess it does make sense. That would be a good way for you to test Inui's true progress, since he won't tell us anything. You can push him harder than the others."

Tezuka nodded. They both knew that Inui was training on his own but the other boy had refused to answer any of their questions about how he was doing. Knowing the true extent Inui had improved would be important if he became a regular again.

"Also, he's been wanting to play you again for awhile, Tezuka." Ryuuzaki chuckled. "Well, want is a bit of an understatement, isn't it? But then, everyone always wants to play you."

Tezuka suppressed a sigh. He couldn't argue against that statement, to his chagrin. The team should be aiming at a higher level than his.

"Plus," Ryuuzaki continued, "this may be a way for you to work out something with him."

Tezuka frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Work out something with him so that you stop dreaming about him. " Ryuuzaki raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me that you think you've been hiding it?"

Tezuka stared at her, still confused. She knew about his dreams?

"Oh, everyone knows," Ryuuzaki said, waving her hand. "Even Inui. I don't know why he hasn't said anything yet. He's probably trying to figure out what it means, that you're dreaming about him. You know Inui."

Everyone knew? Tezuka opened his mouth to deny it, to deny something.

"Well, I know what they mean. Got a bit of a crush, don't you?" Ryuuzaki smiled sympathetically.

Tezuka abruptly stood, knocking his chair back. He bent to pack his books and ranking grid in his schoolbag.

"Oh, don't leave so soon, Tezuka. We could talk about it. I may be able to help you. I've had a crush or two myself, back in the day."

He would get his books later. Desperate to leave, Tezuka strode past Ryuuzaki as she continued talking, something about a samurai. He slid open the classroom door and someone jumped right in his face.

"Hoi!" Kikumaru's eyes were sparkling. "Everyone's been talking about you and Inui, Tezuka! We think you should ask him out already."

Tezuka looked at Kikumaru in horror. "No," he said and pushed past the other boy in panic.

The hallway was filled with the tennis team. As Tezuka tried to escape, Oishi reached out a hand and grabbed him. "I've been worried, Tezuka! Your blood pressure has been too high lately. You need to get laid to lower your blood pressure!"

Tezuka ripped his arm away. "No," he said again, helplessly. Others reached out to him, talking about crushes and sex, their voices overlapping as he pushed through the hallway. Horio tried to stop him so he could give Tezuka tips on French-kissing, and Tezuka thought his head would explode at the thought. Closing his eyes, he continued to push forward, shoving the outstretched hands away.

Abruptly, he crashed into someone. The person grabbed him around the waist and Tezuka opened his eyes, already knowing who he'd see. Inui looked down at him, a small smile on his face.

"I've started researching about relations between males and I think-" Inui said and Tezuka woke up with a hoarse shout, sweating, his arms outstretched. He wasn't able to fall asleep again that night.

In all actuality, he was starting to never want to sleep again.

* * *

Tezuka sat in the tennis team classroom, staring at the rankings sheet in front of him. He had just finished writing his name in Block A. He wondered if how he had written it down looked obvious. Could people tell who he was dreaming about just from looking at his handwriting?

"How's the line-up coming?"

Tezuka jumped in his seat and slapped a hand down on the piece of paper. "Fine."

Ryuuzaki leaned over his shoulder, trying to get a look at the grid. "Do you need help?"

"No," Tezuka said as calmly as he could, his hand completely covering Block A.

"Okay," Ryuuzaki said, shooting him an odd look. "When you're finished, give it to me. That way, I can work out the days that everyone plays."

Tezuka nodded and didn't completely relax until Ryuuzaki left the room.

* * *

"Tezuka," Inui said calmly. He pointed a racket at Tezuka over the net, his feet spread. "I have your data."

Inui was completely naked.

For the second night in a row, Tezuka woke up with a yell, covered in sweat. What was different this time was that he also had an erection.

Tezuka really wanted to never, ever sleep again.

* * *

"You look tired, Tezuka," Inui observed, as he walked next to Tezuka towards the clubhouse. "Are you not getting the required eight hours of sleep per night?"

"I am." Tezuka tried to subtly walk away from Inui. It didn't work; Inui simply followed, flipping through one of his notebooks.

"Perhaps your brain isn't getting enough REM cycles," Inui mused. "Tell me, have you been dreaming?"

Tezuka stopped abruptly. "I forgot something back in my homeroom," he said, trying not to sound panicked.

"Studies show that dreams are a good indication of REM activity." Inui looked up from his notebook to where a cluster of people were crowded around the green announcement board near the practice courts. "Ah! Ryuuzaki has posted the ranking schedule." He sounded pleased. "I was wondering who I would get to play. I hope one of my opponents is you."

"I will be back shortly," Tezuka managed to say before walking away as quickly as he dared. He looked over his shoulder briefly to make sure Inui wasn't following and Inui wasn't. Inui was just watching him and Tezuka felt relieved.

* * *

Tezuka woke up to the sound of a loud thump. Tired, he looked around in confusion. Everything was a dark blur and he reached for his glasses on the bedside table. Had something fallen over?

"Ow," someone said and Tezuka noticed that his window was open. Grabbing the textbook on his bedside table so he could hit the intruder over the head with it, Tezuka looked cautiously over the side of his bed.

Inui lay there on the floor, rubbing his head. He noticed Tezuka looking and grinned. "Climbing in windows is harder than the data would suggest," he whispered.

Tezuka didn't relax but he put the textbook away. "Go home, Inui."

"You're not even going to ask what I'm doing here?" Inui's grin widened. "I'm disappointed, Tezuka."

"We have ranking matches tomorrow. We need to rest. Go home."

Inui got to his feet. "Don't worry. I'll be ready for our match tomorrow. I'm always ready to play you." Inui sat down on the edge of Tezuka's bed and Tezuka stiffened in alarm. "You should play with everyone more. We all want it."

"I'm busy," Tezuka bit out. "Right now, I'm busy sleeping."

"You're really not going to ask why I'm here? You're not curious?"

"No. That's your job."

Inui chuckled. "Well, you are correct about that. In case you're hiding your curiosity, I'm here to let you know that I want you to play full out with me tomorrow. I want you to show me everything you are."

Tezuka swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "You do not need to tell me that."

"Yes, I do. You are always holding back. It's an insult that you don't play against us at the level you could." Inui held out a fist. "I'm ready for tomorrow. I want to see all your strength."

Tezuka hesitated and then nodded. He ignored the outstretched fist. "Fine. Now, go home, Inui."

Inui let his fist drop. "You always hold back, Tezuka, in nearly everything. You need to learn to let go."

"I do not."

"Yes, you do. I could help you with that." Inui's hand shot out and grabbed one of Tezuka's.

"What are you..." Tezuka said, his eyes widening. Inui pressed a small kiss on his palm.

"I have eyes, Tezuka. I can see," Inui said and then he kissed Tezuka's palm again. "I watch you. And I've seen you watching me."

Tezuka jerked and pulled his hand away. Inui followed it, crawling over Tezuka's body and pushing him down on the bed. Tezuka opened his mouth to protest and Inui dropped a kiss on the corner of it.

"How are your dreams?" Inui murmured, running a finger lightly along Tezuka's glasses and pulling them off to put them on the bedside table with a soft click.

"What are you..." Tezuka started to say again. He felt a hand steal between his bed-covers and it pressed against his groin. Jumping, he hissed, "My parents, down the hall..."

"As long as you don't yell, everything should be fine. There are approximately fifteen feet between your room and..."

"Don't," Tezuka gasped as Inui's hand reached into his pajama bottoms, lightly brushing the bare skin of his stomach. His own hands clenched in the sheets. "Don't make up your data."

Tezuka felt Inui smile against his cheek. The other boy shifted and rested his weight on Tezuka's left side, curling his long body partially around Tezuka. "You've always known when I'm bluffing. But I'm surprised you're not telling me to stop this." Inui squeezed Tezuka's cock gently and Tezuka bit his lip.

"I...should..." It was hard to think beyond the warmth and pressure of Inui's hand and Tezuka found himself turning towards the other boy. Inui shifted again and worked his free arm under Tezuka's shoulders. "I've...I've been...

"You've been?"

"Dreaming..." All of Tezuka's muscles felt tight and coiled but his cock felt so good. His hips bucked a little, trying to get more friction, and Inui obliged him. The long fingers stretched, rubbing against his balls, and Tezuka groaned.

"Have you been dreaming about this?" Inui whispered as he moved his hand on Tezuka in a steady stroke.

"No." Tezuka turned more towards Inui and closed his eyes. "You."

Inui laughed softly and the speed on Tezuka's cock increased. "I like that I'm in your head," Inui breathed right into Tezuka's ear. And with those words, Tezuka felt all the pressure in his muscles, in his heart, in his cock explode in a hot burst.

Tezuka woke, his own hand curled around his cock, his come coating his fingers. He turned his head, pushing his face into his pillow, and wished that his mind would leave him alone for just one night.

* * *

The next day, Tezuka stared at Inui across the net. The other boy looked steadily back, his glasses glinting in the sun. "I have your data," Inui said. "This time, I'll make you lose, Tezuka."

Inui was fully clothed.

And as he prepared to answer, prepared to play, Tezuka staunchly ignored the small voice inside that said that he liked the dream version of this game more.

* * *

Tezuka quietly slipped out of the clubhouse, away from all the chatter. He hefted both his schoolbag and tennis bag on his shoulder and began to make his way home. As he had left the clubhouse, Tezuka had caught Oishi's eye and Oishi had nodded; he would make sure to lock up.

Tezuka walked, thinking about his plans for the rest of the day. He would go home and finish his homework. He would do his rehabilitation exercises for his shoulder. He would start the new detective novel that his mother had gotten him. He would sleep quietly. He would not dream.

Up ahead, a tall figure was leaning against a tree. Suddenly despairing of the last part of his plans, Tezuka slowed to a stop in front of the other person.

"Thank you for the match," Inui said quietly. "Thank you for playing seriously."

Tezuka nodded. He noticed Inui was breathing a little hard and frowned. "Did you run here?"

Inui shrugged. "I saw you leaving and wanted to say thank you without anyone else around. I took a short-cut but still had to hurry."

"You could have called and thanked me."

Inui smiled. "Was that a joke from Tezuka Kunimitsu?"

Tezuka allowed himself a small smile in return. "Be sure to note it in one of your notebooks."

"I don't need to. The rarity of a Tezuka joke means that I won't forget the subject, date or time." Inui paused and pushed his glasses up on his nose with an index finger. "You look tired, Tezuka."

Stiffening, Tezuka said, "Tennis practice just ended."

"That's not what I mean. You look tired in a way that doesn't indicate strenuous physical activity."

What should he say? Perhaps a version of the truth of the truth would be alright. "I haven't been sleeping as well as I normally do."

"Hm. I will have to tell Fuji that he owes me two-hundred yen. We have a bet and he thinks that you are heartbroken over a girl."

"Heartbroken?" Tezuka stared at Inui and couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. "You and Fuji talk about me?"

"Tezuka, everyone on the tennis team talks about you." Inui looked slightly uncomfortable. "But yes, Fuji and I do occasionally talk about you. We typically do not make bets, though."

"Ah." Tezuka didn't know how to respond. "He really thought I was upset over a girl?"

"There's a 62% chance that Fuji was not entirely serious but he insisted that it had to be the case." Inui shrugged. "I knew it couldn't be. I would know if you were interested in a girl."

"You would? Why do you think so?" Tezuka internally cursed himself. Why was he continuing this conversation?

Inui shifted his weight towards Tezuka, still looking uncomfortable. "Well, I watch you. If you had your eye on someone, I would know."

Tezuka tensed. "I'm not interested in anyone."

"I know. You're only interested in tennis and school. But I..." Inui ran a hand through his hair. "You have been distracted this week."

"I'm not interested in anyone," Tezuka insisted. "I have to go. I have plans for the rest of the afternoon and tonight."

Inui took a deep breath. "I've seen you watching me."

Tezuka cursed himself again. Of course, Inui would notice. Inui noticed everything, even if he didn't understand what things meant right away. Tezuka turned to leave, not wanting to bluff his way through a thousand of Inui's questions.

" I was hoping..."

And Tezuka found himself turning back. Inui was shifting his weight from one foot to the other and fiddling with his glasses. He looked away and continued talking. "I was hoping that it meant you saw me more than just a teammate, that you were noticing me. I think we could be good friends, Tezuka, I've compiled our likes and dislikes and we match on large percentage of them. I would do my best to lessen my more annoying personality traits, although I can't guarantee perfect success. Surely, you've noted my interest in you and it extends beyond tennis." Inui took another deep breath. "Think about it. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I even have a Venn diagram or two that would be of some interest to you."

Needing to stop the awkward recitation, Tezuka reached out and grabbed Inui's shoulder. Inui started and abruptly changed the subject. "Tezuka, I know you haven't asked for my opinion, but I have some ideas regarding possible combinations for-"

Tezuka kept pulling on Inui's shoulder until Inui leaned over enough for Tezuka to kiss him. It was a brief kiss, a mere brushing of their lips, and then Tezuka pushed Inui back. "Thank you for the match," he said, staring determinedly at Inui's chin.

Inui was motionless for a second, one of his hands raised as if he had meant to grab Tezuka as well. Then suddenly Tezuka found himself turned and pressed against the nearby tree. Inui's hands were on his hips and his face was mere inches away.

"We're outside," Tezuka started to say but he was interrupted by Inui kissing him. It was clumsy and their glasses clicked together. Inui changed the angle of his head, lips sliding against Tezuka's, and the glasses clicked again.

Inui pulled back slightly and said, "Take off your glasses."

Tezuka frowned at the command and reached up, pulling off Inui's glasses instead. Inui blinked at him, his eyes widening. Tezuka folded the heavy frames and hooked them in Inui's collar. "Yours are more in the way than mine," he said for explanation.

Inui smiled and Tezuka's breath caught as the smile fully reach Inui's eyes. Inui leaned forward, pressing his body harder against Tezuka's, and kissed him. It was much better this time. "I never thought, even in my dreams, that you would watch me," Inui murmured against his mouth.

"I did," Tezuka said and shut Inui up by kissing him again.