Progress (Prince of Tennis, Inui/Shinji, challenge # 12)
Progress
By: Liz
Pairing: Inui/Shinji
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Theme: #12. in a good mood
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters herein. I do not claim to own them, and I am not making any profit off of this. This is just fun in a fandom I enjoy. If you want to sue me for all I’m worth…please do! You’re welcome to my student loans and other bills.
Rating: PG-13
This follows Perspective.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been a good day, really. Shinji was hard pressed to remember just when the last time that he had such a good day was. He had aced a test, performed far above his own expectations in tennis practice, and it was a beautiful day…just the type for laying in daydreaming in a park, actually.
Shinji did his best to convince himself that that was the only reason for heading towards the park where he had had his first encounter with Inui. It was too nice a day to be cooped up, and that was it. It had nothing to do with the fact that he might possibly see Inui there again.
It also had nothing to do with the fact that Kamio had bodily steered him to the park and abandoned him there with nothing more than a wink and a smile. Oh, no, those were entirely incidental to his presence there.
Even though Shinji tried to tell himself that, he couldn’t help turning every time he caught a glimpse of dark hair or glasses out of the corner of his eye. And every time the person wasn’t Inui, Shinji felt his heart sink a little more, and some of the brightness of the day faded away for him. He tried to tell himself that he was being silly, that his mood shouldn’t be dependant on someone that he’d exchanged a few words and a stolen kiss with, but Shinji’s heart was ignoring his brain, and Shinji was almost ready to scream with the strain of it all.
Afternoon faded into dusk, then twilight. As Shinji watched the darkening sky, he finally admitted to himself that Inui was not, in fact, going to show. “I don’t know why I’m upset,” he muttered to himself. “It’s not like we had plans or anything. He just said that he’d like to see me here again, not that he would. I’m sure he has better things to worry about and take care of than coming to this stupid place.”
Shinji leveled a glare at the fading light. “I might as well leave,” he sighed as he stood and brushed off his pants. “Sitting here all night will do nothing but get me sick, and if I get sick, I can’t go to school, or play tennis….” Still mumbling to himself, Shinji made his way to the exit closest to his home.
“Wait!” Shinji froze as he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Don’t leave yet, Ibu-kun!”
Shinji turned slowly to see Inui running towards him, stopping when he drew up next to Inui. “I meant to be here earlier,” Inui said, looking down some at Shinji. “But Tezuka wanted to discuss some things after practice, and I couldn’t get away.” He smiled. “I’m glad to see you’re still here, Ibu-kun.”
“Well, don’t think it was for you or anything.” Shinji looked away from Inui, his smile making him feel weak for some reason. “It was just a nice day, that’s all, and it was too nice to be home. But it’s getting dark now, and I should go home….” As he spoke, Shinji started to edge away from Inui some.
“Wait.” Inui reached out and grasped Shinji’s arm, holding him there. “You may not have come here to see me…but I most definitely came here to see you.”
“You…you did?” Shinji blinked, feeling shocked…and warm inside.
Inui nodded. “I ran here, hoping you’d be here. I figured there would only be a 42% chance you’d still be here, considering the hour. I’m glad I was wrong.”
Shinji shook his head. “I just lost track of time, that’s all. Nothing special.”
“So…you didn’t want to see me?” Inui wasn’t quite able to contain his disappointment.
“I….” Shinji hesitated. He knew he had a choice. He could be coy and possibly miss out on something great, or he could be honest and see what would happen. He studied Inui for a minute, then made his choice. “I did want to see you,” he admitted. “I was hoping you would come, but then you didn’t….” He stopped before he could say too much.
“I was hoping you would say that.” Inui ran a hand through Shinji’s hair as he moved a little closer.
“Hoping?” Shinji was hoping that it was dark enough to hide the blush that had appeared at Inui’s actions. “You mean, you didn’t have a prediction as to the likelihood of that happening?”
Shinji was teasing, but Inui took him seriously as he responded, “There are some things that data just is not good for.” Inui’s hand left Shinji’s hair and trailed down his cheek. “Ibu-kun?”
“Yes, Inui-san?”
“I would very much like to kiss you right now.”
“Would you?”
“If you will let me, Ibu-kun.”
“I…think I would like that, Inui-san.”
Inui’s smile was almost blinding as he leaned down some to touch his lips to Shinji’s. Shinji, knowing it was coming this time, reached up to hold onto Inui’s shoulder as he returned the pressure, relaxing into the arm that Inui wound around Shinji’s waist.
The two of them stood locked in the kiss for a minute, neither making a move to deepen it. Shinji’s grip on Inui tightened some as he felt his knees grow weak, and he felt Inui pull him closer as they slowly parted their lips, both a little breathless. Keeping his arm around Shinji, Inui ran his other hand through Shinji’s hair, thinking that he was getting rather addicted to the feeling.
Shinji leaned into the caress. “I…I think I like kissing you, Inui-san,” he said quietly, almost inaudibly.
“Then I shall have to kiss you more often,” Inui promised, not sounding at all pout out over the prospect. “Maybe…after a proper date?” He tried not to hold his breath, as his mind reminded him that there was still a 27% chance that Shinji would refuse him.
“I would like that very much, Inui-san.” Shinji’s head rested on Inui’s shoulder briefly, before reluctantly pulling away from him. “I have to get home,” he explained. “It’s dark.”
“So it is.” Inui hadn’t noticed; he was still seeing fireworks from the kiss. “D…you need me to walk you home?” He was oddly reluctant to let Shinji out of his sight.
Shinji shook his had, also feeling bad about leaving Inui. “You’d get lost; my neighborhood is a maze. Maybe when it’s light sometime.”
“At least give me your phone number?” Inui grabbed for his ever-present notebook. “I want to call you later.”
Blushing a little, Shinji took the offered pen and paper and wrote down his number for Inui. “Now I really do have to go.”
Inui grabbed Shinji’s hand and kissed it quickly. “Be careful?”
“Always. Be careful, too.” Smiling at Inui, Shinji turned and started for the park exit again, his step lighter than it had been before, a smile spread across his face. His mood had never been happier in his entire life.
It had been an awesome day.
--The End--
By: Liz
Pairing: Inui/Shinji
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Theme: #12. in a good mood
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters herein. I do not claim to own them, and I am not making any profit off of this. This is just fun in a fandom I enjoy. If you want to sue me for all I’m worth…please do! You’re welcome to my student loans and other bills.
Rating: PG-13
This follows Perspective.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been a good day, really. Shinji was hard pressed to remember just when the last time that he had such a good day was. He had aced a test, performed far above his own expectations in tennis practice, and it was a beautiful day…just the type for laying in daydreaming in a park, actually.
Shinji did his best to convince himself that that was the only reason for heading towards the park where he had had his first encounter with Inui. It was too nice a day to be cooped up, and that was it. It had nothing to do with the fact that he might possibly see Inui there again.
It also had nothing to do with the fact that Kamio had bodily steered him to the park and abandoned him there with nothing more than a wink and a smile. Oh, no, those were entirely incidental to his presence there.
Even though Shinji tried to tell himself that, he couldn’t help turning every time he caught a glimpse of dark hair or glasses out of the corner of his eye. And every time the person wasn’t Inui, Shinji felt his heart sink a little more, and some of the brightness of the day faded away for him. He tried to tell himself that he was being silly, that his mood shouldn’t be dependant on someone that he’d exchanged a few words and a stolen kiss with, but Shinji’s heart was ignoring his brain, and Shinji was almost ready to scream with the strain of it all.
Afternoon faded into dusk, then twilight. As Shinji watched the darkening sky, he finally admitted to himself that Inui was not, in fact, going to show. “I don’t know why I’m upset,” he muttered to himself. “It’s not like we had plans or anything. He just said that he’d like to see me here again, not that he would. I’m sure he has better things to worry about and take care of than coming to this stupid place.”
Shinji leveled a glare at the fading light. “I might as well leave,” he sighed as he stood and brushed off his pants. “Sitting here all night will do nothing but get me sick, and if I get sick, I can’t go to school, or play tennis….” Still mumbling to himself, Shinji made his way to the exit closest to his home.
“Wait!” Shinji froze as he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Don’t leave yet, Ibu-kun!”
Shinji turned slowly to see Inui running towards him, stopping when he drew up next to Inui. “I meant to be here earlier,” Inui said, looking down some at Shinji. “But Tezuka wanted to discuss some things after practice, and I couldn’t get away.” He smiled. “I’m glad to see you’re still here, Ibu-kun.”
“Well, don’t think it was for you or anything.” Shinji looked away from Inui, his smile making him feel weak for some reason. “It was just a nice day, that’s all, and it was too nice to be home. But it’s getting dark now, and I should go home….” As he spoke, Shinji started to edge away from Inui some.
“Wait.” Inui reached out and grasped Shinji’s arm, holding him there. “You may not have come here to see me…but I most definitely came here to see you.”
“You…you did?” Shinji blinked, feeling shocked…and warm inside.
Inui nodded. “I ran here, hoping you’d be here. I figured there would only be a 42% chance you’d still be here, considering the hour. I’m glad I was wrong.”
Shinji shook his head. “I just lost track of time, that’s all. Nothing special.”
“So…you didn’t want to see me?” Inui wasn’t quite able to contain his disappointment.
“I….” Shinji hesitated. He knew he had a choice. He could be coy and possibly miss out on something great, or he could be honest and see what would happen. He studied Inui for a minute, then made his choice. “I did want to see you,” he admitted. “I was hoping you would come, but then you didn’t….” He stopped before he could say too much.
“I was hoping you would say that.” Inui ran a hand through Shinji’s hair as he moved a little closer.
“Hoping?” Shinji was hoping that it was dark enough to hide the blush that had appeared at Inui’s actions. “You mean, you didn’t have a prediction as to the likelihood of that happening?”
Shinji was teasing, but Inui took him seriously as he responded, “There are some things that data just is not good for.” Inui’s hand left Shinji’s hair and trailed down his cheek. “Ibu-kun?”
“Yes, Inui-san?”
“I would very much like to kiss you right now.”
“Would you?”
“If you will let me, Ibu-kun.”
“I…think I would like that, Inui-san.”
Inui’s smile was almost blinding as he leaned down some to touch his lips to Shinji’s. Shinji, knowing it was coming this time, reached up to hold onto Inui’s shoulder as he returned the pressure, relaxing into the arm that Inui wound around Shinji’s waist.
The two of them stood locked in the kiss for a minute, neither making a move to deepen it. Shinji’s grip on Inui tightened some as he felt his knees grow weak, and he felt Inui pull him closer as they slowly parted their lips, both a little breathless. Keeping his arm around Shinji, Inui ran his other hand through Shinji’s hair, thinking that he was getting rather addicted to the feeling.
Shinji leaned into the caress. “I…I think I like kissing you, Inui-san,” he said quietly, almost inaudibly.
“Then I shall have to kiss you more often,” Inui promised, not sounding at all pout out over the prospect. “Maybe…after a proper date?” He tried not to hold his breath, as his mind reminded him that there was still a 27% chance that Shinji would refuse him.
“I would like that very much, Inui-san.” Shinji’s head rested on Inui’s shoulder briefly, before reluctantly pulling away from him. “I have to get home,” he explained. “It’s dark.”
“So it is.” Inui hadn’t noticed; he was still seeing fireworks from the kiss. “D…you need me to walk you home?” He was oddly reluctant to let Shinji out of his sight.
Shinji shook his had, also feeling bad about leaving Inui. “You’d get lost; my neighborhood is a maze. Maybe when it’s light sometime.”
“At least give me your phone number?” Inui grabbed for his ever-present notebook. “I want to call you later.”
Blushing a little, Shinji took the offered pen and paper and wrote down his number for Inui. “Now I really do have to go.”
Inui grabbed Shinji’s hand and kissed it quickly. “Be careful?”
“Always. Be careful, too.” Smiling at Inui, Shinji turned and started for the park exit again, his step lighter than it had been before, a smile spread across his face. His mood had never been happier in his entire life.
It had been an awesome day.
--The End--