[fic] The Prince of Tennis - Cats and Sunsets
Title: Cats and Sunsets
Fandom: TeniPuri
Characters: Kaidoh Kaoru, Aoi Kentaro, Fuji Shusuke, Fuji Yuuta, Saeki Koujirou. Name drops for Momo, who shows up later (as well as Hazue, who will probably never even be mentioned again).
Pairing(s): eventual Kaidoh/Aoi, implied Saeki/Yuuta and MomoKai if you look for it
Genre: friendship/gen, eventual romance
Rating: G
Summary: Set within the year following canon. A lost kitten sparks the start of a relationship between Kaidoh and Aoi.
Warning(s): None, really. Just inconsistent romanization of names. XD
Notes: Originally written for zombieroadtrip in the TeniPuri XPair Exchange, but then life happened and I had to drop. Considering that this thing is a monster (It's considerably longer than any other fic I've written) and completely screwed over my sleep schedule in the process of writing most of it, I figured I may as well post it anyway.
Also, this is my first fic in years (my last finished one was in 2009). Any wonky grammar or transitions is probably due to that and the fact that the bulk of the fic was written between midnight and 5:00 AM.
Disclaimer: I don’t own TeniPuri or any of the characters in the series, and I’m just using the boys for the fun of it.
~*~*~*~
When their relationship first started, Kaidoh didn’t know how long it would last. Hell, he didn’t even know what he wanted out of a relationship at the time.
It had just kind of… happened.
There was no denying that he’d found Aoi Kentaro endearing from the day they met, even while he was getting his ass pounded into the court by the young captain (though he fought back just as hard). Aoi’s enthusiasm and energy just didn’t annoy him as much as he thought it would.
That first match had been the start of a friendship between the two that would later prove invaluable for team relations between their respective schools during Kaidoh’s third year. But, more importantly, it laid the foundation for them to move on to being boyfriends.
The scenario that pushed their relationship forward had been simple enough.
Kaidoh’s parents had decided on a family vacation trip to Chiba, and, at first, that hadn’t been a problem. The first few days went smoothly, or as smoothly as family bonding would allow - Hazue, while pleasant, was still a little brother, and their parents were, well, parents.
He should have realized something was going to happen when he’d bumped into Fuji-senpai and friends - he recognized his senpai’s brother from recent practice matches with St Rudolph, and the other male, a blonde, he couldn’t put a name to, but he was certain he was a former player from Rokkaku - while out on a jog around the middle of the week.
Kaidoh wasn’t even sure what the conversation had been about anymore, as his mind had wandered as he answered his senpai’s questions about how Seigaku’s tennis team was doing (they were doing okay, even if Momoshiro couldn’t quite agree with him on how to lead the team at times), how he himself was doing (he was fine, really), and other things that really weren’t all that important (was there a question about Aoi in there?).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yuuta didn’t know Kaidoh well, but he could tell when his brother was boring someone pretty clearly, as even he was guilty of tuning Shusuke out at times, and Kaidoh’s eyes were starting to look pretty glazed over, even if he was answering the questions.
He shot Saeki a questioning look, nodding when the other male mouthed ‘So you noticed too?’ in response. Time to act.
“Ani…” He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “we’ve got to get going now.”
Shusuke looked over his shoulder at him, “Ah, right.” Then turned back to Kaidoh, “It was great to see you again.”
Kaidoh bowed, responding in kind, before resuming his jog.
Shusuke started in the opposite direction, only to whip back around when Kaidoh was a good distance away - and certainly out of earshot, “I believe we passed Aoi-kun in that direction. I’d like to go see what’s going to happen.”
Yuuta and Saeki exchanged a terrified look. Based on the way Shusuke was smirking, there was no getting out of this one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Completely unaware of the conversation going on behind him, Kaidoh continued running, each step bringing him further away from the small group.
He hadn’t brought any music with him, having fully intended for it to be a short jog, but, as time went on and he got increasingly further from the hotel his family was staying at, he began to regret the decision.
Slowing down to a walk, Kaidoh eventually came to a complete standstill. He pulled his cell phone to check the time - he guessed it was around early or mid afternoon, but he wanted to be more certain so he could determine when to head back.
Deciding he still had plenty of time, he resumed his jog again, not noticing the kitten curled up in the shadows of a nearby building.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A while later, Kaidoh was passing back through the area when he heard a faint mewling. Stopping again, he glanced around him.
Upon not seeing anything, but not being one to give up on any animal (what if it was injured? Or lost? Or, even worse, both?), he searched the area a bit more thoroughly, finally finding the source of the noise near the building next to him.
It was a young tabby, possibly around six months old.
Kaidoh crouched down, trying his best to coax it over to him. When it struggled to get up, he slowly moved in closer so as not to scare it.
His eyes narrowed at the gash in the kitten’s rear leg and he held back a frustrated hiss. Judging by the collar (though there was no ID tag, as far as he could tell), the poor thing obviously had an owner. Hopefully, they lived in the immediate area.
“Ah, Kaidoh-kun!”
Both Kaidoh and the kitten hissed in response to the sudden interruption, and he cursed the fact that his bandana made him so recognizable and almost wished he’d left it back in the hotel. He knew that cheery voice anywhere, though, “Aoi-kun.” He looked over, nodding in greeting at Rokkaku’s captain.
Aoi’s smile was as bright as ever, and it didn’t falter as he squatted, bringing himself down to the same level as Kaidoh and the kitten. The kitten’s ears were pinned back as he reached out to it, but it responded warmly once Aoi was determined to be a non-threat, and it let the boy scratch its ears. “So, what brings you out here, little one?”
A smile began to tug at the corners of Kaidoh’s lips as the scene unfolded in front of him - there really was no denying how adorable Aoi was - but he suppressed it. The situation was too serious, “It’s injured.”
“Eh?” Aoi blinked a few times, smile fading as he studied the kitten closely, concern appearing on his features when Kaidoh guessed he spotted the gash. “So it is. But,” Aoi’s face lit up again, “It’s got a collar, so that means it probably has an owner. Maybe they even live nearby!”
Kaidoh couldn’t help smiling a bit at Aoi’s enthusiasm. It was just as contagious as always. “Maybe.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Aoi stood up quickly, causing the kitten to hiss and recoil at the sudden movement, “Let’s find this cat’s home~”
Gingerly, Kaidoh scooped up the kitten before standing, not caring if dirt and dried blood got all over him (he was already covered in sweat as it was). It settled down in his arms fairly quickly, clearly used to human interaction. “Where do we begin?”
“Hmm…” Aoi tilted his head slightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet a little as he thought. “How about we try here,” He indicated the building looming next to them, “Maybe they know something.”
Kaidoh only nodded, and followed Aoi to the front door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hours passed as they searched, and still nothing about the kitten’s owners. Nobody in the area knew whom it belonged to.
Sunset found them by Ouji’s shop, using the park’s fountain and Kaidoh’s bandana to try to clean up the gash as best they could, and much to the kitten’s protests.
“You’re here on vacation, right?” Aoi carefully dabbed and scrubbed the wound as Kaidoh did his best to hold the kitten still, “You should probably be going soon. I don’t want you getting in trouble or anything.”
Kaidoh shrugged. Even his he did return a mess, it’s not like his family wouldn’t understand, “It doesn’t matter.”
“It’s getting late, I insist.” Aoi stopped what he was doing, folding up the bandana and holding it out for Kaidoh to take. “I’ll take the little guy home for the night, and we’ll continue the search in the morning, alright?”
Hissing softly in response, Kaidoh reluctantly grabbed his now heavily soiled bandana and let Aoi take the kitten. It had been a long day…
Aoi moved in closer, taking advantage of Kaidoh’s dazed state to lean in and press a chaste kiss to the older teen’s cheek. He backed off, smiling at the puzzled expression on Kaidoh’s face as he brought a hand up to where he’d just been kissed. “Meet you here tomorrow morning?”
Kaidoh nodded, “Yeah.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, across the way:
“C’mon, Ani, let’s go.” Yuuta glared at the back of his brother’s head. It had been a waste of an afternoon for him, as snooping on other people had absolutely no appeal to him, especially when he had no connection to them outside of mutual friends.
Saeki rubbed Yuuta’s back sympathetically. They had been following Kaidoh all afternoon, Shusuke never explained why, and he could tell that Yuuta was becoming tired and irritable because of all that. “I think it’s safe to say that we could leave on our own if we wanted to--”
“Done.” Shusuke turned around, cutting off Saeki mid-sentence and shutting off his camera.
“So, why did you drag us around all afternoon, anyway?”
“Oh, that? Momoshiro wanted me to check something out for him.” Shusuke smiled, “and I got everything I need.”
Fandom: TeniPuri
Characters: Kaidoh Kaoru, Aoi Kentaro, Fuji Shusuke, Fuji Yuuta, Saeki Koujirou. Name drops for Momo, who shows up later (as well as Hazue, who will probably never even be mentioned again).
Pairing(s): eventual Kaidoh/Aoi, implied Saeki/Yuuta and MomoKai if you look for it
Genre: friendship/gen, eventual romance
Rating: G
Summary: Set within the year following canon. A lost kitten sparks the start of a relationship between Kaidoh and Aoi.
Warning(s): None, really. Just inconsistent romanization of names. XD
Notes: Originally written for zombieroadtrip in the TeniPuri XPair Exchange, but then life happened and I had to drop. Considering that this thing is a monster (It's considerably longer than any other fic I've written) and completely screwed over my sleep schedule in the process of writing most of it, I figured I may as well post it anyway.
Also, this is my first fic in years (my last finished one was in 2009). Any wonky grammar or transitions is probably due to that and the fact that the bulk of the fic was written between midnight and 5:00 AM.
Disclaimer: I don’t own TeniPuri or any of the characters in the series, and I’m just using the boys for the fun of it.
~*~*~*~
When their relationship first started, Kaidoh didn’t know how long it would last. Hell, he didn’t even know what he wanted out of a relationship at the time.
It had just kind of… happened.
There was no denying that he’d found Aoi Kentaro endearing from the day they met, even while he was getting his ass pounded into the court by the young captain (though he fought back just as hard). Aoi’s enthusiasm and energy just didn’t annoy him as much as he thought it would.
That first match had been the start of a friendship between the two that would later prove invaluable for team relations between their respective schools during Kaidoh’s third year. But, more importantly, it laid the foundation for them to move on to being boyfriends.
The scenario that pushed their relationship forward had been simple enough.
Kaidoh’s parents had decided on a family vacation trip to Chiba, and, at first, that hadn’t been a problem. The first few days went smoothly, or as smoothly as family bonding would allow - Hazue, while pleasant, was still a little brother, and their parents were, well, parents.
He should have realized something was going to happen when he’d bumped into Fuji-senpai and friends - he recognized his senpai’s brother from recent practice matches with St Rudolph, and the other male, a blonde, he couldn’t put a name to, but he was certain he was a former player from Rokkaku - while out on a jog around the middle of the week.
Kaidoh wasn’t even sure what the conversation had been about anymore, as his mind had wandered as he answered his senpai’s questions about how Seigaku’s tennis team was doing (they were doing okay, even if Momoshiro couldn’t quite agree with him on how to lead the team at times), how he himself was doing (he was fine, really), and other things that really weren’t all that important (was there a question about Aoi in there?).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Yuuta didn’t know Kaidoh well, but he could tell when his brother was boring someone pretty clearly, as even he was guilty of tuning Shusuke out at times, and Kaidoh’s eyes were starting to look pretty glazed over, even if he was answering the questions.
He shot Saeki a questioning look, nodding when the other male mouthed ‘So you noticed too?’ in response. Time to act.
“Ani…” He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, “we’ve got to get going now.”
Shusuke looked over his shoulder at him, “Ah, right.” Then turned back to Kaidoh, “It was great to see you again.”
Kaidoh bowed, responding in kind, before resuming his jog.
Shusuke started in the opposite direction, only to whip back around when Kaidoh was a good distance away - and certainly out of earshot, “I believe we passed Aoi-kun in that direction. I’d like to go see what’s going to happen.”
Yuuta and Saeki exchanged a terrified look. Based on the way Shusuke was smirking, there was no getting out of this one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Completely unaware of the conversation going on behind him, Kaidoh continued running, each step bringing him further away from the small group.
He hadn’t brought any music with him, having fully intended for it to be a short jog, but, as time went on and he got increasingly further from the hotel his family was staying at, he began to regret the decision.
Slowing down to a walk, Kaidoh eventually came to a complete standstill. He pulled his cell phone to check the time - he guessed it was around early or mid afternoon, but he wanted to be more certain so he could determine when to head back.
Deciding he still had plenty of time, he resumed his jog again, not noticing the kitten curled up in the shadows of a nearby building.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A while later, Kaidoh was passing back through the area when he heard a faint mewling. Stopping again, he glanced around him.
Upon not seeing anything, but not being one to give up on any animal (what if it was injured? Or lost? Or, even worse, both?), he searched the area a bit more thoroughly, finally finding the source of the noise near the building next to him.
It was a young tabby, possibly around six months old.
Kaidoh crouched down, trying his best to coax it over to him. When it struggled to get up, he slowly moved in closer so as not to scare it.
His eyes narrowed at the gash in the kitten’s rear leg and he held back a frustrated hiss. Judging by the collar (though there was no ID tag, as far as he could tell), the poor thing obviously had an owner. Hopefully, they lived in the immediate area.
“Ah, Kaidoh-kun!”
Both Kaidoh and the kitten hissed in response to the sudden interruption, and he cursed the fact that his bandana made him so recognizable and almost wished he’d left it back in the hotel. He knew that cheery voice anywhere, though, “Aoi-kun.” He looked over, nodding in greeting at Rokkaku’s captain.
Aoi’s smile was as bright as ever, and it didn’t falter as he squatted, bringing himself down to the same level as Kaidoh and the kitten. The kitten’s ears were pinned back as he reached out to it, but it responded warmly once Aoi was determined to be a non-threat, and it let the boy scratch its ears. “So, what brings you out here, little one?”
A smile began to tug at the corners of Kaidoh’s lips as the scene unfolded in front of him - there really was no denying how adorable Aoi was - but he suppressed it. The situation was too serious, “It’s injured.”
“Eh?” Aoi blinked a few times, smile fading as he studied the kitten closely, concern appearing on his features when Kaidoh guessed he spotted the gash. “So it is. But,” Aoi’s face lit up again, “It’s got a collar, so that means it probably has an owner. Maybe they even live nearby!”
Kaidoh couldn’t help smiling a bit at Aoi’s enthusiasm. It was just as contagious as always. “Maybe.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Aoi stood up quickly, causing the kitten to hiss and recoil at the sudden movement, “Let’s find this cat’s home~”
Gingerly, Kaidoh scooped up the kitten before standing, not caring if dirt and dried blood got all over him (he was already covered in sweat as it was). It settled down in his arms fairly quickly, clearly used to human interaction. “Where do we begin?”
“Hmm…” Aoi tilted his head slightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet a little as he thought. “How about we try here,” He indicated the building looming next to them, “Maybe they know something.”
Kaidoh only nodded, and followed Aoi to the front door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hours passed as they searched, and still nothing about the kitten’s owners. Nobody in the area knew whom it belonged to.
Sunset found them by Ouji’s shop, using the park’s fountain and Kaidoh’s bandana to try to clean up the gash as best they could, and much to the kitten’s protests.
“You’re here on vacation, right?” Aoi carefully dabbed and scrubbed the wound as Kaidoh did his best to hold the kitten still, “You should probably be going soon. I don’t want you getting in trouble or anything.”
Kaidoh shrugged. Even his he did return a mess, it’s not like his family wouldn’t understand, “It doesn’t matter.”
“It’s getting late, I insist.” Aoi stopped what he was doing, folding up the bandana and holding it out for Kaidoh to take. “I’ll take the little guy home for the night, and we’ll continue the search in the morning, alright?”
Hissing softly in response, Kaidoh reluctantly grabbed his now heavily soiled bandana and let Aoi take the kitten. It had been a long day…
Aoi moved in closer, taking advantage of Kaidoh’s dazed state to lean in and press a chaste kiss to the older teen’s cheek. He backed off, smiling at the puzzled expression on Kaidoh’s face as he brought a hand up to where he’d just been kissed. “Meet you here tomorrow morning?”
Kaidoh nodded, “Yeah.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, across the way:
“C’mon, Ani, let’s go.” Yuuta glared at the back of his brother’s head. It had been a waste of an afternoon for him, as snooping on other people had absolutely no appeal to him, especially when he had no connection to them outside of mutual friends.
Saeki rubbed Yuuta’s back sympathetically. They had been following Kaidoh all afternoon, Shusuke never explained why, and he could tell that Yuuta was becoming tired and irritable because of all that. “I think it’s safe to say that we could leave on our own if we wanted to--”
“Done.” Shusuke turned around, cutting off Saeki mid-sentence and shutting off his camera.
“So, why did you drag us around all afternoon, anyway?”
“Oh, that? Momoshiro wanted me to check something out for him.” Shusuke smiled, “and I got everything I need.”