Prince of Tennis - Yanagi Renji - 087. Life.
Title: Alone Together
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Yanagi Renji, Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi, Inui Sadaharu
Prompt: 087. Life
Word Count: 1,022
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Life passes Renji by as he ponders friends, love and such things.
Author's Notes: In first person POV.
My LDT found here
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There are things you can understand better as an adult than you can as a child. Things like fate and destiny.
I never realized that it all could be intertwined.
Nor did I realize that there could be something not quite right with me.
My best friend for the first 11 years of my life was born just a few minutes before me in the same hospital. We spent those years learning, laughing, playing, and learning the sport that would keep our lives intertwined for the rest of our lives.
I left in that year. I met the two people that would be my best friends for the rest of my life (and though I didn't realize it then, they would be more than that).
We took over Rikkaidai's Junior High tennis club. They knew the three of us were to be feared.
And for the next six years we were.
That was when we had to decide - higher education or go professional.
I wanted to be the responsible son in my family. I didn't want to be shunned, but...The decision was made for me. They wouldn't go with out me, and we found ourselves in the first tournament we could get in.
I could have told him the odds on what happened happening. They played against each other in the semi-finals. I was knocked out in the quarter-finals. It was a good match to watch though. And then there was that night.
I don't know what happened. Of course we were upset that we had lost, but there was no reason for that happening.
We watched him the next day in the finals. His form was perfect, every serve perfect, every return beautiful. It was poetry in motion. I knew that he was thinking the same thing.
I shouldn't have known that.
Somehow after that, things between us just kept getting stranger. I knew what they each wanted. And I knew they couldn't share.
I was flattered and scared in a way. That was when I decided I should get out while I was ahead. I wasn't doing well, and I lost more than I ever won.
They begged me to stick it out with them. They needed me.
So I became their manager. It worked for us for a long time.
And yet, they both still gave me those looks, and all I could do was shake my head sadly and reject it.
It was about then when I thought I saw him again, during one of the Grand Slam tournaments. It's funny how life goes in circles, and how your 'twin' could still be your twin after years of not seeing him.
He was also a manager for two of his former teammates. Odd how that worked out. I don't believe he ever played though whereas I had. He looked so different, his hair combed into a decent mess, and contacts instead of heavy glasses. Even with the outward appearance changed, it was still him.
We only gave each other an acknowledging nod, and left it at that.
That night was the first time I fell into bed with another man.
I like to think that the other never knew, but he always knew everything I did without having to tell him. They were the ones that usually shared a bed. Without either of them telling me, I just knew.
Something was strained, but it was still comfortable. I always felt one was giving me accusing looks, and the other avoided me. I didn't feel ashamed about it, oddly enough. As far as I knew, they weren't officially a couple even though the world knew they only had eyes for each other - and for me.
I never really felt like I was in love with either of them. I fell into bed with the other one a few weeks later. I get the feeling he knew. He knew what I needed, and their sympathy was not it. The physical release was enough for me.
That was all I ever got from them. They knew I didn't want their love. There was only one person I truly wanted, and I knew I could never have them. I hadn't seen them since graduating, and it was beyond too late.
Then the unexpected happened.
I had my laptop set up in a coffee shop, sipping at my tea (I can't stand coffee), and was working on Seiichi's statistics for the past year and his odds against his projected opponents. He only had a few that would be close, but I believed in him. Genichirou's weren't looking as good. He had many injuries, and I suggested he take a year off for therapy and all, but I know he won't stop until he absolutely can't go on.
I saw that hair, those muscles walk through the door. I glanced up, but he didn't see me and I pretended to not see him. He had a pretty girl on his arm, anyway. I knew then that it was too late.
I went home to the two bedroom apartment the three of us called home. No one ever questioned it, and I was glad. We had enough money that we could afford to not be asked questions.
They saw through me. They always could.
They didn't say a word, but they held me. I think I knew then that it was never sympathy, that it was never just physical.
They really did love me. They always had.
It took almost 20 years for me to realize it.
It was Genichirou's last tournament. He tore a ligment in his knee, requiring surgery and pretty much forcing his retirement from the professional circuit.
I saw my twin again. He gave me a knowing look and a smile.
Seiichi swept all the tournaments that year. We both watched from the stands, Genichirou jealous and me just being there as their permanent supporter and manager.
Somehow, I knew that would cause Seiichi to retire from the busy life and relax and help rehabilitate Genichirou. But we were getting old as well.
It was time to settle down.
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Yanagi Renji, Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi, Inui Sadaharu
Prompt: 087. Life
Word Count: 1,022
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Life passes Renji by as he ponders friends, love and such things.
Author's Notes: In first person POV.
My LDT found here
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There are things you can understand better as an adult than you can as a child. Things like fate and destiny.
I never realized that it all could be intertwined.
Nor did I realize that there could be something not quite right with me.
My best friend for the first 11 years of my life was born just a few minutes before me in the same hospital. We spent those years learning, laughing, playing, and learning the sport that would keep our lives intertwined for the rest of our lives.
I left in that year. I met the two people that would be my best friends for the rest of my life (and though I didn't realize it then, they would be more than that).
We took over Rikkaidai's Junior High tennis club. They knew the three of us were to be feared.
And for the next six years we were.
That was when we had to decide - higher education or go professional.
I wanted to be the responsible son in my family. I didn't want to be shunned, but...The decision was made for me. They wouldn't go with out me, and we found ourselves in the first tournament we could get in.
I could have told him the odds on what happened happening. They played against each other in the semi-finals. I was knocked out in the quarter-finals. It was a good match to watch though. And then there was that night.
I don't know what happened. Of course we were upset that we had lost, but there was no reason for that happening.
We watched him the next day in the finals. His form was perfect, every serve perfect, every return beautiful. It was poetry in motion. I knew that he was thinking the same thing.
I shouldn't have known that.
Somehow after that, things between us just kept getting stranger. I knew what they each wanted. And I knew they couldn't share.
I was flattered and scared in a way. That was when I decided I should get out while I was ahead. I wasn't doing well, and I lost more than I ever won.
They begged me to stick it out with them. They needed me.
So I became their manager. It worked for us for a long time.
And yet, they both still gave me those looks, and all I could do was shake my head sadly and reject it.
It was about then when I thought I saw him again, during one of the Grand Slam tournaments. It's funny how life goes in circles, and how your 'twin' could still be your twin after years of not seeing him.
He was also a manager for two of his former teammates. Odd how that worked out. I don't believe he ever played though whereas I had. He looked so different, his hair combed into a decent mess, and contacts instead of heavy glasses. Even with the outward appearance changed, it was still him.
We only gave each other an acknowledging nod, and left it at that.
That night was the first time I fell into bed with another man.
I like to think that the other never knew, but he always knew everything I did without having to tell him. They were the ones that usually shared a bed. Without either of them telling me, I just knew.
Something was strained, but it was still comfortable. I always felt one was giving me accusing looks, and the other avoided me. I didn't feel ashamed about it, oddly enough. As far as I knew, they weren't officially a couple even though the world knew they only had eyes for each other - and for me.
I never really felt like I was in love with either of them. I fell into bed with the other one a few weeks later. I get the feeling he knew. He knew what I needed, and their sympathy was not it. The physical release was enough for me.
That was all I ever got from them. They knew I didn't want their love. There was only one person I truly wanted, and I knew I could never have them. I hadn't seen them since graduating, and it was beyond too late.
Then the unexpected happened.
I had my laptop set up in a coffee shop, sipping at my tea (I can't stand coffee), and was working on Seiichi's statistics for the past year and his odds against his projected opponents. He only had a few that would be close, but I believed in him. Genichirou's weren't looking as good. He had many injuries, and I suggested he take a year off for therapy and all, but I know he won't stop until he absolutely can't go on.
I saw that hair, those muscles walk through the door. I glanced up, but he didn't see me and I pretended to not see him. He had a pretty girl on his arm, anyway. I knew then that it was too late.
I went home to the two bedroom apartment the three of us called home. No one ever questioned it, and I was glad. We had enough money that we could afford to not be asked questions.
They saw through me. They always could.
They didn't say a word, but they held me. I think I knew then that it was never sympathy, that it was never just physical.
They really did love me. They always had.
It took almost 20 years for me to realize it.
It was Genichirou's last tournament. He tore a ligment in his knee, requiring surgery and pretty much forcing his retirement from the professional circuit.
I saw my twin again. He gave me a knowing look and a smile.
Seiichi swept all the tournaments that year. We both watched from the stands, Genichirou jealous and me just being there as their permanent supporter and manager.
Somehow, I knew that would cause Seiichi to retire from the busy life and relax and help rehabilitate Genichirou. But we were getting old as well.
It was time to settle down.