Prince of Tennis: Ibu Shinji, 014: Green
Title: Line in the Sand
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: (Ibu Shinji), Oishi Shuichiro, Echizen Ryoma
Prompt: 014: Green
Word Count: 1,199
Rating: PG
Summary: Oishi and Ryoma have a little chat.
Author's Notes: An interlude in the Study abroad arc, not really part of it, but connected to it all the same. This is related to Don’t Look Back, and while Shinji isn’t in the fic, he is the center of it, the catalyst, so to speak
Main table can be found here and here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Echizen looked at the slip of paper in his hand, then up at the building in front of him. He knew it was the right place, he had checked three times, already, but he wanted to check one more time, if only to delay the inevitable. He had planned this, thought it over and over in his head, planning strategy like he would for tennis, like he had for the U.S. Open.
Echizen Ryoma had never thought he’d be afraid of one of his senpai, let alone of Oishi Shuichiro.
He didn’t think afraid was the right word, though. Uneasy, yes. Wary, definitely. Uncomfortable? Incredibly.
Above all that, though, was the jealousy. Echizen was jealous of his former vice-captain, to the point that he felt like naming the green-eyed beast inside him, it was such a part of him.
It occurred to Echizen that he didn’t have to go through with this. He could just go back to his hotel room and no one would ever have to know. He’d never backed down from a challenge before, though, and he wasn’t in the mood to start then. He was going to see it through.
Besides, Echizen felt like he had to see the man that had stolen Shinji’s heart. To look at his old teammate and friend and try to see what it was that made Shinji so devoted, even over what they shared together.
He had to go and see. To get the closure that he needed for himself.
*~*~*~*
When Oishi heard the knock on the door, he debated for a moment not answering it. He had a lot of work to do for school, and he had been out late the past few nights with Kamio and Hiyoshi, both of whom were missing Shinji almost as much as he was. Add into that the fact that Oishi was, still, finding it hard to sleep without his boyfriend, and Oishi thought he was perfectly justified in pretending that he wasn’t home.
The knock sounded again, and Oishi groaned, getting up and heading for the door. “Kamio, I know Shin told you to make sure I was still alive and all, but you just saw me yesterday….” He trailed off when he saw who was standing in the hall. “Echizen….”
“Oishi-senpai.” Ryoma’s smirk was faint, barely visible but there. “I was just in the neighborhood.”
Somehow, Oishi doubted that, and he couldn’t hide his skepticism even as he stood back to let Ryoma in. “I read about your win at the U.S. Open. Congratulations.”
“Heh.” Ryoma entered the small apartment, looking around curiously as he toed off his shoes. “Competition wasn’t too stiff. And the spectators helped, too.”
“Oh?” Oishi had moved into the kitchen. “I didn’t think you cared too much for the fans. Can I get you some tea?” He was going to be polite if it killed him.
“About the fans, no. About one person, yes.” Ryoma shook his head at the offer. “Shinji was there.”
Oishi’s hands fumbled with his cup, and he set it aside. Hearing his boyfriend’s name come so casually from Ryoma’s lips bothered him on a level he couldn’t begin to describe. “Was he?”
“He was.” Ryoma took a seat at the counter between the kitchen and the living room. “We had an interesting talk.”
“You…saw him, then?” Oishi gave up on any pretenses and simply leaned against the sink, arms crossed, as he faced Ryoma.
“I did.” Ryoma’s gaze was level. “I asked him to come with me. I still love him. I told him that…asked him to come into my world and be with me.” He paused. “He said no.”
Oishi’s eyes flashed green ice, listening to Ryoma. “Why? Why did you even do that?”
“I told you. I love Shinji. There was a time he chose you over me. But I was there first, Oishi-senpai.” The honorific sounded like a mockery to Oishi’s ears. “I was with him first, understood him before you even knew he was alive. I touched him first, kissed him first, had him first.” Ryoma smirked. “I was his first.”
“And you let him go.” Oishi closed his eyes, thinking of what Shinji had shared about his life before Oishi, remembering how Shinji had said he had tried to fill an emptiness in his soul with his body. “You couldn’t give him what he needed, and you left him alone and confused. All he wanted was love. You were his first? You think he was chaste, waiting for you?”
Ryoma’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Even if you ignore the fact that we’re clearly sleeping together, there was a long road between you and me. A lot of people in Shinji’s bed.” It made Oishi a bit sick and jealous to think about it, but that knowledge’s use as a weapon meant more to him at that moment. “He wasn’t hanging and pining and waiting for you. He moved on, until he found what he was looking for.”
“You?” Ryoma was trembling faintly. “Another notch in his bedpost?”
Oishi shook his head. The more upset Ryoma got, the calmer he seemed to get. “Love. Acceptance. Closeness. The fact that it was me is incidental. The point is, he found it, and it wasn’t you. He’s not yours, Echizen.”
“He should have been.” Ryoma stared down at the counter. “He could have been mine…if I had only….”
“Only what? Given up tennis? Settled down, stayed here, walked away from tournaments and new challenges?” Oishi sighed. “I know you couldn’t have done that. You know you couldn’t have. And so did he. Shinji fights, he holds onto what he wants. And yet, he loved you and let you go. He knew, Echizen. He knew this had to come first for you. He didn’t want to be second best, to see you leave time and time again.”
Ryoma’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”
Oishi’s smile was soft and fond. “He told me. When he chose me, he told me why, told me he didn’t want any secrets or doubts between us. He loved you, Echizen, enough to let you make your dreams come true.”
“But he didn’t wait,” Ryoma whispered.
Oishi looked at Ryoma, saw the hurt that could only come with a broken heart, and felt bad for the boy that had been his kouhai. “His dreams changed,” he said simply.
“And Shinji…he’s happy, with you?”
“To the best of my knowledge he is.”
“You love him?”
Oishi didn’t even have to think about that. “With all my heart.”
“I see.” Ryoma slid off the barstool. “Just remember, Oishi-senpai, I love Shinji, too. I want him to be happy. Right now, he’s happy with you. That ever stops, though, and I’ll be waiting here to take him away.” He smirked, then turned away, waving over his shoulder. “See you around, Oishi-senpai.”
Oishi found himself chuckling as the door closed behind Ryoma. “You’re going to be waiting a long time then, Ryoma.”
He looked at his abandoned schoolwork…then went over to the phone. He had a need to call Shinji, to hear his boyfriend’s voice and tell him how much he loved him.
--The End--
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: (Ibu Shinji), Oishi Shuichiro, Echizen Ryoma
Prompt: 014: Green
Word Count: 1,199
Rating: PG
Summary: Oishi and Ryoma have a little chat.
Author's Notes: An interlude in the Study abroad arc, not really part of it, but connected to it all the same. This is related to Don’t Look Back, and while Shinji isn’t in the fic, he is the center of it, the catalyst, so to speak
Main table can be found here and here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Echizen looked at the slip of paper in his hand, then up at the building in front of him. He knew it was the right place, he had checked three times, already, but he wanted to check one more time, if only to delay the inevitable. He had planned this, thought it over and over in his head, planning strategy like he would for tennis, like he had for the U.S. Open.
Echizen Ryoma had never thought he’d be afraid of one of his senpai, let alone of Oishi Shuichiro.
He didn’t think afraid was the right word, though. Uneasy, yes. Wary, definitely. Uncomfortable? Incredibly.
Above all that, though, was the jealousy. Echizen was jealous of his former vice-captain, to the point that he felt like naming the green-eyed beast inside him, it was such a part of him.
It occurred to Echizen that he didn’t have to go through with this. He could just go back to his hotel room and no one would ever have to know. He’d never backed down from a challenge before, though, and he wasn’t in the mood to start then. He was going to see it through.
Besides, Echizen felt like he had to see the man that had stolen Shinji’s heart. To look at his old teammate and friend and try to see what it was that made Shinji so devoted, even over what they shared together.
He had to go and see. To get the closure that he needed for himself.
*~*~*~*
When Oishi heard the knock on the door, he debated for a moment not answering it. He had a lot of work to do for school, and he had been out late the past few nights with Kamio and Hiyoshi, both of whom were missing Shinji almost as much as he was. Add into that the fact that Oishi was, still, finding it hard to sleep without his boyfriend, and Oishi thought he was perfectly justified in pretending that he wasn’t home.
The knock sounded again, and Oishi groaned, getting up and heading for the door. “Kamio, I know Shin told you to make sure I was still alive and all, but you just saw me yesterday….” He trailed off when he saw who was standing in the hall. “Echizen….”
“Oishi-senpai.” Ryoma’s smirk was faint, barely visible but there. “I was just in the neighborhood.”
Somehow, Oishi doubted that, and he couldn’t hide his skepticism even as he stood back to let Ryoma in. “I read about your win at the U.S. Open. Congratulations.”
“Heh.” Ryoma entered the small apartment, looking around curiously as he toed off his shoes. “Competition wasn’t too stiff. And the spectators helped, too.”
“Oh?” Oishi had moved into the kitchen. “I didn’t think you cared too much for the fans. Can I get you some tea?” He was going to be polite if it killed him.
“About the fans, no. About one person, yes.” Ryoma shook his head at the offer. “Shinji was there.”
Oishi’s hands fumbled with his cup, and he set it aside. Hearing his boyfriend’s name come so casually from Ryoma’s lips bothered him on a level he couldn’t begin to describe. “Was he?”
“He was.” Ryoma took a seat at the counter between the kitchen and the living room. “We had an interesting talk.”
“You…saw him, then?” Oishi gave up on any pretenses and simply leaned against the sink, arms crossed, as he faced Ryoma.
“I did.” Ryoma’s gaze was level. “I asked him to come with me. I still love him. I told him that…asked him to come into my world and be with me.” He paused. “He said no.”
Oishi’s eyes flashed green ice, listening to Ryoma. “Why? Why did you even do that?”
“I told you. I love Shinji. There was a time he chose you over me. But I was there first, Oishi-senpai.” The honorific sounded like a mockery to Oishi’s ears. “I was with him first, understood him before you even knew he was alive. I touched him first, kissed him first, had him first.” Ryoma smirked. “I was his first.”
“And you let him go.” Oishi closed his eyes, thinking of what Shinji had shared about his life before Oishi, remembering how Shinji had said he had tried to fill an emptiness in his soul with his body. “You couldn’t give him what he needed, and you left him alone and confused. All he wanted was love. You were his first? You think he was chaste, waiting for you?”
Ryoma’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Even if you ignore the fact that we’re clearly sleeping together, there was a long road between you and me. A lot of people in Shinji’s bed.” It made Oishi a bit sick and jealous to think about it, but that knowledge’s use as a weapon meant more to him at that moment. “He wasn’t hanging and pining and waiting for you. He moved on, until he found what he was looking for.”
“You?” Ryoma was trembling faintly. “Another notch in his bedpost?”
Oishi shook his head. The more upset Ryoma got, the calmer he seemed to get. “Love. Acceptance. Closeness. The fact that it was me is incidental. The point is, he found it, and it wasn’t you. He’s not yours, Echizen.”
“He should have been.” Ryoma stared down at the counter. “He could have been mine…if I had only….”
“Only what? Given up tennis? Settled down, stayed here, walked away from tournaments and new challenges?” Oishi sighed. “I know you couldn’t have done that. You know you couldn’t have. And so did he. Shinji fights, he holds onto what he wants. And yet, he loved you and let you go. He knew, Echizen. He knew this had to come first for you. He didn’t want to be second best, to see you leave time and time again.”
Ryoma’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”
Oishi’s smile was soft and fond. “He told me. When he chose me, he told me why, told me he didn’t want any secrets or doubts between us. He loved you, Echizen, enough to let you make your dreams come true.”
“But he didn’t wait,” Ryoma whispered.
Oishi looked at Ryoma, saw the hurt that could only come with a broken heart, and felt bad for the boy that had been his kouhai. “His dreams changed,” he said simply.
“And Shinji…he’s happy, with you?”
“To the best of my knowledge he is.”
“You love him?”
Oishi didn’t even have to think about that. “With all my heart.”
“I see.” Ryoma slid off the barstool. “Just remember, Oishi-senpai, I love Shinji, too. I want him to be happy. Right now, he’s happy with you. That ever stops, though, and I’ll be waiting here to take him away.” He smirked, then turned away, waving over his shoulder. “See you around, Oishi-senpai.”
Oishi found himself chuckling as the door closed behind Ryoma. “You’re going to be waiting a long time then, Ryoma.”
He looked at his abandoned schoolwork…then went over to the phone. He had a need to call Shinji, to hear his boyfriend’s voice and tell him how much he loved him.
--The End--