fanfic100: 024 and writing_rainbow: fire
Title: This Fire
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Mukahi Gakuto, Hiyoshi Wakashi, Atobe Keigo, Oshitari Yuushi
Rating: PG just for some language
Word Count: 2268
Prompt: 024 - family (
fanfic100) and 002 - fire (
writing_rainbow)
Summary: Hiyoshi's remembering their past together.
Author's Notes: I wrote this on the train today. I honestly don't know where it came from. It follows a few years after Mine to Protect though I originally wrote it for my
writing_rainbow prompt. So, it's used for both.
Hiyoshi always said that he was drawn to Gakuto's fire, yet it was the other way around. Gakuto was addicted to the passion Hiyoshi kept hidden. He was addicted to the desire for life the other man had. It was like reaching out and touching the sun.
Gakuto always said that he was attracted to Hiyoshi's determination, but for Hiyoshi it was the other way around. He was addicted to Gakuto's hunger for life. He was addicted to Gakuto's very presence. Being near the tiny redhead made him feel alive. That was never more true than at this exact moment.
They lay together, tangled and sated in the bed they had fought to share. It had been an uphill battle; parents turning their backs, society reviling them. After years of dealing with this they had found a balance. Their friends accepted them, their coworkers supported them and they realized that, together they had found happiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiyoshi thought back to how their life had been. He thought about the tears, the pain, the anger. Those were emotions he never wanted to feel again. There was a time when he thought he'd hate Gakuto forever. He'd felt used, felt like garbage. Gakuto had disappeared and Hiyoshi took it the way the Mukahi family wanted him to. They hated what their eldest was. They wanted him to be a proper heir to the family. They wanted him to breed sons to continue on the family name. They ignored their younger son in favour of the eldest. They ignored their daughter for the simple fact that she was female. They ignored their grandson because he wasn't Gakuto's. The were slowly killing Gakuto and they didn’t care.
Hiyoshi had gone to wait by the front gates of the school like he did every morning. He watched patiently as uniform clad students filed through, the one person he wanted to see not among them. Shrugging, the thought Gakuto might have been sick and decided to pay a visit after classes. A feeling of uneasiness hit him, one that he didn't understand. He went through morning class, hoping it would go away. By lunch, it was worse. He had to find out what happened to Gakuto.
Running to the courts, he came across Oshitari-senpai. It was still odd seeing him play singles but it was a sight he was getting used to. Gakuto was his partner now, not Oshitari's, not Jirou-senpai's, no ones but his. Still, he knew that the tensai was Gakuto's best friend and if anyone had an idea where he was it was this man.
Waiting till the set was finished, Hiyoshi walked slowly over to where his first target was sitting. "Um…Oshitari-senpai…Have you see Gaku…I mean Mukahi-senpai?"
The laugh got to him, that all knowing laugh that meant the person sitting in front of him knew what was going on between them and he was gloating that he had been there before Hiyoshi.
"So…you're looking for Gakuto. You mean he gave you the slip? He's done that before…but we won't talk about that." The smirk faded from those lips as he saw the anger and worry in Hiyoshi's eyes. "Look, I haven't talked to him at all since last weekend. He sounded upset and I thought you two had gotten into a fight. He hung up quickly but I didn't think much of it. That's normal for him."
"Oh, alright then. Thank you senpai." Head down, Hiyoshi walked away. Gakuto had been upset and hadn't told him? Something was wrong. Midway to the school, he decided to pay his partner a visit. First his pace was measured, steady. He thought about everything they'd said to each other over the last couple of weeks, the declarations of love, the desire to be together. He thought about waking up with Gakuto curled up next to him, dark red hair brushing his chin as he slept. That memory brought a smile to his face until he remembered the fear in Gakuto's eyes when his parents showed up at the Hiyoshi dojo, announcing that they were bringing their son back where he belonged.
He remembered their last phone conversation two days ago, remembered the hushed tones and the whispered "I'm sorry" before the line disconnected. That confused him, but he didn't think too much of it. Yesterday was their busy day, and he knew it wasn't unusual for him to go a full Thursday without seeing Gakuto. That night, he received a single text that informed him that Gakuto had a migraine and was going to bed early. That was usually a sign that his family was being ridiculous and Gakuto was ignoring them through sleep. Hiyoshi understood that, even though he'd never gone through it personally, Gakuto's family was special that way.
Before he realized it, he was running. Rounding the corner to Gakuto's street, Hiyoshi stopped. The driveway was empty which was odd. The curtains were missing from the windows which was something that never happened. Even when they were being cleaned there were always replacements. Spying a neighbour in the next driveway, Hiyoshi ran over and, panting, asked what had happened.
"Oh them? They moved out last night. It was strange, but I never really talked to them so I didn't question anything."
He felt like he'd been hit. The pain in his chest was enough to rip him in two. Moved? What the hell? Why hadn't Gakuto said anything? Where did they go?
He didn't even realize he'd headed back to school until he found himself standing in front of the one person that could possibly answer these questions.
"Atobe…where did he go?"
"Ahn…by that question you could be asking ore-sama about anyone. Please specify."
"Don't give me that bull shit Atobe. You know full well who I'm talking about and you know everything and anything that has to do with your team. Now…what happened to Gakuto?"
Smiling, Atobe sat down at his desk. "So, you've dropped the Mukahi-senpai. Took you long enough, though it's kind of sad that his leaving caused you to do it. I don't know the details, but his family moved away, somewhere in Kyushu. There weren't any reasons given to me other than it was imperative that they leave for their family's future. I don't understand and in this case, I don't think I want to."
Kyushu…but what? "How can I find them?"
"They don't want to be found. It'll be hard. Give it time…this will all sort itself out soon."
He couldn't take anymore. Atobe knew and wasn't telling him. Turning, he stormed out of the office, throwing himself on the bench. Burying his head in his hands, Hiyoshi nearly jumped as he felt something vibrating on his leg. Reaching in, he pulled out his cell, wishing he hadn't turned the ringer off. "One missed call. One new message" flashed on the screen. Dialing his voicemail, he held his breath as he listened to the voice he'd come to love.
"Look…don't come and find me. You can't. I don't want to hurt you." The voice on the other line cracked, and Hiyoshi had the strongest urge to take Gakuto in his arms and hold him. "I've never been able to say it before…but I do love you. I just…we can't do this anymore. I don't want you to get hurt and that's what will happen if we keep this up. If there is anyway…" he knew Gakuto was crying. Gakuto never cried. "I will find a way to stop this. If I can guarantee that you won't get hurt, I will find you. No matter how long it takes, you own my heart. I love you Wakashi." And that was it. The line went dead. It took all of his strength to not destroy the phone but he knew that, if he did, he'd never hear that message again.
"Hiyoshi, I'll drive you home. Get your things." Atobe was standing over his shoulder, watching him.
"Fine. Just…why?"
"His parents are closed-minded. They found out about you two a while ago, and he's been trying to protect you. They blame all of us, saying that the whole team made him gay and that they're going to cure him. But…" Atobe didn't know if he should say anything. Seeing the pain Hiyoshi was in, he decided to help. "Gakuto will be back. Just be patient."
Nodding, Hiyoshi stood and, grabbing his bag he headed to the door. "I hope you're right. I really do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weeks went by and Hiyoshi waited. There was no sign of Gakuto, no more phone calls…nothing. He'd catch himself staring out the window towards the front gate, looking for a fire coloured head walking proudly up the walk. It never happened.
Weeks turned into months and Hiyoshi was starting to wonder if what he'd had with Gakuto was even real. He'd listen to the message and then hate himself for doubting. He started shutting himself away from people. First it was at school - he'd go home right after practice instead of going to someone's house to watch a movie, started skipping practice all together to stay in his room. His mother was worried but knew a bit of what had happened. She hated seeing her son in pain but didn't know how to help him. When he was ready, he'd talk to her.
Six months…a year and no word. He gave up. He watched as the others graduated, agreed to become captain of the tennis team once again. Lose yourself in something…try to live again - that became his mantra. He taught the first years everything they needed to know. He scouted out the current second year regulars for a new captain. He lead his team to victory and to defeat. There was no joy in it anymore.
Sweating, Hiyoshi sat down on the bench after a particularly intense game. Some of these players had talent. Grabbing a water bottle, he suddenly felt like he wasn't alone. Looking over both shoulders, shaking his head when he didn't see anyone, he took a drink of the cold liquid. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, but he chalked that up to exhaustion.
Standing in the cover of trees at the far side of the court, Gakuto watched him. He longed to reach out, to touch the face of the man he loved. He wanted to confess in person, but something had changed. Without turning around, he asked the one question that had been on his mind.
"He hates me, doesn't he."
Yuushi leaned against the tree and laughed. "You can still sense my presence. That makes me smile."
"Damn it Yuushi, answer my question! Does he hate me?" This was probably the one time that Gakuto was happy the courts were so large. His voice wouldn't travel.
"Gakuto listen. He's been through hell. After everything that happened in junior high and then high school…it's like he's a different person. He loved you, I even saw that 4 years ago. It's why I never put up much of a fight when you found out about me and Atobe. I knew he'd take care of you. Now…his whole world changed, was thrown upside down when you left. It'll take time. But" the tensai smiled, "I don't think he hates you. He still loves you."
That was all he needed to hear. Pushing away from the trees, Gakuto headed towards the gate. He walked slow, not wanting to startle Hiyoshi. It was hard, when instinct was telling him to run and throw himself and apologize for the pain he'd caused. Nearing the gate he stopped, taking in the changes that had occurred over the past year.
His hair was darker, still blond though. It was longer too and Gakuto fought the desire to run over and tangle his fingers in it. He'd grown too, at least 4 inches. A small chuckle escaped him when he realized that Hiyoshi was now almost a foot taller. Eyes following as Hiyoshi lifted the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, Gakuto smiled. There were muscles there that weren't there before. It was a moment before he realized they were staring at each other.
"Gakuto?" It was so quiet Gakuto almost didn't hear. He was rooted to the spot, incapable of answering. Tears streaming down his cheeks, he watched as Hiyoshi stood and, very slowly walked over to the fence. One calloused hand came out then fell, as if afraid to touch him. All he could do was nod. He hoped Hiyoshi understood what he was trying to say. Once more the hand came out, this time brushing a tear from his cheek.
"'Kashi…I…" that was all he could get out before he found himself wrapped in the arms he'd dreamed of for the past year. He was home. He was with the one he loved and he'd never look back. "I love you" he whispered, holding on for life.
At the other end of the tennis courts, two figures walked away. "Do you think they'll be alright?" Yuushi asked, worried about his best friend.
"They've both changed, but they'll be fine. Gakuto gave up a lot to get back here, but I know Hiyoshi will understand." Atobe knew everything would be fine. "Come on. Let's go home and I'll make you tea."
"Keigo, the only thing you know how to make is tea. We'll have to fix that sometime." Yuushi laughed and took his boyfriend's hand, leading him to the waiting limousine. "And the world is right again."
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters: Mukahi Gakuto, Hiyoshi Wakashi, Atobe Keigo, Oshitari Yuushi
Rating: PG just for some language
Word Count: 2268
Prompt: 024 - family (
fanfic100) and 002 - fire (
writing_rainbow)
Summary: Hiyoshi's remembering their past together.
Author's Notes: I wrote this on the train today. I honestly don't know where it came from. It follows a few years after Mine to Protect though I originally wrote it for my
writing_rainbow prompt. So, it's used for both.
Hiyoshi always said that he was drawn to Gakuto's fire, yet it was the other way around. Gakuto was addicted to the passion Hiyoshi kept hidden. He was addicted to the desire for life the other man had. It was like reaching out and touching the sun.
Gakuto always said that he was attracted to Hiyoshi's determination, but for Hiyoshi it was the other way around. He was addicted to Gakuto's hunger for life. He was addicted to Gakuto's very presence. Being near the tiny redhead made him feel alive. That was never more true than at this exact moment.
They lay together, tangled and sated in the bed they had fought to share. It had been an uphill battle; parents turning their backs, society reviling them. After years of dealing with this they had found a balance. Their friends accepted them, their coworkers supported them and they realized that, together they had found happiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hiyoshi thought back to how their life had been. He thought about the tears, the pain, the anger. Those were emotions he never wanted to feel again. There was a time when he thought he'd hate Gakuto forever. He'd felt used, felt like garbage. Gakuto had disappeared and Hiyoshi took it the way the Mukahi family wanted him to. They hated what their eldest was. They wanted him to be a proper heir to the family. They wanted him to breed sons to continue on the family name. They ignored their younger son in favour of the eldest. They ignored their daughter for the simple fact that she was female. They ignored their grandson because he wasn't Gakuto's. The were slowly killing Gakuto and they didn’t care.
Hiyoshi had gone to wait by the front gates of the school like he did every morning. He watched patiently as uniform clad students filed through, the one person he wanted to see not among them. Shrugging, the thought Gakuto might have been sick and decided to pay a visit after classes. A feeling of uneasiness hit him, one that he didn't understand. He went through morning class, hoping it would go away. By lunch, it was worse. He had to find out what happened to Gakuto.
Running to the courts, he came across Oshitari-senpai. It was still odd seeing him play singles but it was a sight he was getting used to. Gakuto was his partner now, not Oshitari's, not Jirou-senpai's, no ones but his. Still, he knew that the tensai was Gakuto's best friend and if anyone had an idea where he was it was this man.
Waiting till the set was finished, Hiyoshi walked slowly over to where his first target was sitting. "Um…Oshitari-senpai…Have you see Gaku…I mean Mukahi-senpai?"
The laugh got to him, that all knowing laugh that meant the person sitting in front of him knew what was going on between them and he was gloating that he had been there before Hiyoshi.
"So…you're looking for Gakuto. You mean he gave you the slip? He's done that before…but we won't talk about that." The smirk faded from those lips as he saw the anger and worry in Hiyoshi's eyes. "Look, I haven't talked to him at all since last weekend. He sounded upset and I thought you two had gotten into a fight. He hung up quickly but I didn't think much of it. That's normal for him."
"Oh, alright then. Thank you senpai." Head down, Hiyoshi walked away. Gakuto had been upset and hadn't told him? Something was wrong. Midway to the school, he decided to pay his partner a visit. First his pace was measured, steady. He thought about everything they'd said to each other over the last couple of weeks, the declarations of love, the desire to be together. He thought about waking up with Gakuto curled up next to him, dark red hair brushing his chin as he slept. That memory brought a smile to his face until he remembered the fear in Gakuto's eyes when his parents showed up at the Hiyoshi dojo, announcing that they were bringing their son back where he belonged.
He remembered their last phone conversation two days ago, remembered the hushed tones and the whispered "I'm sorry" before the line disconnected. That confused him, but he didn't think too much of it. Yesterday was their busy day, and he knew it wasn't unusual for him to go a full Thursday without seeing Gakuto. That night, he received a single text that informed him that Gakuto had a migraine and was going to bed early. That was usually a sign that his family was being ridiculous and Gakuto was ignoring them through sleep. Hiyoshi understood that, even though he'd never gone through it personally, Gakuto's family was special that way.
Before he realized it, he was running. Rounding the corner to Gakuto's street, Hiyoshi stopped. The driveway was empty which was odd. The curtains were missing from the windows which was something that never happened. Even when they were being cleaned there were always replacements. Spying a neighbour in the next driveway, Hiyoshi ran over and, panting, asked what had happened.
"Oh them? They moved out last night. It was strange, but I never really talked to them so I didn't question anything."
He felt like he'd been hit. The pain in his chest was enough to rip him in two. Moved? What the hell? Why hadn't Gakuto said anything? Where did they go?
He didn't even realize he'd headed back to school until he found himself standing in front of the one person that could possibly answer these questions.
"Atobe…where did he go?"
"Ahn…by that question you could be asking ore-sama about anyone. Please specify."
"Don't give me that bull shit Atobe. You know full well who I'm talking about and you know everything and anything that has to do with your team. Now…what happened to Gakuto?"
Smiling, Atobe sat down at his desk. "So, you've dropped the Mukahi-senpai. Took you long enough, though it's kind of sad that his leaving caused you to do it. I don't know the details, but his family moved away, somewhere in Kyushu. There weren't any reasons given to me other than it was imperative that they leave for their family's future. I don't understand and in this case, I don't think I want to."
Kyushu…but what? "How can I find them?"
"They don't want to be found. It'll be hard. Give it time…this will all sort itself out soon."
He couldn't take anymore. Atobe knew and wasn't telling him. Turning, he stormed out of the office, throwing himself on the bench. Burying his head in his hands, Hiyoshi nearly jumped as he felt something vibrating on his leg. Reaching in, he pulled out his cell, wishing he hadn't turned the ringer off. "One missed call. One new message" flashed on the screen. Dialing his voicemail, he held his breath as he listened to the voice he'd come to love.
"Look…don't come and find me. You can't. I don't want to hurt you." The voice on the other line cracked, and Hiyoshi had the strongest urge to take Gakuto in his arms and hold him. "I've never been able to say it before…but I do love you. I just…we can't do this anymore. I don't want you to get hurt and that's what will happen if we keep this up. If there is anyway…" he knew Gakuto was crying. Gakuto never cried. "I will find a way to stop this. If I can guarantee that you won't get hurt, I will find you. No matter how long it takes, you own my heart. I love you Wakashi." And that was it. The line went dead. It took all of his strength to not destroy the phone but he knew that, if he did, he'd never hear that message again.
"Hiyoshi, I'll drive you home. Get your things." Atobe was standing over his shoulder, watching him.
"Fine. Just…why?"
"His parents are closed-minded. They found out about you two a while ago, and he's been trying to protect you. They blame all of us, saying that the whole team made him gay and that they're going to cure him. But…" Atobe didn't know if he should say anything. Seeing the pain Hiyoshi was in, he decided to help. "Gakuto will be back. Just be patient."
Nodding, Hiyoshi stood and, grabbing his bag he headed to the door. "I hope you're right. I really do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weeks went by and Hiyoshi waited. There was no sign of Gakuto, no more phone calls…nothing. He'd catch himself staring out the window towards the front gate, looking for a fire coloured head walking proudly up the walk. It never happened.
Weeks turned into months and Hiyoshi was starting to wonder if what he'd had with Gakuto was even real. He'd listen to the message and then hate himself for doubting. He started shutting himself away from people. First it was at school - he'd go home right after practice instead of going to someone's house to watch a movie, started skipping practice all together to stay in his room. His mother was worried but knew a bit of what had happened. She hated seeing her son in pain but didn't know how to help him. When he was ready, he'd talk to her.
Six months…a year and no word. He gave up. He watched as the others graduated, agreed to become captain of the tennis team once again. Lose yourself in something…try to live again - that became his mantra. He taught the first years everything they needed to know. He scouted out the current second year regulars for a new captain. He lead his team to victory and to defeat. There was no joy in it anymore.
Sweating, Hiyoshi sat down on the bench after a particularly intense game. Some of these players had talent. Grabbing a water bottle, he suddenly felt like he wasn't alone. Looking over both shoulders, shaking his head when he didn't see anyone, he took a drink of the cold liquid. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, but he chalked that up to exhaustion.
Standing in the cover of trees at the far side of the court, Gakuto watched him. He longed to reach out, to touch the face of the man he loved. He wanted to confess in person, but something had changed. Without turning around, he asked the one question that had been on his mind.
"He hates me, doesn't he."
Yuushi leaned against the tree and laughed. "You can still sense my presence. That makes me smile."
"Damn it Yuushi, answer my question! Does he hate me?" This was probably the one time that Gakuto was happy the courts were so large. His voice wouldn't travel.
"Gakuto listen. He's been through hell. After everything that happened in junior high and then high school…it's like he's a different person. He loved you, I even saw that 4 years ago. It's why I never put up much of a fight when you found out about me and Atobe. I knew he'd take care of you. Now…his whole world changed, was thrown upside down when you left. It'll take time. But" the tensai smiled, "I don't think he hates you. He still loves you."
That was all he needed to hear. Pushing away from the trees, Gakuto headed towards the gate. He walked slow, not wanting to startle Hiyoshi. It was hard, when instinct was telling him to run and throw himself and apologize for the pain he'd caused. Nearing the gate he stopped, taking in the changes that had occurred over the past year.
His hair was darker, still blond though. It was longer too and Gakuto fought the desire to run over and tangle his fingers in it. He'd grown too, at least 4 inches. A small chuckle escaped him when he realized that Hiyoshi was now almost a foot taller. Eyes following as Hiyoshi lifted the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, Gakuto smiled. There were muscles there that weren't there before. It was a moment before he realized they were staring at each other.
"Gakuto?" It was so quiet Gakuto almost didn't hear. He was rooted to the spot, incapable of answering. Tears streaming down his cheeks, he watched as Hiyoshi stood and, very slowly walked over to the fence. One calloused hand came out then fell, as if afraid to touch him. All he could do was nod. He hoped Hiyoshi understood what he was trying to say. Once more the hand came out, this time brushing a tear from his cheek.
"'Kashi…I…" that was all he could get out before he found himself wrapped in the arms he'd dreamed of for the past year. He was home. He was with the one he loved and he'd never look back. "I love you" he whispered, holding on for life.
At the other end of the tennis courts, two figures walked away. "Do you think they'll be alright?" Yuushi asked, worried about his best friend.
"They've both changed, but they'll be fine. Gakuto gave up a lot to get back here, but I know Hiyoshi will understand." Atobe knew everything would be fine. "Come on. Let's go home and I'll make you tea."
"Keigo, the only thing you know how to make is tea. We'll have to fix that sometime." Yuushi laughed and took his boyfriend's hand, leading him to the waiting limousine. "And the world is right again."