A/N: A request by a dear online bud, Midnight Strawberry. Hope you like it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

Prompt: Flying bags

Lip Gloss

By: the Neat Freak

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It had been three weeks since he had bumped into her by accident. He didn't really mean it—he was almost late for practice! He had left her sitting on the ground and he picked up his bag before dashing off, leaving her muttering dark curses about rudeness and not even saying sorry.

As a result, the other regulars who had seen the predicament teased him and paired him up... with her. He denied relentlessly since she was, after all, a tomboy.

He, Marui Bunta, was and is and forever will be straight, and will never ever like a tomboy.

Heck, he was even willing to bet his life on it!

She moved like a man. And darn it, she was taller than him by an inch (his pituitary glands* didn't seem to be working wondersat the moment)! She was also very, very dull, since she seemed to like bleak colors. Marui had never even seen her smile (and they were classmates at that)! He was even surprised when he saw that she even had friends.

The serve-and-volley specialist let a small sigh escape his lips before rolling his eyes. 'Che... Women.'

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That fateful day was their second face-to-face encounter—and the first time they had a (not-so) decent conversation.

Marui ran as fast as his legs could carry him to tennis practice after having been given cleaning duties by their teacher. 'Baka, Niou! How dare he insult my genius (prank)! Couldn't he have warned me that sensei was already there?! Then I could've removed the eraser from the door**! But nooooo! He just had to be the I'm-so-cool-I-won't-bother-helping-Bunta-out-of-detention-so-Yukimura-buchou-can-beat-him-up-after himself and watch me suffer—in the hands of sensei for the prank and buchou for being late!'

He dashed to the tennis courts, not minding the other students that were passing by. He was almost there, when a loud voice interrupted his concentration. "OUT OF MY WAY!"

Oof!

It was in the blink of an eye, his bag went flying. Unfortunately for him, the zipper was open and his racket, water bottle, towel and extra shirt fell out.

"Ow!" came the voice from the soft mass of flesh underneath him. 'What the—'

"Get off of me!" The voice was shrill and feminine (it was threatening to bring his ears to the brink of exploding). With the latter statement, he quickly got on his feet. Why it was... her... again... Hm... He didn't know she had a loud voice, since she barely talked (at all) in class.

She picked up her sports bag and the water bottle (which apparently had fallen out) closest to it. 'Oh!' he thought. 'Our bottles have the same color! Maybe she likes the color green apple, too? Maybe she's not as bad as—'

"Move it, you lump of fat! I'm already late for badminton practice as it is!" she growled, sending him a glare with her dark green eyes. 'I take that back. Talk about moody... Stupid tomboy! And she called ME a lump of FAT! Doesn't she know who I am? I am a genius!' the red-head bubbled with rage.

He swore she wasn't getting with this. He had to make sure she wouldn't get away that easily. 'This is what you get for insulting a tensai like me…'

It was when he finally remembered that he, too, was late for practice.

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'I will never be late for tennis practice again,' he thought, panting. Yukimura was a strict captain, after all. Never ever mess with him... ever—especially when it came to tennis. And always remember to come to practice on the dot; the punishment was terrible for this violation. He mentally took note of everything, not wanting to experience it once more (he got off the hook the last time he was late).

He took his water bottle from his bag and took a nice big gulp, trying to relieve his tense muscles and regain his breathing with the cool drink. His eyes snapped open in alarm as he inspected the object in his hand.

The name 'Kojima Kumiko' was scribbled neatly underneath the bottle that looked so similar to his. So... they exchanged water bottles when they bumped into each other earlier…?

He smiled from ear to ear before licking his lips in a manner that could rival the perverted Echizen Nanjirou. 'Cherry flavored lip gloss,' he thought. 'So you're not tomboyish after all, Miko-chan.'

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(owari...?)

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Practice had just ended in time and the members of the tennis club walked over to the gates, ready to go home (badminton practice starts later than tennis, therefore, they go home later). 'I'll return this to her when I see her again,' he thought, looking at the water bottle in his hand. 'Hm.. Now that I think about it… How the hell did she know that I'll get riled up when people call me a lump of fat***…?'

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(owari)

A/N: In case some of you has forgotten: *pituitary glands are hormonal glands that are responsible for growth and the ever famous prank: **you put the eraser between the door frame and the door itself. When one pushes/slides the door open, the eraser falls on top of the person's head. The same prank Naruto used when he first met Kakashi-sensei, in case some of you watch Naruto. Finally: ***The regulars often tease Bunta and call him a 'lump of fat'. He's literally wondering how she knew that if she acts like she didn't know who he is.