Word from the Author: This is just a story, simply and sweet; this is my version of how things could've happened - as inevitably and naturally as the pull of the tide...
Dedication: Okama-kama-no-tsukai e, mata, omedetou.
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis does not belong to me. Alas, neither do Kaidoh and Inui...
Some Things Just Fall Together
"Inui-sempai," Kaidoh called in that gruff manner of his that in no way lessened the respect he obviously held for Inui, which was evident in every line of his body.
"What is it, Kaidoh?" Inui replied, a little startled to find Kaidoh initiating their interaction – 76 percent of the time it was Inui who did so, and while this ratio wasn't bad, it was by no stretch equal, which in some ways disappointed Inui. Because Inui wanted Kaidoh, who was not only talented at tennis, but who was also to Inui's mind by far more skilled as a person, to consider Inui to be his equal. Not some untouchable paragon Kaidoh would have to set up upon some unreachable pedestal.
In fact, Inui very much liked to be touched by Kaidoh, both figuratively and literally. Inui found it strange that despite his at times overly rational way of looking at the world, he was easily moved by his kouhai. Perhaps it was the endearingly odd mixture of defensiveness and vulnerability that Kaidoh somehow managed to display. Inui knew that many of the younger years, and even Kaidoh's own classmates, found him to be slightly intimidating. His overall demeanor could be quite scary, Inui acknowledged, but underneath the hard shell, Kaidoh was as soft as they could come, particularly if you placed a cute, furry animal in front of him.
It really was adorable, Inui thought, how irresistibly joyful Kaidoh seemed at such times. The way his cheeks would flush and his eyes would light up, it really made Inui wish on a occasion that he'd been born as a lovable kitten just so that Kaidoh would lavish his attention upon him. It was the irrationality of thoughts such as these that seemed to indicate, in Inui's opinion anyway, that what he felt for Kaidoh couldn't be logically explained.
There was no reason why his heart should beat inexplicably faster at the sight of the younger boy, nor was there any reason that Inui could find as to why he should feel compelled to touch, to taste, to consume him. Inui often found himself fighting the irrational urge to just reach out and pull Kaidoh into his arms, or onto his lap.
In the beginning, it had been quite a disturbing occurrence. After some time though, Inui believed he had discovered some sort of pattern to the previously seemingly random impulses. The compulsion could be blamed on a number of things. A variety of factors, in fact, all of which appeared to be inclined to driving Inui slowly, but perhaps not as painfully as he originally thought it might be, insane.
For one, he had suddenly gained greater knowledge. He understood now a phrase he'd never quite before grasped, I'm crazy in love.
The fact that the lunacy he was suffering from was currently shared by the object of his affections was enough for him not to mind overly. At least neither his school work nor his tennis had suffered due to his obsession with one Kaidoh Kaoru. In fact, for all intents and purposes, both equally important aspects of his life seemed to have drastically improved. The only explanation Inui could give was the fact that Kaidoh was inextricably caught up in both.
In tennis, obviously, as Regulars the both of them, they often ended up playing together outside of practice, not to mention that this helped improve on their doubles' pairing. In school, while Inui was a year above Kaidoh, he nevertheless could seek the boy out in breaks. Inui found he had, somewhere along the way, turned this into a kind of reward system, one which enabled him to focus more intently upon his classes, unlike the occasional love-struck idiot in his class that he saw gazing about with a brainless look upon their face.
All in all, things were surprisingly beneficial in spite of the increased angst he ended up experiencing. It was only natural of course for him to be plagued from time to time by insecurities and worries. On the other hand, the universe seemed determined to balance things out for him, by thankfully allowing him the pleasure of not only Kaidoh's company, which more often than not went a long way towards alleviating any such doubts, but also some other interesting pursuits.
But returning to how this all started.
From Inui's point of view this all began because of how Kaidoh seemed to be able to accept Inui for all his oddness, except of course if Inui tried to get him to taste test any of his experimental 'Inui dews.' In such instances, it always soon enough became a free for all. And it was in fact at one such point that everything had fallen into place. Or rather, both of them vying for supremacy, one over the other, had ended up with the both of them tumbling to the floor in a heap. It had quickly turned into something of a wrestling match. With Inui fighting for the right to make Kaidoh drink it, while Kaidoh desperately tried to do all in his power to escape such a fate.
Perhaps Inui's slightly obsessive desire to have Kaidoh, and only Kaidoh, as a willing subject for his experiments should have been the first clue. Or perhaps it should have been the pleasurable shiver Inui felt run down his spine at the mere thought of having a willing Kaidoh at his beck and call.
Shrugging it off, he had simply refocused upon his kouhai, who he now had pinned beneath him and at his mercy. It was only to be expected really. Though Kaidoh was strong, Inui wasn't exactly a light-weight himself. Furthermore, he knew how to use his superior height and build to his advantage.
As they lay there, both trying to catch their breath, it happened.
Inui took one look at Kaidoh's flushed face, the way his head had been thrown back, his long, smooth neck taut and exposed. In the tussle, the top button of Kaidoh's pristine white school shirt had somehow come undone, and the garment now lay awkwardly scrunched up near where Inui had braced himself on one forearm. It revealed more delicious, smooth skin, as well as a surprisingly inviting collarbone.
But what really did it, the final straw in that long chain of chemical reactions catalyzing an event that Inui should have predicated, but never would have, not in a million years, was Kaidoh's breathless murmuring of his name, along with his title.
"Inui-sempai…" Kaidoh had said, exhaling, his warm breath streaking against Inui's own exposed neck.
The hairs on his nape rose, and he was instantly hard.
When Inui froze, Kaidoh did likewise, peering up at his sempai, before tentatively trying to move. All this did, however, was cause him to brush directly against Inui and Inui's sudden, somewhat significant, problem.
Inui felt his eyelids fall close. Unable to control himself, the beginnings of a moan formed but somehow Inui managed to choke its ending off, catching it in his throat as he gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw, determined not to let it escape.
Inui's eyes snapped wide as Kaidoh shifted again, this time touching a hand to one of Inui's tensed shoulders, feeling the muscles bunched there.
"Did I hurt y—" Kaidoh's voice cut off suddenly and Inui watched, with bated breath, as a look of confusion passed over Kaidoh's face. His brows furrowed and his lips turned down slightly at the corners.
The look held for a moment, before another shift, this time calculated and controlled, one that made Inui choke again, caused realization to dawn in Kaidoh's expressive eyes.
He promptly turned bright red, which would've been adorable had Inui been a bystander and not the cause of whatever outrage was sure to follow.
Only, none did. Instead, there was silence. That and the sound of Inui's heart beating at a hundred miles an hour as it throbbed loud and clear in Inui's ears.
He idly wondered whether Kaidoh could hear it too, but dismissed the thought. After all, he couldn't hear Kaidoh's heart beat, so why should Kaidoh be able to hear his? The thought left him oddly wistful.
"S-sempai," Kaidoh stuttered then.
"What is it, Kaidoh?" Inui replied as calmly as he could.
"What should I do?"
Inui thought his eyes were going to fall out of their sockets. Had Kaidoh just offered to… Inui's train of thought trailed off and he found himself unable to do more than simply stare stupidly down at Kaidoh's earnest face.
"Do you… want me to go home?" Kaidoh clarified. "Or should I just… wait… until…" Kaidoh turned an even bright shade of red.
Oh, Inui thought. He was surprised to hear himself vocalize the sound his mind had provided him with. It was a rare occasion indeed that an Inui thought was directly translated into a verbally communicated Inui sound.
Still stuck in a tableau of entwined limbs, Kaidoh's hand still resting upon a shoulder, Inui wondered how far he could take this. He didn't want to scare Kaidoh off, not when he had just realized how much more Kaidoh could be to him.
"Kaidoh," Inui murmured, and was pleased to find Kaidoh look up at him expectantly, obediently.
Inui decided what he needed was data. "Tell me, Kaidoh," Inui instructed. "Has this ever happened to you?" To emphasize what he meant by 'this,' he let his weight fall a little more onto Kaidoh.
Kaidoh gasped, a delicious little sound that Inui yearned to cause again.
When it looked as though Kaidoh was about to protest, Inui used his body to again, this time more firmly, press Kaidoh to Inui's bedroom floor.
This time, Kaidoh whimpered and Inui felt as if he was ready to fall apart.
Biting the inside of his cheek, he let the pain become his focus and he spoke, a little more harshly than usual, with a rougher, deeper voice than he'd ever used previously. At least, not while there had been someone else here in his room with him.
Leaning forward, closer, closer still, he demanded, "The truth, Kaidoh. You know I hate being lied to," which was true, Inui did hate being lied to. What wasn't exactly quite right was Inui's statement that Kaidoh should be aware of the fact. Then again, logically speaking, who did like being lied to?
A fraction of a second later, it no longer matter, because Kaidoh was lowering his eyes and acquiescing as he replied, "Yes, Inui-sempai," in an apologetic tone.
"Good boy," Inui praised. "Now, your answer."
The firm demand in Inui's voice made Kaidoh squirm. It made him feel flustered, made him feel owned, which in turn made him feel hot.
Feeling himself harden in response, he tried to look way, even as his traitorous body pressed upwards against his sempai's, silently begging, silently pleading to be stroked and petted like a 'good boy.'
"Kaidoh," Inui commanded, in a voice that brooked no argument.
"Yes," Kaidoh hissed, finally answering his sempai's original question. Has this ever happened to you before? Even as he spoke, his physical reaction to Inui-sempai, to his body and his entire demeanor of master, twitched against Inui's own.
"Inui-sempai!" Kaidoh cried as Inui shifted his body upwards, sliding and pressing as he used his braced arms for leverage.
Back arching sharply, Kaidoh let his hand fall from his sempai's shoulder. Suddenly, he found himself lying prone, boneless and docile, panting and hard, under his sempai.
He'd never once given thought to how this could feel, how someone else touching him there could possibly feel, not even in his dreams did he think of such things. The truth though was that Kaidoh often dreamt of his sempai, but never had it involved anything like this.
Usually, in his dreams, they simply spent time together, doing the things they usually did while waking – running together, training together, playing tennis together, sitting in Inui-sempai's room doing their homework, his sempai leaning over Kaidoh's shoulder, always willing to give Kaidoh whatever help he needed. Sometimes in his dreams all they did was talk. None of it made sense though, because all those kinds of things shouldn't have warranted Kaidoh waking up sweat-covered and harder than could be provoked by any perverted thought he had while awake.
Kaidoh hadn't understood then, but he did now. In all his dreams, Inui-sempai was the common denominator. He was what left Kaidoh in that state, almost sobbing as he desperately sought release by his own hand. Even when he was finished, the ache remained.
Kaidoh was infinitely grateful that Inui-sempai hadn't simply sent him home as Kaidoh had inadvertently suggested. If he had, Kaidoh still would've been lost and confused, about all of this.
But lying here, his sempai's warm weight covering him protectively? He felt shielded and loved.
Resolved within his own mind, Kaidoh felt bolder now, as it was obvious that his sempai wanted him too, if the hardness pressed against him was any indicator. He decided perhaps he should play to Inui's protective side, the side that made Inui stop no matter what he was doing just so that he could focus all his energy on Kaidoh, and provide him with what he needed. Right now, Kaidoh needed his sempai.
Making a face similar to the ones the kittens at the pet store forever made at him whenever he stopped by, Kaidoh tugged at one of his sempai's sleeves and let his legs fall open, bringing his sempai closer to him.
"Inui-sempai," he moaned, letting his head loll off to one side, arching his neck and gasping open mouthed.
"I—" he paused, "it hurts…"
"What does, Kaidoh?" Inui asked, a look of concern immediately replacing the intense look of hunger with which he'd been staring at him.
"My…" Kaidoh swallowed then, for effect, though in truth he really was feeling a little too embarrassed to actually say the word.
Smugly, out of the corner of his eye, he noted that Inui-sempai himself was doing some convulsive swallowing.
The most shocking thing then was that Inui removed his glasses, and subsequently chucked them across the room. Before he could think any further on that, he was caught in the intensity of his sempai's gaze.
Inui-sempai was gorgeous, Kaidoh thought in awe. Kaidoh knew that others thought Inui-sempai to be odd, and that very few girls ever approached him the way they did a lot of the other third year Regulars.
Kaidoh found himself wondering whether his choice of glasses had been for the exact purpose of repelling people from getting too close to him.
Kaidoh felt touched by the gesture, as it seemed to indicate that his sempai wanted Kaidoh to be as close to him as was possible.
Inui smiled down at Kaidoh, noting the way his kouhai was fixating on his eyes, apparently dazed.
Inui recalled the day his mother had taken him to get his glasses. She had let him pick his own frames, believing in autonomy and independence even at a young age. She'd looked a little horrified, however, at his choice, exclaiming that he'd be covering his beautiful eyes.
Calmly he'd put them on, looked around at the strangers who were similarly looking at spectacle frames before returning his gaze to his mother and tugging her close. Curious, and always willing to know what her strange but adorable child was thinking, she obeyed, a small smile lighting her face as she complied with his unspoken demand.
Once she was close enough he let the glasses slide down his nose, revealing his bright, intelligent eyes, and informed her seriously, "Now only the people I love will get to see my eyes."
She'd hugged him to her then, as she caved. "Alright, Haru-chan, you can have those ones. But don't come crying to me if the other kids bully you," she had warned him, grinning.
Aghast, and frowning mildly, he'd exclaimed, "I don't come crying to you for anything!"
"I know," she'd pouted at him, her doting nature a little at odds with the sharp precision of her tailored suit, her coiffured hair and her own chic, professional frames. She looked the part of a hard hitting business woman, and she was. Except around her precious Haru-chan, Inui's father always teased. Then, she was always just a woman, a mother. It was part of what made Inui love her so much.
In fact, he'd always taken more after her in personality, despite the fact that he looked a lot more like his father, but for his pride and joy, the deep, forest green eyes he'd inherited from her.
Happiness filling them with warmth, Inui leaned forward and caught his kouhai's lips in a kiss.
And from then on, everything sort of just fell together...
"Inui-sempai," Kaidoh hissed.
Blinking, Inui brought his thoughts back to the present and to an apparently disgruntled Kaidoh Kaoru. "I'm sorry, Kaidoh, what was that?"
Blushing, Kaidoh glanced off to the side, suddenly appearing adorably shy. He hissed before repeating his earlier question, "…I asked if you wanted to come to the pet store with me…"
Grinning, Inui leaned forward, resting his forehead against Kaidoh's and let his glasses slide down his nose so he could look directly into his kouhai's eyes.
"I'd love to."
Finis.
Another Word from the Author: How was it, people? And be honest... If you are, it'll like lead to more writing on my behalf.../grins/ That said, waaaah! First time writing this pairing, which I looooove to death, among many other TeniPuri pairings... But still... I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I'll hopefully see you all again...!