The Dare, a prince of tennis fanfic

Title: The Dare
Genre: Romance (sort of), Fluff (my first real one, I think)
Beta: pinksnow
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Tachibana/Fuji
Disclaimers: All Konomi-sensei's. Didn't make money off of this. Don't sue.
Summary: Tennis training camp. The dead of the night. Fuji helps Tachibana fulfill the conditions of a dare... Something's not quite right here...
Author's Notes: The sixth in a series of completely unrelated first kiss fics, with various pairings as requested by people. This one was written at the behest of thallein. I think this is the first fic I've written that is not dripping angst and sadness. Although it's still not quite a happy ending, I'm happy with it!

Just in case you didn't know:

(1) tensai genius, prodigy, extremely skilled
(2) oyasumi (nasai) good night; nasai is added to make it more polite.

First Kiss Series:
The Dare

"Fuji? Are you awake...?" A tentative conversational gambit was offered in the dark.

"Hai," came the reply from the upper bunk.

A few seconds of stillness...

"That was some training today, huh?" Tachibana's deep, even baritone gently sliced through the midnight silence.

"Well... it was certainly interesting," Seigaku's tensai answered, a tinge of laughter apparent in his tone.

Another few seconds of silence descended onto the somewhat stilted conversation.

"Fuji?" another interruption on the quiet tranquil that has just started to settle.

"Hai."

"Sakaki-sensei is really something else, isn't he? I don't know how Hyotei can live with him. " a semi-incredulous voice.

Lilting laughter floated down to the occupant of the lower bunk. "If Hyotei can live with Atobe, I don't think Sakaki-sensei is going to be a problem, Tachibana-san."

"Hmmm..." an amused hum of agreement. "That's true."

A lulling stillness once again descended upon the little room.

"Fuji?" softly rippled in the quiet darkness.

"Hai," was the simple reply that suspiciously hinted at a barely concealed amusement.

"Do you wonder how they came up with the room assignments for the tennis training camp this year? I mean, out of all the chosen players in the Kantou region, what are the chances that I would end up rooming with you?"

"Oh? Is that disappointment I hear in your voice, Tachibana-san?" Had the latter been paying attention, he would have noticed the note of teasing in the tensai's voice.

"No! Not at all!" came the quick reassurance.

"Are you sure? Because you could always ask for a change in the room assignments, you know."

"No, I didn't mean to imply that I disliked being in the same room with you. I apologize if it came across like that."

Another soft peal of lilting laughter, "It's alright, Tachibana-san."

Once the soft laughter died down, silence reigned once again.

"Fuji?"

This time, instead of the usual, patient 'hai' that he had come to expect in reply, Tachibana was mildly surprised when a head of dark wheat-colored hair poked out from the bed on the upper bunk to look down on him instead.

"Saa, Tachibana-san, if there is anything that you really want to say or talk about, you can go ahead tell me, you know. All this small talk and beating around the bush is quite unlike you." A smile in the dark, along with a flash of sharp blue eyes reflecting the sliver of moonlight spilling into the room, was offered to the occupant of the lower bunk.

Only the sounds of rustling sheets are heard as the young man on the lower bunk sat up in bed.

In the cover of quiet darkness, he was carefully choosing his words.

"Anou..." hesitation is heard within a few heartbeats of silence.

"Hai...?" came the verbal nudge that sounded surprisingly close.

Tachibana almost had a minor heart attack when he looked up to find Fuji's face only inches away from his own.

When did the tennis tensai come down from his perch on the upper bunk, anyway? How could he have moved so silently to sit beside Tachibana without notice?

"Was there something I could help you with, Tachibana-san?" Fuji prompted once again.

Tachibana, having gotten used to being in control and always presenting unruffled feathers, certainly felt off-kilter in Fuji's presence. Prior to this close encounter of the third kind with Seigaku's tennis prodigy, he could never recall ever stuttering before.

"Anou... etou... uh, a dare..." Fudomine's esteemed captain finally got out.

"Huh?" was Fuji's less than eloquent reply to Tachibana's cryptic statement.

Tachibana looked up from his close scrutiny of the piping on his blanket to meet the questioning blue-eyed gaze directed at him. "My team put out a dare that each of us is to kiss our assigned roommates on the last night of the training camp," came the barely whispered explanation.

The heretofore unnoticed nocturnal sounds of the crickets and cicadas suddenly seemed magnified in the charged silence that followed.

Tachibana almost quailed from Fuji's unwavering, vaguely calculating gaze. Almost. But if nothing else, Tachibana prided himself for having a backbone. He'd already lost his composure by stuttering once during this peculiar encounter, he'd be damned if he folded under Fuji's scrutiny.

But the silence remained unbroken...

And Fudomine's captain could not deny that it was unnerving.

Cocking his head a little to the side, Tachibana's lips curled up slightly in a rueful smile.

"It's a completely juvenile dare, isn't it? Not at all something you'd expect me to agree to," the dignified air that Tachibana oh-so-comfortably wears around him was returning in full force.

Shaking his head with a slight smile, he added, "Forget I mentioned anything..."

And with that, he twisted his face away from Fuji in preparation to once again lie down in bed and, hopefully, get some sleep.

"Tachibana-san..." it was enough to stop the other mid-fluffing up pillows.

"Hai...?" a slightly puzzled face swung back around to answer to the summons.

"You should never back down from a dare."

Fuji slowly but purposefully brought his face closer to Tachibana's.

Sharp, assessing blue eyes delving into slightly un-focused gray ones.

The first contact of lips upon lips was light, feathery... uncertain.

Fuji pulled back a little to study Tachibana's reaction, and when the former saw no disapproval in the latter's face, he dipped in for a second taste.

This time, the pressure of lips against lips was heavier, more solid, more certain. A small, knowing smile curved along Fuji's lips as he eased his weight against Tachibana and a teasing tongue darted out to run along Tachibana's lower lip.

It took all of two seconds for Tachibana to recover from the shock, actively participate in the kiss that Fuji initiated, and then do his damnedest to take over it.

Tachibana cupped Fuji's face, effectively keeping Fuji's face where he wanted it. Hethen gave Fuji's mouth several swipes of his tongue, familiarizing himself with the contours of the tennis tensai's mouth, before angling his head and slanting his mouth against Fuji's, kissing the other deeply. Thoroughly. Passionately.

Fuji was, by no means, a passive accomplice. He met Tachibana's enthusiasm squarely. When Tachibana's hands moved up to tangle and fist in Fuji's hair, Fuji's neatly trimmed nails almost broke the skin on Tachibana's shoulder and back as he almost desperately clutched Tachibana to him. Each thrust of Tachibana's tongue was met and parried by Fuji's own tongue.

It wasn't until Fuji felt a hand slowly making its way towards the southern part of his anatomy and he heard a deep moan of pure need from Tachibana, that Fuji gently but firmly pushed away from the Fudomine team captain.

The same slight, unperturbed smile that usually played on Fuji's lips was once again present.

"I think that just about guarantees that you've fulfilled the conditions of your dare, Tachibana-san."

It took a few seconds before Tachibana was able to wipe the mildly confused look from his face and gave Fuji a vaguely grateful smile. "Hai. Thank you for your... uh, help, Fuji."

Fuji's smile widened. "Anytime, Tachibana-san. I was glad to be of help."

"Well, I... appreciate it."

Fuji threw another smile over his shoulder before gracefully climbing up to the upper bunk.

"Oyasumi nasai, Tachibana-san."

"Oyasumi."

And with that, silence once again descended onto the tiny room.

Both of its occupants aware and acquiescent to the fact of a kiss that would never see the light of day... and the reality of a dare that was never really issued in the first place.

owari

La Fuego
04/04/2008