Title: Harmony
Rating: PG-13 (I tentatively add that "-13" at the end because of little bits)
Summary: They say smell brings back memories the strongest, but really, who doesn't remember first loves when that one song comes on the radio?
Notes: The lyrics at the end are "Golden Smile," sung by Takiguchi Yukihiro, third generation Oishi in the Prince of Tennis Musicals, from the Best Actor Series 007. Yeah, I had to make it that song. (: Lyric translations by juudenkanryou from LJ.
Kikumaru Eiji was an energetic, exuberant person. The entire student body knew that, his family knew that, the random stranger walking down the street who happened to bump into him knew that. He was the person to go to when you needed to be cheered up, because by merely being in the vicinity of the redhead, your mood lightened and when his irresistible smile was turned towards you, all of your thoughts just washed away.
He was also known to be quite the music enthusiast. Before class, right up to the very last second when the teacher walked in through the door, during lunch, after school, on the way to tennis club, he had one earphone blasting music seemingly straight through to the other ear, the other in his hand, twirling it round and round as he chatted in time to the song. He shared his music, too. He forced the spare into Oishi's ear over bento, and Fuji was constantly forced to follow Eiji around class when Eiji forgot someone was on the other end of the earphones and got up to bounce towards a group gossiping about the incident involving one of Rikkai's doubles pair the other week.
It was always fast-paced, catchy music blaring from his mp3. Eiji sang along, which inevitably led to the smiles and laughter that followed Eiji. It was because he was a happy person, most people thought. A happy, bouncing, acrobatic tennis player would obviously listen to that kind of music. Obviously.
But in actuality, Eiji loved all kinds of music. Classical didn't bore him like people seemed to think, and in fact, rock was the funnest to sing along to. No one ever heard him listening to anything like that, though.
The thing was, Eiji was extremely influential to music. Even if he completely ignored the words (as he often did when he was otherwise preoccupied, like panicking over last-minute homework and brushing his teeth), the music was still there. He'd actually cried once or twice while listening to a tragic love song over his homework, and had had to explain the smeared words to his teachers as "my stupid older brother's water bottle, nya! Right there on the table, uncapped! But you can still see, kind of. . . . See, that's a two . . . or a seven . . . is the answer two-hundred eighty-eight or seven-hundred eight-six, sensei?"
Music wasn't bad that way, though, not at all, even though he couldn't listen to classical when he was in the mood at school in case he stopped bouncing and lost his energy during practice. Music, after all, could push one very headstrong redhead into an impulsive confession towards his doubles partner in the clubroom after practice (which seemed to be the place for tennis club members to make their declarations of love; so far, Inui had cornered Kaidoh at the lockers, Momo had dragged a mumbled "I like you too" from one blushing Echizen, and Tezuka and Fuji had been caught coming out of the showers very, very late, Tezuka looking disheveled and flushed, Fuji rather pleased with himself).
No matter what mood Eiji was in, there was one song that would, without a doubt, make him smile and blush while a wave of emotions and memories overcame him. It had been playing before he'd told Oishi everything, how he'd slowly started to like him in that way ("You know! That way that makes Tezuka choke when Fuji drops his soap bar accidentally-on purpose! Yeah, that way!"), and it had even been playing on his mp3 just before the day Oishi came over and studying had led to kissing, which led to other things.
He caught flashes of tongue in a dance to some sort of anonymous song, weaving around, over, towards each other, hands roaming, fluttering, flashes of heat and pleasure. He could see warm green eyes watching him, a reassuring presence behind him, his name caressed in even the most casual conversation.
"Even if we don't say anything, I'm not worried. As long as you smile, I'll understand."
They had to be secret, and they couldn't hold hands in public. Eiji didn't have a clue how long it would last, what high school would bring, or, looking farther ahead, university.
But when those fingers intertwined with his, and his head fit in the curve of Oishi's neck just right, it didn't matter, because with Oishi, the harmony was perfect, the song flawless.