d a n c e
dead star
Though she'll never admit it to him Miyuki fears the day something will manage to shock Kintarou back to earth and then he'll be crashing down. She'll catch him, without a doubt, but knows there's a difference between wanting to fall and be caught and getting shoved off the crown.
alive
Miyuki is fifteen the first time she kisses a boy. It isn't anyone she knows particularly well – it's just someone who's not into tennis, and that's all that really matters, because then they can't be afraid of her big bad brother and his friends. The first time she kisses Kintarou she realizes why all those girls are giggling about having their toes tingle and their stomach churn because his kisses take the air straight from her lungs.
cinderella
Kintarou isn't one for fairy tales. He prefers reading manga where there are demonic girls with horns beneath her hat and scary tennis captains with poisoned hands and Miyuki finds that she doesn't mind this at all, because it means what they have is real.
lost
It means something, Miyuki muses in the middle of nowhere, when she's the one refusing directions and Kintarou has to pull her out of the driver's seat so they can ask some passerby just where the hell they are.
pen
When she's twelve and just entering junior high she learns that having the same last name as her brother is enough to strike fear into the hearts' of her teachers. It isn't until later when she sees the words scrawled in the absolute worst handwriting she's ever seen on her desk that she realizes Kintarou had many, many comments to share about his tennis team.
prince
Echizen Ryoma is someone Miyuki likes to ignore. At thirteen she's in her second year of junior high now and wondering why the hell her cheeks burn whenever she goes to any high school tennis tournament – to see Kintarou, not him, even though she feels uncomfortably red around him.
At twenty-three she's grateful she wasn't impulsive for once because being a princess to a prince is something that just isn't her. Besides, she's always liked the pauper anyway.
present
Kintarou knows from the second he meets Chitose's little sister – because that's what she was, to him, to everyone on the old team – that she's someone who lives in the present and he grins in anticipation of the day where he'll be able to make her just stop and look and breathe for a second.
nightmare
One of Kintarou's worst dreams is when he wakes up and imagines that Miyuki isn't there. The resulting conversation usually involves him laughing sheepishly while rubbing his head and Miyuki muttering about insecure hyperactive redheads.
moon
There isn't any balance in their relationship. Kintarou is as bright as the sun in all its glory, and while Miyuki looks a fair bit darker than him anyone who knows them well sees that they're both exploding and burning, and wonders where the cool, mysterious moon is.
blanket
The first thing Miyuki ever tries to crochet is a scarf. It winds up being a dishrag before they realize yarn and water don't mix well. The first thing Kintarou ever crochets is a blanket and he tries not to break his face grinning when he sees her sleeping one day, the uneven rainbow colored blanket wrapped around her.
thief
No one ever thought Kintarou would be the jealous type – he just seems too happy for that role. Still, when Tezuka Kunimitsu comes to Osaka for vacation and Miyuki takes it upon herself to be his tour guide, he glowers and pouts and refuses to talk to Miyuki for the rest of the day, muttering how her thief-bro is still such a thief.
red
Kintarou's hair is the brightest shade of true, vibrant red she's ever seen. Or at least she thinks so until she remembers the day he asked her out in front of her brother and his friends – the blood spilling out of his broken nose and her cracked knuckle puts his hair to shame.
sugar
They only try the nicknames once. Miyuki is left wondering who Kintarou is seeing behind her back – because she doesn't look like a panda…right? – and Kintarou wonders if she meant something other than 'did you want more sugar' when she said 'sugar'.
Kintarou has a fear of the mailman. It's been there since they met the kid, according to Chitose, but that doesn't stop Miyuki from frog-marching him out of his house one day to say hello to the man. Having him cling to her is just an added plus.
bowl
"Do you still want that dog, Miyuki?" her mother asks one morning.
Miyuki watches the way her boyfriend of a year shoves down his breakfast and says dryly, "Already have one."
snapshot
She stirs when she hears voices above but doesn't lift her head from Kintarou's arm – it's so warm and everything else feels so cold. At dinner that night Miyuki wishes dearly she had because her mother laughs and asks if she wants to see those cute pictures she took of them two.
pillow
He isn't the first boy she's dated, but he is the first that her brother lets into her room. Miyuki knows this is only because Kintarou is the first person to beat her in a pillow fight and Chitose is still scowling about their last battle.
eagle
"I want to be an eagle," Miyuki states firmly. They're watching some documentary on the TV without really watching it, but the birds manage to catch Miyuki's attention.
Kintarou looks up from the donut he had been eyeing – Chitose had left them half an hour ago with strict instructions to not even think about his food – and says cheekily, "That's because you want to stay with me forever, just like the eagles do."
bow
Out of complete boredom Miyuki muses aloud that people have to bow to their elders because the old people don't like having others loom over them. Kintarou looks at her with a completely serious look that has her wondering if she should call an ambulance and says that for him it doesn't matter anyway, because everyone's still taller than him. The fact that she looms an inch over him still manages to make him scowl.
acid
When someone talks back to Miyuki, Kintarou finds that her voice changes from the irritated-but-amused tone she uses with him to this acidic, violent tongue. He also finds that he doesn't mind all that much because it means that Miyuki does care for him if she has a special voice just for him.
dye
Miyuki is quite aware of Kintarou's numerous fans, even more so when she's starting high school and he's now in college with somehow twice the number of girls stalking after him. They aren't exactly dating, per se, but Miyuki pretends they are and decides that people need a reminder why Kintarou chose her.
So she dies her hair. Blonde. And then realizes why her brother never once tried to bleach his hair like Kippei because tan skin and blonde hair don't mix well in her case. But in the very least people back off a little when Kintarou says he loves her hair (according to them, no one wants to date a color-blind guy since that's what Kintarou must be).
alcove
It's just a small, secluded corner, but they find reasons to go there at any free moment because this little place surrounded by graffiti and broken beer bottles is theirs.
whirlpool
Kintarou, Miyuki thinks when she watches the one-point match between him and Echizen Ryoma, is a whirlpool: unstoppable and erratic, but completely breathtaking to watch.
smoke
Neither of them can cook. Kintarou has the healthiest appreciation for food she's ever seen – which just means he's a pig when it comes to good food – and she has a recipe of how to screw up a bowl of cereal. Still, it's Kintarou's birthday and she tries.
He tells her this is the funniest birthday present he's ever gotten after the fire department leaves, setting a few brochures about smoke inhalation on their table on their way out.
altitude
One thing Kintarou has always wanted to do is go up in a hot air balloon. One thing Miyuki vows to do is keep him from dying of a stupid cause (falling out of the basket counts, in her mind) so she keeps him grounded as best she can. It helps when Kintarou says her kisses make him rise higher than any big balloon can anyway.
puppet
Their first date is to see a puppet show. They have to sit crouched in the crowd of nine and ten year olds and their parents stare at the two adults – at seventeen, most people assume Miyuki is overage anyway due to her height – before cooing over how cute it is. Miyuki just wants Kintarou to get his autograph from the puppet – the actual puppet – and leave.
voodoo
"So if you ever hurt her, I'm going to take this doll of you and shove many, many sharp and pointy things into it." Chitose grins at the suddenly pale Kintarou. Miyuki snickers and leans against the doorway, thinking more about where her brother got the doll than the panicked looks Kintarou is shooting her.
curator
Out of desperation Kintarou's mother drives them to the museum, takes both their keys, and leaves but not before giving the threat that they had better stay in there for a good two hours, because Kintarou's history grade is just above failing. Miyuki is more interested in seeing the shocked look on Kintarou's mother's face when she gets a call not ten minutes later from the curator of the museum himself, asking to please take these two hooligans away, than the statues of naked people that Kintarou seems fixated with.
hail
"We're on vacation…and it's hailing. How is this even considered a vacation?"
Kintarou grins at her, looking utterly relaxed on the hotel's comfy sofa (his hair blends completely with it, Miyuki thinks with a laugh). "There are always other things we can do, you know…"
"Really?" Miyuki sits next to him, grinning now. "And what might those be?"
"Well," Kintarou's grin is almost taking over his face, "I was thinking…" he reaches behind him and pulls out something Miyuki can't see. "Pokémon!"
hangover
Miyuki wrinkles her nose at the drink before her. Chitose nods approvingly – though he's had about four already, Miyuki knows – and jerks a thumb at Kintarou. Or at least she thinks it's Kintarou…his hair is neon green for some reason. "He's going to be completely hung-over tomorrow."
She nods happily. "I know. He's actually quiet then."
jungle
When cleaning out one of Kintarou's many boxes – he's such a packrat, which many find surprising for some reason – Miyuki comes across the old leopard-print shirt he used to wear. She laughs and presses it against Kintarou's chest when he comes home that day, seeing how much bigger he's grown (of course, being older doesn't stop him from still buying jungle-themed shirts).
nurse
If there's one thing Miyuki absolutely loathes it is Kintarou getting hurt badly enough to have to go to the hospital. It's not even for the reason most people think it is – she knows he's strong and will be back on his feet within a few days – it's because the nurses apparently love having someone their age they can baby and coo over. The fact that he's been married over four years now always conveniently slips their minds.
paint
The house is a complete disaster when they first move in. Paint is peeling off the walls and the front porch is almost caved in. The two manage to find some good in it, though, when Chitose and a couple of their friends (mainly the old team from junior high) come to help with the repainting and go home drenched in neon colors. Miyuki doubts Shiraishi-san's hair will ever lose that faint tinge of bright yellow.
hysteria
"He's bleeding – mom, why is he bleeding that much, he shouldn't be bleeding that much—" Her mother puts her arms around Miyuki, cutting off any other panicked words. Miyuki is sobbing quietly now, grasping the front of her mother's shirt as they wait for the doctor to return. Chitose's hand is on her shoulder, and through her panicky haze Miyuki can tell that he hasn't been this tense for years – she can't say though, if it's because Kintarou is in the emergency room or because she's completely lost it.
magic
Kintarou goes through a lot of phases. There was a fireman phase, a jungle boy phase (actually, that isn't a phase, more of his persona now), a dolphin phase, and now a magician phase. Miyuki flatly refuses to let him have a magic show in the backyard – after the fireman phase, the costs to repair the damage caused by the fire ("Practice!" Kintarou had insisted) still haunts her nightmares.
orphan
"I want to adopt him." Miyuki looks up from the leaflet a volunteer had given her. Kintarou's face is serious for once and he repeats, "Please, Miyuki, let's adopt him."
When Kintarou said he wanted to go to the orphanage Miyuki decided to humor him. Now, though, now she wonders what she got into because Kintarou looks like he's not kidding at all – Miyuki doesn't think she's seen him this serious since his first official match with Echizen, and even then it wasn't like this. But, looking at the boy he's pointing at, Miyuki sees what Kintarou sees: a little boy, laughing but crying, smiling but frowning.
"Okay," she finds herself saying. "We'll adopt him."
omen
"That's a bad omen, Chitose," Shiraishi says to him. They watch as Miyuki chases Kintarou around the courts, screaming something about him taking her last lollipop.
"Why's that?" Miyuki manages to catch Kintarou. Both wince and turn away when she starts pulling at his hair.
"Because that's the sign of a crush," Shiraishi says wisely, wincing again when Kintarou's scream rings through the courts. "A very, very big crush."
rose
"Happy Mother's Day," Ishio says, grinning brightly as he hands Miyuki a bright red rose. She laughs and swings the three year old around, thinking that their decision to adopt him is without a doubt one of the best things they've ever done.
radio
Miyuki tries to sing to the radio often. Try being the key word, because for all of her genius on the tennis courts, Miyuki can't sing at all. Thankfully Kintarou is just tactless enough to tell her so – and thankfully he has the reflexes to dodge the spatula she throws at him.
pushover
When faced with Miyuki's demonic rage – because Kintarou still thinks sometimes his girlfriend is a little demon – Kintarou suddenly becomes the most timid man on earth, a fact that his friends love to tease him mercilessly about.
ghoul
Halloween is Kintarou's favorite holiday. Miyuki thinks it's because of all the candy he manages to coerce from their neighbors (somehow, watching a full-grown man dress up as a clown is so amusing to them) but Kintarou knows it's because Halloween is the one day he can point to Miyuki and say he was right and she is a demon.
decoy
"This is your fault," Miyuki grounds out.
They're hiding behind the couch, crouched and wincing every time Chitose's voice carries out from the kitchen. Technically Chitose should have known better than to leave freshly baked cupcakes (having a brother with several girlfriends is a benefit, sometimes) on the living room table but they know that won't stop him from murdering them.
"We're going out the window on the count of three," Miyuki says grimly. Kintarou gulps and nods. "Okay, one, two, th—" She suddenly pushes him out into Chitose's view and makes a mad dash for the front door, laughing all the way.
"Miyuki!" Kintarou stiffens abruptly at the presence behind him and laughs weakly, turning around to wave at Chitose. "Uh, it was all her fault!"
claw
"Where are your claws?" Miyuki stares at Kintarou, hoping to god that the waiter is out of earshot.
"What?"
Kintarou looks mildly annoyed and repeats, "Claws. You know, the things demons have to kill people with?"
They have to leave the restaurant because apparently attempting to kill your dining partner with a fork is considered inappropriate conduct.
bandit
Unlike most couples they do a movie date at an actual theater once, and only once. Miyuki likes going to theaters; the problem is that the last time they went together the staff had to kick Kintarou out for attempting to throw a tennis racquet at the screen when the bandits appeared.
"I didn't want them stealing anything," he mutters whenever she brings it up. "It looked so real!"
acne
Miyuki throws her hands into the air. "Your turn," she says to Kintarou, flopping down on the couch.
He snickers and goes to the bathroom door. The water is running inside and he can hear the sounds of his son scrambling to find something, anything to help him. Kintarou tries to stifle his laughter and knocks on the door, saying, "The lotion is on the third shelf, puberty brat."
scream
When they first move into together Kintarou and Miyuki manage to get seven complaints and force three other dwellers to move out within the week. Thankfully the landlord is a friend of Kintarou's mother and knows by now that the screams and muffled profanities coming from their flat are quite normal. The sounds of many vases being shattered he isn't so sure about.
tag
Chitose's third girlfriend that month looks at them weirdly when they announce they're going to the park. "To play tag?" she says with a laugh. Her eyes widen dramatically when Kintarou nods happily.
Chitose sighs later that day and tells them to never, ever come into the house when he's on a date or about to go on one. "That last girl was so pretty too," he says mournfully.
youth
Shiraishi and Chitose are like two old men. They watch Kintarou and Miyuki from afar, sipping daintily ("It's not dainty, it's manly," Chitose had said, affronted when Miyuki mentioned it) at their coffees from the nearby vending machine. Miyuki pretends to not hear them when they go on about how youth is beautiful, and thinks to herself, They need lives. Fast.
ice
"Kintarou?" Miyuki says, yawning. Her door is half open, just like her eyes, and she tries not to speak above a whisper; her roommate is quite touchy about the level of noise in the middle of the night. "It's three in the morning, what's—"
She stops abruptly and takes in the blood on his shirt and his downcast eyes. Then she leads him inside, waving off her now awake roommate's questions, and seats him on the toilet while reaching for the first-aid kit. "Do I even want to know?" she asks after placing one last plaster on his cheek.
He sighs and scratches his head. He mutters something she can't hear and repeats sulkily, "I was trying to learn how to ice-skate for your friend's birthday party, but I couldn't really see…"
dance
Miyuki and Kintarou are like the most exotic dance – so difficult to understand, but so easy to love.
--
AN: Miyuki doesn't have a character filter which really sucks. But yeah, I think I'm the second person to do this pairing, so yay ^^ I'm thinking of doing another one of these for Sengoku and Tomo… (the boredom kills, see). There're two Muse songs in here I had to use. Just had to. And since I'm too lazy to format this all, here's your disclaimer:
Disclaimer: The Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.