Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.
A/N: Belated birthday fic/present for Oishi. Yeah, I know, I haven't been posting a lot of POT fics lately (not that anyone cares, but... -..-''') Anyways, this fic was inspired by Utada Hikaru's "This is Love". It's just so good. If you want, you might want to enhance this experience by listening to the song (and get the lyrics translation while you're at it too...).
WARNINGS: shounen-ai.
Premonition
" I like you."
With tenderness like spring, the words struck the serenity of the clubhouse atmosphere as a sudden tempest, unannounced, uncalled for, and merciless in inflicting shock to its unknowing victim.
For a moment, his rhythmic heartbeat had been led astray.
To make up for his insufficient pause, he replied with a curt nod as his sight wandered down to the rows of dark words spelling descriptions casually, indifferent.
Certain characters marking a particular spot halted his eyes.
" …Tezuka?"
The same voice sounded behind him once again.
This time, it was bounded and overpowered by anxiety.
" Did you hear me, Tezuka?"
As proof, he nodded a second time.
" Oishi."
" Y-yes…?"
He had meant to redeem the thick air between them from unfamiliarity, yet inexperience had only saved them from temporary silence.
" Your performance with Kikumaru is still well, as expected."
And his cool words served to solidify the usual air of understanding between them.
It did not cure the other plagued by unreciprocated questions.
Delusion took the form of silence and finally positioned itself permanently between them, warding off all forms of communication that have attempted to break through.
Evening arrived summoned by the sky to paint its face the color of fire---of reds and yellows cleanly blended to produce an orangey tone. Then it picked the glowing sun as a matching piece of jewelry and wore it amongst its robe of clouds.
He saw him wait patiently at the door, a single silver key bonded to a matching ring resting in his palm.
With silence echoing his steady footsteps, he approached him, letting his name fall from his lips when he was within a short range.
" Oishi."
" Yes?"
His companion heeded to his call instantly, granting him his full attention, pivoting his body and all.
When forest green is held within tiger-eyes, he moved forward on impulse and set fire upon his lips when he touched them with his own.
The next moment, he became a mere blur of black and white when he passed him.
The other, who stood still at the door, was petrified, frozen.
He cast a spell to break him from the trance.
" Come, Oishi. It's getting late."
" A-aa…"
He jerked into motion, his daily task ending with a successful click from the knob.
And they strolled down the path they used everyday, both unwilling to break the chain Serenity had created to bond them together.
Carefully, he stole an secret glance at the youth beside him.
The flames upon his lips had already spread across his cheeks, its shade now matching the color of the afternoon sky.
" And for number forty-two, the answer should be 4xy. Did you get that, Tezuka?"
Amber depths followed the trail of closely packed calculations in sharp, distinct pencil marks, stopping upon the identified answer.
" Aa…"
" All right, we're done for the night." He announced proudly, a relieved smile sinking into the line between his lips.
A distant crack outdoors retrieved their attention.
" …"
" Eh?"
Pitter-pattering on rooftops began almost immediately. Soon after, the raindrops, passionate musicians from up above, raised the fury of their melody.
Even after tearing away the condensation veil from the surface of his window, he could not distinguish each individual rain droplet from the other.
" It's raining."
" Yes, and it doesn't seem like it will stop anytime soon, either. The meteorologist said it's going to be like this for the whole night."
" …"
" You should stay over, Tezuka." He addressed his friend who watched the rain beside him. " You can't possibly go home under this condition."
" …Hn." Slipping away from the balcony window, he retreated to the nearest corner, reached into his pocket for his cell phone and inputted the series of digits without digging into his memory.
He held it to his ear.
" Mother, it's Kunimitsu… Yes, I will be staying with Oishi tonight… Yes, please do not worry about me. Good night."
By the time he brought himself back from isolation, the other teen had already obtained extra blankets and a pair of blue pajamas from his closet.
" You can sleep on the bed, Tezuka." He dropped the pile gently onto the mattress. " I'll sleep on the floor."
" I'm only a guest. I will sleep on the floor."
" And it is suitable for guests to be provided with the best hospitality."
Instead of replying with a witty comeback of some sort, he offered him a suggestion.
" We can both share the bed."
Calmness echoed in his voice penetrated through the other's guard.
" Yes, of course…" His mind registered what he had said at a moment's delay. " Wait-..."
" It seems to be spacious enough to occupy two people."
" …Aa."
Moving forward, to acquire the clothes from the stack of cotton sheets, the corner of his eyes caught an accentuating mark upon his companion's façade.
His cheeks were marked with the same color just yesterday.
Every minute ticked away by the clock that night resembled a passing year. After what appeared to be several decades, they were able to discard the uneasiness in their systems by capturing sleep that wandered aimlessly in the air surrounding them.
Dawn arrived quickly, unexpected.
He was deprived from the slumber's sweet sanctuary when drowsy rays of sunlight fingered his eyes through the transparent glass.
He awoke, yet the mellow light had no effect upon the other. He was immune to faint alarms.
Without repaired vision, he, a few inches away from him, became a mint green blur without distinct form.
He sees movement in his figure, but he confidently concluded it to be from his rhythmic breathing.
Conscientiously, he slid forward, having no intention in corrupting the peace in the room.
An inch. Then another.
His companion's small aquarium bubbled softly from afar.
Another inch.
One.
Two.
He wrapped an arm across his front loosely, intertwining their blue and green.
His mouth separates and joins, his mind processing the correct order of words for him to use in his speech.
What to say, he wonders.
Feelings swell up within him, threatening spontaneous combustion.
They never intersected his vocal chords, thus he could not voice them properly.
Soon, the glorious silhouette of the morning sun is present in the distance. Its rays, like mischievous children, wasted no time for pranks and games. Invading the room through the window, they probed mercilessly at their eyes.
His associate stirred against him.
He launched away in a scurry, his refined action not lost. Rolling off the smooth surface, he grabbed his glasses off the nightstand and his clothes off the chair and disappeared into the bathroom.
Revived from slumber, Oishi raised a hand to place his fingers upon the abandoned pillow beside him.
Coldness.
His hand caressed its way down the bulk, drifting down to the covering of the bed.
Warmth. Tezuka's warmth.
He left not long ago.
One. Two.
It was a simple count, something that would account for no mistakes from happening in the process.
Two.
A magical number indeed.
For two days in a row, he had to stay two hours after practice by himself, in the clubhouse, while the two of them toured shop after shop looking for the perfect pair (two identical) of sneakers.
He could have gone by himself, instead of dragging him along. After all, he was old enough, even when his childish appearance can be deceiving sometimes.
" Sorry, Tezuka, but I promised Eiji I would go with him."
If he had been cruel enough, he would have insisted that he stays.
He did not.
All he could do was to harbor the bitterness within him, let it develop into a violent storm that would consume his ability to reason, bit by bit.
" Do not come here if you do not wish to be here."
He tells him when he walks through the door, carrying a neat stack of papers.
Confusion surfaced in the emerald pools.
" What are you talking about, Tezuka? I cannot possibly let you do all this work by yourself."
" It is fine if you do not have time to stay after. After all, it is none of your business even as fukubuchou."
His biting remark sent a jolt of astonishment through his body. His hands were still shaking even after he deposited the documents on the table surface.
Assuming he would deny his words and defend himself with determination, he waited.
It never came.
" I understand, buchou."
His final words gathered a mass of storm clouds within him.
He gripped his pen tighter, tighter, and tighter yet, until the pressure painted his knuckles to match the papers' shade, white, and devoid of all colors.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
And his footsteps grew softer, heavier, dragged by distance.
He rose instinctively, sending the chair tumbling a few feet behind him. His hand was the iron cuff that released the pen only so it could wrap around his wrist and pull him back roughly.
" Tezuka, what-…"
His hand cradled his cheek, and his lips silenced him.
At first, he flinched as if the heat had burned him. Then, the warmth melted him.
He relaxed against him.
" Ne, Oishi, a new pet shop opened just right down the street. Wanna come check it out with me after practice today, nya?"
He examines the pair through clear lenses a few distances away, pertaining to his usual stoic habit of crossing his arms before him.
His companion acknowledged his potent presence with his eyes.
Where the two sights intersect, a spark of wordless understanding is exchanged.
He quickly answered.
" Sorry, Eiji, I can't go with you today."
The redhead complained.
" But you always say that now."
" …I'm sorry."
" Oh, well. I'll get Ochibi and Momo to go with me, nya!" He skipped away heartily.
Seeing opportunity bloom in the opening, he approaches him, unwilling to let chance slip through his fingers.
" Do you regret?"
The other smiled reassuringly.
" No, I'm just getting used to this, that's all."
Was he trying to convince him or himself?
He does not know, even when he tries breaking through his countenance with his keen vision.
" You can choose to turn back if you wish."
" I won't."
His smile broadens.
" I won't."
Author's Crap:
This was one of my older pieces. For some reason I feel as if TezuOishi is just dying. But, I won't give up on them!!!
And always, thank you for reading.