Two weeks later, Yukimura came running into their home holding out his results. He had passed with honours mostly because of the painting he had submitted. Yuuta had not even seen the painting himself since Yukimura was keeping it top secret.
"Congratulations! Can I see the painting now?" Yuuta whined.
Yukimura chuckled and then pulled Yuuta into the study room. He pulled off the sheet from the painting and Yuuta gaped at the painting.
"That's me!"
Yukimura wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and gently nibbled his ear. The painting was actually Yuuta himself with an expression of determination before he served for the Davis Cup tie in Japan. Yukimura had painted red and yellow flames around him and his eyes emphasised the feeling of power.
"This was the first thing I had noticed about you when I first met you. The power, emotion and determination that you carried with you, pulled me to you. I fell in love with a beautiful and powerful man, Yuuta" Yukimura whispered.
"Seiichi" Yuuta turned in Yukimura's arms and kissed him. Yukimura responded hungrily and Yuuta poured all of his love and passion into the kiss.
"Gen! A little...faster!" Atobe moaned and Sanada moved his hand even faster.
They climaxed and fell onto the bed exhausted. Sanada reached out and took Atobe's pale hand in his and pressed a kiss to the bony knuckles.
"Have you always been this slender?" Sanada asked.
Atobe breathed in deeply and turned to his side. He leaned up, balancing on his elbow and pressed a kiss to Sanada's cheek.
"How have you just noticed the difference in our bodies? You don't seem to notice when you're screwing me into the mattress" Atobe raised a thin brow.
"I guess every day is a discovery if you truly love someone" Sanada replied.
"I should just leave you right now. You never notice my amazing perfection" Atobe complained.
Atobe turned to his other side and prepared himself to ignore Sanada. Sanada sighed and wrapped an arm around Atobe's slim waist.
"I don't know how I fell in love with you. You are my opposite in every way. True, I'm not the most observant of people but I'm happy that we're going to be together forever. I love you, Keigo" Sanada whispered.
Atobe closed his eyes and pressed himself closer to Sanada. Sanada smiled and breathed in the scent of his lover's fruity shampoo.
"Love you too" Atobe mumbled just before he drifted off to sleep. Sanada pressed a kiss to the back of Atobe's head and promptly fell asleep.
"Akaya, I'm home!" Yanagi announced from the entryway.
He took off his shoes and put on his white fluffy house slippers. Akaya didn't reply so Yanagi peeked into the kitchen and living room. Then he heard a quiet snore coming from their bedroom. The door was wide open and Yanagi stepped inside. He spotted Akaya fast asleep on the bed while surrounded with dozens of shounen ai manga.
Around two days ago, Akaya had fractured his arm and twisted his ankle during tennis practice. The doctor had advised to take the next two months off and just relax all his pent up energy away. Kaidoh, as captain, didn't mind at all and Yanagi knew he was secretly relieved that he didn't have to deal with the demon anymore.
"Akaya, I'm home" Yanagi bent down and kissed the top of Akaya's forehead.
Akaya's eyes fluttered opened and he let out a yawn making him look like a cute puppy.
"Senpai? When did you get here?"
"Just a minute ago. I didn't mean to disturb you if you're tired" Yanagi took off his jacket and hung it up on a hanger.
"I took a painkiller because my ankle was aching. I was reading my newest manga but I guess I fell asleep" Akaya sat up and then grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand.
"Do you need anything? Medicine? Tea? Snacks?" Yanagi asked.
"A kiss"
"Which will lead to us doing other things that the doctor specifically advised not to do" Yanagi replied immediately.
"Senpai" Akaya whined.
Yanagi bent down and pecked Akaya's lips. He pulled away quickly making Akaya pout like a little puppy. Yanagi ruffled his lover's hair and left to warm up their dinner.
"Since Kirihara has taken a temporary leave, we have a spot open on the team for the final against Serbia" Kaidoh said and the entire team of substitutes sat up.
Yuuta observed all of them carefully. Despite being talented tennis players, they didn't have the competitive edge like Kirihara did. Most of them were just trained in high school or university and they didn't have the experience of competing against tough players like the rest of the team did.
"We have no need to choose a substitute"
Yuuta glanced up and spotted their manager, Nakajima Hide who had just entered the room.
"What do you mean, Nakajima-san?" Kaidoh asked.
"Echizen Ryoma has just confirmed his spot on the team" Nakajima said.
"Echizen?!" Momoshiro exclaimed.
"Echizen never plays for the Davis Cup" Yuuta pointed out.
"This time he has accepted and we have an even better chance of winning" Nakajima explained.
"So which of us should leave our position?" Kaidoh asked.
"What?" Nakajima didn't understand.
"You obviously are going to put Echizen in singles so which of us is getting our singles position snatched away?" Kaidoh elaborated.
Yuuta folded his arms. He had worked extremely hard for his singles position on the Davis Cup team. He didn't want it to be taken away since the almighty Echizen had decided on a whim to play for Japan. But Kaidoh was captain and Momoshiro was a great player with a great record.
"Fuji Yuuta, I'm sorry but I'll have to take your position. According to the stats for all three of you, you're the weakest when it comes to experience and wins. Echizen is only here for the final of the tournament so I'll give the position back to you" Nakajima said.
Yuuta nodded stiffly and ignored the apologetic looks Momoshiro and Kaidoh were giving him. He knew they were relieved that they didn't have their positions taken away but Yuuta had been hoping to attract a sponsor because their final was in Japan. He turned and walked out of locker room.
Yukimura glanced up from the chicken baking in the oven when he heard the door to their apartment open.
"Yuuta? Is that you?" he called out.
"Yeah" Yuuta replied morosely.
Yukimura turned around and Yuuta sat down at the kitchen island looking rather depressed.
"What happened? Did something happen? Are you injured anywhere? Are you sick?" Yukimura asked.
"I'm fine" Yuuta replied.
Yukimura bent down to kiss him but Yuuta pulled away before their lips could meet. Yukimura furrowed his eyebrows and took Yuuta's hand, intertwining their fingers.
"What's wrong, Yuuta?" Yukimura's thumb stroked the back of his lover's hand.
"I'm not playing for the Davis Cup tie in Japan" Yuuta replied quietly.
"What? Why not?"
"Echizen's in Japan and he's decided to play. Nakajima-san had to cut either me, Momoshiro or Kaidoh. He decided on me" Yuuta explained.
"Oh Yuuta" Yukimura wrapped his arms around his lover.
"Stupid Echizen. Why does he have to come now? I was dying for a chance to prove myself and he just shows up. The almighty wonderful Echizen. Everyone thinks he's the best player ever" Yuuta grumbled.
"Echizen doesn't know that he took your position away. He probably has a reason to play and you shouldn't be heartbroken by this. It's only one match and after that you'll be playing again" Yukimura said.
"What if Echizen decides to play for Japan again? I can't just sit around and do nothing" Yuuta asked.
"You won't be thrown away like garbage. Kaidoh and Momoshiro know how hard you've worked. You'll be just fine" Yukimura replied.
"Really?" Yuuta's voice was minuscule.
"Yes, really. Now go shower and change. I'll serve dinner after half an hour"
This chapter was partly inspired by Novak Djokovic's match against Milos Raonic during the recent Davis Cup tie. I've been really busy with uni for the past few weeks so my updates are probably going to be rare. Please check out my very first prince of tennis one shot that I put up yesterday.
Onyxinlife.