"Dream a little dream."
Rating: PG
Genre: Introspection, shonen-ai (light Oishi/Kikumaru slash.
Pairing/Characters: Eiji Kikumaru. Syuuichirou Oishi.
Short summary/Comments: Settled few after the Jyousei match. Oishi is daydreaming, and Eiji kind-of joins in...


The small, wet leaves feel smooth as he walks on the grass, and they kind of stick to his shoes. One step, two steps, all in line, playfully...

He can enjoy things like this only few times. His schedule is Hell - school, tennis, his fangirls (some of them were sweet girls, others were borderline stalkers according to Inui). Moreover, he is the captain now, and until Tezuka's back, he's expected to cover for him as much as he can.

Often, he's still not sure if he can make it. Nevertheless, he struggles to brush that fear away with a smile, since he's not giving up. Not only for Tezuka, or for the team...

Oishi suddenly decides to rest, so after fooling around on the grass for some minutes, he searches for the nearest bench in the park. When he finds it, he sits down and closes his eyes, feeling the warm breeze as he tries to enjoy the moment...

"Oishi! Hoi, Oishi!".

He opens his eyes and sees Eiji in front of him.

"Were you having sweet dreams?", the redhead asks. "Or were you worrying, as always?".

"None of the above, exactly", Oishi says. "What about you?".

"Me? I was running some errands", and Eiji shows him a bag full with various stuff, "but I saw you... I need a rest, nya! What's better than being with you, eh?".

Oishi blushes, but Eiji doesn't seem to notice. He drops the bag and sits down next to his partner, happily looking at him.

"And may I know what were you dreaming about?".

Oishi stays silent. How would he start? He had many things in his mind, so he feared that he was starting to forget...

"About...", he begins talking, "so many things, Eiji".

"And do those things include me, eh?".

"... Yes, they do". Eiji's eyes gleam happily, but this fades away as he hears Oishi's next words. "It also includes everyone else in Seigaku. It wouldn't be fair if...".

Only then, Oishi notices Eiji's disappointment. "Did I say something wrong?".

Now it's Eiji's turn to stay silent. Well, he still kinda feels guilty over the time they fought after Momo lost his place as a regular, and once in a while he also thinks he has debts with Oishi beyond the 80 yens he once loaned him...

However, how can he tell Oishi? He looks so happy now, that Eiji doesn't want to ruin the moment...

He makes up a quick lie. "I forgot, Oishi. I'm so sorry... Can I tell you later?".

Eiji isn't sure if Oishi believes him. But he doesn't seem to mind, and simply leans back and sighs.

"Only if you promise you willdo it".

One more promise? They have "the big one", which he reminded Oishi of while playing against Jyousei...

Eiji opens his mouth, and hears himself saying: "Erm... yeah, Oishi ...".

Not knowing what else he should add, Eiji stays uncharacteristically quiet. Oishi just stares at him... and then he speaks slowly.

"...Thanks, Eiji".

"For what?".

"For being yourself", Oishi replies. "You're a great partner for me".

"And I'm supposed to say you're a good one for me...", the redhead counters. He suddenly stops, and Oishi wonders what's going on...

Eiji, however, just leans against Oishi's shoulder, like a cat asking to be petted. "Nyah, by now I hope we can play and dream together for a while... Do you agree, Oishi?".

As Oishi wraps an arm around Eiji's shoulders and pulls him closer, he thinks that this is already a sweet dream...

"And when we win the Nationals, Eiji...", he whispers, "everything will be perfect".