Homeward

Pairing: Inui/Shinji

Fandom: Prince of Tennis

Theme: #20. the road home

Disclaimer: Disclaimer on part 1

Rating: PG

Shinji glanced at his watch, groaning a little as he tried to hurry his dressing a little more. He was supposed to meet Inui at 5, and it was almost 5 now…. Why did practice have to go over today? Why did Ishida have to choose today of all days to get mouthy with Taichibana-san? He was so focused on getting his shoes tied that he didn't notice Kamio sneaking up on him.

"Shinji!" Kamio plopped down on the bench next to his startled best friend. "Did you talk to him? What happened? What did he say?"

Shinji suppressed a sigh as he looked at Kamio. "You seem hyper today, Akira. Didn't the laps wear you out? I don't know why we were all punished because of Ishida. That doesn't seem fair to me at all…."

"Shinji! You're missing the point!" Kamio bounced a little next to him. "What happened?"

"We met…and talked…and we're going out Saturday." Shinji stood and grabbed his bags. "And I'm supposed to meet him today, and I'm already running late." He looked at his watch again and groaned. "5 minutes…I'll never make it in time."

"I'll walk with you." Kamio hopped up next to him. "It'll seem like you're going faster. Besides," Kamio's smile became a little more predatory, "I think I want a word with him, myself."

"You—what?" Shinji stared at his friend, but kept walking. "What on Earth could you want to talk to him about?"

"Oh, you know. Tennis, the state of the nation, upcoming tournaments…his intentions towards you." Kamio grinned.

Shinji turned bright red. "Akira! I really do not think that's necessary. It's not like he's asking for my hand in marriage or something like that. It's much too soon, for one."

"So…are you saying you'd like to marry him someday?"

Shinji sputtered. "Just quit it Akira! It's not like that at all."

Kamio was so caught up in teasing Shinji, and Shinji in deflecting Kamio, that neither of them noticed that they hand entered the park and that Inui was approaching them. Inui just watched the banter for a minute before he spoke up. "Ah, Ibu-kun? I didn't realize that you were intending to turn this thing we have into a threesome."

Shinji froze. "Inui-san! It's not like that at all!" His blush, which had been fading, came back in full force. "Akira just doesn't know when he's not wanted." Shinji glared at his friend.

Kamio didn't notice, having turned his full attention to Inui once he made himself known. "Are you into threesomes?" Kamio asked him, looking Inui up and down.

Inui flinched a little at the muted hostility that Kamio was radiating. "No! Not at all…I was just joking…."

Kamio snorted. "I don't know if you realize this or not, but Shinji is a very special person. Too special to be treated like a joke. If all you're looking for is some amusement, then I advise you to move on. Now." Kamio crossed his arms, glaring, at Inui, and Inui suddenly remembered what they said about redheads and tempers.

Shinji, embarrassed beyond belief, grabbed Kamio's arm. "Akira, stop it! You don't need to do this, you know. I can take care of myself, believe it or not."

"No, it's all right, Ibu-kun." Inui shook his head. "I cannot honestly say where this relationship will end up, but I know that this is more than a game to me. I would very much like to get to know Ibu-kun better and see where this leads us."

Kamio studied Inui carefully, ignoring Shinji's protests. "Fine," he said finally. "You can have a shot at this, but if you ever hurt Shinji in any way, I will make you regret it."

Inui nodded. "I understand completely. Ibu-kun is lucky to have a friend like you."

Kamio smiled a little. "Yeah, well." He looked over at Shinji. "And now I think I'm intruding."

"Like you weren't from the beginning?" Shinji's voice had no heat in it, though, as he scolded Kamio. "Don't you have something else to do right now, like stalk An-chan, or fight with Momoshiro or something?"

"Come to think of it," Inui interjected, "I did see Taichibana's little sister over at the street courts with Echizen and Momoshiro…."

"What!?" It was Kamio's turn to squawk. "Sorry, Shinji, but I think you can get on without me now…." He took off for the street courts without even looking back.

Shinji looked at Inui consideringly. "I hope you were telling the truth about that, Inui-san."

"Oh, I was. The fact that my mentioning it meant a 97 chance that Kamio would leave was just a benefit for me." He smiled at Shinji. "I am prepared to escort you home now."

Shinji blushed a little. "I don't need an escort, you know."

"I know. This is simply so I can find your house to pick you up tomorrow." He looked around. "You will have to lead the way, Ibu-kun, as I do not have that data yet."

Shaking his head, Shinji started walking. "Is there anything that data isn't good for?"

"Only two things that I've noticed so far. Predicting my teammates…and predicting you."

"Predicting me?" Shinji looked over at him. "I would think that your data would be accurate on me. Everyone else seems to find me predictable. Or, at least, that's what they tell me."

"But you are anything but." Inui grinned. "Certain things, yes, but your reactions to being teased, or kissed…I never know. I find that…." Inui groped for a word. "Refreshing."

"You know, people by their very natures are unpredictable," Shinji pointed out. "You can never truly know how someone will react to something. You can make a guess based on previous experience, but there is still room for variables. I think all your data is in the end is a fancy way of saying that you're guessing at an outcome. Some guesses are more accurate than others because you have more information or experience, but in the end, it's still guessing."

Inui shook his head. "You are amazing, Ibu-kun. Almost everyone else I know is put off by my data. I have never heard anyone treat it so lightly before…except for Echizen, but he's…unique." He looked down at Shinji. "You're not at all intimidated by it, are you?"

Shinji shrugged. "Why should I be? It's just numbers after all. Nothing truly frightening there."

Inui laughed. "I suppose that is one way of putting it."

"We'll have to play a match sometime and see what happens. As of now…what does your data say about the outcome of that?"

Inui gave it a moment's thought. "As of right now…considering I haven't really observed your play since the city tournament, I would say that there is a 41 chance that you would beat me, dropping to 31 if I manage to seal your Spot technique early on. That's in a singles match, of course. The variables increase considerably in doubles, dependant on who we are paired with."

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted by those figures or not." Shinji was smiling, though. "And if we were paired together?"

Inui grinned. "100 success rate."

"Of course." Shinji laughed.

"You have a very nice laugh. You should do it more often."

He immediately fell silent, blushing again.

Inui picked up on this quickly. "You're not used to praise are you, Ibu-kun?"

"Not outside the classroom or tennis court, no." Shinji shook his head. "If you were to praise, say, my English grade, or my footwork during training, that's nothing. But…about something personal…." He sighed. "I know I'm not what anyone would consider "normal". Most of the time it's 'Shinji, shut up,' or 'Ibu, keep your thoughts to yourself,' or 'You know, you should really change' whatever characteristic they're harping on at that moment." Shinji shrugged. "It's a fact of life." He came to a stop in front of a house. "This is it."

Inui didn't even glance at the house as he turned Shinji to face him. "Keep talking to me—you have a lovely voice. I want to hear your thoughts. And…there's nothing about you that you should change, not if you're happy. I like you the way you are."

Shinji tried to look down, but Inui wouldn't let him. "Ibu-kun, listen to me. I don't want to date someone else. I want to date you, and that means the you that you are right now."

"I…thank you, Inui-san." Shinji smiled. "That means a lot to me to hear."

"And another thing. You don't have to call me 'Inui-san', you know."

"I—inui, then."

Inui shook his head. "We'll work on names later. Right now…." He took a deep breath. "I would very much like to kiss you good night, like I couldn't last night."

Shinji gasped a little and unconsciously moved a little closer to Inui. He glanced over at his house out of reflex, and therefore caught a glimpse of the curtains moving. "I…I can't. I think at least one of my sisters is watching…."

"Sisters?"

"I have two, both younger than me. It's not that I'm ashamed, I just don't want to give them ideas, you see."

"I understand." Surreptitiously, Inui pulled open the zipper on his bag as he continued. "I have memorized the street signs and landmarks as we walked, so I am fairly confident that I can pick you up for our date tomorrow night at, say, seven?"

Shinji nodded. "Seven is fine."

"Then I'll leave you now." Smiling, Inui turned and "accidentally" hit his bag against the gate, causing everything to spill out of his bag. "Wonderful," he groaned, and dived down to start gathering things up. Inwardly, though, Inui was silently rooting for Shinji to take the bait.

"Inui! Let me help with that, please." Going to his knees, Shinji knelt beside Inui, reaching for some rolling pens. When Shinji was slightly off-balance, Inui grasped his wrist and pulled gently, making Shinji lean into him some.

"We're out of sight of the house now…." And with that, Inui placed his lips against Shinji's.

Shinji's eyes widened in surprise briefly before they fell shut, leaning into the kiss. He pressed into Inui, trying his best to return the kiss, and gasped a little when he felt one of Inui's arms go around his waist, the other still holding onto his wrist.

Inui took advantage of Shinji's slightly opened mouth, dipping his tongue between Shinji's lips and finding the taste to be to his liking. He slowly licked into Shinji's mouth, losing all track of his location, until Shinji's quiet moan and the sudden scraping of pavement against his knees brought him back to Earth. Slowly, reluctantly, Inui pulled away from Shinji, breaking the kiss with a last swipe of his tongue across Shinji's lips.

Shinji's eyes were glazed as he blinked at Inui, and he was slightly breathless. "I…." For once in his life, Shinji found himself without words.

Inui smiled and scooped the rest of his belongings into his bag, not caring about the mess. "Can I call you tonight?"

Shinji nodded, still a little dazed.

Seeing that, Inui stood, helping Shinji back to his feet as he did so. "Then I've leave you for now. I'll talk to you later, and I will see you tomorrow."

Shinji nodded again, finally finding his voice. "Be careful going…you sure you know the way?"

"Positive. I'll be fine. Now go inside." Inui smiled and, with one last lingering look at Shinji, walked away.

As he watched Inui leave, Shinji finally finished pulling himself together. Shaking his head, he let himself in the gate and headed towards his door. Inui…he's so forward. But I don't mind. That was the best walk home I've ever had.

--The End--