Disclaimer : I do not own Prince of Tennis & the hot tennis princes inside, although like everyone else out there, I really wish I did.
Note to all : No, no, I haven't forgotten about my other stories, don't worry. I sometimes find myself getting random bits of ideas without being able to string them into something usable, and here's where they'll end up! This is a collection of one-shots/short stories/drabbles about the silver pair from Hyoutei, Prince of Tennis, with other pairs mentioned here and there. Rated T generally, with individual ratings inside each chapter/story. Stories may or may not be related to one another, so be sure to read the Summary!
Title : #3 - Truth or Dare
Summary :A little drabble, set before [#2 - Hearts]. Boredom leads to games, and that usually leads to dangerous games like the classical - Truth or Dare! Much focus placed on the silver pair, although I've tried to include the others as much as possible.. Sorry if this story kind of sucks. Not too good with my summaries yet, pardon me for that.. Another drabble, rated T to be safe. A dedication to a certain someone; I don't think I need to say who this is for! XD. Hope you'll enjoy.
Oh, by the way, I don't know about you guys, but when I read fanfiction, I tend to use 3/4 as my story width.. I think it works better on most of my stories ;X Ah, just ranting! Ignore this if you want! XD.
Really, I must be the unluckiest person on Earth to land myself in such a situation.
Shishido Ryou sighed as he pushed himself off the zabuton he was kneeling on, brushing his pants slightly as he made his way to the door. He could feel the others' accusing stares on his back, but the blue-capped boy was determind to keep his eyes on the door as he slided it open. It didn't matter if they think that he was running away, because he couldn't possibly let what happened just now happen again. It didn't hurt him, no. It probably hurt someone else, though.
"Washroom," was all he could managed before he slammed the door shut behind him, overwhelmed by the desire to get the hell out of here. That, actually, was impossible at the moment.. There was no way he could find a way out of this maze of Atobe's mansion without Atobe as a guide, much less without Atobe's key to the front gates (of freedom).
Besides, he couldn't possibly leave his kouhai alone with these sly wolv- teammates of his. He couldn't possibly leave alone without Choutarou by his side. Leaning heavily against the wall beside the door to the room he'd just escaped from, Shishido tilted his head backwards, and sighed once again. He knew, he could almost picture it in his head, that poor kouhai of his blushing madly while staring blankly at the floor, that Choutarou was being bombarded with questions now, even though they were technically only supposed to ask him one. It'd probably help, even if it was just a little, that he was out of the room. At least he'll be able to answer somewhat more truthfully, since that was what he was supposed to do anyway.
More of now than ever, Ryou found the need to start getting used to the fact that there is someone else he wanted to care about right now, the fact that now his head thinks for two person's sake, not just for his own. If he couldn't even tolerate this little game for him, there's no way he could handle bigger things in the future, when they get- Wait, did my thoughts just-
Shaking away the messy thoughts in his head, Ryou sighed once more as he slided into a boneless pile on the floor by the wall. His mind almost emptied of ridiculous thoughts and fantasies, Ryou started from 1 slowly, counting seconds in his head. 2, 3, 4, 5..
175 more seconds till it's safe to go back in..
A good half an hour ago ..
"I'm bored."
"Cheh, so am I."
"Atobe, what was the point of this gathering again?"
"There wasn't one to begin with."
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"
"Don't be too loud, Gakuto. You'll wake Jiroh up."
"Relax, Gakuto."
"Huh, what, Kei.."
"I didn't do that."
"It's your fault, Mukahi Senpai."
"It's okay, Jiroh. Go back to sleep."
"No, I want to play.."
"Then we shall play something! Together!"
"We've exhausted almost everything in here, what else can we do?"
"Atobe, do you have a bottle?"
"Why, Oshitari?"
"AHHHH, TRUTH OR DARE!"
"... Again..?"
A good fifteen minutes or so ago ..
Choutarou stared at the floor, more specifically, at the emptied glass bottle lying neatly on the floor. It used to contain sparkling water, it seems, Choutarou knew that only because he'd been staring at the label on the bottle for the past half a minute. The others seems to be waiting patiently for him to get over the shock, but..
That still doesn't change the fact that the mouth of the bottle was pointed directly at him.
Somewhere to his side, seperated from him by an excited Mukahi Senpai, was Shishido Senpai, shaking his head slightly as he shielded his eyes with his hands, a somewhat exasperated expression on his face, or at least what he perceived to be one. Choutarou glanced up once again and saw Oshitari Senpai staring at him with a somewhat (as he perceived) evil expression on his face, and looked away, and then looked away again, because his eyes landed on Akutagawa Senpai, who had his head in Atobe Buchou's laps, looking as though he was going to doze off again.
Finally, Mukahi Senpai seems to be unable to control his excitement any longer, not that he would expect anything more from him..
"So, truth or dare?"
"Ahh.."
They'll ask about Shishido Senpai, Choutarou moaned mentally, glancing at and away from Mukahi Senpai as the red-haired senior bounced up and down on the cushion by his side. He was steadily running out of things to stare at, Choutarou realised as his eyes locked on the bottle on the ground again.
"So?"
".. Dare.."
A groan sounded from his right hand side, and without even looking, Choutarou knew who the sigh had came from. Nowever, an excited exclaim soon overpowered the quiet groan, and Choutarou almost jumped as he made proper sense of the words coming out from his senior's mouth.
"I dare you to kiss Ryou! On the lips!"
"Shishido Senpai.."
"Do you realise what you're saying, Ootori?"
The use of his first name made him jump, since it had been months since he'd heard that familiar voice utter that familiar name - Choutarou hastily lifted his eyes, soft, molten golden meeting fierce, solid amber as his favourite Shishido Senpai glared at him murderously. It was much to overwhelming to comphrehend at the moment. Lifting his tower to cover his face, Choutarou moaned quietly into the soft fabric, his mind desperately trying to make sense of what is happening..
"Choutarou," Shishido senpai's voice sounded again, closer than usual, forcing Choutarou to jerk his head upwards to look at the owner of the voice. Shishido Senpai had officially crossed the boundaries of their own comfort zones - The blue-capped boy was standing too close to him to be true. Choutarou felt the insane urge to back away, but yet at the same time, he was rooted to the spot, unable to react to the unbearably close distance between the both of them. Somehow, at the back of his mind, he wanted to reach out and to take the smaller tennis player in his arms, but he was afraid of the other's reaction..
"You're confused. It's okay, it doesn't matter. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Shishido Senpai, can we.. Can we.. Be more than just friends?"
Choutarou's eyes flashed open once more, blinking rapidly, his mouth hanging slightly agape. He hadn't properly realise what he'd just done, but since he'd already done it, it was too late to regret. All that's left for him to do is.. "Wait!" He managed to call out to Shishido Senpai, just before the older boy made his escape from the club room. Shishido Senpai paused on the spot, not turning around, his fist clenching slowly, waiting for him to speak. Waiting, and probably expecting a reason behind all this.
"I.. Please, Shishido Senpai, I'm serious.."
"I'm serious too," Shishido Senpai injected, cutting off him in mid-speech. Choutarou dropped his head, knowing that his senior wouldn't look back at him anyway. He'd probably just ruinned their relationship like that, by asking without thinking beforehand, by being so hasty instead of planning things through..
"You're my doubles' partner, and my best friend. You're my kouhai, and you're someone I wish to protect.. But that ends there. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow, don't make me wait." With that, Shishido Senpai left him alone in the club room. He was still clutching his tower loosely in his hand, but both his arms now laid limply by his side. A beat later, his knees gave way, and he fell into a senseless pile on the floor as he knocked into the rows of lockers behind his back.
Sure, he'd meet Shishido Senpai for lunch tomorrow, bright and cheerful.. But things will never be the same again.
A good ten minutes ago ..
If he hadn't been dreaming so much about a moment like this, Shishido was sure he wouldn't even imagine that he'd know how to react. Not that he'll ever admit to that anyway. Not in this lifetime.
He'd heard Gakuto's gasp, and he'd noticed Oshitari's widened eyes, which was a rare sight indeed, but that could be dealt with later - The red-head could be easily distracted, and the blue-haired tensai.. There were ways around his guard. He knew that Jiroh was awake, shaking as his silver-haired lover held him steady by the shoulders, and he knew that Atobe was smirking, but that, too, could be dealt with later - All he needed to do is to do a little yelling, earn a couple-ten rounds around the court, and they might be distracted. Jiroh might just forget about this little scene after he fell back asleep. He was only vaguely aware that Hiyoshi was whistling, and that Kabaji was actually watching - Watching, not just looking, but that, too, he could think about later..
What he needed to comphrehend right now was the pair of soft hands cupping his cheeks gently, the familiar gleam of determination within those captivating golden irises.. And the press of a certain soft, unfamiliar feel against his lips. It had been done slowly, but his brain wasn't reacting - It all seemed so sudden.
With their lips finally pressed gently and fully together in a tentative kiss, Choutarou's hold on his cheeks tightened slightly, not hard enough to hurt, but not soft enough to be ignored. It was definitely all he needed to fully jerk him back to his senses - Half a second later, Shishido was already holding Choutarou at an arm's length away, panting as he bowed his head, knowing that his partner was doing the same.
Memories in the club room from a couple of days before flooded his mind, and Shishido shook his head almost in denial, eyes squeezing shut. He hadn't even realise it when Choutarou knelt infront of him, unceremoniously taking his first kiss in front of everyone. If he knew, he would've stopped it.
Choutarou didn't need to do that dare.
Standing up quickly, ignoring the stares he was getting, ignoring Choutarou, who was still staring at the floor blankly, Shishido pursed his lips in a rather un-Shishido like way, and stalked out of the room.
"Washroom," was all he managed before slamming the door shut.
Shishido Senpai took 4 minutes the first time he left for the washroom, 2 minutes the second time he did. Choutarou only knew this because he was silently counting when the blue-capped senior left the room, and that happened everytime the mouth of the bottle ended up pointing at him.
He'd also learnt not to pick "dares" anymore, and instead, he'd learnt to pick the other remaining option available, since "pass" wasn't accepted in Mukahi Senpai's rule for Truth-or-Dare. It was, surprisingly, easier to answer "truth" questions without Shishido Senpai being in the room. And, suspiciously, Shishido Senpai seems to be doing just that on purpose.
Watching blankly as Shishido Senpai left the room once more, Choutarou sighed as he finally glanced at the cursed bottle again. It seems to love pointing at him, and because of that, he wasn't able to stay in a room peacefully with Shishido Senpai without having the senior to escape to the washroom every 5 minutes or so.
The thunderously furious look Shishido Senpai's face probably meant that he wasn't happy about the kiss. Then again, if he didn't hold onto that chance, he might never.. Now, he was almost sure that he'll never get another chance ever again.
"So, Ryou chickened out again. He could've heard your answer for the past- Ah well. Truth or dare?"
He was starting to get sick of Truths. Mukahi Senpai seems to love humanities a lot, especially so when he was playing truth-or-dare. His questions came in parts, usually not less than 4, and he was required to answer all of them, since according to all his Senpai-tachi, they're still counted as one big question.
".. Dare.." The response slipped out of his mouth before he could put much thought into it - By the time he realised, by the time he lifted up his hands to his mouth, Choutarou could only realise that the damage had already been done.
"Okay then! I dare you to declare your love for Ryou infront of everyone on the courts during practice!"
It didn't seem like his other seniors would help him in any way anytime soon.
