I got reviews! -dies of happy-
Pairings - MomoRyo & Golden Pair, hints of TezuFuji
Unbelievable: The Reason
...and it all started so innocently, sighed Ryoma, stifling yet another groan of pleasure.
-----
After finishing the Sunday practice with other regulars, Tezuka was informing the team about new arrangements as usual and Echizen was masquerading his boredom only very poorly. The little prodigy even considered falling asleep right where he stood, until...
...until he felt a warm hand sneaking under his shirt to caress his lower back. He bit back the urge to turn quickly on his heels and aim a fist at offender's crotch, when he recognized the touch as definitely Momoshiro's. Instead of tensing more, he allowed himself to lean into the touch, which elicited a deep, playful chuckle from Momo.
"Anything funny?" sneered Tezuka, who was unusually touchy since the morning, taking everything personally.
"How many," asked Momo with a groan, imagining at least a two-digit number of laps.
"Five. And take Echizen with you, he seem to have something better to do than listen to what I'm saying," bristled the captain and adjusted his glasses. Ryoma attempted to reason with his usual "I didn't do anything," but Momo tugged at his sleeve and dragged him away.
He felt Ryoma fall in pace beside him, both of them silent, saving their breath. They altered the usual 'laps' around the campus so the course would bring them towards a vending machine and stopped running altogether, drinking the cold Fanta as they walked.
"What's wrong with buchou anyway? I haven't even stared laughing at him and he already did that. That's abuse of power, I'm telling you," sighed Momo and finally slumped against Ryoma's favorite tree. They should have returned to the clubroom after finishing the laps, since the practice was already over, but Momo couldn't care less. Echizen promptly used his lap as a pillow and continued to sip his favorite beverage with his cap deep in his eyes.
'It's because of Fuji-sempai," he said finally.
"Eh?'
"Whenever is Fuji-sempai around buchou, he starts to sweat. And whenever they are alone, Fuji-sempai looks like a well-fed fox and buchou's eyes twitch."
"Really?" gaped Momo and broke in a healthy fit of laughter after his mind processed that bit of information. "Now that's funny. I wonder who the uke is," he grinned darkly, muttering under his breath.
"And what's that?" Ryoma asked, tilting his head backwards, his eyes just visible under the brim of the cap.
"Errr, that's nothing important," fidgeted the sempai and seized Echizen's cap to cover his slip of the tongue. Sometimes, Momo suspected that Echizen pretended to be so innocent just to tease him.
"You always say these things," said Ryoma and let the older boy to ruffle his hair. "And I'm always forced to ask Eiji-sempai instead, which always end up with Oishi-sempai yelling at you, am I right?"
"Don't you dare to ask this time," smiled Momoshiro broadly and pulled Ryoma closer. The smaller boy naturally curled on his lap, properly this time, and snuggled as close to his chest as possible.
"Are you sure you haven't switched personalities with Karupin this morning?" he asked, slipping a hand under Echizen's jersey once again.
"Too comfortable and too tired to answer," came the muffled reply. Momo knew the conversation was over; Ryoma would take a nap and he didn't have the heart to wake him up. Actually, he would beat anyone who tried to disturb them to death with his racket. He truly enjoyed these moments and his chest was ready to burst with joy that their cautious relationship was developing in this direction. He never knew, after his first match with Ryoma, that he would end up with the boy, who gradually took the place of his best friend, contently clinging to him while snoring lightly. Momoshiro only discovered lately that Echizen actually longed -even if subconsciously- for a physical contact and was very happy when he could cuddle against someone when nobody was looking. And to Momoshiro's utter delight, he was Ryoma's exclusive pillow.
He has never met anyone so stubborn and determined as young Echizen. They would probably be able to compete when it came to stubbornness, and Ryoma's determination matched only the captain's. It amazed him that Echizen opened up for him so much, showing such a vulnerable side to his potential opponent. He knew Ryoma used to be bored to death when it came to things outside tennis (and English and Karupin, of course) though sometimes, he was deliberately hiding a surprisingly sharp mind under his masquerade of innocent boredom.
--
Momo found out Echizen's 'clingy' habit by an accident. Once, Ryoma managed to fall asleep while riding the bike with him, probably lulled to sleep by the dreadful practice earlier and Momoshiro's constant blabbering. Momo then had to carry the sleeping boy home to prevent any nasty bike accident, no matter that Ryoma was clinging to his back like a koala bear. Nanjiroh gave him quite a look, when he appeared with Echizen in his arms at his door, but allowed him to carry the sleeping prince upstairs, leaving them be. Momoshiro felt his cheeks burn when he dropped his kouhai on the bed - he has invaded Ryoma's most personal space, after all. He remembered all those awkward feeling all too well to the present. Momo was about to leave, when an arm latched onto his school uniform.
Not good, not good, screamed Momoshiro's mind, but he turned nevertheless.
"Echizen, what's wrong? You sick?"
"It's Ryoma, Momo-sempai, please."
Momoshiro blinked and opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first. "Ryoma?"
"Nn. Sempai can do his homework here too, right?"
There was no point in arguing with that. Of course he could.
"If you wanted me to stay over, you could've just asked directly, you know?"
"I didn't want to be a bother and besides, I just asked, didn't I?"
Momo chucked, dug up his English textbook, holding it as if it was covered in something so sticky that even Kikumaru would refuse to eat and flopped on the bed beside Echizen. Ryoma moved, pressing his back to Momoshiro's side and apparently fell asleep in his usual almost-comatose way. Momo sighed deeply, nostrils flaring, face red, trying to concentrate on the English words, but his mind always focused back on the warm body next to him.
--
Ryoma's head snapped up and he braced himself against Momo's chest, rousing the blushing sempai from his pleasant memories.
"I'm a lot more mature than I appear to be," he stated flatly, staring at his partner intensely.
Momo gulped, not quite catching what was actually going on.
Ryoma shifted again, until his breath brushed the second year's ear. "I bet we can hit the second base before buchou can."
"W..where the hell did you learn that?!" shuddered Momoshiro as Echizen suddenly licked the side of his neck.
"I discovered the secret hiding spot of the Golden Pair," informed him Ryoma and tentatively tried to go for Momo's earlobe with his teeth. So there goes Echizen's innocence.
Growling, Momo toppled his kouhai in the short grass in an instant, sending the cans of Fanta flying.
"You are far too tempting for your own good, Echizen Ryoma!" breathed Momo and claimed his mouth. Ryoma responded more than eagerly, weaving his slender fingers, still a bit clumsily, in Momoshiro's hair.
Thoughts raced through Momo's mind at the speed of Inui's serve. He already got rid of the 'Oh my god, this is so wrong' after their first kiss, the 'I don't wanna hurt him' appeared only occasionally these days, so what bothered him most were 'What the hell am I doing' and 'Not here!'. Then he gave up and yanked Echizen on top of him.
"Nn," purred Ryoma and dove for a kiss again.
"Hey, hey, it's dangerous," grinned Momo playfully and licked his lips. "I'm dangerous."
"I want to feel good," begged Echizen suddenly in an uncharacteristically low voice, grinding his hips against Momoshiro's.
Momo's eyes snapped fully open. He has never seen Ryoma this adventurous. It was Nanjiroh's blood coursing in his veins after all, and if Momo knew that, he wouldn't bat an eyelash.
"Not here," he half said, half growled, all other thoughts vanishing from his mind.
At that time, the clubroom looked like a really good idea. It really did. Since everybody should have left already and Momo knew that even Kaidoh, his mortal enemy, wouldn't be such a bastard to lock the clubroom with their things still inside. Once inside, he faintly remembered removing their shirts hastily and nothing more from the moment Echizen straddled him.
-----
"Momo...sempai!" cried Ryoma out as Momo's tongue lapped at his collarbone, then traveling down his chest.
"Good," chuckled Momo against his skin, enjoying the proximity and body heat immensely.
Everyone thought that Echizen was extremely difficult to deal with. The way he spoke, the way he reacted. But Momo knew better, Ryoma was deep down a boy like any other, who actually managed to survive Nanjiroh's attempts at upbringing. The very same boy now clung to him as if his life depended on him.
"I like you, Ryoma, I really do."
Echizen, straddling his shirtless sempai, just moaned softly and initiated a feverishly deep kiss, entangling his hands in Momo's spiky hair once again.
Afterwards, Momoshiro swore that he heard a faint sound of a racket string snapping under pressure, just when we was hungrily attacking Ryoma's ear, panting breathlessly - their chests pressed together, Echizen's fingers digging harshly in his back. And then his personal hell broke loose. Tezuka's booming voice sounded as if it's owner accidentally put his arm in a metal shredder. So high-pitched yet promising apocalyptical pain in a world where 100 laps in a freezing blizzard were just a warm-up before the breakfast. He knew - or rather furiously clung to the hope - that the captain won't pass the word to Ryuzaki or to any other sensei, but that didn't prevent Tezuka from having a marvelous fit of a unadulterated, ice-cold, devastating fury. Even Fuji, who waited patiently outside the clubroom for some reason, could feel the shockwaves caused by Tezuka's powerful shouts, almost a wistful smile gracing his lips.
------
"Nya-, caught in the clubroom, how amateurish," mewled Eiji, remembering the smouldering swirls of Tezuka's inferno spewing from the clubroom.
"We were too, and how many times, so show at least a bit of sympathy!" reprimanded him Oishi lightly and nibbled at his partner's neck.
"But they weren't even making out! That's so not fair!"
"Oh my, Eiji, making out? We're talking about your 'Ochibi' here! A first year!" Oishi hissed and pinched his cheek. .
"Well, me being a first year certainly didn't stop you, if I remember it correctly," sniggered Kikumaru and met his partner's wandering mouth with his own.
"And how do you know they weren't, you know, making out?" asked Oishi curiously when they had to broke apart, gasping for air.
"Tezuka would have dropped dead on the spot. Or at least he would pretend to do so, so Fujiko would have to resuscitate him," explained Eiji enthusiastically.
"Wait, Fuji was there too? I remember Tezuka asking everybody to avoid the clubroom for the rest of the afternoon under the penalty of Inui's juice...don't tell me..."
"Ah," paused Kikumaru, his face twisted with sudden worry. "Oh no. I bet Tezuka finally wanted to ask Fujiko out. Date, date!"
"Right. He's so dense when it comes to relationships, no doubt he was furious at Momo, who ruined his carefully prepared plan. And poor Fuji, waiting for his proposal for so bloody long. Tensai or not, he really has a self control made of steel, not to mention the patience," mused Oishi out loud and silence settled around them.
"Thanks heavens you are so straightforward," sighed Eiji contentedly and almost tackled his beloved doubles partner down from the green cargo container.
------
"Mada mada dane."
"Indeed," cringed Momo.
The awkward silence spread once more.
"Listen, Ryoma..."
"Hm?"
"Sorry."
"What for?"
"Sorry. I….totally overdid that... That...that shouldn't have happened - like that, that is."
"You're apologizing?"
"Right," breathed Momoshiro and looked at his feet as he walked beside his bike. The 'harassing a kouhai' phrase was etched in his mind. It was partly because Tezuka had screamed that repeatedly and directly in his ear, partly his own conscience nagging.
"What for? You didn't do anything wrong. And besides, whatever it was, it felt awesome," calmly reasoned Echizen with his own logic; the only thing on his mind were Tezuka's eyes, widening drastically to the size of a tennis ball from the shock, making his face a really funny thing to watch. And, of course, the taste of his sempai above everything.
"I hope sempai can pick me up tomorrow morning, as always," he stood on his toes, pulling Momo's troubled face down for a quick, feathery kiss, before running up ahead.
"Ryoma! You're the best!" hollered Momo, laughing at the darkening sky with a sudden outburst of absurd joy.
Back to Kaidoh & Inui next time! Thanks for reading! Reviews are indeed loved:3
A/N: Ryoma is clingy, not narcoleptic like certain someone from Hyoutei.