Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis *sighs*

Chapter-3

Paint your heart with Warmth

A week had passed since the day they were, well, they were only sharing a friendly hug when Fuji-senpai happened to witness it and this stuff had been blown out of proportion. Why were all his senpais giving him such a hard time about it? Heck, even Tezuka couldn't help but smirk slightly at Ryoma's plight. Geez, talk about not being able to give a girl a simple friendly hug. Simple, yeah right. 'Tch, what the hell? Hug one girl and this happens. Che…' Well, technically, he had hugged Ryuzaki Sakuno, the coach's grand- daughter and the girl who was apparently 'destined' to end up with Ryoma. Ryoma smirked at the thought of that. He'd been having *cough* strange *cough* dreams of the said girl and after a few months of denial, he'd just conceded to the fact that he did, indeed like the girl. He knew she liked him, loved him, even. But Ryoma couldn't help but feel like a wuss when he thought of confronting her, not that he'd let that be known, of course. Shaking off his insecurities, Ryoma made his way to Sakuno's seat. It was English, and they were partners. Sakuno turned and brightly smiled at him "Ryoma-kun! Ohayo!" Ryoma nodded in response and sat next to her.

English in the Eighth Hour was good. It was the end of the day, just before Tennis practice, and he intended on spending this time thoroughly enjoying himself in Sakuno's company. He purposely leaned closer to Sakuno as they continued to answer the questions in their book. He smirked slightly when he noticed her cheeks tinted red as she discussed the answers with him. Neither shied away from the proximity because, well, they didn't mind it at all, it was comfortable really. Comfort was good, and all good things come to an end, eventually. It was when Sakuno turned to look at the Prince for the answer to a question she didn't get, that both teens' eyes widened as their lips lightly brushed against one another.

Time had stopped, yes, it waited for some. Even something so subtle had been capable of sending jolts of pleasure through the teens' bodies as both had their stomachs lurching. His adam's apple moved up and down, and up and down, indicating he swallowed continuously at the awkward situation. Personally, he thought Sakuno looked extremely beautiful, with her face so close to his and her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, but this was not the time to fantasize! Damage control! He quickly cleared his throat and weakly rasped out, "so, what was it you were asking me, Ryuzaki?" Sakuno seemed to recoil at the sound of his voice as she stuttered out the question to him, eyes directed anywhere but at him. Poor Sakuno-chan in her flustered state. x)

As a painful twenty minutes passed by and the end of class bell resounded through the hallways, every student packed his or her belongings and rushed out of class, intent on getting out and enjoying the evening. Well, everyone except our little Auburn head. Ryoma raised a fine eyebrow at her, to which she merely shook her head "Ano.. I have an art project I want to finish now, so I'll come by the courts a little later". He couldn't deny the sinking feeling he felt as he heard that. She wouldn't be there to watch him, not that he played in the practice matches every day, but she would still make it a point to be there and her interest in the sport only seemed to increase, as she watched all the matches with fascination, despite her many failed attempts at playing the sport. He pushed down the disappointment and numbly nodded to her as he made his way to the locker rooms.

Wiping the beads of sweat from his brow as he entered the locker room, once again, he proceeded to taking a shower. Momo-senpai and Kaido-senpai had decided to visit the youngest member of the Dream Team (soon to be re-united) and decided that the boy was getting 'lazy and lousy' because they'd hardly seen him play. Ryoma of course, not being one to back down on a challenge accepted to play both his senpais. It was a miracle how the boy, no longer so little, had managed to beat both the seniors AND have the energy to walk around the courts instructing the other members as to their practice schedules.

Ah, a shower definitely felt good. He stepped out and got dressed, and suddenly, it hit him. He hadn't noticed that Sakuno hadn't turned up at all! He was so engrossed in his matches that he completely forgotten. Quickly getting into his pants and shirt, he hastily made his way to the school's main building. Had she left without him? Had she gone home alone, in the dark? What if something'd happen to her? All these questions raced through his head as he rushed to their classroom. He slid open the door of the room and an immense warmth and a sense of relief washed over him. He quietly leaned against the wall as he observed Sakuno painting with all her concentration. She looked cute when her lips were slightly pouted and her eyes, determined. He was left amused as he watched her trying to brush away a few stray strands of hair with her paint smeared hands. Incidentally, she got some paint on her cheek as well, in spite of her failed attempts at taking her hair off her face. A low chuckle startled her as she turned to lay eyes upon the intruder. Her face instantly grew hot as she looked at Ryoma, leaning against the door frame, smiling at her in all his sexy glory.

It was true, both Ryoma and Sakuno had matured over the years. Ryoma had become much taller and had a lean, muscled body, courtesy of all that training and tennis. His hair was now slightly longer and fell over his eyes in a way that complemented his sharpened features perfectly. Yes, he was indeed swoonable. Totally. But, Sakuno was now on the It Girl list of many of the boys at school too, having changed her hairstyle and that curvy, yet lean body of hers couldn't simply go un-noticed by the hormonal male population. Ryoma was proud of himself for secretly scaring away all her admirers. Sakuno was his, even if the said girl wasn't aware of that yet. She was, after all, known to be painfully dense. He made his way to her and gently brushed off the stray hair from her pretty face. He smiled lightly and looked at the picture. His mood was in the skies instantly.

It was a painting of him, as he was suspended mid-air, having just hit a Drive B. Sakuno may not have been the pearl in the pond when it came to tennis, but painting was something she excelled at. He looked at her once again as she shyly met his gaze, "A-ano.. it.. well, I just, umm.." she trailed off as she tried hiding her blush. He was so drawn to her, he knew he really liked her, a lot. Slowly tipping her chin upwards and bringing his lips to hers, he closed the distance between them. She was so shocked she's forgotten how to think. There were foreign sensations coursing through her as Ryoma continued to kiss her softly. She let her eyes close and attempted to kiss back when she no longer felt his lips on her. "That's a nice painting there, Ryuzaki" Ryoma slyly complimented. His smirk grew wider as she stood in front of him, blushing like mad. He helped her pack her things up and led her out the school gates as they made their way home, walking next to one another, with a comfortable silence between them as they pondered as to the kiss that they had just shared.

Eek! Ryoma is so bold! ^_^

Please R & R! =) :3

Love

Hana-chan