[Fic] PoT - TakaFuji (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
30_romances, 20 things meme)
Oct. 13th, 2005 03:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
diamondlifeI OWN. Two birds - one stone - get in! This was done for, aha, both the 20 Things Meme that's spread through PoT fandom like wildfire, and good for it, because the pieces have been top-notch; and also 30_romances theme no. 8: "Analysis; collection", because I think it fits raaaather too nicely. :3 Hope it's OK with you, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vanillafire!
As if you wouldn't guess, being as how this is me - this is a shonen ai fic, featuring the wonderfully under-written-for pairing of TakaFuji. W007, go me! Please ignore my blatantly shoddy research for no. 7, and the fact that the timeline is really, really messed up. *cough*
1. Even since he left the tennis team, there's nothing Taka likes more than having the regulars (all or any) round to his house to hang out. Sometimes they play games, or test Taka's sushi, but even if they end up doing nothing in particular, Taka is at his happiest when he's playing host to his friends.
2. After the Nationals everyone of course came to the restaurant, but Taka can't help but feel a little melancholy. He doesn't say anything, of course not, not while everyone is celebrating Seigaku's magnificent win; but this is the last time he'll be here with everyone like this, as part of the team. Of course he'll still see everyone, but… He shrugs it away when he sees Fuji looking at him in that way he has that you can't hide from, and makes certain that his last memories of being on the team are happy ones.
3. When everyone's gone home, Taka sometimes gets lonely; he pushes it away by doing press-ups, or practicing preparing sushi in the kitchen, or making tea for customers in the restaurant. Soon he's too busy to think about it.
4. He enjoys working in the restaurant, like he enjoys pretty much anything he turns his hand to. He doesn't know if he'll be as good as his dad at making sushi, but he hopes he'll at least be better at it than he was at playing tennis. Then he'll feel more satisfied that he made the right choice.
5. He enjoyed karate too, before deciding maybe he'd like tennis better, and be better at it. He did, and he was, but sometimes he thinks it might be fun to go along and try some karate again.
6. He's never been afraid of Akutsu, though he has got punched in the face before. It was only once, though, a long time ago, and he'd happened to ask something about Akutsu's dad. He hasn't mentioned anything (about either the man, or the punch) since, and it's not happened again, so he reckons he's made it onto that very short list of people who Akutsu tolerates with little complaint. Somehow, that pleases him.
7. Taka's granddad took him to the Kabukiza theatre when he was younger, and it led to a fascination with traditional Japanese culture that lasted for quite a while – well, as long as any fascination lasts for Taka. (Of course, it's what led him to karate.) Maybe it's just because he's been spending more time in the restaurant, but he's found that interest coming back to him recently. The funny thing is, his family, despite their business, don't really share that interest. It's not necessarily that Taka thinks it's the right thing to do – preserving tradition, that is – but he genuinely enjoys listening to koto and shamisen music, and watching sumo wrestling. One day he'll learn how to play shogi, though he doubts he'll be any good at it.
8. Taka's idol is Bruce Lee. He still loves watching any old martial arts films, no matter how cheesy. So does Momo, and sometimes, during school holidays, they stay up all night marathoning films with titles like The Postman Fights Back, Zombie Rivals and Secret Kick of Death. (They stayed away from Chicks with Sticks, though Taka suspects Momo was a tiny bit disappointed.)
9. He doesn't quite know how he came to be "Taka-san", but he guesses Eiji must have started it. Just like he started "ochibi", and "Fujiko-chan". (If he actually asked Eiji, he has an uneasy feeling he'd be told that one was Taka's own doing, during a match one time. But Taka doesn't remember that, and isn't going to ask about it.)
10. He does remember, afterwards, what he does when he has a tennis racquet in his hand, but it's kind of like remembering a dream: everything seems perfectly normal at the time, and all the events are so easy to go along with; but when it's over, it doesn't necessarily make any sense at all.
11. Occasionally Taka wishes he could carry a tennis racquet round with him all the time. It would be nice if things were that simple again; or maybe, he wonders in his more frustrated moments, it'd be nice if he could just do what he wanted, with no fear of the consequences.
12. He secretly hopes the team miss him, and his racquet, just sometimes. Momo has never quite become as powerful as Taka. He wonders if, sometimes, they face a player like Kabaji again, and wish they still had Taka on the team.
13. Fuji tells him, unprompted, that the team do miss him. Not just when they start high school, but in the second year too, when Seigaku narrowly miss out on winning the Nationals. Rikkaidai's Singles Two that year is a hulking uber-athlete[1] of a third year, and they take the title 3-2. (Of course, Seigaku are missing Echizen too, but Taka discounts this little detail, and enjoys the moment.)
14. Fuji also tells him that he misses Taka, too. Laughing and ducking his head, Taka points out that they see each other almost every day, at lunch; but Fuji, to Taka's surprise, tells him he misses playing doubles with him.
15. Taka had always felt bad for making Fuji look like a loser so many times when they played doubles together. Until then, Taka had never quite let go of the fact that Fuji could've been so much better if he hadn't been burdened with him; but now, with one sentence, Fuji has taken all that away.
16. He misses playing doubles with Fuji, too. In fact – though he doesn't tell Fuji this part – it's what he misses most about playing tennis.
17. Since starting high school, Taka's been out with quite a few different girls. They like him for his well-developed physique, and often for his sweet, easy-going personality too. He always brings flowers when he picks them up, and their parents always think he's charming; but somehow, there's never more than two or three dates with any particular girl. Taka doesn't really mind – after all, he's not the sort of person who sticks with a thing forever.
18. Sometimes, though, in those times when everyone's gone home from their visit, and there are no more customers to serve in the restaurant, he gets to thinking about it a bit more. There's been no-one – none of those girls, in three years, who've even held his attention. They were all nice enough, but… most of them asked him out. Taka only accepted because, well, he's a nice guy. He wonders when he'll get a chance with someone he really likes.
19. But, at the same time, Taka knows you make your own chances, and he's not brave enough, now things aren't as brilliantly simple as they were on the tennis court, to turn his chances into opportunities. That's why, when he and Fuji are alone one evening in the empty restaurant, he keeps his smile nothing more than friendly and his conversation easy. He decided years ago, he realises, not to push this one, because he values Fuji's friendship too highly to take that risk.
20. Taka's got used to not being the best, not winning. But when Fuji leans across the counter, smiling, and gently kisses him on the lips, he feels like he's the biggest outsider to ever win the biggest prize, and it's the best feeling he's ever had.
[1] *cough* Anyone guess the reference? Except forvanillafire, of course. ^_~
30_romances theme no. 8: "Analysis; collection", because I think it fits raaaather too nicely. :3 Hope it's OK with you, vanillafire!As if you wouldn't guess, being as how this is me - this is a shonen ai fic, featuring the wonderfully under-written-for pairing of TakaFuji. W007, go me! Please ignore my blatantly shoddy research for no. 7, and the fact that the timeline is really, really messed up. *cough*
1. Even since he left the tennis team, there's nothing Taka likes more than having the regulars (all or any) round to his house to hang out. Sometimes they play games, or test Taka's sushi, but even if they end up doing nothing in particular, Taka is at his happiest when he's playing host to his friends.
2. After the Nationals everyone of course came to the restaurant, but Taka can't help but feel a little melancholy. He doesn't say anything, of course not, not while everyone is celebrating Seigaku's magnificent win; but this is the last time he'll be here with everyone like this, as part of the team. Of course he'll still see everyone, but… He shrugs it away when he sees Fuji looking at him in that way he has that you can't hide from, and makes certain that his last memories of being on the team are happy ones.
3. When everyone's gone home, Taka sometimes gets lonely; he pushes it away by doing press-ups, or practicing preparing sushi in the kitchen, or making tea for customers in the restaurant. Soon he's too busy to think about it.
4. He enjoys working in the restaurant, like he enjoys pretty much anything he turns his hand to. He doesn't know if he'll be as good as his dad at making sushi, but he hopes he'll at least be better at it than he was at playing tennis. Then he'll feel more satisfied that he made the right choice.
5. He enjoyed karate too, before deciding maybe he'd like tennis better, and be better at it. He did, and he was, but sometimes he thinks it might be fun to go along and try some karate again.
6. He's never been afraid of Akutsu, though he has got punched in the face before. It was only once, though, a long time ago, and he'd happened to ask something about Akutsu's dad. He hasn't mentioned anything (about either the man, or the punch) since, and it's not happened again, so he reckons he's made it onto that very short list of people who Akutsu tolerates with little complaint. Somehow, that pleases him.
7. Taka's granddad took him to the Kabukiza theatre when he was younger, and it led to a fascination with traditional Japanese culture that lasted for quite a while – well, as long as any fascination lasts for Taka. (Of course, it's what led him to karate.) Maybe it's just because he's been spending more time in the restaurant, but he's found that interest coming back to him recently. The funny thing is, his family, despite their business, don't really share that interest. It's not necessarily that Taka thinks it's the right thing to do – preserving tradition, that is – but he genuinely enjoys listening to koto and shamisen music, and watching sumo wrestling. One day he'll learn how to play shogi, though he doubts he'll be any good at it.
8. Taka's idol is Bruce Lee. He still loves watching any old martial arts films, no matter how cheesy. So does Momo, and sometimes, during school holidays, they stay up all night marathoning films with titles like The Postman Fights Back, Zombie Rivals and Secret Kick of Death. (They stayed away from Chicks with Sticks, though Taka suspects Momo was a tiny bit disappointed.)
9. He doesn't quite know how he came to be "Taka-san", but he guesses Eiji must have started it. Just like he started "ochibi", and "Fujiko-chan". (If he actually asked Eiji, he has an uneasy feeling he'd be told that one was Taka's own doing, during a match one time. But Taka doesn't remember that, and isn't going to ask about it.)
10. He does remember, afterwards, what he does when he has a tennis racquet in his hand, but it's kind of like remembering a dream: everything seems perfectly normal at the time, and all the events are so easy to go along with; but when it's over, it doesn't necessarily make any sense at all.
11. Occasionally Taka wishes he could carry a tennis racquet round with him all the time. It would be nice if things were that simple again; or maybe, he wonders in his more frustrated moments, it'd be nice if he could just do what he wanted, with no fear of the consequences.
12. He secretly hopes the team miss him, and his racquet, just sometimes. Momo has never quite become as powerful as Taka. He wonders if, sometimes, they face a player like Kabaji again, and wish they still had Taka on the team.
13. Fuji tells him, unprompted, that the team do miss him. Not just when they start high school, but in the second year too, when Seigaku narrowly miss out on winning the Nationals. Rikkaidai's Singles Two that year is a hulking uber-athlete[1] of a third year, and they take the title 3-2. (Of course, Seigaku are missing Echizen too, but Taka discounts this little detail, and enjoys the moment.)
14. Fuji also tells him that he misses Taka, too. Laughing and ducking his head, Taka points out that they see each other almost every day, at lunch; but Fuji, to Taka's surprise, tells him he misses playing doubles with him.
15. Taka had always felt bad for making Fuji look like a loser so many times when they played doubles together. Until then, Taka had never quite let go of the fact that Fuji could've been so much better if he hadn't been burdened with him; but now, with one sentence, Fuji has taken all that away.
16. He misses playing doubles with Fuji, too. In fact – though he doesn't tell Fuji this part – it's what he misses most about playing tennis.
17. Since starting high school, Taka's been out with quite a few different girls. They like him for his well-developed physique, and often for his sweet, easy-going personality too. He always brings flowers when he picks them up, and their parents always think he's charming; but somehow, there's never more than two or three dates with any particular girl. Taka doesn't really mind – after all, he's not the sort of person who sticks with a thing forever.
18. Sometimes, though, in those times when everyone's gone home from their visit, and there are no more customers to serve in the restaurant, he gets to thinking about it a bit more. There's been no-one – none of those girls, in three years, who've even held his attention. They were all nice enough, but… most of them asked him out. Taka only accepted because, well, he's a nice guy. He wonders when he'll get a chance with someone he really likes.
19. But, at the same time, Taka knows you make your own chances, and he's not brave enough, now things aren't as brilliantly simple as they were on the tennis court, to turn his chances into opportunities. That's why, when he and Fuji are alone one evening in the empty restaurant, he keeps his smile nothing more than friendly and his conversation easy. He decided years ago, he realises, not to push this one, because he values Fuji's friendship too highly to take that risk.
20. Taka's got used to not being the best, not winning. But when Fuji leans across the counter, smiling, and gently kisses him on the lips, he feels like he's the biggest outsider to ever win the biggest prize, and it's the best feeling he's ever had.
[1] *cough* Anyone guess the reference? Except for
vanillafire, of course. ^_~