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yrindor ([personal profile] yrindor) wrote2016-09-08 07:23 pm

Fic Dumping Ground: 2016

This post is a storage spot for all of the fic/ficlets that I want to be able to link to but don't want to post to AO3 for whatever reason. Fandom/pairings/rating/warnings will be marked in the subject of the individual comments.

Prince of Tennis, Sanada/Yukimura, G

(Anonymous) 2016-11-23 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
Like any vice-captain, Sanada took his duties to the team and to his captain seriously. Like any Rikkai regular, he took those duties to the utmost. Before each match, he would make sure his own bag was ready, then check Yukimura's. Check his own rackets, then check Yukimura's. Double-check that the team roster was correct.

But if he was meticulous, Yukimura could be even more so, and before Nationals, they were both even more meticulous than usual. It was well past dark by the time they were finally satisfied, and by then, they were alone in the club space. It was only then that he began the final piece of their preparations.

As always, Yukimura sat on the bench in front of the lockers as Sanada knelt by his side. As always, Yukimura claimed that it wasn't necessary, but Sanada believed in trusting as little as possible to luck. He wouldn't risk his captain's technique being thrown off by a chipped nail. He took Yukimura's hands in his own and inspected them. They weren't chapped, hadn't been since he had gifted Yukimura a bottle of finely scented lotion several months earlier, but as always, Yukimura's nails were ragged, bitten down during late nights studying and battling the demons he never let others see.

"Yukimura," Sanada began as he took an emery board and started to smooth out the worst of the damage, but whatever he had been about to say trailed off. He couldn't scold his captain for the lengths to which he pushed himself; it was Yukimura's expectations that had made Rikkai great. It wasn't the expectations that he wanted to speak to though, it was the other cause of Yukimura's sleepless nights, the demons that Yukimura never spoke of.

He wouldn't have had a name for them if it hadn't been for the most recent training camp when Yukimura had cried out in his sleep, fighting against memories that slipped out into the strange reality of dreams. He had spent that night deep in meditation by Yukimura's side, just as he had during the many long nights Yukimura had spent in the hospital.

Yukimura never spoke of his nightmares though, just as Sanada never spoke of the nights he had spent sitting vigil, but they both knew, just as Sanada knew the nightmares weren't limited to the few nights of the training camp.

It pained him that he couldn't do anything for Yukimura those nights. That he couldn't hold the nightmares at bay until they recognized Yukimura's strength and left him alone. It pained him that Yukimura still had so much fear and uncertainty locked up inside him that the nightmares could continue to feed on it. That he couldn't show Yukimura how unfounded those fears were.

It pained him, but there was nothing he could do. He was a simple vice-captain, and he worked under straightforward rules.

But, he thought as he shaped each of Yukimura's nails back into its perfect curve, even if he couldn't fight Yukimura's demons, then at least he could smooth out the worst of the rough edges they left behind. By the time he finished, his captain's hands would be flawless, as was befitting for a soon-to-be three-time national champion. And when he finished, he would wait for Yukimura's subtle wave of permission before he bowed his head and raised Yukimura's hand to his lips.

And when Yukimura rose and rested a hand on his head before leaving, he'd know that his love for his captain was returned just as strongly.
prillalar: (kaidoh kalos)

Re: Prince of Tennis, Inui/Kaidou, G

[personal profile] prillalar 2016-11-24 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
This is so sweet! Oh, Kaidoh. <3 You always know what to do.
prillalar: (inukai away)

Re: Prince of Tennis, Inui/Kaidou, G

[personal profile] prillalar 2016-12-16 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
I wanted to leave a proper comment on this. I really love the mood of this piece, I can feel Inui's tiredness and the misty day. And Kaidoh being that one warm thing. I love it so much when Kaidoh takes the initiative. I hope they go home together and drink tea and are happy.