Drabble request #4, times two
Gah! These are awful, awful, awful, I don't like them. I don't like either, which is why there are two! Becky! *whines* They gave me fits and I kept thinking Eiji was going to claw my eyes out. Anyways, I like the second one moderately better, but still not much. Gah, shall ponder more, but for now..

Requested by: beckymarie
Series: Prince of Tennis
Pairings: Tezkun/Oishi; Oishi/Eiji
Genre: Drama
Title: Inadequate (325 words)



To be the Golden Pair is not enough.

Eiji knows this.

It wasn't hard to figure out, Oishi is, after all, an open book.

Eiji's never said anything. He's never let Oishi know. Sometimes, he wished he weren't aware of it, because the knowledge hurts. It's nothing physical, Oishi's not the type to cheat. It's almost innocent, but it still makes Eiji wary.

He wishes he could talk about it with someone, but no one else knows.

Oishi and Tezuka are very subtle people, after all.

Eiji's can't describe in words what it is. Devotion is the closest term he can come up with. Oishi would follow Tezuka anywhere blindly. It unsettles Eiji to think what would happen if Oishi ever had to choose.

Because Oishi never fights with Tezuka. Tezuka's never let Oishi down. Oishi is always there for Tezuka, without being asked. Because Tezuka actually lets Oishi in. Because Oishi smiles for Tezuka, (even though it's not as bright as the smiles for Eiji). Because Tezuka knows Oishi's moods, something Eiji's trying to become more perceptive of.

It's the way Oishi hands him papers, just knowing which Tezuka wants. It's how Oishi knows what calls Tezuka's going to make when on the court. They move in synchronization that would rival the Golden Pair on the court. There is more than life and relationships besides tennis after all. They work without words, without dialogue, without direction. Instinctive and unfaltering. They're like an old married couple, Eiji realizes. Not that the thought soothes him in the least. Eiji still wonders why they split up.

He'd probably relax if he knew the reason was indeed him.

Eiji knows that what he and Oishi have is real, yet he also knows that it's not yet as deep as what Tezuka and Oishi has shared. Will it ever get to that point? Is it possible?

Can it really enough to be Golden, when one has already known Platinum?



and...
Requested by: beckymarie
Series: Prince of Tennis
Pairings: Tezkun/Oishi
Genre: Drama
Title: Apart (331 words)


The airport is busy, like all airports are. It's loud and it's crowded, but somehow they don't notice. Ryuzaki-sensei has deliberately gone to peruse a magazine stand, and Oishi and Tezuka are looking out the window. Soon, Tezuka will be on a plane and far away from Seishun Gakuen.

Oishi doesn't want him to go, but he knows he has to.

The words are few, all shallow. Generic well wishes and good fortune.

Neither says what's on their mind, and ironically, they share the same thought. Will you be okay without me?

That is the nature of their relationship. Support and trust, faith and conviction, which won't work if one isn't present.

Anywhere Tezuka goes, Oishi would follow. But now, he can't, he has to stay behind. It was never part of their promise to go on alone. They never thought of doing it alone, never fathomed it. Together to the Nationals.

It would be meaningless if Tezuka wasn't there.

But Oishi doesn't voice his feelings. He can't. Now, he must fill in for Tezuka, it's what Tezuka expects of him and he can't let him down. Tezuka was the one guiding, leading, determined to claim their promise, and now, he trusts Oishi to take his place. Oishi can't let him down, won't let him down. This is just a different way of doing it together, its persevering when the other has faltered.

Keeping up the momentum until the other can catch up again.

This isn't a 'goodbye', it's an 'until later.'

The airport is still busy, like most airports are. It's loud and it's crowded, giving them some privacy in the oddest of ways. Ryuzaki-sensei is still gone, and Oishi and Tezuka embrace once, only for a moment. Soon, Tezuka will be through the gate, and the plane will ascend and Oishi will do nothing but watch.

Oishi still doesn't want him to go, but he knows that Tezuka will be back.

After all, they still have a promise.

Together.