Prince Of Tennis Fan Fiction ❯ Fish Sitting ❯ Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly, the Prince of Tennis is not mine. I write for my own enjoyment and that of my readers. I make no money off of my fiction.

Warnings: Eiji's POV, college age boys, shounen ai, very mild language, vaguely introspective, sap

A/N: Set in the same universe as Ivy League. You don't have to read that story to understand this one, but I wouldn't mind you checking it out if you haven't. Written for Jamie and Pix who both mentioned they'd like to see more of this time in the boys' lives.


Fish Sitting
by Solanum Dulcamara

Laying on my bed in the semi-darkness of my room, lit only by the dim light of the aquarium, I watch the glimmer of the fish's scales as they swim idly back and forth. It's late, or early depending on your perspective, and I've lost track of how many times I've dropped my cell while waiting for it to ring.

Syuuichiroh's calling tonight, and it's been awhile since we've been able to talk for any decent amount of time, so I absolutely have to stay awake. Between both of us having school and part-time jobs, and with the time difference, well, inevitably one of us is going to be on the phone really late... when we get to talk at all. I usually try to make sure it's me because I can function fine on just a few hours of sleep, but Syuu is a total zombie if he doesn't get a solid, doctor-recommended eight hours. He didn't go all the way to the United States to sleep through his classes. He protests sometimes because he's Syuuichiroh and it's his nature to try to take care of me... it's his nature to try to take care of everyone. He's the guy who'd give away everything he had till he was naked in the snow. Then he'd freeze to death happily, knowing that he'd helped someone. That's why I decided I wanted to take care of him.

Way back when I was an obnoxious, loud-mouthed kid with a bandage across my nose, I watched him give all of himself freely to everything and everyone and knew he'd need someone to give a little of that back to him. Then, I realized I wanted to be the one to give it to him. Me. Spoiled, crybaby, drama queen Eiji. Maybe it was the way he always had my back, or the fact that he took the time to see the me behind the smiles, or maybe he just has such a beautiful heart that I wanted a bit of it for myself. I didn't know then and can't say for sure now. What I do know is that as long as he lets me, I'm going to keep trying my best to take care of him.

Like his fish. When he was accepted to Harvard, he had a mild panic attack (in true Ooishi Syuuichiroh fashion), worrying about what to do with his fish. Taking them with him wasn't exactly an option. Without really knowing what I was getting myself into, I volunteered to take care of them. He'd been surprised but happy at my offer, and I remember feeling very warmed by his appreciation... which is a good thing because marine aquariums are a pain in the ass to take care of. At the same time, as much as I complain to Fuji about it, I really like taking care of the fish because it's another way I get to take care of my Syuuichiroh.