A/N: Oh, it has been years since I wrote something that isn't a term paper for university! I'm trying my hand on this because I'm thirsting for some Shiraishi-Yukimura lovin'. *wink*

Undying Disclaimer: All characters belong to Takeshi Konomi.

Pheasant's Eye

The morning sun shone brightly that day as Shiraishi, captain of the Shitenhouji tennis club, gathered his team on the courts.

"Good morning, everyone! Today we are going to take the train to Kanagawa. I have arranged practice matches between us and Rikkai Dai's regulars. This will be a good chance for all of us to improve our game."

The Shitenhouji team cheered and Kintaro said, "I want to have a match with Kirihara, buchou!"

"I'm sure we can do something about that, Kin-chan. I will speak to Rikkai Dai's captain about it," Shiraishi smiled at his energetic rookie.

The Shitenhouji team rode the train and a few hours later, they were standing on the tennis courts of Rikkai Dai. It was almost 12 noon when Shitenhouji arrived. Both teams agreed it would be wise to have lunch first so the members of Shitenhouji could also get some rest.

"Yukimura-kun?" Shiraishi called when he saw the Rikkai Dai captain enter. "I wanted to speak to you about the arrangements for the match."

"Ah, yes. We can arrange them inside." Yukimura replied and led Shiraishi to one of the third year class rooms on the upper floors.

Shiraishi watched as the gentle-mannered captain adjusted the band around his forehead and took to his heels, with his regulars' jacket hanging on his shoulders and the hem flapping against the wind.

It took them a few minutes to decide the order of the matches and Shiraishi repeated Kintaro's request to have a game with Kirihara.

Yukimura smiled and scribbled the names on a piece of paper. He straightened up and showed the final list to Shiraishi. "Everyone accounted for?"

Shiraishi glanced over the list. "Yes, the line-up's nicely done."

"We have some time before the practice starts. Since you're here, I thought I'd show you around the school. I heard from Oshitari-kun that you're interested in plants as well. We even have a rooftop garden!"

"Rooftop garden?" Shiraishi repeated.

"Yes, I'm in charge of the plants there."

"I'm interested to see it, then."

The two captains came up to the garden and Yukimura led Shiraishi between the many flower pots and flowerbeds.

"This one's Belladonna," Yukimura stated, pointing over to a line of flowers with bright blue and pink petals.

"This one has poisonous roots, right?" Shiraishi said as he lightly ran his fingers along the petals.

"The Indian Oleander is over here," Yukimura continued, moving over to the pots that held the flower with white and soft violet petals.

"It has poison that causes rashes, right?" Shiraishi asked.

Yukimura locked his blue eyes onto Shiraishi's cool brown ones. "You do know a lot. I'm impressed."

Shiraishi grinned at Yukimura in response and two moved on to the next flowerbed. "You know, Yukimura, I became interested in plants when I was five."

"That's quite a young age, Shiraishi-kun."

Both of them knelt down beside the flowerbed. A cool wind blew and the flowers danced along. A comfortable silence passed between the two of them.

Yukimura reached out to touch a deep red petal. "When I was sick, the flowerbed in my garden completely died out. I never felt so broken than when I was in the hospital." Yukimura sighed and shifted his blue eyes onto the flowering plants.

Shiraishi could tell that Yukimura hated talking about his ordeal at the hospital. He cautiously, carefully moved his hand and placed it over the other captain's.

"Yukimura, sometimes, we have to break so we can learn to endure."

Yukimura was a little surprised by the gesture. He looked up at Shiraishi and noticed that from the other's position, his hair caught the sun in all the right places enough to give the strands a silvery glow. Yukimura smiled and touched Shiraishi's tresses.

"Your hair reminds of one time long ago," Yukimura started, "I came to like tennis because of a little boy I met once."

Shiraishi chuckled. This little walk in the garden was starting to bring out some childhood stories. Another cool wind blew and the flowers moved under their fingertips. Yukimura looked down at the flowerbed and said, "Look at this. Even Pheasant's Eye blooms in spring."

"Pheasant's Eye?" Shiraishi looked down at the flowers and stopped. They were deep red, with the velvety petals curving towards the centre. He recognized this flower; he knew it from long ago.

"Raising it is a hassle," Yukimura continued, "If you water it too much, it will shrivel."

"It's special," Shiraishi said, his voice barely above a whisper. He turned to gaze intently at the other captain beside him. He had that navy blue hair, those blue eyes...

"The Pheasant's Eye's scientific name is Adonis amurensis. In the Greek legends, Adonis was a young man loved by Aphrodite – goddess of love and beauty. When Adonis was killed by another goddess in a fit of jealous rage, Aphrodite dyed the flower red with his blood."

After his narration, Yukimura was even more surprised to see Shiraishi fixedly looking at him.

"Shiraishi-kun? We might as well head back downstairs. Practice will start soon." Yukimura stood up, unsure of how to react to that handsome face watching his every move.

Shiraishi slowly got to his feet. "You're him," he breathed.

"What do you mean?"

"It's you, the kid I met from a long time ago. Seii...Seiichi. Yukimura Seiichi."

It wasn't like Yukimura to blush so he bowed his head a little, avoiding Shiraishi's eyes. "Shiraishi-kun, I'm surprised it took you quite a while to remember."

"You knew it all this time?" Shiraishi asked, taking one step closer to where Yukimura stood.

"I had a feeling it was you when I first saw you in the Nationals. With those distinctly soft brown locks of yours, you had to be that little boy in the park."

"I believe you have something that is mine," Shiraishi said, taking the last step that closed the distance between him and Yukimura.

"The tennis ball from long ago?" Yukimura faced him with his eyebrows raised, an amused expression playing on his face.

"No," Shiraishi smirked, ever so seductively. "I meant my heart."

And with that, the gap between their faces closed as their lips met in a tender kiss.

END

P.S. Some parts of their conversation in the rooftop garden were taken from Pair Puri episode 5.