AN: This is my first RyoSaku story! So bear with me!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Prince of Tennis. I only dream of Ryoma.

Ryoma Echizen sighed as he trudged tiredly towards the vending machine, dragging his feet.

He was not tired from all the tennis practice, mind you. But he was exhausted from having to actively avoid Inui-sempai's latest juice invention.

It was not Ryoma's fault that the murky green colour of the fluid didn't appeal to him in the slightest.

Only Fuji-sempai, for some unfathomable (and possibly scary) reason, had found the juice, not just acceptable, but tasty.

The rest of the team (even Tezuka-sempai, to an extent) had been disgusted.

And not to mention, all this talk about juices and fluids had made him thirsty.

So, here he was, trying to get to his heavenly drink, and trying not to collapse.

He reached the machine in a few minutes, but his eyes widened when he noticed something, and then he felt his world shatter as realization set in - there was no Ponta left.

Curses!

Ryoma frowned. How was this possible? There was always a huge stock of Ponta in the machine, which he himself halved by the end of the day. So how come this day, this blasted horrible day, the space where the Ponta cans were supposed to be was empty?

Someone was going to pay.

Ryoma huffed, put some coins in the machine, and brought a cola (a freaking cola) just so he could calm his murderous thoughts. He broke the seal of the can, and took a swig.

It did not help.

Really, he scolded himself, there was no need to be so dramatic about this. But then, Ryoma reasoned, it wouldn't have been so bad if Inui-sempai had kept his invention to himself.

He had a person he could blame, but that didn't help as he could not hurt said person.

Tezuka-sempai and the coach would have his head if he even tried.

And he was only 14, too young to die!

Ryoma touched the cold can to his forehead, trying to cool himself. He then sighed, and started the long (for today, due to absence of his Ponta) walk back to the courts. He took small sips of his drink, all the while making a disgusted face at having to taste something other than Ponta. He felt like he was betraying his favourite drink.

It was then that he noticed a certain twin-braided girl, sitting on a bench a little distance from the vending machine, a can in hand.

A can of Ponta.

The possibly last can of Ponta.

Ryoma's eyes narrowed. So, she was the reason there was no Ponta left. The girl had taken the last can, which should have rightfully been his!

Ryuzaki Sakuno would someday be the death of him.

He looked over her, as he slowly made his way towards the bench. She had her eyes closed (hence the reason she hadn't noticed him), and was leaning back on the back rest of the bench. Small beads of sweat on her forehead indicated that she had been probably practicing tennis, and was now taking a break. She was beautiful, he admitted to himself, and given time she would blossom. She was popular even now, what with the amount of boys chasing her. She was breathing a little hard, her chest moving up and down with her deep breaths. She was probably tired.

But that did not excuse her for taking his Ponta.

"Oi! Ryuzaki!"

Said girl opened her eyes, and blushed slightly when she noticed Ryoma standing there.

"Ah, Ryoma-kun. Hello!" She said, and smiled at him.

The girl had gotten rid of her stuttering a while back, and Ryoma had been glad (although he did not know why). She also stumbled less, hence the reason why the tennis prodigy had stopped calling her 'Wobbly Hips'. And, if he was being honest, she had become a friend to him in the past few months. And he truly valued it.

He did not want to get angry at her and scare her away.

So, he would have to give up on scolding her for taking his Ponta away.

Oh well, her smile had already lessened his pain.

"Hn. Still practising?" He asked as he sat down next to her and leaned on the back rest. He took off his cap and ruffled his hair.

Sakuno turned towards him and smiled softly at his feline action, "Yes. The captain wants us to train hard. Even though I am not a regular, it feels nice, working hard."

He nodded slightly, and sighed as he closed his eyes.

"Ryoma-kun, are you alright?" She asked softly, placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

Ryoma opened his eyes, and gently took the hand in his, "Yes. Just tired."

Sakuno nodded and smiled. She then noticed the can in his hand and frowned, "Eh? You are not drinking Ponta?"

Ryoma glared slightly at her question, and huffed, "You took the last can."

She blinked, and her eyes rounded in realization, "I am sorry Ryoma-kun! I didn't notice!"

Ryoma shook his head, "It's alright. Don't worry about it."

Sakuno looked at him, worried about what she had done unintentionally. She then smiled as she got an idea.

Ryoma felt the can in his hand being taken and frowned at the girl, "What...?"

"Here Ryoma-kun! I only drank a little. I know how lack of Ponta tires you out. It's alright, I like cola too." She said and giggled, when Ryoma pouted at being accused of being Ponta-addicted.

Ryoma wanted to refuse, but the tiredness and not to mention, his craving for his favourite drink won out, and he accepted the can from Sakuno.

"Thanks, Ryuzaki!" He said, and took a long swig from the can.

Sakuno smiled, and leaned back as she took a sip of the cola. She blushed when she realized that she and Ryoma had just shared an indirect kiss. She hastily took another sip, trying to bring her red face under control, lest the tennis prince notice it, and tease her about it.

She did not notice the tennis prodigy's apparent discovery.

Ryoma frowned, as he licked his lips. Somehow, the Ponta tasted different. It was grape flavour (his favourite), but it tasted odd. A nice kind of odd.

And he liked the new taste.

He took a swig again, trying to decipher if the change in taste had been his imagination.

No, it had been not.

Hmm...

Ryoma stared at the can, and then looked at the girl beside him, as she sat quietly sipping her drink.

Could it be possible...?

"Ryuzaki, exchange drinks with me again."

Sakuno frowned, but slowly gave him the cola, and took the Ponta back. She then turned forward again, and closed her eyes, confused at her friend's behaviour.

Ryoma took a sip of the cola, and smirked when he tasted the difference again. It had not been there when he had been drinking the cola before.

Which only meant one thing.

"Ryuzaki?"

Sakuno opened her eyes, and turned towards him, "Yes, Ryo..."

She did not get to complete the sentence, as Ryoma's lips landed on hers.

Her eyes widened, but before she could understand what was happening and respond, the boy had leaned back.

She watched shocked as he licked his lips and smirked. Her mind refused to think coherently, and hence she just sat there, not able to ask or say anything.

Ryoma smirked, he had been right. The different taste had been because of Sakuno. But he had still been unable to experience her real taste, as her lips had a mix of Ponta and cola.

He was curious, and oh so intrigued.

So, taking advantage of her shocked state, he leaned in again.

This time, Sakuno's shock was short lived. She responded to his kiss, wrapping her hands around his neck. He, in turn, pulled her closer, one hand around her waist, and other at the back of her neck. He licked her bottom lip, and plunged his tongue in when she gasped.

Ah, Sakuno tasted better than Ponta indeed.

They parted after a while, panting hard. Sakuno looked dazed, and Ryoma smirked at this. He rested his forehead against her and chuckled.

"Ryoma-kun? What...?"

"Mada Mada Dane, Sakuno."

With that, he claimed her lips again.

He now had a new addiction. And it was much more pleasurable.

Ryoma smirked against her lips.

And this time, he would make sure he got it whenever he wanted it.

That sounded like a good plan.

But before he could think further, Sakuno shyly parted her lips as an invitation, and he stopped thinking altogether.

Far be it from him to decline such an offering.

Short, I know. But it's my first, so yeah.

Hope you liked it!

Please Review!

Ciao!