I don't own the lovely PoT boys, though I sorely wish I did. Mada mada da ne?

Warm-Up
by Michalyn

Pairing: Inui +Kaidoh
Rating: PG

The sun was bright overhead as Inui flipped his notebook to the page he had recently entered, the dappled light illuminating the neat text. It was a fine day for practice and he and Kaidoh had agreed to meet for an extra training session.

"All right, Kaidoh-kun, let us begin. After studying the data based on your performance at the recent intra-school tournament, I have developed a special training regimen for you which I believe will highly improve your strength and stamina. Moreover, if correctly applied, this will translate into a more effective Boomerang Snake for you, given the remarkable muscle extension the move requires." Inui adjusted his glasses. "Are you ready?"

Kaidoh's lips curled. Hissing, he nodded his assent.

"Excellent." Inui retrieved his stopwatch from his pocket and moved to take his place at the nearby bench. "Then we shall proceed. Target heart rate for this warm up is 152."

Inui watched as Kaidoh began his laps around the court. The younger's man's skin glistened with sweat, but Kaidoh was breathing deeply and regularly, his feet pounding against the ground in perfect rhythm. As always, Kaidoh's expression was determined, the younger man approaching even this simple training exercise with the seriousness of a championship match. It was that doggedness, that implacable will, which so attracted Inui to Kaidoh. It defied all Inui's calculations and his attempts at predicting it. Kaidoh was his most startling most precious conundrum and all the more sweet because the younger man was always evolving, always denying Inui's ability to encompass him.

Inui continued to track Kaidoh's steady pace and it was not long before Kaidoh was rounding the final bend. He slowed down, jogging lightly over to where Inui was waiting.

Inui referred to his watch. "Very good, Kaidoh-kun." He studied Kaidoh's parted lips, his heightened breathing, the tangerine bandana darkened with perspiration. "Hmm ... it appears, however that we might have a small problem," he murmured.

"Wh ... what do you think you're doing?" Kaidoh snarled, jerking skittishly backward as Inui snared his wrist.

Inui closed his notebook and rested it on the bench. Leaning forward, he captured the younger man's lips. They were soft, full and wonderfully sensuous for all Kaidoh tried to hide it with his hissing and snarling. Inui took his time licking and nibbling that softness, coaxing Kaidoh's mouth open until their tongues tangled in glorious abandon. The muscles of Kaidoh's back were rigid beneath Inui's palms, but bit by bit, that tension unraveled. Kaidoh made a rough, helpless sound and slowly melted into Inui's embrace. He tasted of salt and heat and the smell of his sweat was sharp in Inui's nostrils. When Inui lifted his head, Kaidoh was clinging to him like a vine or-- Inui thought with a smile--like a snake curled around a sapling. He placed a tender kiss against a stunned Kaidoh's forehead.

"Body temperature, approximately 37.6 degrees Celcius ... respiratory rate, 17 breaths per minute... " Inui's hand trailed down to the dampness of Kaidoh's chest. He lingered there, savoring the powerful thudding of the younger man's heart. "Heart-rate, 152."

He smiled, adjusting his glasses. "Warm-up complete."

End