Disclaimer: Tenipuri does not belong to me.

Warnings: Shonen ai, crack.

Author's Note: This was born out of one of those silly random-pairing generating memes that required a summary for a TakaRyo fic. I wound up liking the summary so much I actually wound up writing the fic to go with it. Was great fun to write, hope you enjoy it too.

Burning Love

By Sinnatious

Kawamura wasn't sure exactly when he started to feel that way. It might have been back when their rookie regular played his old friend Akutsu. Or maybe it was during that training camp on Survival Mountain. It might have been even after that, when the freshman asked to train against the Hadokyuu. Either way, he'd definitely been feeling that way for a while.

His realisation as to what that feeling actually meant, however, was brand new.

Kawamura Takashi liked Echizen Ryoma.

There was a lot to like. He was talented, both on and off the court. He was cute. And even though he acted standoffish and cold, Kawamura had seen glimpses of the freshman's soft and vulnerable side before. Echizen was a kind person. He just didn't want anybody else to see it. It was actually quite endearing.

As soon as the realisation struck, however, he knew he wouldn't do anything about it. He was much too shy to confess, and even if he wasn't, he didn't want to risk making things awkward for the team or hurting anyone's feelings. No, he would be content to admire from a distance and to act the part of a good senpai. It was all he could do. Maybe if he still felt that way in another year or two, he'd have the courage to do something then.

That was what he had planned. But when it came to practice that very afternoon...

"Regulars, gather around!" Tezuka ordered. "Everyone else, continue with your normal training!"

They all gathered on Court A, while the rest of the club continued their drills and stretches on the other three courts. "Coach Ryuuzaki has designed a new drill for us to try. It's supposed to train your kinetic vision and reflexes. Echizen, Oishi, Inui and Kaidoh, other side of the net please," Tezuka ordered, reading out the instructions the coach had prepared. "You'll each take one quadrant of the court." They shuffled obediently around to the other side. "Remaining regulars, same thing on this side."

Kawamura was heading to the front left quadrant when Fuji stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. "Don't forget your racquet, Taka," the blue-eyed prodigy offered, holding out the golden frame.

"Ah, thanks Fujiko." He accepted it with a sheepish smile. There was a moment's pause as his fingers curled around the grip, and then he was pumping his fist in the air. "KOOOORRRAAAAA! YEAH!" He then immediately turned and pointed at their team's freshman. "ECHIZEN! I LIKE YOU, BABY! LET'S GO OUT!"

Echizen blinked, apparently stunned by the sudden announcement. It looked like everyone else was similarly frozen by shock, as nobody thought to react when Kawamura vaulted the net, pulled the first-year to him, and pressed their lips together in what was definitely not a chaste kiss.

Echizen's eyes widened and he tried to jerk back, but couldn't break the power-player's grasp. Slowly, his eyes slid closed and his arms dropped limply to his sides.

The rest of the team finally switched back on. "TAKA-SAN?! What are you doing?" Kikumaru shrieked.

"Kawamura!" Tezuka barked. "You will not molest first years on the court!"

"Is it okay for him to molest juniors or seniors?" Fuji wondered aloud.

Kawamura continued to ignore everyone and just deepened the kiss. Echizen mewled deep in his throat and squirmed a little.

Oishi gave a gentle tug on power player's shoulder. "Taka-san, you really shouldn't..."

The senior finally broke away. "NO WAY! I'M ON FIRE, BABY!" He proceeded to scoop the still shell-shocked Echizen up in his arms and run in circles around the court as though he didn't weigh a thing. "BURNING!"

"Someone stop him!" Tezuka ordered.

"Get his racquet, stupid Viper!" Momoshiro hollered.

Kaidoh, who was standing by the net, reached out before the power player could pass and wrenched the racquet from his grasp.

Kawamura halted his mad dash and blinked, briefly confused. He glanced down at the first-year in his arms, and very nearly dropped him.

"Eh?! Oh... Echizen! I'm so sorry!" Kawamura fretted, quickly placing the slight freshman back on the ground. He'd ruined everything!

The freshman stared at him, a slightly dazed expression on his face. After a moment, the expression turned considering. A moment after that, Echizen pressed his own racquet into the senior's empty hand.

Kawamura was away again. "YEAH! BURNING LOVE FOREVER BABY!"

Tezuka just covered his face with his hands and headed to the court exit, evidently giving up.

"Oi, is this okay?" Kikumaru asked, watching with rapt fascination as their normally meek power player practically devoured the team's youngest member.

Oishi bit his lip, looking uncertain. "Well, Echizen did willingly give him his racquet..."

"Yeah, but Taka-san? Seriously?"

Inui made an annotation in his notebook. "It is likely Echizen has considered the benefits. He gets both a thoughtful and passionate lover, a strong martial-arts trained protector, as well as an unlimited supply of free sushi."

The other regulars looked on, suddenly wistful. Once they thought about it...

Momoshiro folded his arms in a sulk. "Damn, that Echizen always gets in first."