Disclaimer: I do not own Ginga e Kickoff!

Author Notes: Spoilers through episode 26

Pairing: Shou and Kota

Don't read this story if you don't like this pairing.

I'm sorry if anybody is extremely out of character. I tried keeping them in character as much as possible.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Italics = thoughts

Morning Surprise

Oota Shou kicked the ball around the field smiling. He was dressed in a blue and white exercise shirt and dark blue shorts that had a white stripe going down the sides. He had his normal black cleats on as well. While he was called a morning person by his friends, mostly Takatou Erika who complained about him being too loud in the morning, he didn't usually enjoy getting up early that much. But kicking the soccer ball around the soccer field at Saionji Reika's villa in the early morning felt really good to Shou. Maybe it was because it was a nice morning. Maybe it was because he loves soccer and he wants to improve his skills every day to catch up to his teammates. Whatever the reason, he was having a lot of fun practicing by himself.

Shou winced as the sun that was rising in the horizon got in his eyes. The realization that he got up this early didn't really sink in until the sun started rising. He watched the sun rise for a few minutes then went back to practicing. He grabbed some cones and set them up so he could practice his dribbling. Shou touched the ball with his foot and started dribbling while not looking at the ball. He kicked the ball and watched as the ball flew over the goal. Too much power again, Shou mused.

He ran over to get the ball and tried again. This time he kicked the ball with less power and the ball hit the cross bar. Shou ran to the goal keeping his eyes on the ball and jumped into the air. He headed the ball into the goal and grinned as his feet touched the ground. He pumped his fists into the air. "All right! I scored!" He said loudly. Shou quickly covered his mouth glancing over to the main part of the villa that had the bedrooms. He didn't want to accidently wake everybody up because of his loud voice.

"One more time!" Shou said. He grabbed the ball with both hands and started walking back to the cones.

"You'll wake everybody up if you keep being so loud." A familiar voice said behind Shou.

Shou stopped and turned around, a smile on his face as he saw his favorite triplet. "Kota-kun! Good morning! You woke up early." He said loudly placing the ball on the ground.

Furuya Kota winced as Shou's loud voice hit his ears. "Shut up. You are too loud." He glared at Shou as he walked over to where Shou was at. He was dressed in a yellow and white exercise shirt and black shorts with yellow stripes going down the sides. He was wearing his yellow cleats as well. As always, he had his hair in the spiked up position that he was known for.

Shou grinned sheepishly. "Ah, sorry." He looked down at the ball then back up at Kota who was right next to him. He opened his mouth to speak but Kota was quicker. "Let's practice." Kota said grabbing the ball with his right foot and starting to juggle.

Shou's eyes lit up with joy and he grinned happily up at Kota. "Okay, let's do it!"

Kota looked away pretending to be indifferent but a small smile formed on his face. He couldn't help it after seeing Shou's infectious joy. He quickly composed himself before Shou could see and turned back to Shou nodding his head.

Shou and Kota mainly practiced in silence but throughout the silence, Shou would occasionally shout in delight as he watched Kota score goals. Every time Shou would shout (usually with a compliment of some kind), Kota would force down the flush that threatened to appear on his face and look to the side to hide his face. After composing himself, he would turn back to Shou and tell him off for being so loud. A few times Kota caught Shou looking at him and he had to crush the feeling of hope welling up in his chest. Hope that Shou feels the same as he does. He couldn't help the small smile that formed on his face as Shou scored a goal. Shou ran over to where Kota was and they hi fived, Shou grinning happily at Kota.

"I've been getting better haven't I?" Shou asked. They were now sitting on one of the benches on the sideline taking a break. He drank some water from his water bottle that he brought and wiped some sweat off of his face with a towel.

"You've still got a long way to catch up to everybody else though." Kota said indifferently. He drank some water from his water bottle as well.

Shou pouted. "I know that." He looked at Kota. "You admit that I've been getting better, right?"

Kota shrugged. "I guess." He muttered looking away from Shou.

Shou's eyes lit up with joy. "Really? Yes! Thank you Kota-kun!" He grinned happily.

Kota looked back at Shou to see his green eyes sparkling with joy. "I didn't do anything."

Shou stood up and walked over to where Kota was sitting. "You acknowledged that I've been getting better. So thank you." He stopped in front of Kota.

Kota looked away from Shou. "Whatever." He muttered embarrassed. He composed himself a few moments later then turned to face Shou again. "You know the word 'acknowledged'? That is a surprise." He smirked at Shou.

Shou pouted again. "Kota-kun, I'm not an idiot."

Kota stood up and patted his shoulder while walking towards the ball they left on the field. "I beg to differ." He smirked again.

Shou looked away irritated. "Sheesh."

Kota waited a few moments as he started juggling with the ball again. "Aren't you coming?" He asked looking over to Shou.

Shou blushed as Kota's red eyes that reminded him of rubies looked at him. "Y-Yeah, I'm coming!" He yelled.

Kota winced a little at the volume but didn't say anything. When Shou stopped by him, he stopped juggling and put his right foot on top of the ball to keep it from moving. Kota formed a fist with his right hand and hit Shou on top of his head with it.

"Ouch! What are you doing Kota-kun?" Shou complained raising his left hand to touch his head.

"I told you. You are too loud." Kota said bringing his hand down and looking away from Shou.

Shou frowned as he let his left hand fall back to his side. "Still doesn't mean you should hit me." He looked away from Kota.

Kota worried for a minute wondering if he went too far but then he noticed Shou trying to hide a small smile. He sighed inwardly with relief. "Let's start again." He said pretending nothing had happened.

Shou nodded. "What do you want to do next? The same thing?" He asked.

Kota thought for a moment then shook his head. "Let's practice one touch instead."

Shou grimaced. Usually he would trap the ball then kick it to where he wanted it to go. That was referred to as two touching in soccer and much easier to do than one touching. One touching is where players kick or head the ball without stopping it first. One touching wasn't his favorite. In order to get the ball accurately to where he wanted it to go, he had to control his power while aiming correctly. Most of the time when Shou practiced one touching (which wasn't often) his ball didn't go where he wanted it to go. He sighed in defeat. "All right. How do you want to practice?"

Kota looked at Shou tempted to say something reassuring but decided not to at the last second. "We spread out on both sides of the field while we send one touch passes to each other. Then whoever is closest to the goal will kick or head the ball in with a one touch. I'll take the left side, you take the right side."

Shou raised an eyebrow confused. "Isn't the right side your favorite side?"

Kota shrugged. "I need more practice on the left side." He said.

Shou doubted that since the Furuya triplets were already strong soccer players but decided to keep quiet.

Kota couldn't resist teasing Shou. "Besides you need to practice your one touch. The right side will make it easier for you." He smirked at the short boy.

Shou pouted. "Geez, I'm working on improving. Leave me alone."

Kota decided to stop teasing Shou and start their practice. "Let's start at midfield." He said.

Shou nodded and both of them walked to midfield where Kota started at the left side and Shou on the right.

Kota looked at Shou for the signal to start. Shou nodded and started running. Kota kicked the ball with his left foot making the ball fall right in front of Shou. After Kota kicked the ball, he started running as well waiting for Shou's pass. Shou gulped nervously. Here goes. He thought. He kicked the ball with his right foot making the ball fall back in front of Kota. Yes! I did it! He thought inwardly cheering. Shou and Kota made their way down the field sending one touch passes to each other. Right before they entered the penalty box, Kota sent one last pass to Shou. Shou watched the ball carefully waiting for his chance. The ball fell to the ground and Shou kicked the ball aiming at the empty goal. Unfortunately he put too much power into his shot so the ball ended up going over the goal.

Shou groaned loudly in disappointment. "I was doing so well too!" He complained.

"Oi! Hurry up and get the ball so we can restart." Kota called from his position on the left side.

Shou grinned sheepishly at Kota. "Sorry, sorry." He grabbed the ball and they both went to midfield again. "This time, I'll start with the ball right?" Shou yelled.

Kota nodded and waited for Shou to kick the ball. Shou kicked the ball and Kota started running to catch up. He passed it back to Shou who passed it back to him. As they made their way down the field, Kota thought of Shou's improvement since last year. Last year, Shou was just a benchwarmer who everybody knew because of his loud voice and terrible soccer skills. That didn't make him unlikeable though. Kota could recall dozens of times where Shou talked to people and people would talk back to him with a smile on their face. Shou had many friends on their past team.

Of course, many people on their past team liked to tease Shou about his nonexistent skills but none of them did it to be mean. After all, people still tease Shou about his skills even now but not so much since he's been improving. It started with Shou meeting Coach Hanashima Masaru and learning how to head. Since then, Shou has been improving at a fast pace.

Kota frowned as he remembered a frequent fan of the Furuya Triplets who had somehow gotten a crush on Shou. He didn't care about his fans, particularly the screaming fan girls that he could care less about. But that one fan girl had bothered Kota so much that he remembered her. He had thought at first it was just because she was another screaming fan girl but he was wrong. The fan girl had annoyed Kota because she was flirting with Shou. At the time, Kota didn't know he had a crush on Shou so he was confused and irritated with himself as to why he was paying attention to this fan girl flirting with Shou. He didn't understand at all why every time it happened, he kept watching them with annoyance. Then one morning when he went running by himself for a change, he noticed Shou practicing by the river. Shou was really clumsy and couldn't even kick the ball correctly. But watching him practice his heart out and seeing how nice he was around practice made Kota realize something. Well that and Shou was one of the few people who could differentiate which Furuya he was. Kota realized he had a huge crush on Oota Shou. He had denied that fact for a while and it wasn't until recently he accepted that fact.

Kota was brought back to reality when Shou kicked the ball with his right foot and the ball landed in front of Kota. Kota kicked the ball with his left foot and the ball flew through the air landing in the far corner of the goal where Kota wanted it to go. He allowed himself a small smile and formed a fist with his right hand in celebration. "Amazing! As expected of Kota-kun!" He heard Shou yell from across the field. He shook his head to get rid of the blush that was about to come on his face and retrieved the ball again. They spent one hour practicing one touch.

Shou who was now resting on the bench drank some water. "What a nice workout." He said after swallowing the water.

Kota didn't respond but Shou could tell that he was listening.

Shou opened his mouth to say something else when his stomach grumbled loudly. He blushed as Kota looked at him. "I'm starving. Let's go eat breakfast Kota-kun." He said standing up. Kota got up and started walking with Shou.

Shou was chatting about random topics as they were walking off the field and to the room where breakfast was in. Kota just listened to Shou talk.

"Kota-kun? Is something wrong?" Shou asked looking up at Kota.

"Shou." Kota said stopping in his tracks.

Shou stopped next to Kota confused. "Kota-kun?"

Kota breathed in deeply then slowly let it out. He was nervous but was making an effort not to show it outwardly. He turned to face Shou and Shou turned to face him still confused. He didn't know why he was so nervous. This was Shou, the kid who just a while ago couldn't even kick the ball properly. The kid who Kota somehow got a crush on.

Shou was really confused. Why wasn't Kota-kun saying anything? He wondered. He opened his mouth to question Kota again but before he had the chance Kota leaned down and kissed him on the lips. Shou's eyes widened with shock and blushed crimson. Why was Kota kissing him? Him, of all people! Did this mean Kota shared the same feelings for him as he does Kota? Kota's kiss was very soft, nothing like Shou thought it might be. He was surprised that Kota's kiss was like this. He stood completely still while Kota kissed him, as he was in too much shock to do anything else.

Kota eventually pulled away looking unruffled as ever. He felt a little disappointed that Shou didn't kiss him back but other than that, he felt good about what he did. He smirked as Shou just stood there mouth opening and closing wordlessly still blushing crimson. Shou was being very quiet, so unlike his usual self. Normally Kota would be worried about Shou but seeing as his kiss made Shou shut up he didn't feel any worry. He felt very smug that he caused that reaction.

Shou snapped out of his shocked state when he saw Kota's smirk. He looks very proud of himself. I'm getting a little irritated. He thought. He wanted to wipe Kota's smirk off of his face but he wasn't sure how. Then he remembered that he hadn't given Kota his answer yet. Shou gulped nervously and groaned inwardly as his hands started shaking. Why now of all times? This is where I'm supposed to be confident and k-kiss Kota-kun back. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Kota just watched silently a little curious what Shou would do. He was surprised when Shou went onto his tiptoes and kissed him hesitantly on the lips. His kiss was soft and sweet. And short. Kota grumbled to himself as Shou pulled away before Kota could recover. It was more of a peck then an actual kiss. He raised an eyebrow at Shou silently asking for an explanation.

Shou blushed and looked away from Kota. "U-Um, well you kissed me and I didn't get a chance to answer you back. S-So um that is my answer." He hesitantly looked back to Kota. Kota had what Shou thought a surprised look on his face. "I-I could've been wrong though. Maybe you weren't-". Shou was cut off as Kota lifted his chin with his right hand and kissed him again.

"You weren't wrong." Kota muttered pulling away from Shou.

Shou beamed up at Kota. "O-Oh. I'm glad." He blushed as he admitted that out loud.

Kota smiled at Shou. It wasn't a big smile but it was different than Kota's small smiles that Shou had seen the taller boy do before.

"Everybody, breakfast is ready!" Shou and Kota heard an elderly woman yell out.

Probably Matsushima-san. Shou thought. He looked up at Kota. "Well, let's go eat! I'm starving." Shou said loudly as if nothing happened.

Kota winced as the loud voice hit his eardrums. He hit Shou on the head with his right fist again.

"Ouch! Kota-kun!" Shou whined.

Kota shrugged. "Then stop being so loud right beside me." He lowered his right hand back to his side. Shou grumbled under his breath. Kota lifted his right hand and ruffled Shou's hair with it. Shou's hair was much softer than Kota thought it would be.

Shou blushed as Kota ruffled his hair. "K-Kota-kun? W-What are you doing?" He asked.

Kota stopped ruffling Shou's hair and brought his right hand down to his side. He turned back to the direction they were headed in and started walking. He stopped a few steps away when he noticed Shou wasn't with him. He turned his head around and looked at Shou. "Aren't you coming?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah. I'm coming." Shou said walking over to where Kota was. Shou stopped by Kota then both of them started walking again.

Shou grinned happily as he wished everybody a good morning after he walked in with Kota.

Everybody except Shou and Kota were surprised to see Shou and Kota coming in together. They were even more surprised by Shou's grin. It was one of his happiest grins ever. They all wondered what happened between the two.

Shou sat down with his plate covered in food. As he watched Kota get his food, he smiled to himself.

What a nice morning indeed.

Author Notes: I'm done with my first Ginga e Kickoff! Fanfiction. I hope more people will write for this category as this anime is really amazing and loveable.

If you have time, please review. I would love to know what you thought of my story.

I hope I portrayed Kota's character correctly.

See you next time!