Hi! this is my first Prince of Tennis fic. Hope you like!

"It's going to be pretty hard after today." Oishi commented to the other only conscious person in the room. Taking another sip from his glass of lemonade he quietly surveyed the fallen bodies. Eiji was the closest to him; curled against the sofa with a white and brown Siamese cat on top of him. The cat, almost like sensing he was being watched, opened one of his blue eyes lazily and took a look around. With barely a sound he jumped from the redheaded boy and onto the small table in the middle of the room. Ignoring the stacks of plastic plates and crystal glasses he descended to the floor and made his way into one of the futons that the vice captain recognized as Echizen's.

The youngest of the regulars didn't even stir under his covers having found a comfortable position between the table and the door at a good distance from Momo and Kaidoh's snoring competition. The Seigaku powerhouse began with a potent snore, or roar as others called it, while Mamushi followed with a hiss. Both were sprawled on their futons, almost as if unconsciously trying to see who could take up more space while sleeping. Kawamura was next to them seemingly unaware of all the noise around him while Fuji's bed was at their feet and he seemed to be getting plenty of rest. Although Oishi would have never bet any money on that because he couldn't tell if the Tensai was off to dreamland or still awake. And last but not least a soft mumbling of numbers and percentages from behind the sofa alerted him that Inui had decided to install his futon there, like Echizen, away from the racket.

"Then you mustn't let your guard down." Tezuka responded from the other side of the sofa, his eyes on the ice cubes of his now empty glass. Everything had gone so fast that day! He remembered finishing his last tennis training with only half the regulars, Momo, Echizen, Inui, Kaidoh and Eiji having 'gone home' because of 'personal' reasons. And before he knew it Fuji, Oishi and Kawamura were dragging him in the opposite direction of his house.

They ended up in front of what Tezuka recognized as their first year regular's house and upon entering the sight of Inui on top of a ladder trying to hang a 'Get Well Soon' sign greeted them. He could hear Momo and Kaidoh arguing somewhere inside and quiet mumbles of 'stupid sempais' also reached his ears from the background. At that moment Eiji stepped out of what the captain supposed was the kitchen wearing a pink apron and mixing something in a bowl. When the acrobat noticed the commotion he turned a pouting face to Oishi.

'You were supposed to keep him busy for at least half an hour more!' He had said throwing a playful accusatory glare at his teammates.

'I told you there was a 73.52 possibility that they would arrive earlier than the accorded time' Inui had stated while climbing down from the ladder.

'Nya! But I still haven't finished the cake!' Eiji practically squealed putting the bowl under Tezuka's nose to show him the bubbling whitish blue batter with chumps of what everyone hoped was flour. The captain only had time to put his hands in front of him to prevent the bowl from crashing into him.

'Saa, It's alright. Inui and me can help you finish' Fuji said, an amused smirk on his face. All the present except the tennis and the number geniuses shuddered uncomfortably, hoping Eiji would turn the offer down. But before the acrobat could speak the two volunteers were already on their way to the kitchen.

'What is the meaning of this?' Tezuka had asked his two remaining teammates.

'Well, umm, you see… we wanted to... amm…' Kawamura began mumbling while scratching his head.

'We wanted to throw you a party, Tezuka.' Oishi finished for him. 'A way to show you we hope your rehabilitation goes well.' He chuckled to himself. 'Ryoma-kun's parents and cousin are out of town for a few days anyway, so Momo-chan convinced him to let us use his house.'

The captain just remained silent, digesting the new information. Debating whether it was wise for him to stay or leave. But before he could make a decision Oishi and Kawamura were pushing him inside. From that moment on many things had happened, but despite the surprise party losing it's 'surprise', the cake disaster, leftovers that Echizen had promise to destroy once his sempais left, Momo and Kaidoh's fight for the refreshments, which ended in the both of them running laps, and Fuji, working alongside Inui to sabotage the punch, the party had turned out well enough.

"That's not what I meant. It's…" Oishi distracted the tennis captain from his thoughts of the past hours. After a few seconds he tried speaking again. "I guess it's just, not going to be the same without you."

"Hn" Tezuka nodded his head understanding what his vice captain was trying to say. He too knew that the team didn't deserve being abandoned at such a decisive time, but he also acknowledged that at the moment he wasn't strong enough to be the captain everybody needed. His arm didn't allow him to continue being their pillar of support. If he wasn't able to win his own battles, how was he supposed to help the others in theirs? "I'm leaving them in good hands though."

"If you think so." Oishi said, a light smile on his face. "But you have to promise me one thing."

Tezuka turned his head toward his friend, ready to hear the conditions for his departure.

"Don't let your guard down over there in Germany." The vice captain said lifting his glass of lemonade up for a toast. "We want you back before the Nationals."

The captain couldn't hide the small smile on his face nor the sparkle in his hazel eyes. With a fluent movement he made his empty cup hit his teammate's creating the sound of crystal bells around them. "I'll be back to take Seigaku to the highest." He promised. "So make sure to train them hard."

And with that the two settled in for the night, Tezuka on the sofa while Oishi put his futon next to his doubles partner. Both of them eventually drifting into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.

Well, there it is. This fic is dedicated to Lil'Buckeroo, happy birhtday gal! Hope you enjoyed your Bday present. Thanks to those that read and please leave a review!