Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just the plotline. :)
Author's Notes: This was supposed to be a Shishido birthday fic-thing, but obviously I didn't finish it in time. It's really lame because I tried to be humorous and kind of failed. It's also kind of cliché but I couldn't fix it because… I don't know. Just because. D:
What Teammates Are For
It was Shishido's birthday and Choutarou didn't have a gift for him.
To say Choutarou was panicking was probably an understatement. The tall second year groaned and buried his face in his hands in barely-contained frustration. He really didn't mean for it to come down to the last minute. The thought of not having a gift for Shishido-san in time for their meeting together was on the verge killing him.
It wasn't as though he didn't try looking. In fact, he'd tried looking for a gift for almost three whole weeks, and still didn't manage to find his sempai anything. He just couldn't find the perfect gift for Shishido. It had to be perfect because Shishido-san was leaving for high school next year and Choutarou really wanted to give his good friend something nice to remember him by.
"Good going, Choutarou," he muttered to himself, his hands muffling the obvious tone of dismay in his voice. "You're a terrible friend."
He supposed hanging out with Shishido all day was sort of like a present, but that was just his miserable self talking; trying to cope with his failure. It was more of a present for him rather than Shishido anyway.
Which was pretty lame, but it was something Choutarou really couldn't help.
And he would have been a hundred times more excited about today and about hanging out with Shishido if he had an actual gift to give his sempai. Choutarou had asked everyone. And he still didn't have anything to give Shishido.
He asked Jirou-san, his first choice in who to go to if he got stumped—which, clearly he did—because not only was his sleepy sempai the most understanding (besides Shishido-san, of course) but also because Jirou-san had been friends with Shishido-san since they were in elementary school and knew Shishido very well.
And also because Jirou-san knew best.
But his cinnamon-haired sempai's answer to the problem didn't strike him as well as Choutarou hoped for. In fact, it probably rivaled Mukahi-sempai and Oshitari-sempai's solutions as being the worst advice for a gift Choutarou had ever heard.
"You should grab Shi'do's face and give him a BIG kiss, Ohtori!" Jirou exclaimed excitedly, pantomiming the action in a way that made Choutarou scoot back on the clubroom couch, eyes wide in surprise.
"That's always a good gift! It's what 'tobe gets me every year! Well, along with all these other things that are sometimes nice and sometimes kind of useless… but don't tell him I said that… and sometimes he buys me dinner and dessert"—at this point, his sempai had thrown his hand up in the air in a cheering motion—"but I like it when he gives me a kiss the best! And I like it when he lets me snuggle with him! And cake is good too! Oh! Oh! And pocky! Mousse pocky!"
At this point, Choutarou remembered being a deep shade of red and had tuned out his rambling sempai, who wasn't really talking to him anymore anyway.
His next candidate was Oshitari-sempai, who, despite his slightly intimidating exterior, wasn't all that bad to talk to. As long as Mukahi-sempai wasn't with him, Choutarou knew that there was a pretty good chance Oshitari-sempai would give him a serious answer. Although, Choutarou had to take into consideration that Oshitari-sempai and Shishido-san didn't have the smoothest friendship with each other, even though they had been friends since elementary school as well.
Choutarou decided to take his chances and ask Oshitari anyway.
"Seduce him, Ohtori-kun," Oshitari drawled with a smirk. Choutarou blanched and forced himself not to run away. At least he didn't have to worry about looking like a tomato this time; he was too in shock for his body to even consider blushing at the bold suggestion.
"It's the best gift any boy can get. Or anyone in general can get, for that matter."
Seduction was definitely out of the question. Although he did have feelings for Shishido that went deeper than friendship, Shishido didn't know about these feelings and would probably react negatively if Choutarou were to ever reveal his crush. Any kind of romantic advances would probably scare Shishido away, and such confession would ultimately ruin their friendship and partnership.
Besides, Choutarou didn't know how to seduce. But that wasn't the point.
The point was that he should have known better than to ask Oshitari-sempai.
Really.
He asked Taki-sempai next because although he didn't talk to Taki often, his sempai was a rather insightful person and a good listener in general. Taki and Shishido had a fairly good friendship too and Choutarou wondered why he didn't just skip asking Oshitari-sempai and asked Taki-sempai instead.
"Maybe you could treat him to dinner, Ohtori-kun," Taki suggested with a smile.
Choutarou resisted the urge to look at the sky and thank the heavens for his first reasonable suggestion. Of course, he had already considered buying Shishido dinner himself, but it was nice to hear another person second his opinion.
"Or you could buy him cake. Shishido likes strawberry cake, if I'm not mistaken. But I always get Shishido a handful of tennis gear. You know, like grip tape, sweatbands, shock dampeners. You could do that, if you wanted. I can just give Shishido something else."
"Oh! No, that's okay, Taki-sempai! But thanks for your suggestions," Choutarou replied sincerely. "They're really helpful. I'll definitely consider those."
Compared to all the other suggestions he's had, at least. The problem was he and Shishido usually went out to dinner on the weekends after practicing so it wouldn't really be anything special if he did it for Shishido's birthday; unless they went to someplace really nice… but they wouldn't because Shishido didn't really like going to fancy places to eat.
And if they did go out to someplace nice to eat, it'd be a date… and yeah.
As for the cheesecake idea, it was a good option that Choutarou decided to keep as his final resort because giving a cheesecake to his best friend simply didn't say, "Thanks for being the closest friend and doubles partner and other half and almost-soul mate, hope your birthday is really special" at all.
He asked Hiyoshi next because he knew Hiyoshi would have an honest suggestion that would be within reason. Hiyoshi was a pretty blunt person and not at all into events such as the birthdays of his sempai, but he was a good friend and would help Choutarou if he asked.
"Shishido-san's birthday is coming up?" Hiyoshi repeated questioningly. The other boy looked to the side with a faint look of surprise. Choutarou sighed. He should have known Hiyoshi better than to assume Hiyoshi would know Shishido's birthday off the top of his head.
"Well, I guess you could play a match with him for his birthday. Shishido-san's life seemingly revolves around tennis, so I can't think of any better gift for him."
Choutarou had a hunch Hiyoshi would have given him an answer like that, so he wasn't at all surprised and thanked Hiyoshi politely before darting off to find another opinion.
Next on his list after Hiyoshi was Mukahi-sempai, who also knew Shishido-san fairly well as they, too, were classmates and friends since elementary school. Even with all their arguing and endless spats, it was safe to say they had some form of friendship, and Choutarou hoped that Mukahi-sempai might have something helpful in his search for a gift.
In spite of all that, however, Choutarou honestly didn't want to ask Mukahi at all because Mukahi seemed to have a thing for teasing him.
"Let him top tonight," Mukahi threw out in an indifferent manner. Choutarou promptly choked on his own spit and began coughing harshly, earning a firm thump on the back from Mukahi's fist. "Geez, Choutarou, I mean, it's the guy's birthday, at least let him… oh."
Oh.
Choutarou let out a few more raspy coughs, trying to fight down the heat rushing towards his cheeks. Mukahi rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish manner before seemingly changing his mind and placing his hands on his hips, cocking his hips to the side in a near-contemptuous way.
Choutarou mumbled a quick thanks to his sempai before the older boy could say anything more, and walked off in a flustered hurry.
He finally resorted to asking Atobe-buchou, though the captain should have been his first option, really, since he was the closest friend to Shishido after himself. But Choutarou held off asking the other boy simply because he didn't want to bother Atobe's busy schedule with his personal problem.
"Ahn?" Atobe quirked an amused eyebrow and smirked lightly after hearing Choutarou's dilemma. "You're probably asking the wrong person, Ohtori. Ore-sama always gives Shishido things he wouldn't like or would find particularly useless in an attempt to irritate him… such as that horrendous pink oxford shirt from Armani. Shishido would rather die than wear that. Which is the point, actually."
Choutarou didn't really know what to say after his revered captain told him his annual tradition.
Although, he figured Atobe would retaliate after Shishido's birthday gifts to him every year—tacky things that ranged from downright ugly clothing to cheap toys from gumball machines to coupons for free burgers at the local fast food joint—he'd figured Atobe would retaliate in a more… refined manner though.
Such, it would seem, was clearly not the case.
"Why don't you buy him a new cap?" Atobe suggested with a half-hearted wave of his hand. "Ore-sama feels that his current one is filthy and cannot understand how he could possibly wear that thing on his head when it's in such condition."
Atobe let out a slight shudder at the thought of Shishido's worn-out, beloved cap and dismissed Choutarou. Shishido would most likely be offended if Choutarou bought him a new cap so that was crossed off his list. In slight desperation, he turned to his near final option, Kabaji.
Not that Kabaji wasn't a good person to ask, it was just that the taller boy was too reserved and quiet; Choutarou was afraid of startling Kabaji with his somewhat petty problem. Shishido was a naturally friendly person, though—regardless of his tough exterior—and Choutarou knew Shishido had proper conversations with Kabaji every now and then.
So Kabaji had to have a slight idea on what to give Shishido. Choutarou crossed his fingers that he would at least.
"CDs," Kabaji replied simply before standing up to assist Atobe. "Sempai likes music."
Choutarou smiled gratefully and closed an eye as Kabaji gave him a light pat on the head. Choutarou grinned at the friendly gesture but sat back with an inward sigh after his classmate left the clubroom. Another decent offer, but Shishido probably had all the CDs he wanted and it would be pointless if he got the same one by accident from Choutarou.
The problem with Shishido-san was if he wanted something, he'd go out and get it himself. Nevertheless, Choutarou stored Kabaji's suggestion in the back of his mind as another emergency gift. He really hoped he wouldn't have to resort to those, as helpful as those advices were supposed to be.
There was really only one person left and Choutarou felt discouraged that he had finally come to the end of his list. In fact, he didn't even think it was worth paying the last person a visit because Shishido hardly interacted with that person anyway. Not since the big hair-cutting incident at least.
"Shishido?" Kantoku asked in clarification. Choutarou nodded meekly and fidgeted slightly in the chair he was sitting in. Kantoku's office always made him feel anxious. "I'm sure you, of all people, know that Shishido-kun is the type who doesn't care for material things, Ohtori-kun. You two are close, so I'm sure just spending the day with him is a gift enough."
Choutarou blushed lightly, much to his coach's obvious amusement, and bowed his head in an attempt to cover his rapidly flushing face.
So much for that.
And that was the reason why he was currently sitting in the curb in front of Shishido-san's house, face in his hands, dismally counting down the seconds before his sempai came out. In the end, he picked up some cakes to chare with Shishido-san, and decided to drag Shishido-san to a restaurant that his sister suggested and pay for dinner.
"Choutarou?"
Choutarou quickly removed his face from his hands and whipped his head around to meet curious dark blue eyes. "S-Shishido-san!"
"Oi, you're early, aren't you?" Shishido asked with a quizzical look. Choutarou felt his cheeks heat up slightly. "Either that or I'm late."
"N-no! I'm early, Shishido-san," Choutarou admitted sheepishly, trying to force down the blush threatening to rise. Shishido grinned and tilted his head slightly in a boyish manner that made Choutarou's insides flutter.
"Oh good. Because it'd be pretty lame if I was the one late," Shishido replied, letting out a short chuckle. "Not only would that make me a junk sempai, but it would also make me a pretty lame doubles partner, huh?"
Choutarou just laughed and shook his head. "It wouldn't be a big deal, Shishido-san."
Shishido's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he rubbed the hair at the nape of his neck in a slightly flustered manner. Choutarou stood up and, out of habit, the two of them made their way to the park a couple of blocks from Shishido's house in comfortable silence.
They reached the empty park and sat down on an empty park bench. Choutarou stretched his long limbs, trying to forget his near-pathetic situation. When Shishido cleared his throat, Choutarou turned to face him and the dilemma of not having a gift for Shishido came rushing back to his mind.
"Choutarou," Shishido looked his partner square in the eye, midnight meeting chocolate. "Do you mind if I made a birthday request?"
"Huh?" Choutarou tilted his head slightly in a questioning manner.
Shishido looked away hastily and crossed his arms in a flustered huff, a light pink dusting his cheeks. "I mean, I know this sounds lame and all, asking for a birthday request and if you don't want to then you don't have to but I just figured you would because you know—"
"I don't mind, Shishido-san," Choutarou replied with a smile, cutting off the brunette's rambling. In fact, as selfish as it might sound, a birthday request could possibly solve his lack of gift problem. "What is it?"
"Don't… don't judge okay?" Shishido said gruffly, still facing away. Choutarou made a noise of confusion but didn't say anything. "I'm going to tell you something that's been on my mind for a long time and I know this might be hard but it's my birthday and we're best friends and I'd like it if you didn't change your opinion about me after I, you know, told you."
Choutarou blinked.
"Because you're," Shishido paused as if searching for the right words to say. "You're important to me, Choutarou, and I don't want something stupid to get between us."
"Alright, Shishido-san," Choutarou replied gently. Shishido slowly turned to look at him, and Choutarou could sense that Shishido was debating with himself internally on his decision. "I promise I won't judge you."
It was a pretty tense moment and although he probably shouldn't have been nervous for Shishido's sake, it wouldn't help if both of them were nervous, and he tried not to be nervous, he couldn't help the slightly uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.
Shishido took a deep breath and uncrossed his arms. He placed his hands firmly on Choutarou's shoulders and looked his partner in the eye.
"Choutarou, I really, um, well, that is, Ijustsohappentokindofsortoflikeyou."
Choutarou blinked as Shishido looked away hastily, cheeks red in embarrassment. He didn't really want to ask Shishido to repeat what he had just worked up the courage to say, but in all honesty, Choutarou barely managed to catch the jumble of words and wasn't sure if he had heard right.
Shishido-san liked him?
"I-I'm sorry, Shishido-san," Choutarou mumbled, cheeks heating up in slow realization and eyes gazing downwards. "I didn't really catch what you said."
"I like you, Choutarou."
Choutarou's heart stopped and his head began to feel light from the full effect of Shishido's words. Shishido liked him. Shishido-san like-liked him. So the feeling, Choutarou realized, was very much mutual and everything kind of felt like a dream. Only much better.
"I like you too, Shishido-san!" Choutarou replied, letting out a small laugh. He didn't really mean to laugh, but he was pretty happy and it just came out. He hoped Shishido-san wouldn't be offended by it. Hopefully he wouldn't be, since he was telling Shishido-san that his feelings were being reciprocated.
"No, Choutarou."
Choutarou blinked. Okay, now he was confused.
"I like-like you."
Choutarou tried not to groan at the statement, staring at Shishido with exasperated brown eyes. Leave it to Shishido-san to confuse and scare him like that. Seriously. Did Shishido-san think he was that dense?
"Shishido-san, I like you too," Choutarou repeated.
Shishido stared at him for a good moment, eyes studying Choutarou's face before letting out a barely-audible noise of frustration. Knowing Shishido-san, Choutarou had a feeling Shishido was having a difficult time accepting the almost too-simple return of feelings.
Choutarou slid a hand behind Shishido's head and gently pressed his lips against Shishido's in a soft kiss. Shishido's froze for a second in surprise before responding, their lips moving against each other fluidly. Choutarou slowly pulled away, resting his forehead against his partner's lightly and smiled.
"Happy birthday, Shishido-san."
Shishido laughed and ruffled Choutarou's hair, running his fingers through the silver locks down to the nape of his neck, before pulling their lips together again. Choutarou sighed happily against Shishido's lips.
Looks like Jirou-san knew best after all.
end.