Disclaimer: I do not own The prince of tennis or any of its characters. Happy birthday, Ryoma!!!

A Snowy Birthday

Ryoma kicked at the snow. It was cold....very cold. It had snowed last night and this morning. The sidewalks were covered with huge piles of snow, freshly fallen.

"Why did bucho have to schedule a practice today? It's cold and it's snowing...the courts are probably filled with snow also..." thought Ryoma, "Not to mention that it's also my birthday..." he added silently. Today was December 24th, Christmas Eve. Yup, it was his birthday.

He sneezed. It really was cold. Hopefully, he wouldn't catch a cold. After all, who wants to get sick on their birthday?

"Oi! Echizen!" a familiar voice called at Ryoma. Turning around, Ryoma saw Momo on his bike, "You'll be late if you continue walking at that rate. Bucho's not too happy with lateness in practice...,"

"Mada mada dane," and Ryoma got on his bike.

"Off we go," and Momo started pedaling with Ryoma behind him. Ryoma silently wondered if Momo had forgotten about his birthday. He hated to admit it, but he felt....rather upset that Momo hadn't said anything about his birthday.

The two teenagers finally arrived at Seigaku. The roofs of the school were covered with snow as well. Both walked into the tennis locker rooms. In they walked in, silently. Ryoma briefly wondered if Momo was sick because normally, Momo wasn't that...quiet....

"Nya! O'Chibi!!!" a bouncy redhead glomped the smaller boy, "Whatcha doing for Christmas?"

"Nothing..."replied Ryoma. What? Even Eiji-sempai forgot?

"Nothing?! Nya, you sure? Aren't you going to be with your family?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh...okay," Eiji bounced off to the other regulars.

Practice was like usual. The captain was giving out laps if he caught anyone talking, Oishi was being the "mother" like always, Momo and Kaidoh got into a fight, Eiji was as bouncy as usual, Fuji as sadistic as ever, Inui taking his usually annoying data, and Taka in his burning mode...Ryoma was the only one who was acting different. His playing seemed a bit...down. He wasn't as alert as usual and he nearly lost a match against Kaidoh. What was wrong with him today?

"Echizen," Tezuka stopped Ryoma, "Your play isn't as good as usual. Something wrong?"

Ryoma eyed the captain, "Nothing,"

"Hn," and Tezuka walked off.

Practice came and went. It was soon time to go home. Ryoma got his tennis bags and started to walk off. No one seemed to remember his birthday...

"Echizen!!" Momo called, "Bucho wants a talk!"

Great, now what? thought Ryoma. Sighing, he went back into the locker room....

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!"the regulars yelled. Ryoma halted in his tracks. What on earth??? Balloons were everywhere, confetti was thrown, and presents were piled up on the table. All of the regulars were in the locker room, filling the air with a happy atmosphere.

"Nya, O'Chibi, did you really think that we had forgotten all about your birthday?" asked Eiji. Ryoma's surprise must have shown on his face.

"...hai," Ryoma admitted.

"How could we? Admit it, Echizen, you were worried, weren't you?" teased Momo.

"Was not," snapped Ryoma.

"You're actually happy, Echizen. Admit it, you are," said Fuji, smiling like always. He was right. Inside, Ryoma was really happy. The regulars hadn't forgotten about him. They had planned this all along. They were his friends....Friends? Since when did he consider him as his friends? Ryoma shook his head. It was true. The regulars were his friends.

"Don't just stand there, make a wish and blow out the candles!" said Oishi. They pushed a cake in front of him. On it were thirteen candles. Taking a breath, Ryoma blew them all out. The cake was cut and everyone dug into the sweet mess.

Presents were next. Ryoma received a stuffed kitty from Eiji and a jacket from Oishi. Momo gave him a cap. Inui gavea bottle of his newest penal-tea...which Ryoma secretly threw away when Inui wasn't looking. Kaidoh gave a grey scarf and Fuji gave him a box of chocolates. Taka gave a box of Ryoma's favorite type of sushi. Last of all, Tezuka gave Ryoma a small book.

Ryoma went home after a snowball fight that the regulars had played during the walk home. He entered his room with a joyful heart. He looked out the window. It was snowing. Maybe...maybe he really did have friends besides just Karupin. A smile touched his face. His thirteenth birthday....a snowy one...but a warm one, inside.