Disclaimer: Come on people, I am way too much of a procrastinator to actually have created Prince of Tennis, let alone continue to get new chapters and episodes out on time. Don't own and have no money to give if you sue anyway!
A/N: I LIIIIIVE!!! I am so incredibly sorry that it's taken me so long to post anything. I know it seems ridiculous, but I've honestly had no time to write with school work, college applications, scholarship applications, marching band, etc. I must extend some especially sincere apologies to eijifuji, who I promised fics to and am only just now able to post one of them. I figured the least I could do was get my butt in gear and crank one out for you before Christmas, so here it is! (I promise I'm working on the other one and will finish it as soon as I can) Thank you all for not killing me...Enjoy!
Oishi looked on in pleased amusement as his red-haired boyfriend practically skipped toward the entrance of the fairgrounds, occasionally calling over his shoulder in an attempt to get the co-captain to hurry up. Shaking his head, Oishi picked up his pace to placate his excitable doubles partner. By the time he reached the ticket booth Eiji was rocking back and forth on his heels with both hands clasped behind his back, stealing impatient glances through the front gates at the games and attractions. Oishi smiled at the sight before asking the young woman behind the window for two adult tickets. She seemed incredulous about this at first, looking from Oishi to Eiji and then back again. The doubles player couldn't blame her for her disbelief, at least not while his boyfriend was bouncing in place like an over-excited child. The two of them got this reaction often when they were out together, that is, until people were able to take a closer look at the red-head. Used to it by now, Oishi waited patiently for the woman to fulfill his request.
After overcoming her initial surprise, the woman finally handed him the tickets. She probably figured that even if the other boy was too young to warrant an adult ticket going along with it would only gain the park a few more dollars, so what could it hurt? So, she plastered on her false smile and uttered the fair-approved (and required) "have a wonderful day" and turned her gaze to the next customer. Unfazed by the woman's obvious lack of enthusiasm, Eiji waved at her happily and told her to have an "absolutely fantastic day!" The woman could only stare, nonplussed, as the tennis player bolted off with his ticket held high in his hand like some sort of trophy. Chuckling at the employee's obvious confusion, Oishi just shrugged. "He had a milkshake on the way here." And with that explanation he turned to follow his boyfriend into the park, leaving behind a slightly bewildered woman who still couldn't comprehend how anyone could be that hyper at ten in the morning on a Saturday.
Three hours later found the doubles partners standing in line for the ferris wheel. Eiji now had various stuffed animals tucked under his arm, including two teddy bears, a bunny with a bow around its neck, and an as yet unidentified purple creature. The red-head was currently trying his hardest to talk his date out of actually riding the ferris wheel.
"But Oishi, you know I'm afraid of heights. What if something goes wrong and we fall?" The Seigaku co-captain rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
"Eiji, it's not that bad. I'm going to be with you the whole time and nothing is going to go wrong. And even if it did, you know I wouldn't let you fall. Besides, it's tradition. You have to ride the ferris wheel when you go to the fair." Eiji immediately began to pout.
"You don't have to..." But his statement lacked his earlier bite and he began to look at the ride with a resigned look. Oishi had never been able to stand seeing the red-head upset, even before they were dating, so without thinking he offered a compromise. "Look, if you ride with me, after it's over I'll buy you anything you want okay?"
Eiji's eyes seemed to brighten as he looked up at Oishi hopefully. "You promise?"
"I promise." Pleased with this turn of events, the red-head looked toward the ride with only a slight twinge of nervousness- which abruptly turned to absolute terror when it was their turn to board. Eiji looked at Oishi with a panicked look in his eyes and seemed ready to run away at any moment. This plan of action; however, was foiled by Oishi taking a firm hold of Eiji's elbow and steering him onto the little bench.
"You're going to be fine Eiji. Just enjoy the view." This statement only made the red-head go pale and clutch his assortment of stuffed animals (and creature) to himself even more tightly. This quickly changed once the ride actually started up and Oishi suddenly found himself with a lapful of red-headed batophobic. He tried unsuccessfully to disengage himself from his partner's hold, but soon gave up as his struggles only seemed to make Eiji's grip tighten. Resigning himself to the stares of their fellow fair-goers, Oishi wrapped his arms comfortingly around his boyfriend and looked over his shoulder at the myriad of colors laid out below them. After a minute or two the red-head seemed to relax a bit and loosened his grip enough for Oishi to begin breathing normally again.
By the time they got off every single person that had been on the ride (and a good majority of the people waiting in line) were staring at them and Oishi was fairly certain that quite a few parents were going to have some awkward explanations to give to their children on the car ride home. Despite this, the co-captain couldn't really bring himself to care. He was much too concerned with the well-being of his boyfriend. "See Eiji? That wasn't so bad was it?" The other boy gave him a slightly embarrassed smile- complete with a faint blush that Oishi found to be very becoming.
"I guess not. I'm sorry I made such a big deal out of it…And made all of those people stare at us." Oishi smiled sweetly at the unnecessary apology and couldn't help but give his boyfriend a quick kiss on the top of his head. "It's fine. Now, what do you want me to buy you?"
"I offer to buy you anything you want, and you pick cotton candy?" Oishi stared at his partner in utter exasperation. "It's just spun sugar. It's not even going to last that long. Why choose it?"
"Because, you can do lots of things with it." The red-head replied happily as he picked out the largest bag the vendor had available. This statement only made Oishi blink.
"Eiji, you eat cotton candy. End of story. What else could it possibly be used for?" A positively wicked grin appeared on Eiji's face at this question and he promptly leaned closer to his boyfriend and whispered something in his ear that made Oishi's face go scarlet and his breathing speed up. After only a few moments more of Eiji's "explanation", the devious red-head found himself being dragged toward the parking lot as his beloved partner somehow managed to gasp- "Home. NOW."
