Disclaimer: Standard

A Little Christmas Cheer

The holidays were approaching rapidly and spirits at Seigaku were running high. Kids were getting more and more rambunctious as the prospect of weeks without school filled their brains with happy thoughts that kicked out anything to do with school and work that might darken the nice, bright horizon. It got to the point when the teachers simply gave up trying to shout sense into heads that had been stuffed with snow and games and just let the classes off a bit—granted, they refused to completely let go of the lesson plans. But hey, at least they wouldn't have anything they had to grade over the break.

All in all, the school seemed to have become a pre-holiday outpost where the students could come and relax, a sort of extended holiday.

Still, there were some places where work was never let up, no matter what holiday was looming in the near future.

"Everyone! Thirty laps for warm up!" the command rang through the chilled air in a tone that left no room for questions or complaints. It was just one of those constants that never changed.

"This isn't fair nyah!" Kikumaru Eiji grumbled loudly as he jogged along with the rest of the Seigaku regulars. "None of the other sports clubs are still practicing!"

"That's why we're the best team!" the tall, spiky haired Momoshiro Takeshi laughed loudly. "But I wish Buchou would cut down on the laps."

"Mada mada dane," the short boy running beside him snorted, reaching up to tug on the bill of his white cap. He wasn't even breathing hard—yet. Then again, Echizen Ryoma practically lived on tennis courts, so he wasn't likely to complain about having to spend time on them just because the holidays were approaching.

Eiji sighed dramatically, closing his eyes—though he quickly opened them again to avoid crashing into any of his teammates, "They're all having parties! Why can't we have a party? Instead we get to run laps! Oishi!"

The green eyed vice captain, Oishi Syuichiroh, nearly tripped as his redheaded doubles partner bounded forward and latched onto him from behind. But he had gotten used to it over the years and managed to catch himself just before he face planted on the court.

"Eiji!" he exclaimed, prying his friend's arms off of his neck so that he could breathe. They were still running after all, and oxygen depletion was never a good thing, let alone when a grinning, spiky haired mad scientist with square glasses and a bubbling jar of purple and yellow liquid was hovering just off to the side in anticipation.

"Oishi! We have to have a party!" Eiji declared, releasing his throttling hold on his friend to bounce up and down beside him. "Every other club is having one, we have to too!"

"Yeah, Oishi-sempai!" Momo joined in as he moved up to jog beside Seigaku's Golden Pair, pulling a reluctant Echizen along with him. "Don't you think we deserve a break after all this practice? You know, a reward for doing well in all our recent matches and everything."

"And it'll be a great way to—what was it again?—strengthen team relations!" the redhead continued, knowing it would peak his partner's interest.

"Well…" Oishi said slowly, looking from Eiji's imploring face to Momo's pleading one and back again, "I…guess it couldn't hurt…but we'll have talk to Tezuka about it…"

"You do that," Eiji replied, beaming happily as he and Momo high-fived before he did a couple handsprings in celebration. "We're having a PARTY!"

Ryoma sighed, ordering his feet to start moving faster, "Mada mada dane."

x-X-x

"Ah, um, Tezuka?"

The renowned captain of the Seigaku tennis club turned to look questioningly at his second in command through clear, oval lenses, wondering briefly why his friend was looking so nervous all of a sudden. Before them the courts were filled with people, ranging from first years who were busy scrambling after furry, yellow, runaway balls to regulars engaged in fierce practice matches. He was pleased to see that they were improving.

"Ah well…you see…" Oishi paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing, "some of the team want to have a party—you know, for the holidays. I think it would be a good way to reward them for all their hard work this year."

The short boy with honey brown hair who had been standing beside the Captain with a smile seemingly engraved on his face turned to listen to the conversation with interest.

Tezuka blinked once as a slight sign of surprise. He was pretty certain that if the rest of his team wanted to have a party they would, regardless of whether or not he approved. Conclusion: he was supposed to be there too. That also meant that he didn't actually have to say yes—though saying no would probably upset his vice captain with all his team bonding policies…

"Maa, I think it's a good idea," the smiling brunette joined in. "It would be a good way to say thank you, ne Buchou?"

Ah yes, Tezuka mused, the birthday thing…

Exactly, Fuji's smile widened slightly. He could see that he had been understood.

Turning to Oishi, the Seigaku tensai grinned, "So where are we having the party?"

"Well," casting a glance at Tezuka, Oishi laughed a little uncertainly, "we were thinking we could go to Kawamura's sushi shop at first, but seeing as it'll be a holiday it might be a bit crowded. So it would probably be best if we could have it at someone's house…"

x-X-x

"Oh yeah! We're having a party!" Momoshiro's elated cheer rang through the clubroom like a struck gong, though being as it wasn't all that rare an occurrence—quite the opposite actually—no one really reacted. Then again, that was hardly the point. Grinning fit to burst, the violet eyed youth looked as though he was never going to be upset ever again.

Ryoma sighed, slipping on his uniform jacket, "Please keep your voice down, Momo-sempai."

They had decided the house at which the party was to be held through the process of elimination. Oishi had volunteered, but his parents had a late shift at the hospital that day and it was decided that it would probably be best not to disturb them. Doctors needed their rest after all. Then there was Eiji's, but his sister was having a sleepover, thus effectively putting his house off limits. It couldn't be at Momo's, because he had a lot of younger siblings and none of them wanted to deal with little kids on Christmas. Ryoma had flatly refused to allow the party anywhere near his house, though his reasons were…rather vague… And of course they didn't even need to ask Tezuka.

Thus it was that the party was to be held at Fuji's. Thee were more than a few members of the team who…weren't exactly sure that was a good idea, but they weren't presented with all that many options—none at all actually—and seeing as the thought of having a party at Inui's with Inui having full regn over foods was…less than appealing, they agreed.

After that the planning was easy. Kawamura and Oishi would be in charge of food, Kaidoh opted to bring drinks—Inui offered, but only Fuji looked enthusiastic, so Momoshiro, Eiji, and an unwilling Echizen volunteered to go pick up games and movies. That left Fuji with the decorations, of course, with Inui for help, and Tezuka—to some laughter and prods—to get a cake—Eiji insisted that no holiday would be complete without a cake.

So it was that they had parted that practice each with a mission to accomplish. By the time Christmas Eve rolled around the excitement was all but palpable.

The first to arrive at Fuji's house that day was Eiji and Oishi. The redhead had been so excited at the thought of a party that he simply couldn't wait for the appointed five o'clock and so he had dragged his doubles partner out a full three hours early. It would have been even earlier, if he had had his way, but Oishi had insisted he be given time to pack up the food and other snacks. That was when Eiji had noticed just how distastefully healthy it all looked, which meant that they had to make a trip to the store so he could pick up some decently sweet and far more edible items.

Fuji opened the door to Eiji's glowing face and Oishi's sweating one—he was all but invisible under all the packages and grocery bags he was carrying—and welcomed them in with a grin. His parents were at a company party, and his sister was at a friend's. He had asked Yuuta if he wanted to come home for the occasion, but his brother had just asked him something along the lines of 'Are you crazy?' before hanging up. Still, he explained all this to his friends with a smile as he directed them to set the food out on the kitchen table where he had spread a red tablecloth with green leaves embroidered around the edges.

Next in was Momoshiro and Echizen, who announced their presence at the door with a loud bang and a groan. Oishi had rushed to the door at the unwholesome sound to discover the spiky haired second year sitting on the ground with a bump on his head and a scowling kohai. It turned out that Momo, knowing his younger friend's tendency to be late to every appointment ever made, had insisted on setting out early. Echizen had been less than fond of the idea, but Momo had promised that they would stop by the street courts and maybe grab a burger so that they would arrive on time for a change. Problem was, the street courts were all but empty due to the holidays. Still, they had settled down to play a few games before Momo had looked at his watch and discovered it read six thirty. Horrified, he had dragged Echizen all the way to Fuji's residence—before discovering that his watch had actually stopped working, earning himself the aforementioned bump.

This story earned a hearty laugh from the lot of them, Echizen excluded, since he was still too busy scowling.

Kaidoh, Inui, and Kawamura arrived next, each carrying several boxes of sushi and—in Kaidoh's case anyway—a bag of assorted soda cans and juice boxes. Apparently, he and Inui had agreed to help Kawamura with the sushi because his dad was too busy with the customers to help drive the food. Fearing that they wouldn't be able to get there in time on foot, the anxious young chief-in-training had decided that they should head at as soon as all of the food was ready.

That left Tezuka to arrive last, right on the dot as the clock struck five, a large, cardboard box tucked under one arm. He was still slightly off balance from his encounter at the bakery. He had spent a long time just standing in front of the cake display. Not being the kind of person who often indulged in sweets, he had had absolutely no idea which cake to buy. The baker had finally taken pity on him, having watched him stand there for nearly fifteen minutes, and asked what occasion he wanted the cake for. That settled, it had been quick business for the baker to select a 'suitable' cake.

So it was that he didn't even blink when he saw that everyone else was already there. Indeed, he thought he might have been more surprised if they hadn't been.

"All right!" Momo cheered as Tezuka set the cake box on what little space remained on the table. "Now we're all here! Let's get started!"

"Let's chow down!" Eiji exclaimed, bounding towards the food. "I'm starving!"

With that Fuji flipped the switch on the radio and music boomed through the house.

"Hey Mamushi!" Momo yelled over the music, brandishing a deck of poker cards. "Bet ya can't beat me!"

"Fshuuu," Kaidoh hissed dangerously, "baka, don't say things you can't back up."

"Oh yeah? Let's try it then!" Momo said challengingly.

Echizen watched as his two glaring teammates popped themselves down on the floor and started shuffling. Shrugging, he sat down too and reached for a piece of sushi. This could either be very boring or…very boring. At least the food was good. Mmm…that was some good sushi.

X

"Nyah, Oishi! Try some of these chips! They're delicious!"

Oishi stared at the plate of bright yellow potato chips Eiji was holding out at him and swallowed. They looked awfully…oily… He had already been forced to eat at least two bucketfuls of junk food composed of bits and pieces of things the redhead before him wanted him to try…

"Um, Eiji, really…isn't that enough for today?" he asked tentatively, edging away from the chips. "It's not good for you to eat so many snacks…"

"Oh come on, Oishi! This is a party! That's what parties are all about! Eating things that aren't healthy for you but actually taste good for a change!"

"Ano…but Eiji—"

"Here, try some," the redhead shoved several of pieces of chips into his doubles partner's mouth and grinned. "Just wait and see, you'll love it once you get it!"

X

"The sushi is wonderful, Taka-san," Fuji beamed at his shy teammate as he chewed a piece of the aforementioned food.

"Th—thank you," Taka rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "My dad says I'm getting better."

"There has been a thirty seven percent improvement in the technique of the dishes," Inui announced, notebook in one hand and a piece of sushi in the other. His glasses glinted and he grinned.

Tezuka frowned slightly from where he was leaning against the wall, a cup of tea in hand.

"Inui," he said sharply as he realized the data fiend was edging slowly towards the section of the table that had been devoted to the drinks, "don't."

Inui coughed into his hand, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a shriek from the living room that sounded like Momo's voice.

"Wah, Echizen! You ate all of my food!"

"Mada mada dane," was the nonchalant reply, "you weren't eating it anyway."

"But I was going to!"

"Fshuu, just go get more then, baka."

"Why you—"

"Hey, you two," Oishi's anxious voice could then be heard, "come on, it's supposed to be a happy holiday evening! Please try not to fight."

"Stupid Mamushi!"

"Brainless peach!"

"Keep your filthy comments to yourself!"

There was an indignant hiss, "Take your own advice!"

"Guys! Please just calm down! I'm sure we can—"

"Wah! Ochibi! That was mine! Ooooiiiisssshhhiiii! Ochibi's being mean to me!"

"Mada mada dane."

"Saa," Fuji chuckled, "it sure sounds lively in there."

Inui pushed his glasses up a little, "There is a seventy seven percent chance that it is about to get livelier."

A loud crash resounded through the house and the ground shook.

x-X-x

"Okay, so what movie are we going to watch?" Fuji asked the room at large as he flipped through the DVDs the 'entertainment squad' had brought. He was greeted by sullen silence.

Looking back up at his teammates, he had to suppress a laugh.

Momoshiro and Kaidoh were sitting as far away from each other as they could get, each decorated in an

assortment of bandages and bruises with identical expressions of sour distaste carved onto their faces. They probably weren't aware of just how similar they looked at that moment. And of course there was Oishi situated halfway between them, looking from one to the other every now and then with a worried, slightly lost look on his face. He obviously felt like he should be doing something to 'fix' the situation, but he just couldn't quite figure out what…

Eiji was sitting on the couch next to his doubles partner and a bored looking Echizen, a fresh plate of snacks in hand which he was shoveling into his mouth so fast that Fuji wondered briefly how he was actually managing to chew and swallow without choking. Maybe he skipped the chewing part…? Either way, he seemed to be determined to eat everything before anyone else could so much as lay a finger on it. Granted, most people were wisely keeping their limbs away. Who knew what he might mistake for edibles when eating at that speed?

Inui had situated himself between Kawamura and Kaidoh, notebook and pen at the work as usual. He even had a foaming cup of blue liquid on the table in front of him just within arm's reach, who fore, no one knew or wished to find out.

And of course Tezuka had usurped the one armchair in the room.

"Saa…I guess we'll just watch this then," he popped the top disk into the DVD player and pressed play before standing up and going to turn off the light.

X

Ryoma shifted in his seat, scowling slightly to himself. He was really starting to get bored. He had never been a movie type person before, and he wasn't about to start now.

What was so interesting about these things anyway?

At least there was one good thing about watching a movie—it was actually relatively quiet for a change. No yelling, screeching, blabbering sempais. And that was always a very good thing worth many a heartfelt thanks.

Still…

Standing up abruptly, he turned and made his way through the dimly lit living room and into the kitchen. At least he could get another can of juice if he was going to have to keep sitting there and be bored to death.

"Yo, Echizen," Momo called as he scrambled up and trailed after the freshman into the kitchen, "don't forget, you still have to replace that food you stole from me!"

"Ch, just get it yourself, it's all right here," he snorted, waving at the table laden with its many assorted dishes.

"Fine, fine," the older boy shrugged, picking up a clean paper plate and scooping a little of everything onto it, "I still say you have to learn to get your own food."

"Hmph," popping open a can of soda—he really should have volunteered to get the drinks—Ryoma moved to stand in front of the sliding glass doors leading out into the backyard. The sky outside was a dark gray tinted with blue so that the skies themselves seemed to look heavy. The grass was dusted with a thin layer of white frost, and the trees presented their barren limbs to the clouds as though trying to call forth the sun and its warmth. But despite all that there was a certain air of tranquility about the scene, as though the icy clutches of winter was really only just another piece of the panorama of seasons to be enjoyed.

"What are you looking at?" Momo asked curiously, stepping up behind his friend and peering through the glass. "I don't see anything…"

"That's your fault," the freshman shrugged, tagging a long swig of his soda and watching the ghostly reflections of Momo and himself in the door.

Laughing a little, Mom tilted his head back to look up at the sky—and stopped. He stared.

"What?" Ryoma asked finally, finding himself curious against his will.

Momo glanced back down at him and grinned suddenly, "There's mistletoe hanging above us. And that means…"

"Momo-sempai!" he protested, but by then it was too late.

X

Eiji yawned broadly and blinked slowly at the TV screen. He supposed he had eaten a little too much, but everything had looked so good and now all he could think about was taking a nice…long nap… There was no better time for a nap then when one had a full stomach and nothing else to do…

Yawning again, he let his plate slip out of his fingers as he leaned sideways and closed his eyes. He wanted to watch the movie, but it was almost over anyway and he could always watch it again later… Pity they had decided not to do the present giving thing he'd heard so much about…

Oishi blinked as he realized suddenly that someone was leaning heavily on him. Turning his head slowly to the side, he found himself presented with a view of red hair that he was all too familiar with.

Smiling slightly, he let himself settle back into the couch's comfortable cushions. It had really been one hectic day…

It wasn't everyday that one nearly got one's head bashed in by a raging teammate wanting to get at his rival on one's other side while one is trying to prevent a brawl.

Or…maybe it was…but he'd rather not think about it now…

X

The movie ended and the credits began to scroll across the screen, leaving the living room in darkness. Glancing around the room once, Tezuka made to stand up, but Fuji caught his arm. He arched his eyebrows questioningly, but the tensai just shook his head, gestured at the Golden Pair who were leaning against each other fast asleep, and put a finger over his lips to indicate silence.

Nodding his understanding, the captain made his way to the hall and headed for the bathroom while the rest of his team aimed for the kitchen. He felt he needed a good splash of cold water after spending such a long time staring at a glowing screen in total darkness. It could really serve to give someone a headache.

A sudden shriek of surprise rang out from the direction of the kitchen. Looking up into the mirror above the sink, he listened as a sudden burst of chatter filled the distance, then there was a pause, followed an instant later by a thud and yet another explosion of frantic buzzing.

Sighing, Tezuka replaced his glasses and headed for the kitchen, ready for the worst. But the moment he set foot inside the kitchen he found his way blocked by Momoshiro.

"Buchou!" he exclaimed, waving his hands emphatically as he did his best to remain squarely in the middle of Tezuka's line of sight. "How are you? Would you like something to eat?"

Tezuka paused a moment to stare at the second year's broadly grinning face—something was definitely off here—before lifting his gaze to sweep the room over Momo's head.

Kaidoh was sitting heavily in a chair by the table, face red and staring at the ground while Inui stood next to said table, pen moving so quickly across the page that it was nothing more than a blur of motion. Echizen was leaning against the wall, scowling darkly with his cap pulled down over his face, though what could be seen of his features were stained with red. Then there was Fuji, who was smiling fit to burst.

That left someone missing…

"What happened to Kawamura?"

"Oh, well, ah," Momo rubbed the back of his head nervously. "You see, we kind of…um…he came in and…hewaskindofsurprised—reallyverysurprised—and we thought he was going to keel over or something so we…ah…gave him a little bit of a drink…and well…um…" his eyes flicked in Inui's direction, giving Tezuka a pretty good idea of what had happened, garbled explanation or not.

Stepping around Momo, he discovered Kawamura collapsed in a heap on the kitchen floor, an empty cup rolling away from his outstretched hand to bump lightly against Inui's feet.

"What—," he started to ask, but he cut himself off, deciding that he would really rather not know.

"Well, okay then," Momo glanced around sheepishly, face slightly red, "board games anyone?"

X

The sky beyond the living room window was a deep, velvet blue sprinkled with jewel bright stars that felt stunningly bright in contrast to the darkness in the room and the world outside. It was really quite a beautiful scene to view with a cup.

"Ne, it's beautiful isn't it?"

Tezuka glanced to the side to see Fuji emerging from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. The brunette dropped said towel on the table then came to stand next to the sofa, looking out of the window towards the stars.

"Ah," Tezuka agreed.

"Momo, Ryoma, and Kaidoh are asleep."

"Ah."

"And Inui's disappeared."

"…Disappeared?"

"I suspect he's using one of our computers."

"Oh."

"Hold on a second," scurrying over to the Christmas tree standing comfortably by the TV, Fuji crouched down and flipped the switch. Instantly the entire tree lit up with a myriad of tiny white lights as though the tree was wearing a coat of fallen stars that cast a soft glow over the room. Satisfied, Fuji moved to sit down next to Tezuka on the couch, beaming.

That sat in silence for a long time, just enjoying the peace, the company, and the view of the night sky.

x-X-x

Eiji yawned loudly and sat up, blinking. He wasn't in bed…in fact…he was sitting up? Glancing around, he spotted Oishi also just waking up.

Oh yeah, he thought, mind clearing, we're at Fuji's! Where's everybody else?

Standing up and stretching, he reached down to shake his doubles partner, only to find him staring across the room. Blinking, Eiji turned to follow his gaze and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

Sitting on the other couch, facing the living room window, were Tezuka and Fuji, the former with his arm resting lightly over the latter's shoulders. Both were sound asleep.

Face cracking into a huge grin, Eiji bounded into the kitchen, nearly tripped over Kawamura, and went to shake his teammates. Taka-san was a lost cause, and he didn't dare lay a finger on Kaidoh, but a moment later he had hauled everyone else into the living room too, much to Oishi's consternation.

"What is it—oh," Momo blinked, then stifled a laugh.

"Ooh," Eiji giggled, "let's

take a picture!"

"I saw the camera in the kitchen," Momo grinned, running off to go get it.

"Quick! Before Buchou wakes up!"

Ryoma watched them with a bored expression, what was so interesting anyway?

Momo returned, camera in hand.

"Um…you guys," Oishi frowned, "I don't think this is a good idea…"

"Ii data."

"Shhhhh—eh? When did you get here?"

Click, click.

"Um, guys—"

"Be quiet! They'll wake up."

"Too late."

"What?"

"What's going on here?" Tezuka demanded, sitting up and adjusting his glasses, which had slipped down his nose somewhere during the night.

There was sudden silence, then the entire room full of teens spun abruptly on their heels and sprinted for the door.

"Wah! Run!"

Blinking, Fuji stretched and grinned, "Saa…I want a copy."

OWARI

A.N. Okay, I wrote this in a hurry, I hope it was okay. But I really gotta go now, bye!