A/N: Hey everybody! So I'm starting this new story. It's Marui/Jirou, and it is m/m, so if that's not your cup of tea, then you probably shouldn't read! I will try to update once a week, but I am in school so some chapters might take a little longer.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or the characters.


A Love of Sweets

Ch.1

Marui groaned as he walked down the street, rolling his eyes as he passed another giggling couple. They were everywhere; holding hands, staring into each other's eyes while smiling, sighing over nothing. It was nauseating. He winced at the high-pitched squeals that came from the group of girls he'd just passed. They were almost as bad as the couples. He didn't understand what was so great about girls. They walked around in their short skirts with too much makeup, squealing and giggling to get the boys to notice them. What was it about this time of year? It was probably the cherry blossoms. Yeah, they smelled good, and they were nice enough to look at, but there had to be something about them that made people like this.

He had just finished his first week of University, and was now looking forward to a nice cake from his favorite bakery. It had been such a long week. Marui grimaced as he thought of all the homework he had this weekend, and this was just the start. This definitely wasn't going to be like high school.

Turning a corner, he smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could already smell the bakery. He picked up his pace with a skip in his step. He'd been waiting all week for a fresh cake, still warm from the oven, with sweet icing that bursts with flavor on the tongue. The bakery he always went to was in the opposite direction from the apartment he had just moved into, so he'd been having to make due with pre-packaged sweets from the store since school started.

It had been so nice in high school. Everyday after tennis practice, he was able to walk a couple blocks down the road to get his sweets. Now, it was definitely out of his way. He should probably find a new place closer to his apartment, but he just couldn't seem to let this place go. He'd been coming here ever since grade school, spending every bit of his small allowance on sweets.

Dodging in and out of the couples, not paying attention to their sappy actions any longer, he pushed forward with single-minded intensity. He was so close! He could already taste the sugary goodness!

He paused outside the store with a big grin still in place. Finally! Starting forward, he realized all those couples he had passed and brushed by were in a line, a very long line, that started in the doorway of his bakery.

"EH?" Reaching up and gripping his hair, he barely kept himself from pulling it out at the unfairness of it all. He stuffed his hands in his pockets before stomping away, ignoring all the looks he was now receiving. Stupid couples. Stupid girls. Stupid school. Stupid cherry blossoms. This was all their fault. He would show them. He was going to go make his own cake. He didn't need a stupid shop with stupid couples everywhere. He could make his own sweets, and they would be even better than buying them!

Finally slowing his pace, he sighed and dropped his scowl for a pout. He didn't want to go home and bake. He was tired. He just wanted his already made, fresh and delicious confection, then to go home and lay down. To not think about homework or responsibilities. Besides, Niou was probably going to want to go out tonight, which meant he would be dragged along.

He stopped when he felt his phone buzz, and pulled it out to see a text from Niou. Speak of the devil.

Niou: where r u?

Marui felt his eye twitch. He wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. He hadn't seen the guy in two days, and he didn't even get a 'hello', or a 'hey'? Why had he ever agreed to live with him.

Marui: On my way back to the apartment.

Slowly beginning to walk again, he made his way to the cross walk up ahead. He hoped Niou didn't want to meet somewhere already. It was only four o'clock, and he could see the apartment up ahead. His phone buzzed again, and he opened it up.

Niou: mind takin the long way? got company ^_-

Ugh. Company. That meant Niou had another one of his flings there. Marui rolled his eyes as he looked around, wondering where he could go. He swore Niou had the libido of a cat in heat. They had only been in their new apartment a couple of weeks, and Marui had lost count of the number of times he had come home to extra shoes in the doorway and awkward run-ins in the kitchen. Boys, girls, it didn't matter. Niou would sleep with anything that had two legs and a sex organ. At least Niou tried to keep his playtime to when Marui was gone. Especially after that one incident. Marui shivered. He didn't think he would ever be able to get the image of his roommates' white ass moving behind a small guy bent over the couch out of his head.

He started off in a new direction, looking around for anything that could take his mind off that mental image, and what his roommate was now doing. He hadn't actually had time to explore the area yet. Now was as good a time as any. He turned a few corners at random, the streets becoming less populated as he entered into the older part of the neighborhood.

Making his way past a few shops, he looked into the windows before moving on. Not seeing anything that interesting, he was about to turn back when the word 'Cafe' caught his eye. He stopped to look across the street. It looked a little old, and small compared to the flashy cafe's near the university, but he crossed the street anyway. He could get some coffee while he waited, and maybe they would have some muffins or something.

Walking in, he realized it was bigger than he thought it was. It had booths along the walls, with tables spread out in the space in-between. Directly across from him was a small round bar with stools in front. A young man, about his age, was behind it making coffee. He looked up as Marui lingered, not quite sure if he should wait or just sit down anywhere.

"Welcome. Please sit wherever you like." The slight brunette bowed and smiled as he worked swiftly to finish the coffee. As Marui moved towards a booth along the wall to the right, he saw the worker grab a menu and make his way over.

Looking around as he sat, he realized there were a few people here, mostly older women, and some businessmen on break. What surprised him though was the group of college students sitting at a group of tables in the middle, talking and laughing loudly. This was pretty far out for a big group of students to come for coffee.

"What can I get for you?" The brunette asked after making his way over, and held the menu out to him.

As he took the menu, he saw the guy was a bit shorter than him, and thin. His voice was soft, too. He had a smile on his face, and was quite... pretty. At first glance, one might even mistake him for a girl.

"Um, a coffee please." He hesitated before glancing at the menu. "Do... do you have any cakes or anything?"

"We have quite a few pastries. Our pastry chef is quite talented." A small hand reached out and pointed to a small section towards the bottom of the menu. "Our selections are listed here. We have a special that is half-off, but that changes from day to day. Today's is the strawberry coffee cake. It's quite good."

"I'll have one of those then, please." Loud laughter caused him to look over at the table in the middle of the café.

His waiter sighed and shook his head as he picked up the menu. "Sorry about them. They can be a little loud." He turned to walk away before pausing, turning back to say, "My name is Fuji. Let me know if you need anything else."

Marui watched as Fuji made his way over to the group of loud students, pausing next to a smirking male who looked familiar. He appeared tall, even sitting down, and his light brown hair was perfectly styled. His eyes were striking, and confidence practically oozed off him. Marui felt a flash of irritation. One glance and he already didn't like the guy. Whoever he was, he looked like he thought his very presence was a blessing to those around him.

He strained to hear what Fuji was saying, hoping to hear what was being said. Maybe then he could get a name. "Now Atobe-san, you know we have other customers. Could you please try to keep it down?"

Atobe-san. It sounded so familiar. Maybe he was a friend of Niou's.

He watched as the guy, Atobe, flipped his hair before sighing. "Very well. As you request, Ore-sama will no longer share his magnificent stories, and we will strive to... keep it down, as you say."

Marui felt his eye twitch again. Ore-sama? Who did this guy think he was? What a conceited jerk. He watched as Fuji's smile twitched before he thanked Atobe and walked away. Marui shivered. The waiter might look nice and calm, but there was something about his tone when he thanked Atobe that was scary when combined with that sweet smile. He would hate to see what Fuji looked like angry.

Pulling out his phone, Marui sighed when he saw he had no new messages. Hopefully Niou wouldn't take too long... He really didn't feel like sitting here all evening.

"Here's your coffee." He looked up and put his phone away as Fuji set his coffee down, along with some cream and sugar. "Your cake should be done soon. The chef just put a fresh batch in the oven when you came in."

Marui thanked him and went straight for the sweetener. As he poured plenty of sugar into his coffee, he glanced over at the table that held Atobe and his friends again. "Do they come here often? It seemed like you know them pretty well."

"Atobe-san?" Fuji crossed his arms and leaned against the table, shooting a glance Atobe. "Mm. One of his friends works here, so he's here all the time. If I didn't like Jirou so much, I wouldn't put up with him."

Marui laughed as he finished stirring his coffee. He could tell Fuji didn't really like the guy.

"Kei-chan! Here's your latte to go!"

Ah. That must be the friend.

Marui glanced over, wanting to see what kind of friend that arrogant jerk would have. A petite blonde walked through the door that led to the kitchens. He was short, even shorter than Fuji, with messy blond hair and big brown eyes that were complemented by a wide smile. His clothes were a little rumpled, and he kind of looked like he just rolled out of bed.

"Go, Kei-chan! You're going to be late! Hurry!"

He watched as the blonde pulled Atobe up and started pushing him towards the door. The taller male just laughed as he stood and gathered his things. "I'm going, I'm going." Atobe began making his way towards the door with the others who were all calling out goodbyes, but stopped and turned around. "And Jirou... Ore-sama is never late."

So this was Jirou. Marui was kind of surprised. He hadn't expected a friend of that Atobe guy to be so... friendly looking. Jirou stood there laughing and waving until Atobe was out the door and gone. Then he turned around and started cleaning, looking like it was the most enjoyable thing he had done all day with a smile that seemed to reach all the way to his eyes. It was kind of... cute.

He winced when he heard a soft laugh, realizing he'd been staring and had totally forgotten about Fuji. He glanced up, trying to pretend that his face wasn't heating up. It was just hot in here. "What's so funny?"

"You were staring." Fuji leaned in close, and Marui could hear the amusement in his voice. "Did you see something you liked?"

Damn it. Why did he have to blush so easily? He had just been curious. He looked down at his coffee, trying to will away his blush and think of a response. "I was just wondering what kind of person that Atobe guy's friend was."

Now that he thought about it, this café was a little strange. The atmosphere was different than others he'd been to. Maybe it was because of the strange waiter who was still smiling at him like he knew something Marui didn't. Waiters were supposed to mind their own business, damn it! So what if he'd been staring? He'd just been surprised. Fuji was looking at him like he was about to say something weird again, something that would probably end up embarrassing him even more. Thankfully, the awkward moment was interrupted by a ding!

"Oh, your coffee cake is ready."

Marui sighed in relief. Fuji would have to leave to get the cake, and hopefully he could get his blushing under control. He would just explain that he was embarrassed, that he didn't realize he'd been staring, and he blushed easily. He didn't want to give the wrong impression.

Or not. Fuji's never-ending smile turned up at the corner, almost smirking at him as he turned and called out, "Ah, Jirou, why don't you get that? I can finish cleaning up there. It is my table, after-all."

The brunette looked like he was planning something, and Marui had a feeling it involved him.


A/N: So that was Chapter 1! I've never written a chapter story before, so any comments/critics are welcome! Let me know what you think!