Fandom: Uta no Prince-sama

Characters/Pairings: Syo, Ai

Words: 2,227

Summary: "I don't recall putting 'grocery shopping' on your schedule." In which Syo meets Ai at the supermarket.

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notes: i can't believe i wrote a five-page story on how syo goes to a supermarket lol

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1 bag of flour. 1 carton of eggs. 1 bag of sugar. 1 box of chocolates. 3 cartons of milk. 2 sticks of butter. 1 bottle of ketchup? 10 chili peppers…? 1 kilo of… squid…? 1 tub of l—okay, Syo is so not going to read the rest of Natsuki's asinine shopping list.

Crumpling the piece of paper (Piyo-chan stationery, no less) in his hand, Syo stuffs it into his pocket with a huff. He knew it was a bad idea once Natsuki declared "I'm going to make some muffins! Won't you help me, Syo-chan?" …No, that's not quite right. He knew it was a bad idea once Natsuki managed to step foot within a one-kilometer radius of the kitchen.

Syo doesn't even want to know how Natsuki snuck those cookies for Cecil's welcome party, especially since he managed to make a whole plate without some sort of fire alarm going off, but he is definitely not going to let it happen a second time. Not while he's around.

He was just about to declare DEFCON1 for the entire area when Natsuki had to go and say "I just felt really bad about what happened to Cecil-kun's welcome party, you know. He didn't even get a chance to try my special homemade cookies! So I thought maybe I could make it up to him by baking him some muffins!" and Syo felt his desire to get back at Cecil for their little contest slowly overtake his duty to save the world from the horrors of Natsuki's cooking.

So, here he is, at the Shining Supermarket, cart in tow, off to buy some ingredients.

He does feel incredibly uneasy about leaving Natsuki all alone in the kitchen, but Natsuki had agreed "not to do anything until Syo-chan comes back," so Syo is just going to have to take his word on that, or something.

Feeling his 'Natsuki-sense' tingling, Syo decides to just get this whole shopping thing over with as soon as possible and head back to the dorm. He doubts Natsuki could get into too much trouble, seeing as his cookies had somehow depleted their entire pantry and thus left nothing to 'experiment' with, but seeing as it's Natsuki…

Syo shakes the rest of his apocalyptic thoughts out of his head and focuses on getting all the products into his cart as quickly as he can. And with literally more than 80% of Natsuki's shopping list as not even remotely acceptable to put into muffins, it shouldn't take him too long.

He wheels his way through the baking goods aisle first (might as well get the obvious stuff out of the way) , dumping the flour and sugar and all those other general baking things like baking powder Syo vaguely remembers from Home Ec. that Natsuki hadn't even bothered to list, into the cart. Next, he moves on to dairy, grabbing some milk and butter and dumping them in as well. Finally, Syo moves to get the eggs, which, according to the labels hanging from the ceiling, should be on the very last aisle—all the way on the other side of the supermarket. Just great.

Figuring he might as well get some of his own shopping done in the meantime, Syo stops by the snacks aisle, grabbing some chips and tossing them in. And, because, well, what the hell, he's here anyway, he grabs some Piyo-chan crackers for Natsuki, too (after making sure no one was around to see him do so, of course).

Finishing up his own list in the snack aisle, Syo exits into the condiments section, and promptly represses the urge to vomit. He could only imagine what havoc Natsuki might wreak if he actually followed that dumb list of his and actually bought pretty much half of everything on display. Cecil should be thanking him, really.

Although… Syo wouldn't want to make it too easy on poor Cecil-kun. While Natsuki is perfectly capable of rendering perfectly edible ingredients into something utterly inedible, Syo thinks Cecil might need… a little extra something.

Passing by the produce section, Syo pauses for a while. Maybe those chili peppers weren't such a bad idea, he decides, not bothering to hide the devilish smirk on his face as he puts a whole bunch into his cart.

"Syo?"

Syo flinches. That voice… "Ai…senpai?" Crap. Wasn't he supposed to be out with Quartet Night or something right now? Why did he have to be here, of all places.

"I don't recall putting 'grocery shopping' on your schedule," Ai says sternly, his blue eyes sharp, as if trying to pierce right through him.

Syo looks away awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He had been hoping to avoid his senpai for(ever) at least a while longer. "I'm just… uh… Natsuki… asked me to do it for him," Syo offers weakly. It wasn't a lie, at least.

"Hmm…" Ai hums, continuing to watch on like a hawk. Syo gulps, not sure how to handle his intense stare. He can't quite put his finger on it, but something about Ai's eyes always felt so… invasive, like he was trying to analyze him inside and out. "Very well, then," Ai says, "I'll permit it."

"Huh?"

"I'll allow you to stray from your schedule," Ai explains, narrowing his eyes. "This time."

Syo fights the urge to go hit something. "Yes… uh… thank you… for that… senpai," he manages to grind out, his teeth aching from the clench of his jaw. "By the way, senpai, what are you doing here?"

"Shopping," Ai says simply, and Syo can't quite bring himself to process the amount of anger and exasperation he feels right now. "Aren't you here for the same purpose?"

"No, well, yes… I mean, that's not what I meant."

"So what did you mean?"

Syo kneads the bridge of his nose; he thinks he can feel a headache coming on. "You know what, never mind. I need to go give these to Natsuki soon, so… enjoy the rest of your shopping." Syo pushes his cart toward the next aisle, sending a wave goodbye (and good riddance).

"Where do you think you're going?" Ai asks, causing Syo to jerk backwards as he tugs on the edge of his jacket. "I'm coming with you."

"What."

"You're going back to the dorm after this, aren't you? It would only be practical that we go together," Ai explains. "And," he adds, "I need to make sure you don't stray from your schedule again."

Syo groans inwardly (and possibly outwardly). "Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, shall we get going?" Ai walks up to syo's cart, pushing the items away to make space for his basket. "I've already finished. What else do you need?"

"Just some eggs," is Syo's reply. There's no backing out of this now, is there? Ai nods, walking toward the poultry aisle, leaving Syo to sigh and go after him.

"Here you go," Ai says, loading a carton into the cart. "Is that everything?"

"Yeah, that should be it," Syo answers tiredly, pushing the cart toward the check-out line.

"Do you do this often?" Ai asks. "Run errands for Natsuki."

Syo sputters indignantly. "I wouldn't really call it 'running errands'." That makes him sound like he's Natsuki's assistant or something.

"My data says you two are childhood friends."

"Well, yeah, sure," Syo says, shrugging. He's not sure what that has to do with anything, but it is true, to an extent. The childhood part is accurate, yeah, but the 'friends'… well, Syo doesn't really think 'friends' is a word he would use to describe him and Natsuki.

'Friends' is more of what he has with Otoya or Haruka or Masato, and sometimes Ren or Tokiya. 'Friends' is the nice relaxing feeling where you feel you can just hang out and do whatever. 'Friends' is… well, not getting a heart attack every time they call your name, nor is it randomly springing some costume onto you and then hounded you for pictures, and it most definitely isn't posting those said pictures online for god-knows-who to see.

Judging from the blank look on Ai's face though, Syo doubts he'd understand how complicated it is, and doesn't say any more.

"My data also says that prior to your participation in the Master Course, you purchased two tickets to 'Piyo on Ice', as well as various other Piyo paraphernalia," Ai adds.

"H-H-How did you know about that?!" Syo asks, frantically trying to keep his voice low. It was bad enough that he had to go to the show at all, but for people to know that he was the one to actually buy tickets was way too much.

"My data shows that you bought these items using your credit card, and that there are also other similar entries in your history of transactions."

"What?!" Syo doesn't know where Ai gets his 'data' or whatever, but he's pretty sure looking up another person's credit card history is illegal. Or at least something normal people aren't supposed to do. Either way, this is all Natsuki's fault for 'forgetting' to bring his own wallet to pay for his dumb Piyo-chan stuff. Now, not only is his credit history out in the open, but now it looks like he's a fan of that dumb bird.

Syo wishes he could just hide under a rock for a little while, away from Ai, away from Natsuki, away from all the trouble they seem to bring.

"Is this what being 'childhood friends' is about?" Ai prods, looking at him curiously.

Syo doesn't really know what's going on, or how this conversation even got here in the first place, but whatever, he gives up. "Sure, I guess." He just can't keep up with these two weirdos in his life.

Ai seems to be satisfied with that, mumbling an "I see" before remaining silent for the remainder of their wait in line. Syo's more than fine with that, of course. He's had a little too much of… whatever it is Ai did for one day.

"Good afternoon, sirs," the cashier says, despite looking anything but. Syo sympathizes with him; he knows that feeling all too well.

He idly watches on as the cashier continues to ring their items, reaching for his wallet as the items continue to pass by. Come to think of it, he never really did find out what Ai had been shopping for. Well, not that it really matters, anyway.

"That will be a total of 1,758 yen," the cashier announces.

"Here," Ai says, handing the cashier a 10,000 yen bill. Syo puts his wallet back into his pocket slightly confused and mostly irritated. Was Ai actually going to do something as nice as pay for his stuff? And what kind of showoff pays for a 2000 yen purchase with a 10,000 yen bill, anyway?

"Your change, sir," the cashier says, handing Ai some bills and coins. "8,242 yen. Have a nice day."

Ai merely nods and puts the money into his wallet, walking toward the exit. Syo bows slightly at the cashier, feeling somewhat apologetic for having to deal with his senpai, before picking up their bags (it's only fair, he thinks, seeing as Ai paid for everything and all) and heading out.

"Um, Ai-senpai…?" Syo calls, unsure. "Thanks for… uh, taking care of the bill, earlier."

"What are you talking about?" Ai asks, turning around with his arms crossed over his chest. "I expect to be fully compensated once we return to the dorm. You really should be more responsible. You can't go around relying on other people like that, Syo."

Well, that moment of niceness lasted for all of five minutes.

"I-It's not like I asked you to pay for me in the first place," Syo huffs back. "I was totally ready to pay for my half but you went ahead and handed that bill to the cashier!"

Ai sighs, shaking his head. "You really don't know how to treat your senpai, do you? And according to my data, you don't have nearly enough to pay for your purchases. You really should be more responsible."

Syo can feel his blood pressure start to rise. This guy… "Well, I'm so sorry I can't fulfill your expectations of me, senpai." And he does have enough money. Last time he checked, he was pretty sure he had around 3,000 yen in there.

Setting down their shopping bags, Syo rifles through his wallet while Ai watches on. 100… 200… 300… 400… 4…00… Umm… What. What—What happened to all his 500 yen coins? And his bills? He—he was sure he had some yesterday.

"Have you realized your error now, Syo?"

Tch. As much as he hates to admit it, Ai has a point. But still. That doesn't mean he has to be so snippy about it.

"Yes, senpai," Syo says, unable to keep the thinly-veiled contempt from his voice. "I apologize."

Ai shrugs, "As long as you realize your mistake," and continues their walk back to the dorm.

"Hey, um… senpai," Syo tries, using the sweetest voice he can muster. "As a token of my apology, would you like a muffin? I'm helping Natsuki make some, you see."

"I'm not very fond of sweets," Ai replies, deadpan.

"Right," Syo says, hanging his head along with his dashed hopes and dreams. "Of course you aren't."