A/N: Enjoy!
Senri flipped his phone open.
There were no missed calls, text messages… Niou wasn't picking up any of his calls either.
He bit his lip. Where was he?
Senri could currently be found pacing back and forth in his room. He was itching to pull out a joint, but… he'd promised himself to cut down, and then eventually quit.
In fact...
Flashback two weeks
"Akihiro! Oh you've been working non-stop lately! Surely your son feels just as lonely as I do…"
Senri sighed.
His dad's girlfriend, named Sayako, was…
She was clingy. Although she hadn't yet moved in with them… and Senri believed that any day now his dad would make the announcement, she…
She was prissy, overbearing, needy… And while normally, Senri could tune her out, or just ignore her all together…
They were all out for some Yakiniku. She was sitting across from him, with his dad. They sat on one side of the table, and he on the other.
"Don't you agree, Senri?"
Senri, who'd been lost in thought, immediately turned his face in her direction and nodded.
Even if he hadn't heard what she was saying… she probably just needed him to agree…
His dad, seeming to sense that the atmosphere was becoming strained, cleared his throat.
"Well. Speaking of work… I've got to be up a little earlier tomorrow… and Senri, you have school. We should get going now."
Senri wanted to jump up in glee.
Finally!
Senri received a text from Niou.
"What're you wearing…? ;)"
Senri rolled his eyes. He wasn't a girl!
"I'm not a girl!" He texted back.
"..."
"...No, you're better…"
Senri blushed. That damn Niou! He always said the most embarrassing things at the most random of times… he did it to catch Senri off guard.
Niou and he had been going steady for a month now. There wasn't a huge change from the way things had been the summer before… they joked around, smoked pot, hung out casually… except, they were allowed to touch each other…
Senri couldn't be happier. He'd had his doubts about whether the relationship could last at first… whether or not he'd make the same mistakes again, whether or not Niou would grow fed up with him again, or get bored…
But that never seemed to happen. If anything, his bond with Niou had grown even stronger.
They were frank with each other. Flirting came naturally… mostly on Niou's end, but Senri had learned quickly that in this relationship, Niou was predator…
He was fine with that.
They got each other. Neither had to say a word for the other to know what he was feeling.
Nothing was off bounds conversation-wise… They could talk about anything with each other. Niou gave great advice, and handled Senri's feelings and issues with care…
Senri wouldn't have believed that Niou was capable of that sort of… tenderness if you'd asked him a year before. Because even when they'd first gotten to know each other, Niou had seemed…
Closed off. Extremely guarded.
But since they'd begun to go steady… Niou had only grown more and more outspoken. He spoke his mind more often, without following up with a biting remark. The sarcasm was still there, but not as strong. He shared his opinions readily…
And he listened earnestly when Senri spoke his mind.
Even with Osamu-sensei, this sort of relationship… he couldn't even begin to comprehend that a relationship could be taken to this plain…
He sighed.
He was so lame.
Suddenly, he heard a knock.
"Senri? It's Sayako… can I come in?"
Senri felt his stomach tighten.
"... yeah."
He watched, as Sayako made her way into the room, and sat demurely onto the edge of his bed.
He sat upright.
"Senri…" she began, "I'm getting the feeling that… you aren't happy with my being with your father…"
Senri's eyes widened.
How had she… so she wasn't as oblivious and self-absorbed as she seemed?
"... I want dad to be happy. If you make him happy, then I'm okay with that."
Sayako clapped her long, hot-pink nails together and shrieked with glee.
Senri had to fight not to clap his own ears together.
"Oh you are adorable! What an amazing son you are… huh? What's that?"
Sayako, it seemed, had spotted his container, which he'd carelessly left on top of his bedside drawer!
Before he could swipe if off of the counter, she'd already reached over to take it.
"My, what an interestingly decorated container…" she remarked.
The container had had psychedelic designs squiggled all over, and was also decorated with sparkly stickers. Those were stickers that Miyuki had given to him, and he'd decided that rather than leaving them somewhere to collect dust…
Suddenly, he heard a gasp.
"S-senri! Is this what I think it is?"
Sayako had found his joints!
"...I..."
"Senri… how long? Do you know what sort of side effects you could get from these things in the long run? Do you?!"
She took hold of Senri's arms and began to shake them, unaware that her nails were digging deep into his skin.
"You don't…" her voice began to shake, "you don't, you can't possibly understand now!"
Suddenly, he saw someone else enter the room…
His dad...?!
Right before Senri could try and hide the container, Sayako had tightened her grip.
"Akihiro! You came right in the nick of time…!"
His dad, who'd previously been grinning, now appeared worried. The lines on his forehead seemed to indent more, and his eyebrows were scrunched together. The lines that defined his cheeks were suddenly more defined, as he frowned.
"... Is everyone okay…?"
Sayako shook her head, and began to sob.
"S-S-Senri… oh just here! Take it and see for yourself!"
She tossed the container to his dad.
Here it came. It was a long time coming… his dad would probably send him to boarding school… tell his mom… no more tennis…
But…
His dad had only… laughed?!
Sayako, who'd previously been crying, immediately stopped.
"...Akihiro? … How can you be laughing? Your son is smoking cannabis!"
Akihiro rubbed the back of his head in his embarrassment, before walking over to where Sayako was sitting and began rub her back to sooth her.
"You… don't you care? I told you all about my son! I haven't seen him in five years! I don't know if he's alive, if he's dead, and all you can do is laugh?"
"I do care… but I know my son. He's very capable and responsible… I'm going to have to have a talk with him about this… habit, but… ultimately, I trust that he's old enough to make this sort of decision on his own…"
Sayako laughed.
"...Are you serious?! He's a teenaged boy! The only thing boys that age think about is-"
Senri, in the meanwhile couldn't even begin to understand what was going on. He sat here looking absolutely dumbfounded, as Sayako and his father continued to argue over Senri.
"... I don't think I can see myself with you in the future, Akihiro. What if we had children? Would you still be so indifferent?"
His dad remained silent.
"I see… I'll see myself out."
Two week shad gone by since that incident.
His dad hadn't blamed him for the break-up, or threatened to tell his mom… he just explained to him the side effects, and asked him to cut down if he found himself depending too much on it..
Senri could have never predicted this outcome.
He was grateful to his dad for being so… surprisingly understanding, but…
He couldn't help but feel guilty about everything.
His habit had costed his dad his newfound happiness.
It was his fault.
He heard the house phone ring, and walked over to answer it.
"... Hello?"
There was a pause. And then, a click.
The person had hung up.
He looked at the time. Realizing that he would be late, he grabbed his knapsack and dashed out the door.
One more class. One more class!
Shishido, who must've sensed his nervousness, looked over at him with an eyebrow cocked.
Senri shot him a cocked eyebrow back. Shishido rolled his eyes and turned back around in his chair.
Later in the evening that day, he was supposed to meet with Yanagi. It felt like ages since they'd last trained together. He was excited.
Niou was supposed to meet him out in the courtyard, as soon as classes were over as well.
Since they'd been going out, outside of school, they'd been inseparable.
He wondered briefly about whether or not he should tell Niou about his dad...
They never usually... discussed family matters.
He sighed. He'd give it a few days.
Two days had gone by.
Senri's dad had steadily been... growing more and more withdrawn.
He was sure now, about going to Niou for some advice. And he'd try to fix this.
He pulled out his phone to text him.
"Are you busy right now?"
He immediately received a response.
"No. You thinking what I'm thinking? ;"
Senri chuckled. Translation= wanna get high?
"So your dad is lonely now, 'cuz his ex-girlfriend hates that he never freaked out on you for smoking?"
Niou exhaled, releasing smoke from both his mouth and nose.
His face was covered by the fog.
He passed the joint to Senri.
Senri laughed.
"Yeah. I don't want things to end like this... At first, I thought that since he'd found someone in no time after he broke up with mom, then it wouldn't be such a big deal for him to meet someone new. I was wrong. Guess he really liked her."
He inhaled deeply, and then exhaled.
Niou nodded. He moved to drape his body across Senri's legs, and moved to fold his arms behind his head.
He looked up at Senri, who was sitting against the wall in his room.
"Maybe," he began, "you should quit smoking. If you really believe that as of right now, your father could find the most happiness with that woman, and you feel responsible for their breakup... It's a start."
Senri dropped the joint he'd been holding in surprise.
The joint landed onto Niou's lips.
Senri smiled, and Niou glared up at him.
And then…
Niou moved to sit up, and grab Senri by the collar to kiss him.
Senri, getting over his surprise, leaned in to the kiss and smiled.
When Niou let go, Senri cracked his knuckles.
"... You're right. If I stop smoking, she might decide to get back with him… you know Niou, you'd lose your connect…"
He smirked down at him.
Niou snorted.
"Please! As if you were my main supplier…"
Senri mock-gasped.
Which brought him to now. He was waiting for Niou to come over. They were supposed to walk to the street courts together…
All their old rivals and teammates were going to be there for some sort of… unofficial tournament.
When Senri had first heard about it, he'd been confused. He was especially surprised, to hear that players from Rikkai would be participating.
Rikkai rarely, if ever held practice matches. This was because they didn't want to have to reveal signature moves, or techniques when there was nothing at stake.
Suddenly, he heard a tap coming from his window.
When he went over to discover who it was…
'Open the window! We're late!"
Senri snorted.
"Why didn't you just come through the door?"
Senri watched, as Niou dusted his shirt and pants of debris.
"I was bored."
Niou's face immediately appeared only centimetres away from Senri's face. He kissed Senri deeply, and then immediately moved back to where he'd been standing.
Senri huffed.
"... You're such a tease… we're late, lets go."
They walked there in silence. Senri was feeling… it'd been three weeks since he'd stopped smoking. He'd told his dad but… his dad had only smiled, and said that while it was good to hear that he'd stopped of his accord… he could handle his own problems.
In other words, he'd been brushed off.
But… one good thing had come out of his decision. Sayako, who'd been calling, and then hanging up whenever it was Senri who answered the phone, got to find out that Senri had quit.
It had happened on one Sunday morning. Senri, for some reason had been up earlier than usual that morning. When he'd heard the phone ring, having grown accustomed to Sayako's phone calls, he rushed to answer the phone.
This time he planned to tell her quickly.
"Hello?"
"I quit smoking. Please reconsider your relationship. I think you're good for my dad."
Yes! She didn't end the call right away!
"..."
"... Are you serious?"
Senri's eyes widened. He could hardly believe that she was speaking to him…
"Yeah."
He heard her release a sigh.
"Tell your father that I called."
So Senri no longer felt as guilty as he used to. He'd done what he could… it was up to them now, to fix things.
By the time Senri had finished thinking, he found that they'd already reached the street courts.
As soon as they'd entered through the gates, Kirihara pointed at them.
"Hey it's Niou-senpai! Niou-senpai, what took you so long? And why are you with him?" Kirihara exclaimed.
Then, he put his finger on his mouth in wonder.
"Hmm…" he continued, "Actually, you're always together nowadays… why are you always with Chitose, Niou-senpai? He's not even as strong as he used to be!"
Senri wanted to cover his face in embarrassment.
He could feel the attention of the other players, moving onto himself and Niou. Could feel their eyes move steadily over their forms, and he began to feel prickly and self-conscious.
He could see Atobe smirking from the corner of his eye, and Yanagi with Inui, grinning.
Yukimura chuckled, and Shishido shot him a knowing look.
Suddenly, Niou gripped Senri's buttocks with four fingers and a thumb, and pulled Senri to him.
"Mine. Puri."
"Senri, I haven't seen you in over four months!" His mother yelled over the phone, "It's almost summer time. I want you to come here for that break."
Senri sighed.
His mother, as of late had become… a bit overbearing. All of a sudden, it seemed, she was calling more frequently. It was always to ask the same questions…
"Okay mom. But I can't stay the entire summer. I have to go to tennis camp."
His mother scoffed.
"Is tennis the only thing on your mind? Don't you miss your mom?"
"I'm not a kid, mom…"
She began to squabble and whine.
He moved the phone away from his ear. He wasn't sure why his mother, after staying silent for months, had decided now to suddenly hawk him.
"Niou…" he began, "Mom wants me to go to Osaka for the summer. I guess I have no choice…"
Niou chuckled.
"Sounds like fun. When are we going?"
Miyuki screamed, and kicked Senri in the knee.
"That's for never calling!"
Senri and Niou were at Osaka's airport. If Miyuki was here, then his mother had to be around here somewhere...
Senri moved to nurse his knee. He hear Niou laugh behind him.
Then, he felt two arms clings to his waist in a hug.
"Oni-san is evil!"
He patted her back, in an attempt to get her to settle down.
Once Senri was released from Miyuki's grasp, he heard someone clear their throat.
When he turned, it was to see… his former teammates from Shitenhouji.
For the most part, they appeared the same. The only exception was…
"Chitose-senpaiii! What's he doing here?"
Tooyama, who'd shot up to what appeared to be 5'8, from his 5'1 stature, had trimmed his hair to shoulder length. His voice, it seemed, had already cracked, and matured.
But his personality… it seemed the same.
Senri caught Niou move closer to him from the corner of his eye.
Senri suddenly got a wicked idea.
He immediately gripped Niou's chin and moved it closer to his face. And then, he initiated a deep, moist kiss.
He heard gasps come from around him, and caught Shiriashi's smile.
But there was something else he'd caught, something interesting…
Holding Shiraishi's hand, was none other than Fuji Syusuke.
A/N: And that's the entire story. Hope you guys enjoyed it! It was sort of fast-paced, I know... R/R!
