Disclaimer: Tennis no Ohjisama is the property of Konomi Takeshi.
Author's Notes: This is for you, zethiacloud. You better like it. It ended up being just under 2500 words, which is a good thing. On the other hand…I did it again! I always end up writing one kiss into the story! Of course, it's a first kiss kind of thing, but still! Always one kiss! Grr.
The Best Christmas Gift
By CalicoKitten
His foot hit something rather large and soft as he turned into the pathway that led up to his apartment building, and Tezuka glanced down to see what he had kicked.
He squinted in the dark.
The large bundle of cloth next to his building shifted slightly, and Tezuka wondered briefly if a stray cat had been left to fend for itself.
It moved again, so Tezuka simply reached down and plucked the cloth away, curious as to what lay beneath.
He didn't expect the sight to look so familiar.
"Ah! Tezuka!"
The hood fell away from Oishi's face, and he smiled up at Seigaku's injured tennis captain, climbing briskly to his feet to greet his longtime friend.
Not a person of many words, Tezuka replied, "Oishi."
Quickly brushing himself off, the black-haired boy immediately enveloped Tezuka in a hug that lasted for quite some time. Tezuka, in return, slowly brought his arms around the shorter boy, holding him as tightly as the grip the other had on him.
He held Oishi by the shoulders once it was through, looking at his vice-captain and the decidedly cheery expression on his face.
"What are you doing here, Oishi?"
Oishi smiled back at his expressionless face, used to the other boy's stoicism at surprises. He turned then, gesturing behind them to the duffel bag and suitcase that sat perched to one side.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm visiting you."
As an afterthought, and due to his unobtrusive personality, Oishi added, "If you don't mind, that is."
He shivered then, causing Tezuka to realize that it was snowing, and that Oishi was covered in it. It indicated that the other boy had obviously been there for some time, waiting for Tezuka, and he instantly handed Oishi his keys, pointing towards the door while he went to gather his friend's belongings.
"How long have you been here? Why didn't you just call me?"
Oishi smiled again, this time sheepishly as his gloved hands managed to find the key to the front door. Pushing it open, he held the door for Tezuka to walk through first, and immediately went to help Tezuka with his luggage.
"Well, I tried calling you, but your phone must have been turned off or something."
Frowning slightly, Tezuka waved Oishi away when the other attempted to carry the suitcase instead.
"Aa. I have been having problems with the battery."
He looked at Oishi then as they started to walk up the flight of stairs to his room.
"But that's no reason for you to be waiting for such a long time outside. You could have gone somewhere warmer."
"Ah, but then I might have missed you."
Oishi's voice was earnest as he climbed the steps before Tezuka, and Tezuka was reminded of the time they spent alone together, just before he left for Germany.
You know I'll miss you, Tezuka.
It just won't be the same without you.
He shook the memories from his head as Oishi's voice floated back to him, jovial despite the hoarseness that had suddenly overtaken the other boy's throat. Oishi took the last step up to the second floor and paused in front of a plain wooden door, trying to determine whether or not it was Tezuka's room.
"That room's mine. The number is a bit faded."
He pulled the suitcase up from the stairs, balancing the duffel bag on his other arm. Oishi packed lightly – knowing him, he probably only brought the essentials and left behind the luxuries – and it was easy to maneuver his belongings to the door. Oishi was having a bit of a problem with the lock, and when Tezuka looked over, he could see that Oishi was trembling slightly.
He touched the other's hands, realizing that they felt icy.
Moving Oishi's hands away, he turned the lock himself, hearing the click of the door being unlocked while he turned the knob and waved Oishi in first. Dragging the suitcase in by the handle, he shut the door behind him and instantly dropped the duffel bag to the floor as well, motioning Oishi over to the couch as he went in search of a blanket.
"Oh, I'm fine, Tezuka," Oishi insisted as he sat on the couch, watching Tezuka rummage through his closet. "I don't need anything."
Tezuka frowned slightly at his words, seeing them reflected in himself, and instead threw a warm blanket towards his friend, who immediately put it around himself.
"You've been in the snow for who knows how long. You'll get sick," Tezuka replied simply as he headed towards the kitchen. "Stay there. I'll make you some tea."
He opened the cupboard door to where he held his tea, searching around until he managed to find the brand he knew Oishi liked so much. Placing the instant mix on the counter, he filled his teapot with water and turned it on.
Oishi was still sitting on the couch when he came back, and he could see that his friend was eying the room with interest.
"This is a nice apartment, Tezuka," he told him sincerely. "Did you find it yourself?"
"Aa." Tezuka nodded, walking over to join his friend on the couch, and Oishi pulled the blankets over to where he sat to make room for him.
"The water will take a little time to heat up. Do you need anything else?"
Oishi smiled again at his question. It reminded Tezuka of when they met first as kids, and it also reminded him of countless other times in their past. It was that same smile.
"No, I'm fine."
"Hn," Tezuka replied, deciding to ask a direct question. "Oishi, why are you here?"
"Can't a childhood friend visit his own childhood friend?" Oishi teased lightly, sprawling across the couch and gazing at Tezuka with his head resting on the back of the sofa.
Tezuka simply looked at him, and Oishi scratched the back of his head sheepishly then, shrugging lightly.
"I missed you. And I wanted to see you, so I bought a ticket to Germany."
Frowning faintly, Tezuka considered the other's words.
"How did you get the money?"
"For the trip? Oh, my parents paid for me."
At Tezuka's continued scrutiny, Oishi continued, "It was a Christmas present."
The smile was back again, and Tezuka felt touched by the simple statement the other had made. The teapot blew its whistle, then, and he rose from the couch, unwilling to make any comment before he knew what he wanted to say.
The glass cup he placed on the kitchen counter sparkled with its cut, and he slowly poured the hot water into it, stirring it with a spoon after he had placed the instant tea mix in as well. Putting the teapot back on the stove, he carried the cup back to where Oishi sat, waiting.
"Here."
Oishi accepted the cup gratefully, sniffing at it gently before turning his expression back to Tezuka.
"This is my favorite."
Tezuka responded, "I know."
They sat there in amicable silence as Oishi drank his tea, and Tezuka took the time to observe his friend carefully in the dim light. His friend seemed oddly at ease inside the apartment, and one hand held the glass cup while the other supported it gently under the elbow.
"Is your arm doing better?" Tezuka asked suddenly, the need to know overwhelming.
"Yes. Much better. I think it's practically healed by now."
Oishi glanced over at him then, their eyes meeting, and Oishi, in return, asked,
"And how's your arm?"
The answer he received was plain, but Oishi could tell what the other meant as Tezuka replied,
"Well."
"That's terrific to hear."
And his voice rang out so honestly that Tezuka reached out, grabbing the near-empty cup from the other and placing it delicately on the table. Oishi turned to look at him again, his eyes only somewhat confused, and Tezuka took the opportunity to maintain eye contact.
"Oishi. You didn't have to use your Christmas present on me."
His words made Oishi chuckle, and he was surprised to see what an effect it had in the room with the bare, white walls and the clean, sparsely furnished room. The laugh turned into a cough then, and Tezuka was immediately at his side, placing a comforting hand on his back.
Oishi waved him away, coughing softly into his fist.
"I'm okay. I'm fine."
He stopped coughing, clearing his throat instead while refusing to break eye contact.
"I wanted to see you for Christmas, Tezuka. Everything's been so different back there, and without you around for Christmas, it would have been even more different."
Oishi paused in his speech to reach down into the pocket of his coat, which he had left in a neat pile at the foot of the couch. Pulling out a box decorated with mistletoes and wreaths, he held it out to Tezuka while smiling gently.
"I wanted to give you your Christmas present in person, too."
Wagging a finger in a way that was purely Oishi, he added, "But don't open it now. It's not Christmas yet."
"You're staying until Christmas?"
At his words, Oishi immediately shifted uncomfortably, plucking at the blanket with his free hand before answering, "Yeah. I have to be back in time for the new year, gomen, but I'm allowed to spend Christmas with you, Tezuka."
Thinking about what he'd just said, the other boy's politeness kicked in, even towards a longtime friend like Tezuka.
"Well, that is, if you're not busy or anything."
Tezuka took no thought in shaking his head, taking the wrapped package from his friend carefully and setting it down in the center of the little coffee table that sat before them.
"No. I wouldn't mind at all."
He glanced back at Oishi then, not bothering to tell him about his lack of a present for the other, as Oishi would say he didn't need one anyway.
Instead, he stated, "You still should have told me you were coming."
"Oh, I did!" Oishi replied merrily, and it appeared to Tezuka that the boy's merriness made it seem all the more like Christmas. "You just always didn't answer, or you hung up on me."
Tezuka frowned, contemplating the times he had hung up on a person, or the times Oishi's number had flashed through his cell phone.
"I didn't see your number on any of my calls."
"That's because I used Inui's phone," Oishi explained, the soreness in his voice more prominent as he spoke. "My mother lost hers, so I let her use mine for a bit before she could have hers replaced."
He raised an eyebrow then, peeking at Tezuka with a humorous glint in his eye, and said, jokingly, "Oh, so you don't answer calls from Inui?"
"No," Tezuka replied flatly. "He calls me about the most useless things."
"So would you hang up on me if I called you about something trivial, then?" Oishi joked, his face alight with something akin to mischief. But it was Oishi, and Tezuka didn't think that Oishi and mischief worked together well in a sentence.
"I would never hang up on you."
The tone of his voice was indignant even for Tezuka, and Oishi was surprised to find himself the object of such an intense glare from the other, the renowned captain of the Seigaku tennis team. Tezuka leaned forward then, his eyes never leaving Oishi's, as he opened his mouth to speak.
Oishi took the words out of his mouth, rushing to speak before Tezuka could.
"I know."
He pushed forward again, the terms in his head jumbled together, but when they came out of his mouth, they were concise, organized, and to the point.
"This year will be a good Christmas, ne, Tezuka?"
And Tezuka replied, in a voice devoid of emotion, "The best."
The taller boy moved over then, into Oishi's space, and Oishi let the warm, strong arms wrap around him, once again feeling the emotion of knowing that he meant something to Tezuka, that Tezuka wouldn't have invaded his personal space if they hadn't known each other for so long, and so well at that.
He nestled back against the other, reaching up with one hand to play idly with the soft locks of chestnut.
"Tezuka."
"Yes?"
He pulled gently on the hair in his grasp, not caring that the other didn't respond to it at all.
"It's hard filling in as captain for you. Sometimes I don't have the heart to make them run extra laps when they screw up."
He turned around in the Tezuka's hold, looking up to see the expression he knew would come. The corners of Tezuka's mouth turned up just slightly, but it was enough to satisfy Oishi.
"Aa," was the response his words garnered before he met the familiar lips of the bespectacled boy, tipping his head up in reply to the physical gesture.
Though it could be considered their first kiss, it was familiar to both as it deepened. Tezuka's hand rose to press against Oishi's neck while his other arm pulled the shorter boy closer, and Oishi gently pressed his own hand against Tezuka's cheek in an intimate, familiar gesture.
The kiss was light and exploratory, and Oishi allowed Tezuka's tongue entrance to his mouth, savoring the taste that was most definitely Tezuka, and he wondered, just briefly, if Tezuka thought he himself had a unique taste, and if he could taste the flavor of the tea he had recently drank.
He had to break the contact, however, as his throat contracted suddenly, and sensing this, Tezuka pulled back as well.
He watched as Tezuka arranged the blanket around themselves more comfortably, and the other boy took a pillow, lying down on it as Oishi followed, using Tezuka as a pillow instead.
"Tezuka…"
Tezuka answered, as he always did, with a "Yes?"
"I think my parents gave me the best Christmas present this year."
And Tezuka smiled, albeit a small smile, but it was a smile he'd never shown to anyone else before, a smile reserved just for Oishi.
"Aa."
Oishi smiled back then, a constant sight in Tezuka's eyes, and wrapped his arms around the taller boy, head resting on his chest.
He glanced at the present he'd brought for Tezuka then, as the Tezuka's hand came to rest gently atop his head, and the wrapping paper filled him with the strangest thought.
Now that he actually noticed, the mistletoes on the package were definitely a nice touch.