Aishuu Offers:
Dross
mbsilvana yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Konomi-sensei's, not mine.
Notes: PG-13 Version. NC-17 version is available at my livejournal, quillofferings. An additional NC-17 Dross sidestory, Stoic, based on the TezuFuji relationship, is also available at Quill Offerings.

Part 8: As golden days break wondering

All days must end, and Oishi hadn't been expecting this one to end like this.

Kikumaru's mouth was moist and demanding as he pressed kisses along Oishi's neck, trailing a line from shoulder to nape, around to the front, and over his chin up to where Oishi found himself panting for breath. It was too much, this sensory overload, but a pair of shadowy lavender eyes danced with something mysterious as hands trailed down to the slacks Oishi found suddenly too confining.

"Zannen munen mata raishuu," Kikumaru whispered, his voice husky and teasing, as his hands teasingly retreated from where they had been toying with Oishi's belt buckle. He leaned closer as Oishi's head spun, trying to orient himself, and figure out what to do, what to say....

He hadn't seen Kikumaru all day. The redhead, after stalking off, had effectively vanished from the reunion, shunning all company. Despite repeated queries from classmates who had been hoping to see the popular man, Oishi had no answer to where Kikumaru had disappeared.

Fuji had been his usual infuriating self, and kept Oishi from spending that last day seeking him out. Tezuka and Inui had disappeared soon after Eiji, which left him alone with the tensai. It was strange for Oishi, because despite their mutual friendship with Kikumaru, neither of them had been close to the other. Both of them had taken turns steadying the acrobatic player of Seigaku, but their philosophies were vastly different.

"Let him think. Even Eiji likes time to himself," Fuji said as he pushed himself away from the table after draining his orange juice.

"That's the problem. He's had too much time to himself," Oishi replied, his guilty conscience gnawing at him like termites in an oak forest. Kikumaru has been gone for a good half an hour, and usually would have calmed down by now. Maybe...

"I think you have, too," Fuji said softly. Slivers of blue appeared from underneath his long lashes, and Oishi knew the tensai was about to unleash a stinger. "You've forgotten that sometimes it's our individual struggles that make us stronger."

"But then we come together as a team," Oishi said. He remembered those games, when he had been injured and Eiji had been forced to play with a different partner, without Oishi's reliable support. Those had been the times when the redhead had grown the most, but he had always returned to Oishi, like a bird returning home to the roost.

He rose to his feet, intending on finding Kikumaru now that he'd had some time to cool down, but Fuji nipped at his heels. Moving through the hotel complex, Oishi heard others call greetings and invitations, but he couldn't find the familiar face he sought. Behind him, Fuji followed faithfully, remaining thankfully silent until they found themselves in the narrower hallways that led to the guest rooms.

"Tell me, Oishi, do you really think that Kikumaru needs you? Or is it you who needs him to need you?"

Oishi opened his mouth to deny the accusation, but Fuji moved closer, cornering Oishi against the wall. His sharp-featured face was no more than six inches away from Oishi's own. "Sometimes we freeze people in the past because we don't want to admit our own weaknesses." Fuji's warm breath brushed against Oishi's cheek as he leaned up on his toes to whisper in Oishi's ear. "Think on it, Oishi. Eiji grew up – but did you?"

Oishi's reaction was instinctive - he shoved Fuji back from him, his hands pushing Fuji squarely in the chest as he attempted to get away from the other man. Fuji managed to catch his balance before falling, and casually smoothed his clothes as though nothing was wrong. "Leave me alone," Oishi said.

"Leave Eiji alone, until he comes to you," Fuji said warningly. His voice, always so deceptively gentle, lingered in the air as he turned to walk away.

Oishi leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, as he tried to sort his thoughts out. Fuji was correct, and Tezuka had been earlier, in that Kikumaru needed to be able to solve his own problems – but that didn't make it any easier. Oishi wondered if he was the one who needed to learn, if he couldn't let Kikumaru be.

The day seemed impossibly long, and even with Inui's company, Oishi found himself unable to enjoy himself. Kawamura and his wife were comparing notes with other young couples, and Tezuka and Fuji had once again absented themselves. It was Kikumaru's missing presence, though, that made Oishi feel alone.

Inui watched the assemblage of their past, and Oishi knew he was mentally cataloguing the display – who had changed, who hadn't. Who the winners and losers were. As they were approached, it was Inui who led the conversations, providing a merciful shield to Oishi.

"It will all be over tomorrow," Inui said to him toward the end of the evening. He offered a fluted champagne glass. "The final toast is coming up," he said.

It was with reluctance that he took the glass. Oishi hadn't had anything to drink, despite all the booze which flowed like water. He could see quite a few people working on hangovers for the next day, but he knew that if he was going to get up early in the morning, he would need to maintain a clear head.

Inui smiled his approval. "Just be glad it's not Penal Tea," he teased.

"Right now you could feed me a shot of that and I probably wouldn't notice. Inui... where is he?" he asked.

"He'll be here," Inui promised. "Remember, Kikumaru always had a second wind."

Yes, he did – but would it be too late to make any difference?

The chime of someone knocking a fork against fine crystal drew their attention to the center of the room. Tezuka stood among a crowd of admirers, and Oishi wondered when he had come down and why he hadn't come over so they could spend a few more precious moments together.

Using his forefinger, Tezuka pushed his glasses back to settle them more securely on the bridge of his nose as the room stilled. Everyone's eyes fell on him but Tezuka stood taller than almost all of them and was apparently unbothered by the attention. When he spoke, his voice carried throughout the room easily, though he made no attempt to pitch it louder than usual.

"I hope everyone has had a wonderful time, renewing old friendships and maybe making a few new friends," Tezuka said. "We should give credit to the Reunion Committee, led by Kusanagi Reika, for their wonderful programs." Polite applause met his pause, before he continued. "I'm sure that you don't want to listen to me, but here's to the past ten years – and I'll see you in 2025." He held up his glass, and everyone drank, reveling in the toast.

Then Tezuka sat down, leaving a sense of anticlimactic feeling in his wake.

Muteness assaulted them for a second as the class paused, unsure of what to do. They had obviously been expecting more of a speech, but Tezuka had never been one for words. Then there was another clang as someone fervently tapped their glass, chime! chime! chime! - CRASH!

Kikumaru looked embarrassed as he held the shattered remains of his glass. Shards of glass littered the floor, glittering in the low light like carelessly scattered stars, but miraculously Kikumaru seemed uninjured.

"Oi, that's not good," he muttered, before snatching a spare off a conveniently passing waiter. "Maybe I should get to where you can see me...." He athletically jumped on the nearest table, kicking over a few glasses, and one rolled off the table, shattering in the silence. "Oops again. Um, can everyone see me?"

A resounding "yes!" was yelled back at him, and Kikumaru grinned, bowing as a few well-intentioned former classmates hooted and cheered him on. Everyone had known him – his popularity in high school was still remembered, and it seemed like everyone wanted to hear what the impetuous Kikumaru had to say.

Oishi's eyes drank the sight of his partner like he was fine champagne himself. The redhead was dressed in a suit but had his tie half-off, and his bright smile was mischievous, with no sign of the morning's upsets on his grinning visage. "Sorry for interrupting, but it's seems like Tezuka- buchou hasn't changed. We learned long ago not to ask him to speak unless we wanted to hear '30 laps!' yelled back!"

Laughter bubbled through the intoxicated gathering. Kikumaru laughed gaily, raising his cup. "So let's do this right! Let me start the toasts by thanking you all for coming – and thank the reunion committee for their excellent taste in liquor! It was well worth coming, if only for the booze!" he said, raising his glass and downing a hearty swallow.

"Hear, hear!" others seconded, and Tezuka's expression turned slightly sour at being teased and Kikumaru's flamboyance.

Oishi wondered how drunk Kikumaru was. He couldn't see a flush on the redhead's cheeks, but perhaps he was too far away...

"Secondly, let's toast to ourselves! Let's hear it for the class of 2005 – we made it! Not only did we graduate, but we managed to find lives. Some of them are probably better than others, but we're surviving in the real world! So here's to us..." Kikumaru took another sip, smaller this time, before speaking again.

His voice was more solemn, and the room quieted as he spoke more quietly. A few had to lean forward, straining to hear. "Finally, let's hear it for our friends. I'm told that Takanagi Fuka died three years ago of cancer... I remember her as a girl with a pretty smile and a loud cheer. I dated her once, and though it didn't work out, I really wish she was here with us tonight."

"To Takanagi Fuka!" Tezuka said, finally agreeing with some of Kikumaru's ramblings. "Let's remember her, and hope that everyone is here in ten years."

"And hope everyone is healthy and happy," Kikumaru added before people could finish the salute. "Remember your old friends as you move through life, and cherish the memories – and maybe even take them with you."

Kikumaru's eyes found Oishi, and Oishi raised his glass, nodding.

"To the memories!" Kikumaru said, and finished off his glass to the silent room. Then he gave a "V" and jumped in the air, managing a beautiful flip that had him landing to the cheers of his classmates.

Oishi, though, was quiet. Apparently Kikumaru had made some kind of decision – but what?

Kikumaru ignored the glare Tezuka gave him as he walked through the gauntlet of his classmates to where Oishi stood beside Inui. Oishi watched, knowing that he had to let Kikumaru dictate the tenor of this meeting.

There wasn't a trace of hesitation as Kikumaru embraced him, in front of the crowd. A few people watched with quirked eyebrows, mainly strangers who had married their classmates, and hurried explanations were whispered about the Golden Pair of the Seigaku Tennis Club.

A few people cheered them on, but most were breaking away when it became apparent the floorshow was over. Oishi, though, merely wrapped his arms around Kikumaru's shoulders and ignored everything else, clinging to his partner, knowing that tomorrow would be coming all too soon.

"Wonderful speech," he murmured as he pulled back, only to be stopped as Kikumaru twined his fingers tightly through his own.

"Can we talk?" Kikumaru asked. "Maybe in our room?"

Oishi glanced around, noting the smirks which were being cast in their direction. "Um, no, no-"he said, "that's fine."

Kikumaru's grin was infection, evoking Oishi's shyer smile in reply as he dragged him from the room.

It was different from the first night of the reunion. Instead of racing away in terror, this was a rather joyful escape, a giddy feeling of anticipation welling inside of Oishi's stomach as he looked at the way Kikumaru's lips were curved in a slight smile.

No words were exchanged, but neither did they let their hands drop, as they finished their flight. Kikumaru dealt with the door, and Oishi preceded him, before turning around and waiting for his friend.

"Eiji-"he said, "are you okay?"

Kikumaru motioned for Oishi to sit on the bed, which Oishi did willingly. "I'm fine." He sat next to Oishi, turning so their knees were pressing together. "I had a lot of time to think today."

"And?"

"I thought on things, about my life, and about what I wanted from life, about what I regretted, and..."

"And?"

The quicksilver Kikumaru grinned playfully, and then Oishi found the redhead's arms around his neck, and warm, soft lips toying with his own. He gasped in surprise, and Kikumaru took that as an invitation for his tongue. It was a heady sensation, the taste of Kikumaru and fine champagne racing along his taste buds as the warm tongue caressed his own.

He hadn't expected this – hadn't expected the advance. He had always thought somewhere in the back of his mind that Kikumaru was as straight as a line on a tennis court, that he would never think to look at his partner in a sexual way. But the hands which were drifting to his belt, rubbing in a way that was unquestionably sexual, and Oishi tilted his head back in a desperate attempt to find some oxygen.

Kikumaru took that as an invitation to nibble Oishi's smooth neck, trailing kisses and lips enticingly along as he finally found a belt buckle. "Zannen munen mata raishuu," he teased after pressing against Oishi once with the palm of his hand before pulling back to stare at the other man.

"Eiji," Oishi managed to finally say, feeling the room spin and the surreal environment suddenly close around him. "What... what around you doing?" he asked, in one last struggle for sanity.

"I'm making sure there's no more regrets," Kikumaru whispered.