Celebration

Pairing: Inui/Shinji

Fandom: Prince of Tennis

Theme: #23. candy

Disclaimer on part 1

Rating: PG-13

"So, you know that it's my birthday next week, right?"

Shinji looked up from the book he had been reading and just stared at Inui. "Hello to you too, Sadaharu, my day was good, how was yours?"

"I'm sorry." Inui kissed Shinji quickly as he sat down next to him. "Hello, Shinji. I'm fine, and I am glad you are, too."

"See, was that so hard?" Shinji closed his book and put it down, giving Inui his complete attention. "You were saying?"

"Birthday. Next week."

"Oh, that's right." Shinji smiled. "Did you really think that I would forget, Sadaharu? I've already got plans for you, and no, I'm not going to tell you because it's a surprise. Just tell me when you'll be done with your family that day." Shinji blinked. "Or is that the thing? Will you be with them all day? Because that's fine, there's nothing I can't plan around…."

"Shinji." Inui shook his head. "Matter of fact, I'm going to be free all day on my birthday. And of course I want to spend it with you. It's the day before my birthday that I'm concerned with right now."

Shinji looked a little confused. "Before? Is something up?"

"Well…you know how my old teammates and I still get together every couple of weeks or so?"

"Of course." Shinji nodded. "Seigaku bonding time. I told you a long time ago that I don't mind, so if it's permission that you're looking for…."

"No, not that." Inui picked up Shinji's hand and laced their fingers together. "One of the things that we do for each other is birthday parties. They're having mine on the second…and I want you to come with me, Shinji."

"Me? To your party?" Shinji blinked. "Are you sure you want me there? I mean, they're your friends, and I don't want to intrude on you and your friends. Will they even welcome someone from a rival school? Because, you know, your classmates graduated, but I still have to deal with three of the people that are going to be there, very soon in fact, and I don't want to cause problems—"

Shinji was cut off when Inui's lips covered Shinji's, Inui's favorite way of quieting Shinji when he got into one of his moods. "You're my boyfriend and I want you celebrating with me," Inui said simply. "It's not like none of them know about us, thanks to Momoshiro's large mouth, and a couple of them have expressed an interest in getting to know you better. But, most importantly? I want you with me."

"Well, if you put it that way…." Shinji smiled and nodded. "Of course I'll be there with you…you'll keep them from eating me alive, right?"

"Thank you." Inui wrapped his arms around Shinji. "This means a lot to me. And don't be silly, none of them would try to eat you. Well, except maybe for Fuji," Inui amended quickly. "But it'll be fine and all will have an enjoyable time, I promise." He nuzzled Shinji's hair. "Want to go do something?"

"Sure," Shinji answered absently, but his mind was still on this party that he allowed himself to be talked into going to. i I can't help but be afraid that this will be a big disaster and…wait, Fuji eats people/i He smiled at Inui, standing and grabbing his tennis bag. "Let's go."

I hope this isn't going to be as big a disaster as I fear….

Shinji was clinging to Inui's hand like a lifeline as they approached Kawamura Sushi. "You know, it's not too late for me to disappear, if you've changed your mind. I can amuse myself for a few hours…."

"No." Inui stopped in front of the sliding door and turned to face Shinji. "I'll say this as many times as it takes for you to believe this. I want you here with me."

"I don't want to embarrass you…."

"You won't. Believe me." Inui smiled and pulled Shinji closer for a kiss.

Just then, then door slid open, and the pair was covered in streamers and confetti. "Happy…birthday…?"

Inui pulled away from Shinji and blinked. "Thank you, Taka. If we can come in now?"

Kawamura sputtered and blushed. "Of…of course!" He backed away from the doorway more quickly than Inui had thought possible.

Shinji just looked at Inui. "Now…what was that you were saying about embarrassment?"

Inui sighed and shook his head. "Let's go in. Now that they know you're here…it's like sharks scenting blood in the water. They won't let you go."

It took all of Inui's strength to get the suddenly-panicked Shinji through the door.

"So." Fuji was the first to approach the two of them, circling Shinji much like the aforementioned shark. "This is the boyfriend that you've been hiding from us, Inui?"

"I haven't exactly been hiding him," Inui pointed out. "You all knew exactly who I was dating." He took a minute to glare in Momoshiro's direction, who gulped and tried to hide behind Echizen. "And it's not like you've never met him before."

"But not in a social setting. Strictly business before this." Fuji looked Shinji up and down. "Very nice, Inui. Very nice."

Shinji felt the sudden need to take a long, hot shower.

"Fuji." Tezuka came up behind Fuji. "I don't think Inui wants you to traumatize Ibu right away."

"You're right, of course." Fuji smiled and tilted his head to the side a little. "I should wait until after dinner, at least."

"Moving on." Inui steered Shinji around the tensai, heading for safer ground. Namely, Oishi and Eiji. "They were worried about you, after the accident at the tournament."

"We were." Oishi smiled at Shinji. "How is your ankle doing now?"

"Much better, that you, Oishi-san. It wasn't as bad an injury as we thought, and it's completely functional and up for anything."

"We're glad to hear that!" Eiji was beaming next to Oishi. "It sucks when good players are injured, especially when it's in doubles. Kamio-kun must be glad that you're fit again."

"I think he is." Shinji was visibly relaxing now. "Not only because he's the team captain, but because we missed playing together."

"Oh, he is? I'm not surprised." Oishi nodded. "You're his vice, I assume?"

Shinji shook his head. "No…Akira wanted me to be vice-captain, but I told him not to. I told him to pick one of the more promising second years, so there would be some continuity after we all graduate. He can be captain, and he'll have to pick his own vice-captain."

"You know, that's a good idea…." Oishi was clearly considering it in his head. "Preparing for the future…maybe we should've done something like that."

"What, are you saying that Kaidoh and I weren't ready for this?" Momoshiro came up to them. "Happy birthday, Inui-sempai…Ibu. Inui-sempai hasn't gotten tired of you, yet?"

Shinji stiffened and glared. Inui beat him to saying anything, though. "And why should I get tired of my boyfriend, Momoshiro? He's made me nothing but happy, and it's going to be a long time before I get tired of him." Inui's glasses glinted as he glared at Momoshiro.

"Sorry, sorry!" Momoshiro backed off. "Wasn't trying to offend you!"

"You don't have to try," Kaidoh hissed from his corner.

"What did you say?!" Within seconds they were fighting, with Oishi and Kawamura trying to break them up.

Shinji glanced over at Inui and said softly, "Does this happen a lot, or did they break out the company insanity for me?"

Inui sighed. "Welcome to my life, Shinji."

It took some doing, but finally everyone was seated and eating. Shinji made sure he was sitting between Inui and Echizen, the two he honestly considered the safest in the room. Food seemed to go a long way towards calming everyone, until Fuji moved from his table to sit across from Shinji. "So, Ibu-kun. How do you feel about wasabi, anyway?"

"I…." Shinji shook his head and tried to look anywhere but at Fuji's partially-opened eyes. "It's good in small doses, I guess."

"Excellent!" Fuji beamed and handed Shinji a sushi roll. "Then you'll love this!"

"Fuji-sempai." Echizen reached out and took the roll. "Maybe Inui-sempai doesn't want you to poison Ibu."

"Oh? Did he want to do it himself? I'm sorry, Inui, I should've thought about your feelings."

Everyone started laughing at that, even Inui was chuckling. Even Tezuka looked like he was considering cracking a smile.

Shinji's face flamed. I…this is…. "Nobody is going to poison me!" Shinji managed to choke out as he stood up. "Restroom?"

Kawamura pointed down a short hall. "Second door on the right."

"Thank you." Slipping away from the crowd, Shinji closed himself in the bathroom and took a couple deep breaths. "I knew this was a bad idea," he muttered to himself. "They're all insane, and I'm being exposed to it, and how long before I go insane, too? Or before someone poisons me, or something else like that? I should've just insisted on going home…."

A knock on the door interrupted him. "Ibu? Can I come in?"

"Hmmm?" Sadaharu would never call me that, so who…? "Sure, come in, whoever you are."

The door cracked open, and Eiji's face peeked in. "Are you all right?"

"Is that how it always is out there?"

"More or less." Coming in all the way, Eiji closed the door behind him and hopped up on the sink. "Inui asked us to behave, too. Unfortunately for you, that is behaving for Fuji."

"It is?" Shinji blinked, trying to process that.

"You know, you're missing a lot of fun out there." Eiji smiled. "Inui is ripping Fuji a new one, Momo insulted you somehow, and Kaidoh defended you, so now they're fighting, someone handed Taka a racquet, so he's encouraging whoever he's closest to, Oishi is trying to calm everyone down, and Tezuka and Ochibi are just watching. And calculating laps, I think."

"And where do you fit into this, Kikumaru-san?"

"Don't call me that." Eiji smiled. "Besides, someone had to make sure that you didn't try to slip out the window."

Shinji's eyes went automatically to the window and studied it. "Too small," was his verdict. "Too bad, because now that you've given me the idea…."

Eiji shook his head and jumped back to his feet. "Nope! Too late for that, Ibu-kun." He smiled. "You're ours, now."

"…yours?" Shinji felt like he had missed something major in the past few minutes.

"Of course. You're important to Inui, and Inui is important to us, so therefore, you're important to us."

"You people have a funny way of showing it…."

"Come on. Doesn't your team do things like this?"

"I…no, not really." Shinji thought about it for a minute. "We're not all friends, like all of you are. Some of us, like Akira and I, are but for the most part we just…play together. Tennis is what holds us together. Tennis and Tachibana-san, but since he's in high school, it's mainly tennis, because no matter how good Akira is, he's not Tachibana-san."

"Oh…you're missing a lot, then." Eiji's face dimmed, then brightened. "Then it's a good thing that we've adopted you!"

"A—adopted?"

"Of course! Do you really think that someone that we don't consider one of us could really inspire this much chaos?"

Eiji sounded so matter-of-fact that Shinji found himself believing him. "But—"

Before Shinji could really voice his thought, there was another knock on the door. "Kikumaru? Do you think you'd allow me to see my boyfriend again?"

"Of course, Inui!" Eiji went over to the door and paused before opening it. "We're really not so bad, Ibu-kun. Overwhelming, maybe, but not bad. This was the hardest part. It's only going to get better now." He opened the door. "All yours, Inui!" Ejiji slipped away before either of the other two could comment.

Inui and Shinji just looked at each other for a minute, before Shinji broke the silence. "Sadaharu…what is that in your hair?"

"My hair?" Inui reached up to touch it, then looked at his fingers. "Oh. That would be wasabi."

"How did you get wasabi in your hair?" Shinji wet down a couple paper towels and passed them to Inui. "Or do I not want to know?"

"It…involved Momoshiro and a tray of sushi," was all that Inui would say as he scrubbed at his hair. "And I am under strict orders to keep you here while everyone cleans up." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Shinji."

"According to Kikumaru-san, this seems to be pretty normal."

"It is, but…I'm afraid that the fresh blood interested certain people more than I had accounted for." Inui reached out and drew Shinji close to him. "If you want to leave now, I understand completely."

"Leave?" Shinji looked up at Inui and smiled. "When there's still a party going on out there? Besides, I said I'd be here with you, and here is where I'm going to be. Except, hopefully not in the bathroom the whole time."

"Of course not." Inui both looked and sounded very relieved. "So…you want to try braving it again?"

Shinji kissed Inui quickly. "Keep Fuji-san away from me?"

"If he's smart, he'll stay away on his own." Inui grinned. "Fuji forgot that I know many of his weaknesses, and that I am never unprepared."

"You mean…that bag you brought with you?"

Inui nodded. "I thought people might need an…incentive to behave."

Shinji smiled. "Thank you, Sadaharu." And kissed him again, letting it linger this time.

Inui returned the kiss gladly, breaking it before they could get too involved. "We should go back out now…continue this later?"

"Of course, Sadaharu." Shinji let Inui lead him back into the shop proper, and just gaped as he looked around. "What…?"

The shop looked like nothing had happened. Tezuka was sitting at the counter, watching Kawamura roll some more sushi. Oishi, Eiji, Kaidoh, and Echizen were calmly conversing at one of the tables, and Fuji and Momoshiro…. Where are they?

A quick look around, and Shinji spotted them both in a corner, passed out, stacked one on top of the other, and looking like they were closer to dead than living. "What…what happened to them?"

Inui looked a little evil as he spoke one word: "Aozu."

Shinji wisely didn't ask any more questions.

The rest of the party went smoothly for the most part. Fuji and Momoshiro stayed away from Shinji once they recovered, mainly because they were avoiding Inui, and Inui never really left Shinji's side. There was cake, presents, and Oishi got a chance to practice the Heimlich maneuver when Momoshiro and Eiji got into a candy-eating contest.

Finally, though, Kawamura started to clean up the shop, a silent signal to everyone that it was time to head out. Inui had to stay until everyone left, accepting congratulations, but neither he or Shinji minded too much until Oishi, exhibiting one of his rare sparks of wickedness, said, "Everyone has seen Eiji and I together, but only Momoshiro and Echizen have seen you kiss. Don't you think that should change?"

Shinji turned red. "I really don't know…."

Inui shrugged. "If you insist." Bending Shinji backwards some, Inui leaned down and captured Shinji's mouth in a long kiss that Shinji forgot to fight, lost in how good it felt.

They came up for air a few minutes later, just looking at each other and panting slightly.

"Wow." Oishi cleared his throat.

"They're better than us, Oishi! We need to go work on that." Eiji dragged Oishi away, waving cheerfully as they walked off.

Slowly, the others scattered, not before expressing appreciation for the show. When it was finally just him and Inui, Shinji let out a sigh and visibly relaxed some. "I don't know if I can take them all again, Sadaharu."

"I say that to myself each time." Inui kissed Shinji's forehead. "Thank you for doing this for me."

"Don't thank me, I actually had fun." Shinji smiled a little. "I don't think Fuji-san will ever be my favorite person, though."

"There are many people who feel that way," Inui assured him as they headed back to Shinji's house.

"At least I'm not alone." Shinji strained in the dark to look at his watch. "It's late. After midnight."

"Is it now? What time did you want to meet up tomorrow…or today, rather?"

"On the early side, but…." Shinji bit his lip. "If you stay the night, that won't be a problem."

"Stay…the night?" Inui looked at Shinji, a little surprised. "Would you be all right with that?"

"I…think so, yes. I can put a futon on the floor for you." He blushed. "I'm not ready to have you in my bed yet, Sadaharu…and especially not with my sisters next door."

"I can understand that." Inui paused. "Can we at least make out on your bed for awhile?"

"Sadaharu!" Shinji smacked Inui, but he was laughing, too.

Inui just smiled. Shinji…this is the happiest birthday that I've ever had. And it's all because of you.

--The End--