Tonight Then

Tonight Then

Summary: Kaidoh deals with being at a party.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.
Warning: Fuji being...wild? I dunno.
Author's Note Please, enjoy.

Part Two


Akutsu put his arm around him and they left the room, Akutsu growling at Hazue to take his ass to bed. They left the house and walked some blocks to the bus stop sitting near the back and taking turns scowling at people. Akutsu knew he was nervous so he kept shoving Kaidoh on the arm, trying to make him made so he’d forget. It’d seem to work for a moment, then Kaidoh would go back to crossing his arms and hissing or staring out the window.

When they got there, Kaidoh looked up at the house. “Who’s house is this...”

“It’s Hyotei.” Akutsu said, taking out a cigarette. “Some jackasses at school were talking bout it. Sengoku asked if I could make it.”

“Sengoku?” they started towards the house, people lingering outside as well.

“Yeah. And Taichi. Taichi got into Hyotei for his senior year. Still can’t play worth a damn, but he’s a better manager.

Kaidoh vaguely remembered playing the team as a junior then against this sunglasses punk who was their captain, but other than that, Kaidoh just nodded.

As soon as they got in, Kaidoh could feel the music beating through him. There was smoke in the air and he could smell the alcohol. He could feel Akutsu’s finger in his belt loop, making sure he wasn’t lost as they went through the crowd. He moved them over to a corner.

“Look, you stay right here. You want something?”

Kaidoh told him in his ear and Akutsu looked at him weird. “I’ll bring you a beer.”

Kaidoh started to protest, but the boy was already gone. Kaidoh leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, wishing he’d worn a longer shirt. He felt naked and out of place. At least he had a bandana.

Time really seemed to be passing strangely and the Mamushi glanced around to see people standing around or lazily dancing. Someone tapped his shoulder and he jumped, making the person laugh.

“It’s just me. Hi Kaidoh.”

Kaidoh relaxed. It was just Oishi.

“Konbanwa, Oishi-senpai.”

The boy chuckled. “I haven’t heard anyone call me that in a while. How are you Kaidoh?”

“Fine. How is Eiji?”

Oishi smiled. “Over there entertaining with the rest of the sugar rush boys.” Oishi pointed and imitating something was Eiji in the middle of a crowd along with Bunta and Jirou. He was finally tugged down by an annoyed Gakuto, but Eiji just laughed and pushed him away.

“Eiji still very much the same, but he’s not the only one now. At school he hangs out with Bunta everyday. They’re very frightening together.”

Kaidoh nodded. He could imagine. “And how are you?”

“Ah...” Oishi sighed. “Over worked. I’m in student government hard core this year.”

“Tennis?”

Oishi shook his head. “I’m in the club, but I’ve turned down being a regular. I don’t have the time.” the boy looked around and smiled. “I’ll catch up with you later. It was nice seeing you Kaidoh. You look nice tonight.”

He nodded, giving a blush. “Thank you senpai.”

Kaidoh watched him go, briefly wondering where Akutsu was with his drink when a cheer went up as a song came on. He saw people rush the dance floor and gave a rueful smile. No one would catch him doing that -

He froze, remembering to shut his jaw when he saw Fuji-senpai sandwiched between Atobe and Sanada wearing what seemed to be very little at all.

In ripped blue jeans and a skimpy tank top, the tensai moved against both of the boys, laughing and smiling as people began to clap and cheer, “Go Fuji, go Fuji.”

He blushed and averted his eyes, deciding that you really don’t know a person until you see them at a party. Something was pressed into his hand and he looked up. Akutsu was smoking again, but he could tell from the look in his eyes he was having fun.

“Alright?”

He nodded and looked at the cup.

“It’s soda. I promise.”

Kaidoh drank it and Akutsu turned to watch with him. “Ah, damn, Fuji’s at it again. You know he doesn’t even go to school. Fuckin’ genius just goes to college prep all day.”

Kaidoh was amazed, since when was Akutsu in the know? He looked up at him and smiled. Akutsu was having fun. The boy was smiling and his eyes roved the party with interest. He supposed this was the boy’s element.

He knew Akutsu went places without him all the time. Before he’d gotten to Seishun he had no doubt Akutsu didn’t deny himself. He liked this sort of thing even if he was out there dancing or -

Kaidoh sighed as a drinking contest was apparently going on the other side of the room. He wanted to say something but Akutsu was gone again. He really looked and he saw lots of people he knew, even his senpais (Taka was over there drinking in the contest) but none of his friends...

He watched Eiji do fast dancing with Kamio and watched Oshitari talk with Mizuki and Kirihara and he stood against the wall, alone, occasionally seeing Akutsu go here or there. His cup was empty so he decided he’d go and find out where the drinks were, afraid really, that someone would recognize him and want to talk.

He side stepped, squeezed, leaned, pushed and slipped his way through the party until he got to an out of the way area where the food was. Apparently someone had the foresight to know that the kitchen would be crowded, he thought he saw Rokkaku grads in there, and put the food someplace else.

Kaidoh grabbed a can of soda, back straightening in surprise when his ass was slapped. He hissed and turned around, ready to fight.

“Damn, you’re still disagreeable, ne mamushi?”

Momoshiro.

“Baka yarou!” he growled. “Don’t fucking touch me! I’m not with you.”

“Damn, just wanted to say hi. I’m here with Taka. He’s over there with Kabaji and Ishida. You remember, Ishida’s Fudomine? Hadokyuu?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Kaidoh hissed again as he could tell Momoshiro was checking him out.

“Still lookin’ good...” he leaned closer and whispered to him. “We could find a bedroom if you want to go over old times.”

Kaidoh rolled his eyes and pushed him away. “I’m not into that anymore.” He left him there, Momoshiro watching him.

“Inui’s here!” he shouted.

Kaidoh heard Momo shout something, but didn’t care what it was. He had to get out of here. He’d apologize to Jin later but right now, he needed to get away from the roaming hands and stares and drunks and all the goddamn smoke!

He shoved some people out of the way and went out into the back, finding his way to the side of the house, then averting his eyes as people were “engaged” and just decided to go sit on the activity set. Apparently, who ever this person was, they had small siblings.

Kaidoh sat down with his back to the party and stared at the soda in his hands. He needed to go home. Maybe he could just call Akutsu from here and the boy would understand.

He got out his cell phone and called, setting his soda in the grass. It rang a few times then picked up.

“Hey?”

“Akutsu?”

“Ya need to fuckin’ speak up -Fuck, Touji! Put your shirt back on!”

Kaidoh heard Akutsu laughed. He sounded like he’d had one too many already. “Akutsu, it’s Kaidoh.”

“Kaidoh? Yeah, he’s in the living room or something. Why?”

“I’m going home. I’m sorry.”

“What’d you do to him? Say sorry?”

Kaidoh growled and just hung up, sighing. He put his head in his hands and thought about the quickest way out of here without having to go back through the party. He should have never come.

“Kaidoh. I thought I’d never see you in a place like this. Momoshiro told me he saw you.”

The boy looked up into familiar glinting glasses.

“Oh...Senpai.”

“Kaidoh.”

Kaidoh moved over on the bench, standing. “Would you like to sit down.”

Inui shook his head and Kaidoh stood there. The older boy smiled. “You can sit down Kaidoh.”

He sat and looked up at his Senpai, still nervous. “You’re here.”

“Hai. Yanagi and Oishitari thought it’d be good for me. All I do at school is study. Yuushi thinks that’s laughable with my skills.”

“Oh.”

“So, how are you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Tennis?”

“Hai.” Kaidoh reached for his soda and opened it. “Do you still play?”

“No. All I do is study, remember?” he smiled. “They get me to play sometimes though. Did you see Shinji and the Kisarazu’s table dancing?”

Kaidoh’s expression went from shock to concern to horror. “What?”

Inui chuckled. “Apparently, everyone iside has had too much. I saw Renji clinging to Yagyuu, talking about all the chemicals in alcohol and breaking down the chain reactions...I don’t think Hiroshi minds though.”

“You go to school with Yagyuu?”

Inui nodded. “All of us ‘nerds’ got into the same school. Now we just compete for grades instead of tennis...do you know, there’s a tie between us all for the number one score at school? What do you do when we all get perfect scores...” Inui looked thoughtful and Kaidoh had to smile.

“So, Kaidoh, how are you doing?”

“I’m going to go home.”

“That seems like a good course of action. Do you have transport?”

“The bus.” Kaidoh stood, looking at his soda. “It was nice talking with you -eh?”

Inui stopped his, placing a hand on his shoulder. “...I’m sorry.”

“Senpai?”

“For middle school Kaidoh. I’m sorry. I did like you -I do like you. I was being...young.”

Kaidoh had to move the hand away. “I’m sorry Senpai. I’m with someone.”

“Ah...so, it is Akutsu.”

Kaidoh smiled then. Inui was still very much the same as well. He bowed.

“I’ll see you Senpai. It was nice talking with you.” He left then, going back through the party, ignoring people in general. He was nearly to the door when he felt someone tug his belt loop.

“Nah, Kaidoh.”

He turned to see Akutsu, a dust of pink on his cheeks. “Where are you going?”

“Home.”

Akutsu looked at him. “We just got here.”

“You can stay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gently removed his hand and gave him the soda he’d barely drunk. “I’ll be out of Saturday practice around noon. I’ll call.”

Kaidoh left and took the bus home feeling tired as soon as he made it across the thresh hold of his room. He showered and got the smell of party off him and curled into bed feeling a little cold and lonely.

He hadn’t expected Akutsu to cling to him all night or vice versa, but he at least wanted to be with him. That’s why he’d gone.

When Kaidoh’s eyes slipped closed for the night it was only one thirty.

****

Akutsu laughed with some of his own teammates, letting a dead drunk Taka lay his head in his lap. On his side was a tipsy Dan Taichi who kept telling him about his elaborate schemes to make Atobe fall in love with him. He took his arm from around the kid’s neck for a second and reached for his drink. Taichi beat him to it and held it for him while he drank.

He figured he should be getting home, but it was still early, only three. He leaned his head back, growling “Forget it!” to the lips on his neck and thought about what he had to do tomorrow.

Uhn...I should go see Kaidoh...

He held his head up and looked at Taichi who was giving him eyes and shoved him away. He leaned over and leaned Taka up, knowing his parents weren’t going to appreciate this.

“Taka...wake the fuck up. We gotta go.”

“Uhn....waka ri moezeru....baby...” he murmured, going limp again.

“Damn it...” Akutsu held him up and nodded to Sengoku. “You got a car?”

The orange haired boy was wearing a sideways cap, Wakato sprawled out beside him. “No, but Wakato does.” He shoved the boy’s shoulder, watching him lean up like a cat.

“Whuh?”

“Baby, we need the car.”

Wakato looked at him, then at Akutsu and Taka. “We’re going?”

“Yeah, can you drive?”

Wakato got all the way up then and took the keys from his pocket. “How much did you drink?”

Sengoku smiled. “Enough to think your hat makes me look hot.”

“Come on then...”

They all went out to the car and Wakato drove them, albeit slowly, home. Akutsu snuck Taka into his house and came back down, getting a ride home.

When Akutsu finally snuck his way up the stairs and got into his room, it was damn near five a.m.

Thank god he’d quit tennis.

****

Practice was good. A tournament was coming up so it’d been intense, but it was nothing he wasn’t used to. He’d played the Captain and gone six games to three, better than his usual one game or none at all.

He showered and changed and checked his cell phone. Jin hadn’t called him, but technically, Jin was still grounded. He shouldered his tennis bag and headed home.

He helped his mother with the laundry and smiled when he was shooed from underfoot. She told him to go out and play, smiling when he responded that maybe he should go get his plastic dump truck.

But now, he was out of the house. He’d checked his phone over and over. Jin hadn’t called.

You know how to work the phone, just call him. Just do it and get it over with.

Instead he headed for the café, hoping Akutsu’s mother was in a generous mood.


When he got there, the woman handed him a bucket of cold water and sent him upstairs with instructions. He knocked first and got no answer.

When he went in Akutsu’s room, the curtain’s were up (his Mother’s doing) but Akutsu was still in bed, the pillow over his head.

Kaidoh looked at the bucket in his hand and shrugged. He had been left alone at a party.

SPLASH!

“WHAT THE FUCK!” the boy roared, Kaidoh setting the bucket down and watching and enraged Akutsu stare him down.

“Your mother says to wake up.” he said softly. “Good afternoon.”

“GET THE FUCK OUT!” the boy yelled, Kaidoh more than happy to comply.

It was sometime later while sitting on a bench in the park that Kaidoh realized that maybe he should have just tried to wake him up the normal way. He leaned back against the bench and stared at his cell phone, wondering if he should call and apologize. It really wasn’t his fault and Jin’s mother had asked him to splash him with the water.

That’s when more guilt set in. The mattress was probably wet. It’d have to dry out. Did Jin even have a futon to sleep on until then? What if Akutsu was really pissed?

Kaidoh hissed in frustration and was about to call when someone banged down next to him.

It was Akutsu.

“So I fuckd up. Did you have to do that shit? My mother was fuckin’ laughing her ass off...” he growled and mumbled obscenities. He took a bag out of his pocket and shoved it at Kaidoh. “Here.”

Kaidoh knew a peace offering when he saw one. In the last month he’d received six new bandanas and several cute key chains because of Akutsu’s “Fuck ups”. He took it and put it in his own pocket, deciding he’d open it later.

“I have to sleep on a futon.”

Kaidoh smiled.

“My pillow’s all wet. Gotta air that shit out...what are you laughing for!? Yarou!”

Kaidoh just shook his head and Akutsu smirked and leaned back. “It should be fine by tonight though.”

“Tonight then.”
****
*Onward!