Just Friends

(I guess you have to have read the manga to place this scene. . . after nationals a bunch of the teams happen to end up at the same restaurant and hijinks involving various types of Inui juice insue. This scene takes place directly afterwards.)

Alternate Ending No. 1: Tezuka

His head was throbbing. Where exactly, Chitose wondered, was he? What had he been doing? He blinked open his eyes, but it took a few minutes for him to regain his vision.

"Ii data," came a looming, threatening voice, and Chitose looked over to see Inui from Seigaku leaning over him, notebook in hand. "That batch of juice was certainly potent. . ."

Ah, yes. That horrible concoction his teammates had forced him to drink so that they could participate in the eating contest. Chitose realized that some one had laid him out on the sidewalk, and there were several other similarly situated tennis players sprawled outside the yakitori restaurant.

Chitose tried several times to stand up, finally overcoming the dizziness that hit him every time he did so. Where were his teammates? His eyes focused on the coaches having some kind of argument in the parking lot. At least, most of them were arguing. Watanabe was smoking a cigarette and kicking rocks behind them, generally pretending he didn't know what all the fuss was about.

"Are you okay?"

Chitose turned around to see two Oshitaris looking at him.

"You know," he said, "I can definitely see the family resemblance."

Kenya looked completely scandalized, but Yuushi was smirking at the comment.

"Honestly, Kenya," Yuushi said, "you should be flattered."

"Hey," Chitose said, scanning the crowd, "where's Shiraishi?"

Silence. Dead and complete. Even Konjiki and Hitouji, who had been stumbling towards them, froze. It was Tooyama who answered, eyes blinking wide as he scratched his head. "He wondered off with Kurobane from Rokkakku."

". . . Kurobane?"

Tooyama nodded vigorously. "Maybe they're playing a tennis match."

". . ." It was probably close to ten at night. Chitose turned to Kenya for answers.

"Apparently," Kenya said, "one of Inui's drinks contained an aphrodisiac."

Chitose cracked up at that, arm holding onto where his stomach was threatening to split from hilarity. "Oh, man, are you kidding? He is so going to kill that Inui guy tomorrow morning."

"What's an aphrodisiac?" Tooyama muttered in the background, only to be ignored.

"Well," Kenya said, "Koishikawa went to look for them, so hopefully it won't get too far."

Chitose's cell phone heralded the coming of a text message, beeping twice in his pocket. He flipped it open, lips twitching upwards in a small smile as he read the message there. This was certainly unexpected. He looked up to where Tezuka was in the middle of conversing with Atobe, and the other boy sent a surreptitious glance his way.

Chitose smiled. Unexpected, but not unpleasant.

Chitose finally managed to pull himself to his feet, and tugged Kenya over to a relatively isolated area.

"Kenya," he said, voice gravely serious, "can you stay at your cousin's house tonight?"

Kenya's eyes narrowed at him. "You have to be kidding me."

"Oh, come on, man," Chitose said, "I would do the same for you and you know it."

"You don't understand," Kenya hissed, and all of the sudden the aura around him grew very, very dark. "That guy is the bane of my existence. I remember when we were kids together, and he would trick me into playing doctor with. . ."

"What's this about doctors?" Yuushi asked, all of the sudden beside them. Kenya froze in the middle of his tirade.

"Kenya was just saying," Chitose said, "that he was going to sleep over at your place tonight. See the family and catch up, you know?"

"Kenya, what a pleasant surprise," Yuushi all but purred. "I'll call mother right now to let her know that you're coming. She'll be so excited."

As Yuushi flipped open his phone and walked away, Kenya glared darkly at Chitose. "One day. When you least expect it. I will get even with you."

Chitose felt a shiver race down his spine, but. . . Kenya would get over it. Eventually. Right?

The coaches for all the schools had apparently reached some kind of agreement, and the gathered teams were starting to split up and go their separate ways. Chitose watched Tezuka's back as he walked away, surrounded by his vice-captain and that Fuji boy.

"Earth to Chitose. Earth to Chitose."

Chitose looked down to see Tooyama waving his arms at him.

"Hey, we're going to the station now," Tooyama said.

"You guys go ahead. I think I'll walk."

"Hmm?" Tooyama blinked questioning eyes up at him, but then Hitouji was pulling him away to join the rest of the team.

"Don't have too much fun," Watanabe sang, as they disappeared into the night.

Chitose watched them go before turning in the opposite direction, heading back to the tennis courts that they had come from a few hours ago. It wasn't far from the restaurant, which was most likely why so many teams had ended up eating there tonight.

The complex was completely different at night, only a few lights along the periphery of the structure, everything else covered in darkness. Tezuka was a lone figure just inside the gate, standing with his tennis bag slung over one shoulder.

"You seemed so irritated when I texted you last time," Chitose said, interrupting the stillness in the air, "but now you're the one getting in touch with me."

Tezuka turned to look at him, his expression as placid as ever. "Are you complaining?"

"Never." Chitose came to lean on the wall beside Tezuka, so that they were side by side, almost touching. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Are you quitting tennis?"

Chitose frowned, not expecting that line of questioning. "You knew I wanted to quit after playing Kippei."

A pause, pregnant between them.

"It would be a waste," Tezuka finally said, "for you to stop playing."

Chitose sighed. "Why is tennis so important to you?"

"Why isn't it to you?" Tezuka was looking at him like there was something he didn't understand, but then he was shifting, foot moving forward. "I've said my piece. I'll go now."

Tezuka walked away, but Chitose stumbled into step beside him. Tezuka's expression was characteristically blank, his features out of focus in the dim yellow light of the street lamps. Was he irritated, Chitose wondered, because Chitose didn't take tennis seriously? Chitose reached out, intertwining his fingers with Tezuka's before jerking the other boy to a stop.

"Sorry," he said, voice soft. His free hand reached up, fingers nudging Tezuka's chin upwards, so that their lips were just that much closer together. He leaned down, bringing them together.

Tezuka didn't move from his position, but he kissed Chitose back, lips soft and yielding. Chitose pulled away, breaking their contact, but he was still close enough to feel the small breath that left Tezuka's lips at that moment.

"Why are you apologizing?" Tezuka breathed it more than he said it, murmurs against Chitose's lips.

"You'd probably like me better," Chitose replied, "if I was a more serious guy, huh?"

"It's fine. I should go."

But Chitose wasn't letting go, was pulling Tezuka closer for another kiss.

When they parted Chitose tugged Tezuka forward, pulling him into step with him. He turned, Tezuka following as they walked in silence back to Chitose's hotel room.

It seemed as though no time had passed at all by the time they got back to that dull little room, and then they were falling onto the bed, mouths meeting in open, fevered kisses.

"Didn't you say you had to go?" Chitose asked, teasing, even as he pulled off Tezuka's shirt.

"Shut up," Tezuka said, concise as always as he crushed his lips against Chitose's.

Tezuka tasted so good, Chitose thought, like flavored toothpaste or spearmint gum. He wanted to taste all of him, and he pressed kisses down his jaw, swirled circles with his tongue on his neck, taking his time as he made his way lower still. The salty sweet taste of lingering sweat, and then he was spreading Tezuka's legs apart, sucking on the juncture where Tezuka's thigh met his groin.

Tezuka was moaning, one delicious noise after another. He was so loud, in bed, as if all the words he never said were trying to tumble out of him. Eventually Chitose took pity on him, on his too hard erection, leaking pre-cum onto his stomach, and went to take the shaft of Tezuka's cock in his mouth. He sucked and hummed, then maneuvered himself above Tezuka so that the other boy could return to favor.

Chitose's eyes closed in pleasure as he felt Tezuka's mouth close around the head of cock. As he felt Tezuka's tongue, heavy and languid, swirling around it. And then Tezuka's tongue was pushing against the slit of his penis, and Chitose swore he saw stars.

Chitose lifted his mouth off of Tezuka's cock.

"Lube's near your head," Chitose said, and he could hear Tezuka's hand fumbling blindly on the nightstand.

Chitoses shifted just an inch forward, spreading Tezuka's legs even more as he watched that puckered hole come into view. He bent his head down to to press his tongue in circles around it's rim, taking his time to taste the other boy before pushing his tongue into his hole. Tezuka shivered at the contact, thrust back onto his tongue, and then Chitose felt two wet fingers slide into his ass.

He moaned at the pleasure that ran through him, nearly forget where he was or what he was doing. He could have stayed like this forever, Tezuka's fingers fucking him and his tongue in Tezuka's ass, but he wanted more. He got up, positioning himself so that he was kneeling and grabbing onto the headboard, and then he felt Tezuka getting into position behind him.

He could feel Tezuka's chest on his back, Tezuka's legs on his thighs, Tezuka's rigid hardness, cool and click, along the cleft of his ass. Then Tezuka shifted, and Chitose was shivering as he felt Tezuka's cock push slowly inside his hole.

It felt so good, and then Tezuka was fucking him in long, slow strokes, making him feel as though he were on the verge of being split open. Tezuka reached a hand around him, wrapping fingers around his cock. Soon Tezuka's measured thrusts became harder, faster, more erratic, any sense of control or rhythm gone. Chitose could hear Tezuka panting behind him, could feel Tezuka's breath on his neck. When they came they came together, Chitose spurting onto the hotel sheets.

After cleaning up they laid in bed together, neither of them particularly sleepy. Chitose's mind wondered to the joint that he had buried in his wallet, but the thought of Tezuka abruptly leaving kept him from going to get it. He had decided the last time they had slept together that he liked Tezuka's presence in his bed. The way he smelled, the way he moved when he was asleep.

Instead of lighting up he reached over to brush Tezuka's hair out of his face, tangle his fingers in those soft strands. Tezuka blinked at him, face still flushed from orgasm, eyes strangely pretty without his glasses to cover them

"I think you enjoy tennis more than you admit," Tezuka said

Chitose laughed at the utter randomness of the comment. "Dude. Don't tell me you're thinking about tennis right now."

Tezuka didn't say anything, just waited.

"I never said I hated it," Chitose explained, "I just don't think it's as important as you do."

A pause, and then Chitose was asking the same question he had asked earlier, only now he was genuinely curious. "Why is tennis so important to you?"

"Because it's fun," Tezuka said. Simply, so like a child that it startled Chitose for a brief moment. But then Tezuka was saying something else, even without Chitose having to prod him for it. "I'm going to Germany when the school year's done. To play professionally."

"No way," Chitose said, a little bit in awe of the conviction in Tezuka's voice. But he could see Tezuka there, in the realm of professional tennis. It seemed to fit.

"Maybe," Chitose joked, "when I graduate I'll come be your manager."

Tezuka snorted, an inelegant, unexpected sound. "No. Thank you."

Their breath was evening out now. Tezuka's eyelids were half-lowered, and Chitose wondered if his were too. Maybe they were sleepier then they had thought, or maybe sleep had just caught up to them after all that. But, still, Chitose found himself wanting to talk.

"Tezuka," he said, and even his voice sounded sleepy, "I'm still in Tokyo for the next week. After the National finals are over, do you want to go on a date?"

"Date."

"Yeah. I want to go on a date with you."

There was a slight blush on Tezuka's cheeks. Or maybe that was still the afterglow.

"Fine." Tezuka finally said.

"Good," Chitose said, but now it was more of a mumble. His eyes felt heavy now, and he wasn't going to fight it. A smile on his lips, he fell asleep.

End.