[FIC] Sundaes and Parfaits

for archiving purposes…
posted earlier at ___teckie and LJ comms golden_pair and potfics

Title: Sundaes and Parfaits
Author: ___teckie
Rating: G/PG-13
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Oishi/Eiji (Golden Pair)
Genre: Fluff
WC: 2134
Disclaimer: How I wish… but I don’t own any of ‘em. Konomi Takeshi does. Maybe if I marry him, it’ll be mine too. XD
Summary: A grateful Eiji makes Oishi realize his own feelings. Oishi POV.
Notes: Inspired by Inui’s Photo Album on Seigaku Regulars’ Private Lives from DreamLive 1st. ames_909 has a really great translation of that part of the musical/concert here complete with a couple of screencaps. First fic that I really finished.

“Oishi~! Save me!” As those words were whispered, I felt someone cling to my arms like their life depended on it. But then, even before looking to see who needed saving, I already knew who it was.

“What is it this time?” My eyes were instantly glued to the dark blue ones of Eiji. Looking at those pair of eyes, I knew I couldn’t say no.

“Momo and Ochibi’s trying to make me buy them burgers again! It’s the end of the week and I don’t have any more money to spare. And you know how those two eat.”

“Okay, okay. What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. Make something up! Like we’re supposed to study Math or maybe we’re going to practice or something. Anything!” Eiji’s arm tightened slightly. From the locker room, we saw Momo emerge followed by Echizen.

“Eiji-sempai! Come on! We’re ready, and I’m starving. Oi! Echizen, hurry up!” we heard Momo shout as he ran towards us.

“Uhm. Not today, Momo. I have to borrow Eiji for a while. We have to practice that new formation for the upcoming St. Rudolph’s match.”

“Ehhh? Who will we get to buy burgers then?” grumbled Momo.

“Why don’t you try Fuji? Or maybe Inui.” I had to come up with someone, and they were the ones who caught my eye as they came out from the locker rooms, getting ready to go home.

“Eh? Really?! Fuji-sempai?! No way. He might just buy wasabi burgers and end up eating all of ‘em. As for Inui-sempai, nevermind. I’m sure he’ll be cramming one of his new juices down our throat,” Momo argued.

“Or you could ask Taka-san to give you a discount on their sushi,” Eiji suggested. Eiji’s mind tends to work brilliantly when the need really arises.

“Hmmm… That’s better than nothing, I guess. Come on, Momo-sempai. You have to treat me though.” Echizen agreed, turned and made his way out of the courts.

“Eh? I have to?! You have to spend some money once in a while, you know. Try treating me for once…” Momo followed and we hear his ranting fade away as they made their way to Taka-san’s sushi shop.

I felt Eiji grab my hands and squeeze them. Looking at my doubles partner, I see his eyes reflect the relief and gratitude that he felt. Saving him had been worth it.

“Thanks, Oishi. I know I can depend on you.”

Yeah. You can always depend on me, Eiji. “You owe me big time for this one.”

He flashed one of his smiles and nodded. “Uhn, nya.”

“So, wanna go ahead and practice?” I suggested.

“Well, okay, since I don’t have anything better to do now.”

“Come on. Let’s ask Ryuuzaki-sensei about that formation she and Inui were talking about.”

We’ve been practicing for a couple of hours now. And I can see that Eiji’s tired. “Let’s call it a day, ok?”

“Waaaaah! I thought you weren’t going to stop, you know!”

I can’t help but chuckle at Eiji’s complaints. I know Eiji’s limits and I really did push him a little bit too far, but that’s part of his stamina training.

We headed towards the locker rooms in silence. This was something new from Eiji since he usually grumbles after practice and complains about how hard and tiring they are. Did I really push him past his limits? As we dressed and got ready to go… nothing. He should have recovered already and be blabbering right now. But… nothing.

As he waited for me to secure the locker rooms, he did finally talk. “Uhmmm. I owe you for the favor a while back, right? You free tomorrow?”

“Oh, forget about that. I was just joking.”

“No, I really wanna pay you back. Not just for what you did earlier for me with Momo and Ochibi, but also for all the previous times you’ve been there.”

“Fine.” I felt myself blushing. I’m not one for praises. “So what do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Maybe some sundae?” Yeah, what do you expect from Eiji. Of course something that he wants to do. And something that he loves… sundaes.

“Okay. Fine. Your treat on sundaes.” I just gave in. Once Eiji’s mind is set, there’s no stopping him.

“Yay!” Eiji jumps up and down and hugs me in his excitement. “It’s a date then! Tomorrow? 3pm at the Ice Cream Parlor, nya?”

“Ok. So, ready to go?”

“Uhn.”

We walked to the bus stop after that. Nothing much eventful happened. Eiji talked. I listened. That’s how we normally are. It’s always fun listening to Eiji. You would really know what he’s feeling just by listening to his voice. You can tell when he gets excited, irritated, sad, happy; you name it. Right now, he seems excited about a fish he saw in a pet shop. I don’t really understand. Nothing he’s saying is registering in my mind. But then, I’m just happy listening to him.

“Oh! Your bus is here, Oishi!” I was suddenly snapped out of what I was thinking. Looking up, I saw that my bus was there, waiting for me to board.

“Tomorrow then! Don’t forget! Oh! And don’t tell the others. I can only spare enough money for the two of us.” I heard Eiji say as I get on the bus.

As I head to the back of the bus, I can still see Eiji jumping up and down waving. I waved back, a smile pasted on my face, thinking about tomorrow. This is something new, Eiji treating me. Tomorrow seems interesting indeed.

I’ve been waiting for 15 minutes now. Still no sign of Eiji. I wonder if he forgot about today. No, he wouldn’t. Maybe he got into an accident on the way. No, no, no. Don’t think like that, Oishi. But why isn’t he here yet? Maybe he got sick last night and can’t get out of bed. Argh! I’m making myself sick just worrying about him. Maybe I’ll just call him to make sure everything’s okay.

As I was reaching for my mobile, *cling cling*, the chimes on the front door of the ice cream parlor rang. Without turning to see who it was, I already knew that it was Eiji. There’s something in Eiji that makes me realize that he’s nearby. Maybe it is because we’ve been playing doubles for some time now that I unconsciously know his movements. And true enough…

“Oishi! Sorry for making you wait. Sorry. Sorry. I had to go pass by somewhere else before coming here. Hope you didn’t mind. Ahihihi.” Eiji seems to be in a fit of giggles. He slides in the seat across from me and places a paper bag on top of the table. I never realized he had been carrying something.

“Excuse me. Do you already have an order?” A waitress came to our table carrying a menu and order slip. She momentarily distracts me from Eiji’s package.

“We’ll have an extra large strawberry sundae with extra strawberries and strawberry sauce. And also an order of those brownies,” Eiji said. It’s his treat so I guess he can choose whatever he wants. Good thing we both like strawberries.

When the waitress left, “These are yours, Oishi!” I heard Eiji say with the brightest smile ever, pushing the paper bag towards me. I was so surprised that I didn’t know what to do. “Come on. I know you wanna look at it.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s a surprise. You’ll love it.”

I reached for the paper bag and took a peek. Inside was a water-filled plastic with several guppies in it. One of them was a red-crowned one which was swimming around and around the container.

“Like it? Like it?” Eiji was literally bouncing up and down in his seat waiting for my response.

“Hahahahaha.” I laughed. “Of course I love it.”

“Wheeee! You know what? The pet store owner said that that red-headed one might lay eggs soon. So you could have even more guppies.”

“Thanks, Eiji,” I said, grateful for the additional fish I could add to my aquarium. “I know! I’ll name that one Eiji-mama! Hahahaha.”

“Mouuuuu! Oishiii~!” A pout was showing on his lips.

“But it’s cute!” I insisted.

“Why not one of the babies instead of the mother.”

“But look! She’s as giddy and active as you. You two are just so similar. Don’t worry. If her babies do hatch, I’ll name one Eiji-chan.”

The waitress arrived with our strawberry sundae and two spoons. The sundae was overflowing with sauce. If you say extra sauce, they really mean extra sauce.

*click*

What was that sound? A camera? I quickly looked around but saw nothing. Maybe it was just my imagination.

“Itadakimasu.”

“Nya.”

We started digging in. It’s fun to watch Eiji eat sundae. He loves savoring each spoonful of ice cream and strawberry syrup he eats. It’s even more fun watching him than eating sundae. Next thing I knew he had eaten almost all of the sundae with me only getting to eat a couple of spoonfuls. And now he’s finishing the last piece of brownie.

*click*

“Oishi! You didn’t get to eat! Waaaah. Let’s order again.” He calls the waitress over. “This time I’ll get you your own parfait.”

“What is it?” asks the waitress.

“We’ll have a chocolate cinnamon parfait and a banana caramel one. Chocolate cinnamon’s okay with you, Oishi?”

“Yeah, sure.” The waitress walked away with our order. Then it made me wonder where Eiji got the money. I thought he could only spare one order, but now we’re getting two parfaits and he had bought me a couple of guppies too.

“Oi, Eiji. I thought you didn’t have enough money anymore. Now you’re getting two more parfaits plus the fish. So?”

“Anou…” he scratched his head and shifted his eyes away. He’s definitely hiding something from me. “Well, I was actually saving up for the fish since a couple of weeks back. As for the parfait, let’s hope that my remaining money holds up.

“Eh? You were saving for the fish? But… Why?”

“Here’s your banana caramel parfait.” The waitress arrived and slid a banana caramel parfait in front of Eiji. “And here’s your chocolate cinnamon parfait.” And she slid it in front of me. “Enjoy!”

As Eiji ate his parfait, I still couldn’t forget the question of why. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why’d you buy me fish? You know I have a tank-full at home.”

“Ooh. That. Nothing, really. Do I really need a reason to give a gift to the most important person for me?”

Dumbstruck, I just watched him continue eating and talking about something. Again, I’m not really concentrating much since my mind’s still stuck at the fact that I’m Eiji’s most important person.

“You have to taste this, Oishi. It tastes really good.” I heard Eiji say. “Here.” Eiji scoops some parfait with his spoon and extends it towards me. “Say aaaaah,” he says, waiting for me to eat the spoonful of banana parfait. With no idea what I was doing, I opened my mouth and ate his offered parfait.

And it hit me: I ate from Eiji’s spoon! Isn’t that like… kissing?! I felt myself blush.

“Waaaah! Oishi, you’re turning red! Are you alright?”

“Aah?! Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. It’s just this parfait, I think. Here, since you finished yours already, you can share mine with me.”

“Really? Wai, nya!”

“I pushed the parfait to the center. And we started eating again. Actually, it was more like Eiji started eating and I continued watching him.

*click*

Once he said those important words, I realized that our relationship isn’t just as doubles partners anymore. It grew into something bigger. Something deeper. Something more important. I’m the rock that Eiji can depend on, yeah. And looking at Eiji and his cuteness, his silly smiles and antics, his happy-go-lucky and carefree attitude, he is the light in my life. He is the strawberry syrup in my sundae, the whipped cream in my parfait.

“Eh! Oishi! You’re not eating again.”

“That’s fine. It’s yours. Think of the parfaits as my treat. I’ll pay for them.”

“Whee! Thanks, Oishi!” And Eiji finishes up the remaining parfait.

After finishing everything with the biggest grin on his face, he says, “That’s the best parfait ever.”

“Eiji. Thanks. For everything.” We share a smile together. “You know, you’re the most adorable person ever.”

“I know. That’s why you love me.” A snicker.

“Yeah. I love you, Eiji.” But not just because you’re adorable and cute. I love you, Eiji, more than that. But I’ll just tell you that next time.

*click*

“Ii data.”

And that’s when I realized that we weren’t alone and where the clicking noises were coming from…

Glossary:
Ochibi – Eiji’s name for Ryoma
Sempai – upper classmen
Nya – Eiji noise
Mou – sound of slight irritation/exasperation
Itadakimasu – phrase said before eating
Ii data – “Good data”, Inui’s data gathering phrase
*click* – the sound of Inui’s camera