Title: Class Reunion (lame titles ftw!)
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Rating: G
Words: 2792
Genre: General
Focus Character(s): Tezuka Kunimitsu
Pairings: Tezuka/Ryoma (not really but kind of)
Summary: In case of class reunion, hide under a table.
Notes: Some age-swappering. Also, it's kind of horrible, you might not want to read it. Sorry for the typos, feel free to point them out.

Class Reunion

Tezuka had already suspected that the class reunion would be quite the boring event. He had never been one for social gatherings and standing at the side like this, not talking to anybody just made him experience new levels of ennui. He was wasting his time here while he could be at home doing other things. Like...reading ...or sleeping. Alright, so maybe the class reunion wasn’t all that bad. But he still wished to be somewhere else right now.

Kikumaru and Fuji always prodded him to come to some event or another with them but he was usually good at declining those invitations, excusing himself by saying that he had work or studying to do. Sometimes Oishi joined them trying to make his friend do something that involved more than four people but Tezuka could pride himself on being adamant in his refusal.

It wasn’t that he was completely asocial or apathetic to everything and anything around him; he just knew that when all of his friends wanted to meet up for a little get together (or more than four for that matter), it always ended in a different kind of chaos. Now with over forty people in the room Tezuka wondered darkly what could possibly not go wrong. After all there was alcohol, Fuji and Kikumaru. While harmless when presented separately, the liquid, his fair-headed, almost best friend and the hyperactive red-head were definitely not a good combination.

This time only Fuji had come to convince Tezuka to come (he had received the regular invitation by post – but Fuji seemed to have anticipated Tezuka’s plan not to come). Never a good sign.

And as a matter of fact, during the whole conversation Fuji had stared at him with his eyes open, only smiling sporadically, insisting that Tezuka needed to meet his new girlfriend and saying that it would be so nice to meet some old-new people. Tezuka had enough sense of self-preservation to not refuse this time.

That might very well be the reason for him to lean against a with gaudy and lurid ribbons decorated wall of some halfway prestigious hotel room that very moment, Tezuka mused. Around him mindless chatter, and laughing, and music approximately from the 80’s nobody in their right minds would voluntarily listen to anymore could be heard.

“Tezuka!” a familiar voice called out over the noise. Tezuka looked up and saw Fuji and Kikumaru standing next to a pretty young woman, waving him over.

He pushed himself off the wall and headed over to the three of them. He had hoped to be able to avoid Fuji and maybe leave earlier but that didn’t seem to be an option any longer.

“Fuji, Kikumaru,” he greeted, and nodded at his friends. Fuji smiled as usual. Kikumaru didn’t react at all.

“Tezuka, so you did come.” Fuji looked at him approvingly even though they both knew that Fuji had practically forced Tezuka.

“Ah, I don’t think you’ve met.” Fuji gestured towards the woman beside him.

“May I introduce you? This lovely lady is Nanako Meino, 23 years old, absolutely charming and the love of my life,” Fuji said fondly, and slid his arm around Nanako’s waist. His smile, Tezuka noticed, was genuine and a lot less creepy when he looked at her.

“And this is Tezuka,” Fuji said, and inclined his head toward Tezuka, smiling marginally more creepily and with less warmth again.

Had Tezuka been any other person he would have rolled his eyes. He knew that Fuji never liked his girlfriends to interact with anybody other than himself and thus kept the introductions at a minimum but couldn’t his friend be more polite? He didn’t roll his eyes though and simply nodded at Nanako, his mouth drawn into a thin line, not the slightest hint of a smile in his face.

The girl however gave him a somewhat mischievous grin, eyes twinkling. Apparently she knew of Fuji’s possessiveness.

“It’s nice to meet you, Tezuka-san,” she said and bowed slightly.

Nanako was quite nice to look at. She had dark, silky hair that almost went down to her waist. She wore a plain but elegant white dress without sleeves that somehow managed to match Fuji’s light blue suit. Her face was delicate and Tezuka was astounded to see that for once a woman could make Fuji look manly in comparison.

“And you shouldn’t go around telling everybody how old I am, mister,” she teased her boyfriend good-naturedly.

“Aww...” Fuji pouted. “But it’s so nice to go around and brag that your girlfriend is one year older than you and has a lot of experience.”

Nanako blushed a little and looked down. She didn’t appear to be really embarrassed though as she playfully nudged Fuji in the side.

Kikumaru hiccuped. Tezuka realised that the red-head hadn’t said anything so far. No wonder if he was drunk. There was always the calm before the storm.

“Uhm...would you excuse me?” Nanako asked after a pregnant pause. “I have to look for my cousin... I haven’t seen him all night...”

“Sure, go on. I wanted to introduce him to Tezuka as well.” Fuji said, still in a good mood. Nanako smiled at them apologetically as she left, weaving through the crowd behind her.

Tezuka and Fuji watched her disappear and lapsed into silence. Just as Tezuka wanted to say something, somebody thumped him on the back. Hard.

“TEZUKAA!!” that somebody - a tall man with beard, whom Tezuka didn’t recognised- shouted, “Haven’t seen you in ages! Wow, you’re still wearing these lavender suits?! Haha! How are you, what are you doing now? Why don’t you come over and play a game with the guys?”

“Er...” Tezuka didn’t know what to say. He didn’t remember this man. Judging from his smile, Fuji did but he didn’t feel the need to tell Tezuka who it was.

What a sadist his friend could be sometimes.

Kikumaru ignored the commotion the man made and gripped Fuji’s hand in apparently deep interest. It was a wonder how his eyes could stay so focused if he was as drunk as Tezuka thought.

“Maybe...later...” Tezuka managed to say before the other man had him in a vice-like headlock.

“Not drunk enough yet, eh?” the man laughed heartily, “Just wait a second. I’ll get you something”

The man let go of the Tezuka and moved into the direction of the exit.

“Who...was that?” Tezuka asked and rubbed his throat, trying not to let his bewilderment show in his face.

Fuji chuckled. “That was Aizawa-san. He was in one of our parallel classes. ...And it seems like he is quite drunk,” he remarked as Aizawa could be seen crashing against a wall.

“That much is obvious,” Tezuka said dryly, “Who is this cousin your girlfriend looking for by the way?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll like him! He’s interested in tennis, like you. I think he wants to become a pro. He’s really nice. Eiji likes him too.”

Kikumaru gave no sign of having heard his name, and started playing with the sleeves of Fuji’s suit. Fuji just looked at his friend with a mildly interested expression before turning back to Tezuka.

“Yes... and who is he?” Tezuka didn’t bother saying that Eiji liked anybody, who was willing to listen to him.

“You’ll see,” Fuji said, amusement gleaming in his eyes now. “I think I’ll go look for him too. And don’t leave earlier again, Tezuka. It would be such a shame if you didn’t meet him.”

“I-” Tezuka started.

“Just promise it. I really want to see your reaction when you get to know him.”

Tezuka almost hung his head. There was no arguing with Fuji when he was like that. “Alright...”

Fuji smiled at him and disappeared instantly, taking Kikumaru miraculously with him. Tezuka shook his head, and decided to go back to the comfortable wall he had been leaning against earlier. He really didn’t feel like talking to anybody else this evening.

Just as he positioned himself comfortably against the wall again, the sound of raucous laughter erupted from the other side of the room and mixed with the sound of glass crashing onto the floor. Aizawa seemed to have recovered from his collision with the wall, and had met up with Kikumaru. Tezuka didn’t look forward the prospect of dealing with both of them. At the same time. Alone.

He eyed the room critically before the exit caught his eye. It beckoned to him temptingly. The room was so full of people, surely nobody would notice him leave? Then again he had just promised Fuji to stay the entire evening.

Tezuka sighed, conceding defeat.

He glanced through the room; everybody seemed busy reminiscing over old memories with friends or talking or laughing or whatever else could be done at a class reunion. He couldn’t just go over to them without talking to them if he wanted to blend into the crowd.

However an idea came to him when his gaze halted at a rather big table that was laden with unhealthy food and beverages.

Tezuka walked over and took his electronic notepad out of his pocket.

It was a bit childish, he thought to himself as he let his pen hover over the touch screen. But it was better than having to endure people he barely knew slapping him rather violently for no apparent reason.

He glanced around once more. Nobody was watching him... Why was he hesitating anyway?

Tezuka let the pen drop on the floor and gave it a slight prod with his foot, causing it to roll under the table. Careful not to draw attention on himself, he bent down, lifted the tablecloth and scrambled under it. He looked about for his pen when something caught his eye.

He really hadn’t expected his hiding place to be occupied already, but sitting there was a boy with short and, from what Tezuka could make out under the poor light conditions, dark hair. He also looked young. Tezuka estimated him to be about fourteen years old. Or maybe not. It was hard to say with practically no light. He let go of the tablecloth he had still been holding up, causing it to become even darker.

The boy was too old to be the son of one of his old classmates, that much was sure. Maybe he was a younger sibling. Tezuka didn’t really care but the floor under a table really wasn’t the right place to sleep.

He should probably wake him up then. Tezuka reached out his hand letting it linger in the air for a moment. He had his head resting on his forearms that lay on his drawn-up legs. The boy looked peaceful in his sleep. A little like a cat. It would be a shame to wake him and find out that he was a snarky brat or something...

Nevertheless Tezuka gave the sleeping youth a gently push as he perched down next to him. He waited, seeing him stir. At first the boy just clenched his eyes shut more tightly but then suddenly he blinked them open, looking a bit panicked. When he spotted Tezuka he just stared at him for a while. Then, calming down, he diverted his gaze again.

Tezuka didn’t quite know what to make of that and the boy didn’t seem willing to give in explanation for his behaviour or why he was sleeping under a table. Uncomfortable, he cleared his throat effectually getting the attention of his under-the-table companion.

Not knowing what else to say he asked, “What are you doing here?”

The boy tilted his head. His eyes flashed golden (where was the light coming from?) and Tezuka had the impression that a smirk had appeared on the boy’s face.

“Well, I was sleeping but then you came and woke me up.” The boy had a slight husk to his voice, making him sound older than he looked and a mocking tone that made Tezuka suspect that the boy was indeed a snarky brat. He mentally sighed.

“But why sleep under the table?” That couldn’t be very comfortable. Tezuka’s neck already started to hurt from the crouching.

The boy shrugged. “Actually I’m hiding,” he said.

“Ah...” Tezuka didn’t know what else to say without being a busybody.

“And why are you here?” the boy asked.

“I dropped my pen,” Tezuka said and hold it up as evidence, although the boy probably couldn’t see it in the dark.

“Heh, really?” the boy said with fake surprise. “Then why are you still down here?”

“I...” Tezuka paused. The boy had told him the truth (Tezuka at least assumed he did). It would only be fair to do the same. “I’m hiding here as well.”

“I never would have guessed,” the boy said with amusement. The faintest smile crept onto Tezuka’s face.

“I’m Tezuka Kunimitsu,” he said.

“Echizen Ryoma,” the boy replied.

“Nice to meet you,” Tezuka said extending his hand automatically before remembering that it was probably hard to see. To his surprise the boy took his hand.

“Are you able to see that much in the dark or was that a reflex?”

“What kind of reflex would that be? One that causes me to grasp every hand in front of me?” Echizen snorted.

Tezuka scowled. The boy was too rude but for some reason he didn’t feel annoyed by it though.

“How old are you?” the boy asked in a bored voice.

“Twenty-two,” Tezuka answered.

“That old?” Tezuka could almost hear Echizen smirk.

“I wouldn’t call myself old,” Tezuka said stonily. “How old are you then?”

“I’m sixteen.” So he had only been wrong by two years. Not that much really. The boy would probably be offended though, if Tezuka told him. “But don’t you think it’s childish for someone your age to hide under a table.?”

“I guess...what are you doing here? At the class reunion I mean, not under the table.”

“I’m here with my cousin and her boyfriend.” Echizen sounded disgruntled. “That’s what I’m hiding from, you know. I don’t know why but the blue-eyed menace has taken a shine to me.”

“My sympathies.”

“Che, it’s worse than it sounds. The guy’s plain creepy.”

Tezuka nodded. “I have a friend like that too. He never stops meddling in other people’s affaires. I think he tries to set me up with his girlfriend’s cousin.”

“And now you’re hiding from him?”

“From him and old classmates, who try to get me drunk.”

“Heh, you sound so serious. I bet it would be fun.” Tezuka started to ask himself why exactly they were having this conversation.

“Tell me something about you,” Echizen said after a moment.

“...And what would you like to hear?” Tezuka asked despite himself. He never liked to talk so why…?

“Anything. I’m bored.” Suddenly Tezuka felt something heavy on his shoulder.

“Echizen?” he inquired and looked at him. The younger boy had his head resting against Tezuka’s shoulder, eyes closed.

“You’d make a good pillow or something.” In the last ten minutes Tezuka had to have gone through as many expressions as he would go through in a week. He was smiling again.

“I’m actually aiming to become a lawyer,” he said.

“Sounds boriiing,” Echizen drawled, and snuck closer to Tezuka. Strangely enough Tezuka didn’t really mind the boy leaning on him though. “Tell me something more interesting.”

“I like to play tennis in my free time...” Tezuka offered lamely, sure that Echizen would find it just as boring as his plans to become a lawyer.

“Heh, really? Me too.” So they both liked tennis. How fascinating.

Nothing more was said and in conclusion Tezuka decided to stay quiet as well. He was more comfortable like that anyway.

For a while they were both quiet and slowly but surely Tezuka found himself nodding off. Echizen appeared to be fast asleep again himself; an explanation for why he had become so silent. As Tezuka tried to inch away from Echizen he found the boy to be clinging to his right arm. When had that happened?

Well, he was certain that Fuji would search for him at some point and with Echizen not letting go of him, there wasn’t anything better to do than to sleep. He let his head fall to his side on top of Echizen’s.

Maybe coming to the class reunion hadn’t been such a bad decision after all...

Echizen let out a snore, and shifted jerkily, causing Tezuka’s head to bump against the table.

Tezuka sighed heavily but a small smile played at the edge of his mouth. No, it hadn’t been a bad decision at all...