PoT Fic: "A Modern Yuletide Carol" 2/2 (R) - Akazawa/Kaneda, St. Rudolph Ensemble
Title: "A Modern Yuletide Carol" 2/2 
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Team ensemble featuring Akazawa/Kaneda, with some Mizuki/Yuuta, one-sided Nomura/Catherine, and a little Yanagisawa/Kisarazu.
Rating: R
Word Count: 12,836
Spoilers/Warnings: Some boys doing the usual naughty things when left alone in their dorm rooms.
Summary: The week before Christmas, Kaneda faces off against puberty, Akazawa’s habit of wearing far too little clothing, three separate brilliant master plans by Mizuki, and St. Rudolph’s surly sub-regular tennis team, yet somehow still manages to come out on top.
Notes: Originally written for crowitched for strudy_exchange here. Broken into two parts due to length.
A Modern Yuletide Carol
by Kantayra
Kaneda felt queasy that morning, so he skipped breakfast. And since there were no classes, he didn’t have to get up for those, either. As a result, he finally rolled out of bed around noon. It was time for lunch, but he didn’t know what on earth he’d do if Akazawa was at lunch, so he decided to go out.
This happened to be fortuitous - although it was debatable whether for good or bad - because while he was sneaking out of the dorms, he ran right into Mizuki and Yuta, who were clearly sneaking off to bother Kaidoh’s little brother some more.
“Hey, Kaneda,” Yuta perked up at the sight of him. “Why don’t you come join us?”
Kaneda blinked at this, because he’d never been invited along on one of Mizuki’s data-gathering missions before.
Mizuki scowled as well; clearly, it hadn’t been his idea to invite Kaneda.
“Uh,” Kaneda scratched his head sheepishly, “I’d love to, really, but I have to-”
“Great,” Yuta grabbed his arm before he could finish and dragged him along. “Three pairs of eyes are better than two, right, Mizuki?”
Mizuki grumbled, buried his hands in his pockets, and stalked out the front door.
Kaneda held a ways back and whispered to Yuta. “Look, I really don’t think this is a good idea. Mizuki obviously doesn’t want to come, so-”
“I need you to come,” Yuta hissed back. “Mizuki hasn’t left me alone for three days now, and I need someone to distract him while I sort out his Christmas present.”
“Oh. Oh.” Kaneda stopped fighting Yuta and smiled at him instead. “Sure. I can help with that.”
Yuta breathed a sigh of relief. The two of them ran to catch up with Mizuki, who was making his way purposefully to the bus stop.
“So, uh… Are we gathering more data on Kaidoh’s little brother today?” Kaneda asked awkwardly, like he hung out with Mizuki every day.
“Obviously.” Mizuki pressed his lips together tightly in annoyance. “Akazawa informed us he made you captain, by the way. Congratulations.” Mizuki didn’t sound pleased with this decision in the slightest. Given that Kaneda’s only real competition had been Yuta, this wasn’t surprising.
“Uh… Thanks.” Kaneda winced. He really would’ve liked the opportunity to try to convince Akazawa that Yuta was clearly the man for the job, before it got announced to the whole team.
“Yeah, congrats,” Yuta agreed and blew on his hands to warm them up before shoving them back deep in his jacket pockets. “Better you than me.”
“Heh,” Kaneda said warily, because he honestly didn’t believe that at all.
Thankfully, the bus came then, and it was too crowded for them to really talk until they got to the Kaidohs’ neighborhood. And then Mizuki hushed them both and made them all hide in the bushes, because apparently Kaidoh had very unpredictable jogging routes, and Mizuki didn’t want them to be seen. Given that they were all wearing hats and scarves, Kaneda doubted that Kaidoh would even be able to recognize them.
Yuta gave Kaneda a wink and tilted his head off to one side, which Kaneda interpreted as, “You distract Mizuki, while I go get his Christmas present.” Kaneda nodded and winked back, chasing after Mizuki through the bushes while Yuta snuck off.
Mizuki finally settled down by a gap in the fence outside the Kaidohs’ backyard and hunkered down in the bushes. Kaneda slipped in behind him.
“Here.” Mizuki passed Kaneda an open notebook and pencil over his shoulder without even bothering to glance back at him. “You take dictation.”
Kaneda accepted the notebook, while Mizuki pulled out a pair of binoculars.
“Continuing to operate under the assumption that second floor, third window is Kaidoh Hazue’s window. Time is 1:21 and the blinds are open. Can see movement by the window.”
Kaneda scribbled all this down wearily. Honestly, this felt sort of creepy to him, but presumably Mizuki knew what he was doing.
“Aha.” Mizuki shifted the binoculars downwards. “Kaidoh the elder has just left the building. I repeat, Kaidoh the elder has just left the building.” Mizuki dropped the binoculars and lay flat down on the ground. Kaneda followed his lead.
A minute later, there was the sound of scuffling footsteps, and the gate opened and closed. Kaneda heard a long, slow, hissing “fsssh!” sound and then the sound of running shoes hitting the pavement at a steady jog. Kaneda stayed hidden, his eyes trained on the sidewalk, waiting for the danger to pass.
The problem was that Kaneda was so focused on Kaidoh that he forgot about Mizuki, until he suddenly felt a hand brush up against his inner thigh.
“Eek!” Kaneda let out an unearthly shriek.
“Aiee!” Mizuki screeched right back at him and snatched his hand away.
“You! You!” Kaneda sputtered helplessly.
“You’re not Yuta!” Mizuki accused him. “Where’s Yuta?”
“It took you this long to notice who I was?” Kaneda retorted, inching nervously as far away from Mizuki as he could get in the bushes.
Mizuki scowled at him. “Oh, please. Like I’d touch you anyway.”
“You just did!” Kaneda insisted.
“I thought you were Yuta.”
“And that makes it better?”
Mizuki scowled. “Where. Is. Yuta?” he demanded dangerously.
Kaneda thought fast. “He said I should stick with you while he did recon around front.” Apparently, Kaneda hadn’t thought fast enough, though, because that excuse wouldn’t hold up to any scrutiny.
Indeed, Mizuki gave him a suspicious look and opened his mouth to say something when they spotted Yuta sneaking down the street, crouched down low enough that he couldn’t be seen over the fence.
Kaneda breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where were you?” Mizuki hissed. “Kaneda here almost got us caught.”
Behind Mizuki, Kaneda tried to signal Yuta what the cover story was through eyebrow motions. Yuta blinked at him like he was insane.
“Whatever,” Yuta just grumbled and crouched down next to Mizuki in the bushes. “What’s happening?”
Mizuki snorted but didn’t press the issue. Kaneda was a little awed; apparently Yuta’s persistent, aggressive surliness did have some uses, after all.
“Kaidoh just went out for his afternoon run,” Mizuki informed Yuta. “The little brother is up in his room.”
Yuta took the binoculars from Mizuki’s lap and peered through them at the window. Only, the strap of the binoculars was around Mizuki’s neck, so Yuta ended up pulling Mizuki along with them. Mizuki’s nose ended up inches from Yuta’s hair as a result, and he smiled a blissful little smile. Kaneda was vaguely disturbed.
“Where?” Yuta asked. “The blinds are closed, and the light’s off.”
Mizuki snapped to at that. “What? Let me see.” He snatched the binoculars back.
Even Kaneda could see that Yuta was telling the truth, though. Mizuki and Yuta continued to whisper angrily back and forth, stealing the binoculars from each other over and over again. Kaneda sighed, sat back, and watched the Kaidohs’ gate open and close for a second time.
A boy who could only be Kaidoh’s younger brother peered at where they were all crouching in the bushes, fighting.
Kaneda poked Mizuki in the shoulder.
“Stay out of this,” Mizuki snapped at him, once again refusing to look up. Kaneda concluded that Mizuki really needed to work on that.
“Well, how did you lose him?” Yuta demanded.
“It was all your fault,” Mizuki retorted. “If you hadn’t wandered off and-”
“It’s my fault you can’t pay attention for two whole minutes?” Yuta snapped.
Kaidoh’s little brother walked over to them. He gave Kaneda a little wave.
Kaneda waved back and elbowed Mizuki harder this time.
“Not now, Kaneda,” Mizuki brushed him off. “I say we split up and do an end run around the block to try to-”
“Uh, excuse me?” Kaidoh’s little brother cut in. Hazue, Kaneda thought Mizuki had said his name was.
Mizuki and Yuta froze, then turned to stare as one.
“Eep!” Mizuki squeezed. “My, er, contact lens. Oh no, I have lost my contact lens!” He pretended to search around in the bushes.
Yuta gaped at him like he was nuts.
Hazue coughed pointedly. “Could you maybe not spy on my house all day with your binoculars again?” he asked exceedingly politely. “I have a lot of homework over break, and you’re very distracting.”
Mizuki froze. “My, er, contact lens that I lost two days ago…” he said numbly before shaking his head. “Ah, I can see that you are observant, indeed, to have spotted me,” his manner switched over immediately to confident and boastful.
Hazue blinked at him. “Well, you’ve been sitting in the bushes outside my window for three days with binoculars,” he pointed out. “So, um, I guess?”
“This merely proves that you are a worthy recruit,” Mizuki proclaimed.
“Uh, huh? Aren’t you spying on my brother? He said you were some weird tennis team or something.” Hazue scratched his head.
“We are, indeed, the St. Rudolph regulars,” Mizuki confirmed.
“Oh, uh, hi?”
“And we’re here to recruit you for next year,” Mizuki informed him.
“Me?” Hazue’s eyes bugged out.
“Yes, you,” Mizuki agreed.
“You mean… For tennis?” Hazue sounded very confused.
Mizuki frowned at him as though Hazue were intentionally making this very difficult. “Of course. What else?”
“Uh…” Hazue said sheepishly. “I don’t play tennis. That’s more my brother’s thing. I mostly play chess.”
Mizuki stared at him uncomprehending for several moments. “What do you mean you don’t play tennis?” he asked in disbelief.
“Well, Kaoru tried to teach me once, but I managed to hit myself in the face with my own racket after only two minutes.” Hazue shrugged. “I’m more of a mathlete than an athlete.”
“Bwuh?” Mizuki gaped in horror.
“But, uh, thanks for the thought and, uh, all the time you’ve put in…hiding in the bushes, I guess?” Hazue shrugged. “I’ll tell my brother you said hi.” He waved and headed back over to the gate.
“What?” Mizuki continued to gape at the spot he’d just vacated.
Yuta sighed wearily. “Come on, let’s just go home.”
“But he…” Mizuki visibly wilted as reality sunk in.
“Yeah, it’s cold out,” Kaneda rubbed his hands together and shivered a bit. “Let’s get some tea or something.”
“But I…” Mizuki sputtered.
“Mizuki?” Yuta said worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Who on earth doesn’t play tennis?” Mizuki finally exclaimed in horrified disbelief.
“I don’t know.” Yuta slung an arm around his shoulders and led him away.
“Crazy people,” Kaneda encouraged him.
Mizuki perked up slightly at that thought. “Yes, of course,” he agreed. “That Hazue must be insane. Ah well, better to know now than after he became a regular…”
Yuta and Kaneda just shared a look and a snicker behind Mizuki’s back.
***
Mizuki was morose at dinner that evening, though. Even Yuta stuffed food into his face slightly slower than usual in sympathy.
Kaneda had forgotten about his own problems until he’d seen Akazawa and his heart had squeezed in a funny way. He just couldn’t talk to Akazawa right then, so he elbowed his way in between Yanagisawa and Kisarazu. They teased each other mercilessly through the meal, as per usual, and Kaneda was caught right in the middle of it, so it was physically impossible for anyone to get a word in to him edgewise.
Akazawa looked worried when Kaneda dashed off after the meal without giving them a chance to talk. Kaneda felt guilty about that for a few minutes, but then locked the door of his room behind him and forced himself to work on homework.
It hadn’t been a good day.
***
The next morning, no one bothered to wake Kaneda for breakfast. Apparently, his bad mood had been that obvious. It was just as well because Kaneda wasn’t up to the team’s usual morning antics, anyway. Instead, he lay in bed and stared at the ceiling and, for once, even the thought of Akazawa’s naked body couldn’t distract him…much.
Finally, there was a timid knock on his door. “I-It’s time for choir practice,” Nomura said apologetically when Kaneda finally opened it.
It was their last practice of the season. Tomorrow evening was their Christmas Eve recital, and then they sung one last time for the midnight Christmas mass, and then choir was over. Kaneda felt panicky at the whole notion.
“Won’t you miss it?” Kaneda finally forced himself to ask as he and Nomura headed for the music room.
Nomura seemed to get what he meant. “Of course,” he agreed. “But there will be choir at St. Sebastian’s, too.”
“It won’t be the same, though,” Kaneda insisted.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t still enjoy it.”
“Without Sister Catherine on piano?” Kaneda pressed.
Nomura bit his lip. “I’ll still have her for English for a couple more months. I think it’s better to enjoy the time I have left than angst over the fact that the year’s almost over.”
Kaneda didn’t have much to say to that.
Choir practice came and went, for the first time in anyone’s recent memory, without a hitch. Maybe it was because they were so close to the recital or maybe the weight Kaneda felt on his shoulders was on everyone else’s as well. Whatever it was, they all sung like angels, solemn and serious, Akazawa’s rich voice below them all, holding the choir aloft. When they were finished, Sister Sakamoto gave everyone a suspicious look, like she couldn’t believe that they’d actually had a successful practice.
“Just like that tomorrow evening,” she instructed and let them go with the first smile Kaneda had ever seen from her.
Kaneda retreated to his room afterward and debated not going to tennis practice at all that day. However, he was technically in charge of practice now, and if he wasn’t there and someone actually did show up, they wouldn’t be able to get at the equipment.
Five minutes before practice started, Kaneda forced himself to switch into his gym clothes and make his way over to the gym.
And there…
There he got the surprise of his life.
***
“Kaneda, there you are!” Akazawa announced with a broad grin when Kaneda stepped into the gym. “I almost had to play doubles with Yuta.”
Kaneda blinked at the assembled crowd. There were over twice as many people at practice today than there should be, and as Kaneda looked closer, he realized that he didn’t recognize most of them. Then he caught sight of Kaidoh and Momoshiro yelling at each other across the court from Akazawa, and Fuji smiling malevolently next to Yuta, and Kaneda put two and two together.
“Seigaku actually showed up?” he asked in disbelief.
“Those of us who could make it,” Fuji agreed. Seigaku’s numbers weren’t much more impressive than St. Rudolph’s, to tell the truth. Kaidoh, Momoshiro, and Fuji were the only regulars, and there were maybe half a dozen first- and second-year sub-regulars warming up by the far wall.
“Come on,” Akazawa announced. “Let’s play. Kaidoh and Momoshiro have challenged us to a doubles match.”
Kaneda nodded nervously, but then a wave of giddiness swept through him at playing with Akazawa again, against Seigaku again, and he picked up his racket and stepped onto the court. “We have to uphold our perfect record against Seigaku,” he offered encouragingly to Akazawa.
Akazawa grinned back at him.
Kaidoh hissed. “You ready?”
And, like that, the tennis overtook them, and Kaneda had no time for thoughts or worries or anything else as the points tallied up, some for him and Akazawa and others for the Seigaku pair. Kaneda had watched Yanagisawa and Kisarazu’s tough match between these two at Prefecturals, but until now he hadn’t appreciated just how stubborn they could be.
By the time it was 5-3 in his and Akazawa’s favor, the sweat was beading from his forehead, and that grin of delight that only tennis could bring on spread across his face. It was made all the better because it was Akazawa he was playing with, and most of the time Akazawa played like a total singles player, but every so often he’d remember to look Kaneda’s way, remember they were a team, and in those moments, Kaneda felt so close to Akazawa, it was like they were one person.
They eventually won, but that wasn’t really the point. The point was that they had all played wonderful tennis, and it was exhilarating, and for once the large, echoing gym didn’t seem hollow and empty in the off-season, but excited and full of humming anticipation for next season.
Kaneda accepted a towel from Yuta and wiped the sweat from his hair as Mizuki challenged Fuji to a rematch. Fuji, with a secretive little smile, agreed, and the two of them were off.
Kaneda looked around the court, and St. Rudolph and Seigaku’s sub-regulars had all mingled together and were swatting haplessly at wild balls and serving way out of bounds most of the time, but they were laughing and not complaining at all, and Kaneda didn’t think they’d had a practice this fun since the season ended.
“I can’t believe Seigaku actually came,” Kaneda finally shook his head in disbelief and sat between Akazawa and Yuta on the bleachers to fully watch Mizuki and Fuji’s game. So far, they’d each held their service game.
“Hmm,” Yuta said thoughtfully. “I might have made an extra call to encourage them to come.” There was a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Kaneda gave him a curious look. “Oh?”
Yuta tilted his head to the game before them. “I told Shusuke that his Christmas present to me should be my Christmas present to Mizuki.”
Kaneda’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…”
“Didn’t I?” Yuta retorted smugly.
“So your brother’s going to lose on purpose or what?” The score was now 3-all, with neither opponent having lost a service game so far. Kaneda frankly doubted Mizuki had improved that much to do so well on his own.
Yuta snorted. “Hardly. He only promised not to humiliate Mizuki.”
“That wouldn’t be in the Christmas spirit, I suppose,” Kaneda agreed.
“With Shusuke, it’s always better to double-check.”
The game made it to 5-all, and then Fuji finally broke Mizuki’s serve and won 7-5. He must have gotten scarily good when Kaneda wasn’t looking, because Kaneda sure couldn’t see any signs that he’d thrown any of the points. It had looked like a good game to him.
Mizuki seemed quite content with it, as well.
“Next time,” he cackled diabolically, “you won’t stand a chance!”
Fuji smiled, completely not worried.
“Seigaku will meet its downfall at St. Rudolph’s hands, mark my words!”
“We’ll just have to practice twice as hard, then,” Fuji agreed diplomatically. “So, who’s up next?”
Yuta and Kaidoh played a singles match, then, and Momoshiro finally annoyed Mizuki enough that Mizuki challenged him, too, for good measure.
Kaneda sighed as he watched them and relaxed for the first time that week. Beside him, Akazawa leaned forward, elbows on his knees, seemingly intent on the match. He was so close his thigh was warm and solid against Kaneda’s thigh, even though they had plenty of room, so there was no reason for them to sit that close.
“You know,” Kaneda said, “there’s still time for you to make Yuta captain instead of me.”
“Oh?” Akazawa said. “And why would I want to do that?”
“Well, just look at this,” Kaneda gestured to the courts around them, which were full of life. “Yuta pulled this off when even Mizuki couldn’t. And everyone knows he’s a better player than me. I won’t be offended, you know.”
Akazawa chuckled to himself. “Yes, Yuta did an excellent job today.”
Kaneda bit his lip. That was that.
“But you have done an excellent job every today for these last few months, with little to no help from anyone else,” Akazawa continued. “Something like this is fun. But coaching all the beginners day-in and day-out? Refusing to give up on even the most hopeless cases? Holding what’s left of the team together even in the bleakest times? Those, unfortunately, are the tasks a real captain must undertake.”
Kaneda blinked at him in disbelief and felt his cheeks flushing. “But I…” And then he frowned and asked what he really should have asked back when Akazawa first said he was making Kaneda captain. It was a lot easier to think clearly about these things now that Akazawa was fully clothed. “Why me?”
“I knew ever since our doubles match together,” Akazawa answered. “St. Rudolph’s weakness this year was that we didn’t work together as a team. I saw it, and even Mizuki saw it. But you… You managed to make even me work as a team with you, even if you had to drag me into it kicking and screaming.” Akazawa’s shoulder nudged Kaneda’s shoulder, and it was cozy and intimate and wonderful.
Just then, even Kaneda believed he could be a good captain next year. “I-I’ll do my best not to let you down,” he agreed.
“You’ll always have help,” Akazawa assured him. “Yuta will still be with you.”
“He’ll be vice-captain,” Kaneda agreed. “And already the two of us fight less than you and Mizuki.”
Akazawa grinned at him. “Seigaku doesn’t have a chance next year.”
And he sounded so much like Mizuki just then that they both laughed.
***
Seigaku left shortly before dinner. Everyone was so hyped up about the match, though, that it was the only thing they talked about the entire way through. They even moved to one of the larger cafeteria tables, so that the sub-regulars could sit with them as well, and they wouldn’t have to break up the conversation.
“You guys should have told us they were here, huh,” Yanagisawa complained. “Atsushi and I could have had a rematch against Momoshiro and Kaidoh.”
Kisarazu nodded in agreement and scowled at Mizuki for not calling them.
“You two were the ones so convinced that it wasn’t worth coming to practice anymore,” Mizuki said loftily. “Don’t blame me that you missed out.”
Kaneda snorted to himself; Mizuki hadn’t been to practice all month, either. If Yuta hadn’t planned everything in advance, Mizuki would have missed out, too.
“It was a nice reminder of the season ahead,” Akazawa commented. “Sometimes I forget just how much I miss tennis season.”
“Well, don’t forget too much,” Mizuki instructed. “You’re vital in the singles three position for St. Sebastian next year, according to my statistical model.”
Akazawa blinked at him. “You’re going to St. Sebastian next year?” he asked with more than a little dismay.
“Of course,” Mizuki insisted. “What, did you think I’d start recruiting a high-school team from scratch?”
Akazawa groaned.
“In our second year, Kaneda and Yuta will join us, of course,” Mizuki had his notebook out and was outlining a brand new plan. “I hope to have succeeded in driving out whoever is on the current team by that point.”
“By annoying them to death?” Akazawa suggested.
“Yes, by-Hey!” Mizuki exclaimed in outrage when he realized what Akazawa had just said.
Yuta snorted and inhaled a plate full of tempura.
“Around that time, Shinya will have grown dreadfully sick of the excessive amounts of homework at his boring science academy,” Mizuki continued.
“Hey!” Yanagisawa protested.
“And Atsushi will be sick of his brother all over again and will want to go back to somewhere where people can actually tell them apart,” Mizuki concluded.
“You can’t tell us apart!” Kisarazu accused. “You thought I was Ryo!”
Mizuki breezed right over that. “Then, the team will be all back together, and we will…”
“Here it comes,” Nomura breathed.
They all winced in anticipation.
“Finally defeat our eternal rivals once and for all!” Mizuki exclaimed with unholy fervor in his eyes.
Just for once, Kaneda decided to indulge him. “You know,” he said, “I think we will.”
Mizuki beamed.
***
That could have been the perfect end to everything, and Kaneda would have come away from it all thinking it was the best Christmas ever. But that night, as per St. Rudolph tradition, the students who had stayed behind in the dorms threw themselves a party, since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were busy with things like recitals and masses and school-approved Christmas cheer. The night before Christmas Eve belonged all to the students, though, and someone had decked out all the dorm hallways with holly and wreaths. Kaneda suspected Mizuki just because Mizuki always was the one responsible for things like that, although Mizuki wasn’t saying a word on the subject.
Someone also - and, if it was Mizuki, that would explain why Yuta was looking rather anxious just then - had set up a sprig of mistletoe in the middle of the common room. It was a funny thing for a boys-only dormitory to have, but there it was nonetheless.
“Huh? What, huh?” Yanagisawa had blinked in disbelief when Nomura pointed out where he was standing.
Kisarazu had just snickered at him.
“Oh, yeah?” Yanagisawa countered. “I don’t see you doing anything about it.”
Kisarazu shrugged, leaned in, and gave Yanagisawa a quick peck on the cheek, like it was nothing.
Yanagisawa gaped in shock for a moment, and then his face turned bright red straight from his hairline down to the tip of his chin. “H-Huh…” he finally said dumbly.
Everyone laughed.
“You know,” Mizuki sidled up to Yuta. “There are more snacks in my room. Why don’t you help me get them?” And head right under the mistletoe in the process, was left unsaid.
“Just how stupid do you think I am?” Yuta retorted and engulfed a handful of cookies.
At the rate Yuta was eating, they were going to run out soon, though, so Kaneda decided that - as the new captain - he would let Mizuki have his fun trying to sidle up to Yuta and go get the snacks himself.
Apparently, it was an autopilot sort of thought for a captain to have, because Akazawa did the exact same thing at the exact same time. They met in the middle.
Nomura let out a wolf-whistle, and everyone turned to stare at them.
Akazawa gulped, and he looked like he had no idea what to do with his hands.
Kaneda knew, though. He leaned in, caught Akazawa’s chin in one hand and slid the other firmly around Akazawa’s waist. He still had to arch up on his toes to press his lips solidly against Akazawa’s for one glorious moment.
Akazawa’s lips were warm and soft and then, hesitantly, they were moving back against Kaneda’s in response.
Kaneda finally pulled back and let out a deep, shaky breath. Akazawa looked a little lost and confused as he stared down into Kaneda’s eyes.
And, Kaneda figured, it was moments like these that made the whole contorted mess of puberty worthwhile. He may have had hair in his crotch and a voice that broke far too often and been hopelessly confused about everything in the known universe, but it also meant that he was growing up and, occasionally, he could even take charge in situations like this one.
“Come on.” Kaneda slid his hand around Akazawa’s wrist. “Let’s go get more food.”
Akazawa nodded numbly and let Kaneda lead him away.
They never did manage to make it back from Mizuki’s room that night.
Absolutely no one was surprised, although Mizuki did let out a screech of horror when he realized exactly where they’d ended up.
Akazawa had just laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around Kaneda, and Kaneda had never been happier.
It was a true Christmas miracle.
As always, comments are most appreciated.
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairing: Team ensemble featuring Akazawa/Kaneda, with some Mizuki/Yuuta, one-sided Nomura/Catherine, and a little Yanagisawa/Kisarazu.
Rating: R
Word Count: 12,836
Spoilers/Warnings: Some boys doing the usual naughty things when left alone in their dorm rooms.
Summary: The week before Christmas, Kaneda faces off against puberty, Akazawa’s habit of wearing far too little clothing, three separate brilliant master plans by Mizuki, and St. Rudolph’s surly sub-regular tennis team, yet somehow still manages to come out on top.
Notes: Originally written for crowitched for strudy_exchange here. Broken into two parts due to length.
A Modern Yuletide Carol
by Kantayra
Kaneda felt queasy that morning, so he skipped breakfast. And since there were no classes, he didn’t have to get up for those, either. As a result, he finally rolled out of bed around noon. It was time for lunch, but he didn’t know what on earth he’d do if Akazawa was at lunch, so he decided to go out.
This happened to be fortuitous - although it was debatable whether for good or bad - because while he was sneaking out of the dorms, he ran right into Mizuki and Yuta, who were clearly sneaking off to bother Kaidoh’s little brother some more.
“Hey, Kaneda,” Yuta perked up at the sight of him. “Why don’t you come join us?”
Kaneda blinked at this, because he’d never been invited along on one of Mizuki’s data-gathering missions before.
Mizuki scowled as well; clearly, it hadn’t been his idea to invite Kaneda.
“Uh,” Kaneda scratched his head sheepishly, “I’d love to, really, but I have to-”
“Great,” Yuta grabbed his arm before he could finish and dragged him along. “Three pairs of eyes are better than two, right, Mizuki?”
Mizuki grumbled, buried his hands in his pockets, and stalked out the front door.
Kaneda held a ways back and whispered to Yuta. “Look, I really don’t think this is a good idea. Mizuki obviously doesn’t want to come, so-”
“I need you to come,” Yuta hissed back. “Mizuki hasn’t left me alone for three days now, and I need someone to distract him while I sort out his Christmas present.”
“Oh. Oh.” Kaneda stopped fighting Yuta and smiled at him instead. “Sure. I can help with that.”
Yuta breathed a sigh of relief. The two of them ran to catch up with Mizuki, who was making his way purposefully to the bus stop.
“So, uh… Are we gathering more data on Kaidoh’s little brother today?” Kaneda asked awkwardly, like he hung out with Mizuki every day.
“Obviously.” Mizuki pressed his lips together tightly in annoyance. “Akazawa informed us he made you captain, by the way. Congratulations.” Mizuki didn’t sound pleased with this decision in the slightest. Given that Kaneda’s only real competition had been Yuta, this wasn’t surprising.
“Uh… Thanks.” Kaneda winced. He really would’ve liked the opportunity to try to convince Akazawa that Yuta was clearly the man for the job, before it got announced to the whole team.
“Yeah, congrats,” Yuta agreed and blew on his hands to warm them up before shoving them back deep in his jacket pockets. “Better you than me.”
“Heh,” Kaneda said warily, because he honestly didn’t believe that at all.
Thankfully, the bus came then, and it was too crowded for them to really talk until they got to the Kaidohs’ neighborhood. And then Mizuki hushed them both and made them all hide in the bushes, because apparently Kaidoh had very unpredictable jogging routes, and Mizuki didn’t want them to be seen. Given that they were all wearing hats and scarves, Kaneda doubted that Kaidoh would even be able to recognize them.
Yuta gave Kaneda a wink and tilted his head off to one side, which Kaneda interpreted as, “You distract Mizuki, while I go get his Christmas present.” Kaneda nodded and winked back, chasing after Mizuki through the bushes while Yuta snuck off.
Mizuki finally settled down by a gap in the fence outside the Kaidohs’ backyard and hunkered down in the bushes. Kaneda slipped in behind him.
“Here.” Mizuki passed Kaneda an open notebook and pencil over his shoulder without even bothering to glance back at him. “You take dictation.”
Kaneda accepted the notebook, while Mizuki pulled out a pair of binoculars.
“Continuing to operate under the assumption that second floor, third window is Kaidoh Hazue’s window. Time is 1:21 and the blinds are open. Can see movement by the window.”
Kaneda scribbled all this down wearily. Honestly, this felt sort of creepy to him, but presumably Mizuki knew what he was doing.
“Aha.” Mizuki shifted the binoculars downwards. “Kaidoh the elder has just left the building. I repeat, Kaidoh the elder has just left the building.” Mizuki dropped the binoculars and lay flat down on the ground. Kaneda followed his lead.
A minute later, there was the sound of scuffling footsteps, and the gate opened and closed. Kaneda heard a long, slow, hissing “fsssh!” sound and then the sound of running shoes hitting the pavement at a steady jog. Kaneda stayed hidden, his eyes trained on the sidewalk, waiting for the danger to pass.
The problem was that Kaneda was so focused on Kaidoh that he forgot about Mizuki, until he suddenly felt a hand brush up against his inner thigh.
“Eek!” Kaneda let out an unearthly shriek.
“Aiee!” Mizuki screeched right back at him and snatched his hand away.
“You! You!” Kaneda sputtered helplessly.
“You’re not Yuta!” Mizuki accused him. “Where’s Yuta?”
“It took you this long to notice who I was?” Kaneda retorted, inching nervously as far away from Mizuki as he could get in the bushes.
Mizuki scowled at him. “Oh, please. Like I’d touch you anyway.”
“You just did!” Kaneda insisted.
“I thought you were Yuta.”
“And that makes it better?”
Mizuki scowled. “Where. Is. Yuta?” he demanded dangerously.
Kaneda thought fast. “He said I should stick with you while he did recon around front.” Apparently, Kaneda hadn’t thought fast enough, though, because that excuse wouldn’t hold up to any scrutiny.
Indeed, Mizuki gave him a suspicious look and opened his mouth to say something when they spotted Yuta sneaking down the street, crouched down low enough that he couldn’t be seen over the fence.
Kaneda breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where were you?” Mizuki hissed. “Kaneda here almost got us caught.”
Behind Mizuki, Kaneda tried to signal Yuta what the cover story was through eyebrow motions. Yuta blinked at him like he was insane.
“Whatever,” Yuta just grumbled and crouched down next to Mizuki in the bushes. “What’s happening?”
Mizuki snorted but didn’t press the issue. Kaneda was a little awed; apparently Yuta’s persistent, aggressive surliness did have some uses, after all.
“Kaidoh just went out for his afternoon run,” Mizuki informed Yuta. “The little brother is up in his room.”
Yuta took the binoculars from Mizuki’s lap and peered through them at the window. Only, the strap of the binoculars was around Mizuki’s neck, so Yuta ended up pulling Mizuki along with them. Mizuki’s nose ended up inches from Yuta’s hair as a result, and he smiled a blissful little smile. Kaneda was vaguely disturbed.
“Where?” Yuta asked. “The blinds are closed, and the light’s off.”
Mizuki snapped to at that. “What? Let me see.” He snatched the binoculars back.
Even Kaneda could see that Yuta was telling the truth, though. Mizuki and Yuta continued to whisper angrily back and forth, stealing the binoculars from each other over and over again. Kaneda sighed, sat back, and watched the Kaidohs’ gate open and close for a second time.
A boy who could only be Kaidoh’s younger brother peered at where they were all crouching in the bushes, fighting.
Kaneda poked Mizuki in the shoulder.
“Stay out of this,” Mizuki snapped at him, once again refusing to look up. Kaneda concluded that Mizuki really needed to work on that.
“Well, how did you lose him?” Yuta demanded.
“It was all your fault,” Mizuki retorted. “If you hadn’t wandered off and-”
“It’s my fault you can’t pay attention for two whole minutes?” Yuta snapped.
Kaidoh’s little brother walked over to them. He gave Kaneda a little wave.
Kaneda waved back and elbowed Mizuki harder this time.
“Not now, Kaneda,” Mizuki brushed him off. “I say we split up and do an end run around the block to try to-”
“Uh, excuse me?” Kaidoh’s little brother cut in. Hazue, Kaneda thought Mizuki had said his name was.
Mizuki and Yuta froze, then turned to stare as one.
“Eep!” Mizuki squeezed. “My, er, contact lens. Oh no, I have lost my contact lens!” He pretended to search around in the bushes.
Yuta gaped at him like he was nuts.
Hazue coughed pointedly. “Could you maybe not spy on my house all day with your binoculars again?” he asked exceedingly politely. “I have a lot of homework over break, and you’re very distracting.”
Mizuki froze. “My, er, contact lens that I lost two days ago…” he said numbly before shaking his head. “Ah, I can see that you are observant, indeed, to have spotted me,” his manner switched over immediately to confident and boastful.
Hazue blinked at him. “Well, you’ve been sitting in the bushes outside my window for three days with binoculars,” he pointed out. “So, um, I guess?”
“This merely proves that you are a worthy recruit,” Mizuki proclaimed.
“Uh, huh? Aren’t you spying on my brother? He said you were some weird tennis team or something.” Hazue scratched his head.
“We are, indeed, the St. Rudolph regulars,” Mizuki confirmed.
“Oh, uh, hi?”
“And we’re here to recruit you for next year,” Mizuki informed him.
“Me?” Hazue’s eyes bugged out.
“Yes, you,” Mizuki agreed.
“You mean… For tennis?” Hazue sounded very confused.
Mizuki frowned at him as though Hazue were intentionally making this very difficult. “Of course. What else?”
“Uh…” Hazue said sheepishly. “I don’t play tennis. That’s more my brother’s thing. I mostly play chess.”
Mizuki stared at him uncomprehending for several moments. “What do you mean you don’t play tennis?” he asked in disbelief.
“Well, Kaoru tried to teach me once, but I managed to hit myself in the face with my own racket after only two minutes.” Hazue shrugged. “I’m more of a mathlete than an athlete.”
“Bwuh?” Mizuki gaped in horror.
“But, uh, thanks for the thought and, uh, all the time you’ve put in…hiding in the bushes, I guess?” Hazue shrugged. “I’ll tell my brother you said hi.” He waved and headed back over to the gate.
“What?” Mizuki continued to gape at the spot he’d just vacated.
Yuta sighed wearily. “Come on, let’s just go home.”
“But he…” Mizuki visibly wilted as reality sunk in.
“Yeah, it’s cold out,” Kaneda rubbed his hands together and shivered a bit. “Let’s get some tea or something.”
“But I…” Mizuki sputtered.
“Mizuki?” Yuta said worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Who on earth doesn’t play tennis?” Mizuki finally exclaimed in horrified disbelief.
“I don’t know.” Yuta slung an arm around his shoulders and led him away.
“Crazy people,” Kaneda encouraged him.
Mizuki perked up slightly at that thought. “Yes, of course,” he agreed. “That Hazue must be insane. Ah well, better to know now than after he became a regular…”
Yuta and Kaneda just shared a look and a snicker behind Mizuki’s back.
***
Mizuki was morose at dinner that evening, though. Even Yuta stuffed food into his face slightly slower than usual in sympathy.
Kaneda had forgotten about his own problems until he’d seen Akazawa and his heart had squeezed in a funny way. He just couldn’t talk to Akazawa right then, so he elbowed his way in between Yanagisawa and Kisarazu. They teased each other mercilessly through the meal, as per usual, and Kaneda was caught right in the middle of it, so it was physically impossible for anyone to get a word in to him edgewise.
Akazawa looked worried when Kaneda dashed off after the meal without giving them a chance to talk. Kaneda felt guilty about that for a few minutes, but then locked the door of his room behind him and forced himself to work on homework.
It hadn’t been a good day.
***
The next morning, no one bothered to wake Kaneda for breakfast. Apparently, his bad mood had been that obvious. It was just as well because Kaneda wasn’t up to the team’s usual morning antics, anyway. Instead, he lay in bed and stared at the ceiling and, for once, even the thought of Akazawa’s naked body couldn’t distract him…much.
Finally, there was a timid knock on his door. “I-It’s time for choir practice,” Nomura said apologetically when Kaneda finally opened it.
It was their last practice of the season. Tomorrow evening was their Christmas Eve recital, and then they sung one last time for the midnight Christmas mass, and then choir was over. Kaneda felt panicky at the whole notion.
“Won’t you miss it?” Kaneda finally forced himself to ask as he and Nomura headed for the music room.
Nomura seemed to get what he meant. “Of course,” he agreed. “But there will be choir at St. Sebastian’s, too.”
“It won’t be the same, though,” Kaneda insisted.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t still enjoy it.”
“Without Sister Catherine on piano?” Kaneda pressed.
Nomura bit his lip. “I’ll still have her for English for a couple more months. I think it’s better to enjoy the time I have left than angst over the fact that the year’s almost over.”
Kaneda didn’t have much to say to that.
Choir practice came and went, for the first time in anyone’s recent memory, without a hitch. Maybe it was because they were so close to the recital or maybe the weight Kaneda felt on his shoulders was on everyone else’s as well. Whatever it was, they all sung like angels, solemn and serious, Akazawa’s rich voice below them all, holding the choir aloft. When they were finished, Sister Sakamoto gave everyone a suspicious look, like she couldn’t believe that they’d actually had a successful practice.
“Just like that tomorrow evening,” she instructed and let them go with the first smile Kaneda had ever seen from her.
Kaneda retreated to his room afterward and debated not going to tennis practice at all that day. However, he was technically in charge of practice now, and if he wasn’t there and someone actually did show up, they wouldn’t be able to get at the equipment.
Five minutes before practice started, Kaneda forced himself to switch into his gym clothes and make his way over to the gym.
And there…
There he got the surprise of his life.
***
“Kaneda, there you are!” Akazawa announced with a broad grin when Kaneda stepped into the gym. “I almost had to play doubles with Yuta.”
Kaneda blinked at the assembled crowd. There were over twice as many people at practice today than there should be, and as Kaneda looked closer, he realized that he didn’t recognize most of them. Then he caught sight of Kaidoh and Momoshiro yelling at each other across the court from Akazawa, and Fuji smiling malevolently next to Yuta, and Kaneda put two and two together.
“Seigaku actually showed up?” he asked in disbelief.
“Those of us who could make it,” Fuji agreed. Seigaku’s numbers weren’t much more impressive than St. Rudolph’s, to tell the truth. Kaidoh, Momoshiro, and Fuji were the only regulars, and there were maybe half a dozen first- and second-year sub-regulars warming up by the far wall.
“Come on,” Akazawa announced. “Let’s play. Kaidoh and Momoshiro have challenged us to a doubles match.”
Kaneda nodded nervously, but then a wave of giddiness swept through him at playing with Akazawa again, against Seigaku again, and he picked up his racket and stepped onto the court. “We have to uphold our perfect record against Seigaku,” he offered encouragingly to Akazawa.
Akazawa grinned back at him.
Kaidoh hissed. “You ready?”
And, like that, the tennis overtook them, and Kaneda had no time for thoughts or worries or anything else as the points tallied up, some for him and Akazawa and others for the Seigaku pair. Kaneda had watched Yanagisawa and Kisarazu’s tough match between these two at Prefecturals, but until now he hadn’t appreciated just how stubborn they could be.
By the time it was 5-3 in his and Akazawa’s favor, the sweat was beading from his forehead, and that grin of delight that only tennis could bring on spread across his face. It was made all the better because it was Akazawa he was playing with, and most of the time Akazawa played like a total singles player, but every so often he’d remember to look Kaneda’s way, remember they were a team, and in those moments, Kaneda felt so close to Akazawa, it was like they were one person.
They eventually won, but that wasn’t really the point. The point was that they had all played wonderful tennis, and it was exhilarating, and for once the large, echoing gym didn’t seem hollow and empty in the off-season, but excited and full of humming anticipation for next season.
Kaneda accepted a towel from Yuta and wiped the sweat from his hair as Mizuki challenged Fuji to a rematch. Fuji, with a secretive little smile, agreed, and the two of them were off.
Kaneda looked around the court, and St. Rudolph and Seigaku’s sub-regulars had all mingled together and were swatting haplessly at wild balls and serving way out of bounds most of the time, but they were laughing and not complaining at all, and Kaneda didn’t think they’d had a practice this fun since the season ended.
“I can’t believe Seigaku actually came,” Kaneda finally shook his head in disbelief and sat between Akazawa and Yuta on the bleachers to fully watch Mizuki and Fuji’s game. So far, they’d each held their service game.
“Hmm,” Yuta said thoughtfully. “I might have made an extra call to encourage them to come.” There was a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Kaneda gave him a curious look. “Oh?”
Yuta tilted his head to the game before them. “I told Shusuke that his Christmas present to me should be my Christmas present to Mizuki.”
Kaneda’s eyes widened. “You didn’t…”
“Didn’t I?” Yuta retorted smugly.
“So your brother’s going to lose on purpose or what?” The score was now 3-all, with neither opponent having lost a service game so far. Kaneda frankly doubted Mizuki had improved that much to do so well on his own.
Yuta snorted. “Hardly. He only promised not to humiliate Mizuki.”
“That wouldn’t be in the Christmas spirit, I suppose,” Kaneda agreed.
“With Shusuke, it’s always better to double-check.”
The game made it to 5-all, and then Fuji finally broke Mizuki’s serve and won 7-5. He must have gotten scarily good when Kaneda wasn’t looking, because Kaneda sure couldn’t see any signs that he’d thrown any of the points. It had looked like a good game to him.
Mizuki seemed quite content with it, as well.
“Next time,” he cackled diabolically, “you won’t stand a chance!”
Fuji smiled, completely not worried.
“Seigaku will meet its downfall at St. Rudolph’s hands, mark my words!”
“We’ll just have to practice twice as hard, then,” Fuji agreed diplomatically. “So, who’s up next?”
Yuta and Kaidoh played a singles match, then, and Momoshiro finally annoyed Mizuki enough that Mizuki challenged him, too, for good measure.
Kaneda sighed as he watched them and relaxed for the first time that week. Beside him, Akazawa leaned forward, elbows on his knees, seemingly intent on the match. He was so close his thigh was warm and solid against Kaneda’s thigh, even though they had plenty of room, so there was no reason for them to sit that close.
“You know,” Kaneda said, “there’s still time for you to make Yuta captain instead of me.”
“Oh?” Akazawa said. “And why would I want to do that?”
“Well, just look at this,” Kaneda gestured to the courts around them, which were full of life. “Yuta pulled this off when even Mizuki couldn’t. And everyone knows he’s a better player than me. I won’t be offended, you know.”
Akazawa chuckled to himself. “Yes, Yuta did an excellent job today.”
Kaneda bit his lip. That was that.
“But you have done an excellent job every today for these last few months, with little to no help from anyone else,” Akazawa continued. “Something like this is fun. But coaching all the beginners day-in and day-out? Refusing to give up on even the most hopeless cases? Holding what’s left of the team together even in the bleakest times? Those, unfortunately, are the tasks a real captain must undertake.”
Kaneda blinked at him in disbelief and felt his cheeks flushing. “But I…” And then he frowned and asked what he really should have asked back when Akazawa first said he was making Kaneda captain. It was a lot easier to think clearly about these things now that Akazawa was fully clothed. “Why me?”
“I knew ever since our doubles match together,” Akazawa answered. “St. Rudolph’s weakness this year was that we didn’t work together as a team. I saw it, and even Mizuki saw it. But you… You managed to make even me work as a team with you, even if you had to drag me into it kicking and screaming.” Akazawa’s shoulder nudged Kaneda’s shoulder, and it was cozy and intimate and wonderful.
Just then, even Kaneda believed he could be a good captain next year. “I-I’ll do my best not to let you down,” he agreed.
“You’ll always have help,” Akazawa assured him. “Yuta will still be with you.”
“He’ll be vice-captain,” Kaneda agreed. “And already the two of us fight less than you and Mizuki.”
Akazawa grinned at him. “Seigaku doesn’t have a chance next year.”
And he sounded so much like Mizuki just then that they both laughed.
***
Seigaku left shortly before dinner. Everyone was so hyped up about the match, though, that it was the only thing they talked about the entire way through. They even moved to one of the larger cafeteria tables, so that the sub-regulars could sit with them as well, and they wouldn’t have to break up the conversation.
“You guys should have told us they were here, huh,” Yanagisawa complained. “Atsushi and I could have had a rematch against Momoshiro and Kaidoh.”
Kisarazu nodded in agreement and scowled at Mizuki for not calling them.
“You two were the ones so convinced that it wasn’t worth coming to practice anymore,” Mizuki said loftily. “Don’t blame me that you missed out.”
Kaneda snorted to himself; Mizuki hadn’t been to practice all month, either. If Yuta hadn’t planned everything in advance, Mizuki would have missed out, too.
“It was a nice reminder of the season ahead,” Akazawa commented. “Sometimes I forget just how much I miss tennis season.”
“Well, don’t forget too much,” Mizuki instructed. “You’re vital in the singles three position for St. Sebastian next year, according to my statistical model.”
Akazawa blinked at him. “You’re going to St. Sebastian next year?” he asked with more than a little dismay.
“Of course,” Mizuki insisted. “What, did you think I’d start recruiting a high-school team from scratch?”
Akazawa groaned.
“In our second year, Kaneda and Yuta will join us, of course,” Mizuki had his notebook out and was outlining a brand new plan. “I hope to have succeeded in driving out whoever is on the current team by that point.”
“By annoying them to death?” Akazawa suggested.
“Yes, by-Hey!” Mizuki exclaimed in outrage when he realized what Akazawa had just said.
Yuta snorted and inhaled a plate full of tempura.
“Around that time, Shinya will have grown dreadfully sick of the excessive amounts of homework at his boring science academy,” Mizuki continued.
“Hey!” Yanagisawa protested.
“And Atsushi will be sick of his brother all over again and will want to go back to somewhere where people can actually tell them apart,” Mizuki concluded.
“You can’t tell us apart!” Kisarazu accused. “You thought I was Ryo!”
Mizuki breezed right over that. “Then, the team will be all back together, and we will…”
“Here it comes,” Nomura breathed.
They all winced in anticipation.
“Finally defeat our eternal rivals once and for all!” Mizuki exclaimed with unholy fervor in his eyes.
Just for once, Kaneda decided to indulge him. “You know,” he said, “I think we will.”
Mizuki beamed.
***
That could have been the perfect end to everything, and Kaneda would have come away from it all thinking it was the best Christmas ever. But that night, as per St. Rudolph tradition, the students who had stayed behind in the dorms threw themselves a party, since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were busy with things like recitals and masses and school-approved Christmas cheer. The night before Christmas Eve belonged all to the students, though, and someone had decked out all the dorm hallways with holly and wreaths. Kaneda suspected Mizuki just because Mizuki always was the one responsible for things like that, although Mizuki wasn’t saying a word on the subject.
Someone also - and, if it was Mizuki, that would explain why Yuta was looking rather anxious just then - had set up a sprig of mistletoe in the middle of the common room. It was a funny thing for a boys-only dormitory to have, but there it was nonetheless.
“Huh? What, huh?” Yanagisawa had blinked in disbelief when Nomura pointed out where he was standing.
Kisarazu had just snickered at him.
“Oh, yeah?” Yanagisawa countered. “I don’t see you doing anything about it.”
Kisarazu shrugged, leaned in, and gave Yanagisawa a quick peck on the cheek, like it was nothing.
Yanagisawa gaped in shock for a moment, and then his face turned bright red straight from his hairline down to the tip of his chin. “H-Huh…” he finally said dumbly.
Everyone laughed.
“You know,” Mizuki sidled up to Yuta. “There are more snacks in my room. Why don’t you help me get them?” And head right under the mistletoe in the process, was left unsaid.
“Just how stupid do you think I am?” Yuta retorted and engulfed a handful of cookies.
At the rate Yuta was eating, they were going to run out soon, though, so Kaneda decided that - as the new captain - he would let Mizuki have his fun trying to sidle up to Yuta and go get the snacks himself.
Apparently, it was an autopilot sort of thought for a captain to have, because Akazawa did the exact same thing at the exact same time. They met in the middle.
Nomura let out a wolf-whistle, and everyone turned to stare at them.
Akazawa gulped, and he looked like he had no idea what to do with his hands.
Kaneda knew, though. He leaned in, caught Akazawa’s chin in one hand and slid the other firmly around Akazawa’s waist. He still had to arch up on his toes to press his lips solidly against Akazawa’s for one glorious moment.
Akazawa’s lips were warm and soft and then, hesitantly, they were moving back against Kaneda’s in response.
Kaneda finally pulled back and let out a deep, shaky breath. Akazawa looked a little lost and confused as he stared down into Kaneda’s eyes.
And, Kaneda figured, it was moments like these that made the whole contorted mess of puberty worthwhile. He may have had hair in his crotch and a voice that broke far too often and been hopelessly confused about everything in the known universe, but it also meant that he was growing up and, occasionally, he could even take charge in situations like this one.
“Come on.” Kaneda slid his hand around Akazawa’s wrist. “Let’s go get more food.”
Akazawa nodded numbly and let Kaneda lead him away.
They never did manage to make it back from Mizuki’s room that night.
Absolutely no one was surprised, although Mizuki did let out a screech of horror when he realized exactly where they’d ended up.
Akazawa had just laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around Kaneda, and Kaneda had never been happier.
It was a true Christmas miracle.
As always, comments are most appreciated.