FIC: Pride and Joy
Title: Pride and Joy
Characters: Shishido, Ohtori, and more
Warnings: Straight boys?
Summary: A handful of years after school, the Hyoutei boys meet up again. Even with new additions, some things just stay the same.
Notes: Admit it, Shishido would be the best parent ever. Kenken with kids inspired me.
The US Open provided the best opportunity to get the old Hyoutei tennis team together. Not because all of them made it, in fact it was only one of their teammates competing, but seeing Atobe go head to head against Echizen for the third year in a row wasn't something to be missed. Especially when Atobe was paying.
Ohtori was one of the first in the box seats reserved for them. His fiance was talking with Oshitari, who seemed as charming as ever. Ohtori wasn't worried, though, not when behind the standing Oshitari sat a grumpy-looking redhead who'd been living with the tensai out of high school. Mukahi shot Ohtori an exasperated look, rolling his eyes as Oshitari sent Ohtori's fiance into a fit of giggles. Ohtori returned the look with a sheepish smile and shrug before looking out onto the almost empty court. Some things never changed.
The first announcement of Shishido's arrival was a shrill, "Daddy daddy, I'm hungry!"
Ohtori turned around quickly, so fast that he thought he heard Mukahi snicker.
And there was Shishido, arm being tugged by a little girl in a blue baseball cap. Her brown pigtails were squished to the sides of her head by it, and her face was almost completely overshadowed by the large bill. "That's why I told you to finish your cereal this morning, didn't I?" Shishido's voice seemed unchanged by time; still rough in the right places, fond in the others. He gave the little girl a grin and tugged the cap down over her face. He adjusted a strap on his shoulder and from behind the sleek brown ponytail that was Shishido's hair peeked a small face with the biggest brown eyes Ohtori had ever seen.
The little girl shrieked and shoved the cap back in place, giving her father a glare. But by this point Shishido had looked up, and his grin was for Ohtori.
"Shishido-san," Ohtori said in greeting, walking away from the railing. His face too was in a smile, but he was so overwhelmed to see the man again that he didn't know what else to say.
"Oi, Mariko," Shishido said, sweeping his hands under the little girl's armpits and lifting her up on front of them, "You remember Choutarou, don't you?"
Ohtori laughed at the perplexed look the girl gave as she looked up at him. "I don't think she would, she was a baby the last time I saw her."
"Well this," Shishido said, shifting her around so that she was held up against him with one arm, "Is my old partner Choutarou. We played doubles for years back in school." He plucked the hat off her head and turned it around backwards, fitting it down over her pigtails again so that she could actually see.
There came a snort from the seats. "She looks just like you did, Ryou! Always said you looked like a girl."
"And that's Gakuto," Shishido said with a roll of his eyes, setting Mariko back down. He leaned down to whisper loudly, "He's from a family of dwarves."
The girl's eyes opened widely, and Shishido laughed to the sound of, "I heard that!"
"Ouch!" Shishido's face contorted, and his hand went up to his ponytail, which had two chubby fists curled around the strands. He made a 'tsk'ing sound as he untangled them. "Now what did I tell you about pulling daddy's hair? Ah,"
Shishido turned his attention back to Ohtori as he flipped his hair forward over his shoulder. "This is Hitoshi, he's a little over seven months now."
The little boy on Shishido's back gave a giggle and his big eyes crinkled up as his hand patted his father's shoulder. Ohtori couldn't help but beam back at him as he reached a hand out, which Hitoshi promptly grabbed.
"Watch out," Shishido warned, "He's got quite a grip. Don't you Hito-chan?" Hitoshi giggled again and kicked his legs, but this time Ohtori's attention was all on Shishido. The lopsided smile on his face was full of such adoration as he tried to look over his shoulder that Ohtori couldn't breathe for a moment, and couldn't seem to stop smiling himself.
"Where's your wife?" Ohtori inquired, letting the little boy tug on his finger.
"Oh, Karin? She got a little sick on the flight so she's resting at the hotel. She might come later." Shishido replied, somewhat absently as his hand had reached out to grab the strap of Mariko's overalls, who was trying to wander off.
"Hmm?" came a voice from behind Ohtori, who turned to see Oshitari standing there with a smirk, "She's not pregnant again, is she?"
Shishido gave a sheepish look and tugged on one of Mariko's pigtails, muttering, "Stay here, I'll get you something to eat in a minute." He then straightened up and shrugged, still looking a little embarrassed, "Three months along next Tuesday."
The familiar laughter of Ohtori's fiance joined them. "I feel for her."
"Ah, Shishido-san," Ohtori said in sudden remembrance, and it was his turn to look sheepish. He took his fiance's hand and gently lead her closer. "This is my fiance, Morimichi Sayo. Sayo, this is my best friend Shishido Ryou."
"It's nice to finally meet you," Sayo said warmly, giving Ohtori a knowing glance out of the corner of her eye, which made him flush in return. "I've heard a lot about you."
Shishido raised an eyebrow at Ohtori and gave him a smirk, one he could clearly read as a mixture of amusement and congratulations. "I hope Choutarou hasn't been telling you too many stories. I promise, the thing with his bedroom window was just an accident!"
"Daddy!" a voice whined from below, "I wanna American dog!"
Shishido laughed and gave everyone an apologetic grin, "Looks like I've got a black hole to feed. Choutarou, want to come get snacks with me?" Mariko was bouncing on the balls of her feet, hands twisted in Shishido's shirt. Her face was set in a demanding pout, unable to understand the point of talking when there was food to be had.
"Alright," Ohtori agreed, laughing silently at the display of father and daughter.
Shishido unhooked the hands from his shirt and scooped Mariko up again, settling her down in the nearest seat. "Now you be good and stay with Sayo-nee for a bit while daddy gets you that American dog, okay?" He said, giving her a look. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, looking up to address Ohtori's fiance.
"Not at all, you two go catch up." Sayo replied, reaching up to pat Ohtori's shoulder.
"Thanks." Shishido was working on carefully removing first one strap of the carrier on his back and then the other. He carried his boy, bundle and all down a few rows of seats, and with a wicked smirk he dropped him in Mukahi's lap.
"Whoa, hey what do you want me to do with it?" Mukahi demanded, looking horrified at the squirming baby, who simply gurgled at him in return.
"It's a he, and just hold him until I get back." Shishido replied airily, smirk still all over his face.
"Ow! Little bastard..." Mukahi said, glaring at the boy in his lap who'd promptly yanked on a lock of red hair. He had to wrap one arm around the bundle of baby while the other was trying to untangle tiny fingers from his hair.
Shishido snorted and rapped Mukahi on the head with his knuckles. "Oi. If he grows up with a foul mouth, I'm blaming you. C'mon Choutarou."
Ohtori shook his head in amusement and followed Shishido as they headed out of the box. They were slow enough that he just managed to hear a grumble behind him of "Your dad's an as- buttface."
"Three kids already, Shishido-san?" Ohtori asked in amusement as they walked through the milling people.
"Yeah. Well, two and a half. Pretty crazy, huh?" Shishido shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. He laced his fingers together and hooked them behind his head, giving a satisfied sigh. "Is Sayo...?"
Ohtori gave a sheepish laugh and shook his head, "Oh, no. We, um. We haven't..." He trailed off, looking down at their feet. He idly noted that despite their height difference, their pace was the same. Old habits died hard, and while Ohtori took smaller steps, Shishido took bigger ones, automatically balancing each other out.
"Ah, right." Shishido replied with a knowing nod, and Ohtori was glad he didn't press the matter of them waiting for marriage.
"She's gotten so big. Mariko." Ohtori commented. The line of vendors was ahead, and Ohtori's eyes scanned over the crowd for a hot dog stand.
Shishido chuckled and followed Ohtori's lead as the headed towards the right. "No kidding. She just turned three and already she's a little monster. Gakuto was right, she doesn't only look like me, she acts like me. I can only hope Hitoshi ends up more tame. Brats." Even with his exasperated words, Shishido still had a fond grin on his face.
They got in line for the hot dog stand, Ohtori laughing at the thought of a little Shishido tugging on his father's arm. "Was that your old hat, too?"
Shishido shrugged and dropped one of his arms, the other scratching at the back of his head. "Heh, yeah. Figured she'd make a good inheritor. But she wants to play soccer, not tennis. Oh," he said suddenly, looking up at Ohtori. From the close distance Ohtori could see the play of time over Shishido's face, subtle differences like the skin around his eyes and the shape of his cheeks. But despite that his eyes seemed the same as when he was young, capable of being fiery and passionate while somehow caring at the same time. "Sometime before we all leave again, want to find a court and play? We can make Mariko the ball girl."
And yet, for all the complaining about his kids, Shishido was glowing. There was a pride there that winning a tennis game couldn't match.
Ohtori couldn't help but beam back. "I'd like that, Shishido-san."
Characters: Shishido, Ohtori, and more
Warnings: Straight boys?
Summary: A handful of years after school, the Hyoutei boys meet up again. Even with new additions, some things just stay the same.
Notes: Admit it, Shishido would be the best parent ever. Kenken with kids inspired me.
The US Open provided the best opportunity to get the old Hyoutei tennis team together. Not because all of them made it, in fact it was only one of their teammates competing, but seeing Atobe go head to head against Echizen for the third year in a row wasn't something to be missed. Especially when Atobe was paying.
Ohtori was one of the first in the box seats reserved for them. His fiance was talking with Oshitari, who seemed as charming as ever. Ohtori wasn't worried, though, not when behind the standing Oshitari sat a grumpy-looking redhead who'd been living with the tensai out of high school. Mukahi shot Ohtori an exasperated look, rolling his eyes as Oshitari sent Ohtori's fiance into a fit of giggles. Ohtori returned the look with a sheepish smile and shrug before looking out onto the almost empty court. Some things never changed.
The first announcement of Shishido's arrival was a shrill, "Daddy daddy, I'm hungry!"
Ohtori turned around quickly, so fast that he thought he heard Mukahi snicker.
And there was Shishido, arm being tugged by a little girl in a blue baseball cap. Her brown pigtails were squished to the sides of her head by it, and her face was almost completely overshadowed by the large bill. "That's why I told you to finish your cereal this morning, didn't I?" Shishido's voice seemed unchanged by time; still rough in the right places, fond in the others. He gave the little girl a grin and tugged the cap down over her face. He adjusted a strap on his shoulder and from behind the sleek brown ponytail that was Shishido's hair peeked a small face with the biggest brown eyes Ohtori had ever seen.
The little girl shrieked and shoved the cap back in place, giving her father a glare. But by this point Shishido had looked up, and his grin was for Ohtori.
"Shishido-san," Ohtori said in greeting, walking away from the railing. His face too was in a smile, but he was so overwhelmed to see the man again that he didn't know what else to say.
"Oi, Mariko," Shishido said, sweeping his hands under the little girl's armpits and lifting her up on front of them, "You remember Choutarou, don't you?"
Ohtori laughed at the perplexed look the girl gave as she looked up at him. "I don't think she would, she was a baby the last time I saw her."
"Well this," Shishido said, shifting her around so that she was held up against him with one arm, "Is my old partner Choutarou. We played doubles for years back in school." He plucked the hat off her head and turned it around backwards, fitting it down over her pigtails again so that she could actually see.
There came a snort from the seats. "She looks just like you did, Ryou! Always said you looked like a girl."
"And that's Gakuto," Shishido said with a roll of his eyes, setting Mariko back down. He leaned down to whisper loudly, "He's from a family of dwarves."
The girl's eyes opened widely, and Shishido laughed to the sound of, "I heard that!"
"Ouch!" Shishido's face contorted, and his hand went up to his ponytail, which had two chubby fists curled around the strands. He made a 'tsk'ing sound as he untangled them. "Now what did I tell you about pulling daddy's hair? Ah,"
Shishido turned his attention back to Ohtori as he flipped his hair forward over his shoulder. "This is Hitoshi, he's a little over seven months now."
The little boy on Shishido's back gave a giggle and his big eyes crinkled up as his hand patted his father's shoulder. Ohtori couldn't help but beam back at him as he reached a hand out, which Hitoshi promptly grabbed.
"Watch out," Shishido warned, "He's got quite a grip. Don't you Hito-chan?" Hitoshi giggled again and kicked his legs, but this time Ohtori's attention was all on Shishido. The lopsided smile on his face was full of such adoration as he tried to look over his shoulder that Ohtori couldn't breathe for a moment, and couldn't seem to stop smiling himself.
"Where's your wife?" Ohtori inquired, letting the little boy tug on his finger.
"Oh, Karin? She got a little sick on the flight so she's resting at the hotel. She might come later." Shishido replied, somewhat absently as his hand had reached out to grab the strap of Mariko's overalls, who was trying to wander off.
"Hmm?" came a voice from behind Ohtori, who turned to see Oshitari standing there with a smirk, "She's not pregnant again, is she?"
Shishido gave a sheepish look and tugged on one of Mariko's pigtails, muttering, "Stay here, I'll get you something to eat in a minute." He then straightened up and shrugged, still looking a little embarrassed, "Three months along next Tuesday."
The familiar laughter of Ohtori's fiance joined them. "I feel for her."
"Ah, Shishido-san," Ohtori said in sudden remembrance, and it was his turn to look sheepish. He took his fiance's hand and gently lead her closer. "This is my fiance, Morimichi Sayo. Sayo, this is my best friend Shishido Ryou."
"It's nice to finally meet you," Sayo said warmly, giving Ohtori a knowing glance out of the corner of her eye, which made him flush in return. "I've heard a lot about you."
Shishido raised an eyebrow at Ohtori and gave him a smirk, one he could clearly read as a mixture of amusement and congratulations. "I hope Choutarou hasn't been telling you too many stories. I promise, the thing with his bedroom window was just an accident!"
"Daddy!" a voice whined from below, "I wanna American dog!"
Shishido laughed and gave everyone an apologetic grin, "Looks like I've got a black hole to feed. Choutarou, want to come get snacks with me?" Mariko was bouncing on the balls of her feet, hands twisted in Shishido's shirt. Her face was set in a demanding pout, unable to understand the point of talking when there was food to be had.
"Alright," Ohtori agreed, laughing silently at the display of father and daughter.
Shishido unhooked the hands from his shirt and scooped Mariko up again, settling her down in the nearest seat. "Now you be good and stay with Sayo-nee for a bit while daddy gets you that American dog, okay?" He said, giving her a look. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, looking up to address Ohtori's fiance.
"Not at all, you two go catch up." Sayo replied, reaching up to pat Ohtori's shoulder.
"Thanks." Shishido was working on carefully removing first one strap of the carrier on his back and then the other. He carried his boy, bundle and all down a few rows of seats, and with a wicked smirk he dropped him in Mukahi's lap.
"Whoa, hey what do you want me to do with it?" Mukahi demanded, looking horrified at the squirming baby, who simply gurgled at him in return.
"It's a he, and just hold him until I get back." Shishido replied airily, smirk still all over his face.
"Ow! Little bastard..." Mukahi said, glaring at the boy in his lap who'd promptly yanked on a lock of red hair. He had to wrap one arm around the bundle of baby while the other was trying to untangle tiny fingers from his hair.
Shishido snorted and rapped Mukahi on the head with his knuckles. "Oi. If he grows up with a foul mouth, I'm blaming you. C'mon Choutarou."
Ohtori shook his head in amusement and followed Shishido as they headed out of the box. They were slow enough that he just managed to hear a grumble behind him of "Your dad's an as- buttface."
"Three kids already, Shishido-san?" Ohtori asked in amusement as they walked through the milling people.
"Yeah. Well, two and a half. Pretty crazy, huh?" Shishido shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. He laced his fingers together and hooked them behind his head, giving a satisfied sigh. "Is Sayo...?"
Ohtori gave a sheepish laugh and shook his head, "Oh, no. We, um. We haven't..." He trailed off, looking down at their feet. He idly noted that despite their height difference, their pace was the same. Old habits died hard, and while Ohtori took smaller steps, Shishido took bigger ones, automatically balancing each other out.
"Ah, right." Shishido replied with a knowing nod, and Ohtori was glad he didn't press the matter of them waiting for marriage.
"She's gotten so big. Mariko." Ohtori commented. The line of vendors was ahead, and Ohtori's eyes scanned over the crowd for a hot dog stand.
Shishido chuckled and followed Ohtori's lead as the headed towards the right. "No kidding. She just turned three and already she's a little monster. Gakuto was right, she doesn't only look like me, she acts like me. I can only hope Hitoshi ends up more tame. Brats." Even with his exasperated words, Shishido still had a fond grin on his face.
They got in line for the hot dog stand, Ohtori laughing at the thought of a little Shishido tugging on his father's arm. "Was that your old hat, too?"
Shishido shrugged and dropped one of his arms, the other scratching at the back of his head. "Heh, yeah. Figured she'd make a good inheritor. But she wants to play soccer, not tennis. Oh," he said suddenly, looking up at Ohtori. From the close distance Ohtori could see the play of time over Shishido's face, subtle differences like the skin around his eyes and the shape of his cheeks. But despite that his eyes seemed the same as when he was young, capable of being fiery and passionate while somehow caring at the same time. "Sometime before we all leave again, want to find a court and play? We can make Mariko the ball girl."
And yet, for all the complaining about his kids, Shishido was glowing. There was a pride there that winning a tennis game couldn't match.
Ohtori couldn't help but beam back. "I'd like that, Shishido-san."