Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, any of the characters, or most of the idea. That is all copyright Takeshi Konomi, I'm merely adding my own thoughts and expanding on some characters for absolutely no profit or gain.

Warnings: Rated T for yaoi and maybe language later on.

Author's Note: Here's chapter one of my hopefully on-going story. Unlike the other ones, it's in third person x) though it usually follows one person per chapter. So, feel free to read and review, I love hearing from people.

Rain fell down in thick silver sheets over the grounds of Seishuin Gakuen Middle School, dampening not only the air but also the moods of the students. The normally bustling tennis courts were eerily silent, though there were voices coming from the locker room.

"Practice is cancelled for today; everyone go home and get some rest." Tezuka's voice easily overpowered the multiple conversations going on between the other tennis club members, and everyone fell silent at the news.

"Well, that's obvious, Tezuka, it's been raining like this all day." Kikumaru pouted under his breath, glaring out the window at the pouring rain.

Tezuka turned to look at him, obviously having heard the red-head's comment in the now silent room. Kikumaru turned around slowly to see Tezuka's eyes on him and quickly latched on to Oishi's arm.

"Let's go, Oishi." Kikumaru pulled the taller boy toward the door, and Oishi sent an apologetic glance back to Tezuka before disappearing out into the rain.

One by one the locker room emptied until only Tezuka and Fuji remained. After a few moments of silence, Fuji abandoned the pretense of searching in his locker for something. Turning around to face the vice-captain, Fuji leaned up against the locker next to his and calmly waited for Tezuka to finish getting his stuff together.

"What is it Fuji?"

The tensai opened his mouth, but said nothing, his nerves getting the better of him for the moment. Fuji wet his lips with his tongue, vividly aware of the fact that Tezuka was watching him closely as he zipped up his tennis bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat." Fuji's voice was softer than usual, but he held Tezuka's gaze evenly as he waited for an answer.

Tezuka walked around Fuji toward the door and turned around in the doorway.

"Let's go."

Fuji turned away to close his locker and smiled triumphantly. When he turned back his usual smile was in place and he had his tennis bag and an umbrella in hand. He had been waiting for an opportunity like this, but Tezuka's immediate acceptance and clipped words had stunned the tensai into silence.

'Of course, always the unexpected from Tezuka.' Fuji thought to himself as he walked past the vice-captain and out into the rain. He watched Tezuka carefully as the taller boy turned out the light and locked up, searching for a hint of Tezuka's reaction to his request.

As usual, Tezuka was unreadable, which just left Fuji frustrated and more determined. When the subject of his thoughts turned to look at him expectantly, Fuji smiled to cover his frustration. Opening the umbrella, Fuji held it up over his head and patiently waited for Tezuka to join him.

"Where to?" Tezuka walked up beside Fuji and fell into step with him as they walked toward the school's exit.

Fuji glanced up at the question and his smile warped into a mischievous grin.

"Hi-mit-su."(1) The tensai replied in a sing-song voice, deciding that it would prove interesting to tease the other boy for awhile before giving him answers.

Tezuka's lip twitched in what Fuji guessed was his version of a smirk. Pleased that he got even that much of a reaction from the stoic vice-captain, Fuji walked on with a genuine smile.

The two walked on in silence, standing close under the shelter of the umbrella. Fuji reveled in the closeness, relaxing slightly against Tezuka as he led them along. He purposely took a few less-known back roads, both to throw off Tezuka's guesses as to where they were going and also to avoid the crowded main streets.

Fuji knew it must have bothered Tezuka terribly to not know where they were going. When he glanced up he saw Tezuka's lips were curved downward very slightly in a frown. Fuji simply grinned, his sadistic side loving the fact that he had the upper hand.

Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived. When the two of them rounded the corner and a particularly familiar sushi restaurant came into view, Tezuka's frown vanished. To Fuji's dismay, his face became once again unreadable.

"Of course, Kawamura's."

In order to hide his frustration at Tezuka's unreadability, Fuji simply nodded against the vice-captain's shoulder and quickened his pace. As they neared the entrance, Fuji suddenly became reluctant to end their walk. After all, it wasn't every day he had such an obvious excuse to stand so close to Tezuka for an extended period of time.

He hesitated at the door, and for a moment he thought Tezuka hesitated with him. The door slid open in front of them, and Fuji quickly moved away from Tezuka.

Kawamura Takashi stared out at the pair of them from the doorway, surprise clearly written all over his face. For a fleeting moment Fuji found himself wishing that Tezuka was that easy to read, but he quickly pushed that out of his head.

"Fuji-kun? Tezuka-kun? What are you two doing here?"

Fuji grinned and closed the umbrella, hiding his emotions with his usual smile.

"We came to eat, of course."

Taka stood back from the doorway, and Fuji slipped by him and into the restaurant. The familiar surroundings and people around him helped to take his mind off of the awkward situation outside, but his thoughts were still scattered. His calm exterior had broken, something that usually only occurred during intense tennis matched, and Fuji was fighting to regain his composure as he heard the door shut behind him.

'I knew I shouldn't have done that. Of course Taka-san would open the door at that exact moment. This is just and early dinner between friends. Stop acting like a giddy schoolgirl, baka(2)' Fuji chided himself and took a deep breath to settle his nerves. He almost regained his composure completely when a hand came to rest on his shoulder and his heart rate skyrocketed once more.

Despite the effect such a simple gesture had on him, the tensai turned his head to calmly look up at Tezuka. The vice-captain's face was blank as usual, completely serious even in a casual situation.

"Go sit down, I'll bring you your food." Taka gestured toward the tables and took off in the opposite direction, calling to his father that he would take care of them.

Fuji moved away to sit at a table nearby, willing himself to stay calm as he watched Tezuka move to sit across the table from him.

A tense silence fell around them, and Fuji distracted himself from it by making a fuss of settling his tennis bag next to him. It wasn't nearly enough to save him, and he soon found himself staring down at the tabletop.

"Fuji, do you have wish you could be free of the responsibility of being a regular?"

Completely stunned, Fuji opened his mouth to quickly retort that no, of course he never wanted to get away from what they had worked so heart to get. But when the tensai looked up to see the earnest question actually meant something to the vice-captain, he paused and thought carefully over his reply.

Sure there was some pressure on them with the more intense training and the tournaments coming up, but they had worked hard all of freshman year to achieve this. Surely the last person Fuji would expect to have second thoughts would be their vice-captai--ah, that was it. This wasn't about Fuji at all.

Biting his lower lip in thought, Fuji attempted to find the best way to answer the question with this new realization in mind.

"Sometimes." He answered earnestly, but then quickly added, "But then I think about everything we've done to get here and it all seems worth it."

Tezuka seemed to be satisfied with that answer, as though he had come to that conclusion himself.

Fuji was going to elaborate, but Taka took that moment to come back with a tray laden with sushi. Despite the interruption, Fuji smiled up at Taka and thanked him before watching him walk away after another patron yelled at him to get his attention.

Turning his own attention back to Tezuka and the meal before them after a moment of sympathy for their friend, Fuji found to his delight that exactly half of the sushi was lavished with large quantities of wasabi.

An unexpected burst of laughter brought the tensai sharply out of his thoughts, and he looked up at the boy across from him to find him laughing. A blush spread quickly over Fuji's cheeks--one of the few things he couldn't control--and he found his gaze drifting downward to stare at the tabletop again.

The laughter abruptly stopped and Tezuka extended an arm over the table to lightly rest on Fuji's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. You just looked so happy." Tezuka's voice had returned to its natural seriousness, and Fuji at once regretted reacting as he had one of the few times the vice-captain's shell cracked.

The blush across his cheeks disappeared as quickly as had Tezuka's laughter, and the tensai gave hi best attempt at a normal smile.

"It's fine, I just... didn't expect it is all."

When Fuji looked up he found that Tezuka's face was as unreadable as always, though he offered a smile in return and withdrew his hand.

They ate mostly in silence, exchanging words every now and then but mostly content to enjoy the company and the food without the need for conversation. The meal was over too soon in Fuji's opinion, but Tezuka seemed just as reluctant to leave.

One of the many times that Taka passed their table, Tezuka caught his attention.

"Taka-san, how much do we owe you?"

Taka blinked at Tezuka surprise and replied with a smile, "It's on me, Tezuka. Are you guys leaving?"

Tezuka nodded, "I have a lot of homework I need to get done, and it's already getting late."

Fuji hid his disappointment behind a smile and added in a quiet voice that he had homework as well. They said their goodbyes and left Taka to calm the man at the other table who was now slurring drunkenly at him.

Fuji shot a sympathetic look back over his shoulder at Taka before opening his umbrella and stepping out into the rain with Tezuka. When they first started walking they were fairly far apart and completely silent, but as they continued on they seemed to gravitate toward each other until the backs of their hands brushed together briefly.

The tensai jumped at the contact, his heart racing as he moved that free hand to the handle of the umbrella with pretense of centering the umbrella more above their heads.

'That was just an accident. A coincidence. It was nothing, let it go.' Fuji thought to himself, attempting to remain calm. He was shaking with nerves, though he attempted to pass them off as shivers from the cold.

"Are you all right, Fuji-kun?"

Fuji smiled more at Tezuka's choice of words than because he was truly all right, but when he turned his head to look at Tezuka he found that the other boy looked relieved.

"I'm fine, just cold." The tensai added for good measure, making sure that his friend was truly reassured.

Tezuka had turned his head to look down at Fuji in concern, but when he simply replied that he was cold Tezuka actually smiled.

"You mean the tensai actually has a weakness?"

Fuji's face softened as he watched Tezuka's guard drop for the second time that day as he joked. Fuji stared for a moment at his vice-captain, taking a mental picture of the way Tezuka looked when he smiled. Avoiding the jab at his ego, Fuji turned his attention to the fact that he hadn't been paying attention to where they were headed.

"Where are we going?" He quickly changed the subject but kept it light, hoping that Tezuka's guards wouldn't shoot back up as they had in the restaurant.

Much to Fuji's delight, they didn't. At least, not completely, but he was still the vice-captain and that showed.

"Train stop. I can't have you catching a cold before our next match." Tezuka's voice was light but serious as he abruptly stopped text to the tracks and waited for the oncoming train.

Fuji stopped beside him, noting that he had stopped shaking and had relaxed considerably ever since Tezuka smiled.

As an afterthought to his previous comment, Tezuka added, "Besides, I wouldn't want anyone else knowing your weakness." I want to be the only one. The unspoken words Fuji heard in his head sent shivers down his spine, but the train pulled into the station and Fuji was able to pass it off as another shiver from the cold.

Fuji closed his umbrella as they boarded the train to find that it was standing room only, and even that was scarce. Unfortunately when it rained everyone got the same idea. The pair of them forced their way into the crowd of people, and Fuji's pulse raced as he found himself pinned up against Tezuka.

The whole ride was torture as the train curved along its tracks and Fuji found himself at times leaning against Tezuka enough to make him blush. If Tezuka noticed this at all, it didn't show, and for that Fuji was grateful.

After what seemed like hours of pleasant (if embarrassing) torture, Fuji found they had come to the stop around the corner from his house. Pushing through the crowd to get to the door was harder than it looked, and Fuji had barely stepped out the doors when they slammed shut behind him and the train took off.

To his surprise, Tezuka was standing beside him looking as violated as Fuji was sure he was. The tensai had to bite his lower lip to keep from laughing at the expression on his vice-captain's face, but it soon became apparent that Tezuka was fighting just as hard as Fuji was to not smile.

Fuji broke first, chuckling very softly as he let go of his treasured control for the now third time that day. Tezuka didn't laugh, but he smiled broadly which Fuji accepted as a huge improvement.

The rain had subsided into a light sprinkle, which Fuji only noticed when he reached to life his umbrella to find he wasn't being drenched. He opted to leave it down as he and Tezuka walked in a companionable silence to the street corner where they explained to each other that their houses were in opposite directions.

Disappointed that their time was coming to an end, Fuji sent a half-hearted smile Tezuka's way.

"I had a nice time today, we should do this more often. Ja ne (3), Tezuka-kun." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and his smile turned genuine as Tezuka replied simply, "Ja ne, Fuji-kun." and they walked off in opposite directions.

Fuji smiled the rest of the way home, and when he walked through the front door he found it relieving that he always smiled and so nothing would seem out of place tonight.

Except that he had walked through the door halfway through dinner.

"Syusuke, is that you?" His mother called in a worried tone from the dining room.

"Yes, it's me okaa-chan (4)" Fuji replied as he took off his shoes and exchanged them with a pair of soft beige house slippers. He walked further into the house to find his mother, brother, and sister sitting around the dinner table and in the middle of a meal.

"Where have you been, Syusuke? I was worried something might have happened to you, and you didn't answer your cell phone."

Fuji smiled sheepishly and reached into the bottom of his pocket where his cell phone lay forgotten.

"I must have forgotten to turn it on. I went out to dinner with a friend."

His mother still seemed worried as she replied, "Well, I'm glad you're okay. Are you hungry at all?"

Yuuta completely ignored the conversation and continued eating, while Yumiko seemed just as worried as their mom sounded.

"No, okaa-chan, but I have a lot of homework I need to get done."

She finally picked up on the fact that he was trying to get away and sighed as she nodded very slightly before going back to her meal. Yumiko, however, watched Fuji carefully as he walked up the stairs. She knew something was up with him and vowed to find out what.

As the rest of the family finished up their meal, Fuji walked into his room and dropped his tennis bag beside the door. The first thing he did was check on his collection of various cacti which were lined up perfectly across half of his windowsill. When he had convinced himself that they were perfectly fine, he opened his window wide to the cooling evening air and at on the windowsill beside his beloved cacti.

It was still rather overcast, but the sun was setting on the horizon and bathed the sky in a deep orange glow. With a light sigh, he relaxed and began to reflect back on the day's events, but it wasn't long before he was interrupted.

His bedroom door slid quietly open, and he turned to see his sister Yumiko standing in the doorway.

"What is it, onee-chan? (5)" He asked politely, though truthfully he was reluctant to take his eyes off of the sunset for long.

Yumiko closed the door behind her and walked toward him with concern clearly written on her face.

"What happened today, Syusuke-chan? You're acting strange."

Fuji looked away from her and back out the window.

"Nothing happened; I just went out to dinner with a friend." He replied as nonchalantly as he could manage.

"Ah," Yumiko smirked knowingly, "a friend you like as more than a friend."

Fuji froze and frowned before he turned to face her.

"Is it that obvious?"

Yumiko giggled at his expression. "I just know you, Syusuke. So was it a date?"

"No."

"Did you want it to be?"

Fuji's answer was quiet. So quiet that Yumiko would've had to learn in to hear it if she didn't already know the answer.

"Yes."

"So why don't you just ask her out on a date?"

Fuji was glad his blush didn't give away how relieved he was that his sister assumed his crush was a girl, but that didn't make it any less difficult to play along.

"It's not that simple." He paused and only continued after he was sure she wouldn't let him go without elaborating. "She's captain of her club and takes her duties very seriously, so she's distant."

Yumiko sat down on the end of her brother's bed and paused a moment thoughtfully.

"But you got her to go out to dinner with you tonight."

Fuji only nodded. "That's because practice was cancelled." He cursed inwardly at drawing too close to the truth, but knew that if he tried to cover it up now it would only look more suspicious.

"Alright, so if it rains tomorrow ask her out on a dinner date."

Fuji sighed heavily. He couldn't expect her to give every good advice with what limited information he was willing to give up.

"But I don't want to scare hi--er away, we're really good friends." Fuji cursed inwardly again for almost messing up, but Yumiko didn't seem to notice.

"Alright, how about this: if it rains tomorrow invite her out to dinner and hint that you want to be more than friends. If she responds well, keep hinting until you get up enough courage to ask her out. If not, stop and go back to just being friends before she catches on."

Fuji smiled at her as he listened to her plan. "Thanks, onee-chan."

Yumiko beamed; "Anything for my otouto-chan. (6)" She stood abruptly and ruffled his hair lovingly with one hand. "Be sure to tell me how it goes." Yumiko winked and turned to walk out the door, closing it quietly.

Fuji sat there for a few moments thinking over his sister's plan. Aside from a few minor changes, it didn't seem like that bad of an idea. But how does one go about hinting to a male friend that you want to be more than friends?

Fuji regretted that he couldn't just ask his sister for help and spill all the true details. He was alone on this part. The tensai sat there on his windowsill for several hours thinking about Tezuka and forming a plan.

His homework would have to wait.

A/N: Japanese words:

1: Himitsu - secret
2: Baka - idiot or stupid
3: Ja ne - a quick and friendly way to say 'see you later'
4: Okaa-chan - a cute and rather childish way to say 'mom'. Since we never really see the Fuji family, I'm taking a liberty and saying that all the children are rather close with their mother and feel comfortable using such a term.
5: Onee-chan - sister
6: Otouto-chan - little brother. I'm not sure if Yumiko would use this for Syusuke, seeing as how Yuuta is the little brother so feel free to correct me on this.