Disclaimer: … *cough* … GO AWAY! O_O! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ANOTHER STEP, BUSTER! OR ELSE! JUST  WATCH! I SWEAR I'LL CHEW ON—…! ON…! …on…Ryoma's shoe because I'm too poor to own anything T_T *lawyers sue her for damage on Ryoma-sama's shoe* …daaaaaamn ;_;

Pairings: TezukaxFuji, OishixKikumaru, (the rest of the conventional pairings u.U; )… and the rest will be revealed later ^.^

            Deep Snow

Why did it seem that falling in love with you was only the beginning of my problems? All of a sudden, I had to stop myself from loving you "too much." Every thought of you suffocated me; I couldn't breathe whenever you passed me by with such an innocent smile. But…is it really as innocent as it seems? After all, I know better than anyone else what kind of a person you really are…

The skies were growing gray and the winds were becoming cold that day in December as Tezuka Kunimitsu, the silent captain the Seigaku Regulars, watched the club members run around on the courts. Today was beginning to grow steadily colder, and Tezuka wouldn't be surprised if it snowed.

            Slowly scanning the Regulars of his team, his eyes latched onto a certain smiling light haired boy with his usual smile on his face. Fuji Syusuke was having a quiet conversation, except for occasional bursts of laughter, with Kikumaru Eiji, another one of the Regulars. Seeing the way Kikumaru was blushing madly and Fuji had a troublemaking look on his face, Tezuka decided he would rather not find out what the two were talking about. Sighing, he stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Fuji was such a troublemaker.

            Tearing his eyes away from the sweetly smiling boy, Tezuka strode towards Ryuzaki-sensei, who was ready to call the club members together to end their session for the day. Crossing his arms, he stood beside his coach silently as she called out, "Club members, assemble!"

            Smiling as always, Fuji walked towards where the other members were gathering, Kikumaru at his side. It was really adorable to see the redhead so flushed and even more fun to be the one causing it. Oh, Fuji like to see people suffer all right, but for Eiji, it would be enough just to see him flush the same color of his hair, wailing and whining. Who ever would have guessed that just saying a few…ahem, things about Oishi could produce such an effect on the energetic redhead?

            Smiling mischievously, Fuji walked to calmly stand between Kikumaru and Kawamura. It was always just a little frustrating to see the Golden Pair pining for each other, completely clueless about each other's feelings. That was when Fuji decided to step in and take things into his own hands. What's the perfect love without a little help, after all?

            Sensing that he was being watched, Fuji looked up, smiling, to see Tezuka frowning at him. Fuji could tell his stoic captain wasn't exactly pleased with the fact that he wasn't paying attention to whatever Ryuzaki-sensei was saying. Fuji smiled innocently back at Tezuka.

            "…so I would advise you all to work hard before break. Oh, and one last thing before you go, be careful of Inui's Christmas decorations, because if you get caught by him, I won't be able to help you. I hate to say it, but I'm on Inui's side this time. Let this be your warning," Ryuzaki-sensei finished with a grim look on her face. She smirked at the Regulars. "You are all dismissed, except Fuji."

            Approaching the puzzled, but still smiling blue eyed boy, Ryuzaki-sensei smirked, placing a small envelope in his hands. "This just came for you, Fuji Syusuke-sama. Looks like you've got an admirer."

            Frowning, Fuji took the envelope with "Fuji Syusuke-sama" neatly written on it and opened it, Kikumaru hanging on his shoulder. Quickly unfolding the carefully creased paper, Fuji scanned the letter, a smile on his face when he recognized the writing he hadn't seen for so long. Smiling to himself, he chuckled quietly. How like him to play this kind of joke…

            "What is it? Is that a love letter, Fuji?" Kikumaru questioned curiously, cocking his head to the side to read the letter. Eyes widening, he read aloud, "'Every day I long for that rapidly approaching moment when I can see your smile again. Although it's been a time far too long for me, I am hoping you will welcome me when I come see in a few days. Please be expecting me soon. With much love and regards from the Oceanside, The One With Eagle Eyes'?! Fuji, do you know who wrote this?! It's like you have a stalker, nya!"

            Laughing, Fuji folded the paper again carefully and put it in his pocket. He smiled at his best friend and patted the top of his red head gently. "Don't worry; it's not a stalker, Eiji."

            Without another word to the curious redhead, Fuji approached Tezuka with his usual, predatory smile on his face. The light haired boy stopped next to his taller captain and watched the club members silently. Quietly, he commented, "Practice went well today."

"Aa," Tezuka responded simply, turning to head towards the door of the gate. He didn't even bother to act surprised as Fuji instantly followed after him. Sighing, Tezuka glanced at the smiling tensai with a sideways questioning look. "What did you get from Ryuzaki-sensei?"

           Fuji looked delighted that his captain had asked. Blue eyes opening, Fuji smirked at the taller boy, holding a finger up to his lips. Winking, he whispered with a seductive smile, "Hi-mi-tsu. You would like to know, wouldn't you, Tezuka? I'm honored that you would ask."

Frowning, Tezuka looked away from the other boy to hide his slowly developing blush. Increasing his pace, Tezuka sighed, asking, "What are you planning this time, Fuji?"

"I have no idea what you mean, Tezuka," Fuji replied innocently, grinning as they headed towards the clubroom. He jogged until he was side by side with the taller boy again. "Isn't this just another day?"

            "Exactly the reason I'm asking," Tezuka mumbled, opening the clubroom door, with Fuji at his side. He blinked when Inui stood in front of them, fixing his glasses. Feeling his bad mood get worse, he frowned again. "Move."

            Smirking, Inui shook his head. "Ah, sorry. I'm afraid I can't do that, Tezuka. You heard what Ryuzaki-sensei warned you about didn't you? You two, please look up."

            Both boys standing in the clubroom doorway looked up to see a mistletoe hanging above their heads. In front of them, Inui was smiling widely and triumphantly with his notebook in hand. "Well? I'm sure you know what to do. This American tradition is pretty well known here, after all."

            As Fuji chuckled, Tezuka closed his eyes, still frowning. Sharply, he snapped, "No. Move, or you'll be running laps."

            "Sorry, Tezuka, but I'm afraid you can't do that," Inui said, his smile widening. "I'm under the protection of Ryuzaki-sensei. Now, unless you'd rather have a crowd gather to see you, ahem, kiss Fuji, I suggest you do it now when there's no one around."

            Eyebrow twitching, Tezuka folded his arms. After trying so hard not to be distracted by Fuji and his sweet, tempting lips, he was not about to give up so easily. "I would rather like to not risk our relationship—" Fuji raised an eyebrow in amusement and Inui scribbled wildly in his notebook. "—as teammates for this…this…"

            "Why doesn't Fuji-senpai just kiss Buchou instead?" a bored voice piped up from behind them, interrupting Tezuka. Echizen Ryoma stood impatiently behind his two senpai. "That would make things much easier. Just get it over with. You're holding up traffic."

            "Aaaaah, that's because Tezuka went in first," Inui replied logically, grinning so that the sunlight bounced off his glasses, making Echizen squint. "Now, be good and kiss Fuji, Tezuka. It's either cute little Fuji or me, so you had better pick Fuji."

            Still unable to see the logic in any of this, Tezuka, still frowning, quickly bent over and pecked Fuji's cheek. His face turned red as he straightened himself up. "Now, move."

            "Oh, no, no, no! That was unacceptable," Inui sighed, shaking his head. Looking disappointed, he quickly wrote something in his notebook. Smiling wickedly, he turned to Fuji. "Fuji, would you mind showing him how it's done? Don't disappoint me."

            Shrugging with a smile, Fuji stood on his toes and pulled Tezuka down to his eyelevel by snaking his arms around the taller boy's neck. Blue eyes opening to glimmer with a hint of wickedness, Fuji savored that look of embarrassment and shock on Tezuka's face before bringing his lips gently to the other's. Gently, partially because Tezuka was still too tall and partially because he had just about no idea what he was doing.

            Nodding in satisfaction, Inui carefully wrote down this precious piece of information before noticing that Echizen was frowning at the boys in the doorway with much confusion and a twitching eye. Coughing, Inui muttered to himself, "Maybe Echizen is a little too young to see this…"

            Fuji pulled away from the kiss when he needed to breathe air again. He smiled when he realized Tezuka didn't even fight back, and was probably completely shocked by what had just happened.

            "Good work, Fuji," Inui commented stepping to the side. He grinned evilly. "It seems as if you're just as good at everything else outside of tennis as well as I expected."

            "Aa, so it went alright," Fuji said, his eyes closing again as he strode into the clubroom to change. He smiled. "I wasn't sure since I've never done it before."

            Slightly dazed, Tezuka walked into the clubroom, stars in his eyes. He ignored the fact that Inui was gaping at Fuji, muttering, "Impossible! I thought Fuji surely would have…"

            "Ah! Kaidoh-senpai! Don't go in…!"

            "Ooh… New victims. Kaidoh, Echizen, if you look up, I think you'll both understand what you have to do. If either one of you back down, I'm sure I can spare enough Special Silver Version Inui Juice."

            "I-Inui-senpai, you…!"

            "No complaints, Kaidoh. Now, get it over with before I decide to take pictures."

            Tezuka brought his hand up to his forehead, sighing when he heard the commotion behind him. How long would this insanity go on? Standing beside Fuji who was buttoning up his shirt, Tezuka pulled his jacket off. "You shouldn't have done that."

            "I know," Fuji replied, smiling sweetly. "I couldn't resist though. It was payback for stealing my first kiss, Tezuka. Well, since it's you, maybe I can let it go…plus I can brag to your fan club. Ah, but you're so tall, it's hard to reach your lips. 179 cm…"

            "Did you that I stole your first kiss?" Tezuka demanded, his eyebrow twitching. He shot the smiling boy a look. "How can you say that after what just happened back there? I stole your first kiss… That's ridiculous, Fuji. Another thing, don't complain that I'm tall. You're the one who's short."

            Fuji simply smiled, continuing to button his shirt up. Slipping on his school uniform jacket, he picked up his racquet bag. Grinning up at the taller boy, Fuji patted his shoulder gently. "You should stress so much, Tezuka. It puts strain on your pretty face."

            "Fuji!" Tezuka glared sharply at the shorter boy, cheeks slightly tinting red when Fuji opened his blue eyes and winked at him. Frustrating. Too frustrating. Avoid doing anything rash. Must avoid…! Oh, damn. Who cares anymore? "Fuji…"

            Fuji blinked when Tezuka grabbed his shoulders and lowered his face to meet his own. Fuji stared straight into the dark haired boy's eyes. He looked so kissable… "Tezuka…?"

            "Ahem."

            Instantly, the two boys snapped out of their trance and looked to the side where Echizen stood, staring at them with his big eyes. Smirking, he lowered his hat on his head. "Is there mistletoe above my locker too? Fuji-senpai, Buchou? You're standing in front of my clothes."

            Instantly breaking away, Tezuka stepped to the side, busying himself by shuffling the closest tennis bag, which happened to be Fuji's, unfortunately. Huh. Funny how a rope, having nothing to do with school or tennis, could find itself in a tennis racquet bag. Wait. Was that handcuffs? …I don't even want to know… Pushing the bag back on the shelf, he decided it was a better idea just to stand still instead. Fuji was a scary person; anyone could tell just by looking in his bag.

            Fuji smirked at Tezuka when he noticed the captain had accidentally flipped through his bag. Looks like he noticed the weapon Fuji had used in his last plot. Chuckling silently to himself, Fuji glanced at Echizen before looking over his shoulder at Kaidoh, who was crawling around on the floor with a blue-and-red-at-the-same-time, very angry face. It was kind of amusing to see the second year lying on the ground, shaking Inui's ankles as he yelled a string of foul words. Funny.

            Smiling sadistically, Fuji said cheerfully, "I'm guessing by the way Kaidoh is blushing that you two kissed after all, ne, Echizen? Too bad I missed it. It would have been interesting to watch."

            Freezing, the shorter boy in the hat dropped his tennis racquet and glared up at his senpai, face flushed. "Fuji-senpai!"

            "Yes, Echizen?" Fuji replied sweetly, ignoring the way Tezuka was shooting sharp looks at him. Of course, everyone knew that in his mind, Fuji was probably laughing like hell. Still smiling, he went on, "I wonder who's going to be caught next. Hmm… Eiji's been having trouble with Oishi…"

            "EH?! Inui-senpai!! Why do I have to kiss Eiji-senpai?!"

            "Oh, shut up, Momo, he's cute enough. Kikumaru should be the one complaining about you."

            "Hey!"

"Sorry, Fuji-senpai," Echizen muttered, pulling his hat down on his head. "Looks like Kikumaru-senpai's stuck kissing Momo-senpai."

            "Aah," Fuji said with a smile, glancing over his shoulder at Momoshiro arguing with Inui and Kikumaru standing in the doorway with a cutely confused expression. "You don't seem to be very happy about that, are you, Echizen?"

            "I have no idea what you're talking about," Echizen replied dully buttoning up his school uniform and reluctantly taking his hat off his head. Now that his face was revealed, he could just feel Fuji-senpai's amused eyes on his rosy cheeks. "Stop looking at me like that, Fuji-senpai."

            "Sorry, Echizen," Fuji replied with a laugh. "I can't help it. You're just too cute."

            Frowning, the first year picked up his racquet bag and shifted it on his shoulders, deciding what to do. He looked up just in time to see Momoshiro take hold of Kikumaru's shoulders, staring into the redhead's eyes after being threatened by Inui's juice. His frown deepened as his dark haired senpai kissed the still amazingly cutely confused Kikumaru, who simply blinked awkwardly at the boy who was kissing him. Squeezing his eyes shut, Echizen turned around and walked towards a random corner of the clubroom, muttering to himself about what an idiot Momo-senpai was.

            "Hmm… things are really getting interesting now," Fuji muttered with a smirk, heading towards the door where Momoshiro had his head hung in embarrassment and Kikumaru was blinking with a confused expression at him. Glancing over his shoulder, Fuji smiled at Tezuka. "Will you come with me for a moment, Tezuka? There's something I need to discuss with you…"

            Still not very happy about the situation, Tezuka picked up his bag and followed after Fuji. He glared at Inui who opened his mouth again to say something about the mistletoe. Before a word could be escaped from the tall boy's mouth, Fuji smiled up at him and stood up on his toes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Stay out of trouble, Inui. Sometimes too much experience can be a little troublesome, don't you think?"

            Inui instantly shut his mouth, a blush crossing his face. Forgetting that his notebook was in his hand, he quickly lifted his hand to fix his glasses which were sliding off his nose. Unfortunately for Kaidoh, the notebook fell out of his senpai's hand and onto his face, revealing a bit of information that really wasn't necessary to know… "INUI-SENPAI!! WHY DO YOU HAVE ALL MY CLOTHES MEASUREMENTS?!"

            Regaining his composure, Inui bent over and hastily picked up the notebook, coughing. "W-well, that was in case we needed to be sent to order new uniforms, you know. You can never be too prepared when it comes to clothes… Besides," he muttered under his breath, "you weren't supposed to see that."

            "I really don't think boxer sizes are included in the uniform, Inui-senpai!" Kaidoh said dryly, gritting his teeth, at the same time his hold on the older boy's ankles tightening dangerously.

            "Tsk," Fuji said with a sadistic smirk, "Who would have thought Inui was such a pervert?"

            Tezuka rolled his eyes, stepping over Kaidoh after Fuji again. He was willing to bet anything that Fuji had had that little scene planned out already. Which just goes to show what kind of person Fuji Syusuke really is… Tezuka shuddered slightly.

            Pausing when he bumped into Fuji's back before exiting the clubroom, Tezuka looked out questioningly. Uh, oh. He could just feel Fuji's sadistic smirk returning when Oishi stood before the doorway, confused by the commotion.

            "Um…Fuji? Is something the matter?" Oishi asked slowly, glancing at the shorter boy. There must be a reason for not letting him into the clubroom, right? "Can…I come inside now?"

            "Of course, Oishi," Fuji said cheerfully, motioning for the taller boy to come closer. "Just do me a favor. Bend down a little; I need to tell you something."

            Slightly nervous, but curious as well, Oishi complied, bending down until he was eye-level with Fuji. "W-What is it, Fuji?"

            Blue eyes sparkling, Fuji whispered with a smirk, "You had better be more careful of your kitten wanders off to. If you're not careful, someone else may pick him up and take him home for themselves."

            Confused, Oishi looked at Fuji questioningly. "But Fuji, You know that I don't have a ki—!"

            Without letting him finish his sentence, Fuji cut him off by placing a kiss on the boy's lips. Pulling away, Fuji smiled serenely. "Now you had better get in there and save your princess."

            Oishi blushed furiously, staring in shock as Fuji strolled away as if nothing had happened. Still in complete shock, he looked to Tezuka for answers. "T-Tezuka?"

            Sighing and frowning at the same time, Tezuka walked past his shocked friend, only muttering, "Mistletoe."

            Still staring as Tezuka strode away to where Fuji was patiently waiting, Oishi slowly crept into the clubroom. Looking up, he took notice of the mistletoe above the doorway and decided to make sure he wasn't caught under that again… Sighing in relief, he looked up to see…complete chaos.

            Kaidoh was viciously snarling up at Inui while beating him over the head with his notebook at the same time. Momoshiro, nearly to his limit, was repeatedly apologizing to Echizen who was completely ignoring him, flicking random little things off the self at his senpai. Finally, Kikumaru stood in the center of the room, a cutely puzzled expression on his face.

            Seeing his doubles partner walk into the room, Kikumaru's face brightened with a smile. Quickly, he bounced over to the other boy and hung on his shoulders. "Oishi! There you are! Mou, I had to wait too long for you! Then Momo starting doing something weird, and…"

            Patiently, Oishi listened as the energetic redhead babbled on and on. The dark haired boy smiled softly, listening to his partner's adorable voice. Eiji was so cute… Oishi may not have understood what Fuji meant completely, but maybe this feeling was something similar to wanting to protect his "kitten" from others… "Eiji, let's go out for ice cream."

            "Wah! Oishi, you're being so nice today!" Kikumaru beamed, tightening his hold on his partner. "Want to buy for me since you love me so much?"

            "E-Eiji!" Oishi exclaimed in surprise, his face darkening with red. Quickly covering it up, he managed to laugh slightly and rubbed his hair. "Fine, fine. My treat since you've been being such a good senpai to our kouhai lately."

           "They eat too much," Kikumaru said seriously, a frown forming on his sweet young face. "I swear, if they eat anymore with my money, I'll eat them!"

            Oishi sweatdropped.

             "You saw them, didn't you, Tezuka?" Fuji asked with a smile as the two strolled down the sidewalk, side by side. The shorter boy opened his blue eyes and stared straight ahead. "Oishi and Eiji…"

            "I don't know what you're talking about," Tezuka said bluntly, glancing at the other boy. He knew better than anyone than to get mixed up in Fuji's plots. "Fuji, you shouldn't meddle with people's personal affairs."

            "I knew you would say that," Fuji replied cheerfully, turning to stop before Tezuka, beaming up at the taller boy. He smiled sweetly up at the frowning boy. "I know, Tezuka, I know. But I also know you've seen it too. Oishi and Eiji love each other, it's obvious to everyone but them. All they need is a little push, and what kind of best friend would I be if I wasn't the one to give it to Eiji? Wouldn't you do it too? As Oishi's best friend?"

            Closing his eyes to escape Fuji's brilliant blue eyes, Tezuka crossed his arms. "I don't know if you're trying to guilt trip me into helping you, but even if you are frustrated, isn't it better to let them work it out themselves? Being friends isn't to mess with their problems, it's only to support them in case those problems become painful enough."

            "How do you know that's not what I'm doing?" Fuji shot back, eyes sharp. "I don't know about you, Tezuka, but I'm really tired of it. I can't stand seeing another day with Eiji so unhappy. Because he's my friend, I know when he needs help. We aren't called the 'Dream Pair' for nothing, you know. Tezuka, do you really think those two aren't suffering at all?"

            Sighing in defeat, Tezuka opened his eyes to look into Fuji's determined ones. "Fine. But don't think that just because I agree with you means that I'm going to help you with this."

            "Oh, I think you will," Fuji replied, smiling easily.

            "What makes you think that?" Tezuka asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. For some reason, that  smile on Fuji's face told him that the blue eyed boy was up to something, and Tezuka really didn't like it.

            "That's because you love me, of course," Fuji said with a laugh. He savored Tezuka's shocked, blushing expression for a few seconds before turning to walk ahead again. "Come on, Captain Slowpoke. Get going, or I'll leave you and your ogling eyes behind."

            "Fuji!"

--

A/N: OoOoOoOoOoOoh~~ xD Fuji and  Tezuka teamed up to play matchmaker for the Golden Pair! I wonder what the outcome will be…after all, don't Fuji and Tezuka have their own problems as well? x)

Oh! And who is Fuji's "admirer"? ;_; a cookie to any super special person that can figure it out…

All I can say that it's a "childhood friend" of Fuji's… o_O;;; (I think that's a pretty big hint…)

@_@;; Anyway! Hopefully I can get this fic done soon!

U_u; it was originally another one of those horrible one-shots of mine, but it was much too long, so I stretched it into a multi-chaptered fic.

This is partly as a quick Christmas thing for everyone, and I also tried to make up for my last Tenipuri fic which had so many mistakes in it, due to my lack of number-typing skills ;.; *mumble mumble…_*

Since I'm going to be flying around the world to China in two days, I want to get this finished before I leave! ^_^;;

Please review if you can, and I'll be sure to finish this ASAP!

(…but then again, it stinks as well - -;; wah.)