Title: The Science of Things.
Rating: Mature
Pairing: Tezuka/Fuji
Summary: Tezuka heard the girls titter on about Fuji-sensei, and he was not looking forward to being in his class.
Warnings: AU. Tezuka is seventeen and Fuji-sensei...isn't.
Disclaimer: The owners of PoT own PoT. The title taken from the album Chemicals Between Us is on.
For: arithion and teaesque. I wanted to write something for each of you, but this...this ended up being over 4,000 words.

Tezuka sat outside the principal's office and waited. His teacher's voice came through intermittently, so he couldn't exactly make out what was being said. The words too much, pompous and anywhere else were said the loudest. Tezuka sighed. He was missing valuable class time because his teacher was far too milquetoast in nature. Finally, the principal opened the door.

His teacher stormed off, and the principal beckoned him inside. He bowed to him, and waited for him to speak.

"It has come to my attention that you're having difficulties in your English class. Your teacher claims you disrupt the class often."

Tezuka didn't reply, because he didn't think there was an invitation for such. He wanted to say that he wouldn't need to if the teacher weren't so incompetent, but knew that that level of rudeness would not be well received, regardless of the esteem people held in him.

His principal smiled a little, as if he knew the reason. "I've come to the decision to put you in another class. You'll be in Fuji-sensei's class for the remainder of the term."

Tezuka bowed again, and replied, "Thank you." He left and sighed again. He'd heard about Fuji-sensei from the players on the girls' tennis team. They were always tittering on about him. They mentioned his looks, his smile, his clothes, his arse, but never his lessons, so he had much doubt that he bothered with that at all. He didn't want to deal with someone who cared more about making the girls blush than they did about teaching the subject.

Tezuka went to practise early to work off the irritation he was feeling, knowing that the next day he'd have to deal with another idiotic teacher that didn't know what they were talking about. It was times like these when he wished he had chosen a school based on academics instead of an instant draw towards the tennis team.

Since it was his first class of the day, he went early, sat in the chair closest to the window, and waited. Five minutes later, and a full twenty minutes before class began, the door opened and in another student walked. He was very attractive, Tezuka noted absently, even though he wasn't wearing the standard uniform. Light brown hair, blue eyes, and an easy smile.

He was surprised when the boy walked over to him. "You must be Tezuka Kunimitsu"

He nodded, used to people knowing him before meeting him since he had fame from the tennis team and student council. He shifted in his chair, looking at the person expectantly, waiting for their name in return.

"Welcome to my class. I'm Fuji Syusuke. I hope you enjoy learning with me." This caused Tezuka to look up in surprise. This man looked younger than he did, and he was the teacher. After a minute had passed, he realised he'd been staring rather blatantly. Tezuka quickly stood up, and bowed.

"Forgive me for forgetting my manners, Fuji-sensei," he said apologetically.

Fuji, however, waved it off. "It's fine Tezuka-kun. Tell me what you've covered in your last class."

Tezuka bowed once more, and looked down at his bag as he responded. "We've covered transitive verbs, and read a few short stories."

Fuji blinked once, but quickly recovered. "Ah, well, it seems you're behind our class by a little. You'll stay after school with me until you've caught up with the rest of our class."

Tezuka frowned. He didn't want to be insulting, be doubted very much that there was anything that this teacher could instruct him on that he didn't already know. Moreover, it would mean that he'd have to miss time tennis club practise. However, since he couldn't voice this, he accepted it gracefully instead. "Thank you, Fuji-sensei."

"Don't worry, Tezuka-kun," Fuji said with an understanding smile. "I know that you're involved with student council and tennis club. We can work around that."

Tezuka felt instantly relieved and a little surprised. Most teachers didn't care about anything beyond their own classes, and Fuji-sensei was trying to be accommodating. He decided that perhaps he was being a bit too harsh, and decided to reserve judgment until after he'd at least sat through a class or two.

The rest of the class came within two minutes of the start of it, and had their books out before Fuji had even asked.

"Today, we're discussing Hamlet. Please turn to Act II Scene II line 185. Any volunteers to read for Hamlet, and another for Polonius?"

He picked two students, and sat back and watched as they spoke, stopping them only to correct pronunciation.

"Remember," he said as he chose two more students to continue the scene with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, "there's a rhythm to his works. There's a beat."

Tezuka followed the reading, although he had a little difficulty with the words. Fuji stopped them when they reached Act III, Scene I, line 30. "Do you see how there's a space between the King and the start of his dialogue?"

The class all nodded, so Fuji continued. "And do you see how it matches up with the end of Rosencrantz's line?"

Again, the class nodded. "That's on purpose. The iambic pentameter isn't just in single lines alone. To continue the beat of the play, the players have to work with one another. So, when you read this, the King speaks as soon as Rosencrantz's is finished."

As soon as the class was over, Tezuka walked out of the class slightly stunned. He'd never had a teacher that challenged him before. Before he shut the door, he looked over his shoulder and saw Fuji watching him. He gave a small smile and nod, before he headed off to his other class. Just as he closed the door, he squeezed his eyes shut. He had just smiled at his teacher. Feeling very foolish, Tezuka resolved to not think on it again.

It wasn't until the following week that they had their first tutoring session. Tezuka wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but he'd been looking forward to it. During class, he found himself intently watching Fuji teach. He hadn't had to correct him once. In truth, it had been the other way around.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Fuji beckoned him over to sit next to his desk where there was already a seat waiting for him.

"Tezuka-kun, thank you for coming," Fuji said with a pleasant smile. Tezuka felt his cheeks warm as he nodded his thanks. He sat down and stared at Fuji's hands as he began writing down some words in English.

"I think that the most important thing we can do is improve upon your vocabulary and pronunciation." Fuji handed him the paper, and he almost jumped when their fingers brushed as he took it from him.

"T-Thank you, Fuji-sensei," he mumbled as he began to read the paper. He recognised some of the words, but not all of them.

"Please, read these to me, and then define the ones you know."

Tezuka began to speak, and cringed internally every time he stumbled or mispronounced a word. He, for some strange reason, didn't want this teacher to think poorly of him. Once he made it through the list, Fuji got to his feet, and touched him lightly on the shoulder.

"You're doing fine, Tezuka-kun." He looked up at him, wondering how exactly Fuji knew how he was feeling. He'd never let on before when he was nervous, and he didn't think that now was the time to start.

Tezuka, despite himself, found himself showing up early to class almost any day that he didn't have practise right before. Fuji would be there when he arrived and would often tell him about different authors that he'd read that he thought Tezuka should read. He also would talk a little about himself as well. Tezuka learned that he had an older sister, Yumiko and a younger brother, Yuuta, whom he enjoyed teasing quite a bit.

He hated to admit it, but he was absolutely fascinated by his teacher. There was something about the way he spoke, his smile, the way it felt like he knew him, that made Tezuka always feel slightly off-guard whenever they were in the same room. It didn't help that when they happened to touch, albeit accidentally, he felt a rush similar to the one he got when he played on the court.

It wasn't until the third ranking match of the year that he knew for sure that he was losing his mind. He was in a match between himself and his teammate Oishi when he felt the weight of someone's stare on his back.

This was unusual because people were always watching him as he played. Not only that, but there was only one person's eyes he could ever feel upon him. A ball that he should have caught sailed past him and he turned to serve again when he saw him. Fuji-sensei was standing next to the coach, talking, as he watched him play.

Shaking the unrealistic thought that Fuji was there to see him out of his mind, Tezuka took another ball out of his pocket. It was then that he looked up again, and Fuji smiled widely as their yes met. Tezuka let his lips curl up in response, before he heard a small gasp from Oishi across the net. He frowned quickly, and proceeded to end the match as quickly as possible in the only way he knew how. Oishi cringed as he walked away, only managing to score once against him.

Oishi looked at him with a knowing smile as he headed off towards the locker, but Tezuka barely noticed because Fuji was walking towards him and he slowly lost focus on anything else.

"Tezuka-kun," Fuji began with a small grin on his face, "you play quite well."

Tezuka swallowed and tried to make his mouth moist enough to respond. "Thank you."

Fuji cocked his head to the side. "I was just coming down to see if you had some extra time next week to help me on a project. I was just discussing your schedule with the coach."
Tezuka felt two things war inside of him: his desire to spend more time with Fuji-sensei, and his need to be on the tennis court.

"I'd be glad to help in any way, Fuji-sensei," Tezuka found himself saying without knowing any details.

Fuji smiled at him, and he felt that now familiar tug at his own lips before he stopped himself.

"I'm glad. Don't worry. The coach assured me that it won't interfere with your schedule. Meet me before practise tomorrow, and I'll fill you in on the details. I don't want to keep you any longer."

Tezuka agreed, and walked back to the courts, telling himself he wasn't disappointed when he no longer feel Fuji's gaze on his back.

The project turned out to be a personal one for Fuji. He was compiling a small collection of poetry and short stories to join together in a small book in effort to raise money for a fundraiser.

He wanted Tezuka to help pick out the best pieces for publication. What it required was a great deal of time sorting through submissions and reading and choosing between many different pieces

Three weeks in, and they had only reached the halfway point. Many students from each prefecture had responded to the contest. There had been a great deal of mediocre papers, but few really good ones.

"Tezuka-kun," Fuji said with a great deal of excitement, "come read this." Tezuka got up, and leaned to read over Fuji's shoulder. The poem was easily the best that they've read so far, but even better was the pure look of happiness of Fuji's face.

Fuji turned back to look at him. "Isn't it wonderful, Tezuka?" Fuji asked, and Tezuka swore that the voice took on a different tone.

"Yes," he all but whispered in response.

"What's your fav--" Fuji began, but didn't finish because somehow, his lips were on Fuji's and he couldn't find the will to remove them, even though a voice in the back of his head was screaming that this was his teacher.

Tezuka felt clumsy, awkward as he pressed his lips to Fuji's, but he kept going because dear god Fuji was kissing him back, and those fingers, those fingers were on his head, in his hair, holding him close. Tezuka mirrored the action, and sighed into his mouth because Fuji's hair was so soft, and he smelled so good, that he wanted something, but didn't know what to do, or where to move, or what to touch, so he didn't do anything else but kiss Fuji until he could no longer breathe.

Once he pulled back, the enormity of what he did hit him. Fuji looked up at him in surprise, as if he couldn't believe that he just allowed what he did. Tezuka could barely keep his eyes off of the cheeks, flushed, and his lips red and wet.

"S-Sorry, Fuji-sensei," was all that he managed to say as he bowed before he hastily departed from the classroom, leaving Fuji in his chair, stunned, staring after him.

He almost didn't have the courage to face Fuji the next day, but he knew that he had to. He could scarcely sleep, so he arrived at the classroom a full hour and a half before class, knowing that he'd need the time to gather his thoughts on how to talk to his teacher. Much to his surprise, Fuji-sensei was already in the room. "I had a feeling you'd come, Tezuka," Fuji said quietly as Tezuka entered the room. Fuji's smile wasn't there, but he didn't seem angry, so Tezuka had some measure of relief.

Tezuka walked slowly to Fuji's desk, and stood with his head bowed, waiting for reprimand. He felt the need to fidget when the moments lengthened and none came. Fuji suddenly got to his feet and stood directly in front of him. He placed his hand on Tezuka's chest, causing him to look up in surprise. "You are my student," he said, and Tezuka swore that he could hear disappointment colour his tone, but he wasn't sure if that was just because he wanted to hear it.

"I know," he responded, but didn't know what else to say. The idea of not being able to see Fuji-sensei was painful. He looked forward to the time they spent together and he didn't want it to stop. Fuji smiled then, but there was a bitter edge to it.

"As long as you remember," Fuji started to say, but his lips were so close, and he looked so sad, that Tezuka found himself leaning down again, and much to his pleasure, Fuji stretched forward, and they were kissing again. It was much shorter that time, but it was soft, and made his mind take a short vacation. After a little while, Fuji moved away, and finished his sentence, "we can't do this again."

The rest of the day, he felt heavy, as if breathing was no longer effortless. It was terrible, and he wondered if was coming down with something, because he didn't remember the last time he felt so awful. It wasn't that Fuji-sensei didn't look at him once for the remainder of the day or that they didn't have their after school tutoring session. It had nothing to do with that at all.

Just as the class was being let out, Fuji stopped him before he left. "Tezuka-kun, please see me after school today."

Tezuka nodded, and couldn't help but feel just a little bit happy that they'd be alone again, even though nothing could or would happen. He was just grateful that he was no longer being ignored. It was only as he approached the classroom when he realised that was likely going to learn that he'd be reassigned another English teacher for the rest of the year and he almost turned to avoid dealing with the inevitable news

Hesitantly, he opened the door to see Fuji sitting at his desk as usual with his chair right beside it. He made his way over and sat down, ready to handle whatever Fuji had to tell him.
"I'm sorry, Tezuka-kun." Except that, apparently. He was not ready for that.

"You've no reason to be," he replied adamantly.

"I knew you were unhappy, and I ignored it," Fuji said in return.

"I shouldn't want what I do. It's my fault, Fuji-sensei," he said quietly, admitting more to Fuji than he'd ever done to anyone else before.

Fuji looked up, and smiled sadly at him. "Then our reasons are the same."

Tezuka's head shot up at that. His teacher had just said...and he was on his feet again, moving to kneel in front of Fuji's chair, holding him close as they kissed once more. He never knew want could be so strong, so irresistible that he could do nothing but succumb to it. Fuji only paused for a moment before gripping Tezuka to him tightly as he kissed back with equal fervor.

Instead of stopping like the voice in his head was telling him to, he noticed absently that his fingers were undoing the buttons to Fuji's shirt as he slowly caressed every inch of skin as it was revealed. Fuji pulled away from him only long enough to latch on to the exposed skin of his neck, licking him as Tezuka's hands ran down his chest until they hit the waist of Fuji's pants, removing them as well.

He really had no idea what he should do, never experiencing anything like it before, but the one clear thought he had was that everything would be better if Fuji were naked. He pressed closer, rubbing himself against Fuji as he tried desperately for it not to be obvious that he was new to this. Instead, he focused on kissing Fuji neck, his lips, moving against him as the lust practically overwhelmed him.

Tezuka wrapped his arms around Fuji, lifting him as he got to his feet. Fuji crushed their lips together in a hard kiss as he used his body weight to force Tezuka to move backwards, stopping only when his legs hit the lip of the desk. Fuji pushed his chest until he was sitting down, and plucked a small bottle of baby oil off of his desk. Tezuka didn't give much thought to why it was there because Fuji poured it onto his fingers before reaching behind and pressing them inside his entrance.

He watched Fuji unabashedly as he fucked himself on those long, beautiful fingers not able to do anything else. He'd never imagined anything so erotic in his life, so the reality was positively mind-blowing. Fuji finally dragged his fingers away, and licked his lips as he slowly poured more oil into his hand. Tezuka wanted to ask if he could do it but he was forestalled by Fuji wrapping his hand around his cock. He gasped at mixed sensation of cool oil and a warm hand, and took a deep breath to not let go too soon.

Fuji reached up, grabbing his shoulders as he crawled on to the desk enough to straddle Tezuka's lap. His arms were around Fuji again, and his lips on Fuji's neck as he slowly lowered himself down on Tezuka's cock. He went slowly. So slowly that Tezuka bit his own lip in effort not to tremble. It was so hot, tight that he could just barely stop himself from coming.

Panting, Fuji looked at him, eyes open, and smiled slightly. Tezuka couldn't look away, and stared as Fuji raised and lowered himself on his cock. Fuji grabbed his hand, guided it to his own, and Tezuka stroked him tentatively. But as soon as he looked back at Fuji's face, he forgot any nervousness as he got lost watching the way his lips parted as he moaned. His hand moved faster of its own accord, straining to hear the way his name fell from Fuji's lips.

Fuji gripped his shoulders harshly as he canted his hips, and Tezuka could feel the nails biting into his skin. He rubbed his thumb over the head of Fuji's cock, and that was all it took. His body tensed as he leaned forward, and bit down on Tezuka's shoulder, coming hard as he tried not to make a sound. Tezuka held him close, mindless of the sweat and come between him, and moved slowly as Fuji caught his breath. It was only minutes later that he followed, whispering things into Fuji's skin.

They didn't move for a few minutes, and Tezuka clenched his eyes shut to prevent reality from seeping in and reminding him of what he had just done. Fuji kissed him on his cheek, and he found himself turning to capture his lips once more. The kiss was slow, soft, and he didn't want to ever stop. He glanced at the clock, and knew that they couldn't be found like that.

Almost unwillingly, Fuji slid off of his lap and just looked at him as if searching for the right thing to say, the right way to react, but he shook his head and opened a drawer instead. There was the tube of wet wipes Fuji used to wash his hands after using the chalkboard. After cleaning themselves up, they redressed slowly, not a word passing between them.

How he got through class, he did not know, but for whatever reason, he was grateful. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Fuji. The way he spoke. The way he moved. The way he placed his hand on his desk on the exact place they were a mere hour before. All he could think of was getting out on the courts and running laps until he could clear his mind of everything else.

The desire to go to practise was short-lived, however. Oishi took one look at him and knew. Tezuka wasn't sure how, but the smirk Oishi gave him said volumes. As they ran their laps, Oishi jogged faster to catch up with him.

"Tezuka, you—I can't believe it, but you did," he said almost panting it out.

He didn't answer, but his silence was as good as shouting it to the world. Oishi knew him far too well.

"I'm not gonna ask any questions about what you feel for him, because you wouldn't do this for the wrong reasons," Oishi began, and Tezuka had to wonder if there were right reasons to do what he'd done in Oishi's world. "But, if you get caught…"

Tezuka didn't want to hear it, but he had to. He didn't want to be responsible for Fuji getting fired, or worse, so he knew that this could not happen again. The mere thought of not seeing Fuji, or seeing Fuji hurt caused him actual physical pain in his chest, and he didn't really know what to do.

The next day, he resolved to speak with Fuji about everything. He had a speech carefully planned in his mind, and his counterarguments for whatever Fuji might disagree with.

He closed the door behind him as he walked into the room. "Fuji-sensei, I need to speak with you."

Standing by his desk, and giving him a slightly pained smile, Fuji nodded, and beckoned him to take his seat beside him. Tezuka refused the seat, needing to stand to hold his ground. "We can't do this, Fuji-sensei," he began, moving closer with every word. "It's not right."

"I know," Fuji responded in agreement, but he said nothing when Tezuka pressed him against the chalkboard, kissing him harshly as if saying goodbye.

He left quickly pushed Fuji's pants to the floor, and only bothered unzipping his own as he lifted Fuji off of the floor, grinding their cocks together as Fuji wrapped his legs around Tezuka's waist. He carried him to the desk only long enough to grab the baby oil before he pressed Fuji back against the board.

Fuji threw his head back as Tezuka pounded into his body. "I-It can't happen again," Fuji lied before moaning as Tezuka's cock rubbed against his prostate.

Tezuka knew there was a problem when he found himself cleaning up after the ninth attempt to stop. He couldn't even blame Fuji for it, because it was he that made the first move. Although, he had to admit, he might have had more restraint if Fuji didn't smile that smile, the one that did nothing to mask any hurt, whenever he broached the subject.

He felt a deep sense of foreboding, however, but he couldn't find the will to stop. Mainly because he didn't think he could. Fuji was more than just a want; he was a need. But he couldn't deny one basic thing: he was being careless. Carelessness, he knew, would be the end of everything.

Break was coming up, and Tezuka knew that it was his one chance to think clearly before the next semester. He couldn't make the right decision with Fuji next to him. Whenever Fuji was near him, all he could think of was his taste, his smell, the way he clenched around him as he came, and then they'd be kissing and any discussion they were having would be over.

Three days into break, and Tezuka felt like he needed to escape his house. His mother had been incessantly asking which girl had made him lovesick, and could she come over for tea, or dinner sometime. He didn't know how else to respond except to reiterate that there was no girl in which he was interested. Begging off another family meal that would inevitably lead to a subject he couldn't possibly discuss, Tezuka mumbled something about tennis and ran as respectfully from the house possible.

He aimlessly wandered, feeling quite lost, but determined to figure out the right course when he came upon a familiar figure heading towards the post office.

"Fuji-sensei," he said, wanting so badly to touch him, but knowing that he couldn't outside, in public.

Fuji turned to him and smiled as if he missed Tezuka as much as Tezuka missed him. "Tezuka-kun."

He took a step closer, and Fuji mirrored the action until their arms were around each other once more. Their lips met and he felt normal for the first time since holiday began. People noticed them, and worried that Fuji would be angry with him, but Fuji only held on more tightly. Voices hummed around them, and he ignored them all and refused to let go.