Title: All of Your Tomorrows Shine Pt 1 of 8.
Pairings: Tezuka/Echizen,Tezuka-Fuji...erm...heavy friendship-->Eventual Tezuka/Fuji.
Rating: PG
Summary: Tezuka learns there may be life after tennis.
Disclaimer: The owners of PoT own Pot.
AN: It may say Tezuka-Echizen, but I'm the biggest Zukafuji fangirl ever, trust me, so just remember this story is about the journey, eh? Actually, this whole story is about the relationship between Tezuka and Fuji. If you want any physical stuff between Echizen and Tezuka, this story isn't for you.--This story was written before the most recent manga canon.

Tezuka thought about calling Echizen to see what he wanted for dinner. It was late and he had just finished up with training. He didn't feel like cooking and Echizen rarely would initiate himself. He looked at the phone for a moment, before pocketing it again. He, instead, went to a nearby take-away place and picked up some noodles. Echizen didn't care what he ate, as long as there was a lot of it.

They had lived together for five years, and he was fairly used to Echizen's habits. He didn't cook or clean or read or do much of anything besides tennis. He was similar, except he did cook and clean and read as well as playing tennis. Just as he was rounding the corner to where his flat was, the cell phone rang. It was Inui. He gave his usual rambling report of the goings-on of everyone, and he listened half-heartedly. It wasn't until the end that his ears perked up at some of the news Inui had to relay.

They ate in silence, as usual, and Echizen wandered off when he was finished without so much as a word, leaving Tezuka to finish eating by himself. He didn't mind it so much. Tezuka was fond of silence, for the most part, and there was only one person's chatter that ever didn't annoy him anyhow.

Echizen was sitting in the chair, watching the match, playing with his racket so he didn't even notice when Tezuka said goodnight and went to bed early. He was tired and the phone call from Inui brought up some old memories.

Tezuka woke up early. Echizen was still asleep. He did his morning workout, made himself some breakfast, and then went to the tennis courts. Echizen joined him two hours later.

They played a few sets. He won both. After they had showered, they sat down to lunch.

"Did you see the match last night?" Echizen asked as he drank a Ponta.

"Hn."

"He didn't play well."

"Hn."

"Do you want to do something this weekend?" Echizen was on his third Ponta. Tezuka noted that Echizen drank too much of it.

"There's a pavilion we haven't gone to." He had heard from Inui that at least one former member of the team frequented the place.

Echizen nodded before grabbing another can of Ponta and leaving.

Tezuka changed and went out for his afternoon workout. He ran around the block before doing a few reps of sit-ups and push-ups.

When he was finished, he went home and showered before joining Echizen for dinner. They didn't speak beyond asking the other to pass the salt.

After they had cleaned up, Tezuka sat down and read his novel while Echizen watched a tennis match while hitting his ball on the side of his racket.

When he was sufficiently tired, Tezuka marked his place in the novel and went to get ready for bed. He showered, briefly, brushed his teeth, and went to bed.

Tezuka was at the courts again. He hadn't seen Echizen in a few days. Tezuka only noticed because when he got the weekly shipment of Ponta, there were still some left over from the last one. He decided to go to the new pavilion himself, and was not disappointed. He idly wondered where Echizen was, but he instead focused on the match in which he was engaged.

Tezuka glared across the net. He hadn't seen Fuji in a while, but had heard things about him on the professional circuit. It was exciting like nothing had been in a while. He griped his racket a little tighter when he saw the way Fuji's eyes opened, as he readied his disappearing serve.

Sweating profusely, Tezuka sat down next to Fuji on the bench after the game. He'd barely won.

"Good game, eh Tezuka?"

Tezuka allowed a small smile on his face. "Yes, best I've had in a while."

Fuji shot him with a curious look. "Doesn't Echizen play you?"

Tezuka looked at his racket. "Weekly, at least."

"Ah," Fuji said with a smirk, but said nothing more.

Tezuka looked at Fuji for a moment, noticing the healthy flush on his face before looking away.

Fuji nudged him with his shoulder, and he felt a strange warmth at the spot. "We can make this a reoccurring thing."

Looking over in faint surprise, Tezuka stared at Fuji. "Weekly?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound to eager.

"As often as you like. I've a pretty open schedule," Fuji said, eyes sparkling.

Tezuka quickly agreed. "Twice a week sound good?"

"It sounds delightful," Fuji said, resting his hand on Tezuka's arm. "I need to get going, you?"

Tezuka got to his feet and followed Fuji into the showers. If he noticed every detail of Fuji's body wet and soapy, he didn't mention it. But, his cheeks had a faint tinge as he left the locker room.

When he ate dinner that night, he didn't know why, but he didn't tell Echizen that he had run into Fuji. Instead, he ate as quickly as he could and noticed that Echizen had had five cans of Ponta during dinner.

He became increasingly focused on his upcoming matches against Fuji. Echizen hadn't bothered to meet him on the court in over a week, but he hardly had time to miss it because Fuji had always made tennis exciting. They had already played seven times. He won four, and Fuji three.

Tezuka walked into the house and found Echizen asleep on the couch. Ponta cans were scattered everywhere. While he cleaned them up, he counted fourteen. It was worrying. No one should drink that much Ponta.

Echizen hadn't woken by the time he was ready for bed, so he left him on the couch still dressed in his clothes and went to sleep by himself. Sometime late that night, he felt Echizen slide in next to him and put an arm around him.

Tezuka frowned. It was obvious what Echizen wanted. He never touched Tezuka otherwise, but he really was too exhausted to do anything. It had been six months since the last time, and he didn't think another day would hurt. He shifted away, pretending to be asleep, and waited until he heard Echizen's soft snores before going back to sleep himself.

The next morning when they sat down to breakfast, he looked over at Echizen as he opened his first can of Ponta.

"You drink a lot of Ponta."

Echizen looked over at him, shrugging, and sat down.

"You've been lax in your training."

With a disgruntled looked, Echizen took a sip of his miso soup. "Been busy."

Tezuka looked at him, silently telling him to continue.

"Found a new place to play," Echizen explained further.

"Hn." Tezuka couldn't say anything because he had done the same.

"With Monkey King." Echizen added after a moment.

Tezuka looked at him in surprise, "Atobe?"

"Yes." Echizen finished off his soup, got up, grabbed another Ponta, and left.

Shrugging, Tezuka cleared the table and called Fuji to see if he wanted to play a set with him if he had the time.

Fuji smiled serenely as they engaged in their post-match chat on the bench. They were idly discussing the amateur Japanese tennis players chances of going professional when Fuji nudged him lightly with his shoulder.

"Would you like to meet me sometime tomorrow and do something?"

Tezuka looked surprised. They didn't usually play on consecutive days. "Another match?"

Fuji gave him an amused chuckle. "No. Something not tennis related."

"Not tennis related? he asked, words feeling strange in his mouth.

Grinning, Fuji looked at him. "Yes, there are things besides tennis. Don't you and Echizen do anything not tennis related?"

He must have had a bewildered expression on his face because Fuji laughed. At him. Hard. Clutching his sides, Fuji said to him between giggles. "You've never…besides tennis…nothing…" Fuji continued to laugh, mumbling something about bedroom activities under his breath before he straightened out.

"Tezuka, join me tomorrow. I have something fun in mind." Fuji still had tears of mirth in his eyes, and Tezuka found that he couldn't refuse.

When they left, Fuji gave him a peck on the cheek, before waving and walking in the opposite direction. It was something Fuji used to do when they were in high school, and still close friends. Tezuka was at first surprised that Fuji hadn't done that the last few times they had met but, then again, they hadn't seen each other in years. Now, it was as if they had gone back in time.

He placed his hand on his cheek for a moment, realising that it was the first kiss he had had from anyone in four months.

Fuji and he were sitting down to breakfast in a diner before Fuji whisked him away to wherever it was that he was planning.

Fuji gave him a speculative look. "Tezuka, you never did tell me when you and Echizen got together. You never said anything at all. Found out from Inui."

There was something accusatory in that tone, but he ignored it. "We played tennis together a lot after I graduated from high school. He kissed me once after a match and then he showed up at my flat the next day. And it went from there."

Fuji stared at him wide-eyed. "That's possibly the most unromantic thing I've ever heard."

Tezuka scowled. "There's more to life than romance."

Smirking again, and so very clearly amused, Fuji quipped, "Yes, there's tennis and Ponta."

Less than two hours later, both Fuji and Tezuka were knee deep in a lake, fishing. He hadn't gone fishing in quite a long time, mainly because Echizen didn't care for it. Fuji and he didn't catch anything they could keep, but he had had fun. Well, until Fuji tossed aside his fishing pole, snuck up behind him, and dunked him in the water. He found himself laying aside his own pole in order to get back at Fuji, who had remained elusive until he stepped into a soft patch, and his foot got stuck in the muck. Tezuka had taken great pleasure in making sure Fuji was every bit soaked as he was.

Fuji walked next to him on the trip home. They chatted about other places they'd fished. Fish they had caught, or not, and ones that had got away. He was sure that Fuji was making up the story of catching a two-headed carp, but he didn't press him on it. Fuji seemed to be taking great delight in wildly gesticulating every story.

When they had arrived at his front door, Fuji pecked him on the cheek and bid him goodbye.

He opened his mouth to respond in kind, when he said instead, "That was a date."

Fuji looked at him, blinking, before smiling again. "Have a nice evening, Tezuka."

Tezuka wasn't sure why he had said what he had said, but he felt a little unsettled.

If Echizen noticed he was distracted at dinner, he didn't mention it.

They sat down together on the couch and watched a movie, of which he couldn't recall the name.

"Stupid movie," Echizen said after it was over.

Tezuka nodded. "Hn."

"No tennis on today," he added unnecessarily.

Tezuka shrugged.

"Play any this week?"

Nodding, Tezuka said, "Yes."

"Me too."

"Ah."

"Who won?"

"Me."

"Me too."

"Who'd you play?"

"Monkey King."

"Hm."

"You?"

"Fuji."

Echizen looked over at him then. "Fuji-senpai? I'd like a match with him."

Tezuka looked down at the floor for a moment. "Hm."

"Ask him for me?" Echizen pressed. Tezuka didn't want to, but he didn't really have a legitimate reason to refuse him.

"If I see him." Tezuka's eyes were trained on the commercial on the television as he spoke.

Echizen considered him for a moment. "I got a new racket."

Tezuka nodded. "Ah."

That was the last thing that was said before Tezuka turned off the television before he went to bed. Echizen had fallen asleep on the couch again, but at least he was back to drinking his normal amount of Ponta. It was still too much, but wasn't as bad as it had been.

Tezuka was a little shocked that Echizen was already gone when he got up in the morning. Most days, Echizen wouldn't wake before ten without heavy prodding. There was no note indicating where he had gone but, then again, there never was.

He simply got dressed and made his way to his trainer. Today they would be discussing his future in tennis. He'd enjoyed success as a professional, but it wasn't something he could hope to maintain much longer.

Two hours later, he emerged from the gym with a lot on his mind. He wanted someone else's opinion, because he was basically given two choices. In the past, when he was left to ponder things on his own, he had the tendency to be rash.

Picking up his cell, he quickly punched in Echizen's number.

"Hello?"
It was Fuji. He glanced down at the number on the phone screen. He hadn't dialed Echizen's number at all.

"Fuji, it's Tezuka."

"Ah, hello Tezuka."

"Hm."

Fuji was silent for a moment, but so was he. "Do you want to get coffee, Tezuka?"

Tezuka nodded before responding so Fuji could understand. "Yes. See you soon."

Once they were seated in the café, Tezuka looked across to Fuji who was smiling as always.

"I've been given a choice," he began, seeing no need to dally in conversation, "I either retire after this season and still maintain use of my shoulder and arm like I do now. Or I can continue pushing things and have another three years professionally at the most."

Fuji didn't say anything at first, and instead sipped his tea. "What do you plan on doing when you stop playing tennis?"

Tezuka felt struck dumb. He didn't know how to say that he always imagined himself playing tennis. "I hadn't considered the possibility of not playing tennis."

Nodding, Fuji fingered the lip of his teacup. "Then, I'd say you should retire sooner than later. This way, you won't have to live without tennis."

"Is there a point if I'm not competing?"

Fuji smirked at him. "Were all your best games professional ones?"

Tezuka inclined his head to Fuji, who had obviously won that round.
It hadn't occurred to him that in giving up tennis, he could keep it.