A/N: Sorry!
OrieK- Easier said than done for Fuji but hopefully by the end of this story, he would have closure and be able to move on freely.
MARYLOVER – No story is complete without looming dark clouds. After all, Tezuka now knows what's going on between them.
ScarletRoofs- Yes he did pass the first test of solo parenting. But there are harder tests to come and hopefully, he'll be up to it.
MikiYuri – Gonna do my best to bring more of the thrill.
Hohoe– Well there's never a dull moment with the twins. But yes, fluff should be central because once we get more serious with their relationship, there will be less time for fluff.
Pri-Chan 1410- It's not the easiest thing to get over someone so there will be relapses but hopefully, we'll see more growth on control over impulse.
JBubbles – Thanks for catching that. Sometimes it slips through.
deadlycute17 – That's yet to be seen… we'll see. XD
One Step At A Time
Rated: M
Summary: When Tezuka marries to please his family, Fuji decides to repay him by marrying for money. But with Atobe playing matchmaker, things are bound to be anything but ordinary.
Chapter XIII: Two Steps
Recap~
He couldn't help but notice the smiles on the boy's faces or the exhaustion on Syuusuke's but it made him happy to see them so close. He reached out to caress his boy's hair back and pulled the blanket higher around the three of them. He was about to leave the room but as an afterthought, he leaned across Shuji and placed a soft kiss onto Syuusuke's lips.
"Thank you," Ryoma uttered with a soft smile.
XxX
Echizen Residence
A screech before bubbly laughter filled the air jarring Fuji out of his dream. He was pretty sure that was Hiro screams of laughter coming from the other room.
He rolled onto his side to check his phone for the time and noted that it was a little later than he usually got up.
"Stop it! It's too early for that!"
Fuji chuckled slightly hearing the annoyance in Ryoma's voice. It was obvious who wasn't a morning person in the least.
Moving the blankets, Fuji got up with a stretch and pulled the blankets back up to fix the bed. He went into the attached bathroom and proceeded to do his morning business when his toilet time was suddenly overtaken.
"Wow, that's big!" Hiro commented staring with wide eyes. His hand held a piece of bread while the other was outstretched to touch Fuji's penis.
"Thank you," Fuji said with a shocked expression at having his private space invaded. He gently nudged Hiro's hand away with his arm. "That's not something you can touch while eating Hiro."
"Especially since I haven't seen or touched it yet," Ryoma complained from the door.
"I hope you're here to make it easier on me," Fuji said with a lifted brow as he finished and flushed before heading to the sink.
Ryoma merely looked at Hiro and Hiro stared back at him with a smile as he happily chomped away at this bread.
"What did daddy tell you?" Ryoma asked with a lift of his brow now.
"To go get my stuff for school because Daddy and Mommy Syuu is going to work," Hiro said with a stuffed mouth.
"What did I say about speaking with your mouth full?" Ryoma asked with a defeated look.
"Can't do that…" Hiro said softer through his stuffed mouth.
Fuji chuckled and picked Hiro up to help him wash his hands. As Fuji helped soap and rinse his hands, Hiro finished chewing and swallowed so Fuji washed his mouth as well.
"There," Fuji said wiping his hands and mouth clean. "Now go do what your father told you to do."
"Okay," Hiro agreed getting down and hopping out of the bathroom. His father and Fuji watched him with smiles until he turned around with a lop-sided smile and asked his father a question. "So I can touch mommy Syuu's wee wee after you do daddy?"
Both Ryoma and Fuji were speechless as Hiro continued on his way out.
XxX
Photogenic
Later that morning
"I'm not sure if that kid is a genius or an idiot," Atobe said between heaves of laughter after Fuji explained what had happened in the bathroom that morning.
"He's just innocent," Fuji said with slight smile.
"He's a freaking brat and you know it," Atobe said with a smile. "I like his brother better than him."
"They have their own personalities," Fuji said continuing to do his work while chatting with Atobe. "Besides, I think he's adorable."
"He's adorable if you don't have to be babysitting him for more than thirty minutes," Atobe clarified.
"Why are you here anyway?" Fuji asked glancing up at Atobe and putting his work away.
"Why can't I just visit?" Atobe asked with a miffed expression. Was it really that obvious?
"Because you never just drop by without a purpose," Fuji said with a knowing look. "Spill it."
"Tezuka came looking for me," Atobe finally said. "It wasn't a pretty talk."
"What did he want?" Fuji finally asked after a moment of silence to digest it.
"He wanted to know why I helped you look for someone else even though you had him," Atobe admitted. "I guess it isn't quite obvious to him that you prefer your man unmarried."
"Well, what was his end goal with confronting you?" Fuji asked more interested in that.
"To break up what I brought together?" Atobe said with a shrug. "Maybe to find a way around everything?"
"There is no way," Fuji sighed.
"Even if he divorces can you still say that?" Atobe asked.
Fuji didn't answer. It made Atobe very uncomfortable.
XxX
Ryoma
"He's very good with your kids," Sara said accepting the papers from Ryoma. "He just doesn't know how to have a firmer hand with Hiro."
"Isn't it just that my son likes to test everyone's line?" Ryoma said with a smile even though his eyes never left the documents in his hand.
"That is true," Sara agreed. "I non verbally agreed to not say how Hiro behaved on their short trip here yesterday."
Ryoma chuckled and continued with his work. Little did he realize that Sara had paused and stared at her boss in amazement. She had, in all the years she worked for him, never heard him chuckle or laugh unless it was in evil accomplishment of a deal gone right.
XxX
Fuji
"You're phone is ringing," Atobe said as he was on his way out the door. He didn't say more on it because he noticed the name on the screen trying to reach him.
Fuji merely glanced at it and screened Tezuka's call without a second thought.
His motion made Atobe happier so he stopped at the door and spoke up once more and said what he actually came here to say to Fuji.
"I don't know why I pitied you," Atobe admitted. "But somehow I thought of him and just went for it with the two of you."
Fuji didn't say anything. He just stayed silent listening to Atobe. He too was curious as to why Atobe would do this for him. In the beginning, they had been rivals and fought for Tezuka's attention. Fuji had won that time and he was sure Atobe was bitter towards him since but out of the blue when it was his turn to be tossed by Tezuka, the person who offered a hand had been his rival.
"How do you know Ryoma?"
"I see you haven't slept with him but are already on first name basis huh?" Atobe said with a crooked smile.
"We'll get there when we get there," Fuji said dismissively on the subject. "At the moment, we're fine with taking one step at a time."
"Bull shit on taking one step at a time," Atobe snorted. "You both are on the threshold of marriage and you call that one step at a time, more like two steps!"
"We'll decide what one step is in our standard," Fuji stated.
"You're living with him which is like ten steps in already." Atobe reminded him.
"Ryoma and you?" Fuji said trying to get back to what he wanted to know. He wasn't interested in Atobe analyzing their relationship, he wanted to know the introduction.
"We grew up with each other. " Atobe said with a smirk. "We did almost everything together."
"Then how come he wasn't into tennis?" Fuji asked not remembering ever seeing Ryoma at the tennis tournaments.
Atobe laughed and came back into the room to take a seat. From the looks of it, it looked like he wasn't going to be leaving very soon after all.
"Fuji-kaichou," Anna said from the doorway. "Atsuro-san is coming with Mokono-shachou again."
Fuji sighed thinking about that little boy who had gotten so excited ever since that one drinking party where he had boldly kissed Fuji and Fuji didn't kill him.
Atobe merely raised a silent brow in question about all this.
"Fuji-kaichou…. There was mention that you're disrupting with visitors again?" Mokono-shachou announced coming in with a weary look.
"I wasn't aware the company wasn't looking for business since meetings can't even be held to form contracts," Atobe said pointedly looking down on Atsuro and Mokono.
"Atobe-san!" Mokono recognized Atobe immediately. "Were you both discussing a deal?"
"Maybe," Atobe said looking away from him. "After seeing this kind of reception though, it's kind of disheartening."
"Ahh…. Don't be that way Atobe-san… I had no idea such contracts were on the table," Mokono-shachou said sending a glare towards Atsuro. "It must be that I need to have a talk with people who have too much time to waste every day."
"That would be the first correct thing to do," Atobe said raising his chin up a notch.
Mokono nodded and backing out with apologies.
They waited a good few seconds before speaking again.
"Thank you," Fuji said with a smile.
"I'll have you redesign the logo for Atobe Industry," Atobe said continuing to cover for him. It was just a subsidiary company under them after all.
Fuji nodded his agreement and ushered Atobe to get back to their original topic.
"When we were playing junior tennis, that guy was playing professionally," Atobe admitted. "Still, I love Ryoma and I would destroy you if you hurt him."
Fuji nodded and agreed with Atobe's words. He had no reason to hurt Ryoma now, he needed to continue on the path given to him.
XxX
"Shuji do you think Syuu-ka-san can cook?" Hiro asked staring at the piece of paper in his hands.
"I think so," Shuji said with an unsure look. "He did dinner for us when daddy was sick."
"Oh yeah!" Hiro brightened. "Then he should be able to make something for us huh?"
Shuji nodded seriously.
Shinji had told them that the paper was about the daycare requesting a dish for a potluck for a going-away party for a child leaving.
"I can't wait for daddy and Syuu-mommy to come home!" Hiro yelled staring out the window.
"No yelling," Shuji reminded his brother.
A/N: We'll probably have Tezuka re-enter the scene next chapter. Review and I will see you guys next time.