If Prince of Tennis were mine, Tezuka would have his own chicken-and-goat fanclub!

Last day of school yesterday! So basically, my hand has fallen off due to the like gazillions of yearbooks that I had to sign (there's so many people in highschool!) but fortunately, I managed to survive grade nine, yaaaay. (: So I know I still have not updated Look and You Will Find. There's been a change to the story which I shall not unveil yet, you will have to wait until the next update (I know the readers of that story are hating me now).

STORY
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prologue;

It could have been many things; it could have been the way Fuji's distinctive blue-grey eyes reflected the crisp September sky, or the way Fuji's clutching the lapels of his shirt and telling him that this wasn't what I wanted! had stirred something deep and dark within Tezuka. It was sitting in front of Fuji during second-year in homeroom while the prodigy chattered away animatedly behind him. It was the shiver that found its way down Tezuka's back when Fuji's fingernails accidentally brushed his lower back.

It was Fuji's easy fascination with Echizen when the freshman made his appearance in their third-year.

Tezuka's game against Echizen had been more of a means of conveying his upset than it had to do with training Seigaku's next pillar of strength. It was the way Fuji didn't react to Tezuka's strangled call of his name in the semifinal tournament against Shitenhouji. (Reference to Fuji's match against Shiraishi, manga; chapter 314)

It was Echizen hopping over the fence and Tezuka's unrest when the first-year approached his boyfriend. It was Echizen crouching by Fuji and placing a hand on the tensai's hair, saying, "Won't you give it all you've got, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji had lifted his head, then, "You're right, it would be disappointing if I lost like this," Fuji had said. And for reasons Tezuka couldn't comprehend, the captain felt as if he had lost.

beginning;

It had started when Fuji returned to the stands, having lost to Shiraishi. Because Tezuka was Tezuka and didn't know what to say or how to react, Echizen was the one that plopped down in the chair beside Fuji. Ever so gently, the freshman had pulled the towel off Fuji's head and offered Fuji his own waterbottle. Much to Tezuka's distaste, Fuji drank from the same bottle that Echizen had already drunk from and revealed to Echizen the vulnerability in his eyes that he never showed to anyone but Tezuka.

It was Tezuka walking into the clubroom later to find Echizen pinning Fuji to very same spot on the bench where Tezuka himself had first made love to Fuji. Tezuka left, but not before he saw Echizen press his lips to Fuji's and not before he saw Echizen's hand creeping under the waistband of Fuji's shorts.

Halfway through his walk home when the numbness had dissipated, the mental image of Echizen making love to what used to be solely his property made bitterness well up in Tezuka. It was the proud and dignified captain bending over and throwing up the contents of his lunch in the middle of the sidewalk.

The next day, it was Tezuka telling Fuji what he had seen the the way his head bowed in disappointment. It was Tezuka asking Fuji whether he had had sex with Echizen and Fuji's eyes dilating. It was Fuji reaching over and brushing Tezuka's bangs out of his face before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Tezuka's neck.

"I would never let anyone else make love to me while I am still with someone. That is not the kind of man I am."

It was Fuji pressing a kiss to Tezuka's cheek and saying goodbye.

It was the bitterness with which Tezuka watched as his ex-lover walked away from him towards where Echizen was waiting.

middle;

It was winning the Nationals, but losing his game against Sanada.

It was Echizen's blatant ignorance of the way Tezuka pointedly stared at him every time the first-year had the nerve to stand beside Fuji. Echizen became the sole focus of Fuji's adoration, and this was worse to Tezuka than if Fuji had slept with Echizen once by a mistake.

Fuji's adoration was written in the way he watched Echizen as the first-year sipped his Ponta curiously, and it was Echizen grumbling good naturedly and offering his senpai the can. Fuji ignored the can but tousled Echizen's hair affectionately, a surprised look on his face when Echizen dropped the can and pulled Fuji's body towards his own. It was Fuji closing his eyes and sighing contentedly.

It was Tezuka confronting Fuji at the team's get-together at Kawamura Sushi.

It was Tezuka cornering Fuji in the bathroom and pressing his body against Fuji's, hand against the wall and blocking Fuji's means of escape.

It was the desperation he had felt when he pressed his lips against Fuji, hoping for any kind of response. It was his hands reaching under Fuji's pants and pleasuring the smaller boy until Fuji slid down, spent, on the floor, panting and eyes glazed over. Tezuka hadn't relented, kneeling down and straddling Fuji's waist, pressing kisses to Fuji's now exposed collarbone and murmuring, "Play your games with me, Fuji. Love me, need me. Be mine once more."

It was Fuji's half-hearted protests as Tezuka slid inside the prodigy. It was Fuji shouting out Tezuka's name hoarsely as he came, just as Echizen opened the door to the bathroom.

It was the way Fuji refused to meet his eyes and the way Echizen stuck to Fuji's side as a guest on their graduation day. It was his parents' pride and his teachers' congratulations. It was getting into the highschool of his dreams, but Fuji refusing to follow Tezuka into that highschool.

It was getting everything he wanted, but losing Fuji.

ending;

Fuji had always managed to have impeccable timing, even after the six years that Tezuka had not seen the other boy.

Even as Tezuka closed his eyes, held his breath and prepared to thrust into someone else's body for the first time since the last time he'd had Fuji on the bathroom floor, the door to his apartment opened. It was Fuji's eyes and the nameless man Tezuka had paid to stay with him for the night dressing and storming out of the room.

It was Tezuka donning his clothes as Fuji stood and watched.

It was Tezuka leaning against the counter with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and his white dress shirt halfway unbuttoned. It was the way Tezuka's eyes took in Fuji's thin, lovely waist, covered by Fuji's jeans and his chest clothed by the sleeved white shirt he wore.

The silence was awful. It was the two of them returning meaningless pleasantries and empty life experiences.

And then, it was Fuji leaning forward in a rush and wrapping his arms around Tezuka's neck, eyes closed and heartbeat accentuated against Tezuka's own chest. "I didn't sleep with him, Echizen, I mean. I haven't slept with anyone but.. you. He wanted me to, but I-I keep thinking about your hands and your mouth and eyes and.. and I was afraid that it was your name I would shout, in the end. So I didn't let him-"

It was Tezuka's facade collapsing and letting his arms wrap tightly around Fuji, admitting that neither had he, close as he may have come, tonight.

It was the way Tezuka positioned himself above a naked body for the second time that night, this time with the right person. It was Fuji coming with a shout and Tezuka's deep voice echoeing seconds after. It was the quiet whispers and murmurs and I love yous that followed and the way Fuji cried and the way Tezuka held him.

It was stroking Fuji's hair as they apologized and talked about ways to work things out. It was knowing where he belonged and knowing that no one could that that from him this time.

epilogue;

Despite not being a person to hold grudges, Tezuka couldn't help but feel satisfied in the way Echizen scowled when Fuji and Tezuka entered Kawamura Sushi together for the Regulars' Annual Get-Together, the one that neither Fuji nor Tezuka had attended for six years.

It was Echizen reaching over discreetly and stroking Fuji's neck as Tezuka went to greet Oishi. It was the way Fuji pretended not to notice and smiled nonchalantly at the familiar face who was now taller than himself by at least a head. It was Fuji laughing as Eiji glomped him and the way Tezuka smiled.

It was Echizen creeping closer to Fuji before the prodigy bounded over to Tezuka and depositing himself in Tezuka's lap, wrapping his arms around the ex-captain's neck, whispering, "Can we have a repeat of last time in the bathroom, this time without interruptions?"

It was Eiji not understanding why Tezuka was blushing as Fuji ground himself against Tezuka's crotch. It was Fuji's giggle and soft, "I love you."

And it was knowing that Echizen was no longer a factor in their story.

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So usually when I write triangles, the third person ends up being a good guy in the end (like Yukimura from Reach and somewhat Atobe in Model), but I can very happily make Echizen a bad guy. (:
Also, I know that the Fuji;Shiraishi match and Echizen's interference didn't go exactly like that, but it made everything more dramatic that way.
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