Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own any character, company, music, etc… mentioned in this fic. 'Sing Me Insomnia' is a band that I have fallen in love with (they're amazing), I do not own any of their songs or music rights.

Warning: Shonen-ai (male/male), some obscene language, sexual themes and vague content, etc…

Note: This is a semi-AU. They are in university/college and do not know each other.

[Confess]
"I must confess, my way with words stopped in a screeching wreck the very first time, first time my eyes met yours."

"Oh, my God! I'm sorry," Marui blurted as he dropped the cup the cashier had just handed him. He watched, horrified, as the cup of hot chocolate he was holding fell in slow motion towards the cashier. It clattered, rolled, and stopped – just like his breath.

None of this would have happened if he had just stayed in his apartment, instead of walking half way across town for a cup of hot chocolate at two in the freakin' morning. Who got hot chocolate at two in the morning? People who couldn't sleep and believed a cup of pure sugar would help. Damn insomnia.

"Oh. Crap. I am so sorry. I'm so damn clumsy. I know I'm a klutz, but this always happens to me! And it's not even that embarrassing anymore because I'm used to it, but then the person I pull into my pathetic little scene has to suffer and – crap. I'm doing it again. When I'm totally horrified, I rant. Like now."

Marui sucked in a breath, feeling his face burn.

"Yesterday, I was holding a cup of yogurt – I work at Sweet Treats, the frozen yogurt shop – and I spilled nuts everywhere. I mean, having to tell ten year old boys that we have two kinds of nuts while trying not to laugh is bad enough, but it's worse when it's an old lady who doesn't get why I'm laughing. Anyway. Yesterday, started laughing like a retarded seal, and the container fell, and the nuts just went whoosh!"

Marui closed his eyes, sucking in his breath again. Kill me, he thought.

"Are you done yet?" the cashier asked, patting down his shirt with napkins. Marui went completely still, slowly opening his eyes and saw icy blue eyes looking at him.

"I'm really, really sorry," Marui continued, looking at his nametag, "Niou."

Niou's lips curved up into a twisted smile. "It's alright."

Marui shook his head rapidly. "No, it's not! Let me make it up to you. Look, I work at Sweet Treats; it's only a few minutes away. I'll take you. You don't have to stay, if you don't want to, but let me at least steal you some frozen yogurt and… and get some ice on that! Yes, okay, it's a plan. Are you game?"

Niou just laughed. He ran a hand through his hair, calming himself down enough to say, "You're kind of cute."

Marui blinked a few times, and then his face went beet red. "What?" Marui laughed nervously, playing with the bottom of his shirt. "You're… cute, I guess? Wait. That came out wrong. Okay, so that came out wrong, too. What I meant to say was, well, uh…"

Marui stopped talking and looked at him.

Niou looked like he wanted to laugh, what with that goofy grin on his face and all, but he didn't.

Marui sighed. "Can you forget the last forty seconds?" he asked.

Niou smirked. "Only if you remember that you're cute."

Marui looked at him for a moment before smiling shyly and nodding. "Okay. Frozen yogurt, yay or nay?"

Niou looked around the small café. There were no customers, no one else working, he had the keys, and the only other thing he had to look forward to was his calculus homework. "What the hell? Let's go get some yogurt."

"And ice, don't forget the ice."

Niou rolled his eyes. Marui just smiled.

.

Marui was standing behind the counter of Sweet Treats, struggling to put his key into the machine so it would turn on. Niou eyes shifted from the toppings to the red head, smirking whenever Marui cursed or his eyes skimmed over the word 'nuts.'

"Favorite color?" Marui asked randomly.

"Silver. Hence the hair."

Marui turned around, twirling a cup. "We don't have silver yogurt. Pick another color."

"Shouldn't you ask for my favorite flavor?" Niou asked.

Marui sighed, pouting almost. "But it's more fun when you don't know what flavor you're getting. Like, I'm going to get green. I'm pretty sure it's apple, watermelon, or some sort of melon. Is watermelon a melon? It was melon in it, but I'm not sure. I bet it's indecisive, like the tomato – fruit or vegetable?"

Marui sucked in his breath.

"Damn. Sorry. I'm doing it again. Color?"

"Red," Niou said. "Since it looks sexy on me," he added. Marui started at him with wide-eyes before realizing that he was only joking when he laughed.

"You're modest," Marui said, filling the cup up with what was either strawberry or cherry yogurt.

"Sorry," Niou said, still laughing softly. "Don't worry, though, it looks even sexier on you." He eyed Marui's red hair.

Marui blushed like a teenage girl, handing Niou a cup of red frozen yogurt. Marui turned back around, filling up a cup with green. "Any toppings?" Marui asked.

"And," Niou continued, ignoring Marui's question, "I think you'd look sexy with nothing on, too. But that's just me."

Marui dropped the cup as he was filling it up, green yogurt going everywhere. With a mumbled curse, Marui grabbed a towel and squatted. Niou leaned on the counter, watching the other man wipe up the yogurt.

"You can be the toppings on my yogurt any day," Niou said.

Marui slipped in the yogurt. Niou laughed.

.

The two were sitting on the floor where Marui had spilled the yogurt. It was sticky and gross, and Marui kept going off on completely inappropriate rants, but they were shoulder to shoulder and it felt right being like that.

"Why did you randomly decide to come to a café and get hot chocolate at two in the morning?" Niou asked, shoveling a spoonful of strawberry yogurt into his mouth.

Marui shrugged, his shoulder rubbing against Niou's. "I have insomnia. I got to sheep number one thousand two hundred and seventy four and just gave up."

Niou hummed around his spoon, pulling it out with a pop.

"When I can't sleep, I usually just stare up at the ceiling," Marui continued, not giving Niou a chance to talk even if he wanted, which he didn't. "I just felt like getting hot chocolate. I guess I thought that maybe I could get a sugar rush, crash, and get some sleep before going to class. I study – "

"Do you rant around everyone?" Niou asked, cutting him off.

Marui wiggled uncomfortably, moving a few inches away from him. "No. I just rant when I get nervous. I used to be on the speech and debate team, but I never ranted. I used to picture everyone in the underwear, and I just wouldn't be nervous, so I didn't rant. Cause and effect, I guess."

"Then why don't you picture me in your underwear? Would that help?" Niou asked, putting another spoon full in his mouth. "Or I could strip, it's up to you."

"I tried picturing you in your underwear," Marui said softly. "But you were hot."

"You have a really crappy way with words, you know that?" Niou licked his lips, trying to get rid of the sticky yogurt.

"I know. It sucks. I haven't ranted this much in years. When I first saw you, I just got all tingly and – oh, God. Forget I said that. Please forget I said that," Marui begged, his eyes wide.

"Nah," Niou said, shoveling shoveled another spoonful into his mouth, "it's kinda cute, and it's good to know you think I'm a sex god."

Marui turned red, and then went off on a rant about how perverted Niou was. Niou just sat there with a stupid grin, eating his free frozen yogurt.

It was on that day that they began their downward spiral of meaningless sex, alcoholism, violence, and… okay, not really. But it was the start of something amazing.

A/N: This story will have six chapters, possibly seven. Opinions?