Title: The Missives
Pairing: TezukaFuji
Rating: PG 13
Wordcount: ~1,900
Warning: AU
Summary: Fuji is rich, popular, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Tezuka has heard a lot about him but is not impressed. Fuji, however, turns out to be someone really unexpected.
Disclaimer: They are not mine. For the nth time, I say that they belong to each other.

A/N: First part of my supposed December/Christmas fic. It's posted early for lafuego and ThinK (it doesn't have Christmas content anyway). Happy birthday to you, dearies!!!

Prologue

To: Anonymous Benefactor

I have received the month's allowance that you sent and I am grateful of your generosity. However, I believe that it would be an abuse of your kindness to accept it. Thus, I send the check back to you with this letter. You need not worry about my daily expenses as I have managed to find a part-time job and I will be starting next week.

I hope you will not take any offense in this. I simply feel that you have given me enough help.

Respectfully,
Tezuka Kunimitsu

Tezuka read the letter about three times before he ascertained that it was polite. Firm yet polite. He did not want to sound ungrateful. But he truly felt that being able to enter this university with the help of his mysterious benefactor was more than enough a favor and his pride wouldn't let him accept anything more from a complete stranger.

"Tezuka?" He heard Oishi call. He folded the white paper neatly into two and slipped it inside a white envelope.

"Are you ready?" Oishi asked when Tezuka looked up.

Leaving the letter on his desk, Tezuka rose from his chair and nodded. This was one of the times in which he allowed Oishi to convince him to go to a supposed welcome party for the freshmen who stayed in the dormitories. Oishi used the excuse that it would be an excellent way to know the people they would be living with in the next few years. However, Tezuka suspected that Oishi had another reason apart from getting acquainted with their dormmates. He suspected a particular exuberant redhead who caused him headaches by bouncing around so much. Nonetheless, he gave in because he already began to feel the burden called college life, and he was admittedly curious as he had never been to a bar before.

The Pavilion and their residence hall stood three streets away from each other so the walk to the bar took less than thirty minutes. The moment they entered the two-storey building, the music boomed in Tezuka's ears. The bar looked, felt and sounded like how he imagined it: filled with smoke; trembling with music; everywhere, people laughed and danced and drank and flirted. Trying to keep his breathing shallow to avoid inhaling much of the polluted air, he trailed behind Oishi.

"Over here!"

Tezuka turned as did Oishi to find Kikumaru who waved his arms around in great circles, obviously inviting them over. He sat on one of the semi-circular couches at the far end of the room, accompanied by someone Tezuka did not know. He noticed that Kikumaru's friend had closed eyes and wondered if he might be sleeping. But he saw the stranger whisper something to Kikumaru, and he deftly rejected the idea.

"Hello, Tezuka!" Kikumaru yelled exuberantly.

"Hello," Tezuka said quietly, his voice hardly audible due to the noise.

Probably remembering his guest, Kikumaru waved a hand toward his friend as Tezuka and Oishi took their seats. "This is Fuji Syusuke."

Oishi's eyes dilated in surprise. He grasped Fuji's hands to shake them. "Oishi Shuichiro here," he said pleasantly. "I've heard many things about you."

Arching a thin brow, Fuji asked, "Indeed? Are they all good things?"

"Yes, I believe so!" Oishi replied.

"I'm glad then." This time, Fuji veered his attention to Tezuka whom he caught staring blankly. "Fuji Syusuke," he said, offering a hand and a smile.

Tezuka shook the hand quickly, trying not to appear too eager. "Tezuka Kunimitsu."

Fuji's crinkled eyes flew open and immediately put perfectly cut sapphires into Tezuka's mind. But after a few seconds, he shut them back and easily slipped on a smile. "I'm very glad to meet you… Tezuka."

A frown crossed Tezuka's face. He thought he heard a distinct stress on the way Fuji pronounced his name.

"Which college are you from?" Fuji inquired with friendly interest. "I'm from the College of Fine Arts. I major in Visual Arts."

"College of Architecture," Tezuka responded abruptly. "And everyone knows you're from Fine Arts."

"Hmm…" Fuji started thoughtfully, leaning comfortably against the back cushion. "It seems my reputation precedes me."

Fuji couldn't have avoided that, Tezuka thought. Less than a month into college, Fuji Syusuke's name became known to everyone in the university. He belonged to a wealthy family that owned a line of luxury hotels. Not only was he rich; apparently, he was a genius too whom teachers often praised. But when he first heard of Fuji, Tezuka hadn't been impressed. He thought that anyone with money could easily amaze everyone.

What he heard of Fuji's looks, however, proved to be true. Something about the smooth lines of his jaws and the curve of his lips drew Tezuka in. The way his blue eyes opened reminded Tezuka of an exotic animal, a white tiger, beautiful, different, seemingly vulnerable yet extremely able to hunt and rip and tear its prey. There was something sensual about the way Fuji carried himself too. Despite his simple clothes: a white long-sleeve shirt that he left undone down to the third button and at the cuffs, revealing a glimpse of glowing white skin and tight-fitting blue jeans, people still kept stealing glances at him. Tezuka knew because he watched.

"What would you like to drink, Tezuka?"

Tezuka blinked and realized that he had been left alone with Fuji. He glanced at the dance floor and saw Kikumaru pressing his body against Oishi in some form of wild, frenzied dance Tezuka did not approve of. He looked at Fuji again who smiled and waited patiently. He felt compelled to answer. "Pineapple juice would be fine."

It was Fuji's turn to blink. He discerned Tezuka before asking, "Don't you want anything stronger?"

"No," Tezuka said flatly. "I'm allergic to alcohol."

"I see." Fuji whispered the orders to the waiter who departed promptly. "Allergies are terrible things. I usually turn into a rash that grows a human whenever I accidentally eat something with anchovies."

"But I don't think I'm missing a lot when I can't drink spirits," Tezuka remarked frankly. "I know how irresponsible drunk men can get." He clenched his fists on his lap as an unpleasant memory played in his mind.

Fuji paused and his smile drooped as if he too remembered something unfortunate. He did not speak for a few minutes. He simply sat back and Tezuka knew he watched him at the corner of his eyes as he drummed his fingers in time with the beating of the drums.

"If you'd like to dance, you can go ahead," Tezuka said in a very low voice.

"I'm sorry," Fuji said, sidling closer to Tezuka. "What was that?"

Tezuka had to steady his breathing. Once Fuji came close, his nose caught a waft of sweet and tempting scent of honey and cinnamon. "I said if you'd like to dance, you can go ahead."

Lifting his head, Fuji flashed a broad smile. "Will you dance with me?"

Undoubtedly taken aback, Tezuka eyed Fuji sharply. He had to make himself clear then. "I can't dance."

"You only need to move your arms a bit and step from side to side," Fuji said hopefully. He tugged at Tezuka's arm. "You're not drinking so you have to dance." His face gleamed brightly as he spoke and urged Tezuka to stand up. "Just one song."

At once, it became clear to Tezuka that he wouldn't be hearing the end of it unless he gave in. He pressed his lips and obliged. But he made sure that they traipsed to a far corner with less people who would see his pathetic attempt at dancing. "Fine," he said. "Just this –" He stopped. The music had changed into a slower one. Most of the people groaned, and a lot asked what was going on. "The song changed. Maybe we should go back."

"But we're already here," Fuji reminded in a hushed whisper. He encircled his arms around Tezuka's neck and he pressed himself closer to Tezuka's tensed body. "Just this song. I promise."

Tezuka did not like feeling small and submissive, but Fuji had a way to make him feel so. Annoyed, he wrapped his arms around Fuji's waist, gripping Fuji gently at the lower back. This, he realized, had been a mistake as he knew his hands could easily slide lower and lower…

"I don't think you know this," Fuji said, disrupting Tezuka's thoughts, "but we're actually on a blind date."

"A blind date?" Tezuka repeated so sharply his words could have cut down a tree.

Fuji just smiled. "Yes. Eiji mentioned a friend who's never dated before and asked if I were interested." He grinned childishly. "But since you entered the bar with neither the intention nor the idea of meeting a possible boyfriend here, I take it Oishi never told you?"

A blind date with Fuji Syusuke, Tezuka thought bitterly, shooting a glare at Oishi and Kikumaru who continued dancing, oblivious to him. "My social life is my business," he said tonelessly. He stiffened, however, when warm fingertips caressed his nape, stroking gently, playfully.

"So do I have a chance as a would-be boyfriend?" Fuji asked. His smile curved higher.

Feeling even more annoyed, Tezuka replied, "I'm not your type."

Fuji coughed and chuckled. His eyes wrinkled with deep amusement. "You can't know that."

"I'm inexperienced."

"Tezuka," Fuji said, struggling to avoid laughing at Tezuka's face. "If you don't like me, you can just tell me right away. I will graciously accept defeat."

Tezuka, however, couldn't say that he did not like Fuji. It would be a lie, sort of. Being so close to Fuji made his pants feel tight and made his heart race, but he was sure Fuji had that effect on everyone he met, male or female, so Tezuka had no way of judging. Thus, he remained silent, wishing he followed his better judgment and never accepted Oishi's invitation in the first place.

It did not help that he couldn't understand Fuji. He believed himself clever enough not to think that someone like Fuji would be interested in him so he pondered why Fuji said those things. "Won't your boyfriend get mad if he hears about this?"

"You think I have a boyfriend?" He asked pensively.

"I don't think you run out of candidates," Tezuka said frankly. That, he thought, Fuji couldn't deny. Just tonight, a lot of men already glanced their way, staring at Fuji hungrily, glaring at Tezuka dangerously.

"I happen to be single right now," Fuji said briefly. "I won't go out on a date with you if I weren't."

Tezuka did not know whether or not to believe it. He simply danced and kept his opinion to himself.

The song ended a minute later, and Fuji slowly disengaged himself from Tezuka. He reached out to drink and sat on the couch to peer closely at Tezuka.

Aware of Fuji's gaze, Tezuka almost snapped, "What is it?"

"This is your first date, isn't it?" Fuji asked. "First dates are either unbelievably perfect or terribly wrong. Did I make it unbelievably perfect?"

"I haven't acknowledged this as a real date," Tezuka reminded. "I'm going home. Please tell Oishi and Kikumaru. Thank you for accompanying me." Without staying to hear what Fuji had to say, Tezuka squeezed through the crowd and left.

Meanwhile, Fuji watched Tezuka's disappearing figure and bit his lips to hide a smile.

-tbc-

A/N: Getting There will follow this week or next weekend. I'm just fixing the ending.