BREAKUP: All Things Come to an End
Warning: BL, OT5, many strange pairings, and chock full of angst and cheese.
The end came faster than any of them could have anticipated.
Surprisingly, Atobe was the first to go. His father, on his deathbed, broke the silence that had been established between them because of the son's sexual escapades. His dying words were "Keigo, find a pretty bride with long hair and continue the Atobe family name."
Even more surprising was that Atobe the drama queen actually had a sense of responsibility and honor that rivaled even that of Sanada's. He packed his bag that very day, professing that he'll be the one to move – this house would be his apology to his four lovers.
Atobe was convinced to stay one last night. The five had a night that shook the house in its very foundation. Then morning came, and there were only four lying on the rumpled silk sheets, with a note on the table next to them simply saying "goodbye."
A few months later, Sanada was next to go. The reason he gave was blunt and simple: four was an unlucky number. He would sacrifice his own happiness so that his lovers could continue their own bliss. He left abruptly – by the time he finished speaking, he was already half out the door. Fuji wasn't home at that time. Tezuka and Echizen were too shocked to do anything.
The next day, though, Echizen burst through the door, breathless. While taking a jog, he had seen Sanada. Or, more specifically, Sanada sunning shirtless on a deck. In fact, he saw Sanada sunning on the deck of Yukimura's house, laughing as Yukimura draped himself over Sanada and they fed each other grapes. Sanada had leapt up in shock, though, the moment he had seen Ryoma, upsetting the bowl of grapes. Ryoma had run away.
"We have to get Gen back!" Echizen proclaimed hotly, "we can't just let Yukimura take him!"
Tezuka looked away. Fuji just smiled and shook his head, letting out a sigh. Echizen eventually gave up and went to his bedroom. He didn't come out until two days later, eyes red.
During those two days Fuji took a break from work, constantly looking out the window and keeping the phone nearby. Sanada never came.
Only a month passed before Echizen left. Technically, he just left for work. He had three tournaments lined up, two in Australia and one in America. He kissed his lovers goodbye when he left, and promised to call everyday.
And he did call every day, for the next two weeks at least. And then there were only a few a week. Then a few a month. Then, a whole month passed without a single phone call. Tezuka saw on the news that Ryoma had won the second Australian tournament, beating out the surprise ace Dan Taichi. Tezuka and Fuji had chuckled at the telecast, hearing Echizen's voice uttering his catch phrase – "mada mada dane," but when they called the hotel to congratulate their Ryoma, the receptionist told them that he already checked out – with no forwarding address.
Ryoma did call – two weeks later. He apologized for his absence. He was tired. He was busy. His call was short and rushed – he said that he had a press dinner to attend and needed to shower before leaving. Just before hanging up though, there was a familiar voice in the background calling out for Ryoma to get into the shower.
"Ryoma," Fuji asked on a hunch, "is that Momoshiro?"
There was a long pause, before Ryoma muttered "yeah." He then bade farewell, promising to call soon, and hung up before Tezuka nor Fuji could say anything more.
It was but a week after that when Tezuka sought out Fuji for a talk. "Shuusuke. This isn't working out. We need to end this."
Fuji's eyes opened wide, but there was no malice. His big aquamarine eyes held nothing but pure shock.
"I'm afraid I have nowhere to go, though, so I ask that you move out. Fuji," Tezuka said, holding out a polite hand, "it's been interesting to know you."
Fuji didn't take the hand, but slapped Tezuka hard, hard enough to crack Tezuka's glasses.
Tezuka stood still in the living room while Fuji ran upstairs. In less than five minutes, he ran downstairs holding a large duffle bag and a bundle of camera equipment. "I've taken all I need," he said in a steely tone, "everything else you can keep or burn. I don't care." With that, he walked out of the house, leaving the door wide open as he hopped into a taxi and left.
The draft blew in, and Tezuka went to close the door. He then called Echizen, telling him that they would need to be break up. Echizen didn't seem too surprised. "What a shame, Kunimitsu," he said, but with no tone of remorse. "Is Shuusuke okay?"
"He'll be fine. Do you want me to send you your belongings, Ryoma?"
"Sure." Echizen rattled off a foreign address in America.
"You are not moving back to your father's home?"
"Send the stuff to Momo's house, please. He'll keep the stuff for me until I'm done with the tournament. It's been great with you, buchou." With that, Echizen hung up the phone and Tezuka immediately went up to Ryoma's room to gather up what was left of the tennis star's belongings.
Ten years had passed from that day. Tezuka knew that Sanada and Yukimura stayed together for all ten years – everyone agreed that they were probably undeniable soul mates. They were still together, and probably would be for many more decades.
Tezuka didn't hear any more from Echizen – it seems as though he permanently moved to New York. Whether he was with Momoshiro or some other man or woman, Tezuka didn't know. The last time he heard of Echizen was in a large article in the newspaper last year, proclaiming that Echizen had become the first Japanese man to become number one in tennis – and was able to stay number one for seven years in a roll, too. Echizen had retired soon after, and now Tezuka had no idea how he was doing.
Fuji, it seems, did not take the breakup well. Yuuta had visited Tezuka two days after the break, and if they had still been teens, Yuuta would have punched Tezuka while demanding the reason why his aniki was shut in his room crying and wouldn't come out.
But now, Tezuka did hear about Fuji a lot on the streets. It seems as though his rebound relationship had been with his childhood friend, Saeki. They then joined up with Oshitari and Mukahi, and all moved in together. Sometime in the next year, Akutagawa Jirou moved in as well, and Kirihara was also seen frequenting the house. The neighborhood called them the Six – not only because they were a sixsome, but also because loud noises were often heard from their house until six in the morning. Families with young children moved away.
Fuji, Tezuka noticed, liked excitement, and it was good that he let Fuji have it. A man like himself could not possibly keep up with the tensai's activities. Even though he had questioned himself if breaking up was the right decision, it was now clear to Tezuka that it was.
Occasionally, Tezuka would see Fuji walking around with one or several of his new boyfriends. Fuji would smile and nod at Tezuka, and Tezuka would nod back – but they never had a chance to speak.
Tezuka did keep in close touch with Atobe. It seems that he had married Nakagawa Aiko, the only successor of the Nakagawa Shipping Company. She was pretty, slender, had long hair, and was so enamored with Atobe that she allowed him to turn her inheritance into the rechristened Atobe Shipping Company.
He sometimes visited Atobe and played with his three children. The children were all familiar with "Uncle Tezuka," who showed up at the Atobe mansion – now located in Kyoto – for a few days each year, usually during some holiday. It seemed as though Atobe's wife had no idea the true extent of Atobe and Tezuka's past relationships, and it was fine with them. Before Tezuka left, the two would always sit out in the rose garden for a drink. Tezuka always had tea, Atobe always had champagne, and the two always sat in silence.
Tezuka himself still lived in that big mansion. As a senior editor, he did all his work from home. He had dismissed all the maids and workers long ago, and tended to the giant mansion all by himself.
Despite the size of the mansion, it wasn't hard to upkeep. Most of the rooms had doors that were permanently closed. Tezuka only used his bedroom, which was now a plain room with a dresser and a futon. He also typed on the laptop in the living room, and cooked for himself in the kitchen, but for the most part the big mansion was left alone.
He did, however, frequently go up to the rooftop, where it was open to the sunlight. There, on the bare concrete, were four bonsai trees. Every afternoon, he would climb the stairs to the top to carefully water and trim his trees.
He always spoke gently to his trees as he tended to them. "Keigo, Gen, Shuu, Ryoma," he'd whisper as he lightly watered each plant, "I love you."