Hi Guys! So I know I have like 2 other stories, but I've been obssessed w/ the Prince of Tennis lately and came up with this. Second chapter to be up sometime tomorrow! Only 2 chapters for this story to keep it short :) Thanks guys! Love and all, -AIR


How long has it been, since the last time he saw Syusuke? Tezuka stared up in the gray clouds walking home from practice. A little over three months, he calculated, since the last time I saw Fuji. Everyone on the team but him has been visiting the prodigy everyday or every other day. He knew for a fact Eiji's been visiting everyday. He wanted to see Fuji, but wasn't so sure if he could.

Three months ago, Fuji stopped coming to practice due to fever, but after a week passed, the Regulars started to worry. Two weeks passed and they already created a visiting schedule. Of course Oishi had invited the captain several times, but Tezuka always made up an excuse. Today, though, Oishi came up to him for something different.

"He's not going to last very long." He remembered the vice-captain's worried voice as he broke the news. How long was not very long?

There were many reasons on why Tezuka didn't want to visit. The main one was being Fuji's ex-boyfriend. He had cheated on the younger boy with their new regular, Ryoma. And after that, the two seemed like different people. He treated his best friend differently. Fuji didn't even stand next to Tezuka anymore. Whenever Fuji would get close, the captain would push him away. Everytime he thought about it, from the outside, it looked like a cold-hearted bastard just slapped an angel.

Before he knew it, he was standing outside the Fuji residence, waiting for someone to open the door. Yumiko greeted him. She had a rather surprised look when she offered to let him in. He slowly followed her up to Syusuke's room, not knowing what to say when he sees his teammate.

Yumiko knocked on the door first. "Syusuke, you have a visitor." Then Tezuka heard the soft gentle voice of the prodigy telling her to enter. Yumiko lead the captain inside her younger brother's room. "I'll leave you guys to it." She said before leaving them alone.

In front of him, Syusuke was standing in front of his open window, admiring the sunset. He took a deep breath and turned around with a small smile.

"What brings you here, Tezuka?" The taller boy nearly cringed at the sound of his name. It hurt hearing it from Syusuke.

He studied the blue-eyed boy standing before him. Even if their number two player was small, he definitely wasn't thin and didn't look like he was deprived of sleep. If it weren't for his pride, Tezuka would've definitely broken down. But he kept himself collected.

"Is it a crime to see how a teammate is doing after three months of absence?"

Syusuke walked to his bed and sat down on the edge. "You never seemed interested in seeing me before. Care to tell me the reason why?"

Tezuka didn't look at his friend. His eyes planted on the outside world. The sun was almost down, leaving a dark orange tint in the sky. "Oishi said you didn't have long to live. I-"

"So you wanted to see me before I die?" The captain stared ahead of him to be captivated by these sapphire eyes. He realized that Syusuke's smile widened a bit. "That's thoughtful of you, Tezuka. I thought you'd never visit me." Tezuka shuddered. He wasn't used to Fuji calling him by his last name. "So, who is it that guilted you to it?"

No on, he wanted to answer, I genuinely wanted to see you. But that was half a lie. "I told you, Oishi just explained to me your situation, that's all."

"I see. Well, thanks for dropping by. Guess this is the last time I'll see you?"

Tezuka felt his heart flinch at the last sentence. The last time? "Fuji I-"

"You should head back; it's getting pretty late." The sky was darker now, only strokes of orange and pink showed. Syusuke got up and gently wrapped his arms around his friend. The captain couldn't return the gesture. He was too startled by how he could feel Fuji's iron hot skin through his clothing.

"Fuji you- you're running a fever." He felt the smaller boy's body slump a little. "Fuji!"

Syusuke pulled back with his usual grin. "I know. It'll never go away until I die."

Tezuka didn't want to let him go. He wanted to go after Fuji and apologize to him for all the pain in the past. Instead, he answered back with, "Then get some rest. I'm sure you'll want to be able to stand when the team visits you again tomorrow." Without hearing what Fuji had to say, he left.


Monday's morning practice held quite a surprise. Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of their No. 2 player. It's been months since they saw Fuji holding a racquet. He still looked pale and tired as many remembered from visiting him.

Eiji ran up to Fuji with a worried expression. "Fuji! What are you doing here? You should be home!"

But the prodigy only gave him a smile. "I'm fine Eiji. My fever lowered yesterday and nee-san said if it stayed that way, I could go to school. Besides, I missed you guys." He smiled at the other regulars standing behind his best friend.

"We missed you too, Fuji!" Taka ran up to give his friend a hug and everyone followed but Tezuka. He watched as his ex-boyfriend hugged his current boyfriend. He was glad and confused at the fact that Fuji and Ryoma still held a friendship.

"Alright, everyone back to work!" Tezuka announced. The Regulars were holding practice matches against eachother and Fuji decided to play Ryoma. Taka was playing against Momo and Kaido played against Oishi.

Kikumaru, Tezuka, and Inui stood outside the courts to watch. All three of them, however, watched Fuji and Ryoma play. Eiji knew his best friend and he knew that Fuji wasn't feeling too well. The little guy didn't notice it.

Within twenty minutes, everyone and now Ryoma, knew something was wrong with Fuji. He dropped his service game twice and was now losing to Ryoma 4-0. The freshman was upset at how terribly his senpai was playing.

"Say, Tezuka? Shouldn't we stop it before something bad happens to Fuji?" Eiji asked, eying his friend.

The captain also noticed how awfully weak Fuji was playing. Before his boyfriend could serve and before Fuji got hurt, he called, "Ryoma, Fuji, that's enough!"

The two players were a bit stunned but glad he had stopped them. "Sorry about this match." Syusuke gave the little boy a smile.

"You should've just stayed out Fuji-senpai." Ryoma walked out the court to stand by Tezuka. It used to be Fuji's favorite place to stand.

Eiji quickly sprinted in the court to bombard Fuji with questions about his health. Tezuka watched as Fuji reassured Kikumaru that he was okay and he didn't need to worry.


After morning practice, Fuji and Ryoma were the only ones left in the clubhouse. Fuji was sitting on the bench, watching the freshman pack his things.

"So, how are things with Tezuka?" Fuji asked, his usual smile on his face.

Echizen stopped packing and turned to look at his senpai. He knew that their captain had cheated on Fuji to be with Ryoma. And even then, Ryoma didn't want to hurt Fuji.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Syusuke's eyes opened, revealing his eyes. "Oh? What for?"

"For taking him away from you." Ryoma's eyes pointed down. He looked like he was about to cry.

Fuji stood up and lifted the younger boy's chin so he was looking at his blue eyes. "Don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault. It was my mistake. I couldn't make him happy." His smile grew wider. "So love him with all you have, okay?"

Ryoma nodded the same time a tear slipped form his eye. He felt Syusuke's gentle fingers wipe away the trail and he cried even more. How can his cold-hearted boyfriend leave and hurt an angel like Fuji? It didn't make any sense. And with that thought, guilt ravaged Ryoma's heart to the core. He made Tezuka leave and hurt an angel. It was his fault.

"Don't cry, Echizen. You never did anything wrong." Fuji grabbed his bag and opened the door to leave. "I'll you later."


Afternoon practice wasn't as smooth sailing as morning practice. Fuji passed out right after running. Oishi then realized his high fever returned and wore out the smaller boy. Taka carried a sleeping Fuji in his arms and Eiji stayed with him until Yumiko came and picked up her little brother. All the regulars agreed they'd visit him after practice. Tezuka also agreed to go much to everyone's surprise.

Fuji heard what the doctor had to say about his condition. He was getting worse and there was nothing they could do to make him better. It was only a matter of time. Only a matter of time until he died. So he was really that close to death, huh?

The regulars arrived an hour later. Just seeing his teammate brought life back to Fuji's eyes. Yumiko noticed this a long time ago. She never declined a visitor since then. They stayed and kept their friend and teammate company for a couple hours before heading back.

Tezuka and Echizen walked side-by-side back to the youngest player's home. The silence wasn't new or comfortable. The captain knew something was wrong.

"Kunimitsu." Ryoma started. "Do you think I love you?"

The captain didn't look at his boyfriend's direction. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you feel loved when we're together?"

Tezuka's eyes shifted down to Ryoma's worried face. "I do. Why?"

Love him with all you have. Love him with all you have. Those words kept repeating in Ryoma's head in Fuji's sweet voice. "I'm loving you with everything I have, Kunimitsu."

"I know. I am, too." Before they knew it, they reached the Echizen household. Tezuka kissed his boyfriend good-bye and headed home.