Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: The third one of my 5trueloves Eiji fics, this one pairing him with Taka-san, the prompt being Solitude.

Abandoned Associates

It wasn't that he was jealous, oh no. On the opposite, he was genuinely happy for his friends, if not a bit worried for their sake – and a bit sad, too. After all, however glad he was for Fuji, he couldn't help but remember that his friend's happiness was only possible because Tezuka was unable to pursuit his dream of a professional career after all.

Nevertheless, while he was indeed happy, it made him feel somewhat lonely, too. Now that he no more played tennis, he didn't really see his friends outside school if even there. Everybody else seemed busy with their own lives, tennis taking up a big part of it. However, as they started pairing up, even the little time they had before been able to spare to Taka-san seemed to disappear. There was always a date, or a meeting, or at least a phone call to their boyfriend. In the middle of all that, there was no time to visit old friends.

Not everybody was paired up, of course. The Golden Pair had somehow managed to stay single – much to the wonder of the others – yet Oishi almost never visited Kawamura Sushi. He was busy, of course, what with his class president duties and all, and Taka-san didn't really hold it against him; while he did like Oishi, they had never been particularly close. What really hurt was Fuji's nigh-disappearance from his life.

Eiji, however, visited him regularly, which very much delighted him. The redhead mostly spoke of tennis, of course, which sometimes hurt a little, but he also spoke of everything else and it made Taka-san happy. Through Eiji he heard how Fuji was doing, even if it stung a little that he didn't hear the things from Fuji himself – had they not been friends? Indeed, Eiji was one of the most warmly welcomed customers at the restaurant.

Somewhat surprisingly, Akutsu was another, along with Dan-kun. The two often came there to eat, and even though Akutsu would probably have rather died than called them dates, it was obvious when one looked at them that they weren't just casual friends. The way Dan always looked so admiringly at Akutsu was a big clue, of course, but Taka-san couldn't help but also notice the gazes Akutsu gave the smaller boy when he thought nobody was looking.

It was cute, Taka-san decided. Not the happy fluffy puppy love cute Eiji and Oishi doubtlessly would have been had they ever ended up together, no, but the kind of cute that came from utter devotion and the way an otherwise hostile heart seemed to warm for one person only.

Of course, Akutsu would have doubtlessly got mad at him had he ever said this aloud. Thus, he never did say it, instead contenting himself with simply observing the two of them and their obvious yet unique love.

One day, though, Akutsu came alone. Just as Taka-san opened his mouth for a question, the other boy glared at him. "Don't worry, I haven't dumbed, maimed, or killed the brat yet," he said. "He just had tennis practice or something. Fucking useless if you ask me."

"That's good to hear," Taka-san said, smiling in relief. "Dan-kun is good for you."

"Che." Akutsu didn't comment on that.

"Don't hurt him," Taka-san said then softly. "He may seem like he can get over anything, but he's easily breakable. Please don't be the one to break him."

Akutsu glared at him. "I wasn't planning on that," he said sharply. "You're not the first one to tell me that, you know. Sengoku even threatened to beat me if I made that mistake – like he could do that. Fucking idiot."

"Well, I'm telling you one more time, then," Taka-san said. "Dan-kun trusts you more than anyone. If you were to hurt him, he might not be able to get over it."

"Damn it, Kawamura, I already said I'm not going to do that," Akutsu growled. "Not unless you mean the fact he's eventually going to realise just how bad and wrong I am for him and leave, himself. And good riddance, too."

"Perhaps others do think you may be bad for him," Taka-san admitted. "However, to Dan-kun, you are the absolutely best person. And because of that, you can also hurt him worse than anyone."

"And you are an idiot," said Akutsu with a tone that made it very clear the conversation was over. Taka-san made no effort to continue it.

The next day, it was Eiji's turn to visit. "I think Oishi's got a crush on someone," was the first thing he said. "He won't admit it but I know it's true, nyaa. It's so obvious!"

"Oh?" Taka-san looked at Eiji carefully. "Are you upset?"

"Upset? Not really," Eiji said. "A bit, because he won't trust me, but other than that I'm happy for him. He's too serious, anyway; he could use a little love to mess his head up." He winked at Taka-san.

"So you're not... eh... jealous?" asked the bigger boy hesitantly.

"Jealous? Of Oishi?" Eiji blinked. "Why would I... oh, not you, too," he sighed then. "I don't like Oishi, okay? I'll probably have to hang a sign on my neck, nyaa. 'Not dating nor wanting to date Oishi Syuichirou,' or something like that. Everybody thinks we're going out, nyaa!"

"Well, you do seem close," Taka-san said, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry for just making assumptions, though."

"We are close," Eiji said, smiling. "Just not that way. And don't apologise, I think I understand why you'd think that. I think Oishi likes girls, anyway," he then added. "He's probably the only one like that I know, nyaa... Hey, what about you, Taka-san?" the redhead suddenly asked. "Do you like girls or boys?"

"Me? I don't really care, I guess," Taka-san said. "It's the inside that's important. I think that if you love somebody, it doesn't matter whether they're a girl or a boy." Smiling, he added, "I've certainly found both attractive occasionally."

"Nyaa, that sounds so very noble and admirable," Eiji sighed. "Me, I'm so picky I like just boys. But not Oishi-boys, nyaa," he then added with a somewhat annoyed tone.

"I'll try to remember that," Taka-san said sincerely.

"Of course you will," Eiji said, and smiled. "Taka-san is nice like that."

Taka-san smiled back.

Some time later it was Dan who appeared to the restaurant without his usual companion. This just happened to coincide with one of Eiji's visits. The redhead blinked as Dan greeted Taka-san cheerfully. "You are... who are you?" he asked. "Sorry, you are familiar, but..."

"I'm Dan Taichi," Dan introduced himself cheerfully. "It's okay, I was just a manager last year, it's no wonder you didn't notice me."

"How do you know Taka-san, anyway?" asked Eiji then, friendly as ever. "You are at Yamabuki, right?" He nodded towards Dan's school uniform.

"That's right!" the smaller boy said happily. "I know him because of Akutsu-senpai!"

"Dan-kun and Akutsu are dating," Taka-san explained. "I think it's a good thing. Akutsu's changed for the better, lately."

"Akutsu? That big and scary guy?" Eiji's eyes flew wide. "Well, to each their own, I guess..."

"I really like Akutsu-senpai," Dan said enthusiastically. "What about you? Who do you like?" he asked with a grin. "Kawamura-san?"

At this assumption, Eiji laughed aloud. "I don't like anybody, nyaa," he announced. "But if I did like somebody, Taka-san would be pretty high on my list," he then added, winking at Taka-san.

Taka-san laughed as well. "Well, Eiji would be high on my list, too," he replied good-naturedly.

Dan blinked. "Then why don't you like each other desu?" he asked innocently.

Eiji blinked in return, surprised at the question. "Well, that's because..."

"Because," Taka-san finished somewhat uneasily, lacking any definite reason to give to Dan. At the same time he found himself thinking of several things, like the long afternoons when he saw no familiar face in the restaurant at all, and the lunch hours at school when everybody he knew seemed to be at tennis practice, and the way Eiji's smile could brighten any day.

Eiji looked thoughtful, too. Taka-san wondered what he was thinking of.

The next time Eiji arrived, his presence seeming to fill the almost-empty restaurant, he looked vaguely disappointed. "Oishi's dating now, nyaa," he announced. "It's some girl, and a senpai, too. I'm happy for him, yeah, but... now he has even less time for me than before, nyaa," he complained. "I only see him at tennis practice now. He even eats lunch with that girl!"

"Well, that's good for him," Taka-san said with a careful smile. "It's bad you're feeling lonely, though."

"Well, I'm not really alone, nyaa," Eiji said, sitting down at a table. "After all, there's always Taka-san, right?"

"Right," Taka-san said. "And I'm not as alone because Eiji keeps coming here, too."

Taka-san put his hand over Eiji's, looking the redhead in the eye. Eiji looked back.

They both smiled, just a little.