Characters:Marui, Niou
Prompt: Table 10, #29 - Attic
Word Count: approx. 2400
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Summary: Their friendship is beyond reasoning, beyond all pacts, beyond all thoughts. It's just an understanding.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this piece of writing.
Notes: Heavy friendship between Niou and Marui. Happens a year before In the Silence of the Soul, right after Yagyuu's wedding and before Niou's flight overseas. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I suggest reading the other fics first. But it can stand on its own, if you're just that lazy ;)

Chronology of Prince of Tennis Future-AU fics:

Not a Pact, Just an Understanding

In the Silence of the Soul

The Finest Irony

Not a Pact, Just an Understanding
There is a room above Marui's house that he doesn't tell anyone, a space between the ceiling and the pitched roof of his western-style abode that is almost four blocks away from his own restaurant. Not even Niou, who had so mercilessly searched through his house that one night, have had the chance of revealing the secrets that Marui has imposed upon the four corners of the rickety refuge. Only Marui knows how to get access from the main stairwell of the main floor to the uppermost floor, and he isn't about to tell anyone soon.

He finds himself brushing spider webs off his clothing one morning, when he suddenly felt the need to climb up. The room is dark, gloomy, and almost cramped with dusty drawers and rusty metallic chests. Unlike the spacious facilities of his main house, this is a little too restricted for his liking. It is also plain, and Marui is never plain. He dresses flamboyantly in front of large crowds and speaks in an arrogant, almost Atobe-like manner that makes the attic so unworthy of his attention. But that small room filled with ancient, good-for-nothing furniture is everything that Marui is not, and everything he needs at that moment.

He makes his way through the room, zigzagging through the unorganized clusters of antiques, paintings, books, papers, schoolwork, clothes, and all sorts of other things that Marui has kept with him throughout his life and dumped inside the small room. He accidentally slips on a piece of paper, and fell down on his bottom, luckily without a pointy object waiting for him, like the ones that Niou used for his pranks. He groans and rubs with back, wincing at the sight of the paper slowly freefalling like a lone leaf. It flashes a light in front of his eyes, a light that came from the small, circular window on the right side of the room. He raises himself just a little bit and grabs the paper, turning it over to get a better look at the contents.

Just as he expected, it contains Niou's incomprehensible handwriting, and he has to smile a bit. He realizes that every memoir he has of Niou contains at least a note that informs him of the next prank that he would have gone to pull. There had never been a moment where Marui was not part of Niou's tricks, just like how Yagyuu had always been the center of Niou's attention, prank-wise or not. That close friendship that they have is not only exclusive to their crazy antics and tennis, but also into the mellowest stuff that no one thought existed between them. Because they are Marui Bunta and Niou Masaharu, the sugar-loving tensai and the Trickster, and they are not like Yanagi, Sanada, and Yukimura who show the whole world the melancholy of their complex relationship.

That is why knowing the fact that his friendship with Niou might disappear to bits is just as hard on Marui as a rock thrown on a wall of cement. It breaks him, and even if he is still as sturdy as he was before the throw, he is now different. He is cheerful, but he is broken, something that he knows that Niou had considered before he made his decision. For that, Marui is grateful, and he knows that Niou himself is equally gratified that Marui understands him more than anyone else does. He understands Niou's needs to get away. Without words, he knows that Niou himself is not the wall of silver cement that he is, that the white hair is only part of the mask that covers his stark black. He wonders what kind of gray Yagyuu has to be able to manipulate the purest black that Niou has hidden in his own self.

Marui lays the paper over the top of the chest nearest to him and he slowly stands up, still feeling a sting on his rear. He brushes the dusty of his denim jeans, and continues to amble on, albeit he is a little bit more cautious of his surroundings. This time, he finds himself at the very end of the room, where a large cabinet looks straight back at his piercing gaze. The cabinet has three drawers, all with rusty, metal handles, but only one with a lock wrapped around it, as corroded as the rest. He pulls a hairpin from his jean pockets and begins picking on the lock, his tongue a little bit protruding from the corners of his mouth as he concentrates on his goal.

He knows he has learned from the best, and without further delay, he hears the loud click of the lock and the release of the metal from metal. He opens the drawer and a violent wind of dust suffocated him. He coughs as he waves off the filth from his nose. He pulls out something long and rectangular from the drawer before closing it, locking the drawer itself. He leaves them, still careful of the random bits of paper on the floor, opening and closing the attic door behind him.

He walks out of his house minutes later, in a new set of clothing that is completely different from his usual flashy outfit. Not that anyone minds at all – it is just weird, coming from Marui. But then again, Marui has always been weird that way, and the neighbors look away the instant they realize this. The object that he pulled out of his attic is safely tucked underneath his arms as he presses the button on his car keys. The car lights up once, and the sound of the doors unlocking itself can be heard. He opens the door and ducks inside, putting the keys into the keyhole and the car rumbles. He closes the door beside him, and steps on the accelerator.

There is traffic even in the highway, just as he expected, and he arrives one hour after his initial departure with a bag of two hamburgers at hand, along with the object hidden in his arms. It isn't his fault that he got hungry during the trip and makes a stop at a long local fast food. He knows that Niou doesn't mind, for his flight doesn't open its check-in booth until two hours later. Everyone just wants to be early, and Niou and Marui were obliged to comply.

To his surprise, it is Niou who greets him first, along with the smirk that seems to be permanently plastered on his face. A façade, Marui knows, he isn't about to annoy Niou about it. He is not like Kirihara, who still likes to pester his senpai; Sanada, who cares too much for his own good; or Yanagi, who bluntly makes remarks that sounds either too knowledgeable or too cold. He knows his limits. Niou salutes him comically, and Marui does the same, forgetting that the certain elongated object is tucked underneath him, and it slipped from him.

Niou picks it up, curious as usual. He looks at the cover, blinks, and asks, "Bunta, what's this?"

"You don't remember?" replies Marui ambiguously, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "My, my, Masaharu, I've never met someone with so lousy a memory as you." He opens the front, revealing a less than skilled drawing of an overweight redhead with a big bubble across his face and an almost-anorexic bleach-haired boy with a less than appealing old man's face and amputated legs, leaning against a tall pillar with a violet wig on top. Behind are a rigid statue with a cap that says roughly 'tarundoru'; a closed eyed hermit with a bald dog for a pet; and a beautiful angel of a boy patting the head of a frustrated, baby devil. "It's a journal, Masaharu."

"Shut up," he murmurs, flipping through the pages of the small notebook. On the first few pages, there is nothing but random scribbles and doodling of exploding sharks and thunder striking odd objects that looks more or less like people. However, when he arrives at the middle part, he sees clear handwritings and stories told of everyday events, even one sketch that looks almost exactly like the team together; hold the Championship Cup that hailed the former Rikkai team the best for their third consecutive win. "It's yours, right?"

"Dumbass," Marui snaps with a loud huff.

Niou raises an eyebrow. "It's mine? Are you serious?"

"I never draw like you," says Marui with a glare. "And it's ours, not yours."

"Do you really want me to show you the proofs that you do?" asks Niou, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "But, of course, that's before my drawing got absolutely fantastic, like this one." He shows Marui the sketch of the team, before flipping through the pages. "So it was ours, huh? I remember now. Junior high until high school, when we completely forgot about it. You kept it; that's so romantic of you, Bunta."

"Oh, fuck off," Marui growls, crossing his arms. Niou blinks; he never noticed that the bag of hamburgers that Marui had is now gone. There is a bit of brown paper sticking out of the top of the wastebasket, and Niou just has to whistle to himself. Marui scowls. "Just what are you on about now?"

"Nothing," Niou lies. "So, what am I going to do with this piece of memorabilia that you've just given me? Frame it?"

"Write on it, idiot," replies Marui, rolling his eyes. "Isn't that what you do with notebooks, or are you just that illiterate that you don't even know what to do when someone hands you paper and pen? How are you supposed to pass your classes abroad when you can't even write the alphabet?" before Niou could give his own witty retort, Marui offhandedly comments, "Don't lose it. It's important to me, just like you are. When you come back, I'll be waiting for that; and if I find out that you don't have it, I'll make sure to strangle you with my own hands. Got it?"

Much to his surprise, Niou only looks at him with an odd expression. He knows why, but the stare that Niou is giving him makes him think otherwise. Niou is unpredictable – no one quite knows what he's thinking, and Marui can only make an intelligent guess (being the genius that he is). It is never that often that Niou shares that look with someone, and the only other moment he saw that look was when Niou was watching as Yagyuu held the hand of his bride and placed the ring on her dainty finger. He didn't look too sorrowful at that time. Unlike what everyone thought he just appeared thoughtful. A little bit sad, and maybe more or less confused, but otherwise, nothing but the unusual gentle streak struck past his face throughout the whole marriage ceremony.

It is the same look that he is giving Marui right now, and Marui is uncomfortable. He fidgets with the hem of his shirt, not really paying attention to what he's doing. After a few tense moments, Niou calls his name, he looks up, and he is met with a wide, impish grin, along with a hand that has been held out in front of them. The corners of Marui's lips tug upward and he grabs Niou's hand.

It is not a handshake, but a simple gesture of their friendship, something that is very Niou and very Marui indeed. Marui taps Niou's shoulder once, and Niou does the same, before they let go. In a cheerful manner, Niou tucks the journal under his arms and practically hops with Marui towards their group of friends sitting in the airport's lounge, waiting the check-in sign to blink in. The only person not present is Jackal, who is in Brazil, and Marui has his speculations that he had already called Niou to wish him his luck.

An hour passes, and it is time for Niou to go. Everyone says their goodbyes in the least sentimental manner, because they all know that Niou is spiteful of the sappiness thrown at him. Yagyuu is the only person who doesn't dare to hug Niou, because, in a way, he understands Niou's feelings. Even though he doesn't understand every little detail, he can at least comprehend it as a whole. Kirihara looks as though he doesn't want to let go of Niou, but with a pinch on the right cheek, Kirihara instantly let the bleach-haired man breath. Kirihara has always been fond of Niou, even though he never really shows it, and Marui finds himself agreeing that if there is anyone who will miss Niou more than him or Yagyuu, it is Kirihara.

"Good luck," says Marui, and Niou nods to him. Hugging isn't awkward between them, but since they already had their fair share of a talk, there is nothing more to be said or done. "Don't hit too much on European girls. I hear that the men there can get quite violent."

"All the more reason for me to hit on the girls, eh," he answers, winking. "By the way, thanks for the notebook. I'll keep it, I promise."

"You don't have to," Marui replies nonchalantly. "As long as you understand my point, then it's all cool with me."

"I understand."

"Go then," he urges him. "I'll see you in five years."

Niou waves at everyone as he enters the booth. Marui watches as he gives his ticket to the attendant, who looks into the computer. Yanagi and Sanada are already taking about their journey home, and Yagyuu had already excused himself, giving his wife as a reason. Kirihara is asleep on Yukimura's shoulder, and the latter is reading a book that Niou had apparently recommended to him with amusement written all over his face. Marui is the only one watching, because Marui is the only person who knows for a fact that Niou is not really gone.

As Marui enters his own car once more, he finds himself understanding the course of action between him, Niou, and the friendship that binds them together. There is no pact between them, and there never was, just an understanding that runs smoothly through their brains like an agreeable job description. He turns the key, and the car sped off. As he drove through under the orange light of the setting sun, he thinks that it's about time to clean up the attic. The room has been gloomy with all the old, albeit merry, memories with someone that he won't be able to see in a few years. Until he returns, Marui will keep cleaning the aged loft to make room for another set of remembrances.

Notes: Again, I find myself asking the question if this really makes sense ;; Anyways, feedback everyone! I would love to hear from you!