I actually wrote this for Atobe's birthday... I'm so sorry, Atobe!
Work Text:
Atobe had no idea when he'd first started to like Tezuka. To love Tezuka. It had started with an obsession to beat him and then somehow evolved. He was pretty sure that's how most of his peers felt- expect maybe Fuji. Fuji's crush on Tezuka stemmed from something else and Atobe was no interested in working out what that was all about.
But, back to his own feelings. There was just something about Tezuka, he was so serious about tennis, about everything really. It acted as some kind of motivator for Atobe- yes, he did want to be better at tennis, but in the end all those feelings ended up being purely to impress Tezuka. He'd even considered transferring to Seigaku and becoming Tezuka's captain or tempting Tezuka to join him at Hyotei. He'd even talked to Rudolph's Mizuki about the best methods to recruit players from other schools.
His crush soon turned to infatuation and then to obsession. Tezuka was in his thoughts every waking second of the day and in his dreams when he closed his eyes. He had to beat him, needed to beat him. To show Tezuka that he was worthy of him, that Tezuka had to belong to him.
Tezuka seemed oblivious to all this, treating him as a friend and rival, but nothing more. He brushed off all of Atobe's flirting and invitations with such ease as if he had no clue what Atobe's true intentions were. But Atobe kept going undeterred. It wasn't as fun if he didn't have to fight for Tezuka's heart.
And then, the brat showed up. And ruined everything.