Of Kings and Queens
Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, obviously.
A/N: First fan fiction ever.
Pairing: TezukaxFuji
Warning: Do not read if you do not like yaoi or boyxboy. Possibility of bad grammar and/or choppiness. Characters are probably out of character.
Symbols: Wherever there is a bunch of little lines, that indicates there is a slight time skip...
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"Ne Tezuka."
The soft voice pulled him out of his train of thought as he approached the tennis courts. He looked over at the ever-smiling male and raised his eyebrow just the slightest.
"What's your favorite chess piece Tezuka?"
He scowled at Fuji, what kinda of question was that? Fuji's smile didn't change under Tezuka's scrutiny. Tezuka wondered what this was going to lead to, Fuji never really wasted his time on anything useless. "The king," was he two words answer. Tezuka was a man of few words, and never expanded on those words unless absolutely necessary.
Fuji's expression remained the same, "Is that so."
Tezuka kept walking towards the tennis courts. Practice started in ten minutes, and still none of the regulars were out stretching, this cause Tezuka to frown even more, until he heard a giggle erupt from the male standing beside him.
"Tezuka, if you keep your face like that for too long pretty soon you won't be able to change it." Fuji paused and tilted his head, as if he was trying to think of how to word what he wanted to say. "Why is your favorite piece the king?"
The bespectacled man blinked twice before replying in his monotonous voice, "The king is the strongest piece on the board. Without the king, there is no game." Was the tentative response as he scanned Fuji's face for any hints as to why Fuji was curious.
Fuji's blue eyes opened, "How interesting Tezuka. I had no idea you felt that strongly about the king."
Tezuka felt his eyebrow begin to twitch, leave it to Fuji to twist his words. He looked over in time to see Fuji heading towards the locker room.
"I'll see you in nine minutes at practice!" Came the singsong voice.
Tezuka wondered if he would have enough time to go grab some advil before practice started and gave him a headache.
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Tezuka rubbed his temples, he knew he should've taken that advil...
Momoshiro and Kaido had started to, once again, fight. Tezuka still wasn't sure as to what they were fighting about. Eiji promptly jumped in their fight and started to argue a third side of, whatever it was they were arguing about, or so it seemed. Oishi, being the mother-hen he was, then tried to brake up the fight, but only made it worse. Ryoma sipped his Ponta and watched his upper class men argue and smiled smugly. Kawamura had been standing on the sidelines, until Ryoma handed him a tennis racket. Kawamura then shouted "BURNING!" and ran up to the others. Inui was busy scribbling away in his notebook.
"There's a 88.4 percent chance Tezuka will assign us two hundred laps..." Came Inui's voice over the noise.
"Two hundred laps!" He barked at the team, to which they all froze, and stared at him. He glared at them, and watched them flinch.
"Nya! Tezuka looks scary!" Tezuka's eye twitched and the regulars promptly started running. Yep, he really should've taken that advil. Tezuka then frowned; something was missing... Fuji. He wondered where he had gotten to anyway.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and spun around to see a pair of blue eyes watching him. "Shall I join them?"
Tezuka nodded, "Of course." He watched as Fuji nodded and start to run to join them, and then abruptly stop.
"Ne Tezuka, my favorite chess piece is the queen." Fuji then proceeded to run his laps, leaving Tezuka dumbfounded. He really wasn't sure why Fuji was suddenly so interested in chess.
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Tezuka stepped out of the clubhouse and started for home, until he spotted Fuji standing out by the gate, waving at him. Tezuka gave a slight nod of his head in acknowledgment. Fuji appeared at his side within a few strides, "Ne Tezuka, would you like to come back to my house to study?"
Tezuka knew Fuji better than to know that they would actually study, however, he had no reason not to go. "Hn." Maybe it was just him, but Fuji's smile seemed to grow a fraction wider.
Tezuka heard a bush rustle and an 'Iie, data'. Tezuka stopped mid-strid, to which Fuji also paused, looking rather confusedly at Tezuka. "Inui. Seventy laps."
Inui popped out of the bush, "Yes Tezuka." Inui then ran off, while still writing in his notebook.
"Shall we continue Tezuka?" Tezuka nodded and continued walking.
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Fuji's house was certainly... different than his own. For starters, there were cacti on every window leaving no space on the window. Tezuka never did understand Fuji's obsession with cacti.
"Saa... Tezuka, is there anything I can get you?" Tezuka blinked and looked over at Fuji, snapping him once again out of his thoughts.
"No." Fuji nodded and proceeded to the kitchen anyway, Tezuka following behind him since he really wasn't sure what else to do.
"I was thinking we could play a game of chess before we started," Fuji paused as he grabbed a glass and filled the glass with water, "studying." Tezuka felt his eyebrow rise, but made no verbal comment. "You know, my favorite chess piece is the queen." Fuji stopped talking and lifted the glass to his lips and drank the water. Tezuka wasn't sure if he was supposed to say anything, so he simply stood there, wondering why Fuji insisted on bringing this up. "The queen can move anywhere on the board for as many spaces as she sees fits. She controls the whole game, even if the whole point is to protect the king. Besides, all kings need a queen beside them."
Tezuka watched as Fuji finished the water and placed the cup in the sink. "Let's head up stairs to play, ne?" Fuji didn't wait for an answer as he walked to his room. "You can set your backpack down by the door if you want. I've heard chess games can take quite a while." Tezuka did as he was told and set his backpack down by Fuji's bedroom door.
Fuji sat down at a small table with two chairs and a preset-up chessboard. He idly wondered if Fuji planned this but tossed the idea aside. "Do you mind if I'm black, Tezuka?" Tezuka shook his head.
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After a overwhelming defeat in the chess game, Tezuka found his king trapped by three queens (1). "Saa, I think that's check mate Tezuka." Fuji stated, looking rather pleased with himself.
Tezuka nodded, and wondered if they were finally going to study when he suddenly felt something crawl up his leg. "Fuji, do remove your foot from my lap." He felt Fuji's foot drop off and his eye twitched as Fuji started chuckling. If Fuji didn't stop, he had a feeling Fuji would be running laps tomorrow.
"Of course Tezuka," something in Fuji's voice seemed to change as he found himself staring into two blue eyes staring back at him. A playful sort of smile seemed to encompass Fuji's face.
"Shall we start studying?" Tezuka asked Fuji cautiously, something about Fuji's demeanor seemed to change completely. He stood up and went to move to where he set his backpack down. That was until Fuji stopped, standing directly in front of him. A few inches in front of himself, to be more accurate. He looked down, "Fuji?"
Fuji's eyes looked slightly glazed. He felt Fuji's hands on his shoulder and Fuji's face seemed to get closer. Tezuka opened his mouth to say something, only to shut it again. He closed his eyes to regain his composure, surely Fuji had some logical explanation for this.
Right when he was going to open his eyes, he felt a pair of lips placed firmly against his own. His eyes flew open and he saw Fuji's face, directly in front of his. His body seemed to be frozen. He remained perfectly still, simply because he didn't know what to do. His mind was drawing a blank.
What felt like forever to Tezuka, Fuji finally back away from Tezuka, his eyes once again open, and seemed to be searching Tezuka's own eyes for something. Tezuka watched as Fuji bit his lip and closed his eyes once more. "Tezuka I--" Fuji trailed off.
Tezuka broke in, regaining control once more over his body. "I need to go." He sped past Fuji and grabbed his backpack. Tezuka ran down the stairs and slipped on his shoes and head out the door. He could've sworn he heard Fuji call after him, but he was running to fast to be sure. Not that he would've stopped anyway. He didn't notice the tears streaming down Fuji's face.
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Tezuka didn't know why he was running away, something inside him just told him to leave. He didn't stop for breath until he reached his own house and was safe inside. His mother was standing there, "Ah Kuni-chan you're home!"
Tezuka slipped his shoes off, and looked up at his mother. His mother stood there expectantly, and Tezuka walked forward and kissed her cheek. "Nice to see you mother." He then headed up stairs to finish his own homework, and would try to forget about Fuji.
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He sat down at his desk and stared blankly at his paper. He couldn't seem to focus, all he could do was remember the feeling of Fuji's soft lips against his own. His hand absent-mindedly reached up and touched his mouth, sending a shiver down his spine.
He stopped, this was wrong. He looked back down at the empty paper and glared at it. He obviously wasn't going to get anywhere right now. He sighed and looked over at his phone.
He reached out and picked up the phone, dialing Fuji's number. The phone rang once, then twice, before Yumiko picked up the phone. "Fuji residence, Fuji Yumiko speaking, how may I help you?"
He felt his throat go dry, but managed an answer, "This is Tezuka, is Fuji Syusuke there?" He clutched the phone tightly, feeling butterflies gather in his stomach.
"Of course Tezuka-kun. Just hold on one moment and he'll be right with you!" He heard what sounded like arguing in the background, before Fuji picked up the phone. Then, a long pause fell between the two friends.
"Fuji..."
"Tezuka... I'm sorry. I didn't know you didn't," Fuji trailed off.
A silence fell between them again. For the first time in a while, Tezuka felt awkward with the silence between them.
"Fuji, meet me outside the school gate before practice. We need to talk."
"Alright Tezuka. Bye then." He heard the phone hang up, but before that, he could've sworn he heard Fuji's voice start to crack. It was then that Tezuka realized why; Fuji must think Tezuka was made at him. Tezuka wasn't really mad, just confused. He would have to make sure that was clear.
Tezuka returned to his desk and started to write, at least he had the ability to work on his homework again.
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Tezuka stood outside the school gate waiting for Fuji when he saw none other than Kikumaru approach. This was rather unusual - Kikumaru early to practice...
"Nya! Tezuka! What are you doing here this early?" Kikumaru stopped bouncing when he stood a little ways in front of Tezuka. "Eh, anyway, do you know what's been bothering Fujiko?"
Tezuka frowned, if Kikumaru noticed Fuji was upset, then perhaps something else than just Tezuka leaving was bother him? "I'm always this early to practice." Tezuka ignored the second question and looked at Kikumaru.
"Oh... Well, I'm going to go get ready nya!" He watched as Kikumaru bounced away and sighed. He wondered if maybe Fuji was not going to come...
He felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped. "Saa Tezuka, what happened to don't let your guard down?" He saw Fuji's smile and his heart skipped a beat. "What is it you wanted to talk about Tezuka?"
Tezuka looked at Fuji, "About yesterday when we at your house--" He started carefully, only to be cut off.
"Oh that. You see, it was a dare from Eiji. Eiji and I were playing truth or dare and I picked dare. He told me I had to kiss someone, so I picked you since I knew you wouldn't take it seriously. Is that what this is about?"
Tezuka frowned as Fuji spoke, for some reason he didn't believe Fuji. "I don't believe you."
Fuji's eyes popped open and he saw something he had never seen directed at him before --- Fuji's hurt. A tear slid out. Tezuka tentatively reached forward and wiped the tear away, "Is that so Tezuka?" He shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. "What do you want from me? I tried giving you an easy way out so as to not bother you with my feelings." Fuji gave a sad laugh, "I thought that would satisfy you, but I guess not." Fuji looked away and Tezuka removed his hand.
"Fuji I--" He stopped, what did he want. Tezuka himself really wasn't sure what he felt. Only that he felt something start to hurt inside his chest.
Fuji shook his head, "Even the great Tezuka Kunimitsu doesn't know what he wants." Fuji turned away, "Just... Pretend I didn't say anything."
Tezuka felt his heart stop and grabbed Fuji's wrist. "No," Tezuka pulled Fuji to his own body, "I don't want to."
Fuji's eyes opened in surprise, Tezuka usually didn't act out on his emotions. He tilted his head, confused. "What are you--" Fuji didn't get the chance to finish.
Tezuka pressed his lips on Fuji's and felt Fuji press back after a few moments, and then wrapped his arms around Tezuka's shoulders, attempting to deepen the kiss. Tezuka gladly let Fuji, and closed his eyes. He felt Fuji pull back suddenly and Tezuka opened his eyes. "Are you sure Tezuka?"
Tezuka frowned for a moment, before realizing what Fuji was asking, "Yes." That was all the response Fuji needed before leaning back up and kissing Tezuka.
"Probability of Fuji and Tezuka getting involved in an intimate relationship: 98.9 percent. Iie data."
Tezuka pulled back this time and glared at Inui, "Five hundred laps. Now." His voice sounded rather shaky to even himself. He saw light reflect off Inui's glasses, making him look crazier than he already did.
"Of course Tezuka." He then jogged away, scribbling in his notebook. Tezuka felt a hand clasp his own and looked back at Fuji.
"You know Tezuka, all kings need a queen, and as king of this school you still need one," Fuji teased.
So that's what Fuji had been hinting about... "I already have one." Fuji's smile widened at that. "We should get to practice." He tugged on Fuji's hand so that they could walk, together, to get ready for practice, which they then did.
End
1- Getting three queens is possible. If you get two pawns across the board to the other side you can change those pawns into anything you want, Fuji just choose queens.