Rating: G

Summary: Tezuka finds a kid and needs to raise it. I suck at summaries, in response to vierblith's challenge.

Genre: Romance/Fluff/Kid!Fic/AU

A/N: Yes, a kid!fic. It was a challenge... Anyhoo, this is AU because I couldn't think of a single reason why Tezuka would keep a kid as a college student. So I didn't really fully meet the challenge, but it's... close enough, I think.

Challenge: Let's all unleash Tezuka's love for babies and make a baby the angel for Tezuka and Fuji's love for each other. Make it a high school/college fic where they share an apartment or condo or a house or whatever. Tezuka – I repeat – TEZUKA is the one who should find the baby at their doorstep and not Fuji. Got that? Tezuka is going to take the baby in… And, no, Tezuka and Fuji shouldn't be together yet… I mean, they like each other but they haven't gotten as far as knowing/telling that they love each other. And how about a T-rating? Make it cute, ok? Spread the word, please… anyone who writes will be much loved and much reviewed by me and maybe even by sheyryoma… c'mon… please do it… or I'll die because I haven't a tefu fic to read and this fic will be discontinued.

The wind hissed ominously through the trees. The crescent moon cast its light on the tree branches that clashed into each other, waving their arms madly like demons trying to escape their wooden confines. Not a cloud graced sky and the stars looked on, casting their own faint light through the space between branches. The branches waved and waved, but the trees didn't move. The forest had long been scoured, the trees had long been killed. Nothing moved but a small figure of a woman, arms around a precious bundle.

It was a perfect night, she thought, for the deed she was about to commit.

Certainly others had done worse, but abandoning a child, abandoning her child to a stranger as cold and as cruel as the Overseer... But no one else could provide for another child now. He had no one else to take care of. Surely, one more mouth to feed... He must take care of her.

The trees parted to show a clearing and the woman let out a breath of relief. The demons in the shadows could not get to her anymore, even if the wind screamed warnings with all its breath. Precious baby... precious child... goodbye.

She left her child at the doorstep of the man and hurried back through the forest, her tears wanting to stream down her face, to drown the earth in its salt, to wet the patched clothing that she wore... Her eyes remained dry. Tears did no good, would never have done any good but waste precious water.

growachildasyouwouldgrowyourownheart

He walked down the path calmly. The wind blew the branches overhead, but wind was only moving air and it only sounded because it blew through the branches. The trees were only trees, their branches only limbs that would once have spread out to gather as much sunlight as they could. Now they did not do even that.

He supposed that the only reason the trees still stood was that he enjoyed the privacy that they offered. Few people dared to enter so he was not bothered very often.

Tezuka Kunimitsu did not enjoy the often pointless visits that he had been subject to before becoming the Overseer of the Community, though he supposed the only reason he did not have to deal with them now was, indeed, the trees.

It had been a long day. The Master had decided that today would be perfect for replanting the gardens before the Lord came. While Tezuka had been sure that the Lord would appreciate the gesture, it did not seem to warrant pulling half the Community from their essential tasks to accommodate one of many weekly visits. He had argued with the Master, which was irking in and of itself as the Master had a tendency to twist logic in such a way that suited him and in such a way that Tezuka would not realize until he had consented.

It did not help that the Master had smirked at Tezuka the entire time. It also did not help that he had offered to allow Tezuka the honor of claiming the idea as his own. It was worse that Tezuka had been tempted—though he could proudly say that he had not succumbed.

Suffice to say, he had been looking forward to returning to the peace and quiet of his home. He could relax and think in the silence. It would be a nice break from the constant needs of the Community.

He was walking up to his door, imagining as much as his limited imagination would allow the quiet that he was to be afforded when the child started crying.

"What the..." He stared at the child, or rather, the bundle of cloths around the child. Oh no. Not now. Why was there a child here now? Right when they passed the Child Abandonment Acts... He supposed that they didn't go into effect for a while—so he still had time to get rid of the child, but as one of the main supporters of the act, how would it look?

He sighed. No, he supposed it would not do for him to find another family for the child now. Dutifully, he picked it up. No, not it, he realized, checking the baby's gender, he. Well, he supposed it was better than getting a girlchild out of nowhere. Even now, five centuries after the Downfall of the West, girlchildren still went wild after reaching their maturing stage.

This came as a passing thought for him, and he wondered if either one were really preferable when they were still howling, screaming bundles of work. Going over what he knew of taking care of children—or, more specifically, taking care of babies—he realized that he was going to be horribly inept. For one...

"What do you even eat?"

growachildasyouwouldgrowyourownheart

After much trial and error, Tezuka had realized that no, the child did not want any form of solid food. He supposed that he should have at least known that much, but his parents had not put much weight on childrearing and he had never been expected to take care of his siblings. Having realized that the child wanted milk, he appropriated some goats' milk, though he doubted it would be particularly good for the little boy.

Even after it was fed, the child still seemed to require an inordinately large chunk of his time. It wanted to be rocked, it refused to leave Tezuka's arms, crying whenever he set it down, and then... it needed to be changed. Only the thought of the Lord's reaction if he were to murder the child kept him from doing so, and even then barely. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the child fell asleep, dozing deceptively angelically.

Tezuka, savoring the brief moment of respite, was wondering if he should bother making himself some supper when a knock came at his door. Wondering if all the world were set against giving him any time to himself, he went over to open it.

"Hello, I would love to let you in, but..." Tezuka's eyes grew imperceptibly wider as he realized who was on the other side of the door. "Lord Fuji."

"Ah, I'm sorry." The Lord's eyes were closed, as always, though Tezuka could see that his smile was turned downward slightly, though it had not yet become a frown. "Did I come at a bad time? I was just early for my visit and thought I should stop by..."

A blush fought its way up to Tezuka's cheeks. He had not expected this honey haired Lord. "N-no... I mean, yes! I'm sorry, it's just that..."

The child chose that moment to wake from his slumber and realize that he was no longer in Tezuka's arms. The Lord started a little at his scream.

"Ah... Sorry, let me..." Tezuka ran back to his room, where he had laid the child to rest. As he hushed the boy, he realized that The Lord had followed him in.

"A... child?" The Lord's eyes were open. His face betrayed no emotion, but there was a waver in his voice. "I did not know you had a life partner."

The blush that had yet to disappear from Tezuka's cheeks grew warmer. "Ah, no. Someone left him on my doorstep today..." The child's cries grew louder and Tezuka reached to grab some of the milk he had set aside earlier. "...and I couldn't leave him, what with the Child Abando—"

"He's cute." The waver in The Lord's voice was gone. "Does he have a name?"

Tezuka blinked. A name? Oh, right. Children were given names. He had given the child a name, right? Damn the Lord... Why was he always this disorientated when The Lord was around? "Umm... I..."

The Lord chuckled. "By the Light, Overseer! You're never this absentminded on other things, I would hope."

"No, I'm not." By now, he must look like what the Pre-Downfall humans had called 'tomatoes.'

"He looks a bit like a Kei, I think." The Lord leaned forward to take the child from Tezuka's arms. "May I?"

Tezuka just nodded and handed the still screaming child over, and then the impossible happened. Somehow, as if by magic, the child stopped screaming. It must have been the Lord, Tezuka decided. He seemed to have the calming effect on people, even if he did excite Tezuka more than he calmed him.

"Yes, definitely a Kei." The Lord was oblivious to Tezuka observing him.

"You are never wrong, Lord."

The Lord smiled, though this smile was different from his normal smile. "Please, let us drop the formalities. Just 'Fuji' should be fine."

Tezuka was, to say the least, a bit surprised. Though definitely not disappointed. "Nn. Fuji, then."

"And I shall call you 'Tezuka,'" he decided, smiling. He liked the sound of that.

"If you wish." Tezuka stared at the child in his Lor... Fuji's arms. He was calm now, cooing softly at the blue eyes that had opened slightly to look at him.

"I think he is very beautiful, ne?"

"Yes." Tezuka was glad to feel that his blush was subsiding. "Ah... Is there a reason you've come other than to visit?" Lords never just visited their underlings. Well, almost never.

"Hmm?" Fuji was distracted by Kei's squirming. "Ah, yes. I was going to congratulate you on turning the Council's opinion on the Work Bills. You did an excellent job of it."

Damnit, the blush was back. "Thank you."

"I've already talked to them about your possible promotion to Master. They seemed much in favor of it."

Tezuka had no answer for this. That a Lord, even one such as Fuji, would speak on his behalf was mind shattering. He could only gape, as unseemly as it was.

Fuji looked up and smiled at him. "Now, now. No reason to fall over yourself thanking me."

"Th... Thank you. I don't know what to say..."

"I noticed."

"How can I repay you?"

Fuji's smile widened, almost wickedly. "I can think of a few things."

Tezuka was suddenly afraid, though that didn't lessen his blush any. "Name it and it is yours, Fuji. You have my eternal gratitude."

And then there were lips on his own. The kiss was soft and quick, they didn't even touch except for their lips for Fuji had not wanted to crush the child. When he spoke again, his voice was barely a whisper. "That is enough for me."

Tezuka would have answered but, frankly, he was in shock. "Lord?"

"I told you already. Fuji." He watched Tezuka expectantly with his rarely opened eyes wide open and smile gone. With another start, Tezuka realized that Fuji was nervous.

"Kei seems to really like you." Tezuka took a deep breath. Having a child around... as long as Fuji was there too. "Perhaps you could come more for him?"

"I have no pressing concerns at my own home." His eyes bore holes into Tezuka, never leaving him.

"Then perhaps you would like to stay with me?" Tezuka held his breath. Please, don't let him have read Fuji wrong.

"Hah..." Fuji's gaze lost some of its intensity as he broke down laughing. Tezuka started forward, intending to get Kei out of his arms before he collapsed on the floor with his laughter, but somehow he ended up holding the laughing Fuji.

What confidence he had in his ability to read his companions left, at that moment. "I'm sorry. That was too forward of me."

Fuji's laughter calmed a bit, enough for him to answer. "N-no... I'm just... relieved, is all. I thought you might hate me for kissing you... I'd love to stay."

Then Kei started crying again.

// Owari