Fuji lay on his bed that night, contemplating what had occurred earlier now that he had had a chance to cool down. "Hm…that didn't go as planned," he thought, "It doesn't matter, what's done is done. Kunimitsu acknowledged his feelings for me, at the very least. I will just have to try harder to get him to show them." Fuji slid beneath the covers, "I will not lose Kunimitsu. You showed me how much I detest the feeling, and that girl will not get in the way of me showing you we're meant to be." A slight smirk crept upon his face, as Fuji Syusuke drifted off for the night.

The next morning, Fuji walked to school alone, plotting his next step. "It sure is a hot day today, practice is going to be exhausting. Although perhaps this could work in my favor…" a sly grin formed on his face, as he opened his bright eyes for a moment, "yes…that will work nicely."

As Fuji walked out to the courts that afternoon, he heard the quick footsteps of his acrobatic friend, and braced himself. "Fujiko!" Eiji exclaimed as he jumped onto his friend's back, "Where've you been? Buchou isn't gonna like that you're late." Fuji simply smiled, as he deftly twisted out of the grip of his energetic friend, "Oh, I don't think Tezuka will have a problem with my tardiness Eiji, not by the end of the day. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go out to the courts." He continued on his way, leaving a slightly baffled Eiji behind. "Ah, Tezuka, I apologize for being la…" "Fuji, twenty laps. Get started. Afterwards, you'll play Momoshiro, Kaido, and then Eiji." Tezuka ordered bluntly, cutting off the other boy's apology. "Hai buchou." Fuji just grinned, and set off on his laps.

After two matches, it was clearly evident that something had caused Fuji to play seriously. Very seriously. "Sugoi! Fuji-senpai finished two of his matches in less than half an hour! That's got to be a record!" Fuji heard the first years exclaim. He chuckled, grabbing his water bottle to take a long drink, "Yes, this should work nicely. As an added bonus, I can take out all my frustration from yesterday's failure on these matches. Nobody has to know."

"Uuuuuuuggghh! Fuji-senpai is really going all out today!" Momo panted as he laid on the ground, utterly exhausted. "Fssshu, you just don't have the stamina to go up against him baka." Kaido replied. "Whaaat? Mamushi, you lost to him too! You can't pretend you aren't exhausted from Fuji-senpai!" The senpai mentioned tuned out the arguing of the second years. "Eiji, you're next." Fuji called to his friend, wiping his forehead with a towel from his bag. "Hoi, hoi! Be right there Fujiko!" Eiji shouted, with a signature V. Then he turned back towards Oishi, "Nya, Oishi! I don't wanna play Fuji today…he's so serious! I'm scared!" "Eiji, there's nothing to worry about. It's not like Fuji will hurt you, he just wants to get rid of some stress. There's no reason to be scared of playing tennis Eiji, it's insensible." Oishi replied as he took his boyfriend's hand. "…You're right! I'll go play! Thanks Oishi, nya!" Eiji bounced off towards the courts, ready to play. "Besides, Kikumaru-senpai doesn't have a reason to be scared," Momoshiro muttered from the ground, rubbing his bruises,"…he's the most acrobatic on the team. He can dodge everything out there." Across the court, Fuji just smiled. After all, it wasn't his fault Momoshiro ran right into the path of one of his triple counters. "Saa, I'll have to apologize for that after this match" he thought briefly, before turning to Eiji and beginning the game.

After winning his third match, 6-0 of course, Fuji was sweating heavily. He walked over to the bench that held his bag and water bottle, picked them up, and walked over to the fence to stand next to Tezuka. "Saa, it sure is hot today, ne Tezuka?" he asked, as he unscrewed the cap of his water bottle. "Hn." Tezuka grunted, watching the match taking place in front of them. "I'm in need of a good cool off." Fuji replied. And with that, he upturned his water bottle, allowing the cool water to flow over his head and body. "Ahh, much better." Fuji stated softly, gauging the reaction of the boy next to him. Tezuka however, always stoic, continued to watch the match in front of him. Fuji's smile slipped ever so slightly, before he replaced it with another smirk, "So, you want to play that way Kunimitsu," he thought, "Well, I've always liked a challenge."

"Why? Why me? Why Fuji of all people? Now?" Tezuka's thoughts screamed as he struggled to continue watching the match between Inui and Oishi. Struggled, and quickly failed as he felt water droplets splash against his face. He whirled to face the smaller boy, "Fuji, what are you do…" Tezuka fell silent as he took in the sight of the boy next to him. The dripping wet, disheveled hair, eyes wide open, shirtless boy next to him. He felt frozen in place, only capable of staring, drinking in every curve, dip, and slope to Fuji's body. He found himself gazing across the boy's chest, wondering how it would feel against his own, watching the subtle rise and fall as Fuji took a breath and let it out again, wanting nothing more than to pull him into the clubhouse and kiss him senseless at that moment. Then he heard it, Fuji's smirk so large he could actually hear it, and looked at the boy's face to find him suppressing a laugh. "It's not polite to stare, Kunimitsu." Fuji said teasingly, taking a step towards his buchou and shaking his hair again, causing more drops to fall on Tezuka's face, "besides, it's your fault, it's just so hot." Tezuka swore there was a double meaning to Fuji's words, but his face remained unreadable, with the exception of the rising of his eyebrows. "Fuji, go get dressed, you've finished all your matches for today." He said when he found his voice again. "Whatever you say, buchou." Fuji smiled, then turned toward the clubhouse and walked off.

By the time Tezuka returned to the clubhouse, the rest of the team had long gone, or so he thought. When he opened the door, he found Fuji, still shirtless, laying on one of benches, fast asleep. "Was he…waiting for me?" Tezuka asked himself as he glanced down at the boy, "He's so soft when he sleeps, so innocent," he laughed at himself when that thought occurred. Fuji, innocent? Hardly. "I'll wake him after I shower." He thought, as he brushed a piece of hair out of the tensai's face and turned towards the showers. After a quick shower, Tezuka quickly dried off and pulled on his pants, to realize that he left his shirt on the bench. He picked up his glasses and placed them back on, only to see Fuji standing across from him, shirt in hand. "Looking for this Kunimitsu?" Fuji asked as he slowly walked towards Tezuka, shamelessly staring at his bare chest, "Hm…I'm glad you forgot it, I rather like the view without it." "Fuji, why did you take my shirt?" Tezuka asked pointedly. "Me?" Fuji grinned, coming to a stop not two inches from Tezuka, "Now, would I do something like that?" And he pulled the stoic captain into a deep kiss.

Tezuka had a reply formed, until Fuji did that. Oh, it felt so right. His tongue exploring Fuji's mouth like it was the most natural thing in the world. He vaguely realized he was turning the smaller boy, pushing him up against the wall, so that he could kiss him harder. Fuji however, always one for a challenge, quickly changed their positions, with Tezuka up against the wall as he kissed his collarbone. Tezuka emitted a slight moan, only provoking Fuji to trail kisses across his chest. "Syu…Syusuke…" Tezuka moaned as he wrapped one arm around Fuji's waist, pulling him closer and lightly nipping at his neck. He felt pleased at the soft sigh that escaped the smaller boy's lips as a result. Fuji tangled his hands in the taller boy's hair, relishing the feel of victory and passion as he pulled away slightly, to look at Tezuka with wide eyes. A smile lit his face, and his eyes sparkled as he said, "I love you, Kunimitsu." Tezuka stared at the angelic boy in his arms for a moment, before a small smile glanced the edges of his mouth, and he replied, "I love you too, Syu…"

*Bam!* They both jumped as they heard the clubhouse door slam violently, and turned just in time to see Miyako running past the window.