I'm a horrible person, I know. I should've updated A LOT sooner, but I lost inspiration and the will to write, along with my little friend named procrastination. Please forgive me! *bows deeply*

*takes deep breath* Here goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

-PoT—PoT—PoT-

Kei's POV

When I heard that Ryo was back in town I found out where he was living and rushed to his apartment, running apology after apology through my head. I knew it would take so much more than an apology to get Ryo's forgiveness, but I had to let him know that I was sorry. If I didn't I would never forgive myself. I forced myself to calm down and think clearly when I was finally standing in front of the apartment door.

I took three deep breaths, still running apologies through my head. I knocked on the door, expecting Ryo to open it, but after a couple of minutes there was no answer. I kept knocking, hoping that the door would finally open so I could see my beautiful Ryo.

Finally the door opened. I opened my mouth to beg him to forgive me, but my breath caught in my throat when I saw him. He was beautiful. More so than he had been when he'd disappeared. It wasn't just what changed that made me stop talking. The complete and utter shock that was in his eyes, the agony, stopped me from saying anything.

It was as if Ryo's eyes were shattered, pale golden glass. They were broken. I wanted so badly to take my kitten into my arms and hold him and tell him everything was okay, and my body was screaming at me to do so, but I knew that would accomplish nothing but more distrust.

"K-Kei?" Ryo stuttered, a questioning tone with sadness leaking through.

"Hey, Ryo," I said softly.

A sudden hard glare. It made me more comfortable. I was more familiar with this. "Explain," he said, his voice just as hard as his glare. The raven gestured for me to go into his apartment.

I walked in hesitantly. There were boxes, some full and some empty, stacked up against the walls. I was pushed down on the couch, and then Ryo disappeared into the kitchen. A couple of minutes later he came back with a cup of coffee and a water bottle. He handed me the coffee, and I found that it was made just the way I liked it.

I repressed a smile when I realized he still remembered how I like my coffee. "Explain," Ryo demanded again, this time with a softer tone.

I didn't, couldn't, look at his face, fearing the look that would be there. "I . . . I don't know," I began. "I just . . . I'm sorry."

An exasperated sigh and a mocking laugh. "You don't know why you cheated on your boyfriend?!" I winced at Ryo's accusatory tone. "You're an idiot, Atobe Keigo. A complete and utter idiot! You didn't even love me in the first place did you? I was just something you could use for as long as you were interested, then you could throw me away like a piece of trash. All of those time you told me you loved me were just sweet lies that would make me fall into your trap! It was all lies, wasn't it?!"

I was in shock. I didn't know what to make of Ryo's outburst. "N-no. Ryo, I-"

"Don't." His tone was pained and angry. "You're telling me that you love me even though you cheated on me with Yukimura? How can you even begin to apologize for something like that?"

"I can't," I whispered, rubbing my face. "There's no way to begin apologizing, but I want you to know that I am sorry. You're right. I'm a complete idiot for even thinking about doing that, and I don't deserve your forgiveness. I just need you to know. Because if I left here without you knowing I would never let myself live it down. I'm sorry, Ryoma."

He was silent. "I don't think I could ever forgive you for that. But this is a start." Hope bloomed in my chest. "How do I know you won't do it again? How do I know that you won't go back to him and cheat again?"

I couldn't take it anymore. "He forced me to," I blurted.

"What?!" Ryo exclaimed with an incredulous tone. "You really expect me to believe that clichéd excuse?!"

"I'm not lying," I whispered, complete honesty and sincerity in my voice. "He told me that if I didn't pretend to cheat with him then he would make sure you'd never be able to play tennis again. Apparently he's still mad at you for beating him in the middle school nationals. I knew how much tennis meant to you so I did it."

-PoT—PoT—PoT-

Ryo's POV

My eyes widened when I heard that. And then a bitter smile played on my lips. 'It's too late for that. I can't play anymore anyway,' I thought, and tears formed in my eyes.

"You're an idiot, baka Monkey King," I muttered, and my tears started falling. Somehow he heard that.

A gasp escaped Kei's lips. I wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. I forgave him. I forgave him because instead of thinking about himself, he thought about me. And that made me happy. But these tears were anything but. They were tears that said his efforts to keep my career on track went to waste.

Kei whispered reassurances in my ear, rubbing my back and carding a hand through my hair. I let myself sob all of the pain I'd felt for so long out, let the man I loved comfort me for the first time in years. After an undeterminable amount of time, my tears stopped and I let Kei hold me in his arms, letting myself finally feel at peace for once.

"I love you," Kei whispered in my ear. I smiled again, this one happy.

"I love you too, Kei," I said into his shirt, my words muffled.

My smile dissipated. "Kei, I need to tell you something," I said, pulling out of his arms.

"What is it?" he asked, pushing my chin up and forcing me to look into his eyes.

I took a deep breath, seeking comfort in his silver-purple eyes that practically glowed with love. "I can't play tennis anymore."

Kei looked stunned. "Wha . . . how?"

"A bad tennis game. The guy got too excited, and ended up hitting the ball so hard at my right arm that it broke it. And then he continued to hit tennis balls at me until I was unconscious. After that, they told me it would be impossible for me to play tennis ever again." I let no emotions into my voice. "It's fine, though. As long as I have you, I'm fine."

Kei blushed at those words, and I smirked. "Look, I made Ore-sama blush." His blush deepened even further.

He leaned down and kissed me passionately. I came up for air breathing heavily and red faced. "Look," he whispered, "I made Echizen blush." I smirked and pushed him down on the couch.

"I bet I can make you blush again," I said seductively.

-PoT—PoT—PoT-

No, that's not the end of the story, if any of you thought so. We still have the matter of Seigaku to deal with. Thanks so much for reading, and keep a look out for the next chapter. I'll be updating some things from the last chapter, and tweaking the summary, so please don't be alarmed if they're changed. Again, I'm so sorry for not updating WAY sooner. I'll try and be faster about it this time.

Favorite, follow, review, and PM me! I'm taking requests for side pairs and such so nows your chance. Until next time . . .

~O'Malley out!