Title: Getting There
Pairing: Tezuka/Fuji, microscopic Oishi/Eiji
Rating: PG 13
Genre: Romance/Angst/Friendship
Wordcount: 2,000
Warnings: Because they aren't together yet and they're already in university here, this is an AU. nods seriously (They got married in first year junior high, you see.)
Disclaimer: "Fuji Syusuke is a property of Tezuka Kunimitsu" says the mark on Fuji's back. Tezuka says Fuji was the one who stamped it. Fuji pouts at Tezuka for the harsh accusation. In fact, he asked Eiji to stamp it for him because he couldn't reach his lower back. (Byahahahaha.)
Premise: Fuji finds out from Eiji that Tezuka is in love with someone. As Tezuka's best friend, he demands his right to know. When he finally finds out, he is stunningly surprised. (University setting.)

A/N: This is the next part. I'm not sure if the characterization is as on-the-spot as the prologue, but enjoy all the same. Please read and review to make me happy.

Part I: Discovery

Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you I had no control over. - Anonymous

"There really is no need for you to drive, Tezuka," Fuji said. He grinned rather unconvincingly before he dragged the seatbelt across his torso and settled on the passenger seat. When the seatbelt clicked lock, he leaned back, making himself comfortable.

"You've had alcohol," Tezuka said flatly. After securing his own seatbelt, he inserted the key to its slot. The metallic camera, plastic tennis racket and rubber cactus charms of a silver chain dangled helplessly as Tezuka turned the key to start the engine. The car roared with life, humming lazily as Tezuka began driving.

"I'm not drunk," Fuji said in weak defense of himself, smiling. "Don't you have more important things to do?" He rolled to his side, raising his head a little to see Tezuka's face. For a second, he met Tezuka's questioning side glance. "No homework? No dates?"

Tezuka gave Fuji a quick, piercing gaze. "I don't go to dates," he reminded curtly. He veered his eyes back to the road before saying, "But I do have homework." He paused briefly and stressed, "As do you."

"You're making me feel guilty," Fuji remarked. He chuckled softly, looking far from guilty. Fuji's hand absently reached for the keychain and he gently twirled it around his pinky, letting it slide off before twirling it and letting it slide again and again and again. "You know, Tezuka, I haven't met any of your classmates yet… What are they like?" he asked, injecting curiosity to his tone.

Tezuka raised a brow, evidently puzzled. He knew that people believed Fuji's thoughts were disjoint and random. But years of constant companionship with Fuji taught Tezuka otherwise. Whatever Fuji thought at a certain moment always had some obscure significance. Most of the time, Fuji's seemingly scattered thoughts and meaningless words were subtly connected, surprisingly important.

"It's only been a month since we entered college," Tezuka responded, sounding quite detached. "I don't know them well enough."

"But there's bound to be someone you notice," Fuji said, flashing a bright smile. "There has to be someone interesting in your class."

He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out where the conversation was heading to. "No," Tezuka said succinctly.

At that, Fuji sighed and shook his head tragically. "You're in college, Tezuka," he said emphatically, "you should be socializing, making new friends." Fuji laughed.

At the corner of his eyes, Tezuka saw Fuji blow a small but shaky puff of air.

The rest of the drive to their apartment was silent. When the car was finally parked, Fuji was the first to step out, leading the way to the apartment complex. Tezuka followed quietly, throwing thoughtful glimpses at Fuji as they climbed the stairs to the fifth and last floor of the building.

The apartment complex was about five minutes' walk from the university's main gates. Because of its proximity to the university, it was occupied mostly by students – who, Tezuka decided after checking his watch, were probably sleeping already at that time. In Tezuka's opinion, the complex was a fairly decent residence; the rooms were in excellent condition; the rent was quite reasonable. He was rather glad he agreed to Fuji's choice.

One afternoon, a few months before their high school graduation, Fuji casually plopped down the seat in front of Tezuka's desk in the student council office. Tezuka was occupied with paperwork so Fuji amused himself by reaching for the wooden fish sculpture that Tezuka used as paperweight. He inspected it curiously, wearing an admiring smile for he knew that it was Tezuka's own handiwork. "Tezuka?"

"Mn?" Tezuka grunted without lifting his head from the paper on his right hand. He wanted to make sure he finished reading the secretary's monthly report before going home.

"I've been thinking…" Fuji said, replacing the paperweight cautiously on top of the desk.

Tezuka did not see the need to respond. Fuji, for one, was always thinking. Plus, he knew that Fuji would tell him whatever he wanted to, whether he was busy or not.

Fuji smiled even wider. "Wouldn't it be nice to have a bit of freedom after we graduate from high school? We'll be adults by then." He leaned forward and rested his chin at the back of his left hand. "I was wondering if you'd like to share an apartment with me when we get to college."

Tezuka's eyes paused from reading and flickered momentarily toward Fuji's expectant smile. "Have you told your parents?"

"Yes," Fuji said quite eagerly. He beamed. "If your parents agreed, would you like to share an apartment with me?"

Looking away, Tezuka pursed his lips. "Perhaps."

A few weeks before graduation, Tezuka wondered why he was even surprised when Fuji came up to him, telling him that he knew of an excellent place to live in. Fuji was quite enthusiastic that day that Tezuka didn't ask anymore questions about the place; he said "Fine" right then and there.

Tezuka only saw the apartment on the first day they moved. When Fuji dragged him to the window, Tezuka instantly knew why Fuji had been so excited. From the fifth floor, they could see the treetops and the rooftops of the university; the sight, as Fuji said, was excellent for taking pictures.

Tezuka stopped abruptly when they reached the doorstep. He watched and waited as Fuji took off his shoes and slid his feet into a pair of bedroom slippers. "Fuji."

Fuji turned his head and offered an inquiring smile.

"Tell me what's troubling you," Tezuka said in a straightforward manner. He knew he sounded imposing, but he also knew that if he didn't sound direct enough, Fuji would never tell him anything.

Instead of responding right away, Fuji began to walk towards the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

Narrowing his eyes, Tezuka nodded. "Yes, please," he said, trailing behind Fuji.

Still wondering, Tezuka waited as Fuji prepared the tea. After turning the stove on, Fuji joined him on their small, glass kitchen table.

"Eiji told me that you might be in love with a man," Fuji said. A small, friendly smile still lingered on his lips when he said, "It's true?"

Tezuka's gaze wandered away and settled on the dancing flames on the stove. "What else did Eiji tell you?" he asked, forcing his voice to sound unaffected.

"Nothing really," Fuji said flippantly. "However, he asked me to tell him who that man is." He glanced at Tezuka with a wistful smile. "I told him the truth: I don't know." When he saw Tezuka's pupils dilate, he immediately said, "I'm not angry. Not at all. I'm just disappointed." He forced a smile. "I thought you trust me enough to share a very important secret with me." He shrugged. "I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"No," Tezuka said firmly, almost defensively. When Fuji raised a critical brow, he turned away. "Don't you have any idea who the person might be?"

"I don't," Fuji said quite frankly. He chuckled dryly. "I tried to ask you if any of your classmates interests you and you said none of them does."

"I see," Tezuka said quietly. His voice was hushed low.

"Do I know him?" Fuji asked with a patient smile, hoping that Tezuka would at least tell him now.

Tezuka clenched his fists on his lap. "Yes," he replied honestly.

"Strange," Fuji said thoughtfully. "How come I haven't noticed?"

"Fuji…" Tezuka called in a deep, ringing voice. He dug his fingers deep into his cold, sweaty palm. "Why do you think did I keep it secret from you?"

"I've been asking myself-" Fuji stopped when he heard Tezuka sigh. He stole a brief glance at Tezuka and saw Tezuka's lips pressed tightly, saw Tezuka's deep frown. Finally, his eyelids fluttered open, revealing sharp blue eyes.

oOo

Fuji rolled to his back and sat up on his bed, feeling slightly disoriented. His memory wandered back to Tezuka's pained expression and to the dismissive way Tezuka said "good night." And now questions swam in his head. Most of them were repetitive, asking "why?", "why?", "why?"

He checked his alarm clock on the bedside table and was relieved to discover that it was just half-past six. Tezuka always left at seven and Fuji hoped to get at least some of the answers to his questions this morning; he thought he deserved them.

Unmindful of his early morning state, he headed straight to the kitchen, expecting Tezuka to be eating breakfast. His face fell with disappointment, however, when he found the table empty. He slumped onto one of the chairs, slightly baffled, slightly frustrated, slightly worried.

Fuji went straight home after classes that night, expecting Tezuka to be home already. But when he arrived, the lights were off and there was no shadow of Tezuka. When he checked his phone, he saw Tezuka's text message: Tezuka said he had to research at the library for a term paper so he was going to be late and Fuji didn't have to wait for him for dinner.

Fuji sighed, wondering if Tezuka was simply evading a confrontation. But Tezuka never lied and he didn't think Tezuka would flee from him either. In the meantime, he decided to wait because he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep with his questions unanswered.

Tezuka arrived at half-past ten, expecting silence to greet him. However, when he pushed the door ajar he heard the anchors of the late-night TV news. Blue light radiated from the TV and he saw Fuji turn his head to smile at him.

"Did you find the things that you need?" Fuji asked thoughtfully. His smile was friendly and cheerful.

"I need to research again tomorrow," Tezuka replied truthfully. "I told you not to wait for me," he added in a flat voice.

Fuji grinned rather like a child. "But I don't like eating dinner by myself."

Tezuka lowered his head for a brief moment. "Don't you feel uncomfortable?" he asked when he finally lifted his head.

"Why should I feel uncomfortable?" Fuji asked, rising from the couch to head to the kitchen. He smiled reassuringly. "We've been friends for years, Tezuka. I don't think anything can make me uncomfortable around you. Not even a million laps."

For an instant, Fuji saw a gentle, almost-but-not-quite smile on Tezuka's lips.

Once in the kitchen, Fuji popped their dinner inside the microwave. "But I do have questions," he said.

Tezuka sighed and nodded, taking his place before the kitchen table. "I'll try to answer them if I can," he said tonelessly but Fuji was sure he caught resignation in Tezuka's tone.

Five minutes later, the microwave gave a loud ring. Fuji took out a steaming bowl of chicken curry and brought it to the table. "Should I ask you now or should I ask you later?"

"Whenever you see fit," Tezuka replied matter-of-factly.

Fuji tilted his head to study Tezuka. A gentle smile graced his lips at the seeming lack of change in Tezuka's frankness. "How long have you been… feeling this way?"

Tezuka wrinkled his brows, his left hand gripping his spoon tightly. He raised his head and sighed, "I'm sorry but I don't know."

Arching his brows, Fuji let out an amused chuckle. "How did it start?"

The lines on Tezuka's forehead deepened. Then, Tezuka shook his head. "I don't know either," he said almost apologetically.

Fuji wanted to laugh in disbelief, but he chose not to when he saw the usual self-assurance slowly leave Tezuka. Tezuka still held himself in the same confident manner, but his brown eyes were dark with uncertainty and his brows were deeply wrinkled in thought.

When dinner was over, Fuji helped Tezuka bring the dishes to the sink. As Tezuka let water run down the dishes, he felt a genial pat on his shoulders. He turned his head and, to his surprise, he saw Fuji beaming up at him.

"I'm not mad at you," Fuji said. His voice was soft and reassuring. "But I am very, very surprised," he said, watching as the water trickled down the dishes. "And I'm equally flattered." He gave Tezuka another smile. "I have one last question though. And," he grinned, "I hope you can answer it this time."

Tezuka only blinked, waiting for the question.

"Why did you keep it secret from me?" Fuji asked slowly.

Tezuka's deep gaze rested on the dishes. He pressed his lips before answering, "I didn't want to bother you with trivial things."

-tbc-

A/N: Tezuka likes woodwork - just saying, in case you're wondering why I made the paperweight his own craft. He likes fishing too so I made it a fish. Also, at first, I wanted Oishi to tell Fji the truth but I ended up making Tezuka confess because I do think Tezuka has enough guts to tell the truth himself. Anyway, two more parts to follow (not soon). Reviews will be loved!!