Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis
Chapter 7 – Lies and Truth
Fuji's breath caught in his throat as Tezuka's words sank into his mind. For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten the close contact that he was in with the ex-captain. 'What? Stay till I recall my memories?'
Fuji tore his gaze away from Tezuka as he lowered his head, "What if I cannot recall at all? You should not waste your time here…What about your friends and family? What about your girlfriend?" he asked bitterly, his voice starting to crack with anger at the thought of Tezuka and Yuko together.
However, Tezuka remained unfazed. Instead of replying at once, he used his right hand to lift Fuji's chin so that their eyes meet. Raising his eyebrows, Tezuka questioned Fuji back, "My girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend. What makes you think so? Did you remember anything?"
"I did not remember anything at all," Fuji replied with a hiss, feeling angry at himself for almost letting the cat out of the bag, "It is just…" he paused, searching his mind frantically for a reasonable answer, "…It is just that you look like the type of person who has a girlfriend. Plus, I do not remember you at all, and I am not even sure if you are indeed my boyfriend. Who knows, maybe you lied," Fuji retorted confidently, although he knew in the back of his mind that he was being ridiculous.
"Any why would I lie, Syusuke?"
'Yes, why would you lie, Tezuka?' Fuji wondered.
Sensing that the honey-haired tensai was not going to reply him at any moment, Tezuka took advantage of the dazed man by leaning down quickly and kissed him lightly. He stroked his long fingers over Fuji's jaw, kissed the tip of his nose and took a step away from the now-surprised tensai.
Letting out a soft smile for the second time in the day, Tezuka said, "Let's not argue about this, shall we?" He turned, giving the well-kept apartment a sweeping gaze as he slowly made his way into the house, "So, where do I sleep?"
It took a moment for Fuji to realize that he had been holding his breath. Sighing, as his shoulders slumped in defeat, Fuji looked longingly at the back of Tezuka. Right now, he was confused. He thought that he had, indeed, gotten over the taller man, but his heart told him otherwise when Tezuka kissed him.
Tezuka strode into the living room, his bag slung over his shoulder. He stopped short when he saw an orange with white strips fuzzy animal ambering towards him. It was a cat. Without thinking, he squatted to give the cat a little scratch behind its ear, in which the animal meowed lazily as it rubbed itself against Tezuka's leg.
"Is this your cat, Syusuke?" Tezuka asked as he patted the furry animal fondly. It was rare to see Tezuka's display of affection. 'Has the world changed?' Fuji thought as he looked at Tezuka as though the latter had grown another head.
Without hesitation, Fuji blurted out but he immediately regretted, "Yes. Tabby is mine."
"Tabby," Tezuka repeated softly, earning another contented meow from the animal. Forcing himself not to grin, he stood up and faced towards Fuji, "So show me my room then."
It took a lot for Fuji not to sigh in relief in front of Tezuka. 'He doesn't remember,' Fuji rejoiced, 'that I asked him before what name he would like to give if he ever had a cat.' But the moment of happiness fled, as it soon was replaced by disappointment when Fuji realized the implication, 'Tezuka does not remember what we had talked about in the past,' he thought gumly.
Of course, Tezuka remembered. But he felt that he should not mention anything lest Fuji become agitated and defensive again. It broke his heart to see sadness and disappointment coming over the tensai. Besides, he needed time to plan, to persuade Fuji that he was sincere.
But seeing Fuji's emotions and the fact that he named the cat 'Tabby' implied that Fuj still carried feelings for him. That very thought sent his heart singing with joy.
"This is your room," Fuji said quietly, bringing Tezuka out of his thoughts, "The bed sheets are new." He added lamely before continuing, "If you need anything, just let me know." He was about to leave when Tezuka stopped him.
"Where is your room?" Tezuka asked bluntly. Realizing that he sounded too direct, he quickly explained, "I mean, if I do need anything and if you happen to be in your room, at least I know where I can find you."
"My room…is opposite yours," Fuji replied walking away.
However, he was stopped once more when Tezuka suddenly grabbed his arm, causing the tensai to face the former in surprise as he found Tezuka's lips brushing across his as the taller man said huskily, "Call me Kunimitsu, Syusuke."
Fuji could only nod dumbly, his cheeks flushing a little before Tezuka released his grip, allowing him to make his way to the living room. He needed time to think.
Tezuka sighed as he let himself into the well-furnished room. He placed his bag onto the bed as he took in his surroundings. There was little dust seen as Tezuka settled himself onto a chair that was located near the single-sized bed. Removing his glasses and placing them onto the sandalwood desk, Tezuka leaned back and closed his eyes.
It was pretty obvious by now that Fuji carried feelings for him, yet he denied those emotions. Of course, Tezuka was at fault too, the ex-captain had realized, as he did not mention anything about what Yuko did and that they had already broken up. It was at this moment that he remembered what Oishi had said to him before.
"Fuji mentioned before that he would want to confess to you once he felt that he had muster enough courage to do so."
'Courage,' Tezuka thought, 'Did I crush Fujji's courage when I rejected him that day in the restaurant, and that's why he was not willing to accept me again?'
Loving someone needs courage. Yet, confessing to the other party requires even more courage.
"If courage and confidence are what Syusuke lack, I will give him," Tezuka said out alod with conviction.
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While Tezuka was busy racking his brain to find ways to convince Fuji to give their relationship another chance, Fuji was preoccupied with trying to make sense of the happenings.
Allowing himself to sink tiredly onto the sofa in the living room, Fuji absentmindedly stroked Tabby which gave a contented meow as it took a nap on Fuji's lap.
Tezuka had suddenly showed up in Kyuushuu, and he declared himself to be Fuji's boyfriend, which, of course, shocked the tensai greatly.
"When one tells a lie, he has to tell another lie to cover up the first lie," Fuji muttered, "And now, I have to accept that Kunimitsu is my boyfriend." Fuji frowned as his eyebrows creased together, 'But what happened to Yuko? Weren't they together? But Kunimitsu did not mention about his relationship with Yuko earlier,' Fuji thought. There were so many questions unanswered, but what bothered Fuji the most was this – He had just realized that he addressed Tezuka as 'Kunimitsu'.
A/N: Hi all, i would like to thank everyone for the patience! I am deeply sorry for the slow update, but i will definitely complete this story!
Once again, feedbacks are really appreciated and encouraging! :D
