Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Lady Monozuki: Goodness, it's been a while. I am really sorry that I haven't updated. Last month was really crazy for me and it's not going to be getting any better. Thank you everyone for your reviews and for reading! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Fourteen: Warnings

He didn't know what was more surprising, the fact that Tezuka was in front of him or the fact that he had asked for a place to stay for the night. A part of him wanted to refuse, but the other saw the hurt look in Kunimitsu's eyes and knew that something had gone wrong. He stared and contemplated. It was only for a night, it wouldn't hurt, right?

This is the one chose to stay with Atobe.

"I don't mind," he eventually said. He knew that this could go one of two ways and that one of them would lead to him being hurt again. He wasn't strong enough to handle that again. However, he was going to trust that Tezuka would leave him alone. The other looked relieved as he stepped aside. Once Kunimitsu was inside, he closed the door. He was not going to press for details, knowing that the other would tell him eventually.

"Do you want tea?" he asked.

He knew that the other favored green tea when upset or stressed. It really was a question for formality instead of him needing an answer. He headed off to the kitchen without waiting for a reply. His mind was racing. Why had he agreed to let Tezuka into his apartment? Was it because he felt sorry for the other? Or was there another reason? He was confused. The water boiled and he took it off the stove. He prepared the tea in accordance to how Tezuka had taught him so many years ago. After finishing up in the kitchen, he returned to the living room to find Kunimitsu in the same spot where he had left him.

"You can sit down, you know."

The other sat on the couch, not saying anything. It was concerning him to see Tezuka act this way. He had known the other since their middle school days and never once had he seen such a lost look on Tezuka's face. He frowned. He had a feeling that he was not going to like the story that the other had to tell. He poured the tea into the cup and handed it to his former lover, who took it and didn't take a sip.

"You'll feel better if you drink the tea, Tezuka."

The other took a sip and then stared at him. It was uncomfortable to be under the stern glace once again. He felt as though the other was judging him. To distract himself from the stare, he poured his own cup of tea and drank so that he could focus on something else.

"You've really lost weight," was the comment that slipped past Tezuka's lips. He frowned. Why was everyone pointing out his health? He was handling the situation fine on his own and now that Ryoma was awake, there was even more reason for him to gain back some of the normalcy of his old life.

"I'm fine," he said in a softer voice than he meant to.

"What happened?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You usually are more adamant about your health and you have a softer look about you. Something good happened."

"Ryoma woke up," he whispered. Tezuka stared at him. He could read all of the emotions on Tezuka's face. There was sadness mixed with remorse and hurt, all of them were barely visible and lasted for only a few seconds.

"I see," Tezuka said. "How is he feeling?"

"He's tired and a little weak, but that's to be expected."

"Aa," Tezuka replied. "Did he talk about why he tried to commit suicide?"

He flinched. While he was happy that Ryoma had finally woken up, the conversation that had taken place afterward still disturbed him. It was not one that he was likely to forget soon, if ever. He lowered his face, avoiding eye contact with Tezuka.

"Why did you try to kill yourself?"

"I didn't want to try," he whispered. "I wanted to succeed."

"Yes," he said softly.

"What did he say?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He must have startled Tezuka with his words because the other stared at him. Even though he was not looking at his former lover, he could feel the piercing gaze that he sometimes felt could read everything that he was thinking. He felt vulnerable and tried to change the topic so the uncomfortable feeling would go away. He looked up so he could see the reaction to his next question. He was not one to pry, but he had to know.

"Why are you here?" he asked. "You have Atobe."

A bitter laugh rang through the apartment. He blinked in surprise at first. Tezuka was laughing. It wasn't the joyous ones that he was used to hearing, it was filled with sadness. His heart ached and he wanted to reach out to the other. The usually strong aura that Tezuka gave off naturally had disappeared. Something had happened and he didn't know what.

"I don't have anyone," Tezuka bit out. "He got rid of me too. I believed that everything could work out between the two of us, but I was wrong. He told me to move on with my life. I didn't have anywhere else to go."

Now you know what it was like for the rest of us.

Even though the thought had entered his mind, he was not angry with Tezuka. Yes, he hated that Tezuka chose to stay with Atobe after everything was said and done, but now…now, he could not bring himself to hate the other. He swore that he would not get in too deep with the others. However, he could not stand the look on Kunimtisu's face. It did not contain a mask like it usually did, all of the fears, insecurities, and questions were out on display for him to read. Fuji did not know what possessed him to hug the other man, but he did.

His body was reacting on its own, but his mind was telling him that there was another reason why Tezuka came here. He ignored it. He knew what it was like to have nothing and no one to trust. Gen had tried, but he had never let himself open up again. His heart belonged to Ryoma and he would focus on the other before ever trying to make amends with the others. He didn't know how long they had sat there, with him hugging Tezuka. All that he was aware of was at every passing second, his heart grew heavier, he had a feeling that he had just made a bad choice.

The phone rang, breaking him out of his thoughts. He gently pulled away from Tezuka to get up and answer the phone. He had a feeling he knew who it was. After all, he had left a message for Gen and Yukimura. He walked over and picked up.

"Moshi moshi," he said.

"Fuji," came the sound of Gen's deep voice. Even though they had broken up, he still enjoyed the sound of it and it brought him the smallest bit of comfort. "We got your message. So Ryoma finally woke up? What did the doctor say?"

"Yes, he woke up. The doctor's said that he could leave the hospital in a few days and he should get treatment for his other issues."

"Are you going to be all right handling this on your own? You know that Yukimura and I would be more than willing to help out."

"I already told you, I have to do this. I am the one who wants him back. I know that I don't deserve his forgiveness, but I want to try and get him back. I don't care what I have to endure, but I will gladly go through hell and back for him."

"Just don't forget to take care of yourself, Syuusuke."

"I won't," he said. "I have to go now. I'll talk to you later."

He hung up the phone without waiting for a response on the other side. He turned back to Tezuka, who was busy drinking some tea. He smiled slightly, glad that the other was now in a better state than before.

--

To say he was a mess would be an understatement. He currently did not know what he was thinking or even what to feel. He had told Syuusuke that Atobe had broken up to him and of all the reactions that Fuji could have had, he had not expected a hug. He knew that the other was only trying to comfort him, having been in the situation before, but it did not help that his lingering feelings for Syuusuke were starting to creep up again. He tried to set them aside, but being the presence of Syuusuke was enough to drag up the feelings that he had set aside.

It hurt to know that Fuji only cared for Ryoma. The phone call was enough to prove that for him. He still didn't want to accept it though. He couldn't give up that easily. He would fight and if the answer was still the same, he would back off. However, he would not know until he tried to get what he wanted.

Tezuka grabbed the tea that Syuusuke had made for him. Even though it wasn't as warm as before, he needed to clear his thoughts. It was familiar and soothing to his mind. It slowed down his thought process to the point where he could think clearly again. Before he did anything, he had to find a place to live. He knew that he couldn't stay with Fuji.

"You look better," Fuji commented. He looked up and nodded.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I will find a place so I won't be a burden to you."

He saw hesitation written on Fuji's face. "You know that you can stay here until you find a place."

"Thank you," he said softly. He had not meant to say that so quietly, but he was happy that Syuusuke had even offered to let him stay. He honestly had no idea where to go after this. It was pathetic. He was a superior in a company and he had never had his own place and vaguely had an idea of how to get one. He had always assumed that they would be together for the rest of their lives. He was wrong, so very wrong.

He noticed that Fuji stood up. His eyes watched the other walk into the kitchen and take out ingredients for a meal. He felt guilty for being here. His mind tried to convince him that Fuji had offered so it was all right. If only he could honestly believe that. He stood up and walked over to help Syuusuke. He refused to let the other do all the work, especially since Fuji looked so tired himself.

"Syuusuke," he said.

"It's Fuji," Syuusuke corrected.

"Fuji," he said. The name sounded weird to him. It had been several years since he had called the other by something so formal.

"How are you?"

Fuji stopped what he was doing for a brief moment before continuing. He wondered if the tensai was caught off-guard or didn't know how to answer the question.

"I'm fine, Tezuka. I don't know why you're so worried."

"Because you haven't been yourself," he replied. The other stared at him for a moment. "I noticed in the office."

"Of course," came the reply.

"Let me help you," he said.

The other handed him a few vegetables to cut. He smiled. It reminded him of when they were still together. They often cooked food for Ryoma, Keigo, and Gen on holidays or when one of them was sick. The memories tugged at his heart. He tried to ignore the feelings. After all, he couldn't expect anything more from Syuusuke than friendship, if that.

"Tezuka," Syuusuke said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"This brings up memories, ne?"

Warmth spread through his body. So Syuusuke remembered too. "Aa," he said.

--

Atobe hung up the phone and growled. There had been another breach of security within the company and he had to fix all of the problems once again. On top of that, he heard that his parents were coming home and that meant that they were going to talk about business. He had to prepare the reports before they arrived, which would be in ten minutes. It was something that he should have foreseen, but he had been caught up in the drama of his ex-lovers and business.

He quickly typed up the last of the reports and printed them off. It was going to be a long dinner to sit through. He knew that he was going to have to explain the absence of his lovers. That was something that he was not looking forward to. While he was going to leave out most of the details, he knew that they would not be satisfied with a simple "we broke up".

He had been trying to think of a way to downplay what had happened. While he knew that his parents did not approve of his lovers, they still let them be and made an effort to include them whenever his parents were home. A knock on his door told him that it was time for him to go downstairs. He straightened his suit and grabbed the repots before leaving his room.

Upon entering the living room, he could sense fury radiating from his parents, something that he had not been expecting. He frowned.

"Keigo," his father said in a cold voice. He shivered. Was his father that upset over the breaches in security? "We heard about what happened between you and your lovers."

His eyes widened. How had they known? "I don't know what you're talking about," he quickly denied.

His mother spoke next."We heard all about it from one of the servants. Is it true that one of your lovers tried to commit suicide?" He flinched. "I see, and that you abused them?"

He looked away from them. A hand met his cheek, hitting him hard. He was startled by the sudden impact and took a few steps back before regaining his composure.

"How dare you do such a thing!" his mother shrieked.

"I did it because you didn't approve of them!" he defended.

"Liar! We may not have approved of your choices, but none of them ever deserved what you did. You did this on your own! You hurt them and tore them apart. I am ashamed that you're my son."

He was confused. They had never approved of his lovers beforehand and now they were defending them? He did not understand what his parents were thinking.

"Son," his father said. "We did not approve of them because you needed to provide an heir for the corporation. However, we never instructed you to hurt them in this manner. It was your choice. We let you live your life and you abused them for what purpose? Why did you hurt them?"

He didn't understand the question. He had just given them an explanation. He opened his mouth to reiterate what he had said previously.

"Don't you dare tell us that you were doing it because we didn't approve of them," his mother snapped.

"I don't know," he replied. It was the truth. He had always blamed it on his parents and never gave it any real thought as to why he put his lovers through such torture.

"We want you to figure it out," his father said.

"Also, we want you to fix what you've done," his mother said. "You have to make amends with them. Even if they don't take you back as their lover, you must at least be their friend again."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because if you don't, we'll disinherit you," his mother answered. "You wronged them and now you have to fix what you've done or suffer the consequences of your actions."

Keigo was stunned. He had not expected them to act like this. He had to fix his relationship with the others. How the hell was he going to accomplish that?

To be continued…