Love Me or Leave Me
Can't Stop
Funny, Eiji thought, as he walked with Fuji Shuusuke. Just a little bit ago, he'd have done anything to get out of having to grade the homework in his briefcase. Right now, that actually sounded pleasurable. It'd been roughly 15 minutes since they'd ran into each other, almost literally, in the doorway of Kawamura Sushi. Since then, the two had just wandered, not speaking.
Somehow, Eiji wasn't surprised when they ended up at the street court closest to Seigaku. If anything, it seemed almost appropriate.
On court, a couple of Seigaku boys were playing. Eiji didn't know who they were but he recognized them at least. One of his own Fudomine players was sitting on the side, looking like he was keeping score. Eiji nodded and waved to the boy, who waved back. Nearby, a few more kids from various other schools sat watching and talking.
Fuji sat down on the ground, ready to watch the game. Eiji sat beside him.
A few minutes later, the game ended. The two Seigaku players walked up to the net, the loser congratulating his friend. Eiji's player stood and stretched, calling out a name. From one side of the court, Eiji noticed another boy walk over. They spoke for a few minutes before nodded in unison. The Fudomine boy stayed on-court while his friend ran over to a couple of other boys. It looked like one might have been a Kakinoki player but Eiji wasn't entirely sure. The new duo took one side of the court while the Fudomine student and his friend took the other.
"I didn't know Suzuki-kun played doubles," Eiji murmured to himself. "He's always seemed to prefer singles."
"You know one of them?" Fuji asked. Eiji jumped, having forgotten the other man was there for a few moments as Eiji had gotten lost in watching the kids.
"Yeah," Eiji said, pointing to his player, "that's Suzuki-kun. He's on my tennis team. One of my better players too." He watched the boy for a moment. "If it weren't for his temper, he'd be one of my top picks for next year's captain." The two friends sat there, watching as Suzuki and his partner quickly won their service game.
"You seem to be doing well," Fuji commented as one of the opposing students served.
Eiji nodded, keeping his eyes on the tennis match. "You as well." He glanced over at his friend and decided it'd be best to be as up-front as possible. "I'm back together with Chiroh."
A small sad smile flitted across Fuji's face. "I'm glad to hear that." He brushed some hair out of his eyes and added, "you two really are meant to be together."
Eiji couldn't help the little smile that wormed its way onto his face. "Yeah, I guess we are." He turned his attention back to the tennis game. The coach in him wanted to yell at Suzuki after the boy missed an easy point. "But I really had ended things with him. We had to have a long talk about everything before we decided to give it one more try." He made a mental note to have Suzuki practice swinging drills at the next practice.
"You'll be with him," Fuji replied, a sense of certainty in his voice. "For a long, long time."
Eiji turned and stared at his friend. "How can you be so sure?"
Fuji smiled, meeting Eiji's eyes. "Because I know you and I know him. If all of that couldn't keep you guys apart, nothing will." Fuji's smile grew a little more as he added, "you've always loved Oishi and you always will."
Eiji's gaze fled back to the tennis match, just in time to see Suzuki's partner hit a volley. Their opponents returned it, the rally going on for next few moments. The point finally ended up going to the opponents. "What..." Eiji stopped, not sure of how to put his question. Well, he knew how to put it. He just didn't know how to ask it in a way that wouldn't come off badly.
Luckily for him, Fuji seemed to know exactly what Eiji was thinking about. "I'll be fine." Eiji's eyes widened in shock and he looked at his friend who just gave a reassuring smile. "It hurts but at the same time, I always knew I'd lose to Oishi. He's a good guy."
Eiji nodded. There was no denying it. The scorekeeper called out the score, Suzuki and his partner having lost, the two now down one game.
"If I had to lose to anyone," Fuji continued, looking back at the tennis match just in time to see Suzuki ace his serve, "I'm glad it was Oishi."
"You'll find someone." Eiji watched as his player served again. "I'm sure there's someone out there that's perfect for you."
Fuji was quiet for a moment but then he did a very un-Fuji-like thing. He burst out laughing. The tennis game stopped for a moment and the kids all looked towards where Eiji and Fuji sat. Eiji stared at his friend for a moment, confused as to what was so funny. He turned to the kids, waving. "Don't worry about us," the redhead called out. Suzuki hesitated for a moment. Eiji gave his player a look and nodded. The kid nodded once and the game continued. "What's so funny?"
Fuji took a few moments and seemed to regain a bit of his composure. "It's just," he laughed, having a hard time even speaking. "It's just, when you said that," Fuji grinned and started laughing again, holding his stomach. "An image of Tezuka popped into my head."
It took Eiji a moment to process his friend's words. "What?" Eiji started laughing, the idea of Fuji and Tezuka together absolutely hilarious. "That's so random."
"I know," Fuji answered. "I have no idea why that popped into my head."
"Why Tezuka of all people?" Eiji asked. "He's so...not at all the kind of person I would think you'd like. He's too...stiff."
"Like a pillar?" Fuji have a knowing grin on his face.
Eiji nodded. "Yep. Exactly like a pillar." The redhead sighed and gave his friend a look of disbelief. "And he tried to train Ochibi to be the "next pillar of Seigaku" even."
Fuji burst out laughing at the impression of their former captain. The kids on the tennis court looked at the two adults again but only for a moment, apparently deciding to ignore the two bystanders.
Wiping away a tear, Fuji shook his head. "They're a regular pillar pair, aren't they?"
"If Tezuka had had his way," Eiji agreed. "But Momo was too much of an influence I guess. It's good because all work and no play makes for a very dull life. Case and point, Tezuka. It's like he's made of stone or something."
Fuji looked at the court, just in time to see Eiji's student return a volley. "I wonder what he's up to nowadays. It's been forever since I've heard from or about Momoshiro."
"He's actually in town right now," Eiji replied. "He was visiting Taka earlier while Koi-chan was out probably getting lunch with Aunt Chiro or something."
"Koi-chan? Aunt Chiro?" Fuji repeated, curious.
"Yep, yep." Eiji's eyes grew with excitement as he added, "Momo's dating my cousin Koi-chan now. They've been dating for about," he stopped, thinking for a moment, "I guess it'd be about a year and a half now."
Eiji saw the look Fuji was giving him and gave a sigh of exasperation. "Stop it! I didn't know until a few months ago myself. I found out right before Saki's wedding when he showed up with Koi-chan."
"Game, Suzuki-Hatsumura pair!" The scorekeeper called out.
"Good job!" Eiji called out, cheering for his player. Yep, he'd definitely have to have Suzuki try doubles sometime and see how well he did with the other Fudomine players. Eiji frowned as he remembered his school. "I have homework to grade," Eiji pouted. "But this was fun," he added, standing up.
Fuji nodded, standing as well. "It was." He smiled a little. "Friends?"
Eiji couldn't help but grin. "Since forever ago," he agreed. Something clicked inside him, that things were returning to how they should be.
A/N: Thought I'd post this now since I'm going out tomorrow. Once again, I don't own Tenipuri. Be a great birthday present but having classes cancelled would also be awesome. In fact, I think I'd take no work/no classes.