Author's notes:
Well... I think this will be the last sequel ^_^; I didn't plan on writing anything after finishing 'After The Chase', which might explain for the poorly titled fic. Erm, right. I could have written in a lemon except that FF.net doesn't allow that, and seriously speaking, Ryoma-muse thinks it isn't funny. So... no lemon for you guys :P Hopefully, I haven't gone out of character here, as there is a fair bit of... growing up Ryoma has to do. And we mustn't forget that Ryoma is a healthy growing boy! You know, teenage boys with hormones and everything... x_x

Standard Warnings and Disclaimers apply.
For reference, please refer to 'Chase' and 'After The Chase'. It is also advisable to read 'Chase' and 'After The Chase' before 'Breaking Out'. Or else you might be quite, quite lost as the story goes on. CanonRyoma says he has zero relation to this fanfic and whatever that goes on inside. (And that I'm a lucky bugger because he hasn't killed me yet for making him lose to Fuji.) CanonFuji is currently smiling. He thinks it is amusing. There you go. Aren't they perfect together? *snerk*

Edit: I'm so sorry that there're some minor timeline messups ^^;;;; Well, it's supposed to be the fifth year into their relationship :D but I got confused when I was writing the fic and wrote four instead. If anyone spotted anymore timeline problems, please hilight it to me ne. After two continues days of editing the bloody fic, I'm kind of leery about looking at it even now ^_^;

Date Started: 210603

-----


Breaking Out
by
Jennifier D.











It was warm. Comfortable. And despite the fact that it was well past morning, Ryoma didn't really feel like getting out of bed. It was just as well that it was a Sunday today. Boy wonder turned on the bed, then gazed quietly at Fuji's sleeping face. Ryoma realised that despite appearances, Fuji did look very different when he was asleep. Faint lines of concentration which were usually unnoticeable on his constantly smiling face were smoothed over, his features all relaxed in sleep. Even the annoying smile he frequently wore wasn't there.

Sometimes, it did occur to Ryoma that he was dating a very beautiful person. And of course, he knew that beautiful people were often sought after by others rather feverently. Boy wonder wasn't worried though. Should anyone ask him if he was worried about the people who challenged his claim on Fuji, he would actually tell whoever who was foolhardy enough 'Good luck' before going off to have a game of tennis. Because that person would really need all the luck he could get in the world to make sure that he came out of the ordeal alive. Or mostly alive, at least.

Fuji wasn't the soft, submissive type of person whom people had a tendency to mistake him for. He might be soft-spoken and gentle, he might be tender and somewhat caring at a lot of instances, but he was definitely nowhere near weak, meek or submissive. Especially submissive. Whoever who thought of that word with Fuji Syuusuke in mind probably needed a minor brain transplant. That was the problem. People looked at Fuji and think, 'How sweet and gentle (and probably submissive) he is.' If only they knew the truth. Maybe they wouldn't be so eager to go running after Fuji with the intention of 'getting to know him better' after that.

It would actually do wonders for their health too, at the end of the day.

Ryoma wanted to reach over and touch Fuji's face, to remind himself that he wasn't hallucinating. But he also knew how sharp the other tennis player was, and how it was sometimes difficult to tell if he was asleep or not. If he woke Fuji up with his touch, he was sure that he would be tormented to no end by the tensai later. So... he should just watch. And watching was a lot healthier anyway.

While watching Fuji, Ryoma couldn't help recalling the conversation that took place during their last reunion dinner. It was held at Kawamura's sushi restaurant as usual, and everyone turned up, amazingly. Tezuka was back in the country for his summer break. Kawamura practically hunted him down the moment he realised the former buchou was back. Even Ryuzaki-sensei and Sakuno turned up (on invitation by Ryuzaki-sensei, of course). Yes, Ryuzaki Sakuno. The girl he had been dreading to meet for years. It was a good thing that nothing catastrophic happened that night. Sakuno was quiet and withdrawn for most of the night, and whenever Ryoma's line of vision crossed paths with hers, she would give him a strange, plaintive look.

Ever since the news on Fuji and Ryoma's relationship got out, it raised faint commotions among his unofficial fan club. Sakuno had been one of those girls who didn't believe the rumours and insisted on hearing the 'truth' from Ryoma's lips. Therefore, a rather ugly scene commenced when he did confirm everyone's suspicions with a shrug and a 'So what?' Some of the girls burst into tears on the spot, some of them congratulated him with teary-eyed looks, and there were a few weird ones who high-five each other and cheered for him and Fuji. But the strangest one had to be the girl who gave him a plaintive look and asked, "So it's not Tezuka-senpai?"

He wondered briefly about what the world was coming to then. What had him dating Fuji got to do with Tezuka? And not to mention, the former buchou wasn't even in the country anymore by then.

Sakuno had a hard time accepting the truth. Ryoma failed to see what was so difficult about accepting the truth. Whatever delusions she had about him and herself, he was glad that he never heard the wind of it, and probably never would.

When it was said that Fuji was his boyfriend, that had meant a lot of things. A lot of complicated and not too pretty things, especially for those who were self-declared love rivals of the tensai. And the most amazing part was-- Fuji didn't even have to do anything vaguely threatening to get rid of them.

The truth was, nobody ever wanted to explain to Ryoma's boyfriend the reason behind why they called him 'Ryoma-sama' and, most importantly, placed claims on him from head to toe. Not even when the most menacing expression on Fuji's face was probably his innocent smile. The standard procedure for them was to smile nervously at Fuji, back a few feet away, then start taking off for their lives.

Not that Ryoma ever noticed any of those strange antics. He was usually too busy concentrating on his matches to pay attention.

Ah, going back to what he was thinking about in the first place...

That conversation.

Originally, it was a perfectly normal conversation between Momoshirou, Kikumaru and him on certain tennis techniques. Somehow, it managed to degenerate rapidly into a giant ruckus regarding him and Fuji.

/-/

"Ne, Ochibi-chan nya... don't you think you should be calling Fuji 'Syuusuke' by now nyan?"

"Mou, Eiji..." Oishi held onto his boyfriend with a chiding look.

Momoshirou grinned. "No, it should be 'Syuusuke-chan~' ne?"

Ryoma only glared at them and wished that they would all shut up.

"It should be Fujiko-chan!" Kawamura shouted good-naturedly from where he was behind the counter, grinning at Fuji.

Fuji gave him a sweet smile in return.

"Oh, oh, I KNOW!" And Momoshirou started laughing then. "It should be 'Syuu-chan~' ne, Ryoma!"

Ryoma caught sight of Sakuno then, who was eerily quiet. Ryuzaki-sensei was laughing heartily with the other boys, amused by the topic of their discussion. Inui was writing in his notebook with a rather manic glint to his glasses, and Ryoma cringed a little at the sight of the data collector muttering "Ii data." to himself. Kaidou only gave Ryoma a strangely sympathetic look before turning back to his sushi.

After all, the mamushi was the topic of discussion only mere moments ago. The other ex-regulars had latched onto him and his non-existent love life like leeches, and tried to somehow drill information out of him. Everyone wanted to know who his love interest was, or if he had one in the first place, even. Kaidou remained stoically quiet throughout the drilling process, hissing occasionally at them in warning when they got a little carried off. Ryoma shrugged, picked up his cup of tea and moved to sit beside Tezuka, who was talking to Fuji. The former buchou turned and regarded Ryoma with a quiet look.

Fuji leaned forward and peered past Tezuka at his boyfriend, smiling. "What's the matter, Ryoma?"

Boy wonder sulked. "Nothing."

Tezuka's voice, though quiet, was incredibly clear in the small restaurant when he finally spoke. "I think it will be more polite to ask Fuji what he wants Ryoma to call him."

Ryoma twitched. Not him too. He should be the last person in the team joining in on the 'Let's have fun at the expense of Echizen' game. Maybe moving to America had given the former buchou a sense of humour. And that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Maa..." Fuji seemed incredibly amused by what was going on. "I have never really thought about it before."

Momoshirou seemed to be thinking real hard for a moment before speaking up. "Darling? Honey? Precious?"

Kikumaru burst into rather raucous laughter then, holding his sides and rolling about a little on Oishi's lap. "Fuji-dah-ling nya~!"

Everyone started laughing again, with the exception of the usual few. Tezuka seemed to be ignoring all the noise, picking at his sushi with a serene look. Kaidou was glowering into his tea cup, probably still offended by what happened to him earlier on. Sakuno _was_ glowering, not at her cup, but at the few who were making far too much noise for the small restaurant. Fuji sipped his tea with a cheerful smile, glancing around the restaurant casually. The tensai tilted his head, then opened his eyes and smiled at his boyfriend. "Maa... This looks fun."

Ryoma stared at him briefly before lowering his head, his already sour temper turning worse. A part of his face twitched, faintly.

'That idiot.'

/-/

"Ohayou."

Ryoma glanced up, and was greeted by the familiar sight of Fuji's smiling face. "Hayou."

The tensai pressed a soft kiss on Ryoma's forehead before tucking him close. "We have a practice match with Eiji and Oishi today."

The younger boy curled closer into his boyfriend's embrace with a quiet look. "Nn."

"Shouldn't we be getting out of bed then?"

Ryoma didn't seem inclined to move from where he was tucked against his boyfriend. Fuji laughed, soft, before tightening his arms around the younger boy, nuzzling against the top of his head lightly. "We're going to be late."

There was a soft grumble from boy wonder before he wriggled out of Fuji's arms and crawled off their bed, heading for the bathroom almost immediately. The tensai watched his boyfriend with a smile, then curled up over the warm spot that was left behind by Ryoma absence.

Ever since he entered university, Fuji decided to move out of his house, not only to lessen the burden on his parents, but also to give both him and Ryoma some privacy. It was true that his family would give him all the privacy he needed if he had simply asked... but he didn't want to trouble them. Although his family was pretty accepting of his preferences, it didn't mean that his neighbours, relatives or any other miscellaneous people living in their neighbourhood were just as understanding. Furthermore, it was really a little hard to get privacy in the Echizen household. Not with Nanjirou's innate curiosity about what they did while alone in Ryoma's room. And not to mention that Ryoma's mother and cousin were both still somewhat unaware of their relationship.

There was a soft meow from Karupin as it came out of Fuji's closet and leaped onto the bed. It pawed at Fuji a little, padded around their bed before finally deciding that the spot beside Fuji's tummy was the warmest. Karupin then curled up and tucked its nose under its paws before going back to sleep. The tensai smiled, reaching down to stroke Karupin's fur gently, patiently waiting for Ryoma to finish showering.

When Ryoma came out of the bathroom towelling himself dry, he stared briefly at Fuji before pulling the bed covers off with an annoyed look. "You said we're going to be late."

"Saa..." Fuji stretched, took the covers from Ryoma and tucked them around Karupin gently. The tensai slipped out of bed with a smile, lips brushing lightly against Ryoma's ear as he murmured. "Maybe I should have joined you in the shower just now then." A cheerful grin. "It certainly would have saved time."

There was pause. Ryoma stared briefly at his boyfriend, wide-eyed, before tossing the towel at Fuji with a small scowl.

"I'm not going to wait for you if you're late."


-----


He watched the almost mesmerising play of lean muscles under smooth skin, the way they would stretch and then tense up like a bunch of frightened children huddled together. Soft brown hair with mild golden highlights that was teased by the breeze, and a pair of sharp, blue eyes that remained closed far too often. Features that were somewhat delicate-looking, despite the amount of masculinity the other exerted at times. And regardless of the number of years that had passed, the other's physique was still small and lean. Sometimes, Ryoma still found it strange to look at the other and think: 'This is my boyfriend.' Even though they had dated for close to five years... the word 'boyfriend' still didn't roll off his tongue right, somehow. Momoshirou had suggested 'lover', and unfortunately, _that_ word didn't even managed to make its way to his tongue before his throat went suspiciously dry.

"Ryoma."

Annoyed that he got caught staring, Ryoma took hold of his cap, ready to pull it low. But the other was faster. Faster, sharper, and incredibly more annoying than boy wonder himself. Before Ryoma realised what happened, his boyfriend had already pulled his cap off and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. He closed his eyes and returned it out of habit, before realising where they were and pulling back from the other with a dark look.

Kikumaru was waving his racket about and giving catcalls from his side of the court. Oishi turned to the couple with a knowing grin. Ryoma scowled at him. Fuji only smiled, sweet, before replacing the cap gently but firmly.

Later, after the private matches were over and both couples were headed for a dining location, Fuji called his boyfriend aside, amused. Ryoma had been sulking ever since Fuji kissed him. It wasn't that Ryoma hated public shows of affection. It was more of... he didn't like people making so much fuss over a simple kiss. It was a simple kiss, wasn't it?

"Ne, Ryoma..." Fuji spoke up, soft. "I think we should let Eiji and Oishi be alone for a bit. They didn't really get a chance to be alone with each other today."

Ryoma wanted to say that he hadn't changed much in the years that passed but... even that seemed a little difficult for himself to believe, actually. Maybe, in terms of his general personality, he was still pretty much the same person. But in terms of his behaviour towards Fuji and anything that was associated with the tensai, Ryoma found himself vastly different. It was true that other than tennis, there really wasn't anything intriguing him at the moment. Well, other than Fuji, of course. But Fuji was his boyfriend, so it was only right that he was interested in Fuji. While he was merciless and egotistical (on the courts, of course) towards the others, he found that he seemed to fail in that department when it came to Fuji. He couldn't understand why. And on some days, he realised he really wasn't that interested in finding out why.

Boy wonder shrugged, and his boyfriend's smile seemed to widen.

Fuji's grip on his arm was gentle, but when he yanked him into a darkened side alley to kiss him, the force he used was certainly nowhere near gentle. Ryoma made a soft sound of surprise against Fuji's mouth, but his arms were already curling around the other out of habit. When the both of them pulled apart, Ryoma was surprised to find himself more annoyed at Kikumaru than Fuji for the impromptu kiss (which he liked, of course, but there was no way he would ever admit to that). The acrobatic player was standing a little way off, hands on his hips, an exasperated look on his face. Oishi was smiling at the two of them from behind Kikumaru, both his and Kikumaru's racket bags slung over his shoulder.

"Can't the two of you keep your hands off each other for even a moment nya?"

Fuji laughed, soft, while Ryoma mumbled something which sounded like 'Not my fault' under his breath. The tensai's hands were a comfortable and familiar weight on his lower back. Ryoma fought the urge to lean against Fuji´s shoulder and sleep there and then. It was that comfortable.

"Why don't the two of you go down to the restaurant first? We'll join you later." For the briefest of moments, Fuji's smile had looked... suggestive.

Kikumaru shook his head a little, then pouted and grabbed his boyfriend's arm, dragging him off yelling, "Hn! You two lovebirds nyan...!"

Oishi gave the two boys standing in the alley an apologetic look before he was pulled around the corner. Ryoma thought he heard faint giggles from Fuji, but then again, it could just be his ears malfunctioning. He turned back to his boyfriend with a dark look.

Fuji smiled, then kissed him again, soft. "Let's take the scenic route there?"

Ryoma shrugged.


-----


The restaurant was a small and rather private shop down the side of a small alley. Ever since Fuji found the shop a couple of years back, he would visit it frequently with Ryoma during their 'dates'. When the two of them finally arrived at the restaurant, Kikumaru was already slightly drunk. Oishi was trying to stop the hyperactive boy from talking at the top of his voice and disturbing everyone else in the restaurant.

"Fuuuuujiii~" Kikumaru waved cheerfully, then hiccupped.

"Gomen ne..." Fuji smiled as he sat down, then placed his order. "We were delayed."

Kikumaru gave them a suspicious look. "By whaaaaat nya?"

The tensai looked perplexed for a moment. "Ahh..."

"Eiji..." Oishi's voice was soft, and slightly chiding. He turned to Fuji and Ryoma with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry... He's always like this when he's drunk." There was a pause, then, "I hope the both of you had fun just now."

Uneasy silence settled over the table like a thick layer of snow after Ryoma spluttered rather violently into his tea cup. The perplexed look on Fuji's face seemed to only get more perplexed, if that was possible. Kikumaru suddenly started laughing, waving his chopsticks about a little dangerously as he wheezed and tried to talk. Oishi had an absolutely innocent and confused look on his face.

"Did I... did I say something wrong?"

Ryoma stared at the former fuku-buchou of the Seigaku tennis club. Fuji only smiled, though in a slightly perplexed manner. Kikumaru's laughter got impossibly louder.

Oishi gave the other couple present a slightly embarrassed look, rubbing the back of his head and laughing weakly. "I was referring to this afternoon's match... when I asked if the two of you had fun, actually."

Fuji's smile turned cheerful. "Of course."

And that was also about when Ryoma decided that he needed alcohol to survive the rest of the night.

That might explain why, about ten bottles of sake later, boy wonder was leaning against his boyfriend, half-asleep and more than slightly drunk. Fuji had curled an arm around Ryoma to prevent him from sliding off, and continued talking to Oishi while Kikumaru dozed on his boyfriend's lap.

"Ne Fuji..." Ryoma lifted his head slightly and peered at his boyfriend through narrowed eyes.

Fuji smiled, cheerful. "Hm?"

"I want to be on top."

Silence. Oishi's cup froze midway to his lips while he stared at the two of them.

The tensai seemed amused by Ryoma's request. He opened his eyes and regarded his boyfriend with a quiet look for a brief moment.

'Hn.'

A smirk lurked around the corners of the older boy's mouth before disappearing just as quickly as it surfaced, and Fuji closed his eyes, a mildly curious look on his face. "What are you talking about, Ryoma?"

Boy wonder scowled, then rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder again. "I said I want to be on top. You never let me be on top."

"Saa..."

"And last week doesn't count."

Oishi was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten about him. And it was just as well that Kikumaru was asleep, or else he would be causing a bigger scene than they needed at the moment. Furthermore, he never knew that... well, that Ryoma had that in him. The... the need to be seme, simply put. It was kind of difficult to imagine that when Fuji was his boyfriend.

"I think Ryoma is drunk..." Fuji finally concluded after being stared at by his sullen boyfriend for a full solid three minutes. He smiled rather cheerfully at the only other sober person at their table. "Ah, I better get him home then."

"Er," Oishi began, then stopped. "I guess I should be bringing Eiji home too... since he has extra lessons tomorrow morning. Ne Fuji... thank you for today's game. We missed playing against the two of you."

The tensai's laughter was cheerful, despite what happened mere moments ago. "So did we."

Both parted ways at the end of the alley, each dragging a drunk and half-asleep boyfriend home. There was a rather peculiar and dangerous glint to Fuji's eyes as he brought Ryoma back to his apartment... one which said that a certain genius tennis player had a lot of payment due that night.

And maybe, after this, he would learn not to drink so much the next time.


-----


Outside the window, the sun had only begun to rise. Fuji reached down and brushed stray strands of hair back from Ryoma's face, the look on his own face indescribable. Ryoma's hair was growing long, and he had been lazy about cutting it of late. It wasn't interfering with his vision yet, and since that meant boy wonder could still play tennis with no problem, the hair could stay until it got too annoying to deal with.

The tensai knew that he pretty much tired out his boyfriend yesterday night. It was almost amusing to think about what happened actually... considering the fact that both of them managed to have another argument of sorts over who got to be on top when they got back to Fuji's apartment. Apparently, a drunk Ryoma wasn't very good at arguing. Or applying logic either. Somehow, alcohol seemed to have the wonderful ability of making the younger boy say more things than he intended to.

/-/

"Why can't I be on top?"

Fuji smiled, and kissed Ryoma on his forehead lightly. "Why should you be on top, then?"

"I'm taller."

"Really?"

Ryoma scowled at his boyfriend, unhappy with where the argument was heading. "Yes. I'm taller. So I get to be on top. It looks more fun to be on top too..."

"Ah, but you've been on top before."

"...You know that's not what I mean."

Fuji, still smiling, sat down on his bed and offered a hand to Ryoma. "What do you mean then, by being on top, Ryoma-sama?"

Ryoma took Fuji's hand and flopped onto the bed beside the tensai. "Fuji...?"

"Hm?"

"Not even once? I want to know..."

The older boy shook his head, his smile firm. "Iyada."

Ryoma sulked. "You're no fun."

The younger boy yanked his boyfriend's hand, roughly pulling him onto the bed. And before Fuji could get up, or make any other movement...

Boy wonder pounced.

/-/

Fuji ran a finger over the line of Ryoma's jaw lightly, then over the fine arch of his throat, his adam's apple, before dipping gently into the hollow of one of his collarbones. He stroked the other's flesh with an absentminded look, fingers tracing over faint love bites and some of the almost delicate bone structure with a mind of its own.

Ryoma remained blissfully asleep. 'Unconscious' would have been a more appropriate word, but 'asleep' would do, for the moment.

While idly tracing random patterns on Ryoma's faintly marked skin, Fuji mused to himself about this relationship he had somehow been maintaining for almost five years. The first three years were fun, because Ryoma was clueless and pretty much indifferent towards what Fuji wanted to do, most of the time. As long as there was tennis, as long as Fuji was there to play matches against him, Ryoma wasn't too picky about their relationship. And then... the fourth year suddenly became _very_ fun. He wasn't the one who took the initiative, after all. Ryoma had got some ideas into his head and they were all pushing him to do something about their relationship. As skewed as his impression on dating had been, it was still amusing to see boy wonder get confused by the newer aspects of their relationship.

It had only been about two years since they took the final step. Although it did come a little earlier than Fuji planned, he was alright with it. Within that period of time, Ryoma went through a lot of changes as well. But all those changes had occurred inside, not outside. Towards anyone who knew Ryoma relatively well, he or she would tell you Ryoma was still pretty much the same person. Maybe, he had gotten a little more irritable than he was before, and maybe, he seemed to glower and glare at people a lot more frequently now (for all the right reasons, of course)... but he was still the same.

Fuji could happily tell everyone... that really wasn't the truth.

Although Ryoma was still technically the same in most aspects, he had been changing all along, as well. Intimate moments shared between the both of them were, of course, not known or seen by the others. And what they never saw, they would never know, or understand. Ryoma wasn't a noisy lover. Neither was he overly needy. But when he finally found out what the 'tongue-thing' was (courtesy of Kikumaru Eiji during one of their reunion dinners), boy wonder was surprising fond of it.

Fuji also found out a lot more things... secrets he wasn't willing to share, because they were all private. A few years back, before he started making his moves on Ryoma, and started treating their relationship seriously, Fuji once told himself that he was very fond of Ryoma. But there was no love then. He knew what he felt for Ryoma was deep affection, but not feelings that were so deep that they ran close to love. But those affections had gradually changed, mutated over time, and became something which he could call love. He wasn't ashamed to say he love Ryoma. It was love, and it was deep love, born from trust and belief in each other. And Fuji knew that Ryoma would never betray him for someone else. Because Ryoma simply wasn't that type of person.

Because of that, Fuji knew that there was no way which he could ever betray Ryoma. It wasn't as if he wanted to, at any rate.

It had begun as a small game, played against himself, which strangely progressed rapidly into a full-blown pursuit of boy wonder for unknown reasons. Fuji wondered sometimes, if he was lucky that Ryoma wasn't that interested in relationships. It had certainly helped him a lot, since the gap between their current education levels gave them problems when they wanted to get together. Furthermore, Ryoma was someone who was constantly surrounded by girls, especially those who declared their undying love for him. Sooner or later, he would have to notice at least one of them.

It wasn't that he had no faith in Ryoma.

He had no faith in himself. Because he knew that... should anybody declare a challenge, Fuji would let Ryoma go if he knew the younger boy would be happier with the other. Even though he was a fiercely possessive person, and he guarded all that was his with a type of dangerous intensity, Fuji never wanted to hurt Ryoma. Never. Not by keeping Ryoma close to his side when he would be happier with another.

"Nn..."

Distracted from his thoughts, Fuji glanced down at Ryoma's sleeping face and smiled, loving. He slipped lower into the covers and curled his arms around his worn-out boyfriend tight, keeping him close. There would be plenty of hell tomorrow morning when Ryoma woke up with a hangover and a badly aching body... but that was tomorrow. He would deal with tomorrow when it arrived.

Love.

What a mysterious word. What a strange emotion, which ruled the human heart.

Echizen Ryoma.

"Saa..."


-----


Ryoma groaned and turned over, throwing an arm over his face to shield his eyes from the bright morning sunlight.

Everywhere hurt.

It wasn't just his head. He could understand why his head was hurting. It was probably from the unhealthy amount of sake he ingested yesterday with Kikumaru, while Oishi and Fuji were entertaining themselves by talking about inane school projects and their majors in the university. But his shoulders hurt as well. So did his back, his arms, and his legs. And... well, somewhere else.

"Ohayou." The sound of a door closing a little too loudly.

Boy wonder cringed and cradled his head in pain. His nerves felt totally raw and tender. How was he supposed to play tennis later if he felt like this now? Ryoma cracked open an eye, then closed it again. Karupin was nowhere in sight. It was a clear enough indication of what happened last night. His cat didn't like stained bed sheets anymore than he did. Regardless...

"Fuji..." Instead of the low and danger-laced voice he was intending to use, the eventual sound Ryoma produced was more of a croak.

"What's the matter?" Fuji's soft voice seemed to be the only soothing sound that morning, unfortunately. Ryoma opened his eyes and found the older boy sitting on one side of the bed, gazing down at his boyfriend with a gentle smile.

"What... did you do last night?"

Faint surprise. "What did I do last night?"

Ryoma scowled, then sat up, or tried to, at least. He stared accusingly at his boyfriend. "Yes. What did you do last night?"

Fuji gave him an innocent look. "I did something last night?"

The younger boy tried to sit up again and Fuji helped him this time, smiling cheerfully. There was a barely audible grumble from Ryoma before he got off the bed and limped over the bathroom. Fuji followed him into the bathroom, then sat down on the covered toilet seat, watching Ryoma shower with an amused look.

"What did _we_ do last night, Fuji?" Ryoma finally muttered over the sound of running water.

"Hmmn... let me try and recall." Fuji raised a hand to his chin with a thoughtful look. Ryoma slide open the shower stall door and scowled at him. After being doused by water spraying from the inside of the shower stall, Fuji closed the door for Ryoma with a helpful look.

"Well, you said you wanted to be on top."

The sound of the shower being switched off. "That doesn't explain why I hurt all over."

"Ah... but you were on top. For part of the night, at least."

For a long period of time, there was nothing but the sound of water dripping. Fuji simply propped his chin in his right hand and smiled cheerfully, waiting for Ryoma's eventual... slightly explosive reaction at what he did last night. Soon enough, the door to the shower stall slammed open and a hand reached out to grab hold of Fuji, hauling him into the shower area. And then it slammed shut.

Laughter from Fuji, and sounds of someone fumbling to turn on the shower again. There was something like a soft growl from one of the inhabitants of the small shower stall, before the shower was finally turned on again and Ryoma yelled something unintelligible.

Then Fuji was tossed out of the shower stall, dripping wet, laughing and missing a shirt. His shirt soon followed, landing on the bathroom floor with a wet splat. Fuji laughed, louder.

"Maa maa... Someone sure is testy today."

"Fuji!"

"Try harder the next time, Ryoma."

There was nothing but the sound of running water. Then a familiar sullen voice finally spoke up. "Mada mada dane."

Fuji chuckled, "I'll be looking forward to it."

And one happily grinning tensai danced out of the bathroom with a soft chortle before the flying bar of soap could hit him.


End

Date Completed: 280603
Date Revised: 050703

After note:
Well, I have to say that writing this sequel was pretty tough. My apologies for anything that seemed odd or out of place in this fic. It took me about a gazillion edits to finally decide that it´s presentable. And even so, I know that the mistakes inside must be endless T-T I must say that writing this is kind of difficult... and if I´m to turn this into a series, I think my brain may give up on me before the series is completed. Somehow, the fic has been feeling very peculiar to me since I started writing it, except for some portions, which flowed naturally. It was a constant battle to make the fic presentable and more or less in character ;_; Saa. At any rate, it´s done! :D Now I'm off to scheme for TezuRyo~