Standard Warning and Disclaimer applies.

Date Started: 300803

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Confessions
by
Jennifier D.









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To love, is to show the greatest courage of all.

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Epilogue:


"O~I~SHI~!"

Oishi blinked. Was it him or did Momoshirou just whined his name?

"MOMO!" From Oishi's left came Kikumaru's annoyed reply. "You're not allowed to call him Oishi nya! It's Oishi-senpai. O-i-shi-sen-pai da yo!"

"Oishi is Oishi. We're no longer in high school-"

"Even so nya!"

Oishi gave a soft sigh of defeat. Ryoma, who was sitting opposite him, watched the ongoing haggle between Kikumaru and Momoshirou with vague interest.

"Some things never change."

The biggest surprise of the evening had probably been the moment Inui towed an unresisting and grumpy Kaidoh through the door to Kawamura's restaurant. As much as Oishi didn't want to say this (and add on to the poor mamushi's plight,) everyone thought the both of them had looked somewhat... fitting together. It was very surprising, and yet very true. They looked very compatible together.

Ryoma came in with Tezuka, the both of them taking their seats at Oishi and Kikumaru's table. Momoshirou somehow managed to squeeze himself into the narrow space between the Golden Pair and proceeded to fight rather violently with Kikumaru for sushi throughout the rest of the night. Kawamura was, of course, standing behind the counter, watching all of them with an extremely touched smile on his face.

The only person missing today would be Fuji.

Fuji left Japan about six years or so back to study photography. That would be sometime after he finished his first year in senior high. Both Kikumaru and Oishi thought that it was a rather risky choice, since photography wasn't a subject everyone could excel at, even if they tried hard enough. Neither was it an extremely popular subject, to say the truth.

Apparently, their fears were unfound because Fuji excelled at photography in the same manner he excelled at tennis. He published his first photo book last winter, and Oishi was surprised to find a copy waiting for him in his mailbox on the day the book was released.

Kikumaru, who had maintained contact with Fuji over the years, mentioned something about the tensai going through an advance course while in America. Usually, people would take about five years to cover all the necessary coursework and acquire all the essential qualifications. That was the supposed norm.

Fuji only took four years.

He spent another two years attached to a well-known studio doing odd jobs as a rookie photographer initially. But his reputation grew fast and hard, and it was only a matter of time before everyone recognised the name of Fuji Syuusuke as one of the top professional photographers in the world.

He was famous. Very famous. There weren't many photographers who hit the top of their fame when they were only twenty-one. Such fame... it could have affected Fuji, somewhat. Oishi didn't know Fuji well enough to make a good value judgement on the tensai. That was why, on some days... Oishi wondered if Fuji still remembered them, and if he still thought of his junior high tennis team mates sometimes.

Or even the two important people he left behind...

The mild-manner boy glanced over to where Ryoma was having a conversation with Tezuka in lowered voices.

The door to the sushi restaurant began to slide open quietly.

Kawamura hastened to address the customer. "Ahh! Suman, okyakusama! The shop is reserved for today-"

The conversations going on around the small restaurant trailed to a stop.

"Hisashiburi desu ne, minna-san."

"UUUUNYAAAA! FUJI!" And off Kikumaru went like a bullet, flying towards Fuji with an expression of extreme glee on his face. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH NYA!"

The tensai laughed, soft. "Ahh, so did I, Eiji."

"Fu-Fujiko-chan! It's been such a long time... anou... Genki?"

"Genki da yo, Taka-san."

Inui and Kaidoh were both quiet, but smiled in return when Fuji offered them his trademark smile. Momoshirou blinked, momentarily displaced by the sudden arrival of someone they weren't expecting.

"Fuji-senpai! You're really famous now ne!" With that, the Dunk Smash specialist almost jumped out of his seat to regard his former senpai with a grin. "I bet you must have met lots of pretty gaijin girls in the states!"

"Maa..."

Oishi found himself smiling warmly in response when Fuji turned to glance at him. "It's good that you're back, Fuji."

The tensai nodded. "Thank you for taking care of Eiji."

"Iya... He is my boyfriend." At this, Oishi turned a little red. "Of course I'll take care of him."

Fuji slowly made his way over to Oishi's table, carefully putting the camera he almost always carried with him now aside. He gazed quietly at the two people he left behind in Japan during his search for a better self, feeling just the slightest tinge of regret at being away for so long.

He did return to the country now and then, but he had been unable to make any trips since he started his internship. He missed them terribly, and it was only mildly comforting to know that they missed him just as much. All three of them understood the situation well. It couldn't be helped. Fuji would have returned sooner if he could, but he was tied down by too much work to have any spare moments for himself.

"Ryoma genki?" Even as he spoke, Fuji reached forward to run slender fingers through Ryoma's perpetually unruly hair, smiling softly.

"Nn."

The tensai's smile widened and he pressed a kiss on Ryoma's forehead, and then on his lips. "Gomen ne... I know I said I'll be back the moment I complete my degree, but one of the companies I was attached to during my internship offered to take me on, and I wouldn't be able to get an opportunity like this again elsewhere..."

Ryoma only blinked, sharp eyes free of accusation. "I know."

Fuji reached over to wrapped firm arms around the younger boy, holding onto him tight. Six years had been a long time, after all.

While holding onto Ryoma, Fuji nodded slightly at Tezuka and smiled. "Tadaima..."

"Okaeri."

The both of them shared a brief kiss before Fuji pulled back from Ryoma and took the seat beside boy wonder, a beautiful smile on his face. "It's great to see everyone again..."

"We've all missed you." Oishi gave Fuji a warm smile in return.

"You must have been earning big bucks all this time! Waaahha! This means you can treat us all to dinner the next weekend eh? We're all starving varsity students over here!"

Fuji only smiled. "Ii yo, Momo."

"Momo! Don't be rude to your senpai nya!"

Momoshirou cringed slightly under Kikumaru's glare. "But-Eiji-senpai! Fuji-senpai earns-"

"That is none of your business nya!"

"But! But Fuji-senpai has already agreed!"

The tensai laughed, soft, as Momoshirou and Kikumaru started squabbling again.

Inui peered at Fuji. "How's the weather like at America?"

"Almost the same as Japan. But there is something different about it. Then again..." Fuji gave a soft huff of laughter. "It might just be me missing Japan."

"Hmmn... sounds like a good place for holiday..."

"Sssssss..." And that would be a warning from Inui's boyfriend for him to shut up and not speculate too much about things he was better off not noticing.

"Maa... Fujiko-chan, I've made your favourite wasabi sushi."

"Arigatou, Taka-san."

As Fuji started on his sushi, Ryoma leaned over and poked at it with his chopsticks, a suspicious look on his face. "All wasabi?"

"Nn."

Boy wonder raised an eyebrow. "Heh."

Fuji then glanced up and shared a tiny smile with Tezuka.

Later, as the three of them walked home from Kawamura's restaurant, the tensai suddenly spoke up with a smile. "Ahh, I just bought a new apartment, actually..."

"Hm."

"Ehh?" Ryoma tilted his head to one side. "What for?"

"They've transferred me back to the country. I'll be working at the main branch located in Japan."

"So..." Ryoma began with a hesitant look. "You won't be travelling anymore?"

"Not for the next couple of years, at least. I'm doing home-based work now."

Tezuka nodded. "That's good."

"Nn, I thought so too." Fuji smiled.

Boy wonder reached over and took one of Fuji's hands.

"What's this?" He pointed to the extremely faint scars running across the other's palm in a haphazard manner.

"Ahh, the remnants of an accident when we were doing scenic shooting."

"Fuji-"

Tezuka reached over to take their hands gently. "Be careful. A photographer's hands are important."

"Ahh, it's nothing much, Tezuka. There are no long-lasting side-effects to that injury and the scarring only belongs to the surface skin tissue. Work hazards are part and parcel of my life now." At this, Tezuka's hold on the tensai's hand seemed to tighten. Fuji only smiled, reaching up with his free hand to run his thumb over Ryoma's cheekbone in a light touch. "I've missed the both of you."

Ryoma nodded. "So have we."

"How much do you miss me?" There was that faint, petulant teasing tone in Fuji's voice. He had learned that from Ryoma six years back and made sure to learn it well. He got so good that he could actually mimic Ryoma's voice and speech patterns without flaw. His boyfriend was less than pleased about what he had achieved, of course.

To Fuji's surprise, Tezuka was the one who eventually replied. "Very much."

The two lovers Fuji left behind in Tokyo while attempting to rediscover himself showed him just how much they loved him and missed him that night. Since both Tezuka and Ryoma gave him the chance to leave and learn how to become better, it was only right for him to return and show them how much he had improved. Because he loved them. So much, that it hurt to tear himself away back then.

Now, surrounded by the two people he loved most in his life, it was time to start returning all he owed to them.

He would show them how much he loved and missed them, too.

He would show them the real Fuji, the one he had concealed from the world for so long.

Because... despite all the ups and downs they had been through, the one who loved them the most was that Fuji after all. The one who wanted to keep them happy for the rest of their lives. The one who eventually compromised and agreed to share, and was currently richer for it.

Contrary to what many liked to believe, what had been suspended thickly between them wasn't a triangle. Maybe, for a brief period of time, that was indeed the single most important thing pushing the three of them forward... but they had long outgrown the competitiveness, uncertainty and fear. They had acquired what each wanted now, and none of them was afraid to admit the truth.

They had love. And each other.

That was why, on some days... Fuji felt that those were more than enough for all of them.



Date Completed: 310803
Date Revised: 221003