Disclaimer: yes, I own them in my dreams. *nod nod*
Characters Featured: Fuji brothers, Fuji Yuuta centric
Pairing: mentioned Tezuka + Fuji (Syusuke)
Quick Note: the Fuji brothers are referred to by their first names in this fic, because it would be too weird to say: "…and then Fuji went up to Fuji and said…" ^^;
Silver Snowflakes
- Blue Pools of Happiness -
"Will you be coming home tonight?"
Fuji Yuuta used to hate phone calls from his brother. It was never because he hated his aniki or because Fuji Syusuke was always teasing him, but because it was a guilty reminder that no matter how much Yuuta insisted to tear them apart, his older brother was always smiling back at him with the same kind of love as always. The only thing Yuuta never could figure out, was the reason why his brother could still care about him so much even when he clearly announced to the world that he did not want to be known as Fuji Syusuke's little brother.
"Maybe," Yuuta said vaguely on the phone, his eyes wandering around the empty dorm room. He would never admit it, but sometimes he wished his aniki would call him sometimes just so he could listen to his gentle voice and soft laughter.
"Nee-san and kaa-san really want to see you," Syusuke said. Yuuta could just feel the warmth of his brother's smile radiating through the phone. "I would too. Tomorrow is an important day. We only hope we're important enough for you to spend it with us."
"Don't say such weird things, aniki," Yuuta replied with a slight frown. "You're my family. You're making it out to be like I hate you all or something."
"Does this mean you'll be coming home tomorrow?" the blue eyed boy on the other end asked. Yuuta was sure that if he was looking his brother in the face, those blue eyes would surely be open with an amused glint.
Rolling over on his bed, Yuuta stared at the wall for a moment before closing his eyes. "I don't know," he said with a sigh. "It's a school night, aniki. I might not be able to make it back for school the next day."
"I understand for that reason," the soft voice replied slowly, "but Yuuta… It really has been a long time since I last saw you." There was a faint chuckle. "Don't you miss your aniki at all?"
"W-Well, I…" the younger brother sat up on his bed and scratched his slightly flushed cheek. Squeezing his eyes shut to mask his embarrassment in his voice, he stated solidly, "Maybe I'll come home for the weekend. I know I haven't been coming home as often as usual, but everything at school has really been crazy. Not a lot of people have been able to go home themselves. We're all really busy."
"I already said I understood," Syusuke said calmly, "you don't need to make excuses for me. I know you're busy, but we all are at home too. All I really want is to see you tomorrow. I'll find a way to for sure."
"Aniki…" Yuuta started warningly, "don't start getting too many ideas in your head. Otherwise I'll be afraid to wake up tomorrow morning."
"We can't have that now," Syusuke said with a laugh. "Rest assured. I won't plan anything extravagant, but I promise I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Don't worry about anything; I'll take care of things. Oyasumi, Yuuta."
"Good night, aniki," Yuuta mumbled in return as his brother cheerfully hung up the phone. Putting the phone on his nightstand, he lay back down and rolled over to stare up at the ceiling again. He had learned by now that when his brother said not to worry, that was when he should start worrying. Yuuta knew better than anyone else just how sneaky his older brother was.
Sighing, Yuuta closed his eyes for a moment in thought. The next day was an important day for him as his brother had said. It was the eighteenth of February, his birthday. He had never thought it was a big deal to emphasize that he was getting another year older, but it somehow felt a little good to be the same age as his brother, even if it was only for a week or so.
Any normal person looking at their relationship would instantly declare that they were on bad terms. Yuuta, however, would instantly disagree in response. It did seem as if their relationship was a bit drifty, but Yuuta was happy with simple things.
When it came to his ever-smiling brother, Yuuta always had the most secrets to hide. He would never admit to anyone that deep down, he would always love his brother. His aniki was his first and oldest best friend, the person that protected him from bullies and kids that picked on him, the person who let Yuuta crawl into his bed at night when the thunder outside was too frightening, and the person who always believed in him, loving him unconditionally.
There were times when even his parents and sister doubted him, Yuuta remembered, but for some reason it was always his brother that was immediately on his side for everything. It was always Syusuke who argued against his parents for Yuuta's good, never caring about how deep his own punishment could be.
There was no one else in the world that loved him as much as his brother. Yuuta already knew that. It was plainly visible each time Syusuke's bright blue eyes opened to smile at him with a twinkle.
That's why I had to become stronger, he thought as he closed his eyes. I can't let aniki protect me forever. I need to become stronger so I can protect him for once. I have to become stronger than him… Maybe then aniki will let me stand in front of him for once. It's not because I hate him, but because I care for him just as much as he cares for me…
"Yuuta-kun," a voice said from behind the door, a soft knock on his door. "Are you in there?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Yuuta flushed slightly, embarrassed to be caught while in such deep thought. Sitting up, he called out in a slightly cracked voice, "M-Mizuki-san? C-Come in…"
The dark haired third year stepped into the younger boy's room with his usual smirk. Closing the door behind him, Mizuki walked up to Yuuta's bed and sat on the edge. "So who were you talking on the phone with for so long? I came by half an hour ago when the phone first rang."
"Oh, um…sorry, Mizuki-san," Yuuta quickly apologized, scratching his head. "My brother called to check up on me."
"Seigaku's Fuji Syusuke-kun?" Mizuki asked with mild interest, turning to look at the younger boy. His smirk widened. "And how is your brother, Yuuta-kun?"
"Fine, I guess," the younger boy answered awkwardly. Ever since Mizuki lost to his brother, Yuuta began to notice a strong hatred between the two. It wasn't exactly hard to notice. If Fuji Syusuke did not like someone, they would know.
"Anyway," the dark haired boy said, changing the topic. "Tomorrow is your birthday, isn't it? Do you have any particular way you'd like to celebrate? Yanagisawa has been nagging about throwing you a birthday party."
Yuuta let a fait smile escape his lips. "You don't really have to do anything for me. I kind of like just being here. It's quiet…and gives me some time to think." Sighing, the brown haired boy crawled to the edge of the bed to sit next to his senpai. "Thanks for thinking of me though."
"You don't need to be so polite all the time," Mizuki said, rolling his eyes slightly. He patted Yuuta's head before standing up. "It's dinnertime, let's go eat. Besides, it's not good for you to sit in here all by yourself."
"Right," Yuuta said, breaking out in a smile as he jumped to his feet. As he followed Mizuki out, he realized he understood why Mizuki and his brother didn't get along.
Aniki loves me because we're brothers, Yuuta thought, closing the door as he left his dorm room. He'd never forgive anyone that would ever try to hurt me. Mizuki-san doesn't really love me like aniki does. Mizuki-san loves his will to be strong, even if it means hurting a few people in the process. Aniki would never do that, so he hates Mizuki-san because Mizuki-san would hurt me to become stronger.
Then again… Mizuki turned to smile at Yuuta before walking into the cafeteria. The younger boy smiled back weakly as he followed his senpai in. Mizuki-san doesn't hate me either…and that only makes aniki even more angry.
"Yuuta!"
Grinning slightly, Yuuta walked towards the table where his teammates were sitting at, calling him. Yanagisawa had jumped up to wave him over enthusiastically while having his other arm flung sloppily over a sheepishly smiling Kisarazu's shoulder. Somehow, Yuuta had grown to like it at St. Rudolf. He had made good friends and a second home. It was also because of his school that he was able to be on good terms with his brother again.
-
"Ah! I'm so glad classes are over for today da ne!"
"Now you get to look forward to tomorrow's classes."
"…I get the feeling you don't like me very much, Kisarazu da ne…"
Smiling slightly, Yuuta walked down the hall with his two senpai towards his dorm. Yanagisawa always had something to say when there was a chance to speak, the second year noticed.
"I have to," Kisarazu responded with a serious expression. "If I don't like you, who else does?"
"Hey!"
That, and that Kisarazu always had something smart to say back. Yuuta laughed, pulling his door open. The moment the door was open, he felt his hand slip off in shock. His eyes blinked a few times before widening in surprise.
"Hey," Yanagisawa piped up, raising a finger to point into Yuuta's room over his shoulder. "Isn't that your brother, da ne? Tensai Fuji Syusuke from Seigaku da ne…"
"Surprise, Yuuta," Syusuke said with a cheerful smile, waving at them from where he sat at the corner of Yuuta's bed. His blue eyes opened to twinkle at his younger brother. "I said I would see you today no matter what, didn't I? Happy Birthday."
"Aniki, you…" Yuuta began before bringing a hand to his head and sighing. He walked into the dorm and dropped his bag on the ground. He covered his face to hide the tiny smile that was forming at his lips. "You actually came all the way here? Don't you have tennis practice?"
"It took some work, but I managed to get Tezuka to let me skip practice today to come see you," the older brother said brightly. His eyes sparkled with happiness as he spoke. Chuckling softly, he added, "I'm afraid I may be running laps tomorrow though."
"I think now's a good time for us to go now," Kisarazu said quietly to Yanagisawa. He bowed his head slightly to the smiling blue eyed boy and grabbed hold of his friend's arm. Politely, he said to the other boy, "Nice seeing you again. Shitsurei shimasu."
Syusuke nodded back in return before redirecting his smile back to his younger brother. "What polite friends you have," he said with an amused smile. "It's nice to know you're in good hands here. With no, ah, bad influences."
Yuuta didn't even bother to wince. He already knew who the implied "bad influence" was. "Aniki," he began, taking a seat next to his brother on the bed. "I'm glad to see you and all, but wasn't it a lot of trouble to come here? You really didn't have to come."
"But I wanted to spend my favorite day of the year with my favorite person," the older boy said with a gentle smile. Turning to face his brother, Syusuke's blue eyes opened, his fake smile warming into a true smile. "It doesn't matter what it took to come see you, Yuuta. I came because it makes me happy to see you."
"I know," Yuuta mumbled, staring down at his hands. "I'm sorry I haven't been coming home lately, aniki. I…I promise I'll come home for your birthday next weekend though. Since you had t come all the way here…"
"I'm sorry, I didn't bring a present for you," Syusuke said apologetically, his eyes closing again. Lifting his arms, he stretched them out. "Partly because I didn't have enough time to and partly because I wasn't quite sure what to get you. You never did tell me what you'd like for your birthday, Yuuta."
"Aniki, I don't want a gift," Yuuta responded, eyes still locked on the delicate boy beside him. His serious gaze was returned with a sweet smile. At times, Yuuta thought his brother looked somewhat like a girl. Delicate-looking, sweet, and refined features shaped his brother's entire body, yet somehow still possessed power. Yuuta admired his brother. "You coming all the way here to see me is already enough."
"Not for me it isn't," the smiling boy said cheerfully. "I know," he said suddenly, lifting his hand to tap his cheek. "Let's play a game. A question game so we can catch up a little. Ask me any question you want."
"Any?" Yuuta asked, raising an eyebrow. There were so many things he could choose from. He could ask why his brother would never play tennis seriously against him or even why he was always smiling. That didn't seem important to him now though. "Alright then… Aniki…would you still love me even if hated you? Would you still be able to care for me if I wished to never see you again, to never have to hear your voice again? Would you still keep smiling at me?"
"That's very easy," Syusuke said quietly, his face relaxing with a tiny smile. Slowly, he lifted his hands in front of Yuuta's face, another smile in place. "Yuuta, you're my brother. You're a part of me; a very important piece, like my hands when I play tennis."
"Sometimes my fingers are a little too loose on the grip during a match," the blue eyed boy explained carefully, pulling his hands back, holding them close to his chest. "When that happens, my hands slip a little, but I know I can never let go of the racket. Even at the times when my fingers began to ache, I could only grip the handle tighter and never let go."
Yuuta watched in thoughtful silence as the older boy smiled at his hands, intertwining his long fingers together. Yuuta wondered if his question had hurt him. His brother had such a painful smile on, but a peaceful expression at the same time.
"No matter what happens, I would never let go of you," Syusuke looked up at his younger brother with a smile. "We're brothers forever, no matter what our feelings are like. Even if you hated me with every fiber of your being, that still wouldn't change the fact that our blood is tied together. Nor would it change that fact that you are my little brother and I do care about you."
"Another question then," Yuuta said quietly, staring down at the floor. He could tell by the tone of his brother's voice that he was ready to tell Yuuta anything he asked. "Who is your most important person?"
"You, of course," Syusuke replied with a soft laugh. "That was an even simpler question than the previous. You may be wasting your questions."
"I meant other than me, aniki," Yuuta said seriously, his expression unchanging as he lifted his eyes from the floor to his brother's face. "Not me, not nee-san, or our parents. Aniki, there's someone you love, isn't there?"
"Maybe," the blue eyed boy said, his smile melting slightly. His blue eyes opened to happily stare at a wall. It was almost as if he were imagining that person's face looking back at him from the wall, Yuuta thought. Tearing his gaze away from the empty white, Syusuke cocked his head slightly to smile at his brother. "What makes you ask this? Do you have any guesses?"
"Is it…" Yuuta closed his eyes and sighed slowly. "Aniki…it's…Tezuka-san, isn't it? The person you care for most. Aniki's most important person is Tezuka-san…isn't it?"
Blue eyes blinked once in surprise before hiding behind his smiling mask again. The answer had clearly startled him. Softly, he asked, "Of all people, why did you pick Tezuka?"
Yuuta nodded slowly and brought his eyes up to look directly at his brother's face. He spoke evenly, "Even though you only mention him a few times, whenever you speak his name, your smile changes and your eyes show that you're really happy. It's not the same with me, aniki. Both of us, we've grown up and I'm no longer the person you care most about. Even though I know you love me, Tezuka-san is still aniki's most important person."
"All this time, I didn't always insist you didn't care about me because I was ashamed," Yuuta said, closing his eyes. He thought he would never have to admit this… "It was mostly because I wanted you to realize there would be one day when you'll care so much about someone that all other things will fade away. I already knew I wasn't that person. I only wanted you to find him, the person you'll care about more than me."
"Yuuta…" By then, Syusuke's blue eyes were open, brows furrowed. Slowly a smile broke out on his face. He leaned to the side until his shoulder touched Yuuta's. "You've made me very happy, Yuuta. Ah…see, I knew you had a brother complex too."
"Aniki!" Yuuta exclaimed, flushing against his will. Yet, he didn't bother to pull always from their touching shoulders. "You're definitely the one with a brother complex!"
"Ok, ok," Syusuke laughed. Tilting his head back, he smiled at the roof, silently thanking Tezuka once again for letting him come.
Glancing at his brother's rather unfocused smile, Yuuta smirked. "I can tell you're thinking about him again," he told the older boy. "Your smile changed again. Don't think I haven't learned how to tell the difference by now."
"I was only thanking him for letting me visit you," the blue eyed boy said innocently with an equally innocent smile. Yuuta thought that at one point he saw white wings, but that was part of the tempting illusion of being innocent his brother had become an expert at pulling off.
"Whatever," Yuuta said with a sigh. Slowly, he leaned over until his head rested on his brother's shoulders. He felt the shoulders tense for a moment before relaxing. Closing his eyes, Yuuta mumbled, "I can't grow up too fast though. The faster I grow up, the faster I lose you to Tezuka-san. Though…that may somehow be a good thing. Now you can torture him…"
"We sure have been talking about Tezuka a lot," Syusuke commented, smiling at the top of Yuuta's head. "I wonder if he's at home sneezing."
"Maybe," Yuuta breathed. "Aniki…" he said again suddenly, opening his eyes but not moving from his position. "What are the things that make you happy?"
"The things that make me happy?" Syusuke chuckled lightly. "Let's see then. Playing tennis, being with friends, taking pictures, staying at home, ah… seeing my teammates 'suffering,' teasing Yuuta…"
"Thinking about Tezuka-san," the younger boy added with a smirk. Now he understood why his aniki liked to tease him so much. Teasing was fun! "Aniki, when I come home for your birthday next week… I want to meet him."
"We'll see," Syusuke replied simply, a smile hanging on his lips. "I've answered three of your questions now. It's my turn to ask three questions now."
"Go ahead," the younger boy said, head still not moving from Syusuke's shoulder. "I'll answer whatever you ask too."
"Alright," Syusuke said cheerfully, "One: what is Yuuta's favorite color?"
"…"
Yuuta blinked. After the questions he had just asked, he was expecting something a little more serious. Instead, favorite colors. "Aniki, you've known my favorite colors since I was four years old."
"Maybe they've changed," the smiling boy said. "It's been a long time since you were four years old anyway. Well? Go ahead and tell me."
"Um…silver and blue," the younger boy said slowly, sweatdropping. "Is the next question what my favorite food is?"
"Sorry Yuuta, you're done asking questions," Syusuke said sweetly. "Now, second question: Yuuta…who is your most important person. You say mine is Tezuka, then who is yours?"
"I never really put much thought to that," Yuuta answered truthfully. "I don't think there's anyone I really like right now. You're lucky, aniki. For now, it's still you."
Syusuke's lips curved into a pleased smile. "I'm glad, Yuuta. For my last question…Yuuta, do you love your aniki?"
The younger boy remained silent for a moment, but his lips slowly quirked upwards in the corners. Reaching up, he pulled his brother's head down to rest on top of his. Laughing, he responded, "Of course. Aniki is aniki, my only brother." Remembering Kisarazu's joke earlier, Yuuta added with a grin, "If I don't love you, who else does?"
"Then I'm happy," Syusuke said, closing his eyes contently. His warm smile lingered on his lips. "This game is fun. We should play again sometime."
"Aniki," Yuuta called out, closing his eyes. "The things that make me happy… Playing tennis, being with friends, seeing everyone at home…and talking to you like this now. When we talk like this, I don't have to worry about whether or not you're being serious or not because I can see aniki's sparkling blue eyes. I guess you can say…happiness for me is aniki's blue eyes."
"My happiness is Yuuta's smile," Syusuke said in return with a soft smile of his own. "Happy Birthday, Yuuta."
-
"Are you sure it's a good idea for us to walk in on them?"
"Aw, why not da ne?" Yanagisawa said cheerfully, standing outside of Yuuta's dorm with Kisarazu at his side. "It's Yuuta's birthday da ne! He needs a proper party!"
"Ok then," Kisarazu said doubtfully as Yanagisawa pulled the door open. Getting a glimpse inside, the boy grinned and slapped a hand over Yanagasawa's mouth before he could say anything. "Shh… Looks like there's not going to be a party tonight, Yanagisawa. I get the feeling our kohai is a little tired tonight."
Confused, Yanagisawa peered through the crack of the opened door with Kisarazu's hand still over his mouth. Slowly, he grinned. Quietly closing the door again, he poked his doubles partner's side to get him to take his hand off. Snickering, Yanagisawa slung his arm over his friend again and commented, "That peaceful little scene makes you feel all mushy inside da ne. Party tomorrow night then!"
Inside Yuuta's dorm, the Fuji brothers were fast asleep on the bed beside each other with smiles on their lips.
Happiness is a deep pool of endless blue. Why? Because that is the color of happiness' eyes.
Owari.
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A/N: Yaaaay~! I'm not late by a whole forty-five minutes! ^^;;; Happy Birthday, Fuji Yuuta-kun! *glomp attack*
n_n; because I couldn't really think of anyone to pair him up with, he's with his brother in this fic. Ah…well, I think it turned out rather well, because I do like this fic somewhat xD Yes, very lame ending indeed though.
Erk. The other short stories for this fic-like-thingy are still in process! U_u; I've just been being kind of lazy lately… *cough*
Well, I hope you've enjoyed reading this. Please review! ^^;;;