Spring Fever
VIII. Fuji

Strangely enough, Fuji was still the first person to arrive home, despite having dropped by Eiji's house to check up on his friend and drop off the day's assignments. The acrobat had looked much better, though it was amusing that he still feigned illness to find excuses to lean on or cuddle up with his indulgent doubles partner – under the very noses of his family, no less. Fuji had left before he was tempted to say something that would no doubt reveal the sneaky redhead's not so innocent wiles. Though, somehow, the tensai had the feeling that Oishi wasn't quite oblivious to what Eiji was up to, something that Eiji would probably find out in his own good time. Oh to be a fly on that wall…

However, thoughts of the golden duo also brought to mind Fuji's own "relationship" with Tezuka – or rather, the lack of progress thereof. Perhaps scaring off the girls who gave the stern buchou chocolates wasn't the best tactic to take. But then, his slight mischief had been totally eclipsed by the arrival of Atobe Keigo during afternoon practice. Atobe, who had the audacity to not only give Tezuka of all people Valentine's chocolates and call him so familiarly, but also invite him to some private party.

Fuji had decided right then that he was not going to go through with his plans to give Tezuka his Valentine's chocolates as he'd planned to after practice. He wasn't going to put his gift anywhere near a position of comparison with anything from the Hyoutei diva.

With a sigh, Fuji sat down to remove his shoes as he silently pondered over the name at the top of his mental list. How to deal with Atobe…

Suddenly, the door behind him swung open again and a figure hurried through, almost tripping over Fuji's still-seated form. A shopping bag filled with Valentine's chocolates landed haphazardly on the ground, spilling several gift-wrapped boxes near Fuji's feet. The door slammed shut and Fuji looked up to see his younger brother Yuuta leaning against it as if in fear that someone was going to break through any moment now.

"Maa. You certainly are popular with the girls at school, Yuuta." Fuji teased, since it was obvious what his brother had been running from.

"Shut up, aniki!" Yuuta snapped. He looked angry and frustrated – which was to say he looked normal. Without looking at his older brother, Yuuta reached down and tugged off his shoes. He then grabbed at the fallen presents, roughly shoving them back into the bag.

Fuji chuckled as he reached down to help pick up the presents. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Yuu—"

Yuuta looked up as his brother's voice cut off mid-sentence, sweeping up the last of the presents as he did so. Upon seeing the light purple package in Fuji's hands, he froze as well.

"Yuuta." Fuji looked up from where he had been staring at the tag on the brightly wrapped present. His eyes were open.

"What?" Yuuta snapped. Inwardly, he cursed at his luck. Why did his overbearing brother just have to pick up that box?

"This is from Mizuki." There was an implicit demand for answers in the statement. Just what was Mizuki doing giving Yuuta a Valentine's Day present?

Not having any answers that he wanted to give to his brother, Yuuta responded the same way he always did when he was uncomfortable around Fuji. He snatched the gift from his brother's hands and yelled, "none of your business, baka aniki!" Then without waiting for a response or further interrogation, Yuuta ran for his room, fully intent on locking himself in for the rest of the day.

Fuji noted the slight blush that had stained Yuuta's face upon being questioned. Mentally, he added the name of St. Rudolph's tennis team manager to his mental list. Atobe, he decided, won't be suffering alone.


Next Up: White Day. Where happy endings come before the not-so-happy endings.

Vocabulary:
buchou - captain and club president
aniki - older brother
baka - stupid; idiot