Smile for the Camera

Pairing: Fuji/Ryoma, Kevin/Ryoma, Yuuta/Mizuki, Eiji/Oishi, Fuji/Tezuka -wow so many pairings and I'm not even close to finishing- you'd think all these boys did was date and make out hmm...

I'm happy everyone is enjoying the story and thank you so much to the reviewers: Chakura, RuByMoOn17, ki-ku-maru BEAM, and Ishka. Chakura unfortunately I'm going to torture poor Ryoma some more in this chapter but hopefully Fuji will make him feel better. Also I feel bad that some of you haven't seen Kevin before- I promise to try my hardest not to spoil any of the anime with him in it.

Ok I know it took me awhile to update again you can blame class and homework for that. So to try and appease everyone I bring a slightly longer chapter this time. So enjoy reading and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. If I did, I think the world would end- or become a better place, I'm up for either.

Chapter 3

It was hazy in the dream, and Ryoma was always grateful for the indicator which let him know history had not decided to repeat itself. Rather his subconscious was being a sadistic bastard again, but what else was new?

He watched in a detached manner as he stepped into the car again, fastening his seat belt while glaring at the man who reached over and messed up his hair before screeching out of the parking lot.

It had become second nature to ignore the baka who was squealing over how his son was a becoming a chip off the old block, surrounding himself with beautiful young girls. When the old man started drooling, lost in pleasant perverted fantasies, the raven-haired boy simply sighed and turned to gaze out the window, hoping that the 20 minute car ride from hell would somehow be faster this afternoon.

There had been no warning that afternoon, Ryoma was positive of that fact and had informed the police several times when they interviewed him in the hospital.

His fingers trembled slightly when he turned back to look out at the road, it was the only indulgence his dream let him take, the only freedom he had to express the terror of seeing a car barreling towards him once again. He had closed his eyes in the end, grim acceptance of the fact that opposite from tennis, he had no control over how this ended up. The sound of the crash was second to the great force of the car twisting around, and his body being dragged along with it. Pain, like he had never known before and hoped to never feel again shot through him, and dimly he heard his father calling his name. On that afternoon, it had been that more than anything which told him how serious this was- the old man never called him Ryoma. Was he going to die? It was that thought which he pondered before blacking out, escaping the pain finally.

The rest of the time was a blur of moments flashing through his mind as he was admitted into the hospital and "fixed up" to the best of the doctor's abilities. It had been his mother who calmly informed him that he had injured his right knee too badly in the crash to ever play tennis seriously again. There were tears in her eyes as she told him, reaching down to brush a few strands of his raven locks behind his ears. He had brushed her away, refusing the hug and words of comfort she offered. He scowled and glared at her until she remembered a conference she suddenly had to be at across the country. Apparently the conference lasted the next three years.

His father had snuck glances at him whenever he thought he wasn't looking, and Ryoma felt this must be what it feels like to be one of the naked women in his father's magazines- something people can't help but stare at even knowing how wrong it is to look.

Echizen hated what he became in those next few years to his father- some strange breed of animal which the fool tiptoed around so not to startle him. The raven-haired boy even lost his identity from his father, he was "Ryoma" now, not "boy" or "midget" or even "hey you". There were no longer expectations or demands placed on him. No joking about potential dates, no mandatory games at night, no one even asked if he finished his homework. The worst part was watching his father toss out his tennis supplies. The magazines and books went first, followed by his posters, then the tennis balls, and all tennis clothing. His racquet had been last to reach the bonfire in the backyard, Ryoma had actually bothered to ask his old man to keep it.

"No." Nanjirou had stated firmly while tossing the red racquet on the fire, his eyes reflecting the fierceness of the fire. "Tennis is your past now, you have no need for it anymore." There was frustration in his tone, and Ryoma knew that somehow he had let down his father without trying. An old wooden racquet was the last thing burned and Ryoma would have been blind not to recognize the tool of his greatest rival going up in smoke- taking the family's hopes and dreams with it.

That night Ryoma slept in a room empty of everything but his bed, and tried to envision a future for himself. He couldn't figure out anything past waking up the next morning. He wasn't even positive of that.

It had been hazy in the dream when he watched his future destroyed. When he woke up that morning five minutes before he was supposed to be at Fuji-san's office life was a bit too bright for comfort.

Fuji Syusuke was smiling when Ryoma managed to rush into his office Monday morning. Normally, a smile was a good omen, which could be interpreted as forgiveness from your employer for oversleeping and being a half an hour late. However Echizen, who had only met the older boy once before, somehow knew that this was not a good sign. Maybe it was the eerie silence that settled in the room after the door slammed shut behind the model, or the way Fuji-san continued to stare pleasantly at some spot about a foot away from Echizen's left ear as if frozen in a trance. Whatever it was, Ryoma was quick to mutter an apology under his breathe and take a step back in case he needed to make a quick exit.

After about a minute of waiting which seemed more like an hour to the anxious boy, the photographer turned his head slightly so he was now facing Ryoma. "Saa Echizen, may I please see your wrist?"

The raven-haired boy wasn't quite sure how to respond to this request. It was certainly unexpected and he sincerely hoped he hadn't been hired to be a hand model. On the other hand, maybe it was best to assume that there was a logical reason behind the reason rather than anything else. With a bored expression carefully covering his face to hide his nervousness he held out his right wrist. The brunette reached across the desk quickly and strongly grasped his hand, pulling his arm this way and that to stare intently at the wrist, sapphire eyes opening as Fuji-san started sliding slim fingers over the body part. Unconsciously the model found himself blushing under the close scrutiny of the older boy and the feeling of his soft, delicate hands running over his arm. The touch felt nice and Ryoma started at this realization, trying and failing to pull himself away from the other boy.

"Fuji-san what are you doing?" Ryoma finally demanded, annoyed that his employer was manipulating his feelings so easily.

The photographer gave one final pat to Ryoma's wrist before releasing it and smiled at the boy again, and Echizen felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized the brunette had been waiting for that question. He had just walked into a trap.

"Maa I was looking for any sprains or broken bones in your wrist Echizen-kun." Fuji-san explained slowly as if Ryoma had asked the most obvious question in the world. The model glanced down at his wrist which still tingled slightly from Syusuke's touch as if it would suddenly break so to justify his employer's answer. When his arm apparently refused to comply with Fuji-san's crazy ideas, Ryoma sighed and looked up at his boss.

"There's nothing wrong with my wrist Fuji-san. Why did you think there was?" the raven-haired boy asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"Maa if you had hurt your wrist then you couldn't wear a watch." Fuji announced happily, and stood up to grab his coat from the chair behind him. Echizen had given up understanding this line of answers but gave it one last shot since his pride refused to quit.

"Are you asking me to get a watch so I'll be on time Fuji-san?"

The brunette chuckled and wrapped an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, guiding him towards the door. "Of course not Echizen-kun. I would never ask you to go buy a watch. I'm going to get one for you. Now how would you like one with dinosaurs on it? I got a similar one for my little brother last year..."

Two embarrassing hours later, Fuji and Echizen were back in the office, Ryoma now sporting a brand new wristwatch which luckily enough for him contained absolutely no dinosaurs on it.

Fuji had calmly declared that it was finally time to start taking pictures and Echizen allowed himself to be pulled over to a white backdrop in a backroom of Fuji's office and obediently stared at the digital camera which the brunette pointed at him. Fuji however was not as easily appeased and stared thoughtfully at the younger boy before taking a picture. When the image showed up in the camera Fuji paused even longer this time before taking another shot. This continued for several shots before Fuji actually frowned and turned off his camera.

"Saa that's it for the day Echizen. Come back tomorrow morning and try to be on time." Fuji said quietly staring down at his camera. Echizen however was not quite ready to leave.

"Is there something wrong with my modeling?" Ryoma demanded, suddenly appearing in front of the brunette. Syusuke took a step backwards in surprise but smiled fondly at the younger boy, and shook his head.

"You were just fine Echizen. Was that your first photo shoot? I only wanted to take a couple of beginning shots of you before we start on background and lighting and costume. And of course hair and makeup. Have you ever thought of putting highlights in your hair? You'd look cute with blond streaks in your hair." Fuji suggested, reaching out to tug on said hair.

"Yadda." Ryoma responded, trying to untangle himself from his employer. It proved very difficult when the photographer's hands roamed southward and seemed to attach themselves to his waist.

"You have a very nice neck Echizen. Has anyone ever told you that?" Fuji complimented from behind him as he stared down at the boy's head.

"Are you going to photograph my neck Fuji-san?" Echizen asked sullenly as he bent slightly forward to focus his attention on the delicate hands which were sliding across his sides.

"Photograph? Oh I suppose we could do that too." Fuji whispered in the model's ear as he leaned closer to the youth so he could blow softly on his neck. The smaller boy shivered at the warm breathe and spun around, his anxiety growing as he noticed how close he was to the brunette, how close the other boy's face was, how close Fuji-san's lips were...

And then, right when he was about to mix business with pleasure, Fuji smiled. "Don't be late tomorrow Echizen. Or we'll spend the day shopping for a pager. Something that vibrates and makes noise when I call. Wouldn't that be a fun way to wake up every morning?"

Ryoma refrained from telling his employer that the two of them had very different ideas of fun. Instead he scowled at the brunette as the two separated from each other and gathered up his things. The paycheck that Fuji-san gave him before he left, however, more than made up for the fact that his employer was sadistic. Well that and the fact the older boy was cute.

But if anyone asked, Echizen was in it for the cash.

It was fairly simple to tell when Kikumaru Eiji was anywhere. The top signs were a loud chattering noise, followed by a heavy pressure on your back and/or neck, and the nearby presence of Oishi Syuichiroh. At the current moment, Eiji had somehow managed to pull most of his body out of Fuji's window and was loudly introducing himself to Syusuke's cacti collection. Oishi was naturally stuck between having a nervous breakdown while trying to pull his lover out of the window and apologizing profusely to the former tensai for having bothered both his window and his plants.

Fuji just chuckled and finished pouring the tea for his guests. "It's alright Oishi, I've actually been neglecting my plants this week since I've been so busy getting ready for my new project. I'm sure they appreciate the attention Eiji's giving them."

"Nya see Oishi, Fuji understands! I'm just trying to spread some happiness. They all looked so lonely sitting outside alone." Eiji squeaked as he wiggled his way out of Oishi's arms and settled himself on the couch next to Fuji.

Oishi let out a sigh of relief that the energetic redhead was no longer in danger of falling out a window and followed Eji's example of sitting down and picking up a tea cup. "So how is your new project coming along Fuji? Inui was saying he overheard from Mizuki that you finally picked a model for your showcase."

Fuji cocked his head slightly to the side in thought for a second before smiling at Oishi and nodding "Ah the boy who always wears purple that Yuuta is trying to teach tennis. That poor boy I fear he will never be able to play properly." Fuji let out a sigh in sympathy and Eiji giggled behind his teacup while Oishi merely nodded his head since politeness demanded you didn't argue with your host. "Yes Inui's data was once again accurate. I picked a young man named Echizen Ryoma to model for my new project. He's very attractive but well I think his parents forgot to teach him how to smile. See for yourselves." Fuji reached over to a folder on his desk and pulled out the photos he had printed earlier that afternoon. In every photo a raven-haired youth with wide cat-like golden orbs scowled at them, his slumped posture and drawn face signaling open hostility.

"Well at least he's not glaring in this one." Oishi offered helpfully as he gestured at one photo where Ryoma had given up scowling for a bored and disinterested expression. Eiji however had a different reaction.

"Kawaii!" the redhead squealed, grabbing up the nearest photos to him and hugging them, as if the two-dimensional pieces of paper would somehow turn into the flesh and blood boy. As Oishi reached over to grab the photos away from his lover Eiji stood up and bounced around the room with the photos, staring at them closely. "Ochibi is so kawaii Fuji. The scowling just adds to his cuteness. When do I get to meet him? Does he scowl like this all the time? Is he single? Nya I bet Fuji and Ochibi would make a cute couple together don't you think Oishi? Fuji can smile all the time and Ochibi can pout and together they cover all the emotions. Except when they kiss. You can't smile or frown with someone else's tongue in your mouth. At least I don't think you can. Nya Oishi come here and kiss me. I need to test something." Oishi didn't move from his spot on the couch to Eiji's annoyance but instead started sputtering and blushing, quickly turning a brilliant shade of scarlet. Fuji's smile widened at the redhead's pronouncement and he gestured for his friend to come back over to him.

"Saa Oishi seems occupied at the moment Eiji. Why don't the two of us try your experiment?" Oishi seemed to turn purple at the brunette's offer and even Eiji started having second thoughts.

"Fuji that's not funny nya!" Eiji pouted before suddenly brightening. "Can I come to your next photo shoot Fuji? I promise to make Ochibi smile for you."

The redhead's big puppy-eyed look did not crack the former tensai and he shook his head in response. "Sorry Eiji but I don't let anyone come to my photo shoots not even my little brother."

"Nya that's not true Fuji. What about all those times you let Tezuka come?" Eiji argued before realizing what he said and covering up his mouth with both hands, staring at his lover in hopes that he would say something to make the eerie silence that had followed his words right again.

"Eiji didn't mean to say that Fuji. We both understand that you want privacy in your photo shoots. It's no problem- Eiji's just eager to see how your pictures come out." Oishi explained quietly looking from his embarrassed doubles partner to the brunette sitting next to him on the couch, a distant look on his face and the perpetual smile on his face seemed forced.

"How is Tezuka doing Oishi?" Fuji finally spoke, his eyes slitting open at the name of their former bouchou. Eiji and Oishi exchanged glances before the former vice captain let out a sigh and set his empty tea cup down.

"Tezuka is doing well in Germany. His classes are going well and he's joined the tennis team at the University there." Oishi paused a moment in his news account before continuing, "He's eager to talk to you Fuji. He wanted me to give you his phone number in case you don't have it..."

"I have it." the brunette quickly interrupted, pulling the now empty tea cups onto a tray and standing up with them. "I also have his e-mail address and the address of his apartment over there."

"Ah well I guess I'll let Tezuka know then." Oishi stammered before standing up and grabbing ahold of the bouncing redhead. "We should probably be going Fuji. Thank you for having us. I hope your new project goes well."

"Aww do we have to go Oishi?" Eiji whined as he clutched his lover's arm. When the other boy nodded firmly Eiji pouted and turned towards Fuji. "Nya Fuji can I keep a picture of Ochibi? I want to show everyone a picture of your new boyfriend. By the way when can you bring him to meet us? I want to know if he's really this short in person. I expect you to keep us up-to-date on every photo you take."

Fuji chuckled and nodded his permission to the redhead who stuffed several of the photos he had commandeered into his bag. "Feel free to come by anytime. I'll show you the photos I get. I'm not quite sure that I can get Echizen to go meet you though Eiji. I'm not sure if dating is covered in his contract. I'll look into it for you."

The two left quickly afterwards, Oishi lecturing Eiji about how he wasn't allowed to dive out of windows, french kiss in public, mention Tezuka in front of Fuji, or play matchmaker without permission. All in all it was a good day for the redhead in terms of chaos caused.

Fuji set to work washing the tea cups in the small kitchen in the back of his office. Unconsciously his thoughts drifted to Echizen during the photo shoot. He really had no clue why but something in the way he stood, the movement of his hands and arms reminded him of his long gone days at Seigaku Junior High.

When he closed his eyes to remember the event, he saw Echizen standing again with a scowl on his face. But this time, he held a tennis racquet in his hand. Fuji blinked and set down the cup in his hand, shaking his head at the foolishness. Oishi and Eiji had just brought back old memories, that's all.

The idea of Echizen Ryoma on a tennis court was about as likely as him ever calling Tezuka.

Tbc...

Wow ok um yeah. That was long. Hope no one fell asleep while reading. I figured Yuuta and Mizuki needed a break so Eiji and Oishi got some screen time. Ok so next chapter Fuji finally decides to shoot Ryoma properly, with any luck.