It was morning when the sun peeked from behind his curtains, waking him from a deep slumber. Not at all minding the way it hurt to open his eyes against the sun, he knew today would be different because today was a different day.

He aspired that with everything that had happened, those words wouldn't haunt him to the extent it did but they did and he wasn't fooling anybody, especially him.

"I'll be leaving for Germany."

It was all it took to take the wind out of him. It was all it took for him to let his mind run down that ugly path he didn't like. It wasn't for his departure, it wasn't for his absence because by god, it was time he seek the help he needed but it was a concern.

Will it finally be okay to see him in the light he usually alluded to? Was it okay to finally have him whole again? Fuji knew that Tezuka would be wondering the same things but nonetheless he was sure he was ecstatic at the opportunity.

So when he saw those books stack up little by little, he wondered if he too should learn German. At some point, they would miss their strength and at some point they would go see him too in a foreign country but he shook his head to let those silly ideas go because just yesterday Tezuka had announced it and it hadn't even been a whole day before he began to process what this meant for their team.

Fuji idly thought that maybe he too was becoming more responsible in a role that he by no means wanted but after seeing him, looking into silent eyes, he knew. Tezuka was expecting of him, so, like he often did to hide himself from the one person he trusted, he looked away in manner where it set his point across. It was unlike Tezuka to tell him these things.

He lied.

It was unlike Tezuka to expect rather than know. That alone had woken him.

"Fuji." His voice was soft and tender. It held more behind it than it usually did so Fuji turned to look at him in that hopeful look that would accompany the concern. Holding a book in his hands, his brows were furrowed slightly and he couldn't suppress the chuckle that came with it. It was the only time Tezuka had been seeking the help he so often ran away from so he took the opportunity to take it in a lighthearted way that Tezuka simply frowned further allowing him laughter that didn't touch pursed lips.

That's how it had started. That's how they began helping one another more for Tezuka than it helped him in a language that was so very foreign to them both. German was hard but Tezuka was determined and he saw that behind those hazel eyes that took in every word like it was his last. This was the true Tezuka Kunimitsu. Determined and unstoppable. Just then, he wished everyone saw that without the need of a racket in his hands, without the need of holding that title but Fuji knew, he was thinking too far.

Behind the confines of each other's room, where only they could be themselves in the way they only knew how, Fuji watched as day by day Tezuka grew better at the words that once sounded like gibberish. It was special to see but little by little his smile would fade knowing that this would be the last of a good thing before he would leave and these four walls would only hold the remnants of what they shared.

He didn't understand why Tezuka had looked for him with help in learning the language but he assumed it was because of the times they would often spend together in their second year learning English. The same feeling drifted past him and he cleared his throat. Those eyes turned to him, concern marring them but he smiled hoping he wouldn't see past it. He wouldn't see past the smile like he usually did.

Instead, all it took was for that look to pass by his face. It was one that held so much behind a simple expression, one he was sure their peers wouldn't discern but he knew it. It was forlorn but understanding given so many emotions that he too would be feeling. Fuji knew then that he was there to be his support in a way that no one else could because this look was everything that he was bestowing on him. It was enough to understand but not enough to grasp.

Time and time again, he grew to understand the language that Tezuka tried to master and time and time again he grew to envy it but for reasons he was unsure of until it happened.

Somewhere so foreign to them both but surrounded by their peers that understood all the same except him.

"I have a favor to ask."

It was all he could mutter before Tezuka had ended his intentions and just like that he understood the message he had wanted to say all this time. Just like he had helped him all those months ago he too, helped him realize his reason for being here. In this moment. At this place where only the best in the country stood.

So like any other day where the sun peeked through his curtains waking him from deep sleep he remembered the times he had, difficult and long but rewarding all the same. The look Tezuka held was one that motivated him but he knew that that wasn't just what Tezuka had wanted from him but in fact he wanted to put his all into something and he had.

His phone rang just then breaking him from his thoughts, "Ja, Wie gehts?"

A/N: My German isn't that great and in fact, I'd like to call it broken German so if I used some terms wrongly, you can always scold me xD
This was a very short and sporadic fic I wrote after hearing a specific song. I thought how cute it would be if Fuji knew a bit of German because of Tezuka and what really amplified that more was that episode where the team went to go see him in Germany and Fuji is seen talking to three women in the background. It was I thought I wanted to play around with so this occurred to me. Let me know what you guys think.
The story itself is extremely random so it's left for up for interpretation on your end as well