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DISCLAIMER: Tennis no Ouji-sama isn't mine...

Room 866

The gold-plated room number engraved on the wooden door appeared elegant and sophisticated to Leanne's eyes. But she knew it's nothing compared to what lies beyond that closed doors where the subjects of her scrutiny recently entered.

She opted to call Tezuka and ask him if he knew all about this, but a very good part of her brain told her that if the spectacled guy did know, she wouldn't have been his company on today's event.

She took a deep breath and knocked. If she wants to surprise Fuji and Shiraishi, she could have easily gotten in the room by asking the front desk to provide her a spare key of the room. With the help of her media I.D. of course. But that's not how she wanted everything to happen. She wants the full details of the situation, and getting it means practicing the utmost decency she could give towards her prey.

Few seconds passed, and no one seemed to hear her so Leanne knocked once again, this time with urgency.

'Crap…' she thought as she kicked the door with her foot, feeling insulted with the length of time she had to endure outside. Obviously, she was not in a very good mood to exercise some patience.

One more second and she heard a small click. The next thing she knew, she was already facing a half-naked Shiraishi, adored with a plain white towel draping his lower body. Leanne gaped in slight disbelief.

"Leanne.." Shiraishi said, frowning at the sight of a familiar figure he just met few days back then. "..Hey…is there…" the gray-haired guy trailed off and just look at her in question.

"I need to talk to Fuji." Leanne said.

Shiraishi raised a brow.

"I know he's there. Let him out." Leanne commanded, forgetting the fact that she was facing one of the most revered bachelors of their time.

Shiraishi frowned even more and looked back inside the room.

"What's wro-"

Fuji's eyes widened with the sight of his editor standing in front of the door. He backed off a step, failing to hide the current form he's in, which was no more than that of Shiraishi's.

"If you need to talk, I can give you some time." Shiraishi said, looking keenly at Leanne.

She shook her head and smiled bitterly. Even if Fuji explains, she strangely doesn't trust her judgment to betray the initial impression she had with the situation. Besides, the look Fuji had at the moment was enough for her to understand that she'll not get any of the presumed explanation she thought of a while ago.

Leanne looked away and pursed her lips.

"I have to go." she muttered.

With one last glance at the two men in front of her, she fled the scene .

"Is there something wrong?" Tezuka asked for the second time when he noticed the disturbed look on Leanne's face.

They were already at the grand hall together with other writers, journalists, and authors. The program had formally began, and people were already starting to get to know some of the personalities who excel in the same field as they do.

There were several who opted to talk to Tezuka privately, but they immediately gave in after a few minutes when Tezuka excused himself.

The spectacled guy went closer to Leanne who was talking to a reporter from a competing station, but who was clearly not listening to whatever the other woman was talking about. Tezuka knew that much, especially if Leanne's gaze kept focused on nothing in particular. She was clearly detached from the entire event.

When they finally had the chance to get away with the attention of the public, Tezuka immediately grabbed the opportunity to pull her farther away from the central hall towards a dimly lit corner of the area.

"You couldn't just tell me everything's fine, because it's not." Tezuka said, gently holding Leanne by her arm, preventing her from looking away.

"Right. Nothing's fine." Leanne answered weakly, preferring to stay silent.

Tezuka sighed.

"Alright. I'll drive you home now. I'll just get my coat. Go ahead. You have my keys." Tezuka said.

Instead of following though, like what he thought, Leanne stayed still. She was now looking away from his direction, apparently trying her best not to make eye contact. The reason? Leanne doesn't want to lie. Not to Tezuka. Not about the matter she knew about. Yet lying seemed to be the only best option as of the moment. She's an honest person, but she has to lie no matter what.

"Tezuka…" she soon found her voice betraying her. "..I have something to tell you."

Tezuka stared at her. "Go ahead."

Leanne sighed. Fuji's cheating. She knew Fuji's cheating, and though there wasn't really any evidence other than the impression she has, Leanne was more than willing to bet her life on it.

"I…You know you're important to me…You're-"

"Leanne…what is it?" Tezuka cut her off.

Leanne swallowed hard and forced a smile, apparently failing, judging from Tezuka's disagreeing reaction. She moved closer and hugged her former lover. Tezuka hugged her back.

"What is it?" Tezuka whispered against her hair.

Leanne pulled away and gently held Tezuka's face with her hands.

"You deserve to be happy, Tezuka. You're intelligent and strong, and that's something I've always love about you. Just…..just promise me you'll not hurt yourself,..because that's just..-"

Tezuka held her hand and pulled it away from his face.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Leanne smiled. "Because you're important. Yet you're so stubborn at times that you end up hurting yourself…and I know that you're smarter than that…so please…"

Tezuka looked at her in confusion.

"You should try reevaluating the current situation of your relationship with Fuji just to make sure." Leanne said, fully aware of how Tezuka's sharp glare pierced her.

The spectacled guy pulled himself away and moved a step back. Leanne knew he understood what she meant, and if he was wise enough, it would most likely be right for him to call his boyfriend by now.

Leanne left first and wished the best for Tezuka. She might as well try to reevaluate her feelings. Right now, the best thing she could do is to go home and meditate. She has to convince herself not to act unprofessionally in front of Fuji the next day. For all she knew, Fuji was doing a hell lot of problems lately. If she was able to predict these things ahead of time, she might have done something.

With a heavy feeling inside, she left the hall and headed home.

"Where were you?" Tezuka's cold voice welcomed Fuji the moment he opened the front door of his apartment.

"Tezuka….you didn't say you're coming…I thought you're-"

"Where were you?" the spectacled guy repeated, now looking straight at his lover.

Fuji fought back his stabbing glare.

"At a friend's house…"

"Who?"

Fuji frowned.

"Let's talk about this inside. It's cold." he said as he turned around to get in. Tezuka was quicker though and had manage to grab his arm before he can even take a step away.

"Oh god, Tezuka…let go. Get in, and let's talk inside."

"Were you with Shiraishi?" Tezuka suddenly asked, slightly not expecting the question himself. It came out just by mere impulse, as if he knew things all along.

"What?"

"Answer the question with a yes or a no."

"Yes, I am. So what about it?"

Tezuka looked at him in amusement as he freed the blue-eyed boy from his grip. They looked at each other for a few more seconds before Tezuka finally withdrew and left without a word. Whatever misunderstanding they have at the moment, it was clearly not the right time to listen to any explanation.

When Tezuka was out of sight, Fuji locked the door and sank down on the floor. He's cruel, yes. But what can he do? He was confused. Not with what he feels, but more on what he'll do. He loves Tezuka, that was out of question. But right now, he needs Shiraishi to fix everything with his sister. If there was one person who could help him mend the broken relationship he has with Yumiko, it would be no other than Shiraishi. The decision he made might be worse than wrong, but he sees it as the only choice he had for the moment.

Soon, Fuji swore, when everything's back to normal, he would spend all his time gaining Tezuka's trust back. He just hoped that time wouldn't be too late. Because for all he knew, he couldn't live without him anymore.

Author's Note:

(Fuji's cheating!)

^_^...

So what do you think would happen next?