Ryoma's eyes fluttered open as he heard creaking coming from the door. He scanned the room, trying to figure out how he got there. He looked towards the opening door to see Fuji slim figure walking in along side a taller boy.

"He's in here, Tezuka," Fuji placed his index finger up against his lips. "Don't be too loud."

"Ah," was all Tezuka said before his eyes met with Ryoma's. As he took a step forward, a meowing sound came from his arms. This caused Ryoma to tilt his head in confusion.

"Did we wake you?" Fuji placed his hand on Tezuka's shoulder to motion him in further.

"Tezuka-buchou just…" Ryoma shook his head and tried to figure out what exactly was going on. When his mind finally remembered what happened, he almost jumped out of the bed. "Where did she go?"

Fuji caught the boy in his arms as he tripped forward. "I'll explain everything in a little bit. First, Tezuka brought you something."

"Something?"

From Tezuka's arms jumped a fluff-ball of fur that instantly tumbled its way onto Ryoma. "Nya~"

"K-Karupin!" Ryoma's voice cracked as the cat cuddled up against his cheek. "You're safe."

"It's nice to see you with a real smile on your face, Echizen," Fuji giggled.

"How'd you find Karupin?" Ryoma turned to his captain.

"I went to your house a few days ago and found her," Tezuka blink a few times before his stoic look took over. "She was weak when I first picked her up, but she seems to be doing better now."

"You went to my house…" he shifted his vision towards Fuji and back towards Tezuka. His heart began to race as his mind pictured the worst possibility. "What did he do to you?"

Tezuka placed his hand on his left shoulder. "It isn't something to worry about."

"Buchou…" Ryoma mumbled as he brushed his hand across Karupin's fur. "You know what happened to me, don't you?"

"Echizen, that isn't r―"

"Yes," Tezuka's blunt statement cut off Fuji's words. "I only came to bring your cat here since Fuji gave me the ok. I'll be going now."

"Please don't tell anyone!" as those words slipped through Ryoma's lips, Tezuka turned away and slightly nodded while walking out the door.

"Mom is going to call Yuuta later on today to tell him that we'll be moving his things out since he only comes to visit every once in awhile," Fuji placed his hand on the cat's head and lightly scratched behind her ears. "He'll understand that you need the room more than he does."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your mother agreed to let you stay here. After talking with mom, she understood how hurt you were and decided it was best for you two to part ways for the time being. I guess since you father is still around, she can't give custody of you over to us since he would need to sign the papers or something like that."

Ryoma blinked a few times and let Karupin slip out of his arms. "She left again? Does she not even care about me?"

"Echizen…" Fuji bent down so he could look straight into Ryoma's honey-brown eyes. "She cares more about you than you might think. She knew that right now you need to be here to continue school. It wasn't that she wanted to leave you behind…it was the fact that she knew she had to. What she wants for you is happiness."

"How are you so certain about that?"

"Because I could hear the sadness in her tone when she whispered to me to take care of you for her," he paused for a moment and allowed his eyes to close. "She might have also mentioned those things when talking to my mom."

"Fuji-senpai, do you know what happened to Tezuka-buchou? Did my dad hurt him?"

"I don't," Fuji gently messed with the strands of Ryoma's hair. "You don't have to worry about Tezuka since he's such a strong guy."

Ryoma slightly flinched from the unexpected touch. "Did my mom really tell you to take care of me?"

"I wouldn't lie to you," Fuji let his fingers trace across Ryoma's soft skin until he reached the young boy's hand. "You must be hungry since you've been resting most of the day."

Ryoma's stomach growled in response to Fuji. The younger boy allowed Fuji to continue to hold onto his hand as he was dragged out of the room and down to the lower level of the house. He was slowly getting more and more comfortable with Fuji's touch; almost to the point where he never wanted him to let go.

Down in the dining area, Ryoma sat across from Yumiko who stared at him with a smile on her face. With every bite of rice Ryoma placed in his mouth, he looked up hoping that Yumiko was no longer looking at him. Unknown to himself, Ryoma made a soft grunting sound.

"Staring is rude," Fuji tilted head and let out an airy laugh. "Tomorrow we have morning practice, so Echizen and I need to go to bed early."

"We haven't had the chance to move Yuuta's things. I'll be sure to do that tomorrow so Ryoma-chan has a room to sleep in that he can call his own," Fuji's mother placed her chopsticks down to show that she was finished with her meal.

"If it's ok, I'd rather continue to stay in Fuji-senpai's room a little bit longer," Ryoma squirmed a little in his chair. "I…I don't like the idea of being by myself just yet."

"That is up to you and Syusuke. When you're ready to sleep in your own room, I'll make sure Yuuta's room is clean for you."

"…thank you…"

Yumiko stood from her seat and reached to grab Ryoma's bowl. "I'll clean up."

"Echizen, lets go get our things ready for tomorrow," Fuji, already on his feet, pulled at Ryoma's chair.

"Right."

After Fuji and Ryoma prepared their tennis bags for the next day, Fuji let out a yawn as he stretched his arms in the air. Ryoma couldn't remove his eyes off of Fuji's body as he slipped his slender body into his pajamas. When Fuji turned and smiled at Ryoma, the younger boy quickly looked down at his hands.

"If you're not tired, Echizen, you don't have to go to sleep. Just don't stay up too late," Fuji walked over to the bed and pulled down the covers. He plopped himself down and rested his head on the pillow. "Sorry, Mom said that Karupin couldn't stay in my room since I have all these cacti. She doesn't want the cat to get hurt."

"I understand," Ryoma watched as Fuji's eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep. The rhythmic sound of his breathing calmed Ryoma's heart. The young boy turned towards the window where all of Fuji's cacti rested. He noticed the broken pot from the first day he had appeared at Fuji's house. It seems as if Fuji didn't want to rid of it. Next to the pieces was a new pot that held the cactus that fell out of the broken one. In Ryoma's mind, it looked as if it was bandages and fighting to stay together. He felt like he could relate to the small cactus as well as the broken pot. He had fallen to pieces and was bandaged together in order to stay alive. Just like that small, green plant, Fuji was the one to care for him even when he was barely hanging on to what life he had left.

Ryoma returned to the bed where he sat down. He leaned his shaking body over Fuji's and bent down until he could feel Fuji's breathing on his cheeks. The memory of Fuji's lips coming so close to his flashed in his mind. Was that potential that Yumiko was talking about before? His heart began to race and he bit his lower lip. Not knowing what he should do, he scanned Fuji's face one last time before letting their lips make contact. Right as Ryoma felt the softness, he pulled away in a panic. Fuji continued to rest there, and the room was filled with silence other than his quiet breathing. Ryoma fell to the floor and covered his face with his hands. Tears dripped down his cheeks as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Fuji-senpai," Ryoma whispered to himself. Kissing Fuji only sent painful memories through his whole being. No matter how much his heart longed to be loved, Ryoma's body and mind was still not ready to be held by anyone. Crawling back towards the bed, he curled up next to Fuji and fell asleep. As long as he was next to the older boy, he felt safe.

In the middle of the night, Fuji and Ryoma woke to a loud crash and a demanding voice, "I've come for my son!"

The real nightmare was now about to start.

NOTE: I'm back! Sorry it took me almost a month to update this fic. I am sincerely sorry about that. May 14th-16th was amazing. If you want to know about what I did at the anime convention and see pictures, check out my profile. I have no update schedule yet because I'm so off right now that I can't even think straight. I would just continue to check my profile for updates.

Yes, I ended this chapter with that cliffhanger type feel (Just like the first chapter.)! I all of a sudden remembered the cactus pot Ryoma broke, and I realized that it is great symbolism (Yay for remembering things from school.). People probably hate me because Ryoma kissed Fuji while he was asleep (just like Fuji told Ryoma he'd love him after Ryoma passed out). I hope this was a decent enough chapter and worth the wait.

It is really hot, my chocolate is melting, and not even my fan is keeping my room cool enough. I made a Twitter account and was thinking about using to keep people up to date with why fics are delayed, new fic ideas, new update dates, and possibly writing tips. The link to the account is in my profile, so if you're interested in it, you follow me or whatever (I could do like "song of the day" as well. I only really listen to Japanese music though.). If I start getting followers, I guess I'll start using it. If not, I'll probably just let it sit and rot.

I forgot to mention this in the last chapter's note, and I feel horrible about it. Thank you all so much for over 100 reviews! Knowing that people are reading and reviewing my fics makes me so happy. Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, I do have a third FujiXRyoma fic out titled "Abuse Me". Thank you for all the support and just reading my fics. It means a lot to me. I'll see you around for the next chapter!