A LITTLE SHORT STORY NUMBAH THREE~

Written by: Clary~

Dedicated to: Everyone who has reviewed and favorite-d and alerted and basically all the people who stuck with me despite my being a horrible writer~ Arigato, ne~~~~

MUST READ BEFORE READING THIS SHORT STORY: This is a dream of what could have been, had Ashikaga not existed, and therefore, not killed anyone. I just thought maybe I could write something happy once in a while~ Ehehe~

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN (Tezuka at eight, Syusuke at seven)

It took, on estimate, an entire week and a half to convince Tezuka to dress up for Halloween. Tezuka had told him, and very clearly, that in no terms was he ever going to play trick-or-treat, he wasn't a child anymore, and it was time he started acting like how not-children are supposed to be acting.

Fuji, of course, did not believe the excuse. For one thing, Seiichi and Keigo were coming and they were on the same year as Tezuka. For another, Yumiko-nee had arranged the entire thing (it wasn't so much arranging as it was threatening the teachers) and she was coming and she was nine years older than Tezuka.

If there ever was a perfect example of a not-child, that was Yumiko-nee.

And even then, it still took an entire week and a half of asking, cajoling, begging, threatening, and pretending-sick (Yumiko-nee's idea) before Tezuka even budged.

But it was all worth it. Because Tezuka had agreed in the end.

(Yumiko-nee had told him Tezuka would agree, with that weird sparkle that her eyes sometimes had when she talked about her precious little brother and darling little Kunimitsu-kun.)

So, come Halloween afternoon, he had bounced happily back in his room to dress up for trick-or-treating that night. He wished Yuuta was here. His cute little brother would have been perfect to play dress up with, and Fuji wouldn't have missed his embarrassed little face for the world. But Yuuta hadn't gotten the letter yet, so he was still back home, fuming. He was so cute when he fumed, too. Fuji made a mental note to take a picture the next time Yuuta threw a tantrum.

Of course, his entire festive mood disappeared when he got inside his room.

His nee-san was there, already dressed as a pretty necromancer. It was supposed to be a joke of sorts, them dressing as necromancers when they came from the Clan of Death, and they had taken many long weeks agonizing over the making of their matching outfits. Fuji had been so excited.

His costume had been hanging in front of his closet this morning, and Yumiko-nee was supposed to help him get in it for tonight. And she was here, ready to help with his costume, exactly as planned.

Except that it wasn't there anymore.

"Syusuke," Yumiko-nee greeted, with a brilliant, almost too-happy smile. "Due to an unforseen set of circumstances, your costume has, unfortunately, been lost, and therefore needs to be replaced."

Fuji watched, with horror, as she took out a glittering monstrosity from behind her back, grinning all the while. "Coincidentally, due to a completely separate unforseen set of circumstances, I happened to have a few things lying around, which I threw together-"

"No."

"No?" Yumiko-nee echoed, looking mildly amused.

"No."

"But, Syusuke, this is your nee-san's blood, sweat and tears!" Yumiko-nee exclaimed, complete with a set of tears Fuji knew were fake. She should really try out for the drama club. That way, she'd make good use of her skills while leaving Fuji relatively safe from her... well, skills. "When I found out that your perfect Halloween was being threatened by the loss of a costume, I realized that I must take responsibility as your nee-san and I have worked extremely hard for-"

"No."

"-I even got pricked once or twice, but I endured the pain because-"

"No, nee-san."

"-and my love for you!"

Okay, so flat-out refusing wasn't going to work. Next strategy: "I... I'm not feeling so good right now, nee-san, so maybe I could just-"

"Oh, don't be silly Syusuke, you're completely healthy! And even if you aren't Kunimitsu-kun will be there for you, ne?"

Fuji had to pause and wonder just exactly how Tezuka got into this conversation. Really, his nee-san confused him so much sometimes. But she was undergoing puberty, so he guessed that's why.

...Women.

./.

Tezuka was not having a bad day.

He'd just had a teacher stupid enough to make more mistakes than he could count during Mathematics, that's all.

And said teacher just had to ask to speak to him afterwards about his rudeness when all Tezuka had been doing was correcting his mistakes.

And Atobe Keigo had to have and argument with Yukimura Seiichi on the same hour, leaving Tezuka as the only person to call them off. And he had to receive a good kick in the shin for his efforts.

Add to that the fact that he had to dress up for the night for Halloween, of all things, because he couldn't just man up and say no to Fuji's wide blue eyes. Really, it was a good thing his friend kept them close for the most part, because had they been open all the time, then Tezuka would've had so much difficulty going through his normal life.

Because then, he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of Fuji (no, bad thoughts go away, bad thoughts go away).

And when he got to his room, to (grudgingly) change into the costume generously provided by Yumiko-san, he had to find out that it had been smartly replaced.

Tezuka stared at the costume hanging in his closet for a full five minutes, feeling very, very horrified.

...Okay scratch that. Tezuka was having a bad day.

He closed his eyes, held his breath and counted to ten. Then he let out his breath, and started changing, because damn it, Tezuka Kunimitsu was a man.

Except, when he looked at himself in the mirror, he didn't feel very manly at all. He just looked silly. Was it even legal to wear this? Tezuka was, technically underage, and too young for this. He looked down at the costume once again and bit his lip. He could already imagine how all the girls in class and their overactive imaginations would think of this.

Tezuka found himself cursing boys with wide, pretty blue eyes and cute, kicked-puppy-look faces.

And just as Tezuka was about to decide to just up and not go, a letter fluttered down from his bedstand, telling him that she was expecting him around by seven, that he was in no way to be late, and outlining all the things she would make him do if any of her instructions were not followed to the letter.

So when Tezuka Kunimitsu got out of his room to hear the squeal of various other girls from his class, he found himself cursing manipulative, sadistic older sisters, too.

./.

When Tezuka knocked on Fuji's door, he heard two separate, conflicting shouts.

One that said, "Just a moment, Kunimitsu-kun," and that sounded pretty darn proud and satisfied, and another that said, "Just leave without me, Tezuka," and that sounded suspiciosuly desperate.

"Fuji?" he called, knocking once again, and getting a few thuds for an answer.

"Leave without me!" And this time, it sounded as close to a screech as Fuji's voice would get.

"Oh, don't be silly, Syusuke, Kunimitsu-kun could wait for a while, couldn't he?" Yumiko-san's voice. It was clear she was addressing Tezuka, so Tezuka took at look at his watch (six-forty) and said he had time. Besides, it wasn't as if Tezuka was eager to get to the lineup and show off his ridiculous self, anyway.

"No, he couldn't," Fuji answered at exactly the same time, his voice so shrill and high that even Tezuka was getting worried. He had never heard Fuji speak like that, in all their days together. Not even when he first met Fuji at three. "Tezuka has to leave right now."

"I heard Kunimitsu-kun, Syusuke, now stop wasting time and sit back down." Yumiko-san's voice was steely, and even Tezuka had to shudder. Sometimes, Tezuka thought that Fuji's slight sadism was an inborn family trait. Yumiko-san certainly made no qualms about hiding her sadistic tendencies (if only to her brother and Tezuka, to everyone else, she was divine and compassionate as a goddess) and even Yukimura had shown slight sadism every now and then.

Really, compared to them, Fuji was as tame as an angel.

The next few (worrying) minutes consisted mostly of silence, broken every now and then by Fuji's plaintive voice that Tezuka had never (ever) chanced to hear before (and he would sell his soul to never ever hear again). He sounded close to tears.

Tezuka knocked on the door again. "Fuji?"

"A moment, Kunimitsu-kun," Yumiko trilled. "One last touch."

And Fuji, who had, thus far, been utterly quiet apart from his occassional whimpers, started to shout again, in his still shrill, still desperate, still plaintive voice. "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, Yumiko!"

"Syusuke, you're messing up your costume."

"No, absolutely not."

"This is the last-"

"No! No flowers in my hair! No flowers in my hair! Absolutely no flowers in my hair!"

"Syu-chan-"

"My name is not Syu-chan!"

Tezuka heard a few distinct, worrying thumps. He knocked on the door again. "Fuji, are you oka-"

"She's putting flowers on my hair!"

"Yes, yes, Syusuke, I think we have that clear now. So, stay put."

"I don't want flowers on my hair!"

"Stop complaining, you know you look-"

"Ridiculous!"

"Syusuke, if you're not going to stop insulting my hard work, and killing my good mood, I swear you will be wearing this every single day of next month."

Silence reigned from the other side of the closed door. Tezuka suddenly felt the need to thank the gods, whoever they may be, for making him an only child.

"There, all done!" was the only (cheerful) warning he got before the door slammed open to reveal Yumiko dressed as a necromancer...

And Fuji trying to hide behind her, sporting a huge blush, dressed in full bridal regalia.

Fuji spared him all of one glance, before his eyes retreated back to the floor, and his blush succeeded in getting redder.

"Oh my," Yumiko-san exclaimed, as if she had nothing to do with this, looking so very pleased with herself. "You match."

./.

After everything, Tezuka ended up not going with the trick-or-treat lineup, after all.

It had only taken one second, a fleeting moment when Yumiko-san's attention had not been focused on them, and Fuji had his hand tight around Tezuka's, and had dragged him in a fast run across the campus to the deserted playground. How Fuji was able to run like that with his full skirts and heels, Tezuka will never know.

"-sorry, wretched excuse for an older sister!" Fuji ranted, trying to catch his breath and he let go of Tezuka's hand.

Tezuka, panting and gasping, tried his best to smile. "It's not that bad," he tried to assure his best friend.

Fuji gave him a look that meant to say that he obviously did not believe Tezuka at all. Tezuka took in their costumes, him in a tux, and Fuji in a bridal gown, and sighed. "It could be worse."

Fuji closed his eyes and smiled. "You mean I could be wearing a sheer pink lingerie and you could be wearing boxers?"

Tezuka choked on his breath. Where did Fuji get that... He wasn't even aware Fuji had those words in his vocabulary. He was only seven years old! (Then again, Fuji had Yumiko-san for an older sister.)

Fuji patted his back and laughed his little tinkling laugh good-humoredly. "Joking. I was only joking, Tezuka."

Well, at least he was happy now.

"I'm glad," he managed out of two deep breaths. "That you're having fun at my expense."

Fuji shrugged. "Yumiko-nee's having fun at both our expenses," he replied, fingering the tulle that was stuck to his hair by a small crown.

Tezuka had to agree with that. He wondered how Fuji survived living with her for the past seven years.

Fuji started stripping his hair off of flowers. They were white roses, petals in full bloom, and their unique scent wafted around them both as Fuji plucked off the last one and held them all in his hand.

"Since we're currently in exile for the night," Fuji started, already making his way to the swings. "Let's make the best of it, ne?"

"Ah," Tezuka answered, settling down beside Fuji as he started pushing himself off of the ground.

Tezuka watched as Fuji sailed in the air happily, his skirts fluttering, his veil trailing after him in the air. Under the moonlight, his dress glittered prettily, showing off his small body. The dress hugged in places that seemed uncomfortable, but looked beautiful on Fuji. His softly made-up face caught the silver light perfectly, accentuating his feminine features. Yumiko may be sadistic, but she was quite good at what she did.

It helped, of course, that right now, Fuji didn't look as disgruntled as he was fifteen minutes ago.

Fuji's touch cut him off of his thoughts. His friend was smiling at him, blue eyes glittering, face so close, Tezuka's heart had to skip many beats.

Fuji put the roses on his lap. "Tezuka, I know you don't want to hear this right now, but..." Fuji bit his lip, looking conflicted for a long moment. Then he shook his head and smiled again. "You look handsome."

Tezuka couldn't stop the blush even if he wanted to.

And before Fuji could pull away (before he lost his courage), Tezuka took one rose, and tucked it behind his friend's ear.

And he smiled. "You look beautiful."

Fuji pulled away and blushed, as well. And when he finally felt like he wasn't going to turn into a stumbling, stuttering mess, he looked back at Tezuka and tentatively gave him a small, shy smile.

Tezuka gave him a small, shy smile back.

And of course, Yumiko had to ruin the moment by popping out from the bushes and taking picture after picture after picture.

While Fuji was trying to shrink discreetly away from the camera lights, he saw Yumiko-nee giving him a thumbs up that meant that this, too, had been all part of the plan.

./.

Yumiko folded up the dress she had bought, and placed it back in its box. It was expensive as hell, and so was its counterpart (already carefully folded and wrapped up, too), but it was worth every single penny (Mother would be squealing once she saw the pictures, she was sure).

Syusuke, however, was looking at her with a thunderous scowl and glaring daggers at the dress in her hands.

"Now, now, Syu-chan, you know you enjoyed the dress."

The glare intensified.

She chuckled again. "I'll have to remember to take this and sew it to the lining of your wedding dress when you get married." She glanced at her precious little brother. "Sentimental reasons, you know."

That got his attention. "Why would I be wearing a dress when I get married?"

"Why," she laughed, sealing the box and protectively cuddling it to her chest. "That's because you'll be marrying Kunimitsu-kun."

And as cute as her brother was when he scowled, he was so much more precious like this.

Blushing and stuttering like a cute little newly-wed bride.

Clary: Yes, things could have been so much more simpler and happier if Ashikaga didn't exist. (; But where's the fun in that?

Don't worry, the next chapter's already in the works~~~ (Though I still have to finish a play... –sigh-) But I'm sure it'll be done before New Year~ Think of it as a belated Christmas gift and look forward to it, ne~

Lia's still busy with the play, but she sends her love to all of you~ (She is starting to sound like an old lady. I guess it's the setting of the play. Well, it's not MY fault, they were the ones who wanted kingdoms and lords and ladies and kings and queens and shiz.)