Disclaimer: I own neither Prince of Tennis, nor its characters. I am not making profit from this, I am merely a depraved individual getting my jollies off putting my favorite characters into compromising positions. I also don't own Facebook. Or the song "I Wanna" by the All-American Rejects.

It's come to my attention that I forgot to put the disclaimer on the first chapter. I should probably fix that.

All characters in this story are over the age of 18.

Chapter two: Humiliation is better with friends

There was only a certain degree of embarrassment that one could stifle. Even the great, forever-stoic Tezuka Kunimitsu had moments when he wished he could crawl into a hole and disappear. This was one of those moments. His face burned with humiliation and shame. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to react. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the thought that Fuji was having this effect on him a lot lately echoed; but really, that was irrelevant. What mattered now was that Fuji had caught him in a compromising place and he wasn't sure how much he knew. He could ask, but how? Did it even matter at this point?

"I did ask you not to soil them."

His face flamed even hotter as the words replayed in his head. It was all he could do not to pull the blanket up over his face.

Really, he was kidding himself if he thought he could move at this point. He was absolutely frozen. The only movement on his body at this moment was a trickle of sweat steadily making its way down his back. The room's cold temperature did nothing to deter it. His blood pounded loudly in his ears. He wanted badly to say something to Fuji, but he couldn't. He couldn't force his mouth to form words. He couldn't make his voice box emit more than a horribly shameful squeak. He was angry that he was reduced to this disgraceful mess.

He was so angry. He wanted to direct that anger towards Fuji, but it wasn't his fault. He didn't deserve the blame for this.

"Tezuka, did you know that you talk in your sleep?"

Hazel eyes blinked at him in response. He wasn't sure what he was expecting Fuji to say, but that question wasn't it. His stomach churned at the implications in that one line. "No."

The word was soft, whispered. Both men knew that it wasn't really a response as much as it was a wish for the situation at hand to dissipate (or Tezuka himself to dissipate).

"Aa." And Fuji smiled as he negated Tezuka's denial. It only made Tezuka feel worse somehow.

"What were you dreaming, Tezuka? Was it a good dream?" Fuji's smile broadened; if it were any bigger, he'd be laughing. "Saa, of course it was a good dream. That happened, after all." He motioned towards the offending area.

Tezuka shrunk a little where he sat.

Fuji's voice dropped to a low whisper. Steel blue eyes locked onto Tezuka like a cat watching a fascinating bird. "Tezuka? What did you like so much, hm?"

He walked the few steps to Tezuka's bed and placed his hands up on the guard rails. Tezuka had vivid flashbacks of the dream he'd just had and was forced to close his eyes to keep the imagery down to a minimum. The stale air in the room clung to the back of Tezuka's throat.

"And who is such a tease?" His eyes shot open again. Wild, they met with Fuji's now smiling ones.

'He doesn't know,' he thought. 'He doesn't know the dream was about him.' Immense relief crashed over Tezuka in wave after happy wave. He could lie his way out of this. He could. He pushed away the feelings of guilt that began to turn his stomach. He saw an opening. He had to take the chance. Fuji could not, under any circumstance, know the truth.

He said the first name that came to mind. "Suzuki Natsumi."

Fuji jolted like Tezuka slapped him. "The girl in our...?" He let himself trail off.

"Yes." His composure slowly came back to him. He'd almost forgotten that his best friend just heard him mess in pants that weren't even his. Almost.

Fuji's smile reappeared just as quickly as it left. If he hadn't seen it disappear himself, Tezuka wouldn't have believed it was ever gone. "Is that so? I had no idea that you were attracted to wo-." Fuji stopped himself before the last word fell from his lips. "Her," he corrected himself. His posture was stiff, Tezuka noticed.

"She's," Tezuka started, then stopped as he searched for words that wouldn't sound forced, "a pleasant person."

Fuji nodded once in agreement. "She…has good work ethic." His words were slow, careful. Tezuka knew then that he'd been caught. Fuji had known all along that he'd been lying. The question now in Tezuka's mind was, 'what is he going to do with that information?'

By the solemn look in Fuji's eyes before he turned away, the answer was "nothing." Tezuka had been saved from embarrassment, but at what price? Was his pride worth more than this small betrayal to his friend? Especially when one considers how much he'd lied to him over the past 24 hours. Tezuka felt sick. He lay back on his bed and sighed.

"Fuji," he whispered, though he knew the other would hear him, "I'm sorry." He apologized for everything he'd done in those two words: for all the lies he'd told, and for all the deception. He hoped Fuji wouldn't ask questions; he wouldn't be able to answer any of them. He couldn't tell him the truth, but he hoped Fuji would get more out of the words than was there.

His head cradled by the pillow, he turned to see Fuji shutting off the music followed by his PC. He gave a single nod. How Fuji knew Tezuka was watching him, he didn't know. "I understand," he explained after a few moments of silence. "I'll be heading out now. I have errands to run."

Surprised by the sudden change in topic, Tezuka only replied with an agreeable sound before Fuji walked out their dormitory door.

Friday, May 28th, 2010
Approximately two months prior.

"Mizuki-san, please," Fuji Yuuta protested with great desperation. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

Mizuki, who had, until that moment, been repeatedly opening and closing his cell phone, stopped his tinkering to look up at Yuuta's reprimand. "Mm? This would go so much easier if you'd let me help you, Yuuta."

He was referring, of course, to the English project they were working on together. Yuuta insisted on doing exactly half of the work even though English wasn't his strong suit. Mizuki happened to be quite talented in the subject and simply couldn't fathom why Yuuta wouldn't let him do more to help.

"I appreciate your offer, but it wouldn't be fair, Mizuki-san."

A sigh slipped from the brunet. Yuuta was always so…ethical. It was usually one of the things he admired most about the younger, but it grew tiresome at times.

He slipped his silver phone into his pocket and reclined back on his elbows. They were studying on Yuuta's bed in the dorm that he shared with a blond kid. 'Takeuchi Kanou,' he recalled. 'Blond hair, brown eyes, tan complexion. About 175cm tall and right-handed. Relatively attractive and has a scar above his left knee.' Mizuki already had him memorized, though he wasn't very memorable. He was still out at class when Mizuki arrived; he always was at this time on a Friday.

"How far along are you?" Mizuki pried. He was getting bored waiting for Yuuta to finish writing up his portion of the book summary. They still had an analytical essay to write on the boring thing that they had been forced to read. It was dry, unmemorable. 'Much like Yuuta's roommate,' Mizuki considered.

He wasn't sure why he was so hard on the boy. He'd never done anything to personally offend Mizuki. 'Other than spend too much time with my Yuuta.' Yuuta wasn't officially his, of course. He had a girlfriend. But Mizuki knew that one day he would fall into the brunet's arms. He always got what he wanted.

"I'm almost finished," Yuuta sighed. He was obviously annoyed at being rushed so much, but they really needed to get working on the other part of the project. "I just have this last piece to write up."

Mizuki sat up and twirled a lock of hair around his finger. It was about time. He watched the younger man work with a mild fascination. Yuuta had so many nervous habits; it was fun to bring them all out.

'There,' Mizuki noted, 'his bottom lip is pulled between his teeth; his pencil's eraser keeps bouncing against the notebook he's writing in.' Yuuta's brow furrowed and his fingers tapped out a rhythm against his knee. Mizuki chuckled under his breath. Yuuta couldn't sit still for anything.

"What's so funny?" Yuuta glared at his teammate. He upended his pencil and scribbled out a few more sentences.

"You," Mizuki answered simply. When he received another glare, he explained further, "I enjoy watching you, Yuuta. You're interesting."

A blush crossed over Yuuta's tan cheeks. "I don't see what's so interesting about watching me write." He tried to hide his reaction with anger, but Mizuki saw through it. Yuuta was entirely too obvious.

"Nfufufu," Mizuki laughed. "Yuuta is so cute when he's embarrassed." He knew he shouldn't tease the boy so much, but his reactions were so cute! Besides, getting Yuuta angry was a lot more amusing than sitting here watching him write.

"Mizuki-san," Yuuta warned. His eyes focused on the smiling ones of his project partner before sighing again and refocusing on his work.

Mizuki chuckled again to himself. He wondered how far he could push the poor boy before he either snapped or fainted from blood loss.

"Yuu-u-u-ta," he drew the name out in a sing-song voice. He ignored the glare that came his way and held his hands up to show that he had innocent motives. It was a lie, of course, and they both knew it. It was the principle of the thing that mattered.

Mizuki dropped his hands to his knees and smiled when Yuuta flinched around the eyes. He quickly turned them back to the notebook, his fingers drumming faster on his knee. Yuuta was so much fun. Mizuki shifted his body so that he was facing the other boy and smiled wider at the frown that appeared on Yuuta's face.

"Am I distracting you? I'm just trying to get comfortable." They both knew this was another lie and it was proven to Mizuki with Yuuta's narrowed eyes. Mizuki sighed dramatically. "Studying this way is so uncomfortable. Perhaps we should…lie down?" His voice dropped lower on the last two words.

His dramatics were rewarded. Yuuta threw aside his notebook and pencil and confronted Mizuki, his face close to the other's.

"What is your problem?" The words were an angry whisper. "I can't get this done if you keep doing…this!"

Mizuki raised a manicured eyebrow. "'This?'" He questioned in a mocking tone. "What is 'this' that I'm doing, Yuuta?"

"You keep distracting me!" No longer trying to keep quiet, Yuuta's volume raised several notches. "I'm just trying to get our project finished!"

Not fazed by the other boy's reaction, Mizuki chuckled. "So you admit that I'm a distraction?"

Yuuta persevered through the persistent flushing of his cheeks. "I think a lot of people would consider you a distraction, Mizuki-san." The words were said without much conviction.

"Oh? Is that so?" His head cocked slightly to the side. "And do you fall into that category, Yuuta?"

Mizuki's hand found Yuuta's cheek when he didn't receive an answer. "Yuuta?"

Yuuta turned his face away from Mizuki's; his eyes were downcast and his cheeks a glowing pink. Mizuki's hand shifted so that his thumb was on the other's chin and turned his face back toward him. He wanted Yuuta to look at him. He wanted an answer. Sure, he could infer the truth from Yuuta's reactions, but he wanted to hear the words. He needed to hear from Yuuta's lips that he affected the boy.

Yuuta still wouldn't look at him. His eyes stared at the wall beside him. "Yuuta?" Mizuki tried again.

Mizuki's eyes narrowed a smidge. He hated being ignored. "Yuuta," Mizuki reprimanded firmly. Steel-colored eyes met his briefly before turning them to the wall again.

"We should get back to work." The words were muttered and almost indistinguishable. "Can you please let me go, Mizuki-san?" The anger was gone from his voice; his tone was almost pleading.

Mizuki's eyes narrowed further. He was starting to get a little miffed. Why wouldn't Yuuta answer him? Why wouldn't he look at him? "No." Mizuki huffed. "I'm not letting you go until you give me a response."

Yuuta let out a sigh. His warm breath caressed Mizuki's face and the curly-haired boy felt an excited shiver run through his body. His irritation receded with the awareness that he and Yuuta were still this close. If he pushed forward just a little, his lips would be against Yuuta's pursed, contemplative ones. Just a little and he'd feel that flesh against his.

He wanted it. Oh, it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair to Yuuta or his girlfriend. It wouldn't be fair to the parents that set Yuuta up with "such a cute girl." It wouldn't be fair to the older sister that always complimented the couple. It wouldn't be fair to the older brother that thought they looked sweet together, but he wanted it.

Mizuki grew angrier with every rationalization. No, it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be just. It wouldn't be fair. But it didn't stop him from wanting it. His teeth gnashed together unpleasantly. This whole situation was unfair. It wasn't fair that Yuuta had to share a room with this blond nobody when it could be Mizuki sleeping in that bed. It could be Mizuki waking up to that cute, rumpled appearance every morning! It wasn't fair that Yuuta was pushed into a relationship with a girl he didn't know, didn't love, when it could be Mizuki there loving him. It wasn't fair that Yuuta kissed that girl when he could be kissing Mizuki. Who was this girl to touch his Yuuta? Who was she to say she loved him when it was Mizuki who had watched him all these years. It was Mizuki who knew his habits. It was Mizuki who knew his strengths and weaknesses. It was Mizuki who knew his charms and flaws!

Mizuki deserved this, but he couldn't have it. It was right here, but he wasn't allowed. He could look, but touching wasn't "fair." He could tease, but flirting wasn't "right."

…He could like, but to love wasn't "just."

For only the fifth time in his life, Mizuki cursed. "Fuck ethics."

He pushed forward through that separating distance and pressed his lips against Yuuta's.

"Mmph!" Yuuta let out an indignant grunt when he closed that space between them. The kiss had been done so suddenly; more of a mashing together than the romance that Mizuki had always imagined for their first kiss. His nose bumped awkwardly with Yuuta's and his front teeth hurt a bit from the impact.

"Agh!" He pulled away and touched his fingers to his lips. He hadn't meant it to be quite so rough. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn't been that rough. Why had it hurt so badly?

"Mizuki-san!" Yuuta scolded him. "I had it just fine! You didn't have to help me with that, too!"

'Help him with…?' Ah. "Yuuta? You weren't trying to kiss me, by any chance, were you?"

"N-no! Of course not! Don't be stupid…." The flush across his face combined with the embarrassed stuttering and the downcast eyes told Mizuki another story entirely.

"In that case…shall I kiss you?" A knowing smile spread across Mizuki's face. He held Yuuta's chin in his fingers and waited for a sign that said he should stop.

It never came.

"Please?" Yuuta answered. He wouldn't quite meet Mizuki's eyes, but that was alright. Yuuta wanted him and that was all that mattered.

He slowly leaned into the tan face in front of him. His thumb rubbed across the flushed cheek. Yuuta's skin was amazingly soft for a man of 20. At any other time, Mizuki would have laughed and teased him about using products on himself, but this was not the time for joking. His thumb doubled back toward the barely-parted lips of the boy he'd watched for so long. He couldn't believe he was allowed to touch him this way….

His time-roughened pad brushed over the baby-soft flesh of Yuuta's lips. He felt more than heard the intake of breath at the touch. Mizuki smiled gently; he was in awe. "Yuuta," he whispered the other's name reverently. He'd waited so long for this moment. "So long, Yuuta…I've waited so long…."

He let his voice trail off and, with not a single feeling of guilt, replaced his thumb with his lips.

This kiss was soft, slow, and gentle. Yuuta's hands moved up at some point to cup Mizuki's face. The hand holding Yuuta's chin captive moved to take hold of the back of his head instead. The short, bristly hair tickled his palm, but he paid no mind to it. His thoughts were completely occupied with the way Yuuta's lips felt moving against his own. It was exquisite.

Hands moved to Mizuki's shoulders and applied pressure. He complied with the suggestion and slowly lay back so Yuuta could follow without breaking the kiss. Their lips were faster now, more urgent. A groan slipped from one of them, but he wasn't sure if it was himself or Yuuta that made the noise. He didn't really care at this point.

A tongue slipped into his mouth and he willingly met it with his own. His hands slid down Yuuta's sides while his tongue slid against the soft, invading muscle. Yuuta collapsed on top of him when Mizuki's hands found his posterior. It briefly knocked the wind out of an unsuspecting Mizuki, but he soon found himself occupied with groping Yuuta's full cheeks.

A long moan slipped from the younger's lips when Mizuki pulled away to kiss along his neck. "Mizuki-san!" In that moment, Mizuki thought that his name falling from Yuuta's lips was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard.

He flipped the two over carefully; the bed was narrow and he didn't want any more accidents. He removed his hands from under Yuuta and raised himself on his hands and knees to straddle Yuuta's hips. His hands supported his weight on either side of Yuuta's head. "Yuuta," he started. His right hand trailed down Yuuta's clothed chest and abdomen to his waistband. His index finger slipped just inside. He traced a line back and forth, teasing the other. "Tell me to stop, Yuuta," he finished, his voice desperate. He placed a kiss just under Yuuta's earlobe. "Tell me to stop or I won't. I can't. I'm not able to."

A long moment passed between them. Mizuki almost removed the finger from Yuuta's pants; sure that Yuuta wouldn't want this to go further. A plaintive whisper kept him, "don't stop."

He loosed the button from its hole and Yuuta loosed a groan when he felt it freed. Mizuki's thumb and forefinger had the zipper tab pinched and ready to be pulled down when he gave Yuuta a second out. "Last chance, Yuuta," he whispered huskily into Yuuta's ear. "Tell me to stop."

The voice that answered was strained. "I don't want you to stop. Don't stop," he pleaded. "Please, Mizuki-san, don't stop."

That's all he needed to hear.

Tezuka frowned at the textbook he was reading. The silence of the library was pleasant to his ears and the familiar scent of aged books filled his nostrils. He loved sitting in the old library. The newer library on campus was always full of raucous students crowing around computer screens and making a fuss over Facebook games. It made it impossible to study.

He sighed to himself. Yes, he was sure of it. There was another error in the information reported in this book. Frustrated that a book of this quality would be allowed into such a collection of information, he shut the book and went to reshelf it. He'd let the librarians know, but they didn't take too kindly to it the last time he'd commented on a false piece of information.

He pushed his chair under the table he'd been working at and started when a hand grabbed the book he'd been holding out of his grasp. His eyes met the smiling ones of his roommate.

"Let me return that for you."

Remembering their eventful morning, Tezuka had to fight a blush down. To hide the once-foreign expression, he pretended to adjust his glasses by the bridge between the lenses. "That's not necessary. I need to find a new one."

"Then I'll help you look."

"That's not necessary, Fuji. I-," he cut himself off when he saw the now-serious expression on his friend's face. "Fuji?"

Fuji smiled in response and Tezuka knew something wasn't right. He had known Fuji was hiding things, but maybe he had gotten in too deep with whatever this was. He immediately scolded himself for thinking such things. He shouldn't imagine the worst. Perhaps Fuji just wanted another pair of eyes to look over an assignment.

"I need help, Tezuka."

Tezuka sighed and nodded. With the tone used, he made it quite clear that it wasn't anything scholarly he wanted help with. "Walk with me while I put this back."

"Right," he agreed easily. They passed through a few rows in silence. Tezuka figured Fuji was gathering the right words. He wondered briefly how much he was going to hear. He wondered how much he wanted to hear. He wondered if and why Fuji had suddenly decided to tell him what was going on. His mind was not kind to him right now. His thoughts chased around his head. What if Fuji were involved in something illegal? He wasn't sure he could just sit back and do nothing, even if it was Fuji.

"You lied to me yesterday." His tone wasn't accusing; he'd just stated a fact. "Don't deny it. You've lied to me a lot lately, Tezuka. I'm not mad. I would probably do the same thing in your situation. It must be difficult to not know what to do with all that knowledge."

"How did you find out?" He didn't deny anything; Fuji already knew. There was no point in trying to argue with facts, but he was curious to know how he was discovered. He also didn't apologize. Fuji saying he wasn't mad was equivalent to Tezuka being forgiven. He knew this from many long years with the man. Fuji's wrath was to be feared, but he wasn't one to react without due reason.

Fuji laughed at Tezuka's question. It was so shocking in the quiet room that Tezuka flinched away from his companion. "Tezuka, you're my dearest friend, but you're a terrible liar. You've always been."

Ah, that explains it. Out loud, he asked, "from when did you know?"

With laughter still in his voice, Fuji responded, "from the time you told me you were too tired and didn't remember I'd changed the room around."

"That wasn't a lie," his voice was a bit defensive, but he couldn't help it.

"No, but I could tell that you weren't telling me the whole truth. I know you, Tezuka." He let out a sigh and his smile slid from his face. They'd finally reached the aisle they were looking for. Fuji promptly leaned against the shelves opposite the ones the book belonged on and handed the volume to Tezuka. "I trust you."

The emotion behind the words surprised Tezuka. He glanced away from the sincere gaze of his friend and turned to find the proper place among the other books. "I…," he tried to say the words back to Fuji, but he couldn't. He did mean them. Fuji was one of the people he trusted the most. It was the level of emotion that he couldn't commit to. He knew Fuji would pick up on this, but it was somehow important that he brought himself to admit it out loud. Maybe not to himself, but he felt it was important to Fuji.

He took a steadying breath. "I trust you, too, Fuji. It's why I didn't confront you." 'That and I couldn't bring myself to admit the things I'd seen—and felt—to you,' he amended in his head.

Relief was apparent in Fuji's voice when he spoke. "That and it probably would have been awkward to do, right?"

His words were an echo of Tezuka's thoughts and his lips twitched in a miniscule smile. Fuji really did understand him. Finally finding the correct spot, he slid the book into its home and turned to face his friend.

"Yes," he agreed. His eyes took in Fuji's barely-hidden tension. His back was too stiff; the fingers of his right hand clenched and unclenched at his side. Something was very wrong for Fuji to be this upset. Tezuka crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the shelf opposite to Fuji. "Talk to me, Fuji." The words were soft, but firm. The implication was clear: Fuji could not dance around this topic any longer.

Fuji nodded a little too fast, a little too eagerly. His hair bounced about his face insubordinately. "I'm in too deep, Tezuka. I only wanted to help him, but I got in too deep."

He sighed and dropped to the floor gracefully; an elegant mess. "I didn't tell anyone. I was embarrassed. I didn't want you to find out especially. I knew you wouldn't approve…. I had to help him." His eyes begged Tezuka to understand. His face was open, raw with emotion. It hurt Tezuka to see Fuji this way.

He fell to one knee in front of Fuji. His right hand grasped Fuji's shoulder in a show of comfort. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" he suggested.

Fuji nodded again. Some of the tension had left his body at Tezuka's words, but he was still too stiff. A frown appeared on Tezuka's face. What had happened to jar his friend this badly?

"It started about a month ago. I should have stopped it before it really started. I should have negotiated better. I should have done something!" His voice sounded outraged, but he was only angry with himself.

Tezuka shifted into a cross-legged position and moved closer to Fuji as he did so. He had a feeling that this would take a while. He tightened his hand's grip on Fuji's shoulder briefly in a show of support. It said words that he couldn't or wouldn't. "Go on," it said. "I'm here for you. It'll all be okay."

"You know that Yuuta has a girlfriend?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm aware." He wasn't sure where Fuji was going with this, but he'd let him talk at his own pace.

"My parents set him up with her through her parents. There'd been talk of an arranged marriage before they started dating," he continued.

"She comes from a good family."

"Yes, she's a lovely girl."

Tezuka waited for him to continue. The library was too quiet around them. Normally, the two could sit in a companionable silence, but this quiet was deafening and filled with an uncomfortable tension.

"Do you remember that guy that Yuuta used to hang around all the time? He had curly hair and recruited Yuuta for St. Rudolph's team back when we were in junior high."

"Mizuki Hajime?" Tezuka bit back his amusement at Fuji's continual refusal to acknowledge the man's existence.

"Ah, so that's his name. I always forget…." his tone fell short of his usual level of sarcasm when mentioning the brunet. "He came with Yuuta to a family dinner about a month and a half ago. I accidentally stumbled into Yuuta's bedroom afterward."

Tezuka had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't accidental at all.

"I found them…together." His emphasis on the word told Tezuka exactly what he'd found. "I confronted Yuuta about it later. He felt terrible about what he'd done to his girlfriend, and my heart went out to him, Tezuka. I had no idea he was trapped in a loveless relationship. He's only 20."

"He cheated on her." His voice was flat and cold. Tezuka had no respect for people who abused the trust of others. He quickly squelched down the voice inside him that called him a hypocrite. Hadn't he done just that yesterday? Abused Fuji's trust?

"Yes, but he was confused. Apparently, he's had conflicting feelings for…that guy for years. I had no idea." Fuji took a deep breath. "If I had known, I might have been able to do something for him before he was stuck in this place."

Tezuka bit his lower lip. He wanted to argue his point, but Fuji needed to talk. He could put his own feelings aside for the moment. "You didn't know."

Fuji shook his head. Tezuka wasn't sure if he was saying "no," or just clearing his thoughts. "There's more. Yuuta came to me about a month ago. He was crying. I couldn't…." His voice shook a bit and he took another deep breath to calm himself. Tezuka, not knowing what else to do, rubbed his thumb across Fuji's shoulder in slow, calming strokes.

"I couldn't take seeing him like that. I would have done anything to help him. He so rarely asks me for help."

Tezuka nodded. "I understand. Your brother is…independent." He'd settled for that last word, not really knowing a better way to describe Yuuta's stubbornness.

Fuji scoffed at the word. "Mm. I suppose that's one word for him." Tezuka didn't like seeing Fuji this way. He'd only seen him fall into this bad of a mood a handful of times over the years and it never ended well.

"He's stubborn and can be very selfish, but he has a good heart. That's why I defend his actions. He's the only brother I have. I'd do anything to make him happy. Anything. Even if it caused my own unhappiness." He met Tezuka's eyes; his, a determined blue.

"You have to understand, Tezuka. I don't think you get it. I would sacrifice my own happiness to see my brother smile." He stared, unflinchingly, at Tezuka; his mouth was set in a firm line. Tezuka knew at that moment that Fuji would end their friendship in an instant if he didn't see Fuji's way of thinking. That's how absolutely serious he was on this matter.

Taken aback by this drastic change in mood, Tezuka could only nod. He'd known Fuji was willing to do a lot to help his younger sibling, but to go this far…to go to any length…. That sort of fierce protectiveness over the ones you love was something not too many people were capable of. It was inspiring to Tezuka and left him in admiration over the other man. He felt like he connected with Fuji just a little more; he understood him just a little deeper.

"I understand, Fuji." He tried to communicate this to the other with those words. His gaze met Fuji's just as unflinchingly. Fuji nodded in response and dropped eye contact. The unspoken words between both of them were clear: Fuji had understood.

Fuji's right hand came up and gripped the one Tezuka had on his left shoulder. He didn't seem to be aware that he'd done it, but it raised Tezuka's spirits a little to know that he was providing comfort.

"He came to me for protection and I gave it." And with that cryptic statement, Fuji launched into the explanation of how he came to be here.

A/N: And there it is. It's a bit earlier than normal because we're supposed to have storms tonight. I'd rather be early than late with updates.

Info on this week's schedule: chapter three is ridiculously short for reasons I don't feel like going into. Because of this, I'll post it around Tuesday or so and four will be on Friday like usual.

Here's the section where I thank my anonymous reviewers since I can't reply to them directly:

1 (that's really their name. Really. Go look. I'll wait): Thank you for taking the time to review, then! :D And don't worry about commenting on every chapter. I don't expect it. Truthfully, I would have agreed with you on Tezuka normally seeming dull to me before I started writing this. I didn't even like this pairing when I started this fic. It was written on a friend's request. After the last few episodes of the main series, however, it became one of my favorites :]