Gah, sorry this chapter took so long! I was without a computer that could type this and update it last week, and only had access to internet through my cell. But it's longer than usual, to make up!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Verse 10 - Remembering

Tezuka was quickly starting to believe that ignorance was, indeed, bliss.

He hadn't slept for longer than about fifteen minutes every now and then. It was completely Fuji's fault.

One of the few things he had forgotten about Fuji… were his sleeping his habits. There had been many times during their six years' acquaintance when he'd spent the night at Fuji's house due to various reasons, and vice versa. He wouldn't say it had been absolutely natural to spend the night together, because that thought did strange things to him, but it happened often enough. Fuji always felt bad about having Tezuka sleep on the floor, and Tezuka refused to take bed (or share it, as Fuji had once suggested), so they would both sleep side by side.

And every morning, he'd wake up with an armful of a very clingy, very childish, and very possessive Fuji. Most of the time, he'd realize that he didn't have to go to school or practice, and he'd immediately fall asleep again, but one of the few times the two had woken up at the same time had been a bit awkward. Tezuka had decided that day to ask why Fuji always wound his body around his own during his sleep.

"I don't know. Why do you always reciprocate the action?" had been the smiling tensai's casual answer.

And Fuji had been right. Anytime Fuji was in his arms when he woke up, he usually had his own arms at least flung over, if not always wrapped around, the tensai's tenuous waist.

This morning was no different than all those other mornings.

Fuji had casually, unintentionally, wrapped his whole frame around Tezuka and was very much asleep. Tezuka had fallen asleep for about ten minutes before Fuji had migrated towards him in the night. At first, he'd thought it was Fuji's idea of a joke, but when he'd earned no answer from the man, he'd realized that he was truly asleep.

That didn't really improve the situation. Throughout the remainder of the night, Fuji had inched closer and closer to him before they'd reached their current situation. Tezuka had managed to doze off every now and then, but his over-active mind would always break through and he'd wake with a start. He didn't really want to be spotted wrapped up in Fuji, just in case his old habit was lingering as well.

Tezuka looked over at the hand-clock on the wall – Fuji wasn't really overly fond of the digital kind, for some reason – and saw that it was almost nine in the morning. Was it an acceptable time to get up yet, after supposedly having been up until four in the morning?

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, which was quickly opened before he could reply. Sakuno walked in, Aiden following close behind her. Tezuka frazzled mind tried to come up with some sort of explanation as to why he was allowing this, since he couldn't exactly rush to the other end of the room without looking like an idiot, but to no avail.

Luckily, for him, Sakuno and Aiden both seemed to know about Fuji's habit and only giggled lightly.

"We were just checking on you two. Breakfast will be ready in a half hour, but we'll leave it on the stove if you two delay," Sakuno managed to choke out between giggles.

Aiden smiled at him and inquired after the quality of his sleep. Tezuka lied through his teeth and said that it had been wonderful.

Once he was left alone again, with a sleepy Fuji clinging to him, he sighed in relief.

Then, his mind charged ahead to jealousy.

Aiden stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Sakuno was immediately by his side, looking worried.

"Nothing. Go ahead, I forgot something. I'll catch up soon," he smiled out. If being with Fuji had taught him anything, it had been to smile through almost any situation.

The worried look didn't leave Sakuno's eyes, but she did leave. Once she was out of sight, Aiden crouched down on the floor, his smile immediately gone.

He couldn't say that he had been entirely surprised when he'd walked into Shuusuke's old room. Shuusuke always had been a clingy sleeper – if there was no one beside him, he'd attach himself to the wall – even before they'd started going out. But they were engaged to be married now! How could Shuusuke do that, especially to his old – and possibly still lingering – crush?

Aiden wasn't angry, not at Shuusuke or even at Kunimitsu. He was just a bit upset and very jealous- though a large part of his mind tried to reassure him that it wasn't anything serious. Kunimitsu being in Chicago wouldn't affect their relationship at all. It might even make Shuu a bit more open and happy having his old best friend near him and with him at the wedding. Everyone had noticed how much more positive Shuusuke had been since Kunimitsu had reappeared in his life. So, it wasn't a bad thing at all. Aiden told himself that, and other reassurances multiple times over. He didn't need to worry. After all, they were engaged, and Shuu would never break that fact.

Shuusuke was his. Aiden wasn't really sure what he'd do without the other man that he'd become so dependent upon, had fallen so completely in love with.

Though Tezuka didn't know it, he was in a similar situation as Aiden.

However, his jealousy was much stronger. And he didn't have anything to reassure him, nothing that told him Fuji would be his, forever.

Not that he wanted Fuji to be his, forever. Honestly. Their relationship was a platonic one, nothing more.

Tezuka knew very well what was making him jealous. It was the idea that Fuji had slept like this with Aiden every single night since they'd moved in together (and he wasn't even sure when that was).

It had been Aiden who got to wake up every morning in the awkward situation. It had been Aiden who got to ask Fuji why he slept like that. It had been Aiden who got to reciprocate Fuji's gestures. It had always been Aiden.

It had been Aiden who had the opportunity to run his hands through Fuji's hair, which seemed incredibly tempting at the moment. It had been Aiden who got to smell the light scent of vanilla and milk mixed with sleep that hovered almost imperceptibly around the tensai. It had been Aiden who got to be the first one to see Fuji's smile and whisper, "Good morning", as Tezuka always used to. It had been Aiden who would listen to Fuji's quiet, random observations that pertained to anything and everything. It had been Aiden who became Fuji's confidant and best friend.

Aiden had slowly, but surely, replaced everything that Tezuka had once been for Fuji. And that was what made Tezuka jealous.

However, he really wasn't sure why. Yes, he had lost his best friend, but it was to the other's lover. It was only natural. So why did he want to stay in this sleepy moment with only the two of them, and make it last as long as he could?

Tezuka turned his body slightly so he was laying on his right side and facing the sleeping tensai. The other's face was buried in his pillow, his highlighted ocher hair not at all disarrayed. His usual smile was mostly gone, replaced, instead, with a relaxed look. His breaths were quiet and slow. Fuji truly looked like the teenager he had always remembered.

Tezuka didn't move his own arms to encircle Fuji, but kept staring. He was mesmerized by the innocent beauty he saw laid out before him. His mind was a confused jumble of memories from their shared youth.

The most vivid were, of course, the ones where they'd won the Nationals, three times. The old team had improved considerably during high school, and they'd been able to grab the champion's title even without Echizen during his second year. The next year, Echizen had joined them and everything had gotten much more interesting.

The whole time, Fuji had never strayed from his side, their friendship, always unwavering. Fuji had never quiet lost his observation skills, and he always commented on everyone's form, techniques, speed, strength, etc. Tezuka always listened with rapt attention.

He and Fuji had gotten close enough that the younger boy had been able to coerce a few small smiles out of him every now and then, even without the National's victories. They'd walk home together the days when Tezuka didn't have some Student Council meeting, or when Fuji wasn't preoccupied with the photography club. It was routine and often afforded both peace of mind during some hectic times.

Once Echizen came back, Fuji started spending more time with him. He had Seigaku's pillar teach him fluent English the way school could never really teach him. After a while, the two only spoke to each other in English, unless they were in other people's company. Fuji managed to bring out the sadistic side in Echizen, and Tezuka had soon found he had to deal with two pranksters instead of one. Somehow, both of them always avoided detention.

Mizuki Hajime and Yuuta had both joined Seigaku's high school division, and that had made Fuji very tense for a little while. Even after he'd accepted that Yuuta had made a name for himself and was no longer inflicted with an older brother complex, he couldn't accept Mizuki. Fuji had never forgiven the other for hurting his brother, but Yuuta, Tezuka, and Echizen and forced the two into a rocky acquaintance that wasn't full of hatred. After a while, Fuji had eased up and started teasing Mizuki by "forgetting" his name – this time, without any intended malice.

Even Tezuka had found it funny (though he'd never show it out in the open).

Tezuka remembered being surprised after finding out that Fuji and Echizen's close friendship had been there almost since halfway through their senior year at Seigaku middle school, but he hadn't been jealous. He'd been glad that his kouhai had found other close friends than just Momo and sometimes Kikumaru. He'd also been glad that his best friend had found a partner in crime, but he'd also been horrified by that.

Overall, he couldn't say his teenage years had been uneventful, what with the whole Seigaku plus Mizuki and Yuuta crowd.

Then Fuji had initiated that fake confession. He knew it had been fake because of two reasons: one, Fuji would never actually like him of all people, and two, no one's face was that straight when they confessed. So, he'd refused Fuji in the simplest, most straight-forward way he knew.

After that, everything had gone back to normal. Fuji still smiled the same way, and they still hung out just as much as before. Tezuka didn't even suspect anything was off until Fuji's announcement, but even then he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Tezuka wasn't completely sure why, but now that he was staring at Fuji's sleeping form, he was reminded strongly of Fuji's confession. It wasn't one of those special moments that he'd stored away in his memory, so he couldn't quite remember the setting, but he remembered exactly how Fuji's voice had sounded.

He imagined the Fuji lying so vulnerably in front of him saying that. Would he fake it? He wondered.

And that urge was still there. It took a considerable amount of willpower to the not run his hands through the tensai's hair and fix it so it didn't cover up most of the other's face. He wanted to feel the silky texture he knew it'd be. He also wanted to run his fingers lightly over the smoothness of the tensai's pallid face. He wanted to rub those soft looking lips and then, slowly, very slowly, kiss–

Wait a second, no he didn't! Tezuka jerked himself out of his thoughts as violently as he could. Who knew where he would have ended up had he not? It would've been dangerous, especially if Fuji woke up. He already had right hand reaching towards Fuji (which he placed in a less suspicious position, next to his left), though he didn't remember doing that.

This was not the time or the place for his thoughts.

After much consideration, Tezuka finally thought about admitting it. His mind was in a jumble. He couldn't sort out his thoughts. And there was most definitely something wrong with him if he was starting to have these strange feelings near his best friend. He doubted – knew for sure – that everyone didn't walk around wanting to…to…to kiss (there, he admitted that too) their best friend. There must be something wrong with him.

"You know, Tezuka, I've never seen someone stare off into space for so long without blinking."

The quiet voice had the intended effect. Tezuka blinked and floated down from his thoughts to look at a still sleepy Fuji. The younger man had yet to remove his arms from around Tezuka – he didn't seem to notice their uncomfortable situation – but Tezuka didn't say anything. If anything, it would make Fuji laugh at him.

"Fuji…" Tezuka remembered one of the things he wanted to do. "Good morning."

Fuji's smile was immediate and genuine. "Good morning, Tezuka. Did you sleep well?"

Tezuka's answer didn't falter for a second, but Fuji's eyes opening slightly alerted Tezuka that Fuji didn't believe his 'just fine'. "How about you?"

"Tezuka…" Fuji seemed to be about to ask something. "Fine. Breakfast is ready, right? We should get downstairs soon."

Fuji untangled himself from Tezuka as if they woke up like this every day, leaving Tezuka momentarily disgruntled. He needed to get away from this house, back to Atobe's, and lock himself in his own room. That would be the only place he could think with a clear head (possibly). He really did need to sort out his feelings.

"Today's Sunday, so you can just go downstairs in those pajamas. No one will laugh at you," Fuji giggled out. Tezuka managed a glare Fuji. He didn't want to be reminded of his "I Need A Hug" sleepwear. It was embarrassing.

Fuji stopped laughing but had an evil glint in his eyes. Tezuka had no choice but to disregard that. He'd learned very quickly that trying to get Fuji to reveal his plans ahead of time usually ended in a disaster worse than the one Fuji had originally planned. You obviously weren't meant to know how tensai's thought.

The two of them made their way down to the dining room, Fuji leading the way, since Tezuka had already forgotten. The whole time, Tezuka was trying to come up with a good excuse as to why he should leave immediately.

Fuji noticed Tezuka's discomfort but didn't say anything about it. He partly had an idea as to what was making so Tezuka so skittish in his own stoic way, but he knew that bringing it up wouldn't change anything. He himself had had to imagine that Tezuka was Aiden when untangling himself from the taller man's frame.

Down at breakfast, Tezuka's behavior didn't change, though no one else noticed anything different in the former Seigaku captain. Tezuka wasn't the only one acting strange. Aiden, who sat next to him, wasn't any better. It was obvious his fiancé was sulking, and Fuji had a feeling he knew exactly why. He would reassure him later.

The morning flew by in a blur and when Tezuka did leave, Fuji couldn't remember the excuse the other had given. His attention had been wandering and it always went back to the same thing.

For a little while, Fuji was actually a bit glad that Tezuka was gone. It seemed to make Aiden a bit happier, and gave Fuji, himself, space to think. Halfway through the day, however, Fuji realized that he already missed his ex-buchou's company.

He didn't get to see the other for another two days after Tezuka had left.

It was almost midnight – definitely not the best time to visit someone – and Tezuka felt like hyperventilating. Outwardly, he didn't even look disheveled. Inwardly, he was very much past panicking. Tezuka felt as if he'd lost his mind. Why he was even doing this, he didn't know.

He rang the doorbell, hoping that Fuji opened the door. It was Sakuno.

"Ah, Tezuka-san! Please, come in!" were her first kind words. She didn't inquire after him, for which he was glad, but he shook his head to the request.

"Is…Is Fuji here?" he tried to keep his voice steady. He knew what was doing and he would go through with it. It couldn't be that difficult, right?

"Well, then, wait here, I'll get him."

"What about me?" Sakuno was spared the trouble as the aforementioned tensai appeared right behind her. "Tezuka! What're you doing here?"

Tezuka tried to gulp down the huge lump in throat – it took three tries – and speak clearly. Everything that came to mind somehow sounded ridiculous to him, so he ended up staring blankly at Fuji.

Sakuno had left a while ago after giving Fuji a look. Now, Fuji stepped out of the house and shut the door behind him. "You want to talk about something?"

They started walking, one of the only things that still seemed natural. Tezuka didn't say anything, but he didn't know how long the two of them actually spent in silence. Fuji seemed content to just wait until Tezuka spoke. The tensai somehow knew that Tezuka wouldn't be able to say anything if he interrupted him.

"Fuji…" When Tezuka did finally start, that was the only thing he could think of.

"Yes, Tezuka?"

They kept walking and Tezuka kept his silence.

"Look up, Tezuka."

Tezuka did as he was told. He blinked back his own surprise. Had they really walked all the way to Lake Michigan?

"Isn't it cool? It's so pretty right now, right?"

It was. It was a new moon, so the only light to see the lake with came from the few boats still out, and from the still awake city behind them. The hovering ambience made the lake glow in just the right way, though it was so slight, you had to squint your eyes a bit to see.

That gave Tezuka the push he was looking for and he went in without preamble.

"Fuji…I like you."

TBC

Alright, so what'd you guys think of that?

You'll get to know more about Tezuka's feelings next chapter, I just needed to put that in this chapter :D

Thanks a lot to CoffeeTea for beta-reading this! I know I changed the spelling of Fuji's name back to Shuusuke from Syuusuke, but that's because I like to spell it in direct transliteration from the Japanese. :D

Anyway, REVIEW away please!