InsaneJournal

[Fic] Gather, Chapter Eight, Ancient History
Title: Gather
Chapter Eight: Ancient History
Disclaimer: Still Konomi's
Rating: PG for fluff
Pairings: TezuFujiSae triangle
Summary: In which Tezuka discovers the truth about Fuji and Saeki's past
A/N: I think this chapter is my favorite in the Gather series. I love Fuji and Saeki as accomplices and rivals. Rokkaku just doesn't get enough love in my opinion. Course I only started saying that after I saw RokkakuMyu...


“Awww,” Fuji cooed. “That’s so cute.”

“You haven’t changed one bit,” Saeki sighed. Only Fuji Syusuke considered poisoning one’s ex-boyfriend to impress one’s current boyfriend “cute.” For his own part, Saeki just found it extremely amusing and was somewhat glad there was one less person at Senbatsu he needed to worry about beating. He walked back to his bed and flopped down.

Fuji raised an eyebrow, closing the door the two of them had been spying through. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“That you have some twisted ideas about romance.”

Fuji slid onto his own bed, resting his chin on one hand. “I’ve never had any complaints.”

“Well who’d be dumb enough to complain? You have some twisted ideas about romance,” Saeki shrugged.

“Ooh, jealousy? Really?”

Saeki rolled his eyes. “Not jealousy. A little pity for Tezuka, but definitely not jealousy.” Tezuka probably barely realized what he’d gotten himself into with Fuji. Then again, at the moment Saeki decided Tezuka deserved what he got. “Speaking of, what did you tell him about me?”

“What do you mean?” Fuji blinked innocently.

Saeki had known Fuji far too long to be fooled. “You know what I mean. He isn’t even my coach, and he’s going out of his way to make sure I’m running extra laps. So what’d you tell him?”

Fuji’s smile grew a fraction of an inch wider, making Saeki remember his reaction to the unconscious Rikkai player a few feet down the hall. “He can get a little protective. But I haven’t told him anything.”

"Well, maybe--” A knock on the door interrupted Saeki. Tezuka didn’t bother to wait for an answer, but opened the door right away. A little protective, sure. Gold-green eyes locked on Saeki for a moment in suspicion, before darting to Fuji.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Mn. Let me just get my racquet.” Fuji hopped off the bed, catching Saeki’s eye as he grabbed his tennis bag. Saeki raised both eyebrows at him, trying to hint that Fuji needed to explain some things to Tezuka before the buchou forced Saeki to do laps around Japan. Fuji pretended not to notice and slipped out the door with a wave good night.

Saeki reached for his warm up jacket. Fuji was plotting something, and Saeki did not want to get stuck in the middle of it. Besides, it was a little late for tennis practice.
******
Dealing with unconscious team members in the hallway was not in Tezuka’s plans for the evening. Inui would be running a lot of laps tomorrow for making him late to pick up Fuji --particularly when Fuji was rooming with an “old friend.”

Not that Tezuka felt suspicious of Fuji cheating on him. Cunning, manipulative, and deceptive as Fuji could be, he was also loyal to a fault. Generally, he executed his most intricate schemes to aid the people to whom he was so devoted, and Tezuka had been included in this group since long before they had become a couple.

However, Tezuka did feel suspicious of Fuji and Saeki coincidentally rooming at Senbatsu together. In his experience with the tensai, coincidence was a myth, and Saeki had a reputation for schemes that rivaled Fuji’s. Tezuka did not want to deal with the headaches the two of them could cause in combination. He was most certainly not jealous; jealousy was illogical.

The two of them strolled out of the dormitories, not talking at the moment, just wandering in the general direction of the tennis courts, Fuji’s hand occasionally brushing against the back of his. Fuji waited until they were out from under the glow of the dormitory’s lights before hooking his arm through Tezuka’s, leaning his head against his shoulder. “You sincerely want to play tennis?”

“Yes.” Tezuka would never say it out loud, but he missed playing against Fuji. Taking Ryuzaki-sensei’s place, he didn’t even have time to watch Fuji play. Even if they couldn’t play at full strength yet, Tezuka wanted a game. “One match. You can choose what we do after.”

“Really?” Fuji’s eyes opened, nearly glowing at the potential.

“Within reason.”

Fuji sighed. “Hai, hai. As long as we leave Saeki alone for a bit.”

Tezuka raised an eyebrow, sensing a trap. Fuji wouldn’t normally mention Saeki while they were alone together. He didn’t respond to the comment, but Fuji was used to conducting one-sided conversations with him.

“He’s just been acting a little strange during this camp. I thought we’d be okay, but I guess we still have a few issues being together this much after all this time.”

Oh look, bait, Tezuka thought, refusing to rise. Actually, he felt a little insulted. Usually, Fuji’s attempts to drag him into awkward conversation were more subtle than this.

“But nothing’s been the same since I broke off our engagement.”

Tezuka stopped, nearly knocking Fuji over in the process. Damn it, Fuji had gotten him on the line anyway.

“I never told you?” Fuji asked, as if the tensai didn’t have a memory that rivaled a herd of elephants'.

“No.”

“Oh, well it was a very long time ago.” Fuji replaced his head on his shoulder, hugging his arm a little tighter as if thinking Tezuka might bolt during this conversation. Admittedly, a small part of him did want to find Saeki and punch him in the face, but he reminded himself the jealousy was undignified and probably exactly what Fuji wanted him to do. “But it ended rather badly, so suddenly rooming with him is a little awkward. I guess I haven’t completely forgiven him yet.”

Fuji paused, clearly waiting for Tezuka to sink that hook a little deeper. Tezuka sighed; he did know his line. “Forgiven him for what?”

“Stealing my bento.”

Just when Tezuka thought he had one of Fuji’s scripts figured out, he found out Fuji removed a few pages. “What?”

Fuji nodded earnestly. “It was a very special bento onee-chan made for me, and he took it when I got up to get a milk. I knew it was him because when I got back to the table his eyes were watering and he was grabbing drinks out of other kids’ hands.” Fuji shrugged. “After that, I simply couldn’t trust him anymore.”

“Fuji,” Tezuka fixed his glasses which had slipped in the shock. “How old were you?”

“Six. Well, six and a half, technically. He proposed to me on the jungle gym before school.” Fuji looked up at him, blue eyes glinting with a smile. “So, jealousy abated?”

Tezuka pressed two fingers to his temple. “I was not jealous.”

Fuji seemed about to correct him when a nearby hedge shouted, “Liar!”

Both the Seigaku players turned to the shrubbery from which emerged a leaf-covered Saeki who pointed an accusatory finger at Fuji. “I didn’t steal that bento. You planted it there! And then you replaced my juice bottle with tabasco!”

“I did?” Fuji frowned, deep in thought. After a pause he mumbled. “You know, I think I did. I wonder why I did that?”

Saeki let out an exasperated sigh. “You switched bentos because Yuki Saori and I were holding hands at recess.”

Tezuka saw the transformation occur almost instantaneously and realized that his own part in this scene had been merely a supporting role. Fuji’s eyes went from closed and smiling to open and dangerous, the color of the center of a flame. False smile became a victorious smirk and his arm snapped up to return the pointed finger at the Rokkaku boy. “So you admit it!”

Saeki blinked, falling back a few steps. “I-”

“I knew it!”

“I meant to say because you thought Yuki--”

“And you thought I’d never find out the truth! Well-”

Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose where what had been a mild pulsing had built into a steady throb. He turned back to the dorms, leaving the childhood rivals squabbling on the footpath. Maybe Oishi would still be up and willing to play a quick game.