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Fuji stood in front of the mirror, dressed to kill, and stared himself
down. He did look damn good in leather trousers, if he did say so himself.
"Right, Syuusuke, this is it.
You're gay and you know it. You've known it for three years and you've chickened out of telling them. Yes it would
be easier just to let Inui or Eiji or Oishi tell them but that's the easy way out and if Eiji outs you, no one would believe
him. You do not look at Tezuka, you do not imagine what he looks like and most importantly, you don't blush. Now,
get moving."
He paused outside the door to Kawamura Sushi. They were third years now - third years in senior
high - and this would be their last ever regulars' party. They would undoubtedly see each other again but this was still
the end of an era.
Going in, he saw that everyone had taken the seats which had become theirs over the past few years.
Eiji between Oishi and Momo, Kaidoh next to Inui on the opposite side of the table and as far from Momo as possible, Tezuka
and Echizen opposite each other at the end of the table and the empty space for him next to Tezuka. Taka-san, of course,
was behind the counter as one of the chefs.
"Fuji!"
Everyone turned at Eiji's voice and Fuji forced himself
to smile, nerves or no nerves.
"Eh, nice trousers, Fuji-senpai."
He was glad someone had noticed, even if it
was Momo, who was straight and dating Tachibana An. Everyone else had dressed up as well. Well, everyone except
Tezuka and Echizen. Echizen appeared to be wearing his tennis shirt over jeans and Tezuka was wearing his usual trousers
and shirt. He didn't really understand casual.
"Ne, Fuji? Come sit down?"
"Is there something up?"
Fuji
smiled: they never changed.
"I might as well just say it," he said, pointedly avoiding Tezuka's heavy gaze. "I'm
gay. Anyone with a problem with that can go talk to my overprotective younger brother."
"Is that all?" Eiji
was as tactful as ever. "Hurry up and sit down so we can eat. Next you'll be saying that you didn't know about
me and Oishi."
Fuji watched in amazement as the others turned back to their conversations with a reassuring nod or
smile in his direction. Hesitantly, he sat down in his usual seat, wondering exactly how Tezuka, from a conservative
family, was going to handle it. Meeting his eyes at last, he was surprised to see a faint smile.
"Took you long
enough," he said and reached out to put his right hand on Fuji's knee under the table, sending a shiver through Fuji's body.
"I
still think we should have gone to play tennis," came the down to earth voice from across the table. He should have
known that Echizen wouldn't care what he did so long as he still played tennis.
Tezuka sighed. Apparently this
wasn't the first time Echizen had pointed this out.
"Echizen, if I'd known that we were all coming out tonight, I would
have invited Atobe so you had someone as well. Unless it's Sanada at the moment?"
Echizen's face went decidedly
pink and he leaned over to steal from Momo's plate. Fuji laughed and beamed up at the wryly amused look on Tezuka's
face. He should have known that their all-knowing captain would be all-knowing in this as well, despite appearing to
have the emotional range of a rock.
"You'll find," Tezuka murmured too quietly for Echizen to hear. "That it's
much easier to turn down girls if they think you're asexual rather than gay. Apparently gay couples are cute."
Fuji's
eyes widened and he met Tezuka's gaze. The look seemed to last a long time but eventually Tezuka must have found what
he was looking for as he smiled and leaned over to kiss his forehead. He couldn't help but laugh at himself.
"I
think you probably knew what I wanted before I did."
Tezuka didn't answer but the slight blush as he turned back to
his food was answer enough.
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