The Power of Gossip - Chapter 9

[sinnatious]

Title: The Power of Gossip
Rating: T
Summary: In Tezuka’s defence, it had been a moment of panic at the end of a very stressful day. Now everyone thinks he and Ryoma are dating.
Author’s Notes:  Shorter chapter this time around, sorry.  Next chapter will be longer to make up for it.

Chapter One - One White Lie
Chapter Two - This Is How Rumours Get Started
Chapter Three - Dropping Pennies
Chapter Four - Resisting the Forces of Chance
Chapter Five - Over-thinking Things
Chapter Six - Discussing Rumours
Chapter Seven - Reading Between the Lines
Chapter Eight - Realising the Obvious

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The Power of Gossip

 

Chapter 9 – Realising the Obvious

 

By Sinnatious

 

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Tezuka awoke with a start, barely holding in his gasp.  For a moment he was wildly disorientated, uncertain of where exactly he was. It certainly wasn’t his bedroom in Japan. A hotel then. That thought took a few moments to process. Yes, definitely a hotel – he could spy a smudge of a generic-looking painting on the far wall that all hotels seemed to decorate their rooms with. The light on the walls, peeking in past the edges of the drawn blinds, indicated it was early morning – he should check the time.  He felt around for his glasses, but his hand landed on a warm body instead.

 

That was when it all came rushing back to him – where he was, everything that had occurred over the past few days, and most importantly of all, the dream he’d just had.

 
Over the past couple of nights he'd become somewhat used to Echizen snuggling up against his side while he was sleeping - the rhythm of his gentle breathing even often came dangerously close to lulling him back to sleep, and the warmth pressed against his side was comfortable.  Today, though, Tezuka couldn't extract himself from bed fast enough.  It was only through exercising his supreme self-control that he managed to move slowly enough to avoid waking the other occupant.  Thankfully Echizen was a heavy sleeper - today was certainly the very last day he ever wanted the teen to wake up early.

Once free from the blankets, Tezuka practically ran to the bathroom, hopped under the shower and turned the 'cold' handle on as far as it would go.  He stood there for several minutes under the chilling water, cursing Fuji – for lack of any other target - for his misfortune.  Eventually, when his feet began to grow numb and he’d firmly entrenched himself back into reality again, he turned the hot water on as well, not wanting to risk catching a cold, and stood there for another ten minutes.

 

Tezuka didn’t have dreams like… that… very often. In fact, he couldn’t really remember having any since early high school, and even those weren’t terribly clear in his memory. So it was a profound shock that not only had he had one of those dreams last night, but he’d had it about Echizen. Who he happened to be currently sharing a bed with.

 

For the second time that day, he thanked his lucky stars that Echizen was such a heavy sleeper. 

 

It took a while before he finally felt composed enough to leave the shower. When he did eventually emerge, it was still early and predictably, his roommate was still asleep. Tezuka quietly made some tea in the kitchenette and sat down in the chair across from the bed, staring contemplatively at the young tennis pro. The blankets were bunched up around his shoulders, and green-black locks of hair framed his face. His lips were slightly parted as he breathed softly and steadily. At that point in time, Tezuka was immensely jealous of his peaceful slumber.

 

He sat there watching for what felt like a long time, just staring at that familiar face as though seeing it for the first time. This whole issue… it was so out of control now that even he had been swept up with it. It had to be because of Fuji’s leading comments. It had put… thoughts into his head that he had no right to be having about the other man!

 

When Echizen started to show signs of stirring, he left the room, not wanting to face those sharp hazel eyes in his current state. More time was needed to think. More importantly, he was intending to have harsh words with Fuji – both for the stunt the night before and in retribution for what his lewd comments were doing to his innocent mind.

 

Alas, Fuji was scarce all morning – or rather, he was always within eyesight of Echizen, meaning that Tezuka didn’t venture near. The thought of looking the other pro in the eyes so soon after that dream made him highly uncomfortable – it wasn’t until lunch time that he’d managed to shove the whispered words and tantalising images to the back of his mind where they belonged. His face burned at even the memory. He’d already acknowledged that there was physical attraction to be had in regards to Echizen, but he hadn’t pursued the thought any further than the rationalization that perhaps he might have inclinations towards his own gender. To suddenly be confronted with vivid fantasies that he’d given his imagination no permission to create was discomfiting.

 

After lunch, everyone gathered at the nearby tennis courts they’d discovered – seeing as the hotel only had a single court and the venue was currently off-limits to everyone except those participating in the upcoming event, it had become necessary to locate a more appropriate place where everyone could play. Echizen and Inui were currently running the Golden Pair through some drills, while Kawamura and Momoshiro played a match one court over. Kaido had left for a run, apparently keeping up with his stringent fitness routine even after high school.  That left only Fuji watching on the stands beside the court. Tezuka, still not quite certain what he was going to say, only that he felt that someone should bear the brunt of his ire for such a grievous turn of a events, quietly walked over and sat down next to the other man.

"Fuji."

"Ah, Tezuka, I was wondering where you'd gotten to. You’ve haven’t been around much this morning." Because he’d been avoiding his roommate, but Fuji didn’t need to know that.

They watched two rallies in silence before Tezuka finally stated, "You really shouldn't have done that to Echizen."

"Done what?"

That was a game he refused to play.  "You already know."

His friend seemed to be pick up on his seriousness, opening his eyes to glance sideways at him.  "Oh, that?  I was just telling him to take precautions.  Any good friend would do the same." Tezuka had forgotten at some point that Fuji was the exact sort of person who would repeatedly tap a hornet’s nest just to see what would happen. He liked to think himself a little more intelligent than a hornet, however, and resisted rising to the bait.

"You made him uncomfortable."

"I’m sorry. But are you sure you don't mean I made you uncomfortable?"

 

Tezuka refused to give that statement the dignity of a response, however accurate it may have been. They sat there in silent stalemate for a few more minutes, the stillness punctuated only by the pounding of feet on the tennis court and the heavy 'thwack' of tennis balls.

 
Finally, he asked, "Why?"  The question was spoken more to himself than his companion, but Fuji answered anyway.

"I just couldn't leave you two alone."  This was said with a wide grin.  "And it seemed a good opportunity to bring it up."

"That wasn't the question I was really asking."

At that, Fuji opened his eyes again, expression briefly serious.  "Oh.” Then… “Ah, I see. It appears I may owe you an apology after all.”

It was such an unexpected and incredibly perplexing answer that Tezuka actually turned to look at his friend properly.  But Fuji's eyes were closed and he was smiling once again.  "Fuji?"

"Saa, it looks like they'll be finishing up, soon.  Kawamura and I were going to play against the Golden Pair next.  I'd better go warm up."  The prodigy stood and started walking away, but after a few steps he paused and looked back, commenting airily, “You know, Tezuka, instead of focusing on what your relationship is perceived as being, maybe you should focus more on what your relationship actually is?”

 

What?

 

It took a moment to process those words. What their relationship was perceived as being….? 

 

Suddenly, it felt as though time had stopped. It took a moment for Tezuka to even remember to breathe.

 

Fuji KNEW.

Fuji Syuusuke, counted as one of his best friends, KNEW that he and Ryoma weren't going out.  KNEW that it had been a misunderstanding.  Of that, there was no doubt. What else could those words mean?

 

Yet the blue-eyed genius stayed silent.  To what end?  How long had he known? Even one voice of dissent, pointing out the obvious, would have been enough to convince the others.  But instead, his old friend seemed to delight in putting he and Ryoma into increasingly awkward situations - ones so awkward that even the stoic Echizen had started to show some embarrassment and discomfort.  He’d even gone so far as to give Echizen lavender oil and try to get him drunk on the same night! Was it all just a big prank, or did Fuji have some grand master plan in mind?

Knowing his old classmate, probably both. 

 

His immediate instinct was to call the manipulative man back and interrogate him, but Fuji was already sashaying towards Kawamura on the next court, tennis racket in hand. They could hardly talk now. Besides, he should have known that Fuji would figure things out eventually, though it was surprising that Inui hadn’t caught on first. So instead, his mind turned to the words his friend had left behind.

 

…What their relationship really was?

What was Fuji trying to suggest? He'd tried that line of thought before.  Their relationship couldn't simply be pigeon-holed.  It was far too complex, far too emotional, far too contradicting to really make sense of it.  Unless...

Though it was painful to admit it, Fuji was right - in a way.  He'd been trying to categorize his and Echizen's relationship based on other people's norms - the sort of behaviour that other people expected of rivals, colleagues or old friends.  And his persistent inability to succeed at that endeavour had proven its hopelessness.  But had he ever stopped to consider what HE thought of Echizen as? What his emotions towards the younger man were?

The teen in question was coming off the court, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the towel draped around his shoulders.  The sunlight caught the tips of his hair, causing it to shine in a sort of halo effect.  Tezuka felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Heh, the Golden Pair really are going to take this tournament by storm at this rate," the young pro remarked, tugging his trademark white cap back on.  "What are you doing, buchou?  Not playing today?"

"Perhaps later," he replied automatically, throat feeling strangely dry. Whispers and images crowded back in at the edges of his consciousness, clamouring for his attention once again.

Echizen didn't reply to that, merely settling himself next to Tezuka on the metal stands, watching in silence as Fuji and Kawamura stepped up to take his place on the court.  It wasn’t fair to pit out-of-practice amateurs against a pair going pro, but hopefully three-on-two would make it a good challenge for the Golden Pair.  It would be good endurance training, if nothing else.

 

After a moment, the repetitive thud of tennis balls hitting clay and racquets resumed, backed by the squeaks of shoes and the distant rustling of leaves in a light breeze. Fuji would be able to use all three of his signature moves today.

"Hn," Echizen muttered after the first few points.  "Mada mada da ne."

 

Then it was as though all those background sounds vanished, and all he could hear was Echizen’s steady breath.

It was as though those familiar words, spoken in that same deadpan tone of voice that Tezuka must have heard a thousand times by now, finally clicked everything into place. 

 

It wasn’t even much of a revelation when the realisation dawned on him. It was more as though he’d simply found the answer to an obvious problem that had been staring him in the face for a long time. It was the sort of understanding that made you feel incredibly stupid in retrospection.

Echizen was his most important person. And he had been for a long while now.

 

That wasn’t all, either. It was time to admit it to himself. He was attracted to the other man. 

Tezuka only barely resisted the urge to start hitting himself on the head with his own racket.