He bounded up the stairs to his apartment. He couldn't wait to show his brother. It was the exact tape his brother had been complaining about the one store being out of, but he'd gone to the *other* store and they'd had it! His brother was going to be so pissed when he didn't share it with him!

His sister called out to him, but Yuuta wasn't going to stop for anything. He saw that his brother's door was closed, so he knew where his brother was. He flung open the door, ready to gleefully pronounce his victory.

His brother wasn't alone.

That other boy, his brother's classmate, the one everyone talked about so much... hell, even his *brother* seemed in awe of Tezuka's tennis, and his brother *never* praised anyone! They were together. On the bed. They were doing things to each other. They weren't wearing all their clothes.

Yuuta dropped the grip tape, and stared, open-mouthed.

Tezuka stopped... doing things, and growled. His brother leaned up and kissed Tezuka's mouth, only realizing that something was going on when Tezuka didn't respond. He looked around, blinking owlishly. He saw Yuuta, and his eyes widened.

Yuuta took a step back.

"Yuuta! Get out of here!"

He didn't need to be told twice. He started to run, but the apartment wasn't big enough. He ran out the door, just going on instinct. He ran up the stairs, hitting the door to the roof with his whole body. He ran over to his secret spot, curling up into a ball to hide himself.

Tezuka had been doing things to his brother.

*

It had been quiet for so long, he wasn't even crying anymore. He heard the door open, but he just kept quiet. It depended who it was, who was looking for him. His sisters never looked that hard, and his parents didn't know about the secret place.

His brother knew.

The person was walking directly to the small shed, and bent down just where the little door was. His brother opened the door, and smiled brightly at him. "Hey, Yuuta. Come on out, ok?"

Yuuta curled up tighter. "What took you so long? Did you finish with your boyfriend first?"

"Yup!"

Yuuta sighed. His brother reached in and gently took Yuuta's hand, pulling him out. "Don't be mad at me, ok, Yuuta? You know I hate it when you're mad at me. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I didn't mean to; I was just... distracted."

Yuuta snorted. He didn't resist his brother, but he didn't help, either.

Sighing, Fuji sat down on the roof. "You should have knocked, though."

Yuuta's face flared red. "I've never had to knock before!"

"Well," Fuji grinned, mussing up Yuuta's hair, "I'm older now! Besides, you always *should* have knocked."

Yuuta grunted, hugging his legs and putting his chin on his knees.

"Yuuta..." Fuji sighed. He put his arms around Yuuta, resting his head on Yuuta's back. "Yuuta, I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt your feelings."

Yuuta squirmed. He didn't like it when his brother held him. He didn't like the way his brother smelled, like he just came off the courts, but different. He didn't like how his brother's shirt, which was normally so crisp, was all wrinkled, and he hadn't buttoned it up right. His brother was normally so fastidious. He didn't like the way he could feel his brother's smile through his body.

"Why? Why did you let him... do those things to you?" He could hear his tears in his voice. He cursed himself for speaking.

Fuji cuddled him tighter. "Yuuta, it's hard to explain. I... care about him."

"You don't care about anyone," Yuuta muttered.

"That's not true," Fuji patiently disagreed. "I care about you, and mother and father, and our sisters."

"You've never cared about anyone else..." Yuuta hoped that his brother couldn't hear him.

Fuji sighed, and it broke Yuuta's heart to hear it. "I've never known anyone like him before. Yuuta... He can beat me at tennis. He makes me stronger. He's... important to me, Yuuta."

"You shouldn't be doing those things. There's a rule; you have to keep the door open if you have a guest."

"That's if I have a girl over!" Fuji laughed, shaking Yuuta as he bounced back and forth.

"Well, you were doing the same things..." Yuuta pushed his face down, rubbing his forehead against his knees.

Fuji went still and quiet. "Well. Look, Yuuta, will you promise me that you won't tell mother or father, or anyone else, what you saw? As far as anyone should know, Tezuka is just my friend, ok? They... they wouldn't understand, Yuuta."

But Yuuta understood. He understood everything his brother wasn't saying, and it was impossible to refuse him. Their parents were kind and even loving, but they were traditional and rigidly fair. They wouldn't like it if their golden child was queer. Tennis fans might not like it. The school might not like it. People would label him, even if they said they didn't care.

Yuuta nodded slowly, raising his face so his brother could see the determination in his eyes.

Fuji looked so damn happy. Yuuta hated that.

"Thank you, Yuuta!" Fuji kissed Yuuta's cheek and hugged him tight. Yuuta held onto himself, keeping his eyes on his shoes.

He didn't like the way his brother smelled at all. He didn't like how hot his brother's mouth felt on his cheek.

"C'mon, Yuuta, I'll make dinner. Your favorite! Udon and fried shrimp, ok?"

Yuuta did like the way that his brother made udon better than anything else. And he had gotten the grip tape his brother wanted. That was good.

Fuji kept his arm over Yuuta's shoulder as they walked down to the apartment. Yuuta kept edging away, but Fuji wasn't giving an inch. Yuuta didn't mind *that* much, but he thought his brother could have taken a shower before seeking him out.

When they got back the apartment, Yuuta was almost feeling himself again, until he saw Tezuka on the couch.

He stopped dead in his tracks, and Fuji stopped with him. Fuji looked from Yuuta to Tezuka, who was now standing, back to Yuuta. He smiled. "Tezuka is from my tennis club. He's staying for dinner because we're studying together. Isn't that nice?"

Yuuta felt cold. His brother left his side and went to smile at Tezuka. Tezuka put a hand on Fuji's arms, and leaned down to talk in a low voice to Fuji, his eyes on Yuuta the whole time. Fuji laughed, and waved his hand in front of him. "Everything's fine! I told you! Now come help me make dinner. Yuuta, you want to prepare the table?"

Usually, Yuuta helped with the udon, and one of their sisters made up the table. Yuuta watched his brother and his brother's lover walk away to the kitchen, his brother smiling for his lover.

Yuuta balled his hands into fists and ground his teeth. This was ridiculous! He didn't even *like* his brother; why would he care who he was with? It was *stupid*. This was a *good* thing; maybe it would get his brother off his back.

"Oh, Yuuta, thanks for the grip tape! Let me know what I owe you, ok?" Fuji called out from the kitchen.

Yuuta had the impression that Tezuka had prompted his brother to say thanks. He stormed off sedately to his room, petulantly throwing himself on his bed. Thank god he didn't have to share a room with his brother because that whole room probably smelled bad. He hated his brother, and his brother's stupid boyfriend. He couldn't wait to get out of this house! He bet that he would have been able to make the Seigaku team as a freshman; and everyone made such a big deal over his brother the prodigy! Wasn't he the one playing with his brother every day for years? And now he was claiming that *Tezuka* would make him stronger.

Yuuta would show him. Yuuta would show them all. He would beat his brother at tennis, and then they would all know that *he* was the special one.

He didn't even think that Tezuka was that good-looking. His brother could probably get a way hotter boyfriend if he wasn't such a jerk.

~*~

end