Nightclub at Daytime Chapter 16

[tacuma]

Title: Nightclub at Daytime
Writer: Tacuma811
Pairing: Perfect Pair
Chapter: 16/40 (probably)
Genre: AU, romance, angst, crime
Word count: 2034 words
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Chapter 16

Once again Fuji found himself home alone, extremely bored. Even after three months of living and working here he still had no permission to go out on his own. Which often ended with him being utterly bored, like he was now, because most of the others were gone. He was lying on one of the couches in the living room when he heard Oishi in the hallway.

'Oishi!' he called. When Oishi entered the living room and asked what was wrong Fuji sat up.

'Do you have time to go out right now? I want to make photos in town. If I can never go out I can never keep working for the magazines.'

'I'm sorry Fuji, I don't have time right now. Why don't you go to the park? Nioh and Yukimura are there right now.'

'I have photographed every single corner of that tiny park!' answered Fuji. 'It's small and uninteresting. I need to photograph something else before I will lose my skills.'

'Then you should ask Tezuka.'

Fuji sighed. Tezuka hated to be disturbed, so Fuji didn't like to go to his office. But this boredom was worse than an annoyed Tezuka, so he climbed the stairs and knocked on the door of Tezuka's office. When the bespectacled man called he could come in, Fuji entered.

'What is it, Fuji?' asked Tezuka.

'I was wondering if you have time to go into town with me,' Fuji said. 'I want to make photos outside, but I've already photographed the park so many times that I would like to shoot something else. Oishi says he is busy and that I had to ask you.'

If he blamed Oishi Tezuka wouldn't be angry at him, Fuji thought.

'I'm busy as well,' answered Tezuka.

'But the magazines are asking for photos and I can't make those around the house. I really need to go into town. What if I will give you half of the money I earn with them. Not to pay off my debt, but… just… you know.'

'No need to bribe me, Fuji,' answered Tezuka as he finally looked up from his papers. 'I'll come with you, but only for two hours. Where do you have to go?'

Fuji named a few things he had to photograph while Tezuka put the papers in his bag.

'I know a place where we can go,' Tezuka answered when he heard what Fuji had to do. An urban theme wasn't hard to find in Tokyo. 'Get your things, we'll leave in five minutes.'

Happily Fuji ran down the stairs, to his room. He grabbed the camera and everything else he needed. Within five minutes he had everything and he went to search for Tezuka. He found him waiting in the hallway with his bag filled with paperwork. Tezuka took him to the garage. Fuji had been there before only once and that was at the night he arrived at this place. There were two cars there. The big black one with the tinted windows, but also a smaller dark blue car.

Tezuka unlocked the dark blue car and told Fuji to get in on the passengers' side. Fuji stepped in the car and sat down.

'Who's car is this?' he asked. 'Yours?'

'Not really, it's for everybody to use. Atobe bought it for the house,' answered Tezuka. 'But the only ones who use it are me and Kaidoh. He uses it to go shopping for groceries. A few of the others don't have a license and the ones who have don't seem very interested in going anywhere.'

'Can I drive it if I want?' Fuji asked.

'No,' said Tezuka. 'You are not allowed to leave on your own. If you go out with me or Oishi one of us will drive the car for you.'

Fuji sighed. He hated the restrictions. He wanted to have a bit more freedom. He didn't tell Tezuka, because he knew the other would not give in and wouldn't give him more freedom any time soon. Instead Fuji looked out of the window and tried to find out where they were going. He knew a lot of places in Tokyo, but the part they were now didn't look familiar to him.

After fifteen minutes of driving Tezuka parked the car in a small street. They got out of the car and walked back to the main street. Tezuka brought Fuji to a small café and entered it.

'I'll be staying here,' he said. 'You have exactly two hours to make the photos you need. I want to see you here in two hours! If you're not in time, me nor Oishi will go with you again.'

'I can walk around on my own?' Fuji asked surprised.

'Yes,' answered Tezuka. 'Just make sure you be on time.' He sat down at one of the tables and ordered a cup of tea. He took his papers out of his bag and started working. Fuji hurried out of the café and started to make photos. He walked a little further from the café and tried to find the most perfect places and spots for photos. He didn't have a phone nor did he have a watch, so he checked the time on clocks in stores or asked people if they knew what time it was.

After a little more than an hour Fuji started to find his way back. This time he had paid better attention to his surroundings and the way he came from, so it wasn't that hard to find his way back. He even had time to walk into some other streets. He photographed parked cars, cars driving past shops where plenty of people were shopping. He photographed playing kids and a group of young mothers walking with their baby buggies. He photographed every little thing that reminded him of Tokyo. He managed to make almost five hundreds photos in a little time. He was sure there had to be some very good ones between those five hundred. It would take some time to find them, but at least he wouldn't be bored the next few days.

Fuji once again checked the time and made his way back to the café. He definitely didn't want to be late. He didn't want his freedom to get even more restricted. Or more like he wouldn't have any freedom at all if he would be late this time. Fifteen minutes early Fuji entered the café. Tezuka was a little surprised to see him so back so early already. He checked his watch.

'You still have fifteen minutes.'

'I know,' answered Fuji. 'But I didn't want to be late.'

'Do you have all the photos you need?' Tezuka asked. Fuji nodded. He thought he had everything he needed. 'Good, sit down then. Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?'

Fuji asked for coffee, black with a little sugar. A waitress brought it to him and Fuji sipped it, while he watched Tezuka work. He wrote things down while he was reading though a thick pack of papers.

'What is all that?' asked Fuji curious.

'Rules,' answered Tezuka. 'All the things the club needs and everything we have to do to keep this club and not get closed down. From the amount of employees to the amount of space and guests and the times it has to be cleaned. There are rules for everything. We might get inspected soon, so I'm working on the things that we still have to change.'

'If you don't do that it might get closed down?' Fuji asked. Tezuka nodded as he continued to write down what he had started. 'You have a really difficult job,' Fuji noted. 'I never knew you had to do so much to keep the club opened. Isn't it hard to do all the paperwork and the finances, but also be the bartender every evening?'

'It's a lot of work, but it has to be done,' answered Tezuka simply.

'Can't someone take something from you, so you will have more time to get things done and more time to rest?' Fuji asked. He didn't know if it was a stupid question, but it looked like this was way too much work for one person. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle so much work. Tezuka seemed capable, but everyone needed sleep and some time off.

'There is nobody who can do it and we don't have enough money to hire someone to do it.'

'Do you ever have time to spend on your hobbies then?' Fuji asked.

Tezuka sighed and put the papers away. With a rambling Fuji next to him he couldn't get any work done anyway. 'I don't have that much hobbies,' he answered as he put everything back in his bag.

'But that means you do have a few!'

'I liked to jog in the morning, but I don't have time for that anymore. Because I work until late I can't wake up very early, or I won't get enough sleep. I try to have breakfast at ten, but then it's already too late to go for a run. I only jog on Tuesday morning, since we're closed on Monday.'

Fuji didn't understand how somebody could like to run around early in the morning. It didn't sound like fun to him, but he could be very lazy. But if Tezuka wanted to jog in the morning, there would have to be a solution.

'What if I work as the bartender for one or two nights a week. I could work on Tuesday or Wednesday and then you can go for a jog those mornings. When I was still a student I had a job as a bartender in a club. It was busier than our club, more people came there and because they were always dancing they got thirsty. I'm sure I can still do it. You know I still remember the drinks and I can still mix them all.'

'Why would you want to do that?' asked Tezuka. He wasn't sure what to think of it.

'Well, you helped me, so now I want to help you, even if it's just something small. Even behind the bar I can still talk to customers if necessary. But that way we can also be sure I won't be bothered too much by perverted men. When I thanked Momoshiro for helping me he told me I should thank you, because you pushed a button to call him and Kaidoh in. Behind the bar I will feel safe, even when you're not around to call them in.'

'I'll talk about it with Oishi,' answered Tezuka. Fuji could see the other man was thinking about it. He probably liked the idea of having a little more free time.

'If Oishi is fine with it as well you can come and try it out once. You can show me if you are really capable to stand behind the bar on your own.'

'Great,' said Fuji with a bright smile. 'I hope I can help you.'

'By the way, you were on time,' said Tezuka. 'Because of that you can go on your own to the park again and you can take any of the guys with you if you want to go into town. You just have to tell me, Oishi or Kaidoh about it and you have to tell us what time you will be back. Alright?'

Fuji's smile got even brighter. He was so glad he would get a little of his freedom back. Their house had felt like a prison the last weeks. 'Thank you very much,' answered Fuji happily.

'Now I can finally go shopping with Eiji! Oh, how much do I have to pay you for the coffee?'

'Nothing, it's fine,' answered Tezuka.

'Thank you,' answered Fuji. 'You really are nicer than you look.'

Tezuka paid for the coffee and the cups of tea he had. 'I'll take that as a compliment.'

'It was a compliment! You should stop frowning all the time. You look more kind when you're not frowning.'

Tezuka rolled his eyes and walked back to the car. Laughing Fuji followed him.