How I See You

The room was silent but for the rhythmic ticking of the
clock and the occasional muted shuffle of photo paper as Fuji
sorted pictures at his desk. Sitting
cross-legged on Fuji’s bed,
diligently working on the last of his homework, Kawamura couldn’t help being
distracted by the very faint sounds Fuji
made.

He truly tried to concentrate on World History and not allow
himself to be distracted by the antique clock that hung directly over Fuji’s
desk. It made him smile to look at the
clock – Fuji was the only person he
knew who actually preferred the old-fashioned sort of clock to the digital ones
that everyone else had. It was so like Fuji
and, as such, simply one more reason to be fascinated by him.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And, not to be overlooked, the biggest
distraction of all sat beneath the clock – Fuji Shuusuke,
himself.

“Taka.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> His friend murmured without glancing up.style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

Kawamura blinked. He
was certain he hadn’t been obvious in his staring this time.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “A-ah…yes, Fujiko?”

Fuji ducked his
head, smiling to himself. “Are you
bored? Would you like to do something
else?”

Kawamura colored faintly, gripping his pencil tighter with
renewed resolve. Boy,
would he.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “No, thank you, class=GramE>Fuji.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I’ll be done soon, I think.”

Fuji looked up
then, expression mild. “Take a break,
Taka-san. I want to show you something.”

Kawamura lay his book and pencil aside and scooted to the
edge of the bed, peering over Fuji’s
shoulder. “Did you have some new
pictures developed…?”

His words trailed off when he braced his hands on the back
of Fuji’s chair to lean further
over his shoulder. There, scattered over
Fuji’s desk, were about a dozen
pictures of Kawamura. All were black and
white, all were very candid snapshots that Fuji
had taken when Kawamura was obviously not paying attention.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> There were distance shots, close ups, some
off-centered, some taken only to preserve a certain expression, a certain look
in Kawamura’s eyes.

Fuji lightly
touched the one that lay atop all the others.
It was a close up - Kawamura was looking off into the distance with the
sort of vulnerable, expressive look that he hadn’t even been aware he could
display. He looked young and wistful and
almost…handsome?

“Fuji…class=GramE>” he breathed, not
quite believing what he was seeing. “You
took all these?”

Fuji
nodded. “They turned out even better
than I expected.”

Kawamura blinked, reaching to touch the very picture that Fuji’s
fingertips rested on. Their hands
touched and neither boy took his hand away.
Kawamura’s voice was soft at Fuji’s
ear and he wondered, briefly, if this would be the time he would confess his
feelings to his friend. “What are these
for?”

Fuji turned his
head so that his lips were inches from Kawamura’s.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “They’re for me.”

Kawamura was silent, the words hovering just style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>there, just on the tip of his tongue and
still he was unable to give voice to them – no matter how desperately he wished
he could. “T-they don’t even really look
like me.”

After a moment, Fuji
leaned in to rest his forehead against Kawamura’s, blue eyes intent.style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “This is how I see you.”

Kawamura moved slowly, wrapping his arms around Fuji’s
shoulders in a tentative, careful embrace.
“You must be the only one who does.”

Fuji smiled a
little and lay one hand on Kawamura’s arm as he
shifted the picture to view the one hidden beneath. style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “I’m okay with that.”style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He made a soft sound that could have been a
laugh, could have been a sigh. “Aren’t
you?”

Unable to speak, not trusting the strength of his own voice,
Kawamura nodded and tightened his arms around Fuji
just the slightest bit.

He was okay with that.