What I Wouldn't Give

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Fubuki doesn't go back to sleep.

He stays there, awake in his hotel room, staring at the sleeping form of Suoh in the bed across the room from his. Sure, Suoh looks peaceful now. He looks like himself. But Fubuki just knows that he isn't.

Which is why he's been up for the past several hours trying to think of what to say to his former best friend. There has to be something, a word or a phrase, an inside joke, something that would trigger a memory powerful enough to make him realize how stupid he's being, how pathetic it is that he gave up something so important just for the sake of revenge.

But so far, nothing has come to his head, and it doesn't seem like anything will unless Fubuki himself triggers his own memory. There has to be something powerful enough, meaningful enough, to remind Suoh of their friendship, their bond, the fact that they were stronger together, not apart.

It's about seven in the morning, now. Suoh should be waking up, soon. Fubuki hasn't gotten a wink of sleep since he and Shu spoke. That's not going to be good later. Training for the tournament is hard enough without the added problem of being exhausted. He should probably just stay in his hotel room and sleep, but that seems like a waste of a perfectly good day.

He doesn't know what he's going to do: about Suoh, about the tournament, about everything. Maybe he shouldn't worry about it for the time being.

That is instantly thrown out the door when Suoh wakes up. Fubuki hastily throws himself underneath his bedspread and pretends to be sleeping. He shouldn't do that, though! He needs to talk to Suoh, get some memories pulled back to the surface, get some feelings pulled back to the surface. But he doesn't know how to do that, and quite frankly, he doesn't even know if he can. He should just wait, see if they battle in the tournament. Maybe the feeling of fighting him will be enough to make him regret everything he did.

But what if he doesn't regret it? What if he's gone for good?

No, don't think that! If Shu heard his thoughts, if Shu knew how badly he was doubting himself, Shu would be there to talk some sense into Fubuki. He needs to pretend that Shu is there, talking sense into him, encouraging him, telling him what to do and how to do it. And then he needs to follow the imaginary Shu's advice.

Fubuki sits up, pretending that he had just woken up. He glances across the room to see Suoh in a very similar position.

"Good morning, Suoh," he says, trying to sound casual.

Suoh responds with a quiet, "good morning," and then disappears into the bathroom. No surprise there. Fubuki lets out a sigh and plans it out in his head. He'll get dressed then, since Suoh isn't in the room, and then once they're both ready, he'll see if Suoh wants to walk with him to the WBBA. If Suoh says no, then, well, he'll walk with him anyway.

That's what he has to do: be assertive. Suoh won't listen to him otherwise. He needs to talk some sense into his friend. That's the most important thing right now.

After a while, it's time for his plan to be put into action. Suoh had just grabbed his Bey and launcher and was about to head out the door when Fubuki gets the nerve and says:

"Let's walk together." Perfect. It isn't a question: it's a command. There is no room for hesitation.

Suoh looks at him with that fake, kind smile. "Sure, why not? There's no point in not since we're both ready to go."

Perfect. Fubuki gives a friendly smile. "Just let me grab Forneus."

To Fubuki's shock, Suoh stands by the door and waits for him instead of just walking right out while his back is turned. When Fubuki walks over, Suoh is still giving that same gentle, false smile. At least, Fubuki assumes it's fake. It has to be, given that Suoh hasn't smiled at him really since the incident where their friendship broke off.