Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/114080. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Tennis_no_Oujisama_|_Prince_of_Tennis Relationship: Echizen_Ryouma/Tezuka_Kunimitsu, Echizen_Ryouma/Fuji_Shuusuke Character: Echizen_Ryouma, Tezuka_Kunimitsu, Fuji_Shuusuke, Echizen_Nanjirou Stats: Published: 2006-12-07 Words: 5149 ****** Ryoma Hates Puberty ****** by sparklespiff Summary Ryoma had planned on letting a bit of time pass between Tezuka starting at Seishun University and bothering him but he gets bored the first weekend and calls to ask for a game. The phone rings and rings and then Tezuka's voicemail picks up, which is strange—he distinctly remembers several occasions when Tezuka had picked up and said, "I'm studying, I'll call you back," or "I'm in the shower, I'll call you back," and once, "I'm climbing a mountain, I'll call you back." Ryoma has never heard Tezuka's voice saying, "Leave a message and I will get back to you," before. Ryoma doesn't. Notes Thanks to spurious for the lovely beta. Written for the very awesome storyteller for santa_smex. It's a lovely spring day. Most people are outside walking their dogs or doing soppy romantic things, but Ryoma is playing tennis with his father while—if Nanjiroh is to be believed—also trying his very best to break his father's heart. "YOU WANT TO FINISH HIGH SCHOOL?" Nanjiroh yells, dropping melodramatically to his knees and clutching at his hair with one hand while hitting a return ace with the other. "WHYYYYY?" That Nanjiroh can still do that to him should be argument enough, Ryoma thinks, but his father is not exactly reasonable and goes on crying about taking over the world with tennis and all the women that come with it. "Buchou isn't going pro yet," Ryoma replies, gritting his teeth and stealing a point from his father. "There are still people to play in Japan." That is the end of the conversation, and the game, as Nanako yells for them to come inside for dinner, no matter how much Nanjiroh whines about one game more and how Ryoma is not his Buchou and how going pro means girls, girls, girls! Tezuka is the kind of tennis player Ryoma wants to be, and Ryoma isn't interested in girls anyway. * Ryoma had planned on letting a bit of time pass between Tezuka starting at Seishun University and bothering him but he gets bored the first weekend and calls to ask for a game. The phone rings and rings and then Tezuka's voicemail picks up, which is strange—he distinctly remembers several occasions when Tezuka had picked up and said, "I'm studying, I'll call you back," or "I'm in the shower, I'll call you back," and once, "I'm climbing a mountain, I'll call you back." Ryoma has never heard Tezuka's voice saying, "Leave a message and I will get back to you," before. Ryoma doesn't. Tezuka calls him back two hours later anyway. "Echizen. Is something wrong?" It's only been a few days, but hearing Buchou's voice makes him grin; talking to Tezuka isn't as good as playing with him but it's much better than talking to anyone else who isn't as good at tennis. Then Ryoma hears the background noise, excited-sounding voices saying something about going to the library or Tezuka showing them how to make sausages; in any case it hits Ryoma suddenly that Tezuka might be too busy for him now. "No, Buchou," he lies. "I just wanted to say good luck with your studies." It's a stupid excuse and he knows it, so he hangs up before Tezuka can say anything else. He looks up and Karupin is staring at him. "What?" he asks, and then throws his cell phone at his bed as hard as he can. It impacts the center of his pillow with a satisfying thump. "What should I have done?" Karupin is being a jerk and refuses to give him an answer. * After that it's a series of tournaments—prefectural, regional, and the nationals, and others after and in between until suddenly it is October and he has not seen or heard from Tezuka in months. While waiting for Momo to finish doing his hair so they can go and get burgers, he sends off a text message: Buchou. A game? Tezuka's reply comes while Kaidoh is still yelling at Momo to stop trying to kiss himself in the mirror. Ryoma tunes them both out and reads Tezuka's message, which is open ended, with no dates or talk of bringing of balls, just the information that Tezuka is at the university courts at seven o'clock every Saturday morning. That Saturday Ryoma sleeps through his alarm and even though he rushes he still doesn't make it to the train station on time. "Che," he mutters and then calls and wakes up Momo as he walks home, because he might as well play—he can use this week to improve, because Tezuka will have and will be expecting the same from him. Momo is already at Ryoma's house when he gets there and Ryoma beats him, 6-1. After Momo leaves, he grabs the magazine his father is reading out of his hands and demands a game. Nanjiroh grins at him the whole time; Ryoma finds it infuriating that after national tournaments and the US Open he is still unable to beat the man, but Nanjiroh isn't his goal anymore. Tezuka's Zero Shiki flashes in his mind and in his moment of distraction Nanjiroh hits a drop shot Ryoma doesn't have time to reach. Nanjiroh takes this as an invitation to spend the entire rest of the game making lewd comments about Ryoma and girls. When he takes the match point he yells that he hopes Ryoma rocks her world, that if Ryoma wants to show someone a really good time (complete with eyebrow waggling) he's got pointers to share, because he is The Man, all the ladies love him and his— Ryoma stops listening then and attempts to make a strategic retreat but Nanjiroh follows him all the way until Ryoma slams his bedroom door in his father's face, and even then Ryoma can hear Nanjiroh laughing right outside for fifteen minutes. Ryoma's father is stupid, is the stupidest man alive, but still his teasing is repeating itself in Ryoma's head. That's not it, he wants to yell, that's not it at all, he doesn't want Buchou like that, he just wants to play him over and over again until both of them are satisfied and— Ryoma groans into his pillow and wishes puberty had just left him alone to enjoy his tennis in peace. * The next Saturday Ryoma misses the train again, but instead of going home (Nanjiroh will be waiting, he knows it, and he is not in the mood to deal with that pervert) he decides to check the schedule for the next train. He has to wait in the station for an hour before the next one arrives, but that's okay; an hour is enough time for a can of Ponta and a nap. It's not the wait that's the problem but what he sees when he finally makes it to the tennis courts at Seishun University: Tezuka is already playing someone else. It's Fuji. Ryoma knows that he could stand outside the fence and have them see him, talk to them when they're done, but there's a shadowed alcove where a vending machine stands and he stands next to the machine instead, where he can't be seen, and watches from there, not really knowing why. Fuji is just playing; Ryoma can tell without seeing his eyes, and it's obvious, obvious and wrong. Tezuka doesn't seem to mind, and that almost makes it worse—Ryoma feels the need to yell at Fuji for him, to scream that it isn't everyone who gets to play with Buchou, that if Fuji isn't going to appreciate him Ryoma would be happy to take him away and then he feels the need to clap a hand over his mouth even though he hasn't actually said anything, which is ridiculous, because things have changed but his attitude isn't one of them. He's still not one for holding back. Then again, things are always different when it comes to Tezuka so Ryoma stays quiet, keeps watching in secret. Fuji is just playing but Tezuka looks like he's shining. It could be the fact that Ryoma's in the shade and Tezuka is in the sun but he knows that's not the case—Tezuka isn't even using the Tezuka Zone but Ryoma feels as if his eyes are caught in it anyway, drawn to Tezuka's racket and wrists and— Ryoma shakes his head. He hadn't meant to look there, and he thinks up excuses, ones having to do with the time of day, ones having to do with an inadequate breakfast, all of which are—in one way or another—lies. Then it is Tezuka's serve and Ryoma has no time for thinking, just watching and realizing over and over that this is why he is still in Japan. * That night, Ryoma doesn't dream about Karupin. Instead he has a strange dream about toast and tennis balls. He wakes up with "Buchou" on his lips without knowing why and then the rest of the dream quickly fades until all that's left is how oddly hot his skin feels. He knows he'll be late again on Saturday. * This time it's different. Tezuka takes the first game but then it's Fuji's turn to serve—Ryoma thinks for a moment that Fuji looks at him right before he throws the ball in the air but that can't be possible, he's really well hidden, he is, but Fuji's playing differently all of a sudden. He's serious all of a sudden and after he wins his service game a "Not bad, Fuji-sempai," slips from his mouth and it happens again—Fuji looks in his direction and smiles. Ryoma shivers but that doesn't mean anything. It's getting cold, after all. That doesn't explain why he can't look away, or why he's still hiding by the vending machine, or why he sometimes stares at Tezuka's ass instead of the ball—that he blames on where he's sitting; sometimes he can't see the ball, that's all, really. Only there's a voice in his head that sounds annoyingly like his father's, singing something about liking big butts and Ryoma groans and kicks the vending machine to shut it up, which is a stupid move because Tezuka turns around and squints in his direction. Ryoma tries to make himself small in a corner but it's difficult with the growth spurt and he curses puberty again. "Inui, isn't taking our data pointless now?" Fuji calls, and then Tezuka turns back to the court and serves and Ryoma is saved for the time being. He concentrates on not breathing too loudly as he watches the ball bounce back and forth between them, getting so caught up in it that it's jarring when they change courts— Ryoma's eyes widen when Fuji says something to Tezuka, but just then a plane flies overhead and Ryoma can't make it out. It's probably not about him, but Ryoma decides to slip away the next time their backs are turned anyway. * He's in the shower when the game comes flashing back; Tezuka's Zero Shiki is on replay in his head and he's so distracted by it he ends up getting shampoo in his eyes. He thinks that's the end of it but once he gets the stinging to stop it's all of Fuji's counters in rapid succession and before he really knows what he's doing he's got his back against the slowly warming tile and his hand on his cock and he's hating himself a little. This seems wrong, standing in the shower sliding his hand up and down to Tezuka and Fuji playing a tennis match in his head, hoping the water is coming down loud enough to drown out the noises he's making. He's seeing Tezuka's first serve and Fuji's return, fisting himself faster and trying not to moan. He's seeing the second, a service ace and he's biting his lip and closing his eyes and letting out little gasps. He's seeing the Tezuka Zone and he's so close and his rhythm is getting jerkier, more frantic and then— "I know what you're dooooing!" Nanjiroh calls cheerfully from outside the bathroom door. Ryoma slips in shock and lands on his ass, hitting his head against the tile. "Echizen Ryoma, your sexuality has arrived!" Ryoma wonders if he can send it back. * He gets to the courts at seven and Tezuka is there, alone, taking balls out of a basket and hitting them one by one at cans set up on the other side. Ryoma takes one step towards Tezuka before going to his usual spot in the shadows. He tells himself it's because he wants to study Tezuka's form more before playing him. He hasn't even brought a racket this time. Then a hand drops to his shoulder and he almost jumps. It's Fuji, lifting a finger to his lips. "Ah. My favorite stalker!" Fuji says, as if he were the one surprised. Ryoma takes offense to that, and besides—"What about Inui-sempai?" Fuji just smiles. "Inui was never here." Then Fuji sits down next to him and Ryoma gets a little nervous. Fuji opens his mouth again and Ryoma knows why: "He's amazing to look at, isn't he?" They both watch as Tezuka bends back and then slams the ball forward; yes, Ryoma thinks, yes, but he doesn't say any of it out loud. Fuji apparently doesn't mind. He leans closer to whisper in Ryoma's ear, "Watch his back when he moves," as if Ryoma's eyes haven't already been glued to Tezuka, as if he hasn't been watching Tezuka's muscles shift under the fabric of his shirt. "Don't take your eyes off of him," Fuji continues unnecessarily, and then slides his hand up Ryoma's thigh. Ryoma shivers and wants to yell, but he doesn't want Tezuka to hear him, and when Fuji's fingers brush against his crotch he covers his mouth to keep from yelping. What are you doing, he wants to ask, but he doesn't. He can't make any words come out of his mouth as he stares and stares at Tezuka, as Fuji slowly unzips his fly, as he shudders with the first twinges of pleasure when Fuji starts rubbing him through his boxers. Tezuka stretches and his shirt rides up and Ryoma can't stop from letting out a small whimper. "Shhh, Echizen," Fuji whispers, and plunges his hand into Ryoma's boxers, and Ryoma wonders with what little of his brain is still working if this is all just a ploy to drive him mad. Then Fuji's fingers brush his balls before curling around his cock and stroking, and it's too much, Ryoma is sixteen and made almost entirely out of hormones, apparently, because his hips are jerking and he's throwing his head back and he's coming all over Fuji's hand. Fuji just smiles at him and wipes his hand off on Ryoma's shorts. "Tezuka's waiting for you, you know," Fuji says, and then he picks up his racket and walks onto the courts, leaving Ryoma there to watch with his shorts open and his boxers stained. Tezuka is waiting for him? What is that supposed to mean? * Ryoma walks in and his mother is waiting for him. Apparently his father has managed to do something right, and is taking her out on Christmas Eve. She's asking him if it's okay, if they can celebrate his birthday on Saturday instead. It's fine, he says. He knows that Nanako already has a date, but that's fine. He can spend the night of his birthday alone. That's fine. * "I've been waiting for you." Ryoma wants to roll his eyes but instead he asks, "Did Fuji tell you to say that?" Tezuka doesn't say anything, but Ryoma thinks Tezuka's cheeks are turning the slightest bit pink. He thinks he knows what that means, but he doesn't ask and Tezuka wouldn't answer anyway, which is perfectly okay by him. "Game?" Ryoma asks finally, and they play. "Come, Echizen!" Tezuka yells and a shiver goes down Ryoma's spine and it's unlike any match he's played before and just like that the first twelve games are over and they're in tiebreak. A plane roars overhead and Tezuka serves. It goes on, until it's 19-20, and then another plane flies over, and then another, and then another—Tezuka doesn't look up but he has a certain look on his face, like maybe he's been having strange dreams too, and then one more plane flies over, and a train goes by for good measure and okay, Ryoma gets it. He looks into Tezuka's eyes and sees that he gets it too and then Ryoma takes the point, and the next, and just like that the match is over and he's standing at the net with his hand outstretched. When Tezuka's hand touches his, Ryoma nearly melts at the contact, and he leans forward, tilts his head up, thinks: Just a little bit more and then— Then Fuji walks out from Ryoma's hiding place, clapping, and Ryoma feels disturbed, like someone has just opened the door on him masturbating and from the look on Tezuka's face he feels the same way too, but then Ryoma's mind goes to Tezuka touching himself, and that is a bad idea with Fuji standing right there. Fuji smiles like he knows what Ryoma is thinking, and he probably does, the creepy tensai, and then he says, "I hope you two don't have any plans tomorrow night." Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve, and Ryoma's birthday, and Ryoma had planned to spend it alone with his cat, a perfectly legitimate way to spend the evening, but Fuji apparently takes his silence as assent to whatever his plan is because he grins and says, "Great. Meet me at Seigaku tomorrow at seven. Dress up." Then Fuji grabs Tezuka's arm and starts dragging him away. Ryoma wants to protest, but Tezuka is letting Fuji pull him along, so he stands and watches them walk off until he can't see Tezuka anymore. Then he puts his racket away and runs to the train station, wondering what it is Fuji is planning. * He gets home to find that his mother has prepared his birthday dinner, which is delicious but reminds him that he will be alone on his birthday. He consoles himself with the fact that this means he will be allowed to sleep in. He goes to bed with that in mind, which is why he is so confused when he wakes up at 7:00 AM to the sound of someone knocking rather inconsiderately on his bedroom door. Ryoma grumbles something that's meant to be, "Go away," but the person either doesn't understand or doesn't care because he hears his door opening. "Good morning, Echizen." It's Fuji's voice, far too cheerful for this time of day, and Ryoma wonders why Nanako thinks it's okay to keep letting in his crazy sempai. He puts his pillow over his head but Fuji does not take the hint, sitting on Ryoma's bed instead of walking out the door. "What are you doing here, Fuji-sempai?" Ryoma asks, after minutes of waiting in vain for Fuji to leave. "Finishing your lesson," Fuji says simply, and then he crawls under Ryoma's covers and tugs. Ryoma has no idea why he isn't kicking Fuji out of his room as he feels his pajama pants being slipped down, and then his boxers; he's frozen, has no idea what's going on—okay, he does, sort of, but who expects this sort of thing to happen, really, an ex-sempai barging into his bedroom to take advantage of the fairly recent phenomenon that is Ryoma's morning wood? Ryoma remembers the feel of Fuji's hand and this is that, the same insistent stroking but also something warm, and wet—definitely Fuji's mouth and that's Fuji's tongue and there's suction and Ryoma doesn't last two minutes. Then Fuji pops out from under the covers and sits up and smiles and wipes his mouth—he's wiping his mouth because—because—Ryoma can't even think about it and then Fuji says, "Were you paying attention, Echizen?" Ryoma's brain isn't even working properly yet; it's too early and he's just had his very first blowjob and all he can think to say is, "Why did you do that?" Fuji's smile doesn't even twitch. "Can't I help out my kohai?" He stands up and goes to the door. "By the way, there's been a change of plans. There's no need for you to show up at Seigaku after all. Tezuka will come here." It isn't necessarily reassuring. "What are you planning?" "You'll see. Oh, and Echizen? Happy birthday." * Tezuka shows up at Ryoma's door carrying roses and a small box in gold gift- wrapping, looking as harassed as it is possible for Tezuka to look. He smiles when he sees Ryoma, though, and that's enough to make Ryoma grin. "Flowers, Buchou?" "Fuji made me bring them." Ryoma does not question how Fuji forced Tezuka into it, just grabs the flowers and dumps them on the nearest table. Tezuka hands Ryoma the present. "What's this?" "For later," Tezuka says, and Ryoma thinks he sees Tezuka's face turning red. "Fuji made me bring that too." Ryoma shrugs and drops that on the table as well, and then they walk out together. "Where are we going, Buchou?" "A restaurant. Fuji has made reservations for us, apparently." "On Christmas Eve?" All around them, couples are walking hand in hand, and even Ryoma knows the difficulty of getting reservations for Christmas Eve night. They stop in front of a restaurant with La Maison De Les Pommes De Terre written in fancy gold script on the doors and the windows; Ryoma can see inside to a large room with a giant chandelier and candlelit tables with fancy white tablecloths. "Do we have to go in, Buchou?" "Fuji must have gone through some trouble to do this for us," Tezuka says. "It would be disrespectful of us to reject his gift." "It's Fuji-sempai," Ryoma argues—going into the restaurant would probably be detrimental to their well-being in some way, but he doesn't need to say that. Tezuka reaches that conclusion on his own. He looks as if he is having trouble figuring out whether showing gratitude is worth the danger when a limo pulls up and Atobe steps out. "Right," Tezuka says, and he takes Ryoma's hand and leads him away. They don't notice, but in the bushes directly beneath the window right by the table they were supposed to be sitting at, Inui curses and frantically dials Fuji's number. "What do we do now, Buchou?" They're not dressed for tennis, after all. Tezuka looks at him and Ryoma looks back and they end up returning to Ryoma's house to play Mario Tennis, which is sort of like the next best thing. Tezuka is surprisingly bad, but Ryoma doesn't say anything—Buchou hadn't said anything about Ryoma being horrendous at beach volleyball, after all—and truthfully, Ryoma kind of likes it. It makes Tezuka human, and it makes Ryoma feel closer to him but they can't sit there playing video games forever. Ryoma feels Tezuka's eyes on him and when he looks up, Tezuka is there. Ryoma rallies his courage and moves to kiss him but just as he's about to close his eyes he thinks he sees Fuji standing outside his window. He's just made up his mind to ignore it when Tezuka's cell phone rings—Tezuka picks up and Ryoma can make out "data" and "window," before Tezuka says, "Get away from Echizen's house, Inui, and take Fuji with you," and hangs up. Ryoma knows how to deal with that. "Want to come up to my room, Buchou? We can close the curtains." They sit inches apart on his bed, staring at each other, and it is the most awkward moment of Ryoma's life because no matter how much Tezuka feels like tennis to him, this isn't tennis; aside from being molested by Fuji a couple of times Ryoma has no experience, no idea what he's doing. He wants to kiss Tezuka, he thinks, but he doesn't know how, doesn't know what he's supposed to do with his hands, when he's supposed to open his mouth, if he should use his tongue—he has no idea what he's doing when he leans in Tezuka's direction, tilts his head up, and Tezuka is leaning down at him, and Ryoma closes his eyes and anticipates the touch and then their foreheads bang together. They jump apart, wincing, but then they look at each other and try again, more carefully this time and finally, Tezuka's lips are touching his. Ryoma doesn't know what he was expecting, but this isn't it—it's warm, sure, but strange, too, and the sort of thing that will probably become uncomfortable before long, holding his neck like this, but then Tezuka moves his head a little and their lips slide together and then it's nice. It's still sort of weird, and wet, but it feels good too, at least until Ryoma becomes aware of the way Tezuka's glasses are digging into his face, and then it hurts. Tezuka must think the same thing, because he pulls away with a, "Sorry," and then he takes his glasses off and hands them to Ryoma, who puts them on his bedside table. He has never seen Tezuka without his glasses before and realizes that Tezuka is making himself vulnerable, that Tezuka like this is probably more than a little blind. Ryoma studies his face and Tezuka is blushing, Tezuka is blushing, as he reaches forward and touches Ryoma's hair—it's the sexiest thing Ryoma has ever seen and his breath catches in his throat and he has to smile, and then he has to change his mind, because Tezuka is smiling back and smiling, blushing Tezuka is definitely the sexiest thing Ryoma has ever seen. Then Tezuka leans forward to kiss him again and Ryoma gets the feeling he's going to be changing his mind a lot tonight. They get better at it quickly, and are soon discovering the kind-of-gross-but- wonderful feeling that is kissing with tongue, are letting out moans and then breaking apart fumbling at each other until they're sitting there, somehow, in shirts and boxers and socks. Then Ryoma reaches for Tezuka again and they fall back onto the pillows. Tezuka's weight on him is warm and solid but his hands are cold, and Ryoma shivers when Tezuka's fingers hesitantly brush the skin above Ryoma's right hip. Tezuka pulls away then, looking a little hurt, and Ryoma sits up and grabs his hands to keep him from running away. "You have cold hands, Buchou, that's all." "Oh." He starts making his Buchou face, and Ryoma can tell he's racking his brain for a solution. Ryoma grins then, and pulls Tezuka's hands between his legs—he's never quite seen this wide-eyed expression on Tezuka before, and the burst of cold as he presses Tezuka's palms to his inner thighs is so worth it. "I'll warm you up," Ryoma says, and Tezuka's hands feel good there, actually, because Ryoma's skin feels so hot. Yet somehow Ryoma is burning up where Tezuka touches him instead of cooling down so once Tezuka's hands acclimate Ryoma lets go and starts tugging at Tezuka's shirt. Tezuka has far too many buttons and Ryoma wants to just rip the thing off, but Tezuka might get mad at him so he doesn't. He succeeds in removing it eventually, though, messing up Tezuka's hair even more than usual in the process, and then Tezuka is sitting in front of him in boxers and socks, managing to look serious somehow, even if Ryoma can tell his eyes aren't focusing properly. He reaches forward, asks, "Is this okay?" and Ryoma wants to roll his eyes and tell him to just get on with it, but it's Buchou so he nods his head and Tezuka takes his shirt off so, so gently and then folds it and places it at the foot of his bed. Ryoma wants to laugh but then he notices Tezuka trying his very best to look at him and then Tezuka says, "You're beautiful," in his Buchou voice and then Ryoma does laugh. "I thought that was what I was supposed to say," Tezuka protests, and then Ryoma laughs harder. "To girls, maybe, Buchou," Ryoma says when he can breathe again. "With me you just do this." Ryoma tackles Tezuka then, and looking down at Tezuka, flushed and panting, is one of the best things in the world, and makes him feel almost as if he's doing this right after all. He toes off his socks and they fall somewhere by his bed. Tezuka does the same and Ryoma can tell by the look on his face that he's bothered by not putting them folded in a corner somewhere but then Ryoma slips a hand into Tezuka's boxers and strokes there and Tezuka's eyes fall shut. "Ryoma," he gasps, and it's a beautiful sound. Then Tezuka is touching him, wrapping his hand around Ryoma's cock so gently, like he's afraid of hurting Ryoma by being too rough with him, so he says, "You can do it harder, Buchou," and then Tezuka does. Ryoma doesn't know if he's doing it right, and he has a feeling Tezuka doesn't know either. They're both jerky and awkward in their movements but it feels amazing anyway and somehow they find a rhythm, writhing against each other, their hands and cocks trapped between them, hips shifting. Ryoma doesn't know how long it lasts, pumping his hand and thrusting into the circle of Tezuka's fist until the rhythm breaks down and he's coming, burying his face in Tezuka's neck and falling apart under Tezuka's hands. Tezuka lasts a few seconds longer, but soon they're both lying on their backs, breathless and sticky and satisfied. "Buchou, that was," Ryoma starts, when he feels he has regained the ability to speak, but then he stops himself. There's no need. Then Tezuka stands up and grabs his glasses and Ryoma assumes he's just going to the bathroom until he says, "I should probably go now." What? Ridiculous panic twists itself in Ryoma's chest and he reaches out and grabs Tezuka's arm. "Stay, Buchou?" Tezuka looks at him. Then he puts his glasses back on Ryoma's bedside table and gets back into bed. Ryoma smiles. It's quite possibly the best birthday he's ever had. * Ryoma wakes to the sound of Nanjiroh moving around downstairs. "Shoes!" Ryoma hears him yelling, "Shoes! My son brought a girl home. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM. She has really big feet but that's okay~! I'm so proud of my boyyyyyy!" "High school girl, high school girl," Nanjiroh is singing on his way up the stairs, "Let me see your high school girl~!" Tezuka is looking in Ryoma's general direction with absolute horror in his eyes and gropes around for his glasses—or at least that's what he assumes, but then Tezuka's hand lands in Ryoma's lap and Ryoma grins and holds it there as his father starts trying to break down the door. "Let me see her, let me see her!" Nanjiroh yells, and Ryoma cannot stop grinning. Nanjiroh opens the door, stares at Tezuka, blinks, stares at Tezuka a little more, and then faints. It isn't technically his birthday anymore, but Ryoma doesn't care, as he turns to Tezuka, who is looking rather faint, himself. Ryoma figures he'll be okay, and it is now definitely the best birthday he's ever had. "By the way, Buchou, what was in that box?" Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!