Title: Thanks…
Summary: For staying here by my side. For making sure that you wouldn't leave. For making sure…
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. The anime and its canon characters belong to their rightful owners.
A/N: Sorry if the story isn't that up to par, but I hope the story is
"It's almost a month you two. I think you two should take a break from this. Don't you think so too Nanjiroh?" Rinko asked, staring with worried eyes at the two brunet's sitting by the bedside.
"I don't think they'll stop Rinko-chan," Nanjiroh sighed in response, frowning slightly as the two boys were sitting on opposite sides of the bed.
Fuji was sitting on the bed's right side and was holding the right hand of the patient in bed as Tezuka sat on the other side, holding the other hand of the patient. Fuji was laying his head on the bed as Tezuka reached one hand over to ruffle through his hair.
A knock on the door caught the two adults' attention, making them turn.
"Come in," Rinko called out, knowing that the other two in the room weren't paying attention.
The door opened to reveal another brunette, this time a female one, with a few bags in hand.
"Hello Hanako," Rinko greeted with a small smile as Nanjiroh nodded at the teenage girl.
"Hello Rinko-san, Nanjiroh-san," Hanako greeted back with her own nod. "I went to Tezuka-kun's and Fuji-kun's homes and grabbed some more of their clothes from their parents. I'll be taking their old clothes back to their homes to wash."
"Thank you Hanako," Rinko responded.
Hanako set the two bags down next to the two male's in the room before looking at the emerald-haired male on the bed. She gulped as she took a look at the boy and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry you two. I'm sorry for getting Echizen-kun like this," she apologized, looking down at the ground as she turned and left the room.
The two didn't respond to her, too caught up in their own sorrow at what was happening with their youngest boyfriend.
Rinko and Nanjiroh sighed before leaving the room, planning to get some food for the two males.
The two walked outside to see Hanako looking down at the ground, leaning back on the wall a few yards down from Ryoma's room.
"Now Hanako. Don't let their behavior get you down," Nanjiroh said to the girl, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not your fault that seishounen has been in a coma for the past few weeks," he reassured her.
"It still doesn't make it any better," Hanako replied, getting off the wall as she walked with the two adults to get some food from a nearby store. "I shouldn't have let them go to my fortune-telling friend."
"It wasn't your fault," Rinko reassured the girl this time. "You tried your best to keep them safe right?"
"Still…" Hanako trailed off as the three exited the hospital just to come face to face with one of Ryoma's common visitors.
"Hello there," Rinko greeted with a warm smile.
"Is Echizen…" the other asked, his usual expression on his face.
Rinko and Nanjiroh shook their heads negatively as Hanako looked toward the ground again.
"I see," the other replied with a sigh before handing the three something. "Please give this to Echizen when he awakes then," he said before he turned on his heel to leave.
"Strange boy don't you think?" Rinko chuckled as they continued their way to a nearby restaurant to order take-out.
"At least it shows that Ryoma has other people that are certainly worried for him," Hanako sighed, already having grabbed Tezuka's and Fuji's old clothes when she had left the room. "I'll be heading back toward their homes to hand their parents their dirty clothes. See you later," Hanako said, nodding her head at them as she left.
Rinko sighed heavily as she and Nanjiroh headed toward the hospital yet again after getting some food.
"Those three are blaming themselves too much," Rinko commented, leaning her head on Nanjiroh's shoulder.
"What do you expect Rinko-chan?" Nanjiroh questioned, narrowing his eyes. "Those three were with him when that haunted house collapsed on him. They are worried, but they are happy that he only got off with a few flesh injuries and a coma."
"I know Nanjiroh," Rinko said, nodding at his comment.
They were all lucky actually. Ryoma only suffered from a coma after the collapse of the building. He could have gotten an organ pierced from debris that was on him, or in the worst case, died from the collapse. The boy was lucky, and they all knew it.
Back in the hospital room, Fuji sighed as he rubbed the back of Ryoma's hand.
"When do you think he will wake up Mitsu?" Fuji questioned, looking up as he straightened up in his chair.
"I wish I knew Syuu," Tezuka answered his boyfriend. "I only wish I knew."
"Why won't he wake up Mitsu? Doesn't he realize how much we miss him? It's been at least two weeks!" Fuji complained, grimacing at the thought.
"I know Syuu," Tezuka said, reaching a hand over and gently caressing Fuji's cheek to soothe him as much as possible. "I know it's been at least two weeks, but there is nothing we can do but wait for him to wait up."
"But I don't want to wait for him to wake up, I want him to wake up now," Fuji complained, leaning into Tezuka's hand.
"I know Syuu," Tezuka repeated once again.
Fuji knew that tears were falling down his cheeks considering the speckles that were now appearing on the white sheets in between him and Tezuka.
"Wake up Ryo-chan… please…" he pleaded as Tezuka walked around the bed and wrapped his arms around the crying brunet.
"It'll be alright. You know he'll be alright. He's strong. He won't give up," Tezuka reassured the other male, rubbing a hand over his back.
Fuji could only nod in agreement, a bit sad that the boy wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. It was Thanksgiving tomorrow, and he was upset that he wouldn't be able to celebrate it with his two boyfriends.
"Are you two alright?" Rinko asked, knocking before entering the room.
"As alright as we can be at the moment without Ryoma being awake," Tezuka sighed in response, making sure to hug Fuji tight to avoid letting the male break down.
Rinko nodded sadly before placing a package on the nearby stand. "An acquaintance of yours dropped this off for when Ryoma wakes up," she explained, seeing the curious looks that the two teenagers were giving her. "We'll be visiting again tomorrow. I assume that you two will be staying overnight once again?"
"Yes if you wouldn't mind," Tezuka answered for the two of them, nodding as well.
"Have a good night you two," Nanjiroh said, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist as they exited the hospital room. "And stop blaming yourselves you idiots. Seishounen wouldn't like it," he told the two as they closed the door to the room.
Looking at the door, Tezuka sighed before taking a look at the package on the desk. It was wrapped in silver, blue, green, and beige wrapping. He noticed that it was actually wrapped in their favorite colors: silver being Ryoma's, blue and green being his own, and beige being Fuji's favorite.
"Should we open it now or tomorrow Syuu?" Tezuka asked, looking down only to see that Fuji had fallen asleep in his arms, tear tracks being clear on his face.
Sighing slightly, Tezuka used his thumb to wipe the tear tracks from Fuji's face before setting the boy in his lap. Leaning his head forward to lean on Fuji's shoulder, he decided to sleep for the night as well.
Before the male fully fell asleep, he made sure to gently grasp one of Fuji's hands and lay it over Ryoma's before laying his own hand on top of the two.
Falling asleep right afterward, he never missed the whisper of someone in the room before it fell completely silent once more.
The next morning, the sun rose and shone through the curtains, waking up the two brunets in the room.
Fuji groaned as his eyes fluttered open. Rubbing his eyes of the sleep in them, Fuji greeted, "Morning Mitsu."
"Morning and happy Thanksgiving," Tezuka greeted back, looking at Fuji and kissing the boy's forehead before giving a caring look toward the one on the bed.
"Happy Thanksgiving Ryoma," the two brunets greeted him.
"Although we wish you were awake to hear it," Fuji added, burying his head into Tezuka's shoulder.
"We both wish that," Tezuka said, rubbing Fuji's back with one hand as he rubbed the back of Ryoma's hand with the other.
Someone knocked on the door before entering the room.
"Is there any change in his behavior?" the person asked, coming into the room wearing a white coat over their normal outfit with a clipboard in hand.
"Nothing so far doctor," Tezuka answered in a sigh, looking at his smallest boyfriend. "We wish there was though."
The doctor sighed in response, walking up to the bed to check the machine attached to the boy to check his heartbeat. "It seems that he is still fine, so there will be no need to keep such an intense watch over him."
"We'd rather be here for when he wakes up," Fuji replied to the doctor.
"I see," the doctor chuckled in response before writing a few things on the clipboard. "If you'll excuse me, I have other patients to tend to."
"Of course doctor," Tezuka said with a nod as the doctor left the room after his normal checkup.
Fuji sighed once the doctor left the room. Tezuka continued to rub Fuji's back soothingly as the two brunets just continued to stare, hoping for a miracle to happen and allow their youngest to just wake up and at least give them a cocky smirk or a small greeting.
Hearing the door knock again, they both said, "Come in."
"Is Ochibi awake yet?" someone questioned, letting them know exactly who was entering the room.
"Not yet unfortunately Eijiko," Fuji sighed in response, slumping into Tezuka's embrace as the rest of the Seigaku regulars poured into the room.
"Still no sign of him waking up?" Momo questioned, staring at his best friend worriedly.
The two just shook their head as another person walked into the room with some bags.
"I brought food for you two just in case," Hanako said, placing the bags onto the table along with a few other things. "I know that you probably won't go home even though it's Thanksgiving, so I offered to bring something from your homes. Your families are also coming up later this evening to at least have dinner with you," she informed the group before taking the empty trays out and putting them in an empty bag.
"I'll just see you all later," she said, nodding her head at everyone as she took the trash out of the room.
"She's blaming herself as well it seems," Inui said, adjusting his glasses on his nose and writing a quick note down in his ever-present notebook.
"It's not any of your faults," Oishi reassured them all. "You were trying your best to protect Echizen."
"It wasn't enough though," Fuji interrupted whatever the group was about to say next. "We should have tried harder! It was the least we could do for him!"
The entire group looked down at the thought.
"Have you two eaten at all?" Oishi asked, trying to change the tense atmosphere that entered the room.
The two brunets shook their heads, causing the mother hen of the group to start fretting as he grabbed the food that Hanako had left the group.
"You have to eat something. Echizen wouldn't like it if you two wore yourselves silly in worry," Oishi reminded the two of them.
The two chuckled slightly, knowing how somewhat protective their youngest would get when it came to their worries about his health. Even in the car crash he had suffered through about seven months ago, Ryoma hadn't let the two worry too much. He had nearly yelled at them both for being so worried about the young prodigy, saying that he could take care of himself and that he was going to be fine.
Perhaps they should learn from that and have faith in Ryoma's wake-up call. The two were sure that he would awaken.
"Come on you two! Let's eat some food! We even got turkey and mashed potatoes!" Eiji yelled happily, earning chuckles from the rest of the team and a hiss from Kaidoh as Inui continued to write in his notebook.
"Alright, alright Eijiko," Fuji chuckled in response, reaching over to take a plate of food to eat along with Tezuka. They would have to make sure they were completely healthy to make sure that Ryoma didn't chew them out when he woke up.
"Neh! I heard that they have a tradition in America! Or was it a game?" Momo questioned, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Of course you would forget stupid peach," Kaidoh hissed under his breath, also eating some of the food that Hanako had gotten for them along with some of the food that they had brought themselves.
"What did you say viper?" Momo sneered, glaring at his teammate.
"Enough you two," Tezuka commanded, not even glancing at the two to make them start.
"So what was that game?" Oishi questioned with a sheepish smile.
"Well. I think it went like this. Each person would go around and say one thing that they are thankful for as they ate," Momo explained quickly.
"Is that all?"
"Yeah," Momo nodded in response with a large grin on his face. "Anyone want to play?"
"Sure," Fuji agreed with a small nod of his head. "Who should go first?"
"I'll go! I'll go! Umm!" Eiji pouted and puffed his cheeks out as he tried to think of something to say. "Oh! I'm thankful for being able to spend time with all my family! My older siblings are all back and my younger siblings are spending time at home!"
"That's nice Eiji," Oishi commented with a smile. "I'll go next. I'm glad that everyone is as safe and sound as they can be," he said, looking at Echizen with a hopeful look in his eyes. Everyone knew that although Ryoma was not really okay, he was better off than he could have been.
Everyone went through their thanks, saying at least one or two each just to make the game last a bit longer.
Finally, it went to the last two in the group. Fuji and Tezuka.
The two looked toward each other, almost as if they were communicating just by looking into the other's eyes, which could most likely be true.
After a few seconds, they both took a look at the bed. "We're thankful for meeting the Seigaku tennis team and Ryoma," they both said, looking at everyone in the room. "We're thankful we got to make such great friends that care for us, and we're thankful that we have Ryoma as a boyfriend."
"Aw!" Eiji chimed with a large grin on his face. "That's so sweet of you!"
Fuji chuckled at his childhood friend's behavior toward his comment.
"It's true. We're both thankful that he's our boyfriend. Right Mitsu?"
Tezuka nodded in response as he set his empty plate aside onto the nearby table.
"I'm thankful too you know," a voice whispered, making each and every one of them widen their eyes.
"Ryoma!" Fuji and Tezuka exclaimed, turning toward the bed immediately.
Everyone was looking at the patient as he finally fluttered his eyes open to reveal tired golden eyes.
"Oh Ryoma!" Fuji exclaimed, grabbing the boy in a tight hug along with Tezuka.
Ryoma chuckled weakly before reaching for the glass of water on the table to help with his throat.
"You finally woke up Ochibi!" Eiji yelled, jumping around the room happily, glomping everyone in the room. "Are you gonna play our game too?"
"Eiji! He just woke up! We should be more worried about his health than his input to the game!" Oishi exclaimed, looking at his doubles partner with an exasperated look.
"We already called a doctor to come in and check on Echizen," Inui said, getting off of the hospital phone in the room.
"Thanks Inui," Oishi said, trying to calm his partner down as Fuji helped Ryoma sit up on the bed.
Fuji sat on Ryoma's right side while Tezuka sat on Ryoma's left on the bed.
"I wouldn't mind saying one thing," Ryoma said as the doctor came in along with Rinko, Nanjiroh, and Hanako who was insisting on staying outside of the room.
"I guess you could say that I'm thankful for all the friends I've made at Seigaku," he started off, gently grabbing Fuji's and Tezuka's hands. "I'm glad for all the memories we've made," he added.
"I'm afraid I'll have to ask everyone to go outside, so I may examine Echizen-kun please," the doctor said, chuckling at everyone's happy faces. "Now shoo, everyone shoo," the doctor ordered, shooing everyone out of the room. Except for one.
Hanako sped over to the bed and gave Ryoma a quick hug. "Sorry," she said before leaving the room to leave the doctor and Ryoma alone.
It was just a few minutes later when everyone came back into the room to spend the rest of Thanksgiving Day with the entire team.
The doctor allowed everyone to move in one of the lobbies in the hospital to invite the rest of the family's of the entire group. The room was completely packed with everyone's family, although Hanako chose to go home after making sure Ryoma was alright
Later at night, Ryoma was in his bed as he was supposed to stay for one night of supervision before being checked out of the hospital.
Fuji and Tezuka were the only ones in the room, and they were both sitting on each of Ryoma's sides.
"There was a few things I didn't say when the others were here you know," Ryoma commented, making the two turn their heads toward him.
"What did you say then Ryo-chan?" Fuji questioned, laying his head on Ryoma's lap as the emerald-haired boy ran a hand through his hair.
Ryoma just gave the two a small smile and said, "Thanks for staying by my side. For not leaving when I was injured. For making sure that I would wake up. And most importantly… for loving me like you do."
The three in the room just continued to smile at each other before pulling each other into a long hug, kissing each other on the lips and cheeks.
The three lay down on the bed, ready to fall asleep as they looked at each other in the eyes. "Thank you for loving us as you do…"