Of Fairy Tales and Ryoma-kun
Summary: Sakuno Ryuzaki wouldn't deny she has a thing for fairy tales but being close friends with Ryoma Echizen for almost a decade was a tale like no other. For the RyoSaku Exchange 2016.
Sakuno Ryuzaki had always been fascinated by fairy tales. They were her bed time stories lulling her to sleep and had been there for her all step along the way. Back when she was a kid and attending Seishun Gakuen Elementary, she'd sit still in her chair when the teacher in English told the household tales. She'd listen intently and feel her heart flutter every time Happily Ever After was said and the book was closed. Despite not understanding what these English stories completely meant, she knew they were the same stories her grandmother retold.
On her eighth birthday, Sakuno's parents had organized a princess-themed party. She was dressed in pink (like Princess Aurora) and a golden tiara stood amidst her chocolate brown hair. She didn't remember much of it, only how happy she had felt then and probably the thought that it was the happiest point of her life.
A few days before the start of middle school, a twelve year old Sakuno boarded a train, on the way to meet her grandma and witness an official tennis match with her very own eyes. At this age, she was still half-stuck at her fairy tale fantasy—where a knight (or maybe a prince) would one day appear in front of her on a regal white horse, sweep her off her feet, bring her to a kingdom she would one day rule, and give her a lifetime of happiness and true love. Except, she thought as she closed her eyes, it was a fantasy and nothing else. There was no prince and happiness is merely subjective and well true love and happily ever afters were only legends because this was reality and reality did not bode well. Like right now. There was this guy, mightily swinging a tennis racket inches away from her face. She could only close her yes and pray these loud bullies would stop. Oh, how she wished her savior would come right now and whisk her away, but Sakuno was no fairy tale character, only a timid girl; so it came a surprise when someone spoke, "Hey, you are too loud." And just like that she was saved and maybe partly whisked away too.
Ryoma Echizen was no prince, that fact Sakuno was aware. He was a brat, as what her grandmother and senapais would say, who's good at tennis; but to Sakuno, he was not a prince but her knight in shining armor, no matter how cliché that might sound. She admired him from afar; sometimes going out of her shy way to cheer for him, cooking lunch for him, and occasionally being taught tennis by him. Even though he bullied her long braided hair a lot, she could admit she had a crush on him who actually wasn't a knight in shining armor anymore but a real life tennis prince (he's so good at the said sport that there was no other title for him).
At the end of their first year, Ryoma flew to US for, surprise surprise, tennis. Sakuno sent letters to him for an update about their senpais and sometimes a bit about her life too. She figured it wouldn't hurt and he wouldn't mind, considering they were friends now and maybe she got over her little puppy crush on him.
During N-17, that was the first time she met Ryoma after they parted ways, completely and utterly baffling, she might add. She was only walking after school, and bam, by the order of the tennis gods, she met him—a bandage on the bridge of his nose and that same tennis bag. She was happy to see him of course, and even happier when he pulled her by the wrist and dragged her along; similar to her fairy tale fantasies, they were off on a journey together, except it was not as lavish as it was. They only went to the arcade and—Sakuno sighed dreamily—it was like a dream come true. She got to spend time with Ryoma-kun and felt closer to him more than ever; all the while ignoring the tiny voice in her head that whispered, if it was someone else, he'd take them to the arcade too. And that traitorous puppy crush was back again, making her heart beat rapidly against her chest and sending giddy signals to her veins.
When they escaped the store clerk, Sakuno could see some traces of Ryoma-kun not there before—the way he was slightly out of breath, that familiar sweat at the back of his neck, and a tension on his back that reflected something was troubling him. She wondered briefly how she could tell such. He suddenly asked what she was doing after school, and against the soft glow of the afternoon sun, it struck her how this brat of a tennis prince had grown to a handsome man. Hmm, she could add that to the reasons why she liked him.
"What were you doing?"
"I was going to Miura shrine to pray for victory. So you'd be chosen for the Japanese team. A-And I drew your fortune for you." She smiled at him, attempting to give what she'd drawn but it slipped off her fingers. When Ryoma reached for it, she immediately realized it was the wrong paper. "Wait, that's—"
"So these really do exist."
"N-No! Not that one! I drew a second one." In the process of rummaging inside her bag, it came off her shoulder and fell.
Ryoma picked it up and apparently as well as the papers coming loose out of it. "Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck." He read gloomily. That troubled tension became a bit more evident.
"No, no! Don't be so depressed!" Sakuno was panicking, but thank the tennis gods, she found the exact paper she was looking for. "Here," her cheeks dusting pink in embarrassment or maybe it was adrenaline, "It's okay. I know something good will come of it in the end."
Right then, Ryoma-kun smiled and the tension on his back lifted. Sakuno felt her heart flutter again. She made him feel better; she was so happy, her heart could burst. However, he didn't miss asking how much she spent on those fortunes; mentally she added, if it would make you happy and give you an additional boost, it really doesn't matter, Ryoma-kun.
"Thanks, Ryuzaki." He was walking away from her again and going back to that tennis world of his. Sakuno couldn't help but smile. He might not be her prince in real life but supporting him on the sidelines was just as good as that could be. She glanced up at the now pink afternoon sky—the same color painting her cheeks and also the same hue as her princess dress in her fairy tales.
At twenty-three, lots had changed for Sakuno. She graduated from University, landed a decent job, and occasionally catching up with her friends from middle school. Surprisingly, she remained friends with the tennis prince and still held tight to her feelings that wouldn't disappear. After all this years, how could she? She herself did not know. Maybe, she was the real living flesh definition of 'first love never dies' or something similar to that; and she wondered, sitting here in the audience seat, watching Ryoma receive his gold trophy, would these feelings of her remain caged in her heart or someday she'd have her ever after at last?
"Sakuno-chan! Ochibi doesn't change, huh. Look at that smirk!" Kikumaru-senpai said with a grin, grasping the railings and leaning forward to wave at his kouhai.
"Wins get to his head sometimes," uttered Sakuno, not a bit surprised she could say this now. Being around Ryoma, hmmm for more or less a decade, could just melt away her shyness of the past and be more comfortable joking around. Even their upperclassmen weren't fazed at all. Embarrassments still come and go though, right now for instance.
"You say that like you're Ryoma's wife." Momoshiro piped up and instantly Sakuno could feel her cheeks going warm. The teases never go away, huh.
"Who is someone's wife?"
And just like that, she could hear the snaps of several cameras all around.
"Ryoma," Sakuno greeted with a nod and smile. Honorifics were a thing of the past now. "Momo-senpai was teasing again. You ought to get yourself a girl of your interest. Sooner or later, everyone would think we are secretly on a relationship."
This was the 23-year old Sakuno, more comfortable with Ryoma, less stuttering, and could even get away with joking such. The bittersweet ache of love still did not go away though but she shrugged it off at the moment.
"But aren't we?" The tennis prince responded, not a change of expression on his face, but oh, his eyes glittered with mischief alright. Sakuno inwardly groaned. This again. The media would suspect their supposedly romantic relationship again and believe her; clearing up things was difficult if she was the only one doing the clearing.
"Ryoma." She narrowed her eyes at him, but the red on her cheeks betrayed her attempt of a menacing look. "He was kidding. We're friends. Of course we are in a relationship."
But her statement went to deaf ears; or rather it was muted by surprised gasps from the crowd.
"Ohhhh! Does this mean the prince of tennis found his princess?"
"You mean finally found. We've been waiting for years—"
"So it's finally official? Wow, how many years did it took?"
"After this announcement, will Ryoma retire? I heard his father did exactly that."
"IT'S CANON OMG CAN I SCREAM NOW?!"
"YES, PLEASE GET MARRIED!"
"So you are in a secret relationship!" This one came from Momoshiro, who was grinning widely.
Sakuno wanted to shrink. She was only an average girl who fantasized fairy tales in real life time and befriended the tennis prince out of sheer coincidence, how could the media, no, the whole world notice her in an instant and label her the rumored secret girlfriend to boot?! And what, get married?! Who—
"We are," repeated Ryoma, flashing a smirk to everyone and sitting beside the red-faced girl sporting twin braids. The vivid color of the world illuminated by the midday sun disappeared for a moment before Sakuno could make out the brim of the cap blocking her view. If it was possible, the camera sounds doubled and appeared a hundred snaps per second.
"We are not," clarified Sakuno with a smile, setting her hands on her lap, away from the prince's reach. She made sure to raise her head to get the point across, although the Fila cap on her said otherwise.
"I'm sorry. Sakuno's not really good with all eyes on her. She's in denial when nervous."
Their senpais were snickering in the background. She'd admit, her name rolling off his tongue sent butterflies to her stomach. No, this wouldn't do. She gripped the hem of his shirt, tightly, to get the message across. But he faced her, ignorant, "You like me, don't you Sakuno?" He looked at her with no mischief reflected and let their fingers bump. Everything went silent in Sakuno's ears. And then he took her hand, kissed it in front of the world. The media went on a frenzy and so does the beating of her heart.
Sakuno did not know what happened next, or exactly how the blur receded, because in a blink of an eye she and Ryoma were on a deserted hallway, his fingers latched on her wrist. He didn't grip it tightly, but oh, Ryoma's sweaty hand felt smooth against her skin. Their senpais must have expected (been planning) this and without fail smoothly waved them both off the media's watchful eyes and incredible senses.
"You did not answer my question."
At 23, blunt as ever, that is Ryoma Echizen.
"You've always liked me." He said not as a question, but a statement of a mere fact.
Sakuno felt the blood filling her cheeks. "But you do not notice." She mumbled, shy all of a sudden. Is this another reminder she ought to draw a line on their relationship again? Because it was always half percent leaning on friendship and remaining half to something more. It was pretty tiring doing the same thing again and again.
"I was a dense boy." Ryoma admitted. "Tennis was everything to me."
Sakuno smiled, matching her steps with his. "And it brought you here, with another gold trophy."
"Tennis also brought you to me." He said all of a sudden, pausing his steps, facing her. "Sakuno, do you like me?"
She inhaled a good amount of oxygen that she was sure, so why does she felt her chest constrict? Her mouth frozen in place?
Breathe, Sakuno. Breathe.
As her vision focused, she became aware that he was standing close to her, him who was brushing her hair gently.
"Ryoma," she had to grip his arm for support. Why does Ryoma made her feel this way? She questioned herself the same time a sharp exhale escaped her throat.
"Sakuno?" The tennis prince appeared amused. "You forgot to breathe?"
"I do," she said between tiny gasps.
He blinked. "You really forgot to breathe?"
Sakuno shook her head, flushed. "That's not what I meant. I liked you. I always do. But it wasn't easy and I wished every time to stop liking you because feelings don't just work out with the tennis prince the way they do in fairy tales. I know." Her lips trembled. "Yet each passing day, I fall for you even more because it's Ryoma-kun, the prince so amazing and the boy who make me feel special if he so much smiled at me. But you're out of reach, and I am only a part of your audience. I'm not the girl fit to be your princess of tennis, Ryoma. I'm mada mada dane in so many ways. So why, why do you just ask that question all of a sudden now? At the point I'm okay with things as it is?" She gripped the sleeve of his shirt and hung her head low. "We're friends. Weren't we supposed to remain like that?"
A tear fell when the tennis prince himself drew her close and enveloped her in a comforting warmth. "You've always put up with me, Sakuno, even now. Being with you was peaceful. Times are fun with you in it. You aren't loud like my fangirls; and when I'm surrounded by fans I cannot seem to avoid searching for you amongst that crowd. You always made me guilty if I so much cause a frown on your face. I didn't know why. Seeing you smile makes me happy but I was a boy who did not know emotions well except my love for tennis. You were an important person to me, and still are. That time I met you out of pure coincidence and brought you to the arcade? I was kicked out of the U-17 camp for violating a dumb rule. You were always there for me, whether it is my brave princess in that Fudoumine match or you are just yourself who supports and cheer me up. Your encouragements always make me feel better, Sakuno. I wouldn't be here, with another trophy as you say, without you constantly supporting me. You are a selfless woman, you know that? You loved me without expecting anything back. And I can't believe you still do."
Ryoma was now looking at her softly, eyes reflecting the love he held.
"Sakuno, my princess who thinks she's only a part of the audience, you are the only spectator I want to impress with every match I play." He smirked and kissed her hand again. All the doubts that poisoned Sakuno's heart melted in an instant.
"Ryoma-kun…" With tears glistening in her eyes, she hugged him—a move she always daydreamed to do. Ryoma held her tightly. Her prince might not had come in a white horse and swept her off her feet, but this, this was how real life fairy tales reach ever afters right? It came a long way, bittersweet and full of aches at times, but still a love which could make flowers bloom even in winter.
"Ryoma?" Sakuno asked when the boy let her go. He had a funny expression on his face.
"Ah, I forgot something." He fished in his pocket a tiny black box, holding it out on his palm. When he opened it, a ring glistened, cushioned between a midnight blue foam. The look on Sakuno's face changed from that of surprise to trying to hold in her laughter. She tried her best but a giggle still escaped her lips. She had to put a hand against her mouth as to not offend the royalty of tennis before her. Ryoma Echizen, indeed, was the only person on Earth who could give a ring designed as a tennis racket with his cat and Fila cap on it.
"Is that Karupin?" By now, Sakuno's shoulder shook from muffled laughter.
Ryoma blushed. "I didn't know what design to get and when I asked senpai-taichi, it's just: do as your heart says." He scowled. "Next time I'll ask mom instead." But then, his expression turned almost….shy.
How could her prince be this adorable?!
"You don't like it?" He reached out and touched her hand, running his thumb across the back of her fingers.
Sakuno smiled, teary-eyed again, "It's beautiful, Ryoma. It's you."
He easily slid it on her finger. She looked taken aback.
"The moment the media catch a glimpse of this, you'll have the nosiest time of your life, Ryoma." Sakuno joked, still admiring the glistening ring.
He suddenly caressed her cheek, making her look at him, and smirked.
"Don't tell me you are sending engagement signals?!"
"Maybe,"
"Ryoma!"
"But hey, sooner or later, we will be engaged anyway." He appeared to be thinking seriously. "And get married in a, let's say, a year?"
For a moment, she felt faint. "You're already thinking of getting married?! Oh by the tennis gods."
But to this, Ryoma only said knowingly, "We've known each other and supported each other for ten years. I think marriage is already a given, Sakuno."
"Just promise me one thing, Ryoma?" She looked at him and held both of his hands on her own, looking gravely serious. "We'll decide on our wedding rings together. No more tennis rackets or even Karupin, or your hat." She giggled lightly.
He laughed, euphoric, and suddenly felt he'd been transported way back when Seigaku won the Nationals; except right now, the owner of the voice he faintly heard then was in his arms, smiling and exultant just like himself.
End.
A/N: HI HELLO! It's been so long since I've written for this pair but oh, how I feel happy just by finishing this and I really hope it would fit the request of internalmusings of tumblr. I had constant struggles because one, I always suck at writing romance kind of things and maybe writing in general and two because of eternal distractions and crying over this pair. Waaaah, I try to watch AMVs to feel a romance vibe, but ah I end up spending time looking for fanarts instead. But hey, I've enjoyed this so much. It took me down the memory lane of how I grew fond of ponta pair (WHO'S FINALLY CANON 23 LEMME SCREAM). I wish they aren't OOC here though. I tried what I can and stretched their characters as far as they could go *sobs*. And pls forgive my English. My writing skills are rusty af (not that they're amazing to begin with, i cri)
PS. There is an omake scenario in my head but I can't seem to write it right, so I'll narrate it instead. I do not know how Fuji did it but he found them; he took a photo with Ryoma and Sakuno hugging each other. Eiji also took one but it was at the scene of Ryoma slipping the ring on Sakuno's finger and another with him taking a selfie with the two as the background. Momo took a vid—from the beginning of Ryoma's confession to the ring scene but it was too noisy with his sobs and shaky to be understood. The three uploaded it on their respective IG accounts, garnering a thousand likes and comments in just five minutes. Some of the fans were screaming at Momoshiro's IG post because, to quote, this is exactly us right now! But surprisingly, a clear non-shaky video came from Tezuka Kunimitsu's IG account, yes Seigaku's former captain, the video all understandable and dramatic and full of freakin emotions that makes you wanna cry. By then instagram exploded.
Edit: I forgot to mention, the ring design I used is actually Ryoma's birthday ring. It's from the official merchandise. And thanks a bunch for the reviews!