Title: Lessons of Loving
Author: DnKS – giRLs
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: FujiRyoFuji
Disclaimers: ours? Nah… never!
Warning: we'd like to say it's sappy but we cannot see any dripping liquid here… kinda confusing…
Chapter 1 – How to Feel
"Ryoma…why didn't you go to Japan instead of me?"
Ryoma looked at his brother, Ryoga, with an indifferent look. "Mother insists that you should go, and not me, doesn't she?"
"But I have nearly no memories of that boring place, unlike you…" Ryoga said in aggravation.
"If you really have no memories then how could you say it's boring there?" Ryoma said, also annoyed.
"Well, because I'm a genius?" Ryoga said with mock sneer. "Besides, it's my apartment! Why I should be the one to go while you're going to stay here?"
Ryoma just patted Karupin's head, not bothering to make a response to his brother since he already did it for the past hours repeatedly.
"Ryoma…"
"Stop begging. I won't go to Japan."
"Who's begging!"
"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said with a smirk. His parents wanted to go back to Japan after visiting their children, and his mother insisted that one of his children accompanied them home. Because Ryoma still had to prepare for the next American Open, his mother decided he was the one to be left. Besides, Ryoga had to familiarize with another home town of his, his mother argued. Well, nothing of those mattered to Ryoma anyway.
Suddenly the door bell was ringing and cutting Ryoga off from his attempt to make Ryoma went home instead of him.
"Ryoma dear, would you open the door?" Ryoma heard his mother speak from inside the room that their parents used. "And Ryoga, stop bothering your little brother! You should obey what your mother said!"
"Yes mother!" Ryoga said, still in annoyance. "Really, to cancel all my dates…"
Ryoma just snorted upon hearing his brother's real reason why he didn't want to go to Japan. He then put Karupin on the floor before moving to open the front door. While doing so, Ryoma planned all the things he was going to do in his apartment since he was to be home alone with Karupin. It would be peaceful since his family wasn't around, but Ryoma thought that it would be troublesome to do the household chores.
He stopped his thought when he opened his apartment's front door to reveal someone who smiled brightly at him. That person was taller than him, but he was still rather short for an American. He has a long braided honey colored hair and creamy skin. As for the eye color of the said person, it was hidden under the closed eyes and the black oval spectacles, so Ryoma cannot see it.
Ryoma blinked, since he did not recognize the face of the person in front of him.
"Hello," the stranger said, his voice sounded familiar but Ryoma couldn't place where he had heard the voice before. It sounded so sweet and serene, fluid like water. "It's nice seeing you again."
Ryoma blinked twice. "Did I know you, miss?"
The stranger blinked and then chuckled. With an elegant movement he took off his glasses to reveal his smiling eyes. "It's only two years since I last meet you in Seigaku's reunion… have I changed that much? You even called me 'miss'…" the stranger said before continued chuckling.
Ryoma blinked again. Now that he thought about it, that person indeed looked familiar…
Then realization dawned to Ryoma… honey colored hair, eyes which were almost always closed, and the smiling face… And he could not believe that he did not recognize the said person. "Are you…Fuji-senpai?"
"Aa," the stranger that Ryoma finally recognized confirmed.
"You look prettier now, Fuji-senpai," said Ryoma with a smirk, not bothered at all by the fact that he misjudged his former senior as a girl. "What are you doing here in USA?"
Fuji just gave a smile to Ryoma's supposedly compliment and answered his question. "I'm going to stay here for my work."
"I see… A good photographer like you just can't rest from orders, right?"
Fuji chuckled. "You have complimented me too much today. Anyway, you've also changed. You're taller. Remembering your height in the past two years, I'm a little bit amazed that you're now at the same height with me."
"Puberty. You're not that tall either, senpai, so it's just natural," Ryoma said casually. "By the way, would you like to talk here or would you like to go inside? I'm starting to feel cold."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I think I'll just go now, otherwise I couldn't find a hotel. It's full everywhere so I must be quick. After all, Christmas holiday is just a few days ahead…"
Ryoma wanted to ask Fuji to contact him when he already knew where he would be accommodated, but he was cut out by his mother. "Who is it, Ryoma?" Ryoma turned back to face his mother alongside his father and brother.
"My junior high school senior, mother…" Ryoma answered.
"Wow! She's so pretty! Is she your girlfriend?" Ryoga asked.
"Seishounen! I was wondering if you're normal or not, but you already got this fine girl, I think you should be fine!" Nanjiroh, his father, said.
Ryoma just rolled his eyes. "He's Fuji-senpai. Don't tell me you've all forgotten about him!"
"Fuji?" Ryoga and Nanjiroh said in the same time.
"You mean… THAT Fuji Syuusuke?" Ryoga said.
Fuji just smiled at both of them and said with a bow, "It's nice to meet you all…" He did not look bothered at all by the fact that beside Ryoma, Ryoga and Nanjiroh also mistaken him as a girl.
"My God, Ryoma! So he's your boyfriend? I knew somehow that you're not normal!" Ryoga said. "But man, he's so damn pretty that I would also go for him!"
"I'm disappointed at your preferences, young man, but I can say that you got a good taste to see his potential!" Nanjiroh said.
"Cut it out, you two!" Rinko scolded them and gave them a punch in the head. "I'm very sorry Fuji-san, they just like to tease Ryoma because he didn't have any girlfriend and turned many down…"
"It is fine, Echizen-san, I understand…," Fuji said with a polite smile. He remained indifferent even with the event unfolded before him. "By the way, are you going somewhere?"
"Yes, we're going to the airport to go to Japan."
"Oh, I visit at a bad timing then. Please excuse me, I think that Echizen needs to pack too and I also have to look for a hotel room now, since it's full everywhere. I have to find one before it's getting dark…"
"Are you staying in America? How long?"
"Aa…I will stay here for a week or so…"
"A perfect timing! Would like to stay in this apartment? I have to leave Ryoma here alone because he has to prepare for American Open… but I'm worried that he would be lonely…"
"Mother, I'm not going to be lonely… I have Karupin with me… and on top of that, I'm already 16 years old, for crying out loud…" Ryoma said.
"Don't be like that, Seishounen! Did you want him to wander looking at some hotel aimlessly?" Nanjiroh said. "It's bad for a pretty boy like him nowadays… He could be raped!"
"Don't talk nonsense, father…" Ryoma said while thinking that the one who tried to rape Fuji would be tasting hell. Fuji Shuusuke was not known as a sadist for nothing.
"I'm really okay, Echizen-san," Fuji said. "Thank you for your kind offering, but I don't want to bother Echizen with my presence…"
"He won't feel disturbed at all… right Ryoma?" Rinko cast Ryoma his 'mother look'.
Ryoma just sighed; it was going to be tough with Fuji in his apartment, remembering his twisted habit to tease someone when he was bored. But maybe it was not that bad to have someone accompanying him beside Karupin. "Whatever…"
"It's settled then!" Rinko said happily. "Now would you please help Fuji-san here to carry his suitcases, Ryoma? We'd like to go know or we're going to be late."
"Yes, mother…"Ryoma said. "Be careful on your way…"
"We will," Rinko said. "Now, you two, let's get going!"
"Yes…" Nanjiroh and Ryoga said. But before they go, they whispered something to Ryoma.
"Have a pleasant stay, Ryoma…" said Nanjiroh.
Ryoga added Nanjiroh's teasing with a snicker and said, "Spare us your story about what you do with him when we're not around, okay?"
Ryoma just looked at them with a bored look.
Not long after that, Ryoma and Fuji said their farewell to the Echizen family, and Ryoma was left with Fuji and Karupin alone. Ryoma sighed inwardly and checked the room for Fuji to be slept in.
Ryoma rolled his eyes when he found that Ryoga's room is locked. He cannot use Ryoga's room as the place where Fuji would be staying. Then he checked the guest room, where his parents stayed during their visit, and it was locked too. Ryoga and Nanjiroh must have done this on purpose to tease Ryoma.
"We'll have to share room, Fuji-senpai," Ryoma said finally, surrendered at his condition. "The other rooms are locked. I'll bring a futon to my room; bring your suitcases to my room while I'm at it. It's the last room in this hallway."
Fuji nodded and brought his suitcases to the said place. Ryoma brought in a futon and Fuji stepped up to offer him some help, but met with Ryoma's refusal. He then let Ryoma set the futon for him while he unpacked his things. "Where could I place my suitcases?" Fuji asked.
Ryoma pointed a large drawer made from wood standing on the left side of the upper part of his room. Fuji brought his largest suitcase and unzipped it after putting it near the large drawer. It appeared to be filled with his clothes. He then returned to the smaller suitcase and dragged it to the same place, unzipping it to take his bathing kit along with his towel. Ryoma saw it and said, "You could put that into the bathroom that's located in front of this room." Fuji nodded and brought it into the place mentioned.
Ryoma continued his work on the futon to make it more comfortable for his guest and was just finished when Fuji asked, "Where could I put my cacti, Echizen?"
Ryoma turned quickly to look at Fuji with a frown on his face. Fuji was smiling as he held three pots of small green cacti. "You actually bring those cacti through airport, plane and all?" Ryoma asked with a disbelief tone, it did not make sense for him how the cacti were not damaged in any way during Fuji's travel there.
"Well, it's just that I can't be separated from my Mizu, Midori, and Miko…"
"You name your cacti?" Ryoma said with a taste of horror in his voice.
"Yes, it's cute, right?"
Ryoma fell silent for a while after hearing that, but recovered quickly. "Whatever," he said, already accepting that his former senior was insane. "But I can't picture my room with… uh, those green thorny things… Could you just, put it back in your bag?"
"But they won't be happy with that, Echizen… They need sunbathing once in a while or they would be sad…"
Ryoma looked at Fuji with a dark glare that was met with Fuji's trademark smile. Ryoma pondered with it for a while, and then he rolled his eyes. "Fine. You could put it near the window, but make sure that it wouldn't prick anyone."
"Mizu, Midori, and Miko wouldn't do such thing. Their leaves didn't prick like some cacti you knew because I always treat them well, don't I, Mizu, Midori, Miko?" Fuji made a father-talking-to-his-baby look.
"…Whatever", was all that Ryoma said. It would be a long week for Ryoma with Fuji around…
(A/N: Ah, forgot the authors note… how stupid we are… course you want to read this stupid excuse of an authors note from us, ne? Blame that lovely president of our students' executive committee for this. Gah! So… review anyone? We know you want to (smile) bye for now n see you next chap!)