~A Perfect Pair story presented to you by tsu-chan!~

Title: The Secret Garden
Part: 1/3
Warnings: Yaoi..supernaturalism(not the 'ghosty' type, the magic, curse-like type)
A/N!: I think I just made Tezuka OOC....


Pitter patter. The only sound that's been ringing in Tezuka's ears for about thirty minutes or so. He's been driving straight and yet he had not yet come across any car or any road sign the moment he went left at a fork some 6 kilometers ago. Seeing that a map would do him no good, he decided to go straight. Maybe he could come across some shelter and directions.

He was supposed to visit his parents after receiving a phone call from them. The tall man found it quite awkward for the older Tezukas to call for their youngest one's aid. Of course, he had no objection whatsoever to coming, the only thing bothering him was their message over the phone.

'Please tend to us.'

It would sound normal for anyone, but the way of delivering the message sounded quite desperate. Tezuka was sure that it was the voice of his mother calling. And besides, only his parents knew his house phone number.

After a few moments of musing, Tezuka gave up on finding the reason, and just focused on the road. And by focus, that means, vital vision should be in check, mentality straight, eyes open and just ignore the giant cactus he just passed.

Giant cactus. In the middle of the rain. Not normal. What to do? Pull over and hope that he's not delusional after getting stuck in the middle of nowhere.

'Maybe the mist is playing tricks on me', Tezuka thought. He found it illogical for a cactus to grow this huge, in the pouring rain. The bespectacled man stepped out of the car, umbrella in hand, and approached the seemingly humongous desert plant. In all perspectives, this has nothing to do with him going to his parents' house. But then again, Tezuka's stuck in who-knows-where, so might as well take the chance to speculate. And he somehow found an innate interest for the cactus, like it's telling him to follow the long file of cacti.

Okay, one huge cactus was enough, but a whole file? Maybe he's really stuck in who-knows-where. 'Of course,' Tezuka thought to himself, 'this kind of plant cannot survive on its own. Maybe someone was tending them?' And even before hid mind can decide what to do, his legs lurched forward and started walking, like a child following the rainbow, hoping for a pot of gold at the end.


He didn't expect the file of cacti to be this long, so long that he might mistake one of them for a pitchfork anytime if he didn't reach the end of the cacti forest soon. He kept on walking until he found smoke nearby. He then followed the direction of the smoke until he found himself in front of a traditional style house. The house looked really old, but manageable to live in. The wooden gate was open and he noticed that a myriad of cacti were surrounding the house. There was no doorbell so he tried to call out.

"Hello? Is there someone here?"

After a while, a long while, Tezuka heard some faint shuffling from the inside, despite the front door being closed. Then there was a voice coming from some part of the house far away.

"Ah! I'm sorry; I can't go to you at the moment. Could you please go to the backyard? Just follow the stone path," was the reply of probably the only resident of the house.

After hearing the invitation, Tezuka followed the stone pathway accurately laid out in the yard. Soon, the sea of cacti were replaced with different kinds of plants, ranging from tropical to evergreens, arranged beautifully in a seemingly endless manner, with only the ground visible as the guide.

He may not know much about plants, but the plants, accompanied by the sound of rainfall, give off a calm feeling. A feeling that he can relax for a while, sit and drink tea. Shrug off his worries about the phone call, asking for directions, the endless rain, and the like. It's like he was at peace.

The stone pathway disappeared, showing the tall man a lush, green backyard. Hydrangeas, Freesias and shrubs covered part of the ground while Roses, Lilies, fern and grass adorned the fence. There was another gate open, leading to more exotic plants. Tezuka entered the gate, presenting more evergreens and wildflowers. The area was bordered with different classes of trees.

If given permission to comment, he would dare say that this was a garden that cannot be described by mere words.

His wandering stopped when he came across a sakura tree in full bloom. So far, this has been the sole sakura tree he had seen in the entire garden. What was stunning about the tree was not the mystery of it blooming profusely in the presence of rain, but the person standing in front of the tree.

Clad in ornate green kimono, sheltered from the rain by the tree, stood a petite brunette with an ever perpetual smiling face.

For many times in a row, Tezuka had been astonished by the several surprises today. And this was the greatest among them.

The lithe man gave a collective greeting, "Hello. I am Fuji Syuusuke. Nice to meet you, Tezuka-san. Please feel at ease here." Dazzling blue orbs were unleashed behind the closed eyelids, "Welcome to my garden."

The area fell silent, with the patter of rain the only sound for the meeting of an apparently beaming gardener and a surprised guest.

1/3


This is my first fic for the new year, tell me what you think, I'll be happy to know!