His Turn

By hye-kyo

Disclaimer: Nope, POT isn't mine…

Author's Notes: Well, here is the companion piece to The Slip. It's a bit late but well, writer's block…anyway, thanks to all those who reviewed The Slip. I haven't replied to most of you…actually I think to everyone who left a note…

So anyway, on with the story…

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Ryoma Echizen smirked as she stirred beneath him. He pulled back a little, vaguely concerned that she might be having a hard time breathing. No, the only thing that made him pull back from her warmth was his want to see her face.

She looked worried in her sleep, a slight pout on her mouth, a furrowed pair of brows and cheeks tinged pink in the soft glow of the lampshade.

A crease formed on her forehead and he immediately thought she was going to rouse anytime soon. He took a quick peck at her nose and waited for her to open her eyes.

The flight back was unplanned. Fifteen years of being away from the country, no one would hardly expect him to come back. It was like a long dream. A dream. And when he woke up, everything just sort of pieced together.

And he rode the first plane available.

And he looked for her. For Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

She cradled her head on one hand as she woke up, her eyes suddenly finding his. She was still fidgety. She looked at him quizzically, as if on deep thought, as if still not believing her eyes. But her face contorted into something else and soon she was blushing.

"Ne," he was the one to break the silence. Just like how it was him who approached her last night. After fifteen years it was now his turn. The woman had done so much already. It was just right to give her that favor.

He called the person he knew who would most likely know where she is. He hadn't done any detective work before and being passed from one person to another, from one number to another, was just so frustrating.

He received instructions from the gossip-monkey of the junior high he attended that she was to go to some club that night. Her friend Osakada, the name clicked in his mind just this morning, told Horio the gossip-monkey with nth number of tennis experience, she'd force Ryuuzaki to go club-hopping with her. The two worked out a plan to have them meet. Ryoma nodded grudgingly, wanting to meet her somewhere sane instead.

"Anou…" she murmured, blushing. She seemed to be battling with herself at what to say and he tried himself to chuckle at the adorable sight she made. His eyes followed the pout of her mouth and remembered all too well how good she kissed him last night.

His eyes trailed down the blanket covering her frame and she seemed to understand what he was thinking and immediately clutched the blanket tighter. There was no end to her blushing.

It was in a shoot in the zoo for some endorsement when he remembered. He had taken refuge at some bench under the shade when he noticed it. He knew she wouldn't really like it if he told her she made him come back through a deer. No, so that, probably, he would leave out when he starts explaining how they ended up here.

Whatever it was in the deer's eyes that he saw, he doesn't know. The next thing he knew was that he was making frantic calls to different airlines to know when the earliest possible flight back to Japan is and if ever, can the earliest be right now?

"I apologize for last night…" she murmured, and was about to say something more when words seemed to left her. Her gaze fell on his chest and he smiled with the way her eyes trailed down. He tried hard not to laugh when she shook her head and blushed immensely.

He wanted to kiss her then and there. Again and again. The desire was so that it caused him to growl.

It earned him another blush.

He knew from experience that Ryuuzaki Sakuno was never quick. The dazed look in her eyes when he approached her last night made him affirm all he believed about her to be true.

He didn't tell her who he was; he assumed she knew all along. What with his many games replayed again and again (redundant) in sports channels, with his endorsement commercials here and there, with his interviews everywhere. Not to mention a year in junior high with her, a year in which all she did was watch him from the sideline and in which all he did was break her heart from inside the tennis courts.

So he assumed she knew. So the moment she asked who he was, he was rather taken aback.

"You were drunk," that was to point it out. To point his name out.

But just like every other thing he wanted to point out, she missed it.

He wanted her to understand everything as quickly as possible so he could get down to the more important business.

But well, Ryuuzaki wasn't really that quick-witted. If she were, she wouldn't be Ryuuzaki. Oh, how little he thinks of her, but well, that's one trait he adores about her. "Excuse me?" she asked, after hearing him blatantly point it out that she wasn't amnesiac, just drunk.

Ryoma laughed, wondering how well she could shift from blushing to glaring, "As clumsy as ever Ryuuzaki. You ought to have changed a bit after all these years."

He could just tell her what it was about to proceed to the more serious stuff, but he just loves teasing her and couldn't get enough of her blushing and glaring and pouting and…his eyes traveled down the length of her frame, "Well, at least something seemed to have changed." And he growled again.

Any minute now, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from devouring her.

She glared, fiery eyes meeting his, "Excuse me mister, something may have happened last night but—"

He cut her short, "Ryuuzaki, you are slow."

She brought her fingers to massage her temples and said, "Right…right. Just tell me who you are." And she seemed to be deep in thought and he seemed to know what she was thinking about with the way her cheeks reddened again.

That made him point out one important thing, "It was your first last night." And well, he wanted to tell her, the last would be with him as well as everytime.

She reddened once more, the blush spreading through her face, to her ears, down to her neck, to her chest. He was tempted to see just how well beyond the blush extended.

When he approached her that night, she was already a bit intoxicated. The moment he came, a blush spread throughout her face and she seemed to debate with herself whether he was really there or just some silly part of her hallucination. When he asked her to dance she lightened up, the debate officially over.

The dance was slow, with Ryuuzaki leaning against him. It took all his self-restraint not to kiss her senseless, carry her and bring her somewhere private. But well, it didn't take too much of his self-restraint since she ended his battle with himself by suddenly initiating a kiss, peaking with them hurriedly moving through the crowd with his hands still coaxing her to not stop kissing, to making out inside the cab, ending with them tumbling through the door of his hotel room, the clothes torn in frenzy.

He chuckled. She stood up, vexation illustrated on her face. He made a move to stop her.

"Stop it you…you…whoever you are," she pointed a finger at her. "And stop calling me Ryuuzaki."

He chuckled again. Of course he knew her name. It was one of the few names he had cared not to forget.

He held her arm just as she was about to try leaving again. "Stay put. We need to talk." And they really have to. After all those years it was just right to talk. There were a lot of things he should've told her before. It was too stupid on his part that it took him more than ten years to finally understand everything.

Now he isn't going to let her go.

He was going to tell her everything.

And that was the exact moment his sempais chose to barge in. He sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, so they found out," he frowned. He saw the panic in her face.

He was possessive. He doesn't want anyone seeing her in such a state and he did the only thing he could think of at that moment—well, except beat his sempais into a pulp, and grind Horio to the ground—he grabbed her, snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. There, it was enough to tell everyone she was his.

It was Momo-sempai who barged in first. "Oi! So it's true!"

"Nya!" Kikumaru-sempai came following afterwards.

And then the rest of them. He glanced at her face and found her petrified. But even at that state there was still something about her that made him want to devour her. Right, his father's genes are showing.

He needed some privacy. Some private time with her. Otherwise he'd not be able to hold back and kiss her in front of these people. And he knew she wouldn't like that so he said, "Ne sempai-tachi, what are you all doing here?"

The only answers he got were:

"No data for this."

"Have you ever thought of all the possible things this could lead to? There's early pregnancy, which leads to unstable relationships. Your child would suffer more—"

"Saa, saa."

"Fsshhh…"

"I think maybe we should leave…" and then a racket, "Love! It's burning!"

And some glares from centimeter-wide stoic eyes framed in glasses.

Ryoma sighed annoyed. He was able to briefly tell Osakada last night that they were heading to his hotel room just so she wouldn't worry and feel guilty about Ryuuzaki suddenly missing and all since she was the one who brought her there. Now he was blaming herself for even worrying what Osakada might feel. Right, so much for being civil.

It was Ryuuzaki who brought him back to the current scene, "Anou…what's happening?"

"Ryuuzaki," he hissed in her ear, depositing her almost on his lap, "You still don't get it do you?"

That made her look at him. And that was good. Because he wanted nothing but her looking at him. And him alone.

"Ryoma-sama I'm going to call the police and tell them you abducted Sakuno-chan and raped her if you don't marry her right now," Osakada cried from the group in the doorway.

He was watching Ryuuzaki's face the whole time. And when her brows furrowed and her eyes widened he knew she finally understood.

"Fine," he hissed again. He was really planning on doing what Ryuuzaki's loud bestfriend said anyway.

"And don't forget to thank me," Horio said. Ryoma almost felt like pounding him but well, Horio has a point. Ryoma has to thank him. He'd do so after he explains everything to Ryuuzaki.

But first he needed to clear the place of any unwanted visitor. He'd ask the concierge later as to how the meddling and nosy sempais got hold of a key to his hotel room. He stood up, wrapped a blanket around his waist and he said nonchalantly, "Ne minna, do you mind leaving now? I have things to discuss with the fairly slow Ryuuzaki."

And then there were a lot of cursing and shoving. It was good Tezuka-buchou wasn't much of a gossiper as the others; he was the first to leave. But well, being there, the captain probably rubbed off some of Inui-sempai's nosiness.

He nodded at Tezuka-buchou's direction and the captain ushered everyone out.

Before finally closing the door he said, "Don't worry, I'm going to make Ryuuzaki happy."

And with that said, everyone went silent. That was the most romantic thing Ryoma ever said. And Ryoma was never romantic.

He smiled smugly to himself, closed the door behind him and looked back at her still petrified form.

"Do you get it now?" he walked towards her.

She snapped out of her daze. "Don't come near me. I'll scream rape."

"Right, who would believe you?" he stopped at the edge of the bed, "Now Ryuuzaki, do you get it?"

She stared at him wide-eyed.

He smirked. "I don't know how they got to know we're here. Maybe thanks to your blabbermouth friend and to that stupid guy with nth years of tennis experience."

She continued clenching the blankets. He'd make a really good reason for her to clench the blankets later. He grinned to himself.

"I got back yesterday, heard you were in some club. I got there and saw you. And you kissed me." He wanted to tell her all the other things she initiated but he'd save her from more shock for now.

He smiled at the surprise on her face.

"So do you remember?" and he smirked again. He was kneeling on the bed in front of her, "By the way, I am not some look-a-like." He took her chin in his hand.

"H-huh?"

"So before your blabbermouth friend call the police and tell them I abducted you and raped you let's head down to the civil registry and get married." He placed a tentative kiss on her chin and an arm around her waist.

"What?" she blinked.

"You heard me. Or would you rather I make you remember the things we did last night so that at least you'll know you're getting something good out of our future marriage?" he breathed into her mouth.

"A-anou…"

"Okay," he said with candor, "The second option it is." And he claimed her mouth in his.

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A/n: So how was it? Nothing much eh? I tried adding more but just couldn't, deadlines are fast approaching…