Engaged?, a prince of tennis fanfic

Disclaimer: Nothing of Prince of Tennis belongs to me.

A/N: Hello!:) This story has been on my mind for the past two weeks, but I haven't had the chance to put it down to words. But after so long, it's finally done! I'm so happy to see it being posted up, so I hope you all will pardon any mistakes in the story, and may you have fun reading the story!:D

Dedication: To Terry-May. This is for you dear, thank you for helping me beta-read this story, and thank you for being so sweet about it:)

"Marriage is not a ritual or an end.

It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together,

And nothing matters more than your own sense of balance,

And your choice of partner."

- Amy Bloom

When he was still young, the thought of marriage had never occurred to him. He was too focused on schoolwork, and of course, his passion for tennis. If asked, he would probably have rejected any ideas of him getting attached anytime soon. There was simply no time and no chance for him to consider being tied down to a relationship. That was at least a few years back, when he was still in middle school.

Now, at the age of 26, he stands in a bridal salon, early in the morning, and patiently waits for his fiancée to select the different suits she wants him to try on. As he looks at how she carefully picks out certain suits, and how she mutters softly to herself about how this color will "bring out his eyes", and how that particular cutting will "accentuate his frame", he feels a slight twitch at the corner of his lips.

Perhaps, now, the idea of Tezuka Kunimitsu being engaged is not such a blasphemy after all.

As he steps out of the changing room, he appears to be calm and collected, but he knows clearly that he feels a little apprehensive about what his fiancée will think of the suit he is wearing now. Rie decided to veer off from the norm of a black tuxedo and chose a cream-colored suit instead. She also chose a light grey waistcoat with a simple design on it to go with the suit.

The first thing Tezuka sees on Rie's face is that dreamy look in her eyes that he recognizes. Without much ado, she walks over to him and smiles as she gently ties the accompanying light grey cravat around his neck. As she leans over to straighten the back of the collar, she speaks softly into his ears, "Seeing you in this suit…it makes me feel like I am falling in love with you again."

Still with his usual look of composure on his face, Tezuka calls for the shop assistant, and tells her, "I'm taking this suit."

Now after settling the issue of his wedding attire, the shop assistant directs him next to the many racks with wedding gowns displayed on them. Apparently, Rie trusts him enough to let him choose her wedding dress.

Colors, Styles, Cuts, Sizes, Accessories…It feels like that time when he had to choose the engagement ring for Rie. He spent a grand total of a month before he found the 'dream' ring for her. He was given little clues at that time as Rie just told him that she would love whatever ring he decided to choose, as long as it was him giving it. Now as he looks at the many dresses in front of him, he can already feel a migraine coming on. He chooses to just leave the decision of Rie's wedding dress to the shop assistant who looks like she is more than willing to help. Surely Rie will not want her precious fiancé to trouble himself over the problem of choosing her dress right?

As he waits for Rie to try on the multiple dresses the shop assistant picked out for her, his mind wanders to how far the both of them have come in terms of their relationship.

Their first meeting was in their third year in the University of Tokyo, otherwise known as Todai University. He was in the Faculty of Law while she attended two years in the Faculty of Literature before moving on to the Department of Education within her own faculty.

It happened in the library. She was returning a book, and he graciously offered his turn to her as she seemed to be in a hurry. That was the first time he saw her smile.

Their second meeting was at the celebration of Fuji's birthday. It was a leap year that year and Fuji decided to hold a birthday party at his house. He figured it would be a good chance to catch up with his old school friends and also to create an opportunity to allow his different groups of friends to mingle with others. Fuji happened to be the mutual friend of Tezuka and Rie. Rie recognized Tezuka as the gentleman who offered his turn to her at the library, and with Fuji's help, the two started to develop a fragile friendship.

Their third meeting was the one that sparked off many more meetings after. Fuji introduced Rie to the school's tennis team, which was by then headed by Tezuka. She was a novice in the sport, and Fuji volunteered Tezuka to be her coach outside of official tennis practice. As the captain of the tennis team, Tezuka agreed to be her coach. What turned out to be surprising about their practices was that Tezuka ended up learning from the practices as well, and he actually looked forward to spending time with Rie. But he figured it was just due to his passion for tennis, and since Rie was interested in the game as well, it just made him more passionate for tennis. It was only much later that he realized there was something more that made him look forward to those meetings. Or rather, it was someone else that made him appreciate those times spent together.

They never did get started on a relationship while they were in the university, as they both knew clearly that should they ever start on a relationship, it will be their first and last. They were never ones to take a relationship anything less than seriously. The both knew the amount of commitment and love people in a relationship must have for each other, and at that point of time, they just weren't ready for it.

At the end of their four years in university, they talked about the commitment issue. They both came to the conclusion that they should pursue their own dreams first before anything else. With that in mind, Tezuka left to pursue a season of professional tennis. He left after making a promise with Rie that when he returns, and if they are still willing then, they will consider again the idea of being together.

After two years, he returned home, and he started on his career as a lawyer, and by then, Rie had already settled down into the profession of being a teacher and educator. In their first meeting after he came back, while they sat in the café they would always patronize, he asked her the question of whether it was time to start their lives together. She said it was time.

Their courtship lasted for two years before he finally proposed. With a violin in hand, he played her favorite piece of music. He asked the simple question of, "Will you marry me?", and yet she discerned much more meaning than just those words of his. His words spoke of his commitment to their relationship. His slight smile showed his joy of wanting to be with her. But most of all, his dark mahogany eyes revealed his love for her. She said yes.

Now as he sees Rie drawing back the curtain of the dressing room, he is drawn once again to the person standing right before him.

"Kunimitsu, did you really choose this dress for me? Because it's a bit too…revealing, don't you think?" Rie blushes slightly as she steps out of the dressing room. The shop assistant chose a white tube dress that had a corset sewn onto the dress, and all the dress does is emphasizes on certain assets of the one wearing it.

The next thing he knows, Tezuka is in the dressing room, telling Rie to put on the dress he just randomly grabbed from a nearby rack.

"Are you sure you want me to wear this? Kunimitsu, I know you are more of the traditional type, but all I can see of this dress are the frills and the sleeves!"Rie tries hard not to laugh at the old-fashioned dress Tezuka just handed her, only to look up to see an intense look in Tezuka's eyes.

With his arms around her, Tezuka tells her of what he feels, "It is not about the issue of tradition, as it is more of how I do not like to share."With a slight tinge of color on his face, Tezuka is unprepared for Rie's reaction to his words.

"Silly, who said anything about sharing, I'm yours remember?" With a smile on her face, she tiptoes to kiss him lightly on his lips and assures him she will never wear a dress like this one again.

After the small commotion, Tezuka decides it will be better for him to choose a dress personally for Rie as he hopes that the commotion just now will not repeat itself. After searching for a long time, Tezuka finds that there are really no suitable dresses for Rie. Just as he is about to call to the shop assistant for help, he finds it. He finally finds a dress for Rie.

For the first time in his life, Tezuka experiences a slight feeling of anxiety. He tries not to think of how Rie might end up not liking the dress, or worse still, that the dress size he chose turns out to be the wrong one. But those thoughts in his mind all vanished when he sees her stepping out of the dressing room the second time.

"You look perfect."

With her hair parted to the side, the lavender-colored gown showed off her slightly tanned shoulders, and brought out the light flecks of gold in her dark brown eyes. Rie's smile widens at Tezuka's words, and nods her head at the shop assistant to tell her that they have found the dress for the wedding.

Rie lifts up the ends of the gown slightly to walk over to Tezuka, and as she looks into his eyes, she knows clearly that this is the person she wants to spend her lifetime with.

Unknowingly, the official photographer for the wedding, aka Fuji Syuusuke, arrives at the bridal salon just in time to capture what he proclaims to be one of the best photos of the entire wedding shoot. It is the picture of the soon-to-be-wed couple in their wedding attire, looking at each other, and smiling at the same time.

The End.

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