Schedules
Summary: Perfect Pair. Tezuka and Fuji are living together in an apartment in Japan; Tezuka a professional tennis player, and Fuji a professional photojournalist. Ever since they started living together, they haven't been able to celebrate Christmas Eve together due to one or the other's schedules. This year, will they finally be able to spend time together for Christmas Eve, or will it once again be ruined by one of their schedules?
Note: Prince of Tennis is not mine.
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December 23, 2:58 in the afternoon.
Fuji was at the dining table, fixing the layout of the plant article he was going to submit to his editor that evening. Tezuka had been in France attending another tennis tournament 3 days ago and the stoic man expected to be back in Japan by the morning of Christmas Eve.
Fuji sat back and examined his work. "Hmm… Maybe this picture would look better here…" he said to himself as he re-arranged a few things. Satisfied, he got to his feet and slipped his work into a paper envelope. The tensai subconsciously looked over to the clock out of habit.
It read 3:23 pm.
'I still have time to go and have dinner after I submit this…' he thought as he turned his attention to the envelope in his hands as he went to get ready to leave. 'Mitsu's flight will be arriving tomorrow morning. Let's hope nothing comes up…' Fuji thought in conclusion before slipping on his coat and a scarf before stepping into his boots before leaving the apartment he shared with Tezuka, locking the door behind him.
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Meanwhile, Tezuka was already on the plane heading back to Japan. He had managed to get a window seat this time around – which he preferred as a means to have time pass when he couldn't fall asleep, and looked out to observe what was visible through it. He had managed to win the tournament; the trophy of which rested in his baggage along with his clothes, as well as his gift for Fuji.
'We'll have enough time to talk about everything when I arrive, won't we, Syusuke?' he thought to himself before he drifted off to sleep.
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December 23, 5:12 in the afternoon.
Fuji stepped out of his editor's office, muttering incoherently to himself. Since they were short of a few people due to the holiday break, his editor had asked the tensai to come up with another article by tomorrow morning so they could publish everything for New Year's Day. Fuji was not happy with this development – although he begrudgingly accepted the assignment with a smile – because that ultimately meant having to miss the chance to pick up Tezuka from the airport.
He sighed deeply as he proceeded to leave the building. 'Mitsu… It looks like work's gotten in the way… again… And here I was, excited that we would actually be able to spend Christmas Eve together…' Fuji hailed a taxi as soon as he stepped out of building to return to the apartment. 'I'll just have to make quick work of producing this article for the boss, then…' he promised himself as he pulled the door closed and the taxi drove off.
Fuji rushed to the apartment and took his camera before leaving the place once more, where he asked the taxi to drop him off at the park. After paying the driver, the tensai looked around for a particular plant that grew there. Even with gloves on, the tensai was feeling the cold but he continued his search.
'It's almost dark…' Fuji thought as he finally found what he was looking for. He readied his camera and snapped a few pictures of it. He reviewed the shots in the screen of the digital camera before the tensai moved to return to the apartment.
The clock read 9:43 pm.
Fuji was at the dining table once more in front of his laptop, typing up the article as the printer was busy with printing his pictures from earlier. The tensai juggled this work with digesting a cup of spicy ramen. 'Of all the times for me to have to do this…' he thought to himself for a brief moment before returning to his work.
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December 24, 7:00 in the morning
Fuji was on the road with an envelope similar to the one he brought with him the day before clutched in his arms. He stifled a yawn in the backseat of the taxi as he headed back to the office to submit the article. He barely got a decent amount of sleep from having to finish it.
'And on top of that, Mitsu is arriving this morning…' he added as he checked his watch for the time.
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Tezuka's watch read 8:01 am.
Tezuka disembarked from the plane and did the usual procedure upon arriving. He adjusted his hold on his tennis bag, pulling his stroller bag to a stop as he looked around.
'No sign of Syusuke…' he thought with a frown. 'Odd…'
Suddenly, he felt something vibrate in his pocket as he fished it out. He flipped his cell phone open. It was a text from Fuji.
'Sorry I can't come and pick you up today, Mitsu. My editor assigned me an extra article that I needed to submit by this morning. I'll see you at the apartment later, okay?
-S'
Tezuka shrugged as he punched in a reply.
'I'll be waiting, then. Do try to finish quickly.
-K'
Once the message was sent, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and proceeded to head out of the airport to catch a taxi. As he got into the backseat, Tezuka thought for a moment before asking the driver to take him to a particular building.
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The clock read 10:23 am.
The editor scanned the article before nodding in approval as Fuji bowed and left the room eagerly, stifling yet another yawn. 'Now to spend the rest of the day with Kunimitsu~' Fuji thought as he took the elevator down to the ground floor.
When the doors opened, the tensai's usually closed eyes opened in shock when he saw Tezuka waiting for him in the lobby. He blinked to make sure he wasn't having any hallucinations. "K…Kunimitsu?" he managed to say.
Tezuka nodded. "Have you submitted your article already?" he asked bluntly.
Fuji stepped out before he started walking up to the stoic man, his pace increasing with each step before he wrapped his arms around him. "Welcome back!" he greeted.
"Aa…" Tezuka replied, kissing Fuji on the forehead before taking a moment to examine his partner. "You haven't had breakfast yet." It was a statement, not a question.
Fuji closed his eyes, chuckling before nodding in response. "Gomen ne, Mitsu. I had to—"
Tezuka shook his head. "No matter, the meter's running. Let's go and find someplace to eat," he interjected before taking Fuji's hand and pulled him away to the taxi.
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The clock read 11:52 pm.
That evening, Tezuka and Fuji settled in their apartment couch as they counted down the minutes until Christmas came. Stories were exchanged about the tournament and work; their presents for one another sat under the little Christmas tree Fuji had considerably put up a few days before in a corner of the living area.
They spent the remaining moments in silence, in each other's arms, exchanging soft whispers of 'I Love You's and kisses until the clock struck 12 midnight.
OWARI
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There you have it. Reviews are much appreciated! :3