REPOST! Written for Be-ya in i:u's exchange fic last year~

An attempt at pairing Tezuka with romance. Hope you like it~

Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis

My bakery shop was not a famous one; only a few people would come here everyday. Still, I loved it just the way it is. We weren't always full, but we never ran out of customers either. I've always loved the smell of newly cooked bread. Just the smell of it perishes any form of exhaustion, put a crumb in your mouth and a smile creeps up on your face. That was what I wanted my customers to feel. It's the very reason I named this shop "HAPPY BITES".

Obviously, this "HAPPY BITES" dream wasn't much of a reality. It is only a dream after all.

In the morning the shop was filled with mothers and a few business people who have no time to wake up early to cook their own breakfast. Afternoons on the other hand were covered by school kids and teenagers looking for a recharge from their hard days at school and other activities that seemed tiring. They were fun to look at, all lined up, creatures dressed in different colors.

"Croissants?" I smiled knowingly at the tall boy in front of me. Here's one of our regular customers. He was in his usual blue jersey today, as cross-looking as ever, and with sharp eyes emphasized by his oblong glasses. I gave him his usual de-stressing order; as usual, he would nod and mutter a thank you before leaving off to the seat by the corner. This is where he always sat, at the corner across the girl that orders baguettes. This girl was quite the opposite of him really. She would always come here, greeting me with her happy face. In fact, I don't think she needs this place much. Her name's Shizuka by the way; she usually talked to me while ordering from her hard day at school to how hard her exam was. Cheery little thing she is alright; every time she would sit there across where he would sit 5 minutes later. She would give him a smile; he would nod at her. That was it. It was always like that every single school day. At least, I thought it was.

One afternoon, the shop was unusually crowded. Shizuka came in as usual.

"Obaa-san, my teacher totally scolded me today for flunking this test. It was horrible. I got detention. But he told me afterwards, that he would be expecting more of me next time. He actually believes I was great despite detention. How was your day?"

"Great as always dear. Here are your baguettes."

She mutters thanks and goes to her usual table.

A few minutes later the one in the blue jersey came in. Having his usual seat occupied, he sat with Shizuka. I didn't hear the conversation; I just saw her smile and nod at him.

I watched them the whole time, the strict, nonchalant boy sitting with the cheery, talkative girl. The next day Shizuka's story was quite different.

"Obaa-san! The Seigaku boy. His name's Tezuka! And guess what? He's the captain of the tennis team there! Sounds cool, doesn't it? Well, that's what I thought too, but he says it takes a lot of effort to tame his members and that its exhausting and that he always has to be on his guard and all. Maybe that's why he always comes here looking cross!"

The next day was a different story yet again.

"Obaa-san! Tezuka's team made it to the Prefecturals! They're awesome, aren't they? I kept telling him yesterday that it shows just how good a captain he is!"

"Obaa-san! Tezuka has this injury. It's so sad. He even has to go to Germany to have it fixed. I plan to give him extra cheers today."

True that after that little incident, they have sat together every day. They seemed to be talking quite a lot what with the new bits of Tezuka's life I hear from Shizuka every day. But whenever I glanced at them it always seemed like Shizuka was the only one talking, at least from my view of the conversation.

This didn't last long though, for as Shizuka stated, Tezuka was going to Germany. This was a few croissants off my daily income and some happiness scraped off Shizuka's eyes.

"Obaa-san! Our team won the athletic competition at our school!"

"Obaa-san. I turned down a guy this morning; he was just not for me"

"Obaa-san! Tezuka e-mailed me last night. He said he was recovering! And in no time he'll be back."

I thought everything would turn out fine. Shizuka would go here everyday like she used to and when Tezuka returns, it will be the same as before. But, boy, was this old lady wrong.

"Obaa-san! My dad got a job in New York. It's a real cool place. He's going there on the 20th. I'll sure miss him. But he says he'll take us there soon enough."

"Obaa-san! My dad got promoted! He says he can take the family there in a month's time. Oh. I'd love to see New York, but I don't think I can live there with just that."

"Obaa-san! We're set to go on the 5th. Oh, I'll really miss this place. You don't know how much it means to me. It has been my outlet for like my whole life. Oh. Obaa-san will you let me create a store like this in New York?"

"Obaa-san! This will be my last visit. Oh. I'm going to miss you."

And there goes another scrap of my daily income. I haven't heard from her nor Tezuka in years. I didn't know if they were still in contact though, that was until a letter came to me one day.

"OBAA-SAN!

Guess who I met in town today! Tezuka! And guess what? We've decided to start a partnership. And we'd like to make a branch of your bakery.

That's right. We wish to engage in Happy Bites, and put it up here in New York. You will say yes, won't you?

We wish to hear from you.

– Shizuka Ran"

Well, I don't see any reason why they have to ask me, or maybe I was interpreting 'they wanted to engage in Happy Bites' and 'form a partnership' wrongly like the nosy old lady I am.

I chuckled at my thoughts. I'm an old woman alright. Now, I have to type that reply before I go on my way to heaven.

How was it? R&R. Thanks for reading~!