Mochachino, Fries and Smile
by Eliza Natsuko
Disclaimers : PoT does not belong to me.
Summary : AU. Tezuka is a professional tennis player and Fuji is a journalist for a sport magazine. An interview ensues.
A/N : Special thanks to lovefujitez for beta-reading and tacuma811 for the prompt
Tezuka checked the clock hanging on the hotel room wall, it was about nine in the evening and he didn't have dinner yet
Tezuka checked the clock hanging on the hotel room wall, it was about nine in the evening and he didn't have dinner yet. He layed on his bed finally getting some rest after a long day. He managed to win his match against a seeded world class tennis player only by a close set. After the game, like any other matches, he attended a news conference which lasted longer than usual. Immediately after was the part he hated most in his life as a professional tennis player, dealing with his fans. Most of his fans were young ladies whose voices he couldn't stand, blinding him with flashes of their cameras that hurt his eyes. He was relieved when it was all over and he had some quiet time in his room.
He was about to fall asleep when his cell phone rang. Annoyed by the unexpected interruption,
Tezuka unwillingly picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Good evening, Tezuka-san." He recognized his manager's voice, "A young man who claimed to write for a sports magazine asked for a private interview with you, a few months ago, I approved the appointment for tomorrow but I needed to check if it was alright with you?"
As much as Tezuka hated interviews, he had to agree. It was part of his responsibilities after all. "Yes. Tomorrow would be fine."
"Great. The interview will be at the café by the hotel lobby around 11AM. Just to make sure you don't get the wrong person, the name of the journalist is Fuji Syuusuke. Have a good night, Tezuka-san."
Upon hanging up, Tezuka fell flat on his bed, totally forgetting about dinner.
--
Tezuka arrived at the café about ten minutes before the appointed time. He looked around and spotted a young smiling man with honey brown hair waving at his direction. Assuming he was the journalist, Tezuka walked towards him and sat at an empty chair opposite the journalist.
"Good morning, Tezuka-san. I'm Fuji Syuusuke." The young man stood up and offered Tezuka a hand shake. "I work for a sports magazine. You might have heard of it. It's called 'World of Sports."
"Yes, I have." Tezuka answered briefly.
"I have a long list of questions, some are from the fans and some are from a conducted survey." Noticing the cringe on Tezuka's face, Fuji quickly added. "Of course, I understand that you're a busy man, I'll make this interview as quick and painless as possible."
"That would be the best." Tezuka responded.
After the waiter completed taking down their orders. Fuji proceeded to begin his interview.
"Oh, I would like to remind you that most of the questions are not tennis-related as they came from the fans." Tezuka nodded to let Fuji know that he understood.
"The first question, Tezuka-san." Fuji read from the little note book he brought along with him. "Do you have any other hobbies besides tennis?"
Tezuka took a while before answering. "I do enjoy rock-climbing though tennis is the activity that occupies most of my time."
The journalist made a quick note before proceeding with his second question. "There are rumors saying you're actually a very good cook and that you joined the bakery club back in your junior high school."
"No. Those rumors are definitely false. I did not join the bakery club or any other clubs besides the tennis club when I was in junior high."
"But you do have sweet tooth, right Tezuka-san? You just ordered a piece of fruit cake earlier."
If Tezuka knew Fuji better, he would have noticed the little teasing smirk on his face. "Well," Tezuka paused, as if thinking of a better word to say. "Having a sweet tooth and joining the bakery club are entirely two different things."
Fuji laughed softly. "You're not denying it, Tezuka-san but don't worry. My colleagues say I have a weird taste for food as well. According to them, I eat things that will never be written in a normal restaurant menu though I don't see what so weird drinking green tea mixed with wasabi."
The bespectacled man wanted to voice out this opinion about Fuji's weird taste on food but he decided to keep quiet instead, afraid that he might offend the other man. Soon, the food they ordered arrived. Tezuka continued to answer every question asked by the journalist while they both ate their food.
"So, Tezuka-san, though, I haven't heard of any news about your relationship with anyone, when are you planning to get married?" Fuji queried.
"I'm currently not seeing anyone and I don't plan to get married anytime soon." Tezuka took a bite from his second piece of fruit cake before saying, "I hope you will not start a rumor about me seeing someone."
"No! Of course not, Tezuka-san, I'm an honest man." Fuji defended himself although he knew from the tone of Tezuka's voice was non-accusing. In fact, Fuji felt Tezuka was attempting a joke.
During the course of the interview their conversation became more and more casual. People passing by would think they were two friends chatting with each other instead of a journalist interviewing a professional tennis player.
While in the middle of answering another of Fuji's questions, Tezuka was interrupted with the ring of his cell phone. He excused himself to answer the call. After several "Yes's' and "I understands', Tezuka returned the phone to his pocket.
"I'm sorry but I guess we have to end this interview here. My manager just informed me about an urgent meeting I must attend." Tezuka was apologetic.
"Alright, but..." Fuji flipped through the pages of his note book. "If you're free tomorrow, can we-"
Before Fuji could finish his question, Tezuka answered him. "Yes, we can continue tomorrow."
"That would be great!" Tezuka let a small but unnoticeable smile form on his lips as Fuji beamed. "Same time same place, tomorrow then."
"Yes. Sure." Tezuka stood up, glancing momentarily at the petite man, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you, Tezuka-san. I had fun interviewing you." Fuji waved goodbye and looked forward for their next meeting.
--
"Tezuka-san!"
Tezuka saw the man he met yesterday waving eagerly at him. "Over here!"
"Ah. Sorry I'm late." He apologized and sat down as the waiter pulled out the chair for him.
"I'll have a cup of cappuccino, a piece of mocha cake and..." He scanned the menu, checking the list of desserts. "This marble coffee-chocolate cake, please." The waiter jotted down Tezuka's order and excused himself from the two young men.
"That's a lot of caffeine, Tezuka-san." Fuji teased.
"Well, actually, I have a strong liking towards caffeine but I'm banned from taking it. My manager says it'll reduce my stamina. So, don't tell anyone, especially my manager about what I ordered, alright?"
The other man laughed so hard the whole café was looking at him. "Tezuka-san, were you attempting a joke there? That was really funny!" And he continued laughing which made Tezuka laughed a little.
"And Fuji, I would prefer you to call me just Tezuka instead of Tezuka-san." the tennis player paused while waiting for Fuji to calm down from his hysterical laughter. "I think it'll be easier for us to conduct the interview this way."
"As you wish Tezuka." Fuji let out a final cough before he stopped laughing entirely, although a big smile was still plastered on his face. "The questions that I'll ask today will be on love and romance."
"Why? No journalist actually questioned me on that before." Tezuka stated.
"Well, we have a romance column in our magazine and I thought this would be useful during Valentine's Day."
"But Fuji, it's only June now." Tezuka said as if reminding Fuji what he didn't know.
"Who knows where you will be in the future when I need to interview you for this column. And since we're meeting now, I might as well get on with it." Fuji reasoned logically. "But, of course, if you're not comfortable with it, we could always skip this section." Somehow, Fuji's instinct told him that Tezuka would not cancel this session with him.
"Well, alright but nothing too personal. If there are questions I think that's too personal, I hope I have the right to not answer them." He took a sip of water, eyeing Fuji as the lithe man looked in his notebook for the questions.
"But of course, Tezuka. I respect your privacy. Anyway, the first question, are you currently seeing anyone?" Fuji raised his left eyebrow a little. "I guess you've answered that yesterday. So, we'll move on to question two." He made a quick note on his note book before asking, "How many lovers have you had before?"
"Can I choose not to answer that?"
"Aww... Come on, Tezuka. It's only the first question and besides, it's nothing too personal." Fuji cooed.
The other man let out a resigning sigh before hesitantly answering, "None."
"What?" Tezuka knew Fuji will react this way. Everyone did when he told them he never dated anyone before. "Are you serious, Tezuka?"
"Yes. I've never dated anyone before. I wish to focus on my career." Tezuka stated.
"As expected from the tennis player, who managed to catch the world's attention with just a year in tennis, I'm amazed Tezuka." As Fuji spoke, the waiter served their orders.
While munching on his waffle, totally ignoring his table manners, Fuji asked, "Are you interested in men or women, Tezuka?"
Tezuka almost choked on his mocha cake. "Is that a question from the fans?"
"Nope." Fuji answered honestly and smiling innocently. "It's a question from me."
"I choose not to answer that." Tezuka took a sip of cappuccino to ease his throat. "Why do you ask, anyway?"
"Well, you've never dated anyone before..." Fuji paused, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "And considering the fact that you chose not to answer this question and you almost choked when I asked you, your sexual preference must be different. Or are you bi, Tezuka?"
Tezuka swore he saw the teasing smirk on Fuji's innocent smile.
"No! Of course I'm not bi-!" Tezuka quickly defend himself. A small blush crept onto his cheeks.
"I guess you're gay then?" Fuji stated.
"I expect you not to write that down in your note book." Tezuka adjusted his already perfectly positioned spectacles. "This is only for you to know. I don't want any more male fans. I have enough headaches with the female ones."
"Aye aye, Tezuka." The interviewer agreed.
The bespectacled man wondered if it was only him or did Fuji really looked incredibly happy when he told him that piece of private information, but he dismissed it when Fuji presented the next question.
"If there's someone who likes you, how do you prefer her, or in this matter, him..." Tezuka wished he could strangle Fuji for teasing him. ".. to be?"
"I think people who are true to themselves and never doubt their lovers will successfully build a long-lasting relationship." The tennis player purposely answered indirectly to avoid any more embarrassment.
"Oh? Are you also saying you prefer long-term relationships?" Fuji took another bite of the waffle, "No wonder you never got into any relationship before, Tezuka." and laughed teasingly.
Tezuka figured that today Fuji just loved to tease him, "How about you Fuji? I'm sure you're different as well." Tezuka teased back.
"I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm gay, Tezuka." Fuji's frankness owned Tezuka another small blush. "I don't see anything wrong about liking your own gender. But just like you Tezuka, I've never dated before mainly because of my job. I always travel and never really had the time to date anyone."
"I don't see the importance of love, actually." He took the last quarter of his mocha cake and set the plate a side. "I believe humans still can survive without love."
Tezuka looked at Fuji, the journalist laughed softly at what Tezuka had just said. "But you'll never know the truth until you find someone you really like. After all, no man is an island."
"Yes but to sum it all up, I won't be interested in committing to a relationship." He saw Fuji's weird expression and immediately Tezuka added, "for now, at least."
He can't seem to find any better word besides weird to describe Fuji's expression when he said he won't be involved in a relationship. It appeared like Fuji was disappointed, but tried to look unaffected.
"Well, that answers the following question." The journalist jotted down some important points and went on to his next question. The two young men continued with their so-called interview until a waiter approached and informed them of the café's early closing. Fuji took out his wallet to pay for their bill but Tezuka stopped him.
"Please, Fuji. Let me pay for breakfast this time. I made you pay for mine yesterday."
"Well, if you insist..." Fuji replied.
"Say, are you free right now?" Tezuka asked while waiting for the waiter to return his change. "I was thinking perhaps we could drop by at some nearby café and maybe, you know..." He trailed off awkwardly, unsure of how to end his sentence.
"Yes, sure!" Tezuka wondered why the other man sounded really happy at such simple invitation. "I'm free and I would really like to have more drinks with you."
Seeing such happy and sincere smile, Tezuka felt as if he could stare at Fuji all day. He mentally shook the thought off and tried not to ponder on how the sudden disturbing idea popped in his mind.
"Here's your balance, sir." The waiter placed the small tray with a receipt and change on the table. "Enjoy the rest of the day, sir."
"So where do you want to go?" Fuji asked as he watched Tezuka leave some currency for the waiter's tip and carefully arranged the rest of the money in his wallet.
"Where do you want to go?" Tezuka asked him back.
"I don't know. I'm not really familiar with Frankfurt. This is actually my first visit here." Fuji admitted.
"If I remember correctly, there's a small café somewhere near the fifth avenue." Tezuka tried to dig back for more information. "The café is a little secluded but I guess it's better for both of us. I certainly don't wish to be attacked by some fans."
"Anywhere's fine, Tezuka." Again, Tezuka enamored by Fuji's angelic smile, could only but stare.
"Then I hope you're fine with walking." Tezuka returned Fuji's smile with his own small handsome smile.
"Uhm of course." Fuji hoped Tezuka didn't notice how his voice shook a little when the tennis player smiled. Fuji quickly caught up with Tezuka, who already started walking while he admired the smile, and walked in par with Tezuka on his right. "What do you think about a long distance relationship, Tezuka?"
After spending three precious hours in the café, the two young men walked back to the hotel, both feeling pleased to have such an enjoyable conversation. Tezuka went back to his room recalling how he spent the entire day. All he did was attending to Fuji's interview and he never experienced such a carefree and unpretentious interview before. In fact, he couldn't remember ever speaking so much before. He thought he was a little too talkative today but he never felt more contented.
"We never made an appointment to meet tomorrow." Tezuka muttered with a tiny hint of disappointment in his voice.
--
Tezuka was scheduled to meet his manager for breakfast that morning at a high class restaurant. His manager sent a chauffeur to pick him up from the hotel's main entrance, which Tezuka could reach without having to pass by the café. For some reasons, he used the longer route to get to the main entrance. As he was walking past the café, he tried not to look obvious as he peeped into the café, searching for a familiar face.
"Good morning, Tezuka, fancy meeting you here." Tezuka turned sharply to face the source of the voice, faking his surprise.
Keeping his stoic image, Tezuka simply replied, "I live here temporarily, Fuji. It's not surprising to see me here."
"Oh, I forgot." The other man shot back playfully. "Did you have breakfast yet?"
"No."
"I read an article about a bistro serving delicious and reasonably priced local specialties and since I'm not familiar with the area, would you mind giving me a tour?"
"Let me remind you first that I'm expensive."
Fuji's laughed softly. "Will an ice-cream cake be enough?" He added after a second thought. "Plus, a cup of mochaccino?"
A gentle smile found its way to Tezuka's lips. "Let's go then."
Following breakfast, Fuji suggested that they should at least tour the town a little since he doesn't visit Germany often. Tezuka agreed and successfully, with little effort, Fuji dragged the tennis player around with him. The tour was difficult especially since Tezuka tried to avoid crowded places, afraid that he might be spotted which he knew would cause a huge riot. Even so, the young men had smiles on their faces through out the entire time hopping from places to places and running away from the fans before they could even recognize Tezuka.
During their lunch, Tezuka's phone rang. Fuji, who was sitting opposite his companion, listened silently while chewing his fries.
"I'm sorry. Something came up." Tezuka spoke into his phone. "Alright, I get it."
Once Tezuka hung up, Fuji, being a busybody asked Tezuka about the phone call.
"That was my manager apparently he's mad at me. I made him wait for two hours at the restaurant." He leaned back on his seat and sighed. "Guess it was my fault for not informing him in the first place."
"Were you supposed to have breakfast with him?" Fuji asked, making loud slurping noises with his straw. "You missed breakfast with your manager to have breakfast with me? I'm so happy, Tezuka!" He added when the other man nodded at his question.
For a moment, Tezuka didn't know how to react or how to reply.
"I have to leave soon. I'll be flying to Spain tomorrow evening and I need to pack my bags." The tennis player stated sadly.
Fuji didn't reply but Tezuka was aware of the slight change in Fuji's expression.
"My chauffer will be here to pick me up in about 20 minutes. I can give you a ride."
"No, it's alright. I'll walk. Thanks, anyway." Tezuka noticed Fuji's smile was a little sad.
"Well, in that case, I'll ask my chauffer not to come." Fuji's looked questioningly at Tezuka and his sad smile broke into a joyful one when Tezuka continued, "We'll walk back together."
--
That night, a certain journalist's face couldn't leave his head. Tezuka leaned on the balcony railings, enjoying the cool summer breeze while sipping his mug of hot coffee. Looking down from the seventeenth floor, he tried to divert this thought to the lights from cars and buildings that colored the busy city. Heaving a defeating sigh, he fished out his cell phone from his jeans pocket and punched in the number he got from his manager then waited for a response at the other end of the line.
"Hello, 'World of Sports." A female voice answered, "May I help you?"
"Yes, I need to contact Fuji Syuusuke, could I possibly -" The lady cut his sentence even before he got to finish his question.
"I'm sorry. Fuji-san is on vacation leave at this time, can someone else help you?" The female inquired.
"On vacation, you mean he's not on duty?" Tezuka made sure he heard correctly.
"Yes, he's on a two weeks vacation leave and no, he is not on assignment," the lady confirmed, "Would you like to leave a message?"
"No, it's okay. Could I possibly have his cell phone number then?" The slightly perturbed tennis player inquired.
"One moment please." Tezuka was on hold and several minutes later the receptionist came back with Fuji's number.
Ironically, Tezuka didn't call Fuji, perplexed, "What's he doing?" was the main question that haunted Tezuka's mind the entire night. "He lied to me about the interview and all. What exactly was he doing?"
He was stumped by his jumbled emotions. Anger, disappointment, confusion and sadness all ate him inside. Burying his head in his pillow, Tezuka let out a low grunt and his fingers clutched tightly on the sheet.
--
Tezuka waited at the café where they first met the next morning, knowing that Fuji would be there for breakfast. Unlike the previous days, Tezuka didn't order any cake. His brows were slightly furrowed and he remained quiet while he watched the journalist approach his table and sat across him without invitation.
"You're early today, Tezuka." Fuji smiled warmly at the stoic athlete who didn't bother to reply.
"Ah, here," he placed a small creatively folded bag in front of Tezuka, "I bought it while we were shopping yesterday."
"Fuji, are we done with the interview?" Tezuka interrupted.
Taken aback with the seriousness in Tezuka's voice, Fuji replied. "Yes. We are."
"Good. Now, you can enjoy your vacation." The harshness in Tezuka's voice was unmistakable.
"You… knew?" Fuji's tone went down a key.
"Why?" Tezuka demanded for an answer and boldly accused, "You need a big scoop to get promoted or something?"
"No! I've never even thought of that!" Fuji rebuked. He calmed himself down a little and started to explain. "Do you remember when I told you that I never had the time to actually date someone?" Having no feedback, Fuji continued. "I thought I could finally find a slot in my schedule for one."
Waving off the waiter who came to take Fuji's order, while Tezuka remained cold, Fuji went on explaining. "Two years ago, when I was working for a magazine which focused on Japanese youth, I was sent to Australia to report on a young Japanese tennis player. You've already caught my attention back then, Tezuka. I attended all of your news conferences. I even resigned and applied to write for a sports magazine so I could see you more often then."
The tennis player remained silent. Fuji wondered if he was listening since Tezuka's eyes were not on him. "I knew you wouldn't see me personally if I approached you as a fan. So, I came as a journalist to interview you. I know I'm at fault for lying to you but would you really meet me if I came as a mere fan?"
Both of them remained silent for a moment before Fuji finally spoke again. "I'm sorry, Tezuka. I wanted to meet you so badly. I really had fun these few days and the memories I made with you, I don't think I could ever forget."
"I'm leaving in a few hours." Tezuka stood up abruptly which caused Fuji's eyes to widen a little. "I hope we'll never meet again." With those hurtful words, Tezuka walked out of the café, leaving a broken Fuji behind.
On the way to the airport, Tezuka couldn't help but recall Fuji's sad eyes and for the first time, since he met Fuji, he saw the petite man without his smile. He shut his eyes tightly, trying not to remember Fuji's expression when he lashed out his final words, trying not to regret his actions.
When Tezuka stepped out from the limousine he was welcomed by thousand of fans, obscuring the entrance of the airport and barring the path to the private waiting area. They crowded around him, screaming his name and reaching out for him. Some held boards with messages he didn't bother to read. Some shouted incoherent words he didn't care to know.
Just before he was about to enter the private waiting area, he spotted a mop of honey brown hair and a pair of blue eyes belonging to a person he was awfully familiar with. Fuji was standing quietly amidst his deafening fans, his depressing gaze on him.
Without a second look, Tezuka walked into the waiting area, ignoring the annoying screams from the crowd and Fuji's haunting gaze.
--
Tezuka's eyes started to droop as his manager spoke to him about his schedule while he was in Spain. He was thankful to have a whole day of rest before his usual practice started. After sending his manager to the door, Tezuka was glad to finally have his sweet time alone. He slumped lazily onto the couch and stared blankly at the white ceiling. He's not usually lazy but, since he flew for such long hours and his mind wouldn't let him drop off a certain topic, he forcefully pulled himself up from his current position and walked towards his luggage which was dumped next to a valet stand.
A small blue bag dropped out from his suitcase as he was unpacking his bag. Unconsciously, the color of the small paper bag reminded him of a pair of blue eyes. He shook the thought off and proceeded to unwrap the bag, it was a crystal tennis ball keychain. Tezuka placed the keychain on his palm, scanned it and remembered it was a gift from Fuji. Although he did not remember picking up the gift before he left Fuji behind at the café.
Setting the keychain aside, Tezuka continued unpacking his bags, trying very hard not to let his thoughts stray to the person who gave him the little tennis ball.
--
A few days later, while Tezuka was having a short break from practice, the shiny object hanging on the zipper of his tennis bag caught his eyes. Gently, he played with the ball but realized what he was doing and quickly let go, giving himself a mental smack before he resumed his practice.
Later that day, Tezuka had dinner with his manager and assistant manager. He ordered a piece of fruit cake for dessert and remembered how Fuji teased him about having a sweet tooth. He saw fries on his manager's meal and it reminded him how cute Fuji looked with fries sticking out from his mouth while he was talking to his manager on the phone. He heard the diners next to his table laughed and he thought how angelic Fuji's smiles and laughter were. He listened to his manager talked about his wife and remembered Fuji's love confession. Needless to say, Tezuka concluded he had the worst dinner ever. He didn't even notice he was using a spoon instead of a knife to cut his meatloaf until his manager told him so.
He pondered about various things before he went to bed that night and almost everything thing that crossed his mind was about Fuji. He couldn't concentrate on anything he was supposed to do.
Tezuka finally decided he needed to get a grip!
--
"Fuji-san, there's a call for you."
"Would you connect it to my line, please?" Fuji told the administrator, at the same time shoving aside the tall pile of papers on his desk in order to reach the phone. "Hello, Fuji speaking."
"Fuji."
Fuji froze and almost dropped the phone when he heard the overly familiar voice.
"Tezuka!"
"I hate beating around the bush so I'll just get to the point." Fuji chuckled softly. 'That's so typical of Tezuka', he thought. Tezuka continued, "Are you interested in working as a PR Officer?"
"Public Relations Officer?" Fuji was a little surprised at Tezuka's sudden question. "I've never been in that field before. Mind telling me what a PR Officer does?"
"Basically attend to my news conferences, help me develop a wider external network and well, if you like to know more details, I'll have my manager explain everything to you." Tezuka described briefly.
"It does sound kind of... fun and pretty related to my field of work, in a way..." Fuji dragged his words, unsure whether he said the right thing.
"I take that as a yes to my job offer." Tezuka continued, "Take these numbers down. AK170247." He didn't give Fuji a chance to speak even though he heard a confused "Huh?" from the other end.
Quickly, Fuji grabbed a pen and scribbled down the number on the nearest paper he could grab.
"That's your flight booking number. Your flight to Paris leaves at 10.15 a.m. tomorrow. My manager will be at the airport to pick you up." Before ending his call Tezuka made another declaration, "By the way, did I mention PR also stands for Personal Relationship? See you soon, Fuji."
His statement didn't help Fuji one bit to digest all the information he just received.
Fuji was surprised and confused after Tezuka hung up. The phone was still by his right ear, listening to a beeping tone in the line. Slowly regaining his senses, Fuji slowly set the phone down.
"Paris, huh?" he smiled happily, "well, I guess that's a good place to start a relationship."
He began to clear his desk, gathered his belongings in a box and went on his way to tell his manager about his resignation.
Well, that was it. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :D