Title: Selkouni
Pairing: Perfect Pair
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Rating: G
Summary: AU Tezuka Kunimitsu never believes in the paranormal. He does not believe in something that he cannot experience in reality. But in every rule, there is an exception. In his case, it is the man in his dreams. Dream Pair
A/N: hi, I'm back with another fic! /waves/ and this is a literal Dream Pair lol I don't know what made me active in the TeniPuri tags, but I'm gonna ride this motivation for as long as it gets.
another chaptered fic from me. as always, I'm warning about OOC-ness due to plot purposes. I try to make the characters as similar to their canon as I can but I'm not invincible. u.u anyway, enjoy reading!
I stretched my legs across the empty pavement, feeling my knees released their tension from bending for too long. I shifted from my sitting position and glanced at my watch. 10:15AM, it read. I had been sitting on one of these rows of chairs for half an hour now. The bus that would take me to Tokyo should be arriving soon.
I got up and stood near the bus sign, slinging my heavy backpack over the shoulder and dragged along my small suitcase onto the sidewalk. Other passengers began to form a line behind me as the awaited vehicle appeared from a distance. The wheels came to halt and with a soft hiss, the public transportation's door opened in front of me.
I rode on and hastily took the spot at the farthest back beside the window. Other passengers followed suit as everyone clambered to get a seat of their choice. Settling my belongings, I adjusted my jacket and the scarf wrapped around my neck before sitting down to make myself comfortable for the long trip. Few more minutes of waiting and the bus finally moved to leave the station.
It was a good day. The sky was cloudless and there was no implication of bad weather ahead. The trip was going smoothly. Few scenery passed by until I felt my eyes becoming heavy and sleep took over me.
+O+O+
The place was all white. There was no sky, no objects around. Even the ground that I was stepping on was a color of nothingness. I continued to drift, slowly, feeling myself move despite the unchanging surroundings. Yes, drift, not walk. I had been here far too often that I knew walking was a bad thing.
Something caught my eye from a distance. Upon getting closer, I realized that it was a bench. There was a tall, grandfather clock standing beside it. They appeared to be quite out of place since there was nothing in sight except for those. A man was sitting on the bench, his face hidden beneath his palms. I felt my body move once again and finally sat next to the man. My hand reached for his head, stroking his hair gently. My action caused him to look up and stared at me. His dark eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Time passed between us until the man opened his mouth to speak.
"Hey." He murmured softly.
"Hey." I greeted back with the same lack of emotion in my voice.
"It's been a while."
"Yeah."
The man broke our gaze and looked down. I took his hand which was resting on his thigh and covered it with mine, giving it a tiny, comforting squeeze. His hand was cold and soft. No, not cold. That was only my mind assuming the lack of heat. I continued holding it with my own when a drop of water fell onto the back of my hand. I looked at him and saw tears falling from his eyes.
I cupped his face with both hands and stroked his cheek, brushing away the tears. Just like the imaginary cold, there was no wetness. I took him in my arms as he continued with his silent cries. My fingers ran through his hair, trying to comfort him. Everything was quiet, no words were exchanged. All that I was aware of was my own breathing and his shoulders shaking in my hold.
"Why did you come," His voice rang through the stillness of the place. "after such a long time?"
"I don't know." I replied gently. "Maybe it's because you needed me."
I felt the other tightened his hold on me, burying his face against my chest even more. With a soft voice, he spoke. "Thank you."
We remained like that, enveloped in a comforting silence. Beside us, the hands of the grandfather clock remained unmoving.
+O+O+
I slowly opened my eyes as the feeling of consciousness brought me back to reality. The bus wasn't moving anymore. I looked around and saw the passengers riding off the vehicle in a single file. Albeit still groggy from sleep, I hastily grabbed my things and followed them outside.
The biting coldness of winter greeted me, giving off a tingling feeling from the sudden change in temperature. The bus' heater gave me a comforting warmth for hours and now I felt like water freezing into ice due to the snowy weather. I approached the shed as my hand reached for the phone inside my jacket. My hands began punching on the screen, typing a message to my friend.
My bus has arrived. I'll wait for you here at the bus stop. I texted him.
After making sure that the message has been sent, I pocketed the device and continued standing idly under the sheltered place, watching people come and go around me. A typical weekend afternoon. Not long after, a familiar voice called my name from afar.
"Tezuka!"
I turned around and saw a tall, dark haired man wearing a beige coat jogging towards my direction. He walked over to me before giving a tight hug, causing me to almost lose my balance. I chuckled at the gesture and returned the hug with equal intensity. Afterwards, the man finally pulled away and flashed a smile.
"You are late, Oishi." I told the boy.
"I was caught up with some last-minute things. I forgot that you will be coming today until you sent me a text." The other explained with a look of apology. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not too long, I suppose."
"That's good." He took the luggage from my hands and led me through the crowd. "Let's grab some lunch first. You must be hungry from the long trip."
I gave him a small, appreciative nod. "Thank you."
We went to a nearby café and ordered some food, catching up with each other in between bites. Oishi and I attended the same middle school. I was fortunate to have been offered a career in professional tennis which made me move to Germany and start training. We remained in touch with each other through the years until I told him that I was finally moving back to Japan. A serious shoulder injury finally ended my tennis career and I was offered to become a coach for the high school national representative. When I broke the news to him, Oishi offered to share an apartment with me, saving me the hassle of finding a place to stay at once I arrived at the capital while I look around in search for my own apartment.
After eating, we headed to the apartment. It was on the fifth floor of a tall building, with three other units sharing the same floor as ours. Oishi opened the door revealing a spacious, two-bedroom apartment with a neat kitchen and a shared bathroom. I made an approving nod at the cleanliness of the place. It was like those show rooms that I saw on television, nothing dirty or out of place. So my friend was still this neat after all this time.
"You have a nice place." I said as I took off my shoes by the doorway.
Oishi, who was busy searching through a drawer, looked back and threw me a quick smile "Thanks. I'm sure we won't have a hard time cohabitating since you're not really messy."
"Ah." I placed my bag on the floor beside the couch. "I'll make sure to help with the chores."
"Don't worry about it yet, Tezuka. You've just arrived; we can discuss about house matters in the coming days."
"Oishi," I let my eyes wander around the place again. "are you sure the rent is that cheap? The price does not match the size and location of the house, and this is Tokyo. Space is more expensive than food here."
At that, a faint shade of red dusted the other's cheeks. "Nah, it's okay. I know the owner of this unit so I asked if they could lower the rent since it's me who will be living here anyway." The boy walked up to me and handed two keys. "Here are your duplicates. This one is for your room and the other is for the bathroom. You know, just in case you locked yourself out by accident. I'll be showing you the code for the main door later."
I took them from him and let out a tiny smile. "Thank you, Oishi."
I received a pat on the shoulder before the male headed to the kitchen. Using my newly given key, I made my way to my new room. The place was clean yet almost bare, save for the bed and an empty closet. I dropped my things onto the floor and lied down on the bed.
Putting a hand under my head, my thoughts drifted back to my dream. I didn't remember much of it but I know that I was with a crying man. I was comforting him in my dream.
I let out a sigh. After many months, why did I suddenly dream of him? The man was no stranger, but his identity was unknown to me, too. I had been dreaming about him for a long time that I was already familiar with his face. Those dreams stopped months ago and I thought I had completely forgotten him. Until today.
My hand went up to my chest, calming my suddenly racing heart. His return in my dreams brought back some old memories. It was a long, long time ago, the first time I saw him.
+O+O+
*flashback*
I was nine years old back then. My mother always made me take afternoon naps. "Kunimitsu, you have to sleep so you will grow taller." She often said. I would climb on my bed obediently and did as I was told despite the feeling of reluctance in my chest. Afternoon naps gave me headaches. I would wake up with a pounding head every time I did. I told this to my mother but she said it was because I was reluctant and forced sleep unto myself. After being turned down like that, I kept the pain to myself and had afternoon naps day by day.
I was exceptionally reluctant one afternoon. There was a group of children around my age who was having friendly tennis matches in the neighborhood tennis court. I asked my mother if I could skip my nap just that time and join them, but she refused. So there I was, lying on my bed and forcing myself to sleep again. I was not a whiny child but at that time, I was terribly disappointed. Why did kids have to sleep every afternoon? Why was I the only kid who did it? I wanted to play in the afternoons just like them. With these thoughts in mind, I fell asleep.
I was at the park, alone. No kid was in sight. Where were they? Weren't they supposed to have a tennis match today? Had the game ended? Did I not make it on time?
I sat on the ground and looked down on the grass. I've probably missed the game since no one was around anymore.
"Why are you sad?"
I glanced up and saw a boy standing in front of me. He seemed to be around the same age, with a mop of brown, chin length hair and pale skin. He was wearing a bright blue shirt and matching shorts. He crouched down into a sitting position, knees hugged close to his chest. He was staring at me with his bright blue eyes, waiting for an answer.
"There was supposed to be a tennis match here. I wanted to join them, but my mother told me to sleep. Now they're gone. They must have been finished playing." I told him with a hint of disappointment.
"Aw, that's too bad." The boy said sympathetically. "My mom made me sleep, too. I really hate sleeping in the afternoon."
I felt a frisson of delight upon discovering that someone other than me did not have an inclination towards those naps. "It makes my head hurt when I wake up." I told him.
"Me, too! Mommy said it's because I force myself to sleep. But how can I sleep without trying to?" The boy turned his attention on pulling out the grass from the ground. "I don't like naps."
I watched as the boy continued with what he was doing. Suddenly, an idea popped in my mind. "Since you are here, why don't we play together?"
His eyes met mine and he smiled. "Sure."
I stood up and grabbed his hand as we ran together. But after a few steps, I fell down and everything went black.
+O+O+
My thoughts were cut off by the soft knocking on my door. I got up to open it and saw Oishi standing outside. "Tezuka, I'm going to the supermarket. Do you want me to get you something?"
I thought of some things that my friend could buy for me, but decided against it. I could just get them myself once I had sorted out my necessities more clearly. "Nothing, but thank you anyway." I replied.
"Oh, okay." He studied my face for a few seconds. "Sorry for waking you up. Were you asleep?"
I shook my head in reply. "No, just resting for a bit."
"Alright. I'm heading out now." Oishi was about to leave when I called him out. "Oishi."
He halted on his steps and looked back at me. "Yes?"
"...did you have afternoon naps when you were a kid?" I asked him. It took me by surprise when I heard those words escaped my lips.
The other had obviously not expected that kind of question as well because a flash confusion showed on his face. "Huh?"
"Did you use to sleep in the afternoon when you were a kid?" I repeated.
"Sometimes." Oishi paused, trying to jog his memory for an answer. "When I was too exhausted from playing I fall asleep. Why?"
"Nothing. So you weren't forced to take those naps?"
My friend's reaction turned even more confused, if that was possible. "No. Why are you asking, Tezuka?"
"I just remembered something." I nodded briefly in goodbye. "Be careful on your way."
Oishi gave a shrug and finally walked away. Once the man was out, I closed the bedroom door and heaved a sigh. I would never forget that dream. I woke up that afternoon and asked my mother if I fell asleep in the park. She said that I had been in my room the whole time. That was when I realized I had been dreaming. But the idea did not strike me as odd back then. I remembered I was just happy to have a playmate in my sleep.
A/N: Hi! I have a new fic! *waves*
I've been busy lately and could not post any stories. I'll try to be more active in the coming days u.u this story might be a little OOC because it will be narrated in Tezuka's POV. some people might find that he was too talkative here, but that's just his thoughts being read by us. i'll post the next chapter soonest. I hope you like it! ^^