Ima Ai Wo Katarou (Let's Talk About Love Now)
A Fanfic about The Prince of Tennis
By: Fujima Priss
'Claim' All characters are not mine. They are from Prince of Tennis
Perfect Pair / Royal Pair / Alpha Pair
A/N: Well thank for all those reviews. Wish I could get more! Haha. So sorry for the Sakura part in the first chapter, but now that she's gone (whooohooo) it's gonna perfect pair moments from now on! Advance happy valentine's day everyone I hope you like it!
Sin 2
Pride
"Isn't newly weds supposed to be lovey-dovey and pukingly sweet?" The blue-haired bishounen asked as he sat down above Fuji's table.
"Pukingly? Is that even a word?" Fuji asked in annoyance.
"Pukingly, meaning they make you vomit!" Yukimura retorted back.
Fuji folded his arms above his keyboard and gently rested his head above them. "May I remind you of a certain ex-captain that made-out with a certain ex-vice captain inside the dressing room and let a certain tensai wait for an hour for the certain ex-vice-captain to start his photoshoot."
"Mostly the first couple of years were the best ones since you're just getting to know each other." The effeminate ex-captain looked at the bored tensai, ignoring his threatening eyes "Isn't that right?"
The brunette pulled his arm in mid air and shrugged his shoulders "Maybe…"
"You don't have to be so discreet, I remember the day Gen moved in with me." Yukimura said while crossing his legs, still above Fuji's table. "We explored every corner of the house!" Fuji looked at the effeminate captain. Did he just see Yukimura's eyes glitter?
"I wouldn't be so harsh with a girl you know."
The bluenette ignored him once again, jumped down the table and shoved a paper on his face. "You might want to look at the schedule today, Atobe made some adjustments."
The tensai stood up his chair and walked towards the door. "It's another tennis player I bet. After all, Sanada and Echizen will be the models. There's no harm in adding another bratty player."
"Gen's not bratty!" Yukimura retorted back.
The brunette laughed. "I didn't know what you would love in somebody as stoic as him." He said while reaching for the door handle.
"He's not the only stoic person in the professional tennis world."
Fuji paused. He could feel the coldness of the handle slowly flow into his veins. "As long as they don't interrupt my work, everything's fine." He whispered before leaving the room.
Yukimura looked at the pile of papers once again. "This is gonna be one hell of a day." He sighed while staring at the newly written name on the paper. "I'm sorry Fuji, we all want what's best for you."
Fuji walked into the studio and saw the crew fixing the set infront of him. He took a sip of his newly bought coffee and placed his camera bag above his chair. Just as he was finished a voice came from behind.
"Fuji!" The tensai looked around and saw his boss, Atobe, coming towards him.
"Atobe!" he greeted back with a smile. "Where are my models?" he placed both his hands on his waist.
Atobe walked towards the tensai and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax…" he said with a smile, "We would be shooting for five magazines, two posters and one commercial, we have a lot of time." He gave one of his shining smiles.
"A week won't be enough!" Fuji sighed. "By the way I thought Echizen and Sanada's flight came yesterday? It's past the call time already!"
"Well, Echizen won't be coming in the morning…He must be tired from the flight so Ore-sama gave him a day off—"
"What day off?!" The little prodigy shouted as he stood at the entrance of the studio. "I told you Monkey King that I would be working today, BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN! You kept me up all night!" Ryoma said as he walked towards the surprised tensai and the smiling king.
He silently glared at Atobe, who felt amused with the hatred the little one was showing. "Even if you complain, I know you had fun last night."
The little boy brought down his cap, but failed to cover his red ears from the tensai's sight. "Maa, Echizen-kun these past few years have taught you how to express your feelings more."
Fuji bended down and lifted the cap from his kohai's face. "Don't be late tomorrow or I'll have you strip naked infront of my camera." He said with his smile. The little prodigy felt a big lump in his throat. Even after so many years, Fuji's smile still scares the hell out of him.
The tensai let go of his kohai and spotted his assistant bringing his tripod over. "Jun-kun, have you seen Yukimura?" he asked.
"Ummm, I think I saw Yukimura-san pass by the dressing rooms a while ago." The young man said as he placed the tripod near Fuji's things. "He's probably not done with the make-ups." He added.
"Thanks, I'll go see the their progress for a while." Fuji said as he ignored the royal pair bickering behind him and walked towards the dressing room. He knocked as he arrived infront of the dressing room.
"Yukimura?" he shouted but was greeted by silence. He decided to open the door to check but the room was deserted. He slowly walked inside and saw Yukimura's make-up palette infront of the mirror.
The tensai heard a thump near the bathroom door. He slowly walked towards the door and opened as both Rikkaidai players fell down his feet, the ex-captain on top of the stoic man.
"Yukimura! You're supposed to be out ages ago!" Fuji shouted as he watched both man fix their clothes. Yukimura gave him a smile as Sanada slowly pulled him up his feet.
"Sorry…it has been a while since we saw each other!" the bluenette said giving Fuji a puppy eye look.
Fuji sighed. He knew before hand that accepting this project would give him headaches. "Geez, you two. I don't want to sound like an old man…"
"Which you are at this moment…" Yukimura whispered enough to reach Fuji's ear. Sanada pressed his hand hard, signaling him to stop.
"Anyway," the tensai cleared his throat. "We are about to start, so I would want you to come out or I'm shooting Echizen without you."
Yukimura pouted. "Gen's done." He said, "We'll go out once I finish packing my stuff." He said while walking to the table.
"Good." Fuji said. He opened the door when finally, the stoic man began to speak.
"Seiichi, is he here?"
"Only you and Echizen arrived. Haven't seen anybody besides you two yet…" Fuji answered for Yukimura. "I would expect him to come and be in full make-up in 5 mins or he'll be out."
"He's one of the top players in the tennis world. The client wouldn't be happy if he's out." Yukimura retorted.
"Top player or not, being late isn't an excuse."
"He's never been late before." Sanada said in a monotonous tone.
Fuji found himself sighing again. "Fine…just come out and get ready." The tensai slowly walked out of the room. Sanada slowly turned to look at Yukimura. "Are you sure about this? Do you and Atobe think this will work out for them?" He said.
The bluenette stopped packing. "I don't know what will happen this week, but if we don't do anything, who will? Fuji's been my friend since college and I want him to be truly happy."
Sanada grabbed his lover's hand and held it in between his. "He's lucky to have you and Atobe on his side. I just hope this will turn out as we wanted."
"It will." Yukimura smiled as he pulled his lover out of the room.
"Everyone's here?" Fuji shouted as he set the settings of his camera.
"He'll be here soon" Atobe said as he stood next to Fuji and looked at the set infront of them as Yukimura fixed both Sanada's and Ryoma's clothes for the final touches. Both tennis players were wearing suits.
Fuji held his camera with one hand and looked at Atobe. "I don't know who this other man is but everyone's ready. He's acting like a complete ass."
"I heard he's having a hard time going here while avoiding being recognized." Atobe told the tensai. "Besides, I sent him the suit. He'll be ready when he comes here." He added.
Just as Atobe stopped speaking, the door opened. The smell of stargazers, Fuji's favorite flower, filled the air. The tensai didn't look up. It was probably the last model, he figured until—
"Syusuke…"
The voice sent shivers to Fuji's body. He hasn't heard that voice for such a long time. He tried his best not to look back and ignored the voice.
"Tezuka…you're finally here." Atobe greeted the newcomer as he walked towards his ex-rival. "I'm glad you are dressed. Fuji's been a little tired of waiting." He escorted the megane towards Fuji's spot.
"Gomen…" Fuji could feel his presence coming nearer until his voice was just behind him. "It's been a while Syusuke…" He said. The tensai just nodded and walked away towards the set.
"Yukimura." The tensai's voice echoed throughout the room. "Fix Tezuka-kun's make-up and attire then let him have the position on Echizen's left side."
"Tezuka-kun?" Everyone thought it was weird coming from the tensai, who haven't spared a look at the newcomer. Yukimura stepped out of the set as one of the crew members brought Tezuka into Echizen's side, the bouquet of stargazer still in his hands.
The bluenette then fixed Tezuka's make-up. "I won't fix your hair. I think that natural look makes you more popular." Yukimura smiled at the megane. "It's been a while Tezuka."
"Aa." Tezuka replied his eyes fixed on the tensai who was engrossed in fixing his camera.
"That's a nice bouquet, I bet Atobe asked you to buy those since only two bouquets are available here." Yukimura asked as he fixed Tezuka's collar.
"They're Syusuke's favorite." Tezuka said as he looked from Fuji to the flowers in his hand.
"I know…" Yukimura said with a smile, as he looked at how Tezuka stared at his friend. "Please do your best, impress the client and the photographer."
"Aa."
Yukimura stepped down the set and walked towards Fuji. "Everything's done. It's your turn to do the job."
"Sure…" Fuji answered as he moved forward, camera in hand. He looked up and saw Echizen sitted in between two grown stoic man. Echizen is in a light blue suit sitting crossed legged in the middle carrying red roses. The two man behind him, Sanada, carrying yellow daisies and dressed in a black suit on his right and Tezuka standing elegantly in a white suit with his favorite stargazers on the other side.
Fuji has been putting up with this whole act and was impressed at how he handled everything. His voice was normal. Though everything's fine, he can't help but notice that his hand, which was holding his camera, is shaking.
"The concept of this shot is…" He told them while trying his best to not stare at Tezuka and focused his eyes on Echizen. "How you would court your girlfriend." He almost choked at the last word.
Yukimura then butted in, "We'll give you 50 frames for the group shot and 40 frames each for the individual shot."
With that the pictorial began, Fuji moving around the set giving the models instructions and poses. Every now and then, he would go to Yukimura and Atobe sitting near the computer to examine the frames, until they got a good shot.
Tezuka was the last one up for the individual shoots. As the megane went to sit down the set, Fuji moved forward. "So…" Fuji started. "You have 40 frames. Just pose whatever you are comfortable with and leave the shots to me alright."
"Syusuke…I like to…"
"Tezuka, we're in the middle of work." The tensai said as he turned his back on him. "Ready Yukimura?"
Fuji placed the camera infront of his eyes, as he begun shooting Tezuka. The captain looked stiff in his pictures. Almost half of the frames had been used when Fuji stopped. "Ne, Tezuka." He said as he went an arm away from the megane for the first time. "The shots aren't that good." He said as he picked his camera up and showed Tezuka the shots. "We need you to convey your feelings to your…" Fuji looked up and saw Tezuka looking deep into his eyes. "girlfriend…" he whispered almost inaudibly.
"I don't have a girlfriend…" Tezuka answered.
Fuji felt himself being lost in those deep hazel eyes. He bit his lip to come back to reality. "Then lover maybe…or" he bit his lip more, up until today, he was having a hard time saying the word. "fiancée…"
"I—"
"That should do it right." He gave Tezuka one of his famous smiles. "You only have 20 frames left. Show me that emotion." He turned his back on his former captain and went back to his position. Slowly he brought his camera up his face and looked into the viewfinder. His camera was still shaking in his hand as he felt Tezuka's stare piercing through his lenses.
This was the Tezuka he once knew. The look that was once only his. He took several clicks before putting his camera down. "We got it!" He shouted as he returned to his bag and packed his things.
"Wait, Fuji…there's still almost 12 frames left…we should at least…"
Fuji looked up and smiled at Yukimura. "We got the picture isn't that enough?" he said as he placed his bag on his shoulder. "Otsukare-sama" He bowed his head slightly infront of Yukimura, Sanada and Echizen and slowly walked out the location.
"Wait…Syusuke…"
Fuji stopped for a while not looking back. "Oysukare-sama, Tezuka-san." With that, he exited the room.
"Must be hard for you Tezuka. He's really stubborn." Atobe said loudly. "From kun, you've been reduced to san."
"I'm not giving up." The megane announced as he followed Fuji's tracks.
"His office is on the 3rd floor at the left corner." Yukimura said with a smile. "He's a sissy for stargazers."
Tezuka nodded as thanks and hurriedly walked towards Fuji's office.
"Damn it!" Fuji cursed himself as he threw his camera bag into the sofa near his desk. He sat down in his office chair and buried his face in his hands. He didn't understand. He was supposed to forget everything but watching Tezuka looking at him with those same eyes across the lenses of his camera just made him remember everything.
A cold shiver ran down his forehead. He slowly pulled his head up and looked into his hand. A shiny gold ring burned his fingers with coldness. He was married. Sakura placed her trust on him while she was gone. He must resist his feelings. Tezuka was supposed to be engaged or he might be married, who knows. This feeling has no place in the world now.
As he looked into his hand, a soft knock came into his door. "Syusuke?"
Fuji's heart jumped up a bit. "Who is it?" he asked knowing fully well whose voice that is.
"It's Tezuka…" Chills came down his spine. "I need to talk to you…"
"I'm busy…" The tensai shouted.
There was a click in the door, as soon as Fuji pulled his eyes up, he saw Tezuka, in his elegant white suit still holding the bouquet of stargazers in his hands. "This is for you." The stoic man said as he placed the bouquet infront of Fuji's face.
The tensai could smell the fragrance of the flower filling the room slowly. He turned his back on the man before him and walked into the sofa, getting his bag. "I actually have an appointment in an hour. What do you want to talk about?"
"Us."
"There is no us, Tezuka." He could hear the trembling in his own voice. "I better leave…I'm sorry." He held the door open as he moved out of his office, leaving the captain alone in the room. He hurriedly ran into the waiting elevator while placing his hands on his chest. He sat at the corner and bit his lip. Luckily nobody else was there to see him breakdown.
Fuji sat down the sofa in his living room after taking a bath with a hot chocolate drink in his hand. He opened the TV and stared at the news. Luckily it was his day off today. He needed time to keep his body calm. He didn't want to deal with things like he did yesterday.
He heard his phone ring and answered it. "Good morning Syusuke-san" A high piched voice greeted him. "How was your shoot with your friends?"
"It went well…How was your day yesterday?" he asked not wanting to remember anything of his day.
"I've finished fitting the dresses for my shoot. I wish you were here…"
"I wish I was there too." Fuji answered "Away from Tezuka…" he added in his mind.
"Oh…I have to go. I have a casting soon. I'll call you later! Bye! I love you."
"Hnn…" Fuji said as he heard a click. He held his phone while he pushed his body to lie down the sofa. They've been married for half a year but he is still having a hard time saying I love you to Sakura. Yesterday's event just made it worse.
"I'm such a bad person…" he told himself.
"International tennis player, who had almost won all the grand slam championships at an early age has been spotted after a year and a half of absence." He heard the newscaster report. Fuji hurriedly stood up and checked the remote. He pulled the volume up. "The paparazzi had spotted Tezuka-san going inside a hotel in Tokyo. International media had wanted to get his statement on his disappearance right after winning Wimbledon. The press is now gathered infront of his hotel—"
Fuji almost jumped when his phone started ringing and vibrating in his hand. He hurriedly opened the phone to see Atobe's number flashing in the screen. He hit answer and started shouting at Atobe. "Atobe, what the hell was going on? Why are they saying that Tezuka's disappeared?"
"Syusuke…" A deep voice answered. Fuji froze. He knew this voice.
"Tezuka…" The tensai answered back. "Where are you?"
"Look out your window." He heard him say and abruptly stood up and pulled his curtains away to look down. He saw Tezuka with a hat looking straight at him holding a phone.
"Why don't you come in?" Fuji said. He closed his curtains again and continued "You'll gonna catch a cold…"
Fuji walked into his door and held it open as he gestured Tezuka to come in. "Sit down, I'll pour you some tea."
Tezuka sat down the living room sofa and looked around the house as Fuji went to the kitchen. The megane stopped and stared at the television afterwards and soon Fuji came out of the kitchen bringing a teapot and a glass. He poured some tea into the glass and placed it infront of Tezuka.
"Thank you." The megane said as he sipped some tea. Fuji can see a smile forming in his face as he sips. "You still know how my taste in tea is like."
Fuji felt his cheeks getting hot. "That's the only taste I know how to make. If you don't like it, you don't have to drink it." He said while placing the pot above the tray. Tezuka's hand suddenly held his to stop him. It took the tensai quite some time before he pulled his hand and held it close to himself.
"The tea's perfect…" Tezuka said while taking another sip.
"Why are they saying you disappeared?" Fuji asked changing the topic. "Where are you this past 1 and a half years?"
"Something more important came up." Tezuka said. Fuji noticed that the megane has been looking at the same spot eversince he went out of the kitchen. The tensai followed Tezuka's gaze right into the picture frame near the television of his and Sakura's trips for the past year. The megane then placed his glass down and spoke once more.
"Syusuke, I'm sorry but can I sleep here for a few days? I won't be bothering you I promise. It's just that the press are all over the hotel and they are even looking out for Atobe's, Sanada's and my family's house so I don't have anywhere to go."
Fuji found himself staring at Tezuka's hazel eyes again. He was mad at him for breaking his heart yet he was so lost in his stare. Clearly, he still held a place in his life and this idea might make that place even bigger. "..Sure…" Fuji knew he was crazy for letting this man back in his life. "But I have a no spare room, you'll have to sleep in a futon"
"Thank you Syusuke…" Thump. Did his heart skip a beat?
"No Problem." He said as he stood up. "I'll fix the futon so you can rest." He continued as he walked up the stairs.
Tezuka looked back at the picture frames near the television. Seeing the pictures and staying at this house was breaking his heart, yet he knew this was only the way to bring his Syusuke back.
A/N: Well that's it for now.
Please R and R. And please read my other perfect pair story. I hope you liked it.
Have a great valentine's day. ^^ toodles.