The Friend Zone
For OrangeAce
Canon Knowledge: Anime only
What you want to receive: Fic
Prompt: Nothing is interesting if you're not interested
What you want to see: Coming-of-age, Ryoma sees Sakuno in a new light, mixture of humor and drama, family, Nanjiroh's appearance, failed attempts
What you don't want to see: OOCness. That is all.
Chapter Twelve
By the time tennis practice was over on Friday, Ryoma was in an epic internal battle.
He couldn't make up his mind if he really wanted to kiss Ryuzaki again, or spank her.
Of course, the sane part of him knew he shouldn't really be spanking her, but that afternoon during practice his frustration level had induced a fantasy that had started out with a fairly gentle smack on her ass, with her bent over his legs. After effectively getting her attention with the spanking, things had escalated quickly as they usually did when it came to her. It was an oddly satisfying fantasy. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to own up to enjoying it yet, but he was feeling a little desperate to get her attention. Maybe it was because he was so frustrated with her. It made him want to act out. Maybe if he spanked her for real she would scold him.
Maybe she would spank him back.
That kind of sounded promising.
More promising that is, than what the normal sane part of him wanted to do, which was to simply kiss her senseless. Which he'd already very enjoyably done, it just hadn't produced the relationship results he was looking for. Kissing her was...well he had no words. It was that consuming. However, kissing apparently still left him in the friend zone.
He did not want to be anywhere near her friend zone. The sight of him should make her heart float out of her body and an unexplained smile to break out on her face. He wanted her to want to touch him, and taste him, and someday become a new family of their own.
Not make her smile gently and tell him what a good friend he was.
So troublesome. Troublesome clueless girl. What was he going to do with her to get her to understand?
So while debating on a good smack on her bum versus kissing her, he showered after tennis practice and then tracked her down. There she was waiting for him at the tennis court benches, "You ready?"
She gave a slight nod as she rose up from the bench and gathered up her belongings.
Ryoma almost reached out to smack her rump as she'd turned away from him, but thought better of it and instead stuck his fist in his mouth.
Don't...do...it...don't smack her ass...don't do it...don't do it...
He bit down on his knuckles hard just as she turned back to him.
"What are you doing?" She asked; shock and horror in her voice.
Ryoma looked down at the tooth marks on his hand.
Whoops.
"Nothing."
She grabbed his fist, forcing it to uncurl with her hands as she muttered and grumbled about self inflicted pain.
Ryoma's heart thumped at her touch.
He noticed with a type of satisfaction that she was flushed red...
Well...now...that had some promise.
Quickly flipping his hand over, he grasped her hand in his, and tugged her towards him. "Let's go."
She fumbled forward a bit, but allowed him to keep hold of her hand as he walked them out of the school and towards his house.
As usual, Sakuno found herself overwhelmed the moment she stepped into the Echizen household. Uncle Nanjiro was really...
Outgoing.
She'd barely managed to slip off one of her shoes before Ryoma's father had her smaller form wrapped up in a big bear hug.
"Saku-chan!" He greeted enthusiastically as he crushed her ribs and shook her up and down like she was still a five year old, not a fifteen year old.
"Mou...un-cle...it hur-hur-hur-hurts," She meekly protested in a rattled voice as he shook her. She madly gasped for air, hoping he would put her down quickly.
Ryoma's racquet dug into the back of his father's knee, "Don't manhandle my girlfriend, Baka Oyaji."
Sakuno blushed so hard, she was pretty sure she was about to faint.
Did Ryoma-kun seriously just call her his girlfriend?
He'd never done that before. Maybe he really did like her...like how a boy likes a girl...well...maybe...
No.
Can't get caught up in wishful thinking. He's just protecting her from his goofy father. She really needed to stop thinking every little comment from him had some possibly deeper meaning. It wasn't doing her heart any good for it to be continuously jumping in and out of her body like this!
"I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend," Nanjiro teased as he set Sakuno back down on her feet.
"Mou..." Sakuno sighed under her breath as she slipped off her other shoe and quickly swiped away a traitorous tear that had slipped from the corner of her right eye. Her heart was stabbed with pain at Uncle's offhand comment. So he really didn't think she was his girlfriend, he was just saying that for some reason. It shouldn't hurt her feelings so much! This was exactly why she wasn't supposed to like him anymore! She quickly stuffed her feet into her usual houseguest slippers, knowing Auntie would be next, and while not as bad as Uncle, still had a tendency to greet her with much enthusiasm.
Auntie did not disappoint. A few seconds after her feet were in her slippers, Rinko had engulfed the younger woman in her arms, "Awww Sakuno-chan you came to visit me!"
Sakuno returned the hug, "Hi Auntie."
"Whatever," Ryoma said to his father as he grabbed Sakuno's hand and tugged her out of his mother's grip.
Nanjiro started cracking up while Rinko complained about missing the big joke. Nanjiro wrapped one arm around his wife's shoulders as he gloated, "You're going to be happy. The young man just called Saku-chan his girlfriend."
"He didn't!" Rinko replied scandalously. A wide smile broke out on her face. She was practically glowing with happiness.
Sakuno wanted to crawl under a rock and die. This had officially gone beyond embarrassing, and she still felt like crying.
Ryoma rolled his eyes, "Why don't you old people just stay out of it."
"Aww, how cute, he's finally in love," Nanjiro quickly quipped back.
"So when do we get grandbabies?" Rinko asked.
Sakuno's eyes widened to the size of saucers as Ryoma commented dryly, "That escalated quickly."
"Mou, Ryoma-kun! This is why I told you I shouldn't come over," Sakuno complained quietly.
Unfortunately, the adults still heard her, even though her comment was only intended for the boy still holding her hand.
Mou...he really was still holding her hand! In front of his parents! They were definitely going to misunderstand this time!
Nanjiro laughed again as he wrapped his other arm around Sakuno's shoulders, effectively moving her and Rinko along with him as they headed towards the family room. "Nonsense Saku-chan. Even if you don't marry our worthless son, you'll always be like a daughter to us."
Sakuno choked, and coughed violently to cover it up. Mou...when would this teasing end already? And why was Ryoma-kun still holding her hand and forcing her to drag him behind her?
Of course at that point, Sakuno was saved by the arrival of her grandmother.
"I'm here," Ryuzaki Sumire announced from the front door.
"Just let yourself in Old Lady," Nanjiro responded as he let go of his wife and Sakuno to head back towards the front door they'd left open for the arrival of the beloved Seigaku Middle School Tennis Team Coach.
"Hi Grandma," Sakuno greeted as she arched sideways around Nanjiro's back to see her.
"Hi Sakuno. How was your day?" Sumire responded to her granddaughter.
"It was fine," Sakuno replied.
It didn't take long for the whole group of them to end up in the Echizen's kitchen where they spent the next couple of hours. The ladies finished the food preparation while the boys bickered and teased.
After a satisfying meal, they regrouped in the family room. As the adults started in on a more serious conversation, Ryoma looked sideways at Sakuno.
Somehow the girl was able to look like she wasn't as bored out of her brains as he was at the adult gossip about so in so and what's his face, etc. Well, even if by some miracle she actually gave a care about what the adults were discussing, Ryoma had a plan. A plan he'd had at the beginning of the week when he'd instructed Ryuzaki to invite her grandmother along for the family meal.
They were going to go sneak off to his room. Now.
He stealthily poked her in the side and whispered, "I want to show you something."
Sakuno was surprised that Ryoma had poked her, but as he got up, she followed along. A few seconds later, they were alone in the downstairs hallway.
"Finally," Ryoma said grouchily.
"What's wrong?" Sakuno asked at his odd comment.
He gave her a look like she was crazy for not understanding him, but didn't elaborate his thoughts. Instead, he headed towards the stairs to lead the way to his room.
Sakuno, unsure what was going on, followed him up the stairs and down to the end of the hallway where his room was located. "What are we doing?" She asked quietly as he opened up his bedroom door.
Ryoma gave her a slight glare over his shoulder.
"Yes...what are you doing?" Nanjiro asked as well, suddenly appearing behind them. He sounded so happy at catching them sneaking off that it bordered on putting him in a hospital for crazy people.
"Old. Man."
"Yes...Young...Man?" Nanjiro mocked just as slowly.
Ryoma didn't reply, he just glared daggers at his father.
Unfazed, Nanjiro's grin widened further. Then he asked, "So are you sneaking off to make out with Saku-chan?"
Ryoma's eyes narrowed down to thin slits for a fraction of a second. Then he opened his bedroom door and shoved Sakuno inside. She shrieked in surprise while Ryoma followed in right behind her, quickly spinning around to slam the door closed.
Nanjiro was just as speedy as he arrived at the door just in time to put his foot between the door and the door jamb. He wrapped his hand around the top portion of the door, trying to wrench it open while Ryoma tried with equal force to continue closing the door.
"So you are going to make out?" He asked as the two struggled back and forth for a few moments, the door slipping between further open and further closed several times.
"YES! We're going to make out so leave us alone!" Ryoma yelled as he dug his heel into Nanjiro's foot, causing him to yell out in pain and remove his foot from keeping the door from closing.
Ryoma's bedroom door slammed shut with force. He quickly locked it, just as the door knob began to wiggle from the other side.
"Ne...Seishounen!" Nanjiro whined through the door.
Ryoma kicked the door, and it shook once again with some force.
Sakuno cowered against the far wall of Ryoma's room, wondering what had just happened. Sure, she was used to Ryoma and Uncle's odd ways of practically fighting all the time...but...
Ryoma-kun just told his father they were going to make out!
She was so going to faint any second.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter everybody. xoxo ~ Bunny
