A Prince of Tennis fanfic by Maria .
Pairing: Kunimitsu Tezuka/Syuusuke Fuji
Rating: PG-13 for boy/boy kissing
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis (Tennis no Oujisama) is copyrighted by Takeshi Konomi and Shueisha.
Summary: Fuji watches Tezuka as he works in an Ikebana arrangement...
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Kunimitsu Tezuka always used his hands in a firm but graceful manner, not only when he either played tennis or wrote something down. Fuji had been watching him for quite a while in complete silence as he worked on a flower arrangement, selecting flowers and stems, handling the scissors skillfully to cut those elements short when needed...
"Who taught you the basics of Ikebana (1), Tezuka," the blue-eyed man asked, one of his cactus pot in his hands. "I don't recall you even mentioning that you knew them."
"My late maternal grandmother worked in an Ikebana school." As he talked, he cut several roses of different colors, as well as some stems and maidenhair fern. "She taught my mother the basics, and she passed them to me."
"Aaaah... And did Ayana-san only teach you the basics of the Heika (2) style?".
"Yes, she and my Grandmother followed the Heika style, not the Moribana one (3). That's why I prefer using a kabin vase and crosspieces, rather than an utsuwa recipient and kenzan holders..."
Tezuka carefully grabbed a too-long stem and handed it to Fuji. "Can you help me a little, Fuji?".
"Eh?"
"I need to cut this principal stem until it's one and a half times the height of the kabin..."
Fuji left the cactus on the table, took the long stem and Tezuka got teady to cut it. As Tezuka tried to calculate the exact length he needed to make the arrangement perfect, Fuji was reminded of Inui... or more exactly, of Inui preparing his juices, from the simple Inui Juice to the infamous Aozu.
"You shuddered all of a sudden, Fuji. Are you okay?"
"Ah, sorry..."
"Good, now please don't move it or it may be broken..."
Fuji rolled his eyes. As Tezuka cut the stem, he gave it back to him... repressing his sudden urge to break it into two. Tezuka muttered his thanks, and as he placed the stem in the kabin he attatched it with a crosspiece to secure its position.
"Perfect 70ยบ angle, that's good. Now, the secondary stems..."
Fuji, still somewhat upset that Tezuka would pay more attention to the stems than to him, just observed the soon-to-be Ikebana arrangement from several angles, like a good photographer.
It's for a good cause, Syuusuke Fuji, don't whine...
Tezuka, who either sensed that Fuji wasn't in a good mood or was too engrossed in his work to feel it, didn't ask his friend for help to cut and attatch the other branches and form the more basic stems that added depth to his art piece. After some minutes of fumbling, he seemed to remember that he wasn't alone.
"Fuji?"
The slightly younger man didn't reply. After some seconds, Tezuka called out to him again. "Fuji?".
Fuji seemed to be paying more attention to his cactus than to Tezuka. Either that, or he was pretending to do so, to get back at him. Even when he knew that such childish tactics weren't always successful with someone who had the mindset of an adult.
"As you wish, Fuji." Tezuka sighed. The pink rose with the REALLY long stem that he had in his left hand was the ornamental part of his work, he'd rather not mess up with it...
But he cut this one too short for his taste.
... Fuji, don't distract me with your kid-like antics , he thought, sighing. He turned to the corner of the table, where he left a small tray with all other roses along with some maidenhair... and then there were none. Fuji wasn't on sight either.
"Fuji!".
"Pink roses." The voice came from behind him. "They mean 'perfect happiness' or 'believe me' in Western floralia. What an intresting choice for an Ikebana arrangement, Kunimitsu Tezuka..."
Tezuka turned and saw Fuji with the roses and the maidenhair fern in his hands, smiling innocently. "I was bored and wanted to see them better, Tezuka. That's all, don't be so upset..."
"Fuji... give me the tray with the materials that I need for this arrangement back, please."
The voice tone he used as he said "please" didn't admit any kind of replics. Fuji stuck the tip of his tongue at Tezuka and gave the roses back. All of them, except one that was more red with some white "stains" than pink itself.
"And the red and white ones mean 'together'. As I've said, what an intresting choice... Can I keep this one?"
"No, unless..."
"Unless you have no use for it. I see." And Fuji shook his head. "You better give it a good one, Tezuka."
"I will".
For the following minutes Fuji just observed as Tezuka cut the stems of the roses very carefully and exactly, to later add them to the arrangement. He had to recognize that, for someone who wasn't actively into anything artistic, Tezuka had a pretty good sense of elegance and taste. Fuji was also reminded of something that one of his elementary school teachers said, during a school trip to an Ikebana exhibition...
"The Heika style of Ikebana arrangement brings out the natural charm of the flowers used. At times, some complain that it's dry and fussy, but it's relative. And also, kids... don't you think that the Heika arrangements tend to be mroe vertical, as if the flowers and stems wanted to reach the sky...".
"I'm done, Fuji".
Fuji blinked and looked at the now-finished arrangement. Tezuka had chosen three beautiful roses as ornamental stems, and placed them relatively near to the opening of the kabin. Some maidenhair ferns completed the whole picture, and they blended in nicely with the pink of the roses and the green of the steams and leaves...
The three roses were pink... As soon as he noticed it, Fuji blinked again and opened his lips. "And the red...?"
"Here"
Tezuka gave the red and white rose to Fuji and placed his hands softly over his boyfriend's, enveloping them with his own warmly. "I can't believe you'd think...".
Fuji cut Tezuka off as he leaned closer to him for a long, tender kiss.
"And I can't believe you fully bought it, Tezuka," he mused as they parted. "Since you're giving me the red and white rose... I take it as you wanting us to be together and soar high, just like the flowers you used in the arrangement you'll be giving to Ayana-san as a birthday gift?".
Tezuka didn't say anything, but Fuji took his silence as a 'yes' and kissed him again.
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NOTES:
1) Ikebana (literally, 'living flowers'): Japanese art of flower arrangement, in which cut stems, leaves and flowers are artistically arranged in vases and other containers. The key consideration is to use as few stems and leaves as possible, so that the flowers will stand out in a rather stylish way.
2) Heika: One of the oldest Ikebana styles, it uses a tall vase and crosspieces, and the natural elements that form the rest of the arrangement (principal, secondary and ornamental stems) are organized in vertical lines.
3) Moribana: Another popular Ikebana style, it uses a shallow container as well as a holder with several sharp points to secure the stems and flowers. It also gives some more liberties to the followers, such as using Western flowers and placing the arrangement itself in Western-style rooms.