Hye! I am back! As I promised, I wasn't that long to update. Well, I hoped I wasn't. Anyway, this is the forth chapter. I hope you like it.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Prince of Tennis and never will be.


Lu-chanxo - Hullo, thank you very much. Yeah, this has been stuck for a long time and I want to finish this as soon as possible. And thanking you is the only thing I can do for reading my fic. So thank you once again. Sorry for waiting. You'll not going to wait for long. This will end soon and then I'll continue my other Ryusaku fic. It's not new actually, it's my Cherry Valentines fic. I'll continue writing that. Thank you once again. :)

Asuna11 - Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I am honestly nervous everytime I update a chapter. But I'll try my best to write better ones.

cposcabee - Hello. Yeah, it's been a while. I hope the story is still intact though. But this is not a long fic. One more chapter and it's done. Thank you very much.

yukina-chan15 - Yep, I am back. Thank you for reading this chapter. I kinda miss the senpais so I include them after so many months of waiting tee hee hee... :3

Yep, and Ryoma was really naughty. I hope they are real... *sighs*

Anyway, thank you for waiting. This is the next chapter. I hope you like it.

- Thank you for reading. I am glad that you like the bonding time with the senpais. I hope that you like this chapter as well... :)

Wind of SilentBell - thank you for reviewing. I updated today. Thank you... :)

crimsonwolf94 - Thank you for liking the both stories. I really appreciate it. I hope you like this next chapter. Thank you once again... :)

sweetCRAZYangel - You are welcome... :) I love you too my angel... :3 I promised you that I would so I did it for your birthday... :)

Tee hee hee, You'll imagine how Ryoma would do that... at least when Ryuji grows up. Well, this is the next chapter. I hope you like it... domo... :)

saku -ryukun28 - You are welcome... it's been on hiatus for a long time. I intend to end this as soon as possible. I'll continue with the other Ryosaku fic after this. Thank you for following my story. I really appreciate it.

Deathbell1617 - you are welcome. Well, I updated today. I hope you will like this as well. Thank you... :)


Chapter 4: The Future

Chapter Summary: He started to think of the future. Ryuji's future...


The past months had been exhausting for Ryoma. For his wife, to be exact. Raising a child was no game at all. It was never easy to begin with. Ryoma didn't know what to do. When Ryuji was crying, he tried to think what the baby wanted. It was actually random. He thought he was hungry but he really wanted to change diaper. He thought he was hungry but something was painful in his body. He thought that he was hurting but he was hungry or wanted to change diaper. The cycle continued like that.

Ryoma was never frustrated.

Sakuno was always the one who could guess what Ryuji really wanted. How did he know this? The brat ended up giggling after the deed was done. Yeah, he was calling his own baby a brat now.

Ryuji was turning one year two days from now. He was no longer an infant. The grandpeople were already planning for his first grand birthday. He didn't interrupt their plans for Ryuji was their first grandchild. Sakuno wouldn't mind if they planned it for him.

Ryuji was getting mischievous as the months went by. He was a troublemaker now. 'Like his father' just as Sakuno would say to him. Ryoma narrowed his eyes at that but he only received giggles from her. As he stared at his son, he slowly seeing his resemblance to him. Ryuji was becoming more of him, less his expressions.

He was cheerful and playful, sensing the signs of his mischievousness from his traits.

"Mama! Mama!" Ryuji called out to Sakuno. Ryoma and Sakuno both looked at Ryuji who was already standing in front of the small table of their living room. His hands were gripping the side of the table clumsily assisting himself to walk. Sakuno immediately ran to his side before he could fall.

"Ryuji-kun! You have to be careful! What if you hurt yourself!" She scolded Ryuji as he landed on his mother's lap and started laughing.

Ryoma sighed. The brat had the nerve to laugh while he made his mother worry for him. Ryuji couldn't walk yet but he was taking baby steps, not without something to hold to. He walked towards them and sat beside Sakuno. He patted his son's hair as he looked at him seriously.

"Be careful there buddy," He reminded him, "You don't want your mother to worry about you all the time."

His son looked at him and started sitting up before crawling up to him. He watched him to approach him until he reached his lap, climbing on it before wrapping his arms around his neck. He frowned as he observed his son until he started to speak;

"Carry, Dada!"

Ryoma frowned even more as Sakuno giggled. Ryuji struggled to his neck so he could lift him up.

"He wants your attention, anata."

Finally relenting to his demand, he stood and brought Ryuji up with him. He touched his son's nose as he murmured, "It's Papa." That was one thing he was annoyed about.

Ryuji could call Sakuno properly but could not when it came to him.

"Dada! Dada!" Ryuji started calling him. He sighed as he walked outside.

Their court yard was, miraculously, clean. Saved for Sakuno's cleaning. When his senpais came to visit them, the area became messy, much to his wife and grandmother's chagrin. He definitely didn't want his own mother to see the mess they would create. He already witnessed wrath more than he could ever have. Ryuji pointed at the net in the middle as he walked towards it. Ryoma walked towards the net and stopped in front of it. His son reached for the top and began tapping it. He put his son down so he could play with the net. A smile was brought to his lips as he watched him tugging with it. He crouched to his level and ruffled his hair in the process.

"Do you want to play, Ryuji?"

His son grinned at him before he nodded. His response caused him to smirk. He could see his little champion becoming him already, "Soon, buddy, you'll play with me," He looked towards the area where his wife was standing in front of a door and looking at the both of them. Sakuno was smiling, "But we don't want to face the wrath of your mother now, do we?"

Ryuji pursed his lips a bit before he followed his ocular vision and his face lit up, "Mama!"

"Ryoma-kun, you better know more than that to spoil your son with a racket." She gave him a sly grin as she shifted with her feet on the ground. He picked Ryuji up and walked to where Sakuno was, his own version of sly grin plastered on his lips.

"I am not spoiling him," He answered when he was in front of her and reached to grab her neck with his free hand, "I am just stating a fact," Ryoma leaned and gave his wife a chaste kiss on the lips. His wife's lips were soft that he never got tired of tasting. If it wasn't for Ryuji pinching his cheek, he would've done so.

"Stop eating mama!"

Both of them looked at Ryuji who was pouting. Sakuno, despite her flushed face, began giggling while Ryoma frowned at his own son.

"I am not eating her. You shouldn't be watching that." He said to his son as he covered his eyes. Ryuji whined as he pried his hands away from his own eyes. Sakuno took Ryuji from him who immediately wrapped his arms to her neck.

"You couldn't blame him, anata. You k-kissed me in front of him," Her cheeks flushed as she explained to him," And baby, Papa's not eating me. He's showing me how much he loves mama."

Ryoma couldn't help but grin at his wife's explanation. He stared at his wife and son alternatively. They were having a mother-son conversation. Ryuji wasn't that fluent in speaking but he could form short sentences on his own. It was quite an advance for a child that was almost one year old like him. At least, that was what his father and grandmother told them. Closing the distance between, he held Ryuji's head and kissed his forehead while he placed his other arm to Sakuno's shoulder. Both his son and wife looked at him questioningly.

"Satisfied?" He stared at his son who was blinking at him.

"Why not here?" Ryuji suddenly asked pointing at his lips. It was their turn to blink twice, thrice before Sakuno started laughing.

"Oh my, Ryuji-kun!" Sakuno smiled at her son before squishing him with her tight embrace, "You are so cute!"

Ryoma only sighed as he stared at them. He had the feeling that Ryuji was way too advanced than he thought he would be.

xxx

Ryuji played for a few hours before he was put to sleep. Sakuno placed him on his crib after tucking him with his toy. Ryoma watched his wife staring fondly at their son. Everything that they went through came back to his memory.

Raising a child at an early age wasn't a joke. You had to sacrifice everything just to give it to your child's needs. His time for playing tennis, his rest, his practice, his games and even his sleep. His son was about a year old and it was already hard. They didn't know anything about raising a child. With the help of their parents and friends, they could manage. Ryoma would make sure that Ryuji would receive everything that he needed.

A smirk was already forming on his lips as he was thinking on how to 'spoil' his son as he grew up.

Sakuno blocked his view of the crib of the baby as she stood in front of him. Her fingers were resting at the collar of his shirt, "What are you thinking?"

His eyes found hers. He wasn't the type to take a closer look at everything in front of him but his wife's face was telling him otherwise. Her eyes were looking intensely at him. They were smiling as they stared at his. He wondered what would his look like at the moment. His hands found her waist as he pulled her closer to him, a smirk was forming once again on his lips, "I am thinking that I finally have you to myself."

The action and his words made her smiling eyes jump into shock. Her face immediately turned red. Her fingers were pressed to his shoulders. She looked behind her where the crib was placed, "Ryoma-kun! You'll wake Ryuji-kun!" She whispered-yelled at him, "It's just after lunch, you dummy."

His smirk became wider as he pressed her body closer to him if possible, "As if the time can stop us," He decided to become playful as he wiggled his eyebrows making her blush even more if that was possible, "Let's not waste time and get out of here. I don't want Ryuji to wake up and disturb us."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to another door which was adjacent to their son's room. As soon as he closed the door, he pinned his wife behind it and crashed his lips to hers before she could even say anything. His hand wrapped around her head, tugging some loose strands of her hair from her braid while the other was snaked around her waist. His knee was placed between her legs completely trapping her there. Her hands that didn't know what to do at first, finally found their role and slowly wrapped them to his neck. Everything about his wife was warm. Her lips, her hands and body. She was also soft. And he was so lucky to have her all to himself.

He wouldn't change her or his son for the world, even if he was getting corny at saying so.

xxx

"Hey." Ryoma whispered to his wife's ear. His hand was rubbing her bare shoulder as he leaned closer to her. Clearly, making love in the middle of the day wasn't ideal but he couldn't careless. With the baby to worry about, he wouldn't miss an opportunity to touch his wife in every possible way he could. When Sakuno didn't reply, he leaned down and kissed where her neck and shoulder met, finally making her stir.

"W-what is it now?" She asked him turning her head to face him. Her face flushed and he bet her body was too.

"You seem too tired?" He asked back when he noticed the exhaustion from her voice.

His wife's face blushed even more, "Why wouldn't I? W-we were getting on it li-like..."

"Bunnies?" I completed for her grinning widely at her.

"M-mou! You don't have to say that out loud!" She retorted. Ryoma noticed how her voice had raised so he covered her mouth with his hand.

"You're going to wake the baby."

She pried his hand from her mouth, "Says the person who does things aloud."

Her words gave a wicked idea. His lips turned to smirk afterwards as he turned his wife to lay on her back before hovering her, "Let's see who's loud then. Shall we have a round two?"

"W-what-"

A quiet squeal was the only sound the could be heard in the room. Being the needy guy, Ryoma tried his best to keep his wife from making a sound. He knew that after that 'round', they would face the thing what was awaiting for them.

xxx

They didn't wait long before Ryuji woke up. He didn't wake up because of their 'sounds', he woke up because of a phone call. His father called him to remind them about the grocery that they had to do. Everything was settled except for that. His mother and grandmother took care of everything from the cake to give aways. Ryoma groaned after the call. Sakuno was already carrying Ryuji who had stopped from crying because of the disturbance of his sleep.

"Stupid Oyaji, ruining Ryuji's sleep." And ruining my pleasure. He groaned even more because of the thought.

Sakuno chuckled as she approached him, "We've been dilly-dallying for long. We should do our job now."

Ryoma only grunted. They got dressed after a few minutes. Sakuno grabbed his hand and pulled her outside. Ryuji became excited when they knew they were going out.

The grocery store wasn't crowded and Ryoma was thankful about that. Sakuno placed Ryuji on a car cart while they began shopping for the things they needed for their son's birthday.

"I hate shopping." Ryoma mumbled but his wife heard him.

"Oh come on, Ryoma-kun. This is the only thing we can do for our son's birthday. Everyone did all the things for us." Sakuno said stopping at the aisle for cans of soda and grabbed some of them.

"We could have done something different." Ryoma insisted as he watched his son played with the wheel.

"What could we possibly do? They did everything already." She pushed the cart to a different aisle, "And don't even suggest about buying rackets for him. It too early."

He grunted at her comment. She was right though. Ryuji was young but it wouldn't be bad if his son could see him play tennis in their court yard. He could buy him a toy racket for a start and the both of them could play. His son was trying to push the horn from the car. It didn't seem working anymore. He could see his own son growing up a bit tease. He could imagine his carbon copy smirk that would plaster on his lips. He only wished that he would not be a playboy much like he wouldn't be interested in girls until the right one came along.

Just like his own story.

He wished that he would find someone like Sakuno to love. And probably wouldn't do what he had done to get his wife to marry him. A smirk was formed on his lips when he thought of telling his son about how he got his mother to marry him.

xxx

It was already late when they made it back home. Ryoma placed the groceries near the counter so Sumire obaa-san, Nanako and the other girls could easily see them tomorrow morning while Sakuno placed Ryuji on the ground and left him with his toys that he could play.

His wife went to him where he was staring at them earlier.

"Everything's ready for his birthday." Sakuno muttered while staring at her son.

"Un." Ryoma could only agree.

"Time flies by really fast," She stifled a laugh before continuing, "I couldn't believe that he's growing up already. It felt like I just gave birth to him yesterday."

"He's a big guy." Ryoma watched Ryuji played with his blocks, trying to build something out of it. He had this frown on his brows as if he were thinking how to build something better out of the blocks.

"He could be an architecture," Sakuno said voicing his unheard thoughts, "or a racer." She continued when he grabbed his toy car and played with it.

"Or a mechanic?" He added to the scenario that they were seeing, "A computer expert?" He kept suggesting as he looked at their personal desktop computer not far from him.

"A news anchor maybe?" Sakuno's eyes darted to the television that wasn't on, "or a famous actor."

"A tennis pro."

"A freelancer too."

"A professional tennis player." He thought something playful as he walked towards his son who continued playing his blocks.

"A family doctor!" Sakuno beamed knowing that she was watching him.

"A tennis player." He crouched down and gave Ryuji a tennis ball.

"Or a pilot-what are you doing?" Sakuno stopped when he realized what he was doing.

"Fulfilling his goal," He smirked as he saw his son playing with the ball, blocks and cars were now forgotten, "and fulfilling it sooner the better."

"Ryoma-kun!" She approached them and crouched beside Ryuji, "We were just imagining what his future might be. It would still be him to choose what he likes."

"I know," He watched Ryuji bounce the ball and it bounced a bit farther from them, "I am just helping him to realize what he likes."

Sakuno watched them before shaking her head, "Mou, Ryoma-kun..."

He smirked back at her, "I am right. Stop calling me with honorifics, Sakuno."

Blush crept on Sakuno's face. He couldn't help but smirk at his wife's expression. His attention went back to his son who was playing blocks once again. Ryuji was chuckling everytime he placed one block on top of the other.

"I can dream for him," Ryoma started seeing his son in a different way, "A father can dream of what his son would be when he grows up."

Sakuno followed his gaze and smiled at Ryuji, "I know that we will be both proud when the time comes."

Ryoma looked back at his wife who was now smiling at him. Her face was red, the same hue that was always painted on her face. Sakuno was always flushed and he never got tired of seeing her react that way.

Sakuno surprised him by leaning closer to his face and chastely pressed her lips to his. It didn't last that long for she broke the kiss herself afterwards. Her face was flushed even more, if that was possible.

"He'll be fine," She said smiling at him, "You're the father, after all."

Ryoma stared back at her while she tended to their son. A smile was tugged at his lips as he watched his small family.

xxx

"Hai, everything is ready, Obaa-san," Ryoma nodded his head realizing that Sakuno's grandmother-his grandmother now too was on the other line of the phone. Sakuno on the other hand was preparing the food for their dinner while Ryuji was in front of the TV, watching a cartoon show from disney channel.

"I got it. We'll bring the ingredients there tomorrow morning. Hai." He ended the call after that. Silently sighing, he placed the phone on the counter and watched his wife set the table, "Obaa-san wants us to bring groceries so she can start the food tomorrow."

"Is she wanting help from us? With the cooking and stuff?" Sakuno asked placing the plates and the food on the table.

"She doesn't want you to help." He said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Ryoma-kun. That's really a great help."

Ryoma looked at his wife and frowned, "No need to be sarcastic."

Placing the last plate on the table, Sakuno sighed and stood straight before looking at him, "Gomen, I was just worried. I really want to help them."

He stared at her for a couple of seconds before walking towards her, "It'll be fine. We are already helping them."

"But-"

"No buts," He reached for her hand and squeezed it, "I trust them."

Sakuno stared at him for a long time before smiling at him. He knew that he chose the rights words to say. For once, even he knew that there were the rights words as well.

Ryuji's first birthday would be memorable for everyone.

A sudden noise caught their attention. They both turned their heads where they heard the sound. Their eyes widened when they saw Ryuji standing near the TV his hand was placed in front of the screen while the other was holding the hem of his shirt. The baby began laughing and totally made them speechless. Ryuji started letting go of the screen as he took a step forward.

"Mama!" Ryuji called as he looked up. His other hand was reaching to them now which was followed by the other. He took another step, "Papa!"

Sakuno gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand. She watched their son making baby steps towards them. His own eyes widened due to two reasons:

His son could finally walk.

His son called him "Papa".

He called him properly this time.

"Papa!" Ryuji called once again. His walk was faltering. He couldn't take it anymore as he took big steps towards his son and scooped him up. Ryuji squealed this time as he was being lifted in the air.

Turning to his wife, he could see unshed tears from her eyes but she was smiling. She was also happy at their son's progress. He grinned at her before looking back at his son before hugging him properly. He ruffled his son's hair telling him how proud he was to him. Well, hoping Ryuji would understand him in his young age.

His future was so secured and he knew it.


Done! How was this chapter? I am sorry if this just on the spot. I wrote this chapter without my muse back actually. I am still hoping that this chapter is still good.

Please have mercy... /

The next chapter will be the last. And after that, I will be focusing on my Cherry Valentines next. Thank you for waiting.

Last Chapter: A Happy Beginning

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!