Ryoma got up the next day and looked out the window to see that the cabin was surrounded by cloud. He couldn't see anything further than a few metres away from the cabin.

Today looked like a bust.

"We're not going to see any eagles today, are we?" He sighed as he came down the stairs. Tezuka was still sat on the sofa, reading. Ryoma wondered if he'd been there all night. Ryoma's own book had been given a bookmark, the folder corner now folded back into place.

"The cloud cover should lift this afternoon," Tezuka replied, "then we can go for a walk."

"Okay," Ryoma said and went to make some breakfast.

After getting dressed, he went outside and stood in the small area of flat land around the cabin. It was really eerie standing out there, not being able to see anything, but still hearing the faint noise of a stream running nearby. He stood there for a while, his mind completely blank, until he started to feel the biting chill of the wind and went back inside.

Tezuka was right. Just after lunch, the cloud started to dissipate and the mountains came into view. By two o'clock, the cloud had completely gone, leaving clear blue sky.

"We can't be out long," Tezuka said as they pulled on their boots, "we don't want to be out after dark." It was clear from his voice that he had no concern about being out after dark himself, but it would be very dangerous for Ryoma.

Their little walk was just along the edge of the valley and involved very little gradient change, but Ryoma was still completely out of breath after half an hour. He knew it was the lower oxygen levels in the air and that he'd get used to it, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Especially since Tezuka was walking ahead of him, completely fine.

"Wait a second," Ryoma called at him and sat down on a rock to catch his breath. Tezuka came back along the path to stand at his side, looking out over the mountains and up into the air, scanning, no doubt, for eagles.

"We'll see them this week," Tezuka said, when no eagles appeared "if they don't come out then we'll put down some food."

Ryoma hummed and got to his feet, "let's go."

They walked up to the glacier, a great sheet of dirty grey ice. It was a lot bigger than Ryoma had thought it was, rising up the side of the valley and fingering out between the peaks at the top.

"Be careful," Tezuka said as Ryoma jumped up on the ice, "there can be hidden crevasses."

"Okay," Ryoma said, keeping an eye on the ice beneath him. He walked around the edge a bit before hopping back off onto the rocks.

"Put your ear against it," Tezuka said.

Ryoma looked doubtfully at the ice. It would be really cold and his ear was not feeling particularly warm at the moment. "Why?"

"Do it and you'll see."

"You'd better not be planning something," Ryoma said, getting carefully down on his knees. It was stupid to say that, of course Tezuka wasn't planning something. He wasn't Fuji. He put his ear against the ice (it was indeed very cold) and wondered what he was supposed to be listening to, all he could hear was a faint creaking noise.

"The creaking noise is the glacier moving," Tezuka explained.

"Okay, that's pretty cool," Ryoma admitted, sitting up, his ear was feeling very cold.

"It is," Tezuka agreed, "and so is your ear, I would think."

Ryoma brow furrowed for a second, "did you just make a joke?"

They didn't stay long at the glacier, since they had to get back before dark. The walk back seemed a lot easier than the one up the valley, the thought of a warm fire and food drawing them back faster. They got back just as the sun was about to set, dying the scattered clouds pink and orange.

"It's going to be a cold night tonight," Tezuka said as they reached the cabin, "there's not a cloud in the sky."

"It'll be good for stargazing," Ryoma said.

Later, after another slightly botched dinner, Ryoma went outside to see the stars. He hadn't realised there were so many, the sky was literally covered in millions of tiny, sparkling dots of light. Tezuka had been right, it was a very cold night. He could feel the cold through all his layers of jumpers and coat and his thick gloves and hat. He wrapped his arms around himself and jumped up and down a couple of times to try and warm himself up. At least the wind had died down, leaving the night air completely still.

"This is where you are."

Ryoma spun around and saw Tezuka standing in the doorway. He stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

"How do you do that?" Ryoma asked, "you always appear behind me!"

"It's a vampire speciality," Tezuka said, his voice completely deadpan.

"Well stop it, it's really annoying," Ryoma snapped, "although it's not as annoying as Fuji and his running around."

"Fuji likes to show off that he can do it," Tezuka explained.

"Can you do it?"

"Of course," Tezuka replied, "but I'm faster than Fuji."

Ryoma snorted with laughter, it was rather ridiculous to hear Tezuka bragging about his speed. "You two should have a race."

"Momoshiro has already made us," Tezuka replied with a sigh, "I won, but Kaidoh can speed run for the longest amount of time."

"How were you in terms of endurance?" Ryoma asked. If it came off as an innuendo then it was not completely accidental.

"I was better than Fuji."

Ryoma smiled to himself, "of course you were."

"I don't understand."

"It's nothing," Ryoma replied, shaking his head. Flirting with Tezuka was going to be harder than with most people. Not that he needed to flirt with him really, it was just fun to mess with him.

"It's cold, I'm going in," Ryoma said.

Tezuka could have grabbed him and pulled him back, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on Ryoma's lips. One that would not remain gentle for long. Soon they'd have their hands in each other's hair, tugging and pulled each other closer as their tongues danced together, their breath coming out in clouds. Tezuka would start biting Ryoma's lips and Ryoma would pull him back into the cabin and up to bed.

But he didn't.

Tezuka gave the stars one last look and then followed Ryoma back inside.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny and Tezuka woke Ryoma up early so that they could set off.

"Where are we going?" Ryoma asked as he pulled on his walking boots.
"Into the next valley," Tezuka replied, "We have to walk out of this valley and around into the next. There's no path up and over the top and the sides are covered in loose rock, which is very dangerous to walk on."

"Okay," Ryoma said, packing extra jumpers into his rucksack along with his makeshift lunch. Tezuka started to rub on sun cream, Ryoma watched him, grinning. He didn't have to wear it.

"You should put some on too," Tezuka said, handing him the bottle, "the sun is very strong in the mountains."

Ryoma groaned and took it, lathering it onto his face and hands. "I hate this stuff."

"It's better than sunburn," Tezuka said, "you've missed a spot." He reached out and rubbed a smear of white on Ryoma's cheek into his skin, his hand lingering there a lot longer than necessary. "We should go."

They walked down into the bottom of the valley and met the path next to the stream of glacier melt water. Ryoma hung back, letting Tezuka lead the way. Normally, he liked being in the lead, but he didn't really know where they were going and this way he had a nice view of Tezuka's rather fine butt (even if it was dressed in baggy walking trousers).

The path left the valley and then went downhill before turning upwards and into the next valley. Near the entrance of the valley was a small wooden hut. Inside it was just a bench.

"This is cosy," Ryoma said sarcastically as Tezuka opened a couple of flaps in the wall next to the bench.

"The eagles nest in those trees," Tezuka said when Ryoma came to sat next to him, pointing at a cluster of trees on the other side of the valley.

Ryoma nodded and picked up the binoculars, focusing them in on the trees. There were no eagles.

"They'll be out hunting," Tezuka said, scanning the skies.

Half an hour later, there were still no eagles and Ryoma started to eat his lunch.

Four hours later and all they'd seen were a few crows, a raven and a collection of small brown birds. Tezuka was currently watching a pair of rabbits. Ryoma sighed, bored out of his mind.

"We should probably go back soon," he said, putting his binoculars up to his eyes and scanning along the top of the valley.

"You're right," Tezuka said, "Just give it a couple more minutes."

Ryoma sighed and continued scanning.

And then a saw it, a broad wing appeared above the peak Ryoma was looking at.

"There!" Ryoma shouted, his cry sending the rabbits scattering. He pointed at where the wing was, but it had soared down into the next valley. "There was a big white wing with black stripes on it," seeing it had caused a spike of adrenaline and he couldn't stop talking. "It disappeared though."

"Well done," Tezuka said calmly, "let's see if it comes back."

They sat with their binoculars trained in on the spot where the eagle had been, but nothing showed up.

"We should go," Tezuka said and Ryoma nodded, packing up his binoculars.

"You should always bring me with you," Ryoma said smugly as they left the hide. "Since I spotted the eagle."

"I should," Tezuka agreed. "I'm glad we know that they're still in the area."

It was almost dark by the time they got back to the cabin. They both changed into more comfy clothes and then made up the fire together and sat on the sofa.

Ryoma felt very satisfied, despite only seeing the wing of an eagle.

"Why would anyone shoot an eagle?" Ryoma asked, looking over at the picture on the window, "they're magnificent."

"Mostly it's poachers wanting a trophy or to sell the body parts," Tezuka said, "feathers sell for a very high price."

"Yeah, I sighed a thing a few years ago committing me to clamp down on the trade," Ryoma said, "I doubt it helped."

"It helped a lot," Tezuka said, "The number of shootings have fallen, but the price of feathers has now shot through the roof and there are some very desperate people out there."

Ryoma nodded solemnly.

"Sometimes a farmer shoots one because it took one of their sheep," Tezuka continued, "nowadays though farmers are tolerant of them. We've found that putting food out stops them going after sheep. Normally they only take old sheep that are close to death anyway. The eagles are big, but a sheep can do a lot of damage to them."

"I bet it can," Ryoma agreed, "we've got some rare eagles in Ensinkil, our main problem is with egg thieves."

"That's the main threat to our eagles," Tezuka said, "Every year during the breeding season the Ice Eagle Foundation send vampires to watch over each nest day and night. The number of cases went down with the threat of having your throat ripped out."

Ryoma snorted, "you'd have to be suicidal to try."

"People still do," Tezuka said wearily.

"Have you ever watched over the nests?"

"I have a few times," Tezuka replied, "It was tiring, but you do see the chicks being raised."

"Maybe next time I'll come with you."

"That would be nice," Tezuka said. "Next spring we're releasing a pair of eagles into the area."

"To replace the ones that were shot?" Ryoma asked.

"No, there are a couple of juveniles reaching maturity, the old territory will be taken by them. But there's plenty of land around and we need some new blood. The new eagles will be released in the mountains near Seigaku."

"That'll be fun," Ryoma said.

"I would like you to be there."

"Did the eagles that were shot leave any young behind?" Ryoma asked after a pause.

"They did," Tezuka said solemnly, "They'd mated late that year, so it was very young. I rescued it and sent it to the Ice Eagle Foundation. They raise chicks there."

"Okay," Ryoma said.

"I came back and found you bleeding in my hall," Tezuka said, "and then I lost control. I'm sorry."

"I already forgave you," Ryoma reminded him. "I didn't want to go to Tanaris. I'd be right here even if you hadn't bit me."

"I'm glad you're here."

"Same," Ryoma said softly, "I need to lie down." He was going to do the sensible thing and lie with his legs in Tezuka's lap, but Tezuka's words had made him feel a lot bolder and braver. He lay down with his head in Tezuka's lap.

"Did my lap look comfy?" Tezuka asked, Ryoma was relieved that he didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah," Ryoma replied. He paused for a moment, "What do you think about love?"

"I know I wanted to wait till I was in love till I mated," Tezuka said. "I feel rather jealous of Fuji."

"I've only ever felt lust," Ryoma admitted, "All I ever did with my 'partners' was sleep with them."

"We make a good pair," Tezuka said, "I've never been with anyone and you've been with-"

"All the hot men in the Ensinkil court," Ryoma said, "or the ones who were gay or bi or just curious at least. And the ones who just wanted to fuck a prince."

"Were they queuing up?"

Ryoma snorted, "sometimes."

"I spent a long, long time with Atobe," Tezuka said, "he has seven mates."

"Seven?!" Ryoma asked, astonished, "do they all take turns or is it an orgy every night?"

Tezuka looked scandalised, "I wouldn't know. He cares for them all deeply, but within their group there are two couples."

"That sounds complicated."

"It is," Tezuka replied, "I can explain it properly if you'd like."

"I think it'd give me a headache. Anyway, who cares about Atobe?"

"I do," Tezuka said, brushing Ryoma's blond hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, well, you're weird."

Tezuka didn't say anything more, just started down at Ryoma, carefully brushing his hair that refused to stay out of his eyes. Ryoma suddenly felt very warm, the blood rushing to his face. He was blushing! He was lying in Tezuka's lap blushing! Tezuka was looking at him so tenderly and Ryoma thought his heart was about to explode.

Kiss me, Ryoma thought, I'm right here waiting!

He flicked his eyes away for a second and bit his lip, trying to look as cute as possible.

Give in! Give in! Give in! He chanted in his head, please!

"You should start your dinner," Tezuka said, completely destroying the mood.

Fine, If that's what you want, Ryoma though, getting up and going to the kitchen. It had all been going so well! They'd had a nice talk and then he'd been lying in Tezuka's lap and Tezuka hadn't kissed him and taken him up to his room and had his way with him! Well, if Tezuka didn't want him in his bed then that was his loss!

I'm going too fast, Ryoma realised as he chopped up the vegetables. I need to slow down.

He managed to make something that was actually tasted nice and wasn't burnt this time and allowed himself to be a bit proud of it as humiliation caught up with him. At least Tezuka hadn't outright rejected him. He remembered how tenderly Tezuka had looked at him and found himself blushing. Surely that had to mean something!

He finished his dinner and washed up then returned to the sofa in front of the fire where Tezuka was reading.

"Do you want to lie down again?" Tezuka asked as Ryoma sat down and picked up his own book.

"Yeah," Ryoma replied, putting his feet in Tezuka's lap and lying back against the sofa cushions. Tezuka put his free hand on Ryoma's feet, it was cold, but comforting at the same time. At least Tezuka hadn't changed how he acted around Ryoma.

The next day found them at the bottom of the valley in a clearing in the woodland. They'd driven down and were now sat on the car's roof, looking for more eagles. So far, the only bird of prey they'd seen was a sparrowhawk. Ryoma had lain down on the roof and was dozing in the sun. It was a lot warmer today and Ryoma was feeling relaxed and happy.

"Any eagles?" he asked.

"None yet," Tezuka replied, "I heard one earlier though."

"That high pitched chirping noise?" Ryoma asked, it wasn't a good description at all.

Thankfully, Tezuka knew exactly what he's meant, "yes."

"So they're around?"

"Yes."

Ryoma sat up and started to look as well. It was harder to see with the trees around them compared to the openness of the valley the day before, but Ryoma had always had good eyesight.

"Up there," Tezuka said, pointing high in the sky where a small dot was swirling in the thermals. Ryoma raised his binoculars and focused in. The dot turned out to be an eagle. An Ice Eagle.

"It's too high to see which one it is," Tezuka said, "hopefully it'll drop down a bit and we can see the colour of the tag on its leg."

"Let's hope so," Ryoma agreed. Even with his good eyesight, the eagle was far too high for him to be able to see the tag.

They watched the eagle as it soared.

"Have you ever wanted to fly?" Tezuka asked.

"Yeah," Ryoma replied, "when I was kid I dreamt about flying away from the palace. Normally, during really boring functions."

Tezuka chuckled, "I can imagine you'd get very bored at formal events."

"Especially ones where the Queen Mother of Tanaris was there," Ryoma added, "she was always telling me about her stupid granddaughter and how I was going to marry her one day."

"Is she the one you were on your way to marry?"

"Yes," Ryoma replied, "We were betrothed for years, the government of my country needed the dowry though, so the wedding plans went into fast track. I've never even met the woman I was supposed to marry."

"Atobe was very against your marriage," Tezuka said, "Tanaris has always been anti-vampire, an allegiance with your country would have given them the means to go to war."

Ryoma snorted, "my country's flat broke."

"But you have a very large army," Tezuka pointed out, "and your country was once home to powerful magicians."

"All of which are dead!"

"Magic doesn't die out that easily."

Ryoma shrugged, "I don't want to be responsible for a war."

"I wouldn't want you to be responsible for one either."

"I should set up an alliance between our countries," Ryoma said, "since I'm now with you."

"Your country won't acknowledge our mating bond as a marriage," Tezuka said, "we would have to get married."

"Maybe in a few years," Ryoma replied, smirking, "or we could have a political marriage."

"I don't want you to be in a political marriage," Tezuka said, "you deserve better than that."

That was very touching and Ryoma looked back to the eagle to avoid having to look at Tezuka. He'd resigned himself to a political marriage, there was no way his father or his country would allow him to be with a man, so he'd realised that he would be married off to some woman he didn't love and, as long as a child came out of the marriage and Ryoma's affairs were secret, he could sleep around with as many men as he wanted.

"Out of everyone I could marry, I think you'd be the best option."

Tezuka didn't reply to that, which Ryoma thought was probably for the best. They were there to find eagles, not make out on the car roof.

However tempting the idea was.

The eagle had flown further away from them and was only a speck against the clouds.

Ryoma put his binoculars down and sighed.

"This is the territory of one of the pairs, so we can narrow it to one of them," Tezuka said, "the weather is due to stay like this for the next few days, so we'll have plenty of chances to see them again."

Ryoma lay back again and looked up at the crystal clear blue sky. He felt Tezuka lie down next to him and looked over, coming face to face with him.

"This isn't comfortable," Tezuka said.

"It's not that bad," Ryoma replied, "it's more comfortable than the benches yesterday."

"It's not."

Ryoma inched closer to him, their eyes locked together.

"If you're cold then getting close to me won't do you any good," Tezuka said.

"I'm not cold," Ryoma told him.

He shut his eyes and smiled as Tezuka brushed his hair off his face.

"Do you like my hair?" Ryoma asked, "you play with it a lot."

"Your hair is very nice," Tezuka replied.

Ryoma opened his eyes and looked up through his eyelashes at Tezuka. He knew the effect very well and with his platinum blond hair he was sure he looked practically angelic, although he was ruining it with his devilish grin. He saw Tezuka catch his breath and his grin became even more devilish.
He could easily lean in and kiss him, Tezuka would pull him close and kiss him back, rolling them over so that Ryoma was underneath him, pressed between the car roof and Tezuka's body.

But he wanted Tezuka to kiss him. Playing this game, tempting Tezuka into kissing him was far too much fun for him to give it up by kissing him first.
To his disappointment, Tezuka didn't close the few centimetres between their lips.

Ryoma gave up this time, rolling over onto his back.

Just as an eagle flew over them.

"Eagle!" Ryoma shouted as the bird flew away and landed on a tree. They both scrambled for their binoculars, focusing in on the eagle that was sat in the tree, tearing into a rabbit.

"It's the male," Tezuka said, "Can you see the purple tag on its wing? The female has a red one."

"He's huge!"

"The female is bigger."

"I'm starting to think you were lying yesterday," Ryoma said, "that thing could easily kill a sheep."

A few minutes later, the eagle was joined by his mate. It was lucky they were sat on a thick branch, anything smaller would have snapped under their combined weight. The male wasn't keen on the idea of sharing his meal with his mate, and let her take a couple of bits of meat before taking off, rabbit firmly in his clutches. The female sat on the branch for a few minutes, preening herself before taking off and flying out of sight.

"They both looked well fed and healthy," Tezuka said, sounding rather relieved, "They're well prepared for the winter. We just need to see the pair from the mountains now."

"Should we drive back and see if we can see them?" Ryoma asked, "since today seems to be our lucky eagle spotting day."

"That would be a good idea," Tezuka agreed, "unless you want to stay here and see if they come back."

"We've seen them and they look fine," Ryoma said, "we should go and see the other two."

They spent the next couple of days searching the area for the mountain eagle pair. They'd seen the valley pair a couple more times, but the mountain pair proved to be as elusive as ever.

And so, they decided to climb a mountain. Partly because Ryoma had suggested that they could get a good view from the top of the mountain, but mostly because they were sick of just sitting down all day and going for a long walk sounded like a nice idea.

Or it had the night before when they made their plans. Tezuka was completely fine, but Ryoma was realising just how bad he was at walking uphill. His legs were starting to ache and he was completely out of breath and they weren't even half way up. The hard, rocky path didn't help matters. His feet kept catching on the edges of rocks and slipped on loose ones.

But he trudged on, following in Tezuka's footsteps.

"We're almost there," Tezuka told him sometime later, Ryoma couldn't tell how long.

Ryoma looked up and saw they were about to get onto the ridge that went up to the mountain's peak.

"Be careful," Tezuka said as they got onto the ridge, a small path winding its way along with sheer drops either side.

Ryoma gulped, it really didn't look safe.

"Here," Tezuka said, holding out his hand, "I won't let you fall."

How romantic, Ryoma thought, taking Tezuka's hand and letting him lead him along the narrow path.

"It's best not to look down," Tezuka said and Ryoma tore his eyes from the dizzying drop and locked them right onto the back of Tezuka's head.
Tezuka had nice hair, it shone in the sunshine. He had a nice back too, it was wide and muscular and Ryoma wanted to know what it was like to cling to it in the throes of passion.

It look a lot less time than Ryoma expected to get to the peak of the mountain. One minute they were walking, hand in hand, along the ridge, the next the were scrambling up the last couple of meters and up to the top where there was a couple of rocks that made a good seat.

Ryoma sat down, thankful to get the weight off his feet. All around him was mountains. Ranges of mountains that went on forever, right into the horizon, disappearing into blue.

"It's breathtaking," Ryoma said, not realising he'd said it out loud.

"It is," Tezuka agreed, staring right at Ryoma.

Ryoma looked puzzled for a second and then smiled at him, a beautiful, completely genuine smile.

"Echizen," Tezuka said tenderly.

"Tezuka," Ryoma said, sliding his hand over the top of Tezuka's. It was cool and big with long, delicate fingers. he knew from earlier how perfectly it fit around his own. Maybe they were meant to be.

Tezuka's free hand slid onto Ryoma's cheek, his thumb rubbing against his skin.

He wasn't sure whether Tezuka had leaned in, or if he had or whether it had been both of them. But either way, a moment later their lips were pressing softly together. It was good, so much better than his fantasies. Ryoma's free hand wound itself into his hair, tugging on it as his tongue tried to get into Tezuka's mouth.

Tezuka pulled away before Ryoma could manage it.

"That's enough for now," he said.

"One more," Ryoma said, "I won't do anything."

Tezuka leaned in and pressed their lips together again. His lips were chapped, but felt wonderful against his own, with the soft little movements.

"Do you want another?" Tezuka asked as he pulled back and rested their foreheads together.

"Of course," Ryoma replied, "but maybe we should wait till we get back," he said, sliding his hand up Tezuka's leg.

"Not yet," Tezuka said, taking Ryoma's hand and moving it back to a more decent place, "we barely know each other, Echizen."

"You're right," Ryoma sighed, "I wish you weren't. Anyway, we should be focusing on eagles."

"Yes," Tezuka agreed, unpacking the binoculars from his bag and handing a pair to Ryoma.

"Is that one there?" Ryoma asked, pointing at what he was sure was an eagle sat on some rocks nearby.

"It is," Tezuka said, "you are good at this."

"It'll look good on my CV," Ryoma joked, "it's a new one, right?"

"It's one of the mountain pair," Tezuka told him, "the female. She looks very healthy. I think we can assume the male is as well if we don't see him."

"All your eagles are fine."

"I'm glad," Tezuka said. "We should go back down."

Ryoma nodded and got to his feet, stumbling. Tezuka caught him before he could fall, pulling him back into his body.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Ryoma grunted, enjoying himself being pulled up against Tezuka. "I'll lead the way down, I trust you to catch me."

He took Tezuka's hand and lead him all the way back to the hut, thankful that he could remember the way. And, with the fire crackling in the grate and his dinner cooking, he deposited himself in Tezuka's lap.

"What are you doing?" He asked as Ryoma wrapped his arms around his neck and started to plaster kisses over his face.

"Kissing you," Ryoma replied, "like we were doing on the mountain."

"I don't remember you -ah- biting on my ear up there."

Ryoma tugged more roughly than he'd meant to on his earlobe and then slid it between his teeth, "I would have done. If you hadn't stopped me."

"Echizen, we're going too fast," Tezuka said.

"It's just a bit of kissing," Ryoma replied, pressing their lips together, "relax, let's have some fun."

"Just kissing?"

"Just kissing," Ryoma promised, "and maybe some touching."

"Just kissing," Tezuka said sternly.

"But I can't kiss without touching you."

"You know what I mean."

"Fine," Ryoma sighed and then Tezuka pulled him closer and slammed their lips together. Ryoma quickly changed position so that he was straddling Tezuka's legs. Tezuka's hands slid down from his shoulders and rested in the small of his back, applying pressure to keep Ryoma exactly where he was. Ryoma finally managed to get his tongue into Tezuka's mouth and he moaned as Tezuka kissed him back with just as much ferocity.

"Want to go up to your room?" Ryoma asked, panting.

"No," Tezuka replied, "down here is fine. Anyway, your dinner is burning."

"Shit," Ryoma hissed, getting to his feet and running to the kitchen where his dinner was indeed burning. He managed to salvage what he could from it, but it was one of the worst things he'd ever eaten.

"At least blood doesn't burn," he grumbled as he returned to Tezuka.

"But it can taste very bad," Tezuka said, "I'm sure your dinner wasn't that bad."

"It was," Ryoma pouted, "it was the worst thing I've ever eaten. I don't even want to make out now."

"Perhaps that's for the best."

"You were having fun though," Ryoma said.

"That may be. But we were getting close to going too far," Tezuka told him. "I'm sorry."

Ryoma shrugged, "I do want to sleep with you," he admitted, "but it's not fun if you don't want to."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to go to bed," Ryoma said, "my whole body hurts."

"It's good we didn't have sex then."

Ryoma laughed, "you've never had sex before, have you?" He asked as he gave Tezuka a peck on the lips and got to his feet.

"Goodnight," Tezuka said and watched him leave.