Crack Fic
Words: 3,233
Rating: PG
Warnings: Crack-fic, unbeta-ed, slight character OOC
Yep, more crack. Don't ask me why I can't write a semi-serious fic anymore. Maybe it's because school is frying my brain - and rather successfully, I might add.
Tezuka flipped through the magazine briefly before glancing at his watch again for the tenth time in ten minutes. An hour had passed and Echizen was still nowhere in sight. He wondered why a routine cleaning took so long.
Just when he was about to rise and ask the receptionist if his boyfriend had snuck out the back door or something equally devious, a grumpy Echizen appeared with the dentist behind him. Tezuka rose and bowed at the older man, surprised by his appearance. “Okubo-sensei,” he greeted him, brow furrowing slightly. “Is everything all right?”
Okubo patted Echizen on the shoulder gently. “Everything’s fine, Kunimitsu. But I thought I had better come out and tell you everything myself since Ryoma-kun seems to have frequent lapses of his memory.”
Tezuka slanted a sideways glance at the sullen Echizen who refused to meet his gaze and glared at the linoleum floor instead. “He seems to have selective memory issues at certain times,” Tezuka agreed. “Does he need to come back?”
“I’d like to see him again in about a month,” Okubo said. “He had four cavities, two of which are of slight concern to me. He should cut back on sugar and sweets to the barest minimum. Even fruits and juice should be eaten sparingly.”
“I’ll make sure he follows those instructions,” Tezuka agreed, shooting Echizen a stern look. It was a wasted motion; Echizen kept his gaze averted.
“Now, Ryoma-kun,” Okubo said kindly, addressing the younger man. “I know you hate coming here but I really need you to take better care of your teeth. If I don’t see any improvement with your cavities, I’m going to end up giving you a crown or something even more painful. And you’ll hate coming here even more.” Okubo patted Echizen on the shoulder again. “Well, then, I’ll leave him in your capable hands, Kunimitsu.” He waved and headed back to his office.
Since Echizen still wasn’t looking at him, Tezuka headed over to the receptionist and made an appointment for a month later. Pocketing the reminder card, he left the dental office with Echizen following behind silently.
They didn’t speak on the way home. When they finally entered the apartment, Echizen muttered, “My teeth hurt. I’m going to bed.” Without waiting for an answer, he headed into the bedroom and shut the door.
Tezuka didn’t stop him, knowing the last thing Echizen wanted to hear was him saying, “I told you so.” He headed into the kitchen instead and started dinner.
*****
When Echizen awoke the next morning, his teeth still hurt but he could at least feel his gums again. Reminding himself never to accept anymore shots of Novocain, he shuffled out of bed and headed to the shower. The warm water helped him feel a little more human and after getting dressed, he headed into the kitchen in a better mood.
Tezuka was there, scrambling some eggs. “Good morning,” he greeted him. “What would you like for breakfast?”
Echizen stifled a yawn. “I guess eggs,” he said reluctantly. Stealing a glance at the clock confirmed that Tezuka had class soon and wouldn’t have enough time to cook him his favorite breakfast. To console himself, Echizen opened the refrigerator and scanned the shelves for the juice. He noted the nearly bare shelves and reminded himself that they would have to go shopping this weekend. But he knew there was still a carton of orange juice left.
“Where’s the juice?” he finally asked Tezuka, glancing at his boyfriend. There was no way Tezuka could have drank it all. It was half-full yesterday.
“I threw it out,” he said, the frying pan sizzling as he flipped the eggs around.
Echizen shot him a funny look. “Why?”
Tezuka met his gaze. “Your cavities, remember?”
“Che,” he mumbled and stuck his head back into the fridge. Well, if there was no juice, he would just have to settle for Ponta. He tried not to drink it in the morning because Tezuka kept hinting how bad it was for him. For some strange reason, Tezuka thought the soda shouldn’t be drunk at all, but especially not so early in the morning.
But there was no Ponta, either, and Echizen knew he had exactly eight cans left out of a case. Slowly, Echizen shut the door and turned to Tezuka. “Where’s my Ponta?”
Transferring the eggs to two plates, Tezuka said calmly, “I hid them.”
Echizen stared at Tezuka in patent disbelief. “You what?”
“Until Okubo-san tells me your teeth are no longer in danger, you will be forbidden from drinking or eating sugar,” Tezuka said. He brought the eggs over to the table and sat down. “This is for your own good,” he added, finally noticing his look.
Echizen glared at him, wondering what he ever did to Tezuka to deserve such punishment. “Then what am I supposed to drink? And don’t say milk, either. I had enough of that in middle and high school.”
“Fortunately, we have something called ‘water’. It is good for you and sugar-free. Sit down, your breakfast is getting cold.”
Dragging his feet over to the table, Echizen slumped into his chair across from Tezuka. While the older man began eating calmly, Echizen poked his eggs moodily with a fork. How could he survive without Ponta for at least a month? It was impossible.
An idea suddenly struck Echizen. Even if he couldn’t have any at home, there was no way Tezuka could stop him from drinking it outside the apartment. After all, there were vending machines around every corner.
Pleased with himself, he sat up and began gulping down his eggs. For the first time he could remember, Echizen was looking forward to Tezuka leaving for school so he could sneak around the corner and buy his beloved Ponta.
Tezuka didn’t seem to notice his change of behavior. A half hour later, just before he left for the university, he warned Echizen, “Remember, no excess sugar. I’ll see you later tonight.”
Echizen allowed Tezuka to press a kiss on his mouth, still smug about his cleverness. He waited about fifteen minutes before heading out of the apartment, wallet in hand. Bounding down the stairs, Echizen almost hummed in glee as he headed outside and towards the nearest set of vending machines.
The day was crisp and clear and just perfect to play tennis. Fortunately for him, there were plenty of people at Tezuka’s university to challenge and beat. Echizen resolved to do just that after he got his morning fix of Ponta.
His plan was short-lived when he arrived at the machine, only to see an ‘Out of Order’ sign posted on it. Echizen glared at the slight hitch in his plans before grudgingly moving on to the next machine down the block.
However, the next closest vending machine was being removed by the time Echizen arrived. A low crane picked it up and slowly moved it to the back of a waiting truck. He stared as the men shouted and waved their arms to direct the crane driver, ignoring the spectators gawking at them.
His good mood was fast being spoiled. Now positively glowering, Echizen turned and headed for the nearest convenient store. They always had Ponta and knew to keep at least a case on hand for Ryoma.
But when he arrived, Masaki-san stopped him on the way to the cooler. “I’m sorry, Ryoma-kun, but we’re all out of Ponta today. Apparently, there’s a party somewhere tonight and they cleared me out of every flavor. I couldn’t even hide one away for you.”
Echizen felt his blood beginning to boil. But Masaki-san was a nice guy, even if he did give all of Echizen’s Ponta away. “It’s all right,” he muttered and stomped back to the apartment. He would grab his tennis bag and head over to the university. They had to have Ponta there. There was no way Tezuka could arrange to have all the Ponta in Tokyo unavailable. It had to be a coincidence.
He was still telling that to himself when he arrived on campus. But before he tracked down any worthy tennis opponents, Echizen stopped by his usual vending machine.
Out. There was no Ponta left. Not even that nasty orange-pineapple flavor that Echizen would only consider drinking in the worst of situations.
Echizen wanted to hurt something very badly. How could Tezuka have done this? Only the rich and powerful would be able to …
It suddenly clicked in his brain. Echizen groaned as he realized they did know someone with enough clout and money to do such a thing. He should have stayed in bed today. Maybe even for the rest of the month.
“Are you all right, Echizen?”
At the familiar voice, Echizen turned around and stared at Fuji. “No.” Not only did he discover that his boyfriend was a sadistic torturer, but he was still Ponta-less. His brain was beginning to shut down.
Fuji smiled knowingly at him. “I heard about your cavities. You should really take better care of your teeth. My obaa-san has dentures and they’re horribly inconvenient.”
“Che,” Echizen muttered. As if he hadn’t heard that lecture before. “What are you doing here anyway, Fuji-senpai?”
“Oh, I thought I’d come by and challenge you to a match. I had a feeling that if you were Ponta deprived, you could at least use a good game of tennis.”
Did everyone know of Tezuka’s plot to kill him? If so, how come no one was stopping him? “Fine,” Ryoma muttered. He followed Fuji to the court slowly, thinking of ways to get Tezuka back for this.
*****
Their match was interrupted when Fuji got a phone call in the middle of the brief break between sets. After speaking to the person on the other line, Fuji glanced up and smiled apologetically at Echizen. “Something came up and I have to go. Perhaps we can finish this another time.”
Echizen wasn’t too surprised with the disruption. It happened 98% of the time when they had a match. It was just a fact of life to him now: when playing Fuji, it was most likely going to be an incomplete game. “I’ll see you later, Senpai.”
“It won’t be as bad as you think,” Fuji said consolingly as he packed up his bag and slung the strap over his shoulder. “You may end of thanking Tezuka for this.”
Shooting Fuji a skeptical look was all Echizen needed to convey his thoughts on that idea. Fuji just laughed and trotted away.
Left to his own devices, Echizen pulled out his own cell phone and found the number he was looking for. He waited until the call was answered before saying sarcastically, “Removing all the Ponta in less than a day is remarkable, even for you. Just how much did it cost?”
“Enough,” Atobe said smoothly. “But price is no object when it comes to Tezuka. How are you holding up, brat?”
“How much do you want for a dozen cans?” Echizen asked, ignoring the question.
“Are you trying to bribe me?” To Echizen’s irritation, Atobe sounded amused. “Firstly, I could never betray Tezuka like that when he’s asked me to keep all sugar away from your decaying teeth. And second, what do you think you could possibly offer me in return? Despite your lucrative tennis career, I still have more money than you.”
Echizen didn’t hesitate. “I’ll let you have one date with Tezuka.”
“Hmm.”
“And with me. Together.”
There was a long pause at the other end. When Atobe finally spoke again, the amusement was even more apparent in his voice. “And what do you think Tezuka will think when he finds out you’ve bartered yourselves for a mere drink?”
“He didn’t consult me when he asked you to take all the Ponta away,” Echizen said grumpily.
“That’s because he cares about your health, brat. So as tempting as the offer is, I’m going to have to decline. I don’t want my date ruined because he is angry at you and you refuse to speak to him; it would ruin the romantic atmosphere that my presence would provide. Besides, Jiroh seems to have taken a liking to the Ponta and is currently drinking them.”
Echizen scowled into the phone even if Atobe couldn’t see it. How dare someone else drink his Ponta? “You’re going to regret this,” he told Atobe curtly and hung up.
After packing up his own bag, Echizen wandered out of the court and left the university grounds. He briefly entertained the thought of taking the train to Chiba in hopes that he would find some Ponta there but decided Atobe would probably have covered the entire Kantou prefecture just to spite him. So he wandered through the city for a while in vain hopes that Atobe’s people had somehow missed a vending machine or store. To his chagrin, every place he went to was completely out.
That was enough for Echizen. He took the bus home, crawled into bed, and waited for the month to end.
*****
Tezuka came home and found Echizen in the bedroom, curled up in a ball and staring at the wall blankly. He sighed and sat down at the edge of the mattress, brushing Echizen’s long, dark hair from his eyes and making a mental note to take his boyfriend for a haircut this weekend. “Atobe called me and told me about your conversation.”
Echizen didn’t answer or even look at him. Tezuka felt slightly guilty at the lost look in Echizen’s tawny gold eyes but firmly told himself it was for the best. “You know I’m only doing this for your own good, Echizen. You’ll thank me in fifty years that you still have teeth to chew food with.”
There was still no response and Tezuka decided to leave him alone. Rising to his feet, he quietly left the room to start dinner.
Once Tezuka shut the door behind him, a slow smirk dawned on Echizen’s lips. Beneath the covers, his hand curled around a coveted can of unopened grape Ponta to be savored in secret. Tezuka struck a low blow by asking Atobe help him with his well-meaning but insane mission. And Atobe did a completely thorough job. There was now no place Echizen could get to - short of breaking into people’s residences which would probably not help his tennis career any - for Ponta.
That is, all except one place: his parent’s house.
----------------------------------
Omake
One month later, Tezuka found himself in the waiting room of the dentist’s office again. Nearly an hour had passed since Echizen went in to see Okubo-sensei. He wondered what was taking so long. Tezuka had made sure only the barest amount of sugar passed through Echizen’s lips, which was no mean feat considering how addicted Echizen was to it. That was very apparent when Atobe informed him Echizen had tried to bribe him with a date.
He heard the faint sound of a door being opened down the hall and moments later, Echizen appeared with the dentist at his heels. Tezuka arose and greeted the older man with a bow, taking in Echizen’s scowl with faint stirrings of dread. “Okubo-sensei, how is he?”
“Mmm, not so good, I’m afraid. He still has those four cavities and I can see another one forming. He’s going to need to come back in two weeks for a root canal.”
Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Tezuka glanced sternly at his boyfriend. Not surprisingly, Echizen didn’t meet his gaze. “But how is that possible? I made certain that he only the bare minimum of sugar.”
Okubo rubbed his chin musingly. “I’m sure you took very good care of him, Kunimitsu, but you can’t watch him every moment of the day.” He winked at Tezuka. “Though I understand there has been a strange shortage of Ponta lately.”
Echizen’s mouth flattened into a thin line at the remark. Tezuka suppressed a sigh and nodded. “We’ll see you in two weeks, then, Okubo-sensei. Thank you for all your help.”
“I wish it had turned out differently,” Okubo said regretfully. “Ryoma-kun, remember what I told you about cutting back on sugar. And brush your teeth three times a day!”
After making an appointment with the receptionist, they left the office silently. In the car, Tezuka finally turned to Echizen. “I don’t know how you did it, but you found some Ponta to drink, didn’t you?”
Echizen looked out the window. “I own stock in Ponta,” he said off-handedly.
Tezuka stared at him for a long while before giving up. He turned on the car engine and drove them home.
Omake 2
Paying bills was never a fun chore but Tezuka took great pains to keep track of everything. Echizen left it all to him, claiming that numbers confused him needlessly. Tezuka decided pointing out that math was one of Echizen’s strong subjects would be a waste of breath. In any case, Echizen paid for his school tuition from his tennis tournament earnings so it was the least Tezuka could do.
A few hours after Echizen left for his customary weekly visit to his parents and challenge his father to a match, Tezuka decided to take advantage of the quiet. He sat down at the computer and logged into their bank account to check their balance. Tezuka’s eyebrows rose when he noticed a regular withdrawal of ten thousand yen every week for the past month.
He was still staring at the computer screen, perplexed, when the apartment door opened. “Tadaima,” Echizen called out.
“Okaeri,” Tezuka replied absently. He heard Echizen kick off his shoes, drop his tennis bag next to the couch, and wander over to the computer desk to kiss him with the familiar and faint taste of grape. Once done, he asked, “Echizen, do you know why we’re missing 40,000 yen from our account?”
Blinking, Echizen leaned back before glancing at the computer screen. “Um,” he said.
Tezuka eyed him, suspicion rising. “Where is it going?”
Exhaling noisily, Echizen muttered, “My father.”
Now Tezuka was even more confused than ever. Brow furrowing in bewilderment, Tezuka asked slowly, “Why? Are your parents all right?”
“They’re fine. My old man is just greedy, that’s all. I’m going to take a shower since I’m all sticky.” With that, Echizen escaped into the bathroom.
Tezuka didn’t bother to stop him; it was obvious Echizen didn’t want to tell him something. He slowly turned his attention back to the screen and stared at the withdrawal. Certainly they could afford the slight dent in their income but why would Echizen Nanjiroh demand money from his son? Unless …
Tezuka stared hard at the first withdrawal date. It was right after Echizen’s dental appointment when Tezuka restricted his Ponta drinking. He suddenly realized his mouth held the lingering taste of artificial grape flavoring from their kiss. And he remembered how Echizen’s parents always had Ponta by the caseload at their house whenever their son came around to visit. So that was why Echizen still had cavities. Despite his and Atobe’s best efforts, Echizen still found a supply of Ponta to drink.
And his father was charging him an exorbitant amount of money in return. Tezuka was torn between incredulousness and exasperation. Echizen still had his cavities and they were now 40,000 yen poorer. Ironic how Echizen Nanjiroh had gotten the best deal out of them all.
I know, I know, I need help. But I'm too poor to afford it so you guys are stuck with me with for the time being. :D
Rating: PG
Warnings: Crack-fic, unbeta-ed, slight character OOC
Yep, more crack. Don't ask me why I can't write a semi-serious fic anymore. Maybe it's because school is frying my brain - and rather successfully, I might add.
Tezuka flipped through the magazine briefly before glancing at his watch again for the tenth time in ten minutes. An hour had passed and Echizen was still nowhere in sight. He wondered why a routine cleaning took so long.
Just when he was about to rise and ask the receptionist if his boyfriend had snuck out the back door or something equally devious, a grumpy Echizen appeared with the dentist behind him. Tezuka rose and bowed at the older man, surprised by his appearance. “Okubo-sensei,” he greeted him, brow furrowing slightly. “Is everything all right?”
Okubo patted Echizen on the shoulder gently. “Everything’s fine, Kunimitsu. But I thought I had better come out and tell you everything myself since Ryoma-kun seems to have frequent lapses of his memory.”
Tezuka slanted a sideways glance at the sullen Echizen who refused to meet his gaze and glared at the linoleum floor instead. “He seems to have selective memory issues at certain times,” Tezuka agreed. “Does he need to come back?”
“I’d like to see him again in about a month,” Okubo said. “He had four cavities, two of which are of slight concern to me. He should cut back on sugar and sweets to the barest minimum. Even fruits and juice should be eaten sparingly.”
“I’ll make sure he follows those instructions,” Tezuka agreed, shooting Echizen a stern look. It was a wasted motion; Echizen kept his gaze averted.
“Now, Ryoma-kun,” Okubo said kindly, addressing the younger man. “I know you hate coming here but I really need you to take better care of your teeth. If I don’t see any improvement with your cavities, I’m going to end up giving you a crown or something even more painful. And you’ll hate coming here even more.” Okubo patted Echizen on the shoulder again. “Well, then, I’ll leave him in your capable hands, Kunimitsu.” He waved and headed back to his office.
Since Echizen still wasn’t looking at him, Tezuka headed over to the receptionist and made an appointment for a month later. Pocketing the reminder card, he left the dental office with Echizen following behind silently.
They didn’t speak on the way home. When they finally entered the apartment, Echizen muttered, “My teeth hurt. I’m going to bed.” Without waiting for an answer, he headed into the bedroom and shut the door.
Tezuka didn’t stop him, knowing the last thing Echizen wanted to hear was him saying, “I told you so.” He headed into the kitchen instead and started dinner.
*****
When Echizen awoke the next morning, his teeth still hurt but he could at least feel his gums again. Reminding himself never to accept anymore shots of Novocain, he shuffled out of bed and headed to the shower. The warm water helped him feel a little more human and after getting dressed, he headed into the kitchen in a better mood.
Tezuka was there, scrambling some eggs. “Good morning,” he greeted him. “What would you like for breakfast?”
Echizen stifled a yawn. “I guess eggs,” he said reluctantly. Stealing a glance at the clock confirmed that Tezuka had class soon and wouldn’t have enough time to cook him his favorite breakfast. To console himself, Echizen opened the refrigerator and scanned the shelves for the juice. He noted the nearly bare shelves and reminded himself that they would have to go shopping this weekend. But he knew there was still a carton of orange juice left.
“Where’s the juice?” he finally asked Tezuka, glancing at his boyfriend. There was no way Tezuka could have drank it all. It was half-full yesterday.
“I threw it out,” he said, the frying pan sizzling as he flipped the eggs around.
Echizen shot him a funny look. “Why?”
Tezuka met his gaze. “Your cavities, remember?”
“Che,” he mumbled and stuck his head back into the fridge. Well, if there was no juice, he would just have to settle for Ponta. He tried not to drink it in the morning because Tezuka kept hinting how bad it was for him. For some strange reason, Tezuka thought the soda shouldn’t be drunk at all, but especially not so early in the morning.
But there was no Ponta, either, and Echizen knew he had exactly eight cans left out of a case. Slowly, Echizen shut the door and turned to Tezuka. “Where’s my Ponta?”
Transferring the eggs to two plates, Tezuka said calmly, “I hid them.”
Echizen stared at Tezuka in patent disbelief. “You what?”
“Until Okubo-san tells me your teeth are no longer in danger, you will be forbidden from drinking or eating sugar,” Tezuka said. He brought the eggs over to the table and sat down. “This is for your own good,” he added, finally noticing his look.
Echizen glared at him, wondering what he ever did to Tezuka to deserve such punishment. “Then what am I supposed to drink? And don’t say milk, either. I had enough of that in middle and high school.”
“Fortunately, we have something called ‘water’. It is good for you and sugar-free. Sit down, your breakfast is getting cold.”
Dragging his feet over to the table, Echizen slumped into his chair across from Tezuka. While the older man began eating calmly, Echizen poked his eggs moodily with a fork. How could he survive without Ponta for at least a month? It was impossible.
An idea suddenly struck Echizen. Even if he couldn’t have any at home, there was no way Tezuka could stop him from drinking it outside the apartment. After all, there were vending machines around every corner.
Pleased with himself, he sat up and began gulping down his eggs. For the first time he could remember, Echizen was looking forward to Tezuka leaving for school so he could sneak around the corner and buy his beloved Ponta.
Tezuka didn’t seem to notice his change of behavior. A half hour later, just before he left for the university, he warned Echizen, “Remember, no excess sugar. I’ll see you later tonight.”
Echizen allowed Tezuka to press a kiss on his mouth, still smug about his cleverness. He waited about fifteen minutes before heading out of the apartment, wallet in hand. Bounding down the stairs, Echizen almost hummed in glee as he headed outside and towards the nearest set of vending machines.
The day was crisp and clear and just perfect to play tennis. Fortunately for him, there were plenty of people at Tezuka’s university to challenge and beat. Echizen resolved to do just that after he got his morning fix of Ponta.
His plan was short-lived when he arrived at the machine, only to see an ‘Out of Order’ sign posted on it. Echizen glared at the slight hitch in his plans before grudgingly moving on to the next machine down the block.
However, the next closest vending machine was being removed by the time Echizen arrived. A low crane picked it up and slowly moved it to the back of a waiting truck. He stared as the men shouted and waved their arms to direct the crane driver, ignoring the spectators gawking at them.
His good mood was fast being spoiled. Now positively glowering, Echizen turned and headed for the nearest convenient store. They always had Ponta and knew to keep at least a case on hand for Ryoma.
But when he arrived, Masaki-san stopped him on the way to the cooler. “I’m sorry, Ryoma-kun, but we’re all out of Ponta today. Apparently, there’s a party somewhere tonight and they cleared me out of every flavor. I couldn’t even hide one away for you.”
Echizen felt his blood beginning to boil. But Masaki-san was a nice guy, even if he did give all of Echizen’s Ponta away. “It’s all right,” he muttered and stomped back to the apartment. He would grab his tennis bag and head over to the university. They had to have Ponta there. There was no way Tezuka could arrange to have all the Ponta in Tokyo unavailable. It had to be a coincidence.
He was still telling that to himself when he arrived on campus. But before he tracked down any worthy tennis opponents, Echizen stopped by his usual vending machine.
Out. There was no Ponta left. Not even that nasty orange-pineapple flavor that Echizen would only consider drinking in the worst of situations.
Echizen wanted to hurt something very badly. How could Tezuka have done this? Only the rich and powerful would be able to …
It suddenly clicked in his brain. Echizen groaned as he realized they did know someone with enough clout and money to do such a thing. He should have stayed in bed today. Maybe even for the rest of the month.
“Are you all right, Echizen?”
At the familiar voice, Echizen turned around and stared at Fuji. “No.” Not only did he discover that his boyfriend was a sadistic torturer, but he was still Ponta-less. His brain was beginning to shut down.
Fuji smiled knowingly at him. “I heard about your cavities. You should really take better care of your teeth. My obaa-san has dentures and they’re horribly inconvenient.”
“Che,” Echizen muttered. As if he hadn’t heard that lecture before. “What are you doing here anyway, Fuji-senpai?”
“Oh, I thought I’d come by and challenge you to a match. I had a feeling that if you were Ponta deprived, you could at least use a good game of tennis.”
Did everyone know of Tezuka’s plot to kill him? If so, how come no one was stopping him? “Fine,” Ryoma muttered. He followed Fuji to the court slowly, thinking of ways to get Tezuka back for this.
*****
Their match was interrupted when Fuji got a phone call in the middle of the brief break between sets. After speaking to the person on the other line, Fuji glanced up and smiled apologetically at Echizen. “Something came up and I have to go. Perhaps we can finish this another time.”
Echizen wasn’t too surprised with the disruption. It happened 98% of the time when they had a match. It was just a fact of life to him now: when playing Fuji, it was most likely going to be an incomplete game. “I’ll see you later, Senpai.”
“It won’t be as bad as you think,” Fuji said consolingly as he packed up his bag and slung the strap over his shoulder. “You may end of thanking Tezuka for this.”
Shooting Fuji a skeptical look was all Echizen needed to convey his thoughts on that idea. Fuji just laughed and trotted away.
Left to his own devices, Echizen pulled out his own cell phone and found the number he was looking for. He waited until the call was answered before saying sarcastically, “Removing all the Ponta in less than a day is remarkable, even for you. Just how much did it cost?”
“Enough,” Atobe said smoothly. “But price is no object when it comes to Tezuka. How are you holding up, brat?”
“How much do you want for a dozen cans?” Echizen asked, ignoring the question.
“Are you trying to bribe me?” To Echizen’s irritation, Atobe sounded amused. “Firstly, I could never betray Tezuka like that when he’s asked me to keep all sugar away from your decaying teeth. And second, what do you think you could possibly offer me in return? Despite your lucrative tennis career, I still have more money than you.”
Echizen didn’t hesitate. “I’ll let you have one date with Tezuka.”
“Hmm.”
“And with me. Together.”
There was a long pause at the other end. When Atobe finally spoke again, the amusement was even more apparent in his voice. “And what do you think Tezuka will think when he finds out you’ve bartered yourselves for a mere drink?”
“He didn’t consult me when he asked you to take all the Ponta away,” Echizen said grumpily.
“That’s because he cares about your health, brat. So as tempting as the offer is, I’m going to have to decline. I don’t want my date ruined because he is angry at you and you refuse to speak to him; it would ruin the romantic atmosphere that my presence would provide. Besides, Jiroh seems to have taken a liking to the Ponta and is currently drinking them.”
Echizen scowled into the phone even if Atobe couldn’t see it. How dare someone else drink his Ponta? “You’re going to regret this,” he told Atobe curtly and hung up.
After packing up his own bag, Echizen wandered out of the court and left the university grounds. He briefly entertained the thought of taking the train to Chiba in hopes that he would find some Ponta there but decided Atobe would probably have covered the entire Kantou prefecture just to spite him. So he wandered through the city for a while in vain hopes that Atobe’s people had somehow missed a vending machine or store. To his chagrin, every place he went to was completely out.
That was enough for Echizen. He took the bus home, crawled into bed, and waited for the month to end.
*****
Tezuka came home and found Echizen in the bedroom, curled up in a ball and staring at the wall blankly. He sighed and sat down at the edge of the mattress, brushing Echizen’s long, dark hair from his eyes and making a mental note to take his boyfriend for a haircut this weekend. “Atobe called me and told me about your conversation.”
Echizen didn’t answer or even look at him. Tezuka felt slightly guilty at the lost look in Echizen’s tawny gold eyes but firmly told himself it was for the best. “You know I’m only doing this for your own good, Echizen. You’ll thank me in fifty years that you still have teeth to chew food with.”
There was still no response and Tezuka decided to leave him alone. Rising to his feet, he quietly left the room to start dinner.
Once Tezuka shut the door behind him, a slow smirk dawned on Echizen’s lips. Beneath the covers, his hand curled around a coveted can of unopened grape Ponta to be savored in secret. Tezuka struck a low blow by asking Atobe help him with his well-meaning but insane mission. And Atobe did a completely thorough job. There was now no place Echizen could get to - short of breaking into people’s residences which would probably not help his tennis career any - for Ponta.
That is, all except one place: his parent’s house.
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Omake
One month later, Tezuka found himself in the waiting room of the dentist’s office again. Nearly an hour had passed since Echizen went in to see Okubo-sensei. He wondered what was taking so long. Tezuka had made sure only the barest amount of sugar passed through Echizen’s lips, which was no mean feat considering how addicted Echizen was to it. That was very apparent when Atobe informed him Echizen had tried to bribe him with a date.
He heard the faint sound of a door being opened down the hall and moments later, Echizen appeared with the dentist at his heels. Tezuka arose and greeted the older man with a bow, taking in Echizen’s scowl with faint stirrings of dread. “Okubo-sensei, how is he?”
“Mmm, not so good, I’m afraid. He still has those four cavities and I can see another one forming. He’s going to need to come back in two weeks for a root canal.”
Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Tezuka glanced sternly at his boyfriend. Not surprisingly, Echizen didn’t meet his gaze. “But how is that possible? I made certain that he only the bare minimum of sugar.”
Okubo rubbed his chin musingly. “I’m sure you took very good care of him, Kunimitsu, but you can’t watch him every moment of the day.” He winked at Tezuka. “Though I understand there has been a strange shortage of Ponta lately.”
Echizen’s mouth flattened into a thin line at the remark. Tezuka suppressed a sigh and nodded. “We’ll see you in two weeks, then, Okubo-sensei. Thank you for all your help.”
“I wish it had turned out differently,” Okubo said regretfully. “Ryoma-kun, remember what I told you about cutting back on sugar. And brush your teeth three times a day!”
After making an appointment with the receptionist, they left the office silently. In the car, Tezuka finally turned to Echizen. “I don’t know how you did it, but you found some Ponta to drink, didn’t you?”
Echizen looked out the window. “I own stock in Ponta,” he said off-handedly.
Tezuka stared at him for a long while before giving up. He turned on the car engine and drove them home.
Omake 2
Paying bills was never a fun chore but Tezuka took great pains to keep track of everything. Echizen left it all to him, claiming that numbers confused him needlessly. Tezuka decided pointing out that math was one of Echizen’s strong subjects would be a waste of breath. In any case, Echizen paid for his school tuition from his tennis tournament earnings so it was the least Tezuka could do.
A few hours after Echizen left for his customary weekly visit to his parents and challenge his father to a match, Tezuka decided to take advantage of the quiet. He sat down at the computer and logged into their bank account to check their balance. Tezuka’s eyebrows rose when he noticed a regular withdrawal of ten thousand yen every week for the past month.
He was still staring at the computer screen, perplexed, when the apartment door opened. “Tadaima,” Echizen called out.
“Okaeri,” Tezuka replied absently. He heard Echizen kick off his shoes, drop his tennis bag next to the couch, and wander over to the computer desk to kiss him with the familiar and faint taste of grape. Once done, he asked, “Echizen, do you know why we’re missing 40,000 yen from our account?”
Blinking, Echizen leaned back before glancing at the computer screen. “Um,” he said.
Tezuka eyed him, suspicion rising. “Where is it going?”
Exhaling noisily, Echizen muttered, “My father.”
Now Tezuka was even more confused than ever. Brow furrowing in bewilderment, Tezuka asked slowly, “Why? Are your parents all right?”
“They’re fine. My old man is just greedy, that’s all. I’m going to take a shower since I’m all sticky.” With that, Echizen escaped into the bathroom.
Tezuka didn’t bother to stop him; it was obvious Echizen didn’t want to tell him something. He slowly turned his attention back to the screen and stared at the withdrawal. Certainly they could afford the slight dent in their income but why would Echizen Nanjiroh demand money from his son? Unless …
Tezuka stared hard at the first withdrawal date. It was right after Echizen’s dental appointment when Tezuka restricted his Ponta drinking. He suddenly realized his mouth held the lingering taste of artificial grape flavoring from their kiss. And he remembered how Echizen’s parents always had Ponta by the caseload at their house whenever their son came around to visit. So that was why Echizen still had cavities. Despite his and Atobe’s best efforts, Echizen still found a supply of Ponta to drink.
And his father was charging him an exorbitant amount of money in return. Tezuka was torn between incredulousness and exasperation. Echizen still had his cavities and they were now 40,000 yen poorer. Ironic how Echizen Nanjiroh had gotten the best deal out of them all.
I know, I know, I need help. But I'm too poor to afford it so you guys are stuck with me with for the time being. :D