[Chapter 2/ ?] Falling Snow
Title: Falling Snow [Chapter 2/ ?]
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Author: Saida
Pairing: TezuRyo
Notes: Wrote this last year and posted in www.fanfiction.net
Summary: What will Tezuka and Ryoma do to handle his new life? How will they go through the hardships and and obstacles in their future?
“Ryoma,” the young tennis pro heard his mother calling, and the door to his bedroom opened.
Ryoma rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the bed. “What is it, okaa-san?”
“Your friend, Yukimura-san, called,” Rinko said. “He wanted to remind you about your doctor’s appointment.” Rinko looked at her son worriedly. “Ryoma, are you sick?”
‘Yukimura-senpai no baka,’ thought the dark haired teen. He looked at his mother. “No, okaa-san, it’s just a general check-up.”
Rinko smiled. “Why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll send you there,” she said. “I’m going to work anyway.”
“But your office is not in that direction,” Ryoma said, trying to find a way out. He didn’t want his secret to leak out this early.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rinko said.
Ryoma shook his head. “Daijoubu, okaa-san,” he said. “I can manage on my own.”
Rinko sighed, “Alright.”
Ryoma silently sighed in relief. Suddenly, he felt the urge to puke. Quickly but carefully, he ran to the bathroom.
Rinko shook her head, an amused smile on her face. “Ryoma sure is excited about his doctor’s appointment,” she said to herself, chuckling slightly.
“Yukimura-senpai,” Ryoma said through gritted teeth as he walked into the dark blue-haired doctor’s office.
Yukimura, with his trademark smile plastered on his face, looked at the young man. “Ah, you’ve arrived, Ryo-chan.”
Ryoma slammed his hands on Yukimura’s desk. “Why the hell did you call my house this morning?” he asked angrily. “Do you want to blab my secret to my family that badly?”
“Ryo-chan, being angry is bad for the baby,” Yukimura said, still smiling, “especially in this early stage.”
“Yukimura-senpai!” yelled Ryoma.
Yukimura sighed. With a serious face, he looked at the boy, saying, “Ryoma, calm down and seat down.” Ryoma obeyed. “Really, Ryoma, you should think of your baby sometimes. Stressing out over minor things like that is unhealthy.”
Ryoma muttered a soft, “Hai.”
With his smile back on his face, Yukimura stood up and took something from the wardrobe. “Here, change into this,” Yukimura said, handing the clothes to Ryoma.
Ryoma sent Yukimura a ‘You’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me’ look. Yukimura shook his head. “No, I’m not kidding, Ryoma,” he said, “Now, change.” Although Ryoma didn’t like the idea, Ryoma did as he was told. Yukimura showed Ryoma to the toilet connected to his office, which only Yukimura has access to.
A few minutes later, Ryoma returned to Yukimura’s office wearing the hospital clothes. Ryoma gave Yukimura a look, or rather, a glare that says ‘I-hope-you’re-happy’. Yukimura chuckled.
“What next?” Ryoma asked. Yukimura held a plastic cup in front of the young tennis pro. “Yadda!!” said Ryoma.
“Ryo-chan, how do you expect me to do research if you…”
“I’ve did it in America before,” Ryoma cut in. “Why don’t you ask from Dr. Charlie?”
“Well, probably I could find something that the labs in America had missed,” Yukimura answered. “Besides, I promise that this won’t leak out anywhere. That’s what you get if you have a scientist for a best friend.”
“You don’t mean…”
“Yup, it’s Renji,” Yukimura confirmed.
“I’m still not gonna do it,” Ryoma said, crossing his hands at his chest.
“Ryoma,” Yukimura said in a hard tone.
“Che,” Ryoma muttered, taking the cup from Yukimura. He, once again, went into the toilet. Yukimura, with his sadistic smile, smiled in victory.
A few minutes later, Ryoma returned to the office again, and gave Yukimura the cup that is filled with his…urine. Yukimura kept it in a safe place after instructing Ryoma to lie on the bed. After that, Yukimura went to Ryoma’s side with something hand. “Ryoma, I’m going to apply this gel on you, okay? I’m going to do an ultrasound on you.”
“Geez, Yukimura-senpai, I know what it means,” Ryoma said. “Dr. Charlie had done it on me before.”
Yukimura chuckled. “Let’s get on with the show, shall we?”
“Nothing seems to be a problem, Ryo-chan,” Yukimura said. They’re both are now sitting at their respective places at Yukimura’s desk. “Your fetus is doing healthy, and maybe you’re not feeling comfortable these days but it’s completely normal. Your body is just starting to get use of the new changes. Men’s body is not made to bear children after all.”
“Hai,” Ryoma muttered. ‘My baby,’ he thought, unconsciously putting a hand at his abdomen. A small smile crept onto his face.
Yukimura saw the smile. The doctor smiled too. ‘I’m glad you’re being positive about this, Ryoma,’ he thought. “Before you go, there is one last thing you need to do, Ryoma.”
“What is it?” asked the young tennis pro.
“I need to take your blood so that Renji could do the blood test,” Yukimura answered. Ryoma nodded his head.
Once everything was done, Yukimura said, “Ryo-chan, want to have lunch with me?”
Ryoma raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“Its lunch break,” Yukimura said. He took his coat and said, “Come on, I’ll pay.” Ryoma rolled his eyes. Yukimura knew him well after all.
“Yukimura-senpai, you do realize that this café is just across the Kantou General Hospital, right?” Ryoma asked. The blue-haired doctor had brought Ryoma to the café just across the hospital called Kaoru’s café.
“Yes, I know that, Ryo-chan,” Yukimura answered. “I’ve been having breakfast here since the beginning of this year.” That’s because Yukimura was studying in America for the last three years until he was transferred to Kantou General Hospital at the beginning of the year.
“If you know that, then why the hell did you take me here?!” Ryoma snapped. A few people who sat nearby looked at them.
Still calm and composed as usual, Yukimura reminded, “Temper check, Ryoma.” Once he was sure the younger man is calmed, he said, “What seems to be the problem now, Ryoma?”
“They could have seen me,” Ryoma said.
“They?” Yukimura asked although Ryoma was quite sure the doctor knew who he was talking about.
“Yes, they,” Ryoma said again, “as in Oishi Syuichiro and my lover, Tezuka Kunimitsu!”
Yukimura laughed. “Don’t worry about them,” he said. “It’s a fat chance to run into them here since they’re too busy with surgeries and stuff to have lunch outside the hospital.”
Although he was not convinced, Ryoma didn’t say anything.
“Hey, Tezuka, you’re on break?” Oishi asked as soon as he walked into his best friend’s office.
Tezuka looked up from his paper works. “Not really,” he answered.
“Let’s have lunch outside for a change,” Oishi said.
“Aah,” Tezuka said, not really looking at Oishi.
The doctor majoring in Oncology sighed. He knew Tezuka wasn’t concentrating on his works but actually worrying about Ryoma. Their young kohai hasn’t been answering any of Tezuka’s phone calls nor did he call the brunette doctor. “Have you tried calling him again?”
“Aah,” Tezuka answered.
“Maybe he’s just busy,” Oishi reasoned.
“Maybe,” said Tezuka.
“Come on, Ryoma’s not the kind of person to cheat on you,” Oishi said again. He put a hand on Tezuka’s shoulder. “Let’s have our lunch, shall we?”
A FEW MINUTES LATER
“Oishi, lunch in the Cafeteria is fine,” Tezuka told his best friend.
“Yes, but you- I mean we’ve been cooped up in the hospital from morning so I thought maybe it’s a good idea to go outside,” Oishi said. He laughed nervously as Tezuka gave him a look. “Besides, it’s been awhile since we went to Kaoru’s Café.”
Tezuka didn’t bother to say anything. Oishi inwardly sigh in relief. “Now, shall we go in?” Oishi opened the door and they went in.
“It’s been awhile since you last came,” a man in his early forties said. He was Hatsui Kaoru, the owner of the café.
“We’ve been a little busy, Hatsui-san,” Oishi said.
“Oishi, didn’t I told you to call me Kaoru?” the man said.
“Hai, Kaoru-san,” Oishi said in a joking tone. “A table for two, please.”
“For two,” Kaoru repeated. His eyes trailed behind Oishi and saw Tezuka, spacing out. “Hmm, I didn’t see you there, Tezuka-san,” he said loudly to attract Tezuka’s attention. And…it worked. “You were so quiet that I didn’t notice you, not that I didn’t notice you before as you were always quiet.”
Before the babbles of the excited old man were dragged much longer, not that Tezuka would say that out loud because it will be disrespectful, he cut in, “Our table, Kaoru-san? We do have limited time.”
“Tezuka,” Oishi hissed while Kaoru chuckled, “Quite as right.”
Meanwhile, seated not far from them, a certain blue-haired doctor had been watching them for quite a while now, since Kaoru shouted out Tezuka’s name. The smile on his face became a smirk. ‘I guess this is the work of fate,’ Yukimura thought. ‘I wonder how Ryoma would react.’ The doctor glanced at the empty seat at the opposite side of him. ‘Luckily he didn’t leave anything behind.”
“Yukimura,” the doctor heard someone called his name. It was Oishi. “I didn’t know you were having lunch here too.”
“Well, usually you’ll have your lunch in the Cafeteria,” Yukimura replied. He nodded his head at Tezuka to acknowledge his presence. Tezuka did the same.
“May we have lunch together?” Oishi asked. Then, he noticed the empty seat at the opposite side of Yukimura’s. “Oh, you have company? You’re eating with Sanada?”
Yukimura chuckled. “No,” he replied. “It’s just a patient of mine.” After that, he said, "Sure, why don't you pulled up some chairs and have a seat."
"We won't want to intrude," Oishi, polite as ever, said.
"It's fine," Yukimura said, his eyes glinted with mischief.
Ryoma just got out from the toilet when he saw two people who weren’t there before, talking to Yukimura. Ryoma could feel his blood drained from his face. He went out of the restaurant from the backdoor so that Yukimura, Tezuka and Oishi didn’t see him leave.
Tezuka turned around, towards the door the moment it closed. He felt like something important was there. He shook the feeling off and turned back to Yukimura and Oishi.
Ryoma was now walking back to his house. Before that, he made a detour; to the playground. Leaning against the tree, where no one could see him, Ryoma took out his cell phone.
“Your patient is taking a long time in the toilet,” Oishi stated. “Do you think she’s alright?” he asked worriedly.
“Saa…she’s fine, I guess,” Yukimura said.
“Yukimura…” Tezuka said.
“Hold that thought, Tezuka, I need to answer this,” Yukimura said when he felt his cell phone vibrates. “Hello, Yukimura speaking.”
“What the hell were you doing?!” the speaker yelled. “You said they won’t be there.”
“Remember, Ryoka,” he said, “temper check. Being angry is unhealthy for the baby.” Yukimura saw Oishi and Tezuka giving him a curious look. “It’s my patient. It seems like she went home after the trip to the toilet.”
In Oishi’s thought, ‘I see, that’s what taking her so long.’ Meanwhile, Tezuka just…didn’t care.
‘Hey, Yukimura-senpai, are you listening to me?!” Ryoma yelled.
“Yes, yes, I’m listening to you, Ryoka,” Yukimura said. “Why don’t you go home and relax? And please keep your temper down. It really is unhealthy, you know.”
Without a reply, Ryoma hung up on Yukimura. The doctor chuckled. When Oishi and Tezuka looked at him questioningly, he said, “Young mother, first time pregnant. Don’t know how to tell her husband,” he looked at Tezuka from the corner of his eyes.
“Aah,” said Tezuka while Oishi said, “I hope she’s doing well.”
Chuckling again, Yukimura said, “Don’t worry, she’s doing fine.”
“Damn it,” Ryoma said to himself as he walked towards his house. “The secret is almost out of the bag.” The young tennis pro sighed. ‘For how long could I keep this secret? Until I’m ready? But when will I be ready?’ He entered his bedroom. ‘In one week or so, the US Open will start. They will certainly found out by then.’
"Meow," he heard his beloved cat meowed. Ryoma pick the cat up and began stroking his fur.