Indefinite
Title: Transitory
Author:lyrasoren
Pair: Tezuka and Ryoma
Chapter: III
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1200+
Summary:expect the unexpected
He waits all day, but no one comes. He doesn’t call. Not even once. He thought he knew him well enough, after so much time. Apparently not. The dusted books seem to be a better companion, until a gray bubble of fur rubs his ankle and slips between his legs just to rest on his sneakers, blinking slowly from blue round eyes, very familiar, reminding him of Fuji. He kneels down to tug the cat into his arms, when he sees the white collar around its neck. Surprisingly it is a note. He unfolds it, and it says:
Buchou,
This is Karupin. Take good care of him. I won’t be able to come for a while. My stupid dad insisted we should go to the onsen for a fort night. I told him I had prior plans, but the half-wit didn’t want to hear about it. I just couldn’t leave you there alone.
Ryoma.
The corners of his mouth turn upwards. It’s so rare to see a thoughtful Ryoma nowadays. He scoops Karupin up with one arm, planning to detour to the market after work to buy some cat food. It’s his first time bringing a pet to his house, and hopes his parents will not disapprove. He never considered buying a cat or a dog. Luckily, his grandfather grew fond of fish and created the pond in the courtyard.
This is the same cat that got lost in middle school. He still remembers the expression of longing on Echizen’s face when they brought it back to him. Karupin is his little treasure, and Ryoma left him with Tezuka. The gesture in itself spoke louder than those few words in the note. In a sense, he is grateful for the honor, but still, spending a day with Ryoma is what he dreamed of for these past few years. He sighs. He should learn not be picky, otherwise the cat might copy his bad habit.
*
Karupin yowling is calling to mind a bratty version of “madamadadane”, as he jumps in Tezuka’s lap while he reads the inconsistent little letters from Ryoma. They never come written on paper; instead somehow he discovers that even a can of Ponta can be used to write something on. The recipients of the letter vary from unagi (written in capital letters: Come here too), to an unopened can of tennis balls.
Tezuka doesn’t mind, he keeps all of these objects, except for the eatable ones, which he shares half with the cat. He writes his replies on neat white sheets of paper, unable to be persuaded by Ryoma to write on whatever he likes. Ryoma doesn’t forget in each “letter” to ask about Karupin first, not to spoil the real reason why he writes.
Days succeed in the same manner, Tezuka arranging books in identical piles, by categories and genres, wiping away the dust with care, and restoring ripped pages or covers, when it’s the case. He soon figures out Karupin’s routines: jumping on his stomach in the morning minutes before the alarm is set to go off, lazily mewing when he is hungry, (Tezuka couldn’t leave him at home), rubbing around his feet until he had to scoop him into his arms, and then fluttering closed his eyelids in a relaxed way that was similar to the golden cat-eyed freshman. They both miss Ryoma in their own way. Karupin will go to the window sill and fling his tail back and forth, once in a while scratching its own reflection, just to lick the slippery surface, afterwards. Tezuka is more subtle, he stills for moments with the duster in his hand, lost in thoughts, reminiscing; or he just plays a Nintendo game, despite knowing he will lose badly.
*
The regulars come by to keep him company. Oishi worries that the quantity of dust he is inhaling is bad for his health, while Eiji takes out books and throws them in a bundle of “boring” over and over that makes Tezuka twitch each time, until he is reprimanded by Oishi. Kaidoh invites him to jogging sessions, which he rarely accepts. Kawamura brings him sushi, and politely informs him about the rest of his friends. Momoshiro never comes alone, often hand in hand with Ann, and they discuss mostly Tachibana and the following tournaments. It’s more convenient for Inui and Fuji to join sides when they are trying to drag Tezuka out of his “monotony”. They both smile warmly at Karupin, and knowingly at him.
Only once it occurred to them to make a gathering point out of Tezuka’s bookshop. Tezuka doesn’t want to imagine how it was possible to breathe with seven other people in a restricted space of the entrance hall. Least of all he doesn’t want to recall the incident between Momoshiro and Kaidoh that consequently led to both knocking an entre shelf of books to the ground. His outrage had been enough for him to assign 100 laps to the whole team, around the entire neighborhood. That did the trick, and they never came all together again.
“Ne Tezuka, do you know where ochibi is?” Eiji asks one day, still half pouty for his rebuke.
“Yeah, we haven’t heard from him for at least a week.” Replies Oishi.
“He is at the onsen.” Tezuka comments with half a mind, the other half thinking that there are only five days until he will see Ryoma again.
“How long have you known this?” Oishi asks frowning.
“Since last week.”
“And you didn’t tell us?!Buchou, you can be so mean!” Eiji scolds teasingly.
“Aa. It wasn’t my intention.” Tezuka is brought back from his reverie. “I thought you knew.”
“Of course not. When I see that ochibi I am going to scold him good.” Eiji mimics his hand flung around Tezuka’s shoulder. “No, you won’t.” Oishi warns him, and they all laugh at the puppy innocent eyes of Eiji.
*
Ryoma returns at least four days earlier and in fact visits the bookshop the very next day, telling Tezuka that he ran away from home, until he receives an incredulous look, prompting him to stop beating around the bush. In reality, he just wants to spend some time with Tezuka in compensation for his broken promise. Tezuka assents only after he makes sure that Ryoma will let him accompany him all the way to home each evening.
As soon as he sees the trim of different things sent by him at the expanse of one week and a half, he covers his mouth to suppress his giggle, as he directs an indecipherable glance at him. He calms himself, yet Tezuka knows the small twinkle of mirth, that Ryoma cannot hide from his eyes. He turns to face Tezuka, while his hand is in his knapsack, rummaging through for a few seconds until he finds what he was looking for. He hands Tezuka an envelope. Inside, to Kunimitsu bewilderment, are all of his letters.
“Missed me, Buchou?” Ryoma asks while smirking at him. “I bet you have.” He says as he takes one of Tezuka’s hands and plays with it. “I think I missed you too.” Tezuka doesn’t know how to reply to this. He tugs Ryoma after him into the only armchair available in the room and, as he did with Karupin, spoons Ryoma in his embrace.
“I will certainly come back for this.” He purrs contently like a satisfied cat.
Tezuka kisses the crown of his hair, “I will always wait for you.”
Author:lyrasoren
Pair: Tezuka and Ryoma
Chapter: III
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1200+
Summary:expect the unexpected
He waits all day, but no one comes. He doesn’t call. Not even once. He thought he knew him well enough, after so much time. Apparently not. The dusted books seem to be a better companion, until a gray bubble of fur rubs his ankle and slips between his legs just to rest on his sneakers, blinking slowly from blue round eyes, very familiar, reminding him of Fuji. He kneels down to tug the cat into his arms, when he sees the white collar around its neck. Surprisingly it is a note. He unfolds it, and it says:
Buchou,
This is Karupin. Take good care of him. I won’t be able to come for a while. My stupid dad insisted we should go to the onsen for a fort night. I told him I had prior plans, but the half-wit didn’t want to hear about it. I just couldn’t leave you there alone.
Ryoma.
The corners of his mouth turn upwards. It’s so rare to see a thoughtful Ryoma nowadays. He scoops Karupin up with one arm, planning to detour to the market after work to buy some cat food. It’s his first time bringing a pet to his house, and hopes his parents will not disapprove. He never considered buying a cat or a dog. Luckily, his grandfather grew fond of fish and created the pond in the courtyard.
This is the same cat that got lost in middle school. He still remembers the expression of longing on Echizen’s face when they brought it back to him. Karupin is his little treasure, and Ryoma left him with Tezuka. The gesture in itself spoke louder than those few words in the note. In a sense, he is grateful for the honor, but still, spending a day with Ryoma is what he dreamed of for these past few years. He sighs. He should learn not be picky, otherwise the cat might copy his bad habit.
*
Karupin yowling is calling to mind a bratty version of “madamadadane”, as he jumps in Tezuka’s lap while he reads the inconsistent little letters from Ryoma. They never come written on paper; instead somehow he discovers that even a can of Ponta can be used to write something on. The recipients of the letter vary from unagi (written in capital letters: Come here too), to an unopened can of tennis balls.
Tezuka doesn’t mind, he keeps all of these objects, except for the eatable ones, which he shares half with the cat. He writes his replies on neat white sheets of paper, unable to be persuaded by Ryoma to write on whatever he likes. Ryoma doesn’t forget in each “letter” to ask about Karupin first, not to spoil the real reason why he writes.
Days succeed in the same manner, Tezuka arranging books in identical piles, by categories and genres, wiping away the dust with care, and restoring ripped pages or covers, when it’s the case. He soon figures out Karupin’s routines: jumping on his stomach in the morning minutes before the alarm is set to go off, lazily mewing when he is hungry, (Tezuka couldn’t leave him at home), rubbing around his feet until he had to scoop him into his arms, and then fluttering closed his eyelids in a relaxed way that was similar to the golden cat-eyed freshman. They both miss Ryoma in their own way. Karupin will go to the window sill and fling his tail back and forth, once in a while scratching its own reflection, just to lick the slippery surface, afterwards. Tezuka is more subtle, he stills for moments with the duster in his hand, lost in thoughts, reminiscing; or he just plays a Nintendo game, despite knowing he will lose badly.
*
The regulars come by to keep him company. Oishi worries that the quantity of dust he is inhaling is bad for his health, while Eiji takes out books and throws them in a bundle of “boring” over and over that makes Tezuka twitch each time, until he is reprimanded by Oishi. Kaidoh invites him to jogging sessions, which he rarely accepts. Kawamura brings him sushi, and politely informs him about the rest of his friends. Momoshiro never comes alone, often hand in hand with Ann, and they discuss mostly Tachibana and the following tournaments. It’s more convenient for Inui and Fuji to join sides when they are trying to drag Tezuka out of his “monotony”. They both smile warmly at Karupin, and knowingly at him.
Only once it occurred to them to make a gathering point out of Tezuka’s bookshop. Tezuka doesn’t want to imagine how it was possible to breathe with seven other people in a restricted space of the entrance hall. Least of all he doesn’t want to recall the incident between Momoshiro and Kaidoh that consequently led to both knocking an entre shelf of books to the ground. His outrage had been enough for him to assign 100 laps to the whole team, around the entire neighborhood. That did the trick, and they never came all together again.
“Ne Tezuka, do you know where ochibi is?” Eiji asks one day, still half pouty for his rebuke.
“Yeah, we haven’t heard from him for at least a week.” Replies Oishi.
“He is at the onsen.” Tezuka comments with half a mind, the other half thinking that there are only five days until he will see Ryoma again.
“How long have you known this?” Oishi asks frowning.
“Since last week.”
“And you didn’t tell us?!Buchou, you can be so mean!” Eiji scolds teasingly.
“Aa. It wasn’t my intention.” Tezuka is brought back from his reverie. “I thought you knew.”
“Of course not. When I see that ochibi I am going to scold him good.” Eiji mimics his hand flung around Tezuka’s shoulder. “No, you won’t.” Oishi warns him, and they all laugh at the puppy innocent eyes of Eiji.
*
Ryoma returns at least four days earlier and in fact visits the bookshop the very next day, telling Tezuka that he ran away from home, until he receives an incredulous look, prompting him to stop beating around the bush. In reality, he just wants to spend some time with Tezuka in compensation for his broken promise. Tezuka assents only after he makes sure that Ryoma will let him accompany him all the way to home each evening.
As soon as he sees the trim of different things sent by him at the expanse of one week and a half, he covers his mouth to suppress his giggle, as he directs an indecipherable glance at him. He calms himself, yet Tezuka knows the small twinkle of mirth, that Ryoma cannot hide from his eyes. He turns to face Tezuka, while his hand is in his knapsack, rummaging through for a few seconds until he finds what he was looking for. He hands Tezuka an envelope. Inside, to Kunimitsu bewilderment, are all of his letters.
“Missed me, Buchou?” Ryoma asks while smirking at him. “I bet you have.” He says as he takes one of Tezuka’s hands and plays with it. “I think I missed you too.” Tezuka doesn’t know how to reply to this. He tugs Ryoma after him into the only armchair available in the room and, as he did with Karupin, spoons Ryoma in his embrace.
“I will certainly come back for this.” He purrs contently like a satisfied cat.
Tezuka kisses the crown of his hair, “I will always wait for you.”