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PoT Fic: Unspoken (TezuRyo)
Ever since I made this icon, I've been staring at it: Tezuka. Ryoma. Bench. Tezuka. Ryoma. Bench.
And it turned into this. I'm interested to hear what you think.
Unspoken
TezuRyo. PG13. 1900 words.
Tezuka. Ryoma. Bench. Adolescence.
Disclaimer: Konomi, not me.
Timeline: early in the series, before their match.
Crossposted, like I do.
Unspoken
Tezuka is restless. After school, after club, instead of taking the train home, he puts his bag on his shoulder and starts to walk, without even planning where he's going.
He can't remember the last time he deviated from his routine. Tezuka likes routine. He lives by calendars and file folders and waking five minutes before his alarm goes off. His father jokes that he should have his son come into his office and organize him. Tezuka knows that his father would never stay with any system he set up for more than a week, but he can't quite understand why.
There is a park not far from the school, and when Tezuka finds himself beside it, he turns in and walks over the grass until he comes to a bench under the trees.
It's a cool day, but Tezuka sits. The wind stirs his hair. He isn't entirely sure why he's come here. To think, maybe, but Tezuka already knows what is making him restless.
Nobody knows Tezuka better than himself. Tezuka knows that the more you show, the more you share, the less there is left of yourself. So he's careful with himself, cautious about how much he gives away.
He's careful with the girls who write him notes and smile hopefully at him in the halls at school. He's careful with the boys in the tennis club who look up to him and hang on every word he says. Even his friends he keeps at arm's length. He watches them with one another and can't understand how they can let themselves get so close to each other, to let themselves bleed out and merge until their lives are smudged together.
He's careful with his schoolwork, with his tennis, with his health. Everything is fine for Tezuka, with his schedules and his tidy boxes and himself. School is fine, tennis is fine, life is fine. Or it used to be.
Before Ryoma.
The sun is in Tezuka's eyes now and he shuts them to block out the glare. Inside his head, he can see Ryoma playing tennis, that first game with the broken racquet. Tezuka was impressed -- everyone was -- but there was something more too. A dart, a hook that got into Tezuka and kept dragging his eyes after Ryoma like a fish on a line.
He knows what people say: Ryoma must remind Tezuka of himself. But Tezuka doesn't think that he and Ryoma are much alike. Both talented, certainly. But Ryoma is impulsive where Tezuka is calculating, provocative where Tezuka is circumspect. If Ryoma keeps apart, Tezuka thinks, it's because there isn't anyone he likes better than himself.
People say that Tezuka gave Ryoma a chance in the ranking matches because he had been deprived of that chance himself, as a first year. That he had done it to be fair. And maybe he had. But what Tezuka remembers is that Ryoma is the one who made him break the rules.
Ryoma is the one who still drags Tezuka's gaze around after him, so much so that people remark on it. Does Tezuka see Ryoma as his rival? they say. Or as his successor? But what Tezuka sees is much more complicated than that and there isn't a file folder in his system that can categorize it.
Lately, Ryoma's eyes have been following Tezuka too.
The air is warmer now. Tezuka looks up and there is Ryoma, standing on the path. Tezuka doesn't know how long he's been there. Ryoma crosses the grass and Tezuka watches him. He stops in front of the bench.
"Buchou," Ryoma says. Tezuka just nods. They look at each other for a moment. Then Ryoma joins him on the bench. Tezuka doesn't ask him why he's here. Ryoma doesn't offer. They just sit.
They don't speak. There are distant voices on the air, the whirr of an insect flying by. Tezuka looks straight ahead. But he sees Ryoma out of the corner of his eye. His peripheral vision is blurred, but he can see the black of Ryoma's uniform, the white of his shoes.
The wind picks up and a few leaves blow down onto the grass. The sun warms Tezuka's knees. There is half a metre of space between him and Ryoma, but it is far from empty. Their silence settles there, and everywhere it touches Tezuka, it sends another hook into him, wraps another line around him.
After half an hour, Tezuka stands. Ryoma stands too and together they walk to the station. Ryoma waits until Tezuka gets on the train. Tezuka stands at the back of the car and doesn't look out.
The next day at morning practice, Tezuka makes the whole tennis club run laps.
After school, Tezuka is still restless. He walks to the park and sits on the bench. This time he keeps his eyes open and so he sees Ryoma as he walks across the grass to Tezuka. Ryoma looks at him and then he sits, the same half-metre away, and they let the silence surround them.
The day is hot and Ryoma has unbuttoned his jacket. Tezuka tries to remember the work he has to do today, but those thoughts slip out of his mind, out of his grasp. He is here, with Ryoma, and there is no more room in his head for anything else.
It's an hour before Tezuka can make himself stand. Ryoma walks with him to the train. Tezuka is almost late for dinner and he stays up late finishing his homework.
Tezuka knows that he shouldn't, but he goes to the park again. He wants to tell himself that there's nothing wrong with just sitting on a bench, and who would say any different? But Tezuka isn't in the habit of lying to himself. He shouldn't be in this ... this complicated situation with a first year student, with a club member under his supervision. It's not right. And it's not careful.
But for once in his life, he can't seem to make himself be careful. Today, he doesn't look straight ahead, he looks at Ryoma and thinks about closing the space between them. Ryoma looks back and Tezuka thinks, You have to make the first move, Ryoma, it has to be you. Deep down, though, Tezuka knows that whatever the first move was, he was the one who made it, long ago.
When Ryoma slowly reaches out his hand and places it on top of Tezuka's, Tezuka isn't sure which is stronger: the rush of warmth at Ryoma's touch or the rush of guilt when Tezuka can't make himself pull away. Ryoma's eyes are open wide, he is smiling up at Tezuka. "Echizen," Tezuka says and he is sure that what he feels is obvious in his voice.
It must be so, because Ryoma is climbing to his knees on the bench and his face is level with Tezuka's, moving in slowly, slowly.
"No," Tezuka says, and that's the right thing to say. "Not here." And that's very wrong.
"Where?" Ryoma says. Tezuka stands and they walk and this time Ryoma gets on the train with him. Ryoma sits and Tezuka stands and they don't look at each other during the trip.
At home, Tezuka lies to his mother and says that he has agreed to tutor Ryoma for an important exam. She smiles and puts dinner for them on a tray while Ryoma calls his parents. Tezuka takes the tray and Ryoma follows him up to Tezuka's bedroom.
They sit on the floor, with their backs against the bed. "Eat," Tezuka says and Ryoma eats. Tezuka tries to, but each mouthful tastes like cardboard to him. When Ryoma finishes, he pushes the tray away. Then he looks up at Tezuka.
Tezuka touches the back of his hand to Ryoma's cheek. It's soft and warm. He brushes Ryoma's hair with his fingers, runs his thumb along Ryoma's jawline.
"Buchou," Ryoma says and Tezuka leans down and kisses him.
Tezuka has never done this before, kissing has never been on his schedule. Their lips cling together for a moment, then slip free. Ryoma has a spicy taste left over from dinner.
"Again," Ryoma says and Tezuka complies. This time, their mouths open a little, fit together better. Ryoma takes Tezuka's hand and their fingers link. Tezuka pulls his glasses off and puts them on the table beside his bed. They kiss again, longer this time, and it's starting to feel natural now.
Warmth, pressure, pleasure is building in Tezuka, from the kiss, from the touch. There's no more room for wrong or right, just how good it feels to have Ryoma's mouth moving under his, Ryoma's fingers tight around his own.
They shift and Tezuka puts his arm around Ryoma's shoulders. Ryoma's hand is on Tezuka's thigh and they both lean into the kiss, whichever kiss it is by now. There are many of them: some short and teasing, some long and deep. Kissing is wetter than Tezuka had imagined it to be but he doesn't mind that. He wonders what Ryoma thinks of it. He wonders if Ryoma feels the same hot wires coiling in his belly, the same electricity under his skin.
After a while, this is getting to be too much for Tezuka, there's a part of him that still knows that, and makes him pull his mouth away. He presses a kiss onto Ryoma's cheek, another onto his temple, then takes Ryoma into his arms. Ryoma settles himself against Tezuka's chest and they sit together like that for a long time, breathing softly.
It's getting late and finally Tezuka notices. He has to get Ryoma on the train. He pushes Ryoma gently and makes him sit up. When he sees Ryoma's sleepy face, it hits Tezuka again how wrong this is. How could he let himself become so entangled? How could he do this to Ryoma?
"You have to go," he says and puts his glasses on.
"I want to stay," Ryoma says and reaches over to take Tezuka's hand. Tezuka moves out of the way.
"No," he says and tries to stop there. But he can't. "Not this time."
"Okay," Ryoma says and smiles. Tezuka feels all the hooks in him jerk at once and it hurts him.
He walks Ryoma to the train. They are nearly late. Ryoma looks out the window at him and Tezuka waits until the train is out of sight before returning home.
Tezuka goes up to his room and sits down on the bed. He takes his glasses off again and puts his hands over his face. He has broken all the rules for Ryoma. He wonders what else he will break before he can bring this to an end. He wonders what he'll say the next time Ryoma asks and he's afraid he already knows.
I'm sorry, he thinks, and wishes that Ryoma could hear it.
Then he wipes his face, sits down at his desk, and starts his homework.
And it turned into this. I'm interested to hear what you think.
Unspoken
TezuRyo. PG13. 1900 words.
Tezuka. Ryoma. Bench. Adolescence.
Disclaimer: Konomi, not me.
Timeline: early in the series, before their match.
Crossposted, like I do.
Unspoken
Tezuka is restless. After school, after club, instead of taking the train home, he puts his bag on his shoulder and starts to walk, without even planning where he's going.
He can't remember the last time he deviated from his routine. Tezuka likes routine. He lives by calendars and file folders and waking five minutes before his alarm goes off. His father jokes that he should have his son come into his office and organize him. Tezuka knows that his father would never stay with any system he set up for more than a week, but he can't quite understand why.
There is a park not far from the school, and when Tezuka finds himself beside it, he turns in and walks over the grass until he comes to a bench under the trees.
It's a cool day, but Tezuka sits. The wind stirs his hair. He isn't entirely sure why he's come here. To think, maybe, but Tezuka already knows what is making him restless.
Nobody knows Tezuka better than himself. Tezuka knows that the more you show, the more you share, the less there is left of yourself. So he's careful with himself, cautious about how much he gives away.
He's careful with the girls who write him notes and smile hopefully at him in the halls at school. He's careful with the boys in the tennis club who look up to him and hang on every word he says. Even his friends he keeps at arm's length. He watches them with one another and can't understand how they can let themselves get so close to each other, to let themselves bleed out and merge until their lives are smudged together.
He's careful with his schoolwork, with his tennis, with his health. Everything is fine for Tezuka, with his schedules and his tidy boxes and himself. School is fine, tennis is fine, life is fine. Or it used to be.
Before Ryoma.
The sun is in Tezuka's eyes now and he shuts them to block out the glare. Inside his head, he can see Ryoma playing tennis, that first game with the broken racquet. Tezuka was impressed -- everyone was -- but there was something more too. A dart, a hook that got into Tezuka and kept dragging his eyes after Ryoma like a fish on a line.
He knows what people say: Ryoma must remind Tezuka of himself. But Tezuka doesn't think that he and Ryoma are much alike. Both talented, certainly. But Ryoma is impulsive where Tezuka is calculating, provocative where Tezuka is circumspect. If Ryoma keeps apart, Tezuka thinks, it's because there isn't anyone he likes better than himself.
People say that Tezuka gave Ryoma a chance in the ranking matches because he had been deprived of that chance himself, as a first year. That he had done it to be fair. And maybe he had. But what Tezuka remembers is that Ryoma is the one who made him break the rules.
Ryoma is the one who still drags Tezuka's gaze around after him, so much so that people remark on it. Does Tezuka see Ryoma as his rival? they say. Or as his successor? But what Tezuka sees is much more complicated than that and there isn't a file folder in his system that can categorize it.
Lately, Ryoma's eyes have been following Tezuka too.
The air is warmer now. Tezuka looks up and there is Ryoma, standing on the path. Tezuka doesn't know how long he's been there. Ryoma crosses the grass and Tezuka watches him. He stops in front of the bench.
"Buchou," Ryoma says. Tezuka just nods. They look at each other for a moment. Then Ryoma joins him on the bench. Tezuka doesn't ask him why he's here. Ryoma doesn't offer. They just sit.
They don't speak. There are distant voices on the air, the whirr of an insect flying by. Tezuka looks straight ahead. But he sees Ryoma out of the corner of his eye. His peripheral vision is blurred, but he can see the black of Ryoma's uniform, the white of his shoes.
The wind picks up and a few leaves blow down onto the grass. The sun warms Tezuka's knees. There is half a metre of space between him and Ryoma, but it is far from empty. Their silence settles there, and everywhere it touches Tezuka, it sends another hook into him, wraps another line around him.
After half an hour, Tezuka stands. Ryoma stands too and together they walk to the station. Ryoma waits until Tezuka gets on the train. Tezuka stands at the back of the car and doesn't look out.
The next day at morning practice, Tezuka makes the whole tennis club run laps.
After school, Tezuka is still restless. He walks to the park and sits on the bench. This time he keeps his eyes open and so he sees Ryoma as he walks across the grass to Tezuka. Ryoma looks at him and then he sits, the same half-metre away, and they let the silence surround them.
The day is hot and Ryoma has unbuttoned his jacket. Tezuka tries to remember the work he has to do today, but those thoughts slip out of his mind, out of his grasp. He is here, with Ryoma, and there is no more room in his head for anything else.
It's an hour before Tezuka can make himself stand. Ryoma walks with him to the train. Tezuka is almost late for dinner and he stays up late finishing his homework.
Tezuka knows that he shouldn't, but he goes to the park again. He wants to tell himself that there's nothing wrong with just sitting on a bench, and who would say any different? But Tezuka isn't in the habit of lying to himself. He shouldn't be in this ... this complicated situation with a first year student, with a club member under his supervision. It's not right. And it's not careful.
But for once in his life, he can't seem to make himself be careful. Today, he doesn't look straight ahead, he looks at Ryoma and thinks about closing the space between them. Ryoma looks back and Tezuka thinks, You have to make the first move, Ryoma, it has to be you. Deep down, though, Tezuka knows that whatever the first move was, he was the one who made it, long ago.
When Ryoma slowly reaches out his hand and places it on top of Tezuka's, Tezuka isn't sure which is stronger: the rush of warmth at Ryoma's touch or the rush of guilt when Tezuka can't make himself pull away. Ryoma's eyes are open wide, he is smiling up at Tezuka. "Echizen," Tezuka says and he is sure that what he feels is obvious in his voice.
It must be so, because Ryoma is climbing to his knees on the bench and his face is level with Tezuka's, moving in slowly, slowly.
"No," Tezuka says, and that's the right thing to say. "Not here." And that's very wrong.
"Where?" Ryoma says. Tezuka stands and they walk and this time Ryoma gets on the train with him. Ryoma sits and Tezuka stands and they don't look at each other during the trip.
At home, Tezuka lies to his mother and says that he has agreed to tutor Ryoma for an important exam. She smiles and puts dinner for them on a tray while Ryoma calls his parents. Tezuka takes the tray and Ryoma follows him up to Tezuka's bedroom.
They sit on the floor, with their backs against the bed. "Eat," Tezuka says and Ryoma eats. Tezuka tries to, but each mouthful tastes like cardboard to him. When Ryoma finishes, he pushes the tray away. Then he looks up at Tezuka.
Tezuka touches the back of his hand to Ryoma's cheek. It's soft and warm. He brushes Ryoma's hair with his fingers, runs his thumb along Ryoma's jawline.
"Buchou," Ryoma says and Tezuka leans down and kisses him.
Tezuka has never done this before, kissing has never been on his schedule. Their lips cling together for a moment, then slip free. Ryoma has a spicy taste left over from dinner.
"Again," Ryoma says and Tezuka complies. This time, their mouths open a little, fit together better. Ryoma takes Tezuka's hand and their fingers link. Tezuka pulls his glasses off and puts them on the table beside his bed. They kiss again, longer this time, and it's starting to feel natural now.
Warmth, pressure, pleasure is building in Tezuka, from the kiss, from the touch. There's no more room for wrong or right, just how good it feels to have Ryoma's mouth moving under his, Ryoma's fingers tight around his own.
They shift and Tezuka puts his arm around Ryoma's shoulders. Ryoma's hand is on Tezuka's thigh and they both lean into the kiss, whichever kiss it is by now. There are many of them: some short and teasing, some long and deep. Kissing is wetter than Tezuka had imagined it to be but he doesn't mind that. He wonders what Ryoma thinks of it. He wonders if Ryoma feels the same hot wires coiling in his belly, the same electricity under his skin.
After a while, this is getting to be too much for Tezuka, there's a part of him that still knows that, and makes him pull his mouth away. He presses a kiss onto Ryoma's cheek, another onto his temple, then takes Ryoma into his arms. Ryoma settles himself against Tezuka's chest and they sit together like that for a long time, breathing softly.
It's getting late and finally Tezuka notices. He has to get Ryoma on the train. He pushes Ryoma gently and makes him sit up. When he sees Ryoma's sleepy face, it hits Tezuka again how wrong this is. How could he let himself become so entangled? How could he do this to Ryoma?
"You have to go," he says and puts his glasses on.
"I want to stay," Ryoma says and reaches over to take Tezuka's hand. Tezuka moves out of the way.
"No," he says and tries to stop there. But he can't. "Not this time."
"Okay," Ryoma says and smiles. Tezuka feels all the hooks in him jerk at once and it hurts him.
He walks Ryoma to the train. They are nearly late. Ryoma looks out the window at him and Tezuka waits until the train is out of sight before returning home.
Tezuka goes up to his room and sits down on the bed. He takes his glasses off again and puts his hands over his face. He has broken all the rules for Ryoma. He wonders what else he will break before he can bring this to an end. He wonders what he'll say the next time Ryoma asks and he's afraid he already knows.
I'm sorry, he thinks, and wishes that Ryoma could hear it.
Then he wipes his face, sits down at his desk, and starts his homework.
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This fic is *fantastic*.
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I'm so pleased you liked this! I've been trying to wrap my head around TezuRyo since I *started* with tenipuri.
What finally broke it open for me was rewatching the early eps recently. I saw the third ep, where Arai makes Ryoma play with the broken racquet and Tezuka watches them. Tezuka is trying to get the blocks sorted out for the ranking matches. He finally decides to put Ryoma in. And then -- *then* -- tells Oishi to make everyone run laps because he doesn't condone rule-breaking. Just as he's essentially broken the rules himself by letting Ryoma play. I thought: they're running laps for Tezuka's infraction, not their own. And Ryoma keeps making Tezuka compromise himself in one way or anohter.
It's so funny -- on their own, I'm not that fond of either charcter. But together! I'm in love.
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[breaks out into laughter]
Em's Coworkers: ...the hell?
---
Okay, now that I'm done with the icon love--Tezuka making the team run laps for his own rule-breaking... I *like* it. ^___^
...I've been trying to wrap my brain around Tezuka for the longest time. Mostly I'm failing. >_
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Em's coworkers: [edge away]
[snuggles poor Yuuta]
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They're running laps for Tezuka's infraction, not their own. And Ryoma keeps making Tezuka compromise himself in one way or anohter.
Huh. I've never looked at it that way, before, but now that you say that...
And it boggles my mind, where Tezuka the captain stops and Tezuka the person begins. Does he fight so passionately for the National title despite personal cost to himself (as he does in the Hyotei match) because he is the captain? Or is that in itself his personal dream? Or are the two things one and the same for Tezuka?
I think part of the appeal of TeniPuri cast is that Konomi-sensei leaves them (intentionally?) incomplete in some ways. He gives the actions, but not necessarily the reasons behind them. (All the better for fangirls to speculate with. Mrrow.) The characters are interesting not just because of what they are, but what they might be, or could be.
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And it boggles my mind, where Tezuka the captain stops and Tezuka the person begins. Does he fight so passionately for the National title despite personal cost to himself (as he does in the Hyotei match) because he is the captain? Or is that in itself his personal dream? Or are the two things one and the same for Tezuka?
I think that it was partly for himself and partly for his team -- I don't think that Tezuka can easily separate himself from his role as captain -- but also in a large part for Ryoma that Tezuka destroyed himself in that match. It's no accident that Ryoma is there as bench-coach, watching him. I honestly don't think he would have gone so far else. (Though that's just my interpretation, of course. My biased interpretation. *g*)
There's a lot to explore in the Tezuka-Ryoma relationship, yaoi or not. What does it mean that a fourteen year old boy is set up as a parallel to Ryoma's father? Much to think through, that's for sure.
Thanks again for all your thoughts on this story. If you still have the five-page version of your review, I'd love to see it. :) (And no worries about crit -- I'm not sensitive at all.) You could always email me if you like. hal at prillalar.com
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I think I said all I wanted/needed to say about this fic. And if it hasn't gotten through enough, I LOVE this fic. ^_^
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Really, this doesn't happen to me very often. This fic just...struck me that way, and made me gush. *blush*
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Finally, good, completely IC TezukaEchizen. I humbly thank you!
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Does it mean that you intend to write more TezuRyo? Say yes, please, please, please, please...
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I love how you build up this connection between the two characters in so little words - or rather, just using this bench. And I also love their monosyllable conversation because it's just so... them. Neither Tezuka nor Ryoma is the type to waste words -- speaking of which, I think the title is well selected for this 'cause they're the kind of people who'd just let things be. The small details are just gorgeous, like Tezuka taking off his glasses when he first kisses Ryoma, and them taking the train... So in short, I love this because the characterization is so spot-on, and it - the characters, their relationship - makes sense (unlike me, who is, currently, not making a whole lot of sense ^^;; so I'll just be leaving you now with a universal symbol of admiration and affection: ♥).
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I know, it's not much, but it perfectly describes the state I'm in.
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This pairing was the first pairing I ever noticed in Prince of Tennis, and it will always have a soft spot in my heart. and the way you wrote it just makes me happy.
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(I´ll give you more coherent review when I get a computer of my own, this is borrowed)
*dies again*
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I'm glad you liked it! I don't think I would have got around to writing this so soon if you hadn't made me think about these two so much. :)
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I was randomly googling for "tezuryo" and one of the hits was your LJ. I went back through your earlier posts until I hit the first fic, which was this. And I am so glad this is the first English TezuRyo fic I read. It is powerful. I thank you for writing it.
I feel that Tezuka can be plausibly modeled in several different ways, and you've hit one of them right on the money. You've portrayed the control he has over himself and the world around him, and the quiet, slow, yet inevitable crack that develops due to Ryoma very well.
I don't want to sound like a parrot of other reviewers, but I do want to mention the things I liked. The use of silence was so perfect--they don't need to talk, the air is just heavy with all sorts of strange, intangible yet in many ways concrete things and that's enough. Neither of them talk very much anyways. And they don't have to talk very much to each other. I love that Ryoma says about four sentences in the entire fic.
The next day at morning practice, Tezuka makes the whole tennis club run laps.
This line both made me laugh and made me nod. Under normal circumstances Tezuka would never let his emotions control his actions, but his control is slipping.
The scene at the end was also wonderful. I could see Tezuka taking off his glasses and covering his face with his hands. And his thought, of apology, was so odd but so right for him...
*sigh* I'm sorry if this turned into a rambling account of my impressions, but I did want to say how much I loved this fic and really appreciate your efforts. ^_^
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I'd been wanting to write some TezuRyo since I started watching tenipuri. It was the first pairing I really noticed. But it's also one of the most difficult to do plausibly, I think. So it took me a long time to work up to it.
I really wanted to capture the way silence works for these two and I finally felt like I could tackle it. I'm glad to hear it worked so well for you.
You've portrayed the control he has over himself and the world around him, and the quiet, slow, yet inevitable crack that develops due to Ryoma very well.
Thank you! That was the insight that made it possible for me to finally write this.
I'm hoping to write more about them some day. To make this into a bit of an arc, as I figure out more about their relationship. Because they are so very fascinating.
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*sigh*
I'm reading it again and once again revelling in it...I did want to mention that I liked the use of present tense in this fic. It gave the sense of being close and immediate to the action/thoughts. As well as the fishing references. ^_^
And finally, I just liked this sentence:
He watches them with one another and can't understand how they can let themselves get so close to each other, to let themselves bleed out and merge until their lives are smudged together.
How amusing that that is what happens with mostly nothing and silence between him and Ryoma.
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I was planning to check all the fics written by you, but
I loved the bench sequence. Perfectly canon, since that is how they sit next to each other once and everybody in the team commented on the silent communication between them. And the
sexualtension is between them, all the time. In every "Buchou" Ryoma utters, and in every "Echizen" Tezuka says. Aaaah, the tenderness. More, please?[Btw, your "Marcia, Marcia!Yuuta Icon cracks me up]
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There's just so much there between them. I remember the opening sequence before the current one, where it sometimes started with Ryoma walking out on the court and Tezuka watching him. And there was no one else there. It was so dreamlike and it always made me wonder if that was Ryoma's dream or Tezuka's.
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And in recent chapters, when Kevin chanllenges him annd Tezuka stays to watch how Ryoma reacts. OMG. Although there Tezuka looks more like a father (and Fuji like a mother), there is still this silent adoration between them that just makes you...a happy fangirl, how else to put it? ^^
But nothing will ever beat the first great challenge, when Tezuka is all worked up about playing alone with Ryoma O__o "Come alone. I'll bring the balls." I died there and I haven't quite come back to normal life yet...
I am glad to hear that you will continue this story. I'll be looking forward to reading it, even if it takes you months ^__-
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Loved loved LOVED your characterizations. :) *melts*
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I do love them so.
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In short, it was lovely and it depicted Tezuka and Ryoma's relationship very well. It's exactly how I'd pictured their relationship to be.
I love the little details and descriptions...
All in all, this was a very brilliantly written fic.
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There's also another TezuRyo comm, zuka_ryo you can check it out.
MaY
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I'm very glad I read this; the sparse, controlled prose fits Tezuka's POV perfectly: he starts off appearing perfectly controlled, but by the end said control has become an illusory thing. The boy is far too repressed for it to be healthy - something, somewhere has to give.
I especially loved how you've depicted them holding entire conversations without actually speaking. Neither of them are ever going to be stellar conversationalists, but their silences convey more than words ever could.
It's so true that, while the series not-so-subtly draws similarities between them (which are certainly there), they are also very much the opposites of one another. Tezuka and Ryouma always struck me as something along the lines of Immoveable Object meets Irresistible Force, and from their interaction there is an endless potential to be explored. I love the spin you've put on this pairing, it's beautiful and understated. *so much love*
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TeniPuri tagslj and found this!it made my day ♥ thanks for such a wonderful read~!
really, it's one of the few that really captured Tezuka's character. and a very cuddly Ryoma as an added bonus =*__*=
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Fantabulous fic. I just wish it wasn't my exams now...
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But Ryoma is impulsive where Tezuka is calculating, provocative where Tezuka is circumspect. If Ryoma keeps apart, Tezuka thinks, it's because there isn't anyone he likes better than himself.
<333 I guess it's true, they are alike in things that don't matter and truly the opposite in personality, yet I still think Ryoma'll learn to think before he speaks soon XD
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sooooo amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
it was sooooo great~~~~