[Fic] Project Glacier, Part Two
Title: Project Glacier, Part Two
Author: Neerod in ffnet/ dhorz in LJ
Ship: TezuFuji
Genres: Romance, comedyRating: PG, for now
Summary: An ordinary school project turns into a challenge of melting a certain cold, stoic buchou. Or so Fuji thinks. TezuFuji.
Notes: Marilyn the bonsai makes an appearance. And they’re actually going to talk scientific here; you can skip those parts.
Disclaimer: I admit, PoT isn’t mine. At all. (I need to torture Konomi first before I can claim possession of these handsome boys.)
A/N: This is Part 2 of (secret!) of Project Glacier. As with the previous part, this one is still for vierblith_tefu.
Enjoy!
The walk home was quiet. Fuji occasionally sneaked a glance at Tezuka’s face. As usual, Tezuka was stoic. Fuji wanted to laugh and tell Tezuka he looked funny, but he didn’t.
Upon arrival at Tezuka’s place, Fuji began to dart off towards the yard like an excited little boy, but Tezuka got hold of his collar, which stopped him. Tezuka pulled him inside the house, and slammed the door shut as if to say The outside world is forbidden.
“Sit,” Tezuka told him.
“Saa, I’m not a dog.”
Tezuka frowned at him. Then he went off somewhere.
Fuji stifled a laugh. Now he was finally inside Tezuka’s home! He took a look around. It surprised him that there were no picture frames hanging on the walls, or any other personal stuff lying around. Fuji decided to give Tezuka a couple of photos to hang, to give the walls some life.
Though he regretted that he couldn’t browse through photo albums of a young Tezuka.
“Fuji.”
“Hm?” Fuji turned to see Tezuka carrying a plate of food which he set down on a table. Fuji smiled at him. Tezuka looked back stoically. “Ah. I thought we’ll be doing the project in your room?”
“I didn’t say ‘room’,” Tezuka answered, sitting down. “I said ‘house’.”
Fuji knew that, of course. “But I don’t like doing projects while sitting up!” he claimed. “I want to lie down.”
“Why would you lie down?”
“So that my imagination can work better.” Actually, Fuji’s imagination worked all right even when he was upside down, or looking between his legs, or just plain sitting down.
“…You can lie on the couch.”
“I’d need a pillow.”
“There are throw pillows here.” Tezuka got one and tossed it to Fuji, who caught it deftly.
“But I also like to roll around. Couches are too narrow.”
“You’re acting like a kid, you know.”
Fuji grinned. “I still want to roll around.”
“…Then roll on the floor.”
Fuji peered at Tezuka’s face. “Hey, you’re trying not to laugh.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“You are!” Fuji poked him. “You’re almost smiling!”
“I was not.” Tezuka adjusted his glasses.
“Hm.” Fuji watched him for a few moments. Tezuka smiling actually lookedcute. He wished he could make Tezuka half-smile more. Then the glacier could slowly begin to melt.
Fuji chuckled. “Maa, you can’t be persuaded.”
“If you keep bugging me like this we couldn’t start the project.” Tezuka stood up, gathered the books and the plate of food. “We’re going to my room.”
Fuji couldn’t be happier.
Fuji noted that, like the living room, Tezuka’s bedroom was devoid of picture frames and other ornaments. Yet, there were enough personal touches to mark the room as something used by a real human. A tennis racket hung on a peg. Tezuka’s jacket was strewn carelessly on the study table. Three huge pillows on the bed. His wristband on the floor, where it fell from the table after he’d tossed it. And there was a pretty bonsai on the windowsill.
“Ah!” Fuji went to the bonsai and touched the leaves gently. “What’s her name?”
Tezuka hesitated. “Marilyn.”
“Marilyn. Hello there, Marilyn-chan! You’re a very pretty girl, aren’t you.”
“Plants don’t talk,” Tezuka said.
“You’re mean, Tezuka. See? You’ve hurt Marilyn. You should talk to her.” Fuji gently patted the leaves of the bonsai. He found it hard to accept that some people just do not talk to their plants. Plants had lives and feelings too.
Tezuka adjusted his glasses. He pulled a chair from the kneespace of the table and sat on it. “We must begin now, Fuji. It’s already dark.”
Fuji patted Marilyn one last time and proceeded to throw himself on Tezuka’s bed. Tezuka twitched, then pointedly avoided looking, as if he actually didn’t want Fuji lying on it. “Hmm? What shall we do now?”
Tezuka paged through a geology book. “Let’s begin by defining ‘glacier’.”
“Glaciers are large bodies of accumulated ice that moves with gravitational influence,” Fuji recited from memory.
Tezuka didn’t nod.
“And it doesn’t melt easily,” Fuji added, meaningfully.
The glacier looked back stoically. “And?”
“Glaciers form where the temperature is low enough to allow falling snow to accumulate and slowly transform into ice. This is most common in the polar regions, but it can also occur at high altitudes on mountains even near the equator,” Fuji said, feeling like a textbook.
Tezuka nodded. “I see you’ve done some work.”
“Of course. I can’t allow you to upstage me,” Fuji said smugly.
Tezuka was stoic. He couldn’t be provoked easily, Fuji noted. And he doesn’t even show anything on his face. Such a glacier he was. If he were Echizen he would say Mada mada dane, Fuji-senpai, and smirk like a devil yet to reveal his plans.
“Then how are glaciers categorized?”
Fuji grabbed a pillow and put his face to it. And inhaled. Tezuka smelledgood, even through his pillow.
“Fuji.”
“Hai?”
“How are glaciers categorized?”
“By location, by size…” Fuji’s voice was muffled by the pillow.
“…Put the pillow down, Fuji.”
“Hm?”
“Put the pillow down.”
Fuji pushed the pillow away from his face but didn’t put it down. “I told you I need a pillow.”
Tezuka didn’t answer.
“Sensei?”
Tezuka looked stoic.
He couldn’t easily be bothered by teasing. Except when Fuji had asked Tezuka if he didn’t like being with Fuji, and there Tezuka had difficulty answering.
“Fuji, what are the glaciers according to size?”
“Ice caps, ice sheets, ice fields…” Fuji felt like a dictionary now. He decided to feel like a teacher too, so he asked, “Then what are the glaciers according to location?”
“Alpine glaciers, valley glaciers, piedmont glaciers.”
Fuji yawned. This thing was for Inui to do. He rolled around in Tezuka’s bed, hugging the pillow, trying to figure out how to melt the glacier further without upsetting their study session.
It was hard.
They got no farther than the types of glaciers, since Tezuka had Fuji define each and every one of them, and Fuji, like an obedient student, did so.
It was very dark when Fuji finally left the house.
That night in his own bed, he plotted and schemed and wondered how to melt the Buchou. Though it might be a tough task, he wasn’t one to give up easily. Notch by notch, he’d raise the heat slowly, until Tezuka could not resist and would need to give in to him.
Fuji only hoped it would be as easy as imagining it so.
He hugged his pillow, regretting that he didn’t steal one of Tezuka’s.
I know, this was long overdue. But bear with me, people; I had problems with my PC.
Also, don't be afraid to tell me what you think.There's actually little crack and stoicism, because I'm a lazy ass and I didn't want to edit again. Sorry, vierblith_tefu.
To white_ashes07: The fic will be tomorrow; I'll crosspost it along with this one in the comms.