PoT: Tezuka/Ryoma - "Such Great Heights", G
Title: Such Great Heights
Author: regulusa
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters and Pairings: Tezuka/Ryoma
Rating: G
Wordcount: ~470
Spoilers: For the end of the anime. DO NO READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE END.
Summary: At the age of twelve, Echizen promises to climb to new heights that Tezuka can only imagine…
Notes: The first half was written in history class in an attempt to stay awake. The second half was written at 3:30 am in an attempt to avoid sleep. Clearly, this pairing makes me insane. Warnings for a bit of fluffy angst, perchance? First TezuRyo fic, feedback is crack, and the title was nabbed from the Postal Service song of the same name.
Echizen has grown up, he thinks to himself as the shorter boy shakes his hand.
Tezuka has been trying to bring this boy under his wing, to help him improve not only his tennis but his attitude as well, and he thinks that overall he's done well. Would Echizen have thanked each and every one of them for everything they'd given him a few months ago? Would he have been able to even acknowledge that they had given him anything worthwhile at all? Would he have looked at them all with tears of fondness, triumph, and sorrow in his eyes - unashamed? Tezuka thinks not.
It is so clear and overwhelmingly obvious that Echizen has grown up, and Tezuka's voice almost breaks as he speaks to Echizen, reassures him that he will always be Seigaku's pillar of support - his pillar of support. Though Tezuka doesn't actually believe that Ryoma has ever been a true child in the time he's known him (naïve, yes; arrogant, yes; carefree, most definitely), neither has he been able to grow in the way that everyone must before they go out into the world and make it their own.
And that's what Echizen is about to do. At the age of twelve, Echizen promises to climb to new heights that Tezuka can only imagine, even having climbed the mighty Matterhorn in his youth.
There are some metaphorical heights that have no chance of competing with the literal kind, and Ryoma will reach them all. He will leave, yes, but in a sense he has already left them all behind, and now he can leave without regret.
Tezuka has lost tonight - both the game and the boy standing before him. Even so, he finds that he can't find it within himself to feel regret. He will be strong like Ryoma, and watch as the boy he has grown to love leaves for bigger and better things.
Tezuka has heard the saying that if you love someone, you should set them free. Only then will you know for sure that they love you back, because they will come to you of their own accord, even after having seen the world and all of its wonders. Echizen needs to go, because if he doesn't, his mind will wander and he'll be thinking of what might have been for the rest of his life. Tezuka has seen a hint of this already, and he doesn't want to see Ryoma like that again.
Tezuka understands it, and even though it hurts to do so, he lets go of Echizen's hand. No handshake could ever be long enough, but this one has run its course.
They say goodbye in clipped and polite tones. Echizen does not look back.
Yes, Tezuka thinks with a sad almost-smile. Echizen has most certainly grown up.
Author: regulusa
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Characters and Pairings: Tezuka/Ryoma
Rating: G
Wordcount: ~470
Spoilers: For the end of the anime. DO NO READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE END.
Summary: At the age of twelve, Echizen promises to climb to new heights that Tezuka can only imagine…
Notes: The first half was written in history class in an attempt to stay awake. The second half was written at 3:30 am in an attempt to avoid sleep. Clearly, this pairing makes me insane. Warnings for a bit of fluffy angst, perchance? First TezuRyo fic, feedback is crack, and the title was nabbed from the Postal Service song of the same name.
Echizen has grown up, he thinks to himself as the shorter boy shakes his hand.
Tezuka has been trying to bring this boy under his wing, to help him improve not only his tennis but his attitude as well, and he thinks that overall he's done well. Would Echizen have thanked each and every one of them for everything they'd given him a few months ago? Would he have been able to even acknowledge that they had given him anything worthwhile at all? Would he have looked at them all with tears of fondness, triumph, and sorrow in his eyes - unashamed? Tezuka thinks not.
It is so clear and overwhelmingly obvious that Echizen has grown up, and Tezuka's voice almost breaks as he speaks to Echizen, reassures him that he will always be Seigaku's pillar of support - his pillar of support. Though Tezuka doesn't actually believe that Ryoma has ever been a true child in the time he's known him (naïve, yes; arrogant, yes; carefree, most definitely), neither has he been able to grow in the way that everyone must before they go out into the world and make it their own.
And that's what Echizen is about to do. At the age of twelve, Echizen promises to climb to new heights that Tezuka can only imagine, even having climbed the mighty Matterhorn in his youth.
There are some metaphorical heights that have no chance of competing with the literal kind, and Ryoma will reach them all. He will leave, yes, but in a sense he has already left them all behind, and now he can leave without regret.
Tezuka has lost tonight - both the game and the boy standing before him. Even so, he finds that he can't find it within himself to feel regret. He will be strong like Ryoma, and watch as the boy he has grown to love leaves for bigger and better things.
Tezuka has heard the saying that if you love someone, you should set them free. Only then will you know for sure that they love you back, because they will come to you of their own accord, even after having seen the world and all of its wonders. Echizen needs to go, because if he doesn't, his mind will wander and he'll be thinking of what might have been for the rest of his life. Tezuka has seen a hint of this already, and he doesn't want to see Ryoma like that again.
Tezuka understands it, and even though it hurts to do so, he lets go of Echizen's hand. No handshake could ever be long enough, but this one has run its course.
They say goodbye in clipped and polite tones. Echizen does not look back.
Yes, Tezuka thinks with a sad almost-smile. Echizen has most certainly grown up.