Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis. By writing this piece of fanfiction, I do not claim it for any commercial use, and it is meant to be read by fans, for no charge. The Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi. Any original characters will be stated as such.

Title: And Then He Smiled Again – Chapter 1: The Traditional Father

Words: 675

Chapter Rating: K

I'd never thought that my son would fall in love with another male. Genichirou had always been the more obedient son, compared to Gentarou, who did things on his own, and did not care for tradition. Genichirou was the opposite. He was strict towards others, even stricter towards himself, and he had never let me down.

Until the day he told me that he was in love with a male.

A part of me, as his father, accepted that fact wholly. He was my son, the very essence of my being, and him loving someone of the same gender was perfectly alright with me, because Genichirou was Genichirou, and that was all that that mattered.

The other part of me, however, was entirely against it. Genichirou was my heir – one of my heirs – and for that he could not love another male. Whether or not my father or wife approved of it did not matter. As long as he was my son, as long he was Sanada Genichirou, I would never allow him to be together with someone of the same gender.

Never.

For the longest time, I was confused. I didn't know which side to take, to be his father, or to be my father's son. Both had done of much for me, and if I were to choose a side would be betrayal to the other party.

My father, whom I had never defied. He, who, together with my mother, had brought me up and moulded me into the person that I am today. The reason I have a family, the reason I am a father, grandfather even.

Confused, I couldn't make up my mind. Genichirou had always been a important part of my family, and, although I wanted to see him carry on the Sanada family name, I couldn't use something like that against him. Genichirou was strong headed, and with Sasuke, I knew that Genichirou had no real reason to accept my orders if I refused his relationship.

He would leave this family, if need be.

I refused to let that happen. In love with a male or not, Genichirou was still my son. I did not wish to lose him, not when he had been the light of my family's life, together with Gentarou. Yes, he was strict now, but there had been a time when he was, like any other child, curious and full of wonder, when he would look at things and ask questions, when he would bother my wife and I with questions, 'Why, father, mother? Why?'.

So I discarded all my thoughts about disowning him. Instead of losing a son, I thought, why not gain another?

Genichirou brought his lover to meet me the day after I told him I wanted to see said lover. Yukimura-kun was polite, kind, and delightful. He knew how I would probably be against their relationship, and, when I had asked Genichirou to leave the room to speak to me alone, he had told me that, should I have asked him to leave Genichirou, he would do so without any objections, because he did not want to spoil Genichirou's relationship with me.

But I saw the sadness flash in his eyes at the very thought of leaving my son.

When I stood up, I knew he assumed that I would be objecting their relationship, for he bowed down low, from seiza into dogeza, as though thanking me for letting him be with my son for that short amount, yet at the same time begging for my understanding, that he loved Genichirou and would never wish to leave him.

I told him to stand, and he did, blue hair shielding his expression from me. I knew he was on the verge of crying, choked sobs making their way out of his throat that he was unable to surpress.

"Yukimura-kun," I said softly, walking up to him and clasping him on the shoulder. "Take good care of my son."

His answering smile told me everything I needed to know.

Seiza is the Japanese traditional way of seating, with your legs tucked beneath you as you sit.

Dogeza is the Japanese traditional way of bowing, first being in seiza position, then bringing your head to the ground, prostrating yourself. When allowed to rise, most return to the seiza position.