Habit

Summary: "Genichirou," Yukimura began with his soft voice and smile. "You really like Atobe-san don't you? It's written all over your face." The next day, Sanada Genichirou bought his first cap and began wearing it day in, day out.


Sanada Genichirou did not doubt his friendship with Yukimura or Yanagi.

In fact, they were without a doubt, his best friends. Friends he could count on if something happened, friends he could rely on in times of need, friends he knew who could read him like a book.

At times, friends like these backfired. Not that he wished he never had these friends, oh no. He would forever cherise the friendship between the three forever, but he had been careless.

Way too careless.

In his second year of middle school, Sanada had the awful luck of being roommates with his highness the King of Hyotei. The Senbatsu training camp had really been an interesting experience and something he really enjoyed, if it were not for a certain diva who ruined every waking morning and resting night.

And obviously, when he returned to Rikkaidai, Sanada sought out his two best friends. In a heated, four hour long tirade about his annoying, troublesome, and irritating his roommate way, Sanada began to notice the exchanging of looks between his friends. What truly distrubed him was the same expression they wore when he finally finished.

Yukimura and Yanagi smiled understandingly as though they understood something in the big picture Sanada couldn't see.

"Genichirou," Yukimura began with his soft voice and smile. "You really like Atobe-san don't you?"

Sanada stared at his friend flabbergasted. Had Seichi not listened to his four hour rant about the annoyance called Atobe Keigo?

Taking advantage of his silent shock, Yanagi added deftly, "This 'really' probably translates into around 98%."

Sanada could only continue to gape at his two best friends in disbelief and befuddlement. Yukimura was random at times, sometimes seeing things that didn't exist so Sanada could understand. But for Yanagi to also agree.

That's what hit the hardest. Usually Yanagi was wrong about nothing. There was nothing his data couldn't predict. At times, Sanada even suspected that all their futures were being foreseen by the dataman which always seemed to just understand.

"Why do you say that?" a useless defense that was about to be picked away by thousands of observations and figures that may or may not be accurate.

But Sanada was surprised when Yukimura answered simply, "It's written all over your face."

The next day, Sanada Genichirou bought his first cap and began wearing it day in, day out. On the tennis courts, in the streets, and especially around a certain diva (not that he saw the famed Hyotei ace a lot, but still, it was better to be safe than sorry).

Yukimura laughed the first time he wore the cap to see the bedridden captain but did not press for an excuse. Yanagi didn't comment but began whispering with the captain in conspiratorial tones. So Sanada did his best to ignore them and tug his cap down lower whenever he suspected of foul play.

It became a habit by his third year. Put the cap on as he walked out the door to school, take it off during classes, put it back on during tennis practice, take it off during the shower, hold it before going to bed thinking about a certain someone, then kissing the white logo and setting it aside. Soon the cap itself began to symbolize his vastly growing affinity and Sanada refused to go anywhere without it. (Much to the amusement of a certain data man.)

A year passed without too much commotion. Rikkaidai lost the Kantou Tournament, Yukimura survived his surgery, Rikkaidai lost to Seigaku again in the Nationals, and Atobe Keigo became his boyfriend.

"Genichirou," his lover huffed. "Ore-sama is asking you to take off that cap. It's our anniversary. I will not allow that hideous black thing to become the third wheel."

"Hn," Sanada grunted and fixed the cap more snugly on his head. However, he did not protest when the Hyotei captain plucked the cap off and flung it in the corner.

Habit aside, Sanada Genichirou really didn't need the cap anymore.

-END-

A/N: I found this in my digital pile of junk. It was pretty much finished except for the last few lines so I was like, eh what the heck? Let's just finish it!

So PoT for the first time in….woah holy crap, 8 months?

Woooah. It's been forever. I had a Naruto spasm for a while and then I moved onto Bleach. Wouldn't it be funny if I came back to PoT? And then to Naruto? And then back to Bleach? XD

Well, thanks for reading! Please drop a review if time permits!

~sodesne