Title: Easy as Tea
Summary: He could clearly say it was her fault he was soaked in water and iced tea. As long as she confessed, he could stand it.
Genre: General
A/N: What many have waited for! This is much, much longer than the last 3, since it features the talk between Ryoma and Sakuno. Oh and for an early note, japanese guys can put the –kun at the end of female names who they are acquainted with. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it!
The 10 minutes after Ryoma arrived were utter hell, not only in Sakuno's case but in Ryoma's case as well. Even if Ryoma didn't show it outwardly, Sakuno could tell that his patience was growing thin with each passing minute.
Matured hands, which looked to be manicured and articulate despite the fact that he played tennis, drummed lightly on the end of the café table. He didn't look bored, but his casual hand movements said otherwise. Sakuno's grip on the small menu tightened nervously as he threw her a look that said, 'If you're going to say something any time soon, I'm all ears.'
Sakuno tried to avoid the look, only to wince in slight pain when she felt something hit her sandaled feet hard. Her head snapped back up when she heard Ryoma mumble an apologetic "Sorry", then tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat. She looked down at her own hands, also matured from years of working and helping her grandmother, yet still small and dainty, and sighed. Sakuno wasn't religious, but she prayed for something, anything, that would help her break the proverbial ice.
The next 5 minutes seemed unreal, but it only took those 5 minutes to finally get things on track.
The waitress, a young teenager who seemed to be as clumsy as Sakuno, tried to balance what looked like a very heavy platter of drinks to a large group of people nearby. Incidentally, the girl had to walk past her table to get to the said group and had already tripped thrice times just to get there.
Sakuno's sandaled foot was stuck out in the aisle, on accident of course. Ryoma was still focused on Sakuno, so he was very surprised when the waitress tripped over Sakuno's feet and suddenly had his shirt, and his lap, full of water and ice cubes.
The waitress and Sakuno shrieked in unison as the rest of the drinks had fallen on the rest of the tennis player. His shirt and pants were soaked with mixtures of iced tea, water and some sweet smelling soda, while his hair was limp and made him look a little childish. He snatched a large handful of napkins from the dispenser, ignoring the apologies of the waitress and her leave. His eyes twitched angrily as sounds of laughter were heard by the large group behind him.
All the while, Sakuno tried her hardest not to burst into laughter with the rest of the customers in the café. She settled with giggling helplessly as she helped Ryoma clean the table and him. She smiled lightly
when she plucked some of the smaller ice cubes, as well as two lemon wedges, out of Ryoma's hair. Ryoma only grunted, and looked at Sakuno, wondering how in the world she didn't get anything on herself.
In mid-giggle, Sakuno said with a smile, "Y'know…I used to love you right?" She continued to giggle giddily as she wiped the table.
Ryoma stopped mopping himself up and looked at her, eyes slightly widened. Sakuno didn't look aware of what she just said, and was oblivious to him staring at her. He blinked a few times, not out of disbelief but how something as stupid as getting soaked with 6 drinks had finally got her confession out of her when they had been sitting at their table for over 20 minutes.
Making sure he hid the dryness in his voice, he simply replied, "Really?"
Sakuno was now laughing for two reasons: one being the fact that Ryoma, despite all his efforts to maintain his cool, looked ridiculously funny when he was surprised and two being how long it took her to finally say those words. She paused to let out a sigh of relief.
It felt as if the weight of her pseudo-puppy love with Ryoma had been finally lifted off her, and set down so she could freely talk about it. She was very sure she could explain everything to Ryoma now, her composure losing its jitteriness.
The waitress came bustling back in, a wet rag in her hand. She directed the pair to a clean, dry table and after a few minutes of reassuring her that she needn't be so worried, she quickly promised them their meal would be free and left to clean the other table.
The laughter started to die in Sakuno's throat as Ryoma ordered water and iced green tea for them. The café was gradually filling up now with local teenagers, some they recognized the uniforms from their old middle and high school, and their waitress would be busy with those customers. It meant more time for talking and less time for distractions.
Ryoma, who was still partially wet but still intact, looked Sakuno in the eye, silently wishing she'd continue. After that little stunt, it was the least the older girl could do. Sakuno was starting to breathe normally, and it only took her a second to gain back her lost composure. "So, now you know why I wanted to talk to you, Ryoma-kun?"
Said man, no longer a boy, replied, "I have a clue. Care to explain the rest?"
Ah, and both knew that this would be the excruciatingly tedious part of the conversation. Sakuno sipped at the water that the waitress had quickly set down for her, also giving Ryoma his iced green tea, and said, "Alright. Well, like I said before, I did have a crush on you."
"How long?" Ryoma said, a small voice telling him that she may infact still like her. He briefly furrowed his brows. If that was the case, then he'd have to nip that in the bud.
Fortunately for the brunette, she didn't see the look on Ryoma's face and was concentrated on her water. "Um, I think since 7th grade, when you first defended me on the train," Sakuno paused, hoping that Ryoma wasn't going to say anything. When he didn't reply, she continued. "But, I stopped liking you. Or at least, I got over you."
A sudden pause, then a nervous laugh from Sakuno. "Oh gosh, that sounds bad. I didn't for it to sound that way!"
Ryoma took another swig of tea before answering, "So, what made you like me so much? And what did I do to make you stop?" Straightforwardness was something that Ryoma could never grow out of, no matter how old he was or the person he was talking to.
Sakuno looked straight at Ryoma this time, probably for the first time since the pair had sat down in the café. "Why I liked you? Because you seemed prince-like. And you were when it came to playing tennis. As for why I stopped…"
Sakuno was cut off by their waitress, who bashfully gave them a delicious-looking cake slice and two forks and left. Forgetting for a moment what they had been talking about, Sakuno took her respective fork and dug into the slice, only pausing in embarrassment by the look that Ryoma was giving her. She set down the fork, and looked at her own hands, then his.
"It wasn't what you did do. It was what you didn't do what I expected you to do. And I guess I got tired of waiting for a prince." She murmured softly, only loud enough for Ryoma to hear.
The talking around them didn't seem to drown out her explanation. To Ryoma's ears, her voice was the loudest one in the building.
The tennis player nodded his head in understanding. "I'm not perfect, Ryusa--, Sakuno-kun," He paused to take a piece of the cake. "But thank you, for once thinking of me so highly."
Sakuno gave him a friendly smile. "Who says I still don't? You're a good person, it just takes awhile to notice that."
"Yeah, sure," Ryoma said, rolling his eyes. He stared at her for a moment. "But we're alright? Nothing else left to say?"
"Well, there is one thing I'd like to confirm." Sakuno said, taking another piece of their cake.
The man tilted his head in wonder.
"Did you know? I mean, before today, did you know I used to like you? And tell the truth." The pigtailed woman asked curiosity in her eyes.
Ryoma set down his fork and dabbed his mouth gently. "Yes. I did, as a matter of fact. I may not be perfect, but that doesn't mean I'm an idiot. But," He said, cutting off what Sakuno was about to say, "I didn't say anything because I wanted you to realize that I'm not the guy for you; never was, never have been, never going to be. Though, I honestly though it was going to take you a little longer to get over me. I mean, 10 years of an unrequited crush? I mean really now."
Sakuno was silent, slowly taking Ryoma's clarification into account. "It makes so much sense now," She started, "I can't ask why you didn't let me off a little easier, because I wouldn't have been able to properly grow out of you. So, thank you, I think? You did do it for my benefit, right?"
He smirked. "Nah, I did it just to get you off my back."
She pouted, taking Ryoma's designated piece. "Liar," She stuck her tongue out at him, which earned her an 'act you age' look from some of the other patrons of the café. "But now, I think we can both say that we're okay."
Ryoma smiled. "Yeah, finally." He swiped the last bit of the cake.
-The End-