Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis.

Enjoy!

Ryoma watched as she put the spoon into her mouth slowly and smoothly. She took all her time to leave the spoon there and really lick it spotless before taking it back out. Repeating the same action for many times now, Ryoma stared for what seemed like forever, wondering when she was going to finish.

He placed his chin onto his palm and continued to stare at the girl and her very impressive speed in eating. Subconsciously, he let out a small yawn.

"Ryoma-kun," she said, holding up another spoonful of strawberry ice-cream, "you really don't have to wait for me. You can go first if you like."

The prince shook his head reluctantly, refusing to leave. It's not as if he didn't want to, but his stomach was feeling a little too queasy for him to move now. And besides, sitting for a little longer didn't make a difference to him. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there now, time no longer bothered him. It was just as long, just as winding, and just as slow as it had been ever since he finished his last spoonful of ice-cream.

And when he finally gave up staring, he proceeded to look at his empty cups, wondering how long they had been there, empty and lonely. The cups were clean; every last visible drop of ice-cream had disappeared while he was alive. He was sure that he was going to wait all lifetime.

That's right, he had been waiting for someone sitting opposite him to finish her ice-cream forever now.

What was it like to wait forever?

It was like drinking Inui's concoctions for breakfast.

There was a loud pop in the young prince's brain, and he finally snapped. He felt a little sick, not only because of excessive amounts of ice cream, but also because of the thought of Inui's new remixes that had crossed his mind.

He really had to say something this time. He was not going to let his queasy stomach hold him down.

"Ryuzaki," he said suddenly, watching the pigtailed girl opposite him as her gaze met his. Ryoma took a deep breath, confusing Sakuno for a brief moment…

"… This can't carry on."

He finally said it… and he began observing the girl for reactions. He stood up, getting ready to escape before things got physical.

Exceeding his expectations, a layer of tears formed over Sakuno's eyes, and he watched as the little droplets of crystal rolled gently down her cheeks.

In a sudden urge to say something on his own behalf, and hers, he opened his mouth, but she did it before him.

"But Ryoma-kun…" her voice mewed, and tears continued to roll down her cheeks relentlessly.

"… I really love..." she stopped.

"I know," Ryoma said with sympathy, "But I can't..."

"I really want that ice-cream machine!"

Hazel eyes, taking her gaze away from the panicked prince, landed on a large colourful advertisement stuck on the window next to their ice cream parlour table.

Eat 60 cups of ice cream in one week and this all-new ice cream machine, an import from Germany is all yours!

For more details, please enquire any member of staff on duty in the Papagola Parlour!

Sakuno's pink lips, stained with cups and cups of strawberry ice cream, reduced into a small pout. Her eyes stared fixedly at Ryoma.

"Besides, you promised that you'd help me out with three cups a day…"

Oh no, the tears wouldn't stop rolling down. Ryoma began to panic.

She continued, "And you were the only one kind enough to help me…"

Nobody warned him about this. It was really no wonder why everybody refused to help her out. Ryoma would have thought that her best friend --that other cheerleader-- would help her, but no, she didn't.

Why in the world didn't he pick up on that? It should have been weird enough already that all three of the trio backed out straight away too.

Ryoma stood still for another moment, transferring his gaze from his own empty cups of ice cream, to hers, and to her. Her eyes, fixed on him, were pleading him not to leave. Her pout never left her face as she continued to beg.

It was as if her expression numbed his senses, and he sat down again.

Then the tears came to an abrupt end, and she relaxed, picking up her spoon and putting it in her mouth. Her lips betrayed its owner and broke into a small giggle.

Ryoma sat and stared, a tint of regret surged through his brain. This was going to be a long week.

--

End.

Did I surprise you? n.n When I sent it to my friend to read, she said she thought it was going to be a break-up. Heh. xD

This was originally supposed to be for a LJ comm, but I decided not to take the responsibility and didn't join the community in the end. So this became a fic on its own. n.n

I'd never tried writing something like this before, so I wanted it to be different from what readers would expect. I hope you liked it!

Thanks for reading!