Title: Tomorrow

Pairing: Oshitari Yuushi x Mukahi Gakuto

Words: 771

Summary: Yuushi thinks about the tomorrows he wishes to spend with Gakuto.

Disclaimer: Konomi-sensei owns Prince of Tennis. I'm just a crazy fan.

A/N: This belongs to the same arc as Stay.

It's late. Almost a quarter past three. Usually, you'd be lying on top of your bed, dreaming of Gakuto and the things that you want to do with him.

But tonight is different. Instead of sleeping on your bed, you indulge yourself with watching his face shift from one expression to the other as he sleeps.

You absentmindedly reach out for his head and play with his hair. You love the way his hair combs against your fingers. Or the way its color contrasts your pale skin. You love the way it smells; whether it'd be after he had taken a shower, or a tough match.

You know you're fooling yourself by manifesting your love for his hair because you know that you love him more than that.

You know how much you love Gakuto, and how much you're willing to give up just to be with him. But you know that life isn't easy, and that you can't have everything you want no matter how much you'd try.

You only have a little less than a quarter of a year left to spend with him. After that, you'd be gone to take separate ways towards the career you've differently chosen to take. He made you commit to a pact that you'd keep in touch with him even after you part ways.

You want to promise him forever, but you know nothing of eternity. Your life is all that you can offer, but you choose not to tell him that.

Gakuto screams for freedom— the only thing that can't offer.

You bitterly smile as you watch the slight movement of his sleeping face. You suddenly feel a strong streak of possessiveness while watching him. You don't want anyone to see him like this. You want Gakuto to be yours.

You think about committing to Gakuto every single day. A lot of people think that you're simply not the type of person who commits, and they're right. You're not the type of person who'd settle with one person for a long time. You change your lovers as frequent as you change your clothes. You scream for variety and seek for pleasure—not commitment. But it's different with Gakuto, and you know that much.

You never get tired looking at him. You enjoy every single story he tells you—be it something logical, or a bunch of senseless rants that never fail to amuse you. You know, more than anybody else, how much you want to wake up every morning and see his face buried under your neck. To spend the rest of your life coming home, knowing that he'd be waiting for you inside your house. To laugh and cry at the memories you've spent together. To sleep every night, knowing that when tomorrow comes, he'd be there to joke, argue, tease, bitch, and most important of all, grow old with you.

You wish for a lot of things you couldn't have, but what's bothering you is your cowardice to take a risk to be with him. It pisses you that you suffer the cliché of not wanting to lose the friendship with him. But when you think about how much you've worked so hard to be as close as you are to him, you can't help but shiver and back out of the thought of confronting your affections.

You dejectedly sigh and kneel on the floor as you tuck your head on your folded arms on top of his bed. Your time with him is highly limited, and you know that you would eventually grow apart after graduation. Gakuto is the last person you want to lose in your life, so you finally make a decision to confront him the morning after you wake up.

You slowly lift your head off his bed when you suddenly realize that his eyes are wide open. You try to compose yourself as you slowly stand up while flashing him an apologetic smile. He scratches his head before tucking himself closer to the wall. You can't help but question his actions, so you call out his name.

He blankly looks at you as he pats the empty space of his bed. You indulge yourself with his invitation and tuck yourself underneath his blankets. 'You should have woken me up if you were having nightmares, Yuushi' he whispers softly behind your back. You dumbly nod your head as you allow him to circle his arms around your waist.

Slowly, you relax to the warmth he's giving you and let out a small smile, thinking of the tomorrows you're going to spend with him once tomorrow comes.