Title: The Second Meeting: Cost of Silver
Pairing: YuuTari
Disclaimer: not mine, cool? cool.

The morning after was always the worst. No one ever knew what to do or how to behave. For Oshitari though, it wasn't just about how he ought to treat Atobe; it was also about himself, and about Yagyuu.

So, it really was no surprise that upon waking with a warm body next to him early the next morning, Oshitari wondered why he'd gone with it. Atobe was attractive, yes, and there always is that thing about first loves, but that shouldn't have been enough to make him loose his cool. No matter what, he was still Oshitari Yuushi, by far the most rational voice on the Hyoutei team. Supposedly.

He slipped into the shower and out of the house before the other boy woke. It was illogical, really, considering what they'd already done, but he didn't want to see Atobe. Sometimes, it's just better to slip into a fantasy world and pretend that the real world doesn't exist. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times. He went on his usual early morning six mile run, mp3 player blasting hiphop music into his soul. He didn't understand why Gakuto liked the music so much and insisted that he listen to it "to get in sync", but at the moment, he didn't feel like any of his normal alternative would do him any good.

When he got home, Atobe was already gone. He didn't feel any better though, knowing that Atobe would be waiting for him at practice. It wasn't just anyone that he'd slept with. It was his friend, classmate and teammate - someone he couldn't avoid even if he wanted to, though boy, did he ever want to. Oshitari took another shower, this time just standing under the hot jet of water and letting the water turn his skin bright red. By the time he stepped out of the fully steamed up bathroom, he had to hurry to make it to school on time. For the first time in his life, model student Oshitari had to turn in half-finished homework. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any remorse about that at all.

Practice that day was particularly brutal. Atobe stood silently at the edge of the courts until Shishido practically screamed in his ear, which only prompted barked responses. Jirou stayed awake, but was clearly tired and fretful, like a child who had missed his nap. Oshitari couldn't hit a proper serve to save his life, and Gakuto's bouncing around him in circles asking what was wrong didn't help matters.

Everything exploded when a group of Atobe's fangirls decided it would be a good day to start flirting with some other tennis club memebers. To be precise, they decided it would be a good idea to flirt with Jirou. Oshitari could practically see the blood drain from Atobe's face, even though Jirou wasn't really paying any attention to them. When one of them tried to kiss Jirou's forehead though, Atobe lost it. He yelled for everyone who wasn't practicing to leave. Normally, Oshitari or Jirou would've jumped to calm him down, but this time, Atobe was left to rant and seethe until Shishido finally smacked him in the head and dragged him back to the clubroom to "talk some sense into this madman."

It was just flat out wrong. It wasn't just because they were no longer dating, or because he was technically dating someone else - it was because they were teammates and rivals and they were Hyoutei and they were Oshitari and Atobe and they were just simply two people who never should have done what they did. Somehow, he didn't think they'd ever be as close as they'd been before.

When he got home that day, Oshitari closed himself in his room. He skipped dinner, ignoring his family's persistant knocks on his door - even his mother eventually gave up.

Later that evening, Oshitari blinked a few times after waking up - apparently he'd fallen asleep in the middle of counting the little holes in his ceiling. He had to stretch a bit before he could sit up - sleeping on a tatami mat was one thing, sleeping on hardwood floorboards was a different thing entirely. He moved to his desk to do his homework - there would be no repeat of the previous day, ever, if he had anything to do with it. Sure, there was a silver lining to every cloud. His status with Atobe was no longer "uncertain". There was finally a "The End" to it. He just wondered if it may have cost more than it was worth.

Oshitari made the mistake of glancing at the calendar hanging up above his desk. A post-it note was stuck over the following Friday - it was the day Yagyuu was supposed to return to Japan for a week's visit.

Almost done! Five more... given the position we're in right now, I feel that the next theme ("if only I could make you mine") is going to be quite interesting. o.0