disclaimer: I'm not owning PoT xD Otherwise it would be less good I think xDD
AN: Thanks for reading so far (and for reviewing of course,nya!!) Here's the second to last chapter! Hope you'll enjoy it, it's a bit strange...-cough-
The next chap will take some time, as I'm not at home for a few days, I'll update next week then!
SECRETS I
„I'm sorry!"
Raising their earlier dropped gazes again, he two members of the Golden Pair looked at each other in surprise. With their apologize, both of them had broken the awkward silence, which had engulfed him after stepping into the shop, at the same moment.
The whole conversation definitely took it's time. Willing to become reconciled with his friend very soon, Eiji found himself entrusting and explaining the things, which tended to bother him and which had confused him during their practice match, to Oishi- well, not without cutting out certain details.
He actually hadn't planned to let Oishi into that secret – his "emotional problems"- but after accident telling out loud what he just was thinking that moment, the redhead found himself in urgent need to do that- there was no other choice to avoid some more problems sourcing in misunderstood words.
It was surprisingly relieving, though. He should have known.
Somehow, in spite of Eiji's logical explanation, his doubles partner made a rather surprised impression. From all things he guessed Eiji's distraction could have been caused by, Oishi hadn't expected the redhead to be in love with someone; someone, whose name his friend didn't reveal.
But, understanding as he was, the dark-haired boy knew that this wasn't the situation to dig for details, but to help his friend. Honestly, Oishi felt honoured that Eiji had approached him with these things- secrets, as private as this one, usually were Fuji's business; a fact, which sometimes caused a tinge of silent jealousy appearing in Oishi's subconscious.
"So you didn't do anything about it yet?," the vide-captain of Seigaku's tennis club asked with concerned disbelief, while shoving another mug, filled with hot chocolate, in Eiji's direction, who looked down for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about it.
"No. In fact I just recognized that I actually…Nya, you know. Didn't occur to me before," came the almost shy reply. Oishi was just about to ask for the reasons, not used to that state of his friend, when Eiji continued further- effectively foreseeing the upcoming question.
"Well, I don't considerthose feelings to be responded, nya. That person and me get along pretty well with each other, you know, but I wouldn't really expect him to have these kind of feelings for me…" His voice came to a standstill, sounding sad.
'He?' Oishi thought to himself, wondering. Before, Eiji had tried to define the subject he dedicated his love to as imprecise as possible – as if there had been something to hide. Well, there had been something then. That explained a lot.
"Eiji…," Oishi started hesitantly, locking his eyes with the dark-blue ones in front of him. "I know that this probably might be a really tough situation for you, but it can't stay like this. You'll never know whether your feelings are responded or not, if you are not even going to find the courage to show them. Sure, you mentioned that you don't want to destroy the "deep friendship" the two of you…" And in that moment, he finally understood. He understood, about whom Eiji had talked all the time. Oishi didn't recognize the death of his words, not even by the expecting glance the redhead was giving him, while sipping his drink; he just found himself able to stare with eyes, widened in surprise, only interrupted by slow blinking.
Pulling himself together as well as possible and ignoring the stream of thoughts winding around his conscious, Oishi smiled at Eiji, before saying some words the other one always would remember as really relieving and reassuring.
"I don't think that there is anything to fear, Eiji."
SECRETS II
"Nya Oishi! You're just sounding like you knew, who is meant by my words…," Eiji wondered, tilting his head slightly and emphasized his question silently by giving some puzzled glance.
Oishi bended forward and decreased the volume of his voice, giving it some discreet touch, before whispering his assumption. "It's Fuji, isn't it?"
Immediately leaning back against the arm of his chair again, the dark-haired boy watched his friend's reaction with some curiosity; Eiji's face flushed immediately, almost taking the shade of it's owner's hair, and the redhead's eyes widened even more.
"Y-You… figured.. it out?," the latter one stammered softly, his voice tinged with both- surprise and shock.
"…" The first moments after hearing the other's posed question, Oishi remained silent. Then, he started speaking. "Eiji. This wasn't very difficult to find out. You just gave me some useful hints, you know? First, you mentioned that your "special person" is a "he" and that there's a deep friendship linking the both of you…
The two of you are best friends since..well, for a very long time- who would fit better into that description then?"
Eiji looked down sheepishly. So Oishi found out- but his friend's reaction had been more positive than he had dared to expect.
Maybe that was just the reason, why the Golden Pair could function that well; Oishi always had been a very understanding person – ok, most of the time – and caring; Eiji knew he could rely on him, when it was necessary.
"Just tell him…" The advice of the dark-haired one pulled Eiji back to reality again. "Nya, you think I should do that? Don't you think he'd be…," the acrobat asked, still uncertain about the "ifs" and "hows".
"Seriously, Eiji. Just try. I'm pretty optimistic that your chances aren't that bad," Oishi interrupted his friend and smiled at the puzzled-looking face in front of him.
"Seriously?," Eiji asked back, seeming convinced by his partner's words. After all, Oishi was more objective- maybe he could be right then.
After all, the redhead really was happy that the previous conflict between the two of them was solved now; in the end both of them promised that they would try not to let happen those things again.
They really were Seigaku's Golden Pair.
