A Prince of Tennis fanfic.
SanaYuki pairing a.k.a. alpha pair

Story: Milky Tea (sequel to Sugary Coffee) - Chapter.3

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

Author's note: Last thing I'm going to post for 2008. Thank you for everyone's support this year.

Please review!

3. Heated Mocha

University was as dreary as the previous day; although probably worse because the professor gave them a paper to write as a punishment for their lack of concentration. Normally, Sanada would mutter "Tarundoru" under his breath, but this time, he really could not blame his classmates for throwing that paper aeroplane. It was simply too tempting to aim at that shiny bald spot that moved around as the professor paced. It was a living target. Pure entertainment.

It was 6p.m. by the time Sanada left the university campus. The train was overcrowded, filled with the piercing wails of a toddler. After approximately half an hour of deafening screams, Sanada was glad to have finally arrived at his stop. He wondered if he was ever like that child, unruly and noisy. Perhaps, he thought, but I hope not.

Remembering that the Time magazine would be stocked today, he detoured to 7-Eleven before going home. He walked straight to the business section as usual, without a moment of hesitation, and picked up the magazine. But today, on a sudden whim, he wandered over to the teen/gossip section (he actually had no idea what the section with all those time-wasting magazines was called).

Maybe he could find something on that new movie Yukimura was in.

The number of glossy magazines was certainly overwhelming. Much to his irritation, Sanada found himself staring at the covers, trying to distinguish different actors or singers; they all looked the same to him with their effeminate, angular faces, dyed brown hair (that seemed to be the latest trend) and charming smiles. Trying to find Yukimura – who definitely had an effeminate, angular face with a charming smile – was like trying to find a speck of gold in an endless, stretching desert. At least Yukimura has black hair, Sanada thought.

Well... at least until the last time I saw him.

It was not as hard as he thought it would be, and quickly, he caught sight of a cover featuring Yukimura. The article, however, only mentioned the movie briefly, instead concentrating on his musical career. Sanada searched for others that might be more helpful, but three more and still none gave him enough information. "Excuse me," a shop assistant suddenly appeared, "do you need help?"

"Um... I'm looking for a magazine with information on Yukimura-san's latest movie," Sanada said. "For my sister," he quickly added, praying that his face was not the colour of a tomato. The shop assistant nodded and walked to the end of the shelf, obviously ignorant of Sanada's embarrassment. She found a magazine quickly and handed it to Sanada. He thanked her, relieved that his lie was not noticed even though a child could probably realise by the tone of his voice that he did not have a sister.

But then again, who could have thought a man like him would bother with these things.

The apartment was awfully quiet, so quiet that there was a high pitched buzz echoing throughout the rooms. Yukimura was evidently not home. Again.

Sanada threw his bag onto the couch and began flipping through the teen magazine. The page was easily found – there was an A2 sized poster of Yukimura attached – and Sanada began to read the article as he entered the bedroom, pulling off his shirt and unfastening his belt.

"Welcome home," a muffled, lazy voice cut through the silence suddenly, "Genichirou."

Sanada spun around, and there, lying on the bed face down, was Yukimura. "Seiichi..." Sanada stammered, his heart flooded with a mix of emotions: surprise, joy, and most of all, relief. He was relived that Yukimura was finally home (but also that his hair was still black). In Sanada's eyes, Yukimura was most beautiful without any kind of artificiality. He did not need make-up, dyed hair or even a charming smile. Yukimura Seiichi was already perfect enough as he was. The superficiality of the entertainment industry simply covered his natural radiance with a dull, indifferent mask that was forcing him to be the same as everyone else.

Suddenly, he remembered the magazine in his hands and thrust it under the bed, not wishing for Yukimura to realise his concern.

"How was university?" Yukimura flipped over and sat up, gazing at Sanada with half-closed eyes.

"Boring," Sanada answered, his lips curling into an unsuppressed smile.

"Hmm." Yukimura nodded and stood up, yawning as he rubbed his eyes.

Sanada walked behind Yukimura, circling his arms around his lover's waist. "I missed you," Sanada moaned, nuzzling Yukimura's tender neck. He tightened his arms, moving his lips to Yukimura's ear slowly. "I missed you so much," he whispered and nibbled Yukimura's earlobe gently, breathing in the familiar fragrance of rose shampoo.

It was... beyond words to have Yukimura back in his arms.

Then unexpectedly, Yukimura pried Sanada's hands from his waist and slipped out of his embrace. He regarded Sanada with blank, glassy eyes and said in a flat voice, "Sorry. I have to go."

"Where?"

"I have an interview with a TV program. I only came home so I could get a change of clothes," Yukimura said, his voice a quiet, monotonous murmur.

"For your movie?"

"It's a drama. Ba-ka." Yukimura walked out of the bedroom and Sanada winced. Somehow, the typically warming "ba-ka" sounded frighteningly cruel.

Sanada watched silently as Yukimura laced up his silver converses. "Good night," Yukimura said, slipping his wallet into the back pocket of his red skinny jeans. Sanada mumbled a reply, feeling extremely down.

"Is it live?" Sanada asked, his voice with obvious disdain despite his efforts to sound indifferent.

"The interview?" Yukimura opened the door, and turned around to face Sanada. "Yea, it's at 8 on Nippon TV." He smiled wearily, leaning forward to give Sanada a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye," Sanada said as the door slammed shut. He sighed heavily, depressed and slightly curious. What happened to the usual kiss on the lips? Perhaps Yukimura was getting bored of their relationship and in need of something – someone – fresh that would bring excitement into his life. Sanada knew he was too dull and too stubborn at times, and perhaps, Yukimura's patience with him had finally reached its limit.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and evaluated the situation for a moment. Was he just overreacting, interpreting signs of Yukimura's fatigue as signs of distancing?

After fifteen minutes of standing completely still, surrounded nothing but the buzzing noise of silence, he determined that he was definitely reacting more strongly than necessary. With that troubling issue out of his mind, he made dinner – rice with can tuna – and switched on the television. He sprawled across the couch, his head resting on the armrest as he ate his dinner slowly. It was not particularly appetising, but since Yukimura was not there to please, he did not see much point in making a proper dinner.

The program just before the 8 o'clock interview was a shabby – in his opinion, of course – drama. According to a girl in his business studies class, who had been speaking unnecessarily loud in the cafeteria line, this drama had an overall rating of 23.6% so far. Pretty high for a trashy show with no plot, Sanada thought.

He had just finished his dinner when the interview began. Sanada, without the motivation to write his paper, stayed on the couch, his eyes fixed to the television set. Yukimura appeared with two co-stars, one male and the other female. They all wore perfectly charming smiles, professional to say the least. Most of the questions were directed at Yukimura and he answered all of them with impeccable patience, giving the interviewer smiles at appropriate times.

Yukimura seemed at ease with his co-stars. He and his male co-star discussed the theme song – which the two of them recorded especially for this drama – enthusiastically and even demonstrated some of the dance moves to the song for the interviewer. Sanada could see that Yukimura got along well with the boy (he had just turned 18) and even accepted him as a friend. It was strange, because Yukimura usually disliked his co-stars and would refrain from unnecessary conversations. However, it was even stranger that he seemed close to the girl as well; normally, Yukimura would flinch at any unwanted contact, but he only laughed when the girl pinched his cheek. When asked about his opinion on his co-stars, Yukimura even said "I like her a lot. She's a really nice person."

Sanada had been watching the program dispassionately, but hearing that made his stomach churn. Yukimura even called her "Moya-chan", which made Sanada feel queasy; Yukimura never addressed anyone with the honorific "chan" before, not even for Sanada. If he did not know better, Sanada would have thought Yukimura was simply calling her the name everyone else called her. But he knew better. No matter what nicknames his co-stars used, Yukimura always addressed them by their last name plus the honorific "san". Never before had he used such an intimate name for people he met from work.

Perhaps... they were more than co-stars.

Sanada stared at the girl for the rest of the interview. She was beautiful, exquisite but not extravagant. Her long hair was a natural dark brown, matching the large chocolate orbs beneath her long, curly eyelashes. She spoke eloquently in a high but ringing voice. Observing her appearance and persona, there was no doubt why she was a rising star. Her charisma was great as well, almost on par with Yukimura's; she had a certain element that made people want to call her "Moya-chan" instead of her proper name.

"Moya-chan" was like the most popular girl in a high school, the girl who was every teachers' favourite, and the girl who all the boys wanted to go out with. Except for Yukimura, Sanada hoped.

When the interview ended, Sanada remembered the magazine under the bed and retrieved it. He flipped to the article again and began reading it. The plot was disappointingly typical, and even before he finished reading the plot overview, he had already guessed. The summary ended with a cliché rhetorical question: Will their love be whole again?

Of course, he thought, people who watch this type of stuff generally love happy endings. Don't they?

Sanada sighed and skipped to the character introductions. Yukimura played a rich boy who was smart, sporty and popular, his only flaw being his belief that money could buy anything. How cliché, Sanada thought sourly, why do people like this type of stuff? He yawned and decided not to read the article. These formulated plotlines were a waste of time to study anyway; he was 100% certain that Yukimura's character would end up in a romantic relationship with Moya-chan's character.

He was, however, interested to know the real name of "Moya-chan". He did not know why he wanted to know such a trivial and unrelated matter, but somehow, he had a presentiment; her name was probably going to be important in the future. He scanned through the 4-page article, his foggy premonition unsettling him. After a while, he finally found her name. Sanada stared at it, the image of her sitting beside Yukimura jolted abruptly and violently from his memory.

Seiichi and... Koesaki Tsukimoya.

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Koesaki Tsukimoya - I didn't use that name because I like it. In fact, I don't like it.