Confessing (cont'd)

That's why I told him those words. He was back from America for the summer and he had just finished with training at the U-17 training camp with boys much older than he. Obaa-chan had invited him to our house to celebrate his success and growth. I waited until all the adults, the tennis team regulars, and the freshman trio had left the room. Ryoma was too busy snacking on onigiri and Ponta to try his hand at pool in the gameroom like the rest of them. I sat across from him at the table. He didn't look up from his meal.

"Ryoma-kun…" I called to him.

"Hn?" he grunted in return as he swallowed a mouthful and finally looked at me.

"Please accept my feelings." I said with conviction and humility.

He blinked once with a blank expression. "What feelings?"

"All my feelings, every single one. Please accept them," I said with a surety that often escaped me in his prescence.

Ryoma isn't stupid. He didn't need to be told what my feelings were when everyone knew who held my heart in his tennis-gifted hands. He gave me a denigrating lift of his brow and an amused smirk.

"Aren't you missing the first half of that confession?" he asked.

"A-ano…I-I was just…"

I didn't say anymore than that, because it was too complicated to explain why I only told him my favorite part of the confession and if he wanted an "I love you," I refused to give it to him simply because he asked. I have my pride, too. To answer him, I merely gave a shrug and a smile.

"Mada mada dane," he said with his own smile.

He went back to eating then and I rested my head on my crossed arms and watched him eat until the senpai-tachi came to drag him away. He protested, but like always ended up following his senpai-tachi. I could tell he secretly enjoyed all the attention. They left the room and I picked up his plate. He had eaten all the onigiri, as was expected. No one would miss me at the pool game. I was surprised when someone did come to get me.

"Ryuuzaki," Ryoma called from the doorway.

I looked up from the dishes with a questioning look, anticipating a request for food and beverages.

"Come on," he said with a smug, knowing look. "It's your turn."

"H-How do you k-know I even want to play?" I asked, revealing a little bit of my stubborn side in my surprise.

"Mada mada dane," he said as he grabbed my wrists and pulled me along. "Do you want me to accept your feelings or not?"

I'll never forget that moment. It was the moment I began to believe Ryoma understood everything I was saying with those few, simple words.

Author Note:

Naturally, she won the game. If she has a pool table, I have no doubt she practices and the others are probably all noobs anyway. Thanks for reading and I hope the second chapter wasn't a disappointment. If so, you're the one who pressed the button to go on to the next chapter. ;) Tell me what you think. Or not. Whatever floats your boat.