A/N: For my dear Yuuki. Happy V-day, m'dear~ I love you bunches!
When she thinks about it, she probably loves Yagyuu-kun.
It's different from the way Niou loves Yagyuu, or the way Marui (may or may not) loves Yagyuu, or even the way Kirihara loves (to mess with) Yagyuu. Fujiwara Yumi realizes that much. She doesn't really even know any of them from the tennis team, really, and in turn, they don't know much about her. If she were to admit it, she wonders how they—the others—would take it; how Yagyuu-kun would take it. There's no harm in trying, maybe.
She's nervous. "Um, Yagyuu-kun, I—"
It's as far as she gets, before chickening out. It's not worth it. It doesn't mean anything because it's not the same; it's not as strong as the way Niou loves Yagyuu, or as sincere as the way Marui seems to love Yagyuu, or as sweet as the way Kirihara pretends to love (to mess with) Yagyuu.
To be honest, Fujiwara doesn't even know how she loves Yagyuu-kun. She just loves little things in little ways, like the way Yagyuu focuses when he's training, beads of sweat clinging to his neck and forehead, or the way he sits calmly, with his towel hanging off his shoulders, the bench beneath him, or the way he runs his fingers almost frustratingly through his hair when something doesn't go exactly as he planned.
Or Yagyuu's natural ability to make Fujiwara stop, just stop. Their eyes will catch sometimes and an eternity passes, and a split second later Yagyuu is back to playing with his racquet strings and Fujiwara is back to just watching and not really watching.
"Yagyuu-kun, actually—"
Her second attempt is just as useless as the first. She figures she owes it to Yagyuu to tell him anyway, even though her love isn't strong or sincere or sweet or anything important. At times she wonders if it's even love if her reasons seem so trivial, but for lack of a better way to describe it, she continues to call it love anyway.
Fujiwara clenches her fists, determination burning in her eyes.
"Yagyuu-kun, I think I love you."
Yagyuu blinks once, twice, and smiles gently. "Thank you," he says, because she knows that Yagyuu doesn't reject people; only acknowledges them.
But Fujiwara Yumi understands now. She finally understands.
It's not so much the how she loves him in the end; just that she does.
Owari
2011.02.14