synergetic | Sugar & Spice

Flayn lingered over the menu, pleased with all the fruit confections in the offering, though she'd thought about the savory ones, too... but this was a celebratory sort of thing, and it did seem to need sweets.

She finally settled on the chocolate and banana, and was tasting it even as Aya asked.

"Not before now, but I do see what you mean! How clever to have it all in hand like this!"

"Yeah, they're meant to be something you can have while walking. Although I think we've gotten enough exercise for today," Aya giggled.

"What did you think of playing doubles with Yukimura-kun? It's your first time partnering with someone besides Bunta, right?"

Flayn takes a good and chewy bite while she figures out how she wants to answer that.

"I liked it a lot," she said, which was the most important part. "But I don't think he really felt like himself."

She flipped it back. "How about you? Have you ever partnered with Sanada-san before?"

That's because he lost, Aya thinks with wry humor.

"Mmh, I haven't. It was a toss-up who would come out ahead. That's what made it a good match. Yukimura-kun picked a smart combination, and you two had some tricky strategies to deal with! It really threw us off having the uneven court coverage between you in the beginning."

"That is fair, since it threw me off, too," she said honestly. She was glad he'd changed his mind.

The warm, thin crepe almost melts away in her mouth, just leaving her to focus on the filling.

"Obviously, Yukimura-san knows best, but his flexibility is what makes him so dynamic on the court, I think? He can do just about anything, it seems."

For a moment, Aya looks surprised. Flayn wasn't in on it? That's a little chilling, maybe especially in the context of...

"Yeah, he's considered one of the very best in all the country for our age group. He's really talented. Of course, the same goes for Sanada-kun," Aya voiced with delight before enjoying another bite of her crepe.

"So," and she leans in excitedly, reducing her voice to near a whisper. "How long has he been flirting with you? Can I ask?"

"Sanada-san, never," she said quickly, but then pauses. She's clear it's never for Sanada.

She isn't so sure about Yukimura suddenly, however.

"Is-- I mean," she stuttered. "You know him better than I do?" she finished lamely.

Aya visibly takes back a little at the misunderstanding at play. No, she's correct, never Sanada, his affections were already pointed elsewhere. She allows her heart just the slightest moment's ache over the fact. Won't do to dwell, though, this isn't about Sanada and his adorable thick head.

She grins sheepishly, already moving past the surprise to laughter. It was a pretty funny mix-up! "Yukimura-kun? Not really. I've known him longer is all. But you two seem to be much closer than that."

Her crepe is too diminished to hide her face, and it warms a little at that thought.

"I-I do not think it all that remarkable," she said, trying to convince herself as much as Aya. "Marui-san treats me much the same way! They cannot both be flirting, can they? When I am so new..."

Flayn's response elicits another giggle from Aya. "Oh I think they are. Did you not see the way Bunta was looking at you during the match? And why shouldn't he, you were super cute in that ponytail!" Aya pauses to take another nibble.

"Bunta is warm and friendly with everyone, though, and a bit of a flirt. That's just his personality. Yukimura-kun is different. He's usually very... Aloof? He doesn't interact with girls so intimately."

Aya suspects he also wouldn't normally indulge a request for a doubles match with a new player. Flayn probably had the quiet envy of the entire men's team, never mind the women's.

Well, that is worth a think. Unconsciously, Flayn sets her crepe down.

"I did not think much about it, because he didn't make a big deal out of it... and it was Yukimura-san who put my hair back that way..."

She smiles a little at the memory. But now that she is thinking about it... she blushes again, remembering the lunch hour among the flowers... and him...

"I... suppose Yukimura-san did say I was cute once..."

Aya's brows lift so quickly they might have flown right off her face. Yukimura called her cute to her face? Wow! How much would Yanagi pay for that morsel of data? Not that Aya was going to tell, but the fact remained!

"Flayn-chan! And you say he hasn't been flirting, that's too coy! So, what do you think of him? Do you want to date him?"

Flayn squirmed just a little. Thinking back, well...

"I do feel... light-hearted with him..." she offered. "He was cheering me up after some people acted odd about us in class, by inviting me to have lunch with him in the little alcove garden, and he asked if I was embarrassed and then said it was cute..."

But that doesn't answer Aya's actual question, she just wanted her to understand it-- because Flayn herself did not and she was sort of hoping Aya would.

"He's sweet, and I suppose a date or two would be fun," she finally said, feeling like both her cheeks had been set on fire.

'Sweet' is not a word Aya would have chosen to describe Yukimura. Proud. Dignified. Cunning. Confident. Coldly analytical. Private. Charismatic.

She'd have to ask Bunta or Yanagi to know for sure; they both knew him far better than she does. Almost sad that isn't an option. It certainly sounds uncharacteristic of Yukimura from what Aya knows of him. Uncharacteristic in a way that favors Flayn's confession to liking the idea of a date.

She beams back at her. "I hope you get it. I have no reason to think you won't. I don't know him like some of the other boys, but if you ask me I think he's crazy about you."

That word, crazy, brings out a lot of surprise and she tries to bury it in more of her fruit and sugar confection. But it doesn't work.

"Th-that is quite a lot of certainty," she managed. But she's reddening up.

"Why, exactly, are you applying a word like crazy instead of something... well... less crazy?"

"Hm?" Aya asks with a tip of her head, having not meant anything in particular with the phrase. "It's just a figure of speech."

"That is a relief," Flayn admits. "I do not think Yukimura-san and Marui-san treat me very differently, so I was thinking, perhaps... but I am probably thinking too much."

She took another bite of her ever-diminishing crepe.

"What about Aya-san, though? Surely you have someone to tell me about!"

"Oh I don't know about that," Aya said with a look of mirth as Flayn nibbled on her crepe. "It wouldn't surprise me at all."

After another bite of her own, Aya's smile grew. "Mmh, I really don't know about me. The one that I like is the only one I'm paying attention to, and his heart is pointed another direction! I think I'll be a free woman for now."

The joke is genuine. She can't be too sad when she gets to be around him and mess with him and he's so much happier than he was in junior high.

For a moment she doesn't really understand. Aya's words were sad, but her tone and manner conveyed none of that. Flayn ends up smiling mostly because Aya is, too. "You do not think any assertion of your feelings would help?" she asks, confident that Aya will just keep on the way she is. It ought to feel sad, and she isn't sure why it doesn't.

Then she backs up a little.

"Are you saying both of them liking me would not surprise you?" she wanted to clarify.

Aya shook her head to Flayn's question. The situation didn't need help. There were occasional nights, of course, that Aya's heart ached so much over Sanada she almost couldn't stand it. If asked, she wouldn't lie: it was hard sometimes.

It wasn't a negativity she felt comfortable in. Thankfully, she was blessed with a doting brother that always seemed to pay special attention to her moods and swoop in with a small gift or invitation to redirect her attention. He was a good reminder of how nice it felt to stay focused on the things she did have, and not dwell too much on the things she didn't.

"Bingo~" She confirmed with a wink. "Not that you need to worry about that turkey of a doubles partner you have making things weird or anything."

"I have never worried about Marui-san, he is always so attentive and sweet," Flayn said. She wanted to ask Aya more about the boy she was thinking about, but wasn't sure it would be welcome; she would look for opportunities, however, if Aya seemed to want to open up more about it.

"Plus, I think he is very special to Yukimura-san... he made up that game just for us when Marui-san first brought me to practice, you recall!"

Aya hoped Flayn was right. Yukimura was certainly very special to Bunta.

"That was quite the lesson for Bunta wasn't it? You see why no one gets away with crossing him!"

"I think that Yukimura-san meant well in the teaching of it," she said. "He was so entertained in the end. You could tell how fond they were of each other! I certainly felt like Yukimura-san was missing Marui at practice."

Something about the way Flayn answers makes Aya's insides hurt for Sanada. Was it true? No, it couldn't be that; Yukimura definitely had eyes for Flayn (did that really mean he couldn't have eyes for someone else, too?).

"Yeah? How do you feel about that?"

The question surprises Flayn, mostly because she never considered it before. It takes her a minute to realize it's in the context of maybe wanting a date with Yukimura, and...

"I'm not sure I know," she admitted, after a longer think than usual. "I... hmm..."

She glanced at the door, knowing nobody was going to overhear them, but...

"I did not know either well at that point, but I cannot say I like Marui-san more than Yukimura-san, or vice-versa..."

She's really not quite ready to be getting in a relationship, is she? Thankfully, there was absolutely nothing that said you have to be ready before you indulged in squealing about the cuties.

"They're both appealing in their own ways, huh? Yukimura-kun has that cool mysteriousness and boss energy, Bunta's fun and easygoing, he just knows how to put people at ease."

Both of those were very true; Flayn nods enthusiastically.

"Everyone turns their head when either of them walk by, it seems like, though Yukimura-san seems to get slightly more attention. I think people pay more attention to anybody he pays attention to, as well... have you noticed that with Marui-san?"

That was probably true. Yukimura was slightly more renowned thanks to his reputation. Aya has to wonder though, exactly what does Flayn mean about the extra attention people Yukimura pays attention to receive? Is she talking about the coattails effect with the rest of the tennis team? Or possibly...

Aya thinks back to when Bunta and Usagi were dating. A distinct memory of a locker note, crying in the bathroom, missing practice that day and her huddle of closest friends leaving early to look for her. Nami getting ticked off because they were all skipping over something so...

"I'm sure it's not just a thing with Yukimura-kun. Although... maybe his intensity is something his admirers have in common with him. Flayn-chan, not to weigh down the conversation, but is there anything about that you wanna talk about? Have you gotten some unwanted attention along with Yukimura-kun's interest?"

Is that what it was? She supposed so.

"I... there was a time in art class," she said, slowly, trying to figure out how to describe it. "Kudou-sensei put us together and everyone seemed to be..."

She paused, unsure how to describe the atmosphere that day.

"Anyway, Yukimura-san made sure we had a private lunch the next day, to sort of make up for it... I think? We tried not to draw too much attention for the rest of the class period, but someone I don't know well said something to me afterward."

Sounds like something happened, at any rate. Flayn was being very polite about it, and Aya had to resist the more childish side of her that wanted to poke for more details and threaten Flayn's tormentors with curses of mismatched socks and a lifetime of bad hair days. She frowns behind the last bit of her crepe.

"That's kinda rotten. Have there been other times you've felt a social retaliation for having his attention?"

"No, quite luckily," she said. "It was uncomfortable very briefly, but... I think Yukimura-sam wanted to protect me from that, and he very ably did."

Her voice fluttered, and so did her heart, as she couldn't help smiling.

"I want to believe they were not trying to be rotten, but..."

Aya would love to believe that herself, but she's a bit too seasoned in the school system and in adolescence through it to indulge. It sounds like Flayn recognizes the same. It's a little terrifying when being liked was so socially paramount to get any twigging that you weren't.

Of course, that didn't have to mean letting a couple of bad eggs take up free rent in your head, either. Jealous poo-heads were gonna be jealous poo-heads.

"Well, at any rate, it sounds like Yukimura-kun took care of it. I'm glad. But let me know if you get even a hint of more of that, okay?"

"Oh, without a doubt," she said quickly. "I have not spoken to them since, so I think that's as good a place to leave it as any. But shall we perhaps get more crepes...? Yours looks so delicious...!"

Sugar & Spice

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