courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

16

My usual alarm went off, and I groaned.

Come on, Na-bi, it's Friday—just one more day, and you can sleep in like a normal person tomorrow.

I sat up and felt something different from other mornings.

I looked down and realized I was still wearing the clothes from last night.

So it wasn't a dream. Yuki really did carry me to bed.

How sweet. Ayumu would have just left me to sleep on the couch...

I got up to wash and get ready for the morning workout.

During breakfast, Ayumu informed us that we wouldn't be going up to the mountain today because of the high winds, which had forced the ski lifts to close.

Instead, we would be training in the gymnastics team's facility. So, we changed into our workout clothes. I slipped into leggings and a T-shirt.

As we walked through the building to reach the gymnastics hall, we passed a long corridor with windows overlooking the volleyball teams' practice areas.

I couldn't resist peeking into the men's gym to catch a glimpse of Yuki.

I saw him warming up, his face serious and focused.

He looks so handsome when he's all serious and concentrated.

Yamamoto noticed me through the glass and called Yuki over, pointing out that I was outside.

Yuki turned towards me, and a smile spread across his face.

He got up and started walking toward me.

So, I entered the gym and greeted the guys, who were pretending to warm up while watching their captain approach me.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Good morning, yes. I wanted to thank you for taking me back to my room last night and not leaving me to sleep on the couch like Ayumu would've done... He says I'm too heavy for him," I said, rolling my eyes.

Yuki laughed, "I would never leave you to sleep alone on the couch, and no, you're not heavy at all. Aren't you going up the mountain today?"

I shook my head. "It's too windy today. So, we'll be training in the room next to yours with Sho's team, using the trampoline."

Yuki nodded. "I see, then lat—"

"Na-bi, come on, your coach is looking for you," Sho called out.

I turned towards him, "I'm coming!"

"What were you saying?" I asked Yuki.

"Nothing, really. I guess I'll see you later then," Yuki smiled as he backed away to rejoin his team.

I smiled back, "See you later."

I walked into the gymnastics hall with Sho.

"So, are you and Ishikawa a thing now?" he asked as we walked.

"No, I mean... we haven't really talked about it," I began my warm-up routine.

"But you spend a lot of time together, and you don't exactly look at each other like just friends..." He looked at me with uncertainty.

A small smile crept onto my face. "I think it's too early to say something about this ahm 'relationship'. We're still getting to know each other, but I admit he's not a simple friend to me. And honestly, I don't think we have much time to just hang out like normal people do."

Sho frowned. "Why not? You both have days off, don't y—"

"I don't have time right now. I need to nail this damn trick first, and you know it. As for him, I'm just going with the flow, doing what feels right in the moment without overthinking whether we're together or not."