[rescued] seigakureunion Silver Pair Concert

[marikit]

 Posted on September 19, 2006 @ 2:00 pm
RP'ed with shy_hinata 
Characters: Shishido Ryo and Ohtori Choutarou
Rating: PG, for shirtless boys
Timeline: During Ohtori's first year at university
Summary: Shishido and Ohtori head out to see a concert.

( " So, who are we seeing tonight?" )

It was 3:00 pm on the dot. Shishido Ryo was waiting just right outside of Ohtori Choutaro's dormitory. He was like a man waiting for a date, for some odd reason he was very nervous. He was dressed to his best- at least the best he can afford. A new blue sweater, his grey jacket, ironed black pants and he even left the hat off today. His hair was newly washed and brushed to perfection.

A couple of girls were staring at him, giggling as he looked around for Ohtori. He should be there any minute. He clasped the little box he had in his pocket. Alright, all is well...

Ohtori tore out of the rehearsal room. He was going to be late; Shishido was going to be coming at 3, which left him only 2 minutes to haul himself and his violin back to his residence. It only took him about 7 minutes to sprint, earning him some very strange looks from his fellow students, but the thought of making his friend wait didn't sit well with Ohtori. Rounding the last corner, he spotted Shisihdo outside his building.

"Shishido-san!!" He called out as he kept running. "I'm sorry!!! Our professor kept us late!!" Finally reaching his friend's side, Ohtori was breathing a bit heavily. But nothing could erase the grin from his face. "You look good, Shishido-san. I like that sweater on you."

Shishido watched as the silver haired boy ran up to him violin in hand. His heart skipped a beat, but he tried to still look cool. "Sankyuu," he said at the unexpected compliment. "You look well yourself. "Hey, you might want to put that up in your dorm or something. We're really not in that big of a hurry right?"

The girls still were giggling staring at both of them.

"Yeah. I wanna put this away and grab a change of clothes."

Ohtori ran a hand through his hair. "Come on up. You can see my place. My roommate's probably not in right now, but I'm sure it'd be no problem for me to bring a visitor up." He reached his hand out and grabbed Shishido's shoulder to guide his friend inside the building. "I'm so excited about this concert, Shishido-san!"

"Who are we seeing again?" Shishido tried not to mind the electricity that ran up his arm. "Oi, those girls outside were annoying." He huffed as they went in the building and into a hall where there was an elevator.

"So, this is where you live huh?"

"It's an African drumming group called Banjo Manjo." Girls? What girls? Ohtori had to admit that he was too focused on meeting up with Shishido that he hadn't noticed anything else.

"Yup. Home for this year anyway. It's not much, but I can't complain." Ohtori stopped in front of a door and pulled out his keys. He opened the door and held it open. "Welcome to Chez Ohtori." The taller youth chuckled as he showed his friend his small, but cozy room. "Make yourself at home. Just let me get changed."

"Those bitches at the bus stop staring at you like they've never seen a man before," Shishido said. Yeah, he was annoyed. He hated anyone staring at Ohtori. He stepped into the room looking around the clean little place. He thought about his place, dingy dark and just a little bit messy. "Tch. So clean, it's a nice place," he was a bit envious. The place was really nice.

"Thanks, Shishido-san. Ryan, my roommate, and I both seem to be on the neat side, so I guess that's a good thing. Took me a while to get used to the bed though. If you sit on it, you'll notice it's a bit lumpy in certain spots."

Ohtori fished a green collared shirt out of his closet before starting to pull his t-shirt off. Strong shoulder flexed as he tugged the piece of clothing over his head before slipping the new article on. He'd changed in front of Shishido more times than he could remember, so it shouldn't have been a big deal, right? But why did it feel like something...different? Was it because this was his room, and not the lockers?

Shishido couldn't help but stare as Ohtori changed his shirt. Somehow, he could not take his eyes off the strong lad's mature and lean body. It was NOT like years ago at all. He was beautiful!

Long, slender fingers did up the buttons to the shirt. Ohtori left it untucked seeing as the concert wasn't intended to be formal. He adjusted his collar a bit, appraising the way he looked in his small mirror. "Is this okay, Shishido-san? We aren't going anywhere with a dress code for dinner, right?"

Shishido coughed, as if trying to make words come out. "Yeah, that looks great actually," he said trying to look away from his friend's perfect physique. "Nah, no dress codes. I like casual places." Translation: I am broke and we need something cheap. Oh god, why did he have to be that cute?

Ohtori beamed at Shishido's compliment, not exactly sure why it seemed to make his stomach do a little flip. "Th-Thanks, Shishido-san!". He grinned sheepishly at his friend. "Whoops...I mean, Ryo. It's going to take me some getting used to."

"Um..." Ohtori wasn't exactly sure how to ask this, especially since he asked his friend to choose the restaurant, but there was nothing he could do. "I don't know what you have in mind for dinner, Ryo, but is it okay if we go someplace..uh..inexpensive? I'm a little low on cash right now." Sticking to his budget had been difficult. Ohtori had to buy some new strings fo his violin just the other day. He supposed that with all the constant playing, it should have been expected. He just hadn't counted on it being so soon after arriving.

He grabbed the tickets and the map he'd gotten for the concert, shoving them in his back pocket. "Did you wanna head out now, or did you want to see more of the campus?"

He wanted to spend more time with Choutarou. So definitely, they should head out and find a good place to sit and talk.

"We can go to Bennigan's or something theyre cheap and good," he decided then glared jokingly at the silverhaired boy, "how many times do I have to tell you to call me Ryo?"

"You'll probably have to keep telling me until the end of time." The sound of Ohtori's bright laughter filled the room as he shoved his wallet and keys into his pants. "I'm trying, okay? For now, that's just going to have to be enough."

Ohtori ushered his friend out of his slightly cramped room, waving his hello to some floor mates as they passed by. As they exited the building, a light autumn breeze ruffled the violinist's silver hair, making him reach up to fix it.

"Next time, I'll get to see your place, right Ryo?"

"I have til the end of time, Choutarou," Shishido's voice was now almost barely a whisper under Ohtori's laughter. He smiled and shook his head at the boy, deep in his mind, a longing to just hold him right then and there appeared and in an instant, disappear. "Well, get used to it. I am sick and tired of being the sempai here. We've been friends for how long now?"

At the mention of his place, Shishido kinda crumbled. It was nowhere near as nice as this. He lived in a small studio, even smaller than a dorm, with a kitchen and a bath. They didn't even have elevators, but at least he was onlyon the 10th floor. His room was clean in comparison to the rest of the building and he lived near the shady part of town. It was all he can afford right now.

The breeze was enough to make Shishido's long hair flow in the wind. People stopped and stared as he passed but of course, the boy was oblivious to it. All he knew was that he was with Choutarou right now.

Shishido's quiet comment went unheard by Ohtori. "We've been friends for something like 4 years, 4 months, and 16 days, not that anyone's counting." Ohtori made it sound as though he had just pulled the figure out at random.

Ohtori had never mentioned it to his friend, but he was secretly quite happy when Shishido had decided to grow his hair out again. There was just something about it that always struck him, perhaps its graceful nature in sharp contrast to Shishido's rather dynamic one. Ohtori couldn't help smiling at the attention Shishido received. As they walked past the onlookers, Ohtori leaned over and spoke quietly to Shishido.

"And it seems to me that you haven't lost your touch with the ladies either."

Shishido blushed violently, not at the comment but at the fact that Ohtori had leaned over and his lips almost brushed the top of his ear. "I can't believe you count, Choutarou. And of course! the ladies love me, but they can't have me." He said with a huff of pride winking at his former doubles partner.

The one thing that Shishido was happy that Ohtori had gotten over the years was that he was now more outspoken than ever. It was hard for the young man to speak before, especially when they talked. It seemed that now, he had more confidence to speak his mind. Part of growing up, he guessed was getting over that awkward stage.

He looked over to Ohtori who was now concentrating on the road ahead of them. He grinned before he looked back to the street. "Ne~ Choutarou... would you say that I have changed?"

Absorbed in not getting them lost as they left the Juilliard campus, Ohtori was caught a little off guard by Shishido's question. He blinked twice, eyes wide as his brain processed the information.

"Ah? Changed?" Ohtori wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. So many things about his friend hadn't changed, but at the same time it wasn't possible for people to just stay the same forever. "Well, everyone changes, right Shi-- Ryo? But I'd say that you're still basically the same person on the inside." Ohtori had noticed that the brash and sometimes overly dramatic side of Shishido had toned down a bit since high school. But the part of Shishido that mattered the most to him, that indomitable spirit and willingness to fight for what was important to him, remained the same.

Ohtori wasn't sure what made him do it, but he slung his arm over his friend's shoulder as they waited for the street light to change. "Well, even if we both change, we'll always be friends, right?"

"Of course, who said we weren't?" Shishido's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Or maybe you were thinking that..." he teased knowing that this would produce a huge reaction from the younger man. He almost giggled at the thought of how this would affect the boy.

Ohtori's eyes went wide with shock." No no! I wasn't thinking that at all!! I'd hate it if we stopped being friends!" The two crossed the street in a hurry. "That last year at Hyoutei without you was hard enough. I don't think I'd want to go through life in New York like that too..."

Ohtori bit his lower lip, realizing that he probably said too much. His cheeks were starting to feel warm. Even after all this time, he wasn't able to keep himself from blushing. He looked away from his friend, feigning interest in some window display just so Shishido wouldn't see his red face.

Shishido stiffled a giggle at Ohtori's red cheeks. He looked cute when he blushed. "Oh, chill you touchy bastard, I was kidding!" Something about what Ohtori said made him smile genuinely. "I like NY a lot better now too, Choutarou. It feels a litte bit more like home now that you're here."

He put his arm around his friend's shoulder pulling him into a quick squeeze. "Don't worry kid, you're with me now."

A warm, fuzzy feeling seemed to wash over Ohtori, causing an unguarded smile to bloom across his face. He unconciously slipped an arm around Shishido's waist, pulling his former partner a little closer to him.

"I never worry when I'm with you, Shishido-san..."

He spoke the words in a hushed tone, with a seriousness that he hadn't intended. But before he had time to get embarrassed about it, they stopped in front of the restaurant.

Shishido realized how close they were standing and almost shuddered. "We're here." He said plainly as if to mask the feelings inside of him. His heart was going babump babump and he knew it was because of Ohtori. He was unfamiliar with these feelings and confused. Calm down, Shishido Ryo. It's Choutarou

"A-aaa....so we are..." It suddenly dawned on Ohtori just how snuggly they were standing and he swallowed before taking a small step away from Shishido, letting his arm fall to his side. What was going on? Why was he feeling nervous? He and Shishido had always been close, right?

Shoving these confusing thoughts and emotions aside, Ohtori decided to concentrate on having a good time. After all, he hadn't had a chance to really enjoy New York since arriving, and what better way to do so than with one's best friend? A polite waitress showed them to a table before handing them menus. Hiding behind one, Ohtori took a deep breath, scolding himself. Calm down, Ohtori Choutarou! What's wrong with you? This is Shishido-san! What on earth do you have to be nervous about?

"So...what's good here?"

"Almost everything. I have to warn you those patty melts are going to kill you, theyre too good." Shishido grinned as they sat down. He didn't really care about the food now. All he wanted was to sort out what the fuck he was feeling at that moment. He was like a little girl with a crush - wait. SHIT. Did he have a crush on Ohtori? He went almost wide-eyed with the realization that he MAY be actually attracted to the silver haired boy. Fuck. What should I do now?

He peered over his menu at Ohtori who was actually reading the menu. His heart did a little flip-flop as he saw the boy with new eyes. Hoshit. what did i get myself into?

"Sou ka? Maybe we can get some to share? I was thinking of getting the stew." Because of course he would try to find some form of comfort food to off-set the fact that he wasn't exactly feeling 100% comfortable right now. He looked over his menu at his friend. Why was it that the world suddenly felt right? And why was it that he wasn't feeling all that happy about the girls across from them trying to catch Shishido's eye? And why was it that he was now staring right at Shishido, unable to look away, and thinking about just how good his former doubles partner looked?

Ohtori felt one of his hands release his menu to reach up and grab the cross pendant that still hung around his neck. Was it possible that he had come to want more than friendship from Shishido? But there was no way that Shishido could think the same thing about him...right?

And that was when Ohtori realized that he was still staring at Shishido. "Ahh....so....maybe something to drink too?" He hurriedly pulled the menu up to break eye contact because he couldn't seem to look away. Oh boy...what do I do now?

Several girls were giggling as they passed Choutarou and his table. One girl had bumped Choutarou's seat and mumbled sorry and giggled winking at the boy. Shishido glared at the girl, sending her scrambling after her friends. Why the hell was he so pissy anyway?

"Sure, we can share the stew, I want somethin warm anyway." He said huffing at the girl. God these women! Choutarou is not an object stop staring at him.

Just then, he felt the burn of Choutarou's stare on him. He refused to look back, knowing that if he did he would just fall under a spell.

Ohtori was completely oblivious to the girls around them as he felt his cheeks heat up, thankful for the menu obscuring his face from Shishido. He shook his head to clear it, trying hard to collect himself. These thoughts he was having were best left to reflect on at home, and not out in public with the person in question.

"Ahh...alright. I'll let the waitress know we're ready to order then..." Ohtori cleared his throat a little nervously as he smiled and waved to the waitress.

"Umm...can we get an Irish stew and an order of patty melts to share? And, I'd like a ginger ale, please. Anything to drink, Ryo?"

"Just root beer, please," Shishido wanted to get rid of the waitress that was staring at Ohtori. "And, make it quick, I'm thirsty." He snapped.

Shishido didn't know what was making him feel this way, but right now he was all pissed off. Scowling, he gave the menu back to the confused waitress and then turned away. Oh, leave us already bitch!

Ohtori swallowed. Shishido was upset about something, and the young violinist racked his brains to try and figure out what it might have been. Oh no...Shishido must have caught him staring and gotten weirded out. Wanting desperately to crawl under the table, Ohtori cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking everywhere but at Shishido.

"Um...so, this concert we're seeing," Ohtori clung to his necklace like a lifeline to try and ease his nerves. "I don't really know what you'll think of it, but I've heard good things about the group. Plus I've never seen African drumming performed live before..." He was babbling, and he knew it, but he just didn't know what to do!

"Oh yeah?" Shishido turned to Choutarou deeply interested in whatever it is he was saying. He felt the need to engage him in conversation so that other women will not try to talk to him. Somehow, he felt that this is HIS precious time with Choutarou and no one else. " I like African drums , they are so pure to the heritage. I really also just like the beat. I havent seen one performed live but I have several CDs at home with it. I love them, there are times that they are peaceful. Sometimes, they're just happy."

Shishido was uncharacteristically babbling. He looked at the troubled eyes of the young man and then his brows furrowed. "Choutarou, is something wrong?"

Like so many times on the court, Shishido saved him here too. Ohtori let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding, and just let the sound of Shishido's voice wash over him. He loved the way it sounded, deep with just the right touch of roughness to the edges. And, oh god, he totally shouldn't be thinking things like that right now, especially not considering Shishido's reaction to him staring.

His friend's quesetion caught him off guard. "Huh?! Wha? Oh! No no! Nothing's wrong! I was just worried you might not like the concert. I wouldn't want you to feel that it was a waste of your evening." Whew. Good cover, Ohtori. The silver haired man mentally congratulated himself for coming up with some sort of cover.

Shishido's eyes narrowed into little slits, checking if the boy was telling the truth. A hint of deception, he thought. "No, really. what's wrong? Is anyone bothering you? Want me to break their arms?" Shishido asked looking around for someone who might have made his Choutarou uncomfortable. His Choutarou. That sounded nice. He felt a little flip flop inside of him, he almost willed himself not to blush.

"No no! No one's bothering me at all!" In fact, I'm probably the one doing the bothering... How was it that Shishido could always see right through him? But this was one secret Ohtori had to keep under wraps. He reached out and patted Shishido's arm in an effort to appease his friend. "Seriously, Ryo. I'm fine. It's probably just me getting used to everything."

And the truth was, he did feel fine. He was with his best friend, enjoying a nice meal. If someone told him that he would have to fly halfway around the world in order to do that again, he would have probably told them they were crazy. But good fortune had smiled on him, and the Silver Pair was re-united once again. A slow, genuine smile spread across Ohtori's lips. The truth was, if best friends was all they would be, that was more than enough for him.

"Good," Shishido smiled at him. " I don't want you to be bothered at all. I always want you happy." He grinned and then looked out as the waitress came with their food. Once she was done giving it to them, Shishido gave her a smile. "Alright, itadakimasu!"

Ohtori returned the smile with a careless grin of his own. Clapping his hands together softly, he echoed Shishido's words.

"Itadakimasu!"

The food looked and smelled way better than what they served at his dormitory, and Ohtori helped himself to it. While he really did miss his mother's beef stew, he had to admit that this one wasn't bad.

"Mmm...You should try this, Sh- Ryo...it's pretty good." Ohtori moved the bowl closer to his friend. It wasn't unusual to share food like that, right? After all, they drank out of each other's water bottles during tennis practice before. Wasn't this the same thing?

Sharing the same meal, in the same table, almost broke the poor Shishido's brain. His heart did somersaults, and his brain was rushing into this inner theater of them sharing a meal at home. Brushing these thoughts aside, he giggled at the cuteness of Ohtori. "Aren't you the cute one? Yes, of course its good. I told you!"

He leaned forward to wipe a some soup off Ohtori's face with his napkin. "You still eat like a child."

"Eh?" Ohtori was caught off-guard as Shishido dabbed the bit of wayward stew from the corner of his mouth. He could feel his face heating up. "Shishido-san!" Ohtori wasnt' sure what was worse, the indignity of being told he ate like a child, or the embarassment of having it wiped away by someone that he was so fond of. But at the same time, Ryo was probably the only person who could say something like that to him without him feeling uncomfortable. After the initial embarassment wore off, even Ohtori had to laugh at himself over it. And two could play that game.

A mock pout formed on Ohtori's lips, even as his eyes twinkled mischeiviously. "Well, fine then. If you're going to treat me like a child, I may as well act like one too." He pulled the bowl of stew towards him before creating a wall around it with his long arms. "I'm not sharing with you anymore." It was a real task to keep himself from cracking up right then and there.

"EHHHHH!?" Shishido pouted, of course it was fake he couldnt help at grinning at Ohtori. He softened his gaze and smiled. " Now, now Ohtori, onii-sama wants some stew. You should share or you won't get my special prize." He winked at the young man who was guarding the stew over. "It's something really good."

He winked mischievously at the boy. "Ora! see? I won't give it to you..."

Ohtori really had to try hard not to laugh at the situation. Here they were, two young men, play fighting like children over dinner. At the same time, he had to admit that it was amusing. Crossing his arms over his chest, Ohtori looked over at Shishido, a skeptical look on his face.

"Oh yeah? This prize better be darn good then..."

Arching one eyebrow, he used used one hand to push the bowl of stew closer to Shishido. "Is Shishido nii-sama going to tell me what the secret prize is then?"

"It's a super secret prize, It's something Choutarou-chan would like," He teased winking in the most mischievous manner. It was odd for Ryo to be acting this way. He was usually the cool one but today, he threw that all away in favor of this one. It was kinda fun, really. But, Shishido Ryo does not do cute, or does he?

"Alright, if Choutarou-chan shares, I will let him be my master for a day."

"EHHHHH?!" Ohtori's cry of surpise seemed to echo through the restaurant before he clapped his hands over his mouth, starting to turn red from all the faces staring at him. He lowered his voice and leaned a little closer to Shishido. "Now that's just being silly, Ryo. You know I was going to share with you anyway. You don't need to give me a prize for anything." With an easy-going smile, face still tinted a little pink, Ohtori put the bowl of stew down in front of Shishido. "Eat up while it's still hot."

"I'm a man of my word," Shishido said with a smile. "So, now I am your slave." He picked up his spoon and took a bite of the stew. It was delicious. "Oishiii!" He hasn't had a good meal like this in ages. He's been living off cheap ramen and microwavable crap for the past few months- the taste of home-made food made him almost cry.

He caught himself and coughed. "It's very good!"

Sighing with exasperation, Ohtori simply shook his head. "Ryo, you do not need to be my slave. And if you insisted on it, then I would simply order you to take a day off." He helped himself to a patty melt, leaving the stew for his friend. Judging from Shishido's reaction, it seemed as though it had been a while since he'd eaten real food. Ohtori couldn't help frowning at that thought.

"Ryo, you're taking care of yourself, aren't you?"

"Tch. What are you saying now, Choutarou. Of course I am. I just don't go out very often," he said plainly. It wasn't exactly a lie. He did not go out coz he didnt have money also the fact that he was mostly just so busy working all the time. That, and of course school and stuff. "How about you? Been eating well?" he returned the question. Dorm food wasn't exactly gourmet.

Something about the way Shishido replied it didn't convince Ohtori, but he knew better than to press the issue. Now that he had a way to reach his friend, he could check up on him more often.

"Me? I'm doing fine. Rez food isn't always the best tasting, but I can't complain. I get a hot meal every day. Plus my mom sent me here with a rice cooker just in case I need to fend for myself." Ohtori chuckled a little. "Kaa-san keeps asking if I want her to send me furikake in the mail or something, but I keep telling her that the 3 big packs she stowed in my luggage will be fine for now. If you ever want some, just let me know. I've got plenty to spare."

"Pfft! She's always overzealous about taking care of you. I remember when we had to go to Junior Zenbatsu and the training camps you'd always have the most luggage. Just because your mom put everything but the kitchen sink AND youre too nice to say no," he laughed remembering how ridiculously large the "Overnight" Bag of Choutarou was. He had everything in there. "Well at least its furikake and not underwear and stuff. that would be embarassing"

Ohtori laughed, but then smiled fondly. "Yeah...but that's just her way of telling me she cares...my parents aren't the type to say stuff like 'I love you' or 'I'm proud of you' out loud. It's in all the little things they do, so I don't mind. But speaking of Junior Senbatsu..."

The two friends spent the rest of the dinner reminiscing about old times, cracking jokes, and just enjoying each other's company. When their stomachs were comfortably full, and they were ready to go, the sky had darkened considerably. Hopefully, the rain would hold off until after the concert.

Shishido looked out and frowned. "Did you bring an umbrella, Choutarou?" he asked the weather seemed a little off. And New York in the rain isnt exactly where you want to be. He mentally added how much it is to get to his place by cab. Nope could not afford it.

"Do you think we'll make it to the concert?"

Ohtori frowned as he shook his head. "No, sorry Ryo. I was too..." busy paying attention to you to remember? "Uhh...rushed to remember when we left my dorm. Do you really think it's going to be bad?" Ohtori fished through his pockets to count his money. After the dinner and the concert tickets, he didn't have much left, not even for a subway ride.

"Well, hopefully the concert's not too far..."

But somehow he had this strange feeling that there was still a ways to go before reaching the concert hall. And that was assuming he didn't get them lost along the way. The two started walking, doing their best to follow the sketchy map one of Ohtori's classmates had given him. The violinist had just started to wonder if perhaps they had gotten mixed up when a loud crack of thunder interrupted all his thoughts, followed by the first fat raindrop landing on his nose.

Shishido knew that they would not make it. But, maybe if they ran, looking at the map it was about 6 blocks or 7 maybe if they ran. They don't know if they'll make it. THe sudden down pour caught them shocked, wet and wondering. "Shit. What do we do now? Do we try or... do we just go to my place and dry up?"

Looking and feeling a bit like a drowned rat thanks to the sudden downpour, Ohtori shook his head even as his hair started to plaster against his face.

"I think the concert's a write off at this point. Don't know about you, but I'm not going to try to sit through a 2 hour performance in soaking wet clothes." He took Shishido's arm and pulled the two of them under the meager shelter of a store awning.

"Is your place closer than mine?" Ohtori started to pick a little at his shirt, which was now clinging uncomfortably to his body. He could feel the water from his hair dripping along his neck and down his chest, and shivered a little as a gust of wind blew. The sooner they got out of this, the better.

"I'm only 3 blocks from here," Shishido said simply. He was annoyed that he took all this time to get ready, only to get wet and soaked in the rain. He also just cleaned his shoes. What the fuck? He grunted a little and glared at the skies. WHY NOW?!

"Let's go run, I don't want you catching a cold." He said as he led the way through the muddy streets.

"Alright." With a nod, Ohtori took off on a run and followed Shishido through the streets. He silently sighed, wondering just what he had done to anger the weather gods to deserve this. Not only was his shirt ruined now, but he had pretty much wasted his money on the concert tickets. Oh well. Guess there would be no going out for coffee that week.

The pair finally reached Shishido's apartment, allowing them to finally catch their breath in the foyer, dripping puddles there all the while.

"Hey, you know you can refund those tickets if we get rained out right?" Shishido knew at least that fact. It helped that half the people in the apartments were stage crews and roadies and bartenders from different clubs. It was not as impressinve as Ohtori's place. It had a dinky little foyer and stairs. No elevators here. Now, the climb.

"I'm on the 8th floor," he explained as he climbed. " Sorry there's no elevators. But Its good exercise."

"I don't know, but don't worry about it. I'll figure things out later."

It was true that the apartment wasn't much to look at, but it was a roof over their head, so Ohtori wasn't going to complain.

"Well, 8th floor is better than the penthouse, right?" Ohtori smiled and tried to look on the bright side. "And I'm not so out of shape that I can't handle some stairs." He clapped his friend gently on the shoulder. "Lead the way."

The stairs were rickety. At least it was carpeted and the rooms reeked of beer and booze and smells that Choutarou would not want to know what it is. He sighed as he was half embarassedly leading his friend up to his place. At least he knew his place was neat. "It's not much but it's home," he said as he opened the door to his apartment.

It was themed black and white. Since he could not paint the walls, he painted all his furniture black. There were black and white montages on the wall mostly their old tennis pictures blown up in black and white. There was one of Hyoutei and his favorite one was of them playing doubles and of Ohtori's scudserve.

"Welcome to my dungeon."

Ohtori had to admit that some of the smells coming from some of the floors were questionable at best. For what wasn't the first time that night, he started to worry a bit about his former partner's well being. But Ryo was a proud person who didn't want to be in debt to people, so he was probably doing his best to scrape by with school and all his other expenses. Ohtori made a mental note to check up on Ryo more often.

"It's nice. I like the decor." Ohtori grinned as he pointed to the photos that he noticed. He stopped in the entrance way, and looked at his friend. They were both soaked, and doing a good job of leaving puddles in Shishido's apartment. "Um...maybe you can give me the grand tour after we stop flooding out your place?"

But what could he do? It wasn't as though Ohtori had any extra clothes with him.

He was glad it was tile. The front of the apartment was tile and there was hardwood floor around. He smiled at his friend. "It's ok, I'll mop it as soon as were done. You can borrow some of my clothes. I think I still had one of your old shirts in here, that is, if you still fit in it." He said as he trailed off into his bedroom and into his closet. He picked up an old Hyoutei Gakuen shirt and smiled. He had stolen two of them from Ohtori's locker before he left. He snickered a little and then took a pair of elastic waisted basketball shorts, a towel and headed out of the room to where Choutarou was. "Here, bathroom's over that way." He pointed east to the small white room "If you need to freshen up, I'll change in my room. or somehting."

Oh. So that was where his missing shirt went. He hadn't expected Shishido to be one the to 'borrow' it, but for some reason that gesture warmed Ohtori's heart. Taking the shirt, towel, and shorts in hand, Ohtori thanked his host before heading to the bathroom.

Peeling his wet jeans off his legs was a challenge, and Ohtori nearly tripped himself. Sliding the dry clothing on was like heaven though, even if they felt about 1 or 2 sizes too small. Ohtori emerged from the bathroom feeling a little ridiculous. With quiet feet, he padded back towards Shishido's room.

"I think I must have grown a bit since I last wore this jersey..."

It was a little short, but it's not too bad. But Shishido, who was wearing white shirt, some shorts and his long hair now loosely hanging around his shoulders cant help but tease his former doubles partner with a snicker. "Well it's yours. And I think it looks cute," he winked. He pointed to the heater and there was a small hanging rack next to it. "You can dry your clothes there. It's a homemade contraption, but it works."

Cute. Shishido thought he looked cute. Oh shoot...Ohtori really, really hoped that his cheeks weren't going red. He draped the towel over his head to dry his hair and shield his face from Shishido's view. He head towards the heater with his wet clothes.

"Thanks, Shishido-san...I appreciate it."

He started to hang his clothes carefully and methodically on the rack, trying to make sure Shishido had room for his own clothes too.

"Don't worry about mine. theyre going to the hamper," he said casually as he sat down on couch/futon. "Want a drink?" He offered. He thought of pouring himself a glass of Vodka and Sprite and stopped himself. He sighed and had just sprite.

"So, what do we do now?"

Seeing Shishido pour the soda, Ohtori figured that would be fine. "I'll just have whatever you're having." He took the glass from his friend and sat himself down on the couch as well, shrugging a little.

"I dunno...I guess I'll just have to wait for the rain to die down before I head back. In the meantime, I guess you'll just have to put up with me for a while..."

Ohtori leaned back against the sofa. "This kinda reminds me of the time we got snowed in at Atobe's ski lodge."

Put up with him? It was a pleasure hanging out with Choutarou. He cocked his head a little and shook his head."That was a disaster, I mean it would have been ok if it was you and me only. BUT we had the shrimps with us. Gakuto and Jirou were just -" He made a face like he was going to kill them and wrung an imaginary neck.

He then poured sprite for his friend kicking the bottles of vodka hidden under his little coffee table as he did. He hoped Ohtori didnt see that. There were 6 and they were all empty and only one was halfway.

Ohtori's bright laughter filled the room as his mind travelled back to that time. "Well, even still. I have to say that pretty much all of my best high school memories were with you...oh, and the rest of the regulars too."

--clink--

Ohtori's sharp ears caught the sound of some glass clinking together and he looked around the room.

"Did you hear something just now? Something like....glass?"

CRAP. Shishido didnt flinch though. "I didn't hear anything," he fibbed. "Gakuto was just bitching the whole time I wanted to kick that shrimp into oblivion and of course, jirou was useless as usual." He was babbling but he just didnt want choutarou to notice anything.

Ohtori could have sworn he heard something, after all his ears were hardly ever wrong, but simply chalked it up to noisy neighbours. Shishido probably didn't notice because he'd gotten used to it after so long.

"You know Mukahi-senpai only did it because he knew he could get a reaction out of you." Ohtori smiled at his friend. "I wonder how they're all doing..."

Ohtori shivered again. Despite having dry clothes, he still felt chilly. He pulled his long legs up, wrapping his arms around them in an effort to conserve some body heat.

"Have you talked to any of them since graduation?"

"I've spoken to Hiyoshi once on the phone, saw Gakuto once as well... the rest, meh, who knows where the fuck they are," He sipped his sprite wishing it had the kick of vodka in it right now. He smirked then took his fleece throw from the seat next to him and threw it at Ohtori. "Youre still a cold fish."

"Yeah...I can't believe how quickly I let myself lose touch with everyone...I guess it sometimes is out of sight, out of mind..." Ohtori let that thought drift off. That certainly hadn't been the case with Shishido. Even when his former doubles partner was away, Ohtori couldn't think of a day he didn't wonder how the other was doing.

Grabbing the fleece, he unraveled it quickly before making a face at Shishido. "Well, ex~uuuuuse me." Laughing again, he draped the throw over both him and the other man. "But I bet you're not much better off, so we may as well share." Ohtori scooted a little closer to his friend in order for the throw to cover them both comfortably.

Shishido didn't complain. He didn't mind being next to Ohtori especially on a cold night like this. He thought a moment and then grinned. "I have some marshmallows and that fireplace there actually works. Do you want to make smores?" He then grinned wider. "I know what would warm you up. I still have a bit of hot fudge chocolate mix in the cupboard. Let's make those!"

Hot chocolate and s'mores in front of a fire...with Shishido no less. Nothing sounded closer to heaven to Ohtori at the moment, though at the moment he didn't want to analyze exactly why that was the case. He could feel his lips curling into a bright grin, and wondered if he had smiled so much since arriving in New York as he had today.

"That sounds perfect, Shish-- Ryo."

"Get off your ass and help me get the stuff," He whipped off the blanket and practically dragged Ohtori to the kitchen. It was small, but functional. "The marshmallows should be in the pantry, and the hot chocolate...." he trailed off, looking around his nearly empty cupboards. He finally found it sitting on the edge of one he grabbed it and slammed the cupboard door shut, just so Ohtori doesn't see the bottles of tequila and whiskey in it. It clinked a bit. FUCK. He looked at Choutarou who was examining the contents of his pantry.

It was only instant ramen, some basic canned goods, SPAM, instant yakisoba, some somen noodles and miso mix. Bare. But he was one person. He found the giant bag of marshmallows and some wooden chopsticks near the door. "There it is!"

More of Ohtori's laughter filled the apartment as he allowed himself to be yanked over to the kitchen. Ryo always was the more impatient of the two of them. Opening the door of the pantry, Ohtori set about looking for the marshmallows, navigating through all the foreign words and packaging.

-- clink --

Hmm...there was that funny sound again. He looked past the pantry door to see if Shishido had heard it too, but judging from the way his friend was now coming over to look in the pantry with him, Ohtori was starting to wonder if it was all just in his head.

"Oh! Yup...of course it was right in front of my face....I'm still not used to the food packaging here...So...want me to handle the hot chocolate?"

Ryo just wanted Choutarou out of the kitchen right now. If he started looking for cups he'd find more than just that. "I'll do the hot chocolate, you go start the fire. The lighter is right beside the firewood, its on the corner." He said as he pushed him out of the kitchen.

As he heard Choutarou go into the living room he sighed. "OI! you want whipped cream on yours?" He yelled. At least he could put Baileys and Kahlua in his and Ohtori will never know.

"Um...okay..." Was it just Ohtori, or did Shishido want him out of the kitchen in a hurry? Ohtori surmised that it was probably because his friend was embarrassed about the food that he had in the kitchen, or something like that. Considering how proud a person Shishido was, it probably wasn't too far off. With that, Ohtori head to the living room to get started on his task.

He managed to get a small fire going and was just blowing on it carefully to get it to grow when Shishido called out to him. Whipped cream? That did sound good.

"Yes please!" He yelled quickly towards the kitchen before getting back to work on the fire. It didn't escape him how...domestic this whole scene was, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, not wanting to ruin things without having thought carefully about it first.

Shishido nodded as he poured 2 shots of Kahlua and baileys into his own hot chocolate. Alright, whipped cream on both. The right is mine, left is Choutaros. He stopped and snickered at himself. God, he sounded like he had a wife or a girlfriend. It's Choutaro for crying out loud. But somehow, he can't bring himself to relax.

"Here you go," he smiled as he crossed the room gave the cup from his right hand to Choutaro. He sat next to his friend and pulled the blankets over them "Nice fire youre getting there, are we ready to toast some soon?"

Ohtori evaluated his handiwork critically. "Well, I guess it's pretty much ready...oh! Arigato..." He took the mug in his hands carefully. "You can do the honours with the s'mores though...I'm gonna warm my hands on this hot chocolate."

He inhaled the aroma of the warm beverage, sighing contentedly. Shishido always did make the best hot chocolate.

Shishido inserted marshmallows into the toasting fork and smiled. "Don't mind if I do," he grinned taking a sip of his coffee. Hmm, 2 shots not enough? He thought. For some odd reason, the kahlua and baileys are not kicking in, hmmm... once the marshmallows were toasty he blew themout and offered it and took a bite. "YUM!!" He offered it to Choutarou.

Taking the proferred marshmallow, Ohtori grinned at his friend.

"We haven't had roasted marshmallows since that trip to the ski lodge." Popping the sweet confection in his mouth, Ohtori let the burnt sweetness slowly melt away. "Mmm....just as good as I remember it."

He licked his fingers to get all the sticky leftover marshmallow off before sipping his hot chocolate. "Your hot chocolate's really good, Shishido. It has a nice kinda coffee aftertaste to it"

Shishido's eyes went wide a little as he stared into the fire. FUCK. he has the one with liquor in it. Shit. Ah well, whatever he needs to learn how to take his drinks.Let's just hope he's not a lightweight "Oh yeah? Thanks, I do make the best hot chocolate you know?" He turned and smiled at his friend. "Imma get something from the kitchen real quick. We need little plates to put our mallows."

He lied of course. He quickly snuck in some shots into his own cup and got some plates.

Ohtori simply nodded, taking another sip from his mug as he watched the fire. He was finally starting to feel warm enough to shrug part of the fleece throw off his shoulders. Spearing some more marshmallows, he patiently toasted them over the fire until they reached an even golden brown.

"I always got tapped for marshmallow duty with the regualrs...but I think it always took me the longest to make them..." Ohtori chuckled as he peeled the candies off the stick, and placed them onto the plates.

The two continued to chat about old friends, old matches, and what they were hoping for over the year. By then, Ohtori had nearly finished his mug of hot chocolate, completely oblivious to the alcohol in it.

"Is it just me, or is it really warm in here?" Ohtori tried to fan himself before unbuttoning the buttons on his old tennis jersey. And was it also him, or did the room look a little fuzzy around the edges too?

"Well, Gakuto was always rushed, Jirou falls asleep and its always burnt and yours, well.. you seem to have it down to science,"Shishido grinned taking one perfect marshmallow. "Its just like everythign you do, you put your heart and soul into it. So, its ikyuunyu kon mallows."

He kidded. He enjoyed the night, and it seems that even with hte liquor in the hot chocolate, Ohtori was completely ok. He was coherent still and very much awake. Though, he was pink in the cheek. " I think it's coz we drank something warm and the fire is nice and toasty." That was a total fib, but yeah...

Oh. But of course. That makes total sense, because everything Shishido-san says always makes sense...and Ohtori just realized that he had just voiced what he had originally believed to be his silent thoughts.

"Maybe the heat's going to my head or something....I can't seem to think straight anymore..."

Frowning a little at himself Ohtori moved to take his jersey off. There. That felt much better now.

"Funny, huh? The way I feel now, I would never have guessed that we were out in that rainstorm, soaked to our skin."

"Yeah," Shishido was now staring at the bare skin that was willingly bared on him. Fuck. So sexy. What the hell was he thinking? He was scolding himself, while he was staring longingly at his friends bare chest and couldnt help himself. Is this what they call attraction? God. His heart went ba-bump ba-bump. "I think you should stay the night." Of course, he wasn't planning anything but the storm was pretty big outside and he didnt want to risk him getting sick.

"Choutarou, I dont care. Youre staying the nightl."

Despite his slightly inebriated state, Ohtori could still hear the rain coming down outside. Considering the fact that he had no umbrella, and his clothes were still drying, he figured Shishido's suggestion was a good one.

"As long as it's not a hassle..."

But it seemed that Ohtori's body already seemed to know that Shishido wouldn't offer if he didn't mean it, and he stretched out on his stomach, making himself comfortable. He yawned even as he reached for another marshmallow, the effects of the drinking alcohol for the first time hitting him.

"I don't know why...but I feel really sleepy....but I don't wanna fall asleep on Shishido-san..."

Ohtori mumbled to himself pouting a little, again voicing thoughts that weren't supposed to be said aloud.

Shishido could not help but smile at his friend who was now stretched out in front of him. The urge to touch the boy was overwhelming- yet new to him. He decided to sit next to him and offer him a back rub.

"Never a hassle for Choutarou," Shishido said softly. "You're stressed out. I can feel it." He said.

Ohtori should really have protested, told his friend that he didn't need to trouble himself. But then Shishido's strong hands were on his shoulders, kneading his tense, overworked muscles, and he couldn't really think anymore. Add that to the fact that he was already sleepy from the alcohol and...

"Mmm....." Ohtori mumbled sleepily, his head pillowed on his forearms. "Can't be stressed with Shishido-san here...."

His voice trailed off, and his breathing became even as he felt himself slip into a comfortable sleep, probably for the first time since he arrived in the States.

Shishido felt a little bold that night. Maybe he did put too much alchohol in his drink After all, he didn't measure it out like he did. He stroked the boy's hair til the boy comfortably closed his eyes. He looks like an angel. His heart felt heavy, like it was about to burst as he stared at the young man in front of him who was smiling in his sleep.

"You are the only person who can make me do these things. Choutarou, what power do you have over me?" he asked the boy. He was not expecting an answer. He didn't want one. He just knew that he had to voice out the feelings that were growing steadily in his heart.

"Oyasumi Nasai," He said as he leaned over and kissed the boy's cheek. He looked at the boy again and wondered how it would feel to taste the soft lips that were curled up into a cute smile. On impulse, he softly put his lips over the other boy's. He closed his eyes, and thought. So this is how an angel's kiss is.

Shishido leaned back to the couch watching the fire die down on his fireplace. On nights like these, he would usually have a drink. Maybe something hard, Jack and Coke? No, tonight, he was perfect. He was sober, content and he liked it.