PoT - 4 Atobe centric fics
The four drabbles that my friends requested ended up being all Atobe themed and perfect for the National Foundation Day of the Atobe Kingdom. They were originally posted here on my (locked) journal.
Also a big thank you to Fei and Perky who helped edit the ficlets.
Title: Beethoven? Maybe.
For: perkyandproud
Pairing: Tezuka/Atobe
Words: ~1400
Summary: Atobe discovers that Tezuka really enjoys the orchestra.
“Next time I should take you to see an opera. Give you a proper appreciation for classical music,” Atobe said as he slid into the car next to Tezuka. He had been going on about how Beethoven just couldn’t compare to other great operatic composers since before they had arrived and Tezuka had long since tuned him out.
He did up his seatbelt and relaxed into the seat, his eyes closing as he remembered the triumphant sounds of the strings of the last piece they heard. It brought a small twitch of a smile to his lips.
“Something amusing you?” Atobe asked.
Of course he would notice the small change in his expression. If he didn’t like the other so much he would be more worried over his stalker like tendencies. “Just reminiscing.”
“Hmmm,” Atobe made a contemplative noise and Tezuka didn’t need to open his eyes to know Atobe was using his insight on him.
At least when he was doing that he was quiet so Tezuka was able to enjoy the memory of the songs in peace for a few minutes.
“Tezuka,” Atobe said in a quiet voice far too soon for Tezuka’s liking. “You really enjoy Beethoven, ahn?”
Tezuka finally opened an eye to see if he could figure out where Atobe was going with this. It sounded far too odd to be an innocent question. “I appreciate his musical skills,” Tezuka said neutrally, not able to figure out where Atobe was going with this.
“I think it’s more than that, don’t you?” Atobe undid his seatbelt and slid closer. Tezuka just gave the seatbelt and then Atobe a look.
“That’s unsafe.” It wasn’t that he objected to Atobe infringing on his personal space since they were in private but that didn’t mean he condoned rule breaking.
Atobe frowned at him but then gave a rather regal shrug before doing up the small belt for the middle seat. “Satisfied?”
Tezuka gave a nod and deciding that Atobe might be quiet and behave for a moment he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
It wasn’t long before he felt fingers crawling along his chest in a not so unpleasant fashion. “Yes?” He asked, eyes still closed.
“I think listening to those songs makes you feel like you do after a good match… just a lot less sweaty,” Atobe whispered into his ears.
The warm air brushing against his ear caused Tezuka to give a shiver from the pleasant sensations. It also betrayed that he really was wound up more than he liked to let on. While music wasn’t his passion like tennis was, there was something about listening to the way all of those instruments came together to perform such miraculous pieces that stirred him.
“Perhaps a little,” Tezuka said.
“Just live or does a good recording do it for you, too?” Atobe asked.
Tezuka had a sinking feeling that no matter his answer Atobe would find some Beethoven to play on his expensive sound system no matter his answer. And if Tezuka didn’t act like he wanted, he would probably start ranting about how other composers are far superior thus forcing Tezuka to kiss him just to shut him up.
Instead of answering, Tezuka gave a noncommittal hum.
“Instead of to dinner, shall we go back to mine?”
Tezuka looked over at him and considered. If they went to dinner, Atobe would still bother him the whole time about his passion for music and assault him with reasons why composers like Wagner were better. The only big difference being they would be in public and he wouldn’t be able to stop Atobe’s chatter by kissing him.
He gave a nod and watched as Atobe brought down the glass separating them from the driver and told him their new plans.
“Shall I order us food?” Atobe already had his phone out so Tezuka just nodded again. It was easier to not try and stop Atobe when he got into management mode like this.
Tezuka had found that Atobe liked to spoil his friends even more than he enjoyed spoiling himself and trying to get in the way of that was usually more pain than it was worth. It was far easier to accept things gracefully even when the gift was unwanted. Though Tezuka drew his line at overseas trips. Even he wasn’t willing to be that indulgent of Atobe’s theatrical ways.
-0-0-0-0-
Tezuka smiled softly as he walked into the study to the sounds of one of what he assumed was one of Beethoven’s string quartets. He felt instantly soothed as he walked further in. Whoever was playing sounded very good and the recording had captured it well. Tezuka suspected that Atobe’s expensive surround sound system helped to showcase the quartet’s talent.
“Do you like it?” Atobe asked as he moved in close beside Tezuka.
“It’s nice,” Tezuka said.
Atobe stepped in front of him and kissed him just as the strings reached a perfectly timed crescendo.
Tezuka let his eyes slide shut and kissed him back not stopping until the music reached a lull. “Thank you for taking me to the symphony,” Tezuka said quietly.
“It was my pleasure,” Atobe purred. And since he had heard what Atobe thought about Beethoven he could only take it to mean that it was the new found discovery to his weakness to good music that was really Atobe’s pleasure.
Fortunately there wasn’t much cause to play classical music while on the tennis courts. But Tezuka was sure he would be inundated with it while enjoying more private moments with Atobe. He supposed there were worst fates to suffer, especially if he could convince Atobe to enjoy Beethoven as well.
As the strings peeked again, he saw Atobe approach and was ready for the kiss this time. He was slowly backed against the bookshelves of the study. When a lone violin began laying, Atobe pulled back and took off his glasses. “When will you start wearing contacts?” Atobe purred as he toyed with the glasses with his fingers.
“When contacts are less troublesome.” Tezuka did not wish to lose them during a match or have irritated eyes because of any number of contact related side effects.
“Your glasses are troublesome.” Atobe held them up for a second longer before reaching past Tezuka’s head to set them on a shelf. Tezuka hoped that one of them would remember what shelf they had put them on later on when they needed to retrieve them.
“But it’s an easily solved problem,” Tezuka countered. He then pulled Atobe back to kiss him before he could complain more or worse, call some contact specialist.
As the music built again, he turned them so Atobe was pressed to the shelves and kissed him with more force and passion.
Atobe held onto him tightly and made tantalizing noises that spurred Tezuka on as much as the music swelling around them. He eventually trailed kisses down Atobe’s face to his neck to nibble on it, careful not to leave any marks for curious teammates to find.
“I may yet become a fan of Beethoven,” Atobe said, his voice low and breathy.
“Good,” Tezuka said, his mouth pressed to Atobe’s neck. Perhaps it didn’t matter so much that Atobe knew a new weakness of his; They were both enjoying themselves and Tezuka felt a freeness to his passion spurred on by the music that he normally didn’t.
As the quartet piece switched to a symphony, Tezuka started moving backwards, pulling Atobe with him until they could fall on the large couch together. Some pieces demanded passionate kisses against the wall while others deserved a more tranquil but further exploration on a couch.
He was sure given enough time, he and Atobe could figure out exactly what each piece inspired in him. He at least knew by the way Atobe was murmuring his name as he continued to kiss his neck that he had a willing partner. Deciding he had enough thinking when Atobe was tugging at his hair in such a needy fashion, Tezuka embraced the music and let his passion lead him as he moved his lips back to Atobe’s just as the horns let out their might fanfare.
Atobe wasn’t the only one who knew the power of a well-timed kiss, after all.
-end.
Title: The Talent Show
For: absolutehymn007
Pairing: Atobe/Oshitari/Tezuka
Words: ~1700
Summary: Oshitari makes a bet with Atobe. Whoever wins the talent show, wins the prize.
Note: This is part of the Date Night series where Atobe, Oshiari and Tezuka are involved with each other.
Atobe had somehow been convinced by Oshitari to take part in a bet. At the time Atobe had thought it was a fine idea. He really should know better than to agree to anything Oshitari suggests when lounging in decadence enjoying good food with even better company while listening to opera. Agreeing with Oshitari in those circumstances often led to him participating in some of the most ridiculous things. To make matters worse, Tezuka didn’t even have to participate and still got the benefits from it.
At least the bet itself was simple. If Atobe won then he got to take Tezuka out on a nice romantic date with Oshitari paying and if Oshitari was the winner then he got to enjoy a date with Tezuka while Atobe paid.
Somehow, Atobe had agreed to challenge Oshitari in the annual Hyoutei talent competition. If it was a popular vote, Atobe was sure he would win handily. As it was, there was a judging panel composed of five individuals. Still, Atobe was sure he would win. The vice-principal, while not always seeing eye to eye with him, did think he was a wonderful young gentleman and an asset to the school. Their guest judge from another school was Seigaku’s student council president and tennis captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. His vote could go either way when it came to him and Oshitari but he was sure he would win. His talent was much more enjoyable to Tezuka than Oshitari’s. The treasurer of the student council, who was also a member of the Atobe fan club was of course a safe bet. That did leave the two extra teacher judges unaccounted for but Atobe was still feeling confident.
For his entry, he was showcasing his singing and composing talent by performing a song of his own. He was sure it would awe the audience and Tezuka. After all, who wouldn’t want to hear him sing about his own glory and prowess?
Unfortunately, he was a little worried his staging would suffer as the tight time constraints of the talent show meant that there was no time for a stage set up nor even a clean up time afterwards meaning he had to ditch the props, rose petals and eventually even the dancers. The latter was because they just weren’t performing up to his standard and Oshitari told him enlisting help would be cheating. Tezuka sadly agreed.
However, they both allowed Kabaji to be his assistant and the younger man was dutifully adjusting his outfit which was a specially tailored for the occasion suit in Hyoutei colours with sequins and feather accents. He thought, and Kabaji agreed, that he looked extraordinary. Fashion was a very important part of the statement one made during these shows. He wasn’t sure what Oshitari was going to wear but he was sure it was more than his school uniform.
That was why he was concerned about Ohtori as he fiddled with his violin bow in the wings. The young man was still in his school uniform. It was pressed to perfection but good ironing hardly helped one to make an impact at a school like this. In any other situation, when a bet against Oshitari wasn’t on the line, he would spare some time to help Ohtori find a better outfit. He would hate for a team member to do poorly in the results and not only because it would reflect badly on the tennis team. However, he had confidence that Ohtori’s skill at the violin would at least keep him from being at the bottom of the pack. Perhaps he would offer his talent show words of wisdom to Ohtori after the event so that next year he could exceed expectations and potentially win. Of course, it would help that next year, Atobe would not be competing.
“Are you prepared, Ohtori?” Atobe asked moving up to the young man, Kabaji trailing after him.
“Ah, yes, Atobe-san,” Ohtori replied, his fingers still working on his bow.
“Nervous?”
“A little bit. Shishido talked me into doing this but I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”
“I understand the feeling,” Atobe said thinking about how little time he and Oshitari had to prepare. “But we’re Hyoutei and we’re amazing no matter how long or little we have to create perfection. Right?”
Kabaji gave a well timed ‘yes’ behind him and Atobe grinned.
Ohtori nodded and looked a little more determined and less nervous. “You’re right, Atobe-san. If I can do it in practice I can do it here.”
“That’s right. Now, I do believe the stage hand is calling you to get ready to go on.” Atobe gave Ohtori a small pat on his back as he walked by and then went to find a warm up room to finish his own preparations.
-0-0-0-0-
Atobe’s song was perfection and he was quite sure the audience had loved it much more than they did Oshitari’s poetry reading. Apparently he had wanted to do a comedy routine but his preferred style was manzai and Gakuto refused to be his partner and Tezuka wouldn’t let him call in that Dabide fellow from Rokkaku. At least he and his dancers weren’t the only ones to suffer from Tezuka’s strictness.
Quite sure that he was a shoo-in, he began rehearsing his acceptance speech in his head as he looked out over the audience. There, in the centre, not too far from the front was the judges table with Tezuka looking handsomely stoic. Perhaps he would take him to a nice restaurant on the top of a tall building or out fishing somewhere or maybe even to the opera. He supposed he would have to keep in mind Tezuka’s enjoyment of the simpler things in life and Oshitari’s moderate sized budget. But there were still plenty of possibilities even with those two factors limiting him.
So lost in his thoughts about speeches and dates he barely registered the school principal stepping up to the microphone to announce the winner. When he noticed, he straightened his jacket lightly.
“Ready to lose?” Oshitari asked in a quiet voice from beside him.
Atobe looked over at him, pleased he was still in his outfit from the poetry reading. It suited him though it wouldn’t be nearly enough to help him win. “Are you?” he countered.
Oshitari gave a soft chuckle and nodded towards the principal who was now opening the envelope to reveal the winner.
“And the winner is…. Ohtori Choutarou for his lovely violin piece.”
There was applause and Atobe registered Shishido making a fool of himself as he stood and shouted congratulations at his doubles partner. But Atobe’s mind was reeling. He had lost. Not only had he lost, but so did Oshitari. This was just inconceivable.
Somehow, training and good manners came through and he was able to smile and congratulate Ohtori before escaping the stage area with Oshitari behind him. “We lost,” Atobe said still not quite sure he believed it.
“So it seems. Do you think Ohtori rigged it? Perhaps he slept with the judges.”
“Tezuka would never stoop so low,” Atobe said and then realised he just implied that Ohtori still would and shook his head. “Ohtori’s not the type to win by those means. Stop putting weird ideas in my head.” That was the problem with Oshitari, he could sound so serious and smart when saying the stupidest things that you could find yourself agreeing before noticing how idiotic it was. That was probably how he got into this mess in the first place.
“Probably not. But it was amusing to imagine for a moment.”
“What happens now? Neither of us won.” They could probably ask Tezuka to get the judges scores and find out who won between them but that wasn’t what the bet was all about. Did they both have to pay for the other one to go on a date? Did they send Tezuka out on a solo date paying for him alone?
“We could ask Tezuka,” Oshitari suggest, starting to change back into his school uniform.
“I suppose there’s no other choice. We could always ask who he voted for, too.”
-0-0-0-0-
“The voting is confidential, so no, I’m not telling you,” Tezuka said with a slight twitch to his eye.
Atobe supposed that even Tezuka’s patience was bound to wear thin after Oshitari’s and his repeated attempts to cajole the answer from him. “Fine. Be stubborn about it. It’s not as if we’re sore losers,” Atobe said graciously, finally giving up on the hunt.
“Especially when it’s one of our own who won,” Oshitari added on.
Atobe suspected that Tezuka didn’t completely buy their act but as he didn’t reject it, Atobe just leaned towards him and smiled. “But it does leave us with a small problem… We have no winner for our bet.”
Tezuka sighed. “I don’t see why everything has to be a bet between you two. You both did well.”
Oshitari smirked at him. “Where’s your sense of adventure? A bet once in a while can add a little spice into things, give us a little extra drive.”
“And you are a certainly a worthy prize.”
“You don’t need me as a prize,” Tezuka said though his voice was more resigned than argumentative. They’ve had this talk before. “And clearly since neither of you won, the bet’s a draw.”
“And what does a draw entail, dear Tezuka,” Oshitari asked.
Tezuka gave them a stoic look though the two could see the smirk in his eyes. “It means I get to choose the date night activity that we’ll all do.”
Atobe and Oshitari shared a look that was both pleased and wary. Tezuka’s date night activities could range from the delightful to the dreadful and there was no way to tell which was it would swing.
“Fine,” Atobe said. “That seems fair.”
“Good. And next time, leave me out of your bets,” Tezuka said before standing. He gave them each a pat on the shoulders and then left.
“We’re doomed, aren’t we?” Oshitari drawled as he looked at the door that Tezuka had gone through.
“Likely so,” Atobe agreed. Next time, he really had to remember that bets with Oshitari led to no good.
-end
Title: The Christmas Exchange
For: drkparadise
Pairing: Atobe/Hiyoshi
Words: ~950
Summary: Atobe has found a perfect gift for Hiyoshi. Hiyoshi isn't as sure.
Notes: Tree strawberries = raspberries. Jess and I discovered that the kanji's literal translation for them are tree straberries and we found it far too amusing not to include.
After the previous year’s secret Santa where he had had to shop for Gakuto who somehow had tastes and desires even more lowbrow and dubious than Shishido’s, Atobe decided to rig this year’s secret Santa. It wasn’t that he wasn’t able to find and buy the perfect gift for anyone on the team, even if it did make him feel uncultured and somewhat dirty buying them. It was more that he would prefer to shop for someone he actually wanted to surprise.
It also meant that he could stop Jirou from ending up with his name again this year. Jirou was harmless and entertaining but his love of sweets and cuddly things just did not transfer over well to Atobe who received a giant plushie Pocky box.
No, this year, with a little rigging and tweaking, he would be shopping for Hiyoshi and Ohtori - wonderfully level-headed and practical Ohtori - would be shopping for him. He had almost thought to give Oshitari his name until he remembered the gift of rom-com DVD and matching novel set that Shishido had received him. Even the reassurance that it revolved around tennis didn’t stop Shishido’s ranting.
He didn’t care enough to rig rest of the drawings so could only hope that during the exchange that any chaos or complaining would be minimal.
Shopping for Hiyoshi had been easy enough. It was another reason he wanted Hiyoshi’s name; he knew exactly what to get him. It also was a guarantee way of getting Hiyoshi to accept the present without Hiyoshi worrying about reciprocating or some such thing.
Making sure the ribbons were still all curled perfectly, Atobe set his gift to Hiyoshi under the tree in the room they would hold their team party in and went to go change into something more festive before rest of the team arrived.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The party and the gift exchange had gone as well as could be expected considering their mix of personalities. Ohtori had picked him up a lovely cd of classical music by a mix of German composers, some well known and some even Atobe had never heard of. He knew that giving Ohtori his name was a wise idea.
Hiyoshi had seemed baffled by his own present and Atobe had caught him contemplating both the book and Atobe throughout the party. That’s why it was no surprise that as everyone else made for the door to leave, Hiyoshi was lingering behind eating the remains of the tree strawberries.
“Not a fan of your present?” Atobe asked moving to lounge on the couch.
“Why did you get me this?” Hiyoshi countered pointing at his advanced English textbook.
“Because you’ll never surpass me in English if you don’t study harder. And using the school’s third year textbook isn’t going to help with that.” He had offered Hiyoshi a few private English lessons and when it was clear that the second year textbook wasn’t challenging enough he had easily given Hiyoshi his third year book to use for their sessions.
Hiyoshi picked up his book and flipped through it again and then glanced up at Atobe. “Where are the cds?”
“I’m your cd. You won’t learn properly if you’re just listening and scribbling in the margins.” Atobe snapped his fingers and his butler came in to drop off this planner and teacher’s edition of the book Hiyoshi had. “I have all of the scripts and we can practice all of the conversations together.” They could even go off script to push Hiyoshi even further if the textbook wasn’t proving challenging enough.
“It’s going to take up a lot of time.”
“Nonsense. We were already studying together. And I took the liberty of contacting your mother to get your full schedule for your other classes so we can work around them.” Atobe held up his planner that showed Hiyoshi’s available times and that they were now filled with Atobe’s English classes.
When Hiyoshi didn’t say anything, Atobe set down the two books and walked toward him. “So awed by my great gift that you’re left speechless?” He had a suspicion that it might be more annoyance than awe but Atobe didn’t mind. He knew Hiyoshi would come around to appreciate his great gift soon enough.
“Gekokujou.” Hiyoshi finally muttered. He pushed his book into Atobe’s hands and stormed off.
Atobe was looking at the book and idly flipping through the pages when he heard the stomping footfalls to indicate that Hiyoshi had returned. He didn’t fight when the book was ripped back out of his hands and even managed not to laugh at how huffy Hiyoshi looked.
“So I’ll see you on Monday?” Atobe asked calmly.
“Monday,” Hiyoshi said in agreement before stamping out again.
While the gift wasn’t received quite as gracefully as expected, Atobe knew that they would both enjoy their private lessons together over time. And later, when he surprised Hiyoshi with a trip to England for being such a good captain of Hyoutei - since there was no doubt in Atobe’s mind already that Hiyoshi would arise to the occasion - it would give Hiyoshi a chance to practice his English in the real world as well as make for an enjoyable holiday together.
Snapping his fingers again, Atobe lounged back on his couch and gratefully accepted the glass of sparkling non-alcoholic champagne from a servant. The slow seduction of one Hiyoshi Wakashi was now in motion and Atobe was sure if he took it one careful step at a time that he would succeed.
-end.
Title: The Simple Man
For: feihu
Pairing: Atobe/Shishido
Words: ~1400
Summary: Atobe wants to spoil Shishido with the best food and culture from around the world.
His boyfriend was a bit of a foodie. An uncultured one, but a foodie nonetheless. So Atobe logically thought that the best birthday gift he could give Shishido would be a trip to one or three foreign locations with cuisine that would make him happy.
Shishido had after all enjoyed the variety of food offered during the class and tennis club trips. He still heard about the greatness of cheese fondue often enough for it to be distressing. He swore that if Shishido ever suggested dunking parts of his great self in cheese fondue for his licknig pleasure that he would have to hold a melted cheese intervention. There were places fondue should never go.
But as they’d yet to reach that point, Atobe was happy to whisk Shishido into the Atobe jet and head out across the world. First up was France, a culture capital of the world and with some divine wines.
Sadly, Atobe knew that Shishido wasn’t likely to appreciate the opera, fashion shows or wine. But he did know that he’d like the vast array of cheeses and breads. He also thought that Shishido, who did well in his history classes, would lke a few of the more historical places he planned on bringing him to.
“Are we there yet?” Shishido asked as he flicked off his 3DS and stretched out in his seat. Atobe had noticed him starting to get antsy a couple hours ago and had suggested playing a game while he did his German studies for the day, but it seemed that distraction was no longer enough. He checked the clock on display and the countdown until landing.
“Nearly. And then we can head to this lovely French bistro that’s near Notre Dame.”
“I don’t get why we couldn’t just go to a French restaurant in Tokyo if you wanted to go. Isn’t there like a super fancy one in a hotel your parents own?” Shishido asked.
Atobe had to remind himself that the obtuseness and blunt words were part of Shishido’s charms. No matter what happened to him, he would always be down to earth and not start fawning over Atobe just because his family owned quite a lot of impressive things. Shishido might use his acquaintance with Atobe to help him get the best cheese fondue in Japan but that was about it. He hadn’t even let Atobe buy him the 3DS he was playing, insisting that his parents knew he wanted it for his birthday and that he was okay waiting a couple more months for it.
Still, there were times he wished Shishido would at least feign being awed by his prowess and perhaps even clue in to the romantic seductions often taking place around him. “But that’s Tokyo. I was thinking that since it’s your birthday we should take advantage of the special occasion and enjoy the cuisine in its place of origin.”
“I guess. Think they have any good tennis courts tucked away somewhere we can play on?” Shishido asked leaning over toward Atobe’s seat.
“We’re going to Paris, the City of Love, a city filled with enough culture, history and wonderful cuisine to keep you occupied for a year and you want to play tennis?” It’s not like Atobe disliked tennis, on the contrary, he spent a great deal of time and energy practicing and improving his game but he also could appreciate when to take a break and enjoy other things.
“If you wanted to explore the City of Love you should have brought Yuushi. You know he eats stuff like that up,” Shishido countered with a poke of Atobe’s arm.
“I could have. But I thought I would enjoy its charms more with my boyfriend. Unless of course you’ve grown bored with my great self and are trying to pawn me off on Oshitari.” Atobe gave a mock look of hurt.
“Ha, yeah right,” Shishido said and gave Atobe’s arm another poke. “I’m just not into that lovey dovey stuff. But I guess if you’re gonna show me Versailles and Napoleon stuff it’ll be okay.”
Atobe smiled at Shishido’s predictable nature. “And the food, of course.”
“Don’t be lame. That goes without saying.” Shishido raised his hand from poking Atobe’s arm and flicked Atobe’s ear with his fingers before slumping back in his own seat and picking up his 3DS again.
Atobe just gave a small laugh before going back to his book. Even if long flights made Shishido antsy, he was sure that this would be his best birthday yet.
-0-0-0-0-
Shishido stared at the plane’s intercom as the pilot announced their new destination and it wasn’t Japan. “India?!” Shishido exclaimed. They had already done France, Italy and Norway and now they were going to India instead of home. It wasn’t that Shishido wasn’t enjoying the food or even the interesting places that Atobe dragged him to but this was beyond ridiculous now.
“Yes. You’ll love the authentic curries there and the chai teas,” Atobe said casually, a magazine already spread on his lap.
Shishido wanted to throw something at his head since the teen hadn’t even looked over.
“I want to go home,” Shishido said after a few minutes.
“What? Why? If you’re worried about school, I already took care of that and we have been working on the assignments together,” Atobe said looking at him finally.
“It’s not that.”
“Are you homesick?”
Shishido couldn’t tell if that was true concern or teasing in Atobe’s voice. Either way, he wanted to throw something at him again. “No, I’m not homesick. I’m not five, Atobe.”
“Then I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Shishido suspected that even if he tried to explain to Atobe that he just missed being at home with friends and speaking Japanese and not having to mind his manners all the damn time that Atobe wouldn’t get it. He’d probably be offended and think that his great and miraculous company wasn’t enough or something lame, too. So he’d just have to put it into terms that Atobe would get.
“It’s been fun… but have you ever heard of too much of a good thing?”
Atobe’s eyebrow went up. “Are you saying you’ve overdosed on fun?”
Shishido gave a shrug. “It happens.” He hoped that Atobe would take it as a compliment and not an insult.
“And so you’d rather go home?”
“Yeah… I need a break from the fun. I know you planned all of this and it must have been super hard work and stuff but… it’s too much.”
Atobe was looking at him like did when he was trying to see people’s flaws or maybe just see through someone and it was only out of being on the receiving end enough times that stopped Shishido from squirming like some idiot.
Eventually, Atobe let out a sigh and signaled for one of the flight attendants. “Tell the pilot to see if we can reroute to Haneda.”
She bowed and disappeared into the flight cabin.
“Satisfied?” Atobe asked.
Shishido couldn’t tell exactly how Atobe felt about cutting the trip short so Shishido just stuck to honest. “Yeah. No offense, but I’m getting sick of planes, even if they are as fancy as yours.”
“Are you trying to tell me that next year you’d like something a little less… fun?”
“Nothing wrong with staying in and ordering take out from your favourite fancy restaurant… we could put all this flight time to better use.”
Atobe’s eyes lit up with that, obviously intrigued to exactly what sort of entertainment they could get up to.
“I mean, you got those awesome courts at your house, we could be playing tennis right now instead of sitting here.”
Atobe laughed at that and reached over to ruffle Shishido’s hair. “Always tennis with you, ahn?”
Shishido punched his arm in retaliation and then fixed his hair. “Fine… we can stay indoors and do stuff, too.”
“Stuff, Shishido?” Atobe prodded.
Shishido huffed and looked away to hide his rosy cheeks. “Don’t be lame. You know what I mean.”
“Maybe I just like hearing you say it.”
“Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath. I’m not going to do any stuff with you when you’re dead.”
Atobe just laughed before he picked up his magazine. “Understood. Next time I’ll have the food imported and we can stay at home where we can play tennis and do stuff.”
Shishido gave into the urge to throw something and threw his blanket at Atobe’s head. He smiled as it spread out to cover his head and decided that he wasn’t completely overdosed on fun with Atobe quite yet.
-end.
Also a big thank you to Fei and Perky who helped edit the ficlets.
Title: Beethoven? Maybe.
For: perkyandproud
Pairing: Tezuka/Atobe
Words: ~1400
Summary: Atobe discovers that Tezuka really enjoys the orchestra.
“Next time I should take you to see an opera. Give you a proper appreciation for classical music,” Atobe said as he slid into the car next to Tezuka. He had been going on about how Beethoven just couldn’t compare to other great operatic composers since before they had arrived and Tezuka had long since tuned him out.
He did up his seatbelt and relaxed into the seat, his eyes closing as he remembered the triumphant sounds of the strings of the last piece they heard. It brought a small twitch of a smile to his lips.
“Something amusing you?” Atobe asked.
Of course he would notice the small change in his expression. If he didn’t like the other so much he would be more worried over his stalker like tendencies. “Just reminiscing.”
“Hmmm,” Atobe made a contemplative noise and Tezuka didn’t need to open his eyes to know Atobe was using his insight on him.
At least when he was doing that he was quiet so Tezuka was able to enjoy the memory of the songs in peace for a few minutes.
“Tezuka,” Atobe said in a quiet voice far too soon for Tezuka’s liking. “You really enjoy Beethoven, ahn?”
Tezuka finally opened an eye to see if he could figure out where Atobe was going with this. It sounded far too odd to be an innocent question. “I appreciate his musical skills,” Tezuka said neutrally, not able to figure out where Atobe was going with this.
“I think it’s more than that, don’t you?” Atobe undid his seatbelt and slid closer. Tezuka just gave the seatbelt and then Atobe a look.
“That’s unsafe.” It wasn’t that he objected to Atobe infringing on his personal space since they were in private but that didn’t mean he condoned rule breaking.
Atobe frowned at him but then gave a rather regal shrug before doing up the small belt for the middle seat. “Satisfied?”
Tezuka gave a nod and deciding that Atobe might be quiet and behave for a moment he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
It wasn’t long before he felt fingers crawling along his chest in a not so unpleasant fashion. “Yes?” He asked, eyes still closed.
“I think listening to those songs makes you feel like you do after a good match… just a lot less sweaty,” Atobe whispered into his ears.
The warm air brushing against his ear caused Tezuka to give a shiver from the pleasant sensations. It also betrayed that he really was wound up more than he liked to let on. While music wasn’t his passion like tennis was, there was something about listening to the way all of those instruments came together to perform such miraculous pieces that stirred him.
“Perhaps a little,” Tezuka said.
“Just live or does a good recording do it for you, too?” Atobe asked.
Tezuka had a sinking feeling that no matter his answer Atobe would find some Beethoven to play on his expensive sound system no matter his answer. And if Tezuka didn’t act like he wanted, he would probably start ranting about how other composers are far superior thus forcing Tezuka to kiss him just to shut him up.
Instead of answering, Tezuka gave a noncommittal hum.
“Instead of to dinner, shall we go back to mine?”
Tezuka looked over at him and considered. If they went to dinner, Atobe would still bother him the whole time about his passion for music and assault him with reasons why composers like Wagner were better. The only big difference being they would be in public and he wouldn’t be able to stop Atobe’s chatter by kissing him.
He gave a nod and watched as Atobe brought down the glass separating them from the driver and told him their new plans.
“Shall I order us food?” Atobe already had his phone out so Tezuka just nodded again. It was easier to not try and stop Atobe when he got into management mode like this.
Tezuka had found that Atobe liked to spoil his friends even more than he enjoyed spoiling himself and trying to get in the way of that was usually more pain than it was worth. It was far easier to accept things gracefully even when the gift was unwanted. Though Tezuka drew his line at overseas trips. Even he wasn’t willing to be that indulgent of Atobe’s theatrical ways.
-0-0-0-0-
Tezuka smiled softly as he walked into the study to the sounds of one of what he assumed was one of Beethoven’s string quartets. He felt instantly soothed as he walked further in. Whoever was playing sounded very good and the recording had captured it well. Tezuka suspected that Atobe’s expensive surround sound system helped to showcase the quartet’s talent.
“Do you like it?” Atobe asked as he moved in close beside Tezuka.
“It’s nice,” Tezuka said.
Atobe stepped in front of him and kissed him just as the strings reached a perfectly timed crescendo.
Tezuka let his eyes slide shut and kissed him back not stopping until the music reached a lull. “Thank you for taking me to the symphony,” Tezuka said quietly.
“It was my pleasure,” Atobe purred. And since he had heard what Atobe thought about Beethoven he could only take it to mean that it was the new found discovery to his weakness to good music that was really Atobe’s pleasure.
Fortunately there wasn’t much cause to play classical music while on the tennis courts. But Tezuka was sure he would be inundated with it while enjoying more private moments with Atobe. He supposed there were worst fates to suffer, especially if he could convince Atobe to enjoy Beethoven as well.
As the strings peeked again, he saw Atobe approach and was ready for the kiss this time. He was slowly backed against the bookshelves of the study. When a lone violin began laying, Atobe pulled back and took off his glasses. “When will you start wearing contacts?” Atobe purred as he toyed with the glasses with his fingers.
“When contacts are less troublesome.” Tezuka did not wish to lose them during a match or have irritated eyes because of any number of contact related side effects.
“Your glasses are troublesome.” Atobe held them up for a second longer before reaching past Tezuka’s head to set them on a shelf. Tezuka hoped that one of them would remember what shelf they had put them on later on when they needed to retrieve them.
“But it’s an easily solved problem,” Tezuka countered. He then pulled Atobe back to kiss him before he could complain more or worse, call some contact specialist.
As the music built again, he turned them so Atobe was pressed to the shelves and kissed him with more force and passion.
Atobe held onto him tightly and made tantalizing noises that spurred Tezuka on as much as the music swelling around them. He eventually trailed kisses down Atobe’s face to his neck to nibble on it, careful not to leave any marks for curious teammates to find.
“I may yet become a fan of Beethoven,” Atobe said, his voice low and breathy.
“Good,” Tezuka said, his mouth pressed to Atobe’s neck. Perhaps it didn’t matter so much that Atobe knew a new weakness of his; They were both enjoying themselves and Tezuka felt a freeness to his passion spurred on by the music that he normally didn’t.
As the quartet piece switched to a symphony, Tezuka started moving backwards, pulling Atobe with him until they could fall on the large couch together. Some pieces demanded passionate kisses against the wall while others deserved a more tranquil but further exploration on a couch.
He was sure given enough time, he and Atobe could figure out exactly what each piece inspired in him. He at least knew by the way Atobe was murmuring his name as he continued to kiss his neck that he had a willing partner. Deciding he had enough thinking when Atobe was tugging at his hair in such a needy fashion, Tezuka embraced the music and let his passion lead him as he moved his lips back to Atobe’s just as the horns let out their might fanfare.
Atobe wasn’t the only one who knew the power of a well-timed kiss, after all.
-end.
Title: The Talent Show
For: absolutehymn007
Pairing: Atobe/Oshitari/Tezuka
Words: ~1700
Summary: Oshitari makes a bet with Atobe. Whoever wins the talent show, wins the prize.
Note: This is part of the Date Night series where Atobe, Oshiari and Tezuka are involved with each other.
Atobe had somehow been convinced by Oshitari to take part in a bet. At the time Atobe had thought it was a fine idea. He really should know better than to agree to anything Oshitari suggests when lounging in decadence enjoying good food with even better company while listening to opera. Agreeing with Oshitari in those circumstances often led to him participating in some of the most ridiculous things. To make matters worse, Tezuka didn’t even have to participate and still got the benefits from it.
At least the bet itself was simple. If Atobe won then he got to take Tezuka out on a nice romantic date with Oshitari paying and if Oshitari was the winner then he got to enjoy a date with Tezuka while Atobe paid.
Somehow, Atobe had agreed to challenge Oshitari in the annual Hyoutei talent competition. If it was a popular vote, Atobe was sure he would win handily. As it was, there was a judging panel composed of five individuals. Still, Atobe was sure he would win. The vice-principal, while not always seeing eye to eye with him, did think he was a wonderful young gentleman and an asset to the school. Their guest judge from another school was Seigaku’s student council president and tennis captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. His vote could go either way when it came to him and Oshitari but he was sure he would win. His talent was much more enjoyable to Tezuka than Oshitari’s. The treasurer of the student council, who was also a member of the Atobe fan club was of course a safe bet. That did leave the two extra teacher judges unaccounted for but Atobe was still feeling confident.
For his entry, he was showcasing his singing and composing talent by performing a song of his own. He was sure it would awe the audience and Tezuka. After all, who wouldn’t want to hear him sing about his own glory and prowess?
Unfortunately, he was a little worried his staging would suffer as the tight time constraints of the talent show meant that there was no time for a stage set up nor even a clean up time afterwards meaning he had to ditch the props, rose petals and eventually even the dancers. The latter was because they just weren’t performing up to his standard and Oshitari told him enlisting help would be cheating. Tezuka sadly agreed.
However, they both allowed Kabaji to be his assistant and the younger man was dutifully adjusting his outfit which was a specially tailored for the occasion suit in Hyoutei colours with sequins and feather accents. He thought, and Kabaji agreed, that he looked extraordinary. Fashion was a very important part of the statement one made during these shows. He wasn’t sure what Oshitari was going to wear but he was sure it was more than his school uniform.
That was why he was concerned about Ohtori as he fiddled with his violin bow in the wings. The young man was still in his school uniform. It was pressed to perfection but good ironing hardly helped one to make an impact at a school like this. In any other situation, when a bet against Oshitari wasn’t on the line, he would spare some time to help Ohtori find a better outfit. He would hate for a team member to do poorly in the results and not only because it would reflect badly on the tennis team. However, he had confidence that Ohtori’s skill at the violin would at least keep him from being at the bottom of the pack. Perhaps he would offer his talent show words of wisdom to Ohtori after the event so that next year he could exceed expectations and potentially win. Of course, it would help that next year, Atobe would not be competing.
“Are you prepared, Ohtori?” Atobe asked moving up to the young man, Kabaji trailing after him.
“Ah, yes, Atobe-san,” Ohtori replied, his fingers still working on his bow.
“Nervous?”
“A little bit. Shishido talked me into doing this but I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”
“I understand the feeling,” Atobe said thinking about how little time he and Oshitari had to prepare. “But we’re Hyoutei and we’re amazing no matter how long or little we have to create perfection. Right?”
Kabaji gave a well timed ‘yes’ behind him and Atobe grinned.
Ohtori nodded and looked a little more determined and less nervous. “You’re right, Atobe-san. If I can do it in practice I can do it here.”
“That’s right. Now, I do believe the stage hand is calling you to get ready to go on.” Atobe gave Ohtori a small pat on his back as he walked by and then went to find a warm up room to finish his own preparations.
-0-0-0-0-
Atobe’s song was perfection and he was quite sure the audience had loved it much more than they did Oshitari’s poetry reading. Apparently he had wanted to do a comedy routine but his preferred style was manzai and Gakuto refused to be his partner and Tezuka wouldn’t let him call in that Dabide fellow from Rokkaku. At least he and his dancers weren’t the only ones to suffer from Tezuka’s strictness.
Quite sure that he was a shoo-in, he began rehearsing his acceptance speech in his head as he looked out over the audience. There, in the centre, not too far from the front was the judges table with Tezuka looking handsomely stoic. Perhaps he would take him to a nice restaurant on the top of a tall building or out fishing somewhere or maybe even to the opera. He supposed he would have to keep in mind Tezuka’s enjoyment of the simpler things in life and Oshitari’s moderate sized budget. But there were still plenty of possibilities even with those two factors limiting him.
So lost in his thoughts about speeches and dates he barely registered the school principal stepping up to the microphone to announce the winner. When he noticed, he straightened his jacket lightly.
“Ready to lose?” Oshitari asked in a quiet voice from beside him.
Atobe looked over at him, pleased he was still in his outfit from the poetry reading. It suited him though it wouldn’t be nearly enough to help him win. “Are you?” he countered.
Oshitari gave a soft chuckle and nodded towards the principal who was now opening the envelope to reveal the winner.
“And the winner is…. Ohtori Choutarou for his lovely violin piece.”
There was applause and Atobe registered Shishido making a fool of himself as he stood and shouted congratulations at his doubles partner. But Atobe’s mind was reeling. He had lost. Not only had he lost, but so did Oshitari. This was just inconceivable.
Somehow, training and good manners came through and he was able to smile and congratulate Ohtori before escaping the stage area with Oshitari behind him. “We lost,” Atobe said still not quite sure he believed it.
“So it seems. Do you think Ohtori rigged it? Perhaps he slept with the judges.”
“Tezuka would never stoop so low,” Atobe said and then realised he just implied that Ohtori still would and shook his head. “Ohtori’s not the type to win by those means. Stop putting weird ideas in my head.” That was the problem with Oshitari, he could sound so serious and smart when saying the stupidest things that you could find yourself agreeing before noticing how idiotic it was. That was probably how he got into this mess in the first place.
“Probably not. But it was amusing to imagine for a moment.”
“What happens now? Neither of us won.” They could probably ask Tezuka to get the judges scores and find out who won between them but that wasn’t what the bet was all about. Did they both have to pay for the other one to go on a date? Did they send Tezuka out on a solo date paying for him alone?
“We could ask Tezuka,” Oshitari suggest, starting to change back into his school uniform.
“I suppose there’s no other choice. We could always ask who he voted for, too.”
-0-0-0-0-
“The voting is confidential, so no, I’m not telling you,” Tezuka said with a slight twitch to his eye.
Atobe supposed that even Tezuka’s patience was bound to wear thin after Oshitari’s and his repeated attempts to cajole the answer from him. “Fine. Be stubborn about it. It’s not as if we’re sore losers,” Atobe said graciously, finally giving up on the hunt.
“Especially when it’s one of our own who won,” Oshitari added on.
Atobe suspected that Tezuka didn’t completely buy their act but as he didn’t reject it, Atobe just leaned towards him and smiled. “But it does leave us with a small problem… We have no winner for our bet.”
Tezuka sighed. “I don’t see why everything has to be a bet between you two. You both did well.”
Oshitari smirked at him. “Where’s your sense of adventure? A bet once in a while can add a little spice into things, give us a little extra drive.”
“And you are a certainly a worthy prize.”
“You don’t need me as a prize,” Tezuka said though his voice was more resigned than argumentative. They’ve had this talk before. “And clearly since neither of you won, the bet’s a draw.”
“And what does a draw entail, dear Tezuka,” Oshitari asked.
Tezuka gave them a stoic look though the two could see the smirk in his eyes. “It means I get to choose the date night activity that we’ll all do.”
Atobe and Oshitari shared a look that was both pleased and wary. Tezuka’s date night activities could range from the delightful to the dreadful and there was no way to tell which was it would swing.
“Fine,” Atobe said. “That seems fair.”
“Good. And next time, leave me out of your bets,” Tezuka said before standing. He gave them each a pat on the shoulders and then left.
“We’re doomed, aren’t we?” Oshitari drawled as he looked at the door that Tezuka had gone through.
“Likely so,” Atobe agreed. Next time, he really had to remember that bets with Oshitari led to no good.
-end
Title: The Christmas Exchange
For: drkparadise
Pairing: Atobe/Hiyoshi
Words: ~950
Summary: Atobe has found a perfect gift for Hiyoshi. Hiyoshi isn't as sure.
Notes: Tree strawberries = raspberries. Jess and I discovered that the kanji's literal translation for them are tree straberries and we found it far too amusing not to include.
After the previous year’s secret Santa where he had had to shop for Gakuto who somehow had tastes and desires even more lowbrow and dubious than Shishido’s, Atobe decided to rig this year’s secret Santa. It wasn’t that he wasn’t able to find and buy the perfect gift for anyone on the team, even if it did make him feel uncultured and somewhat dirty buying them. It was more that he would prefer to shop for someone he actually wanted to surprise.
It also meant that he could stop Jirou from ending up with his name again this year. Jirou was harmless and entertaining but his love of sweets and cuddly things just did not transfer over well to Atobe who received a giant plushie Pocky box.
No, this year, with a little rigging and tweaking, he would be shopping for Hiyoshi and Ohtori - wonderfully level-headed and practical Ohtori - would be shopping for him. He had almost thought to give Oshitari his name until he remembered the gift of rom-com DVD and matching novel set that Shishido had received him. Even the reassurance that it revolved around tennis didn’t stop Shishido’s ranting.
He didn’t care enough to rig rest of the drawings so could only hope that during the exchange that any chaos or complaining would be minimal.
Shopping for Hiyoshi had been easy enough. It was another reason he wanted Hiyoshi’s name; he knew exactly what to get him. It also was a guarantee way of getting Hiyoshi to accept the present without Hiyoshi worrying about reciprocating or some such thing.
Making sure the ribbons were still all curled perfectly, Atobe set his gift to Hiyoshi under the tree in the room they would hold their team party in and went to go change into something more festive before rest of the team arrived.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The party and the gift exchange had gone as well as could be expected considering their mix of personalities. Ohtori had picked him up a lovely cd of classical music by a mix of German composers, some well known and some even Atobe had never heard of. He knew that giving Ohtori his name was a wise idea.
Hiyoshi had seemed baffled by his own present and Atobe had caught him contemplating both the book and Atobe throughout the party. That’s why it was no surprise that as everyone else made for the door to leave, Hiyoshi was lingering behind eating the remains of the tree strawberries.
“Not a fan of your present?” Atobe asked moving to lounge on the couch.
“Why did you get me this?” Hiyoshi countered pointing at his advanced English textbook.
“Because you’ll never surpass me in English if you don’t study harder. And using the school’s third year textbook isn’t going to help with that.” He had offered Hiyoshi a few private English lessons and when it was clear that the second year textbook wasn’t challenging enough he had easily given Hiyoshi his third year book to use for their sessions.
Hiyoshi picked up his book and flipped through it again and then glanced up at Atobe. “Where are the cds?”
“I’m your cd. You won’t learn properly if you’re just listening and scribbling in the margins.” Atobe snapped his fingers and his butler came in to drop off this planner and teacher’s edition of the book Hiyoshi had. “I have all of the scripts and we can practice all of the conversations together.” They could even go off script to push Hiyoshi even further if the textbook wasn’t proving challenging enough.
“It’s going to take up a lot of time.”
“Nonsense. We were already studying together. And I took the liberty of contacting your mother to get your full schedule for your other classes so we can work around them.” Atobe held up his planner that showed Hiyoshi’s available times and that they were now filled with Atobe’s English classes.
When Hiyoshi didn’t say anything, Atobe set down the two books and walked toward him. “So awed by my great gift that you’re left speechless?” He had a suspicion that it might be more annoyance than awe but Atobe didn’t mind. He knew Hiyoshi would come around to appreciate his great gift soon enough.
“Gekokujou.” Hiyoshi finally muttered. He pushed his book into Atobe’s hands and stormed off.
Atobe was looking at the book and idly flipping through the pages when he heard the stomping footfalls to indicate that Hiyoshi had returned. He didn’t fight when the book was ripped back out of his hands and even managed not to laugh at how huffy Hiyoshi looked.
“So I’ll see you on Monday?” Atobe asked calmly.
“Monday,” Hiyoshi said in agreement before stamping out again.
While the gift wasn’t received quite as gracefully as expected, Atobe knew that they would both enjoy their private lessons together over time. And later, when he surprised Hiyoshi with a trip to England for being such a good captain of Hyoutei - since there was no doubt in Atobe’s mind already that Hiyoshi would arise to the occasion - it would give Hiyoshi a chance to practice his English in the real world as well as make for an enjoyable holiday together.
Snapping his fingers again, Atobe lounged back on his couch and gratefully accepted the glass of sparkling non-alcoholic champagne from a servant. The slow seduction of one Hiyoshi Wakashi was now in motion and Atobe was sure if he took it one careful step at a time that he would succeed.
-end.
Title: The Simple Man
For: feihu
Pairing: Atobe/Shishido
Words: ~1400
Summary: Atobe wants to spoil Shishido with the best food and culture from around the world.
His boyfriend was a bit of a foodie. An uncultured one, but a foodie nonetheless. So Atobe logically thought that the best birthday gift he could give Shishido would be a trip to one or three foreign locations with cuisine that would make him happy.
Shishido had after all enjoyed the variety of food offered during the class and tennis club trips. He still heard about the greatness of cheese fondue often enough for it to be distressing. He swore that if Shishido ever suggested dunking parts of his great self in cheese fondue for his licknig pleasure that he would have to hold a melted cheese intervention. There were places fondue should never go.
But as they’d yet to reach that point, Atobe was happy to whisk Shishido into the Atobe jet and head out across the world. First up was France, a culture capital of the world and with some divine wines.
Sadly, Atobe knew that Shishido wasn’t likely to appreciate the opera, fashion shows or wine. But he did know that he’d like the vast array of cheeses and breads. He also thought that Shishido, who did well in his history classes, would lke a few of the more historical places he planned on bringing him to.
“Are we there yet?” Shishido asked as he flicked off his 3DS and stretched out in his seat. Atobe had noticed him starting to get antsy a couple hours ago and had suggested playing a game while he did his German studies for the day, but it seemed that distraction was no longer enough. He checked the clock on display and the countdown until landing.
“Nearly. And then we can head to this lovely French bistro that’s near Notre Dame.”
“I don’t get why we couldn’t just go to a French restaurant in Tokyo if you wanted to go. Isn’t there like a super fancy one in a hotel your parents own?” Shishido asked.
Atobe had to remind himself that the obtuseness and blunt words were part of Shishido’s charms. No matter what happened to him, he would always be down to earth and not start fawning over Atobe just because his family owned quite a lot of impressive things. Shishido might use his acquaintance with Atobe to help him get the best cheese fondue in Japan but that was about it. He hadn’t even let Atobe buy him the 3DS he was playing, insisting that his parents knew he wanted it for his birthday and that he was okay waiting a couple more months for it.
Still, there were times he wished Shishido would at least feign being awed by his prowess and perhaps even clue in to the romantic seductions often taking place around him. “But that’s Tokyo. I was thinking that since it’s your birthday we should take advantage of the special occasion and enjoy the cuisine in its place of origin.”
“I guess. Think they have any good tennis courts tucked away somewhere we can play on?” Shishido asked leaning over toward Atobe’s seat.
“We’re going to Paris, the City of Love, a city filled with enough culture, history and wonderful cuisine to keep you occupied for a year and you want to play tennis?” It’s not like Atobe disliked tennis, on the contrary, he spent a great deal of time and energy practicing and improving his game but he also could appreciate when to take a break and enjoy other things.
“If you wanted to explore the City of Love you should have brought Yuushi. You know he eats stuff like that up,” Shishido countered with a poke of Atobe’s arm.
“I could have. But I thought I would enjoy its charms more with my boyfriend. Unless of course you’ve grown bored with my great self and are trying to pawn me off on Oshitari.” Atobe gave a mock look of hurt.
“Ha, yeah right,” Shishido said and gave Atobe’s arm another poke. “I’m just not into that lovey dovey stuff. But I guess if you’re gonna show me Versailles and Napoleon stuff it’ll be okay.”
Atobe smiled at Shishido’s predictable nature. “And the food, of course.”
“Don’t be lame. That goes without saying.” Shishido raised his hand from poking Atobe’s arm and flicked Atobe’s ear with his fingers before slumping back in his own seat and picking up his 3DS again.
Atobe just gave a small laugh before going back to his book. Even if long flights made Shishido antsy, he was sure that this would be his best birthday yet.
-0-0-0-0-
Shishido stared at the plane’s intercom as the pilot announced their new destination and it wasn’t Japan. “India?!” Shishido exclaimed. They had already done France, Italy and Norway and now they were going to India instead of home. It wasn’t that Shishido wasn’t enjoying the food or even the interesting places that Atobe dragged him to but this was beyond ridiculous now.
“Yes. You’ll love the authentic curries there and the chai teas,” Atobe said casually, a magazine already spread on his lap.
Shishido wanted to throw something at his head since the teen hadn’t even looked over.
“I want to go home,” Shishido said after a few minutes.
“What? Why? If you’re worried about school, I already took care of that and we have been working on the assignments together,” Atobe said looking at him finally.
“It’s not that.”
“Are you homesick?”
Shishido couldn’t tell if that was true concern or teasing in Atobe’s voice. Either way, he wanted to throw something at him again. “No, I’m not homesick. I’m not five, Atobe.”
“Then I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Shishido suspected that even if he tried to explain to Atobe that he just missed being at home with friends and speaking Japanese and not having to mind his manners all the damn time that Atobe wouldn’t get it. He’d probably be offended and think that his great and miraculous company wasn’t enough or something lame, too. So he’d just have to put it into terms that Atobe would get.
“It’s been fun… but have you ever heard of too much of a good thing?”
Atobe’s eyebrow went up. “Are you saying you’ve overdosed on fun?”
Shishido gave a shrug. “It happens.” He hoped that Atobe would take it as a compliment and not an insult.
“And so you’d rather go home?”
“Yeah… I need a break from the fun. I know you planned all of this and it must have been super hard work and stuff but… it’s too much.”
Atobe was looking at him like did when he was trying to see people’s flaws or maybe just see through someone and it was only out of being on the receiving end enough times that stopped Shishido from squirming like some idiot.
Eventually, Atobe let out a sigh and signaled for one of the flight attendants. “Tell the pilot to see if we can reroute to Haneda.”
She bowed and disappeared into the flight cabin.
“Satisfied?” Atobe asked.
Shishido couldn’t tell exactly how Atobe felt about cutting the trip short so Shishido just stuck to honest. “Yeah. No offense, but I’m getting sick of planes, even if they are as fancy as yours.”
“Are you trying to tell me that next year you’d like something a little less… fun?”
“Nothing wrong with staying in and ordering take out from your favourite fancy restaurant… we could put all this flight time to better use.”
Atobe’s eyes lit up with that, obviously intrigued to exactly what sort of entertainment they could get up to.
“I mean, you got those awesome courts at your house, we could be playing tennis right now instead of sitting here.”
Atobe laughed at that and reached over to ruffle Shishido’s hair. “Always tennis with you, ahn?”
Shishido punched his arm in retaliation and then fixed his hair. “Fine… we can stay indoors and do stuff, too.”
“Stuff, Shishido?” Atobe prodded.
Shishido huffed and looked away to hide his rosy cheeks. “Don’t be lame. You know what I mean.”
“Maybe I just like hearing you say it.”
“Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath. I’m not going to do any stuff with you when you’re dead.”
Atobe just laughed before he picked up his magazine. “Understood. Next time I’ll have the food imported and we can stay at home where we can play tennis and do stuff.”
Shishido gave into the urge to throw something and threw his blanket at Atobe’s head. He smiled as it spread out to cover his head and decided that he wasn’t completely overdosed on fun with Atobe quite yet.
-end.