Day 2 ★ Fic by neooldetokyo 'Hair of the Dog' PG
02
Hair of the Dog, part 1 by neooldetokyo
It was the 'English mulled cider' that had done it, Choutarou decided. Atobe's family were very attached to a fairytale English Christmas. Atobe was very attached to the idea that playing host meant plying everyone with ridiculous volumes of drink. He stared groggily at the ceiling above his bed, vaguely aware that his cat had taken up residence at the foot of his duvet - further limiting his already cramped space. He moved a foot gingerly and she purred in response.
He shut his eyes and turned away from the light seeping insidiously, insistently, from the crack around the blinds that he had clearly not pulled down far enough when retiring late last night, or early this morning, he corrected himself.
His phone buzzed from under his pillow and the second-year high school student grappled for it, pulling it out with clumsy fingers and having to make a concentrated effort to pull his focus together on the text that flashed up.
U OK?
Hiyoshi. Never one for many words. Even so Ohtori reflected that there must be a reason that his friend had sent the message. Atobe's parties were pretty legendary amongst the local high school students, and with good reason but, barring a headache and the occasional bruise, Choutarou had never had any reason to enquire after his health subsequent to the event.
Then there was a noise, inexplicably from the floor beside his bed. The tall boy pulled himself over the edge to look, expending no little of the precious energy he had to do so, to find his doubles partner Shishido gently snoring in just a t-shirt and boxers.
Choutarou frowned for a moment, trying to recollect his return from the party. His parents were away this weekend - although his sister was back from university for the holidays - so he must have invited Shishido to stay over. Weird that he didn't make it to the guest room though. Guess we just passed out? Ohtori hazarded a guess. Something was niggling at him though.
His train of thought, already precariously pitching through his headachy fog, derailed completely as his phone buzzed again.
Congratulations! We never knew you had it in you!
Gakuto and Yuushi.
This one was replete with a smug monkey sticking out its tongue.
The silver-haired boy sat back boggling slightly at this message as Shishido's phone also buzzed from somewhere under the bed.
"Huh? Wassat?" The third-year sat up slowly, groping about, hair even more wild and windswept than usual, before turning to his teammate.
"Ch'tro … why 'm in your room?" the sleepy voice and the slightly rolling eyes made for a comical picture. The slender boy looked down at the phone he had retrieved. "An' why is that bitch Gakuto congratulatin' me?"
Choutarou pulled himself to the edge of the bed and raked a hand through his hair, as if to soothe his sore head, before looking at Shishido with his head at a tilt.
"I … don't know. But I got the same message."
"Huh. Did we …" The third year shook his head a little as if trying to wake himself further. "Did we play them last night?"
"Play them?" Choutarou's voice expressed surprise. Presumably not then.
"Or did we challenge them to a drinking contest?" Shishido looked at his doubles partner "Nah, you wouldn't do anything that dumb." Neither of them discounted Shishido but presumably it was something that were both involved in.
Shishido sighed. "Nothing doing. Let's admit defeat and give them their fun then." He pulled out his phone
what u talkin about?
and sent the message to Mukahi.
Choutarou looked back at his own phone. "Hiyoshi asked me if I was alright, too."
Shishido meant this news with a slanted eyebrow, just as his phone beeped. "Remind me never to attend one of Atobe's Christmas parties again. Ah, a reply."
He looked at his phone and frowned. The message was simple.
Oh, this is BRILLIANT.
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English Mulled Cider
Ingredients
1 pint (16 fluid ounces) cider
2 fluid ounces dark rum
9 fluid ounces apple and ginger tea, from herbal teabag
1 1/2 ounces soft dark brown sugar
2 clementines
4 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
2 fresh bay leaves
2 cardamom pods
Directions
Pour the cider, rum and herbal tea into a wide saucepan. Add the sugar and place the saucepan over a low heat. Slice the clementines in half and stick a clove into each half. Add the clementines to the pan. Break the cinnamon sticks in half. Add the cinnamon, bay leaves and cardamom pods to the saucepan. Heat the saucepan until the mixture is almost boiling. Turn down the heat once the pan is near to boiling.
To serve, ladle the mulled cider into heatproof glasses with handles. Serves 6.