TITLE: This and That
PART: One-Shot
GENRE: Shounen-Ai
AUTHOR: Simply Kim
PAIRING: Atobe Keigo x Tezuka Kunimitsu
FANDOM: Tennis no Oujisama
WORDS: 1,368DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the stuff, characters and series mentioned here, except this story. ;
NOTE #1: Blah or Blah is for emphasis. /Blah/is for conversations over the phone or flashbacks (if any). /Blah/ is for the conscience or whatever inner voice there is talking. Blah is for thoughts or random Japanese words.
THIS AND THAT
CRACK.
Tezuka felt a twinge of pain from the base of his spine and gritted his teeth.
That hurt.
Slowly, he sat up, careful not to move any further, lest the pain worsened. He sighed. This was probably one of the most embarrassing moments in his life.
This afternoon, while he was talking to the student council treasurer about this semester's finances, he advertently humiliated himself by slipping on a small puddle of water on top of the stairs. He failed to catch himself midway as his hands slipped from the banister and he ended up sprawled in an unrespectable heap on the last step – in front of the entire batch of freshmen having their orientation.
And the Kikumaru-Momoshiro duo.
It took only a few minutes before the entire academe knew about it – after all, they laughed out loud and pointed at him first before taking their time to help him.
He was in senior high, moving on to university in a few months, and he had just disgraced himself. So now, apart from his stinging tailbone, his pride was stinging too.
He grimaced as he remembered the long walk home. It was just unfortunate that Atobe was not available – as much as he hated to ride in it, he figured that the flashy limousine wouldn't be so bad. And then, just when he needed to sit in there the most, it wasn't anywhere to be found.
He cringed as he shifted his weight and tried to be as comfortable as he could. It wasn't as if he was an old man, but he sure felt like it. He could only move for short periods of time, the family doctor revealed early this evening; and for his sluggish movements, he was just as slow as his grandfather – no, he was even slower than his grandfather now.
He moved just like that old woman who kept on stubbornly crossing the street everyday at seven-thirty in the morning.
And she was already ninety.
He wanted a glass of water, is all. And now he was trying his hardest to ignore his dry throat while he debated on whether he should just call for one or try to get on his feet and suffer the travel downstairs. He gritted his teeth. He hated troubling people.
There was a firm knock on his door and Tezuka immediately stiffened. Who could it be this time of night? His mother? His overly-affected father? Curious, he opened his mouth to ask when his words were cut off by a deep, almost seductive voice.
He knew whom it was even before the door opened.
"Come in, Atobe." He said, all too late. The Hyoutei senior was already closing it behind him.
Tezuka's brow arched as he noted the paper bag held in the newcomer's hand. "What's that?" He enquired. "And why are you here?"
Atobe sighed dramatically and did his infamous snapping finger act. Well, he was no Kabaji, the bespectacled man mused, so there was no point in doing it. But he paid it no mind – whatever floated Atobe's boat, it was fine – as long as he didn't do anything too ridiculous.
Like –
He blinked. "What are you doing?"
Atobe Keigo smirked, used to doing whatever it was he wanted, he strode triumphantly, almost smugly towards the resting Tezuka and flipped the covers partly away, enough to accommodate him, and sat close.
"I'm gonna rest too." He declared; a smug smile on his face. "Ore-sama needs to after looking around for this."
Tezuka stared at the package dubiously. "It's not going to explode, is it?" he asked, taking it from Atobe's hands almost gingerly. The latter's response, was a predictable snort and a dismissive wave.
"How stupid do you think Ore-sama is, Ahn?" He retorted, obviously miffed by the mere suggestion. "If I wanted to kill you, I should've just stuck a knife in your chest the moment I walked in here! Besides," He snickered. "I don't plan on blowing myself up as well."
It brought a small smile on Tezuka's face. "Fine." He gave up, raising his other hand in defeat. "I can never win against you."
For some bizarre reason, something he recognised as hurt flashed in Atobe's eyes. It lasted about three seconds, but he felt like he had just kicked a sick puppy. And he didn't do anything even as remotely close as that – without good reason. A frown touched his brow as Atobe decided to dismiss his words and smile devilishly back, shifting positions as he did.
He was sitting further back now, and Tezuka had to twist his head all the way through just to see him. The bespectacled man stiffened for a bit but relaxed when he felt those familiar warm arms slither around his flat stomach under his pyjama shirt.
There was that warm feeling, the same one he felt when he was close to this person who had managed to invade his entire world. The small smile that touched his lips a few moments before bloomed to a tender smile as he leant sideways, into Atobe's embrace. He felt his tailbone crick in response, but it didn't matter now did it?
As long as he felt safe.
Warm lips touched the back of his neck, and he felt the tingle on his skin as he drew away and his breath blew softly on his dishevelled hair. It was just yesterday afternoon when he was seated just as comfortably and he had already missed it. They had been like this for almost three years now, after all.
And yesterday was…
Tezuka's cheeks turned a light shade of red, and he swallowed, clearing his throat afterwards to quell the burgeoning feeling of embarrassment. It was searing hot last night, he remembered, and he had never felt more alive…
He stomped the memories away as a slight burn edged into the pit of his stomach. This wouldn't do – he was still sore from that fall this afternoon… and that.
"You haven't looked inside." Atobe mused, his thumb circling bare skin. His other hand snaked around his waist as well, and Tezuka didn't have any room to manoeuvre himself but to lean even further back, making him wince. Atobe stilled for a moment before planting another kiss on his nape as an apology. "Ore-sama was worried about you, so I got that – the reason why I didn't get to go home with you this afternoon."
Touched, Tezuka nodded and focused on opening the small package. Upon opening, he peeked in and the smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a frown. "What's this?" He asked, taking out the small bottle of something suspicious. "Calcium pills?"
"Uh-huh." Atobe said a-matter-of-factly. "Well, I figured after what happened… you know… this and that… you need it, so…"
Did Fuji tell him I fell down the stairs during the freshmen club orientation? He thought. The slight burn was up a notch hotter now as he realised Atobe purposefully called to cancel on their regular going-home routine so he could buy this.
Suddenly, everything seemed so clear.
"Wada Calcium CD3" Atobe announced with something akin to pride. "They say the compounds in there absorb easily. They repair your bones and make them stronger. I figured after what happened it's going to hurt down there, so I decided to just up and buy one."
"Oh." And Tezuka was happy. "Thank you. You shouldn't have…"
Atobe sighed, tightening his hold on him. "I wanted to."
"Well, I guess it'd be better if I take them, so falls like this afternoon wouldn't hurt that much…"
Atobe stiffened and after a few moments, he leant forward to stare at Tezuka. His eyes were wide with horror. "You what?"
Tezuka stared back, perplexed. "I fell down the stairs." He reiterated. "I thought you knew?"
Atobe shook his head. "No one told me anything!"
"Then why did you buy me this?" He raised the plastic bottle in supplication, brow furrowing.
"Well, I thought that since last night was the first time we did this and that, it would hurt a lot when you wake up this morning, so I –"
And Tezuka proceeded on crushing the bottle against the awkward expression adorning Atobe's face.
ENDE
A/N: Feedbacks are greatly appreciated!