Chapter 8

Ohtori gazed restlessly out the window of the plane, fighting off boredom. Unfortunately there wasn't much to see; it was dark outside, and cloudy to boot. He'd given Shishido the window seat since he'd gotten it on the flight in, but truthfully it hadn't turned out to be much of a sacrifice. He hoped it would clear up later; Shishido didn't get many chances to fly, and though it would have taken torture to get him to admit it, Ohtori knew his partner was excited by the opportunity.

At the moment, however, the senior was sound asleep with his head resting against the side of the window, partially blocking the non-view. Ordinarily Ohtori would have been taking the chance to watch his partner in the softness of sleep, something he treasured because he saw it so rarely. Shishido truly was beautiful, especially when his face was relaxed like it was at the moment.

Looking at Shishido right now was only reminding Ohtori how frustrated he was with his partner. Other than that one day when he'd managed to coax the older boy into going outside, Shishido had flatly refused to leave Ohtori's side. And if he wasn't there, Mukahi was. Ohtori suspected the two seniors had come to some kind of agreement, splitting their 'Ohtori-tending' duties to ensure the junior would never be without help.

As a result, he'd never gotten a chance to talk to Atobe alone again. They'd spent some time together; they could hardly avoid it, spending all day stuck inside a relatively small set of rooms. But there was always someone else present.

Ohtori was going half crazy, and it wasn't only because Shishido and Mukahi were driving him up the walls. Every night he'd dreamed of Atobe, and the dreams had been rather... explicit. The nurse who'd given him the sedatives to help him sleep through the ache in his hands had warned him that it might have strange effects on his dreams, but this wasn't quite what he'd expected.

He wanted to talk to his captain. He wanted to know what this was between them, what it might mean to Atobe, and what if anything was going to happen when they got home. Most of all he wanted more of those drugging kisses, and he wanted to know what might happen if they weren't interrupted.

He'd hit puberty with a vengeance, apparently, and his hormones were refusing to be put aside now that they'd woken. It was distracting, was what it was, and he only hoped it wasn't going to end up interfering with his life too badly.

Shaking his head to try to clear it of thoughts that might lead to him reacting in an embarrassing way, Ohtori glanced around desperately for a distraction. Shishido wasn't the only one who'd fallen asleep. In front of them Mukahi was half in Oshitari's lap, and the tensai had leaned his head back with his eyes closed as well. Jirou across the way was draped over Hiyoshi, who managed to look annoyed at the imposition even though he was clearly asleep as well. In front of them Kabaji had a row to himself, since the plane was about half empty. The massive boy was stretched sideways over the seats, and looked unexpectedly gentle when he was asleep.

They were in business class of course; Atobe would settle for nothing less, and he wasn't about to let his team ride in coach while he enjoyed the luxury. The seats were quite comfortable, and by all rights Ohtori should have been sound asleep as well. They'd had a long day, and the others had finally coaxed him back out onto the slopes today. He was glad he'd let them, since he'd managed to get over his fear of skiing and started to enjoy himself by the end of the day. But though his body was exhausted, his mind and the ache in his hands wouldn't let him sleep.

He could have taken a sedative of course, but he was trying to avoid doing so until it was night in Japan, so that his sleep schedule wouldn't be entirely messed up when he got home. Besides which, he wasn't certain he wanted to fall asleep next to Shishido and have one of those dreams. He blushed just thinking about it.

In front of Mukahi and Oshitari, there was a rustle and a sigh. Ohtori blinked, a little surprised. Was Atobe awake as well? He could have just been moving in his sleep, of course, but that had sounded more like a bored sigh than a sleepy one.

Checking once more that Shishido was soundly asleep, Ohtori eased out of his seat and into the aisle. Most of the other passengers were asleep as well, so he was careful to be quiet as he made his way to the front.

Atobe had taken one of the front row seats next to the door, so that his foot could be propped up in front of him. Storm grey eyes turned to Ohtori, first with bored curiosity and then with genuine interest.

When Ohtori had chosen to sit so far from him, and with Shishido, Atobe had thought perhaps the junior had gotten over his infatuation after all. He hadn't so much as made eye contact with Atobe since the day they'd almost been caught kissing on the couch. So he was a little surprised to see the younger boy seeking him out now.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, his voice quiet to avoid waking the two behind him. Ohtori shook his head, a half smile playing over his lips.

"No, my hands are hurting after all the activity today, and I don't want to take a sedative now and screw up my sleep patterns. I thought I heard you moving around up here; is your leg bothering you?"

"A bit," Atobe admitted, an admission he wouldn't have made to many people. "The altitude isn't good for it, I think. Sit down, before I strain my neck looking up at you," he added with just a touch of exasperation. Ohtori laughed softly and sat next to him, half turned in the seat to face him.

The younger boy leaned his head against the back of the seat, his silver curls making a striking contrast against the dark blue fabric. Atobe found his fingers itching to reach out and run through the soft-looking curls, but he firmly squashed the impulse. This was neither the time nor the place, even if he could be sure the gesture would be welcome.

"Atobe?" Ohtori heard the uncertainty in his own voice, and flushed. "I just... I wondered, what's going to happen now?" He was a little nervous talking about this here. Judging by the soft snores he was quite certain Mukahi was asleep, but it was hard to tell with Oshitari.

Equally aware of their potential audience, Atobe simply shrugged. "It depends a great deal on what you want to have happen," he murmured in reply. "What about you and Shishido?"

Ohtori repressed a sigh. "Right now, the less I see of Shishido-san for a while, the better it will probably be for our friendship," he admitted. "He's been driving me crazy. And while I'm fairly certain I do have feelings that could develop further for him, right now it's just..." he gestured helplessly, searching for a word. "Potential. I don't even know for certain that he feels anything more than friendship for me, and even if he does, who knows how long it might take us to actually work up to saying something?"

"After this week, I think you can be fairly certain he has feelings for you in return," Atobe replied, eyes narrowing. He reminded himself firmly that jealousy was beneath him, and that he had no real claim to Ohtori in any case. "So why not just tell him how you feel, and be done with it?"

"It's not that simple," Ohtori said, biting his lip. "Shishido-san and I have built a fairly solid friendship between us, and an even more solid partnership. By saying anything, I put that all in jeopardy, and even if things do work between us, our friendship and partnership will never be the same."

"Where as you have less to lose if a relationship with me doesn't work out, is that it?" Atobe found he was highly displeased at the thought that something like that might be the only reason Ohtori would choose him over Shishido.

"That's part of it, but it's hardly the only thing," Ohtori hastened to assure him, hearing the edge in Atobe's voice. "It's mostly that... well," he blushed again, "Shishido-san isn't the one I catch myself thinking about any more. Maybe if he hadn't been so completely annoying all week, but..." he sighed and shook his head. "He was, and that's that."

Irrationally pleased, Atobe dared to reach out and rub his hand gently over the outside of Ohtori's knee. While they might be in danger of being overheard, nobody could see them except Kabaji and the stewardesses. And if there was one person Atobe trusted not to spread rumours of them around, it was Kabaji. The massive boy simply wouldn't consider it anyone else's business, and he wasn't exactly the talkative sort anyway.

Ohtori's irritated sigh modulated into one of soft pleasure, and he tilted his leg slightly into the contact. "So you think this could be more than just a vacation thing?" he asked, feeling oddly shy.

"It will be considerably more difficult to see each other once we get back without someone finding out," Atobe warned him. "And if people find out, you know rumours will be flying about favouritism and other such idiocies."

Now it was Ohtori's turn to shrug. "You're not technically our captain any more anyway, you seniors are supposed to have retired for the year, remember?" he reminded Atobe in amusement. Not that he was complaining about the senior former Regulars continuing to practice with the club, though he knew Hiyoshi was irritated at having his new authority undermined. It had meant he could continue to play and be with Shishido, and frankly, he got a lot more out of practices the former Regulars had attended.

"Anyway, it can't possibly be more difficult than it has been this last week," he added with a touch of exasperation joining the amusement. "I was starting to wonder if I wasn't being chaperoned on purpose!"

Atobe had to chuckle at that. He was fairly certain nobody except possibly Hiyoshi suspected anything, and Hiyoshi was keeping his mouth shut about it. Still, it had seemed as if Shishido was determined to ensure that his partner and their captain never had a moment alone together.

There was one matter he had to address, though. His voice grew a bit harder as he said, "You know this is entirely off the courts, I presume? Nothing changes between us there, no matter how far this goes."

"Of course I know that!" Ohtori couldn't help be a little offended that Atobe would think he might possibly expect a relationship between them to bring him special favours on the courts. "Atobe, we're both more than professional enough to keep personal matters out of the game. I've never let my feelings for Shishido-san affect things, have I?"

"No, you haven't," Atobe agreed, relaxing again and sliding his thumb across Ohtori's knee to the inside of his leg, and rubbing it back and forth there. "I just had to be certain. Forgive me."

Ohtori nodded, mostly mollified, and glanced back at Oshitari and Mukahi. He'd raised his voice more than he'd meant to with that last comment, and he'd thought he'd heard one of them shift a bit. When there was no further movement from behind them, he relaxed back into his seat a bit.

"You could tutor me," he suggested, the idea coming to him out of nowhere. "You're good at languages, but my grade could stand to improve. And Shishido-san is worse at them than I am, he prefers subjective things like history."

"Mm, that's not a bad idea," Atobe agreed. "Very well then, I shall be your tutor. Expect to be worked just as hard as you are on the courts," he warned, smiling wickedly at the younger boy.

Smiling back, Ohtori leaned a little closer. "What are you going to do if I don't meet your expectations?" he asked, his voice a little too innocent even for him. "You can't make me run laps around the room..."

"I'm sure I'll think of something sufficiently motivating," Atobe purred in return, his hand sliding a little higher and a little more to the inside. Ohtori bit back a moan and fought not to squirm in the seat. "Though it might be something more along the lines of a reward rather than a punishment," Atobe added as he inched the hand higher still.

Losing the battle not to squirm at the touch, Ohtori let out a breathy little moan. He hastily clamped a hand over his own mouth, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I think I can find a better way to keep you quiet than your hand," Atobe murmured practically right into the junior's ear, he'd leaned over so far.

"Atobe, we can't, not here in public," Ohtori hissed, both mortified and strangely thrilled. Atobe laughed into his ear, sending shivers all up and down his spine.

"I'm not planning anything too risque, don't worry Choutarou," Atobe assured him, deliberately being familiar by using the other boy's given name. "Relax and enjoy yourself. We've still got a week of vacation, and we won't be able to see each other until school starts again."

That was true, Ohtori realized in dismay. Atobe had never made any effort to seek him out during the breaks before this, and any change in that pattern would be questioned. Moreover, he had made plans to get together to play with Shishido a couple of times this week, and he had no doubt his partner would manage to be as smothering in the next week as he had been in the last.

"You're shivering," Atobe noted, still with that rich purr in his voice. "It is a little chilly in here, isn't it?" Ohtori gave him a look; Atobe knew perfectly well that Ohtori's shivering and squirming had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature. He ought to, considering it was his hand that was causing the problem in the first place.

Atobe just smirked back at him, and finally lifted his hand away from Ohtori's leg. It was only so he could lift it to summon a stewardess, however. "A blanket for my friend and I," he ordered imperiously when the woman was near enough to hear him without him having to raise his voice. "The last thing either of us needs now is to catch a cold," he added in an aside to Ohtori, though his eyes were full of a wicked mirth that matched that little purr in his voice.

Still smirking, the older boy shoved the armrest between their seats up out of the way, and accepted the thin blanket the stewardess returned with. He shook it out over their legs, making sure it draped out far enough to cover his cast as well. Since that foot was raised, it created a bit of a tent out of the blanket. He slid his hands under the blanket as well, as if they were also cold. "There, that's much better," he murmured. "Don't you think so?"

"You..." Ohtori had to shake his head and laugh softly as he felt Atobe's hand return to its former position on his inner thigh. So long as he was careful not to move his hand too fast or far, the tenting of the blanket covered Atobe's gentle caress of Ohtori's leg.

"Struck speechless at my genius, are you?" Atobe asked him graciously, his tone a bit patronizing. "It's all right, Ohtori-kun, I quite understand. Who could blame you?"

Ohtori couldn't help it - he just had to reach out and smack their captain firmly on the arm, just as he would have if Shishido or his sister had said something like that. Not that they ever would; there was nobody quite like Atobe. "You are incorrigible!" he whispered, torn between laughter and a moan as that furtive hand slid a little higher.

"On the contrary, Choutarou," and Ohtori shivered again as Atobe put a little twist to the intonation of his name that made it sound far more familiar than it ever had when Shishido used it. "You imply a flaw, and perfection is exclusive to flaws by its very nature."

Realizing that his squirming was making it far more obvious what was going on than anything Atobe was doing, Ohtori drew a deep breath and forced himself to sit still. "You know between this and your apparent delight in running us all ragged on the courts, I'm beginning to think you may be a closet sadist," he accused Atobe breathlessly.

"And yet you're still sitting here," Atobe pointed out with a smug little smile. Truly, that breathy quality to the junior's voice, combined with the muffled look of desire in his sweet brown eyes was positively intoxicating. How had Shishido managed to avoid breaking down and taking advantage of his partner? He obviously had a great deal more self control than Atobe had given him credit for.

Such a pity that his restraint, rather than winning the junior to his side, had caused him to lose his opportunity. A fact Atobe was more than willing to take advantage of.

Distracted by his own smug thoughts and his fascinated observation of the expressions flitting over Ohtori's face, Atobe nearly jumped in surprise when he felt long fingers brushing against his thigh in retaliation. "Turn about is fair play, Atobe," Ohtori reminded him, with that hint of implacable will in his voice that usually only showed up on the courts.

His musician's fingers danced delicate patterns over the rich fabric of Atobe's slacks, making the senior stifle a moan of his own, and Ohtori smiled. It was the same thing that made people dismiss him and concentrate on Shishido on the courts; his sweet and innocent nature combined with his easy-going personality. Then just when they'd forgotten about him entirely and thought they were about to get the ball past the senior, there Ohtori was, all fierce determination and strength.

Chuckling softly as he conceded the point to the younger boy, Atobe leaned up and captured the junior's lips in another searing kiss. Ohtori leaned into it eagerly, shifting his body so that Atobe was resting half against him in an echo of the position they'd been in up on the mountain.

Atobe had always assumed he would have no interest in someone taller than he was, since it would put him in the position of the 'girl'. But he found he didn't mind in the least having Ohtori wrapped snugly around him, their hands sliding over the fabric of their pants as their tongues danced in imitation.

Neither of them quite dared to venture any higher than mid-thigh, a combination of the public situation and natural hesitation at doing something so bold for the first time warring with their hormones. That didn't stop them from making the most of what they were willing to do, however, and Atobe found it was growing increasingly difficult to control his breathing. The fact that Ohtori was panting softly each time they separated for air was both mollifying and gratifying.

For his part, Ohtori was more than satisfied with the way Atobe grew increasingly more passionate, touching and kissing him and rubbing their bodies subtly together as he shifted in the seat to get closer. It made his shy fantasies of Shishido seem rather naive and entirely too innocent in comparison. It was with a sense of wonder that he realized that he, Ohtori Choutarou, could have such a powerful effect on the unflappable Atobe Keigo.

However, Atobe wasn't the only one affected by what they were doing. Finally Ohtori had to pull away, just far enough to whisper, "Enough. Atobe..." He took a deep breath and tried to calm his frantically racing heart. It felt like it was pounding hard enough to make his whole body shake slightly with the force of it.

By long habit of ruthlessly controlling himself, Atobe was outwardly more composed than the junior. Inwardly, however, he was suffering from much the same symptoms, and he'd been just about to put a stop to it himself. Much as part of him wanted to do something rash like drag the junior into one of the bathrooms, he didn't really want to be party to something so vulgar and... well, common. Nor did he think relatively shy and proper Ohtori would respond well to something like that. He was grateful Ohtori had pulled back first, allowing him to maintain the impression that he was in complete control of himself and the situation.

"As you wish," he said softly, with a smirk that was only slightly superior. He drew away a bit, though he found himself reluctant to truly separate them. He solved the problem by shifting so he was leaning back with his head pillowed on Ohtori's muscled shoulder, settling them so they were still pressed together from shoulder to knee. "You should get some rest while you can, Ohtori-kun," he added, once again the solicitous captain. "If your hands aren't still hurting?"

Fighting to stifle a laugh, Ohtori shifted so he was slightly lower in the seat, allowing him to rest his head atop Atobe's in turn. It was an oddly comfortable position, one he was a little amazed Atobe would put himself in. But he wasn't complaining, far from it.

"I think I could sleep a bit now," he said, though he wasn't entirely sure his still racing pulse would in fact settle enough for that while Atobe was still this close. He shifted his hand, still on the senior's thigh, and fumbled for Atobe's hand. When the older boy obligingly moved to give it to them, he laced their fingers together and rested them between them both. "Is this all right?"

"It's fine," Atobe agreed, a bit startled to have to bite back a yawn. He hadn't meant to take his own advice, but he supposed he needed the sleep as much as anyone else. "Go to sleep, Choutarou. There are hours still until we land."

Ohtori nodded, rubbing his cheek against the rough silk of Atobe's hair, and closed his eyes. To his surprise he found himself drifting almost immediately, the stress and excitement of the day at last catching up to him. "Sleep well, Atobe," he murmured, and received an equally sleepy sound of assent.

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

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