Disclaimer: I don't own these character nor the anime they were taken from.
For such an expensive car, Tezuka was traveling in, there were some things that didn't do its price justice. The seats were certainly very comfortable, but for all he cared they could have been made of gold or even diamonds. What was unforgivable in his opinion, was its obvious poor lighting and the strangely cramped space. It made him feel closer to the other boy beside him... in a very uncomfortable way.
When he agreed to go on a date with Atobe Keigo, because he kept nagging him about it and even went to visit him once or twice, he thought the other boy would take it slowly and elegantly, like the gentleman he always bragged he was surely would have. Keigo knew Tezuka was the shy type, he wasn't even comfortable calling what they had a relationship, so it was beyond the young player why he didn't care about those embarrassing details. Or maybe he did it on purpose. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time he had done so.
Kunimitsu remembered one particular surprise visit to his house, when Atobe played the role of the nice perfect girlfriend so well his parents and grandfather kept referring to him that way. Of course he knew they didn't even dream that their relationship was that close, they had only played along because it was so obvious it just looked totally unreal. Needless to say Tezuka nearly had a nerve wreck with that little joke. They didn't talk, on the phone or anywhere else, privately for the next weeks, until he had forgiven that rich bastard enough to read the letter he had sent him, a cute pink one with little hearts on it, inviting him for a date.
Admitting that the letter was cheesy, as well as an offense to Atobe's perfect communication skills, wasn't even a beginning to its description, but it still made Tezuka curl in a corner of his bed and pick up the phone to break the silence. He accepted, but with conditions. He was to be picked up during daytime and come back before midnight. He himself understood how dangerous an hour it turned after midnight, he would start to get tired and more sincere... and a lot more receptive to anything his boyfriend wanted to do. Also, no little 'accidents' or the sorts were to happen, he wanted to have the situation under control from beginning to end. To every single thing, the other boy had said a most certain yes and even promised some more of his own.
And now there he was, sitting just beside Keigo in a small dimly lighted car, traveling who knew where to, for what he thought was hours, and most likely was since it was very dark outside. The night had probably fallen a long time ago. It was the third time he felt a hand setting itself comfortably over a thigh... and worse of all, it was his hand and most absolutely NOT his thigh.
"Atobe, I'm a little tired of this, tell me where we're going, please." I kept a very polite tone, he couldn't technically blame Atobe for the damned car being small and his own hand being always found wandering about king's leg. But he secretly still blamed him for the situation, who in Hell's name had ordered him to have such deliciously perfect legs?
"Patience is a virtue dear Kunimitsu, and please don't be so formal we are officially dating now, call me Keigo." He dared getting his face closer, only to be gently pushed away by his lover's hands.
"Don't get so familiar with me, I agreed on conceding you a chance, not marriage." The very idea of it made him blush deeply and thank, for the first time that night, for the dim light in there.
"Not... yet." He got close one more time, just to feel Tezuka's trembling hand over his strong chest, something both of them liked more than they would have admitted aloud.
"Not EVER if you keep that frivolous behavior." Having noticed he had just made it a possibility, he covered his face with his hands, bending his body down, pretending to be just a little tired.
Out of politeness, and because he feared his boyfriend wouldn't take the joke, Atobe refrained from referring to the possibility of marriage. He didn't forget it though, keeping it safe inside his mind until the relationship was far enough developed for that step. It was just too much to ask his wild mouth, though, for as much as he tried, to keep 'ignoring' that naughty hand that kept popping up once in a while.
"Anyway it's not my hand that keeps running all the way to your body, quite the opposite." He chuckled a little just to make sure Tezuka understood he wasn't half as embarrassed by that as the other obviously was.
"Because there IS an awful big way to go from my body to yours. Quite frankly, Atobe, I thought you were rich enough to afford a decent car." That was the reason Atobe knew his little man was totally in love with him and nobody else. He had never seen his boyfriend standing up for himself, much less for a lost cause where the fault was obviously his, the way he did with him.
When they talked it was as if he wasn't afraid of sounding childish or aggressive and just welcomed his normal free self.
Of course the fact that the boy was still incredibly shy and abnormally self conscious, together with his naturally polite and thoughtful self, made their conversations a little bit hard to handle and mostly one-sided. Still he knew it wouldn't be long until his Kunimitsu started to open a little more of his heart to him.
"I give up, you won! What do you want as a reward?" Just because he knew of his boyfriend's weaknesses it didn't mean he would accept them without trying to turn them into strengths. Atobe knew what he wanted, and he also knew how badly the other boy yearned for closeness, why not just do it since it was what both wanted?
"Fine, I want to know where we're going." The fast way he spoke, shortly followed by crossing his own arms over his chest, stole a good laugh out of the king. It would have offended Tezuka too, had he not heard his own voice, as it left his lips, and noticed how violently his arms had moved to their place. He also ended up chuckling with a little embarrassment.
"I can't tell you anything more than that we're already there." He loved to play those dirty games, even if he had promised he would keep decent, nothing forbade him from annoying his lover for a little while longer, just for the sake of seeing that reaction again.
"Be serious, Atobe, inside this car? I thought you would be more inventive." Kunimitsu didn't notice when the car had stopped, several minutes ago because he couldn't even feel it when that piece of junk was moving at all, it was one of his clues for its expensiveness.
It was strange for Keigo that his boyfriend actually believed they would have their date in a car. He wasn't sure if he was more amused or sad with the fact. Oh my poor dear, how mistreated have you exactly been by this vulgar society of yours?
"Fortunately enough Ore-sama can still afford something a little more imaginative. Please follow me outside, but I beg you to close your eyes." He knew Tezuka wouldn't find the purpose in what he asked, and was even expecting for some insistence on his part. So it was understandable how startled he was when he saw the other boy gently closing his eyes, just voicing up one worry.
"Don't try anything funny while I'm not looking. The second you do I'm out of here!" He didn't have to repeat his request, nor to say it to begin with. Atobe sure was a little naughty, but he would be dead before he did something to his beloved that wasn't fully authorized, otherwise he would already had indulged in a lot more than just getting closer in the car.
When they stepped out, Keigo kept holding his boyfriend's hand very tightly, as if he was afraid of loosing him. It had been a long trip and he had, as always, been completely confident in all his choices for the date. It was just as they walked farther away from the car that he started to feel nervous and insecure. He knew it was ridiculous, he had literally made a thorough research on Tezuka's personal tastes, leaving nothing outside his calculations.
He had requested that Tezuka dined earlier, still at home because they would have little to eat during the date, just some tea and cake. When asked why by his many advisors, he had answered the truth, that he was terribly scared that something might go wrong and it would be a lot easier to let accidents happen when food was involved, specially expensive food.
When he arrived at the place of their date he didn't order the other to open his eyes just yet. He took some time to analyses the place before, just to know if everything was perfect.
Against every counselor's wishes, for him to choose the beach or a night in the opera, he had chosen a garden, simply a garden and yet it was a lot more than that. As he got Tezuka on his knees on the wooden porch, in front of the scenery for some hours, and the rest of the night if his lover agreed, he spent a whole minute watching if everything had been planted the way he ordered. The way it had taken him months to figure out how and when to plant.
Two tall Sakura trees reigned over the wide private garden, surrounded by all kinds of Japanese flowers and bushed. In the middle of all those Asian wonders, trying not to break the solemness of the organized composition, were another set of equally curious additions. He had ordered for Occidental greenery to be planted also, paying special attention to Germanic ones. His intent was for them to be a part of that place, yet stand out as foreigners. Every single bush or tree was filled with elegant flowers, as if it had been caught in the right middle of spring, even if it was the beginning of the winter and the night was cool and unwelcoming for them to bloom. Atobe had spared no money or effort in doing all that, most times actively participating in it himself.
"You can open them now." A servant had just set the tea down and left them alone. The delicate smell of traditionally brewed Jasmine Tea did nothing to calm him down as he impatiently waited for Tezuka's reaction.
Not being the traditional place for a date, he still thought it would be perfect for his beloved since it was like him, traditional and elegant, with a hint of seriousness, but filled with the most beautiful little secrets if one cared to search in the shadows. He had also chosen the night because of that, it was the coldest and darkest part of the daily cycle, but the one that kept more marvelous secrets when explored. It would, if his lover agreed to it, be turned into a gift for him to keep visiting as he wished and, if Atobe was lucky enough, he would be chosen as company. He knew it might be too much to ask, but still hoped Kunimitsu would find the meaning in all those little things and not just dismiss it as being simply beautiful.
"It's... beautiful..." It didn't sound beautiful in his voice, though. It sounded more than glorious and less than insignificant, something between naturally gorgeous and artificially unpleasant. Something that was cold until you found its burning hot core, like a hard old tree with a fresh green childish heart beating strong. When Tezuka spoke about the garden he could see all its harmonious contradictions and he saw himself in it. It was enough to give some confidence back to the king.
"Isn't it?" Of course both knew he wasn't speaking about the garden, as beautiful as it might be, for it was only a different way for Atobe to compliment his lover. "It's yours. You can come in and out as you please." He finished his speech delivering Kunimitsu a small silver key.
"Thank you." To Keigo's big surprise he didn't refuse his offer, on contrary he didn't try to hide his obvious instantaneous affection for that place. "But I have nothing to give you." He still sounded a little distant, but when his eyes happened to passed by his boyfriend, Tezuka couldn't help but smile shyly and send him a very caring look.
"You don't have to... yet. I can wait until you're ready to give me what I want, because I know you will." Insecurity didn't suit him, so he hide it the best he could. The truth was that there was nothing he feared more than being rejected by the man he loved most in the world, but he knew that it was too much out of character on his side to just admit it.
He didn't have to say anything more. Having a very sensitive soul, Kunimitsu couldn't ignore the small doubt that passed by his boyfriend's eyes the moment they met his. That gave him courage on his own side, seeing how much doubt he had put on his beloved's head it was just fair that he would undo it, before it made them both suffer from that distance even more.
Leaning forward, not very sure of what to do, Tezuka tried to make the other understand just how important he was for him. He got closer to Atobe's hear and, blushing lightly due to his own boldness, tried to voice what his heart kept softly whispering for a long time.
"I would love to come back here... with you Keigo..." His lover's eyes widened at the melody that had just been gifted to his hears. Keigo felt in heaven with the first words he heard, but when he heard his own name, coming from those precious lips, it turned into the most delicate flowery fragrance. He just felt the need to capture it there and not letting it escape into that dirty destroyed world.
In a second his lips were covering those of his lover. It wasn't a kiss so much as a way to protect the innocence of that mouth. It wasn't even until he felt Kunimitsu's tongue slowly caressing his own that Atobe understood what exactly he had used to shut him up. They took their time exploring each other, neither feeling the need for air until it became obvious that their only reason to live needed it as well.
Expecting awkwardness or shame from his lover, or himself for that matter, the king was pleasantly presented with the realization of just how natural that situation felt. He didn't even have to say anything, because his lover already knew what to do. With all the contradictions keeping them from totally understanding each other, both boys found, with their lips, a common point where they could meet their small similarities, it was their love for one-another.
He watched as Tezuka laid his body on the cold wood and unbuttoned his shirt, inviting him to help him with the rest of his clothes. There was no place for bashfulness as the king himself undressed and covered his lover's body with his own, kissing him repeatedly, as if to make him understand just how far his love went. It didn't take him a lot longer to get rid of the rest of the clothes, carrying on with his small torture of kisses. Their connection was adoration and passion mixed with love and care. When they merged in one the emotion was so strong none could utter a single sound and when it came to an apparent end they just stayed that way, holding each other for fear of loosing their closeness and intimacy, but deep inside knowing it wouldn't happen anyway.
It might have been strange, for anyone else, to see such a shy and seemingly hard to please boy offering himself so willingly during a first date, right after his first gift. But it was the fact that it didn't surprise Atobe that made him his only true match. In his mind it was easy to understand, though. Someone like Tezuka would only give his full trust to a person who knew him better then himself and cared for him more than he himself did, it was only natural for this to be the outcome since Keigo lived to serve his beloved and make him happy.
It was true that Kunimitsu, hadn't given him marriage yet, only promising a first trial date. But, right then, both felt like marriage couldn't have done their first night justice, even if they had rushed into one as soon as morning came. So they just kept hugging some more minutes, waiting for the cold to force them into their clothes and back to each other's arms, once that was taken care of. They both felt no need to rush things and made a silent pact to only go back to that garden together. Also, to only connect that way each time they went back to that intimate place which so much resembled the secret garden inside Tezuka's heart.