Disclaimer: I own very little.
A/N: One of the six 1,004 word fics I wrote for Atobe's birthday, which is today.
Warmth
Atobe was, more often than not, quite busy. Not even his birthday was an exception; the huge celebration took quite some time, as did the private party for the regulars afterwards. Nevertheless, even Atobe could make time for himself if the cause was important enough.
This meant he was the first one to leave his own party, telling his teammates to continue having fun in his absence, rolling his eyes at the catcalls and teasing comments he got for this. Like he cared about their opinion. What he did on his private time was his own business, and if he was leaving Kabaji behind that was his own business, too. Besides, even if he had been inclined to take Kabaji along, the second-year seemed to be having quite too much fun talking with Ohtori. It would have been truly a shame to interrupt the two.
Thus it was alone that Atobe got into the awaiting limo, quietly looking out of the window as they drove on. Upon finally reaching the address he had given the driver, Atobe got out, walking off to where he was really headed to.
While he quite appreciated the comfort of a warm car in a chilly night, his own business was only his.
He was on time, reaching the designated café at exactly the agreed-upon time. The person he was waiting for was not. This didn't truly surprise him; even the fastest people were late when they didn't start running in time.
And running he arrived, out of breath and his cheeks flushed, huffing and puffing in the chilly air. Atobe couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"You're late," he said, because it was true, and he didn't exactly make a habit of lying.
"Shut up," Kamio muttered, then shoved an obviously hastily wrapped package towards him. "Here. Take it."
"Ahn?" Atobe raised his eyebrows, accepting the parcel. "Do you want me to open it now?"
"Well, duh." Kamio rolled his eyes. "It's your birthday, isn't it? If not now, then when'd you open it? Christmas?"
"No need to get cheeky with ore-sama." Atobe huffed. "Wouldn't you at least prefer we go inside? It must be warmer in there." This was the thing he hated most about autumn. Though the days were pleasantly warm, the nights could occasionally get chilly. And today was definitely one of those chilly nights.
Kamio thankfully made no protest at his suggestion. Therefore, they soon were sitting inside, Kamio with a huge mug of hot chocolate and Atobe with his favourite tea. He quite liked this particular café; it was quiet, classy, and the owner was no fan of gossip. The perfect place to meet someone when you didn't want everyone to know about it.
Setting the parcel on the table, Atobe began carefully unwrapping it. He could feel Kamio's eyes on him, impatient as ever. However, he took his time taking off the tapes and folding the wrapping papers carefully to reveal… something.
"And this is… what, exactly?" Atobe looked critically at the object. It was… fuzzy. And a mild shade of purple, too.
"It's a scarf, idiot." Kamio glared at him. "A scarf! You could tell if you actually bothered to take it out of the wrappings, you know."
"A scarf?" Atobe raised his eyebrows. "It's a bit too early for that yet, surely."
"It'll soon be winter," Kamio replied. "And besides, I couldn't think of anything else! I mean, anything I could buy, you already own." He pouted. "So I asked my sister to help me make this." There was a slight flush on his face that probably no more had a lot to do with the run through the cool night.
"You made it yourself?" Not like he couldn't have told for the, ah, interesting… texture. That was to say, the various irregularities and knots.
"Well, yeah." Kamio looked away, seemingly a bit embarrassed. "I put a lot of time and effort into it, too, so don't laugh. I even picked the colour just for you."
Indeed. The colour was one he might have picked himself, actually. And was that some glittery thread he spied woven among the fuzzy yarn?
"I wouldn't dream of laughing," Atobe said, perfectly sincere for once. He'd received a lot of gifts that day, but nothing with as much time and thought put into it."Thank you. I'll wear it as soon as the weather allows."
"Really?" Kamio's eyes widened. He actually seemed surprised.
"Really," Atobe replied, just the tiniest bit annoyed that his words would be doubted thus. "What did you expect me to do? Shove it to the back of my closet?"
"Well, with you, one never truly knows," Kamio murmured, then smirked. "You know… you aren't that bad in the end."
"Ore-sama should hope so," Atobe huffed. "Considering how long we've been dating, you'd be quite an idiot to stay with me if you only now realized that. Unless, of course, you were merely blinded by ore-sama's overwhelming brilliance," he added then. "In that case, it's perfectly acceptable."
"…Prick." Kamio sent him another glare through a veil of dyed red hair. "I really don't know why I bother."
"My, my. Your feelings for me truly go from one end to another today." Atobe shook his head in what could have been either amusement or exasperation; even he wasn't sure which. Putting the gift aside, he then brought his tea cup up to his lips, taking a sip. It had cooled down during their conversation, though thankfully not enough to be unpleasant to drink.
"So sorry I won't worship you constantly like everyone else," Kamio grumbled.
"Oh, really now?" Atobe gave him a brief smirk over his teacup, along with a sly gaze. With great satisfaction he saw a new blush taking over Kamio's cheeks. "…You didn't have to get me anything, you know."
"I know," Kamio said. "But I wanted to."
"I know." Atobe smiled. "It actually does mean a lot to me."
Come winter, he did wear the scarf.