4.
Jirou was banging on Atobe's door.
The blonde had been the first to wake up, and felt a shiver run down his spine as he stared into the darkness. He wished his bags would just show up so he could get his nightlight – his mom did pack his nightlight, or at least he hoped she did.
When Atobe didn't open the door, Jirou opened it himself. Atobe never locked doors, but no one really walked in on him. Some first year did that once, and they got their head bit off (or that's what the rumors say).
"Atobe?" Jirou called out meekly. It was dark in Atobe's room besides the faint glow from the open laptop. Atobe was curled up next to his laptop, his mouth open as a small noise escaped those lips. Jirou stared at the heir's lips, and then his eyes went down to Atobe's still naked upper body.
"A-Atobe," he tried again.
Atobe stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake up.
And people called him a sound sleeper. He jumped over to the bed, closing Atobe's laptop, not even wanting to know what the heir was looking at, and grabbed onto what he could of Atobe's shoulders.
"Atobe, wake up," Jirou said, trying not to stutter as he forced the blood back to his body. Why was he blushing? He had seen guys naked before, why was Atobe's bare chest so different?
"Mother," Atobe said quietly. Jirou took his hands off as Atobe slowly opened his eyes. The heir seemed just as startled as Jirou. "Jirou," Atobe said, sitting up and clearing his throat. "What time is it?"
"Like, five in the morning, I think." Jirou ran a hand through his thick, knotted, curly hair. "I woke up, and it was too dark to see anything, so I came over here."
Atobe made a noise. He glanced at his now closed laptop, then back at Jirou. "Why didn't you wake Hiyoshi up?"
"He's meaner than you when he wakes up."
Atobe raised an eyebrow. "So I'm mean?" Jirou immediately waved his hands, apologizing. Atobe wanted to smirk because Jirou's blush was so strong it spread down to his bare chest. Instead of smirking, he just sighed softly. "I know what you meant, Jirou. Why don't you go watch something on TV? There's a large television in the lounge."
Jirou wiggled a bit. "I'm still tired…"
Atobe sighed again, and picked up his laptop. He moved from the middle of the bed to one side. "I'll be working," Atobe told Jirou as the blonde crawled to the other side. Jirou slid under the covers as Atobe said, "I'll try to be quiet, but I'm not making any promises."
Jirou smiled, turning his back towards Atobe. "You're definitely nicer than Hiyoshi."
Atobe didn't say anything. Instead, his fingers danced across the keyboard as his eyes darted from documents to the tennis club's private page. He glanced at Jirou from time to time, and by the way he was breathing, Atobe assumed he was asleep. Atobe thought about stopping his work and getting some sleep, but he had to finish that policy for Sakaki and write up a speech for a merger that his father was doing…
When Atobe finally did finish, Jirou was snoring. Atobe closed his laptop, sliding it onto the nightstand. He puffed his pillow and turned his back towards Jirou. The second his head hit the pillow, his whole body relaxed.
"Ngh," Jirou whimpered as he turned under the sheets. He rolled over to Atobe, still dead asleep, and draped an arm over Atobe's chest.
Atobe sighed. "I am not a teddy bear, Jirou."
Jirou wiggled against him, pressing his bare chest against his captain's bare back. Atobe sighed and closed his eyes, hoping his will would force himself to sleep. At least Jirou was warm.
.
The next morning, Atobe woke up before Jirou. Jirou had rolled off of him during the night, making it easy for Atobe to get out of the bed without waking him up. He spotted a bag on the inside of his door with a note. Walking over, Atobe picked up the bag and read the note.
The bags arrived twenty minutes ago; they are in the second-floor lounge.
-K
Atobe crumpled up the note Kabaji had left, tossing it into the trashcan. He set the bag on the dresser, unzipping it. He pulled out a pair of designer jeans and a tight, navy blue sweater and quickly changed. After tossing his dirty clothes into the corner of the room (I'll need to ask the maids where they want us to put the laundry, he thought), he left the room, making sure to close the door behind him so no one disturbed Jirou. If it was anyone else, he would have woken them up, but Jirou smiled in his sleep and Atobe just didn't have the heart.
"Atobe!" he heard someone call from downstairs.
"Atooobe!"
"Moron!"
"Monkey King!"
Atobe looked out the window and saw that the bus had left. He wanted to groan, but he didn't. He walked down the stairs only to see the rest of the boys who hadn't woken up the night before. Some of them had bags under their eyes, others were complaining about the bus seats.
Atobe ignored their complaints. He snapped, they looked, and he said, "Upstairs, you'll find your bags. There are several rooms, feel free to choose one; report to me once you chose a room. And try not to sound like a horde of rhinos, people are still sleeping."
There was a wave of whispers and "hey, sleep with me"s that shot through the mob of boys until someone had the nerve to speak up.
Oshitari Yuushi.
"What is it?" Atobe asked, not hiding his annoyance. He had just spent six hours running around like a drunken dolphin doing Sakaki's work, and didn't need Oshitari to ask sixty-thousand questions just to piss him off.
"Why exactly are we here?"
Before Atobe could answer, Tezuka cut in with, "Ryuzaki-sensei said that you would be conducting bonding exercises." There was a collective groan. "I was wondering… if that is the case, if I could assist you with planning those."
Did he want Tezuka's help? Sure, he would have less work, but Tezuka might mess something up and he could not have that. It was Tezuka, though. Why did Tezuka have to ruin his day already? Then Atobe thought of the perfect solution, he just needed a perfect boy.
"If you wish, but please inform Yukimura that he must help as well. It's us three or just me."
Tezuka nodded before making his way upstairs. If Yukimura, Mr. Perfectionist, helps, then things will work out. There was some logic behind it. Some.
Atobe watched as the rest of the boys walked by him. He felt a hand graze his, but didn't think anything of it, it was probably an accident, but he decided to see who had done it anyways. Oshitari looked over his shoulder and smirked before reaching out to grab Mukahi's hand. Maybe it wasn't an accident, but Atobe was too tired to care. He rolled his shoulders, feeling tired again. How long had he slept? He wasn't sure. Maybe an hour or two at best – warmth or not, Jirou drooled in his sleep, and that was not comfortable.
Once the boys were out of site and the footsteps above him stopped, he walked over to the circular sofa that was in front of the fireplace. He sat down, finding it oddly comfortable. Atobe let out a long sigh of relief as he closed his eyes – hoping everyone else would sleep for at least another hour so he could get some rest.
.
Atobe was walking through the halls of the mansion he called his home when he heard a scream. He ignored it at first, but then he heard it again, the shrill sound ringing in his ears.
"Stupid woman!" he heard a man yell. "How could I have married you?"
.
"Atobe, wake up!"
Atobe felt someone grabbed his shoulder, and he shot up like he had just been shot. "Don't touch me, you bastard!"
Sanada pulled his hand off of Atobe's shoulder and just blinked. Atobe looked around and saw Yukimura, Sanada, Oishi, Tezuka, Kabaji, and Oshitari starring at him with rather odd (or disturbed) expressions. Not many people saw Atobe sleep, let alone wake up screaming.
Atobe rubbed his head, not bothering to say he was sorry. He wasn't sorry anyways. They woke him up from a rather unpleasant dream –or whatever the hell that was. What else did they expect?
"What is it? If you needed to wake me up so badly it better be pretty damn important." Atobe's voice was as cold as ice. What did a guy have to do to get an hour's rest? Kill someone?
Oishi tentatively handed Atobe a sheet of paper. Atobe gave him a look as Oishi rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, it's nothing bad!" Oishi reassured him. "It's just some ideas to help the team bond."
Atobe wanted to say that there was no way in hell they were using those because Sakaki would ring his neck, but that wouldn't go over too well. "We should do the one our senseis want us to do first, and if we have extra time then we can do these."
"That sounds fine to me," Yukimura said, smiling. As everyone left slowly, Yukimura stayed back. Once everyone besides him and Atobe were gone, he asked, "Just what king of a dream was that?"
Atobe ignored him and walked towards Kabaji who had been standing by a staff door that lead to the kitchen. The two went inside, but Atobe did shoot Yukimura a glare before closing the door behind him.
The kitchen was attached to the dining hall, but there was a separate door to get to the dining hall. It was just easier for the staff to have another door to the kitchen besides the one in the hall. The kitchen, like everything else, was state of the art. There were several chefs working, but one, the one with the tallest white hat, came up to Atobe and hugged him.
"Keigo-kun!" she said, letting go of him. Atobe was shocked, but didn't show it. Kabaji looked a little confused, and just blinked when the woman hugged him too. She let go of the large second year and took a step back, smiling.
Atobe looked at her closely – she had brown hair, and brown eyes. She had a small mole under one eye, but other than that, there was nothing special about her. She was a little plump, if that made her special.
"My, my, my…." She trailed off. "You've grown!"
"Who are you again?" Atobe didn't want to sound blunt or rude, but the way he asked the question just screamed blunt and rude.
She laughed. "I'm sorry; I just assumed you would remember me. I guess not. I'm the head chef, Tora."
And, suddenly, Atobe remembered her. She gave him sweets he wasn't supposed to eat, and allowed him to hang out in the kitchen when it was raining outside. She was a nice woman and looked the same as she did all those years ago.
"I'm actually glad you're down here," Tora said. "Breakfast will be made and served around eight. Lunch will be served between noon and one, depending on how big breakfast is. Dinner will be served between six and seven. But the kitchen is open at any time, so feel free to come in and snack – just don't bother our work."
Atobe nodded. "Thank you, Tora-san. I do have one question, though."
"Shoot, big boy."
"May we order room service?"
She pressed her lips together, and then nodded. "I suppose. Just not extremely late or early. From eight to six should be okay. I'll run it by the other chefs; if I don't say anything, you're all good."
Atobe nodded. "Good. I'll send a list of allergies down later tonight."
"Okay, that sounds good!" She turned to continue to work, but suddenly turned back around. "I almost forgot!" She pointed to a cabinet in the corner. "Alcohol is kept in there. Please don't take more than one bottle at a time."
"You're allowing us to drink underage?" Atobe wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. He had had his fair share of puking his guts out in the toilet because of that damn wine his father imports, but he was pretty sure some of those stupid Seigaku boys hadn't come within a mile of strong, expensive imports.
She winked. "As long as it stays in the cabin, I don't see why not. And don't worry about anyone getting drunk off the food, almost no dishes require alcohol."
Atobe nodded and spotted Kabaji. The younger boy looked as though he was trying to hide the fact that he thought the woman was insane. He wasn't doing so well, though.
"Is there anything else?"
"Um? Oh, feel free to leave! I'll see you later!" She smiled and went back to work.
Atobe and Kabaji left the kitchen, slightly disturbed. Atobe shook his head, looking up at Kabaji who had a small grin on his lips. Atobe copied that grin before heading back upstairs to hopefully get some more sleep.
Jirou was still in his bed, dead asleep. Atobe thought for a second that he might actually be dead, but when the blonde turned on his side, Atobe figured he was very much alive. Atobe kept his clothes on, not caring how tight his sweater and jeans were, as he collapsed onto the bed.
.
Atobe's feet stopped at his father's large study door. It was open and the maids were all standing there silently, not lifting a finger to help the blonde haired woman on the ground. Atobe walked in, glaring at the maids who quickly left. Atobe slammed the door shut.
"Why don't you leave, Keigo? Your mother and I need to talk."
Atobe didn't move.
"Son," his father's voice was dripping with danger, "I said leave."
"No." Atobe's voice was firm, unwavering even when his father took a step towards him.
"Just leave, Keigo!" his mother shouted.
"I'm sorry Mother, but I'm not leaving."
.
Atobe felt himself shaking when he opened his eyes. No, he wasn't shaking. He was bouncing. Wait. Bouncing?
Atobe looked over to the other side of the large bed and saw Jirou jumping up and down. Atobe told Jirou to stop, and the blonde stopped jumping. Jirou got down on his hands and knees and crawled over to Atobe. He looks like a two year old, Atobe thought.
"Ne, Atobe." Atobe nodded, which was a sign for Jirou to get whatever it was in his system out. "What are we doing today?"
"Whatever people want to do. Sakaki wants us to get accustomed to our surroundings."
Jirou wiggled off the bed. "I'm gonna go get changed! Do you want to play some games afterwards?"
"It's possible that –"
"Yippy!"
Jirou ran out of the room, leaving Atobe no room to say that he was going to get a shower and that he had a lot of work to get done. The heir sighed, running a hand through his bed head. Jirou sure was one hell of a wake-up call. Atobe glanced at the clock: 12:00.
If I have to kill someone to sleep, it's Echizen, he decided.
He groaned, and then began to slink his way into the bathroom. He began taking off his sweater and unzipping his jeans before he even got into the luxurious bathroom. Once he did get inside, he set all of his clothes on the counter and turned on the shower.
And that's when the door opened.
Atobe didn't even have time to react. He just stood there, naked, with his body refusing to grab the towel. "Jirou!"
The blonde raised is eyes from Atobe's groin, up to his eyes, and then began to blush. "Sorry! I just wanted to wash my face before I changed. I-I'll-I'll leave."
Jirou rushed out of the bathroom to his bedroom, locking the door behind him. He patted his cheeks a couple of times, then let out a deep sigh. It was just Atobe, what was the big deal? He had seen him naked before. But never that close.
Jirou shook his head, heading for his clothes. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a T-shirt; he quickly changed, putting them on before heading out of his room and their suite all together. He walked down the halls, practically hyperventilating.
It's just Atobe. It's just Atobe. God, who knew he was so hot? No! He's my captain! I can't think about him like that? Can I? NO!
When Jirou found himself calmed down enough to think straight, he realized he was already in the second-floor longue. He saw some people sitting in the bean bags and quickly joined them, hoping to get his mind off of Atobe's, well, penis.
"What are you watching?" Jirou asked. Mukahi, Marui, Akaya, and Hiyoshi were in the other beanbags. He noticed Marui and Akaya were sharing one. Weird.
"Old anime reruns," Akaya said, leaning his head against Marui's shoulder.
Jirou nodded. He never really cared for anime or manga, like some of the other boys, because he never really related to it. They talk, fight for thirty episodes, and go back home just to end up fighting up again. He would rather spend his time playing tennis against Atobe.
Atobe, Jirou groaned mentally. Not again! Ok, Jirou, think about manly things and not Atobe. Sweat, boobs, vaginas, penises, Atobe's penis – crap! This isn't working!
Jirou absent mindedly groaned as he tossed his head back, catching a strong wave of a fruity scent. He looked at Mukahi. "You smell like strawberries. I like strawberries. Atobe smells like watermelon, Marui smells like apples, and Hiyoshi smells like mangos. Why don't I have a scent?" Jirou asked, just trying to get Atobe off his mind.
The boys just passed Jirou's mumblings off as, well, Jirou's mumblings, until Marui became slightly confused at one sent. "How do you know what Atobe smells like?" Marui asked, turning to look at Jirou over Akaya's shoulder.
Akaya immediately turned off the TV and set the remote in his lap. He looked at the blonde in fascination, Mukahi and Hiyoshi turning a second later
"How do you know what Atobe-san smells like?" Hiyoshi asked, slightly interested in something for the first time since they got here.
"Yuushi smells like strawberries, too, we use the same shampoo," Mukahi mumbled.
"No one cares," Marui told the other red head. He turned back to Jirou. "Jirou?"
Jirou shrugged. "I don't know, I just know. How do you know what Oshitari smells like?" Mukahi smirked, and Jirou quickly said, "Don't answer that. I'm just going to go for a walk."
The other boys nodded and quickly turned their attention back to the TV. It was Hiyoshi who realized they needed to turn it back on.
A/N: Super skippy nonsense chapter FTW.