A/N: Second update of the week! yayyy~ I want to say a special thank you to Special Blue for her lengthy review! Now that the team is at the summer camp, get ready for some humour coming up! Enjoy the reading ^^
Ogiwara felt secured.
He could feel the cold, chilly breezes of the ending night lightly grazing his exposed skin on his waist. Wearing a thin undershirt to bed seemed like a brilliant idea at first, but the coldness of the night on the mountains quickly settled in to make him slightly regret his decision. Now that the dark pit of the night was over, he assumed that the coldest parts were coming to an end. A few birds had started their morning gospel when Ogiwara started to gain a little consciousness from the deep slumber he was in.
However, the breaking dawn was not what made him feel so secured and warm. Strong, firm arms around his waist, a pair of large, warm palms resting on his flat belly inside his undershirt and the big body of heat pressed against his back was homely yet heavenly. When Ogiwara felt the little warmth radiating through the thin fabric to his chilled body, he was gleeful. He was savoring each and every passing second. He felt loved like a little puppy in the lap of its master, wishing for time to freeze so that he could remain eternally like that, when nothing else mattered. It had been so long since the last time he was spooned in bed, and Ogiwara welcomed the change by lightly pushing himself more into his beloved's hold.
Wait. Since when did he have a lover?
Ogiwara tensed up instantly. He frowned while snapping into full consciousness, but kept his eyes closed. He reeled up his mind for past events that could have led him into this delicate situation. He had always been a lone wolf. He remembered the previous hectic evening. His loud and messy whine with the head coach and Sato-san for a room change. Switching places with the blond guy and sharing a room, with separate twin beds, with Mibuchi. Unpacking some of his stuffs in his own little corner. The arctic pole cold shower. Mibuchi falling asleep as soon as he hit the bed. Switching the light off and going to own his bed, alone. After taking note of the empty bed in front of him as soon as he opened his eyes, he came to the most plausible conclusion along with a freaking confusion.
How the hell did Mibuchi end up on his little bed, and spooning him on top of that? Ogiwara almost fainted in embarrassment upon his previous thoughts. His cheeks flushed in a bright pink color as he fully registered the whole situation he was literally stuck in. Never in his entire life would he openly admit that he liked getting spooned and cuddled, he decided. This was a secret that he would carry to his grave.
Slowly, Ogiwara shifted one of the hands up and away from him. He decided not to wake up the basketball player since it was really early, barely four in the morning. He might be hostile and distrustful towards the team, but he was not as heartless as the captain was and thus, the brunette decided that this was one of the rare moments where he would show his considerate nature. He would let the uncrowned king rest and refill his energy for the hellish training awaiting him later. After all, it would be better for Ogiwara to escape while the predator was laying asleep and unaware.
He cautiously untwined the arms of Mibuchi away from him and began shifting away when the said boy grumbled. Ogiwara froze instantly. That smiling giant was not going to wake up now, right? His breathing hitched up when he heard the boy's hand moving around and grabbed him back on the bed in his arms. Was he being mistaken as a human-sized teddy bear or something? Things got back to square one.
Ogiwara resisted the urge to squeal in utter shock and shame when he felt the hands of Mibuchi travel into his vest. Okay, he was not being mistaken as a non-living object. The black haired boy started to rub his belly slowly, and caressed his waist occasionally while humming in approval. Ogiwara felt his cheek heating up even more at the little actions of the sleeping boy. If he was in Mibuchi's place, he would be humming in approval too after getting into contact with such smooth, lush skin like his own. However, it was not time to think of useless stuffs like that. No matter how much he liked being held so fondly, Ogiwara needed to get away from the teen spooning him and the strong grip placed on his body was only complicating things up. Ogiwara struggled for some time, but all in vain. He had no choice but to wake the other teen.
"Mibuchi-san," he said while turning around to face the said boy. He was now facing the chest of sleeping boy while being held in his arms. Full-on cuddle pose.
"Please wake up," he said with a poke. He tried shaking the boy, but got no response. Mibuchi was still snoring slightly.
"Mibuchi-saaan," Ogiwara whined a bit louder. His cheeks must have already become as red as Akashi's hair. The said boy grunted in disapproval and tightened his grip around the brunette.
"S-Stop!" Ogiwara exclaimed in embarrassment while trying to pry away from the pair of strong arms surrounding him.
"No," the other teen mumbled in his sleepy state, "just a little bit more…"
"Mibuchi Reo!" Ogiwara snapped, forcing the said boy out of his sleep.
"What is it?" the boy mumbled, voice all groggy and thick.
"Let me go," Ogiwara pleaded seriously.
"Don't want to. You're so soft and warm.. like a baby," Mibuchi replied, half-conscious about the whole situation.
"Mibuchi-san, I'm not a baby! I'm Ogiwara!" Ogiwara whisper-yelled in despair.
Mibuchi opened his eyes to see the little ruckus that his partner in bed was doing and was met with even more darkness. He was not really pleased to be forced out of his deep slumber, but he liked the soft texture that his fingers were on. He squinted his eyes hard to see the person who he was holding, and tried to guess who it was without really trying to move away. He liked the feeling of holding someone petite.
"…I'm Ogiwara!"
The moment his ears registered that name, Mibuchi felt as if the all the air had been knocked out of his lungs. So, the soft texture that he was feeling with his hands right now was Ogiwara's back. When realization dawned upon him, he started to loosen his grip around the brunette, and was not really surprised when the said boy sprung out the bed and switched on the lights. Mibuchi was now squinting hard to look at the little blushing boy in front of him. From the facial expression that the brunette was making, he knew that he might be up for some scolding.
"Shige-chan," Mibuchi mumbled in recognition. Both teens were now sporting flushed cheeks.
"Get out of my bed!" Ogiwara commanded.
"But it's cold-," Mibuchi started but got cut off by a raging brunette.
"You should listen to me while I am telling you this nicely! I could have easily kicked your butt out of my bed but since I'm not as heartless and cruel and horrible as a certain basketball captain I don't even want to utter the name of, I wanted to let you rest well and would have sneaked my way out if you did not make things hard for me!" Ogiwara went on a little rant.
"Heck! You should worship my holy soul for being so kind and saintly!" he continued to whine.
Mibuchi could not hold in his amusement as he chuckled at the words of the boy in front of him. Ogiwara was so adorable in that agitated state. He felt like jumping out of bed to hug the little boy like a kid.
"Alright, alright. I was only joking." Mibuchi lifted his arms in defeat while chuckling.
"What are you doing in my bed in first place? Oh!" Ogiwara exclaimed, eyebrows raised in realization."You sneaky serpent!" he narrowed his eyes to look at the older teen skeptically.
"You mistook me for a girl, didn't you?! Damn, how am I going to survive in a world full of so many hungry wolves? I fear for the safety of my innocence. You even groped my soft, slender waist! Ah Kami-sama, what did I do wrong in my previous birth to end up in such situations? First the devil incarnation of a rich snobby heir. Then a brainless, muscle maniac. Now you!" Ogiwara continued to rant painfully.
"Wait! No! I did not mistake you for a girl. I…" Mibuchi cut in the monologue of the melodramatic boy in front of him as he tried to remember how he got into his bed.
"Ah yes! I remember now. The restroom! I got on the wrong bed at night after coming from the restroom. It was so dark, that must be why! I had no bad intentions, really." This managed to calm down the brunette in front of him.
"You were not trying to taint my pure soul?" Ogiwara asked suspiciously.
"Of course not! You're like my little brother, Shige-chan~ I would never do that," Mibuchi quickly coaxed while moving to his bed. Ogiwara calmed down at those words.
"But you play with Akashi," Ogiwara stated, as if it was some logical argument.
"And?" Mibuchi asked, not really getting the point of Ogiwara.
"You must be tainting people's life like he does," Ogiwara reasoned.
"What? No! Sei-chan can be a tyrant at times. But I don't think he will go to such extents. I'm not like him, anyway. I'm just like you, a peace lover! Not a fighter!" Mibuchi was shocked at the statement of the brunette. What did his captain do for Ogiwara to think like that? Ogiwara scoffed.
"Oh… Okay then. Good night," the brunette said while switching off the lights. He was still tired and very sleepy, and a nap sounded really good for now, especially since it was still dark outside. He refused to think of all the thing that escaped his mouth in panic.
"Sleep well," Mibuchi wished. Ogiwara sure was a interesting boy.
The kitchen that Ogiwara was given to work his meals in was pretty average. As soon as the breakfast buffet was over, the brunette jumped into action so that he would not have to rush with his food in the end. He had eight people's mouth to feed, after all. Cooking good food for so much people might be time-consuming for him, given his meticulous habits and strife for the perfect taste. There was no compromising with the culinary arts he learned and acquired. His food was the best, simple.
Ogiwara felt a feral grin creep on his face as he thought about what he had reserved for the team, especially for an over-sized gorilla in it. He was given the permission to use the kitchen's groceries and utensils for his task as long as he made an account of the raw materials he used, as stated by the snob heir. Ogiwara thus had a wide selection of food to pick from, and the array of delicious, fresh meat presented in front of him brought out the glint of mischief and wickedness in his pretty brown eyes.
It was nine, meaning that he had around three hours to complete his work. He cautiously chose the best meat around and began working his way into the preparations, earning a few curious glares from the surrounding. It was indeed an unusual sight to see a high school boy preparing so much food alone. Midway in his preparations, he was approached by a middle-aged lady.
"What are you preparing, little boy?" the woman asked leisurely, with a tint of interest in her voice.
"Oh! Hello," he greeted the woman politely. "I'm Ogiwara. I came here with my…team to prepare their lunch for their training camp." Ogiwara felt the need to do some self introduction. He might or might not be able to scoop some help from this.
"Today is the first day they are going to taste my cooking, so I decided to prepare a little assortment of side dishes, focusing on the different meat balls. I'm currently making some takoyaki as a snack," the brunette rambled. He always liked to have little talks while working in the kitchen.
"Oh! Your friends are so lucky to have you around. What a reliable boy, you are!" the lady beamed with joy. "You're here with the Akashi heir, right?" the lady mused.
"How do you know that?" Ogiwara asked, genuinely surprised. He stopped working for a few moments to see the lady properly. She was a bit chubby, with thick glasses framing her eyes and long black-turning-grey hair braided sideways. She looked around her mid-fifties upon a closer look.
"I just happened to be the one who got the request from him," the lady quickly replied to avoid any misunderstanding.
"So… If I'm getting it right, you own the place?" Ogiwara carefully articulated.
"Oh no no! I'm just the wife of the owner," the lady denied with a blush while vigorously shaking her hand in denial.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs landlady!" the brunette greeted properly.
"Oh please, call me Aizawa-san," the lady greeted back with a smile.
"Aizawa-san it is then, lovely name for a lovely lady," Ogiwara stepped up his little game. He might be able to get the landlady get him some help.
"Quite a charmer, I see. Will you be able to prepare all that food for your team?" the lady asked concernedly.
"I have to do it, for the welfare of my team!" ogiwara exclaimed, with a little frown to show his uncertainty but a blazing determination shining in his eyes. He did not like how the phrase sounded at all, but some help would come in handy now.
"Let me give you a helping hand then," the lady started to roll up her sleeves and drew her long braid into a bun.
"Oh no! Please don't. Please don't use your delicate hands for such thing!" Ogiwara felt guilty. Why were things never turning like he wanted them to? He thought that the landlady would command someone to help him, not her actual self! He did not want to make an old lady work, after all.
"Don't underestimate the strength of those hands. I used to be a great chef in my youthful times, and I really enjoy cooking. Let me help you, Ogiwara-kun," Fukui-san reassured the panicking brunette in front of her.
"How can I deny such a tempting invitation now?" Ogiwara decided to give in and joined hands with the landlady.
Two was indeed better than one.
Ogiwara finished his task a little bit earlier than he predicted. He got the time to go for a change of clothes before heading to the nearby gym where the team were currently practicing. He had a little wicked scheme going on in his mind, and was anticipating the moment he would finally see it into action. Ogiwara was skipping on his way like the little cunning fox he was. After all, he did promise to make turn that muscle idiot into a complete mental meltdown.
When he entered the gym, they were already on a break, waiting for the food. Ogiwara lost no time. He reeled towards the group near the benches with the big bag containing a bento for each of them. He had personally taken his time to arrange the food in an orderly and delicious manner to increase the aesthetics of his godly creations. After all, he had to prove to some of them that he was not as useless as he seemed to be. His food was to die for, duh. And he had already set someone as his next victim.
"I got your food," Ogiwara said while approaching the team.
He carefully distributed the boxes to the team members personally, to make sure that everyone got the box that he intended to give them. Slowly, he made his way the furthest possible from the Akashi heir and ended up sitting down next to the blond guy. As the boxes were opened, a delicious scent of meat and sauce filled in the air. Someone's stomach(not his own since he had been tasting the food a lot) growled loudly at the lovely sight in the bento box. Even before they took in a bite, Ogiwara knew that his food would be a feat achieved. He then let his eyes travel to the one who had been a big bother to him lately.
"What is this?" Nebuya seethed at the sight on his bento. Everyone's else was filled with meatballs and eggrolls and other delicious stuffs. However, were these nuts in his bento box?
"No meat for your lunch. I warned you in the van when you chose to ignore my words," Ogiwara stated.
"I made you some curry with cashew nuts in it. It's an Indian recipe we tried at school, I guarantee that you will love it," Ogiwara started with his sarcastic smile.
"And you got a large serving of almond-flavored rice too. You need to eat more nuts to grow smarter. Your muscles seem to be the only thing thoroughly developed in you. You still lack a lot in the brain department," Ogiwara said in a disapproving tone.
"You are the dumb one here. This will never be enough for me," Nebuya spat.
"Oh no, it will. I gave you the largest serving of rice, and it's flavored too! And those side veggies will also help fill your stomach. There's some fried tempura too," Ogiwara argued back to shut the muscle monkey up.
Before Nebuya could retort back, their conversation was interrupted, quite satisfyingly according to Ogiwara, by the hum of approval of Takuo-san as he took a first bite in his chicken meat ball. The assistant coach was in la-la land, eyes hazy with joy and bliss from the food that he was savoring. Upon seeing how the teacher intensely appreciated the meatballs, the others quickly joined in the hum after having their own taste of these little masterpieces of food.
"This is the best thing ever," the teacher approved. He was digging in his food like his life depended on it.
"So.. just… so good," Mibuchi muttered, eyes glistening with tears of joy while he ate a pork meatball. This food was so good that people were getting emotional over it. "I don't want this to end, ever." The black haired boy added as he slowly appreciated his bento.
"Are you single, Ogiwara-san? If yes, can you please marry me?" Hayama teased the brunette, though the moment he tasted the food, he decided that let alone marry, he could easily trade his soul for some good homely food like that.
"No! Shige-chan should marry me! I'm more handsome than you," Mibuchi quickly interrupted the silly confession of the blond king.
Were they fighting for him? Food can do amazing things to people, Ogiwara confirmed.
"Eat silently," the head coach scolded the bickering players from the benches.
Things went silent for a while. Nebuya reluctantly brought his chopsticks to his mouth and was deeply impressed by the taste that settled on his taste buds. The little shrimp sure could work wonders in the kitchen. The curry was slightly spicy, just like he liked it. The buff guy had to struggle not to smile at the good food to show his appreciation. After all, he was still upset for not getting some meatballs like everyone else. The delicious scent of the meatballs were so fresh and thick in the air that he could almost taste it and Nebuya was nearly convinced that he was missing a lot in life. Little did he know about the final blow that the brunette was about to land on him.
Ogiwara secretly smirked at the sight in front of him. The muscle idiot was silently ogling the blessed meatballs that the others were appreciating so much. He quickly swiped clean his small bento box and was the first one to finish his food. He met with a questioning glare from his brother-in-law, but only smiled back mischievously . He still had more to serve. Then moment the question was shot to him, Ogiwara internally jumped with joy.
"Is that all you are going to eat?" the blond next to him enquired.
"No. I got myself some more meatballs and takoyaki," Ogiwara said teasingly as he fished out two small bento boxes packed with an assortment of mouth-watering meatballs.
"Please, feel free to take some too. It's a bit too much for me," he quickly added as he placed the open boxes in front of everyone. "Not you though," he deadpanned while pointing at Eikichi.
The scent of more amazing food quickly filled the air again. Takuo-san lost no time in picking two takoyaki. Ogiwara watched with pure delight as the over-sized gorilla watched the boxes painfully. His ache was visible, and the brunette was feasting over the pain-wrecked sight of the buff boy. This was going to get more interesting, he thought as he saw some sweat beads forming on the forehand of the tanned male.
Ogiwara was satisfied. His hard work was finally paying off. The moment the muscle boy's tense glare fell on him, he nonchalantly picked up a chicken meatball from the box, brought it near his mouth and took in the great scent of the food with a tempting, teasing smile. He made a show of his feast, purposefully slowing down and wiggling his eyebrows at the buff boy while taking his first bite into the amazing food. He relished under the irritated and aching glare that Eikichi was throwing at him. Hayama chuckled slowly as he witnessed Ogiwara teasing his team mate with the piece of food. From the looks on Eikichi's face, he was close to breaking down. Only a couple of meatballs and takoyaki were left now; Eikichi had to act fast if he wanted to have a taste of heaven in those bento boxes.
If Nebuya thought that he was missing a lot in his life previously, then now, he was certain that he was missing far too much. His chest pained every time someone picked one of the delicious round-shaped food from the box placed in front of the brunette. His fingers started to twinge and his hands were already shaking from the tremendous amount of energy he was spending to resist the urge to just jump forward and gulp down all the meat and takoyaki. The little shrimp sure knew how to get his way around. The little show that the brunette was putting up in front of him was the last straw that breaks the camel's back.
"I take back what I said about you," Eikichi mumbled quietly while looking at Ogiwara.
"I'm sorry, I did not hear you," Ogiwara feigned ignorance while struggling the urge to jump around and do the harlem shake at his victorious feat.
"I'm telling you that I was wrong about your cooking! It's good," Eikichi reluctantly admitted.
"Only good?" Ogiwara had set the bait for more. He was set to fish out more glittery compliments.
"It's delicious, I admit. Can I have some meatballs?" the tanned teen asked tentatively. There weren't much left.
"I already told you. No meat for your foul mouth and petty thoughts during lunch," Ogiwara reiterated.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?! You are a tough guy, even though you don't have muscles. I'm having the hardest time resisting the urge to steal food from others during lunch, all thanks to you. You are one little cunning boy who can make delicious food that I don't want to miss. So please, for the love of god and your godly kitchen creations, let me have one," Nebuya begged earnestly, strong voice cracking in the end.
Ogiwara grinned like the sun. He finally did it; he got the muscle man begging in front of him. His food shall never cease to amaze humankind. Every other members except for the captain of the team stopped momentarily to witness the descent of their oversized team mate in front of a petite brunette. Akashi Seijuro was in his own world, unbothered yet listening to his surroundings. Takuo-san looked like a proud father assisting the win of his child.
"Hmmmm…" Ogiwara pretended to think seriously. "Okay. You may taste one," he agreed to the relief of Eikichi.
Eikichi lost no time. He quickly strived for the last beef meatball in the box and stuffed it in his mouth. The explosion of flavors in his mouth after his first munch got him frozen on the bench. His eyes went wide in complete awe as he tried to properly register the taste of pure bliss in his mouth. This food was homely and yet so mouth-wateringly delicious. He could almost taste it from the nice smell before but now that he was actually taking a bite in the meatball, his mind was blown. Ogiwara Shigehiro was anything but weak, he concluded. The brunette was a god in the kitchen.
Ogiwara watched keenly as the big teen took a bite in the meatball. The said guy froze instantly and widened his eyes at the surprising taste, boasting the ego of the little chef to new levels. From the sight of the slight blush that crept onto his tanned cheeks and his glistening, hazy eyes, Ogiwara concluded one thing.
Eikichi Nebuya was undoubtedly having a mental meltdown after tasting his food. After all, his culinary creations were magical.
Additional Notes: I hope you like the story so far! No pairings have been decided yet, and it will remain like this for some more time according to the plot I've set out... if you have any suggestions, PM me or drop it in the review box! Rate and reviews will be much appreciated :)