Title: Reading Material
By: Wai
Pairing: OT5
Disclaimer: If you think for a moment that I own these characters, I'm going to start wondering what kind of crack you're smoking. (And where can I get some. XP)


The apartment was relatively quiet, which wasn't exactly unusual for the five of them, but is unusual by normal standards.

With five people in the apartment, one would think that the place would be a source of noise pollution for the neighborhood.

Fortunately for their neighbors, the apartment was occupied by a group of mostly quiet men.

Fuji was working on a photography project of this, therefore he was hogging the one and only desktop computer in the apartment. Atobe was the only person with a laptop because he insisted that he had more important things to do than to wait around for his turn on that piece of obsolete machinery. Which is, technically, untrue. Although the operating system on the computer was hardly new, it was nevertheless reliable and it never stalled on any of them. Except maybe Sanada, who was convinced that the computer was possessed by some sort of demon that liked to pick on him. Of course, if he actually took time to figure out that he had to switch both the PC and the monitor on at the same time, he wouldn't be having this problem.

Atobe was flipping through a fashion magazine that he borrowed from Mizuki. None of the others know just why he would want to borrow something that belonged to Mizuki, of all people, but none of them bother Atobe about anything anymore. As long as Atobe was happy, the rest of them could have some peace and quiet.

Sanada was seated on the dining table, writing down some notes about the team he was coaching, distancing himself from the others. After all, Rikkaidai and Seigaku were still fierce rivals--even if they were no longer in school--and even the slightest advantage in Seigaku's part like knowing their team's lineup could easily tip the balance to Seigaku's favor. Luckily for him, though Ryoma has, for the most part, become Atobe's little protégé, he wouldn't go as far as to tease Sanada about something that serious...he hoped.

The youngest of the five sat on the floor next to Tezuka, half-watching the television. He didn't really have anything better to do and truthfully, he didn't want to do anything. In the end, he broke the tranquility of the room because he wanted a new form of entertainment and Tezuka didn't look like he was doing anything important.

"Ne, buchou?" Ryoma spoke up, tilting his head back to look up at Tezuka, smirking up at him. The smirk made all of Tezuka's internal alarms ring at once, but the use of that title in the apartment was somewhat...well, you get the idea.

Tezuka twitched and put his book down to glare at Ryoma, yet his voice was surprisingly leveled when he spoke. "Don't call me that."

Atobe chuckled, loving every minute of it. He had been teaching Ryoma a thing or two about teasing both Tezuka and Sanada after all. He was almost proud of his protégé. Of course, Ryoma would never be anywhere near his level and he would never carry these little taunts with Atobe's own flair, but it would have to do.

"Ah, that's my little prodigy." He drawled, reaching over to pat Ryoma's head, much to the youngest one's annoyance. "Now what did you want to ask Mitsu-kun that you couldn't possibly ask someone of a higher class such as myself, hmm?" Atobe knew he was taking two jibes at Tezuka. First with "Mitsu-kun", a nickname that he knew irked Tezuka to no end because it emphasized Atobe's seniority and second, for claiming that Tezuka was of a lower class than him.

The glare shifted from Ryoma to Atobe in an instant, which wasn't a surprise. "Keigo, stop-" Tezuka didn't even bother finishing, not when Atobe had that haughty look on his face. Or that smirk. He settled for a defeated sigh and turned his attention back to Ryoma instead. "Forget it. What is it, Ryoma?"

"What are you reading anyway? You haven't put that book down for two weeks." Ryoma pointed out carefully, genuinely curious. Tezuka's reaction to the question piqued Atobe's curiosity, because he looked distinctively uncomfortable. Of course, to people who barely knew him it wouldn't seem that way, but they've all become an expert in interpreting Tezuka's facial expressions.

The expression shifted again and his discomfort became visible when Fuji joined in the conversation. "Even during sex, you wouldn't put it down." He offered cheerfully, sitting down next to Tezuka.

"Not even I can focus on a book that long." Sanada added from where he sat, giving Tezuka a pointed look. One would think that Seigaku's captain would offer some sort of an explanation to dissuade his lovers. But in an act that is simply out of character, Tezuka shut the book and attempted to hide it instead.

Seeing this, Fuji's eyes opened slightly, a glint of mischief twinkled there for a moment before they slid shut once more. "You know," He began, conversationally, "I heard from Inui that he's thinking of joining Rikkaidai to be with Yanagi."

"What?" Snapped both Tezuka and Sanada at the same time, to Fuji's amusement. It was in that moment of carelessness that the book was snatched away from Tezuka's grasp. By Ryoma no less!

"Ryoma." There was a definite strangled note in Tezuka's voice, yet he didn't look like he was about to wrestle the book away from Ryoma.

Sanada, realizing what had happened, glared at Fuji. "Don't do that!" He snapped.

Fuji looked unperturbed, smiling cheerfully back at him. "At least Ryoma got the book!" He pointed out instead.

Ryoma was too busy looking at the book over. It was a hardback edition with its cover taken off, leaving only the rough fabric-like material and no markings indicating the book's title. It wasn't until Ryoma flipped the book open that he saw the title.

And stared.

Atobe took one look at the shell-shocked Ryoma and frowned. "What's wrong?" But Ryoma didn't reply, still gaping at the book's title, torn between something like shock, horror and...amusement? He didn't even protest when Atobe pried the book away from his fingers.

And it was Atobe's turn to stare. And stare. And stare. And then...Atobe burst into hysterics. He collapsed to the seat next to the somewhat sulking Tezuka, leaning on him for support, shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Are you going to tell us what's so funny Keigo?" Sanada asked, raising an eyebrow at Atobe's behavior. Yes, Keigo had the tendency to be dramatic and was known for his overacting at some point, but he's never been this loud about something before. "Ryoma?"

Ryoma walked over to where Atobe had dropped the book, picked it up and handed it to Sanada, who by then was standing close to where Fuji was sitting. They both read the title at the same time, eyes widening with shock and was quiet for a very long time.

And then Ryoma finally laughed, no longer afraid of what Tezuka would do to him if he did. After all, he wasn't laughing as loud as Atobe. Soon, Fuji and Sanada joined the two of them, their chuckles adding to the hilarity of the moment and to Tezuka's embarrassment.

After all, who knew that Tezuka was so engrossed in volume one of "Orgy for Dummies."


+End+


First (posted) OT5 fic. Like it? Hate it? Please review.