Prompt #1: Spice. 239 words.
Fuji's kitchen should not have
been large enough to hold all nine of them, but Tezuka noticed as he
looked around the room that Shuusuke had his own reasons for having
them all gather around the island where he and Inui currently battled
for control of the dipping spoon. Momo and Kaidoh were finding as many
different excuses to touch as the tight space would allow two people
who officially couldn’t stand each other. Eiji was flush up against
Oishi as he attempted to get closer to the pot of glogg* to suggest
that Inui throw in more nutmeg and raisins. And Fuji, who was calmly
responding that perhaps it needed a bit more spice, was sandwiched in
between Inui
and Taka, and seemed quite satisfied with himself.
Tezuka
was making a mental note to reprimand Fuji later for having created the
perfect recipe for turning his tennis team into a hormonal disaster
area, and driving him around the bend in the process, when Echizen
casually shifted closer to him.
His hip pressed against
Tezuka’s thigh, and when he reached for a cinnamon stick he leaned in
closer still, so that for a moment to Tezuka he was the center of all
the warmth in the room.
Inui slapped Fuji’s hand away from the giant pot and added more coriander. He was smirking, but so was Fuji.
Tezuka reached for a glass, his hand settling lightly over Ryoma’s waist.
*glogg is a
very
heady Swedish mulled wine full of spices—packs quite a kicker for the
holidays and can really make you do crazy things. Leave it to Fuji and
Inui to have the
recipe.