Yukimura looked at the bouquet of red roses and white orchids arranged in his vase and drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. They were delivered to him during tennis practice in the pure flashy style of Hyoutei's captain, Atobe Keigo. An envoy of Hyoutei tennis club members had shown up on the courts and escorted this bouquet of red and white to the surprised, amused, yet irritated captain. He was amused because Atobe sent him flowers; he was irritated because he purposely sent them during practice. To say practice was disrupted would be an understatement, which was probably the intent.

Now, he sat and waited for the phone call that was surely to come, and it did to the tune of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata--a rich and sensual piece that befits the caller. "Hello Atobe," the wavy-haired boy answered with a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Yukimura," came that arrogant voice, "did you like my little gift?"

"They're very beautiful, thank you. Interesting arrangement, though." Yukimura knew that Atobe loved symbolism--one reason why he enjoyed Renaissance paintings--and while he lived for extravagance (much like Mannerism), Atobe had a taste for subtlety, too. The symbolism was embedded in the palette he chose, which conveniently, Yukimura was very familiar with.

He, of course, saw past the obvious layer of congratulations and flattery to discover Atobe's challenge in what the orchids really mean: lust, greed, and wealth.

I will own you and you will be mine rang louder than anything else; it was the opening cannons of war, the restart of their own personal game.

"I sent them to congratulate you on your return," Atobe's haughty voice filtered through.

"Mmm," Yukimura murmured, grinning and almost smirking, "I caught the message."

He remembered the mind games they played off-court as they tried to dominate the other in all their exchanges from analyses on art movements (their favorite was Renaissance versus Impressionism on artistic integrity) to discussions on literature (they once had a heated debate over Goethe) to simple games of chess. He was surprised that the other wanted to resume because it was Atobe who called off their rivalry in the first place after Jr. Senbatsu when Sanada caught his attention, instead.

Yukimura mused wryly that Atobe was like the monkey in a children's story who had a bird only to discard it for a peach in a tree only to throw that away to chase...a bunny.

But, a secretive smile spread slowly onto Yukimura's lips, the winner was already determined by this phone call. Atobe called because he couldn't forget about the thrill. He was the type who would always want what he can't have. In the end, the monkey didn't catch the bunny and left empty-handed, longing for the bird's song. Yukimura now had Atobe exactly where he wanted him: so addicted to their game that he would always come back for more.

He walked over to their unfinished chess game, number 51 with score at 25-25; they meant to continue it but Atobe got...distracted.

"Yes, we will continue our game after Nationals." He picked up the white king, feeling the smooth paint finish on rosewood. "Good luck. You'll need it."

He hung up and played with it a bit more, a thoughtful smile gracing his expression, before setting it down on its side like a fallen soldier.

Checkmate, Atobe, I win.

Chuckling, laughter light if not a bit wicked, Yukimura left to practice for the upcoming tournament with a new bounce in his step and victory in his eyes.

*

Written for PoT Challenge's "Atobe vs Yukimura" theme.

1. This is what I like to call an overview to AtoYuki without the porn; their mental chess game that they play. I had to cut out a lot of stuff because of the word limit. ;o;

2. to me AtoYuki = the West; Western art, Western thought, Western lit. Intelligentsia. The West is all about individualism and Atobe and Yukimura are very distinct individuals. SanaYuki on the other hand = East. The whole matters more and Rikkai is all about teamwork. if and when I learn more about Ukiyo-e, I will probably write an analysis on that too. wow I'm so dorky. :D

3. history of an orchid: it looks like testicles (;;;), greed (about wanting a son), wealth (something about the samurai's orchid)

4. the children's story does exist but I tweaked it a bit to fit the parallels in this fic.
original: Monkey had an ear of corn that he threw away for the peach on the tree which he abandoned for a watermelon which he left behind to chase a bunny. I thought the bunny part was so appropriate hahaha also Atobe's called the Monkey King. rofl I r so witty.