"Tezuka." The familiar voice on the phone was recognized instantly.

"Atobe." Tezuka glanced at the clock on his desk. "It's late."

"I was robbed."

"... What?" Though it was more a question of being stunned, rather than having not heard.

"When I got back to my apartment, everything was gone. All the wires on the alarm system were cut, and the locks were busted. Everything is gone."

"That's horrible."

"I don't want to be here tonight. Let me stay with you."

Tezuka paused, then said "Atobe, you know I can't do that. The only way I'd be allowed to have someone stay in my dorm is if it were a family member in a dire emergency."

"You're the only family I have out here." Spoken quietly. And it was true; when Tezuka decided to attend law school at a prestigious college that was far off from Tokyo, Atobe followed, determined that he could work on his professional tennis career from anywhere. He'd gotten his own apartment, not too far from Tezuka's dorm, and was happy despite being some distance from his friends and family. "Tezuka... Please."

"Alright," he conceded. "I'll see what I can do."

He was actually rather pleased to see Atobe's face when he opened the door, and though it wasn't like they had never spent the night together before, this would be the first time they did here, at his dorm. He'd made sure all his work was done, so he was free to donate the rest of the evening to his boyfriend.

"Tezuka." Once he'd entered the room, Atobe took Tezuka's face in his hands and kissed him lovingly. "Thank you."

Covering Atobe's hands with his own, Tezuka pulled them down, but continued to hold them. "I called in a favor with the dorm head, but he's the only one who knows, so don't make yourself too...apparent." He had confidence in Atobe's ability to behave, but couldn't forget his boyfriend's tendency to do everything with flair.

"Moi?" The tennis diva blinked in mock innocence.

"Oui, toi."

They kissed again, and moved over to sit down on the bed, kissing a few more times before Atobe sighed, then simply rested his head against Tezuka's chest.

"They took everything," he said in a tone more quiet than most people knew he was capable of. "My stereo, my CDs, all my trophies and medals. Even the picture of us together that I had in the antique silver frame." He was comforted by Tezuka's arm around him, and leaned into the touch. "What wasn't taken was thrown around, broken. My space was...violated."

"We'll replace what we can."

Atobe noted Tezuka's use of 'we', and it meant so much to him. But still...

"It won't be the same."

"I know." Tezuka kissed the top of his lover's head, feeling the soft, silvery hairs against his lips. "It'll be new."

Finally, Atobe smiled. And he pressed even closer against his support.

Weeks later, Atobe's apartment was looking a lot less robbed. The material things that were replaceable were, with even bigger and better things. A new stereo, new CDs - nothing could be done about the trophies, but there would be more. After the initial shock of the incident, and a comfortable night in his lover's arms, his usual positivity returned, and he was almost happy to have an excuse to buy new things.

Tezuka nodded in acknowledgment as he looked around the large room, glad Atobe was feeling more optimistic about the situation. And he hoped the gift he carried under his arm helped as well. "Here," he said as he handed the small package over.

"Ooh, present for me," Atobe grinned as he received and unwrapped the gift. But his grin faded when he saw what it was, slowly turning into a look of pure adoration. "It's our picture."

"I had another copy made from mine," Tezuka explained mildly. "I couldn't find the exact same frame you had though."

Atobe shook his head. "It's beautiful." Then he pulled his lover into a tight embrace. "Thank you."

And then Atobe took the new ornate silver frame and placed it on the mantle where the old one had been. It looked absolutely perfect.

"There," he said with a smile. "Now it's home again."