Romeo, oh Romeo
by Jaelawyn Noble


"You're nearly vibrating, love," Ohtori murmured, leaning over Shishido's shoulder. "What's up?"

"Shakespeare," Shishido said breathlessly, staring at the newspaper in front of him.

"Hm?"

"You know that old opera house about 3 lines away?"

Ohtori frowned a bit, trying to remember. "Yeah, it opened five months ago with Phantom of the Opera. I dragged you to see that."

"Yes, well, they have a new play being performed there," Shishido said impatiently.

"Shakespeare?" Ohtori grinned.

"Yes!" Shishido moaned, leaning back against Ohtori's chest. "They have The Merchant of Venice."

"You like Shakespeare?" Ohtori asked, trying not to laugh as he looked down at Shishido.

Blue eyes glared up at him. "You like dead guys with instruments. I like dead guys with quills. Deal."

Ohtori started laughing and had to cling to Shishido to stay upright. "Ryou… you…" He couldn't get anymore out.

Shishido pushed him away and hit Ohtori over the head with the paper. "Idiot."

"Romeo, oh Romeo…!" Ohtori gasped out.

"Shut up!" Shishido squawked, hitting Ohtori a little harder with the paper. "I don't mock you for near swooning over Gio-something or other Viot!"

Ohtori winced and sighed, "Giovanni Battista Viotti."

"Yeah, him," Shishido grumbled. "Besides, The Merchant is a classic. It's mislabeled so often as a comedy, when in fact, it's a tragedy. What happens to Shylock shows the injustice of the Venetian government in that time period. Even more, it shows how he was an avid supporter of women's right even back then when he had Portia play the young doctor who gets Antonio off the hook."

Ohtori bit his lip and nodded as Shishido continued to enthuse about the play. Honestly, was he this bad when he talked about his music? What really got to Ohtori, though, was that he hadn't know that Shishido held such a passion for the written word. Yes, his senpai could be found with a book every now and then, but this? This was different.

"And because you haven't listen to a single thing I've said, you can make up for it by getting tickets," Shishido smirked, tapping Ohtori on the head with the paper and putting in his hands. "Number's at the bottom of the ad. Two seats, reasonably close, say, three nights after opening night. It'll be a Saturday, and we won't have too much tennis or homework to distract us with."

"Ryou—"

"Ah, and I'll find somewhere for us to eat that night."

"You're being—"

"London Philharmonic ring a bell?" Shishido smirked.

Ohtori glared, "That's low."

"No, that's love." Shishido leaned over and kissed Ohtori sweetly. "When you're done making reservations, I'll be in the tub." Shishido kissed him again and leveled him with a knowing look before disappearing into the bedroom.

"It's not fair he knows me so well," Ohtori muttered under his breath, grabbing the phone and dialing the ticket agency.




The End

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