Chapter Text
Akaashi had known Sugawara Koushi for a long time already.
Well, had known of him. He didn't know him that well personally, but he suspected it was the same the other way around. Maybe Sugawara didn't even know his name. It wouldn't surprise Akaashi. There was nothing wrong with his abilities to socialize, but he mostly kept to himself in order to maintain great focus. Dancing, after all, asked for a lot of concentration and balance, and if he didn't want to hurt himself he could better make sure nothing would distract him.
Too bad he had failed at that.
The moment Sugawara Koushi had joined the school, Akaashi knew he was gone. He wasn't one to openly display his feelings, but his mind sure was screaming a lot at him. Sugawara was, needless to say, absolutely mesmerizing and Akaashi didn't like how hard he found it to keep his eyes off him.
Sugawara was new to the sport, but he was a fast learner and clever. In no time, he'd almost reached the same level as the rest of the class, who had all been doing modern for a lot longer than him.
Sugawara was a special one. His movements hadn't been stiff, even when he just started, but now with more practice and experience, he managed to move his body with such smoothness and grace it even surprised Akaashi, who had always been known for his elegant movements.
Sugawara's limbs were like water, flowing smoothly without fail, every time he unraveled in his dance.
Akaashi had spoken with Sugawara a few times, but it hadn't been that much. He knew Sugawara was almost the same age as him, only six months older, and that he'd played many, many different sports before he got into modern dance. He had never really managed to find his flow anywhere, though, always ending up relatively good but unable to evelope himself to higher abilities.
Sugawara was kind, very kind, but also a bit sneaky (the good kind) and always had something to say. He often was just behind Akaashi while the class went through a routine, and Akaashi could always just hear him mutter sarcastic comments under his breath at the (sometimes pretty unessential) instructions and directions from the trainer.
So, Sugawara Koushi was a nice, funny and talented person. Great. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, you'd say.
It was.
Sugawara was not only that, but also extremely pretty and distracting. He had ask-blonde hair so light it seemed white and warm, light brown eyes, pale, fair skin and a small beauty mark right next to his left eye. He had a small physique, his body looking frail and thin. Akaashi knew it was anything but that, if his powerful moves were anything to go by.
Akaashi was, to be frank, very attracted to Sugawara, but there was not much he could (or wanted) to do about it. He didn't want to talk to him. Normally, Akaashi was a straight-to-the-point person, but with Sugwara... He'd rather just stay at a distance and observe. Maybe something would happen, maybe not. Akaashi was content with just looking. Appreciating.
***
Little did he know, a certain man (called Sugawara, what a coincidence) didn't feel the same. Akaashi was pretty fucking attractive, and Suga wasn't stupid. He noticed the looks he got. If only Akaashi would just do something.
If he doesn't in the next week, I will, Suga then decided resolutely.
***
A partner project. Of course. The trainer had formed pairs, would announce them in a few minutes. With that partner, Akaashi would have to figure out who would dance the lead and who would follow, and they'd have to learn a dance for the showcase in a few months. Akaashi always had sucky luck with things like this; he always got that one person that would insist on leading (while absolutely sucking at it) or who was a way too enthusiastic partner (who would take the lead, despite possibly not being that).
He always got assigned to that one person he couldn't stand. He couldn't stand plenty people in the class, so that wasn't hard, but there were also plenty good, nice people. He never got to dance with them. Akaashi furiously hoped this time he'd get a sane partner. He wanted to do well at this showcase, and not have to pick a super easy routine because his partner couldn't handle the much-needed teamwork for the harder ones.
He got assigned to Sugawara Koushi.
He was happy with it, but also not. Not at all, actually. You see, Sugawara was nice, and plenty talented, and he seemed easy to work together with, but he was also Sugawara. The person Akaashi had a stupid crush (yes, that sounded stupid) on. The person he had been trying to avoid, kind of.
"Hi, Akaashi, I see we're paired up for this showcase?" Sugawara said, a pleasant smile on his face (his beauty mark was all crinkled up, it looked cute). "I look forward to working together with you!"
"Yes, Sugawara-san, we'll get to work together on this one," Akaashi replied, actually (now that he thought about it) very relieved with his partner. Maybe he could finally go all out and show what he had in him this stage.
"Oh, no, please call me Suga," Suga(wara) said, waving Akaashi's polite approach away. Damn. Sure. Now what?
"Sure, Suga," Akaashi said, trying very desperately to not choke up at any time. "Do you prefer to lead, or..."
"If you'd like to lead, I'm all for that!" Suga said (still with a very pretty smile pulling dimples in his cheeks). He wasn't allowed to have dimples, too, what was even wrong with him? "I actually don't like leading all too much. In dance, I mean."
Akaashi didn't want to think too much about why Suga had felt the need to add that last part, but his mind didn't really obey and went there anyway. Did he mean in social situations, or maybe did he mean when there was romance involved? Maybe even...
No. No, he had to stop right there, before he wandered into that territory. That was a place he, in no way, wanted to go, especially not now that they'd be dancing together.
Damn. They'd be dancing together, multiple times a week, just the two of them, in a duet.
Akaashi would have to be really, really strong. He could do this (or, at least, try).
Akaashi could, in fact, not handle this. The casual touches, the fleeting looks (from both sides this time), the proximity needed for their choreo... It was all too much, and the performance was tomorrow, and Akaashi didn't want this to stop. He knew the touches meant nothing, were just slight corrections and directions to perfect their routine, but it all felt too nice. He didn't want it to stop.
Their dance was full of those fleeting touched, hands just brushing past outstretched arms as they spun past each other, doing powerful jumps and lifts in between, strong but fluid motions not halting for one moment. Suga was light in his arms as they were extremely close for a few moves, noses almost brushing, Akaashi trying his hardest to keep his focus on the dance.
It didn't work, but instead all his focus was on Suga and that was maybe even better. He heard, later, from their unsuspecting trainer, that the dance just held such strong emotions, that he was stunned at their beautiful performance. Oops.
If Suga kissed him when the lights dimmed, no one would have any evidence. Only them, as the curtains fell (they were up last, for the 'last best' effect) and Akaashi kissed him back. If Suga was a good kisser, only Akaashi would know. They weren't each other's firsts, but damn they were the best.