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“I like you, Furihata-san. Please go out with me.” Akashi Seijuuro said, giving an earnest 90-degree bow to the dazed person of his affection.
Furihata Kouki froze in shock, speechless as if his throat was clogged. When he broke out of his stupor, he immediately flushed red at the curious passers-by in the shopping center staring at them while frantically flailing his hands.
“P-please stop bowing Akashi-san, people are watching!”
“I’ll rise when you answer me,” Akashi declared firmly.
Furihata was covered in an even darker shade of red, rivalling that of the determined male’s flaming hair.
“Y-yes, Akashi-san. I will go out with you.”
-
Fast forward to one week later, where Akashi was lying on his bed after finishing up his pile of paperwork as the student council president. His hand hovered over his phone, wondering if he should text Furihata. After a few moments of contemplation, he rested his hand, deciding not to. He sighed, turning to a more comfortable position.
He was finally going out with Furihata, his crush he had had for quite a while now. Akashi didn’t exactly know himself how he started to harbor feelings for the brunet, but after the Winter Cup, Akashi decided to satisfy his curiosity of the boy who quivered in fear in front of him on the court. The determination on his face was very commendable, and he even scored a basket against them, the Rakuzan. Akashi recalled how he attempted to stab Kagami Taiga with a pair of scissors in front of the boy and covered his face with his hands in mortification. He couldn’t blame Furihata for being that afraid of him. The two of them became unlikely friends and went out together whenever Akashi was in town.
It was admiration at first. Now, people may be thinking: Akashi Seijuuro? Admiring Furihata Kouki? But yes, admiration. Admiration for the brunet at how he easily got up after he fell. How in their one-on-one basketball games he never gave up even if he was going against one of the Generation of Miracles. How Furihata Kouki could be cowardly yet so brave at the same time. Akashi knew through experience how difficult it was.
Furihata Kouki was not a person that would make heads turn twice towards to on the streets. However, Akashi would gladly stare his face forever if you gave him the chance, as embarrassing as it was. Was it the eyes that crinkle into the cutest lines whenever he smiled? Or was it the nose which would twitch ever so slightly whenever he got him his favorite meat bun and gave out the most adorable sneezes? Or was it the lips that will curl into an endearing smile whenever he gushed about his favorite band? Akashi couldn’t decide.
However, he couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. Don’t get him wrong, he was no doubt happy he was dating the most beautiful person on earth, but something... just didn’t feel right. Akashi thought back to the day before where he went to Tokyo to see his beloved for the first time again after they were established to be in a relationship. They took the train together after meeting up at the station, where Furihata was quieter than usual.
“What’s wrong, Furihata-san? Did something happen in school today?” Akashi inquired, concerned.
“W-what? N-no! Nothing happened in school today, w-why do you ask?” Furihata shook his head rather wildly, flustered.
“You just seem rather quiet today. If there’s anything wrong, you know you can tell me, I’m your boyfriend after all.”
Furihata went dead silent at the mention of the word ‘boyfriend’, making Akashi wonder if he had heard him. Akashi reached out for his hand, but Furihata was immediately alarmed, stepping slightly backwards while nervously scratching the back of his head.
“T-there’s really nothing! Oh look, our stop’s here, l-let’s go!” Furihata stammered a little, heading out of the train.
Akashi frowned, and while the rest of the day they had spent strolling around their favorite place to shop for food, it seemed like they were back to normal. But, Akashi could tell that Furihata was avoiding his eyes, and was being more… awkward?
Flipping his body to the other side, Akashi wondered what was up with Furihata as he scrolled through his phone for his past messages with Furihata. Furihata’s texts got shorter, and he didn’t use those emoticons of his anymore. Did something happened at home? Or in school? Was he being bullied? Or was he worried about his grades?
Why wasn’t Furihata willing to confide in him? A thought that he was the only one wanting this relationship left Akashi with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Was it only his wishful thinking? Did he pressure Furihata into this? Was Furihata too polite and nice to turn him down? Was it too irrational for him to confess? Did he just ruin a bond that he cherished so deeply about? He felt a painful pang to his chest as he mulled over the horrible things he had done. How selfish he was to have not considered Furihata’s feelings in this, Akashi blamed himself as he lost sleep for yet another night.
-
A lethargic Akashi Seijuuro was making his way to Seirin High’s basketball court on a Tuesday, knowing that Furihata had basketball practice after school and he did not. He decided that he was too curious and wanted to know if Furihata’s strange behavior was attributed to something that happened in school. The sounds of basketballs being dribbled and gym shoes screeching ricocheted through the court. He decided to watch from the outside while he waited.
He spotted Furihata almost immediately, his eyes glued to the way how Furihata was running across half of the court playing 3-on-3 with some of the year ones and year twos. Although, seeing Furihata with droplets of sweat gathering around his forehead and dripping down his smooth, slender neck had Akashi look away for a bit. Furihata played with a resolute look on his face, vision focused solely on the orange ball as he took a chance to steal the ball from the opposing team. He passed the ball to Fukuda, who did a lay-up and scored. A whistle was blown shortly after, marking the end of the practice game.
“Fukuda, nice shoot!” Furihata cheered on, grinning wildly.
“Nice pass, Furi!” Fukuda returned, pulling Furihata into a side hug while messing up his hair as Furihata himself giggled.
Akashi watched the scene as he felt a little disturbed at how close those two were. He knew he shouldn’t be that petty, considering he heard from Furihata himself that Fukuda had a girlfriend, and Furihata had his own space and friends. Still, he couldn’t help but be a little more jealous than he should, considering that they were a couple and yet they didn’t come as close as how Furihata and Fukuda were. Furihata gave that huge smile to Fukuda, the smile he used to see before they went out. Furihata was just like his normal self now that Akashi wasn’t around, so what was going on?
It was Furihata’s duty that practice to clear up the equipment, so he left later this time, with his teammates going off first. He noticed Akashi leaning on a pillar waiting for him, and jumped in surprise.
“A-akashi-san? Wha-what are you doing here?” Furihata stumbled on his words.
There it was again, Akashi couldn’t remember the last time Furihata got so antsy in front of him since the scissors incident.
“I was waiting for you, Furihata-san. I was hoping we could go out today, maybe on a date,” Akashi replied.
Furihata halted for a moment while he stared blankly at space. With a raised eyebrow, Akashi held out a hand to Furihata, prompting for him to entwine their hands together. Furihata snapped out of it while chuckling nervously, “O-okay, Akashi-san.” Furihata strolled ahead with a faster pace, overtaking Akashi. Akashi looked down at his rejected hand, and decided that this was it. “Furihata-san.”
Furihata stopped in his tracks at Akashi’s serious tone, and turned around. “Y-yes?”
“Do you not want this?” Akashi looked at the ground, deciding he didn’t want Furihata to see his pathetic face.
“…what?” Furihata paused a bit before answering.
“Do you not like me, Furihata-san? Did I force you into this relationship? I-I didn’t mean to make you unhappy, Furihata-san,” Akashi lost his composure for a split second. “You don’t seem like yourself these days, since the day I confessed. Was it a burden to you, my feelings? I really, really do like you Furihata-san, and I don’t want you to be troubled. Maybe we should end this-”
“No!” Furihata cut in with a shout before he could finish his sentence.
Akashi was startled, lifting his head up to look at Furihata. “No?”
“I mean- it’s um, not what y-you think, um, I-I’m sorry!” Furihata flailed around, looking very flustered at his outburst.
“Not what I think? Then what is it? You’ve been avoiding my eyes whenever we meet up, you don’t smile at me like you do with Fukuda-san anymore, you start to stammer around me again, you don’t answer my messages with cute emoticons anymore, and you refuse to hold my hand even when I really want to, why is that, Furihata-san?”
Furihata blushed a beetroot red.
“I-I can’t bear to look at you any longer!” he cried out, earning an incredulous look on Akashi’s face.
Furihata looked horrified after realizing what he had said.
“No, no, that’s not what I mean at all! I like you too, Akashi-san! I like you so much I don’t know what to do! I’ve liked you for such a long time now, I never ever thought once that you’d like me back, but you did and we’re now together, and I’m still in awe! My heart feels like bursting whenever you’re around me and I can never act normal anymore! I get so nervous and giddy I feel like I’m going to erupt, and when that they you said you are m-my b-b-boyfriend, my brain stopped working and I thought I was never ever ever going to breathe again-”
“Furiha-”
“-I avoid your eyes because I know I’ll combust when I look into them, I stammer like an idiot and don’t smile at you anymore because I’m stupid and I get too anxious to, I take longer to reply to your messages because I had to ponder over every single character that I typed in, and I thought emoticons were too childish for you, and I-“
“Furihata-san, that’s-”
Furihata joined his hands with Akashi. They were shaking. Badly.
“I refuse holding your hand because they shake this much and I think that’s really lame of me,” Furihata finished, taking in a huge breath.
The red-haired male stood still, not knowing how to respond. As Furihata began to think coherently again, he flushed an even darker shade of crimson at the realization of all the embarrassing things he said.
“I-I mean I er, I-”
Furihata found himself interrupted by a pair of lips pressed onto his own. Akashi held Furihata’s hands even tighter and closer to his chest. For Akashi, it felt right. No, it felt perfect. They were like two pieces of a puzzle that fitted perfectly together. Furihata’s hands stopped shaking as his mind shut down.
Akashi pulled away, only to be found with an unmoving Furihata. “Furihata-san, are you alright?” he inquired, waving his hands in front of Furihata’s face.
“A-akashi-san, I think I’m going to faint…”