Chapter Text
It was his first time being out in public gatherings and meeting people he had never seen all his life.
He should be glad, or at least he thought, for he is given a chance to see and experience the life outside of his four-walled room.
He seldom goes out, doesn’t see people or talk much. He prefers to stay indoors and sit on the soft comforts of his cozy bed, while opening a book or two and be lost in the world of his imagination. He doesn’t mind being alone. After all, he has his loving mother and father who will always be there by his side.
His life isn’t that ordinary. Unlike those normal teenagers who spend most of their time at school and learning how to solve arithmetic problems, the pros and cons of life, become a good citizen of the country, he had his education at home.
He doesn’t mind.
Although sometimes his heart would ache and quietly long for a friend or two of whom he can confide his thoughts and dreams.
He didn’t complain about it. He shouldn’t be bitter.
This happened for a reason though that reason he chose not to delve any further.
After all, ignorance is bliss… or so he thought.
“Tetsuya-kun, do you like it here?” Kuroko Tetsuya, the only son of Kuroko Hattori and Kuroko Yuuka, turns at him.
“Yes, Mother,” he answers with a smile. Although a bit anxious since it’s his first time being out, he doesn’t want to cause anymore worries for his parents.
“We do apologize about this, Tetsuya,” he heard his father said with a trace of worry in his turquoise blue eyes, the color on which he had inherited from.
“We thought that we could give you the time to check out and learn your surroundings more since you have always been in your room.”
“Don’t worry about me, Father, I am alright and I’ll get used to this so please don’t worry too much,” he told them, squeezing the clenched hands of his mother, assuring them that he is perfectly fine.
“Alright, since it’s Tetsuya-kun who says that he’s fine then we will be assured, but if you suddenly feel sick or something, we can just go home immediately,” his worried mother added.
“Mother you’re overreacting again. Don’t worry, I will be fine,” he chuckles as he squeezes her hands once more.
“Yuuka, I think you’re the one who is more anxious about this than Tetsuya is,” Hattori says amusingly as he gently squeezes his wife’s tense shoulders.
“You can’t blame me, Hattori, since this is Tetsuya-kun’s first time,” Yuuka countered, the worry creasing her temples.
“Alright, Tetsuya, I won’t worry anymore. I want you to enjoy your night here, okay?”
“Yes, Mother, you worry too much about me,” he smiles, almost in a sigh.
“You two should go and talk to your acquaintances. I wish to walk around and explore this historical place,” he utters then stands up from his chair.
“Are you sure you don’t want to meet our acquaintances? You can finally meet their only son who's the same age as you, Tetsuya-kun,” Yuuka said, worry lacing in her somewhat calm voice.
“I’m not prepared yet to meet people, Mother. I would prefer to look around the place first if it’s alright. Please do enjoy yourselves,” he answers, bowing his head before them. Then strides across the crowded hall where a crowd of people from the higher strata gathered together for a memorable night.
“Yuuka, you worry too much about him. He’s not a child anymore. You should start giving him his own space for a while,” Hattori softly speaks to his his wife who can't stop worrying.
“Ahm… I can’t help it, Hattori, he’s our only son after all,” Yuuka sighed as she continues to follow her son’s back with her gaze.
“Don’t worry, Tetsuya is a mature person. He is old enough to take care of himself. It’s time for him to see the outside world and you know that, Yuuka, so let’s meet the Akashi family now,” Hattori reminded her, softly holding her hand then tightly squeezing it.
“Ahm… Oh, fine,” Yuuka finally agrees with a sigh then turns to him, a faint smile on her lips despite the glint of anxiety in those set of blue eyes.
“Yuuka, you’re not really good at hiding your emotions, and do I have to remind you that he won’t attract any attention aside from us?” Hattori chuckles as he reminds her of Tetsuya’s peculiar but amusing character. He gently places his right arm around her shoulder then walks her toward the meeting place with the Akashi family.
“I can’t help it, Hattori,” she finally sighs as worry is completely shown on her face, but Hattori continues to chuckle.
“Alright, alright now… Let’s just enjoy the night,” Hattori says as he leads her through the crowd.
Akashi Seijuro, the only son and heir to the Akashi Conglomerate, decided that enough is enough.
He had been advised to meet his fiancée who will be his future wife, reminding him that it will be for his own welfare and as a gentleman should not allow the chance to slip away.
Tonight is their first meeting. He admitted that meeting the long, brunette haired girl was breathtaking. She had met his standards: an elegant lady, beautiful, attractive, and smart. He took the opportunity and see for himself how his future wife could accomplish, but as she starts to open her mouth, his expectations suddenly crumbled into pieces.
“Nee, nee… Seijuro… you know what? I was so excited about seeing you that I couldn’t sleep last night! I thought I was going crazy ,but seeing you now and finally meeting you, all of my worries are gone! Why don’t we marry each other now? I’ll talk to my father about our wedding right away!” Honda Nanase squeals with delight, irritating her future husband in the process.
Showing such an outrageous character was enough to make the redhead sour. An attitude that will cause scandal and gossip in the future - certainly, enough to ruin his first impression upon her. It was indeed perfect for him to see her, so as he could evaluate if she is a good match for him. However, she did not meet his overall standards. Just quite a disappointment.
“That won’t be necessary, Honda,” Akashi politely says and then stands up from his chair, gently breaking away from her greedy hands tangling on his left arm.
“Huh? Seijuro?” Nanase, his fiancée, inquiringly watches him standing up.
“I will be the one to talk to both of our father about this. It seems that something went amiss regarding the engagement, but don’t worry, everything will be fine, Honda. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will need to attend some business first,” he smiles at her and with a bow takes his leave.
His regal and handsome form caught the attention of the visitors. Akashi knew from experience not to be easily intimidated, but instead smiles politely to the faces he turns to.
“…What a polite and handsome boy…”
“…Akashi Seijuro is really handsome and quite humble…”
“…His future wife is very lucky…”
Akashi quietly made his way out of the crowded hall, giving polite excuses to those meeting his way. At last, finally making his way out of the exit and turning to the left corner where the solemn garden with its serene and calm cricket sounds engulfing him, he lets out a sigh.
He is very tired.
He is so tired of pretending, smiling, being strong and perfect.
He is so tired of the so-called responsibility.
He lets out another sigh and then looks up to the dark starry galaxy. It is a peaceful night. The atmosphere sounded nice with no storm in the air. He closes his eyes and quietly feels the wind around him, calming his nerves and mind.
He needs to calm his mind. He needs to –
He quickly opens his eyes. Something is not right. He suddenly senses another person with him in this peaceful and quiet garden.
Alert, he gazes around him, his vigilant eyes taking every detail around him, until he spots a turquoise haired boy sitting down on the bench, his head leaning against the hard railing and… sleeping?
He quietly looks at the boy, finally realizing that he hadn’t seen him upon his arrival. He couldn’t have missed him, since that spot is easily detected, and that he will immediately see whoever sits there, but it was rather peculiar that he just realized the other presence.
He looks at him carefully, his ruby eyes scrutinizing the boy’s features. He has soft features like that of a girl, smooth jaw line, long and black eye lashes and rather silky white cheeks, a skin paler than he had ever seen.
He is rather beautiful which is quite odd to describe for a boy.
His left eyebrow arches, wondering how come he’s asleep out in the cold?
To be honest, this is the first time he had set his eyes to the odd boy across him.
‘Who is he? Is he with his family?’
He looks at him carefully. Somehow he couldn’t help himself, but to stare, especially on the stranger’s face.
And without realizing it, he is already walking towards him, his scarlet eyes not leaving his gentle sleeping face.
The last thing he knew, he is already sitting beside him, an arm distance from the sleeping figure. In a closer look, he couldn’t deny that the boy is indeed attractive, but in a strange way.
The turquoise haired boy looked peaceful drifting in a slumber, oblivious of the surrounding noise.
He found himself quite entertained watching the stranger. His heart feels lighter, as if it lifted all the burdens he has been carrying throughout his life.
In response, a smile forms on his lips, his scarlet eyes looked softer and gentler as he watches the boy.
‘Who is this person that could make me feel this way?’
As if an answer to his question, the turquoise haired boy slowly opens his eyes and wonders of all wonders, he sees the most beautiful and clear turquoise eyes he had never seen all his life.
It is as if he looks at the spring’s pure blue sky without any streaks of white clouds.
His breath is taken away.
He feels the hands of time stopped the moment those clear turquoise eyes meets his scarlet eyes.
“Oh… Hello,” the stranger says with a poker face. Not looking away from his gaze.
“H-Hello…” he finds himself stuttering in front of the stranger. Realizing that he is acting out of character, he quickly breaks his gaze away from the boy and looks down at the marbled ground.
“Ahm…” he hears the boy’s voice and slowly he turns his head to his direction.
“Why are you sleeping here outside?” he asks him in a composed manner.
“Well… I didn’t mean to sleep actually. I just walked out of the hall because of the crowd to find silence, and then I found this place and stayed here,” the boy recounts to him and then looks up the sky. The stars that looked like twinkling gems scattered all over the expanse of the black canvass sky were sparkling from the distance. “I was mesmerized by the silence and the stars, then fell asleep.”
“I see,” Akashi says, quite amused of the same situation he has with the boy.
“But falling asleep while watching the stars could make you sick…” his voice trailed off as he looks at the boy with interest.
“It’s Kuroko Tetsuya,” the turquoise haired boy supplied with a smile on his eyes, his turquoise eyes beaming with laughter.
“It’s quite silly but stargazing is one of my hobbies…” this time his voice is the one trailing off, asking in return for his name.
“Akashi Seijuro,” he supplies in return, smiling back to the boy, quite glad and surprised of the boy’s gentle and angelic smile. “What an interesting hobby you have, Tetsuya.”
“Nice to meet you, Akashi-kun,” the boy says with a smile. “Well… not really…” he says, a bit embarrassed and surprised. He slowly turns his eyes down on the ground.
Akashi noticed his silence. He slowly turns to him, his cheeks obviously red.
“What is wrong, Tetsuya?”
“N-Nothing… it’s just that… well…” Tetsuya stammers still not turning to look at him.
“Really? Then how come you don't look at me?” he asks the boy, amused of his odd behavior.
“I-It’s because… you’re the first person who called me by my first name aside from my parents,” he reveals and then quickly steals a sheepish glance towards him before looking down.
“Eh… Really?” he asks in disbelief, his amusement and interest towards the boy just intensifies.
“What a coincidence, Tetsuya, you’re also the first person that I called in the first name. So, would you like to be my friend?” he offers to him, who quickly turns in surprise, his turquoise eyes beaming with excitement and happiness.
“R-Really? Well…” Tetsuya turns away, his cheeks looked red as an apple in which makes Akashi’s heart beat with amusement.
“Okay, let’s be friends, Seijuro-kun,” Tetsuya happily offers his right hand towards his new-found friend, in which Akashi gladly takes, feeling the soft and delicate hand, he gently squeezes it, unable to hide his own excitement with a smile.
Somehow, his heart skips a beat, he couldn’t explain the feeling but Akashi is sure that he likes the way he is feeling now.