Drabble 01: Englishman in New York

For Seijuurou, coming over to America was somewhat of a new thing. He never liked being in Europe and much prefer to stay in his fatherland, but dearest mother had practically begged him for a visit ever since he turned twenty a couple of years ago and who was he to refuse dear Mummy? And here he was, six years later walking around in the bustling city of New York.

It really was a city that never sleeps, unlike the usual rainy-gloomy feel of London. New York was life and merriness, so full of art and splendor. Seijuurou might not have much patience for art himself, but it didn't mean he didn't appreciate art at all.

He stood out like sore thumb in the city, though. Others were so colorful and their outfits were somewhat flirtatious compared to Seijuurou's uptight set of suit, fedora, and walking cane. His oriental face had always been something of a label in the rare days he even went to London, but here, in a city that seemed to be a clash of all cultures, nobody seemed to stare at him like he was any different.

As much as Seijuurou loved New York, though, the city did have some weaknesses. One of them would be the difficulty of finding a good tea house where he could relax and enjoy some good tea like back in England or even Japan. Americans never had many aptitude for teas like Englishmen and Japanese, after all. So when he finally found one, Seijuurou had high expectations of thisBlack Leaf House.

The morning was colder than usual, so many people had already huddled up inside with their warm jackets and even warmer teas. Seijuurou picked the seat outside, though, the cold haven't bothered him enough to warrant his attention. London could be colder than this, after all.

He placed his walking cane on the back of his chair, hanging it on its silver head. Old thing his Mummy's Daddy had given her on his twenty second birthday, mailed by the airmail all the way to Japan. Seijuurou never thanked him for the gift, he should do that the next time he wrote his letter.

He placed his usual order of toast and darjeeling to the passing steward and waited for his breakfast to be served.

"Here's your breakfast, sir." A voice with an utterly familiar accent snapped Seijuurou out of his reverie, but the steward was long gone. A whiff of darjeeling sweetly invaded his nose as he carefully forked his toast and it brought a smirk to his face, genuinely impressed. The toast was soft on the other side, yet crispy on another. Whoever served this must have a great observation skills.

Seijuurou called the nearby girl with pressing uniform and asked her to call out the steward who had served him his tea earlier.

And he was met with the most inconspicuous man he had ever seen.

The man had teal-colored hair, his skin was pale like death itself and his eyes were of brilliant shade of azure. He smelled like tea and spices, both things Seijuurou seemed to take a liking of these days. He wore a professional smile across his face as the pink-haired lady dragged him to his table.

"Can I help you, sir?" He spoke, his accent so familiar and close to home. Seijuurou smirked. "Ah no," he answered. This man didn't look American at all. "You served me something I like, I was calling to expressing my gratitude."

"My pleasure, sir." He said, his accent lightly dancing on top of his words like a flirty dancer. "How do you know I love my toast done on one side?" He asked to the steward, who smiled in return. "You are an Englishman, sir," the waiter said as he glanced at Seijuurou's cane for a split second. "Of course you would like to have your toast done on one side."

"Oh?"

"That cane was one of the factor, along with your choice of clothing and also your accent. And the fact that you choose to sit outside even when the weather is daunting for a local citizen. It is no secret that you must be an Englishman who is having his vacation."

A smirk unknowingly made its way to Seijuurou's lips, mightily impressed by a boy who didn't look American at all. The redhead smiled and asked him to sit down. "Please, sit down. I would like to know more about you. You are the first to guess my second nationality instead of assuming that I am an Asian."

That seemed to take the azure-eyed man by the surprise. "You are an Asian, sir?" Seijuurou nodded. "I am Japanese-born, but I also have my dual citizenship from my mother's side. My name is Seijuurou Akashi-Kirkland." The steward's blue eyes seemed to widen in recognition, but he kept his smile anyways. "That is most definitely interesting, sir. Please let me end my shift and we can talk more." He bowed a little before disappearing back into the restaurant.

Another hour later, Seijuurou was smiling as he stared at his companion drinking his tea. His face was calm and graceful, and he also seemed to choose the most high quality tea. It looked like an Earl Gray from where Seijuurou sat. "Is there something in my tea, Mr. Seijuurou?" He asked politely, his eyes looking up curiously from the tea he had been pouring. "No, not at all. It had been quite some time since I meet another Englishman who is not a member of my family, so I kind of doze off."

"It is the same for me…" He smiled. "But for your credit, I am not entirely Englishman as well." Seijuurou raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head. "Oh?"

"My mother is half-Japanese half-Russian, my father is a pure Englishman, so I have a quarter of Russian blood in me as well." And that would have explained the pale complexion and his azure-blue sky, and yet the oriental feel of his beautiful face. "I don't think I've caught your name…?"

"Tetsuya, my name is Tetsuya Kuroko-Starling."

"Oh, the Starlings owned many of the Royals' favorite tea houses, yes? It is a familiar name."

"Yes," there was a hint of proud smile on Tetsuya's face. "We do." He stared at his own tea for a while, a hint of pink blush decorating his pale face. "What brings you to New York, Tetsuya?" Seijuurou asked, feeling genuinely curious for the man. "Oh, my brother is kind enough to let me work here until my tea house in Oxford is ready for business. I am… training, I guess."

"You are going to own a tea house? You are still quite young, are you not?"

"I am turning twenty five this upcoming January, Mr. Seijuurou."

The way his lips seemed to curl up slightly made a laughter erupt from Seijuurou's lips. He chuckled for a little more before returning his gaze back to his fellow Englishmen. "I apologize for my rudeness, Tetsuya. You look… younger."

There was a displeased look on the tealhead's face, but he still responded to Seijuurou's apology. "Well I am certainly not a lot younger than you are, Mr. Seijuurou."

The morning continued on with their conversations, and Seijuurou found Tetsuya to be quiet, yet delightful company. He would share some of his stories with him, equally sharing information about each other. When the morning finally broke into afternoon, a voice that was not unlike Tetsuya's own called the tealhead away in Russian.

"I apologize, Mr. Seijuurou, my brother needed me for inventory. It was nice meeting you." Seijuurou waved him a goodbye before calling his name once more. "Yes?" Tetsuya chimed calmly.

"Another cuppa tomorrow at 8 AM? I should ask for the best Earl Gray, I think." A smile broke onto Tetsuya's normally stoic face as he nodded in agreement. "I will be waiting, then."

Drabble 02: Under the Moonlight

"Do you think we can still win, Akashi-kun?"

The question shouldn't have surprised Akashi like it did. After all, Kuroko was always the ever cautious in their gang. The others were other part of his body, while Kuroko was the shadow. He was always the one to look back to see if they left anything behind. Kuroko was the kindest out of all, but also the cruelest among all.

The tealheaded shadow widened his eyes for a few seconds before resuming his usual undeterred, unshaken, and unfeeling face. "I apologize, my question must have caught you off guard." Akashi shook his head. "No, no. There is a reason why I choose you to be my shadow, Kuroko. That post would be useless if I had chosen someone who would think the same way as I do, no?" Akashi smirked.

Kuroko said nothing, his eyes eyeing to the town underneath them. "How long do you think until the leaders of this city cave?" Kuroko asked, his tone betrayed no emotion whatsoever. "Depending on Midorima's skills in talking and Kise's quickness in seducing." Akashi answered, hiding a chuckle despite his apparent amusement. Teikou City had always been an object of his amusement, after all. He wanted this place.

"I think you are wrong in this one, Akashi-kun." Kuroko spoke, his eyes still never leaving thosebig windows he loved so much. Akashi, puzzled with Kuroko's unusual boldness, stood up from his chair and approached his shadow. "Oh?" He put his chin on Kuroko's shoulder, his hands quietly snaking around his beloved phantom's waist. "Pray to tell?"

"Aomine-kun and Murasakibara-kun had moved as well, do you know that?"

"It was written in the reports, so yes, I know. Do you know more about it than I am, Kuroko?"

The tealheaded phantom didn't change his expression, but he took out his phone and typed out a few words in Russian, Kuroko's blood country. He was born there, after all. "I know more about it than you ever imagine, Akashi-kun." The tealhead pressed the 'send' button, and he could see the town below them exploded into sea of red.

"Why don't we open the window and go to the balcony, Kuroko?"

"I think that would be an excellent idea, Akashi-kun."

The two of them walked side by side with one another, mildly listening to the echoes of screams below them. The moonlight was shining so beautifully that night, and Kuroko was always in better moods whenever the moon was out.

They could faintly hear Aomine's laughter being carried by the wind as another car blasted off from somewhere in the town. Along with the sound of frustrated scream by the leaders just in the penthouse above them. Kuroko smiled. "What a beautiful night…"

Suddenly, a middle-aged man with flirtatious suit and fancy hair came falling down from the floor above them, screaming as he launched to his death. Akashi smirked.

"A beautiful night indeed."

And then he pulled his beloved phantom into a deep yet romantic, kiss.

I'm going to a daily update of the fics I've posted in for basketballpoetsociety's otp battle! There are 50 fics I wrote for it (one of them is the imperfect version of Project: Androkind) and I will post them all here.

They're mostly 400++ words drabble though :D

(And for those who didn't participate/didn't know about it and ask for the result, AkaKuro won by landslide at 508 entries)