Kuroko was one hundred and ten percent sure that if he had to spend another minute in the presence of Akashi Seijuro, he'd lose it. Some people, he decides, were born to step on each and every one of your nerves. And Akashi Seijuro was definitely one of them. It had been around five hours since Akashi had arrived at the Kuroko family's quaint country house with all his arrogance and ego packed along with his suitcases. Kuroko groans and glances at the calendar, mentally counting down the number of days left in Akashi's stay.
Eighty nine more days until Akashi would leave. Two thousand one hundred thirty six hours. In front of him Akashi tapped at the screen of his expensive smartphone; something Kuroko would have to sell his soul for to even consider buying. He doesn't try to make small talk and the redhead makes no indication that he had any plans to be talking to Kuroko any time soon. Kuroko sunk into the couch, leaning back as he played idly with the hem of his shirt, chanting 'eighty nine more days' in his head.
He was definitely going to go insane.
"We're hosting a special guest for the summer!" his mother had announced excitedly in the middle of dinner a week ago. "He's the same age as you, too, Tecchan! Oh, I know it gets lonely in the country during summers when there's no school so I bet you're looking forward to have a new face around for the vacation!"
"What's his name?" Kuroko asks, a small smile twitching at his lips. Even with his usual stoic facade, he couldn't quell his excitement. A new friend! And from the city, nonetheless. Kuroko himself had never been particularly fond of the city, remembering with a shudder, his visits to his relatives and the time when his parents had considered sending him to school in the city. How ten year old him had sat in the car, watching the country roll by and the windmills and barns slowly being replaced and in it's stead: skyscrapers and traffic lights and crowded paved sidewalks, so unlike the dirt roads he had grown up walking on. He had felt awkward and boorish, watching the other kids play from the corner of the room. The other kids took no notice of the soft spoken boy with little presence in the back of the room either and he had begged his parents to let him quit after a week. After that, they had compromised and sent Kuroko to a school that met halfway between the empty country and the busy city.
He never could get used to the smog and the smoke, the honking of cars or the constantly bustling of people on the streets. His preference would always be the quiet countryside where crickets sang him to sleep instead of car horns and he could breathe the crisp morning air without hacking out a lung.
"Akashi Seijuro," Kuroko's mother replies. "He comes from a distinguished family, too! His father wanted his son to be able to experience the country life. Imagine that! Someone like him coming to pay our humble abode a visit."
"Akashi Seijuro?" his father says from the couch, looking up from the newspaper. "You can't possibly mean the son of Akashi Masaomi?"
"That's him!" his mother says and his father whistles, clearly impressed. Kuroko remembers vaguely hearing the name Akashi before, though he couldn't quite recall where. The paper, perhaps, or rather the paper boy himself who had always liked to tell whoever had the time to listen what the headlines in the paper were, reciting them with a toothy grin. Ogiwara was like that, and Kuroko's closest - and only friend in the countryside. And yet even then, Ogiwara lived over the rolling hills, an inconvenient distance away. He only really came on the weekday mornings when he was required to deliver the paper. Having a new face around would be more than appreciated.
"I hope the two of you get along!" his mom gushes, wrapping an arm around Kuroko and squeezing his shoulders.
"I hope so too, mom," Kuroko smiles. "When is he coming?"
"In a week," his mother beams, glad to see her son's enthusiasm. "You do know what that means, right? We have to clean up this house and make sure it's immaculate!"
So Kuroko had suffered through a week of back breaking, labor intensive work, cleaning the entire house by himself. His father was gone for work during the day and his mother had told him that 'he was old enough to take responsibility' to which he complained she was simply too lazy to do it herself. His only solace was the fact Akashi would be arriving soon and Kuroko would have finally have another friend to hang out around in the summer. Later, he had dug through their bin of old newspaper in the closet and pulled out one with an article announcing how the Akashi Conglomerate had bought two companies in succession. He flipped through the pages eagerly, but there was no mention of the younger Akashi's name, only talk of business and economics which Kuroko couldn't bother to comprehend.
On the day when Akashi was supposed to arrive, Kuroko sat in the living room eagerly, not quite concentrating on his novel and instead peaking out the window every few minutes to see when a car would pull up by their driveway or straining to hear footsteps approach the door. What seemed like hours later, a sleek black limo had finally pulled up in front of their house and Kuroko casts his novel away in excitement, craning his head to see if he could catch a glimpse of Akashi.
The doorbell chimes and Kuroko jumps up from the couch, racing down the hall where he opened the door to see a redhead boy about his height standing on the porch, a butler carrying two large suitcases staggering up the driveway behind him. Akashi Seijuro had tousled crimson hair, sunglasses resting on his head and a smartphone in his hand. He was wearing a gray v-neck t-shirt with black skinny jeans. Kuroko gulps. Oh no, he thinks inwardly, biting his lip. He's hot.
"Hello! I'm Kuroko Tetsuya," Kuroko smiles, holding his hand out to Akashi. The latter glances at Kuroko's hand before averting his gaze back to the blue haired boy, not bothering to shake Kuroko's hand.
"The WiFi here is shit," Akashi announces bluntly and Kuroko blinks dumbly, staring at Akashi. Was he serious? That was the first thing he said? No hello, no greeting, no smile? To say Kuroko was disappointed would be an understatement.
"Uh yeah," Kuroko laughs nervously. "It's better inside the house but it's not too good...we are in the country after all.." he trails off as he realizes that Akashi wasn't listening, instead craning his head to call out to his butler, instructing him to drop the suitcases on the porch before bidding him farewell.
"Whatever," Akashi grumbles. "So are you going to make me wait out here all day or...?"
"Oh! Sorry," Kuroko says. He steps aside to let Akashi into the house. The redhead hadn't even bothered to pick up his suitcases and the limo had rolled out of sight so Kuroko guesses that Akashi had intended for him to carry the suitcases. How rude, Kuroko thinks in annoyance. He picks up one of the suitcases and nearly stumbles backwards, surprised at how heavy it was. Why did Akashi even pack so much? With much struggle and grunting, Kuroko managed to haul to the suitcases into the house. He'd get his dad to take it upstairs, later.
Akashi was sitting on the couch without invitation, idly scrolling through his phone before Kuroko coughed politely, catching his attention.
"Yes?" Akashi sighs, not even bothering to turn his head around to face Kuroko.
"If you want, I'll show you to your room. Or rather, our room, since we'll be sharing," Kuroko offers and Akashi shrugs, getting up and brushing the nonexistent dust off his jeans. Kuroko would know. He spent hours cleaning the stains off that couch and he was beginning to think that Akashi Seijuro had not been worth the work.
He leads Akashi upstairs and shows him to his room. Their house was absent of an extra guest room and in the end, they had moved the extra bed from the master bedroom into Kuroko's own room, the bed situated in the opposite corner of the room. Akashi wrinkles his nose when he steps inside the room, looking around disdainfully.
"It's so...small," Akashi mutters under his breath, plopping down on the bed. Kuroko frowns at this. It became immediate to him that coming from a rich family had made Akashi a spoiled brat in the process. He reminded Kuroko of every reason why he hated the city: full of money, pretentious, too attached to technology and too disdainful.
"Would you like to do something?" Kuroko asks, still trying to play as nice as possible. Considering how long Akashi would be staying, getting on the redhead's bad side the first day of his arrival would only serve to create problems.
"Not really," Akashi replies with dismal interest, eyes still glued to the screen. Kuroko furrows his brow in annoyance; the task of being conciliatory towards Akashi Seijuro seemed to grow harder and harder as Akashi persisted on being a stubborn nuisance."But I guess you could show me around the house."
"Sounds good," Kuroko says in relief. Akashi stands up reluctantly and stuffs his phone into the back pocket of his jeans before removing his sunglasses and placing them on the desk in the room.
Kuroko leads Akashi downstairs and shows him the kitchen, the living room, and the study. Akashi's interest peaks a little when he notices the old piano in the corner of the living room. So he plays, huh? Kuroko muses. It was nothing spectacular: merely a simple piano that his grandmother had owned, a faded piano cover draped carefully over the instrument. Kuroko used to play a bit when he was little, teaching himself how to read the notes from an old music book he had found in the study. Sometimes his mother would sit down with him and tap out tunes like 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' with him, but it had now grown dusty and out of tune through years of disuse. Akashi says nothing about the den, though Kuroko can see his eyes light up, even if just by a fraction, at the amount of books crammed into the shelves of the study. Perhaps he's not all about his phone, after all, Kuroko thinks as Akashi runs a finger over the spines of the old books, tilting his head to the side slightly to read the titles. If Akashi enjoyed reading, that was at least one interest they shared.
"We don't have much here," Kuroko confesses as they leave the study.
"I can see that," Akashi drawls and Kuroko found himself liking Akashi less and less by the second. He takes a deep breath in irritation, trying to calm himself down before sliding the glass back door open to the large backyard. A small barn sat at the far end, next to an oak tree with an old tire swing Kuroko's dad had hung up for Kuroko when he was five. A porch swing next to the door on the porch swung back and forth in the quiet breeze and his mother's favorite windchimes tinkle above.
"A barn," Akashi states flatly, wholly unimpressed. Kuroko ignores him and leads Akashi across the large backyard to the barn. He pushes the old double doors open and pretends not to notice Akashi's lip curling in disgust at the ratty doors with faded paint and accumulated dust giving way to reveal an old, musty barn.
"I can't believe father dropped me on this stupid farm for three months," Akashi sniffs in disdain, crossing his arms.
"Mom, Akashi is here," Kuroko calls, peering into the barn. His mother, at the other side of the barn near the stables, turns away from feeding the horses and brightens at the sight of Akashi.
"Ah! You must be Akashi Seijuro! I'm Kuroko's mom, of course. Kuroko Asako," she beams, dropping the bale of hale in her arms and walking over, wiping her hands on her jeans. "I'd give you a hug but it's not quite hygienic after spending time in the barn," she chuckles.
"It's nice to meet you too, Kuroko-san," Akashi says with a winsome smile. "And I understand completely. I have a horse of my own, actually..." he says, gaze softening as it travelled over the two whinnying horses in the stables. What the hell? Kuroko gapes, staring at Akashi's total one eighty in change of personality. So he was the kind of guy who knew how to kiss up to adults...or perhaps he was only this much of an asshole to Kuroko.
"It's not much here, but we hope that you enjoy your stay regardless," Kuroko's mom continues.
"I hope that I enjoy it too, Kuroko-san," Akashi says, his smile never wavering once. Kuroko wants to slap that smile clean off his face.
"Are you hungry, Akashi-kun? I could make something for a snack if you wanted," Kuroko's mom asks and Akashi shakes his head.
"I'll be fine until dinner," Akashi says, declining politely. "There's no need to worry about me, Kuroko-san."
"How polite!" Kuroko's mom marvels, flashing them a big smile and bidding them goodbye, returning to the horses.
"Do you actually have a horse?" Kuroko asks incredulously after they left the barn. He doesn't know what someone who lived in the city would even do with a horse to begin with, but considering Akashi's wealth, it didn't seem so surprising anymore. Akashi nods slowly as if it was only obvious and everyone in the city owned horses. There's no need to treat me like I'm an idiot, Kuroko thinks in irritation. He considers asking more about Akashi's horse but the redhead had already started walking away again, leaving Kuroko to jog to catch up to him.
"Is there anything else to do around here?" Akashi says, his brow furrowing. "The internet connection is abysmal, the house is small and there's nothing but wild grass for miles. The only redeeming quality is the fact you own horses. Am I allowed to ride one, sometime?"
"If you stop being a total ass, then yeah," Kuroko hisses under his breath.
"What was that?" he asks, narrowing his eyes and Kuroko sneers in response. "I didn't ask to be dropped here for the summer. I had other plans," Akashi snaps.
"Well you're stuck here now," Kuroko retorts. "So why don't you at least try to get along? What's someone as wealthy as you doing in the countryside for the summer anyways?"
Akashi looks away, muttering an incoherent response. "...discipline me...or deflate my head or something" is all Kuroko picks up and he smirks in understanding.
"You got sent here because you were acting too stuck up," Kuroko concludes, tauntingly. "Your father wanted you to live a modest life for a few months, didn't he?"
"Shut up," Akashi growls, sliding the back door open with more force than necessary. "I could have been dropped in any other house in the country but I had to end up with someone as miserable as yourself."
"You're no walk in the park either," Kuroko spits back. He feels his chest burn in anger at Akashi's words. He wasn't surprised that Akashi's father had sent his pissy, spoiled son who couldn't live without internet to 'brave it out' in the countryside for a few months.
"I don't care what you think of me," Akashi says, rolling his eyes. "After these three months drag by, I'll be back in the city without a second thought about the countryside, much less about you. I won't even remember the name Kuroko Tetsuya, and hell, it's not like I want too anyways."
The two of them were now sitting in the living room, Akashi on one side and Kuroko on the other. What was his problem anyways? Kuroko grouses inwardly, thumbing through pages of his novel. He couldn't bring himself to concentrate on the novel; his head filled with thoughts about how much he'd enjoy punching the smug expression right off Akashi's face. The main character of the novel was a city boy too. He didn't own a horse and didn't act like he had a crown on his head and a cape on a shoulders. Kuroko wonders why Akashi couldn't have been like this boy instead. Then perhaps, he could have made a friend. The ticking second hand on the old grandfather clock across from Kuroko only seem to grow louder as the second drags by. He's all but counting down the number of seconds left until Akashi Seijuro would be gone from his life forever. Seven million six hundred eighty nine thousand and six hundred seconds left.
Seven million six hundred eighty nine thousand five hundred and ninety nine seconds left.
Seven million six hundred eighty nine thousand five hundred and ninety eight seconds left.
Seven million six hundred eighty nine-
The front door unlocks and the jangling sound of keys interrupt Kuroko from his countdown. He turns around to see his father step into the house, hanging his jacket on the coat hanger, beaming as he saw Akashi situated on the armchair.
"Ah, you must be Akashi Seijuro!" Kuroko's father greets.
"That I am," Akashi says pleasantly, looking up from his phone. "I am thankful that you were kind enough to host me for a couple of months."
It took every ounce of self control in Kuroko not to fling his novel straight at Akashi's head and knock the living daylights out of him. How could anyone be this two-faced? His father, unfortunately, just like his mother, had fallen for the act, completely taken by Akashi's charm. Hook, line, and sinker, Kuroko thinks sourly as Akashi gets up to shake Kuroko's dad's hand, the latter patting Akashi on the back cheerfully. Kuroko's dad picks up the suitcases still sitting by the hall and hauled them upstairs, Akashi turning around and walk back to sink into the armchair.
"I can see right through you," Kuroko says, grinding his teeth in annoyance. "Your act isn't going to last forever."
"How are you so sure my manners are only an act, hmm, Tetsuya?" Akashi replies airily, a challenging tone behind his words. His words only serve to fuel Kuroko's growing resentment towards the redhead.
"Don't call me Tetsuya," Kuroko snaps. "And I just do. You're one of those people who are all for show."
There's a moment of silence, the two of them glaring at each other from across the room.
"Don't," Akashi says coldly "don't act like you know me. Don't act like someone like you will ever understand me."
"Fine by me," Kuroko snorts. "Jerks aren't my type anyways."
A/N: crossposted on AO3