The Aeroplane Series
Collection of one-shots of (possibly unrelated) travelling Akkr
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1.
.
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Kuroko doesn't like giving in to his own childish desires.
"It's a playground," He breathes, eyes wide as he stares at the wooden equipment splayed in the middle of a park.
Monkey bars, slides, swings, see-saws, a goddamn treehouse.
Honestly, you don't usually see a treehouse being part of a public playground.
So, maybe just this once….
He finds himself climbing up the rope leading up to the treehouse, feet pushing and landing against the thick tree trunk.
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It wasn't what he expected to see, but… Well.
Once Kuroko swings himself onto the wooden floor of the treehouse through the open entrance, he finds himself staring at someone shirtless –
In the middle of a very cold summer day in New Zealand.
The first thing Kuroko thought was that he had to get out of here and pretend you see nothing, but before he can even move a muscle to start clambering out the treehouse (and possibly landing painfully on the ground), the figure turns around.
"Ah."
They both let out a mildly surprised gasp. Kuroko's eyes ran wild – around the interior of the treehouse, at the crayon scribbles on the wooden walls, the green leaves rustling outside the window and oh god, his body – until finally, he settles for the floor; because nothing else shows his immense amount of shame than staring on the floor.
He is a foreigner flying from a non-English speaking country. What has he done in his two days here to deserve stumbling into someone with a very lean stature, softly chiselled abs, mesmerizing vermillion eyes, fiery red locks and God, has he mentioned how perfectly hot this guy is?
Brace yourself, Tetsuya.
"I'm sorry, I thought no one would come up here." He hears fluent English being spoken and alarms go off inside his head. Of course, this is a foreign country and he is the foreigner. He cannot expect everyone to speak Japanese for him, right, that was what his friend had told him.
So he gathered all his bearings and starts to speak as well as he could, because okay he isn't that terrible.
"No, I am… Ah, very sorry. My mistake."
Shit, he messed up.
He loudly cursed inside his head when he hears an amused snicker come from the guy across from him. "I see. A tourist?" He gives a start at the sound of perfectly familiar syllables being uttered, formed and tied together to form familiar words that he's only ever heard a few hours ago from his pack of friends over the phone.
"Y… Yes," He says, looking up now. He licks his lips again before speaking in perfect Japanese, his mother tongue. "You are also one?"
The redhead in front of him nods and relaxes his stance, leaning back against the wall and letting his arms lay out at his sides as he sits on the floor, revealing his (toned and quite sexy) chest for the world – in this situation, Kuroko's eyes – to see. "That's right. Hearing your accent when speaking in English made it very easy for me to know your nationality."
Kuroko hesitates for a moment, edging closer to the exit, but then he sees the redhead signalling for him to come over with a very, very charming smile. So Kuroko, unable to turn down an offer, scoots closer to him though while maintaining a significant amount of distance between them. "That's true."
Kuroko had just settled finding a comfortable position when he finds a hand thrust in front of his face. He looks back up again and finds himself caught by twin red eyes. "My name is Akashi. Akashi Seijuro." He tilts his head and curls the edges of his lips into another smile. This time, honestly, Kuroko's almost sure he could get a boner because damn, did he purposely want to look irresistible?
But Kuroko brings his hand forward and slides it into the guy's warm grasp. He notices the red-haired man giving his hand a little squeeze, and it takes him his all to will away the blush starting to form on his cheeks. "Kuroko Tetsuya."
And then they sit back, basking in the sunrays crawling in through the open window of the treehouse, feeling the warmth seep in accompanied by the occasional blow of the cold, New Zealand summer wind. "Which part of Japan are you from?" Akashi asks, eyes flicking over to Kuroko.
"Tokyo," Kuroko answers. "And you?"
"Kyoto. Are you in high school?"
Kuroko slowly pushes himself off the wall and raises a judging eyebrow at Akashi. "I may look small, but I assure you I am in my second year of college."
Akashi looks surprised, eyes wide and lips parting to reveal perfectly white and straight teeth, eyebrows rose. "I see. I'm sorry if I offended you."
Kuroko sighs softly, leaning back again against the wood. It feels warm and comforting against his clothed back and the wonderful smell of oak and polyester sneaks into his nostrils – and there's another smell… Particularly, it smelt pleasant, like strawberries. "I am used to it. And I suppose you are also in college? Or maybe even a company intern."
He hears a thoughtful hum from Akashi. "Thank you for assuring me that I still look young," Kuroko smiles amusedly at this, "but yes, I am around that age."
Kuroko tilts his head to the side as he stares out the window, squinting against the bright yellow ball high in the clear, cloudless sky so he could admire the green leaves on the swaying branches. "You speak as if you're older."
"But I am," Akashi replies, "I am twenty-three, while you are twenty. That speaks plenty."
Kuroko turns away from the lack of scenery outside from his spot, instead fixing his gaze on Akashi and blinking slowly, as if he's processing that piece of information. "I see. So you will be graduating soon."
"Are you on your semester break?"
"That's right."
"Did you come here alone?"
"No."
"So, where are your friends?"
"By the souvenir shop."
"Interesting."
"Yes."
"Would you like to come home with me?"
"… Eh."
"Joking," Akashi shoots him a grin, the peals of his laughter erupting through his throat and slipping through his beautifully sculpted lips. "You aren't very talkative, are you."
Somehow the sound of Akashi's laughter manages to pull a smile out of him, so Kuroko fondly looks on with a little chuckle of his own.
A blanket of silence befalls between them, leaving Kuroko to fidget in his place as he glances at Akashi. He sees the man's red tresses being stroked by the soft wind, blowing some locks away from his face and making him flutter his eyes close. The profile view of Akashi's face together with the sunlight bathing on his pretty pale skin gives an ethereal feel to it all – Kuroko can see the contours and slight dips of his jaws and cheekbones, the eyelashes brushing against his pink-dusted cheeks and his perfectly supple lips, all from the side. And Kuroko suddenly feels blessed to have the chance to sit by the side of this otherworldly being, able to enjoy the sight of it all within a close distance.
And then Akashi's eyes open slowly as he lets out a pleased sigh from his lips. Still shirtless, Kuroko watches as Akashi's red irises slide over toward him, watching him under his eyelids.
Honestly, Kuroko's breath might just have been taken away in a single heartbeat.
"Kuroko," He seems to be testing Kuroko's name on his tongue, in the end nodding, possibly satisfied. "Where will you be off to after this?"
Kuroko blinks. He adjusts his trench coat to block away the invasive wind from licking on his already cold skin and then he rubs his hands together to gather back warmth. "It is almost five in the evening, so to my hotel," Kuroko says, "And you?"
"A karaoke," Akashi now fully turns around to Kuroko. Somehow, in one way or another, Akashi had gotten a bit closer to Kuroko. His turning to see Kuroko only made him realize how the distance between the two have ceased, and Kuroko finds himself shoulder to shoulder with Akashi, eyes looking up at Akashi's own. Any more distance being scraped off would result in Kuroko involuntarily kissing Akashi on the lips – and the thought is inviting, honestly, but not now. Not yet, maybe.
"You know, there's a bar around the corner," Akashi says. Kuroko's eyes might be tricking him, but it seems like Akashi really is leaning in closer. He could sniff the whiff of minty breath and it was pleasing, to say the least. "Closes at 3 in the morning, serves the best apple cider in town."
Kuroko finds himself cocking an eyebrow teasingly at him, the edge of his lips quirked upwards in a small smile. "I'm sorry, I don't drink."
"That's fine," Akashi's skin brushes against Kuroko's sending electric tingles crawling up his arm. "There's non-alcoholic ginger beer."
"I am not too fond of ginger, either."
"That's fine, too. You can just be there."
"If this is your way of inviting me out," Kuroko slowly says, seriously staring back into Akashi's eyes. "Then you could at least be more straightforward."
There's a giddy glint in Akashi's ruby irises, and his mouth quickly forms an excited grin as he seems to literally swoop down to sneak in a kiss onto Kuroko's cheek –
"Please don't do that, I am not yet married to you."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
I literally just needed something to wRITE And contribute to the akkr fandom in between my loooooooong weeks of absence. So please bear with this one for a while, I'll try to come back with a more… concrete storyline.
'Till next time when I get some real substance to work on.
