Title: Eyes on Me
Ship: AkaMido
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke is created by none other than the great Fujimaki-sama. Any error in spelling/grammar is probably due to overexcitement in typing this story. Anyway, enjoy!
Akashi Seijuuro was all alone in the clubroom that afternoon. He was sitting on a chair by the window with one leg across the other, staring at the shogi board that rested on the small square table in front of him. He had been playing on his own, as a means of passing time while waiting for his team mates to arrive. He was literally competing against himself.
He gazed at the wooden pieces that were on the board, thinking critically about his next move. At the same time, the captain also thought about how his opponent will counter his move. It was frustrating, really, but Akashi is a well-known competitive player. To know what the enemy is going to do give you the advantage, after all.
After about an hour and a half of playing against himself, Akashi finally got tired of the game. He turned his attention to the view outside the window. He watched some of the students leave the school, or go to their clubs for their extracurricular activities. He then wondered who will arrive in the club room last and how he shall punish him. Every punishment is unique to every member of the team, but they are all gravely painful nonetheless.
Thankfully, Midorima Shintaro, Teiko's top shooting guard and vice captain, finally came. He was not the last to come – in fact he never is the last to arrive whenever there is a meeting, but he surely earned a piercing glare from the captain.
"It is very unlikely of you to come this late." Akashi said, with a hint of anger.
"I'm sorry." Midorima frowned. His face was red from embarrassment.
"I...lost my lucky item while we were cleaning..."
Akashi stared at the vice captain. Sometimes he found Midorima's silly belief in lucky items cute, but there were times when he wanted to stab him with scissors for relying on horoscope too much. That afternoon, however, he was in a strangely good mood upon seeing the guy, so he spared the green-haired shooting guard and bade him to sit down.
"You want to play shogi?" Midorima asked as he sat across the table in front of the captain.
Akashi shook his head. "No. I got tired of playing it."
Midorima looked at him like not playing shogi was a heinous crime. But anyone who knew Akashi long enough would be amazed to find out that the captain would get tired of playing shogi. Especially Midorima. He had been playing the game with Akashi since no one knows when. Akashi always won, and Midorima always demanded a rematch.
"That's...funny." Midorima didn't know how to react to such a phenomenon. "You always play shogi."
Akashi heaved a sigh. Midorima found it unusual too.
"I'm not in the mood today." The captain told him.
Even Akashi was surprised, in spite of himself. If there is one game he wouldn't get tired of playing, it would be shogi. It was the perfect board game for lords and emperors, he thought, as it is truly a strategy game. He even wanted to become a shogi master someday. But he could not help but feel bored that afternoon.
Midorima noticed the exhaustion on the captain's face. "The others are running late," he said, "really late. If we can't play shogi, why don't we do something else?"
"Like what?" Akashi asked.
Midorima shrugged. "I don't know. Review for exams, talk about the preparations for the next game...have a staring contest?"
Staring contest? Akashi's eye gleamed. He knew Midorima only said it as a joke, but suddenly got his interest piqued. Reviewing for exams is boring – and he never got a score below 95 anyway. Preparing for the next game was what the meeting was all about, so that can be done later. Now, a staring contest – that is something new. To him, at least. It is ridiculous, maybe, but it is something fun to try.
"Let's have a staring contest." Akashi snapped.
Midorima gaped at him as if he was out of his mind.
"You...want us to waste some time in finding out which one of us is going to blink first?" he asked.
If there is anything you wouldn't expect Akashi do, it would be playing stare. The captain may be competitive, but he is not crazy. Or is he?
Midorima was thinking twice about that when Akashi challenged him to a staring contest.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Midorima said tentatively.
"It's not like there are people watching." Akashi replied. "Let's play."
Midorima stared at the captain for a moment, thinking of something, anything, that could persuade the redhead not to play such a ridiculous game. He came up with a lot of reasons, but in the end he realized he could not say no. When Akashi wants to do something, he will do it at any cost.
"All right." Midorima sighed in resignation. "It's just a game, anyway."
He removed his spectacles and placed them on the table next to the shogi board.
"I feel dizzy when I stare at anything with my glasses for too long." He told Akashi.
"It's okay if I remove them, right?"
The redhead stared at him without response. Midorima raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the other guy's strange behaviour, but he ignored it altogether.
"You obviously know the rules." Midorima said.
"The first to close his eyes loses."
The captain still did not answer him.
"Has the game started already?" Midorima wondered.
Akashi abruptly shook his head, as if awakened from a daydream.
"Let's begin." The redhead sounded liked he was enchanted.
"Yes...hold on." Midorima took out a stopwatch from his pocket.
"What's that?" Akashi asked while looking directly at the vice captain's eyes.
"A stopwatch." Midorima answered, although he knew the captain already know the answer.
"My lucky item. Funny that I have to use it today..."
Akashi nodded, still staring at Midorima. "Shall we start?"
Midorima glanced at him and nodded. "Yes." He was surprised at the redhead's eagerness.
He pressed the stopwatch, and the game began.
As soon as the stopwatch was pressed, Akashi knew he was going to win the game. And why not? The moment Midorima removed his eyeglasses the redhead knew he could stare at his eyes all day. Heck, he can stare at them all the time. Midorima's eyes were like a pair of well-cut emeralds, alive with every emotion he showed, adorned with eyelashes that could rival a girl's.
How could he hide such beauty behind a pair of ridiculous, heavy-lens eyeglasses? Akashi thought. He would not even blink. He just couldn't. It was no longer about winning anymore. He was simply gazing at the other guy, marvelling at God's gift.
Midorima, on the other hand, was fighting the urge to close his eyes. Staring at the captain's ruby eyes made him feel uneasy. Every five minutes or so, he would look sideways, either outside the window or at the closed door. Anywhere but Akashi's eyes. The vice captain felt like the redhead was looking deep within his soul.
I can't go on forever like this, he thought. I don't think I'll win this game anyway.
In the end, Midorima closed his eyes on purpose and took a breath, as if staring was as exhausting as basketball practice.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I give up."
And that's when Akashi kissed him on the lips.
Akashi Seijuuro was known to be always in control. But not this time. This time some sort of magical charm urged him to kiss the guy in front of him. He felt the urge to touch him, the urge to make love and the urge to show how much he wanted him.
What am I doing? Akashi thought while his mouth lingered on Midorima's lower lip. The vice captain's body stiffened at first, apparently taken aback, but he relaxed later on, and allowed the redhead work on him. Akashi knew he was doing well; he could feel the other guy responding to his kiss despite being in a state of shock. The captain knew he was about to lose control at any moment. He might do more...
No, no, no. I should be in control, Akashi thought.
The captain quickly drew himself away from the vice captain.
"A-akashi..." Midorima breathed. The vice captain ran out of words to say. He was too dazed.
"Meeting's cancelled." Akashi snapped, and before the other guy could recover, swiftly sped out of the club room.