A/N: (Warning! Caps lock abuse!) CAN I TELL YOU HOW AWESOME THE FIRST EPISODE WAS?! THEY REALLY MADE HIMURO SO GORGEOUS I BARELY COULD LOOK AT HIM WITHOUT DROPPING TO MY KNEES! But their English… poka face, omfg xD No, I'll forget that part. Yup. Going to concentrate on Kuroko going into jealous rage ended with Nigou slapping straying Kagami.

And we got a shot of Akashi's ass! I mean, back, yup, totally was going to say back. Which also means ass, just saying.

Okay, enough of rambling. From now on we'll have quite a lot of texting between our scaredy cat and Emperor, so to point it out - every text message is in italics. If there is going to be any phone talk - it'll be in normal font. Only text messages are in italics.

The first time Akashi texted Kouki, the boy almost had a seizure.

The second time Akashi texted Kouki, the boy dropped his cell phone.

The third time Akashi texted Kouki, the boy opened his phone and shut it just after glancing at the contact photo.

The fourth time Akashi texted Kouki, the boy actually read the messages and once again almost had heart attack. Because the first two messages were quite normal—at which hour will his practice end and what's for dinner—but the third one was definitely impatient and the fourth was a full-blown threat.

Gulping, Kouki once again read: If you're going to ignore me, you'll regret it. Just write a simple yes or no—do you want me to come today?

And that question was a really big problem. Because Kouki didn't want Akashi to come. Being around Rakuzan's captain was... weird and uncomfortable. He couldn't concentrate on anything and every time Akashi so much as shifted, he got all tense and sweaty, his heart hammering inside of his chest. He was afraid. So, so, so afraid... And he knew that if he replied "no" he would be worrying for at least the next few weeks, waiting for the sword of revenge to fall upon his head. Or something—his imagination was running wild at this point, so, feeling utterly horrified, he sent a short "yes" and then immediately thought that such a short response might anger Akashi, so with hands shaking with anxiety he sent: "What would you like to eat? I don't have any idea what to cook today."

Two hours later there was still no response and he was feeling even worse than ever.

"Sei-chan, what's with you today?"

Seijuuro looked up at Reo and wondered why in the world the other guy had the need to come to his class. He probably should have noticed the man's appearance—all the girls were squealing in such high-pitched tones that his ears hurt a little.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You've been staring without blinking for an hour if people I asked are to be believed."

He hummed lightly and looked at his phone.

"I don't know if I would like pork or vegetables," Akashi said truthfully, but the look on the older guy's face was so incredulous, he immediately changed topics. "Why are you here?"

"Ah, I wanted to ask about today's practice. Are you..." He gulped before saying words that usually meant ten lapses more for the person who used them. "Are you... sure that letting Hayama lead is a good thing? When he starts bouncing up and down he freaks us all out."

"But he has the best hand work and all of the freshmen's and a few of the juniors' dribbling skills are so lame it isn't even funny." Which reminded him that if he were to play with Kouki he needed to point out his lousy dribbling and do something with that. "Besides, this way he'll be a little calmer, since he knows that he'll be answering to me if their skills won't improve. I want him to learn to control himself at least a little, otherwise he'll have problems. Ah, and let him know that he should eat a little more, I saw he lost weight once again. With such hard training, he needs to eat more."

Reo smiled happily and then patted Seijuuro's thigh—his hand much higher than was polite, but since this was normal, he decided to ignore it.

"So... how is your leg? Do you need something? I can massage it or put some medicine on it or even talk to my uncle, who's a doctor! I'm worried… and it's not only me."

"Thank you, but I'm fine. It needs to heal naturally. In a week and a half, I should be able to train once more." Suddenly inspiration hit him and he added casually. "Lately everyone is talking about some new romance movie. And since I have too much free time I would like to go. But I don't know the title."

"Hmmm... and do you know what it's about? My sisters are babbling about movies all the time so maybe I'll know."

He counted on it.

"It's Love on the... something, I'm not sure what."

Reo almost sparkled with happiness.

"Ooooh, you're talking about Love on the Sand and Rock! My, I never knew you were into girly movies, Sei-chan." When Seijuuro glared at him, the older man shut up.

"I just heard it's worth watching."

"A-ah... Okay, I suppose it is. From what I remember the cast is not well-known but are getting famous now. It's a typical romance—he meets her, they fall in love, he goes to the war and goes missing, she waits and waits for him and... well, from what I heard the ending is both beautiful and heartbreaking, has something to do with some letter, but I didn't have the nerve to hear out sniffling and squealing girls. But if you want to, I can go with you."

Acting like he didn't hear him Seijuuro already was checking in his phone hours at which the movie was played on Sunday. Kouki could try to fool him, but it was obvious it was he who wanted to go and see it and he only looked for a decoy in the form of a woman. Stupidity, if you ask him—if you want to go somewhere, you just go and don't worry about what people say.

"Pork or vegetables?" he asked and Reo twitched. Seijuuro knew the guy was looking at him with something akin to curiosity and incredulousness.

"Vegetables, definitely."

"Then it's pork." He smiled and made his decision. Since he rarely had the opportunity to say what he would like to eat, he'd really had a tough time between choosing. After sending the short: 'Pork', he closed phone and calmly asked: "What is it?"

"Hmmm?"

"You're staring."

Reo smiled brightly and a few girls started squealing, even if that smile was directed at Seijuuro.

"Oh, I just think that I don't remember you ever having this kind of face before. And I'm surprised to see it now when you should be mad because you can't train." Like the true sissy that he was, Reo patted his captain's head (something that Akashi loathed but chose to ignore) and winked. "If you ever feel like talking, I'm here."

"Thank you, but I'll manage."

He had no idea what kind of thoughts appeared in Reo's head but he also knew that he didn't want to dwell on it. There were much more interesting things to think of—like how far he could push Furihata.

Yesterday's kiss was a surprise to him. He'd only wanted to tease and walk out after few brushes of lips, but it seemed like Kouki didn't like to be teased. The moment he captured Seijuuro's lips made Rakuzan's captain heart miss a beat, something that never happened to him if it wasn't in a game. For a moment, he wanted to shove him into the wall, kiss deep, make their tongues entwine and dance, to make Kouki gasp and moan, whimper under him. His hands almost hurt with the force he put into not sliding them from his cheeks—he wanted to once again see that slim body, run his hands over the muscles under soft skin, kiss it, lick, bite... He almost got hard when he imagined Furihata's shocked but lust-filled gaze if he would do just that. But he couldn't. Seijuuro wanted to play—and sometimes before completely luring pray into the trap, it was best to play with it for a long time. He wanted this boy to stop thinking about girls and come to him, to want him, to choose him over everything else. That would make Seijuuro's life a little less boring and that small revenge on Seirin would be satisfying.

He already made Furihata accept his kiss twice—and that meant the boy would accept even more, because saying "no" would mean that he started to realize there was something between them. Which meant the moment Kouki would say "no" he would already be in the trap even if he didn't realize it. No, he'd realize it only when he'd be left all alone. At that thought, something inside Seijuuro contracted with pain, sending him a vision of a smiling, innocent face, but he brushed it aside—that was the life. One was betrayed by the people he trusted—and Furihata definitely didn't trust him, so the blow wouldn't be as harsh as it could be. This would be a good lesson for naive boy and less painful than it would be in any other case.

On his way to the metro station he passed by the gym to make everyone remember he still is a captain (and to make Kotarou stop smiling idiotically, at least for a second) and then took out his book, to pass time somehow. The distance was a bitch; that he had to admit. And the schoolgirls were even worse. He was nice to them, politely blowing them off, but it took over half an hour of his precious time before they realized he's not up for a date. Like he would want to spend time with them. He liked women who were polite, well-mannered, and fucking quiet. Female voices always made his head hurt and he had no idea how he would cope with a wife in the future. Assuming he would take a wife. Now he didn't absolutely have to and that was probably the only highlight of this situation.

His phone vibrated and he looked at the screen only to see a contact photo of blushing, baffled boy.

'I'm sorry, very, very sorry, but I can't buy pork anywhere, everyone is out. Would you be okay with chicken and leek?'

Considering he was okay to eat anything as long as it was good, he sent a short 'yes' and after a few seconds added: 'I'll come with some juice. What would you prefer?'

'I'm okay with anything! Really! You don't have to!'

Now that was getting annoying.

'Juice will go well with chicken, that's why I ask.'

'Oh, okay, then maybe orange?'

'I asked the question.'

'Yes, sorry. I didn't meant to offend you. Orange, please. If that's not a problem, because if you want something else, then it's alright with me!'

'Orange, then. How are you standing with Chemistry?'

Chemistry? Kouki blinked few times at his screen and scratched his head while thinking.

When Akashi finally replied with a short message about pork, Kouki was so relieved he almost sobbed. In the span of the two hours without a reply, he'd created hundreds of different scenarios—in most of them it was he who ended up as a main dish, chopped and skinned while still alive. So when every shop he walked into on his way home was out of pork, he started getting anxious. Feeling his heart thumping in his throat and some ugly, heavy things move in stomach, he texted Akashi about the pork problem.

And right now, he was seriously wondering how normal the Rakuzan captain could sound.

'I'm second in class.'

Whatever he needed that for? Furihata smiled when he saw Kudoh-san going out of the house, looking positively panicked.

"Good evening, Kouki! I haven't seen you in long time. Damn, I'll be late..."

"Good evening, how's the book going?"

Kudoh-san holed himself up in his room two weeks ago and wasn't even going to the official meals with landlord. It happened from time to time when he was stuck with something and didn't want to get out because of all the distractions.

"Luckily, I managed to finish that hellish chapter" laughed the man and pointed at Kouki's bags. "You having guests?"

"Yes, something like that."

He wasn't sure how exactly he should explain—Kudoh-san could react strangely if Furihata would say he was threatened without actually being threatened. And he would sense that something was wrong even if Kouki didn't tell him a thing. He and Kudoh-san understood each other without words sometimes and he always felt like he could tell older guy everything.

His phone vibrated.

'Do you have any idea how organometallic compounds work?'

He sighed in relief.

"Sorry, Kudoh-san, I need to go. Oh, but if you want to, you can drop by and I'll give you some dinner, okay? I bought a little too much for two people." He muttered, feeling stupid. He really should start getting this fear under control.

"Sure, I'll come in about two hours, since I have meeting with my publisher. Maybe even this way I'll talk myself out of drinking? Man, I hate it."

On his way up Kouki send another message.

'I'm pretty good in it. Had an A out of it on test last week. Why are you asking?'

Just as he pressed the button, he froze in fear. He just asked why. Oh, god. Please don't let him be mad. Don't let him be mad!

'I have homework to do and this is the only thing that I have problems with. In exchange, I can help you out with something.'

He sighed with relief and wondered for a moment.

'I'm no good with history—both Japan and World. If it's okay with you, that is.'

He started cutting chicken and frying it, so when a message came he had to wash hands before answering.

'Good. I'll be at the station in about fifteen minutes. Do you need something?'

He looked around and briefly wondered.

'If you prefer pasta over rice, I don't have any. Sorry about that, I didn't think. I usually eat everything with rice.'

'Rice is okay.'

Only when he was adding vegetables to the fully fried chicken Kouki realized he was smiling all this time. Maybe because they would spend time while doing something already planned so no awkward silent moments would appear?

Or so he thought—the moment someone knocked on his door, he jumped up, almost making all the food land at his feet. Boiling hot food on his very bare feet. Nervously he opened the lock and smiled at Akashi, noticing that in a matter of one hundredth of second heterochromatic eyes looked him up and down. Probably noticing all the food left on him—especially that ugly stain on the hem of his shirt when oil splashed at him.

"Um... hi, come in. Um... er..." Damn what should he said now. Suddenly he remembered all the stuff his mother asked his father when he was back from work trips. "How was the road?"

"Good evening." Akashi smiled at him, and Kouki felt that ugly thing moving once again, but this time he was feeling hot. And embarrassed for some reason. "It was loud. Some girls were trying to hit on me and it took some time to make them understand I'm not interested."

"Oh... good." Akashi moved one brow upwards. "That you're getting hit on, I mean. I find it lucky. No one ever tries that on me."

He laughed, trying to make joke of it, but even to his own ears that seemed fake. Akashi only looked at him with something in his eyes that made Kouki feel even more miserable, but then he saw the bag in the other boy's hand.

"That must be heavy, I'll... I mean, you can take it, you're much better developed than me..." Gods, he just did not think about Akashi's chest and arms. Even if he found it extremely unfair that he was less muscular. "I mean, you're strong, that's for sure, but I can put it..."

"I'll put it on the table, if that's okay with you."

"Yes! The table! That's a good idea... Oh, food! I'll serve... I mean, it'll be ready... or served... in few minutes, I need to wait for the vegetables to get a little more fried... I like it that way, but if you don't then it's okay! I'll just take it off the fire..."

Shit, once again he was he couldn't stop himself from babbling and couldn't even comprehend what was coming out of his mouth. He was nervous. Very, very nervous and Akashi's calm smile wasn't helping him. And when he spoke Kouki shivered. It was a very nice voice—low and dignified. Just that steely something that was felt...

"I apologize for not answering right away. I couldn't decide what I would want to eat."

"Ah, that's okay! Really! I was worried for a second that I offended you, but, well, that wouldn't be any surprise. I'm really no good when it comes to things like that. With my friends I can just write what I want and with you I get nervous... Oh, fork and knife, like last time? Okay. I get nervous because they're my friends and they understand I don't mean anything bad and besides they don't smile at me like that. No, they're not the pretty guy type. Not that there is anything wrong in being pretty, it's really good, nice for eyes, you're gorgeous, but they don't make me babble like an idiot because of their eyes... Here, salt, if you would want to. Huh? Are you feeling unwell?" Akashi looked at him with a slightly red face—maybe it was too hot inside the room? —but didn't take his eyes off of Kouki. "Oh, the food is hot and it's quite high temperature today... Maybe I'll open the window?"

Akashi swallowed and shook his head.

"There is no need. I'm just a little overwhelmed. Do you always make food this salty?"

He paled.

"Oh, god. You dislike salty food? Sorry, next time I'll..."

Next time? Shit, no one said there will be next time! Oh, now he was definitely digging up his own grave.

"No, I like it like that. You're quite a good cook."

"Ah, no, nothing like that. I can cook just few things and sometimes it comes out so ugly I need to throw it out. Can you cook?"

"Yes. Nothing outstanding, but I still can." He smiled while chewing and Kouki wondered if Akashi knew just how approachable and... well, cute he looked while making such face. "Atsushi is a really good cook, even if the only things he makes are sweets."

"So it seems that life is really unfair—you guys are good at so many things, even basketball excluded. Kise-san is model, Murasakibara-san can cook well, and you're a genius from what I hear."

"That's a little too much to say," muttered Akashi, looking sad for a moment. "I know that there are things I'm not good at and that it's normal. But if you're so concerned, let me tell you that both Shintarou and Daiki are utterly useless outside the court."

Kouki laughed loud—both at the words and the face Akashi pulled while saying this. When he stopped laughing he saw that Rakuzan captain's was looking at him with... well, if he was someone else he would call it fondness. But he was probably laughing at him deep down.

"Uh, sorry, it was just..."

"I know. Now, let's eat and get to homework."

More than happy to get some plan laid ahead, Kouki dug in.

As far as it was going Seijuuro could tell his plan was working. Furihata was getting more and more able to relax with him, even if he was babbling like an idiot at the beginning.

Surprisingly—Seijuuro didn't mind that. He even liked all the compliments the oblivious boy was throwing his way. He was used to hearing he's handsome, beautiful, or whatever people were calling him, but usually it was with some sort of goal—to kiss up to his father, to get something out of him, to make him date or bed someone... This was probably first time he heard it... just said. Repeatedly. It made him feel a little dizzy and he wondered if that was just some kind of sickness or—worse—weakness.

Was he vain? Did he like to hear his eyes were gorgeous? He couldn't remember, honestly. Sure, when he was discovering himself, he pushed a few people to say something nice about his appearance, but they all failed to make him so much as squint—Kuroko just blinked and off-handedly said it, Atsushi maybe could put some heart into his words if Seijuuro turned into chocolate cake, Daiki muttered it out while looking at something else, Shintarou backed off and demanded to know what the fuck is wrong with him (seriously, such a foul mouth this one had and no one could tell at the first glance) and Ryota... Well, he avoided asking Ryota—he feared the idiot wouldn't shut up.

"In all seriousness, how do you understand that?" murmured Kouki, while looking at the chart that Seijuuro made for him.

"It's not that hard to understand. Think of the whole Second World War as one big basketball court, but with more than one team. And when you think only about Japan..." He smiled when he saw how Furihata's brows contracted as he was trying very hard to understand. "You do get what I'm talking about, right?"

The boy smiled shyly up at him. He was sitting very close and that was working just fine for Seijuuro.

"More or less. I just never thought of looking at history like this and I need to wrap my mind..."

At this moment someone knocked on the door and Kouki murmured a soft "sorry" and moved to open it.

"Kudoh-san, good to see you again."

"Likewise." The man that walked in was pretty small, both his frame and height were not impressive, even if he seemed a little chubby, but he was moving around so swiftly that Akashi immediately saw that these were not his natural movements. He was trained to act like that, which meant he was from the upper society—only those who had years of the best training could make unnatural moves look natural. His hair was curly and messy, his face not very interesting, but he could be called handsome. Only when he smiled at Kouki was Seijuuro taken aback for a second—this one had one of the nicest smiles he ever saw. "I'll just take the plate and go, okay? We'll talk tomorrow. Daisuke is coming back today and I want to make some time for him, since I was neglecting..." Then he saw Seijuuro and blushed so hard it couldn't be considered healthy. "Oh, god, how rude I must look. I'm sorry, I don't usually look around and... uh, my name is Kudoh Kimihiro, nice to meet you. Are you Kouki's friend?"

"Yes." He ignored the shocked look on Furihata's face. "I'm Akashi Seijuuro, nice to meet you. I assume Daisuke is the famous Fukamachi-san I'm hearing about?"

Once again that dazzling smile, but this time it was definitely pushed. Good acting, but still acting.

"Yes, he had to go and personally transport some parts of some machine... I'm not good with those things, so I'm not sure what was he talking about. We haven't seen each other in a week, so... so maybe I'll just go," he muttered, once again blushing and covering his face with his hand. "I tend to talk too much after being locked up."

Seijuuro blinked twice. Locked up?

"Kudoh-san was working on a new chapter of his book and he always locks himself up in his room when he works," added Kouki, apparently sensing his confusion. Strange, usually he masked it well.

"Yes, yes... So... um... Do you have some sugar, by the way?" He awkwardly laughed and scratched his nape. "It seems I'm out and I need to write few lines more and..."

"Yes, of course. Wait a minute, please."

Kouki rushed to the kitchen, and Kudoh looked at Seijuuro sharply, his sloppy act dropping immediately.

"What the hell do you want from him?" he hissed angrily and glared.

Yes, he was right. Higher upbringing and good acting skills.

"I'm just passing my time and I happen to enjoy Kouki's company."

"Did Minoru send you here? I told him already thousands of times that I won't come back until my parents will accept Daisuke! Until then they can bugger off!" Well, that was certainly interesting. "You better leave Kouki out of this! He's an exceptionally good kid and you all are just going to dirty him."

"That's his problem and not yours, right?" he smiled coldly, wondering what his father had to do with all of this. Definitely he had more than homework to do.

"Argh, I can't find it!" Kouki appeared and both Seijuuro and Kudoh immediately started grinning, like if nothing happened. "I'm sorry! But Sumire-san definitely would have, she practically lives on it."

"Yes, of course. I'll go to her. So, be careful and play nice," he laughed but when Furihata turned around Kudoh's face hardened and Seijuuro knew it was meant for him to see it. So he did the only thing that was right—he rose up, walked close to Kouki and put an arm around the shocked boy.

"It was nice to meet you, Kudoh-san."

And with his free hand he made a gesture that he knew the older man will understand—a sign that was meant for servants to get lost. Oh, all the nerves on the man's face danced with obvious strain to keep smile on.

"So..." Furihata was obviously uncomfortable in the embrace, but couldn't find a way out. "Um... Chemistry?"

Seijuuro shook his head.

"Sorry, I just remembered I have to do something at home." When Kouki made strange expression, he sighed. "But I'll still probably need help with it, so... I'll come tomorrow if it's okay with you."

He was well past the point where asking for help was stupid, unnecessary, and a failure. He knew that he wasn't all that powerful and why would he have to spend hours of trying to understand something that just wasn't sitting well with him when he could use help? He knew that Kouki would agree to help him.

What he didn't know was that he would agree with such a bright smile that his head will spin. Without thinking, Seijuuro tightened his grip and pressed Furihata to himself. He could feel it—fear in the other boy, his reluctance and acceptance at the same time. His own heart was racing, breath was getting heavy, and he was marveling at the feeling of the boy's body plastered to his. He smelled really good—like fresh sweat, some deodorant, and food. And, shit, he was closing his eyes, apparently knowing what would come. Leaning in, Seijuuro briefly wondered how much of a game was in this and if he wasn't making a tactical mistake, but those tiny lips looked so inviting...

The first touch of their mouths sent sparks right to his toes, making him press his mouth more firmly. Kouki whimpered and clenched his hands onto the back of Akashi's shirt. Their lips were caressing one another and occasionally the tip of the tongue was wetting them. The kiss was languid, almost lazy, but so sensual everything hurt. Seijuuro opened his mouth a little and kissed the other boy more firmly, making a cackling sound that aroused him even further. But it was nothing compared to his reaction when Kouki reciprocated and kissed him just as sensually. His lips were wet, slick, hot, and so soft inside... Akashi's hand darted to messy, mousy hair and moved to Furihata's nape. With little force he made the boy's head tilt to the side so the kiss could get deeper. Out of its own accord, Kouki's body moved and leaned heavily on Seijuuro, who loved the pressure.

Only when he thought about using his tongue did he stop. That would definitely be too early.

Slowing down the pace he took a step back and released Furihata from his grip. After a few full parting kisses, he gently eased himself from the boy's arms and smiled at him.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

And while Kouki was observing him with a dazed smile that was making his resolve to get out fast crumbling, Seijuuro packed his things, tied his shoes, connected their lips once more—making Furihata gasp with surprise and definitely pleasure—and walked out.

He really had homework to do.

A/N: short one this time, but next chapter will not only be helluva long, but also filled with smut and, as syntia amano called it, skinship ^.^ I should post it around Saturday, a few hours before the new episode, to do something before going mad with anxiety!

As always – reviews will be appreciated! (because, seriously, they really are! I squal every time I get e-mail with review!)