"Cut! Take ten."
Everyone on set groaned and mumbled as they all glared at the actor who caused them to redo the scene. They had been trying and trying to get this scene right but the director continuously yelled 'cut' every time they tried and it was all because of that one actor.
The actor stood from where he had been kneeling for the scene and stormed off into his dressing room.
"Is he really our country's greatest actor? Doesn't seem like it…" People whispered as he left.
"I bet he just became famous because of his looks and money."
"No wonder we're redoing this scene so many times. He simply has no basic acting skills."
The actor entered his dressing room while pulling at his hair and yelling in frustration. He didn't understand what the director wanted, how was he supposed to fix his acting if the director was just screaming "cut" over and over again. He looked into the mirror and took a deep breath.
"It's okay, Tetsuya." He muttered to himself while fixing his hair, "Just calm down and try again. Don't give up."
The blue haired boy closed his eyes and leaned forward until his forehead touched the mirror. He recited his lines to himself,
"To see you go makes my heart ache and I cannot bear to go another day without seeing your smile. At least bid me farewell before you go and marry another man, that is all I ask of you."
"You're not portraying the lines the way I want you to, Kuroko Tetsuya."
Kuroko's eyes flew open and he saw the director standing at his dressing room entrance by the door. The blue haired boy frowned, "And how exactly do you want the lines portrayed, Akashi Seijuro."
The director grinned a little devilishly and he slowly approached the younger man. Kuroko felt tense whenever the director was around however, he couldn't tell whether it was because Akashi was his boss or whether there was something else. The redhead lightly put his hands on the actor's shoulders and took a deep breath as he said Kuroko's lines.
It was different from when Kuroko said it. Akashi's voice was passionate and filled with so much sorrow that it made Kuroko's heart ache just at the sound of it. The blue haired boy listened closely and then admitted defeat, "I don't know how, Akashi-san."
"No need to be so formal with me, Tetsuya. It's alright if you don't know how, I can teach you. I'm here to help you after all. This scene portrays a romantic man who has been in love with his childhood friend for years however, as they age, they grow distant and rarely see each other, such is reality. Both of them follow their dreams but the man cannot forget about the woman he loves even when she has already moved on. In this final scene, he is looking for peace and he wants to drive away all those emotions by bidding each other farewell. Do you understand?"
The blue haired boy sighed, "You've read me this summary so many times but I just don't feel anything."
"Have you ever been in love, Tetsuya?" The redhead asked. Kuroko frowned a little, feeling as if his privacy was being invaded. Akashi quickly noticed and raised his hands in defense, "I don't mean it in any negative way, I just mean that to act you need to relate the character to you somehow. That's how you become the character. I don't want you to simply act, I want you to be the character. So I was just asking, have you ever been in love?"
The blue haired boy nodded slowly. Akashi gave the actor a knowing look and then Kuroko slowly shook his head and said, "I don't think I've ever been in love."
The director stepped away from the actor, "Our break will be over soon, I want you to take the rest of the day off."
"What?! No! I swear, Akashi-san, I can do better! Please let me stay on set." Kuroko exclaimed while grabbing the director's hand.
Akashi gave him a stern look, "I wasn't asking you to leave the set, Tetsuya. I just want you to not think about this scene and take a break. Wait on set until we're done for the day, I want to take you somewhere."
Kuroko's expression deflated and he sat down in his dressing room chair. Before the redhead left the actor's room, Akashi turned and reminded the actor, "I told you to not speak so formally with me."
When Akashi returned back to the set, more gossip and whispering circulated about how Kuroko was going to be fired for being such a horrible actor. The redhead frowned at the behavior of the crew and announced,
"Tetsuya is not feeling well, he came down with a slight cold but didn't want to worry the entire crew. He apologizes for his acting as his cold has been affecting it and I gave him the rest of the day off. I expect more from the rest of this acting crew to not belittle a fellow actor and to support each other."
The crew quieted down in guilt and they all got to work. After another few hours of films scenes which Kuroko was not a part of, Akashi called it a day and allowed everyone to leave. The redhead reviewed parts of the film which was recorded during the day and then decided to go get Kuroko.
When the redhead entered the actor's dressing room, he saw the blue haired boy sleeping on the couch with the script tightly gripped in his hand. Akashi smiled and crouched in front of the couch to observe Kuroko's sleeping expression.
He really is beautiful. No wonder he continuously gets ranked as the most attractive man. The redhead thought to himself while brushing away the longer blue hairs that fell across Kuroko's face.
After a few minutes, the redhead lightly shook the actor awake. Kuroko groaned and rubbed his eyes. When the blue haired boy was fully awake, Akashi stood up and said, "Let's go."
"Where?" The blue haired boy asked, confused.
The redhead smiled as he grabbed Kuroko hand and led him out the door, "It's a secret."
There was something about Akashi's smile that made Kuroko's feet move to follow him. There was something in that expression that made the blue haired boy feel lighter. There was something about this strict director that made the actor think,
Maybe he's not so bad after all.
The redhead drove Kuroko to a very nice restaurant that was perched on top of a hill and they sat near the window where there was a clear view of the busy city in the night. The blue haired boy stared out at the night life in awe; he had never actually taken the time to go out and enjoy small things in fear of getting swamped by people. He loved his fans but dinner was dinner and he didn't need a group of fans breathing down his neck as he tried to eat, it just made eating more stressful.
Akashi urged the blue haired boy to order whatever he wanted and they spent the evening chatting about menial things that no interviewer had ever asked Kuroko. He had fun. He laughed genuinely, he joked around, and Kuroko began to realize that he didn't really have friends to spend time with or talk with.
"Why did you bring me here, Akashi-kun?" The blue haired boy asked late into the evening. Akashi stared at Kuroko and slowly put down his wine glass as if he was trying to carefully choose his words.
"To teach you that love is everywhere. Believe it or not, it's between the couples sitting across the room, it's between the group of friends sitting near the entrance, it's between the coworkers, it's between the family behind us, it's between you and me. You just have to learn to see it."
Kuroko looked around the room and noticed that Akashi was right. Everyone was smiling, everyone was working hard with each other, everyone was helping each other, and everyone seemed to care. Everyone felt a little bit of love. Kuroko's eyes scanned the room until they eventually met Akashi's eyes. The blue haired boy suddenly didn't know how to feel. He felt sad but happy and he simply couldn't look away from the director's red and golden eyes. Realizing that he had just been staring at the redhead, Kuroko blushed and quickly said,
"Thank you for showing me this. I guess I still have a lot to learn."
The redhead smiled, "No problem and of course you do, everyone has something to learn."
"You know, you're a very nice man." Kuroko said.
Akashi feigned hurt, "You're just figuring that out now?"
The blue haired boy let out a small laugh, "Sorry, for the past few months you've just been yelling at me on set so I didn't know what else to think of you."
Akashi laughed as well, "Don't worry about it, I get a lot of criticism for being a nasty director but it gets the job done."
They both walked slowly to the car, both of them not wanting the night to end. There was a certain comfort between them that they wished to hold onto for as long as they were able to. When they got into Akashi's car, Kuroko spoke up,
"I, uh...I know a really nice park around here. Do you...want to go for a walk?"
Akashi glanced at the blue haired boy, wondering if he was picking up the signs correctly, "Sure. Lead the way."
Kuroko gave directions to the nearby park and they strolled together around a large pond. The silence was warm.
"I'm surprised that you don't go out often. Don't you make good friends on set? I'm sure there's some actors from other movies who you've made friends with." Akashi said.
"Ah well...kind of? I mean, during the filming, I get along with everyone most of the time and I make great memories with people. Of course during the ending celebrations, I would party with the cast, drink and dance with them or whatever but I never really see them again, you know? All my good friends who are actors are from different countries." Kuroko muttered.
"I see…" Akashi said softly, "Well, I hope that you find great friends in our current cast and I hope you continue to make great memories."
The blue haired boy thanked him and they continued to walk together. When their walk was over, they still didn't want to part but knew that there was no way to drag out their little date together. Perhaps in another time they'll be able to go on another date together.
Was this a date? Kuroko thought to himself as Akashi drove him home.
Should I push more? Akashi thought to himself while constantly glancing at the blue haired boy.
The following day on the movie set, Kuroko's acting had improved by a lot and it continued to improve as the days went by. The redhead and the actor went out on more adventures together. They visited the aquarium, several restaurants, they watched other movies, and Kuroko even spent the evening watching movies at Akashi's apartment. With each passing day, Akashi and Kuroko felt the tension between each other grow. The redhead simply squeezing Kuroko's shoulder in a reassuring manner was enough to have the actor thinking about it for the entire day. Both of them didn't speak about it though. They left the very obvious sexual tension between them and pretended that it didn't exist.
Even when rumors grew around them, Kuroko and Akashi were calm and convincing at denying the comments of whether they were dating or not. Though they lived in a society that was fortunately much more equal and accepting of homosexuals, Kuroko and Akashi didn't even know what to do with the emotions between them.
When the filming finally came to an end, the crew decided to have an ending celebration at a nearby nightclub. Just to have a good break for almost half a year of filming. There was still a lot of editing and producing to go but for the actors and actresses, it was the end of a long job and they just wanted to party.
Kuroko had made quite a few friends over the course of a few months but he knew that he would most likely not see them for a long time. Not even halfway through the night, the blue haired boy had a little too much to drink and was dancing with the cast members as well as some strangers who were allowed in the night club.
Akashi stuck near the bar to talk with some crew members about how he would like to progress in the editing of the film but in the corner of his eye, he noticed the blue haired boy. Not just that, the director saw another man holding Kuroko by the waist and dancing with him.
The redhead had to do a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things and then he quickly excused himself from his coworkers and made his way towards the actor. Akashi grabbed Kuroko by the wrist and quickly pulled him out of the night club with Kuroko yelling and protesting on the way.
"What are you doing?! Akashi-kun, let me go!" The blue haired boy yelled with a slight slur.
Akashi opened the door to his car and sternly ordered, "Get in the car right now or I swear to God, I will lose my control right here where everyone can see us."
Kuroko shivered, he had never seen Akashi act this way. The blue haired boy quickly and quietly got in the car. They were both silent for the entire car ride until they finally got to Akashi's apartment.
The redhead got out of the car and opened Kuroko's door, "Get out."
The blue haired boy sat still, "The movie's over, Akashi-kun. Stop ordering me around as if you own me. I don't even know why you brought me here."
"Tetsuya," Akashi warned, "please just get out of the car."
"Why don't you just tell me why you're so upset? That way we can communicate like normal people." Kuroko snapped as he undid his seat belt. The blue haired boy got out of the car and said, "I'm calling a taxi to take me home unless you start making sense in like ten seconds."
The redhead went to grab the blue haired boy's hand but Kuroko quickly pulled away and provoked the director, "Just tell me! What are you so afraid of? I thought you would trust me enough to tell me when you have something on your mind!"
"I was jealous, okay?!" Akashi yelled loud enough for Kuroko to cower a little. The redhead took a deep breath, "I was jealous."
"Of what? You gotta be a little more specific here, Akashi-kun. I can't read your mind. As far as I know, I wasn't doing anything wrong." The blue haired boy said, still a little annoyed.
The redhead gripped Kuroko's hand tightly as if he would disappear, "I was jealous of the people dancing with you. They were all over you, touching you, and I was jealous of that."
Are we finally addressing this thing between us? Kuroko thought to himself. The blue haired boy's expression softened and he walked Akashi into his apartment building.
"Where…?" Akashi started but Kuroko cut him off,
"Let's discuss this inside."
They were both quiet on the way up to Akashi's room. The blue haired boy didn't let go of Akashi's hand as they stood in the elevator.
When they got to Akashi's room, the blue haired boy forcefully pushed the redhead up against the door and pressed their lips together. Akashi dropped everything and wrapped his arms around Kuroko's waist as the actor grabbed a fistful of red hair. The redhead quickly reversed their positions by backing the blue haired boy up against the living room wall.
Kuroko moaned and tugged at Akashi's shirt. The redhead pulled away for a few seconds to take both of their shirts off and then the blue haired boy jumped into Akashi's arms to be closer. The redhead's hands roamed up and down Kuroko's back as he carried him to his bedroom. When Kuroko landed on the mattress, he quickly made work with his pants and reached out for Akashi. The emotions and tension that was between them had finally snapped and they couldn't stop.
Akashi groaned as the blue haired boy touched him and he whispered words of love to the actor. Kuroko held the redhead as close as he could manage and moaned in sheer pleasure. Their night was spent in a passionate embrace and both of them wished for morning to never come.
When morning did come, as it always does, Kuroko had his head resting against the redhead's chest and Akashi was tracing small circles on the blue haired boy's back. The actor let out a small whine when he felt the muscle cramps in his waist and leaned closer to his partner.
Partner? Lover? Friends with benefits? What? Kuroko thought to himself.
Akashi lightly kissed the blue haired boy's forehead and whispered, "I love you so much."
The blue haired boy smiled, my lover.
"I love you too." Kuroko sighed.
In that moment, their memories surged back into their minds. The feeling was overwhelming and it knocked the air out of their lungs. They held each other through the pain until it passed. When it did pass, they both held each other in a comfortable silence as if trying to organize their thoughts.
"Tetsuya?"
"Yes, Seijuro?"
"I love you so so much, you know that right?"
"Of course I do and I will love you ever more." Kuroko said while looking up to see the redhead's face. The blue haired boy planted a sweet kiss on Akashi's lips and smiled, "Want to get our tattoos?"
The redhead nodded and they reluctantly made their way out of bed. After getting their tattoos, their relationship was no longer a rumor and they released an official statement that they were dating and getting married.
Kuroko continued to act and he grew stronger in his acting career. Akashi continued to be a director and very rarely they would work together on another movie. They lived happily and spent every day as if it would be their last.
They never spoke about how many lifetimes they had left together and lived as if they had all the time in the world. Their happiness came to an unfortunate end when an antifan murdered Kuroko.
Akashi was absolutely devastated and quit his directing career for many years before creating a finally movie titled "I will love you ever more".
Akashi passed ten years afterwards with hope filled in his eyes and love filling his heart for he knew that he would see Kuroko again.