Chapter 3. There is such thing as being "too prepared"

Lunch next day was almost uneventful. Seijuurou had bought both of their meals and they sat together while discussing about their next session and going over some lingering questions he had prepared accordingly. For this occasion, he'd also prepared a range of random inquiries about Furihata's life, the things he liked, his hobbies, his routine and everything he could possibly learn about him without being too invasive. He also had a large repertoire of class anecdotes from the courses he was supposed to be taking, which he had obtained thanks to Reo's large information network –the workings of which, Seijuurou didn't quite understand-. For further preparation, he had gone as far as to make himself acquainted with the common conversation topics amongst the Life Sciences students, the jokes of the trade, the popular subjects of conversations –such as the most difficult assignments or the most notable laboratory accidents of the week- and other similar topics that would continue to sell his story for the time being.

Over the course of their meal, he learned that Furihata still played basketball on weekends, that he was still in touch with his former teammates, that he'd always been good in Biology, and that he hoped to work in a conservation of endangered species program someday. Every time Furihata took another piece from his meal, Seijuurou would marvel at the simple, yet delicate beauty in the way he closed his eyes and hummed in appreciation, savoring every bite as if it were the most magnificent thing he had ever tasted.

He really had to congratulate himself for thinking up this fake tutoring plan, it gave him the perfect excuse to spend time with Furihata, slowly learn new things about him, and the chance to just watch him in quiet awe as Furihata's features lit up when he spoke about his passions, his dreams and the things he loved, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. He hadn't even had to talk that much, and he found he felt a little more confident in facing the other man now, although he was most certain he would still be unable to speak with much coherence if Furihata asked something that he wasn't prepared to answer.

"What about you, Akashi-kun?"

Yes, like that kind of question, for example.

"Huh?"

Furihata chuckled and Seijuurou loathe to think his less than eloquent response was being laughed at. "I've been talking about myself nonstop, you must be bored now."

No, not at all, I would never get bored of listening to you, is what Seijuurou would have said if his windpipe hadn't shut down on him in that most ill-timed moment.

"So what about you, Akashi-kun? Are you still playing basketball?"

Oh, simple questions with simple answers. He'd expected something of the sort. It would've been naïve to expect Furihara to relinquish so much information about himself without wanting some in return. He could do this.

"Yes, I do in fact. I am not in the school's team, but I do practice on my own or with Reo. We also schedule games with Tetsuya and the others every other month or so. It is still something I greatly enjoy."

He allowed himself a small smile. He could never give up basketball, not entirely. It was the one thing that linked him to the most important people in his life –his mother and his irreplaceable friends-. There were too many good memories related to basketball, and his body still tingled with excitement every time he stepped on court.

Furihata grinned, pushing his empty food tray aside. "Woah, that's great! You guys must play some really intense games." He chuckled. "I'd like to see it one day, that's gotta be a lot more exciting than most pro games."

Well, Seijuurou had not prepared himself for that. "That… that could be… arranged, yes." He stuttered.

Furihata's eyes lit up. "Really? That'd be really cool!" he chirped, almost rising on his seat for a moment before backtracking, as if he'd grown self-conscious of his excitement. "I mean… uhm… wouldn't it be weird? I know by experience that I don't fit much in a Generation of Miracles meeting haha…"

A pang of guilt constricted Seijuurou's chest at the insinuation. "Nonsense." He blurted, almost agitated by the idea of Kouki feeling inadequate due to a misstep from the past. "It would not pose any problem at all. In fact, it would be helpful to have more members to complete two teams." Technically, they already had two Point Guards, but Kouki didn't need to know that when he was clearly assaulted by a rush of insecurity. If needed, Seijuurou himself could change positions, for now, he was determined to convince Kouki to join them in their games. "Besides, Tetsuya, Shintarou and Atsushi bring their partners all the time, surely no one would complain if I did so too."

Kouki jolted upwards, his face reddening at an alarming speed (was he ill?) and he looked up to meet Seijuurou's eyes with a puzzling expression that seemed one part alarmed, one part confused and two parts embarrassed, although Seijuurou couldn't possibly imagine why would Kouki feel so agitated about a comment about his friends' partn-

Oh.

Oh.

See, in this kind of situation, he wished he were half as smooth and gifted in improvisation as most people assumed he was. He shouldn't have trusted his tongue to run loose like that when the situation was so delicate. Why wasn't Reo here to help him out of this? He urged his brain to work on emergency back-pedaling before this got out of control.

"A-a-a-and you are… uhm… Te-tetsuya's friend so if, uhm, surely Tetsuya would be fine with it and, ah… if Tetsuya is fine with it everyone else usually is, uhm, yes."

That had been a full sentence, right?

Kouki looked away and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. The color on his face had almost gone back to normal, although his cheeks and the tips of his ears were still lightly dusted in red. The tension on his shoulders was released and the corners of his mouth quirked upwards with a nervous giggle

"Y-y-yeah, you're right. Sounds f-f-fun."

Seijuurou sighed with relief. A potential crisis had been successfully avoided, but he couldn't rely on his already flustered mind to not cause another disaster if things kept on. Much to his displeasure, he would have to put an end to this lunch, least he risked ruining all the progress he'd made. He cleared his throat.

"I apologize, I must take my leave now, I have an assignment to work in. I am sorry that I must cut our meeting this abruptly."

Kouki stood from the table and waved his hands dismissively, apparently now recovered from the flounder from moments ago.

"Oh no, don't apologize, Akashi-kun, I'm the one selfishly making use of your time."

Impulsively, he grabbed one of Furihata's flailing wrists.

"Not at all. I very much enjoyed our conversation. Hopefully we can repeat this some other time."

Kouki's eyes flickered from the long fingers wrapped around his wrist to the ruby eyes staring intently into his, a rare glint in their corners.

"Yeah, I had fun too. We should definitely do this again." He said, an easy smile showing on his face and brightening his expression.

Seijuurou felt his heart thrumming with exhilaration inside his ribcage.

"Good. It's settled then."

The silence hung thick for a moment or two, in which Seijuurou found himself entranced by the delightful smile and the way Kouki's eyes sparkled when locked with his. His skin felt smooth and warm under his fingers. When exactly had his fingers made contact with Kouki's skin he wasn't very sure, but he sure did not mind it one bit.

"Uhm, Akashi-kun?"

"Yes?"

"If you still need help with studying…"

"Yes, absolutely. There are many topics I do not fully understand yet and my teacher seems to favor surprise exams."

Kouki started playing with his hair, twirling one chocolate lock around his index finger. Seijuurou briefly pondered what it would feel like to mimic the motion. His free hand trembled with anticipation.

"Then Friday same time's okay for you?"

"Yes, absolutely."

He had a feeling he'd said that before, but he couldn't really clear his mind enough to come up with a different answer.

"Cool, I'll see you then."

Seijuurou wasn't quite sure of how long he'd been staring at Kouki's eyes. He wasn't sure of how he was going to pull away from their enchanting beauty either.

"Uhm… Akashi-kun?"

"Yes?"

"My… my hand. I kinda need it back."

Seijuurou followed Kouki's gaze to where his fingers were still wrapped around his wrist. Well, that explained how he'd known how Kouki's skin felt. When had he done that? For how long?

"Akashi-kun?"

"Yes, absolutely." He blurted, before realizing that wasn't the right answer. "I mean yes, yes, of course. I apologize." He finally let go of Kouki's wrist and missed the contact immediately.

Kouki chuckled lightly. "No need to. Thanks again, this was really fun. I'll see you on Friday!" he chirped.

"Yes, absolutely." Seijuurou muttered as Kouki walked away.

"So? How did it go with your Chihuahua boy?"

Seijuurou looked up at Reo, who was playing with the straw on his cappuccino and drawing lines over the whipped cream.

"Nothing special." He replied, returning his attention to his tea and frowning at it. He'd long known this coffee shop's taste for tea leaves was beyond questionable, but after three years of coming here, he couldn't help being offended by it (especially since he'd submitted anonymous suggestions about better brands on the comment box repeatedly).

"Sei-chan…" Reo glared at him, clearly unamused. "You are glowing. And I can't imagine it being because of the tea."

Seijuurou felt his face heat up. He looked down at his right hand and flexed his fingers slowly, reminiscing the feeling of Kouki's skin against his fingertips.

"There is nothing in particular to mention. I just enjoyed his company." He replied simply. He wouldn't be able to describe the turbulence of emotions that took over him when in Kouki's vicinity.

Reo slammed his fist on the table, now clearly displeased, his brow scrunched in a frown and his lips pursed. "Sei-chan, I saved you from public humiliation twice, helped you come up with an excuse to keep seeing him, prevented you from making a fool of yourself on the phone, and helped you practice so you wouldn't blow your chance in private. You are not keeping me out of the loop on this." He sounded genuinely upset, but Seijuurou knew it was his way of showing his concern. Regardless, he had to admit he did owe Reo a lot in regards to his current relations with Kouki and that the least he could do was keep him informed.

"Like I said, I quite enjoy his company. I just find it difficult to describe. I feel like he doesn't judge me. When I told him I was having problems with some classes, he believed me and didn't berate me for my failure. And when we talk he always looks so sincere and straightforward. He is not afraid of me and treats me like an equal. Many people approach me for my position, but when I offered to pay him he said the only compensation he wanted was to share a C Menu with me. Can you believe that? I feel like I can be myself with him, or I could be if his mere presence didn't make me so agitated. I… it is very complicated. I don't seem to have the right words for it."

Reo cocked his brow slightly, resting his cheek on his open palm. "But wouldn't the same thing apply to your other friends? You know, being yourself and not being judged, it's the same with Tetsu-chan and the others."

Seijuurou folded his napkin neatly in half. "Yes and… no. Do not misunderstand me, I value your friendship deeply," Reo hadn't explicitly included himself in the comment, but to Seijuurou, he was as irreplaceable as any of his friends. "as I do with Tetsuya and Shintarou and everyone else. But with Kouki I feel the same and different at the same time. It is very difficult to explain it."

His friend hummed while taking two more gulps from his cappuccino. "I see. Well it's true you've always had it hard to understand your own feelings. I guess the best you can do is take it calmly, don't rush it. Go with the flow and see where it goes. Let things follow their natural course. I'm sure you'll figure something about your feelings and what you want to do about them in the process. Your Chihuahua boy will need time to figure you out anyway, so take it slowly. And if you need any help, you know you have an expert on the matters of the heart on your side." He winked and gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.

Seijuurou smiled, feeling his chest warming up slightly. "Yes, thank you. I appreciate your support." He felt truly fortunate to have a friend like Reo in whom he could rely so openly and who would help him sort through all the things he didn't understand with just the minimum teasing.

Seijuurou's next move had to be very carefully calculated. After a couple more sessions, he now needed to show some progress, but not too much. Kouki needed to know his assistance was being fruitful, but he couldn't come to believe it was not necessary. To achieve such a task, Seijuurou would need more than a fake test with terrible marks. He would have to design his own fake test, one that highlighted that he had indeed made use of Kouki's teachings, but that he also had a lot left to understand.

The first thing to do was to get his hands on previous exams from the teacher whose class he claimed to be taking. After reading and revising all of them, he became acquainted with the teacher's writing style, the types of questions he asked and how he graded them. The next step was to adapt that style into the kind of questions and marks that would produce the precise result he wanted to show Kouki. It was a tedious task, but the reward was worth it. The last thing he needed to do was get his hands on official school watermarked paper to print it, fill it out with his own responses, and imitate the teacher's penmanship for the marks. He briefly pondered that there might be something illegal in what he was doing, but he discarded the thought, for he found it worthless.

With the final product ready, he waited for Furihata to arrive for their now routinary Tuesday session. This time Reo had helped him pick an outfit so he didn't spend three hours getting himself dressed , and now that they had met a couple more times, he was having it easier with keeping up with regular conversations. Everything was progressing steadily and as smoothly as Seijuurou could manage, especially given the state of unrest that Kouki caused in his mind. He felt confident about where this was all going, even if he himself wasn't sure of where he wanted it to go.

Of course, the moment the bell rang, his confidence melted into a puddle of terror and nerves. But he was getting better. His fingers didn't shake when he opened the door.

"Hi Akashi-kun! How've you been?"

Kouki flashed him an earth-shattering smile and Seijuurou had to remind himself that words existed and that he was expected to use some of them as means of communication.

"Hello, thank you for coming. I am doing well, thank you, and you?"

"I'm cool too. Sorry for the intrusion."

Once seated at the usual table and with their respective drinks, Seijuurou made his move.

"There is actually something I wanted to discuss before we get started." He began tentatively. "I told you before my teacher was prone to surprise exams and we got one yesterday." He produced his perfectly crafted exam and showed it to Kouki. "Although I felt a little bit more confident than usual, I still could not get an acceptable result."

Kouki looked over the test and his expression switched to one of mild mortification. "I'm sorry, Akashi-kun, do you think this isn't working after all? I could recommend you with someone who could be of more help."

Seijuurou was taken aback. That had not gone according to his plan at all. He panicked, he had not prepared for this kind of outcome. He dug the tip of his pencil beneath the fingernail of his thumb, hoping the pain would put his brain to work quickly on a response that would salvage this situation.

"No, please!" he blurted, and covered his mouth in embarrassment at his misstep. "I… you misunderstand me. Please do not blame yourself for my failure, your tutoring has been nothing short of perfect." Kouki yelped a little at the last word and Seijuurou wanted to slap himself for not thinking things through. "I… I think of this as an improvement, really. Of course it is not acceptable, and perhaps it sounds complacent of me, but compared to my previous performances, this is vastly superior. Your teachings truly helped me with a lot of the questions, but there were many topics we have not yet revised, so it was to be expected."

Kouki looked unconvinced as he kept glancing over at the exam, but replied. "Well… I guess 50 points is better than 3 points…"

"It is an improvement rate of 1666.66%, many would consider it beyond outstanding."

Kouki looked up at him, blinked a couple times and then broke into hearty laughter and the room seemed to light up for an instant. Seijuurou's heart leapt in his ribcage.

"I guess you're right."

"Good. So would you continue to be my tutor?"

Kouki smiled brightly at him. Seijuurou hoped he wouldn't ask a question now, because that smile seemed to have a very particular way of making his brain stop working.

"Sure! As long as Akashi-kun wants me to, I'll be very happy to be of help."

Seijuurou allowed himself a small smile.

After their session was over, Seijuurou walked Kouki to the door, building up courage to proceed with the next part of the plan.

"I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?"

"Yes, yes of course, as usual."

"Cool! See you then."

Kouki was already one step out of the door and Seijuurou wasn't getting any of the words he had practiced out of his mouth, so the only thing he could think to do (or rather, do without thinking), was lurch forward and grab Kouki's elbow. "Kouki…!" he called agitated, and immediately backtracked when he noticed the tenseness of the other's shoulders. "I mean… Furihata…" he let go of Kouki's elbow and looked down, loathing his incompetence. "I would… I would like to compensate you… for all your help, I mean."

Kouki looked back at him and cocked his head in curiosity. "That's why we're having lunch tomorrow, aren't we? I'm kind of craving the katsukare menu… I think that's the F."

Seijuurou clenched his fists. He had practiced this. This was not supposed to be so complicated.

"I…" You know the words, Seijuurou, stop looking at his beautiful face and remember the words. "I hardly believe even the Super Deluxe Menu could be a proper form of gratitude for a 1666.66% rate of improvement."

Kouki waved his hands dismissively. "We've been over this, Akashi-kun, there's really no need-"

"But I want to." Seijuurou interrupted him abruptly. "I… please humor me for once, otherwise I could not shake off the feeling that I am taking advantage of you." He explained as he fished in his pocket for the items he would need next.

Kouki seemed to consider it for a moment and finally nodded. "Alright, what do you have in mind? If you're just going to give me a stash of money I'm going to reject it."

Seijuurou shook his head vehemently. "No, that is definitely not my intention." He pulled the tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Kouki. "I have acquaintances within the NBL and they often give me tickets for games. The Hiroshima Dragonflies and the Tokyo SunRockers will be facing off in the finals at Yoyogi on Friday, and I remembered you mentioned you liked the Dragonflies so I thought you would enjoy it."

Kouki glanced at the tickets and his eyes widened. "No way! These are premium seats Akashi-kun, I couldn't take them!"

Even as he said that, Seijuurou could identify an excited sparkle in Kouki's chocolate eyes. "Please, I insist. I already have the tickets, it would be a waste not to use them. It's a rare occasion to have the Dragonflies come to Tokyo, surely you wouldn't want to miss it."

Kouki examined the tickets, his fingers shaking slightly with the excitement and Seijuurou's chest felt suddenly very warm. "O-ok, if you insist I guess it would be rude not to take it." He grinned cheerfully. "You're coming with me, right?"

Of course that had been Seijuurou's original intention, but he also realized it would not do to impose his company if Kouki preferred someone else's –much as he loathe the thought- , so against his better wishes, he withheld from nodding. "They are a gift for you, you can invite whoever you wish."

Kouki scratched his chin and his grin widened. "If that's the case, then I'm inviting Akashi-kun."

Seijuurou's mouth went dry and his heartbeat accelerated , making the blood flow a little bit too fast through his veins and making him lightheaded. Could it be…? Did Kouki really…? "You should not feel obligated to invite me, as I said, it is a gift."

To his surprise, Kouki crossed his arms and pursed his lip in apparent displeasure (and it was the most unfairly adorable angry face Seijuurou had ever seen). "Give me a little bit more credit, Akashi-kun. If I say I want to invite you it's because I want to invite you. Unless Akashi-kun doesn't want to come to the game with me, I'd-"

"No, I do want to." Seijuurou blurted, once again interrupting him midsentence. He was making quite a sorry spectacle of himself, showing such a rude behavior while making his underlying intentions so transparent. "Forgive me, I have been acting very rude tonight. But I would be thrilled to be your company on Friday."

Kouki's sullen expression quickly morphed to a pleased and easy smile. "Cool! We could grab a bite after the game too, there are many good places around that area."

Seijuurou smiled back. "Sounds like an excellent plan. I guess that, since we will not be studying that night, it would be more practical to meet at the main gate at 4 so we can get there on time, if that is alright with you."

"Sure, that's great! It's a date then! I really need to go now, they're really gonna lock me out of the dorm if I don't rush. See you at lunch tomorrow!"

Seijuurou could have pointed out that, in the eventuality that Kouki got in trouble with the dormitory manager for being late, he could always summon the name of Akashi Seijuurou and the person in charge would no doubt leave him in the clear, but he was too preoccupied running over Kouki's last words in his mind over and over again.

It's a date.

It's a date.

It's a date.

He allowed himself to fall backwards and lay with his back against the wooden floor, his ruby eyes fixed on the ceiling

A date.

Date.

Date.

He pulled out his cellphone and pressed the number two on his speed dial. When the line clicked, he didn't even wait for a greeting before blabbering to the receiver.

"Reo, I have a date with Kouki."

There was silence on the other end of the line and then…

"You what?! Oh my god, Sei-chan! Oh my god, how did you…? Where are you? Oh my god, I'm coming over!"

"… and thus it happened."

Reo was sitting across from him in his living room, a bowl of popcorn (where it had come from, Seijuurou didn't know) resting on his lap as he stared at him with wide eyes that spoke of interest and great curiosity.

Once he finished retelling his parting conversation with Kouki, Reo sighed and smiled, munching on a handful of popcorn.

"I see." He said once he'd swallowed. "Well, that's great for you, Sei-chan! Although I would advise caution and not to get your hopes too elevated."

"Why is that?"

Reo tapped on his chin thoughtfully. "I think… there's a good chance that Furi-chan 'likes' you in a friendly way. I don't think he used the word 'date' in the sense that you're thinking, based on how you say the conversation went."

Seijuurou pondered on his friend's words briefly. He was probably right, he realized. One as shy as Kouki would not so quickly use the label 'date' unless he meant it in a casual, amicable manner. However…

"I have no problem with that. It would be foolish and rude to expect more when I, myself, am unsure of my feelings and what I truly want from this relationship."

Reo sighed once again, this time looking displeased. "Are you sure about that, Sei-chan? I don't want you to think that I'm imposing on your feelings, but after going this far are you still uncertain about where you're going with this?"

Seijuurou looked down at his hands, extended flat on the surface of the coffee table, remembering the two times his fingers had touched Kouki's skin.

"Yes. I have no doubts that I have a strong inclination towards Kouki," Kouki. He could freely call his name when not in his presence, and that was, perhaps, the only perk of his absence "but as you pointed out before, the things I feel with him are very similar to those I feel with my other friends, yet they seem different to me. There is also no denying the overwhelming physical attraction, but if I am to pursue a meaningful relationship, I want it to be based on more than the impulses of the flesh. I would not dare to call this fascination 'romantic' until I can understand what is it about Kouki that makes him so apparently different to everyone else I am close with."

Reo took a sip from his drink and looked up at him with hooded, suspicious eyes. "If you say so… although I think you're being silly trying to rationalize love, but whatever works for you. Now, we have three days before the big night, so I'm gonna' make sure you're perfectly prepared and that you give Furi-chan an evening he'll never forget."

Seijuurou chuckled lightly at his friend's proposal and bowed ceremoniously "Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu."

To be continued

Ok, ok, before you call me a show-off snob, the reason I chose to use the Japanese phrase is because I wanted it to convey Akashi's level of ridiculous propriety, which I think is more evident in his heavy keigo than if I tried to put the same meaning into English.

I'm sorry for taking so long! If you follow me on tumblr, you know that I had to disconnect from the internet for about a month to be able to finish my graduation thesis on time. But I want y'all to know that I'm very flattered and happy with all the wonderful comments I've received, I never expected so many people to be on board with my loser Akashi (esp. considering how the fandom seems to favor abusive/stalker Akashi :'D)

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, we're moving into phase two of Akashi's road to complete ridiculousness :D. I will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

BTW, the basketball teams here mentioned are real and part of the National Basketball League in Japan. Y'all know how I love the pointless details