(A/N: Another short one with a little odd pacing. This may feel a little more like a series of very brief drabbles but it was needed.)

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With the start of the new school term their meetings fall into a certain rhythm: it is not a routine per se, they don't have any specific days they see each other, but they will see each other at least twice a week, oft-times more than that. They sometimes meet outside but they will always end up at the home of one or the other, very early on it is realised and decided that this is the most comfortable and convenient rather than some love hotel. They often have a meal together after or before or both and if they are at Akashi's place they usually order in and occasionally they will go out to a restaurant. If they are at Nijimura's place though, almost always Nijimura cooks something. Often simple meals but Akashi finds himself quite fond of them, the brunette is a decent cook and while his supplies are not of the best quality they are usually of sufficient grade. Most importantly, Akashi understands how specially delightful it is when one shares food or cooks meals for another – he has always understood that cooking and eating are social activities and have a lot to do with how one expresses their affection and care for others. Unfortunately, he has never really been in the receiving end of this particular kind of expression of affection and care, nor has he ever been in a situation where he could be the one providing it, thus it is a new mode of communication, a fresh offering for Akashi and he lets himself to secretly savour it. Nijimura on the other hand has missed cooking for someone in the last year he spent away from his family; he had grown so used to cooking the meal at least half the time back at home for his siblings, it had been a little sad to cook only for himself during his first year in university. It is also interesting for him to watch Akashi devour the things he prepares and comment on his prowess at the matter, because Nijimura is sure that the kinds of meals Akashi usually have are much superior to his measly skills and mediocre supplies.

Something unexpected for Akashi (which is a miracle in itself and solely due to Nijimura's incalculable impulsiveness) happens near the end of month of October though. After some rough play, they are both exhausted and hungry for food and like always Nijimura opens Akashi's fridge to find nothing inside.

"This is crazy. Why do you have absolutely nothing in your fridge? All the time. Don't you ever do grocery shopping?"

"As I already told you in the many times you posed this exact question: no, I don't."

"Why do you have a fridge then?"

"To keep the drinks cold, have some ice, and ensure the freshness of the cakes and fruits and such kinds of foods or meals I may bring home. Isn't it obvious?"

"No, it is not. It is just stupid. You have this huge fridge and you are filthy rich and you have nothing to eat in your fridge."

"It is precisely because I am 'filthy rich' that I can have my fridge completely empty. I am hungry too, we can go out and eat... Or order in. There is a lovely pizzeria I've heard nice things about."

"No. Nope. Not this time, we are going to get you some groceries."

"And then?"

"We will cook and eat them, genius."

Akashi scowls – probably not at the offer of going to grocery shopping and cooking but the wording Nijimura used and probably not because being called a "genius" hurts him, because it is a fact that he is a genius; he is simply offended that Nijimura dares to utter it in a sarcastic tone. He relents regardless,

"Let me put on some clothes."

Only when they are outside on their way to a grocery store situated two blocks away, Nijimura realises it is the first time he is seeing Akashi in sweatpants,

"I think I never saw you in sweatpants before... Well, not counting middle school."

"I prefer wearing a yukata at home and what they call 'smart casual' outside, if I'm not required to wear formal clothing, of course. But I thought this would be a more fitting attire for grocery shopping."

Nijimura is puzzled,

"What do you mean? You specifically chose sweatpants?"

"Yes, because it is the proper thing to wear to grocery shopping?" Akashi says deadpan and serious and Nijimura is only more confused.

His confusion rises to new levels once they are in the grocery store. Akashi seems to be interestedly observing people around him as well as boring holes with his pointed stare in the shelves.

"Is there anything particular you'd like to eat? Other than a five star pizzeria's pizzas?"

Akashi chuckles,

"Anything is fine."

"How about curry?"

"It has been a long time since I had it. I wouldn't mind."

So curry it is, with a side dish of rice, Nijimura thinks and starts quickly gathering any and all ingredients, luckily, even though he does not even have cooking oil at his home, Akashi does have excellent cookware and the rice cooker with the most number of options and buttons Nijimura has ever seen.

Akashi's concentrated stare continues though and he questions what could be wrong, after a point, he has had enough of it, scowl prominent on his face he stops abruptly in between aisles,

"Okay. What is it? You want to eat something else? You're looking for something specific?"

Akashi turns with an innocent look,

"Pardon my intense observations, I simply find it interesting."

"What do you find interesting exactly?"

"Grocery store and shopping like this."

"Why?"

"As mundane as it is, it is not something I am used to, after all. I have not been in a grocery store since the first year of high school."

Nijimura almost drops the plastic shopping basket he is holding,

"You are kidding right?"

"It is understandable that you find it odd, but I am serious."

"Why?"

"You know why: I never do grocery shopping. Why would I come to a grocery store then? It is not necessarily a place of entertainment."

"Okay... but, really? Never? Since like the first year of high school?"

Akashi nods and adds,

"The only reason I visited one in my first year of high school was because one of my basketball teammates was as shocked as you are now at the fact that I had ever visited a grocery store only once as a child, out of curiosity. So he dragged me to the nearest grocery store. It was awkward to be honest, a very voyeuristic experience."

"So it still feels awkward?"

"Oh, not necessarily now, because we are shopping for groceries, aren't we? At the time we were only... looking and watching and not actually doing any shopping, so it was bizarre."

"I see. Well, I am glad you just had another normal life experience. But I don't get this, you always have so many kinds of tea and coffee at your place? Where do you get them if you don't do grocery shopping?"

"They are all special brands, half are gifts, the other half I buy either from specialised stores or online. Most often my housekeeper stocks them."

"What about drinks and fruits you have? Pastry?"

"It is easier to buy the first from convenience stores or specialised shops, the second my housekeeper stocks as well if I feel like it, and pastry," Akashi pauses for a second to add emphasis and also turns his voice a notch lower to give it more gravity, "should be bought from a patisserie, not from a grocery store. It would be a disgrace otherwise, especially if one has the financial capacity to do so."

Nijimura is a little surprised at first but realises that perhaps he should not have been surprised. He eventually snickers and decides to buy some fruits and ice cream on top of what they need for the curry and also some more rice and cooking oil because, hey, one can always use that kind of stuff. It is not like they will expire in a few days or weeks.

They are both very hungry and honestly it would have been easier if they just went out to eat or ordered something, but neither complains; Akashi thanks Nijimura sincerely for both the experience and the meal – "it was very delicious", he says and Nijimura is certain it was not, objectively speaking based on Akashi's standards that is, but he is also certain that Akashi was completely honest and truthful in his remark.

They do not have sex later that day but lazily eat ice cream as they play shogi.

It becomes a thing afterwards. Those times when they meet at Akashi's apartment, if he has time, Nijimura will hit the grocery store before coming over and soon he starts finding things he did not buy in Akashi's fridge as well, from fruits to ice cream. The side effect of these is that now they both know each other's tastes very well; no ice cream with those strange colours and flavours ever make it to Akashi's (or Nijimura's) fridge but matcha ice is forever present. Nijimura also learns just how well of a cook Akashi could be if he only tried, it is not much of a surprise, he doubts there is anything the redhead could not manage to perfect, still it is a little irritating to watch him chop vegetables so skilfully like a seasoned chef – when he first started cooking, it took considerable time for Nijimura to master using a knife.

Soon, eating is not the only activity they start doing after or before sex; it starts with them watching films together at home after sex sometimes and after Nijimura dragging Akashi to Marvel's latest superhero flick upon hearing Akashi has seen none before, going to the cinema together becomes another thing for them as well, if only occasional due to their packed schedules. Akashi likes art films or documentaries which Nijimura finds tedious but will watch only to relentlessly mock afterwards, against constant glares and insults by Akashi. The brunette, on his side, can watch pretty much anything, from action films to romantic comedies, he actually does not mind; Akashi is not particularly fond of most mainstream films, but he will watch them in a fashion similar to Nijimura's, to make commentary afterwards about how inane their plots were or insipid their cinematography was. Then there are those few films that they both enjoy sincerely and no sarcastic remarks are made, instead they discuss finer points of what they liked. They discover this the very first time they watch a film together at home – it is 'the Godfather' and turns out that they are both intrigued by the complex plot and ethically grey nature of its subject matter, the motif of 'family' is also something that interests both of them quite a bit though in opposite manners. Sometimes, they do not realise that the other will equally like a film before they actually start watching it; for instance, the time Akashi makes Nijimura watch 'Children of Men' and the brunette swears by the end that yes, it was a commendable film and no, his wet eyes are definitely not due to actual tearing up. The opposite happens with when Nijimura persuades Akashi to watch 'Inception', sans the wet eyes.

They don't necessarily have sex every time they meet. Like the time Nijimura has to buy a present for his sister and having no girlfriend that could help him decipher a young woman's heart and wants, and deciding that he would much prefer to ask and go shopping with Akashi than Kise or Momoi, he asks the redhead to help him – as expected Akashi does not need to personally know any women or Nijimura's sister to know what to buy, it is a little creepy and fascinating at the same time, the brunette concludes. His sister adores the present he bought.

There are times they play basketball. It was Nijimura who first suggested it after both were invited to play a few rounds with rest of the gang from Teikō; he finds himself a little lacking and out of touch compared to the others and even though Akashi has not been playing in university's club, Nijimura is aware that the redhead still practises every day. Going at it for hours is draining but equally exhilarating and Nijimura right away sees the benefit as he wins against Aomine during their meet up that week. Yes, his victory against Aomine has a lot to do with the fact that it was a two-on-two and he was paired with Akashi. As if that was not enough, Aomine had also made the terrible mistake of belittling Akashi's height ("But it's unfair to you guys huh? You are not very tall and Akashi is so short...") and Nijimura's skills ("Senpai I am not saying you are bad, but then everyone is bad compared to me!"); Akashi had whispered with a devilish smile after those comments,

"I will defend your honour Nijimura-san."

This not only caused Nijimura to burst into laughter and surprise everyone because not many people had ever witnessed Nijimura laughing like that (he is famous for his scowl and furrowed eyebrows after all), but also tickled Nijimura inside a little, somehow the proud poise and sarcastic connotations were mischievously endearing to him. And he did not mind 'his honour' being defended by Akashi, not at all when it led to a devastating loss for Aomine, who by the end of the match was brought to an utterly shocked face. Kise, who was his partner for the game and extremely frustrated at the result, chided him afterwards – something about how it was his arrogance that always brought his downfall. Playing basketball soon became as much part of their relationship as sex had. Sometimes it is very brief, they play for half an hour late in the day after basketball club has finished their training at the gym. If and when they have the time, they can go at it for hours until they are both completely spent.

Then there is the time in which they don't have sex but not because they have not planned to do so. This happens late November when Nijimura rings him up; they had not talked about meeting that night but Akashi is free so he accepts and invites him over. Things escalate the moment Akashi closes the door, he does not mind this either, his libido is perfect; he has become used to Nijimura's atypical needy and demanding ways too, he revels in them because he has always been a marvellous person yet almost nobody has ever expressed such careless and unabashed want and hunger for him – and the fact that it is completely out of character for Nijimura makes it all the more delicious. After urgent kisses and impatient caresses though, there is something wrong and he had already guessed it the moment he had heard Nijimura's voice on the telephone, before the brunette even arrived. Before they started touching each other.

"I am sorry."

Nijimura apologetically mumbles as he unwraps himself from the smaller body of Akashi; he has always felt the way he can wrap himself around the redhead completely, that difference in their frames, does not bother him and on the contrary is seductive in certain ways, though it has become obvious that he won't be able to... perform, now.

"You do not have to say sorry, it happens."

There is not a single ounce of blame or ridicule in Akashi's voice and Nijimura is aware of it.

"It does not happen with men as young as my age though..." Nijimura sighs loudly as he hurls himself to the sofa, Akashi sits near him and regards his face – he is observing, perhaps he already knows what, Nijimura thinks.

How would it feel to be a clairvoyant anyway? To know, to be able to predict what people experienced and or will experience? To be able to read minds and states so easily? The brunette thinks he could never endure it, for it would be such a huge burden. He respects the redhead a lot for being able to bear it so sternly, even if it is not a magical power but a very real curse of genetic lottery. How ignorant must be those who regard such a thing as a blessing...

"It can. There are many reasons and factors but I am sure you would not be interested in hearing them now..."

The taller man sighs loudly again and simply slouches, covers his face with his hands... tired, he is feeling tired.

"If you would like to talk, we can talk."

Akashi's voice is as calm as ever and Nijimura considers it for a second and is about to decline it, first in his mind and then via words to the redhead but before he can do either, Akashi whispers, his voice a notch quieter and tinged with affection which is a rare thing,

"I am your friend."

It is not easy for Akashi Seijūrō to consider somebody a friend. Nijimura has forever known this. He has known this since the moment they had first met. He still knows it. Thus, hearing it has the figurative effect of shattering any and all restraint the brunette had to keep his inner turmoil hidden.

He smiles bitterly and spills and somehow it is not that hard to spill your heart out to Akashi despite how intimidating the redhead can be at times. At one point he unconsciously reclines towards the smaller male and instead of keeping the distance Akashi also leans in and pats his had. He does not even realise this gesture till he has finished talking; he literally spends half an hour there complaining about the possible loss of his position as an assistant researcher at the lab because of the university administration's obstinacy about a certain outdated regulatory procedure, about the worries of not being able to find a useful internship position if he is ever kicked out of the lab, about the uncertainty of his future after graduation in the current downfall of the market, about how he realised his mother had been keeping it a secret from him the actual magnitude of some of the hospital fees from the time of his father's treatments, about how his younger brother is in his rebellious phase and he is terribly frightened that the younger will follow the infamous example of the older and become a delinquent and he is not sure if his mother can handle it now, when she is under so much stress already... as Akashi silently combs his hair and pats his head gently.

He feels better at the end even if he suddenly finds himself a little timid under the tenderness of the kind touch; if he knew that Akashi has ever touched so gently to another only once before in his life, then he would have been wildly blushing.

They do not have sex that night but they eat together. They sleep together. They wake up together. They would have had breakfast together as well if Akashi did not have to rush to a meeting, when Nijimura is awkward and apologising in a small voice as he purposefully looks somewhere else than Akashi's direction, his signature scowl strongly settled on his face, the redhead only smiles genially and comments,

"We are friends, it is all right. I understand. Help yourself before you leave, breakfast is important and I have some fruits and yoghurt in the fridge. I have some high quality rice too, you may want to take some home."

Akashi leaves, Nijimura sleeps in for another hour, and only after all those, when he wakes up and opens the fridge and sees the exact fruits that only he and Akashi likes, he realises it.

He recalls Akashi's words in his mind, he plays them again and again, and he wonders; is this really what a friendship is like?