Chapter 6 : Self-Confident

Furihata debated on whether or not he should be in the room. They were having a meeting and here he was, trying to take his forgotten basket shoes. Seirin had gone out of the room a few minutes ago and it was being used by Rakuzan's team for the next incoming game in Kyoto.

"S-So-Sorry… It's just that… I l-left my basket shoes in the locker!" Furihata stuttered, bowing so low to the team that he almost reached nine hundred.

Akashi smiled at his secret boyfriend. "If your shoes are the white ones with red band around the edge, it's inside mine." Akashi pointed to the locker two rows from the back.

"T-thanks." He flushed and strode past the team to get his shoes just to get the hell out of the room. He felt so stiff that he thought he might suffocate already (or maybe he was just being Kouki, who was naturally nervous around the awesome players). He had to pass Akashi to get to said locker, now. His boyfriend lightly brushed his hand with his fingers. Furihata stiffened but he didn't say anything. Feeling all eyes on him, waiting, he gulped, bent down to take his shoes. Akashi's eyes were glued to his butt, trying to control himself not to smack and squeeze it.

Furihata closed the door, smiling nervously at the team and their coach. "Thank you." He mumbled and fled out of the room.

"He is so awkward." Hayama muttered.

"But he did mark Sei-chan in the game. Not bad." Reo smiled at the brown haired boy who had just left.

Akashi nodded in agreement. Getting an appraisal from his team made his heart proud. "He just needs more confidence." Akashi added. "Let's continue our strategy." He cut short their thoughts over his dearest Kouki.

Akashi stopped when he saw a new message. He opened it to find Furihata wishing him good luck. He told him he was watching from the upper bleachers. Akashi smiled. Never before had he felt so pumped up over such a trivial message. It meant a lot. He looked up to find him in the middle of the crowd. There he was, staring down from the bleachers, wearing a big smile on his face like a dork. Of course Akashi was going win the game now, he just knew it.

The game started and Rakuzan easily took the lead.

"Damn that Akashi, he managed to score so swiftly." Kagami's voice took Furihata's attention to his teammates.

"That's because he's used to it. You could say that he was born for this." Kuroko added.

"Isn't he more pumped up than usual?" Kawahara leaned forward just as the emperor ankle-broke his opponent.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Furihata smiled, watching him steal the ball. He'd never paid close attention to his playing, but watching his movements so agile, so energetic, fast and full of concentration made his heart beat faster. Furihata's cheeks turned warm when Akashi shot and the ball went in right into the middle of the ring. "So cool…" Furihata whispered to himself. He gasped when he realized his teammates were staring at him.

"W-What?!"

They gave him some kind of pity look before they shook their heads. "Nothing," and gave their attention back to the match.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He protested, face aflame. Furihata got his hair ruffled by Hyuuga.

"Just focus on the match, not the Point Guard."

Furihata pouted at the command.

The game ended with Rakuzan taking the lead ten points. Seirin had started to walk away from their seats when Akashi raised his head and looked at Furihata, smiling at him. Furihata waved at him and giving him a thumbs up.

"Furi!"

"Coming!" He hastily ran to catch up. "Darn I wish I could be a better Point Guard like him." He moaned once he slowed his pace behind his team.

"You're fine the way you are. However, I have to say that you're getting better, by the way."

"Really…?" Furihata grinned, rubbing his cheek with his forefinger.

"Of course, Furihata! Have more confidence, will you?"

"Umm… Can you guys go ahead?" Furihata stopped, pulling out his phone when it vibrated. Just as he thought, Akashi had messaged him to come to the changing room.

"What are you talking about, Furihata-kun? We still have our schedule to practice for tomorrow. We have to go back to the inn." Riko protested.

"Just… a little bit. I hope that's alright with you? Please? You can go ahead if you want to!"

"Your girlfriend?" Fukuda grinned.

Furihata bit his lips. "More like… boyfriend…" His cheeks flushed in embarrassment, deliberately averting his eyes from his teammates.

All of them stared at him, not having seen that coming at all.

"A-anyway, he's waiting for me, so can you guys go back first? I'll go to the inn by myself!" Furihata bowed and quickly ran to the changing room.

"That's shocking." Riko said, grinning.

"I knew about it." Kuroko nodded.

"WHAT? WHO?" Kawahara and the others stared at Kuroko with wide eyes.

"He didn't give me the details. But I know it's a boy."

"Shall we wait for him or…" Fukuda pointed to where Furihata disappeared.

"Let's leave him be. I'm sure he doesn't want to be bothered. Who knows how long he'll take. Maybe it's the losing team." Riko turned around and started heading out for the school.

Furihata moaned between the kisses he received. His head hit the locker, feeling aroused as Akashi pressed his body closer. Akashi pulled away only to attack his neck, making him bite his lips when his assailant marked him.

"Don't make it too obvious. I still have training after this." Furihata complained. He pushed him away gently, meeting his eyes only to melt under his gaze. "Congrats… on winning… even though it's not something new…" Furihata smiled softly. He leaned forward to taunt his lips with him again. Furihata sighed, feeling warmth spreading across his chest as he felt Akashi caressing his lips with his thumb.

"Thanks for congratulating me. I'm still happy even when I knew I could win the game for you."

Furihata blushed. "For me? How can you act this confident?" He chuckled, then sighed when Akashi pecked the corner of his lips.

"With you seeing me fight in a court, I have to do everything to win." Akashi curled his fingers around Furihata's wrist. He kissed his fingers, eyes staring into Furihata's eyes. "I'd make miracles with you encouraging me in the bleachers." His lips curved up when he watched his boyfriend's face turn scarlet. Rubbing his thumb across his warm cheeks, Akashi kissed his forehead. "Thank you. I've never been so happy to play for someone before. I've only been focusing on victory alone."

"Sei…"

"You slowly changed me, Kouki. That's precious."

Both of them smiled. They continue to hug each other until Kouki told him he still got practice to do. Since he was in Kyoto, he could always come to visit him anytime as long as he got free time.

Akashi reluctantly let him go, telling him to practice a lot before their next game. He shared kisses before Furihata walked away from his grasp. Akashi got the biggest smile from his entire life as he let go; never before had someone started becoming so precious in his life. Today's game had been very different because Furihata was watching him, throwing him a worried look every time the other team scored, encouraging him to score and focus. He never knew love could impact this greatly his play and become so important.

Akashi looked down to his hand, the feeling from touching Furihata still lingering in his palm. He wished he could embrace him longer.

"Someone is in love."

Akashi shot his head to Reo who smiled in return. "No, he was only-" He paused when Reo put his forefinger in front of his own lips, smiling understandingly.

"I'll pretend I didn't see anything. But you can talk to me when you need some help."

Akashi stared at him before he smiled. "Do keep it a secret for while longer, for his sake."

"I understand, Sei-chan." Reo nodded with smile. "His play isn't bad, actually."

"I'd noticed that when he played against Kaijo last year. I'd never gotten a chance to talk to him personally. But then… he looks down on himself so much... it pisses me off. He doesn't realize how valuable he is. I want to build up his confidence, at least a little."

"That's good to know."

Furihata hummed to himself as he walked outside the inn. He was pretty nervous about yesterday's event, but seeing no one make fun of him after admitting that he had a boyfriend, he was relieved. None of them pressed the subject on him.

"Looks like everything is going well with your boyfriend, Furihata-kun." Kuroko stepped behind him, earning yelp of surprise in return.

"K-Kuroko! Don't surprised me like that!" He breathed out, putting his palm over his thundering heart.

"I'm sorry." Kuroko chuckled.

"Everything went well. Thank you, for listening to me in the other day."

"It doesn't matter. I'm glad I could help out somehow."

Both of them walked further to the nearest basketball court, followed by the other teammates. Kawahara was the one to start talking when he was passing the ball to Furihata.

"Furi, is your boyfriend on the losing team yesterday? You know, since you said it's a boy, and you seemed to be rushing to go to him as if he needed comfort."

Furihata jolted in surprise at the question. "Eeh… something like that…" Actually he didn't even remember all the other team players names, but telling them that his boyfriend was in the winning side will open his own hole. He'd need to cover that up. He just wish Kawahara wouldn't ask the name.

"I see… I hope he's still okay to play basketball. Wouldn't want you become upset over it as well."

"He is alright, don't worry about it." He offered a smile and Kawahara nodded.

Now Furihata clutched on the ball in his possession. He hated it when the guilt came creeping back. Why wasn't wasn't he confident when it came to Akashi? He knew he was not ready to let the world know he was Akashi's boyfriend: he felt like he wasn't someone who could stand beside him with pride. Even if their relationship went well, but not everyone could accept him being with Akashi. The status differences were too big, their basketball skill gap was too large. Even if he was indeed getting better, there was no way he could be on the same level as Akashi.

Furihata looked down to the ball. Sometimes he wondered why Akashi actually liked him. The frown never left his face even after their practice was over.

That night, Furihata couldn't sleep as his mind drifted to their secret relationship. He knew they were just trying out, but lately Akashi was being serious about taking a liking to him. He felt like he didn't deserve him, even if he didn't try to break their relationship. It had been almost a month and a half since they'd been together and he started to wonder if Akashi was starting to get tired with him. He wondered if Akashi had even remembered their one month anniversary.

"Staying in Kyoto?" Riko turned around to look at the captain.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing for? We're going to have a holiday after the game tonight. It's fine if you have things to do, though. You've lead your team this far, so I have no complaints. We'll be going back without you then. I'll let the others know."

"Thank you." Furihata beamed.

"Captain, we still have time before the game starts. Can we go to the nearest convenience store down there?"

Furihata frowned at the first year. "If you've got time for that, you'd better do some mental training." He reprimanded them and started calling the others to gather and do their mental training together.

They held hands as they closed their eyes.

Holding Kuroko's hand and Fukuda's, Furihata took a deep breath. "Repeat what I say. We will win this game."

They repeat after him.

"I will focus on the game and lead my team to victory." Furihata smiled while continuing after they'd repeated. "I will throw any negative outcome inside my mind aside and focus on the present."

"Most of the players' mistakes are caused by trying to suppress their focus on what they want to happen. They get caught thinking the worst. Those negative thoughts will be in the way of your skills and footwork. Yours, Kouki, is what makes you a Point Guard. You are careful on your way to deal with things in the court, you're watching your team's movements, you notice things other players can't see. That's what makes you a captain. Believe in yourself more."

Akashi words rang in his ears, building his confidence. But sometimes, Furihata kept on forgetting about his own charm.

"Failure is a part of life and a major part of sports. If you never fail, you aren't pushing hard enough or challenging yourself. Learn to embrace obstacles, difficulties, mistakes, and adversity."

Furihata gasped as Akashi lurched forward, jumping high enough to dunk the ball. Wheezing while putting his hands on his knee, Furihata wiped his sweat on his sleeve.

"Move faster, I know you can do it." Akashi commanded.

"Wait, let me breathe…" Furihata gasped. He blinked when his vision turned black, his head spinning. Thankfully Akashi caught him before he fell.

"S-Sorry." Furihata blushed.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah… somehow…" He sighed, secretly not wanting Akashi to let go of him. He pressed his face against Akashi's chest, sniffling into it.

Akashi brushed his hair gently, smiling at his boyfriend.

"Even if you lose, it's not the end of your basketball days, Kouki."

"We could be better, and it's my fault. If I'm better than this, we can move forward and face you in the next game." He muttered, fisting Akashi's shirt while trying to hide his face in shame.

"If you think you can be better, do it again and again until you can reach that high." Akashi whispered. "It's not worth regretting over it." He kissed Kouki's forehead.

Akashi rubbed his back until Kouki finally raised his head. They looked at each other for a moment before Akashi nipped his lip. The tender kiss turned more passionate with the way Kouki responded to him. The brunette whimpered in between Akashi's way exploring inside his mouth. Furihata gasped when someone coughed behind them. Akashi broke the kiss to see his father sternly staring down at them.

"Father."

Furihata meeped at the title, his face flushing brightly as he tried to hide himself from his father's glare. He'd seriously screwed up now.

"Seijuurou, I believe this is not a proper place to… ravish that boy…" His lips pressed together, eyes gazing down at Furihata who was looking down. The boy was obviously hoping the ground would swallow him whole. The man clicked his tongue and Furihata stiffened. His eyes went back to Akashi after seeing Furihata clutching on the edge of his plain sweaty polo shirt tightly.

Akashi raised his arm as if shielding his boyfriend from his father's gaze. He dragged Furihata behind him, his lips twitched into a smile at his father. "I'm sorry, father. It won't happen again." He chuckled and looked at Furihata who was on the verge of tears. First impressions were always bad. He brought his hand to ruffle Furihata's head.

"Please allow us to take a bath before we have dinner." With that Akashi dragged Furihata with him.

"Sei! Wait, Sei!" Furihata exasperatedly called him all the way upstairs. His boyfriend didn't say anything until they were inside his room. As soon as he was inside, Akashi pressed his forefinger to Furihata's lips.

"Please, whatever he will say to you, don't take it to heart."

Furihata blinked. He slowly nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything. Satisfied with Furihata's answer, he pulled his finger away and kissed his nose.

"Let's take a bath. We've sweated a lot."

"Why didn't you say anything about your father and dinner today?"

"We're just going to have dinner downstairs. I didn't want to pressure you, knowing how you are towards new people." Akashi hummed, leaving Furihata with nothing to object. He rummaged through his wardrobe and picked some flashy clothes.

"Y-You may be right but you c-could have warned me… He saw… us… k-kissing…" Furihata cupped his mouth, flushing brightly.

"It's not a bad thing, but… please whatever answer you're gonna spill out later, be confident." Akashi raised Furihata's chin, staring right into his eyes.

The boy nodded yet again and frowned.

Akashi lead him to the bath. Both of them showered together. Furihata tried to block out every single teasing touches Akashi gave him. Blushing at the sly smile given to him, the brunette turned his back to Akashi, giving him a good view of his round firm butt. He stifled a moan when Akashi fondled him, rubbing his obvious erection which he did not try to hide against the crack of Furihata's butt cheeks. He pressed their bodies flush together, whispering Furihata's name as he grinded harder against him.

"Unn Sei, stop it. We're going to have dinner."

"That can wait." Akashi's fingers traced Furihata's stomach. He reached the obvious erection before firmly tugging on it. Hearing Furihata suck in his breath at the tug wasn't satisfying enough, as soon, the bathroom was filled with moans and groans.

Furihata quivered under Akashi's touches. The hot water continued streaming above them, washing away any evidence they may have left behind. He mewled when Akashi's thumb pressed against his slit. He gasped as he writhed in his arms, begging for release. He bit his lower lip to prevent him from moaning out loud when Akashi grinded on his crack harder. His cheeks burned by the sound of their hips slapping wetly. Furihata's thighs clamped on Akashi's length when he nudged his hips apart to slid through his thighs. The frictions of his length rubbing against his sacs doubling his pleasure with Akashi's hands dancing around Furihata's crown.

"S-Sei…" He panted, tilting his head to the side, wanting to have his lips sucked by Akashi. His boyfriend complied, their tongues dancing as their bodies continued stimulating pleasure to their climax.

"You can cum, Kouki. I'm close too." Akashi whispered through their kisses.

Furihata didn't need to be told twice, throwing his head back just as Akashi gave his cock another hard tug. He painted the tiles white and Furihata moaned as Akashi attacked his neck. He felt him shudder before feeling a warm liquid trickling down his thighs. His hissed when Akashi's hands clenched on his hips hard enough to bruise. His hot breathing against his ear made it turn red, especially the calling of his name in a husky whisper.

They breathed in, trying to calm themselves before Akashi let Furihata go.

"Are you alright?"

Furihata blushed when Akashi sprayed the semen clean from his thighs. "I'm alright." He whispered, too shy to look up at him. They could have had real sex at the moment but no, Akashi never had intention to put it in. Furihata was starting to wonder what held him back though. They had been alone so many times and they could have done it, but no. Akashi was just fondling or grinding against him as if teasing him. Could it be that he was testing his patience or just simply not ready to go all the way?

Putting his questions aside for the moment, they washed up quickly with soap and got out from the shower all fresh and clean. Furihata wore the clothes Akashi chose for him and headed downstairs to eat their dinner.

Nervousness went back into Furihata's mind, having nearly forgotten that he had a dinner to attend with Akashi's father. Akashi Masaomi had never been present whenever Furihata had a stayed over at the house. He was often out on business trips outside city or in different countries. Now that he'd suddenly appeared and had seen him kissing his son, Furihata had no place to run. And when he sat beside Akashi, Furihata suddenly felt so small beneath the gaze of Masaomi across from them.

Receiving a pat and a comforting smile from Akashi, Furihata managed to return the smile. He swallowed as he picked up his spoon after Akashi did. However, his movement was halted when Masaomi coughed.

"Your name?" Masaomi asked.

"Furihata Kouki." Don't stutter… please don't stutter…

"What position are you in basketball?"

"Captain and Point Guard." He said while spooning his rice.

"You should pick up your fork as well," Masaomi suddenly pointed at the untouched fork beside Furihata's hand.

Furihata flinched and fumble to pick it up only to accidentally dropped it on top of the plate with a loud clang.

"Father, please." Akashi sighed after he swallowed his meal.

"It's one of the basic etiquette." He waved at his son dismissing his protests. He leaned back and crossed his arms, gazing down at his son's boyfriend with a frown; he could already guess his character as soon as he watched his act. "A captain? It's hard to believe that you gained that position. I'm just asking you a few questions and you're already nervous. How are you going to lead your team to victory?"

"Father..." Akashi gritted his teeth. Furihata didn't need a reminder about his loss in the game.

Furihata stayed silent but he kept his eye-contact with Akashi's father.

"There's still so much you need to learn. I wonder why Seijuurou even chose you."

The words stung. Furihata started to tremble under his gaze.

"Alright, father. That's enough." Akashi hit his palm on the table and stood up. He paused when his father raised his hand to him.

"You must understand that politics are harsh, son. He will need to defend himself from these kinds of words. You won't be there beside him forever to defend him."

"Kouki has nothing to do with all of those money eaters!"

"Welcome to the real world, then. It's not all about fluffy romance, they'll start talking about your well being and your chosen man. If he depends on you and can't stand on his own two feet, he's not cut out to be with you."

Furihata's eyes widened. Akashi let out an exasperated sigh and sat back down.

Masaomi directed his gaze back to Furihata. "If you love him, stand up for yourself. That's what I'm trying to say. I'm only his father and already you're cowering away from me. I could already sense your nervousness as you trembled under my gaze. The next thing, you dropped your fork. It showed how openly you expressed yourself to be easily intimidated by others. You don't have self-confidence within you. What about the others who want wealth? If you are not smart enough and don't hold your head high, your lover is going to be easily taken from your hands."

Furihata felt chill running down his spine. "I…"

"You should be glad that my son will not be easily manipulated by people who only want his wealth. I raised him well enough to stand up on his own. If you are just planning to cling to him then, it's time for you to give up and look for another man, boy." Without waiting for Furihata to say anything, Masaomi Stood up and told the maid to bring his food to his room.

"I hope you kept this relationship secret for the time being, Seijuurou. I won't be having newspapers with front pages of your relationship with this boy without a good upbringing. It'll hurt both of you. You know how nasty people can be."

With that, he left without another word.

Akashi looked at Furihata. He ruffled his head, trying to comfort him.

"Don't think too much about it."

"It's the truth though…" Furihata gave him a sad smile.

"Kouki, you are worth everything to me!" He pulled on his wrist, glaring at him. How could he not see his own worth? "I'll defend you if things happen. I'll end their business and make them suffer if they ever tried to hurt you, Kouki."

Furihata smiled and shook his head. "I'll be alright."

Both of them knew his words were hollow.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, each of them trying to ignore the heaviness that weighed the air.

TBC

This turned out unexpected 0.o I'll cheer up the mood in the next chapter! ^v^