Out of Control
Disclaimer: Kuroko No Basuke doesn't belong to me. No profit is being made from this story.
Summary: Melody's point of view!
A/N: I forgot to mention; this story is cannon compliant up until the Winter Cup.
A/N 2: Mentions of DID and references to past trauma.
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Melody wishes she could say she's surprised when Akashi drops by without warning one evening, but she knows him too well.
She is surprised that it's taken him this long, but she supposes his busy schedule has been delaying him.
He's still wearing his school uniform, and he's finally letting his bangs grow back in. She's glad. They soften his face a bit despite the vibrancy of the hair itself.
She doesn't say a word as he removes his shoes and strides in like he owns the place, just snorts and goes to the kitchen to put on some water for his favourite tea and pour a glass of water for herself.
Heading over to the sofa, she settles herself comfortably, waiting patiently as her redheaded guest conducts what looks- and sounds- like a thorough search of the entire apartment.
After a good five minutes, he comes over to her and crosses his arms, bi coloured gaze as inscrutable as ever. Melody can understand why most people find it unsettling.
She is not most people.
"Satisfied?" she asks playfully after they've spent half a minute staring at each other.
"It's not secure enough." It's his no nonsense voice and she sighs internally.
"I don't need to live in a fortress, Akashi. I'm perfectly fine where I am."
"Our buildings have better security. I believe I was quite clear on wanting you to stay in one of them."
And be in your father's debt? Not likely.
"I could have, but I like this one." Is what she says out loud.
"It's not safe enough."
"There are guards up front, security on every floor and cameras right outside my door. I feel safe enough." Seijurou's more controlling side means well, she knows he does. He can't help but be protective; it's in his nature.
Melody's touched by his concern, she really is but she's not going to budge on this.
She almost laughs when she sees him come to the same conclusion.
He sighs and softens his tone a little.
"Melody-san. Look."
He flicks his wrists and suddenly two tiny knives are in his hands.
She sighs. "Akashi-"
"I should never have been able to make it up here with weapons on me. I have these and the bone knives. They're being unacceptably lax."
"Please tell me you didn't walk in here with a firearm as well." She gives him an unimpressed look.
He just raises the eyebrow over his gold eye and holds her gaze.
Of course you did.
Melody groans and drags her hands over her face before reaching out to him.
"Come sit next to me." She's careful not to couch it like a command.
After a moment, he does sit next to her and Melody smiles at him.
"I hope you didn't come here all the way from Kyoto just to argue with me. Akashi, I appreciate your concern. You know I do. But I'll be fine, really. I feel comfortable here. The staff have been professional, and really nice."
She takes a careful breath before continuing, much softer.
"No one's after me, not any more. I can't spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. But you already know I can handle myself. I'll be fine."
He looks at her for a minute before his gaze softens slightly.
"If you want to stay here, I'll respect that. I just want you to be safe."
He's starting to sound a bit distant, and Melody knows what that means. She's only seen this in person twice before but it's easy to spot once you know what to look for.
"I know. Thank you for looking out for me, Akashi."
He's looking off to the side now, but is still present enough to nod.
She sits silently, giving him enough time. Once again she finds herself grateful for whatever happened around the Winter Cup.
She and this more forceful personality get along fine, but the length of time he'd just completely taken over Seijurou's life had strained their relationship to the limit.
"Winter-san." Her guest sounds slightly puzzled but not altogether concerned, which she supposes is an improvement. She meets his full ruby gaze with a dazzling smile.
"Seijurou."
He frowns a little as he notices the knives in his hands and she can tell he's having an internal conversation.
"My apologies. I intended to call you first, but-"
"Don't worry about it; I know how he gets. I'm not offended. I was actually wondering when you would've shown up."
He hums, glancing at out at the cityscape. The blades disappear as suddenly as they made an appearance.
"I knew you would have wanted a bit more time to settle in."
Melody bites her lip and waits.
"Also, I didn't wish to provoke Hanamiya-san. He seems to be under the ridiculous impression that I'm your favourite. " He doesn't even try to keep the exasperation from his voice and she can't help but laugh.
Getting up to sort out his tea, she shakes her head.
"I don't have favourites, Seijurou."
"I see." He says, in the tone of voice that she knows actually means "BS."
"I hope you like the tea," she says, pointedly ignoring the smirk on his face.
"Thank you, Winter-san."
They sip in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
She has missed this, just the two of them spending time together.
"I understand that you managed to convince Hanamiya-san to agree to let you watch him practice."
Melody keeps her eyes trained on the cityscape in front of her.
"You find that strange?"
"Oh, not at all. I'm reasonably certain you caught him off guard, though. He doesn't let anyone observe his team training."
"Okay, first of all, I'm not just anyone. Second of all, of course he's not going to let you watch him; you're the captain of another team."
Her guest hums.
"Fair enough. I'm also not the one he has a crush on."
Melody sighs. She just knew there was no way he wasn't going to bring it up.
Her guest looks far too pleased with himself. "Shall I assume he still thinks you're in the dark about this?"
She shoves his leg with her foot, glad her complexion hides any blushing.
"It sounds shady when you say it like that."
"My apologies," he grins at her using far too much teeth for someone with such a controlled reputation.
She rolls her eyes.
"Makoto… he just has a crush. He hasn't seen me in a while, that's all. He's worrying too much about it; you know how things get inside his brain sometimes. I'm just being supportive; I'm his friend, I'm not going to run away from him because he's got hormones. He needs to know I'm still here for him."
She can feel Seijurou's eyes on her and she just knows what he's going to say before he says it.
"You," he says slowly, then stops…and Melody whips startled eyes toward him because Seijurou might be fluent in several languages but he rarely bothers to use English with her. It's his least favourite language mostly because he can't control his accent when he uses it.
He frowns, starts again. "You came here, to Tokyo, for him. You worry about him."
"I worry about both of you," she says softly.
She sees him frown as he looks out on the city and she shakes herself a little.
"What I'm especially worried about," she says deliberately pitching her voice higher and making sure he hears the teasing in her tone "is that you haven't told me anything more about how your crush is doing."
He gives her a look like he knows exactly what she's doing but she still notices the very faint flush on his cheeks.
"There's nothing more to tell," he says carefully; too carefully, she's immediately sitting up and paying attention.
Seijurou is one of the most controlled and self-assured people she's ever met. She doesn't like the way he's avoiding her gaze.
"What's wrong?"
He's silent for too many seconds and now she's really worried.
"Did…is it your father? Did he say something?"
"No, he... I haven't…" he trails off and Melody tries her hardest to keep her feelings off her face. Seijurou's father isn't her favourite person on the best of days but she knows the two of them have been trying to repair their relationship, so she tries to stay neutral for Seijurou's sake.
When it appears that he's still lost in thought, she clears her throat, slightly.
"Did she say something?"
Seijurou goes pink and looks at his hands and now Melody's eyebrows are reaching for her hairline. It's fair to say she's seen him in lots of moods over the years. Honest to goodness embarrassed is not one of them.
On the one hand, she's honoured the boy in front of her trusts her enough to show this level of open vulnerability. On the other, who is this girl?
As if he's reading her mind, her guest smiles.
"Her name is Aida Riko. And she is…perfect."
Before Melody can even think about formulating a response –because, is Seijurou okay? Perfect? – his head has snapped up and he's giving her the most intense gaze she's ever seen on him.
"She hasn't said anything, Winter-san. I haven't quite worked up the courage to approach her yet. I-"
His voice falters a little even though he still holds her gaze. "I don't think she likes me very much."
Ah.
"She doesn't know the real you."
"No. She's Serin's third year coach. She's phenomenal at her job. Gifted. Loyal. Beautiful. Kuroko says her cooking skills are…lacking."
He's blushing and smiling again and honestly, Melody feels warm inside just seeing him being himself.
"She can't cook, huh. Who cares? Akashi women don't need to cook." She smiles when he gives a little laugh in response to her teasing.
"So, she doesn't know the real you. We need to fix that."
He nods, the light blush still coating his cheeks.
"I've contacted her about the possibility of a joint practice between our respective schools. I…was planning on asking her to lunch to discuss it. As an apology for how I treated one of her athletes during the Winter Cup."
She gives him a winning smile. "I'm liking this plan."
Seijurou's gaze turns wicked in the blink of an eye and she barely has enough time to brace herself before he says, "I like yours better. What are you planning on wearing to this date of yours with Hanamiya-san?"
He's up and out of the chair before she can grab him, once again showing far too much teeth as he settles into the love seat across the room.
She tosses her curls and grins right back. "I hope you're planning to show her this side of you."
In all seriousness, she's happy to see Seijurou like this, not weighed down by what happened to them and thinking ahead to the future.
She hates to bring any hint of unpleasantness to ruin the mood, but she has to know.
"Speaking of the real you… are you planning on telling her?"
She doesn't need to clarify what she's talking about.
He frowns and for a moment, she doesn't think he'll answer.
Then, "I'll have to. I know it's far too early but… I refuse to keep something like this from a significant other. She's already aware of what happened at Teiko. She knows that I'm…different. I would eventually like her to know the real reason why."
He's almost whispering at the end and Melody's heart almost breaks.
"When you feel comfortable… I'd like to meet her. "
The smile he gives her is small but genuine.
"Of course."
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Snowflake: Hey, is practice still on for tomorrow? I haven't heard you all day, hope everything's okay 8:09PM
Me: Sorry, it's been a really busy day. Plus mom's back and she insisted on taking me out for dinner after school 8:11PM
Snowflake: She's back? Tell her I say hi! 8:12PM
Me: Yeah, yeah, she's waving to you. Asks how you're adjusting and says you have to come over some time. 8:13 PM
Snowflake: You know, you could just give her my number so we can chat without bothering you lol 8:15PM
Me: Hell no, I don't need you two being all buddy buddy 8:15PM
Snowflake: LMBO scared we'll share embarrassing stories? 8:17 PM
Me: Terrified 8:17PM
Snowflake: Coward 8:17 PM
Me: ANYWAY, yes, practice is still on for tomorrow. I sent you the location. Please wear something warm, it's kind of chilly out there 8:19 PM
Snowflake: Darn, better pack away that bikini I was planning on wearing, then 8:20 PM
Me:... 8:22 PM
Snowflake: … it was a joke, Makoto. You know I'm always cold here 8:23 PM
Me: Snowflake, I'm serious. I don't want you to get sick. 8:24 PM
Snowflake: I won't. I'm going to finish up this assignment for afternoon class then head to sleep. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow! 8:26 PM
Me: Same. Sleep well 8:26PM
Snowflake: You know I will, get to watch one of my favourite point guards in his element tomorrow! Sweet dreams! 8:27 PM
Me:…TF you mean one of?! 8:30PM
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Feedback is always welcome!
