he wonāt let shin-chanās and akashiās effortless teamwork bring him down.
a/n: spoilers for the movie
~
he trains.
harder, harsher, more focused than heās ever been before. he can tell even shin-chanās a bit suspicious of it, though his stoic partner doesnāt say anything, just accepts the long hours of practice as only natural if they want to perfect their combinations.
itās kind of frustrating.
heās being irrational, he knows, and he knows he has nothing to worry about, that their teamwork is as good as itās ever going to get, that shin-chan wouldnāt do something as pointless as make comparisons.
it still nags in the back of his mind, though.
theyāve poured so many hours into perfecting that pass, days and days and days dedicated to it, to making sure that they always get it just right, the timing, the speed, the height. everything.
and then along comes perfect akashi seijuurou and does it so effortlessly, without even having tried it once before, and takao canāt help the bitter laughter bubbling up his throat. because of course it would be perfect.
of course.
so he swallows the bitter lump in his throat every time he remembers, and trains harder, makes sure he gets better.
because he wonāt let anyone, not even the former captain of the generation of miracles himself, overshadow him as shin-chanās partner.
Rating: M (mature)
Pairing: akakuro (akashi/kuroko)
Summary:Ā One summer day, Akashi Seijuurou happens upon Kuroko Tetsuya, across a stream.
(Pomegranates, for December.
He can never leave the Underworld now, bound by the food that resides in his stomach and disperses into his veins.)
~8200 words
I CANT BELIEVE THIS THING IS 8000 WORDS HOLY SHIT
happy white day @el-disturbance!! this is my payback gift for your wonderful valentineās gift! a hades/persephone au thatās.... not really...............
kagami receives a phone callĀ from alex, and kuroko tries to be supportive (even when he hates the idea of kagami leaving)
a/n: spoilers for the last game movie. the movie kind of killed me.
~
something like a vice squeezes tightly around his lungs, around his throat, and his heart stutters, sputters, in his chest, painful. kagamiās voice suddenly sounds faraway, and for a second tetsuya feels like heās being dragged deep under water.
americaā¦ kagami-kun might Ā be moving to americaā¦
he closes his eyes, takes a breath, holds it in.
when he looks back at kagami, he looks troubled, but underneath that, tetsuya sees the bubbling excitement at the prospect of reaching such a high level as the nba. tetsuya canāt begrudge him that.
so he smiles, taps him on the shoulder, tells him thatās great news.
ābut leaving meansā¦ā kagami starts, troubled frown still marring his features, even as his shoulders seem to relax a fraction.
āleaving,ā tetsuya starts, because as always, he has to be kagamiās voice of reason, even when the words are thorns up his throat and on his tongue, ājust means youāll take advantage of an amazing opportunity, kagami-kun.ā
kagami looks at the ground as they walk, a pensive hum escaping him, but doesnāt say anything else for a while. just before they reach the school gates, his step falters, slows. stops.
tetsuya stops a few steps ahead, turns to look at him, heart still pounding in his ears.
ākagami-kun?ā he asks.
āhey, kurokoā¦ā kagami says, hesitant, āwhat do you think i should do? do you really think i should go?ā heās still looking at the ground.
tetsuya swallows past the lump in his throat. āi think that thatās kagami-kunās decision alone. like i said, itās an amazing opportunity, and you should think about it carefully, but that, ultimately, itās a matter of whether you want to do it or not.ā
ākurokoā¦ā
āand if your hesitating because of the team, then quite frankly, youāre an idiot.ā
āhey!ā comes the indignant protest which forces a tiny, rueful smile from tetsuya. the tense atmosphere around them breaks.
āyou still have a few days to decide, right?ā he asks, and kagami just nods. āthen think about what you want, and when you decide, tell me. iām sure he others will support you in this, kagami-kun, so you donāt have to worry about them. if you do decide to go, iāll be there for you when you tell them, if you need.ā
kagami looks at him, an indecipherable look in his eyes that does something weird to tetsuyaās insides, and tetsuya squares his shoulders and meets the gaze head-on. then, after a long moment, kagami sighs. shakes his head.
āthanks, kuroko,ā he says.
āyouāre welcome,ā kuroko answers simply, pushes down the knot that still clogs throat. then, just as the bells ring, he says, ānow lets go before weāre late for class,ā and turns away from kagami.
kagami-kunās leaving for america, he thinks, and just to himself, heāll admit that the idea hurts.
i sawĀ āmagical institutionsā and i was like yesssss harry potter au. so here is kagakuro in a harry potter au.
(note: both kagami and kuroko are in gryffindor)
-------
(thereās a transfiguration accident and kagami ends up in the hospital)
-------
The bite on his right hand is painful and Kagami swears loudly. He starts with a simple āfuckā and upgrades to āholy flying motherfucking shit fuck this fucking hurtsā. It produces enough of a commotion that the entire room stops to watch Kagami flail his hand around as he tries to swallow the curses down but fails miserably and ends up just yelling them into the air.
The spider on the floor is at least four inches long and it is possibly the scariest thing Kagami has ever seen in his life. He is sure that it will become a recurring character in his nightmares for the next, oh, maybe seven years. Truly terrifying. The creature skitters around on the floor, clearly confused, and why wouldnāt it be with all the students screaming and scrambling on chairs and desks.
In a matter of seconds, the teacher quickly dispels the spider and the magic wears off, leaving a rusty old goblet sitting on the floor. The students calm down and the teacher orders them to return to their work before approaching a dying Kagami and a guilty-looking Kuroko.
āTo the nurse,ā the teacher says quickly. āKuroko, take him.ā
Kuroko nods quickly before grabbing Kagami by the elbow and dragging him. The venom is starting to circulate through Kagamiās veins and he feels queasy and dizzy. Heās pretty sure that heās going to pass out right about now and his legs give out, resulting in him falling to the floor with a loud thud.
āKagami-kun, are you okay?ā Kuroko asks but there are two of him and Kagami isnāt sure which one he should answer.
So instead he just says, āFuck,ā before passing out.
//
When he wakes up, he has no idea what time it is. His entire right side aches terribly and he tries to take stock of himself. Heās in the infirmary and itās night time, this much he can tell. There are only a couple of students in the infirmary ā one girl who's in the far corner and a boy a little bit closer. The boy is completely knocked out and the girl is quietly reading a book. Beside his own bed are two small novels, some extra bandages, a bottle of some sort of antidote thatās thick and dark and looks disgusting.
Kagami finds it hard to move his right arm but he manages to raise it enough to inspect the spider bite near his thumb. At the moment heās wrapped up in bandages and canāt really take a look at the wound but his hand is roughly two times its original size. His entire body aches like he hasnāt moved in days and he wonders how long heās been asleep for.
āHow are you feeling, Kagami-kun?ā
Kagami jumps. Lost in thought, he hadnāt seen Kuroko come in. But here Kuroko is, another novel tucked into the crook of his elbow and a bag hanging from his other hand. Heās not wearing his school robes, opting for a blue-and-white striped t-shirt and jeans.
āKuroko can you stop freaking me out like that?ā Kagami says, propping himself up to a sitting position. He watches as Kuroko places the bag by his feet and pulls a chair over to sit in by the bed.
Ignoring him, Kuroko decides to fill him in on helpful details. āYouāve been asleep for two days straight. Apparently it should only take a few more days to heal completely.ā
āThatās good, I guess. Weāve got a quidditch match coming up next week. Kinda need this to play,ā Kagami holds up his arm and waves it about a little before deciding that hurts and letting it rest on his stomach instead.
āUm, Kagami-kun?ā
āYeah?ā
āIām sorry about the spider. I wanted it to be a rat instead butā well, it didnāt work out.ā
Kagami looks at Kuroko. The look on Kurokoās face is one of guilt and his bangs dangle in front of his downcast eyes as he hangs his head. Kuroko is mostly deadpan, save for when heās playing quidditch and when Kagami has him grasping at the sheets and biting his lip from waking up their roommates with his cries. There are few times Kagami gets to see this lost-puppy side of Kuroko and although Kuroko is upset, it kind of makes him happy. Kuroko only really gets like this after a lost quidditch match, so he must feel bad. Granted, he should feel bad because that spider bite could have killed him.
But Kagami only feels that for a second before he softens and reaches forward to ruffle Kurokoās hair with his good hand. āYou look like youāve been defeated,ā Kagami chuckles. āItās fine. Iām not dead.ā
Kuroko lets out a sigh and removes a fresh shirt from the bag heād brought. Itās clean and already much more appealing than the sweaty hospital shirt he feels like heās definitely slept in for two days. āI brought a new shirt for you because the one youāre wearing smells awful.ā
āYouāre right, I smell terrible,ā Kagami says, blushing a little because Kuroko had noticed. He accepts the shirt and goes to change but discovers that itās quite difficult with one very useless arm. He tries to unbutton the shirt with his good hand but itās taking forever. Kuroko sees Kagamiās suffering and decides to help, mostly because he still feels bad about the whole thing.
Kuroko moves to the edge of the bed, sitting beside Kagamiās hip. He leans forward and starts working away at Kagamiās buttons.
Kuroko has his ways of unknowingly making Kagami crumble. Sometimes itās the way he reads with the back of his pale neck exposed or itās the way he sweats heavily at practice and his skin shines under the bright sun as he flies through the air. Right now itās the way heās so focused on undressing Kagami, butt pressing into his hip as he leans over. Heās leaning far enough forward that Kagami can see his chest and his collarbones and thatās always a good way to get Kagami hard. Kuroko is quick with his work, though, and the moment ends.
For the next few days, Kuroko comes to visit, but mostly just sits by Kagamiās bed and reads novels. After a few dirty jokes by Kagami, Kuroko no longer feels the need to worry. Instead, he goes back to his normal deadpan, matter-of-fact self, which Kagami likes best. He likes how unaffected Kuroko is, likes the challenge of getting Kuroko to offer him a smile or open his heart enough that heāll rely on Kagami.
āThe nurse said one more night,ā Kagami says around a chocolate frog. āTo celebrate my release, why donāt we do something together?ā
āDid she say one night? Or did you say one night?ā
āShe said one night. Kuroko, after all this time you still donāt trust me?ā
Kuroko doesnāt answer, flipping the page of his book. Kagami settles back into his pillow and closes his eyes, lets the sound of Kurokoās even breathing lull him to sleep.
//
Kuroko isnāt there when Kagami is released from the hospital wing. To be precise, no one is there. The halls are empty, save for the few students milling around, and Kagami searches for a head of pale blue hair, half-expecting Kuroko to show up behind him unannounced.
Kagami sees no sign of Kuroko, however, and heads back to the Gryffindor tower. Kuroko had mentioned the changed password, and it takes him a minute to remember exactly what it was. When he gets it and enters the common room, he finds no one there. He goes up the stairs and into the boy's dormitory, finds no one there either. Sighing, he flops down on his bed and looks at the ceiling.
āKagami-kun.ā
Kagami jumps and almost falls off the bed. āFuck, Kuroko, since when were you here?ā
Kuroko is standing next to his bed, wearing a plain white polo and khakis. A novel lies forgotten on his bed. āHow do you feel?ā
Kagami lets out a long sigh and knots his fingers behind his head, closing his eyes. āI could use a refresher.ā
A moment of silence passes, and Kagami is about to ask for a blow job or something, knowing that heād be asking in vain, but then Kuroko is pushing hard at his side. Kuroko isnāt strong enough to really move him but he (knowingly) hits the sensitive spot just below Kagamiās ribs which sends Kagami flinching away. The space made on the twin bed is apparently enough for Kuroko to fit. Kuroko crawls into Kagamiās side and pushes his forehead into his chest, hiding his face.
āKuroko?ā Kagami says. Itās rare for Kuroko to be so affectionate. Sure, heās straightforward and has no problem voicing his feelings for Kagami, but heās not so touchy.
āI havenāt properly apologized,ā he mutters, voice muffled in Kagamiās shirt.
āWhat if someone walks in?ā
āEveryoneās in Hogsmeade all day,ā Kuroko answers. Kagami should have guessed that, but apparently the lack of students everywhere wasnāt enough of a clue for him. He makes a small ah noise at the realization.
āThat makes sense, I guess.ā Kagamiās thankful for the luck anyhow.
They lay in a comfortable silence as their feet tangle and Kagami threads fingers through blue hair, his other hand moving to rest on Kurokoās waist. Kuroko smells good, like a sea breeze on a sunny day.
Kagami can never stay mad at Kuroko long, especially not when Kuroko is so sorry that heād go so far as to initiate a cuddle session on his own. Heād forgiven him a long time ago but he wonāt say anything so he can milk the attention a little while longer.
