Title: Pets

Summary: Akashi and Kuroko take a trip to the pet store, to Akashi's resentment. Or was it?

Author Notes: Not the most...AkaKuro fic out there, but it's there. Inspired by a prompt from tumblr. Also, I apologize for any grammatical errors, or any OOC moments.

Never in Akashi's life would he expect to spend an afternoon going to a place like this.

Pets were something that Akashi had hoped he'd never have to deal with. The general people always seem to fawn over these creatures, due to their supposed cuteness, but Akashi saw none of that. Nuisances of various sizes, covered in fur/feathers/gills were all they were to Rakuzan's captain.

So when Kuroko had told Akashi that he had to go to the local pet shop to purchase some food for Seirin's mut-pet, Akashi was the least bit excited for this errand.

Had it been someone like Kise or Aomine who told Akashi this, Akashi would have said no before either of them had finished the sentence. But since it was Kuroko...he'll just have to deal with it.

"This had better be quick, Tetsuya." Akashi said, turning his head towards the shorter male. The two were a little over half way towards their destination. The streets were bustling with plenty of passing vehicles and people, off to their own devices.

"I'm not sure if that'll be the case, Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket, presumably the paper that had the type of food he had to buy written down. "Nigou is a pretty picky eater when it comes to dog food, and will only eat a certain type. That type of food is sometimes difficult to find."

Akashi promptly sighed frustratingly. "Such a pain." He muttered, though Kuroko heard it clearly.

"Well you should consider yourself lucky that I hadn't brought Nigou with us." The pale blue haired boy replied, placing the piece of paper back into his pocket. Kuroko was well aware of Akashi's resentment towards Seirin's mascot.

"If that were the case, I'm not sure if I would have said yes to accompanying you on this trip." The scarlet haired boy responded, turning his head back to the path before them. Kuroko remained silent afterwards.

Akashi was well aware of how Nigou came into contact with Kuroko. The typical "abandoned in a box in an alley " story.

Back in Teiko, the team had quite a few of those moments. While the rest of the group would mingle casually, Kuroko would sometimes come up to them with an animal in a box. The rest of the team, minus Midorima and himself, would basically worship the little beast. And as much begging they had done, Akashi would always say no.

The animal will have to find another home, if it ever will.

Akashi had expected Kuroko to eventually show an abandoned animal to his team when they had went to different schools.

And Akashi wasn't surprised at all to know that Seirin decided to keep the dog. Such a soft and sincere team, Seirin was.

After a few blocks, Akashi and Kuroko had arrived to the pet store. It was a small shop, nothing fancy. Akashi couldn't help but glower at the sight of the glowing art of a dog, smiling brightly.

The bell chimed lightly when Kuroko pushed the door opened to enter, he held the door long enough for Akashi to enter as well.
The woman behind the front counter lifted her head when she heard the sound, and she smiled lightly at the familiar face.

"Nice to see you again, Kuroko-kun." The cashier said, continuing to wipe down the counter with a wet cloth.

"Hello again, Suzuki-san." Kuroko responded smiling, before walking further down the store.

That short conversation meant little to Akashi. Though if this woman was well aware of Kuroko, that would mean that Kuroko comes here a lot, wouldn't it. And if that's the case, would that mean this may not be the only time he would have to accompany Kuroko here? Akashi couldn't help but mentally shudder at the scary thought.

Akashi watched Kuroko, who's eyes were scanning the store for the particular dog food he was searching for. This errand was all Akashi care for. The little colorful trinkets that hung on the many shelves surrounding him made no significant impact on him. They just sat there, packaged neatly, only to be inevitably mangled by the animal who belonged to the person who purchased the toy.

Now that Akashi thought about it, he almost felt sympathy for the toys. Almost.

The heterochromatic eyes of the scarlet haired boy couldn't help but stare at the animals that also surrounded him. There was an assortment of felines, canines, birds, fishes, and other creatures. Some of them he couldn't understand why they'd be considered a "pet".

He couldn't understand there would be a person who'd want a cricket for a pet, but if there is such a person out there, Akashi would be sure to never associate with that person.

Some of the animals stared back with futile hopeful eyes, others were minding their own business, and to be quite honest, Akashi preferred the latter.

The heterochromatic captain continued to observe the store's items until he felt his body bump into something. He turned his head forward, only to find Kuroko at close range.

"Tetsuya, what are you doing, did you find the food you're looking for yet?" Akashi questioned, staring down at the boy.

Kuroko hadn't respond right away, causing Akashi to quirk an eyebrow slightly. "Tetsuya." He repeated, his voice had a more commanding tone to it.

The shorter male jumped a bit in surprise, to Akashi's disliking. "Ah, what? Did you say something Akashi-kun?"

Akashi really didn't like repeating himself, he really didn't. "Based on that response, I'm assuming the answer to my question is no. Please perform this errand quickly Tetsuya, I'm getting rather tired of this place."

"I'm sorry, Akashi-kun." Kuroko responded politely, his head bowing down.

When Kuroko began to walk, Akashi expected the rest of this trip to go smoothly, no interruptions. He saw that the dog food section was just a section away, so this trip should be over soon. Unless the store doesn't have it, and if it didn't, he'll have a little chat with the manager, just to be sure they'll never run out of stock on anything ever again.

His expectations proved to be faulty, when he once again, felt himself bump into Kuroko. "Tetsuya, what are you doing. I told you, my patience is running out while being in this place longer than I have to. Now can you please hur-"

Akashi felt himself stop when his eyes landed on Kuroko. The pale blue haired boy was staring into a glass chamber that had a guinea pig in it. The guinea pig was currently washing itself with its saliva. That was disgusting to Akashi, but more importantly, Kuroko's interest was what Akashi found himself staring at.

In the reflection of the glass, Kuroko's face was filled with fascination. Akashi noticed Kuroko's sapphire eyes wide, and he could almost see a hint of glimmer in them. There was no doubt that Kuroko's attention was all on this little creature.

Akashi couldn't help but be amused at this sight, a smile crossed his lips.

The scarlet haired boy continued to watch Kuroko, before the aforementioned boy blinked and stepped back.

"Ah, I'm sorry again, Akashi-kun. We'll be out of here soon, I just got a little distracted." Kuroko apologized, guilt was clear on his face.

A little distracted, huh? Akashi thought, it was clear that Kuroko was more than a little distracted. To be quite honest, Akashi almost found himself distracted as well, since it took him a second or two to process what Kuroko was talking about.

"Don't worry, I'll permit you to take your time." Akashi responded, making Kuroko tilted his head slightly. This was basically the opposite of what the taller male had said before. As much as I dislike this Nigou of yours, I understand it's want for perfection. So go ahead and search carefully, I won't mind."

Kuroko stared back at Akashi with confusion before nodding his head. He turned around and continued to walk towards the dog food section.

Of course for Akashi, the whole thing with Nigou was a lie, but it was a good excuse to use.

As Akashi had expected, Kuroko had repeatedly stopped to look at the various animals perform their usual activities. A few times, Kuroko had even pointed them out to Akashi eagerly, to which Akashi simply nodded.

The smiles Kuroko's mouth made, and the sparkles that increased in Kuroko's eyes did nothing but amuse Akashi. Kuroko was honestly too cute for his own good. They stayed in the store till sunset, but Akashi wasn't all that upset, to Kuroko's surprise.

Perhaps going to the pet store again wouldn't be that bad.

Author notes: I hope this was enjoyable to read, even just a little. I really hope to update every Sunday, but that may be unlikely.