AN: Wow, I can't believe how few fics there are for this ship... Well, I'll just help to fix that then~ Here's my take on how Akashi and Mibuchi could have started a relationship. Enjoy!

Obvious

It's the Friday before spring break starts and Seijuro is sitting in a desolate corner on the rooftop, eating his lunch in silence. He's barely alone for five minutes when the sound of approaching footsteps alerts him to Reo's presence. Not looking away from the chain-link fence before him, he waits until the other's seated before speaking.

"Reo. What brings you here?" It's a slight detail, but Reo picks up on the lack of the usual amount of ice in the other's voice. He takes this to mean that Seijuro doesn't mind his company.

"Just wanted to have lunch with you one last time before break, Sei-chan," chimes the taller in reply.

"Hm. In that case, enjoy your food." With that, Seijuro's attention returns to the meal he's not yet done with. A relaxed smile makes its way onto Reo's face. He loves times like this, when they can just be together, regardless of what they're doing, and spend some time alone... It escapes Reo's attention that his gaze is still loosely fixed on Seijuro, head tilted his way. The redhead sighs inwardly.

It's too obvious, he thinks. He wasn't sure at first, but now there's almost no doubt in Seijuro's mind that Reo is interested in him at least romantically, if not sexually. (As a matter of fact, he considers it more likely that the former is true; Reo doesn't seem like the type to look at someone and immediately think of sex.) The problem is: Seijuro feels similarly. This means that he can't bring himself to make the dreaded first move, since he actually cares about the potential outcome. Aside from that, he doesn't want to ruin the only real friendship he's had since before the incident which resulted in the discoloration of his left eye. As such, Seijuro's stuck waiting for Reo to make the first move, but also knowing that it's unlikely he'll do so for fear of rejection. He's slowly getting lost in his thoughts.

A few moments of silence pass while they eat. Reo's realized by now that he had inadvertently been staring at Seijuro, and promptly makes sure to remind himself every minute not to get distracted by the captivating redhead. Sei-chan is observant, he'll surely notice, he comments mentally. As if on cue, Seijuro looks at him in that moment, eyes finding Reo's and fixing onto the colorful orbs.

"I only just realized I hadn't asked you about your plans for the holidays. Pardon me." The formal politeness which always seems to worm its way into the redhead's speech is something which Reo's familiar with by now, but still not entirely used to. Perhaps it's just the fact that he knows that Seijuro would much rather drop the act and just say what he thinks that ensures that Reo can never get fully accustomed to said speech habit.

"Don't worry. And actually, I'm just staying home," replies the taller casually, offhandedly. "How about you?"

"Likewise. There will be plenty more opportunity to study for end-of-years if I stay here," comments Seijuro, and it's the casualness with which he dismisses the fact that he's essentially subjecting himself to a "break" of non-stop studying that makes Reo wonder how coldly his parents (more specifically, his father) must regard the whole concept of academic failure. The thought saddens him a little. Automatically, a little bit of a pout makes its way onto Reo's face as he thinks about Seijuro's lifestyle.

That expression suits you, Seijuro wants to say, and he almost does - the way Reo's lip juts out slightly looks very becoming on him. Seijuro would almost go so far as describing it as "cute". Instead of saying any of this verbally though, he cocks his head sideways a little as if asking why Reo's pouting.

"You know," begins the taller, worry slightly visible in his eyes, "it's not healthy to work and study so much." It shouldn't be legal for your lips to distract me this much, hisses Seijuro inside his head as the movement of Reo's lips does exactly that. They just look so damn soft. And considering that Seijuro's been (very) secretly crushing on him all this time, waiting for an opportunity to finally kiss him, that little detail is not helping. Seijuro mentally slaps himself and recalls that he's supposed to be an emperor, not a love-struck shoujo heroine.

"Indeed," mutters Seijuro, "it's not. Not at all, in fact." All this time, he's been leaning closer to Reo, whose eyes have been steadily widening. By now he's close enough that their noses almost touch. "But wouldn't you agree that it's sometimes, ah, necessary?" Reo tries – oh, how he tries – to convince himself that Seijuro isn't trying to sound as incredibly seductive as he incidentally does right now, but this proves harder than he'd like. It's all Reo can do to continue to watch Seijuro with wide eyes, heart racing as the shorter male's breath ghosts over Reo's own lips. He's so tantalizing…

To say that Seijuro has become entirely fixated with the idea of Reo's lips in general (and in particular, what it would feel like to kiss them) would be an understatement. He can't seem to focus properly on anything else. In a flash, he recalls his promise to himself that he wouldn't go letting his desires get the better of him and kissing Reo; it takes less than a second for him to declare to hell with it and move in to join their lips anyway.

Until the very second when it happens, Reo thinks that this scenario would always remain an impossible one. Now that he's actually kissing Seijuro, everything else melts away and the immediate moment which they're in becomes the only reality.

Seijuro starts off slowly, very gently, as if testing to see whether Reo will be responsive. The taller picks up on this and closes his eyes, kissing back with a little more force than Seijuro's using to indicate that he enjoys it. A small smile of satisfaction quirks Seijuro's lips. Pressing a slight bit harder, he reaches out a hand and tangles it in Reo's silky black hair. In response, Reo curls an arm around Seijuro's waist while supporting his weight on the other, allowing him to lean down and minimize the distance between them further. As soon as Reo opens his mouth invitingly, Seijuro forgets all about taking his time, slipping his tongue in immediately to take Reo up on his unspoken offer. Reo seems to know what to do; their tongues meld together easily as they kiss slowly, passionately. It feels like forever, at least until they both remember that they need to breathe.

When Seijuro pulls away, Reo's blushing lightly, looking like he's just now waking from a pleasant dream. A moment of silence passes before Reo tilts his head sideways, gaze still locked with Seijuro's.

"Why did you just...?" Reo's voice trails off. He knows that Seijuro has probably long since guessed that Reo would be asking exactly this.

"I thought it was obvious," deadpans Seijuro.

"What's obvious?"

"Your little crush on me." Another pause, during which Reo's blush deepens. "... Ah, please don't misunderstand. I... Do return the feeling. As a matter of fact, I also thought that much was obvious."

At the end of that day, when the holidays begin officially and almost everyone is rushing to be out of the main doors as soon as they can, Seijuro and Reo linger behind, taking their time to gather the supplies that they'll need over the holidays. When the hallway's deserted aside from them, they head towards each other. Reo smiles as he links his hand with Seijuro's, and they head outside together.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. Reviews and comments are always greatly appreciated~ (as usual, no flames though)