disclaimer: i don't own kuroko no basuke, nor any of the characters used in this work.

originally posted as a submission to BPS' otp battle on tumblr.

beautiful;
akashi meets a peculiar creature in the woods one day.

His foot had just touched the ground when he heard it. It was soft, barely reaching his ears, and for a moment Akashi thought he had imagined it. The boy, hardly a man, stood absolutely still as the wind picked up. His red hair gently fluttered and with eyes of ruby and gold he watched as the leaves spiralled into the clear blue sky. Straining his ears through the breeze, Akashi placed all his concentration on his surroundings, carefully picking up the sounds of squirrels a few metres away from him; the sounds of birds chirping; the rustling of trees; the barely concealed gushing of water in the distance; and—was that a song?

Curiosity getting the better of him, Akashi didn't hesitate to head in the direction of the voice, carefully manoeuvring through the bushes and trees, after turning back and bowing once towards the shrine above the hundreds of cobblestone steps. As he ventured further into the forest, the singing voice grew more distinct, though Akashi was still unable to make out the lyrics, and the sound of running water got louder. With each step, Akashi had to strain his heterochromatic eyes to make out his footing. The further he went into the forest, the larger the shadows the trees cast.

Briefly, the thought of turning back flitted about in his mind—he was barely able to see in front of him at that point—but he immediately dismissed the idea. Akashi was never one to give up after he'd made a decision, especially not for a reason such as being unable to see before him. He could still barely make out the outlines of trees and bushes ahead of him, and with a newfound resolve he firmly continued forward.

When he could clearly hear the song being sung, Akashi unknowingly fastened his pace, eager to encounter another man within the eerily dark woods. The song, he noted, was about humans being blessed by God and watched over by angels. Akashi rolled his eyes. He was not religious and, while he respected those who had their values and beliefs, he simply did not believe in something he could not see. If anything, he only followed the Japanese customs of visiting temples and shrines out of tradition, but not because he believed in God.

Akashi believed in free will and results. He made the decisions which led him to be who he was, and where he was today. Definitely not because of the existence of an uncertain being such as God, he thought, peeved.

Shaking his head, he focused on the voice filling the forest. It was definitely a man's voice, rather low but capable of reaching a higher pitch at certain notes. His singing definitely didn't sound bad on the ears, but it wasn't anything great either. If Akashi had to say, it sounded average; nothing praise-worthy, but something about it compelled him to continue trudging through the woods.

When he finally saw a small filter of light Akashi rushed towards it, only coming to a pause in his steps, blinded by the onslaught of brightness, when he reached a clearing. Blinking blearily, Akashi waited for his eyes to adjust—and when it did, his breath caught in his throat.

There was a miniature waterfall, maybe about four to six metres high, which flowed into a shallow pool before entering the downstream river. The translucent liquid in the pseudo-lake glittered in the sunlight, and reflected a yellow glow onto the man sitting on a broken, gigantic tree trunk that slightly extended over the pool. The man had his back turned towards the redhead, but Akashi could make out a carefree smile on the brunet's face when he shifted his position on the log. What caught Akashi's attention most, however, were the pure white feathers that protruded out of the man's back.

As the man continued to sing, unaware of Akashi's presence, the redhead noted the swarm of animals that surrounded the brunet despite his ordinary voice. All of them watched the—dare he say it?—angel from a distance by the trees, unwilling to step out from the shadows to bask in the sunlight and, in turn, the ethereal being's warmth. Akashi could relate, somewhat, as he stood rooted in his spot, watching the brunet sing, as a certain warmth filled his chest. When the brunet stuttered over a note, his eyebrows would furrow and the corner of his lips would downturn—but only for a moment, before he was singing again, his slight mishap not pulling him down. It was endearing, in a way, and Akashi couldn't help but be mesmerised by the angel who was singing so carefreely, bounded by nothing.

The moment was all too short, however.

A mere snap of a branch had the animals bouncing away in a hurry, and the angel immediately whipped his head to the source of the sound before coming into contact with ruby and gold. The redhead stared back into those hazel brown eyes filled with apprehension.

Akashi mentally cursed his carelessness. He was entranced, drawn in by the brunet, and he hadn't even known when he'd taken that step—but he did, and now the brunet had stood up on the trunk, his legs bent and wings ready for takeoff. Akashi didn't even have the chance to speak, his arm merely extended to reach out towards the angel, before he was pushed back by a strong gust of wind. In reflex, his arms immediately went up to protect his face and his feet planted itself firmly into the soil.

When the gust finally died down, Akashi gingerly retracted his arms. The clearing was empty; no birds, no animals, and definitely no angel in sight. He looked up into the clear skies and noted nothing but the clouds lazily floating by. His only companion was the sound of the waterfall pounding heavily into the pool of water below it.

He sighed, an immense sense of loss filling him at that moment.

From then on, Akashi would visit the same clearing in the middle of nowhere within that forest. He got lost his first time returning back; after all, Akashi had merely followed the angel's voice and had not taken note of where he had came from. After a few trips back and forth, though, he had memorised the route to the clearing.

However, not once had he encountered the angel again.

Until eight years later.

The brunet hadn't changed, not at all. He remained the same as he did many years ago when Akashi had first saw him, as if he hadn't aged a single year. Perhaps that was the case for ethereal beings, but that was something Akashi would ponder about at a later time.

This time, as the brunet sang the same song, positioned on the same broken tree trunk, Akashi carefully approached from behind, making certain not to step on another tree branch laying carelessly on the ground. When he was finally directly behind the brunet, it was already too late.

The angel turned when he noticed the shadow cast above him, only to squeak in surprise when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders. He struggled against his attacker for a moment, only coming to a standstill when his supposed attacker loosened his hold and slid his hands down the brunet's arms before gently cupping his own pair of hands, as if the angel was a precious but fragile gem.

He looked up, and hazel brown eyes widened when they were met with the same ruby and gold from eight years ago. The boy he had met had grown into a fine young man, his baby fat was all gone, replaced by a sharp, angular face; his heterochromatic eyes had narrowed but were sharper than ever; and the bangs that used to cover those jewels were cut short.

Gulping, the angel stepped back, intending to get away from the other again. It did no good whenever angels came into direct contact with humans. Before he could slide his hands out of the other's grasp, however, a smooth, velvety voice distracted him.

"You're beautiful."

Head snapping back up, the brunet was caught off guard by the small smile on the redhead's face. More than that, however, he was mesmerised by the love overflowing in those jewels of ruby and gold. His breath caught in his throat, and the angel was unable to form a response. He simply did not understand how such an emotion could be directed towards him, much less from a stranger who had only met him once—twice, if he counted the current encounter.

But he need not have said anything.

Because before he could have processed a proper thought, a hand made its way through his locks of brown tresses and stroked them tenderly.

Akashi watched as the angel's face reddened in colour, nearly matching the shade of his vibrant red hair, and he chuckled in amusement. His eyes lingered on the other's lips for a moment, and Akashi was so very tempted to just lean in and have a taste of them—but he held back. It was much too soon for any action to have been taken, he decided, noting the slight apprehension and intimidation still present within those hazel brown eyes.

Together, they sat on the log and chatted away. Akashi made sure not to ask about anything too personal, seeing that Kouki—the angel's name, Akashi learnt—had not completely warmed up to him.

("Will you sing for me, Kouki?" A shy nod.)

But that was okay. He'd wait patiently for the other.

("Will you sing for me, Kouki?")

(A beaming smile. "Of course, Seijuurou.")

Akashi had time to spare anyway.

/END.

24th July 2014