Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21, that honor belongs to Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata.

Author's Notes: This is my second fic that has Kuroki/Taki tendencies, but unlike the first attempt where I just dived into it, I thought I'd try something different. The pairing is still very odd, but please give this fic a try. :)

Author's Warnings: Hiruma cussing, slash, and possible spoilers for those who haven't read up to Chapter 72.

Pairing: slight Kuroki/Taki

Summary: "He knows very little about Taki and still thinks the other boy is as annoying now as when they first met in America."

Popsicle Smile

Kuroki slowly opens his eyes and promptly closes them again when he realizes the sun has finally begun to set. A small breeze blows through his hair and it feels strangely pleasant in contrast to the heat from the sun's rays.

As he opens his eyes again, he moves his arms from behind his head and stretches them out, reaching towards the patio's wooden ceiling. A round of laughter from inside Kurita's house catches his attention and from the open panel door, he can see the majority of his teammates playing a board game or engrossed in separate conversations.

He carefully sits up and moves his shoulders around to get rid of some of the kinks in his muscles. His neck cracks when he moves it from one side to the next and he briefly thinks that probably isn't a good sign. As he moves to go inside, a flash of movement catches his attention.

He leans backwards to see what it is and his eyes widen slightly when he realizes that it's Taki. He sees the other boy sit down near the far end corner of the patio's long walkway, his back turned to Kuroki.

Taki is slightly hunched and as a gust of wind blows past him, his blue shirt ruffles behind him like a cape. Kuroki briefly glances inside to make sure no one's looking at him and quietly stands up. His feet pad lightly on the wooden floor boards, but as if to announce his arrival, they squeak as he reaches the other boy.

Taki quickly looks back and Kuroki sees the clear surprise on the other boy's face. He almost glares at the other boy, but a sudden grin from Taki stops him. His curiosity gets the better of him and Kuroki smooths out his navy blue shorts before sitting down.

"Hey, my name is Taki Natsuhiko," greets Taki politely.

Kuroki gives him a confused look. "I know what your name is."

Taki's smile widens as he flippantly replies, "Yes, but I don't completely know yours."

Kuroki feels slightly insulted and doesn't hide his frown as he says, "Kuroki…Kuroki Kouji."

"Oh, so that's what it is," Taki says aloud. "Nice to meet you, Kuroki-kun."

Kuroki's frown becomes a smirk as he says, "You know it's kind of stupid to introduce yourself now."

Taki looks at Kuroki, his gaze filled with genuine curiosity. "Why?"

Kuroki sees this and shakes his head, "Never mind."

The breeze picks up again and Taki looks out over the landscape in front of them. A smile lights his face as he comments, "It's a nice day."

"Yeah," Kuroki agrees.

The two say nothing for awhile and the more they sit in silence the more Kuroki feels the urge to get up and leave. He is aware of the awkward fact that he's never had a conversation with Taki before today and as he sits next to the other boy; Kuroki wonders why he even bothered to speak to him in the first place.

He knows very little about Taki and still thinks the other boy is as annoying now as when they first met in America. During those first days it was easy for Kuroki to see just how foolish and arrogant Taki could be, but as the idiot trudged forward with them, his strange determination and lively attitude started to grow on him. He'll never admit it aloud, but there is something about Taki's unbelievably idiotic demeanor that secretly amuses him.

A sudden hand appears in front of his line of vision and startles Kuroki out of his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Taki asks, concern evident on his face.

Kuroki turns his head at the question and finally sees how close Taki is. He sees the mixture of curiosity and concern written plainly on Taki's face and feels surprised at how easily he can read the other boy. When he realizes that Taki is looking at him expectantly, he looks away and pretends to cough before acknowledging that he's fine.

Taki raises an eyebrow at Kuroki's odd behavior before shrugging his shoulders and moving back to the spot he was sitting at earlier. "It was really nice of Kurita-senpai to let us have a party at his house."

Kuroki smirks at the garden view in front of him and replies, "Yeah well after all that hellish training we went through during the summer, he probably thought we needed something like this."

"I've never been inside a house that's in a Buddhist temple. It's so different from a city home and has so much open space."

"My house has a small patch of space in the back where my old man keeps a garden, but it's nothing like the one here," Kuroki comments.

Taki takes a moment to look out over the garden's stone walkways and various patches of manicured grass and flowers. He can see the small gleam of water reflect off the simple wooden bridge connecting one walkway to the next. His eyes trace over the simple religious decorations before glancing back at Kuroki.

He smirks slightly as he asks, "What position do you play, Kuroki-kun?"

"Guard and sometimes linebacker," Kuroki says nonchalant. "Is it true that you're trying to be the tight end?"

"Of course," Taki says confidently. "I'm strong, I can run fast and I'm good at tackling. With this flexible body of mine I can do anything so it's only natural that I should have such a position. The proof is in how well I completed the Death March during the summer."

He feels annoyance at the other's unashamed bragging and quickly decides to change the subject. "The whole summer was annoying…but kinda funny I guess."

"Funny?" Taki asks confused.

"Well how else would you describe a bunch of Japanese students who traveled halfway across the world and did a Death March for forty days in order to play in a football tournament where the odds are stacked against them?"

Taki hears the lineman's words and slowly a smile appears on his face, "Yes, it's funny." 'It's as funny as a Japanese high school student traveling to America in order to become a professional football player,' he thinks.

"Then again if those who are trash don't dream, they'll just stay trash," Kuroki says calmly.

Taki is surprised by the other boy's confident tone and looks at Kuroki directly. 'Does he believe in himself and his teammates that much?'

"Or at least that's what Jumonji is always telling me and Togano," Kuroki says with a chuckle.

Taki is thrown off by the other's words, but smiles all the same as he says, "Ah, Jumonji-kun is right, but we're not trash."

In a sense, Taki knows that he's arrogant and as he sees Kuroki roll his eyes at him, he thinks that right now that's a good thing. His overconfidence helps him not even stammer on the "we're" and lets him casually forget that he's not even officially part of the Devil Bats.

"Don't speak about things you don't know, it'll just make you sound stupid," Kuroki says gruffly.

Taki doesn't flinch when he hears this. "Don't be so negative about things Kuroki-kun, it'll just make you sound boring," he counters, inwardly smiling at the frown on Kuroki's face.

He uncrosses his legs and lets them hang over the edge of the patio like Kuroki's. The breeze picks up around them and blows strands of hair in his face. Taki turns his head to tell Kuroki something, but he promptly stops as he sees the strange sight in front of him.

Kuroki is leaning back on his arms, eyes closed and seemingly enjoying the breeze. His messy hair sways forward and frames his face differently than the way Taki is used to seeing it. The breeze ruffles Kuroki's white shirt and Taki gets a small glimpse of the other's broad chest. He feels weird for staring and looks away in time to see a cricket jump off the patio and into the grass. After a moment, he slowly lays back and puts his arms under his head, closing his eyes against everything.

Kuroki's eyes open and as he glances over at Taki, he sees that the other boy is lying down. He casually looks around the garden in front of them and feels ridiculous for doing so, as the only sounds he hears is the occasional bird's chirp and the muffled laughter from inside the house.

The calm atmosphere makes his mind wander and another breeze moves his unruly hair in front of his eyes. Kuroki moves it away and catches sight of Taki's legs. He sees the long and powerful limbs and briefly wonders why Taki worked so hard to make them flexible. He catches the barest glimpse of Taki's stomach between the khaki shorts and white shirt he's wearing underneath the blue one. Kuroki's eyes quickly look away and up at the peaceful expression on Taki's face. Normally the other boy has too much hair in his face, but now it's exposed and he can't help staring at the almost vulnerable appearance.

The sound of laughter grows louder and Kuroki looks up to see Suzuna walking out of the open panel door. Her gaze lands on them and immediately she smiles.

She puts her hands to her mouth and calls out, "Hey, would you like a popsicle?"

Kuroki nods and is startled to see Taki's eyes suddenly open, before quickly sitting up.

"Ah, my sister, can I have a popsicle too?" he asks enthusiastically.

Suzuna nods, "Okay, I'll be right back."

The two watch her go back inside before looking at each other. Kuroki is the first to look away and returns to looking at the temple's garden.

"Do you like playing American football?"

Kuroki's raises an eyebrow at the sudden question, but when he sees the serious look on Taki's face he stops to think about it.

"Sort of, but probably not as much as Jumonji does." 'Or as much as you do,' he thinks to himself.

"Oh," Taki says quietly. "I thought you really liked it because at yesterday's practice you seemed like…"

"Seemed like what?" Kuroki asks defensively.

Taki looks at Kuroki as he says, "Seemed like you were having a lot of fun."

Now it's Kuroki's turn to be surprised and as he looks at Taki, he wonders how the other boy came to that conclusion. He is about to ask as much, but is suddenly startled to hear Suzuna's cheerful voice.

The two boys look up at her, both with different expressions on their faces. Suzuna stops in front of them and holds out three different popsicles.

"Sorry, but these are the only flavors left, pick the one you want."

Taki immediately goes for the red popsicle, while Kuroki reaches for the green one. Suzuna smiles as she holds the yellow one and quietly sits down in between them.

"So what were you guys talking about?"

"American football," the two say at the same time. They look at each other in surprise and Suzuna giggles at their comical expressions.

Suzuna glances at Kuroki as she asks him, "Do you mind if I call you Kuroki?"

He shrugs his shoulders and says, "If you want, I don't really care."

Suzuna smiles politely at his response and nods as she says, "Okay, Kuroki. Hey if you don't mind me asking, how long have you been playing American Football?"

Kuroki looks up at the patio ceiling to think for a moment before answering, "Umm, a few months ago I guess."

"Ah, I see," Suzuna says with a smile. "My brother thought you had played longer because you seemed good at it."

He stares at her in surprise and feels his cheeks warm slightly at in the inadvertent compliment. He sees the curious look on her face and pointedly doesn't look at Taki.

The three of them say nothing after that and they simply enjoy the silence surrounding them as they eat their popsicles. All three jump however, as they hear a loud clatter behind them and they all turn their heads to see what it is.

They watch in surprise as Monta and Sena burst through the panel door and quickly run into the temple garden. A second later Hiruma appears with a large grey water gun in his hands and shoots at the two, who dodge the spray as they make their escape. Hiruma quickly takes off after them with a maniacal laugh, unaware that Mamori is hot on his heels with a broom poised to attack him.

Suzuna chuckles and gets up to join the others who are watching the scene unfold.

"Dodge max!" yells Monta as he dodges another spray of water.

Sena half-frowns as he gets sprayed by a stream of water. "Monta! Why did you agree to Hiruma-san's punishment game?"

Monta's back is hit with water and he stumbles slightly before saying, "Mukyaa! I thought we were going to win for sure!"

"Kekekeke, this will teach you fucking midgets never to underestimate me again!" Hiruma yells maniacally.

"Hiruma-kun, it's just a game, stop picking on them!" Mamori yells and gets a face full of water for her efforts. The others watch in amazement as an angry aura appears around her and she quickly drops the broom. From seemingly out of nowhere, she pulls out a water gun and quickly sprays Hiruma's retreating back.

Taki and Suzuna smile as they see the others grab small buckets, water hoses and other water guns to join in the fight. Suzuna laughs and quickly ducks behind her brother to avoid a spray of water from Jumonji. Kuroki tries to dodge the one aimed at him, but the spray hits the side of his face.

Suzuna laughs again and quickly stands up to avoid getting sprayed on. She runs away from Togano, who is poise to throw a bucket of water at her. Taki sputters at how wet he is and shakes his head of the water on his face. He watches the water fight in avid amusement and quickly stands up to join in. He sees Kuroki rush past him and momentarily stops to watch him.

Kuroki's usually messy hair is now wet and matted towards his face. His shirt is wet after getting splashed by Togano and it clings to his chest as the lineman runs after his friend. Taki sees this and stares at the rare sight of a bright smile on Kuroki's face.

'That's the one,' Taki thinks to himself. 'That's the look he had during football practice.'

A sudden spray of water hits Taki's face and he sputters loudly in surprise. He quickly clears the droplets from his eyes and sees Hiruma standing a few feet away, gun poised at him. Hiruma looks at the other boy intently and gives Taki a devilishly knowing smile.

"Your fucking popsicle is melting, fucking goatee," is all Hiruma says before spraying Taki in the face again.

End

Author's End Notes: Well that's all folks. I'm still learning how to write these characters, but I hope you enjoyed this fic. Please don't forget to click the 'REVIEW' button! All reviews are appreciated and flames will be used to warm my burritos. :-D