KnB Microfic

Pairing: AoKuro/One-sided AkaKuro

Title: Broken

"How is he?" The redhead carrying a fresh bouquet of fragrant flowers asked as he entered an all too familiar hospital room –the scent of decay, whitewashed walls, white bed sheets, a vase of dying flowers, and a small sleeping figure in a neat hospital gown with tubes connected to different parts of his body, the mask fogging as he take each labored breath.

"To be honest… I don't know… I feel like I'm losing him everyday." AomineDaiki clenched his fists in frustration. He's never felt this helpless before. After everything that has happened, he and Kuroko Tetsuya were finally back together. Everything was perfect! And then this happens.

"It will be fine, Daiki." Akashi Seijuurou's voice perturbed his thoughts. "If things don't seem to be going well here, I shall have him transferred to a hospital in America. Taiga can watch over him there for us."

It took a few seconds for the words to register, but the tanned bluenette cracked a smirk and said, "I'm amazed at how calm you can be, Akashi, despite how madly in love you were with Tetsu."

"Heh," Akashi smirked back to the challenge. "I just don't let myself get carried away by my emotions, Daiki. But truth be told, I wanted to kill you the moment I found out about the accident. In fact, I STILL want to kill you, but Tetsuya wouldn't want that."

Silence befell the both of them as they stared at their sleeping beloved.

'Even in this state, Tetsu/Tetsuya still looks awfully beautiful.' They both thought.

"I'll be leaving these here. I'll be coming back again tomorrow to check on him." Akashi broke the growing, depressing silence, and left the bouquet next to the vase with dying flowers. He gently swept back the light blue bangs of the sleeping figure and leaned down, a kiss on the forehead."Good morning, Tetsuya." He took one last glance at Tetsuya's sleeping face and quietly left.

'His face looks pained… Don't worry, Tetsuya, everything will be fine again soon. I promise.'

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko Tetsuya called as he met with his lover, Akashi Seijuurou, in the park.

"Tetsuya," Akashi gave his beloved a brief smile. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

Kuroko stopped in front of Akashi, the eager smile on his face disappearing.

Dreading the answer, he asked, "What is it?"

With a bitter smile, Akashi answered, "Let's break up."

Glassy heterochromatic eyes open and stare at the darkness. As though he's still asleep, the conversation in his mind continued.

"W-why?" Kuroko's voice trembled.

"Because I want you to be happy." The half-sleeping figure mouthed.

'Daiki loves you, and you love him. You don't need to pretend that you love me just because you feel like you owe it to me. I love you, Tetsuya, and that's why I'm letting you go.'

"Because I want you to be happy." He repeated, with a voice that seemed far away from the one he always hears, a voice that sounded that sounded fragile and cracked.

"How is he?" a redhead wearing a fine suit and carrying a fresh bouquet of flowers asked as he entered an all too familiar room–wooden flooring, whitewashed walls, sky blue bed sheets, a vase of dead flowers, and a frail figure lying on the bed in house clothes, looking at the ceiling with glassy eyes.

Aomine Daiki, looking haggard with dark shadows under his eyes and a pale and thinner frame, was sitting next to the frail bluenette and attempted to speak more than once, but couldn't find his voice. Akashi went and placed the fresh bouquet beside the vase of dead flowers. He took a seat beside Kuroko Tetsuya and gently swept aside the messy strands of light blue hair that were starting to get to his eyes.

"Good morning, Tetsuya." Akashi gently kissed the bluenette's forehead.

"Akashi… I really appreciate everything you've done for us, for Tetsu. But he's… I can't stand this anymore! Tetsu… It's like he's–"

"Silence." Akashi sharply cut Aomine's sentence, knowing what would come next. "I don't want to hear it from you, Daiki."

"Accept it already! Only you and the doctors say that he's awake but look at him!" Aomine burst out loud, tears starting to brim. It took all he had to keep his voice from cracking. "It's even worse than he was in a coma! He can't move, he can't speak, he can barely eat! It's like Tetsu's already–"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!"

"–DEAD!"

"Aomine Daiki," Akashi started in a deadly tone. "You have five seconds to leave this room."

All Aomine can do was bite his lip and leave. The moment the door slammed forcefully shut, all that was left the glassy-eyed bluenette and an angry redhead. Akashi looked at Tetsuya and he only felt worse.

'Such lifeless eyes…' Akashi thought, aggrieved, even more so upon the memory of Tetsuya's smiling eyes.

"Hey, Tetsuya, did you know that the heart has tendons called 'Heart strings'? They say that if those were to break, the person dies."

"I see. Then how do they break?"

"Hm? Well, I read that it's from an emotional trauma. So, Tetsuya?"

"Yes, Akashi-kun?"

"Don't break my heart unless you want me to die, got it?"

And then Akashi noticed it. Or rather, he finally took notice of it– the coldness of the room, the scent of death, the ever-growing emptiness in his chest.

'Even now, his eyes look so pained and sad.'

Upon reaching a bitter realization, slowly, Akashi Seijuurou took a pillow beside Kuroko Tetsuya. His grip was so tight, his nails would have torn through the cloth.

'I'm sorry, Tetsuya. I could never make you happy. Maybe for once, I'll make the right choice.'

It's been 30 minutes since he left Akashi alone with Tetsu. Following his instincts, Aomine went to check on them. His bad feeling was right. The moment he opened the door, he saw Kuroko Tetsuya peacefully asleep, and beside the bluenette, embracing him, was his former lover, Akashi Seijuurou resting at last after years of heartaches and yearning.

-End-