"Seijuurou-kun, do I really have to do this?"

Akashi smirked at his boyfriend, who was standing in front of the full-body mirror in Akashi's room, clad in only his T-shirt and boxers, as he fidgeted uncomfortably. "If you complain any more, Tetsuya, I might also request that you wear woman's underwear," he joked.

"Please don't," said Kuroko. "Wearing the dress is going to be uncomfortable enough as it is."

What was happening anyway? As the vice-president of his father's company, Akashi had been required to attend a company banquet. To keep up appearances, it was recommended that the male higher-ups of the company bring dates of the female persuasion. And Akashi refused to bring anyone but Kuroko. Thus, Kuroko had to dress up as a girl in order to satisfy Akashi's request.

The red-head took a step closer towards Kuroko so that he was standing directly behind him. "I promise that we'll have some mind-blowing sex tonight, okay?" Akashi waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he ran his hands down Kuroko's arms.

"Pervert," muttered Kuroko. His face was flushed at Akashi's promise. "I'm not doing this for the sex, just so you know."

"I know."

"I'm doing this because I love you and I want you to look good in front of the people in your company so that you can maintain your authority."

"I know. And I thank you with all my heart for doing this for me," Akashi replied, kissing Kuroko's cheek gently. "I love you too."

"I just don't think I'll make a convincing girl," said Kuroko as he peered into the mirror and touched his chest.

"Don't worry about that," Akashi said nonchalantly. "I've hired a great make-up artist to help dress you up. When she's done, no one will be able to tell you're a man."

Kuroko sighed.

"And also, thanks to Kise's connections in the fashion world, I've even managed to acquire a nice Vera Wang dress that matches your eyes and hair."

"Uh," Kuroko began in a small voice. "I don't think it should matter if the dress matches my hair… I have to wear a wig, don't I?"

Akashi looked appalled at Kuroko's statement. "Of course it matters!" he exclaimed. "I want everyone to see your beautiful blue hair! The make-up artist said it is possible to put on hair-extensions."

"Nothing slips past you, huh, Seijuurou-kun?"

"Of course." Akashi grinned. He encircled his arms around Kuroko's waist and rested his head on top of Kuroko's shoulder. "I think of everything."

Akashi and Kuroko remained that way for a while in silence, staring at their reflections in the mirror.

Then, the doorbell rang.

Akashi disentangled himself from Kuroko. "That must be her now," he said. "I'll send her up here and she'll dress you up, okay?"

"Okay."

As Akashi left the room, Kuroko shifted his attention to the covered garment on Akashi's bed. He knew it was the dress he was supposed to wear that night. He reached out to touch the cover, and ran his fingers over the material. Since Kuroko was going to wear the dress tonight, it couldn't hurt to look at it, right? Kuroko unzipped the cover and pulled the dress out. It was a beautiful blue gown, which looked like it had been very expensive. And Akashi was right – the dress was the same shade of blue as his eyes and hair.

"Oh!" came a voice from the entrance of Akashi's room. "That's a very beautiful dress! Akashi-san has quite the exquisite taste!"

Kuroko turned around to face a woman, who looked to be around his age. "You must be the make-up artist."

"Yes!" the woman replied cheerfully. "My name is Nakatani Michiru. It's nice to meet you, Kuroko-san." She bowed in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you too," Kuroko replied with a similar bow.

Nakatani placed her bag on the floor and closed the door behind her. She then clapped her hands together once. "Well then, shall we get started?"

Kuroko felt a lump in his throat. There was no use in prolonging the inevitable. "Yeah, we should."

An hour and a half had passed since Akashi had let Nakatani into his penthouse apartment. Akashi glanced at his watch – he still had plenty of time before the banquet. He had timed Nakatani's arrival so she had time to dress Kuroko up.

When he heard a noise from the top of the stairs, Akashi whipped his head towards that direction. What he saw made his jaw drop. Akashi could barely recognise his boyfriend – he totally looked like a woman – he even had curves in all the right places! The hair extensions were even the right shade of blue – Akashi couldn't even tell where Kuroko's real hair ended and the hair extensions began. Kuroko's hair now reached to his chest and was rather wavy at the ends. The red-head thought it suited his boyfriend's current appearance. Nakatani did a fantastic job in disguising Kuroko. Kuroko was slowly making his way downstairs, and he looked like he was being very careful with his footsteps.

Akashi got up from the couch he was sitting on to help Kuroko down the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nakatani standing at the top of the stairs, beaming proudly at her work. Akashi made his way towards Kuroko and took his hand to help him down the stairs.

When Akashi and Kuroko reached the bottom of the stairs, Akashi spun Kuroko around. "God, you look so beautiful," he breathed out.

Kuroko opened his mouth to say something, but Akashi planted a deep, passionate kiss on his mouth.

When Akashi and Kuroko finally broke apart, Nakatani had come downstairs and was looking at them with an amused expression. She had already packed her things and had her bag slung over her shoulder. "Well, my work is done here!" she proclaimed cheerfully. "It's a good thing Kuroko-san is so petite, otherwise he couldn't pull off wearing a dress like this."

Akashi smiled fondly at Kuroko. "I knew that when I chose the dress, but I didn't expect him to look so breathtakingly gorgeous in it," he said, as Kuroko blushed at the compliment. "Good job, Nakatani," Akashi praised.

"Thank you, Akashi-san," Nakatani replied. "I'll just get going now then."

"Alright," said Akashi, waving at Nakatani as she opened the front door to make her exit. "Thanks once again!"

Nakatani waved to Akashi and Kuroko in return. "You're absolutely welcome! Have a great time tonight!" And with that, she shut the door.

Akashi then shifted his attention to Kuroko. He observed Kuroko's face. Kuroko's eyelashes looked more feminine – they were longer and more roundly shaped, so it seemed not only did Nakatani put on hair extensions on Kuroko, she had also put on eyelash extensions. Nakatani had also tastefully done the make-up on Kuroko's face – it was not too thick that it made him look sleazy; in fact, if Akashi were to look at Kuroko from afar, he wouldn't even be able to tell he was wearing make-up. It was mild and inconspicuous.

"Seijuurou-kun, can you please stop staring at me so intently? It's making me uncomfortable."

"Ah!" Akashi's gaze softened. "I'm sorry!" His arms circled around Kuroko. "It's just that you look so beautiful, I can't seem to look away," Akashi admitted.

Kuroko's face turned an even darker shade of red. He averted his eyes from Akashi.

Akashi laughed and kissed Kuroko lightly on the forehead. He directed Kuroko to the couch in the living room. "Just wait for me for a little while, okay? I'll just get dressed and then we can leave."

"Okay."

When Akashi and Kuroko arrived at the hotel where the company banquet was held, Akashi was greeted by Honda Yuki, his secretary, who was in charge of welcoming her colleagues and the company's clients in. "Akashi-sama!" she called out, waving excitedly at Akashi.

Akashi and Kuroko made their way over to where Yuki was seated. Yuki crossed out Akashi's name from a list to indicate that he had arrived. Then, the red-head began a conversation with Yuki.

Kuroko smiled at Yuki, with whom he conversed with on a regular basis. She had been Akashi's secretary ever since Akashi had started working in his father's company, and had followed Akashi up to where he was today. Needless to say, she was very close to Akashi, and by extension Kuroko as well.

Yuki turned to Kuroko. "And who is your date tonight?" she asked Akashi good-naturedly. "Does Kuroko know you've come here with a lady friend?"

Akashi chuckled. "Yuki, this is Tetsuya."

Yuki's eyes widened. Then, she squinted at Kuroko for a moment before her eyes widened again in recognition. "Oh my god!" she squealed, shooting out of her seat. She grabbed Kuroko's shoulders and twirled him around to get a good look at him. "You're so pretty, Kuroko!"

"Uh, thanks… I guess?"

Akashi put an arm over Kuroko's shoulders. "Of course he's pretty," he told Yuki with a wink. "He's mine."

"Yes, Akashi-sama," said Yuki with a twinkle in her eye.

Akashi guided Kuroko into the ballroom. The first person he spotted was Nijimura. When Nijimura had come back to Japan, he was looking for work and had coincidentally bumped into Akashi in a coffee shop. After a brief conversation, Akashi found out that Nijimura was looking for a job and offered him a job in his company. Even though Nijimura was working in a different department at the time, they still maintained their friendship.

"Let's go say hi to Nijimura-senpai," Akashi said to Kuroko, pointing in the direction of the black-haired man, who was pouring some punch into a cup for himself.

Kuroko nodded. He hadn't been paying attention when he stepped into the ballroom, but now he could feel the eyes of Akashi's colleagues staring at him. Because Akashi was such a big-shot in the company, as his date, Kuroko probably garnered a lot of attention to himself even though he had such a low presence. Kuroko latched onto Akashi's arm.

Sensing Kuroko's uneasiness, Akashi turned to look at Kuroko worriedly. "What's wrong, Tetsuya?"

Kuroko glanced at Akashi. "Everyone's looking at me," he whispered.

Akashi looked around. True enough, almost everyone in the room was gawking at his date. Akashi tightened his hold on Kuroko's shoulders. "Don't worry about them," he told Kuroko softly. "They're all most likely just gathering fodder for gossip. Just ignore them."

Kuroko took a deep breath in. "Okay."

Akashi's arm moved down south to rub Kuroko's back comfortingly. Then, he led Kuroko over to where Nijimura was standing alone, drinking his punch.

"Hello, senpai," Akashi greeted Nijimura, causing his head to jerk up in surprise.

"Akashi!" Nijimura exclaimed. "How many times have I told you not to call me senpai anymore? If anything, you're my senpai now."

Akashi shrugged. "Well, you're still older than I am," he said. "To me, that's a senpai."

"Hello, Nijimura-senpai," Kuroko vocalised.

"Huh?" Nijimura frowned at Akashi's date. He was sure that he had never met this girl before, so how did she know his name? And what more, she was addressing him as senpai? It didn't make sense. And Akashi never told him that he was bringing a female date. Besides, as far as he knew, Akashi and Kuroko were dating… Suddenly, the realisation dawned upon him. "Oh my god, are you Kuroko?!"

"Yes," Kuroko deadpanned.

Nijimura turned to Akashi and narrowed his eyes. "How could you do this to such a sweet person as Kuroko, Akashi?"

"I refuse to come with anyone other than Tetsuya," said Akashi. "Imagine the rumours that will crop up if I had brought a girl here – they would only hurt Tetsuya. At least now if there are any rumours about my date and me, at least Tetsuya knows that the rumours ARE about him and me, not some other person!"

Kuroko stared at Akashi. He didn't know Akashi's reasons for making him pretend to be a girl to bring to the banquet. Akashi had requested it, and Kuroko had complied. No questions asked. But now that Akashi revealed that it was because he didn't want Kuroko getting hurt… Kuroko didn't think it was possible to fall even deeper in love with Akashi, but it was definitely happening.

"Seijuurou-kun…" Kuroko murmured, squeezing Akashi's hand.

Nijimura's reproachful glare softened. "Wow, you really care for Kuroko, huh?"

Akashi smiled and looked at Kuroko lovingly. "Of course. I love him. He is my sun, my star, my reason for living."

"You two… are so disgustingly sweet," said Nijimura, wrinkling his nose. "I'm going to get away from you guys for a while. I'm afraid my teeth will rot if I'm in your presence any longer."

Akashi and Kuroko laughed as Nijimura practically ran away from them.

"Shall we take our seats then?" Akashi asked Kuroko. "Since the majority of the crowd is already here, I'm sure the food will be served soon."

"Alright," replied Kuroko. He allowed Akashi to lead him towards one of the tables at the front of the hall. He soon learnt that it was the VIP table, where the higher-ups of the company were assigned to seat. Kuroko felt rather intimidated – these were very high-ranking members of the Akashi Corporation. What if he made a faux pas in the presence of these people and humiliated Akashi?

As Akashi and Kuroko approached their assigned table, Kuroko could already see overwhelming figure of Akashi's father seated at the head of the round table as the company CEO. Akashi's father did not have a large built; on the contrary, he was of average height, like his son. But he had an aura that demanded respect and obedience which outdid even that of Akashi.

"Good evening, Father," Akashi greeted his father with a deep bow.

"Good evening, Seijuurou," replied Akashi's father.

"Akashi-san," Kuroko nodded in respect. He flinched at how weird his high-pitched voice sounded. Oh, he hoped Akashi's father wouldn't be able to recognise him through the disguise. Although Akashi's father had accepted Akashi's relationship with Kuroko, it did not mean he approved of it.

Akashi's father nodded at Kuroko in return. He seemed pleased that Akashi had brought a girl to the banquet.

As Kuroko took his seat beside Akashi, he sighed in relief at being able to finally sit down. His feet were killing him. Akashi had chosen a pair of flats for him because he knew heels were totally out of the question. But they were very uncomfortable, and walking in them hurt Kuroko's feet.

Akashi placed his hand on Kuroko's lap and stroked it soothingly.

The dinner went smoothly. Kuroko said as little as possible and Akashi did the talking for him when a question was addressed to him.

It was an unconventional setup, but after the meal, the employees of Akashi's company and their clients could mingle and socialise over desert that was placed on the punch table. Kuroko wasn't too keen on talking to people.

"Tetsuya, I'll just go and talk to my father for a while. Why don't you have some profiteroles from the croquembouche?"

At the mention of "profiteroles", Kuroko's head whipped around to look at the massive croquembouche on the punch table. He could already feel his mouth watering, even though he was quite full from the dinner already. It was a common fact among his friends that Kuroko loved milky desserts.

Akashi smiled fondly at the greedy expression on Kuroko's face. "After that we can go home, okay?"

"Okay," Kuroko replied.

As Akashi left to talk to his father, Kuroko made his way to the punch table to help himself to dessert. Kuroko took a profiterole from the croquembouche and began eating it. He observed the people around him – they were happily talking amongst one another. Kuroko felt a little out of place.

Kuroko was in the middle of chewing on his third profiterole when a man in a fancy suit sauntered towards him. "Hello there, beautiful," he greeted Kuroko with a smirk.

Nervously, Kuroko took a step back. He had tried to be as inconspicuous as possible throughout the banquet. How anyone noticed him was beyond Kuroko's comprehension. Was it because he was Akashi's date? Kuroko decided to be polite anyway. "Hello."

The man leaned in closer to Kuroko. "My name is Kobayashi Takahiro," he introduced himself. "What about yours?"

Kuroko inched away from Kobayashi. "Uh, it's Kuroko," he said.

"No first name?"

Kuroko shook his head.

"Aw, she's shy," Kobayashi muttered. "So cute. I like it."

Before Kuroko knew it, he had been backed up against the wall. "So…" Kobayashi pressed his palm against the wall behind Kuroko. "I see you've come with Akashi."

Kuroko didn't dare to look at Kobayashi. He nodded.

Kobayashi leaned forward to whisper into Kuroko's ear. "Why don't you ditch him and come home with me?" he leered. "I can show you how to have a good time."

"Uh, no thanks… I…"

Thankfully, Kuroko didn't have to say anything else, because Akashi's voice interrupted the conversation. "What are you doing, Kobayashi?"

Kobayashi started, and he turned around to glare at Akashi. "Tch. Nothing." Then, he stalked away.

Akashi scowled at Kobayashi's back as he walked away. As soon as Kobayashi was out of sight, Akashi diverted his attention to Kuroko. "Are you alright, Tetsuya? Did he do anything to you?"

"I'm okay," Kuroko replied. He was leaning on the wall for support. "I'm okay," he said again.

Akashi frowned. "You don't sound very convincing," he observed.

"No! I'm really okay!" said Kuroko. "Just give me a moment… to take a breath and calm down…"

"Okay, okay," replied Akashi. He reached forward and brushed Kuroko's hair out of his face. "Do you want to go back now?"

"Do you have to stay and mingle?"

"No," said Akashi.

"Okay then. Let's go home."

When Akashi and Kuroko reached Akashi's penthouse apartment, Kuroko immediately headed for the bathroom to change out of the woman's attire and remove the cosmetics on him.

Akashi, on the other hand, went into the kitchen to brew a pot of green tea. He knew tea calmed Kuroko down, and after that encounter with Kobayashi, Kuroko probably needed to relax.

Just as Akashi brought the teapot and two cups into his room, Kuroko exited the bathroom. He was now free of make-up, his hair and eyelash extensions had been removed, and he was wearing the plain T-shirt he had on before Nakatani came.

Akashi smiled to himself. He set the teapot and cups onto the side table. "Hm, even though you make a beautiful girl, I like you best this way," he said, extending his arms.

Kuroko looked at Akashi with a gentle expression. He stepped into Akashi's arms and allowed the red-haired man to embrace him. "Was what you said back then true?"

"Hm?" Akashi buried his face into Kuroko's hair. "You have to enlighten me, Tetsuya. I've said a lot of things throughout the night."

Kuroko hugged Akashi a little tighter. "You told Nijimura-senpai that you brought me to the banquet so that I wouldn't get hurt when the rumours started."

Akashi didn't hesitate to reply. "Yes, that is absolutely true."

"Why didn't you tell me that when you asked me to go with you?"

Akashi let go of Kuroko from his embrace. He took Kuroko's hands. "You never asked why."

Kuroko looked thoughtful. It was true. He trusted Akashi, and he didn't see a reason to question Akashi, so he never asked why Akashi was making him crossdress to attend the banquet. But still… "I needed to ask?!"

Akashi laughed. "No," he said, brushing his lips over Kuroko's forehead. "But the less you know about the politics of my life, the better."

"Pfft," Kuroko snorted. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I began dating you, Seijuurou," he said.

Akashi hummed. He didn't want to argue with Kuroko. Kuroko was right, in a sense. It was no secret that Akashi's life was bathed in the spotlight ever since he was a teenager and was proclaimed as the heir of the Akashi Corporation. Everything he did was reported – he was practically a celebrity in the business world. But Akashi still preferred to keep Kuroko out of it as much as possible.

Akashi placed his finger under Kuroko's chin and lifted his face slightly to meet him in a kiss. "Thank you for understanding," he said.

Kuroko smiled at Akashi. "I love you."

"I love you too, Tetsuya," murmured Akashi, kissing Kuroko on the lips again. This time, however, his arm snaked behind Kuroko and grabbed his butt.

Kuroko gasped. "Seijuurou!"

Akashi leaned forward to whisper sultrily into Kuroko's ear, "I want you, Tetsuya. I want you now."

Kuroko felt his mouth go dry. "Oh."

Smirking seductively, Akashi bent over and lifted Kuroko into his arms, bridal-style. Kuroko squealed in surprise at Akashi's sudden movement.

Kuroko felt his back hit the soft bed, and opened his eyes to see Akashi climbing on top of him.

As Akashi and Kuroko succumbed to their carnal desires, the pot of tea lay forgotten on Akashi's side table.

A/N – Once again, I would like to reiterate that Akashi isn't Bokushi by calling Kuroko "Tetsuya". It's just that they've been dating so long that they're on a first name basis.