5 centimeters [Part Two]

Midorima sighed. He could not take it anymore.

"Oi, Akashi!" The greenhead faced his ex-captain head on. "Will you stop making that face?"

Akashi lifted his gaze from the book and slowly met up with Midorima's green ones. "What is it, Shintarou? What do you want?"

"You!" Midorima sighed again. He rubbed his forehead in an annoyed manner. "Stop glaring at every living things! What the hell is your problem?!"

The redhead turned his head away, paid no heed at his friend's words of accusation.

"Don't you know that you're scary as hell?!"

"Just let him be, Mido-chin…" said Murasakibara suddenly. He had been there all along, since they were classmates after all. "Aka-chin has been always scary. He is just scarier is all."

The greenhead sighed for the third time. "Listen, Akashi. If you have any problem, you can tell me. I will try my best to help you."

"Ah, I can also lend my ear for you anytime, Aka-chin…"

Akashi bit his lower lip briefly – feeling guilty since he made his friends worried about him. "Thank you, Atsushi, Shintarou." He faced them both; a small smile adorned his lips. "But I'm okay." He got up from his seat. "This is nothing I cannot handle." And with that, he left them with no further words.

"Hmm… Is it because of Kuro-chin?"

Green orbs met purple ones.

"I see, you think so too, Murasakibara?"

"Yeah…"

Midorima sighed, again, for the fourth time that day. "It's always like this whenever Akashi had problems with Kuroko. He would glare at everyone until the problem cleared. He is extremely scary at times like this; it makes me uncomfortable to stay close to him." He gazed outside the window. "Now what is the problem this time? I prefer it if they can make up quickly. It's been so long after all."

-.-

Monitoring a faraway branch company was not an easy task.

Juggling between his work, his study, his father's order, and his duty as the student council president was so not easy.

Nevertheless, Akashi Seijuurou preferred that stressful life to the stress he got from his favorite bluenette avoiding him for three weeks.

Yes, the bluenette had been avoiding him for three damn weeks.

Akashi Seijuurou was pissed beyond hell.

He had tried to contact the bluenette through phone, but the bluenette rejected his phone calls and ignored his messages. He tried to wait for the bluenette in front of the other's class, but somehow the bluenette always managed to pass by him without him noticing. Seemed like the bluenette got better in his misdirection. Under normal circumstances, this fact would make the redhead proud, but since this was not normal circumstances, the redhead found it extremely annoying.

Finding no other methods, Akashi Seijuurou finally decided to confront the bluenette by going to the other's house. He was going to Kuroko's house on Saturday morning since he also planned to take him out for a little date.

But oh, how mad was he when Saturday come and he could not execute his plan at all.

He found a single paper, containing the results of his hard work in England, laid in the small table beside his bed when he woke up. He was sure that his work had paid off, but how shocked he was when he read the data carefully and found out that his method did not work at all.

He was seething.

He could not accept the result. He phoned the manager he had picked to monitor the branch immediately. He wanted to check the validation of the information he got with the truth. No, an Akashi could not fail. He could not fail. He was absolute.

"Yes, Izuki speaking here."

"Izuki, send me the data you have since my departure immediately."

"I'm…. afraid it has been classified, Akashi-san."

Akashi frowned. Something was off.

"Nothing is classified for me. Send me the data."

"Um… I already sent the data to Akashi-sama. Maybe you should ask him instead, Akashi-san."

Akashi smiled eerily. Now he knew what was off. His father had manipulated the data.

'Looks like my father is desperate on winning this bet.'

"Listen here, Izuki-san, my orders are absolute." said Akashi with an intimidating voice. "Follow my orders and you would never go wrong."

The line went silent for a few seconds. Izuki was still hesitating.

Akashi's patience was thinning. "If you are afraid of my father, please rest assured. I will not let him do any harm to you."

He heard a nervous laugh from the other line. "Well, you better hold on that promise, Akashi-san."

"You know that I never broke a promise."

He closed his phone, knowing that the data would be sent to his email immediately. True enough, he found a new mail notification a minute later. He downloaded the data and erased it from his mailbox, asking the sender to do the same, before analyzing the new information he got.

Five minutes later, he smiled in triumphant.

-.-

On seven o'clock, Akashi entered the dining room and sat on his seat calmly. Seconds later, his father came in, and he greeted the older Akashi with a simple nod. "Father."

"Seijuurou." Replied the other redhead.

It was their usual greeting, simple yet distant, but both of them knew that there was tension in the air. Akashi Masaomi knew that his son had found out the truth, whilst Akashi Seijuurou knew that his father would do anything and everything to make him obey his rules.

But it's time to grow up. He would not stand anyone to oppose him, even his own parent.

"Prepare your things, Seijuurou. You will be leaving next week."

Akashi smiled. He put down his chopstick and stared directly at his father. "I refuse to go to England, father."

"You will go to England for university. I am not accepting no as an answer."

"I would have accepted it if you did not manipulate the data, father."

His father frowned. "I did not manipulate the data."

Akashi scoffed elegantly – how anyone can do that is beyond miracle. "Then what do you call it? Cheating?"

"Watch your words when you are talking to me, son."

"Funny, this is the first time I had heard you call me son. I thought I was your employee all this time."

Akashi's father frowned. "Where did you learn to talk like that to your father? From your friends? Bad children. They are bad influence."

"Even if you caged me with no friends I will eventually find ways to bring you down, father."

"Oh? Now you want to bring me down?" His father smirked. "I'd like to see that."

Akashi nodded solemnly. "Already on it, father." He stood up from his seat gracefully. "Be prepared to be surprised."

-.-

Akashi Masaomi stared at the thick documents on his table with seething expression. The documents were full information about dirty methods he had used to achieve his goals. Each of his scandals was described in full details. There were also secretly taken photos, testimony of the victims, pieces of newspaper that had never been able to reach public's eyes, and many more.

Whilst he had wondered about who even dared to investigate such details, the phone on his table rang, and he jolted in surprise. He picked the phone and heard his secretary said, "Sir, your son is here."

Akashi Masaomi smiled bitterly. Of course. "Let him in."

"Yes, Sir."

Minutes later, the door to his office was opened, and a young redhead entered the room with a triumphant smile on his lips. "Father."

"Seijuurou."

The same greeting, simple yet distant, with more tension than this morning.

"I believe you have read the documents I prepared for you." Said Akashi Seijuurou, straight to the point. There was no need to beat around the bush after all.

"I had."

"Good, father. Now, do you know how I will use every bit of information that was written there?"

"Oh, you cannot threaten me, son. You do not have enough power to go against me."

The young Akashi laughed shortly. "Oh but I do, father." He closed the gap between them, just enough for his father to feel intimidated. "You must have realized already that most of the income you got is from the branch you appointed to me."

Akashi Masaomi remained silent.

"Every time the income from a branch declined, you left the problem to me, saying that it was to train me when in fact you couldn't solve the problem yourself. Am I wrong?"

Again, the older Akashi could not respond with anything other than clenching his hand in anger.

"Now you must realize that those branches had refused to accept order from you, because they know that you had abandoned them when they were in a slump. They knew that you are incompetent, and you could only get what you want with them through me. That is, unless you threaten them. Like what you did to Izuki-san. But don't you know father, that threatening people is not a wise way to get their loyalty?"

"… What do you want, Seijuurou?"

"Oh, you know perfectly what I want, father."

For a moment there, Akashi Masaomi thought that his son's eyes had changed its colors into crimson and gold. He feared his son for the first time.

"Do not stand in my way, father. If you do as I tell you, I will help you expand your business. That is, if you stop making more scandals than you already have now."

He turned to leave his father's office, but not before he gave his father a firm warning. "I show no mercy to those who oppose me, not even my own parent."

Hearing that, Akashi Masaomi stood from his chair in anger. Without thinking further, he grabbed a cup full of hot coffee on his desk and threw it to his son. It happened so fast, and unfortunately, the young Akashi did not have anything in him to shield himself from it. Akashi used his hands to protect his face (especially his eyes) on reflect, but of course the broken pieces injured his hands instead. Some of it still made its way to his face, while his hands were bleeding and burned from the coffee. His red shirt was drenched, and his chest was slightly burned because of it.

Akashi Seijuurou looked at his father with pity on his eyes. "You were the one who made me this way, father. Do not forget."

-.-

Akashi did not want anyone to know the little dispute he just had with his father, so when he realized the state he was in, he was forced to get to his car through emergency staircase. After all, it would only bring more disgrace to the Akashi's family name if anyone in the office noticed what his father just did to him.

He hissed audibly when he tried to phone his chauffeur to get the car ready (so they could leave immediately), but somehow he made it. Once he got inside the car, his chauffeur looked at him as if he grew two heads, but Akashi simply said, "Go to Midorima's house immediately. And forget what you just saw."

The chauffeur nodded and said, "Yes, Akashi-san."

'What a horrible day.' Thought Akashi as he stared at the dull scenery of the city. Minutes passed, and the pain on his hands had lessened. He phoned his green-haired friend, much easily this time, and greeted him with a simple, "Shintarou."

"… Akashi."

Noticing the other's sour tone, Akashi chuckled, amused. "You don't seem to be happy hearing my voice."

"No, I'm neither feeling happy nor unhappy. I do wonder why you call me though."

"Ah. I'm on the way to your house right now."

"What?"

"Is there anyone on your house right now?"

"Uh… no…"

"Great."

And just like that, he disconnected the call. Ten minutes later, he was standing in front Midorima's house.

He pressed the intercom, and Midorima's voice greeted him with a sour, "Who?"

"It's me, Shintarou."

Seconds later, the door opened, revealing a grim-looking green-haired man, hugging a big teddy bear plushie – which was most likely his lucky item of the day. His expression turned into a shocked one though, once he saw the state Akashi was in. "What the hell did you get yourself into this time?"

Again, Akashi chuckled. "I thought that you would be elated seeing this ungraceful form of mine for the first time, Shintarou."

"Whatever. Just… come inside."

Once the redhead got inside, Midorima asked him, "Why are you here anyway? You should be at the hospital."

"Ah. I just thought that I have a friend who can treat this kind of wound, so why not use him?"

"You're horrible. You just don't want the hospital to know how you get into this state."

Akashi smiled. "You seem to understand me better right now, Shintarou."

"Hmph. I have been your friend for six years not for nothing. Now, give me your hand."

Several moments had passed, and Midorima looked at his work proudly. Akashi's hands had been bandaged carefully and neatly, while the two small wounds on his face were treated with a simple band-aid.

"Now apply this to the burn in your neck and chest. And change your shirt." The oha-asa maniac paused for a moment before asking, "Do you need to borrow my shirt?"

"No need, I have a change of clothes." Answered Akashi as he started unbuttoning his shirt. How Akashi had even thought of bringing spare clothes was unknown.

After Akashi had finished applying the ointment, he wore his spare white shirt. He was amused deep inside when he noticed that his friend had been staring at him the whole time.

"Shintarou, mind telling me why were you looking so intensely at my body?"

The green-haired man spluttered incoherent words with a blush crept in slowly on his face. "I – I did not!"

"Is that so?"

Midorima pushed up his glasses nervously. "I just thought that you have a really nice built, even with your height."

"My height, huh…" Akashi chuckled with venom. That was a warning, and Midorima realized immediately that he just touched a sensitive subject. "Well, I will forgive you today, since you just treated my wound nicely." The redhead got up, ready to leave.

"Wait, Akashi!"

"Hn?"

Midorima scowled. "Are you really not going to tell me anything?"

"Hn, let's just say that I had a little dispute with my father… but I expect you not to tell anyone, right, Shintarou?"

-.-

The next day, the school was on uproar when the students and teachers alike noticed Akashi's bandaged hands. The moment he stepped foot on the school's ground, rumors spread immediately, picturing him in every dramatic stories about his injury. However, none of them was true. True to his word, Midorima did not say anything to anyone. The greenhead simply stick by his side, ready if the redhead needed him for anything, since the man himself couldn't use his hand very well due to the burn and injury.

When the Generation of Miracles learned that Akashi was injured, their reactions were truly amusing, to say the least.

The first one to know was, of course, Kise Ryouta. Once the girls told the blonde model, Kise ran immediately to Akashi's class, ignoring every girls that were trying to give him a simple good morning.

"Akashicchi!"

Akashi sighed inwardly. 'Now I know how Tetsuya feels every time he hears Ryouta's voice first thing in the morning.'

The blonde walked straight to Akashi's desk, assessed him for a few seconds, before he wailed, "No! Your face is injured! This is terrible!" He brought his face closer to Akashi's. "No! Don't let it leave any scar on your beautiful face, Akashicchi!"

"I think you should be worried about his hand more than his face, Kise." Said Midorima as he pushed up his glasses. "He only got two small scratches on his face. It's not a big deal."

"Bu – but, even a small scratch can ruin his whole face, Midorimacchi!"

"Ryouta." Called Akashi with an authority. "The first period will begin shortly. Why don't you come back to your class already?"

And just like that, the redhead had successfully shut up the wailing blonde model.

The next one who knew was Murasakibara Atsushi.

As always, the purple head entered the classroom with a bag of snack. He was munching with no manner as he dropped his bag on his desk unceremoniously. He was about to settled himself right in when he noticed that the one who was sitting beside him had bandaged hands. "Eh… Aka-chin… Why are your hands bandaged?"

"Hn?" Akashi looked up to see Murasakibara before he answered with, "It's nothing serious, Atsushi. Don't worry."

And since Murasakibara never dared to defy Akashi, he knew that it was his cue for him not to ask any further.

Aomine Daiki learned about the truth when he heard the girls in his class talking about it. His first thought was, 'What? Akashi is injured? That Akashi? That Akashi Seijuurou?' The dark-skinned man chuckled shortly with an evil grin. 'Finally. My time has come.'

He came to the redhead's class when they got their first break.

"Oi, Akashi!" He headed to his ex-captain's desk immediately after he spotted red hair. "Heard you got injured, huh?"

"Daiki." Akashi smiled at him sweetly – though it was far scarier than his normal evil grin. "Glad to know that you still care for me."

"Well, I just thought that it's finally my time to get revenge on you."

"Oh?"

"You know, for all those inhuman punishment you made me go through."

Aomine grinned before he launched a punch to the redhead's injured hands. Too bad though, his punch only met the redhead's desk as Akashi was quick to avoid his wild punch. The navy haired man was about to launch another strike when he felt the cold tips of a scissors on his neck.

"It's still 100 years too early for you to launch a sneak attack on me, Daiki. I am absolute; you will never be able to beat my emperor eye for I see the future."

Seeing the small interaction between Akashi and Aomine, the only thing that passed through Midorima's head was, 'Aomine is suicidal. How many years will it take for him to understand that he's no match for Akashi?'

-.-

The last one from the Generation of Miracles who knew that Akashi had been injured was Kuroko Tetsuya. The quiet phantom man confronted the basketball club's ex-captain about it when they got their second break.

"Akashi-kun."

The redhead shifted his gaze from his book to the person who stood in front of him. "Done avoiding me, Tetsuya?"

The bluenette jolted, guiltiness was evident on his face. But Kuroko being Kuroko, he just ignored it stubbornly. He needed to know something more important after all. "What happened to your hands?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing, Akashi-kun. I don't think you're just bandaging your hands to protect your nails like Midorima-kun."

"Oi Kuroko! You bastard!" yelled Midorima.

The redhead chuckled, clearly amused. Midorima was right beside him for goodness sake, but the bluenette did not even bat an eye when he was clearly insulting the greenhead.

"Akashi-kun." Called the bluenette again. "Tell me."

"But I don't want to tell you, Tetsuya."

Kuroko's face stiffened, but he stood still, refused to back down. "No, you will tell me, Akashi-kun."

"Then," Akashi got up from his seat and stepped closer to the bluenette. "What do I get from telling you, Tetsuya? Will you stop avoiding me?"

"… If I say yes, will you tell me then?"

The red emperor fell silent. He did not want Kuroko to know what his father had done to him, but moreover, he did not want the bluenette to know what he had said to his father. After all, Kuroko's family was nothing like his; the bluenette would not understand.

"No, Tetsuya, I can't tell you." Said Akashi with cold eyes. "It's just a small wound, nothing to worry about."

-.-

'Nothing to worry about?' Kuroko scoffed. He was irritated. So irritated. 'Why won't Akashi-kun tell me anything?'

He threw his back on the bed and hugged the pillow tightly. 'He chose not telling me anything over me not avoiding him anymore. Fine. I will avoid you even more, Akashi-kun.'

He rolled over aimlessly for a few times, all the while thinking about a certain redhead.

Kuroko sighed. 'Who am I kidding?'

He glanced on his phone, contemplating something for a few moments before he finally grabbed the blue-sky phone and dialed a number.

"Yes?"

The phantom boy took a deep breath. "Good evening, Midorima-kun. I'd like to ask you something, please."

He could hear a soft tsk from the other line.

"… What is it? If it's about how Akashi got that burn, I won't tell you anything."

"I see. So his hands got burned, huh. I couldn't tell since it was bandaged."

Again, he heard the greenhead clicked his tongue.

"Listen Kuroko, Akashi told me not to tell anyone, so I won't."

"Ah, do you mean he threatened you?"

"… More or less, yeah."

"Don't worry about it, Midorima-kun, I can assure you that Akashi-kun will leave you alone even if you spill it to me."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I won't let him."

"…"

Kuroko sensed the other's doubt and said, "Just trust me, Midorima-kun."

The greenhead sighed. "Fine. He told me that he had gotten himself into a little dispute with his father."

Kuroko's eyes widened. Again, Akashi's father. Although he had never met the man, he knew that Akashi Masaomi – Akashi's father – was a hateful man. He was the very reason why Akashi had developed a split personality. However, thanks to his little conspiracy against Seirin High, Akashi had learned defeat for the first time, and his true self had come back for the better.

"I don't really know what the cause is, but all I know is that his father threw a cup of hot coffee to him. He was fast enough to shield his face at least. I had a hard time taking out some broken pieces that had pierced his hands, though."

The bluenette's heartbeat raised quickly upon learning the truth. He despised the older Akashi even more now.

"He might have to go abroad for good because of his father."

The greenhead waited for a response, but after a good minute had passed, there was still no sound coming from the other line.

"What will you do, Kuroko?"

"Eh?" Kuroko gasped. Midorima had completely caught him off-guard.

"If he really has to go abroad, there are little chances that he will come back here, you know. If that happens, then when will you be able to tell him about your feelings?"

Kuroko was taken aback. "Wh – what do you mean, Midorima-kun? What feelings?"

"Don't act stupid, Kuroko."

"… Thank you for your information, Midorima-kun. I… I'll think about what you said."

Kuroko closed his phone, effectively ending the call.

He let out a deep sigh as his eyes glanced at the wall clock in his room. It was nearly nine at night.

'That's right, what should I do if Akashi-kun goes abroad for real? Although he promised me that he will not… his father might do anything for it to happen. Then, I won't be able to meet him anymore.'

He rose from the bed, took his coat, and went out of the room. He told his parent who was watching night show that he just wanted to go out and take some fresh air before he raced out of his house.

His feet led him towards Akashi's house by instinct, though he was still debating in his mind about what he should say when he met Akashi.

'What am I doing? It's late already, I might bother Akashi-kun if I visits him in this hour…'

Although he knew that, he could not stop his foot from moving forwards.

'It's cold… It's almost winter, huh…'

He bit his lower lip.

'We will graduate in spring… if, if Akashi-kun has to go abroad… then, spring will be the season of separation…'

He chuckled bitterly. 'How ironic… When the sakura blooms, I will not be able to see him again.'

He was a few steps from the Akashi manor when his eyes caught a black limousine stopped in front of the house. A young man with a glaring red hair stepped out of the expensive car, and when Kuroko noticed who it was, he could not help himself from calling out the young redhead's name.

"Akashi-kun!"

The redhead stopped on his track when he heard someone had called his name. He turned his head towards the sound of the voice.

And their gaze met. Crimson red orbs and soothing sky-blue ones.

-.-

Akashi's eyes widened for a fraction when he noticed the person who was standing alone in the cold night. He told his driver to leave him alone and park the limousine without breaking eye contact with the phantom boy. He held his gaze, unwavering, as he took some steps towards the bluenette.

"Tetsuya." Greeted Akashi as usual when he was close enough to the bluenette. There were some questions in the redhead's mind as to why the other had chosen that late hour to visit him, but he knew that right at that moment, he was not supposed to say anything.

Therefore, he did not. He waited until the bluenette was ready to talk to him.

A few minutes passed with no words between them, only their gaze meeting each other. Searching. Trying to find out the truth.

Until Kuroko took a step closer and grabbed one of Akashi's bandaged hands carefully. "You fought with your father, didn't you, Akashi-kun?"

"… Yes."

"Is it because you refused to go abroad?"

"… Tetsuya." There was a hint of discomfort in the red orbs. And Kuroko knew that.

"Do you have to go abroad?"

"Tetsuya, I – "

"Please wait, Akashi-kun, I'm not ready to hear the answer."

The redhead closed his mouth and swallowed the words he had wanted to say, not because of the other's words, but because of the hint of yearning in the cyan eyes. He did not know why the other showed him that expression at that time. An hour ago after he had done cleaning up after his father's mistakes, all he had wanted was a good bath and a good sleep, but here he was, standing in the cold with the phantom boy, searching and learning the other's always-blank expression.

Another few seconds passed by before Kuroko let go of his hand and took a step back. The bluenette turned back and walked in the opposite direction, maybe he had decided to go home.

To say that Akashi Seijuurou was confused was an understatement. Maybe cleaning up after his father's mistakes for a daylong took a toll on him. Maybe it was time for him to turn back, take a bath, sleep, and think about it properly tomorrow.

But he could not tear his gaze away from Kuroko's retreating back. He was glued on his place by some kind of magic, and although his mind and body was tired, he ignored it. There were many unanswered questions in his mind; maybe he would be able to solve some of them through analysis if only he was not stressed by his father's lousy work.

Why was Kuroko there? How much did he hear from Midorima? Why was he asking him that kind of questions? Did Kuroko forget about his promise that he would stay here, not leaving him to a faraway place?

Why was Kuroko showing him that kind of expression?

Why wasn't he able to read Kuroko's blank expression as usual?

For the first time in his life, Akashi Seijuurou did not feel confident.

-.-

'Do I feel lonely?' Kuroko Tetsuya asked himself as he walked further away from the redhead.

'I don't though.'

'Is it because I just met Akashi-kun?'

He stopped walking.

'Then, if Akashi-kun went abroad, will I feel lonely?'

He traced his memories back to when the redhead left for England a few weeks ago. And he realized that yes, yes, he felt lonely when he could not see the redhead.

'Who am I kidding?'

A single tear rolled down his cheeks.

'Turn back, Tetsuya. Turn back and tell him how you feel.'

There were some hesitation in his mind, and fear – after all, it was his first love.

'What if when I come back there, ringed his bell, and he refused to see me? Even if he does, what will I do if he rejects me?'

By that time, Kuroko was full of anxiety that he could not remember the signals Akashi threw at him oh so many times.

'How do I recover after he tells me no?'

The bluenette turned back, and oh, how relieved he was when he saw the redhead still standing on the same spot. His crimson orbs were gazing at him unwavering, and all of a sudden, a lonely feeling took over the bluenette's mind.

'No, how do I survive without those eyes protecting me?'

Without thinking any further, Kuroko ran back towards the redhead and dived directly into the other's open arms.

'I need him. I can't go on without him.'

-.-

Akashi Seijuurou smiled warmly when he saw the blunette turned back and ran towards him. He opened his arms and accepted Kuroko into his embrace.

After seeing the other's bawling face, he finally understood. All of the questions he had earlier in his mind only led him into one conclusion: Kuroko was lonely.

Akashi was ecstatic to know that he was the reason as to why the bluenette felt lonely.

He embraced the phantom's body tighter but without hurting nor suffocating the other.

"Don't leave, Akashi-kun." Said Kuroko in between his sobs. "I need you. I… I love you."

By that time, he could not stop himself from grinning. Oh how much he wanted to hear those words coming out of the other's lips.

"I won't leave you, Tetsuya, because I need you too." He ducked his head for a bit and whispered into the other's ear, "I love you too, Tetsuya."

The bluenette's sobs stopped, and he heard a soft, "… Really?" coming out of the other.

He loosened his embrace and kiss Kuroko's crown of head affectionately. He lowered his gaze and once again, red meets blue.

"I love you, Kuroko Tetsuya."

-.-

Kuroko stared at the inside of Akashi manor full of bewilderment. The young redhead had invited him inside, and he could not say no, not when the redhead stared at him so lovingly.

Now that he thinks of it, the redhead had always stared at him that way.

"Tetsuya?"

Kuroko gasped. "Yes, Akashi-kun?"

Chuckling, Akashi took the other's hand and led him the way. "Come, my room is this way."

Once they entered Akashi's room, once again Kuroko was bewildered by the size of the bed the redhead's had.

"You have a king-size bed, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko inched closer to the bed. "I'm jealous… It looks soft… Can I sit on it?"

Akashi chuckled again. "Sure, go ahead."

Once Kuroko settled on the bed, he finally took notice of the room. The wall was painted a simple white, the same color with the wall in the hall, and Kuroko assumed that all of the room had the same wall color. There was a desk in the room, a small bookcase, a TV, and… nothing else. To be honest, Kuroko was a bit disappointed.

Akashi sat beside him once he had taken off his jacket and his black tie. "Does my room not to your liking?"

"Hmm… it looks plain. I thought it would be more… sparkling."

The redhead laughed at that. "When we rent our own place, you can decorate it as you like."

Kuroko turned his head and locked his gaze with Akashi's. "Really?"

Akashi smiled. He understood that Kuroko's question was concerning an issue more than decorating their room.

"Sure." He inched closer and stole a quick kiss on the other's cheek. "I can go to the university here, my father had agreed on it."

Kuroko was a bit surprised when the redhead kissed him, but he did not let it distract him. "What's the condition?"

'Oh my, I have quite a smart lover.' Thought Akashi as he smiled fondly.

"I have to help him expand our business." The redhead paused for a second. "Though I don't think it alone will satisfy him… so, I plan to overthrow him little by little."

Kuroko's eyes widened. "What?" He always knew that the redhead was a capable person, but to overthrow his father? That is not an easy task.

"Don't underestimate me, Tetsuya." Said Akashi as he – once again – inched closer towards the bluenette. "For now, the only thing you have to know is that I will never leave you, Tetsuya." He trapped the other's face in his hands. "Now, let me have my long-awaited kiss."

-.-

Several days before their approaching graduation, Akashi and Kuroko visited Tokyo University to see the list of the students who are accepted. Akashi was – of course – accepted with no doubt, what with his score topping all the others. He was the emperor after all, he have to stand above all the others.

However, sadly, his favorite bluenette was not accepted. Not even in the waitlist.

Akashi Seijuurou was in despair.

"I have failed."

"Huh?" Kuroko faced his lover questioningly. "You're accepted though?"

"I failed in tutoring you."

Kuroko was taken aback. Then, a few seconds later, he burst out into a fit of laughter. "I'm the one who failed but why are you the one who are depressed, Akashi-kun?"

"This is no laughing matter, Tetsuya. Now I cannot see your face every day."

"You can, though." Kuroko tilted his head to the side; an adorable smile adorned his lips. "We're living together right now; you can see me every morning, every night, and on our off days."

To say that Kuroko's smile was contagious was an understatement. It can even light up the world – well, Akashi's world at least.

"That's right." He paused for a moment. "Now what do you do if you're not accepted?"

"Well, luckily, I'm accepted at my second choice of university, so…"

"It's Mihashi, right? I see… So you will be in the same university as Satsuki."

"Yes. And you will be in the same university as Midorima-kun."

"Still…" Akashi sighed. "I still want you to be in the same university as me."

Kuroko chuckled. "Don't say that, Akashi-kun. I'm plenty happy that you're accepted in you first choice of university."

Akashi's chest tightened. No matter how simple it is, every simple word, or every simple gesture Kuroko made, it never fails to make him happy.

"Let's go home, Akashi-kun. I will cook you your favorite tofu soup."

-.-

At their third year in university, Akashi Seijuurou had graduated from Tokyo University at the top of his class. Four years later, he had overthrown his father at the age of 25. He was busier than before, but with his capable mind and his capable worker, his business only grew larger and larger.

Meanwhile, Kuroko Tetsuya had graduated from Mihashi University at his fourth year in university, with an average grade, and became a kindergarten teacher. The nursery school he worked at was in the ground level of their apartment complex, and yes, it was Akashi's. Once the redhead learned that Kuroko had dreamed to become a kindergarten teacher, he set up a nursery school immediately.

And Nigou, their dog pet, had finally stopped barking along whenever he heard Kuroko moaned loudly from the bedroom after their third month of living together.

After seven years of living together, Akashi – who was on top of the Akashi Corporation – made a deal with Kuroko that they will leave Sunday as their off day. No work, no business trip, no children, no field trip, and no phone calls.

Sometimes, they would invite their schoolmate to play basketball when Kuroko did not feel sore from their exercise in the previous night.

When it was weekday, Kuroko would wake up before Akashi, prepared a simple breakfast for the two, gave food to Nigou, and prepared a bath, before coming back to the bedroom to wake the redhead. In the evening, he would shop for groceries before coming home, prepared a bath, and waited for Akashi to come home. Most of the time, the redhead would come home before eight, because he knew – from the experience – that Kuroko would not sleep unless he was there beside him. On the rare night when Akashi had to work late – or even spend a night in the office – Kuroko would simply sulked and slept with Nigou on their sofa bed. After that, Akashi would have to buy him a large serving of vanilla milkshake to make the bluenette smiled at him again. It worried him, honestly, how much the bluenette loved the vanilla milkshakes, it was not good for his health, after all, the bluenette would often skip his lunch just because he was already full of vanilla milkshake if Akashi didn't check on him.

In their off day though, Akashi would be the one who wake up first. He would stare at his beloved's face, marveling how cute the other is no matter how much they had aged. Often, his hands would play with the other's blue locks, trying to tame the bed hair to no avail.

"Hmm… Sei-kun?" Kuroko cracked one eye open.

"Good morning, Tetsuya." Akashi smiled as he inched closer and kissed the other on the lips as a good morning kiss.

"Hmm… Can you prepare today's breakfast? My body ached all over…"

Akashi chuckled. "Are you fine with it, Tetsuya? The last time I tried to cook, you had a diarrhea."

Kuroko's face paled. "Ah, that's right. I was half-asleep, Sei-kun, don't even try to prepare any food."

"I'll call for a delivery." Said the redhead as he sat up and reached for his phone. "Is chicken rice porridge okay?"

"Sure."

After Akashi had done with the call, he leaned back and gave Kuroko a kiss on the forehead. "I better take a bath before the food comes."

"Hmm…"

"Do you need me to fold the laundries after this, Tetsuya?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright."

"Ah, Sei-kun, can you also put the dirty laundry into the basket?"

"Sure."

"Great." Kuroko smiled. How he wished that every day was off day.

-.-

The End

A/N: It has come to an end! Now tell me what you think, don't be shy! This is my first long KnB fics, so I need as many reviews as possible! :D