7 - Alternate Universe

Akashi glared at his mobile phone. That red bubble refused to disappear.

He chose all his notifications. Moved them to his unread folder called…unread notifications 7.

He groaned.

"I am buried under notifications."

"I thought you read them daily." Kuroko said from on the other side of the couch.

"I was busy these days," he muttered.

Kuroko raised an eyebrow but didn't push him further. He must be at an exciting point of his book.

Akashi thought one of these notifications could be his soulmate.

He shuddered.

He tossed his mobile to the coffee table. Then threw himself to Kuroko's lap.

"I am hungry," he whined.

Kuroko frowned. Akashi grinned.

"Then cook something."

"It is Tetsuya's turn for grocery shopping," he sang.

Kuroko's eyebrow ticked. He was still reading.

Akashi nuzzled Kuroko's stomach. His hand shot down to stop him - and play with his hair.

He touched Kuroko's nose, through the space between Kuroko and his book. Kuroko bit his finger and tugged his hair. Then pulled the book towards him.

He stretched and licked Kuroko's wrist. He wiped it on his hair.

Akashi reached and closed Kuroko's book. He had a finger at his current page.

"One minute," he murmured, eyes still on the book.

"Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight," Akashi started counting. Loud.

At twenty-nine, Kuroko closed his book and put it aside.

Then grinned.

Akashi's heart beat faster. Oh dear, what -

He howled a laugh when Kuroko pinched his sides. His arms jerked to protect his sides or deflect Kuroko's arms and in the end just left him open. His legs beat the couch's arm as he roared another laughter.

He threw himself off the couch.

As he panted on the floor and wiped his tears with shaking hands, Kuroko was giggling.

He was beautiful.

He was also sitting at the back of the couch, out of reach.

Akashi glanced at couch's legs. Could he shake -?

There was something right under the couch. A dark stain.

There were also marks on the carpet like the couch used to be further away.

He turned the other way. There were symmetrical marks of coffee table moving on the carpet.

He grinned.

"What is under the couch?" he sang.

"Monsters?"

"Tetsuya always makes me clean -"

"We take turns -"

"- because he doesn't know how to," he finished his song.

He smirked when Kuroko jumped off the couch's back, laid on the floor to look under it.

"What are you talking about?"

"Will Tetsuya cook if I show it?"

"No."

"I want tofu soup." Akashi stood up.

"It is your turn." Kuroko stood up.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we will see how Tetsuya moved the couch instead of cleaning his carpet." He pushed the couch.

There it was. Right under the couch. A dark red stain.

"Ta-daa!"

Kuroko was staring at the stain. His face was blank.

He bolted to the door. "Tofu, right? Anything else?"

The door closed before Akashi could answer.

Did Kuroko pale when he saw the stain?

He glared at it.

Then its colour registered.

—

"Was it blood?" he shrieked when the door opened. "When did you hurt yourself?"

Kuroko blinked.

"The stain. Dark red. Blood, right, it was blood!"

"It was cranberry ice cream."

Ok.

Huh?

His legs collapsed under him.

He took a shaky breath.

"Cranberry ice cream? Who eats cranberry ice cream?" he whined. "Why didn't you clean it?"

"I meant to forget that day."

He whimpered. What was Kuroko talking about?

Kuroko sat next to him. He was smiling.

Akashi relaxed.

Everything was all right if Kuroko was smiling.

"Let's imagine an alternate universe." He wrapped his arm around Akashi's waist. He leaned against Kuroko. "Before that dreaded parents meeting, my co-workers were talking about an ice cream. I have never tried it, I got curious."

"Cranberry ice cream," he grumbled.

Kuroko nodded.

"Was it good, at least?" Better be, after Akashi's near heart attack.

"Don't know," he said, as if it were a good thing.

His eyes were so bright.

"So, after the meeting, I went to the corner shop. They had it."

Of course.

"As the owner went to retrieve it, I watched his TV. It was evening news. There was a red haired man on a stage. He opened his arms and said:

Everything at your fingertips, with one touch. No. You might as well call this phone telepathic."

Akashi stopped breathing.

"What -?" he whispered.

His heart twisted. His vision blurred.

He shook Kuroko.

Explain.

Instead, Kuroko hugged him. He was trembling.

(Or was it Akashi?)

"I went home, planning to watch my favourite TV show while eating my ice cream. In my first spoon, my eyes caught on my wrist. My sign has stabilised."

He kissed Akashi's head. He was dizzy.

"The spoon fell. I threw the ice cream away. Went to bed, vowing to forget that day. In the morning, I moved the couch over the stain, not wishing to see it, let alone spend time to clean it."

He turned Akashi's face towards him. His eyes were wet. His smile gorgeous.

"Would you like this to be reality?"

"More than anything else," he choked.

—

"My legs are numb," he murmured. Then sniffed.

"Mine too," Kuroko said. His voice was wet.

They didn't move.

Akashi's stomach grumbled.

"I bought tofu."

He nodded to Kuroko's shoulder.

His soulmate's shoulder.

He giggled.

Kuroko tightened his hug.

He wanted to ask why they didn't feel anything when they met - except to lose track of time and chat for hours. Or why nothing happened when they saw each others' signs. Except -

Akashi smiled.

- solve for x.

His favourite interpretation.

"What will happen now?" he murmured.

"You are going to cook."

"I meant to us, silly."

"Nothing."

He looked at Kuroko's eyes. They shone with the same knowledge.

They had already found each other.

Then, Kuroko's eyes gleamed.

Akashi tensed.

"I bought cranberry ice cream to celebrate," he smiled and reached for the shopping bag forgotten on the floor.

Akashi groaned.

"And this," he put a brown block to his hand. It read -

"Chocolate tofu?" Akashi roared. "I refuse to taste this -" he sprinted after Kuroko, who was running to the kitchen.

Laughing all the way.

The End

Author's Note: This marks the end of AkaKuro Week 2016 for me.

Thank you! Thank you for all the readers. Thank you for all who liked, reblogged, left kudos, commented, favourited, bookmarked, reviewed, subscribed and put on alerts list this story.

Thank you, again, for bearing with my rushed and unbetaed writing. For ignoring my spelling mistakes (that I always notice a day late) and possible plot holes (that I can never convince myself are not there).

I hope this chapter answered all your questions. And gave you a satisfactory ending. This story was a different take on soulmate AU's and I hope you liked this point of view.

Hope to see you and hear from you again on a different story.

Take care until then.

Galliechan