Hiya, everyone! Happy New Year! Sorry it's been so long - uni essays and stuff keep getting in the way of my writing, but I'm still going to keep going with this series for the foreseeable future :) I've been working on a longer fic wherein the rest of the Kiseki become aware of exactly what effect they had on Kuroko for a while, but I got a little guilty for not uploading for a while, so I decided to put this up - basically more Akakuro fluff. On top of this, I've also been working on a reaction fic from Kuroko and Akashi's teammates when they find out the two are together, but I'm not sure when that'll be out. Anyway, please enjoy!

BP

Tenderness

Akashi was making breakfast for himself and Kuroko, knowing that his partner wasn't particularly quick at waking up in the morning. It was a simple tamagoyaki with a little bit of rice, and he relished in the fact that Kuroko was now living with him, so that he could do this most mornings – excepting, of course, the mornings when Kuroko managed to groggily wake up when he did and sleepily convinced him to stay with him a little longer. He had no doubt they would happen – it'd happened when Kuroko had merely stayed overnight before, and when Akashi had gone over to Kuroko's house.

He was just waiting for the rice to finish simmering when Kuroko's arms wrapped around him from behind and his forehead touched his upper back, scaring the living daylights out of him.

"Heaven's above, Kuroko, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He asked teasingly, though his voice trembled a little from the fright. "I didn't even hear you come down the stairs." Kuroko shook his head.

"Sorry." He muttered, sighing. Akashi grew slightly concerned as Kuroko fisted his shirt, tightening his arms around the redhead.

"Kuroko?" He waited, but didn't hear a reply. "Kuroko? Are you okay?" Kuroko sighed again, the sound significantly shakier than before.

"Not really." Akashi frowned in concern, placing his hands over where Kuroko's were gripping his shirt.

"Precious, what's wrong?" There was more pressure from Kuroko's head on his back before he shook his head again.

"I don't know." His lovers' voice trembled, a plaintive note threading through it. Akashi's eyes softened in sadness. He turned the hob off, leaving the rice alone for the moment.

"Okay, do you want anything to eat?" He asked calmly, fully expecting the shake of Kuroko's head that followed. Kuroko's hands shook a little, and Akashi squeezed them reassuringly. "That's fine." He soothed, "Do you want to stay like this or go somewhere else?" He waited, glad that he naturally had a calm disposition and he was so in tune with his lover – otherwise he was sure to have become upset by now.

"Bed?" Kuroko asked uncertainly, sounding very vulnerable. Akashi nodded, ignoring the pang in his chest.

"Of course, it'll be nice and warm there." He agreed. He tapped the tealette's hands before holding one of them, intertwining their fingers and beginning to leave the kitchen, hoping that he hadn't mis-stepped. If he had, Kuroko didn't react, following him quietly. He pulled back the covers when they got to the bedroom, and turned to usher Kuroko into it, but he caught the look on Kuroko's face and melted.

"Oh, love." He breathed, kissing his forehead and brushing his hair away from his eyes. The tealette's colour was the same as always, but the turn of his mouth was uncertain, and the arch of his brows told Akashi that he was upset. His eyes were wet, but there was a terrible blankness to them that he hated to see, knowing that he couldn't actually take away his lovers' pain. Kuroko reached forward to grab his shirt again, and Akashi used the grip to get Kuroko onto the bed, laying down first before tugging gently at his partners' wrist to bring him down too. The redhead curled around his lover. "Do you just want to do this today?" Kuroko frowned.

"I don't know." He said, sounding lost. Akashi nodded, smiling, and nuzzled Kuroko's hair.

"Okay, that's fine." He reassured again, at least knowing that saying those things helped a little. "I love you." He continued, doing his best to make his voice as warm as he could. "I love you so much. Things will be better tomorrow." Kuroko stared at him, bottom lip trembling slightly. He raised a hand, fingering at his lovers' hair. "You're so lovely, Precious, I don't think you realise. You're so kind, and selfless, and so, so strong." He kissed the tealette's cheek softly and pulled him even closer. "I love you, every part of you. You astonish me every day and I can't thank you enough." Kuroko buried his face in Akashi's chest, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry." He choked out, shoulders beginning to shake with suppressed sobs. "I'm so sorry." Akashi ran a hand through his lovers' hair and placed it against the back of his neck.

"What for? You haven't done anything wrong."

"You shouldn't have to do this. I should be able –" Akashi pushed him away a little, shocking him into looking at him. The redhead looked at him with a mixture of affection and anger, and his left eye was turning a little orange.

"There is no such thing as 'should' in this. You don't have to do anything you don't want to – and there is nothing making me to stay here to comfort you." And Akashi knew that the tealette was definitely not okay today, because where that kind of sentence would have elicited a smile on any other day, Kuroko seemed to have latched onto the second part of it and fear crossed his face. "Tetsuya, don't misunderstand. I'm here with you because I want to be, and for as long as you want me to be. Don't worry that I'll change the way I feel for you because you have a bad day." Conflict filled his lovers' features.

"But… I don't even know what's wrong! I just woke up this morning and nothing felt right – I felt so useless…" His voice quietened and he looked away from Akashi's face to his chest. "I didn't feel like I had a purpose anymore, so I… I went to you." Understanding dawned on Akashi, just a little.

"Tetsuya, you can't use me like that." Kuroko tensed, looking up at him again. Akashi's eyes were gentle, despite the harsh words. "You can't use me to get some kind of purpose anymore. That isn't healthy, and it's not fair – on either of us." He stroked the tealette's cheek gently. "You can come to me when you need comfort, Tetsuya, when you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to lean on. But I'm not the same person I was in Teiko, and I'm not as cruel as I was then, to ignore how you felt." He sat up against the bedpost and drew Kuroko into his lap, framing his face in his hands. His lover stared at him, eyes still terrifyingly blank, though confusion was entering alongside it. "I can be here, with you, on the days when you feel useless, when you don't know your place, and I can tell you exactly how much I love you, how much you mean to me, and I can wait with you until you find your purpose." Tears welled up in Kuroko's eyes and began falling down his cheeks. Akashi merely wiped them away softly with his thumbs. "I want to help you, Tetsuya, but I refuse to let you use me like that." He told him gently, letting his face go when Kuroko fell forward, burying his face in his chest again and began to cry fully, and wrapped his arms around the tealette. He moved one of his hands to stroke the strands of his lovers' hair when he curled into him, letting out heart-wrenching sobs that squeezed at Akashi's heart. He was glad that Kuroko was letting it out, but he couldn't help feeling guilty, knowing that he had, in part, caused the problem… if only he hadn't been so weak back then…

"Thank you." Kuroko gasped between his cries, surprising Akashi out of his thoughts. "Thank you so much. I love you." Guilt still running through him, Akashi didn't say anything in reply for a long moment, his thoughts not helped by Kuroko continuing to express his gratitude and love.

Eventually, he held his lover tighter and murmured, "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here as long as you need. I love you so much. I'm sure that tomorrow will be better…" It took a while of repeating sweet nothings for Kuroko to calm down enough to stop his sobbing. The tealette panted quietly, exhausted by the onslaught of emotions, and Akashi brushed his bangs from his forehead, noting the reddened eyes. He kissed his cheeks. "Come," He murmured, nudging Kuroko to move off his lap and off the bed, following him quickly and leading him to the bathroom. "A cold flannel will help." He wet a flannel and gently patted it against his lovers' face, cleaning the tear-tracks and soothing the heat in his cheeks and forehead. He wetted the flannel again and pressed it against his eyes, smiling a little at the small sigh of relief Kuroko let out and the relaxing of his shoulders. "Would you like to cuddle on the sofa? I can put a film on." A tentative smile lifted the corners of Kuroko's lips.

"That sounds nice." He agreed quietly, his voice raspy. Akashi cringed and made a mental note to make some tea with honey to sooth the tealette's throat. He pulled the flannel away and wetted it once more, bringing it with him as he lead his lover from the bathroom.

"Would you like something to eat now?" He looked at his lover slyly. "A vanilla milkshake, perhaps?" He teased, pleased when Kuroko leaned into him and nodded, a small smile playing on his lips, even though the blankness hadn't left his eyes – not that Akashi really expected it to. He didn't know much about what was plaguing his lover, but he knew that just saying a few words of comfort and a cuddling session wasn't an immediate cure, nor would it ever be one, but knowing that he could offer a little bit of comfort made all the difference to him. He placed Kuroko on the sofa and put a film in the DVD player at random. It didn't really matter what they watched. After setting that up, he turned back to Kuroko. "Would you like anything apart from milkshake?" Kuroko shook his head, and Akashi smiled in understanding. "Okay. Press play whenever you like, and I'll be back in a bit with your milkshake." He levelled a playful glance at his lover. "If you decide you lay down, be aware I'll lift you up and put you back in my lap when I come back." When Kuroko nodded, he handed him the flannel with the instruction to put it over his eyes to reduce the swelling.

When he came back he found the film going through the beginning sequences and Kuroko laying against the cushions with the flannel over his eyes. He smiled and put the milkshake on the coffee table before lifting Kuroko's head and putting it on his lap as he sat down. Kuroko didn't react apart from shifting closer and letting a sigh escape him. Akashi smiled wider and sighed, relaxing into the cushion and staring at the screen (as well as partially debating with himself why he owned this film – it was just mindless action and explosions) as he began running a hand through teal locks.

Half an hour into the film, and right when he thought Kuroko had fallen asleep, his breathing rhythmic and slow, his lover nuzzled into him softly.

"I love you, Seijuurou-kun." He said, with a tender smile. Akashi couldn't stop his no-doubt sappy smile, even if he'd wanted to.

"I love you too, Tetsuya."

I hope you all enjoyed this (despite the fact that I can't help making poor Kuroko suffer), and please do let me know what you think! I always welcome your comments as it gives my dark soul sustenance *cough* In any case, there should be more uploads this month, so until next time!

BP