Sakura pouted as she held the bag of candy firmly within her small grasp. "But Daddy~"

Kuroko sighed, not bothering to look at her as he continued plucking things from the shelves, throwing the food they needed into the cart. "No, Sakura, not today."

The little girl huffed but went to return the bag to its rightful place on the shelves. Akashi, having watched the scene quietly, glanced at Kuroko's oblivious form before silently dashing after the much smaller redhead.

"Hey Saku," he whispered, and she spun around to face him with her large crystal blue eyes, head tilted much in the same way he'd seen Kuroko's. He was always surprised when he saw the children mimic their father's movements, finding them undeniably cute. He smiled, as he gestured toward the candy, still held between her fingers. "I'll buy that for you, if you promise to share with your brother."

Her eyes widened, and a grin stretched across her lips, but the redhead didn't miss the glint of mischief in her eyes. "I promise!"

Akashi grinned, though he had to wonder what the hell he was doing. He simply couldn't help it. Seeing the little girl without her trademark smile just felt wrong. He pulled his finger to his lips, an appropriately silent 'shh'ing gesture. He smiled as Sakura repeated the action before handing the candy over into his hands.

"Tell Tetsuya I went to the restroom, okay?"

Sakura nodded, and began to skip off, but Akashi caught her arm at the last second.

"And don't twirl."

She giggled, nodding her understanding before leaving him behind. The redhead really didn't know what he was doing. But he'd already promised the girl her candy. With a sigh and a slight question of his sanity, he made his way to the cashiers to buy the candy, being extra careful not to be seen by his boyfriend.

He stopped short as the word crossed his mind. He'd already handed over the candy to the cashier, and was pulling out the money when the thought occurred to him. He realized then, he wasn't really sure what he and Kuroko were. They'd been dating for a little over a month now. That was enough to say they were in a relationship, wasn't it? Then again, they'd never had that conversation, and in reality, they'd only been on three actual dates. What if Kuroko didn't want to see him, exclusively? Why did that thought cause a sharp pain in his chest?

"Uh, sir?"

He snapped back to reality as the lanky teenager behind the counter raised a brow at him. Akashi thought for a moment he should tell the boy to keep his mouth shut before flies decided to nest there, but he thought better of it. Smiling apologetically, he handed him the money, grabbed the small bag of candy, and told him to keep the change.

Should he had done that? That was a rather large tip. He shrugged it off, didn't matter. Shoving the candy into his pocket, he quickly returned to Kuroko's side, sending a quick wink to his partner in crime.

Kuroko rolled his eyes as Akashi appeared again. Even without Sakura's tell-tale eyes, he'd known what the redhead was up to. Akashi was such a pushover when it came to the children, especially Sakura. He decided he'd bring it up later… Maybe.

Though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he actually found it rather cute.

XXX

As the children helped Kuroko unpack the groceries, Akashi stared at the calendar on the wall. He stared long and hard at the date surrounded by a large red circle. September 1st. The day school began again. He sighed, looking back to the present date.

"Tetsuya, there's only two weeks left…"

The bluenette paused in his unloading, glancing over his shoulder at the redhead. He smiled lightly. "If you can find someone, we can still go."

Another sigh fell through Akashi's lips. He considered telling Kuroko his plan, but thought better of it. He wasn't even sure it would work. Or if he should be doing such a thing. He shook the thought away as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Flipping the device out, he realized he couldn't go back now anyway.

"I have to go," he said casually, instantly earning two simultaneous whines of complaint.

"Do you have to?"

"Akashi~"

The redhead laughed lightly at the children as they ran to him, clinging onto his legs. He ruffled their hair, smiling down at them. "Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Tomorrow?" Takeru asked, surprising both Akashi and Kuroko. Takeru was not one to voice his opinions often, so the blatant longing laced in his voice came as a slight shock even to his father.

"Probably," Akashi answered, and that seemed to be enough for the boy.

Sakura puffed out her cheeks, and Akashi couldn't help but poke them, eliciting a giggle from her. "Come back soon."

He nodded. "Of course." As the children finally released him from their bonds, he crossed the room to Kuroko, the bluenette meeting him halfway with a kiss. He paused, "I'd like to talk to you about something later."

Kuroko's brows furrowed, and his head tilted to the side, much like Sakura's had earlier. The memory brought a chuckle to Akashi's lips.

"Don't worry about it," he added, noting the concerned look in his.. whatever-he-was's eyes. "I'll call you later?"

The bluenette smiled, his worries vanishing in an instant. "Anytime."

Akashi shot him one last grin before waltzing out into the summer heat.

XXX

It was three days later when Akashi showed back up again, apologizing profusely to his little munchkins for having been too busy to come sooner. They let him off the hook easily enough, all he had to do was have dinner with them.

It was well after said dinner, when the children were put to bed, that Akashi sat next to Kuroko on the sofa, his body turned toward the bluenette so he could see him more clearly.

"I found someone, Tetsuya."

Kuroko's eyes lit up, and he could tell he'd caught his attention. "Who?"

The redhead paused. This was the tricky part. "You're… not going to like it right away."

Kuroko's brows furrowed. "Why not? You said I'd like them-"

"And you will. Just, not right away…" As Kuroko continued to stare at him as if he was crazy, the redhead took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn't mess anything up instead of helping the situation. "I… I've been talking to a woman, and… you know her well, and she'd love to watch the children for a couple of days."

He could practically see the gears turning in the bluenette's head, trying to find the image or name of a woman he knew that would do such a thing. He also knew that the only person he'd come up with was Momoi, and they both knew she'd already been crossed off the ever-small list of possibilities.

"…Who?" His eyes narrowed dangerously, and that's when Akashi knew he'd understood.

The redhead laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck as he avoided the bluenette's glaring eyes. "She feels bad about her mistakes, and she'd really like to meet her grandchildren."

Kuroko's eyes closed, and his fingers rubbed at his temples as a heavy sigh fell from his lips. "Akashi Seijuro… You didn't…"

Akashi smiled sheepishly. "I was at a loss."

Kuroko sighed, opening his eyes to glare at the redhead, causing him to flinch. Never had he seen such a look on Kuroko's face. But he found it.. oddly endearing.

"Tetsuya, I'm sorry, but, she really wants to see you again."

The bluenette frowned deeply, but the glare was gone. "… How did you even find her?"

"I have access to a lot of files… It wasn't hard to find one on your mother…"

"… Does she really want to see me?"

He nodded. "She said she regrets telling you to leave. And if she'd known how to get a hold of you, she'd have told you so sooner."

Kuroko was quiet for a long while before another sigh came forth. "I'm not letting them stay there until I see her for myself."

Akashi nodded. "Of course, I've already told her as much."

The bluenette raised a brow at him. "And I suppose you've already set up a meeting, haven't you?"

Akashi smiled proudly. "You know me so well."

Kuroko rolled his eyes, but leaned into the redhead, nuzzling into his warmth. Akashi welcomed him, wrapping his arms around his body tightly. "Is that what you wanted to talk about the other day?"

The redhead paused, looking down at the man in his arms. "You've been thinking about that all this time, haven't you?"

Kuroko nodded slowly. "… So it wasn't, then."

Akashi frowned at the worry in his voice, and he lifted his chin to face him before planting a chaste kiss on his lips. "It's nothing bad, Tetsuya… I just wanted to discuss, us."

The bluenette's body relaxed, but his brows knitted together. "What about us?"

"… What exactly, are we?"

Kuroko blinked up at him for a long while, his expression softening until there was none. His eyes were as clear as ever, and there wasn't a single crinkle in his stoic mask. Finally, he merely shrugged. "I assumed we were dating. Exclusively, I mean."

The redhead let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, an involuntary smile playing on his lips. "That.. That makes me so happy, Tetsuya."

His cheeks flushed, and he quickly ducked his head beneath the redhead's chin, nuzzling into him. Akashi couldn't really understand his mumbling, but he thought it sounded awfully like the word, 'moron.'