Kuroo came back to awareness very slowly, and very reluctantly. He had the worst headache he'd ever had in his life. In fact, he realized, his whole body ached. He felt weak in a way that he simply wasn't used to. He knew he was outside, he could hear the sound of the city and the ground was grimy and uncomfortable underneath him. Kuroo wrinkled his nose slightly as small paws climbed on top of him and tinny whiskers tickled his face.
"Kuroo." The voice cracked mid-word and was accompanied with the thud of someone running up and falling heavily to their knees next to him. A cool hand hesitantly brushed the hair back from his forehead, the touch comforting and familiar.
"God, you're burning up."
"Kenma-" Kuroo started to open his eyes and then hissed as the strong light sent jabbing pain through his head.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Do I need to call the hospital?" Kenma asked seriously, shifting to check him over a bit more thoroughly. Kuroo made a little noise as paws dug uncomfortably into his side, "Yaku, get off."
"Why the fuck is Yaku here?" Kuroo croaked frowning at how dry and thick his voice was.
"Tell you later. But right now I need you tell me if you're hurt." Kenma said seriously, and Kuroo felt him pry Yaku off him.
"I…" Kuroo shifted a bit doing a quick inventory, "I think am alright. I am a bit sore, and really hungry and thirsty. But mostly my head hurts really bad."
"Did you hit it when you fell?" asked Kenma worriedly.
"Not that kind of hurt." Kuroo amended, "It feels like… the worst hang-over/migraine you can imagine on top of someone taking me and shaking me violently."
"…Okay." Kenma breathed, "Well, not okay, but let's get you back to my place. If you get worse I am calling 119."
"Got it." Croaked Kuroo.
"Can you stand?"
"…Yeah, I think so." Kuroo said slowly pulling himself up, keeping his eyes closed against the light. A wave of intense dizziness overtook him again and his limbs trembled feeling hollow and devoid of strength, "I don't think I can walk home though."
"Let's get to the road and I call us a taxi." Kenma said taking his arm and guiding him forward slowly. Kuroo would have been self conscious about how pathetic he must have looked, but honestly, even stringing together simple thoughts sent his head throbbing. He heard Kenma flag down a Taxi and give the driver their address. If Kuroo had been a bit more self aware he'd have been proud of his friend for interacting with a stranger voluntarily.
"Drink this." Kenma commanded passing Kuroo a water bottle once they were in the car. The water felt almost painful on the crankiness of his throat but he guzzled it greedily none the less, trying not to spill too much down his front, "Slowly, or you'll make yourself sick."
"Thanks." Mumbled Kuroo once the water was gone, letting himself slump against his friend, "How did you even know to come?"
"I knew you were in trouble, but I couldn't- I didn't know where, or rather when you'd turn up. In the end, it was Yaku who led me to you. Just took off a bit ago, and I followed him all the way to where you were" Kenma said softly, and Kuroo felt Yaku squirm slightly from inside Kenma's jacket where he was hidden from the Taxi driver.
"Good kitty." Kuroo smiled before frowning, "How did you know I was in trouble?"
"Kuroo… you were gone for two days. I figured something had to have gone wrong." Kenma quietly informed.
"Two-!?" Kuroo began in alarm.
"I told your mom you were staying with me, figured you wouldn't want her worrying." Kenma cut him off.
"Thanks…"Kuroo mumbled. He tried to sort out his memories, but it was hard with the way his head was hurting. The water had helped, but only a bit.
"…We're here." Kenma said nudging him what felt like moment's later. Kuroo hauled himself out of the taxi while Kenma quickly paid the driver and ushered him inside. For once Kuroo was glad of the still, cave-like quality of Kenma's home. Neither of them moved towards the lights and Kuroo was able to squint open his eyes at last: painful, but definitely manageable, "Get up to bed, I am going to start some soup for you."
"Mmmm, don't burn the house down." Kuroo told him.
"I am just microwaving it." Kenma said shooting him a look.
"I stand corrected: Don't leave the spoon in it this time." Kuroo laughed softly.
"Don't be rude to the person feeding you." Kenma shot back, with an extra mumble that sounded a bit like 'must be doing better if you have energy to snark at my cooking skills'.
"You don't have to. Honestly, I feel like if I eat something right now I might just puke it back up." Admitted Kuroo laying teasing aside.
"You'll eat it anyway. And I am putting a electrolyte solution in your drink. And if you throw it up, we'll just feed you again." Kenma said firmly giving no room for argument. Not that Kuroo really had the energy to anyway. He quickly trailed the familiar trek to Kenma's room and collapsed on the bed. Yaku had freed himself from Kenma's jacket and followed him up. Kuroo absent-midedly pet the small cat as he let his head empty and slide in and out of a doze until Kenma came back and forced him to eat. Despite the way his stomach lurched at the introduction of food, it really did seem to help a lot.
"Why do I feel so awful?" groaned Kuroo once he laid back down, "I didn't even do anything."
"At a guess, despite whatever your mind thinks, your body still is under the impression it's been two day… two days were you didn't eat or drink anything. The dehydration is probably the more serious issue. But you also almost never miss a meal, so my theory is that your body is in a state of shock… as well as a low-key starvation mode." Kenma rattled off as he climbed up with Kuroo.
"Were you worried?" asked Kuroo. Kenma didn't answer, just scratched Yaku behind the ears, "I am sorry for worrying you."
"I knew it would be bad… if you ever lost too much time. But I didn't realize how much until I saw you on the ground." Kenma admitted in the softest of voices, "I like Akaashi a lot, but this can't happen again. You're my best friend, I can't lose you."
Kuroo's chest tightened and he pulled Kenma into a one-armed embrace. Yaku hissed his displeasure at being squished and wiggled away.
"We need to talk to Akaashi." Kuroo said at last. Kenma's hands clenched on his shirt front, "Kenma, you know nothing's going to be solved until we talk things through. Akaashi is probably pretty messed up about this."
"Not till your better." Kenma shot back immediately, "And I need to be there."
"Got it," Kuroo agreed readily, "But I need to text Akaashi and let him know I am okay… and by "I" I mean you. I don't think my eyes are going to take well to the phone screen."
"…Your phone is dead. Do you still have a spare charger here?"
"I think so?"
"Okay, I'll let him know. In a minute."
It took Kuroo longer than he'd like to feel all the way like himself again. He had to call in sick to school and sleep an abhorrent amount of time before he finally readjusted. As soon as he was he shot a text to Akaashi.
-Hey, when are you free to talk?(Kuroo Tetsurou)
Predictably, Akaashi didn't respond fore more than a day, though Kuroo wasn't sure if that was because he was avoiding him or because Akaashi was weird about time. Then, finally:
-I don't think that is a good idea (Akaashi Keiji)
-Kenma will be there. It'll be okay. But we need to talk (Kuroo Tetsurou)
-I will speak to Kozume (Akaashi Keiji)
Kuroo was a little disappointed that he didn't immediately agree, but he knew Kenma was on his side about this one so he had no doubt that Akaashi would come. Sure enough, that weekend when Kenma turned up he was towing a subdued looking Akaashi behind him.
"Hey." Kuroo said leaning on the doorway smiling and trying to put him at ease.
"Hello…" Akaashi glanced away looking conflicted. Kenma glanced between them looking distinctly unimpressed.
"I am going to be right there," Kenma pointed to the couch facing the TV, "Playing a game with headphones. You two, sort yourselves out."
Kuroo huffed a laugh at his friend's awkward consideration as he slunk off to do just that. Taking a deep breath, Kuroo flashed Akaashi another reassuring smile a nodded his head to the table.
"Do you want tea?" asked Kuroo as Akaashi settled himself uncomfortably despite the fat that he'd been over plenty of times.
"Sure…" Akaashi said. There was a heaviness in his presence, a kind of potent misery that Kuroo missed he could lift from him but he knew that would only happen if they could talk through their issues.
"So," Kuroo said pouring them each a cup, "About last time we saw each other."
"I am so sorry Kuroo," Akaashi closed his eyes, regret etching itself into every line of his face, "I should never have said yes, I knew my control isn't that good yet. And then I shouldn't have left so suddenly, I should have stayed to try and transition you back to your normal time stream and instead I could have killed you."
"But you didn't kill me. And we know now. We'll make sure to be more careful next time." Kuroo said earnestly leaning forward and taking his hand. There was a smallest flinch in Akaashi's grip but the world stayed steady around them, Kenma's presence doing whatever it was that it did well.
"I am not sure there should be a next time." Akaashi admitted finally meeting his gaze, his expression not all that different from normal but his eyes distinctly hopeless. It hurt more than Kuroo thought it would, even though he somewhat expected that answer.
"If you really feel that way then that's okay." Kuroo assured him rubbing soft slow circles into the other's hand, "But I have grown to care for you a lot and if you're willing I'd like for us to try and be something. If that's friends, if that's lovers, I am not very picky. I just want to continue to be with you."
"I care for you as well," admitted Akaashi before his eyes tightened around the edges, "But I am not willing to risk you. I don't have enough control yet to believe that I won't hurt you."
"So we take it slow," Kuroo shrugged, "We stay as friends for now and have Kenma hang with us so you're not worried- I know you two like each other so that's not an issue- and we go from there. If it turns out we can't ever have a romantic relationship then, you know, that's okay too. A good friendship with you would not be in any way inferior than a boyfriend relationship to me. Till we decide that…"
"We take it slow." Akaashi finished. A small huff of breath escaped him and the smallest of smiles. He glanced at Kenma before hesitantly lifting Kuroo's hand and pressing the tenderest of kisses to his knuckles. Kuroo's heart skipped a beat, but not in a way that made him believe that something was wrong, "When I master my skills, I would very much like to you to be my love."
"Me too." Kuroo almost croaked before clearing his throat, "Though I really think we're also overdue for a discussing about exactly your skills are. I've sort of got an idea just from watching, but they also seem different from whatever it is that Kenma can do."
"Probably quite overdue." Agreed Akaashi with a sigh, "Do you remember that interview I had with you when we first met? When I asked you if you'd ever noticed that time seems to go at different speeds with different people?"
"Yes, I said I thought it was just a testament to their stunning personality, or lack thereof." Grinned Kuroo, squeezing his hand and smiling at the memory.
"That answer could be considered true, if you defined personality as an innate trait of that person. It'd be more true to say that all people have an influence on time, but that some do more than others. Most people do so unconsciously, and their effect is so small as to be easily dismissed. Others are… less fortunate. And still other's can master some manner of control over the flow of time. When they do so, these people are officially called Kairos."
"Time Witches…" Kuroo murmured, several things falling into place all at once.
"Crudely speaking, yes." Akaashi said tilting his head in acknowledgment.
"And you're one of them." Kuroo concluded, and even if he'd sort of guessed it was something like this from what Kenma had told him, he still felt a sweeping sense of awe.
"Sort of… I am still in training." Akaashi said with a grimace, "You only officially become a Kairos when you are declared a master."
"What kind of training?" asked Kuroo curiously.
"Control, mostly. Though that is a pretty broad term that requires focus in a lot of areas to develop fully. You are also expected to help keep the balance for the general public so that the flow of time never get's too skewed in different areas." Akaashi said before hesitating, "My- I have a lot of influence over the flow of time… a lot of unintentional influence. I decided to become a Kairos so that I might be able to have some choice in what my ability changes… rather than simply be left at it's mercy."
"Is Kenma a Kairos?" asked Kuroo glancing at his friend who was still dutifully ignoring them in the corner of the room.
"Yes and No. Kenma is rather a bizarre case. Normally someone would never be able to achieve the amount of control he has without institutional training. So he technically meets all the qualifications of a master, but since he remains unregistered he doesn't carry the title." Akaashi shaking his head, a touch of admiration in his tone.
"That's my bestie." Grinned Kuroo with pride.
"He's also strange because he seems to be able to both speed things up or slow them down or even simply average various times of both his internal clock and other peoples. Usually, a Kairos has one specific influence over time which they can control. It's probably okay that Kenma has chosen not to be involved with the institution because they would no doubt want to study him or exploit his skills." Akaashi said with a grimace.
"Should I be worried?" frowned Kuroo. He didn't know why he was asking, this was Kenma, he always worried about him.
"So long as he doesn't do anything big, which I kind unlikely, then there is not reason to." Akaashi said simply, "He has an eviable amount of control as I said. But in terms of speeding things up or slowing things down, he seems to only to be able to make things go a little faster or a little slower than the normal person would be able to."
"And you are one of those people who speeds things up. A lot more than the normal person?" Kuroo clarified bringing the conversation back around to the man in front of him.
"No. But I can see why you'd think that." Grimaced Akaashi, "I stop the time flow. And outside of whatever space I've stopped it time goes on, so yes when you leave me it probably does seem like things have gone on really fast. But it could also appear to have gone by really slow. It depends of who is around influencing things. That's why you get that sort of whiplash sensation as your body tries to catch up all at once, but your mind is only able to process the lack of time you experience with me."
"Ah," Kuroo said sorting out his memories of their time together, how some occasions he seemed to spend the same amount of time with Akaashi but that it was always different amounts when he left, "So is time stopped where we are right now?"
"No," Akaashi replied shaking his head, "As you pointed out the other day, I've gotten a lot better at controlling it over all. Most of the time I let you guide the time flow with your internal clock, but I'll still mess up here and there and whatever time you've lost will catch up to you when I leave."
"Will that happen today?" asked Kuroo keeping his voice light, but really he couldn't lie and say that the readjustment to his own time didn't always hurt a bit.
"No, Kenma is here and he's able to negate any clock shifting I unintentionally do." Akaashi smiled gratefully in the blonds direction.
"And when we kissed…? That doesn't normally happen." Kuroo pointed out.
"No," agreed Akaashi his ears turning the slightest pink though his expression remained grave, "I lost my head and ended up just slamming the breaks on everything completely including your body. It was too much of a full stop and time was moving too quickly out side of it…. Still though, you probably would've been fine if I hadn't ran and had called Kenma instead."
"Hey, you panicked. It's okay. I do not expect you to be perfect. It happens, and I am fine." Kuroo assured him.
"This time." Akaashi muttered dropping his gaze and that dark trouble look filled is face again.
"Anytime, because now that I know? We can be extra careful." Kuroo promised reaching over the table to affectingly brush Akaashi's curls back from his forehead, "And you're doing to well in your training. I bet you become a full Kairos in no time."
"…That would be nice." Admitted Akaashi leaning into his touch like he couldn't quite help himself.
"And in the mean time, and after too if you'd like… Wanna be boyfriends?" Kuroo proposed.
"Didn't you just said we should take it slow?" Akaashi asked in amusement.
"We are! We'll keep the rating G and be the best friends that are boy's until you think you might want more." Declared Kuroo with a wink.
"You're ridiculous." Akaashi stated.
"This is true. But you love me all the more for it." Kuroo teased.
"Hmmm," Akaashi hummed playing it cool even as Kuroo noticed the scarlet spreading from his ears down his neck, "There may be some truth to that I suppose."
"Well then come along my dear Kairos, let's go tell our other twitchy witch the good news." Kuroo said giddily pulling the beautiful boy up with him.
"Alright Kuroo." And Akaashi smiled so softly that Kuroo was sure, somewhere, clocks were surely stopping.
Note: So even though this is the last chapter of this story, WTSS is part of a larger series so you'll still hear more of these two and what happens to them in the next fic.