I'm really sorry it took this long again. I've been having a lot of… personal problems, and have been struggling with just my normal life, not to speak with writing. And this is a little bit shorter than usually.

But I love all of you, thank you for all your reviews, they have supported me much more than you can even believe, and I'll promise to try and improve my rate of updating. Hopefully you aren't already fed up with me though. If you're interested in how I am doing with the fic, you can send me a PM or an Ask to my Tumblr profile (the url is in my profile) and I can give a status update and maybe even provide an estimated time for when the next chapter will be published.

But thank you, thank you, thank you for your patience. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!


"And that ends our talk-show for today! Next, we will have a short break for commercials before we get to interview the famous and talented singer…" Kuroko turned the volume a bit lower and turned his back on the radio. He had finally managed to sleep a bit, and the medicine seemed to have helped as well, since he was feeling quite a lot better. There was still a dull ache in his head and joints, but it was completely bearable and the nausea had gone.

He was, however, quite lonely by now. After he had woken up to the empty house, at first he had been just so relieved to be feeling better but with time, he had grown quite bored. He really wished he could read something - even school textbooks would have been fine - but as it was, his only source of amusement was this small radio. And he wasn't particularly interested in celebrities, so now he could only hope Kagami would call soon. It was about the time for school to end, and the light had promised to call him before heading to practice.

Kuroko petted Tetsuya #2's fur in his thoughts as he waited. Being this bored just reminded him how precious it was to have Kagami by his side most of the time. He wasn't sure he would've been able to handle this as well alone.

'Of course I wouldn't have…' He thought just before his phone rang, and he quickly reached for it to answer.

"Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah, me. It sounds like I didn't wake you up this time." Kagami said, and Kuroko frowned. He wasn't really sure what Kagami was talking about.

"This time?" He verified he had heard right.

"Uhh, yeah. I called you during lunch break, don't you remember…?" Kagami asked, sounding instantly worried and confused. Kuroko tilted his head slightly, and tried to remember. Then it hit him like a lightning.

"I remember now. Sorry, I was probably too sleepy, it slipped my mind for a moment." He said. Well, to be more exact he remembered that Kagami had indeed called, but the content was still kind of fuzzy. But he had been sleepy and not in his best condition, so it was probably understandable. He just had to make sure that his partner wouldn't get too worried about it either, since it didn't really mean anything.

"Well, no wonder. You sounded like you'd fall asleep any second back then. How are you feeling?" Kuroko almost sighed in relief, but instead he just took a bit more comfortable position on the bed, lifting the pillow between his back and the wall.

"A lot better. I slept for quite long."

"The doctor did say you should rest, so I guess it's good you do. Have you eaten already?" Kagami asked and for a moment, Kuroko wondered whether to tell the truth or not. After all, he didn't really want to tell Kagami that the reason he couldn't have eaten it before was before he was so nauseous.

"No, I haven't yet. I was just planning on doing that, though." He said, deciding that it was better to be truthful. He didn't really want to lie to his partner, and this wasn't really that big of a deal. Just yesterday they had even kind of fought about similar stuff after all, and he didn't really want to repeat that.

"Okay… As long as you do. But remember to drink lots too." Kagami reminded him and Kuroko chuckled a bit.

"Yes, I will. Are already at the club?" He asked. Tetsuya #2 snuggled closer to him, and with his free hand he began to pet it.

"Just got here. But the door is locked, so I guess I'm the first one here. Oh, I saw captain and coach earlier today, so they know you won't be here today… Umm…" Kagami fell into a silence after that, and since Kuroko somewhat felt like he was preparing to say something, he just politely waited for his partner to be ready.

"Uhh, well. This is something coach said earlier, and I was kind of thinking about it. She said that people who suddenly lose their eyesight usually, well, get stressed. So I just wanted to ask if you're fine and not, I don't know, hiding the fact that you're really scared or something…" Kagami finally asked, his words rushed and hesitant. Kuroko could imagine the awkward look his light must have on his face right now, and he couldn't help the slight smile spreading to his lips.

"I'm alright, thanks to you. You have made everything easy for me, so I haven't been even able to feel stressed." Kuroko explained with all honesty. Every time he had felt even a bit scared and unsure, Kagami had always been there by his side.

"A-ah? That so… Uh… Good to hear…" Kagami stuttered on the other end, clearly embarrassed by what he had heard and Kuroko chuckled.

"Kagami-kun, I'm—"

"Uwah! Don't just jump on my back like that, senpai! You surprised the crap out of me!" Kagami exclaimed before he managed to finish what he was saying, and right away he could hear a familiar voice over the phone.

"Yo, Kagami~ Are you talking with Kuroko? Say hello from me and Mitobe!" Koganei said cheerfully, apparently speaking right next to Kagami since his voice could be heard clearly over the phone.

"I'm trying to talk with him here! Would you mind giving me some space…"

"Ah, you're right! Mitobe said you're kind of red, are you sure you're alright?" Koganei wondered and Kagami growled. Kuroko clutched his phone tightly as he waited for the situation on the other end to calm down before trying to even say anything.

"Yes, I'm completely alright! Ugh, sorry Kuroko. What were you saying?" The light asked and Kuroko opened his mouth to continue only to realize he didn't really remember what it had been.

"It seems like I forgot it already… I'm sorry, I'll say it to you later if I remember. It seems like practice is about to start, so I guess I should let you go now." He said and held the phone really close to his ear in order to hear Kagami's answer properly over the background noise.

"Uh, yeah. I guess you're right… I'll hurry home as quickly as I can after practice. Is there anything you want for dinner?"

"Vanilla milkshake, please." Kuroko said, and the long sigh over the phone made his lips curve into a slight smile.

"You and your damn shakes. Fine, I'll bring you one."

"Thank you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said warmly.

"W-well, it's just a shake. I'll go now, okay?" Kagami said, his voice sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah. I'll be here waiting for you. Bye..." Kuroko said, and took the phone off his ear. The silence that surrounded him now again felt heavy and crushing, and he turned the radio on again as he took it with him to the kitchen. As he walked, he soon heard the familiar paw-steps approaching him accompanied by a bark.

"Are you hungry too?" Kuroko asked as he opened the fridge door, and Tetsuya #2 barked cheerily, "I'll put some food for you after I've put my food on the microwave, okay?" He said as he tried to find the food. Kagami had said it was… on what shelf? Unable to recall, he just decided to search the fridge through from up to down. It didn't take him long to find the covered plate, and he took it out feeling a little bit proud of himself. He was really getting used to searching stuff with his hands.

While his food was getting heated in the microwave, he took out one can of dog-food and opened it. The dog barked excitedly as Kuroko laid out the food, and began to eat right away. Kuroko's own stomach growled in response to the smell of food, but at the same time he realized he was somewhat hoping the microwave would never beep; that he had a bad feeling about eating.

The reason for that bad feeling was revealed to him soon enough when he took the first spoonful of the food and he felt his stomach being twisted by nausea again.


"Goddamn it!" Kagami cursed as the basketball got stolen from him again. Throughout the whole practice, he had had trouble concentrating and the series of mistakes was really starting to tick him off. Still, no matter how much he tried to concentrate, he'd soon start to think again what Kuroko had been about to say in the phone. He knew that it probably hadn't been anything too important, but it still bugged him.

Not to mention that he was kind of worried. Without being able to see Kuroko he couldn't be sure the other wasn't just pretending to be alright in order to not make him worry. He shook his head to get all the thoughts out of his mind. He should trust his partner's words, and just focus on the practice.

Soon enough he failed to dunk the ball for the umpteenth time today and Riko blew her whistle with an angry look.

"Look, Kagami-kun, if you're not able to concentrate at all, go run around the school instead." She said firmly while pointing at the door. Kagami knew there was little reason to even try to resist when she was so obviously right, so he just nodded and walked off the court. He could hear them making new adjustments to the teams as he opened the door outside and took off. It was slightly chilly outside, and he shivered a bit.

The running warmed him up quickly, and he sighed. He really hoped Kuroko would be fine, and that the shadow could come to school tomorrow as well. He couldn't stand just worrying without any way to calm down.

As the thoughts consumed him, he thought about how there once was a time he hadn't had anyone he worried about this much. Of course he cared about his family and thought about their well-being, but Kuroko was just on a whole different scale. He'd go to the ends of the world to make his partner feel better, and he really wished Kuroko would ask something of him, so that instead of worrying and thinking on his own he could actually do something.

Because he wasn't really good at this worrying-thinking stuff.

He glanced at the school clock as he ran past the front yard, only to realize he still had half an hour before he'd get to go home. It was almost weird to wish for practice to stop; he couldn't remember a time in his life when he had wished to be home instead of honing his skills but apparently you could feel that way as well. Kuroko had taught him so many things ever since they had met, and apparently he had just learned one thing more from his shadow.

When he was finishing his fifth or sixth lap around the school, Kagami saw Riko standing outside the gym, waving him over.

"What is it, coach?" He asked, wiping his sweat away from his forehead. He really wished this would be quick, or otherwise the cold air would catch him again.

"You're worried about Kuroko-kun, right?" She said gently, and Kagami wondered for a second whether he was really that easy to read or that easy to predict, before Riko continued, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said those things during lunch break. Of course what I said is possible, but I'm sure Kuroko-kun is fine. If I made you worry unnecessarily, then it's my fault you can't concentrate." She said with a remorseful look, and Kagami quickly shook his head.

"N-no, I'm worried for a whole different reason. Or well, what you said worries me too, but not as much..." He explained. Riko tilted her head slightly.

"Care to elaborate? I can try to give some advice or help."

"Well I don't know how to explain it well. I just feel like he's pretending to be better than he is. But we just talked about this yesterday, and I want to trust in him…" Kagami said as he rubbed his hands together to keep himself warm. The chill air was already biting at his sweaty skin, but now he really wanted to hear what their coach had to say about this matter. She was obviously smarter with this stuff than he was.

Riko looked at him for a moment, before she smiled.

"Well, why don't you trust in him then? If you already talked about this, I'm sure Kuroko-kun will tell you if something is wrong." She said cheerily. Kagami stared at her for few seconds, wondering whether the answer could really be that easy.

But then he remembered the way Kuroko had smiled last evening, and he shook his head. He had to trust in his partner.

It had been wrong of him to doubt Kuroko. Realizing that, Kagami sighed in relief and grinned.

"Yeah, you're probably right! I was probably just overreacting!" He said and Riko nodded in agreement, a bright smile donning her lips.

Kuroko was alright.


Kuroko stood in the balcony, enjoying the fresh air. He had managed to keep the food inside, but he could still feel a dull ache on his stomach. He had presumed Kagami would be coming home around now, and so he had decided to stand in the balcony in hopes that Kagami would notice him when he arrived and call out to him. He leaned against the rail and closed his eyes.

He knew that Kagami would be angry with him if he realized he had lied. But he also knew that the light was already worrying about him way too much than necessary, and common nausea was just something the doctor had said to expect. So it wasn't doing any harm and wasn't even dangerous, and would probably pass soon. He was already feeling better than earlier after all.

He rubbed his forehead. It made perfect sense, but he still could feel like he was doing something wrong.

The headache was gone, the nausea mostly gone, he had eaten all of the food Kagami had made for him and he had drunk water enough. He had done everything he had had to. There was no reason to feel bad.

"Kuroko?!" He heard a distant yell from down, and he waved his hand in the general direction of the voice. He couldn't hear Kagami say anything after that, but he presumed the light had at least attempted to wave back at him.

He retreated back inside and wandered to the hallway to wait. Number #2 soon followed after him, probably realizing something was happening. It took less than a minute for the door to open.

"I'm back—whoa, why are you both waiting here?!" Kagami said in surprise as the dog barked at him.

"Welcome back, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said, feeling the warmth of the other's presence spreading to his body. The loneliness that he hadn't even noticed haunting him disappeared like a fog.

"Yeah… Why were you standing in the balcony? What if your fever goes up again?" Kagami fussed immediately and before Kuroko could answer, he felt his hand being grabbed and a familiar object being placed into it.

"Thank you. And I was just catching a bit of fresh air as I waited for you to come back home." Kuroko said and took a sip of the vanilla shake Kagami had brought him.

"A-ah, is that so…" Kagami said, sounding surprised, "Oh yeah, and some of the senpais wanted to come and see you, but I thought I should ask you first... Check how you're feeling and all that." He switched the topic as they headed towards the kitchen.

"I'm feeling good. It's okay with me if they want to visit." The shadow said as he headed towards the table to sit down, "How did the practice go?"

"Yeah, it went well. We played few matches on top of regular practice." Kagami said shortly, and Kuroko tilted his head, expecting a bit more details, but only silence met him. Usually Kagami would explain a lot more even if Kuroko had been attending the same practice.

"Did your team win?"

"The other one, yes. Not the other one though." He said curtly, only to add more to Kuroko's suspicion. There were no complaints over the lost match, no boasting over the won match, no discussion at all whether Kagami felt like he had played well or not and whether he felt his teammates had played well or not. This was all beginning to bother Kuroko, but he decided not to ask about it. There was probably some reason for it, he concluded and took a sip of his milkshake.

"Are you hungry? Should I cook up something?" Kagami asked after a brief silence.

"I'm not really hungry, but you can cook for yourself already if you are." The shadow answered. He didn't want to admit it had been barely two hours since he ate, and that his stomach still felt full and aching.

"I ate few burgers on the way home, so I'm okay. It's probably better to cook when the senpais arrive, since they'd probably ransack the fridge otherwise…" Kagami muttered to himself and Kuroko nodded in agreement.

Hopefully his appetite would have returned by then.


Thank you for reading! Reviews are always welcome, and I hope to see you again!