Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basket is owned by Fujimaki Tadatoshi

Summary: Akashi found a miserable Kuroko alone in the club room.

Setting: Third Year

Pairing: AkaKuro (maybe angsty AoKuro, too.)

A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this. Okay, this chapter is a bit sad. I don't know why I wrote this. (Maybe because I woke up with this story in mind?)

Thanks Synck, Alexiella, Churroko, FallenXLinkin, knb fan, Shinome Akira and Ikillatfirstsight for the reviews.

Day 10: Red Spider Lily

A blur.

That was Kuroko's days feel like for quite some time now. Every day and everything was a continuous routine, repeating itself over and over again. He was used to it and the dull ache in his heart was something he was getting used to. Everything felt cold but he was indifferent to it all; colors fading as each day passed until it was monotone; noise and music blending together to form a silence so loud it won't stop ringing in his ears.

But what he hated most of all was something he loved the most.

He numbly stared at the locker in front of him, bared of anything in it. He cleaned up his stuff yesterday and shouldn't be here today but his feet unconsciously wandered to here as if being tethered to the basketball club room.

He wearily sighed as he slumped onto the bench, wondering what he was doing in there when he just quitted.

He hated being here.

He also secretly loved being here.

"Tetsuya?"

Kuroko promptly snapped his head up at his captain's voice. He must have been lost and deep in his thoughts that he hadn't heard him come in. He couldn't stand Akashi's intense gaze searing onto him and looked down at his hands on his lap, clutching it tightly together to keep them from shaking.

His heart started beating wildly against his chest when he sensed Akashi coming closer and sat next to him.

"Tetsuya look at me."

The command in Akashi's voice instantly made him look up but his crimson and golden eyes that can see anything and everything was too much for him to handle and quickly evaded his gaze. Akashi reached out and the finger on his chin made that rather difficult not to face him.

He drowned into those heterochromatic eyes.

Akashi scrutinized every inch of his face and eyes and he doesn't know what he sees in them—what he was showing. His mouth parted slightly when Akashi's thumb brushed his lower lip gently, softly. With half-lidded eyes, he watched as Akashi stared at his mouth, closing the gap between them, nearing to his lips.

Inching closer.

Centimeters nearer.

Just a few more.

"You should treat me Aominecchi! I'm giving you Horikita Mai-chan's special photobook for…free…"

Both he and Akashi turned to the club's opened door to find Kise gawking and gaping at them like a fish. His eyes travelled between him and their captain in confusion and shock.

"What the hell are you standing around there like an idiot Kise? Move and give me Mai-chan's photobook, jeez!" Aomine lazily said as he kicked Kise out of the way. He stopped on his tracks when he caught his and Akashi's current—and probably intimate—position. "…Tetsu…Akashi…?"

"Daiki, Ryouta," Akashi greeted, releasing him from his grasp which he was thankful for.

The tension in the room was so thick in the air; a knife could cut it off. The clanging noise of Kise's locker as he rummaged through it wasn't helping either. "Here you go Aominecchi," Kise said as he nervously handed the gravure magazine to Aomine.

Without a word, Aomine took it, his stare still focused onto them. He looked at him and for a moment, worry reflected in his dark blue eyes. With a nostalgic concern, he asked. "You okay Tetsu?"

"Tetsuya is fine," Akashi answered before he could, not that he could form any words anyway. The silent message of you-should-leave-now wasn't lost to any of them.

Kise looked ready about to bolt and dragged Aomine away with him. Heeding Akashi's order was deeply ingrained to him that disobedience wasn't possible. He was wavering though as if he doesn't want to leave Kuroko behind.

Aomine, on the other hand…

Aomine casually stuffed his free hand into his pocket, either he was oblivious to the awkward atmosphere or he was disregarding it. "Wanna go to MajiBa Tetsu?" he nonchalantly asked.

A part of Kuroko wanted to accept his offer, of not wanting to be alone with his captain. But a huge part of him was dreading to go with Aomine. Maybe he was giving him a free pass to escape Akashi and wasn't sincere. And if he was, he just knew the tense silence will follow them like a shadow even with Kise buffering between them.

Akashi once again answered for him. "Tetsuya and I need to talk."

Aomine bristled, not believing him. "Talk, huh?" he taunted. "You looked like you were about to kiss Tetsu."

Kise made an inaudible sound at the back of his throat and looked as if swallowed something sour. He quickly averted his eyes when he noticed that he was watching him.

"And if that were the case," said Akashi, a challenge in his tone, "it isn't any of your business, right Daiki?"

"It doesn't look like Tetsu wants it," Aomine retorted.

Akashi raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I'm forcing Tetsuya? He's capable of objecting, don't you Tetsuya?"

Kuroko looked between Akashi and Aomine, not knowing what to say or how he should answer. It felt like there's was something he was missing. It's as if there is a hidden conversation that he couldn't decipher. They weren't talking about the near kiss, it's something more.

He wants to know but at the same time he doesn't want to.

Sensing his turmoil, Akashi reached out a hand to the back of his neck and hid his face onto his shoulder, shielding him from everyone but most especially Aomine's stare. Even if he couldn't see he could sense the heated staring contest between his captain and their ace.

The sounds of footsteps filled his ear and he found out it was Kise when he muttered "let's go Aominecchi" and possibly forcing Aomine to leave the club room. No sooner than later, the clicking of the door shutting close echoed in the room.

He knew he could step away from Akashi's embrace but he doesn't want to. He felt safe and comforted that he wanted for both of them stay like this forever. His hands moved and clutched Akashi's blazer, silently asking to ease the pain in his heart even if he was one of the reasons why he was feeling that way.

Akashi ran his hand through his hair soothingly and his other arm was around his waist, tugging him closer until not an inch of space was separating between them. Kuroko wrapped his arms around Akashi as his body visibly relaxed. He felt like a hopeless slave seeking solace and reassurance from his beloved Master.

"I'll take you home," Akashi whispered after a long time of stillness.

His arm tightened around Akashi. "Later," he said.

A silent vow formed between them.

What happens next was known only to them.

OMAKE

"Tetsu?"

Kuroko shut his shoe locker closed and turned to Aomine. "Aomine-kun," he greeted in his deadpan voice.

Aomine studied hid face searching for something, anything that might have happened yesterday. He looked determined to know more but also reluctant to push his boundaries.

"Nothing happened," he answered the unspoken question and tugged his bag securely to his shoulder.

Aomine opened his mouth wanting to ask more questions but he seemed to think about it and hesitantly closed it again. "Do you want to go to Maji Burger with me?" he asked instead.

Kuroko knew the answer to this one. "I'm afraid I have to refuse," he said. "My grandmother asked me to go home early."

Wordlessly, he bowed in goodbye and turned around to leave the school, hyperaware of Aomine's gaze on his back as he walked away.

A/N: About what happened between Akashi and Kuroko, I don't know. Feel free to do your own interpretation.