Kuroko Tetsuya was an intimidating boss. He was stern yet gentle, and forgiving yet merciless. Being a young director of such a large company, Kuroko always made sure to walk with confidence and to treat his employees well. His employees were as loyal as ever, always wanting to please their strong leader. Kuroko had a handful of employees which he kept close: his receptionist, secretary/personal manager, and escort. Unfortunately, his current secretary, Momoi Satsuki, was about to go on maternity leave so Kuroko was one employee short.

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi approached her boss with a bright smile, "If you need someone to replace me, I can bring someone in!"

Kuroko straightened his grey suit, "If you don't mind, that would be wonderful. It's better than having to look for someone."

The pink haired secretary looked at her boss with soft eyes, Tetsu-kun is always alone, always isolating himself from everyone else. We've been working together for years yet he never confides in me.

The boss made sure not a single hair was out of place before turning to face his secretary. Momoi gently fixed Kuroko's tie and cupped his cheek lightly,

"Tetsu-kun, relax. You're going to do well in that meeting."

"Of course," Kuroko said while staring straight ahead, "doing well is the only option."

With that, the boss walked into the meeting room to hold an important gathering with other directors.

The week after, Momoi had replaced her job with a young, promising red haired man. The man stood up straight and shook Kuroko's hand with a firm grip, "I'm Akashi Seijuro, I look forward to working with you."

Kuroko returned the polite gesture and nodded, "Kuroko Tetsuya, please let me know if you need anything."

To say Akashi was breathless when he saw the boss was an understatement, the redhead fell hard for his boss right at the first meeting. Of course, he had to maintain a professional image so he never let his emotions surface. But Akashi found himself pining for his boss often.

Akashi fell into a steady routine over the next couple of days. He didn't see the boss as often as he hoped, but he enjoyed going over Kuroko's schedule with him at least once a day. It was sometimes the most time he got with the boss.

"You have a meeting with Kagami Taiga at 2pm, after that you have a meeting with Haizaki Shougo at 4pm, and that's it for the day."

Kuroko frowned at the sound of Haizaki's name but the frown left almost as quickly as it had appeared. Akashi noticed and gently asked,

"Is everything alright, boss?"

The blue haired boy turned to face his subordinate, "It is none of your business. Do not ask such useless questions."

Akashi shut his mouth and apologized before running out of Kuroko's office. The boss is scary sometimes…

The meeting with Kagami went by smoothly and as 4pm approached, Kuroko's office was silent. The redhead gathered up his courage and knocked lightly on his boss' door.

"Come in."

Akashi walked in with confidence and stood by the boss' desk. It was one of the many tips Momoi had told him before she went on leave.

I usually escort Tetsu-kun from his office to the meeting room, he seems to like having a bit of company although he'll never admit it! Don't pry too much, he likes to keep his distance from his employees!

"Boss, it's almost time." Akashi said.

Kuroko stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. The blue haired man walked towards his office door when suddenly, Akashi stopped him. Kuroko turned to glare at his subordinate but all he felt were soft fingers brushing his hair back.

"Boss, your hair is out of place." Akashi stated, "Can't go to a meeting with a hair out of place."

The boss stared wide eyed before muttering a single, "Thank you."

The redhead walked Kuroko to the meeting room and bowed as the blue haired man entered. Then he returned to his desk and waited for his boss' meeting to end. When Akashi got to his desk, he buried his flushed face in his hands.

What was I thinking? Touching the boss' hair without his permission! He hates me, he definitely hates me. But his hair is so beautiful. It's always pushed back but he must look so cute with his hair down. What am I thinking about? Stop it, Seijuro. Work.

After an hour in, the redhead was able to hear faint yelling coming from the meeting room. It wasn't Kuroko's voice so Akashi figured Haizaki was upset about something. Shortly after that, Haizaki stormed out of the meeting room.

Thirty minutes passed and Kuroko still hadn't left the meeting room so the redhead went to check on his boss. Akashi knocked on the meeting room and walked in. Inside, he saw Kuroko sitting by the window with his eyes closed.

Is he sleeping? Akashi thought to himself as he quietly approached his boss.

Kuroko's breathing was steady, the usual tense muscles in his face relaxed. He looked younger. He was already a young boss at the ripe age of twenty eight, but the softened features on his face made him almost look like a teenager.

Akashi smiled and before he knew it, his hand reached out to brush his fingers against Kuroko's cheek. The boss' cheek was cold and soft. The redhead felt like his fingers were brushing against a sheet of silk.

Kuroko's hand came up to grab the redhead's wrist. His blue eyes pierced Akashi. The redhead panicked, "Ah! Boss, I'm sorry! I just...well, I saw you were sleeping and no, that sounds wrong. I was...I, sorry!"

"Who gave you permission to touch me?" The blue haired man asked in a low voice.

The redhead tried to pull his hand away but Kuroko's grip tightened, "No one! I'm sorry!"

Kuroko let out a small laugh and he let go of Akashi's wrist, "It's alright. There's no need to be that scared of me."

Akashi visibly relaxed as he let out a sigh of relief. The blue haired man leaned back in his chair and continued, "You startled me a little, that's all. Is there anything you need?"

"No, boss. I just saw you weren't coming out of the meeting room so I got a little worried."

Kuroko tilted his head to look at his subordinate and smiled. Akashi's heart threatened to explode right then.

"Haizaki Shougo." The blue haired man said, "He's a tough one to deal with. I never really look forward to having meetings with him. He's not a bad man...just has slightly different ways of viewing things."

The boss stood up and straightened out his suit before leaving the meeting room, Akashi followed close behind.

Kuroko had to admit, Akashi was quite endearing. There was a certain awkwardness about the redhead that made Kuroko smile. He was confident yet also unsure of how to act around the boss. He was quick to follow orders but also acted on his own sometimes.

Quite endearing indeed. Kuroko thought as he twirled his pen in his hand.

The following days were busy, the boss worked hard for hours without speaking to any of the other workers. When Aomine Daiki, the escort, came to pick up the boss, Akashi bowed and led him to Kuroko's office.

The escort walked in without knocking. The redhead stood there shocked and peeked through the office door to see the exchange between the two men.

The boss is laughing with Aomine-san. Akashi clenched his shirt to calm his pounding heart, I've never seen him laugh.

"Tetsu! You ready to go for a ride? Your meeting is a little far today so maybe you can get a nap in." Aomine said cheerily while patting the blue haired man's back.

Kuroko put his arms around his escort into a brief embrace. When Akashi saw the two of them walking towards the office door, the redhead ran to his desk and pretended to work. As the boss walked by his desk, their eyes met. Kuroko looked away and walked to the elevator with his escort.

Aomine looked at his boss and smirked, "You in love?"

Kuroko looked straight ahead, refusing to meet Aomine's gaze, "Not at all."

"You sure? Didn't you usually bring Satsuki with you to out of building meetings too? Why are you keeping him a good arm's length away?"

The boss took a deep breath, "Stop pushing. He just has work to do here."

The escort immediately stopped talking and silently took his boss to the meeting. The truth was that Akashi didn't really have much work to do while the boss was out and he usually spent his time wondering when the boss would come back.

It's better this way, Kuroko thought to himself in the car, being alone is better.

Akashi tapped his pen against the desk and made the new schedule for his boss. The coming week was fairly busy. The redhead noticed the multiple meetings with Haizaki and frowned.

I guess it'll be a tiring week for the boss next week. Akashi sat around and waited for Kuroko to come back.

Three hours passed when the boss finally returned. The redhead had fallen asleep at his desk and didn't hear the sound of the elevator arriving on their floor. Kuroko's suit jacket was draped over his shoulders, his hair disheveled from the long day. The blue haired man saw Akashi napping on his desk and smiled.

Kuroko approached and quietly placed a small energy drink on the desk before returning to his office. The redhead woke up to someone yelling about twenty minutes later. He startled awake and looked over at the boss' office door.

Boss is yelling? What's this..? Akashi saw the small orange flavored energy drink on his desk. He grabbed it thoughtfully, Did the boss leave this for me…?

The redhead sipped on the energy drink as he listened to Kuroko yell in his office. Something about 'bastard', something about 'cancellation', something about 'not wanting to put up with that scum'. Gee, boss sure has a foul mouth.

When the office was silent once again, Akashi knocked on the door. Kuroko was lying down on the couch of his office, his white shirt unbuttoned slightly, his suit jacket on the floor, his hair falling naturally across his forehead, his eyes closed.

"Boss, is everything alright?" Akashi asked, as I thought, he's beautiful with his hair down. His skin is so pale. If his cheek felt like silk, the rest of him must feel like heaven.

"You're staring." Kuroko said, his eyes still closed, "I can feel your gaze on me."

The redhead looked away and kept his mouth shut for he feared he would embarrass himself. Kuroko opened his eyes and smirked,

"You're quite the pervert, aren't you? It's almost like you're trying to strip me with your eyes."

"What? Boss, what are you saying?"

The blue haired boy sat up and motioned for Akashi to come closer. The secretary complied and hesitantly approached his boss. Once they were face to face, Kuroko studied the redhead in silence.

How handsome...Maybe I can allow myself to indulge in these feelings. I wonder what it's like...to be kissed by those lips. The boss abruptly stood up and grabbed his suit jacket that was tossed on the ground.

"Have a nice day, Seijuro." Kuroko said as he left the office.

Akashi stood alone in his boss' office, the blush creeping up his face. The redhead stood for what seemed like an hour, shocked as to what had happened and how easily he was called out, and then left for home.

They acted like nothing happened. Both of them felt the tension but none of them said a word. Yet Akashi couldn't help but yearn for his boss.

A week passed. Two weeks passed. More and more weeks passed. Haizaki and Kuroko had smoothed over many issues and attempted to make trades between their companies. Things were going well. Akashi got busier as Kuroko's schedule got busier.

When a meeting between Haizaki and Kuroko ended, Akashi watched as Haizaki left the building and waited a couple of minutes before walking into the meeting room. He saw his boss sitting by the window as usual, his eyes closed, napping.

The redhead walked towards his boss and lightly stroked his cheek. Kuroko hummed in appreciation and leaned into Akashi's touch.

"Still touching me when I sleep?" The blue haired man asked.

Akashi pulled away and stepped back from his boss, "I apologize, boss."

"That's alright." Kuroko replied smoothly as he stood up. Just as the boss was about to exit the meeting room, he turned and glanced at his subordinate,

"I do believe my schedule says I am available Thursday evening, correct?"

The redhead stared at the ground, unsure whether or not he'd be able to breathe if his eyes met Kuroko's, "Yes, boss."

"You're taking me out Thursday evening."

"Huh?"

"Say it." The boss ordered.

"I'm...taking you out Thursday evening."

"Good."

With that, Kuroko closed the meeting room door and left.

Akashi stood, stunned. He repeated the words in his head, you're taking me out Thursday evening. You're taking me out Thursday evening...Did the boss just order me to take him out on a date?

The redhead let out a small laugh, "Fuck...I'm in love."

After Akashi got over the initial shock of his boss asking him to ask him out, the redhead went through a panic on where to take the boss. The standards were high. The boss was always having fancy dinners and wearing nice clothes, the redhead wasn't entirely sure what to do.

Eventually, Akashi just decided to take the boss to the movies and then cook dinner for him at his apartment. It was plain, casual, hopefully he liked it.

When Thursday came around, the office was busy as usual. When the day ended, Kuroko and Akashi left together. The redhead was shaking like a leaf in the wind as he took his boss to the movie theatres.

The movie was...boring. Akashi internally screamed at himself for picking such a boring movie but when he glanced at his boss, he saw Kuroko watching intently. The blue haired man didn't go out often, if at all, so he found the movie theatres to be a wonderful treat. The redhead relaxed and then reached over to grab the other man's hand.

Kuroko's hand flinched at the touch. But then he slowly turned his hand over so that Akashi could lace their fingers together. The blue haired man smiled. Akashi felt blinded by it..

When the movie ended, they got caught in the sudden downpour. Their clothes were completely drenched by the time they got to the redhead's apartment. Akashi politely offered dry clothes and the shower as he prepared dinner.

"Your clothes are a little big on me." Kuroko mumbled as he entered the kitchen after the shower. The redhead turned and swallowed thickly.

He's...so small. Akashi thought to himself as he noticed how his hoodie and sweatpants dwarfed Kuroko. At work, the boss always held himself with such confidence, the redhead never realized how much smaller the man was.

They ate dinner and talked about anything not related to work. Akashi still wore his slightly damp dress shirt and tie but he didn't mind it much. Kuroko laughed and allowed himself to let loose for once. Akashi offered his boss some wine, which the blue haired man accepted happily. After dinner, they were both curled up on the couch in front of the TV with their glasses of wine and they watched another movie.

Kuroko felt warm inside. He wasn't sure if it was the wine or if it was how Akashi made him feel. But he wanted it to last forever. The blue haired man slowly leaned on Akashi's shoulder and closed his eyes.

Akashi froze and did his best to stay completely still. When the movie ended and the silence filled the living room, Kuroko gave into his desires.

The boss tilted his head towards his subordinate and kissed him. Akashi felt his heart shatter into millions of pieces. All the pining, the yearning, burst through his chest as he placed his hand on Kuroko's cheek and pulled him closer.

The blue haired man let out a surprised moan when he felt Akashi kiss him with an intense passion he had never felt before.

Ah...I'm burning, Kuroko thought, this man is burning me from the inside out. Burn me more. For you, I'd jump into these fires with a smile.

Kuroko's arms wrapped around the other's neck and allowed Akashi to pull him into his lap. The redhead's hands traced lines on Kuroko's skin, as if all the man wanted was to feel him. Kuroko's eyes fluttered open, wanting to see the expression on his subordinate's face.

Akashi's gaze was already on him. Kuroko gasped against his lips, unable to look away. His red eyes were heated like a flame, taking in everything Kuroko had to offer. The blue haired man smiled and thought to himself, I won't lose to a younger man like you.

Kuroko ground his hips down on Akashi's and smirked in satisfaction when he heard the redhead let out a small moan.

"Boss, I-"

"Stop calling me boss on our date. My name..." The blue haired man claimed Akashi's lips once more. The redhead felt like he was drowning. Drowning in his boss' eyes, drowning with every touch, drowning in those lips, drowning in his scent. He gripped Kuroko's hips tight in his grasp and pulled away from his boss. His breaths heavy.

"Tetsuya." Akashi sighed.

Kuroko's breath hitched, he felt his soul burst into flames. He had never heard his name spoken so beautifully, so sadly, as if his name meant more than just a name. The blue haired man ran his fingers through Akashi's red hair and leaned in to feel another kiss burn through him.

"Seijuro, please."

Their memories returned with their desperate kisses. Kuroko pulled the redhead's tie gently until their noses brushed against each other, "My little duckling, blush is a good color on you."

Akashi's face flushed and watched in a daze as the blue haired man took complete control of him like a witch who had casted a spell.

Kuroko hired the redhead into the company even after Momoi returned from her maternity leave. They got their fifty-seventh tattoo shortly after getting their memories back and Kuroko found out that Akashi secretly enjoyed having the blue haired man as a boss. Kuroko had always been bold even back in their first lifetime together, but Akashi couldn't help himself from falling deeper in love with him and everything he did. Every new lifetime, brought a new Kuroko to him and Akashi couldn't get enough.

Years later, they both passed away within the same year. They wished their love would never end.