Rated: K+

Prompt: Making Up Afterwards

Thanks to: requiems dream, yukiseijuro, uniquemangalover, FallenxLinkin, BashyBunny, Takucchi, and Another observer of the world for the reviews! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Eye Water

Kuroko sat up and turned off the alarm that was blaring in his ears. He sighed and looked down at the hands on his lap. It's been a couple of days since their argument. It...almost broke his heart when Akashi had wordlessly taken to sleeping in the guest room and they've hardly spoken or seen each other at all. Though...he knew Akashi still cared, the evidence being the carefully wrapped food always present on the table for him to eat for meals, along with the bento that's always waiting for him in the morning for him to take to school.

Grasping his right hand, he stared down at the hand as he once again recalled what happened on the day of their argument. The teal head regretted slapping his lover. Even though Akashi was being completely unreasonable, he didn't deserve it.

Sighing, Kuroko stood up from the bed and went over to the bathroom. Looking himself in the mirror, he was paler than usual and dark circles were beginning to show under his eyes. After years of always sleeping next to someone else, sleeping alone again was...uncomfortable. The loss of warmth impacted him a lot more than he thought, as it ends up taking him hours to fall asleep again, when normally being wrapped in comfortable and warm arms would make him fall asleep instantly.

Poking the dark circles, Kuroko set to doing his usual daily routines, and since...Akashi is no longer there to take care of his bed head for him, he's taken to showering in the morning too so that he wouldn't have to waste a half hour trying to fix it himself.

He soon stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and dressed himself in cargo pants, a striped shirt and a white buttoned down collared shirt.

Walking out of his room, he hesitated as he took a step into the kitchen, his eyes trailing down to the table where his wrapped breakfast and bento sat waiting for him.

The fact that Akashi still bothered himself with these things made him smile a bit but also made him want to cry. He wanted to make up with the red head but...he didn't really know how. Should he just randomly approach him and say that he was sorry for slapping him? But...what if he was still mad and didn't want to talk to him?

The teal head sighed again. Thinking about those things would only make him even more depressed. Sitting down, he took off the wrapper off the plate and dug into his still warm breakfast.

He and Akashi had gotten into fights before, but never on this scale. Every time, Akashi would be the one to apologize after a day and make it up to him. Though, it didn't seem like he would be apologizing any time soon. Jealousy...goes a long way.

Seijuuro-kun...spoils me too much...

Finished with his breakfast, he took it to the sink and washed it, placing it on a rack for it to dry. Drying his hands with a rag, he went back to his room to grab his messenger bag, making sure that the correct text books and notebooks and whatever else he needed for his classes for the day were in there. Picking it up, he grabbed his cell phone and keys and walked over to the door. Taking his coat off the coat rack he tried to ignore the absence of another coat that was supposed to be hung with his. Slipping it on and buttoning it up, he slipped on his messenger bag over his shoulder and exited out the door.

–

Now at school, Kuroko sat silently in his desk, staring at the test paper they had just gotten back from their professor. He grimaced as he looked at the score. His score noticeably dropped, most likely because he's been distracted. He's found himself trailing away from the lectures and staring outside at the sky, wondering what Akashi was doing, wondering if he was okay, and hoping he wasn't overworking himself.

Kuroko went through the day in a slight daze, his thoughts still somewhere else. He ate his bento alone as usual in the courtyard and attended his last class for the day.

During the walk home, Kuroko decided that he would try to at least stay up late so that he and Akashi can talk. He...really couldn't take the silence between them anymore.

So...maybe he can cook for them tonight? Actually no...Kuroko noticed that Akashi has been coming home while he's in school to cook dinner early...since he practically always doesn't come home till late at night.

Kuroko sighed. Well...that plan to cook as a peace offering was out. Guess all he can do now is try to stay up late to catch him...or if that didn't work out, then he would try to get up earlier than usual the next morning so they can talk.

Arriving at their apartment door, Kuroko inserted the key in the keyhole and stepped through the threshold and into the humble home. Closing the door behind him, he set down his messenger bag and bent down to take off his shoes and set them neatly. Hanging his coat on the rack, he grabbed his bag and walked through the room, stopping at the kitchen to smell the delicious aroma of food...along with the faint scent of a certain cologne that lingered in the air. Smelling the familiar fragrance had Kuroko's heart tightening. Even though they're living in the same place, it wasn't the same when they're practically not seeing each other. He...he really misses Akashi.

Setting his bag down on the couch in the living room, his eyes trailed over to the closed door of the guest room, the room Akashi was currently sleeping in.

His legs moved over to the closed door, a hand raising up to grasp the door knob. Hesitating, he slowly turned the knob and gently opened the door, pocking a head in the room as soon as the opening was big enough. Cyan eyes scanned the room, taking in the neat appearance of the made bed and the closed curtains. Pushing open the door more, he stepped in the room, the familiar scent of his beloved assaulting him. Feeling his eyes water a bit, he stepped over to the bed and stared down at it before sitting down. He slowly laid down on the bed, gently running his fingers through the smooth satin of the bed sheets. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily, his thoughts going back to the years they spent happily together.

While middle school had a slow start and a rough ending, he still cherished the moments that happened in that school, as it was within that school that they had first met...where it had all began.

Then came high school, where they all went to their separate schools. After the Winter Cup, which his team Seirin had miraculously won, there was a party held at a certain restaurant, where practically all of the participating teams were invited to celebrate. While everyone's attention was on the fact that a new school that has only been open for two measly years won, Akashi and Kuroko were able to have some time alone and discuss things together. They had wordlessly accepted each other into their lives. It was a lot of fun during that last two years of high school. Days were spent training with the team, with their Coach doing whatever she can to help them improve, their senpais ordering them around, becoming senpais themselves and accepting new members into their team. Akashi would often ask to rendezvous with him during random times, one being when he was in class, and another during their team practice. It was safe to say that Coach wasn't pleased and often gave Kuroko hell for skipping practice. He was, after all, supposed to be acting as a role model for their new kouhais that joined the team.

After graduation, Akashi moved back to Tokyo and asked Kuroko to move in with him in the apartment he used to live in back in middle school. Ever since then, the two have been living happily together.

Thump-!

Opening his eyes, Kuroko blinked to see darkness. He sat up, confused and looked around. Why was it dark?

Getting up and off of the bed, he walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, his eyes widening to see the night sky. He whirled around to look at the clock on the nightstand to see that it was almost ten at night. Had he really fallen asleep without himself knowing, and for that many hours?!

The teal head tensed as he remembered that he woke up due to some sort of sound. It...couldn't be a burglar...right? Gulping and imagining the worst case scenario, he looked around for something to grab in self defense in case it is one. Somehow being able to make out the shape of a scissor on the nightstand next to the digital clock, he grabbed it and held it close to his chest, slowly moving close to the still open bedroom door. If he caught the person unguarded, perhaps he could perform an Ignite Pass Kai to the stomach, hurting them enough that he can call the cops.

Popping his head out the room, he saw a figure slouched in the doorway. The figure seemed to struggle to stand, only to fall to their knees again.

Eyebrows furrowing at an unusual behavior, he cautiously and silently walked out of the bedroom, using his misdirection so that the figure wouldn't notice him, and felt along the walls for the light switch.

With a mental 'Found it!', he flipped the switch on, closing his eyes at the sudden brightness. Slowly opening his eyes to get used to the light, his eyes focused to the figure crouched on the floor, only for his eyes to widen and a gasp to escape from his lips.

"Seijuuro-kun?!"

Darting over to the fallen red head, Kuroko crouched down and gently grabbed the others shoulders, hoping to straighten him up. He ducked his head down to look at Akashi's face, wondering what was wrong with the man, only to see and hear the man breathing heavily and quickly. Bringing a cold hand up to the red head's face, his breath hitched at the hotness the skin emitted.

Wrapping his arms around the taller man, he hoisted him up to get him standing, only to stumble backwards when the weight fell on him.

He's heavy...

Grabbing an arm to pull over his shoulders and wrapping his other around the red head's waist, he slowly pulled him over to their bedroom, dropping Akashi down on the bed the moment he reached it, the teal head panting from the effort.

Looking up, he walked over to turn on the lamp that was situated on the nightstand, then pulled back the covers of the bed. He pulled Akashi more onto the bed, taking off everything except for the boxers and tucked him into bed. Throwing the clothes in the hamper, he went back to the doorway to grab the suitcase that was dropped and pulled the scattered shoes to sit neatly side by side next to his own. He turned off the light and made his way back to the shared room, setting the suitcase on their dresser. He then walked over to their bathroom, looking in the cabinets for a basin, filling it with cool water and grabbed a small rag. Walking back over to the bed and sitting down next to the resting figure, he set the basin next to Akashi's pillow and dipped the rag in the water. Squeezing the excess of the water out of the rag, he fold it into a rectangle shape and dabbed the cool cloth on the red head's burning body, running the rag on the chest, around the neck, and dabbing his face gently with the rag and resting it on his forehead. He would have to wait for him to feel better before having any sort of talk. But that...that can wait. Right now, he needed to focus on getting him better.

The teal head looked down at Akashi with sorrowful eyes. No doubt he overworked himself and finally collapsed today. He...felt so regretful.

The night continued on, with Kuroko laying down next to his lover and falling asleep, only to wake up again to remember to change the rag and re-wet it, running it over his chest, neck, and face again.

The next morning, Kuroko stirred up awake again, opening his eyes to see the red head still fast asleep. The labor breathing calmed down a bit, but after feeling the temperature, he was definitely still sick. Getting up, he dug in his lover's coat for his cell phone, phoning the company to inform them that their boss is sick and won't be coming in today, and after receiving a message of 'get well', hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen. Curry still being the only thing he can make, since he hasn't been visiting Kagami ever since their argument, he set to opening a can of chicken soup and heating it. He got out a tray that was often used whenever Akashi wanted to spoil Kuroko with 'breakfast-in-bed' and set it on the counter. After pouring the pot of chicken soup in a bowl with a spoon, he set it on the tray, along with a tall glass of orange juice, and some medicine for Akashi to take.

Picking up the tray, he made his way to the bedroom, only to pause in the doorway when he laid eyes on a now awake Akashi sitting up on the bed and looking down at his hands in wonder.

"You collapsed."

Akashi's head snapped up at the words to see Kuroko standing in the doorway.

Silence passed between the two until a second later, Kuroko stepped into the bedroom and over to the bed and set the tray somewhere on the bed to reach under it to pull out the low half table to set on top of Akashi's lap. He set the tray on the table and sat down on the bed, raising a hand up to feel the forehead, catching the attention of the red head.

"How do you feel, Seijuuro-kun?" He asked, concern filling cyan eyes. "You overworked yourself again. I called the company and told them you won't be coming in today, so you can rest for the day."

"...What about school?"

"I'm skipping. Taking care of Seijuuro-kun is more important right now."

"Please eat, Seijuuro-kun. Afterward, please take your medicine and get some rest. I can work on my homework today and if there's anything you need, I'll-"

"I'm sorry."

Kuroko blinked and stared at wordlessly at the other.

Akashi looked up at the teal head. "What?"

"...I should be the one to apologize." The teal head whispered, staring down at his hands. "I shouldn't have hit you. Even though Seijuuro-kun was being unreasonable, I shouldn't have done that."

Seeing a hand clasp his own Kuroko looked up to see mismatched eyes boring into his intensely. "No, Tetsuya. It should be me who should apologize. I let my emotions get the better of me. I let my jealousy cloud my judgment...and you had the right to hit me. I shouldn't have forced myself on you like that when you didn't want it. For all of that...I am sorry, Tetsuya."

Hair covering his eyes, Kuroko could only nod as he felt a lump in his throat. He threw himself to the other and wrapped his arms around his neck, burying his face in the junction between his neck and shoulders. He relaxed as he felt arms envelop him, allowing just a few drops of tears slips past his eyelids, feeling Akashi bury his nose in the teal locks he oh so loved.

Eyes widening, Kuroko pulled back to stare at Akashi with shocked eyes.

"W-What?"

"You heard me."

Kuroko could only stare some more.

Chuckling, Akashi kept his arms wrapped around the petite waist and rested his forehead against the other.

"I assure you this isn't fever induced. I've had time to think the past couple of days. My behavior during that time was childish. I know you love me and you belong to me. I know that. But these emotions still find their way to well up inside and take over me. I need some reassurance, not just from myself and what I know, but from you too. That's why, Tetsuya."

Smiling softly, Akashi placed a hand against a cheek and gave his lover a chaste kiss.

"I want you to marry me."

Whew! Finally finished this! I admit I wanted to cry when writing this. It was so agonizing for me!

I was wondering how to end this, and I was thinking to end it with some rated T+ stuff but then I thought of something good, if not better than that!

Next Prompt: Gazing Into Each Others Eyes