Day 16: Regrets and Car Accidents

Summary: Kuroko heads to the grocery store for his weekly grocery shopping and Akashi doesn't think much of it. That is until a few minutes later, when a fatal car accident occurs at the same store. And what's worse? Kuroko isn't answering his cell phone…

"Akashi-kun, I'm going grocery shopping," Kuroko called to his lover. Said redhead was flipping through channels of the television, not bothering to turn around and face him.

"Alright. Have fun, Kuroko," he responded, crimson eyes still glued to the television.

"Akashi-kun. Grocery shopping isn't fun. It's boring but I have to leave and do it anyway," he deadpanned, the phantom desiring to just be lazy today but today's the day of his weekly trip to the grocery store. He has to leave, whether he likes it or not.

"If you say so," Akashi waved it off, flipping to another boring channel with the TV remote.

"Well I'm heading out now!" Akashi could hear his lover open the front door.

"Take care!" he called back to Kuroko as he listened to the door close, silence seeping through the whole house minus the random noises from a candy bar commercial that happened to be the TV channel he stopped at. Such an uneventful day mixed with boredom leaves one unhappy Akashi.

He continues to flip through channels, hoping to find something at least a tad interesting. He later settles for a local news channel, allowing the news reporters to report about events that he doesn't really care about.

A half an hour came and went, barely noticed by the redhead since he felt like it was 2 hours instead of half an hour. He was that bored. The news was getting repetitive, repeating the weather report, repeating sports news that the redhead didn't care for, everything was just repetitive and it was boring Akashi to death.

That is until this sudden breaking news came in.

"Breaking news! A fatal accident has occurred in the parking lot of the local grocery store!"

Akashi snapped back into reality. A car accident near the grocery store? Isn't that the one that Kuroko said he was going to?

Okay no need to start panicking now. There are a dozen grocery stores in the local area, Kuroko could be at any of those and not necessarily at the one near the accident. Maybe he's fine.

A news reporter on the scene snapped Akashi out of his thoughts.

"I'm here at the site of the fatal accident and it appears that a car was racing through the parking lots and crashed into a nearby shopper who we believe was heading to their car. Reports can't identify the victim as of right now but we'll bring more news as we get updated."

Akashi felt his heart rip into shreds. That could easily be Kuroko. It usually takes him about half an hour to shop and with his weak presence, the chances of him being hit by an unsuspecting vehicle is that much higher.

The redhead's heart rate started to increase and his breathing became erratic. He needed to calm down. Maybe if he can get a hold of Kuroko on his phone. If he answers, then he knows for sure that Kuroko is still alive. So with that idea, Akashi scrambled for his cell phone, his hands shaking as he tried and fail to keep his composure.

He called his lover via speed dial and put his cell phone to his ear, heart beating in his throat as he begged for his significant other to answer his cell phone.

But instead of hearing the glorious sound of a ringtone, the phone went straight to voice mail. If Akashi wasn't panicking before, he definitely is now.

He calls Kuroko again. It goes straight to voice mail.

Again.

No response.

AGAIN!

Still Nothing!

He continues this futile effort 20 more times but every single attempt only brings him straight to voice mail. This was bad. This is very VERY bad. Kuroko never turns his phone off so that couldn't be it. Maybe his phone was broken? Akashi was getting paranoid and he had every reason to be.

He was very tempted to call 911 and ask for answers. He doubted that they would tell him any information but to Akashi in his current mental state, that was the only option. His Kuroko had to be alive. He HAD TO BE!

Swiftly, he dials 911 and this time, he hears a woman's voice off of the receiver.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Ma'am, I need to know the identity of the victim in the accident at the grocery store!" he all but shouted, beginning to develop a cold sweat.

"I'm sorry, sir but I can't divulge that information to you," the woman calmly replied, a true opposite to the collapsing Akashi.

"Ma'am this is important. Can't you tell me anything about the accident!?"

"All I can tell you is what the media has released. And that is that a young man was run over by a car and killed upon impact. That's all I can tell you and please stop abusing the 911 service," she calmly responded and hung up just as quickly, leaving Akashi speechless and in shock.

She said that the victim was a young man; he didn't know the victim's gender or age but Kuroko was a man and young at that. This is bad. This is very VERY bad.

He had to control his breathing, try not to hyperventilate. The evidence was against his favor; Kuroko was on his way to that exact store where the accident occurred, he has a low presence so getting caught in an accident is that much more probable, the victim was a young man, his lover wasn't answering his cell phone either.

He couldn't take it, he knew he should just accept the truth. Maybe he was being too irrational, but the stress, the grief, the panic, the shock and everything else was becoming too much for him to bear.

Before he completely collapsed, Akashi dialed a different number on his speed dial, trying to keep as much composure as he could as he awaited the other to answer.

It only took two rings before he heard someone pick up the phone.

"Akashi."

"Midorima…I need you to come to my place immediately," he muttered, his voice choked up, holding back tears. There goes the plan to remain composed.

"Why Akashi? You know that I have better things to do-"

"Kuroko is dead."

A long pause. Then as if on cue, "I'm on my way."

And he hung up. Nothing more and nothing less.

Luckily Midorima only lived 10 minutes away so it didn't take too long for him to show up, however in Akashi's mind, 10 minutes felt like a lifetime of misery and grief. His lover is dead. He didn't even get to say a proper good bye, or even 'I love you' one last time.

He heard the door open, and a tall, broccoli haired male entered, adorned with a worry expression. Despite it being summer, he was carrying a sports bag, probably his lucky item but Akashi didn't care. He was shaking, tears threatening to appear and his gasping short breaths, on the verge of a total breakdown.

Midorima was silent, setting his sports bag down on the floor and walked slowly towards his friend, Akashi in turn refusing to look Midorima in the eye, afraid that he would break.

"Akashi…I'm sorry," he muttered, placing a comforting hand on Akashi's shoulder.

And that was all it took for Akashi to completely shatter.

It took Akashi 20 minutes for him to calm down from his breakdown, relieved that Midorima was at his side, comforting him as best as he could and that he wasn't alone. He hated this feeling of emptiness and loneliness, the realization sinking in that the love of his life has left this world. What was a man to do, now that the only love of his life is gone?

The tears stopped, for now, and Akashi was still attempting to catch his breath when Midorima turned around, his back towards Akashi.

"I'll make you some tea, it should help calm you down," he mentioned, walking in the direction of the kitchen. Akashi didn't stop him, as much as he didn't want to be left alone, perhaps he could use this alone time to lament about his regrets, what he could've done to make Kuroko's last moments with Akashi that much better than the lack of attention that he gave him when he left the house for the last time.

No, Akashi needed some air. He needed to breathe, even if just for a moment and try his best to clear his mind of these damaging thoughts.

So with that, Akashi stood up, and shakily walked towards the front door, only planning to go a few steps outside. He opened the door, eyes downcast and the first thing he saw were pale blue tennis shoes.

…The same shoes that Kuroko wears when he goes shopping.

"I'm back from the grocery store."

Akashi was speechless. Could this be true? Surely he wasn't seeing a ghost? He placed his hands on Kuroko's cheeks, touching them gingerly, as if the phantom truly was a phantom that could easily be blown away.

His cheeks were warm, soft and tender. Baby blue eyes filled with light stared right back into crimson one's filled with disbelief.

"K-Kuroko?" Akashi muttered, already on the verge of tears, his vision blurring.

Kuroko only cocked his head back, confused. "What's wrong, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi struggled to get the words out, his voice choking up and tears beginning to stream.

"Y-your alive…your alive!" Akashi tightly embraced Kuroko, euphoric and relieved that his beloved Kuroko was alive. He buried his nose into the crook of Kuroko's shoulder, body shaking as tears of pure joy continued to flow.

Kuroko on the other hand was dumbstruck, confused as to why Akashi was acting this way and remained completely still, not really sure how to react to this odd situation. He wasn't even expecting the tight embrace either, the sudden gesture causing Kuroko to drop his groceries to the ground forgotten.

Kuroko opened his mouth to speak, but Akashi quickly pulled him into the house, lifting his head from his significant other's shoulder, his crimson eyes now even redder from crying but other than that, he seemed to be in euphoric relief.

He pulled away slightly from the embrace, head turning to the side before he shouted in glee, "Midorima! Kuroko's here, he's alive!"

Midorima in turn raced in a completely uncharismatic way towards the duo, forest green eyes widening in disbelief.

"Kuroko, thank goodness you're alive," he sighed in relief. Kuroko couldn't believe what was going on. Midorima is worried about him, Midorima even in their house, Akashi was crying into his shoulder and Akashi never cries.

"Wait, what is going on?" Kuroko had to question, watching intently as Akashi and Midorima just looked at him with a confused expression.

"Didn't you hear the news?" Midorima asked, seemingly shocked that Kuroko had no idea what had just happened. The baby blue haired man just shook his head.

"There was a fatal car accident at the store you were just at. We thought you died!" Akashi explained, wiping the tears from his eyes and trying his best to return to his usually calm and composed self.

Kuroko stared at them blankly. They thought I was dead? But why? Wait a minute, did Akashi-kun say something about a fatal car accident?

"Did you think I was the person involved in that car accident?" Kuroko asked, his suspicions proven true when both Akashi and Midorima nodded their heads.

"Well that wasn't me. I didn't even know there was a car accident. Though I do remember seeing an ambulance racing down the road as I was walking home," he answered, his eyes looking away from the duo and his hand placed on his chin in thought.

Akashi blinked at Kuroko's words. He just mentioned that he walked home.

"Kuroko, don't you usually take the car to the grocery store?" he questioned, since the grocery store was quite a ways away from their house.

Said man shook his head. "The car battery was dead, so I decided to walk to the store instead. I would've told you about it but my phone died on the way to the store. I guess I forgot to charge it before I left," he answered matter-of-factly.

Akashi was stunned. Well that explained why Kuroko failed to answer his phone and why he didn't know about the car accident. It must have happened after Kuroko left the store.

He sighed, relieved that his lover is alright but that emotional breakdown really took its toll on the redhead. Now he only wanted peace and quiet, just holding his beloved Kuroko until he fell asleep, so he knew that Kuroko would be safe out of harm's way. He could lecture him later.

Midorima pushed up his glasses and sighed heavily. "Well it's a relief that you're fine but please try to be more responsible so you don't give your lover a panic attack."

Kuroko nodded. "I will, Midorima-kun. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Well it looks like Midorima beat him to the whole lecturing aspect. Good, less time to be upset at his significant other and more time loving and treasuring him.

The couple watched as Midorima left shortly after that, quickly stating that Akashi's tea was in the teapot and would be finished very shortly. Sure enough, just seconds after Midorima left, the tea kettle went off, a high piercing whistle echoed through the apartment, and Kuroko went over to the tea kettle to pour the two of them some tea.

The two of them sipped their warm tea in content and comfortable silence. Not much longer after that the two of them were spooning on the couch, watching old TV shows while holding each other close. Their legs were tangled together and Kuroko's head was right beside Akashi's chest, allowing him to clearly hear the soothing rhythm of his lover's heartbeat. Akashi in turn had his arms wrapped around Kuroko's midsection, his chin sitting on top of Kuroko's head. The redhead could feel the rise and fall of Kuroko's midsection, reminding him that his beloved Kuroko was indeed alive and well. He would treasure this feeling, these precious moments where he could be affectionate with his lover, give him the love and adoration that he deserves and then some, it was all Akashi could do so that he wouldn't have any regrets, and that Kuroko was happy and felt loved.

"I love you, Akashi-kun," Kuroko whispered, his soft voice filled with so much love that Akashi could feel his heart flutter. Even though Kuroko couldn't see it, Akashi smiled lovingly. The happiness that he felt seeing his lover, alive, well and happy was something he couldn't even describe in words.

Instead, he squeezed his lover gently, planting a kiss on the top of Kuroko's head.

"I love you too, Kuroko."

Notes: My 1st attempt at angst in this fanfic challenge so I hope I did a good job at it. This is also only my 2nd time writing Midorima so forgive me if he's a tad ooc. I'm just not used to writing him...

Anyways with that out of the way, reviews, comments and so forth are encouraged and appreciated! :)