Comfort   von Gepo
                            (Twin-story to "Hurt")
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                      Kapitel 19: Unforeseen revelations
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“Please modulate your tone, father. This seems to be a misunderstanding.
Kuroko is a good friend of mine from my time at Teiko middle-school.” Akashi
rose up again, his eyelids tightened in disapproval. It was good to know he did
not share his father's views. But Kuroko was beginning to understand how his
friend could have come up with an idea such as the hunts after growing up in
this environment.
“An Akashi never befriends a low-life like an Omega. Get this thing removed
from my house” The man ordered.
“I choose my friends according to our familial goals. Shunning Omegas in
today's society is an antique view and not supportive of our aims. I ask that
you take back your discriminatory words and apologize, father.” Akashi did not
budge even a millimeter, his voice frosty as ice.
“You go too far, Seijuro.” The older man balled his fists.
“I act according to the standards you implemented. Politeness even in front of
lesser creatures, as you see Omegas as, is mandatory. Anything else would
besmirch our image. So apologize.”
Both exchanged blows with their looks and subtle bodily reactions. Kuroko simply
tried to diminish his presence as far as possible to be able to escape. He did
not want an apology, he simply wanted to be somewhere else.
“Omega, you are unwanted in this household. I do regret the name-calling. Now
leave.” The older man pressed out.
Kuroko went up to Akashi and whispered: “Please show me out, Akashi.”
The redhead did not seem happy about this turn of events but he acquiesced. His
father stepped aside when they passed him and went the other way as soon as they
were out of sight. Kuroko led go of the breath he had been holding this whole
time.
“I apologize. I did not want you to see such a scene.” Akashi sounded rather
subdued.
“Will this have consequences for you?” Without question. That father had
seemed like a demon incarnate.
“He will cut my funds. It will take my opportunity to end things with my
fiancee. He won't touch my horse if he knows what is good for him.” The
murderous intent was clear to see on his face. He wasn't angry at his father.
Akashi hated that man with a vengeance.
“Do you hate him that much?” Kuroko shuddered again. Did no Alpha know
anything about family values?
“My mother didn't simply die. She bore an Omega. He wanted my brother dead,
she forbid it. They both had an unfortunate car accident just a few days
later.” The other looked at him, one way completely golden. “As soon as I
can get away with it, that man will die.”
Oh god. Dear god. This was so wrong. It made him happy to hear Akashi wanted to
avenge them and did not take the same stance as his father but killing someone
was still wrong. He took the other's hand, shook his head and whispered:
“Please don't.”
“Why should I spare him?”
“Because I don't want you to live with the burden of having killed your
father. Accumulated sins only make you turn into him.” He hoped Akashi was
still able to hear his words, not too lost in his world of cold and precise
brutality.
The other stopped, looking at Kuroko with astonishment and blinking until his
eyes were red again. After that he stayed silent for another moment before he
spoke again. “You are right. I am very sorry you had to see that side of me
again.” Akashi looked at their connected hands, turning his to take Kuroko's
hand into his. He continued to whisper while he led the other out: “It is my
biggest fear to turn into him someday. In my eyes you are the only one able to
stop me if that should ever happen. So please don't ever be afraid to speak your
mind in front of me.”
“Why am I the only one?” Kuroko asked curiously.
“Because you will be the first to notice.” Akashi looked over his shoulder,
suddenly changing course and drawing him down another corridor into a small
dining room that did not seem to be in use. The curtains were drawn, the
furniture under wraps. The other closed the door behind them. “Listen,
Tetsuya.”
Kuroko drew in breath, stealing himself for something horrifying.
“I love you.” Wait, what? Those red eyes bore into him. “I have done so
since you became a first string player in middle-school. I wanted to be your
mate but I knew I was never allowed to. I set you up with the hunts because I
was bitter and because it was one way to have a piece of you I would not be
allowed otherwise. That was cruel and horrible and I know that. You have every
right to be angry with me. I am appalled at my own behavior. I was turning into
my father back then and you brought me back from that once. I know that it is
much to ask but if you have it in your heart to forgive me, I'll be an eternally
grateful friend to you.”
Batch.
Akashi's head turned to the side, his eyes wide with surprise.
Kuroko's were even wider, looking at Akashi's cheek, then his own hand in
astonishment. Had he just slapped Akashi's face? Really? An Omega hitting an
Alpha? He tensed, fearful gaze turned toward the other. Should he run?
Akashi lowered his head and whispered: “I deserved that.”
Good. He was still able to take thinks calmly and objectively. Kuroko relaxed a
bit.
“You tend to amaze me, Tetsuya.” The other looked up again. “I did not
think Omegas were able to raise their hand to an Alpha. You always defy fate.”
He smiled. “Really, that's why I love you. It's a shame I didn't come to my
senses sooner. If I had not been such an idiot in middle-school, I'd have asked
you to elope with me.” He sighed and closed his red eyes for a moment. “It
is too late now though. I hope your mate will make you happy. If not, I am only
a call away. Okay?”
Okay? Really? Nothing was okay. This was so far from okay, it was … oh god.
Akashi was in love with him? That guy was resistant to his pheromones, so he
really meant it. Akashi was in love with him and had been for over three years.
“I apologize, that may have been a bit too much for one morning.” The other
held out his hand. “May I accompany you back to the train station?”
Kuroko nodded weakly and took the offered hand. Home sounded good right now.
Somewhere where Mister Perfect did not tell you in one sentence that he was in
love with you and therefore had other people rape you for him. That was so wrong
on so many levels … damn. Had he really just slapped an Alpha and gotten away
with that?
Somehow he wanted to ask if he was allowed to do so again. Hitting Akashi had
felt really good. There were people you just did not hit and Akashi had simply
taken the blow. Kuroko would really like to take a photo of his reddened cheek.
Could he ask? No, that was going too far. But really, that had been good. As
sweet as the knowledge that he could call that man for about anything and might
actually get it.
“I promise to call if I am in trouble.” He said when they were already
seated in the limousine.
“I am glad to hear.” Akashi took his hand, enveloping it in his warm,
calloused one for a moment. “I owe you for what I did in my confused state.
And I can't ever thank you enough for bringing back my original personality.”
“If you ever get close to turning into your father again, give me a call. I'll
try to bring you back again.” Something else was on the tip of his tongue but
it could tip the other off. Should he try? Akashi was rather stable and calm
after all. “Please give your children into my care as well before they take
the same turn.”
“That might not be a bad idea.” The redhead smiled. “Though I fear your
mate will not take lightly to that. He will accuse me of trying to win you over
with children.”
“He will need to learn to reign in those urges.” Annoyance mixed into
Kuroko's voice. “I will never betray him willingly. He will need to learn to
trust me on that.”
“He is an Alpha. He knows that a stronger Alpha can win you over if he meant
it. If I wanted to, I could break your bond. I won't ever do that because I
respect you but he instinctively knows that I am a danger and will always be. He
can also smell my feelings for you, even if he does not register them knowingly.
Just as I was able to smell your feelings for him. Even I don't tend to attack
people out of the blue if I do not have a reason for it.”
“You attacked him with scissors because you were jealous?” Kuroko asked in
disbelief.
“Pretty much” Akashi admitted. “I was really conflicted after that
meeting. I wanted to win you over but on the other hand I wanted you to be happy
and I knew he could make you happier than I could. I kept thinking about that
our whole game long.” The other sighed. “It was the strangest thing, I did
not want to lose but a part of me wanted nothing more than to lose to him to
make you happy.”
Dear god, could anyone please stop this man? He really had a way with words.
Suddenly Kuroko wanted nothing more than to ask the other to break his bond with
Kagami. Good thing that he was pregnant and therefore had a reminder with him
that made him able to escape those sweet words. No wonder Kagami hadn't wanted
him to meet this handsome devil. Akashi really was a league of his own.
“I hope you will find someone else worthy of your devotion and able to return
your feelings.”
“I hope so too.” The redhead looked at him for a long moment. “I hope I
won't make the same mistake twice. I should never have let you go. But I am
happy I did. It is good to see you this content.”
“Thank you for not making this any harder.” He did. He made it harder. Just
in a sweet, caring way that was so much harder to resist than the insults thrown
at him. All those insults … his childhood had been full of them. As a child,
he had accepted all of them as true. His mother and he were trash, the bottom of
society, only an Omega bitch with her a child doomed for prostitution. He felt
tears in his eyes.
“Kuroko?” Akashi leaned over, having sensed or smelled the change in the
other's mood. “What is it?”
“I … I don't know.” He hiccuped. Tears? Why was he crying?
The redhead signaled something to the driver which made him park the car. After
the car did not move anymore Akashi unfastened their seat belts and collected
the other in his arms, trying to calm him with humming and an embrace.
“Shush … what did I say? Why are you crying?” Akashi actually sounded
lost.
“I really don't know.” He uttered. He just felt so, so sad. Like having just
realized that someone dear to him had died. Something out of the blue. But
nobody had died. He had already accepted Aoki's death. Was his baby alright? He
did not feel any pain. Oh god, could it be his baby? “I feel strange. Akashi,
I need to get to the clinic. I need to know if my baby is alright.”
“Why shouldn't … well, okay. Where is this clinic?” Akashi took the card
Kuroko gave him, telling their driver the address through their intercom. “Do
you want me to hold you while we drive?”
Oh god, yes. Yes please. He clutched Akashi's shoulders, not allowing the other
to let go of him. He cried and shivered in the other's arms the whole hour of
their drive. This was most likely unsafe but being held by the other felt
unbelievably good. It shouldn`t by like that, this should be kept to his mate.
Was it true that Akashi could break their bond? Was that what was happening? If
the other bit down on exactly the same spot, would he still be Kagami`s? He
wasn`t sure anymore.
At least it did not seem like this was planned in any way. Akashi looked
distressed, he even smelled distressed. Kuroko found it hard to remember if he
had ever seen the redhead this uncomfortable. He held him, stroked his head and
cheek and took control of his breath whenever it got too fast. God, he
remembered those gentle strokes from the times Akashi had asked him for
blowjobs. He wasn`t sure how he should feel about them today but at the time he
had liked to give them. Or at least they had been enjoyable physical contact,
only slightly forced.
Kagami would scold him for thinking like that. Even Akashi himself had said that
he had used the rape situation as a way to have Kuroko without anyone making
assumptions. The other had forced him into a situation where he himself had been
his protector, benefactor and maybe even savior in the end. If Kuroko had not
met Kagami and Akashi had won the Winter Cup, would he really have used that
right to claim Kuroko? No, most likely he would have come up with something new
because he was still in a position where he could not mate with an Omega.
Or maybe he would have killed his father before the Winter Cup final.
That was another possibility. Truthfully Kuroko did not like the way he was able
to follow Akashi`s train of thought, especially when it got to murdering or
maiming people. But it did get him thinking how far the other would have gone
for him. He wasn`t sure how to feel about that … being flattered would
certainly be wrong. You could not be flattered when someone actually planned on
killing people to be with you, no matter the circumstances.
They arrived at the clinic a bit over an hour later. Kuroko had been able to
calm enough to ask: “What about your appointment this afternoon?”
“It would have been with my father. I fail to see why I should spend time with
that man right now. Even if, you are more important to me. Please lead the
way.” Akashi gave the driver some kind of sign which made the man drive off.
He followed the blue-haired into the clinic, standing next to him while Kuroko
asked for an emergency appointment.
The nurse asked some questions about pain, bleeding and dizziness but he had to
answer negatively to all of them … by now he actually felt a bit silly.
Really, all his other pregnancies had survived multiple daily rapes and often
even violence. His kids seemed to have an unshakable will to live. But Akashi
wasn´t annoyed with him, standing by his side all concerned and attentive.
Damn, this felt a bit like having an affair. He had Kaga-
Oh god, Kagami. Why hadn´t he called his mate? He should do so right now. He
blanched which immediately made Akashi ask what was wrong, only to see the other
furiously blush and shake his head. Kuroko turned away from him before
answering: “There is a balcony from which people are allowed to make calls. I
want to call Kagami.”
“Of course.” Always the gentleman, Akashi opened the balcony door for him,
went to stand in the wind to break it for Kuroko and helped him when the
blue-haired dumbly fumbled with his phone.
Oh god. He was so screwed. He knew what this was. He was mated, he was pregnant
and his heart was doing summersaults for another man. This was so not good. He
could not fall in love with Akashi. Should that even be possible with a mated
Omega? Shouldn´t his scent be off-putting to the other? When he looked up, he
saw calm, attentive pinkish red eyes who only looked at him.
He should not be flattered. But damn, he was.

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