To Fix What We Broke

Seijuro

Akashi tucked Kuroko into bed at the hospital and left the room to join the other GOM's and Dr. Midorima in the hall.

"So I heard it went well." Dr. Midorima spoke once Akashi had closed the door.

"He agreed to accept help at least. So what now?" Akashi asked the doctor.

"Willingly accepting help is a huge step. It significantly increases his chances, however there is still a long battle ahead. We can talk about this later though. For now, you should enjoy this victory." Dr. Midorima smiled and started to turn away, but his son stopped him.

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say we would rather know now." Midorima looked at the other four who nodded in agreement.

Dr. Midorima sighed. "It will take a while to explain..."

"We have time." Akashi interrupted.

"I have some rounds I need to do. Wait in my office. My son knows the way. I should be back in an hour or so." Dr. Midorima paused as a thought popped into his mind. "Actually, why don't you boys grab something to eat first? You're probably hungry. You can eat in the cafeteria or my office, just be in the office in about an hour." He smiled and waved as he walked off.

"Shall we get something to eat then and take it to the office? It will be more comfortable than the cafeteria." Midorima suggested. They all agreed and headed to the cafeteria.

Once they had their meals they followed Midorima to his father's office and sat down on the couches and chairs.

"The game was fun, but now I'm tired." Kise leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes.

"It was only a half game." Aomine taunted.

"An emotional half game!" Kise glared at Aomine who glared right back practically growling.

"Eat your food." Akashi's stern command stopped them both instantly.

"Sorry Akashicchi."

"Yeah. Sorry." Aomine huffed looking away.

"Kuro-chin looked very happy though!" Murasakibara piped up in between mouthfuls of cake.

The rest nodded in agreement before quietly attending to their food. When they finished, they chatted about the game till Dr. Midorima returned.

"I'm glad you didn't get too bored waiting for me." The doctor crossed the room and took a seat in one of the empty chairs. The relaxed mood tensed.

"Back to our conversation earlier I assume?" Akashi asked. Dr. Midorima nodded.

"So what happens to Kurokocchi now? What do we do?" Kise's smile had been replaced with a serious look as he asked in a quiet voice.

The doctor sighed and met the eyes of each person in the room. "Accepting help is a big step in the right direction. As I said before, his chances of surviving are much better now, however, this is only the beginning of the battle." Dr. Midorima began to explain in the simplest way he could. "Recovery is a rollercoaster. You see, there are physiological and psychological changes that occur when mental disorders are developed. Simply removing or resolving the trigger or triggers doesn't erase the damages. There are changes in hormone levels, paths for neurons firing, sensitivity levels/threshholds, etc. that occur with these disorders. Habits such as fear of food, self-deprecating thoughts, self-blame, causing physical harm to relieve stress, etc. have been formed. These things don't just disappear overnight."

"So he may still try to hurt himself?" Aomine was trying to understand the implications with little success. Dr. Midorima nodded.

"Yes. We won't take him off suicide watch for a while just to be safe."

"Kurokocchi......"

"Be patient with him. Don't ask him to be his old self right away. It will take time and even once he recovers, he will need a continuing support system for the rest of his life to avoid relapse. Relapses are common both during recovery and after the patient is considered recovered."

"Even if you glue Humpty Dumpty back together again, the cracks are still there and it will take less to break him next time because those cracks are now weak spots." Kise blurted out surprising everyone and confusing some.

"What the hell are you talking about Kise?!" Aomine wacked the blond on the head.

"I think he just said something insightful for once in his life." Midorima commented as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"That's mean!" Kise pouted.

"I don't get it." Murasakibara complained and Aomine agreed.

Akashi smiled. "Thank you for explaining Dr. Midorima-san. We know it won't be easy, but we won't give up on him. You have my word." Akashi stood and bowed. "Let's let the doctor get back to his work. Come on everyone."

Everyone stood and followed Akashi out of the office.

"Well, I promised my mom that I would help her with some stuff later today so I gotta run. Text me if anything happens!" Aomine took his leave quickly.

"Atsushi, don't you need to catch the train soon?" Akashi reminded the giant who nodded.

"Can I say good bye to Kuro-chin first?"

"Yes. But if he is asleep, don't wake him up."

"Okay!" Murasakibara grinned and bounded down the hallway and out of sight. Akashi turned to Kise and Midorima.

"What are you two going to do now?"

"Mmmmm," Kise thought for a moment before his face went pale. "Actually....I have a paper due tomorrow that I haven't written yet...I should probably..."

"Baka." Midorima's tone lacked interest in the situation. He sighed when he noticed Kise was making puppy dog eyes at him. "You want my help don't you?" He sounded annoyed.

Kise nodded enthusiastically drawing out another sigh from the green haired teen.

"Fine. I'm only helping because Kuroko would feel bad if you got a bad grade for trying to cheer him up instead of doing your homework!" Midorima defended himself but Kise had already tuned him out after he agreed and was dragging Midorima by the wrist out of the hospital. Akashi smiled after them and made his way to Kuroko's room.

Murasakibara had already left when he arrived inside the room. Akashi ran his hands through Kuroko's hair before settling down in the chair.

"Akashi-kun?" Kuroko slowly opened his eyes before coughing. Akashi grabbed a cup of water and lifted Kuroko's head so he could take a sip.

"Are you okay?" He asked after putting the cup back down. Kuroko nodded.

"Please." The bluenette weakly padded the empty space on the bed beside him. "It's cold....and lonely..." He blushed slightly. Akashi smiled and removed his coat and shoes before climbing onto the bed.

"Of course Tetsuya." Akashi said as he settled in. Kuroko slowly turned onto his side to face the red head.

"I love you Akashi-kun." Kuroko whispered. It was so quiet Akashi almost didn't hear it. Almost.

"Seijūrō."

"Huh?"

"If you love me, call me Seijūrō, or Sei if you prefer."

Kuroko blushed again and buried his face in Akashi's chest.

"Say it." Akashi encouraged while stroking Kuroko's back.

"Seijūrō-kun." Kuroko whispered into Akashi's shirt. Akashi smiled.

"Go back to sleep Tetsuya."

"Don't leave."

"I won't."

m Grid s2