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Kuroko didn't mind being a spotter. He was often saved on the asymmetric bars himself—it was definitely his most hated apparatus—so he usually didn't mind.
Except when one seriously annoying Akashi Seijuurou made it his mission to fall into his arms at least once in his routine.
Kuroko knew he did it on purpose. The other gymnast never did so many mistakes in his routines (and he noticed that when he was not the spotter, Akashi usually performed flawlessly.) He had half the mind to just let the other male fall down but he still feared that in his idiocy, he'd actually injure himself so he begrudgingly kept on catching him mid-air. Akashi did put himself into dangerous stunt just to force Kuroko to save him. He once asked Kuroko why the latter did not fall into his own arms more often and Kuroko had just sighed with a deadpanned expression.
"I'm just being more careful than Akashi-kun, that's all I'm doing."
"A shame Tetsuya, I'd be very happy to catch you before anything could happen to you, you know?"
He truly was an idiot. Though, a freaking talented one because that idiot was nowadays training for the Olympics qualifications. It had been a little over than two weeks since he started training separately and Kuroko would never admit it aloud but he had been missing the red haired gymnast more than he should.
Mid-terms season approaching, Kuroko didn't have time to spare for gymnastics. He wasn't preparing for any big competition, so he focussed on his studies, going to the library instead of practices (most of them did like Tetsuya, only the competing ones were still regularly going to the gym). However, seing that the lights of the gymnasium were still on one night, Kuroko had decided to stop by to see if it was indeed who he hoped it was that was training and his intuition had been correct.
Akashi was lost in his performance, not noticing Kuroko's entrance with his earbuds secured in his ears, eyes closed in concentration. Watching Akashi's flawless execution of his routine, Kuroko leant on the main door soundlessly, enjoying the opportunity to watch the red haired gymnast without having to hear the latter boast about his skills.
He had to give it to him, Akashi was absolutely magnificent as a gymnast and as much as he liked to annoy Kuroko, he was quite impressive when he was performing. Kuroko couldn't imagine him fail to qualify with that quality of movement and—
And, as much as Kuroko was entranced, he noticed that something was wrong before Akashi could land after he jumped.
Time seemed to slow for a second. After three years of watching him purposefully slip up to fall into his arms, Kuroko had started noticing what could potentially become a reason of a fall (he hadn't been named as one of the best spotter for nothing after all). And that almost unnoticeable slip that he caught in Akashi's first reception made Kuroko drop his bag without a single glance and sprint toward him as quickly as he could. Akashi's twist was awkward, a bit off balance but nothing he couldn't handle. However, if the gymnast had believed his salto would not be affected by it, Kuroko saw right through it while Akashi jumped again, sacrificing some strength of his jump to fix his balance, believing that it would be enough to correct his salto.
And once he was back in the air, his eyes automatically opened wide, feeling his body lose its rhythm. His reception would be awfully painful if he wasn't mistaken—and he couldn't believe he was doing such a ridiculous mistake now out of all time—when his coach wasn't around to be his spotter. Maybe he had been a bit too presumptuous thinking he could practice by himself. He couldn't see himself getting out of that nasty fall and he just prayed that it would not injure him too badly, already thinking about the qualifications that were supposed to take place in a week. Akashi just braced himself for his body to land and for the pain to kick in, hands protecting his neck just in case.
Yet, nothing happened. Breath caught in his throat, Akashi's red eyes immediately met Kuroko's blue orbs and his limbs went numb at the familiar touch. He noticed that it had truly been a close call with his head very close to the ground and legs still up in the air while his torso was securely trapped in Kuroko's arms. Fear slowly evaporated while Akashi blinked a few times before he smiled guiltily.
"Akashi-kun, what the fuck is wrong with you? What would you have done had I not been there?" It was rare to see the blue haired male angry; his face did not really betray his emotions but his eyes conveyed his anger and panic. It would have amused Akashi had he not been the one causing this rare display of anger.
"Ah, but Tetsuya was there to save the day, so what do I have to fear?" That obviously wasn't the reply Kuroko had been expecting because the latter dropped him on the floor and Akashi's smirk quickly disappeared.
"I never thought you were that much of an idiot, Akashi-kun. That was ridiculously dangerous and you could have seriously hurt yourself. You know you shouldn't attempt dangerous jumps if you have nobody around to be your spotter. The qualifications are coming up, do you want to miss it that badly? You could have done something less dangerous if you just didn't want to go." And Akashi knew better than anyone what those words from Kuroko meant.
Because if Kuroko wasn't preparing for the qualifications, it wasn't because he wasn't good enough to participate or because he didn't want to. If anything, Kuroko's floor was a lot more impressive than Akashi's routine. However, the blue haired gymnast was still recovering from an injury that could have been avoided had his spotter not been distracted (damn Haizaki and his focus of a toddler. That was also the reason why Akashi tried to be Kuroko's spotter a bit more often than he used to. Kuroko trusted Akashi more than anybody when it came to spotting and after his fall that costed him 6 months of training, Kuroko refused to train with some people. The only one he trusted blindly despite his idiocy was Akashi).
"No, I don't. I truly believed I was in a good physical condition and could practice one more time without anyone around. That was, however, a very bad decision, obviously, and I'm very glad that you were there to catch me. Thank you, Tetsuya." The seriousness of his tone soothed Kuroko's anger. The latter wordlessly nodded after observing Akashi silently.
As long as he understood what he meant, he didn't have any reason to berate him more than necessarily. He had noticed a sliver of fear in his eyes when he caught him. It was enough of a lesson.
"You should go home and rest, Akashi-kun. You'll have time to train tomorrow." And Akashi could not miss that opportunity to tease the young gymnast.
"It depends. Are you coming with me, or not? Because going back to my dorm alone does not sound really appealing right now." Back to his usual flirty tone, Akashi smirked, knowing that his friend—were they friends?—would probably give in to his request.
"Does Akashi-kun even know what time it is?" Exasperation could be heard his Kuroko's voice and Akashi mentally applauded himself for being able to reverse the situation to his benefit.
"Too early to call it a night, Tetsuya." He almost sounded like he was whining but Kuroko knew better than that. However, he didn't have the energy to tell him off.
"You're going to kill me one day, you know that right?" Akashi didn't even try to hide his proud grin. He just caught Kuroko's waist, wrapping one arm around him, bringing the other male closer.
"I'll be there to catch you if something were to happen to you, don't worry too much." Akashi kissed his cheek, watching the tips of his ears redden. As much as Kuroko tried to look unaffected, his body usually betrayed him quickly. And Akashi let an amused 'cute' slip out.
"I'm not cute."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Akashi-kun."
"Tetsuya."
Kuroko just sighed. Defeated.
"Whatever." Maybe he'd let Akashi have the last word tonight. After all, it wasn't often that his cru- friend made such a mistake out of fatigue. He'd take care of him just that night.
Otherwise, Akashi would never let him hear the end of it.