Brothers

Longing

Akashi sighed and rubbed his temples as he looked at the stacks of papers that sat at the side of his desk. He closed his eyes for a while then glanced at the clock, it was now nine in the evening and he was sure Tetsuya was already asleep in one of his friends' rooms right now.

He felt bad for leaving his baby brother behind to go to work, but he was needed at the office and he couldn't say no since it was a meeting with the board members to discuss business. Besides, he was sure that Tetsuya was enjoying his time at the park with Aomine and Kise after Kise sent him a picture of Tetsuya and Aomine playing by the fountain with wide smiles on their faces and Akashi felt jealous of the fun both of his friends had with his own brother.

He was cut off from his thoughts when his phone vibrated against the table after receiving a call from Murasakibara. He thought that it was strange since Murasakibara hardly ever calls him, especially not at this time when he knew Akashi was still at work-- he likes to avoid his death that way.

"Atsushi," Akashi said with a sigh as he answered the call. Immediately, he heard Tetsuya crying in the background and his heart almost stopped. "What's going on?"

"Akashi," It was Midorima who answered him. "How fast can you come home?"

He didn't need to be told twice as Akashi immediately leaped to his feet and got his things. He cursed at himself for staying at work for too long. He hated it when Tetsuya cried, it always reminded him of that time when Tetsuya ran away after showing Akashi a face full of fear and tears and after that incident, Akashi swore to do his best to make Tetsuya happy.

He arrived at the mansion in a fast blur and was glad that it was already late at night that he didn't meet traffic on the road. He ran inside and bolted upstairs where Tetsuya's cries were coming from. From there, he saw Aomine and Kise outside his room and looked worriedly inside.

"Daiki, Ryota," Akashi called, a pang on his chest when he heard his little brother's cries.

"Akashi-cchi!" Kise said, "We're sorry, this is all our fault,"

"What is?" Akashi asked as he rushed inside his room to find Tetsuya in Murasakibara's arms while Midorima soothed aloe vera over his raw skin.

"Aka-cchin," Murasakibara greeted while he tried to keep Tetsuya from fidgeting as Midorima applied the cream on him. "Tetsu-chin had a sunburn,"

"He must've stayed too long under the sun," Midorima said, "And his fever's not helping him feel better as well,"

Tetsuya had his eyes shut as tears trickled down his face, his nose, cheeks, and arms were tinged painfully pink from the sunburn and his voice sounded hoarse from crying too much.

"There, there, Tetsu-chin," Murasakibara said as he gently pats Tetsuya's hair with his usually lazy smile. "It won't hurt anymore,"

Akashi dropped his suitcase and rushed to them and knelt in front of Tetsuya and Murasakibara. "Tetsuya, nii-chan is home now," he said gently. "Here, let me take the pain away,"

But the toddler shook his head and sniffed as he clung to Murasakibara who looked just as surprised as Akashi. Was Tetsuya mad at him?

Midorima put a hand on Akashi's shoulder. "He must've been upset when he woke up from his nap and didn't see you by his side," he said, "When they came home he was frantically looking for you,"

"Why didn't you call me sooner? I could've rushed home if I knew Tetsuya was looking for me!" Akashi snapped at Midorima. But the moment he did so, he was caught up and his expressions softened. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's alright," Midorima said.

"We're really sorry, Akashi-cchi," Kise said from the door frame. "We didn't know Tetsuya-cchi would get sick from playing outside,"

Akashi sighed and looked tired. "It's fine," he said then looked at Tetsuya who had just started dozing off in Murasakibara's arms.

"Ne, Aka-chin, you can have him now," Murasakibara said, "I doubt he'll wake up,"

"No," Akashi said, "If he wakes up in the middle of the night and finds out that I'm with him, he might start crying again,"

"But--"

"It's fine," Akashi said, "I'll... I'll try and talk to him tomorrow. In the meantime, Atsushi, can you have him stay with you for the night?"

Murasakibara took a while to reply. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Akashi nodded.

***

Akashi had just got out of the bathroom after a refreshing shower when a knock occurred at his door. Confused, he opened it to find Midorima.

"Shintaro," Akashi said, "Is everything okay?"

"I know you wanted to take care of Tetsuya tonight," Midorima said then handed him his thermometer and the aloe vera he used on Tetsuya. "I've told Murasakibara that you'll be the one coming in later. Set alarms to monitor his temperature,"

Akashi looked at the thermometer and aloe vera. "Did he cry because he was sick? Or was it because he woke up not knowing where I was?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not sure," Midorima said, "But I am sure that you won't be able to sleep properly tonight without knowing if Tetsuya's okay,"

Akashi smiled. "Thanks, Shintaro," he said then took the thermometer and aloe vera from Midorima.

Later that night, Akashi forced himself to wake up and get up to Murasakibara's room to find his purple-haired friend asleep with Tetsuya next to him, his long arms keeping Tetsuya close to him while they both dozed off.

"Atsushi," Akashi called, shaking Murasakibara lightly. "I have to check Tetsuya's temperature,"

Murasakibara groaned and moved over sleepily for Akashi to put the thermometer on Tetsuya and waited for a few minutes. Akashi swiped the stray hair from Tetsuya's forehead and felt that his fever isn't that high as before.

"He was mumbling in his sleep," Murasakibara said with a yawn. "Calling you,"

Akashi took the thermometer from Tetsuya and checked to see that his temperature had reduced to normal. "Did he now?" Akashi smiled sadly and started soothing aloe vera on Tetsuya's sunburns.

"Ne, Aka-chin," Murasakibara said as he prepared to go back to sleep. "You've changed. You smile a lot more, frown a lot more... you've shown emotions since Tetsu-chin arrived. You must really love him, and I'm sure Tetsu-chin loves his nii-chan the same way,"

Akashi smiled at Murasakibara's words. "Thank you, Atsushi,"