It was another hour of just sitting and talking until Lev finally let out a heavy sigh and stood up. Tsukishima was clearly tired, but not looking as if he was going to fall asleep any time soon. He was curled up in the corner of the couch, holding a pillow close to his chest. To any other, it would be considered a pitiful sight. To Lev, it was difficult, seeing the pain that his best friend was in and knowing that it wouldn't be easy to simply deal with the problem and move on. There was a potential real danger with letting him go back to his parents, and that was something they both knew. Right now though, he felt the main priority was taking care of Kei, so that he wouldn't end up sick again like he was on Friday.

"Come on, I'll get you something to eat, Tsukki. Even if you don't feel great, we need to make sure you're taking care of yourself. Do you want me to get Kuroo for you?" the taller male asked, his tone gentle as he looked down at his friend. The response he got in return wasn't anything more than a shrug, but there was a longing look in Kei's eyes at the mention of Kuroo. Lev frowned, but took that as an indication to do so. "What would you like for dinner?"

Again, there was a shrug, and Kei looked down at his hands. Even when he was in warm clothes, clothes he knew were Tetsurou's, he just felt so cold. Nothing seemed appealing to him at the moment, even strawberries or strawberry shortcake. Kei was exhausted, but the prospect of sleeping caused a pit of fear to open up deep in his chest. He felt so weak, but the knowledge that in a week he would be in his parents house, and far away from any semblance of care, that scared him more than he wanted to admit. He'd already admitted so much, taken up so much of people's time that day, been such a bother. That was how he felt, and he didn't know how to rid himself of these feelings even when people were more than happy to help him out and wanted to help him.

And the idea of seeing Tetsurou, that made him feel a mixture of things. There was a warmth and safety he had associated with the older male, but knowing that it would be taking him away from his parents and his house and making his evening sad — that made him more than reluctant to bother him. That was why he didn't give Lev a proper answer, because that way he didn't feel like he was making the decision to bother his boyfriend. It felt so ridiculous, that others had to fix his problems and help him, over things that he'd never wanted to share. Bringing them so deep into his mess, making them stressed and upset because he was too, Kei just saw everything as a reason they might leave him.

"Kei?"

The blond flinched in his seat when he heard Lev, having zoned out somewhat and not having answered for a few minutes. "Right, sorry, you were asking about dinner?" he asked quietly, biting his lip and tugging on the sleeves of his hoodie so that they covered his hands. "I don't really mind, just something warm."

Lev smiled sadly and sat back down beside him, shaking his head. "There's no need to be sorry, and I'll get something warm sorted out for dinner. I was just wanting to let you know that Kuroo is going to be here in a moment. So, don't you worry about anything, m'kay?"

Kei nodded in understanding and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Mhm," he grunted, chewing on his bottom lip lightly. The room felt cold, but he didn't want to make the half-Russian have to get up again to get him a blanket or turn on the heating. There was something about the chill that Kei knew wasn't just a result of the room temperature, too. He felt cold deep inside, like a part of him was empty, that had always been. Being devoid of parental love his whole life, only now was he beginning to recognise how he felt, and realise why he felt such coldness in his heart.

The knocking on the door wasn't too long after, and Lev got up to answer it. Kei didn't make any effort to move, vaguely aware of the voices and footsteps, but not quite responding. He knew that Kuroo was there, but wasn't quite sure how he would face the other male, how he was even going to be able to begin to explain what was going on. Kei just wanted to forget, even now, he just wanted to push everything away and pretend life was good. But pretending wouldn't get him anywhere, and hiding things would only make it more difficult.

His boyfriend was right there waiting for him, but it was all too hard, and Kei wasn't coping. In the past, it wasn't very often that Kei had let people in. Now, though, he was doing that all too frequently and the very fact began to cause an onslaught of fear to begin rushing into the coldness of the void in his heart. He'd let things out all too much that day, and it hadn't gotten him anywhere — just a sobbing, shaking mess. There was that sense of helplessness that the blond knew all too well; it was suffocating and all encompassing, washing over him until everything just felt numb and it created disconnect between his mind and reality.

x-X-x

Kuroo had not long finished having dinner when he received a text from Lev, asking him to come over. 'It's about Tsukki', the message had said, and those three words were all it took for him to come sprinting out the door and down the staircase without another word.

Once again that day, there was no knowing what to expect when he reached. It could be anything, but considering the events of that morning and the previous night he doubted that it would be good news. Tetsurou knew that Kei had been struggling — such as the way the younger had been upset before Kuroo put on the movie, and had fallen asleep not long after — but wasn't sure what could have triggered something now. Considering his boyfriend's parents tendency to be total arseholes, it could have been anything.

Lev was at the door, and had opened it after the first knock. The taller male looked worried, and didn't have to wait for Kuroo to ask what was wrong. "His parents came and left a letter while he was out at your place," he said softly. Tetsurou's heart clenched painfully when he heard this, a feeling of anger bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, but he stayed silent for the moment. "They claimed that they cared for and understood him, that he wasn't really gay and they knew he had lied to get out of the marriage. I doubt they're that dense and I don't think they care, so either they're in denial or something a lot worse is going on. There's something else though, Kuroo, they..."

"They want to take him away, don't they?" Tetsurou interjected, his voice a mixture of anger and hurt as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, careful not to slam it as he turned around and met eyes with Lev, who nodded ever so slightly.

The male's green eyes were unusually serious, and watching him carefully, like a silent plea not to get angry or upset. They couldn't afford to, not right now. "They aren't taking him from Nekoma and as far as I know he can still play on the team, but they want him to move to their house. They're not letting him go to see Akiteru and Yamaguchi either, but I'm guessing that's not the worst of it."

It took the dark haired male a good few moments to process everything, that little pit of hatred inside starting to grow as the possibilities of what could happen surfaced. The bruise on Kei's cheek, the way the blond had looked earlier in the day when he was breaking down in Tetsurou's arms; those were things Kuroo was terrified would become frequent. And if the only time they had together was at school, he was afraid of what would happen if the blond tried to bottle things in or hide it.

Without saying another word, Tetsurou headed into the living room, his breath catching and heart clenching as his eyes landed on Kei, and in mere moments Tetsurou was pulling him into an embrace. There was no response, no return to the hugs and no reaction to the murmurings of 'I love you' and the whispers of his name. Just shaking and sobbing, and a terrified expression that made Kuroo ache and fear, both now and for the future.

There wasn't much that he could do apart from just be there and hold him close, and if this was what was happening now, Tetsurou didn't want to imagine what would happen if Kei actually had to live with his parents. It was difficult, and it took Kuroo everything not to break down himself, longing for some sort of reaction or sign.

When Kei had finally calmed down who knows how long later, Lev had finished making some soup and brought a bowl over, one that the half Russian ended up eating after they both came to terms with the fact that the blond wasn't going to. Even when the shaking and tears were long gone, Tetsurou struggled to get much of a reaction from his boyfriend, only a couple of dull hums when he had been lifted onto the raven's lap. The blond had looked up, as if he hadn't known where he was, and for a moment their eyes met. There was a distant look in those honey brown, tear stained eyes, a look that broke him to see. Even as he rested his head on Tetsurou's chest, it was like Kei wasn't Kei anymore, and Kuroo didn't want to let him go.

"You should probably get some rest, Lev. We all need it, it's been a very long day," he eventually said, glancing at the silver haired male who was sitting beside them, watching some show on the television that wasn't really a show, but one of those thirty minute long commercials for a useless product nobody would buy or use. "I can look after him from here on out."

Lev took a moment to respond, glancing over a few moments later. He seemed hesitant, as if he was afraid to let the blond out of his sight, and took a bit to look over Kei before slowly nodding. "You both need each other at the moment."

"Come over in the morning before school, we'll have breakfast waiting for you," Kuroo said, scooping the blond up into his arms and holding him close. The 'let me know if something else comes up' went unsaid as Lev met eyes with him once more, standing and walking beside them as Tetsurou walked towards the door. The older teen was quick to exit once the taller opened it for him, but was also quick to look back and give him a tired smile. "And Lev? Thank you, for everything."

x-X-x

The time between when Kuroo had arrived and the early hours of the next morning was a blur to Kei. He wasn't able to remember much of the hours that passed, only remnants of hushed whispers, the beating of hearts, and an embrace so warm and loving that it could only belong to one person.

When he woke, there was no light peeking in through the curtains of what Kei soon recognised was Kuroo's room, but in the darkness there was a strange sense of peace. It was the sort that wasn't exactly kind, nor cruel, but just a dull calmness and tranquility that wasn't empty nor cold as he'd felt before.

Tetsurou's arms were wrapped tightly around him, holding him close in a way that seemed more like the older was clinging to him than the other way round. It was too early to be awake, whatever time it was, but Kei didn't really care. All that mattered was that he and Kuroo were both safe, and he could spend this time with his boyfriend. God only knew how much of that time they would have left together like this, away from prying eyes.

It wasn't long before Kei curled closer, lightly tracing shapes on Tetsurou's chest as he listened to his heartbeat, slowly drifting off to sleep once more, knowing that this was only the calm before the storm.