Neee, this is it, guys... Honestly, I don't feel I've done you justice with this chapter... But I hope you enjoy anyway. I love you all. *heart*

In an instant, the children were up and running toward the door, eyes wide and hearts pounding. The lady in the doorway, with her white blonde hair braided behind her back, smiled sweetly at them as she pushed her way through.

"Hello, my lovelies."

Akashi slowly walked into the room, a mixture of emotions overwhelming him as he watched Kuroko in the background, his blue eyes wide with fear. The other children were merely confused, and Nina was already smiling happily as she looked up at her mother.

"Mommy! I knew you'd come back!"

The lady laughed, and it was melodious, and it hurt Akashi's chest. She bent down to pick the little girl up, stroking her matching hair. "Oh, Nina, you're so beautiful."

"I look just like you!"

"Yes, you do, sweetcakes." The lady's eyes shifted, and she finally caught sight of Akashi. "Who is this?"

Akashi mechanically stepped forward, pushing himself into the circle of tension that surrounded this woman, because of the boy behind her. "I'm Akashi Seijuro. Tetsuya's-"

"He's my boyfriend."

The woman paused, her smile frozen as it seemingly turned to cheap plastic before their very eyes. "Oh," she said, "well, I'm *Mei. Their mother."

Akashi nodded. "I gathered that."

She continued to stiffen before his eyes, and he chanced a glance toward Kuroko, only to find him with a blank expression. "Well… If you'll excuse me, I'd like to sit down and, be with my children."

Akashi nodded, moving to the side as she passed by, Shiiro and Kenchi in tow. Kuroko stayed behind, refusing to look the redhead in the eye.

"What the hell, Tetsuya?"

The bluenette flinched at his voice, though it was a hushed tone, but Akashi couldn't feel sympathy for him.

"You lied? About your mother's death?"

Kuroko sighed. "It's not what you think-"

"Oh, it isn't? Because it looks like you told everyone that your mother was dead, and now she's here, in this house!"

"Yes, I lied, okay? But I did it for them!"

Akashi stared at him, his brows furrowing. "For them? They don't know? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Kuroko moved forward, closing most of the gap between them so he could lower his voice. "You don't know that woman like I do, Seijuro. I had to protect them-"

"Protect them?" he scoffed. "That's what you were doing when you kicked your father out, how does lying to them about their mother have any resemblance? How long have you known anyway?"

Kuroko rolled his eyes, trying to keep his cool so as to not worry the others. "Look, my father comes home one night, drunk off his ass, and grouchily tells me my mother is dead, do you really think I wouldn't look into that myself?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I went and found her before I said anything to the kids. She was married to some rich dude, mooching off of him, whilst we stayed here, living under an abusive household. I lied, to protect them."

Akashi bit his lip, trying not to yell as he shook his head at the bluenette. "What gave you the right to lie to them like that?"

Kuroko scoffed, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "What gave me the right? Let me tell you a little more about my mother, Seijuro. When Shiiro was six, she sold him to a crack house so she could get one extra packet of cocaine in her pocket. I was the one that had to go buy him back. When my father found out I'd spent his alcohol money to get our brother back, he beat me for two hours. My mother watched. You weren't here for that.

When Kenchi was nine, she kept him out of school, dressed him up in rags and threw dirt in his face. Then she made him stay outside, all hours of the day, begging people for money. 'It's a game,' she said, 'we're pretending to be homeless.' Kenchi was actually homeless for a month before I could find him. You weren't here for that.

And you weren't here when she threw empty beer bottles at my head until I bled, or when she tried to get me to sell my body for her fucking drug money. You weren't here for any of that, so you don't know the hell we went through with her around. So when she left, abandoned us without even a tiny bit of an excuse, I looked at Nina, and I saw her untainted innocence, and I decided right then that she would never know what it was like. And that, is what gave me the right."

Akashi stared at his boyfriend for a long time, stunned into silence as he looked back at the woman on the sofa, laughing and holding her children close. "Tetsuya… I am so sorry."

The bluenette shook his head, but there were tears threatening to spill over. "Don't apologize to me. Just help me figure out what she wants. She wouldn't have come back if she didn't-"

"Alright, I'm leaving."

Kuroko looked up at his mother, his eyes fixated on the child in her arms. He lifted a finger to point to Nina, "What is she doing?"

Mei laughed. "She's coming with me, silly~"

Akashi could physically see Kuroko's blood pressure rising, and he readied himself in case he had to hold him back.

"Oh no, no she's not going anywhere."

Mei batted her eyelashes at her son, her smile becoming plastic once more. "Tetsuya, baby, this is my house, and Nina is my child, and I can do whatever I-"

Kuroko shook his head. "No. I won't allow it."

Mei sighed, pursing her lips. "Well why don't we let Nina decide?"

She set the girl down and knelt to her level, smiling sweetly at her. "Nina, baby, who do you want to stay with?"

Nina nervously shifted her eyes to Kuroko, who stood in silence, but even for an innocent seven year old, she was smart. She could clearly read the devastation in her brother's eyes, and though she didn't understand why it was there, she knew what she had to do. "I'm going to stay with Tetsuya for now. Maybe you can come home soon, Mommy."

Mei smiled, but it was forced, until a light shone in her eyes, and she nodded. "Yes, maybe I can. Alright, it's late, my lovely. Kiss me goodnight, and I'll see you some day when Tetsuya isn't being a big meany~"

Kuroko rolled his eyes as Nina kissed her mother, running up the stairs and to her room. Mei then turned her eyes to Kuroko, sharp and deadly. "Thanks, shithead."

"Get out of our house."

She smiled, wicked as a witch. "I'll leave, for now. But darling, remember, this is my house."

Kuroko watched her leave before turning back to Akashi, who looked absolutely sick.

"I'm sorry, Seijuro."

He shook his head. "Why didn't you try to stop Nina? How did you know she'd choose you?"

Kuroko sighed, looking down at the floor. "I didn't. But there's one thing I will never do, and that's actively try and turn her against her own mother."

XXXXX

A few days went by, and there had been no sign of Mei. The basketball team's practices were becoming shorter and shorter, as both Akashi and Kuroko were afraid of the children being home alone. Until one day, Akashi made the announcement at lunch.

"No practice until further notice."

Everyone blinked at him, confused to say the least.

"What's going on, Akashi-cchi?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

Though the redhead didn't mean to, he'd inadvertently caused every single pair of eyes to shift to the bluenette beside him. Only this time, Kuroko didn't care enough to sink into the shadows.

"Family issue," was all he said.

Kise frowned, sharing a worried look with Aomine. The tan man sighed. "Tetsu, we're all friends here. We'd like to help."

Kuroko bit back a groan, knowing that his friends meant well, but they were interrupting his concentration. "If you want to help, you can tell me how I can get legal custody of my siblings and get the house in my name."

There was silence for a long while, before Midorima spoke up questioningly. "Why do you need such things, Kuroko?"

"Family issue."

Kagami rolled his eyes. "If you don't tell us the circumstances, we can't help."

Akashi sighed. "I know the circumstances, and I still can't help."

Kuroko paused for a moment, thinking. "… My father is out of the picture, and my mother has recently come back home with the intention of stealing both my house and my family."

Everyone stared at him in silence, trying to wrap their minds around his words. Kuroko could see the questions filling their heads, and he quickly added, "No questions, I won't answer them."

Kise sighed, looking up to the sky in thought. "You're only seventeen, Kuroko-cchi… And if your mother is there, I doubt there's any way for you to do the things you want…"

Murasakibara stopped chewing long enough to say, "I can crush someone for you."

Midorima sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "He doesn't need brute force. He needs a well thought out plan."

Kagami sighed. "Well if it's a thought out plan you need, I'm out."

Aomine nodded. "The only thing I can think of is bribery."

Another long pause of silence ensued, until Akashi turned to face Kuroko, a newfound glint in his eye.

"I think I know a way."

Kuroko's heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of his wishes coming true. "You do?"

He nodded. "And if your mother is as self-centered and irrational as you made her out to be, it'll work."

XXXXX

That afternoon, Kuroko texted Kenchi to tell him that if Mei showed up, he was to call immediately. Kuroko then joined Akashi in the search around town for his yet again missing mother.

It wasn't terribly long before they found her, sneaking out the back of a rundown warehouse. Kuroko sighed as they approached her, and she put on her fake smile, refusing to even glance at Akashi.

"Tetsuya, baby, what are you doing here?"

"We came to make a deal with you, Mother."

Mei laughed. "Oh how silly, why don't we just do things the way I say we should? I am your mother, after all."

Before Kuroko could speak, Akashi stepped forward, forcing the woman to look directly into his eyes. "At least listen to the deal. I have a feeling you'll like it."

Mei grimaced, her face contorting in disgust. "I don't know what the hell I did wrong. I can't believe my darling Tetsuya has resorted to a boy's touch. And you, of all people. I know you, you're that psycho everyone keeps telling me about. I don't want you anywhere near my baby."

"Perhaps what you did wrong, was abandoning your children, leaving them under the care of their alcoholic, abusive father. And I may be a psycho, but at least I love your son."

Mei rolled her eyes. "Love, what's it good for. What you need is money~ It's the only thing that makes the world go around."

"Well I have that too."

She blinked. "How much?"

"None of your concern. Can we please discuss what we came here to discuss?"

She thought it over for a moment. "Fine. Make it quick."

"You want the kids, and the house, correct?"

"Duhh."

"So do we. But, if you let us have the kids, we'll give you the house."

Mei scoffed. "What good is the house without the brats?"

Akashi took a deep breath, pushing his anger down as he leveled his gaze with the woman's. "I'll pay you for the house. Double what it's worth. It'll be a reverse sell."

Mei pursed her lips, contemplating. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. Tetsuya gets full custody of all three children, you leave them alone."

"Well, what if I want to see them?"

"You can have prearranged visits, but only in our home, under Tetsuya's or my own supervision."

"….Deal."

XXXXX

After the deal had been made, money had been exchanged, and documents had been filed, Kuroko turned his worried gaze to Akashi. "Seijuro, we don't have a house."

Akashi sighed, a tiny blush appearing on his cheeks. "Well, Tetsuya… I was going to wait until graduation to tell you, but… I bought us an apartment."

Kuroko blinked. "What? But, what about the kids?"

Akashi was relieved that that seemed to be his only concern, and he smiled. "It's for them too. I knew you wouldn't leave them alone like that, and I wouldn't want you to."

Kuroko stared up at him for a long while before wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him as hard as he could. "I love you."

Akashi's blush deepened, but he planted another small kiss on his boyfriend's lips. "I love you, too."

"…So how big is it?"

The redhead laughed, explaining the place in full detail.

XXXXX

Three months later, Akashi sat at his new family dinner table, a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Kuroko smiled as he caught sight of him, walking over and kissing his cheek.

"Morning, Sei, love."

The redhead smiled, lifting his head to give his lover a proper kiss. "Good morning."

"Where are the kids?"

Akashi smirked to himself. "They went to the park."

Kuroko paused. "Sei, what if something happens?"

He turned his crimson eyes to his love, watching as he nervously looked out the window, as if he could see them from here. "Don't worry. I gave them a taser."

Kuroko turned his wide blue eyes to him, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Just kidding. Sheesh. Ryouta and Daiki came to pick them up."

He blinked. "How long have you had this planned?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kuroko rolled his eyes and pulled Akashi's book from his fingertips, placing it onto the table as he positioned himself in the redhead's lap. "You do know what I'm talking about. My alarm clock didn't go off, though I distinctly remember setting it last night. You had a cup of coffee already made just the way I like it. And the kids are already gone."

Akashi smiled, taking a sip of his drink. "Okay, fine. So I wanted to enjoy the day alone with you. It's our first day officially moved in. There's no chores to do, nothing to unpack. We can just relax…"

Kuroko smiled as Akashi nuzzled his head into the crook of his neck, and a small giggle bubbled up from his throat. "Hm, I guess it could be nice."

The redhead smiled at him as he kissed his nose, before Kuroko pulled him in for a long, sweet kiss.

*Mei – Derived from "Meimu" (roughly translated as Delusion)

**** Spoiler? : Mei was a lot nicer to everyone once she'd gotten everything she wanted and her husband put her in rehab for a little while. Being completely clean, she soon became the mother Kuroko always wanted- needed.