Chapter Text
Kagami first realised something wasn’t normal when Kuroko stirred in his sleep. It was extremely unusual for the blue-haired boy, who generally slept like the dead. School and basketball practise coupled with Kuroko’s low stamina – and then wherever and whenever possible adding on their… bedtime activities – it all left Kuroko absolutely exhausted and taking every minute of rest that he could, and Kagami doing the same.
So when his shadow moved in his sleep, twitching against Kagami’s chest, he knew something wasn’t right. The redhead had just returned from the bathroom, moving as quietly as possible so as not to disturb his lover as the digital clock on the bedside table glowed 3:26am. He pulled the smaller boy closer to him, fingers trailing up and down his spine, careful not to wake him, but hopefully with enough pressure to reassure him that he was okay.
He frowned as Kuroko only seemed to grow more restless, shuddering a little in sleep and Kagami wondered what he was dreaming of. He switched on the bedside lamp when nothing seemed to change and the shadow didn’t seem to calm down. His brow was furrowed – a rare expression on the usually expressionless face, and Kagami’s fingers gently traced the lines between his brows, hoping to smooth them away.
Kagami wasn’t sure what to do. Was waking Kuroko up the best thing to do? But if this wasn’t a nightmare, like he suspected it was, he’d have woken him up for nothing and would result in a very grumpy Kuroko later on in the morning. But if it was a nightmare, Kagami loathed the idea of his love suffering from anything, even his own mind. Kuroko had put enough pressure on himself for a lifetime, and they’d finally overcome most of their hardships, especially in basketball, and Kuroko had been happy for the last few months after the Winter Cup had been won.
The decision was taken away from him when thirty seconds later Kuroko froze, and his eyes cracked open.
“Kuroko?” Kagami murmured softly into the quiet, as gently as possible so as not to startle his lover.
“K-Kagami-kun?” Kuroko whispered back, sounding confused for a long moment.
Then Kagami’s eyes widened in shock as Kuroko’s filled with tears and the blue-eyed boy threw himself forwards, wrapping his arms around Kagami’s neck and burying his face in his collarbone.
“Kuroko?” Kagami’s bewilderment showed in his voice, but his arms came securely around the slim body and held him close, rubbing his back again in an attempt to comfort. “What’s wrong?”
“Just a bad dream,” Kuroko’s voice was muffled against Kagami’s skin, and Kagami felt a tiny ounce of relief as he noticed that Kuroko had held his tears back. He didn’t want Kuroko to be controlling himself for Kagami’s sake, but also knew that he was terribly weak against Kuroko’s tears and would do anything in his power to make them stop, as each one of them cut into Kagami like a knife, and had, in fact, ever since that first game against Touo.
Kagami pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head, one hand coming to pet through blue hair as he knew Kuroko liked, hoping it was helping in some small way.
“Want to talk about it?” he offered after a few minutes, after the shuddering through Kuroko’s body eased and the tension slowly melted out of him.
Kuroko sighed, wiggling up a little so his face was on the same level as Kagami’s, pressing lips quickly to his lover’s in gratitude.
“It’s nothing important,” he assured him softly.
“’Nothing important’ doesn’t leave you in tears,” Kagami reproached softly, but Kuroko knew that if he didn’t want to talk about it, Kagami wouldn’t ask him to. But the shadow also knew that it would bother his light, even as much as actually telling him what he’d been dreaming of would also bother his redhead a little.
Kuroko sighed, loosening his hold a little on Kagami’s neck and pulling back enough that he could see all of his lover’s face, rather than getting lost in hot red eyes. The redhead was frowning a little, but everything was overshadowed with concern and Kuroko couldn’t help but feel most of the worry still squeezing his heart lift and dissipate into nothingness. He was loved. He knew that, believed that with every fibre of his being, but believing and seeing it were always two separate things. And this reassurance from Kagami now, this clear evidence of the love that the light held for shadow lifted Kuroko’s spirits until he almost couldn’t hold his smile back.
“I love you, Taiga-kun,” he murmured softly, and saw confusion blanket the features he adored so much once again, bringing forth a smile against his will.
Kagami went to ask Kuroko what on earth was happening, but the small, happy smile on his lover’s face dispelled all questions and he could do nothing but give in.
“I love you too, Tetsuya,” he replied softly, pressing a soft kiss to softer lips.
“I know,” Kuroko whispered, pressing his face back into Kagami’s neck and closing his eyes. The warmth of his lover, the gentle weight of strong arms around his back, always there to support him, the heartbeat thumping in sync to his… Kuroko didn’t know how he’d ever live without it. And the quiet knowledge that he wouldn’t, that Kagami was by his side now and forever stopped all of the pain and the fear that the nightmare had brought forth, until Kuroko could barely remember what the dream had been about, why it had scared him so much.
Because he had Kagami-kun, and Kagami-kun had him, and with nothing more than that, he was happier than he could ever be.