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“Where’s Kuroko-kun?” Riko’s angry voice echoed throughout the gym as her eyes scanned the hall, searching for Seirin’s shadow. Practise should have started by now, and everyone but for the blue-haired boy was present.
Everyone else looked around, but the quiet boy was nowhere to be seen.
“Maybe he’s late?” Kiyoshi suggested with a shrug. “Hey, Kagami, you’re in the same class. Where is Kuroko?”
“Huh?” Kagami snapped out of his daydream, having not really been paying attention to the goings-on. “He’s right here,” he said with a frown, pointing to the boy who’d been standing silently at his side ever since they’d entered the gym together.
“Kuroko!” Riko marched over, glaring at the first-year. “Say something when we’re looking for you!”
“We can’t find you otherwise,” Hyuga reminded him pragmatically, and the other team members nodded supportively behind him.
Wide blue eyes stared into those of their coach as Kuroko opened his mouth as if to speak… and no sound came out.
“What?” Riko stared, dumbfounded.
Kuroko gestured helplessly to his throat and shook his head. He mouthed a few more words, but nobody understood, even his accompanying gestures.
“Koganei-senpai,” Furihata murmured, “Can’t you translate for Kuroko like you do for Mitobe-senpai?”
Koganei laughed in delight as everyone else looked hopeful. “Of course I can!” he grinned and stepped up to Riko’s side. “Go on, Kuroko,” he encouraged, and Kuroko started trying to explain with his hands.
Koganei nodded often and Kuroko looked relieved as his senpai seemed to understand his hand movements and expressions. He finished his explanation, hands stilling by his side, and everyone paused for a second, Koganei looking thoughtful.
“Well?” Kiyoshi broke the silence. “What did he say?”
“I have no idea,” Koganei replied with a sheepish grin as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “His signals and Mitobe’s are totally different.”
Kuroko visibly deflated with a silent sigh, fingers tugging the bands around his wrists.
“He’s ill,” Kagami broke in, feeling bad for his friend. “Lost his voice yesterday, and it hasn’t come back yet. He went to the school nurse and it’s nothing too serious. Everyone’s come down with it in our year,” he added for his senpai’s benefit. “It usually clears up in a day or two.”
“You understood that?” Hyuga asked incredulously.
Kagami gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It wasn’t that hard.” When one stared at Kuroko as often as Kagami did, they grew used to his body language, to his unconscious signals. Not that Kagami was ever going to admit he watched Kuroko that often, even if his thoughts generally revolved around the blue-haired boy. No-one, especially not Kuroko, knew he was gay and interested in his teammate, and he didn’t plan on announcing it here and especially not now.
The entire team stared at him in wonder for a second, including Kuroko, before Riko clapped her hands and snapped them out of it.
“Right! Time to get to work then. Kagami, you stick with Kuroko for today, translate and provide us an easy way to locate him.”
They all nodded and practise finally started.
Kuroko’s presence was weaker than usual, and while he still played in the mini-game, his passes came much less often than was normal. Kagami kept a careful eye on him, grateful to not have to hide it as he did constantly every other day.
But Kuroko terrified Furihata and the others when they were on clean-up duty by appearing behind them unexpectedly in the closet. His face had fallen further and at the yell, Kagami had stuck closer to Kuroko’s side, worried about his friend but unable to do anything for him. Kagami wanted to help, wanted to provide something in return for his shadow that had done so much for him before, yet he wasn’t sure what he was able to do for the blue-haired boy. Thinking harder than usual on it, he helped Kuroko and the others finish cleaning before they went to shower and change.
Kuroko, in the meanwhile, was exhausted and just wanted to go home. His throat hurt, his chest felt tight and his entire body ached. He was pretty sure the fever stage of the illness was coming soon, since he’d got over the cough and sneezes yesterday. Sort of. His limbs felt weak and achy and he almost collapsed in relief when Riko dismissed them for the day. Kagami had been a godsend today, taking over most of his cleaning duties when he had faltered or had to go and take a drink of water, and so he was finished in almost half his usual time. He managed to follow Kagami out of the school gates at the end of the day, and was surprised when the taller boy caught his arm before they could go their separate ways.
“Are you gonna be alright getting home?” His eyes were honestly concerned and Kuroko felt his stomach flutter.
“I should be,” Kuroko agreed, and he was relieved that although his voice was weak and raspy, it was there. “My parents are out for the next week or so on a business trip, so I’ll be able to go straight to bed.”
Kagami hesitated. “In that case… do you mind if I come home with you?”
Kuroko stared for a long second and Kagami flushed. “Not in any wrong way or anything of course!” he added in a rush, and Kuroko felt his heart thump as Kagami rubbed the back of his neck in awkwardness. He cursed himself quietly, he had no business feeling this way for his light. Kagami wasn’t even gay, there was no reason whatsoever to think this way.
So why did his heart pound every time he saw his basketball partner? He’d never felt these emotions before and didn’t know what to do with them. The only thing he was currently grateful for was the poker face he’d spent so long refining, and the fact that Kagami still was too involved in basketball to pay all that much attention to his shadow.
“I just meant, ah, I know a good remedy for this kind of thing and the ingredients are easy to get at any convenience store so if you wanted… I could come and make some for you? We need you better for practise, after all,” he added, dashing Kuroko’s improbable hopes that Kagami was honestly concerned for him as a person. Not that he thought Kagami didn’t care about him – that wasn’t it at all – but Kagami’s thoughts towards Kuroko were always strictly as a teammate and nothing further. And while Kuroko knew that was the best course of action, sometimes he couldn’t help but wish for more.
“I’d appreciate it,” he went to say, but no sound came out and he deflated again. With a nod, he accepted Kagami’s proposal and turned around so they were heading the opposite way of the Maji Burger they usually went to, and back towards his house instead.
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This was the first time Kagami had ever come back to Kuroko’s place. They’d stopped off at the closest convenience store and got everything Kagami needed, before walking the short two minutes to his small house.
He was an only child, that much was clear. Kagami couldn’t help but stare in fascination. It was just so… normal. Of course, that wasn’t to say Kuroko was weird or anything like that, but it had to be admitted Kuroko (outside of his grades) couldn’t really be grouped in with the average populace.
So although he hadn’t exactly known what he’d expected, Kagami still found himself surprised at the typical two-bedroomed apartment Kuroko and his parents lived in. He was led through silently to the kitchen, which was small but serviceable and Kagami got to work as Kuroko sat at the small counter and placed his head on his arms. Kuroko was just so exhausted, and having Kagami in his home wasn’t helping. He didn’t know what the red-haired boy thought of his home, nor why it mattered so much. He just… he wanted Kagami to like him, outside of the team, outside of basketball. But he wasn’t sure if that would ever happen. He sighed as his head throbbed and just tried to quiet his thoughts, but when soft sounds constantly reminded him that Kagami was in his kitchen, making him a hot drink, he couldn’t stop from wishing that this would happen more often. It just felt so natural.
Kagami frowned as the blue-haired boy just sat there, unmoving, but finished making the hot drink and gently placed it in front of him.
“Kuroko?” his hand gently touched the blue hair as his shadow didn’t look up. Kuroko looked up, but Kagami didn’t withdraw his hand, just gently pushed the hair back off Kuroko’s forehead and felt the skin there. “You’re starting to run a fever,” Kagami said worriedly. Kuroko’s face was flushed and Kagami hoped that his shadow would be okay.
Kuroko sighed and gently pushed Kagami’s hand away, getting more flushed just from the contact and feeling frustrated with himself. “I’ll be fine,” he rasped.
Kagami sighed and turned away, washing up the things that he’d used. Kuroko watched him for a second, before turning his gaze to the mug in front of him. Picking it up in hands that shook ever so slightly, he took a tentative sip… and sighed in bliss.
It was delicious. Although it couldn’t quite rival the beauty of his favourite vanilla shake, the drink went down perfectly, soothing his abused throat and providing relief.
“I made extra,” Kagami murmured when he turned and saw Kuroko sipping the drink slowly but steadily and feeling relief slide through him. “It’s usually best to drink it just before you go to bed at night, so I put it in the fridge for now. All you’ll need to do is microwave it for a minute or so, and it should help.”
Kuroko nodded.
“Thank you, Kagami-kun,” he murmured, blue eyes meeting red only to have Kagami look away. His partner flushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck, unable to fully meet Kuroko’s eyes.
“Anything,” he replied, “I mean… uh, whatever I can do to help.”
Kuroko flushed as well, and used the hot drink as an excuse to avoid his light’s eyes.
“Hey, Kuroko,” Kagami flushed, his heart racing. His hands were sweating and he hated how nervous he was. But he’d been building up the courage to ask this for a long time now, and he couldn’t take how tense the need and worry made him anymore. So even though this wasn’t exactly perfect timing, with his shadow being ill and unable to even voice a consent, he had to ask.
Kuroko tilted his head, the mug covering his mouth.
“I was just wondering… are you free this weekend? I mean, I’ve got two tickets to this basketball game in Tokyo. And if you’re better… I was hoping you’d come with me?”
Kuroko’s eyes shone in happiness. He was about to nod, when Kagami’s next words took away his breath.
“And then, maybe, if you wanted, I mean like… after the game we could… if you’re free, of course, we could go for dinner?” Kagami hadn’t been this tongue-tied in a long while and he cursed himself in his head constantly as his words were disjointed and weird. This was not confidence-inspiring in the least. But he had to get the last words out, to clarify. All he could wish was that he wasn’t fucking up their relationship irreparably. “As like… as like a date?”
Kuroko’s hand shook as he carefully put down the mug on the table and stared at his light. Kagami was unable to stare back, his heart racing, wiping his sweaty hands surreptitiously on his school trousers. He needed to see Kuroko’s reaction, but was having a hard time looking up.
And Kuroko went to say yes, but even Kagami’s miracle cure hadn’t kicked in yet and no sound came out. Cursing silently, he forced himself to his feet and walked around the small counter to stand in front of his light.
His hands reached for Kagami’s and the taller boy jumped in surprise, red eyes finally re-meeting blue.
Leaning up on his tiptoes, Kuroko reached up with one still-trembling hand and curled it around Kagami’s neck. Applying just the slightest amount of pressure, Kuroko was delighted when Kagami easily followed his direction and Kuroko could seal his mouth over his partner’s.
Their lips met hesitantly, gently, barely brushing in their first kiss. Kuroko felt himself shake with suppressed wants and desires that all flooded up and he closed his eyes, giving himself into it. Kagami was the same, barely resisting the urge to shove his hands into Kuroko’s hair and take what he wanted. But he could only resist to some degree and his hands came to Kuroko’s waist, one sliding up his back into blue hair as the kiss deepened, as lips parted and tongues danced, as breaths grew short and hands held on tight.
“So, uh, that’s a yes?” Kagami murmured a minute later, his arms around Kuroko’s waist, holding the shorter boy firmly upright as his knees had gone weak. Kagami was as good at kissing as he was at basketball. Which just wasn’t fair, he sighed in his head, even as he knew he had no reason to complain.
He offered a smile and nodded.
Kagami grinned back, his eyes lighting up. “Great. Well, then, it’s a date.”
Kuroko smiled brightly back, his own heart relieved.
“And maybe I can work my way up to a few more?” Kagami added, knowing he sounded cheesy as fuck but the way Kuroko broke into another smile removed all embarrassment from that front.
Kuroko just nodded again, wrapping his arms around Kagami’s neck and pulling him down to seal the deal with another kiss.
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Everyone was relieved when Kuroko recovered fully two days later, and Kagami had to admit he was the most glad as they finally talked and helped each other to understand their exact feelings and expectations.
And when Kagami got sick a few days after that, well, Kuroko had no choice but to go round and look after his light. And even though his methods probably weren’t medically approved, they did help Kagami feel a hell of a lot better.