Unrequited Love?

[yellowcopycat]

Kaijou and Seirin had just had their first practice match, which was shaping up to be a tradition of sorts. This time, Kaijou had gone to Seirin. The gym was nice, newer then Kaijou's but maybe not as big. 

 

He was breathing heavily, but smiling broadly. It always felt good to play, even if it was just a practice match and they weren't going all out. After all, he wanted to keep some of his new tricks up his sleeves, just like he was sure Kagami and Kuroko were hiding some of their new tricks too. This year's match had ended in a draw. Better than last year's practice match, which had ended in Kaijou's loss by two points.  

 

Just thinking about Kuroko made Kise look over to the Seirin team, focusing in on the smaller boy. 

 

For awhile now Kise had realized that he had feelings for Kuroko. Kise had looked up to Kuroko for awhile, but it wasn't really until after the Winter Cup that Kise realized he was probably in love with Kuroko. 

 

He took a towel that one of the first years offered him. "Thanks," he said absently. He scrubbed at his face, his thoughts racing. He had been thinking about Kuroko a lot lately, and seeing him only brought those thoughts back to the surface, only pushed aside when the game had begun. Now with the game over he couldn't focus. The warm glow in his chest that came whenever he thought about Kuroko was back with a vengeance.

 

The Kaijou team was gathering their things and getting ready to board the bus. He told the first year that he'd be along in a bit and began to head over to the Seirin team. 

 

"Kurokocchi~" he called out. No time like the present, he thought. He didn't know if Kuroko would return his feelings, but he was hopeful. The time Kuroko had cheered him on while he went up against Haizaki stood out in his mind. 

 

"Kurokocchi! You got a minute?"

Comments

[yellowcopycat]

"Don't be rude, Kurokocchi." Kise pouted at his friend. "I was never annoying on purpose. Or at all!" He scowls at the other boy, crossing his arms. Okay, he could get on Kasmatsu-senpai's nerves, but that was only because his senpai had a short fuse.

He thought back during their matches against each other, trying to remember if a first had followed Kuroko around like his trio of first years and pain in the butt.

"Which one was he?" he asked, turning to look Kuroko, then he slipped, flailing his arms as he fell forward, landing ontop of Kuroko.

[misdirects]

"Certainly not on purpose..."

Yagi had indeed been trailing after Kuroko for the better part of the day and would've stood out as the one with the least grasp of basketball fundamentals, but Kuroko has been patiently mentoring him.

"He was the nervous brune-- gahck--!"

Crushed under a naked Kise was not how he expected this conversation to go - he unintentionally wraps an arm around the taller boy as he tries to steady himself against the rocks now jabbing into his side. "Kise-kun- heavy-"

[yellowcopycat]

To be fair, this wasn't Kise's idea either. He spent a couple seconds brain dead from embarrassment before his brain rebooted and he jumped back from the wall, accidentally taking Kuroko with him because the other had wrapped his arm around him.

So, there they were, standing in the middle of hot spring, Kise naked and certain parts of his anatomy taking notice of being in close proximity of a cute boy attached to him. "Fuck," he groaned and gently pushed Kuroko back before parts of him became too... too much everything. His brain going 'oh shit, oh shit' and convinced Kuroko had noticed his body's reaction.

And then he ducked under the water, covering himself. Half tempted to drown himself while he was down there.

[misdirects]

Kuroko's brain is also heat-addled, so he's slow to respond to both being attached to and then unceremoniously getting shoved off Kise. He wobbles a bit before regaining his footing only to see the blond disappear from his view.

"Ah..." His face is rather red at this point, but is it from embarrassment or just the springs? He dips back into the water and calls out to him. "Kise-kun, you're going to overheat like that."

[yellowcopycat]

Kise peeks his head up when Kuroko speaks to him. It takes a few seconds to get what his friend's telling him, and he fervently shakes his head in response.

"I'm good," he said. Because despite thinking of everything gross, he's sprung wood.

Why now? He did so good when he was washing Kuroko's back, and now an accidental hug and now he has a boner? How the hell is that fair?

He looks up at Kuroko, biting his lips. "My stamina's better than yours." But he should probably get out. Except his towel is out of reach. He shifts his eyes over to it, pouting a little at it.

[misdirects]

Kuroko follows his eyes and picks up on his need rather quickly, wading over with a bit of a wobble to retrieve his towel. When he makes it back to him, he is pointedly looking away from Kise as he holds it out to him.

"It's probably best to get out before you faint," he says casually, trying to give him an easy out, his own head swimming from the heat.

[yellowcopycat]

Kise feels like he might faint because all the blood is rushing to his face. And what's not going into his face is currently south of the border. But the mortification seems to make his erection flag a bit. That's good—sort of.

"Sorry, Kurokocchi," he mumbled as he took the towel and slowly stood. Still trying to cover himself with one hand. He's thankful Kuroko is looking away because... it's hard to hide with one hand like this. Once he was standing, he wrapped the towel around his waist.

"I think I've had enough of the springs for today," he said. Voice causal. "Maybe I'll turn in early." He makes sure to walk in the opposite direction of where Kuroko's looking because the problem hasn't gone away yet, and the towel only covers it up.

"You should probably get out too, Kurokocchi," he said softly, giving him a soft little push towards the exit. "I think we've had enough for today."

[misdirects]

His cheeks are still a rosy red, his eyes glazed over as he fixes his gaze to the far side of the springs, trying his best to make things easier for Kise. He's not judging him in the slightest, promise.

"Mm, that's a good idea, I'll see you tomorro..." His voice trails off as his pathetic stamina finally loses out against the sweltering temperature of the springs and promptly faints face-first into the water. Whoops.

[yellowcopycat]

Well. That was one way to get rid of a boner.

"Kurokocchi!" Kise yelled. He raced forward and scooped Kuroko up into his arms bridal style.

Which is probably a mistake as two first years walk in, the boy that Kise thought was Kuroko's protoge and the brat of his team come walking in towels around their waists. Masaki Hayato (also known as 'the evil twin,' 'brat,' and 'Masaki One' when not called by his given name so they don't mix him up with his brother) opened his mouth to say something, but Kise didn't him any attention as he rushed out of the onsen and into the hallway.

[misdirects]

You're welcome, Kise!

All the bustling about does stir him back into a light state of wakefulness and Kuroko makes a noise of confusion, unconsciously curling closer to his unintentional knight-in-shining-armor.

[yellowcopycat]

Not the best way to find that out!

Kise ran into one of the Seirin guys he knew, Furihata, and was pointed to the room they were staying in and which bed was Kuroko's. Furihata then promised to go to get some cool water for Kuroko (was this a common occurrence, Kurokocchi?!), and Kise went to the room.

He was breathing a little heavily now. He was strong, and Kuroko wasn't that heavy. But he wasn't that light either, and Kise was running on adrenaline that was starting to fade. He walked over to Kuroko's bed and gently set him down. "I forgot how little stamina you have," he told his friend as he gently lay him on the bed. He then sat down on the bed next to his, probably Kagami's, reaching over to brush soft baby-blue locks away from Kuroko's face. "You really are something else," he said fondly.

[misdirects]

He lets out a soft sigh, instinctively leaning towards his touch. "My apologies, Kise-kun... I'm still trying to learn my limits, but we don't go to the springs often enough."

[yellowcopycat]

"Oh, you're awake? That's good. I was worried you fainted." Kise rolled back, resting his wait on his hands behind him, idly kicking his feet. Furihata came in with a bottle of water, fussed a little bit over his teammate, and then left to go have his bath, leaving Kuroko in Kise's care again.

"You should have said you were getting overheated. I mean... Well, considering... I thought you were just embarrassed or flustered."

He let out a little forced laugh, looking at the floor. "I want to joke about it, but I can't bring myself to do it." He looked up, yellow eyes full of concern. He reached over and flicked Kuroko's temple. "Don't be such a boy," he said.

[misdirects]

"Ow-" He brings a hand up to rub at that spot. "What does that even mean?"

Kuroko sits up, cheeks still pink (partly because he's still nude!), drawing a blanket over his lap and reaches over for the bottle of water Furihata dropped off. A couple sips to help with the dizziness. "It always comes on too quickly for me to warn someone. Sorry."

[yellowcopycat]

"You know, I'm not sure," Kise rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "My sisters say it to me, though. Saoko-nee mostly, but occasionally Mihoshi-nee will too. They say it to me when they think I'm bottling something up."

Which he doesn't, well, not much. Not compared to the other Miracles. Kise is probably the most emotional of them. "Or not admitting I'm in pain," he added, which is more likely to happen.

Kise watched Kuroko as he drank his water. Not even enjoyng the fact Kuroko's still nearly naked. (He made sure the towel Kuroko's towel covered his junk! And didn't even take a peek! He was a perfect gentleman.)

"Well, if it's like that, you need to pay better attention," he said. "Maybe you should try some meditation or something to get to know your body better or something. Aida-chan's can probably figure something out for you. Or her dad."

[misdirects]

"I don't bottle things up." But he can't exactly deny the second part. The Generation of Miracles were certainly all emotionally constipated in their own special ways.

(Kuroko definitely appreciates his courtesy.)

"I'll keep it in mind... I'm already trying to train a new technique in time for the Interhigh." There's a lot to think about and it's not really a priority.

He turns to look at Kise straightforwardly. "Also, there's no need to be embarrassed. I understand it's a reaction you can't really control."

[yellowcopycat]

"Maybe, maybe not." The truth was, Kise didn't see him often enough anymore to know.

And that was a depressing thought. But maybe a blessing in disguise. It might help him get over him.

Probably not, considering Kise's sure he's felt like this about Kuroko since before that final Teiko game against Kuroko's friend's team. Absence didn't make the heart grow fonder. It was more of a realization, and then Kagami was in the scene, and he thought, at first, there might be something between Kuroko and his new light, but since nothing really came from it... Kise took his shot. And was shot down.

He winces when Kuroko tries to comfort him. "I know," he said miserably. "Like, rationally. But... it's. It's different. Like, I don't care if I'm soft and someone looks. But hard's supposed be private!" He coughs, realizing he got a little loud there at the end.

"I... need to control who I share parts of myself with," he explained. "That's part of it. But mostly it's I was so proud I didn't get excited when I washed your back, but an accidental touch and ... sproing. That's so embarassing!"

[misdirects]

Kuroko would be taken aback that Kise thought there might've something between him and Kagami - then again, he did admit to having a crush on his former light, so maybe there wasn't any room to talk there.

He covers his slight smile at Kise's exclamation - he's not laughing at him, really!

"If it puts your mind at ease, I didn't see anything, I promise. I understand wanting to keep something like that private."

[yellowcopycat]

Probably, Kise should just let this drop. Kuroko is clearly not traumatized by Kise's dick. He didn't even see his boner. And the heat was probably already getting to him, so he might not remember being touched by it.

He takes a breath. This is normal. They're just two boys who like other boys. It's natural. Embarrassing as hell, but just... something that happens.

If only his life could be that charmed. Maybe it wouldn't be as mortifying if he didn't have all of these feelings for Kuroko. Someone he wanted to share this side of himself with. But didn't want him.

And that thought made him feel like he was just dropped in a bucket of cold water.

"Let's pretend it didn't happen, then" He was going to do his best, but already knew he was going to fail. Fail big time. Probably within the next hour. He stands, making sure the towel is securely tied around him. "I'm going to go check on my brats, then turn in."

[misdirects]

The heat from Kuroko's cheeks has long since faded, but the tips of his ears are still tinged red as he nods. He reaches out without thinking and aborts halfway, merely brushing at his wrist in the end.

"Thank you for helping me, Kise-kun."

[yellowcopycat]

Kise looked at him, a little smile on his face. "Kurokocchi, you're my friend. Maybe even my best friend. Of course I'll help you when you're hurt. Or any time."

He ruffled Kuroko's hair to be annoying and left.

[misdirects]

As soon as Kise leaves, Kuroko promptly rolls over into his futon and smushes his face into his comforter with a groan. Of course he noticed, but he wasn't going to say anything to make the situation any more humiliating than it already was for Kise. It was one thing to know the other boy was attracted to him, it was another to see it in practice. It's a good thing Kuroko's an expert at dampening his emotions - he's not sure how he'll face Kise tomorrow...