swan_forest | Unrequited Love?

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kise ryouta

Unrequited Love?

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?"

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"You're quite welcome, Kuroko-kun," he said and started towards the kitchen. "I hope I was helpful."

Kise's sisters are sitting at the table; Mihoshi's texting on her phone; Saoko's reading a book on philosophy and law, while Kise and his mother are at the counter, putting together plates. Since his sisters were guests, they got out of helping.

Kise Yui looked up at her husband and smiled softly at him as Kise Ryouta perked up when he saw Kuroko. "Kurokocchi! We got Fried Chicken. Mom was in the mood for American."

"It smells good." It was hard to ignore the aroma, as he drifts over to the other side of the counter. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can just sit, Kuroko-kun," Kise's mother said. Her blue eyes are sharp, but they scan over him for about a heartbeat before she's able to focus on him. "It's sweet you want to help," she said, a little smile tugging at her lips. This is where Kise gets his colder personality from. "But you're our guest." She cut her eyes to her son. "Mostly."

Kise pouted at her and handed Kuroko a plate with a fork, a couple of pieces of chicken, some coleslaw, a biscuit, and some macaroni and cheese. "You can put whatever you don't eat on my plate; no one will notice," he said with a quick wink. He grabbed three more plates, balanced them with ease, and headed to the table, placing plates in front of his sisters while his parents talked quietly to each other.

Kise's sisters look up, and once they find Kuroko, both zero in on him. Mihoshi with suspicion, Saoko with curiosity. "Glad we finally get to meet you," Saoko said politely, pushing her book aside.

"Yes, Ryou-chan will not shut up about you," Mihoshi added as she slid her phone into her pocket.

"Hey, don't interrogate him!" Kise whined at them.

Kuroko slips into the seat across from his sisters, waiting patiently for someone else to eat before he starts on his own plate. It is definitely too much food for him, but he's going to try his best...

"It's a pleasure to meet you all as well. Kise-kun always speaks highly of his family. It's nice to finally put a face to your names after so long."

He glances over to Kise with a small smile, wondering exactly what has been said about him.

Edited 2023-03-07 02:40 (UTC)

Kise tells his sister more than he tells his parents. Something he's regretting now.

"Be nice, Miho-chan," Kise's father said as he sat at one end of the table, next to Kuroko and Saoko. Kise's mother sat at the other end, looking like she was more interested in the food than her son's imminent embarrassment.

"Oh, you know, 'Kurokocchi didn't yell at me today' and 'Kurokocchi smiled at me!'" Saoko said, an amused smile (Kise saw it as satanic) on her face. "'Kurokocchi this, Kurokocchi that'"

"'Kurokocchi looked dreamy today,'" Mihoshi added, her blue eyes fixed on Kuroko's face, waiting for a reaction.

"'Kurokocchi cheered for me while playing against that jerk Haizaki; it was the best moment of my life.'"

"I never said those things!" Kise protested.

"You might as well have, Ryouta," his mother said. "It's not just what words you use; it's the tone and body language."

Kise looked at his father, who just smiled.

He's trying to keep his face as passive as possible, but he can't help but choke a bit around a forkful of mac and cheese, especially about his cheer during the Fukuda Sogo match. He doesn't regret doing it, but being reminded of it... it does feel slightly embarrassing to revisit the memory with people who didn't know why he'd done such a bombastic and uncharacteristic thing, his ears turning pink.

"Ah, I promise you, I'm not as interesting as Kise-kun thinks I am...?"

"Oh, I doubt that," Kise's mother said. "As a family, we tend to be very selective in our friendships." She points her fork in Kuroko's direction. "There's something about you."

"Basketball," Mihoshi said.

"Teenage hormones," Saoko said.

"He's just amazing!" Kise protested.

Both sisters smirked at each other.

A faint blush graces his cheeks at the reminder that Kise had indeed been attracted to him. He will distract himself by picking at his chicken.

"Uhm... my basketball style is rather unique, but that's it, really."

Kise, in contrast, shoved food into his mouth and glared at his sisters while he chewed.

"I'm sure it's more than that, Kuroko-kun," Kise's father said gently and patted him on the shoulder. "Ryou-kun is very particular about his friends. And you're only the second he brought home."

"Too bad he hasn't brought Akashi-kun home yet," Saoko said, a little wistful but in a way that made it clear she had plans to do to Akashi what she was doing to Kuroko now. "But he lives in Kyoto, so that makes things difficult."

"And Ryou-kun's smart enough to meet dates away from the house, away from annoying sisters," their mother teased them. "But he is bringing you back, right, Ryou-kun?"

"Yes," Ryouta said with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, Kurokocchi's more than just his looks and basketball!"

Kuroko's sure Akashi would get his way through this with much more grace, offering Touma a small smile for his support. He takes advantage of the back-and-forth to use his misdirection and shift his biscuit onto Kise's plate, positive he'll be unable to finish it, but he's making good work of the chicken.

"I suppose you could substitute looks for books and that'd sum me up rather tidily."

"Kurokocchi, we've talked about this," Kise said, cutting his eyes to his friend. "You need to have more confidence in yourself!" He turned to his sisters. "Kurokocchi is a kind person."

"Hmm," Mihoshi said, giving Kuroko a look. Saoko raised an eyebrow, almost exactly like her father and brother do, they stared at him for a moment, then they shared a look.

"I think that's enough," Kise's father said. "Kuroko-kun is out guest, don't make him feel unwelcomed."

"Yeah," Kise said, looking mutinous. "Oneechan, tell us about your new boyfriend."

"You're such a brat, Ryou-chan," Mihoshi said with an eyeroll, flipping her hair. "And Tanakacchi is not my boyfriend."

"It's alright - this is my first time seeing sibling ribbing in action, so it's very interesting."

All his best friends so far were only children, just like him. He is taking their suspicion in stride - the only way they knew him was one-sided through their brother's admittedly very biased point of view and fawning. It does amuse him that they have such similar habits with the eyebrow and -cchi additions.

Kise and Mihoshi continue to argue, with Saoko sprikling in commentary.

"I'm told this is typical," Kise's father said to Kuroko.

"Ignore, Mihoshi's attitude," his mother added. "She's just jealous she's not Ryou-kun's hero any more."

"Mom," Kise whined at her.

"It's true," his mother said, smiling. "I think we have a video of you following her around when you were a toddler."

Mihoshi seemed to brighten at that. "I know we have photos of him after we dressed him up."

"They used me as a living baby doll," Kise said to Kuroko. "But I was adorable in everything they put me in."

He laughs at that. "I would not doubt that. It makes sense that you went into modeling, then. I'd like to see of these photos, if it isn't a bother."

"I'll get them," Mihoshi said as she rose to her feet. "Are the albums in the same place?" she asked her father.

"I'd forget where they were otherwise."

And she was off. Kise grumbled good-naturedly and shoved more food into his mouth.

"Of course, he's not embarrassed about that," Saoko said. "He's always been a peacock."

"If you've got it, flaunt it," Kise said as if he had said that many times before, which he had.

Mihoshi came back, flipping through a scrapbook. "Here we go," she said. She showed Kuroko a picture of her and her sister, with their brother between them, dressed in a blue gown, hair put into pig-tails, looking content as he chewed on his fingers, his other hand holding a plastic tea cup upside down. There was neat handwriting. To the side of the picture that said;

Mihoshi: 11
Saoko: 8
Ryouta: 11 months.

"See?" Kise asked smugly. "I was adorable."

Mihoshi flipped to another page, where there were several pictures of baby Kise drawing on himself with markers wearing only a diaper.

"Still adorable."

Edited 2023-03-08 16:28 (UTC)

He leans in to look when Mihoshi returns, taking in the photos with a small smile. "Ah, so young... but Kise-kun was indeed a very cute baby."

Kuroko had no real opinion on babies and he tended to prefer children once they were toddlers, but there was no denying the cherubic cheeks.

"Ugh, Ryou-chan has no shame," Mihoshi complained as she reached over and ruffled her brother's hair a bit more aggressively than one usually did with siblings. "He ran around the house naked a lot."

"Kurokocchi's seen me naked in the showers," Kise said as he swatted Mihoshi's hand away.

The Kise matriarch shook her head, a nostalgic smile on her face. "Like his father," she murmured, making her husband chuckle softly and smile back at her while the three Kise children instantly wrinkled their noses and avoided looking at either of their parents. They all knew how their parents met and what their father did while in University.

"Mom, we have a guest; Kurokocchi doesn't want to hear that."

"Bad enough you subjected Matsukawacchi to it," Saoko muttered.

"And Hakubicchi, Sasagawacchi, and Miyacchi," Mihoshi added, flipping to a page with several shots of Kise and his father getting clean for a bath, baby Kise stratifically placed between his father's legs.

Kise leaned over to Kuroko and murmured. "This is apparently a parental tactic to get their children to shut up. Murasakibaracchi says his parents do the same."

He covers his laugh with a hand and whispers back. "I suppose it works, so you can't fault them for going back to it."

"You're supposed to be on my side, Kurokocchi," Kise whined, nudging him with his shoulder before taking a bite of chicken.

After that, the family seemed to calm down, focusing on their food, their parents asking about how their daughters have been since the last they visited.

"Come on, let me show you the suit I'm going to wear for my date," Kise said once they were finished.

Kuroko does his best to finish at least 75% of the food, but it is a struggle. Regardless, he makes sure to show his appreciation. "The meal was very delicious, thank you."

And he will follow Kise to his room, curious.

Kise's room is clean, though lived in. The bed is made, albeit sloppily, but everything else is organized. No dirty clothes on the floor.

There are posters of NBA stars and a Yokohama B-Corsairs poster on the wall next to his desk. There's a corkboard with a large calendar on it, covered in Kise's scrawl in various colors. Today had 'Kurokocchi visiting!!' in black. Dates of photoshoots and where are written in yellow, and in red, 'Date With Akashicchi!' is written.

"Sit anywhere you want," he said. "Sorry about my sisters. They like to embarrass me. Good thing it takes a lot to embarrass me." He stripped off his shirt, tossed it on the bed, and opened his closet, pulling out the suit he was going to wear.

"You know, I'm kind of jealous of girls. A lot of creativity can go into a dress."

"They were rather funny - and it's clear they love you."

He does a cursory glance over the room, lingering on the posters and smiling at his calendar, before planting himself on the edge of his bed, waiting for him to get dressed.

"Women's fashion does have more variety... but I think a suit is timeless."

"Yeah, I guess. But sometimes, I wish there was more." He shrugged as he pushed down his pants. He pulled on a thin undershirt, then pulled on the dress shirt, nice and crisp.

He buttoned it up, then pulled on the pants, dark blue with a metallic sheen to them. "Can you hand me a belt? They're in the drawer next to the bed. Grab a black leather one."

He frowned at himself in the mirror on the other side of his closet. "Tie or no?" he asked.

Kuroko opens up the drawer and pulls out the suggested color, walking over to hand it over, tilting his head at the overall look so far. "Do you have only one?"

"Ties or belts?" Kise asked. "I have a lot of black ones. There's one that looks harder and shinier than the other ones; grab that one."

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