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]

"I've, uh, been kissing other boys for a while. I was seven when I had my first kiss." He smiled at the memory. "But the model life isn't exactly great for dating another model. We're often pitted against each other by the directors and management, and it can destroy any friendship." He had been burnt more than a few times.

"That'd be a good idea. I'll ask him tomorrow."

[misdirects]

"More cutthroat than I thought..." But it makes sense for the industry.

"But yes, I think it'll help you two be less nervous and feel more casual on the actual day of. It's an awful lot of pressure to make your coming out also your very first date." He pauses for a moment. "But it would make for a very memorable first. Personally, I'm not the type to give too much weight to things like that."

[yellowcopycat]

"There's a reason why so many dramas are made about the fashion industry; it's rife with it."

Kise hummed. "It'll be very memorable whether or not it's our first date," Kise said. "Photoshoots, the whole thing will be very publicized. It's some charity gala." He shook his head. "Akashicchi does too much for his father."

He knows Akashi better now than ever. Midorima was the only other miracle to probably know Akashi as well. "I'll try to see if I can eke out some time with him before. He just needs to have fun sometimes, like the rest of us. Outside of basketball." He made a face. "And shogi. He tried to teach me once and I sucked at it. I'm beter at go."

[misdirects]

"Go is easier to understand," which really just showed how smart Akashi was. "But you're right - he likely carries too much on his shoulders due to his family business... it would be good for Akashi-kun to let loose every once in a while. You're probably the best suited for that."

[yellowcopycat]

"... He still beats me at go." Kise's well aware that he's probably the least intelligent of the Miracles. Aomine might get similar grades, but he's just lazy; Kise actually tries. At least he's passing.

"I hope so. This whole thing is kinda a middle finger to his father." He grins at that, as it's also a middle finger to the fans that harrassed Kuroko. And it'll be fun. He likes galas. He's just never been a VIP guest before.

[misdirects]

"That's to be expected." There's no way any of them stood a chance of besting Akashi in a purely strategic battlefield like shogi or go.

"It's certainly a big statement to make..." His brows furrow. "I'm a little worried, but know that you both have my... no, everyone's support."

[yellowcopycat]

"Hmmm, that's true. Basketball's the only game I'm on an equal playing field with him."

He pushes himself off the wall, begins to undress, no need to put wrinkles in his suit before the big date after all. "I know we do. The uncrowned kings at Rakuzan have all been very supportive. They're fun guys. Makes me wish we went up against them as a whole. Might have given us some trouble." He looked over at Kuroko as he hung the suit jacket up. "What's Kiyoshi like? And Hanamiya, you've gone up against him, right? He seems like Kiyoshi's Haizaki."

[misdirects]

Kuroko averts his gaze as Kise undresses, fingers curling into the sheets of his bed as flickers of anger spark up from memories of how awful the match against Kirisaki Daiichi had been. "Haizaki-kun might have a terrible personality, but Hanamiya-san is... truly underhanded and awful. Kiyoshi-senpai is too kind to invite him to play again after everything."

He blows out a small frustrated breath and tries to focus on better things. "Kiyoshi-senpai, though, he's... how should I put it? I respect him a lot. If I had siblings, I think I'd like a big brother like him."

[yellowcopycat]

Kise is very careful about undressing. These are things that get wrinkled very easily. They'll probably have to get ironed before he wears them again. Still, the less to do the better.

"Hmmm... I only know what Reo-nee said, as he played against him more often in middle school than Hayama and Nebuya did. And that sounds about right."

Once he's down to his undershirt and underwear, he pulled on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and joined Kurokocchi on the bed, flopping down. "Haizaki is awful, hard to imagine someone worse."

[misdirects]

"I know it probably doesn't seem that way to you, but I don't think Haizaki-kun is a truly bad person," he turns to look at Kise flop. "It's possible he genuinely loves basketball. Or... that's how it felt to me."

[yellowcopycat]

"I don't know..." Kise said after a moment. "Mostly, he seemed like he wanted to get revenge on me. He hit his own teammate. I mean, Kasamatsu-senpai would kick me, but he never actually hurt me."

He rolls over to look at Kuroko. "Hanamiya had friends; I'm not sure Haizaki does. And that makes a difference, I think."

[misdirects]

"I've always wondered if we could've been that for him," he muses, leaning back a little. "Of course, I don't condone his methods at all... he was a very violent person and him injuring you-- that angered me as much as it did with Kiyoshi-senpai."

[yellowcopycat]

Reaching out, Kise took Kuroko's hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I'm better now. He didn't hurt me as much as Hanamiya hurt Kiyoshi."

He gave another squeeze, and smiled teasingly at his friend. "Does that mean I'm like a brother to you too?"

[misdirects]

Kuroko tilts his head at the question and turns his hand around, letting their fingers slot together and squeezes back. "A brother? No... you're more than that to me." He says it quite simply as if it isn't a big deal at all.

[yellowcopycat]

"And what would that be, Kurokocchi?" he asked.

He's not sure what he wanted to hear.

[misdirects]

"Mmm... I'm not sure there is a singular word for it. Someone I treasure and hold dear?"

[yellowcopycat]

Kise rolled back onto his back, not letting go of Kuroko's hand. "Hmm... let me think."

He didn't have his father's talent for words. But he did know English pretty well. And even then, he was coming up blank. "I use 'best friend' to describe you, but it only really partially covers it."

He thought some more. "I don't think English has a word for something like that either. Not for something platonic."

[misdirects]

He feels another twinge of sadness at 'platonic' -- was it guilt? Acceptance? He certainly isn't going to examine it further now, tucking away it to the back of his mind.

Kuroko leans over Kise with curious eyes as he thinks about the rest of his sentiment. "I'm not trying to be mean about it, but I don't think 'best friend' quite fits how I view you, either... Maybe for Kagami-kun, because our relationship is simple at its core."

Their partnership was easy and not complicated. Perhaps Aomine also counts in that category, but even then, it feels off. Is it because their time at Teikou colors their relationships so deeply?

[yellowcopycat]

"No, it doesn't fit," Kise agreed easily.

He closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out. "I guess we don't have to put a name on it until we figure it out. I'm okay with that."

[misdirects]

"I suppose that's true." Kuroko flops back onto the bed next to him. "Thank you for inviting me over, by the way - I have a lot to think about."

[yellowcopycat]

"I hope dad didn't confuse you too much. He can get on tangents and my eyes just kinda glaze over."

Kise opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Kuroko. "I'm glad you came over too. I should have invited you over sooner."

[misdirects]

"We do live a bit of a ways off from each other," though Yokohama to Tokyo wasn't too awful of a trip. "Your father was very helpful and suggested many options. It'd be nice if I could stay relatively local."

[yellowcopycat]

"We lived closer when we were at Teikou," Kise said. "I invited Aominecchi earlier because, well, I wasn't, you know..."

He shrugged.

"I'm glad he helpped out. He's probably really pleased. I know my parents are little disappointed I'm not a brainiac like Saoko-nee, but they were used to it with Mihoshi-nee." He hummed. "Though they are really excited about me wanting to go to a university in the US. They were prepared for me to skip uni entirely like Mihoshi-nee did."

[misdirects]

"I'm sure they aren't as disappointed as you think." Kuroko rolls over to look at him. "Every child has their own interests and areas of specialty, no? I think parents inherently understands that."

His expression softens, just a little. "I will feel a little lonely when everyone goes off to the States."

[yellowcopycat]

"Well, like I said, just a little. I think dad wanted me to be a writer like him, but they're both very excited for me in whatever I do. Dad's sometimes embarrassing about it. Mom couldn't go to all the tournaments, but she made the ones she could, and dad always made them. My sisters too, when they could. I'm very lucky."

He hums. "Akashicchi will stay in Japan; we've talked about it a little. He'll do a semester or two in the US, but he's planning on going to the University of Tokyo. Midorimacchi will probably go there too. I have no idea what Murasakibaracchi's going to do."

But the ones who Kuroko was closest to would be heading to another country and, in Kagami's case, going home. "You can e-mail anytime, you know. I'll try to get back to you as quickly as I can. And if I do get into the school I want, I have a few extra months to hang with you because their school year starts in the fall instead of the spring."