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

[misdirects]

Kuroko furrows his eyebrows as he passes over a portion of yakisoba over to him and sets the rest on the table. "I can take care of myself."

Sumire looks between them with a curious head tilt as she grabs her own portions and drags her husband to sit next to her. He acquiesces easily, popping a takoyaki into his mouth.

[yellowcopycat]

"Sure, but I bet you don't take care of yourself as good as you take care of others," Kise said, lowering his voice, and smiling teasingly at him.

He sat the food on the table and waited for Kuroko to start putting food on his own plate.

"So, what did you think of the University?" he asked.

[misdirects]

As he moves to sit by Kise across from his parents, Kuroko is perhaps pouting a little, because he hates being called out. "I practice plenty of self-care."

Sumire and Yoshifumi give each other a look that reads like they also doubt it before engaging in a quieter conversation between themselves. Kuroko bites down on a piece of takoyaki as he thinks about his visit.

"It was nice - certainly quieter than the campuses I've visited in Tokyo, which suits me just fine. It's far enough that I can feel some level of independence if I decided to live on my own, but close enough I can still visit home every weekend if need be."

[yellowcopycat]

Hey, he's usually the one calling others out. "Of course you do," Kise agreed, but in a way that made it obvious he didn't completely believe Kuroko.

He followed suit in popping food into his mouth.

"I'm glad you liked it! And you'll be close to my family, and if you need something, I know my dad will be willing to help you out."

[missdirects]

Kuroko doesn't know why no one believes him, he is very trustworthy about this issue.

"We are most grateful for your father's guidance!" Sumire chimes in. "We'll have to send a gift of some kind to your home soon."

"I wouldn't want to impose too much... but I am very grateful." Kuroko nods. It did feel nice to know he wouldn't be entirely alone out there.

[yellowcopycat]

He is not.

"Dad was happy to help!" Kise said cheerfully. "And I'm sure he'd appreciate the gift, but nothing too elaborate. He's got simple tastes."

He turned to Kise and poked him in the shoulder. "And you," he said, voice going from cheerful and friendly to teasingly threatening. "Are to contact him anytime you need help. It's an order. You made a good impression on him."

[misdirects]

His expression blanches just a bit, while both Sumire and Yoshifumi chuckle, but he nods. "I'll try my best... but I'm sure there won't be too many problems..."

He is very hopeful! University life will be fine!

[yellowcopycat]

Kise looks victorious, because Kurokocchi does need looking after. He looks after everyone else.

"I hope so too," he said as he popped a sausage into his mouth. "So what are your other plans while visiting?" he asked, looking back to the Kuroko parents. "If you want, I can see if my parents are available for dinner. Mom might not be, but dad's always free. And my sisters too, probably if you don't mind the chaos."

[missdirects]

"Oh, no, no need to trouble them - we'll be leaving you two as well." She leans into her husband with a grin. "We're making it a date night!"

[yellowcopycat]

"We'll make it happen before we go uni," Kise said. "Or at least before I go the US."

He figured it help make Kuroko feel more comfortable with going to his family if he needed to and his own parents weren't available for one reason or another.

[missdirects]

"Yes, that does sound like a wonderful idea," his father agrees, as his mother nods enthusiastically. "It does give me some ease of mind to know Tetsuya has someone to lean on out there."

Kuroko pouts a little. "I am feeling distinctly babied right now. It's not even that far out..."

[yellowcopycat]

"You helped me," Kise said softly. "Let me help you. And it's not babying; it's a support net."

He wouldn't have that support net in the States. Or at least not one as personal as the one he's setting up for Kuroko. UCLA and OSU would have extensive Asian-American sources for him.

[misdirects]

"Mm..." Those words mollify him a little and he nods. "Okay, I won't protest this any longer. I'll be sure to rely on them if need be."

Sumire looks delighted at this, clapping her hands together with a smile and definitely notes how easily he folded to Kise.

Kuroko will somewhat grumpily finish off his yakisoba, a bit of sauce going unnoticed by his mouth.

[yellowcopycat]

Kise grins, victorious. "You missed a spot, Kurokocchi," he said, pointing to the side of his mouth where the sauce was.

[misdirects]

"Hmm?" He reaches to wipe at it, but definitely aims for the wrong side.

[yellowcopycat]

"No, here. Let me."

And Kise grabbed a napkin and cleaned Kuroko's face. "There. All better."

[misdirects]

"Ah- thank you." A light flush graces his cheeks at that and he turns away, rubbing at the spot even though Kise had just cleaned it. "I'll be right back." He gets up and grabs his finished container, walking over to the far side of the tables to toss it away, a pretense to get a moment to still his heart.

[missdirects]

Sumire, who has been idly watching them interact, tilts her head again, bringing a hand to her chin. She glances from Kuroko walking away back to the blond. "Kise-kun, are you in love with our son?"

Yoshifumi chokes on his food mid-bite at his wife's inquiry. "D-dear--!"

[yellowcopycat]

"Eh!?" Kise nearly spat out his tea all over Kuroko's parents but managed to choke it down. He gave his chest a hard pat and then looked back at Sumire with wide eyes.

He took a breath. "No," he said after he settled, the lie coming easy now. Only Akashi knew the truth. "Not anymore. I confessed to him at the beginning of second year, but he turned me down."

[missdirects]

"You confessed to him-??"

Even Yoshifumi seems shocked by that reveal and passes Kise a few napkins.

"Is that why he's been acting so strange lately...?"

[yellowcopycat]

"Like I said, it was more than a year ago, so don't know why it'd affect him now."

Kise looked over to where Kuroko went. No way he was going to tell Kuroko's parents he thought Kuroko's parents that their son liked his boyfriend.

[missdirects]

Sumire and Yoshifumi pointedly give each other a Look, communicating silently with each other.

"Interesting... I'm surprised he never brought it up to me... I apologize, don't mind me. Forgot I said anything."

Kuroko weaves his way back through the tables, stopping by Kise's side. "Not talking about me again, I hope."

[yellowcopycat]

"Of course we are," Kise said, putting on a glib tone.

He wasn't sure what to make of that look between the older Kurokos. His parents had looks like that, and while his mom had a lawyer face, his dad didn't have a filter, even when it came to facial expressions so Kise and his sisters could usually tell what silent conversation their parents were having.

Neither did he, now that he thought about it.

[missdirects]

"I'm hurt," he says with no real heat behind it. "Are you done eating? Shall we get going?"

Sumire rises from her seat, clapping her hands together, as Yoshifumi gathers their trash up. "Yes, it's time we got going and left you kids to it!"

[yellowcopycat]

Kise stands as well. "It was nice meeting you," he said with a polite bow.

Once the older Kurokos were gone, he turned his attention to Kuroko. "Anything else you wanna see?" he asked.