A/N: Written after twelve hours of studying organic chem. I needed a little bit of a romantic break after all that science. Standard warnings of author incompetence apply.
They had walked together so often (unknowingly, on Kagami's side) that it had become a ritual of sorts for them now, and more and more often Kagami would find himself feeling off-kilter whenever he's not with Kuroko after practice, kind of like both literally and figuratively missing his own shadow. Except Kagami has stopped thinking of Kuroko as a shadow and more of, well, a pillar, maybe. A source of strength and, on occasion, hilarity.
But mostly, he's just Kuroko. Polite and gentle, boring sometimes, silly in others, and most definitely a sight to behold in the court both in and out the court.
That is, on the five out of one-hundred instances when you actually see him.
Kuroko's lived at the eastern side of the town, in an area too quiet for Kagami's tastes but seemed fitting for someone with Kuroko's personality. They reached the end of the road where their paths diverge, and Kagami turned on his heels and gave Kuroko a quick "See ya".
He took one step and felt a tug on his sleeve, and when he looked back Kuroko was lightly grasping the hem. The sunset peaked just over Kuroko's shoulder. Kagami raised his hands to block out the light, but paused a while when it came to him that the orange backlight made all of Kuroko's edges seem soft and hazy and, dare he say, beautiful.
A feeling welled up in Kagami's belly. It's not wholly unpleasant.
Kuroko slowly dropped his hand when Kagami faced him fully. He stared for a moment, mirroring Kagami's own surprise, before flinching back and made an expression of frantically searching for something to say.
"I..." he began.
"I mean, that was..." he said again, turning his head away. "I didn't mean..."
That Kuroko's smooth, polite speech be turned into a stutter... Kagami almost laughed, except if he did laugh, there was the possibility that Kuroko would take it as an insult. In any case Kagami wouldn't have found anything to say. Which was fine, since half of what comes out of Kagami's mouth tends to be stupid, and the rest even stupider.
Kuroko took another step backwards, staring at the grass to the side of his feet. "I apologize, Kagami-kun. I don't know what came over me."
Kagami stretched his arm and rested the palm of his hand on Kuroko's head.
"Kagami-kun?"
"Yeah, I know what you're trying to say. I love you too, idiot." He pushed on Kuroko's head playfully roughly and ruffled his hair. "Come on, there's a new restaurant I wanna try. I hear they have vanilla shakes so awesome you'll get an aneurysm. My treat."
