It was the sound of the dribbling of a basketball that drew him in.
Ogiwara's feet led him to a court. The court. The one he always passes by on his way home from school. It was rare for people to play basketball during this hour; most either played in the morning or late afternoon because of the summer heat. But right now there was someone playing.
He was alone, a boy his age. His appearance fascinated Ogiwara. The boy's hair was pale, almost white, but the sunshine gave it an ethereal blue sheen. As Ogiwara got nearer he noticed that the boy was completely drenched in sweat, in a way that not even the most cruel heat of the sun can do. He must have been here practising for a while, he thought.
The boy shot the ball into the hoop, but it hit the rim of the basket and bounced towards Ogiwara's direction. He caught it easily, and the mysterious boy turned and saw him.
Even more striking were his eyes, for they were the clearest blue Ogiwara has ever seen. It was like the sea, or at least it gave the impression of the bright, watery depths, of an ocean in its most crystal state.
Ogiwara felt a flutter of emotion he could not identify, but it made him grin.
"It's lonely playing basketball alone! Wanna play with me?" The boy's eyes widened with surprise.
"My name's Ogiwara by the way, what's yours?"
"…Kuroko."
"Well then Kuroko, let's play!" Ogiwara suddenly passed the ball towards Kuroko, but he caught it.
"I only started playing yesterday Ogiwara-kun. I don't know if I would be fun to play against," Kuroko said as he looked down and stared at the ball in his hand.
Ogiwara stepped forward and patted Kuroko on the shoulder. "That's alright! Learning how to play is still fun!" he said while giving his new acquaintance a reassuring smile. Kuroko looked at him, with another surprised expression.
"Besides, you look like you're a fast learner, so I don't think it would be too hard to teach you the basics! What do you say, Kuroko?" Ogiwara said, his arms outstretched for a pass.
Kuroko was silent for a moment, hesitant, but only for a moment. He smiled.
"Okay. Thank you, Ogiwara-kun," Kuroko said as he passed the ball.
They were sitting on one of the court's benches, panting, utterly exhausted. It was nearing sunset and a group of highschool boys wanted the court. The two of them relinquished it, not that they had any other choice.
Ogiwara laughed, laughed so hard even when he was already short of breath that Kuroko looked at him with a tinge of concern.
"Ogiwara-kun…?"
He managed to squeeze in a few words out in between his fits of laughter. "I'm sorry.. Kuroko it's.. it's just.. that was the most fun I've had.. playing.. playing basketball.."
Kuroko could feel his cheeks reddening. It was the first time someone has said something like that to him. First time a boy his age spoke to him, actually. Most of the time it's as if nobody sees him. He never really minded it before, but spending time with Ogiwara made him realize what he was missing.
He liked the feeling. He hoped he could continue feeling it some more.
"I'm surprised you had fun, Ogiwara-kun. I wasn't a particularly good opponent. I'm a very bad one, in fact. I was shocked I even managed to score a point."
Ogiwara managed to stop laughing, giving Kuroko a big grin as he wrapped his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders. "But you're basketball sense is amazing! I can tell you can read what I was going to do! And sure, you kinda suck at everything else right now, but that's why people practice!"
The pale-haired boy didn't say anything, only looked down and smiled to himself. He was sure his face was even redder than before, if that was possible. Kuroko was thankful of the cover of the setting sun, the shadows partially obscuring his face.
The taller boy suddenly stood up. "Ah, crap it's already this late. My mom's going to kill me," he said. Ogiwara started to run, but he stopped for a bit and faced the shorter boy. "Same time tomorrow, Kuroko?" he said with a grin.
This time there wasn't any hesitation at all. "Yeah! I'll see you tomorrow, Ogiwara-kun!" Kuroko said, grinning too.
"I'll see you tomorrow then!" Ogiwara ran and waved goodbye. Kuroko followed him into the street, waving back at his new friend until he disappeared into the darkening horizon.
Tomorrow could not come soon enough.
Since Kuroko met Ogiwara, the two of them played basketball constantly, day after day, not stopping until their bodies collapsed from exhaustion. It was tiring and it hurt, but most of all it was fun.
It didn't really take long for them to get close, as Ogiwara was a natural at making friends. The day after their first meeting, Ogiwara treated Kuroko with a Chu-Chu Pop on their way home, and it eventually became a routine thing they did right after playing, alternating between them as to who treated whom.
They even did things together other than basketball. When Ogiwara found out that Kuroko has never ridden a bike before, he brought his bike every day since then, teaching Kuroko how to ride it before and after playing basketball. Even after Kuroko mastered the bike, Ogiwara would still bring it. Sometimes they raced, with Ogiwara on foot and Kuroko on the bike, trying to see which one would arrive first to buy a Chu-Chu Pop. Kuroko always won those races of course, but there were definitely times when Ogiwara nearly overtook him.
Kuroko, in turn, introduced Ogiwara into reading. He was not much of a reader, besides the occasional manga or so, and even then it was rare seeing Ogiwara reading. Because of that, Kuroko tried hard to find books his friend would really love to read. After a few recommendations Ogiwara's preferences became apparent to Kuroko: over-the-top battles, usually with magic or robots involved, but a sport, like basketball(of course) or football, or generally something with a competitive air to it, like cooking tournaments, would do. Ogiwara also responded well to historical novels(particularly those involving samurai), even if it was fairly serious and not all focused on fighting. Surprisingly, Ogiwara seemed to like melodramatic romance too; the more people crying about their unrequited love or their cheating spouses the better, but he definitely preferred happy endings with the lovers reuniting over sad ones.
It was a six weeks after they met, and it was a particularly hot Friday afternoon, too hot even for the two of them two play basketball, so they were taking a break. At that time Kuroko worked up the courage to ask Ogiwara to a sleepover.
"Eeeh?! A sleepover in your house, Kuroko?! That's awesome!" Ogiwara's hands were on Kuroko's shoulders, shaking the pale-haired boy slightly while skipping with excitement. "Of course I'll go!" He was grinning, ecstatic, like it was the most wonderful thing that happened to his life. It's infectious, Ogiwara's smile, Kuroko thought as he can't help but do the same.
"You can stay over tonight, if you'd like.. And for the whole weekend too.." At this Kuroko averted his gaze, slightly embarassed. He can't say for sure why, but it makes his heart beat a bit faster and his head spin a little.
"Yaay! Right, I have to go pack a change of clothes! Maybe I should bring my video games too.. Ah, there was this really fun board game my cousins left when they were at our house last time, I should bring that. What about snacks? I'll ask my dad for money, I'll have to buy a lot in case we run out, oh and–"
"Ogiwara-kun, I think you need to ask your parents' permission first."
"Oh, right, of course!" Ogiwara laughed. "Do you wanna cut our basketball game short, Kuroko? I'm so excited I don't think I can focus!"
Kuroko smiled and said, "Sure. You do have to ask permission and prepare your clothes and other stuff too."
"Alright! Let's meet here at.. say, six?"
"Okay."
"Make sure you're not late, Kuroko!"
"You too, Ogiwara-kun!"
"Waah, that dinner was great!" Ogiwara said. He was in the Kuroko household's bath tub, his chin resting on his tucked knees as he lazily made gentle waves on the water's surface. Sitting across him was Kuroko himself, eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the bath. He smiled when he heard Ogiwara's voice.
"I'm glad you liked it," Kuroko said.
It was Ogiwara who suggested that they share a bath, to the surprise of both boys. It made him a little bit nervous, though it confused him as to why. He bathed countless times with his cousins before, and he never felt anxious like this.
But Kuroko said 'okay', in a softer and quieter voice than usual. The taller boy noticed that Kuroko's cheeks were tinged with pink, and was also trying his hardest to look anywhere but him, though Kuroko was sneaking glances on him.
The sight made Ogiwara slightly blush in turn. And it may just be his imagination, but he also felt his breath stop for a moment.
Stripping off their clothes were surprisingly normal and not at all awkward though. Ogiwara slipping and landing on his butt as he struggled to take off his shirt might have had something to do with it. By the time the two of them managed to stop laughing and submerged themselves into the warm bath all of the anxiety and nervousness Ogiwara felt before melted away.
"Especially that noritama! I never really liked it before, but your Grandma's version was really delicious!"
"You can ask her for the recipe if you want, Ogiwara-kun."
"Really?! Sweet!"
They were silent for a while after that, but it was a comfortable silence. Ogiwara closed his eyes and let the warm water engulf him, soothe him. He was pretty tired. After hastily packing clothes and buying snacks from the nearest store he ran at full speed, and only when he reached the meeting place did he realize that he could have biked instead.
Ogiwara opened his eyes when he heard Kuroko yawn. "The water's really relaxing, isn't it," he said to him.
"It's making me feel sleepy," Kuroko replied. When Ogiwara yawned too, he added, "Looks like you're sleepy too, Ogiwara-kun."
The taller boy smiled. "Ready to get out of the bath?"
Kuroko shook his head. "Not yet," he said as he suddenly splashed water directly to Ogiwara's face.
This time it was Kuroko who asked, and this time Ogiwara never felt anxious or nervous about it. He just grinned at his friend as they made themselves comfortable in Kuroko's bed. Ogiwara laid down beside Kuroko, who was staring up above. The ceiling was dotted with plastic stars, glowing in the dark.
Ogiwara stared at the stars.
He was happy. Lying down besides his friend, besides Kuroko. It made his heart beat faster, made his stomach churn, made him grin and smile like an idiot.
"Kuroko…" His voice came out soft, almost a whisper. Kuroko slightly turned his head towards Ogiwara, having heard his name.
The words escaped from his mouth even before his mind could comprehend what those words meant. "I really really really like you."
Silence.
"Not just a friend! I mean, I like you as a friend! Best friend even! But I like you more than that! You know, when I'm at school all I could think about is when classes end and going to park and play basketball with you, so much that I get scolded by my teachers for spacing out, ahaha. I really like it when you treat me to a Chu-Chu pop and I really like it when I do the same. I just.. I love spending time with you, Kuroko, and uhm.."
Ogiwara turned his head too. Kuroko was blushing, and the expression on his face was a mixture of embarassment and happiness. "I feel the same, Ogiwara-kun," he managed to say. Kuroko then gently clasped Ogiwara's hand with his.
"That makes me so happy, Kuroko!" Ogiwara said, though it was an understatement more than anything. The words didn't really accurately describe what Ogiwara felt when Kuroko said what he said.
Ogiwara felt so giddy he might have burst. On an impulse, he quickly kissed Kuroko on the cheek, making the shorter boy blush even more.
"What was that for, Ogiwara-kun?"
"I don't know!" Ogiwara quietly laughed. "It felt right though, at least to me."
"It's not fair," Kuroko said, and kissed Ogiwara on the cheek too. "Now we're even," he added with a grin.
It was the taller boy's turn to blush.
"I guess we should get some sleep now, huh?" he said, his eyes on Kuroko.
"I am a bit sleepy." replied the shorter boy, staring at Ogiwara as well.
"Well then, good night, Kuroko!" Ogiwara gently squeezed Kuroko's hand.
"Good night, Ogiwara-kun." Kuroko gently squeezed Ogiwara's hand back.
His eyes are so blue, Ogiwara thought as he drifted off to sleep.