Kise tended to have the habit of drifting off into sweet thoughts about Kuroko. Moments similar to every other in school or playing basketball or relaxing at home, he would gaze off into a distant wonderland, fantasizing only about his light-blue haired companion. Occasionally, Kasamatsu would catch Kise in the midst of his mindless thoughts during practice and holler at him to get his ass practising or he'll be in shit or smack him upside the head or perform both actions, one before another. He would only usually laugh it off and wave his hand in dismissal, apologizing with only a slight stutter in embarrassment and continue the rest of the practice without further complaint.
Sunday of a cool summer evening shifted Kise's thoughts. Kaijō didn't have another game until only a few weeks into the next year of school, yet the blonde remained his daily, weekly, monthly training. He preferred calm evenings over hot afternoons, feeling more relaxed, somehow, about the stress of practice. In his practice shorts that allowed a swift, easy breeze to flow about his legs, a Team Kaijō t-shirt, and a basketball upon his hip, Kise took just another daily stroll from his stuffy house to the soothing outdoors. Phone attached to ear buds sounding the type of music to get your blood pumping was stuffed into his shorts pocket and his fashionable smirk spread over his lips as his basketball left his hand with little force, returned, left, and returned once again.
Kise never kept track of his score during mindless practice; no matter how well it seemed he was doing or how confident in how many points he thought he shot, Kise never bothered. He kept that rule strict to himself, yet today was an exception. Only able to shoot eighteen until his headphones flew from his ears and distracted him for the time being, Kise was ultimately proud of his score so far.
"Kise?" The blond jumped slightly in his shoes in surprise, and turned on his heel to turn to the soft voice in irritation. It was only one more setback, dammit, he didn't need that! Though, the oddly attractive Kuroko stood only a few feet from him, dressed in his own basketball gear, his light blue wristbands firm on his pale little wrists and his own ball underneath his arm. Kise felt an unconscious grin cross his lips accompanied by a soft blush which wasn't that noticeable on his already partially flushed skin.
"Kurokocchi! Hey, what are you doing here? And what are you doing wandering around in such revealing clothing? You're making yourself open to the crowd, Kuroko, you'll get hurt!" Kise complained and whined which only, in Kuroko's ears, sounded as white noise. Kuroko retorted by explaining that he wouldn't get hurt and that he decided to get in a little extra practice until his next game. Kise watched in exuberance and fascination as Kuroko began dribbling his ball closer and closer to him without a word. Soon enough, as what should have been expected by the bluenette's shooting skills, in an instant he swished pass Kise and lifted his arm at a specific angle that anyone who saw it must've known it would not go in. The blonde, infatuated with Kuroko's elegant movement, payed attention only to his lithe, pale body travel so swiftly that he did not expect to lose consciousness the next moment Kuroko shot a warning stare in his direction.
The blonde gurgled and groaned as his vision reappeared and his mind to awake and become aware of his situation. Kise's eyes opened and shut a few times to take time to think where he was. It was a room – not his own – and a soft blue blanket was draped across his midsection. . . the surrounding area smelled awfully stale, and there were photos scattered about the walls in a miss-matched fashion. Kise sat up and supported his extra weight with his palms planted firmly on the mattress to take a closer look to some of the pictures. One was himself and Kuroko and Kuroko's little puppy, all looking cheerful – even Kuroko himself was smiling a bit, leaning his shoulder against Kise's arm as his Kise's other arm extended outwards to take the photo. Smiling, Kise realized he was resting his his favourite person's room.
With a damp-looking, dark cloth in hand, Kuroko entered the room and blinked at Kise.
"Ah, you're awake." Kuroko mounted the bed and handed the cloth to the recently conscious blonde who accepted the offer and pressed it to his forehead. He chuckled softly, continuing to take his time in taking in the memorable photos planted around the room. Kise remarked that he had forgotten about some of these and when they were taken, also commenting about how Kuroko seemed to light up each picture he was in.
" – how is that, Kurokocchi? You look so great: in pictures and in real life! Even now," Kise paused, smiling sweetly at his sweet companion. "you look like an Angel." With one hand, he reached up and took Kuroko's cheek softly in between his thumb and forefinger and admired him. He's so unnaturally beautiful, Kise thought, I've never seen anyone like him. . . so fascinating, so – so perfect. Kuroko blinked in curiosity in the strangely-acting blonde, who had hardly ever acted to serious like this. Perhaps his head did get messed up when Kuroko's shot missed. . .
"Kise? Why do you look at me so strangely?" He started saying, causing Kise's smile to waver. "Ever since Kagami came to Seirin and joined the team and became close to me, you've been acting weird. Just like before you passed out, you were smiling at me like you're doing now and were staring at me. Is there something I'm not aware of?" Kuroko cocked his head to the side, the ends of his hair drifting to one side to reveal his softly toned neck. Kise felt his eyes waver from the tender-looking flesh from the bluenette's eyes. He explained, after sighing, that he couldn't help it; that he's always felt this odd attachment and connection with Kuroko. Just recently, the feelings have begun to bubble and boil over to the point of no return.
"I just can't help myself when I'm around your presence, Kuroko. I just – I can't explain my feelings when even I don't know what I'm feeling. . ."
"Ah, I've read about this before." Kuroko stated seriously, causing unsureness to wash over Kise. "It's called being 'in love with someone'. Not as a family member, not as a friend, or even a close friend: as a lover. Do you feel like you love me like that, Kise?" The blonde's cheeks flared a fluorescent pink, and he stuttered to find the right answer. His hand flinched away from Kuroko's face and a troubled expression overcame him.
"Kuroko. . . I might not be able to tell you with words. I'm not – I can't tell if this'll ruin our friendship!" Kise panicked, redirecting his gaze downward, feeling his cheeks become hotter and his body begin to tremble. A soft, small hand touched Kise's chin and gently tipped it upwards. Kuroko's light pink lips formed into a half-smile, which immediately caught the blonde's attention, and he spoke sweetly, gently. Never could their strongly-bonded friendship be ruined by a confession, Kuroko explained, because who knows, he might end up feeling the same way towards him. "I. . . I. . ." The bluenette neared him, releasing his chin and placed his palms firmly beside each side of Kise's waist. Kise's legs were squished in the middle of both of Kuroko's, his face dangerously close to his own.
"Do you imagine me mad? Do you think I will find you disgusting and leave you in the dust? Do you think –" Kise's lips hushed Kuroko's in a frantic passion. Immediately Kuroko positioned himself on the blonde's lap and ran his petite hands over his shoulders and down his clothed back. Kise's fairly larger hands swept through the bluenette's soft locks and gripped the leverage there slightly. Their lips moved in sync in a passionate frenzy, sloppy noises and gentle grunts arose from the two. Kuroko's eyebrows came together and his body froze momentarily as Kise's hand pulled back the bluenette's head and began to suck and kiss his throat and neck, scattering love marks over his pale, open skin. Kuroko's voice became louder, feeling his heartbeat begin to race, if it wasn't at that pace already. Kise, he whined, people will notice; soft concerns coming from Kuroko caused the blonde's ministrations to come to a halt and he leant his head back.
"Kuroko, I'm sorry," Kise said, his tone apologetic while his satisfied smile could disagree. "I left marks all over. . ." He expected the bluenette to fume, to start yelling at him any moment. Instead, Kuroko seemed equally satisfied with the love marks Kise scattered over his skin. Kuroko seemed convincing enough as he smiled more than earlier, consoling the blonde with saying that it was okay, that people would now be aware of who owned him.
"I feel the same, Kise. . ." He muttered before firmly planting his lips back against Kise's. In the morning, Kise would feel comfort in knowing that his first love returned the aching emotions that he had kept sealed for so long; he would finally be able to feel true happiness.