Hello, all! As I said in the summary, this is my first drabble for Kuroko. It took me really long to write for some reason, but I really wanted to get it done. That said, there may or may not be an edited version in the future lol
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.
~~~Kuroko no Christmas~~~~
Kagami grumbled as he made his way through the snowy streets to Kuroko's house, hands buried in his pockets and fingers playing absentmindedly with the silver ring tucked inside. The red-haired teen released a smoky huff of breath as he shook snow from his hair for the third time, finally rounding the corner he needed to get to the apartment complex Kuroko lived in. He had had to get his address from the school office, seeing as no one had ever actually been to Kuroko's house. Somehow, though, that hadn't surprised the red-head very much.
Muttering about the things he did for his teammates, Kagami stomped up the staircase to the third floor, stopping once he reached apartment 302.
"Oi, Kuroko!" Kagami rapped on the door to Kuroko's apartment, wondering if the blue-haired player was even home. However, as he knocks again, he hears a familiar bark followed by scratching on the other side of the door. If Tetsuya 2 was home, than the original was definitely there. Kagami released a frustrated breath, shaking another layer of snow from his fiery hair before pounding on the door again. "Kuroko, I know you're in there! Open u-" Kagami was just able to stop his fist from slamming into his teammate's forehead.
"Kagami-kun, please be a little quieter. The neighbors will complain." Kagami blinked, trying to process when the door had even opened. Kuroko regarded him with that normal cool gaze, looking neither surprised to see his teammate nor having expected to see him. #2, on the other hand, happily took to jumping around Kagami's feet in excitement, causing him to hop from one foot to the other until Kuroko deemed it necessary to softly order the puppy to sit by his feet, where it proceeded to watch the two males with a wagging tail. "What are you doing here?" the shorter male asked when #2 was a safe distance away. At the question, Kagami finally seemed to remember the whole point to his standing outside in the cold, frowning as his hands rubbed at his arms.
"What are you doing here? Everyone's at the holiday party. Did you forget?"
"Of course not." Kagami stopped again, gazing at Kuroko in confusion and a little annoyance. Had he just decided not to show up?
"Well, then what are you-"
"I got sick." Kuroko coughed, covering his mouth with his arm before clearing his throat. "And I didn't think anyone would want to catch a cold before the holidays." Kagami wasn't sure why, but it wasn't until then that he noticed his shorter teammate was surrounded by a cozy looking blanket, the edges of a navy turtleneck peeking through. His small nose seemed almost impossibly red compared to his paler than normal skin, except for his flushed cheeks. But even so, his gaze still looked as normal as ever, except for maybe a slight glaze that was just visible if you really looked for it. Kuroko's sniff alerted Kagami as to how long he had been staring.
"W-well, you should have told someone. We were all wondering where you were."
"Gomen. I didn't think you would come all the way out here in the snow to find me." Kuroko glanced pointedly to the layer of snow building on Kagami's hair and shoulders. Strangely enough, the quick-tempered player felt a light heat on his cheeks, suddenly wondering himself why he had bothered to come all the way out here. But then the weight in his hands reminded him of the hours upon hours that he had spent trying to figure out his Secret Santa gift. He thrust the haphazardly wrapped gift into Kuroko's chest, the shorter male struggling a bit to keep a grip on the present and the blankets.
"Here. I got your name for Coach's secret Santa." Kagami crossed his arms, looking away with something that looked suspiciously like a pout. Kuroko, on the other hand, merely glanced down at the gift in his hands with the same blank look he regarded most things.
"Weird."
"What?! You didn't even open it yet!" Kuroko shook his head.
"No. It's weird." Kagami blinked as Kuroko turned and walked back into his apartment with no explanation, leaving the door open behind him and #2 padding after him. As the blue-haired teen disappeared into a room on the left, Kagami was left to hover uncertainly at the door. Was that an invitation to come in, or was Kuroko going to be right back? The red-haired male shifted his weight a few extra times, shivering as he debated whether to go in or not, his brow furrowing further and further. But finally, with a frustrated huff, Kagami stomped his way inside, muttering something about 'not letting the heat out' as he closed the door with a little more force than necessary.
"Do you normally leave your guests freezing at the door?" he called as he removed his shoes and stepped into the apartment, taking the left that Kuroko had taken a few minutes ago. It led him into the main room of the apartment, consisting of the living room and kitchen, with an open door that presumably led to the bedroom in the far corner. An electric fireplace crackled softly against one wall, both lighting and warming the room. Kagami took a look around as he made his way to the couch, noting how simply, yet cozily the apartment was furnished. There weren't many accessories, just things that were most necessary, like the couch, a coffee table, side tables, and a small entertainment system. Kagami was a little surprised to see an Xbox hooked up to the television as well.
"I didn't think you needed an invitation," came Kuroko's response as he walked back into the living room, instructing #2 to stay inside the room before closing the door. A gift was nestled under one arm, his other hand holding a towel that he quickly tossed to Kagami. The red-head began toweling his hair dry.
"Yeah, well, it's not like I've been to your house before…" Kagami glanced down at the gift. "What's that for?" Kuroko looked at the gift as well before holding it out to his teammate.
"I'm your secret Santa." At Kagami's look of confusion, Kuroko took it upon himself to explain. "That's what I thought was weird. That we got each other."
"Seriously?!" Kuroko nodded, holding the gift out a little closer to Kagami's chest.
"Merry Christmas." Kagami thought he could see that faint hint of a smile on Kuroko's lips, but it was fleeting. Kagami had started to notice it in rare moments during a game, practice, and even when they hung out, and a part of him kind of wished it happened more often. Kuroko always seemed far too serious, but…it only made those rare smiles look that much more pure.
"Kagami-kun, you're staring." Kagami spluttered, quickly taking the gift from Kuroko's hands and muttering a weak denial under his breath, also trying to ignore the heat he could feel on his cheeks. He decided to take out his embarrassment on the gift, tugging it free from the neatly folded wrapping paper until a black box sat in his hand. He glanced up briefly as he opened it, surprised to find his teammate watching the box almost intently. When he looked back down, his eyes widened.
There, sitting in the box, was a silver chain.
Kagami reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring that was usually hanging from his neck. The original chain had broken during one of his solo practice sessions, but he had been planning on getting a new on when his funds weren't so low. But…he hadn't told anyone about it.
"I saw you weren't wearing it anymore during practice, so I figured the other one broke." Kagami looked up to meet Kuroko's gaze, which actually looked a little warmer than usual. It took another sneeze for Kagami to regain his senses.
"Uh…y-yeah. It broke while I was playing. Uh…t-thanks." Kuroko nodded once before looking away.
"You're welcome." Wait. Was that another smile?...and a…blush? "I'll open yours now," the phantom player said, already moving to pick up Kagami's slightly-less-neatly-wrapped gift from the coffee table with his normal expression. There was a moment when Kagami was trying to understand the shift in Kuroko's expression, but when his teammate began to tug on the wrapping, he felt panic run through him.
"N-no, wait!" Kagami lunged forward, hand outstretched to snatch the gift from Kuroko's hand. "I-I just remembered…this is the wrong gift…it was for…for someone else…" Kuroko looked up in confusion, pointing to the tag taped to the wrapping.
"But…it says "Kuroko"." Kagami stiffened, bringing the gift behind his back as Kuroko reached for the small package again.
"Y-yea, I know, but…it was a mistake. I left your gift at home." A disbelieving look crossed Kuroko's features, and he went to reach for the gift again when a coughing fit stopped him. Hearing the roughness of the coughs, Kagami leaned in to grip at Kuroko's blanket-covered shoulder, unsure of what to do.
"Oy, a-are you okay?" There was a beat as Kuroko seemed to catch his breath, but the next thing Kagami knew, he was flat on his back with Kuroko sitting on his stomach…present in hand with a flicker of triumph in his eyes.
"Hai."
And before Kagami could snatch the gift back, he tore the wrapping open. Kuroko pulled out what looked like two small squares of black cloth embroidered with the Japanese character for trust. Kagami cringed as Kuroko separated them, revealing two wristbands not so different from the ones the phantom player usually wore for basketball. The white kanji was the only difference.
"L-look, that's not…the only thing I got you. There's something else. T-that's just part of it, and I forgot the other part at home so-"
"You're a bad liar, Kagami-kun." Kuroko slipped the wristbands on, turning his arms to get a better look at them. To say Kagami felt guilty was quite the understatement. There was no way he spent near as much on Kuroko's gift as what he was sure his teammate had spent. But maybe he could find something else to get him to balance it out. Ugh, Kuroko probably thought he was a cheap bastard.
"I like them." Kagami huffed, annoyed that the player was obviously trying to lie for his sake.
"You don't have to lie. I-I'll go out and buy something else for you." Kuroko shook his head, cutting him off.
"No. I like them." Blue, gentle eyes met Kagami's, a rare emotion visible in their depths. "Really. Thank you." And there it was. That smile that had been hiding behind the phantom's unreadable mask. A smile that was so pure and honest, it could only belong to Kuroko. Kagami knew he was staring again, but, this time, neither of them seemed to mind.
Kagami released a sigh, the tension from before leaving him and allowing a teasing sort of smirk to touch his lips, a hand running briefly through his hair.
"You're such a weirdo, kid," he said, making the blue-haired teen frown in disapproval.
"I'm not a kid." A defiant, yet playful look in his gaze, Kuroko decided it was time to let Kagami off the floor, offering his hand. "And you're the one who walked in a blizzard just to give me wristbands." Kagami frowned but allowed Kuroko to pull him up, pulling the loosened blanket back over the boy's shoulder.
"Hey, you should be grateful I didn't get you something stupid. Like socks or something."
"Socks aren't stupid. They're practical." Kagami gave Kuroko a look as the boy sneezed again, shaking his head lightly. Well, at least he knew what to get the kid for his birthday.
And that's that. I hope you enjoyed, and please feel free to rate and review! I'd appreciate any comments/helpful criticisms at all :) Hope everyone's doing well with their preparations for the holidays!