Until That Day
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Character(s): Kise Ryota, Kuroko Tetsuya
Pairing(s): Kise/Kuroko
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.
Kise admitted that his first impression of the phantom player hadn't been a great one. No one could blame him though. How could someone small and frail like Kuroko become part of the regulars? Of course, it frustrated him even more when said boy had been assigned to be his instructor.
However, his views changed after the two led the second string players to victory. The envy he had eventually turned into admiration. They became friends—best friends, though Kuroko bluntly denied it. After all, Aomine had already taken that title.
Speaking of Aomine, Kise hadn't seen him since practice started. Was he skipping again?
"Kise."
The copycat turned his head and paled. Standing next to him was the captain, arms crossed and looking not pleased at all.
"Daydreaming during practice? Double menu," Akashi said.
"Ehhh?! But—"
"Triple."
Kise kept his mouth shut as he watched the redhead move away. Although he survived the encounter, the triple training would give him a slow and painful death. Just his luck! He didn't need Midorima to tell him that Gemini had the worst luck today. Might as well start or else, he could get a quadruple.
Stepping forward, his foot felt something…soft. Kise looked down and yelped in surprise. Looking almost dead with his face on the floor was Kuroko.
"K-Kurokocchi!"
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"Kise-kun, you don't need to walk me home. I'm not a child."
Though Kuroko sounded monotone as usual, Kise knew that the smaller boy was annoyed. He couldn't read him like Aomine could, but they've been teammates for almost two years now.
"You know we can't ignore Akashicchi's orders."
Kuroko not having much stamina was general knowledge in the club. However, the incident earlier was the first time he resembled a ghost. Panic erupted in the room until Akashi ordered everyone to calm down, stating that Kuroko only passed out from overexertion. Kise volunteered to tend to the phantom member since Momoi was out to gather data. Akashi agreed on the condition that his training would now be quadrupled. Unfortunately.
I'm going to die! Kise thought miserably.
He spent the entire afternoon in the locker room taking care of Kuroko, while practice continued. Now that club activites were over, the red-haired captain ordered him to walk Kuroko home—no detours.
A sense of deja vu washed over the blonde. It was like the time when everyone (except their captain) went to arcade while Momoi kept insisting to take Kuroko home because of Akashi's orders.
Compared before, instead of six, only the two of them were walking.
Kise turned his attention to Kuroko. The smaller boy still looked pale but considerably better than earlier. What pushed the boy that far?
Only one thought came in mind: Aomine.
It was amazing, Kise thought. No matter how much he rambled on trivial stuff or make a fool of himself, he couldn't get anything from Kuroko other than his usual blank stare. While Aomine… The mere thought of him would fill those blue eyes with happiness.
However, right now, he could only see sadness, frustration, and regret.
Kise abruptly stopped in his tracks, causing Kuroko to do the same. "Kise-kun?"
No answer came. Instead, the blonde grabbed the pale hand and started to pulling his companion to another direction. Surprised and confused at the action, Kuroko called out again, "Kise-kun?"
"Let's go to Maji Burger," Kise answered promptly.
"But Akashi-kun—"
"As long we keep it a secret, Akashicchi won't know, right?" Kise said with a huge grin on his face.
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When did it happen? He asked himself a thousand times but a single answer would come up.
It just did.
He never realized it nor did he pay attention to it until now. The words had already piled up in his heart, ready to burst out for the world to know.
But he wouldn't. The words he wanted to say, he would keep them until that day would come.
The day when he would be the one to light up this person's world.
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Kuroko stared for awhile and said, "You're weird."
"So mean! Where did you get that idea, Kurokocchi?"
"Aren't you always weird, Kise-kun?"
How long had he been thinking that?! Though Kise kept this to himself. Still pulling Kuroko's hand, he asked, "What do you want to order? It'll be my treat."
"Vanilla milkshake."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
The two finally continued to walk in silence. Unbeknown to Kise, a small smile crept on Kuroko's face, his hand squeezing the larger one.