Our Love Will Someday Finds Happiness

Disclaimer : I do not own Kuroko no Basuke nor the characters. Tadatoshi Fujimaki is the rightful owner of this manga and characters.

Notes : For basketballpoetsociety's challenge no.36 (Amnesty Round). I was going to post this fic for the previous theme but yeah.. Procrastination is a bitch.


When the warmth and love of the Fire finally melted the wall of jealousy the Ice built…

At one point of his life, Himuro realized that his world didn't only revolve around basketball. He didn't deny that it was one of the most important things in his life, something he loved very much but he has someone who he loved more than basketball. The person he loved was Kagami Taiga, his only light of guidance, the only person he could truly feel happy with, the person he could ever love in this world.

With a smile on his face and the cheerful jingles of the tiny bell, Himuro entered the tiny yet welcoming flower shop. It was quite a miracle he could go back home early today so he decided to give his Tiger a little surprise, especially on this special day. He had done his research well, willing to sacrifice some of his sleeping hours to find flowers he could buy that could deliver the message he wanted. Kagami probably didn't understand some, if not most, of the flowers' meanings but Himuro was sure that Kagami would get the message anyway. Forget-me-nots, the typical red roses, primroses, daisies, and other flowers with all those cheesy meanings. He wanted to make a little candlelight dinner too but since Kagami was in the house today, he couldn't really do it without spoiling the surprise. He considered buying Kagami's favorite burgers and then made a big hamburger cake like he once saw on the internet. That idea only made him shook his head while laughing about how ridiculous it would be even though he knew that Kagami would be so amused. He would probably do that on Kagami's birthday though.

The journey back actually took a quite long time, even by car. He wanted to work somewhere closer but his office didn't have any branches and it was hard to find jobs that could pay your life necessities these days. When Kagami was recruited by the NBA, he asked Himuro to go and live with him in the States. On the same day, the rings that they were once worn as necklaces now were worn on their ring fingers. They rented a nice and cozy apartment and they spent the entire week just to unpack everything or buying new furniture, to make that apartment their home sweet home. After that they bought a cheap second-handed car and Himuro was the one who mainly drove that car to his work place while Kagami was usually being picked up by his team's vehicles.

When Kagami hurt his ankle in one of his matches, the same day when they announced that Kagami could no longer play basketball or any other sports that required extra works from his foot, Himuro spent the night whispering words of consolation and hugging his dear Tiger while said Tiger cried on his shoulders. A few months later, he decided to become a fireman because he thought that he could use his strength for good use. Their financial situation was quite harsh at that time but they were happy and Himuro was very grateful that both of them could cook (even though he would always prefer Kagami's cooking than his own). From those hard times, several new and delicious food recipes were born. They were both busy with their schedules and they rarely saw each other but they made sure to use all the time they have to its best. For example, Kagami's fear therapy in which Himuro would drag Kagami to watch horror movies with him then teased him by telling more ghost stories, just like sometimes he occasionally did when they were kids. Most of the time, they would just cuddle on their couch while watching anything that was interesting for them on the television with the company of a big bowl of salted popcorns.

"I'm home, Taiga!" Himuro said with a tired smile. "Surprise surprise! Guess who gets home early today!" he laughed. "My evil boss finally let me run away momentarily from all those stressful boring jobs. Have I told you that everybody there are a bunch of workaholics that seemed to, I don't even know how or why, enjoy and love their jobs? I probably have, for a billion times." he sighed.

Himuro then paused for a moment before he let out a chuckle. "But then again, I guess I'm started to become like them. Urgh, I even shivered when I said. I guess it is inevitable though. It's like you are automatically become a workaholic and a boring serious person once you worked there. No no no, once you even went inside the building. Everybody is so focused with their jobs too that they always refuse if I ask them to go karaoke with me or just having a little drink or something." Himuro looked at Kagami to see his expression before he smiled, tried to hide his laughter. "But nah, even if they did want to go, it won't be as fun if you aren't there, Taiga. Yet you always refuse to go whenever I ask you to accompany with me. Why? And don't say your voice is terrible or you can't sing because karaoke is for having fun, not a singing competition."

Cold silence was the only thing that answered him. No, he couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't, shouldn't, keep acting like this. Kagami Taiga, his brother, his fire, his lover, he wouldn't be here with him anymore. Himuro would never hear the other's voice, the sweet kind voice that always asks 'How was your day, Tatsuya?', the voice that always lifted up his mood no matter how grim his day was, the voice that would always call his name with such a strong loyal love. He could no longer feel his warmth when they cuddle. the gentle loving touches whenever they made love, that warm fuzzy feelings whenever Kagami patted his head, the small quick kisses before and after they woke up and went to work, and the deep passionate kisses that would make them think that the world was truly theirs and theirs alone.

If Himuro could turn back time, he wouldn't let Kagami to go to work that damned day. He would never ever let him go inside that damned building. He would force him to stay at home and even chained him so he wouldn't go outside. Himuro was always proud that his boyfriend chose to be a firefighter after his injury, somebody who saved people's lives in a daily basis, a somehow perfect job for him. However, when Kagami's colleagues delivered the bad news to him, his opinion changed completely. He cursed that job for taking Kagamis life. He cursed that damned building that wasn't even usable anymore now, thanks to the fire. He cursed whatever or whoever set that damned building on fire. He despised the people who were alive because Kagami saved them. He knew it was horrible for him to even think about this but he wanted those people to die. For him, it wasn't fair that Kagami was the only one died in that fire.

Basketball became something he despised. He quit his job as the basketball coach in an unpopular but solid basketball team in a high school near their apartment just 3 days after Kagami's funeral. He put every basketball related items he had inside a wooden box, locked it, and threw away the box along with the flammable trash while the key was now at the bottom of the dark cold sea. Himuro didn't do it to the things that were once belonged to Kagami, he couldn't. So he just locked them away and never looked at them again. He would instantly turn off the television or radio whenever there was a basketball match on air. He would turn his face away every time he passed the basketball field across their apartment. He would put on his earphones and turned the volume up whenever somebody talked about basketball. No, he wasn't trying to forget about Kagami, he couldn't even if he tried. Basketball was just a painful reminder of the happy days he, they, could have if Kagami was still alive.

Sadness, depression, anger, hatred, and eventually emptiness. Himuro ran away to his new job, a job that he once jokingly said he would never take because it was so boring, because it wasn't something he loved. He overworked himself until he was sick. He tried to ask his co-workers to drink or go karaoke with him, in which some of them were mostly politely turned down. He knew better than to drown himself in alcohol so again, his boring works was the only escape. He didn't want to stay in their apartment for too long. Himuro swore he could still hear Kagami's greetings, smell whatever Kagami cooked for dinner if he wasn't in the station, and or saw Kagami who was smiling warmly at him. He knew it was just fragments of memories (or maybe it was his own doing, his attempt to lie to himself, to assured himself that his beloved Tiger was still alive).

"You are horrible, Taiga." he whispered silently to the cold gravestone, clenching it tightly. The flowers he brought started to tremble as the person who held them started to cry silently. It still amused him how his tears seemed to never run out whenever he saw the beautifully engraved 'Kagami Taiga' and a series of numbers and sweet words on the dull gray stone. "If you want to go, take me with you. Don't leave me... please."

the Fire then died, making the Ice truly felt cold and lonely in this cruel unfair world inside the stronger and taller wall he made with all the sadness and anger he had.