I dare you to move.
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.
I dare you to move.
Like today never happened.
Today never happened before.

- Switchfoot, Dare You To Move

"Kurokocchi!"

The nickname echoes in the small man's head. He hasn't been called that nickname for quite some time. Whenever he hears it in his head, it seems to all come back to him.

He remembers the day they met. Ryouta had just joined the basketball team and was given Tetsuya as a personal instructor. Ryouta had looked down on Tetsuya. He hadn't understood why such an amazing player like himself was given such a weak person as an instructor. That is until Tetsuya & Ryouta are assigned to participate in a match of Teiko's second string. That was when Ryouta found Tetsuya's true strength. And soon, the two became good friend, both having respect for each other.

He remembers the day Ryouta had confessed to him. At first, he didn't take it too seriously. It startled him a bit, but he shook it off as a joke. Until Ryouta had repeatedly said it over and over. It really got to him when he saw the sad look on Ryouta's face when he was on a "date" with Momoi.

He remembers the day he realized his feelings towards Ryouta. After Ryouta had felt "rejected", he began dating a girl in Tetsuya's homeroom. Tetsuya felt something he hadn't felt easily, especially toward a man. Jealousy. Then the sudden feel of relief when the two discussed it was best to be friends.

He remembers the day they had first kissed. Ryouta & Tetsuya had stopped talking after the incident with Momoi. Tetsuya was sitting under a tree, reading a book, when Ryouta joined him. Ryouta had told him he tried to shut his feelings for him out by getting into a relationship with a girl. He failed. Ryouta repeated the three words to Tetsuya and instead of keeping quiet, Tetsuya said them back. He still remembers the smile that appeared on Ryouta's face and the warm hug he delivered to the boy. And quietly, under the big cherry blossom tree, their lips connected.

He remembers the day they went on their first date. Ryouta had planned to have a nice picnic with Tetsuya in the park but it was a rainy day. Instead, they went ice skating. Tetsuya found that he was quite good at ice skating while Ryouta had fallen over 15 times. After that, they went out to eat to a fancy and expensive restaurant. When they were outside, getting ready to leave, Tetsuya had realized he had forgot his umbrella. The rain wasn't the hard before, only sprinkling, so it wasn't a problem then, but the rain had gotten very hard. Ryouta interlocked his hands with Tetsuya's and together, they ran home. Ryouta let Tetsuya borrow some of his clothes since both of theirs were soaked. Ryouta made some hot chocolate for the two of them. Together, they cuddled under a blanket, watching TV, and quickly fell asleep in each other's arms.

He remembers the day they got engaged. They were both 24. Just out of college, living in a small apartment together. As they were getting ready to go to bed, Tetsuya noticed the stream of red across Ryouta's face and his sweaty palms. Tetsuya sat down on the corner of the bed and asked him what was wrong. Without answering, Ryouta began to kneel on one knee and open a small box. He gave a speech about his love for Tetsuya. And then, he asked him to marry him. Tetsuya smiled with some tears forming in the corner of his eyes and said yes.

He remembers the day he became Kise Tetsuya. He walked down the aisle, arm linked with his father. Not in a wedding dress, a suit, just like Ryouta. As he walked down the aisle, he looked to the left. There sat Tetsuya's family, the Seirin basketball team, the GoM: both evenly sitting on each side, his childhood friend: Ogiwara, and Momoi: waving to Tetsuya with a big grin on her face. He looked the right. There sat Ryouta's family, the Kaijou basketball team, the GoM: both evenly sitting on each side, and some of his friends from college. The only person who wasn't there was.. Aomine.

He remembers the day Ryouta asked for a child. For, it was finally possible for men to have children. They sat in bed, laying in each other's arms and Ryouta whispered to him. Even though it was only 3 months after Tetsuya had took his name, Ryouta had already wanted to start a family. He knew Ryouta loved kids. He couldn't say the same about himself. Growing up, he didn't have any younger siblings or friends. They decided to discuss it further in the morning.

He remembers the day they lost their child. Barely 3 months. The doctor assured Tetsuya is was normal especially because Tetsuya was a man & it was his first time ever carrying a child. After that, for a while, Tetsuya would sit on the balcony and just stare at the sky. For hours. Ryouta came out and rubbed his shoulders. He began whispering sweet nothings into Tetsuya's ears and told him they could always try again.

He remembers the day he was pregnant again. Ryouta was so happy. He went out and bought the unborn baby everything he needed. When he was born, he was sure he would spoil the child rotten. Sometimes at night after Tetsuya had "fallen asleep", Ryouta would sometimes whisper to the womb and kiss it. Tetsuya knew Ryouta would be the best father.

And then.. He remembers the day his whole world fell down. Ryouta was leaving to Italy for 3 weeks for his modeling career. Tetsuya was only 7 months through so Ryouta would be back by the time the baby was born. But he never came home. Tetsuya still remembers trying to call Ryouta on his cell phone just the day after he late, but no answer. He turned on the TV and there it was. The plane Ryouta had taken had crashed. No survivors. Either dead or missing bodies. Tetsuya broke down.

He remembers the day he attended a funeral, his first funeral. Without Ryouta. Because it was Ryouta's funeral. His close friends & family attended. He saw Ryouta's mother crying while her husband comforted her. Tetsuya didn't cry though. He had already cried everything out the night before. When he got home, he sat in bed. All day. Thinking about why and how this happened. Especially with a child on the way. Why?

He remembers the day he gave birth to Ryouta's child. Born on May 24th. He named him Satoshi. Tetsuya hated the name, but Ryouta had loved it. He suggested it first, but Tetsuya deposed of it. Satoshi was born with Ryouta's face and bubbly personality. But, he had Tetsuya's hair and eye color. And when Satoshi was silent, it was like he would be invisible, just like Tetsuya. But that didn't happen often. Tetsuya and Satoshi also shared some of the same interests. They both liked reading and sometimes just some peace and quiet.

There are much more things Tetsuya remembers. When his world had once fallen apart, it came back together like a broken puzzle. Even though he is living a happy ending right now, there are many tough situations Tetsuya had to make it through to reach that happy ending. So, let's go back to the beginning. On May 24, 2023.

I hope you liked the prologue! ^^ I've had this idea for a quite a while now and I really wanted to share it! Thanks for reading! The story is based on the song Dare You To Move by Switchfoot, I was listening to it the whole time writing this! :p