Thirty Plus One
When you're little, birthdays are the greatest thing. You get lots of presents, and your family and friends all come together to celebrate just how special you are. As you grow older, however, birthdays begin to lose their importance. Only large milestones like twenty or thirty, even forty are remembered. That's why for Kuroko, turning thirty-one wasn't a big deal. To him, the day seemed just as ordinary and just as plain as all the rest.
It wasn't at all shocking to him when the co-teachers didn't acknowledge him in any extraordinary way today, and his students simply went about doing their usual playtime things. Kiko got sent to the nurse for poking herself in the eye with a crayon, and Daisuke got in trouble for eating the glue…again. Natsumi asked Kuroko where babies came from—in which his prompt answer was for her to ask her parents, when she got home—and Yuya started crying, because Ryouhei told her that her drawing was stupid. Yes, just another normal day.
It was on his commute home that he had received a text message from someone that he hadn't heard from in a long time: Kise Ryouta. It didn't surprise him that Kise had remembered his birthday. After all, the man had been all but obsessed with him during their middle school years. Even in the early years of university, Kise would call him at least once a week to ask him how he was doing. The years had come to pass, however, and just like everything else in Kuroko's life, the messages and phone calls had become sparse.
Unlocking his phone and opening the text message, Kuroko was instantly greeted by capitalized romanji and numerous amounts of exclamation points.
"KUUUUUROOOOOKOCCHI! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KUROKOCCHI!
Uwah! I hope you're having a good birthday! I'm currently in Germany right now, because of my flight schedule, but if I was home, I would be sure to give you a big hug and a wonderful present!
Have your special someone do it for me! (And by "special someone" I mean Kagamicchi.)
Toodles and take care!"
By the time Kuroko had read the message for the fourth time over, he was already at the doorstep of his apartment, looking for his keys and dropping them out of his pocket just like every other time. When a swift hand swooped down to pick them up, Kuroko grew startled, only until he realized that it was Kagami that had been behind him. "Oh, it's just you," he commented with assurance.
"Yeah, it's just me," Kagami snickered, using Kuroko's keys to unlock the door and let the both of them inside.
"You're home earlier than usual today," Kuroko soon added. "You didn't get fired, did you?"
"Yes. I, the firefighter, got fired," Kagami joked. He took off his winter coat and hung it up on his delegated post. "Nah, but in all seriousness, the boss just let me off early today. Things had been pretty slow, anyways."
"I see," Kuroko nodded, doing the same after he had finished taking off his shoes.
"I heard it's going to snow tonight," Kagami said, giving life once again to the conversation that was slowly dying.
"Is that so? The weather forecast said nothing about a storm when I overheard it this morning." Kuroko was now moving into the kitchen with the intentions to brew up a hot pot of chamomile tea.
"Yeah, it's one of those freak storms that pop up out of nowhere," Kagami agreed, later adding, "Hey, I'm gonna grab a quick smoke before the storm hits, if you don't mind. I don't want to be standing outside when it's coming down, you know?"
"Sure," Kuroko said. "In fact, I'd like to join you."
Kagami had already been opening up the door to their balcony, when he heard Kuroko speak. "Uh oh. Did someone have a bad day?"
"No," Kuroko stated matter-of-factly. He turned the stove top heat on medium and placed the kettle of water over the flame. "I could just use some fresh air."
"Well, it's not going to be very fresh…"
"You know what I mean."
The bitter wind kissed each of their cheeks softly, guiding small strands of their hair into an eloquent dance. While Kagami was already lighting up his second cigarette, Kuroko was still working on his first.
"You know who I got a call from today?" Kagami asked, leaning his elbows over onto the guard rail.
"Who?" Kuroko questioned, using this as an opportunity to blow out a puff of his smoke.
"That idiot Aomine," Kagami laughed. "He said that he didn't have your new cell phone number and couldn't tell you himself, but he wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
"Really? That's quite thoughtful of him," Kuroko sighed. "I got a text from Kise-san today." He couldn't remember fully when he started referring to his friends with more formality, but it must have been somewhere in his later years at university. "Would you like to see it?"
"Sure, why not," Kagami nodded, watching as Kuroko scampered off back into their apartment to fetch his cellular. In his absence, Kagami took in another long drag from his cigarette, before blowing outward thoughtfully. I wonder how I can wish him a happy birthday without it sounding weird, he thought. We've been dating for so long now that things like this should just come naturally…
"For a second, I thought I may have deleted it by accident, but I found—"
Warm and tight; that's how Kagami's arms felt as they wrapped around Kuroko's shoulders and pulled him in. Soft and slow; that was Kagami's lips as they brushed along Kuroko's ever so sweetly, the strong scent and crisp taste of tobacco still lingering on each of their palates. When they broke apart hesitantly, it was Kuroko who attempted to speak first.
"What was—"
"Kuroko," Kagami interrupted, looking the man square in his iridescently blue eyes. "Happy birthday."
"Kaga—" Kuroko tried, but again, was cut off.
"No wait, let me finish." Kagami stepped away from Kuroko to allow the man some space. Now that Kuroko was granting him his full attention, Kagami felt a bit bashful. Scratching the back of his neck, he said, "Uh…yeah, happy birthday, and um, today is really special, so if there's anything that you want to do or any place that you want to go this weekend, we can do it."
Kuroko looked at Kagami skeptically, arching his brow and folding his arms.
"…You can talk now," Kagami assured, a deep shade of red coming over his cheeks and settling into his bones.
"Today isn't really that special," was the first thing he had said. "It's just like any other day."
"What are you talking about?" Kagami countered. "Today's your birthday, of course it's special!"
"Today I turn thirty-one," he sighed, doing as Kagami did before and leaned his arms on the balcony's railing. "Until I turn forty, it'll just be another, insignificant number."
"That's not true!" Kagami shouted. He hadn't only startled Kuroko with the volume of his voice, but he had frightened himself, as well. "It's not insignificant. It's your birthday. Each year that passes is another year that we grow closer together, Kuroko. It's another year that I watch you succeed in your career, and it's another year that I learn to love you more and more. That's why…"
Kagami had no need to continue. It was as apparent as the mild expression on Kuroko's face that his words had touched him.
It was Kuroko who had drawn Kagami into a tender hug this time. Just as he was about to rest his head on the man's shoulder and whisper sweet nothings into his ear, a truffle of white caught his visual attention. "Ah, it's begun to snow."
Resting his chin on top of Kuroko's head, the action causing for soft strands of hair to tickle his skin, Kagami hummed and responded, "Yeah, it has. You know, we should probably get inside. It's starting to get cold. I think I hear the tea pot whistling, too."
Kuroko agreed, but just as he was about to slip free from Kagami's hold, the man had tightened his arms. "Kuroko," he began, "if it'll make you feel even better, I have something else that I'd like to say."
"Oh yeah?" Kuroko questioned. "And what is that?"
Inhaling deeply, allowing for the chilling air the fill his lungs, Kagami sighed before saying words that Kuroko couldn't help but find amusing.
"Happy thirty plus one, Kuroko."
Hi there, everyone! Chappy here! :D
Gahhh! Today is Kuroko Tetsuya's birthday! I am so happy! :D
I wanted to be a bit unique with my birthday story idea for him, so I hope you don't mind it. ^^;
Thank you for taking the time to read! (:
- Chappy