Author's note: This is the revised version. You can see the original version and background about the story on my tumblr, thelastperformer under my art tag
What a lot of people didn't know was that Tatsuya could be even more stubborn than Taiga.
The first time they had a fight, Tatsuya ran away from home. They were still living in the states, and, even in Japan, both Taiga and Tatsuya vividly remembered the narrow, twisting roads of their childhood in California.
It had been a the kind of day where the air is thick and hot with humidity, where walking to the gas station or store to buy novelty ice cream leaves you sweating. The sky was an intense, deep blue, with a few fluffy, white clouds, but no hope of rain. Sidling through the shadowed alleyways of their neighborhood, Tatsuya led Taiga towards the store. His parents had given him some change for him and his friend.
"Your parents are nice, Tatsuya," Taiga said, wiping the sweat from his face with his shirt. He nearly tripped, taking his eyes off the uneven sidewalk in front of him. The weeds were growing up between the concrete and crawling up the walls around them.
"Mm," Tatsuya mumbled, "sometimes they are." He stopped, his hand resting on the red brick building.
"What?" Taiga raised his hand, trying to block the sun's glare, but still see his friend between his fingers. "I mean, they're always nice to me," he said. "You guys always have soda and they always invite me to stay for dinner and stuff."
"They're just being polite," Tatsuya said. When he turned around, Taiga couldn't see his expression. It was a combination of the sun behind him, and the fact that he'd turned to the left. "Come on, the light's green," he said. He grabbed Taiga's hand and pulled him across the street, to the gas station.
They bought ice cream and ate it on the way back to Tatsuya's house, racing against the heat to get it in their mouths before it melted and dripped on to the concrete. His parents asked how everything went, and Tatsuya told them, "it was fine."
"Will Taiga be staying for dinner?"
"If he wants," Tatsuya answered. "If it's okay."
Tatsuya's mother took Taiga to the other room and helped him call his parents to ask for permission, while Tatsuya washed his hands and face. Taiga came back with a soda and a big smile. Tatsuya looked up at his mom.
"Why don't you two go play some more?" She smiled and walked back to her room.
Tatsuya nodded and took Taiga to the living room. They watched cartoons, Tatsuya lounging on the couch and Taiga lying on the floor underneath the fan. The leather was sticky beneath him, but it was better than sitting on the curb outside.
"Tatsuya, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Taiga."
He hummed a response, stealing a glance at his friend. He didn't seem the least bit focused on the show in front of them. Taiga switched the television off and sat up. Tatsuya looked at him, the same expressionless face he always had.
"Are you mad?"
"I'm not mad."
"Is it 'cause of your mom? Are you two fighting?"
"No, Taiga."
He pouted, leaning on the seat of the sofa and propping his head up with his arm. "I think it's nice that you two are so close. I mean, my parents are always working. I don't get to see them so much. But over here, it's like your mom's always here, and your dad always comes home at night."
"Taiga…"
"I think it's nice," he said again.
"Taiga, stop. You don't know anything." Tatsuya turned his head, so Taiga couldn't see his expression anymore.
"Tatsuya, what's wrong? Do they hit you?" He thought of the sitcoms he'd seen, where they tell you to call a hotline if someone you know is abused. He could almost hear the panic in his own voice.
"No! Shut up!"
Taiga stopped. He was stunned.
"Taiga, you don't know anything!" Tatsuya had turned to Taiga full on. His hands were balled in to fists and he was scowling like he did when defending Taiga against older kids. "I just don't like them, okay? It's not like just because they're home, we spend time together! They don't even like me." He heard his voice crack. "They don't care about me, not really!"
He could see his hands shaking in front of him, and he struggled to say something to his friend. All he could manage was a dry sob.
Tatsuya's mother came in to see what he was yelling for, and Tatsuya ran out the door. Taiga started sobbing, and Mrs. Himuro hugged him and offered him ice cream, and asked what happened. She phoned Taiga's parents and told them what happened, asking them to please keep an eye out for Tatsuya, but he was a smart, independent boy and would probably be okay for a little while before he came home crying.
The sun set.
Taiga was still at Tatsuya's, waiting on the leather sofa, crying, waiting for Tatsuya to come back so that he could apologize. Tatsuya's mother was sitting at the table in the next room over, her fingers laced and her head down, fighting back worry and trying to look strong. She would periodically check on Taiga, make sure he was okay, or ask if he needed anything. Tatsuya's father got home from work, heard the news, and started calling the police and leaving the house, only to come back empty handed a bit later.
Taiga just wanted Tatsuya to be okay.
Tatsuya just didn't want to be at home. He didn't want to see Taiga. He wandered down the steep hills, through the narrow alleys, and all around the nearby park. It was hot, and he was dripping with sweat, but anything was better than home. Finally, the sun had set, and Tatsuya settled next to an overgrown, abandoned shack on the outskirts of the park. He decided he wasn't going home voluntarily. He could probably sleep in this shack if he had to.
But there was a heavy feeling in his stomach. He thought for a while that it might be homesickness. He pulled his knees to his chest and sighed. He thought hard. His throat hurt. He just wanted someone to find him and take him home.
It was impossible to know how long he sat there before Taiga found him.
"Tatsuya! Mrs. Himuro, he's over there!"
Tatsuya looked up at the voice. Taiga was holding his mother's hand, pointing at him. He wonders if he fell asleep for a while, curled up against the vines on the side of that shack. He stood up, and Taiga raced over and hugged him.
"Tatsuya, I'm sorry. I didn't know, but I'm sure your mom loves you lots. She cried too, when you left," Taiga blurted out, crying again.
Tatsuya hugged him too. "Stop crying, Taiga," he said. "I'm sorry, please don't cry."
Tatsuya's mother took Taiga home and apologized to the Kagami's about her son, and for the trouble. Tatsuya smiled and waved, telling Taiga he'd see him tomorrow, and then he followed his mother home.
"Tatsuya," she began, once they were home, "you're too old for this." She sighed, handing him a new set of clothes and tossing the ones he'd been wearing in to the washing machine.
"I'm sorry." He swallowed, hard.
"I can't believe you think I don't love you, Tatsuya." She kneeled down as he pulled the shirt over his head. She held his hands and looked him in the eyes. (She had been crying, Tatsuya realized.) "Of course I love you. I'm sorry. It's just," she hiccupped, hugging him around the neck, "it's hard to show you how much I love you sometimes. I'm so proud of you. You're so smart, and so independent. I'll try to do better, Tatsuya. I love you."
He hugged her back, tightly. "I love you too, Mom."
After school the next day, Tatsuya skipped playing basketball with his friends and went straight home. He thought that he still didn't want to see Taiga. It felt weird. He didn't know what to say, or how to act.
But Taiga came knocking on his door that afternoon.
"Tatsuya, please don't hate me," he said.
He stifled a laugh and invited Taiga in. "I don't hate you, Taiga," he said. There was something about that tactless apology that made him forgive him for whatever it was that he did wrong.
The last time they fought, he didn't.
They were in Tatsuya's apartment in Japan. A well-furnished, upstanding apartment he stayed in with Atsushi, while they were attending college. Taiga was sitting at the counter with a soda in front of him, and Tatsuya was standing opposite him, in the kitchen. Taiga had just secured a place on one of the few college basketball teams that would go on tour, playing other colleges around the world.
"The absolute last thing that I want is your pity, Taiga!" Tatsuya yelled. "So I didn't make the cut. Big deal."
"Tatsuya, stop," Taiga sighed, aggravated. He rubbed his eyes. "Please don't do this."
"Don't do what? Be upset? Or be happy for you and Atsushi?"
"Both. Either. Fuck! I don't know!" Taiga slammed his hand on to the counter in front of him. "Don't do this passive aggressive thing!"
"Fuck you," he growled.
"It's okay to be mad, alright? But don't be mad at me. Don't be mad at Murasakibara," Taiga said. Tatsuya didn't answer and turned so he wasn't looking at him. "You're good. You're great at basketball, okay? Just because you didn't make the cut this time doesn't mean—"
"Fuck you! You don't understand!" Tatsuya slammed his arm against the refrigerator, spinning back towards Taiga. "You don't understand how I feel!"
"Tatsuya…"
"No, stop! You don't!" Tatsuya blinked hard and stopped to catch his breath. His shoulders slumped, and his arms fell to his sides. "You're lucky. You have a talent that I don't."
"Who cares about talent, Tatsuya?" Taiga yelled.
"You would, if you didn't have it!" He screamed back. He struggled to keep his breathing even as he spoke. "Please stop, Taiga. Just go."
"What?"
"Get out."
"Tatsuya…"
"Go!" Tatsuya looked at him when he stood up. "Go, play, and win. Please watch over Atsushi. Make sure he doesn't get out of control. Try not to fight with Daiki too much. I know you'll do great, Taiga. You always have."
He nodded, and left, thinking everything was alright. Tatsuya went to bed early, leaving a note for Atsushi to cook dinner for himself that night.
Taiga called Tatsuya as soon as he'd gotten back to Japan (to tell him they'd won, of course), but the number had been disconnected. When he tried going to the apartment, Atsushi told him, "Murochin moved out while we were on tour. He said he'd been wanting to for a while, so…"
"What? Why didn't he tell me? Where is he now?"
Atsushi shrugged. "Guess he didn't want you to know. I don't know exactly where his new place is. I haven't seen it yet."
Taiga thought hard. "You see him at school, right? He changed his number? Do you know his new one?"
He frowned, groaning a little, and finally letting Taiga in when it began to snow. He offered him snacks and a drink. "Look, I don't know if he wants you to know. He's always been jealous of you, you know?"
"That's ridiculous," Taiga mumbled.
Atsushi shrugged. "It's just how he is, you know? I mean, he likes you a lot. He talks about you, but I don't know if he wants to talk to you."
"Can you just give me his number please?"
He heaved a sigh. "Fine, I guess. But I can't guarantee he'll answer you."
And he didn't. Taiga raced home, calling and texting Tatsuya. When he answered, he said, "sorry, I'm busy right now, Taiga, I'll call you later." His texts were usually short and sent hours after Taiga's.
Over the years, their conversations became even less frequent.
Probably not a day passed that Taiga didn't think of Tatsuya, or that Tatsuya didn't think of Taiga. It hurt his chest to think of the relationship they'd used to have, and how he'd messed it up.
He hated how he'd been left in the dust. Tatsuya struggled to like spending time with Taiga more than he disliked how much better Taiga was at basketball. Sometimes he'd forgotten how jealous he was, but sometimes it was all he could think about.
By now, he was sure that to Taiga, he was a distant (and hopefully fond) memory. As badly as he wanted to talk to him sometimes, he didn't know what to say, or how to act.
He didn't know how to apologize, and he wasn't sure he wanted to.
Two years passed before they saw each other again.
It was at Alex's wedding, in America. Tatsuya had moved back to California, and was finishing up school there. He'd gotten stuck in traffic on his way over, and was late. He rushed in to the small house, trying desperately to straighten out his blue tie with shaking hands. There's no way Taiga would miss this.
Someone told him that Alex was upstairs, and wanted to see him. He passed through the crowd to the top floor, stopping in the bathroom to fix his suit. It was that silvery gray color, with a blue vest and tie. He took a deep breath and looked himself straight in the eye.
It was supposed to be Alex's big day, and all he was thinking about was himself. He hated himself for it.
He stepped out of the bathroom. The majority of the guests were downstairs, waiting for the ceremony to begin. (He hadn't seen Taiga in the crowd.) Upstairs, everyone was getting ready for the ceremony. Alex was probably furious that he was late, but it couldn't be helped.
There was a foyer at the top of the stairs, with a dinner table filled with party snacks. A pretty brunette was sitting at the table, her bare feet propped up on the chair next to her. She was eating pistachios, being very careful not to drop any shells on her white tulle dress. She was giving him a sideways stare.
"Alex is down the hall getting ready. She wants to see you," she told him. He stared at her for a moment longer, trying to recall who she was, before he went down the hall.
Tatsuya saw her from behind first. Her hair was twisted up in to an updo, with small flowers pinned in to it. Her veil reached her waist from behind, and was pinned in to her hair with a floral crown. The dress was full length and milky white, like a pearl, with a wide, shiny blue ribbon tied in to a bow at the base of her back. It was strapless, and she was struggling to buckle her sandals when he walked in.
"You look beautiful, Alex. Congratulations," he said.
She spun around, gloves in her hands, and hugged him. "Tatsuya!" She yelled, arms wrapped around his torso. She kissed him, leaving a smudged pink imprint on his face. "You're finally here, you stupid jerk. What took you so long?"
"I got stuck in traffic," he explained, setting her down and helping her with her sandals. "You look so beautiful, Alex," he said again, looking up at her.
She smiled. "I'm getting married, Tatsuya," she said quietly.
He hugged her tightly around her shoulders.
Alex sniffed and wiped her eyes delicately, as to not mess up her makeup. "Have you talked to Taiga?"
He froze.
"What?"
"I… I mean… Nothing… Nothing really…"
She took his face in her hands and smiled. Her lips and eyes sparkled, her foot still on his leg, with his fingers on the buckles of her sandal. "Tatsuya, I know you haven't spoken to him in a long time. You're too stubborn. It's my wish, as the bride, that you try to make amends, okay?"
He sighed, breaking her hold, and looked down. He set her foot down and stood up. "Alright. For you, Alex, anything." She smiled and he left the room as she fiddled with her gloves.
The next room over was probably the master bedroom, but there was so little furniture Tatsuya thought maybe he was wrong. He caught sight of Taiga right away, talking to that cute brunette from before. That bright red hair was a dead giveaway, not to mention he towered over mostly everybody else in the room. (Tatsuya suddenly wished he was a tiny bit shorter.)
He was wearing a black suit, with a black tie. There was a blue flower pinned to his chest, and his socks were a matching blue. Tatsuya wondered who gave him the fashion advice for the wedding, and whether or not he was even living in the states, or if he just came to visit for the wedding. He wondered if that brunette was his plus one.
Tatsuya weaved between the people in the room until he'd gotten over to Taiga. He tapped him on the arm and struggled to smile. Taiga looked at him, surprised, and gave a little smile. He excused himself from the girl, and the two walked back to the foyer at the top of the steps. Taiga picked the pretzels out of the chex mix and tried to stuff his mouth to avoid saying anything.
Tatsuya felt his heart plummet to his stomach.
"Taiga, I…"
He looked up, not expectantly, but with an anxious expression.
"Taiga, please don't hate me," he said.
He smiled. He chuckled a little, then laughed. He loosened his tie a little.
"I don't hate you, Tatsuya," he answered.
Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like maybe he'd be okay.
"I don't hate you. I just" – Taiga took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair – "I just didn't know what to do, you know? I mean, I didn't want you to be mad, but I guess I thought – I don't know – I guess I thought you didn't wanna talk to me. I didn't want to talk to you if you didn't want to talk to me."
Tatsuya chuckled. "I didn't. Not really. I mean, I didn't, but… but I did. You messed up your hair," he said, reaching up and fixing it. "You should wax it. It might look nicer."
Taiga flushed. "Fuck – I mean, thanks. I hate things like this."
"I know you do," he said, straightening Taiga's tie. He grabbed some hair wax from the bathroom and slicked back Taiga's hair. He was washing his hands, and Taiga was checking himself in the mirror the next time he spoke. He said, "Atsushi told me you killed it at the game."
Taiga laughed. "You should have seen it. We killed them."
"Are you living in the states, Taiga?"
He hummed, pouting a little. "Nah, I'm still living in Tokyo."
"On your own?" Tatsuya cut in.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "My parents are still here, so…"
"I'm sorry, Taiga." He looked down and noticed that Taiga had been wringing his hands.
"What about you?"
"I was going to finish school here in Cali, but I'm not sure about after that. Atsushi wants me to move back to Japan," he answered. He split Taiga's hands from each other and sat down at the table in the foyer. Taiga followed him and started eating the peanuts. Tatsuya leaned his chin in to his hand and leaned on the table. "Taiga, listen, I'm sorry."
"Tatsuya, it's okay, I forgive you."
"I wasn't fair to you. The only thing that kept me away from you this whole time was myself. I should have explained myself."
"Yeah, you should have." Tatsuya's head snapped up to look at him. "But, it's alright. We're talking now, right? I mean, I've never once in my life stopped thinking of you as a brother to me."
He buried his face in his hands as he listened to the crunch of the peanuts Taiga was eating.
"I'm sorry."
Taiga's eyes strayed from his friend to the staircase. "Tatsuya, please stop apologizing. It's okay."
"Aren't you two too old for this?"
The two looked towards the hall.
Alex was putting in earrings, walking towards them. She pushed Tatsuya's face in to the table and flicked Taiga in the forehead. "You're not little kids anymore! You two have been friends way too long to throw it away!"
Tatsuya stared up at her, dumbfounded. Taiga scowled at her.
"You don't know anything about it, Alex!" He yelled.
"I don't have to! I know that you two are friends – are brothers! Like it or not, brothers can't get rid of each other that easily!" She put her hands on her hips. "Now get downstairs! The ceremony's going to start. If either of you ruin my wedding day, I'll kill you, you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" They both answered. They both kissed her on the cheek and went downstairs.
The ceremony was beautiful. Tatsuya and Taiga sat next to each other, looking proudly as their teacher was given away by her father to her husband. She cried and had to put on her glasses to read her vows. Everyone cheered when they said their "I do's."
Tatsuya and Taiga grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for the reception in the backyard. They talked about everything, trying to catch up with each other over beers as the sun set. Alex changed in to a short, casual blue dress and joined them when the crowd thinned out. She asked about Japan, and about basketball. Tatsuya told her that, "Atsushi really wants me to bring him to America sometime."
"You should bring him," Taiga said, nodding. "Kuroko wants to see it, too. And you know if Kuroko's coming than Aomine's going to, too."
Tatsuya laughed. "The two of us should show them around sometime," he said. "I'm sure Atsushi would love it. He says I've been neglecting him since I've been here."
Taiga shrugged, downing the rest of his beer to avoid saying anything about it.
"You're the worst," Alex said suddenly.
"What? Why?"
"You've got a bad temper," she explained, taking a sip of her beer. "But you don't let anyone know about it. Tatsuya, you've had this thing about Taiga for a long time. It's time to let go, don't you think?"
Taiga raised an eyebrow, trying to see Tatsuya's expression from the left.
"He forgave you a long time ago," she told him.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He thought that maybe he really did like spending time with Taiga more than he hated his talent. Tatsuya looked over at him, who tried (badly) to cover up the fact that he was staring at him.
"You forgave me a long time ago?"
"Well – I mean – I don't hold it against you," he stuttered, flushing.
Alex smiled, raising her bottle. "Don't you think it's time you forgave yourself, Tatsuya?"
He smiled. "Yes," he said, after a long pause. "Yes, I think it is."
End.
Author's note: Thanks for reading! Drop a review and let me know what you think. :) Hope you enjoyed!