Across town, the walk back to Kagami's apartment is somewhat quiet, broken only by the occasional slurp on Kagami's ice cream. Kagami holds it in well, confining his remarks to ice-cream-related words, until they get behind closed doors. "So," he says quietly, pitching his yogurt cup perfectly into the trash can, "that was interesting."

"Takao-kun is a good person," Kuroko slowly agrees as he toes his shoes off, "although his methods are questionable. I think next time, I will decline if it involves Midorima-kun."

"So it's okay if you spring a surprise on me, but not if one gets sprung on you?" There's something of an edge to Kagami's voice, even if he's still building up to the question he really wants to ask.

Kuroko's head turns, and he stares blankly back at Kagami. "I thought it would be a good surprise. Free food always seems to be good in your book, or so I assumed."

"Yeah, but you know I don't like the idea of people….ah, but if he guessed I guess that's okay," he finishes on a mutter, grabbing a soda out of the fridge and flopping down. "Really, that guy? Who else could his boyfriend have been?"

"Takao-kun is a very sociable person, so it could have been anyone…" Kuroko points out, and heaves a quiet sigh as he drops neatly down onto the other end of the couch. "I am amazed he puts up with Midorima-kun. I certainly couldn't."

"You put up with a lot," Kagami says quietly, offering Kuroko a sip of his soda.

Kuroko blinks back at him, taking a slow swallow before passing the soda back. "Not really. I don't put up with Kagami-kun at all. I just enjoy your company, and if you do something I don't like, I tell you."

Kagami takes a long drink of his soda, hand squeezing the bottle probably harder than it should. "Yeah?" he asks, voice rough. "Is that how it was with Aomine?" It's a dumb thing to bring up, and he's known he was going to since the second Midorima said his name.

It's not quite annoyance that flickers over Kuroko's face, though it's close. "You really shouldn't listen to everything that Midorima-kun says."

"Yeah? So you guys never had a thing?" If Kuroko says no, he'll drop it, he will, because when you're dating someone you believe them. God, Kagami wants to be convinced.

"… We were never… like this, no."

Kagami sighs, head tipping back to thunk against the back of the couch. "You know that's not really what I want to hear, right?"

"Well, you asked if we had a thing. I'm assuming you mean like you and I have a thing, which Aomine-kun and I definitely didn't." Kuroko hesitates, and slowly curls up to draw a knee up to his chest. "And I don't pine after him. I don't think of him much at all, actually." On purpose. "Midorima-kun doesn't know what he's talking about."

Kagami growls a little in his chest, head tipping forward, and he rubs at his temples. "Look….you don't have to tell me anything. I get that. I'm not in charge of you, and you have the right to have….I don't know, done whatever before. I just-you know that if you don't tell me, I'm always gonna be wondering, right? What you two did?"

"We didn't do anything. I've told you that before." Kuroko lifts his head a bit, hesitates again, and then quietly adds: "I thought we were going to, but it didn't happen after all. Aomine-kun changed and everything was different."

Ah, that makes more sense. Kagami doesn't really like it, but it makes more sense. "So you wanted to. Did you kiss him?" Stop talking, Kagami. Just be glad they never had a thing and that he still likes you.

Kuroko stares back at him. "Kagami-kun, would you like it if I asked you every intimate detail about your relationship with Himuro-kun?"

Heat springs suddenly to Kagami's face, but he turns to face Kuroko, meeting his eyes. "I had a thing for him in middle school, yeah. Two wet dreams. I was too chickenshit to ever ask him anything, and he started sleeping around with upper classmen, so I got over it. Anything else you want to know? I'm an open goddamn book."

The annoyance is a bit clearer now on Kuroko's face, but he shakes his head all the same. "I didn't really want to know to start with because it doesn't matter. I don't see why it matters so much what I did or didn't do with Aomine-kun."

Kagami rubs his hands over his face, annoyed more with himself than with Kuroko. "It doesn't," he admits. "It doesn't, I know it doesn't, I just-shit, I get the feeling that all the times I've played him he's been laughing at me for knowing stuff about you I don't."

"Aomine-kun would laugh at you regardless," Kuroko points out with a sigh, "because that's how he is now." Apparently. He shifts uncomfortably, looking aside. "The most we did was kiss. And there was one time in the showers when I thought something else would happen, but nothing did."

Kagami shifts a little closer, a little more worried about whether Kuroko is okay than about what really happened. "If he changed back," he says carefully, "would I have reason to be worried?" Is that why you wanted me to beat him so bad?

Kuroko looks up at that, startled. "No. Absolutely not. I… decided a long time ago that wouldn't be a good idea." He bites his lip. "Mostly, it would just be nice to see him be happy again. But I mean that as a friend, not… as anything else."

Kagami relaxes. It's not as easy as it had been before Midorima's comment, but it's not as tense as it had been after, either. "Okay, then. That's fine, and Midorima's just a dick."

"… Midorima-kun has tendencies." Kuroko heaves a long, heavy sigh. "Can we never talk about this again? It makes me very tired to even think about it."

Kagami cups Kuroko's face in two big hands, bringing him close for a soft brush of his lips. "Yeah. Okay. You want me to walk you home? You look exhausted."

Kuroko sort of flops forward, hooking his chin solidly over Kagami's shoulder for maximum leaning capability. "Double dating is hard work. Can we never again with that, too?"

"Hey, I never wanted to do it in the first place," Kagami points out. "I really like it best when we're just here and I'm cooking for you and then you let me rub up on you. That's my perfect date."

"Kagami-kun made that sound sweet at first, and then it got perverted." Kuroko hides a tiny smile into the crook of his neck. "But that sounds pretty good to me, too."

"I don't get why horny things can't be sweet, too," Kagami mutters, and gathers Kuroko into his lap. "It's just like kissing, right? Kissing is sweet. That's just rubbing lips. Shit, I don't even know what I'm saying."

"… Kagami-kun is cute." Kuroko wriggles up into his lap, flopping his arms over Kagami's shoulders. "I know what you're saying. And you're right. It's just fun to watch you get flustered sometimes."

Kagami hesitates, looking down at Kuroko as his face gets steadily redder. "Oi. You don't really think I'm a pervert, do you? I mean, except for the gay thing, I think I'm pretty normal."

Kuroko blinks up at him, wide-eyed. "No, I don't really think that. Kagami-kun is very normal, and I like it." He pauses, contemplative. "I wonder what Takao-kun and Midorima-kun do in bed-what if I was right about the spanking thing?"

Kagami groans, ruffling Kuroko's hair in punishment. "I definitely don't want to think about that guy getting spanked. Takao seems like a nice enough guy, what's he doing with a nutcase like Midorima?"

"I asked myself that for the entire span of dinner," Kuroko solemnly replies, letting his hair be thoroughly mussed without protest. "Midorima-kun is very neurotic. But… he's not a bad person. Just very annoying."

"Most of your old friends are weird," Kagami admits, "but Midorima takes the damn cake. Well," he hedges, thinking of all the others, "I guess they're all pretty equally weird. At least he's a great basketball player, and he doesn't use mind games or insults like some of the others."

"Mm. Midorima-kun annoys me the most, with Kise-kun a close second… or is it Aomine-kun, I'm not sure. And Akashi-kun is just… well, he's Akashi-kun." As if that explains everything. "I wonder what he did to make Takao-kun hate him so much."

"Wasn't that game enough?" Kagami raises an eyebrow, inwardly amused that Aomine ranks up so high on the list of annoyances. Maybe there really wasn't anything truly between them after all. "Forget it, we'll crush them all and become number one in Japan, just you and me and Seirin."

"It seemed even more personal than just the game." Kuroko flops his head back down against Kagami's shoulder. "I like when you talk about all of us becoming number one," he quietly murmurs. "It's going to be really nice when that happens."

"Better than nice," Kagami promises, hand coming up to slowly stroke through Kuroko's hair. "Everyone in the country is gonna know our names. We'll be able to go to any college we want, in Japan or America or wherever." That brings up a thought, and he looks down, suddenly curious. "What do you want to do, after college?"

"… I don't know." Kuroko tilts his head, thoughtful. "My sisters all want to be pharmacists," he wryly admits. "I think my mother is hoping I'll be like her, and want to be a teacher. That sounds nice, actually. I like children." He glances up at Kagami. "I don't think I'd ever get scouted for a pro team or anything like that, no matter how much I'd like that… Kagami-kun would, though, for sure."

"That's dumb. Of course you'll get scouted for a pro team. Come on, you're not doubting yourself now, are you?" Kagami pulls back, enough to look into Kuroko's huge blue eyes. "I believe in your style of basketball. Soon everyone is going to."

Kuroko gives a little shrug. "I'm not doubting myself… I just think… flashier players, like Kagami-kun or Aomine-kun, would have much better chances. And that's fine, really. Kagami-kun's basketball is very good now, too."

"It'll get better," Kagami promises. "Don't worry. Whoever scouts me will have to take you, too. We're partners, aren't we?" He pauses, then asks, "Would you even want to go pro? Or do you just want to play while it's fun?"

"Pro could be fun, too, right?" Kuroko, not-so-secretly pleased at the idea of Kagami making some scout take him along for the ride, too, because they're a set, wriggles closer and gives Kagami's shoulder a light headbutt. "I don't know. We should worry about that later."

"Yeah, okay. Don't worry, I won't leave you behind. I know you'll work way too hard for that." Kagami grins, nuzzling against Kuroko's face, then catches sight of a clock and groans. "Come on, I better get you home. Your mom is really gonna hate me."

"She thinks you're a scary American," Kuroko answers without batting an eye. "She can't possibly hate you when she wants to fix you."

"Rude," Kagami mutters, heaving Kuroko up to his feet before following. "She only thinks that because you told her I was a foreigner. And you put all those bites on my neck before I took you home, she probably thinks I have an insane girlfriend and I'm going to corrupt you."

"But aren't you corrupting me? Kagami-kun is a pervert and a loud, noisy American that forgets to take his shoes off."

"Watch it," Kagami growls, socking Kuroko in the arm. "That innocent stare doesn't fool me. Oi, you want a cake before we go? I made too many earlier."

"Kagami-kun is learning how to bake? Yes. I definitely want one."

Kagami unearths a tray of small cakes, more than half-empty by this point, and brandishes them in Kuroko's direction. "Try one. Tell me if they're bad. They're lemon vanilla."

Kuroko helps himself, and one delicate bite later, downs the rest of the cake in short order. "They're awful. Kagami-kun should give them all to me."

Kagami's mouth twitches. Then he grabs a roll of aluminum foil, wrapping up all the cakes. "Eh, I like them better with coffee and I don't have any," he lies, stepping in front of the coffeemaker to block Kuroko's view. "Here, share 'em with your sisters. Or not."

"They needn't be exposed to such travesties," Kuroko very seriously says, stealing another one before it can be wrapped up. "It's okay, Kagami-kun. You can practice baking more with me as your taste tester."

"I just got bored and we had all the stuff," Kagami mutters, leading the way out of the house. "It's not a hobby or anything. Plus I just wanted cake."

"Maybe Kagami-kun should be a chef instead of a pro ball player."

"Dumbass. Just because I know how to feed myself doesn't mean I want to do that for a living."

"You can just be my personal chef, then."

Kagami shuts and locks the door behind them, and as they start off, says casually (he hopes), "You should just move into my place after high school. Then I'll have to cook for you every day."

Kuroko tilts his head, considering it. "If we go to the same university," he says, "that would make a lot of sense. Ah-Kagami-kun is attempting to be smooth, isn't he? It's working, good job."

"You're fucking awful. I take it back."

"No, I already accepted. You can't take it back."