A/N: Uggggh I should have uploaded this yesterday but we had an opening event at work and I arrived home really late and completely tired, I'm sorry the chapter's late. Hope you enjoy, I'll upload the last part tomorrow morning!
Chapter 4: ...you knew all along!
"Agh, such a burden!" Kagami cried as he carried Kise and Aomine into their taxi. Their dorms were close to each other, so they should be just fine if the driver dropped them on the same campus. Whichever it was, Kagami didn't care any longer. They weren't quite as drunk as he had expected, but Midorima, who was the usual assigned driver, had ditched them and they all had gone overboard with the shots. The ones Akashi ordered for the table disappeared when Aomine and Kise began to bet who'd be able to drink the most without fainting. After the fifth one, they had both forgotten they had betted to begin with.
Tatsuya and Murasakibara said they'd be getting back to their hotel room to keep scouting for candy shops tomorrow morning, which was three blocks away from the bar. After much teasing him, they finally admitted being together for some months, much to Kagami's discontent, but in the end he respected Himuro's decision and decided to let the situation go. Whenever they had free time from college, Murasakibara told them he liked to grab a train and go to another prefecture in search of weird candies and pastries, more than often Himuro decided to tag along. For this weekend, he had also taken a chance to come to Momoi's birthday, even if they had not seen Momoi for more than an hour. Kagami asked himself, as he waved his childhood friend and his new partner goodbye, just how much money did Murasakibara spent on hotel rooms and candy shops each weekend. He didn't know much about his background, but he assumed he must have some contacts to get cheap rooms and discounts on the shops, or he should be really wealthy and kept it quiet.
Midorima was, surprisingly, the one who said he and Takao would stay for a little longer at the bar, thus leaving Aomine and Kise drunk and stranded, very far away from home. Midorima never drank, but after facing a brief crisis, they all discovered why he never touched a glass whenever they invited him to come. Midorima's hold on alcohol was terrible, and as such, he became drunk with just two shots and half of Takao's cocktail. Takao wasn't pulling his strings, as the shorter boy looked incredibly worried about his friend, but he would be lying if he didn't admit he was enjoying watching his precious Shin-chan badmouthing Akashi, then pulling him out to the dancefloor on the first floor for a straight hour until he sobered up again. Afterwards, Midorima couldn't stop apologizing to his friend and became filled with embarassment. Takao's solution for that was to keep buying him drinks so that he'd enjoy the party instead of regretting tagging along.
Kagami sighed. For being all of them college students, they surely behaved like hormonal high schoolers. The only one who hadn't drank a single drop of booze was the blue-haired boy walking besides him, as they made their way towards the subway station. If they were quick enough, they'd be able to catch the last train home -or perhaps the first train that departed in the morning... it was already 5 am when they left the bar.- and they'd crash at Kuroko's empty apartment. His parents were on a trip, but his house was closer than Kagami's, where they both resided since they began their college years.
Kagami reeked of alcohol, but his eyes were sober and his grip on the metal bar above his head steady. His feet never wavered when the subway stopped abruptly, but Kuroko kept an eye on him in case an emergency occurred. Kagami had the bad habit, Kuroko had noticed, to treat him like a girl from time to time. He was grateful about his kindness and his gentle manners, but every once in awhile Kuroko got bothered by it. That was one of those times.
Kagami insisted he took the only seat available, but Kuroko said it'd be better if he sat instead. Kuroko had only danced one song with Momoi, while Kagami went out and enjoyed the evening both with Kise and some girls that asked him out during the night. If anything, he should be more tired than Kuroko, but he insisted on being a gentleman towards him. Their argument came to an end when the passenger sitting next to Kuroko got down from the train, and Kagami took the seat without making any more fuss about it.
"Kagami-kun, can I ask you something?" Kuroko said, glancing around the empty wagon. Besides a late-night worker and another couple which sat far away from them, the train had practically emptied itself on the last stop. There were still seven more stations before they reached their destination.
"Just don't use complicated words… I'm not sure I can understand those at the moment." He rested his head against the back of the seat and covered his eyes with the palm of his hands.
"Yes, I'll be considerate. You've drunk quite a lot. Not as Aomine-kun and Kise-kun, though."
"No, those two know no concept of limits, as we've just seen tonight." Kagami grunted, raising his head to see Kuroko eye to eye. He noticed he was shivering slightly, so he untied the flannel shirt he had tied around his hips and handed it to him. Kuroko sighed and took it, knowing he'd not know the end of it if he didn't take it. "What's it you wanted to ask? Shoot, man." He said those last words in english, with that silly smile of his.
"Kagami-kun… since when have you had this silly crush on me?" If Kagami had been drinking anything, he was 100% sure he'd have spit it all out just now. Kuroko rolled his eyes as he tried to dismiss that astonished look from Kagami's face, but not only was he on shock, he had also turned a bright shade of red, perhaps the same as his hair. Kagami, on the other hand, felt slightly offended Kuroko had just called his crush 'silly'.
"W-w-w-what are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Kagami-kun, I knew for quite some time."
"Well, thanks! You never said you knew all along!" Kagami closed his eyes in desperation. "If you already knew then why the hell are you asking me just now?"
"Oh, no, I didn't know." Kuroko laughed and Kagami felt the strong impulse to smack him. "I had to force that confession out of you because you were smothering me as if I was a girl you like, Kagami-kun."
"Well… I do like you." Kagami glanced away through the window, making all humanly-possible attempts to avoid Kuroko's intense stare. "But I've not been smothering you, I'm just being nice. Is that bad?"
"No, not at all. I just wanted to know what your intentions were. If you liked me, it'd be pretty reasonable. If you didn't… well, I don't know."
"Wait, what if I didn't…?"
"I guess I would have deserved a punch in the face." Kuroko shrugged as he fixed Kagami's shirt over his shoulders and cuddled on it. Even if they were in the middle of spring, the nights used to be winding and cold.
"Then… what am I supposed to do now? Won't it be weird for you staying at the same place, living together, all that crap, knowing that I, uhm… have a crush on you?" Kagami asked, ruffling his own hair as if he would be able to hide within his bangs.
"Nothing has to change, Kagami-kun." Kuroko smiled, fixing his position on the seat. He picked up his legs and hugged them, so that he'd be able to rest his head on his knees. "Friends develop silly crushes on one another at all times. It happens quite often, so I guess it's normal. It's only slightly weird since we're both men, but I do not feel estranged. Me knowing about it doesn't actually change a thing."
"But what are you going to do?"
"Nothing. I forced the confession out of you, the least I can do is give you the right to choose where would you like things to go between us." Kuroko said with a kind smile.
"You're taking as if you're actually giving me a chance." Kagami asked with skepticism. "But as far as I know you're not into men, are you?"
"As far as I know, you're not either, Kagami-kun." Kuroko's smile turned from a heartwarming gesture to a know-it-all smirk. However, Kagami had to admit Kuroko was right. He didn't like men, and even if he tried to think about things twice once he began to notice he had taken a liking on his friend, it was impossible for him to feel any sort of attraction towards other men. His crush was, albeit, completely romantic. He had no fantasies other than spending all day with Kuroko or taking him out for dinner, most things he'd have just done with any other girl he'd met in some other context. He had asked Alex about it, but she had only laughed and said he should experiment and enjoy his youth. As always, Alex only proved to be useful when it came to basketball.
"Point taken." Kagami said, smiling. "That doesn't imply you'd like me back, anyway." Kagami said, wondering if it'd even be possible to feel attraction for just one person, regardless of their gender or their identity.
"Then perhaps you'd have to convince me. Making me something to eat once we get home might give you some points, though."
"You're starting to sound like Murasakibara, you know?" Kagami poked him and signaled the door. Their stop was coming up next. Kuroko rose to his feet and walked towards the door, which opened in just a couple of seconds.
"As long as you don't want me calling you 'daddy'..." Kuroko laughed, but Kagami grimaced. He still couldn't believe Tatsuya would be dating someone like that.
"Shut up."
The cold was even harsher outside the train, so they walked close to each other towards Kuroko's house. He returned the flannel shirt, since Kagami was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and he'd freeze to death if he had to walk three blocks from the subway. Taiga almost had the impulse to tell him to keep it, but he knew better, so he took it and placed it over his shoulders. His fingers fidgeted on his side as he felt the other boy's skin grazing his hand. Kagami didn't know if it had been an accident or not, but he decided to press on forward: if he wanted anything to happen between them, he'd have to take the first step. He reached out and grabbed the shorter boy's hand, pulling him closer to his side as they walked faster across the street. Kuroko smiled, latching his fingers with Kagami's, enjoying the warmth of his trembling hands against his.
"Kuroko…" Kagami began as they entered the house, being embraced by its usual warmth. Nigou was staying alone in their apartment, and both wished he hadn't made a mess while they were outside. Kagami remembered the small pup running to meet him during their first year of high school and a smile crept up on his lips. The dog had grown so much they had to pay a special loan to keep it on the building, but he was a healthy mutt, that from time to time, still freaked the larger man quite a lot.
"What's wrong, Kagami-kun?"
"W-would you let me share a futon with you? I… I kinda wanna…"
"No sex."
"N-no! of course not, idiot! I-I'm not even sure I… gah!" Kagami covered his face, embarrassed by Kuroko's suggestion. He didn't even want to imagine it. "No, just… forget about it, I'll sleep on the couch."
"I'll ready the futon, you go prepare dinner. After we're done eating you should take a shower, and I'll take your clothes for laundry. Tomorrow's saturday, so we can sleep all morning without problem... I think I still have some of your spare clothes here, so please, make yourself at home." Kuroko smiled and held his hand for a little longer, before letting go of it and disappearing on the darkened hall towards his room.
"Home… I like the sound of that."
A/N: Hmmm I tried to go for a different angle with these two, because I really love their relationship and their friendship so much. I tried to make all the characters different, in an attempt to avoid the typical 'everybody is gay' cliché many writers fall into. I don't know if it's working or not, but I like the results.
