"Morning, Kurokocchi!" Kise-kun greeted the azure boy warmly. Kuroko nodded in response, smiling slightly. It was the first time he had been back to school since moving in with Kagami; he had taken a day off to recuperate after leaving his old home. He had slept for most of the day while Kagami attended classes.
"Kise, what are you doing here?" Kagami asked the man across from him.
"I wanted to see how Kurokocchi was doing," Kise responded. "And to make sure you weren't doing any lewd things to him." Kagami started coughing in surprise, his cheeks glowing bright red.
"N-No, I wouldn't-!" He protested, but Kise had already whisked Kuroko away with him, chattering excitedly. As Kagami looked onward, he saw that Aomine and Midorima were waiting for them.
"Good morning, Kuroko-kun," Midorima began flatly. "I would assume you enjoyed your little vacation?" He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose with a bandaged finger.
"Oh yes, it was lovely. I haven't slept that well in a long time," said Kuroko, smiling brightly. He left out the fact that most of his sleeping was done in Kagami's bed while the red haired boy was at school.
"Hey, you let me know if Taiga acts out or anything," Aomine growled, lightly knocking his knuckles against Kuroko's shoulder. The boy giggled and looked down at his toes.
"Aomine-kun and I must be returning to our schools. Take it easy now, Kuroko." Midorima spoke flatly, pulling his shoulder bag tighter to himself.
"Nah, I'm gonna skip first period. The sun's gonna be out all morning, and the school rooftop is calling to me…" Aomine chattered, looking into the distance dreamily.
"Momoi-san won't be very pleased to hear that," Midorima commented dryly. He nodded at Kuroko, then turned to walk towards the street. Takao was waiting there patiently for him, leaning against a bicycle with a wagon hitched to the back. Aomine chuckled, turning in the other direction towards the school sports fields. Kagami walked over to Kuroko, nudging him softly as if to say "time to get moving."
Their first class was algebra, which immediately didn't sit right with Kagami. No matter the time of day, he always felt hungry in algebra, so he learned to despise the class completely. They sat down in their usual seats, thankful that their teacher hadn't arrived to class yet to notice their tardiness. As class began, Kagami's mood worsened and worsened. Of course, it would dissipate once class finished, but for the time being, he couldn't want to be anywhere else more. He quickly turned back in his chair.
"Oi, Kuroko," he whispered. "What's the answer to 7b?"
Kuroko looked up at him, his blue eyes shining in the sunlight. He had been doodling things on his work paper. Despite this, he had all his answers written down. "407," he responded.
Kagami murmured in gratitude, turning back to his own paper. His stomach settled for a moment as he realized that Kuroko had been able to do his work, instead of being lost in thought. Before, he had been several work sheets behind, but now it seemed he was back to normal. Kagami smiled silently as he penciled in the answer on his paper.
The bell rang to end first lesson, and Kagami couldn't have been happier. He nearly dragged Kuroko from the room, eager to escape the icy tendrils of advanced algebra. Kuroko barely had all his papers together before he was being shoved out the door and into the hallway.
"Kagami-kun, we have 5 minutes to get to our next class. There's no need to hurry," Kuroko huffed, slinging his shoulder bag over his arm.
"You always need to hurry when you're getting out of algebra," Kagami retorted, sighing deeply.
"Well, you're hurrying right into AP Chemistry," Kuroko mused as Kagami's spirit leaked out of him. He groaned all the way to the next class.
The day went by quicker than expected. Kagami and Kuroko had most of their classes together, much to Kagami's enjoyment. He enjoyed seeing the boy smile and laugh again, even if it was slightly different than before. Kuroko's smiles weren't as bright, and he still flinched whenever Kagami went to pat him on the head. He's making progress, though, Kagami thought to himself. He doesn't cry during the night anymore, at least. He smiled absently, thinking of the times he'd wake up in the night to head Kuroko weeping softly on the ground next to him. He could tell the boy was still asleep, in the way he breathed. He'd gently reach a hand out from his bed, placing it on the boy's shoulder. Kuroko would flinch at first, shrinking back from the gentle embrace, but would eventually ease into Kagami's touch. He'd reach down then, pulling Kuroko's blanket up to his shoulders, silencing his soft cries. Sometimes he couldn't resist running a hand through that azure hair of his, smiling as the boy would murmur softly at his touch. He was broken out of his fond recollection by a tapping at his shoulder.
"Kagami-kun, stop daydreaming. We have to read page 259 in our textbooks," Kuroko whispered to him. Kagami blinked rapidly to clear the memory from his head. Even now, he could feel the desire to reach out and touch the boy. Kuroko tilted his head in confusion. "Kagami, are you alright?"
"A-Ah, yeah, I'm fine. Just fallin' asleep, is all," Kagami mumbled, faking a yawn. Kuroko nodded, and turned back to his textbook. Before now, Kagami wouldn't give the boy a second glance, but now he could notice such minute details on him. How long his eyelashes were, the faded freckles on the back of his neck, the birthmark on his ear. He couldn't tear his eyes away. He wanted to study him forever.
"Taiga-kun." The sharp voice of his teacher startled him once again. "Get to reading in your textbook. " He mumbled a faint "yes, ma'am" then turned to his book.
The school day had finished not as quickly as Kagami would have preferred, but knowing he had practice once it was done helped speed things up a little. He strolled into the men's change room with Kuroko, dropping his sports bag on the bench.
"I've missed quite a few practices…" Kuroko said absently, slipping his shirt over his head.
"Better watch out for Riko, she'll tear you in half," Kagami laughed, pulling his shorts out of his bag. He stole a glimpse at Kuroko, who was trying to scratch a spot on his back. He had faded and distant bruises on his chest and shoulders, as well as scars here and there on his belly. Underneath the scars and bruises, he actually had quite a muscular build which Kagami had never noticed before. He quickly looked back to his own bag.
"Ah…it's good that, uh…your cuts and bruises are healing," Kagami stammered. He instantly regretted saying such an awkward sentence, but was relieved when Kuroko smiled and nodded. They both got changed quickly, and by the time they made their way into the gym, the rest of their teammates were already there waiting for them.
"Oi, Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, hurry up! I won't tolerate tardiness!" Riko called, a basketball resting under her arm. "Everyone, 3 laps around the gym!" They all groaned collectively, starting a slow jog around the four corners of the gymnasium. Kuroko and Kagami kept at an equal pace as they ran amongst the others. Kagami would glance at Kuroko now and then, grinning when he saw the boy smiling. Kagami would never cease holding contempt for the people who treated Kuroko in such a horrible way, but he was content if he could at least keep him safe.