Drabble Title: 7. Nickname
Words:
950
A/N:
The past two days have been snow days so I've just been writing a bunch of these, along with my other Kaijou fic, lol. That's a good thing, though right? Anywhoo, thank you lovelies for leaving wonderful reviews and for reading! I realize the last drabble was really short, so hopefully this makes up for a bit haha. Does anyone ever read these? My ramblings that I call author notes? Probably not~ Oh wellll.

Izuki will never again be able to practice with Kaijou without hearing the dreaded calls of 'Hey, Cutie-face!'


It's all Moriyama's fault...


The one time Moriyama decides to be a good boyfriend and surprise Izuki at his practice is the one time that Riko's father is also there. The older man is standing alongside his daughter, giving tips and pointers to the tired players running around on the court.

No one notices the Kaijou shooting guard enter the gym, so he just leans against the entrance door and observes the practice, marveling at how well Seirin play together.

He spots Izuki among the other players and smiles when he see the other totally focused on the game, even though it was only practice. Moriyama stares at the way the point guard moves and is awed by just how fast he is and how good of a player he is. Izuki's eagle-eyes help him play, but Moriyama is sure that even without that ability, Izuki would still be an amazing basketball player.

Izuki can feel someone's eyes boring a hole into his back, but he assumes that it's just Riko's dad and ignores the feeling. It isn't until he's passing the ball to Kagami that he sees the Kaijou player standing by the door wearing an adoring smile on his face. He's surprised because for some reason his eagle-eyes didn't alert him of Moriyama's presence at the gym, but that surprise quickly turns into happiness as he gives his boyfriend a bright smile of his own. He momentarily forgets that he's playing and waves, only to get scolded by Riko's father.

"Cutie-kun, what are you doing?!"

Izuki freezes when he hears his dreaded nickname. Moriyama just doubles over in laughter, giving away his position to everyone, but it wasn't as if he was trying to hide in the first place. Izuki makes a face of distaste but Moriyama doesn't seem to notice.

"Is that Moriyama-san? From Kaijou?" Hyuuga looks at Izuki for a confirmation and Izuki just nods. He's not sure what to say if Hyuuga decides to ask why the Kaijou player is here, but luckily, the captain doesn't say anything else.

Riko puts her hands on hips and gives the intruding player an annoyed look. "What are you doing here?"

Moriyama stops laughing long enough to apologize for interrupting. "I have a message from Kasamatsu," he says. Izuki can tell that that isn't true. It looks like Moriyama makes that up on the spot, but no one else notices.

Riko sighs but nods, telling him to come over there and talk to her. She turns to the Seirin team and for the first time notices how exhausted they all look. "Practice is over for today, you all can go." No one hesitates to take her up on her offer.

As Izuki passes Moriyama on his way to the locker room, Moriyama leans down as inconspicuously as possible and whispers, "I'll walk you home, okay?" Izuki nods and starts to walk away, but Moriyama isn't done. With a wide grin on his face, he adds on, "Go on and get changed, Cutie-kun."

A blush spreads across his face and Izuki knows he's doomed now.

Apparently, the 'message from Kasamatsu' involved a joint practice the following week.

Izuki has no idea how Moriyama managed to pull that one off, since it was obvious he had made the lie up on the spot, but he isn't going to complain about it. After all, going up to Kaijou for practice just means he has another chance to see Moriyama.

As the Seirin team walk into the large gym, the sound of sneakers squeaking and basketballs bouncing greet them. They look around and are met with the sight of their rivals practicing, and Izuki has to admit that it's an impressive view.

A ball suddenly comes rolling towards Izuki, and stops at his feet. He picks it up and looks around to see if anyone is missing their ball, preparing himself to throw it back to whoever let it go.

He smiles when he sees Moriyama holding his hands up and looking at Izuki, but the smile doesn't last long.

"Hey, Cutie-kun, can I have my ball back?"

The gym falls silent as Moriyama's loud call surprises everyone. Izuki flushes and gives himself away as being the recipient of the embarrassing nickname.

Izuki is redder than anyone has ever seen him but he tries to play it off. He casually throws the ball back, but Moriyama is laughing too hard to catch it. He misses it and just lets it roll past him.

The Kaijou members stay silent, though most of them sport small smirks on their faces. Seirin is trying their best not to double over in laughter, as they know exactly where the nickname comes from. Kagami is the first to break the silence, and soon everyone joins him in chuckling at the point guard's misfortune.

Izuki wants to dig a hole and crawl in it and die, but Moriyama doesn't let him. The shooting guard walks over and throws an arm around the younger male's shoulders, giving it a slight squeeze. No one seems to question their closeness. "Come on, don't be mad. Being cute isn't a bad thing!" he says and the others around them give sounds of agreement. Most are still grinning though, and Izuki knows that this isn't something that they'll let go of easily.

He's right.

After that, there isn't a single joint practice or game that goes by without someone from Kaijou calling out for 'Cutie-kun'.

And every single time this happens, Izuki looks at Moriyama in exasperation. Moriyama still laughs every time he hears the stupid nickname.

Izuki knows he's stuck with the title forever, and it's all because Moriyama decided to be a good boyfriend and visit him at practice.


...and Izuki is now stuck with the stupid nickname.