Notes: Not much to say, except that I haven't proofread this, so please excuse any mistakes! Thanks for all of the reviews, faves, and follows!

Also! The absolutely amazing and kind Fye - known as fefyefofum on tumblr - drew some fan art for me! It's honestly so gorgeous and well done and beautiful, and you guys should definitely all go take a look at it! Since this site eats them, you can find the link on the ao3 version of this fic or by searching the username above!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket.

XXXIII. July 14, 2012 - Saturday

Shougo wakes slowly, warm and relaxed, and it takes more than a minute for him to realize he's not alone in his bed. His head is nestled snugly in the crook of someone's neck, the rest of his body is pressed against the owner of that neck, and there's what is unmistakably a person wrapped around him from behind. What the actual fuck.

He blinks open his eyes, bewildered, and leaning back a little, he finds that it's Ryouta's shoulder he was sleeping so comfortably on, meaning that's Tetsuya's arm thrown over his waist and what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck.

He tries to move, to get out of this weird cuddling clusterfuck, but Ryouta grumbles a little in his sleep and pulls him back, and Tetsuya moves closer, grabbing a handful of Shougo's shirt in the process.

Why is this his life? Why the hell are they are up here anyway? He'd glance over at the (clearly abandoned) futons, but Ryouta's chin is atop his head, pinning him down. Ugh. Shit. This is so fucking embarrassing. If his brother walks in-! No, if his mom walks in on them like this, she'll take a picture and add it to a family album, and every one of her work friends will know, and every time someone comes over, she'll show it to them, and even worse than that, she'll hold it over his head for the rest of his natural fucking life!

Shougo pulls away decisively this time, successfully dislodging their hold on him, but immediately he runs into the problem of untangling their fucking legs. Ryouta's got some sort of fucking leg lock on him. He's a pain in the ass even in his fucking sleep. Damn flashy bastard.

As if awakened by Shougo's increasingly violent thoughts about him (or as is more likely, by Shougo kicking him), Ryouta suddenly yawns and looks up at him through too long eyelashes. "Shougo?"

"Shut the fuck up," Shougo whispers harshly, head tilted toward Tetsuya pointedly. "Move your fucking legs, asshole. I'm trying to get up."

Eyes dancing with mirth, Ryouta says, "In the same bed as your friends? How dirty." He very noticeably doesn't move.

Disgusted, Shougo says, "Now you're just stretching it." And then he curses as Ryouta looks absolutely delighted at the awful, awful setup.

"Proper preparation is key," he has the balls to say, and then he fucking winks.

Face on fire, Shougo snarls, "You're thirteen! What the fuck?! How do you even know-?!" He cuts himself off, grimacing. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Keep that shit to yourself, bastard."

Laughing, Ryouta reaches out and drags him back to the bed with one smooth movement, and then he squeezes Shougo to his chest and rubs his face in Shougo's hair, heedless of the profanities and Shougo's struggling. "You're so adorable, Haizakicchi! You blush all the way to the tips of your ears, and it's so endearing."

"Shut your fucking trap, asshole. I'm gonna kick your ass," he growls, ears hot and chest tight with mortification. Him, Haizaki Shougo, adorable? Maybe when he was a toddler, but he's certainly not cute now. Good-looking is an infinitely better term for it, but he's sure Ryouta would make that unnecessarily gross too.

"Haizaki-kun, Kise-kun, please stop flirting so early in the morning," Tetsuya says groggily, hair a mess and blinking sleep out of his eyes. "You'll wake the whole house."

"We're not-!" Shougo squawks, vehemently, pushing Ryouta away from him and sitting up.

At the same time, Ryouta chirps, "Sorry, Kurokocchi." When Shougo cuts himself off, shocked at what might as well as have been a confirmation, he continues merrily, "He's just such an easy target, you know?"

The fuck?!

"The fuck'd you just say?" Shougo says out loud, scowling at the bastard's stupid smiling face as he sits up too.

As if he hadn't heard him, Tetsuya replies, reproachfully, "You shouldn't tease him so much. Haizaki-kun has a delicate heart."

Shougo's jaw drops open, utterly floored at the- the betrayal. Ryouta, whom had been just as surprised as he was at the jab, takes one look at his face and laughs so hard he falls over. Shougo kicks him and then glares at a smirking Tetsuya.

"I don't know why Nijimura thinks you're so innocent," he huffs, reluctantly amused but not willing to show it. "You're both assholes."

"Aww, you know you- you love us," Ryouta manages to get out between chuckles.

"I think you mean 'hate' or 'loathe.'" Shougo shoots back, dryly. "'Tolerate' maybe."

"It's not good to lie to yourself, Haizaki-kun," is Tetsuya's helpful addition.

He crawls to the edge of the bed and gets to his feet, scoffing. "The delusional ones are you guys." He runs a hand through his hair, puts both arms above his head to stretch, and then he walks to the door, calling out without looking behind him, "I'll be right back. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

He hears Ryouta return a cheery, "No promises!" as he closes the door behind him, and he finally allows the smile to form on his face even as he rolls his eyes. Bunch of idiots.

To his surprise, his mom is at the table when he comes downstairs, nursing a cup of coffee and watching a movie on her laptop. She looks up when he gets closer and smiles. "Good morning, Shougo. You boys are having fun, I see?" She quirks an eyebrow at him, mischievously, and he realizes she must have heard some of the chaos from his room.

He grimaces, pulling out a chair to sit beside her. "Sorry about that. Those two are obnoxious." As far as he's concerned, one is just as bad as the other. He's not sure why he ever thought otherwise, but it's probably because Tetsuya seems so nice and polite on the surface. Who knew he was actually such a little shit?

His mom laughs, always a pretty sound, and he grins. Over the rim of her cup, she says, "Oh? I could have sworn it was your voice that carried down here to the kitchen."

"Yeah, well," he grumbles, not having anything to say to that. "They're good at pushing my buttons," he admits, sheepishly. He fiddles with a leaf that had fallen from the flowers in the middle of the table but looks up when his mother hums thoughtfully.

Expression soft, she reaches out a hand to cup his cheek and begins rubbing her thumb over it absently. "They're good for you," she observes, warmly, so obviously happy for him that he ducks his head, a little overwhelmed by her loving gaze and still so, so guilty - for things that haven't even happened yet, but that's no excuse.

"Gah, your boyfriends are so noisy, Shougo," the very familiar voice of his brother grouches from behind him. He takes the chair next to Shougo and props his chin up with his hand. "Oops, I meant 'friends.'"

Shougo glares at him, and with a snort, his mom pulls away from him and settles back in her own chair, all too used to their arguments turned fights and cleverly getting out of range.

Shion's got bed head and some drool dried to his face, and Shougo very spitefully keeps this information to himself. Scowling, he says instead, "That wasn't even funny the first time."

"Says you," his brother retorts like a five year old. "Besides, with the things I hear that blond kid say-"

"He's just an idiot with no concept of personal boundaries, and he says stupid shit all the time, so I don't take anything he says seriously," Shougo says loudly, talking over him. "Stop eavesdropping, asshole."

"Language," his mother says automatically, but she's not even really paying any attention to them as she browses some site on her laptop.

"It's not eavesdropping when the other people are yelling, dumbass," Shion says, rolling his eyes. He gets up to make a bowl of cereal, but that doesn't stop him from spouting bullshit. "You woke me up before ten on a Saturday. You should thank me for not kicking your ass."

Shougo scoffs, "Like you could."

"Wanna bet?" Shion challenges him, returning to his seat with food in hand and a glint in his eyes.

"Shougo, you have guests. Go check on them, ask them if they're hungry. Shion, stop antagonizing your brother," his mom cuts in smoothly, brows raised expectantly.

"Yes, Mom," they reply obediently in unison.

Shougo still yanks on Shion's hair as he moves past him, and his brother instantly retaliates by scooting his chair back and forcing Shougo to walk straight into it, leaving a blossoming pain behind.

"Dick," he grunts, irritably, rubbing his side as he rounds the corner and starts up the stairs.

"Assface!"

"Boys."

XXXIV. July 14, 2012 - Saturday

"Ayano-san, thank you for letting us stay in your beautiful home," Ryouta says, bowing and then sparkling at her.

"We apologize again for showing up so unexpectedly," Tetsuya adds, copying Ryouta without all the fan fare.

Mom smiles back at them, and it's almost funny the way she towers over even Ryouta, who is only a few inches under six feet. "Don't worry about it. You're welcome here anytime."

Ryouta winks, perfectly forming his fake ass charming smile instantly. "I'll definitely come back just to see you, Ayano-san."

Without batting an eye, she says dryly, "Don't bother." As Ryouta's grin falters, a laugh threatening to slip out, his mom goes on, nudging Shougo towards them, "But you can drop by to see Shougo as much as you want."

"Don't do that either," Shougo huffs, feeling vaguely like his mother is throwing him to the wolves.

"I absolutely will!" Ryouta promises, grabbing Shougo's hand from its default position and pulling him forward. "See you later, Ayano-san!"

Shougo doesn't hear what Tetsuya says because Ryouta has already dragged him outside, but the other boy joins them a moment later.

"I can't make it today," Tetsuya tells them belatedly.

Ryouta whirls around, pouting, and Shougo snatches his hand back while he's distracted. "Aww, but why?"

"You're not seriously leaving me with him," Shougo says, groaning.

Lips curling up in amusement, Tetsuya says, "Sorry. I have plans with my grandmother. We're tending to her garden."

That's so ridiculously sweet it's almost sickening. Shougo grimaces. "Okay, well," he turns to Ryouta, who's hugging Tetsuya and whining. "I can't make it either, so-"

"No, no, no," Ryouta releases Tetsuya immediately, lunging for Shougo's arm and holding it in a tight grip. "You promised me!"

He tugs his arm, but as usual, it does nothing but make Ryouta squeeze harder. He groans. "Ugh, okay, fine."

"Great!" He beams at Tetsuya. "We'll see you tomorrow then! Have fun with your grandma!"

"Bye," Tetsuya smiles, watching Shougo being manhandled down the sidewalk with no little amusement. "Don't get into trouble."

"This idiot's trouble all on his own," Shougo shouts back, giving up getting his arm back and settling for walking so close to this clingy moron. "See ya," he calls over his shoulder, and he sees Tetsuya nod before turning around and heading - presumably - home.

XXXV. July 14, 2012 - Saturday

"So you're the one who's gotten Ryouta so excited lately," Yoshie - one of Ryouta's sisters - says, considering.

She's just as pretty as her brother with none of the flirtatious flamboyance and obnoxious cheer. She's confident and elegant, muscular and feminine, and she could probably fucking deadlift him with her pinky or reduce his self-esteem to zero with a few well chosen words. Dangerous. Strong. Queen. That's the kind of feeling he gets from her, and it's only been like ten minutes since he officially met her. Ryouta went upstairs to change, leaving the two of them to converse in the living room, and now he has to respond to what is clearly the beginning of an interrogation.

"...Yeah," he says cautiously, after a too long silence.

Yoshie looks amused at he effect she's having on him, but still there's none of the fragility or uncertainty in her body language that Shougo's used to spotting in Ryouta. It's unexpectedly unsettling to face her, and he fully realizes that Ryouta's presence is somehow more comforting.

"He hasn't been this happy in a long time," she divulges, watching him like a hawk. He certainly feels like prey under that intense gaze. "If you're just using him for his fan club or his connections as a model-"

Pissed at the insinuation, Shougo interrupts her, scowling, "Fuck that. I'm not- using him for anything. He's my friend. I wouldn't do something like that. I don't care if you don't know me or can't trust me. I wouldn't." He clenches his fists on his lap, irritatingly fucking hurt even though worse has been said - and thought - about him. "He's- We're friends," he insists, lamely, now sure how else to make his point.

She doesn't say anything for a few moments, just silently scrutinizes, and he doesn't fidget or falter, still angry. She must find something she likes because she smirks (which is honestly better than that predatory smile) and leans back, crossing her legs.

"I can see why Ryouta likes you," she tells him, and for the first time, there's no sugary sweet venom underlying the words. "You're honest."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he dares to ask, not even a little bit ashamed to admit he's kind of scared of her.

She tilts her head, blond curls spilling over one shoulder. "So quick to anger. I bet he gets a kick out of teasing you."

He chooses not to answer that, agitated, but her expression is knowing. Two is already too many times to wish Ryouta would be beside him as a buffer, and yet here Shougo is doing it anyway. As if in answer to his thoughts, they suddenly hear footsteps getting closer as Ryouta goes down the stairs. Shougo lets out an inaudible sigh of relief.

Just before Ryouta rounds the corner and comes into sight, Yoshie leans forward and promises quietly, "If you break his heart, I'll break you."

And then she gracefully stands up and meets Ryouta at the bottom step. Shougo frowns down at the floor, now angry and worried. How the fuck does someone like Ryouta have such an intimidating older sister? Honestly, he'd expected sparkles and rainbows from the Kise household, and instead he gets the friend version of the boyfriend talk from his scary ass sister. Fucking hell.

"C'mon, Haizkaicchi! Let's go!" Ryouta says, leaning down over him from his spot on the couch.

"Alright already," he grouches, hurrying to the front door and exchanging his guest slippers for his shoes. He steps out without saying anything else to Yoshie, conscious of her burning gaze on him until Ryouta shuts the door behind them.

"What did she say?" Ryouta asks him, resigned. "She didn't have enough time to pull out the baby pictures, so it must have been an embarrassing story, right?"

"How could you possibly have any? Everything you do is embarrassing," Shougo snorts, stuffing his hands in his pockets and much less unnerved in the company of the youngest Kise. "We didn't talk much," he lies, absently tapping his phone.

"Hmm," Ryouta makes a soft sound, and it's clear he doesn't believe Shougo. But he doesn't push. "Well, Yoshie is the one who got me that first modeling job," he reveals, and Shougo turns to look at him, interested. "Mom wasn't getting anywhere, so Yoshie asked one of her friends whose dad actually works for a modeling agency, and they got me the audition." He smiles ruefully. "Mom was stressed out, and I was pretty close to quitting, so Yoshie really helped us out."

"That... was nice of her," Shougo says awkwardly. What is he supposed to say exactly? His first impression of her is obviously going to be muddled considering she basically accused him of using her brother and then casually threatened him.

"Yeah," Ryouta agrees and leaves it at that.

A few moments of silence, and then: "So what does she do?" Shougo can't help but ask, even though he's hardly a nosy person. But those muscles weren't for show. She must play a sport or something - and with real dedication.

"Oh? She's a rugby player," Ryouta says, and there's pride in his grin now. "Her middle school team was pretty good, and she said the one this year is good enough to make nationals."

From there, the conversation derails into talk about sports in general, and about fifteen minutes later, they finally come upon the karaoke place Ryouta had begged him to go to over breakfast and that Tetsuya had so easily weaseled out of.

They rent a room for an hour with Ryouta's money, which was his answer to Shougo's complaint about wasting his own, and then they're settled in a booth, just the two of them with glasses of soda and snacks between them.

"I'll go first!" Ryouta chirps, buzzing as he skips over to the mic. He picks a song fairly quickly and begins singing enthusiastically to some upbeat pop song Shougo vaguely recalls being really popular.

He's not that bad of a singer, honestly, but he keeps winking and dancing awfully and singing the cheesy pick up lines at Shougo, which ruins the whole thing. Shougo spends most of it grimacing and laughing in turns, and Ryouta looks absolutely delighted at every elicited chuckle.

The song ends, and Ryouta gleefully hands over the mic. "Your turn~!"

Reluctantly - because he's never really cared for doing this type of thing - Shougo takes his place on the stage and flips through the playlist for a song he recognizes and that won't be too annoying to sing.

He settles for a rock song, and he fights down his embarrassment when he notices Ryouta's laser focus on him. It's worse than a group because they're literally the only two people in here. Ugh. He should have told Tetsuya to reschedule with his grandma or made up a better excuse of his own for missing this.

But he sings anyway - minus the antics - and Ryouta claps and cheers for him like a damn groupie when Shougo actually kind of gets into it. His face is hot when he finishes, and he dodges the lunge slash hug Ryouta aims for him when he returns to the booth.

"That was so good! I didn't know you could sing!" Ryouta says, picking himself up without missing a beat.

"I'm okay," he grumbles and then takes a sip of his drink. He glances up at a grinning Ryouta and admits, "You're not as bad as I thought you'd be."

"Oh, mean!" Ryouta snorts. "I'm an amazing singer, Haizakicchi, and I'll show you."

He gets back on the stage and finds another song, and when the first words pop up, Shougo realizes just what a ridiculously obnoxious love song it is. Ugh. Why did he agree to this again?

"Kiss, kiss, fall in love~!"

End Notes: I'm sure you were all expecting the modeling scene to be this chapter, but as soon as I found out Ryouta liked karaoke, I was itching to write it. Also apologies for leaving Kuroko out, but I love the idea that he's close with his grandmother and wanted to showcase it. Anyway, hope you guys liked Yoshie! There was a head-canon that both sisters were queens, and I tried my best to live up to that! Might have copped out by only featuring one, but shhh.

Review Replies:

Fye: Ah, I understand. My brothers are pretty close to me in age, so we've basically grown up in each other's pockets. Even now, there are dumb secrets I'm keeping for them like new tattoos. It's pretty fun imaging Haizaki's family being the same. Haizaki's aware he's made changes, but he's oblivious to the sheer impact of his choices and will be for a while. Gah! I decided to change it to fit canon - the fact that Ryouta's actually horrible at school work - but I keep putting it off. But yeah, who's to say Ryouta's describing anything but the first ten minutes of the session? Pokemon Go is totally a possibility. ;D

Guest 2: You just know he dotes on those kitties. He moved! Another thing I need to add in. OTL Parkour Haizaki will make a comeback! Thanks!

Guest: ;D

1: Ahh, thank you! It's easy to update when you guys encourage me so much! About the cat scene... ;D