A/N: Sigh… I am very sorry for the wait and tank you for the review and faves and alerts for this story, but apparently this story is not appealing enough to evoke some… feed-back from you readers. Are you even still reading this guys? *shakes head* Well, just enjoy this new chapter.

Disclaimer and Warning: See chapter 1

Chapter 11: An Accidental Confession

Kagami was nervous. He kept looking in the mirror to check if he looked strange… or underdressed. He wore a long-sleeved dark red cotton turtle neck sweater over a simple white v-neck T-shirt, together with a pair of baggy black jeans. He also had prepared his favorite fitting fur-trimmed jacket, a pair of mitten gloves and scarf, all in crimson color, on his study table, ready to use anytime in case they would go out later.

"I think you're overdressed," Yamamoto's dry voice nitpicking from his room doorstep startled Kagami into a jump, almost a meter high in the air.

"Ya-Yamamoto-jii!" Kagami yelled as he turned around to face the older man with his face heating slightly.

"Really, it's just Kuroko-kun stopping by. Why are you acting like a girl going on first date?" the middle aged man asked, a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek.

"S-shut up! It's just been awhile, that's all! And what the heck do you mean I'm acting like a girl?! Isn't it polite making an effort to look good in front of a friend?!" Kagami protested, feeling the heat rising higher in the air around him now, such that he started to sweat as well.

"Do you always behave like this with all of your friends?" Yamamoto shook his head while looking funnily at Kagami.

"T-that's right! I'm always like this," Kagami lied while looking the other way. Well, it was necessary. Besides, he had never had a friend come over to his house except Kuroko, so Yamamoto couldn't exactly compare his conduct right then with different friends.

"If you want to convince yourself that way…" Yamamoto didn't seem to buy his bluff (damn him!) but he was considerate enough not to push further and dropped the subject completely as he asked, "What do you want for lunch?"

"Ah, I'm going to eat out with Kuroko later," Kagami replied immediately before he glanced once more to his mirror and fixed the spiky hair on the left side of his head. He noticed the way Yamamoto grinned amusedly at that unconscious gesture and coughed slightly. "I want that cookies from the other day shopping to snack, though." He narrowed his eyes at Yamamoto and the old man laughed slightly at that.

"Alright, alright, sheesh…" he then went to the kitchen to prepare Kagami's order while Kagami checked himself over one last time before he was out of his room to sit at the living room, waiting for Kuroko to turn up.

Exactly ten minutes of fidgeting alone later, the doorbell rang and Kagami jolted in surprise. When he saw Yamamoto head to the door, he stood and ran after him. "Wait! Let me get that!"

Yamamoto only raised his eyebrows before he shrugged and went back to the kitchen as Kagami arrived at the front door to open it. His heart was beating rather fast now and he took a deep breath before opening the door. As expected, Kuroko was outside, seeming to be waiting for him. "Good morning, Kagami-kun," then he greeted Kagami with a tiny smile on his face.

Kagami almost melted seeing the amazingly cute smile. It was so very rare to be greeted by Kuroko's smile so early in the morning (despite it already half past ten). "G-good morning, Kuroko…" he replied slowly. Crap. His voice was stuttering, darn it! Kagami just hoped that Kuroko didn't notice anything strange by it.

Kuroko raised his eyebrows slightly in reaction to his strange tone, though. Ugh. He definitely noticed, damn iiiiit! Well, at least Kuroko didn't say anything about it. "It has been awhile, Kagami-kun. Here," Kuroko then lifted a plastic bag filled with something in square shape.

"Huh? What is this?" Kagami blinked as he received the gift.

"A present from my mother; she said it was a 'thank you' because you took care of me several times before. It is only polite to bring something in return," Kuroko explained.

"You don't have to, though… well, thanks," Kagami smiled, feeling warm and happy that even Kuroko's mother recognized him as a good friend for Kuroko. "Next time if I come to your house, I'll bring something too." He then stepped back from the door to let Kuroko in. "Come, Yamamoto bought some delicious cookies the other day. I want to eat it together with you," he grinned as he reached for Kuroko's hand and grabbed it before pulling the shorter boy energetically, leading him to the living room.

"Kagami-kun is such a child, getting excited over cookies," Kuroko commented wryly and Kagami's face turned rather pink at that.

"S-shut up! It's really delicious, you know!" Kagami retaliated heatedly, but it wasn't just because of the cookies that he was very eager. It was because he would spend time with Kuroko that day. "A-anyway… do you want to go somewhere later, l-like game center or something?"

After they seated in the living room and Yamamoto brought out the drinks and the snacks, Kagami glanced nervously at Kuroko who was enjoying his warm milk tea. "Somewhere?" he looked upward at Kagami with questioning eyes.

"You know… like watching movie, or… or karaoke, or… amusement park," Kagami bit his lower lip, wincing and blushing furiously at this point because he couldn't be more forward with his intention. Seriously, had he gone nuts? Asking a guy to amusement park, really?

Kuroko was silent for a long time, making Kagami even more restless. "I-I've never been to those places since I came back to Japan, so… I really want to check it out! B-but, going alone won't be fun, so…!" He really needed to shut up now because he was obviously making a fool of himself. "But if you don't want to, it's alright. We can just stay home and talk or play games!" He shut his eyes, not daring enough to look Kuroko in the eye for his bold invitation to a date. This time, it wasn't just a shopping date or something as boring, since Kagami was conscious enough to consider this a proper 'date' with Kuroko.

He's going to refuse, you fool! He already has Aomine!—Kagami's pessimistic common sense chided, reminding him of that fact, but this time he decided to ignore his conscience. After all, whether Kuroko was really dating Aomine or not, this was a date between friends. It didn't have anything to do with Kuroko and Aomine's relationship. There was no rule that you couldn't hang out with your friends after you were dating, right? Moreover, Kagami wasn't trying to steal Kuroko from Aomine even though he really liked the light-blue haired boy. They were going as friends, so there was no harm at all.

Right?

Kuroko was still not answering, causing Kagami to worry if he really had crossed the line. "K-Kuroko?" He opened his eyes tentatively only to be greeted with Kuroko's flushing face. "Eh?"

"Um…" Kuroko hid the lover part of his reddening face with the back of his hand. "I-I am sorry… you surprised me…" he didn't look at Kagami's eyes now, seeming very self-conscious and Kagami couldn't help widening his eyes, completely dumbfounded witnessing such expression on Kuroko.

Holy shiiiiiiit! He can make such a faaaaaaace!—Kagami's brain was fried at the very adorable look in Kuroko's shy expression. He looked so friggin' CUTE such that Kagami could only gape stupidly, his face gradually turning a dark shed of red in embarrassment (but mostly in bewilderment) as well.

"Ka-Kagami-kun… are you asking me on a date?" Kuroko asked, sounding rather unsure as his face was still colored. Even his ears turned pink! He was really endearing at that moment that Kagami's hands twitched in edginess and unbearable want to touch and hug him.

"Will… will it trouble you if I am?" Kagami asked back hesitantly as well, unable to stray his gaze away from Kuroko's sweet squirmy form. He didn't know what he was saying anymore. Ah, fuck it! Why was Kuroko so appealing? It wasn't fair! Kagami couldn't think of anything while his eyes were being assaulted with such charm.

"Kagami-kun…" Kuroko slowly looked upward at Kagami's crimson orbs. Those pools of eyes were so blue and enticing and Kagami couldn't help being captivated by the glimmer in them. His face looked so mesmerizing and his small nose… it looked so perfect. His skin and complexion seemed so smooth and those lips… man, those lips must have tasted delicious.

Kagami's head was full of images and things he didn't recognize. He didn't know why he felt like leaning in close to Kuroko and having a bite of those lips. He felt a sudden hunger that was familiar and yet very alien because the object of his hunger wasn't food. He couldn't have been desiring to eat Kuroko, right? RIGHT?

Now Kagami was getting officially confused. He didn't know why he felt that way. This must have been a mistake. "I… I want… Kuroko…"

Kuroko widened his eyes for a fraction and he seemed about to surge upward as well to lean closer and maybe… possibly connect their lips if only Kagami didn't continue his words.

"I want Kuroko to be my closest friend!" And he once again shut his eyes, so he missed whatever expression Kuroko decided to show him that time.

Kuroko was silent again for a longer time at his outburst. He still wasn't saying anything even after Kagami opened his eyes once again to look at his reaction. Kuroko looked down at his own laps before sighing in resignation.

"Kagami-kun is too dense," the bluenet muttered, sounding rather annoyed.

"Eh?" Kagami blinked at him, feeling that he was just sot down. "Err… if that's too much then…" He did feel that he had said something wrong just then. Kuroko's closest friend… did he really just say that? But that feeling… and wanting more would be bad, right? Because Kuroko had Aomine after all and… and desiring more than being a best friend would be… would be…

Kagami's brain broke.

Kuroko seemed to take a pity on him and sighed once more before, "Alright, let's play some games in the game center and watch a movie at the theater, but for the amusement park, we can go another day because amusement park closes after five," responding to Kagami's request, leaning back to the backrest of his seat before taking his cup and starting to drink from it once again, his expression dreary and every trace of embarrassment already gone from his face.

"Um…" Kagami couldn't help feeling that he had done something bad with the way Kuroko reverted back to his aloof state. He just wanted to be closer to Kuroko, but he didn't know how to pull a line between a best friend and a boyfriend. He didn't want to disrupt Kuroko and Aomine's relationship even though he envied such bond.

Because… if Kagami crossed the line…

"You're the worst!"

Kagami felt that sharp pain once again in his heart and he couldn't help his palm reaching for the ring dangling on his chain-necklace beyond his shirt. He clenched at the material along with the ring in it as he waited for the ache to subside.

Kagami didn't know what kind of expression he showed on the outside, but by the time he noticed his surrounding once again, Kuroko already stared at him with unreadable expression on his face. He seemed calculating or thinking about something before he addressed Kagami again. "Shall we go now, Kagami-kun?"

"Yeah," Kagami tried to smile, but he felt it was stiff and unnatural and Kuroko seemed to notice because he threw a slightly concerned look at him. "Just remembered something unpleasant, don't worry about it." He scratched his cheek sheepishly before he stood and offered his hand at Kuroko. "I'm dying to try the games in the game center," he said and Kuroko reached for his hand before he stood as well.

"I know a great game center," Kuroko replied, before they went out of the house after notifying Yamamoto that they would be back in the afternoon.

~Kagami x Kuroko~

Arriving at the game center, Kagami and Kuroko run into Midorima and Kise.

"Ah," Kise widened his eyes and "Kuroko-chi and Kagami-kun!" he pointed at them with sparkling eyes, like a child finding his new toy.

"Kise-kun," Kuroko nodded in recognition. "Midorima-kun as well…" then he glanced at Kagami rather worriedly.

"Kise?" Kagami looked surprise before his expression turned rather sour as he looked upward at Midorima who pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. "And you."

"Hn," Midorima seemed to refuse to greet Kagami properly and Kuroko sighed at their display of animosity towards each other.

"What a coincidence we run into each other like this, right, Kuroko-chi?" Kise immediately approached Kuroko before he draped his arm on top of Kuroko's shoulders around his neck. "Kagami-kun too… huh? Why are Kagami-kun and Kuroko-chi walking together?" he tilted his head aside, looking confused.

"Ah, we're hanging ou—"

"We're on a date." Kuroko immediately answered, making Kagami squeak a little as Kise set a dumbstruck expression and Midorima almost broke his glasses.

"W-wait, Kuroko!?" Kagami looked frantic, but Kuroko wouldn't give in. He wanted this to be a date after all.

"He asked me out on a date just then and I agreed," Kuroko knew he was being stubborn on purpose, but he couldn't help it. He was tired of waiting Kagami to figure his feeling out. "You did asked me out on a date, right…?" Now he stared at Kagami while slightly narrowing his eyes.

"I-I did, but… saying it that way is…!" Kagami looked at Kise and Midorima who were still gaping speechlessly at them with an anxious look. "It's not what you think. It's just a date between friends! Don't misunderstand!"

Kuroko was getting even more irritated now. "Kagami-kun… are you trying to make me angry?"

"Eh?!" Kagami whipped his head around to gawk at Kuroko with wide eyes.

"Kuroko-chi?" Kise apparently felt a little bit disturbed as well because he was slowly detaching himself from Kuroko.

Kuroko took a deep breath before sighing, closing his eyes. "I am sorry, I did not feel so good… can we go to a quieter place?" he opened his eyes and looked the other way after briefly catching Midorima's eyes on him. The green haired teen was perplexed apparently, but a tiny-weenie idea seemed to cross his mind, judging from his stunned expression afterwards.

"Kuroko… you should tell me earlier if you don't feel alright. Do you need to go to a clinic?" Kagami immediately moved closer and looked at Kuroko more closely, his hand reaching out to check the temperature of his forehead, but Kuroko shied away from his touch.

Kuroko didn't want to be touched yet, especially by Kagami if Kagami didn't even understand his own feeling. He was still mad because Kagami led him on with those mixed signals. Earlier… in the living room, Kuroko was sure that Kagami was about to kiss him and yet he suddenly said he wanted to be his closest friend. Seriously! Kagami should get the clue!

"Um… sorry, Kise, and uh… Midorima. Please don't get the wrong idea. We're just friends. I'll take Kuroko home, so… see you guys sometimes," he then pushed Kuroko to walk out of the place despite only just arriving a few minutes before.

#

Kise was still speechless, apparently not yet coming back from his shock after seeing the way Kuroko behaved earlier. Sheesh. Midorima didn't really want to get involved, but what was that just then? When Kuroko caught his eyes he seemed…

"He really likes that guy, huh?" Midorima mumbled, pushing his coin in the doll box where his lucky item for the day was stored and he would get that stuffed lion doll no matter what.

"Eh?!" Kise apparently reacted to the offhand comment and- "EEEEEEH?! NO WAY! Kuroko-chi to Kagami-kun?!" Now he looked horrified with both palms on his cheeks.

"You're noisy, Kise," Midorima sniped in exasperation. Kise's high voice was very grating on his nerves.

"What are you talking about, Midorima-chi?! It's HUGE! Kuroko-chi has a crush on another guy, you know!" Kise whined, his eyes tearing up while he was protesting like a little kid.

"So what? It's his business. We don't have right to judge him," Midorima tried to tune down Kise's voice as he concentrated on getting his stuffed lion.

"B-but… if Akashi-chi finds out about it…!" Kise's voice shook and Midorima could almost picture his paling face despite not looking at the blond.

"We just have to be quiet about it," Midorima harrumphed as he got the stuffed doll and took his prize at the output box. "Akashi didn't need to know what he didn't need to know."

~Kagami x Kuroko~

"Hey, Kuroko… what's wrong? Why did you become so quiet suddenly? Are you really mad? Did I do something?" Kagami was worried now. He didn't know what happened, or what he did, but Kuroko seemed to be really pissed at him. He didn't even want to look at his face.

How has our outing become like this?—Kagami really didn't understand. Kuroko was moody, unlike his usual self. Surely, he was quiet most of the time, but purposely ignoring Kagami was too much.

Kuroko still wasn't answering him and kept walking in front of Kagami. Kagami felt really bad now. Maybe it really was his fault, but seriously, what did he do? Was this about earlier at the house? Because he said he wanted to be his closest friend? Did he already have someone like that? Kagami stopped walking, looking down at the road. Maybe Kuroko didn't really want to be his friend. Maybe he only wanted to be acquaintance. He had become greedy, didn't he? He didn't consider Kuroko's feeling and selfishly decided that they were friends.

Just like I selfishly decided that Tatsuya was my brother…

"Kagami-kun?"

Kagami snapped out of his depressing thought to look upward at Kuroko's eyes. He didn't know since when he had stopped walking as well and was now standing right in front of him. "Oh, sorry… I was spacing out," he shook his head, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly again.

"I am sorry, Kagami-kun," Kuroko reached for his arm and grabbed his jacket sleeve. "I was in the wrong. It was not Kagami-kun's fault," he said rather earnestly and Kagami blinked, not understanding why he was apologizing.

"Eh? But you were angry with me before… I must have done something that caused your anger, right?" Kagami was confused. Why was Kuroko so hard to figure out?

"No, I was only annoyed because Kagami-kun did not want to acknowledge that we are on a date. It is a date, right? You said so earlier at your house," Kuroko looked at Kagami's eyes surely and Kagami didn't know how to responded to such intensity.

"Yes… yes, I want it to be a date, but… Aomine…" Kagami looked the other way and Kuroko seemed to feel offended.

"What is it about Aomine-kun? This has nothing to do with Aomine-kun!" Kuroko even raised his voice slightly, completely surprising Kagami because he had never heard Kuroko shouting before.

"Eh? But you and Aomine…!"

"There is nothing between Aomine-kun and me," Kuroko cut rather curtly, now the both of his hands clenching at the hem of Kagami's jacket.

Kagami widened his eyes. "Huh?"

"We are just friends and partners in basketball, nothing more," the bluenet explained further, apparently trying to convince Kagami.

"W-wha—?! But, the way Aomine introduced himself as your partner suggested that you guys are together!" Kagami protested hard.

"That was just the way he speaks. There is nothing remotely romantic between him and me," Kuroko slowly loosened his grip on Kagami's clothes before dropping his hand completely. "The one I really like… is Kagami-kun."

…

…

…

"Eh?" Kagami couldn't help widening his eyes once again as his face exploded like volcano.

~Kagami x Kuroko~

"I am sorry… I did not mean to surprise you like that. I intended to wait until All Middle Tournament ends before saying anything, but Kagami-kun stirs me up so much… please just forget it."

After saying that Kuroko ran away while Kagami was still too stupefied to follow him.

Kuroko had blown it. He really didn't mean to blurt things out like that, but he just couldn't take it anymore. He knew it wasn't the right time to confess his feeling, especially before the match. It could distract Kagami from his game. It could threw his concentration off balance and it could be fatal for his team's play.

This felt like he was doing it on purpose to distract Kagami from his game, right? It seriously could affect the result of the game if they ended up playing in final against each other.

Kagami-kun is a very nice guy despite being a dense idiot. He will think about it seriously despite my request to just forget it. He will—

"Kuroko!"

Kuroko blinked and looked behind, still running, but he could make out a figure chasing after him. "Eh?"

"Wait! Please wait! Stop!" It was Kagami running in his top speed. Even without Kuroko stopping or slowing down, he could still caught up to him and tackled him in a bear hug from behind.

"Ka… Kagami-kun…?" Kuroko was very surprised and couldn't move inside Kagami's embrace. Though, his big arms enveloping him felt very good, causing his heart to speed up and it wasn't just because of his running earlier.

"Sorry... I just can't... let you run away...!" Kagami panted slightly, his labored breath turning into white puffs in the cold air. Kuroko could feel Kagami's body warmth spread on his back and also his pounding heartbeat in resonance with Kuroko's own. "I like you too much to let you get away after such confession…"

"It was accidental…" Kuroko mumbled lowly, his face heating at the remembrance of his imprudence before the temperature seemed to rise even more after he registered what Kagami just said. "Kagami-kun… you… like me too?" He slowly turned his head around and looked upward to see Kagami's reddening face as well.

"Ever since I watched your play for the first time," Kagami confessed, his voice shaking slightly despite his embarrassed grin. "I fell in love with your basketball first," he continued leaning down to bury his face at the nape of Kuroko's neck. "And after knowing you further, I can't help thinking about you all the time…"

Kuroko widened his eyes slightly before lifting his arms to grip at Kagami's arms on his chest and stomach. "Kagami-kun…"

"If you also like me, then Kuroko… will you go out with me?" Kagami asked, tightening his embrace even more.

Kuroko gasped slightly at such heartfelt confession and struggled to release himself from Kagami before he turned to face him properly and then jumped into Kagami's arms once again to hug him tightly as well. "Yes… yes I will. I have been waiting all this time, Bakagami-kun." He buried his face on Kagami's chest feeling his warmth spreading around him even more.

"Haha… now I feel like an idiot for misunderstanding and waiting for nothing," and Kagami responded by deepening their embrace towards each other.

#

Both teens didn't seem to realize that they were still in the middle of the street and the onlookers around were looking at them as if they were actors of some kind of an afternoon drama show. Unfortunately for the both of them, amongst the crowd was a person Kuroko didn't want to see such view most.

Akashi Seijuurou was narrowing his eyes at the tall red head and the bluenet. "What are they doing in the middle of the road…? Tetsuya…?!"

End of Chapter 11

Tbc…

A/N: Why does this fic turn into an afternoon drama? *confused* Haah… I have no idea what I will do after Akashi sees them like that. How does this affect the GoM, exactly? Akashi and his rules… sheesh. Anyway, what do you readers think? Should I continue this? Frankly, I've been losing interest to update this fic because there seem to be no positive come back from you, readers. I'd rather make new fics than wasting my times with this fic if you don't even read it *ugh*. Well, that's just my ranting. I don't know when I'll be able to update again. Maybe if I'm the mood….