a/n: originally posted on ao3 in august 2021! takes place during LAST GAME, after the club scene. i rly like this one and i hope y'all do too!

"Hey, Kuroko."

Kuroko stops walking and turns to look back at Kagami. "Oh, Kagami-kun. What's up?"

Kagami huffs. What's up, he says, as if he didn't give everyone the scare of a lifetime earlier going after those Jabberwock douchebags. He catches up with Kuroko in a few steps.

"I'm walking you home tonight. No objections, got it?"

Kuroko frowns at him, but maybe it's a pout. "I'm not going to run off again, Kagami-kun."

Kagami grunts. "Not taking any chances with you."

"Where would I even go?"

"Beats me. I didn't even think you'd go running after Kagetora like that, so who's to say you wouldn't find a way to do something else totally out there."

Kuroko grumbles something Kagami doesn't bother trying to decipher.

Kagami nudges Kuroko. "C'mon, let's go. Don't want your folks to worry since it's getting real late already."

Kuroko sighs and they start walking. "Hey, Kagami-kun," he says after a while.

Kagami glances up at the fast food joint they always stop in as they walk past. It's the first place they ever hung out together. By accident, sure, but the memory is stained on his mind nonetheless. The mountain of burgers, the shock of seeing Kuroko with his shake at his table..He'll miss it there.

"Yeah, what?"

"Thank you for today."

Kagami looks down at Kuroko. "Huh?"

"For coming after me. It would have been a problem if you had gotten that punch in, but...thank you."

Kagami scratches at his cheek and glances at the restaurant again. It's still open. "No problem. Hey, do you want a shake? My treat."

Kuroko smiles. "I'd like that."

Back on their trek to Kuroko's home, Kuroko has his shake. Kagami passed on getting himself anything for once. Something still isn't settling quite right inside of him. He's leaving soon and not only has he not told Kuroko anything about how he feels about him but who's going to be left to protect him? Aomine? Forget that.

This is complicated.

Kagami sighs. "They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?"

He glances down at Kuroko and sees him touch his stomach. "I didn't plan on finding out what getting kicked in the stomach feels like, but I guess I know now."

Kagami's fists clench hard. "Son of a bitch..."

Kuroko reaches out and puts his hand over the nearest fist. They're almost holding hands. "We'll get back at them our own way."

"Yeah, but-!"

"You're always trying to protect me, Kagami-kun, but you can't for much longer, can you?"

Kagami releases his fists. He's not relaxed by any means, just defeated. "Yeah..."

"So," Kuroko starts, "let's just take it easy with the time we have left."

Kagami looks down at Kuroko, then at their hands which notably haven't stopped touching. What's he supposed to do with this? What's going on, now? He knows what he wants to do, more than anything, but what's Kuroko thinking?

Kuroko hooks his index finger around Kagami's pinky. "Is this okay, Kagami-kun?"

"...You're picking the worst time to ask if this is okay, Kuroko."

"So is it?"

Kagami unhooks their fingers so he can take Kuroko's hand entirely. "Stupid...going away's hard enough, then you go and scare me today, and now this. How am I supposed to leave you?"

Kuroko squeezes Kagami's hand. "And who's going to be there to make sure you stay out of trouble? I want to protect you, too."

"Guess this is hard on both of us, huh?"

"But it's going to be good for you."

They continue in silence, hands holding on tightly to each other the rest of the way to Kuroko's. Kuroko drinks his shake from time to time, but seems too lost in his thoughts to do much else. Kagami can't stop focusing on how small Kuroko's hand is and how perfectly it fits inside of his. They were made for each other. It sounds ridiculous, something he would've dismissed before, but holding Kuroko's hand makes him feel deep in his heart that that's just how they were created-to be together.

Kuroko stops without a word and Kagami gets pulled back by his hand and nearly trips over himself.

"Hey-! What gives?"

"We're here."

Kagami looks up. Sure enough, they're standing in front of Kuroko's home. He was so lost in his thoughts he stopped processing the world around him.

He sighs. He doesn't want to let Kuroko go.

"I don't want to let you go, either." Kuroko says.

Kagami sputters. "Stop reading my mind!"

Kuroko shrugs. "It's obvious that's what you're thinking."

"Jeez..."

They stand there for a moment, staring at each other. "You...have to let go of me, Kagami-kun."

But I don't want to.

"Oh, right. So you can go home."

Kagami loosens his grip, hesitates, then releases him completely. It hurts. It's separating them from something perfect, something that momentarily made him feel more whole than he'd ever felt before. How childish is it that holding hands would make him feel so strongly? But it's all he has, all he's going to get.

"Kagami-kun."

Kagami shakes his head to get the thoughts out. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for the walk home. I'll treasure it."

"Uh, you're welcome. I will, too."

Another wash of silence falls. Then Kagami sighs. "I'm gonna go home. Anything I wanna say is just gonna make things more complicated."

Kuroko looks a little upset but he nods. "I agree. I think we both know how we feel."

Kagami puts his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from reaching out to touch Kuroko. "Yeah, let's not go farther than that. We have a game coming up, too. Can't get all in our heads about...stuff."

"Right. Stuff."

"Stuff."

Kagami shuffles his feet. Kuroko holds out his fist and Kagami can never leave Kuroko hanging. He takes out a hand and gives Kuroko a solid fist bump, grinning as he does.

"See you on the court, Kuroko."

Kuroko smiles at him, a fire lit behind his eyes. "Yeah. See you then, Kagami-kun."