The Ugly Sweater

"What the fuck is that?" Kise asked, giggling and trying to sympathize at the same time.

Kuroko held the gray sweater at arm's length, "She's improved…"

"Momocchi knit that for you?"

Kuroko glanced at Kise, worry on his face, "I guess so?"

Kise spit out a laugh, jumping to his feet and bouncing on the couch, "Oh my god—" But then saw the gleam in Kuroko's eyes. "You like it?"

"I love it," Kuroko mumbled.

Kise sighed in defeat, "Of course you do." He stared at down at Kuroko from his dramatic pose on the couch as the boy struggled to pull his arms and head through the appropriate holes, which seemed to take longer than it should have, because they looked like sleeves for a sad octopus.

Kuroko pulled through with a gasp, letting the sleeves hang down off his arms as he grabbed at the collar. Kuroko, hair powered by the static and bleary-eyed, came out looking like he had not seen the light of day in a long time.

A moment of silence passed between the two.

"It's perfect," Kuroko said.

Kise curled his bare toes into the smelly fabric; from atop the couch, he could see the light in Kuroko's eyes and the fumbling glee in his fingertips. Kise's heart thumped with adoration and contentment as he jumped off the couch, delighted to have startled Kuroko. He dove for the hem of the sweater as Kuroko's hands grabbed at his hair, only to be caught up in a moldy-gray wave of itchy sheep hair. Kise burrowed his way up Kuroko's chest tugging at the boy's hips and shoulders until his head smashed into something hard.

"Ow!" Kuroko let out a cry as Kise's head finally popped out of the suffocating neck hole. Kise gulped down air as his body sort of struggled against Kuroko's. They knocked knees and heads and teeth and laughed until Kise finally grabbed a hold of Kuroko's hips and finally steadied the two of them.

The sweater, despite its protests, had found itself accommodating Kise's height by nearly enveloping Kuroko's head. With Kise's arms sort of trapped in what felt like straight up straw, he just grinned down at Kuroko, whose arms were raised at an uncomfortably horizontal angle. The holes intended for arms were knit too high for his body. "It's the thought that counts," He said, simply.

Kise wrapped his arms around Kuroko, suddenly feeling hot and uncomfortable and itchy. He rubbed his nose into Kuroko's templer, rock-wobbling on the balls of his feet.

"This is too intense for me." Kuroko struggled, dipping down out of Kise's arms and out of the arms of the threadbare octopus sweater.

Kise shrugged it off too, unintentionally tossing it to the floor.

The two of them stared at it, haplessly.

"Was that…weird?" Kise asked his face burning from either potential allergic reaction or complete and total embarrassment. Of course it was weird. He knew it was weird. Kise did not know exactly why he could not control those giddy horse-limbs of his; he would leap at any chance to mildly embarrass Kuroko, especially if that meant jamming his thumbnails into the boy's hipbone.

Kuroko stared at him, "Yes."

"S-Sorry," Kise mumbled. "I…thought it would be funny?"

Kuroko did not say anything, he just moved past Kise, picking the sweater off the carpet.

Kise turned away, rolling his eyes at himself.

"You know what's even funnier?" Kuroko asked quietly.

"Huh?" Kise whirled around a little too desperately.

Kuroko held up the sweater, this time from a new angle, "Kise, there are four sleeves."

Inspired by an ugly-ass sweaters and good intentions.

xoxo