Disclaimers: KnB and it's characters belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

Beta-ed by CieloFiamme.

Note: Changed formatting, do tell me if this format is better. xxHummingBirdxx, is this format ok?

The rest of the day couldn't be more uneventful for Kuroko. There was no chasing, no spilled drinks, and no unwanted conversations. Just like that, the bell rang for the last time of the day and almost everyone on campus went home. Few people stayed back as there were no clubs or extra-hour policies in Teiko. Kuroko, however, stayed back because he wanted to explore the area a little bit. Unfortunately, he got lost going around and stumbled back to his class by accident. Unlike other rooms, the lights were still on in his class, so Kuroko stepped inside the room, intending to turn them off. His fingers were this close to touching the switch when he noticed a mop of green in the middle of the glass.

"Midorima-kun, may I ask what you are doing?"

"…"

About Midorima, one would say that he is a shining image of a perfect student, but some would say he is a solitary and stiff president. He couldn't care less about what people think of him though, really, or he wouldn't walk around carrying weird items all day, every day. The only thing he cared about was whether he could achieve the goals he set for himself, which were: always had excellent grades, excellent manners, excellent lifestyle and being excellent at everything he did. He was a man of pride, you could say. So imagine his irritation when he spilt red bean soup and got away with it without any punishments. That incident actually affected him so much that he couldn't focus in classes, or the paperwork he was doing after school.

"Midorima-kun."

"…"

"Midorima-kun!"

"Woah!"

Midorima might have flinched a little too hard when he noticed the teacher standing beside him. The older male stared at him unblinking, as if he was expecting something.

"Kuroko-sensei, is there anything you need from me?"

"No, Midorima-kun. I'm just wondering what you are doing."

"I'm doing some paper work for student council."

The blunette didn't say anything, only shifted his gaze to the pile of papers on the table. There was a flicker of confusion in Kuroko's eyes, but Midorima missed that. To him, Kuroko was just staring at the papers instead of him.

"Kuroko-sensei?"

Shouldn't he be working in the student council room? And what's with the "nanodayo"? Kuroko wanted to ask, but this came out of his mouth.

"Where are the other members? You intend to do all this work by yourself?" I thought you were the president…

"They all said they have personal business to attend to and left before I could say anything." Midorima's voice showed as much annoyance as his face did, which was to say, a lot.

"I see… Midorima-kun doesn't seem to have much power as a president, does he?" said Kuroko. It's amazing how Kuroko could just hide his amusement with that monotonous voice. Ok, others' opinions of him did not matter to Midorima, but he would not stand for such ridiculously wrong comment to be spoken directly to his face. His face flushed pink and spoke rather loudly.

"I-I must negate that statement, sensei! I am confident about my capability as a leader and I'm sure you will find very few complaints about the work I've done! Besides, today-"(1)

Unbeknown to Midorima, the way he fumbled with his words just amused Kuroko more. The more Midorima blushed, the more Kuroko's lips turned upward. Normally, Kuroko wouldn't interrupt people mid-sentence, but at that moment he must, otherwise he wouldn't be able to hold back and his poker face would crack.

"I'm just kidding, Midorima-kun. I won't doubt my students unless I have a reason to," said Kuroko, the smallest of smiles on his lips.

Midorima stopped in his track, but the color remained on his face. "…Oh, is that so? Pardon me, Kuroko-sensei, I don't have a very good sense of humor." The sentence came out more like a growl of annoyance than apologetic. Then, as an after-thought, he added "How do you know I'm the president though?"

"I read your profile. Also, a girl called you 'president' this morning."

"I see. Well, I should get back to work now. Shouldn't you go home too, sensei?"

"I was planning to, but I changed my mind. Midorima-kun, would you mind me helping?"

"Thank you for offering, but I wouldn't want to bother you and I can concentrate better when I'm alone." Does he still doubt me?

"It's okay. It's not that late yet, and I'm sure Midorima-kun wouldn't notice my presence once you start working."

"Sensei, you really don't have to. I assure you that I can do this alone."

Oh, so that's how it is. "Midorima-kun, are you by any chance still think that I am underestimating you?"

Kuroko was met with a silent respond. "I am not skeptical of you, Midorima-kun. I only want to help."

"…"

"…Midorima, this morning, you said you wanted to apologize to me properly-"

He is bringing this up now? Why?

"-so consider letting me help you as an apology."

Midorima was speechless.

"I insist."

Even though the blank tone Kuroko used wasn't really convincing, Midorima gave in and sighed.

"If you put it that way, I have no other choice but to comply."

Kuroko pulled a chair from behind to sit across Midorima and borrowed a pen from Midorima because opening his suitcase for a pen wasn't worth it. Neither said a word as the two worked through the papers.

Sitting so close like that, Kuroko couldn't help but observe Midorima a bit. He was undeniably handsome, with features that could pass by for a model. However, what drew Kuroko's attention the most were his eyes and hands. In America, Kuroko had seen a lot of green-eyed people, but none of them was like Midorima. Vividly green orbs were so clear that Kuroko almost wished Midorima wasn't so focused on the papers so that he could have a better look at them. Midorima's eyes were beautiful as they were, but the thick eye lashes were what really bring focus to the pair of first-class emeralds. And then there were his hands. He was writing with his bandaged left hand, Kuroko noted. The fingers were slender and elegant. Does he play the piano? He wondered. Then, Kuroko realized he should return to the work he had offered to do.

Kuroko was right about Midorima not being able to notice him, or rather, Midorima completely forgot about the blunette until he spoke up to ask about something about the school policies.

After an hour, they were done. When Midorima bowed and thanked him, Kuroko slightly smiled.

"That was a lot of work. It's ridiculous that Midorima-kun want to do all of that himself-"

Midorima froze. Did he just call me ridiculous?

"-but for everyone to trust you with so much work like that, you must be really reliable." Kuroko finished and bored his eyes into Midorima's. Then, the bespectacled male felt flustered. But flattered. Flustered but flattered.

"Well, that's praising me a bit, but it's certainly true to a degree." Midorima said, pushing up his glasses.

"Midorima is proud, isn't he?"

"That's one way of saying it, but I'd prefer the word 'confident'. It's a necessary quality for a president."

"Or one of the seven deadly sins." Kuroko calmly retorted. Midorima flinched. The blunette chuckled inwardly.

"Now that the work is done, we should go home." said Kuroko. Midorima nodded and go to turn off the lights.

They got out of the room and headed to the gate together, but when the taller male glanced at his side, the blunette was gone. Midorima looked around frantically, only to jump as Kuroko spoke up.

"Midorima-kun"

"…! Sensei, what-? How-? I mean, you were-"

"If you want to ask where I disappeared to, I will tell you that I have been here the whole time." Kuroko answered. Midorima sweat-dropped.

As they reached a corner, Kuroko bid goodbye to Midorima. Looking at Kuroko retreating figure, Midorima pushed up his glasses with the taped fingers and let out a 'hmph'.

By the time Kuroko got to his shared apartment, the sun was already setting. After he'd had a shower, his mind was a mess. It was something like this: Where do I put the dirty clothes? Should I wash my own clothes? But that would be uneconomical. Should I cook? But I can't cook. And even if I did cook, he might not be pleased with my culinary skill. Then I cook for myself and eat before he's home? But that would be rude.

In the end, he decided to just cook and wait for Kise, and then they could talk about chores and the like later.

Kuroko gave a sigh of relief as he open the fridge and saw that he had just enough ingredients to make a pot of simple curry, because curry happened to be the only dish that Ogiwara had taught Kuroko.

Luckily, Kise decided to come home early again that day, so Kuroko didn't have to wait too long. In fact, hardly had Kuroko put in the curry cubes when Kise walked into the kitchen (courtesy of the curry smell).

"What the-" Kise murmured.

"Kise-kun, welcome back" said Kuroko, turning away from the pot to look at the blonde.

Kise stood still in his spot. What is this? What is this feeling? It's like… He looked at Kuroko again, trying to identify the familiar warmth that flooded into his stomach.

It's like coming back to my parents' house! Kise concluded.

"Dinner is almost ready. Would you like to eat right away? Or would you prefer shower first?" asked Kuroko.

Yep, definitely my parents' house.

"I think" Kise started, hesitated, "I will have dinner as soon as it's ready, please."

"You will have to wait for a bit then."

"Uhh…Ok, I'll go and change my clothes then."

Kuroko didn't response. Kise dragged his confused self back to his room to change.

Wow, having someone greet me when I'm home and prepare meals for me feels good. Maybe I should go back home more often.(2)

When Kise returned to the kitchen, Kuroko had already set the table and waiting for him in his seat.

Both of them said 'Itadakimasu' before touching the spoon. Kuroko's curry was, as Kise had expected, normal. It was nowhere near the curry in the five-star restaurants he usually had meals in, and it was not as good as his mom's curry either, but Kise devoured it like he had never tasted anything better, even asking for another serving.

Meanwhile, Kuroko was slowly eating his meal while watching Kise, waiting for the right time to bring the chore problem up.

He decided to mention it once he was done with his plate.

"Kise-kun/ Kuroko-kun, I have something to say"

"Eh?"

"You go first, Kuroko-kun"

"…Uhm, I was thinking, now that we're sharing this apartment, shouldn't we share the chores as well?

"Sure. But I didn't have any roommates before, so I have no ideas how to 'share the chores' as you say. You have anything in mind, Kuroko-kun?"

Kuroko thought about it for a moment then asked.

"How do you usually do your chores, Kise-kun?"

"I send dirty clothes to the laundry on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturday. I have the cleaner come here on weekends, usually on Saturdays, but sometimes they come on Sundays too. I often go out for dinner, or get invited to dinner, so I only cook breakfast and have lunch at some cafe…Eh, Kuroko-kun, are you ok?"

No, Kuroko was not ok. How could he be ok? His roommate was a bastard who used money for everything! When Kuroko revived from the shock and his face wasn't blanched anymore, he glared (kinda) at Kise.

"It turns out Kise-kun is an annoying bastard. Tch, I shouldn't have trust Momoi-san so much." said Kuroko. The blunette's expression was blank, but Kise could tell that he was pissed off, which was even scarier than a normal angry face.

"That's harsh, Kuroko-kun!" Kise whined.

Kuroko still "glared" at him.

"Uhm…Kuroko-kun?"

Kuroko must sigh. He didn't sign up for this. In such his situation, he had two options. One, does his job and give somebody a serious lecture even though it might be rude. Two, leave Kise alone and does his own chores. It wasn't hard to decide which to do.

"Kise-kun, one, you are annoying."

"Uhh…"

"Two, you need to stop living like that. I understand if it's something inevitable, like being invited to dinner, but not doing your laundry is unreasonable. How much work is it to dump a pile of clothes into the washing machine? Also, it's a waste of money to hire someone to do something you can do by yourself, like cleaning the apartment. Besides, you're a model, letting strangers into your house is not safe."

Wow, was Kuroko angry? Had Momoi or Ogiwara been there, they'd definitely have fussed over how much Kuroko had said without stopping. That was the most Kuroko had ever talk in his entire life, even in basketball matches he didn't talked so much.

Kise was baffled. No one had ever complained about what he did, but his roommate, who he met just yesterday, just scolded him like he was a three year old, and not in a very nice way either. What's with that? 'Annoying bastard'? Kise figured he should be angry, but he was glad, or rather, excited. It was the feeling of experiencing something first-hand. But he was also worried, because the one gave him that first-hand experience was looking out of breath.

"Kuroko-kun…are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Kise-kun. I just need to catch my breath. Ah, but if you are trying to change the subject, it's not working."

"I'm not!"

"Kise-kun, I'm serious. You should stop that lifestyle."

"But I'm a model, I'm very busy!" Kise protested

Kuroko looked at him. Looked.

"Ok, fine, maybe not that busy." Kise raised his hands up, surrendered. "But still, I am busy. I can't take care of the apartment all by myself."

"That's why I said we should share the chores. Kise-kun, what do you think?"

"I guess we can give it a shot. So, what now?"

"Let's start with the laundry first. How about I take Monday and Thursday and Kise-kun takes Tuesday and Saturday?"

"Sure." Kise shrugged.

"We can clean the apartment together on weekends."

"Ok."

"Now, about the meals. Kise-kun, the problem is, I can't cook. I can only make simple curry and hard boiled eggs."

"I'm usually home late, so I won't cook dinner, but I don't mind cooking breakfast for us, I can even pack lunch boxes for you if you want." Kise offered.

"Thank you, but only breakfast is enough. Then, I cook my own dinner and you take care of yours?"

"Sounds good to me. That's all, right?"

"Yes."

"Ok. I'll wash the dishes since you cooked already."

"Let me help you."

"Thanks."

When they were washing the dishes, Kuroko suddenly remembered something.

"Kise-kun, what was it that you need to tell me?"

"Huh? Uhh…Oh, right. I'm sorry but I have to go on business trip for a week, can you please take care of the apartment alone in that time?"

"Sure, as long as you still remember the chore plan when you come back." Kuroko deadpanned.

"I will! What kind of person do you take me for?"

"An annoying bastard."

"Mean!"

That night, Momoi called Kuroko right before he went to sleep.

"Momoi-san."

'Tesu-kun! Wait, you weren't sleeping right?'

"No, but I'm about to."

'Phew. So, how was your day?'

"Momoi-san, you don't need to call everyday to check on me."

'Just for a few days, ok? Beside, Hiro-kun wants to know how you are doing too. Nigou too. Nee, Nigou?'

Kuroko heard a bark in the speaker. He smiled a little.

"You're at Ogiwara-kun's place?"

'Yep, he's sitting here. You want to talk to him?'

"Yes, please"

Kuroko heard some click clack noise, and then a familiar voice filled his ear.

'Tetsuya, I miss you!'

"Ogiwara-kun, please don't yell. I miss you too."

'Hmm, is something wrong? You sound tired.'

"Just a little bit. There were a lot of thing happened at the campus today."

'What? Tell me!'

'Hiro-kun, let me speak with him too!'

'Hold on, I'll let it on speaker. Tetsuya?'

"I chased a very fast and rude student, got weird stare-"

'Stare? Why would anyone stare at you?' asked Momoi.

'That's what you ask?!' Ogiwara said. He was ignored.

"I don't know. I think it's one of the students."

'You think? You sure you're ok Tetsuya?'

"I am, don't worry. But I think I did something I shouln't today."

'And that is?'

"I made a student let me help him because I wanted to be a supportive teacher."

'I'm sorry, what?'

'Don't worry about that Tetsu-kun! I'm sure you're just over-thinking.'

Kuroko could imagine Shigehiro staring weirdly at the phone and Momoi grinning beside him.

'I can never understand your conversations with Satsuki.' Ogiwara said, sighing into the speaker.

Kuroko smiled. "But you understand me, Ogiwara-kun, that's enough."

'Dammit Tetsuya, you're being embarassing again! Anyway, I think Satsuki's right, well, because she's rarely ever wrong, but,…sorry, I don't know how to say it. Just, do your best and stay healthy, 'kay?'

"Okay."

'Good. So, anything else?'

"Yes. Momoi-san?"

'Yes, Tetsu-kun?'

"Kise-kun is annoying."

'Hehe, sorry, even though I saw that coming.'

"What do you mean?"

'I know you will find him annoying, but I really like him and you're the only one who can fix him.'

""Fix"? Momoi-san?"

'He's really spoiled because he's the smallest in a rich family, and the only boy too. The fact that he is too talented doesn't help at all. Please excuse him.'

"I can tell that he's spoiled. But what do you mean by "fix" Momoi-san?"

'It's eleven fifteen in Japan now, right?'

"I think so. Don't dodge the question, Momoi-san."

'Tetsuya, if it's that late already then go to sleep! I'm hanging up.'

"You certainly don't say that when you get a new video game, Ogiwara-kun."

'That's different! Now go to sleep!'

"But I'm talking with Mo-"

'No "buts". Now go to sleep before you black out from exhaustion! I'm hanging up."

"I'm not that tired, but ok. Good night."

'It's seven fifteen in the morning here though. 'night, Tetsuya'

'Good night, Tetsu-kun. Nigou, say good night!'

'Arf!'

Kuroko could only smile. He missed his friends. Letting out a sigh, Kuroko ended the call.

He put his phone on the desk, going around setting up the alarm clocks. One small (not exactly) problem, there were only five clocks, and Kuroko didn't seem to notice that.

Kuroko turned off the lights and climbed on bed, careful not to hit anything.

The next morning, Kise was once again greeted with horrible sound of alarm clocks.

Here we go again. Kise thought, and made his way to Kuroko's room.

(1): If anyone is curious about what Midorima will say, here it is: "Beside, I have used my lucky item on them." and his lucky item happened to be a brick.

(2): Kise was referring to his parents' house.

Author's note: Ok, one, sorry for not updating for so long, but I have this chaper beta-ed by the wonderful CieloFiamme, so it was worth it right?...Ok, so maybe beta-ing (is that even a word) didn't take that long but please please forgive me! I will try to update more frequently now. I'm so sorry!

Two, sincere apology to anyone who thought Kise would not be annoying (*cough cough* hate1994 *cough*). I'm sorry. But everyone knows Kise is pretty annoying before he meets Kuroko, right?

Three, I have no idea what to do with Akashi now (._.) The recent chapters mess up my origin plot. I don't know if I should rethink the plot or not.

Almost forgot, four, I have been shipping OgiMomoi since, like, ever. I know it's weird, but sorry, you guys will have to deal with that.