When Kuroko finally got back to the shop, he found Iori-san arguing with a tall, blonde male. Iori noticed that the bluenette was back and spoke up.
"Ah, Kuroko-kun. You're back. Did the delivery go well?" She asked with a smile.
"Yes, it did. But..." Kuroko glanced at the blonde with a questioning look. "...who is this, Iori-san?"
"This is Kise-kun. He says he wants to work here. I don't know why, but he's very persistent." Iori-san laughed lightly.
"Well, I guess we could use the extra hand around here. I'm sure it's no harm if we let him work here. We could be able to attract more customers this way too, especially female customers. Since Kise-kun is handsome." Kuroko stated as a matter of fact.
Iori sighed and glanced towards Kise, who had a pleading look on his face, and the back at Kuroko. "I guess you're right. It could be good for business." She turned her attention to Kise again. "You can start working here from Monday; we'll be closing soon today and we're closed on Sundays." The brown haired florist instructed him.
"Please take care of me." Kise beamed excitedly as he bowed a full 90°.
"Yes, yes." Iori replied, chuckling. "Well, I think it's time we start closing the store."
"I'll close it before I leave. You can go ahead and leave first, Iori-san." Kuroko said smiling faintly.
"I'll leave it to you then. Thank you, Kuroko-kun. Take care." With that, Iori-san headed to the back of the store, leaving Kise and Kuroko alone.
"Thank you so much, Kurokocchi! I won't let you down! Please take care of me!" The blonde said, tightly grasping Kuroko's hands and shaking them.
'-cchi?' Kuroko thought, confused by the new nickname he had gained from the blonde. He shook his thoughts aside though as he was beginning lose feeling in his hands with Kise's killer grip.
"Ano, Kise-kun, do you think you could let go of my hands now?" Kise noticed how white the bluenette's hands had become and quickly released his grip on them.
"Ahhh, sorry, Kurokocchi! Hehe..." The blonde male replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Anyway, are you sure there's nothing I can do to help right now?" He asked, hopeful.
When Kuroko nodded, he sighed. "Okay then, I'll see you on Monday. Bye bye!" He waved as he exited the store.
Kuroko wondered as to why Kise would want to work at a small florist, when he could easily pass as a super model. He subsided those thoughts though, believing it to be pointless in thinking too much of it. He walked to the door and turned the sign so that it said "Closed" and headed to the back of the store as well, to grab his belongings.
"I'm home." The red haired male said as he entered the household.
"Welcome back, Sei-chan. How was the meeting?" Momoi asked as she stood up from the sofa.
"It went well, just as I planned it would be. We're set to start the renovation the week after next." The heterochromatic male answered. He looked around the lounge and noticed there was no sign of the younger red head or his friend.
"If you're wondering about Ayato and Ritsu, Ayato is asleep in his bedroom and Ritsu went home already. They moved around a lot today." The pink haired female stated as she chuckled.
"That's good to hear." The red head said chuckling as well.
It was then that Momoi noticed something different about Akashi. He appeared to be in a really good mood. Something else must have happened when he was still out for his meeting.
"Er...Sei-chan? Did something else good happen as well? You know, other than the renovation that is." Momoi inquired, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Akashi looked surprised at the sudden question. He then smiled; Momoi had always been observant.
"Possibly, but I will tell you later." Momoi was taken aback slightly, she wondered what happened that made him give her that genuine smile. She'd have to wait though, and trust that Akashi will reveal it to her soon enough.
"Okay. You better tell me though! It's a promise, Sei-chan!" Momoi stressed. "Anyway, I'm gonna go home now. It was good to see you and Ayato again!" Momoi said before heading towards the front door of the house.
"Satsuki, why don't you stay for dinner?" Akashi asked, wanting to thank her.
"Ah, sorry, I can't today Sei-chan. I've got quite a bit of paperwork to finish at home. Maybe another time!"
"Oh no, it's alright. Sorry for asking you to come today, when you had so much to do. I gave Tanaka-san a day off today, so I had no one else to turn to." Akashi looked at her apologetically.
"Don't worry about it! Tanaka-san deserves a break once in a while. Plus, I'm always up for helping Sei-chan." She replied beaming.
"Thank you. Take care on your way home."
"Bye bye!" With that, she left the Akashi household.
"Daddy?" A small voice called from behind him. It was Ayato. Once he was in arms reach, Akashi lifted the younger red head up in his arms and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Did you have fun today with Ritsu and Satsuki?" The older red head asked, smiling.
"Yes! Sa-chan took us to the park, and then after that she even gave us ice cream! You should've come with us, Daddy! It was so much fun." Ayato said a little too fast due his excitement.
"I'm glad that you got to go in the end. I'm sorry that I couldn't go with you today, but I promise I will make up for it, okay?" Akashi ensured.
"It's okay, I know that Daddy has a big project coming up so you'd be busy with that for a while. Gambatte!" Ayato smiled, returning the kiss Akashi gave him.
"Anyway, it's almost time to eat. What do you want to have for dinner today?"
"Rose pasta! Rose pasta!" Ayato chanted excitedly.
"Okay, Ayato's favourite, rose pasta it is. Will you help daddy make it?" Ayato just nodded at that. "Alright, let's go to the kitchen then, shall we?"
"Mm!"
Kuroko opened the door to his apartment and took off his shoes. He placed hid keys on the table top near the doorway and stepped further into his home. Only to find the kitchen occupied by a tall red haired male.
"Kagami-kun, I thought you said you'd be late." The bluenette said surprised.
"Yeah, well, I managed to finish early with Kiyoshi-senpai's help." Kagami answered, scratching the back of his head. "More importantly, Kuroko, why do you have hardly any food in your house? I had to go out to get more. Are you even eating properly whilst I'm not here?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Kuroko.
"I am. I just don't eat as much as you do, Kagami-kun." Kuroko remarked.
"So in other words, all you've had today is the apple from this morning." Kagami sighed. His best friend had always been like this; eating so little, making other things his priority. "Sit down, I've made rice and curry." Kagami commanded.
Kuroko complied and sat down on the sofa, grabbing the remote control. He switched it on and flicked through the channels, finding nothing interesting.
Just then, Kagami entered the room with two plates in his hands. He placed them on the table and seated down on the sofa, next to Kuroko. They both started to dig into their food as they watched TV.
"This is really delicious, Kagami-kun." Kuroko commented, smiling.
"Okay, spit it out. What happened? Is it something related to that Akashi guy you told me about?" Kagami asked, noticing how the bluenette's smile seemed brighter than usual. Seeing as how Kuroko's eyes widened at the mention of Akashi, he guessed it must be about him.
Kuroko decided to tell everything that happened at the restaurant to Kagami, seeing no point in hiding it from the red head as he would find out either way.
"Wow that was quick. Way to go, Kuroko!" Kagami praised him, slapping his back. Kuroko rubbed his back in response, feeling pain. "So, when do you plan to message him?" He asked, smiling widely.
"Eh? Erm...I haven't really thought about that actually." Kuroko answered quietly.
"So that basically means never." Kagami sighed, the bluenette had always been hopeless in these kind of situations. Then, an idea hit; a great idea. "Hey, Kuroko, can I borrow your phone for a second?"
"Sure. Is it something about work?" Kuroko questioned, reaching for his back pocket and passing his phone over.
"Yeah..." The red head replied, concentrating on searching for a certain contact. After a few seconds of scrolling he found it. The contact named "Akashi-kun". He smirked as he tapped on the phone icon next to the contact name. He placed the phone to his ear and waited for a response. It was only after two rings that there was response.
"Hello? ...Kuroko-kun? This is a surprise. What is it?" Akashi said, though it was hard to tell if he was indeed surprised as his voice was quite calm.
"Hello, this is Kuroko's friend, Kagami. This is Akashi, right?"
"Yes. What business do you have with me?" Kagami could almost hear the disappointment, maybe even a little annoyance in Akashi's voice for the fact that he wasn't Kuroko.
"Since Kuroko is too scared to ask you, I'll ask you. Ar-"
"Kagami-kun! What are you doing? Give it back!" Akashi heard Kuroko shout, he seemed to be struggling to get his phone back from his friend.
"Fine, then you ask him." Kagami put the phone to the bluenette's ear.
"H-hello? Akashi-kun, I'm so sorry about Kagami-kun." Kuroko apologised.
"It's alright. Now, what is it that you want to ask me?" Akashi asked.
"Erm...I..." Kuroko glanced at the Kagami. The red head waved his hands as if trying to say 'Just ask him out already!'. "Are you free this coming Tuesday?" He asked. When he didn't hear a response, he frowned a little. Of course, he wouldn't be; he was probably busy.
"Are you asking me on a date, Kuroko-kun?" Akashi asked, surprise hinted in his question.
"Ano, it's okay if you're not, you must he busy. Forget I as-" Kuroko spoke a little too hastily.
"Yes."
"Eh?" Kuroko was confused.
"Yes, I'll go on a date with you. However, is it alright if Ayato joins us as well?"
"It's fine with me." Kuroko smiled, he felt sort of relieved; maybe with Ayato present, he won't feel so nervous.
"Where do you want to meet then?" The heterochromatic male asked.
"Oh, I-um, actually didn't think about that..." Kuroko answered, chuckling nervously.
"Well, if you don't mind, would like to have dinner at my house?" He said chuckling at Kuroko's stuttering.
"Yes! Yes! He'll be there!" Kagami yelled through the phone.
"Alright. It's decided then. The driver will come pick you up from your house. Just text me your address." Kuroko was surprised how calm Akashi was even though he had called just called him at his house.
"O-okay. I'll see you then."
"We will. Goodnight." You could almost hear the smile through the call, it was strange.
"Um, yes, goodnight." Kuroko replied, a tint of red displaying on his cheeks. He then disconnected the phone, turning to the taller red head.
"You're welcome!" Kagami had the nerve to laugh at this.
"Kagami-kun, why did you do that?"
"I had to. Otherwise you would've done nothing." Kagami remarked. Kuroko knew he was probably right, he wasn't one to initiate conversation with others, especially if it was on the topic of dating. "Didn't it all work out fine though? He even invited you to his house! Cheer up, Kuroko! If you want, I'll help you out, I've got a week off anyway." Kagami suggested, cheerfully patting Kuroko on the back again.
"Kagami-kun, that hurts." The bluenette complained, rubbing his back trying to soothe the pain.
"Sorry, sorry." Kagami laughed nervously. He took the plates back to the kitchen and washed them, though Kuroko insisted on helping.
Once they had finished cleaning up, they both walked towards the door.
"I'll see you again later! Ja." Kagami held out his fist, Kuroko did the same as they bumped their fists like they always did. "Don't be so nervous about the date. It will be fine. I'm sure of it." The red haired male reassured Kuroko, seeing the anxious expression plastered on his face. Kuroko smiled faintly in response. He decided he was going to trust his best friend and hope for the best.
A/N: If there are any grammatical errors, I'm sorry. Please tell me what you guys think of how it's going ;w; it will mean a lot