a/n: day 4 of writer's month, "memories"!

i feel like it's easy to get real angsty with this prompt and knb but i just couldn't think of anything

Kise doesn't often have time alone with Kuroko. Between teammates and their other shared friends, they were hardly without their own entourages, much to Kise's dismay. However, much to Kise's delight, everyone bailed on their plans today, thus leaving him alone in the park with Kuroko chatting and eating popsicles.

It doesn't take long for the conversation to quickly turn to basketball. "Sorry I missed your practice game, Kise-kun. I heard you won."

Kise grins and flips his popsicle stick into the nearby trashcan. "Yeah, no big deal! You just have to come to the next one, okay?"

Kuroko nods. "I will."

"Alright, enough about me, I want to talk about you, Kurokocchi," Kise says in a calmer tone than before. Certain things about the past have been on his mind as of late, and now that he has Kuroko alone it feels like the perfect time to dig into them.

Kuroko shrugs. "There's not much to talk about. I think you're up to date."

"Oh, no, I meant us. And what we used to be."

Kuroko shifts his weight, checks his clean popsicle stick for a winning sign (there is none), and simply says, "Okay."

"I remember what it was like to kiss you," Kise says, surprising himself with his forwardness, "do you remember?"

Kuroko's expression is just as difficult to read as ever. He doesn't respond immediately, but his gaze shifts from Kise's face to the distant horizon away from him. Kise sighs. He's messed it up all over again, he shouldn't have tried.

Kise scratches his head. "Sorry, Kurokocchi, I didn't mean—"

"I remember."

Kuroko turns his eyes back to Kise, his face softened by something Kise hopes isn't more pain caused by him.

"You used to kiss me like if every one was the last one," Kuroko recounts, "or something. That's what it felt like."

Kise chuckles. "That would be my passion speaking."

"I think it was you being clingy."

"Wow, ouch," Kise winces, "you just have to take a jab at me, huh?"

Kuroko smiles. "Yeah."

Seconds go by of neither of them speaking, only looking at each other, waiting for the other to say something else. When the conversation feels like it's finally at a standstill, Kise fishes his phone from his pocket to check his notifications. None of the many pop-ups catch his eye, so he shrugs and pockets it, and in the time to do so Kuroko has averted his eyes away from him.

Kise tilts his head. "Kurokocchi?"

Kuroko shuts his eyes for a moment and when he opens them he's looking at Kise with a determined expression.

"Kise-kun. Would you kiss me again?"

Kise can hardly believe what he's hearing. "What, like, ever?"

"I meant now."

"Oh." Kise isn't prepared for this. He's daydreamed about it, sure, but he thought he'd be happier. Instead he's just confused. "Why, though?"

Kuroko holds his stare. "I want to feel it again, what it was like to kiss you."

As the realization that this situation is real hits him, Kise grins; he can't help it. "I knew you'd come back to me, Kurokocchi!"

"I didn't say—"

"You don't have to say anything! I'll kiss you right now, how about it?"

Kuroko smiles. "I did ask, didn't I?"

Kise has to refrain from pumping his fists in the air or doing something similarly celebratory. He drops his bag, puts his hands on Kuroko's shoulders, and leans down enough to kiss him.

It lasts for only a moment and doesn't feel as fireworks-esque as kissing did when they were in middle school. When Kise parts away he notices his hands are shaking.

Kuroko notices, too, of course. "Nervous?"

Kise chuckles weakly. "I, uh, I guess so! Haha, guess I'm rusty."

Kuroko reaches up to put his hands on top of Kise's, looking silly holding him to his shoulders but ultimately making Kise feel a little better.

"You can try again."

Kise laughs breathlessly. "And fall in love with you all over again? Kurokocchi that's cruel."

"It's okay," Kuroko says. He pauses with his mouth open slightly, as if taking time to consider what he's about to say next. "We can try again, if you want."

Kise's body stills entirely. Of course that's what he's wanted to hear for a while, now, but he'd given up on it. Or, at least, he thought he gave up. He convinced himself there was no way Kuroko would want to date him again so he told himself it was beyond over. Now that his forsaken dreams are becoming reality, he realizes he wasn't as ready to give up as previously thought. He sighs and drops his head. Oh boy.

"This is a terrible way to ask a guy out, y'know," Kise says. "I thought you were about to say you weren't coming back to me just a second ago."

Kuroko pats Kise's hands. "Sorry, I didn't know how to go about it. You jumped the gun before I decided."

Kise picks his head back up and slips his hands from under Kuroko's and slides them into his hair, the blue tresses still as soft as he remembers.

"Tell me if this is how you remembered it."

Kise rushes forward to capture Kuroko's lips, pushing against them and curling his fingers against Kuroko's scalp. He continues to press more kisses to Kuroko's mouth, losing count as Kuroko kisses him back, meets him kiss for kiss. Kuroko's breath is hot on his mouth and Kise is delighted by his more active participation than when they dated years ago. Kuroko touches Kise's wrists at some point, which, back in middle school, was his cue to stop.

Kise pulls away from Kuroko and takes in a breath he wasn't taking before. Kuroko's cheeks are tinged pink and he's smiling up at Kise; Kise's heart might burst, he might perish, his soul may leave his body.

"Yeah, that was it," Kuroko says with a happy sigh, bringing Kise back from his out of body experience, "that's what I remembered."