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Kagami had learned pretty early on into their friendship that Kuroko had no qualms whatsoever about saying ‘no’. He overslept to school the day after the game, completely forgetting about Japanese history homework to boot. He couldn’t contain his relief when he spotted Kuroko. He called his name and rushed over, resting his hands on his knees and panting to catch his breath.
“Kuroko! Let me copy your homework!”
“I refuse.”
“Huh?!” So fast! “Why?!”
“Kagami-kun should suffer the consequences of his own idiocy properly.”
Taiga’s brow twitched in annoyance and he grabbed Kuroko’s head. That self-righteous bastard was the one who was going to suffer, thought Kagami right before getting his breath punched out of his lungs. In hindsight, he should have seen the sucker-punch coming.
And it was like that all the time. Kagami asked, and Kuroko refused without a pause, or any hint of emotion for that matter. No, he won’t lend him money. No, he won’t eat that burger. No, he won’t get rid of Nigou. No, he won’t stop trying. No, he won’t let him fail. No, he won’t give up. Taiga have fallen in love somewhere between those. He didn’t even notice at first.
Being in love with Kuroko was like nothing he’d thought being in love with anyone would be. He didn’t lose sleep or appetite over it. It wasn’t distracting him from basketball. It didn’t make him feel giddy or excited. It made him feel calm and relaxed. He didn’t suddenly start absentmindedly spewing poetics about Kuroko’s eyes or anything; they still seemed like those of a dead fish to him. He didn’t subconsciously start letting his touches linger, nor did they become electrifying or anything of the sort; they touched no more and no less than before. That’s why he didn’t notice at first.
The realization came one day with two senpai with a crappy sense of humor right after practice. Kagami was tying his shoes when Mitobe and Koganei walked over, grinning.
“Where’s your wife, Kagami?”
“He’s in the bathroom,” he replied automatically and halted when he realized what he’d just said.
He looked at his senpai, blinking in slight confusion. Koganei was humming thoughtfully with a frown, holding his chin between his fingers authoritatively. Mitobe just stood there, looking embarrassed and apologetic.
“You’re absolutely right, Mitobe, my man. This reaction is completely wrong. He was supposed to fluster and blush and splutter a lot and we were going to get a good laugh out of it. This is unacceptable. Oi, Kagami! What’s with you not minding being called Kuroko’s husband! Explain yourself!”
Taiga frowned. “I… don’t know…”
Koganei scoffed and dragged Mitobe outside, mumbling about no-fun-kouhai. Kagami thought about for a moment. Being with Kuroko like that. It seemed very… nice. Waking up to Kuroko’s face in the morning, maybe kissing him lazily for a while, getting his hand in his hair and pulling him closer, pressing against his naked skin and-
He felt his cheeks getting hotter. Whoa. So he was a sixteen-year-old boy after all. And apparently one in love with his best friend. He felt a lump forming in his throat. What if this realization would change things between them? What if Kagami would start acting differently around Kuroko and ruin everything? When Kuroko came back to the changing room, Taiga acted on instinct. That was what animals did when in danger, wasn’t it?
“Oi, Kuroko, give me your hand for a bit.”
“I refuse,” came the usual response.
Kagami rolled his eyes and grabbed Kuroko’s hand. “Stop bitching for once and let me hold it.”
Kuroko scowled but didn’t pull his hand away so Kagami took his time. He brushed his thumb across Kuroko’s knuckles. Then he slid the inside of his palm over the back of Kuroko’s and held it like that for a while. Finally, he laced their finger together and squeezed gently. Nothing. It wasn’t weird at all. It felt natural, like breathing. Nothing was different. He smiled and let go of the hand.
“Thanks,” he said and grinned when Kuroko looked away with the slightest tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. He was honestly surprised that he hadn’t seen the sucker-punch coming.
Being in love with Kuroko continued to be like nothing else. He always thought love would be frustrating and exhausting, but it wasn’t. He was ridiculously content with his state, even if he had to admit that lately, more often than not, he found himself wanting to do something about. He wanted to tell Kuroko. He was happy with the way things were, surprisingly enough, but he knew it could have been even better. He just knew. But he was also scared. After all, Kuroko had no qualms whatsoever about saying ‘no’. Especially to Kagami.
Having Alex living with him was as much a curse as it was a blessing. When he looked around the roomful of his teammates and coaches passed out on the American booze Alex herself had provided, he wasn’t sure which one of those two it would turn out to be this time. Kuroko was the only one awake, sipping Pocari and watching TV with the sound off. He flung himself onto the couch resting his head on Kuroko’s lap, head turned to face the TV. It wasn’t like they never did things like that. Kuroko carded his hand through Kagami’s hair like it was the most natural thing in the world. And it was. It was comfortable. It was what they did. Kagami was drunk and Kuroko was warm and soft and he smelled nice too. Taiga wanted to kiss him. He turned his head to look at him.
“Kuroko, let me kiss you.”
The hand in his hair stopped moving. Now, Kagami was drunk, very much so, but even he noticed something flickering across Kuroko’s face, something naked and raw, before it closed off again. Kuroko leaned in and lightly pulled on Kagami’s ear.
“I refuse.”
No, Kagami-kun is a boy. No, Kagami-kun is just a friend. No, Kagami-kun is ugly and stupid.
“Kagami-kun is drunk.”
Kuroko’s hand was soon back in his hair, resuming its soothing movements. Kagami smiled before turning back to face the TV and nodding.
“So let me kiss you tomorrow,” he mumbled sleepily. “And the day after that. And the day after. Every day. Alright?”
Kuroko didn’t exactly tense up but his hand slowed, just a bit, just for a second, and he was silent for a long moment. Tiaga was already drifting off when Kuroko finally answered.
“Alright.”