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Kagami thought he got over his restless night habit when he finished high school but as he laid in his bed watching Kuroko, who Kagami was pretty sure was had slipped into sleep easily, all he wanted to do was stay awake and watch. Watch to see what the rising sun would look splayed across his face, to stay awake because he was terrified that this was all a dream or hallucination.
He had loved Kuroko as easily as he breathed since he was sixteen and he began to fall with each time Kuroko put his fragile faith and trust in Kagami’s hands.
Kuroko would’ve punched him, then and now, for the thoughts that he was fragile but Kagami hadn’t been blind to the way as blunt Kuroko seemed, there were pieces that he held back and sheltered fiercely.
It took until the Winter Cup for Kagami to understand why. It both infuriated and amazed him on Kuroko’s strength.
Infuriate because it made the other less likely to ask for help, and amazed because even at twenty-three he couldn’t imagine the strength it required to do what Kuroko pulled that first year.
For Kuroko to pick him, to trust him with his heart the way the other was. It had Kagami wondering if this was a strange fever dream.
It had the making of one, Kuroko had shown up on his Boston apartment doorstep unexpectedly during dinnertime, and in Kuroko’s trademark way politely elbowed his way into Kagami’s home as soon as Kagami opened his door. He then ignored any of the questions Kagami was throwing at him.
Then in the middle of Kagami’s living room, Kuroko grabbed his collar, stopping him mid-sentence, and yanked him down, kissing him the same way he played basketball, focus and unrelenting. It all became a little hazy as the kiss evolved, and Kagami’s upstairs brain began leaking out of his ears.
There was a lot of skin, touching and the eventual stumbled into Kagami’s bedroom at some point.
By the time they surfaced from the haze, it was long after dinnertime, and night had completely fallen. Kagami helped the boneless Kuroko into Kagami’s en-suite shower, and the two of them washed off then getting out Kagami gave Kuroko some clothes to sleep in as he threw on his own sleep clothes.
They crawled into bed, and then Kagami suddenly couldn’t get his brain to shut up and -
“Taiga,” Kuroko sighed interrupting Kagami’s thoughts as he rolled over to face Kagami, making Kagami start, he had thought the other was asleep.
“Tetsuya, why are you here?” Kagami asked.
“I love you. I think I have since that first alley-oop, and I just couldn’t spend another year without you knowing,” Kuroko said in a hushed tone.
Kagami didn’t even need to double check the date, because of course, Kuroko would remember the date of their first alley-oop.
Deciding that was all the permission he needed, Kagami wrapped himself around Kuroko.
“I love you too, for about as long,” Kagami smiled, as Kuroko curled into him.
“I had a whole speech prepared you to know,” Kuroko smiled wryly, “about how much I came to care about you, how I didn’t care whether you answered yes or no, I just couldn’t keep it hidden anymore,” Kuroko huffed a small laugh “but I don’t know, I saw you, it all went out the window and I just wanted to kiss you.”
“I am sure the speech was very articulate and honest,” Kagami teased, as he grinned into Kuroko’s hair.
“It was,” Kuroko grumbled good-naturedly before yawning.
“We can talk more in the morning." They could over breakfast and coffee. He would be able to lean over the table, give Kuroko a kiss and that was more than enough for him.
“Okay,” Kuroko breathed out as he dropped off.
Kagami let himself be soothed by Kuroko’s closeness and breathing, soon Kagami himself was drifting off with the feeling that he was going to become addicted to having Kuroko in arms reach as he fell asleep.