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"I'm thinking about going out with Akashi-kun."
While Kagami choked on an enormous bite of the sixth or seventh burger he'd unwrapped since sitting down with Kuroko for lunch that day, Kuroko sipped his milkshake and checked his phone. He wasn't usually the type to check his phone during a meal, especially not when he was with company, but he'd found himself looking at his phone quite a lot recently.
Because he and Akashi had been writing to each other quite a lot recently.
Akashi was due to leave Tokyo later that afternoon, and still Kuroko had yet to give Akashi's confession a proper response. They'd seen each other several more times since that day in the park. For breakfast, for coffee, for a visit to the aquarium.
If Kuroko were to be perfectly honest with himself, he would have to admit he was most likely already going out with Akashi. They'd gone on several dates, just without calling them dates.
And Kuroko had started to think he would rather like to call them what they were.
Once Kagami finished coughing, he gave Kuroko a look that was equal parts confused and concerned. It was like he didn't think he'd heard Kuroko correctly, but was prepared to phone a mental health professional in case he had.
"I haven't lost my mind," Kuroko reassured. "He's changed, and even the 'other' him… is someone I believe I can, one day, come to understand."
Kagami made a few sounds that may have been attempts at words, but in the end he only managed to get his point across by making a snipping motion with his fingers.
The scissors incident, yes. Kuroko hadn't forgotten.
"I'll make sure he apologizes for that." Kuroko had another sip of his milkshake as he put his phone away. In his last message, Akashi had written that he was looking forward to seeing Kuroko at the station. They'd agreed to meet there, for Kuroko to see him off.
Kuroko looked up and met Kagami's gaze. He already knew what he would want to say at the station, and that was precisely why he'd wanted to have this talk with Kagami now.
Kagami didn't make any move to continue eating, so Kuroko knew he was taking this seriously.
"When you say 'go out'…"
Kuroko nodded. "I mean I want to date him. He asked me out, sort of, and I'm pretty sure I want to say yes."
"Right." Kagami seemed to turn those words over in his head a few times, to make extra sure he was understanding them correctly, before letting out a slow, long breath. "Are you asking for my permission or my blessing? Because you know you don't need either."
Kuroko had to smile. He'd always been quite fond of how blunt Kagami could be. "I'm aware, Kagami-kun. I'm not asking for anything, I just wanted to let you know."
Kagami gave a slow, cautious nod. He was clearly trying to control his expression, but couldn't completely keep himself from looking like he'd just bitten into a lemon.
It was a funny enough face that Kuroko let out a soft laugh.
"I figured you deserved a heads up, with all that had happened," Kuroko explained. "You're the first to know, so if things go sideways, you can be the first to say, 'I told you so.'"
"What?" Kagami frowned. Though he'd shown all sorts of bafflement and worry already, he hadn't looked at all angry or truly disapproving until this moment. "I'm not gonna gloat if you get into a relationship that doesn't work out, Kuroko. What kind of friend do you take me for? I mean, yeah, I think Akashi's all sorts of… unnerving."
Kuroko lifted his eyebrows.
"Don't give me that look, I know words," Kagami chided. "He's a weird dude. Real intense, and kinda creepy. I'm not gonna act like I'm his biggest fan, but you're not asking me to date him. If you like him, you like him. You can't do anything about that, so there's no need to feel bad about it."
Kuroko opened his mouth to say that he didn't feel bad, but… maybe he did.
Maybe he had been asking for something after all.
The past wasn't so distant that he could easily forget it. Although he did believe Akashi had changed, and would continue to change for the better, it remained true that many people Kuroko cared about had been hurt by Akashi's actions.
Maybe he'd needed to hear, from someone like Kagami, that it wasn't too selfish of him to pursue something with Akashi. Or at least that it was okay to be a little selfish.
"I do," Kuroko said softly, after a moment. "I do like him."
"Then date him," Kagami said. He still looked a touch uneasy, but held out a fist over the table. Regardless of how he felt about Akashi, he was clearly trying his very best to be supportive of what he probably thought of as his good friend's bad taste in men. "We kicked his ass once. We'll just do it again if he doesn't treat you right."
Kuroko smiled and tapped his fist against Kagami's.
If his mind hadn't already been made up, it most certainly was now.
Kuroko got to the train station a good half an hour before the time he and Akashi had agreed to meet, but Akashi had gotten there even earlier. It seemed neither of them had wanted to miss out on a single minute with the other.
"Akashi-kun."
"Kuroko."
The warmth with which Akashi addressed him had become more and more obvious to Kuroko over the past few days. He found himself getting a little lost in that greeting which felt so like an embrace, stopping in front of Akashi right outside the station and not thinking to move until Akashi gently steered them into the cafe next door.
They had nearly two hours before Akashi's train was due to depart. Plenty of time to sit and have a cup of coffee, a pastry, a chat.
At first, it felt like any of their other dates-that-weren't-dates. They had recommended a book to each other earlier in the week, and they'd both finished reading the other's recommendation by then, so they spent over an hour chatting about just that.
Neither of them seemed overly keen to bring up the fact that Akashi was leaving Tokyo soon, or the fact that Kuroko had yet to give Akashi a real answer to his confession just yet.
And Akashi, it seemed, was determined to be a gentleman about this. So Kuroko knew Akashi wasn't going to pressure him or rush him for that answer.
But even if Akashi could wait, Kuroko wouldn't. He didn't want them parting on ambiguous terms.
Akashi had been brave enough to confess.
It was Kuroko's turn to be brave now.
"You'll be talking to your father tomorrow?" Kuroko asked, as they made their way out of the cafe and into the station.
Akashi nodded. "I'll be dining with him before returning to Rakuzan."
Kuroko nodded as well. They'd already talked about Akashi's plans to tell his father—not ask, but tell—that he would be continuing with basketball despite Rakuzan's loss at the Winter Cup. How Akashi's father would react was anyone's guess, but Kuroko believed in Akashi's resolve.
He would see Akashi on the court again next year, of that he was certain.
"You can call me before you meet with him," Kuroko said. He ducked his head, half-hiding a small smile. "If you need some strength."
Akashi smiled as well, and he didn't try to hide it at all. "I will. I'll need it, and I'll call."
Kuroko believed in that too.
The station was crowded enough that they bumped shoulders, time and again, as they meandered towards Akashi's platform. Kuroko wasn't quite so bold as to take Akashi's hand in such a public place, but he did let the back of his hand brush Akashi's as they walked.
Had he made his intentions, his answer, clear enough?
To Akashi, perhaps.
But not for his own taste.
"You can call more often than that," Kuroko blurted out, once Akashi turned to face him again.
They'd stopped by the door to the first-class carriage, on which Akashi had reserved a private room for his trip. Kuroko did reach out to Akashi now. He still didn't take Akashi's hand, but lightly took hold of the ends of Akashi's scarf.
"You can call me even when you don't need strength," he said.
Akashi smiled like he already knew exactly what Kuroko wanted to say, and he even seemed to know Kuroko needed just a bit of help to say it.
"Oh?" he prompted. "Can I call when I don't need anything?"
Kuroko tightened his grip a little. "Yeah."
"Can I call when I simply wish to hear your voice?"
Kuroko bit back a smile. "Yeah."
"Can I call every morning and every night?"
Kuroko didn't manage to contain a smile for very long at all. It broke from him, curving his lips and lighting up his eyes as he lifted his gaze to meet Akashi's.
"Please," he murmured. "Please do."
Akashi cupped his own hands over Kuroko's for a moment. The boarding bell sounded out, making Akashi hold on just a little tighter for a few seconds, before letting go.
"I'll visit," Akashi promised.
Kuroko breathed a laugh. "You'd better. I'll send you all the information on our training camps as soon as they're set."
"So I can abuse my captain's powers to take Rakuzan to the same places, at the same time?"
"Of course," Kuroko said, shameless. "What good is the captaincy if it doesn't enable you to see your boyfriend a little more?"
There.
Boyfriend.
Kuroko had said it now, and he'd said it while looking directly into Akashi's eyes. He was instantly grateful for that, because it allowed him to see the way Akashi's whole face softened with affection.
With adoration.
It was a look that charged Kuroko up with courage. He hadn't even dared to take Akashi's hand earlier, but he could no longer remember why he'd been so afraid.
He lifted himself a little higher on his toes now, leaned in, and knew Akashi would meet him halfway.