Work Text:
Title: Commitment
Author: Triste
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Pairings: Kise/Kuroko, Hyuuga/Riko
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: Not mine
~~
Hyuuga’s visitor is unexpected to say the least, but he welcomes Kuroko inside anyway and offers him tea, which Kuroko politely declines. It’s impossible to guess what might be going through his mind, or what’s caused him to drop by out of the blue, so Hyuuga decides to get straight to the point.
“Okay,” he begins, waiting until Kuroko has made himself comfortable on the sofa before kicking off the conversation, “what’s up?”
Kuroko reaches into the pocket of his coat and pulls out a small black box, opening the lid to reveal its contents. There’s a ring inside, an expensive-looking one, and the light that hits it makes it sparkle in an eye-catching manner.
There’s only one thing Hyuuga can say, and it’s, “Um.”
Kuroko says nothing. His expression, or lack thereof, doesn’t change, so Hyuuga tries again.
“Er.”
Still nothing.
Hyuuga clears his throat. “I’m really flattered, but I’m already married. I thought you knew that.”
Kuroko shakes his head. “I apologise for the confusion, Senpai. This is mine. It was given to me by Kise-kun.”
Oh, thinks Hyuuga, thank god for that.
It’s only after his relief over the misunderstanding has passed when he realises, somewhat belatedly, what he’s heard.
“Wait, what?”
“This morning, during breakfast,” Kuroko explains, setting the box down carefully by his side, “Kise-kun proposed. It was... surprising.”
“I guess that’s one way of putting it.” Hyuuga raises his eyebrows. “Well? What was your response?”
“I told him I would have to think about it.”
Hyuuga can just imagine the crushed look on Kise’s face. He’s seen it often enough for himself, after all. It brings the memories of their high school days rushing back, when Kise would frequently make random appearances to pester Kuroko for his attention and, later on, for dates, only to be rejected each and every single time. Even then, he was a glutton for punishment. Hyuuga supposes it’s probably safe to assume that Kise hasn’t changed much over the years.
“That’s not so unreasonable,” Hyuuga concedes - but it is in a way, because Kise worships the ground Kuroko walks on, and his devotion, although annoying, is genuine. “It’s a life long commitment, I mean. It’s not the kind of decision you can make on a whim.”
“I know,” Kuroko agrees, “which is why I came to you for advice.”
Suddenly, Hyuuga wishes Riko were around so she could deal with this instead of him. He may be Kuroko’s senior, but there are some areas he’d rather not offer guidance in. Besides, it’s awkward. Then again, he can’t bring himself to refuse someone when they’re in need of his help.
Cursing himself for being so soft, he says, “Sure, no problem.” And then he prays not to get any questions that are too personal, or worse, to learn more about Kuroko and Kise’s relationship than he’d rather know.
The first thing Kuroko wants to find out, however, is, “What’s it like to be married to someone?”
Which strikes Hyuuga as being slightly difficult to answer, because he’s never really thought about it before. “It’s not that different from living together with someone. You share the same space, do the same things and have the same arguments.”
Except in his case, they’re more one-sided, seeing as no sane man would dare to defy Riko when she could kill them unintentionally with her cooking, and besides, he loves her too much to hurt her feelings.
“In short, nothing much changes.”
Except he’s much poorer these days now that his wife has joint access to his bank account.
Kuroko nods, absorbing the information. “May I ask why you married Coach?”
“Well, it was her idea. I just... went along with it.” Like everything else, Hyuuga adds silently. He knows the best thing to do is nod and say yes, even if it means letting himself in for a near death experience as a result.
Kuroko’s expression is understanding, and slightly pitying. He’s all too aware how terrifying Riko can be, having been on the receiving end of her pro wrestling manoeuvres more than once. Hyuuga is almost envious. Women are scary. He’s discovered this through personal experience. Kuroko has it easy in comparison. Kise is agreeable and eager to please. He’s also annoyingly persistent and much too affectionate, but at least he doesn’t force Kuroko to suffer through something like menstrual cycles.
“Are you glad you married her?”
Hyuuga doesn’t even have to think. “Yeah.” God help him, he is. “It’s the best thing I ever did.”
And he’s not just saying that. He truly means it, even though there are days when he’s convinced he took Riko as his bride during a fit of insanity.
It’s embarrassing because he’s a guy, and guys aren’t supposed to say mushy stuff, but Kuroko doesn’t make fun of him at all. If anything, he seems impressed by his senior’s reply.
“Oh,” he says. “I see.”
Hyuuga isn’t sure what, exactly, but Kuroko seems to have made some sort of decision. It soon becomes clear when he removes the ring from its box and slides it onto the third finger of his left hand. When he’s done that, he takes out his cell phone to push a couple of buttons, and then he holds it up.
“I’m sorry about before,” he tells the person on the other end. “I just wanted to say yes. I accept.”
There’s silence for a total of five seconds until a deafening yell of “KUROKOCCHI” comes through so loud that even Hyuuga goes temporarily deaf, and he’s not the one with the phone pressed against his ear. He can’t hear what else Kise says afterwards, but then Kuroko says, “Why?” followed by, “Do I have to?” which he finishes with, “Honestly, you’re being ridiculous.”
He hangs up, leaving Hyuuga wondering why the conversation didn’t last longer. “Everything okay?”
Kuroko raises the hand that’s wearing the ring and takes a photograph of it with the cell phone in his right. “I have to send proof, apparently,” is the explanation he gives.
His phone buzzes almost immediately after he’s finished texting the picture, and the sound of Kise’s overexcited voice reaches Hyuuga once again. The only words he can make out are “wedding” and “babies”, but the rest is unintelligible gibberish. Kuroko obviously thinks it is, at any rate, because he stops listening to whatever Kise is talking about, and sighs.
“I hope I won’t regret this,” he says, more to himself than his host, but the tiny smile on his lips tells Hyuuga there’s no way he ever will.