Chapter Text
Kagami walked at a leisurely pace under the sky that was turning pink and orange. He sat near the sea shore with the pleasant afternoon breeze of Sunayama beach caressing his face as his eyes quickly distinguished a silhouette of sky-blue hair in the distance, surrounded by approximately six children wearing life jackets.
Kuroko was in the middle of one of his surfing lessons with the children, without really going into deep water.
He helped the two five-year-old kids onto their surfboards, holding their hands to keep them from falling, while they learned to master their balance.
With the older and more advanced ones, who could already take off and maintain their balance without difficulty, he showed them the basic movements for a cutback. However, most were defeated by the wave when trying to turn to change direction, which always ended in laughter and further attempts.
Kuroko would gently correct them and catch them when they fell to prevent them from being hit too hard by the current, especially those who weren't yet so skilled.
Kagami had never considered himself a fan of spending time with children, but admitted that watching them take their first steps in surfing was fun and rewarding, with laughter and shouts of excitement echoing across the sea.
And Kuroko’s smile…
When Kagami first met Kuroko on the beach after moving to Miyakojima last year, the blue-haired boy's serenity personality and blank expression struck him as odd yet intriguing. He was certainly surprised by Kuroko's surfing skills, but nothing puzzled him more when saw the guy smiling for the first time, even laughing, albeit without exaggeration.
They were always shy smiles and chuckles, like the one he was giving at that moment when lesson ended, with the sun beginning to set. Kuroko said goodbye to all the children, acknowledging the good work of each one. Bumped fists with some and let others hug him.
“Goodbye, Kuroko-sensei!” The children screamed as they came out of the sea.
“See you tomorrow.” Kuroko smiled at them and gave a slight bow, which the children returned before setting off for their respective homes, carrying their surfboards with them.
Then Tetsuya swam towards the shallows, straight towards the place where his redhead friend was already standing up and shaking the sand off his shorts.
Kagami knew that Kuroko had been aware of his presence from the moment he arrived. Besides, it was already a habit for Kagami to go to the beach after his shift at the seaside restaurant owned by his brother Tatsuya and his giant, purple-haired boyfriend, Murasakibara, who also happened to be a friend of Kuroko's.
In fact, it was precisely at that restaurant where they first met, with Kuroko ordering his beloved vanilla milkshake and Kagami going to help his brother, who formally introduced him to the bluenette, a regular customer and friend.
After his shift, sometimes Kagami surfed, other times he watched Kuroko's class, but they always ended up walking home together.
Kuroko emerged from the sea with his white surfboard with hand-painted pink flowers—courtesy of Kuroko's childhood friend, Momoi—under his arm, the last waves brushing against his calves.
“Hello, Kagami-kun.” He greeted with a small smile, his blue hair gathered by the water leaving his forehead and his big blue eyes uncovered. “I'm sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Kagami rolled his eyes with a similar smile. The blue-haired boy always apologized for that, even though Kagami had been telling him for a while that he didn't mind waiting about fifteen more minutes when Kuroko's class ended.
“Don’t worry.” The taller one said, helping to carry the surfboard as they headed to a secluded spot near some rocks on the beach, where Kuroko had left his backpack.
The sun was beginning to set almost completely and the breeze began to grow stronger and cooler, causing Kagami no more than a slight movement at the change in temperature, but Kuroko shuddered noticeably as he was wearing nothing but gray swim trunks.
“Hurry up, idiot, otherwise you're going to catch a cold.” Kagami snorted, watching as Kuroko desperately grabbed his towel to dry his hair and torso before taking his dry t-shirt and hoodie out of his backpack and putting them on.
He put on his flip-flops and slung his backpack over his shoulder while Kagami adjusted the surfboard's leash, and then they both started walking towards a cluster of houses and apartments perched on a hill in the distance; there were both Kuroko's house and Kagami's apartment, about a twenty-minute walk from the beach.
“Have a new recipe that I want you to try.” Kagami said, trying to sound casual as they climbed the uneven, cobbled path up a hill surrounded by palm trees, which they used as a shortcut.
“I'm always Kagami kun’s guinea pig.” Kuroko let out an empty voice, but Kagami perceived the slight feigned annoyance in his voice.
“Don't pretend, dumbass, you like everything I cook.”
Kuroko chuckled, unbothered by contradicting Kagami; it wasn't a lie at all.
“What did you come up with this time, Kagami-kun?” He asked, glancing sideways at the taller one, intrigued.
“Tataki, but marinated in passion fruit and yuzu sauce, will be something sweet and sour.” Kagami smiled. “Just need to perfect it a little. Come for dinner tomorrow.”
Kuroko didn't show any doubt about Kagami's recipe. He'd learned that no matter how odd Kagami's recipe ideas were, they always ended up tasting good.
He nodded in agreement with the plan, continuing to walk until reached the residential area. From there, the walk home was very short.
“There's only one month left.” Kuroko said, referring to the regional surfing tournament that he and Kagami had been training for for half a year, becoming increasingly demanding. “I've heard that talent scouts might be coming this year. We should do our best to make it to the finals.”
That only served to fan the flames of ambition and competitiveness already burning brightly in Kagami. “We will be the best in the tournament and in all of Japan.” Kagami smiled, raising his fist, which Kuroko bumped without thinking.
“Shall we meet tomorrow at six in the morning?” Kuroko asked as they turned onto the street where their paths diverged.
“As always.”
“Don’t be late.”
“Ha? But you're the one who isn't a morning person.” Kagami raised an eyebrow, playfully punching Kuroko's shoulder before the other smiled discreetly.
“See you tomorrow, Kagami-kun.” The shorter boy took his surfboard, thanking the red head for carrying it, and started walking to the right, down the quiet street where his house was. Kagami watched him walk a moment longer before turning left, toward his apartment.
.....
The sky was still somewhat dark, but the first hints of pale blue were already beginning to appear over the horizon.
Kagami arrived at the beach in dark blue swim trunks and a black tank top, feeling the cool sand beneath his feet and his hands trembling with excitement. He'd barely slept, longing for this, and wasn't sure if by "this" he meant surfing or surfing with Kuroko. But tried not to dwell on it. He was simply excited.
The beach was practically deserted, with only the occasional woman or man jogging along the sand and disappearing into the distance. All was peaceful; the sea had gentle waves, and a few local birds were calling.
He was barely acclimating to the fresh morning air when the gentle "Good morning, Kagami-kun" and Kuroko magically appearing to his right made him jump and scream in surprise.
“Stop that, goddamnit!” Taiga growled feeling his heart racing.
“It's not something I do on purpose, Kagami-kun.” The shorter one answered seriously, though Kagami knew deep down that he enjoyed seeing people jump in fright.
He'd lost count of how many times the little bastard had given him mini heart attacks and screams unbecoming of a 6'3" twenty-year-old.
Kuroko headed towards the same rock as yesterday. Took off his loose white t-shirt and pulled out a small tube of sunscreen, applying some to his face, chest, and arms.
Kagami followed him and removed his tank top as well, carefully observing how Kuroko's torso revealed slightly defined pectorals and abs, as well as obliques, before disappearing into the waistband of his turquoise swim trunks.
His biceps and slightly broad back also stood out subtly, his pale skin there tinged a little reddish by a mild sunburn.
The boy was nowhere near as muscular or toned as him, but neither was he as skinny as Kagami had thought at first.
The line along his lower back caught Kagami's eye, eventually settling on the shorter man's slender waist.
A minute later, he subtly forced himself to look away, realizing that staring at someone like that while applying sunscreen wasn't very appropriate.
It was a habit he had acquired in the last month, when he had begun to feel a strange sensation in his stomach when Kuroko was very close, like now.
"Do you want sunscreen?" Kuroko offered, catching Kagami off guard with embarrassment. The redhead stammered as he accepted the tube and absentmindedly applied the sunscreen to his arms and face. He wasn't particularly worried about sunburn, though.
"Ready?" Taiga asked once they had both waxed their surfboards and Kuroko had put on a long-sleeved black rashguard. A firm nod from Kuroko was enough for them to start walking towards the sea, and soon they were running with the salty breeze on their faces.
Both were greeted by the crashing waves and the icy water as they climbed onto their surfboards and swam out to sea, unable to wait any longer.
It was Kagami who caught the first wave of the morning on his bright red and black surfboard, with wild energy and tight turns and cutbacks, laughing as the spray from the wave lashed him. The initial calm transformed into pure adrenaline and excitement, ending with an alley-oop.
Kuroko didn't lag behind, taking the next one with a perfect, balanced floater that brought a satisfied smile to his face as he performed it, knowing it was the most difficult trick for Kagami.
"Big-headed." Taiga snarled.
“It was Kagami-Kun who started it.”
"Are ya’ challenge me, shorty?" Kagami's eyes sparkled, already looking for another wave to surf, and as expected, within a minute they were competing.
Kagami didn't hesitate to show off his skills with a smug smile, while Kuroko, unlike him, maintained a neutral expression, but he too didn't hold back in his movements, a playful glint in his eyes as he noticed Kagami watching him.
They rarely fall or fail; they only lose the wave if one of them steals it. They had the sea to themselves.
Taiga had barely finished a frontal snap, the crest of the wave breaking and disappearing into the sea with a trail of foam, when she saw a wave beginning to form in the distance, a very huge one.
“Mine!” Kagami shouted.
“I don’t think so.” Kuroko responded, suddenly appearing next to the other man, already swimming towards the wave.
“Don’t you dare, little bastard.” Kagami He gritted his teeth and swam as fast as he could to catch up with Kuroko.
They swam almost side by side in perfect sync, staring intently at each other. Kagami was ready to take off, but hadn't counted on Kuroko diving and slipping away to end up in front of him and take the lead on the crest of the wave with a fluid turn in the blink of an eye.
He started with a bottom turn, followed by a backside snap with total control of his hips and legs, not wasting an inch of the massive wave. Then he settled himself with insulting ease into a clean barrel as the wave closed in an arc above his head. His hand grazed the wall of water in a groove before he surfaced with perfect balance, chaining together tight, aggressive turns before popping out to finish with a 360-degree frontside air that lifted him high.
The blue-haired boy landed perfectly on his surfboard, with a fluidity and grace that Kagami had never seen in any other surfer, not even in California, where he had learned to surf.
“Amazing.” Was what Kagami thought but all he could say was “Damn it!” from behind.
“I think I’ve won.” Tetsuya smirked.
Then Kagami, seeing Kuroko's undisguised smile, extended his leg and playfully kicked Kuroko, making the shorter fall into the water with a gasp of surprise.
Kuroko appeared with his hair smoothed down over his forehead. "You're so childish, Kagami-kun." He muttered, with something more like a pout than a frown that only made Kagami laugh even harder.
As they chased bigger waves, they drifted further and further from the coast; the beach was no longer visible, only the immense ocean surrounding them with its deep blue waters.
After two hours, both boys were sitting on their surfboards, floating side by side, swaying with the sea's tide.
The gentle current drew them closer until their legs brushed against each other underwater. Kagami felt that strange sensation creep into his stomach, along with a tightness in his chest that made his heart race, as he felt Kuroko's skin against his own, soft and cool beneath the water. Kuroko didn't seem to mind the closeness. Neither of them moved away.
The bluenette even had the nerve to say that "this is nice" causing a mess in Kagami's mind, not knowing if Kuroko was referring to the scenery, since he was looking towards some point in the distance, or if he was talking about being there aimlessly at sea, or if he meant being so close to each other, or something else!
“Kuroko...” Kagami stuttered. He wanted to express how strange he felt, the nervousness and the calm he felt at that moment having him so close, already having an idea of what it could mean.
“Yes?” Kuroko stared at him, tilted his head slightly.
“I…I-”
Both surfboards moved with a strong jolt from below, strong enough to unbalance Kagami and aggressively throw Kuroko into the water.
“Kuroko!” Kagami screamed bewildered, seeing no trace of the blue-haired one.
He surely didn't hear the heart-wrenching scream that Kuroko let out underwater as he felt as if millions of needles were being embedded in his leg, smashing it.
Seconds later, he emerged almost drowning, without knowing what had happened, only feeling a burning and tremendous pain in the leg
“Kuroko!” Kagami appeared. It didn't take much effort for him to put his arm around Teysuya to help him onto his surfboard, since Kuroko's one was...
That's when Taiga notices the strange shape of a bite on Kuroko's white surfboard floating a couple of meters away.
Before he could say anything, he heard the shorter one's labored, agitated breathing.
“Kagami-kun…I don’t feel good.”
Then Kagami noticed the blood. Streams are gushing from Kuroko's left leg.