#kagakuro came later

[wingroad]

7 DAYS OF TENIPURI: Day 3: Favorite ship: Shishido/Ootori a.k.a Silver Pair 

[jubesy]

so much angst in those i cannot..... but can I throw 3 for you?

Because your writing is so amazing, I'm curious what you're gonna do with them. No pressure ><

4 for KagaKuro

37 for MidoTaka 

47 for AkaFuri

Thank you for the ask, dear Anon! I tried to keep them short, but they got progressively longer with each one, haha. (Two of them are mirrored on ao3 for length, haha)

KagaKuro #4 “Is that my shirt?”

MidoTaka #37 “Because I love you, damn it!” - Ao3 mirror

AkaFuri #47 “Go on, I dare you.” - Ao3 mirror

KagaKuro #4 “Is that my shirt?”

“And then Tatsuya had this stupid idea to--” Kagami stopped mid-sentence, mid-story, as he walked into the bedroom. He and Kuroko had rushed back to their dorm after the sky had opened up, drenching them instantly. And Kagami had been reminiscing about a time when he and his brother had gotten caught in a similar situation. 

But all thoughts of an interrupted game of one-on-one fled from Kagami’s mind as he took in the sight before him. He’d seen Kuroko in various states of undress since they’d become roommates. It made sense, considering they attended the same college in L.A. and, the more obvious reason, they were dating. But this was new.

“Is that my shirt?” Kagami asked, gaze roaming his boyfriend’s form. Kuroko’s hair was still damp, stray droplets falling from the tips and plopping onto the soft cotton of Kagami’s oversize shirt, which was hanging off of one of Kuroko’s shoulders.

“I was cold and I opened one of your drawers in my haste,” Kuroko explained, blinking up at Kagami with large eyes. “Are you upset, Kagami-kun?” 

Was he upset? A warm flush bloomed on Kagami’s cheeks, spreading down his neck to his chest. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze from where it had gotten stuck on the pale skin just above Kuroko’s collarbone. “Nope. All good.”

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More drabbles below the cut :D

MidoTaka #37 “Because I love you, damn it!”

“Ouch!” Takao hissed and placed a hand over his eye. He was helping the underclassmen get more ice for their water bottles, when a kohai opened one of the bags rather overenthusiastically and sent a shard straight at Takao’s face.

“Senpai, I’m so sor--”

“Takao!” Midorima was suddenly right beside him, gripping his arm to keep him upright. “What happened?” His voice was high and panicked. Takao had never heard him sound like that before.

“It’s okay, Shin-chan,” he assured him. “I just got some ice in my eye,” he explained. It did burn though.

“I’m taking him to the hospital,” Midorima informed their coach and captain. “Please excuse us.”

Takao didn’t have a chance to argue, to say he was fine with just going to the school nurse, because he was being whisked away, thrown in the back of the old rickshaw and brought to the Emergency Room.

Several routine tests and a visit from the doctor later, Takao was finally free to go. He hesitantly walked back out to the waiting room, feeling a bit self-conscious about the patch over his left eye.

Midorima jumped up the moment he spotted him, a pained look on his Ace’s face.

“It’s just for a couple weeks,” Takao explained, gesturing toward the patch. “The ice scratched my cornea,” he went on, afraid to meet Midorima’s gaze. “They gave me some drops and--” He was cut off when Midorima engulfed him in a tight hug.

“Thank God,” Midorima breathed, squeezing him tight. “If you’d been blinded, I--”

“Would be pretty bummed, huh, Shin-chan?” Takao finished for him. “Losing your precious partner and all.” He bit his lip at the thought of it. Of how, without his eyes, he was worthless to Midorima. How could they stand on the same court if he had nothing to offer? “So, you’ll have to put up with some lousy passes until I heal--”

“Takao.” Midorima’s voice was suddenly cold. He pulled back, glaring down at him. “You can’t think the reason I was--”

“Wasn’t it?” Takao interrupted, his voice cracking. He was tired and his eye burned. He blinked back tears. He probably shouldn’t be crying, but it was hard. If only he’d been more careful. “Aren’t you angry because I nearly ruined--”

Midorima hugged him again, gripping his back. “You didn’t ruin anything,” he said. “And I’m not angry with you, Takao,” he added. “I was worried.”

“Worried?” Takao questioned against his chest. He gave a watery, self-depreciating laugh. “Because you’d have to find a new partner?”

“Because I love you, damn it!” Midorima shouted, clearly not caring that they were in the middle of the E.R. waiting area. “Is it abnormal for someone to worry about the person they love?”

Takao blinked and then the tears he’d been holding back started to fall. He’d misunderstood. He shouldn’t have doubted his Shin-chan. “Sorry I worried you,” he whispered. But Midorima didn’t answer. He just held him tighter.

AkaFuri #47 “Go on, I dare you.” 

Despite being on a team that had taken the Winter Cup and giving his all on the court no matter what, Furihata was not a competitive person. Well, in everyday life, that was. Basketball was one thing, but when it came to things like friendship and, ahem, dating, Furihata was happy to go at the other person’s pace.

But then Akashi came into his life and turned everything upside down. 

Now, it wasn’t as if Furihata could one-up the great Akashi Seijuurou. There was no way. Akashi had resources and connections. Furihata had...friends. And they were great friends, mind you! But it wasn’t like Kawahara could lend him his helicopter to take Akashi on a sky tour of Tokyo. And Fukuda didn’t have a spare hundred grand to lend him to buy something that Akashi might not already own.

Even so, Furihata didn’t want to be the only one on the receiving end.

But what did someone get for the guy who had it all? What could Furihata surprise him with that Akashi hadn’t already experienced? What could only Furihata do?

“You’ve been awfully quiet tonight, Kouki,” Akashi said from his spot across the table. They were having dinner on the rooftop of the tallest building in Kyoto. It had a lovely view. And their dessert had been brought to them by a professional skydiver.

“I’m just thinking,” Furihata replied with a weak smile.

“What about?” Akashi cocked his head to the side. He looked completely calm and collected, the only tell that he was worried being the slight crease in his brow. “Is the cake not to your liking?”

Furihata chuckled. “It’s perfect, Sei,” he assured him. “Everything is perfect.”

“But…?” 

He couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips. “But…I just wish I could do something more for you,” he admitted.

Akashi raised his glass to his lips, his intense crimson gaze never leaving Furihata’s as he drank. “Just being able to meet is more than--”

“Sei,” Furihata interrupted and then sighed. “I love spending time with you, as well. I just meant...I want to give you something.”

Akashi set his glass down. “Gifts are not necessary, Kouki.”

“You give me gifts all the time,” Furihata pointed out.

“Only when we’re celebrating,” Akashi tried to argue.

“You just gave me a designer watch,” Furihata said flatly. “Because it’s the anniversary of the first time we used each other’s given names.” 

“Well, that’s--”

“And it’s the fifth one,” Furihata continued. “I only have two wrists, Sei,” he sighed and then, with a snort, added, “You want me to look like Bananas Gorilla?”

“Who?” Akashi furrowed his brow.

Darn Furihata’s older brother and his love of old American cartoons.

“Anyway, it’s hard to compete.” Furihata rubbed his temples.

“It’s not a competition, Kouki.” 

“Says the guy who’s winning.” Furihata sighed again. “Sei, I just want to surprise you with something wonderful. Like you do for me.”

Akashi looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. “Then do it.” 

“Sei?”  

“Surprise me,” Akashi said. “No matter what it is, if it’s from you, Kouki, I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Furihata blinked. He hadn’t considered that. Furihata had loved every gift he’d received from Akashi. Not because it was something he necessarily wanted or needed. But because it was from his loving boyfriend.

“All right, then,” Furihata said. “I’ll take that challenge.” He reached across the table and took one of Akashi’s hands in his. “Get ready to be swept off of your feet.” He swallowed. “If that’s okay.”

Akashi laughed and brushed his thumb over Furihata’s knuckles. “Go on,” he urged. “I dare you.”

Request a drabble here!

[darkisucksanditwrites]

Special Day

HAPPY KAGAKURO DAY KIDS. heres a short fic. enjoy. remember to drink your milkshakes 

“And then I managed to pass three guys at once and score a buzzer.”

“Really.”

“Nah it was two.”

Kuroko laughed and Kagami’s lips twitched at the sound, his chest suddenly warm and light.

“I’m glad you’re getting along with your new team.” Kuroko mused.

“Yeah.” Taiga glanced at the bedside clock. It was almost midnight in L.A which meant it was the middle of the day in Tokyo. Kuroko didn’t have any classes today since they got cancelled and texted Taiga that if he wanted and had the time they could skype.

Taiga was actually slogging through his boring, economics homework and when he saw a text from Kuroko he dropped everything and immediately called back. That was two hours ago and he was starting to get sleepy now but being able to hear Kuroko’s voice on the other side of the world for longer than twenty minutes was of highest importance and he pushed away the moment of saying goodnight in time for as long as he could.

But Kuroko was Kuroko and he knew everything.

“Taiga-kun should get some sleep. You probably need to wake up early and finish your homework.”

Taiga made a face.

“How did you-you know what? Don’t answer that.”

Kuroko hummed on the other side.

“Lucky guess.”

Taiga groaned.

“I told you!”

Kuroko chuckled.

“You didn’t have to call me immediately you know? What if I was in a compromising position?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Like in the shower?”

Taiga snorted.

“Then I would ask for you to facetime with me.”

Kuroko laughed again and Taiga grinned despite the warm blush on his cheeks. Flirting was still weird, but sometimes it was easier like this.

“My phone is not waterproof.”

“Damn. Then I’ll buy you one. For Christmas.”

Instead of laughing Kuroko just hummed and went silent.

“You’re coming for Christmas.” It was a confirmation and not a question.

“Yeah.”

“Two weeks?”

“Two weeks.”

The unspoken too short hung between them.

Good ten minutes passed without them speaking a word, both of them kind of lost in each other’s thoughts.

For other people it might seem awkward, but Kagami never thought that. Neither of them were particular chatterboxes, and being able to just spend some time in silence together while each of them did their own thing was…very comforting. They did that all the time in high school and that didn’t really change when they started dating as well.

That was one of these things Kagami never had with anyone before Kuroko. Not even with Tatsuya and definitely not with Alex.

Alex sometimes couldn’t get the hint and shut up.

And being silent through the phone was apparently the most awkward thing to some people, Taiga not being an exception when it came to people who weren’t Kuroko.

For most of his life he preferred texting or face to face interaction, but since he went to college in L.A he found himself missing and craving Kuroko’s voice.

Taiga let the silence wash over him and put the phone on speaker in case Kuroko wanted to say something.

Laying on his back he started looking up the newest phone models and he grinned a bit. Kuroko’s phone was old and battered so this would be a good Christmas gift idea. It would be an additional jab at him if he got him a waterproof phone just for the sake of it.

“Taiga-kun.” His name was spoken in a low, soft tone and Taiga’s eyes softened.

“Yeah?” He said as he bookmarked one of the results for later.

“Taiga-kun.”

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s up.”

“Nothing, I just felt like saying your name.”

Taiga blinked and then yelped suddenly when the phone he was just holding in his hand smacked him in the face.

“Ow. Fuck.”

“Taiga-kun?”

Kagami felt himself blush, but he tried to play it off as nothing and pressed the phone back to his ear.

“Yeah?”

“Did you just drop your phone on your face?”

Damn it.

“How do you even know these things? You’re not even here!”

“I’m psychic.” Kuroko said and Kagami rolled his eyes.

“No, you’re just an asshole.”

Kuroko laughed quietly.

Taiga rubbed his nose but he couldn’t stay mad at his boyfriend when he was being like that; playful and sweet.

Even when he was a bit of an ass.

Little shit.

Kuroko’s giggle went quieter and quieter until the other side went silent.

“Tet-“ Kagami stopped when he heard the barely audible, barely there, yet familiar sound.

He gaped.

“Did you just kiss the phone?”

Kuroko huffed and Taiga could just imagine how his face turned a very fetching shade of pink while his lips curved in a pout.

“Well, I’m not there to kiss it better right? So we have to make do.”

Taiga groaned, covering his eyes, before he started laughing.

“Still a little shit and still embarrassing.”

Kuroko made an offended noise on the other side, but Kagami knew he was smiling anyway.

They bickered back and forth for a bit longer, until Kagami couldn’t hide his yawn anymore.

“Taiga-kun. Sleep.”

“Taiga-kun sleep.” Kagami mocked Kuroko’s voice and he could practically hear Kuroko’s eyes roll.

“Don’t blame me for falling your classes.”

Kagami harrumped.

“Well, then…stay with me until I fall asleep.”

Silence.

“Stay?” Kagami repeated.

“Are you sure?”

Taiga shrugged.

“Sure. My dad is gonna kill me for the phone bill but I don’t care. I wanna hear your voice.”

His face was probably crimson and he swallowed, but he didn’t care.

Kuroko stayed silent.

“Hey? You there?”

“I am.” Kuroko said in a small voice. “I was just thinking that Taiga-kun is the psychic.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to call you myself today. To be able to hear your voice.”

Taiga dropped his hand from where it was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“You know what? I don’t even have anything to say to that. Just…talk to me until I fall asleep?”

“Alright.” Kuroko said and did as Taiga asked. He talked about his day, about school about his family, about Seirin and his middle school teammates.

He talked about Nigou and his small attempts at cooking new things and many other insignificant little things which were so very important to Taiga.

Before he knew he feel asleep, phone pressed to his ear, and lulled by Kuroko’s voice.

Tetsuya appeared on the airport out of nowhere, like he always did whenever Taiga was involved.

One moment Taiga was texting Alex and Tatsuya that he arrived and looking around for his blue haired boyfriend, not being able to spot him anywhere, and in the next he was standing a few feet away from him, smiling and waiting patiently.

It was like the mass of people spread itself like the red sea and lo and behold there was Tetsuya.

Kagami froze then, seeing Kuroko in the flesh for the first time in over ten months and not on the screen of his phone or laptop.

It was…moving. To say the least.

He let go of his suitcase, hearing how it dropped to the ground. His backpack also slid from his arm hitting the floor.

Tetsuya was still smiling and Taiga’s hands were twitching.

“Welcome home Taiga-ku-mmgmfm.”

Taiga has always been fast when on court and his training with the new team and coach developed his skill even more, to the point that he thought he actually took Kuroko by surprise.

At least according to the way his eyes went huge and how he definitely didn’t expect Taiga to lunge himself at him, mouth sealing over Kuroko’s and kissing him until he kissed back.

“We’re in public.” Tetsuya panted when they broke away, thin strand of saliva connecting them for a second before it broke.

Taiga would believe that it bothered him. If it did, then why were his hands fisted painfully in his hair at the back of his head?

“Look around. No one cares.”

Kuroko sneaked a glance around and had to confirm Kagami’s assessment.

Taiga angled his head back to him and made sure Kuroko didn’t think about anything else but him for a little while longer.

When someone bumped hard into Taiga and he tripped, almost falling while still holding Kuroko in his arms, only then did they break the kiss.

Tetsuya laughed into his throat, hands squeezing around Kagami’s neck.

Taiga couldn’t help but smile to himself. Way better than over the phone.

“Let’s go home Taiga-kun.”

“Yeah.” Kagami said and slid his backpack back on, grabbed his suitcase in one hand and Kuroko’s hand on the other.

“Let’s go home.”

[tetsucchin]

Of Something Old and Something Blue - Chapter Two

Summary: Kagami doesn’t want to get married. Let alone to a corpse that won’t stay dead. But sometimes weddings don’t go the way people want, and sometimes there are grave misunderstandings.

Rating: T for terrifying creepy crawlies

Chapter: 2/5

Word Count: 3500+

Pairings: KagaKuro (brief mentions of MidoTaka/AoMomo/HyuuRiko later)

A/N: Happy Halloween, everybody!! I was actually going to have a bit more to this, but I thought that might be overload for one chapter. Good news for that though! I should have the next chapter out tomorrow or the next day, since it’s mostly written already. Thank you guys for reading, you’re the best. <3

AO3

“Are you sure he’s alright, Midorima-kun?”

Kagami was swimming. His head was fuzzy, somewhere neither here nor there, and unable to focus. There were so many voices around him, blending together into a cacophony of sound. Except one voice stood out, gentle and soft, and Kagami latched onto it.

“He’s fine. He’ll come around soon.”

“He’s a breather? Why didn’t you say so, Kurokocchi?”

“Leave it to Tetsu to bring a breather. This should be good.”

“Please be quiet, Aomine-kun,” the same gentle voice said. “I think he’s waking up.”

He tried to crack his eyes open, even though his body didn’t want to cooperate. His vision was bleary, just smears of colors and shapeless faces. The first thing he saw was blue hovering over him. So much blue that he felt like he was drowning and resuscitating at the same time.

His gaze shifted away to the other person above him. And all he saw was yellow. Golden eyes that matched blonde hair, framed neatly into a fine suit of pinstripes and silk ties. A sunshine smile sat against the rotting color of his skin.

Kagami’s eyes snapped open as a scream lodged in his throat.

He was blinded by the color that exploded across his irises—neon greens, luminescent purples, startling reds. Later, he’d realize it was a bar, with kaleidoscopic bottles and crooked stools. In the back of his mind, he thought it was incredible compared to his greyscale life.

But at the time, all he could focus on was the patrons.

The very dead patrons.

A rainbow of skeletons and dead bodies surrounded him, missing limbs and eyes and even heads entirely. Their skeletal grins met his terrified stare, greeting him as if he were an old friend visiting. Between the spiders crawling up the walls, the roaches at home on the tables, and the cadavers looking at him, Kagami’s spine was little more than a jelly rod.

“Hello!” the yellow-eyed corpse chimed, all cheerful and decaying daisies. “Welcome to our bar!”

Adrenaline and terror shot down to Kagami’s first, sending it hurtling towards the man’s face. He barely dodged out of the way with a shriek. Grabbing hold of the blue-eyed corpse, he hid behind him with a pout.

“Kurokocchi! You brought a crazy one!”

“He’s not crazy, Kise-kun. He’s in shock.”

“Where the hell am I?!” His voice echoed, but it was still drowned by the chatter and music.

“I told you, you’re in our bar!” His yellow eyes widened in understanding. “Oh! But for you, I guess it’s more like an underworld. We’re all dead!” His voice suddenly wilted, “Even though I used to not be dead.”

Kagami blanched. “I’m dead?!”

The other figure—the corpse from before, his mind unhelpfully supplied—moved to knock the yellow-eyed man in the ribs, producing an unsettling arrangement of xylophone cracks. “Not now, Kise-kun.”

Then those blue eyes were on him again, and his hands started shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or fascination. Either way, he was just as trapped in that unblinking gaze as he had been in the forest.

“Please calm down. You’re not dead. I brought you here.” He was calm and composed, his palm held out to Kagami. His voice was light, feathery around the syllables, and soothing, like water to a burn.

But that didn’t stop Kagami from nearly shrieking when he saw the hand held out to him was all bone.

“Why would you bring me here?!” He punctuated each word with a backwards scoot across squeaky floorboards.

“Well,” the corpse said, as if it were obvious. “A corpse certainly can’t carry a body into town. People would talk.”

“I told you he would freak, Tetsu. They always do.”

He snapped around towards the bar, where dark-skinned man with navy eyes scowled at him. The man looked normal enough, or at least his skin was a normal color and he wore some type of officer’s uniform instead of a suit. But when he knocked back his drink of choice, it started to leak out of pinholes on the front of his shirt, like a balloon poked with needles.

It was too much. It was really, really too much.

Quick thinking had never been Kagami’s strong suit, but instinct was. So he scrambled off the ground and reached for the first object that could be used as a weapon. His hand wrapped around what could be the hilt of a sword, ready to bash anybody’s head in.

“Get back! Right now! I have—” He jerked to bring the handle forward, only for it to barely budge.

Confused, he turned to look, and realized it was indeed a sword. A sword that was attached to a person. Through a person.

He almost screamed again. But he had to make do with what he had. Fight or flight.

“I, uh… I have this dwarf! I’ll use him!” Kagami cried, yanking the sword harder so the redhead attached moved with it. He started to consider picking the shorter up and just tossing him at the crowd, when his red hair began to swivel. A heterochromatic set of red and gold eyes craned completely backwards to glare at him, the intent to kill pouring from him.

“You will release me. Now.”

Another strangled screech left his throat as he dropped the sword, backing away as quickly as he could. He tried to back up until he hit a door, then keep backing up until he ended up somewhere that made sense. Unfortunately, all he managed to do was bump into someone—something—else.

He turned, and his gaze went up and up and up, staring at what had to be a giant with purple hair. Purple hair and an incredibly large knife stuck in his head, blade and handle jutting out from his temple. The giant leaned towards Kagami with a plate of what he would say were pastries, if pastries came with centipedes sprinkled on them.

“Kuro-chin,” he drawled, “your husband is trying to leave.”

“H-h-husband?!” Kagami immediately backed the other way.

“He’s not my husband, Murasakibara-kun,” the corpse interjected. “We haven’t gotten to know each other yet.”

Jaw dropping, he barked to the pale blue figure. “What do you mean yet?!”

Suddenly, a clang of piano keys rang out, as if someone slammed their hands down all at once. Kagami thought the music had been coming from a record player, but it was with the sound he realized it came from a grand piano in the corner of the room. It was occupied by a man with skin the color of sickness, as he peered over the top of his music sheet with a scowl.

“Kuroko,” he said, pushing up his cracked glasses with a bandaged hand, “could you silence him? He’s as loud as Kise when he first arrived.”

“I wasn’t that bad!” the yellow man protested.

“You cried for a week about how you were too young to die.”

“I was too young to die!”

“He’s adjusting, Midorima-kun,” the blue corpse bowed in apology. “It’s normal for the living to yell during this, I believe.”

“Forgive me, sir!” someone interrupted from beside Kagami. When he turned to look, he felt all the blood rush from his face, his head reeling.

A head. It was just a head, carried on a platter by a headless body.

“You must be terribly thirsty!” it continued. “Can I get you anything? I am the head waiter around here.”

No. No, no, no. Fuck this.

Kagami had seen enough. He had heard enough. He was ready to leave. Now.

So he ran. His feet took off towards the nearest door, all but ripping it off its hinges as he tore into the street.

The last thing he heard was the gentle voice of blue eyes again, saying, “Izuki-senpai, your bad joke scared him off.”

Once outside, he thought that everything would turn back to normal. He’d step back through whatever hallucinatory portal he’d come through, and wake back up in his bed where his biggest concern was some dumb wedding. That was not going to happen, not after all this.

But nothing was ever that easy.

Instead, he was in the middle of a dilapidated town of dynamic polychrome. Each building was a different color, crooked and slanting in ways that defied physics, and yet had creatures entering and leaving. Everything looked so different, but it all looked the same to him. The decaying signposts covered in spider webs didn’t help either, as they pointed places with creepy names Kagami was sure he didn’t want to visit.

He picked a random cobblestone road and took off, dodging ghost carriages and skeleton horses. He didn’t bother to look back, and didn’t even bother to look where he was running, just so long as it was the opposite direction of the bar.

Which made him bump into someone.

“Sorry!” he yelled out of reflex.

The man looked normal. His eyes were closed shut, but there was no rotting skin, no weapons poking out of his body. Just an average looking guy on his average way like he was in an average town.

Until the man tipped his whole head to the side, a sliver of skin the only thing keeping it attached.

“It’s alright! Are you lost? Can I help you?”

Kagami grit his teeth against another scream, and took off running without saying another word.

He ran and ran, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t escape this upside-down world. He came across three corpses on a street corner—two with brown hair and one bald—playing instruments in a cheerful beat. It took quite a leap for him to make it over their cello made of bones. Then there was a couple, a small girl and a guy with bent glasses on his nose, who were admiring coffins. When he avoided them, he ended up knocking over several caskets and apologized on instinct again.

Eventually, when his breath grew heavy, he came to a set of stairs. If this wasn’t a dream, and he really was in hell, then going up would be the best way out, right? He bounded up the stairs, taking three or four at a time. He was almost there, breaching the top, where home would be another step closer.

When the blue corpse appeared out of nowhere, like he’d been waiting there the whole time.

Kagami tried to do an about-face and run back down, only for his feet to skid on the steps. His arms pin wheeled as he tried to catch himself, but he could already feel himself start plunging. Gravity clawed at him, dragging him back into the depths of hell.

He was going to die. He was going to die, and wake up in the same damn place.

A hand of bones reached out and snatched the lapels of his suit, leaving him parallel to the ground. Another hand as cold as death grabbed his wrist. With a grip stronger than he expected from the dead, he was hauled back up onto solid ground.

As soon as he was on both feet, the corpse huffed out a huge breath, bending over to rest his hands on his knees. “Please be more careful. I’m not very strong and we may both end up at the bottom next time.”

Kagami glanced back and forth between the dead man before him and the stairs of death behind him. Red caught on blue as they stared at each other. For a moment, it felt like they didn’t need words at all, like they could have an entire conversation through gazes and irises.

It was interrupted by a blink. “Are you okay?”

“…You’re a corpse.” Kagami said dumbly.

“I am dead, yes,” blue eyes said, dusting off his suit. “I’d like if you didn’t remind me.”

He was about to ask how he could possibly forget that of all things, with his skin a mystifying blue, metacarpals for a hand, and a hole in his cheek.

But then the worst thing he’d seen in his life, worse than anything he’d seen in this hellish landscape, stepped from around the corpse’s ankle.

It was small, its tiny nails clacking on concrete as it bounced in place. A bandage was wrapped around its middle, tied in a neat bow on its back, matching the one fastened on its left ear. It was all black, white, and wagging tail, with a neat set of stitches around its paws. Most unsettling of all, its eyes were just as blue and unblinking as the corpse beside it.

He stared in horror, nose wrinkled. “What is that? What the hell is that?”

The corpse bent down and actually picked up the little monster, scratching behind its ears as the beast licked his face.

“This is Nigou. He helped me find you.”

“That is a demon.”

A pout crossed undead lips as he looked to Kagami in surprise, wrinkle forming on his forehead. “Please be nicer when addressing Nigou.”

Kagami balked so hard he nearly fell back down the stairs.

“Be nicer?! You want me to be nicer?! After you’ve dragged me to—to whatever the hell this place is! While you’re a corpse, I’m possibly dead, and that’s a dog!”

The corpse blinked. “Do you not like dogs?”

“No, I don’t, but that’s not the point!”

Those blue eyes just stared at him (both sets of them actually) and Kagami felt like he was walking into a thick fog. He had no idea where he was going, no concept of anything outside of those eyes. While it was terrifying, chills racing down his neck, he still found himself creeping closer. Like all those times before, when he looked for too long, he started drowning.

Anyone, whether dead or not, who would risk themselves to help someone else couldn’t be all bad. Kagami felt it in his gut, and he decided to trust that.

“You’re…Kuroko? Tetsu?” He rubbed at his nape. “That’s what they called you back there.”

The corpse made a face. “Please don’t call me Tetsu.” Then he bowed. “I am Kuroko Tetsuya. But I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”

“Kagami. Kagami Taiga.”

“Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said, testing the syllables. “What a strange name.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna be called strange by you.”

Kuroko paused. Then actually laughed. It was such a light and airy sound, chiming around them with quiet mirth. Kagami couldn’t help but smile back it was so infectious.

When his laughter died down, Kuroko glanced at him before walking off in the opposite direction. Kagami stood there, staring after his too graceful steps. He…wasn’t going to just leave him here, was he? He took a few steps after him without thinking, mouth working around words he didn’t know to say.

Nigou still tucked under his arm, Kuroko looked back and gestured with his head. “Come with me for a moment, please.”

He shouldn’t. He had no reason to.

But Kagami followed him.

Tugging at his tie as they walked down streets and up more stairs, Kuroko led him to a clearing with a bench. It was surrounded by coffins and empty urns, but it was simple. Just a plain wooden bench made of jagged planks, so normal that Kagami nearly wept.

Then he saw the view, and his breath left him.

They were on an overhang, looking out over the entire nightmare town. A million stars twinkled over the kaleidoscope landscape, as bright and vibrant a place as Kagami had ever dreamed. The crooked rainbow of buildings glimmered like a smile, the roofs like teeth as people walked into its gaping jaw.

“Wow…”

A thunk sounded out behind him. His focus switched back to the corpse that led him here, who had taken up residence on the bench. His skeleton hand picked up a skull, one of the many random remains that were littered everywhere, tossed it at one of the urns. He missed spectacularly, but it hopped back for him to try again.

Kagami realized he was staring, head tilted and brows furrowed in a confused scowl. Kuroko’s free hand patted the seat beside him, an unspoken invitation left to Kagami’s discretion. He chalked it up to whatever temporary insanity he was suffering, and took his place on the bench as skulls were continuously thrown at urns.

“What the hell are you doing?” he finally asked.

“It’s a game I made up. To pass the time.” Another shot, another miss. “Every time I make it, I get two points.”

Kagami watched him curiously as he missed shot after shot. “You’re not very good, are you?”

“I’m the best player there is.”

“It’s because you’re the only player, isn’t it?”

By the twitch of pale lips, he knew he was right.

He watched until his hand trembled, as if it subconsciously yearned to join in. Like everything else, he knew that he shouldn’t, especially since he still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t a hellish fever dream. But his mouth was moving before he thought any better.

“Hey, lemme try. But maybe with something less dead?”

Kuroko paused and blinked up at him.

He flushed. “Fine! At least something that’s not a skull!”

Kuroko searched around his seat, then handed him some stray sheets of paper with his bony hand. Kagami snatched them before wadding them up, crushing a sheet between his palms. He tossed one towards an urn. It sunk in perfectly.

He really, really liked that.

There was something captivating and fun about it, something that felt right. Enough so that he grabbed another sheet of paper right after. Crumped it, then sunk it again effortlessly. Something sparked to life inside him, somewhere deep. An ember catching fire.

They sat together without saying much of anything. The only sound were the clunk of skulls and the rustle of papers, as they pitched their projectiles one after another after another. Kagami kept a mental tally of how many points they each had. Fourteen for him, two for his dead companion. Eventually, a skull was thrown and it didn’t return.

Turning to him with a smirk, Kagami teased, “I guess I’m the best player now, huh?”

Kagami could see the twitch of Kuroko’s lips through the hole in his cheek. “Maybe it was a terrible idea to bring you here, I’ve lost my title.”

Now that he wasn’t running for his life and could actually stop to breathe, the reality of everything flooded him. He looked between the powder blue skin beside him and his own warm tan, realizing that he’d been talking to someone who had died. He swallowed, needing to double check.

“So…I’m not dead, right?” he managed, voice shaky at the alternative.

“No, you’re not. I told you, you fainted and I brought you here. I wasn’t sure where else to go.” Kuroko tilted his head in thought, glancing up at the starry sky. “Actually, my leg fell off about three times carrying you. You’re heavier than you look, and you already look heavy.”

His eye twitched. “Hey, watch it!”

His lips twitched again. Then Kuroko turned to look at him, his wide stare pinning Kagami to the bench. “Are you okay? Will you go back to The Seven Bones with me?”

“The Seven Bones?”

“Yes, the bar from before.”

A dozen questions ran through Kagami’s head.

Why should he go back there? Why didn’t he demand for this guy to take him home already? And honestly, why would Kuroko even want Kagami to go back with him? After he screamed and yelled and tried to deck someone in the face?

There were so many questions, but all he managed was, “…Why?”

“I said it before, we haven’t gotten to know each other. But…” Kuroko hesitated, averted his eyes and twisted his fingers in the edges of his frayed suit. “I would like to, if that’s okay.”

This place was an absolute nightmare, a cocktail of his worst fears. It even included dogs somehow, a freaking zombie dog. If there was anything he shouldn’t want to do, it was to go back in the thick of it all. Where ghosts and ghouls could tear him apart and leave his remains to litter the street like the skulls Kuroko had been tossing.

But, when he met Kuroko’s crystal clear gaze, Kagami wanted to trust him. After not trusting anyone but Tatsuya and Alex for so long, he wanted to put his faith in a skeleton hand and hope for the best. Kuroko had saved him from a messy end on a flight of stairs, showed him this place, and taught him such a fun game.

Maybe Kuroko really did have some sort of hypnotic spell. Maybe that was why Kagami found himself agreeing.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” he said. “But, why in the world would you want to know me?”

“It’s not every day you meet someone who tries to punch a corpse.”

Kagami grinned, wild and reckless, and he realized it was something he hadn’t done in ages. “Were you a weird guy when you were alive too?”

A smile graced over Kuroko’s face, teeth glinting through his missing cheek. Somehow though, it made him look less like a dead body and more like a normal person.

He looked like he hadn’t smiled in ages either.

“I’ve been told I was.”

[umisabaku]

I was tagged by @kageyawn, thank you so much friend!!

1) How many works in progress to do you currently have in progress?

Ummm. Four at the moment (if you include that super long KNB fantasy AU that I paused and have not gone back to in months but fully intend on finishing at some point). Soon to be five, once I start the KagaKuro Fairy Tale AU =D

2) Do you/would you write fan fiction?

I do =D As everyone here knows. The lesser known fact would be that I also write a fair amount of original fiction. Almost equal amounts, I would say, although probably more fanfiction. Like, 60-40.

3) Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

Definitely paper books!! And it's terrible, because I have such a horrible book-buying habit, and I am literally running out of space to put them, and I am thiiiiiiiiis close to being someone on an episode of Hoarders because I have all these book piles because all my book shelves are full. =( I am trying to cut back on my terrible book buying habit, but I keep falling off the wagon.

4) When did you start writing?

Hrhm. Well, I guess I started writing my first "book" in the fourth grade. It was a Western, and it featured all my classmates, some who acted out their death scenes for me so I could properly capture it on page. And while I consistently wrote stories pretty much ever since that early attempt, I don't think I started taking writing seriously until I was 19.

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

I share absolutely everything with my sister, whether she wants to read it or not =D (But she usually does want to, she's a good sport). And obviously, I share my fanfiction with the internet, and I also share my original fiction with a couple really close friends who do not get to read my fanfiction.

6) Where is your favorite place to write?

I write in any stolen free time I can get, so I'll write pretty much anywhere. I guess if I have a preference, I enjoy writing in coffeeshops.

7) Favorite childhood book?

Hard to say. I remember loving Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine A LOT. (So much so, that I refused to watch the movie when it came out later, because I could already tell by the trailer that it didn't do the book justice). 

8) Writing for fun or writing for publication?

All writing I do is writing for fun, but I wouldn't mind seeing some of it published some day =)

9) Pen and paper or computer?

I prefer pen and paper! But I will use computer for shorter stories.

10) Have you ever taken any writing classes?

I have! I was a double major in English Literature and Creative Writing. Hoooooooonestly, besides exposing you to writing workshops and critiquing methods, I'm not particularly convinced there is much value in taking writing classes.

11) What inspires you to write?

This answer changes all the time! Mostly it boils down to, I love writing, and that's what inspires me to write. But I think also it's my deep love of books. There have been so many stories that have affected me greatly, and I think it's my goal to write the kind of story that will give other people the same kind of feeling I get when I read certain books. 

Thanks again, friend! I love talking about writing so this was such a fun one to do. I am tagging the writer peeps again =D @bmouse, @lautremonde @wingroad @jubesy @cerberosthehellguard @terriblelifechoices @howshouldiknowboutlife

[meteorjamyourdickinme]

Asystole

To: @cndshin From: @meteorjamyourdickinme Rating: T Prompt: Lifeguard AU Message: Thank you so much for this cute request! I had a lot of fun with it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Happy Kagakuro Exchange, and a very, very happy birthday to my favorite redhead <3

Kagami had always been a child of the sea. He’d been raised in the Pacific, knew the blistering sands of California’s beaches like the back of his hand. Spent most of his waking hours playing in the surf. It was an odd pairing, even he had to admit; a fiery spirit and the frigid waves. But there was a camaraderie with the sea, he felt. The restless pull, the violent storms, the unexplored depths. He could sit and stare at the ebb and flow against the shore for hours.

Well, he could. Typically. His ‘sitting and staring at the ocean for hours’ agenda had recently been corrupted by a mop of blue hair and a set of pale shoulders taking up residence in the lifeguard station, however.

The stranger was new. Kagami frequented the beach during the summer, to escape the unbearable humidity of Japan and dwell in the nostalgia of his childhood back home. He was there enough to know that this boy, slathering sunscreen across his nose while poking one finger into his book to keep the breeze from turning the pages, had not been there before this week. He was interesting. Distractingly so.

“Taiga? Hello?” Red eyes blinked, clueless, as the shadow of a waving palm fell over them. “Are you listening to me?”

He glanced over, meeting Tatsuya’s curious gaze.

“…sorry, what?”

Tatsuya sized him up. Looked toward the direction of the lifeguard station, mouth curling in a knowing smirk as he spotted the newbie leaving over the railing to talk to a concerned mother holding the hand of a little girl sporting a purple innertube.  

“Oh, I see. Him again.”

Kagami’s brow instantly knitted in a scowl.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tatsuya rolled his eyes and flopped back along his towel, an arm curled over his forehead, basking in the sun.

“You’ve been staring at him for three days straight.”

Kagami’s cheeks heated in a way that had nothing to do with the July sky.

“I have not!”

“Oh, you’re right,” Tatsuya conceded, snickering under his breath. “I forgot we came down here surfing Tuesday morning. So technically it’s been four days.”

The redhead flicked a handful of sand at his legs.

“Shut up. I’m not staring. I’m just…” The lifeguard was smiling at the mother now. “…looking.”

“…uh-huh.”

Tatsuya didn’t sound convinced. Honestly, Kagami couldn’t blame him. He probably couldn’t have been more obvious if he tried.

But this guy…There was something about him. Maybe because Kagami had never really seen anything like him before.

Slender. Pasty. Unassuming. The last person you would imagine protecting lives out on a crowded beach in the heart of a Japanese summer.

But he had eyes the color of Caribbean water and a smile that was making Kagami’s toes curl into sand and collarbones that he really, really wanted to trace with his tongue. If he wasn’t being too forward.

“…he’s really pretty,” Kagami admitted. Out loud, much to his chagrin.

“You should go say hi. I’m sure he’d find it a lot less creepy than you stalking him all day.”

Instead of erupting into a fitting shade of red, Kagami snorted, leaning back on his elbows in defeat.

“There’s no way in hell I could say hi to him.”

There was a pause. Tatsuya’s arm shifted, one eye squinting in the sunlight at him.

“No way in hell, huh?”

Kagami frowned, knowing that devious tone all too well. The one that meant Tatsuya had an idea, and there was a great chance that said idea was going to make him wish he had never met the boy.

With a lofty noise, Tatsuya stood from his towel, shook the sand from his limbs, and took off in a casual stroll toward the shore.

“Tatsuya!” Kagami hissed, scrambling after him. “What are you doing?!”

The boy ignored him, marching straight into the tide until it washed against his knees. Turned with a flourish. And looked Kagami right in the eye as he flopped into the sea on his back, the water barely covering his chest.

The redhead quirked a dumbfounded brow as Tatsuya shook his hair out and tipped his head back with dramatic flair, and he was just about to ask if he had lost his damn mind when he inhaled sharply.

“Help. Help. I am drowning.”

Oh god, oh god, please for the love of god no.

“Tatsuya!” Kagami waded in after him, dropping to his knees to tug on his shoulders desperately. “Stand up!”

The boy dramatically brought a hand to his forehead instead. Entirely looked the part of a damsel in the greatest of distress.

“Please. Someone. Help me. I am drowning. The water. It’s filling my lungs.”

The monotone shouting was making Kagami blush all the more, and he pulled harder, only succeeding in knocking Tatsuya deeper into the surf. Which made him pretend to sputter and raise his arms toward the sky, embracing his untimely end.

“I see the light. Oh, won’t someone help me? Someone save me. I can’t last much long—“

“Excuse me?”

They both froze. Turned to see the lifeguard standing just beyond them at the shore, waves licking at his ankles. Head tilted curiously, breeze tousling his blue strands. Red swim trunks billowing about. Red really looked good on his hips.

“Um…the water here is shallow,” he continued, gesturing to his own legs for reference. “You could just stand.”

Tatsuya stared. Blinked. Blossomed into a victorious grin that Kagami really wanted to knock off his face.

“This is Taiga,” he announced, pointing up to the redhead, who was frozen in place and looked dangerously close to strangling him.

The lifeguard squinted, and Kagami clasped his hands behind his back and stood innocently, Tatsuya following suit, water sluicing down his chest, a hand clapping Kagami’s shoulder.

“You two get to know each other. I’m gonna go dry off for a bit.”

The pair of them watched in bewilderment as he trudged back onto the beach. And then two icy eyes had him pinned to the horizon. Luckily, they looked more amused than confused.  

“…I’m sorry about him,” Kagami managed, throat tight and words high and fuck, he really looked good up close.

Tempting lips canted in a smile.

“He seems…fun.” Thin fingers twirled around the whistle dangling from his neck. Tugged it absentmindedly. “Taiga-kun, was it?”

His name sounded silvery when he said it. Almost like poetry. Kagami nodded.

“Kagami Taiga.” He swallowed. Grew a bit braver. “Yours?”

“Kuroko Tetsuya.”

“Kuroko Tetsuya,” he repeated. “That fits a lot better than ‘the new lifeguard’.”

Kuroko actually laughed, soft like clouds, and Kagami was certain that his grin had turned into the dopiest thing on the planet.

“You could have just came and asked me my name.”

Maybe the sun had fried his brain. Maybe he’d swallowed too much saltwater. Whatever the case, Kagami was in rare form. He scratched at the back of his neck.

“…I actually do have something to ask you.”

“Oh?”

“Um. W-would you like to go get ice cream with me? L-later, I mean! When your shift’s over! If you want, I mean, you’ve been working all day, you’ll probably be tired and just want to go ho—“

Kuroko’s endeared expression made the words die on his tongue.

“…I like milkshakes.”

Kagami blinked. Slowly melted into that damn goofy smile again.

“Milkshakes work.”

“I get off at seven. Will you still be here?”

“Yeah! Yeah, definitely. I’ll wait as long as I need to. I mean, as long as you want me to.”

Kuroko giggled. Turned and began making his way back to the station.

“I’ll see you at seven then, Taiga-kun.”

Kagami watched, waving his hand after him in dumb acknowledgement until Kuroko was no longer looking. But he was. Looked at blue hair as he left the surf. Looked as he picked his way across hot sand back to their spot. Looked as he flopped down beside Tatsuya.

“You’re staring again.”

Kagami grinned. Folded his arms over the tops of his knees. Noticed that a certain pair of blue eyes would occasionally dart to the side to catch a glimpse of him before being swung out toward the ocean again.

“…I know.”

[darkisucksanditwrites]

Acceptance is hard

this one was for @impyrn, it was kagakuro and time but I failed lol. so have some family fluff 

“Will you please stop pouting?”

“I am not pouting.”

Kuroko glanced at Kagami from the corner of his eye, who was sitting stiffly in the passenger’s seat, arms cross over his chest and very much pouting.

Kagami saw Kuroko looking, sighed and uncrossed his arms.

“Thank you.” Kuroko said and took a right turn. “It was very distracting.”

Kagami grunted and tapped his foot.

Kuroko waited for the inevitable rant.

“It’s just....why?”

Kuroko shrugged lightly, but otherwise stayed silent.

“I mean...was this something I did?”

“I don’t think so.” Kuroko said, never taking his gaze from the road.

Kagami scratched his head.

“Then what was it? Peer pressure? She was bullied? Teachers?”

Kuroko gave him a look.

“You are being a bit too dramatic.” Pause. “And conspiratory.”  

Kagami scoffed.

“I am not.”

Silence again.

“Are you angry?” Kuroko asked tentatively.

He saw from the corner of his eye how Kagami opened his mouth but paused.

“No.” He finally said. “I am...a bit disappointed.”

Kuroko shook his head.

“I mean, she is our kid? How did that happen?”

“Yes she is ours.” Kuroko said and took another turn and drove into the parking lot of the supermarket. “But neither of us carried her in our womb.”

“Genetics have nothing to do with it.”

Kuroko found a place and slowly started to park.

“I mean....where did we go wrong?”

Kuroko stopped, turned off the engine and gave his husband an annoyed look.

“Please just get out of the car.”

Kagami did, but not without grumbling.

“I don’t want to discourage her, but can’t we maybe...suggest some....alterative?”

Kuroko put the milk and cereal boxes in the cart and sighed.

“We did that.”

“Yeah but maybe we didn't try hard enough?”

Tetsuya rolled his eyes and walked away from the cart to look for another product from their list. Kagami obediently followed with the cart after him.

“Maybe we weren’t involved in her life hard enough?” Kagami continued while Kuroko put in new products in the cart.

“Maybe we should call Alex? She is a growing girl, so maybe she would be more comfortable with talking to another female?”

“She’s eight.” Tetsuya emphasized when he put in a few cans into the cart.

“So?” Taiga asked.

“So that mean’s she can always change her mind. Kid’s do that. Very often actually.”

“Yeah right. Like that would ever happen.”

“Maybe not.” Kuroko said. “But for now we just have to accept it.” He said and dumped another heavy object.

Kagami sighed and pushed at the cart.

“Why is this thing so heavy?”

He looked inside and saw a huge bag of dog food.

“Nigou has to eat.” Kuroko said matter-of-factly and a moment later disappeared between the shelves.

"Hey?"

"Hm?"

"You're really okay with that?"

"With what?" Kuroko mumbled with his face pressed to Kagami's biceps. "It's fine." He said with a sigh and rubbed his cheek over Kagami's arm. "It's comfortable."

Kagami rolled his eyes and lifted his arm, so Kuroko fell face first into his side.

"Ouch." He said when he rammed his nose into a hard plane of Kagami's body. "A little warning next time." He said and got comfortable immediately.

Kagami sighed above him which ruffled his hair.

"You're not listening to me at all do you?"

"Nope." Kuroko said and kept his eyes fixed on the screen. "It's movie night."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

"Good." Kuroko said and fell silent.

Kagami was quiet for next few moments, trying to focus on the movie Kuroko picked this time for their movie date, but he just couldn't.

For once, the movie was boring and convoluted as hell and Kagami was already lost twenty minutes in.

And secondly, his brain was still processing the obvious issue they, or more like only he, was dealing with.

"Tetsuya." He couldn't wait anymore.

There was a sigh but no other reply.

"Hey. Are you listening?"

Silence.

"Okay." Kagami said, ticked off. "I see you're pretending you've gotten over it, but I'm not." He snapped. "And don't ignore it like it's not an issue at all. I know it bothers you to-"

He didn't know when Kuroko sat up and pressed his hand to Kagami's mouth silencing him.

"Can't this wait? I really wanted to see this film."

Kagami frowned. Kuroko rolled his eyes and turned his head back to the TV and sighed.

"And you made me miss a very important scene." He said with a reproach.

He dropped his hand and picked up the remote.

"What are you doing?"

"Rewinding. I need to see it again."

Kagami sighed and leaned against the back of the couch with a thud.

Kagami bumped into a cart full of sports equipment.

"Ow." He rubbed his sore hip, but no sympathy was expressed for him.

He sighed when it became apparent that he lost Tetsuya somewhere among the shelves.

He looked around the store, checking the most obvious section for basketball, then clothing and then even baseball, but he couldn't find him.

He was about to call Kuroko when he spotted a mop of blue hair near the bookshelves.

Of course.

"There you are." He said when Kuroko turned around. "Don't vanish like this."

"I'm sorry. I thought it would be faster if we separated."

"Do you think I'm that useless?" Kagami raised an eyebrow.

"No." Kuroko answered. "By the way, did you found it?"

"Uh...no." Kagami admitted and scratched his nape. "Okay, I am useless."

"That's okay." Kuroko said and raised a brand new mitt made of shiny (and smelly) leather. "Already found it. "

"Great." Kagami said and took the mitt, looking it over. "It's the one?"

Kuroko nodded.

"Pretty sure."

"Good. Can we go now?"

"Just one more thing." Kuroko said and turned around. Taiga raised an eyebrow when he grabbed a book with a red cover.

"What's that?"

Kuroko didn't say anything simply showed him the front.

"Seriously? You're going to read that?"

"Yes." Tetsuya said and started walking in the direction of the register. "And you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because that's what parents do." He said and put the items in front of the store clerk.

"Which is?"

"Get involved."

"Don't forget to take a left turn." Kuroko said and turned a page. He continued reading and didn't need to look up to see Kagami rolling his eyes.

"I know the way."

"I know you do. It's not the problem."

"What?" Kagami snorted. "You don't trust me to actually drive there?"

"Maybe." Another page turned.

"You know I should be offended." Kagami said and took the left turn. He looked at Kuroko with a 'see?' face. Kuroko merely glanced at him.

"Considering your recent issues, I do have some basis to be distrustful."

"Ha-ha-ha. Shut up." Kagami grumbled and saw how Kuroko smiled to himself.

They drove in silence, while Kuroko read intently, until they arrived at their destination.

"Do you have the-"

"Yeah." Kagami said and showed Kuroko the fully charged video camera.  "Let's hope there's enough space."

"Okay." Kagami said as he checked the recording. "First half done I think?"

"No." Kuroko said while flipping through his book. "There are no halves."

"No?"

"No, they're called innings."

"Oh."

"And there are nine of them."

"Nine?"

"Shh, it's starting. Keep recording." Kuroko pointed the camera in the direction of their daughter in a muddy uniform while she swung a bat.

Twenty minutes later it was her turn and she hit the ball with a loud sound.

Then she ran.

"Okay. What is happening now?" Kagami asked as he followed the girl with the camera.

Tetsuya was silent, he flipped the book and then everyone in their sector shouted loudly and stood up and started clapping.

Kagami dropped the camera and turned to his husband.

"What was that?"

Kuroko looked at the field and then at the book in his lap.

"Tetsuya?"

"To be perfectly honest." He said and looked at Kagami. "I have no idea."

Twelve months later they had a shelf full of trophies.

There was no more space for their high school and college cups and statues so they had to be packed into boxes and stored in the garage.

Neither Kagami nor Kuroko felt regret for it though. Not when they came back home with another huge cup they could show off in their living room. At least for a bit, before it went back to the school clubroom.

The red book as worn out, but Tetsuya became a bit of an expert in the house when it came to their little girl's interest.

After some time, Kagami also picked it up and started reading. It was the first book he picked up willingly since...forever.

It was understandable of course. Parents should get involved.

Kagami groaned and closed the book with a thud. He could barely go through five pages before his brain started overheating because of all the jargon.

Yes, parents should get involved. He didn't care anymore that their daughter didn't express almost any personal interest in basketball, but hey at least she was doing something sport related, right?

Just...did it really have to be baseball?

[tetsucchin]

Of Spare Keys and Solace

Summary: Out of all the significant others in all the world, Kuroko had to choose the one that tries to break into his room at two in the morning and manages to look cute while doing it.

Rating: T for trouble

Word Count: 2200+

A/N: HAPPY LATE I’M SORRY KAGAKURO DAY!! I really wanted to write these two a little fic for their special day, and it ended up taking me longer than expected! That being said, me and @night-mare-skellington have been talking about this idea, and I decided to put it into words. Please enjoy and go treat yourself to a vanilla milkshake. <3

AO3

The first time Kuroko hears a tapping on his window, he’s sure he’s still dreaming. The second time he hears it, his addled mind convinces him it’s just the tree outside. The third time he hears it, there’s an accompanying voice that has him snapping up in bed.

“Tetsuya! Pssst, Tetsuya!”

Kuroko squints at his window and the vague shape behind it. For a moment, his hair a mess and eyes still sticking together, he almost runs to get his father because surely a burglar is trying to break in. But then the shape taps again, and red flashes through the crack in his curtains.

“Taiga-kun?!” he hisses back.

Kagami freezes outside the window, his figure somehow managing to lumber sheepishly. His outline rubs at the back of its neck, and he taps again. Quieter this time.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he says. Kuroko can see him shifting nervously as he swings out of bed and walks over. “Can I, uh… can I come in?”

With a swift pull, he tugs his curtains open. Sure enough, balanced on the slanted roof outside his window is his idiot of a boyfriend. Maybe it’s the sleep still chugging his body down, or simply the sight of Kagami dangling outside a two-story room, but Kuroko’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head.

“Taiga-kun?!” he whispers again, like saying his name will somehow change the situation. He throws the window open with a jerk. “How did you get up here?!”

Kagami blinks. “…I climbed.”

“What?!”

Unbelievably, Kagami finds the audacity to pout at him. “Can I come in?”

Out of all the significant others in all the world, Kuroko had to choose the one that tries to break into his room at two in the morning and manages to look cute while doing it.

“Yes!” he says while reaching for him, grabbing onto his sleeve and tugging. “Get in here and explain!”

Long legs stretching out to step over his desk, Kagami crawls through his window. He lands on the floor with a light thud, and Kuroko’s eyes dart to the door, wondering if his parents heard. Kagami takes the time to glance around his room, looking at his bookshelf and basketball posters and puppy calendar, like he’d never been in it before. Maybe it looked different in the dark.

Kagami clears his throat and swings his gaze back to Kuroko, already toeing his shoes off. “Sorry. I know it’s late.”

Shaking his head, Kuroko frowns up at him. His fingers still twisted in the soft cotton of Kagami’s shirt, he can’t keep the frustration out of his voice. Just the thought of Kagami falling from his window was enough to put Kuroko on edge. “What were you doing?”

“You know how you said I should feel free to come over whenever? Well…”

“Taiga-kun, we both know I meant at a reasonable hour.”

In the next moment, Kagami looks so small, it nearly breaks Kuroko’s heart. He rubs at his arm, red eyes darting around the room again, like he’s not sure where he’s allowed to look. His throat bobs as he swallows, before he meets Kuroko’s eyes from under his lashes.

“I just wanted to see you, okay?” he says, voice quiet.

No questions were needed, neither were answers. Kuroko’s cheeks flush warm, and he’s thankful that the darkness of his room washes him out. He doesn’t want to explain to Kagami why exactly he still blushes at the thought of him when they’ve already been together for months.

He reaches for Kagami on instinct, like a satellite finding orbit. His arms wrap around his waist before he’s plastered to his front, ear pressed to the hard thump of Kagami’s heart. Kagami follows suit, his long arms twisting around Kuroko’s shoulders, hands tangling in his hair.

He’s not sure how long they stand there. However long, it wasn’t long enough.

“Yes. That’s okay.” He squeezes, as tight as he can manage. “But please don’t scare me like that.”

Kagami presses a kiss to the top of his head. “Sorry. I didn’t think your folks would like me knocking on the front door.”

A soft hum curves his lips. He returns the favor with a kiss to Kagami’s collarbone. “No, they probably wouldn’t like that very much.”

With a tug of his waist, Kuroko walks them over to his bed. Kagami goes with no hesitation, collapsing onto the sheets and hiding his face in the blue of Kuroko’s hair as he tugs the blanket over them both. Somewhere between the middle of his room and the bed, they both started to giggle, breaking only to kiss or yawn.

As minute by minute passes, their voices drifting into silence, Kuroko falls asleep staring at Kagami’s face. His body floating with only Kagami tethering him down, arms around him like gravity. His dreams are full of solar flares and meteors, something warm and comforting in their brilliance.

When his alarm goes off in the morning, Kagami’s asleep beside him.

Kuroko doesn’t want to wake him. Sleeping is one of the few times that Kagami’s face is soft, lax and vulnerable. His hand reaches out before he can stop, gently cupping a cheek. Kagami’s snoring under his breath and drooling on his pillow, but Kuroko’s never seen anything more perfect.

He deserves to sleep for as long as he wants. But with a glance at the clock, Kuroko sees that he’ll barely have enough time to get home, get ready, then get to school. Kuroko’s uniform would hardly fit him, so that option was out.

His thumb rubs lightly under his closed eyes. “Taiga-kun,” he says quietly. “Taiga-kun, we need to get up.”

Red slowly cracks open, squinting against the rising sun. It closes again in the next instant, and he buries closer to Kuroko with a whine.

Kuroko almost gives in. Almost.

“You’re going to be late. Then both Coach and our teacher will be upset with you.”

One last groan and Kagami relinquishes his hold on Kuroko, sitting up to stretch wide and big instead. He looks to Kuroko’s clock, then runs a hand down his face. He scoops his shoes off the floor and slips them back on, walking over to slide the window open.

“You can use the front door, you know,” Kuroko says with a smile, following behind him.

Kagami is already halfway out the window, but he turns back at that. He grins, teeth glinting and eyes shining. It’s so unlike how he was before, that for a moment, Kuroko questions if last night ever happened.

He tips forward through Kuroko’s window and kisses him soundly.

“See you at school,“ Kagami says before dropping down and hopping over the fence.

Kuroko watches him go, leaning over his desk to watch him run down the sidewalk. His smile grows wider, fingers going up to ghost over his lips. If it meant waking up to this, to boyish smiles and warm yawns, he’d happily wake up and let his boyfriend in every night.

He slides his window close as quiet as he can.

By the fifth time Kagami breaks into his room, Kuroko’s grown used to the noise. He leaves the window unlocked, and even cracks it open on warmer nights. The slide of glass and the thump of feet hitting the floor barely registers to him.

So when he hears the shuffle of somebody in his room, he merely sits up and rubs at his eyes with a yawn. “Taiga-kun?”

Kagami pauses, bent over to pull off his shoes. “Uh… hey.”

Still sleepy, Kuroko slowly blinks. “Is everything okay?”

He can’t miss the bob of Kagami’s throat as he swallows, not even in the dark. “Yeah. I couldn’t sleep.”

More than anything, he wishes he didn’t have to hear that.

Kagami didn’t always have trouble sleeping. Sometimes he came over just because he wanted to sleep with his boyfriend. Because as long as they had known each other, relationships were still new to them both, and it was like they couldn’t get enough of each other.

But sometimes he came over because the emptiness of his apartment was too much, or the anticipation of a game was too much, or things in general were just too much. It’s in those times that Kuroko wasn’t sure what to do. All he could offer was his bed and a hug, and it never felt enough.

Except Kagami always took them greedily. Thankfully.

So Kuroko lifts his blanket and scoots closer to the wall, making room. “Come get warm.”

A smile spreads over Kagami’s face as he steps out of his shoes. His shirt follows suit on the floor, tugged off his frame as he steps over onto the soft white of his sheets. He makes himself right at home, as Kuroko always asked him to, and snuggles up against him. It’s one of those nights that he buries in Kuroko’s chest, wanting to hide away from the world.

“Please stop climbing through my window,” Kuroko says, hands sliding into red hair. “You’re going to get hurt.”

Kagami shrugs and presses closer to him, fingertips sliding under his shirt to rest on the small of his back. “Nah. It’s not hard getting up here.”

“Please stop being stubborn too.”

There’s a quiet huff, but Kagami says nothing in return, too busy nuzzling against his collarbones. He can’t but smile as he starts to pet Kagami’s hair, knowing it helps him sleep. The more he finds out about his boyfriend, the more he realizes he’s much like a cat that finally found its home.

Sure enough, moments later, Kagami’s drifting off.

Tiny sounds spill from his mouth, nose twitching every so often. Kuroko watches it all, suddenly wide awake. He wants to remember all of it—the rambunctious redhead reduced to purrs and cuddles, the smooth lines of his face untired, the smile that curls his lips with a happy hum.

Kuroko wonders if he’s dreaming about him.

In the morning, they go through their normal routine. Kuroko kisses Kagami awake, giggles as he pouts and whines about getting up. Kagami sneaks back out his window and begins the walk back to his house. A content smile on Kuroko’s face all the while.

When he heads down to the kitchen for breakfast, he’s walking on air.

Breakfast is always a quiet affair in his house. His grandmother isn’t usually awake until after he’s gone for school, and his father is already gone for work. So it’s just him and his mother at their table, sipping tea and talking about whatever comes to mind.

Except this morning, his mother sounds strangely serious.

“Tetsuya, dear. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

He stops mid-bite in his omelet rice and nods, mind immediately going to all the things he could possibly be in trouble for.

Her blue eyes crinkle with her smile, shining with mischievous starlight, before she stands up to grab something off the counter. “You’re not in trouble. Don’t worry.”

She comes back soon enough, sitting all prim and proper. She holds out her hand while he does the same, and she presses something cold and metal into his palm. He turns it over, feeling its jagged edges and light weight. His mouth opens, to ask what it’s for, then clacks shut as his eyes go wide. The shape is too familiar, as it sits on his own keyring in his backpack upstairs.

It’s their house key.

Oh no, it’s their house key.

“I know that Taiga has been sneaking into your room at night.”

His face flushes in shame, burning red up to his ears, as his eyes go wide. He should’ve known better than to think his parents didn’t know, especially when his mother knew everything. He’d never been able to hide anything from her, so he didn’t know why he thought this would be different.

Kagami had been sneaking into his room for weeks now. Just the thought of his parents hearing Kagami climbing into his room had him hiding his face in his hands, fingernails digging into his hairline. And if they had heard him sneaking into his room, then surely they had heard the two of them…

He blanches. “Mother, I’m so sor—”

She shakes her head immediately, holding up her hands to cut him off. “No, no! No need to apologize, dear. Your father and I assumed something like this would happen eventually. You’re both growing boys who have needs—”

“Mother, please.”

Her tinkling laugh fills the kitchen like wind chimes. “It’s fine, Tetsuya. I promise.” She smiles and reaches to pat his hand reassuringly. “Just please give that key to Taiga. I worry that he’ll fall and hurt himself.”

The key burns its shape against his hand, he’s clenching it so hard. His face is still hot, and he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to look his mother in the eye again, but he nods.

“I will,” he says. “Thank you.”

As embarrassing as it is to give Kagami the key, as bright red as Kagami’s face turns, and as neither of them can look at Kuroko’s parents, a part of Kuroko knows it’s worth it. It’s so simple, yet so complex, how that jagged shape means so much and has changed them so much already. With just a tiny piece of metal, Kagami has become a much bigger piece of his life.

He’s become a part of his family.

The next time Kagami comes over, it’s with a gentle rap on Kuroko’s door.