Chapter Text
Honestly, if he wasn’t so used to Kuroko’s naturally dulled emotions, Kagami’s not sure he would’ve felt it at all. But he’d grown pretty good at it, more tuned to his subdued partner and recognizing what he was feeling. At least, that was Kagami’s running theory as to why he was able to feel it then.
With about as much presence as a fly buzzing about somewhere in the room, Kagami felt a non-physical tug. A thrum, one that warned of a bondmate’s distress. But this wasn’t Kuroko’s distress. Like he pointed out earlier, Kagami’s gotten pretty good at recognizing his partner through their bondlink.
No, this was not only Alex’s distress - her anger, her concern - but also Tatsuya’s.
Kagami hadn’t felt something from either of them in years. Not only did his use to Kuroko’s emotions probably allow for him to pick up on them, but probably the level of Alex and Tatsuya’s distress too.
Something was really, really wrong.
Finally outside, Kagami sprinted around the stadium, doing his best to follow the barely-there feeling plaguing him to wherever his former bondmates were.
The scene he arrived at was shocking, to say the least. Some guy Kagami’s never seen before in his life was holding Alex up above the ground by her throat and that lump on the ground had to be Tatsuya, curled up into a ball, bleeding, his nose determined.
Kagami saw red, his vision going fuzzy for a second before he felt his instincts take over. He was in his tiger form, leaping at the guy holding Alex above the ground, cutting off her air, she couldn’t breathe, no way she could breathe, how come she wasn’t able to shift, why couldn’t she fight back, what happened to Tatsuya—
The guy then turned his crazed yet somehow unconcerned look to Kagami as the tiger quickly approached, not even blinking as Kagami pounced on him, both his eyes and toothy grin instead going wide as they finally clashed, not in panic but manic glee.
Kagami and the guy rolled around on the ground for what seemed like half a second before the weight of him underneath Kagami had changed, gotten lighter, and suddenly the tiger’s prey had slipped his grasp. After rolling away from Kagami, the new creature took a defensive stance, it’s ears back and mouth in a snarl, biting at the air and jerking towards the tiger threateningly.
Though the canine-sounding noises filled him with a cold dread, Kagami swiftly picked himself back up from off the ground and mirrored the hostile stance, growling and roaring at the other animal with each threatening move it made.
Now able to have a better look at the opposing creature during this standoff, Kagami could tell now that it wasn’t a dog, exactly. It looked like...well actually, it looked kinda like Kise’s animal form, but slightly bigger and it’s coat a dull speckled grey, and far more mangey and unkempt.
Then, the thing started laughing. A high pitched, mocking lilt. Though it wasn’t looking towards Kagami. Instead, it was looking past him at…
Alex, on the ground, her shirt now bunched up and exposing a part of her bare stomach and her legs spread open, as it just so happened to be the way she fell. She hadn’t been able to fix the insinuating pose because she wasn’t moving, she wasn’t getting up—
Kagami roared in outrage, lunging at the creature who he knew was thinking some filthy comment about his mentor, who was laughing at her and probably congratulating himself on a job well done.
Unfortunately, the dog looking thing was able to dodge Kagami, apparently swifter than the tiger, probably due to its much slighter frame. Then before he knew what was happening, Kagami let out a cry, registering pain but not knowing exactly where or what from, his instincts just telling him to jerk away from the sensation as quickly as possible. But the moment he did, more pain suddenly bloomed, the distinct feeling of claws scraping across his chest. Then a similar feeling from before was at his tail - a bite, he now realized. He was unable to stop the pitiful yowls from leaving his throat, unable to stop his panic as he couldn’t help but think back to all those years ago, of that time when he was a kid, back in America when he was—
—surrounded by mocking barks, vicious snarls, and lashing claws, the painful feeling of teeth clamping down on his tail, gnawing on his legs, ripping his ears, misery and pain flooding his senses as he was helpless and alone, unable to fight back—
Then another animalistic cry was ripping Kagami away from his memories, as it wasn’t a noise made by the tiger. It was made by his attacker.
The hyena - that’s what it was, a hyena - was rolling around on the ground, thrashing about and snarling in pain as it tried to...well, Kagami didn’t really know what it was doing. It was jerking around wildly, looking crazed and pissed.
Over the sound of a violent struggle and animalistic screeching, Kagami then heard the quick patter of feet before he saw Kise’s agile fox form leaping over him and heading straight for the creature that was still thrashing about on the floor, shaking and snarling as it…
As it tried to dislodge something from off its back?
Kise slammed into the other creature, biting and scratching and as they tumbled, Kagami finally caught sight of something that renewed his fury and made the dread in his stomach finally burst into full-blown panic;
A flash - a strip - of stark white, from atop the hyena’s back. Not a pattern in its fur coat, but the coat of another creature entirely.
Kagami froze, white hot panic taking over all his senses, inwardly praying for his inkling to not be true. But it was, and his worst fears were confirmed when Kise finally pinned the hyena to the ground and the small white creature atop its back, now in clear view, twisted its whole body - except for its head - and the grey mangey canine gave a pain-filled yowl.
The ermine - Kuroko - was biting down on its neck, refusing to let go. Hadn’t let go this entire time, as he and the unknown creature rolled around and thrashed, even before Kise showed up.
As Kagami finally picked himself up from the ground, about to make a move towards his bondmate - his bondmate who had come to Kagami’s defense again, had put himself in danger, had probably gotten hurt trying to protect him - but paused at the sound of a familiar roar, a golden lioness leaping to stand protectively in front of him. Then from his other side, Kagami heard a low growl and looked to see a familiar grey wolf, Tatsuya, holding one paw up off the ground and squinting one eye closed as blood seemed to slowly ooze from both places.
Kise was then barking something, and the hyena gave one final snarl before it was shifting back into the guy with the cornrows from earlier.
“Alright, alright, Ryouta. I yield, so stop your pathetic yipping. I can see when I’m out-gunned.” the guy then grimaced, tone mocking, before he seemed to try and look somewhere behind him. “You too, Tetsuya. Get off.” he ordered as he then reached back behind him and grabbed ahold of the ermine from off his back, ripping Kuroko away and throwing him to the ground.
After he bounced off the pavement, his partner then lied still on the ground, his usually pristine white coat dyed red with blood.
Kagami let out a furious, desperate yowl as he lunged for the guy who dared to do that to his partner, who treated him like he was trash, who had maybe—
But then Kagami felt a familiar pressure against his neck and was quickly flattened to the ground, Alex’s teeth clamped gently but firmly around the scruff of his neck, keeping him in place.
Dear god, she hadn’t done that to him since he was a kid, since he was an actual cub. Unlike now, when he was far bigger than her as both a person and a big cat. Kagami was surprised and rather pissed off that she was apparently still able to hold him in place like that. His inability to move must’ve been some dormant instinct, some type of psychological response built up after years of her grabbing him like that whenever he misbehaved, back when she was still able to lift him off the ground and carry him around like that.
But he was grown now, and more than confident that he could shake her off, he needed to shake her off. Kuroko was still on the ground, he wasn’t moving—
Then Kise had shifted back and from where he held the guy’s shoulders in place, quickly pulled him forward then shoved him roughly into the ground again. “What do you think you’re doing, Shougo-kun.” Kise spat, voice taking on a threatening, hostile, enraged note that Kagami’s never heard him use before.
“Oh, piss off, Ryouta.” the guy snapped with a jerk that jostled Kise, but the blonde stayed in place, still having the advantageous position over the other. “And stop acting like your little bitch is innocent, not when he’s the one who made a horror show outta my goddamn neck.”
It took Kagami a second to realize that the guy was talking about Kuroko, which only made the red hot fury in Kagami grow. He growled, snarling at Alex to let him go, let him tear that piece of shit to shreds—
But then the ermine picked himself up from off the ground, gave himself a quick shake, and then shifted back, Kuroko sitting on the ground, looking worse for wear but...unhurt? The blood that had coated his animal coat was now staining his skin, running down his chin and neck, staining the collar of his shirt as it trailed down his chest, covered by his clothes…
But none of it seemed to be his?
Said teen then brought the back of his sleeve up to his mouth and wiped the mess away as best he could. “Haizaki-kun should know better than to pick fights with people. Especially before a match.”
“You’re as mouthy as ever, Tetsuya.” the guy, Haizaki, scoffed. “And still acting all high and mighty? You didn’t seem to share that same opinion a second ago, when you were going for my throat.”
Kuroko merely gave the other a steely look. “You attacked my bondmate. I would say my reaction was appropriate.”
Haizaki looked confused for a second, looking to Kise with a furrowed brow before realization seemed to dawn on him. “Ahh, I see. One of those three losers is your bondmate?” he realized, a malicious grin spreading across his face as he looked back to Kuroko. “Another new bondmate, eh? I see you’re still as loose as ever, too. There’s not many you wouldn’t roll over for, huh, you little—”
Kise jostled Haizaki again, voice furious as he snarled, “I would stop talking if I were you, Shougo-kun.”
Haizaki didn’t seem to pay him any mind, however, and kept going. “Which is it? Your bondmate? The whimpy wolf boy who went down in two seconds? Or no, it was probably one of the kitty cats. You always did prefer those, right? I’d say so, what with the way you grovelled at Daiki and Akashi’s paws—”
Then suddenly, Haizaki was removed from Kise’s grasp only to be thrown to the ground again, a massive clawed paw encompassing the entirety of his head as it pressed the mouthy bastard’s face into the ground.
Then the big white bear the claw belonged to shifted and Murasakibara was crouching over Haizaki, continuing to smush his face into the concrete. “Aka-chin did say your problem was that you never knew when to quit.” the giant muttered in a petulant sounding tone.
“Murasakibaracchi!” Kise exclaimed. “This is a surprise. Hi.”
Murasakibara didn’t seem fooled by the cheery greeting however. “Kise-chin shouldn’t be fighting if he still wants to play in the tournament. Kuro-chin either.”
Kise pouted, “Well, I thought I felt like Kurokocchi needed some help so…” he purposefully trailed, expression already easing in the pleasant company of his former teammates. As if a switch had been flipped that triggered his kinder, cheery personality. The guy was pretty two-faced, Kagami noted, though he’s known that for a while now.
That just before though...that was certainly taking it up a notch.
“You’re right, Murasakibara-kun.” Kuroko agreed as he finally got to his feet, dusting himself off. “I just came looking for Kagami-kun. I felt he needed me too.”
Kagami’s heart gave a thrum.
Kise gave the giant a knowing look, but asked anyway, “And why did you come here, Murasakibaracchi?”
Murasakibara looked away, childishly refusing to meet anyone’s gaze. “I came looking for Muro-chin.” he simply said, crossing his arms across his chest. He was a terrible liar, as even Kagami suspected that that was only a half truth.
Tatsuya let out a soft laugh, signaling that he had shifted back when Kagami wasn’t looking. He held an arm tenderly, the bleeding seeming to be slowing down, coming from the bite marks in his sleeve. “I see. It wasn’t to come help your own bondmates out?”
“Not Kise-chin.” Murasakibara answered before he looked to Kuroko, brows furrowing before he quickly looked away, as if guilty but stubbornly refusing to show it. “Not Kuro-chin either. He doesn’t need protecting…” he mumbled, but everyone heard him well enough.
Kuroko smiled softly at the other, Kagami feeling just how pleased that admital made him through their bond. He recalled that not too long ago, Murasakibara had been honestly, if not naïvely declaring that Kuroko was far too weak to be standing against any of the Miracles.
“Thank you, Murasakibara-kun.” Kuroko then said, giving an amused huff when said teen made a childish noise of disgust at the thanks. “For helping us now, I mean.” he tacked on, to help spare the giant baby’s feelings.
Murasakibara hummed. “Well, it’d be annoying if you beat us and then got kicked out for fighting. So Kuro-chin should grab his bondmate and go.”
The fact that Kagami was just now acknowledged as Kuroko’s bondmate by the giant teen was also a big win, the tiger noted.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, Kagami snapped at Alex and then the pressure on his neck finally relented. He then quickly closed the distance between him and Kuroko as swiftly as possible, knocking into his partner, but not hard enough to cause him to fall over.
“Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said, tone serious as he bent down to get a better look at the tiger. “Are you alright? You’re hurt.” he noted, sounding concerned as he carefully ran his hands through the tiger’s fur, searching for injuries.
Then Kagami shifted, ignoring the pain coming from his bites and scratches, courtesy of the bastard still incapacitated on the ground. “I’m fine. How the hell are you? Fine, I mean?” he asked, grabbing Kuroko’s face with both hands and maneuvering his partner’s head this way and that, to get a better look, to see if he was in fact bleeding from anywhere.
“Ka’gu-ku ish smishin’ meh.” Kuroko said, words distorted before he brought his hands up and placed them over Kagami’s own, forcing them to ease up the pressure but not removing them from his face completely. “I’m fine. I’m not bleeding, anyway, though that fall did hurt a bit.”
So none of that blood was Kuroko’s after all?
Goddamn, his bondmate was scary. Kagami felt an excited thrum run through him at that realization, for some weird reason.
Haizaki finally seemed to have had enough at that point, demanding to be let up. Kise took control of the situation then, him and Haizaki coming to some sort of agreement to settle this argument - and some other one too, though Kagami wasn’t sure what - on the basketball court.
Both Kise and Haizaki then left at the same time in different directions, rushing to go get cleaned up before the game started, which would be any minute now. Alex and Tatsuya then explained the situation, how Haizaki had hit on Alex and wouldn’t take no for an answer, how he had lashed out and attacked Tatsuya and incapacitated him before he went after Alex, cutting off the woman’s air before she could shift and defend herself and her former student.
“It’s a good thing you came when you did.” Tatsuya said to Kagami. “He took us both by surprise. We really didn’t think that another player would get so violent…”
“Haizaki-kun has always been testy.” Kuroko vaguely explained as he allowed Alex to wipe his face of their attacker’s blood with some baby wipes she happened to have on her.
“How do you know him?” Kagami asked, refusing to go very far from his partner and vice-versa. It still made his teeth clench, how the bastard talked about Kuroko. Vilely, yes, but also like he knew him.
“He was a former teammate in middle school. He quit the team soon after Kise-kun joined, but he was a regular, at one point.” Kuroko supplied as he then went to his phone and typed a quick message out.
Kagami hummed as he then unconsciously rested his chin atop Kuroko’s head, unable to stop himself from sticking as close to his shadow as possible. Honestly, Kagami wondered just how much more complicated his bondmate’s life could get…
“Why were you here anyway, Taiga?” Tatsuya then asked, sounding as if it had been bothering him as Murasakibara stewed silently at his side, refusing to show that he cared about his former bondmate and current teammate more than he already had, but still refusing to leave.
Kagami paused for a minute, unsure what to say. Kuroko then nudged his head up slightly, rubbing his soft hair into the underside of Kagami’s chin in a comforting motion. “I came here looking for you, actually.” Kagami admitted, spurred on into bravery by the action, by his bondmate’s silent support. “To talk to you.”
“Oh?” Tatsuya said, tone even as his one visible eyebrow quirked upwards.
“Yeah.” Kagami answered. “But, uh, it can wait. We should probably get cleaned up or something before somebody finds us.” he suggested, honestly surprised that the commotion earlier hadn’t attracted more people than it did.
Though as if summoned by his words, the Coach and Hyuuga then came sprinting onto the scene, both looking panicked as the Coach gripped a first aid kit to her chest.
“There you are!” she exclaimed, taking in their bloodied appearances and going even paler than she probably already had when she first heard the news (Kagami wondered briefly how she did find out, but then he recalled Kuroko’s texting earlier).
“Why is it always you two...?” Hyuuga questioned in a sigh, seeming like he was in quite a bit of shock too, but doing a better job at reigning in his concern.
Honestly, Kagami wanted to know himself. It seemed like there was always some threat bringing him and Kuroko together. But he couldn’t really complain, Kagami thought, as the Coach saw to his bites and scratches and Kuroko wordlessly took his hand and held it throughout the whole process, mirroring the situation following the Kirisaki Daiichi game.
No, Kagami really couldn’t complain, not when all these shitty situations ended up bringing them together like this. When fate proved time and time again that yeah, Kagami was willing to put it all on the line for Kuroko, naturally. But the feeling was more than mutual too.
That was pretty clear at this point.
Later that night, after Kaijou had beaten Fukuda Sougou, Kagami and Kuroko walked home in silence, the former doing his best not to worry too much about his quieter than usual bondmate.
It looked like Seirin would be playing Kaijou in the semi-finals, but even that happy outcome was soured by the fact that Kise had been injured. To his credit, he hid it pretty well on the court, but Kagami bet that Kuroko could feel how much trouble it was actually causing the blonde, thanks to the bond the two former teammates had begun to renew only a short while ago. He bet that was what was putting Kuroko in a bummer mood.
Kagami had suggested that they stay behind after the game, to look for Kise so Kuroko could check up on him and ease his own worries a bit, but Kuroko had dismissed it, saying he was sure that Kise had enough to think about right now and didn’t need to be bothered by him. They’d see each other tomorrow, during their match.
Kagami could see how tired he was, so he didn’t fight Kuroko on it. Honestly, he was pretty tired himself. It had been a long day, between the game against Yosen and all the drama with Haizaki.
Despite that being his response though, Kuroko was very quiet, quieter than usual, as the two made their way back home. Kagami understood, though. He was still pretty worried about Alex and Tatsuya himself, who had assured him they were fine after their injuries had been seen to and had both gone home, long before the last game was over.
And Kagami and them didn’t even have a bond that strong. It was still there, tonight had proven that, but it was nowhere near as strong as the one between Kuroko and Kise at the moment.
So Kagami supposed all in all, Kuroko was bummed.
Probably the understatement of the century.
That, combined with his still clinging concern from the fright of earlier that night, is probably what led to Kagami inviting Kuroko over to his place to spend the night. He lived a bit further from him and it was already pretty late. Kagami didn’t feel like leaving him alone, which was usually the case, but especially not after today.
Kuroko, shockingly, accepted after only one or two more insistences on Kagami’s part.
They made it to Kagami’s apartment without any further difficulties. He gave Kuroko the shower first, seeing as he was still partially covered in crusty blood and sticky baby wipe formula as well as his long-dried sweat.
As his bondmate got cleaned up, Kagami took care of their dirtied clothes, giving them a good soak to hopefully get all the stains out. By the time he had laid out some clothes for Kuroko to sleep in, his bondmate returned from the shower, only a towel wrapped around his waist.
What he saw didn’t make Kagami happy.
“You said you weren't hurt.” Kagami said accusingly, eyeing the just now purple-ing bruises climbing up Kuroko’s side and arm.
“I said the fall hurt.” Kuroko simply argued as he silently padded into the room.
Kagami made an annoyed sound, but knew well enough by now how good his partner was at understating his own feelings and injuries. “I put some stuff for you on the bed, but don’t put your shirt on yet. I think I have some stuff for that.” he indicated towards the bruising.
“Kagami-kun is very bossy.” Kuroko simply sighed, making to do as told.
Kagami waved him off as he left and, after a bit of rummaging around, found a first aid kit and returned. As he instructed, Kuroko had changed into the smallest pair of basketball shorts that Kagami owned - which still weren’t very small - and was sitting on the bed, waiting patiently for him. Kagami made short work of applying some balm to Kuroko’s bruises, which would hopefully stop them from getting too dark. He really didn’t need those other Miracles seeing Kuroko’s injured, exposed arm on the basketball court and getting some wild ideas…
“Alex is in the spare room so I’ll get the futon or something out for you.” Kagami furthered once he had finished.
“I can do it.” Kuroko offered, pulling one of Kagami’s oversized t-shirts on over his head, one for some Mexican restaurant in LA that his dad had insisted was so good that they had to buy merch for it. “You should shower too.” Kuroko continued.
“You saying I stink?” Kagami asked, voice taking on a tone of false hurt.
Kuroko eyed him seriously. “Yes. Even more so than usual.” he deadpanned.
Kagami snorted. Besides from that very compelling argument, Kagami was super exhausted and a shower sounded pretty amazing. “Alright. Just...the futon’s a pain to get so I’ll help you with it when I get back. Just wait there for now?”
Kuroko just nodded at him from the bed. Kagami grabbed some fresh clothes for himself and then left. The shower was amazing, even though the hot water stung his still smarting scratches and bites. Once he got out of the shower, he reapplied some antiseptic and adhesive bandages to the worser wounds, in the way that the Coach had instructed him in earlier.
It must’ve taken longer than he thought, because by the time Kagami had re-entered his bedroom, Kuroko was now lying down in his bed, out cold.
Of course, leave it to his selflessly stubborn bondmate to claim he was fine with waiting when he was actually exhausted. Kagami sighed.
Quickly weighing his options, Kagami decided that the easiest course of action was pretty clear to see. Even if it did make him blush.
Kagami hit the lights and then made his way to the bed, gently maneuvering Kuroko over to one side as carefully as he could. Kuroko was deadweight, not even stirring when Kagami even managed to get him underneath the covers. It was only when Kagami was climbing under the sheets himself that Kuroko’s sleep finally seemed to be disturbed.
“Kaga’m-kun?” his bondmate asked blearily. Kagami could see him blink in the dark for a second before the situation seemed to register. “I fell asleep. Sorry.”
“You’re fine.” Kagami quickly assured. “You more than deserve to be tired, what with the way you kicked ass today. Both figuratively and literally.”
Kuroko made a soft amused noise, as if helplessly. “Yes, well, I shouldn’t be taking up your bed. I’m the guest.”
“It’s fine.” Kagami assured again, before some hesitance bubbled over in him. “It is fine if we share, right? I’m a little too lazy to get the futon but—”
“I’m very content to stay here too.” Kuroko cut him off, closing his eyes and leaning back into the pillow.
“Comfy bed, huh?” Kagami asked with a smile, his anxiety receding as he settled down as well.
“Yes, it is.” Kuroko agreed. “But that’s not what I meant. I mean it’s nice being next to you. Especially after today.”
Kagami felt himself flush again. “Oh?” was all he managed to squeak out.
“I was worried about you today.” Kuroko continued, his eyes still closed but his brows furrowed as he seemed to recall the day’s events. “You were so concerned about Himuro-san all day and then when that finally seemed all sorted, out of nowhere there were problems with Haizaki-kun. I…” he trailed purposefully, as though knowing where he was going with the sentence and thought better than to voice it aloud. “I don’t know. I was very worried about you.” he eventually settled on.
“Hey, it’s fine now.” Kagami quickly cut in. “We won. Kise won. You wanna talk about worry, talk about me. First about Tatsuya and Alex yeah, but then after that bastard threw you, I thought…” Kagami cut himself off, not wishing to finish his own thought either. “But you were awesome. I can’t believe you took him on.” he instead said.
Kuroko looked uncomfortable at the praise, opening his eyes again, but still not meeting his gaze. “I don’t really know what happened then. When I felt your worry shortly after you had left, I thought it was just nerves, you worrying about what to say to Himuro-san. But then I felt your panic and I ran as fast as I could but by the time I got there, Haizaki-kun had already…”
Kuroko’s anxiety seemed to flare then, strong enough that Kagami himself felt it. But for only just a moment, since he quickly smothered it, as he did all his emotions.
“Hey, hey, I said it’s fine.” Kagami insisted, but he could tell that Kuroko didn’t quite believe him, thanks to the secondhand guilt he now felt through their bond. Rethinking what he was going to say, he instead started quietly, “I...You remember when I told you some guys roughed me up when I was younger? In LA?”
Kuroko gave a single solemn nod.
“Well, I was thinking about that. About how much I hate dogs. I felt helpless.” he shared. “I thought for sure I was gonna...I dunno. But then you were there, only I didn’t realize it until after Kise showed up. But then you came and you kicked that guy’s ass. Man, I still can’t believe that you were able to rip him away from me like that.” he laughed. “You’re amazing, Kuroko. I think that more and more everyday. You're constantly saving my ass both on and off the court. You’re...You’re really something.”
For a moment, Kagami was worried that he had maybe said too much, shared too much and scared the other off because Kuroko was very quiet for a long moment that seemed to stretch on forever. But then he spoke up so softly that no doubt Kagami would’ve missed it, had his partner’s voice not been the only sound in the room. “Do you remember what Haizaki-kun said? About my having multiple bondmates?” he inquired, sounding and feeling quite self-conscious.
Kagami felt anger flare in him, not at his bondmate, but for him. “Hey. Don’t think for a second that I buy anything that that douchebag said about you.”
“But he wasn’t really wrong.” Kuroko said, continuing before Kagami could cut in with his dismissals once again. “I’ve always been able to bond with others quite easily, if I wanted to. Even...Even before I bonded with Aomine-kun and the others, I had bonded with someone else before.” he confessed.
“Oh.” Kagami said, genuinely surprised. “Really?”
“Yes.” Kuroko confirmed. “But I don’t think I can talk about him right now. I want to. Just...not yet.”
Kagami couldn’t stop himself anymore. He turned slightly in the bed, nudging closer so that he and Kuroko were face to face. “That’s fine.” he honestly assured.
Thanks to his new position, Kagami could see a soft smile finally grace Kuroko’s face. His bondmate then reached out a hand and grabbed onto one of Kagami’s own, the redhead easily allowing the other to lace their fingers together. It was kinda an unconscious, soothing coping mechanism at this point, them holding hands to comfort each other whenever some shit had gone down. It was beyond nice.
“Thank you.” Kuroko continued softly. “See, this sort of leads into my next point. You say I’m amazing, Kagami-kun, but I think that’s more true of you. You...I’ve always been able to bond with others pretty easily, as I said. I’m not sure if it also has something to do with my lack of presence and dull scent but, well. My point is that I’ve had a lot of bonds, but none of them have made me feel like the way ours does.”
Kagami felt like his heart was gonna burst out of his chest.
“I can’t really explain it but, I really care about you, Kagami-kun.” Kuroko continued. “A lot. More than I’ve ever cared for anyone, I think.”
And that was saying something, because wasn’t it only recently that Kagami thought that Kuroko cared a whole freaking lot for nearly everyone he came across? Wasn’t it not too long ago that Kagami realized his feelings for Kuroko were—
“Love.” Kagami found himself saying out loud, before he could even process it really.
Kuroko looked minorly startled, but then quickly accepting, tone self-chiding as he chuckled softly. “Yes. I suppose that’s it. I think I love you, Kagami-kun.”
Kagami swallowed around the embarrassing lump forming in his throat. “No, no, I meant I love you.” he corrected. “I-I...I realized that a little while ago. For certain after the Yosen game, actually. But a while before that, I...I dunno, I suspected something, I guess. Felt something.”
“Ah.” Kuroko voiced in understanding. Kagami was a little off-put by his stretching silence before his bondmate then somehow drew himself closer to Kagami. “Then I don’t think I love you. I do love you, Kagami-kun.”
Well, no faulting Kagami for losing it there. He did something he never did before then; he closed the distance between him and Kuroko and kissed him. He pulled away rather quickly, having no idea what to do with his mouth really, but then Kuroko was drawing forward and kissing him again, keeping the contact and pulling Kagami in as his shadow held his face in place.
Kagami felt like his heart was gonna burst. It seemed like all of his feelings were heightened. He felt pleasantly overstimulated by his own strong emotions as well as Kuroko’s.
When they eventually pulled away for air, Kuroko was leaning over him, the soft hair that Kagami loved to touch so much framing his face. Kagami couldn’t help himself again and reached out and did just that, cupping the side of Kuroko’s face before drawing his hand back around the other’s head, running his fingers through the thick strands.
Kuroko smiled at him, before placing his hands on Kagami’s chest, pressing him further into the mattress, supporting himself as he leant down and kissed Kagami again. Still gentle but overwhelming at the same time.
Kuroko was a damned good kisser. Not aggressive, but soft and thorough. Addictive.
They only kissed for a short while longer after that, Kuroko collapsing on top of him after their exhaustion finally outweighed their excitement. Kagami merely wrapped his arms around him, holding his partner tight like he had a couple times before, but this time it was entirely different. Because nothing was really unspoken between them anymore. Nothing that important.
There were still secrets they hadn’t told each other, still problems that they had to face, over protective bondmates to confront.
They’d come to all that soon enough, but for now, Kagami felt completely unbothered by all those things. Completely satisfied with the way things were.
Kagami was more comfortable than he’d ever felt in all his life, with this person in his arms. This person who gave a little piece of his heart to seemingly everybody he could. Who had now given Kagami the biggest piece of it yet. Had maybe even given him all of it.
He had no idea really what all the metaphors in his head or whatever were really about.
All he knew was that he felt safe. Happy.
Loved.
When he and Kuroko rose in the morning, Alex was sitting at the kitchen counter, nursing a steaming cup of coffee. Her knowing eyes watching the two teens emerge from Kagami’s room, not yet changed, since their stuff was still in the laundry. Kagami couldn’t help but also notice that she had covered up her neck with a turtleneck. No doubt she was sporting some serious bruising of her own.
“Mornin’...” she drolled in English, an amused note to her voice and teasing look in her eyes, even distinguishable behind the thick lenses of her glasses.
“Good morning, Alex-san.” Kuroko politely returned in rather accented English, rubbing underneath his eyes.
”I don’t wanna hear a single word outta you.” Kagami hastily spat at his mentor in warning, already knowing she was up to something. Or had something teasing to say, at the very least.
Alex just completely disregarded him however and continued, “Is a shovel talk in order?” she hummed.
“A conversation about digging?” Kuroko translated, sounding confused.
“She’s being dumb, ignore her.” Kagami instructed, ushering Kuroko into the kitchen to sit at the table.
“‘A shovel talk’. You know, the whole If-you-hurt-my-precious-child-I’ll-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands song and dance?” Alex helpfully supplied, switching back into Japanese at rapid fire, suggesting she must have rehearsed this part at some point. “The ‘shovel’ part is just a figure of speech. I think it comes from like, I’ll-give-you-the-shovel? Like, either in the sense of I’ll-conk-you-in-the-head or like I’ll-bury-your-body-and-no-one-will-ever-find-it? I’m not quite sure, actually.” she mused aloud, as casually as if she were pondering correct conjugation.
Throughout the whole spiel, complete with wildly vivid hand gestures courtesy of Alex, Kuroko listened attentively. Afterwards, blind to Kagami’s raging embarrassment, Kuroko merely looked off somewhere, seeming a bit lost. “Americans are so violent…” he muttered, as if to himself.
Alex laughed. “I don’t deny that. We’re just a little overly protective of our wittle-ittle cubs, isn’t that right Taiga?” she babytalked, lacking any and all shame as she reached up to pinch Kagami’s cheek, probably.
Kagami promptly smacked her hand away before she could reach him. “Yeah, except I’m not your cub.” he droned to his mentor as he turned heel and started on a quick breakfast, Alex already having happily made rice for everyone.
“Ah, c’mon. I’m basically your mother at this point.” Alex merely dismissed, seeming unphased.
“No good mom passes out drunk on your couch half-clothed.” Kagami shot back.
“That’s because I’m a cool, hot mom. Like Stacy’s.” Alex joked.
Kuroko naturally didn’t get the reference. However, instead of questioning it, he just honestly asked, “Would you like to speak to me about Taiga-kun and I’s relationship, Alex-san?”
“Kuroko, I said to just—Wait!” he startled as it finally hit him, whatever utensil he had in his hand slipping from his grasp and clanging into the pan below as he spun around. “Y-You said—! Y-You said my name!” he realized, tone probably sounding very accusatory for no reason.
“I did.” Kuroko simply stated, as if it were no big deal. He was eyeing Kagami with a bit of clear scrutiny in his gaze. “It would be very rude of me to call my boyfriend only by his family name, wouldn’t it?” he reasoned.
Kagami felt like his face was on fire. That thought reminded him to finally pick up the dropped spatula from the still-heating pan, before that actually did catch fire. “O-Oh yeah. I-I guess. So. Uh. Does that mean…” he purposefully trailed.
Kuroko smiled at him. “You may call me Tetsuya, if you’d like.” his partner clearly spelled it out for him, reading his mind as effectively as ever.
Yeah, Kagami’s face would never revert back to its original color, he decided then. “O-Okay.” he said instead, before he coughed and tried continuing again. “Cool.”
Alex was positively radiating amusement. “Well, Taiga, why don’t you ask your boyfriend what he would like for breakfast, hm?”
Kagami cleared his throat again, turning back around to look at his bondmate. He wasn’t one to usually take such shit from Alex, but she did have a good point. He hadn’t asked. “Is omurice okay?”
“Hm…?” Alex prompted.
Kagami scowled, knowing what she meant by her vague sound. Unable to maintain eye contact for the moment anymore, he slapped onto his earlier statement, “...Tetsuya?”
Kuroko smiled at him. “Yes, Taiga-kun. Thank you.”
“C-Cool.” Kagami repeated, turning back around, willing his flush to calm down.
Alex clapped. “Shovel talk had!” she declared as she stood from her seat, walking over to where Kuroko was seated. “Welcome to the family, Tetsuya!” she said, Kagami knowing full well she was entirely serious despite her joking tone, when she bent down and gave Kuroko two of her signature cheek kisses and then affectionately further mussed up his bondmate’s already disastrous bedhead.
Kuroko then stood, offering her a full bow in return. “Thank you very much for welcoming me.” he returned, utterly serious.
Oh yeah, Kagami was gonna die of embarrassment. He could only imagine the torment that would follow when Tatsuya eventually found out. Or his dad. Or the team, for that matter. Or god forbid, those Miracles…
Since Alex was kind enough to finish their laundry up for them, Kagami and Kuroko had clean, thankfully non-stained uniforms to change into. However, before they could meet up with the team before their game against Kaijou later that day, both Kagami and Kuroko needed to get some new shoes, seeing as their old pairs were completely worn through from all the games they’d been playing lately.
They informed the Coach and promptly went out to go buy some. Kuroko found a pair he liked at the first store they hit. Though even after having checked four separate places, Kagami was still shoeless.
“Your feet are too big, Taiga-kun.” Kuroko chided. “...Needlessly.” he slapped on at the end.
The still unfamiliar use of his given name prevented him from getting as mad as he normally would at an undeserved jab, so Kagami instead just shouted back, “You really don’t have to tack on the ‘needlessly’!”
Kuroko then insisted that Momoi would probably be able to help them out, as no one had better information than her. Kagami didn’t think that a place where they could get basketball shoes that could fit Kagami’s giant feet could really be counted as something that even Momoi could be expected to know. But seeing as they literally had no other options, he just shut up and let his bondmate handle it.
He should have known better.
Of course, Momoi herself was pretty fine. She showed up with a pair of shoes in Kagami’s preferred brand, color, and exact size (he didn’t know how she knew all that, because he didn’t hear Kuroko tell her anything that specific when he had called her).
But as it turned out, they of course happened to belong to that bastard Aomine, who came along with Momoi and refused to give them to Kagami for free.
“I’m serious about my kicks.” Aomine declared tauntingly. “Tell your dim-lighted partner that, Tetsu.” he instructed, apparently so petty he refused to speak to Kagami directly.
Kuroko merely turned to Kagami and said, “Aomine-kun is very serious about his basketball shoes, Taiga-kun. He’s had his collection since he was little.”
“That’s right I—” Aomine started before both he and Momoi abruptly froze.
Kagami panicked. Kuroko didn’t seem to see a problem with anything that he had said.
“Who!?” Aomine yelled at the same time that Momoi gasped and squealed, “No! Really?!” a smile stretching her face, somehow, impossibly knowing what the use of Kagami’s given name meant.
And that was how one of Kagami’s worst nightmares came to life, with Kuroko stoically declaring that he and Kagami were now dating, more or less.
Somehow, Aomine was now providing Kagami with the strongest scowl he’s ever seen him bare (and that was saying something). Momoi, surprisingly, was the most supportive.
“Ohhh, I always wondered what Tetsu-kun would call his partner! Of course he’s still very polite, even with his boyfriend. But that’s just like Tetsu-kun~. Do you call him something cute too, Kagamin? Oh! You should call him ‘Tsuya’! I always thought that that was very cute~. Not as cute as Tetsu-kun, of course, but still suuper cute! Oh, oh! You could even throw ‘-chan’ on at the end! Ohh! That would be so, so adorable! Wouldn’t that be sooo cute—”
Yeah, okay, Kagami immediately takes it back. Both of their reactions were terrible.
Aomine - thankfully or unfortunately - cut Momoi’s seemingly endless spiel off then, declaring that if Kagami wanted the shoes, he had to defeat him in a one-on-one. Kagami initially protested, but he figured it was better than having to bribe Momoi into handing them over, probably by being made to call Kuroko whatever embarrassingly cutesy nickname she wanted him to. So Kagami played against Aomine, and Momoi and Kuroko went to the bench to discuss something.
Of course, Kagami swiftly discovered that all of his earlier options were terrible.
“I didn’t say it in front of those two ‘cause they woulda punched me,” Aomine started, dribbling the ball lazily. “but if you also want to date Tetsu you have to beat me.”
“You deserve to be punched! You’re seriously betting Kuroko like you’re literally, currently betting a pair of shoes?” Kagami spat, unable to keep the hostile anger from his tone. He was sick of the Miracles acting like they owned his bondmate.
“You’re not good enough for Tetsu if you can’t beat me one-on-one.” Aomine simply, stubbornly furthered, not making any sense.
“What the hell does being better at basketball have to do with dating him?!”
Aomine faced him with a serious, scathing look. “If you even have to ask that, you don’t even deserve to be his garbage man.” he growled.
“His what?!”
The exchanges continued much like that, back and forth. Kagami supposed that it was only fair that he had his own shovel talk today too, if Kuroko had to have one earlier that morning. But that wasn’t very fair, seeing as Kuroko wouldn’t have to get seven of them, like Kagami inevitably would. Maybe three, tops.
Aomine destroyed him, eventually walking away from Kagami like he was bored of him. He still let Kagami take the shoes though, for some reason.
Aomine watched Kuroko for a long moment, the two staring each other down silently. Then Kuroko shifted, the ermine now sitting on the bench, periscoping on his hind legs and staring at Aomine with those big ol’ eyes.
Aomine growled, “You dirty cheat, Tetsu. Giving me those eyes...” before he shifted himself, the panther chuffing lowly in his throat as he rubbed his massive head up against Kuroko’s whole body.
Momoi smiled pleasantly. “Not that you need it, Kagamin,” she started, watching the two bonding with clear fondness. “But Dai-chan gives you his support. So do I.” she clarified. “I’m sure the others will too, eventually. I’ve said it before, but you make Tetsu-kun very happy.” she reasoned, somehow knowing Kagami's exact fear of how the others will react and trying to ease him of it.
Kagami felt himself flush. “Ah, thanks, Momoi…” he said genuinely, despite how awkward he was feeling as he scratched at a reddened cheek.
Momoi was actually being super cool, and she was supposedly the Miracle who loved Kuroko the most, since she did so so openly. Maybe the others would take it well too then? At least, he couldn’t imagine her and Kise’s reactions being all that different from each other...
“Of course, Kagamin.” Momoi beamed at him once more, giving a cutesy tilt of her head. Before the mood suddenly shifted. “But hurt him and I’ll peck out your eyes.” she cooed.
Ah, of course. He was doomed, naturally.