An Early B'DAY Present for KUROKO! Fan Art + Fic: Only for You (Kaga/Kuro; Pg-15) XP
~Only for You~
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Rating: Pg-15/T-R (M overall)
Genre: Romance/Friendship/HC?
Pairing: Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya
Summary: Getting sick in your own birthday sucks. But being alone in it is worse. It's January 31st, and Kagami thinks he has forgotten something really important despite already being prepared for it for months. Luckily, GoM saves the day… or supposedly, Kuroko's special day.
Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki-sensei. Luna only plays with the characters.
Warning: slight AU, shounen ai/yaoi, slight oOC, possible spelling mistake and grammar errors.
A/N: I've been uncreative and unproductive lately…. Maybe because I'm so busy with marriage life (and work *meh* It's always about the damn work! X_X ). Anyway, HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY KUROKO TETSUYA! (31/1) XD. I'm going to draw a PIC for your birthday too, Hon! Just wait for it~ *love-love* (that pic above is temporary only *lol*)
Now, readers, please enjoy this (not exactly) small gift!
Only for You
(Part 1)
Kuroko Tetsuya could vaguely hear his alarm clock blaring on the nightstand. He knew he had to open his eyes and get up since it was probably morning and even though it was in the middle of winter season and what the sky-blue haired teen wanted to do is just to stay curled inside his warm, comfortable futon to sleep in, he couldn't afford to skip school and practice.
Kuroko had to wake up.
He forced open his pale blue eyes slightly and could feel his eyelids heavier than usual. Thus, he sighed tiredly. Why was it so difficult to stir up today? He blinked several times to chase out the remnant of sleep from his swarming vision.
Wait, swarming vision?-Kuroko tried to sit up, but his body felt really sluggish somehow, and there was an itch at the back of his throat that forced him to cough out dry air several times. Then suddenly, his head throbbed as well.
Oh no…-Kuroko had to lay back down quickly because his surrounding started to spin, and was afraid he would lose balance and collapse with his head hitting the floor first if he hadn't, so…
Kuroko couldn't exactly think straight with all the severe poundings inside his skull, but he hazily recognized all the symptoms that he was experiencing at this moment.
I have caught a cold.
Kuroko sighed again, deeper and longer this time because he felt rather pathetic for getting sick like this. It had been years since he caught a cold this bad. He wouldn't be able to go to school let alone attend basketball practice. Damn. And it was in the middle of Winter Cup too. Granted, Seirin had no match today, but still…
Another heavy sigh escaped Kuroko's lips. He clutched at his blanket and pulled it up until it reached under his chin. It couldn't be helped. He couldn't do anything productive with such terrible condition. Forcing himself to go out of bed would further inconvenience his classmates and his teammates later, so he figured he could just sleep in for today to take some needed rest until his cold went away.
Ah, but I have to inform the teacher that I won't be able to attend the class... and Coach Aida for having to skip practice today… oh, and Nigou. I have to feed Nigou…
Kuroko tried to wake up once more, but his sight blurred instantly and his strength left his body quite unexpectedly that he slumped weakly even before he could raise the upper half of his body. He couldn't help groaning slightly as he closed his eyes rather painfully.
It seems getting out of bed is out of options… I hope mom at least tends to Nigou… and checks on me before going to work today… huh?-Kuroko forced his lethargic body to move again so he could position his head back on top of his pillow properly. He lifted his rather shaky (and damn weighty) hand and arm up to rub at his eyelids to at least clear his sight for a moment.
Kuroko blinked once again and glanced at the digital clock at the nightstand. It was still beeping and he barely could reach it up with how heavy his limbs felt at that moment before he grabbed and put it off. He stared at the digital calendar beside the clock-screen.
January 31st… it was Kuroko's birthday, today.
How depressing. Getting sick in my own birthday…-Kuroko let out a suffering sigh for the third time in the past five minutes now. Yes, he was counting.
It sucked, really. Kuroko had hoped that his birthday this year would be special, since Seirin basketball team consisted of a lot of lively caring people. Coach Aida said they celebrated all the members' birthdays. Although, Kuroko hadn't yet informed her when his birthday was because it slipped out of her mind when she asked the other first years about their birthdays….
Alright, I'm at fault too for not reminding her that I was there…
Well, that was fine. It wasn't like Kuroko thought his birthday was essential. He was used to celebrate it alone since his mom and dad were very busy. Moreover, added with his unnoticeable presence most of the times, they tended to forget if he didn't remind them. Yet, Kuroko never tried to because it wasn't that important for him anyway. He treasured the occasional days when his parents were home with him more than only for birthdays or special occasions.
Ah, but Kuroko celebrated his birthday with the GoM in Teikou. At the first and the second years, his birthday was quite vibrant with all the GoM members trying to give him a surprise party, but they didn't know that he already noticed since Kuroko were there when they planned it. They just didn't see him there. In the end Kuroko pretended to be surprised since he didn't want to waste their effort.
However, at the last year, the GoM was facing a lot of things in the team and the school that they completely forgot about it until the day passed. Kuroko didn't feel bitter about it since he himself also forgot before his parents greeted him the next day, apologized for forgetting and then brought him out for a family trip.
Kuroko was pretty much consoled. Even though his relationship with his friends in the GoM was quite rocky at that time, his parents were there with him and spoiling him rotten a day after his birthday. It was quite a happy memory in the last days of his middle school year.
Then, this spring Kuroko enrolled to Seirin. He met all the members of the basketball team, getting to know them one by one… and he met Kagami.
Kagami Taiga. Obnoxious, temperamental, brave, reckless, idiotic most of the times, but he was actually a soft-hearted person deep inside despite his rough exterior. He could be very thoughtful and perceptive when it mattered, and he… illuminated Kuroko's world as his new light.
New light… that wasn't quite accurate. Kagami didn't replace Kuroko's former light. Aomine would always have a place in Kuroko's heart as his light, but he wasn't the right one. It was Kagami… Kagami was the one. He was Kuroko's true light.
Why do I feel the need to think about that right now anyway…?-Kuroko marveled, trying to fight the sleepiness which was creeping up on his consciousness. He felt the need to stay awake, but he wasn't sure why.
Maybe it was because Kuroko didn't want to fall back asleep restlessly when all the issues of why he was alone and sick in his birthday were bound to give him nightmare. Still, the thought of Kagami lightened his gloomy mood slightly.
Kuroko didn't know since when he felt this strong attachment towards his red haired partner. It hadn't even been a year since they knew each other, but from the first day he saw Kagami, the first night they exchanged skills in the street basket court after Kuroko witnessed how passionate Kagami was playing basketball… Kuroko thought that he felt the slight strange attraction.
It was a magical feeling. Somehow, Kuroko had a hunch that he and Kagami could be very compatible as partners both on and off court. After that first training match between the second and the first years… after Kagami slam-dunked the ball Kuroko had passed to the ring in a blind faith that Kagami would get it in… the peculiar feeling just got stronger, plus, added with admiration.
That's why Kuroko decided to make Kagami his light. He suspected that he already fell for Kagami's basketball style. He liked how he played with all of his heart. His determination to never give up until the end of the match… his amazing hard work and more importantly, how much love and dedication he poured towards basketball, made Kagami shine so brightly on court.
Then, Kuroko's suspicion was confirmed after the training match between Seirin and Kaijou. After Kise asked him about why Kuroko disappeared at their last tournament and why it was Kagami that he chose to be his light. At that time, Kuroko hadn't yet figured out the answer, but now… now he was certain.
At that time, Kuroko fell for Kagami's basketball, but after he saw how bright Kagami was when he said he would need Kuroko to defeat the other GoM… yes, Kuroko was sure he had fallen in love with Kagami himself.
It was a sense to give his all to Kagami. A determination to support the tall red head to be number one in Japan, just like his promise; a resolution to stay beside him no matter how hard it would be for Kuroko or for the two of them… He wondered if that was counted as a romantic love.
Kuroko wasn't sure.
It was almost the same feeling Kuroko had for Aomine during their Teikou days, but there was a significant difference. Just a little… Kuroko desired for him to be seen as an equal by Kagami. Of course, he would always support Kagami unconditionally as a shadow to his light, but not just that. In his heart, he wanted that light to shine on him and on him only.
A possessive feeling… something that Kuroko hadn't felt for anyone else, not even for Aomine. Kuroko wondered if such feeling was a side effect of being in love. He needed to find out more, but he knew that this kind of feeling was strongest when it was about Kagami, when Kuroko thought of him only.
"Kuroko, when is your birthday? Let's celebrate it together next time."
Kuroko opened his eyes difficultly and sighed again. "I am sorry, Kagami-kun… it seems I cannot fulfill that promise this year…" He tried to say with rough voice. His throat hurt slightly when he talked, so he ended up only whispering it.
Kuroko had really wanted to celebrate his birthday this year because Kagami had asked him to celebrate it together since August last year, just a few days after the team celebrated Kagami's birthday. It was a promise that he had wanted to keep no matter what, but….
Another sigh escaped him and Kuroko suddenly felt dejected. It was awful and it wasn't because of the headache or the fever or even the nausea. He felt sick because he would let Kagami down.
I just hope he will not be too angry about this…-Kuroko closed his eyes then, hoping and praying that his cold would get better soon so at least he could grab a phone and call Kagami to apologize personally.
However, the exhaustion of being sick got the better of Kuroko and he could feel his consciousness slowly departing as he fell asleep once again in a restive slumber.
~Kagami x Kuroko~
Kagami arrived at the morning practice earlier than all the first years and some second years. There were only coach and captain inside the gym as he opened the door and entered. "Os!"
"Yo, Kagami, you're quite early," Hyuuga greeted with a raised eyebrow, looking mildly surprised.
"Morning, Kagami-kun!" Coach Aida greeted as well, right after she looked upward from the small wooden board she was holding.
"Yeah, somehow I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I thought might as well come here to practice since I didn't have anything to do at home," Kagami shrugged nonchalantly as he put down his bag and stretched his arms up his head and yawned.
"Oh, then you can do some extra laps before the others come," Riko grinned devilishly at him and Kagami groaned. Seriously? She still wanted to make him train harder than Kagami already had done?
Kagami stared disbelievingly at Aida who was now giggling at Kagami's supposedly priceless look and Hyuuga who obviously was trying very hard not to snicker. Kagami immediately realized that the coach just teased him. "Jeez, coach, I almost believed that order, ya know?" he muttered a protest while sighing feebly, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.
"What? You actually wanted to do that for real?" Aida's grin turned into an evil smirk and Kagami paled, shaking his head curtly, totally fearing that he might have to do those laps because his mouth was too big for his own good. "Just kidding, Kagami-kun. Sheesh. You can change now and do some stretching on your own then," she said, chuckling again and shaking her head before going back to her board.
Apparently, coach was discussing some strategies with Hyuuga and the captain was listening to her plan while giving some suggestions here and there sporadically. Seeing that his seniors were rather preoccupied, Kagami didn't feel the need to interrupt them with small talks, so he retreated to the locker room to change like the coach told him to.
Today was rather weird to say the least. Kagami kept thinking that he had forgotten something important when he got up this morning. Then he couldn't go back to sleep because the thought bugged him. When he made breakfast, he saw his calendar in the kitchen and wondered why the date was circled in red.
It must have been important if Kagami marked the date, right? But what? Kagami couldn't remember when or why he put the mark on.
During the warming up process after everyone came to practice, Kagami asked Furihata who was stretching beside him. "Hey, what day is it today?"
"Huh?" the brunet turned to face Kagami with a question in his eyes. "Friday?"
"No, I meant the date," Kagami cleared his question.
"January 31st. Why?" Furihata asked further, seeming rather curious.
"Is there any event happening today?" Kagami added his inquiry and Furihata frowned slightly, looking thoughtful as he was thinking, before he shook his head.
"I don't think so. What's wrong?" Furihata answered before throwing another query.
"Hmm… I can't shake this feeling that I have forgotten something today… but I can't remember what. I circled the date, so it must have been necessary," Kagami scratched his head slightly, feeling unsure.
"Maybe you're supposed to do something today?" Furihata seemed to bait any recollection to surface by throwing random question, but Kagami only made a face at that.
"I think I'd know if I had to run errand or something like that. It's not that," Kagami huffed before mulling over it again.
Furihata shrugged. "Then it was probably not that crucial if you forgot, right?"
"Yeah, but then I won't be this bothered if it's insignificant…" Kagami couldn't help arguing half-heartedly because he himself was uncertain.
Though, since the main training started a short time later, Kagami couldn't help suppressing the subject at the back of his mind to concentrate, or coach would have his head if he was caught getting distracted. An unhappy Coach Aida wasn't good for Kagami and the team after all.
Then, it occurred to everyone, including Kagami, when they were about to do another mini game between the first and second years, that the first years was missing one person.
"Huh? Where is Kuroko?" It was Izuki who asked after he counted that there were only four people on the other side of the basketball court.
"Eh?" Then beads of sweat rolled down everyone's respective cheek.
"No way! He's not here?!" Apparently, coach was the most shocked about this revelation. The others were surprised as well, so was Kagami.
"I thought he was just being invisible as usual…" Kagami couldn't help feeling bad for not noticing quicker. He got very used to having Kuroko around that he automatically assumed that the bluenet was there, somewhere near him even though he didn't see him.
"Now that we realized, Nigou isn't here as well," Koganei noted as the gym lacked of dog bark too (which Kagami didn't miss at all).
"Kuroko is skipping practice?" Hyuuga sounded dubious when he asked and Mitobe looked rather worried at this point.
"Maybe he has something to do?" Tsuchida speculated.
"Then he should have at least called or emailed me," Aida huffed, checking her cell phone just in case she didn't hear the device ringing or beeping during practice. "Nope. No call or text message or email. Sheesh, what in the world is he thinking? It's not like him at all," she was fuming now, while placing her hands on her hips.
"Maybe he's too tired or gets sick and too weak to make a call," Kiyoshi piped in and the others looked at him with a varying degrees of shocked look.
"Senpai, please don't jinx Kuroko like that. That's cruel," Fukuda said with a horrified face.
"But he did look paler than usual yesterday, right? He said he wasn't feeling well too after practice," Kawahara reported, looking concerned.
"Hmm, still, he should at least inform the school or a friend if he's going to miss school…" now Aida looked bothered as well, apparently unable to chase out the dreadful possibility Kiyoshi had carelessly spouted out. "Kagami-kun, did he contact you?" she turned to face Kagami afterwards, to Kagami's surprise, but he could only shake his head since Kuroko didn't call him or anything.
"Maybe the others?" Now, Hyuuga turned at the other first years and second years and they shook their heads as well, mimicking Kagami's gesture.
"Huh, that's worrying," Izuki sighed with a frown on his face and all the Seirin basketball members exchanged looks with slight unease in their eyes.
~Kagami x Kuroko~
After the morning practice, Kagami headed to class with a pondering mind. He couldn't stop thinking about the possible reasons of why Kuroko skipped practice, and actually tried hard not to think if something bad had happened to his partner, all the way until he reached the class room and the home room started.
Then the teacher came and checked on the students' attendance. "…and Kuroko Tetsuya is here, right? Alright, it's complete again today," after reading the list out loud for a full three minutes, the homeroom teacher nodded, looking satisfied, before he closed the attendance book.
Kagami's sweat dropped. Great. It wasn't just him that believed Kuroko was there even though they didn't exactly see him. Sheesh, how lucky Kuroko was. He would always be off the hook when he was skipping, this way.
Kagami sighed deeply, partly annoyed and partly disturbed, before raising his hand to gain attention from the teacher (and the class). "Sensei, Kuroko is absent today," he informed and the middle aged male teacher quickly turned to face Kagami with wide eyes.
"Eh?! He's not here?!"
Kagami snorted slightly at the comical look his teacher gave him before he fixed his glasses position and narrowed his eyes at the seat behind Kagami, probably trying to clear his supposedly deteriorated sight and to make sure that Kuroko really wasn't there.
Of course, the seat was empty.
"My, how unusual… I thought he would just pop up in front of my face out of nowhere if I didn't call his name and mark him present," sensei said, rather nervously as he opened the attendance book to give a proper absent mark on Kuroko's name today.
True, Kagami couldn't blame him. He also thought that Kuroko was there this morning after all. That guy was so easy to miss most of the time, but once you got used to it, you would just assume that he would always be there around you even though you didn't see his nose.
"Do you know why he's absent, Kagami-kun?" the teacher then asked the red head and Kagami just shrugged.
"He also skipped basketball practice this morning," then he answered, relatively telling his teacher and classmates that Kagami also didn't know why Kuroko skipped school.
"Well then, I'll check with his parents later. Now, let's begin our lesson."
Kagami tuned out the teacher's voice as the older man was instructing them to open their book at a certain page, before he glanced out of the window. The thought that he had forgotten something important today was back on the center of his mind while the idea of how weird it was for not having Kuroko around him trailing closely behind.
~Kagami x Kuroko~
After the morning lessons ended and lunch time arrived, Kagami's cell phone beeped when he was about to bite down at his super long sized bread.
Kagami fished the phone out from his pocket and checked for a new message, silently hoping it was from Kuroko, but he frowned at the ID that showed up on the screen. He still opened the message, though.
"Kagami-chi! Where's Kuroko-chi?"
A vein of annoyance popped on Kagami's temple as he texted back. "Kise! You have Kuroko's number, you idiot! Text him yourself!" and he huffed as he pushed the send button.
Kagami was about to slip the phone back to his pocket when it vibrated and rang now. Seriously, what the hell?
Kagami picked up the phone with a snippy "What?!"
"Kagami-chi! Is Kuroko-chi there?! I've been calling him since this morning, but he didn't pick up! I texted him too, but he didn't reply any of my texts!"-Kise's voice sounded strained and worried and it piqued Kagami's concern as well.
"Wait, but he skipped school and practice today," Kagami said, frowning.
"Eeeeh? That's bad! What if Kuroko-chi gets sick? His parents are hardly at home because they are busy! What if he's alone and feeling miserable right now? And it's his birthday too!-now Kise sounded apprehensive and whiny as he spoke. In fact, it was rather maddening, but Kagami had to admit that it was a worrisome matter...
Eh?
Then the realization slammed into Kagami's head like a sledge hammer, the moment he heard the blond model's last line. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Therefore, he yelled in shock as a reaction while standing up so abruptly, sending his chair to the ground with a loud clatter and spectacularly startling all the other students inside the cafeteria.
"W-what?! WHAT?! What's wrong, Kagami-chi?!-Apparently, Kagami caused Kise to panic with his sudden earsplitting bellow because Kise cried back on the phone.
T-that's right! Today is…KUROKO'S BIRTHDAY! Holy shit! How the fuck did I forget after months of nightly thinking what to give Kuroko on his birthday?!
Kagami mentally berated himself for being so stupid, ignorant, idiotic, insensitive, and… and every insult he could think of about himself at that moment. He circled the date in red because he didn't want to forget, but since the Winter Cup started, everyone including him was very busy preparing themselves for every match.
Kagami tried to prepare early, even two months before New Years because Kuroko's birthday was in January 31st! However, it completely slipped out of his mind since last week because of the upcoming tests before winter vacation started, and everything else between study and matches that preoccupied his mind.
Aaaa! This is a disaster! And Now Kuroko isn't even at school!
"Ka-Kagami-chi? Hey, Kagami-chi, what happened?! Are you still there? Kagami-chiiii?"-Kise's voice picked up pitch in anxiety.
"S-sorry, Kise! I have to hang up now! I have to find Kuroko!" Kagami immediately hung up the call before Kise could say anything else and he immediately ran like a mad man to his class to pick up his bag, and then bullied a classmate to make excuse for the teacher later that Kagami had to go home early because of family emergency.
~Kagami x Kuroko~
Kuroko was woken up with a series of coughing fit that hurt both his throat and chest and he truly needed to rise up to get some water because he felt very faint, probably from dehydration because he hadn't taken anything since morning.
At least I have to drink something…-Kuroko forced his body to cooperate with his mind. However, it didn't seem that luck was on his side because his mom didn't check on him before she went to work.
And Kuroko indistinctly heard the barks and the whines of Nigou, scratching at his room door. Ah, his mom must have forgotten to give the dog water or something. Ugh-Kuroko groaned inwardly. He had to do something for himself (and for Nigou) or his cold would get worse and it wasn't funny if he had to be hospitalized because of a mere cold, right?
Kuroko tried to stand up gingerly and barely lift his body that weighted like a ton hammer. He tried to walk with shaky legs and despite the pounding headache (it didn't get any better than this morning at all), he traced the wall of his room to the door as leverage since he didn't trust his own strength to support him.
When Kuroko opened the wooden door, Nigou yapped happily and immediately entered the room to attack his master, but Kuroko couldn't exactly respond to its jollity, so the mutt stared up at him while whining again, this time looking concerned.
Kuroko smiled weakly as the dog snuggled his clothed feet for awhile before it stepped back so Kuroko could walk out. At least Nigou seemed fine and healthy. So he must have eaten and drunk. The dog probably wanted Kuroko to take it out for a walk or something.
Just beside Kuroko's room door was a dispenser (thank god he didn't have to walk to the kitchen or he would pass out on the hallway and his house was cold because the center heater was turned off. He really didn't want to freeze to death in his own house), and Kuroko tremblingly took a plastic cup to fill with warm water from it before greedily drinking to ease the parching throat and mouth.
Kuroko took a deep breath before exhaling slowly; relishing in the slight relief the warm water granted him. He still felt dizzy, though, and he'd really like to go back to bed. However, since he had woken up now, he might as well take some medicine before sleeping some more.
But the drugs cabinet was inside the bathroom… and to go to the bathroom, Kuroko had to at least walk a few more meters and he wasn't exactly keen to waste more energy he barely had.
Kuroko let out a weedy, long suffering sigh. He wished someone was there to help him. It didn't have to be his parents. Anyone would do at this point…
Especially if it's Kagami-kun-Kuroko blinked once at the fleeting thought before he could feel his face warming up at that despite his already feverish condition, feeling a tad embarrassed.
It was definitely a moment of weakness that Kuroko unconsciously wanted a company, especially from Kagami. Maybe he should call someone. But he really didn't want to trouble anyone with his problem. But, if his cold got worse, it would probably be very bad for him, and maybe for everyone as well….
Kuroko made up his mind a few second later. Get a grip of yourself, Tetsuya. You can walk a few meters… just a few meters away and you will be fine after drinking the medicine.
Yes, Kuroko Tetsuya didn't like to be dependent. And he hated losing even more. He wouldn't lose to that kind of cold because he could face it himself just fine. He carefully and oh so slowly walked towards the bathroom then, Nigou trailing behind him, still looking worried over its master.
Part 1B