Just a Fairytale [Kuroko Tetsuya x Reader x Nijimura Shuzo]{KnB}

[C.8] College: Diary Entry Eight

Your last class on Wednesday finishes earlier than usual, and you return to a sweet-smelling apartment. Having just had lunch with Akari, your drool from the scent is minimal yet it still entices you to enter.

With your shoes discarded at the entrance, you peek your head into the kitchen to see Nijimura taking out a tray of cookies. Your horrified eyes meet his surprised grey eyes.

"You're baking?!" you exclaim.

"It was a surprise," he groans. "You were supposed to get here later."

"The professor let us out early since we were first to present our project." You place your bag on one of the bar stools. "You were gonna surprise me with cookies? That's so cute of you."

"Haha very funny."

"Seriously, I never pegged you as a baker," you chuckle.

"I had to do some in Home Ed back in the states," he mentions as he pokes a cookie with his finger. He winces and mutters something under his breath about them needing to cool. "Thought we should have some since that the stupid project is over."

"Heh, thank you. I'll change and be right back!"

He nods his head as you rush towards your room. Clothes are thrown about in an aimless fashion, and you shimmy into some pajama shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Your hair is let down from it's high ponytail and you massage your scalp a bit, rendering a few strands to be out of place.

After donning some slippers, you skid back into the kitchen. "Okay, can I have some now?"

"It's been two minutes. Instructions say you need to wait ten minutes for them to cool down."

"But cookies are best served hot." A pout forms on your lips. "Come on, it shouldn't be too hot now, right?"

You reach over to grab hold of the confection, but Nijimura smacks your hand lightly with the spatula. "They were hot when I touched them."

"That's because you're sensitive!" you laugh as you walk around to the other side of the kitchen island. Once beside Nijimura, you bump him to the side with your hips; he relents and moves over for you, allowing you to grab hold of a cookie. "Ow."

Nijimura crosses his arms. "See, I told you."

You endure through the pain and chomp on it. Your tongue burns in anguish but you persevere. "It's not so bad."

He cannot hold his stern expression and bursts out in laughter. "You're practically crying."

"Nu uh," you try to say between bites.

His mirth continues and he reaches out to capture a lone tear with his finger. When his skin dampens, he brings his finger to your eye level. "See."

Your cheeks heat up at the gesture, and he notices a sudden change in the atmosphere. His hand instantly drops as he distances himself from you. A new, unknown tension transpires with neither of you knowing on how to proceed .

Nijimura is the first to exit the awkward situation as he turns on his heel and heads for the kotatsu near the television. You watch him press on the remote to put on a basketball game. He does not look back at you, nor does he have the inclination to resume another conversation.

It leaves you in a state of wonder, and you remember the ongoing internal debate you had last weekend. Something definitely has changed between you two, a change you cannot discern if bad or good. 

You walk towards the kotatsu and sit beside him, earning yourself a pointed stare. He appears curious as to where your intentions lay with you sitting so close to him. His question, however, waits little time for it to be answered.