The Second Phantom

Palpitations

I could feel him freeze under me, and slowly I pulled away from him so as not to startle him further, "Now, Kuroko-Kun. Are you going to take it down a tick?" 

Carefully he nodded, his eyes clinging desperately to mine. 

"Okay," I whispered and allowed my hands to fall away from his face, "You are going to do great. You and the whole team have been preparing for this for a-"

"What the hell?!" Kuroko suddenly snapped at me, his cheeks flushing a bright shade of red as he collected all of his thoughts, "I - I ... you... we..."

A small smile broke onto my face, "What?"

Still, he struggled to compile a complete sentence, growing increasingly red as he stammered between incoherent thoughts. 

"Mhm," I mused and sat on the edge of the table, "Whenever you're ready to let me try and help you speak, just let me know."

Kuroko looked at me with wide eyes and his flustered nature quickly turned to frustration, "You, why the hell did you do that?!"

"Do what?" I hummed, hiding my grin the best I could. 

Again he grew flustered but his frustration with me dominated, "You know exactly what you did! That's... what happened didn't happen. I am delusional... I've just been training too hard..." 

"It's cute that you think that," I chuckled gently. 

"No, it isn't stop calling me cute a-and sweet and yours because I'm not!" He snapped but his hands quickly flew up to cover his mouth. 

I narrowed my eyes slightly at him, "Do you really want that, Kuroko-kun?" 

His hands gently lowered, just enough for him to speak again, "N-No... I... I don't know why I said that." 

"Take your time, wouldn't want to do something so wrong again," I scoffed and walked out of the kitchen. 

"W-Wait where-"

"Out." I stated before I grabbed my things and left my apartment being careful not to slam the door on my way. I sighed and ruffled my hair out as I ignored the small and painfilled pangs in my heart. 

Shaking my head I walked down to the basketball court down the road to clear my head, just to be met with an unexpected surprise. 

"Jun, what're you doing out this far from the Home?" 

He looked at me and smiled soft, "I dunno, curiosity I suppose."

"Of what?" I chuckled and sat next to him on the bench. 

"What makes you tick the way you do Hideaki," He breathed before looking me up and down, "Though from the looks of it, something happened between you and your special." 

I sighed and looked down at the floor, "Yeah, I did something stupid."

"Yeah, what stupid thing could my genius brother have pulled off?" Jun smirked, just wanting me to say what was on my mind even though he knew fully well what I'd done.

I closed my eyes, forcing it out of me, "I kissed him..." 

Jun laughed and shook his head. 

"I am a dumbass aren't I?" I sighed and chewed anxiously on my lip. 

Jun shook his head, "You're impulsive but not a dumbass." 

"What am I going to do brother?" I muttered, the thought weighing heavily on my shoulders. 

"Well, do you love him?" Jun mused, giving me a gentle nudge. 

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah I do."

~| Kuroko |~