Trailing Footsteps

His freezing fingers struggled to open the door. To no avail, he cursed under his breath and rubbed his palms together for warmth. He stood by the front door of his house for a while before trudging off to any place he could find warmth.

Snow was his worst enemy. Hanamiya was never fond of the cold, much to his dismay. He had just gotten back from visiting his teammates to play a few rounds of basketball at a nearby gym. He left early to go back home but unfortunately after a dreadful walk through the freezing wind, he realized he had lost the house keys. His parents were out on a business trip that weekend too.

Arriving at Maji Burger, he took a seat by the entrance and blew hot air into his hands. He was just starting to warm up when, to his surprise, he spotted Kuroko Tetsuya lined up and ready to order.

His thoughts swerved and he felt a blush crawl up his cheeks. The Kirisaki Daiichi High basketball team told him that he was becoming soft. His bubble blowing friend once teased that he knew about his growing affection towards the small, sky blue haired boy. Hanamiya disagreed in a heartbeat and changed the subject, not wanting to discuss it any longer. However, on that day he couldn't help but question himself on that matter.

After Kirisaki Daiichi lost against Seirin in the Winter Cup preliminaries, Hanamiya had to admit he did think about Kuroko quite a bit, but he wouldn't call it liking him. He still hated the boy for ruining their chances to advance in the competition. No matter how many times he told himself that he hated the fragile looking boy, he couldn't stop having dreams about him – some quite lewd, too.

Hanamiya groaned and hit his head on the table. He moaned from the pain. Maybe he had gotten soft. Instead of making fun of others, he focused on studying and basketball after being eliminated from the match.

His friends claimed they were quite surprised. Hanamiya himself knew himself to be a rather cold man until they came face to face. This was probably the affect Kuroko Tetsuya had on everybody. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He felt as if the Seirin's shadow was tugging his strings like a puppet despite the fact they haven't talked in months.

That was when he noticed the small boy was nowhere to be seen. Out the window, he saw Kuroko walking down the street. He opted to stay in the fast food restaurant, but clenched his jaw tightly at the realization that he had nowhere else to go and he knew nobody that lived nearby. Except the boy he despised with every inch of himself.

He had his teammates but they lived further away. He knew Kuroko lived nearby so it was easier. Oh God, how did he himself know where he lived? Hanamiya forced himself to think that he was not just making excuses. There were no other options to choose from. He cursed himself under his breath, careful nobody would hear him.

Getting up from his seat, he ran out the door and trailed the boy's footprints in the light snow. His hands shoved in his pockets and head low, he quietly followed Kuroko. Hanamiya made sure to put distance between the two of them. The last thing he wanted was to be seen with the person he hated the most. It was pretty embarrassing, he thought. Also, it would seem pretty creepy and he wanted to avoid any unnecessary situations if possible.

A few streets later, Hanamiya arrived at what appeared to be his home. It was a quiet neighborhood and looked to be safe. A faint smile emerged on his lips.

"Hanamiya-san?"

The said man almost shrieked. He held his hands tightly to his chest, heart beating wildly. Upon seeing Kuroko standing in front of him, Hanamiya straightened his posture and looked around for a quick second before turning his attention back to the boy.

"Hello, Kuroko," he squeaked. He groaned internally. He couldn't believe his voice cracked and how awkward he actually sounded at that moment. He felt like destroying the neighbourhood then running off from the embarrassment he felt, but he swallowed his pride and stood ground.

"Good evening," Kuroko said, bowing. "Why are you here?"

Hanamiya shrugged his shoulders and leaned on the building. Just be cool, be yourself, he thought. "I saw you at Maji Burger and wanted to say hi. It's been a while," he said as casually as he could. His face was beginning to heat up. He hoped Kuroko wouldn't notice.

This is why he hated the shadow. Firstly, Kuroko made him soft. Of all things – soft! Secondly, now he had to ask him if he could stay over just because he lost the keys to his own home. He smacked himself a thousand times mentally. He wanted to hide under his blankets forever. And lastly, the kid was making him blush. He found it hard to be his casual self and he didn't like the nervousness playing inside him. It was humiliating.

"It has been a while. It's nice to see you again." He offered the tiniest of smiles.

Hanamiya felt his heart pump faster – this isn't a heart attack, right? He nodded his head. He needed to get himself composed. He swore the second he saw Kuroko smile, he wanted to jump on him and cuddle him. It was the cutest thing he ever saw. Now he felt like a fangirl on fire with fluff and boys.

"So, uh…" Hanamiya started off awkwardly. "I kind of, um, got locked out of my own house. I was wondering if I could stay over for the night? That's if it's okay. Only for the night! I won't bother you again, Ku-Kuroko."

He stuttered. His face flushed red. He wanted to crawl into a hole. The bad boy never stuttered! His head rambled on and on until Kuroko interrupted his thoughts.

"Sure. You can stay over, Hanamiya-san. Why don't we go inside? It's cold." Kuroko led Hanamiya inside his house and started preparing the extra blankets for him.

Hanamiya looked at the pictures in the house of Kuroko curiously. While the first year was on the other side, he took the time to look at his baby pictures hanging on the wall and chuckled quietly. He had to admit that baby Tetsuya was quite adorable.

Kuroko came back a couple minutes later and said that he could sleep in his room. The bad boy nodded. With the silence sinking in between them, Hanamiya and Kuroko went into the room.

"You can sleep on my bed, Hanamiya. I'll sleep on the floor," the blue eyed boy said.

Hanamiya merely nodded. "Thanks, Kuroko. I think I'll go to sleep now, I'm pretty tired." The Kirisaki Daiichi student quickly snuggled into the warm blankets. He heard Kuroko's voice mutter something but he was too tired to follow. All he could pick up was me too or something along the lines of that. Again, the sound of silence wafted through the air. Lying on the bed, he shifted uncomfortably and looked up at the ceiling.

"Where are your parents?" Hanamiya inquired.

"They're out visiting relatives. I insisted I stay home, though," Kuroko answered.

"Just to be sure we're on the same page, I had no other choice."

Kuroko hummed in response.

Hanamiya sighed subtly. "And thanks…for letting me stay over. I'll return the favour after."

By then, he heard the small snores of Kuroko. He snorted, almost laughing loudly to himself. Tilting his head to the side, he watched the petite boy through the shadows of the night before falling asleep himself.

He buried himself deeper in the warmth of the blankets. Then he slowly stretched his limbs, feet and hands poking out from underneath the covers, a yawn escaping passed his lips. Smiling contently in a tired daze, he rolled over to the corner of the wall only to be blinded by the light of the sun. Groaning in utter annoyance, he turned around. He remembered he was in Kuroko's house.

Oh.

It finally sunk in and he got up hurriedly, folding the blankets and fixing the bed. He left the bedroom and found Kuroko in the kitchen preparing what appeared to be boiled eggs.

Kuroko looked at Hanamiya, a smile etching onto his face. "Good morning, Hanamiya-san. I'm preparing boiled eggs."

Strange, he thought. Why was he smiling? Returning a smile but smaller, he let out a quiet chuckle and went onto searching for the bathroom. Once he found it, he went in and locked the door. Hanamiya looked at himself in the mirror. He was sporting a major bedhead and his clothes were crinkled in every place imaginable.

Am I that much of a rough sleeper? he thought. Maybe that was why Kuroko had smiled like that. Ah, his smile is his best feature. His smile so early in the morning just made my day.

Shyly, even though nobody else was in the bathroom but him, he washed his face with water and combed his hair down with his fingers. He felt his face flush at just the thought of Kuroko. Kuroko Kuroko Kuroko.

Why was he even thinking about this? He slapped his face flippantly and wiggled his arms, trying to rid the invading thoughts. He left the bathroom and back into the kitchen where Kuroko was.

Just as the blue-haired boy set breakfast down on the table, Hanamiya sat down too and was soon followed by the only other person in the house.

"I have a question, if I may."

Hanamiya was thrown off for a quick second. He hadn't expected Kuroko to speak first, although he was usually the kind of person to do so, Hanamiya noted.

"Ask away," said Hanamiya.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have your own friends you could've asked to stay with instead of me?" Kuroko questioned.

The boy in question shrugged. "Some of them were busy. I was closest to you and I found you at the right time," he explained. It was the partial truth. Okay, maybe his friends weren't busy, but the cold weather was an ass and he did find Kuroko at the right time.

They left it at that and started eating. Hanamiya hummed the second he took a bite of the boiled egg. He didn't think it would actually be this good. It was probably the one and only boiled egg he would fall in love with in for his whole life. And that was saying something.

Breakfast was finished quickly, which he found unfortunate. Hanamiya had secretly hoped that a storm would hit and he could stay longer, but that would have been a bit too predictable. It was like a movie. Being in the smaller boy's presence set his brain on fire. What was he even thinking? Hanamiya's train of thoughts made it like he had a definite crush on him, and it was…what? Unexpected? Impossible? Sudden? Peculiar?

Maybe Kazuya was right about how he was beginning to act. He was – he shivered – soft.

Not long had passed before Hanamiya started helping Kuroko with the dishes. Thanking the boy, he gathered his things and left. He completely forgot about the freezing weather. Shit.

He bit his tongue down hard to stop his body from quivering and teeth clattering a hundred times a second. He would have to go to a friend's house, someone who was close. Today was Saturday, so his parents wouldn't be home until tomorrow afternoon. He would, without question, have to go back to Kuroko's or find a friend who would be willing to offer him a place to stay. He opted to go with a friend. He didn't want to be seen with him, nonetheless sleep in the same house with the boy again.

His head was in a tumble. What was he supposed to think? Yes, he was grateful that Kuroko let him stay for the night and that he gave him unnecessary, girly thoughts about him. But he was supposed to hate him!

He groaned in frustration. Sticking his hands into his pocket and face deeper into his jacket for warmth, he sighed, hands clenching and unclenching.

Suddenly, he heard and felt the sound of paper crumpling up in the pocket of his jacket. The Kirisaki Daiichi student had no recollection of putting anything in his pockets beside his cellphone and wallet.

Plucking it out and unfolding it out, it read:

Please meet me at the bridge tonight.

Okay. Hanamiya had to calm himself down. This was completely unexpected and out of character of the Miracle Shadow. Or maybe he just didn't know him well enough and this was probably something he did all of the time. Maybe it was just Kuroko's way of being Kuroko. Actually, he wasn't sure. He didn't know how Kuroko was, or who he really was for that matter. He only knew of him.

He folded the paper neatly and put it back into his pocket. He'd have to wait at a friend's place. Then again, he wasn't sure. It was cold, that was certain and there was no doubt that he disliked it as much as he disliked losing.

Sighing in defeat, he chose to go to a friend's place instead of going back to Kuroko's to wait. It would make him look like an idiot if he went back to Kuroko's right after he left.

The hands on the clock ticked by slowly. His head was rewinding every second he had of Kuroko that he could remember. Gosh, that smile. That was something he wouldn't mind waking up to every morning. Just seeing it made his whole day. No. It made his whole week! Maybe even his whole life.

He buried his face into his hands, groaning in a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

What am I thinking?! He thought.

After spending the whole day at Kazuya's house, Hanamiya bluntly admitted that he was awfully bored. Playing video games and eating junk food brought the tiredness out of him. He hoped that his parents would be home quickly so he could fall onto his own bed. At the same time, thinking about Kuroko and the night to come had him up and excited. He didn't want to not go, if that made any sense.

Countless hours had passed staring at the clock. The night was cold. It was probably colder than yesterday, Hanamiya assumed. It sure felt like it. He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and breathed in deeply, a sharp hitch hitting him. He shivered. He absolutely hated winter to the core.

The sun was just barely set beyond the horizon when he decided to go and meet Kuroko.

He wasn't nervous, but the closer he got to their meeting place, the more he felt the anxiety of his thumping heart beat madder.

When he got to the empty bridge, there was nobody around. The sun had already disappeared and the temperature felt like it had dropped by a few degrees.

He hoped that Kuroko didn't forget or that it wasn't a prank. He grit his teeth and inhaled sharply. The feeling of not seeing the small shadow yet was eating him up in disappointment. He decided to wait. He hoped that he came too early. He hoped that the first year would show up soon. He hoped to see him.

Turning on his heels, he flinched back in alarm.

In front of him stood Kuroko, a smile adorning his face.

Hanamiya smiled too.

At that moment, they both knew.

A/N: I'll leave the rest to your imagination~ Anyway, I hope you liked it! Even though it's short, I hope this was able to ruffle up some feels in you~ I thank you a lot for reading this and taking time to check it out. Please comment and subscribe! I would like to know your opinion and thoughts too! (Forever sails the Hanakuro ship~!)