Restaurant during Christmas Eve image retrieved from

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A/N: "Pierce" is a one-shot and is the fourth story of my Glow Up series set in the world of Kuroko no Basuke, which includes other ships and original characters. I hope you can read the other stories too. But, if you haven't read them, it's okay! This story can be read as a stand-alone.

**Glow Up Series:

Story 1 - Blush (Akashi Seijurox OC)

Story 2 - Perfume (Midorima Shintaro x Takao Kazunari)

Story 3 - Rouge (Akashi Seijuro x OC)

Story 4 - Pierce (Kise Ryota x Kasamatsu Yukio)

Story 5 - Trinket (Kuroko Tetsuya x OC)
(side Moriyama Yoshitaka x Momoi Satsuki)**

Thank you very much for reading this and I hope you enjoy it!

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It was a nice snowy night. Winter had crawled itself well into the remaining days of the year so the streets were covered in white and the people in thick clothing.

Christmas songs filled the air. A group of kids were serenading the passersby. All around, families and lovers littered the plaza. They strolled along the festive atmosphere of Christmas Eve.

Yukio breathed out a puff of smoky condensation. He'd been waiting for almost half an hour in front of the illuminated fountain. He looked at his watch and read the time. It was still a few minutes before 7 P.M. Kise and he agreed to meet at 8 P.M. Why the hell did he come here so early anyway?

How lame.

He put his gloved hands inside his jacket's pockets and his thick eyebrows furrowed. How stupid was he to decide to wait outside in the snow?

"Senpai! Kasamatsu-senpai!"

Ah. The reason for his foolishness. Yukio watched as Kise ran toward him.

"Senpai, good evening. You're early as usual." The golden-haired boy greeted him with a wide smile. His head was covered in a white fluffy winter hat with earflaps and his eyes stayed hidden behind dark eyeglasses. "As soon as the photo shoot ended, I hurriedly went here. I knew you'd show up early."

Yukio looked around to check if fangirls were hovering near them. Kise was already popular, but since people discovered that he could sing, he's been garnering even more popularity. His fanbase grew exponentially, especially when he paired with Yuna, another popular artist, and they released amazing duets.

"Come on, senpai, I'm starving," the blond started leading the way. Without holding Yukio's hand. He never held the former Kaijo Captain's hand. When they went out together, Kise would always lead the way or walk beside Yukio without touching him.

The black-haired boy's chest tightened. Dragging his feet, he followed the blond. "Hoy, don't walk too fast, Kise. I'll hit you."

"Sorry. Sorry. Ah!" He suddenly stopped.

"Kise!" Yukio bumped the blond's back. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kise faced him and, while grinning, took something from his coat's pocket. He dangled a keychain shaped like a gift between them. "Here, senpai, my small gift to you."

A literal small gift.

"Thanks," the black-haired boy accepted the present. It was beautiful--a golden box with a silver ribbon. "I also have something for you." He gave Kise his gift, wrapped in beautiful green and white paper. "It's something I made on a whim," he said as he slightly blushed. He just lied. In truth, he spent weeks just to make the present.

Kise took the gift with cheer and immediately opened it. Inside was a knitted brown scarf. He laughed as he wrapped it around his neck. "This is perfect! You really made this, senpai? I'm moved. It's amazing!"

The golden-haired boy inched toward the former Kaijo Captain. For a second, Yukio thought Kise would wound his strong arms around him and hold him close like before, but the boy didn't. He stopped right in front of the black-haired boy.

Why?

Why did Kise stop embracing and touching him lovingly? Why was he gradually acting distant? Didn't he know that Yukio was noticing how Kise was slowly becoming cold?

They walked toward the restaurant with a bit of a distance between them.

Yukio's heart ached. He watched the blond's back. He remembered when they first met in Kaijo, the way they played basketball together, and how their relationship blossomed. He had always admired Kise's abilities and sunny character. In no time, he fell in love with the Kaijo ace.

They sat on an empty table inside the fancy Italian restaurant. He knew Kise would insist on paying, but Yukio never let him. Although the blond was earning lots of money, Yukio always insisted on paying half of the bill.

As soon as they got the menu from the waiter, a group of three girls approached their table. Blushing, one of them said, "Uhmm... You're Kise Ryota, right? The model and the one who sang a song with Yuna?"

Kise scratched the back of his head. He signed the girls' books and laughed as they teased him. He was enjoying the attention. Right in front of Yukio. Kise was shamelessly flirting.

At last, the girls left. The waiter returned with cups of water. Yukio was breathing hard. He was well aware of the invisible wall materializing between him and blond. And the only thing to stop the ache within his chest is to stop drinking the poison of love.

He took the glass of water and drank its contents. "Let's break up." Yukio finally found the courage to say.

The blond spat the water he was drinking and then placed the cup back on the table. "S-senpai?" His eyes were filled with confusion.

"You're distancing yourself from me. You won't hold my hand or embrace me anymore. You stopped pestering me and only contacted me once in a while. Since you've become more popular, you got embarrassed to be seen with me. I noticed all these things, Kise. You don't want to be with me anymore, so I say we should just break up." Yukio's eyes stung. Warm liquid gathered in his sharp steel blue eyes. He clenched his fists and then heard Kise reply.

"But, senpai, we're not even going out."

It was like Yukio's world crashed. What was the blond saying? "W-wha--"

They were not going out?

They weren't?

It was just... Yukio's fantasy? A misunderstanding? Even though they were always together and spent Christmas and Valentine's by each other's side? Even though they spoke words friends wouldn't say to each other? Even though there was always something unmistakably sweet hanging around them when they were together?

All this time they weren't--

Then he saw Kise's mouth arch into a tiny smile.

Oh, damn, this is so embarrassing!

And utterly heartbreaking.

He wanted to curse and hit Kise a million times. Just to erase the hurt and embarrassment. But he did none of that. The former Kaijo Captain just stood up and ran out of the resto.

Fool!

He was such a big fool.

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Kasamatsu-senpai exited the restaurant beet red. For a long while, Ryota couldn't move.

What on earth had just happened?

Senpai told him that they should break up. Which means... But they weren't... Ryota ruffled his golden hair. His heart had been beating triple time since the other boy dashed away and left.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

Argh!

At last, he stood up and went after the older boy. "Senpai," he called out and saw the former Kaijo Captain right outside the restaurant, waiting for him. Ryota watched as his world glowed at the mere sight of the boy.

Kasamatsu-senpai's existence had always brightened his boring world and kept his aimless life grounded. Kept him moving in the right direction. He could never imagine a life without him anymore.

The older boy stared at Ryota. "I cannot run away from this, Kise."

"Senpai..."

The colorful lights from the streets shone on Kasamatsu-senpai's handsome face. He continued to say, "It's my fault. I mistook your friendship with love." He sighed. "I know now, it's my mistake. I don't want to make things more awkward between us, but I also cannot stay by your side like before. I like you, Kise." More red blossomed on his plump cheeks, making Ryota even more nervous.

"S-senpai." The blond was shaking. This was too much. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, and his breath hitched. "I-I--"

"Goodbye," Kasamatsu-senpai turned his back to him.

But Ryota grabbed the older boy's hand. "Don't go!" He felt something pierce his chest as he saw the retreating form of his senpai, so he tried to steady his heartbeat and then declared for all the world to hear, "I like you, too, Kasamatsu-senpai!"

The former Kaijo Captain's back stiffened. In a swift move, the older boy faced him and punched Ryota's gut. "Liar! This is not the time to joke!"

"But I'm not joking!"

"You are!"

"Am not!"

Kasamatsu-senpai exhaled. He crossed his arms near his chest and stared into Ryota's eyes. "You don't like me." He was sure.

But the blond simply replied, "I actually do."

"You don't want to be seen with me. You're always in disguise."

"I just want to protect your privacy," Ryota defended.

"You don't contact me often anymore."

"I don't want to annoy you and make you hate me."

"You're always flirting with others."

"I'm working! I need to have fans." The blond furrowed his brows. "But I could hold back if that makes you feel better."

Kasamatsu-senpai clicked his tongue. He still wasn't convinced. He went closer to Ryota and placed an accusing finger on the blond's chest. "You're distancing yourself from me. Physically. You won't touch me. Like you're disgusted with my body."

At that, Ryota smirked. "Heh." He wrapped his gloved hand over the other boy's. "So senpai wants to be touched." He leaned close to his ear. "Don't tease me, I might just give you what you want."

Kasamatsu-senpai's ear reddened and he jumped away from Ryota. "Hoy! I'll kick that cheeky face of yours!"

"But, seriously, senpai." The blond walked closer to the former Kaijo Captain and leaned his face toward him until their foreheads touched. "I want to kiss you," he confessed. "I want to touch your hand and never let go. I want to embrace you and feel your warmth. Please understand that the reason why I distance myself from you is because I don't want to scare you." Since Kasamatsu-senpai wasn't moving away, he continued, "Open my gift."

"Your gift? Yhe keychain? How can I open a keychain?"

"Just open it." Without distancing himself from Ryota, Kasamatsu-senpai took the keychain from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a silver hoop earring. "That's my earring's partner. I've decided to give that to the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Kise, you..."

"I told you, I like you, senpai. I was so happy earlier when I learned that you thought we were already dating. That's why I smiled. I'm sorry if you felt like I was making fun of you. I wasn't. It was just because that's what I want us to do. I want us to go out officially. I wanted to confess my feelings to you tonight. Inside the restaurant."

Kasamatsu-senpai remained silent for a minute and then abruptly walked away.

"Senpai!" Was he rejecting Ryota? Was he so pissed off that he didn't want to get involved with the blond anymore? Ryota's inside shook and he suddenly wanted to cry.

But the older boy stopped and looked back at him, blushing, "I'm going to get my ear pierced. Otherwise, how could I wear this earring?"

Ryota glowed. He ran after the former Kaijo Captain. "Does that mean you're agreeing to go out with me?"

Kasamatsu-senpai kicked the blond's knee as they walked. "Of course, I do, you idiot."

Feeling brave, Ryota took the senpai's hand and led the way.

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Pierce's theme song:

True Love by P!NK ft. Lily Allen

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"Yuna-sama, flowers for you," the short-haired female talent manager said as she carried a bouquet of different-colored tulips inside the brightly lit room. "It's from Ryota-sama."

Yuna smiled. She approached her manager and plucked the card from the bouquet. She read Ryota's writing: "Yuna-neechan, thank you so much! He said 'Yes!'"

That Ryota, he was making it sound like they would get married. How cute. It would be nice if they would though. In time. Her smile widened. She was glad she talked to Ryota and encouraged him to finally confess his feelings to his former Captain.

There was nothing better than a happy ending.

"Yuna-sama, it's time," her manager reminded her.

She took her wireless sparkly microphone and exited her room. Once again, she stepped into the fucking limelight.

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A/N: This is the end of Pierce. Read more about Kise and Kasamatsu in the next stories of the Glow Up series!

Oh, and I've been mentioning the popstar Yuna. Look forward to reading more of her. ;)

Again, thank you very much for reading this!