Waiting

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroko No Basket

AN: Hey! MidoTaka is my OTP as far as Kuroko no Basket goes (tsundere Midorima is ...mukyaa!), so I really hope I did them justice. I hope you enjoy it and I apologize if it isn't up to your standards. Thank you to Thranduiliell for beta reading it :)

Summary: Takao is waiting for Midorima to propose. Midorima is waiting to see how long Takao can wait for a proposal.

Takao glared at the small black box in his palm, frowning to himself as he sat in front of Midorima's (now completely messed up) sock drawer.

He had concluded about a minute ago that boxes were the root of all evil, like Pandora's box. But, this particular box in question didn't exactly contain all the evil of the world. What it did contain however, was a simple silver band with a small diamond.

Most people would be overjoyed if they found out that their partner of 5 years was planning on proposing to them, so one might question the reason for Takao's frown. The light covering of dust on the box was an indicator of the reason for his unhappiness. Simply put, he had found the box 3 months ago. Takao had no idea why Midorima was taking so long to propose, a guy as smart as Midorima had to know that Takao's answer would obviously be affirmative, after all Takao made it his aim to shower the green haired medical student with as much affection as he possibly could on a daily basis. In the beginning, he had found it a little adorable that Midorima was so nervous about proposing but now it was outright frustrating. Just the other night, Midorima had taken him out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, the same restaurant they had visited on their 2nd anniversary. Takao was so sure he was going to pop the question but instead,

"Takao, I have something I need to ask you?" Midorima said as he absentmindedly toyed with the cutlery.

Takao's head shot up quickly, "What is it Shin-chan?" he asked excitedly.

"Oha-Asa predicts that Scorpios will be extremely lucky in the lottery tomorrow. I know your you don't like buying lottery tickets but could you buy one tomorrow?" Midorima asked, completely serious.

Takao's head drooped down just as fast as it had shot up. "Sure Shin-chan" he said dejectedly.

When he had first found the ring Takao had promised himself that he wouldn't interfere at all. Midorima wasn't the biggest fan of big romantic gestures so Takao really wanted to relish the proposal but this had gone on too long. At this rate, Takao would have dentures before Midorima proposed or maybe he would even be in his grave. It was time; Takao had to take matters into his own hands.

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Midorima smirked to himself as he noticed the rumpled state of his sock drawer. It was the 10th time this month. He couldn't believe that Takao had lasted this long. 'What if Kuroko wins?' he thought to himself darkly. He shook his head 'There is no way I am going to lose. Cancers were ranked first on the day of the bet.' He silently reassured himself.

Flashback...

Midorima's eyes twinkled in amusement as he watched the barista freak out when she noticed Kuroko at the front of the line. He never thought that out of all his junior high classmates the one he would still be seeing regularly was Kuroko. Despite their incompatible horoscopes, the two had forged a strong friendship, though neither cared to admit it.

"So, what's new with you?" Kuroko asked, as he sat down nursing a rather large vanilla milkshake.

"I'm going to propose to Takao this weekend." Midorima said, a light pink blush coating his cheeks.

Kuroko smiled, "That's amazing Midorima-kun! By the way, you both have been together for almost 5 years now, shouldn't you be calling him by his first name?" he said.

Midorima huffed and looked away, not bothering to reply. Kuroko ignored the lack of response and continued. "You know, we could make this fun?"

Midorima raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?" he asked skeptically.

Kuroko looked up, his upper lip decorated by a moustache of white foam. "Well, how long do you think Takao-san would last of he knew that you were planning on proposing to him."

"5 minutes, maybe. Takao is incredibly impatient, try going to an amusement park with him, it is hell." Midorima said without the slightest hint of humour in his voice. "I knew that if he had the slightest idea I was going to propose to him, I wouldn't be able to plan in peace which is why I didn't buy the ring earlier."

"I don't think Takao-san would do anything. He might be impatient, but I think he'd be willing to wait to watch you stutter, stumble and completely embarrass yourself. After all, he's made his fondness for your 'tsundere' nature quite clear on multiple occasions." Kuroko said, cringing lightly at the memory of that one fateful New Year's celebration at Akashi's.

Midorima huffed with annoyance diverting his gaze from Kuroko's eyes. It was embarrassing enough having Takao call him a tsundere, he did not need Kuroko to start too.

"Let's bet on it." Kuroko continued, "Somehow, let Takao-san find out that you are planning on proposing. I say Takao-san will last more than 6 months, if he breaks before that you win. Deal?"

"Deal." Midorima said quickly shaking Kuroko's hand. It was true that Kuroko was unnaturally good at reading people and understanding them but there was no way he knew Takao better than Midorima did.

Flashback end...

That was 3 months ago. To be honest Midorima was surprised Takao hadn't brought it up yet but he knew his boyfriend couldn't last forever. For the past 3 months he had been taking Takao out on a series of romantic dates, the kind of dates you take your partner on when you are about to propose. He knew it was cruel of him but he couldn't help but also find the situation a little amusing.

He had to admit he was impressed by Takao's resilience so far but as each day passed he couldn't help but worry that Kuroko would ultimately win or that maybe Takao didn't want to marry him. He had quickly disposed of the latter, not because of arrogance but because both he knew the strength of their relationship and the extent of their feelings for each other, (with Takao's love for PDA, it would be hard not to) but his former worry continued to plague him. He didn't think he could take it if he lost a bet to Kuroko. A bet, which as everyone knew was the true realm of fate and fate was the realm of Midorima Shintarou, he had complete faith in that, till now.

Fortunately Midorima didn't have to worry for much longer. Like he always had, since their first match together, Takao came through for him.

The next day...

"Shin-chan, there's going to be a firework show at the beach tonight, can we go?" Takao asked as he entered the apartment.

"Sure." Midorima replied not bothering to look up from his anatomy textbook.

"Surprisingly, I don't have any major assignments for Monday, so, I'm going to go do the laundry." Takao said.

Midorima looked up "Why? You never do the laundry. We have lived together for 2 years and you have never done the laundry."

"Um, well you see," Takao stuttered, flustered. He hadn't expected Midorima to actually question his motives. He racked his brains for a good lie "My professor, you know the American one, Mr. Smith told us that doing laundry is a great way to calm yourself and clear your head which is just what I need since midterms are coming up." Takao mentally face-palmed himself, he wasn't usually so bad at lying.

Midorima rolled his eyes "Americans have some strange ideas." he said with a sigh as he returned to reading his textbook.

Takao blinked twice. He was surprised that Midorima had actually believed such a weird lie. He shrugged his shoulders, why should he question his good luck? He inwardly groaned at the idea of doing laundry. He hated doing laundry and was perfectly content with Midorima always doing it and never questioning it. It was another one of the many reasons he loved the prickly green-haired boy. But it was necessary for his plan to work.

A few hours later...

Midorima glanced up at the clock; they'd have to leave soon if they wanted to catch the firework show Takao was so excited about. He quickly got up, wincing as all his joints creaked. He quickly changed to a sky-blue button down and a pair of black jeans. Just as he was about to open his sock drawer, Takao burst in. "Freshly laundered clothes for Shin-chan!" he exclaimed as he entered.

Before Midorima could speak, Takao continued, "Guess what I found while I was doing the laundry? These socks I bought you last year." he said pulling out a pair of bright blue socks with a duck print on them.

"I remember them." Midorima said glaring at the offending garment, "The most embarrassing article of clothing I've ever had, including when my mom used to dress me up."

"Oh come on," Takao protested "How are they embarrassing? It's not like anyone can see them even when you do wear them. Why don't you wear them tonight?"

"No way." Midorima said without a moment's hesitation.

"Please, Shin-chan." Takao said, using the most powerful weapon in his arsenal, his puppy dog face.

"No." Midorima said flatly. "And that face makes you look constipated." He added after a second.

Takao pouted "Please Shin-chan, I'll make breakfast everyday for a week." While neither of them were extraordinary cooks by any definition, they both hated cooking in the morning, so they usually took turns.

"A month" Midorima argued.

"2 weeks" Takao countered.

Midorima huffed, "Fine, hand them over." He said, snatching the socks from Takao. Takao just grinned mischievously in return.

It was a good thing that Midorima hadn't opened his sock drawer; otherwise he would have definitely noticed the lack of a certain small black box.

Later...

"Hurry up Shin-chan, we're going to miss the fireworks." Takao said grabbing Midorima's arm as they exited the train.

"No, we're not." Midorima replied flatly "The sun hasn't even set yet."

Paying no attention to his boyfriend, Takao started sprinting dragging along Midorima. By the time, they reached the shore, the sun had almost set fully, the last few beams of sunlight, creating a picturesque scene.

"I'm so tired." Takao panted, holding on to Midorima's arm for support. If Midorima was as tired as his dark-haired partner, he certainly didn't show it. "I told you, we would be early for the fireworks." He said with a small huff of frustration.

"Shin-chan, about that." Takao started with a sheepish grin "I was lying about the fireworks; I just needed the whole beach at sunset scene. It's so beautiful, right?"

Midorima would be lying if he said there wasn't a single part of his brain that knew what was going on. "Why?" he asked.

"For this." Takao replied, as he got down on one knee. "You know, this is a lot less intimidating when I can see a duck on your ankle." he said with a small chuckle. Before Midorima could reply, he continued. "Sorry, getting off topic. Shin-chan, um I mean, Midorima Shintarou, that sounds more romantic right?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, "Will you marry me?" he finished, pulling out and opening a small black box with a flourish.

At that moment, a thousand thoughts were running through Midorima's head. 1) He had won the bet with Kuroko, 2) He was going to be married to Takao. He was about to say yes but first he had to vocalize the most important thought of all, "Is that the ring I bought for you?"

Takao chuckled sheepishly "Well, I couldn't exactly afford a ring, so yeah and plus your fingers are as thin as mine, which is really unfair because they are much longer. Is it because you tape them up or are they naturally like th—" Before Takao could continue ranting, Midorima kneeled down and pressed his lips to Takao's.

"I don't really care, I just wanted to know. And yes." Midorima said as he pulled back.

"Yes what Shin-chan?" Takao asked teasingly.

Midorima's face reddened to a shade, similar to that of a ripe tomato. "Yes, I will marry you."

Takao threw his arms around the green-haired male. "Even though I knew you were going to say yes, it still feels amazing when you say it. We have to tell everyone! Who should we tell first?" he exclaimed in joy

"Kuroko." came Midorima's muffled voice.

"Kuroko-kun? I didn't know you were that close with him." Takao said, confused. Instead of replying, Midorima held Takao tighter as a rare smile graced his face. All was right with the world. He was going to marry Takao and more importantly he hadn't lost to Kuroko. Oha-Asa had triumphed once more.

Fin.

AN: Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed!