A/N: Hi guys, I'm back after a month long break. Sorry but I come bearing gifts, the gift of a MidoTaka story.
The song Shodou by Pigstar (yes, the OP of Junjou Romantica 2) fits this couple perfectly, so give it a listen and note the lyrics.
Standard disclaimer applies [the usual I-do-not-own-KnB stuff], and I'm sorry if this sucked. Please read and take 30 seconds to review, let me know if it sucked.
Story playlist: "Shodou" by Pigstar
Midorima Shintarou x Takao Kazunari
It was only 7.15 AM, the sun has not completely risen from the horizon and yet a tall, green-haired boy was already heading towards the train station, making his way to his school.
"Good morning, Shin-chan…" A cheerful voice greeted from behind him.
"Good morning, Takao." The boy replied curtly to the newcomer.
"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?"
"Hmm."
"Say, Shin-chan. Are you free this weekend?"
"Why?"
"It's been a long time since our last date, and I was hoping that we'd spend the day together. The weather has been beautiful lately."
"I'll think about it."
"Thank you, Shin-chan. You're the best!" Takao shot him that brilliant smile of his and for that, Midorima Shintarou couldn't help but smile a little at his boyfriend's compliment.
Most people wouldn't believe that the stoic number one shooter of the Generation of Miracles, Midorima Shintarou would actually commit himself to a relationship, much less get himself a lover who's a MALE to boot. Even his former teammates from Teiko found it hard to accept the fact that he was dating someone, to the point Aomine and Kise once had a debate over the fact that whether Midorima was actually asexual or not.
Not the he could blame them though. He never showed the slightest interest in anything besides his studies, basketball and his ridiculous obsession with horoscopes. Confessions from admirers became something of a norm for him ever since he entered middle school but he politely (and firmly) rejected them all, saying that he has no interest in committing himself to anything else other than basketball and his studies. He thought it would be easy to ward all of them off, as long as he stuck to his plans and kept on rejecting every confession he received until he finished high school perhaps.
But even so, there are some confessions that he found hard to turn down. He was basically conned by Takao to go on that date with him, by targeting his male ego saying that he was too afraid to accept Takao's challenge and forcing Midorima to grudgingly accept the challenge.
One date will not change anything, I will prove him wrong, Midorima promised himself, gritting his teeth at his smirking partner.
That was the first time his predictions backfired outside the basketball court. Not only did he enjoyed his date with Takao, in fact he found himself agreeing to another date about a week later (much to his surprise).
And another.
And another.
Before he knew it, he started looking forward to his dates with Takao. And when Takao went out of town one weekend with his family, he found himself missing his hawk eyed point guard.
It wasn't long before he made his conclusion on that matter. It happened when he left his lucky item back in his classroom and he went back to retrieve it. Just before he entered the classroom, he overheard Takao receiving a confession from one of their classmates. She was a pretty girl, always laughing and smiling, a brilliant student too. No male alive (except for those who have no interest in the opposite sex) with a sane mind would ever turn her down. Surely she had much more to offer to Takao than he did, he had no reason to turn her down.
His heart clenched at the image of Takao smiling and laughing with that girl. She would be the one receiving Takao's affections and attentions, receiving exactly what Takao had given him all this while. It didn't hurt exactly with the knowledge of that fact, more like a deep longing in his heart to enjoy his time with Takao a little more, even just a little while more. He thought he would have been relieved when Takao finally got over that infatuation of his and things would finally be back to normal, but by the looks of things, it's the opposite.
"I'm sorry Suzuki-san, but I'm already seeing someone else." Takao apologized to the girl.
Midorima's eyes widened at Takao's words. There was no way Takao would have rejected someone like Suzuki Chihiro, she's like the dream girl of the entire male population in his school. He wouldn't have rejected her, not for someone like him.
"I-I see. I'm sorry I bothered you. I hope you will be very happy with her." Her voice cracked in the end, and it sounded like she was trying to hold back her tears.
"I'm sorry Suzuki-san. I really am." Takao apologized once more.
"It's alright. I guess I'll take my leave now." Suzuki Chihiro rushed out of the classroom, wiping her tears away.
Midorima heard Takao sigh from the inside of the classroom before he came out with his lucky item in hand. He stopped when he saw him standing in the corridor.
"I'm guessing you heard everything."
Midorima could only nod, not knowing what else to do.
"Don't worry Shin-chan, it's not like the first time I've rejected someone. You do it all the time too. She'll get over it, although I'm sorry that I had to break her heart."
"Why did you reject her? Don't you know how many guys in school would die to be in your shoes?"
"Well, she's a nice girl with a great personality but she's not my type. I like a more of, shall we say, a tsundere type person?" Takao winked at him with a smirk.
Midorima felt his cheeks heat up at Takao's words. "You're an idiot to turn down a girl like that."
"But I'm only an idiot when it comes to you, you know that."
"Don't say such embarrassing things. We're still in school."
"Yes, Shin-chan."
It was really embarrassing to think about it. Yes, he liked Takao too. A lot, a little too much than he liked.
It wasn't easy for Midorima to admit that truth to himself. All his life, he was the very image of a perfect son that every parent would want, athletic, studious and respectful toward elders. His family was the slightly more traditional type, with a working father and a stay-at-home mother. He was raised with traditional values that were drilled into him since he was young. By his standards, 2 men just can't fall in love with each other. No matter what, it just doesn't work.
But these past weeks with him practically dating Takao, he began to question the values that he had upheld all his life. His carefree, laid back smile, the passion that burned in his eyes when he played basketball. The way he laughed, the way he would tolerate every one of his whims (which normally people wouldn't do). It doesn't matter if Takao wasn't female, what mattered was that he could accept him and love him for who he really is. In Takao's eyes, he was just Shin-chan, not Midorima Shintarou of the Generation of Miracles.
Going against his sanity and better judgment, he let himself lower his guard down. This time, he was just going to let himself fall and just let fate do the rest for him. And these past 7 months have proved that it was the best decision he has ever made. But that aside, all this while, it has always been Takao taking the initiative in their relationship.
The first time they held hands, Takao had slowly intertwined his fingers with his while they were watching a movie (which Takao pestered him to go to) and he refused to let go. The first time they kissed, they were at the school rooftop where Takao attacked him and took him by surprise when he planted his soft lips on his. Midorima's face had turned a bright shade of red, causing Takao to smile.
"How was it?"
Midorima was at loss for a while. "I-Idiot, we're in school. This is no time to do something like this."
"So you're saying we can do stuff like this when we're not in public?" Takao smirked at him.
"I'm not answering that."
"Such a tsundere."
That particular memory brought a smile on his lips. Yes, he was surprised about the kiss but frankly, he enjoyed it, along with all the other kisses the both of them have shared. Before this, kissing was something other couples did and he never dwelled much on the subject. But with Takao, it was a whole different matter. The look on his face must have been pretty amusing for Takao throw a questioning look at him, which he pretended he didn't see.
Speaking of dates, it was usually Takao who initiates them as well, whether is to the aquarium or even the new restaurant that have just opened its doors near their school. The only times where he would ever take Takao out was to drag him all over town in search of his precious lucky items for the both of them, "to do their utmost before leaving the rest to fate" like he always does. But even those, Midorima had to grudgingly admit, hardly counted as dates as all.
"Takao…" Midorima called out to the point guard whose nose was stuck in a manga.
"Yes?"
"About Saturday…. Leave everything to me."
Takao almost dropped the manga he was holding in shock. "Are you serious? You, are asking me to leave everything to you?"
Midorima pushed his glasses further up his nose bridge. "You heard me Takao. Just be at my place at 9.30 PM."
"Well Sin-chan, I guess I'm looking forward to it already."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, stupid. It's only Tuesday."
-x-
On Saturday, at precisely 9.25 PM, Takao arrived at the Midorima's Residence. He was feeling slightly tired, since could hardly sleep the previous night with all the excitement that has been going through his mind.
This was definitely a first with them. He knew very well that it was going to be a long time before Midorima would accept their relationship fully and so far, they've been making great progress. Midorima allowed him to hold his hand at times, even kissing him if they weren't in public. He never expected Shin-chan to initiate a date, he always thought he'd take a full year before he's do that. Sure, it was a very long time but for his Shin-chan, he'd wait. And today, his efforts finally paid off.
"You're here." Midorima greeted him from his front gate.
"Yeah. You know I'll never be late to our dates."
"Hmph. Leave the cart. We're walking."
"Hah? Walking? At night?" Takao exclaimed, feeling confused.
"Yes, leave the cart. Where we're going, we can't take the cart."
"Lead the way then." Takao smiled brightly, extremely excited at the prospect.
Midorima laced his fingers with his, and smiled. "Follow me."
The couple made their way to the nearest train station and got on one of the trains. It was already late and the train station was mostly empty, which meant they were safe to hold hands for their entire journey. Midorima still kept quiet about their destination and that made Takao positively burn with curiosity.
"Where are we going exactly, Shin-chan?"
"Just shut up and see. We're almost there." Midorima replied curtly, his eyes on the passing lights that flew past them as the train moved.
Takao sulked in his seat like a child with a huge sigh. It wasn't fair that Midorima wasn't telling him anything. He just wanted to know but no. He just had to keep his mouth sealed about where they were going and there was no force on earth that could force him to open his mouth. He would just have to wait.
After around 2 stops, they got off at a station in the middle of nowhere.
"God Shin-chan, where the heck are we?"
"Somewhere. Come." Midorima pulled him in the direction of a darkened path to the town.
Takao expected them to stop at the town but they kept on walking, until the town was completely behind them. Then, it dawned on him. The tall trees surrounding them, the dark path ahead of them, along with the hills he saw earlier. It all made sense now.
"Shin-chan, are we going hiking?"
"Yes, got a problem with that?"
"No but I mean, who goes hiking in the middle of the night? Aren't you afraid of wild animals attacking you out of nowhere?"
"Look, if you don't want to go, we can always turn around and head back to town." Midorima looked slightly hurt when he said those words.
His expression tugged at Takao's heart. "No, I don't want to turn back. It's just that it's kinda creepy when it's just you and me in the middle of the night against an entire jungle with God knows what in it."
Midorima's expression softened. He held onto Takao's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry, you have me. And our lucky items of course."
Takao smiled. "Yeah… Let's just keep walking."
They walked the rest of the way in silence, only hearing the sounds of crickets, their shoes crunching on the unmarked path, and the occasional hooting from an owl. After what seemed like an eternity later (actually, it was only 30 minutes), the reached the summit of the hill which they were hiking. After sharing a bottle of water which Midorima brought, the both of them sat down on the grassy field, enjoying the night breeze which was blowing gently on their faces.
"So, you brought me all the way here, just for a hike?" Takao asked with an amused tone in his voice.
"Oh course not you idiot. If I wanted to hike, I would have brought you here in the broad daylight. Look up." Midorima tilted his lover's face up towards the night sky, and he was amazed with what he saw.
The sky was absolutely filled with stars, twinkling brightly against the midnight sky, almost like diamonds. There were probably hundreds of them tonight, and Takao had never seen such a beautiful night sky before.
"Shin-chan, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Takao exclaimed in awe.
"It is, isn't it? You'll never be able to see such a beautiful night sky in Tokyo, not with all the pollution and city lights." Midorima smiled, putting his arm around his boyfriend.
"But how did you find this place?"
"My grandfather brought me here once when I was a kid. We hiked all the way up here one night, and he showed me this magnificent view. He even showed me how to identify some constellations like the Orion and the Big Dipper. I loved it so much that I swore that one day I would share this sight with my most precious person." Midorima nudged him gently at the word 'my most precious person'.
Takao was at a loss for words. "Shin-chan…"
"I know that you've been taking the lead all this while, but now it's my turn. I want you to know that I'm really glad that I met you. If not for you, I wouldn't have experienced so many wonderful things. So, thank you, for being in my life… Kazunari."
Takao stiffened at the sound of being called his given name. Midorima had never done it before and now it was basically music to his ears.
"Thank you for being in my life too, Shin-chan." Takao leaned up and kissed the taller man on the lips, lingering longer that he usually did, not that Midorima minded much.
When they pulled apart, Takao settled his head comfortably on Midorima's thighs, looking up to the heavens above dotted with diamonds. "I guess it must be fate that we met each other, isn't it?"
Midorima chuckled lightly at that question. "Of course. Don't you know that Cancers and Scorpios are basically a match made in heaven?"
"I guess our fates together are written in the stars above."
Midorima planted a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.
"I have no doubts about that."
-owari-
A/N: Sorry for the cheesiness and the out-of-characterness :)