In the middle of the basketball court, Aomine stared from one person to the next. Kuroko wore a shy smile on his, for the most part, expressionless face and his childhood friend, Momoi, was beaming right next to him. He squinted against the glow of happiness she was giving off. Kuroko held her hand, he noticed that when they approached him. When had their relationship become so…advanced? The words still danced around his head, but they didn't make any sense. There was no way in hell they were getting married.

"Is this some kinda joke," he asked raising his eyebrow in disbelief.

Kuroko released Momoi's hand and closed the distance between himself and Aomine. He reached up, clasping his shoulder. He looked very serious in that moment. He gazed at him through sky-blue eyes and said, "No."

Aomine nearly hit the floor and the frankness of the answer. "What the – wait…hold on." He looked towards Momoi. Surely she'd tell him the truth. She always had. She was his companion, his manager, his best friend. Plus, she let him copy her notes! "Satsuki. Is this true?"

She pressed her hands against her flustered cheeks and spun around in circles. She resembled some kind of fairy. "Of course, it's true! Look." She stopped and extended her hand, revealing a rock the likes of which he'd never seen. "Isn't it gorgeous?! And it's real, Dai-…I mean Aomine-kun!" She rushed past him into Kuroko's arms. "Oh, Tetsu-kun! I love you so much!" She planted kiss after kiss all over his face. Kuroko smiled, but gently shooed her to his side.

It was clear that Aomine was in shock. Had he simply not been paying attention to them all this time? He looked over at the two. His eyes landed on Kuroko. "…he's serious." Not wanting to be anymore awkward, he sighed and grinned. "You better take care of her, Tetsu. She's important to me too."

"Aomine-kun…" she said. It was rare that he said such nice things about her…out loud…in public.

"I will," Kuroko answered. "That's a promise." He held out his fist. Aomine returned his fist-bump, still smiling. However, it still bothered him. He felt as if he was losing both his friends; he'd felt that way for a while now.

Kagami entered Maji Burger. He and Kuroko often met there to eat and catch up. After ordering the usual amount of burgers, he quickly found his teammate. He wasn't so much a 'phantom' to him anymore. Sitting at a booth by the window, Kuroko drank his milkshake in silence. He then noticed Kagami and waved.

"Long time no see," Kagami stated, sitting in the seat across from him. "What have you been up to? You hardly return my calls." He was frowning slightly. Unwrapping the first of many burgers, he took a bite.

"Sorry." The apology was genuine. "I've been busy with other things. In fact, that's what I need to talk to you about."

He swallowed. "What is it?" He asked before taking another colossal bite.

"Momoi and I are getting married."

The food was suddenly lodged in Kagami's throat. He pounded his chest excessively, trying to get it down. Kuroko stared at him wide-eyed. He wasn't expecting this type of reaction. If anything, the thought the announcement would bore him. He offered Kagami a small cup of water which he drank hurriedly.

Gasping, he stammered, "W-What did you…just say? Married? You're getting married?! To Momoi Satsuki?! Aomine's girl?!"

"She's not Aomine's girl." He looked a bit irritated. "We've been dating for a while now; almost a year."

"A year?!" Kagami couldn't believe what he was hearing. "…you've had a girlfriend for almost a year and you never told me?"

Kuroko looked down at his milkshake. "It was nothing personal. I just didn't want to put Momoi in a difficult position. We were still participating in the tournament, after all."

Kagami stared at him, mouth agape. He had no idea what to say to him first. He'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't hurt by this declaration. He considered Kuroko his best friend and the fact that he kept such a big secret, a huge part of his life from him hurt his feelings. He turned away. He couldn't stand to look him in the eye just yet. Standing up from his seat, he quickly left Maji Burger.

It was pretty late in the day maybe right around dinner time. It was only a matter of time before his parents called, but they already knew where he'd be. He dribbled the ball between his feet and steeped back into a flawless fade-away. The ball snapped through the net. When he played all he could thing about was basketball; nothing else mattered but the game. But as soon as he stopped, his mind wandered back to his newly engaged friends. It was irritating to say the least. Momoi was snatched right out of his grasp. Their relationship was tricky, even for him. They were friends, yes. They weren't romantic at all, but still he loved her. They were practically siblings. He wouldn't lie about that. He thought she was spending less and less time with him because she was busy with school. Turns out she was busy with Tetsu.

He sat down on the hard wood and laid back, staring at the ceiling. "I guess this is loneliness, huh?" He held the basketball up to the light and muttered, "Who'd have thought I'd ever feel this."

Minutes passed before he sat up again. As he did, the entrance to the gym flew open and a familiar man walked onto the court.

He froze when he saw him. He didn't think there would be anyone here this late. Regardless, he took out his own basketball and dropped his gym bag onto the floor. He called out to the man sitting on the court. "I should have guessed someone like you would be here."

"Kagami." Aomine hopped to his feet, giving him a devilish grin. "You're a little late. Party's over."

He scoffed, "Like I was ever invited." Dribbling the ball, he approached him. "Wanna play?"

Aomine was about to leave until Kagami showed up. He was one of the few people who would give it their all and play him seriously. He liked that about him, but that was about it. This was the man who finally beat him, after all. It was still maddening to think about. In fact, he was the reason he was in the gym everyday practicing. There was no way he'd be beaten again.

"One on one?" He laughed, rolling his ball out of bounds. "You know you don't stand a chance if that's the case. Playing solo is my forte."

"Doesn't matter." He responded curtly. "I'll still win."

That was all it took to start the game. Aomine's agility had improved greatly in such a short time. But Kagami was no different. He kept pace with him though it was no easy feat. Aomine's street ball was the best. Kagami had learned a few tricks of his own back in LA playing as a child. They had grown accustomed to each other's moves, but that didn't make it any easier to get a shoot up. The first point went to Kagami who delivered a swift pump fake and drove past him for a dunk. The lead was quickly tied as Aomine flew by Kagami, flipping the ball behind his back, over his head into the net.

Their one on one match went on for over an hour. They both collapsed onto the court, sweat dripping from their bodies. After all that, the score was still tied. Kagami turned his head to look at his opponent who was, in turn, staring back at him.

"Did you hear Tetsu's getting married?"

He hadn't anticipated the question. He was waiting for the smart remark; something along the lines of 'The only one who can beat me is me' or 'Give up Baka-gami'. An image of Kuroko flashed across his mind's eye. He sat up, turning away from Aomine. "…yeah. I heard about it. When did you find out?" He probably knew about it the whole time. I may have been the only one who didn't know.

"This afternoon."

"Huh?" He snapped his head back towards him. His expression was a little sad, but he didn't turn away from him. He looked him straight in the eye. For a moment, Kagami was lost.

"Tetsu came to see me earlier today. You should have seen the ring he got her." He shook his head, smiling a little. "She looked so happy…" Kagami listened silently. "They both looked happy. What else could I do besides congratulate them?"

Suddenly, Kagami felt incredibly bad. He never thought to wish his friend the best. He was too busy being upset at Kuroko for not telling him that he'd been secretly dating Momoi for so long. He bit his lip in frustration.

Aomine watched the many emotions dance across Kagami's face. His red eyes seemed glazed over in deep thought. Something about his expression made him want to console his basketball rival. He sat up, reaching out towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't make that face. It's kind of cute," he grinned wickedly at him.

"W-What did you say?!" Kagami gracelessly scrambled to his feet. Aomine was a little shocked that his face was a little flustered. It only made him want to tease him more.

"Are you blushing?" He chuckled. "Now I really want you." He jumped up after Kagami and began chasing him around the gym. It was hilarious the way he tried to evade him, but Aomine was much faster. He easily caught his red-haired rival. He grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled back hard. Kagami tripped over his own feet and landed heavily onto his chest, but Aomine skillfully kept him from falling. His hands were on his biceps and his eyes widened at how fit the man really was.

Like a caged tiger, Kagami ripped himself from his grasp. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Aomine pulled himself from his daze and smiled softly at the angry man. "It pisses you off doesn't it? About Tetsu, I mean."

The sudden frustration Kagami felt seeped from his body. He came here to forget about the incident with Kuroko and knew playing basketball would help. The fact that Aomine was here listening to him, understanding him, made him grateful towards him despite his teasing. He stared into his eyes and simply said, "…yeah."

"I can relate. Imagine how I felt to hear that Satsuki's been stolen from me."

Kagami bit his lip and turned away. "I thought she was into you. I mean…you're always together."

Aomine was use to this. Everyone thought that they were a couple. The idea of dating her did cross his mind every once in a blue moon over the years, but he never had it in him to go forward. She was like his sister for God's sake. "She understands me. She never judged me for being who I am. How can anyone toss away someone like that?"

He was right. Having someone to relate and connect with was a wonderful thing. It was a shame that there were those who'd neglect people like that. Kagami thought back to when he first met Kuroko. At the time, he had no idea he'd become such a close friends with a guy who couldn't even shoot the ball. Nevertheless, they practiced together, ate together, played basketball together; it was rare that they were apart. Until recently, you could always find them together; side by side. He felt betrayed. As if Kuroko didn't trust him enough to let him in on the secret. All at once, he realized that it was wrong to hold that against him. It was his life after all and he did what he thought was best for their relationship. Was he really going to hold that against him?

"…I'm so stupid," he mumbled, dropping his head to his feet, "and so childish. He must hate me about now."

Aomine moved to stand right in front of him. For a second, he thought he was about to cry. He placed his hand on his cheek, fingers grazing against his flaming red hair and lifted his head. He looked so vulnerable; as if he would collapse any minute. It made him want to protect him. "We both know Tetsu isn't the kind of guy to hate you over something like that."

The warm hand against his face was reassuring. It was strange though getting advice from someone like Aomine. What did he really know about him? He was his greatest rival, yes. Other than that, he knew very little about the man. Still, somehow Aomine seemed very wise to him; mature. He never noticed before. Subconsciously, he wanted to know more about him.

Kagami blushed as he realized just how long he was staring at him. When did he get so close? He took a step back, but Aomine swiftly followed. He could feel the heat burning his cheeks. He was too close. The atmosphere was maddening. He'd never felt this before. "W-What are you doing?"

"Why are you running?" Aomine's expression was serious yet dazed. His eyes were soft as he loomed over Kagami.

"I'm not running-" Kagami was easily silenced as Aomine reached out and grabbed him. Snaking his arm around his waist, he pulled him against his chest and kissed him fully on the lips.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Instinctually, he brought up his arms and pushed against Aomine's chest, but to no avail. His arms tightened around Kagami, his fingers entangled themselves into his hair. To his utter horror, a moan escaped his throat. Taking advantage of this, Aomine swept his tongue into his mouth.

It was hot. They were sweaty. And there was no one around. Kagami felt his legs turn to mush. He was falling. Or was Aomine pushing him down?! Regardless, the two were once again lying on the hardwood floor of the basketball court.

Aomine was making quick work of him. His hands were everywhere. Kagami didn't know what to do. Whenever he tried to yell for him to 'get off' he'd kiss him passionately. When he tried to pull himself away, Aomine would pin him down. Where was he getting his strength?! But when his mouth made contact with his neck, it was over. Kagami could feel the heat of it all the way to his toes. His back arched slightly and words were foreign to him. The only sound that came out was a stifled moan.

Aomine stopped. It was too much. He looked down at Kagami, surveying his work. He was flustered, breathing heavily. He'd left small kiss marks here and there. But it was the look in his eye that melted his heart. He was scared, unsure, but accepting all at the same time. Aomine was just as shocked that he'd kissed him as he was. He was far too adorable, too innocent. The urge to take him had rushed over him like a wave. So much so, he almost lost control. "…I can't," he whispered, setting up, "not like this." He climbed to his feet, turning his back on Kagami. "Be careful on your way home."

And just like that, he was gone; leaving Kagami alone on the court.