1. Aomine Daiki and Kise Ryota
Finally done for the day, Kagami and Kuroko left the stadium, already thinking of ways to prepare for the next match against Kaijo and possible outcome of the match between Shuutoku and Akashi's team. Kagami, suddenly craving ice-cream due to excessive thinking, dragged Kuroko along to his favourite palour. The street lights along the road is almost off, but Kagami knew Kuroko were still beside him. His breathing had become somewhat of a sign for Kagami to identify Kuroko's location, though even this method didn't work at times. The redhead wondered since when had he became so good at spotting his shadow.
Suddenly, Kuroko dragged him by the collar behind a bush.
- What the heck, Kuro? – he exclaimed.
- Shhh. I spotted Aomine-kun and Kise-kun. I wanted to listen. – he put a finger over his lips, and Kagami found himself drawn to that particular place for a second before his mind caught up.
- Huh? – asked the redhead confusedly.
- We are eavesdropping. – Kuroko replied, his expression still passive, but a glimmer of amusement took over his eyes.
Kagami was going to ask what business had they to eavesdrop two members of the Generation of Miracles, but Kise's voice took over loudly. The bush was only a few meters away from the two. The redhead wondered how could Kuroko dragged them so close, so fast. Aomine was sitting on the low wall of an abandoned park, while Kise was half-sitting on… wasn't that Aomine's motorbike? Did the two of them ride on that thing together to this place?
- You shouldn't have done that, Aomichi. What if someone sees it? You might be banned. – Kise Ryota exclaimed.
- That jerk deserved it. He was going to go after you! – Aomine huffed, eyes blazing.
- I was with my team, if he had come, he would have been busted right away. – The gold-haired ace's voice took on a gentler tone.
- Still, had to give him a lesson, or he won't learn. – the dark-haired teen replied.
And right that moment, he did something Kagami would never had expected. Aomine jumped down from the wall, went right in front of Kise, took hold of both the latter's hands and intertwined their fingers, before leaning his forehead against Kise. He talked quietly, but loud enough for both Kagami and Kuroko to hear:
- Couldn't bear thinking of you hurting. He stepped on your foot during the match. Wish I could punch him a bit harder.
Kagami's mouth dropped.
- I'm not some fragile flowers, stop being too damn protective. Even my captain is getting exercrated with you. – answered Kise, but he's smiling.
Kagami couldn't believe his eyes. He looked to Kuroko, only to find his partner smiling excitedly:
- You knew about this? Since when? – the redhead asked scandalously.
- I suspected. After their national match, I guess. Aomine had always paid attention to Kise, waiting for him to catch up. They might have finally gotten together after Kise did. – Kuroko said, and there's fucking twinkle in his eyes.
The Seirin's Ace was shocked to the point of immobilisation. Kuroko had to dragged him out from behind the bush after Aomine and Kise drove away on the former's motorbike.
- But… but… I thought you and Aomine? What about Kise going after you all the time? – Kagami spluttered.
- Too long ago, and it's only almost. Him and I never actually have anything. And Kise is just Kise. – Kuroko shrugged.
Kagami let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He felt so goddamn confused and weirdly giddy at the same time, he even let Kuroko drag him back to his apartment without buying ice-cream.
2. Midorima Shintarou and Kazunari Takao
Kuroko and Kagami were on their way to the locker room after the Winter Cup semi-finals (Rakuzan and Seirin won) when they heard shouting of epic proportions. It was coming from not far outside Shuutoku's locker.
- Why is it that you always listen to that fucking arrogant Akashi? He just beat us to the ground and now when he's calling you just come running like you're at his beck and call? – It was Kazunari. – Why don't you just quit and join his team already. Better yet, fucking attached yourself to his hips and don't ever come off, that's better. – And the guy is shouting himself hoarse.
- Shut up! – Midorima screamed.
And the whole hall silenced, like death took over. Midorima never raised his voice.
- Captain, may I take him somewhere else so I can kick senses into his idiotic brain? – And he took off, dragging a still stunned Kazunari with him, never waiting for Ootsubo's nod. He even went past Kagami and Kuroko without actually registering them.
Kuroko dragged Kagami by the wrist towards the same direction not long after Midorima disappeared behind the corner.
- Again, Kuro? – Kagami asked.
- What? The Generation of Miracles' romantic life is interesting. – Kuroko actually smirked after that statements, which rendered Kagami speechless and compliant enough to be dragged along. In Kagami's defence, it is a very disarming kind of smirk.
They stopped after several turns, hiding behind a pillar, close enough to hear the two Shuutoku freshmen's conversation.
- What in the world is the problem with you? – Midorima asked.
- You are running off to meet with your ex-lover slash ex-captain right after the guy wiped the floor with our team, of course I'm fucking pissed. – Kazunari yelled.
- It was just a summon. He probably wants to talk about the match. He does that whenever he plays. – Midorima reasoned.
- No fucking way. I'm not letting you go. – Maintaining his volume, the dark-haired point guard continued.
- Why? – Midorima raised his voice. Twice in five minutes. Kuroko silently winced.
- Because I'm your fucking boyfriend and partner Shin-chan, that's why. – Kazunari fired back.
- Fine. – The green-haired crossed his arms defessively, and they both just stood there silently, face to face.
Long minutes of silence, and Kagami was just about to come out and ask if they would continue their fight when Kazunari jumped forward and kissed Midorima hungrily, like he was trying to devour him.
- You and your stupid respect for that guy and your stupid oath. Fuck it, you're with Shuutoku now, you're mine now. – Kazunari said between kisses.
Midorima, flustered and angry, could only mumble about how unreasonable his idiotic boyfriend is. His hands clung to the shorter's still wet hair, while Kazunari wrapped one hand around his waist and pulled him close, with the other hand holding his face.
After a while, Kazunari returned to his normal cheerful self and pulled Midorima towards a more private corner, mumbling about making Midorima forgot he ever received a summon. Midorima flushed redder.
Kuroko chuckled, while Kagami could not find one amusing thing about that quarrel.
- Pointless, really. – said the redhead.
- Sometimes Midorima-kun needs a bit of pointlessness. He's too uptight. – Kuroko smiled, and Kagami's pretty sure it's a genuine one. Maybe Midorima and Kuroko didn't hate each other as much as they claimed.
3. Murasakibara Atsushi and Himuro Tatsuya
This time, it wasn't Kuroko who dragged Kagami towards a Generation of Miracles, it was himself running into one.
Never in a million year would he thought Tatsuya would hook up with that giant teammate of his. So to say he was quite surprised when Murasakibara opened the door of Tatsuya's apartment half naked is an understatement. But on the other hand, yeah, he should have seen that coming. The guy is literally Tatsuya's type. And the only thing unpleasant Tatsuya would find in him would be his lack of appreciation for basketball, which was resolved after their last match.
- You certainly move fast in regard of a certain subject. The Americans' way still having an effect on you? – Kagami asked when Tatsuya sat down for tea with him, still fresh from the shower. Murasakibara had just disappeared behind the bedroom's door. Tatsuya's bedroom door.
- And you, still having no respect for me whatsoever. Here I thought you come to mend things between us. – Tatsuya smiled, so he knew his 'brother' was only joking. If they were comfortable with each other enough to banter, then Kagami thought they would be just fine, like how they used to be in the States.
- Besides, you're dying with blue balls over there. At least one of us should get some actions. Not making any progress with Kuroko? – and Tetsuya was definitely teasing him then.
He blushed for a few seconds and had to clear his throat to continue speaking:
- That obvious?
- Not really, but I knew you longer than most people, so it's clear to me when you're liking a guy. Being at the receiving end of your affection once also helps.
- And now you're just getting off on my misery. Don't mention that stupid boy crush, ever again. – Kagami fired back, glaring for good measures.
They both bursted out laughing, dragging Murasakibara from the bedroom. Kagami instinctively sat back a little bit on his sofa to observe the couple's interaction. Tatsuya trained his eyes on Murasaki's face, certainly trying to maintain eye contacts. Murasaki quirked an eyebrow at Tatsuya, his usually expression-less face taking a gentle and playful aura. Kagami's eyes almost budged out of their sockets. Tatsuya just shook his head and smiled, so the purple-head kissed his left temple before retreating to the kitchen.
A non-verbal conversation like that was such a rare thing, moments he could only imagine occurring between lovers and partners of years. And here Tatsuya was, maybe only weeks into his new relationship with a Generation of Miracles member who had been a menace and disliked basketball until recently, and they had the kind of connection that made people green with envy.
- He good to you? – asked Kagami, before he realised his intention of asking.
Tatsuya never answered, just smiled into his cup of tea and took a sip. But it was the kind of smile that made the corner of his eyes crinkle and his face lighted up. Aside from when his brother played basketball, Kagami had never seen him so radiant. It was enough of an answer.
4. Kuroko Tetsuya and Kagami Taiga
Kagami had been planning his big confession for weeks, since the moment he accidentally called Kuroko by his last name and slipped them into calling each other "Tetsuya" and "Taiga". It pushed him over the edge, being called by his last name and still have to stay in the 'friendzone'. He could feel the attraction between them, but with Tetsuya, you could never be sure your confession would be well-received.
So, he was still pondering how to tell Tetsuya that he wanted to take their partnership beyond friendship and basketball, when Tetsuya invited him to a GoM party.
- Seriously? – he asked. A party like that could turn very serious (boring), or very deadly, or very chaotic/loud/cool. Whichever suited the mood of the former Teiko basketball team members.
- Yeah. Each member must bring a person to the party. And I thought, well, since they certainly approve of you as my partner and pretty much no one else, you should come with me.
And that was how he found himself in the middle of the loudest party he had ever attended (and he attended a lot of parties while he was in the U.S, thank you very much), inside a huge mansion with a freaking pool owned by the Kise household and sole living property of one Kise Ryota. Said host was making out with his dark-skinned boyfriend in the corner of the room while people drank beer and spilled pretty much most of their drinks and food on the floor, talking loudly, daring each other to take up basketball matches and smashing china. Even Tetsuya was nursing a cup of beverage.
Suddenly not in the party mood, Kagami climbed up to the balcony overlooking the pool. His legs dangling, he thought about what his life had turned into. He certainly never thought he would be on friendly terms and faced off basketball players like the Generation of Miracles on a semi-regular basis.
- Taiga. – Tetsuya sat down next to him, still holding the previous cup. Turned out it was just soda.
And he never thought he would find a partner in Kuroko Tetsuya. But the blue-haired boy turned into a constant in his life, his shadow and his object of affection.
Without thinking, he leaned over and whispered into Tetsuya's ear:
- Want to try something fun?
Tetsuya still looked at him with that passive face of his, but his eye twinkle under the moonlight and he nodded. Kagami's heart skipped a beat. And another beat when Tetsuya stood up immediately after him and did not hesitant to take his hand when he offered it. His face was all red thanks to beer and embarrassment, but Tetsuya's face never faltered.
Kagami held them both, jumped over the balcony and brought them into the pool. After a few seconds, when Tetsuya was about to surface, Kagami dragged him down again, deeper into the pool and kissed him. Their first kiss, underwater and without a confession. Not exactly what Kagami planned, but spontaneity and sheer force of will with a bit of luck had always been his receipt of success. And it seemed to work this time too, because Tetsuya was kissing him back. Firm and not a hint of wanting to stop. They only broke apart and surfaced because of the need for air. No more than a few seconds over water, and this time it was him who was dragged down into another lung-burning kiss, this time hot and dirty and open-mouthed. They had to go up quicker, but Tetsuya never let go of him, arms circling tightly around his neck.
- Should have done that sooner. – Tetsuya exclaimed, stoned-face but wet and the most gorgeous person Kagami had ever laid eyes on.
Kagami kissed him, this time above water, a bit deeper, a bit hotter, more passionately before answering.
- You're the sixth member of the Generation of Miracles, your timing is never right.
Tetsuya did not argue with that.
