Closing the Distance chapter 1
Watching Midorima wasn't very interesting. Yet, Takao couldn't stop himself from doing it. He wondered why it sometimes was like watching a boring movie, that you keep watching because you expect something will happen eventually. When it doesn't it can be very disappointing, but Takao had learned that in this case, whenever something did happen, it was extremely worthwhile.
Any kind of reaction Midorima showed was a joy to watch, but the best moments were when Takao could provoke those reactions, or expressions himself. Since the green-haired shooter was usually so stoic, it was not very easy to make him show any kind of emotion. Therefore, Takao had been trying out all sorts of things. Just small things, usually mostly bothersome things.
Taking away his rolling pencil for a test, hiding his lucky item, placing his glasses somewhere else after showering in the gym's showers. Of course Midorima got mad at him each time, but he didn't mind.
After all, anger was a little more exciting than just regular annoyance, and Midorima always had ways to get back at him. Takao almost started believing in karma, sinde he always lost at rock-paper-scissors, resulting in him pulling the cart whenever.
Takao didn't mind playing Midorima's slave as long as he could be with him and witness his rare expressions of anger, perseverance, surprise, and very rarely, happiness. He observed, and took in every emotion displayed on the face he liked.
Lately, he was yearning for more of it though. He started wondering if there was no way to really break through to him, and his chest hurt when he remembered the expressions he had already seen. He just wanted Midorima to share his thoughts, feelings, daily meaningless worries...
Takao clenched his fists. His mind had been made up, somewhere between third period and during lunch, where he once again talked to Midorima, but got only basic responses. He wanted so much more, he wanted to hear his voice, he wanted Midorima to actually know he was there.
More specifically, that he was there for him. And if he were to be angry, he wanted these feelings to be directed to him. He wanted to make Midorima aware, truly aware, of who he was dealing with. Not only in basketball, but in life. He yearned for it, to be loved or hated, but not to be ignored.
And so Takao thought of a plan, to figure out how far he could go. To get what he wanted. Because, he knew very well that he wasn't a good guy. Not really.
-
Friday, right after practice, Takao announced something.
'Hey, coach?' he called out. But everyone was around, and everyone listened.
'I can't come to practice tomorrow. I've got a date.'
Takao was smiling a little smugly. It was the kind of smile that made others resent you. Midorima also noticed how the others shot a quick glance at him before they continued doing whatever they were doing. Still, they listened. And so did he. Takao? A date?
The coach sighed, exactly the same sigh as when he allowed Midorima one of his so-called selfish things.
'Alright. Keep in shape though.' And with that, everything went back to the order of the day.
For some reason, Takao disappeared from the dressing rooms very fast today, and for some reason, Midorima did not feel like practising on his own today, not even after some rest. In the end, he went home as well.
He involuntarily wondered who Takao would be having a date with, and tried to recall if he had seen him talk to any girls, but nothing would come to mind. Then again, it was the least he would pay attention to so he might just not remember. And it's not as if he was always nearby, although often.
It was no big deal, he thought. They were at a perfectly normal age to go on dates. It wasn't strange, and if it would not occur every weekend, it would not pose a problem for basket practice either. This was fine, of course it was fine.
Even so he could not concentrate on math that evening, even reading didn't go well. In order to get his mind off things, since it was apparently needed, he watched a movie that played on TV. A detective story with an intelligent plot at least managed to distract him a little, and after that he went to bed.
The sound of an incoming text message woke him up in the morning, a few minutes before his alarm would go off. He reluctantly reached out for his phone, knowing it would be Takao. He both did and did not want to read the text. But a tiny voice in his head whispered that it might be to inform him that the date had been cancelled.
It wasn't.
Shin-chan! *A* Goodmoooorning!
Do your best at practice and catch passes!
Even if they're not mine LOL
Midorima scowled and threw his phone - perfectly - into his sports bag. What was that idiot thinking? He had no intention to reply, his mood had turned sour. What day was it? Probably one with bad luck. He had to get up, eat decent breakfast, find out about today's lucky item and head to practice.
He nearly spit out a mouthful of high-fibre cereal when he heard Oha-asa's horoscope. He was said to have a really bad day, and no chance of getting a lucky item for counter-measures. After all, it was 'a precious gift from your lover'. He cursed softly. What kind of item was that? There's no way everyone would have such a thing! And what was worse, it wasn't something you could go out and buy.
This was going to be a terrible day, he thought. He even considered calling the coach to cancel on practice, but they were already one member short, and if he turned on his phone again, he would have to see that text once more. Basically, he had no choice but to pack his things and deal with it.
Takao laughed after he sent his text message to Midorima. It was pure self-satisfaction, and the only thing he regretted was not being able to see how he would react. But he knew, he knew the exact scowl he'd make. Combined with the horoscope that he also checked once he was awake, he was almost sad that he wouldn't be there today to see the stoic shooter's scowl at practice.
But in fact he actually did plan a date. A very generic date, visiting the park, walking. There could be lunch, shopping, seeing a movie, whatever she wanted. He had no experience in dating, but how hard could it be?
The girl he had asked was also fairly generic. He had overheard her friends saying that she liked him, and he had indeed spotted her a few times now, she had even come to watch the team's practice.
He felt only minor discomfort at knowing that she was merely a pawn in his plan, but he wanted this experience to be genuine, and so he needed a real girl, who could come to him during school as well. Who people could talk about.
She was already at the station when he arrived, and as a gentleman should, he apologized for being late, she answered that it was fine, that she had only just arrived as well. Very generic, but at the same time perfect.
Takao noticed that she had dressed up for the date, and she looked better than she did at school. Her long hair hung loose, she was wearing a skirt, a soft pink blouse and cream jacket. He made a comment on how nice it looked on her. It wasn't a lie, even. But he had to be careful. Don't tell her all kinds of nice things and then drop her.
'Let's go then, shall we?' he said with a smile. She nodded, she seemed happy. Walking side by side, having some small talk to start off, Takao was pretty sure that to anyone they would look like a young couple on a first date.
He was planning on making it an enjoyable experience for her, so she would tell her friends about it and word would spread, eventually reaching even Midorima's ears. For a moment his smile changed into a devilish grin, but he corrected himself quickly.
-
As usual, Midorima was well on time for practice. He had already changed into his jersey when the other team members arrived. Ootsubo ordered them all to hurry up so they could start. Midorima sat down, hands folded, staring at the floor. It was strangely quiet with just the occasional chatter of the other members around him. None of them sounded as loud as Takao always did, but then again Takao was always much closer to him. Literally.
The others kept their distance, showed not much interest in Midorima at all. Of course it was because he also didn't show interest in them. But now, without Takao around, the distance between the ace and the regular players was all the more visible. Midorima noticed, and because he noticed, in his heart he knew that he did care.
In middle school it had been different. No matter what, they shared a bond back then. He could pretend to be indifferent, but no one really accepted that. He was included in everything they did, even if he was just there. Such different personalities were gathered and put together in one team, young people with talents but also imperfections, until things changed.
'Midorima. We're starting.' He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed the others leaving. Ootsubo was standing in the door opening, waiting. He didn't sound concerned or anything, he was just calling out. Midorima got up and stretched. During warming up, he did fine by just focusing on his movements.
Actual practice went different though. They were playing a practice game, and Midorima noticed that he wasn't quite following the game. His mind drifted off to questions he asked himself about Takao's date, while at the same time he wondered why he should be bothered.
Completely out of his control he wondered again who Takao would have a date with, and he tried to construct a list of girls that Takao might date. But he paid so little attention to girls that he could only think of six or so girls that he did remember, either because they came to talk to him before or because they were class representatives or something.
Suddenly the sound of a basketball bouncing high off the floor behind him roughly shook him free from his toughts. He turned and saw it, right when Ootsubo shouted out to him.
'Midorima! How could you not get that pass?'
The shooter had to remain silent. 'Sorry,' he said clearly. He never missed passes. Ever.
A first year picked up the ball and the coach came over.
'If you're feeling unwell you should rest. You're out for now, okay?'
And with that, he was dismissed. He hurried to the bench, hating himself for letting something like this happen. As he sat down, he watched the game. It wasn't much though, so his mind drifted to Takao's date again. What would they do? Where would they go? He realised he only knew what dates were supposed to be like from TV series, and he barely watched those.
Would they hold hands? He involuntarily conjured up an image of Takao, holding hands with a shadowy figure, smiling, talking. The image of Takao in his head was vivid, his expressions etched in his memory. Midorima even started thinking that his friend actually had a lot of expressions, from his sneaky grin to a wide smile to utter disappointment.
Would the girl see those? Which emotions would she read on his face? What... what would love look like as expression? He couldn't tell. Suddenly, it frustrated him that he was thinking about Takao and his date so much. Why should he? Takao could do what he wanted, it didn't matter!
Midorima called the coach over, telling him that he was feeling fine and wanted to be on the court again. And so he joined the game and played, his thoughts finally set on the game. But all the others could tell that his style was suddenly more harsh, almost violent.
-
During the walk through the park, Takao was mainly asking questions in order to keep their talk going. She seemed to be having fun though, as she talked about the things she liked, getting a new phone, which coffee shop she preferred. All small talk, but that was fine.
They visited the temple near the pond, watched sparrows eat the crumbs of bread a child was throwing around, saw a street performer on stilts do tricks. All in all, it went perfectly so far, Takao thought. All he needed to do was leave a good impression.
'Is there anything else you'd like to do?' He asked, making it sound nice, giving her the chance to choose what they did next. Of course, if she wanted to leave that would have been alright, but the way she smiled told him she wouldn't do that.
'If you want, we could visit that coffeeshop I talked about?' She suggested.
'Oh, but I also want to buy the new CanCan! Can we do that first, Takao-kun?'
'Sure,' he replied with a sweet smile. He wasn't used to smiling so much, it almost started to hurt his cheeks.
Takao looked around at the sports magazines while she looked for her fashion magazine. He spotted the monthly basketball magazine that often featured high school teams as well, but he didn't need to buy it. There was always someone else in the team who did.
After that, she took him to the coffee shop. It was small, and sort of cute with armchairs with flowery cushions and cute lamps dangling from the ceiling. Takao guessed that a place like this is what girls like, after all.
'Hey, what would you like?' He took out his wallet, making it obvious that he would treat her.
She was looking at some cute cakes and pies inside the counter as she looked up.
'Oh, eh...'
'Pick any cake and drink you want, my treat,' he still added.
'Eh...' She turned to look at the cakes again, now with a blush on her face. Maybe because she had not expected him to treat her to cake, maybe because the young woman behind the counter was smiling knowingly.
Finally Takao ordered their cakes and drinks and flashed another dazzling smile at the woman, and to his surprise she blushed a little as well when she gave him his change. It certainly stroked his ego though. It gave him the confidence that these things actually worked. And maybe it would have an effect on Midorima as well.
This time, she was the one to ask Takao some questions, and he saw answering them as an obstacle. But all in all, this wasn't so hard. He just told her about the basketball team, and then she mentioned that she had indeed heard about how the fact that Midorima joined their team was 'kind of a big deal'.
Her phrasing made Takao laugh, and he had to admit that it was indeed a big deal. So he told her in short what he knew about the Generation of Miracles. She nodded, saying that after all, people with a lot of talent are different from those who need to do their best and still not reach a certain level. Takao had no choice but to admit that was true. He was very much aware of that difference, but still lucky enough to have a degree of talent that put him at least one step higher than the average player.
They said goodbye at the station. She thanked him for asking her, saying she'd had fun, and all he could do was smile and agree, this was the only moment where he couldn't think of anything proper to say. He wasn't sure how dates should end. They hadn't held hands, or anything else, so what was their official status now? What are you exactly after one date?
Takao almost regretted asking this girl out for a date, simply because he had expected to be bored, that this would be a necessary pain. But it wasn't so bad. She was a decent girl, but he had made up his mind about this. He would go through with it, even if it meant hurting her. It had to be done.
-
Midorima was completely beat after practice. When the coach whistled and announced that they were done for the day, the shooter didn't notice the concerned looks he got from some of his teammates. Of course they were aware that they were playing with a member of the Generation of Miracles, but they had never seen Midorima play like this. He had never needed to, so they wondered what was going on.
He was still breathing heavily when the coach came over.
'Midorima... usually I can forgive you because your level motivates the others, but today something seemed off. If it's anything I can help with, let me know.' Midorima shot a look at him, but he was not even able to talk, even if he had wanted to. He shook his head.
'Alright then. I trust you on that. Don't do anything stupid.' He nodded.
'Everyone, good work! I'll see you next Monday.' They all headed to the changing rooms, Midorima following a little slower. No one on the team could help him. He didn't even know what was wrong with him, only that his thoughts reverted back to Takao way too often.
He undressed quickly once he got into the shower room. He turned the temperature of the water up until he was under a steaming stream. Sweating had made his skin feel cold, and water didn't warm it up. As he washed, he came to admit that he missed Takao's chatter. It was just too quiet right now, too quiet around him, and there was no one to stop his train of thoughts.
Midorima even whispered his name as he clutched his sponge. Nothing was the same without him. He found this strange, because it meant that Takao was special to him. And although he considered the other Generation members special as well, it was still different. Maybe it was just because Takao's one-sided attention was so strong.
It was Takao who was hanging out with Midorima, not the other way round. At first, he believed he was basically tolerating Takao, so in time this sensation must have changed. Maybe Midorima wasn't just tolerating Takao anymore, but rather starting to like having him around.
And since Midorima felt so uneasy today, he concluded that having Takao around made him feel more at ease. Takao also worked as a catalyst, he thought, a medium between Midorima and the rest. People didn't talk to Midorima a lot when Takao wasn't there, simply because he was so hard to approach. Takao made that easier. Takao made him seem more human.
Usually Midorima would stay after practice and continue on his own, but not this time. He had used up too much energy during their match, so training wouldn't accomplish anything now. He went straight home, where he had lunch in front of the TV.
Still, because he didn't have anything to do besides homework and studying, he went for a run later in the afternoon. Running was something he would always do alone, so it wouldn't bother him that Takao wasn't there with him. He started being bothered less about the date as well, until finally he found himself able to relax.
Back at home, he remembered that he still hadn't replied to Takao's message. He didn't really want to reply, but not replying at all was also against his personal principles. Midorima plucked his phone out of his bag, where it had been all day, and started typing a text.
Hey. Hope the date went well...
No. He erased it.
Shut up Takao...
No.
Practice went terrible...
Never.
Had an unlucky day...
Definitely not.
Practice went okay. You?
He pressed 'send', and before he could put his phone down he had a reply. That was unusually fast.
All fine! Had cake~*A*
It was delish! 3
Midorima couldn't help but frown at Takao's text message. There were too many smilies, and his texts were so... youthful. Even though he frowned, the corners of his lips went up for a moment, before he grumbled 'idiot', and threw his phone on his bed.
The rest of the day went by as always. He thought he'd figured it out, even though he still couldn't really imagine Takao going on a date and having fun, but maybe he was wrong. He thought it was all okay now.
Yet, as he was lying in bed at night he found it hard to fall asleep. His mind just wouldn't stop going in circles, on and on it repeated missing a pass, the lack of Takao, hot water, silence, text messages, date.
No matter how much he tried to deny it, it did bother him.
-
During the trainride back home, Takao checked his phone only to discover he had gotten nothing from Midorima yet. He was disappointed, although he knew not to expect replies immediately unless it was important. Especially since he was aware that his texts pissed off Midorima half of the time.
Still, he would have liked to get something. It would also have given him some information to go by, about how he felt, or what was going on. Either way, he decided not to send another text and wait for an answer. He knew it would definitely come, sooner or later. He put away his phone and grinned a bit.
He was satisfied, about the date, about how his plan was coming together. Now he should find out what his next step would be. He would've liked to visit Midorima today, but that would be too much. He could try to invite him over for something on Sunday, maybe. Get a first impression on how he took the date-thing. Talk to him in private before school started. Yes. That would be a good idea.
-
On Sunday morning, Midorima opened the cupboard in the kitchen, rummaging through it a bit. Then he sighed, since he couldn't find what he was looking for. He was sure they'd had a broken cup in there, but it was probably long gone by now. Thrown out. Deemed useless. But of course today's lucky item was a ceramic cup with a broken ear.
There was no helping it. After a quick breakfast, he headed out to the nearby 100 yen shop, where he bought a cup. Naturally he wouldn't just go ahead and break a good one. He had been doubting about the colour, but just took a plain white one.
Back home he wondered how he could efficiently break the ear off. If he dropped it, it might break altogether. If he tried to break it himself, he might get his hands hurt. Finally, he got a hammer from the tool kit and gently hit the places where the ear and cup joined. The enamel cracked first, then the ceramic, and with only a little effort the ear broke off.
Midorima showed the faintest of smiles at his accomplishment, and right at that moment, he heard the sound of an incoming text message. The thought 'probably Takao' shot through his head, and didn't make him unhappy. Nor did it annoy him.
He picked up his phone and opened the message.
Hiii Shin-chan! 3
Wanna meet up for a one-on-one?
I missed practice ;A;
He read the text a few times over for no particular reason, barely noticing the warm, tingling feeling that originated from his stomach and spread through his limbs. He pushed his glasses up and typed a reply.
Sure, what time?
-
Takao grinned. Perfect. He arranged to meet with Midorima at one o'clock at the basketball court in the park. There might be others around that time, but there were a few courts and as it had transpired before, Midorima had the unconscious skill of scaring people away just by looking at them.
It happened once before when Takao arrived first, and he had - politely - asked the others to get out. They refused, seeing no need to move to another court. Takao didn't give in though, but Midorima arrived at the right moment. He just stood there, tall, glaring, sort of magnificent.
'This court has the best orientation. We're using it,' he had declared, stating everything as facts.
The guys had just stood there, before scurrying away like kicked dogs. Takao smirked, resulting in Midorima asking what was so funny. Of course he hadn't replied, but the whole event was just priceless.
The rest of the morning, Takao felt happy. He couldn't concentrate on homework very well, although it had to be done. He was singing along to songs on the radio more than actually solving math questions though, but maybe he could sneakily pick Midorima's notes out of his bag on Monday and just copy the answers real quick.
He was very much looking forward to seeing Midorima again, weirdly so even. He wondered if it was because he had this date yesterday. He realized that he wouldn't exactly mind doing the same things with Midorima, although he wasn't sure if walks in the park were his thing. Basically, these were the kind of everyday items that they didn't talk a lot about. They, being Midorima.
Takao wasn't even certain if it was because he didn't want to talk about it or simply because he didn't talk at all. Another thing that he should add to the list of unlocked achievements. Make Midorima talk about his life. Their one-sided communication couldn't go on forever.
He decided to start figuring those things out today.
After lunch Takao left, taking his basketball, a towel and a bottle of water. He wanted to be there before Midorima arrived. He didn't even know why, maybe just to annoy the one who was usually early, maybe because... No, he reconsidered, this time he would come late. He took a roundabout way to get there, anticipating some kind of reaction from his green-haired friend.
_
Midorima was waiting near the court. He'd already done some stretching exercises. There were a few younger guys playing at the court they always used, but they left and continued on another court when they saw him arrive. He'd found it strange that the would just leave, but didn't question it.
He was looking out for Takao to arrive, and when he did his glare shot daggers. He was late.
'Takao!' Midorima called out sharply. He knew that he didn't need to remind the other of the problem at hand.
'Sorry, Shin-chan,' Takao answered, but his grin didn't fit his words. Besides, Takao was hardly ever sorry.
Takao handed the ball to Midorima.
'I really missed going to practice,' Takao said, and he meant it. Midorima could pick up on that. Yet he had nothing to say to him, although a tiny voice inside him spoke the unspeakable 'I missed you there as well.'
Then Takao ran onto the court, taking a defensive position. Midorima nodded and dashed forward as well. They played for a while, rather leisurely. Takao was able to score some points by bypassing Midorima quickly. That reminded the shooter of the fact that Takao was one of the few people who had immediately seen through Kuroko's misdirection.
Which of course meant that nothing prevented Takao to try and achieve the same skill level. He should have the instincts for it as well, and since he was always aware of the entire court, it could prove to be a great asset if he could accomplish it.
During the game, Midorima's thoughts were focused on playing. Simply figuring out the most efficient way to move, shoot, avoid the ball being stolen. He was actually having fun, even though he seemed too focused for an outsider to see. Although Takao must see it, since he was obviously enjoying himself.
Even though one on one plays weren't Midorima's strong suit, his ability to shoot from anywhere and never miss gave him a distinct advantage either way, and so he had a decent lead points-wise when Takao called for a break.
_
'Ahh, Shin-chan's taking the lead again,' he said in a mock-annoyed voice.
'Of course,' Midorima answered, pushing his glasses up again. Takao watched as his friend wiped his face with a towel and drank some water.
He then drank a little as well and sat down in the middle of the court. He wanted to say something but for some reason he wasn't sure what. He didn't want it to be too obvious that he was fishing for reactions. And he had thought of many questions that he could ask, although those would be pretty random to ask right now. It was important to take the right steps.
He glanced at Midorima as he crouched down beside him and saw how clear and bright his green eyes were in the daylight, surrounded by fairly long lashes. He gulped. It was strange for him to get nervous around anyone. This wouldn't do, he thought, so he shook his head.
Then he suddenly got an idea.
'Hey, you know? The lady at the cafe yesterday totally digged me.' He put on a confident grin for Midorima to see. Midorima frowned a bit.
'What?'
'I said, she digged me! I just smiled at her and she started blushing!' Midorima's frown relaxed just a little. Takao had come to enjoy watching all the small changes, the direction in which those green eyes looked, the small and useless movements his hands made. It was no longer a boring movie, but more of an intricate game. After all, nothing was without meaning.
'That's ridiculous, Takao. Maybe she was actually scared.' Naturally, Takao noticed the doubt in his friend's voice, the look he got as if to confirm what he had just said. It was true that Takao was usually more grinning than smiling, but he found out that his smile worked miracles, so maybe he should just try it on Midorima there and then.
'No, really. Look, I'll smile at you too, Shin-chan.' So he put it on again. Although this time maybe he was trying a little bit too consciously. Midorima's frown just got deeper, and he seemed to back away a little. But at the same time the muscles around his mouth seemed to relax, adding a touch of surprise to his expression. Plus, he inhaled.
Takao could only think of that as a good thing, and his face returned to his usual grin.
'What do you think?' He leaned in a bit closer, observing his friend. This time, Midorima stood his ground.
'It's a smile, I guess.' He pushed his glasses up while blinking slowly, but Takao noticed that he was just regaining his composure.
'If you come with me next time I can show you, if you want. At the cafe.'
'I have no interest in that, Takao.' Midorima was back to his generic deflective manner of speech. And by saying how little interest he had, Takao knew exactly what he meant. Maybe he'd like to see it, but maybe not.
'Fine,' Takao said. Of course he had not expected anything else as answer, but still. He was observing his friend like never before, taking in each and every change in expression. The more he watched him, the more he began to spot the smallest changes.
He took notice of the exact length of Midorima's hair, the way his mouth opened a little while he breathed, the soft pink colour of his lips. Then his attention moved to Midorima's hands. Rather big, with long fingers, finely manicured nails. They were clean and rosy with white ends and simply perfect.
How was it possible for a man to have such perfect hands? But they were by no means girly, they looked far too strong for that. Takao had to suppress the line of thought as to what it would feel like to be touched by those hands.
'Takao,' his friend called out, rousing him from his musings.
'Yes?' Takao was a bit confused, if just for a second.
'You want to go another round?' Hmm. Takao took a moment to answer. He didn't feel like playing anymore, but he didn't really want to part ways yet.
'Not really,' he said, 'but I don't feel like going home already.'
Midorima stood up and sighed.
'I see you didn't bring a jacket. You'll get a cold like this, so you can come over to my place.'
For some reason, Takao's heart jumped. Of course, logically speaking, this was the best option. Although it was rare for Midorima to invite him over. Naturally Midorima had no ulterior motives, but it still made Takao happy.
Plus, it brought him closer to his goal of finding out things about his friend. He'd been at his home before, but now he'd be extra vigilant.
'That seems like a plan,' Takao said, getting up.
'Did you walk over here, Shin-chan?'
'I ran.' No surprise there either, although it wasn't very far from Midorima's place to the park. It was also a way to get a quick and easy warm-up, even if it was just for a match for fun.
'Of course.' Takao grinned at Midorima. He took his bike and they walked to Midorima's place. There was never anyone home on Sunday afternoons, so there would be no hassle and they would not disturb anyone.
They took off their shoes in the hallway and put them to the side. Midorima opened an small overhead closet from which he took a pair of slippers they kept for guests. Takao thanked him and put them on. They were a bit small, but this was the pair he had used before.
'Your house is always so neat, Shin-chan,' Takao said. Midorima wasn't sure if that was something to be impressed about, he didn't think of his own place as especially clean or neat, but that may have been because he was so used to it.
'It's the same as last time, isn't it?'
Takao looked around for a moment. Midorima was waiting by the foot of the stairs, his hand loosely on the wooden rail.
'I wouldn't know exactly,' Takao admitted. 'Maybe if I really paid attention to everything I would remember.' He then followed his friend upstairs to Midorima's room.
The house was fairly modern, although distinctly Japanese elements were kept. As for Midorima's room, it had a floor instead of tatami, and he had a bed, but there was also a round low table in the middle of the room. On the work desk, Takao spotted the biology homework they had to finish by Monday. It looked finished. His own, on the other hand, was still in his bag, untouched.
'Hey, can I borrow this?' He tried asking, picking up the homework papers.
'No. Make it by yourself,' Midorima said with his usual glare.
'Ugh. Why not? I hate homework. It's so boring!' Takao put them down again, disappointed.
'It's something that needs to be done. There is nothing you will learn from copying mine.'
Takao pouted. As if there was something I'd learn if I did make it on my own, he thought. If a subject didn't interest you, you would forget what you studied either way.
'Kise does it,' he said, a little bit annoyed.
'No, you're wrong,' Midorima replied, without thinking. This was something he had figured out a long time ago, when Kise had joined their team at Teikou middle school.
'What Kise does is copying physical moves. You can only learn something physical by doing it. Copying someone else's answers does not make you copy their intelligence, only their words.'
That made sense, Takao thought. And if Kise had been able to copy intelligence, he would have done it a long time ago and he would have been even more fearsome than he already was.
Midorima put his bag away and took a new t-shirt out of the closet. Next, he looked at Takao, obviously judging him about something.
Takao gulped. 'What is it, Shin-chan?' His grin was a little bit off now, since he didn't really like it when Midorima looked at him like that. It reminded him of when they first met, when Midorima had looked at everyone as if they were dirty insects. His aura had been so humiliating that probably half of the team got traumatized by it.
'You should change as well. You smell.'
'What?'
'Maybe a shower would be even better,' his friend continued. Takao's heartbeat sped up. He was just too taken aback to give a decent reaction. Instead, he fell silent with an expression of disbelief on his face.
'Come.'
Wait, what? What was going on? For a moment, he couldn't think straight and his dreams and desires mixed up with reality. A vivid image of Midorima undressing showed up before his mind's eye, then Midorima getting closer to him, then...
He shook his head. There was no way that this was included in Midorima's intentions. No way, no way! Snap out of it, he told himself. Stay cool. This reality is actually an opportunity. Take it. His face returned back to normal.
Takao pulled up his t-shirt and sniffed.
'You're right, I smell,' he said next, openly accepting the criticism and thus making it a plausible course of action to accept the offer of a shower.
'I'll borrow you some clothes,' Midorima said while taking a pair of sweatpants and a shirt out of his closet. Once in the bathroom, he also put a towel ready.
'Thanks,' Takao nodded.
Naturally, it had been too much to expect they'd shower together in a private situation. But still, Takao preferred to think of this as a good thing. And maybe he could play another card in this game. Taking opportunities was important after all.
-
Midorima waited in his room while Takao took a shower. He could hear the water running, and looked forward to his turn. He didn't like being sweaty, and he couldn't very well take a shower and not offer the same to Takao. Even if he didn't really smell as bad as he had pretended.
In fact, Takao used some brand of deodorant that was quite strong. It did not conceal the smell of sweat completely of course, especially not after a match, but it mingled and the combined odour wasn't so bad. It just made him think of the times when Takao came to him after a match, grinning widely.
Although that was what he thought, he would never admit that he noticed such trivial things.
He put his homework back in his schoolbag and went downstairs to take some drinks. There wasn't much to choose from, so he just took both green tea and water and two glasses.
Somehow he felt that Takao had been behaving a little bit odd today. He didn't want to think too much about it, again, but maybe it had to do with the date. Or maybe he only noticed because he had been so bothered by that thing. He kind of wanted to know what happened, but he also didn't.
Back in his room, he sat down on his bed and drank a glass of water. He couldn't explain why he had such double feelings about something, and so he'd rather avoid it than regret bringing it up. He picked up a book, but before he could finish even one page, he heard the door of the bathroom open and close.
Next thing he knew, Takao showed up in his room with the provided towel wrapped around his waist, and the clothes Midorima had given him folded over his arm. He was grinning as always.
'Done! I'll just change here, so you can go already, Shin-chan!' For a moment that seemed to last ridiculously long, Midorima didn't know what to say or where to look. So he just looked away.
'Alright.' He got up and wanted to hurry towards the bathroom, but Takao didn't let him.
'Hey, I used your shampoo, that's okay, right?'
When he looked at Takao, his gaze got caught in those light silvery grey eyes. They seemed to sparkle. His hair was wet, sticking to his forehead, the ends dripping small droplets that fell on his face. Midorima's mouth went dry in an instant.
'Thats... fine,' he managed to say, but only barely. As he passed Takao, he could smell the shampoo, although it seemed to smell much better on him than on himself. As he closed the door, he saw Takao drop the towel on the floor and caught a glimpse of his full naked figure.
_
Takao grinned, but inside he was laughing loudly. That part of his plan had worked perfectly. This was a great way to make Midorima uneasy. He could tell that his green-haired friend was doing his best to appear unshaken, but there were many things that betrayed him. He had been shocked, but not grossed out. Ashamed too, but possible attracted. For a moment, his expression had been fairly close to that of the lady at the coffee shop, and Takao hadn't even smiled!
This was fun, Takao thought. Lots of fun! And it made him want more, much more. More of those small reactions, emotions, more fun, more Midorima.