I apologize for the short chapter and the long wait, this was supposed to be a part of chapter 1.
Chapter 2 will be out as soon as my work issues have been dealt with.

Miyaji twirled the ball on his finger, the 2nd year was bored out of his mind, watching the 2nd string on the court was as exciting as a chess game. Shuutoku's 2nd string might be strong but they were nothing compared to the recent games they watched and played during the inter-high. The gym was filled with the sound of squeaking shoes and the excited shouts of the players. The benches and sidelines were rustling with conversation and cheers from the other members of the team. The blonde was listening half-heartedly, his attention 2000 miles away. He caught a glimpse of black hair near him and turned to watch as Takao sat down besides Midorima. The blonde half expected the brunette to start clinging to the greenette, but he was more than astonished when Takao chose to sit down in silence and instead start sipping on his water bottle. Midorima merely glanced down at his partner before directing his gaze on the court. Miyaji cringed when he saw the expression on Takao's face. He couldn't take it anymore and approached the two.

"Oi, Takao. Come with me." Miyaji said, his tone serious and level. Kimura glanced up from where he was playing hangman with another 2nd year. He met the blonde's gaze and raised an eyebrow in query. Miyaji merely shrugged in response.

The greenette's attention was on them now, his face impassive but obviously curious. Midorima opened his mouth to ask but Takao was already on his feet and following after Miyaji. Kimura had also abandoned his game and was going after Miyaji and Takao. Midorima wanted to follow the three but Otsubo suddenly called him.

Hesitating, the shooter joined their captain but not before he caught Miyaji and Kimura's secretive glance at him. Takao had his back turned so Midorima wasn't sure what the brunette had said to their sempais to make them look like that. But he didn't like those glances, not one bit at all.

"Takao, what were you and Miyaji-sempai talking about?" was Midorima's first question as soon as the brunette returned. Both Miyaji and Kimura had disappeared somewhere during the time Otsubo was talking to him, so Midorima's only option was the suddenly reticent point guard.

"Eh? Shin-chan's curious? If you really wanna know, why don't you ask the sempais? But I'll tell you since I don't want you to feel lonely and left behind." was Takao's flippant reply.

Midorima frowned in irritation and quickly said, "No, thanks!", though he was itching to know what Takao had said to make those two look like they did.

"Hehe, don't worry Shin-chan. I didn't tell them anything, nothing at all."

"What the fuck are you talking about now?"

"Like I said, don't mind it Shin-chan."

But Midorima did mind, so after practice, he immediately went after Miyaji and Kimura. Takao had already gone home, he didn't even complain when Midorima told him to leave first, which was odd though it suited Midorima's purpose just fine.
The shooter found his sempai-tachi with Otsubo and inwardly cringed. He had no intention of discussing sensitive matters in front of their crass captain. Thankfully, Kimura saw him approaching and left the group to meet Midorima midway. Miyaji was smart enough to drag Otsubo off, and for once Midorima was thankful.

"Sempai-"

"Before you say anything else, I'll have to tell you that I swore to keep my silence." Kimura suddenly interrupted. The 2nd year was obviously not happy with his current situation and he looked even more put out when the greenette glowered at him.

"It's not as if I have anything against you Midorima, but I did promise Takao that I'll keep my mouth shut on this one."

Midorima clicked his tongue in annoyance at both Takao's secretive ways and Kimura's honor. His sempai, especially Kimura, were men of their words. They will never break their own promises, it was a hard-set rule amongst them that Midorima admired. Today though, it was merely an irritation. So the shooter set out to bend the rule a bit.

"Very well, I understand that you're not allowed to say anything, but I'm pretty sure Takao never said that you're not allowed to nod or shake your head right?"

Kimura seemed taken back by Midorima's reasoning but he did relent a bit and gave a small nod.

"Okay... So I take it that you three were talking about me and Takao earlier?"

Nod.

"Judging from the effort Takao had taken to keep things from me... is it about our *cough* relationship?" Midorima's cheeks colored at his own question and Kimura couldn't help grinning as he nodded in answer.

"So... I take it you and Miyaji-sempai know about us already..." Midorima muttered, his face darkening even more.

"It's not rocket science, just looking at how you and Takao act around each other is enough to figure things out. Otsubo's just a bit more thick-minded than others."

"If you guys are this tolerant about us then what exactly is Takao brooding about? He's been acting weird lately and everytime I try to ask him about it, he keeps cutting me off. Is he already fed up or something? Is that why he was talking to you and Miyaji-sempai? Getting hints on how to break things off peacefully, or something?!"

Midorima's sudden onslaught left Kimura frazzled and just a bit satisfied. The way Takao had been talking about the shooter earlier, the 2nd year would have thought that Midorima was merely going along with the brunette, and that their ace didn't care about his partner one bit. He was glad to know that even that stoic hard-ass of a miracle player was worried about the situation.

The brunette merely kept silent and cocked his head to the side thinking on how to answer Midorima's question best. Yes, Takao was brooding, but the freshman had no plans of breaking up, or so he said. The situation was too complicated to be answered by a yes or a no, so Kimura decided to cut the greenette a break.

"Tell you what, why don't you talk to Takao about this. Even if he tries to brush you off, just keep asking him. He's as slippery as an eel and as crafty as a fox but you're stubborn enough. I'm sure you'll get more out of him than this game of 20 Questions we're playing." he sighed once and met the green gaze head-on. "I'll give you a hint. Takao's waiting for something bad to happen, and I'm pretty sure his expectations are out of place. You need to make him realize that it'll never happen... unless it's mutual."