Disclaimer: Not mine, obviously. I would never have thought of rainbow haired bishies playing basketball LOL
A/N: I had to rewrite the ending for this chapter so many times... I only hope this one is satisfactory for the fans ; w ; One of the drafts had Midorima turn Yandere all of a sudden and I honestly do not know where that came from. Another one had them ending up in bed together and that is not what this story is about so I immediately threw that away! xD
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By instinct, the taller male pushed the other away and stumbled back. "Hahahahaha!" laughed Takao, "Same old Shin-chan I see. You never liked it when I did that to you so I just wanted to see it again." he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye from laughing so hard. Without looking at the other, Midorima stood up and excused himself to take his bath.
"So it was just a joke." he said so himself as he sat in the warm water. He stared blankly at his reflection, thinking of how this next weekend would go. "Maybe I should ask about our past instead of pretending like I don't know. I would have been found out anyways." For the rest of his bath, he only thought of what he would ask and what he would do with the other. Surely he wasn't gay, since he pulled a joke like that with such ease, Midorima thought, and let the water sink more of his worries.
In the living room, on the couch, was Takao, still half naked with a towel around his waist, but his hair was dry by now. "Pfft– I never thought Shin-chan would act like that again." he thought, and rested his head back and placed the smaller towel over his eyes. "It's kind of refreshing, but it hurts," he thought, continuing his previous one. The raven-haired man sighed and sat up, catching the towelette in his hands, and thought, "Man this weekend will be fun~" then exclaimed, "I can't wait!"
Midorima walked in, fully clothed in his pajamas and said, "Can't wait for the rain to stop, is what I hope you're so enthusiastic about." Takao jumped up from the couch and turned to his companion. "Shin-chan!" he exclaimed, "I need to borrow some clothes. I know we aren't the same size but I'm sure I can wear something."
"You didn't bring your own clothes?"
"If I did I wouldn't be asking you for some with a cold towel around my waist."
Midorima shook his head. "Follow me."
The Hawk stood up and followed Midorima to the bedroom. Midorima tossed him a t-shirt and some gym shorts. Takao looked at the articles with awe as Midorima closed the drawer. "You still have these shorts, Shin-chan?" he held them up for the taller man to see, "Do they still fit you? Do you wear these when you go out to play basketball?"
The greenette looked at the orange shorts and shook his head. "I haven't played in a while."
"Then we should do it some time! Once this rain stops, I'll see if I can call up some of the senpai so we can play like the old days."
For Midorima, this was the perfect time to ask about their past together. He handed the shorts back to his companion and pushed his glasses back into place. "So Takao... How did we play in the old days?"
"What do you mean, Shin-chan?" his voice sounded just as disheartened as it did when he knocked on the door earlier that evening. "You were the Ace, remember?"
"I remember that, but what was our team's style of playing?"
Takao bit his bottom lip and took a breath through his nose before answering the question, "You made most of the shots, since you were the expert, and everyone supported you the best we could."
"What did you do?"
"I... I passed to you."
"I see."
There was an awkward silence between the two before Takao thought of something to say. "Uh, Shin-chan I'm going to go to the bathroom and change. I'll be right back." Takao rushed out of the room and closed the door behind him.
"Maybe I shouldn't have asked..." Midorima said to himself as he sat on the bed, contemplating his actions which caused Takao's voice to waver. He stood up and walked out, reaching the bathroom but froze in place just as he was about to knock on the door.
He heard sniffles and slight whimpers coming from inside. Midorima was about to walk away with a heavy heart, realizing he had somehow hurt the other's feelings once more because of his lost memories, but he heard Takao say "Wait." from the other side and stopped in his tracks. The door opened and Midorima saw the raven-haired man with swollen eyes, dried up tears, and a quivering mouth. "I did pass to you, but we were a... a team. You were my light and I was your shadow, the best duo Shuutoku could ever have." he brought the tissue in his hands up to his face and wiped the new tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this Shin-chan... You can go to bed now, don't worry about me."
"Kazunari..." Midorima mumbled.
"What did you just say?" Takao's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped at the sound of his name coming from the other's lips.
"I'm sorry, it's just... I called you Kazunari, didn't I? In the past? You're tears brought back a memory, I suppose..."
Takao wasn't sure if he should confirm this or not, contemplating whether Midorima's memories were flooding back or only trickling back, but either way he figured it was up to Midorima to call him whatever he wanted, but he just wanted to make sure what he was remembering. After all, he seldom cried so much in front of Midorima. He only hoped he remembered the aftermath of their match against Rakuzan during the Winter Cup in their first year.
"What memory was that, Shin-chan?"
"I'm not sure. I just remember you apologizing repeatedly, crying into my chest... Was it something serious? What happened?"
"Oh, I just, err... messed up. It's no biggie though, forget about it."
"If that was a joke, then now is not the time to be making it."
"It wasn't a joke! I'm serious, you don't need to worry about it. Just go to bed already, Shin-chan."
"But–"
"I promise to tell you before I leave, but now isn't the time. We should catch up first, yeah?"
"Yes..."
"Don't pout like that, or you'll have sad dreams tonight." He led Midorima back into his room, "Good night, and don't let the bedbugs bite!" he said before closing the door behind him.
Takao walked to the living room and rested on the couch, pulling up the blanket set aside for him up to his shoulders and stared at the blank ceiling. "Man, that was a close one." he thought, and turned to his side to face the couch cushions before falling into the best sleep he'd ever had in months.
