Quiet murmurs surrounded him as he walked through the halls to get to his classroom. He didn't pay attention to any of it. Today's lucky item had him distracted. It was a picture of who you cherished most. Of course, for him, it was more than one person. He had a picture frame in his hand that he refused to let anyone see. It was his only picture that he had of them all. It had been taken by Momoi on Kuroko's birthday not too long ago.
He settled down in his desk and put his lucky item face down in the corner of his desk. He barely even noticed Takao sit in his seat behind him. "Hey, Shin-chan."
"What, nanodayo?"
"What's the picture of? Isn't it supposed to be of your most cherished?" Takao asked, feigning innocence. Midorima scowled at the other, before responding.
"If it was any of your business, I would've already told you," he replied. Takao pouted.
"Aw, that's mean Shin-chan! So it's not me?" he asked, only half joking.
"No, nanodayo," the green-head said. Before their conversation could progress, the teacher came in. Midorima didn't see the dark look that had come over Takao's face at his answer. It should have been a picture of him.
Midorima couldn't stop thinking about the Generation of Miracles. He really did miss the other five. What really irritated him, as well as the others, was that no one included Kuroko within the GOM. The other five, himself as well, had always seen Kuroko as apart of them.
He missed the days where they saw each other every day. Practiced together, hung out together, walked home together, and did everything together. The ringing bell took him out of his thoughts. He sighed as he got up out of his seat for lunch. Instead of eating, he went to the gym to practice his throwing. He strived to become better. He felt like the weakest one of the others. The most unimpressive.
Aomine could do anything. He was simply mesmerizing to watch, and even better to play against. Kise had the Perfect Copy, which made him simply incredible. Murasakibara could defend against anything you threw his way and was truly a beast on the court, especially when you provoked him. Akashi could see the entire court in his mind's eye and even predict what you're going to do. Kuroko could pass better than anyone else could even dream of. Not only could he pass well, but he also had exceptional observation skills and could maneuver his team through any obstacle.
Takao thought he was better than Kuroko, but he was nowhere close. Midorima sighed and threw the ball half-heartedly into the hoop. He missed, but he didn't even notice missing. His phone suddenly went off, causing him to frown.
'By the way, I forgot to tell you all that Kasamatsu found out. Thankfully he believes it's just Tetsucchi and I. I threatened him into not telling anyone. I'm sorry.'
It was sent to everyone in their group except Kuroko. He seemed to have gotten a different message. Midorima sighed and laid down on the floor of the gym, lost in his own thoughts for the rest of lunch. He hadn't even noticed that he hadn't eaten a thing.
Takao scowled as he watched the other. He had peeked at the picture that Midorima had left on his desk in his dazed state. He didn't know which member of the GOM was his Shin-chan's most cherished, but he would destroy them. He promised himself as he watched the other moping in the gym.
~O~
Midorima couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day, his thoughts still circling around the boys in the picture. The teacher had seemed to notice but thankfully hadn't said anything. Takao seemed to be quieter after lunch, but Midorima didn't care. When the bell rang, Midorima mechanically made his way to the locker room to change for basketball practice.
Takao was beginning to get concerned for his friend as the day progressed, temporarily forgetting about his revenge. "Shin-chan, are you okay?"
"What?" the green-head asked, having not heard him. This caused Takao to frown at the other as they finished getting changed. He watched Midorima put his picture in the locker and actually locked it. This caused the entire team to look at the green-head in surprise.
"Midorima, is something wrong?" one of his teammates asked. Midorima frowned.
"I'm fine," he said, not noticing that his 'nanodayo' didn't make it into his speech. The others did. The shook their worry off for now, maybe he had had an unlucky day.
However, Midorima missed every basket he threw. And never noticed. The coach frowned as his star player seemed to be too distracted to play properly. Midorima was too worried about Kise's situation. How did Kise feel about someone else knowing, even if they thought it was just two? Takao actually called Kuroko, as he was starting to worry about the blonde. He couldn't remember how he had even gotten the kid's number in the first place.
"Hello?"
"Kuroko-kun, could you possibly come to Shutoku? Shin-chan's not acting like himself. He's missing all of his shots," Takao said, worry saturating his tone. He heard the blue-head sigh sadly on the other side.
"Yes, I'll head over now."
After that, the line went dead. Takao glanced over towards his coach and nodded. The man looked a bit relieved but continued practice all the same. The blue-head walked into the gym just as practice was ending. No noticed him at first.
"All right, boys! Good job today, now go home," the coach said, smiling to himself. The boy's started roughhousing each other as they made their way to the locker room. Everyone except Midorima. The coach sighed but jumped out of his skin when he noticed the Kuroko standing right next to him. The boy glanced at him before nodding in acknowledgment.
"Shintaro-kun," Kuroko called out, walking towards the green-head. Midorima's body jerked at the sound of his voice and he turned to him with wide eyes.
"T-Tetsuya," he breathed out as if he couldn't believe the other was here. "W-what are you d-doing here?"
"Takao-kun called. Are you okay?" Kuroko asked. Midorima's green eyes filled with tears and he lunged at the other, wrapping him tightly in his arms. The coach's eyes widened at the display. Maybe the boys forgot he was here?
"I-I can't keep doing this," Midorima asked, voice cracking. Kuroko only wrapped his arms tightly around the other and buried his face into Midorima's neck. The slowly fell to the floor, still clinging to each other. Kuroko could feel the other's tears falling.
"Yes you can, Shintaro-kun. I know you can. I love you, and I know the others do too. We all have faith in you. Please trust me," Kuroko whispered in his ear. Despite trying to be quiet, his voice still echoed around the gym. The coach slipped out of the gym, not that the other two noticed.
Kuroko pulled back slightly and gave a gentle smile before leaning forward and pressing small kisses over the green-head's face. Normally the other would object, but this time he accepted it. He grabbed the blue-heads hips to steady him, and it ended up with Kuroko sitting in his lap. Which he didn't mind at all.
The pair sat like that for a while, comforting each other. Kuroko had his head buried in the other's neck with one hand tangled in that green hair. He pulled back once Midorima had calmed down. "Thank you, Tetsuya."
"Don't worry about it, Shintaro-kun. You know I, as well as the others, will always be here for you when you need us."
Midorima watched Kuroko for a moment. The latter could see that those beautiful green eyes were red and puffy from crying, but they were still beautiful. He allowed a smile to cross his face before gently grabbing the other's face. He pulled the green-head forward and gently pressed his lips to the others. The kiss was loving and calm, a promise that things would be alright.
The rested their foreheads against each other, just enjoying the closeness. They knew they probably had to leave soon, as Kuroko also had to catch a train back to his home.
"Shoot a 3-pointer for me, Shintaro-kun," Kuroko said. He pulled his forehead away from the other's and moved to get up. Midorima gave a small smile and got up, grabbing the others hips and wrapping them around his own for a minute. He reveled in the closeness for just a few more minutes before reluctantly putting him down onto the floor.
Midorima walked over to grab a stray basketball and threw it like he normally did. Instead of bouncing off of the backboard like it had been doing all day, it went in with a quiet 'swish.' Midorima smiled and turned to give Kuroko one last kiss before they both walked out of the gym together, hands clasped tightly together.
"I love you, nanodayo."
"I love you, too."
~O~
