••••••••••••
Chapter Five
Give a little, get a lot
••••••••••••
Kagami pulls off his hood as he enters the shop. His watch tells him he's fifteen minutes early. Not wanting to look suspicious, he orders some coffee and donuts, taking his tray to an empty table by the window so he could spot Takao's arrival. He checks his phone, making sure that he didn't miss any messages. Takao had been oddly quiet after confirming the place and time of their meet-up yesterday.
He's halfway through his stack of donuts when a figure slides onto bench opposite him. Kagami takes his eyes off the window, wondering how he'd missed Takao, then chokes at seeing who has actually joined him.
"Hey, Taiga," Himuro greets, steeping his fingers together and flashing a disarming smile. "Waiting on a date?"
"Bro – Tatsuya," Kagami corrects himself, catching the warning glint in the older teen's visible eye. "What're you doing here?" He picks up his phone and checks the calendar to make sure he hasn't slept through Saturday and it's actually Sunday with the semifinals about to start – it isn't.
"I'm waiting on a date," Himuro says. "Just like you. So why don't we wait together?" He sends a quick message on his phone then turns his attention back to Kagami. "Where's Kuroko-kun?"
Kagami grudgingly lets Himuro take one of his donuts, tone bitter when he speaks. "He has shooting practice with Aomine."
Blinking, Himuro swallows the bite of pastry before replying. "That's nice… Does Kuroko-kun know you're seeing other people behind his back?"
"For the last time, Tatsuya, I am not dating Kuroko." Kagami crosses his arms to punctuate that statement.
"Not yet, anyway," a third voice supplies, followed by its owner sliding into the bench beside Kagami. "Hey." Takao waves at Himuro. This is what he gets for trusting public transport instead of his bike. He took one look at it this morning and decided he doesn't need any more reminders of his broken connection with Midorima today.
"Shutoku's Takao," Himuro acknowledges. "Odd to find the Hawk Eye flying solo." He tilts his head towards Kagami in question. "So when Kuroko-kun and Midorima-kun aren't around, you two get together? That's quite an arrangement."
"It's not like that!" Kagami and Takao deny in unison.
"Oh?" Himuro takes another bite of pastry. "Because meeting in a coffee shop totally spells out date."
"Don't be silly." Takao takes a donut from Kagami's stack, using it to point at Himuro. "This is a secret meeting."
"Really?" Himuro's tone makes it clear that he's not buying Takao's words.
"It is?" Takao steps on Kagami's foot under the table. "I mean, yeah, it is. Totally."
"It's a secret meeting of the Generation of Miracles' boyfriends," Takao states shamelessly. "Or wannabe boyfriends, as it stands."
Himuro narrows his eyes at them. "So who else is coming?"
Kagami defers to Takao, not knowing how to carry the conversation. For his part, Takao thanks his lucky stars that he's gifted with quick wit and interpersonal charisma. And the Hawk Eye, too, of course.
"As a matter of fact," Takao starts, pulling out his phone for effect. "One of our members is running late, but let me just call him."
A generic incoming call tone plays in front of the cash register and the teen hands over his payment for the cashier to compute while he gets to his phone. "H-Hello?"
Takao grins, peering out of the cubicle so that he can be seen. "Ryou-chan, I told you meeting starts at two, right?"
Over at the counter, Touou's Sakurai starts to panic. "W-What? I'm sorry?" He exits the line with a cold cup of latte in hand.
"That's okay, I can see you. We're in the booth by the window." Takao waves his hand to get Sakurai's attention. "Come on." He ends the call and sits back, smirking at Himuro and Kagami, the latter of which is gaping at him.
Himuro actually looks impressed for a second. He scoots over to give Sakurai a seat.
"I-I'm sorry," Sakurai starts, stuffing a handful of shopping bags under the table. "I was running errands for Wakamatsu-senpai and Momoi-san–"
"It's fine, it's fine," Takao assures him. "Glad you could make it."
"We're missing Kaijou and Rakuzan," Himuro points out, secretly amused.
As he says this, the door chime rings and a group of collegians amble in, chattering loudly about some movie presentation and panel discussion at the fifth floor convention hall.
Takao cannot actually believe how much favor fate is bestowing on him. Maybe he's been carrying Scorpio's lucky item for the day unknowingly and that's why things are going so smooth but he has no time to wonder which of his belongings fall under the category. Without losing a beat, he answers, "Well, Reo-chan hasn't returned any of my calls since we beat Rakuzan at the Inter-High but good news is that the Kaijou rep just arrived." Turning around his seat, Takao shouts, "Hey, Yuki-chan!"
From the group of students, a dark-haired teen stops and causes some of his peers to crash into him. Cringing, Kasamatsu Yukio excuses himself and marches out from the throng, right towards Takao who's grinning unapologetically.
"Come here and we can start the meeting." Takao mentally gives himself a pat on the back.
Kasamatsu stops at the head of the table, glowering at Shutoku's point guard. "I have no idea what–" He sees the rest of the table and stops, recognizing the other occupants. "What the hell is this?"
"It's the secret Miracle Boyfriends meeting," Kagami says, half-snickering. "Grab a seat."
Takao follows that up with, "We would've had Kise-chi as moderator but, you know, even if he's a Boyfriend, he's a Miracle too… Thank goodness you're here!"
"Damn that Kise." Slapping a hand over his face, Kasamatsu pulls over an empty seat. He puts both fists on the table all business-like and addresses the group in a deadly undertone. "Look it was one kiss. It happened one freaking time with alcohol involved and that's it. Nothing follows."
The whole table goes quiet.
"What?" Kasamatsu demands at the four people staring at him.
Takao looks pretty pleased with himself. This isn't what he came for – thought it's not actually far from what he's wanted to accomplish this afternoon but – group therapy might be exactly what he needs; no offense to Kagami. "Well that officially puts this meeting to a start. Who's next?" His gaze moves to Sakurai, sitting on Kasamatsu's right.
Meeting Takao's gaze, Sakurai fumbles with putting the straw through his cup of latte. "Um, w-what exactly are we supposed to say?"
"Just whatever's on your mind," Kagami encourages, getting the hang of things. "Whatever dirt you have on Aomine, we're here to listen."
"But you said 'boyfriend'," Sakurai points out. "And I'm… I'm not…?"
Kagami and Takao share a look. Come to think of it, the guy is more Aomine's lackey than anything else…
"I mean, Aomine-san likes to fool around but we're not actually official," Sakurai continues, staring at the happy mascot printed on the plastic cup. "I know he's seeing Kise-san… mainly... and I know that Aomine-san isn't after anything more than physical gratification."
Himuro stares at the teen beside him, thinking he'd heard a sniffle somewhere but Sakurai is impervious to the others' staring, lost in his own words.
"But, um, Kanagawa isn't as accessible as, say, the third floor custodian closet so…" He wipes off the water droplet that's running down the side of his drink. "We kind of have this thing… every now and then…"
Kagami and Takao resume staring at each other, wide-eyed now at realizing the can of worms they've opened. Personally, Kagami is of the opinion that the less he knows of his rival's personal life, the better but there's no turning back now.
Kasamatsu lets out a low whistle. "You poor soul."
"E-Eh?!" Sakurai turns a fearful look at Kaijou's ex-captain.
"Have you tried suggesting a threesome?" Himuro speaks up.
"Tatsuya!" Kagami is scandalized, nearly spilling his coffee with the hard slap he'd dealt the table at the suggestion.
Himuro shrugs. "It seems logical."
"And Kise-chi's pretty much open to everything anyway," Takao muses, to which Kasamatsu nods in agreement.
"True."
A beat of silence follows where a realization occurs to the group.
Takao bites his bottom lip, surprised at how easy he's breathing, how relaxing it is to have casual conversation like this. Sure he has friends at Shutoku and there's no doubt that they will listen to his griping but this is different. In this space they've created, Takao feels like he would be understood and not just heard.
"Is it my turn?" Himuro asks, a dainty smile pulling on thin lips.
Kagami crinkles his nose. "Ew, I don't wanna hear about your sex life." The thought of it is somehow more revolting than hearing about Aomine's.
"Just because you're not getting any, Taiga, doesn't mean the rest of us have to be celibate," Himuro tells him in a tone that's just the right shade of condescending.
"I hear you," Takao agrees. "But hold that thought. I'm just gonna get me a drink, anyone else wants anything?"
Kasamatsu stands to let Takao pass. "If this is going to take a while, I have to let my blockmates know that I'm, er, occupied…"
"More donuts?" Takao asks Kagami, getting an affirmative. "Himuro?"
"Just a coffee, thank you." Himuro reaches for his wallet but Takao dissuades him.
"My treat."
Kagami makes to follow Takao. "You need help with carrying the stuff?"
"I'll be fine," Takao says with a wave. "Be a proper host and entertain our guests. I'll be just a minute. Or five." He reiterates once he sees the queue.
Sakurai sips at his iced latte. Beside him, Himuro pensively watches as Kagami cranes his neck to see Takao line up.
Once they have their food and drinks, everyone settles down again and Takao grabs the opportunity to take a group selfie. After the flash fades Kasamatsu gives Takao a smack on the shoulder. "That's for dragging me into this."
Grinning, Takao hands out the plate of donuts. "So where were we?"
"I'm actually waiting for Atsushi," Himuro says, cooling his coffee with gentle blows. "We're supposed to go on a date."
"Well aren't you awfully relaxed," Takao comments, dipping a piece of donut into his hot chocolate. "Considering you'll be facing us at the semifinals tomorrow."
"Oh, you know," Himuro replies airily. "There's this sweets company that's going to unveil a line of limited edition chocolates and Atsushi… Well, he knows his priorities."
"So you're the doting kind of boyfriend," Kasamatsu surmises.
"Whatever made you say that?" There's that disarming smile again. "Atsushi has been playing hard all season. It's only fair that he gets a reward."
"So where is this giant?" Kagami asks.
"Late. As always."
Kagami gets the odd feeling that Himuro isn't as calm as he appears to be. The guy barely put any sugar in his coffee and he knows how much of a not-so-secret sweet-tooth Himuro is.
"Kagami-san? It's your turn." For once, Sakurai manages not to sound apologetic or even intimidated. In fact, he sounds very much invested in the conversation. While Takao had been queuing for their snacks, Himuro got him to talk more about the nature of his relationship with Touou's ace while Kagami was forced to listen in with a morbid sense of fascination. Not many people are open-minded about having multiple partners but (having lived in a so-called liberated country) Himuro and Kagami are surprisingly okay with the concept though they stressed that since Aomine was doing it without Kise's knowledge, it definitely counts as cheating. At which point Himuro suggested the threesome again and Kagami promptly kicked him under the table.
Scratching his head at Sakurai's conduction, Kagami's mouth twists into a frown. "Uh, I don't know. Kuroko and I are cool. I guess."
"So why is he shooting hoops with Aomine right now instead of you?" Himuro pries, glad for the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity. Even if they're no longer termed brothers, looking after Kagami is a hard habit to break.
To Takao, Kasamatsu whispers, "That's not a metaphor, now is it?" which gets the Shutoku player giggling. Even Sakurai has to cover his mouth with a tissue, due to an unappealing snort that has cold coffee dribbling down his chin.
"I don't think that's a problem," Kagami states, defensive. "He has his own set of friends and it's not my business if he wants to hang out with them."
"You're not jealous?" Takao wheedles, bumping his shoulder with Kagami.
"Not really…" Kagami picks a donut and stuffs it into his mouth, chewing to bid some time. "I mean, we hang out in our own time. He comes by my place and he'll read while I make lunch, sometimes we go out to the street courts for some one-on-one… Oh and just last week he dared me to go with him when Nigou needed to get shots."
The other four exchange glances, nodding at some unspoken understanding.
"You must trust him a lot to leave him alone with Aomine-san," Sakurai finally says, which gets both Takao and Kasamatsu nodding.
"We're just friends, is what I'm saying," Kagami explains, avoiding the question entirely. "I don't have the right to question what he's doing with whom."
"So you're not planning to make a move?" Himuro asks, already knowing the answer by the tone he uses.
Kagami frowns. "Now isn't the time."
"If you're waiting on a sign…" Takao lets that sentence trail, looking meaningfully at Kagami.
"I say you're still not sure of what you're feeling," Kasamatsu declares, sloshing his coffee around the cup. "Not to be a bad example but, that thing with Kise and me? Yeah, it all seemed promising until we put it to the test. Sure, it didn't work out, but it saved us an eternity of wondering 'what if?'."
"Kuroko-kun seems fairly attached to you," Himuro observes. "But if he isn't going out of his way to show that he's looking for something more, then your best bet is to find someone else…"
"It's not that simple," Kagami insists. "Kuroko and I… we've got something. It's more than just being partners, more than those miracles' stupid light and shadow crap–"
Takao flinches. "Ouch, Tai-chan. That hit home."
Kagami turns to him, surprised. "Oh. Sorry, man."
"So what's your issue?" Himuro prods at Takao. "No guts to profess your undying love to four-eyes?"
Leaning across the table to glare at Yosen's captain, Takao's tone is not as friendly as he'd previously displayed. "Excuse you, my Shin-chan has a name. And I am not taking my position as his shadow for granted."
Himuro smiles at the heated response. "Well, well… Let's hear it then."
When Takao finishes his story (including everything up to the kotatsu incident), he finds himself surrounded by impressed stares. Even Himuro's chiding expression has mellowed into something that's not quite pity but is close enough.
"That's harsh."
"I know!" Takao finishes off his hot chocolate, resisting the urge to slam the cup on the table. He doesn't need to make a scene as it is, he's pretty sure the kids in the other tables have heard everything with the way he so passionately told his tale. "But I can't say I blame him for – what?" He gets distracted by Kagami who's staring at him too closely.
"You've got…" Kagami points at the area around his mouth. "Chocolate."
Takao blinks, tongue slipping out to find his drink's residue near the corner of his lips. "Oh." He gets a tissue and wipes himself. "Better?"
A chuckle leaves Kagami. "Not really. Let me do it," he offers, taking a fresh sheet and scrubbing away the chocolate foam mustache… or beard, more like it.
"I wish Aomine-san was that sweet," Sakurai sighs, stirring the left-over ice in his drink.
"Shut up." Kagami scowls, sending a half-hearted glare at the brunet. Opposite him, Himuro wears a mischievous smile.
"Well, that Midorima comes from a very traditional family, right?" Kasamatsu leads them back on topic. "Maybe he doesn't want to, y'know, get involved prior to marriage."
Takao hums, thoughtful. "Well, I have been eyeing this engagement ring at the jeweler's."
Kagami's eyes widen in disbelief. "Seriously?"
"What?"
"I thought the engagement plan was off? What did I tell you about–?" He cuts himself mid-rant. Breathing deep, Kagami rethinks his words. "Look. You called me in the middle of the night saying your entire love life is over but… Dude, if Kuroko started humping my leg in his sleep, I'd freak out too."
"Well I can't say the same," Himuro admits slyly, getting a puking motion from Kagami. Satisfied, he shifts his attention to the Shutoku player. "Though, you probably are just overreacting, Takao-kun."
"Have you considered that Midorima-san isn't into guys?" Sakurai adds. "If that's the case then you're lucky he still wants to be friends."
"Y'know, I'm really curious as to how you got Aomine to cheat on Kise." Takao tilts his head at Sakurai.
"I-I'm not sure," Sakurai replies meekly. "It just happened."
"Screwing around with the likes of Aomine doesn't just happen."
"Takao, hey, don't take it out on him." Kagami puts a hand on Takao's shoulder to keep him in his seat.
Takao catches himself and the alarmed look on Sakurai. His cheeks fill with hot guilt and shame. "Sorry, Ryou-chan."
"It's okay," Sakurai assures him with a smile. "I'm contented to take what I can get but you… I admire your perseverance, Takao-san. And I hope that you and Midorima-san can sort things out."
"Yeah." Takao deflates now that he's said everything. Looking up at Kagami, he musters a grateful smile.
Kasamatsu wipes his mouth free of glazed crumbs. "You're exhausting yourself," he tells Takao. "It's admirable, like Sakurai here has said, but it's also unhealthy. You're just teenagers. Hell, we're all just teenagers. There's so much more to live for. So don't get yourself down over this. You've all got a big game tomorrow, am I right?"
Smiles bloomed around the table.
"Actually, I have a better idea," Himuro says after the moment is over. He wears an easy smile, peering at the opposite side of the table through his bangs. "Why don't you two just date each other?"
Kagami blinks. "What? Me and…" He looks down at Takao who's already looking up at him in confusion; he still has his hand on the latter's shoulder.
"Pffft." Takao bursts out laughing and Kagami follows a second later. They slump into each other, laughing with incredulity at the suggestion. Himuro quietly waits them out. Kasamatsu and Sakurai share a wondering look.
"No way!" Kagami sputters. "That'd be like dating my brother–"
Himuro raises a brow and the younger teen shuts up.
Takao takes the opportunity to butt in. "I concede that I am not worthy to wear the same label as Tatsu-chan the ikemen–"
"Is that supposed to be me?!" Himuro hisses.
"But damn, Tai-chan," Takao flutters his lashes at the redhead beside him, squeezing close in the small booth. "You could at least know what we are?"
Kasamatsu leans towards Sakurai, muttering, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"And what's that?" Kagami challenges, honestly intrigued, barely recognizing that he's moved closer.
"You." A drawling voice comes from above them at the same time that fingers flick at Kagami's ear. "Are not allowed to break Kuro-chin's heart."
Himuro looks up at the curtain of lilac hair that's hanging above him. "Atsushi."
"What the hell?" Kagami demands, jumping away with a hand over his ear to protect it from further abuse.
Murasakibara ignores him in favor of pressing a kiss on the corner of Himuro's eye, right over his mole, in apology. "I got lost again. This mall has too many coffee shops."
The public display of affection makes a shiver go up Kasamatsu's spine, prompting him to cough and look away. Beside him, Takao is torn between cooing and gagging at the pair.
"That's okay," Himuro assures the teen leaning over from the empty booth behind him. Turning back to his table, he gives the group a smile. "It's been a nice chat but my date has arrived and we better get going."
Sakurai ambles out of the way, taking his shopping bags with him so that Himuro can exit the booth.
"Remember what I said," Himuro directs his parting words at the pair on the bench. "Bye for now."
With Himuro gone, Kagami rounds on the others. "What did Murasakibara just–"
"He told you not to break Kuroko's heart, dumbass," Kasamatsu states.
"And he flicked your ear like a kid," Takao teases, smiling wider at the pout Kagami sends him.
"I wasn't doing anything!"
"I don't know," Sakurai mumbles, self-consciously pressing the tips of his pointing fingers together. "From my perspective, it looked like you two were about to kiss."
••••••••••••
Takao clutches at his stomach, air squeezed right out of his lungs as near-hysterical laughter spills into the evening. It's one of the coldest winter nights but he's comfortably warm.
"Oi, stop laughing, damn it!" The reprove is ineffective, considering the humor underlining the half-hearted attempt to quiet him.
One look at the matching twitches on Kagami's lips and brows hauls even more raucous laughter from Takao. A couple of passersby look at him funny but he ignores them in favor of slapping Kagami's back. "But that's just freaking hilarious! I can't believe he flat out said it! And the nerve of those guys to back him up!"
"It must be senioritis," Kagami says, grinning as he gives in. Noticing Takao's confused face, he explains, "It's a thing, you know, when third years get close to graduating and they can't think straight so they start spewing weird stuff."
"Can't think straight," Takao snickers.
"Then again, Tatsuya probably has it out for me." Kagami shoots a balled-up Maji Burger wrapper into a waste bin. He'd been carrying it with him from the store where they had a late dinner.
Takao whistles as the balled up paper goes in. "Two points to Seirin."
"Shut up," Kagami mutters as they turn the corner, entering the last stretch of road before the train station. At the lack of a witty comeback, Kagami looks over at his companion – Takao's eyes are glinting with mischief. "What?" he asks, heat creeping over his cheeks as Takao shows him his phone with the camera app at the ready.
"Why don't we give them something to really talk about?"
Kagami's heart skips a beat. "Don't be stupid," he says dismissively, desperately trying not to think of Sakurai's final comment and Kasamatsu's unhelpful agreement to it. He doesn't think of Takao that way. Not really.
"Aw, but remember what Yuki-chan said?" Takao coaxes. If the sane man in the group saw the possibility, then it couldn't be entirely unfounded. "We'll never put the issue to rest until we test it out."
"There is no issue, Takao," Kagami insists, reaching for Takao's phone and exiting the camera mode.
"Then why won't you look me in the eye when you say it?"
Kagami is struck by the sudden depth in Takao's tone. He meets the silvery gaze, unable to look away now that he's done it. "You don't really want this," he whispers.
Shrugging, Takao steps closer, pocketing his phone to get it out of the way. "Maybe I'm taking a leaf out of Ryou-chan's book and taking what I can get." His voice turns sly, playing with the drawstrings of the taller teen's hoodie. "You gotta admit we have chemistry, Tai-chan."
"… At least drop the stupid nickname if we're going to kiss," Kagami mutters, making a mental note to tell Tatsuya to keep his comments to himself from now on.
In the back of his mind, Takao thinks that's something his Shin-chan would say if they ever got into this situation. But they wouldn't – would never – and it's that sobering thought that brings him to close the gap.
Kagami tastes chocolate on Takao's lips, sweet and warm and not entirely unappealing.
••••••••••••
"Aw, isn't this cute, Tetsu-kun?" Momoi squeals, showing the screen of her phone to the teen sitting opposite her.
Kuroko looks up from his bowl of noodles. It's a photo uploaded by Shutoku's Takao from five hours earlier, captioned with "Saturdate~! ;)". He's in a pastry store by the look of the food laid on the table but Kuroko's focus is on the guy holding the camera.
Kagami has his hand extended as far as it would go to capture everyone in the photo. Sidled up beside him is Takao, smiling big and flashing a peace sign. Kasamatsu is on Takao's other side, leaning in with half a grin on his face. On the other side of the table are Himuro and Sakurai, both smiling politely at the camera. Kagami's face is all squinty, an expression Kuroko has learned to read as unbridled happiness.
"Huh, I didn't know Ryou knew how to socialize," Aomine comments, half-joking as he chews on his food.
"Dai-chan, don't be mean," Momoi scolds, taking back her phone so she could Like and comment on the photo.
Aomine nudges Kuroko's shoulder when the teen doesn't immediately go back to eating. They'd been practicing all afternoon and Kuroko was all but inhaling his noodles just now, to see him stop all of a sudden is a little disturbing. "You okay?"
Kuroko swirls his chopsticks around the bowl, dragging noodle strands into a cyclonic formation around the center. "I was just thinking… Sorry."
"Don't apologize, sheesh." Aomine frowns, turning his attention back to his own plate. "You sound just like Ryou."
••••••••••••
Takao has to raise himself on his toes a little, hands finding purchase on Kagami's neck to bring him closer, make it a little easier. He makes a pleased sound in the back of his throat when Kagami angles their faces for a better fit.
Kagami pulls Takao nearer, setting his hands just above the cut of dark jeans. He's pretty sure this goes far beyond what Kasamatsu said about testing things out but he can't quite find the will to stop. Takao is a seriously good kisser.
He forgets that they're actually doing this outside with civilians who might call the police on them for indecency but Takao can't bring himself to care. Reciprocation feels awesome and it sends delightful tingles down to the tips of his toes. He pushes his hands into hair that's softer than they look, waiting to bump into earpieces from rectangular-framed glasses but they never come. His fingers card smoothly through spiked hair, getting an encouraging squeeze around his waist in response.
••••••••••••
"What's the matter, Shintaro?"
The smooth voice is garbled when it reaches his ears and it's not until the second utterance of his name does Midorima finally look up.
"Apologies, I got… distracted." He sets his phone face down and diverts his attention back to the digital game board. He ends his turn with a click of the mouse.
"That's certainly one way of putting it," Akashi says, his image over the video chat looking less than amused. "You just orchestrated your own defeat."
Midorima stills, lips thinning to a line when he realizes he'd moved the wrong piece. "I can still turn this around."
"No you can't." Akashi proves his point by making his finishing move and winning the match. He sighs, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand and looking disinterestedly into the camera. "And you were executing a good game, too. What did Momoi want?"
"It was nothing," Midorima replies curtly, closing the tab that's declaring his loss in dreadful gray text. "Just a photo."
"Of whom?" Akashi swipes at his own phone, belatedly realizing he'd received the same message. "Nevermind, I got it, too." He raises his brows at the image that pops up. It has entirely nothing to do with him but he must've gotten included due to Momoi's contact grouping. Honestly, that woman… Nonetheless, he sees exactly what it is that has troubled his playing partner. "I thought you've fixed the situation with Kazunari."
There's a visible twitch in Midorima's expression. "I have. Though I am now inclined to believe that we weren't clear enough."
"How many times do I have to say it?" Akashi takes on the tone of a scolding mother. "You have to be direct with him; otherwise he'll never truly understand you."
"Maybe this is the sign for me to stop; he is obviously enjoying his so-called date." Midorima's distaste cant' be conveyed enough.
"If you truly believe that, then why do you look like you're about to break someone's neck?" Akashi smiles to himself, looking down at the photo again. "Taiga's, most probably."
"Nonsense," Midorima snips, meeting Akashi's smile with a frown.
"You can't lie to me, Shintaro. I know you too well."
Pushing his glasses up, the lenses reflect the bright blue light of the computer screen. "As I do you."