The art of pain

by AnonymousXY

Haizaki was out for revenge and found the perfect target: Kagami. Warning: rape/non-con, violence!

6. Chapter 6

Hey :)

I´m really sorry for the late delay but I´m finally back from my vacation and the chapter itself is longer than I intented. I guess it´s the longest one I´ve ever written^^ There is slight GoM/Kagami in this chapter which is also the last one (can you believe that?!) LAST CHAPTER *_* it´s a bit sad but I´m actually really proud haha, anyway all the mistakes are mine and sorry, it´s really long! O.O

Reviews:

: Thank you for commenting! When I read the chapter again I also thought so so maybe I will change a few things but I´m glad you enjoyed it any way! :)

Guest: Thank you! I´m really glad you liked it! :)

katie103: yeah I get what you mean but thanks for reading! This one is more fluffy and warm! :)

So here you go! :)

It´s a much more fluffy chapter and I hope you will like it! And it´s full of flashbacks and I hope it´s not too confusing, if it is please tell me!

Enjoy!

---

One year later

Kuroko smiled to himself when he took a sip of his water bottle and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he took a seat on the wooden bench next to the basketball court. A warm feeling settled in his stomach as he watched his friends play against each other in a three-on-three after he had excused himself since the heat had taken a toll on his body. Aomine, Kise and Murasakibara were currently playing against Akashi, Midorima and Kagami.

Blue, fond eyes landed on the tall redhead who was grinning that feral smirk he always wore when he stood against Aomine-the reason why they almost never were on the same team (well also no one wanted them on the same team since they would do nothing but argue about who had the ball right now and the passing between the two hot headed basketball players were more like let me throw the ball at your ugly face-passes than team passes). It was reassuring to see Kagami smiling like that and having fun. The last year had been hard for all of them and with a gaze to his school bag Kuroko thought about how his grades had actually dropped that year. He had never been exceptional good at school and even though his grades didn´t ´get as worse as Kagamis he wasn´t proud of them.

Sighing he leaned back and looked up at the blue sky. Summer was nearly over, the days got shorter and the air cooler but it still was warm enough to go out in a T-Shirt. The sun was slowly going down, drenching their surroundings in warm red and when Kurokos eyes found Kagamis figure again (currently defending the basket against Aomine) he noticed how well that colour suited his light. It made him glow strangely warm and soft even though his eyes were scrunched in concentration and his unique eyebrows were pulled into a frown of determination.

Kuroko didn´t like how his crush had developed into something deeper over the time. Whenever Kagami smiled at him he felt his stomach flutter and his cheeks redden. Kagami was slowly disarming him, softly pulling down all the rusty walls he had put up when he had begun to hide his emotions behind an expression of indifference. He would like to think that he had become more open with showing his emotions since he finally had gotten his friends back but still… the way Kagami was making him feel so foolish and happy at the same time was scary. And the worst was that Kuroko couldn´t bring himself to act on his desires to be closer, just so close to his light because even though it had been over a year since the incident with Haizaki had happened and a few months since the trial had happened so finally Haizaki had been forced to pay for his sins Kagami still wasn´t really the same as before. Well, he probably will never be but sometimes the other still had bad days and when Kuroko tried to approach him or touch him like laying his hand on his shoulder the redhead would jerk away, giving Kuroko a dark or frightened look and then sit down somewhere and stare at the sky. Fortunately those days had gotten rare but still Kuroko didn´t want to risk his friendship with Kagami.

And moreover the small blue haired boy couldn´t forget how Kagami had looked during the trial. It had not taken long for it to be over since Haizaki didn´t reject any of the accusations and the evidence was clear but the moment the redhead needed to face him Kuroko had seen how his whole face had closed down and his gaze had dropped to the ground. Kuroko knew how much that bothered the red haired boy since he wanted to appear strong and not give Haizaki the satisfaction to see him still being affected by what the other had done to him. And every time Kuroko thought back to how Haizaki had smirked when he saw Kagami and him and his teammates he could feel hot anger boiling in his guts. Haizaki hadn´t regretted what he had done-maybe he now did but Kuroko couldn´t forget the cold eyes, staring right into them.

It probably hadn´t helped that they all who had received Haizakis messages, photos and videos needed to give their statement. Kuroko had sometimes glanced over to the redhead who had kept his eyes on the floor, not daring to look up and when the time had come for his own statement his voice had trembled as had his whole body. It had been painful to watch and to not be able to do anything, to be there for his partner and comfort him when it was obvious how tortured he was under reliving and retelling the incident as good as he could.

The worst was that Kuroko sometimes couldn´t supress his desires-he was a teenager after all-and even though he wasn´t the person to jerk off at every chance he got he sometimes needed to get release even if it was just to decrease the school stress. And he always felt so guilty when his thoughts began to wander and naturally it was Kagamis face and body who appeared before his eyes. He couldn´t help but wonder how Kagami would taste, feel and sound or how his big hands would feel on Kurokos skin, in his hair and how the redheads' voice would sound. The feeling of guilt always crushed him afterwards and Kuroko felt like he dirtied his friend and himself. It was really exhausting.

"Oi, Tetsu!" Aomine shouted and interrupted Kurokos musings and he looked up at his former light.

"Switch with that guy would ya?" Aomine pointed at Kagami who stood there under the basket and glared at the other, "he looks like he would pass out at any moment"

Kuroko chuckled when the redhead stomped over to Aomine, exclaiming that he was very fine and the other Ace should shut up but Kuroko could see that his light was exhausted-being the only one who hadn´t switched out in the two hours they were already playing. "Aomine-kun is right, Kagami-kun. If you remember even he needed to sit out one game so it is not like you will lose to him" he looked at the taller boy who glared down at him, his hand still at the collar of Aomines shirt and then sighed, "it´s not that…" he murmured and let go of the other, grumbling all the way to the bench.

"Aww, Kagami-cchi don´t be sad, I can sit with you!" Kise shouted but before he could even make a step towards the bench Kuroko jabbed him in the side. "Kise-kun will just annoy Kagami-kun further and we can´t live with a grumpy Kagami-kun."

"I´m not grumpy!" it came from the bench and a curse followed when the redhead hit his foot against the leg of the bench.

"Mind your language, Taiga" Akashi reminded the other redhead and rolled his eyes. "There are still children around"

Kuroko looked at the small group of boys and girls that had gathered behind the fence of the court after a while and smiled. They had started to cheer every time a basket was made and gave sounds of astonishment when someone-mostly Aomine, Kise or Kagami-made a fancy move. "We already know those words!" a small boy laughed and the children next to him nodded with a serious expression.

Kagami grinned, "See? Nothing to save there!"

Midorima adjusted his glasses, "how imprudent, someone should talk to their parents…Murasakibara what are you doing?" Kuroko gazed over to the purple haired giant who had padded over to the bench and was currently searching for something in his bag. "You´re all talking and it´s boring-I got hungry."

Akashi sighed, "Atsushi, we will take a break later so please come back for now." Murasakibara muttered something under his breath that made Kagami laugh but no one of the rest could understand it since they stood too far away from the couple but the purple giant obediently went back into his defending position.

Drinking from his water bottle Kagami lazily watched the others play, propping his chin on his hand. He would never admit it but he loved watching them play together. At least when he successfully managed to shut down the little jealous voice inside his head that told him that no matter on how good terms he was with them right now he probably could never compete with the strong friendship those guys had. His eyes tried to stay on Kuroko (he had gotten better at noticing the smaller boy, something his paranoia of being followed and watched probably had brought with it) but he lost him after a few seconds. Kuroko had managed to pull them all together again by sheer willpower and no matter how often Kuroko said he couldn´t have done it alone Kagami sometimes thought that Kuroko probably would have been able to find another guy who could play the light for him.

Kagami shook his head and leaned back. "Stop it" he muttered to himself and recalled the words Suzuki-san had told him in one of their sessions. Don´t belittle other peoples´ intentions by belittling yourself. The words had somehow stung but when Kagami had thought deeper about them he had found that he needed to accept them. And he didn´t want to belittle Kurokos intentions since the smaller boy had always been (well most of the time) honest with him and had showed incredible patience with him when Kagami couldn´t bear to look into his eyes. He shouldn´t think of Kuroko that way.

He sighed and grabbed his bag to take a bite of his lunch. Somehow he had managed to fix his relationship with every member of the Generation of Miracles-it had been hard but now that he sat here without panicking about the smell of sweat and the nearness of other equal tall guys (well most of them) he knew it had been worth it. And he could freely admit that they had played a huge part in his way out of that grey nothing he had found himself in for a long time. And Kagami was grateful, more than grateful as he had no idea how he should ever repay their kindness and patience or their words and actions. It left him a bit hanging since he didn´t like the feeling of being indebted. But Suzuki-san had told him that they were his friends and friends were meant to help each other and by opening up to them, letting them in he would have paid them back far enough. It was just really hard to believe.

Kagami chewed on a rice ball and listened to the shouts and complains of his friends when he thought back to how everything had begun to change. He had been awful in the first weeks after he started his therapy - sometimes he had gone there but more often he would wander through the city, get lost somewhere and on some occasions he would get drunk (he was lucky that he looked older than he was). He got so drunk that he couldn´t even remember his own name, speak probably or even stand up. Those evenings were the worst. He had no idea why he had done it but on sometimes he would even let random people pick him up-boy or girl, it didn´t matter-and let himself drown in alcohol and wicked pleasure. He could never truly remember what happened, the only thing he knew that on the next morning he would find himself in some alley, hotel room (how the fuck did he get in there) and when he was lucky in his own bed. His whole body would stink and was mostly covered in hickeys and bite marks or fingerprints. Sometimes he hurt so much that he couldn´t get out of bed for half of the day and he was so disgusted by himself that he couldn´t look into the mirror for the next week.

Of course it was only a matter of time until Tatsuya would find out about his nightly visits to the probably cheapest bars and with a wince Kagami remembered the slap of Tatsuyas hand against his face. And damn had it hurt but not as much as the look of disappointment his brother had on his face. But well, Kagami had given him a lot to be disappointed about when he had called him in the middle of the day because he didn´t know where he was and the guy he had been with had been so ugly that Kagami couldn´t let him fuck him. From then on Tatsuya had always brought him to Suzuki-san, making sure that Kagami really went there whenever his schedule allowed it. And with a twist in his stomach Kagami remembered when he had talked with Suzuki-san about the times he got shitfaced at a bar and followed some random guy into the next alley-just to be used again. Because he himself didn´t really understand why he had been doing that - or maybe he didn't want to.

"It is actually not uncommon for my patients but the reasons differ. Sometimes they want punish themselves or show themselves that they´re still wanted."

He frowned, "Wanted? They didn´t really want me, just my body." He winced at how cruel that sounded.

"And what did you want?"

He sometimes still thought about what she had said and it did make sense. He hadn´t been after whoever that person had been, he just had wanted to feel something again, a warm body, pleasure, pain - it didn´t matter and when he had told Suzuki-san about it she had smiled at him, telling him it wouldn´t be strange for him to think like that - it actually would be pretty common. But even now he wondered about what he had really wanted - or what he wanted now. Fortunately he had stopped sneaking out at night and even now that he finally lived on his own again, he didn´t seek out random people to spend the night with. He had gotten better, thanks to himself and… he smiled slightly as he looked up, following the movement of the basketball that was passed from Kise to Aomine, and thanks to those persistent bastards. Of course the first one who he had gotten closer to had been Kuroko - it had been nearly impossible to not notice how much Kagamis behaviour had been affecting his little shadow and the redhead still suffered under guilt whenever he remembered how out of it Kuroko had been in that time.

---

Kuroko always said "Good morning", no matter if he didn´t get an answer from Kagami but today the redhead planned to wish it back. He had talked to Suzuki-san that week and she had asked if he would have begun talking to his friend again. Since she had said that it was likely that it could help Kagami he planned to try and talk to Kuroko again. Starting with a simple Good morning. He could do this, he told himself and he clenched his fists in determination. It should be ridiculous how hard Kagami needed to concentrate to not freak out over a simple Good morning greeting but he decided to not give it too much thought. Student after student streamed into the classroom and Kagami raised his gaze from the table to watch out for the blue haired boy since he was so easy to overlook. Strangely his eyes caught him rather quickly - maybe because he had needed to look out for him to dodge his attempts to talk to Kagami. But he wouldn´t do that now. Out of the corner of his eyes he watched Kuroko approaching his table, eyes on his book but he looked up when he greeted Kagami, whispering a quiet good morning.

"GOOD MORNING KUROKO!"

Kagami blinked, heat blooming in his face when the whole classroom suddenly quiet down under his rather… loud voice. Swallowing in embarrassment in glanced around, meeting surprised faces and startled looks-oh shit he had fucked up. Kagami fidgeted on his chair when laughter rose in the classroom.

"Finally Kagami!" a boy grinned and surprised Kagami looked up, seeing one of his classmates laughing at him. "We thought you had died on us you know!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah", a girl added with a smile, "Kagami-kun got so unusual quiet, we were worried"

Something warm pooled in his stomach and his lips twitched under a smile when he looked up to see Kuroko still standing in front of his desk with a soft and warm, maybe yearning smile on his lips and in his eyes, so beautiful that it caught Kagamis breath.

"Good morning, Kagami-kun." He whispered, voice a bit shaken and when Kuroko sat down Kagami could see how he wrapped his arms around himself, staring down at his table.

"Don´t repeat yourself dumbass…" he muttered, glancing out of the window and he would have bet that Kuroko had given a soft chuckle.

At break he followed Kuroko to the roof of the school and quietly sat down with the other second years who had welcomed him with a smile, asking where he had been.

"Kagami-kun needed to focus on his studies." Kuroko jumped in when Kagami found himself unable to answer.

"E-eeh?" Fukuda let out, "studies?"

Kagami nodded a bit awkward, "Uh yeah, you know my… ah dad had been pressuring me a bit." Well that wasn´t practically a lie but not the truth either.

"Huh, will you come to practice again?"

Kagami blinked. Should he? Well he actually had his sport uniform with him but on the other hand… he remembered the last time when he had practiced with them and had needed to excuse himself after just half an hour because he could feel how his stomach had begun to twist and tighten, announcing another panic attack. But on the other hand…

Get your mind off things, Kagami-kun. Do the things you love!

Suzuki-sans words appeared in his mind and he nodded almost automatically. "Y-yeah I guess so…"

Kawahara grinned at him, "Haha, great, it´s gotten lonely without you!"

Kagami cocked his head and averted his gaze, "I-is that so?"

Furihata nodded, "It´s so quiet, no one screams anymore when Kuroko brings Nigou with him-" Kagami flinched, "or fights with one of the members of the Generation of miracles" Kawahara added and Kagami jerked.

"D-did you play against them?" he asked.

Furihata nodded.

"But they destroyed us." Kuroko deadpanned, "Now that Kiyoshi has retired and one of the first years was injured we stood no chance."

"Huh…" Kagami mumbled and then grinned, "Well we need to get back at them, huh?"

Kuroko blinked at him and Kawahara slapped him on the back, "That's what we wanted to hear!"

The school bell interrupted any further conversation and when the other three second years left Kagami awkwardly stood up.

"K-Kuroko, I´m sorry…" he mumbled, unable to meet the other boys gaze.

"There is nothing you need to be sorry for Kagami-kun…" he answered in a soft voice and Kagami shook his head, "No-I mean yes, I should because… I shouldn´t have ignored you like I did!"

Kuroko smiled at him (he had done that quite a lot today Kagami wondered) and raised his fist "Kagami-kun can take as much time as he needs until he feels ready to talk to me again. I´m Kagami-kuns shadow, I will wait for Kagami-kun."

The redhead could feel his throat tighten and his eyes wetting when his fist met Kurokos in a silent promise.

---

Kagami was still getting emotional every time he remembered that afternoon but unfortunately that tender memory was followed by an angry Riko who was chasing him around the gym, not allowing him to play until he would be in a better shape again. When everyone had already gone home and Kagami had stayed back because firstly Riko had asked him to and secondly because he couldn´t shower with the other guys (he didn´t want to face their questioning about the scar on his stomach) she had given him a schedule he should follow to get into shape again as quick as possible. Kagami could still remember the moment her hard brown eyes had softened and she had asked if he was alright; if there was anything she could do for him and he still smiled about her change in demeanour. That was probably the moment he had noticed that there was something he needed to do - he couldn´t make everyone worry about him. He never wanted someone to worry about him like that and he actually had never expected that there were so many people who worried about him - Hell, his whole class had admitted that he had acted strange and that they were worried about him!

After following Suzuki-san advice to make up with Kuroko life had gotten a bit brighter. He spent a lot of time with the blue haired boy, even more than before. They did homework together, played a bit basketball and Kuroko even tried to keep up with Kagamis practice schedule but quickly gave up calling Riko inhuman for setting something like that up and Kagami inhuman for being able to follow that thing. They sometimes spend evenings watching TV until they both fell asleep during the movie and woke up tangled in each other's arms and legs. Kagami hadn´t noticed how lonely and depraved of human contact he had been until Kuroko came along again. Sometimes he still needed his distance-on bad days he couldn´t even bear to let Kuroko touch him in any way but Kuroko was strangely accepting and understanding so it never really bothered Kagami. Since Suzuki-sans advice had been proved good Kagami had decided to follow another one.

---

Is there someone you know who maybe would be able to understand the feelings you have?" She asked and Kagami frowned, "Someone who also got raped?" he asked and still flinched at the word like it physical hurt him.

"No, I´m more or less talking about your depression."

"I`m not depressed!" he argued back and she raised he thin eyebrows at him.

"Well there may be someone…" he grumbled after a few minutes of silence, giving in-he wasn´t that stupid. He knew that he probably was depressed, at least a bit.

That´s how Kagami found himself on the basketball court waiting for Aomine. The dark blue haired boy hadn´t stopped writing him, asking for a rematch so this time Kagami had responded and accepted the challenge, well knowing that he would lose against the other guy. But strangely he didn´t want to play to basketball against him (well he wanted, of course he did) but right no he maybe wanted to talk to him… okay, not really. Actually he didn´t want to talk at all. It was stupid, so stupid… guys didn't talk about their feelings and why would Aomine even want to talk about it? The other was annoying, arrogant to no end but… whenever someone mentioned his slacking off and disinterest in basketball he totally closed down. So it was still bothering him but why should he talk to Kagami? They weren´t even friends!

Kagami frowned. On the other hand, even though they argued almost every time they met they had spent a lot of time together. Aomine had often crashed at his place, demanded food, they played Mario Cart and basketball together so… maybe they were friends? And Aomine had told Kagami he missed him so… were they friends? He shook his head. It wasn´t that important anyway. It didn´t matter what they were.

"Oi Bakagami!" someone called and when Kagami turned around in anger at hearing his stupid nickname his movements faltered when he saw Aomine leaning against the fence of the court, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans.

"Who are you calling Bakagami, asshole!?" he bit out and threw the ball at the other who grinned at him, dribbled past him in less than a second (that´s what it felt like) and Kagami stumbled a bit as he went after him, determined to not let him win that easily no matter how much better Aomine would be right now.

Of course he lost but he had expected that. What he hadn´t expect was Aomine to not say anything, only deep blue eyes that looked at him when he stared back as he didn´t know what to say. His body felt exhausted but great, it was always amazing to play against Aomine. He would never admit it but he loved the style of the other player, it was beautiful, even more now that Aomine had found what he had lost before. Kagami swallowed and broke the eye contact, slightly panting. And that was what Kagami wanted to talk about.

"Tetsu said you´re going to practice again." Aomine announced and Kagami nodded, turning the ball between his hands. "Ah, yeah-need to catch up, huh?" he grinned a bit awkward. Aomine laughed, "It will take a lifetime if you want to catch up to me!"

"Oi, I will beat you! Just wait!" Kagami growled angry, "And who said anything about you?!"

Aomine just grinned at him because they both knew that Kagami was talking about him. Then his expression got a bit more serious and he sat down at the bank, urging Kagami to follow.

"So, did you just want your ass to get beaten or is there something else you wanted?" the blue haired boy asked, ignoring Kagamis growl when he mentioned the redheads defeat. Kagami breathed out and closed his eyes, massaging the area between his eyes.

"No-I mean yes, there is… something else…" he mumbled, staring at his shoes. Aomines shoes…

He glanced up at the other boy who had his head titled backwards, looking at the sky.

"K-", he swallowed, "Kuroko had once told us what had happened at Teiko and… how lost you had seemed." When Aomine didn´t interrupt him, he continued, "he said that you didn´t have any motivation any more, were… depressed." The sentenced hung in the air when Kagami didn´t know what to say anymore-he had planned what he would tell the other boy but now it was like the words had lost him or he lost them.

"Well yeah…" Aomines deep voice cut through the air, making Kagami jerk. He could hear the rustling of Aomines clothes when the other searched for a comfortable sitting position. "It just seemed meaningless to do anything because at that time I was the best at it. Sometimes I couldn´t even get up and go to school and if I went to school I hung around on the roof top, skipping lessons and practice. Everything was just so boring, I have always loved playing basketball but back then there was no challenge anymore and a sport is only fun if you can play against someone, huh?"

Kagami nodded, "yeah I guess so…"

"Why do you ask?"

He swallowed, "I´m not sure it´s just… that sometimes I´m unable to get out of my bed, or sit at school or be with people…. It feels like I´m suffocating every time I try and it gets tiring. Everything is so tiring and I actually just wanna sleep except that I can´t and it´s… it´s driving me insane. Suzuki-san had asked me if there was someone who maybe had also experienced something like that and… I don´t know, I thought of you." He ran his fingers through his hair, laughing quietly when he felt Aomines eyes on him. "I actually have no idea what I actually expected or if that was a good idea but-"

"It was a good idea" Aomine mumbled and surprise Kagami looked up, "I didn´t talk about anything that time and it did no good but… that Suzuki-san of yours must be a smart woman, is she a woman? Who is she? Is she hot?"

Startled Kagami blinked at him, serious blue eyes looked at him in curiosity and he began to laugh, loudly. "Oh god, you never change Ahomine, huh? Pervert!"

"Oi, that´s important! So it is a woman! What cup?" Aomine pouted, making Kagami laugh even harder.

"Dumbass, she´s my therapist! I don´t know!"

Aomine went silent and Kagami turned his head when the eyes on him became too heavy.

"Therapist?"

Kagami nodded and ran his hand through his hair, "uh, yeah-Tatsuya thought it would be a great idea and well… it´s actually not as bad as it sounds."

Aomine nodded, seemingly deep in thought and Kagami really wanted to mock him but held himself back, not wanting to destroy the atmosphere.

"Well, I guess it´s a good idea, maybe you wouldn´t be here if it weren´t for her."

The redhead blinked at Aomine but the other kept his gaze ahead, not looking at Kagami. The younger one smiled and closed his eyes, "man, that´s pathetic"

Aomine laughed, "True, but more important now-is she hot?"

Kagami snorted and shook his head, "Shut up asshole."

And with that they went back to where they before, bickering about anything and everything and sometimes it still got a bit emotional and they both swore to never tell anyone about that. So when they finally stood at the station, waiting for different trains Kagami felt great, his body was exhausted and so was his head, everything was bedded in a soft cushion, like he was floating on a cloud-maybe there had been something strange in one of his twenty burgers.

When Aomine suddenly hugged him Kagami was surprised. He blinked when the other buried his face in Kagamis neck, tightening his arms around him and the redhead stiffened when he felt something wet against his skin. He swallowed. Kuroko had told him that no matter how hard and rough Aomine might appear, he actually was a crybaby. Kagami had laughed it off but now as he stood here he could believe.

He chose to not do anything and just waited until Aomine would calm down. The other would probably be embarrassed about it and at any other day Kagami might have made fun of him but not today. Not when Aomine had nearly laid his soul bare, just next to his own.

So when Aomine train arrived and the blue haired boy entangled himself Kagami didn´t say anything and just smiled at him, pretending not to notice the slightly red eyes.

He still smiled when he fell on his bed that evening, his eyes as tired as his body while Tatsuya mutterings about some formulas lulled him to sleep.

---

Since then he never had such an honest conversation with Aomine again and they never talked about it either, knowing well enough how embarrassing everything would seem once they would think about it again, so they left it to what it was.

Kagami yawned as he tilted his backwards, looking at the sky. The weather was nice and the bouncing of the ball and the voices of his friends were comforting. Most of the children who had watched them play went home, since it became rather late but not one had suggested going home and Kagami wouldn´t be the one to do that.

"So we meet again, Kagami-kun" a voice next to him chased him out his thoughts and he blinked up at the boy that had seemed to appear out of nowhere (another Kuroko?!).

Kagami frowned; the boy had black hair, was tall for Japanese and wore a gentle expression.

"Who are-"

"Nijimura-senpai"

Kagami turned around to see Akashi standing next to them, looking at the newcomer with a curious expression, a light smile on his lips.

"I´m not your senpai anymore Akashi-kun" the black haired boy smiled but Kagami tuned them out staring at his feet. His frown deepened; the boy knew him but Kagami actually couldn´t remember him-where could they have met. He took one deep breath and shook his head. It couldn´t be one of the guys he had went home with…right? Most of the time he hadn´t even used his real name, giving them the one which came the quickest to his mind so… from where did he know him?

"You seem different Kagami-kun." Nijmura again forced him out of his thoughts and he looked up, still a bit confused.

"The last time you seemed like a caged bird."

"More like a bird with truncated wings."

Red eyes widened in realization and Nijmuro laughed, "so you do remember me!"

"Eeh, Kagamicchi knows Nijmuracchi?!" Kise exclaimed excited. "How?"

"Well I guess, knowing each other would be too much but we met, yes." Nijmura nodded and then grabbed the basketball from Kises hands and threw it at Kagami who caught it with ease, "show me, I´m curious how you play now."

Kagami stared at the ball and then back at his challenger a smirk appearing on his lips and he could here Kuroko sigh next to him.

"It seems we need to give the court to Kagami-kun", he sat down and pushed his hand against Kagamis back.

"What? Not fair!" Aomine complained but was silenced when Kuroko send him one of his deadly glares and just grumbled under his breath as he sat down on the bench, "he will lose anyway."

"That you don´t know Daiki", Akashi grabbed his water bottle and took place where Kagami had sat. The tall redhead now was standing in front on Nijmura who grinned at him, taking in the dangerous look in the red eyes, power raging through strong limps and everything in the younger boy screamed to take Nijmura down and defeat him. It remembered him of Aomine when they still were a team.

He grinned, "then show me what you got!"

It was a good match and a long one - no one was backing down for on bit and they were head to head until Nijmura did something strange Kagami couldn´t quiet comprehend and won the match with ten to eight.

He was panting and gasping for breath when they were finished, he obviously hadn´t have enough time to recharge and now he felt like he couldn´t move at all. When he stared down at the grey asphalt, crushing his own teeth at the feel of defeat he felt a hand ruffle his hair and when he looked up Nijmura was smiling at him.

"It looks like the little bird learned how to fly again."

Kagami blushed at the stupid comment, swatting away the annoying hand, "I still lost", he grumbled. "Well yes, but it was a good match and don´t forget that I once was the captain of those freaky guys", he pointed at the rainbow heads and Kagamis eyes widened.

"Uh… really?" he choked out and the other boy nodded, still watching the bickering group with a fond smile on his face, "I´m in your dept Kagami-kun."

The redhead cocked his head in confusion. "If it wasn´t for you and Kuroko-kun they would still be lost, so I´m grateful that they were able to find themselves again." He smiled and patted the younger one on the back, wandering to the group to grab his bag. Kagami could see the questioning looks and how they tried to make him stay but Nijmura just laughed, waved at Kagami one last time and made his way down the street until they couldn´t see him anymore.

"Ne ne Kagamicchi, how do you and Nijmuracchi know each other?" Kise asked after Kagami rested on the bank, shifting his face against the warm evening sun.

"I once met him when I was wandering through the town," he muttered and glanced at Kise who smiled brightly at him when their gazed met and Kagami quickly averted his eyes. It was still a miracle to him how Kise could always be in a good mood-well most of the time at least. Kagami knew that Kise sometimes let his mask fall, showing something rawer, sometimes dangerous and sometimes vulnerable or something in between.

"Did you play against each other?"

Kagami nodded faintly, a bit lost in thought. "Yeah, he beat me."

Kise laughed, "Well he wasn´t our captain for nothing, huh?"

"Hmh…" the redhead wondered, "so he really was?"

Kise smiled at him, "yes, after that he named Akashicchi the new captain."

Kagami nodded and glanced at Kises smiling face, really how did he do that?

---

The next one Kagami decided to contact was Kise. The blonde guy hadn´t stopped messaging Kagami about anything and everything the he did and from Kuroko he knew that he had taken it even worse than anyone else given his personal history with Haizaki. Kagami had nearly winced when Kuroko gently told him so but now that he was waiting for the model he thought that yes, it probably was a good idea and yes he was doing the right thing. The only problem was that he didn´t want to do the right thing right now; it was probably unavoidable to talk with Kise and tell him that he wasn´t at fault but Kagami really didn´t want to. The only thing that kept him here was the fact that Kuroko would probably stare at him the next whole day and quietly judge him chickening out.

"Kagamicchi!?" A cheery voice sounded from the other street and Kagami looked up, flinching when Kise was suddenly really close to him - how the hell was he so fast?

"Ahh, I´m sorry I didn´t mean to-" Kise started babbling and Kagami rolled his eyes, "it´s fine, you just surprised me-how the hell did you get over the street so fucking fast anyway?"

Kise grinned, "well everyone stops for a pretty guy like me" he giggled and Kagami raised his eyes, sighing before turning around. "Whatever, what do you want to do?"

Kises eyes seemed to lighten up at the question and he grabbed Kagamis arm, pulling him along. "There was a shop I wanted to visit! They have beautiful clothes; maybe we could find something for Kagamicchi!"

Kagami cringed, "ah, I don´t know ´bout that, Ki-"

"Don´t say that Kagamicchi, you really need something else than black T-Shirts!"

"Black is just fine", the redhead mumbled but his argument was met with deafened ears and he sighed at his own misery as Kise pulled him into the first shop out of probably many.

After fifteen shops Kagami lost count and now that they were sitting in a small café he had no idea where they exactly had been in the last hours and what he was going do with all the clothes Kise had bought him. He glanced at the bag beside him and sighed. He would never wear those things anyway! And with a side glance to the blonde he remembered embarrassed how Kise had insisted on buying Kagami those clothes, not moving an inch.

"Sooo Kagamicchi, how are you?" Kise was smiling at him, elegantly sucking on his drink, his eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Uhm, good I guees – just fine, yeah…" he trailed off, staring out of the window before turning to Kise again, "and you?"

He supressed a grin when Kise began to ramble about how his days had been, how long he hadn´t been able to meet his oh-so-sweet Kurokocchi and how they needed to play basketball again. Kagami nodded eagerly at the suggestion and Kise laughed, propping his hand against his chin. "Kagamicchi really loves basketball, huh?"

There was something melancholic in his golden eyes that stole Kagamis breath for a short moment before he blinked and nodded a bit dumb, staring at his hands.

"I really miss playing with Kagamicchi but…" Kise glanced outside and with a deep breath Kagami remembered just why he had asked Kise out, even endured that horror shopping trip and how Kise dressed him up like a doll. It had made him feel rather uncomfortable, changing inside a cabin when Kise stood outside and people were passing by, just metres away.

"K-Kise, you know it´s…" he swallowed and raised his head, determined to speak even if Kise didn´t look at him, still caught up by something outside or inside his head.

"It´s not your fault", he said with as much force as he could put inside his voice. Kise turned his head, looking at him with furrowed brows. Probably confused. Well, it wasn´t like Kagami wasn´t confused.

"What-what happened, it´s not your fault." He repeated and began to play with his hands as nervousness again creeped in, "I just wanted you to know since Kuroko said that you blamed yourself."

"We-we all do Kagamicchi." There was this melancholic and sad vibe in his eyes again and the redhead cocked his head in confusion.

"But… why?"

Kise gave a humourless laugh , "don´t you blame us at all?"

Kagami shook his head. It was the truth, it wasn´t like the thought had never came up but he knew it was stupid and that nothing could have prevented it and now things just were as they were. He wasn´t much of a great thinker and he often thought that he maybe was better off that way. There was no use in searching for someone to blame… he winced silently when he remembered how his therapist had told him the same when she wanted to persuade Kagami that he himself also wasn´t to blame. Kagami closed his eyes for a moment, but that was a different story.

"I-I can´t bear the thought that it might have never happened when I wouldn´t have been there, you know? If he had stayed in the team. He wouldn´t have a reason for doing… that."

"Maybe he would just have found another reason? Maybe it would have been someone else or he would have done something else but… you never know and…" he gave Kise a quick smile, "you earned that position rightfully, right? So it was him at fault, not you, right?"

When Kise didn´t answer and just blinked at him Kagami grew a bit nervous. "W-well, I guess right? I mean it makes sense, doesn´t it? And if you think that it´s that way and not another it wouldn´t really-ah…" he trailed off, noticing that he had lost his red thread. He scrunched his eyebrows in anger at not being able to say what he really thinks but his fuming was interrupted when he heard Kise laugh.

"You say some strange things sometimes Kagamicchi," the blonde smiled and Kagami scowled at him. "Oi, don´t make fun of me asshole, I´m trying here!"

"Yes, yes I know" Kise chuckled and his smile grew gentler, maybe even fond, "thank you Kagamicchi."

"Drop the –cchi and it might sound serious" Kagami growled but it was without bite and a warm feeling inside him told him that he was glad for Kises words.

"So Kagamicchi, what do you wanna do next?" Kises cheery voice was back and even though Kagami was glad for the change he groaned when the blonde began to name all the shops that were so awesome that they really needed to visit them.

"So let´s go Kagamicchi, we still have the whole day!"

Well fuck.

---

"Puuhh, I´m beat, let´s call it a day", Kise breathed and Kuroko nodded, "I agree with Kise-kun, the sun nearly set and in a few minutes we won´t be able to see the ball even more."

"Ahhh, Kurokocchi!" Kagami sniggered at Kurokos annoyed face when Kise threw his arms around him, rubbing his cheeks against Kurokos. Over the years he had grown used to Kises exuberant show of affection towards his little shadow "Kise-kun should stay and play for himself. It´s dark so he can´t see his opponents anyway." The small blue haired boy replied as he stabbed Kise in the side, making the taller one wince in pain.

"So mean Kurokocchi!"

Kagami sighed and picked up his bag. It was indeed late and he still had some things to do, like doing his laundry and tidying up his little flat. He also needed to cook something since he ran out of leftovers yesterday and he wondered how he should manage all of that in such a short time.

A shadow loomed over him and when Kagami jerked around a bit panicked; Murasakibara leaned on him, laying his head on Kagamis shoulders. His hair and breath tickled Kagamis ear and he barely could supress the urge to scratch the spot.

"I want to eat Kaga-chins food", he mumbled, sucking on a lollipop that made sloppy and ugly noises against Kagamis ear.

"Ugh, eat your sweets somewhere else Murasakibara!" he growled and pushed the taller one off him. "And I won´t cook for you, I still have some things to do!"

"Whaaat, but I also wanna eat your food Kagami! It´s the only thing you´re good at!" Aomine drawled and smirked at him when the redhead turned around with a furious look on his face.

"Say what bastard?!"

"You suck at school, at basketball and at-"before he could finish that sentence Kagami stormed over to him, making Aomine back away and a moment later they were chasing each other around the basketball court, shouting insults at each other.

Akashi sighed, "How can they still have enough energy to run around like children?" he looked over to Murasakibara who was clearly not satisfied with the situation. "Atsushi, would you be so kind and put some sense into them?"

Murasakibara grumbled something about it being a pain but nonetheless made his way over to the fighting pair, grabbed them both by their hair and banged their heads against each other before pulling the surprised and now cursing two away from each other and forced them along.

"Now Kaga-chin owes me a meal."

Kagami glared at him as he rubbed his now painfully stinging forehead. "Oi, I didn´t ask for that you asshole!"

"Kaga-chin shouldn´t be so mean. Or I will crush him."

The redhead stared at the purpled haired boy before he gulped and sighed at his obvious defeat in their staring contest.

"That hurt you bastard!" Aomine raised his voice and Kagami glanced over at the other Ace who was fuming and snarling at Murasakibara. "I will crush Mine-chin too." That successfully shut the other up. What a frightful weapon Kagami thought and glanced over at Akashi who hadn´t said anything even though he probably had set it up.

"Okay whatever, I´ll cook for but only if-"

"Kaga-chin is so nice!" In less than a second Murasakibara was by his side, his arms against Kagami and the redhead wondered if the purple giant would be able to get any closer because that probably was impossible.

He rolled his eyes. That was fast.

"Uhhh, great I missed your food Kagami!" To his left appeared Aomine and when Kagami nearly stumbled over something or rather someone he knew there was another one in their little group.

"I also would enjoy Kagami-kuns cooking." Kuroko said, as blunt as ever before he managed to sneak between Kagami and Aomine.

"Well, that doesn´t sound too bad, "Akashi added and as Kagami looked over his shoulder with wide eyes and the smaller redhead smiled at him, also tagging along.

"Heey, don´t just keep Kagami-cchi for yourself!" And there was Kise.

"Well if everyone goes I guess I have no choice. Something lighter would be nice Kagami." And of course Midorima had already made demands.

"Oi, that wasn´t meant for you!"

"Of course Kagami-kun."

"Oh shut up, you little-"

"Please mind you language Kagami", Midorima scolded him and Kagami already had another insult on his tongue when Murasakibara sneaked his arms around his shoulder, dragging him ahead of the group.

"Kaga-chin, we need to hurry. I´m hungry."

Kagami rolled his eyes. Of course he was.

---

It wasn´t that surprising that the next miracle he had contact with again was Murasakibara since his brother obviously was close to him. So when Tatsuya noticed how Kagami talked with Kuroko or Kise over the phone and met up with Aomine to play basketball or grab some burgers with them one day he invited Murasakibara over for dinner.

"Tatsuya, do you-I mean, can´t you meet up at his place?" he followed his brother into the kitchen where the black haired boy grabbed some soda. Since Tatsuya had planned the evening their dinner consisted of ordering pizza and drinking soda. Not that Kagami minded – Pizza was always nice.

Himuro sighed and sneaked through the door, making Kagami follow him again. "Taiga, Atsushi and I are friends, it´s only natural that he wants to come over."

Taiga winced in guilt and rubbed over his arms. "I´m sorry Taiga, I didn´t mean to let it sound so mean. It´s just…" he put the glasses on the table and turned around to face the redhead. "I heard you talk to Kuroko and Kise. And you also met up with Aomine so I thought that it maybe would be a good time to invite Atsushi over. He misses you, you know."

Kagami sighed and ran his hand through his hair in search for words when the door rang. Tatsuya smiled, "it´s going to be okay Taiga, you know Atsushi, he won´t ask many questions."

Kagami nodded numbly and nervously sat down before deciding that it was easier to stay standing. He could hear Murasakibara mutter something and then how his fast and wide steps took him into the living room. Kagami froze when the purple haired boy stood in the doorway, staring at him as if he would be seeing him for the first time. Hopefully he wouldn´t rip off his eyebrows. Again.

"Kaga-chin."

He swallowed. He didn´t remember Murasakibara being so tall, like he could break Kagami with just one finger, crush him like he often liked to say without meaning it-anymore at least- and he could easily pin him down, against the floor, holding his hands together with one hand and using the other one to – Kagami shook his head, chasing the thoughts away. Murasakibara wouldn´t hurt him; against the outer appearance the other was a real softie who had the mind of a child. But still… Kagami didn´t like how easily the other could manage to overpower him.

"M-Murasakibara", he replied and gave a weak smile. It had been months since he had the last panic attack and he surely wouldn´t start now.

The other cocked his head and nodded at him, a soft gesture which Kagami gave back before sitting down at the table. Silence hang over the room; Tatsuya who maybe could have broken it was somewhere else so Kagami could hear the ticking of the clock, his own breathing and if he would listen close enough even his heartbeat, pounding strong and a bit too fast in his chest.

"Say Kaga-chin, "Kagami looked up and met deep purple eyes, "Do you still like chocolate?"

Kagami blinked, huh?

"It was the bitter one, right?"

The redhead nodded, still caught off guard and only followed Murasakibaras movements with his eyes as the other boy searched for something in his jacket. His eyes grew wide when Murasakibara pulled out a bar of chocolate and gave it to him with a determined expression on his face.

"U-uhm thank you…" he mumbled, strangely touched by the gesture and that Murasakibara had remembered such a random thing about him. Moreover Murasakibara was very possessive over sweets and food and everything that belonged to him so it meant something big that he had given Kagami something like that. It was kind of sweet.

The purpled haired boy nodded and averted his eyes, staring at his napkin and Kagami took a deep breath. Well now that Murasakibara had started, it probably was his turn to start the conversation.

"Uhm, so… what did you eat today?" he awkwardly asked, remembering that food was the favourite topic of the purple haired giant.

Murasakibaras face lit up at the question and when Tatsuya finally made his way back to them (Kagami had the high suspicion that his brother had planned to give them some time alone from the very start) they were in a deep conversation about food, sweets, cooking and cooking schools.

"Pizza should be here in twenty minutes." Tatsuya announced and Kagami chuckled when Murasakibara whined that it still would be so long and how he didn´t want to wait anymore. He smiled when he watched the two bicker and it was then when he noticed how much he had missed this. It felt so natural and normal to be with them like that and it was like he had never left.

And when Murasakibara hugged him before he left he returned the gesture, holding the other boy when he pressed his face into Kagamis neck but other than Aomine he didn´t cry, just nuzzled against the skin and told him how nice he would smell before he retreated.

"Kaga-chin´s not afraid of me anymore?"

"H-huh?" The redhead spluttered, "I´m not afraid of you!"

Murasakibara gave him a long look before nodding and saying his goodbyes. Kagami gave a final short wave before the door fell shut and he was alone with Tatsuya again.

"Was it that bad?" his brothers' voice sounded from behind him and Kagami shook his head. "No… I guess it was a good idea."

"Atsushi can be strangely perceptive sometimes."

"I´m not afraid of him!" Kagami shouted angrily, glaring at his brother who raised his hands in defence. "I didn´t say that"

"But you could as well have said it!" He stomped past the smaller boy, banging the door of his room close. Tatsuya sighed, maybe he shouldn´t have said anything.

---

Kagami groaned in distress as he searched through his kitchen and tried to keep an eye on the basketball team inside his living room. One of them was currently in the shower but the other weren´t even trying to keep quiet as they argued about nothing and everything and battled over who would get a go at Kagamis Playstation.

"Kagami-kun"

He would make something easy, maybe rice and he still had chicken. He would marinade it with teriyaki and then add some fried vegetables and tadaah-

"Kagami-kun!"

"Uaaaaah, Kuroko don´t do that!"

The blue haired boy rolled his eyes, "I called Kagami-kun many times but he wouldn´t listen."

"Ah… sorry ´bout that, I didn´t hear you"

"Obviously."

Kagami scratched his hair with his free hand, the other one holding on to the pack of rice. "So, what do you want?"

Kuroko frowned, "how rude. I just wanted to ask if Kagami-kun might need help." Surprised Kagami blinked at his friend and then smiled. "Uhm, thank you", he looked down at the pack of rice in his hand, "can cook rice?"

Kuroko rolled his eyes again, "what do you think Kagami-kun?"

When he received no reply Kuroko sighed and took the rice out of Kagamis hands. "Of course, it´s not that difficult is it?"

Kagami grinned at him, "I guess not but who knows, Midorima is an ace in school but can´t cook to save his life."

"Well that is certainly true." Kuroko agreed and gave a soft chuckle.

---

After the small fight with Tatsuya Kagami had decided that it would be for the best to finally have his own flat again. It seemed that when they lived together on that small space for too long they would eventually clash in a fight that maybe wasn´t that easy to overcome anymore. So now he was a proud owner of a little flat only a few minutes away from Seirin. He had bought new furniture so there was nothing now that remembered him of his old flat. For the few things that he still needed from it he had asked Tatsuya to get it since Kagami was still unable to set one foot into his old flat. His new one was a smaller, something Kagami welcomed since it wouldn´t make him feel so lost and lonely when he was alone again.

And somehow it led to his next miraculous meeting.

His encounter with Midorima was a strange one. Like with Murasakibara it wasn´t him who approached the green haired boy but Midorima who came to him. For a really ridiculous reason. And with his own shadow trailing after him. Ridiculous, really ridiculous.

It only had been a few weeks since Kagami had an own flat again. So when the bell rang the only people who could come over were Kise, Aomine or Kuroko so he was rather surprised when Midorima stood in front of his door with a giggling Takao behind him.

The redhead blinked up at the green haired boy who stared down at him with rather hard eyes and Kagami swallowed. Well, that was surprising and one more thing was that he was not good with people who were taller than him - Male and taller. Midorima was not that much taller than him but something about his aura made him seem taller than he was. It should be stupid to feel even slightly intimated by him since Kagami was much broader than him with bulkier shoulders but the redhead still swallowed when he looked back into green eyes. But at least it wasn´t as bad as it had been with Murasakibara.

"Good afternoon Kagami." The green haired boy greeted stiffly and a "Heeey Kagami" was heard from behind him. "Ah - hello."

Kagami awkwardly shifted on his feet. He had no idea what to say; it wasn´t like he didn´t want to meet Midorima again (although it took a lot to warm up to that guy) but this here was a bit sudden.

Red eyes focused when he caught something strange about the taller boy. "What the hell is that?"

Takao burst out laughing and sneaked up next to Midorima, winking at Kagami. "That´s the reason why we´re here."

"I-is that a parrot?"

Midorima rolled his eyes, "of course not, it´s a stuffed animal version of a parrot"

Kagami nodded and tried not to stare too hard but it was rather difficult.

"So it´s not real."

"Of course not, that would be cruel."

Kagami nodded again. "So it won´t talk either."

Midorimas eyebrow twitched and Takao broke out in laughter. "I´m not going to repeat myself again."

"Hey, there are stuffed parrots who actually can talk you know?"

"Well that one doesn´t but that isn´t the reason we came here for."

Kagami nodded and stared at him, waiting for the boy to continue. When Midorima didn´t say anything Takao sighed and jumped, "Shin-chans luck is extreme bad today and he said-I still don´t believe him- that his lucky item" Takao pointed at the parrot on the slim shoulder (Kagami had guessed so far), "isn´t working today!"

"Uh and… why are you here?" Kagami stared at the stuffed animal; it actually looked pretty realistic and probably had been very expensive and Kagami couldn´t understand how someone could use so much money on random items he would probably never need again. But well, everyone had their own quirks.

"Well…" Takao began but was interrupted by Midorima who obviously grew tired of their slow conversation.

"I´m the unluckiest person today but Leo is the luckiest if he has" Midorima pulled out a hairband with black cat ears on top "this." Kagami stared at the hairband as his brain processed the words.

"It seems that Oha Asa has a strange kind of humour, choosing cat ears for a Leo" Takao grinned from the side and watched with a laugh how Kagamis expression turned into an angry scowl.

"Oha Asa has no humour, it´s the voice of the stars."

"Rather kinky stars, if you ask me" Takao retorted and laughed but his laughter faltered and his eyes grew suspicious as he watched his friend twitch and turn towards Kagami with a nervous vibe in his body.

"It doesn´t imply anything sexual." He stated and fingered with the hairband, "that would be ridiculous. But… you don´t have to wear it if you don´t want to."

Takao raised his eyebrows but didn´t say anything, instead he watched how the redhead fidgeted on his feet. He looked a bit uncomfortable, one hand stuffed into his pockets while the other still hold on to the door knob.

"Ah… and what do you now want exactly?"

Takao sighed. But he still was an idiot.

"Well obviously Shin-chan wants to ask if he could spend the day with you, you know saving the damage. Your luck will compensate for his bad luck."

Kagami gaped at him and Takao laughed again, "don´t look at me, it was his stupid idea."

"I only got 95 points out 100 on today's test, missed the train and stepped into dog excrements. I think my luck is very low today."

Kagami raised his eyebrows, "Well some people call that a bad day, nothing more, nothing less. Tomorrow will be better."

Midorimas expression darkened, "If I have the opportunity to increase my luck I will take it." He stated and Takao sighed behind him, "Well Kagami I will leave Shin-can to you! Play nice Shin-chan!"

And with that he was gone and Kagami stared at the empty spot the black haired boy had stood only moments ago. "He disappeared," he mumbled and looked back at Midorima who seemed more uncomfortable now.

"I wouldn´t be here if I didn´t need to", he argued and Kagami rolled his eyes. Damn tsundere.

"Right, right-whatever, come in if you want."

Midorima nodded and followed Kagami inside who closed the door behind them and swallowed. Now he was strangely nervous. When he had met up with Murasakibara his brother had been there, easing the tension whenever it rose but now he was on his own.

"You have a nice flat, it looks different than the last one" Midorima stated as he looked around. "Brighter, I think and with more… decoration."

"Uhm yeah, Tatsuya helped and he is into that kind of thing, saying it should look comfortable and like a home. Not like some hospital. It´s strange but I like it."

The green haired boy nodded, "it has more colour."

"Tatsuyas idea", Kagami murmured when he put down two glasses on the table. "How did you find my flat anyway."

"I asked Kise" Midorima answered, "it didn´t take much to get the answer, he is rather easy to persuade." Kagami nodded "that´s true I guess."

Uncomfortable silence followed when Kagami joined Midorima on his couch, grabbing his glass to just do something. He glanced at the other boy who seemed a bit lost in thought, sipping on his drink before a put it back on the table and-

"Pay attention!" Kagami shouted but it was too late and with a crash the glass fell to the ground, water spilling over the floor. Midorima just blinked and Kagami cursed, hurrying into the kitchen to get a towel and hand brush to clean up the mess.

"I told you my luck is bad today."

"Don´t use that kind of thing as an excuse you! You´re just clumsy!" the redhead glared at him as he cleaned up the broken pieces. He sighed but stubbornly kept quiet as Midorima didn´t even seem to think about an apology.

So he cleaned up in silence and gave the green haired boy a new one, "be careful with this one", he murmured and Midorima nodded, "my apologies. I didn´t mean to break you glass." Kagami sighed again but then grinned and flopped down at the couch. "Doesn´t matter, it´s just a glass."

Midorima nodded and the silence came again. It made Kagami uncomfortable so he desperately searched for something to say and talk about. It wasn´t like he really needed to talk, he was fine with silence but still… "So… your luck was especially bad today?" He asked and quickly glanced at the stuffed animal on the shoulder. How was Midorima able to wear something so ridiculous for the whole day?"

"Did you wear this at school?" he asked with big eyes and Midorima nodded and looked at Kagami as if he was a child. "Of course. It would be unthinkable what would have happened if I didn't wear it to school."

Kagami nodded as he didn´t dare to object given Midorimas serious expression. "Anyway, I already told you that I score rather low on today's test, missed the bus and even stepped into dog excrement."

"Is that all?" Kagami sighed and Midorima nodded, "And then I broke your glass."

"But shouldn´t my luck compensate for your bad luck right now?" Kagami frowned – wasn´t that what Midorima was here for?

"Well…" Midorima averted his gaze and Kagamis eyes followed him to the cat hairband and he groaned. "Really?" Midorima nodded, "I won´t force you of course but it is necessary so your luck can compensate my bad luck."

Kagami groaned again, hiding his face in his hands, "Okay-give it to me."

Midorima nodded and with a sigh Kagami set up that stupid hairband. "Satisfied?!" When Midorima didn´t answer he looked at the other boy who still stared at him like Kagami was some alien. "It looks stupid, I know! Of course it does!"

Midorima blinked and then shook his head. He adjusted his glasses, "It´s fine. Thank you."

Kagami nodded, "Okay and what do you want to do?"

Midorima frowned a bit, "I don´t know." The redhead sighed, "Okay-ah, do you know Mario Cart." The green haired boy nodded, "I played it with my sister once. I won of course."

Kagami grinned and grabbed the controller, giving one to Midorima. "Well, you won´t win that easily now."

"We will see."

In the evening Kagami had to admit his utter defeat when Midorima won all the last ten rounds against him.

"Are you sure you only played against your sister?!" Kagami groaned and threw the controller next to him at the couch. Midorima nodded, "naturally." He glanced down at his watch and stood up. "Thank you for your hospitability Kagami. I need to catch my next bus." Kagami yawned loudly, ignoring the disapproving sound Midorima made and nodded. "Alright. Well, it was nice to see you."

The redhead got startled by his own words. It had indeed been better than he thought and after the first hour they had been lost in their video game with Kagami throwing insults and yelling in anger when Midorima won again and Midorima who gave annoyed sighs and replies.

Midorimas lips curled into a small smile and he took Kagamis hand, shaking it for a quick moment. The redhead stared at his now free hand that pulsed hot from the force Midorima had used. "Of course." The green haired boy looked at Kagami, his eyes wandered over his face, from the right eye to the left.

"I´m glad you are alright Kagami. We all are." An unfamiliar gentle tone coloured Midorimas voice and Kagami swallowed. "Uh, yeah thanks"

Shutokus ace nodded, he then averted his gaze as a light blush rose in his cheeks. "You´re… you´re not afraid of me?"

Kagamis eyes went big and heat bloomed in his face. "Murasakibara said you…"

"I´m not afraid!" Kagami shouted angrily and stomped to the door, holding it open as an open invitation to leave.

"I didn´t mean to offend you", Midorima reassured, a bit caught off guard from the outburst. "I just don´t want you to make you feel uncomfortable." Kagami glared at him and pointed on his head "Well I wore that fucking thing for you so don´t give me that shit!" he growled.

Midorima sighed, "I´m sorry Kagami. It is only that I´m not sure about what to do and I always am so this is also a new experience for me."

Kagami took a deep breath, "Just-just act like you always do. It´s freaking me out that you´re actually apologizing. You know, just do what you always do. I´m not fragile or weak, you don´t need to treat me like that."

Midorima nodded, "okay, I apology –" he straightened his back, "then I´m off."

"Yeah, you do that. Oh and-" Kagami ripped the hairband off his head, "here."

"Keep it, it is your lucky item. Well, it was nice to see you," with that Midorima left Kagami standing in his doorway, scowling down at the offending object in his hand. Ridiculous.

---

"Fuck!" Kagami exclaimed and looked down at his Shirt which now was decorated with a big wet and hot spot smelling like Teriyaki.

"Language!" it sounded from his living room-Midorima he guessed, "oh shut up!" he shouted back and cursed when he inspected the mess on his shirt.

"Kagami-kun is clumsy" Kuroko said and Kagami glared at him. "I´m not! You just bumped into me!"

"It is rude to blame someone else Kagami-kun, I´m your guest" The blue haired boy stated as he took Kagamis place behind the cooker. "Kagami-kun should change, we are nearly finished so I will manage the rest. The shower is free anyway."

Kagami still scowled but still followed the advice and went to his bedroom to grab another bunch of clothes. He sighed as he searched through his wardrobe. It wouldn´t have happened if Kuroko hadn´t bumped into him. He didn´t know when he had noticed that Kuroko was touching him more than before but his hands and fingers now often seemed to linger, grazing against Kagamis shirt or sometimes his naked skin. But it wasn´t only Kuroko. The rest of the Generation of Miracles also seemed to have taken up the habit of touching him or looking at him when they thought he wouldn´t notice. They weren´t as subtle as they thought they were with their open display of affection towards him. And even though it kind of flattered him that six handsome guys were interested in him Kagami had no idea how to handle that. Even though he once had searched for some kind of twisted pleasure half a year ago he had no interest in it again. And if he would react to one of them how would that affect their friendship? And Kagami valued that friendship very much.

But still their touches made his skin tingle and their looks and glances at him made heat pool inside his stomach. He only had no idea how to approach that issue.

Annoyed Kagami straightened his back and glared at his empty wardrobe. Since those rainbow heads had decided to come over he couldn´t do the laundry anymore and now… he was out of clothes.

"Argh shit…"

With a glance to the bottom of the drawer his eyes fell on a bag and he groaned. Oh god those were the clothes Kise had bought for him – there was no way he would wear that!

But on the other hand he had no choice so with a grumble he pulled the bag out and searched through it, in hope that there would be a Shirt that wouldn´t remind him of a colour disaster. In the end he settled for a blue and white striped shirt and with a sigh he pulled the old one over his head only to see Akashi standing in his door once his head appeared out of the shirt again.

The small redhead was staring at him and if Kagami wouldn´t be so surprised he maybe would have given it another thought but he didn´t so he just shrieked rather embarrassingly and held his T-shirt in front of his chest.

"Ah… Akashi?"

Akashi blinked and then raised his eyes. Kagami swallowed. He knew what Akashi had been looking at and even though Kagami himself had halfway accepted the mark on his stomach it still gave him an uneasy feeling that now someone else had also seen it.

"I´m sorry Taiga, I just wanted to let you know that Tetsuya finished dinner."

Kagami nodded and continued staring into the light red eyes since Akashi made no intention of leaving.

"Uhm - could you, maybe…-?"

"Does it still hurt?" Akashi voice was soft and the question caught Kagami by surprise so he could only answer with a rather unintelligent "huh?"

"The scar."

Kagami swallowed and turned around, grabbing the other shirt to pull it over his exposed body.

"I didn´t mean to make you feel uncomfortable it´s just…" Akashis voice trailed off and Kagami sighed; he knew that Akashi cared for him. The redhead didn´t make it a secret but sometimes the genius didn´t seem to know much about privacy.

"Sometimes. On bad days…" Kagami replied as casually as he could and Akashi nodded. "I mean it´s weird that it still hurts since it´s totally healed but well… it does."

"I understand. It also happens that a person who has lost his arm still can feel pain in that arm. Phantom pain."

Kagami chuckled, "looks like a pain Kuroko should know about."

Akashi gave him a gentle smile, "It doesn´t work that way."

The taller redhead rolled his eyes, "I know." And Akashi cocked his head, "was it meant as a joke?"

Kagami sighed, "Something like that but now it´s not funny anymore."

"I apologize. But I actually came here to tell you that Kurok finished dinnger."

And with that he left the room, leaving Kagami to his thoughts and in his ridiculous shirt.

"And the shirt looks good on you. Kise must have chosen it for you."

At one point he would murder him.

And didn´t he want to take a shower?

---

It wasn´t as if Kagami didn´t like Akashi but the small redhead was scarier than the height difference to Murasakibara and Midorima and even though Akashi was smiling at him when they met again Kagami couldn´t shake off the uncomfortable feeling of being watched by a predator. He still had no idea why he had agreed to meet up with Akashi-maybe it was the feeling of guilt since he had met up with everyone else of that rainbow troop - but now he wished he had declined.

Even though Akashi was smarter than him and better at talking and making people feel comfortable – Akashi actually was quite good at it when he gave it a serious thought – he had a tendency to go over the top.

So when Kagami waited in front of his door for the driver Akashi had sent to him he didn´t expect some expensive Italian limousine to roll up in front of his apartment. But well here it was. It was an uncomfortable ride and the redhead was glad to get off the car when they finally arrived at their aim – a huge mansion with too many windows to count and probably too many rooms to live in.

"Good morning Taiga" Akashi greeted him and Kagami gave him a pained smile, nodding back. It was always like this when he hadn´t seen Akashi for a longer time; the calm and collected gaze always made him restless.

"Do you happen to be acquainted with the art of horse riding?"

Kagami blinked down at the other boy, "Horse… riding…?"

Akashi nodded, "Exactly, there are beautiful bridle paths I wanted to show to you."

With that Akashi turned on his heel and Kagami followed him rather dumbly behind the house. And with that one of his strangest days begun.

He was quite proud of himself that it only took him three tries to get on the horse and he actually managed to not fall off it for the whole ride.

They started slow with Akashi taking the lead, gracefully leading the way through tall trees and thick coppice. Kagami flexed the muscles in his legs, trying to keep his balance on the horse that Akashi had introduced him as Fox, a reddish horse. It seemed like he had a loyal older horse which followed Akashi´s at every turn so after a longer time Kagami wasn´t that afraid of falling off anymore.

Since they were riding in comfortable silence Kagami began to pay more attention to his surroundings. He didn´t really have a sense for something like that, nature and stuff like that, but he couldn´t ignore how calm it suddenly was. The only noises were made by their horses and the singing of the birds and it made Kagami feel strangely at ease. The light was playing through the leafs, lighting the way in different patterns and with his eyes fixed above him on the thick crown Kagami rode behind Akashi, letting his thoughts wander until they were lost. He sometimes caught a bit of blueish sky and the sun was warm and tender on his skin. It felt great, peaceful even.

"We should rest here for a moment", Akashis voice sounded like something alien here inside the woods were everything was so silent. But Kagami nodded, throwing his on leg over the saddle only to tumble to the ground rather ungracefully and landed hard on his ass.

"Shit", he cursed and rubbed his behind as he got up, refusing to take the hand of a chuckling Akashi. He glared at the other boy but Akashi already led the horses to the nearby river to let them drink. Now that Kagami took a look around he noticed that they were at a rest area, wooden tables and benches were scattered over a small glade, bathing in the warm sun.

"Taiga." Akashi called him and when Kagami turned around the smaller boy had taken a seat at one of the tables, taking out small boxes from his bag. It was a funny sight; Kagami had never thought that Akashi was the type to enjoy nature and a picnic or even horse riding but in a way it did fit. Especially when he considered how gracefully Akashi had looked on his black horse, their colour contrasts were hard to ignore even for someone like Kagami who didn´t really have an eye for things like that.

They ate in silence and Kagami moaned at the delicious taste of the small snacks Akashi had brought with him. "I hope it´s to you taste, I ordered the servants to make something that could fill a stomach big as a black hole."

Kagami tched at that but otherwise didn´t say anything, too consumed in his food. Their small trip had been nice, it was quiet and they were all alone.

…

Kagamis eyes widened and he thickly swallowed the last piece of the riceball. With uncertain eyes he glanced at Akashi who also seemed focused on eating his food. There was no way Akashi could overpower him physically but on the other hand… if he pulled that crazy move that always got knots into Kagamis legs and made him fall on his ass he could overpower him... But why would he do that?

Just because they were alone didn´t mean Akashi planned something strange. And he had been very concerned about Kagamis health so it wouldn´t make sense for him to act hostile towards him. He actually had no idea what the other could do to him anyway.

"Tetsuya mentioned that you were participating basketball practice again." Akashi stated, calling Kagami out of his thoughts and the taller one frowned. Why the hell were they talking so much about him when he wasn´t there? "Ah yes, I need to do a bit of catching up again, you know. Getting into shape." He could feel Akashis eyes on his body as they wandered over his shoulder and his chest. He uncomfortably shifted on the bench, grabbing the riceball in his hands a bit harder than needed. "Of course. It´s obvious that your body suffered under the break of your training." The taller redhead winced slightly but nodded. "Uh yeah…"

"But I – and Rakuzan - look forward to face you and Seirin in a practice match again. We actually have one planned next week."

"Eeeh, is that so?" Kagami shouted and Akashi massaged the area between his eyes, "lower your voice Taiga and yes, but I´m certain that your coach already let you know about that fact." Kagami averted his eyes and scratched his head in slight embarrassment, "ah yeah maybe…"

Akashi sighed and folded his hands on his lap. "Anyway how is Rakuzan holding up"? Kagami asked, taking a bite of the riceball and moaned at the taste of chicken inside it.

The next hours they spend debating and talking about basketball, their schools, tests and what to do after school. It didn´t surprise Kagami that Akashi had a very clear idea about what he would do after school while he himself still felt absolutely lost. They had just began talking about Kagamis talent for cooking when the first raindrop landed on his nose and after the first one followed a second and soon it was pouring from the sky like someone dumped a whole swimming pool on them.

They couldn´t ride fast enough to escape the rain and even though the leaf crowns protected the half of the way they were drenched to their bones once the horses arrived at the gateway to the Akashi mansion. Two servants led the horses to their stables and Kagami quickly followed Akashi into the house. His jaw nearly kissed the floor when he looked around, taking in the giant hallway. It looked stunning, maybe a bit too much but still beautiful. The walls were of old wood with pictures carved into them and the stairway to the second floor was wide and laid-out with a heavy carpet.

"I apologize Taiga, it wasn´t supposed to rain today." Kagami turned around and a smile curled on his lips when he was met with a frowning and drenched Akashi who was obviously unsatisfied with the situation. "Well even the great Akashi can´t control the weather", he laughed and chuckled when Akashi frown deepened. "How unfortunate."

Kagami grinned, "but it was fun. Really fun, I would have never guessed you´re into that stuff." Akashi lifted an eyebrow, "Well, it also was quite surprising to see you having an eye for nature." Kagami blushed lightly, "well yes, I liked it – so what?"

"I didn´t mean it as an offense Taiga."

"Well yeah."

"Anyway, I think we are in need of dry clothes and – " Kagamis stomach growled and the blush deepened as the redhead averted his eyes, "something to eat" Akashi chuckled, "but I thought of this – well not the rain obviously but your stomach, it is pretty predictable."

Akashis eyes wandered over his body and he sighed, "well I have to look if my father has something that might fit you. His wardrobe doesn´t really fit your style or the word comfortable but maybe I am certain will find something." Akashi led him into a smaller room with a small dark table in front of a fireplace that was lit and two armchairs. "Please wait here until I return with you clothes, the fire should warm you well enough for the next minutes."

So Kagami waited, looked around the room and opened all the doors that the room had. Which was two, taking out the one they came through. But all he could see was another long floor with many windows and doors. Had Akashi lived here since his childhood? It must be pretty empty and lonely and from Kuroko he knew a bit about how strict his father was. Akashi had once told him that he early lost his mother who he loved with all his heart and maybe that was the point where they had begun to get along because Kagami had also lost his mother at an early point and somehow they were able to relate to each other over the early loss of their parents. But the friendship he had gained over such a sad thing made the loss a bit lighter.

"I hope these will fit you." Akashi had entered the room again, now in fresh clothes and with a towel around his neck, "there is a small room on the left side of the hallway. You can change in there."

Kagami muttered his thanks and even though the clothes were a bit small he was grateful for dry pants and a warm pullover. But what was even better was the meal Akashi presented him with and with the clothes warming his skin and the food warming his insides he felt all fuzzy and comfortable and rather sleepy.

"May I ask a question Taiga?" Akashi laid his chopstick to the side. Kagami nodded, "sure".

"How are you these days?"

Kagami frowned, "what do you mean?"

The smaller redhead didn´t say anything and just stared at him so Kagami sighed. Why did they all want to know? It didn't have anything to do with them!"

"Because they are your friends and they care about you Kagami-kun. We already talked about that."

Suzuki-sans voice sounded in his head and Kagami let his chin plop onto his hand. "Well fine I guess. It helps a lot to not be alone anymore you know. Takes my mind off of things."

Akashi nodded and seemed to hesitate before raising his voice again. "What changed it?"

"It? You mean why it got better?" Akashi nodded and Kagami sighed again. He looked out of the window following the raindrops down the glass with his eyes. "Well Tatsuya… kinda´ forced me – well not really but somehow… ah anyway, well I went and still go to a… ah – "

"therapist?" Akashi finished his sentence since and Kagamis head swiped around. "Huh? Ah well-uh, yes, how - ?"

Akashi smiled, "Well, I recommended her to your brother, Tatsuya was it, right?" Kagami nodded a bit dumb, "But when – "

Akashi sighed, "Atsushi talked to me, saying Tatsuya would be at loss how to help you." Kagami averted his eyes in guilt, tightening his fists on his lab, " Suzuki-san helped me a lot after our defeat at the winter cup so I thought she would be able to help you to. Moreover she can talk English and Japanese."

Kagami looked up in surprise, "- helped you too? What do you mean?"

Akashi nodded, "I never knew defeat before, so it was difficult for me to approach my usual business with the same certainty and mind-set as before. She helped me to get it back or rather change it into something else."

"Oh… I didn´t know…" Kagami murmured and Akashi smiled, "I wasn´t keen on someone finding out – even Tetsuya does not know. Or maybe he does but without my consent."

Kagami smiled at that, "yeah maybe he does."

It was dark when Akashi bid him goodbye, placing two light kisses on Kagamis cheeks that made crimson eyes widen comically and high cheeks blush in embarrassment. Akashis approach had been way too sudden for Kagami to back away or react in anger so he just stared out of the window of the car when the driver set off to drive him back. He yawned and mumbled something incoherent to himself. Why the hell had Akashi kissed him on the cheeks?! The smaller boy had just smiled at him, saying he always had a weakness for French culture but Kagami would have never thought that someone like Akashi who valued privacy and everything that came along with it would invade his personal space like that. And kiss him on the cheeks. Even Kise wouldn´t go that far! Although Akashis kiss had something graceful that Kise would never possess Kagami still felt restless by it and the meaning of the gesture.

Kagami sighed and stared outside. He couldn´t wait to get home and fall in his bed. And he would definitely sleep in tomorrow.

---

Kagami cracked his neck as he got out of the bathroom after a quick shower. He had pondered about taking a shower or not but one sniff at his armpits had made the decision for him. And now he was greeted with the delicious smell of food that made his stomach growl in anticipation. He yawned and stretched his arms over his neck, enjoying how the hot showed had lessened the sore feeling in his muscles.

But something was definitely wrong. When he had quickly jumped into the shower the basketball jerks in his living room had made no secret of their annoyance to wait for him but now it was really quiet – too quiet, actually far too quiet.

Rubin eyes widened; they better not have eaten all the food, leaving Kagami hungry! He hurried his steps, but froze when he suddenly heard Kises voice, "aww, how cute he looks!" and then Kurokos, "Kagami-kun is always cute but this one is really… special." If it was possible Kagamis eyes widened even more. What the hell were they looking at? He didn´t let anything lay around that could possible made six basketball prodigies call him cute! He had no embarrassing photo albums of him as a kid so what were they looking at?

"Oi, who are you calling cute you bastards?!" he shouted when he entered the living room, still drying his wet hair with a towel.

Nervous looks were exchanged between the six members of the Generation of Miracles and if Kagami wouldn't have been suspicious from the very start he sure was it now.

"Hey, I asked you a – " As quick as Midorima tried to hide something behind his back as fast Kagami was there to steal it from him, grinning in triumph when he grabbed the mobile phone with one move.

"Uhm Kagami, whatever you see there is a – "

"What the fuck is that!?" the redhead shouted and Kuroko winced, holding his hands over his ears. "Please don´t scream like that Kagami-kun." The redhead ignored him as he still stared at the picture on Midorimas screen.

"good reason for that", Midorima ended and sighed. "I didn´t intend to let them see the picture but they didn´t leave me any choice."

"Why the hell do you have it in the first place?!" Kagami yelled embarrassment clear in his face and Midorima averted his eyes, adjusting his glasses. The redhead stared at the picture that showed him, wearing that stupid hairband with cat ears that Midorima requested him to wear that one day. It was taken from the side, probably when they had been playing Mario Cart.

"As I said, there is a good reason why I have this picture. The way from your house to mine is rather long so to avert any misfortune that would have happened otherwise I kept the photo. It was only for astrologic reasons." Midorimas stated and Kagami looked at him with sceptical eyes. "Well and why do you still have it?" he asked and began to search for the delete button that needed to be somewhere on the phone. "I… forgot." Kagami raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You… forgot." He snorted, "I don´t think it is possible for you to forget something like that."

"Aww Kagami-cchi don´t be so hard on him, I bet he like the photo and just kept it."

Aomine nodded, "no big deal".

"No big deal?!" Kagami shouted "Easy for you to say! You´re not the one looking ridiculous!"

"You always look ridiculous" Aomine sniggered and the redhead snorted in anger.

"You walked right into that one Kagami-kun", Kuroko sighed from the side and snatched Midorimas phone from his hand.

"You little shit give it back and let me delete that stupid photo!" Kagami panicked and tried to chase after his shadow but was prevented by two long arms that sneaked around his torso and pulled him back. "But we like that photo of Kaga-chin", Murasakibara mumbled and Kagami could feel his face flush right down to his neck. Annoying, they were so annoying!

"Well it´s not yours so give it back!" he struggled against Murasakibaras hold but it was no use as the arms around him only tightened.

"It is actually my mobile phone", Midorimas voice sounded and Aomine laughed, "See Kagami? It´s ours now."

"The photo is of me so it can´t be yours!"

"That is easy to solve." Akashi took a step towards him, smiling that gentle and reassuring smile that always made Kagami swallow and feel like a little child again.

"You are ours anyway, Taiga"

He blinked at him, "come again?" Kuroko laughed quietly next to him and shook his head, "what Akashi-kun meant was that we are your friends Kagami-kun so you belong to us as much as we belong to you."

"Well that is a strange way of putting it, right?" Kagami stuttered out, caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. Someone pulled his wrist and with a surprise noise he landed on the sofa between Aomine and Kise who had bickered about something the whole time.

"Akashi always says strange things and – fuck!" Kagami laughed at his rival when Akashi signalled Murasakibara to punch the blue haired boy in his sides and Aomine was swearing quietly in pain.

"My vocabulary is only more sophisticated than yours Daiki. Don´t use your ignorance of words against someone who is superior to you on that topic." Kagami quivered under Akashis voice even though the words weren´t meant for him and he could see Aomine doing the same.

"You´re just making it more difficult for Kagami-cchi to understand", Kise intervened with a cheery voice and Kagami ignored Midorimas "everything seems too difficult to him" and let Kise talk, "it´s only important that we like Kagami-cchi and Kagami-cchi likes us." Kise smiled and Kagami raised his eyebrows waiting for him for continue. The model started fidgeting on his seat, "ah that´s everything…" he laughed, "I mean it´s obvious right? You´re one of us Kagami-cchi so you belong to us. Easy as that."

Kuroko sighed, "Kise-kun is dumb but he is right Kagami-kun, you´re one of us so…" he looked a bit unsure for a moment, "we won´t let anything bad happen to you." He stated and by the silence that followed Kagami could feel that this was something important to them and even though he could die of embarrassment right now he smiled. "Yeah I know. Thank you."

Kuroko nodded, "Anyway I´m sure you´re hungry and – " Kagamis stomach grumbled at the thought of food, making him forget about that stupid photo and Kuroko chuckled lightly, " I think we should eat."

"Finally, this whole mushy talking thing killed my brain cells." Aomine yawned and stalked into the kitchen. "What brain cells Ahomine?!" Kagami called after him before following the blue head, dodging his attempts to pull him into a headlock. Akashi rolled his eyes and Kuroko sighed when Kise joined the couple in their bickering, probably ending as the victim of both verbal jabs and insults. "They will steal all the food", Murasakibara murmured annoyed and caught up with the trio with three long steps.

"It seems that the real topic of the conversation was avoided again", Akashi said and Kuroko glanced at him. "Do you think so Akashi-kun?"

"Well we didn´t make our proposal very clear."

Kuroko gave a small smile, "I think Kagami-kun knows more than we think. He can be perceptive at times." They both were quiet for a while, listening to the argument in the kitchen over who would get to eat first. "We made clear that we care about him and I think Kagami-kun understood more than we said out of the conversation."

Akashi nodded, "You may be right about that Tetsuya."

"Well do you care to get a bit of that delicious food?"

"Actually…" Akashi began but paused when a shattering noise was heard from the kitchen and Kagami began to swear half in English and half in Japanese. "Why not, someone needs to give them a leading hand."

Kuroko nodded, "the world would sink into chaos if they were left on their own." Midorima who had been quiet all the time also stood up next to them. "You are spending too much time with Kagami. You are becoming irrational overdramatic." They all gave a small wince when another sound of a breaking plate reached their ears. "But maybe you are right."

---

When Kagami sat between Kuroko and Murasakibara on his couch, eating the hot food he and Kuroko had wipped out he smiled to himself when he remembered Akashis words. You are ours anyway, Taiga. It was possessive and Kagami probably shouldn´t feel that happy about it but he finally felt as if he found somewhere to belong to and it was a really nice feeling. Warm and fuzzy and comfortable.

The incident with Haizaki had begun to fade into the back of his mind and under the talking and arguing of the six boys around him the voice of Haizaki couldn´t speak up anymore and if she tried, someone else´s voice was too loud for Kagami to hear it. He felt at peace.

We are your friends Kagami-kun so you belong to us as much as we belong to you.

And maybe it was as easy as that.

"Yo Midorima, do have more pictures of Kagami wearing stuff?" Aomines voice interrupted Kagamis peaceful thoughts and his head jerked around to glare at the blue haired boy. "What the – "

"Ohhh yes or does Oha Asa wants Leo to wear something funny?" Kise interrupted and Kagami could murder him with his eyes if he wouldn´t be sitting too far away. "But Kagami-cchi I just noticed that you´re wearing the shirt I bought for you!" Kises head appeared next to Murasakibaras shoulder. "It looks really good on you!"

Kagami could feel his cheeks redden at the compliment; "I only have those clothes right now because you decided to come over and bother me!" he accusingly glared at the meal on his plate.

"Ah admit it Kagami, you like us being here!" Aomine grinned and Murasakibara nodded, sill chewing on his food, "Kaga-chin looks happy when we come over."

"I-I don´t look happy!" the redhead spluttered.

"Hmh… but Muro-chin also said it." Murasakibara pouted.

"Well Muro-chin can go and fuck himself!" Kagami grumbled.

"I will tell him you said that" Murasakibara smiled smugly and Kagami nearly choked on his rice. "I take it back! I take it back!"

"No can do" Murasakibara stated and Kagami groaned, "he will kill me"

"He won´t" Murasakibara mumbled, "and if he tries we will protect Kaga-chin like we promised."

"… yeah, you do that…" the redhead murmured in a soft voice and met six disbelieving eye pairs all in a different colour when he looked up. "What? You said it right? Because I…" he didn´t finish the sentence and instead looked away with furrowed brows and reddened cheeks. Kuroko smiled, "Yes of course Kagami-kun."

Because I belong to you. All of you.

…

"Although Himuro-sans anger would be understandable. We might need to change the contract."

"Kuroko you little shit! And what contract?!"

At the end of the day Kagami was exhausted and he nearly fell asleep as soon as his body touched the soft bed but his eyes caught his blinking phone and with a yawn he opened the message from Kuroko and smiled at the image.

He and Aomine were arguing about something on the photo while Kise gave his most charming smile, clinging to Kuroko who smiled slightly into the camera. Murasakibara was hanging somewhere in the background and Kagami remembered how he complained about something while Akashi was his graceful self, sitting on Kagamis couch next to a stoic Midorima with folded hands.

Kagami chuckled and put the phone back on the night stand after typing a short message back to Kuroko.

Thank you.

Yeah, he could live with that.

-End-

---

Kuuuuh and that´s it! :)

Please let me know what you think!

I really want to thank all the people who kept up with a horrible updater like me and still commented on this little thing :) You were all really great and your words always made me smile, even though this was a rather dark story^^ So I should write something light the next time haha

Anyway, thank you for keeping up with me and maybe I will write a sequel to this one, focusing more on the GomxKagami part since I ship it so hard. And I have the feeling that Haizaki should have another appearance... I don´t know yet so please tell me what you think! :)

I hope the flashbacks weren´t too confusing^^

Uhm, yeah I guess that was it, I hope to read you again in another story of mine and to those who are reading the other stody of mine, I will try and update as fast as possible! :)

Best wishes,

Anon!