Work Text:
Aomine
Kagami needs to defeat him—this is his last chance. It was their senior year and he only had one more chance to be able to defeat him in a game. The only time they managed to defeat him was freshman year and ever since then, the miracles only got better.
It was hard for Seirin to keep up ever since Kiyoshi left—which ended up with them losing ever since.
Definitely embarrassing. The only saving grace for them being that the guys were nice about it—well, kind of.
Aomine constantly, jokingly, taunted Kagami after his consistent losses. It was lighthearted and Kagami always promised to get him next time, but it was only a repeating cycle.
This time, Kagami has upped his training. This should guarantee his win this time and he should be able to open the gate to the second zone again. After the first time with Akashi, he never was able to get back to it.
He was currently in the gym, doing a variety of different leg and stamina exercises. Aomine always bested him in stamina and speed, so Kagami just needed to work on that. He was sweating bullets right now and his legs felt like jelly. He hadn’t told any of the other team members about his extensive training yet, only asking Riko for some exercise tips.
Somehow, the school made some kind of deal with her so she could pop in once in a while to help the basketball team out. Kagami was shocked when she said yes, but Kuroko seemingly understood it. Kagami was glad she agreed to it though, he’s much more used to her style of coaching than anyone else they had.
Hopefully, they’d be impressed with him when they see his improvement. He knows Kuroko will be and he hopes Aomine will be as well.
When he begins to feel lightheaded after doing the same exercises for four hours, he flopped onto the cold floor. Gasping for breath and grabbing his bottle—he instantly downed his now lukewarm water. After finishing the last of his water, he grabbed his towel and wiped the dripping sweat off his face. Just as he was wiping his neck, he heard a familiar voice call out to him, “Kagamicchi! You’re here too?”
Regulating his breath, Kagami turned to Kise, “Oh—hah—yeah, but I’m about to go.”
The blonde frowned and sat down next to Kagami, “Yeah, you look like a mess right now.”
And he was right—Kagami’s body language showed he was tired and his face was flushed totally pink. Kise stared at him a little longer, frowning at the clear signs of exhaustion.
Kagami turned away and began grabbing his stuff, “I know, I look crazy.”
“How long have you been here?” Kise kept his eyes on Kagami, sounding all too concerned.
Debating what to say, Kagami cleared his throat and looked away, “Only around two hours, my body's just tired.”
The blonde frowned some more and was about to say something else, but Kagami felt his phone vibrate. Quickly, he checked what it was as an excuse to get out of this conversation.
“Ugh, what does he want now?” Kagami mumbled mainly to himself.
Kise leaned over curiously to see who it was, only to be confused, “Uh… ‘Aho–mine?’”
A couple more buzzes later, Kagami scoffed, “Aomine, that dumbass wants me to do a one–on–one with him.”
The model visibly brightened up at that, “Can I join?”
Kagami shrugged, “I don’t see why not, but didn’t you just get here?”
His words fell on deaf ears as Kise had already begun grabbing his things. Honestly, Kagami didn’t even really want to do it since his legs felt so tired and he knew his body was too tired to give an equal game.
Buuuut, on the other hand, this was a great opportunity to check his limits. So he decided to just follow Kise over to where Aomine was.
And of course, he was at the street court they always went to for practice.
The athlete was bouncing the basketball and throwing some shots by himself before he turned to see them. His face lit up upon seeing both Kagami and Kise, but he pretended to play it off, “Took you long enough.”
Kise threw his bag on the ground before rushing over to Aomine, stealing the ball, “Less talking and more playing!”
“Hey! No one even invited you!”
Unlike Kise, Kagami dragged his feet over to the bench and slowly sat down—groaning quietly at the ache in his legs once he did. He bit back a wince when he stretched his legs once Aomine looked over at him. He didn’t seem to notice Kagami’s early signs of pain, “Yo, Baka–gami, are you coming or not?”
Kagami glared at him, “Give me a second, I just came from the gym.”
“Seems to me like our little tiger is chickening out, right Kise?” Aomine taunted, his smug look making Kagami’s blood boil.
“Shut up! I’ll take two of you easily!” He stood up and marched over to them.
Kise didn’t seem to think it was that good of an idea though, giving them both a nervous look, “Uh, why don’t we just—”
Aomine interrupted, “Hah? In your dreams, Taiga! You can barely take one of us!”
The statement gave Kagami pause for a moment, the mere reminder causing Kagami to feel a horrible feeling inside him.
It was bad enough that his dad always flamed him for deciding to pursue something like basketball—wanting him to major in business so he can follow his path to success instead. But, it’s been pretty embarrassing to constantly go back to his dad and let him know he lost a game to the same guy again.
And every time without a doubt, his dad will mutter under his breath about how Kagami should’ve listened to him instead.
He clenched his jaw and glared, “Watch, I’ll beat you here and now!”
Kise ended up sighing and sitting down, regretting even coming at this point. Then once the game started and they started competing, it seemed to be a bit of a challenge for the both of them. Kise ended up cheering for both of them, not siding with any of them in particular.
Aomine had a huge grin on his face as he jumps up and dunks another goal, “Fuck yeah!”
On the other hand, Kagami panted heavily, silently condemning himself for losing to Aomine in a simple practice game. His thighs trembled in exhaustion and he took a couple deep breaths, before turning to Aomine, “Shut up, let’s go again!”
The tanned athlete rolled his eyes, “Yo, Taiga, you already lost 3 rounds.”
Kagami groaned and stepped up in front of his face, “So what was this for? For you to rub your victories in my face again?”
The other man only narrowed his eyes in irritation, “What the hell are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying you’re a cocky piece of—”
Kise grabbed the back of Kagami’s collar and laughed awkwardly, “Oh why don’t you look at the time? We should all go home now!”
After they all had dispersed, Kagami didn’t even really know why he blew up like that with Aomine. This was a constant cycle between the two—they did one–on–ones together and there usually was an even amount of wins between the two. But that was in their first couple of years together, in the past few months—close to a year—Kagami’s only been losing.
He went to bed that night, aching. Both in mind and body.
A few days later, Kagami was alone in his apartment. He had a killer headache and his whole body was beginning to shut down on him. It was late in the evening at this point, he had already finished his dinner and he really wanted to sleep.
He was forcing his eyes awake because Momoi said she was going to stop by around his time to drop something off. After yawning for the sixth time in five minutes, there was an aggressive knock at his door. Kagami flinched awake and went towards the door, “Thanks Momoi, I’ll just take it.”
When no one handed him the bag, he looked over properly to see Aomine staring straight at him with a furrow of his eyebrow. Kagami blinked at him, “Oh, why’re you here?”
Aomine lifted a bag, “I came to drop the stuff off ‘cause Momoi was busy.”
…
Sigh.
“You can come on in,” Kagami side stepped, letting Aomine inside and choosing to ignore the barely concealed smile he had on.
Aomine took his shoes off and looked around, “Pretty dark in here.”
Kagami leaned against the wall, “Had a headache.”
“Oh, did it go away?” Aomine still had a faint smile on his face.
Narrowing his eyes and giving Aomine a pointed look, he deadpanned, “No.”
Laughing softly, Aomine flopped on his couch, “Come on, Taiga—I just wanna rest my legs.”
Then in the corner of his eye, he spotted a small slip of paper atop the table. He knows he shouldn’t snoop. It was just out of reach for him to see, but he could briefly make out the words: Workout plans.
Raising an eyebrow, he was mildly curious about what the contents were, but Kagami’s booming voice interrupted his thoughts before he could try anything.
“Ugh, are you even listening to me?!” Kagami yelled in frustration.
Aomine blinked out of his trance and looked at him, “What? Just pretend I’m not even here!”
He got up and walked over to one of Kagami’s drawers, looking inside of one. The other man walked over and grabbed his shoulder, “Hey, stop looking through my shit!”
It was then Aomine pulled out one of those gravure magazines he adored so much, “Your shit, huh?”
Kagami stared, exasperated, “That is not mine! You put that there!”
Laughing softly, Aomine began to close the drawer, “That I did.”
Glancing down, he noticed another note. It was in Kagami’s drawer this time, it only seemed to have a different gym routine. Kagami closed the drawer before Aomine could even process anything else.
“You’re so gross,” Kagami scrunched his face up in disgust at the prospect of Aomine reading his porn magazines on his couch.
Aomine smiled, “Would you rather I go in your room instead?”
He laid back against the sofa and kicked his feet up on the table. He opened his magazine and began to mindlessly flick through the pages.
“Fine.”
…
Aomine blinked before turning to Kagami, “What?”
Trying to seem scary, Kagami glared and crossed his arms—but the action only seemed cute because his face was red and he was clearly embarrassed. “Just go to my room, I’d rather clean bed sheets than a sofa.”
Doubling over in laughter, Aomine wiped his eyes before standing up, “You’re funny, Taiga.”
Lately, ever since Aomine found out he was actually bisexual—he’s been venturing out to his… other tastes. But none of the models looked like how he wanted them to. So, he always threw them out eventually.
He leaned in close, “Don’t worry, I won’t make a mess.”
Honestly, he wasn’t even really going to do anything, but he just liked to see Kagami embarrassed and angry. So, as he sauntered over to Kagami’s room and waited a couple seconds before looking around. Aomine’s been in here a million times so he wasn’t really looking at anything new. That was until he saw Kagami’s routine written down on a whiteboard and it looked insane.
Aomine scoffed, “Who does this guy think he is? Batman?”
Deciding to brush it off, he laid in Kagami’s bed and continued flipping through his magazine.
On the other hand, Kagami was trying to warm up some ramen for Aomine while also trying to stay awake. Normally, someone would drink some kind of caffeine or energy drink, but Kagami knew that it might mess up his whole training thing he’s doing.
He also knew that eating this late would mess him up, but this food smelled so nice. Kagami shook his head and closed his eyes, “I can’t, not right now”
But, he promised himself that he would treat himself to a buffet once he wins this game. He just wanted to keep himself strict on the schedule he created for himself up until his game with Aomine. Keeping that promise in mind, he went back to his room and opened the door, “Hey, I’m coming in!”
Aomine was reclined on his bed, typing something on his phone before looking up and whistling, “You sure do know how to spoil a guy.”
He stood up, beginning to take the bowl of food carefully from Kagami. Before he could fully grab it, Kagami pulled the bowl back away from him, “Uh–uh, living room.”
Rolling his eyes, Aomine followed him out to the living and sat down. There were many times where Aomine suddenly crashed at his place for whatever reason—Kagami believes it’s because he enjoys the quiet. During these mini hangouts, they usually sit next to each other, eating food and watching TV together, but Aomine’s bowl was the only one on the table.
Aomine looked at Kagami, “What about your bowl?”
Sighing, Kagami looked back at him, “Not tonight.”
Growing suspicious at the weird behavior, Aomine kept his gaze on Kagami a little longer—searching for anything to provide him an idea of what was happening. But, when nothing came up and Kagami never followed up with an explanation, he could only sigh and look back at the TV.
…
The next incident was when Kagami was taking a jog around the neighborhood—it was his tenth lap around the whole area. He was feeling pretty proud of himself because he didn’t feel like passing out… yet.
He was totally sweating like crazy again and he knew he needed water soon, but he made drinking water the reward for completing the lap—smart, right?
He was halfway through his lap when he saw Takao cycling on the road and Midorima in his wagon. Kagami suppresses a laugh at how ridiculous the sight looks—he sees them often enough for this sight to be common. Doesn’t mean he can’t laugh at it every time.
Today he didn’t exactly wanna put in the effort of laughing, knowing it’ll probably tire him out even more. Since he wasn’t timing himself, he matched his pace to how fast Takao was going. Which wasn’t fast at all.
“Where—huff—are you guys going?” Kagami smiled, looking over at Midorima who was wearing a sunhat.
Takao honestly sounded equally as tired as he did, “Hah… Shin–chan just needed to go shopping for—for some…”
Midorima interrupted, “I need to go shopping.”
He was wearing some crazy outfit that Kagami believes is supposed to be good for the heat. He looked at the bike and an idea came to his head, “Hey, why don’t I take him there?”
They both looked at him like he was crazy. Midorima scrunched up his face in confusion, “And why would you do that?”
Kagami only grinned, “I’m training to make my legs more durable! I’ll only take you there and then run right back to what I was doing!”
Laughing awkwardly, Takao gave Kagami a weird look, “Uh what am I supposed to do?”
Kagami already stopped and was walking over to the seat, “Sit in the wagon obviously! Now come on.”
Silently, Takao shrugged and sat across from Midorima, “Scoot over, Shin–chan!”
“This is ludicrous,” Midorima grumbles, but stays put.
Once they were settled, Kagami began peddling them over to the shop—his legs wobbly and beginning to tremble, but he knew this was great practice.
At first, they were going at pretty much a snail's pace, Takao was about to nervously offer that he should just do it instead. That was until they were suddenly moving fast—or well, quick enough to feel a light breeze.
Midorima and Takao gave each other slightly concerned looks before Takao cleared his throat, “Uh, Kagami? Don’t think you should push yourself too hard?”
Between heavy pants, Kagami glanced behind to them, “What are you, the wagon expert?”
“Hey!”
After another grueling minute or so, they arrived at the shop, “Is… this it?”
“Uh, actually—”
Midorima stepped out of the wagon, “Yes, this is fine.”
He adjusted his hat and glasses before looking over at Kagami who was all red and sweaty. He grimaced and pulled a tissue out of his pocket, “Take it.”
Kagami blinked and took it, “Oh, thanks.”
He kicked the stand of the bike and stepped out, wiping his face. Kagami felt the ache in his legs the moment he stood up, his legs were on the edge of trembling. He kept them still for the sake of his pride since he was the one who even offered to drive them both.
Takao frowned at Kagami, “I don’t even know how you’re standing right now.”
Feeling proud, Kagami smirked, “Thanks.”
“Uh, that wasn’t—”
Midorima looked around, “What are you going to do now?”
Kagami looked back at the direction they came from, “I’ll jog back and then go back home.”
Before any of them could say anything, Kagami waved and left jogging. Takao looked up at Midorima with a frown, “That… can’t be healthy, right?”
The other man only stared closely at Kagami as he left. He stayed deep in thought for a couple moments before turning away, “Let’s go now, this isn’t the shop.”
Takao followed and smiled, “I knew it! You really are a big softie.”
“Shut up, Takao.”
…
Tomorrow was the game and Kagami was walking over to the street court. He’s already had a day full of practice and training. It was way past midnight and he should be in bed, but he knows he’ll be pulling an all–nighter anyway. So, might as well do something while he’s at it.
Once the court came into view, so did a familiar face.
He stopped in his tracks, “Akashi?”
Akashi was leaning against the entrance, arms crossed and a light smile on his face, “Kagami.”
Walking forward to the court, Kagami put his things down and looked at him, “What, you couldn’t sleep as well?”
Humming, Akashi only nodded ever so slightly, “You could say that.”
Before he could say anything else, he noticed Murasakibara sitting by the bench, “Murasakibara? You’re here too?”
“Mhm, got hungry,” He explains, although he wasn’t even eating anything. He did have snacks besides him, but they felt more like decoration. His eyes scanned Kagami and he raised an eyebrow, “You look like you need some as well.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kagami furrowed his eyebrows.
The giant only looked away, “Whatever.”
… Okay, this interaction makes Kagami feel like he’s about to be killed. So, awkwardly, he grabs his basketball from his bag, “You wanna play with me?”
Akashi stared at him for a moment, eyes roaming all over Kagaimi’s body—lingering on his legs for a little longer. Kagami squirmed under his gaze, feeling oddly exposed. They were both really staring at him and he doesn’t exactly know why.
Eventually, Akashi answered, staying where he was standing, “Sure, you and Atsushi.”
As the giant began to stand up and step up to the court, Kagami gulped and called out, “I–I can play against both of you!”
Murasakibara made a noise at that—some kind of mix between a scoff and a chuckle. He smirked slightly, “No, you can’t.”
The captain went to sit down at the bench, “Mm, I don’t feel like playing, I’d rather watch.”
Knowing there was no point in arguing, Kagami sighed and went over to Murasakibara. They began to play a couple of rounds—the giant beating him every round, predictably. After being beaten for the fifth time, Kagami panted and went back over to him, “Let’s go again!”
“Ugh, I don’t feel like it, I’m hungry again,” He dragged his feet back over to the bench and actually began to munch on one of his snacks.
Akashi silently stepped over to Kagami, ball in hand. Kagami straightened up, gearing himself to go again. He smiled, “Finally feel like playing?”
With a deep chuckle, Akashi immediately used his ankle–breaker, causing Kagami to fall immediately. Instead of running off and making the winning shot, Akashi only walks past him with no urgency.
Kagami groaned in pain and looked up at him, beginning to stand up—but he didn’t move. Actually, he couldn’t move.
Akashi calmly walked over to the hoop and casually threw the ball with one hand, “We’re done here.”
With trembling legs, Kagami slowly stood up and walked over to Akashi, “Are you mocking me?”
The other man looked slightly tired of this whole situation when he looked over at Kagami, “You’re going to suffer an even bigger loss at this rate. Go home.”
He spoke with authority, like the request was more of a demand. Knowing Akashi, this whole practice match was likely a way for him to prove something.
And all Kagami could do is follow.
Kagami glanced over at Murasakibara who had that same knowing look in his eye, like this was a setup. The giant stood up and grabbed his snacks, throwing one at Kagami, “G’night.”
He sighed and caught the snack, feeling defeated. He grabbed his things and silently made his way home.
Murasakibara glanced at Kagami as he left and turned back to Akashi, “Seemed pretty harsh, even for you, Aka–chin.”
Akashi sighed deeply, “I know, but from what Shintaro told me, he needed to hear something.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s listening,” Murasakibara said with an uncharacteristic finality to his tone.
…
They were about to start the game now, Kuroko glancing over at Kagami with a worried expression—which didn’t look like anything, since Kuroko had his usual poker face.
“Did you pull an all–nighter again?” Kuroko eventually asks as he puts the bands around his wrists.
Kagami glanced at him, “No.”
“Oh.”
Narrowing his eyes, Kagami leaned in closer, “Why?”
Kuroko shrugged, “You look like you did.”
“What?!”
Riko clapped her hands together, gathering everyone’s attention to say her pre–game speech. The members were definitely a lot more fired up since they all knew what they were dealing with. It was the seniors last year and this was going to be a pretty big obstacle for the newer members.
Not to say the other teams they versed weren’t a challenge, but Aomine was a totally different beast. Not to mention Momoi’s observation skills were only getting better.
She glanced at Kagami once everyone started to gather up on the court, “Kagami! You look like shit, what happened?”
Kagami glared, “You too? Well, I’ve just been training this whole week for this! I’m fired up.”
Riko didn’t seem to buy it, but she knew she couldn’t bench him in the first round. Before she could say anything else, Kagami patted her shoulder, “Watch, we’re gonna take the win this time!”
She only sighed, “Fine, go.”
Kagami went up then, standing in front of Aomine, “Ready to lose?”
Aomine scoffed, “In your dreams.”
Then the match started, the intensity skyrocketing as the minute ticked by. Kagami made sure to hone in on all his training and practice—also focusing on using the team as well. The last thing he needed was issues with him doing everything by himself—although he was handling the ball.
The points kept scoring, the gap was small, but they were always just on the edge of getting the lead on the other team. The lead kept switching between the two teams throughout the first three rounds, but they were at a pretty good pace. At the last stretch of the game, Kagami was growing desperate to get the upperhand.
Kuroko kept warning him about his growing aggressiveness, but Kagami always just brushed it off. Even through the meeting, after the third round, Riko warned him about his pace and even threatened to take him off the game. But, Kagami just barely managed to convince her to keep him on the court.
He knows it’s only because it’s his last game, but he just used that to his advantage.
Good thing is, he’s in the zone again—but he’s pushing to get to the second zone. He knows he could do it.
Kuroko looked at him from afar, the concern starting to become more apparent on his face. He knew Kagami was beginning to push his limits, but he also knew he couldn’t do anything at this point to stop him.
Kagami felt his legs becoming numb—they were aching bad earlier, but shit they felt like fucking hell now. His head began to feel light and briefly, he wondered if this was the feeling of going into the second zone. His stomach felt like it was caving in on itself since Kagami was too caught up in beating Aomine to eat his protein bar. It felt both empty from it and like he also needed to vomit.
He ran over to the hoop and jumped up with as much power as his legs would allow.
This can’t be right.
This isn’t the same surge of adrenaline he felt back in his match with Akashi—he felt like dying right now.
Shit, everything’s spinning.
Aomine was also getting caught up in the heat of the moment, charging forward suddenly to steal the ball when—
Thud!
Everyone froze as Kagami fell down hard mid–jump.
“Kagami!” Kuroko yelled uncharacteristically, running over to Kagami.
He kneeled down and shook him slightly—finding himself lost due to the panic. The other Seirin members and Riko quickly rushed over. The referee quickly leaving to call a medic.
Aomine stared down at him in horror, kneeling down slowly, “Kagami? Hey man, this isn’t funny!”
But, Kagami was as still as a statue, his breath was shallow and his legs trembling. Riko groaned, hitting herself on the leg, “I knew something was wrong with him! I should’ve said something.”
Furihata placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry coach! He would’ve done whatever he wanted anyways.”
Riko sighed, knowing it was true—though it still didn’t make her feel better about the whole thing. Kuroko could only stare at Kagami silently, not processing anything else.
Once the medics arrived and took Kagami away, Kuroko and Aomine followed immediately—ignoring what anyone else might be saying.
Kuroko glanced at Aomine, “Do you know about anything?”
The other man had a guilty face, rubbing his hand over his face, “I… went over to his house once, he had a million of these notes talking about his new routine.”
Frowning, Kuroko looked back at Kagami—this time, looking at his legs. He was silent, wondering if he could’ve done anything to stop him.
Aomine frowned, “I was suspicious, but I… just brushed it off.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Aomine,” Kuroko walked in front of Aomine, stopping him in his tracks.
The other man looked down at Kuroko and chuckled softly, “Tell that to yourself.”
…
Kagami blinked a couple times as he opened his eyes, his body felt like there was a hundred pounds weighing him down. Groaning, he heard constant beeping near him.
Something shifted near him and Kuroko’s voice was heard, “Kagami?”
He tried saying something back, but all he did was cough—his throat felt drier than a desert. Someone else shuffled and a bottle was placed near his lips and a hand helped support him. Immediately, he drank the whole bottle until there was nothing left.
Once he became fully aware of what’s going on and everything came into focus, Kagami realized he was in the hospital and all of the miracles were in the room with him.
“Um, what’s going on?”
Kuroko frowned, “You don’t remember?”
Kagami scratched his head, “I remember we were playing against Tōō and…”
He vaguely remembers going all out, wanting to reach the second zone, and then everything went dark.
“Ugh, was that in front of everyone? That’s humiliating,” Kagami held his head in his hand, choosing to forget about the total embarrassment.
The others didn’t seem to agree—Aomine stood up abruptly, “What the hell were you thinking, dumbass?!”
Kagami turned to him, “What?”
Akashi’s deep voice cut through before they could start arguing, “Kagami, what did I say? You’re hurting yourself.”
His voice didn’t sound smug or mocking like Kagami had originally thought—he sounded and looked visibly concerned. Suddenly, Kagami felt he was being scolded by his parents.
Well, parent.
And even then, he doesn’t even really—
“Kagamin, explain to us why this happened, please,” Momoi pouted, interrupting his thoughts.
Kagami hesitated slightly before explaining, “I… was trying to train myself extra well to beat Aomine.”
Midorima, Murasakibara, and Akashi looked like they already knew what was going on and just needed confirmation from Kagami. Aomine, Kise, and Kuroko looked distraught—especially Aomine who looked away with a guilty look in his eye. Momoi looked like she was a mix in between—considering her innate observation skills, she probably had a feeling something was wrong, but just didn’t know what exactly.
“Listen, it—it was not supposed to go this far and… and I just wanted to win for our last year,” Kagami felt the need to explain, so they don’t think he’s a total idiot.
There was a resulting silence and Kagami only continued, “Shit, and now there’s no way we’re going to win.”
Aomine gave him an incredulous look, “You’re still thinking of winning? Even now that you’re in the goddamn hospital?”
Momoi frowned, “Dai–chan—”
“Easy for you to say! You haven’t lost against me since our first year!” Kagami glared, leaning forward towards Aomine, but grimaced as the ache in his body came back.
Kuroko sighed, “That doesn’t make you a weak player, Kagami.”
Kagami only looked away, “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
“You seriously believe that? You’re an amazing player, Kagamicchi!” Kise spoke, exasperated. He was practically sitting on the hospital bed at this point, “You know I love playing against you!”
Kuroko smiled, “Yes, I was so glad when you decided to stay in Japan after our first year together.”
“I hope you don’t seriously think I find you weak or anything either, Baka–gami,” Aomine harumphed, narrowing his eyes at Kagami.
Momoi hit Aomine’s shoulder, “Say something nice for once! Kagamin, you’re an amazing player, that’s what Dai–chan means!”
Midorima scoffed, “It’s quite insulting if you believe I’d ever play against someone weak.”
Chuckling, Murasakibara glanced at him, “Especially since you lost against him so many times.”
“Urgh, I did not!”
Akashi smiled, “You’ve bested me once, Kagami, that’s more times than most.”
“Okay, now that was barely a compliment,” Aomine grumbled.
Kise grinned, “Kagami, you—”
“Okay, okay! I get it!”
They also stopped and looked at Kagami, who was fully red and blushing right now. His hand was covering half his face in a poor attempt to hide his flustered face.
He averted his gaze away from everyone, “You can stop talking now! I… I get it.”
…
Momoi cooed embarrassingly, “Awee, he’s shy!”
The blonde laughed and leaned in, pinching Kagami’s cheek, “What’s wrong, Kagamicchi? Can’t handle praise?”
Aomine moved his hand and smiled, “Look at you, you’re like a shy schoolgirl.”
“Guys, stop it!” Kagami blushed even more.
“Kagami,” Kuroko quietly lilted, grabbing the others' attention. He had a pleading look in his eye, “Please, don’t ever do that again.”
Sighing, Kagami nodded, “Yeah, got it, sorry.”
Aomine smirked again, “Aren’t you such a good boy for listening?”
Giggling, Momoi ruffled Kagami’s hair, “Of course he is!”
Kagami groaned, “Stop talking!”