KnB || TakaKuro || KnB || TakaKuro || Being Visible || TakaKuro || KnB || TakaKuro || KnB

Title: Being Visible – Or: How Midorima Got Rid of Takao

Fandom: Kuroko no Basket

Me Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, a little bit h/c, jealousy, Midorima playing matchmaker

Main Pairing: TakaKuro

Side Pairings: hinted one-sided KagaKuro, KiseKuro and AoKuro

Kuroko no Basket Characters: Kuroko Tetsuya, Takao Kazunari, Nigou, Midorima Shintaro, Kagami Taiga, Kise Ryota, Aomine Daiki

Summary: Takao was intrigued. Midorima saw this as his chance of getting rid of the annoyance by presenting Takao with someone new to fawn over. Namely one former shadow of Teiko. Midorima just had to push Takao a little bit and he knew just whose help he needed to push the right buttons.

Being Visible

Or: How Midorima Got Rid of Takao

Takao Kazunari was a good basketball-player. Some may even say pretty amazing. He was loyal and friendly. Some may even say overly friendly. He was also handsome, from a neutral point of view speaking, of course. What was special about him however was his vision. The way he saw things. The way he saw Kuroko Tetsuya. The first person to truly see the shadow.

Midorima Shintaro was an observant person and he noticed all of those things. He had learned that he could rely on Takao on the court, but outside of the court, the overly affectionate idiot tended to get on Midorima's nerves. So the green-haired boy had decided to change that, by finding someone else who Takao may obsess over. Which was what had brought him to Kuroko.

As much as Midorima always claimed not to care about Teiko's former shadow, he did care about all his former teammates to a certain degree. A fondness that others would call friendship. He tried to avoid that term. So he came to the conclusion that what a boy like Kuroko really needed was someone who saw him, who didn't just forget that Kuroko was in the very same room. Granted, that fondness also made Midorima feel a little guilty about burdening Kuroko with the exhausting loudmouth.

Though, in Midorima's defense, he knew that Kuroko knew how to handle an exhausting loudmouth. As was being proven right now in front of him. Polishing his glasses, he observed.

On their way home, Midorima had purposefully led Takao toward a park where he knew Kagami and Aomine usually met. At least once a week, the two lights would have a basketball-battle for who was the truly best player and who deserved to be Kuroko's light.

If Midorima wanted to push Takao toward Kuroko, he needed to push Takao's buttons. Jealousy and possessiveness were two of them. When faced with the other two having a cock-fight over who deserved Kuroko more, it would be the best opportunity to test and see if jealousy would be in play. Whether or not this plan of Midorima's even had a chance to unfold.

"Your light is too dim! You don't deserve Tetsu as your shadow!", called Aomine loudly.

"Stop saying that!", countered Kagami, straightening to seem taller. "You sound like my landlord! Wanna change a light-bulb, or what?! My light if perfectly fine!"

While the two of them screamed insults at each other, there was another uncalculated player in the game. Not the basketball game, but the game for Kuroko's affection. Kise was hanging off the bluenette's arm, clingy as always, cooing about his Kurokocchi. Midorima frowned in distaste. Yet this was what made Kuroko the perfect choice. If anyone had the capacity, the patience and the capability to endure Takao, it was the boy who dealt with Kagami, Aomine and Kise on a regular base without having a mental melt-down. Regardless of what Midorima claimed to think of Kuroko, or what he truly thought about the boy, he did admire Kuroko's seemingly unbreakable patience.

A slight smirk – knowing and superior – slid onto his lips as he saw how annoyed Takao was.

With every second that ticked by, Takao grew more irritated. Yes, he had told Kuroko that he hated him – which was probably not good as far as first impressions went. But the more he saw of the self-proclaimed shadow, the more the bluenette pulled Takao in. The way Kuroko had changed Midorima's behavior and thinking had played a big part in this. Thanks to Kuroko, their team had become a proper team and the friendship between Midorima and Takao had grown closer – not that Midorima would ever admit to that, not even to himself. Kuroko's play was captivating and his will was just amazing. All of that aside, Tetsu-chan was cute. The fluffy light cyan-colored hair, those bright eyes, like two shards of aquamarines, pale and perfect skin. It seemed nearly ironic to Takao, that a boy of such bright and light colors called himself a shadow.

However what Takao was currently witnessing was making him so mad. Kagami and Aomine kept screaming their heads off, not minding that Kuroko probably had a tinnitus by now. Also not minding that the two 'lights' were two of Kuroko's most precious people and seeing them fight like that hurt the stoic teen. Not to a degree that the bluenette would curl together and sob, probably not even to a degree that others would notice, but Takao saw. He saw the barely-there micro-expressions that others couldn't detect on the seemingly blank face of the passing-specialist. A slight tightness of his jaw, how his lips were pressed together just that little bit more than normally, his eyes decidedly not looking at the two screaming teens in front of him. Kuroko was clearly upset, even though to everyone else, Kuroko probably looked just like always.

Takao contemplated interrupting all of this, but the way Midorima just leaned there, observing him while he observed the scene... He had the feeling that it was what the green-haired boy expected of him. Takao wasn't sure of Midorima's intentions just yet, but there was a reason why they were here. Not just a little detour or anything. Midorima wanted something. And frankly enough, Takao wasn't in the mood to give in and let the arrogant prick have it. Not when he and seemingly also Kuroko ended up being the guinea pigs for whatever this was. So instead, he just stood back.

Kise was the first one to notice them and he seemed delighted that another Miracle was present, distracting Midorima with a loud and obnoxious conversation. Which had two effects. Midorima stopped watching Takao and Kise stopped hogging Kuroko.

Unnoticed by the four monsters of basketball-players, Kuroko slipped away. Not unnoticed by Takao though. Never unnoticed by Takao. The black-haired boy grinned to himself as he tailed the petite boy out of the park. It seemed Kuroko truly was in dire need of getting away from the loud teens, because he didn't even notice his shadow. Hah. Wasn't that ironic? Just for this moment, Takao had become the shadow's shadow. The thought made him smile amused.

Kuroko led the way to Maji Burgers. Where the bluenette – after being overlooked by the girl behind the counter for four times now – seemed to give up for the day, turning to leave again. He looked exhausted, at least to Takao's schooled eyes. His posture was just the slightest bit slumped, mouth parted slightly with an unspoken sigh. Smiling brightly, Takao walked up to the shadow and wrapped one arm around his shoulders, for a change startling the 'invisible' boy.

"Ne, nee-chan, you keep skipping my friend here", chimed Takao, smile still in place as the girl looked confused from him to Kuroko as though she only now realized the bluenette was there.

"Takao-kun", acknowledged Kuroko with a short nod. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently eating burgers", grinned Takao mischievously. "What do you want, Tetsu-chan?"

Kuroko's nose wrinkled in a way that was far too cute to be legal at the sound of that nickname. It was supposed to show his distaste at the name, but all it did was to make Takao call him that over and over and over again to get more of that cute reaction out of the stoic and controlled teen.

"A vanilla shake, please", sighed Kuroko after a while.

He knew his best chances at getting something was now, while he was being noticed, thanks to the loud personality of the other. Though when Kuroko fished his wallet out of his jacket, Takao had already paid. Kuroko wanted to protest, but the black-haired player was carrying the tray over to a table, not minding Kuroko and what he had to say. Not that Kuroko wasn't used to that.

"Takao-kun...", started Kuroko, glaring just the slightest bit.

And my, wasn't a glaring Tetsu-chan even cuter? Takao grinned broadly. It was like a puppy trying to growl and bark. Speaking of puppies, Nigou sitting on Kuroko's head didn't help the picture any.

"Gomen, ne", grinned Takao sheepishly. "You can pay on our second date."

He rested his face on his folded hands, hiding the smile behind his fingers. He had never seen a bigger slip of Kuroko's poker-face than right there. The azure-blue eyes widened and the faintest pink dusted his cheeks as he slowly sat down opposite Takao.

"D—Date...?", repeated Kuroko, his voice still its usual, monotone self.

"Hai", confirmed Takao with a sharp nod. "You're uncomfortable with the way Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun keep fighting over you like you're some trophy, you dislike how overly clingy Kise-kun is. I think if you had a steady boyfriend, those kinds of behavior may dissolve."

"And you're applying for the job?", questioned Kuroko, sounding just a little wry.

Takao nodded eagerly, unpacking one of the burgers he had ordered for himself. "Hai."

"Why?", countered Kuroko, tongue darting out to wrap around the straw.

Now it was Takao's turn to blush a little as he watched the way the straw disappeared between pink lips. "Because I see you. More than anyone else. I've been seeing you for a while now and the longer I watch, the more I want to see. I want to get to know you, Tetsu-chan."

And the blush returned. It looked so cute on the pale boy in front of him. Kuroko averted his eyes, staring down at his milkshake. By now, Takao was determined to make Kuroko his. Before, it had been more of a fleeting thought, a possibility.

"You... see me...", repeated Kuroko thoughtful, something akin to pain passing through his eyes.

"I'd never forget that you're standing next to me, I'd not waste half our dates looking around, trying to see if you already arrived because I'll notice you the second you walk in. I wouldn't jump every time you speak up, as though you're a ghost that came to haunt me", stated Takao casually. "I'd listen to you and I'd be there and I'd see you. Always."

"You know this is what Midorima-kun had been planning for weeks now, yes?", asked Kuroko.

"Weeks?", asked Takao surprised. "Well, I thought it was a more current thing, to be honest..."

"No, he had been planning this for a few weeks now", replied Kuroko, sounding a little amused.

"You... are more observant than others give you credit for", pointed Takao out, smirking.

"I observe people. It's one of the few things a shadow really can do", shrugged Kuroko. "I'm aware of the people around me and what they do. Even if Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun don't know."

"You're not a shadow", frowned Takao, munching on his burger. "It's what you made yourself to be on the court, but we're not on the court. You're human too, you know? Just because other people lack the sight to notice you doesn't make you any less, it makes them less. They're blinded. It's their fault and their problem, not yours. You're perfect the way you are."

And that was a full-force blush right there. Those cheeks would have matched Kagami's hair. Takao grinned pleased. He had a new hobby, one that was even more fun than annoying Shin-chan. Getting strong reactions from Tetsu-chan, whatever kind they may be. They were cute.

"Arigatou... Kazunari-kun", whispered Kuroko after a moment with a small smile.

"Eh?", grunted Takao doe-eyed, blinking a couple of times. "You used my first name!"

"It would be rather impersonal and thus rude to call my boyfriend by his last name", stated Kuroko.

Takao smiled, pleased with himself. He'd be annoying the hell out of Midorima with details later on.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: I've recently fallen in love with Kuroko (no Basket. Yeah, no, with Kuroko himself even more than with the anime/manga). So I've decided to AT LEAST write one story for each ship I sail in this fandom - starting with my favorite. Others that will follow this one will be Kagami/Kuroko, Kise/Kuroko, Midorima/Kuroko, Aomine/Kuroko, Murasakibara/Kuroko, Akashi/Kuroko, Imayoshi/Kuroko, Himuro/Kuroko, Ogiwara/Kuroko. My top ten favorite pairings. So expect more from me for this fandom. The next one will most likely be either AkaKuro, because Akashi is my second favorite seme for Kuroko, or KiseKuro, because I already have a cute plot for that one in my head.