One crime and too many witnesses

The first witness: Aomine.

No one saw it happen. No one even seemed to notice anything was amiss with the whole situation. For the untrained eye, it just looked like Kagami leaning over to whisper encouragement to a disheartened Kuroko's ear while patting his back in support. The fact that Kuroko's face was obscured by the towel on his head only made the confusion easier. But Aomine was no fool. He saw. There was no way something like that could escape his eyes.

Kagami had just kissed Tetsu, right there, in front of everyone, and Tetsu just let him do it.

But it wasn't just the kiss. It was everything about how those two acted after it. The whole aura around their combined plays had changed completely, like their synchronization just grew drastically from one minute to the other. Aomine didn't get it and it pissed him off like nothing else.

He and Kuroko had never been "an item" so to speak, for the simple reason that neither of them was gay (or at least, Aomine had believed so until now). Nevertheless, he'd always thought he shared a special bond with Tetsu. He'd never even been completely sure of why their relationship had turned sour overnight, and he'd been wanting to get it back somehow, but wasn't sure of how to go about it.

When he first saw Kagami and Kuroko together, he'd laughed it off. Kagami was weak. He didn't shine bright enough; he didn't know how to exploit Tetsu's potential to the fullest. Tetsu would eventually realize that too and leave him, because a prodigious shadow like him needed an equally prodigious light.

So what was it with the two of them now? First they kissed and now they were playing as if they could read each other's minds. Kagami was shining brighter than ever too. Aomine clenched his fists angrily. He should be the one shining to Kuroko's shadow, not that stupid Kagami who didn't know the first thing about playing with Tetsu. Just thinking about it was messing up with his mind and ruining his concentration in the game; of which those Seirin bastards were definitely taking advantage.

"Oi! The hell's up with you and Tetsu?" he snarled at Kagami as the third quarter ended.

Kagami just glared back at him. "Nothin's up with me n' Tetsu" he mocked, apparently clueless to the cause of Aomine's anger. They exchanged deadly looks in silence until Kagami suddenly grinned and spoke again. "Oh… Someone's jealous." He sniggered in realization. Aomine saw them. Kagami knew it. And Aomine felt too humiliated to reply at all. "Well you know… that's what you get when you don't treasure someone properly. Your loss." And he trotted away. To Tetsu's side.

Aomine was speechless. What did Kagami mean just now? Did he believe he was jealous of him for kissing Tetsu? No way! No fucking way in…

Shit.

The second witness: Kise

His eyes widened at the scene unfolding in Seirin's bench. How come no one else was noticing it? Was this a normal thing between them and their team was already used to it? It just didn't seem right. It'd never occurred to him while watching them, that Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi could have this sort of relationship. They just looked a lot like Aominecchi and Kurokocchi used to, back when everything was simpler. And just like them, he'd always imagined they'd eventually drift apart as Kagami kept growing and leaving Kuroko behind. And yet, after sharing that short kiss, they seemed closer than Aomine and Kuroko had ever been.

It was then that he noticed that he wasn't the only one who had seen the kiss. Staring wide-eyed at the scene from the opposite side of the court stood Aominecchi himself, completely paralyzed by shock.

Kise smiled sadly. He'd always known. He knew before Aominecchi himself realized it, just how infatuated the miracle Ace was towards the Phantom man. Almost as much as he himself was for the dark-skinned prodigy. And just as Aomine could never reciprocate his feelings, Kuroko couldn't return Aomine's. Theirs was a romantic polygon doomed for disaster. He'd almost forgotten about how hopeless their situation was, but seeing Kuroko and Kagami kissing, and the heartbreak in Aomine's eyes, brought all the pain back in full force.

Watching Aomine's game suffer because of this made it hurt even more. Kise knew Aomine the best, he was like an open book to him. The Ace was probably unaware of his own feelings for his former shadow, and was now struggling to figure out what it was about that kiss that troubled him so much. As the third quarter ended, he saw Aominecchi walking over to Kagamicchi and the two of them arguing for a few seconds before the redhead left to meet his team, while Touou's Ace just stood there, dumbfounded. It was almost comical watching these two strong and powerful men fighting over an invisible man. It just made Kise so much more aware of the painful irony; for so many years he'd been chasing a man who'd never look at him because he was too busy trying to find his own lost shadow.

He wished he could hate Kurokocchi for taking all of Aominecchi's attention and affection like that. He wished he could hate the Phantom man in the way he hated girls with big boobs and how Aominecchi would shamelessly ogle at their pictures in magazines. But Kurokocchi was Kurokocchi and there was no way he could hate him, which just left him stuck in this awkward and painful position of watching the man he admired and loved getting inevitably hurt while he kept walking further and further away from him, never looking back. The whole thing was so pathetic that he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry.

Probably a bit of both.

The third witness: Takao.

He was just coming back from taking a leak during the ten-minute break. The Touou vs. Seirin rematch was heating up and he didn't want to miss a second from it. The event also kind of worked as a sort of date with his beloved Shin-chan, something else he didn't want to miss a second of.

What he hadn't expected was to crash into yet another former Teikou miracle, especially not the famous copycat-slash-model, Kise Ryouta. More surprising still was the way the Kaijou ace didn't even seem to notice their crash, too focused on the court.

What's he looking at? The game's on break for another three minutes, right?

He heard Kise gasp with his eyes still fixated on whatever was happening on court; Takao followed his gaze and found the spot that had captured the miracle's attention

"WOAH! Did they just…?"

He turned to look at Kise, but the guy had such a pained look in his face, he didn't dare to speak. Just what was going on here? Was Kise actually…? No, that was impossible, he was a model! And super popular with the girls too!

Realizing Kise was never going to even notice he was standing there, he decided to go back to his seat. Maybe Shin-chan had seen what happened too and would be able to explain what was going on.

Damn these Teikou weirdos.

The green-haired shooter had predictably stayed in his seat and was currently checking Oha-Asa's horoscope on his cellphone for the nth time that day. His lucky item of the day (a 12 inches tall Gundam figure) was standing on Takao's seat, apparently saving it for him, and the Point Guard wasn't sure if he found it incredibly weird or incredibly cute.

"Hey, Shin-chan, did you see what just happened down there?" Takao inquired, moving the figure away.

Midorima looked at him with curiosity, apparently having no clue of what he was talking about.

"How could you miss it?! Those guys… Kuroko and Kagami… they just… come on! Don't tell me you didn't see!" saying it out loud was a lot more embarrassing that he'd ever expected and Shin-chan's absolutely clueless stare was not helping at all.

"Takao, I have no idea of what you're trying to say. Explain yourself properly."

The Hawk Eye wasn't sure of why he was blushing so hard, or why it was so difficult to explain what he'd just seen. After a minute of awkward silence and Shin-chan staring at him like he was a madman, he decided to take a different approach; he leaned in and stole a quick kiss from his boyfriend's lips. "Something like that… I mean, Kuroko and Kagami, just now…"

Midorima pushed him back automatically, a blush spreading quickly over his cheeks. "What on Earth are you thinking, this is a public place! Someone could've… did you just say Kagami and Kuroko... did that?"

"Well… yeah! That's what I've been trying to tell you all along, I really can't believe you didn't see."

He was surprised to see Shin-chan's face moprh from outraged and embarrassed to mildly concerned. "What's up, Shin-chan? Don't tell me you have a thing for Kuroko too." He remembered the look of pain in Kise's face and wondered if Shin-chan's interest for the blue-haired shadow was a lot deeper than he let on.

"Where did you even get that idea from? I swear sometimes I really don't get what's going on in that airhead of yours." He pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed. "Like I'd let you pull that stunt if I had 'a thing' for someone else." He added, looking away and blushing again.

Takao could swear to god, Shin-chan was the most adorable tsundere ever.

"Sorry, Shin-chan, I just thought… you know, you always want to see his matches, you even made me ride you all the way to Kanagawa to see their practice game with Kaijou. And well, I bumped into Kise and he seemed to be really hurt when he saw it… you know… it's just you guys from Teikou…"

Midorima shut him up by covering his mouth with one hand. "You think Kise likes Kuroko that way?"

"Like I said, he saw what happened too and looked like he was about to cry." He shrugged.

"You've got it all wrong. Kise has always liked Aomine, that I can tell you for sure. Aomine is an idiot, so he probably hasn't realized it, just as he's unaware of his own infatuation with Kuroko." he pointed at the dark-skinned ace, who was now following Kuroko with his eyes and looking pretty miserable too. "Kise is an idiot too, but I think at least he has known about Aomine for a while."

Takao quirked an eyebrow. "You people are so weird. It's like all of you are each other's mom."

Shin-chan glared at him. "It's just… it's hard to explain. Kuroko is… he's always been different, you know? Aside from his passes, he was always a really bad player and yet he kept trying over and over because he loves basketball so much. I think we all sort of admired that side of him."

Shuutoku's Point Guard smiled. Shin-chan never talked about it, but Takao knew he felt a certain nostalgia for the team that Teikou used to be and, in his own tsundere-ish kind of way, he still cared about his former teammates. He leaned back on his seat and lightly placed his hand on top of Midorima's, as if by accident. Who cared if Kagami and Kuroko kissed and Kise was part of some super complex love polygon. He traced ghostly words on the back of Shin-chan's hand with his finger and grinned when he noticed the other boy trying to blush and glare at the same time.

Love ya.

He was so not getting laid tonight.

The victim: Kuroko

He had failed again. All those hours of training and trying and thinking had been for nothing. Everyone put their faith on him, trusted him, and he'd let everyone down. He couldn't win. Aomine was too strong and he was too weak. It was just like Aomine-kun said, he was dragging his team down because he couldn't become stronger. He wanted to cry.

"The hell are you getting all mopey about?" Kagami-kun was standing in front of him, looking pretty exhausted and pissed off. Kuroko didn't look up to meet his eyes, he was too ashamed of himself and was sure to break into tears if he looked at his light's face.

Before he knew it, Kagami was crouched in front of him, his crimson eyes staring intensely into Kuroko's blues. The tense silence seemed to stretch forever, until Kuroko suddenly felt a soft pressure against his lips, which led him to realize just how close Kagami was now. Like really close. His eyes were half-lidded, and staring hotly at his.

Oh god, he was being kissed.

Kagami-kun stepped back and grinned at him sheepishly.

"Let's talk after we kick those bastards' asses, yeah?"

Kuroko forced the blush away from his cheeks and managed a faint smile. "Sure. Let's do that." He brushed his lips with his fingers and got up from the bench. He was really looking forward to that talk.

The perpetrator: Kagami

It had been too easy.

So maybe the timing wasn't ideal, what with everyone despairing over Touou's overwhelming strength and what not. Though, on second thought, maybe that had made the timing better than any other.

Regardless of how appropriate the timing could be, it didn't change what he'd done. As the second quarter ended, he'd been feeling as desperate as his teammates. He'd known from the start that Aomine was a monster, but the miracle Ace kept surprising him over and over again and he couldn't keep up at all. He had started to wonder if there was any actual chance for them to win. He looked at Kuroko, sitting on the bench with a towel over his head, completely hunched over, his face hidden in shadows. In spite of that, Kagami could see the frustration and sadness in the Phantom man's demeanor. It was as if he was about to give up.

Kagami realized he couldn't let that happen. If Kuroko gave up, there would be no hope for them.

"The hell are you getting all mopey about?"

But the most important thing he realized was that he couldn't stand the sight of Kuroko's blue eyes glazed with tears. He wasn't sure of when he'd kneeled down to look at his shadow's face, but he decided this time he'd be the one saving Kuroko and not the other way around. Kuroko had been there to beat sense into him every time he had needed it. Now it was Kuroko who needed him, and he wasn't going to leave him to drown.

Of course, the fact that Kuroko looked so darnedly cute up close did help quite a bit. Without even bothering to check if anyone was watching, he leaned in to close the gap between them and press his lips against Kuroko's softer ones.

He'd realized not long ago that his feelings for Kuroko were quite more complicated than he was ready to assimilate. He couldn't really explain it either, and he didn't know when it happened, but the moment he found himself just watching Kuroko and thinking how beautiful he looked, there was no going back. It would've been ideal to just keep those feelings for himself, but he didn't have half the self-control such a thing would require. And yet, this hadn't been quite the scenario he had pictured when he originally decided to confess to his shadow.

Whatever, I'll improvise.

Not like he'd ever been good following plans anyway.

He took a step back and locked his eyes with Kuroko's, pleased to see a faint blush spreading over the Phantom man's cheeks.

"Let's talk about this after we've kicked their asses."

Kuroko looked up at him and smiled faintly. "Sure. Let's do that."

Kagami grinned. Maybe it had just been the perfect timing after all.

The partners in crime: Kuroko and Kagami

Everyone was exhausted, but it was the kind of exhaustion that came with overwhelming joy and excitement. They couldn't believe it. The victory was so sweet they all feared to wake up and find it had all been a dream. But it wasn't, Kagami knew. The ache in his muscles was real, as was the loud and frenzied beating of his heart. This was what Kuroko always talked about, the happiness of playing for your team and winning together; and if Kagami had ever doubted it, this moment of bliss swept it all away: it was the best feeling ever, just like Kuroko said.

And speaking of Kuroko…

"So, about that talk…" he began, a little bit nervous. He'd acted on impulse earlier, and just now was his self-consciousness catching up with the fact that he'd kissed Kuroko in front of hundreds of people and their teammates and thus he couldn't keep postponing his imminent confession -which could either have a happy ending or ruin his relationship with his shadow, not to mention his team's current chance at the tournament.- Yeah, on second thought, the timing really hadn't been the best.

He didn't have enough time to finish that sentence or keep wallowing in his thoughts, though, because before he could do any of that, he felt a strong tug on his wrist that made him bend over just enough to allow Kuroko to kiss him aggressively. It took Kagami by surprise and his legs had to put a lot of effort in keeping him standing between the force of Kuroko's sudden pull and the intensity of the kiss.

They were both short of breath when they parted and Kagami had to take a step back to regain his balance. Kuroko was slightly flushed but the look in his eyes was strong and determined. It made Kagami's heart skip a beat in a most unmanly way.

"I thought, since Kagami-kun was kind enough to take the first step, it was only appropriate that I took charge of the follow-up." The phantom man stated in a matter-of-fact way.

Kagami blushed, but he couldn't take his eyes off Kuroko's. "So… now that you've done that… I mean… what happens next?"

Kuroko quirked an eyebrow thoughtfully. "I don't know. I didn't really think that far ahead." He took a hesitant step towards the red-headed ace.

Kagami then smiled and took one step to close the remaining gap between them. "That's okay. Improvising is my specialty."

Their hands entwined instinctively. Kagami leaned down and Kuroko stood on his tiptoes, their lips meeting halfway in a soft, tender kiss.

And this time, there was no one there to witness it.

Owari.

This is one of those stories I'd been toying with for some time. Kuroko looking crushed with the towel over his head after his Vanishing Drive was broken by Aomine was just begging to get a cheer-up kiss from Kagami. I'd been holding back on writing it to confirm some canon things from the Seirin vs Touou rematch, but at the end I just did whatever I wanted and took several creative licenses deviating from canon, sorry.

I hope to write a follow-up for Kise and Aomine in a not so distant future, but I want to reread Kise's match with Haizaki even if I end up doing whatever I want in the end.

Hope you like it, please R&R