A/N: I don't even know what to say but 'I'm sorry'. Here it is, finally.

As usual, references to 'breaking candy hearts.' and 'Kisses are a better fate' are kind of inevitable.

. . .

~Play of the Cats: Part Three~

It was not like Kuroko Tetsuya was unfamiliar with the concept of dreams. He had nurtured quite a few of those through the years; daydreams turning into wishes and small missions, goals and ambitions. All in all, there had been plenty of dreams, though perhaps none as vivid as the one about Seirin winning the Winter Cup.

And none as iniquitous as the one about Aomine Daiki and Kagami Taiga kissing each other.

The blue haired boy lingered at the door, taking in the scene for a little bit longer. He ignored the way his heart hammered in his throat, making it hard to breathe as the raw heat crashed against his retinas. Aomine was all dark, desirous eyes and the dirtiest of grins; looking as though it was his natural born right to be straddling the redhead beneath him. Kagami rested on his elbows, hair deliciously dishevelled and chest heaving; a mess of emotions ranging from anger to embarrassment flickering across his face.

Quite like a dream.

Not that Kuroko hadn't seen them making out before. Both in the lust ridden world of imagination and heart-stoppingly intense glimpses of their play in reality; in that locker room, a blurry photo, in the pool….

Never in his bed, though. Needless to say, finding them there held a charm of its own. He was straining against his jeans.

"I didn't expect any more birthday presents," he said, stepping closer to the bed. His movements felt somewhat dreamlike.

"Well, I guess someone's getting lucky," Aomine murmured.

"Indeed," Kuroko agreed, quietly. He stopped in front of the bed, so close he could feel the body heat of his two lights in the air, and smell the heady scent of their skin, their hair, their kisses.

Aomine-kun's smile was partly an invite, partly a challenge, as if saying; "I dare you to join in on this brilliant shit, Tetsu." Kagami-kun remained immobile, expression a little guarded and brows knitted, cheeks deceivingly flushed. Kuroko could feel his breath hitch and he could not prevent a small smile from rupturing through.

"What?" Aomine demanded.

Kuroko lowered his head so that his fringe fell over his eyes, shaking it slowly.

"Alex's been passing beers around," he began. It did not matter how much he desperately wanted this right now, he quite clearly had to use his reasonability when the people in his immediate presence possessed little or nothing of the sort. Furthermore, he was fairly sure a certain scatterbrain of a blond had been eavesdropping on them for a little while now. "It's getting rather fun down there in fact. I think you wouldn't want to miss out."

Aomine raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"I love it though," Kuroko continued, purposely keeping the phrasing vague, knowing that his eyes conveyed just how much he meant that anyways. "I'd like to save it for later."

"Later, hnn?" Aomine breathed a short, rumbling laugh. "You sure that's okay, Tetsu?"

Kuroko could not help but gasp a little as Aomine groped him. Large, warm fingers pressed over the aching bulge confined within his jeans, and he had to forcefully reboot his faltering reasoning in order not to step back. Or forward. Biting hard at his lower lip, Kuroko remained where he was. He only moved his hand. Looking Aomine's straight in the eye, he brought it to Kagami's cheek, letting his fingertips slide along his cheekbone, down the curve of his neck. The skin was so very warm to the touch.

"Are you?" he breathed, looking at Aomine intently for another heartbeat before dropping his gaze to the flushed wonder that was Kagami, trembling under his touch and what-the-hell's-with-this-situation?! written all over his face. Aomine's eyes followed, and Kuroko imagined he could see the dark-skinned boy's pupils expanding as he looked down at the Seirin power forward. The one he had been borderline-fucking into the mattress a few minutes ago.

The momentary silence stretching between the three of them was devastatingly dense. Amidst the burning arousal, Kuroko sensed the will to wreak total havoc all over Aomine, laced with deeply carnal exhilaration. He smiled inwardly. The key to controlling the Monster of Touou was not, contrary to popular belief, in the demonstration of power—but in the simple act of knowing him for who he really was. Aomine-kun.

Kagami had finally had enough.

"Screw this," he huffed, upon bluntly sitting upright and shoving Aomine off of him. Taken slightly unawares, the tall Touou player jumped to the floor. Kagami was soon to follow, getting to his feet hastily and very awkwardly.

"Haaaah, watch it, idiot," Aomine drawled, while languidly straightening his back. The sparkles in his eyes spoke volumes of oppositions. Like, the manifestation of sudden violence excited him rather than angered him, really.

"I'm not half as much an idiot as you, dumbass," Kagami shot back with fervent, knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists.

Aomine snorted.

"Whatever." He smoothed the ruffled collar of his blazer looking as unperturbed as they come, though Kuroko detected hints of frustration and residual want in the glance he cast in Kagami's direction, before giving a final shrug of his shoulders.

"You better make up for it later, Tetsu."

With that, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and sauntered out of the room in his usual, sort-of-slouching manner. His words, and the deepness of his voice—a sinful story in its own right—reverberated in the phantom players head, it could be felt within the core of his bones. He was fairly certain Kagami-kun was experiencing a similar onslaught of shivers, as the redhead twitched a little where he was standing, all tense muscles and eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Then, the ruckus Kuroko had sort of predicted broke out in the corridor, almost at the same moment Aomine was out of sight.

"The hell are you doing here?"

"Eeeeh, why're you looking so serious, Aominecchi? I wasn't doing anything suspicious, or anything, honestly, I..."

"Looks damn suspicious to me."

"It's not! I mean... I was just wondering where Kurokocchi might've gone, we were just in the middle of this game and..." There was a pause. "I was certainly not eavesdropping on you guys."

"Yeah, right." Aomine's grumbling response came off as a little more distant, indicating that he was resuming walking down the corridor.

"So, how's it going?" Kise's voice had regained its cheerful colours, laced with heedless curiosity.

"Hnn?"

"With Kagamicchi and you, I mean."

"What...?"

It was safe to assume that the Touou player had paused as this, as the voices gradual fade out was stalled. Kise was evidently not picking up on the warning in Aomine's tone, or else he did not care about it, as he light-heartedly went on.

"Truth be told, I think you should take down the playing-hard-to-get attitude a notch. Kagamicchi looked pretty troubled just before, when you ignored him, sort of. You know, you shouldn't treat someone you love like that, it's... ow!"

Judging from the hard smack and the whines following suit, Kise Ryouta had been whacked rather hard upon the head. Only incoherent growling and curses could be heard from Aomine, and then the noise of what was presumably him dragging the loudly protesting model along the corridor and down the stairs.

The urge to smile was impossible to resist. Kuroko turned to Kagami knowing full well that he was looking shamelessly delighted. The redhead remained motionless, fists clenched into hard balls, and although his fringe was falling forward to cover part of his face, his furiously red cheeks were clearly showing.

"I—I don't know what he's talking about," Kagami ground out, stumbling a little over the words. "Kise, he's just... what the fuck... it's a lie. I mean, it's not like..."

"I'd say Kise-kun's perceptiveness is about his only selling point," Kuroko interjected phlegmatically, marvelling at the way Kagami's shoulders tensed at this. The redhead gritted his teeth, but said nothing further. Glancing away, he settled with muttering something inaudible, indistinctly angry. Kuroko considered him with amusement. If he hadn't found Kagami-kun so adorable in his frustration, he might have had felt a little sorry for him.

Might have.

Walking up to his light, he placed a swift kiss on his lips and withdrew, before the larger teen had the chance to react properly. The jumbled up look on Kagami's face as he finally looked at Kuroko from under his bangs, hit the phantom player in the chest like a soft-edged dagger.

"Kagami-kun created quite the disorder in here," he commented while glancing about his messed-up bedroom; partly in order to wind the redhead up, partly to avoid thinking about the prominent taste of heat and cinnamon lingering on his lips.

The Seirin Ace shook his head, and Kuroko could practically see how his brain cast about for any sort of reason, before it made a stop at the platform of anger.

"Why me?!" he demanded, red eyes flashing. "It wasn't even me who started it, that idiot just went and did whatever the hell he pleased, like freaking-always, and I just couldn't... I just..."

Kuroko tilted his head to the side, indicating that he was waiting for a continuation.

Kagami, stumped for the moment, seemed to realise that he wasn't getting anywhere. Sputtering a half-choked 'nevermind', he stalked past his shadow and out of the room. Kuroko stuck his head out of the bedroom door and regarded his teammate's tense figure descending the stairs, all the while muttering what sounded like vulgar profanities under his breath. The blue-haired boy smiled. A band of butterflies, drunk on anticipation, made a small loop in his stomach.

. . .

Someone had turned on the stereo. Upbeat pop tunes flowed through the living room, and the party guest moved about in a flurry of happy disorder. Kuroko was seated in the middle of the room, fondly observing his friends. It was getting late but no one seemed to have noticed, immersed as they were in talking and laughing, and drinking. Some people were clearly a little affected by the beer; Kuroko spotted some flushed cheeks around the room, and he was fairly sure he had never seen Hyuuga speaking so animatedly before—nor Riko so interested in whatever it was he was saying.

Kagami had been careful with the beer (that time in his apartment presumably still bothered him some), but Alex did not seem to be willing to let him off the hook that easily. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor between her former students, along with Murasakibara-kun and Teppei, talking in wide gestures and convincing smiles. Kuroko understood she wanted to introduce a drinking-game of sorts, and apart from Kagami's reluctant face and Murasakibara's indifferent shrug of the shoulders, there seemed to be a certain level of enthusiasm among the gathered.

Aomine, by contrast, showed no restraint as far as drinking was concerned. Ungainly spread over the sofa at the other end of the room, long legs falling over the edge of it, he had leisurely been emptying quite a few beer cans without showing any signs of intoxication whatsoever. All in all, he appeared to be extraordinarily bored with the situation. Or content, depending on how one saw it. The way he tolerated Kise's and Momoi's constant chattering just next to him was an indicator for the latter, actually.

Amidst the music and the voices, Kuroko was the only one picking up on the sound of the door bell ringing. He rose without saying anything, subtly drawing upon his special ability to direct attention away from his own being as he exited the room. He padded through the hallway feeling a little lightheaded, not to say... accomplished. Because, on some level he knew who was behind that door. The only one who had not responded to his invitation letter, one way or another.

Then again, he had never expected Akashi-kun to do so.

It was still snowing. Large, fluffy snowflakes fell lazily from the black sky, covering the ground with white cotton and whirling softly around the Rakuzan Captain's shoulders. He was standing just below the stairs, wearing a scarf and mittens, immobile but for the breeze ruffling strands of his electric crimson hair. The phantom player stepped outside, quietly closing the door behind him, before descending the stairs. He distantly reflected upon the fact that he did not feel cold at all.

"You knew I'd come."

"I thought you might. I wasn't sure," Kuroko answered truthfully.

Akashi-kun almost smiled. Kuroko wasn't entirely certain, but there was a softness lining his features that he had rarely seen before. His former captain said nothing further but reached down and unpacked something from the shoulder bag he was carrying.

"For your birthday," he clarified off-handedly, handing it over to Kuroko.

It was a winter scarf, striped in white and baby blue and fluffy to the touch. Kuroko caressed it with wonder for a moment. He looked up at the boy in front of him, and for the first time in a long time, he did not know what to say.

"I think it'll suit you, Tetsuya."

Kuroko thought some things had not changed. Akashi still used his first name as though it was his almighty right to do so; that particular habit of his had not reversed. Kuroko also thought that some things did not need to change.

"It's hand-knitted," he said, giving Akashi a curious look.

"You can tell. Impressive."

"It's the colours of Rakuzan."

"Is it?"

Now there was spark of gentle amusement in Akashi's large eyes. Then he did something Kuroko had not expected. He reached out and touched his hair with a mitten-clad hand, ruffling it carefully so that the snowflakes flew around his head. The words—snow, your hair—remained unsaid but rested in the crispy air between them for a confounding heartbeat, before Akashi took a step back.

"Will you come inside?" Kuroko asked.

"No. I just came to give you this," Akashi shook his head with a small smile. "I have no further business here."

Kuroko watched Akashi turn to walk away, biting his lip.

"Akashi-kun," he called, just before he had reached the gate, "thank you."

His former captain halted for a moment.

"It's me who should be saying thank you, you know that right?" he shrugged, casting him a glance over the shoulder which breathed resignation and warmth. "Good night, Tetsuya."

And with that, he submerged into the night, his back turning into a dark shadow against the whirling white. The boy with the sky blue hair remained rooted to the spot for a moment, clutching the scarf and watching the snowflakes' unhurried journey towards the ground.

. . .

Kuroko did not have to say anything. As he entered the living room again, he felt an unspoken connection between the Kiseki no Sedai members, and in the gazes turning towards him. Intensive green, warm gold, hazy violet, indolent dark-blue and mildly concerned pink spoke of understanding, and silent affirmation.

Midorima rose from his place at the coffee table first. As he passed Kuroko in the door opening, he paused briefly and gave him a small nod. Kuroko smiled in return. Admittedly, he and the Shuutoku shooting guard had never gotten along all that well, but there was no real dislike between them, and he knew Midorima to be unexpectedly caring under the layers of haughty reservation.

"Thanks for coming, Midorima-kun."

The tall teen pushed his glasses up his nose, a sign of slight unease, before offering a mumbled 'thanks for the invite', and heading towards the door. Takao came sauntering out in the hallway as well, not looking the tiniest bit perturbed by the sudden turn of events, though something told Kuroko that he knew exactly why his teammate was so keen on leaving. He exchanged a mirthful look with the phantom player as he shrugged into his jacket, before exiting the house in the wake of Midorima.

The rest of the Kiseki no Sedai members were soon to follow; summoned by something or someone, friendship or ghosts of the past hardly mattered anymore—it was still there. The only one among the former Teikou players, apart from the party host himself, not seeming the least bit inclined on leaving—was Aomine. He was still lounging on the sofa, clad in an air of detachment and hazy defiance. Kuroko was not surprised. His former light had always handled Akashi a little differently from the others.

In the disarray of people moving about, looking for their things and saying their goodbyes', Kuroko noticed that Kagami seemed at a loss for what to do. He was getting up from the floor, but as he reluctantly moved towards the door, he could not keep from glancing back at the sofa, where his sworn rival was still so provocatively present. Kuroko detected the heaviness in the air, and he could see Kagami clenching his hands as he shook his head in a feeble attempt to clear it, presumably. Before he had the chance to make any sort of decision however, Alex came striding up to him, putting a finger to his chest.

"Hey, where are you going, Taiga?" she demanded, tilting her head to the side.

"Uh, home, I guess...?" Kagami began, a confused little wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows.

Alex sighed with an impressive amount of theatrical exasperation.

"Really, you've already forgotten?"

Kagami still looked like a walking question mark, so she continued in a would-be patient voice.

"You promised me and Tatsuya that we could stay at yours, remember? It's too freaking late going back to his at this time, you know. I told you before, and you said that it'd be alright, yeah?"

"I didn't," Kagami protested, frown deepening. "I don't know what you're talking about, Alex, but it's starting to seriously piss me off how you decide these kinds of things on your own." He swapped the blonde's hand away, but his movements lacked something crucial to back up his words. Real anger, for example.

"Come on, Taiga, don't be like this," Alex continued flippantly, casting a glance over her shoulder to where Himuro and the others were in the process of exiting the house. "Honestly, it's better if you stay here; else wise it's going to be way too cramped, see? I think Tatsuya might've promised his giant friend that he could stay as well..."

At this, a vein really did pop at Kagami's temple.

"Or—" Alex hastily went on. "He'll just stay with someone else."

Kagami looked dubious.

"No. Really. I got it covered, I know someone..." she paused, seemingly amused by her own trail of thought, as a smile spread over her face. "Nevermind."

Kagami stayed silent, eyes narrowed.

"Jeeez, Taiga, I'll sort it out, alright." The blonde flashed another smile that was meant to be convincing before skipping off in the direction of hallway, winking at Kuroko in the passing.

"Tatsuya, we're off~"

The redhead stared after her for a short while, face blank, before heaving a heavy sigh and flopping down in an armchair by the window. He looked perfectly resigned as he draped an arm over his face and muttered something inaudible. Behind him, a certain basketball prodigy smirked, very carnally. Kuroko caught Aomine's eye, and there was a fluttery pang of heat in his stomach, so intense he felt almost sick.

"Dai-chan, are you coming?" Momoi's face was vaguely quizzical as she peeked in from the hallway. She was already fully dressed in a cherry-coloured coat and a white scarf, cheeks lightly flushed. Kuroko thought that she looked very cute. He discreetly fished out his phone and pressed a couple of buttons—message sent—before tucking it back into his pocket.

"Nah, I'm staying," Aomine declared lazily, turning his head to give his manager a glance, before taking another gulp of his beer. Momoi's cheeks turner redder at this. Kuroko could tell by the deep crease appearing between her brows, that she was getting angry. It was not the first time he had seen her angry; not at Aomine, at least.

"Don't give me that," she said warningly, voice breaking slightly. "You promised you'd walk me home."

"I did?" Aomine's voice was so full of plain disinterest that if Kuroko hadn't known Momoi better, he would have felt sorry for her. As it happened, he knew that she could take care of herself.

Puffing up her cheeks in indignation, the pink-haired girl stalked towards the sofa, a fearsome glint in her normally soft eyes. Half way across the living room however, her angry stride was interrupted by a beeping sound, a happy little tune indicating incoming message. Momoi stopped in her tracks, looking a little confused as she searched her pockets for the source of the noise. She eventually got her phone out. Strands of pink hair fell forward as she stared at the display, frowning.

"Hmmm? What's wrong, Satsuki?" Aomine formed the words languidly, stifling a yawn, while placing the empty beer can on the floor.

"Uhm, that's... later... I'm..." Momoi looked up, and glanced fleetingly between her childhood friend and Kuroko before tucking her phone back into the jacket. Her cheeks had taken on a shade of pink similar to that of her hair. "Someone else is taking me home, so...yeah."

Aomine cocked an eyebrow.

"This doesn't mean it's alright you broke the promise, Dai-chan," Momoi added, voice firmer. "It's just for today, I... You'll have to come shopping with me again, don't you forget it." With that, she whirled around, pausing only briefly to give Kuroko a hug that smelled of cream and cherries, and a mumbled 'see you, Tetsu-kun' into his shoulder, before hurrying out of the house and into the snowy night.

Kagami looked confused, Aomine mildly amused. Kuroko smiled. They were alone. Many things could be said about the fox-eyed captain of Touou, but he certainly came through when it was needed.

"So," Aomine drawled as he rearranged himself so that he was in an almost-sitting position, cross-legged and laid-back, long arms resting along the back of the sofa. "How d'you wanna go about this, Tetsu?"

Not the faintest trace of a slur could be heard in his voice. Either he was just a spectacularly good actor, or the alcohol really did not affect him all that much. What with the opened blazer, the scruffy-looking t-shirt underneath and the unruly state his hair was in, he looked every bit a debauched rock star.

"I get to decide?" Kuroko cocked his head to the side.

"Hmm, yeah? It's your birthday after all, I thought we established this shit earlier."

"Hey, wait—decide what, exactly?" Kagami cut in, looking suspiciously between the two former Teikou players. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Kuroko considered Kagami's knitted brows, the way his large hands clenched the arm rests so hard he could practically hear the sound of wood cracking. The music was still on, pulsing subtly through his body, a distant soft beat, silky words—I'll kiss your mouth, and swallow you whole—and he wanted just that, something fierce. He padded over to his teammate, silently.

"What do you think, Kagami-kun?"

Despite being fairly sure that he was the only one completely sober among them, Kuroko felt positively tipsy on the air alone as he leant in to kiss Kagami's half-parted lips. There was a feverish heat rushing through him at the contact, although he had initiated it, like so often before. He felt a little unsteady. Maybe Kagami would have noticed; had he not been occupied being confused out of his damn mind, assumingly. Kuroko withdrew, dazedly observing his light's guarded expression melting into faint surprise, and a gamut of embarrassment. He looked like he was about to say something, but was unable to form the words needed to convey it.

Aomine tilted his head back and gave a low, rumbling laugh.

"Don't you see it's pointless, Tetsu," he murmured, and everything about him was totally shiver-inducing as he leant forward on his elbows and gave him a hard, come-here stare.

And Kuroko was helpless against that sort of demand. He suspected that Aomine had figured that out about him, but he did not particularly care any longer. After casting Kagami a last look, the phantom player turned to his former light. He inhaled deeply, and took the last steps.

"Let's give this idiot a show, hnn?"

Aomine's blithe suggestion was another dream.