It happened after Touou had lost to Seirin during the Winter Cup. Still slightly out of it, Aomine somehow made it home, also ensuring that Satsuki didn't follow him because he really did need to be alone at a time like this.

He showered, ate, and crawled into bed, just realizing then how utterly and completely exhausted he was. And then he happened to grin. Because it was a good kind of exhaustion. An exhaustion that meant that after so long he had finally played the kind of basketball he wanted to play. A game where he had no idea whether he was going to win or lose, where he had to give it his absolute all.

Then he realized he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, key moments of the game flashed before his eyes. Key moments mostly involving Kagami Taiga.

And then some not so key moments involving Kagami Taiga. Like the sight of Kagami's toned thighs when his shorts rode up briefly during a jump. Or his ragged breaths as he attempted to block every one of Aomine's shots. Or how he could see every bead of sweat, every last detail on Kagami's face when the Seirin ace leaned close to him to attempt to intimidate him.

Of course it happened; it was a given. Aomine had been looking for this person for god knows how long. His match; a rival with whom he could go all out.

And then Aomine stupidly grinned into his pillow for the rest of the night when he realized that he was, in fact, in love with Kagami Taiga. With Bakagami.

The next day, Aomine skulked around the venue for the Winter Cup, hoping he would somehow run into Kagami. After aimlessly walking around for 15 minutes, he suddenly realized that he was Aomine fucking Daiki. He wasn't the type to wait around and hoped something happened. Because he could do whatever the fuck he wanted to do.

So Aomine walked into the Seirin changing room, hoping that only Kagami was there, but of course, luck was never on his side and he caught the team in the middle of an encouraging pep talk by their coach.

"Uhhhh, is now a bad time, because I can come back later…" he said awkwardly, a slight flush beginning to creep up his tanned cheeks.

"I've just finished, Aomine-kun, what did you need?" their coach asked pleasantly. Aomine looked around and saw the rest of the team looking at him as if for sure he had just walked into the wrong locker room. Besides their number 7, Kyoshi Teppei who looked so completely pleased. Like always.

"No, I just uh. Needed Kagami. I mean. Can I borrow Kagami for a second. To talk to him. About something. Basketball tips. Yeah, that. Basketball tips," he decided, nodding. He looked up to an even more bewildered audience. Except Kiyoshi who looked even more pleased and, his stupid grin seemed to have rubbed off on Kuroko as well, because he saw the formations of a sly smile on the shadow's face.

"Sure," Kagami agreed, walking towards Aomine, as if Touou's ace had made perfect coherent sense only moments previously. And for that, Aomine was utterly glad that Kagami was a complete idiot. "Our game isn't until the late afternoon, right coach? So I'll be back soon." He left the room before Aomine.

"Uh, thanks," he said, bowing slightly while glaring at Kuroko as if to say It's not what you think, Tetsu, so keep that gross smile off of your face. But of course Kuroko knew what it was, and Aomine knew that. But still, Kuroko had no right to make assumptions like that.

"So what's up?" asked Kagami as the two started to walk.

"Great game yesterday, wasn't it? I still can't get it out of my system?" Aomine babbled, looking away from Kagami. "I mean I lost of course, which sucked but…you know."

Kagami's face broke out into a wide grin. "It was amazing. You are amazing, Aomine. I've been thinking about it all of yesterday. But you are honestly the best basketball player I've ever seen. I mean your style is so…perfect, it suits you so perfectly, you know?..." Kagami continued to talk about yesterday's game, about different play formations, and what could have happened, but Aomine had completely zoned him out after his second sentence.

"I think you're amazing, too," Aomine blurted out, interrupting Kagami. He stopped in his tracks. "Like, really amazing."

"Oh. Thanks," he said, grinning his stupid grin again. Aomine melted slightly.

Aomine tried to keep his mouth shut, but he realized there was no going back now. "I didn't like you at first because you were all, oh I'm gonna defeat the Generation of Miracles, but you were so stupidly weak and it made me angry because I thought I had finally found my rival. But then yesterday, you were like…your game was perfect, every last bit of it. It was all I could do to not stand there and stare at you while you played, because you're so unbelievably sexy, do you know that Kagami? No, of course you don't know that. Or maybe you do, and you were trying to seduce me to win the game! Were you trying to seduce me Kagami?" Aomine demanded, staring at the redhead.

"Wait, what? Was I trying to what you? You have some nerve asking me that, when I should be the one… Wait, did you just call me sexy?"

"When you should be the one what?" Aomine asked, refusing to answer Kagami's question.

"When I should be the one asking you if you were trying to seduce me! I mean you obviously know you're sexy; you're practically going around screaming that you're hot stuff." Kagami poked Aomine's chest. "But joke's on you, it didn't work! I still won despite your sexiness."

Aomine blinked. "Wait, did you just call me sexy?" he asked, repeating the same question Kagami had asked earlier.

"Yeah, I did. I mean, I suppose there's no use hiding it." Kagami shrugged. "It's not like you rejecting me will affect anything, we're not even really friends. But yeah. I mean what I said. You're sexy, and you're perfect. I love the way you play basketball. I love the way you love basketball." It was Kagami's turn to babble. He looked away from Aomine, his neck turning red. "I love the way your breathing sounds after a game, how you so effortlessly make every shot. Well besides the ones I block of course. How you were grinning as we played yesterday. You look a lot better smiling you know. When you're not making that pissed look. Yeah. I kind of love you, Aomine."

Aomine stared at Kagami. "N-No! This was supposed to be my confession, and you just stole it! Bakagami!" he spluttered, turning red.

"Your confession? You mean you're not rejecting me?" Kagami asked, completely poleaxed.

Aomine leaned close to Kagami, opening his eyes wide. "See my eyes? I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Do you know why? Because I frigging fell in love with you during the game and couldn't stop thinking about you all night. And you have the audacity to just steal my confession? No, Kagami. I love you. And I think we're absolutely perfect for each other so we should go out." Aomine crossed his arms. So there.

Kagami grinned and immediately pecked Aomine on his lips. "Sounds good to me."

If it was possible for Aomine's face to get any more red, it just did. "First you steal my confession, and then you make my first kiss that lame? I've had it up to here with you already and we've been going out a grand total of 30 seconds."

Kagami looked slightly hurt, and pouted at Aomine.

Aomine gulped. Okay, I didn't want to do this where everyone could see but…ugh. Bakagami. He pushed Kagami against the walls, a devilish gleam in his eyes. He pressed his lips to Kagami's slowly, just relishing in the feel of the other boy's chapped lips before coaxing Kagami's lips open with his tongue. And then there was no going back.

He kissed Kagami hungrily. God he tastes so good. Their breaths were ragged, not unlike they had been during their game the previous day. Aomine didn't know where to put his hands. On Kagami's shoulders? His waist? He eventually settled for burying them in the ace's hair, that soft red hair he loved so much.

Kagami, meanwhile, had his arms slung around Aomine's waist, his hands threatening to creep up his shirt at any moment now. And Aomine wanted it. God, he wanted it. Wanted him. Kagami.

"I think Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun are dating now," Kuroko announced to the rest of the Seirin team. His reconnaissance mission had been a success. "But I would appreciate it if you didn't use my abilities like that."