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Kagami remembered having very vivid dreams since he realized what dreams actually were. They were always detailed, coherent, and followed some sort of timeline with the same boy. Kagami didn’t know why he always knew it was a boy considering he could never remember his face or any details about him; he was actually the only blurry subject in the entire scene. But alas, it was a boy he dreamt about and he seemed to be the same age as him.
He remembered watching the boy with his grandfather and how they would catch crayfish together in the summer. He knew the boy was happy when he was with his grandpa because his blurry image seemed to glow bright yellow. Nearly every night when Kagami went to bed he wondered what the boy would do next, his adventures seeming filled with bright yellow happiness and carefree laughter.
One night, the boy’s happiness turned from yellow to white, the sight nearly blinding Kagami’s eyes as he watched. The boy had found something he loved more than anything and it was a simple orange ball. Kagami watched him play every night, watched him win and lose and get more skilled. As he grew older, the image of the boy did as well, his blurriness taking on more of a detailed shape. Kagami knew the boy was tan. Not just tan, but dark skinned, with dark blue hair and a brilliant white smile.
Around the time his dream boy found basketball was the same time that Kagami found Himuro, and his own orange ball. He loved it; the feeling of racing up and down the court, the sound of the ball hitting the ground then the feel of it in his palm. He finally realized why his dream boy glowed white when he was playing; Kagami was sure if someone was having dreams about him, he would be just as bright.
Another change in the boy’s color happened one night when he went from a happy fuzzy yellow to a dull blue. Kagami remembered hearing yelling as the boy sat in his room, a basketball in his hands, his knees pulled up to his chest. He wanted to cry as he watched the boy put his head down on the basketball, his face darkened with the sadness he felt. Kagami had tried to hug him, but as his arms flitted through the dream boy’s body, his eyes snapped open, his dark ceiling the only thing to greet him as he awoke. That was the first night Kagami woke up with tears in his eyes, yet unfortunately it wouldn’t be the last.
The dreams got worse and worse as Kagami went into middle school. His own mother had passed away, his only solace was playing basketball or dreaming of the boy. He felt so alone, even with Himuro around, but when he fell asleep he felt a slight twinge of hope each time. Maybe the boy would be yellow this time, or he would be white and playing ball. He wished for the boy’s happiness more than his own sometimes.
After moving to Japan in his last year of middle school, Kagami had grown quiet. He still played basketball, but he played it alone, no one at his skill level. He went to a beat up forgotten court every time school was out and played until it was too dark to see his hands. It wouldn’t matter where he was when it was dark, he was constantly alone. As his loneliness grew, his heart grew bitter and hard, his face taking on a permanent scowl towards everyone. It didn’t help when he got a huge growth spurt, his head high above everyone else, his body bigger. It just made him feel even more alone, something he didn’t realize was possible.
He didn’t even have his dreams to bring him hope at this point. His dream boy had long turned black, the dark emotion taking over everything, leaving Kagami in the dark as he rested. Kagami remembered the exact moment when it had happened. The boy had been white again, playing on his middle school time, his skill having grown with leaps and bounds. No one could match him on the court, but as he weaved in and out of the players, he was still glowing with happiness. Until the dream slowed down and the boy looked around. The players weren’t trying, instead they were walking to the other side of the court already, no one bothering to defend him. Kagami had cried out when he had finally seen the boy’s face in perfect clarity. His was twisted with pain and confusion, his blue eyes shining with unshed tears. The boy was beautiful even as his heart broke, the picture something Kagami would never forget, his own wrenching sobs waking him up, his pillow soaked from his tears. After that the dream boy had slowly spun into darkness until he was so black that Kagami hadn’t had a dream in over a year. He missed him, his dream boy, and his happy smile. He wished he could find him again, the loss of his face making Kagami’s heart, or rather his soul throb with pain. A vital part of his life was gone, something that he desperately wished he could help restore. But the boy wasn’t real, he was a figment of Kagami’s mind; just a dream boy.
“Kagami-kun, are you ok?”
Looking up at his friend, Kagami blinked quickly a few times, his eyes tired, “Yeah, I just couldn’t sleep last night.”
Kuroko tilted his head in surprise, “We don’t have a game today though. That’s unusual isn’t it?”
“Yeah, usually I can sleep on a normal night.”
The heat of summer filled the silence around them as they walked, people laughing and running around as they headed for Maji burger. Kagami could feel the sweat falling down the back of his neck into his school uniform. Maybe he would get a shake today like his friend. The cold might help clear his mind.
As they both sat, Kagami with a mountain of burgers and a shake, Kuroko with only the latter, the silence once again surrounded them. Kagami knew he was normally more talkative than this, but as he bit into one burger after another he couldn’t help but think of his dream from the night before. It had been black, as always, but near the end he could have sworn he saw a spark of red. The red had been dark red, very similar to his own hair color, and the spark had been moving, back and forth at a fast pace. If Kagami had to guess he would have thought it looked like his own hair when he was at the courts, but why would he have a dream about himself?
“Kagami-kun, are you listening?”
Kagami looked up, “Ahh sorry Kuroko. I’m just sort of…out of it. I think I’m gonna go home and try to sleep or something.”
With an understanding nod from his friend, Kagami dumped his wrappers and headed out the door, his feet taking him to his apartment automatically. Flopping down on his couch, he stared at the ceiling, the cool air hitting his skin, the hum of the air conditioner the only sound. Why would he dream of himself? Or was the spark in his dream something else? Maybe his dream boy felt anger about something. Red was the color for anger or passion. Maybe it was passion, towards someone? Kagami groaned and sat up, his head in his hands. He really didn’t think about the boy in his dream being in love, or having a relationship. He selfishly had thought that the boy would just go on being happy with just Kagami by his side, even if the boy had no idea who Kagami was. But they were sixteen now, him and the boy, but all his dreams had been black. Either the boy hadn’t had sex, like Kagami, or he had, and it hadn’t been very important to him. But the idea of the boy in his dreams falling in love…that made Kagami rub his chest hard, an ache building up inside of him.
“Ugh enough!”
Smacking his face hard with both hands, Kagami stood and headed to his room, changing into a pair of old jeans and a possibly dirty shirt. It didn’t matter to him as he grabbed his basketball and shoes; he was going to get all sweaty anyways.
The walk to the nearby court took no time at all and Kagami sighed with happiness to see it empty. This court had a lot of memories for him as he dribbled the ball lazily. He had his first “one on one” with Kuroko here, although it was more like “him watching his friend miss every single shot in history.” It was a far cry from what this court used to be for him before high school. He came here to play alone, mostly in silence and simmering anger. He couldn’t remember why he had been so angry, but as he dribbled the ball harder, stopping to take a jump shot, he smiled knowing he wasn’t like that anymore.
Playing a bit more, the feel of his muscles working making his mind go pleasantly numb, Kagami ran and dunked the ball with ease, dropping to the ground and looking to where his constant companion had rolled.
“Hey, this yours?”
“Ahh yeah, thanks,” holding his hands out, he waited for the stranger to pass it to him.
The stranger instead started spinning the ball on his finger, his eyes lazy as he studied Kagami. The feeling of the stare caused Kagami to inwardly squirm, his heart beating quickly for some reason. He didn’t like the way the stranger made him feel. It felt too close, too personal, too…familiar for some reason. Scowling, Kagami motioned for his ball. The stranger simply smirked.
“So you’re the one that plays with Tetsu.”
The mention of his short friend instantly had Kagami on alert. Was this one of Kuroko’s former teammates? The idea of this guy being a member of the Miracles had Kagami lowering his hands, his blood boiling as it always did around one of them. The boy started walking forward, dribbling the ball just as lazily, if not more, than Kagami had started out doing.
“Who are you?”
Kagami needed to know. Not just because the strange boy was a potential opponent, but because his entire body felt pulled to him.
“Aomine Daiki.”
His entire being subtly jerked as if shocked, his eyes getting wider. Aomine was one of the miracles, their next opponent in fact, but his name seemed to echo in Kagami’s mind. Aomine Daiki. Aomine Daiki. Aomine Daiki. He kept chanting it in his mind, his mouth shut as they stared at one another. Aomine seemed to be sizing him up, his lazy eyes calculating. Kagami could feel the energy emitting off of him, his body lowering into a defensive position without him meaning too. This caused Aomine to smirk slightly.
“Ehhh not bad. But you won’t beat me and you will only bring Tetsu down.”
The insult and challenge had Kagami scowling and snapping, “What the fuck did you say?”
Aomine’s grin faded, his whole body slumping down for a second before shooting forward. Kagami tried to move with him, but Aomine was darting around him before he had a chance to twitch a single muscle, his deep voice next to Kagami’s ear.
“I said you can’t beat me, Kagami Taiga. Your light is too dim.”
Kagami walked home in frustration. Aomine had left him after sinking the basket easily, not bothering to look back or acknowledge him, something that made him grit his teeth in irritation. Everything about the other boy irritated him. He was too cocky and had an ego bigger than Japan, two things Kagami loathed in people. Plus there was this constant pull on his body to go towards Aomine, the feeling in complete contrast with the rest of him. Growling at nothing, he stomped up the stairs and angrily entered his apartment.
“Your light is too dim. Who the fuck does he think he is, some sort of damn color fortune teller? Cocky asshole.”
He mumbled to himself the rest of the evening, his irritation and annoyance with Aomine never leaving, even as he crawled into bed, his eyes only closing as exhaustion took over.
That night he dreamt of more red, this time the color was more intense. The outline of another person had become clearer. Whoever his dream boy had met today had left some sort of impression.
For the next few months the dreams varied slightly. The red stayed the same until they faced Aomine in the official match. Kagami had been overwhelmed by the ace’s skill. He had stopped them completely, almost with no effort. The dreams after that consistently faded back into black, the red disappearing. Kagami had wondered about his dream boy and Aomine. They were very similar, the subject constantly on his mind, especially as he rested his legs for an entire week. Both of them were dark skinned, with blue hair and eyes. The boy in his dream had been younger the last time Kagami had seen him, his face softer than Aomine’s, his eyes still had some light in them. Aomine’s eyes were dark, almost as if a blackness had overtaken the blue in them. Frowning, Kagami continued to mull over the two boys. He hated that Aomine was constantly on his mind, but as he trained for the Winter cup, the feeling of the boys being the same kept growing stronger. But that was ridiculous; he had created his dream boy when he was a kid. He hadn’t even known Aomine had existed at that point. It was impossible.
Of course, one conversation with Kuroko changed his mind, as it always seemed too. It had been after their run on the beach at training camp, Kagami realizing what he needed to work on to beat Aomine and the rest of the Miracles. Kuroko had needed to stop and rest, both boys panting as they looked at the ocean.
“Kagami-kun, do you dream?”
The suddenness of the question had Kagami turning his head to look at his friend, his eyes wary.
“Yeah. Sometimes. I used to a lot. Why?”
Kuroko sat in the sand, his knees going up to rest on his arms, Kagami doing the same as he plopped down.
“I dream about a boy. The same boy since I was little. It was a different dream every night, but always with the same boy.”
Kagami was staring at his friend now, his eyes wide, his mouth shut.
“The boy was always happy on the outside with people. He was very pretty, everyone adoring him. But he felt really empty inside. I only know because I saw his emotions, like colors, around him. He was always fuzzy, his face I mean, until he joined our basketball team in middle school.”
“Who?”
Kuroko put his head on his hands, his knees against his chest now, “Kise-kun. It was Kise-kun I was dreaming of. That night, after meeting him, the dreams burst into a bright, yet faded blue. It was like me, as if I was watching Kise-kun think of me. Then I started seeing myself in his dreams, and all of a sudden I was Kise-kun in the dream. I could feel his emotions and hear his thoughts as he watched me. I guess that’s why I was so detached from him during the day: I was listening to him talk all night. It got to be tiring.”
The deadpanned look on his friend’s face made Kagami snort in amusement. He could only imagine what it was like to have Kise’s voice in your head all night. It was a wonder his friend got any rest.
“Then the day came that we all separated and went to different high schools. The dreams had a fuzzy blue around them still but they started to turn black, a sadness coming over Kise-kun. They changed again so that I was watching Kise-kun every night. I watched him play basketball with his new team, and become overly happy when they accepted him. I saw his admiration for his captain. I even remember waking up one morning feeling overwhelmingly jealous of Kasamatsu-san. Even though I had only met him the one time, I had no reason to feel that way, except I did. I didn’t want anyone else being the focus of Kise-kun’s day accept me, so I started texting him. It was selfish, but I wanted to see him be happy with me again. I began to crave the way he smiled at me, not just in my dreams, but during the day. I haven't told you Kagami-kun, but I meet up with Kise-kun almost every day now. We study or go eat or simply hang out at my house. A few weeks ago he told me about his dreams.”
Kuroko looked over at Kagami, his round blue eyes intense as he stared at him before continuing.
“He dreamt of me too, Kagami-kun. All his life. We talked about it for hours, both of us slightly embarrassed, but then we got suspicious and did some research. There is an ancient myth that soulmates will dream of each other before meeting. Apparently people used to use their dreams to find the other person, looking for landmarks or people in the dreams to search them out. They dream of their soulmates important memories and can see their emotions.”
Kagami stared at his friend for a long moment, his mind reeling with this information. He wasn’t sure if what Kuroko had found on the ancient myth was true, but it couldn’t be a coincidence that Kuroko, Kise, and he had been going through the same things. An image of Aomine drifted through his mind, his chin resting on his knees as he turned to stare at the ocean.
“Kagami-kun, what do you dream of?”
It took a long moment for him to answer, emotions bubbling and spreading through his body. His voice cracked slightly as he started to talk. Taking another moment to clear it, he tried again, his eyes glued to the wavering water.
“I dream of darkness. Of an overwhelming sadness and anger and regret. I used to dream of a boy, like you and Kise. He was beautiful and happy. He made my nights wonderful when I slept. I loved watching his adventures. Until we both hit middle school. Then the black overcame him. That’s all I’ve seen since. Well…that was until I met Aomine. Then I saw sparks or flashes of red. But now it’s gone again. All I see is black.”
Kagami’s voice trailed off at the end, the slight breeze ruffling his hair as he thought of Aomine. What if he was his soulmate? What could he do to take that darkness away from Aomine?
“Kagami-kun, you have to beat him.”
Looking to his friend with an eyebrow cocked, Kagami snorted, “Yeah, I know Kuroko. We have to win, I’m working on it.”
“No, not us, the team, but you. You have to beat Aomine-kun. You said you saw flashes of red when he met you. That sounds like hope to me. If you beat Aomine-kun, I bet the black will go away.”
The hope and determination on his best friend’s face had Kagami grinning, “You think so?”
With a nod, Kuroko stood, brushing sand off his pants and offering a hand to Kagami, “Yes I do.”
Grinning wide, Kagami jumped up, “Then let’s get back to training!”
He laughed as he heard a slight groan behind him, both boys starting to jog back down the beach.
Grabbing his friend’s arm and hauling it over his shoulders, Kagami panted in exhaustion as he stared at Aomine’s stunned face, his heart throbbing again at the sight. It was almost the same face that he remembered from his dreams, when Aomine was younger.
“I lost,” Aomine mumbled.
Kagami wanted to throw his arms around the boy in front of him, but instead he rolled his eyes and spoke clearly, getting Aomine’s attention.
“It isn’t the end. I’ll take you on whenever you want.”
Aomine smiled softly, his voice matching it, “In your dreams baka.”
Sighing, Kagami turned with Kuroko and mumbled, “I hope so.”
Together they walked to the lineup and bowed, his feet carrying him away from Aomine even as his body screamed to return.
That night his dream was fire. The red consumed him as he watched a replay of his match with Aomine. He got to study Aomine’s face this time more in depth, the smile and happy emotions written out over the tanned face had Kagami burning white with delight. When he awoke, his body felt sore from the game but well rested. He grinned at the ceiling as he thought of Aomine, his soulmate apparently. Wondering what was in store for them now, Kagami happily jumped out of bed.
“Kagami, make me burgers tonight.”
An arm slinging over his shoulders and a lazy drawl next to his left cheek had him jerking in surprise, pushing Aomine away as he glared.
“Why the fuck are you here Aomine?!”
The other boy didn’t have a chance to respond as a flash of yellow flew past them, both their heads turning to see Kise latched onto Kuroko, his face practically splitting in half from his large smile.
“Kurokocchi, congratulations on winning the championship!”
Kuroko smiled, something he only ever did towards Kise, “Thank you Kise-kun, although you told me last night as well.”
Kise pulled back and leaned down to kiss his boyfriend’s lips, murmuring against them softly in a husky voice, “I didn’t think you wanted me to say that out loud though Kurokocchi. How bold of you.”
Kagami and Aomine winced at the jab that hit Kise’s side, the blonde doubling over in pain as Kuroko walked away, leaving all three of them behind. Kise was calling for his boyfriend as Kagami and Aomine eyed each other warily.
“So umm…burgers?” Aomine scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he waited for Kagami’s answer.
Rolling his eyes, Kagami walked past him towards the store, “You have to pay for the meat, Aho.”
As they argued about who was paying, they vaguely heard Kise crying behind them as he hobbled after Kuroko.
An hour later Kagami led Aomine into his apartment, opening the door wide as the other boy carried in the groceries. They had agreed that Kagami would pay but Aomine had to carry them back, something he did reluctantly and with a lot of complaining. Dropping them onto the counter, Aomine flopped down at the kitchen table.
“Fuck that’s a lot of meat.”
Pulling his apron over his head, Kagami snorted, “You wanted a lot of burgers. That requires meat.”
“Yeah, yeah I know.”
The silence that came next wasn’t new; it had been happening constantly since they had started hanging out. Kagami knew that Aomine was the boy in his dreams, but he didn’t mention it. He had started dreaming as if he was Aomine, as Kuroko had mentioned had happened to him, and his dreams were full of their interactions. He felt Aomine’s emotions towards him every night, and if it did go both ways, he was sure the other boy knew how he felt as well. Yet they never brought it up. Kagami was slightly embarrassed, and a bit irritated that he seemed to be the only one thinking about it. Aomine never seemed bothered, but he never failed to show up at Kagami’s door or to text him every day, something Kagami relived every night with Aomine’s thoughts added in. Packing the meat in his hands, Kagami wondered if they ever were going to get to the point that Kise and Kuroko were at: happy as a couple.
“Hey Kagami, don’t forget the Teriyaki.”
Glaring at the boy lounging at his table, Kagami nearly chucked the sauce at Aomine’s head, “Yeah, I know how to make the burgers the way you like Aho, so shut the fuck up and stop annoying me.”
A deep hum filled the air, “Hmm I guess you do know how I like them.”
His hands stopped moving for a moment as he glanced at Aomine, who was in turn studying him.
“What’s that mean?”
Aomine shrugged, “Nothing. I just was thinking that it was nice you know how I like my food.”
They stared at each other for a moment, Kagami’s heart pounding in his throat as he watched Aomine’s eyes get intense, the blue practically glowing.
“Is there anything else you know about me, Kagami?”
There it was, the opening that Kagami needed. As he set the food down, he turned away from Aomine and rinsed his hands, drying them on a towel before gripping the counter tight. He could say it. He could tell Aomine every single thing he knew about him. He could reveal how much he knew about the boy at his table and how he felt about him, but what if it wasn’t real? What if it was all coincidence and Aomine would think he was crazy? He had a good relationship with Aomine at this point, a very strong friendship. Did he want to risk that for the possibility of taking it a step further? An image of Kuroko looking at Kise when the blonde was laughing hit Kagami hard. The love in his friend’s eyes had been so apparent to everyone around him, but the shorter boy hadn’t seen anyone but Kise. Kagami remembered when Kise had glanced over at his boyfriend, their eyes meeting and holding, the rest of the world disappearing for them.
His voice was soft as he spoke down to the counter, his pulse thrumming in his ears, “You love catching crayfish. You loved your grandfather more than anyone and you miss him every day. When it’s hot out you imagine being with him like you were when you were little. You like teriyaki burgers so much because your dad used to take you to a small burger shack every weekend that specialized in them. When you eat them you remember how happy your parents were before they divorced. You love Momoi more than anyone in your family and still remember her crying when she was bullied. You remember the feel of the bully’s nose when you punched him and how you had to give her a piggyback ride home to make her happy. She nags at you, but you would be devastated if she left as if you were losing the sister you never had. You wish you could give your mother a better life, and that she would smile again like she used too. You miss her happy smile. You love basketball more than anything and it makes your hands shake when you play against someone strong. You are addicted to that feeling and you were at the highest when we played our second match together. You think about it all the time. And…”
Kagami looked up for the first time since starting, looking into Aomine’s shining blue eyes as he whispered the last part.
“And you dream about me every night. You crave seeing my smile and my eyes light up with happiness. You love me, just as much as I love you.”
The silence roared in his ears as he stared at Aomine, his teeth biting his lower lip as soon as it started quivering with emotion. He gripped the counter tight as he watched Aomine stand up and walk towards him, the boy standing chest to chest with him, using his extra two centimeters to look down at him. It wasn’t until he felt a warm hand covering his that he let himself inhale sharply.
Aomine’s voice was kinder than he had ever heard, “You forgot something.”
Eyebrows furrowing down, Kagami cocked his head slightly in question, not trusting his voice at this point. Aomine’s other hand came up to stroke his cheek gently as he continued.
“You forgot how much I wish I could hold you in my arms, or how many times I've tried to do that in my dreams. You forgot how much I want to be next to you, to be the reason you smile so brightly, to be inseparable from you. You forgot how much I crave to kiss you, to make you moan, to make you addicted to my touch.”
He didn’t remember moving, but his arms were around Aomine’s neck in the next instant, strong arms around his back as they held each other. The first touch of Aomine’s lips to his and Kagami’s head was spinning. The second, more firm press of their lips together and he forgot who he was, dark blue lights flashing behind his closed eyelids as he melted against Aomine. Their lips moved and brushed together, their tongues teasing until they had to separate for air. Even then, they held each other tight, not wanting to separate even an inch. Aomine grinned as he rubbed his forehead against Kagami’s, the smile making the redhead’s heart stutter.
“I haven’t seen that smile in so long.”
Aomine simply smiled more, “I know. I’m sorry it took me so long to find you, dream boy.”
Kagami laughed as he leaned back in to kiss the boy he loved, the boy that had been with him his entire life. As he lost himself in Aomine’s arms over and over, he vaguely wondered how bright his dreams were going to be that night.