In Shadows
Chapter Thirty-Three
Celebrations

The score was still settling in her brain - 105-106 to Seirin, but she knew they'd won. A scream ripped from Gina's throat and she launched herself from the bench was running on to the court, tears blurring her vision. Soon she was encompassed by her fellow Seirin teammates, all of them cheering and crying. She passed through everyone - she was almost strangled in a tight hug by Izuki, clapped on the back by Hyuga, lifted by Kiyoshi, hugged by everyone; their faces blurred together as they jumped on each other and shouted and laughed and cried, the joy of victory overwhelmed them all. Gina like she could leap over the moon, she was so incredibly happy.

But there were two people that stood out, two people she wanted to see. With a cry she spotted Kuroko and Kagami, shouting their joy to the heavens. She pushed her way over to them and was met by Kagami first; her red-haired best friend pulled her into a bone-crushing hug and she held him back, unable to properly make out what he was yelling as it mixed in with the other shouts of celebration.

And then she found herself facing Kuroko, and more a moment they just stood there and smiled at each other. Then Gina launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck, almost causing the both of them to collapse to the ground. "You did it! You did it!" she screamed at the tops of her lungs, her voice strangled by tears.

Then his arms were around her, holding her tightly back, and tears were in his eyes but he was smiles to the widest, most real smile Gina had ever seen. Their lips met, and Gina didn't care that hundreds of people may be watching them right now; she just cared that she was with Kuroko and they were both elated beyond words. Somehow they spun around, drunk on their euphoria, never wanting this to end, wanting to remain captivated in this moment of pure, true joy for always.

When the separated, they remained close, the smiles still on their faces and cheeks flushed with joy.

And then someone was approaching, and they turned to see Akashi, his red eyes starting to show signs of tears as he held out his hand toward Kuroko.

"It was your - no, your team's win," he said with a smile, his voice shaky with unshed tears. "Congratulations. But prepare yourselves. Next time, we will surely be the victors."

By now all of Seirin had gathered around them, watching the scene unfold. There wasn't even the slightest hesitation as Kuroko stepped forward, his hand clasping that of his former captain, his former teammate.

"Yes," he agreed, the brightest of smiles on his face. "Let's play again. Next time, the time after that..." His other hand reached out and embraced Akashi's, and Gina felt like crying all over again, knowing just how important this was to Kuroko after everything that happened at Teiko, how happy he must be to have his friend back. "Many times over."

They would've stayed there for longer, if they didn't have the presentation to attend. And Gina was standing right there with them when they received gold, everyone wearing a gold medal around their necks, and some of them holding gold trophies. 

When it was time for the photo they huddled together, still smiling so widely like they'd been doing for almost half an hour now. Gina's cheeks were aching but she couldn't care less; all she cared about was this team, their victory, and the happiness they were all drowning in.

It was a moment she wanted to freeze in time and imprint on her memory forever.

She never, ever wanted to forget that day.

*          *          *

Their celebration dampened a little when they returned to the locker room, and Kiyoshi collapsed as his knee gave way. They'd won, but they'd done it at the cost of Kiyoshi; but he'd told them all he had no regrets. Alex entered and suggested that he should try surgery in America, and she could organise something when she returned. It was an offer they were seriously considering.

The rest of the night was more joyous as Riko treated them to eating out - they stayed up late, knowing they had school the next day, but no one cared. At that moment, celebrating was far more important than school. Gina didn't get home until about ten thirty, and after congraulations from her parents, went to bed. Her happiness didn't die down instantly though, and she spent the next hour and a half waiting for sleep to come to her, all the while thinking back to the match with a smile on her face.

The moment she stepped into school the next morning beside Kuroko and Kagami, everyone knew that the basketball team had come first in the Winter Cup.

Everyone was surrounding them, clapping the players in the back, calling their congratulations and laughing with them. This happened more so to Kagami; even as a national champion, Kuroko managed to slip by the attention of most. Gina hung in the background, watching them with a proud smile.

Now that the Winter Cup was over and so were the celebrations, which meant that they had a little more free time on their hands, Gina decided that it would be nice to have a celebration just between herself, Kuroko, and Kagami, her two closest friends on the basketball team. And then she decided that the perfect way to do that would be to have a weekend sleepover at Kagami's.

She'd been thinking about it ever since Kagami first invited them over to his house. With no adult supervision apart from Alex, who was rather laid-back, anyways, and a large apartment all to themselves - it was the perfect opportunity for a sleepover where they could stay up, eat as much as they wanted, and nog have parents breathing down the backs of their necks every ten or so seconds.

Though Gina's parents knew Kagami was only a friend - since they knew she was in a relationship with Kuroko - to say she was sleeping over at his house would have caused some raised eyebrows and an instead denial of her plans. However, they wouldn't have a problem if she said she was staying at Saki's overnight.

She had briefly considered asking Momoi, but had almost instantly dismissed the idea. Asking Momoi to cover for her so she could spend the night with the boy Momoi still liked - the idea made Gina feel sick with guilt for even considering the idea.

So she had rung Saki, and Saki had readily agreed to cover for her. So, as far as Gina's parents were concerned, she would be spending the night at Saki's. They didn't need to know any differently.

Of course, Kuroko had no such problem convincing his parents, much to Gina's annoyance. Still, on the day it was to happen, Gina's parents drove her to Momoi's with her bag packed with overnight gear, and wished her a good time. Gina smiled and waved, but as soon as her parents disappeared, she turned and hopped on the nearest transport that would take her to Kagami's.

"Hey, Kagami!" Gina called, the minute she stepped through his door. "Thanks for having us."

He shrugged. "No problem."

Kuroko was already there, and greeted her with his usual soft smile and embrace. Kagami snorted behind them and muttered something under his breath.

"What should we do?" Gina asked. She dumped her bag on the floor and sat on the couch. Kuroko sat beside her, and she adjusted her position so she lay down, her head resting on his legs. Kagami sat down by the couch, just close enough that Gina could reach out and touch his hair if she wanted.

"I don't know," Kagami admitted.

"A movie, maybe? We could order in pizza."

There was another knock at the door and Gina frowned. They hadn't invited anyone else, had they? Unless it was Alex.

Kagami clambered up from his position on the floor and ran to the door. Gina heard it open.

"Tatsuya!" Kagami greeted brightly.

Tatsuya?

Her eyes widened and she shot up off the couch, and was met with the raven-haired male. Her face slowly spread into a large grin. "You didn't tell us Himuro-kun was coming as well!" she exclaimed

"Ah, sorry," Kagami said, rubbing the back of his head. "I told Kuroko, I must have forgotten you."

"Bakagami," she muttered under her breath. "So you two finally came good, huh? Good. I was worried I'd have to bash your heads together or something."

Himuro chuckled. "Alex probably was thinking something similar. It's good to see you again Gina, Kuroko."

They decided to watch a movie and order a pizza - while they waited for it to arrive, they put on a quick game of Mario Kart. Himuro won easily and Gina, not having played the game for a while, ended up competing with Kagami for second, while Kuroko came last each time. The pizza arrived just in time, for both Kagami and Gina were getting highly competitive and refused to accept the other getting more points than them.

Alex appeared when the pizza arrived, and the five of them ate while sprawled out over the couch or floor (Kagami had three whole boxes to himself), and debated which movie they should watch. Himuro sorted through a few DVDs and he and Alex picked out their favourites. Gina swallowed when she saw them and tentatively voted for the one that looked the least scary. 

And, of course, she was outvoted; they chose a horror movie.

Gina wanted to protest. It was late at night, and they would be going to bed after the movie finished. She didn't fancy going to sleep with nightmares.

Calm down. It's probably some cheesy sort of horror movie that isn't scary at all, and you laugh and roll your eyes at it more than you're actually scared.

But, as per her usual luck, it wasn't. It was terrifying.

Gina watched with eyes widened in horror, and shrank closer and closer to Kuroko the more the movie progressed. Kuroko had an arm around her and, though he expressed no obvious signs of terror, Gina saw fear occasionally flick across his face. Even Kagami looked fearful, though he tried to cover it up since he was next to both Himuro and Alex. Himuro and Alex, of course, were calm throughout the entire movie.

Gina spent the entire time curled into Kuroko and clutching his side, but not even that or chocolate could make her feel better. Fortunately the chocolate was near her, because Kagami was having a right feast with the popcorn on the other side.

When the movie finished, Gina struggled to remember how to breathe. She collapsed into Kuorko and muttered, "Thank goodness that's over." He laughed, but held her back.

"That was good," Himuro hummed, stretching out. 

Gina sat up and glared at the raven-haired male. "I am never, ever forgiving you," she said shakily, pointing a finger at him.

He smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry, Gina." He checked the time on his watch and frowned. "I need to be going off I'm going to make it back before midnight."

"Thanks for coming, Tatsuya."

"No problem."

Alex then approached him and quickly embraced him, and he said goodbye to Kuroko - even Gina relented enough to say goodbye.

Once Himuro had left, it was just the four of them. They stayed up for a little longer just talking, before Kagami yawned and decided he was too tired to stay up too much longer.

They arranged makeshift bedding in the living room for Kuroko and Gina, since Kagami and Alex took up the two bedrooms in the apartment. Gina didn't mind - she loved camping out in the front room with her friends. It brought back a lot of memories.

Once they were done, Kagami looked back at them hesitantly. "You'll be okay, won't you?"

"Yes, Kagami-kun."

"Okay. You sure?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Taiga, come on."

"Alex -"

"Oh, please, you have nothing to worry about," Alex said breezily. She grabbed Kagami by his shirt and dragged him to the back of the apartment. 

"Alex!"

Alex chuckled as the two disappeared. As they walked down the corridor, Gina thought she caught Kagami mutter something about clothes and remembering that Gina and Kuroko were staying with them, to which Alex's response was only an exasperated sigh.

When Gina heard doors closed, she sighed and leaned back, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her stomach was still twisting in knots"I'm still shaken up over that movie."

"So am I," Kuroko admitted. "Is there another movie you can put on?"

"Hopefully. It's not past midnight yet, anyway." As far as she was concerned, the only reasonable time to go to sleep at a sleepover was twelve in the morning, and the later the better - any earlier was just not acceptable. She'd pulled an all-nighter once with her friends in Australia, much to the displeasure of their parents. They'd ended up regretting it later, but it had been fun at the time. 

Gina made her way to the units and began searching through the selection of DVDs Kagami owned. She was doubtful that she'd find a Studio Ghibli film in the mix, but she got her hopes up for at least a calming movie that would allow her to take her mind off the previous movie.

There was no Studio Ghibli, but she did manage to find a movie that looked acceptable. She showed Kuroko, who agreed, and sat down beside him as the movie started. Unfortunately, there was no chocolate or popcorn left to eat.

Maybe it was a good thing there was no food, for Gina's eyelids started drooping about halfway into the film. Her head was on Kuroko's shoulder, and she could feel her eyelids continuing to close shut, and each time it became harder and harder to open them again.

She last remembered thinking, well, it's past midnight, before her eyes closed and she dropped off to sleep.

*          *          *

Gina woke up to the smell of cooking.

She groaned and was about to roll onto her side, when she felt something warm on her left. She blinked her eyes open and rubbed the sleep out of them. Slowly her vision lost its bleary edge and she could see clearly again.

Her cheeks lightly dusted over with colour when she realised she'd woken up, rolled over facing Kuroko. There was minimal distance between their faces caused her to suck in a breath. His eyes were open too, and she wondered how long he had been awake. 

She smiled softly. "Good morning."

He smiled back. "Good morning, Gina."

They stayed still for a little while longer, and then the smell of food made Gina's stomach grumble. She giggled sheepishly and started to get up to see what was cooking. She rubbed her eyes free of sleep and looked back at the kitchen, where Kagami was cooking breakfast - which was pancakes.

"Morning," Gina called mid-yawn. She stretched and plodded over to the kitchen bench, taking her place on the stool.

"That smells nice, Kagami-kun," Kuroko complemented. He took his seat beside her.

"Looks delicious, too," Gina added, taking the plate of food handed to her. The aroma of the pancakes slowly started to wake her up. "Good timing."

Kagami was already eating, his stack of pancakes about as high as Gina's hand, which meant there were at least ten pancakes on there. With a shake of her head, Gina reached out for the butter and maple syrup.

"You really are an amazing cook Kagami," she complimented once she had a few bites. She'd heard stories from the others about Kagami's cooking, but hadn't truly believed them until now. 

He smiled. "Thanks."

They ate in silence, apart from the moment Alex entered the room, her blonde hair messy and dressed in grey track suits and dark blue pull-over shirt. She accepted her pancakes with a smile, her own stack about a high as Kagami's.

Once they finished Gina left the room to get dressed, pulling on her jeans and a cream shirt. When she arrived back, Kagami and Alex were tidying up the room, and Kuroko was helping. He must have gotten dressed quicker than she had. 

"Thank you for letting us stay over, Kagami-kun," Kuroko was saying.

"It's no problem."

Alex stood a little to the side. Gina bit her lip. A question had been growing on her mind since the finals and she wanted to ask Alex about it before they left.

"Hey, Alex, can I ask you something?" Gina asked, walking up to her.

The blonde smiled and adjusted her glasses. "Sure. What's wrong?"

Gina looked down, fiddling with her hands. "Kiyoshi-senpai... do you think he'll recover?"

Kiyoshi would be going into rehab, but Gina had no idea how he'd fare in treatment. If he couldn't play basketball again that would be okay, as long as he was recovered and well again. That was all she wanted. 

Understanding filled the older woman's face, and she rested a hand on Gina's shoulder. "I'm sure he will, Gina. The place I'm thinking of has good medical facilities." She smiled. "He'll be back to see you all soon, I'll bet."

"I hope so..." she mumbled, though she felt a little more hopeful than before.

"Don't worry," Alex said. "He's going to be in good hands. And he can send you updates all the time, I'm sure."

Gina raised her head and smiled, doing her best to swallow back her earlier fear. She guessed she had known that Kiyoshi would be okay, but wanted to be reassured from another party. "Yeah. Thanks, Alex. I needed to hear that."

Alex grinned and glanced up, to where Kuroko was lingering in the doorway and talking to Kagami. "Kuroko's waiting for you. I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah, sure!" Gina waved and joined Kuroko, quickly giving Kagami a hug before she walked back out with Kuroko, hands intertwined. 

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I COULDN'T RESIST ADDING HIMURO LOVE HIM A LOT OKAY AND KAGAHIMU BROMANCE IS MY WEAKNESS I'M WEAK SLAY MEEEE
next chapter should be coming soon! i've prewritten them all, and just need to edit them now, so this should be done by the end of the week - there's only two more chapters and the epilogue to go!