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From the moment Kuroko had discovered basketball, he had loved it. He had been endlessly fascinated by the plays, the agility, the athleticism, and the flexibility of the players. He had wanted to be just like them. Playing with Ogiwara-kun had only cemented his decision, and he had enrolled into Teiko Middle School with the intention of playing along with people like his friend. He had known that he would get to meet a lot of great players, since Teiko’s basketball team was incredibly strong, but he hadn’t known how great they would be until he met Aomine-kun.
We met on the first day of fall…
…after we began attending Teiko middle school
Aomine-kun was the only person Kuroko had ever met who had believed in him from the moment they had first met. He didn’t care about the fact that Kuroko was on the third string while he himself was on the first string. It didn’t matter to him how badly Kuroko played, he wanted to practice with Kuroko.
Kuroko thought that Aomine-kun was amazing and was inspired by his play, but Aomine-kun thought that Kuroko was even more amazing than he was. When all else failed, when everyone else doubted him and didn’t think he deserved to play basketball, including Kuroko himself, it was Aomine-kun who stood by his side and told him not to quit. He fought for Kuroko and had faith that he would fit right into the first string.
Kuroko had realised after practicing with Aomine-kun every day, that if there was one thing he loved even more than basketball, it was playing basketball with Aomine-kun. After all, even if they had nothing else in common, the one thing that tethered them so strongly and pulled them towards each other, was their love for basketball. As long as they had basketball in their lives, they would have each other. Kuroko never doubted that.
The first time we stood together on the court…
…it was the end of winter
It was one of those days after they had just finished playing a grueling match. Everyone else had gone home, so it was just the two of them walking along the street leading to Maji Burger. Kuroko was craving his favourite vanilla shake, and he knew that Aomine-kun was looking forward to having his favourite burger, too, along with a drink. Aomine-kun was always in the mood to have a double meat burger at Maji’s after a match (be it an official or a practice match), and Kuroko knew him well enough to wordlessly lead them there. There was also an unspoken understanding between them to always walk home together since their houses were in the same direction.
As they sat down at an empty table with their orders, Kuroko noticed a contemplative look on Aomine-kun’s face. He thought about whether he should wait for Aomine-kun to talk about it, or address it himself.
“Tetsu,” Aomine-kun said. Ah, so it was going to be the former, then. That was good. “Do you really think that basketball is the only thing we have in common?”
Kuroko frowned slightly in response. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t thought about the question himself. The truth was that he enjoyed spending time with Aomine-kun, and not just when they played basketball together, but during moments like these too, moments when all they did was walk home together or come to Maji’s to have a quick dinner.
Still, Kuroko had to admit that basketball was the only thing they had in common, that even when they weren’t playing basketball together or with the team, the only thing they spoke about was basketball.
“Yes, I do,” Kuroko replied to Aomine-kun’s question. Aomine-kun blinked in surprise, his eyes widening a little. Maybe he hadn’t been expecting that response, or had wanted reassurance that it wasn’t all they had in common, but Kuroko would never lie to him like that. The smile on Aomine-kun’s lips wavered and he pressed them into a thin line. “But I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, Aomine-kun. It’s like you always say, we cannot agree on anything else, but we play basketball so well together, which is why I’m never worried. As long as we love basketball, we will always have something in common and we will always be friends. I don’t think that will ever change.”
Aomine-kun’s face brightened at Kuroko’s word and he laughed. “You’re absolutely right, Tetsu. Since when did you become so wise?” He leaned over to pat Kuroko’s head and ruffle his hair in the process.
Kuroko made a face at Aomine-kun. “I am not that wise. Aomine-kun is just very dumb.”
“What did you just call me?!”
Kuroko ducked his head and involuntarily smiled. He thought about the way that he felt playing basketball with the first-string members as a team, passing to them in the matches, and how that was exactly how he felt about Aomine-kun. After all, he was Aomine-kun’s shadow, and the brighter the light shone, the darker his shadow would become.
It was later, much later, that Kuroko realised the gravity of Aomine-kun’s question and that moment. Although neither of them had probably realised it at the time, Kuroko realised now why it had mattered so much for them to have something other than basketball in common. Because when Aomine-kun began distancing himself, not interested in practicing anymore, or playing basketball with Kuroko anymore, and Kuroko slowly began to lose his love for the sport, slowly began hating it, he realised that he had nothing. They had nothing in common anymore, him and Aomine-kun, and where did that leave them? Where did that leave their friendship?
It didn’t take long after that for Kuroko to understand—sometime after Aomine-kun and Kuroko went their separate ways—that for Kuroko, Aomine-kun was more important than basketball, that if there was anything he loved more than playing basketball, it was spending time with Aomine-kun. He just wished that he could have made the efforts to have something else in common with Aomine-kun. Something other than basketball.
Aomine pushed his hands deeper into his coat pockets to keep them warm. He hadn’t bothered to grab his gloves on his way out of the house, especially after Satsuki had reminded him of it. He was petty like that. He wondered why Tetsu wanted to meet him this time, though. It had only been a week since he had beaten Akashi and his team, and Seirin had won the Winter Cup. Aomine had even sent Tetsu a text to congratulate him, which Satsuki had approved of, after dreamily sighing and talking about how ‘Tetsu-kun’ was the best.
In fact, she had insisted on calling him and loudly congratulating him through the phone, and Tetsu’s only response had been, “Momoi-san, you’re too loud,” and “thank you.” Aomine had snickered at her expressions and had received a sharp elbow to the ribs from Satsuki in return.
Tetsu had responded to Aomine’s text almost immediately, and they had ended their conversation with the promise of Tetsu buying Aomine his favourite burger and a drink of his choice from Maji’s.
Aomine exhaled and shivered against the cold. Tetsu must have called to learn a new basketball technique from him, or to practice a recently learned technique against him. After all, what else could he possibly call Aomine out for? Basketball was the only thing they had in common. Despite everything that they had been through, Aomine was sure that this one thing hadn’t changed.
A gust of wind blew against him and he brought his hands close to his mouth, rubbing them together and letting his breath warm them up.
“Aomine-kun.” Aomine turned sharply in the direction of the voice to discover Tetsu standing in front of him. He, too, was wearing a thick coat, and his hair was a mess as usual. Aomine tried to resist the urge to smile, or do something stupid like reach out and ruffle his hair. “Hello,” Tetsu smiled softly at him. Aomine suddenly felt all warm inside.
He huffed out a breath. “Why did you call me out here, Tetsu?”
Tetsu tilted his head slightly in a way that made Aomine feel so many emotions that he had to deepen his frown just to keep them in. “I wanted to show you something.”
“Well, what is it?” Aomine asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked expectantly at Tetsu. He didn’t see a basketball anywhere, which was odd because Tetsu always carried a basketball with him. How was Aomine supposed to teach Tetsu or play with him when he wasn’t even carrying his own basketball? Would they have to go back to his house to retrieve it?
“Follow me,” Tetsu said, and Aomine sighed but trailed behind Tetsu to go wherever he was taking him. Hopefully, the basketball court they were going to would provide them with a basketball, or they could borrow one from someone there.
Aomine looked around, distractedly, as they entered an area that felt familiar to him. He tried and failed to figure out where they were, where Tetsu was leading him and why. They walked in complete silence until Tetsu stopped abruptly, making Aomine bump into him. “Oiii, Tet-”
“Aomine-kun,” Tetsu interrupted, and Aomine stepped back, blinking at the change in Tetsu’s voice. “Do you remember this place?” Aomine turned in the direction of Tetsu’s gaze and realised where they were. It was the park that they had sat at on the day that they had first met. An ache that Aomine hadn’t tried to acknowledge, resurfaced in his chest, and his throat became dry.
How can you forgive me so easily, Tetsu, when I am yet to forgive myself.
“Would you like to go inside?” Tetsu asked, pointing at the gate that led to the park. Aomine nodded, not being able to utter any words in that moment.
They walked inside and Aomine watched Tetsu sit on one of those animals that little kids usually climbed on top of. Tetsu turned to look at him expectantly, and Aomine obediently sat down next to him. It was already late in the evening and the park was completely empty. Aomine didn’t think him and Tetsu had ever seen a single child play in the park, but it didn’t matter, that was not why they were there. So, Aomine waited for Tetsu to speak up.
He saw Tetsu letting out a deep breath as he opened his mouth. “Aomine-kun, do you remember when you asked me that question a long time ago? About whether basketball was all we had in common?” Aomine tensed up at the memory that flooded his mind, because yes, of course he remembered. How could he ever forget? “Do you remember what I said to you back then?” Aomine glanced over at Tetsu and realised that he was looking back at him.
Their eyes lingered on each other for a moment and the silence between them grew before Tetsu continued. “Well, I lied.” He looked away. “Basketball isn’t the only thing we have in common. It never was.”
Aomine shook his head and jumped down from the animal, turning to face Tetsu. “What are you talking about, Tetsu? You were right.”
“No, Aomine-kun. I was wrong!” Aomine watched Tetsu’s eyes shine brightly in the moonlight. They shone almost as brightly as they did when he played basketball. Aomine’s heart flipped in his chest. “We have a lot more things in common than just basketball. We both used to love eating and hanging out at Maji Burger.” Aomine scoffed at that because Tetsu never used to eat anything at Maji’s, Aomine would always have to shove food down the kid’s throat forcefully, like a second mom. “We always used to walk home together, and we used to hang out with the rest of the team at the convenience store and eat popsicles.”
“You always used to get the stick with ‘winner’ written on it,” Aomine added, the side of his lips turning upwards. “Satsuki used to get so happy when you used to give her those sticks. She still has them, you know.” When he got no response, Aomine looked up from the sand that he was kicking and saw Tetsu looking at him in a way that made butterflies appear in his stomach. “I- I mean,” Aomine cleared his throat, “even when we did all of those things, it was because we played basketball together, and we were on the basketball team together. It was all we ever talked about.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Tetsu spoke quietly. He got up and sat down in the sand. Aomine sat down next to him without hesitating. “Remember that time when you were so upset that your mom had accidentally thrown out your basketball shoes? Or that time when your parents sat you down and tried to convince you to leave basketball so that you could have more time to concentrate on your studies? You were so angry about it back then that we had to sit at the bus stop outside of our school and talk about it until you calmed down.
And what about the time when I told you about how sad I was that my parents didn’t come to the Nationals to see our games because they forgot? You comforted me and told me that you would never forget me. Remember that? We talked about our families, our worries, our school, our teachers, everything that ever mattered to us. We were real friends, Aomine-kun. You were my best friend.”
Tears fell from Aomine’s eyes as he looked down at his shoes. He roughly wiped them away, but more appeared in their place, blurring his vision. Damn Tetsu and his stupid ability to render Aomine speechless. He was the only one who could beat Aomine, after all. He was the only one allowed to beat him.
“Aomine-kun?”
Aomine could hear the sand shifting as a second pair of shoes appeared in his vision. They were familiar basketball shoes. Had Tetsu still not bought a new pair of shoes? Maybe he should ask Satsuki to take Tetsu shoe shopping with her. The image of Satsuki latching onto Tetsu’s arm and sweetly calling out his name as they went shopping suddenly entered Aomine’s mind. Maybe not. He couldn’t bear to read another long-winded paragraph of text or attend an hour-long call about how her shopping trip with Tetsu had been like a date. Even the possibility of it left a bitter taste in Aomine’s mouth for reasons he did not want to consider.
“Tetsu,” Aomine answered, with tears dry on his face and emotions under his control. “Thank you, and—” I’m sorry. He choked and looked away, his breath catching in his throat.
“Aomine-kun,” Tetsu meaningfully said, and Aomine glanced back at Tetsu as he took Aomine’s cold hands into his warm, gloved ones. “You should be wearing gloves,” he said with a frown.
Aomine’s lips twitched. He cleared his throat. “Yeah…I forgot,” he said, continuing to look down at their hands. He didn’t think that he was capable of looking anywhere else at that moment.
“Aomine-kun,” Tetsu said again, and he was saying Aomine’s name way too many times for it to be normal, for Aomine to be able to react to it normally anymore. The way Tetsu said his name made goosebumps appear on his flesh, and his already pounding heart feel like it would jump out of his chest and directly into Tetsu’s gloved hands. “Look.” Tetsu let one of his hands pull away from Aomine’s before pointing at the sky.
Aomine looked up to be greeted with the sight of a bright, full moon and dozens of stars decorating the sky. “Huh, that’s…something,” was Aomine’s response.
“Would you like to sit there instead?” Tetsu asked, suggesting that they move to sit on the grass in the open fields next to them. Aomine agreed with him.
“Do you know how to stargaze, Aomine-kun?” Tetsu asked after they were settled on the grass, laying down so they could see the stars better. Aomine lay with his hands behind his head, and discretely watched Tetsu observing the stars. He had a serene expression on his face, and his hands lay on his stomach, folded on top of each other.
Tetsu turned to him in the next moment, with his eyes bright and shining, and a small smile on his face. Aomine should have looked away for the purpose of self-preservation, but he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried.
“I do, actually. Just a little bit.”
He wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, even on his deathbed, but back in Teiko, Satsuki had once made Midorima teach them the names of all the stars and their constellations. When Aomine had later asked him how he had known all of that information, Midorima had coughed and with a flash of his glasses said that he had learned it for the sake of his horoscope reading, whatever that meant. Aomine had rolled his eyes and dropped the conversation but he hadn’t missed the reddening of Midorima’s cheeks.
“Really?” Tetsu seemed surprised.
“Yeah, but don’t ask me how,” he said. Then he started pointing out all of the stars and constellations that he remembered, although unlike Midorima he didn’t give long-winded explanations about them.
“See, that’s the constellation for Leo…and that’s Aries,” Aomine pointed out, tracing the constellations so that Tetsu could clearly see them. He was aware of how close him and Tetsu were lying next to each other—almost touching, but not really. It was close enough for Aomine to have to ignore the feelings it brought up in him, though.
“Wait, Aries and Leo, like the zodiac signs from Oha Asa’s horoscope?” Tetsu asked, and Aomine groaned loudly in response. He hadn’t missed the teasing glint in Tetsu’s eyes.
“Don’t remind me of that stupid horoscope thing, Tetsu. Did you know that today is Cancer’s lucky day? They are ranked first for the day.” Aomine said.
Tetsu shifted his body so that he was facing Aomine completely, stars and constellations forgotten. “How do you know that?”
“Midorima texted me earlier, said that I shouldn’t go outside because my sign was ranked second last today, and my lucky item was a pair of gloves of all things.”
“Hmm,” Tetsu tucked both his hands underneath his head and continued to look at Aomine as though he were the sky. Aomine wished that he would stop before he could notice the red tinting Aomine’s cheeks and slowly spreading throughout his entire face. “Maybe you should have listened to him.”
“Like hell!” Aomine exclaimed. “It’s just some stupid horoscope, I don’t know why Midorima believes in it so much.”
Before either of them could continue the conversation, Tetsu’s phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and sat up as he flipped it open. “It’s Murasakibara-kun,” he said, picking up the phone.
“Put it on speaker,” Aomine said. Tetsu nodded his head and pressed a button on his phone.
“Hello, Murasakibara-kun.” Tetsu greeted him, politely.
“Listen Kuro-chin, Mido-chin has been going crazy with worry because he called Mine-chin’s house and found out that he’s not at home. Apparently, the Oha Asa horoscope said that he wasn’t allowed to go outside without his lucky item, and he left his gloves at home. But according to Mido-chin and the horoscope, Mine-chin should be alright if he has an Aquarius with him, so could you please go find him. I can’t stand Mido-chin’s panicked ranting anymore.”
Aomine and Tetsu met each other’s eyes, stunned. In the background on the other end of the call, they could hear Midorima’s voice saying, “I am doing no such thing. I am neither panicked, nor worried. If anything, I am completely calm.” They both heard Murasakibara scoff as Midorima added, “But tell Kuroko to be quick, and take a pair of gloves along with him for Aomine, just in case.” Aomine couldn’t help rolling his eyes at that. Midorima could be so difficult sometimes, even though it was clear that he cared a lot for everyone on their team.
“You don’t have to worry, Murasakibara-kun and Midorima-kun. I am already with Aomine-kun,” Tetsu responded. Aomine didn’t have to look at him to know that Tetsu had a wide smile on his face. It didn’t seem to have left his face at all since they had met.
“I’m not worried about Mine-chin, Mido-chin is,” Murasakibara muttered into the phone, lying through his teeth. “I’m just calling to let you know.”
They could hear Midorima in the background again, exclaiming, “What?! What does Kuroko mean? How are they together already?”
Murasakibara sighed as he said, “I’m keeping the phone now, Kuro-chin. I have to eat the rest of my snacks and calm Mido-chin down again. Say hi to Mine-chin for me.”
“I will,” Tetsu said before the phone call ended.
“What the fuck was that?” Aomine asked as Tetsu settle down next to him again. Their elbows brushed against each other’s and a jolt of electricity went down Aomine’s arms at the touch. Tetsu’s elbow continued to touch Aomine’s as he looked up at the sky. Aomine tried not to think about it. He tried not to think about Tetsu, about the past. Except when he told himself not to think about it, he started to think about it even more.
He wondered if Tetsu had any idea of how much he meant to Aomine. If he knew exactly how much he had saved him. Of how, back in middle school, when Aomine hadn’t thought that basketball could get any more interesting, had thought that he had learned all that he had to learn, played the best that he could, Tetsu had come along and just as easily proved him wrong. He wondered if Tetsu knew that he was the reason Aomine had begun to love basketball even more than he already had.
He wondered if Tetsu knew that he hadn’t meant what he had said when he had called Tetsu useless, or told him that his efforts didn’t matter anymore. That he had been lying when he had said that he didn’t remember how to receive Tetsu’s passes anymore. Aomine could never forget how to receive Tetsu’s passes, no matter how many months or years passed by. He wondered if Tetsu knew that Aomine regretted letting him go, letting him quit the basketball team so much more than he regretted letting his love for basketball go. He wondered how he could ever tell Tetsu all of these things and where he could even begin.
Tetsu’s phone rang again. It vibrated in the grass in between them. Aomine picked it up and flipped it open before Tetsu could get it. “It’s Kise. What does he want?”
Aomine put the phone on speaker. “What the fuck do you want, Kise? Tetsu’s busy right now.”
“Aominecchi! Is Kurokocchi with you? I got Midorimacchi’s call a few minutes ago about how you shouldn’t be outside today ‘cause Oha Asa said so. But it’s cool if you’re with Kurokocchi since being with him is supposed to be lucky for you today. Oh, and he also told me to let Kurokocchi know that your lucky item for today is a pair of gloves.”
“Yeah, we know that,” Aomine almost growled in irritation. What was it with that stupid Oha Asa horoscope and everyone getting concerned for him and calling Tetsu all of a sudden? Did the universe not want Aomine to be able to spend some quality time with Tetsu, especially when it had nothing to do with basketball?
Aomine startled as Tetsu grabbed the phone from him and put it close to his mouth. “Thank you for relaying the message, Kise-kun. As you can tell, I am already with Aomine-kun, and I will make sure to give him a pair of gloves.” Aomine couldn’t hear Kise’s response since Tetsu had removed the phone from speaker, but Tetsu only hummed and nodded his head before keeping the phone.
He then proceeded to remove his gloves. Aomine stopped him immediately and said, “I don’t need the gloves, I already have you.” Tetsu looked at Aomine for a long moment before he blinked. The silence almost enveloped them until Tetsu sighed and put his gloves back on, shifting closer to Aomine.
Aomine’s heart thundered so loudly in his chest that he couldn’t hear anything else around him, even Tetsu’s soft breaths or his own for that matter. As Aomine tried to calm down his rapidly beating heart, it was his own phone that rang this time. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! I swear if it’s—” Aomine broke off his sentence as a familiar name shown on his phone. He sat up straight all of a sudden and answered Tetsu’s questioning look. “It’s Akashi.” Tetsu’s eyes widened at that as he began to sit up too.
“Hello, Akashi?” Aomine greeted, cautiously. He didn’t know what to expect from the call, or from Akashi. Why was he calling? Was something wrong? Did it have something to do with the rest of their team?
“Aomine,” Akashi responded, “Hello. It has been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has been,” Aomine said. “Is everything alright, Akashi?” Akashi didn’t sound any different than he usually did, and his tone didn’t seem to convey anything either.
“Yes, everything is fine. Aomine, are you outside of your house right now?” Akashi asked.
Aomine frowned at that. “Yes, I am.”
“And…are you alone?”
Aomine glanced over at Tetsu in confusion. He didn’t understand why Akashi was asking him these things. It couldn’t be because…no, this was Akashi, he had to have an important reason for calling. It couldn’t be that.
“No, Tetsu’s with me.” Aomine said. Tetsu, who had sat up as ramrod straight as Aomine himself, was leaning towards Aomine’s phone, trying to catch Akashi’s words. Aomine took pity on him and put his phone on speaker.
“Ah, I see. That is…quite fortunate then. I will keep the phone in that case.” Akashi said.
“Akashi, wait!” Aomine quickly said. When he didn’t hear the phone cut from the other end, he continued. “Why did you call me all of a sudden?”
Aomine was met with a few seconds of silence until he heard Akashi sigh with exasperation. “Midorima called me some time ago, expressing his concerns for you, and as a…former friend and teammate, I wanted to ease his concerns.” Aomine glanced over at Tetsu, not knowing how to express what he was feeling in that moment. He heard a clearing of the throat from the other end. “I am glad you are with Kuroko, Aomine. I shall keep the phone now since I am busy with…since I am busy. I will talk to you later. Give Kuroko my regards.” Akashi cut the phone with those words.
Aomine’s jaw dropped a little and he stared at his phone for a while longer than necessary. “What….what?!” He looked up to find Tetsu with his head bowed down, quietly shaking. “What just happened? Did Akashi call me because of the stupid Oha Asa horoscope thing?!” Tetsu raised his head, and Aomine could see the glint of amusement in Tetsu’s eyes as his shaking became more intense. “I mean, really? Akashi of all people? Does he also believe in that damn thing? I guess I really am fucking unlucky today, aren’t I?”
Tetsu burst into peals of laughter. The sound of his laugh echoed through the empty park and vibrated through every cell of Aomine’s body. He wanted to store this perfect sound in his memory, and retrieve it every time he had a bad day or a really bad nightmare. He wanted to remember the way that Tetsu threw his head back and let out his emotions so freely, laughing as hard as he could.
Aomine wanted to remember the way that his hair waved through the wind and his hands clenched at his chest. He wanted to remember the laugh lines across his mouth and the crinkles along his eyes. Aomine wanted Tetsu all to himself in that moment, just like they used to be in the past. In the same way but also in a vastly different way. He wanted Tetsu to be his.
Aomine’s eyes didn’t leave Tetsu, not even when he stopped laughing and sat up normally again, not even when he looked at Aomine, his lips still titled up at the corners and eyes still filled with laughter. Not even when he said, “Aomine-kun.”
Fuck Tetsu, and fuck Aomine. “Tetsu,” Aomine said, before Tetsu could talk further. “You know you were wrong about something else, too. You were never my shadow.” Aomine could see the moment Tetsu’s expressions froze, the moment his entire body tensed up, and he quickly spoke before Tetsu could assume the worst. “I was yours.” Tetsu’s eyebrows pulled together at that, even as his face and body relaxed. “You were the light, Tetsu, and I followed you wherever you went. I might have entered the first string before you, but when it came to other things, I always followed your lead, and when I stopped…” You found a new light. You became someone else’s shadow. And I was left still being your shadow. Aomine looked down at his hands.
“Aomine-kun.” Fuck! Could Tetsu please just stop saying his name like that. “You’re wrong about this. I might have found a new light, I might have become his new shadow, but…” Aomine met Tetsu’s eyes. But, what? That was it then, wasn’t it? Tetsu was someone else’s shadow, he had another light now. Aomine should just get up and walk away. End it all here and now. But he couldn’t leave his light here like this. Wherever his light would go, he would follow.
Besides, Tetsu had already established that basketball wasn’t the only thing they had in common, so Aomine could admit that, irrespective of whether his love for basketball stayed or didn’t, irrespective of whether he played it in the future or didn’t, he would still want Tetsu to be an important part of his life. He would choose having Tetsu over having basketball in his life every single time.
“But, Aomine-kun,” Tetsu continued, “I will still follow you everywhere. I will always be your shadow and you will always be my brightest light.” Aomine stopped breathing as Tetsu shifted closer to him. He shifted closer and closer until their knees bumped together. Tetsu took off his gloves and proceeded to wear them on Aomine’s hands. Aomine couldn’t remember how to speak, and he still hadn’t taken a single breath. Tetsu held Aomine’s fully gloved hands in his bare, warm ones as he said, “Aomine-kun, I will always be yours.”
Aomine didn’t know what came over him or which power compelled him. Maybe he could blame his actions on Oha Asa’s horoscope or on his lucky item because Aomine couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward to kiss Tetsu. He heard a sharp inhale from Tetsu as their lips barely pressed against each other’s, and Aomine pulled himself back the next second, an apology on his lips. It died on the tip of his tongue, however, when he saw the look on Tetsu’s face. Tetsu was smiling.
“Tetsu, I—”
“Don’t, Aomine-kun. If you’re going to apologise, don’t.” With those words Tetsu leaned forwards and kissed Aomine.
Aomine let himself melt into the kiss this time, he let himself wrap his arms around Tetsu and pull him close. He let his hand stray into Tetsu’s soft, messy mop of hair and thread his fingers into them. Tetsu moaned into his mouth as Aomine deepened the kiss and Aomine felt the sound travel across his whole body. As they pulled away, breathlessly, Aomine knew in that moment that he would never be able to get the image of Tetsu’s swollen pink lips, his fully flushed cheeks, and his wind-swept hair out of his head. He didn’t think he could ever get the feeling of Tetsu’s mouth, soft and tender on his own, out of his head, either.
“I will always be yours, too, Tetsu.”