It's been a while since I've written a complete story, and I was happy beyond belief that this was finally over. It's more angsty than I'd like, but I'm just in the mood for something a bit sad. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or its characters. Only the following story is my own.

Image Source: post/31386174334/seems-inumog-is-gunna-make-aomine-x-kuroko-hope

Aomine was not good at emotions.

If he had to choose one thing that he disliked above all else, it'd be to have to analyze them. That was for women and lame guys like Kise, not a manly guy like himself. And if Aomine couldn't understand his emotions, then his emotions was an entity that could not even being to comprehend why he existed. Suffice to say he didn't do well with things that involved feelings.

But there was one person, the only person ever to make his heart skip a beat, make him unconsciously hold his breath, stammer and blush like a hormone-ravaged teenage girl, and fidget nervously in such a way that even as oblivious as he was, he knew what it meant.

The most ridiculous part was that his crush was an expressionless, emotionless bastard.

Okay, maybe calling him a bastard was going a bit too far.

Nonetheless, despite him obstinately telling himself that it was all a phase, there was a small voice in the back of his mind that kept insisting that this crush – if it wasn't anything more – wouldn't fade in time like his previous experiences.

It disturbed him more than he dared admit that his crush was his friend; perhaps his closest. This was bad enough as it was, but the way his heart palpitated whenever his hands brushed the soft, milky white skin of the other, or he found himself staring into mysterious pools of pale blue that seem flat and deep at the same time, or even when he saw one of the rare smiles that seem to tell of a hidden meaning…

He dropped his head onto his desk with a loud thunk. He was beyond help, he knew it. And though he wouldn't admit it even to himself, staring at the back of his crush's head while their teacher droned on at the front of the classroom, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be helped.

The fact that Kuroko Tetsuya was in the same basketball club and that they were all but joined at the hip during school hours meant that they spent practically all day in each other's company. It was starting to dawn on Aomine that such prolonged hours in the presence of someone he secretly wanted to ravage was not good for his heart. Or his head. Or any other part of his body, for that matter.

He was a coward, he knew, for hiding out on the roof of the school building instead of attending basketball practice, but he really couldn't be blamed. Watching Tetsu play was painful. The way his lips firmed up and his eyes sharpened. The beads of sweat that trailed enticingly down the column of his neck, the ridiculous way his hair stuck to his forehead, making his fingers itch to reach out and brush the bangs aside. In the past few weeks he'd noticed himself getting distracted whenever Tetsu was around. He'd almost missed the net a few times because of it.

It was bound to happen, he decided. He knew that nothing could ever amount from his crush, and he had no intention of telling Tetsu in this lifetime. But there were times when his guard was down. When they were fooling around and he'd almost given a voice to the feelings he'd tried to push away.

It was almost without conscious thought that he began to distance himself from Tetsu. He'd snatch back his hand when he realized that they were about to touch, or dash out of class as soon as the bell rang so that he wouldn't have to walk back with Tetsu and talk about trivial things. Because what he really wanted to talk about was a future with his counterpart. He wanted to be able to see what the blue-eyed boy would look like fast asleep, what he would look like in the morning getting ready for school, he wanted to see everything. His smiles, his frowns, the way his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly when he was denied vanilla milkshakes, the softness when he knew you needed some cheering up.

God, he was starting to sound like that blonde bimbo.

He spent his days distracting himself with his studies, having decided that he would apply for a high school in Tokyo – far away from the temptation that was Tetsu. He stopped playing basketball almost completely, finding the joy was dissipated largely when he didn't have a good opponent. And because Tetsu wasn't there, there wasn't really anyone to encourage him, to keep him going.

It had been some three weeks since he'd started this strange routine and he was on the roof of the school building, skipping basketball practice for what was probably the umpteenth time - he didn't really care – lying on his back, trying to banish the memory of the hurt look Tetsu had given him the latest time he had brushed away his offer to go out for lunch. He closed his eyes with a sigh. When would the smaller boy start to get the hint and start leaving him alone?

A shadow appeared over him, blocking out the sunlight. He scrunched his eyebrows in irritation. Momoi kept trying to get him to go for basketball practice when he just couldn't give a damn. It wasn't like he needed to get any better; there wasn't anyone worth playing against.

"Go away." He said flatly, turning away from the shadow onto his side.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Aomine-kun." His eyes flew open and he turned his head to stare at Kuroko. After a few seconds, he snorted and resumed his position, eyes closing again as he willed his heart to stop pounding.

"So you're going to be my new babysitter?" He asked scathingly. He didn't want Kuroko anywhere near him. He could feel his heart racing, and his breath seemed to come out in shallow puffs, his brain was flipping itself around his head, and he felt both nervous and elated. It pissed him off.

Undeterred by his foul attitude and ignorant to what was really going on beneath the façade, Kuroko settled down beside him and stared off into the distance. They remained like that for what seemed like an hour, neither saying a word, but completely comfortable in the silence. Feeling his heart settle, and his breathing even out, the excitement he had felt was turning into a sort of calm that only his friend could bring. The corner of Aomine's lips twisted up wistfully. This was what it had been like before stupid things like feelings had gotten in the way.

"Do you not like basketball any more, Aomine-kun?" He heard Kuroko's voice, unbelievably soft, float over his shoulder and barely manage to make it to his ears.

"I guess. There isn't really anyone worth playing, y'know?"

"You shouldn't stop practice. I'm sure you'll meet a worthy opponent one day."

"Then do you expect me to keep playing against useless people in the meantime?" Aomine scoffed. "I don't have time for weaklings."

This time, the silence was thick with something he couldn't put a name to.

"Is that why you have been avoiding me?" The words were softer than before, and he had to strain to catch them. It took him several moments to process what he had heard. Horrified, he shot up and turned towards Kuroko, an apology ready to burst from his lips.

"I – " The words died in his throat when he saw the sadness reflected in the pale blue eyes that he secretly adored. He looked away.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." He mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up. Thank goodness he was tan.

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" He opened his mouth to answer, to say that it was because every time their eyes met, or their skin made contact, hell, even when he knew that Tetsu was somewhere in the same room, his mind would go into an incoherent frenzy, and his hands began to shake while his breath shortened and his chest tightened and he had to resist the urge to reach out and wrap his arms around the other's small frame. He wanted to feel his warmth, to inhale the smell of his skin, to be able to stare into his eyes and not feel ashamed of it.

He wanted and it was freaking him out.

"No I haven't," he lied. He wanted to impale himself with something. "You're just imagining things."

Kuroko leveled him a look, pinning him where he was. It wasn't surprising that he would notice that he was feeding him bullcrap.

"I see," Kuroko pushed himself off the ground and brushed off dirt from his pants. "In that case, I will see you in class tomorrow."

With a bow, he turned and walked away, leaving Aomine to stare at his retreating back mentally slapping himself and feeling dread settle in his guts. He let out a string of expletives and fell back against the concrete, embracing the stabbing pain that burst over his spine. This kind of pain he could handle.

Two weeks later, he's hiding out on his rooftop sanctuary, a day before graduation when Kise comes sprinting up the staircase, abruptly stopping next to him. He barely gives the blonde a glance, wondering if the team members were taking turns to try to coax him to join practice again.

"I'm not gon-"

"Kurokocchi's gone!" Aomine froze. Literally. He felt a chill settle over his spine and the feeling of dread that had been seething in his guts since their conversation two weeks prior tripled in intensity and he felt it choke him and severe his nerves from his brain.

"What?" He asked dumbly. Maybe he had misunderstood him or Kise was just being over-dramatic as usual.

"He handed in his resignation letter to Akashicchi and just walked out of the gym! We can't find him anywhere!" The blonde was on the verge of tears, but the expression of distraught that contorted his handsome face was swimming blurrily in Aomine's vision. He then realized that he was crying. Hastily, he turned his back on his teammate and blinked furiously. He was a man. He was gonna fucking act like one.

"Okay," he replied, glad his voice didn't break.

"Wha – Aominecchi, why can you be so calm about this?!" Kise was appalled to say the least, and he reached out to turn his friend around to demand an explanation when the latter spun around angrily.

"I don't give a fuck about Tetsu, okay?" He gritted, feeling the lie slam like a jackhammer into his throat. "If he wants to leave, he can fucking leave. What his reasons are doesn't concern me."

With that, he grabs the uniform jacket that he had been using as a pillow and storms off. When he's out of the school compound he turns away from the direction his house was and makes his way towards the park. Once there he tosses himself down under a tree, hidden from view. Staring at the canopy above him, he finally allows himself to feel, and it comes to him in a tidal wave.

He finds himself drowning in disbelief, anger, resentment, pain, sadness, and guilt. Yet above all that, clawing at his throat and twisting his insides while his chest felt like it was being crushed under tonnes of it, was regret. He knew that no matter what he told himself, he was part of the reason – if not the whole of it – that his best friend had just upped and left without even a word of goodbye.

For the first time since he was 8, Aomine Daiki curled up into a ball and cried as he allowed wave after wave of emotion to wash over him.