The Merits and Convenience of Second Place

Chp 1: Possession

Chapter Summary: Kuroko and Kagami went on a scouting mission to gather data on Touou Gakuen. Despite his best attempt to behave, Kuroko's body is reacting to Aomine's performance.

Timeline: Set before Seirin's first game against Touou Gakuen.

Chapter Warnings : Yaoi, hints of abuse, sexual situations

Pairings: Kuroko/Aomine, Kuroko/Kagami

"You're restless today." Kagami called out casually to his teammate. Kuroko sputtered out his orange juice and shook his head, brushing it off as nonchalantly as he could. Most people would've shrugged it off and turned their attention to the game on the court, but not Kagami. After all, it's hard to pry his eyes away from someone that he's in love with. He leaned in closer to inspect he nervous teen.

"Are you sure? You seems distracted. I know that you and Aomine are close-"

"Were close." Kuroko corrected, his monotonous voice sounding harsher than usual. "You're the one who's distracted. Pay attention Kagami. We're here to gather data on all the Touou Gakuen members, don't get too hung up on Aomine."

With a grumble, Kagami agreed reluctantly and shifted his attention back to the game, quickly becoming engrossed by the high paced plays that are happening on the court below. Kuroko breathed out a sigh or relief and slumped backwards on his seat. This is too much. He usually could handle Kagami's intense stares easily, but today it's too hard to keep up his facade. Call him paranoid, but it's as if Kagami could read every single thought that he had about Aomine. It's annoying. Kuroko sighed and tried his best to watch the game instead, hoping that the game would distract him from his old unrequited love.

It didnt.

Even after a year without seeing the miracle ace, watching Aomine play still brought shivers down Kuroko's spine. He couldn't help it. Not only is his heart shaken, but his body is physically riled up at the sight of him. Every jumps and turns that Aomine made seemed to accentuate his strong muscles, each bursting with renewed power and grace that was never there before. The elegant simplicity in which he dominated his enemies reminded Kuroko of his charisma, the same charisma that kept him playing in a team full of selfish teammates. Even the small bored smirk that danced on his lips is reminiscent of happy moments that they used to share together.

His heart pounded at Aomine's successful shoots. His hand opened and closed as he threaded through one opponent after another. His toes curled up at Aomine's cocky taunts. Every little gestures thrilled him. Aomine is more than just a basketball player, he's an entertainer, and today, it felt like he was playing a game just for him.

''How silly.' Kuroko thought to himself. 'He doesn't even know that I'm here.'

As if his thoughts was broadcasted straight to Aomine, the Touou player snapped his head up towards the audience stand and raised an eyebrow. A normal person would've missed Kuroko's presence, but Aomine could pick the small boy out in a crowd of millions. Kuroko flinched as they locked eyes, backing himself up against the hard plastic chair.

Grinning at the sight of his old teammate, Aomine straightened stood straight up. He effortlessly steals a ball from his oponent and held it firmly in one hand, extending the ball to Kuroko, taunting, no, seducing him with nothing but his gaze.

'Look at me.' His eyes said what his lips could not. 'Look at me Tetsuya. This is our basketball, remember?'

The powerful gesture surprised Kuroko and everyone sitting in his area. Fangirls screamed their lungs out, each of them sure that they were the one chosen by Aomine. "Heh, what a showoff." Kagami grumbled, snickering to his partner. Instead of his usual chuckle, Kuroko turned as white as a sheet of paper, standing up and stumbled away from Aomine's eyes.

"Oi," A firm voice snapped him out of his musings. Kagami's large hands pulled him back to his seat, those intense red eyes locking onto him once again. "The game's not over yet. Sit down."

Kuroko gulped and mumbled some half-baked excuse and slipped out of Kagami's hand, disappearing into the sea of spectators. He needed to go, there was too much attention on him. Kagami's constant stares… Aomine's satisfied smirk… Kuroko groaned and shifted his pants, leaning against the cool tile and praying for relief.

'He noticed me…' He thought to himself, feeling a mixture of thrill and nausea brewing on the pit on the stomach. Flashes of old memories rushed back to him.'Oh god.' Kuroko slumped against a wall, looking at his pants in disbelief. Aomine need to only give him one look, and boom, he's erect.

AAAAA

From the court, a pair of cold blue eyes followed the boy's frantic attempts to escape.

'Still the same old Tetsuya, so easy to rattle.' Aomine thought with a degree of sadistic fondness. Bored with the game already, he pushed past his teammates with long confident strides, his mind locked onto a certain blue haired boy.

"Aomine! The game isn't over yet!"

"You cant leave like this!"

"You bastard, get back onto the court!"

He gave them all a glare cold enough to freeze the fires of hell, silencing their complaints in one fell swoop. "Pathetic" He scoffed to himself. "Tetsuya would never have made such a fuss over something like this." Aomine murmured as he searched for Kuroko through a series of dark abandoned hall.

After a few minutes, his relaxed strides turned into a full on sprint. 'Tetsu...' He hummed to himself, his blood pounding in his ears as adrenaline rushed into him. 'TestuTetsuTetsu…" He chanted that name over and over like a madman. Back then Kuroko was the one who's infatuated with him, now one look from the boy and it's enough to consume his he's not as obsessed as he is right now, he would've laughed at the irony.

Aomine stopped dead on his tracks and found a silhouette of a small figure, his thin shoulder slumped against the wall, moving up and down with ragged breath as he fumbled with his pants. 'Bingo.' He licked his lips in anticipation, walking in onto the boy like a panther closing in on it's prey.

Kuroko broke from his reverie and noticed Aomine's heavy steps. "Aomine-san…" he greeted him gently, pulling his hands away and pulled his jacket around himself to hide his erection. Aomine wasted no time with pleasantries and forcefully threw Kuroko's bag away, planting his forearms firmly on either side of his head, and putting them in a familiar position that they used to be in years ago.

"Trying to escape from me again Tetsuya?" he jeered, leaning his face close until their noses are just barely touching.

Kuroko shut his eyes an held his breath, his body paralyzed by the Aomine's aggressive presence. Aomine chuckled, loving the effect that he still had on Kuroko. He traced a finger down his jawline & neck, shivering as the touch the places that he only fantasied about months during his absence. Aomine hummed in approval, enjoy the helpless boy splayed in front of him. He drew his finger lower, intent on moving it somewhere that would make Kuroko cry out in pained delight. Suddenly, his hand stopped and his blood turned cold.

Tetsu is wearing someone else's uniform.

"Take it off." He ordered, pulling on the Seirin uniform gruffly. "You know you only look good in the same uniform as mine." Aomine growled. The fact that his shadow is wearing another team's jersey irritated him to no end. The smaller boy frowned at the sudden burst of violence and pushed Aomine away.

"Why are you here Aomine-san?" He asked as calmly as he could, trying hard to hide his rattled nerves. "You should be playing with your team, the game isn't over ye-"

"-and let you abandon me for the second time?" Aomine scoffed, tightening the grip on Kuroko's jersey.

"It's not…" The boy insisted, balancing on his toes as Aomine held him up in the air. Aomine always loved dominating him like this, taking advantage of Kuroko's feelings for him, testing his limits. This, however, is crossing the line. "I didn't-"

"What?" Aomine shouted, angry at Kuroko's denial. "Speak up Tetsu!"

Kuroko frowned and pulled away with surprising strength. Something is wrong with Aomine. The man is usualy always in control. Today, he had this wild untamed look in his eyes that scared him.

"I left because I don't want to play with you anymore Aomine-san." He said firmly, smoothing the wrinkles on his jersey with care and attention. "This type of behavior… You made me hate basketball."

"Bullshit!" Aomine shouted, pushing Kuroko against the wall until they were flush against each other.

"Aomine-san…" Kuroko mumbled, pushing futilely against the stronger boy.

Aomine growled and held him tighter, lifting Kuroko off the ground until he had no choice but to latch onto him. 'Mine.' He thought possessively ready to ravage him, ready to hurt and punish his toy for going to a different school. We wanted to hurt him, until Kuroko realized who he belonged to. However, before he could raise his fist up, he noticed something hard pushing against him.

"Hng!" came the muffled moan from Kuroko.

Aomine smiled and lowered his hand, breathing out a delighted chuckle. 'Calm down Daiki, you're going to scare him too much.' He thought to himself, burying his face into Kuroko's hair. He tried hard to settled down, but his hand still trembled with rage even as he moaned into Kuroko's hair.

"…Did you get hard after watching me play?" he asked. his angry scowl subsiding into a victorious smirk. Kuroko glared at him angrily, his face heating up with embarrassment. "Mmm Tetsu…" Aomine pushed down onto the boy, his thigh rubbing against the hardness with deliberate force. "Hate basketball my ass." He jeered, happy that Kuroko is embarrassed enough to lie about his feelings. "You always loved watching me play, didn't you? Admit it, you missed me. This-" he pushed harder. "-is proof right here."

"You're wrong…" Kuroko groaned, too ashamed to meet Aomine's intense gaze.

"No. I'm right and you know it." Aomine growled into his ear, pushing Kuroko down firmly onto himself. After what it felt like an enternity, he losened his gripped and nuzzled Kuroko's hair. His touch becoming gentler as Kuroko stopped resisting. "I miss having you around Tetsu-kun…" He admitted quietly. "Basketball is boring without you watching… I like knowing that you're watching me with those pretty eyes…" He rubbed his thumb over Kuroko's lips. "Cheering me on with these pretty lips."

Kuroko blinked and turned his clear blue eyes towards Aomine, lips parted and breath heavy with desire. Unable to hold back any longer, Aomine tilted Kuroko's jaw up and kissed him harshly, ravising the smaller boy until delicious little moans escaped from those maddening soft lips.

'Yes.' Aomine thought as he slipped his tongue into Kuroko's lips. 'Run as far as you can but you'll wont get me out of your head.' He grinned as the smaller boy resisted pitifully. "You're mine." He declared, slipping a tounge to touch Kuroko's. "Mine." He growled, biting down onto his lips and swallowing his cries.

Kuroko's heart pounded harder as he felt Aomine began lapping at his wound"No." Kuroko yelped and pulled away, rubbing his lips and finding blood drawn from the cut. 'He's doing it again. He's toying with me again.' The boy thought angrily.

"You're wrong." Kuroko said firmly, staring straight at Aomine with clear determined eyes. He pushed himself off of Aomine body and scrambled away to gain some distance. "I don't feel that way anymore. It's true that I confessed to you in the past, but that changed. I can't love someone like you anymore. Besides, you rejected me anyway-"

"Did I?" Aomine challenged, brows furrowed down in anger. "I never rejected you Tetsuya! Never! Don't you make up lies to run away from me again!"

Kuroko stopped walking and turned around. A small sad smile playing on his lips.

"You're right, you never did reject me, did you?" He mumbled, picking up his discarded bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "…but you didn't give me an answer either. Instead, you led on for three years and used me whenever it's convenient. That's even crueler don't you think so Aomine-san?

This time, Aomine was left speechless. He lowered his head and clenched his fist in frustration. Is that what Kuroko thought of him, a mere tyrant pulling on the leash of his love struck devotee? 'I'm not…' He screamed inside. 'I love you Tetsuya…'

"Aomine-san, Aomine-san, Aomine-san!" He exploded, turning his guilt into rage. We spun around and punched the wall behind him, creating a loud crack that rang eerily through the empty hall. "Do you hate me so much that you cant even call me by my name?" he whispered, his voice quivering from pain.

Kuroko watched the sad spectacle unfolded before him. Aomine, the best player of his generation, was broken. The fear and hatred that Kuroko thought he held for the man all melted away, leaving him empty with nothing but pity. There he stood, the man that he loved for three long years, alone in his self imposed isolation, clouded by his own arrogance that he couldn't even realize his own feelings.

Kuroko walked back and reached out to touch Aomine's damp blue hair. The tyrant turned, pained eyes looking up to him hopefully.

"Daiki." Kuroko relented, whispering the familiar name like he used to.

"Daiki." Kuroko whispered again, taking Aomine's broken fist to gently caress it.

"Daiki." He whispered one last time, knowing full well that he still loved Aomine the same way that he used to.

Aomine held his breath, enamored by the same look of adoration and love that Kuroko used to show him.

"Tetsu." He leaned in and gave him the gentlest kiss that he could muster.

"Tetsu!" He cried out again, tasting the blood he drew out of anger and lust.

"Tetsu…" He whimpered, pouring every ounce of his regret into that name, hoping that this time his feelings would go through.

They stood there for a while, Kuroko still as a statue as Aomine showered him with kisses..

"Ask me again…" Aomine murmured, grasping at straws for his one last chance at redemption. "Ask me that question again Tetsu. I promise I'll give you an answer."

Kuroko smiled, his clear eyes now cloudy with tears. His heart ached. He wanted to complied so badly, but he knew that their relationship will turned back into what it is now, a possessive abusive mess. He took a deep breath and went against his heart's desire, turning away the unrequited love that he longed for three long years.

"That's not how love works Daiki-kun." He finally closed his eyes, whishing with all his might to turn back time. For a while, he felt nothing but a numb chill that took over his whole body. He felt like he's going to die. Then, salvation came in the form of a kiss, a shy gentle kiss that left a warm spot on his cheek. "Goodbye." Kuroko murmured as he gave him his last kiss.

When he opened his eyes, Kuroko was gone.

From a hidden corner, Kagami listened the whole thing unfold with mixed feelings, hearing every last bit of their fucked up conversation.. He knew that Aomine and Kuroko had some history together, that part didn't bothered him. What bothered him was how intensely the two reacted to each other.

He heard scuffle of clothes, moans of pleasure, cries of pain, and the roar of anger. Just what happened between them that such sounds could come out of the two.

"I don't love you anymore." He heard Kuroko said that, but was is it true?

Kagami sighed and scratched his head, his heart pounding with anticipation. Over the few months that they spent together Kagami fell deeply in love with Kuroko, but after seeing the two together, he's apprehensive. It's obvious that the two shared something deep and twisted between them. Should he even try and pursue Kuroko? Should he involve himself with someone who loved an angry man such as Aomine?

"TETSUYA!" Came the possessive roar from behind the wall, and it was enough to make his decision.

How dare he call Kuroko's name with his crude voice? The thought of that man holding his Kuroko enflamed his indignation. As the heavy steps trudged closer, Kagami knew what he had to do. He may never confessed his feelings to Kuroko, but one thing's for sure, he would do everything that he can to stop Aomine from reaching Kuroko.

He steeled his nerves and walked out of his hiding spot, planting himself firmly between Aomine and Kuroko's retreating back.

"Kuroko doesn't want to see you." He rumbled with his deep voice, crossing his arms and glaring daggers down at Aomine. The blue haired tyrant scoffed and glared back, fist curled up and ready to strike. Aomine looked like he's ready to charge at him with an unstoppable force, but he'll be damned if he let him move an inch closer towards Kuroko.

TBC

Next chapter: Kagamine & Aomine face each other off.