Screeching car brakes against the asphalt and gravel of a cold, winter day. A crushing impact that robs the breath out of his lungs renders him onto the ground. Then, his hair isn't blond anymore; it is the colour of his blood as it stains the blond strands into a dark, dark red. No one is talking but his eardrums seem about to explode. The only sound left is the pained gasps of air. A siren sounds off in the distance before everything blurs into black.

[]

Aomine is the first one to be informed. They told him it was because his number was the most recent dialled, and that the patient was in a critical state. He was out the door and running to the hospital before the call ended. Aomine doesn't tell them the contents of their last call; he doesn't want to think about how it was his fault they got into an argument and that Kise had stormed out of his apartment, wiping away tears that clung to his eyelashes, and how he hadn't even tried to go after him. He doesn't want to think about how, if he had just agreed to Kise's request, they would be cuddling together on the couch right now. He doesn't want to think at all so he lets the cold numb down his senses.

When he reaches the hospital, the nurses tell him that Kise is undergoing emergency surgery and lead him to a waiting room. There is a pounding in his head. Voices were screaming at him how it was his fault that Kise was in surgery; how it was his fault for not being more considerate. But he was the only one in the waiting room at the moment.

Kuroko and Midorima arrive a half hour later. His former shadow looked as if he were going to break down on the spot. Midorima explains his red nose as a result of the winter but his puffy, red eyes indicated he had been crying. Aomine doesn't say a word. He was afraid that if he did, everything would come spilling out, painting out the ugly truth he did not want to accept for him.

Akashi and Murasakibara arrive an hour or so after. At this point, Aomine has all but given up on looking at the clock. Every single second Kise spent in the emergency surgery was another second that he might not make it. Aomine didn't want to think about what he would do if Kise didn't make it. But there was no need to worry about that. After all, Kise was strong. Kise would get through this alive. He had to.

Minutes turned into hours. Aomine notices that the sky outside was now painted a light orange and pink and he can't help but think about how Kise always loved sunsets.

'Damn it Kise, you have to make it. Who is going to watch the sunsets with me if you're gone?'

When the doctor finally comes out of the surgery room, Aomine is the first out of his chair. He waits in apprehension for the verdict. Nothing prepares him for the next words uttered.

"Kise-san was in critical state when he came in, he was suffering from abdominal and chest injuries, as well as brain trauma. While we have managed to bring him back from the door of Death, the patient is in a coma. You can see him now, but do not make too much noise and inform the nurses if he wakes up."

Aomine bursts into the room which Kise was in, dodges a smack from Kuroko, and rushes to Kise's side. Kise's blond hair was wrapped in bandages, an oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth, and there were multiple tubes attached to his body. Still, Aomine breathed a sigh of relief. At least Kise had made it. Kise had survived the surgery and, for now, that was all he needed.

{3 months later}

"Kise, are you going to miss today's sunset too?"

Aomine's eyes come to rest on Kise's unmoving body. It had been 3 months since Kise had been in a car accident. 3 months since they last argued. 3 months since Kise had opened his eyes.

There were dark eye bags beneath Aomine's dark blue eyes. Everything about his stature suggested that Aomine had not been eating healthily. His appearance was haggard and tired.

Outside, the sky was painted a dark shade of purple, mixed with hues of orange and pink. Aomine stares at it wistfully, wishing now more than ever that Kise was awake to witness it with him.

But wishes don't come true.

"We are pulling the plug in 24 hours, Aomine-san. I think it would be better if you were not here to witness it."

Pain. There was pain in his chest. It was hollowing out the insides, scraping along where his heart should have been. Was this what heartbreak felt like?

They were pulling the plug.

They were pulling the plug.

They were pulling the plug.

Kise would be gone if he didn't wake up in the next 24 hours. Kise would be dead. And Aomine would be all alone in the world again.

The last words Kise would remember hearing would be 'I hate you'.

Numbness. Everything around him had dulled down; the edges of his vision were hazy and blurred. He had no idea how long it had been since the doctor had told him about pulling the plug.

A hand on his shoulder brings him out of his reverie. He looks up and finds Momoi looking at him worriedly, a sketch book in her hands.

"What are you doing here?" Aomine snaps. Momoi flinches and for a moment, Aomine felt regret for doing so. But then, he remembers that he had the right to do so. They were pulling the plug in less than 24 hours.

"I… I just wanted to give you this. As a reminder, I guess." Momoi thrusts the sketch book into Aomine's hands and runs off before he can respond. Aomine stares at it in silence before setting it aside. Whatever was inside could wait.

His fingers find Kise's hand. Carefully, he entwines their fingers together and closes his eyes. Like this, he could just imagine that Kise was awake, and that they were holding hands in the park. Kise was laughing at a joke he had told, and his beautiful honey eyes were open and filled with warmth.

That's how the doctor and nurses find them later. With a regretful sigh, the doctor shakes Aomine awake. As he rubs the sleep away from his eyes, there is a slight reddening in them. His hands are shaky as he stuffs them into his pocket.

"Aomine-san, it's time we pull the plug. Do you have any last words to him?"

Yes. So many that if I were to say them all, years would have passed. I have so much more to say to him. We have so many unfinished stories and stories that have not even started. But what's the use if he can't hear me anymore?

But that's not what Aomine says. Instead, he gives a jerky nod and he leans in to Kise's deathly pale face. He ghosts his lips over Kise's and whispers a last sentence that imprints itself into him. Then, he pulls away and, only pausing to grab the sketch book, he runs out of the room. Out of the hospital. Away from the ugly truth that was about to happen.

He runs and runs and runs. Finally, his feet takes him to a basketball court – the one that he and Kise had so often played at together. He collapses on the ground, the sketch book clatters besides him. And the sadness and hurt and emotions take on physical form as they leave his eyes in rivers.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"I love you."

But even if he repeats it a million times, would Kise hear it? Unlikely. The last words Kise would ever hear were ones of hatred and of which he wished he could retract back.

The sobs were coming out choked now as he reaches for the sketch book. He flips it open to the first page and finds Kise staring at him, smiling that pretty smile Aomine loved to kiss. The second page and the rest were all filled with Kise. Kise and him on the beach playing volleyball. Kise posing for a photo shoot. Kise reading with his glasses on.

And then, on the last page, there was a small sketch of Aomine himself. He was sleeping in bed, the covers thrown off and his mouth open. And below it, there was a small note. Aomine couldn't believe it as his eyes scan the words written in Kise's loopy handwriting.

[Aominecchi, you look so funny sleeping I couldn't resist taking a picture! Later, I tried to recreate it by drawing :P What do you think of it? I'm a pretty good artist, right?]

'Yes,' Aomine thinks, closing his eyes against the sunset. 'Kise, you were always the best artist ever.'

I love you.

Have you said any hurtful words to anyone you love today, dear readers? If you have, and you have yet to apologize, do it now. If you have not, then I certainly hope you will never do so. Even in the heat of a moment, when you're angry at him or her. Don't say hurtful or hateful words you know you won't mean later on. Because every moment with someone could be the last you will ever get.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Some of the events were a bit… awkward. I sort of rushed this story, I guess, because this was written as a one-shot.

Read and review!

XOXO,

LegacyOfLight