I do not own any of the content from Kuroko no Basket. All of the credit belongs to the original creators.

Kise sighed silently as he leaned against the chain fence that surrounded the park's basketball court. Him and Aomine used to come here and play together. It usually ended with him losing to the other teen without scoring a single basket. They used to come to this spot so often that it became their hangout. Kise glanced at his watch. It was already going on 5:30. Aomine was late, not that that wasn't uncommon for the other male. His biggest concern was if Aomine remembered that they were supposed to meet today. Kise sighed again and pulled out his phone, about to call the frustrating bluenette. Of all times the times to not show up to meet him... Before he could hit call, something light hit him in the back of the head - startling him. Kise jumped and whirled around to find Aomine watching him with an amused smirk.

"Aominecchi! You scared me!" Kise said, pouting at the larger male. "And you're late."

"You're the one who wasn't paying attention." Aomine pointed out simply. "And I fell asleep without realizing it. You're lucky I showed up at all." An awkward silence fell over them. It had been a while since him and Aomine had talked face-to-face. Kise had a difficult time coming up with something to say to the other. What do you say to someone you haven't spoken to in over a year? "So what is it? You wanted to talk to me about something, right?"

"Yeah..." Kise rubbed the back of his head, wondering where to start. He hadn't really thought about how he was going to explain all of this to the other male. Slowly, he explained everything - his crush on Kuroko, his meeting Akashi, and seeing Akashi with Kuroko. Kise leaned back against the fence, face in his hands. Hearing his situation out loud really made him feel hopeless. "So...I really need some advice. I don't want to lose Kurokocchi to him."

Aomine sighed silently and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not going to be easy to take Tetsuya from Akashi. You're probably screwed..." Kise deflated when he heard the other's words. It felt worse when someone else said it was impossible for him to be with Kuroko. He was starting to give up hope... So Aomine's next words were a surprise to him. "But, I haven't heard anything about the two being together...and Tetsuya wouldn't get back together with him so easily. If you're lucky, you might just have a chance."

"You really think so?" Kise asked, perking up.

"Actually, I still think you're screwed." Aomine said simply, making Kise pout more at him. He was getting so many mixed signals from the bluenette that it was making his head ache. "But I want to see that guy not get his way for once."

For the first time since that rainy day, Kise actually felt hopeful. Maybe he would get to call Kuroko his after all. "Thanks Aominecchi. Um, you know Kurokocchi pretty well, don't you? How can I impress him?"

"Well, my boyfriend told me there's a dance coming up at Seirin. Kagami said that his coach was making the whole team go to it." Aomine started. "Something about them needed to a break every once in a while or something. I don't know. The only problem is that Tetsuya can't dance."

Kise paused, starting to understand what the other was hinting at. "So you want me to..."

Aomine looked at him, a grin slowly forming on his face. "I might just mention to Kagami that you're a good dancer and he can pass that on to Tetsuya. He'll ask you to teach him, then you make your move."

"Are you sure that would work?" Kise asked, a bit skeptical. It seemed too simple to actually work.

"Definitely." Aomine reassured.

Kise nodded a bit, having a good feeling about this. "Alright. I'll try it."

Two days had passed after Kise had met up with Aomine before it happened. Kise was laying on his bed, eyes closed and thinking. His phone vibrated in his pocket, dragging him out of his thoughts. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Kise starred at the screen. A sense of surprise and anticipation filled him. Kuroko had sent him a text.

Kise-kun, something's come up and I need you help. Kagami-kun mentioned that you

were a good dancer and I need to learn how to dance by this friday.

Will you teach me?

-Kuroko

Kise reread the message, his heart skipping a beat. Aomine's plan was working. Kuroko had actually asked him to prepare for the dance. If everything else went as planned, he might be able to go to the dance with Kuroko. A light blush dusted Kise's cheeks as he imagined him and the blunette dancing together to a slow song. He could practically feel Kuroko's arms wrapped around him, the soft touch of his hands. The song would finally come to an end and they would stare into each other's eyes, feeling like they were seeing each other for the first time. Everything else would fade away into the distance as they got lost in the moment; it was just them, alone. Kise would make the first move, leaning in slowly... Blushing furiously, Kise covered his face with his pillow. Now he was fantasizing like a teenage girl. There was definitely something wrong with him. Removing the pillow before he could suffocate himself, Kise looked back at his phone. He typed up a quick reply.

Sure. Do you want to meet up tomorrow after I get off practice? My House?

-Kise

Kise couldn't stop the anticipation that was growing deep inside of him. He had a chance. Tomorrow would be the day that he finally confessed. It would just be the two of them, Akashi nowhere to be found.

Alright. See you then.

-Kuroko

His future looking brighter than ever, Kise got out of bed. He was too excited to lay down - and he had a lot of practicing for tomorrow.

The next day couldn't go by quick enough for Kise. Every second seemed to drag on for eternity. Kise could hardly focus on practice, his mind wandering to thoughts of a certain blunette he was meeting later on. He was the first to leave the gym after practice, which earned him a few weird looks from his team mates. That was alright. He would explain everything to them later. Kise half ran - half walked back to his house, getting there in about half the time it normally took him. Kuroko was supposed to meet him at his house where they could dance in private, alone. Once home, Kise walked inside and sat down on the couch. The blunette was due to arrive any second. Eager to see the blunette, Kise let his mind wander. What would it feel like to call Kuroko his? Surely it would feel strange at first. Being with the other male was a dream Kise had thought would never come true. Today would be a dream come true, a perfect moment. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours without any sign of Kuroko. When it started getting late, Kise gave up on waiting for the other teen. Kise checked his phone, seeing no new messages, and sighed silently. He had texted Kuroko five times, trying to find out why he didn't come over. A part of him wondered if this was Kuroko's way of saying he didn't want to see him... Maybe that was why Kuroko had stood him up. His phone started ringing and Kise answered it quickly.

"Hello?" Kise asked, embarrassed by how eager he sounded. Though, it wasn't Kuroko's voice he heard on the other side.

"Kise, where are you?" Aomine questioned.

"Home. I thought you were Kurokocchi. He never came over." Kise explained, disappointed.

A long silence passed between them and Kise was sure the other male was keeping something from him. When Aomine finally spoke, Kise's heart skipped a beat. "You mean you haven't heard?"

Kise's blood ran cold, hearing Aomine's serious tone. If Aomine was serious, then it couldn't be good. "Heard what? What happened?"

"Tetsuya's in the hospital."

"Which one?" The world was spinning in and out of focus around him.

"Memorial-" Kise hung out without another word. In that moment, he ignored everything - including his fear. His mind was set on one thing: seeing Kuroko. Kise grabbed his bag and walked out the door, out into the night.

Sorry that it took so long to post this. Work has been keeping me busy. In the next chapter, someone will earn Kuroko's heart. Will it be Kise or Akashi? Please review and tell me what you think, and who you think should be with Kuroko. Positive feedback welcomed!