This is for morninglove, an awesome friend! (And an Aokuro fangirl to boot.)


It was the perfect weather for staying home and burrowing under layers and layers of warm blankets. With the rain lashing and pounding on the tarmac in Tokyo, anyone with an ounce of common sense would have opted to stay home. It was as if all the rain clouds in Tokyo had decided they didn't want to be rain clouds anymore, and had staged a grand farewell in the form of relentless rain. To top things off, a gale so icy it had no business being in anywhere but Antarctica had decided to grace Tokyo as well. When faced with such unfriendly weather, most people would have stayed indoors, as they would have realized that an umbrella would do them about as much good as a toothpick.

Unfortunately (for himself), Aomine was the kind of person who excelled in basketball and sucked at everything else, including situational awareness. Hence, while the rest of Tokyo was indoors, he was trudging along Tokyo's streets in the rain, with his umbrella proving about as useful as a plate of noodles.

Why am I doing this? He may not exactly be the sharpest knife in the block, but one would need an IQ below that of a lobster to not know that it wasn't a good idea to travel on foot in the middle of a rainstorm.

Of course, the answer to that question was painfully obvious to him in his heart.

When he finally arrived at the gates of Seirin High, he looked as if he had jumped into a swimming pool with his clothes on. Glancing at his watch, he noted that Kuroko's basketball practice would probably end in another two minutes time or so.

Good. He was on time. After all, the only reason that compelled him to leave the comfort of his home was so that Kuroko wouldn't get wet in this torrential rain. It wasn't like Kuroko was the type to forget to bring his only umbrella, but Aomine had borrowed it a few weeks back and had yet to return it, effectively leaving Kuroko an umbrella-less person.

Knowing him, Kuroko would probably be able to share one with someone else easily, but it made Aomine's insides clench uncomfortably when he pictured Kuroko under the same umbrella with anyone else but himself. Hence, he had endured the freezing rain and wind to return it to Kuroko.

" Aomine-kun?" Kuroko's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

Startled, Aomine started rambling on about how it was raining and he thought Kuroko would need his umbrella back. His words were cut short by Kuroko's quiet chuckle.

"Aomine-kun, you did not have to do that. I could have borrowed one from the school. Still, thank you very much." Amusement lacing his words, Kuroko tilted his head upwards to offer Aomine a rare smile of thanks.

That one smile made everything Aomine had to endure to get there worthwhile.


A/N: And that concludes my first fanfic for Kuroko No Basuke. Thank you, Black Maya and Mishaa, for being my betas. You guys were fantastic. I hope you enjoyed this, morninglove! Lastly, I love reviews. Please be nice and leave me one - I want to know how I did.