Long, strong arms pushed him away, rejecting the blue haired teen.

"I'm sorry Aominecchi, but I can't go with you."

The blue haired boy gripped his lover's wrist and snarled, "What bullshit are you spouting out now, Kise? You promised that you'd come with me, you little bastard. Why the fuck are you backing out now?"

Amber eyes that he had fallen in love with long ago turned dark, and they shifted themselves away from him. "I only said I'd go, because you wouldn't have accepted otherwise."

"Hell yeah I wouldn't," he gripped harder and Kise winced, "That still stands too. Get your ass on this plane right now or I'll get off too."

"Let go of me, Aominecchi."

"Come with me."

"No," the blonde said firmly.

Glaring, Aomine frowned, "Fine. Then I'll be getti – "

"No," the boy said again, "You're going to America. They scouted you, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Fuck yeah it is, but I'm not leaving you. Cut the crap!" He yanked Kise's arm so hard that the model thought his arm was going to get pulled out of the socket. Panicking, he yelled out.

"Kagamicchi!"

Aomine felt a blow to his back and let go of Kise. He coughed and turned violently to see who had dared to get physical with him. Towering above his crouched form, he found Kagami Taiga.

"Screw off," he spat, "This is between me and Kise. If you get anymore involved, I'll kill you."

Kagami ignored the tanned boy's threat – much to his annoyance – and grabbed hold of him. The big red head then proceeded to lug Aomine back into the plane. As much as he tried to struggle, being forced to walk backwards threw him off, and it didn't help him when Kise shoved him inside. The two taller men fell backwards through the entrance of the plane door and landed roughly on the floor. Aomine watched as Kise advanced slowly up the stairs and bent down, lowering his face so it could meet his own.

"Aominecchi," he whispered, "I'm not going, but you will – and that's final."

"Shut up, Kise! That's not what's going to happen! Tell me, goddammit, why won't you come with me. You're my boyfriend for fuck's sake!"

The next thing Aomine felt was a sharp, painful sting across his left cheek. He reached it with one hand to feel the spot, cringing as his large fingers made contact at the bruising, warm flesh. In rage, he looked around to find the cause of his injury, only to find nothing but Kise's raised hand, palm sweaty and red.

"Not anymore," he heard the blonde boy say, quietly.

Helplessly, he watched as the model turned around and walked down the steps. He continued to stare after the plane door shut, and didn't stop even as the aircraft roared to life.

Moments later, he was in the air, on his way to America.

It wasn't until then that he realized what had happened.

It wasn't until then that he fully came to understand that:

Kise had slapped him.

Kise had broken up with him.

and last but not least:

Kise didn't turn back at all, not even once.

Aomine woke up in a cold sweat, heart racing and lips trembling. Just a dream, he thought, that was a long time ago, I'm okay now...

It's been five years now, since that day. The day when the basketball pro had been given the offer of his dreams... and stripped of the love of his life. Normally, he wouldn't have looked back as basketball was his one true passion, but Kise... he was really something. Closing his eyes behind the safe cover of his own tanned hand, he unlocked the gate that usually blocked up his memories of him. Their first meeting, Kise's constant one-on-one challenges, the other boy's confession, their first kiss, their first time – the bittersweet pieces of his happiest era flowed out endlessly and he could feel them heal his shattered heart, while also tearing it apart again in a vicious cycle. Half a decade later, you'd expect him to have forgotten. But Aomine knew, you just don't simply forget a love like theirs.

Despite all this hurt, he was still able to play as he usually did in his games in the NBA. Frankly, it was only basketball that could distract him long enough to keep him sane (which was ironic really...basketball was what tore him away from his love). During the nights afterwards though, nothing could stop his muse from haunting him in the unforgiving dark. If his coach didn't prohibit the use of drugs or alcohol during the seasons, Aomine knew that he'd have spent every waking moment on them, just so Kise would fade away. Just so he wouldn't have to think about how he was doing back in Japan. It helped him stop wondering if Kise had found someone else, someone who wouldn't leave for America like he did. Someone who thought they could love him as much as he did. Someone who would be kissing the model's soft lips right now and whispering sweet words before turning off the lights and –

"Shit," he murmured.

Biting his bottom lip, he willed himself to stop thinking about it. Kise was the past. When he got to Japan, he wouldn't look for him – no. He would meet up with his old friends and catch up. If Kise were to show up, well, he'd see the new Aomine. Aomine would pretend he didn't notice Kise until the other man spoke up. Even then, Aomine would act indifferent, and Kise would realize how stupid he was to have broken up with him and then...

And then we'd get back together again...

Who was he kidding? He still wasn't over the blonde.

"Sir?" a soft and gentle voice called out.

Aomine let one eye peek out through his fingers. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" the flight attendant had on a worried expression, "May I help you with anything?"

"Oh," You could build me a time machine to start off with, "Could you turn the air vent away from me? The AC is drying up my eyes."

The young lady smiled and reached to adjust the vent as he wanted, but stopped upon reaching it.

"Sir?"

"What is it now?"

"Your air vent is closed..."

Aomine went quiet and feigned sleep, fully aware that the warm, salty liquid that slid down his cheek was not the result of dry eyes.

The rumbling of the aircraft grew louder until the thundering sounds of the engine awoke Aomine from his deep slumber. Wiping the drool off with his wrist, he squinted his eyes, irritated from the rude awakening. His head throbbed painfully from the hangover he had after downing all of those beers. Groaning, he asked the flight attendant for a glass of water, who happily served him. Ignoring the squeals the other girls made when the attendant returned to the cabin, he chugged half the bottle before leaning back and sighing. What the hell did Kise do to him, he wondered. How could anyone have been able to make him feel as pitiful as he did now? With no one to provide him with an answer, and he too hung-over to utilize his tired mind, he glanced out the large window next to his seat. As his vision returned back to normal, he realized that the sudden noise was due to the fact that they had been landing. Japanese signs could be seen in the distance.

I'm back, he thought absentmindedly.

Cringing, he managed somehow to stand up and walk out fairly normally (if stumbling around as if he was a bee with a broken wing looked normal). Warm, bright sunshine greeted his dark skin, and despite the heat, a refreshing breeze helped clear his fuzzy brain. Descending the stairs, the blue haired man looked around for his ride. Akashi had said that he'd send someone to pick him up, since Aomine no longer had anything left in Japan, let alone a car. For this vacation of his, he'd leech off whoever was the poor sap his former captain had sent.

Unfortunately, not a familiar sight was to be seen. Annoyed, he walked towards the airport gates, deciding to call Akashi. When the man didn't pick up, Aomine gave up and walked to hail a taxi. He was about to exit the automatic doors leading to the cab pick-up zone when a hand grabbed onto his.

"What do you – oh.." a mop of light blue hair and eyes stared blankly up at him, "Tetsu. What are you doing here?"

"Obviously to pick you up, Aomine-kun."

The basketball player snorted, "You're late."

"I've been next to you ever since you got off the plane," the smaller boy pouted, feeling falsely accused.

"... Still got zero presence, as always, huh?"

"You're still as rude as ever, Aomine-kun," but he smiled while saying that.

The two men exchanged fist bumps and Aomine followed his best friend into his car. It was kind of small, and the long-limbed pro found himself folded uncomfortably.

"Oi, Tetsu, couldn't you have gotten a bigger car?"

"You're just abnormally tall, Aomine-kun."

He scowled, but knew there wasn't any point in talking further. The tanned man instead chose to stare out the window, surprised at how little the neighbourhood had changed. The convenience store that the Teiko basketball team had visited together remained open, and he smirked when he saw a group of high school boys horsing around outside of it. He also remembered that it was there that he always found magazines with Kise in them. The last he saw had been about Kise's hair. Apparently, people were fascinated how he was able to keep his blonde hair so smooth and silky (weird thing to say about a guy, in his opinion, but he couldn't deny that it was true). He too, had loved the shade of blonde his ex-boyfriend had donned. No one else had such a pure colour... nothing else could match it. He'd recognize it anywhere. It was just like that blob over there on the court...

Aomine slammed his hand against the passenger seat handle and yelled, "Stop the car, Tetsu!"

"I can't, Aomine-kun!" the other man said, "We're in the middle of the road!"

At that moment, Aomine forgot his vow to not look for Kise. He was sure, so sure, that on that court was him. Frustrated, he kicked the door and let out a yell.

"Calm down Aomine-kun!" Kuroko glared at him, "There's a parking lot up ahead. I'll park and you an get out from there."

Tapping impatiently against the car's windowsill, Aomine clenched his teeth together. He needed to see the model again, whether to move on or to find out that he still loved him not just in memory – but in reality – it didn't matter. For five years, what he really wanted was an explanation on the sudden break up. He didn't care if he was contradictory right now or if he was changing his mind too often... he was a man who acted on impulse anyways.

After what felt like a millennium, Kuroko parked his car and Aomine slammed the door opened, not bothering to close it. With long strides, he ran back towards the old basketball courts all while ignoring Kuroko's shouts and the numbness he felt in his legs. He ignored the lingering hangover and focused on the fear of Kise slipping away again. Neglecting rules, Aomine ran across the car filled streets receiving honks and complaints from the shocked drivers. He ran as fast as his strong legs could carry him and entered the courts while breathing heavily. Left, right, behind and in front – he whipped his head in every direction, frantically searching for the familiar golden hair... to no avail.

"Fuck!" he roared, punching the ground with his bare fist. The frustrated basketball player crouched down and hung his head low between his arms to contain his disappointment. He cursed with every bad word he could think of and gritted his teeth.

Then the recognizable reverberation of a basketball filled his ears. The sound of shuffling sneakers on asphalt came closer, as the well-known material graced his ankle.

He didn't move... he waited for whoever it was to come and talk to him. Aomine needed someone to beat up. The person took longer than he expected to arrive before him, and he could hear heavy pants. Holding in his bubbling anger, he waited for whoever it was to speak up, just so he could snap at him. A long silence followed though, and Aomine felt greatly impatient. Just as he was about to raise his head, the person spoke.

"Sorry, mister, if I hit you with my ball. Are you hurt?"

A deep masculine voice or maybe even a cracking voice that belonged to an awkward teenager – those were the types of voices the pro expected. No way in hell did he expect the sweet, high pitched voice of a child. Taking a sneak peek from beneath his arms, he found a pair of ridiculously small shoes. Further up, he saw two teeny hands clamped together nervously.

He sighed. No matter how angry he was, he couldn't beat up a child. Picking up the basketball that laid at his feet, he handed it back, "No, I'm fine. Here – take it..."

The child in front of him made his heart throb painfully.

"Kise..."

"What's up, mister?"

Impossible, Aomine thought, this is a child and well, last time I checked Kise was a grown man. Plus, she's a little girl...

There was no denying the resemblance though. Her hair was the exact same shade, and her face looked just like his.

He grabbed hold of her. "Kise..."

She squirmed, "Let go, mister!"

"Let go of me, Aominecchi"

Aomine dragged the slowly panicking girl with him towards the parking lot where Kuroko would surely be. Kuroko owed him answers.

"Mister! Please stop," she cried, "I'm sorry but I can't go with you!"

"I'm sorry Aominecchi, but I can't go with you."

"..."

The young girl was hysterical now, twisting and biting Aomine's wrist.

"Papa!"

"Takicchi!"

Aomine froze. His blood turning cold.

"Let go of my daughter, you bastard!"

A strong force pulled him, turning him over. Before he knew what was going on, his grip on the wailing child fell slack, and an angry fist smashed into his left cheek. The impact caused the pro to fall to the ground. But neither his bleeding gums or throbbing cheek were on his mind.

There, hovering above him was the man he's been searching for – the man he had so desperately wanted to see all these years ago. His hair had grown longer, but Aomine could tell without a doubt that this was him in all of his golden beauty.

"Kise..."

The man froze at Aomine's raspy voice.

"... Long time no see... Aominechhi."

A/N: My second fanfic T^T. Thank you to everyone who read my debut one, "More Than Once." Especially to those who added a review. I'm happy to hear back from you guys! So here's my second story, which this time, will have multiple chapters. It was also based on a KuroBasu prompt, and I've roughly planned the whole story. I felt like I was watching a korean drama when I was writing this LOL.

By the way, anyone figure out the meaning if Taki yet? Well... besides the fact that it's a name... xD

No idea what else to say except for that I hope you guys enjoy reading this and hope that you'll look forward to future chapters - (I know my writing isn't that great, but please bare with me!) I'll try to make the following chapters really entertaining/interesting! :D