A/N: I'm back and with another fic (the title is so unoriginal I know) which would hopefully tickle your fancy. Just in time as well for the new season of Kuroko no Basuke! Woot! Rejoice with me KnB fans! The second season opening just made me want to scream out loud! Seriously! Why are they making our lovable boys look even hotter? Are the producers trying to hook more females into the fujoshi world? Anyway, hope you like this haha!

Warning: Un-betaed. (Seriously, I couldn't wait for my beta to finish and I know I still have yet to PM you guys but please please wait for me. Once October ends, I would have A LOT of free time on my hands to respond to all of you, Much love everyone!)

Summary: Akashi married first. Midorima second, Kise third, Aomine fourth, and Murasakibara, fifth. It was just the way it was when you grew up. Kuroko thought otherwise. GoMxKuroko T-M

Kuroko never told anyone of this but sometimes, he regretted ever playing basketball. It wasn't something he should be bothered with. It was just a game. It was only supposed to be a hobby. Basketball was only a means to pass time but how can something so insignificant change his life so much?

Meeting the Generation of Miracles was just a bonus, he guessed. Or was it fate? He never believed in uncertainty but he respected the fact that there were somethings in this world you just can't explain. Now, this was his dilemma.

Things should have been fine after Seirin won against Rakuzan. It had been one brutal game but Kuroko didn't falter. He persisted even when the situation turned for the worse. He persevered even more when the odds were against his favor.

It was just the way it was.

When he wanted something, he would do everything in his power to attain it. On that day, he wanted more than anything to win against Rakuzan not because he had to make a point, but because it was Seirin he was playing for. He played his heart out that day, pushing his body, mind, and soul to the limit to play till the end and not surprisingly, Kagami had dunked his way to victory.

When the last whistle was heard, his head and heart had felt strangely empty. Seirin won. He should be happy but Kuroko wasn't. It was odd. He was being odd. All this time, wasn't he working towards this same goal? From the corner of his eye, he saw Akashi staring at him, his eyes blazing with hate, Kuroko didn't know, but his victory didn't reunite his former team.

Sure, they were friends but their former bond as a team will never be reformed. Some things just weren't meant to be. The only thing he could ever ask for was for them to still be able to communicate with each other, preserving that small and weak connection they all unknowingly had. The Generation of Miracles was a thing of the past but Kuroko wasn't willing to part with them. He never wanted to be away from them.

This small desire he had nurtured once and tried to forget had surfaced again when Seirin won that fateful day. As Kuroko watch them walk away from him a second time, he felt miserable. He felt desolate. And this scared Kuroko.

More than anything else, he was scared to admit that maybe, his goal wasn't as pure as he first thought it would be. Shame washed over him in waves and it was effort in itself to keep him standing as the loud cheers of the crowd and his teammates resounded all over the court.

He didn't feel victorious. He felt defeated, and so the phantom sixth man of Seirin had sworn to himself that day as his former team left the gymnasium. He would forever keep his secret. He would carry it to his grave.

...

Akashi Seijuro married first. They should have seen it coming. He was, after all, the heir to a very powerful and traditional family. One way or another, marriage was bound to happen. Arranged or not, an heir must be absolutely attained and being unable to provide an heir would make it seem that Akashi was unfit to carry his father's name.

It would tantamount to something similar to a loss. And Akashi didn't lose. He would never allow himself to lose once again. He had lost once but he will never do so again. He had married after he was out of university. Akashi Seijuro tied the knot at the age of twenty-two.

What they didn't expect was Midorima Shintarou marrying next. Being a perfect example of a tsundere, no one thought that he would marry so early in life. He always rubbed people the wrong way and his addiction to fate and horoscopes made him seem like he was incapable of loving and being loved in return.

They were certainly proven wrong when the news of his engagement reached their ears. Six months later and the formidable shooter of the Generation of Miracles became a happily wedded husband. It was just a year after Akashi's own wedding.

Another surprise of the century was the fact that the Kise Ryouta, model extraordinaire and prodigal basketball player, decided to tell the world that he had landed himself the perfect girlfriend. For someone who's so prickly and cautious about other people, he sure chose his wife rather quickly.

Being in the entertainment industry tended to twist one's views about marriage, and love in general, but Kise overcame that small hurdle. Three years of dating and endless gushing from Kise's part, he decided to propose, and not surprisingly, the lucky girl accepted. His wedding was held just two years after Midorima's.

It was Aomine's wedding that really didn't shock anyone. The genius and unstoppable basket player, whose mere presence on court could bring even the strongest man to their knees, had always loved women. He had been known to always bring his inappropriate magazines to school.

What really made people curious was the fact that one woman was able to ground Aomine's unsavory habits and it wasn't Momoi Satsuki. She must really have the dark-skinned player wrapped around her small finger to be able to make Aomine fall in love with her. The couple decided to go with the flow and married about five months after Kise's wedding.

The last down the line was Murasakibara Atsushi. By this time, people were already so used to the Miracles getting married that they could hardly be caught off guard. Out of all the Generation of Miracles, one could say that Murasakibara was the lesser of extremes if you leave his snacks alone.

The wife seemed to respect that, but it was the small detail of their relationship which made people gawk and stare. For someone who looked so fragile, she was able to get him to eat healthy food once in a while, and that, they thought, was more worthy for celebration that the wedding itself. A year and half after Aomine's wedding, Murasakibara decided that it was his turn. He was after all twenty-six and it can't be prolonged any longer.

Seriously, getting married one after another, shouldn't they think about people who knew them all and had to attend their wedding every single time? Take Kagami Taiga, for example. The fiery red head of Seirin who led their victory numerous times was already at wits' end once the invitations flooded his home one after another. His former teammates could hardly sympathize, they weren't close to the Generation of Miracles, after all.

"You should be used to it, Bakagami. We're at that age, you know?" Riko once said, her tone admonishing as if she was talking to a child. Kagami wasn't appeased. His scowl only deepened. It was a damned good thing that being a world-class basketball player payed big time else he didn't know where to get the money for the gifts.

He couldn't even imagine the many gifts he had to buy for the monsters those rainbow heads would be spawning soon. Kagami cringed. He didn't like the thought of that happening. He should really consider playing somewhere near Antarctica to make sure he wouldn't get involved. Too bad all of the Miracles had the connection to track him down.

That wasn't the end of it though. At age twenty-eight, Riko and the other members of Seirin's basketball team were already married. Riko to Hyuuga, not surprising really, and the others to their respective wives. Kagami decided to settle down a bit at thirty years old. He could play basketball anytime but starting a family wasn't something he should wait out. Life was short and he didn't think he could take having all his friends goading him any longer.

All was well and good. Finding your life partner and binding with them was the normal thing as you grew up. It was just the way lives of people go. Nothing seems out of the ordinary except for one tiny thing. None of them ever received a marriage invitation from one phantom player.

At the age of thirty, Kuroko Tetsuya still remained single. It was this small detail that everyone seemed to ponder about. Getting married after thirty should already be considered a little late, but Kuroko didn't think so.

He just didn't.

Unlike his friends, he didn't get to find 'the one'. That one person you'd want to spend your life with, his heart never beat for anyone. Every relationship Kuroko ventured in always ended with him breaking up with the other person because no matter who they were, they were unable to spark life in Kuroko's eyes.

His friends worried about him though but the former sixth man of the Miracles remained indifferent and always seemed to disappear into thin air after every wedding he was invited to. Communication gradually lessened until Kuroko became completely cut off from their lives.

They were never able to truly connect with Kuroko again because they have their own family now. They have completely different lives and bothering with another should be taxing at best. And it was then that Kuroko was placed at the back of their minds. His presence disappearing completely as his friends and former Teikou teammates adjusted to their new lives.

...

It was on one winter's eve when Kuroko decided to call it quits. He heaved one tired sigh, a groan escaping his lips when he felt the soreness at the middle of his back. For the past few days, he had been trying to wrestle his way down the paperwork dumped on him by his team leader. Why did he even apply for an office job again? It was seriously going be the death of him someday. Sighing once again, he idly cleaned his desk, and stacked his finished work as carefully as possible.

Times had changed so much that sometimes Kuroko forgets to breathe. He brushed his bangs away as he collected his things. Easing himself off his desk, Kuroko gave off a weary smile. At least all his hard work paid off. Just a month ago, a small daycare had been put up just near his new home. Things were looking better for him now. Someone who's already at the age of thirty-one and single was just a sad thing at times.

Kuroko didn't mind being solitary at most times but when he sits down and think of how life was going for him, he decided to move out of the country he was living in and return to Japan. During the past years, he had situated himself at the heart of Europe, his expertise in literature and interior design flourishing under the hands of master artisans.

It had taken him a bit of time to adjust but the stifling loneliness he felt whenever he saw his friends getting married one by one seemed to ease some of the pain he was feeling. Kuroko knew he had to do keep himself at a distance. Besides, it's not as if anyone would miss him at home. Unfortunately, his father had passed away from a heart attack while his mother had died of an illness. Nothing was left for him at the place he once called home.

At twenty-five, Kuroko decided that he was done moping about and moved to Europe, only going home once in awhile whenever he was invited to a wedding. Now fast track to five years and Kuroko felt that he had to do something about his life. He was a grown man who could afford anything that he needed except for the one thing he wanted.

Kuroko wanted a family of his own, but he knew that it was impossible. Not once had he felt anything for anyone and he didn't think that starting now would make a difference. Thus, he resolved to find an alternative and it came in the form of a daycare he had planned with Momoi. It seems that even with her busy schedule as a model and fashion designer, she found time to always check up on him.

He knew why she was so worried about him, and it gave Kuroko little assurance that even after all these years, someone still cared to actually ask for his well-being. Kuroko sighed and shook his head, clearing his soft hair from the falling snow. Winter always made him feel melancholic. The cool and soothing background of a winter night only made everything look so...Sad.

A bitter smile graced his pale lips. His impassive eyes flickering for a second before briefly closing them. It would change soon, Kuroko thought, I just need to be patient. Because once the new year comes, another beginning would be waiting for him. He'll resign from his desk job and focus his entire being into the daycare he would be opening soon.

Kuroko had enough money saved up and his books were raking in money even as he speaks. Being an interior designer as well didn't have to take up much of his time, thus this was enough. If he couldn't have children of his own, then he'd have to compromise and take care of children not his own.

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Completed: October 13, 2013