Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Unrequited

i. The one who loved him.

Aomine was the only reason why Kise kept basketball in his life, why he never had the heart to abandon it no matter how tough things became. It was Aomine who brought the sport into his life, it was Aomine who sparked the interest and it was Aomine who kept that fire burning. If there was an equation for how things worked for Kise, for defining the basketball part in his life, it would look something like basketball equated to Aomine and it was the only reason why he kept playing, and that reason alone was enough.

Really, everything was about Aomine. Everything that mattered in Kise's life was somehow related to Aomine in some ways. Kise didn't realise this until much later, but Aomine was taking over his life, dictating his choices, governing his every move. He thought it was basketball that ruled him, but basketball meant Aomine so it was him after all.

Kise couldn't be sure when it happened, only knowing that it did and he only caught on long after. He played because Aomine did, because it was the only thing Kise knew that meant something to the latter. Basketball was like breathing to Aomine, natural, instinctive and it was the only thing Kise knew that kept him alive. Then Kise thought, it'd be nice to have a small part of Aomine's life in his. At least like this, he had a legitimate reason for spending time with him. At least like this, there's a chance for Aomine's eyes to be on him and that Kise lived in his thoughts, no matter how fleeting, how temporary.

Kuroko, Kuroko. How should Kise begin to describe Kuroko? Sure his passing was exceptional, his talent one-of-a-kind but all that aside, Kuroko was mediocre at best. So forgettable, so unattractive, so boring. Kise didn't really like him at first; he still doesn't to be honest. But Kuroko and Aomine, shadow and light. They were a team of their own, the best, Kise was told and frankly that made him jealous. And the way Aomine looked at Kuroko, on and off court, the way their skins brushed every now and then, Kise took it all in, trying his best to ignore that pain that threatened to eat his heart out. Jealousy was such an ugly thing.

But Kuroko mattered to Aomine, Kise could tell with one glance and it wasn't just the friends or brothers-in-arms kinds. Kuroko played a part in Aomine's life, probably just as important as basketball, as important as Momoi. It sent an ache into Kise's heart to know that compared to Kuroko, boring, boring Kuroko, Kise was practically air to Aomine. When Kuroko entered the scene, Aomine never spared Kise a glance, blue eyes that were the colour of the deepest, darkest oceans fixed solely on Kuroko. Everyone else meant nothing.

Just like basketball, Kise tried not hating Kuroko, tried being friends with him, tried adopting him into his life like what he did with basketball. His actions were loud and ostentatious so that no one will realise that underlying dislike and jealousy that bubbled within Kise. But if it meant having a little bit more of Aomine's life, a little bit more of his attention, then who was Kise to complain?

He'd move mountains, swim oceans if it meant having Aomine's undivided attention to himself once and for all.

ii. The one he loved.

Aomine wasn't sure how it happened, but when it did, there was nothing he could do except to punch walls and wallow in pools of self-hatred and guilt. The best thing in his life and he threw it away, fucked everything up. Everything he touched, he fucked it up bad. Tetsu was no exception.

Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was Tetsu, disappointed Tetsu and how he turned his face away from Aomine, so terribly hurt. But the worst part was that Aomine knew he was the reason behind it

Satsuki had panicked, frantically screaming at him to salvage things in however way he could, even if it meant throwing away his monstrous cancer of a dignity and go apologise. Go onto his knees, if he had to. Yet no matter how much he knew he should, no matter how much or how loudly she screeched at him, no matter how painful Satsuki's punches and kicks were, Aomine was defiant, so stubborn. Tetsu was important, yes. Tetsu meant so much to him but obviously his ego won out in that battle.

But if there was one thing that gave him any comfort, it was the fact that if Tetsu cared enough to be upset, then at least he cared.

"You idiot, you stupid amoebic moron. You honestly have no idea how much I want to kill you. For god's sake just get your ass up and go apologise you egoistic shithead." Satsuki cried while flinging punches at him as Aomine stayed obstinately still. "Godammit Daiki!"

In the end, when she realised that stupid, amoebic Aomine was not going to put down he ego in the near future, Satsuki had left in a huff. Aomine guessed that she was probably going to find Tetsu and try to patch things up on his behalf. Trust Satsuki to pick up the broken pieces left in his wake, trust her to do the right thing when all Aomine could cause was destruction. Bless her soul.

"Aominecchi," Kise had said after sitting next to him silently for half an hour. Aomine was trying to catch some sleep on the rooftop but failed when visions of Kuroko looking so hurt haunted his dreams. "Things aren't going so good these days, huh?" Kise said lightly.

Aomine snorted. What an understatement that was. He turned to his side, away from Kise and forced himself to shut out all unpleasant thoughts from surfacing but it was wasted effort. Kise looked at him and Aomine never got to see the forlorn smile that lingered on his face.

"Aominecchi," he said again and Aomine willed him to shut up but didn't say anything. He had lost Tetsu and Satsuki wasn't speaking to him. (At least not until he man up which Aomine knew was not going to happen any time soon.) While Aomine was stupid, he wasn't a big enough idiot to risk driving away the only person that didn't mind talking to him, keeping him company.

Kise drew his knees up to his chest. "Perhaps we should just leave everything behind, run away and drive into the sunset like what they do in the movies," he told him as he stared into the clear sky.

Those words actually reached him and the corner of Aomine's lips twisted into a smirk. It was a tempting thought. "Yeah, that would be nice wouldn't it?" Perhaps once he and Tetsu made up, perhaps once he had stopped being such a jerk, perhaps they could do something like that. Aomine liked that.

With that thought in mind, Aomine slept. Kise looked on and grimaced, knowing very well that he'll never stand a chance.

Thoughts?