Kise found out that he liked Aomine when they were playing one-on-one for the umpteenth time during their second year of middle school. It was one of those evenings when Kise lost to Aomine after endless 'Aominecchi, one more time!'s.

"Amoninecchi! That's not fair!" He fell onto the floor with a less than graceful attitude. Sweat dampened his hair, making the golden strands looked a shade darker. A big smile was painted on his face despite all his whining.

"Ah? It's not my fault if you're weak Kise. You're a hundred years too early to beat me." His eyes glinted with amusement, betraying his harsh words. The tanned boy plopped himself down next to his blonde teammate. "You're pretty good for a newbie, though."

Kise flashed him a boyish grin. "You think so? You really think so?" He looked so much like a child fishing out for compliments from his parents that Aomine couldn't help but to laugh out loud. He mussed Kise's hair using his right hand. "Of course you are, idiot. You started only a few weeks ago and you're already better than half of the seniors. Have some pride." He playfully punched Kise on the shoulder before giving him one of his sincerest smiles.

Kise inhaled deeply. For some reasons, having Aomine at a close proximity made his heart beat faster. Like ,really, a lot faster. He vaguely recalled something his Biology teacher mentioned about hormones and adrenaline, fight or flight or was it flight or fight? He must've been nervous to be next to a shining star, like Aomine, he concluded. An idea struck his head.

"Aominecchi, one more time. This time I'll beat you!" Kise quickly got up on his feet, extending his left hand to Aomine. The tanned male sighed. " C'mon Kise. What time do you think it is? Even Satsuki has left."

"Aominecchi~, don't be like that. Pleaaseeeee?" Adrenaline makes your heart beat faster, preparing you for any situation. Oxygen is pumped to your whole body at a faster rate. Increased cellular respiration, more ATP is generated blah-blah, not that Kise cared about the details anyway. However, more ATP means more energy, and somehow being the absolute genius he was, he naively thought that it could give him more energy to beat Aomine, and since Aominecchi was already exhausted he had the advantage, right? It would be years later that he would finally finds out about Aomine's true stamina.

Aomine grabbed Kise's hand, shaking his head. "No can do pretty boy, I got to run." He picked up the forgotten basketball next to him. Kise gave him one of his famous puppy eyes. " Pleaseeee?" Aomine rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow we'll play again alright?"He actually pitied the blonde, but he had something else (a.k.a sleeping) to catch. Truthfully, he was already quite exhausted. Not that he would ever admit that.

"Eh~, but Aominecchi, I want to get better~." Kise pouted, his topaz orbs pleading for Aomine to stay. A basketball was suddenly shoved to him and he was taken aback.

"Practice by yourself, idiot. I wanna go home." The sky was already dark. Aomine grabbed his bag and jacket which he left on the bench before the practice started.

"Practicing alone is no fun." He still hadn't lost his pout. Kise spun the ball using his left hand.

"Better than sitting around doing nothing."

"But Aominecchi~-.."

"No buts." Aomine was already halfway to the door. "Besides, you have the ball with you. Practice on your dribbling skills or something."

"I want to play with Aominecchi. I don't want this stupid ball."

Aomine chuckled. He was already out of the gym. "Balls don't have brains you idiot. It can be neither stupid nor smart." He tilted his head sideways, wearing his smug face.

Kise stopped dead on his tracks.

Aominecchi.

The moonlight shone on his navy hair, making the blue locks looked like rippling water. Like the ocean at night. Combined with his mocking grin, to Kise, Aomine looked like an angel. A mischievous angel.

"Kise? Oi Kise?"

"Hm? What?" He blinked immediately, realizing that he had been staring at Aomine for quite some time.

"I'm going back. Make sure you lock the gym after you leave."

"Uh, o-okay." Damn, why did he stutter?

"See you tomorrow."

Kise just waved back at Aomine. After the bluenette had disappeared from his sight, he plopped down onto the gym floor. Calm down heart. He tried to slow down his frantically beating heart. A faint blush crept on his face. Aomine looked so stunning. No, beautiful. He recalled the first time he saw Aomine slam dunking. He remembered how his hard heart was pounding.

Adrenaline, no, this is not adrenaline.

Because, he was all alone and yet, he felt like his heart was going to burst. Only because Aominecchi looked so freaking stunning. Realization dawned upon him.

Aominecchi, I probably like you.

…

Kise noticed that what he felt towards Aomine might be more than just a simple crush when they were both in their second year of high school. He and Aomine had rekindled their friendship after Toou's lost in Winter Cup the previous year.

It was one of those days when they decided to have some burgers at Maji's . Coincidentally, he was around Toou area as he had a photo shoot at one of the buildings near the academy. He then decided to pay Aomine a visit as he knew that the tanned boy would still be at school even though it was already nearing sunset. True enough, he found Aomine lazing around at the rooftop with a Mai chan magazine in his hands.

"Kise." Aomine's voice was quite slow but the blond heard it nonetheless, jerking him from his musings.

"Hm?" he looked up from his burger. Aomine had just finished his second hamburger. He was staring at Kise, but the look he wore was distant.

"Have you ever liked somebody?" Kise almost choked on his burger at the unexpected question. "Wha-What?" He took a big gulp out of his soda.

"Nothing. I was just curious you know. There," He pointed at the table opposite to theirs. "They have been staring at you. Must be nice, model san." A group of girls were giggling while occasionally glancing at Kise.

"Have you ever liked a girl Kise?" Kise frowned. This Aomine was new to him. This Aomine asked weird questions out of the blue. "Have you?" Kise quirked an eyebrow. And persistent too.

"No, I don't think I have ever fallen for a girl." He smiled, although it felt a bit weird.

"Not even the ones you have slept with?" Aomine gave him one of his famous smirks.

Kise had to stop himself from blushing furiously. How was he supposed to tell Aomine that he had never slept with a girl? He hadn't had his first real kiss yet, for goodness's sake! He was saving himself for someone special. As girlish as it may sound, Kise was a firm believer that a person shouldn't be sleeping with someone else if he does not really love her.

"No… I guess?"

"Seriously Kise? How could you not fall for all those boobs?" The dark haired male took another bite of his fourth burger.

Kise glared at Aomine, his hands fiddling with his the wrapper of his burger. "I am not you Aominecchi, I don't fall for people based on their looks. I don't even like boobs that much." I like you, Aominecchi.

Aomine ignored his first statement. He kept o munching his fries. "So what do you do when someone confesses at you?"

"Huh? I just decline them politely. What, did a girl confess to you?" He tried to make it sound normal even though his heart was hammering his ribcage like crazy. He was aware that Aomine was popular, even if the tanned male was not as popular as Kise was.

"Ah? What bullshit are you talking about? Why would I ask you those questions if I am not the one who is liking somebody?" His words hit Kise like slap in the face. Aaominecchi… likes a girl? Aomine looked away, probably just realized what he had said.

"Wah~ Aominecchi has grown up! Who is she? Who is she? Is she somebody I know? I can't believe Aominecchi is now a matured person! I have to tell everybody!"

It took all of his willpower to maintain his usual, cheerful self, when all he wanted to do was to cry his eyes out. All this while, he clung onto the fact that Aomine had never felt anything special towards any girl as a hope that maybe, he, Aomine liked him, Kise, no matter how impossible that may sound. And even if Aomine didn't like him, at least no one had the privilege of getting Aomine's attention,romantically.

"You're too loud idiot. Pipe it down!" He glared at Kise, but the blush on his cheeks did not escape Kise's notice. Kise felt even another stab on his heart. The Aomine he knew would never blush just because a girl was mentioned. He must like this girl a lot.

"Do you need my help with confessing?" He immediately regretted saying those words as soon as they escaped his lips. What was he doing, he was trying to help his crush to confess to another person!

"Nah, I thought you might have a lot of experience with confessing, you know. But turns out you are even less experienced than I am."

Kise feigned a hurt look. " You're mean Aominecchi, I may not have confessed to any girl, but I have been confessed to a lot of times. You know how good I am at imitating others."

A crumpled wrapper was thrown at his face and both of them burst out into laughter.

They ate in silence after that. And after they parted way at the train station, Kise finally allowed himself to cry. And he cried all the way home, not caring that the passersby might be wondering why the famous Kise Ryota was practically bawling his eyes out.

Aominecchi, I love you so much it hurts.

….

Kise was twenty six when he discovered that he might never get over his first love, Aomine. He was working as a pilot, while Aomine, as expected, played for the NBA. It was on one of those rare days, when Kise had a day off.

He was lazing around on his couch watching the news on TV when the news anchor said something about a plane crash. As a pilot, naturally, he was interested. However when he realized that the flight was from L.A to Japan, he remembered that Aomine was due to board a plane the day before to return to japan.

He frantically tried to reach Aomine's cellphone, but he was only able to reach the operator. Quickly, he checked his message. Aomine informed him that he was coming back. His flight, his flight…J-700. The plane that crashed...He fumbled with his phone and somehow managed to look the news up online.

It was the plane that Aomine had boarded. He felt his blood draining from his tried to contact the airline, but he line was busy. He called Momoi's cell, and a sobbing Satsuki answered his call.

"Ki-chan, Dai-chan, Dai-chan…" He was not able to comprehend Momoi's words after that. However he was able to get the message. Momoi would not be crying so hard if nothing had happened to Aomine. Please be alive Aominecchi. Please God, let this be just a misunderstanding.

When he was finally able to reach the airline, he was informed that Aomine Daiki, the famous basketball player, had indeed checked in, and boarded the plane. And no, there was no survivor. The whole crew and passengers perished in the crash. The hand phone slipped from his hands.

He thought he was over Aomine, he thought he was way past loving Aomine. These past five years, he had had girlfriends, not one or two but more than he could remember. Ironically, while his numerous girlfriends should had been be the ultimate proof that he was over Aomine, it was also the boldest sign that he was never able to sustain a relationship for a long time, no matter how beautiful the girls were.

Because all that he saw when he looked at them was Aomine.

All that he felt when he held their hands was Aomine.

All those night he spent with those girls, all those times, he was only able to reached orgasms only if he was picturing that, instead of a girl writhing under him, it was Aomine, who was caressing his back, Aomine who was trailing soft kisses at his jawline.

Pathetic, he knew.

He was a coward, he knew.

He even abandoned his principle of not sleeping around as he did not want Aomine to suspect that he was gay. Worse, he did not want Aomine to notice that he, Kise was in love with Aomine. All so that he could sustain his friendship with Aomine. All so that he could spend a little bit more time, no matter how short with Aomine.

His legs were weak to support his weight, thus he gripped the nearest object for support. Tears streamed down his face. How could this happen? How could fate be so cruel?

Aominecchi..

He pictured Aomine's smile.

I..

He remembered Aomine's laugh.

Haven't…

He recalled how piercing those blue orbs were.

Even told you how I feel towards you...

He conjured the image of what could have been had he told Aomine how he felt towards the power forward. Maybe Aomine would reject him, maybe things would become awkward between them, maybe they would no longer remain friends, maybe Aomine would accept his feelings. If he had told Aomine, maybe they had formed a family by now, maybe they had adopted one or two boys. Whatever it was, at least he would not have felt what he was feeling.

Regret.

A big regret. And he continued crying, until he finally cried himself to sleep.

Kise took the whole week off. He did not answer his phone, nor did he go out of his apartment. He even stopped checking his emails. All he did was cry and cry.

It was four days after the devastating news when somebody decided to pay him a visit. Initially he wanted to ignore his visitor, but the doorbell kept on ringing, disturbing his peace that Kise decided to answer the door. He roughly pulled his front door open, fully intending to shout at whoever the intruder was to leave him the hell alone.

What met his sight, however, were a pair of blue eyes which had been haunting his dreams these past few years.

"Aominecchi?" His breath came out as a soft whisper.

"Yo! Kise… What happened to you, you look like shit." He was sure that Aomine said something about his unshaven face and his disheveled hair after but he could not care less. He tightly wrapped his arms around Aomine.

"Wha-What the hell Kise? What the hell? Get off me!"

Kise buried his face at the crook of Aomine's neck. He shook his head. It did not bother him the slightest that Aomine might think that he was smelly, or crazy or whatever. He was still caught in his disbelief. How? How did Aominecchi survive the plane crash?

"You thought I had what?"Aomine roared with laughter. He had just made himself a cup of coffee.

Kise gave him his famous pout, pretending that he was upset. He felt fresh. After days of not showering, he finally felt alive again.

"I can't help it Aominecchi~. I thought Aominecchi had… How did you manage to escape anyway?"

Aomine sighed. He took another sip of his coffee. "I was never on that plane in the first place."

"Eh~ but I contacted the airline, they say you had checked in an hour before the plane took off."

Aomine almost rolled his eyes. "I fell asleep at the lounge, idiot. They took too long that I fell asleep."

"B-But, when I called Momoicchi she was crying, She said something about Dai-chan. How could I not suspect, you know…" He was fidgeting now.

"Kise, have you forgotten that Satsuki's son's name is also Daiki? He got admitted to a hospital. Asthma or something. I don't know."

"Oh…" Kise felt really stupid. Dumb blonde.

"That aside, do you ever check your phone? I sent you countless messages. I even called your phone but I was never able to reach you." Aomine quirked one eyebrow. "Don't tell me you were mourning my," This time he really rolled his eyes. "'Death'."

"I can't help it. Okay." Man up Kise. Tell him now. "I mean, I can't picture my life without you, eh no, I mean, I can picture as I have spent these past few days thinking that you are… you know, because I really-" OK he was rambling. "All I want to say is I really l-li-." Ish, how hard is it to tell your crush for twelve years that you like him? " I really li-li-" Oh great, now the words are stuck at his lips.

"Like me?"

Kise felt his blood had leaving his face. But he nodded furiously, until his head felt like rolling of his neck.

"Are you gay, Kise?"

Kise thought that he could die of embarrassment that moment. Of course, he was not ashamed of his sexuality. Hell, he was not even sure if he was gay. He had never fallen for another guy, or even found another male attractive for that matter. No, he was not mortified by his sexual orientation. What he was afraid of was, however, if he admitted that he was gay, Aomine would know that he had been pretending to like girls all this while.

Then Aomine would connect the dots.

And Aomine would know that he had had feelings for Aomine for a long time.

Aomine would think that he was a freak.

Aomine would think that he was creepy.

He would not want to friends with Kise anymore.

Kise would lose Aomine.

Oh no.

"Kise? Oi Kise? Why do you always space out when you're talking to me?" he waved a hand in front of Kise's face.

"Hm? Oh. Err-" Oh great, now he felt like crying, no, he was already crying. All of these felt a little too heavy for him to churn at the same time. Aominecchi being supposedly dead, Aominecchi appearing at his doorstep, Aominecchi asking him about his feelings ( well not exactly asking) and all of those frightened him.

He was suddenly pulled into a hug. Rough, calloused fingers threaded through his silky smooth hair. He felt a soft kiss pressed at the top of his head. He clutched at Aomine's t-shirt tightly.

"Do you like me Kise?"

Kise nodded, he did not dare to lift his head to meet Aomine's eyes.

"Do you love me Kise?"

Kise immediately tensed. Liking was one thing, but loving was another. But then he decided that he would never admit to Aomine about his feelings if he let this chance escape. He nodded again.

His chin was suddenly roughly tilted so that he would face Aomine.

"I don't understand sign language Kise. Do you like me or not?"

Kise was taken aback, but still he stubbornly refused to admit his feelings. He tried to avert his eyes. He was scared. What if Aominecchi was only making fun of him? What if Aominecchi was doing this to test Kise?

Aomine let out a sigh. This was not going to be easy.

"Kise, if you don't answer me, I am going to leave." He detached himself from his former team mate.

Kise kept his gaze downwards. Suddenly even his shoes were more interesting to observe than looking at Aomine.

"Kise…" Aomine's voice was low but dangerous.

"I'm leaving." He got up so abruptly that he almost hit Kise's nose with his shoulder. He was halfway to the front door when a soft tug at his shirt stopped him.

Kise's gaze was still kept at the floor. His cheeks could not had gotten redder even if a pail of bright red paint was to be splashed at him. "IreallylikeyouAominecchi."

Aomine's lips broke into a wide grin. "What did you say? I did not quite catch you."

Kise felt like jumping off a cliff. "I said, I like you Aominecchi!"

"Like as in what sense? I like cheese omelette, but I don't think I would ever consider marrying my cheese omelette."

"I… love-." He bit his lower lip. This was so embarrassing,

"Hm? You love what?" Since when did Aomine moved towards him. This is too close! Aomine neared his face towards Kise until their noses were touching. "You love whom Kise?"

Kise shut his eyes tightly. He could feel Aomine's breath on his face. "Aominecchi."

"Yes?"

"Huh?"

"You called my name."

"No, what I meant was, it is you Aominecchi."

"It is I what?"

Kise felt Aomine's arms encircling his waist, pressing their bodies together.

"It is you whom I love Aominecchi."

He felt a hand roughly tugging at his hair, and a pair of lips smashing his roughly. He felt Aomine's tongue on his lips, seeking for permission. He gasped for air, and Aomine took that opportunity to fully explore his mouth.

The kiss lasted for a few seconds, but to Kise, it was worth more than all his twenty six years combined.

"I thought you would never say it idiot. I love you too."

Kise was twenty six when he got to know that Aomine had also been feeling the same towards him, and to Kise, his twenty sixth year of life was the happiest year ever.

Aominecchi, I don't think I could ever live without you.

….
Aomine closed Kise's diary shut. He would never have thought that Kise would jot down every single thing about him in the dark blue book. He found the diary hidden under their bed while rummaging through Kise's belongings.

Aomine was fourteen when he started to notice Kise. He decided to throw a basketball at Kise's head to attract Kise's attention one evening. Since then, his feelings for Kise only grew deeper.

Aomine was seventeen when he noticed that he, Kise, might had had feelings for Aomine too. However when he tried to fish for Kise's jealousy during that evening at Maji's, he was not only greeted with no jealousy, but also Kise's enthusiasm in helping him to get the 'girl'.

Aomine was twenty six when he finally confirmed Kise's feelings for him. The distress which was replaced by relief in Kise's eyes when he appeared at the blonde's apartment spoke of non-platonic feelings Kise had for him. He also finally admitted what he had been feelings for the blonde too.

They spent nine beautiful years together and now, at thirty five Aomine was alone on Teikou's rooftop.

Kise had passed away two weeks ago after two years of battling lung cancer.

His lips formed an ironic smile. Kise had never smoked, not even once throughout his life, while he, Aomine was a chain smoker. Yet, fate decided to test Kise with the cancer instead of him.

Kise, you must be feeling very lonely over there.

He clutched the dark diary tightly. Kise…when the wind blows, it brings me your scent. He inhaled deeply. I miss you.

He climbed over the railing. Teikou was where everything started between him and Kise,

Kise…

He looked down noticing the emptiness of the school's compound. It was Sunday.

I..

He lets one hand go off the railing.

Am..

He allowed both hands to be completely free. Kise's diary was safely tucked in his jacket. Teikou would be the ideal place to end everything.

Coming…

He jumped.

He closed his eyes before finally allowing gravity to pull his body down. He pictured Kise's smile in his head.

Kise… I too, think that I would never be able to live without you.

He knew that his act was selfish. He knew that Kise would never agree to this. After all, the blonde wanted him to live his life to the fullest. But then, he wouldn't be Aomine if he weren't so bloody selfish.

He knew that Kise would probably scold him, but then he knew that Kise would eventually forgive him, and they would be together happily. And this time he could say, happily ever after.

…..

The following day the whole nation was shaken by the news of a retired NBA player committing suicide. However, what made the news more bizarre was the fact that said ex basketballer had a big smile plastered on his bloodied face. A smile a person would usually wear when seeing something he has been longing to see for a long time.