When his and Aomine's friendship ended, it felt like Kuroko's world had fallen apart. As middle school continued and things only got worse between him and the team it was like watching the broken pieces of his world get stepped on again and again, further damaging them.
Kagami and his new team in high school helped. It was kind of like they were slowly gluing the pieces together, and it was nice. It sometimes hurt, the way that Kagami could remind him of Aomine, but overall things were good. He still missed how things had been before it all went to hell in middle school, but he liked his new friends as well.
And he started to get his old friends back, one by one as he played and defeated them.
Then they played Aomine, and it hurt. Having Aomine tell him that his basketball would never win hurt badly. He couldn't get the image of Aomine asking him who his passes were for out of his mind as he looked up at Aomine, and he wanted to prove him wrong. He wanted to win and prove to him that his basketball was good enough. That he was good enough.
They lost, but there was always the Winter Cup. That thought only made it a little better.
He didn't mean to tell Kagami in their next game against Aomine. It just slipped out that he wanted to see Aomine smile while playing again. It was still true though. He'd fallen in love with Aomine's smile just as much as Aomine himself after all.
It was like getting the breath knocked out of him when he did; a weight was taken off of his shoulders as he watched Aomine and Kagami enter the Zone. They were in their own world, and he was happy to just watch them. To watch Aomine. He wasn't the same as he had been in middle school, but that was okay. Kuroko wasn't the same either. They had both changed. The smile was different, his playing was different, but it was no less beautiful.
Yes, he believed in them both, but he had to believe in Kagami to make the winning goal, because it all would be for nothing if Aomine still won.
Another piece of his world clicked back into place when Aomine finally returned his fist bump. He kept on finding a small smile appearing on his face as he and the team walked to Kagami's appartment. Which, by the way, was unfairly nice, especially considering Kagami was living by himself. Well, maybe not by himself, considering his mentor, Alex, seemed to be staying there for an undetermined amount of time.
When Kuroko dialed the familiar number of his former best friend he felt a fear that Aomine would ignore him. He let out a relieved sigh when that wasn't the case.
"Tetsu?" Aomine's voice came through the phone, sounding confused.
"Hello, Aomine-kun. I need your help."
Aomine didn't even hesitate after he heard those words. "I'll catch the first train over there." He said before hanging up without so much as a goodbye. It was so like how things used to be. Aomine rushing to his side without even thinking to ask what it was Kuroko needed, just making sure he was there as soon as possible to help him with whatever it was.
Kuroko met Aomine at the train station and made his request for Aomine to teach him how to shoot.
He could have asked someone else. Hyuuga, Kagami, Riko, Kise. This list went on and on. All of his friends were somehow involved in basketball, even if they didn't play, after all. But Aomine was the best.
Kuroko also wanted an excuse to be around Aomine more.
Playing basketball with Aomine again felt amazing. He was still cautious though. He didn't want to go through falling apart again, but things felt right. More so than they had since that day by the river. No, since the day Aomine walked away from him without returning his fist bump.
And then, one night, as he was walking Aomine to the train station, it started raining. Kuroko could feel his chest tighten and his stomach turning as memories of the last time he was in the rain with Aomine resurfaced.
Aomine looked over at him, and Kuroko could tell he was remembering the same thing. But then something changed in his expression and Aomine reached over and grabbed Kuroko's hand, lacing his fingers through Kuroko's.
"It's not gonna happen again. Letting you go was the biggest mistake I ever made. I'm not going to make it twice. Even if I give up on basketball, I won't give up on you. Never on you." He said, looking Kuroko in the eyes as he spoke to make sure that Kuroko knew he was telling the truth, rain dripping from his hair and down his face, before he started walking again, keeping his hand linked with Kuroko's.
"Aomine-kun . . ." Kuroko was staring at him with a look of wonder on his face.
"Are you free next weekend?" Aomine asked, and if Kuroko squinted he could make out a faint blush on Aomine's face.
"I believe so, yes." Kuroko said with a small smile.
"Good. I haven't had a burger in way too long. I'll buy you one too, since I'm sure you're still living off of vanilla shakes, which isn't healthy." Aomine told him.
"Burgers aren't that healthy either." Kuroko commented, but he was still smiling.
Aomine scoffed. "Healthier that vanilla goo in a cup."
Kuroko placed his free hand over his heart in mock offense. "I may have to reconsider this date if you're going to insult vanilla milkshakes right in front of me like that."
Aomine rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah. They're healthier than 'delicious' vanilla goo in a cup. Better?"
"Yes." Kuroko said with a nod. They got closer to the train station and started moving faster to get out of the rain.
Just before Aomine got onto his train, he leaned down and gave Kuroko a quick peck on the lips.
Despite having to walk home in the rain, he couldn't seem to get the smile to leave him as he walked and thought about their upcoming date and the kiss that Aomine had just given him. Things would be okay. Finally, after all this time apart, they would be okay.