The Color of Rain
Disclaimers: I do not own any piece of work deriving from the manga or anime adaptations of Kuroko no Basuke.
Void
Not an opportunity of silence presented itself throughout the match held within the basketball courts of Tōō Academy. Enveloping the entire court's atmosphere was the chants of the bench players giving their support to their respective team members. Though a practice match ensued, both teams of Tōō and Seirin didn't falter on their performance.
The contact of the basketball slamming around the courts were now towering over the chants of each team as they paused to observe the next play that was about to commence. In hand, Furihata dribbled the radiant orange ball in a steady rhythmic tempo as observed his surroundings with multiple glances toward the opposing first year player marked on him, but also glanced over to the scoreboard overhead to see the time remaining on the fourth quarter. With less than two and a half minutes remaining, the brunette young man furrowed his brows in frustration. Not only was the match minutes from being finished, but Tōō had a three point advantage over their own.
"Ninety-eight to ninety-five… we have to act fast." Furihata murmured, his lips curling downwards with a hint of frustration. Each member of Seirin had their own battle to face constantly aiming to evade the opposing team's guard on them. God, was Furihata pressured more than ever at this last sliver of time of the end of the quarter. Thankfully his cautious demeanor served great promise on the court and his eyes brightened immediately as soon he saw the opportunity to execute his pass.
Catching the ball with ease by the phantom player Kuroko, Furihata nodded with succession as he began to retreat toward their basket. A rather distinct orange haired foreign player of Tōō Academy's team exhaled with deep frustration of letting the azure haired player drift away from his line of sight and he immediately rushed to attempt to claim the ball once more. As quick as the ball touched the pale fingertips of Kuroko's hand, his instant reaction to pass once more was even quicker than the opposing member could ever anticipate.
Kuroko flawlessly projected the ball to the direction of Seirin's number ten, Kagami Taiga who was already passed the center of the full court, and managed to escape the guard of another student of Tōō's. A small smile from Kuroko's lips was exchanged to the blazing burgundy haired man as Kagami immediately turned to finish the play at hand.
As soon as Kagami turned his frame to advance toward their basket, he was faced with a pair of steady indigo eyes piercing through him. Kagami paused immediately, retracting the ball toward the right hand side of his body, calculating how to maneuver through this dangerous individual.
"Practice game or not, we're not planning on giving up, Aomine." Kagami heaved with a grin plastered on his face. The fluctuation of Kagami's small pants were enough for Aomine Daiki to tell that the wild Seirin player was about to exceed his limitations. Sweat heavily fell from both ace's, and though Aomine also felt the slight strain of fatigue, he decided he was done letting Seirin continue with their advances. Simply ignoring the comment, Aomine sunk his upper body slightly, arms hung over his knees low and relaxed, his lips pressed into a firm line as he played various scenarios in his mind of how Kagami would proceed. With less than two minutes to spare, Aomine will not give anyone the satisfaction of letting his guard down with three points in the lead.
Kagami quickly exhaled and dove the ball between his legs to meet with his left hand and he darted toward the darker man's right hand side. Aomine scoffed, suspecting this course of action and begins to counter, when he feels the presence of another body just centimeters away from his own being. Aomine's eyes lightly widen as he's faced with Fukuda's screen, taking away from his initial reaction to strike the ball from Kagami's grasp.
Not wasting another second of time on the scoreboard, Kagami proceeded to close the distance of their basket with rapid speed but now found another obstacle to overcome in which was Tōō's center who was almost a two centimeter's taller than their previous center Wakamatsu. Kagami cursed internally, furrowing his rather fierce brows and advanced with his run toward the basket.
Tōō's center, a tall individual who bore a stoic expression upon his face began to bend at the knees, knowing Kagami's intent to dunk the ball. Observing that shift, Kagami immediately came to a pause at the free throw line with his feet pivoting to his left hand side, and Aomine gritted his teeth in realization.
"Hatsu!" Aomine barked, now evading Fukuda's screen to recover to Kagami and Hatsu's position. "Don't jump too soon, he's going for a lane up!" Those words were shouted all too late as Hatsu undoubtedly leaped in the air with intent to stop Kagami. Hatsu, a rather large in stature blond haired second year, choked out an exhale as he saw Kagami retract the ball toward his lower left hand side with both hands before sinking his hips to draw out one of the last inhumane jumps anyone has ever witnessed in the sport.
In just short moments after, Kagami exhaled with a yell, his body almost catapulted by his own kinetic energy to draw his play to an end. Hatsu could only gawk in disbelief that he fell for such a tactic that the insane Seirin member conditionally uses. He didn't blink as he felt his own body gravitate back down toward the wooden floorboards of the court first as Kagami continue to maintain airborne past the free throw line.
With the piercing, heavy bent sounds of the rim being slammed on by Kagami's rather large hand, and a violent swish of the net, the uproars of the players ceased as those fierce crashes of the dunk were echoed throughout the court now. A second after the completed play, the entire team of Seirin exclaimed with succession of Kagami's dunk, and the scoreboards now read ninety-seven in favor of Seirin.
Kagami released the rim, balling his fist with satisfaction as he now made his way over to his team mates jogging past a discontented Aomine who now has his eyes narrowed to a firm view. The tanned man stood unwavering for a couple moments before craning his head behind him to see Kagami and his former partner Kuroko exchanging praises to each teammate. Kuroko's typical slight smile crease over the left side of his firm lips.
That smile still hasn't changed.
Aomine's attention was always fixed on their synchronization throughout the entirety of the practice game— actually throughout each game they've played now for the past three years in high school. The corner of Aomine's lips gave a single involuntary twitch as he thought of his uneasiness toward the pair.
Throughout the past years, Seirin and Tōō both experienced their fair share of wins and losses to each other. At this point, Aomine discovered that he was yearning for more than victory for his respective team. Aomine had always pronounced his ability to exceed over Kagami's own. That mere thought caused his fists to tighten turning his knuckles a lighter shade of bronze. Why doesn't this feel like enough then? Aomine's irritation remained fixed on how Kuroko and Kagami's harmonization reflected their match on the court. This all too familiar memory of Kuroko's team play with the indigo short haired man still lingered within his mind for years. He was sure that their basketball was the feeling he wanted to grasp once again with Kuroko by his side. He needed Kuroko to see that.
"Aomine, I'm sorry." Hatsu's voice had sounded behind Aomine, breaking the indigo haired man out of his trance. Aomine turned his head back to the second year, who now avoided his line of sight. "I shouldn't have reacted so stupidly." Aomine simply sighed and shrugged off the sense of regret Hatsu had conveyed and fully turned his body around to head to Tōō's side of the court.
"Don't worry about it." The low murmur escaped from Aomine's lips as he still eyed team Serin, but most importantly, his old shadow being Kuroko Tetsuya. "To think I would be caught by a worthless pick and roll." Especially getting caught by someone a couple inches shorter than me. Aomine inhaled slowly through his nostrils and let out an audible exhale. Hatsu shot his eyes up toward Aomine's back with the large number five imprinted on his jersey. "The game's not over yet. We'll just tag them back." With that last statement, Aomine began to head back to Tōō's basket.
He caught a glance from Kuroko who observed Aomine's return to his side of the court, and in return Aomine averted his eyes. Within that moment, Kuroko could see through the stern eyes Aomine bore and saw a sense… of guilt? Possibly a faint glimpse of yearning? Kuroko's lips parted slightly as his light eyes trailed toward Aomine's backside tracing the advances of the tall man making his way back to Tōō's side of the court.
The face of Kuroko's innocence burned through Aomine's mind. The ease the shadow player felt with his teammates showed in the way Kuroko carried himself through the game. The navy eyed man knit his thin eyebrows even more than before as he coudn't recall the last time he's felt that sort of comfort.
"… Aomine-kun!" Momoi, the long fuchsia haired manager of Tōō piped loudly, finally snapping the tanned man out of his internal dilemma. He shot his eyes toward her in slight annoyance, using his left hand to brush his fingers through his short hair. "There's less than a minute left in this quarter! I—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just go with a quick shot to end this," Aomine curtly interrupted, bringing his hand to his hip and then gave her a brash smirk. "Am I right?" Momoi opened her mouth to speak once more, but to her dismay immediately withdrew once the ball was handed to the foreign Tōō player and Aomine immediately turned his attention back to the last play at hand.
"I'm sure you can see that something is off with him." The hesitant voice of Sakurai travelled to Momoi's line of hearing. She turned her pink orbs over to the self-blamer and nodded her head in affirmation as she let out a frustrated sigh. Sakurai, now with his hair almost touching his shoulders, smiled timidly now following his teammate's suit. "But even like this, I know we will pull through." At the statement, Momoi sat down on the bench, her face reading concern all the while keeping her gaze at Aomine before setting her attention back to the remainder of the game.
The squeaks of the basketball shoes resounded more than ever throughout the court. Furihata quickly shot his head toward his left and right side of the court toward team Seirin catching the opposing team members in their guard. "This is our last shot!" The buffer immediately sending a surge of confidence to each member. Now came Kawahara of Seirin who displayed phenomenal technique in avoiding the Too foreigner on advancing any further with his pass. The orange haired individual retracted the ball with both hand to his right hand side, and at that moment, the buzzed cut Kawahara shot a smile toward him. At that moment of confusion reaching the offensive player's face, the momentum of Kuroko's pale hand with grace swatted the ball out of his hands. From Tōō's bench, Momoi and their coach Harasawa rose simultaneously with expanded eyes toward the steal the phantom player just executed.
"Kagami-kun!" Kuroko shouted, his cobalt orbs projecting the ball to proceed over to Kagami's line of reach. Kuroko immediately started to race over to their side of the basket, ignoring the fatigue that overwhelmed his entire being.
With only thirty seconds left, Seirin needed to make this shot.
Seirin's ace grasped the ball firmly with both hands and also followed Kuroko suit, easily dodging the frail Sakurai, whose worried facial features seem to transmit to the court more than ever. Just as Kagami was passed the three point line, he was again stopped by not only Hatsu, but also by a venomous Aomine who stretched both arms outward, giving Kagami more of a disadvantage to proceed.
"Damn it!" Barked Kagami through his teeth, dribbling the ball closely to his right hand side. What do I do? He could see the sly smirk crept over Aomine's lips, knowing that they were on their last remaining seconds. His fiery eyes shot around, seeing his teammates caught in a bind with Tōō's players. Just what the hell do I do now? With his last glance, Kagami caught the sight of Kuroko's short frame inches past both Hatsu and Aomine, and wasting not another second, passed the ball over to his partner who caught the orange ball with ease and now turned toward the net of their basket. Hatsu clicked his tongue, while Aomine darted after the shadow player. Kagami drew in a quick breath, ready to follow when Hatsu extended his arms out now, stopping Kagami's advances. Kagami jerked his eyes toward the timer. Six seconds left. "Shoot, Kuroko! This is it!"
Kuroko's steady demeanor already knew time was at stake. His cobalt orbs focused on the basket in front of him, and he pressed his lips firmly together, ready to commence his play. He immediately held the ball over his left hand in preparation for his unique phantom shot. With a bow of his knees, Kuroko leapt toward the air wasting no more time to drive the ball upwards with his right palm. This was now or never.
"No you don't, Tetsu!" A snarl was heard in close proximity. Aomine was now centimeters in front of Kuroko, his leap exceeding Kuroko's air time. With his large right hand, Aomine violently smacked the ball down to the other side of Kuroko's small frame. The former light's momentum and power was enough to jerk Kuroko's hand along with his whole body toward the ground.
Kuroko's eyes widened as he felt his figure sink backwards, and though his azure bangs flowed over his eyes during mid fall, he caught Aomine's eyes on him, confirming the guilt swirling within his eyes. Using his right foot, Kuroko was able to shoot his leg toward the wooden floorboards catching his fall, but accompanied with the sound of the buzzer going off was a sharp pain surging through his ankle as he rolled on it harshly, now falling on the ground.
Ignoring the clamor of victory chants from Tōō Academy's players, Aomine froze just feet away from Kuroko's fallen form. Even with his light blue hair over his eyes, Aomine could make out his pained expression as Kuroko gritted his teeth with sharp pants in between and gripping both hands over his foot and ankle in strain. This isn't what I wanted. Aomine's lips parted, his sharp eyebrows lowered as he hesitantly brought forth his hand to reach his former partner.
Before Kuroko could even notice Aomine's advances, Kagami rushed to his side lowering himself to read Kuroko's expression at a proper eye level. Aomine froze at the action, now retracting his hand to place back down to his side, and he returned to his usual cold sober demeanor watching the two intently.
Wincing through the sharp pain, Kuroko released his leg, leaning his frame's weight toward his left arm in attempt to rise off the ground. As soon as a mere hint of pressure was applied to his right foot, Kuroko fell back down, knitting his brows together in frustration. "It's just a sprain." He softly murmured as he once again shuffled in attempt to rise off his feet. Kagami clicked his tongue angrily at his partner, who seemed at a loss with trying to compose himself back up. Kagami then sighed deeply, hooking his right hand underneath Kuroko's tricep and his left arm supporting his waist as he gently hoisted up his partner from the ground at ease.
"Baka…" Kagami seethed lightly, draping his partner's arm over his shoulder. Kuroko struggled to find a comfortable spot to settle his hand due the inhumane width of Kagami's size. Kuroko stared up at the burgundy haired man softly, who saw his attention turned to the scoreboard. "Despite the loss, you did great today. Don't go trying to shoulder these things on your own." Kagami spoke lightly now. Kagami then fixed his gaze upon Aomine, to which Kuroko followed.
"Thank you for the game today, Aomine-kun." Kuroko stated firmly, shifting his right leg from the ground to avoid any further ache emitting from his injury. Aomine stiffened as he caught that same smile Kuroko honestly presents. The smile Aomine already knew would form from the left hand corner of his narrow lips first. There were various notions he remembered from his former shadow in the past years spent together, and that smile was one of those memories he hasn't forgotten. The indigo haired ace of Tōō shrugged off that thought and started back toward the center of the court for the lineup.
"Next time will be our last game against each other." Aomine replied in a cool tone, his eyes fixed between both players before walking past their line of sight. "When that time comes, you both better come at me with everything you have."
Kagami's brow twitched in annoyance as he jerked back his body toward Aomine, almost forgetting about Kuroko's injured frame supported by his own. Letting the snide remark pass Kagami's booming voice, Kuroko held that small smile, knowing that Aomine meant no malice to his words. As soon as Kagami vocally exhausted himself, they begin to carefully for Kuroko's sake, regroup back to the center of the court to officially close out the practice game.
"Though we've barely made it by a one point lead, we cannot underestimate the new members Seirin has brought out to the court today." Momoi briefed the Tōō players within the locker room, brushing her long pink hair over her shoulders. The manager picked up her clipboard from beside her spot on the cold metal bench and held it up momentarily to show the members the notes she's collected. "Over this weekend I'll be converting this information to distribute for everyone to see and strategize how to overcome those obstacles." Momoi's fuchsia eyes shot toward Hatsu's and he instantly jolted up in fear knowing the next part coming from her mouth. "Each of you will be given different routines to work on, that way next time we can read their predictions before jumping the gun on recovering." The third year manager smiled brightly after her statement, but Hatsu as well as the other members could feel the small hint of venom radiate off her aura.
"Before dismissing you all, keep in mind that we have three more games within the Winter Cup. This our last chance of the year to show every team across Japan what we can deliver. This is also the last chance…" He paused, peering his eyes over specifically to Aomine and Sakurai, both seated. Sakurai's worried eyes were nothing short of attentive while Aomine was slouched over, his elbows resting over his knees and his head draped over with a towel, concealing his eyes. "…for our third years to bring everything they have to the table in this tournament. I know you all with be giving me nothing but your best performance."
The rummaging of bags being grasped and the closure of lockers echoed throughout the room as each of the Too members were dismissed by the coach, beaming with joy on how promising the upcoming matches will be for them. The brunette Sakurai stood up from his seating on the bench next to Aomine with his gym bag hoisted over his shoulder. Brushing his bangs timidly behind his ear with his left hand, he glanced down toward Aomine, who still remained immobile from his position. Sakurai and Momoi exchanged glances with the understanding that they both shard the same uneasiness for their ace.
"Ryō." Aomine called out unmoving from his position. Sakurai was taken aback, nearly dropping his bag to the ground before straightening up his posture and faced Aomine once more.
"Y-yes..?" Sakurai still carried himself timidly around Aomine though their relationship as classmates and teammates remained consistent throughout their high school careers.
Aomine shifted his body upward, now supporting his body toward the cold metal texture of the lockers behind his frame. Still, he made no attempt to remove the towel from over his face to show his expression. "Have I changed since our first year playing?" His question was spoken in a low tone, arms now draping over his legs. The shooting guard of Tōō was startled at this question. Darting his eyes to Momoi, who was just as surprised, he quickly turned back to his classmate, shifting the weight of his feet and nervously holding unto his bag to reach an answer.
"Though…" Sakurai started slowly, now pausing to find the right words to convey. The sound of Aomine's slow breathing was resonant within the room and Momoi slowly sat back down, wanting to hear his answer. "Though some juniors can't see it, I believe you have. With a team that first started out working on individual play, I believe over the years, we've start to actually play as a team. No matter if it was a slight change in our training, to even hearing a small praise from you in between plays, I think you've changed for the better." Sakurai lessened the grip on his bag, waiting on Aomine's thoughts on his belief.
"Hn… is that so?" Aomine lazily removed the towel overheard, lightly ruffling his short navy hair after as he fixed his eyes toward the ground. Then why do I feel this sense of void inside? Aomine exhaled his breath, standing up to return the towel over to the school hamper located toward the other side of the room where he crossed Sakurai's direction. Aomine paused, eyeing Sakurai who could looked ready to apologize. Aomine's tanned features lightened, his eyes at ease, and he pat his classmate's shoulder softly with his hand before continuing to discard the towel and gather his belongings. "I appreciate it."
With eyes wider than ever before, Sakurai along with Momoi were struck by Aomine's gratitude. They stared, unmoving from their current position.
As Aomine combed through his belongings to make sure he didn't forget about any of his items, Sakurai bowed quickly, his hair hiding his satisfaction on his face. "You're welcome, Aomine-san!" As quickly as he replied, Sakurai exited the locker room seeming a little less frantic than his usual self now.
"Dai-chan..." Momoi whispered, clutching her clipboard as usual to her chest. There was still a feeling of worry surging inside her. "This is about Tetsu-kun, isn't it?" Aomine zipped up his bag firmly, hoisting the bag over his left shoulder and turned to face her. "You should go talk to him, Dai-chan. Whatever happened back then—"
"What makes you think what I had to say was about Tetsu, Satsuki?" Aomine was very good at interrupting his pink haired friend. His chin rose slightly as he dove his hands into the pockets of his Tōō jacket. This conversation had sounded very familiar to his companion. At that thought, Momoi stomped her right foot with a small huff of her breath and marched over to Aomine now inches away from him and in slight surprise, he retracted his head. With her height not even reaching over his shoulders, she poked rather violently at his chest causing him to twitch in irritation.
"Do I have to remind you that I've known you since we were kids? I know when something is bothering you. It has been for years, and it shows more when I watch games with you against Tetsu-kun." It was like Momoi to constantly lecture her friend no matter the subject. Aomine stared down at the pink haired manager, her eyes flashing with fierce honesty toward his own. Aomine was the first to cut off the gaze, with a small blink, he swatted her finger away from his chest gently and proceeded toward the door. "Dai-chan, you know I'm right!" She turned, her long hair whipping back over her shoulders as she was about to hurry back over to her friend. "I've been right for years."
"If it was that easy, I would've done this long ago, Satsuki." Aomine's reply stopped her on her tracks, and she watched as Aomine opened the door to the locker room to exit leaving Momoi to watch, her lips pursed in dismay.
The walls of gymnasium remained silent as most of lights were already flickered off in closure to outside guest wanting to go in. Aomine wandered over to the exit of the double doors where he saw a glimpse of a player in a Seirin jersey exit. Aomine internally shrugged, he guessed that this was another opportunity missed to talk with his former partner. Within that same moment, a familiar, rather annoying heavy voice resounded from the gym forcing Aomine to abruptly stop right next to the hallway leading to the other locker room within. Soon another voice chimed in, but this one was soft and subtle.
Tetsu.
This void Aomine felt inside, could this really be all from his former partner? After their first year's Winter Cup, Aomine carried himself and his views on basketball in a different light. He believed throughout these past years that he was going through a positive progression throughout his time with Tōō's basketball team. Wasn't that enough for him? The tall ace huffed, dismissing his internal battle and turned heel toward the direction of the locker room where Seirin duo were located.
Echoing through the hall were exchanges between Kuroko and Kagami. Aomine ceased his footsteps, now leaning his body against the walls of the entrance of the locker room, closing his eyes in thought of how he wanted to advance with this conversation.
Inside the locker room, Kagami with two bags slung over each shoulder, impatiently waited for the azure haired boy to slip on his shoes before making their exit. Applying his left one with ease, Kuroko pressed his lips together in thought on how to approach his injured foot. There was already a difference in size as his right foot was swollen with a slight tone of pink. As steady as he could, Kuroko gently slipped his Asics on. He could feel Kagami's gaze on him and the smaller man sighed. "A cripple cannot be rushed, Kagami-kun." Kuroko deadpanned, staring up at Seirin's ace after tying his shoe.
"You don't have to say it like that." Kagami retorted, a frown displaying on his face as he now eyed Kuroko's injured leg. "You probably can't play this upcoming game, you know." Kagami added, throwing the shadow's jacket over to his direction. "If it wasn't for that bastard Aomine—"
"That wasn't intentional." Kuroko stated, pausing to reconfirm in his mind the multiple glances he caught from Aomine. The strain he saw deep within his eyes that bore into the cerulean eyes of Kuroko's own.
"Yeah? How can you be so sure?" Kagami challenged, now crossing his arms. Kuroko fell silent, adjusting the jacket over his body before buttoning it up.
"Aomine-kun has always been an honest player." Kuroko replied, carefully rising off his feet, avoiding the use of his right leg. He leaned his hand over the left hand side of the locker as Kagami followed behind him to assist. "Besides, I can see that Aomine-kun has changed."
Outside of the locker room, Aomine's eyes shot open in surprise. Though delicate, Aomine could tell that Kuroko's voice held no malice toward his statement. The tanned man dug his hands out of his pockets, wanting to take this opportunity to speak with him privately before he left again with no knowledge on when the next encounter would be. The laugh of Kagami Tiaga had interrupted his moment, and Aomine settled back against the wall, his eyes now relaxing back to normal as he awaited of what comments were to arise next.
"What has changed? The fact that he still hasn't asked you to practice with him like he used to? Besides the street ball match with the Vorpal Swords, when has he actually got in contact with you?" Kagami tone toward the end was stern. His eyes peered down at the pale man beside him, waiting for an answer. Kuroko stared off to the opposing wall ahead of him, searching for an answer.
Anticipation rose within Aomine. His fingers balled into a light fist by each side of his torso as he waited for Kuroko's answer. Seconds had past. The shuffling of adjusting feet were heard within the room as Kagami shifted Kuroko in a manner easier to assist out of the gym. Now a minute has been spent and there was yet a response to break the silence inside the locker room. Aomine half-heartedly smirked through one corner of his lips, and straightened up to make his exit.
He figured that there would be no answer for the distance he placed with himself and his former partner was true. This wasn't want the navy haired man wanted, but after everything he's done to Kuroko in the past, how can he possibly mend the relationship? Not wasting another second, Aomine dismissed the hopeful reply he knew he would never hear and made his way back to the heart of the gymnasium to exit.
Shutting off the lights of the locker room, Kagami carefully pried open the door allowing his shadow to hobble out of the room first before following suit. The hallway leading to the center of the gym was dim. Kuroko glanced up at Kagami who already seemed to have forgotten about his unanswered question. "Kagami-kun." Kuroko called out, darting his eyes back to the walkway, almost reaching the opening of the basketball court ahead.
"Ah, Kuroko, don't tell me you forgot something." The red haired ace replied, now coming to a stop and looking down at his teammate with his eyebrows raised. The porcelain skinned male craned his neck up to return the stare, shaking his head at Kagami's jab before giving him the notion to continue to walk.
"What you said earlier…" Kuroko words trailed off as he turned his head back to their direction of to open court in front of them. "I believe that Aomine-kun will come around."
"You think so?" Kagami sneered lightly, almost forgetting that Aomine and Kuroko once shared the same bond as he does now with him. He shot his eyes down at Kuroko quickly and found a mere, but sincere smile briefly on the phantom player's face.
"I really believe so."
The two turned heel toward the double doors to leave, when Kuroko's cerulean eyes beamed past the glass windows of the gymnasium double doors. Already too far ahead for any sign of acknowledgement was the back of the fairly tanned man in which the pair were just talking about. Kuroko eyes settled once more, seemingly recalling almost all of their encounters together whether pleasant or bad in one flash in his mind before catching himself with that soft smile once more. The honest smile that his former light hasn't forgotten.
Note: Thank you all for taking the time to give this a read! I'd definitely appreciate any type of feedback you may have for me!