A/N: I have recently got into Kuroko no Basuke and I really love the series and the characters. Namely Kagami and Kuroko.

This is a slight AU where basically Kuroko is very sickly (his health is pretty bad, so he had to stay in the hospital a lot). However, despite his unhealthy demeanor, he's always loved basketball and dreams of the day that he can someday play it.

This is my first Kuroko no Basuke fanfic, so hopefully I give the characters justice.

Warning: Slight hurt/comfort, slight angst, AU, friendship

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke

"The doctor said that you'll be able to go home by the end of this week, Kuroko. I'm so relieved to hear that. You'll finally be out of this stuffy hospital and back home where you belong. You know your father and I worry about you very much sweetie...," Kuroko's mother trailed off as she sat by her son's bedside.

Kuroko said nothing, choosing instead to just nod his head and give a faint smile. After all, what could he really say? That his mother was lying right to his face and that he'd be right back in the hospital in about a month or so? And that once he was at home, they would indeed watch over him for the first few days until their jobs became much more important and they had to leave? He suppose he could say that, but he really didn't want to upset his mother, especially not with such good news cheering her up.

And as his mother said, he would be going home by the end of the week. Being angry or upset would just make things harder on him. He needed to look on the bright side. Going home meant that he'd be able to see Nigou again, as well as his friends from school. He'd be able to start on some of the new novels that he had bought before he had went to the hospital. But more importantly...

...That meant that he would be able to watch people basketball again in person.

All of his life, Kuroko had enjoyed basketball. Whether it was watching it or playing it, he just loved the sport in general. However, due to his weak physical condition, he wasn't able to participate in any rigorous sports without being severely worn out – or worse. And while Kuroko didn't really see what the problem was, his mother and father did. They were overly protective in that respect. All he had to do was mention the word 'basketball' and they'd throw a fit. They refused to even let him touch a ball, much to his chagrin.

So, Kuroko couldn't really do much else but watch his school play, along with the occasional match that some of the kids in his neighborhood would take part in. It was a horrible substitute to actually playing, but it was better than nothing. Definitely better than watching it on TV.

Of course though, his mother seemed to pick up on his happy mood (more on the fact that he was thinking about basketball) and was quick to bring it right back down. "The doctor told us that you'll have to stay in bed and get lots of rest for the next two weeks or so. But I'm sure that'll be no problem for you." She wrapped her hands around his and patted the back of it while giving him an encouraging smile.

Of course there was a catch. Kuroko supposed that he shouldn't exactly be surprised at this point. This kind of thing always happened right after he was checked out. He wasn't even sure why he had to take so much time to rest anyway. He supposed that it was his mother's handiwork, although he didn't want to say so. He knew how passionate she could get about this kind of thing.

Staring down at their joined hands, Kuroko just sighed and nodded his head once again in understanding. Kuroko watched as his mother's eyes lit up in happiness before she leaned over, pressing a kiss against his forehead. As unfair as he saw the current situation, he couldn't stay mad or annoyed at his mother. She was just doing what she believed was right. He couldn't fault her for that.

The visit didn't last for much longer, about ten minutes at the most, until his mother's watch began to beep. Kuroko watched as his mother flushed in embarrassment before standing up. She leaned over to kiss his forehead once again, hugging him as well, before rushing out of the room. Kuroko stared at the open door for a few more seconds before he sighed and leaned back against the hospital bed, letting his eyes fall shut.

He just wanted to get out of here.

The sound of the TV sounded throughout the occupied hospital room. Kuroko stared at the screen with a blank expression, taking in the sight of the basketball players. The camera was flickering back and forth among a lot of the players, following the ball as best as it could. Kuroko really hated watching basketball on the TV. It made it difficult to watch the players and the ball like he wanted to. He was basically at the mercy of the cameraman, who seemed to be having a difficult time following the ball. Of course, Kuroko didn't have much difficulty following the ball. He always seemed to be able to follow the ball, no matter where it went.

As the ball was passed to the ace of the team (Aomine Daiki, if he remembered correctly), a frown came to Kuroko's face. The man was talented. Extremely talented, to be specific. He couldn't deny that. However, Kuroko found himself a bit apprehensive about the male. He didn't like his form of basketball. It was ruthless, selfish, not to mention, it didn't hold the feeling of one who enjoyed basketball to the fullest.

He didn't like his basketball at all.

The rest of the first half flew by after that and Kuroko found himself not paying any attention to the match at all. Occasionally, he'd check the score, but then his attention would flicker out once again, moving down to the novel in his hands. He had already read it about three times since his current time in the hospital, but it was better than nothing.

It wasn't until he heard the sound of the door opening that he glanced up from his book. Blinking lazily, the blue-haired boy turned his attention towards the door. Walking into the room and over towards the empty bed beside him was a group of people, led by a doctor and a tall redhead male. There was a look of annoyance and pain on the male's face as he sat on the vacant bed next to him. None of the people in the group seemed to notice him, which didn't really surprise him. He had been told multiple times that his presence was much lower than that of a regular person. To most people, he usually ended up "vanishing" in mid-air, even though he never really went anywhere. It was a wonder that his parents and his doctor could find him.

Kuroko continued to watch the group of people as they talked and scolded the redhead, calling him 'stupid' and an 'idiot'. Apparently, he had been playing around too roughly and had twisted his ankle. It was nothing too serious, but they had brought him in just to make sure he hadn't broken anything. The next few minutes that Kuroko paid watching the group was mainly spent with insults, smacks, and arguments. But despite all the supposed animosity, there was an obvious caring atmosphere around the entire group. They all cared for their friend and were generally worried about him. It brought a smile to Kuroko's face.

The visit couldn't have lasted any more than ten minutes before the group finally dispersed, leaving the redhead and Kuroko in the room alone. Neither one of them said anything, the sound of the TV making all of the noise. A grunt left the redhead's mouth and he leaned back against the bed. Kuroko watched as the redhead looked over to the TV for a moment, a curious look coming to his face. There was a familiar gleam coming to his eyes that Kuroko had only seen a handful of times. But before he could fully think about what that look could have meant, it was gone in a flash, replaced by a look of disgust. Blinking at the sudden change of expression, Kuroko focused his attention back towards the TV, where Aomine was once again the focus of the game. A scoff passed through the redhead's lips before he began looking around all of a sudden.

"Why would anyone want to watch Ahomine anyway...? Dammit, where's the remote?" the redhead muttered to himself.

Staring at the male for a moment, Kuroko glanced down to where he was clutching onto the remote. He hadn't even noticed that he had still been holding onto it. It wasn't like he was watching TV. Blinking for a moment, he turned his attention back towards the male before holding out the remote for him to take. "Here."

"Fucking-" the redhead shouted loudly, nearly tumbling out of the bed. The redhead snapped his head over towards him, eyes wide in shock. He stared at Kuroko as though he was a ghost, hand on his chest over the spot where his heart was. Neither of them said anything for those few seconds.

Kuroko just stared back at the male with a curious gaze, not seeing what the problem was. "...You wanted the remote, right?"

"Where the fuck did you come from?!" the older male shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Kuroko.

Staring at the redhead, Kuroko continued holding out the remote for the other male to take. "I've been here the whole time."

"Bullshit! I would have seen you otherwise!" the redhead retorted, his face becoming as red as his hair. He racked a hand through his cropped hair, letting out a harsh breath in the meantime. The veins in his neck were throbbing quickly and his breathing was a bit of the rough side.

Brushing his blue hair out of his face, Kuroko felt a faint smile come to his face. This was very similar to how many of the hospital people acted, with less colorful language, of course. He was used to it. Shrugging his shoulders, looking away from the redhead to look back at the TV. He stared at the screen for a moment, taking in the sight of Aomine dunking yet another basket.

A soft sigh left his mouth and he frowned at the display. He could feel his heart twisting at the sad sight. He wished that he could get out of the hospital faster so that he could go and watch some of the kids in his neighborhood play basketball. That would be so much better than watching this game. Beside him, the redhead looked at the TV as well before groaning in disgust. "Ugh, such a showoff. Doesn't he know how stupid he looks when he does that?"

Blinking at the sudden statement, Kuroko turned his attention back on on the redhead male. "You know Aomine-san?"

Raising an eyebrow, the other male just scoffed again and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, although I wish I didn't. The guy's an idiot, not to mention a showoff. Pisses me off."

Tilting his head a bit, a sudden thought came to Kuroko's head. "...Do you happen to play basketball?"

The redhead's ears perked up at the mention of basketball and he shined a smile at Kuroko. "Yeah, I do. Do you play too?" There was a bit of excitement, as well as disbelief, in his voice. His eyes moved up and down Kuroko's body, seeming to take in his stature and probably gauge how good he was. That was unfortunately something that he often had to go through whenever he expressed his love for basketball. But of course, his next statement always halted any further examination, as well as discussion.

"No. My body is too weak to play basketball." And just like that, the rest of the conversation that might have gone on diminished in a flash. The redhead deflated immediately and frowned deeply. "Oh-"

"Although, I do love basketball. I want to play, but since the doctors have told me that I can't play without harming myself, I can only watch," Kuroko quickly followed up.

Silence filled the room for a moment and a sad look came to the other male's face before he looked away. It made Kuroko give a sad look of his own. It always seemed to make people contemplative when they heard his plight. Some even offer to comfort him, although he didn't really need much comforting these days. He had grown used to the fact that he probably wouldn't be able to play basketball like he wanted. He just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the bed.

It was a sad but bitter truth. Although someday, he did dream of being able to play basketball. He hoped that someday, his body would be able to withstand the weakness forced upon him so that he could play just one game. But it was just that: a dream. Something he would only be able to imagine in his mind and dreams.

"Man...that's rough...," the redhead trailed off, scratching the back of his head. Kuroko glanced back towards him, locking eyes with him. "I couldn't imagine not being able to play basketball..."

Kuroko just hummed. There wasn't really much he could say at the moment. So, he just looked back up towards the TV, watching as Aomine's team completely demolished their opponent. The both of them fell into silence again, the sounds of the match on TV filling the empty void. There was a slight tenseness in that air that didn't seem to be settling itself down. However, neither of them seemed to wish to say anything. So, they both just settled for watching the match and occasionally bringing up something that was happening during the game, exchanging opinions and gauging preferences.

That meeting had been nearly two months ago.

Soon after the second half had ended, the two had exchanged phone numbers, as well as emails, to keep in touch with each other after they were out of the hospital. They learned that they actually lived in the same city. And not just that, but they also would be going to the same school in the fall. After they both were out of the hospital, they indeed remained in touch with each other, texting and calling each other at least once a day. However, even with those calls and texts, neither of them really made a move to visit the other in person. And slowly but surely, it was wearing down on Kagami.

Kagami couldn't get Kuroko out of his head. Sure, they had been talking much more lately, but it was nothing that really warranted constant thought. The only conversations that had gone on between them involved basketball. Perhaps the occasional conversation of school or food would pop up, but for the most part, their entire friendship (?) was based on basketball.

Gripping onto the basketball in his hands, Kagami sighed roughly before beginning to dribble it in front of him. He needed to get his mind off of the kid. Sure, he was fun to talk to, but what point was there to think about him? He couldn't play basketball with him, and it wasn't like Kagami was the best company around when it came to thinks that didn't involve that particular sport. It was just a waste of time thinking about Kuroko.

Glancing around the park, Kagami tried to see if he could spot someone who would fare as a good opponent for him. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone else near the basketball courts that he could challenge. It wasn't particularly late, but it wasn't like it was the middle of the day when most of the other guys that frequented the park would show up. And he really didn't feel like calling Ahomine or any of his teammates to come down to play with him. If only Kuroko was able to play...

"Why am I still thinking about him...," Kagami muttered to himself, dribbling the ball in the meantime.

"Thinking about who?"

"Fuck-" Kagami felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest as he snapped his head back towards the person that was sitting on one of the benches behind him. He nearly lost hold of his basketball, but luckily, he had clutched onto it tightly as a lifeline.

At once, Kagami felt the breath leave him as he recognized the boy sitting in front of him. How could he not, what with that blue hair of his and those blank, blue eyes? Not to mention, that monotone voice that always greeted him every day. "K-Kuroko?!"

"Yes?" Kuroko asked in that insufferable monotone voice of his.

"Don't 'yes' me! What the fuck?! When did you get here?!" the redhead shouted loudly, pointing accusingly at Kuroko.

Blinking at the finger that was just a few inches away from his face, Kuroko's eyes flickered back up towards Kagami before pushing the finger away. "I've been here the whole time-"

"Bullshit! I would have seen you!"

"Why is Kagami-kun so loud? I'm standing right here," Kuroko pointed out, tilting his head to the side.

Kagami snapped his mouth shut and he glared at Kuroko heavily. "Why is he such a fucking brat?" he thought to himself. Huffing loudly, Kagami turned his back towards Kuroko and began dribbling the ball again. "Why are you even here anyway?"

"I happened to be walking through the park and I saw that you were about to play basketball, so I thought that I would come over and watch," Kuroko answered simply, his eyes moving over towards the ball.

Looking back towards Kuroko, Kagami didn't say anything for a few moments, just observing the other boy. His fingers gripped the ball a bit tighter and his lips pierced in thought. Then, he sighed and nodded his head in understanding before tossing the ball towards the blue haired boy. It had just been an instinct, something that he normally did whenever he was about to play against someone. Except for the fact that he wasn't about to play against Kuroko.

The moment that the ball left his hands, a thought came to the redhead's mind that throwing a basketball at someone suddenly wasn't such a good idea. It was an even worse idea to throw a basketball at someone who wasn't technically supposed to play. But instead of the ball hitting Kuroko right in the face like he had been expecting, the boy caught the ball with ease, blinking at it before looking towards Kagami in question.

"...You do know that I'm not supposed to play, right?" Kuroko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kagami just grunted, glancing at Kuroko out of the corner of his eyes. "Well, you said you wanted to play. So, we'll start you off slow. Just pass me the ball."

Blinking and furrowing his eyebrows, Kuroko stared down at the basketball in his hands before he passed it back to Kagami. Catching the ball, the redhead didn't miss a beat, running towards the basket and jumping up in the air. For a moment, he seemed to be floating in the air, wide grin on his face before he finally slammed the ball into the net with a swift dunk. The sound echoed throughout the immediate area for several moments, the basket shaking with the force of the dunk. For a moment, Kuroko worried that the backboard would end up falling down with how much it was shaking. But after a few seconds of rigorous shaking, the backboard slowed to a dull shake.

Kagami landed on heavy feet, still grinning wide and clenching his fists tight together. There was a wild fire burning in his eyes and it only seemed to get brighter by the second. The redhead looked around and grabbed the ball that had rolled back towards him, dribbling it a few times in place before crouching down. He maneuvered himself as though he was playing against an opponent, moving the ball back and forth in-between his legs before moving back towards the basket, dunking yet again.

It was almost as though Kagami had been transported into his own world. This was the first time that Kuroko had seen the redhead so excited and happy about something. He would admit, he had always been curious about how Kagami played basketball, but he never would have imagined that it was like this. There was a rough style to his playing, very similar to street basketball. But there was something about the way he dunked that really grabbed Kuroko's attention.

He wasn't quite shocked by the dunk, to be honest. Someone of Kagami's height and stature was almost expected to be able to dunk, especially what with his jumping talent. There was nothing particularly spectacular about the way that he played, other than the obvious joy that he shared for the sport. Kuroko had honestly seen better players. However, there was still a twisting feeling that he felt in his stomach that just wouldn't leave him alone. Watching Kagami as he dunked the ball made Kuroko stand there with a slight awe feeling in his body. And seeing the way that he had smiled and laughed loudly as he came back down was just as amazing, if not more. Kagami truly loved to play basketball... Placing a hand over his stomach, a smile was starting to pull at Kuroko's lips.

Had he finally...found the person who's basketball appealed to him?

A heavy hand pressed itself onto his head, snapping Kuroko out of his thoughts. Kagami was standing over him, still holding onto the basketball. He had an eyebrow raised in question and there was a small bit of concern in his eyes. "You okay? You kind of blanked out for a moment."

Gazing up at the redhead, Kuroko just stared at him for a moment before his smile widened. The blue-haired boy nodded his head before reaching out to grab the ball. His small fingers pressed against the hard surface of the ball before he bounced it up and down in front of him, passing it right back to Kagami. "Yeah. I'm fine."

A/N: Ahhhh, I'm not sure how I feel about this ending. How do endings?