Series: Kuroko no Basket
Genre: Angst, Family
Rating: PG-13/T
All original characters belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi. OC characters belong to me.
"Ouch..."
"Calm down..."
Kagami snorted at that statement but tried not to flinch when Midorima disinfected his cuts he got from the fight.
But it wasn't easy for the man to sit in place when there was still rage inside of him. Not to mention he was angry. And he has rights to be so.
One day, Midorima told him pretty warm words, that surprised him and the next second he allowed his enemy to go inside his house without his permisson.
It's natural that he was mad at him.
The doctor felt his mood because he said nothing from the beginning. Not to mention, he bit his lips almost all the time and his eyes wandered around.
Kagami put his chin on his hand and stared at the swtiched off television in front of him.
Good thing that Retsuki was asleep. He didn't saw this.
Kagami sighed and it came out like a hiss.
Somewhere he felt guilty. Well, he shouldn't act like some kind of teenager. But all this madness built inside of him all this years and when he saw him... Boom. It exploded.
He couldn't control himself.
And he said those things.
And Aomine said something too. And it all happened.
Well... he shouldn't act so harsh. He was an adult. But he still acted like a child.
But he was known for acting before thinking.
"Ouch..."
"Sorry..."
He turned once again just to not look at the doctor.
Better not to. He could say something bad.
The silence was overhelming them. He didn't like it. He never did. But now he didn't want to interrupt it.
"Done..."
He nodded and got up.
The man got up too. More like he heard it than saw.
He walked to the window in the living room and stared at the city outside. It was pretty late afternoon, but sun was still visible on the sky.
"You better... go..." he murmur.
In the reflection he saw him nodding.
The doctor walked to the door and gathered his things.
"Goodbye..."
And the door shut behind him.
Only now did Kagami let his breath out. He knew he acted bad. But he didn't know what to do.
Sometimes he felt like a child. A lost child.
Now, was the time when he really misses him. When he could phone him and ask for his company. He often quickly went here and just spend time, not talking.
It felt like very long ago. But it was only a few years. But for him it was like eternity.
"Oh Kuroko... why did you have to leave..." he whispered.
Aomine walked inside his house and closed the door with a loud crash. He felt mad. He wanted to yell, shout, only to get rid of this emotions inside of him.
He punched the wardrobe, but it only trembled and stopped. It didn't make him feel better.
He turned and fell down on the sofa. He sighed hardly and massaged his temples.
He stared at the ceiling.
He bit his lip. Hard. Very.
Did he just destroy it? The only way to rebuild it? No, no way... But Kagami now will do anything to prevent Retsu...ki from meeting him.
Why did he have to be so overprotective? Why can't he give him a chance?
Why?
It was so hard...
Aomine covered his eyes with his arms.
Now he felt like he wanted to throw it all away. It hurt. It made his heart tear apart, in pieces. He wanted to scream, yell, shout, punch something. He was tired.
He had enough... Of problems... Of thinking about it.
"Damn..." His voice was hoarse.
It echoed in the empty house. Like there was no one. Even air didn't move.
Damn... he was so alone...
Suddenly he got up and ran to the box near the tv. He rumaged through it.
"Not this, not this, NOT THIS!"
His movements were frantic, but he was desperate. To find this one, this one...
Finally, he found the DVD he needed right now.
4M-3...
It took him some time to finally put it inside the DVD reader, but when he did, the screen lit up.
To show him his beloved face of Tetsu.
'And here is my most beloved, beautiful Tetsu...'
'Daiki, stop playing with the camera!'
Aomine fell to his knees in front of the TV and stared at it.
He, in the TV walked to the man sitting in the wooden chair in the living room of their old house. The house on the hill.
'Tamdamdaaaam!'
He heard his happy voice when the camera moved to be closer to the boy's face and almost hit his nose.
Tetsu on the screen frowned.
'If you don't stop I will Ignite your camera!'
He-in the tv-chuckled and moved away.
Tetsu sat and hold his book on his knees. Even then, he was much thinner and many things hang on his arms. But not on the stomach.
4M-the fourth month, third disc.
Back then, Aomine was obssesed with recording many important things in their life. But somehow this was his beloved one.
'But it was pretty expensive!' He-in the TV-whined.
'That was your money not mine, and stop recording all our life!'
'But this is important! Well you're the first man who got pregnant...'
Tetsu's face turned into a surprised one then he smiled a little.
'Well yeah...' His hand moved to his stomach. He stroked it gently.
The bluenette closed his eyes when he did so. It looked so peaceful.
Now, after so many years Aomine often came back to that moment.
Back then he was... happy.
He-in the tv-moved closer to the boy and touched his hand. Just right on his bellybutton.
'Our little child...'
His voice. So filled with love. What had become now? In this very minute.
Tetsu smiled.
'Yes, our...'
Aomine moved close to the tv and put his forehead on it. Just on the place where was Tetsu stomach.
And he sobbed.
Retsuki felt weird.
He heard some shouts but he wasn't sure if he was dreaming about it or not. And if not, who could shout like that?
He slowly got up and moved out of the bed. He shuddered at the cold sensation that gave him touching the floor with his bare foot. He walked slowly to the living room.
Retsuki saw Kagami standing in front of the window in the living room. The sun slowly started to hide behind the building-coloring their room in red.
He looked weird. Like all energy was takennaway from him. He looked much more older than he was.
Suddenly he moved and put his face into his hands.
Retsuki heard a murmur coming from his lip. But what he was saying he didn't know.
"U-uncle?" He said.
The man jumped and turned to him.
His face was gray. Eyes were red. And he had bruises. Like he was in a fight.
"What happened?" the boy took a step forward.
That scared him. So it wasn't a dream?
Kagami stared at him like he wasn't recognizing him. His eyes were big, terrified, full of fear.
"Retsuki?" He whispered.
The boy walked to him quickly and hugged him close to himself.
"What happened?"
Kagami kneeled and hugged him close to his chest.
Retsuki could smell it. His nice scent. Something sweet, mixed with something bitter. But now, it was filled with something sour.
"I still can't forgive him..." He heard a whisper in his ear.
The boy trembled.
"Uncle...?"
He was warm. He remembered his posture, his body-heat, but now... He felt strange.
"Aomine did something bad in the past... And I still can't forgive him..."
This name in his house doesn't fit. Like it could hurt Kagami's tongue when he said it.
Not to mention, Retsuki heard-for the first time Kagami saying the policeman's name.
But wait... So it means that those shouts were for real?
That Aomine and Kagami had been shouting?
"What?"
But Kagami didn't answer him.
The next day was almost normal.
Kagami acted like nothing happened but the boy knew better. The dark spot told him so.
But he didn't moved that topic. He smiled, chuckled, joked like always. But it wasn't like that.
"I'm going to work!" Said the redhead.
The boy nodded and waved at him. He then buried inside his quilt.
Well he felt much better, but not for his mood. Inside, he was a mess.
Because of the words yesterday. He can't forget them.
Aomine did something bad in the past...
He? This man?
That he felt some kind of connection of.
Suddenly, he remembered that glare, how he acted towards that teenager, his posture. And he became scared of this man.
The giant point was that he trusted his uncle the most. If Kagami said that then it must be true.
But... why does he feel so depressed, so torn apart...
He really loved his uncle, he was like a father to him. He believed him, he trusted. But at the same time...
It was so difficult for him.
He was a kid. His mind had boundaries. He had many things to learn, so many moments to life, so many problems to meet. And yet, now he felt so tired of it.
He needs to change place, to not think about it...
He got up and changed his clothes. Some loose shirt and jeans. And he got spare keys. He went out.
Yes, he was ill and yes he was a kindergartener. But... Everyone makes mistakes and do crazy things. Or stupid. Or both. He knew Kagami would be mad, maybe yell at him. He didn't want to be a problem for him. But...
Lately there were too many 'buts' in his life.
He smirked bitterly under his nose.
The wind was cold but he paid it no mind. He still had a light temperature but that didn't interrupt him in any way. There were not many people on the street, it was late morning when everyone were at work or school.
He walked around the street with no real goal.
His mind was full of suspense.
Lately, he didn't read as many books, as he used to. Well, first he was sick and now he wasn't in the mood to read. Well, today he wasn't in the mood to do anything.
But he lifted his head and spotted a bookstore on the other side of the road. Well, he had nothing to do, no place to go for now, so he decided to go there.
"Taiga!"
He heard some annoying voice next to his ear. Like a bug. He brushed it away.
"Taiga, hey, are you listening to me?"
He only wanted some peace right now. He didn't have it at home, so he wanted it at work. But apparently, he couldn't have.
"Taiga!"
"What" He growled, maybe way too louder then he should.
Many heads lifted up to stare at him with fear and surprise in their eyes.
In front of him stood Tatsuya. He leaned on his desk.
Kagami instantly moved back and turned his head.
"I...I'm sorry..."
His brother walked past his desk.
"Are you alright?"
No, he wasn't. But he didn't want to talk about it either.
"What do you want" He asked instead.
Himuro stared at him, but decided not to move the topic till later.
"Boss wanted to meet you..."
Kagami nodded and walked to the office.
He knocked on the door until he heard the welcoming words.
He walked inside.
"Oh Kagami please sit down..."
The man did as he was told.
His boss, a man in his middle-age moved the document he was holding.
"Well I have some job for you"
Kagami lifted his eyebrow in a questioning manner.
All this rage somehow vanished. Now he was in work, and he has duties to do. And now a new task.
"Well our penultimate work left some damages to the property of a customer. Well, we have some problems with dealing with this man... Ah I think you remember him, that little man who came here with this man the from Social Institution..."
Taiga nodded, well he didn't remember men so well, but Kariguchi yes.
"Can you check these papers? And if you have some time look at the damages too? We need some outside rating..."
The man showed him a small pile of sheets on the corner of the desk. He nodded.
"Of course..."
"And please do it in two weeks..."
Kagami nodded. What can be hard with checking it in two weeks?
Retsuki put away the book on the shelf and sighed.
He was here for like an hour and still his mind was a mess. Sometimes even books can't help.
He walked outside of the shop and wandered on the streets.
Well he would...
"Excuse me kid, are you alone...?"
He jumped at the sudden voice. The first thought that came to his mind was 'run'. But his body froze. He only turned on his heels.
In front of him now stood a tall man. Now he was leaning to him.
He wore a navy blue uniform.
Policeman.
"Y-yes?" Retsuki answered, stuttering a little bit. He bit his tongue too.
"Where are your parents?" the man moved the topic. He smiled at him kindly, but for the boy, this smile held some kind of mystery. The one he didn't like.
For one moment he wanted to tell the truth, but he decided not to.
"Uncle is at work..."
The man blinked for a few times, but when he understood, he nodded.
"And why you are not in kindegarten?"
Too many questions.
The boy bit his lip now on purpose and let out a breath, like a hiss.
"Because I was supposed to stay at home, but I didn't want to, so I went out..." he said in one breath.
The man patted him on the head.
"You know you shouldn't wander on the streets alone when you're so young."
Retsuki turned his head. He was really in a bad mood now.
Besides, he did it quite often.
"Come with me to the police station. We'll call your uncle from there..."
The man caught his arm and Retsuki teared out.
That surprised the man.
"I don't want to..." He said quietly.
„Come on kid..." the man kneeled in front of him and tried to look in his eyes.
Retsuki turned away.
"I don't want to..."
The man blinked, but moved further.
"It's not that you have a choice..."
Well, it was true.
Not to mention he didn't want to be a problem to his uncle. And he wasn't the type to run away from anything.
The man caught his arm and moved so he walked almost in front of him.
Retsuki bit his lip.
The man walked to the police office. He was there for the first time.
And it was a weird sensation.
He saw as the man was working on computers or searching through some papers. Some of them stood near the express and drank probably coffee from there. Everyone wore uniform.
But it was different from how he imagined it.
"Sit there..."
The boy nodded and sat on the chair man showed him.
He heard tapping on keyboard and scribbling on paper. The room was filled with chatters too. Some men glanced at him for a quick moment but then returned to their work. There was only one woman and the desk not so far away from him.
He felt overwhelmed. What did he get himself into? Kagami will be mad at him.
And he didn't want to anger him. He went out to calm his mind.
Suddenly, someone kneeled in front of him and he stared at the glasses of some man that shone a little. More like it reflected some light.
The man smirked a little and massaged his chin.
"Are you perhaps Kuroko Retsuki?"
The boy nodded after a while. Who was this man... and how did he know his name?
The man had a little longer than normal hair, black, some bangs fell on his glasses. He wore a uniform too. Under his arm, he had some documents.
This man had a weird look on his face. Suspicious. It reminded Retsuki of someone but he couldn't remember now of whom.
"My name is Imayoshi Shouichi" the man showed him his hand.
The boy slowly shook it. It was big and harsh. This touch reminded him a lot of Kagami's hand.
"I'm a..."
"Boss!"
Someone run to him and bowed to the man. He then showed him some gray briefcase and whispered to his ear. Imayoshi nodded to him and said that he did a great job. The man who interrupted them walked away then.
"As you can see, I'm the boss here..."
"But that still didn't show why you know my name..." Retsuki murmured staring up at him.
The man chuckled at that.
"Well yeah..." He then kneeled one more time and moved near his ear. "What would you do if I said I know your father?"
Retsuki's heart beat faster just by this one sentence. He felt as time stopped. The only thing he could see now was the man's eyes. They stared at him. And this smirk on his lips.
He gulped hard.
"Do you speak the truth?" He asked quietly like they shared some kind of secret.
Imayoshi's smirk grew wider.
"You decide..."
Something in his voice was scaring him... Maybe the sound, tone or maybe because it could be the truth...
It gave him goosebumps. He massaged his arms.
The man moved away and patted him slowly on the head.
And then he walked away.
Retsuki now remembered who he remind him of.
Akashi.
Suddenly, the door bursted open and inside walked the person that made him gulp hard. Because it was all too fast. He didn't even think it over and now he was meeting face to face with Aomine.
Maybe he won't notice him and walk away.
Maybe...
For the first time Retsuki really didn't want to meet him.
But with no use. The man turned his head directly at him.
Daiki had work today late in the morning, so he didn't got up early. After that he was making everything rather slowly.
He wasn't in a bad mood, but it wasn't a perfect mood either. Of course he felt bad about yesterday, the fight and words. But he didn't want to go back to those years. He decided to move further. Now he felt the burden of it, how heavy this task was, especially on his psyche.
So he drank a big cup of coffee and decided to finally walk to work. He stared at the clock and blinked.
Well, he was already late.
He quickly gathered his things and ran out of his house. He didn't want to be so late. Imayoshi will give him extra work if he see it. So Aomine put all his strength in his legs and appeared in front of the office in ten minutes.
He quickly opened the door and looked around.
First... Imayoshi wasn't here. Good.
Second... some kid was sitting near the entrance. He knows him from somewhere.
Third... Wait...
Aomine quickly turned his head to the boy.
Yes, it was him.
Definitely...
In the corner sat Retsuki and was staring at him. But something was off. His-always sparkling with happiness and amusement-eyes were now darker. Like some kind of shadow were on it.
And his lip didn't even twitch when he spotted him.
It was a bad sign for him.
He moved one step in his direction.
Still nothing. Even... he felt bad vibration.
What could happen? It was going so well. But yesterday's fight.
Fight! Maybe... he heard them. And now he know...
Aomine mouth went dry but he didn't back off.
"Hey..." He really tried to make his voice sound confident. But it cracked at the end.
Retsuki lifted his eyes and looked at him.
"Good morning..." He murmured.
And then bit his lip.
He remember that movement.
Tetsu often did that. When he had something on his mind. Problem. That he didn't want to share.
He knows it too well. He lived with it for so many years.
It felt so weird to see it in this boy.
"Is this your place of work?" the boy asked, but his voice was cold. He looked everywhere but not in his eyes.
Aomine nodded and looked around.
"Yeah..."
Suddenly, someone ran to him.
"I'm sorry for the wait... Well, can you tell me the number of your uncle?"
The man kneeled in front of Retsuki.
Aomine blinked. What was happening?
The bluenette nodded after that and said some numbers to the man. He then typed them in his phone. After that, he walked away.
"What happened?" Daiki asked.
Retsuki put his hand on his legs.
"I wandered on the streets alone..."
Aomine snapped. Yes, it was somewhere in the law. But he paid it no mind. There were many teenagers on the street at times when they should be in school.
But the boy was still a kid...
"You shouldn't do that. Something could happen to you..."
"I just wanted to think..."
Aomine stared at him-confused. Think about what?
This feeling was still in his stomach. Retsuki changed his attitude. What made him do so?...
And if it can be repaired?
"Your uncle will be here in fifteen minutes!"
Aomine jumped and the man showed him a weird stare.
Uncle? Did he mean... Kagami?
„Okay..." the boy murmured and sinked in his chair.
Well it wasn't good for them to meet so soon. Not good.
And Aomine wasn't ready for that. But yet...
Retsuki showed him his eyes. Like a message. But Aomine couldn't read it. The meaning was hidden inside some kind of cipher.
But he felt it was important.
These big dark blue eyes, just like his own. So similar.
What was the meaning behind this...
Aomine didn't know.
"I'll go to work..."
The eyes of the boy changed. Now they were filled with sadness.
"Okay..."
Daiki moved and sat in his desk, he switched on the cumputer. He looked through the papers on his desk. And his eyes wandered to the boy.
Retsuki was staring at his shoes.
Daiki returned to work. Well, returned wasn't a good word. He haven't even started it.
But his eyes wandered one more time.
The boy now was staring at his hands.
He sighed hard and got up. He put papers under his arm and took his chair. He moved it to the front of office and left it just next to the chair where the boy sat.
Retsuki stared at him with surprise.
Aomine sat and put out his papers.
Retsuki couldn't describe what he was feeling.
Mixed of happiness, with a pretty big part of sadness, feeling of untrust and most of it all... disappointment.
So that's why he couldn't speak with him normally.
He couldn't look into his eyes, he was turning his head. And yet he didn't want to.
He didn't know what to believe.
Retsuki trusted Kagami from the bottom of his heart, so he was sure that Aomine must did something wrong. But at the same time... he trusted his instincts. And they were telling him that the policeman is a good guy.
Lately, he was even better. Like he was trying to be more polite. But why?
Retsuki stared as the policeman moved to sit at his desk. He wanted him to return, stay with him to confirm his feelings and thoughts. That Aomine was a good man.
But apparently not.
Retsuki sinked in the chair and stared at his feet.
He wanted to steal a glance at him, but ordered himself not to do that.
Kagami will be here soon.
And he knows that when he went out, these thoughts won't disappear. But now, he didn't know what to do with it. It wasn't a problem to solve in one day.
Maybe even more.
Suddenly, he felt as someone moved next to him. He lifted his head and spotted Aomine who sat on the chair and started looking through some papers.
He felt warmth forming in his chest.
Daiki didn't spare him a glance, but Retsuki didn't mind.
Aomine was a good man. That was what his heart was telling him. But his mind was still voting for Kagami.
Retsuki clenched his hands on his knees. Who to trust...
They sat there for quite some minutes. Retsuki had nothing to do.
And his mind was still full of these thoughts, but it was too much. His mind couldn't handle it now. Especially here.
Suddenly the door bursted open and they both lifted their heads.
There stood Kagami. His eyes hold a spark of anger. Dangerous. His cheeks were red.
He spotted him immediately. Well it looked like he spotted them both.
And Retsuki got scared. Because the eyes of Kagami got thinner and he saw the look on his face.
His heart sinked, clenched. It bursted out, but not with joy. Only...
Uncle stared at him, and Retsuki couldn't handle this.
"H-hello uncle..." He said. He tried to sound normal, happy. But couldn't.
Kagami walked to him and caught his hand.
"Let's go. We need to talk..."
Retsuki jumped off the chair and almost run behind his uncle. He heard as the policeman behind him stood up.
"Wait..."
The man in front stopped almost immediately. Retsuki crashed into him.
"What?" Kagami answered very harshly. Retsuki didn't like the sound of it.
"You need to flag yourself up to the policeman who took him here..."
The redhead turned around and Retsuki stared with his mouth opened at his face.
He was furious.
Many wrinkles appeared on his forehead and nose. His eyes were half-opened, but fire danced in them. His muscles were tensed.
Retsuki only now felt as Kagami's hand strongly held his. It wasn't painful, but he felt it.
What happened?
"Where is he?" the redhead hissed.
The policeman stared at him confident. Retsuki looked at him too. Like he waited for something. But nothing happened.
The man who talked with him earlier walked to them.
"Are you this boy's uncle...?"
Kagami only after awhile turned to the man.
"Yes..."
The policeman jumped a little seeing his face. Only then Kagami noticed it.
He loosened his grip on Retsuki's hand.
They started talking. The boy didn't really listen to him. He slowly turned his head to look at tanned man.
He still stood there, his hand hanging a little. Then he lifted his head.
He lifted his hand too and waved at him.
Retsuki moved his hand too.
And then Aomine walked away.
Retsuki felt as he was pulled away from this place and outside the policestation. He allowed him to do so. He then walked inside a car and drove home with uncle. They didn't talk. He knows he was in a big mess.
They stopped in front of their house and still not saying anything, they walked inside the building and house.
And then it all happened.
"Why did you went out?!" His voice was angry.
Retsuki flinched at this outburst. He knew it was coming but still surprised him. But he wanted to tell it to him.
"I got many things on my mind and want to think about it outside..." He said staring at the floor in the hall.
"But you're still ill! You need to stay at home, and not wander around. Do you want to get more sick and stay in bed for weeks?!"
"No, I do..." Retsuki started but was quickly interrupted by his uncle.
"And why did you went out without informing me! What if something happened to you? Did you think about that?!" His voice rose.
"But nothing..."
He still couldn't finish his sentence.
"But what if? Retsuki stop acting so reckless and think about it!"
Retsuki clenched his fist and murmured.
"I'm thinking about many things..."
"I had work to do and you know it! Do you know how I got worried?" Kagami still shouted.
The boy didn't like it. He wanted to shut himself up in the room. But he needed to talk.
"And you still went out!"
"Because you and..."
Still the same.
"Did you think about me?!"
ľBecause I was thinking about you and Aomine-san!" Retsuki finally yelled.
This made Kagami stop and stare at him with wide eyes and opened mouth.
Retsuki was allowed to talk.
"You never tell me anything! I know that you don't like him, but you don't even specify why! The only thing you did was fight and made these faces to him! You never tell me what is on your mind, even that I'm worried about you!" He took a deep breath. "I have enough of it!"
Finally he felt his eyes water.
He really didn't want to. He held it back.
But Kagami didn't even fought back. He only stared at him with this surprised face, with big eyes.
"I know I'm not your son, but why don't you just talk to me like I would be..." Retsuki sniffed. His voice was quieter than earlier.
Only now did Kagami moved to him.
"Retsuki..."
"Leave me alone for awhile..."
The boy turned on his heel and walked to his room. Tears fell down his cheeks like a stream.
He then jumped to bed and hugged his pillow. He allowed himself to be a kid and cried.
He didn't remember when he cried like that. Probably a very long time ago.
"Mama, why aren't you here?..."
Yay I'm back to publishing and also writing... ;3. My finals are finally... finally over and I can go back to work on my babies. xDDD You don't even now how happy I am!
Soo I decided to answer some reviews:
Shereads - For first thank you for you comment (It made me really happy xD). I'm a fan of slow-paced stories, but... I think there is not many of them (or I am just bad at searching and finding them), but also I think it's hard to continue writing one story for many maaaany chapters (I have problems too, like forgetting things I wanted to write, or things I wrote). Anyway... xD I'm sorry for my mistakes D: But I'm happy everytime compliment even a little aspect of my writing so thanks, thanks, thanks! And about updates... Wow I've been writing for so long... I'm planning 30 chapters :3. Also I will try to upload it more often as I have many chapters already checked. One more time thank youuu!
Great thanks to:
Scarlet - for your hard, really hard work and warm words and just for everything! Thank you :3.
And thank you Reader for being here with me and mostly my story. Thanks!
See ya!