-Keep Close-
Summary: After the unexpected meeting, Kuroko and Aomine decided to stay together to find Kuroko's girlfriend.
Warning: This is where the bromance will start. ^^, This is my first BL fic so please give me comments if you read this.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Kuroko no Baske. All rights go to Fujimaki Tadatoshi-sensei. ^_^
-Chapter Two: Together-
Aomine woke up the next morning and thought to himself, This could be my punishment.
He stared at Kuroko's pale face as he slept while facing him. He looked so peaceful and innocent as if there was nothing to care about in the world.
They were sleeping together on his bed because Kuroko insisted. He had no spare futon and was about to sleep on the sofa, which was smaller than him. Kuroko did volunteer for the sofa since he was smaller and was the one bunking in but Aomine would not hear any of it. So the only option was to agree to Kuroko's proposal of sleeping together since the bed was big enough to accomodate both of them.
Kuroko was right next to him. He was sleeping on his side with his hands loosely clasped together near his face.
Before he realized it, Aomine had already touched Kuroko's light blue hair. He froze when the sleeping Kuroko moaned. He took back his hand, wanting to kick himself for doing something stupid. It was a good thing that Kuroko did not wake up.
He took a look at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was still six in the morning. It was a Saturday and Kuroko had no class today.
Aomine remained motionless and just stared at Kuroko's face as he continued to sleep. He must be tired because of what happened last night.
How long had it been since he was able to look straight at his face? It had been six or seven years now. It it weren't for basketball, they would not have anything to do with each other.
It was a good thing that Kuroko still pursued basketball after he left their team in middle school. He thought he would never see him again.
Aomine felt a pang of regret. He was not able to hold on to Kuroko. The guy eventually found a new light and they became rivals. It pained him to see that he was no longer the light that shined on him. But he had to show a brave face and pretend that it was not a big deal before.
But things were different now. It was no longer basketball that brought them together but a woman.
Pain spread through his chest with that thought.
A woman.
Of all the things that he had imagined before, he never thought that it would be because of a woman that Kuroko would be with him.
Maybe it was wishful thinking. But Aomine always waited for Kuroko to approach him because he wanted to be close friends or something more and not because of basketball when they were back in middle school. But it never really happened. He was just the light that magnified Kuroko's darkness. That was all it was before.
Sayu. Satsuki Yuki. She was a mysterious woman. She was the bookkeper of the Black Ring while pretending to be a regular vet. How was she able to get so close to Kuroko when he couldn't?
Aomine bit his own lip. He should stop thinking about these things and focus on the mission. He had to find Sayu as soon as possible.
Because of her, the Ring had already put an eye on Kuroko. If she told him something about the Ring, he had to know. He would ask him again later. He would not let Kuroko be in danger just because of that woman.
Kuroko woke up and found himself alone. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes as he sat on the bed.
He looked around the room and found that it was well-cleaned and tidy. A police uniform was hanging on one part of the room and it made Kuroko think of Aomine wearing it. He would probably look cool on it.
The room was filled with his scent. It was the same as before when they were in middle school. Aomine's scent reminded him of summer and the sea. It was a weird feeling so he just kept it to himself.
He went out of the room and found Aomine putting breakfast on the table. He looked cool with the black apron on his waist.
"You're up," Aomine said.
"Ohayo," he said.
"Sit down and have some breakfast."
He nodded and sat on an empty chair. He watched as Aomine took off his apron and sat on the chair opposite of his.
"Itadakimasu," both of them said at the same time. It made Kuroko stop and look at Aomine who was already holding his rice bowl and eating. It reminded him of how things were back in middle school when they would eat with the team. They would always sit facing each other then.
"Tell me if the miso is salty or not. I can change how it tastes for you next time," Aomine said.
"Thanks." He took a sip of the miso and found that it was delicious. "It tastes good. I did not know that you could cook." He proceeded eating his breakfast. Everything was good. Kuroko thought that Aomine would make a good husband.
Aomine smiled. "I had to learn. I've been living alone since college. I won't last long if I just depended on ramen and take out, will I?"
He nodded. "Same here. Maybe I should cook dinner later as a thank you."
"No need to thank me. It's part of my job."
Hearing that made Kuroko stop. He felt a sudden pang in his chest.
Right. The only reason why he was with Aomine right now was because of Yuki. No one would ever take notice of him since he would always be the low-presence one. His only relevance before was in basketball.
"I'm sorry if I'm a bother to you," he said in a low voice.
Aomine heard what he said. "You're not a bother to me. That's not what I meant. We both want to find your girlfriend so it would just be helpful if we stay together. That way I can also protect you from those guys from last night," Aomine said.
Kuroko nodded and did not say a word after that. He just turned to his breakfast.
He needed to find Yuki soon. He had a lot of questions for her now. It was probably his fault that he was too complacent with their relationship.
Yuki had always been too bright for him. She was always smiling so she was able to hide the rest of herself from him.
It hurt Kuroko to know that there was really no one that he knew well or was really close to. He wanted to know which one was the real identity of the woman he was going out with for three years—the Yuki she knew or the person that Aomine was looking for.
"Ne, Kuroko, is this the first time that Yuki had been gone for a long time?" Aomine asked. They were sitting in the living room having tea after breakfast.
Kuroko put down his tea cup on the small table in front of him. The expression on his face made Aomine's chest ache. He looked like he was just realizing what kind of person his girlfriend really was. It ate at Aomine that anyone could leave Kuroko just like that. If it were him...
He mentally sighed. He had no right to say anything about the matter. He let Kuroko leave the team back in middle school. It was his arrogance that got the best of him when they were younger. He had also done something that he should have said sorry for. But those apologies were already too late. Kuroko probably already forgot about the past and was already living in the present unlike him.
"She had gone on several trips all on her own from time to time. But it would only be for two days or so. And she would always call or mail me while she was away. This is the first time that she had left for a long time and has never contacted me. She did say she was leaving though," Kuroko said.
"Did she tell you where she was going?"
Kuroko was silent for a while. "I'm not sure. She might have mentioned going back to Okinawa. That's where her family lived. We've gone there twice before. It may be a long shot but I can go there and ask about her."
"Okinawa, huh?" It made Aomine think. It was really a long shot but it was better than nothing. So far Matsuba had not given him any new information about Sayu or the leader's whereabouts. They were still after the money trail that the Ring would always manage to put somewhere untraceable.
They were sure that the Ring was being funded by someone in the government and vice versa. It was dirty money that seemed to always disappear without a trace. Whoever it was that's behind the Ring would probably be bigshots. The redtape in the government did not help much at all either.
Aomine stood up. "Fine. I'll book us a flight for Okinawa later. You can go ahead and pack your things while I make the call."
Kuroko looked up at him with a surprised expression on his almost seemingly blank face. "You will go with me?"
"I'm protecting you, aren't I? We need to stay close together to find Yuki. And this is also part of my investigation. At least two heads are better than one," he said.
"I-I guess going together is a good idea," Kuroko said.
He turned his back to him, took out his cell phone and made a call to a local airline company.
"Kurokocchi!" Kise said as he hugged Kuroko the moment he saw him.
"Enough of that, will you?" Aomine said in a disapproving tone.
That made Kise let go of Kuroko. He smiled sheepishly as he scratched his nape.
"It's good to see you again, Kise," Kuroko said.
"I'm happy to see you, too, Kurokocchi," the blond said.
They were in the waiting area of Haneda airport. Kise happened to be in the area when Aomine called him. It seemed that the earliest flight to Okinawa was fully booked so he contacted Kise to pull some strings for him.
Kise was a pilot and was also the face for JAL. He still continued being a part-time model after they graduated. He knew some people so he was able to get them two seats to the 1pm flight to Okinawa.
"Thanks for helping us," Kuroko said. He raised the plane ticket that he was holding. Kise was the one who gave them the tickets. He refused to let them pay for it, saying that it was a gift for seeing Kuroko again after a long time.
Kise pouted as they all sat down on the chairs inside the waiting area. They still had several minutes left before the passengers were called in.
"Why is it that I'm not invited to Okinawa?" Kise said. His scowl was obvious on his face.
"It's for work so you can't tag along," Aomine said.
"But Kurokocchi—"
"And you also have a job to do. Aren't you on duty for an international flight today?" Aomine asked.
Kise held Kuroko's arm, ignoring Aomine. "Ne, Kurokocchi, why don't we go to Okinawa together without Aominecchi?"
Kuroko kindly smiled at Kise as he took the blond's hand off him. "As what Aomine said, we are going there for his job. I am helping him with it."
"Mou..." Kise leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms. "Why are you going there? Can't you at least tell me?"
Aomine gulped. He was not sure if it was okay to tell Kise about Kuroko's girlfriend without compromising the case. He had not discussed it with Kuroko yet since they had the same goal.
Kuroko turned to him since they were sitting beside each other. He shook his head. He was thankful that Kuroko seemed to have understood what he meant and said, "We're looking for someone."
"Who is it? A girl?" Kuroko did not answer. "Hmm. Kurokocchi, have you turned into the type that chases after skirts now?" Kise smiled, amused.
"N-no, it's not like that," Kuroko said. He looked a bit flustered.
Kise was right on the mark and it made Kuroko uncomfortable. Aomine needed to do something about the situation.
"We can't tell you more about the case, Kise. You're a pilot so just do your job," he said.
Kise pouted once more. "Aominecchi, you are such a meanie." He looked at his watch and stood up. "Too bad I need to get ready for my flight to Spain. Since it would be at Narita, I need to run now."
Aomine felt like he could breathe easier with the thought of Kise leaving. He had always felt bothered whenever Kise was around Kuroko because he was clingy to the other guy. It did not sit well with him but he had to stay silent about it since they were teammates before.
"Good luck on your search, Kurokocchi, Aominecchi. Let's meet some other time for karaoke or drinks, okay?" With that, Kise left after waiving at them.
Aomine heard Kuroko sigh. He could not determine though if it was a sigh of relief or regret.
"Kise is still the same after all these years," Kuroko said as he looked at the exit where Kise just disappeared to.
"Yeah, I guess so," he said.
Kuroko turned to him. His face was expressionless but his eyes seemed a bit happy. "But Aomine seemed to have changed like I did."
Aomine straightened his back as he looked at Kuroko. So Kuroko thought he had changed. Was it a good thing since his eyes looked happy?
But to Aomine, Kuroko did not change at all. Leave out the minor details and Kuroko would still be the same person as before. He would still be the same person Aomine wanted to be with.
"Really? In what way?" he could not help but ask.
"You're still like a light that shines with whatever you do. But now, I think you have shined even brighter. I feel like you have become a better person now that you've became a cop."
That made Aomine smile. He felt warmth spread through his chest as he looked at Kuroko.
"You have become someone who I can talk a lot easier to than before. At least that's how I feel now," Kuroko continued.
Aomine suddenly felt the urge to touch Kuroko. Before he knew it, his arm was already over Kuroko's shoulder. The other guy did not seem to mind the physical contact. His smile widened.
"I think you haven't changed at all, Kuroko. You're still someone who can say these kinds of things after all," he said.
"I'm just being honest."
"Right. And that's what I like about you." It made Aomine stop for a second. Wait. What did he just say? He wanted to kick himself for saying such embarrassing things. He looked at Kuroko and saw the other guy's ears redden despite his lack of expression.
Aomine wanted to hide somewhere. He looked away to hide his reddening face.
The boarding announcement came and it saved them from the awkward moment. They both stood up and headed for the boarding area without so much as a word to each other.
[A/N: Huwah. This chapter is full of tension for me. And Kise appeared. ^_^ What do you think about this chapter? Please don't forget to leave me a review if you have something to say. You can also PM me. The next chapter would be posted in a day or two. Thank you for your continued support. ^^,]