III.
Kuroko and Aomine hit it off almost straight away. The ghost-in-the-gym thing can't even be counted as a setback. There's nothing Aomine doesn't like about the quiet, hard-working boy. He knows that, without a doubt, they'll be friends for a long time.
IV.
If Aomine is the midnight sky, then Kuroko is the blue of a clear afternoon - starkly different but still part of the same day. So when they lie together on the school rooftop one day and Aomine tells him that the sun beating down on them is the best feeling in the world, Kuroko agrees with him wholeheartedly, with his small smile.
(That is, until they fall asleep and wake up to find Kuroko sunburnt to a crisp, bright red. Aomine only laughs loudly when Kuroko says that he changes his mind about the sun.)
V.
They walk home together often, after basketball practice. Satsuki and Aomine haven't exactly had a falling out but they're not exactly as close as they used to be. It's not preferred, but he's glad that he now has Kuroko with him. He was getting lonely watching the sun disappear behind the buildings by himself. Aomine expresses the sentiment in an off-handed manner over ice-cream. Kuroko blinks owlishly up at him, the only sign of his surprise and Aomine rolls his eyes.
"Oh come on, it's not that weird to say,"
"It's a bit weird,"
"Well, it's the truth," Aomine says defensively. He takes a large bite out of his popsicle and pretends the cold shock on his teeth doesn't make his eyes water a little.
"It's not like you're afraid of the dark," Kuroko thoughtfully finishes his own popsicle with a little more grace. "So what is it about the sun, Aomine-kun?"
He doesn't even skip a beat when he answers, turning the popsicle stick in his hand, only slightly disappointed that it doesn't have the word 'winner' etched into its side. "There's nothing not to like about the sun, Tetsu. It's bright. It's warm. It makes you feel alive."
"That is very true,"
When he looks back at Kuroko, the shorter boy's head is turned towards the sun setting in the horizon and Aomine follows his gaze to the fading lights in the sky.
VI.
He and Kuroko – Tetsu – are almost inseparable. Someone quips that they must be a couple. Their simultaneous reactions are something along the lines of:
"No thank you."
"What, with this – hey, what the hell do you mean 'no thank you'?!"
Later, they talk about it over ice-cream and under a sunset. Aomine tells Tetsu that he wouldn't mind dating him. Kuroko just smiles and says, "I'd like to say the same thing, Aomine-kun. But something tells me that I'm not the one for you."
"Gross, Tetsu. Is that another line from one of your dumb romance novels?"
"I'm being serious, Aomine-kun. And please don't call my novels dumb."
"So you do read romance novels!"
"That's really not the point."
It really doesn't take long for the two of them to forget what started the banter and it only crosses Aomine's mind briefly again once a few days later when he wonders what exactly Tetsu was talking about.