XIII.

Kuroko points out that there's something different about him as they stretch in the gym. Kise had left long ago and Aomine stayed back for some long overdue practice with the much shorter male.

"I think I had another growth spurt, Tetsu," Aomine says, comparing their height difference. The only response he receives is a swift kick to the back of his knees. He buckles with a squawk but Kuroko's face remains indifferent as he continues.

"I don't mean a physical difference, Aomine-kun," he tosses the ball to Aomine who catches it with ease, tossing it into the hoop in one smooth movement. Aomine raises a brow in genuine interest as Tetsu jogs towards the basketball. "Oh?"

"Yes. You're not sad when the sun disappears anymore."

The surprise on his face makes Tetsu laugh, albeit almost inaudibly and Aomine doesn't know why, but the realisation makes him feel nervous.

XIV.

"Do I think there's something different about you?" Momoi asks him with her brows raised high. It's been a long while since she's come over his house. Aomine lounges on the floor and Satsuki peers down at him from the sofa. He looks up at her and frowns when he a knowing smile starts to grow on her face though she offers him nothing.

"…You're just like Tetsu," he grumbles.

"Thank you!"

"It's not a compliment. Just answer my question."

Satsuki shrugs and pets his hair in what he thinks is supposed to be a gentle manner. "You really need to figure out your own feelings yourself, you know."

Aomine lets out a disgruntled sound. "What do feelings have to do with this?"

"I think you know."

XV.

Aomine falls in love with Kise by accident and he is completely blindsided by it all.

It's a rainy day and he's walking home with Kuroko.

"He's like the sun," Aomine tells him. Just as beautiful and fierce and dangerous. It's not nearly as embarrassing as it seems, saying how he really feels. He trusts his best friend. The truth is sweet in his mouth and a weight from his heart. The shorter teen doesn't judge him – can't judge him. He only shifts the strap of his bag and gives a small smile of reassurance. He understands.

"I think, Aomine-kun," Kuroko glances at his friend's face. It's stained with something caught between worry and awe. Like a man teetering on the edge of a cliff and faced with the most beautiful sigh he has ever laid eyes upon. "Kise-kun isn't as unattainable as the sun."

His words startle the other and Kuroko shrugs. He knew from the beginning, even if Aomine didn't, that Kise would be the one to sear his self into the heart of the prodigy with dark skin and bright eyes. Aomine laughs, bumps Kuroko's shoulder with his knuckles.

"Smartass," he says playfully but he's sure Kuroko hears the nervous, hopeful clatter of his heart against his ribcage.

XVI.

Kise greets him with a bright smile and a wave by the school entrance the next day. "Aomine-cchi," he says cheerfully as he does every morning. His eyes are alight in the golden hue of the sunlight blanketing the two of them. "Let's have another one-on-one again!"

Aomine agrees with a wide grin that hurts his cheeks. "Give me everything you've got, Kise."