title: the downside of being childhood friends
rating: K plus (for some slight language. Very slight)
themes: popsicles, angsty Aomine

A/N: If anything, this is a drabble. It's super short, but I hope you still have a pleasant time reading it.

"Eh…why did you get the orange flavored one?" Momoi asked in dismay as Aomine passed her a newly unwrapped popsicle. He scowled at her complaint as he opened his own popsicle.

"Be happy that I even bought that for you," he shot back before placing the frozen treat on his tongue. Orange isn't even that bad, he thought as he quietly savored the tangy taste. Satsuki's so picky, he added, nearly rolling his eyes.

When he glanced back at her, he was surprised to see that she was standing completely still, with her back turned to him. He rose an eyebrow in confusion. She usually wasn't that willing to back down from a verbal argument.

"Uh…if you really hate orange that much, I can just buy you another one," Aomine offered. She whipped her head back at him, startled as she was snapped out of her trance. She smiled softly before shaking her head. He somehow noticed the nostalgic looking glint in her eyes.

"It's not because of that. It's just…this place kind of brings back memories," Momoi explained, staring down at the sidewalk along the convenience store. She stuck the popsicle into her mouth before taking a tiny bite.

"Ah…this is the place you fell in love with Tetsu, huh?" Her childhood friend inquired, biting off a large chunk of the frozen ice. She giggled lightly as she nodded. It somehow irked him at how bubbly she was over the subject.

"Yup! It was pointless, but I hope he still remembers it," the pink-haired girl admitted as she thoughtfully continued to eat the popsicle. Aomine narrowed his eyes as he recalled the way she had explained the event to him on the day she had "fallen in love." There were hearts in her eyes, and for weeks, she would talk only about Kuroko. It had annoyed him to no end.

Because of a winning popsicle stick, right? He thought. Unconsciously, he had started chomping violently onto the popsicle, and before he knew it, his teeth had closed down on the hard, tasteless popsicle stick.

"Tch. What the hell? Should I go buy another one…?" He started talking to himself, disregarding the girl that was currently spacing out on the sidewalk. He walked over to the trashcan to throw away the stick, but was astonished as he read the words "winner" running down along it. Aomine's eyes widened considerably, and he spun back around to look at the pink-haired girl, prepared to call out to her and show her. However, the words soon died in his throat.

She was silently eating her popsicle, and Aomine was one hundred percent sure that she was still thinking about Kuroko. It was a strange thought, but he noticed that the image of her back was different from that of three years ago. Three years ago, she hadn't been in love yet. Her back had looked carefree, and the way her hair blew in the wind was mesmerizing.

Looking at her now, he could practically tell that she was "in love." The girl's hair was flowing, but not as freely as back then. Her head was cast down, and the word "loneliness" was the first thing that struck Aomine's mind. An annoying pang stabbed at his chest, and he had no idea what it was. He tried to shake off the feeling, but it stubbornly recoiled back.

He didn't know how, but somewhere along the way of endlessly bickering with her and making fun of all her actions, he had taken a liking to her. When they were children, he had obviously noticed her cute appearance. It was difficult not to. But back then, he had always just thought of her as "Satsuki," the girl he would always be arguing with. Now, her name had a subtly different ring to it. Whenever it rolled off of his tongue, it would leave a bittersweet after taste.

Aomine closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he stepped towards her.

"Satsuki."

The said girl turned as Aomine tapped on her shoulder, only to be greeted by a popsicle stick. She grabbed onto it by impulse and flipped it over to read the words "winner." Aomine strictly kept his gaze away from her, almost afraid of what expression she would have on her face. After a few seconds, he heard her giggle.

"Dai-chan, just because it worked with Tetsu-kun doesn't mean it'll work with you," Momoi informed him playfully. The pang in his chest stabbed even harder.

He knew that she had said that without much thought. He knew that she had said that carelessly, unaware of the pain and discomfort she was inflicting upon him. He knew that. But damn it, it hurt. He still couldn't help but feel like a complete wreck. Perhaps the thought of him liking her hadn't even crossed her mind before. If she knew, she would definitely think of it as a childish lie. She would never take him seriously, he realized with an unwilling shudder.

Aomine watched wordlessly as she spun back around. He saw her hair flow for a moment. And then, only one question rang clearly throughout his head.

Why won't you fall in love with me?

A/N: I realized that all of my AominexMomoi fics have happy endings, so I decided to try and do something depressing. I hope it came out okay, even if it is extremely short. Childhood friends are definitely people you should treasure. But by the time you're a bit older, it's almost too late to think that. Well, that aside…

Thank you for reading!