Omg omg omg! Is this...an update? After 80 years?! Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Lol, hey everyone, I'm back...well sort of. I'm still in the middle of a pretty hectic final semester of college before graduation. I have to do a research paper as the final grade of my undergraduate career and...it's stressful, to put it lightly. I ended up writing this as a way to de-stress and managed to finish it. So here you go~! For those who are waiting for The Art of Inspiration to be updated, I know its been like...almost 3 years but just wait a little longer please. It's coming, I promise you! _

Theme: Before Parenthood

Rated T for language

Word Count: 5.9k

III. Change and Growth (Aomine Daiki x Shiraiwa Yuna)

"Though initially rigid and stubborn, he's come to be a responsible and reliable blue knight."

"Okay, that should cover today's lecture," Yuna told the class of forty students. "I expect your projects to be finished by Friday." she clarified as the group started to pack up and file out of the class, only a few stragglers remaining. The woman began to pack up her materials, that being her last lecture for the day. She only had one more class to instruct in a few days and it was kind of bittersweet.

World-renowned artist, Shiraiwa Yuna, was asked to temporarily teach a lecture to freshmen art students at the University of Tokyo. Since the classes were generally small, only holding like 30 - 40 students each, she was able to interact with all of the students intimately. Whether to discuss their futures in the field or simply express how much they love art as a hobby, passionate vibes bounced around and Yuna felt comfortable, like she was right in her element. It was a great experience and very relaxing compared to travelling around the world, especially with what she was going through at the moment.

"Neechan~!" a chipper voice called out from the side of her, one that belonged to her little sister Kimi. This was another reason she loved the course. With her traveling so much and Kimi embracing the college lifestyle, Yuna barely had to time to bond with her little sister.

"I'm not going to give you family benefits, kiddo." Yuna told her jokingly with a smirk.

Kimi gasped. "I would never ask that!" the nineteen year old pouted which made Yuna chuckle, slinging her messenger bag across her shoulders.

"I'm just teasing, baby sister," the older Shiraiwa said, patting the younger's cheek slightly before they both left the classroom and art department, walking out onto the campus. "Whose lecture do you have next? Is it Yagi-sensei's Calculus lecture?"

"Yeah, I'm actually about to head over there now. I need to put in as much studying as possible for that class," Kimi sighed, shoulders slumping in dejection. "I hate math...like so much."

Yuna chuckled. "Don't stress out so much. Just do the best you can and you'll be fine." she assured the younger girl, being the ideal big sister.

"I will, I will." Kimi waved off before the came up to the math department. "Whelp, here's my stop," she started. "I'll see you later."

"Of course. We can go out and get lunch on my last day." Yuna smiled, pulling Kimi into an embrace. Kimi grinned before turning towards the building. "Oh and don't procrastinate on your assignment. You can't make me look bad."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kimi waved off nonchalantly as she walked towards the door, leaving her giggling older sibling behind. Seeing her sister disappear behind the door, Yuna continued on throughout the campus. Waving to a few students that passed by her, Yuna pondered on what she would do for the rest of the day seeing as it was only around 2pm. She could meet up with Chiwa or Satsuki or drop by to visit Kuroko. But a day at home, finishing her watercolor painting before catching up on her current favorite drama while eating some leftover negimaki and chocolate ice cream sounding heavenly. She sounded so antisocial, snickering softly to herself.

"Well someone's in high-spirits." came a deep voice that made Yuna freeze in place. Slowly turning towards the voice, her eyes locked onto a tall handsome male leaning against a sleek black car, the same male who became an ongoing presence throughout the last 7 of her 23 years of life. The last 2 months, however, proved how much of a headache he was.

"Daiki…" she said softly before her face morphed into an annoyed expression. "Well, there goes my good mood." she replied bluntly.

"O-Oi! Is that seriously what you're going to say to me?" Aomine blanched. "After I came all the way to come see you."

"I definitely don't remember asking you to come here." Yuna sighed, rolling her eyes at the Aomine's comically crestfallen face. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I just wanted to offer you a ride after your day." Aomine asked regaining his composure.

"I'm fine, I'll just take the subway." the artist waved him off, walking off towards the direction of the stations. She didn't get far before a hand was on her arm, stopping her from moving another step forward.

"Man, you're stubborn," Aomine sighed. "Just come take a ride with me and we'll grab a meal afterwards."

"You're adding on food now?" Yuna asked incredulously.

"Oh c'mon, Yuna. Satsuki said you don't do anything after you leave here and Tetsu confirmed you're antisocial tendencies."

"D-Damn them." Yuna's eye twitched. She could understand Momoi's loyalty but Kuroko, he did her so dirty. Oh the betrayal. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, the artist turned around to look at the basketball pro. "Fine… I'll go with you. Just to eat and then you take me home."

"Deal!" he responded with barely concealed enthusiasm, finally releasing her arm. Yuna walked over to the passenger side of the sleek sports car and stepped in, Aomine doing the same on the driver's side.

They drove off into the streets of Tokyo, the car filled with silence aside from a tune playing on the radio. It made Aomine antsy. They weren't in the best place at the moment, yeah, but he wanted to fix that. For the past 4 years, they were together but in the recent few months, he felt there was a shift in their relationship. With him being in the U.S., mainly Ohio, for most of the year - for basketball training and playing in the NBA with the Cavs - while Yuna travelled continent to continent for art exhibits and what not, they didn't have much time for each other. So they agreed to take a break from it all. Well, it was more so a decision that he made while Yuna took it hard and angrily told him to get out of her face. Now, like a dumbass in his own opinion, Aomine seriously regretted even bringing that up because she went out of her way not to talk to him. When he made the choice he thought that he could soften the blow of possible upcoming messiness, that they could spend time apart and spread their wings freely, that they could stay friends but that wasn't the case.

And it sucked.

The only thing the last two months proved to him was that he was madly in love with the former Seirin manager, that he missed everything about her from the deep dimples on her smiling face to her snoring when she's really tired to the softness of her body as he held her while they cuddled. Aomine was far from being the most soft natured but she really managed to bring out his inner sappiness. He felt like such a fool for letting his worries and insecurities get the best of him. Not having Yuna in his life was something he couldn't even deal with and he would do everything he could to change that. He just had to get her to talk to him because her silence was really chipping away at his confidence.

Soon he saw the restaurant he decided on, a small pub that they used to go to when they first started dating. He knew she liked the burgers and fries at the place. Yuna actually sat up when she realized where he parked in front of. "I didn't expect to come here."

"Eh, I was in the mood for some of the bar food here." Aomine answered easily, even though he secretly hoped it brought back memories of the past, their past.

"You were always a fan of the nachos." Yuna said absently as she got out the car and the power forward had to stop himself from smiling. It was a small success but it was only 3 o'clock.

When they went inside, there was luckily no one in the establishment aside from some of the workers. It was perfect since Aomine's presence didn't cause an uproar and ultimately ruin what he wanted to accomplish from this outing - getting Yuna back. The owner's, after receiving autographs from him, offered the two a private booth away from the main dining area which would allow them some alone time.

So far so good.

They ordered their food and Yuna engaged him in conversation, telling him about her last art ventures that took place in Morocco and Italy before her teaching gig at the university. He talked about how he had light training sessions with some of his teammates and went to Las Vegas for a weekend which somehow made Yuna's guard raise up once more. Aomine supposed that mentioning the "Sin City" was probably not the best idea since it probably implied that he enjoyed his bachelorhood which he didn't. So now he was back to being nervous about what might set her off, he even ordered a beer from the waiter to numb his nerves.

That was three beers ago however.

"Aren't you drinking too much?" Yuna asked with a raised brow. "Seriously, who gets drunk at 3:30pm?"

"Hey, it's 12am somewhere in the world," Aomine responded, cockiness masking his underlying nervousness. Yuna sighed before taking another sip of her cherry cola, the power forward eyeing the glass the whole time. "You used to let your hair down every once in a while even at 2pm, remember?" he said taking another swig of his drink.

"Well, things change when you're pregnant." Yuna responded casually but Aomine started to choke on his alcoholic drink. Gasping for air as he reached for his glass of water, downing the contents. One of the waiters hurried over to their booth after hearing the commotion.

"I-Is everything okay?!" asked the frantic waiter.

"Everything is fine," Yuna said with a calm smile as her companion continued to gasp for breath. The waiter just sweatdropped at her nonchalance. "I think we're ready for the check, though."

"O-Okay…" the waiter stammered before stalking off to get their check.

"Call yourself a cab, Daiki," Yuna told him as she parked the car in the lot of her apartment complex. She quickly got out of the car and headed into the building to head up to her unit. The car ride was mostly silent until Aomine found his voice about 8 minutes prior to her pulling into the parking garage. Which was why he was angrily chasing after her.

"Oi! Hold the hell up, Yuna!" Aomine shouted after the petite artist.

"I'm too exhausted for this conversation." she said as she stepped into the elevator, groaning slightly when he walked into the lift. This would be an interesting 10 floor ascent.

"Like hell you're tired!" he growled down at her. "When the hell were you going to tell me?!"

"I wanted to get you drunk first." Yuna said nonchalantly, her guilt being pushed down by her stubbornness and hurt.

"Stop fucking around!" Aomine yelled and Yuna couldn't resist her flinching, the hurt evident in his voice. But she was hurt too.

"Why are you acting like you suddenly care?" she asked with narrowed eyes. Soon she was turned to the side, Aomine's hands grasping her upper arms as he peered down into her eyes, glaring.

"Don't ever say ask me something like that." he said lowly. "I care about you so freaking much…"

"Enough to just toss away our whole relationship?"

"No! The only reason I suggested breaking up was because we were growing apart. I felt that if…"

"I! I! What you decided! What about what I felt and what I wanted?! If you'd asked me that then you would know that all I wanted was you!" Yuna yelled at him, unable to keep the lock on her emotions. Her hands were shaking and she felt a stinging sensation in the back of her eyes but she tried to make sure her tears didn't fall but she knew she wouldn't last much longer.

"Yuna…"

"All I wanted...was you. All I loved...still love and want...is you," she said, choking up as she looked at his widened. "Whatever issues or problems we were going through, I was willing to work through them because I wanted to be...with you. But you wanted to give up on what we had and toss me to the side like we didn't have years of history together," she added before she let out a chuckle filled with mirth. "The funny thing is that when you decided on the breakup, I found out I was 2 weeks along. I was so excited about telling you but lucky me, I ended pregnant and the father wants nothing to do with me. He wants to have his freedom and be a bachelor in Las Vegas."

"Yuna, it's not like that." Aomine tried to reason in a panicked voice. Yuna pushed him away from her just as they made it to the tenth floor and the elevator doors slid open.

"Call yourself a ride and go home." Yuna told him before walking out of the lift and storming down the hall.

"Yuna, wait!" the basketball player called out, grabbing her arm and pulling her to him even as she struggled.

"Just leave me the hell alone!" Yuna screamed, emotional whirlwinds shown in her teary sea colored eyes. Aomine stood frozen as she wretched her arm from his grasp and ran into her apartment.

"Damnit!" he shouted as he punched the wall, so hard he made a dent and scraped the skin on his knuckles. Everything had truly gone to shit. Aomine slid down the wall with his head tilted down in utter defeat. "Damnit…" he whispered.

"You really suck today." came Kagami's blunt response from over Aomine. "It's making me sad, man." They along with Kuroko decided to come in to one of the private sports gyms to do a work out session, not wanting to fall completely out of shape during the off season. Kagami was spotting Aomine as the tan male bench pressed. Normally the weights weren't a problem for Aomine but today, he was struggling with an amount he could usually lift by himself with relative ease. Aomine wasn't focused at all. Kagami grabbed the metal bar and placed it back in its holder, Aomine throwing his arms back in exhaustion.

"Shut...up…" the male replied through heavy breaths.

"Are you okay, Daiki-kun?" Kuroko asked, coming over to give him a towel and bottle of water. "You seem more distracted than usual. I thought talking with Yuna-chan would've helped out." When Yuna called Kuroko to come and get the former Touou ace, he was a depressed, semi-drunken mess that didn't say anything during the drive back to his hotel room. Aomine took a long swig of his water before wiping the sweat off of his face. His facade changed into a more somber expression, letting the two know that Yuna wasn't letting him off of the hook.

"I really...screwed everything up," Aomine sighed before looking at his friends' faces. "Did you know Yuna...that Yuna was pregnant?"

"Yep." Kagami answered honestly and Aomine's mouth fell comically.

"Right after she found out, she called me." Kuroko added.

"So everyone knew about this but didn't think to tell me?!" Aomine asked, thoroughly irritated.

"To be honest, you were going to be the very first person she told but you decided you wanted to breakup. Your timing is impeccable, Daiki-kun."

"Tetsu, can you lighten up on the sarcasm. I already feel like the biggest piece of shit to ever exist." Aomine responded softly, walking over to the pull-up bar to do a few reps. "I regret this whole situation."

Kuroko looked at the man, feeling bad for him. Despite all of his arrogant tendencies, Yuna was Aomine's biggest soft spot and this whole ordeal was eating him up inside. Even though he had his opinions about what the two were going through, Kuroko wouldn't kick a man while he's down. The former phantom sixth man just wanted both of his best friends to be happy with each other, if possible. "If it helps, I know Yuna will talk to you soon. If I know her as well as I believe I do, then she feels bad about keeping the baby news away from you for all this time."

Aomine stopped his reps, turning to the phantom with a sparkle of hope glimmering in his deep blue orbs. "Really?"

"Yeah, we all think it's wrong how she didn't tell you sooner but Yuna's pretty much aware of it," Kagami said while taking up Aomine's previous so he could do his own bench pressing reps. "Yuna's probably the smartest person I've ever met and even though she can be stubborn as hell, she's rational. Just give it sometime, man, she'll come around."

"God, I hope so." Aomine replied. He was at a loss for how to deal with everything but he knew he loved her; he loved Yuna more than anything. He wanted her back...he wanted her back 1000x more knowing that she was carrying his child. He just wanted everything to go back to before he brought up that incredibly stupid idea. The power forward was about to jump back on the bar when his cellphone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "I-It's Yuna…"

"Well don't just stare at it. Answer it, dumbass!" Kagami yelled and Kuroko nodded in agreement.

"R-Right," Aomine stammered as rushed out of the gym.

"Chiwa should be grateful I'm not that much of a complete dimwit." Kagami sighed in pity.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Kuroko replied, not missing a beat as he walked away leaving a comically seething and thoroughly insulted Kagami.

"Oi, you bastard! You wanna fight?!"

Aomine made it out into the hallway when he answered the phone. "Yuna? Hey."

"Hello, Daiki," the artist greeted, albeit a bit awkwardly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, no you're not. I'm just at the gym."

"Oh, I see," she added before a brief silence fell over them. Aomine was literally freaking out internally; this was truly nerve wracking. "Daiki?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm...sorry."

"W-What?"

"I kept my pregnancy a secret from you because I was hurt and angry. I knew this wasn't right from the very beginning but I was too stubborn to admit that. No matter how I try to spin it, it ultimately seems like I'm punishing our child when they're innocent to our problems. It's also not fair to you since you're as much the father as I'm the mother. So for that I'm truly sorry," Yuna apologized sincerely. "Im...really tired of being angry all the time. It's not good for me and not good for the baby. Which is why I'm letting you know I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow after my final lecture. I'd love for you to come along if you're not -"

"I'll be there!" Aomine exclaimed immediately.

Yuna blinked in bewilderment on the other side of the line. "O-Okay then. That's great."

"I'll be there to pick you up at the school."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

"Yeah." Aomine answered with a slight nod before ending the call. He gave a triumphant fist pump at the olive branch Yuna extended to him. In an instant a burst of adrenaline shot through him and he had so much renewed energy to release. The former Touou ace walked back into the equipment area and spotted Kagami. "Oi, Taiga. Play one on one with me."

"Huh?" Kagami asked but noticed how Aomine's whole demeanor seemed to change, being much more lively compared to the depressed individual from a few minutes ago. He guessed the conversation went better than expected. The crimson tiger smirked. "Alright. I guess I can kick your ass a bit."

Aomine scoffed, smirking. "Only in your wildest dreams, asshole." he said before the ace duo walked off to the basketball facility. Kuroko walked over and noticed the two taller males walking away.

The phantom blinked a few times. "...They forgot about me."

He was nervous as fuck.

Nervousness wasn't usually an Aomine emotion. He was one of the top basketball players in the whole world - if not one of the most talented players in history - that knew he was skilled and wasn't afraid to take on anyone. But this was completely out of his element. Yuna always seemed to be able to bring out ways to humble him. After checking his clothes for what seemed like the hundredth time, he continued to lean against his car. Not a moment after Yuna walked into the parking lot carrying a bouquet of flowers and a large bag on her back. Aomine walked over to help relieve her.

"Quite the load, Yuna-sensei." Aomine said, grabbing her bag to carry it for her.

Yuna chuckled softly. "That's what happens when everyone decides to do their homework." she told him as they walked over to the car and Aomine popped the trunk to put the bag of assignments inside while Yuna did the same for her flowers. The two then got in the car and he began to drive to the hospital.

"So…" Aomine began to ask, cutting through the still awkward silence and glancing at his companion who was staring out of the window. "What's this appointment for?"

"I'm having another ultrasound," Yuna explained, turning her attention to the driver. "I'm around 10 weeks now but when I had one at 3 weeks ago they didn't detect a heartbeat," she said and Aomine became alarmed which she picked up on. "They said that it's normal, especially if you're expecting twins. Given my family history, it's not farfetched to consider twins as a possibility," she said but that made him even more alarmed. As if one kid wasn't scary enough, he might have two to think about. He had a weird tightness in his throat but he glanced at Yuna gently looking down and caressing her stomach with a soft smile. Just when he thought someone couldn't be more beautiful, Yuna managed to defy the odds. He could just tell that she would be the best mother ever given her caring nature and that made him all the more determined to not screw up. "Even though nothing's wrong, I still feel a little nervous with every visit." she admitted but soon saw his large hand cover the hand she had on top of her bump.

"Everything will be okay." he told her with his eyes still focused on the road. Yuna stared up at his profile before nodding, soft smile still on her face.

The duo pulled up to the hospital and walked through the entrance. It was quite the scene, to be honest. All people in the immediate vicinity recognized Aomine, worldwide super star NBA champion and one of the prides of Japan, and wanted to get his autograph and take a picture with him. Yuna went on ahead to the Obstetrics and Gynecology department as he fended off the crowd, some of the security helped to ease the disruptance. By the time Aomine arrived in the right section, Yuna had just finished filling out the paperwork. When she noticed him, Aomine looked comically annoyed.

"Thanks for leaving me there to fend for myself."

"Eh? Were you having trouble? I had no idea." Yuna feigned innocence while fluttering her long eyelashes.

"Oi!"

"Shiraiwa-san? You can come in now." a voice called out, interrupting the potentially comical argument between the future parents. Looking over they saw a nurse calling them in for the appointment. Yuna nodded and followed with Aomine trailing right behind her. They were then brought into one of the rooms to wait. "The nurse should be with you shortly." the nurse told the two.

"Okay, thank you." Yuna responded and the nurse left the two alone. The artist, having been through this before, jumped up onto the examination table and taking off any unnecessary clothing before leaning back and waiting. Aomine, having not been through this before, was standing off in the corner looking so awkward and uncomfortable. "Daiki, sit down in the seat and try to relax. Your nervousness is radiating throughout the room, it's too much." she told him and a dark blush rose on his tan features.

"R-Right." he replied, doing as he was told. Not much longer after that, the sonogram nurse walked in with a kind smile.

"Hello, Shiraiwa-san! It's good to see you again!" the woman greeted.

"It's good to see you, too, Ushio-sensei." the artist responded.

"I now understand why you didn't bring the father to the first ultrasound…" Ushio said while glancing at the tall male sitting beside the young woman. "Seeing the Aomine Daiki in here is quite a shock. The clinic is kind of in an uproar right about now," she admitted, making Yuna and Aomine chuckle nervously. "But enough about that. Shiraiwa-san, you should know what to do now."

Yuna nodded. "Yes." she said, lifting up her shirt to expose her pale stomach. Aomine simply thought she looked more bloated than pregnant. He thought pregnant people were supposed to be bigger but...then again, he didn't know much about pregnant people.

Ushio then pulled out a bottle of gel. "This is going to be a little cold," she said before squeezing the gel on Yuna's lower stomach before pulling out the transducer probe and moving it along the bump. There was a bit of silence as the nurse looked at the display before she found what she was looking for. "Oh, looks like someone was in fact hiding last time," she said, smiling slightly before turning the screen to the parents to be. The display showed two separate placentas with little beans growing inside of Yuna, confirming to them what was going on. Aomine's mouth dropped from seeing it. "Congratulations, you're having twins." she said and Yuna grinned as she looked at the screen. Aomine stood up from his seat and leaned closer to the screen, wrapping his head around the fact that he was going to be father. "I think we should be able to hear the heartbeat," Ushio said, typing something on the monitor before turning up the audio. Soon the room was filled with a calm yet strong pounding noises, two heartbeats almost in sync with each other. Aomine's eyes just widened as he took in the sound. He wasn't a musician or anything close to it but what he was experiencing, that sound, was the most beautiful thing to ever be created. This just made everything all the more...real.

He was going to be dad.

Before he knew it, his eyes welled with tears that eventually slid down his face. His emotions were on overload at that very moment but he wasn't alone. When a small soft hand grasped his much larger one, Aomine looked over to see Yuna with tears in her eyes and wide smile on her face.

"Seeing happy tears from parents makes my job so enjoyable," the nurse smiled in good nature. "Shiraiwa-san, Aomine-san, everything looks fine from what I can see. The doctor will come in to speak with you shortly. In the meantime, I'll have copies of the ultrasound prepared for you."

"Okay. Thank you, Ushio-sensei." Yuna thanked the nurse before she left. As she sat up to wipe the gel off of her stomach with some paper towels, she noticed Aomine sitting in his seat trying (and failing) to stop his tears from falling. Smiling, Yuna reached a hand out to ruffle his short navy blue tresses. "If I didn't know better, I'd mistake you for the hormonal pregnant person."

Aomine sniffled slightly. "...Shut up." he said and Yuna couldn't help but to giggle.

"I need to hurry and get these in some water," Yuna said, stripping off her jacket and shoes before going off in search of a vase to fill with water. Aomine went and placed her bags on the couch, looking around the place. The space was filled with finished canvases, hanging on the walls, leaning against the walls, stacked on tables. Very typical of Shiraiwa Yuna. Soon the artist emerged from the back of the apartment with her flowers in a dark blue vase. "There. Now it's perfect," she said as she put the vase on the counter before walking over to where Aomine sat her things down. Rummaging slightly, she pulled out the folder and took out one of the ultrasound photos holding it out to the father-to-be. "Thank you for today. It's nice having someone to go wit- mphf…" Before she could get the rest of her statement out, Aomine walked up to her and leaned down to kiss her. It wasn't a long kiss but enough to make Yuna's heart flutter a little and for her to miss the feel of his lips.

"Sorry but I…" Aomine apologized softly as he looked down into her sea colored eyes as his hands cupped her alabaster face, the gentle caresses from his thumbs on her cheeks matched the look in his cobalt colored eyes. "I'm a dumbass, an arrogant and immature one at that, and I'm still surprised you gave me a chance but I'm not going to stay that way. I'm going to man up because I...want to be someone you can always depend on without hesitation, someone that these two can proudly look up to. I'll make mistakes because babies are my strong suit but I'll do the best I can, I promise you." he told her honestly and Yuna was rendered speechless for a moment as a soft pink stained her cheeks from hearing his declaration. Aomine released her face and took the ultrasound photograph from her hand, smiling at it with pride. He took a step back and turned towards the door. "If you need something, anything, let me know," he told her with a nod and smile, hand reaching for the doorknob.

"D-Daiki," Yuna called out, finding her voice as the pro basketball player turned to look at her. "You can stay, I-I mean if you want to that is. We have quite a few things to talk about and arrange within a 7 month time constraint. So...we might as well start now."

"Okay," the power forward nodded, taking off his coat and kicking off his shoes.

"Since I obviously have to completely move to Cleveland which is no problem since there are great hospitals and art museums there, I can rent out my apartment to Kimi and one of her friends. Then I can stay with you until I find a suitable place of my own," Yuna suggested as she went into the kitchen, pulling out her cooking supplies. She was getting hungry.

"Or you could just stay with me, it's not like space is an issue." Aomine suggested with crossed arms as he leaned against the counter. Yuna paused her process of tying her hair back to meet his gaze.

"I...don't know…"

"Which brings me to another topic of discussion...where does this leave us?" Aomine asked, walking to her side with the same heart fluttering softness to his expression, reaching up to push her hair behind her ear and tenderly cupped her cheek. "When Bean 1 and Bean 2 get here, I don't want just a co-parenting situation. I want a family and I won't be able to accept anything less than that unless there is really no hope…" he told her. Yuna looked up at him softly before placing her hand on top of his.

"That...sounds nice...but I think we should focus on one thing at a time," Yuna started. "You're not the only one who has some maturing to do. I honestly don't know how you weren't more upset about me keeping everything from you because I'd be livid if the tables were turned," she admitted, the self-disappointment lingering within her.

"I'm over it though. I mean it's not like I came back and found you almost 9 months pregnant," Aomine assured her that she didn't have to keep feeling bad about it. "If that was the case then I would be beyond pissed off, trust me."

Yuna sighed. "Still, it wasn't right even if it's sweet that you're trying to make me feel better. I should've told you from the jump regardless of us breaking up and it just further proves that we have to work on our communication skills. I don't want there to keep being misunderstandings between us because then it'll turn into a bad cycle of miscommunication and it won't just be the two of us who end up hurt…" she told him honestly. "To answer you, I'm not going to say no because I do love you. I'm just suggesting that we focus on handling parenthood before diving into anything else. I mean we're going to have to deal with each other and be a team for the rest of our lives, I don't see the harm in taking everything day by day," she then raised up her fists to the NBA pro. "Let's not rush everything, okay?"

Aomine sighed but smiled in understanding, they both had things they need to work on. "Deal." he said pounding his fists with hers, the artist grinned radiantly at his agreement. There wasn't any form of rejection in her statement, only postponement and that's was enough for him. He then smirked. "But just know that if you have those horny pregnant lady urges, I'm your guy," his eyes traveled down to her chest. "Your boobs are gonna be enormous when -"

"Are you really saying this right now?! Three seconds was all it took for you to become a perverted idiot?!" she asked him incredulously and the male started to cackle. Yuna rolled her eyes before walking over to her rice cooker. "I was going to make some teriyaki salmon, were you okay with that?"

Aomine blinked. "Yuna...it's food."

Yuna laughed out. "Right, right, silly me." she said, getting the rice going. When she walked over to start making the teriyaki sauce, she noticed Aomine washing his hands. "Umm, Daiki...what're you doing?"

"I'm going to help you."

Yuna giggled. "Oh Dai-chan, you're so sweet…" she said appreciating the gesture. "...but get out." Aomine Daiki was a hazard in the kitchen.

"Oh come on, I can season the salmon!" the Cavaliers' ace assured reaching for the oily fish but Yuna used all of her petite strength to keep the giant away from her food.

"Stay away...from my...fish!"

"Okay, how about I saute the spinach?"

"Absolutely not! I can't have you burn down my apartment!" Yuna whined as she continued to push him out the kitchen and into the living room. "I still have to pay the lease!"

"Look woman -"

"Nooo!" Yuna cut him off. "I'm saving the world from toxic decay."

"Yuna...that's just mean." Aomine said, feigning hurt as he plopped down on the couch but he couldn't stop the smile on his face when he heard Yuna's melodious laugh.

"Everything will be ready in about 30 minutes." she told him before going back into the kitchen. Aomine turned to the television, idly clicking through the channels even though nothing interested him. He started smiling to himself, thinking about how domestic this whole situation seemed and soon there'd be some little rugrats crawling around. They're little rugrats. It was the total opposite of being a single bachelor with endless freedom.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

And finished~! I wrote segments of this back in 2016 so I have no idea if this is what I originally had planned but I hoped it turned out okay lol. One thing that I found so cool, is that I've always imagined Aomine as a Cleveland Cavalier since I started watching/reading KnB (he always reminded me of LeBron and I'm a biased Cleveland girl lmao) so when I saw those NBA promo pictures from The Last Game, I was so hyped lmao. He looked so good in that wine and gold uniform aksjdhhdjdjdl XD.

So yeah, ehem, anyways back to this lol. I have some other ideas planned for the other Miracles, Kagami, Kuroko and multiple side characters (ex., A Band AU with Takao, Fantasy AU with Hyuga, etc.). Also I have a question, what length do you prefer for these updates? So far I haven't written anything shorter than 3,000 words but would you be okay with updates that are much shorter, like less than 2k? Or would you like them to stay longer lengths, 3k and higher? Or you don't care, either way is cool with you lol? Let me know.

Until next time~!