Work Text:
‘Don’t cry, Daiki. Don’t you dare fucking cry!’
Aomine scolded himself as his throat closed up. But what he witnessed before him, was something he had never wanted to witness in his life.
Kagami Taiga was kissing some girl. And it wasn’t one of those I-wanna-fuck-you kind of kisses, it was the one that says I-like-you-so-much kind of kisses and it was shattering his soul to a million pieces.
It wasn’t like Aomine and Kagami were a thing or anything. They were rivals, even friends if you asked anyone around them, but they were not involved, no matter how much the blue haired boy wanted them to be.
Today was the day he was going to tell Kagami, no, it was Taiga now, just how much he cared for the red haired boy. But nope, Karma had something different in mind and instead presented him with one of his worst fears.
They were supposed to meet up at their usual basket ball court, where Aomine promised he would play his hardest for it may the last time (for he wouldn’t be able to face the other boy if he had rejected him), then tell the red-haired how he felt. It was full proof - at least according to Aomine and his fucked up little brain anyway (he didn’t know how he could survive if he went on without playing with Taiga, and see that beautiful, beautiful smile that seemed to brighten up the entire world).
He had braced himself for rejection, he really had (sitting up and silently sniffling into the night sky), he wasn’t naive, but he wasn’t ready for this kind of rejection. It was over before they even started.
He was tempted to turn around and go back home and sleep on it, but it seemed like the girl noticed Aomine staring at them, and slightly tapped Taiga on his head. He instantly broke apart and gave them both a sheepish smile, blushing brightly. The girl didn’t look the least bit affected by the fact that Aomine had seen them kissing a few second ago, except for the light pink dusting her cheeks.
Now Aomine had better look at the girl. She wasn’t that pretty. She had nice brown eyes and long two-toned brown and black hair. She was quite tall for Japanese standards, and was a bit on the chubbier side. She wasn’t the slender, big boobed and pretty-faced girls Aomine loved - no, had loved - so much. But she still was something he could never be, she was a girl.
‘So Bakagami wasn’t gay after all.’ He chuckled dryly. He was so sure that Taiga would reject him over something like “I like you as a friend…”, that he didn’t even bother to even consider the fact that Taiga wasn’t even into dudes at all.
“Oi Bakagami! This isn’t America. Don’t go kissing people around if don’t mean it.” Aomine scolded, desperately wishing that the kiss was something Taiga did over a habit of living overseas, like his American coach did.
“Fuck you, Aho!” Kagami bit back without a moment of hesitation. “And who said it meant nothing. This is my girlfriend, Yukio.”
And just like, Aomine died on the inside.
‘Don’t cry, Daiki!’
“Pleased to meet you, Aomine-kun.” the girl, now known as Yukio, said politely. Aomine grunted in response. She nodded slightly in Kagami’s direction, saying she’ll see him later and took off, faster than he had seen a girl run before.
There was an awkward silence between them.
Kagami cleared his throat loudly, while Aomine spiralled down the path of self-pity.
“Fuck!” Aomine swore under his breath as a he felt a basketball connect with this head.
He glared at Kagami, who stood their smiling that 2000-watt smile of his, melting away his anger completely.
“So you playin’ or what?” Kagami said, in that supercilious way that was so characteristic of Daiki.
“Oh? You wanna get your ass beaten so badly huh, Bakagami.” Aomine replied, a facade of annoyance completely masking how empty he was on the inside. He stepped on the court and saw Kagami’s eyes flash with excitement.
Another throb racked his body so hard that he almost felt like doubling over, when he realised that those eyes will never look at him like that, just his basketball and now, that Yukio girl. With the charade of nonchalance, he fixed his eyes on Kagami and the match commenced.
They played for hours, more than they had ever played, each not backing out. It was almost like competitions within a competition - who would call a time-out first?, who would take a sip of water first?, who would drop first?
It was a well-known fact that Kagami had slightly more stamina than Aomine, a drawback Aomine more than makes up for with his skill. But today? Today was different. Aomine did not tire. His playing was immutable. He wanted to have his fill of Taiga, of Taiga’s basketball, of Taiga’s scent, of Taiga’s everything. He had already formulated enough excuses in his mind to not play against Kagami for a few weeks. At least the raw wound would have scabbed over by then.
“Oh man. I’m calling quits.” Kagami finally panted. He wasn’t one to call quits, so if he had, his body must have been exhausted beyond words. Aomine’s face fell. He wanted to play more, even though his body was screaming in agony. More Kagami. More.
Seeing his demeanor visibly shift, Taiga chuckled.
“What’s gotten into you today, Aho? Why are you looking so pathetic? So eager to play with me?” He asked in a feigned haughty way of his.
“Hah?! Like hell if I wanted to play with you, Bakagami.” he retorted, knowing fully well that the other knew he was joking.
The banter continued for few minutes before each of Taiga bid farewell and left Aomine to stew in his self-pity.
Daiki didn’t sleep that night.
Soon, their one-on-ones had an unwanted member (atleast in Aomine’s book), Yukio. And Aomine found it harder and harder to hate the girl. She was smart (one of the top graders in her class. Seriously, how did Kagami even manage that?), a bit brash, could give back retorts as fast as she got them. Aomine found out that she even ran almost as fast as the two boys and she was in the kick-boxing team of their school.
And boy were they surprised when she could handle the ball quite well. Not quite to the extent of the players they have encountered but still, quite impressive. She never really stuck for a long time because she knew when the “AhoBaka” pair needed to alone to let off some steam on the court.
Aomine and Kagami soon became the Aomine-Kagami-Yukio trio, and they sometimes even forgot that she was a girl. (Really, those punches that girl could dish out had nothing girly written on them.) It took an hour for her to convince Aomine’s that yes, a girl can punch so hard and no, she was not a boy in girl’s clothing, and yes, she would rip off his arms and other extremities if he dared to feel her up to prove that she was, indeed of the opposite sex.
Sometimes, the three were at so much ease with each other that any outsider could bet their money that these three were best friends from a young age. But other times, when Taiga would brush her hair off her forehead, or smile that tender fucking smile at her Daiki would be so lonely, he couldn’t scream even if he tried. He just tried to picture that Taiga was happy and as long as Taiga was happy nothing mattered.
There were times when Daiki was just the third wheel, voluntarily tagging along because this was the closest he could get to actually date Taiga. Every time, Taiga blushed or looked away when Yukio hit a perfectly perverted nail on his head, Daiki couldn’t help but imagine that Taiga was blushing for him, not for Yukio.
But whenhen he returned home, he flopped on his bead, his eyes akin to those of dead fish contemplating why he was going on this path of self-harm. He didn’t resort to any bodily harm, no he loved his family and friends too much. They didn’t deserve that sort of pain from him. Besides, if he injures his own body, how would he get to play with his beloved Taiga?
Aomine liked to think that his wound had scabbed over but there were moments that the band-aid was ripped off without remorse.
Months passed by uneventfully. Yukio had gone from calling them Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun, to Taiga-kun and Ahomine (not, Daiki. He wouldn’t let her have that privilege.)
The final semester exams came up and they couldn’t meet up as often as Daiki would like to. He was jealous as fuck about the fact that Yukio and Taiga could meet up whenever they wanted to. Heck! She even tutored that stupid Bakagami.
So with jealousy that burned brighter than a thousand suns, he persuaded both of them to come over so that Yukio could teach them both because fuck, he was going to be kicked off the basket ball team if he didn’t get decent grades and well, Taiga should really spend more time with him.
However, the evening didn’t really go as perfectly as Daiki planned. Taiga and Yukio came in and everything was fine, until Taiga had an emergency call that Tatsuya had gotten sick. Both of them were fuming, but still let him go because absolutely no one resists that puppy-dog look of Taiga (which is so ironic, because remind him again, who was it that would shit bricks if he saw something that even remotely resembled a canine?)
That left the room filled with the most awkward atmosphere between Yukio and Daiki. Sure, they had spoken and poked fun at each other but Taiga had always been there as a middle man, or a mutual interest, if you will.
“Uh… so Aomine, I guess we’re done with math then. I hope you do well on your exam.” Yukio got up and started packing her stuff.
“Uh… yea. Thanks.” He responded, wishing to just crawl into a hole because Sweet baby Jesus, this was so awkward.
There was one question that had been bugging him for a few weeks. He needed to know how far they had gone into their relationship. Maybe, if they had done the deed, Daiki thought, that he would get some proof – some finality – that he wasn’t in the picture anymore.
“So… uh Yukio. Don’t mean to pry, but have you guys uh… holy fuck this is embarrassing… done it?” He asked, wanting to kill himself right then and there, looking everywhere except at Yukio.
Yukio’s face, on the other hand, was doing a wonderful impression of a ripe tomato. She stuttered, blushed another fifty shades of red before clearing her throat.
“Uh… um… well, I don’t think Taiga-kun and me are in that stage of the relationship yet.”
Daiki stared at the wall incredulously, how the fuck have they not progressed when they’ve been dating for almost six months?
“I don’t think we will ever be in that stage.” She muttered, almost inaudibly. Her face had taken on an incredibly sad, albeit serene, expression.
“I won’t kid you. Taiga-kun and I haven’t been in the best of terms recently. I am quite sure he has someone else he likes.”
“Wait! He cheated?!”
“No! No… Taiga-kun isn’t like that. He’s too good, too kind for that. But, I know his heart lies with someone else. He keeps talking about them, even if I am there and some times his actions feel a wee bit forced. I am quite sure that fool doesn’t even know that he likes some one else. Like I said, he is too kind. I care for him too much for him to be hurt and I love myself too much to be second best.”
“Wait… what are you saying?” Daiki could not believe a word. He really couldn’t handle dealing with Taiga falling for another girl. He wouldn’t be able to handle the pain, the sadness, the anxiety that some chick would replace him in Taiga’s life. That Daiki would go back to being just another one of the Generation of Miracles, just another obstacle for Taiga to overcome.
“I’m saying that I will break up with Taiga-kun. Now’s you’re chance, you moron.”
She muttered, her eyes getting a little teary. But she refused to cry, she had too much pride. She had taken too much thought on this and had finally come to a conclusion that this charade of a beautiful relationship had to stop. She loved Taiga, herself and even Aomine too much to be hurt like this.
Even, when they were out on a date, it was always Daiki this and Daiki that or Daiki also likes this band or Daiki would like this shirt. Daiki, Daiki, Daiki. At first, she thought that they were just close friends, but then she saw the infatuation, the longing one-sided looks Daiki gave to Taiga, the hunger in Daiki’s eyes every time Taiga poured water on his head after a tiring game, the despair everytime Taiga brushed of strands of hair from her forehead. She knew that this ran deeper than what either of them thought their relationship was. And she was ready to make it happen, for her and her friends’ sake.
Daiki just crumpled. Just like that. Tears of frustration, happiness, anxiety and too many built up emotions that had no outlet leaking out of his eyes like a faucet. Daiki just sat there, muttering you knew, over and over before switching to ‘Taiga may like me’.
Yukio averted her eyes, sensing this was a private moment.
“Keep him happy, or I won’t hesitate to castrate you.” She muttered half-serious, half-teary, before leaving his house, head held high.
It got out a choked laugh out of Daiki who was still sprawled over the floor, just too at awe at everything that had happened. Like this dream would disappear if he dared to get up.
The next night, Taiga called.
“We broke up.” He muttered dejectedly, and Daiki felt like the worst person alive because he felt nothing but happiness, respect and gratitude.
Suffice to say, he slept well that night.
After the exams were over, Daiki invited Taiga over for a one-on-one. There was a gap, a void left open by Yukio in their no-longer trio, but they managed. Taiga half-broke down on Daiki that day, muttering self-depreciating things while Daiki rubbed soothing circles on his back.
A month later, Taiga no longer flinched when he spoke to Yukio. He also hugged Daiki thirteen times in the month and wanted more.
Two months later, when Taiga was better, Daiki finally, finally poured out his feelings to Taiga after a completely normal, un-special one-on-one match.
“Fuck Taiga, I love you so fucking much it hurts. Please give me a chance to be with you. I… shit… I understand if you don’t want to hang out… and, fuck. Just please give me a chance.” Daiki pleaded, completely regretting his words with each passing second of silence.
“Okay.” Taiga said, before pecking Daiki’s lips and turning away shyly.
Daiki had just stood there, shell-shocked until Kuroko and Yukio (A/N: I don’t know, I just think the would have bonded over the AoKaga as friends, not lovers or anything) had shouted from the nearby bushes screaming, a Finally! That took too fucking long, from Yukio and a uncharacteristically relatively enthusiastic Congratulations, Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun from Kuroko.
Taiga had turned away and stormed off towards his apartment, completely red, not without leaving decent-sized bumps on their stalkers' heads.
Daiki had caught up and they went into the apartment together. Once inside, Taiga held his hand and kissed him chastely again (he could get used to this).
“I love you too, Daiki.”
It was amazing how those five words ignited so many emotions in him. He almost wanted to cry rivers of joy and he was pretty sure his eyes teared up just a little.
“Don’t cry, Daiki.” Taiga smiled, teasingly.
And for once, Daiki didn’t.