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Aomine sighed. He really didn't get why he needed to be here. He could understand his team forcing him to come to practice more often than not. As much as he hated to admit it - as much as he loved it - with Kagami in the game, he couldn't slack off anymore. Especially not when Kagami was backed up by Tetsu.
But force him to come to "practice" for this? Just for some weird cleaning ritual Imayoshi had always used?
Yeah, no.
Aomine might respect his (questionably sane) senpai and ex-captain, but this was too much.
"Couldn't you have shown this to Satsuki and Wakamatsu and left the rest of us alone?" Aomine grumbled.
Satsuki frowned up at him from her notes, the familiar scolding "Dai-chan" already on her lips.
"I could have," Imayoshi nodded. "But this also involves data about the players even she hadn't had access to yet."
That caught Satsuki's attention. "What kind of data?"
Imayoshi grinned (evilly). "A very personal kind of data. One, that most teenaged boys pretend doesn't exist." He pulled out what looked like a long pole. Before anyone had enough time to get a proper look at it, he used it to turn off the lights.
For a moment, the locker room was shrouded in complete darkness.
Then, a single light appeared.
Held by Imayoshi, it lit his (already nightmarish) features in a truly grotesque way. Almost like one of those cheep flashlight scares - if it weren't for the fact that it was a far more damning light source.
A black light.
The kind of light that was every sexually active teenager's (and adult's and sloppy murderer's) worst nightmare. It showed truths best kept secret - especially from their overanalyzing female manager.
"Oh no," someone fearfully managed to summarize for the group.
"Oh yes," Imayoshi smirked. He walked towards his own locker. "First, allow me to show you how a properly cleaned locker should look like." He first shone the light over the lock, showcased the lack of any substances on or around it. The inside was the same. Not a single drop of bright color or complete blackness. Aomine didn't know Imayoshi was such a clean freak, but if he used that black light often...
Imayoshi shut his locker gently, yet it echoed through the room like a bang. Quickly followed by the flap of a plastic glove. "And now, to you delinquents."
The locker next in line was fine from the outside, but spotted more than a few blue spots inside.
Imayoshi turned to the guy in question. "Hands."
With an audible gulp, the second year held out his hands. Which were thankfully clean.
Imayoshi hummed. "Remove your soul mark protector."
Even in the dimly lit room, the guy's trembling was visible for all to see as he reluctantly lifted the thick black band around his right wrist. Yet, instead of the hair color of his soulmate, it was lit in the same blue as the spots in his locker.
"I'd like to say that I'm surprised, but I'm really not." Imayoshi sighed.
It was a rather common thing, after all, for guys to smear their cum over their soul mark as a way to claim their soulmate even before they actually met. Aomine huffed. As if that actually worked. Not like he could test it, or wished to test it, given that he didn't even have a mark. But not even he was dumb enough to believe in something like that. And he only managed to get 25% in ever test thanks to Satsuki's notes.
As Imayoshi continued down the line of lockers, he was met with more or less the same. Sometimes the lock glowed blue, sometimes the guys' hands had blue smears on them, sometimes there were hints of bright yellow mixed into it. But then...
Then... there was yellow.
So much yellow.
On the lock. Inside the locker. On everything in the locker. Even on the guy's hands.
Aomine was vaguely aware that it was the guy who had spoken badly about Tetsu after their Inter High match, but he was more sidetracked by Satsuki dropping her pen on the floor. A look on her face that Aomine had last seen when he had put a frog on her head. One that practically screamed that she was thankful to live in Japan, where hand-to-hand contact was usually rather sparse.
"Shut your mouth, Satsuki, or you'll catch whatever he got."
Satsuki's teeth clacked together loud enough for Aomine to hear over Imayoshi's intense (and threatening) lecture about the basics of hygiene. "Shut up, Dai-chan," she mumbled as she picked up her pen. She hesitated a moment, then held it into the black light. Only when it seemed to be untainted, did she actually hold it properly again.
On and on it went down the row. All more or less the same. Hell, who knew even a guy (or apologetic mushroom as Seirin's captain called him) as Sakurai was capable of the same dumb possessive display for his soulmate as all the other guys.
Until it was Aomine's turn.
"And now, to our resident porn magazine enjoyer," Imayoshi declared gleefully. It might have gotten a few snickers from the other boys if all their secrets hadn't been laid bare before it was Aomine's turn.
"Gravure magazine," Aomine mumbled, but didn't react further.
Imayoshi lifted the black light to Aomine's locker with as much of a dramatic flair as he could-
Nothing.
Absolutely spotless.
"Huh."
Huh?
"Well, maybe it's only the outside...," Imayoshi trailed off as he opened the locker just as dramatically.
Nothing.
"What's this? Who knew you were so good at cleaning."
Did he have to sound so disappointed?
"You might have your fancy black light, but you didn't have to sit through a lecture on cleanliness from Nijimura-senpai, Akashi and Midorima. No one would ever dare to be a slouch about their locker after that talk." Aomine couldn't suppress the shiver that shook his whole body at even mentioning that horrid talk. Barely managed to keep the memories of that day at bay.
Imayoshi closed the locker with a disappointed sigh. He sounded more like a guy who got rejected by his crush than a senpai who found out the resident delinquent knew how to clean up after himself. He turned to Aomine with a slump in his shoulders. "Hands out."
Aomine did so without hesitation. There was nothing to be found after all. He always washed his hands thoroughly. Throughout the day to keep up a certain level of hygiene, at night to wash away the guilt of wanting someone who was already promised to another (and who, should he ever go for someone without a mark, had much better options than Aomine of all people).
Color him (and everyone in the room) surprised when a light blue band appeared around his right wrist.
For a moment, everyone seemed to hold their breath.
It was so quiet, one could have heard a pin drop.
Satsuki was the first to get her thoughts in order. "Dai-chan... do you...?"
"Even Aomine does it? He doesn't even have a soul mark!" One of the bench warmers declared loudly, successfully shattering the silence. The others quick to jump on this revelation like vultures.
Aomine wanted to protest, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the light blue mark that shouldn't be there.
Imayoshi hummed thoughtfully, slightly turning Aomine's wrist back and forth. "This doesn't look like something done with cum. Not only is the band perfectly even all around, but this shade of blue is slightly off. It looks more like the hair color of Seirin's shadow, doesn't it?"
But Aomine didn't answer them - couldn't answer him.
Not when all he could think about was Tetsu.
Tetsu and all the moments he had fiddled with his wristband when around Aomine.
Tetsu fiddling with his wristband as he looked down at Aomine from where he cowered in fear of what he thought was a ghost hunting the 4th gym.
Tetsu fiddling with his wristband whenever Aomine encouraged him to keep training and to keep playing basketball.
Tetsu fiddling with his wristband when he made 1st string.
Tetsu fiddling with his wristband whenever they won together.
Tetsu fiddling with his wristband whenever they walked home together.
Yet, always dropping his hand as his eyes landed on Aomine's blank wrist.
And then...
That day in the rain...
Tetsu had let his hand drop while looking at Aomine in horror.
Tetsu hadn't messed with his mark guard around Aomine since that day. Not even after Aomine lost to him. Whatever hope - if it was indeed hope - there was in Tetsu's head about Aomine being his soulmate, seemed to have disappeared that damn day.
Because clearly someone who hurt Tetsu like that couldn't be his soulmate.
Fuck.
Aomine sucked in a deep breath. Swallowed down the curses that wanted to escape his lips and did the only thing he could at that moment: he ran.
He didn't know how far, he didn't know for how long, Aomine just knew that he couldn't stay in that locker room with everyone looking at him expectantly.
When he finally regained his senses, he found himself in the middle of a street court. The very same one they had met up in to play with and against each other just for fun for the first time in years. When Tetsu had been his shadow for the first time since Aomine had left him behind in Teikō.
Tetsu's birthday.
Ah...
He hadn't given Tetsu a gift, had he?
Midorima had, of course, and Aomine had seen that chick keychain dangle from Tetsu's favorite bag plenty of times since then. Kise and Satsuki had planned the whole meet up in the first place, but even then, Satsuki went ahead and knitted Tetsu a scarf as well. Meanwhile, Akashi used his influence to make sure both him and Murasakibara could attend in the first place (or more like: Akashi made sure Murasakibara had no excuse not to attend). Something that Tetsu had rewarded with a bright smile.
The same kind of smile Tetsu used to show so commonly before he-
Before they-
Akashi had visibly relaxed after seeing that smile directed at him. He had even done everything he could that whole day to all but smother Tetsu with warmth and care. The look on his face after being told that the "Ichigō" to Seirin's dog's "Nigō" was Tetsu himself had been absolutely priceless. As was the way Tetsu had made Akashi call him "Ichigō" for the rest of the night.
One of the very few ways in which he was still absolute these days. All thanks to Tetsu.
These days, Akashi got along with Tetsu better than ever before. They apparently chatted and met up with one another far more than with the other miracles, judging by the amount of inside jokes and references to previous conversations.
In another life, where Aomine was truly markless, Aomine might have encouraged his fellow markless to go for it. It wasn't as if he would have had any right to Tetsu. And if someone else had Tetsu in all the ways Aomine had never dared to, it might as well be Akashi.
But this wasn't that life, and Aomine did have that right.
He had just been too self-centered, too selfish in his hurt and anger, to truly see what he was doing to them, what he was doing to Tetsu.
And now there was this gate between them, as big and as imposing as the one to the deep dive zone. Yet, unlike the zone's gate, there was no guardian, no Tetsu, keeping the unworthy from opening those doors.
It was just Aomine.
Him and the way he had destroyed that door with all his power until it was so deformed, Aomine wasn't sure it could even be opened anymore. And Aomine had no idea how to go about fixing it.
The first step, Aomine decided, wouldn't be telling Tetsu that he had his soul mark. He wanted Tetsu to know, yes, but not while doubting his sincerity. He wanted Tetsu to watch him trying to better himself, without believing that Aomine would only do so for a mark. Without believing that he wouldn't be worth the effort if they weren't soulmates. Tetsu had enough self-worth issues without Aomine adding to them.
...no more than he had already done, at least.
Not that Aomine really had any ideas on how to act right now. He wanted to suggest meeting up, but he didn't really know what for. Somehow, it didn't feel right to just use one of the things they did back in Teikō. As if Aomine needed to earn back the right to spend time with Tetsu like that.
So Aomine found himself lying on his bed after an extra harsh practice session, scrolling through their message history for inspiration.
It took a while for him to actually notice the pattern, but once he did, he couldn't unsee it.
Tetsu.
It was always Tetsu who called him or messaged him first. Dating back all the way to when Seirin beat Tōō in the Winter Cup, to the present day.
Fuck.
Aomine opened a new message. "Wanna play basketball?"
He really was a basketball idiot, like that Bakagami.
Thankfully, for once, no one else invited themselves along as they usually did. Aomine had been extra careful to not let anything slip to Satsuki, and it appeared that Tetsu did the same.
So it was just Tetsu and him.
An empty court.
Two nets.
One ball.
"Last to reach five buys Maji's for the winner?" Aomine suggested as he lazily dribbled the ball.
Tetsu gave him a blank stare. "While you don't eat as much as Kagami-kun, I don't think I have enough money for that."
Aomine chuckled. "Fair enough."
"But I will play until Aomine-kun drops."
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?"
"No," Tetsu deadpanned. "It would be unfair for Aomine-kun to win when Aomine-kun drops. After all..." He cleared his throat. "The only one who can beat me is me," Tetsu said in his best Aomine impression.
Aomine would have been impressed at any other time, or had Tetsu chosen any other words.
As it was, he faltered in his dribbling.
"Tetsu, I-"
But Tetsu didn't wait for him to speak. He used Aomine's moment of distraction to steal the ball from him. He dribbled towards Aomine's net with a fluidity that one never would have expected from him, given his skill level in Teikō. Once comfortably close, within the arc, Tetsu entered the stance for his Phantom Shot. The motion was far more confident, far quicker, than it had been back during the Winter Cup - or even back in January.
After the ball flew through the net, Tetsu turned to him, a teasing glint in his eyes. "I lead."
Aomine spluttered. "Not for long."
He collected the ball as Tetsu entered a defensive stance.
"We'll see."
They fell into an easy rhythm. Back and forth. Fast and slow. All while driven by the instinctual knowledge of how the other worked. While Aomine did score more baskets, Tetsu was never far behind. Though, he did pout whenever he noticed that Aomine slowed the game down purposefully to allow him to catch his breath. In turn, some of his shots suddenly became much stronger as soon as Tetsu saw that Aomine would block them successfully.
Not that Aomine minded.
He had missed this.
The sting of Tetsu's basketball.
Painful on the court, yet the remaining throbbing would remind Aomine for the rest of the day of what they had accomplished together. If possible, he'd like to go back in time and slap himself before that day when he had broken them apart so carelessly. Really, he didn't know how he had done it without being able to spend time with Tetsu like this. The last year had felt so empty without Tetsu around to enter a shooting stance, and it was all wrong because it was textbook right, and Tetsu shot-
And the ball bounced off the rim.
Aomine nearly face-planted in disbelief. "What the hell was that?"
"A shot."
"I can see that! But we talked about this! You can't shoot like that!"
Tetsu hummed as he picked up the ball. "But I win anyway."
"What?"
"You dropped that weird look you had in your eyes earlier. Therefore, I win."
"Fine, I guess," Aomine said. He looked away from Tetsu and mumbled about "weird look" under his breath.
"Aomine-kun."
Aomine looked back at him. Now just barely a step between them. "What is it?"
"Is something the matter?"
"It's...," Aomine trailed off as a memory resurfaced. A situation under such different circumstances, yet that looked far too similar. "It's just something I need a bit of time to digest. I promise." He held out his fist to Tetsu. "You can punch me if I don't get over it by this time next month."
Tetsu bumped his fist against Aomine's. A smile on his lips. "If you say so." His expression became more teasing. "But if you have digestive issues, we should probably skip going to Maji today."
"Oi! You know I didn't mean 'digest' like that!"
"I should probably let Momoi-san know to watch out for your eating habits." Tetsu took out his phone.
"Don't you dare! Gimme that Tetsu!" Aomine reached for the phone.
Tetsu expertly dodged his attempts. "No."
"Tetsu!"
Why did he say that?
A deadline of a month?
It sounded so easy at the time, but Aomine should have known that nothing came to him easily except basketball. A month was nothing when they both would spend the vast majority of it attending different schools - not to mention all the basketball practice. He doubted that Tetsu would appreciate it if he skipped practice just after he started attending again. If anything, Tetsu would probably drag him back to Tōō himself.
But he also didn't want to start their second year of High School with this still hanging over his head.
Aomine looked at the calendar with narrowed eyes. Expectant, as if it would start talking to him and telling him all the best ways on how to make it up to Tetsu.
And...
It kinda did.
Or at least the little notation of "White Day" on March 14th did.
It was a day dedicated for guys to declare the return of their interest and affections for their love interests. Sure, normally it was the match for the gifts they received on Valentine's Day, but since neither of them are girls... Well, that and Tetsu certainly didn't put only a single day of effort into their relationship. Aomine hadn't either. But that was beside the point.
Aomine marked the date in red, and counted down the days.
...
But he still hadn't the slightest clue on how to go about it.
"Just be yourself," all the guides Aomine consulted said.
Well, easier said than done when Aomine didn't really know who he was right now.
He was Aomine Daiki, yes.
He used to be Teikō's ace.
He was Tōō's ace.
But he wasn't truly certain of what he was outside of that.
Basketball was the one thing - the only thing - they had agreed on back in the day. And it was oh so easy to just let himself fall back into that rhythm with Tetsu.
But he wanted more.
He wanted to be more.
Yet, he couldn't think of a single positive thing to share with Tetsu.
His grades were abysmal.
The only reading he did was of gravure magazines.
He was great at picking fights, just like Tetsu - but it was something he didn't actually want to share with Tetsu. If there had to be one to pick fights between them, it should be Aomine. Not Tetsu. Never Tetsu. Tetsu should put all those battles back to where he found them.
So, in his uncertainties, Aomine stuck to basketball. To rebuilding what they used to be before building something new.
Basketball with Maji Burger.
Sometimes a popsicle from the convenience store if it happened to be a warmer day. Sometimes just meeting up to buy new equipment. (At least, even if everything changed, the way Tetsu went through basketballs remained the same.) It might not seem like much, but it meant the world to Aomine. And he hoped that Tetsu felt the same.
Of course, it was Akashi who interrupted their rhythm.
A simple text which managed to pull Tetsu's attention away from his vanilla milkshake and to his phone. He visibly (at least to Aomine) perked up at what he read.
"Akashi-kun will be in Tokyo this weekend," Tetsu shared with him. "He offered to meet up with me on Saturday."
Aomine's stomach turned slightly, yet he neither wanted nor dared to express his feelings on the matter. He shrugged (in what he hoped would look) somewhat casually. "Then go for it. Akashi isn't getting any less busy these days."
Tetsu nodded and started to write a message. Only to stop a few characters in. "But... Saturday is when Aomine-kun likes to hang out the most."
Aomine blinked in surprise.
He noticed? It just felt better not to be home on Saturdays. When he could dodge the tension building between his parents again.
But...
Aomine blinked in confusion.
"You... do realize that you can tell someone 'no' if you want to spend time with someone else, right?"
Tetsu was quiet for a few long seconds that seemed to drag on for hours.
He lowered his head. "I see," he mumbled finally.
What kind of answer was that?
Realization hit Aomine then. Back in the day, their friend group always hung out together unless they had prior commitments. And after Teikō, Tetsu only hung out with that Bakagami.
Meaning...
Tetsu never had enough friends to find himself in such a (usually quite common) position before.
As more time went by, with Tetsu clearly struggling on which one of them to say 'no' to, Aomine decided to make the choice for him.
"You know, we could all hang out together if Akashi is fine with it. I haven't seen or spoken to him since we all got together for your birthday." Which wasn't that long ago compared to the almost two years since they really hung out back in Teikō, but far longer than it would have taken them back in the early days.
The smile Tetsu sent his way was worth whatever would come his way from this.
If someone had told Aomine a year ago that he would hang out with Akashi again and actually enjoy it, he would have laughed at their face and called them things that would have Satsuki throw her clipboard at him (only to "nurse" him back to "health" with her "cooking").
Yet, Aomine found himself doing exactly that. There was something very enjoyable at interacting with both Tetsu's "I don't have a sense of humor"-humor and Akashi's quick yet dry wit. Something Aomine hadn't known he needed so much until he found himself caught up in the middle of it. The same something that was present as he saw the tension in Akashi's shoulders looses a little more every time Tetsu looked at him. Just as Tetsu seemed to glow a little more whenever he saw Akashi smiling - which was pretty much whenever Tetsu looked at him.
There were obviously things left unsaid, undiscussed, on both sides just because Aomine was present.
It made him feel... unworthy.
Of being something like what they used to be. Of being more. Of being such a commitment.
Despite Aomine trying to keep those emotions at bay, he could tell that Akashi didn't buy his facade. The way those eyes pierced through him wasn't softened by the fact that they were both red. It just made him feel less like a worthless toy being ripped apart until he had proven that he could be useful again.
Thankfully, Akashi didn't say anything in front of Tetsu.
Not so thankfully, Tetsu declared that he needed to buy a new basketball and asked them to wait for him.
"Again? Didn't you just buy a new one a couple of days ago?" Aomine asked.
"Yes." Tetsu's gaze became somehow even more blank than his usual expression. "But this one is for school. While training with Kagami-kun yesterday, I put too much strength in a pass. It was too fast for him to catch and hit the edge of the stage. Thankfully, through being too slow, Kagami-kun's hands remained undamaged while the ball popped open on the stage. I need to buy a replacement."
Popped?
Tetsu popped a basketball?
By throwing it too hard?
"Tetsu, what the f-"
Akashi cut him off. "Go ahead, Kuroko. We'll wait for you here. It has been a while since Aomine and I got any one-on-one time."
Tetsu nodded and made his way into the store on the other side of the street.
For a blissful moment, there was nothing but silence.
Akashi didn't let it linger.
"Care to share what's on your mind?"
Aomine's thoughts and emotions pushed themselves to the front of his mind. Each more demanding than the other. Yet, they only seemed more... dramatic and idiotic when he was faced with Akashi of all people. So Aomine chose denial. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Akashi hummed, unconvinced. "I take it, then, that it has nothing to do with Kuroko or how you started making a much bigger effort into fixing your relationship with him recently."
"I...," Aomine trailed off. "How did you know?"
"We talk," Akashi said, as if that would explain everything. But as much as Aomine hated to admit it, it very much did. "Kuroko has been very happy about your change in attitude. Yet, I can't help but think that you pushed yourself to make an effort far sooner than it would have taken you to get your head back on straight by yourself. Kuroko mentioned that there was something on your mind that you have refused to share with him."
"We're soulmates." Aomine rubbed the spot on his bare wrist. "His mark is only visible under black light."
Akashi wasn't surprised. Though, just for a moment, his shoulders slumped with resignation. Or maybe Aomine projected his feelings onto the red head.
"I didn't think something like that was possible, but I'm learning to never expect Kuroko to follow any conventional paths through life." Akashi frowned. "I hope you aren't only doing this because you are soulmates."
Aomine shook his head. "No, never. It's why I didn't want to tell him yet."
"Then... what is it that is bothering you?"
Aomine shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His hands twitched with the need to do something. To hold on to something, or someone. "I just... I just don't feel like I really deserve this chance," Aomine finally confessed.
That confession did nothing to soften the way Akashi's eyes still pierced right through him. "None of us truly deserved to be his friends again, especially not you or me. But giving us another chance, pulling us back from our self-centered world views back into his world, was Kuroko's will. Just as it was Kuroko's will to forgive us completely for everything as soon as we fell to Seirin. Some may call those actions ones of pure kindness, but they were selfish at their very core. Kuroko's selfishness merely takes the form of wanting for all of us to be together and happy again."
Aomine looked at Akashi in shock. He had never thought of Tetsu's actions like that. But Akashi didn't really sound as if he just came to that conclusion himself. More likely than not, Tetsu-
"For Kuroko's sake, I have decided that we would get this extra chance for free, or more accurately, for the price Kuroko demanded. The next one would have a far more steep asking price in collation to what was done. I refuse to let Kuroko destroy his heart and mind over us over and over again when Seirin barely managed to put him back together this time. What I'm saying is...," Akashi trailed off as his gaze briefly became different, almost unfocused, before it snapped back.
Aomine shivered as the air suddenly seemed much more charged. Much colder. Much more controlling. All but demanding him to kneel in respect.
Akashi blinked, and his left eye turned a familiar gold.
"I won't hand Tetsuya over to you just so you can hurt him again, Daiki."
"Y-you too?"
"Akashi Seijūrō loves Kuroko Tetsuya is a statement that is always true, no matter which me one were to refer to," Akashi stated as simply as he breathed. An unshakable truth, just as the sun was hot and ice was cold. "Tetsuya has confided in us a lot since the Winter Cup. Most of which I will never tell another soul. However," he slowly crossed the distance between them, "know that Tetsuya does love you. And know that should you put this," he painfully flicked Aomine's forehead, "over this," he dug his pointer finger into Aomine's chest, right over his heart, "and hurt him, that there is nothing anyone can do or say to save you from me."
Aomine gulped on reflex alone. "I understand." A self-deprecating grin stretched his lips. "Hell, good luck finding anything of me after I'm done with myself."
"Good," Akashi said, that creepy self-satisfied smile on his face. He removed his finger from Aomine's chest, who didn't even try to resist the urge to rub the pain away.
"So...," Aomine trailed off.
"So?"
Aomine cleared his throat. "You too, huh? How did that even happen?"
"My other self has been as open about his issues with Tetsuya as Tetsuya has been with his. It made Tetsuya far more welcoming to getting to know me than my previous first impression."
"Yeah, but what about you?"
"He beat me," Akashi said, as if it was all that ever needed to be said on the matter. And, in a way, it was.
"Ah."
"I have also always thought him rather beautiful."
"He is."
"I'm not proud of my past thoughts. Of how he was too beautiful to play basketball, and instead should take on a different, more personal, position for me."
Aomine didn't know what to say.
"Don't look at me like that, Daiki. How many of Mai-chan's outfits did you imagine Tetsuya wearing?"
Aomine didn't even dare to breathe.
"That's what I thought."
Tetsu thankfully only chose that moment to join them again, new basketball in hand. While he seemingly didn't notice the mood (or the slowly darkening bruise on Aomine's forehead), Akashi's change of selves wasn't something anyone could miss.
"Hello Akashi-kun," Tetsu greeted easily, a small smile on his lips.
Akashi smiled back at him. "Hello Tetsuya."
"I didn't know you would join us today."
"I didn't plan to, but I couldn't resist the chance to talk with Daiki again. It has been a while since we saw eye to eye."
Tetsu nodded. "I know it can be quite hard. After all, Aomine-kun has always been taller."
The corner of Akashi's lips seemed to twitch in place.
"And I'm not even sure that he is done growing yet," Tetsu finished. His eyes slightly narrowed as he looked up at Aomine.
"Indeed." A dangerous glint appeared in Akashi's eyes. "Shall we put your new basketball to use by taking on a giant together?"
"'A giant'? Who do you think I am? I'm not Murasakibara!" Aomine protested.
"You're trying to grow like him, so it's hard to tell the difference between you two from down here," Tetsu said flatly.
"I'm not that tall, you know?"
"I disagree," Akashi cut in. "The distance you need to jump in order to dunk is significantly shorter than it is for us, Daiki."
Tetsu sighed. "I wish I could dunk."
"I can teach you."
"I can't jump as high as Kagami-kun."
"You don't need to have his abnormal jumping abilities to do so. Just a lot of training and hard work - both of which I know you exceed in."
"Then... please teach me how to dunk on giants, Akashi-kun."
"Of course, Tetsuya." Akashi pointed at Aomine. "Let's start with this one."
"Of course."
Aomine had the sudden urge to flee, yet there was no way he could leave, as the playfulness underneath every remark anchored him in place. He never expected that he could have this again - and he won't let it go again. The talk with Akashi (Akashis? Akashen? whatever the plural form of Akashi was) had helped him cement his determination, for Tetsu deserved nothing less. While this scene helped him acknowledge that Akashi would be fine, too. There was no need to worry about a guy who truly prioritized Tetsu's happiness above all else. Whether that was with him or someone else.
It will all work out in the end.
Aomine just finally needed to get his shit together once and for all and confess.
It was pure luck that White Day fell on a Saturday this year. It meant that with Tetsu's awareness of how Aomine preferred hanging out on Saturdays, he didn't question Aomine's request to meet up at all. In preparation for today, Aomine even did a Midorima and checked out his fortune for the day according to Oha-Asa. Surprisingly enough, Virgo was placed first for the day. Though, he scoffed at a pink scarf being his lucky item. Just because Tetsu could get away with wearing something like that didn't mean the same applied for Aomine.
He only kept the broadcast running for the last place to be revealed (which was apparently always right after the first place). Thankfully, it wasn't Aquarius, but Cancer instead. He sent a quick text to Midorima about his lucky item for the day. He vividly remembered a story Takao told about the last time Midorima had the worst luck day and didn't even get to know his lucky item. As much as Aomine didn't care for Midorima's personality, it didn't mean he wanted for the guy to (almost) get squished into a bloody pile by a misfunctioning construction site barrier again. Or whatever else bad luck would throw at him today.
It didn't rake long for Midorima to answer him. In a very roundabout way, the green asshole thanked him, but also told him that his teammates had all already either called or texted him about it. Apparently, they were traumatized enough by the last time that they all even offered to buy his lucky item just so he wouldn't need to brave death the outside world without it - which he accepted, of course.
"Just say 'thank you', asshole," Aomine mumbled as he pushed the matter from his mind.
As he left for the basketball court they were to meet up at, Aomine made sure that the newly bought pocket-sized black light sat securely in his bag. He even checked he put it there 2 times. Or 3 times. Or 4 times. Or-
He checked it a lot until he needed to leave.
Aomine felt its (almost nonexistent) weight with every step he took. He felt its weight as he greeted Tetsu as if this were just any other day they met up on. He played with Tetsu as if this were just any other day. Teased Tetsu about holding back as if this were just any other day.
Tetsu just smiled at him through it, and Aomine couldn't help the way his heart beat faster. Honestly, he could stay like this forever. Wanted to stay like this forever.
Though, as the sun started to lower in the sky, and their bodies burned with exhaustion, Tetsu seemed to have other ideas for their immediate future. After he stole the ball from Aomine, he entered the textbook shooting stance and took his shot.
As expected, the ball bounced off the rim.
Unexpectedly, it hit the headboard.
Unexpectedly, it sunk through the net.
The ball bouncing away echoed through Aomine's mind.
"What kind of horrid shot was that?"
"One that went in," Tetsu declared.
"Barely."
"Plus, Aomine-kun had that look in his eyes again."
Aomine stared at him blankly for a second before the memory came back to him. Of course, their meeting a month ago. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah..., I guess I owe you an explanation before you punch me, huh?"
"Me punching you very much depends on what has caused you to actually use your brain so much."
"Now, saying things like that just makes me want to punch you," Aomine mumbled as he walked over to his bag. He grabbed the black light. Careful to keep it out of sight as he motioned for Tetsu to stand in front of him. So Aomine stood between him and the sun, and his shadow enveloped Tetsu as if they truly were one and the same. He held out his right hand and waited until Tetsu took it with his own to start talking.
"You know, as much as you make yourself invisible, I thought you'd at least have the decency to not do so when it came to this," Aomine started. Clicking on the black light, he held it above his wrist. While Aomine's shadow wasn't nearly dark enough to fully showcase the black light's power, the widening of Tetsu's eyes was enough for Aomine to know that he understood. "I only found out about it last month because Imayoshi is a clean freak who judges lockers based on their appearance under black light."
Tetsu just continued to stare at the mark that clearly held his hair color in disbelief.
Aomine could sympathize. He had done the same. "It also came with plenty of realizations that I previously pretended not to notice."
Tetsu blinked out of his stupor. His eyes were still wide when they met Aomine's. The mixture of emotions in them too hard for Aomine to read. "You-"
"I knew I wanted to be closer to you again, much closer than we ever were even, but I kept on talking myself out of it because you clearly had a soulmate who you belonged to. You deserve to have a soulmate who treats you better than I ever have. And who am I to get in the way of that? It just turns out that I'm your soulmate, so you're not getting anyone better in that department." Aomine swallowed. "Sorry."
"Aomine-kun, I-"
"I know it's selfish, but I want to have you at my side for the rest of my life. Just like how I don't only want to be your friend, but your lover as well. As long as you'll have me, and even beyond. I'm yours. So... please be mine."
Tetsu blinked a few times. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, slipped down his when he tried to blink them away.
Aomine froze. "Tetsu?" He let go of Tetsu's hand in shock.
Tetsu wiped at his eyes with his mark guard. Even as he bent down to pick up the pink scarf that Satsuki made for him. "I'm sorry, Aomine-kun. I've been looking at the sun for too long."
Before Aomine could react, Tetsu had slung the scarf around the back of his neck, and pulled him down to Tetsu's height with it. Low enough for Tetsu to meet his lips without any problems.
Aomine's brain short-circuited.
The only thing he was truly aware of was the softness.
Of Tetsu's lips.
Of Satsuki's scarf.
Of his heart melting from bliss inside his chest.
Of his brain as it got lost somewhere in the soft clouds above.
He only managed to break out of his daze as Tetsu broke the kiss.
"I know it's selfish," Tetsu parroted his earlier words. "But I'll take you up on your offer. I rather like the thought of you belonging to me. Just as I like the thought of belonging to you." A wide smile appeared on his lips. "After all, I've always belonged to you."
Aomine leaned in for another kiss when his neck and back called his attention to the position he was currently in. His pain must have shown on his face as Tetsu was quick to release him. An apology on those soft lips Aomine wanted to taste again. Just... maybe not right now. He straightened up, body audibly cracking in protest. Aomine waved his apology off. "Just not something I'm used to. Guess I'll have to do some more practice first, right?"
Tetsu let out a sigh of disbelief. "I guess you do." He looked at the scarf in his hands. "And I won't use this on you again."
"Why did you bring than one today anyway? It's not cold enough for you to wear a scarf anymore."
"Midorima-kun called me earlier. He was worried because you actually watched the Oha-Asa broadcast and told him about his lucky item. Since he knew what the scarf Momoi-san made for me looked like, he told me to bring it so you won't lose your good fortune for the day." Tetsu's gaze drifted to where the black light was still held in Aomine's left hand. "He also told me that my lucky item for the day was a black light."
"That Oha-Asa really is something, huh? Are we sure time travelers aren't using it to keep the timeline in check."
Tetsu looked at him blankly. "You can be the one to bring that to Midorima-kun's attention."
"Heh. Maybe right before a match, should we meet on the court." Aomine offered Tetsu his hand again. "Maji?"
Tetsu smiled and nodded, his fingers intertwining with Aomine's. "Maji."
It was only a little while later that something Tetsu said properly clicked in Aomine's head.
"Tetsu...?"
"What is it?"
"Earlier, when you were tearing up. You weren't looking at the sun. I know you were completely in my shadow by then."
Tetsu hummed. "No, I was looking directly at the sun." His grip on Aomine's hand tightened as he turned his head to look at him. "Just as I'm looking directly at it now."
Oh.
Oh.
"Oh." Aomine felt his cheeks heating up. "You can't just say things like that."
"Just as you can't just promise yourself to me for forever in the middle of a street court, but here we are."
Aomine was about to protest when the vibration of his phone called his attention to it. He flipped it open, only to be met with a text from Akashi. "Say, Tetsu... You didn't write to Akashi about us already, did you?"
"Of course I did. Right when you were packing everything up. Why?"
Aomine turned his phone to him. "Because he's offering to take me ring shopping."
"Please do, Akashi-kun has a great taste in accessories and knows where all the best stores are."
"We haven't even been together for a day yet."
"You promised yourself to me," Tetsu teased. "It almost sounded like a vow, and I returned that vow. So you shouldn't go ring shopping for an engagement ring, but wedding rings."
Aomine slowly lowered his phone.
How was this his life?
But hell, it was good to have it.