A/N: Behold~ Eru's futile attempt at an unfamiliar area (for me) and at making Kuroko in-character~ whydidieventhinkofwritingthisdamthing Well, I spent weeks writing this so might as well post it. XD It's the first time I wrote in this genre so... *shrugs* Be gentle with me if you have any negative reactions.

This could be a sequel for AWEsoMEtheMagician's Kuroko x Reader one shot. (It's in the external link.) Or not. XD Anyway. Just check out her stories. Waha.

You might want to listen to sad songs while reading this thing (I have no confidence. Huhu.)

Suggestions:
~Say Something by A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera
~Just Be Friends (piano ver.)
~When the First Love Ends

I added ShounenT's (my love~) version of JBF in the media section.

(And for le Filipino readers: #WalangForever #Hugot101 XD)

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For every happy moment, an opposite one would eventually come and even it out.

You were aware of this fact, but you didn't expect the opposite would come tenfold.

"I'm really sorry, Tetsuya," you croaked out the words that weren't even enough to convey how you felt, gigantic tears threatening to spill from your eyes. You bit your bottom lip and tried to steady your breathing in an effort to not to let out even the smallest of sobs. No, you told yourself, I musn't cry in front of him. You know he hated seeing that pitiful crying face of yours. Even in the end, you wanted to help him fulfill his promise to never let you cry while you're still together.

You knew he could read you with not much effort, and he would always immediately come to your side every moment he sensed something was wrong with you. Usually, one hug from him was all it took for things to get better. But now, it didn't come. A part of you was grateful for that, but a larger part yearned for his warmth. Though it was senseless to expect his embrace now, you still did.

Your sight getting blurry, you averted your gaze away from his unreadable expression to the shiny polished wooden floor of the basketball court instead. You tried to think of all those happy thoughts and memories to help. The memories that came first to your mind were those of him, and those of the two of you. These, however, gave you the opposite effect. You felt like screaming helplessly in absolute regret and remorse -- those were the times you hoped the two of you would stay like that forever.

You remembered the time when you confessed to him at the same time of the day and in the same place. Your words of expressing your feelings echoed all over the empty gym and you were too embarrassed to look at his gentle face. You started liking him from the time you took notice of his faint and mysterious presence during one of his games. Ever since then, you were always on the lookout for your phantom-like schoolmate. The more you saw and observed him, the deeper your feelings fell into what seemed like Wonderland's rabbit hole, with no assurance if he was there to catch them or if they would hit the ground and shatter into pieces. You were expecting an honest but polite rejection since you were sure he didn't know you; but then he took you by surprise, saying that he felt the same. He said that it made him extremely happy when someone cheered for specifically him during one of the games they lost, and when he discovered it was you, it sparked his interest and admiration for you. That joyous moment started everything.

It felt like a privilege to be with him, and you were more than happy when you discovered the other sides of him. You loved all of them – his childish pout when he’s jealous, his small grin when he’s pleased, his troubled frown when he’s confused, his calm angelic expression when he’s asleep, his usual smile when he’s with you, and many more of his adorable faces.

It’s funny how the place that started it all is also the place that would end it.

"I don't want to part with you but..." you could hear the hurt in his strained voice, "I respect your decision," he finally replied after what seemed like eternity. It may have been your imagination, but his voice now sounded cold and distant with a tinge of loneliness compared to how he talked to you when you were together. You now dared to look at the face of the person you love. His once usually relaxed eyebrows were now slightly furrowed, his once expressionless lips were narrowed, and his once clear sky blue eyes now seemed dark and stormy. Looking at you with that pained expression of his you knew he tried to hide with his usual deadpan look and speaking to you with the voice you knew he used to sound strong, it was like he unconsciously shot thousands of sharp ice shards to your chest, most of them impaling your heart. But you couldn’t blame him; it was your fault after all.

"Thank you," you breathed out somewhat dejectedly, regretting each word that came out of your lips. If there was something you disliked with Tetsuya, it was how he always let you have your way and how he wouldn't say much about his pain. You knew it was because he treasured you and because he wanted to look strong in front of you, and that was also one of the little things you love about him, but this is one of the many times you wished he'd oppose you. There was this small possibility that that would change your resolve.

He nodded a little, and you just stared at those now dull eyes that once held so much light. The two of you locked gazes for one of the longest times the you ever did, until he broke away, leaving you devastated. The furrow between his eyebrows went deeper and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "So... This is goodbye." His words were a sharp metal claw piercing your heart from opposite sides. This time, he didn't look at you, but you could see and hear the pain welled up inside him. You wanted to punish yourself for causing him this, and being separated from him is not enough.

You held your breath, and tried even harder to hold your tears from rolling down your cheeks. "Yes, I guess it is," you answered softly using every last piece of strength and willpower you could muster. Your heart cried the opposite.

"Well then, please excuse me." He bowed, his voice now sounding as if he was just allowed to leave by a teacher who summoned him. His evident fondness for you was no longer there, and that just squeezed your heart painfully. He turned around and started taking steps away from you, away from what the two of you had. You couldn't bear watch him walk away; he was also taking away a large part of you.

"Tetsuya!"

For the last time, you let your emotions take over your body.

He turned around as you slammed your body to his and immediately wrapped your arms around it, taking him by surprise.

"______...?"

"Just... Just one last time. Please," you begged desperately, and, thankfully, he didn't do anything to push you away. You buried your face into his chest, taking in his familiar scent of sweat mixed with his perfume during most afternoons with basketball practices. His quick heartbeat resonated in your ears, and you felt your lips stretch into a bittersweet smile. You loved listening to this quick bass drum in his chest, and this was the last time you could ever do so. The tears you've been suppressing now came, dampening his white shirt. At the moment, you couldn't care any less anymore. You wanted him to feel that you love him, that the time you spent together was worth so much to you.

Before you knew it, you were in the warm embrace you were yearning for and you'd surely miss so badly, his arms tightly enveloping your body and his hands holding your arms. He rested his chin against your head, just like he always did whenever you two hugged. Through his chest, you could sense his irregular breathing. Concerned, you tried to push him away to check if he was okay, but his embrace only tightened.

That's when you realized that the strong Tetsuya's wall was breaking down, and, even for the last time, he didn't want you to witness it. 

"I hope you're happy with your decision," he whispered through his shaky breath, just loud enough for you to hear. He sniffed so quietly, and you felt some kind of wetness on your head. Just imagining him making that painful expression tore your heart into powder-like pieces. You tightened your arms' grip on him, not wanting to ever let go.

Your mind and your heart were in chaos. You wanted to yell at him that you would never be happy with it and take back everything you just said, in hopes that everything would go back to how they were. You couldn’t even imagine yourself being happy after this; he’s the source of your happiness. Wait, scratch that. He’s your happiness.

But then your reason would intervene and slap the sense into your desires and your selfishness. Your relationship wasn’t really doing him any good; he already had so much in his life to balance and you were one of them. He even had to skip his basketball practice just to be with you. You knew you were just a presence that was bringing him down, and it was painful to watch. He needed someone who could support him, and, no matter how hard you tried, that person just wasn't you. It was hard for you to admit to yourself that someone better deserved his love more. Sometimes, letting go is the best answer. You were letting go of your happiness for him to achieve a greater form of his own. Though it would hurt the both of you, you were sure that it's for the best in the future.

You took a deep breath and rested your forehead on his chest, your tears streaming down your cheeks. Though you knew he was aware of your pitiful crying, you still didn’t want him to see it. You pursed your lips before saying one of the biggest lies you would ever say in your life. “I will be,” you said against his chest, your voice quivering. As long as you could be happy, you wanted to add.

"Then I'm satisfied," he replied so softly, the same way he used to tell you that he wanted to stay with you a little longer. Back then, you would always comply to all of his whims. Right now... you couldn't do that anymore.

"Thank you for everything...," you muttered softly as you closed your eyes. You pulled him closer, not wanting him to see that pitiful sight of yours. "I really did love you, Tetsuya..." And you always will. Loving someone else other than him was unthinkable; you couldn't imagine yourself being in someone else's arms. You were holding on to that little fragment of hope that in the future, when everything is settled and when you're mature enough to tackle these emotions once again, he'd still welcome you with open arms.

"I love you too, ______. Remember that." 

You didn't respond. You stayed like that for a while before deciding that it was unfortunately the time to finaly let go.You took a deep breath, pulled away, and this time he let you, and forced a smile on your crying face. Your blurred sight made hard for you to see the emotion showing on his face, and you were fine with that. Seeing it would make it harder for you to part from him.

His lips were now on your forehead, his soft and gentle hands lightly gripping on your shoulders. He always kissed you on the forehead whenever the two of you were to leave each other's side for the day - be it when he walked you home or when your date was done - a goodbye kiss; and this is his final goodbye.

For one final moment, you locked gazes with him with sad smiles on your tear-stroked faces until he turned and started to walk away, thus ending and leaving behind that special treasure the you once had.

***

"Tetsuya!" you screamed with all your might, beads of tears streaming down your cheeks and your hands reaching out for his fading figure.

You soon realized that you were sitting on your bed and panting heavily in your dark room. It was just a dream, you thought, relief starting to fill up your body.

You clutched on the area where your heart would be as you took deep and heavy breaths to calm yourself. Despite the dream being a memory from many years ago, it had almost the same effect now as it was from that time. The piercing sensation of the sharp invisible blade was once again there. Time might've been enough to heal that wound, but just remembering it could open it.

A warm and larger hand lay on top of yours, and you shifted your attention to its owner. His sky blue hair an unbelievable mess and his eyebrows furrowed with worry, he tried to focus his sleepy cerulean orbs on your pain-stricken face. "Is everything okay...?" he asked huskily as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and doing his best to get a better view of you in the dark. "Were you crying?" His hands caressed your cheeks gently as if handling a fragile glass while they made their way to the area just below your eyes. He wiped away the remaining tears using his thumbs.

"Yeah... Just a bad dream. Don't worry about it," you assured him with a smile, your right hand holding one of his hands on your cheek.

He lifted your face for you to meet his sincere gaze. He didn't look pleased with what you said. "It's normal and only right for me to worry about my wife, _______."

His honest words never failed to make your heart race. A smile gracing your lips, you sighed and shook your head. You complied on telling him what it was about, and he listened intently with each word that left you lips, despite being obviously sleepy. With his slightly calloused hand reassuringly gripping on yours as you spoke, the painful sensation didn't return, and you were surprisingly filled with tranquility.

He ran his fingers through your hair, and soon found their place just behind your head. He leaned closer, and left a quick feather-like kiss on the tip of your nose -- light, gentle, and soft. His hand fell back to yours then squeezed them, as his blue eyes stared tenderly into yours. "I will never let such a  thing to happen for the second time and I'll spend my lifetime to prove it."

Your cheeks grew warm. Tetsuya and his words. Sheesh. "Neither will I~" You chuckled before tackling him back to the bed, and soon you were in his embrace with his right arm being your pillow and his other one pulling you close. You enveloped him with your arms. He pressed his lips against your forehead as a way of saying good bye for the day and that dream, before the two of you wandered back into the land of your slumber in each other's warmth.

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A/N: Honestly, I intended this thing to end with Kuroko going with a dramatic exit. XD I just wanted Kurobae (//shot) to be happy so~ .u.