A/N This chapter will be a little bit longer than the previous chapters. Bear with me hehe :)

IT WAS A MONDAY EVENING when Kise Ryota saw Aomine for the first time. He stood by the gym entrance, silently watching how the blue-haired boy made his way towards the net. The way his legs moved, it was as if Aomine was dancing to a quiet rhythm.

He ran and jumped, and it was that few moments between the jump and dunk that Kise felt the world stop. Aomine's body was formless, but somehow he managed to make it look flawless. His sweat glistened under the rays of sunlight peeking through the gym windows.

At that exact moment, Kise felt something.

Time unfroze and he heard the net flutter.

"That was amazing!" Kise's voice startled Aomine and himself. He never thought he'd actually say something, let alone step foot into the gym. "How did you do that?"

"Huh? Do what?" Aomine tilted his head in confusion.

"The thing you did before the dunk."

"Ah, that," Aomine's eyes gazed upwards as he thought about the formless shot he just did. "I don't know."

Eh?

"It's fine if you don't want to share your secret," Kise crossed his arms teasingly. "At least teach me how to play."

"Teach you?" Aomine squinted his eyes. "I don't even know you. Besides, I'm waiting for someone."

Kise looked around but failed to see anyone else but the two of them. He couldn't help but think Aomine was lying to him.

"Fine, my name's Kise Ryota!" Kise introduced himself proudly, pointing his thumb to his chest. "And you will teach me basketball."

Kise instantly regretted his way of introduction when he felt the menacing aura emitting from Aomine. He chuckled nervously before taking a few steps back, just in case. Aomine decided to ignore his request by picking up his basketball and headed towards the back of the court.

"You cannot ignore me forever," Kise huffed in annoyance. "I'll join the club and you will teach me."

"If you're serious, go ahead." Aomine answered, then he lifted the ball on one hand. "Now leave before I throw this at you."

Kise eventually signed up for the club, to Aomine's surprise. They made eye contact when coach was giving a brief announcement about the upcoming tournament. Kise was nervous yet excited at the same time. It was a long time since he felt this way towards a sport, and to think it came with a hot tanned boy.

Kise stopped himself from thinking any further before he start a mental argument with himself. He realised he was still staring at Aomine, who was now glaring at him. Aomine, on the other hand, thought they were having a secret staring competition, and he definitely didn't want to lose.

When it was time for practice, Kuroko was assigned to be his tutor instead, which made Kise spill a bunch of annoyed sentences in his head. He wanted Aomine to teach him and nobody else. It was because of him Kise decided to join the club after all.

"Nice to meet you," Kuroko greeted politely, bowing his head a little. "I'm Kuroko."

"Yeah, yeah," Kise dismissed him. "Okay."

Kise didn't bother trying to hide his annoyance and disappointment. Kuroko was friendly and all but it wasn't what Kise needed. His eyes would wander towards the familiar tanned boy from time to time, wishing he would give him some attention. Kise wanted a challenge, not a pity tutorial on how to score a hoop.

"You know Aomine-kun?" Kuroko's voice snapped Kise back to reality.

"Aomine? You mean that guy?" Kuroko nodded. "Yes and no, I guess. We spoke a bit before I joined the club."

"Is that so?" Kuroko blinked in acknowledgement. "Then, do you want him to teach you some tricks?"

If eyes could sparkle more than they usually do, Kise's were definitely doing so. Kuroko smiled at his enthusiasm and called for Aomine without hesitation. But it took him some persuasion for Aomine to finally give in.

"Yo." Aomine greeted lazily.

"I told you, you cannot ignore me forever."

"God, you're so annoying!" Aomine's voice was loud, but it wasn't loud enough to scare Kise. Aomine probably knew he was only teasing him. Kuroko and Aomine shared a fist bump before leaving the two alone. Finally.

"Before we start, it's Aomine."

Kise smiled. His name suited him a lot, from his navy blue hair to his blue eyes. Everything about Aomine was perfect.

Kise felt his cheeks burning up.

"Why are your cheeks becoming red?" Aomine furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you sick already? You're that weak, huh?"

"No!" Kise defended. "I'm not. It's just hot."

Was the weather causing this?

"Whatever. Now, you better pay attention or you're dead. You understand?"

Training with Aomine went better than Kise expected. He enjoyed every single minute of it and felt that he knew basketball more than he did before. He also told Aomine about his copying technique, which might be useful during a tournament. Kise may or may not have used it to pass his exams as well.

Both Kise and Aomine started to get along after a few weeks of training together, though they bantered a lot. It felt weird, but Kise realised he was way happier when he was with Aomine. Kuroko would join in sometimes and the way the two conversed wasn't pleasing to Kise at all. Then the fist bumps. Especially the fist bumps. They made his blood boil for some reason.

"Hey, Aominecchi." They were alone at the gym, the rest had gone back home. Kuroko would've stayed back a little while longer if it wasn't because of an emergency.

"What?"

The two boys were sitting by the wall, legs extended as they rested. Kise had his bottle in his hands, and he stared at it.

"I'll hit you if you don't say something."

Kise sighed, knowing Aomine would definitely do that. The mini bruises on his arms were proof. Aomine can be a little rough sometimes.

"You and Kuroko seem close."

Shit. Kise wasn't supposed to say that out loud. He felt Aomine shifting next to him and their shoulders touch.

Ba-dump.

Kise's eyes widened as he felt his heart skip a beat. He realised they never stayed this close before and that realisation was enough to make his stomach churn nervously.

"I suppose so." Aomine finally answered.

"We have feelings for each other," He continued after a long pause. Kise froze after hearing his confession. Something that he definitely didn't want to hear. Something he wished he could unhear. "But we aren't together or anything."

Kise let out a nervous chuckle. "Why are you telling me this?"

Aomine shrugged. "I'm not secretive about it."

Then Kise remembered. The constant fist bumps, hugs, stares and endless whispers. The bottle in his hands changed its shape, which made Kise realise he was gripping it too hard. Aomine noticed and gave him a weird look.

"What's with you?"

Kise looked away. "Nothing."

Aomine may not be that smart, but he wasn't that stupid too. He knew something had changed with Kise and he could feel a weird tension between them.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?"

When the blond boy made no effort to show his face, Aomine grabbed his shoulder and turned the boy around, revealing Kise in a sobbing mess.

"What?"

"Sorry!" Kise laughed weakly, wiping his tears away violently but they kept coming. "I don't know what's happening to me."

"Was it me?" Kise sensed the worry in his tone and his heart broke even more. The last thing he wanted was to do that to Aomine. "Did I do something wrong?"

Yes.

"No, you did nothing," Kise shook his head. "It's all on me."

"I know I shouldn't, but I like you, Aominecchi. I've felt that way since the first time I laid eyes on you. But now I know I can never be the one for you," Kise explained, his voice breaking bit by bit as he cried. Aomine only watched him with stunned eyes.

"You already have someone you like, who likes you back. I don't want to ruin that. I don't want to ruin our friendship either. So all I ask now is that you reject me properly."

"Kise -" Aomine reached his hand out to comfort his crying friend, only to get swatted away.

"Please."

Aomine clenched his jaw in anger. He didn't feel that way towards Kise Ryota as his heart was for somebody else, but he hated being put in this kind of position. He hated hurting people this way, and he definitely hated rejection. So he could only imagine what Kise was feeling at that moment.

"Thank you for telling me," Aomine said in a soft voice, one that melted and broke Kise's heart at the same time. "But I have someone I like and I hope you can respect that."

A small smile was spread across Kise's lips. He took a deep breath before letting it out. It would definitely take him a while to readjust.

"Thank you, Aominecchi," He spoke and extended his hand for Aomine to shake. "Let's continue being friends and play basketball, okay?"

The other boy's features softened, and he gladly shook Kise's hand.

"You got it."

Kise was walking back home, when he realised it was a Monday evening. He laughed to himself. He got rejected the same time he laid eyes on Aomine Daiki.

Ah, this sucks.

°°°

A/N Don't ask me why, just felt like introducing Kise to the story this way. Don't worry, there won't be any Kise x Aomine after this. Hope it's okay!