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We won. For a fraction of a second the whole court, even the stands were quiet, safe for my own rapid heartbeat drumming in my ears. Then sounded the whistle of the referee. The stadium erupted in applause as our team let out deafening shouts of joy.
The referee ordered us to line up. I wanted to move, but my knees gave out, the last scored point, the one that helped us win, having taken the last of my energy. I heard Hyūga call out to me before I was tipping over to my left.
Aomine, who had been standing in front of me reacted quickly and appeared to my right, catching me before I had to make friends with the court floor. He pulled my right arm around his shoulders, helping me stand.
„Thank you.“, I said quietly, lacking the energy for a louder reply.
„Sheeh. You can barely stand with support. I‘m not sure who of us won now. But maybe that was for the best. The reason I lost was that difference.“, Aomine mused, his voice sounding uncharacteristically calm. It almost reminded me of when we played in middle school.
Before I could answer Kagami-kun entered our field of vision. „Don’t act like it‘s all over now. It‘s just begun. We can do this any time. I‘ll take you on.“, he stated proudly, never one to hold back from challenging the generation of miracles.
Aomine looked baffled for a moment, before a grin spread over his face, a chuckle that I could feel shaking his shoulders breaking free. „Shut up, Idiot.“
“Aomine-kun? Remember what you told me after our last match?“, I asked, looking up at the dark bluenette. I remembered clearly.
‚Your basketball cannot win.‘
Aomine seemed to recall that moment too. He sighed, a smile on his face.
„You win, Tetsu.“
„Can I ask you a favor? You still haven’t returned my fist bump.“, I said, lifting my arm that wasn’t around his shoulders and balling it into a fist.
„What?! Who cares about that?“, Aomine asked, startled.
“I do. Try putting yourself into the shoes of the ignored.“
“Fine.“, he agreed begrudgingly, but I could swear I saw the hint of a smile on his face.
„Next time I‘ll win though.“, a full smile breaking through. He let go of my arm that was hooked over his shoulders in favor of returning the fist bump, making me hold onto his shoulder with my own strength for a small moment.
„We‘ll see about that.“, I countered, a matching smile on my face.
„We have to line up now, I‘ll pass you over to the hot-headed idiot.“, Aomine smirked, handing him over to a pouting Kagami.
„Hey! You say that like it‘s a bad thing to be hot-headed! And who are you calling an idiot? I beat you after all!“, he huffed.
Aomine chuckled deeply, taking a small step back to ruffle my hair.
„Being level-headed is much more important. You‘d do good in taking a leaf out of Tetsu‘s book.“
—————————
„Good evening, Daiki.“, I greeted him.
„Spare me your ‚good evening‘. Why the hell did you call me here, Tetsu?“
„Then I‘ll get straight to the point. Daiki, could you perhaps teach me to score? Would that be possible?“
„Huh?“, he replied, severely caught off guard by the unusual request.
—————————
After Daiki sighed, signaling me to follow him to a small basketball court on the streets next to a river, I attempted to throw the ball into the hoop, failing miserably. I picked the ball back up and looked at him.
„So? Be honest, how was i-„
„Are you kidding me?! What was that supposed to be?! What did you expect I‘d think of it? I didn’t say I‘d teach you!“, he interrupted me, looking at me like I‘d lost it. Maybe I had.
„But why not?“, I asked, genuinely confused.
„It‘s strange if the loser’s supposed to teach the winner something the day after he lost!“, he huffed angrily. He sighed and sat down on the ground, leaning against a street lamp. He seemed to sigh a lot after we won against him. Though, he seemed to do it a lot when giving in to me. I saw that as a win.
„I didn’t sleep since the match. I went home, ate and bathed and laid in my bed. And even though my body was exhausted, my mind was too ramped up. I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t stop thinking about our game. I forgot how it feels to lose. My chest constricted, I thought I‘d have to throw up and my head was pounding. I forgot it and if I‘m honest I even missed it. But I‘m already done with it now. It just feels shitty. It really was an awful night.“, he was quiet for a small moment and before I could reply he went on.
„Well, maybe that’s the reason I want to get playing again as soon as possible.“
A could feel a small smile tugging at my lips.
„So… Daiki?“
„Oh well, all that talk about basketball made me want to play. Let‘s go make some scores. If you insist I‘ll also teach you to throw.“, he smiled, walking past me to the small court, but not without rustling my hair with his hand.
My hands tightened on the ball as a familiar warmth filled my stomach at the gesture and a smile spread my lips. I had missed this. With the falling out of the team, the relationship between me and Daiki had been severed as well. We weren’t together then, but we both knew of each other’s feelings. I couldn’t help but wonder if he still felt like that towards me.
„What are you smiling about?“, Daiki asked as I turned, even though he wore a matching one on his features.
„It reminded me of middle school, when we often trained together.“
„Yeah. C‘mon, hurry up. Time‘s running.“
I chuckled, crossing the few feet between us to position myself in front of him, dribbling the ball.
——————
We played for a while, Daiki giving me tips on my form and the way I threw the ball. It was fun. Of course playing basketball with my team was too, but with him? It was, admittedly, something entirely different, even though I lost by far. Simply because it was him. And every time I looked at Daiki, he smiled. The old one, back im middle school when basketball was also fun for him.
Seeing him like that was better than winning against him would have been. Which was something I even surprised myself with.
Both of us exhausted after our game, him more due to lack of sleep for obvious reasons, we sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall behind us. Our sides touching almost everywhere, from our shoulders to our ankles.
„Well, even though you missed every shot, I‘d say it was slightly closer to actually getting through the hoop.“, Daiki smirked, angling his head to look at me.
„Don’t just say that to make me feel better, yes? I know my throws are horrible.“, I said, bowing my head.
He pulled his shoulder back a little, making me tilt to his side a little before he bumped it into my shoulder. I looked up at him again at that.
„I‘m not doing that. You actually improved your aim a little, even if it‘s just a bit.“, he said, gentler than usual. It reminded me of how he talked to me in middle school when we were alone.
„Thank you, Daiki.“, I smiled slightly, my gaze falling onto a clock. „Oh- it‘s already a quarter past midnight…“, I sighed, my eyes widening. I didn’t mean to stay out that late. It would surely be half past one before I‘d be home.
Daiki followed my gaze, a frown on his face. „Don‘t you live almost an hour away from here?“, he inquired. I nodded but before I could say anything more he went on.
„I live only a few blocks away… you can stay the night if you want.“, he grumbled, avoiding looking at my face. I gaped at him for a small moment, before I smiled.
„I‘d like that.“
—————————
Daiki blinked a few times before he looked at me. „So- I might have forgotten that I only have one bed… but it‘s a king size so it should be fine.“, he coughed, a small blush on his face that he tried to hide by looking away. It was adorable. Though I had the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate me voicing these thoughts out loud.
We ate dinner together, which was admittedly more of a midnight snack considering the time, before we got ready to sleep. Daiki gave me an unused toothbrush he had laying around and we brushed our teeth side by side. It was an oddly… domestic feeling.
I was done first, laying down on the left side of the bed, remembering from middle school that he preferred the side that wasn’t against the wall. Which was lucky, since it was the opposite for me.
I was almost asleep already when he came out of the bathroom, turning off the sliver of light that shone from the room. He paused in the doorway.
„I sleep in boxers… that alright with you?,“ he asked in his usual gruff tone. I hummed in agreement, since I myself wasn’t wearing more than boxers and an oversized shirt Daiki pressed into my hand after i realized I didn’t have anything to sleep in.
He closed the door, walking over to the bed with a yawn. He slipped under the covers, letting out a deep breath as he relaxed into the mattress.
„Good night, Tetsu…“, he mumbled and I could swear I heard a smile in his voice.
„Good night, Daiki…“, I answered sleepily, a smile on my face.
—————————
The next morning I woke up on a surprisingly cozy and warm pillow, my whole body content to not move even if I wanted to. It‘s been a while since I slept that well. I hummed in contentment, not opening my eyes.
A chuckle sounded, closer than I remembered Daiki being last night. More so, my pillow seemed to vibrate with the sound. My eyes shot open, locking with Daiki‘s sapphire ones.
„Oh“, I said stupidly, not knowing what to say or even how to react as I realized my pillow was actually Daiki‘s bare chest.
It was just like when we were cuddling in middle school, exhausted after practice. The thought sent butterflies through my stomach. I was about to get up, frantically searching for something to say that wasn’t awkward, when he pulled me down again, my head resting on his chest once more.
„Stay like that?“, he mumbled into my hair, trying to sound stern, but failing as it turned into a question. The butterflies in my stomach went haywire at his request. I nodded, my cheeks warming. We were both quiet for a moment, before I gathered the courage to speak up.
„So… does that mean we’re back to what we were? Back in high school I mean? Do you still… like me that way?“
Daiki was stunned into silence for a moment, or possibly debating what to say. Either way, I wasn’t sure.
„Tetsu.“, he said, his voice stern in a way that told me to look at him, so I did, lifting my head.
„Of course I do. Nothing would change that, you Idiot.“, he huffed, trying to sound equal parts sincere and his usual aloof tone. He failed at the latter. But I didn’t mind in the least.
„I‘m glad.“, I answered quietly, smiling as relief coursed through me. „For me, there is also nothing that has changed.“
He grinned then, pulling me down for a kiss. And it felt just like it did before everything.
It felt just like the past.