Aomine knew he screwed up. He screwed up more than ever before. There were times when he behaved like an ass, that was true, but never had he made Satsuki cry ever before. When he felt the throbbing pain in his chin which was caused by the hit of the girls' bag and saw her running away with tears running down on her face, he could not do anything, only calling out her name and reaching after her - not that he could have stopped her like that anyway. He was beyond angry when the coach told him that he could not play, but using Momoi as his punching bag was not fair. It was fucking not fair - not at all.
Momoi was smart. Hell, she was the smartest woman Aomine had ever known. She should have done lots of things with her life. She should have joined language clubs - Aomine knew that she loved French and there was a French Club in their school - or should have spent her free time with anything else, but looking after his sorry ass. But she did it anyways and he knew that she would not stop doing it, even if he asked her to. Her excuse would be that she loved basketball and their team, but - because of being friends since forever - Aomine would see through her lie within seconds. Momoi was too good hearted for her own good and she wasted it towards someone as scum as him. Sometimes when he was angry, he called her a burden in his head, but he had to realize that the roles were reversed when it came to who was a burden to whom.
Momoi was walking beside Kuroko, thinking about what she would say to Dai-chan when they would see each other again. He was too harsh and she knew that Dai-chan realized that too deep in his heart, but she did not know how he would make her forgive him.
They turned around another corner into the street where her house was. As they got closer, her breath caught in her throat. Leaning against the wall beside their garden gate was Aomine with a really exhausted expression on his face. It looked like he had been running a marathon before.
"Dai-chan?" The nickname on which she used to call him before middle school slipped out her mouth without her realizing it.
She did not have time to register what was happening, because in the next moment, she was pulled to a large body with strong arms hugging her tightly - maybe a little bit tighter than it could be called comfortable.
"Don't you dare ever do this again, idiot," Aomine mumbled into Momois' hair as his hug became tighter. Momoi did not answer, only hugged him back with a happy smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
Kuroko was watching his two friends and a smile formed on his lips. They knew what the other felt, without saying a single apology. They were standing there, hugging each other so tight as if they were afraid of being separated by some kind of unknown force against which even Aomine-kun could not pick up a fight. Their souls were connected to one another and they had one of the deepest bonds Kuroko had ever seen and no matter how determinedly Momoi-san declared that she loved him, Kuroko knew that he would always stay at second place in her heart.
