A/N: And here's another one of my aokuro week entries, written of a prompt I got from my beloved waifu. Enjoy~

It's been five months already, Tetsuya thought while reheating the leftovers from yesterday's dinner. Five months since he last saw his boyfriend. Aomine was currently in the US, having been drafted for one of the minor NBA teams right after they finished high school. It was about the same time as Kuroko got accepted into Tokyo University, and since it has always been his dream to study journalism, Aomine insisted he stayed in Japan. And Tetsuya did. Now, two years later, he wasn't so sure he made the right choice.

Of course, the classes were interesting and the things he learned would be incredibly useful in his future line of work, but… He was lonely. He'd never admit that to Aomine, because knowing him he'd quit the team and come back only to mope around the couch and annoy him. And yet at times like this Tetsuya felt it wouldn't be so bad.

So what if they talked on Skype and called each other all the time? He couldn't deny that it helped him fall asleep, as he listened to Aomine's low raspy voice, or when he was woken up in the morning by the other's cheerful broken English. Various texts during the day called forth a soft smile to his face too. But as much as this indirect contact made the long-distance relationship bearable, it also made the pain that much worse.

He could hear him, but he couldn't see him. When he could finally see him, he couldn't touch him. Tetsuya never imagined something so simple to be so hard to live with. He has heard many stories of such relationships breaking apart, and to be completely honest, now he felt like he understood those feelings. He'd never give up on Aomine so easily, not after everything they've been through, but he shared the sentiment.

When they talked it always came down to basketball, so it was Aomine who babbled excitedly like a little kid about practice, or the new rival he made, or how they crushed their opponent in a practice match. Tetsuya loved the sport, so he never minded the topic, but after so many times the name Ryan, Aomine's new best friend and rival, became a sore spot for him, always leaving him with a scowl after they ended the call.

He wasn't jealous, not really. Well, maybe he was, but for a whole different reason. It wasn't about any romantic or sexual feelings Aomine may have had for the other. The very fact that this Ryan was right there, by his boyfriend's side, was what Tetsuya was envious of. There wasn't any doubt in his mind that even if he tried, Aomine would be unable to cheat on him. Call it a sixth sense, but he just knew it.

Taking the food out of the microwave, Tetsuya started eating. How many times did Kagami tell him to just take a few days off and pay Aomine a visit? Three this week, another eight last week, and even more the week earlier. Tetsuya sighed. Maybe he really should consider it, five months was a long time after all, too long. And he could finally touch him…

Putting the empty dishes into the sink and rinsing them with water, he checked the clock. It was half past five in the afternoon. Looking towards the pile of reading he had to do for tomorrow's classes he decided a nap was in order, if he was to last the whole night. With a blanket tightly wound around his shoulders in the pitiable semblance of Aomine's warmth he dropped on the couch and closed his eyes. Daiki…

Tetsuya smiled lightly as he pushed the door to his- No, their apartment open. Taking of the coat, his nose was attacked with the smell of burnt vinegar that made him blink back the sudden tears and sneeze into his hand. Maybe asking his boyfriend to prepare dinner wasn't such a good idea…

He stepped into the kitchen and immediately spotted Aomine, who stood over the boiling pot with a face that clearly said nothing went according to the plan. On top of that there was a smudge of flour, Tetsuya believed, on one of Aomine's cheeks and some unknown white substance on the tip of the other's nose. Hiding his amusement, he stepped closer to the pot.

'So what's for dinner?' he asked, checking its content. It didn't look like anything he had ever tasted.

'Right now?' Aomine smiled at him, a perfectly unapologetic, boyish smile of someone who wasted time and effort on something useless, but was blissfully unaware of it. 'I have absolutely no idea.'

Tetsuya sighed. It definitely was a bad idea to ask a complete novice to cook, now he knew. He didn't expect much in the first place, but something as simple as scrambled eggs shouldn't pose any problems. Of course, the ever ambitious Aomine Daiki had to try his hand at making curry. With another sigh Tetsuya turned to his boyfriend.

'What are we going to do about dinner then?' He reached out and brushed the flour off of Aomine's cheek, and then tugged him by the shirt and licked the white substance off of his nose. 'You added mayonnaise in there?'

'I might have,' Aomine answered with another smile. He picked up a spoon and took some of the concoction, pointing it right at Tetsuya's mouth. 'Try it.'

'Are you sure this is a good idea?'

'It doesn't look that good, I'll give you that,' the other glanced back into the pot with a sheepish look. 'But it tastes better,' at Tetsuya's still unconvinced silence, he continued, 'Come on, I'd never poison you, you know that.'

He wasn't so sure. Blaming himself for letting his guard down and agreeing to let Aomine cook, he opened his mouth. And then he blinked. Twice.

'It's good,' he said, still surprised. It didn't taste like the usual curry, but it was undeniably good.

'See?' The pride coming off of Aomine in waves made Tetsuya smile. Sometimes his boyfriend was just like a little child always seeking praise.

'Maybe you should have become a chef instead of a basketball player then.'

He turned to the get the plates from one of the shelves, when Aomine's voice stopped him half-motion.

'Basketball? What are you taking about Tetsu, I'm a police officer, remember?'

Tetsuya woke up suddenly, feeling his heart beating wildly in his chest. A dream, huh? He turned to the side and closed his eyes again. He wasn't surprised that he dreamt of Aomine. He remembered reading somewhere that dreams where the reflection of one's subconscious desires. And it was clear as day that this meant that he wanted to have Aomine by his side. Maybe not exactly cooking for him, but Tetsuya just wanted him to be there.

The thing that worried him the most was the last part, though. In the dream Aomine didn't play basketball. It didn't matter what he did, but the fact that he wasn't playing the sport he loved was unsettling. Was it really something Tetsuya wished for? He knew it wasn't, he'd never take basketball away from his boyfriend, no matter how lonely he was without him. So if keeping Aomine by his side would make him quit playing, Tetsuya knew he'd rather stay apart. After all, Aomine was living his longtime dream. And that was enough for Tetsuya.

As if drawn by his thoughts, his phone started ringing, the screen blinking with the characters of Aomine's name. With a sad smile Tetsuya picked up.

'Hello, Aomine-kun.'

'Did I wake you?' the voice on the other side of line sounded way to excited to be apologetic.

'No, I just took a nap, but it's about time I got up,' he answered. 'Did something happen? You usually call a bit later than this.'

'It's nothing, really.' There was a short pause. 'Or maybe there is something, I just-'

The doorbell cut off anything that might have followed. With a sigh Tetsuya got up, throwing the blanket off of him. He wasn't expecting anyone, especially not at this hour.

'Please wait a second, someone's at the door,' he said, and got a hum in agreement.

Still holding the phone near his ear, he pulled the handle. And he froze, breath catching in his throat. Before him, with a bag casually swung on his shoulder and smiling brightly stood his boyfriend, Aomine Daiki. Staring at him through wide in shock eyes, Tetsuya raised the phone back to his ear.

'I guess I'll have to call you back,' he said.

And completely forgetting about the phone, he jumped straight at the unsuspecting man. They tumbled to the floor, Tetsuya's arms tightly around the other's neck, face buried in his shoulder. He was close to crying, he didn't think he missed Aomine that much. But the lump in his throat got bigger with each second. Velvety laugh right above his ear and warm breath tickling his hair weren't helping any.

'You should've told me you missed me so much, Tetsu,' strong arms closed around him, bringing him even closer. 'I would've come earlier, you know.' Another laugh followed along with fingers softly combing through his hair.

Sitting back slightly on Aomine's knees, Tetsuya looked him deep in the eyes. He reached a hand and lightly touched the other's cheek with his fingertips. He waited so long to do this, to just feel the warmth under his fingers, the roughness of Aomine's hands on his body and the smooth sensation of skin touching skin.

'I heard you talk for five months, Aomine-kun,' Tetsuya leaned in and kissed Aomine, needy and impatient. 'Now, touch me.'

AoKuro is so underrated, my shipper heart hurts. And on top of that, no one likes my AoKuro fics, that's just sad ;u; Reviews?