You'll Always Find The Light

No one else was able to locate Haru and they all regrouped, Makoto being the last to return.

"What took you so long." Rin snapped.

"Calm down Rin-chan."

He growled down at Nagisa and the others glared at Rin.

"Haru just needs some time and some space. He just needs to get his feet back on the ground and relax a bit before he comes back-"

"WHAT!"

"Come on Rin," Makoto said, flinching. "It's the least we can do and you know it."

Rin opened his mouth but looked down with a glare. "Tch. Fine."

Makoto turned to the basketballers. "Can we trust you to look after Haru? Just for a little bit? Please?"

The group smiled gently at Makoto. "Of course."

Makoto smiled back and bowed. "Thank you." He dragged Rin, Nagisa and Rei away as everyone wondered when Haru-chan would return.

***

Haru returned to the gym hours later as the ballers were packing up. Various curious gazes found him but only Kuroko approached him. "Haruka-senpai," his tone of voice left the question unsaid but hanging in the air. Haru looked down at the man for a few moments, staring into blue eyes so similar to his own. Haru found his gaze softening and the corners of his lips quirking upwards. "Oof," Kuroko peered up at Haru from under his hand,  the taller male's long fingers mussing the strands of pale blue hair.

"I'm alright Tetsuya. Promise."

Kuroko offered him a small but bright smile. "Okay."

Riko appeared next to Kuroko and Haru let his hand drop, his expression flattening out once more.  Despite this Riko still offered him a sweet smile. "Nanase-senpai,"

"Just Nanase is fine."

Riko acknowledged the request with a brief inclination of her head. "When we're done packing up we're going to head by the convenience store for ice cream if you'd like to join."

"Kise's paying."

"Kurokocchi!"

Haru ignored the scandalized yell from the blonde, a slight frown marring his face the only external sign of his distress. Here he was.  Running away from his friends. Making them sick with worry. He should go back. Should say no to these people, these near strangers.

But Haru found himself nodding. Because for all that it made him feel sick with guilt, the idea of going back and facing them. Facing Rin. 

That had him feeling even worse. 

Kuroko's smile faltered as Haru's gaze fell to the floor, his body rigid in the way his shoulders were hard lined, tensed all the way down to clenched fists. Kuroko could practically feel the anguish rolling off the older teen in smothering waves.

But he didn't ask.

Just like he hadn't pushed Aomine for answers all those years ago, he wouldn't push for them from Haru now.

***

Haru drifted to the back of their cluster as they meandered from the gym to the convenience store. His hands were stuffed deep into his navy blue sports sweats, his gaze on the ground and distant. Occasionally he would glance at the group of friends but never long enough for them to engage him. Even Kise had taken the hint to not try and draw the man into their socializations. 

It made things a little tense, but not so much so as the majority of the group didn't know him well enough for it to really concern them. But Kuroko kept glancing back at him, expression filled with concern and helplessness each time Haru avoided his gaze.

The exchange did not escape Aomine's notice and the man slowed his steps until he was strolling alongside Haru. The shorter of the two glanced over at Aomine, his gaze heading towards a glare with a neat eyebrow raised in question. 

"Tetsu is worried you know." He murmured,  watching as the glare solidified on Haru's features. 

"Well he doesn't need to. It's not his concern."

Aomine hummed, shoving his own hands in the pockets of his slacks. "If you really know Tetsu you know that's not how he operates." His voice was soft and low, keeping their conversation private from the preoccupied group. ". . . Wanna talk about it?" He prompted when no response from the shorter man was forthcoming.

"I hardly know you and I fail to see how it's any of your business."

Aomine merely shrugged. "Figured it would help to talk to an impartial third party who doesn't know anything or anyone involved."

Haru remained stubbornly silent and Aomine sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.

"Look." He tried again. "The only reason I'm offering is because looking at you is like looking in a mirror."

All he got was a raised eyebrow in return.

"When I'd lost my love for basketball." He clarified. "You look like I did then."

He could see Haru tense up defensively and quickly continued. 

"I'm sure your reasons are different," he paused. "Or maybe not considering your show of exceptional skill from earlier today," he muttered as an afterthought. "But I'm just letting you know I've been there and I know what it's like and how hard it can suck. Don't let it consume you and ruin your friendships." 

Haru remained silent, but this time it was contemplative. Aomine nodded to himself, his job done, and walked ahead of Haru to seamlessly return to the banter of the group.

***

Haru leaned on the bike rail outside the convenience store, politely declining the invite inside. He stood with his arms crossed, head tipped back as he stared at the stars barely visible through the clouds.

I wonder how they're doing.

"Haruka-senpai," Haru was drawn from his musings, looking over as Kuroko exited the store. He had an ice block in hand. "I know you didn't want to come in,  but I thought you'd like one anyway." A burst of sound escaped the store, sounding suspiciously like Kagami arguing with Midorima. "They can be a little overwhelming sometimes but they mean well."

Haru allowed himself a small smile. "I can tell." He murmured as he reached for the ice block. But before he could grab it, a figure bumped into Kuroko, knocking it from his hand.

"Oi watch it." A voice snapped.

"Sorry I-" 

Haru looked away from the frozen treat to see what made Kuroko stop. He came face to face with a tall man with dark hair braided into tight cornrows. He had a nasty expression and a snarl fixed on Kuroko.

"Tetsuyaaa," he drawled and Haru immediately stepped past Kuroko and stood so the other man was partly behind him. Most people mistook his soft spoken spokenness for passivity. Most people were wrong. "Hah?" Dark eyes latched onto Haru and shamelessly raked up and down his form. "The fuck are you." He sneered when Haru remained stubbornly silent and moved to step past him only for Haru to step back into his path. 

"Leave Tetsuya alone." A cruel gaze met unwavering blue eyes.

"Haruka-senpai,"

But Haru ignored the soft voice of his kohai, his glare only hardening when Haizaki grabbed a fistful of Haru's shirt and jerked him closer.

"Haizaki-kun stop!" 

But Kuroko was ignored again. "You wanna fight instead huh?"

Haru did nothing to suppress the curl of disgust that twisted across his features. Haizaki's breath reeked of alcohol and Haru spied the bottle in his other hand. Great. A drunk. Haru had a deep seated hatred for drunks, even when they were his friends. He grabbed the wrist of the hand grabbing him. "No but I'm not going to let some random asshole jump Tetsuya."

Haizaki spat on the ground next to them. "Then you should learn to mind your own damn business, pretty boy," He whispered dangerously, drawing their faces uncomfortably close. 

Haru met his glare with equal ferocity. "I won't let you hurt my friend." He barely had time to react when Haizaki swung, only Kuroko's hands pulling on the back of his sweater had him stumbling just out of reach of Haizaki's fist. Haru was aware of Kuroko yelling but the sound was dull. His eyes were blown wide, a frown deep set between his brows as Haizaki's black hair blurred red. It happened so quickly that Haru found himself unable to disentangle the memory of his fight with Rin from the current moment. Why am I thinking about that now!?

When he did manage to clear his head it was just in time to see the burly redhead (Kagami Haru vaguely recalled) tackle Haizaki to the ground, Aomine hot on his heels. The rest of the fight and the yelling faded into indiscernible white noise. Haru let himself be easily pushed and pulled along by the hands grabbing at his clothing. He remembers Haizaki swinging - whether from actually seeing it or his mind's eye filling it in he'll never know - but instead of seeing the anger on Haizaki's face, all he could see was Rin's fury as the man pinned him to the dirt. Haru screwed his eyes shut, physically turning away from the memory. He could only imagine the man's anger the next time he faced them. But what could he say. He deserved it.

"-ruka-senpai,"

"Nanase-san."

He finally turned to the multiple voices and saw the group crowding around him and realised they'd maneuvered him to sit down. ". . . Haizaki," he began unsurely. 

"Aomine and Kagami took care of him." Haru turned to the short redhead who answered. Akashi if he was correct.

Haru nodded lamely. "Huh. Sorry for getting involved then not being much help." He murmured.

"It's okay Haruka-senpai."

"Kuroko would've been involved in the fight instead and the outcome could've been much worse." That one was Midorima, he was pretty sure. 

"Right." 

"Are you okay, Harukacchi? You were really out of it after,"

"It was actually kind of scary." Momoi murmured, twisting the hem of her sleeves. 

"Oh. Sorry." He murmured again as he glanced down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers. "I know I chose to step in but I forget I uh," he sighed and fell silent.

". . . " The group shared a look before Kuroko spoke up, gently prompting the swimmer. "Forgot what, Haruka-senpai?"

He sighed through his nose and tipped his head back. "I don't do well with violence. Call it a trigger or whatever," He shrugged, aiming for nonchalance but missing by a mile. He pushed off the brick wall they had him perched on and waved them all off, pushing out of the little circle they'd made. "Whatever, it happened. I made the choice to step in." He glanced back and met Kuroko's concerned gaze. He offered him a slight smile. "I don't like seeing my friends hurt." He turned his back to them, the smile immediately dropping. "But I do think I should go home now. Thanks for inviting me out though."

"Haruka-senpai!"

But Haru ignored Kuroko's call and disappeared into the crowd. 

***

"I'm home." Aomine called as he toed his shoes off, knowing he wouldn't get a response. His parents were often out of town for work, leaving him to his own devices. To his credit, he hadn't burnt the house down yet. He didn't bother to turn on any of the lights as he made his way through the familiar hallways till he reached his room and crashed on his bed face down. Aomine laid there for a single unmoving moment before he rolled over to stare at the mirror on his ceiling. He scoffed at his reflection staring down at him. That Haruka Nanase character really did remind him of himself. A prodigy in his sport who probably blossomed too early. Aomine recognised that profound sense and understood it so keenly, it almost hurt him to see it so blatantly expressed on someone else.

He closed his eyes with a huff before he swapped his clothes for pjs in an attempt to sleep, even though his room was still somewhat illuminated by the lights of the city it overlooked. Could he close his blinds? Sure. But looking down at the night time city was one of Aomine's favourite sights. However, every time he searched for sleep, his mind provided his brief encounters with Nanase across the day. How the man outmanuevered him in a one on one yet happened to be so fucking slow when actually made to run. How the man worked so seamlessly with Tetsu after eons of not playing together when it took both Kagami and himself at least a month to manage that. How amazing he looked in the water, clearly where he belonged. He remembered the fierce look on his face as he stood between Haizaki and Tetsu even as he appeared to be dissociating. Aomine had some mad respect for that. A glance upwards and he caught himself with a lopsided smile before he replaced it with a scowl and promptly shoved his pillow over his face. 

So the man was curious. Sue him.

He slowly tugged the pillow down, holding it loosely on his chest as his ever present frown deepened. He recalled their encounter with the man's friends. The concern. The fury. So many parallels to his own friendships he couldn't help but clutch at his shirt at the uncomfortable feeling twisting in his gut. Had things really been like that between us? He glanced over at the clock and groaned loudly. More than an hour had passed. He sat up abruptly. Clearly he wasn't going to get any sleep any time soon so he might as well go do something with all the energy he has to burn. He traded his pjs for a pair of gym sweats and a sweater, chucked his ball in a duffle bag alongside a water bottle and headed out.

***

Aomine chained his bike to the bike rack in front of the park that held his favourite court to frequent when he wanted alone time. He crossed the damp grass, chucking his phone's torch on, only to have a heart attack when it shone on a startlingly pale figure sitting at the swings that he was certain hadn't been there a moment ago. "FUCK!" He yelled as he scrambled back, throwing his hands up reflexively. Fuck this ghost shit man!

". . . Boo." 

Aomine blinked. He recognised that bored tone. "Nanase?"

The man lazily waved.

Aomine groaned as he stood upright again. "You and Tetsu, I swear to fucking god," he muttered.

"What about me and Tetsuya?"

The taller man shook his head. "Nevermind." He finally looked properly at the man lazily rocking himself on the swings, noting he was still in the same clothes from earlier. "What are you doing out here? At this time?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He hit back.

But Aomine didn't miss a beat. "Couldn't sleep and this is the court I normally come to. Your turn."

Nanase's frown deepened and he looked off to the side.

Aomine groaned internally. Not this shit again. "Come on dude," He huffed as he sat on the swing next to him. "Don't be like that."

He watched Nanase look down at his hands clasped in his lap as he continued to rock the swing. When Aomine thought he wasn't going to get another word out of the self assigned mute, the man spoke. "Couldn't sleep either." He murmured softly. "I go for runs when I can't sleep or have something on my mind or whatever. Tend to end up in parks."

"Huh." The pair sat in silence for a few moments longer, nothing but the breeze and the squeaking metal of the swings disturbing them. "Wanna come play some one on one? I do needa pay you back for that win you surprised out of me Nanase." He was rewarded by the corner of Nanase's lip quirking upwards and a slight laugh. 

"Alright Aomine." The taller man met Nanase's challenging gaze readily. "Don't blame me if you start crying again."

"I did not cry!"

***

A couple rounds passed before they decided to take a break, Aomine leading by a satisfyingly decisive margin. Call him petty but it was nice to know he wasn't losing his touch and Nanase had merely surprised him the first time. The man was slow and unfit in the type of running basketball demanded, but he moved well, even managing to sneak a few wins away from the baller. Aomine offered Nanase his bottle and the man took it with a quiet thanks as he wiped some sweat from his face with his sweatshirt.

"Hey so, I've been meaning to ask." Nanase raised an eyebrow and Aomine nodded at his clothing. "You haven't changed. Did you actually go home?" Nanase's silence was more telling than any verbal answer would have been. It was at that exact moment that he remembered with startling clarity the fury on the redhead of Nanase's crew. The way he looked seconds away from throwing hands with Nanase. Aomine also then remembered what the swimmer had said about his 'aversion to violence' as he put it. The man might not have been the brightest bulb in the box but he knew how to put two and two together. "Oi Nanase," He began carefully, concern evident in his tone and expression. "I need you to answer me seriously. Do you have somewhere to go?"

". . . Yes."

"Somewhere you actually feel safe?"

". . ."

Aomine stared at the man before him who was once again looking resolutely at the ground. ". . . Look," He tried. Words and feelings were always Tetsu's thing, never his. "Do you wanna talk abou-"

"No." 

His mouth shut with an audible click. "Right." He murmured. Silence descended on the pair, bringing with it an uncomfortable and weighted tension. 

It was broken by Nanase. "I should go." But Aomine grabbed his arm before he could get more than a few steps away. 

"Oh hell no." He snapped. "I'm not letting you spend the night on the fucking streets. This is Tokyo, not whatever small town you're from. It's not safe to be out alone after dark."

"Let me go." He growled but Aomine's gaze merely hardened. 

"No fuck that Nanase." He spat. "What if you get hurt?"

"What does it matter to you??" Nanase started struggling in earnest and Aomine grabbed him with both hands around his biceps and forced the man to look at him. 

"It's what friends do!"

"We're not friends!"

"Any friend of Tetsu is a friend of mine!" Nanase's struggle paused and Aomine breathed in deeply through his nose. "He's small but he'd whoop my ass if he found out I knew you had nowhere to go and just left you. Sides." He murmured as he loosened his grip on the man's arms. "If you had the money you would've booked into a hotel already so don't try that excuse on me." He said tightly as Nanase opened his mouth to speak.

". . . You don't even know me. What if I tried to kill you in your sleep."

Aomine huffed a weak laugh. "Then I'd beat your scrawny ass into the ground. Besides, I think I know enough. You're Tetsu'd friend which counts for a lot, but like I said earlier. You remind me of me." He let his hands slip off the man's arms. They were thinner than his own but there was no denying the muscle hiding beneath that sweatshirt. "So just come stay with me, for at least the night. My parents aren't home and -"

"Aren't you meant to buy me dinner before trying to get into my pants."

Aomine choked on an amused snort as a tiny lopsided smile graced Nanase's features. "My charms are usually enough." He quipped back. "But seriously Nanase, you can have the guest room. And if you wanna talk about anything, I'll listen. I'm not as good as Tetsu is with words,"

"So I've seen."

Aomine barked out a laugh and shoved the swimmer. "Oi fuck off. You're not any better you friggen mute." Nanase merely shrugged with an amused look. "I'm just trying to say I understand what it's like to stop loving your sport even though it literally defines you. I know what it's like to lose friends from getting too good too fast. I know what it's like to let it all get to your head and to stop trying for the friends that really matter."

Nanase's eyes were fixed to the ground, a contemplative gleam in them. ". . . I. . . I might take you up on that." He eventually answered and Aomine patted him on the shoulder. 

"Good man. Now come on, I'm fucking exhausted from missing my afternoon nap."

Nanase snorted. "Whatever." He only spoke next when they'd packed up and were walking back, Aomine walking his bike back. "Thanks. Aomine."

The man paused before stopping and offering him a hand. "Call me Daiki."

Nanase looked at the hand before his lips quirked upwards to match Aomine's expression. "Haru."