
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1114008.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Kuroko_no_Basuke_|_Kuroko's_Basketball
  Relationship:
      Aomine_Daiki/Kuroko_Tetsuya
  Character:
      Aomine_Daiki, Kuroko_Tetsuya
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_Homeless, Angst_with_a_Happy_Ending, Emotional_Hurt/
      Comfort, Fluff, Smut
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-01-01 Chapters: 1/3 Words: 4860
****** Modern Lepers ******
by livinglouder
Summary
     If Aomine believed in things like fate, he would have recognised that
     moment as such. As it was, he believed the world happened with the
     choices you made and upon meeting this kid, he chose to stick around
     him. So that's what he did.
Notes
     This is a very belated birthday gift for my dear friend Traci who
     requested AoKuro homeless AU. She likes angst, smut and fluff so
     that's exactly what this will be. As such, this will contain three
     parts that are to act as separate stories in the same universe. This
     is their story.
It was the end of summer. Not thatend of summer vacation garbage but real
summer. The time of year when the trees started to fade to yellow and the winds
got a little colder. How some mornings you woke up shivering only to have the
day be warm and sunny. The time of year where people were starting to have
sales on their summer lines and advertising fall's low, low prices.

That's where Aomine Daiki stood now. Before a sign in a shop window,
advertising running shoes for 50% off. He gazed at them in envy through the
glass before looking down at his own tattered pair. The soles were barely
hanging on anymore and the laces had long since been shredded. Even if he
wanted to tie them tighter, he wouldn't be able to get the laces through those
tiny loops anymore. The inside where he wiggled his toes was so worn down that
he could feel the sharp edges of the checkered underside.

There was no chance that these were going to last another winter. They barely
managed to make it through the last one. Aomine was lucky to still have all his
toes after how much frostbite he'd suffered. He'd have to start looking early
if he stood any chance of finding replacements.

His eyes slide back to the window and a weight settled into his stomach.

But what he wouldn't give to be able to afford a new pair. The laces in mint
condition, the leather still crisp and black and not a single damaging fray on
the entire shoe. He bet it fit like a dream. He couldn't remember the last time
every step didn't cause him pain. Though he supposed at this point, his feet
were so calloused and numb to the abuse that it would matter little. The
thought made the weight in his stomach heavier.

He adjusted his jacket around his collar as a particularly chilling breeze
graced his neck and he grumbled softly to himself. He hated the cold.

Hurrying away from the window before the owner noticed and decided to chase him
away, Aomine ditched into the nearest back alley and continued on his way.
There was no sense on pining for something he had no chance of getting. He
needed supper.

It had been three years since Aomine had run away from home. At age 13, he'd
given his father the finger to the sound of glass shattering inches from his
face and never looked back. Honestly, he hadn't even been back to the same
section of the city since then. He didn't want to risk running into the son of
a bitch. Not that he doubted he left the apartment. He certainly didn't when
Aomine was around. He only ever left for trips to the liquor store. Some
twisted part in the back of his head hoped the old man had drank himself to
death already. The world could do with a few less of his type.

In the three years of sleeping in backstreet corners and fishing pop cans out
of the trash bins for what little money was currently jingling in his pocket,
Aomine had gained the right street smarts. He'd learned how to dodge the cops,
stay out of sight and keep to himself. He'd learned the safest places to sleep
without getting mugged, the warmest areas during the winter and which
restaurants he could rummage through the trash to find some half decent food
when he couldn't afford anything. Not only food but people threw out so many
things that were still useful. Aomine even knew the exact part of town to go
hunting about in if he hoped to find a half decent pair of shoes. It was a
classier side of town though so he'd have to be careful when he finally went
about it.

Today, however, was a decent day. Although he didn't have nearly the coin to
get those sneakers, he did have just the right amount of change to get himself
a bag of chips. Just a small one but he could afford it all the same.

If there was one rule that Aomine had stuck to in all these years, it was to
never steal. The rule had been bent quickly over the years and his lenience of
going into people's yard to shift through their unwanted junk had wavered but
he never stole from stores. Not once. Despite how difficult things had gotten
some times, despite how hungry he had been some weeks, he couldn't bring
himself to do it.

There was still a part of him - a small part - that believed this was all only
temporary. That once he hit the right stride or made the right connections or
finally turned the legal age, this would all turn around. That if he had any
hope of a future, comfortable life, he had to keep his record clean. So far, he
had. Never once had he been taken into the police station and his name in the
system was still a crisp, clean blank slate. If he could help it, he planned to
keep it that way for as long as possible. He wasn't stupid; he had wanted to be
a police officer himself since he was a kid. He knew how things worked.

Now he was just hoping to make it to see 17.

He passed a woman as he entered the store who shied away from him as he passed
like he was made of something toxic. He looked back at her with a blank, bored
expression. It was always the same. Nobody showed courtesy to the homeless -
especially not one so young. Everyone always assumed he was some sort of crazed
junkie or acted like he was packing some sort of weapon. The bitterness of
walking into a store like he was going to stand the place up with a gun had
faded over the years but it didn't stop it from being an annoyance. At the very
least, he knew he wasn't up to no good and that was all he had come to rely on.

It was just him now. One single kid. He trusted in himself, believed in himself
and that was what he relied on to get him through every day.

Even when he put his potato chip selection on the counter and dumped his
handful of coin on the glass for the clerk to count out, he didn't flinch at
the nervous look she kept giving him. His gaze slid out the window and he let
himself enjoy the brief warmth of sheltered walls.

These short moments were going to become treasures soon. He wanted to enjoy
them while shop owners were less on alert for loiterers.

He accepted his single coin of change from the clerk and tossed it into her tip
jar. It wasn't exactly like he could use it and even though every yen counted,
he saw no reason not to thank her for letting him buy his chips. Most
convenient stores he went to chased him out on principal, even if he was a
paying customer. It was nice to have ones that still accepted his change like
he was a human being instead of some stray cat.

He wasted no time in popping the bag open as he left and held it up to his
nose, taking in the crisp scent of them. His mouth watered and he happily
popped one into his mouth. He felt himself warm over the simple joy as he
chewed and continued on his way.

His feet took him nowhere in particular, simply walking for the sake of
activity as he ate. The only moment he spared was when he finished the bag and
he crunched it up to stuff into his pocket. The chips may have been gone but if
he got hungry later, he could still lick the bag clean of flavour. Something so
savoury would be needed if he had to eat something a little less than
flavourful.

He passed by another back alley, intent on crossing the street when the sudden
sickening yelp of a dog struck his ears. He stiffened, the sound settling
uneasily into his spine almost instantly. He back peddled, peeking into the
back alley he had just passed. It was a surprisingly dark one, thin in size
compared to most and was really just a gap between the old buildings that
cradled it. As such, there were no dumpsters or trash bins to obscure his sight
and he could witness it perfect.

Fire set itself loose in Aomine's veins instantly.

It only took a second to take in the scene. There were two men looming over a
kid half their size - in both height and build. Aomine couldn't see their face
but that was of little importance. One of the men was currently yanking the kid
back and the other tore something from his arms. It was small and quivering and
when a head popped out of the ball, Aomine saw it was a puppy. Just a tiny
thing, too thin to have been loved and fur too ratted to have been anything but
a stray.

"Please leave him alone!" Aomine's ear perked when the kid shouted and he
quickly realised it was a boy. It was strange, really, to hear such distress in
a tone but still hear him be polite. "He didn't do anything!" The kid struggled
but it was clear he stood no chance.

He had no opportunity to contemplate it, though. The word bubbled to his throat
before he could stop himself.

"Hey!" He shouted so loudly into the small alley that his voice echoed off the
walls. The men looked up and around, confused for a moment until their eyes
landed on Aomine. On rare occasions, even the prospect of getting caught in the
act was enough to scare some people off.

Perhaps today wasn't such a lucky day after all.

"Why don't you mind your own business, kid?" One of them sneered, grabbing the
puppy by the scruff of the neck so hard that the poor thing gave a sickening
cry. "Go back to mommy and leave the men to their work."

Aomine's stomach gave a dangerous twist as he ran into the alleyway. "You
consider picking on a helpless animal work?" He questioned through gritted
teeth, his eyes sharp as he ran up to him.

The man saw that Aomine wasn't stopping and he smirked widely, showing crooked
and rotting teeth. Without a thought, he threw the dog hard against the brick
wall to free his hands and the poor thing gave another piercing whimper.

Something inside Aomine snapped.

When the man threw his punch, it was in vain. Aomine sidestepped it and planted
his fist with surprising force into his nose. He felt it break under his
knuckles and watched as the man was thrown back in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't
thought some kid would be packing such a punch. The man cursed loudly as he
fell on his ass and Aomine glared down at him with venom in his gaze. As the
offender held his now broken nose, the blood practically pouring down his face,
Aomine felt a large hand grab onto his shoulder. He turned in time to catch a
fist on his jaw. His teeth ached at being grazed but Aomine had been in his
fair share of fights before and he ignored the pain. He threw the man's arm off
him and noticed from the corner of his eye as the boy he'd been holding back
rushed past him. He thought nothing of it then as he threw punch after punch
into the man's teeth. His knuckles split against them and he could feel the
ache settling deep into his wrist but he did not stop. He threw a knee into the
man's stomach and when he caved to his knees, Aomine threw one final slug
across his cheek with a sickening thud as the man's head snapped to the side
and he hit the concrete.

He didn't want to stick around and wait for him to get back up.

Turning on his heels quickly to retrieve the puppy, he came face to face with
the kid. He had no chance to even get a good look at his face though. All he
noted was that the kid had the dog cradled into his arms and hugged close to
his chest and that was good enough for him.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Aomine spoke with urgency, grabbing the kid’s
upper arm and dragging him in a run out of the alley, leaving the men groaning
and cursing as they left.

He didn't stop running, even as he felt the kid stumbling to keep up with him
until they were at least two blocks away. He then ducked them in behind an
apartment building and forced the kid to crouch down behind a dumpster with
him.

He took only a single moment to take a deep breath before he finally looked
over at him. "Are you okay?" He was breathing heavily as he finally let go of
the kid's arm and now that he was looking at him properly, he could see the boy
was as well.

He was a tiny thing, alright. At the very least, he looked small from where
Aomine was crouching. Vibrant blue hair poked out from a tattered toque secured
around his ears and a scarf that was likely too thin to be useful was draped
around his neck. He pulled it from his neck then to wipe the fur of the shaking
puppy in his arms. He was pale, thin and dressed too badly for the weather for
it not to be obvious.

He was just a kid alright - a kid exactly like Aomine.

"I'm fine." He spoke up, finally. "Thank you."

Aomine's eyes slid from the boy to the puppy. His bloody fingers reached out to
touch the poor thing but it recoiled and he hesitated. "...Is he okay?"

"He doesn't appear to be bleeding but I'm not sure what they did to him before
I showed up." He spoke, his gaze hard as he looked down at the dog. The
distaste of it was written all over his face; his blank stare only seeming to
add to the effect. "They were taking turns kicking him across the alley when I
arrived."

Aomine bit the inside of his lip to keep his temper at bay. "I should have
broken their legs." He says, the vile tone might have shaken anyone else but
the kid seemed unfazed. He actually seemed to agree.

"I think he'll be okay now. It's probably just bruising. At least, nothing
seems broken." He holds the creature closer to his chest but the tiny husky
continued to shiver.

Aomine unzipped his jacket then and kneeled down beside them. He opened it and
gestured. "Here, give him here. I'll warm him up."

The boy looked over at him then. It was in that moment that Aomine got the full
gaze of those blue eyes and he felt his spine still. It was the sort of gaze
that felt like it was looking right through you.

It made Aomine uncomfortable.

After a long moment, the kid got up onto his knees as well and slowly handed
the creature over to him. Very carefully, Aomine bundled the injured pup
against his breast and zipped his jacket up around it until only its little
head was poking out of his collar. He put his arm around his front to ensure
the puppy stayed in place and he felt the creature squirm. For a moment, he
thought the dog might try and bite him or escape but as the warmth started to
settle into his sore little bones, he grew still. Finally, he settled
completely and looked up at Aomine through his jacket.

He blinked. He looked from the puppy to the kid and back again. It was exactly
like he was being stared at with the same pair of eyes. It was sort of
unsettling but as the puppy soon rested his tired head against his chest, he
felt his insides soften. "There you go, boy." He mumbled softly to it. "See,
we're not going to hurt you. You're safe now."

He reached his bloody hand up to pet the puppy reassuringly but had his hand
taken instead. Pale fingers took his and drew his hand away from the puppy to
settle into the boy's palm. Not only was the white of his skin a sharp contrast
to the tan of his but his touch was like ice. The kid must have been freezing.

"You're bleeding." He said after a moment, looking up at Aomine.

Aomine felt a warmth at the base of his spine upon meeting that gaze again and
the second time around, it felt less unsettling. Accompanied with the worried
tone, it almost felt... soft. "Uh, yeah, I caught that one guy's teeth when I
hit him. It's fine. I get injured a lot and I'm quick to heal."

"It'll get infected if you don't do something about it." The boy retorted.

"It's fine, really. I've had much worse and I'm still perfectly healthy. It'll
start to-- wait, what are you doing?" He questioned, his eyes a little wide in
surprise as the boy took his tattered scarf and started to wrap his hand.

"Thank you." He repeated softly, his touch light as he secured the cloth around
his hand. "For helping us."

Aomine felt embarrassed heat creep up his neck but it never hit his face. He
pulled his hand back when the boy was done and turned his hand over. The
wrapping was... actually pretty good. He flexed his fingers and saw that the
scarf didn't slip.

"... What's your name, kid?" He asked after a moment, looking up at him.
Honestly, he had quite a few more questions to ask him before his name but he
held himself back. It wasn't every day that he met kids like himself, in the
same situation. He knew from his own backstory that most had their own demons
and reasons for thinking a dirty street corner was a better place to be than in
a warm home with a proper bed. He'd learned to keep his mouth shut. He'd
learned to not ask.

The boy tilted his head, looking thoughtful before, "....Kuroko." He said after
a moment and then added, "just Kuroko."

Blinking at that answer, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Most people
didn't exactly give up their names while on the street. He'd met plenty of
people who gave themselves nicknames. Kuroko, however, Kuroko sounded like a
last name.

"Aomine." He introduced himself, finding himself smiling before he intended to.

The kid blinked up at him, expression still blank and gave a soft nod. "It's
nice to meet you, Aomine-kun."

And that was how he met him. His little partner in crime. If Aomine believed in
things like fate, he would have recognised that moment as such. As it was, he
believed the world happened with the choices you made and upon meeting this
kid, he chose to stick around him.

So that's what he did.

From that first moment, without ever intending to, they'd wound up staying at
each other’s sides. It was something that had never been outright mentioned or
acknowledged. It had just felt natural to be side by side. To spend days
walking around the streets without destination or purpose, simply in each
other’s company and talking about nothing. They collected bottles and cans
together and sought out food and shelter that was good enough for two. Well,
three really. The tiny tattered pup they'd rescued together that day had been
dubbed Nigou by Aomine for the striking resemblance between the two. He
followed them around obediently, slept together with them and happily munched
on what scrapes he either found himself or they'd given to him.

Even as the weeks faded into the cold and the summer days were long gone, the
three of them lingered together.

But there was a sort of intimacy that always seemed to be there. It was hard
not to when you spent every day with someone, trying to survive to greet the
next few sunrises. Aomine noticed it in the way Kuroko looked at him sometimes
when they'd come across something useful. He noticed it in the way Kuroko would
play with Nigou and look over to Aomine to see if he was following. He noticed
it in the way that on particularly cold nights, Kuroko would burrow himself
closer and closer to his chest.

It was a night exactly like that that Aomine had ever heard Kuroko speak about
himself. Usually he dodged Aomine's questions or found some way to have Aomine
answering his own questions with his own answers. He'd long since confessed his
history to Kuroko but the boy had yet to give up anything about himself.

But that night, the night of the first snowfall, he'd opened up.

Curled up together on a park bench and covered by a dirty old blanket that
frankly smelled heavily of cat piss, Kuroko faced him. They were close, given
the small space of the bench and when Kuroko looked up at him, his nose had
brushed Aomine's chin. Nigou was burrowed under the blanket, nestled between
their stomachs and kicked at Aomine's stomach as he got comfortable.

It was warm like this. Even as the snow started to fall over them, Aomine
didn't mind.

Kuroko had reached up out of the blanket and pulled off his toque then.
Blinking, Aomine watched as he lifted it up and tugged it over Aomine's bare
ears. They'd yet to come across any headgear for Aomine and he had just been
using his hood on his jacket. So the cloth over his frozen ears felt like such
a relief.

But it was short lived as he reached up to take it off. "You idiot, don't give
me your things. You need it more than I do."

Kuroko stopped him though. His hand grabbed Aomine's elbow under the blanket
before the larger boy could even reach his face. He watched then as Kuroko
tucked his head under the blanket, disappearing from sight and felt his face
press against his chest. Aomine felt his neck warm at the feeling. Kuroko
curled his fingers into his jacket and shifted himself a little closer. Aomine
drew an arm around his torso without needing to think about it.

"I'm okay like this." Kuroko spoke up, his voice muffled by the blanket and
Aomine noticed he was speaking against his chest.

He'd normally curse his pounding heart but right now, the flush of joy was
currently spreading warmth throughout his entire body and he let the traitor do
as he would this time. Kuroko often had that effect on him. Tonight seemed like
a particularly bad one. He even felt the warmth reach his toes, his feet now
nestled in a new used pair of running shoes. Feet he now settled between
Kuroko's.

"Fine but you better not leave the blanket. If you got sick, I don't know what
I'll do." He confesses, his voice quiet as he lets his eyes close.

There was a lull then, a silence that lingered so Aomine assumed they were done
for the day and it was time to get some much deserved rest. He was relaxed,
comfortable even against the stiff wood of the park bench. The two most
precious lives to him currently curled up at his side. As he slowly dozed into
sleep, he couldn't help thinking that these past few months might have honestly
been the happiest time of his life.

And then the warmth of his slumber was cut short by a soft sound at his chest -
a sniffle. His eyes opened at that, glancing down at the blanket and strained
his ears. Another quiet sniffle and now there were hints of labored breathing.
Aomine's gaze softened. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

"Kuroko." He said quietly, drawing his arm more around the boy crying silently
into his chest. "It's okay."

"I'm fine." He hears as a response and honestly, his voice truly does sound
normal. If Aomine didn't feel he knew the kid, he probably would have taken his
word for it.

He curls down some, pressing his faze against the blanket that protected
Kuroko's head and spoke softly against it. "No, you're not. What's wrong?" He
waits for a response but receives none. "...Come on, you can tell me."

The silence lingers after his words but Aomine doesn't speak. He'd been used to
this. Sometimes when Aomine would ask Kuroko about himself, the kid would just
go completely quiet. So he didn't push; instead he just remained still and
waited hopefully.

"... Why?" Kuroko practically whispered finally.

Aomine blinked. "What do you mean why?"

"Why would you care?" He asks after another moment. Aomine feels fingers curl
into his jacket. "I'm just a stranger."

Aomine rolls his eyes. "Of course I would care. I like you, you idiot. You mean
something to me."

"But you don't know anything about me."

"What do I need to know? You're a good guy, Kuroko. You stepped into a fight to
save a dog you had no chance of taking proper care of against two guys you said
yourself had no chance of winning against just because it was the right thing
to do." He speaks, quoting the boy from a conversation they'd had during their
first meeting. "If that alone doesn't say everything I need to know about you,
I don't know what does."

He's quiet in response - quiet so long that Aomine wonders if maybe he is
ignoring him again. "Hey." He tries again, this time his tone a little softer.
"I don't need to know anything else about you than what I've already learned. I
don't buy into that past crap. All I care about is who you are right now.
That's good enough. You don't have to feel like you're hiding something."

It was those words and a few persuasive little kisses to the top of his head
that finally launched Kuroko into giving up those details Aomine had been
curious to hear.

Apparently, Kuroko had been out on the street for about two years prior to
meeting Aomine. He had been an only child, living with his parents. His mother
had been sick. Mentally. She had been diagnosed with some illness that Aomine
couldn't remember the name of seconds after Kuroko had said it. Basically, it
meant that she was on a whole mess of medication. Apparently it had started
because she couldn't even look at Kuroko without launching into violent
episodes. Kuroko said any time that he would cry or speak or even be in the
same room as her, it would cause her to snap. So he always had to be very
careful to stay out of sight from her. He learned to blend into the background
and keep quiet and out of sight.

Eventually, the violent episodes stopped when she became medicated... but then
she completely forgot about Kuroko's existence. He said that he didn't know if
she was just in denial or if it was a side effect of the medication but she
soon talked like she had never even had a kid, even when Kuroko was standing
right beside her. If she ever caught sight of him, he said it was like she was
looking right through him. Her eyes were dead, like she was just looking at an
inanimate object.

His father had tried to help. He had tried to mediate between them and even
pointed Kuroko out a few times to her, only to have her give the man a sweet
smile and say the words that grew to haunt Kuroko: "I have no son."

It had been that that originally caused Kuroko to run away from home. He
thought about how it wouldn't matter if he disappeared. If he was gone, maybe
she could finally be happy. Maybe his father could finally stop stressing over
his broken little family.

He never said it but Aomine suspected he also thought running away from home
would stop him believing he didn't need to be born. The words never left his
lip but the tone had been there. It had been there in the way he pressed closer
and closer to Aomine as he told his story.

It was in those moments of hearing how someone could do something so cruel to
someone so precious that Aomine decided he wasn’t going to let Kuroko out of
his sight ever again.

As he curled his arms more around the boy and lulled him to sleep finally with
such promises, Aomine found every word he spoke to be truth.

He believed them and for the first time since he was on his own, he thought
maybe he finally found someone else he could believe in too.
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