A/N: Part 1 of a little two-shot AU I'm doing – in which Satsuki is sightless and Daiki is still an idiot. Leave a review to let me know what you think :)
Satsuki had never understood why people treated her so different. She could speak as eloquently as anyone, could paint like any other young adult – she liked music and food (more specifically, cherries) and she couldn't hold a tune to sing to if her life depended on it.
She didn't get why people spoke to her as though she were the most wrongly-done-by child in the world when they noticed she was blind.
Perhaps it was because she never understood the concept of sight – her world was comprised of smells and touch and taste and balance, after all. She didn't understand why people said 'you poor thing!' when it was obvious that none of the allure of seeing the world reached her – and what did sight matter when she'd all she'd ever known was darkness, anyway?
Everything changed when he came – a light to her darkness, in the most literal sense.
She was at the hospital – she could smell the sharp throb of disinfectants stabbing at her sinuses, taste the bland, lukewarm food settling unpleasantly against the back of her tongue as nurses shuffled past with rattling trays in their grasps. Her mother was in for yet another check-up – something about a strange mole that she was all-too paranoid about ('it's cancer, Sa-chan! I can feel it in my bones!' – to which she replied, 'but it's skin deep mother').
The waiting room was silent – she supposed she was alone, because the only sounds around her came from the tricking of water pipes above her head and the faint beeping of a heart monitor further down the hall. She took a deep breath – it had taken a lot out of her to make her way there to meet her mother. The older woman had been in a rush in the morning, so Satsuki had insisted upon walking the familiar roads herself. To say and to do were two different things. The whispers of people around her, mutters about the stick in her hand and the hand on her purse as she felt for the indents that marked a street light were distracting and a little overwhelming. Sometimes she wished her parents hadn't turned down the offer of a guard dog (because then maybe she'd have someone to talk to who wasn't dead scared of insulting her accidentally, or making her feel inadequate).
And then – "Fuck this shit! Took one hit in the leg and suddenly he's a hero? Psh. Hero my ass!"
Laboured breathing.
The rustle of cloth and a muted thump.
A sigh, the sound of skin being smoothed over.
"Excuse me," Satsuki called, hoping she didn't look like a complete sticky beak, "are you alright?"
"Fine," grunted a deep, smooth voice.
"Rough day, huh?" she tested again, not resisting the urge to curl the corners of her lips. The sensation sent tingles through her cheeks, and she wondered (not for the first time) what it might've looked like.
"Yeah, what about y-" and then a sharp intake of breath, and Satsuki thought he might have stopped breathing.
She turned her head to where his voice had come from, "Are you alright? Is everything okay?"
A few more moments of silence.
"I-I'm fine. I'm a police officer," he cleared his throat, tone smoothing out back to its strange gruffness, "partner got shot in the leg."
"Wow!" Satsuki thought she should have felt a little more sympathetic – but the thought of adventure had her excited, "How did it happen?"
At his deep chuckle, she felt warmth flood to her face and she stuttered, "Oh I – I mean, well – you see – uh – I hope he's alright…"
Another low laugh, "It's alright, he's fine. S'not confidential anyway – we were stopping a bank robbery. One of the robbers thought it would be a good idea to shoot at us cops in a last ditch attempt at escape."
"Did you catch them?" the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she sat up straighter in her seat, knee bouncing erratically.
"Of course I did," his tone dripped with roguish arrogance that Satsuki found strangely alluring, "the only one who can beat me is me."
She giggled then, and shook her head, and the sensation of her long tresses brushing against her shoulders and back was comforting to her, "That sounds like a sports motto, you know?"
He laughed then – properly. It was lilting and rich and so full of energy that she felt her blood fizzing in her veins, her ears tingling with what could only be bliss.
She laughed, too – though it didn't feel to her as though it were nearly as lovely as the sound that spurted from his lips.
"I'm Aomine Daiki," he said, hiccupping over a few stray bubbles of mirth.
"My name is Momoi Satsuki," she hoped she was looking in his direction, "it's lovely to meet you, Aomine-san."
"Daiki," he said after a moment, "you can call me Daiki."
Feeling the heat rush to her face again, Satsuki smiled and said, "Well then, Daiki, it's only fitting for you to call me Satsuki."
Home for Satsuki used to be a scary place. When she told her mother she was moving out of her childhood abode to become a little more independent, the woman had agreed (because she knew how much Satsuki had needed change).
The apartment was nice. Her father was rather well off, and so braille was set up in her first week there so she knew what part of the house she'd entered. The shower had bars placed so she could keep track of the towels and the shampoo and conditioner. The kitchen had time setters that rung whenever the rice steamer was ready, or when the kettle had boiled.
After six months of living there, she found her way around furniture without the use of her cane, and realised that she didn't need to stress about dirtying what her mother had said was the 'pristine white walls' in her art studio – no one came to visit, anyway.
Everything was neat and orderly, and Satsuki found it most helpful when she needed to grab something quickly – like the remote for the television (she couldn't watch it, but she could sure as hell listen to the basketball games).
Satsuki rather liked her home.
The next day Satsuki's mother had more tests – and the young woman went along because she thought there might be a chance of running into the lovely Daiki again. He was crude and rough around the edges – but their chat yesterday – she'd never met anyone like him. He didn't tread around her as though walking on eggshells, didn't talk to her as though she were fragile and helpless. When he aided her to the vending machine a level up, he calmly and casually informed her of stairs coming up, slipping it into their conversation as easily as he seemed to breathe.
And his voice – it was arrogant and deep and had a strangely admirable gruffness to it.
Her mother left her and she made her way to the same waiting room – and lo and behold-
"Satsuki! I'm glad you came back – wait, no – I'm not glad that you have to be here – but I am glad that you're here – not because I want your mother to be sick or anything, I just enjoyed your comp-"
She knew she was a goner the moment he opened his mouth.
"Silly Daiki," she laughed, tapping her way along until her stick made contact with the bottom of the chair in place of linoleum, "I'm glad that you're here, too."
And so began the story of Satsuki and Daiki.
The first time she traced his face, they were sitting on a bus, headed to a basketball game.
"Dai-chan?" she turned her face to where his warmth beckoned her, "Do you mind if I try and see you?"
He'd made a curious humph of agreement and she took it as permission to gently feel her way towards him. She felt up his broad shoulders, skipping up past his warm neck and skimming the underline of his jaw.
She supposed he inhaled a little too sharply, but she was too curious to stop there. She brought her hands up together, feeling at the soft swell of his lips, the strong line of his nose, the determined curve of his brow. His hair was next – it was soft and short, silken-like between her fingers and for the first time she met him she wondered what colour it would be (and then realised it didn't matter because she couldn't imagine it anyway).
"Now, now," he chided snarkily, "don't let my strikingly good looks affect the swing of your blasted cane. My high cheekbones can withstand your beatings."
Satsuki laughed and let her hands fall to his. She smoothed the pad of her thumb over the panel of his palm, "It doesn't matter to me. I'll hit you all I like no matter how pretty you think you are."
"It's not that I think I'm pretty," she could hear the exaggerated exasperation in his tone, "I know I'm pretty."
She chuckled and shook her head, "Well I don't! For all I know you could be handsome, and you're lying to me!"
She heard the grin in his tone, "Does it matter if I'm not handsome or pretty?"
Satsuki raised a brow and snorted, "You could be poor and as aesthetically pleasing as a feral hamster and it wouldn't matter to me."
Another sharp inhale on his behalf, and Satsuki wondered why he was so stunned all the time.
And then a watery chuckle and a soft, "You're ridiculous."
She smiled and squeezed his hand tighter, "Right back at you."
Meeting Daiki's friends was trying for Satsuki. She didn't know how to socialise properly at the best of times – now she had to meet his two best friends and make a good impression in one go.
"Calm down, Satsuki," he drawled from somewhere to her left, "they're just two more idiots. Pretend they're me."
"I can't," she stressed, wringing what had once been a sachet of tissues in her small hands, "they're not like you. No one is like you."
She heard him sigh and wondered if she was annoying him – but then there was a dip in the couch beside her, and his warm hands were on hers, "We don't have to go if you're not comfortable with it."
She shook her head jarringly, "No, no, no – I want to meet them. I just don't know if they'll like me."
"Jeez, you're such an idiot," his tone was affectionate, "it doesn't matter whether they like you or not. I like you, so don't stress about trying to impress them."
Breathing a shaky sigh out, Satsuki smiled and said, "Let's go, Dai-chan. Can't be late!"
He scoffed, but his hand on hers was soft, and he hummed low in his throat as they walked out of her apartment.
"Tetsu, Kagami, this is Satsuki," she felt the pressure of people watching her, and she offered a tentative smile.
"Hello," she hoped they didn't catch the hitch in her tone, "it's a pleasure to meet you."
She extended her hand and waited for one of them to take it. Beside her she felt a gentle breeze that could have only come from Daiki's gesturing hands (she guessed that he was prompting one of them to shake it).
A warm, large hand enveloped hers, and a gruff voice said, "I'm Kagami Taiga."
She smiled up towards where she thought his face might be, judging by how far his voice travelled, and let his firm handshake go.
Keeping her arm extended, she waited for the other person – and was pleasantly surprised when a cool hand, slightly smaller than Kagami's, slipped to grip hers, giving it a light, friendly shake, "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya."
When her hand dropped to her side she looked up to where she felt Aomine's body warmth, "Your friends are much politer than you, Dai-chan."
"Satsuki, I swear I'll walk you in to a pole if you sing them praise-"
"Don't go making empty threats!" she laughed, "Last time it was you who walked in to the pole-"
"Didn't I specifically tell you not to mention that in front of these idiots?"
Satsuki shrugged at the sound of two guffaws, "Just wanted to check whether they understand the extent of your idiocy as I do."
"We do indeed, Momoi-san," came Kuroko's voice, a hint of a smile in his tone.
She grinned and her hand found Daiki's as though drawn by magnetic force, "Let's get going, shall we? Dai-chan gets grumpy when he's hungry."
Satsuki wondered what they were – she and Daiki. Friends? More-than-friends-but-not-in-a-romantic-way? More-than-friends-in-a-romantic-way? She turned off the tap in the shower and scolded herself for making a fuss over it – she was acting like a silly school girl.
She got out of the shower and dried herself – and her mind drifted back to her officer, to the way he called her when he finished work and whined about the idiots he dealt with. Some days he'd bring over dinner and watch her paint – and some days she even got him to paint with her too (although they tended to make a big, soppy mess out of everything).
He'd asked, one day – why she painted.
"Well," she'd begun, dipping her brush into the pallet that the braille told her was white (whatever that was), "it'd be selfish to make music, don't you think?"
"Selfish?" she pondered what surprise looked like, if it sounded so wondrous.
"It's like making something only for me – y'know, because I can't really enjoy anything else." She paused, switching her pallet for the one labelled 'blue', "When I paint, my hand just… follows what's going on in my head."
She didn't bother waiting to see if he understood, continuing on with her work.
Shaking herself back to the present, she fumbled briefly with her clothes and shimmied into her summer dress, excited for the picnic Daiki had promised her. A knock on her door.
"Coming!" she called, manoeuvring carefully around the living room to make it to the door.
A jingle of the latch on the door, the twist of a handle – and she wasn't greeted with Daiki's familiar scent – instead, she smelt Gatorade and Kagami's indescribable unique scent.
"Hello, Kagamin!" she grinned upwards and revelled in his surprise.
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Woman's intuition – is that…" she sniffed, catching a waft of something floral, "roses?"
She heard Kagami raise his arm, and the familiar rustle of his hand as it rubbed against the back of his head contrasted with the rustle of what Satsuki guessed was some kind of plastic wrapping.
"Here," she felt something brush against her hand, and she hurried to feel around the object – a smile crept up on her and she chuckled, "it is roses. But I thought Dai-chan was picking me up?"
"There's been a change of plans," said Kagami easily, warm hand finding her arm, "allow me to lead the way."
She grabbed her cane from its stand behind the door and held tightly onto Kagami's arm – she'd only ever been guided by Tetsu or Daiki before, but the tall police officer (she found out he'd been the one to get shot in the leg) had seemed to pick up on it fairly easily.
"Where are we going?" she asked once they entered his car.
The engine rumbled to life beneath them, and for a moment Satsuki revelled in the sensation of the car jolting to movement, carrying her along with it.
"A park," he answered briefly.
"A park? That's terribly ambiguous, you know," she grinned over in the direction his voice had come from, "it's rather suspicious."
She felt the smile in his tone as he replied, "I told him as much. Got a whack over the head for it, too."
"Thank you, Kagamin," she sighed after a moment, "it means a lot that you'd take the time to help me get there."
"It's fine," he sounded angry – but Satsuki knew it was just his way of stifling his embarrassment.
"I bet you're blushing right now," she giggled as the car pulled up to a stop.
"Shu-Shut up, you!"
Another giggle, "Sorry, Kagamin."
The click of the door beside her and the warmth that could only mean the sun had reached her skin greeted her. She felt around for a moment, pulling her cane out as she stood, heeding Kagami's 'mind your head'.
The scent of flowers, the sound of a dog barking, the heat of the sun and a hint of a breeze.
"Come on," said the gruff officer, nudging his arm against hers so she could take a hold.
They made their way over lush, soft grass, a comfortable silence nestled between them. Finally, Kagami came to a stop, "We're here."
Satsuki let go of his arm and heard him begin to walk away, "Wait, Kagamin! Where are you-"
"Satsuki," his voice – rich and low and so, so beautiful.
She didn't realise she was smiling until he chuckled and said, "You're goddamn beautiful, you know that?"
A laugh, hidden poorly behind her hand, "So are you."
His hands found hers, "C'mon, we're sitting down – don't worry, I set down a blanket."
She sat, felt the soft fuzz of the blanket beneath her, felt Daiki's hand in hers - and she was happy.
"Satsuki."
"Hm?" she enjoyed the feeling of heat on her face.
"Want to go out with me?"
She chuckled and nudged him with her shoulder, "We go out together all the time, silly!"
"N-No," she felt his voice waver, and she paused, turning her face in his direction, "I mean – do you want to go out with me. Like in a more than friends way. Like in a boyfriend-girlfriend way-"
"Yes," she hoped her confidence resonated with him as much as his unsureness did with her.
"What? A-Are you sure?" his jitteriness was somehow even more alluring than his arrogance, and Satsuki felt the sun fuel her next smile at him.
"Definitely."
She heard him swallow thickly, and felt his presence come nearer as he leant towards her, "Hey, Satsuki," his tone was nervous and husky, and she felt excitement brew at the pit of her stomach, "can I kiss you?"
Instead of answering, she felt at him – felt his shoulders and throat, up to his face, over to his hair – finally coming to a stop at the base of his neck, pulling him closer to her as she leant up. Her lips missed his on her first try – she got the corner of his mouth, but he continued to remain stock still, waiting for her.
She moved across just a little, hovering just over where she knew his mouth would be, feeling his nose brush lightly against hers, sensing his eyes as they stared at her. Carefully – as though she were feeling her way around something new – she leaned forward and found his lips.
For a person who relied on taste and smell and touch and sound, the kiss was perfect to Satsuki. His smell and taste were uniquely Daiki - with a tinge of cinnamon and she was sure she caught some mint. His lips were like silk against hers, gentle and soft, coaxing her along, guiding her through the darkness.
She edged her tongue out, tentatively sliding it to meet his – and made a little surprised mewl when he slowly moved in synch with her. His gentle arms encircled her waist, pulling her form against him. She continued to cradle his slightly prickly face, feeling him smile against her mouth.
"Murasakibara, Himuro, Kise, Midorima, Akashi – this is Satsuki."
She didn't know where to look, and so she smiled and nodded, "It's a pleasure to be acquainted with you," and held out her hand, waiting for someone to shake it.
The first palm to meet hers was energetic, shaking her arm until her teeth almost rattled, "I'm Kise Ryouta – it's nice to finally meet the woman who grounded Aominecchi!"
"Kise!" growled Daiki from somewhere to her right, "Shut your whore mouth."
"Dai-chan!" Satsuki snapped, turning her face towards him, "Stop being mean."
He grumbled lowly beneath his breath, and Satsuki turned her face back towards where she assumed Kise to be, "I used to work in a day care – Daiki is a piece of cake compared to screaming three year olds."
"He is a screaming three year old," someone corrected – and she laughed because she could feel Daiki bristling beside her.
"Midorima, I swear I'll break your bandaged fingers if you say another-"
Satsuki swung her cane and was happy to hear his yelp of pain, "Play nice, Dai-chan. You promised you wouldn't embarrass me."
The next person to shake her hand was massive – she could feel the power in his huge fingers, was awed at the way he seemed to dwarf her. He introduced himself as Murasakibara Atsushi, and she tried to guess where his face was in order to smile up at him.
Next was a cold hand – a man by the name of Akashi, seemingly very interested in her art, claiming to have bought a few artworks from the local gallery.
Next, a man with bandaged fingers.
"Midorima-san, was it?" she gave his hand a shake as he remained silent.
"She can't see you nodding, idiot," scoffed Daiki from somewhere beside her, "Where's Tetsu and Bakagami, by the way?"
Ginning and knowing Daiki would fall for it, Satsuki released Midorima's hand and pointed randomly, "Over there!"
"Well it's about freaking time – wait, where – wh- Satsuki I'm going to kill you-"
"I like her," said Midorima suddenly, and she thought she heard a metallic click, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Momoi-san."
"And you, Midorima-san."
There was one more person, and so Satsuki stuck out her hand, "Himuro-san, then?"
He placed his large hand in hers, "Nice to finally meet you in the flesh. Aomine never shuts up about you-"
"I don't talk about her, sheesh!"
"You talk about her with your smile!" Kise chimed from nearby and Satsuki released Himuro's hand, smiling as she felt a presence behind her.
"Hello, Tetsu-kun."
Yelps from the others – swearing that the phantom had seemingly popped out of nowhere.
"Hold on a second," said Midorima, and the sound of the metallic shifting sounded again, "how did you know I was Midorima back then? How did you know Kuroko was there?"
She shrugged and said, "Woman's intuition."
The others laughed, but Midorima crept up beside her and whispered, "Can you teach me this 'woman's intuition'?"
"Dai-chan?"
"Hm?" he hummed from his spot beside her on the couch, half asleep as he toyed with her hair.
"What do I look like?"
His hand stilled for a moment, and she felt his eyes on her – "Perfect."
She laughed, but didn't ask again. If he thought she was beautiful, it must have been true. Daiki never lied to her, after all.
"Satsuki," his groan sent a shiver down her spine, and she revelled in the power she felt as she sat on his lap, atop the bulge in his pants, her hands woven into his hair, his neck prey to her mouth.
She trailed her tongue up the side of his neck, down along his jaw, right along to his mouth. She ground herself onto him, and he grunted, hands gripping at her waist tightly. He kissed her ferociously, his tongue taking charge until they were flipped, and her back was against the cushions of the couch instead of his. He pushed upwards and she gasped at the sensation of his hardness rubbing against her, a glorious friction that tore a moan from her and a growl from him.
"Are you sure?" his tone was gruff, and she felt his face close to hers.
"I want you," was all she said.
"Your hair's the same colour as cherry blossoms," he murmured against her forehead, dropping a brief kiss before he left for his night shift.
"Do you like cherry blossoms?" her voice was small.
"I love cherry blossoms."
She was fixing rice in the cooker – he padded over to her and rested his head on her shoulder, arms slung around her waist as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Sorry about this – it's plain, but I can't really cook much else," her sigh was a little solemn.
"Then you should let me cook every day, idiot," he scoffed over a chuckle, and she wondered whether he would stay with her forever if she asked.
"Your eyes," he said, "they're like the sky."
She chuckled and replied, "That doesn't help me at all, you know."
"You have the body of a goddess," he told her as they slept in one morning, splayed about her bed haphazardly.
"A goddess? I heard about a right old ugly god-"
"Shut up, you rascal," he chuckled, pulling her tight against his muscled chest, "you're beautiful. Accept the goddamn compliment before I take it back."
She giggled, eyelashes tickling the underside of his jaw, "Thank you, Dai-chan."
"Tetsu-kun," said Satsuki as they sat at the café together, waiting for Kagami and Daiki to get off for lunch, "do you think it's time Daiki and I started living together?"
She listened patiently as he slurped away at his vanilla milkshake, hoping to gain insight on the troubling matter.
"You already live together, Momoi-san," was his measured reply.
She frowned and bit her lip, "Well – I meant I was going to ask Daiki what he wanted. Maybe he wants to live in a different part of town – or he wants to stay in his home."
"But Momoi-san, you don't know your way around-"
"Oh, please," she waved her hands in what she hoped was his direction, "for Daiki, I can learn. A few stubbed toes won't kill me."
She felt Kuroko lean forward, and she turned her ear towards him so he could whisper, "Aomine-kun is standing at the counter. He heard you. I think he's going to cry."
Satsuki tensed – she hadn't meant to frighten him like that, honestly. She stood quickly, almost losing her balance for a moment – but a warm hand held her steady and she felt nerves prickle at her eyes as she blurted, "Sorry, Dai-chan – I just – I thought – I was asking Tetsu-kun for advice, and-"
"You're such an idiot," his voice was strangely thick, and Satsuki felt it bring a smile to her face – because Daiki was strange in the way that his insults sometimes meant 'I love you'.
To be continued…