It was procedural, Tetsu would receive the ball and Aomine would sprint to the other side of the court for a fast break. An easy offensive play, being that the power forward was faster than practically everyone on the team. That, and the phantom made quick passes. So as soon as Aomine saw that Tetsu had stolen the ball, he dashed down the court with the expectation that the ball would be in his hands before he made it to the basket. A grin spread on his face as he watched the accelerating pass rush his way. He was going to dunk it, and then rub it in Kise's face, because despite them being on the same team, the blond had been getting on his nerves all evening. Aomine leaped off the ground as to alley-oop the sphere into the basket—

"OW!"

Aomine lost control of the ball as a certain blond jumped in his way and crashed straight into him. On top of that, the orange orb somehow managed to bounce off the backboard of the hoop and clash into the back of Aomine's head. The two of them stumbled back with frustrated glares, and the power forward couldn't figure out why the fuck the other had that stupid look on his face, because he was the one that just ruined their fast break.

"THAT HURTS!..." Aomine rubbed at the back of his head, and he could nearly feel the vein in his forehead throbbing out of anger. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, KISE?! THAT WAS CLEARLY A PASS TO ME!"

"SAYS WHO?! NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, THAT WAS A PASS TO ME!" Kise shouted back with rage that matched Aomine's.

"IT WAS FOR ME!"

"NO, ME!"

The two teammates glared at each other peevishly, their hands tightened into fists, and their jaws clenched harshly. It seemed that they were going to stand that way forever, stabbing each other with piercing glares, but the next thing everyone in the gym knew, the two were scratching at each other's faces immaturely. Kise began pulling at his scrimmage jersey, so Aomine didn't hesitate to begin tugging at the sweaty strands of his blond hair.

It wasn't an actual physical fight, more of just harmless scrapes and harsh yanks, so no one thought twice to break the two up. If anything, they looked ridiculous, swatting at each other the way they were in the middle of practice. Midorima and Murasakibara, who had been previously disputing as well, shook their heads ashamedly as they realized that they had been doing the same not that long ago.

"Anyway, at least I now understand how pathetic we looked," Midorima's voice only further irritated Aomine, and he made sure to take it all out on the asshole pressing his hand in his face. At some point, Tetsu even began throwing up, and usually Aomine would be concerned, but he was too worked up at the moment to take notice.

"Daiki. Ryouta," Akashi stated sternly from behind the two, and being the idiots that they were, they paid no mind to him. That was until he stepped amid them both and practically pried them away from one another.

"I've had enough. I will not tolerate such bickering during practice any longer," the shorter male stated in an impassive tone. "From now on, as to teach you mongrels a lesson, you will hold hands whenever I catch you arguing. This applies to all of you. So, Ryouta, Daiki, you will be our test subjects for the day. Do us the honors of…" He reached out to grab both of them by the wrists and forced their hands together. "…Holding hands, will you?"

There were two things Aomine Daiki was scared of. Number one: bees. He could still vividly remember the first time he had been stung by one, and he couldn't imagine a more excruciating pain than having the venomous stinger of a furious insect jammed into his arm. So, whenever a bee was spotted, he was usually the first one to sprint off in fear.

Number two: Akashi Seijuurou when things weren't going his way. Now, if he were to let go of Kise's hand and protest, he'd probably regret it in more ways than one. The point guard didn't take kindly to disobedience, which was probably why he was so suitable for the position of team captain. Aomine was dumb, but he wasn't dumb enough to make Akashi mad, so he loosely held on to Kise's hand as instructed.

Not only was it humiliating, but it was also hard practicing that way, with Kise's sweaty palm clinging languidly to his own, and each time he took a step the blond would seem to be there to stand in his way. Aomine didn't see how the two of them holding hands would resolve anything, because it only made him more frustrated, and he couldn't wait for practice to be over so that he could go find an earthworm to stick down Kise's shirt.

It was typical for the team to eat together at lunch. Usually they'd reserve the roof, because no one ate up there and it gave them some means of privacy. Not that they necessarily needed it, but the isolation was nice. Generally, Aomine would sit next to Tetsu, and munch off of whatever he packed for lunch that day, because he was the only one that still dealt with his bullshit and gave in to his mooching ways. Well, Kise usually would as well, but he never packed a lunch because his "fans" frequently handled that much for him.

But for some reason, that day, the asshole decided to steal his spot next to the phantom. And when Aomine walked up and requested that Kise move, he shook his head 'no' and stated something about him being there first. Dammit, he wanted to smack that smug look off the model's pretty face, but he restricted himself from doing so, because that was his teammate, as well as his friend. But he wouldn't let that much misdirect him from his stubborn ways, so he stood his ground and continued to demand that Kise move.

"If Kurokocchi wants me to move, then I'll move," Kise stated with a turn of his nose.

Of course, Tetsu could care less. And he looked to be quite annoyed that the two of them would even drag him into such a trivial matter. "I don't mind if Kise-kun sits next to me. He did sit here first, afterall."

And Aomine felt betrayed, because that was his shadow… the one that was supposed to follow him through thick and thin, yet he so easily gave up his spot. He narrowed his eyes before claiming in a childish tone, "Then I'll force him to move," and then abruptly reached down to grab Kise by his arms. From there, a lot of shouting and objection went on, and Tetsu even managed to quietly scoot to another spot. Their little quarrel didn't last long, because the one person Aomine last wanted to see took a step beside the two with his arms crossed in a disapproving manner.

"Hold hands," Akashi stated in a rather calm tone that fucked around with Aomine's brain. It was as though he weren't upset, yet he was upset at the same time.

"But… we're not at practice…" Aomine let go of Kise's arms and straightened his posture as he questioned the other's request.

"I never said that the rule only applies when we're in the gym, Daiki. In order to be prosperous and reliable teammates on the court, we must accommodate to such principles off the court as well," Akashi stated before turning on his heel, and repeating one last time, "Hold hands until the end of lunch."

He had no idea what the team captain just said. Something about being teammates on the court and principles… whatever, it sounded smart, so he had no choice but to hold the idiot's hand. Aomine rolled his eyes and let out a disgruntled sigh before taking a seat next to Kise and unenthusiastically reaching out for his hand. The blond forcefully slapped his hand into his, and Aomine curled his fingers firmly around the back of his hand firmly as to inflict pain on the indicator.

Their palms weren't sweaty and hot this time, so the deed was much more bearable. And although Aomine would never admit to such, Kise had pleasantly soft hands. Which was understandable with him being a model. Aomine imagined that maintaining an image applied to hands as well, so he could picture the blond getting manicures frequently. At one point, he even found himself visually admiring Kise's hand. He had nice skin. It was creamy, and glimmered attractively under the sun. Not only did it look as though it would feel good against his calloused fingers, it actually did feel good against his calloused fingers.

So when the bell rung for the end of lunch period, Aomine actually found himself to be hesitant in releasing Kise's hand.

"Are they seriously arguing again? You would think the idiots would be embarrassed enough with the hand holding…" Midorima stated with a habitual push up of his glasses.

By that point, everyone was used to it. A week had past and Aomine ended up having to hold Kise's hand at least once every day. They bickered over small things, it seemed. Sometimes Aomine would pick a fight with the blond for no given purpose other than the fact that he was bored. That or he wanted a reason to hold his hand… But he wouldn't admit that to himself or anyone else. Not that he necessarily needed to, because everyone else, excluding Kise, assumed that was his motive.

"Daiki. Ryouta."

That was all he needed to hear in order to know that him and Kise had to hold hands for the rest of practice. Having the blond gripping onto his hand wasn't even a factor anymore. He could still maintain practicing at a decent pace, and sometimes having an extra person added on was beneficial. Though, things such as jumping were a bit difficult. But they seemed to have grasped a steady pace, and could predict when the other was going to make a certain move.

And all the disadvantages were worth it, as long as he got to feel the soft skin of Kise's hand.

"Aominecchi, you have really rough hands."

"Well, I use them a lot…" Aomine stated. Playing basketball wore down his skin and caused his palms to callous in certain areas, but he never essentially paid much mind to it until he noticed how smooth Kise's hands were in comparison to his.

"Ah… well… it feels… interesting…" And for the first time, Aomine witnessed Kise blushing.

Aomine spotted Kise as he was making his way to class one day, and he hurriedly approached him from behind with an idea set in mind. "Kise. You're annoying, and clingy. And I don't like you."

"Eh?!" The blond quickly turned his gaze to him with an angered expression. "Why would you say those things, Ahominecchi!? Just bec—"

And before he could get out any further words, Aomine extended his palm out as to hold Kise's hand.

"Daiki. Ryouta. I didn't request that you two hold hands, yet."

Practice had just begun, and habitually, Aomine took the initiative of grabbing Kise's hand. He had gotten to the point where he did it without even thinking. And although the realization was a bit embarrassing, he couldn't help but notice that Kise would never object.

"Oh… You didn't? I could have sworn you did…" He lied through his teeth before tentatively letting go of the blond's hand.

Akashi dismissed the matter with a quirk of a brow and an obvious look of amusement.

Practice felt a bit odd that day, and his shots didn't seem to want to go in, which was not normal for Aomine the "Formless Shooter". There was so much on his mind… well, scratch that… there was one person on his mind, and the fact that he couldn't hold his hand was really throwing his game off. A few of his teammates even stopped to ask if he was feeling well, because as the ace, he was supposed to be the one setting the tempo. So he couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated, and he marched off unapproachably to the locker room after practice ended.

Everyone followed after him not too long after to retrieve their school bags and change out of their basketball shoes, but no one bothered messing with or questioning him, being that the vexation was apparent on his expression.

"You just had an off day, Daiki. No need to be so upset. Though, if you don't handle business between you and…" Akashi nudged his head minimally towards Kise who had been oblivious to the whole conversation. "…Then I can see you having more days like these. And we can't afford that." He patted Aomine's back gently before making his way out of the locker room. And before leaving only him and Kise alone in the designated area Akashi turned to look over his shoulder and stated, "You can't hold his hand forever."

No shit. But was he that obvious? Yeah, they hold hands more often than they should, but it wasn't as though he were buying Kise flowers or giving him googly eyes or some sappy shit like that. And he wouldn't even be so habituated to the physical contact if Akashi had never entreated it in the first place.

"Are you okay?" Kise lugged his duffle bag over his shoulder as he approached the bench Aomine was seated on. "I'm sure you are. Probably just an off day, yeah? I feel like that sometimes too, like I'm not giving my all. But that's why I love this sport. Because it's those days that make me want to work hard and do bet—"

"Kise… Say something that'll make me mad."

"…Why?"

He felt a lump form in the middle of his throat, and he nervously swallowed over it. Practice had been over for quite some while by that time, so he couldn't understand why the palms of his hands were beginning to feel clammy or why his heart was beating rapidly against his chest.

"So I can say something that'll make you angry back…" He finally managed to answer, and he assumed that the rest was obvious from there.

For the first time, it seemed that Kise was bothered by the fact, and his perfectly shaped brows furrowed a bit. "If you want to hold my hand, just say so. I wouldn't mind, because… I like the feeling of your hand in mine…" His cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, and he lowered his golden eyes to the concrete ground beneath them. "You don't need to pick a fight with me, or call me names, Aominecchi."

That much wasn't expected. Aomine always thought that Kise was just a pushover, and he was always a bit touchy, so maybe he didn't mind holding hands because it didn't mean much to him. To think that all that time, Kise had been having the same thoughts he had only caused his mouth to go dry, and he blinked a bit confusedly for a few moments. They didn't have to argue in order to hold hands. That bit seemed somewhat relieving because he was tired of making the blond mad for no real given reason. Knowing that he could hold his hand and make him happy caused his lips to twitch into a scarcely visible smile that, if Kise would have not had his gaze set on the ground, would have been noticed.

Akashi's previous words resonated through his mind, and this caused him to scoff because, even if it was a bit extreme, he could do whatever the hell he wanted. Aomine reached out for Kise's hand, and for the first time, intertwined their fingers so that their hands were practically molded together. He pulled Kise closer and without warning, pressed a soft kiss to his lips. The rosy tint to the blond's cheeks only deepened, and as Aomine took note of this, he shifted his lips over marginally so that he could gently pepper kisses to the corner of his mouth.

And as Kise giggled softly and pulled back a bit to press a chaste peck to his nose, Aomine stated, "I want to hold your hand forever."