Rating: K
Summary: Aomine asks all kind of things to Momoi; she generally says no to his stupidity.
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Tadatoshi Fujimaki.
Hello!
This was initially posted on tumblr for knbss2014.
Enjoy!
One-shot: Three times Momoi said no to Aomine and one time she said yes
i.
When Aomine asked her to buy the latest issue of his favourite magazine, Momoi blatantly refused and told him to go buy it himself. It isn't because she is going to the mall that she has to fulfil every of his childhood friend's wishes, all the more so when said whim was a gravure magazine. If he is lazy enough not to move his ass from his room, then he isn't worth it.
Kise laughs when she complains to him about this behaviour.
"You know that Aominecchi's always been like this! You should make deals with him."
"I don't think that even deals can knock some sense into this thick skull!" Momoi groans. "I mean, he takes advantage of the fact that I go out to ask me all sorts of favours. What am I, his servant?"
Close enough, Kise wants to say, but he keeps his mouth shut and opts for chuckling. He isn't going to say anything until one of them realizes something about their feelings. Ah, he didn't know that could be so hard…
Momoi thinks that maybe she has been too kind. She almost accepts all of Aomine's mood changes and quirks, and the guy doesn't have the decency to show her some sort of gratitude. Oh, of course, it is her job as a friend, a close friend, to support him, but sometimes she would have liked to get more attention than that. Then again, things haven't been going on smoothly since the end of middle school, and she could only hope for the better in the next years of high school.
Spending her afternoon shopping with Kise released a bit of her irritation. She did get texts from Aomine who kept insisting, but she ignored them all and went back home with new clothes and no gravure magazine. Her mother arches an eyebrow once she steps in the house, and even seems a little concerned.
"Did you and Daiki get into a fight?" she asks.
Momoi blinks, not really sure how her mother could have concluded this.
"No, no, that's not it," she replies. "Dai-chan is just being a jerk, as usual."
She isn't going to tell her that he needed this kind of magazine; she would get murdered by the basketball player instantly.
"Is that so?" her mother doesn't sound convinced. "He visited a few hours ago to tell you that he'd do anything for you."
Momoi can't help but roll her eyes and tosses her shoes aside.
"He's stupid."
ii.
She gets angry when he's injured and keeps wanting to play. She doesn't know how more stupid he can be, so she watches him to prevent him from harming himself further. She has always supposed that athletes knew what they should or shouldn't do, but it seems like it's the total contrary; athletes are far more stubborn than other people and don't see their physical limits. Momoi tries to hide her irritation when she sees Aomine absentmindedly throws into the air his pencil case with his injured arm. Even though it's a simple effort, she doesn't want him to make the healing process longer than needed.
This is why she snatches the pencil case and ignores the surprised cry that Aomine lets out.
"What are you doing?" he mutters.
"I'm keeping you away from unnecessary stupidity," she deadpans.
"The hell?"
Momoi shrugs and stuffs the pencil case in her bag. She then leaves the classroom for practice, not waiting for Aomine since she knows he won't attend it—and in a way, it's probably better.
However her childhood friend proves her wrong when he follows her and diligently changes into his t-shirt and his shorts, making almost everyone start when he steps on the court. Momoi is surprised yes, and gapes, but it only makes her worries grow heavier. At first she only observes to see to what extent Aomine is going to play; there is no way he will make dangerous and straining moves, right? She furrows her brows, tapping anxiously her notebook with her pen, noticing how Aomine's arm goes stiff whenever he tries to dribble past a defender or how unnaturally strong his move is—he's certainly forcing on his arm. He doesn't show any sign of pain on his face, nor does he try to play carefully, and Momoi is biting on her lower lip. This man is going to be the death of her one day.
She gets up, not consulting Coach Harasawa beforehand and shouts.
"Aomine-kun, come here for a minute!"
Aomine stops short in his movements, frowning. The ball is still bouncing, loudly, only stresses the fact that he's making Momoi wait, who stands on her two feet with something in her posture that Aomine can't quite decipher. He heaves a sigh and leaves the ball in the middle of the court and walks towards her. He displays nonchalance and annoyance but in fact he's a bit mad.
"What do you want Satsuki?" he asks.
Momoi crosses her arms over her chest.
"Why are you playing like that?"
"Why am I playing like what?" Aomine repeats.
"Like you're trying to destroy your arm!" Momoi snaps. "You don't come to practice and when you do you're injured and you don't even adjust yourself to that!"
Harasawa doesn't say anything but the way he looks at Aomine is enough to indicate his approval. He didn't make any comment when he saw the team's ace entering on the court, but he trusts Momoi's judgement—especially when it concerns this young boy. He watches every shift in Aomine's expression, and isn't displeased in the least.
"You're complaining when I ditch practice, and you complain when I come, the fuck is wrong with you?" Aomine growls, angry eyes boring holes into Momoi's.
"Well, you should consider your state before making any decision!" she retorts. "I won't let you practice with your arm like that."
"Come on you're not making sense."
"My mind's made up and that's final. Am I right, Coach?"
Harasawa nods. Aomine lets out an indignant cry and goes back on the court, ignoring Momoi's call.
"Aomine-kun, I'm serious!" she says.
"So am I," Aomine replies. "I'll just shoot some hoops, that's not gonna kill me!"
"No is no! Gods, why don't you ever listen to me?!"
"You're fucking annoying!"
In a swift movement, Momoi throws her notebook at Aomine's head.
At least that makes Aomine shut up. He doesn't make a sound when the notebook falls on the floor, but the aura he is emitting doesn't bode well. He slowly turns back and glares at Momoi, who doesn't flinch at all—on the contrary even, she holds up his look with her own.
"You're being an idiot," she states. "Wakamatsu-san, can you fetch the net, please?"
"The net," Aomine grunts. "As if I'll be stupid enough to get caught—what the fuck!"
Wakamatsu shrugs and watches with delight as Susa covers Aomine entirely with the trap. He knew that the other would anticipate Momoi's orders, so standing right beside their manager would create the opportunity to accomplish what they had to do. Aomine didn't think of it, clearly; and that makes him smirk.
Aomine is thrashing in the net, tossed in a corner of the gym while Momoi supervises practice without granting him any of his demands. Serves him right.
iii.
During their second year of high school, Aomine wakes up one day with a feeling of curiosity.
"Why don't you ask Tetsu out after all these years?" he inquires flatly.
Momoi stares at Aomine for a moment, then she promptly shoves her hand on his cheek. Aomine chokes on his saliva and pushes the hand back, grumbling and ticked off.
"What the hell was that for?"
"I don't want to ask him out and no, you're not getting an explanation," she says firmly.
"I don't understand you. You've been stuck on him since middle school and you don't want to try?"
"Why are you interested in my love life anyway? It's not as if you'd know what it feels like."
Aomine rolls his eyes.
"I was just curious," he indicates. "But that's true that you stopped talking about him every time you could. Something has changed?"
"I'm not telling you," Momoi stubbornly mutters.
The fact that she refuses to utter a single word unnerves Aomine and he doesn't know what kind of reason could possibly be so grave that she gets defensive. The last time he checked Kuroko hasn't done anything wrong and Momoi wasn't on her period, so what's the problem? He isn't Kise and therefore can't give any advice on love, but it's weird and he needs to know—and what's even stranger is that he isn't that sad about it.
"I wasn't expecting you to say that to be honest, so I'm not really satisfied with this," he admits.
"Well you'll have to do with it… I'm not ready to talk."
"Ready? Ready for what?"
Momoi doesn't meet his gaze.
"Not ready to tell you."
+1
Graduation day has always been a hard day. Leaving the school they've been attending for three years along with classmates and teachers is heartbreaking. Momoi is crying as she looks at the gym, not quite believing she won't be there next year to take care of the basketball club. When she looks back on her first year at Touou, she wouldn't have expected herself to feel so attached to the school. She's gone through many hardships, supported and supporting friends, swirling in the world of sports she has taken a liking to years ago. Now she has to move on, and university life is full of insecurities she doesn't know if she will be able to put up with.
She sniffles, deciding to go back to the entrance gates when something poked her head. Surprised, she looks up and meets a pair of blue eyes gazing at her.
"Stop crying like a baby, it's not the end of the world," Aomine says in a soft voice.
"I can't stop myself," Momoi replies.
Aomine ruffles Momoi's hair and stands next to her, looking at the gym in turn. He'll lie if he says that he doesn't feel anything, but he isn't as affected as Momoi is. He did spend some great times in this school, and being an ace for three whole years leaves marks on him.
"Well, that's not as if there won't be a basketball club at our university," he points out. "We'll just have to adapt."
Against all odds, Momoi chuckles. She seems to have calmed down, and despite the fact her eyes are still shining with tears, she looks happy.
"That's right. We're going to wow everyone! I count on you, Dai-chan."
Aomine snorts but agrees. Scouts have come to offer him a place in their institutions, so he could just pick one among them—Momoi said he was lucky to have so many possibilities, you spoiled gifted child. He's going to go pro, Momoi wants to become a coach; it is only natural that they attend the same university.
He scratches the back of his head, swinging from one foot to the other. He's getting a bit nervous.
"Say… I don't know if my parents already talked about it with yours, but… What about being roommates? That'll save us from many problems."
Momoi blinks, and stares at Aomine, who doesn't meet her eyes. He must be joking. She thinks she can't find her voice to reply, but her words easily leave her mouth. Maybe a bit too easily.
"You know, we're not dating."
Aomine's heart makes a leap in his chest.
"T-That's not the point!" he stutters. "I'm asking you if you want to share an apartment, that's not the same thing!"
He doesn't understand where this comes from and honestly, this topic shouldn't be brought up!
Momoi smiles and pats her friend on the back.
"I'm joking," she grins. "Of course I agree! We're practically living together anyway, so it's not a big deal."
Aomine sighs and thinks. He knows his childhood friend well enough to see when she has something on her mind if she talks about… things like that. And he's not really opposed to anything in particular.
"Actually, I messed things up," he declares, and looks at Momoi. "Let me do it again."
He stands upright. The intensity of his gaze makes Momoi melt.
"Let's go out."
The world is spinning.
"W-Wait, I said I was joking, that's not a problem," Momoi stammers. "Besides people don't go out on a whim!"
"I'm serious," Aomine continues. "I mean, I didn't say I didn't like you."
"You never said you liked me!"
"Do you think I would?"
"Honestly? … No. But that's still sudden and coming from nowhere."
"Do you react like that to every confession you get?"
"It's different because it's you, moron."
"Look, do you know about people that can't make the difference between romantic feelings and strong attachment to their childhood friend? I was one of them."
"'Was'?"
"I didn't have a fucking clue as to what to do with my feelings and that was so weird to look at your childhood friend and think 'I want to kiss her' so I kept my mouth shut. And you've had your eyes on Tetsu for years so I thought that maybe you'd reject me but last year you said you didn't want to go out with him and damn it, long story short, do you want to date me, yes or no?!"
Neither one of them is breaking eye contact, and if Aomine is breathing heavily after rambling so much while seriously blushing, Momoi doesn't make a comment about it. She brings her hand to her face and tries to hide her own redness but she knows she can't escape.
"I've come to sort out my feelings last year, and as you said it was as weird to me as to you if I asked you out," she admits.
She seems to want to say more, but she falters and covers her whole face with her two hands. She makes embarrassed noises and can't help being so, so happy.
"I don't even know what to say, Dai-chan."
Aomine makes a step and takes her in his arms, quietly smiling in her hair.
"Just say yes or no."
It's simple, Momoi thinks. She has one word to pronounce and everything will be alright.
"It's going to be strange," she warns.
"I know."
"And difficult, too."
"It already seems difficult right now anyway."
"To sum things up, you ask me if we can live together before we dated?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Then the answer is yes, and yes."
Aomine is now grinning ear to ear while Momoi is laughing. They're such idiots.
Looks like next year won't be that bad, right?