A/N: I keep forgetting to post my non-explicit stuff here.
The eyes drilling holes into the back of his skull made him sweat. As did the titters and whispers all around him. Aomine didn't belong there. He knew it, they knew it, everyone in the whole damn shop knew it.
Heads taller than everyone else, there was no way to miss his large, muscled body. He was a male swimming in a sea of femininity and he, who would probably laugh in the face of death itself, wanted to turn tail and run.
Each time the urge to escape hit him (and he had experienced it at least ten times already since entering the shop), a certain redhead's face would flash before him, rooting his feet to the floor.
It was just one measly box of chocolates, why was he freaking out about it? It was embarrassing, yeah, but he and Kagami had definitely left embarrassment behind long ago. Holding hands, kissing, hugging, making love, all of that came easily to him now. Surely he could buy his lover Valentine's chocolate without blinking an eye? Aomine looked through the crowd of giggling, chattering girls, and he wasn't so sure the answer to that question was yes.
The store rapidly filling to max capacity finally forced him into action. Barely able to move or breathe, he somehow managed to push his way through the teeming, buzzing throng of estrogen to the front.
The woman behind the counter stared up at him in wide-eyed bemusement, and a healthy dose of unease. If he could see the picture he presented, Aomine would understand the reason for her trepidation. Expression black with an intimidating glower, he towered over the tiny clerk.
"M-may I help you?" Apprehension filled the woman's voice.
Aomine was tense himself. With an agitated wave at the artistically crafted confections lining the bins under the counter, he barked, "I need one of those."
Glancing nervously around, clearly looking for help of some kind, the clerk squeaked out, "Which one?"
"Which—just give me the biggest one, sister." His tone was darker than before, enough to frighten anyone.
Scrambling under the counter, the clerk snatched up the largest, most elaborate chocolate in the display. Visibly trembling now, she asked, "Would you like that wrapped, sir?"
He gave a sharp nod and grunted his affirmative. Losing interest in her, he turned his head. Pretty much every gaze in the store was on him now. Hoping no one noticed the flush on his face, he summoned up his most fearsome glare and bared his teeth. The eyes skittered away from him and he smiled with satisfaction, only to frown a moment later when he realized he'd just scared a bunch of girls and had been pleased with himself for it.
Cursing under his breath, he faced the clerk once more. She flinched. Hurriedly telling him the cost, she gingerly took the money he handed over, as if she was afraid to even touch him. Her body sagged with relief when Aomine grabbed the bag. He was relieved, too, and beat a hasty retreat out of the shop, swearing to never again step foot in such a place.
Half an hour later, he knocked impatiently on Kagami's apartment door. The person in question yelled back loudly, "I'm coming, I'm coming." Aomine heard the pounding of feet, the sound of something thumping against the floor, a thunderous "Son of a bitch!" and then the door was thrown wide open.
At the sight of Kagami standing there, face smeared with what had to be chocolate, a blue apron dusted with flour, and his spiky hair standing up in all directions, Aomine's foul mood just melted away.
Shooting his arm out, he grabbed Kagami by the neck and pulled the redhead forward, crushing their lips together. Kagami's mouth was warm and soft and sweet with the taste of chocolate. That taste, coupled with the smudge on Kagami's face, told Aomine all he needed to know. Kagami had been making chocolate, homemade chocolate, just for him. He was embarrassed and shocked at just how happy the knowledge made him.
Kagami gave himself up to the kiss, leaning into Aomine with his eyes closed. It didn't last long. A hard shove at his chest sent Aomine stumbling backward.
"We—we're in the middle of the doorway, retard!" he blasted Aomine, his cheeks quite rosy. "Anyone could see us!"
"Sorry, sorry," Aomine's wide, satisfied grin didn't give much credence to his words.
Snorting, Kagami spun around, heading back toward the kitchen. Closing the door behind him, Aomine followed. The inside was rife with the scent of chocolate, the rich aroma perfuming the air. He was by no means a candy fiend like that monster Murasakibara, but Aomine liked sweets as much as the next, normal guy. His mouth was already watering in anticipation.
When Kagami noticed Aomine had trailed him all the way into the kitchen, he scowled and made a shooing motion with his hands.
"Go away! I'm not finished yet."
Aomine pouted, an expression totally at odds with the strong, arrogant lines of his face. "What am I supposed to do, then?"
"I don't know," Kagami replied distractedly as he checked the molds on his counter, "go sit on your thumbs or something."
The pout morphed into a wolfish smile. "I would rather sit on your—."
A towel smacking him in the face kept him from completing the sentence.
His skin a bright, cherry red now, Kagami's unique eyebrows slammed together. "You are such a pervert."
Wiggling his own eyebrows, Aomine said, "Yeah, but you love me for it."
Kagami's mouth opened and closed several times. He didn't acknowledge the truth in Aomine's words, but he didn't deny them either.
Quite pleased with himself, Aomine backed out of the kitchen. "I'll just go into the other room then." He whistled merrily as he left.
Collapsing onto the sofa, he set the bag with the chocolates he bought on the table in front of him. He picked up one of the sports magazines Kagami kept lying around and flipped through the pages, not really reading it, instead listening to the sounds of his lover puttering around the kitchen. It was somehow relaxing, comforting, and Aomine wondered if it was too soon to ask Kagami to move in with him.
He must have zoned out a little because, the next thing he knew, Kagami was thrusting a plate in front of him.
"Ha—happy Valentine's Day. Dumbass," Kagami added the last word almost defiantly.
"Aw, don't be so love-dovey," Aomine murmured dryly and took the plate, "you'll make me blush."
"Shut up!" Kagami plopped down beside him. "And don't complain if those aren't any good. You're the one who wanted homemade chocolate, even after I told you I had never made them before."
True enough. Aomine had begged, pleaded and cajoled, making a nuisance of himself until Kagami reluctantly agreed to make chocolates for him. Until he stepped into the apartment, he hadn't been completely positive Kagami would go through with it.
Aomine was sure they would be tasty. For some reason, everything Kagami made was delicious. Of course, he might just be a bit biased, but Tetsu had said the same before, so it had to be true.
The plate was piled high with small, round pieces of dark chocolate. He carelessly lifted one to his mouth, but stopped halfway as something caught his attention. Aomine realized what he was looking at and his eyes widened. The chocolates were small basketball replicas. Not just in their shape, but even the surface mimicked the ball, covered in small dimples and meticulously carved lines. It was amazing, and must have taken forever to create each one.
He looked over at Kagami, who knew what Aomine was thinking, because he averted his gaze and plucked restlessly at the apron he was still wearing.
"It's not, it's not that big of a deal," he answered Aomine's unasked question. "I just had some extra time so I thought it would be cool to make something different. I mean, everyone is always giving heart shaped choco—."
Aomine cut off his rather flimsy explanation with a kiss. In contrast to the one at the door, this kiss was slow and gentle and filled with all of the deep, warm, soul shattering emotions he felt for the beautiful, awkward and yet so amazingly strong man next to him.
Reluctantly ending the kiss, he pressed their foreheads together and whispered, "Thank you."
For once, Kagami's tendency toward tsundere didn't manifest.
"You're welcome," he sighed softly.
They stayed like that for several moments, until Aomine pulled away. Reaching out, he snagged the bag off the table and tossed it at Kagami.
"Here, that's for you."
Kagami caught the bag, surprise coloring his face. It was one thing for Aomine to demand chocolates from him, it was quite another for Aomine to give him chocolates, too. He eyed the bag suspiciously.
"Did you get that childhood friend of yours to buy these?"
It took him a second to understand what Kagami meant. When he realized what the other man was inferring, his eyes narrowed.
"No Satsuki did not buy those. I went into the freaking store myself, with all those, those crazy, love-crazed girls, and picked it out myself!" He was huffing indignantly by the time he finished. "Now, open the damn thing!"
The thought of Aomine in a confectionery, the lone male in room full of girls, must have been amusing because Kagami smiled. It was a gentle, affectionate smile, which kept Aomine from getting too offended.
Reaching into the bag, Kagami pulled out the box. Aomine hadn't paid attention when the clerk wrapped it and this was his first glimpse at it. With just that one look, he wanted to crawl under the sofa and hide. Kagami smothered a laugh and Aomine didn't blame him at all.
The wrapping on the box was pink. Shocking, bright, neon pink, covered in hearts, and bears and tiny, naked babies. No, wait, on closer inspection, Aomine saw that they were those little angel things. Cupids or something like that. A big, heart-shaped card was fastened to the top and it read, "My heart beats for you." Obviously, the clerk had done it on purpose. For some sick, twisted sense of revenge.
Aomine knew his face was on fire, a heat so deep his somewhat exotic skin tone couldn't hide it.
"Your heart beats for me, huh?" Kagami repeated the card's sappy line, apparently amused by the whole situation, his earlier embarrassment completely gone.
"Shut up!" It was Aomine's turn to use the command. "Just eat the damn thing before I throw it away."
Kagami chuckled and unwrapped the candy. Aomine popped one of basketball chocolates angrily into his mouth just as Kagami slipped a piece of the store bought ones between his lips. The two of them moaned simultaneously, completely in sync.
"Oh my god, this is awesome!" Kagami practically purred, shoving another piece in his mouth.
Shaking his head, Aomine stuffed three of the small basketballs into his mouth. "Not as awesome as the ones you made. They're the best chocolate I have ever tasted."
Naturally, that started an argument. A ridiculous, stupid argument, but it never took much for their competitive natures to ignite. After ten minutes of bickering, Aomine was done. He had other plans for the evening, and fighting wasn't one of them.
"Fine, let's settle this."
He stuck one of the basketball chocolates between his teeth and leaned over. The sofa creaked under his weight. Kagami's mouth opened to speak, probably to ask Aomine what he was doing. Taking advantage, Aomine leaned over and covered Kagami's parted lips, pushing his chocolate inside with his tongue.
Kagami's muffled protest vibrated against him, but he didn't stop, holding Kagami's mouth prisoner until the chocolate started to melt. A satisfied gleam in his blue eyes, he eased back. Kagami just glared and grumpily chewed the candy Aomine had forced on him.
"See, good isn't it?"
"I've already tasted it, Ahomine, when I was making it!" Kagami growled.
Aomine only shrugged. "Whatever. My turn." He opened his mouth wide.
Kagami gave him a guarded look. "What?"
Pointing to the chocolates in Kagami's hands, he smiled. "Now you give me one of yours, and I will see if it is really better or not. Ahhhhn." He opened his mouth again.
Looking like he wanted to argue some more, Kagami hesitated and then grabbed one of his chocolates. He brought the sweet up to Aomine's mouth, but a large hand circling his wrist stopped him.
"No, no, no. You gotta do it the same way I did." Aomine used his free hand to touch Kagami's bottom lip.
The reaction was immediate. Kagami jerked back, crimson eyes round, and embarrassment stamped across his features.
"Absolutely not! I'm not twisted like you. I'll just give it to you normally."
It was really cute how Aomine could still fluster his brash, confident, fearless lover. He didn't say anything, just stretched his mouth wide and made that "Ahhhn" sound again.
Knowing Aomine could sit there forever, would pester Kagami forever until he gave in, the redhead grimaced.
"Fine, dumbass, I'll do it. You're such a pain in the butt," he grumbled and stuck the chocolate in his mouth.
Aomine stopped making that absurd noise long enough to leer at Kagami. "Not right now, but I will be very shortly.
Kagami choked, making Aomine wonder if he accidentally swallowed the candy, but the other man suddenly bent forward. Their teeth clicked together as he roughly smashed his lips against Aomine's. That was okay, because immediately after, Kagami's tongue was sliding into his mouth, guiding the chocolate. Aomine took it, sucking lightly on that sweet tongue before Kagami could stop him.
"Mmm, that is tasty," Aomine confessed once Kagami had moved back to his original position, "but the ones you made still beat it hands down."
"Hmph." Kagami neither agreed nor disagreed with Aomine's assertion this time, but the pink coloring the tips of his ears let Aomine know he wasn't displeased.
That was it. He was just too adorable. Aomine couldn't take it anymore. Valentine's was more than just giving chocolates, and he was going to show Kagami that right now.
Putting the plate on the table, he yanked Kagami into his lap. The fancy sweets and their obnoxious wrapping went sailing to the floor.
"Oi, what are you doing? You've ruined the chocolates!" Kagami complained, grabbing onto the back of the sofa so he didn't fall.
Aomine wrapped his arms around Kagami's back and pushed his nose into the pulse in Kagami's neck.
"Don't worry, I'm about to give you something even more yummy," the words were breathed softly against Kagami's skin.
"And what would that be?" Kagami might be an idiot, but he wasn't that stupid. The hoarseness in his voice proved he understood exactly what Aomine meant.
He had to say it anyway.
"Me," Aomine growled, nipping at the vulnerable column of Kagami's neck, and then made love to, no with, his most important person, the other half of his soul, his own personal light, for the rest of the night. Proving that love was indeed the sweetest gift of all, for both of them.
Fin.