Flash. Finally the last blinding flash went off and you felt your cheeks relaxing from the larger than life smile that you'd been displaying. After a moment of silence while the photographer reviewed the shot he nodded "Perfect, you're done for the day Takao-kun. You really have a knack for this, I'm glad you joined us." Chuckling the photographer added on "I'm sure our female staff is giddy now that you're here and Kise isn't the only eye candy for them." You sheepishly smiled and chuckled "Thank you for your hard work~ I doubt that I can really compete with Kicchan though" Grinning you good naturedly soothed the comment, it was true though you weren't out of your element at all surprisingly.
One of the aides brought you a cup of water as you sat down for a moment to catch your breath, this shoot had been going on for a couple hours now with several changes. You thanked her and took the cup, smiling warmly again she rushed away slightly flushed in the face, returning to help put the equipment away. Carefully sighing into the paper cup you took a drink, they planned to have your debut shots in a few fashion magazines thus you had a very long shoot, you didn't even want to guess the time. Idly you wondered how Kise managed to balance his modelling work with his studies and practices at Kaijo… You shivered realizing you were going to have to figure out the same thing and fast. Shoving the thought aside you glanced at the next shoot location, you were in the back on the studio and it was split down the middle to make two shoot areas with blackout curtains.
Kise was still working his butt off, he came in about an hour after you today since he didn't have as heavy a workload they set his slot a bit later. They were winding down, but the team was eager to get just the perfect shot, he seemed to sense your gaze. Casually his eyes shifted over and he got a slightly challenging look in those golden eyes of his, apparently that was perfect as the photographer called it after he inspected that photo. Once he thanked his team he walked over to you "You're finished Takaocchi?" You grinned and teased "Seems my natural talent surpassed you today Kichan, I finished a couple minutes ago." Sticking your tongue out slightly you got up and stretched, tossing the empty cup into the trash can "Shall we go change before they change their minds?" The blonde ran a hand through his hair and smiled exasperated "Seems I have to put in more effort now that you're working alongside me Takaocchi. I never expected I'd have you as a rival off the courts."
The two of you started walking toward the hall door leading to the changing rooms as you chatted. Shrugging you shook your head "Honestly, I didn't plan on this happening. The joys of sisters I suppose they do things to surprise us… I found out after everything was said and done that I was entered in the photo contest… We were at training camp when she entered me." Despite your smile you couldn't help but shake your head, Kise was sympathetic as he nodded "Sisters can be like that, mine were super into dressing me up and getting me into modelling even when I was younger ssu." Carefully you pushed the door to the dressing room open and followed Kise in closing the door "My younger sister loves getting me to do cosplays for her or… whatever she's in the mood for honestly. I'm pretty sure she's going to study photography as soon as she gets the chance." Humming thoughtfully Kise wondered what you were going to say. You very conveniently dropped the subject, not wanting to open the cross dressing can of worms, you may enjoy being around Kise but you weren't that close yet.
Carefully layer by layer the two of you removed the outfits that you were left in, high fashion was very demanding sometimes. You winced as a button tangled into your hair, muttering under your breath you tried to wriggle it free "Jeez, how did I even manage this…?" You felt a pair of hands touch the shirt and your hair, the strong fingers gently nudging yours away "Careful Takaocchi, you'll hurt yourself if you get it more tangled. These buttons take hair hostage, the stupid metal design makes it easier to catch on anything… I remember the first time I got stuck in on of these I ended up hurting myself before finally escaping." You weren't expecting the sudden contact and your face warmed slightly in embarrassment from not being used to being looked after. "Whoops, thanks Kicchan. I'll have to keep that in mind, I rather like having my hair like this losing it over a button doesn't sound appealing" You stayed still as he removed the shirt and whistled softly seeing his appearance, he'd already removed his shirt, blazer and belt before he'd come to rescue you.
Kise chuckled at tossed the shirt onto the counter by the mirrors, a teasing smile on his lips as he heard your whistle "Oh? Takaocchi you're rather red ssu. Did you end up getting a fever?" Clearly he knew that wasn't the case, still he leaned down touching his forehead to yours, causing your face to turn red for a different reason you mentally swallowed, and outwardly smiled taking a half step back shaking your head "Mah, mah~ You're imaging things Kicchan, there's no way I'd get a fever from working a few hours here, basketball practice takes more energy don't you think?" Kise had a cocky smile as he shrugged, he clearly felt he won some form of battle where you stepped away.
'Oh boy… This might take a lot more energy than practice… No wonder Shin-chan says Kicchan is tiring… Though somehow I don't think he had to deal with this' You thought as you undid your belt, blinking you noticed Kise's reflection in the mirror and reached out instinctively. You heard the ace inhale as your cool fingers touched his back, frowning you worried a bit bruises weren't uncommon from practice; and it was no secret Kasamatsu had power behind him, but this bruise looked absolutely torturous being a deep purple almost black against his pale skin. You asked "Are you alright Kicchan? This doesn't look too good… I have some gel in my bag you can put on it to help if you want…." As you raised your eyes fingers still tracing over the bruise like a butterfly's wings to avoid causing pain you saw the shock in his golden eyes as he looked at you, partially frozen. Blinking he nodded "Senpai put a bit too much force into his kick…. Is there really anything to help it fade faster?" You nodded pulling back, not realizing the shock of the other "Mm, there's Arnica gel, it helps heal bruises a bit faster and slightly numbs the pain. I found it by accident after my first run in with a pineapple."
Kise blinked "Pineapple…?" You ignored his question and went over to your bag rummaging through pulling out a small first aid kit, after popping it open you pulled a tube out and walked back over to him smiling "It's going to be cold, just so you know and your shirt might stick to it for a while, but it's going to help a lot. It cuts healing time by a lot usually." You flipped the cap after he nodded and put some on the tip of your finger carefully massaging it over the footprint, earning a whimper. Clearly it hurt a lot more than the copycat wanted to let on, frowning you lightened your touch "Sorry, If I don't make sure to apply enough pressure it won't seep into your skin as quickly… I'm almost done…" You tried to be as gentle and as quick as you could, it still took a minute or so before you finished. You could feel Kise trembling, you wiped your fingers off on a handkerchief before you reached up and ruffled his hair, not knowing what else to do. You were met with a pout and got swatted away, this time he retreated to his side of the changing room.
After that you two finished stripping and got redressed into your uniforms in silence. Putting the clothes in a pile by the mirrors for the stylists to deal with, and took your bags. You handed the tube to Kise, knowing he'd need to use it to help that bruise heal if he wanted to recover anytime soon. As the two of you turned on your phones your eyes widened together, you figured it was late but neither of you figured it was already after eight, the last train for Kise to get home was in less than an hour… Sighing you ran a hand through your hair, smiling you looked at the blonde who was clearly trying to make plans "Want to crash at my place Kicchan? You're so not going to make the last train unless you run, and on an empty stomach that's a bad idea." His eyes lit up at the suggestion, clearly he'd never stayed over a friend's house, he was super eager as he asked almost afraid you were going to change your mind "Can I? Wouldn't it be a burden to your family bringing someone over so unexpectedly?" You shook your head and smiled warmly "It's no problem, my family is rarely home honestly. It's just me and my little sister most days. I don't really feel like cooking this late though so we'd have to grab a bite somewhere on the way though if that's fine?" You tilted your head to one side as you waited for his reaction. Eagerly he nodded and smiled "I appreciate it Takaocchi! You're a lifesaver!"
With that it was decided, he'd be accompanying you home. You wondered if your sister was actually going to be home tonight or if she was spending the night out again as you two headed out.