First fanfic in the KnB fandom.
Actually, does anyone know where the Interhigh was held at? Because if the Touou vs Kaijou match happened to be in Tokyo, then… well, darn. I want so much for Momoi revert back to calling Aomine 'Dai-chan' here but that only happens after the second Seirin vs Touou match. Which is sad, because I thought it was really sweet. But ah well, I let Momoi slip that out once and I feel so much better. XD
You know… I originally intended this to be a friendship fic that hints at the AoKise romance, but it turned into a full-fledged romance one instead. And this fic is so happy and I can't believe I wrote that ending.
Anyway, this fic is inspired by volume 9 special drama, which is basically a drama CD during their Teikou days.
If you admire someone, you'll keep on wishing from the corner of your heart that that person won't lose. That's why… I won't admire you anymore.
The fluorescent light shone down at the court, sweat trickling down his back as he took in a deep breath. The tanned boy's azure eyes in widened at the words he uttered just moments before. He wanted to let out a bitter smile. He was going to give up looking up to the boy. His grip on the orange ball loosened before his mind focused – not on the boy in front of him, but of the countless plays he had seen the tanned boy done.
And then he went.
When the tanned boy pushed against his back as he made the shot, he grinned, knowing exactly what to do to get the ball in. Was this how the tanned boy felt? The feeling of being utterly free and the thought of being able to do everything?
He could vaguely hear the referee shouting out the tanned male's foul and the buzzing of the excited audience.
The feeling was exhilarating and utterly breathtaking. In any other situation, he would feel absolutely elated, but…
I won't admire you anymore.
But…
He turned to look at the shell-shocked tanned boy, silently pleading. As their eyes met, the azure eyes widened even further.
I don't want to let you go like that, Aominecchi.
What the hell.
He'd missed the ball again and the blond took advantage of his distraction to steal the ball and ran to the hoop. He followed the blond.
He had made mistakes.
Even so…
What was with the worried look on Satsuki's face? And the panicked look on the others?
It was his fault for getting distracted. The blond's expression kept flashing in his mind.
What the hell was with that look.
Even if it was for the team, this mustn't be what the blond really wanted.
Like hell he was gonna let him win with a half-assed determination.
Don't get the wrong idea.
He smacked the ball out of the blond's hands before it could be slammed into the hoop.
Don't fuck with me.
Like hell he was gonna let him get away so easily.
The blond looked briefly at his phone. 6.37 PM.
He stretched, giving a glance to his surroundings. He hadn't been to Tokyo for a while now. There wasn't exactly a reason to go all the way here, even though he did miss Tokyo a little.
His eyes caught the convenience store and he entered it, the cold air from the air con rushing to hit his face. Searching through the refrigerator, he saw the bottles of Pocari Sweat at the corner. He strolled over, about to grab the sports drink when a low voice sounded from behind him.
"Kise?"
He froze. He'd already recognized the voice, but he turned anyway. The tanned boy stood between the rows of shelves, hands tucked into his school pants with his bag slung carelessly behind him. His face was bored, azure eyes no longer holding the passion they had once but the voice held a hint of shock and confusion.
It took a few seconds for Kise to get over his shock and to morph his face into a cheerful grin. "Aominecchi! What a surprise to see you here!" he chirped. He hadn't seen the other male ever since Interhigh.
Aomine paused, strolling over to reach over Kise to grab a bottle of Pocari Sweat. "This is my usual way home. What're you doing in Tokyo?"
Kise pouted, grabbing a bottle himself. "Does Aominecchi want me out of Tokyo so badly?"
The other male didn't reply, walking straight to the counter. The blond sighed, following the older man to pay. "I had a photoshoot near here and I just finished with it."
"Ah." Aomine took his change and moved out of the way for Kise to pay his.
Kise's mind raced to find a topic as he gave some money to the cashier. "What about Aominecchi? Did you have practice today?" He grabbed the bottle and his change. Then the two of them stepped out of the store and started to walk aimlessly along the road.
"I don't go to practice."
"Oh. Right." Wow, way to go, Ryouta, Kise silently berated himself. "I forgot! Then why are you going home so late? Touou doesn't release their students so late, right?"
"Obviously not, you idiot. I overslept."
The conversation ended like that.
The silence that befell them was tense, at least to Kise. He hadn't expected to meet the Touou ace and wasn't prepared at all. After all, their match at the Interhigh ended in a 110-98 with Kaijou's loss. Kise wanted to win so badly.
Or do you? The voice whispered.
Kise shook the thoughts away. Of course, he did. Why else would he give up his admiration for the Touou ace if he didn't feel that way? Unless… he still hadn't given it up completely yet. Honey brown eyes looked at the taller male's back.
"Oi, Kise." The blue-haired boy suddenly spoke. "Treat me to ice-cream."
Kise blinked, stopping and staring at the tanned boy still walking lazily. When the taller boy didn't receive a reply, he stopped and turned back to face the shocked blond. "Why did you stop? C'mon."
"Aominecchi, what did you say?"
"Hah? Treat me to ice-cream," he repeated.
"HUH?"
"GoriGori-kun popsicles too. But I'm in the mood for some Bäagen Dasz."
"Why should I?"
"Oi, don't tell me you forget all about our bet."
"Bet?" Kise echoed.
"You seriously forgot all about it. Who was the one who said 'don't forget your words'? Remember that time Tetsu had to do the basketball club announcements thing and then I said that if you surpass everyone, I'll buy you GoriGori-kun popsicles and Bäagen Dasz."
That triggered a faint memory of the five middle schoolers gathering at the rooftop. "Oh… Wah, Aominecchi actually remembers?!"
Aomine snorted. "Duh. It's free food."
The blond frowned, suddenly realizing something. "Huh, then that doesn't make sense. Why should I treat you, Aominecchi?"
"Isn't that obvious? Since you lost."
The Kaijou high schooler's blood ran cold and he stilled. He didn't actually think the other male was going to bring up the Interhigh match.
Aomine stared at the model for a moment, lifting the sports drink to drink. "So that means that Kise, you owe me unlimited number of treats."
That snapped the model out of his thoughts of the match. "What?"
"There's still the one-on-ones we played."
"That doesn't make it an unlimited number, Aominecchi!"
"Then, you remember the exact number?"
Silence.
In the nearest Bäagen Dasz, two high schoolers sat on a table.
"This is so unfair!"
"Just get your own, Kise. It's not like you're broke." Aomine said, putting a spoonful of the ice-cream into his mouth.
The blond sat back at his seat and pouted. "But at this rate, I'm going to be broke."
"That's great. You'll have something to spend your allowance and the money from your modeling work on."
"Wha- I don't have that much money!" Kise said in frustration, glaring daggers at the cookies and cream ice-cream.
"What then, Kise, you want a bite?" Aomine scooped up a generous amount.
The reaction was instant. Honey-brown eyes glittered and he perked up. "Waah, really, Aominecchi? Then I'll have—"
"No." Then he popped the spoonful into his mouth.
"So mean!"
He stared longingly at the ice-cream, gritting his teeth before giving up and signaling a waiter over. Forget it. He would just spoil himself for one day. Aomine smirked like he had won the grand prize.
Within seconds, a waitress appeared, tucking her hair behind her ear with a shy smile. Kise beamed back at her. "I'll have a banana split."
"Okay, a banana split. Anything else?" the waitress asked bashfully.
Aomine narrowed his eyes at that. Not this shit again.
"Nope! That'll be all!"
The girl lingered a while longer while the two males glanced back at her, Kise in curiosity while the other in mild annoyance. Then, face pink, she managed to squeak out. "Um! A-Are you that Kise Ryouta?"
The blond gave one dazzling smile at the girl before affirming it. "W-Would you please s-sign this?" she stammered, holding out a pen and a note.
When the model returned the note and pen with another of his model smiles, the girl squealed and ran off. And the tanned man was sure the girl had slipped in her number somewhere.
"Go die," was what Aomine uttered out when she was gone.
Kise widened his eyes. "Eh? Why are you being like Midorimacchi?"
"Because you deserve it?"
"Why are you being so mean?!"
The tanned man decided to ignore him. "She had an incredible rack."
"Ah... I guess so." Kise swirled a piece of paper in his hands. The taller boy could catch black ink on it. Thought so, Aomine thought. But Kise was probably gonna throw it away anyway.
"But that's not the point! Just now, Aominecchi, when you say unlimited number of treats, that means that I have to go all the way from Kanagawa to Tokyo whenever you feel like eating?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Never mind the money, the train takes hours to reach!"
"You'll just have to deal with it. Unless, you could beat me one-on-one, then I'll treat you."
The Kaijou ace gaped. "R-Really?"
"Yeah, whatever. It's part of the bet."
"Then, let's go play now!"
"Huh? Your order didn't even come yet and you want to leave?"
"Oh, right."
It was an incredibly hot and humid day. The tanned male lay on the rooftop, typing on his phone.
To: Kise [11.34 AM]
Oi, come over today.
Just as he pressed 'send', the door swung open to reveal a pink-haired girl.
"Aomine-kun!" Momoi stood with her hands on her hips, a plastic bag in a hand. "You skipped practice yesterday again!"
The tanned male dropped the phone on his side and turned his body to the other side to avoid facing his childhood friend. He really wasn't in the mood to argue. It was too hot for that.
"Aomine-kun! Don't ignore me!" He could hear her coming closer but he didn't really care.
His phone flashed.
From: Kise [11.35 AM]
Again? ((((；゜Д゜)))
He tuned Momoi out and decided to type his reply instead.
To: Kise [11.35 PM]
Yeah, so get your ass over here when you finish school.
Before he could press the send button though, his phone was snatched away.
He sat up immediately, watching the pink-haired girl dangle the phone in front of her in annoyance. "What the hell, Satsuki."
"Pay attention when people are talking to you," she grumbled. "But then again, this is a surprise. Aomine-kun actually texts?"
"Oi, Satsuki, give it back."
This time, she was the one who didn't listen. She flipped the phone open to see the recipient. "Ki-chan? Aomine-kun, you're texting Ki-chan?!" she let out a shocked shriek.
"What, am I not allowed to?"
"Eh, no, that's not it. I just didn't think that after Interhigh, you two would text…" she trailed off, taking a proper look at the contents of the message. Then she frowned. "Aomine-kun, you're making Ki-chan come all the way to Tokyo?"
The tanned male sighed, scratching his head. Taking a look at the basketball manager, he figured there wasn't a point in hiding it from her; she would find out anyway. Might as well get this over with before she came to bother him about it when she found it out herself. So he explained it to her.
"You had this bet since Teikou? And you actually remember it but never asked Ki-chan for the treats until you?" she asked suspiciously.
"I only remembered it recently, Satsuki. And give me my phone back."
This time she complied, watching as her friend checked and sent the message, wondering. "Why did you remember it only now?"
The tanned male tensed up slightly at that and something clicked in Momoi's brain. Oh, I see. The boy had been restless the past few days, or more accurately, ever since the Interhigh. She hadn't missed the suppressed painful look on her childhood friend's face as he watched the blond on the floor after their match.
The ace rubbed his head, looking sideways at his phone. "How would I know? I just remembered."
"I see." Then as if closing the topic, she reached into the plastic bag to give the male a drink.
He accepted it, opening it to gulp down the liquid. It was really hot.
Then, she struck. "Ah, Aomine-kun, do you know that Bäagen Dasz has a slogan of 'If you love her, bring her to Bäagen Dasz'?"
The tanned male promptly choked and coughed. And she watched on amused.
When he finally calmed down, she added, "Don't you think it's romantic, Aomine-kun?"
"The hell, Satsuki. Why are you telling me this?"
"I was thinking of getting Tetsu-kun to go there with me!" she lied.
"And I thought their slogan is 'Made like no other'!"
"Tsk tsk, Dai-chan, that's another one!"
"One more time!" Kise pleaded, panting.
"Isn't it enough? We've already played three rounds." Aomine watched the blond struggling to catch his breath in amusement, wiping his own sweat from his forehead.
"No! If I don't win you…" He breathed within pants. "I'll have to run over to treat you every time."
Aomine felt a surge of disappointment. Did Kise not want to spend him with him that much?
"But then," he added, a glee overtaking his features. "If I win, Aominecchi's the one who has to come all the way over to Kanagawa!"
Oh.
Then he grinned. "Impossible. No way in hell am I going all the way over for that."
Kise's face fell.
"So you'll have to try a lot harder if you want that to happen, pretty boy." The words were out of Aomine's mouth before he could think about it. Pretty boy… Did he just—?
The model didn't seem to have noticed the nickname though, as his face suddenly lit up and he responded with vigor. "I definitely will! Don't think Interhigh is the last you've seen of Kaijou, Aominecchi!"
He breathed a sigh of relief internally. "Yeah, yeah. I'll like to see you try. Now, let's go get my reward."
"Eh? What about another round?"
"No," he rejected firmly.
The blond seem to relent and give up for tonight. "Bäagen Dasz again then?"
"Obviously." The Touou ace suddenly remember Momoi's words— if you love her, bring her to Bäagen Dasz. "… Not."
"Huh?" Kise stood confused.
The ace looked at the undeniably attractive face (who can be a model without one anyway?) and groaned, deciding to curse his childhood friend for inserting strange ideas in his head. He knew that she did it on purpose. "… Let's just get GoriGori-kun popsicles instead. After a game, they're better than ice-cream."
With a frown, Kise Ryouta nodded, seemingly still not quite convinced. The taller boy couldn't help but take note of the earring on his left ear. He'd only realized it now. Dark blue. Like his hair and if he was right, Kise started having it since— Aomine suddenly froze his thoughts.
He wasn't going to think that Kise pierced his ear for him.
No, he wasn't.
He definitely wasn't.
Goddamn it, he didn't—
Shit.
Meanwhile, Kise's frown only grew wider as he watched the tanned boy pale. Moving closer, he waved his hand in front of the other's face. "Aominecchi?"
Shook out of his thoughts to see the blond right there, he swore internally and stepped backwards instinctively to gain some distance. Turning around, he scratched his head and grumbled a 'let's go'. He didn't see the hurt look on the blond's face.
The walk there was quiet. Neither of the two attempted to converse. The taller one being deep in his thoughts and the blond deciding to not prod further. When the two reached the nearest convenience store, there was apparently only two flavors left.
"What the hell, spaghetti-flavored? Are they serious there's no soda left?"
Beside him, the blond was sticking his head into the refrigerator. "Well, there's strawberry here too. Oh wait, there's only one left."
Avoiding to look at blond's face, he kept his eyes trained on the popsicle in hand and said, "Kise, give it here."
"Huh, no! It's the only one left. And I thought you don't like strawberries, Aominecchi!"
'Well, I'm not gonna eat that spaghetti-flavored, so give it here."
"Then, what about me?"
"You can take the spaghetti one. I bet you haven't tried it before."
"Well, yeah, but I like the strawberry flavor! Aominecchi, you eat it!"
"Kise," Aomine started, giving up and turning over to place his hands on the blond's shoulders. This was a life-and-death situation. He could care less about what Momoi hinted at right now. His expression was serious as he stared into the honey brown eyes. The model gulped. "You should try it if you haven't. The taste is something amazing. I swear it'll be a crazy experience."
"B-But Aominecchi, my friends said that it tastes horrible…"
"The taste is something amazing," the tanned boy repeated. About as amazing as Satsuki's cooking, anyway, he added in his mind.
"Well… If you say so." The blond handed the popsicle in his hands over reluctantly.
Success! Aomine congratulated himself for a moment, making sure to keep a straight face as they walked over to pay for it. The cashier paused when he saw the spaghetti-flavored popsicle, but said nothing as he scanned them.
When they finished paying and Kise turned to step out of the store, but Aomine exchanged glances with the cashier before clearing his throat. "Uh, Kise, why not stay here a little longer?"
The blond blinked. "Eh, why?"
"I…" he glanced around, eyes falling on a gravure magazine. "Horikita Mai's magazine is out."
"… Aominecchi, you never change." He sighed and turned. "But the popsicles will melt, so I guess I'll just eat them here then."
"Yeah, you do that." Aomine shared another glance at the cashier as they walked over to the racks of magazine. Prepare the buckets, the glance said. The cashier nodded and the two turned and stared at Kise in anticipation.
The blond tore off the packaging, staring at the peach-colored candy and then flicking a tongue out cautiously to taste it. And a distracting voice at the back of Aomine's head screamed, 'why did he have to lick it?' The tanned boy shoved the thought down and watched as the model bit down on the popsicle.
There was sharp intakes of breaths in the silence of the convenience store and the two watched as the perfect features of the model contorted into a… strange expression. The blond immediately squatted down, gripping on the popsicle with a death grip. There was a whimpering sound and it took seconds before a gulp was heard.
Wow, he swallowed it, the cashier and Touou ace thought in amazement.
It took another few seconds for Kise looked up, teary-eyed as he complained, "AOMINECCHI! You're so mean!"
Aomine froze, burning the image into his head as he watched the absolutely adorable expression on his ex-teammate's face. Then the image of Kise's tongue flicking out surfaced in his mind and Aomine made a strangled noise. Fuck you, Satsuki.
"Are you alright, Kise-kun?"
The store suddenly fell into silence as the three processed the light blue-haired boy standing beside Aomine.
"Kurokocchi!"
The cashier jumped backwards.
"Tetsu! Stop appearing out of nowhere!"
Kuroko turned, looking at him blankly. "What are you talking about, Aomine-kun? I was here even before you two came in."
"… Your lack of presence is still as strong as ever, Tetsu."
Kuroko turned to face the blond still squatting on the floor. "Kise-kun, are you alright?"
"Ku-Ku-Kurokocchi!" The blond launched himself onto the shorter boy, hugging him tightly as he cried. "Aominecchi's bullying me again!"
"Yes, I realized that. I was also very interested in your reaction to that particular flavor."
Kise stilled almost immediately. He looked at Kuroko wide-eyed. "Y-You knew?"
"Yes. It is always amusing to see everyone's reaction to that flavor."
Tears swelled up in the honey brown eyes again. "All of you all are so mean!"
Meanwhile in their entire exchange, Aomine had grabbed the nearest gravure magazine and buried his face into it. His eyes stared at the pictures, not at all processing the pictures. No, he did not think that Kise was cute. No, he was just an annoying puppy that was too fucking bright and followed people around too much. Yep, Kise was annoying and was most definitely not cute at all, like how his face was so annoying and not lovable… Oh, for fuck's sake, he loved girls. Big-chested ones. He definitely didn't look at Kise that way. Aomine forced himself to look at the pictures. Nope, not at all.
The cashier watched the three and decided that the buckets weren't needed anymore.
"I'll bid you guys goodbye here." Kuroko said once they're out of the store.
"Eh, Kurokocchi's house is the other way?"
The shadow nodded, "Kise-kun's going to the station right?"
"That's right!" The model took a look at his watch. "Wah, it's already so late."
Aomine looked up at the dark night sky and suddenly blurted out, "Kise, why don't you stay over today?"
"Huh?"
The tanned boy realized what he said too late, mentally cursing himself. "Uh, I mean, it's so late and there's no school tomorrow, so…"
The surprise on Kise's face morphed into one of happiness. And Aomine's stomach did a flip. "Really? Thanks!"
The tanned boy was already thinking of weird things, so why the hell did he invite him over? It was already too late though, as the bubble of brightness called Kise Ryouta hummed happily.
"Then, I'll be going now," Kuroko said.
"See you next time, Kurokocchi!"
"See ya, Tetsu."
Kuroko nodded, looking at Aomine for a second. For the strangest moment, he thought the boy smirked knowingly at him, even though his facial expression had not changed at all. "I wish you the best of luck, Aomine-kun." Then he left.
The Touou ace facepalmed. Not Tetsu too.
"Eh, why did Kurokocchi wish you luck?"
The taller boy didn't reply.
Kise was in the shower.
Kise was in the shower.
Kise was in his shower.
Aomine was lying on his bed, trying very hard not to pay attention to the sound of water and instead focus on the magazine in front of him. Horikita Mai's the best. Wipe Kise out of your mind!
His phone suddenly vibrated.
From: Satsuki [09.20 PM]
I heard from Tetsu-kun that Ki-chan's at your house now.
Aomine sighed, giving up and turning to lie on his back.
To: Satsuki [09.21 PM]
Yeah.
From: Satsuki [09.21 PM]
I want to talk to him. 〜(￣▽￣〜)
To: Satsuki [09.22 PM]
Text him yourself. He's in the shower now.
Dropping the phone onto his bed, he pulled his arm over his eyes. He suddenly hated how his room was so close to the toilet. He could hear the closing of the tap and the rush of water stopped abruptly. Shit, he's finished with the shower. His phone vibrated, but this time he ignored it.
Kise was in the shower.
In Aomine's shower, to be exact.
The water cascaded down Kise's face and he breathed in deeply, wondering exactly what was going on. He hadn't expected everything to turn out like this. Actually, everything that had to do with Aomine seemed to be weird.
Aomine never brought up the Interhigh match after that again. Unless the constant orders to come to Tokyo was meant to hint at Kise's loss. But Kise felt that wasn't the case. Aomine seemed to be just taking advantage of Kise. As usual, his mind added. He didn't actually mind going all the way from Kanagawa to Tokyo though.
All of a sudden, they were meeting up again. And all of a sudden, they were talking again. Going to convenience stores to get popsicles after school, even though they're in different schools now. It seemed almost surreal; he didn't think that they would go back to those days again. He could still remember that time when Aomine started skipping practices and everyone started to change, Kise himself wasn't an exception. But now, they were even playing one-on-ones again.
And now Kise was using his shower. Like a best friend who came over for a sleepover or something. Which was strange because he didn't really know what to make of them now. Ex-teammates? But that seemed too distant for two people who met up and continued playing against each other. Friends? Kise didn't think so; after Interhigh and the two of them weren't exactly comfortable with each other. With his lips pressed into a thin line, the blond recalled the way the taller boy had flinched earlier after their game. It didn't really made sense.
He briefly thought back to the tanned boy's play and sighed. He was still so frigging cool, damn it. He might have given up his admiration, it was still a fact. There was still this affection he felt, different from how he felt towards Kuroko. He wasn't sure what it was yet. But he knew it would play an important part in defining what their relationship was now.
He closed the tap, grabbing a towel to dry himself. Taking the change of clothes, he gave his phone a glance to see that he had a new message.
From: Momocchi [09.19 PM]
I heard from Tetsu-kun that you're staying over in Aomine-kun's house today, Ki-chan? (*ﾟﾛﾟ)
He quickly typed out a reply.
To: Momocchi [09.23 PM]
Yep! Aominecchi let me sleep over since it was too late already. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
From: Momocchi [09.24 PM]
Aww! Good luck, Ki-chan!
He had finished changing and frowned in confusion.
To: Momocchi [09.24 PM]
Eh, why are you wishing me luck? ( ・◇・)？
From: Momocchi [09.25 PM]
Hehe. You'll see. （＾ｖ＾）
Kise thought it was strange but he decided not to ask. If she was wishing him good luck, it would be about something good anyway. He stepped out of the toilet and into the tanned boy's room to see his face being buried in his pillows.
"Aominecchi?" He stepped over the landmine of clothes, careful to avoid any magazines that lay scattered on the floor.
He only received a grunt in reply. Frowning, he sat down on Aomine's bed, the bed creaking softly under the pressure. He'd felt the way the tanned man tensed at that and wondered what he did wrong.
"Oi, Kise. Do you have a girlfriend?"
He blinked at the muffled question. "Of course not! I've got work and the basketball club practices to go to, if not, Kasamatsu-senpai would kill me. And besides, now, I still have to be constantly available for Aominecchi, you know?" He'd said that in a light-hearted tone, but seeing how the other male hadn't replied, he added, "Why the sudden question, Aominecchi?"
"Nothing," he grumbled.
Honey brown eyes caught the magazine lying on the bed and the phone lying on top of it before pouting. "Ah, you're still collecting her photobooks? Horikita Mai. I feel so upset, Aominecchi! You never buy any of mine!" He picked up the phone, as if afraid of it getting crushed by the tanned boy.
The phone blinked, indicating a new message. As if instinctively, Kise flipped open the phone to see the message.
"You were the one who gave me her first photobook you know. Don't start complaining now." When he received no reply from the blond, he frowned, turning over to see him staring into his phone.
"What the… Kise, don't just look into people's phone."
"Eh?" The model seemed to only realized that Aomine was talking to him and gave a weird smile, glancing at the phone and then at the other male. "Ooh, right right." He gave a laugh and held out the phone back to its owner.
For some reason, Kise's laughter was awkward and he was strangely not looking at him and wait, was he blushing? Aomine suddenly remembered that he had an unread message from Momoi who also happened to be the one who put weird ideas into his brain in the first place. He had a bad feeling about this.
Sitting up and grabbing the phone, he looked at the screen before feeling the urge to crush the phone and flung Kise not only out of the house, but all the way to Kanagawa where his house was.
From: Satsuki [09.21 PM]
Shower? Hold yourself back and don't do anything weird to Ki-chan okay? ~(＾◇^)/
From: Tetsu [09.22 PM]
I heard Kise-kun is in your shower. I'm supporting you, Aomine-kun.
From: Satsuki [09.23 PM]
Aw, darn, he's out already. ヽ(´□｀。)ﾉ
And kill Momoi and Tetsu too, obviously.
He stared at the phone, unsure of what he should do. This was the worst possible confession that could have happened, that is, if it could be counted as one. After a few seconds of silence, he finally put the phone down. He cleared his throat. "Err, so yeah, Satsuki was thinking too much and Tetsu was being stupid again. You can just forget about what you saw."
Both of them knew that Momoi never thought too much and Kuroko was never stupid. In fact, the two were usually spot-on with their observations. But none of them pointed this out.
"Uh yeah, of course, of course. There's no way Aominecchi would think about me that way. And besides, the Aominecchi I know only likes big-chested girls." He laughed nervously, holding up the Horikita Mai photobook as if to convince himself.
"Err yeah, obviously. There's no way I would like Horikita Mai because you were the one who gave me her photobook…"
Aomine realized that he might have just made everything worse and even Kise wasn't putting up his weak attempt in laughing it off anymore. The tanned boy looked up, to see Kise flushing even harder than before and he couldn't help the one thought that ran through his head. Fuck, he's adorable.
When that thought registered in his mind, Aomine Daiki promptly stood up on his bed and proceeded to bang his head against the wall.
"W-Wah, Aominecchi! Stop! What're you doing?"
Kise had jumped up, trying to pull Aomine from his new headbutt opponent by sliding his arms under the tanned boy's arms.
"Don't stop me, Kise! I need to erase that thought from my mind completely!"
"I don't know what thought that is, but it's just a thought! Don't end up in hospital because of that!"
With a grunt, Kise put all his strength into one try to pull him back. Caught off-guard, Aomine lost his balance and fell backwards onto the blond. Unprepared by the sudden weight, Kise squeaked, losing his own and the two ended up falling onto the bed.
"Ouch, ouch." Kise rubbed his head, complaining. "See what you've done, Aomine…cchi…" he trailed off, realizing the very compromising position they were in.
Aomine's head was on his chest, the short blue strands of hair tickling his neck. The taller boy was on top of him and he could feel him against his crotch which meant that Aomine himself could feel it. If it was another situation, Kise would have brushed it off, claiming that it was an accident and laugh it off. But… what happened just now was still fresh in the model's mind. The fact that he had always been incredibly conscious of the tanned boy didn't help matters. He blushed. Yes, Aomine definitely could feel it if the increasingly uneven breathing of the boy on top of him was any indication. And he would bet that he could hear the drumming of Kise's heart too. This was bad.
"A-Aominecchi?" he tried. Anything that could break this awkward situation. "My body kinda hurts."
That made him react. Aomine quickly got up and turned, his body unintentionally rubbing against the blond's. Kise let out a gasp, but he quickly shut his mouth, hoping that the other male hadn't heard it. No such luck apparently, as azure eyes looked back at him in shock.
Kise coughed, getting up to sit cross-legged, but he didn't return the gaze, turning to stare out into the night sky instead. Oh god, he felt so embarrassed. He didn't want something so embarrassing to happen in front of someone he admired so much. Someone he admired once, his brain corrected.
"… Kise."
"W-What?"
There was a long pause. Unable to take the tension in the room anymore, Kise tore his gaze from the window to see the Touou ace looking at his phone. He could vaguely make out the words 'Tetsu' and 'supporting' and he realized that the tanned boy was looking at the message Kuroko had sent.
Aomine looked like he was preparing for something.
Kise's mind flashed back to when Kuroko had suddenly wished the tanned boy luck.
Oh god, don't tell me—
"Kise… I think… I think I might sorta like you."
The model stopped breathing.
Azure eyes were looking at him, searching for any traces of… something. Kise opened his mouth, and closed it. Then he opened it again, but nothing came out. It was too sudden. What was he supposed to do?
Seeing no reply, Aomine added, "Satsuki was the one who figured it out. And I guess Tetsu did too." He paused before scratching his head and going on, "And you probably know it already, but I meant 'like' as in uh…" he thought for a moment and azure eyes trailed down the model's body before snapping up to meet honey brown ones. "As in, uh, having sex kind. So yeah."
Pink dusted the tanned boy's face and Kise stared speechless. Such a sincere confession, the blond hadn't seen it coming at all. But how could he give a reply when he didn't know what he felt? He thought of the unnamed affection he held for the other male. His heart was beating even louder and faster than before and he forced himself to breathe again.
He took one deep breath and then another, hoping to calm his racing heart and to analyze his own feelings right then, right there.
When he gotten a confession, he could very easily reject them. Ever since he became a model, confessions were normal to him and rejection became almost second nature to him; he wasn't hesitant at all. Not even when the target of the rejection happened to be a close friend of his. So why then, was he feeling so anxious about rejecting Aomine?
No, not that anxious. He felt utterly horrified at that idea.
But why?
Then he remembered the message.
From: Momocchi [09.24 PM]
Aww! Good luck, Ki-chan!
It was like what Kuroko had said to Aomine.
Oh.
On the other side of the bed, Aomine was fidgeting, growing more nervous by each second. "Kise, you don't have to take it so seriously, okay? Forget it—"
"Does this make us boyfriends then?" Kise asked hoarsely.
"Huh, if you also like me then…" Aomine stopped abruptly. "Wait, do you mean…?"
Kise broke into a cheeky grin. "I'm saying that I think I feel that way too, Aominecchi!"
"I win," Aomine said breathlessly.
"Not again!"
"You're 10 years early… to beat me," he huffed. Even as he said that, Kise had been improving in an incredible pace. Not that he wasn't already. But ever since the Interhigh, it was even more impressive than usual. The Touou ace grinned, the adrenaline of playing against Kise still in his veins; there was no telling what he could do next. "The only one… who can beat me… is me."
"Damn it, Aominecchi!" Kise whined, lying on the basketball court. Every week, he would rush to Tokyo at least once and when his teammates ask, he would reply with a laugh that he was going to play one-on-one with Aomine. Which wasn't a lie, but it seemed more like an excuse to see another than anything else.
"Bäagen Dasz?" Aomine asked, stretching out a hand to pull the model up.
The taller boy had told him not too long ago the reason he didn't want to go to Bäagen Dasz that night and Kise had ended up laughing. 'If you love her, bring her to Bäagen Dasz', huh. Kise smiled.
"Sure!" The blond grabbed the hand.
Aominecchi, even if I don't admire you anymore, I won't let you go.
I'm not gonna let you get away, Kise.
I actually went and searched up the flavors of the popsicles. Spaghetti-flavor apparently really exists. I dunno how it tastes like, but I really, really want to try it… Though it isn't in the stores anymore…. There's stew flavored too…
Omg, halfway through typing this, I almost went into the more serious part and almost started a Kise-contemplating-about-his-admiration-for-Aomine session. *sweats* I have a strange sort of fear for the word 'bet' but 'promise' sounds too…. cheesy, so I had to strike that one out. :/
I... actually wrote a proper romance... Without angst. For some reason I'm feeling proud but upset with myself.. Hmm...
Reviews are extremely welcomed!