A/N: Back with more Hipster!Aomine as a Tattoo and PhotographyStudent! Kuroko. Why not. This will be a full length story, which means multi-chap, yay! This story will include all the GoMs, but is slightly AoKuro centric. The main pairings are: Midorima x Takao, Aomine x Kuroko, Murasakibara x Himuro, but the story will also include Kise x Kasamatsu. After all the characters are introduced, I will post them along with a short bio in case anyone is confused, but that'll probably be at least 3-4 more chapters. Enjoy~
Chapter 1:
For Aomine Daiki, nights smell like cigar smoke, ink, and sweat. Except Thursday nights. Thursdays are days where he's allowed to close early- to pull out the chunks of charcoal and rough sketchbook pages before grabbing dinner. Pulling up a stool, he focuses on finishing his current task- an intricate tattoo design for a customer stopping by tomorrow. Suddenly, his phone rings, and he can tell just from the ringtone that it's Kagami. Kagami Taiga, his high school classmate and long-time good buddy.
He sets down the piece of black charcoal and wipes his hand on a spare tissue, leaving black and gray streaks. "What do you need, Bakagami?" He growls, slightly irritated at having his work interrupted.
"I'll forgive you for that insult this time, but only because I need a favor. Look, are you in the parlor right now?"
Aomine's eyebrows begin to furrow. "Yeah, course. Why?"
"Listen, I need you to pick up a package for me from the UPS. Like, right now. I've called them about it."
"Right now," Aomine repeats.
"Yeah, right now. I need it by tonight, and the UPS closes in 10 minutes."
"Why can't you go pick it up?" Aomine complains, but he's already grabbing his keys and getting ready to go.
"Because my shift still hasn't ended, the boss wanted me to work overtime today. Oh crap I gotta go, he's giving me the evil eye for being on my phone. Just go grab it for me, I'll treat you to dinner tonight. Free food. Whatever you want. Meet 6:30 at the café where I work. We can head over to Maji Burger." Kagami's voice sounds soft and rushed, a little like he's whispering quickly to avoid being noticed.
"Fine. But you better not be late."
"Yeah, don't worry. Bye."
After hanging up, Aomine tosses on a red and black flannel, rolls the sleeves a quarter of the way up his arm, and grabs a loose beanie. As he turns off the lights, he decides to bring his sketchbook along. He probably won't have time to come back and grab it before heading to Maji Burger to meet Kagami. Locking up, he puts the beanie on and walks down the street, closing his eyes to relish in the edge of the crisp night air.
Two minutes later, he's pushing open the solid glass door to the UPS building, grimacing at how bright the white fluorescent lighting is.
"Hello, how may I help you, sir?" A worker asks, turning around to smile at him.
"I'm picking up a package addressed to Kagami Taiga. He's called you about it, right?"
"Oh, Mr. Taiga! Yeah, that's in the back. Let's just head this way so we can go grab it…" The worker pushes open a door on his right and leads Aomine through. "Here you go, it's a bit heavy. You got it?" Aomine grunts in reply, shifting the box in his arms. It's not large, no, but clearly there must be something really dense inside, because the weight is already beginning to cramp is left arm. They exit the back room, and the worker movies to the cash register, printing out a paper record. "Can you just sign quickly, right here, so we know you've received it?"
Aomine puts down his sketchbook and sets the box on top of it. Taking the pen, he scribbles a messy scrawl of letters and prepares to leave.
"Oh sorry sir, but there are a few more papers you'll have to sign and fill out. This is a special delivery, so we need absolute confirmation that it has been picked up." The worker smiles half-apologetically and passes him another stack of papers. Aomine carelessly scribbles a few words down on all of them and then checks one of his many watches on his arm. 6:28.
"Ah crap I'm running late. Is that all?"
"Yeah that's it, have a nice day sir!" the worker calls out from behind him as Aomine quickly grabs the box and takes off…
…leaving his sketchbook in the UPS store next to the cash register.
Aomine is already pushing open the door to the vintage café where Kagami works when he first realizes that something is wrong.
"Oh shit!" He curses. He violently shoves the door open, locates Kagami, and hisses, "I left my sketchbook at the UPS. I needa go grab it. You can order first."
Kagami's eyes widen. He knows how important Aomine's sketchbook is to him. "Shit man, that sucks. My shift's up and over anyways, I'll come with you." Kagami grabs his bag and heads out with Aomine, occasionally glancing up to check the time. Kagami jumps into his car, with Aomine quickly following. He reaches backwards and places Kagami's package in the backseat.
They're at the front of the UPS store. All the windows are dark. "Shitttt!" Aomine groans. "I need that! It has a custom design for someone who's coming in tomorrow!" He rattles the door roughly, but it's locked tight.
Suddenly, Kagami calls him. "Hey, over here. This is it, right?" Aomine hurries over to where Kagami is standing, and, sure enough, his sketchbook is lying in a basket placed next to the back door. There's a sticky-note on it- "You left this here, didn't know if you would make it back in time." Aomine cradles the book to his chest like a mother would her child.
"Thank god."
"Hey, I'm sorry man. If I didn't make you-"
"Shut up, moron. You owe me a damn good dinner now."
Together, they push open the door to Maji Burger and walk in. Kagami picks a booth and gestures for Aomine to sit down, so he does. What he doesn't expect is for Kagami to slide in right next to him as well. "Why are you sitting on the same side as me, Bakagami? There's no one else coming, just sit on the opposite side like you normally do!"
Kagami blinks at him, and then bursts into laughter. A vein pops on Aomine's forehead. "What're you laughing at, Bakagami?"
"Ahomine, look clearly."
"What?"
"Look again, idiot."
Turning his head to look forward, Aomine jumps, his leg jerking up and smashing into the table, when he sees a pale boy with light blue hair sitting across from him. "Where the hell did you come from?" Aomine growls, one hand clutching at his knee in pain.
"Hello." The boy has a melodic voice, seemingly soft-spoken, but there's something in his eyes that hints at aggressiveness.
Kagami finishes laughing, and proceeds to introduce them. "Ahomine, meet Kuroko Tetsuya, my friend and classmate at uni. Kuroko, meet Ahomine Daiki, my friend outside of uni."
Aomine's eyebrow twitches. "It's Aomine, not Ahomine!"
"Could have fooled me." At this moment, Aomine can't help but think that insults are not meant for people with such gentle, feminine voices.
He turns to the other boy in anger. "What did you just say?" And then he notices what the boy is wearing. No, it's not his dark khaki pants or the casual red and blue striped v-neck t-shirt he's wearing that's the problem. It's not even his gray lanyard, adorned with an anime figurine. It's that.
The beautiful camera that hangs around his neck on a thick strap. The lens gleams, and is so cleanly polished that Aomine swears he can see his own reflection in it. The camera is huge, and just screams wealth. So that's the type of guy he is.
Aomine's lip curls in distaste. He settles back into his seat, deciding that this boy wasn't worth arguing with. "So Kagami, how did you guys meet?"
Kagami immediately launches into an intricate story of how his car had broken down, how he had lost his keys, and how his textbook had fallen into a puddle.
"So you two go to the same university?" Aomine raises his eyebrows as he scans over the menu half-heartedly, having already pretty much memorized it.
Kuroko nods. "Yes, we're both entering our second year."
Aomine scoffs. "Almost all of the people who attend uni here are snobbish, rich, or stuck up."
What he really means is, 'you're snobbish, rich, and stuck up'.
From the look in the boy's eyes, Aomine can tell that he knows the true meaning behind those words.
"Oi, Ahomine, that's not very nice," Kagami admonishes, elbowing him hard in the ribs.
They order their food, and Aomine continues his stand-offish behavior, dropping the occasional backhanded comment here and there about family status. At one point, Kagami turns and glares, flashing a can-you-just-be-civil-for-my-sake look. But really, he should know by now that Aomine doesn't do things for other people's sake, he does them for himself.
Suddenly, the boy stands up. "Excuse me, but I'd like to let you know that I am in fact on an academic scholarship and this camera was a gift. I apologize if I have done anything to offend you, but please refrain from making such back-handed comments in civil or public surroundings. Thank you."
Aomine watches, moth agape, as he sits back down and pretends like nothing has ever happened.
Hm. Scholarship, huh? Now he feels kind of guilty for his rudeness, but that's weird; he never feels guilty.
Aomine tunes everything out and turns his attention back to the sketch he's finishing in his sketchbook. The customer is a wealthy man, and Aomine's sure he could use the money.
"Aomine. Aomine. Aomine!" He's jolted out of his concentration by Kagami's voice. "The food's here already. Jeez, are you even paying attention?"
"He's not." At once all of his previous guilt vanishes and Aomine wants to hit the other boy again.
"I am," he snaps.
"Woah woah, calm down guys!" Kagami raises his hands in a symbol of piece. "Wanna have an eating contest? The winner treats the loser to whatever food they want for an entire day."
This manages to peak Aomine's interests. "Bring it on." He looks towards the other boy. "…Are you going to participate?"
The boy simply shakes his head. "I know I would lose."
Aomine can't help but snort. He kind of hates people who willingly accept unsatisfactory endings without doing anything to change them. "Fine, be that way then. Let's do this, Kagami."
He splits the burgers evenly onto two trays, and they begin plowing through the burgers like there's no tomorrow. It only takes a few minutes before Aomine loses track of exactly how many he's eaten, but he doesn't stop. There's no way he's going to treat Kagami to whatever he wants for an entire day. He would go bankrupt.
And then it happens. They grab their second-to-last burgers at the same time. Kagami finishes slightly before him. And, in slow motion, Aomine watches in horror as Kagami flails violently, reaching for his last burger, just as the waitress appears holding Kuroko's vanilla milkshake. He sees the accident before it happens, but for some reason he just can't move his body. He wants to scream, to reach out and stop Kagami, but he can't. Kagami's arm lashes out just as the waitress sets the milkshake down on the table….
…right next to his sketchbook. They collide in midair, and bam, the drink flies. Everything returns to normal speed, and there's a huge pile of white… goo on the front page of his book. The page that he needs early tomorrow morning. The damage is devastating. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kuroko staring and Kagami looking ridiculously guilty. The waitress seems to have disappeared, probably slinking away and pretending as if she didn't just play a part in ruining someone's masterpiece.
Aomine grimaces. He doesn't want Kagami to look at him with pity like that. He opens his mouth to say something reassuring, something like "it's ok" or "don't worry about it", but no sound comes out, so he closes it again like a fish. And then, mostly because he doesn't know what to say, he defaults to anger.
"Dude what the hell?"
Kagami looks horrified. "I'm so sorry. I just… I just didn't see her coming around with the drink. In fact, I didn't see her at all, I was so focused on winning. I'll make it up to you. How can I make it up to you?"
"My customer will be here tomorrow morning. Early. There's no way I have enough time to redesign the entire thing."
"Do you remember it?"
"Vaguely, but you saw how detailed it was."
"Look man, I'm so sorry. Tell me how I can make it up to you."
"Excuse me, but would you be able to finish in time if you had an image of the original work?" Kuroko asks, looking up at him.
Aomine thinks about it. "Yeah, I mean I would just have to redraw the stuff, but the problem here is that I can't remember the exact placement of everything. I'll have to completely redesign it."
"No." Both he and Kagami stare at Kuroko in surprise. "No. You don't have to redesign it. Here." Kuroko looks down and fiddles with a few buttons on his camera, before holding the screen up to show them. "I took a picture."
Aomine leans over the table to see better. It's a perfect picture of his design, before the milkshake ruined it. And the photo quality allows him to even see the small notes he had scribbled here and there. Without realizing it, he reaches out to take the camera. Immediately, however, Kuroko reels away from him, pulling the camera back into a protective position.
"Whoa, easy there," Aomine mutters, drawing his hand back. "Can I uh… borrow this for a second?"
Then Kagami cuts in. "No, Kuroko doesn't let anyone touch his camera. Why don't you just go and print the image quickly?"
Kuroko tilts his head, thinking. Slowly, he begins to nod at Kagami's suggestion, until he frowns. "The print shop is closed by now, they close early on Thursdays."
God dammit why does every shop close early on Thursdays?
"Look I promise I'll take beautiful care of your camera. I understand it means a lot to you-"
He doesn't even get to finish his sentence, as Kuroko draws back immediately, clutching his camera like it's a lifeline. "Ok, never mind, I get it. I can't have your camera."
Kuroko nods.
"Hey, why don't you just take Kuroko back to the shop with you, and you can draw the image directly from his screen," Kagami suggests.
Aomine opens his mouth to object, but can't find anything really valid to say. Finally, he just nods. "Fine by me." They both turn to Kuroko.
"Um… I've never been to a tattoo or piercing shop before…"
Kagami pats his shoulder. "You'll be fine. I even worked there for a few months before. Aomine'll take good care of you, right?" He turns to stare at Aomine, as if threatening him.
Aomine rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I got your back. Well then, let's go." They stand up, preparing to leave.
"Kagami-kun owes me a new milkshake."
Immediately Kagami cringes. "Yeah, sorry Kuroko, I'll treat you next time we come here together."
Kuroko nods, accepting the offer. Kagami gives them a ride back to the tattoo parlor, before waving goodbye and heading off to his apartment. Aomine unlocks the door and turns on the lights as they enter. "Drop your stuff on the counter and pull up a stool," Aomine commands as he shuts the door.
Soon, they're all set up. Aomine pulls out a fresh piece of paper and a chunk of charcoal before flicking on a separate desk lamp while Kuroko turns on his camera screen. Aomine begins sketching, and an awkward silence ensues. Finally, he can't take it anymore.
"Yo, do you mind if I put on some music?"
"Not particularly. What kind of music does Aomine-kun enjoy?" Kuroko inquires politiely.
"EDM."
"…What does that stand for?"
Aomine rolls his eyes- does this kid live under a rock? "Electronic Dance Music."
"Really? Interesting. I must be honest, I don't particularly see you as that type," Kuroko admits.
Aomine grins as a Zeds Dead tune quickly fills the entire room. He nods his head slightly to the beat of the music while his hand flies across the white page as if in a spontaneous dance routine. Kuroko watches in fascination as long, tan fingers brush across the clean paper, leaving trails of black and gray. Once he manages to tear his eyes away from Aomine, he notices his surroundings.
The parlor isn't particularly large, but it has a very particular style and feel to it. The cabinets hung on the wall behind the counter are wooden crates with their lids removed, just like the type one might find in a shipyard. Even the table that Aomine is currently working on is made from 3 suspended planks of rough oak wood, all attached to the wall at one narrow end. Vinyl records hanging in a neat order spanning an entire wall only add to the peculiar style. Kuroko stands up and pulls an old, cheap polaroid out of his messenger bag.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt your work, but would you mind if I took a few pictures around here?" He asks tentatively.
Aomine doesn't even look up at him; he simply nods his head with permission and continues on his drawing. Kuroko stands up and casts one final glance at his camera. He's pretty sure that Aomine won't do anything to it, but...
Aomine doesn't look up, but he sighs. "Take it. But you better bring it back when I need it. I'll call you over."
Kuroko nods gratefully before pulling the camera strap around his neck.
He wanders around the long room, trying to find interesting angles to add depth to his photos. His hands itch to touch things, to move them around and find the ideal positions, but he has a feeling that Aomine most certainly will not appreciate it. He snaps so many photos that he runs of film, but he always comes prepared with at least 5 new cartridges in his messenger back so it's alright.
Wandering around, Kuroko wonders how long Aomine has lived here. He opens the door to a back room, but it's dark, and he can't find the light. And then it hits him. Literally. A long thin chain hanging down from the ceiling smacks him straight in the face. Kuroko pulls on it, and finds a string of light bulbs along the ceiling edge flicker to life, casting a dim yellow glow throughout the room. The room is filled with boxes and boxes of stuff, each one labeled differently (ranging from general categories like 'bedroom stuff' to surprisingly specific things such as 'silver kitchen fork collection').
But what really catches Kuroko's eye is the half-painted, unfinished mural on the farthest wall. It's beautiful, with dancing neon colors that seem to glow even in the dim lighting. Orange and green pops dance off of the white surface, while trails of pink draw attention to pale blue highlights, the beginning of what seems like it will become a gradient. Kuroko lifts his polaroid to capture the beautiful mural, but he just can't seem to get the lighting right. Taking a photo of the phenomenon just isn't working. He tugs on the chain again and leaves the room, wondering who painted the wall.
Aomine?
Kuroko muses over the question as he makes his way back towards the front counter. Aomine has finished blocking out the entire design, and is beginning to add patterns and details, looing even more focused than before. Kuroko sits down and simply watches him draw while examining his polaroid images, judging their quality. He smiles, noting that almost all of them have turned out pretty nicely, even by professional photography standards.
After awhile, he rests his head down on the table, watching the rough chunk of charcoal being applied to the page. He isn't sure how long he's been observing Aomine, but suddenly the electronic music seems to dull to a pleasant hum, and his head spins slightly. Kuroko fights to keep his eyes open, but ends up giving in to the persistent claws of drowsiness and sleep, his eyelids slowly drooping shut.
Aomine finally adds the last finishing touches onto the design, grinning triumphantly. He sits straighter and stretches, feeling cramped from hunching over the desk for more than two hours. Turning to his left, he sees Kuroko fast asleep, head resting on the oak desk. Slowly, he reaches out and gently shakes the other boy.
No response.
Aomine shakes him a bit harder. No response. Sighing, he leans over and whispers in Kuroko's ear, "Yo wake up." Still no response. Damn, this boy sleeps like the dead. Checking the thin wooden clock on the wall, Aomine realizes that it's already 2 AM. Sighing, he bends over, scoops up Kuroko (who, he notes, is surprisingly light) and carries him up the stairs towards the guest bedroom across from his own. It's filled with Kagami's stuff from a few years ago when they constantly ditched classes. He tucks the boy in and ruffles his hair gently. No matter how much he dislikes an awake Kuroko, he has to admit that an asleep Kuroko is pretty cute.
Shutting the door, Aomine slides into his own bed and lets sleep overtake him, washing over his mind like ocean tides over sand.
Aomine's eyes open slowly, bringing him out from his dream, where he could have sworn he was being chased by a steaming kettle. And then Aomine realizes that the kettle isn't a mere figment of his crazy imagination; the steady, familiar whistling is echoing through the upper layers of the structure. He jumps into a pair of gray and white sweatpants before stumbling into the kitchen, mumbling good morning to an already cleaned up and prepared Kuroko who is…
"Cooking? Are you cooking?" Aomine demands in surprise.
Kuroko turns around. "Of course. Food doesn't appear out of nowhere, contrary to popular belief."
Aomine sits down at the table just in time for Kuroko to slide a small plate with two triangular poached eggs, a warm piece of garlic bread, and a few grilled tomato halves on it. Aomine prods at the eggs. "Hey, how did you make these shaped?"
"A secret family recipe passed down for 200 years, Aomine-kun."
He's 90% sure that Kuroko is kidding, but when it comes to Kuroko and jokes, you can never really be sure.
"Would you like tea or coffee, Aomine-kun?"
"Ugh tea please, none of that awful stuff Kagami drinks in the morning." Aomine wrinkles his nose and cringes just thinking about the odd taste of the disgusting brown drink. Tea is natural, so in Aomine's mind, it's not the 'perfect' breakfast beverage; it should be the only breakfast beverage. Kuroko slides the tea in front of him.
"Given your natural tastes, I'm assuming you don't want any sugar." The only response Kuroko receives is a lazy nod (more like a small dip of the head). Aomine scarfs down his breakfast a little faster than normal, but he convinces himself it has nothing to do with the fact that it tastes so much better today. He just feels hungrier. Yeah, that's it.
Suddenly, Kuroko checks the clock and grabs his messenger bag. "I have to go to university. The breakfast is thanks for letting me stay over. See you later, Aomine-kun."
Aomine stands up and follows Kuroko down the stairs, opening the front door for him. Immediately, they're both hit with a strong gust of frigid wind, and he can already see goosebumps forming along Kuroko's forearms. "Hey, wait a second before you leave." Darting back further inside the parlor, Aomine grabs a random black hoodie he has and tosses it at Kuroko, who catches it in surprise. "…"
"What's this for?"
"It… It doesn't fit in my closet anymore, you can take it." He looks away, hoping Kuroko will just accept his shit excuse and take the hoodie.
"…Aomine-kun's guestroom has plenty of room for him to store the hoodie." Dammit, the lord just isn't on his side this morning.
"Uh.. I mean, it doesn't… fit in with the.. rest of my closet anymore."
"Aomine-kun owns many other hoodies."
"N-no, it's the… color," Aomine mumbles barely coherently, trying not to fidget uncomfortably. Why can't Kuroko just take the hoodie and leave?
"…Aomine-kun is wearing black right now."
"God dammit Kuroko, I'm being nice, just take the damn hoodie and leave before I change my mind!" He snaps.
"Here, would you like it back?" Kuroko offers slightly mockingly, a small smile at the corner of his lips.
Aomine scowls. "Kuroko."
Finally, Kuroko puts the jacket on, and seems satisfied, despite the fact that it's so oversized, he looks like he's drowning in fabric. "Thank you."
Aomine grunts in response. "See ya."
Kuroko smiles and waves, before grabbing his bag and taking off down the cobbled street.
Aomine flips the "Closed" sign to "Open" and sits down behind the counter, preparing for the daily onslaught of customers. And then, he notices a stack of polaroid images on the counter.
Well, crap.
A/N: Dang this is long, it's more than 4k words. It's almost 11 pm now, so I think I'm done. I have school tomorrow too, and none of my homework is done. I blame FFN.
Most of the chapters will be somewhere around this length, between 2.5-4 thousand words. I've already got more than half of the entire plot figured out. One of the first fanfictions where I put the proper time into planning… I mean, my outline is 3k words so far :D
Thanks for reading, have a nice day/night!
Ciao!
~Vieux