"Hey, stop here. We still haven't celebrated for your win," Ren said, as they were passing an okonomiyaki place. "It's my treat, today!"

"Well, I won't say no to free food," Aomine said, grinning. The grin was almost immediately wiped off his face when he saw Midorima sitting inside, with that grinning partner of his.

"Aomine," Midorima greeted stiffly.

"Shin-chan's friends? Come sit with us!" Takao said, enthusiastically patting the empty seats next to him and Midorima.

Reluctantly, Aomine parked Ren's wheelchair next to Midorima, and he sat across from his boyfriend, next to Takao.

"Congratulations," Midorima said, looking at Aomine. "You played well."

"I alwayswell, Midorima," Aomine replied calmly.

"Shin-chan's just being shy again, Aomine-kun," Takao said, grinning. "He watched your entire game on the edge of his seat and cheered as well."

"Shut up, Takao," Midorima grunted, his teeth clenched tightly. Ren tried to suppress a laugh, causing Midorima's attention to turn to him. "Who's your friend, Aomine?"

"Oh. Ah…this is Sato Ren," he said, blushing slightly. He scratched his head. "My, um, boyfriend."

Takao's eyes went wide, and a grin appeared on his face.

"No, Takao. Keep your stupid mouth shut!" Midorima said, voice low and dangerous.

"We can double date then!" Takao blurted out, shooting an apologetic look at Midorima. "Shin-chan and I are dating too, you know. Although he's so shy, he won't let me tell anyone!"

Ren and Aomine looked at each other, and started laughing, causing Midorima to turn an even darker shade of red.

"I'm leaving," Midorima muttered, storming out of the restaurant.

"Oh dear. Well, I'll see you two another time, Aomine-kun, Sato-kun!" Takao said, quickly paying and running after Midorima. "Shin-chan, waaaaait!"

Ren was still laughing. "I remember Midorima-san to be eccentric, but not to this extent."

"Oh, you knew Midorima at Teiko, too?"

"No, I only knew of him. I was a shooting guard, you know? My specialty was three pointers. So I watched DVDs of every single one of Midorima-san's matches, practices and other stuff. Sometimes I'd sit in the gym and just watch him play," he said, sadness tingeing his eyes. "I was almost as good, that's why I got promoted to the upper echelons of the second string. Akashi-san said if I worked on my accuracy and was able to shoot from anywhere, I might even make it to first string."

"But you had your accident."

"Yeah. That one time I talked to you at Teiko, I was trying to practice shooting non three-pointers. I wanted to be able to get a basket from anywhere on the court. But oh well, that's in the past now."

Aomine frowned. "You really liked basketball, huh."

"Still really like," Ren corrected. "Now, hurry up and order whatever you want before this place closes!" He pushed the menu towards Aomine.

"Hey, Ren?" Aomine said, looking up from the menu.

"Yeah?"

Aomine leaned forward and touched his lips to his. "Thanks."

Ren looked away, embarrassed. "Why're you thanking me? I'd be a horrible boyfriend if I didn't even treat you after you won a game."

Aomine laughed. "Not for that, stupid. I'll tell you another day."


"You eat a lot," Ren noted, once they had arrived at his house. He looked into his empty wallet sadly.

"And you eat entirely too little. You're so skinny. One day you're just going to fly out of your wheelchair when a strong gust of wind blows," Aomine chided.

"I'll just use you to weigh me down, then."

"Are you calling me fat?" Aomine said incredulously.

Ren grinned, looking at Aomine. "You're not fat. You just weigh a lot."

"It's muscle, okay? Pure muscle," Aomine said, pouting. "I mean, look at these guns." He flexed his arms, rolling up the sleeves to show off his biceps.

Ren doubled over in laughter. "You're so cute, you know that, Daiki?"

Aomine lay down next to Ren. "I've been called a lot of things, but never cute. I don't think it suits me."

"Really?" Ren said, reaching over to touch Aomine's cheek. "I think every part of you is adorable."

"You say such embarrassing things, I swear. I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

"Not in front of me, you don't."

"Yeah, you're right," Aomine replied, curling his arms around Ren to pull him closer. "Truth be told, though, you're the adorable one."

"You're only saying that because I'm shorter than you. People usually think small things are cute," Ren mumbled, still not used to being in such close proximities to Aomine.

"You could be eight feet tall, and I'd still think you were cute."

"If I was eight feet tall, you'd run away from me, screaming."

"Murasakibara's practically eight feet tall, and he's adorable."

Ren pouted. "I'm jealous. Should I start calling you Mine-chin, then?"

"If you start calling me Mine-chin, I'll punch you," Aomine said pleasantly.

"Aw, does Mine-chin not like his cute, little nickname?"

"I'm serious, Ren."

"Sorry, I'll stop. Mine-chin." He tried to suppress a laugh.

"That's not funny! And you have such a tiny name I can't even give you a stupid nickname."

"Maybe I could call you Dai-chan. Like Momoi-san does."

"Just leave it at Daiki, okay? I like how my name sounds when you say it," Aomine admitted grudgingly.

"Aw, and I was just getting used to Mine-chin," Ren teased, laughing.

"I'm serious. One more time, and I'll seriously punch you."

"Sorry, sorry. I like it when you say Ren, too. Actually, I like it when you say anything."

"Why are we so mushy? If anyone was listening to us, they'd probably gag," Aomine said, grinning.

Ren nodded. "It would sound pretty gross to someone other than us."

"You know what would sound grosser? This." Aomine took Ren's face in his hands, and kissed him slowly. He hesitantly coaxed Ren's lips open after a few moments, not wanting to rush anything.

Ren, however, was more than willing to let Aomine's tongue slip past his lips, his own following suit.

He wasn't sure how long they had been kissing for by now; all sense of time in his mind was completely lost. But he did know that he never wanted to stop. If he could spend the rest of his life just kissing Aomine, it still wouldn't be enough.

It was Aomine who pulled away first, looking a little dazed. "Wow."

"Wow," Ren echoed, nodding.

"It doesn't embarrass you, does it? Like being affectionate in public and stuff."

"If it doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother me. I don't really have any reputation to uphold, or anything," Ren teased.

"The crap doesn't matter to me. I'd kiss you in front of the whole damn school, and let everyone know you're mine," he said defiantly.

Tears suddenly came to Ren's eyes, and he tried to brush them away quickly.

"Hey, why are you crying? What I said really wasn't that romantic, you know?" Aomine said, gently wiping away Ren's tears.

"No, it's just…to someone whose own parents considered him a burden, finding someone like you…it's kind of unreal."

Aomine wrapped his arms around Ren protectively, burying his face in the younger boy's hair. "I don't think it's possible for me to think of you as anything but the most amazing person in the universe."

"That's because you love me, stupid." Ren laughed through his tears. "And stop stealing my lines."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Aomine grinned, rubbing small circles into his boyfriend's back.


I just HAD to put in MidoTaka LOL. They're just so slfjslfkjs. And I have so many ideas for this fic idk how I'm gonna fit them all in. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I would greatly appreciate any reviews and criticisms! - sarah