Yay! I am so happy that I finished this. I kept getting distracted and I couldn't get that AkaKuro oneshot I did out of my mind, so I'm just immensely relieved that it's over.
Thank you for all the love and support for this! It's turning out different from what I had first envisioned, but it's going good, don'tchu think?
Anyway, no lengthy rant, just thank you again for all the favourites, follows, and reviews! You guys keep me going.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
"Kuroko-sensei said that Aomine-san is a cop."
Aomine glanced down at the pair of curious eyes in the chair next to his, burger hovering an inch from his mouth. "Yes, yes I am."
She hummed, disappointed frown settling adorably on her face. "So you're not a pro basketball player?"
He let out a choked laugh, barely managing to swallow the bite he had taken. With a shake of his head he replied, "Nope."
"Why not?"
"Hm," he hummed thoughtfully. He had offers when he was in high school, even going to college on a basketball scholarship. But the appeal of having a license to shoot guns and driving a blaring police car through congested traffic had reeled him in. Of course, he didn't really drive through traffic with the sirens blaring. But he enjoyed himself immensely when he got the chance. "Because I want to protect people."
They were currently in a fast food chain in one of the large malls near Kuroko's apartment. Aomine had discovered soon enough that babysitting a child involved more than letting them have full reign of the TV remote. Apparently, news of a meteor striking a city wasn't of much interest to a six year old.
Hence, they had left the apartment after a very hefty lunch and had walked through the mall so many times that Aomine had it's blueprint imprinted onto his brain. Two hours after they had arrived, Aomine's stomach growling had garnered him a raised eyebrow from Kuroko and an announcement from Ryouko that she, too, wanted food. As was standard procedure when there was a child in the party – because they obviously needed more sugar in their bloodstream – they had drifted to the nearest fast food joint, which also happened to be the one that sold Kuroko's favourite vanilla shakes.
"Onii-chan had a girlfriend once who was a cop, too," Ryouko was saying in response to his statement. One had to admire a child's ability to keep conversation flowing.
"Oh, really?" He asked, not particularly interested. Kuroko sat opposite them, engrossed with his phone as he sipped sporadically on his milkshake.
"Yeah! He even got into trouble once with her!" she said, suddenly excited about relaying the story. Finishing his burger, he scrunched up the wrapper and supported his cheek with his fist as he turned fully towards the girl.
"What did he do?"
Shrugging, Ryouko said, "I don't know. I just heard them one night when I was getting a drink of water."
Aomine hummed to show he was paying attention as he watched Kuroko by turning his head slightly. That look of concentration on his face was impossibly endearing. Ryouko kept on talking, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't really listening. At that moment, Kuroko glanced up, catching Aomine's eyes on him. The corner of his lips twitched to reveal a small smile, and he nodded his head towards the child beside Aomine to indicate that he should be paying attention to her. Doing as he had been wordlessly told, Aomine pulled his drink towards him and began drinking.
"So when I was coming up the stairs, the knocking sounds were gone, but when I stopped to listen and see if they were still awake, I heard Onii-chan saying that he was sorry, and then Onee-chan was scolding him, telling him that he'd been a bad boy, and – "
It felt like all eyes were turned towards the trio as Aomine spluttered and choked on his drink, coughing viciously. Kuroko got up from his seat and stood behind him, thumping him hard on the back. Gasping desperately for air, Aomine buried his face in his forearm, feeling embarrassed on Kise's behalf, and unable to stop the tirade of laughter.
When his laughter had died down and he was breathing normally again, Kuroko returned to his chair with the widest grin Aomine had ever seen on his lips.
xx
"Aren't you done looking at all the things yet?" Aomine was beat. The occasional shopping trip with Satsuki hadn't prepared him for a whole day with a kindergartener. He had to hand it to Kuroko, he seemed to be handling all the walking much better than he was.
"Ehhh, but I still haven't seen any nice clothes for my Barbie dolls!" she whined. The bundle of joy had used Kuroko's phone to call up her brother and ask if she could be allowed to buy some new outfits for her favourite dolls.
"Well, you just might find them if we weren't looking through the babies' section," Aomine answered drily. She seemed to think that Barbie dolls wore the same kind of clothes babies did. He was pretty sure there wouldn't be a future in fashion design for the child.
"There should be a toy store around here somewhere. I remember passing it earlier," Kuroko interjected before things could escalate. "I'm sure they'll have the right sized clothes there."
"Okay!" Ryouko chirped, grabbing hold of Kuroko's hand. Aomine felt a brief flash of annoyance. It was absurd that he was getting jealous of a six year old.
As they made their way towards the toy store, Kuroko exclaimed suddenly, and turned to look at some expensive looking cooking utensils in the display of one of the shops. Aomine stopped in his tracks and leaned around him, sharp eyes immediately going to the hefty price tag attached to one huge frying pan.
"Don't you already have one of those?" Aomine ventured, as Kuroko just stood there marveling at the items. The navy-haired man was someone who did not comprehend the need for more than one of anything.
"I do, but it's about to give soon, and I want to get a replacement before it goes to the dogs," came the muttered reply. When he glanced at the price, he heaved a sigh. "Maybe I'll get it next week."
Evidently reluctant, the blue-haired man turned away from the window, eyes widening as he registered that there was no longer a toddler attached to his hand. Looking around urgently, he called out her name, but received no reply.
Frantic eyes turned to Aomine, who had begun scanning the crowd when he, too, had noticed her absence.
"I'll go left, you head towards the toy store and see if you catch her," he said, taking charge. "We'll call if we find her."
With a nod, Kuroko turned right, and began walking, head swiveling left and right as he tried to take in as much of the crowd as he could. Stepping the other direction, Aomine used his height to his advantage as he cast his eyes around for a shock of dirty blonde hair. He moved slowly, pausing every time he thought he saw a small body walk by. He was walking past a sporting goods store when he had a gut feeling that told him to go check it out more thoroughly.
Wading through the crowd, he was about to step foot into the shop when he saw her. She was standing next to a potted plant in front of the store's window, staring at something, completely absorbed. He halted next to her, raising an eyebrow as his presence garnered no reaction from the kid. Curious, he looked in the window, eyes searching for what it was that was so fascinating to her. He paused as the bright colour of the basketball caught his eye.
He glanced down at the girl again, and pulled out his phone. Seconds later, Kuroko answered.
"I found her. We're at the store selling sports stuff. We'll meet you at the toy store in a bit." He said into the phone, the sound of his voice finally breaking the spell and prompting the child to look up at him, guilty eyes showing that she knew that she was in trouble. Silently, he held out a hand and waited for her to take hold of it tentatively. Turning on his heels, he led her into the store.
Immediately, there was a sales assistant at his side. Aomine never had any problems getting service. The girl smiled dreamily at him, as some of her colleagues who had not been as quick as her watched on enviously.
"Welcome!" She greeted him brightly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I was wondering if you sold basketballs for children." She frowned at his words, for the first time, noticing the small child attached to his hand. He saw the disappointment flash briefly in her eyes as she tried to surreptitiously glance at his left hand.
"Of course we do," she replied, without missing a beat. "It's in the children's corner."
With that, she guided them to the section for children. Ryouko was silent, glancing around in wonder at all the miniature sized sporting equipment.
"Oh dear." Even though he didn't frequent shopping malls much, he knew what that phrase meant. "It seems like we're out of them right now."
Ryouko looked heartbroken, eyes downcast, the hand in his curling slightly tighter.
"Are you sure?" He asked, heart contracting at the sight of the disappointed kid.
Giving him an apologetic smile, the sales assistant said, "We usually don't keep any extra stock in the back. They're all out here."
"D'you think you could just check for me?" He asked, flashing a blinding smile. Somewhat dazedly, she nodded, and teetered off to check.
"Does Aomine-san have kids?" Ryouko suddenly piped up from below his waist. He looked at her, startled by the question.
"No, I'm not married."
"Oh." She responded, scrunching up her face in thought. "Are you gonna marry Kuroko-sensei?"
This kid, Aomine decided, was amazing.
"What makes you ask that?" He asked in return, avoiding the question.
"'Cause you look at him like Papa looks at Mama."
Aomine was silent for a while. Thoughts ran through his mind, as he fished for a suitable answer to explain their situation to a six year old.
"You're in luck today, sir!" Aomine started as the sales assistant reappeared beside him. Relieved that there was a distraction, he took the small basketball that she held out for him. "I found that behind some boxes. It's a good thing I checked!"
"Thank you," he said sincerely, smiling his most dashing smile at her.
"N-Not at all," she stammered, blinking the stars out of her vision. "Shall I ring that up for you?"
xx
Kuroko paced anxiously in front of the toy store. He'd been waiting for some time now, and there was still no word from Aomine. He had pulled out his phone to call the other man when he heard Ryouko's voice.
"Sensei, sensei!" She bounded up to him excitedly, bouncing on the spot. "Look at what Aomine-san bought for me!"
Kuroko blinked at the miniature basketball that she had thrust out at him, her tiny hands fitting around it a lot better than they did the adult-sized ball.
"That's… nice," he replied hesitantly, throwing a querying look up at Aomine. Shrugging, he answered the silent question, "The one you have at the kindergarten is way too big. If they're gonna go pro they need to be able to learn the moves properly."
"Aomine-san says he'll come to school and teach us how to do tricks," Ryouko added, proudly. Aomine grinned at the weary head shake Kuroko directed at him.
"I hope that's really all there is to it," Kuroko said, voice low so that Ryouko wouldn't hear him. Even if he had spoken at full volume, Aomine doubted she would have noticed. The kid was bouncing the ball experimentally, radiating so much happiness, he couldn't help but smile.
"But of course," Aomine gave Kuroko an innocent look. "What else could it possibly be for?"
Laughing, Kuroko elbowed him playfully in the ribs.
"Do you still want to look for clothes for your dolls?" He directed at the elated child. She stopped playing with the ball, staring briefly at the entrance to the toy store behind Kuroko.
"Nah," she decided with a shake of her head. "I'd rather play with my new basketball."
"What have you done to her," Kuroko asked wryly as they walked away from the toy store in the direction of the parking lot. "I'm not sure how Kise-kun will take this."
"He should thank me," Aomine retorted. "I've just saved him a few hundred thousand yen on clothes for toys."
Kuroko shot him that strange smile that did things to his insides, and linked their hands together. Aomine looked at him, eyebrow raised in askance.
"I don't mind it if it's you." Kuroko said, squeezing his hand lightly and unintentionally spiking Aomine's heart rate.
xx
Dark eyes slid shut in bliss as he rolled onto the bed with a heartfelt groan.
Finally, the day was over. Kise was still in Hokkaido, so Ryouko's parents had dropped by to pick her up after the rush hour. To occupy the time, Kuroko and Aomine had taken the child to a nearby park, and Aomine had showed her a few basketball moves that she mastered within a few tries. He was impressed at how she seemed to absorb everything up like a sponge.
"I don't know how you do it," he moaned, words muffled by the pillow he had buried his face in.
"It takes a lot of resilience in the beginning, but after a while your body gets used to it," Kuroko replied from across the room. He paused as he turned away from the window and watched the dark-haired man amusedly.
"I thought cops had great stamina." The teasing was evident in his voice. With a grunt, Aomine rolled over, feeling like that was the last burst of energy he could force out of his body.
"I thought so too, until I met Sunshine." He said, drolly. "You deserve a medal."
The bed dipped under his weight as Kuroko crawled across from the other side until his face was hovering over Aomine's.
"Feel like a shower?" Blue-eyes glinted at him. "I'll wash your back for you."
Suddenly, he didn't feel so exhausted any more.
xx
Aomine dreamt that his phone was ringing. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't locate it.
Eyes snapping open, the sound of his ringtone became much clearer through the dense fog of sleep, and he groped the bedside table unseeingly until his fingers found the familiar contours of his mobile device.
"Yes?" He said into the phone, not bothering with pleasantries. The screen had been too bright for him to be willing to try to see the number flashing on it.
"Still asleep?" Midorima's voice was derisive over the phone. "And here I am, doing my asshole of a partner's work for him."
"What d'you want?" He asked with a yawn, pushing himself up on his elbow. A glance at the bedside clock told him that it was ten minutes to noon.
"Our guy's gone and done it again. Bad news, though. Chief wants us at the crime scene asap."
"Ugh," he sat up completely, dislocating the pale arm that had been wrapped over his stomach. "I'll be there in twenty."
Ending the call, he looked at Kuroko who had begun to stir at the sound of his voice. Sky blue eyes blinked up at him lazily. Aomine leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips before smiling down at the smaller man.
"'Morning." Kuroko returned the smile.
"Good morning." Aomine watched as Kuroko rolled onto his back and stretched, looking like a cat. He would never get tired of the sight. "Do you need to be at the station?"
"Yeah. My Chief's hounding me." He said ruefully.
Humming slightly, Kuroko cast his eyes over Aomine very deliberately. "I hope you made time to go back and get changed."
Aomine looked down at his shirt. He hadn't thought of that. It was the same shirt that he had worn the day before, and since he had gone to sleep in it, it was completely wrinkled.
"I will now." He said, with a grin. Climbing out of the bed, he grabbed his overnight bag and his jeans. He looked up to see Kuroko sitting straight, bed hair ridiculous, torso bare, and the blanket that covered him from the waist down incredibly tempting.
He tugged on his jeans and straightened his shirt as best as he could before he stopped beside Kuroko. Bending, he planted a hasty kiss on his forehead and ruffled his hair playfully.
"I'll call you?" There was no harm in making sure. Nodding, Kuroko pulled him down for a proper kiss.
"Make sure you do."