Breed
Chapter 28: Scents
"In a room full of frozen faces, in a moment of fractured time, we eclipse in a conversation, as the words, they pass us by. With you, we could be the only ones here.
"'Cause I, I think you're from another world, and I, I couldn't love another girl, 'cause you, you make me feel like I'm intoxicated, intoxicated. Through the sky, flying high, take me to the moon. Day or night, we don't have to say a word. 'Cause you make me feel like I'm intoxicated, intoxicated."
―"Intoxicated" by The Cab
oO_Oo_oO_Oo
The events of the water park are tiring to say the least. Midorima, Shikari, Murasakibara, Himuro, Alex, and Kuroko spend most of their time in the indoor lazy river. They tried out the slides and all that with everyone else, but now, they can relax.
However, there's an ongoing battle between Kagami and Aomine that Momoi and Kira are taking part in solely because it's fun. There are two tube slides at this water park, where the riders have to carry their own one- or two-person tube up the stairs to the top. Some people race going down the slide, and upon this realization, Kagami and Aomine started racing every time and can't get a two point difference for one of them to win. Momoi and Kira are enjoying the ride immensely, as they don't have to beg and plead to go again since their partners will be going with or without them.
And then there's Akashi. The first time he went down the giant slides that accommodate up to five people, he literally grabbed Furihata and held onto his mate for dear life with his eyes squeezed shut to entire time. Afterwards, he hopped up and announced that he wanted to go again. Furihata is now half-dead as he follows his excited redhead up the steps for the sixth time.
In the lazy river, Alex and Shikari are sharing a tube. The latter sighs in contentment. "This is amazing. I love this family more and more each day."
"It's very amusing," Alex agrees. "I say we get them drunk and see what happens."
"Only the Water and Air elements can become intoxicated."
Both women nearly jump out of their tube. Next to them, Kuroko is floating along with an even gaze. "And believe me when I say, Kise-kun and Midorima-kun are simply giddy and flirtatious when they drink."
Alex huffs. "Why is it only our brothers that can get drunk? Heck, I don't think Tatsuya can get drunk, or if he does, I'm too far gone to notice."
Shikari laughs.
"Oh, and Kuroko," Alex adds before the Shadow floats any further away. She wiggles her toes until she can grip his tube handle. "Do you know what element Taiga will get?"
He stares at her for a moment. "Assuming he does in fact receive an element, I suspect it will be Light. However, that's only if."
"Right, right," she says before she releases his tube.
Oo_oO_Oo_oO
That night, Kagami cringes as he tries to fall asleep. It isn't that bad. The couple next door is very quiet compared to what Kagami was expecting from his older brother, but every couple of minutes, there will be a noise that leaves little to the imagination as to what Murasakibara and Himuro are doing.
In the darkness, Kuroko watches the redhead. "Does it bother you that much, Kagami-kun?"
"Just…uncomfortable." Then a thought crosses his mind. "Kira―"
"Akashi-kun and Furihata-kun are very quiet when they know they could be overheard," Kuroko reassures. "I believe there was a reason why Akashi-kun placed everyone as he did."
"Huh?"
"Aomine-kun and Kise-kun with Momoi-san, and Takao-kun and Midorima-kun next to Takao-chan. It makes volume a key factor."
"I guess that makes sense," Kagami says as he rolls onto his back.
There's a minute of silence.
"If Kagami-kun cannot sleep, you can always try sleeping with me." Kuroko pulls back the blankets slightly. "I feel very cold tonight."
Well, considering he knows Kuroko can't feel the cold, Kagami assumes the invitation is more of a request. So he kicks the blankets off himself and half-walks, half-stumbles the short distance to Kuroko's bed.
As soon as he's under the blankets, Kuroko curls up against him, just like he did in the pillow fort. The Shadow's skin is still cold, like he's been in the wind. His hands are still rather small. He still lets out a mix between a content sigh and whimper when he buries his nose in Kagami's chest. He still seems to take deeper breaths when he gets this close, like he's smelling Kagami. And he's still the most adorable thing Kagami has ever seen.
With his head on the pillow throne, Kagami wraps an arm around Kuroko and closes his eyes. "Goodnight."
"Night," Kuroko replies quietly, his breath hot through Kagami's t-shirt.
Across the hallway, Kise has just exited the shower. Aomine is in bed, one arm wrapped around Momoi and the other hand holding his phone.
"How was the trip?" Aomine whispers, careful not to wake the girl beside him.
"Pretty good. Takao and I are going back tomorrow evening for seaball between Isis and Nephythys," Kise replies as he pulls on one of Aomine's button-ups.
"Isis and what?"
"It's an orca pod that's passing through the area. Coventina, Nina, and I know the leader."
Aomine exhales. "Okay, glad you know a killer whale."
"Orca, not killer whale," Kise chastises. "The name is condescending and demeaning, and they are dolphins, not whales."
"Sorry, orca. I'm glad you know an orca."
"Much better."
Aomine wants to roll his eyes, but he doesn't dare. "Anyways, are you going to go to the water park tomorrow?"
"I had planned on it. Why?" Kise slips into bed on the other side of Momoi, nonverbally demanding to hold her by moving Aomine's arm and replacing it with his own. He feels like he's going into Baby Girl withdrawal.
"Satsuki really wants to play with you on the slides. BaKagami and I were racing the entire night, so I had Satsuki and he had Kira."
"Who won?"
Aomine looks away and grumbles, "They kicked us out before we could settle it."
"Tomorrow, you and I can race Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi," Kise says.
At that, Aomine's eyebrow twitches. "'Kagamicchi'?"
"Solely to annoy you." Kise grins.
"Of course."
oO_Oo_oO_Oo
The next morning, Akashi is lying on his stomach, both arms holding the pillow he's currently suffocating himself with. "You did this on purpose."
"If I remember currently, you're the one who said you didn't want to walk today," Furihata replies as he props himself up on his elbow. With his pointer finger, he draws swirls and kanji on his mate's back, which makes Akashi shiver occasionally.
Akashi groans in frustration.
In the kitchen, Himuro is sitting at the bar with paper and a pen, his mate standing beside him. Murasakibara mutters, "We'll blow up the kitchen."
"Cookies shouldn't be that hard to make."
"Doesn't matter."
Himuro glances at his mate. "Come on, Atsushi. It'll be fun."
"Not as fun as Muro-chin."
"You'll have to wait until tonight for that."
"But I want it now."
"Atsushi―"
"Uncle Tatsuya, what does Murasakibara-nii want?" Kira appears out of her room, which is next to the kitchen. "Are you being mean?"
Murasakibara shuts up and walks around the counter to the cabinet, where he has left a stash of potato chips.
For a moment, Himuro racks his mind. Then he glances at the paper he's been writing ideas on. "Atsushi wants my homemade cookies―" Murasakibara chokes on his potato chip. "―and I told him he has to wait."
"It's okay, Murasakibara-nii! Uncle Tatsuya's cookies are worth the wait!" Kira says with a big, innocent smile.
As Murasakibara coughs and turns pink―that would be a blush, not from lack of oxygen―Himuro can't help the tiny chuckle that leaks past his lips.
The condo door opens, revealing Aomine, Midorima, and Takao. The latter frowns. "Murasakibara, you okay? You don't look too good."
The giant nods as he quickly puts the chips away again just in case. His face is still flushed, but he's stopped coughing.
"Murasakibara-nii has to wait to eat Uncle Tatsuya's cookies, so he's sad," Kira explains.
There's a moment of silence.
Then Aomine grimaces while Takao bursts out laughing. It takes a few more seconds for Midorima to understand the connotation of the statement, but when he does, he clears his throat and pushes up his glasses.
In the bedroom on the other side of the kitchen, Kagami blinks his eyes open. Beside him, Kuroko has a book in his hand. "Good morning, Kagami-kun."
"Mh…morning…" Kagami yawns.
Kuroko quietly asks, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, really good," Kagami says. When he notices Kuroko's almost worried expression, he asks, "What is it?"
"I-it's nothing." The smaller male bookmarks his page and sets his book on his lap.
"Kuroko―"
"Sometimes when I sleep, I accidently…go through things. I'll wake up under the bed or on top of the blankets." He glances to the side. "Last night, I think your arm went through me."
"So? What's so weird about that?"
"I've walked through Murasakibara-kun before, and he said it was a horrible feeling, like he'd been violated. Kise-kun said the same thing."
Kagami can see just how worked up Kuroko has become over this. His normally blank expression consists of a deep frown and large, worried eyes.
"I didn't feel anything," Kagami says.
Kuroko doesn't seem reassured in the slightest. After a moment, Kagami says, "Try it."
"I don't understand what you mean," Kuroko replies with a confused glance at the redhead.
"I mean, if you don't believe me, try going through me."
"Kagami-kun―"
"Seriously. I trust you." Kagami is laying on his side, one arm around Kuroko's shoulders, so he holds out his other arm over Kuroko. "Go ahead."
It's obvious that Kuroko doesn't think it's a good idea. However, he seems curious, at least the slightest bit, so he reaches up until his hand is against Kagami's forearm.
When Kuroko's fingers disappear past his skin, Kagami's gasps, eyes wide.
Kuroko jerks back and sits up. "Are you alright, Kagami-kun?" Blue eyes watch him. "Did I hurt you?"
"N-no, I…I'm fine…" Kagami is suddenly hyperaware of his body. "I-I-I…I'm going to the bathroom."
And with that, Kagami is out of the room with Aomine-like speed, quickly followed by the sound of a door closing. Kuroko stares after him. That isn't normal, is it? His expression wasn't like Kise's or Murasakibara's, but he still looked a little freaked out. Kuroko looks down at the book in his lap with a sigh.
In the main room, the residents stare down the hallway in confusion.
"Is Uncle Taiga okay?" Kira asks her very sleepy mother, who is pouring two glasses of apple juice for her daughter and herself. Alex says, "I'm sure he's fine."
Himuro hums in thought, more than aware of what probably happened.
Murasakibara glances at his mate. "Muro-chin?"
"Just thinking how similar you and Taiga are, Atsushi," he replies.
"Am not."
The slight fear of sex; yes, you are, Himuro thinks.
Soon after, Kise and Momoi knock on the door.
As soon as the door is open, Momoi forgets about her hunger and hops on Aomine. Literally. He grunts as he usually does, but quickly wraps his arms around her to keep her from falling off his lap.
Kise smiles and sits down next to his mate, letting Momoi put her legs in his lap. "So what's the plan for the day?"
"That's what we were waiting to ask you," Takao says. "I don't know what time 'lunar dawn' is."
"It's the same thing as regular dawn, but when the moon rises rather than the sun. When the sun rises is called 'solar dawn'. It's not too complicated," Kise explains.
"So you're going when the moon rises?" Himuro asks.
"That's when seaball starts. We need to leave an hour beforehand. About five 'clock, I guess."
"Seaball?" Alex asks.
Kise pauses. "Uh, it's hard to explain. There's an object, usually a big shell, on the seafloor, and the two teams are trying to get it to the surface."
"Easy enough," Murasakibara says. The elementals haven't ever asked what seaball is before, so this is learning for them, except for maybe Aomine.
"But it's played by dolphins," Takao says. "You have to use your tail, so it's actually a lot harder than it seems."
"So dolphin soccer?" Kira asks excitedly. "Sounds fun!"
Momoi nods. "Fun!"
With a sudden gasp of excitement, Kira asks, "Kise-nii, can you speak dolphin?!"
"Yeah, I guess so," he replies.
"Say something!"
Kise pauses with a face of confusion mixed with concentration. "I…can try, but it may not come out right. I've never tried out of the water."
Momoi's face lights up as she watches Kise expectantly.
After a moment, Kise lets out a series of clicks, very loud ones, but Takao recognizes it.
"What did you say?" Kira asks, now vibrating next to him. Momoi isn't much better.
"We call it an identity click. Any dolphin who knows me will know it's me if I did that, if that makes sense."
"Again! Please!" Momoi chirps.
This time, Kise clicks, "I love Daiki and my Baby Girl."
Takao smiles. "I love Shin-chan and Shikari."
"The neighbors probably think we're on drugs." Kise laughs.
"This family doesn't need drugs; we're messed up enough as it is."
Midorima looks at his mate. "You can understand that?"
"Well, yeah," Takao says. "It's just like understanding a different language."
Kise nods. "Midorimacchi, it's like when you spoke to me the first time. I had never heard or spoken Japanese before, but I just could."
"So Japanese is your second language?" Himuro asks.
Kise nods again.
"Kise-nii, can you talk to other fish?" Kira asks.
"Well, dolphins and whales are mammals like us, and yes, I communicate with them. I can understand most sharks and stingrays, and a few crustaceans, mostly lobsters." He pauses. "Sea turtles, too, and seals. I've never tried to talk to a manatee before."
"Seals? How far away from Japan have you gone?" Alex asks as she sits down in the arm chair to Kise's right.
"Before I Bonded with Aominecchi and became popular as a model, I went around the world. I can swim about as fast as Aominecchi can run, except I have more stamina."
"That's so cool!" Kira says.
"But back on topic," Midorima interrupts.
"Right," Alex says. "So I was thinking we humans could snack for breakfast, and when everyone gets up, we could go down to the water park. There should be fewer people."
Himuro nods. "And after that, I think we need to teach the elementals how to cook."
Midorima, Kise, and Aomine don't seem happy with the idea, but they say nothing. It's not that they don't want to learn; they just have minds like Murasakibara, and they can see the impending disaster.
Kagami finally exits the bathroom.
And while Aomine and Kise laugh, Midorima wrinkles his nose. Takao furrows his brow.
Himuro, however, asks, "What is that?"
Kira looks at her older uncle. "What's what?"
Savior of the day, Kise stands up. "Kira-chan, Momocchi, I saw a Dippin' Dots machine on the third floor. Do you want some?"
Kira looks at her mother, who nods. She grins. "Yes, please!"
"What are Dippin' Dots?" Momoi asks.
"Momoi-nee, you haven't lived until you've tried Dippin' Dots!"
Once the underage issues are gone, Murasakibara leans closer to Himuro and answers his question. After a moment, Himuro's eye grows wide. "You can smell that?"
"You can, too," Aomine points out.
"What?" Alex asked.
So Midorima explains quickly, rather uncomfortable, which cracks up Takao. Midorima smacks his mate behind the head.
Alex glances back down the hall. "Can Kuroko smell it, too?"
Aomine nods. "It's very distinct, unless he was going at it with someone in the bathroom."
"Inappropriate, Aomine-kun," Kuroko says.
Alex and Aomine literally jump, considering he appeared where Kise had been.
"Did you…tell him?" Himuro asks slowly.
"I simply told him he looked flushed and might need to take a cold shower to cool off," Kuroko replies. "I see no reason to embarrass him further than he likely already is."
At that moment, Akashi and Furihata finally emerge from their bedroom. However, when they pass the kitchen, Akashi stops and raises an eyebrow. Furihata glances at his mate. "Sei? What is―" Then his eyes widen. "N-never mind, I got it."
Alex gives the elementals a weird look. "Wait, so you can smell when someone takes care of themselves, but not sex?"
"We can smell sex as well, but when it's between mates, it's just part of the Bond's scent, so it doesn't stand out," Akashi explains. "As well, when two people have sex, we can smell them on each other. In this case, we can smell the desire and arousal, nothing more."
"The scent is much more powerful due to the lack of…outlet, or so to speak," Kuroko says.
Midorima wrinkles his nose again. "Which is why we all reacted the way we did."
Aomine looks to the Shadow next to him. "What did you do?"
"I resent your accusation, Aomine-kun. I did nothing," Kuroko replies.
"If you say so."
Author Note: Poor Kagami. I know little happened in this chapter, but next, cooking, a beach party, and dancing! Maybe some more development…? If you feel embarrassed for Kagami, please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW!
A hint for next chapter:
"Ki-chan ride! Please! Ride!" Momoi points to the tube slides. "Race Dai-chan!"
"Okay, we can do that," Kise says when Aomine nods. Then he pauses, somehow noting the Shadow moving to the lazy river. "Kurokocchi! Do you want to go down the slide with us? Aominecchi needs extra weight."
Kuroko nods and follows them up the stairs.
