Another day, another chapter.

Big thanks to...

EDIT - removed after end of the story for a better look - EDIT

And here it is, another update so late because I just get busier and busier, haha. Sorry about that. But better late than never, right? I know many of you are eagerly awaiting a kiss but you know how I love to tease you and instead I offer you more fluff to establish the relationship they are slowly creating for themselves!

Thank you for all the lovely follows, favorites and reviews! It's so exciting every time to read what you think and feel.

I'm so happy that you're all still enjoying it!

DAY ONE HUNDRED SIXTY FOUR

Mia hugged the pillow close to her chest, watching intently the figure on the screen run through the dungeon, passing monsters and quickly jumping over an edge. With a loud yell the animated hero landed in a lake, gasping and throwing his arms around. The ceiling was crushing down on him which made the teenager beside her curse, his narrow gaze glued to the television as he tried to dodge all the sharp rocks.

"Why in the hell did he take that jewel anyway..." Aomine grumbled as he narrowly escaped another game over.

"Well, it's all about the sick brother who needs it."

"Bullshit."

The orange-head laughed at his sour tune, shifting on her spot on the bed until she lied down. This time they had changed the positions, she was sprawled across her bed. Resting on her stomach so that she could face the television, the soft pillow crushed between her chest and the mattress. He, on the other hand, sat on the ground, leaning against the furniture for support. He had angled his long legs slightly, bending them at the joints to get more comfortable.

His navy orbs were concentrating on the screen, his fingers pushing buttons to make the animated figure run and fight against whatever odds which were thrown in his way. He had surprisingly not died yet, the determination to get out of dungeon alive kept him focused because on every other day they had played together she had been the hero in the end. Solving riddles he couldn't. And killing the final boss where he struggled.

"How is Kuroko-san doing by the way?"

At her question Aomine paused for a single second, glimpsing at her over his right shoulder before his attention returned to the video game.

"Better, it ain't perfect yet but he's improving, I guess."

The girl made a little sound of understanding. In school he had actually told her that he'd help his old friend out again over the days, coaching him. Satsuki had approached her in break because of that, delighted that the blue haired teen was talking with Kuroko once more after he hadn't really spoken about him since they had graduated from middle school.

It felt like a little movie from her point of view, a conflict solved. The different roles slowly finding to another after a tragic event and it made her strangely happy as well. She hadn't done much. But the bubbly girl, Kuroko and even her lazy classmate treated her as if she had always been part of it.

"You think I could beat Kuroko-san? In a basketball game, I mean."

Aomine continued to stare at the television, his mind obviously working and putting the picture together in his head. His broad shoulder shook slightly as he snorted, a breathless chuckle rumbling in his chest before he guided their animated hero out of the lake. Back onto the route of the dungeon.

"That might actually be possible."

"Really?" Mia perked up, her attention completely shifting towards the basketball player.

"Tetsu ain't an aggressive player; he's a supporter...although we're workin' on that right now."

The idea alone of finally having the chance to beat anyone at the sport made her a bit excited. The girl still didn't understand the concept completely of whose good for defense and whose is suited better for offense attacks. But to hear from Aomine himself that she did indeed have a chance to win against the pale boy made her smile.

"Ah, shit." The tall teen grunted.

He had maneuvered the animated figure into a trap. The color on the screen faded, offering them the sight of a handful of bold letters. The familiar bloody 'GAME OVER' appeared, together with a soothing yet sad melody. Aomine was ready to throw the controller in his hands against the wall, even though he kept his annoyance bottled up.

It wouldn't be his wall he'd damage.

It was a first. To be exact the very first time ever, but the blue haired teen was right now at Mia's place instead of his. He had met up with Kuroko not far away from her home; the shorter boy had a match that day which in the end leaded them to a court which was in a neighborhood not far from the girl's district.

In the end it just all ended up like this.

Although it strangely didn't feel weird, she had been in his room as well. A few times, to be honest and there was nothing in her four walls which could make her too embarrassed. She maybe didn't have any trophies or medals like he did but she did have a handful of video games and consoles which interested him.

"My turn." Mia stated contently, amused that he had never once completed a single dungeon on his own.

Her classmate twisted his head around to her, glowering at her obvious good mood. She enjoyed way too much his misery, something which maybe rubbed off on her since she had come to known him. Or maybe because Mia had to deal with a person named Nanami since the start of high school, the orange-head learned to cherish it if she won a fight. No matter how small.

"One more try." Aomine grumbled, stretching his left arm to the side to get the controller out of her reach.

"You had your chance."

The blue haired teen narrowed his eyes, watching her movement attentively as Mia reached for the controller anyway. Stubbornly, not giving up his pride just yet, he pushed his arm further away from her grasp. Easily creating a gap which made the access impossible as long as she didn't stand up, or decided to climb all over him - Satsuki had done so as they were very young, wailing and cursing all the way.

The orange-head, however, was uncertain if she should laugh at his childishness in this very moment. Offering him to let him try again, or to keep up her stubborn appearance. She did rarely beat him at anything and if she now became soft, he would maybe grow another spine of arrogance in her department. Video games were her battleground after all.

"Come on." Mia laughed. "You lost, face it."

The girl finally faced him, a broad grin gracing her lips before she realized how close he really was. His head had always been right at her side because she had leaned onto the edge of the bed. It made it more comfortable to speak with another, handing over the controller to take turns. But now where she had leaned slightly to her left, her arm reaching across his chest in hope she could grab the little object he still held far away, she realized how easy it had become to cross lines without noticing them right away.

The grin slipped off her face, the blood rushing into her cheeks to remind her how unnatural it was to invade the personal bubble of another person. Mia had always been the one to watch such things, her tall classmate had the issues of understanding the polite space a person needed. Not her.

And still here she was, the comfortable atmosphere mixing with her anxiousness. His scent suddenly strong and thick, the color of his eyes so close that she could see the small drawings around the iris - a detail which differed from human to human. Mia tried to form a word with her lips. The orange-head had no idea what it would be.

Sorry?

What?

There was nothing to apologize for, right? She had done nothing wrong; she had done nothing at all to be exact. Their bodies weren't even touching in any way yet; all she had done was realizing she was too close to him for her own liking. Her heart wasn't made for all of that. And to merely say 'what' didn't fit either in such a situation. Mia needed a new word. Yes. A complete new one which could capture the chaotic turmoil she felt perfectly...

"Uh..."

Genius.

Absolute genius.

Aomine's eyes darted to her lips as she spoke, the frown he had worn disappearing with her grin together as all he did was stare at her. Stoic, calm. That look she didn't feel comfortable with because it wasn't showing one of the obvious trades of him she had come to known. Something foreign. Complete attention. And that alone let her cheeks tingle with the wave of startling warmth her blood brought with it.

Attention wasn't her thing.

Her heartbeat became louder, the organ pushing and knocking against her ribcage because the ridiculousness of his whole moment made it only further embarrassing down the road. And with every loud 'thump' she could hear in her head the seconds ticked by, neither of them moving.

Until her door was thrown open with so much force that the wood crashed against the wall, bouncing off it until it swung back towards the intruder.

Mia gasped out of surprise, her whole body jumping upwards until she sat on her bed while Aomine whipped his head around in surprise as well. The bewilderment was written across their faces as their eyes focused on the tall person who stood in the now open door. Face hard, bright eyes determined - it was her father who carried a tray with a bowl and two cans on it. Definitely a snack her mother had prepared who had been happy to see that the basketball player came to visit them.

At least the older woman hadn't been as curious as Aomine's mother, merely greeting the tall teen with a warm smile before she had promised them to prepare a little treat. Who could've expected that her father had decided that he should be the messenger? Well...the girl should've, she guessed...

Her father stared at them quietly before his gaze wandered throughout her room, searching for any hint - for who knew what - until he became satisfied that nothing was amiss. Whatever that was, his imagination was always extreme. The first time she had brought friends over in middle school he had seriously considered the possibility of a meth lab...that had been the fault of the show he had seen at that time. But still.

"Dad?" Mia asked carefully, pressing a hand against her eyes to hide her obvious embarrassment.

"Uhm, yeah." The tall man started, realizing that his dramatic entrance had been for nothing. "...snacks?"

The orange-head glared at him through her fingers, her whole body buzzing from the sudden shock. It felt like she had been nearly caught committing a crime. Her heart bouncing up and down in her chest, trying to calm down at all cost. Carefully her father set down the tray on the ground next to Aomine who still stared at her father without showing any emotion. Her classmate wouldn't admit it but even he had felt his heart nearly jumping out of his throat, too.

The older man stood there for a second, awkwardly watching the two teenagers who had obviously sat there for a long time. Out of his view nearly innocently, she on the bed, he on the ground - the television still showed the dreadful message of the game over. The melancholic music in the background a gruesome reminder how sweet instruments could sound like even if they hummed your loss.

"Uh..." Her father cleared his throat, his mimic quickly relaxing. "Right."

And with that he turned around, leaving her room and closing the door behind him. As if nothing had happened at all. The orange-head wanted to strangle him and his drastic actions. How her mother could survive with his hot-headed personality was beyond her.

Aomine though started snickering. Muttering beneath his breath how her father had surprised even him with his entrance. Mia scowled at him, her hand slipping from her face to reveal her red face. His mother didn't burst into his room like that at least, well, her own neither. But she had yet to see Aomine's father at all. The days she had visited him he hadn't been there to crash into his room like hers did.

"Shut up..." She grumbled, slowly lying on her stomach again to resume her previous position.

The blue haired teen was still grinning; starting the game once more because now the moment from before had vanished. Her mind was too busy to remember that it was actually her turn and that she had tried to take the controller away from her lazy classmate in the first place.

"He once tried to find a meth lab beneath my bed..."

Aomine started laughing again, the sound bursting out of his mouth as he bent forward. Mia pursed her lips, regretting it immediately to have told him of that memory as the basketball player slowly leaned back again. His grin was broader than before, amusement plastered across his tanned face.

"Seriously?"

The orange-head started to smile weakly, the livid event from two years ago coming back to life. It had been pretty funny. Silly and complete nonsense. But she had laughed as well at her father and his dramatic antics. Her mother had watched him with a look of humored disappointment.

"Yeah. It was stupid, really."

Mia pushed her pillow closer to him, resting her chin upon it until she could lean against the side of his head. The teen didn't look at her, shifting slightly on his place until he could return the gesture comfortably. This moment resembled the sudden loss of personal space although this time it happened willingly, neither of them minding the sensation of closeness they had created.

The animated figure on the screen moved once more, controlled by Aomine who still couldn't get rid of the grin on his lips.

"Your dad ain't bad."

The girl chuckled, her feet rubbing against another. "Don't tell me he impressed you with his paranoia."

Aomine let his head roll back into his neck, the action causing him to bump into her shoulder - a made-shift pillow he quickly realized as he continued to play the video game.

"My old man never checked my room for drugs."

He made it sound like an insult.

Mia couldn't help but grin, cherishing the smooth turn of events which made them ignore the rather embarrassing moment from before. It was a relief that he didn't mock her or that he didn't try to make her explain her very professional 'uh'. She could still feel her skin burn, her nerves tingling in that silly way whenever he was close.

Personal space didn't really exist in this second anymore.

But it wasn't like either of them minded that.