Eventually the day came to a close and both Aomine and Kise stood up as the bell signaling that class was over rang. The model took his time, as he begun to stack his books into his bag, clearly aware of the way Aomine seemed to be slightly watching him, waiting for the blonde to be done. Once he was finished he zipped up his bag and finally turned his attention towards the power forward, smiling as he did so.
"Aomine-cchi, where do you wanna go today?" Kise asked, skipping past the formalities.
"I've got a place in mind..." He said, before tilting his head towards the door, urging Kise to make his way out of the class. They quickly changed their shoes and headed out through the front doors of the school, heading towards an area nearby that had many options to eat.
Kise oddly wondered where Aomine was planning to go. Would it just be a random fast food place? Or a small family restaurant?
"Ne, Aomine-cchi, would you still hangout with me after this week?" He suddenly asked, catching the other off guard, considering the way Aomine's face turned into a frown as he heard the question. Kise wasn't even sure why he asked it in the first place. It was sudden realization to him as he noted that from the first time he had met the boy, Aomine had always seemed to spend time with him because of their agreement, because of convenience.
Sure, they had become friends after that first day, but that didn't mean that Aomine could demand him to buy lunch for the rest of the school year. They both knew that once the month was over, they were on their own when it came to spending time together. He slightly wondered if Aomine would be this close to him once this thing was over. If Kise didn't confess, they would stay friends, and where would that leave them? Where would that leave him?
"You think I only hangout with you because I can boss you around?" Aomine asked, a playful smirk on his face.
"Maybe..." Kise said, despite the small smile he had on his lips, his eyes didn't meet Aomine's.
Seconds later he left a small pain on his forehead. "Ouch, Aomine-cchi." He said, rubbing the area the power forward had hit.
"Don't say stupid stuff." Was all the blunette said before he suddenly turned the corner, to walk along the pathway of shops and restaurants that lined the streets. Stopping at a little cafe, Aomine turned back to meet Kise's gaze. The blonde looked at him curiously for a few seconds before he approached the front entrance. They silently entered the place, immediately greeted by a pretty waitress that seated them at a table near the front, by the large window that allowed them to see the outside. Most people were walking around, couples and groups of teenage girls, all ready to enter one of the various shops or restaurants nearby.
"So, when did you find this place?" Kise said, as he looked up from the menu. The small cafe offered sandwiches, soups, and all sorts of desserts, which tempted him to order a large slice of chocolate cake, but stopped himself knowing that it wasn't the smartest idea to only have cake for dinner. Although, he would definitely make room for some later, his manager wouldn't mind. He stayed in shape after all.
"In middle school."
"Did Momoi-cchi drag you here or something?" The model ask, his thoughts wondering if Aomine had gone here for another reason. Like a date.
"Nah, Satsuki doesn't know about this place." Aomine said, throwing the blonde off guard ever so slightly. So this place was special enough that Aomine hadn't told his best friend about it.
"You must really like it here then?" Kise asked, wondering if the blunette had some sort of fond memory about the place. It gave off a warm feel, with the smell of coffee and sweets filling the room and the hush chatter of people unwinding after a long day at work or school.
"Yeah, I do."
The conversation ended at that, as the waitress came back to take their orders and offer them drinks. Kise picked a sandwich and a cup of tea, and Aomine ordered a burger and a medium coffee.
"I'm surprised that they serve burgers, I can see why you like it." Kise laughed.
"Yeah the food's pretty good here, but this place brings back some good memories." Aomine said fondly.
Kise observed the boy for a few seconds before he wondered if he should ask the question on his mind. "Memories, huh? Did something happen here?" He finally inquired.
It was silent for a few seconds before Aomine snapped out of his musings as he looked Kise in the eyes and paused. For some reason he hesitated before he answered the question, maybe it was because he was nervous, Kise told himself, but he had a keen awareness that Aomine was hiding something.
"It's nothing, just had a good time." He said dismissively. Kise wanted to say something in protest, but as he thought over it Aomine had the right to keep somethings to himself. Everyone had the option to share their pasts and in terms of Aomine, Kise never thought of the boy as open.
The conversation soon shifted to other things, with the model talking about his family for a bit, and reminiscing about his childhood, indulging Aomine with some fond memories of how he got into basketball in the first place.
"My friend, Akashi-cchi, approached me one day and asked me to be on his team." He laughed before they were interrupted when their food arrived. Once they thanked the waitress, they continued the conversation. "At the time I had never touched a basketball, but I guess he saw something in me that was worth taking the risk."
"Taking the risk?" Aomine echoed as he took a bit of his burger.
"Well, he really committed himself into bringing out my talent. He pushed me to my limit after every practice, we spent a lot of time together back then." He said as he continued to eat. He hadn't bothered to contact Akashi since he arrived in Tokyo, however he was well aware the shorter boy already knew of his warabouts. That was the type of person Akashi had always been like, and probably still was.
"But I'd have to say Aomine-cchi, as much as I loved playing basketball with him back then, I'd have to say I enjoy it almost as much as when I'm up against you."
"Hmm." Aomine huffed as he looked at the boys teasing smile. "Almost as much? You probably are mad because you've never beaten me."
Kise laughed, knowing Aomine was trying to come up with some sort of explanation as to why he was second best to Kise's former captain. Really Kise had no bias toward the red-head, however for some reason he somewhat missed the one-on-ones he had with the almost expressionless boy.
"Who said I've ever beaten him in a game?" Kise asked. It wasn't something he admitted to everyone, especially those players that were weaker than him. But this was Aomine, and the blonde slightly wondered if the two boys went up against each other who would ultimately come out on top. As much as he liked the darker skinned boy, he was sure that cocky smirk of his would be completely gone once Akashi was done with him.
If Aomine was a beast on the court, Akashi was monster. Nothing could stand up against his ability. Kise was sure of it. At least when it came to one-on-ones.
"Hmm, interesting. So you've never beaten him?" Aomine asked, finding it oddly amusing that the blonde was so sure Akashi was better than him.
"No, not once. As for the other two, Kagami and Midorima, they've never beaten him before either. However, I heard Kagami-cchi went back to train for a summer in America. He had an amazing coach there apparently, so I'm not sure how he would do if he went up against Akashi-cchi again." Kise said thoughtfully. He hadn't talked to Kagami in middle school after he left, but he had been updated from time to time by conversations he had with Akashi. The blonde hadn't questioned at the time how Akashi knew all of this information, considering the two red-heads hadn't been that close back in the day, but then again this was Akashi he was talking about, Kise wouldn't put it past him to keep tabs on former teammates.
Kise watched as Aomine slightly frowned at the comment, and he only could conclude the blunette was finally beginning to realize that Akashi was definitely someone to watch out for once inter-high started in the summer.
"How about you, Aomine-cchi?" Kise asked, a little bit shyly. "Did you have an rivals in middle school?"
His usual outgoing demeanor was ever so subdued for a moment as he waited for Aomine to answer his question. He always found it awkward to ask question about the power forwards past.
"Rivals?" Aomine echoed as he thought about the question. In all honestly he hadn't found anyone worthy of his time back in middle school. He had remembered a few faces here and there, but no one that really stood out. Besides, along with him and Tetsu, they also had had Kiyoshi on their team, which although he didn't like to admit it, the boy was talented. "No, I don't think so, no one like that."
"There was this one giant that we went up against a few times, but he didn't take the games seriously enough to be any trouble." Aomine said thoughtfully before laughing a bit. "The kid did manage to piss Kiyoshi off more than once though."
Eventually the conversation simmered down as they finished their meals and sipped their drinks. It was refreshing to hear about each others lives, especially since Aomine never really had the chance to go out on social outings or dates for that matter. He either didn't have the time or the energy. He'd have to pick the girl up, bring her out and spend at least a few hours hearing about her talk about her problems. There were also those shy types that stumbled upon every single sentence because they were so nervous.
Really, Aomine had forgotten the way a date could be good. After his first real relationship failed, he had tried to pick himself back up, and had failed. The girls he chose to go out after Rima were boring, full of themselves or just not worth the effort. He had given up on a real relationship a few weeks after that. Opting for sex friends or a quick hook up every once in awhile.
However, now as he glanced across the table at the blonde model that looked out the window, watching people as they walked by the large window of the café, he had to admit, this wasn't so bad.
Although, just as the thought crossed his mind, he froze. Did Kise consider this a date? Or just another outing with a friend?
"Hey, I have a question for you pretty boy." Aomine suddenly asked.
"Hmm?" Kise slowly turned his head back to meet Aomine's piercing eyes. "Sure, what is it?"
"Ahh, well..." Aomine begun, feeling completely out of character as he spat out the question. "The thing is, I wanted to know that if someone asks you out for dinner all of a sudden would you consider that a date?"
The question sounded stupider than he had expected once he had spoken it out loud. Really, the blonde probably was laughing at how obvious Aomine was being. The blunette decided at that moment that if he kept his face serious and hid any signs of embarrassment, then maybe the model would think he wasn't talking about their current outing.
As he waited for the answer, Aomine wondered if Kise was silently thinking of a way to reject him and tell him otherwise. Of course Kise had a thing for him, that idiot red-head had told Aomine personally, but that was back when they hadn't been caught in this complicated relationship. Fuck. He only wished for once that maybe Kagami was right and Kise would say yes to the question.
"I-I, ahhh, I guess so." The blonde said, a small smile on his face, however it looked somewhat strange in a sense.
"Don't worry about it, it was just for something else that's all." The blunette quickly tried to lie, but the damage had been done.
He had been mistaken.
They were friends. Friends that had slept with one another once, but in the end they were just friends. Aomine could see that clearly from the way Kise begin to avoid his eyes and look anywhere but him.
Damn he felt stupid.
It hurt falling for someone and finding out they no longer were in love with you, Aomine could vouch for that given his past experiences. But more than anything, it hurt falling for someone that never loved you in the first place.
A bitter smile appeared on Aomine's face as the evening finally came to a close and the two boy begun to head home. Kise simply nodding at Aomine as they reached the pathway that lead to their houses. As they diverged, Aomine didn't bother to turn back. However, he offhandedly noted he was clinching his fists hard enough to dig his fingernails into the flesh of his palms.
He had gotten his answer today. Ironically loud and clear considering the blonde hadn't even uttered a word of rejection to him. But Aomine knew, the way the blonde shifted uncomfortably in his seat after the blunette had asked him that question, or the way Kise insisted they head home before it got too late, he just knew that he had gotten his answer.
Kise had never loved him.