Oh my goodness, it's been ages! I'm still alive guys! *flails*
I've been busy with loads of stuff but I'll try and crawl back to fanfiction. Meanwhile, have this little chapter while I'm at it XD
This has been lurking half-written in my docs for ages now but I rushed it out just in time (1500 words orz)! I might remove and re-upload it if I find any mistakes, but for now my biggest gripe is the pacing (OHHH THE PACING *flinches*) I feel that it's moving a little fast orz but what do you guys think?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: March
It's March when it starts, and March when they notice.
It's not much, just that Aomine is a lot closer to Kimura now.
They don't even realise it—in fact, it's Satsuki who does. Still, Satsuki may be the one who always figures everything out, but that doesn't mean she's always right.
"AHA!" she squeals one day, a loud, piecing squeal that would've made a shrew proud. "YOU'RE WITH KO-CHAN, AREN'T YOU?"
"Ah?" Aomine looks up from his usual position by the pilar Kimura's classroom. Waiting for her is always a hassle; her lessons ended so much later than his, and by the time she's out his legs feel nearly-dead. He waits for her anyway.
"DAI-CHAN IS WITH KO-CHAN! ISN'T THAT GR—"
"Shut up, Satsuki!" he clamps a hand over mouth as Kimura's classmates and teacher collectively look their way, miffed by the loud interruption. He drags her behind the pillar, and shakes her hard, hoping that some sense might diffuse into those dumb brains. "Don't spout nonsense, dammit!"
"I'm not with anyone! And I'm definitely, definitely," he casts a look at the classroom, at the tangerine-haired girl sitting all the way in the front row, copying notes diligently (she looks up, right at him, and smiles. he smiles, too, despite himself), "definitely not with Kimura."
"Whatever you say, Dai-chan." smirks Satsuki, wriggling her eyebrows at him in that infuriatingly know-it-all way of hers that he happens to know said 'suuuuuure, right'. "Whatever you say."
She darts off before he can make a retort, and Aomine sighs, pulling loose his tie and sinking back against the pillar. His eyes sweep the empty hall, from the overflowing bin at the left, all the way to her classroom, and back again.
Inside, Kimura furrows her eyebrows, bites her lip and struggles to solve whatever that was on her paper. She had a habit of twiddling with the pen when she couldn't get the answers she wanted, Aomine knew. Her hair falls to her face, a curtain of apricot, and she huffs, a soft, soft huff unheard by all but him.
The bell goes, and Aomine, as always, walks her home. But somehow, when they walk side by side, occasionally bumping into each other, Aomine has a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, like a heated ball of molten metal, and he can't seem to figure out why.
That day she lets him hold her hand. Her face is straight, even when he reaches out with the tentativeness of a panther exploring new territory.
It's insanely awkward at first. He touches her fingers, once, twice, retreating as soon as he came, and soundlessly, impassively, she reaches out instead, capturing his hands in her own.
He entwines their fingers together, eyes still fixed on the road, his fingers moving over her knuckles, fitting together like broken shards of glass reunited at last.
He daren't look at her—how on earth will her reaction to this be?
A little giggle escapes her throat, betraying her amusement, and, slightly nonplussed, Aomine glances at her.
She smiles with the intensity of a million stars, spreading across her face like daylight over earth.
And he smiles, too.
(I will never let you go.)
Their sudden relationship isn't announced, not even to the rest of the team.
To be honest, Aomine isn't even sure that they were going out until the day they actually are, but even then, they still view each other as close friends. Or good friends; best friends. Friends with benefits, even.
But never...y'know...
He likes them the way they are, when they're holding hands, talking, laughing, so he doesn't want that to change.
Because they've been friends for ages now, so it'll be weird if they started acting different.
If being a couple meant that he had to stop playing basketball to spend more time with her, if he had to be there at her every whim, and stay by her side doing couple-y things, he'd rather they stay this way instead.
He can't imagine dating Kimura. He can't imagine people talking behind their backs, saying things like "Hey, d'you know? Daiki and Kimura are an item."
After all, Kimura was Kimura.
But Satsuki says—and Satsuki says a lot of things—that friends didn't do what they did. When Aomine asked if friends waited for each other after classes she smacked him and said they did, but they didn't lurk around each other and crack their knuckles when other guys walk pass.
They didn't pull on each other's hair, flip each other's clothes and bump shoulders when they pass in the hallways.
And they definitely, said Satsuki, definitely didn't look at each other with sparkly goo-goo eyes, but when Aomine looked into the mirror all he saw was his own eyes, and he didn't understand.
Did this, didn't go that, did this, didn't do that—girls are complicated, and Satsuki even more so. Aomine doesn't want to remember what they should do, and what they shouldn't. Aomine can't find the inclination to care. He wants to do what he wants, say what he wants, and crack his knuckles whenever he liked.
He realises that a lot has changed since he's met that Middle-Finger-C-Cup girl, who lighted up his life the way her hair lighted the world.
He said that to Satsuki, subtly of course, because he didn't know how to put it without giving Satsuki the pleasure of knowing that their friendship is score one for her.
"Kimura is pretty great," Aomine had said, "isn't she?"
Satsuki just laughed, and told him he owed her one, since she had been the one to bring them together, and it's almost hilarious because 'Dai-chan, you were never one to make friends so easily.'
That's not true.
Alright it was. He took months and months to get Tetsu to talk to him, and he took nearly forever to finally acknowledge Kise's existence. Midorima's still dead to him, Murasakibara a weirdo, Akashi too scary to be considered friend-tier and Satsuki's been his friend since forever, so she didn't quite count.
What about Kimura?
(To be honest, he's afraid to answer that question. He's afraid of knowing the answer, he's afraid of facing the truth. He's afraid to know that in these months what they have now is more than what they had before.)
And so they continue their queer relationship.
They remain 'friends' even though it's totally not fine, in Satsuki's books, to hold hands while going home. Because 'friends' didn't do that.
They don't admit anything to anyone.
"What your relationship to Aomine Daiki?" the people in their classes always, always ask, like incessant parrots preying on gossip. "What do you think of Kimura Koharu?"
He doesn't like them, doesn't like their relentless meddling. He doesn't like how they won't leave Kimura and him alone.
"Huh? We're just good friends." is what they always reply.
They remain 'just friends' even when Aomine feels like kissing her one day, and does exactly just that under the cherry tree in the park.
She's soft and cold, and tastes just like tangy oranges, an addictive, addictive flavour that he can't seem to get enough of.
Kimura doesn't seem to mind, so he continues kissing her all the way home.
Though he's pretty sure friends didn't sit on each other's laps during a movie, or feed each other, or fall asleep on the same bed (with clothes on, because their relationship is purely platonic), legs entwined with their breaths hot on each other's hair.
But she doesn't say anything, and in turn, he doesn't.
There really is nothing to say.
Until the day he feels the particular inclination to just...touch her.
So, in the middle of the bustling street at three in the afternoon, Aomine Daiki reaches out and gropes Kimura Koharu's very soft and very C-cup boobs.
Despite his initial belief that she probably wouldn't mind, she squeals loudly, to their spectators' amusement, covers her chest with her bag and whacks him repeatedly on the head with a book.
"DAIKI!"
"Dammit! That hurt, you idiot!"
"Serves you right for groping me like that!"
"What's wrong with groping you?"
"You don't randomly just grope your friends on the streets!"
"Why not? I mean...we've kissed before. (A lot of times, actually)"
"T...that's different."
"I don't get it. How's that different? We've kissed, and we've slept together before and—"
"DON'T PUT IT THAT WAY! IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING INDECENT THINGS! "
He pauses, thinking, "...haven't we?"
She whacks him again.
"Ow...why can't I just grope you?" he persists. She's always said he was a pervert, with his Mai-chan and obsession with boobs, but he doesn't really see what's wrong.
"You just can't." her face turns pink. "It's different."
But why? He feels like asking, but doesn't. Instead, he just shrugs, and steals another look or two at her chest, before grabbing her arm.
"Let's go then."
...
"I'm confiscating your Mai-chan tonight."
And 'just friends', Aomine thinks, coming up with another addition to Satsuki's ridiculous list, definitely didn't give each other the privilege to confiscate their Mai-chan.
Then again, this is Kimura, so he doesn't really have any arguments.
.:extra:.
"Juuuuuuuuuuust get together already!" Momoi wails, wilting like a plant in dry wind.
"Fuck off, Satsuki."
I'm a little miffed with the writing style (this is kinda my experiment XDXD) but I'll try! I'd really appreciate it if readers can tell me what you think XD and do drop by and review *hugs*
Idk if I've mentioned but I'm super worried about whether the characters are in-character so if this all turns out okay you betcha I'll write loads more KnB stuff in the future ( but even if it doesn't, I'll just learn from my mistakes and write more KnB stuff anyway XD)
Please tell me if you find any problems, if you enjoyed it, if my characters were in-character—basically any sort of criticism! I'd appreciate it and loads and loads of thanks in advance!
And let me end this off with another (slightly false) reassurance: "I'll get the next chapter up soon!" Thanks for being patient with me guys!