"Aomine.. Daiki.."
Kuroko leaned his back to the soft cushion. A board of sketch-paper got laid out over the table in front of him. His pale white fingers went to trace the stroke and the firm line of unfinished picture. Kuroko lifted his eyes to the red flower. Kuroko had moved the red chrysanths into a new vase. He had only intended to make it fresh by putting it into a jug of water when suddenly Hyuuga and Riko saw him busying himself with water.
"What are you doing, Kuroko?"
Kuroko's hand stopped moving the water-pipe when the owner of the antique-store greeted him,"Ah, Hyuuga-san, I got a bucket of flower from someone and I just want to get rid of the plastic to put the flower somewhere else"
Didn't all the flowers from his secret admirer all this time was sent in a pot? Why bother to find a vase? The couple frowned, somehow holding the urge not to butt in about the disappearance of the pot.
Riko's eyebrow furrowed over the sight of water-jug on one of Kuroko's hand,"Are you intending to use that?"
Kuroko looked at the utensil he held and nodded,"Yes. I don't have any vase so-"
"Stuuuuupid!" the brunette exhaled tons of tiredness, stood up from her seat behind the cashier,"Seriously, Kuroko, we own an antique-store! Does that ring a bell for you?"
Hyuuga chuckled, somehow understand the way his wife got furious over this trivial matter,"Hey, hey, Riko, chill"
"But this kid is seriously-"
Kuroko upped his eyes innocently, didn't know how to address the matter at hand. Hyuuga patted his shoulder and pointed his thumb to a certain cupboard in the hallway near Kuroko's room,"Why don't you use one of it over there, Kuroko? I'm sure you don't want to disappoint the one who gave you that flower, right?"
"Yeah", Riko grumbled and sat back to her seat, hands back working on her accounting-book,"You better be grateful, Kuroko, even this sloppy and annoying husband of mine had never present me a single flower"
"Wha-?! What does that mean?!"
Kuroko nodded his head in approval and left the couple alone. It had always been like that, they would always argue over something so trivia but that was what made Kuroko couldn't get bored of them –eventhough that kind of thing would always happened every single time in the store. It would be different if all the family gathered though –not that Kuroko understand why Kagami disliked the noises so much.
Kuroko walked to the hallway, examined the cupboard Hyuuga had pointed just now. Upon discovering a little and a curved unbreakable vase, Kuroko took it out from the shelf and noted to himself that he would thank the couple later –especially Hyuuga. Kuroko scooted back to his room while meters away from him, he could still hear Hyuuga and Riko's bickering.
Seirin Antique Shop. While Hyuuga and Riko managed to keep the store after their unsurprising marriage, the other members of family also owned their private business –all of Seirin's big family, except for one, Kagami. That noisy red-head had always be the one to break the line and now went to join the fire-fighter corp. Since Kuroko was still in a need to get his art-study done, Hyuuga and Riko offered a place behind the store as his room and studio, while at the same time, dismissing Kuroko's uncomfortable feeling by telling him to watch over the store three days by the end of the week. They made an excuse of it as their coupling time while at the same time, Kuroko knew it's just the way Hyuuga and Riko would do to ease his responsibility about paying rent or so.
Kuroko entered his room and quietly put the blazing red flower into the vase then carefully poured water into it. Kuroko put the vase in the middle of his desk-work while hands starting to wander over piece of work in front of him, a half-done portrayal of the mysterious Aomine person. The blue painter sighed and took down the sketch-board. His hand reached for a certain book on top of a pilled up reference-books.
A bucket of red chrysanthemum.
It bugged him so much Kuroko's finger swiftly moved to open the book, flipping page by page. It was the book that he bought after few days of routine yellow-chrysanths gift arrival, a book about language of flowers. Since the mysterious yellow-flower came into his life, Kuroko had been strangely happy to be messed up by the daily surprise –if he wanted to be honest describing his feelings.
Kuroko hoped that this Aomine Daiki was the one he had been looking for. Afterall, Kuroko had been waiting for the chrysanths giver to come out. He couldn't stand the mysteriousness, or if he would like to admit, Kuroko wanted to settle his feelings down. He had never be the one to get involved in any romantic shape of relationship and wished that the yellow-chrysanths person would willingly help him to overcome that feeling.
Yellow chrysanthemum: Precious One.
Kuroko had already memorized that one page about yellow-chrysanthemum. He did dying all this time looking for an answer so of course he had done his research about that shiny-yellow flower.
With a heavy sigh under his breath, Kuroko flipped another page.
If Aomine was really the one, why did he, out of nowhere, coming out so suddenly like that? Then, if he really was the one, why did he bring a red-mum instead of yellow? Why did he-
Red chrysanthemum: I love you.
Chrysanthemum
by fancyshipper
Kuroko no Basket © Fujimaki Tadatoshi
Daisy AU! for AkaKuro, AoKuro
Aomine mirrored himself on the glass window next to him. At least he would be looked more convincing as a customer rather than a police in a stalk. After giving his midnight-blue hair a little touch, Aomine walked down the road. He had granted himself a gold opportunity to get a stalking spot smoothly and he wouldn't want to miss it. Aomine's leg drew him closer to the park, led him straight to the waiting painter under the tree's shades.
A mop of blue hair swayed as the little man upped his head from a book on his lap. Aomine could see a blinding spark within the orbs of turquoise when the painter recognized his arrival. Witnessing a hurry and expectant painter as he closed the book and prepared the board, Aomine scratched the back of his head as the guilty feeling inside of him floated to the surface. He had never taken advantage of other people in a way he did like this –little did he know that all of one-night stands he did could be counted as one.
"Ah, welcome Aomine-san", the blue painter smiled, Aomine made sure of himself that he never saw such a plain but breathtaking smile like that,"Please take a seat. I will continue what we've left yesterday"
Aomine nodded his head courteously and rested himself on the prepared folding chair. While the guilty feeling starting to take over his mind, his eyes automatically focused on the old building behind the painter. It was what he needed to do. A stalking.
After pulled it out from the paper-tube, Kuroko unrolled the last sketch and settled it on the board. Hands started to work on the unfinished picture. Unconsciously, his pokerface melted in an eager and anticipate manner as he curved the line, stroked the shades of the gentleman before him. Afterall, Kuroko wasn't someone who could restrain himself that much when the answer of the flower-mystery was right in front of him.
"Tetsu"
Almost messed up his work, the painter jolted in a surprise motion when his surname being called out. Kuroko blinked his eyes in anticipation, eventhough their first meeting yesterday was already a warning for Kuroko to get used by the friendly attempt of the tanned man, somehow he still felt uncomfortable over the sudden closeness. Yet he couldn't deny that it was such a pleasant experience to be able to hear a clear Te followed by a rolling tsu sounded in a low and husky voice.
"..Yes?"
"Nothing", Aomine hummed, much to his favor to see the painter in front of him could be flustered in such a way. Kuroko slanted his eyes, suspicious yet at the same time annoyed for being played with. It was as if Aomine was mocking him in between his work, his finger's movement disturbed.
Sensing the unsaid pout, Aomine upped his hand in defense,"No, I mean, you looked too serious when you're working on it. It's as if you got stressed up over this. Doing it calmly wouldn't hurt y'know"
Kuroko hauled a pause and starts moving again. This time Aomine could see that the motion changed to be more relaxed. Wanted to chuckle over the rigid gesture of the little guy portraying him, Aomine crooked his lips a bit. Sapphire eyes focused back to his target operation. Nothing.
It looked like his operation today fruited to none. After a bit spare of thought, Aomine decided to drop off his mission for now and started to enjoy the feeling of being painted. He didn't want to betray what he had said to Kuroko while he himself got stressed up over the scenery of sacred old-building. Rather than doing fruitless thing –it seemed that his operation target wasn't here in this area today- Aomine focused to the painter in front of him.
Aomine had always been thought that being a model for a painting is such a pain (pun intended). He needed to not moving much, it was boring, and moreover, the gaze of the painter would leave him uncomfortable for the rest of the week –at least that was what he learnt from being a model in his high shcool year for the art-class. But this time, Aomine didn't know how to describe it. The feeling of being stared by Kuroko was so different. Aomine felt like he was being seen through yet it felt as if Kuroko's eyes was not over him at all. Why didn't he realize it yesterday?
Kuroko exhaled a breath of relief when he almost done and took an eye for the model in front of him. That was when their gazes linked into one moment of silence. Kuroko's well built facade shattered into none when the sapphire eyes digging its way to the depth of his eyes. Kuroko was about to burst in exclamation about the flower when Aomine suddenly covered his mouth and coughed.
"Um", came back into his healthy mind, Kuroko blinked his eyes, quickly wrote down his signature in the midst of stroke right under the portrait,"It's finished"
Aomine stood and advanced himself to take a look at it and nodded in acknowledgement,"Hey, it's good"
Kuroko bit his lips, preventing a happy smile from escaping. He stood and bowed himself slightly,"Thank you for your cooperation"
Aomine rolled the paper in half-hearted manner –either he was trying to make an excuse to grant himself another chance to come here or he couldn't bear to lose sight of the eyes caught a shape of oil canvas painting display and head started to plan another park-visiting schedule.
"This one", Aomine groggily pointed the canvas,"Is it on the request list?"
Kuroko almost skipped a beat when he got engaged in another conversation with the man on question,"Ah, yes"
"Can I..", Aomine gulped, oh god never in his life he felt this nervous and awkward,"Can I get a portrait of myself like this?"
Kuroko's head went back a bit. Hundreds of possibilities crashed his mind when he nodded,"Yes. But I can't do it now since I don't have any prepara-"
"It's okay", Aomine widely grinned,"I'm planning to do it next time though"
Kuroko paused,"Eh?"
"When will you be here again?" Aomine asked, unknowingly inviting the painter into another tousled thoughts,"I'll make sure to come then"
"Ah", Kuroko slightly rolled his eyes to recall his schedule,"I'm always here by the start of the week"
"Okay, then", Aomine clapped his hand to his cloth, chasing away any unnecessary wrinkles.
Kuroko almost stupidly moved his hand to halt Aomine's step when he saw a piece of green leaf landed on the dark-blue hair,"Ah, Aomine-san"
Aomine stopped his second step and faced the painter in confuse, with a little bit of dissagreement,"Don't use the –san"
At first Kuroko didn't know how to respond to that but then he complied,"Aomine-kun.."
Aomine laughed and ruffled the mop of silky blue hair,"That's better"
Kuroko hummed on the response –somehow he put more effort to his expressionless face without realizing it. Being a busy body with kids, Kuroko automatically reached his hand up to the blue head of the tanned man and carefully took the leaf off from it.
"I'm sorry there is a leaf on your he-"
Kuroko's hand stopped moving when he saw Aomine was taken aback by his action. He then immediately realized that what he had done was considered to be rude,"Ah, I'm sorry, I-"
Those words stopped when Aomine caught them into another staring competition. The sapphire marbles wondered in confuse as he tried to discover the fuzzy feeling inside of him when he saw the little man in front of him, reminiscing the faint scent of vanilla and oil-paint from the painter. At the same time, the turquoise orbs couldn't handle his heart anymore. Assumptions went wild over the thought that all of these encounters must be resulted to one answer he had been looking for.
They broke off the wordless conversation with a quick apologize from both sides. Unsure with it themselves, they parted ways with Aomine left the park ground and Kuroko sat mindlessly on the chair. One that they're sure, neither of them would get a chance to sleep soundly tonight.
Author's Note:
Second update in the midst of errupted vulcano (it's hundred miles away from my place but wow damn the ashfall) and broken internet connection in the house.
Again, this is unbetaed so I welcome your opinions, critics, comments and suggestions. You can do it by review, PM, or talk to me directly via twitter ( fancyshipper) or tumblr (himmelskyld).
All in all, there was no Akashi and yeah, shout out for Aomine and Kuroko!
ps: Honestly, I was cruelly wishing that no one would want to read this fic so I can drop it off. I'm pretty sure that I'm starting to follow fithablink's path to withdraw from the glamorous fandom world –though I'm not as amazing as her to the point ppl will be saddened over my leave hahhahah *wry laughs*
