Daiki is there when I wake up again, although I think it's unnecessary. "I'll call you when we have something more for you." Seijuurou says as Daiki practically lifts me out of bed. I struggle somewhat and ask to be put down. My request is instantly denied.
"Okay." I reply, resting my head on Daiki's shoulder. I guess I'm lucky that I'm getting a piggyback ride today. Normally I'd never get one. "Thanks a bunch, Sei." I get no response from the redhead other than a slightly curt nod and the door not hitting me as we walk out. All in all, no injuries to be listed.
Daiki is unusually silent today. Silent and kind of nervous, it seems. "What happened?" He finally asks, refusing to let me down even when we arrive at the train station. I raise an eyebrow.
"I explained things to Seijuurou's parents. We were trying to think of a way to keep me in the country." I respond fluidly. Daiki hums in understanding. I can feel it through the side of his neck, where my cheek rests.
"Wanna tell me what's going on between you and Seirin's ace?" Daiki's tone of voice is dangerous. Very, very dangerous.
"You mean Kagami? He's teaching me how to swim." I say.
"Isn't there something else you'd like to tell me?" I frown.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"He asked you out. He kissed you." Daiki growls as we sit at the empty end of the train car.
"To be fair, I kinda kissed him, too." I reply sheepishly.
"Why?" Dark blue eyes that hide so much fury my insides feel like liquefying. I give the bluenette the evenest stare possible.
"I was... testing something." I say honestly. The blue-haired boy raises an eyebrow. "I wanted to see if I have any feelings for him."
Daiki is silent beside me, a frown marring his face. "So what did you decide?" I shake my head.
"I have feelings for someone else. I got whom they were directed to confused." I reply. The eyebrow rises higher. "What, you want to know who?"
"Obviously, you idiot." Daiki says roughly.
"Promise not to laugh?" I hope to God I'm not making a mistake. This can either go really well or very poorly. Daiki snorts and nods. "Well he's waaaay too tall and he's always asleep in class and constantly skips out on club activities. He acts scary and intimidating, but he's also very gentle and caring and sometimes even sweet. He can also be really stupid sometimes..." I scratch the back of my head. "I like him. Very much. He usually does the right thing and can put me back in line, but he's really relaxed and lazy at the same time."
"Huh." Daiki says with an unimpressed expression. "I'll probably hate him." I raise an eyebrow.
"You are an idiot." I say as my face threatens to flush. "Daiki, lean forward." He looks like he's about to protest, but Touou's ace does as asked. "Don't move." He doesn't.
My heart races and my palms threaten to sweat. Hesitantly, I place my lips over Daiki's and kiss him quickly before pulling back. At least, I try to pull back. Daiki grabs the back of my head and pulls to him once more. Daiki tastes like hunger and lust all rolled up into the sweetest candy possible, one I'd never share with anyone.
Kagami was right to say we have chemistry, but the sort of chemistry I have with him could never compare to my chemistry with Daiki. Daiki has always been there. Even when I started playing, Daiki would come up to me after practice and show me things Akashi and Kuroko could not or had not showed me. I'm not a visual learner, but after watching him and having him help me practice, I would eventually catch on. He was somehow there after every injury, after the calls from my family, after my coaches yelled at me.
He stayed after when Akashi tripled my training menu or made sure I could read my homework when Akashi just told me to study. I'm indebted to him, just as I am to Tetsuya and Seijuurou, but that can't be helped. Daiki has always been a constant, and while I wish he hadn't changed from that boy who loved to play with every ounce of his being, that boy isn't gone. Daiki is Daiki no matter how he changes. All he needs is motivation.
My hand goes up to grab his sleeve as Daiki's presence devours me. I will give and give until I have nothing left. I can't breathe, but I don't mind. All I taste is hunger and satisfaction. I almost feel like I can taste the thoughts running through his head. My heart feels like exploding, and my chest feels like it's a puddle of warmth. Daiki makes me melt in every way possible. A short, quiet noise escapes my throat before I remember where we are. My face flushes crimson before Daiki pulls away. I breathe hard to catch my breath. "Daiki..."
"You're an idiot." He says, pulling my head to rest against his chest. "Ya shoulda kissed me first." My face heats up further, but I make no comment. I try to hide my flushed face in Daiki's shirt.
"Going to Kyoto and back is expensive." I groan. "I'll have to work overtime." Daiki snickers quietly above me. His fingers are tangled in my hair, but I don't mind, even though it irritates me when he accidentally jerks his hand away from my scalp.
"You better tell that red-haired dumbass you're not gonna date him." Daiki growls. He pushes the armrest up and practically tugs me into his lap. "You're mine now." My face turns red from embarrassment, and I'm very thankful that there's nobody in the third seat of our little row.
"Daiki, you're too loud." I mutter, leaning against him bashfully. Daiki makes a rumbling noise that I just barely recognize as his attempt at stifling his laughter. "I'll tell him as soon as we get back." Daiki rumbles once more, although this time it isn't laughter, but approval.
I fall asleep during the train ride even though I try my best not to. Daiki only bothers to wake me up after we get back to Tokyo. Yay, power nap. The air here seems hotter than the air of Kyoto to a point where I can't help but grumble unhappily. I dislike hot weather to an extreme. Cold weather is more my forte. My phone buzzes before I get a chance to complain to Daiki. "Hello?" The blue-haired wonder gives me a curious glance.
"Hai-chan! Did something happen?" I laugh sheepishly at Satsuki's concern.
"I was summoned by Seijuurou." I say, fanning myself against the humid weather. Admittedly, it isn't that hot, but I still dislike the temperature difference. "I ended up staying the night. Is there something you needed?" I hear muffled chatter at the other end of the line before she talks to me again.
"I'm going to find Tetsu-kun and Seirin to get some more data. Wanna come?" Surprised, my eyes widen almost comically.
"Sure..." I say, scratching my head. "I guess I wouldn't mind going with you." Satsuki giggles on the other end.
"Come up by school and we'll go together." She replies. I nod slowly before realizing she can't see me.
"Right. I'll be there soon. I think I'm fairly close already." I hang up and look to Daiki. "Satsuki's gonna go see Tetsuya, and I'm going with her. Wanna come along?" The wunderkind shakes his head.
"Got better things to do." I nod.
"Well, while I'm over there I might as well give Kagami my answer. Wanna meet up later?" Daiki looks a little awkward, glancing anywhere but at me, before he shrugs.
"Sure. I'm gonna go to the arcade, if ya wanna go there." I offer the prodigy a grin.
"Sure." I reply. "See ya later!" It takes me a few minutes to find my way, and another ten to get pretty close to school. Another five find me at the gate, and an additional two bring me to Satsuki.
"Ready to go?" She asks. Shorts and a jacket hide what I can barely recognize as a bathing suit.
"You look ready to swim there, Satsuki. Where exactly are we going?" The pinkette gives me a wide grin.
"To see Tetsu-kun, of course! They have a pool practice today." I try to hide the paling of my face before nodding.
"Of course." I reply, offering her a smile. "Let's get going, shall we?" We take the bus as close as it'll get us to a gym I don't recognize. The kanji has the name Aida somewhere in it, so I assume Seirin's manager is somehow connected to it. Probably an aunt or uncle. Maybe her parents, judging by the way she'd assessed me during my short-lived Seirin days.
"We're here~!" Satsuki squeals. "I bet Tetsu-kun looks cute in swim trunks." I do my best not to face palm and look at her in amusement.
"I bet that's the real reason you're here." I say teasingly. "You just want to see Tetsuya shirtless." Satsuki giggles and smacks my arm, yet surprisingly, doesn't really deny it. It doesn't take much time to actually get into the poolroom, although it does take a little more courage on my part than I'd like to admit. Hey, hey, at least I went in, right? Besides, it's not like I'm going to swim.
It's a nice pool, that's for sure. And the guys swimming in it? Not bad by my standards. What? I can look, can't I? They're near impossible to avoid. Satsuki bounces off to make her dramatic introductions while I trail behind lackadaisically, wishing I could just go home. I wanna sleep. I want Daiki to order me takeout. I'm about to make this known when a pleasant ball of fur barks at me. "Whoa, a dog!" I squeal, crouching down to pet it. Bright blue eyes remind me significantly of a certain shadow. Said shadow glances to me. "Hello, Hai-chan." Tetsuya says, nodding to me. I offer him a grin.
"Long time no see, Tetsuya!" I say with a grin. "You're looking well." He nods.
"I heard that you were summoned." The phrase leaves anyone listening, including a particular redhead, frowning in confusion.
"Ah, yeah. I got summoned. I just came back, actually." I confirm, offering a more tempered smile. The puppy whines before I scratch behind his ears gently. "This your dog?" Tetsuya shrugs.
"The team shares him, but he tends to stay with me most often." I nod several times before bopping the dog on the nose and standing.
Satsuki, of course, decides that it's the prime time to press up against Tetsuya, so I make my way closer to Kagami. I'm not exactly sure this is the ideal setting, but this needs to be done. "How're you doing, Kagami?" I ask. Kagami just sort of shrugs.
"Not too bad." I nod.
"I have my answer for you, if you'd like to hear it." Kagami nods and looks at me expectantly. "Sorry, but my answer is no. You were right when you said we have chemistry. I know it's there, but there's someone who I've been thinking of for a long time.
"I won't deny that you're a wonderful guy who I'd love to date, but this person has been with me through thick and thin. He's always looked after me, he's always been there for me, and I... We have a lot of chemistry together. We get along. We understand each other.
"I really like you, Kagami, but this person means the world to me." My face is more than slightly crimson. "I'd still like to be friends with you, if that's okay."
Kagami is silent for a while, mulling over my words I suspect. Then he grins. "I'm still your friend, but don't get me wrong, I have no intention of backing down." He says cheekily. "I'm taking you as soon as you're free." I have no idea how to respond to that.
Luckily, I'm saved from making a reply by Tetsuya's dog scaring the living crap out of me. Unluckily, in doing this, I fall into the pool. I wish I had time to scream before the water closes over me. I nearly swallow water before a loud crash sounds above me.
I can feel the bottom of the pool pressing against me as I try to push off it. Then a pair, no, two pairs of hands grab me and tug me to the surface. I gasp for air and grab whoever is on front of me tightly so I don't sink again.
My heart is racing faster than should ever be possible. "Idiot!" I can faintly hear Daiki's voice. "I told you not to go near pools! You shoulda told me there was one here!" Is he in front of me? Even here? In the pool?
I'm literally hauled out of the water and roughly toweled off. Dark blue staring at me, staring into me. "Alex?" I don't know why I'm out of breath. My heart seems like it'll burst from my chest. "Alex..."
"Daiki?" I blink my eyes back into focus and stare at the bluenette with shock. "What are you doing here?" Daiki looks concerned. The cool air of the indoor pool causes me to shiver suddenly before I realize what's going on fully. The urge to scan everything around me is overwhelming and not easily controlled. I give in to the urge.
"Alex, look at me." I ignore the bluenette and scan the rest of the area around the lip of the pool, searching for puddles of water. "Alex." Daiki's being annoying, overusing my name like that. The biggest puddle is next to me, I guess. The rest seems safe, but the tiles don't look as safe as something rougher would. "Look at me, Alex."
"Knock it off, Daiki." I mutter, finding several more puddles. I can't tell what the people behind me are doing, but they seem to be caught up in their own problems. I should pay him more attention.
"Alex. Look at me." Daiki's hands grab my face and turn my head toward him, limiting my view of the area around me. My eyes stray from his face. "No, at me. Look me in the eye, Alex. Look right at me." Hesitantly, I look back at Daiki and look him in the eye. Everything becomes blue. "Don't look away." I don't.
Being this close to Daiki makes my face heat up with a blush. His hands are warmer than my skin, and I note that he isn't dry himself. "Why are you wet?" I want to study the rest of him, to see if his clothes are as wet as his hair, but the blue-haired prodigy won't allow me to break eye contact. I can only assume that he somehow jumped into the pool, which explains his hair and why two pairs of hands hauled me out of the water.
"You idiot." Daiki mutters, pushing my hair out of my face so it spikes awkwardly to the side instead. "Don't stand so close to the edge of the pool. You can't swim to save your life." I mutter something that attempts to waive his worries, but all it does is make him sigh.
"Sorry." I mumble. "The dog startled me and I reacted without thinking."
"Sorry about that." Tetsuya says, making his presence the focus of my attention. "Nigou does that sometimes." I grin at the short boy.
"It's fine. It's my fault for standing so close to the pool." I reply, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. I stand after another minute, waving off the hand extended to me. "I should get home." Satsuki suddenly snatches my attention from the calm bluenette by pressing up against me to offer me a hug. My surprise must be evident.
"That was scary, Hai-chan!" The pinkette exclaims, her face pressed cheek to cheek with mine. "You fell in and sunk like a rock!" I laugh from embarrassment.
"Sorry, Satsuki." I turn and bow to the brown-haired manager. "And sorry, Aida-san. It seems we interrupted your practice a bit too much. It was nice to see you, though, Kagami, Tetsuya. I hope we play each other soon." Satsuki grabs my hand to tug me toward the door while Daiki sheds his jacket and shoves me into it a little roughly. We make our way onto the street at a leisurely pace.
"I wanna go home." I say quietly, ignoring the stares I'm getting from the people passing by. I don't really blame them. I'm soaking wet, dripping water all over the pavement, as Daiki leads me home.
"Be patient." Daiki replies. Satsuki soon parts ways with us to head home. "You told him, right?" Dark blue glancing back at me with what appears to be concern. I nod my head.
"Yeah, right before I fell in." I answer. The breeze makes goose bumps rise along my limbs despite the warmth of Daiki's jacket. I study him more thoroughly. He must be absolutely freezing now that I have his jacket. Daiki's just as wet as I am. "Do you want your jacket back?" He shakes his head. "You look cold."
The bluenette fixes me with a steely gaze that softens after several heartbeats. "Keep it on. You'll catch a cold, you idiot." He mutters, pulling me closer to him. I try to share my warmth by pressing against his side. "We're almost there anyway." I hum in response. It would probably injure his pride if I gave the jacket back at this point, and it's cold at this point anyway, so I accept Daiki's selflessness. It's not like he's always this way anyway, so it's an unusual and not entirely unwanted change of pace. I hope we get home soon.