A/N: Slightly late update oops. But here's a pretty long chapter for you all! Might be delayed for the next one though, but rest assured, things will be picking up and the sexual tension is only going to get worse :) Thanks for all the faves and reviews so far! You all really know how to motivate a writer ︎:)
PCheshire: You'll have to see! But I don't guarantee everyone getting paired with someone :P
TykiTavi: aww I'm glad you like it! I feel you bro, they just need to get a room and get on with it HAHA. Aomine actually carried him via piggyback, but you'll see here how exactly Aomine goes about carrying the princess ;) Thank you for the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Kurogamine-The Light Shadow: Thank you for all your reviews! I'm really glad you're enjoying this little story I've written! I love AoKise too 3
theOtakuMageofAwesomeness: Thank you so much! I'm happy this could brighten your day! Please enjoy this new chapter and the coming ones!
#
"How?" Aomine didn't bother to hide the open incredulity on his face.
"It's a long story." Haizaki shrugged, watching the Kise siblings chattering in front of them. Aomine followed his gaze and stared at Kise's profile, all light and happy and awake. Compared to the previous night and earlier that morning, it was as if Kise was a sunrise. He had been sleeping so softly and peacefully that Aomine didn't—couldn't—wake him up, and he was a warmth on the side of his bed that had given Aomine an odd feeling of contentment; like it wasn't out of place at all that Kise was sleeping on his bed. Aomine had slept with his back to Kise, and at one point had felt their backs hit; and it was warm. The kind of warmth that calmed Aomine just as much as it surprised him, and Kise's breathing was like a gentle wind lulling him to sleep. It was a calm sleep, knowing that Kise was right behind him, and even though jetlag forced him awake far too early again, the sight of Kise right next to him somehow washed away the urge to get pissed at stupid jetlag and damned early mornings. It was as if watching the calm princess of a celebrity slumbering like a sleeping sun made waking up less infuriating—and Aomine didn't quite get why.
Now, on an elevator up a talent agency, music production, and various-other-functions-Aomine-didn't-bother-to-remember building, Kise was bright and smiling and made it feel like you'd consider the sun to be up only when he was too. Aomine wanted to fucking wear sunglasses and felt that it would be a completely justified action.
The elevator dinged open and Rika stepped out before Kise, Haizaki following close after. Aomine looked back to the gray-haired former-delinquent that Aomine used to know him as, falling into step beside him, and went back into disbelief.
"Okay, but how," Aomine pressed, still not sure he could believe Haizaki's job.
"I said it's a long story," Haizaki grumbled. "Is it so hard to believe, sheesh."
"Yes," Aomine answered immediately. "Tell me, I've got time."
Haizaki smirked at him, amused. "You're not stalling out of your shit with Momoi, Daiki," he grinned. "She's like five minutes away from getting here so there's no escaping."
Aomine's face twisted into a disapproving grimace. "You traitor."
Haizaki barked out a laugh, stuffing his hands in his pockets and grinning impishly at Aomine. "I ain't loyal to you."
"But you are to Kise?" Aomine asked, squaring his shoulders with a huff.
"Yep," Haizaki said without pause, looking ahead to where Kise and Rika were entering a studio, the older of the siblings bowing as she introduced themselves. Kise bowed after her while those inside greeted them happily, and Kise was smiling his celebrity smile.
Aomine gaped at Haizaki. "You sure you're Haizaki? Haizaki Shougo? I was pretty sure you were an asshole. Especially to Kise."
Haizaki immediately frowned, glaring at Aomine. "Says the fuckin' asshole, asshole," he snarled.
"Okay, yep, there you are," Aomine scoffed. "Really, I'm curious. What the heck happened? You were a total douche."
Haizaki grumbled at him, then ran a hand through his hair. "Well people grow up, jackass," he scowled. "A certain someone literally beat some sense in me, and I don't know, fuckin' hit my head down a notch or two. Figured I had to grow out of the fucking punk phase some day, and if I had to set things straight, I'd start with Ryouta." The two of them followed into the studio, moving to stay in the shadows of the sidelines. Haizaki nodded to the few who knew and greeted him, and Kise was ushered into a changing room.
"Not that I expected anything," Haizaki continued, getting a small spark of fondness in his eyes as he reminisced. "But I had to try. It took way too fucking long but eventually we started being able to just talk. I didn't think at all that I'd get a chance, and screwed up a couple of times and more or less fucked up by the end, but—" Haizaki brought his eyes up, seeing Kise come out of the changing room with light clothes that made him look like the brightest star around. "He did. He gave me a chance. I was pretty sure I'd turn into some punk ass trash with no future, but then he offered me this job."
"Kise did?" Aomine's eyes were wide with awe and skepticism as he glanced at Haizaki, who was just looking ahead, at Kise, who started posing for the shoot. Aomine followed his gaze and watched Kise putting on a calm, cool face, and Aomine couldn't help but stare.
"Yep," Haizaki replied. "I couldn't actually believe it at first, but he was serious and so I'm here. Been at it for almost four years now."
Aomine tore his eyes away from Kise to stare at Haizaki in surprise. "Four years? Wow."
Haizaki's lips curled up into a smile. "Yeah," he said pensively, looking calm and content.
Aomine huffed, turning his head to look back at the shoot. The photographer was talking to Kise, and a stylist was powdering his face. He chuckled at something and nodded, standing up and closing his eyes. After a beat, he opened them again, face turning into a serious expression, tilting his head down in a way that made him look up through his lashes, and his eyes looked like a golden fire just barely held back behind his irises. The cameras flashed, and he angled his head in a few different directions, moving into different poses as picture after picture was taken.
"What does a celebrity bodyguard even do," Aomine tried.
"You'd actually be surprised how dangerous it is to be a fuckin' celebrity," Haizaki scoffed, snorting. "People get so damn close it's sometimes suffocating; they try to touch and grab whatever they can reach—and you have no idea if they're holding some hazardous objects or weapons, and those definitely shouldn't get close to him." Haizaki grimaced. "Sometimes there are douchebags who try to steal stuff like his buttons, or scraps of his clothes—his hair. Jesus fucking Christ people always try pull out his goddamn hair and they're fucking crazy bastards."
Aomine pulled on a face, scrunched up like hew as just forced to lick someone's foot. "You kidding me? What the fuck."
"I'm serious," Haizaki groaned, wearing a similar expression. "If I didn't have my throat to worry about with Rika I'd have fuckin' broken more noses than I can count." Haizaki raised a fist with a frustrated expression, like he could clearly remember each person he wanted to punch for trying to grab at Kise. "And sometimes there are real douchebags—the haters and goddamn spiteful bastards—those are the biggest fuckers around. They try to throw dangerous shit and try to fuckin' attack Ryouta and—" he seethed at remembering, letting out a low growl. "I swear to god if it weren't for Ryouta I'd have beaten those sorry piece of shit fuckers to a fucking bloody pulp."
Aomine felt Haizaki's anger roll out of him like steam, and it was an infectious thing, making Aomine start to bristle with his own fury, a heat of protectiveness. "What the fuck?" he growled. "There are assholes like that? The fuck is wrong with them?" He couldn't understand for the life of him why people would try to attack Kise of all people, and felt his own fists clench at his sides at the thought, looking at Kise and seeing only someone that should be protected, just as much as he didn't need to or should have to be.
Haizaki let out a grumbling sigh, calming himself. He ran a hand through his hair roughly. "The world's full of scum, that's what's wrong."
"How often does that even happen?"
Haizaki exhaled through his nose, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "When Ryouta was getting more famous, those bastards started popping up at the red carpet stuff, the events and appearances. First it was just some violent crazies, and then some with fucking knives—"
"What the hell?" Aomine started to mirror the rage that Haizaki had boiling.
"I didn't let a single one of them get near him," Haizaki spat. "Got into a damn fight with Ryouta when I knocked a couple of 'em out before, too."
"What, are you saying that Kise got mad at you for hitting them?" Aomine's brows knotted. Kise was a decent guy, but he wasn't the kind of guy who'd just stand for people trying to attack him. He was a good person, but definitely not an angel. Then again, being famous had its limitations, Aomine supposed.
"Yeah," Haizaki nodded. "But okay, I might have beat them up too much, but still." Haizaki frowned with a grumble, then tilted his head in thought. "The attacks didn't happen that often after I beat them up, but it was when Kise snapped that they more or less stopped."
"Snapped?" Aomine's simmering anger slowed, and he raised a brow. "What happened?"
Haizaki glanced at him, a corner of his lips quirking up in a proud sneer. "One guy was trash talking Kise after this one event, and I was already threatening the little shit but Ryouta was brushing it off, telling me to just ignore him." Haizaki's smirk widened, looking like a proud wolf after his cub's first kill. "Then the bastard started trash talking Rika, got a bit close even, almost grabbed her arm." He looked back to Kise, who was laughing with something the employees were talking about with him. "And Ryouta stepped in front of her, put his arm on the bastard's shoulder, and smiled—" Haizaki scoffed, an evil grin stretching across his face. "It was the most terrifying fucking smile you'd ever see on that model's face, mind you—and then he told the guy that he could trash talk him all he wanted, but it was a different story if it was Rika. Then he told the fucker to get his stupid ugly mug the hell away and socked the guy right in the jaw."
Aomine gaped at Haizaki, eyes wide and jaw ajar. Haizaki snickered a fond, proud laugh. "Kise completely went out of character and the guy was bleeding with his ass on the ground faster than anyone could really process. The fuckin' paparazzi exploded and everything was just blinding-ass camera flash and it went fucking viral."
Aomine's eyes only widened, but this time his lips started curling up. "He punched a guy in front of the paparazzi?"
Haizaki grinned at him, proud. "Yep." he puffed up his chest. "You'd think it'd destroy his image but no—Ryouta fucking gained fans. Male fans, even. One moment he's the damn golden prince charming everyone knew and loved, then the next moment he's this bad boy badass that really just clicked with everyone. He was suddenly a true Gemini character who's more than just a pretty face. He was, I dunno, deeper now. He got respect."
Aomine found himself grinning wide, sniggering in both disbelief and wonder. All the sudden anger that had risen up in him was washed over with a wave of contentment and pride. That's the Kise I know. The words flew through his head easily, and died in his mouth when he looked back to the model, who'd put on at least a couple of different expressions for the shoot, while Aomine counted at least a dozen faces he donned that were unmistakably Kise but also not.
"So now I mostly just keep people from getting uncomfortably close, carry stuff, drive him around, hold up an umbrella over his head, shit like that," Haizaki shrugged. "Sometimes I have to wake him up if Rika can't, call people here and there, arrange meetings and appointments and shit—"
"Is that still a bodyguard's job?" Aomine raised a brow.
"He's more like an assistant manager now, actually."
They turned to Rika, who had suddenly popped up beside them. She smiled, all sunshine. "I get Shougo to do a bunch of stuff that leans towards manager-work now."
Aomine whistled. "Well whaddya know, Haizaki's all responsible now. All grown up."
Haizaki scowled, raising a brow in threat. He opened his mouth to speak but caught sight of something to one side, then shrugged. Within three seconds, a loud whisper, like the hiss of an angry snake, called to Aomine.
"Dai-chan!"
Aomine startled, and received a smack to the arm. He grimaced and looked down at Momoi, who had the biggest angry pout pointed right at him.
She punched his arm once then turned to Rika, bowing. "Rika-chan, I'm so sorry!" she tilted her head to the side and shot Aomine a glare, grabbing his shirt and tugging hard. "Apologize too, you idiot!" she hissed at him.
"Ah." he said dumbly, then bowed his head at Rika awkwardly. "Sorry."
Rika flailed, flustered. "It's okay! Really, Momoi-chan. Aomine-chan took care of Ryouta. He also caused Aomine some trouble."
Momoi straightened up with a sad pout, eyes sparkling. Rika smiled sweetly at her and reached over to smack Aomine on his other arm.
"What the heck—"
"You apologize to Momoi-chan though, Aomine!" Rika scolded him. "For avoiding her yesterday."
Aomine sighed. "I know, I already agreed to going to that darn meeting with her." He scratched the back of his neck, then looked at Momoi. "But…sorry."
Momoi's pout couldn't hold, slowly breaking into a smile, and it was the kind of smile that made the world feel like a bright and happy place. Rika puffed out her chest, pleased, and gave Aomine's arm a solid pat before excusing herself to get to work. Aomine sighed in defeat.
"Okay Dai-chan!" she perked up. "Good job taking care of Ki-chan! It would have been bad if you were both crowded around by a mob. Besides," she poked his arm. "If you wanted to go out with him, you could have just told me!"
"Yeah, yeah, my bad," Aomine waved his wrist. "I'll tell you next time, mom."
Momoi's brows knotted, and she puffed her cheeks like a stubborn child, squeezing her shoulders up. With a huff, she punched Aomine's arm again. "Shut up."
He smirked, rubbing the side of his arm, and chuckled when Momoi crossed her arms over her chest. She stuck her tongue out at him and flicked her hair, and just then noticed Haizaki sniggering to one side.
"Ah! Haizaki-kun, thank you for helping out!" she smiled brightly at him.
Haizaki looked away. "It's nothing."
Momoi giggled, then turned to Aomine. "Alright Dai-chan! Kisaragi-san will be waiting! He's in the building next door so we can come back here later if you want. I heard the cafeteria here is pretty and serves some good food!"
Aomine sighed, looking at Momoi's shining round eyes and resigning to his fate. He slumped for a moment, then inhaled sharply, letting out a determined exhale as he squared his shoulders. Haizaki was vaguely surprised to see that Aomine didn't slump down like he expected him to, like how Aomine would have usually, or at least back when he was still a slob of a teenager. Now he seemed bigger, broader, exuding a strong air much like his old middle school self, but this time greater and more sharpened, more pronounced. He seemed taller, even if their heights were practically the same, and Haizaki somehow felt reassured, watching as Aomine raised a hand to wave goodbye to Kise, immediately catching the model's attention. Kise bounced once, lifting his palm open in a signal to stop, and Aomine raised an eyebrow in confusion as Kise started to hurry towards him.
"Aominecchi, you're going?" he called out.
"Yeah, Satsuki's dragging me to meet that producer guy," Aomine grumbled with a sigh.
Kise stopped in front of them, looking as photogenic as ever, dressed up for the billboards and magazine covers. "With Kisaragi-san? What for?"
"Dai-chan got an offer for a cameo appearance!" Momoi piped up cheerily. "On a show!"
Kise's eyes widened, face brightening in a way that made both Aomine and Haizaki want to squint. "Eh? Really? That's awesome!" he smiled, and this time Aomine and Haizaki did squint at how bright he was. "Congrats, Aominecchi! You should give it a shot!"
Aomine made a face. "Eh, why? Seems like a hassle. I don't want to get filmed."
"It's not that hard! Besides, you've been getting filmed since middle school, geez," Kise chuckled.
"That's different," Aomine pouted.
"It's similar!" Kise laughed, and Aomine got that feeling of wanting to wear sunglasses again. "You should really consider it."
"Yeah yeah," Aomine waved a hand. "That's why I'm going with Satsuki."
"Afterwards though, do you have any plans?"
Aomine blinked at Kise. "Er, no? Maybe eat at the cafeteria down here with Satsuki, then mope about not being allowed to play basketball, I guess."
Momoi grumbled, frowning and putting her hands on her hips. "I already said you have to rest up, geez."
"Yes mom."
Momoi smacked him on the arm again. "You trying to add to my injuries, woman?" Aomine barked at her, rubbing his stinging arm.
Kise was laughing again, reaching out to Aomine's arm. He stopped right before touching him though, then pulled back with a start. Aomine raised a brow, confused, and Kise smiled, as if he could cover up his expression under a wide enough smile. "Aominecchi's so cared for," he chuckled, clenching his fist. He brought it down to his side in an effort to not make it obvious that he avoided touching him just then. "If you're not doing anything, wanna watch those movies with me later?"
Aomine didn't want to question Kise's odd behavior, but wondered about it nonetheless. "Ah, right, we weren't able to yesterday."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Kise grinned sheepishly, scratching the side of his head. Aomine's eyes briefly flickered to Kise's fingers, brushing under his golden hair in a way that made the locks fluff around in soft waves. Aomine had this small desire to touch Kise's hair again, and had to stuff his hands in his pockets to make sure he didn't.
"No biggie," Aomine told him. "I'm game. Can't let you go on not knowing how Kenshin gets to—"
"AAAHHHH!" Kise screamed, bringing his hands to his ears to block out Aomine's spoilers. Aomine laughed, and Kise pouted at him. "I said no spoilers you jerk!"
Before realizing it, Aomine's hand was already ruffling Kise's hair, and he mentally cursed himself for it but kept laughing anyway. "So let's watch. What time will you be out?"
"A bit later than yesterday, actually," Kise said, escaping from Aomine's hand. Kise wore an apologetic look, and seemed like he was already reconsidering his own offer.
"I'll wait," Aomine said before Kise could take it back.
Kise looked up at him through his lashes, which Aomine couldn't help but notice were long and delicate-like, and made Kise's golden eyes seem like small suns peeking out of a silhouetted horizon. "Really?"
"Yeah, not like I've got anything better to do besides sulk around about not being allowed to play basketball."
Momoi sighed exasperatedly. "Yeah, Ki-chan, you and Dai-chan should hang out. It's been a while since you've seen each other and at least watching movies won't make Dai-chan's injury any worse," she said flatly, in the voice of one truly martyred.
"Injury?" Haizaki piped up. "Is that why you're not allowed to play?"
"NO," Momoi flapped, immediately panicking.
"So that's a yes then," Haizaki raised an eyebrow, and Momoi visibly deflated.
"Please don't tell anyone," she groaned.
"Why?" Haizaki squinted, mischievous.
"It's a pro basketball thing," Kise lectured. "We have to keep it a secret, Shougo."
Haizaki leaned back, shrugging, a fond smirk tugging at his lips. "Alright, alright."
Both Aomine and Momoi stared in wonder at how Haizaki and Kise were together, still disbelieving of how Haizaki had changed. He was, essentially, the same person: still foul-mouthed and mischievous and threatening; but he'd grown up. He was more calm, more…content. He seemed contented and perfectly at ease with his current situation, his life. Like there was no longer anything that made him constantly hostile and angry, nothing that made him want to take from others like he used to. It was like he'd found a home.
"Tanaka-san's on leave so I'll drive you," Haizaki told Kise.
"Eh? He is?" Kise blinked owlishly, then his expression turned guilty. "Ah, right, it's been a bunch of late nights for him recently."
"Yeah, gotta give the old man his rest," Haizaki smirked.
"I like it better when you're driving anyway," Kise said with a sigh.
"You do?" Haizaki tilted his head, open curiosity in his face.
"Yeah, you make sure to drive smoothly so that I get better sleep," Kise said matter-of-factly. "No sudden turns or stops and you ease in and out of acceleration gently and efficiently, so that the ride's comfortable."
Haizaki stiffened, cheeks immediately dusting pink, looking like the compliments had physically attacked him. "Wha—I'm pretty sure you're always asleep when I drive!"
Kise cocked his head, questioning, but then a smile spread out through his face, all charm and playful and bright. "I don't always get completely knocked out you know," he clicked his tongue. "It's really different when you drive. Tanaka-san keeps spacing out and suddenly it feels like I'm in a freaking amusement park ride. I almost fell off the backseat a few times, even. But when you drive, it's really smooth and comfortable and I end up getting some really good sleep. So thanks, I guess."
Haizaki narrowed his eyes, face scrunched against the blood pooling his cheeks. It looked like he'd just been cornered by Kise's words and thoroughly pummelled, and Haizaki's face defaulted to his angry, taken aback one, albeit adorned with a blush that he'd utterly lost control of. He jerked his head to look away from Kise, grumbling out a "Goddammit, Ryouta."
To his side, Aomine brought a hand over his mouth and muffled a laugh, resulting in an obnoxious snort. "Holy shit, is this real."
Haizaki punched Aomine's arm in an instant, and Aomine yelped. "Ack, why are you all aiming for my shooting arm, geez."
"Shooting arm my ass," Haizaki spat, still flustered. "You're practically ambidextrous. For all I know, you can shoot a basketball with your damn feet."
"You know, I haven't tried that," Aomine pointed out.
"You probably can, actually," Momoi sighed. She was pretty sure she didn't need that information.
Haizaki smacked a hand over his face, as if he could somehow push the blush down his neck. "Anyway, just come back here if you're going to Ryouta's place, bastard."
Aomine was still laughing in suppressed snorts. "Got it, Mr. Bodyguard Sir." He dodged Haizaki's next punch, then turned to Kise. "See you later, then."
Kise chuckled, and it sounded like light music, the kind that carried through a breeze and made a day perfect. "See you later, Aominecchi!"
The upward curl of Aomine's lips felt so natural, like you couldn't help but smile around Kise; like nothing could be wrong if Kise was happy. Aomine vaguely felt confused about that feeling, but mentally shrugged it off—it didn't seem wrong at all to feel that way. Odd, but not wrong.
"See you, Haizaki-kun, Ki-chan!" Momoi beamed, absently grabbing onto the hem of Aomine's shirt and tugging.
Kise waved, looking so radiant it was as if he'd taken in the energy of the sun, all brilliant and shining and full of life that Aomine had almost run into the door on the way out, as if momentarily blinded. Haizaki would have laughed if he wasn't looking at Kise, and even after years of working by his side and getting accustomed to the celebrity's brightness, Haizaki found himself staring in wonder at how much more Kise was then. A rare wide smile that curved his cheeks high crinkled the corners of his eyes, making his lashes frame those amber orbs and make them sparkle. Haizaki narrowed his eyes, following Kise's gaze to land on Aomine, who was grinning as he waved goodbye. And Kise was still watching when Aomine's back was turned to them, up until he and Momoi disappeared into a hall outside.
When Kise brought his hand down and noticed Haizaki observing him, his smile immediately dropped. Haizaki had an impish, scheming sneer, and looked like he was excited for a murder he was about to commit. Kise was immediately suspicious, stepping back in abrupt apprehension.
"What," Kise frowned. "What's that face for?"
Haizaki's smirk only curled up, evil. "You sure you just 'fell asleep' last night Ryouta?"
Kise's heart might as well have dropped down to his stomach with the shock, his mind taking a moment to process the sudden jeer. Two seconds had barely passed when Kise felt his face burn up, and he was sure he was red as a tomato, up until the tips of his ears. He could practically feel the steam bursting out of his ears as his eyes widened, staring at Haizaki with no filter to his expression at all.
"Yes of course," Kise spat, accusing.
"On Daiki's bed?" Haizaki's grin was downright devious.
"There was only one bed!" Kise defended.
"So you slept with a basketball superstar."
"Ye—fuck you."
Haizaki laughed, boisterous and mocking. Kise brought his fist in the air, and Haizaki raised his hands in immediate surrender, stepping back in a flash. "Kidding! Just kidding!"
Kise narrowed his eyes, but brought his fist down. Rika called for him from the other end of the room, and he gave Haizaki a pointed glare before turning on his heel.
"It was such a good chance too…" Haizaki mumbled behind him, mischievous.
For some confounded reason, the image of Aomine stepping out of the shower with nothing but form-fitting boxer briefs on and small beads of water dotting his body flashed in Kise's head, playing back the way Aomine had downed a glass of water against the light of the window, making all his curves and angles defined and his form even more impressive. Kise threw Haizaki a sharp look over his shoulder, trying for threatening but mostly just coming up with furious blushing.
"You…" Haizaki looked at him inquisitively, thinking back to something he'd thought was off since he'd seen Kise that day. "You were wearing his shirt!" he blurted out, realization hitting him. "Ryouta, did you really—"
"God fucking dammit Shougo," Kise barked at him. "I fell asleep. I was knocked out. Aominecchi brought me up to his place and let me sleep over. When I woke up, it was already morning, and I already used up my spare shirt in the car so he lent me one of his. Then he drove me here like the fucking devil. End of story."
Haizaki's evil smile was back, this time more playful. "You showered there." It was more of a statement than a question, Haizaki just voicing out his little analyses.
"Yes I did. Don't mention that to Rika-nee, Aominecchi just had those hotel bath things and she's picky with those."
"You saw him naked, didn't you?"
Kise tripped on a wire. Haizaki's arm shot out to catch him by the collar in an instant, and he didn't miss the way Kise's flush went down to his neck as he pulled him back to stand properly.
"You did, didn't you," Haizaki peered around to look at Kise's face.
Kise smacked a hand over Haizaki's face and pushed him away. "I didn't!"
Haizaki stumbled back, then trotted back to Kise's side, observing his expression. Kise was still not quite back to his usual masked celebrity face, so it didn't look like he was outright lying, but he wasn't telling the whole truth.
He turned his head away from Haizaki, ears still pink. "He was in boxer briefs."
Kise punched Haizaki's arm when the bastard cackled loud enough for everyone to hear.
#
By the time Aomine's meeting had finished, it felt like he'd just gone through half a basketball game with how tired he became, all without even having to get off of a seat. There was something about sitting down and discussing all these entertainment industry-related things that just seemed to zap all the energy out of you the moment you get away from it. With the way Kise had been going through all his work 'round the clock, it was no wonder he could get knocked out so solidly at the lick of a break.
Aomine let out the rough sigh he'd been holding back in the meeting. Beside him, Satsuki was still bright and chipper for some ungodly reason, tapping away at her phone and cheerily humming as they walked.
"Why are you so happy, it's not like I accepted the offer," Aomine grumbled.
"It's not like you rejected it either!" Satsuki happily replied. "At least you have time to think it over."
"What's there to think about," Aomine frowned, squaring his shoulders back. "I ain't doing it."
"Come on, Dai-chan!" Satsuki said, looking away from her phone to pout at him. "It's a tiny cameo role for like one episode. It'll be a couple of minutes of screen time, at most."
Aomine sighed again, running a hand through his hair. He needed a haircut—he could actually grab some locks of hair and tug on them—and made a mental note to get Satsuki to cut it for him sometime.
"You'll be playing basketball," Satsuki poked, grinning expectantly.
Aomine's hand twitched. Surely enough, the producer they spoke to was clever and charismatic, and he just knew that he got Aomine's attention when he told him that they wanted him to "just practice some basketball in front of the camera." It wasn't a game, just dribbling around, cutting around some actors and shit, maybe doing a few dunks—but it was more than anything Aomine's been allowed to do for weeks.
"Plus, it's for Ki-chan's drama!" Satsuki added excitedly, bouncing on her step. "I wouldn't insist if I knew you'd totally hate it, but I figured it'd be okay for you if Ki-chan was around. Familiar face and all."
Aomine wrinkled his nose. The fact that he was being asked to cameo in Kise's drama coupled with the fact that he'd be playing basketball all sounded pretty damn good to him. Having Kise around would make everything feel less stiff and take off the weird thick pressure that Aomine feels when surrounded by the showbiz people. Kise would be that warm, bright light that made a dark and stuffy room full of strangers feel like home.
If only the formalities and the meetings and facades didn't have to be involved, Aomine would be more willing to do it. And the idea that he'd play basketball itself was great, but with actors is another issue altogether. Aomine's style of basketball was all about freeform, no plans or scripts, and it was bad enough that he was going to be "playing" with small fry, but these were guys who might as well have no feelings for basketball whatsoever. They would just be acting. And they'd have a hundred faces for Aomine to see but he wouldn't trust a single one.
"I'm sure Ki-chan would be happy about it too," Satsuki told him. "He seems happy to have a friend next to him in the middle of all that hectic celebrity career."
Aomine huffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. True, Kise was tired as shit, and he'd sometimes get this way about him when he's doing his work, but Kise was being Kise. Still that same cheery blonde bundle of sunlight that Kise had always been. At least around Aomine.
"Meh," was all Aomine could come up with. "By the way," he turned to look at Satsuki. "How far is the damn cafeteria anyway? We've been walking around a while."
Satsuki stiffened, the fingers around her phone tightening every so slightly. She narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips, and Aomine stopped walking.
"Satsuki," Aomine said. "Are we lost?"
She huffed, stopping just a few steps ahead of Aomine. "No! It's just—all I know is that it's somewhere in these upper floors."
Aomine smacked a hand over his face, inhaling deep. "So you don't know where it is."
"Shut up, it's somewhere here, we'll find it."
Both Aomine's and Satsuki's stomachs made some grumbling sounds, and Aomine let out another long-suffering sigh. "I'm hungry."
"Well so am I, you child," Satsuki snapped, huffing. "We'll find it, let's just—keep looking." She turned and stomped towards another corner, and Aomine followed with another sigh.
"Ah, there's someone there!" she piped up, noticing a person in the far end of the corridor sitting on a bench in front of a door. "Let's ask them."
When they neared, the person turned out to be Haizaki, scrolling through something on his phone with an amused expression.
"Oh, Haizaki-kun, hello!" Satsuki said.
Haizaki turned, half-surprised, and blinked at them. "Oh, you're back. That was quick."
"What are you doing out here?" Satsuki glanced at the door across them.
"Ryouta's got a meeting in there," Haizaki shrugged. "I don't really need to be around so I'm sitting it out."
"A meeting? Right after the shoot?" Aomine grimaced. Kise was really doing one thing after another without pause.
"Yep," Haizaki leaned back on the wall behind him, resting his hands on his lap. "He's got a pretty tight schedule."
Satsuki's stomach made another noise. She flushed and hugged it. "What about lunch?"
"Rika made him a bento," Haizaki said. "He ate for a bit right before going to the meeting, and he'll eat again later. You guys headed to the cafeteria?"
"Yes," Satsuki breathed. "We've been trying to look for it for a while now."
Haizaki raised an eyebrow. "Oh. I could show you the way. I guess."
"Really?" Satsuki visibly brightened up, and Haizaki flinched. "That would be great! Please do!"
Haizaki huffed, heaving himself to stand and shrugging. He started walking to the end of the hall. "Alright, it's on the floor above."
"Sorry for the bother!" Satsuki bounced next to him.
"Neh," Haizaki mumbled. "Might as well eat too."
He turned his head away from the beaming Satsuki, and Aomine almost chuckled at how awkward Haizaki was when he was being nice. Aomine didn't know just how long ago Haizaki had started to change, but it was definitely not a complete transformation. There were small actions, almost imperceptible, that only people who knew him would consider new or different, by Haizaki standards. The way he'd kept the door open for Momoi when they went through the service stairs, the small bows he did for people who knew him because of Kise, the way he slowed his pace for Momoi to keep up with their long strides. They were practically unnoticeable, just normal things anyone would do, but for Haizaki, they were all sure signs that he'd really changed.
"It's here," Haizaki told them, pushing open a glass door to let Momoi in. She glanced up at him with sparkling eyes, noticing just how different he was, and smiled at him as she walked inside. Aomine didn't miss the way Haizaki averted his eyes with a pout and the small flush on his cheeks, and Aomine made sure to grin at the bodyguard in a way that made it obvious he knew. Haizaki glared at Aomine when the basketball pro stepped behind Momoi while Haizaki still held the door.
The cafeteria was huge, spacious and bright, with some glass dividers cutting the space in different parts. The walls were dotted with framed photos, posters, and articles of the company's productions and stars, both old and new. There was a wide counter on one end filled with food displayed glamorously over it, and on another end was a small bar, where all manner of coffee, shakes, and smoothies seemed to be available. There were just a few people in the cafeteria, but Aomine noticed how some of them were familiar—faces he'd seen on TV or online or on magazines somewhere. Others were poring over papers and tablets, some muttering to themselves, some talking over the phone. As they walked to a table, they passed by a blue-haired girl who Aomine recognized was a model he'd seen in billboards, and a few tables back, Aomine saw a tall, brown-haired man sprawled on a long couch, sleeping quite soundly, just about as knocked out as Kise looked the day before. On a smaller couch next to him sat a similarly dozing pink-haired man, head bobbing gently against the backrest of the couch. They were both lean and almost as blaringly attractive as Kise, probably models or actors or both. Somewhere on another end of the room, there was a woman with her head buried in her arms on her table, also sleeping; and Aomine really wondered about how these guys were completely down for the count right there, but look the way they did and work the way they worked when they were out in public. It was like how Kise had slept so peacefully in the car and on the bed, and how he'd spring to this bright life and do one thing after another in front of studio lights and camera flashes and hundreds of faces, and for a moment Aomine felt kind of impressed and kind of amazed.
They ordered their food and sat at a table on one of the far ends, Haizaki immediately moving his attention back to his phone as he awkwardly tried to make himself look preoccupied. Aomine felt his stomach grumble, and tried to distract himself by peering over at whatever Haizaki was browsing.
"What'cha looking at?" Aomine asked.
Haizaki grumbled, but then a sly grin started to stretch out over his face. "Just checking what's going around about Ryouta online," he said. "You're in a lot of these right now, you know."
Aomine furrowed his brows. "Huh?"
Haizaki's smile stretched more impish and mischievous. "Ever since the show you were a special guest at, you've been a trending topic alongside Ryouta. The fans are going crazy about your relationship."
Aomine's face twisted into a weird-ass frown and scrunch. "'Relationship'? You mean 'friendship'?"
Haizaki's smile was full out scheming now. "Nah, I mean relationship," he sneered. "You should read what they're talking about. These guys have your guest appearance analyzed to the smallest change in expression or the simplest statements, they've fucking unearthed your past and pictures are going around everywhere."
"What the fuck," was all Aomine could say.
"Here, look," Haizaki put his phone on the table and turned it to face Aomine. On the screen was a picture of Aomine half-carrying Kise when he'd hugged him during that show, and another when they were laughing at each other after pulling apart. Haizaki scrolled a little to a photo of Aomine in his basketball uniform taken from one of his games abroad. He was smirking about something as he walked away from their team's bench. Beside it was a picture of him laughing with Kise on that show a few days ago, and under that was a similar pair of photos, this time of Kise: one where he was smiling on a different TV show, and another where he was laughing alongside Aomine, again from the one they were at just recently. On the thread the poster had commented:
Kise Ryouta-san smiled the widest and brightest when he was with Aomine Daiki-san! It was so different from his usual smile and he was so happy! It's a Kise-san that we haven't seen before and my heart is happy 3 It looks like Aomine Daiki-san is also different with Kise-san and smiles more 3
"What," Aomine said flatly, not quite understanding. "What. How was Kise different back then? Kise was being Kise. What are these girls talking about."
Haizaki shrugged, considering it. "They're right, actually. I mean look at their evidence—" he scrolled some more and showed these comparison pictures that the fans had put together. There were a lot of shots of Kise on different shows, different interviews and appearances, all alongside numerous shots of his smiling and laughing on the most recent show with Aomine. True enough, there was an almost significant difference in the way Kise smiled and laughed—they were all smiles and grins and open shots of laughter, but there was something more dazzling about his smiles on the other shows. Like he was especially beautiful and attractive, like there was a certain control being exerted in his expressions. It was definitely different, and seeing those shots alongside the ones taken from the recent show, Aomine could understand how these fans could point out the difference—they were right, Kise seemed happy, his smile stretched out wide and candid, his laughing face clear bursts of joy and abandon. It was how Aomine always knew Kise to be, so what was more different to him was Kise's other shots, rather than the "new" Kise that he was more familiar with.
"You see it, right? Even just in photos," Haizaki said. "For those who follow Ryouta's appearances and watched the latest show, it's pretty different, how he was. Even if I'm used to his normal self, even I noticed it when you came out as the guest."
"I don't really get it, is it like a celebrity thing?" Aomine took over scrolling on Haizaki's phone, knotting his eyebrows as he surfed.
"Yeah, they have to keep up appearances and all that shit," Haizaki said. "Ryouta's a natural at it, of course. It's kind of like a fucking art, what all those idols and celebrities do, and Ryouta's practically mastered it. Figures it'd take an idiot like you to make him forget to keep up the usual act."
Aomine's response to the jab was a very pointed glare, but he quickly went back to scrolling.
"Is Ki-chan always acting?" he heard Satsuki say, just as the food was served to their table.
"Nah, well, a little," Haizaki replied. "He's being himself, but a version that attracts fans and makes him more popular, or some shit like that. These celebrity guys, they do stuff in a way that makes them—what did Rika say again...desirable? Attractive? That shit. Body language, the way they control their voice and speech, how they wave, smile, laugh, move—fucking breathe, even. All that complicated-ass shit." Haizaki looked annoyed he had to think about it. Rika and Ryouta had lectured him about it far too often already.
"Yeah, that sounds hard and complicated," Satsuki wrinkled her nose. "Ki-chan's amazing."
Haizaki hummed in agreement. Beside him, Aomine was still browsing, finding pictures of himself posted around these forum things and frowning at them. They were a mix of photos of him: some paparazzi shots from when he and the team would go out or train, some of the feature photos of him In basketball and sports magazines, and a whole lot of photos of him playing on the international stage—it annoyed him because they made him want to play, made his fingers itch and twitch with the barely kept in energy he had in surplus. And then there were the pictures of him and Kise on that show, and Aomine saw how Kise really looked the same, practically hearing in his head the insistent "Aominecchi, let's play one-on-one!" and getting that little flame of an urge to do just that.
When an old picture came up on the screen, Aomine's fingers stalled.
"Ooh, how nostalgic," Satsuki said, leaning forward to look over at the screen. "That was when you got into the semi-finals of Inter-High, wasn't it?"
"'We'," Aomine corrected absently, staring at the photo. "And it was the quarter-finals."
The picture was of Aomine, his face frozen in a laugh, open and loud and completely happy. He had his arm around Kise, pulling him close as the blonde grinned an ear-to-ear grin, both of them celebrating a victory. They were drenched in sweat and wore their Teiko basketball uniforms, and behind them was a backdrop of cheering crowds and the scoreboard showing one hundred and five points.
"Really? I'm surprised you remember," Satsuki mumbled across them, already eating.
Aomine was pretty surprised too, the memory coming easily to him. That time, he had scored one of the highest he'd ever reached, almost as if he was competing with Kise over who could get the most points as forwards. Whenever the pass connected to him, Aomine would practically tear through the court in a flurry, feeling the rush of adrenaline and the torrent of the game power his every move. Kise would always be following close behind, as if he was ready to steal the ball, just watching Aomine with that spark of admiration he had in his eyes since the day he burst into the gym and asked to join their club. Back then Kise would always be right behind him, trying to catch up.
"It was a fun game," Aomine muttered, eyes fixed on the screen. He pulled his hands back and leaned into his seat, wrenching his eyes away from the screen and focusing on his food.
"Can I have my phone back now," Haizaki spat while chewing, not waiting for an answer either way and snatching his phone back. Aomine made an incoherent noise, a small huff, and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
"I'll be right back," Satsuki excused herself, standing up from her seat with a vibrating phone in her hand. The two men across her grumbled out some sounds of acknowledgement, and she snorted once before walking away.
"Holy shit she's practically finished eating," Haizaki said, blinking at Satsuki's near-empty plates.
"Hey, Haizaki," Aomine said, picking absently at his food, pondering. "Does Kise have something against people—I don't know—touching him?" For a while now he couldn't get it out of his head how Kise would flinch when Aomine would bring an arm over his shoulders or even just put on his freaking seatbelt. How Kise somehow shied away from contact somehow—or was it just Aomine's imagination? The celebrity had attacked him with a hug on that show when he'd appeared—but ever since then there was that weird, awkward…thing that seemed to make Kise recoil from even the slightest contact.
When Aomine turned to Haizaki, he was met with a sharp, icy stare. Haizaki's eyes were suddenly cold and intense, bordering on a fierce glare that almost made Aomine flinch. It wasn't the same as Haizaki's scheming, wily eyes, but a stern, steadfast gaze—of protectiveness. It was a look of someone who was standing in the way of anything that meant harm to what he shielded. It was a look he'd never seen Haizaki have before.
"You," Haizaki started, eyes narrowing. "Did you lay a hand on Ryouta?"
Aomine leveled his gaze. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Haizaki studied Aomine's expression, searching his face, but backed off. He seemed to consider something before turning back to his food. "It's nothing. Forget I said that."
Aomine's brows knitted together, and it felt like he was treading on unfamiliar waters. "Did something happen with Kise—"
"I said it's nothing," Haizaki interrupted, eyes flickering to him in a sidelong glare.
Aomine's face turned serious, and it was the exact same expression Haizaki remembered seeing on him the night Aomine had cracked his jaw in a punch.
Haizaki exhaled through his nose. "It's not for me to say," he admitted.
A few beats passed before Aomine relaxed, resting back on his seat and returning to his food. "Okay," he relented, at least a little bit satisfied with the vague answer. He was curious, almost unbearably so, but he didn't want to force it. A strong nagging in the back of his mind set off a few alarms, mildly concerned about the possible implications of Haizaki's statements. So something was up. It wasn't Aomine's imagination. For some reason he was a little frustrated at himself, at how he'd missed something likely significant that went down with Kise. That he wasn't there for Kise; for the easily-targeted and followed model—or celebrity, now. The thought that someone like Haizaki who'd once planned to go after Kise could have gotten to him, could have somehow done something to Kise—hurt him—and Aomine wasn't there to punch them like he had Haizaki—it made an uncomfortable boil of heat grip at his chest and he didn't understand it.
Haizaki let out a rough sigh, as if he was having a conflict in his own head. Aomine glanced at him. "Look, sorry for what I said. I should be the last person to doubt you after all the stuff you've done for Ryouta but—Jesus Christ Daiki what the fuck!"
Aomine started choking on his food. Something went down the wrong way and another thing got lodged in his throat and he was hacking and pounding on his chest in a panic and tears started clinging to the corners of his eyes—Haizaki grabbed a glass of water and shoved it at Aomine, keeping the glass steady as the choking idiot emptied it in large gulps.
"Fuck," Aomine gasped, panting lightly after downing everything that threatened his breathing. "I thought I was gonna die."
Haizaki was still smacking Aomine's back as the blue idiot cleared his throat. "Why the hell did you fucking start choking you dumbass."
"You surprised me, jackass!" Aomine spat back, grabbing Satsuki's glass and drinking from it. "Who the hell are you and what have you done to Haizaki?"
A nerve flared in Haizaki's temple, his blood boiling up to his face. "The fuck? What's so fucking surprising, asshole?!"
"You apologized! What the hell's with that! What's with all the niceness it's like you're a fucking angel compared to your dickhead self from before!"
Haizaki's eye twitched, and his teeth formed a toothy snarl. "You fucking—is that supposed to be an insult?" He grabbed the top of Aomine's head in a vice grip.
Aomine smacked his hand away. "You're weird! What's wrong with you! Bring back the douchebag I know! It feels weird hearing that from you!"
"You piece of shit—" Haizaki barked, feeling his cheeks burn as he and Aomine started wrestling on their seats, pushing at each other's faces and garbling out profanities at each other. By then, the other occupants of the cafeteria were squinting at them suspiciously, or laughing in amusement, or taking videos. Satsuki returned to find them still at it like children, and she buried her face in her hands for a few moments, contemplating her place in the world and why it had to be near these two idiots, then walked back to them.
"Children, please stop fighting," she said, pulling her face into a smile.
Aomine and Haizaki glanced at her and immediately froze, seeing a pretty, grinning Satsuki with the expression that didn't take shit from anyone and an aura that screamed any more and I'll bury you. The two boys promptly snapped back into their seats, mollified.
She sat down, dainty and proper, still smiling at them as the two felt sweat break out at the back of their necks. She dabbed at her lips with a tissue and flashed another smile, a cheery one, and Aomine and Haizaki smiled nervously, bumping shoulders with each other and instantly wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders.
"We're not fighting, we're just catching up!" Aomine said, fluffing the back of Haizaki's head.
"Yeah, we're being good friends!" Haizaki beamed, eyebrows twitching.
"Great friends."
"Great friends!"
"The best of friends."
"I wouldn't really go that far but—"
"You fucker just play along for now—"
"That's great!" Satsuki clapped her hands once, still smiling that horrifyingly sweet smile. "It's so nice to see you two getting along!"
Aomine and Haizaki tensed, smiles coming out crooked and forced. "Y-yeah."
"Rika-chan just texted me, by the way, asking about later on," she went on. "But I handled it, so you can go have fun and catch up with each other more later, alright?"
"Yes ma'am," both boys affirmed.
"Also, Haizaki-kun, Rika-chan says she needs you over on the ninth floor for something," Satsuki informed him.
"Got it," Haizaki said, finishing the last of his food and shuffling to stand up.
"Thanks for bringing us here!" Satsuki told him, some of the ice behind her smile disappearing.
"Sure." Haizaki nodded once, then made to leave. He paused at Aomine's side. "Hey…friend," he tried, holding back a snort. Aomine raised an eyebrow at him, obviously trying not to roll his eyes. "Just ask Ryouta about that thing you're concerned about. He'll probably tell you…sometime. Maybe not immediately, but he will. He'll tell you."
The way Haizaki had said 'you' implied something Aomine didn't quite get, so he simply nodded. "Alright. Thanks." Haizaki returned the nod, and Aomine smirked. "Tell me the whole story about how you got your job sometime. Let's go out for a drink or something."
"So long as it's your treat, Mr. Basketball Superstar," Haizaki said, stuffing his phone into his pocket.
"Sure," Aomine simpered. "See you…friend."
Haizaki snorted at him, but he mirrored Aomine's smirk, waving over his shoulder as he left. "See you."
Aomine snickered, eating what's left of his food. Satsuki was looking at Haizaki's retreating back with a thoughtful expression, then turned back to Aomine, who straightened up, squaring his broad shoulders as he leaned back. He'd stopped slouching and started carrying himself with a bright new confidence and regard, and even if it's been years, Satsuki was still sometimes pleasantly surprised about it. He was still Dai-chan in every way that counts, but he had matured.
"What's up?" Aomine asked, observing her expression.
Satsuki shook her head. "People really grow up, huh."
Aomine blinked at her, then shrugged. "I guess."
"And you drank from my glass," she pointed out, and Aomine stiffened. "Didn't you?"
"I'm getting you a new one, geez," Aomine stood up, groaning. Satsuki giggled, and Aomine grinned at her before moving to the counter.
#
The sky was a myriad of pinks and oranges the next time Kise looked out a window. He blinked, scrunching his dry eyes a few times, and stretched his long arms up and back with a deep inhale. That's two shoots and three meetings done for the day, and tomorrow he'd have a late start—half a day's rehearsal for an upcoming fashion show, and then a tour of the new studios set up for the drama, followed by a magazine feature shoot and interview. Kise mentally ticked down his schedule for the next three days, running them twice or thrice in his head so they'd stick. The next week would be the crunch for the fashion show—shoots for the photo book, catalogue, photo collection, and promotional videos, among others. Kise was one of the top models of the industry and therefore one of the main attractions of the show. Shooting for his drama resumes in the next week too, so his training schedules were going to be melded into his few free timeslots in different intervals—
Aominecchi looked up at Kise from where he waited, mouth arching up into a smirk as he tugged off his cap. "Yo. Still alive, superstar?"
The corners of Kise's lips curved naturally around an effortless smile, and all of a sudden he felt at ease. He was sure he was thinking about some long and complicated things, important things, but he somehow couldn't remember what they were anymore. "Survived another day," he answered with a thumbs up, noticing Haizaki leaning against the car parked behind him.
"Have you eaten?" Aomine asked, moving to walk beside him.
"A little," Kise hummed. "What about you? Are you hungry? Did you get to eat in the cafeteria?"
"Yep, almost starved looking for it with Satsuki though," Aomine said, a small smile on his lips. "I had a snack with her a little while ago too, so I'm good. You should eat something."
"On the way then," Kise said, turning to Haizaki. "Let's pass by a drive thru?" he told Haizaki, tilting his head a fraction to the side.
Haizaki raised a brow at Kise's overly adorable doe eyes, and he wasn't even sure if the model was doing it on purpose anymore. He sighed. "Yeah, sure." There was no winning against Kise, not for him.
Kise lit up and sparkled, the light of the sunset making him glow. "Yay!" he cheered, beaming at Haizaki, who fought the urge to squint.
"Get in then," Haizaki sighed again, opening the passenger door. Kise bounced inside as Aomine walked to the opposite side, shooting Haizaki a sneer, making the bodyguard roll his eyes in response. Rika climbed into the front passenger seat, Haizaki slipping into the driver's seat beside her. They both strapped on their seatbelts without pause, and Haizaki started the car, rolling it into the road.
"See, even Haizaki remembers to put on his seatbelt," Aomine said behind them.
"Shut up," Kise snapped back, and Haizaki was sure that the celebrity was pouting.
"It's okay princess, I won't forget to strap it on for you."
Haizaki couldn't help the smirk that stretched out his lips when he heard the telltale whump as Kise smacked Aomine with his pillow.
"Don't be rowdy back there, children," Rika called out to them over her shoulder, and the two children in question pouted at them, but settled down with little chuckles. Haizaki felt like he was fucking driving two brats back home.
The ride was different this time around, with Kise chattering every so often with Aomine at the back—as opposed to just falling over and sleeping. The sky had darkened over pretty quickly, but it still seemed like the day with how Kise was sparkling all over the place.
"This is my stop," Rika said after a while, collecting her things.
Haizaki stopped the car near the entrance of a building, and Kise's head popped up in the middle of the front seats. "Rika-nee you still have a meeting?"
The older Kise smiled at her brother and pet his head. "Yeah, just gonna report in and coordinate with the other managers and agents for next week. And then I'll be having dinner out."
"Okay. Take care, then!" Kise said, waving at her as she moved to exit the car.
"Yep!" Rika looked at Haizaki. "Thanks, Shougo," she said, then she turned to Aomine and Kise. "Don't stay up too late, alright?"
"Yes, momph!"
"Will do, nee-chan!" Kise smiled brightly, one hand clamped around Aomine's mouth. "See you tomorrow!"
Rika raised an eyebrow at the two boys, then shrugged, waving as she stepped out of the car. "See you!"
Aomine pulled Kise's hand off of his mouth when the door shut behind her, giving the celebrity a pointed look. Kise chuckled, waving his hands. "Sorry, sorry, Rika-nee doesn't like being called 'mom'—it makes her feel old."
"How old is she anyway?" Aomine sat back.
"She's seven years older than me," Kise replied.
Aomine's eyes went wide. "No. Are you kidding me? That's old! She looks just about two to three years older!"
Kise laughed. "It's not that old! But you're not the first to say that."
"You Kises and your pretty genes," Aomine grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
In front of them, Haizaki snorted in agreement.
A brightly lit restaurant came into view. "What's your order?" Haizaki called, turning the car to the drive thru.
"The usual!" Kise answered. "What about you, Aominecchi?"
"Just fries, I guess," Aomine shrugged. "I'm not that hungry."
"You sure?" Kise cocked his head to one side at him. Aomine had this urge to pinch his nose.
"Treat me out next time," Aomine said, averting his eyes.
The promise of 'next time' sounded good to Kise, so that effortless smile curved higher on his face, making his eyes twinkle. "Alright," he told Aominecchi, then dumped his pillow on the basketball player's lap when Haizaki drove to the first window and started ordering.
Before Aomine could process it, Kise's head had plopped down onto the pillow atop Aomine's thighs, and for a beat, Aomine froze. "What are you—"
"I'm hiding," Kise whispered, turning his head to look up at Aomine with a grin. "Wouldn't hurt to be safe, you know?"
Aomine stared at him, at the face that's been on billboards and magazine covers and on national television; the face that lit up the day like the sun would, and made everything feel so fucking bright and happy for no damn reason. He stared as Kise grinned at him, smile so wide that his eyes crinkled, making his long eyelashes flutter around those gleaming gold eyes. With the pillow in between them, Kise's head felt like a soft, warm weight, not too heavy and not too light, like a soothing presence that you wanted to keep beside you. For a moment, Aomine just stared, then opted to roll his eyes, shrugging as he shook his head with a sigh. "Okay, whatever you need, princess."
Kise pouted and reached a finger out to Aomine's face, poking him once then flinching back with a start, pulling his hand back.
There it was again, that weird hesitation. Aomine tried not to dwell on it and stuck his hand in Kise's hair to ruffle it. Kise sputtered and shook his head under Aomine's hand, face breaking into a laugh. "Aominecchi stop," he chuckled, turning his head around on his pillow.
That same curiosity nagged at Aomine again, and he wanted to ask Kise about it but couldn't find the heart to, not now. It didn't feel like the best time to ask, and Aomine didn't know why, or even when it would be appropriate to, but for now, it was enough that Kise was laughing.
"Okay, stop flirting, here's your food," Haizaki said from his seat, reaching over to dump the takeout bags on Kise's chest. Kise flailed and sat up, cradling the food in his arms as he shifted back to sit properly.
Kise handed Aomine his fries, cheerily unwrapping his takeout and popping a chicken nugget into his mouth. The model made a happy little face, satisfied, and took another bite of his food before plucking out a couple of fries from his bag. Aomine watched as Kise leaned over the backrest of the front seats and reached over to Haizaki with the fries. "Shougo, eat."
Haizaki's eyes flickered to the fries brushing at his jaw, momentarily getting this grumpy expression before he opened his mouth to eat the fries. Kise let go as Haizaki chewed, the grumpy expression returning when Kise stuck another couple of fries out at his face. With a grumble, Haizaki snatched the fries from Kise's fingers with his mouth and muttered, "What am I, a dog?"
Kise sniggered, patting Haizaki's shoulder, then sat back on his seat. "Gotta make sure my bodyguard's well-fed," he said, chuckling when Haizaki grunted out a snort in response.
Aomine blinked at Kise, brows furrowed. People grow up, huh.
"Hm? Did you say something, Aominecchi?" Kise said, cheeks half-stuffed with meat.
Did I say that out loud? "No." Aomine shook his head. He absently munched on his fries as he watched Kise cram nuggets in his mouth. "What will your fangirls think of you eating like that, geez."
Kise exhaled through his nose, jutting out his lip in a way that made Aomine wonder how the hell it was possible for Kise to still look attractive even when he was stuffing his face like a damn hamster. Kise chewed loudly, then took a swig of his soda and swallowed. "There are no fangirls around, so I don't care," he huffed, popping another bite-sized nugget in his mouth. Then he put a hand over his lips with an overdramatic expression, gasping theatrically. "Unless you're secretly a fangirl, Aominecchi."
Aomine made a face like he'd just licked the bottom of a shoe that's walked a mile down the sewers. Kise snorted, almost choking on his food, downing his drink to clear his throat. "Kidding, kidding!" he coughed out, smile still stretched wide enough to wrinkle the corners of his eyes. "But really," Kise put a hand up, the other still pressed near his mouth. "I can be normal around you, so I'm happy about that."
Aomine stared at him, feeling himself relax, and this small warmth spread in his chest. "Well good for you, superstar," Aomine mumbled, grabbing a mouthful of fries and stuffing them in his cheeks. Kise chuckled, and it sounded like some kind of music again, like the swing of a door that welcomes you home, and Aomine couldn't fight the small smile that curled up his lips.
It felt like they'd just repeated yesterday, except it was a bit later and Haizaki was behind the wheel. The skies were already pretty dark, and they hadn't just escaped from potentially being mobbed by fangirls, but they were eating fast food, beside each other, and that was all just fine—for both of them. Aomine contented himself with resting back, absently eating and listening to Kise's satisfied humming and munching, and let himself relax. His jetlag was fading, and he's been chock full of energy from barely doing any activity, always restless and quick to spark with small flakes of annoyance. By then, just sitting on his ass in a car would have made him restive, but in Kise's car, driven by Haizaki of all people, eating normal shitty fast food—it all made him calm; content with the soft warmth of Kise's knee bumping against his. The only word that really came to mind for it all was home.
The sky turned dark without Aomine really noticing, his calm somehow washing over him like a gentle wave rolling to a shore. They'd been sitting and eating in comfortable silence, and Aomine didn't know when they'd stopped talking but everything felt as natural as the night darkening above them. It wasn't long before Aomine felt a warm weight gently thud on his shoulder, and he let out a breath, already knowing what he'd find there.
He slowly turned his head, glancing at his shoulder where Kise's head had slumped down on, swaying loosely, his breathing deep and even, and his eyelids gently fluttered closed.
"Did he fall asleep?" Haizaki said quietly.
"Mm," Aomine hummed in response, bringing a hand to the side of Kise's head to gently tug it to rest on his shoulder. Kise's hair softly fell over his eyes, and he leaned into Aomine's shoulder with a light sigh.
"So much for movie night," Haizaki muttered.
"Meh," Aomine hummed again, letting out a deep breath, feeling himself getting even more calmed.
"You knew he'd fall asleep," Haizaki said, more of a statement than a question.
"Eh, I guess," Aomine half-shrugged, tilting his head a little towards Kise's. "He's working hard."
Haizaki held off on asking why Aomine bothered to even go, knowing that. He brought his eyes up to glance at them from the rearview mirror, seeing Kise fast asleep with his head on Aomine's shoulder, both of them looking right at home like that. Haizaki looked back to the road with a small smirk, driving into a parking lot as smoothly as he could.
"We're here," Haizaki said, turning off the engine.
"Hey Kise," Aomine tried, nudging at the sleeping blonde. No reaction. "Hey princess, wake up," Aomine tried again, only getting the slightest of shifts and mumbles from Kise.
Haizaki stepped out of the car and walked over to Kise's side, opening the door. "No good, huh?"
"Yeah," Aomine sighed, ruffling Kise's hair softly. Kise only leaned further into Aomine's touch.
"Alright, let's get him out of there," Haizaki sighed, sliding his hand behind Kise's shoulders. Aomine slowly pushed Kise forward as Haizaki tugged the model towards him, and once Kise's weight had lifted off of Aomine, he slid out of the car from the door on his side.
Aomine walked around to Kise and Haizaki, finding the former still completely down as Haizaki pulled him to the edge of the seat. "Here, let me," Aomine offered, moving to stand beside Haizaki. "You've been driving, so I'll carry him."
Haizaki raised a brow at Aomine, looking at him suspiciously for a moment. "Alright." He gave a little shrug, then stepped aside, the arm still around Kise's shoulders gently pulling the blonde towards Aomine, who had grabbed one of Kise's hands as he turned his back to him. He slung Kise's arm over one shoulder and bent to pull him closer with the other, Haizaki supporting Kise's torso as Aomine took his weight over his back. Aomine slowly started lifting Kise up and forward, and before he could reach for Kise's knee, he felt Kise stir, just a little, and unconsciously wrap his arms around Aomine's neck, as if in a sleepy hug. That made it easier to pull him out, and Aomine was able to hook his arms under Kise's knees and carry him out of the car without any problem.
Small goosebumps erupted in Aomine's neck when Kise buried his head in Aomine's right shoulder, his feathery hair tickling Aomine where it brushed over his skin. Aomine was distracted enough to miss Haizaki's curious gaze, and simply followed behind the bodyguard into an elevator, mind only really focusing on the steady rise and fall of Kise's chest and the soft hair grazing his cheek.
It was a few floors up when Aomine got accustomed to the warm weight on his back and the arms around his neck, and noticed Haizaki's inquisitive look. Haizaki watched in fascination as Kise slowly wrapped his arms around Aomine just a little bit tighter, bury his head in his shoulder just a little closer, all while asleep.
"What?" Aomine spoke, still a little distracted by Kise's head right next to his. "What's with the creepy look?"
"Nah, nothing, it's just," Haizaki cocked his head to one side, then a smirk quirked up on one corner of his mouth. "He's really clinging on to you there."
Even Aomine was surprised at the sudden heat in his cheeks, and his hold on Kise's knees slackened for a little, only making the sleeping blonde unconsciously cling to him tighter.
"He doesn't usually do that, you know," Haizaki pointed out, sneer slicing up his mouth.
Aomine started getting even more distracted by Kise on his back, the light flush on his cheeks he was trying to stop, and Haizaki's words. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Haizaki shrugged. "Dunno."
Aomine narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but the elevator dinged and slid open. "We're getting off here," Haizaki said, stepping out and keeping a hand on the door, that knowing grin still on his face.
Aomine huffed, following Haizaki out of the elevator. They turned right at the hall and walked to a door on the far end, Haizaki pulling out a set of keys and unlocking the door. He held it open for Aomine and closed it behind them, slipping past Aomine as he toed off his shoes.
Haizaki clicked the lights open as he stepped out of the doorway, barely giving time for Aomine to take in his surroundings. It was a spacious unit, with wooden floor tiles and off-white walls and furniture, everything light, warm and pastel, with small accents of brown. It wasn't overly-glamorous or opulent, but it looked befitting of a celebrity, and more so of Kise. Aomine could imagine Kise sitting on that couch by the living room, in front of the large TV, and fall asleep in the middle of a movie. He could see Kise walking barefoot on his carpets to get to the fridge in the kitchen, and eat a bowl of cheap cereal over the island counter.
"You can just lay him down on the bed," Haizaki told him, turning the lights on the bedroom.
As he followed Haizaki into the room, Aomine noticed the large windows by the wall, the curtains drawn, and he could imagine Kise pulling those curtains open to welcome the sunlight, as if he were competing with its brightness; or to gaze out into the night sky as if he were a star that it missed.
Aomine turned his back to the side of the bed, slowly easing Kise to sit on it. He brought his hands to his neck, where Kise still had his arms wrapped around it, and tugged the blonde's arms loose. Aomine shifted to bring his arm around Kise's waist, momentarily reveling in his trim body, feeling like a perfect fit in his arm, just as he'd felt when he'd caught Kise after getting attacked by the celebrity. He shook his head and lightly lowered Kise further into his arm, sliding his other hand underneath Kise's knees, and gently lifted him up, just a little off of the bed. Kise shifted slightly, his head lolling towards Aomine's chest, and Aomine just paused for a moment, glancing down at the damned sleeping princess in his arms, eyelashes fluttering and lips slightly parted as he breathed, and Aomine was torn with just keeping him there a bit longer or just throwing him to the middle of his huge-ass bed.
Aomine grumbled a small sigh, then bent to lay Kise down towards the center of his bed, Haizaki swiftly pulling the blanket to one side. Aomine brought him down as softly as possible, watching Kise's head rest on the pillow with a quiet fluff, his hair falling down over his eyes. Without really thinking, Aomine brought his fingers over the strands, brushing the hair away from Kise's face, and flinched back when he realized what he was doing, blinking in confusion. To the side, Haizaki was observing with a serious and thoughtful expression, then turned away.
"Can you handle his clothes? I just need to fix some stuff around," Haizaki said, glancing at Aomine.
"Huh?" Aomine tore his eyes away from Kise with a start.
Haizaki tossed a clump of clothes at Aomine, who caught them without pause. "Get him changed?"
Aomine looked from the clothes in his hands to Haizaki, then to Kise, then back. "Seriously?"
Haizaki shrugged, a corner of his lips curving up. "You did say he's a damn princess."
Aomine frowned, snorting. "Damn right he is." But he reached for Kise's clothes anyway, grabbing the celebrity's phones from his pockets first and handing them to Haizaki, who smirked as he toggled with one of them to shut off Kise's alarm for the next day. He set it on the bedside table and trudged to close the curtains.
Aomine was cursing under his breath when he'd moved to Kise's pants, tugging them off with more expedience than care, revealing Kise's expensive-looking boxers. He briefly squinted at the brand and stood away with a huff, trying not to think about how he'd just fucking stripped Kise and dressed him in his pajama shirt.
"There are pajama pants too," Haizaki said, holding back a snicker.
"Fuck the damn pajama pants, he can go sleep in his boxers," Aomine snapped, grumbling as he reached for the blankets, tugging it over the fucking sleeping beauty with a grunt.
KIse was deep asleep, completely knocked out, and Aomine couldn't find it in himself to stay irritated at the damn princess, just watching him have such a peaceful and restful sleep.
Goodnight, sleeping beauty.
He let out a big huff, rolling his shoulders back, and turned to leave, Haizaki letting out a small snigger as he followed, turning off the bedroom lights behind him. He quietly closed the bedroom door and walked out to find Aomine tapping at his phone, standing in front of a mound of flowers and gifts and bags of letters on one of the couches.
"These all fan stuff?" Aomine asked without turning.
"Most of them," Haizaki replied, going around Aomine to the coffee table by the couch. Envelopes and papers were strewn all over it, the pile bigger than Haizaki remembered, and he stopped himself from trying to rearrange them—Ryouta would go back to them later, anyway. "Some of the gifts are from sponsors and showbiz people and shit, but all the letters are from fans. Ryouta reads them in his spare time, as you can see."
"Hmph," Aomine huffed, bringing his phone to his ear. "Always overworking, that princess."
Haizaki shrugged, pulling the window curtains by the walls closed. "Always working hard," he said absentmindedly, still thoughtful about how Aomine had handled Kise from the car to his bedroom, and how he'd just waited until Kise fell asleep, knowing that they wouldn't end up watching movies together. Aomine spent more time lending Kise his shoulder to sleep on and carrying him to his room than actually doing things together. They'd even stopped chatting at one point in the ride to just eat, but everything seemed completely fine to Aomine either way. Haizaki spared a glance at the basketball player, a slight wrinkle in his brow as he pondered over what to think of Aomine's behavior.
"Satsuki?" Aomine said into his phone, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'm at Kise's place. Of course I know how to get back—"
Haizaki gave up thinking about it with a shrug, moving to Kise's laptop and finding that he'd been browsing at some of the latest sports news from abroad. Haizaki almost snorted, smirking, then folded the laptop closed.
"Listen, Satsuki," Aomine said, in the middle of pinching the bridge of his nose. He straightened up, squaring his shoulders back. "I'll do it. Accept the offer."
Haizaki blinked over at him, curious. Aomine sighed, as if in defeat, like he should have known he was going to lose that particular battle.
"Yes, the fucking cameo. I'll do the cameo in Kise's drama."
[tbc]
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A/N: Please refer to this: 40 media tumblr com/9d74fa3d7c32df4ebfc908bf3a358435/tumblr_mnhoy6fyLv1rj6kufo1_500 jpg (replace spaces with dots) for the old Teiko photo Aomine stumbled on online (those fangirls are amazing, huh)
If you want to chat, I'm kittlekrattle over on tumblr! I reply faster there :) Thanks for dropping by!