Uuargh? Finally another update, I'm getting slower and slower, haha. Some had requested a one-shot about one of them being 'sick' and the idea sounded adorable. So, why not? Although it did turn out a bit different when I expected, I didn't want to do the extreme cliché and with Aomine I could hardly picture it being like this...I hope it's fine?
It is still the start of the relationship, there is a lot of romance to come, I promise!
Any idea or request is definitely noted! Thank you!
Thank you for all the amazing follows, favorites and reviews!
Sick
"You're red."
Mia started frowning, trying to bury her head deeper into her muffler to hide her face.
"It's just cold."
Her muffled replied made the tall teenager lean down a bit, scrutinizing her face with a pair of narrow eyes. It made the orange- head immediately turn her face away, escaping his piercing stare in hope it would make the tension he always spread easier to ignore. But Aomine's presence always had something so heavy about it; the young teen could definitely feel it crawl up her spine anyway.
"Stop staring..."
The blue haired basketball player snorted, his usual frown brightened by a teasing grin.
"Why? Because ya started blushing?"
Mia's eyes rolled back towards his smug expression, glaring half-heartedly back. Maybe his pride would somehow shrink through that. But that was, of course, impossible. Sighing into her muffler, she looked up towards the clock. The train station was still a bit full, just like any other day after school when all the students went home - and for a change Wakamatsu had canceled practice, allowing the first years and second years who hadn't finished the rest of the important assignments to do so today. The blond upperclassman could hardly work with them if they were prohibited from club activities after all.
She could still hardly believe that Aomine had finished his. But with Satsuki around he was bound to somehow make it anyway. The pink haired club manager was truly an angel, Mia believed. How else had she survived all these years with someone like him around?
The girl jumped as suddenly the back of a warm hand was pressed against her left cheek. Her focus quickly snapping back to the tall teenager in front of her who was once again ignoring any boundary or personal space she could have owned.
"Mh...maybe just my imagination."
His voice had dropped an octave. Sounding rich and quiet in between the noise of the strangers around them, and if her skin wouldn't already feel so warm against the cold wind - she was certain, she'd probably turn even redder.
Closing her eyes, Mia leaned suddenly forward. Escaping the touch of his hand by burying her face in his cardigan...at least now he'd stop staring at her face, her mind concluded weakly. It was still weird how easy he moved around, reaching out without a second thought which still was a bit strange for her to do. Maybe it was because he grew up with Satsuki?
"What?"
Aomine's chest vibrated while he spoke, the edge of his question filled with amusement.
"Nothing."
The girl was certain; she was probably not even comprehendible anymore when her face was buried in the soft fabric of his dark cardigan. But the basketball player was chuckling anyway, allowing her to hide her embarrassment as he only shifted a bit to lean his weight onto his other foot.
She couldn't see how his steel blue eyes rose to the display of this train track, checking when theirs would arrive before he glanced down towards her. Seeing nothing but the top of her head and hairclip she always used to put up her hair. With a comfortable intake of air he became still, maybe a little thankful that Satsuki had made plans with her classmates that day. She always had to talk and talk, being nosy in ways she shouldn't be in his opinion.
And it meant that at home he could finally just take a nap without having her breath down his neck. The orange haired girl in front of him had become one of her favorite topics by now beside Kuroko.
Mia only pulled back as she could hear the arrival of the train, her freezing fingertips lifting to push her woolen muffler higher into her face. Shielding her nose and half of her cheeks against the harsh breeze the train brought with it.
"Oh, yeah. Isn't a practice match of yours coming up? Satsuki-san said she talked to the coach of some team."
Aomine glanced at her, shouldering his bag a bit to make sure it wouldn't slip off. Thankfully the distraction seemed to work.
"Yeah...some high school around here." The basketball player still didn't sound excited about it, a random team could probably not compare to one of his old friends in skill, she guessed. "Heard they have a foreigner in their team though, maybe it won't suck so much."
Well...that sounded at least like an improvement concerning his optimism.
Mia rubbed her burning face. Her attention landed onto the doors of the train now which opened to allow them access. Forcing them to follow the little wave of strangers to not miss their ride, it was too cold to wait for the next one. Although she actually hardly felt it in that moment, her fingers were tingling barely - the rest of her body felt strangely warm.
So, she thought, she felt fine.
She didn't feel fine.
"39 degrees, sweetheart..." The soft voice of her mother was murmuring. "...you stick to the bed today, alright?"
Mia groaned in answer, turning and twisting in her bed a bit. It felt like the cold had caught her in a blink of an eye. She hadn't felt sick at all yesterday. She was maybe a bit more tired than usual - though in winter that was a pretty normal thing, right? Nothing could have prepared her to wake up with shivering limbs and a stuffy nose. Couldn't have someone warned her? She was too young to be sick! Any single moment yesterday, from the little headache in the break to her burning skin towards the late afternoon suddenly felt like a big neon-light sign, telling her that she had it coming.
"Okay mum..."
The teenager could feel a cool hand pressing against her forehead, the touch smooth and lovingly just like the voice which was filling the silence of her room.
"Seems like you weren't lucky this winter, eh? Just sleep, sweetheart. I'll make you some soup when I'm back from work."
"Okay."
"You'll stay alive till then?"
"I'll try."
"When you die, it would be quite inconvenient for your father and I, you know."
The girl couldn't help but laugh weakly. "Mum."
The hand finally slipped away, accompanied by an amused chuckle. "If something is wrong just call me, I'll see you later."
"See you."
Mia peeked over her blanket she had pulled up to her chin, following her mother's movement attentively with her eyes as the older woman approached the door. With a last smile she pointed towards the aspirin and water she had placed onto Mia's nightstand, right next to her mobile phone and the handkerchiefs. The sick teenager nodded, sniffing a bit in hope it would free her nose. Which it didn't, of course. She would never be able to breathe through her nose again. Ever.
After her mother closed the door behind her, Mia groaned once again.
Being sick sucked.
Slowly she reached for her phone, deciding it would be a good idea to at least text Nanami. Someone had to take a few notes for her after all. And since she didn't have Sakurai's phone number yet, her best friend was the best option to do that for her.
Maybe she could just sleep away the whole day?
That sounded pretty good...
He believed he had been staring at the door for a long time.
Aomine wasn't one to feel easily uncomfortable. He rarely cared really. But it had been so strange to sit down on his seat that morning with no orange-haired girl awaiting him. She was always the punctual one. Rarely late unlike him who still found the time to drag his feet after Satsuki had to leave for her own classroom.
At first he had been only bored like always.
But after the bell had called for lunch break, his piercing stare had probably already burned a hole into her empty seat. It was hard to admit how attached you could become to a person until you finally found yourself in a situation where you couldn't talk to them. And his already foolish thoughts were jumbled and thrown around by a loud pink haired girl who flew into his classroom where he had kept himself busy with Sakurai's lunch.
Mia was sick.
His childhood friend had heard it from Nanami, his quiet classmate he always saw around the orange-head. Aomine hadn't bothered really to talk to her that much; she looked like a troublesome girl in his opinion. Never showing exactly what she was thinking. Though that didn't matter right now...
Mia was sick.
The basketball player had known it, he thought. The way her eyes had been a bit glassy. How her face was already glowing even though he hadn't teased her yet. And how quiet she was compared to other times when he made a lame joke in the middle of the lesson just to distract her. Aomine's forehead was set into wrinkles as he pulled a face. Still staring at that damn door of Mia's home.
Wasn't it stupid that he had noticed all that? It was. Very stupid. Aomine kicked the ground, still hesitating to press the damn button to ring the bell. Satsuki had made it clear that he had to go, urging him and annoying him all the way to the train station about how he had to be nice to the orange haired girl. Make sure she was drinking enough and to tell her that the bubbly girl had missed her. Give her the snacks she had bought quickly.
It made Aomine feel like an errand boy...
Grumbling a few words to himself, he shifted slightly, finally ringing the door-bell to get it over with.
It didn't take long until the door he had been staring at all the time was finally opened. Aomine's train of thought was lacking the skill to foresee who it would be most-likely to greet him though. His eyes widened a bit as he met the steady gaze of an older woman instead of a young teenager. Long dark hair pulled into a bun, the color so different from what he was used to see all the time at school.
But nevertheless, she was smiling. "Oh, Aomine-kun, was it?"
"Uh..."
"Are you here to visit Mia?"
"...yeah...?"
It was her mother that much he could tell. He hadn't seen her that often yet. More or less a glimpse here and there when he had come over to play a video game with her daughter. The only other family member he had come to known for real was her father, but he'd recognize this certain eye color anywhere. Well, at least he thought so as he only continued to stare at the small woman quietly.
Mia's mother started to laugh gently, stepping aside to invite him in.
"How sweet of you. Come in, will you?"
Stoically the tall teen glanced over his shoulders, feeling a bit caught. It wasn't really like him to visit others like this after all. But slowly he slandered over the threshold, bobbing his head in thanks.
"Mia is upstairs." She continued immediately as Aomine slipped out of his shoes. "She'll be happy to see you, I'm sure."
For a second the basketball player didn't say anything. If it would be his mother then there could be a thousand messages wrapped up in these few innocent words. Always nosy, always keen to annoy him somehow...which easily explained why she and Satsuki had always been getting along just fine over the years...but he didn't know if Mia's mother was like them, too. The orange-head sure as hell wasn't but...
"Yeah..." Aomine drawled slowly.
What were manners again?
"Oh, don't mind me." The older woman spoke up, dismissing him with a wave. "Go on."
With ease she turned away, walking back towards another room. She was certainly a lot less trouble when he was used to. But that only made it better. There was no more awkward exchange of few words. No further questions or weird bits of small talk. Aomine quickly took that opportunity to climb up the stairs, following the corridor towards the familiar door on the right side.
The basketball player pushed it open without hesitation.
At first there was no reaction. The room was quiet and warm. Everything looked like he remembered, simple and comfy without any useless things lying around. And a lot cleaner than his room as well...though that wasn't too hard to master, he guessed. The only times he did tidy up was when his mother had bugged him long enough to finally do it.
He dragged his feet towards the bed, observing the obvious bulk beneath the cover shift around slightly before finally his deep blue eyes landed on the certain flushed face of Mia. A grin spread on his lips by the sight of her usual neat hair being a mess. The straight wisps were curling at the ends, sticking towards different directions while the girl herself was still tired and barely waking up thanks to the noise he had created by his entrance.
"Hey, sleepyhead."
She finally peeked at him, blinking away the sleep. But as quickly as their eyes had met, the girl disappeared from his sight. Mia had gasped and pulled her blanket over her head, her already glowing cheeks turning darker and darker as embarrassment pumped the blood into them.
"Oi." Aomine grumbled. "Is that how you say 'hi'?"
He reached for the blanket, tugging it away from her grasp. However Mia's grip on it tightened, trying to shove it even further over her head.
"Why are you here?"
Aomine's brow furrowed. She made it sound like he had made a terrible mistake, whining beneath her made-shift shield which made the basketball player only more eager to finally get rid of the blanket itself.
"What was that? Am I not allowed to come when you're sick?"
Another strong tug.
Another yelp.
"No!"
"Aah?"
This time his eyes narrowed and with the next pull he finally dragged the blanket away, revealing the orange haired girl who now stared at him flabbergasted. Mia wasn't even sure if she should cover herself or not. To wear one of her old comfortable shirts and fitting jogging pants was no problem if her parents were around, but to have the blue haired teenager see her like this was certainly not what she had hoped for.
"Aomine!"
Defeated her hands flew up to her hair, smoothing the mess down. It was a try in vain for sure. But to cover that fact, she tried to glare at him the best she could.
"What?"
It was hard to suppress the grin from growing when she was looking like that. Upset without the dark atmosphere looming behind her narrowed gaze. The cheeks were colored in a rosy-red unlike her pale arms and naked feet. He had always have fun when he was teasing her. Making her blush and glower at him half-hearted afterwards. Although this time he didn't even really have to try, she already looked flustered thanks to her fever.
"...could you let go?"
Mia's hands reached once again for her blanket. Mumbling her request so quietly, he nearly didn't catch it. But it wouldn't be him if he hadn't pulled her blanket out of her reach immediately. Actually more out of reflex than any remorse or reason, the girl though groaned in annoyance anyway.
"Ahomine..."
"I told you to stop calling me that already, you know?"
Aomine leaned down towards her, his schoolbag slipping off his shoulders and landing onto the ground beside the bed. He easily ignored that though, too busy scrutinizing Mia's face. He lifted an eyebrow, remembering clearly how she had already looked so flushed the previous two days in his opinion. He had noticed it, yeah, but he hadn't expected her to have caught a cold. He rarely had one in the past himself.
Finally releasing the blanket he reached for her forehead instead, pressing the broad palm of his hand against it to see just how high her temperature must be. Mia nearly fell back into her pillow, not expecting this gesture and light force he used. But her hands kept her up, digging into the mattress to save her from the little fall. Aomine could hardly tell just how high her fever must be, his body was always warm. There certainly was a difference between their temperatures but that was all he was able to tell.
"How're ya?"
"Sick." Mia replied lamely which made the bronzed teenager snort.
"Being 'serious here, moron."
His hand finally slipped away, leaving both of them looking at each other now. The girl couldn't help but laugh a bit, reaching for the blanket to at least cover her lower half.
"Better, I think. I slept a lot...what are you doing here?"
Aomine leaned back again, straightening his posture. "What? I cannot come if I want?"
She was turning red at his faint accuse, opening her mouth to reply - without obviously knowing what she should say. The blue haired basketball player could only watch her as she started to fumble with her fingers, resisting the urge to try and dive back beneath the covers once again because he'd definitely pry them away. Aomine had no mercy sometimes.
"It's just embarrassing..." She mumbled quietly, pressing her hands against her burning cheeks.
"...I sound funny."
He dared to snicker at that. She did. With her stuffed nose and sore throat.
"And I look terrible..."
"Tch, I'm still here, aren't I?"
"That isn't really helping..."
Mia furrowed her brow, watching him as he lifted his schoolbag. He sat it onto the edge of her bed, rummaging through the chaotic content until he pulled out the small plastic bag with Satsuki's snacks.
"Here, from Satsuki."
"Oh, thanks." Her dark eyes lit up as she accepted the little gift.
With ease he dropped his bag back onto the floor, crouching down next to it to rest his crossed arms upon her covers. Mia's attention quickly travelled from the sweets and candies to him, quietly staring back while the tall teen lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head.
"It was pretty boring, you know."
"School?" The girl offered with a weak grin, setting the snacks aside.
Aomine nodded.
"I can't argue against that." She laughed quietly. "All I did was sleep till now, too..."
"...ya didn't message me."
The blue haired basketball player easily dodged her curious glance, averting his gaze to stare at her TV instead. He shouldn't have said that. That sounded sappy. Stupid. But he'd be lying if it hadn't irked him a tiny bit that he had heard about it from Satsuki who in turn had heard it from her friend. Shouldn't he be, like, important enough to hear it from her directly? Awkwardly he narrowed his eyes, still keen to look at the black screen instead of her.
Aomine could hear her shift clearly. Listening to her heavy breathing because she couldn't do so through her stuffed nose anymore, but after a second of silence she replied.
"Sorry."
Finally his eyes travelled back to her, his mood immediately lifting at seeing her blush.
"Sorry doesn't cut it."
The tall teen observed attentively how her dark gaze widened, a little panicked due to his sudden cold statement. And with her heavy blush, her fingers lifted to hide her burning ears. The lazy basketball player actually had to fight against the muscles which dared to lift the edges of his lips into an amused grin. He had definitely missed that in school today.
"I...I wasn't sure if...I..."
Finally his lips curved into a grin, making Mia fall silent as she realized he hadn't been serious.
"You're a terrible human being." The girl muttered beneath her breath, coughing at the end to clear her sore throat.
"Who cares."
"Stupid." She started smiling weakly, pushing his shoulder half-hearted.
Of course, Aomine didn't budge. His weight was easily withstanding her attempt to shove him away and afterwards the mood settled once again. Becoming comfortable and familiar, he couldn't help but add a thought anyway.
"'Meant it though...I should know earlier next time."
"Okay..."
Mia bobbed her head, her smile growing warm. Slowly she drew her knees to her chest, pulling the blanket with her which was still covering her lower half. Aomine had to lift his crossed arms a bit which had pinned the covers down, allowing her to lean back against her headboard with the pillow squished between it and her back.
"Already ate some rice porridge?"
The girl shook her head. "I slept nearly the whole time and mum is preparing chicken soup now."
"Chicken soup?"
"Mum always makes some when I'm sick." Mia explained. "I never really ate rice porridge."
"Eeh? A German thing?" Aomine drawled.
And his calm question caused the orange haired girl to laugh. She shrugged with her shoulders, not all too certain herself. "I don't know. Maybe? It's always been like that."
Aomine was mildly surprised how different it could be apparently. The rare times he was sick that dish had always been the comfort food his mother would cook for him. After Satsuki had tried to do so and nearly poisoned him that is. Seven times. He hadn't even been really sick before he had eaten her cooked stuff...
Families could be certainly different, couldn't they?
A sudden knock on the door made both teenagers look up and not long after someone opened it. It was once more Mia's mother he saw. The older woman who now carried a tray with a steaming bowl and spoon on it - arriving with the very dish they had spoken about.
She smiled at them as she approached the nightstand on the other side of the bed, carefully setting the tray down. She reached for her daughter's forehead with a little sigh.
"The fever went down, I think...Aomine-kun, look after her for a bit longer, will you?"
"Mum."
Aomine, however, already nodded. "Sure."
Her mother glanced at him gratefully, easily slipping out of the room again before the orange haired girl could have further voiced her dismay. The tall teenager at her bedside though felt already a lot more at ease around the older woman. It had slowly become obvious from whom Mia had inherited her nature.
The orange-head rubbed her right cheek, feeling a bit awkward like any child would when its parent meddled a bit.
But her train of thought was interrupted when the blue haired teenager suddenly started to climb onto her bed. Perplexed she scooted aside, creating enough space for the basketball player to settle down beside her even though she still had a few problems to truly comprehend his sudden action.
"What are you doing?"
Aomine grinned at her, stretching out his long legs above the blanket while he leaned back against the headboard just like her.
"Looking after you, obviously."
Mia shook her head, torn between smiling and scowling at his lack of understanding. He definitely knew no boundaries concerning personal space. But he'd never learn it anyway. Feeling embarrassed either way she shoved him again, coughing in between her attempts to push him off her bed. But as strong and stubborn as he was that didn't work out.
"I'm sick. Don't be so stubborn." The orange-head grumbled weakly after she stopped trying to get rid of him.
"Yeah, well, beggars can't be choosers, right?"
"Who begged for this exactly?" Mia laughed, falling back against the headboard beside him.
She was definitely feeling better, Aomine thought. She still looked feverish, and when she coughed, he did cringe inwardly. Only a bit, but the noise sounded quite painful. For someone who didn't often fell sick, it was a bit hard to listen to. However, the dark teenager was able to relax when her body leaned against his.
"Wanna watch something?"
"You just want to take a nap, don't you?"
Aomine snorted, leaning against her more forcefully. "I just couldn't sleep at school, alright?"
The girl tried to push back, not wanting to get crushed by his weight. "You're not supposed to sleep there in the first place, silly."
It was a half-hearted fight. Her little strength trying to ease him away while the bronzed boy only used his own weight to annoy her a bit, he didn't even uncross his arms. All the orange-head was struggling with was his upper body which forced her to use everything she got to just tilt him away. It didn't take long until the glares and murmured curses turned into grins and quiet laughter.
Some show was turned on by either of them. The voices from the TV filling the room while Aomine finally settled back onto his spot, the orange-haired girl defeated at his side. With a huff her head fell onto his shoulder. Inviting her visitor to immediately copy her action, allowing his head to lean on top of hers as well...
The chicken soup was forgotten in that moment, he'd remember later on. It was growing cold on her nightstand as they watched TV. But he liked that. Just being lazy like this, having her so close to him. He could hear her breath. Heavy and slow, and even though her skin had mostly been always cool if not even cold - it was warm in that moment. Challenging his own body temperature for a change.
Absent-minded Aomine reached for her hand, his calloused fingers ghosting over her palm which always felt soft in contrast to his. The surface not hardened or scarred like his from his lively childhood. Just pale and small. Always fitting neatly into his hand if he reached for it.
Relationships weren't half bad, a voice in his mind whispered.
"Nah, Mia..."
But he received no reply. Furrowing his brow, he lifted his head. Carefully he leaned forward, trying not to shift too much to see why the orange-head hadn't answered him. Although all his deep blue eyes met was a feverish face. The eyes closed, lips slightly parted to breath. Who would've expected that she'd fall asleep before him? The tall teen didn't move for a moment, just observing her before finally he leaned back again. If not selfishly he pulled her hand a bit closer, draping her arm over his side just so that he could trace the faint lines in her palms a bit more.
Mia barely shifted, still exhausted from her cold. Aomine, however, tensed up anyway. Awaiting any further reaction from the girl beside him, suddenly he didn't want to wake her up anymore. If she was sick, she was supposed to get rest.
But the orange-head became quiet once again, rubbing her cheek into his shoulder to get more comfortable and with ease the basketball player relaxed.
Yeah, relationships weren't so bad.