Chapter 16: Movie Time

"Oh come on," she insists as they make their way from the basketball court they had been playing on for the last hour. Or rather, the court where she was getting her ass handed to her while Aomine found amusement in her attempt to win. She was getting better, but she still could only be compared to an average middle school player at this point. Nothing too skilled but not completely concomitant. Before they had gone for a jog upon her insistence- the fact that he had caved was a nice surprise. "You gotta go. I don't feel like going on my own and Yuji was asked by some second year girl that he has a crush on- so he's going with her. Come with me, Aomine".

"Hell no," he refuses blandly, not at all moved into attending the festival with her. "Momoi always makes me go and run from stall to stall with her doing stupid shit. I'm not going". He'd much rather just relax at home. With mid-terms and the InterHigh tournament over- one which Touou had ended up losing due to him not being able to play as Momoi convinced the coach that he needed to be benched thanks to his knees being injured after his game against Kise- summer vacation was placed into full swing. They'd have the next few weeks to themselves before the next semester began.

But Tatsumaki grunts as they make their way into a small shop, their goal being ice cream to cool their hot bodies after their game. "I'm not going to drag you around everywhere," she vows, "I just want someone to watch the fireworks with. Besides, it'll be the day after my team wins the End of Summer race so it'll be something of a celebration. Come on, Aomine, come with me".

"What's in it for me anyways?" he suddenly throws back, not at all pleased with her persistence. Why can't they just celebrate or whatever like normal friends? Where one friend- in that case it'd be him- takes the other friend- her- out for food and maybe they spend their time on the town. Nothing too crazy and nothing festival related. "What are you going to do for me to make me want to go? You're already my slave," though he hasn't commanded anything of her in a while. But it still counts since the year isn't over yet. "You gonna bribe me with money? Food?"

Tatsumaki huffs, displeased, "No. I'm going to bribe you with,"...What could she offer him? Like he said, she's already his slave and by the sound of it food or money won't do it for him. She's not willing to give up Yuji's notes that she had earned fairly during the cultural festival that's for certain- she needs those. So what else could there be- Ah!...Maybe that would work. "...D'you like back rubs?"

"Hah?"

"I said, 'Do you like back rubs?' you know like massages?" she repeats again, this time speaking slower as though that would fix the issue of his misunderstanding her.

Aomine pauses, pondering. Does he like those? He can't remember the last time he got one...Or maybe he hasn't ever had one before? "I don't know," he states, "Never had one," and supposes that this is the easiest answer he can give. "Why? You gonna send me to a massage person?"

But surprisingly the girl shakes her head, taking her turn to pay for her icy treat and following him out the door to sit on a bench near by in the shade. After taking a bite of her food she further surprises her companion by telling him, "If you go, I'll give you your first one then". Looking over the taller teen from shoulders to legs, she tilts her head, "I'm sure you don't realize it but there's probably a crap-load of knots in your back from laying on the roof all the time. I'm not a professional, but I'm pretty sure it'd be worth it".

The taller teen looks to the girl as she stares at one of her hands and flexes her long fingers. He finishes off his popsicle and stands, tossing the stick to the side. "Give me one now," he tells her blandly.

"Eh?"

"Give me a massage now. I'll lay down on the bench and you can do your magic or whatever. If I like it, then I'll go. If I don't...You take me out to dinner instead".

The whirlwind girl pauses, surprised. What kind of deal is that? She shakes her head. This guy has been acting so weird as of not-so-late. She means, grabbing her hand or just randomly touching his shoulder to hers. It makes her all jittery and warm, these things, and sometimes even makes her to blush- though she doesn't get why. He's been wanting to hang around with her more often too, which is weird. Before he had been fine with not seeing her for a few days at a time. But now she hears from him- through hanging out or text- at least once a day. She cannot say she minds it, liking to be around or talk to him, but for the change to be so sudden just kind of leaves her wondering what made that change happen in the first place.

"Well, I can't exactly do it here," she admits, "...You need more room, you know? To like spread out and stuff". She hesitates, but then shrugs. It's not like anyone there will oppose. "We can go to my house. It's not far from here," they're not far from the school as it were.

"Your house?" Aomine raises a brow. However, he's not so dim as to accept right away. There are probably catches here and there, "What about your parents?" those being the biggest catch. He doesn't wanna meet her dad just before she's gonna be feeling him up or whatever. And he voices this statement, not afraid to tell her thoughts. However he finds himself raising both brows high into his hair line when she merely laughs off his words. "What's so funny?"

Tatsumaki's smile falls, her lips settling for a neutral position rather than the smile she had been wearing. "Well, it's funny that you finally bring them up when you had me sleep over without asking about them a few days ago," she admits. Now her gaze somber as they walk, her leading the way to the street that holds her home. "Anyways...The truth is, I don't have any parents".

The announcement hits the basketball junkie hard, bringing him into a state of shock and silence. Doesn't have any parents? As in she's an orphan? His mind is left to race as they pace along the sidewalk, by passing house after house, children darting playfully this way and that with laughter in their voices and eyes. The shadows of the trees and buildings have grown since they had stopped their game of basketball and left to go get something cool and sweet. It announces the fact that soon the sun will have sunken fully behind the horizon. Offering to them the moon and the stars in all their glory. A cooler whether, though only ever so slightly as there'd be no giant ball of fire in the sky to keep everything blisteringly hot. Back to the parent thing. What happened? Then how'd she manage to enter Touou with her bad grades? Not on a sports scholarship, that's for certain. Did they die after she entered school? So many wonderings rattle in his brain, making him curious.

"They died when I was little from a house fire," she states, "They were visiting a friend's house and someone set the building on fire- apparently is was premeditated murder. I don't remember them all that well to be honest," just the vague sensation of a large hand patting her head and assuring her that he and her mom would be back, and a pair of gentle lips against her cheek while soft perfume wafted around her. "My uncle takes care of me now. He's all the way in Germany though and since I wanted to attend Touou with Yuji, he got me a house to call my own".

"...What does your uncle do?"

"Hmm? Oh, he's a lawyer," she admits, "Pretty famous in Germany actually".

"So, you're part German then?"

"Yea, on my mom's side," she allows, "My uncle is my mom's older brother". Pausing in front of a house with a red roof and off gray sidings combined with white shutters and a simple white door, she smiles and jerks her chin in that direction, "This is my place. Not too shabby, right?" Aomine's brow twitches, irritated. And rightfully so. It's larger than the houses around it by at least an additional half house, with a well kept yard in front and a flower-lined walk way up to the front door. He follows the girl inside, casually slipping his shoes off and leaving them in the entry way as he follows her. "Here, I'll give you a tour," she announces as she goes. Gesturing to her right towards the room with no wall to block it off she points out the living room with a nice flat screen TV and simple furniture. A couch coupled with a coffee table, a reclining chair and a love seat. "Living room," she notes and then moves on to her left and enters the room through the door part way down the hallway. There she introduces a dark themed kitchen, its flooring a dark wooden and the counter tops a black-ish marble color with cabinets made of red wood and a flat stove top. This is connected without a wall to the dining room, the floor transitioning to carpeting as a long ten person table sits on the floor tall in all its might with equally tall chairs. "Kitchen and dinning room". Turning around she exits through the dinning room's door which is further down the broad hallway and makes her way up the stairs that climb in the direction of the front door, leading to more wooden flooring. "Down that way are two bedrooms, and down this way is my room," she tells him as she makes a left off of the stairs and heads down the hall. The master bedroom, that which she's claimed as her own, has a nice but simple get up. The floor is clean and free of strewn clothing, an unused desk for studying sits in the far left corner right by the window. Along the right wall is her bed, and on the left wall is a large thin TV. Closet and dresser both sit along the right wall on one side of the bed while a nightstand occupies the other side. Tucked into the left closest corner is the door to the bathroom, a place themed steel and red. The flooring of the room is simple, the wall behind her head post is painted to look like a forest, where as the ceiling has been made to look like the night sky. The other three walls contrast well with the carefully decorated first. The bed itself is surprisingly king sized compared to Aomine's beloved queen sized one.

"...You're loaded, aren't you?"

Tatsumaki pauses, "...Well, not really. This is all because my uncle likes to pamper me," she replies at last, "It's all his money. I just get an allowance that lets me buy things I need like food and such". None the less, she gestures to her bed, "Take off your shirt and lay down face down. We can watch a movie while I work". She leaves him to comply, and in the mean time stoops low to crouch in front of the small set of drawers that hold her entertainment via movies. Her finger skims along the titles of movies, half of them in English but being ignored for the time being. Eventually she stops on a movie called Ip Man. Basically a kung fu movie, but incredibly well done for being something not popular. She places it into the player and lets it work its magic before grabbing the remote and placing it on her night stand. When she looks to see if Aomine did as she told him to, she blinks as heat comes to her cheeks.

Oh yea.

She kind of forgot just how built this guy is. Looking at the members of the Stride club does little for her- only Hanabusa and Satoshi are all that impressive. But there's something about the tan skinned freshman in front of her. Maybe it's because of how odd he's been acting? Or maybe she's the one that's acting odd right now? He stands there next to her bed, his shoulders hunched and his hands in his pockets. Those shorts of his shouldn't be riding as low on his hips as they are, giving an alluring hint to what's under them, though she tears her gaze back to his far too fast for her mind to drag her to a different thought process.

It's gotta be her. He doesn't seem bothered at all by the situation at hand.

And if it is her, then it's her hormones.

Damn hormones.

"I said you can lay down on your stomach," she repeats with a tilt of her head, swallowing the blush as best she can and keeping her eyes from tracing the lines of his muscles. God. Sixteen year old boys shouldn't be allowed to be as well built as this one is, she swears. He shrugs, the movement being far too interesting than it should be in all reality, and does as told whilst mumbling something like having not heard her earlier. "By the way," she admits, "I'm going to have to sit on your butt. Is that okay? It lets me have a better reach since you're someone so much bigger than me".

"Yea yea," Aomine allows, his head turned to the side and his eye trailing to follow her as she climbs onto the bed and straddles same body part. "You're heavy". This earns him a bland glare, one which makes him smirk playfully. She's actually pretty light, but then again he's a strong guy so it kind of doesn't count. As the movie begins, he's brought to subtitles in Japanese, his gaze swiping over them with little interest. "A kung fu movie," he questions her, chuckling.

"Yea," she utters as she looks over his back, seeing if she can spot anything visibly wrong with his back. But luckily all the knots are hidden under her his dark skin. "Got a problem with that?"

"Nah," utters, "Just surprised". He's not a huge fan of kung fu movies, but then again he hasn't seen a whole lot. Hopefully this one is good. His muscles shiver upon feeling an unfamiliar sensation cross over his flesh. He realizes that it's her fingers, and shakes his head when she mumbles an apology for cold fingers. Her fingers aren't exactly cold- no, they're warm- it's just that he's not used to his skin being touched there. He continues to shiver as her fingers ghost over his person, as though searching for the worst of the damage done to his person. As the movie begins, so does the massage.

Tensai pinpoints a certain spot between the other teen's shoulder blades, pressing down with a careful application of pressure as to ease the muscle into a flatter position like it's supposed to be rather than bunched up and uncomfortable. It's not a large knot, but she can sense the pleasure and further comfort in him as a long sigh escapes his lungs as she works the muscle into relaxing. Silently she keeps her appreciation for his build to herself, her hands working blindly as she watches the movie at the same time that she works out knot after knot. "I was right," she utters eventually, gaining his attention as he glances her way, "Your back is littered with knots. I don't know how you manage to sleep like this".

"I don't really feel them," he admits, "Or I didn't until you started doing this," which he refuses to admit aloud that is a magical sensation.

All Tatsumaki does is hum in response, again focusing on the movie as to keep her attention from his lovely physic. However, she purses her lips as she finds a rather stubborn knot around the small of his back on the right side. It's bigger than the other ones, that's for certain. What did he do to get it this big? How does his back not hurt every time he bends down or in a certain direction in general? When she presses her fingers into this lump of discomfort, his body jumps, shocking her. "Sorry, did that hurt?"

"Yea kind of," Aomine admits. He had honestly started to fall asleep shortly after she started working on him. Only her fingers kneading his flesh and the sound of the movie kept him in a half alert position. However when she pressed on that ball of muscle, the pinch of pain that greeted him was enough to make him fully awake again.

"My bad. But this knot is the last one and it's pretty big. Since it's so stubborn, I'm going to be a bit more forceful. Just bear with me," she adds on. With this in mind, she sets to work, systematically pressing into the muscle and careful not to get too close to his kidney- as it's positioned right near her project spot- and working to let the muscle ease. She presses, going so far as to use her knuckles to get the pressure further into the bundle. However, with her skilled hands at work the knot lasts only a few moments longer than the others did. Her ears perk when his lips part and a low, pleasured, moan escapes his lips. It is a sound that her mind instantly categorizes as something she wouldn't mind hearing again- lewd, yes, but true- and a sound she's never heard him make before. After a long moment, she pauses as though hesitating, and dismounts his rear end carefully. "Stay like that for a little," she instructs as she lays down on her stomach next to him. "How do you feel?" she's fairly certain she got all of them.

Being honest, he hasn't felt this good in years. At the moment, he feels as though he is floating, like his body has lost at least forty pounds of discomfort and the inability to move in certain ways that he is now more than certain he can twist into. But should he tell her that she's a goddess of back rubs? If he does, will she give him more? Will she bring him further pleasure in the form of pressing into his muscles and helping them to relax? Or will she merely grin and nod knowingly? Knowing her, she could go either way. But he's tired and happy, pleased if nothing else. He at least owes her praise, right?

"I feel pretty good right about now," Aomine admits at last, turning his head to look at the girl resting her head on her arms to mirror him. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Yuji taught me," she answers, "His dad's a masseuse- a professional massager- and he learned from him. One time I twisted my leg weird and ended up with this nasty knot there. Yuji massaged it until it went away and when he was done it was good as new".

Aomine's lips turn down ever so slightly as his gaze now is turned to the TV at hand. Watching as Ip Man falls upon being shot in the shoulder, his body falls and hits the ground in slow motion, the crowd that had been watching his honorable battle fighting back that Japanese in the form of a full blown riot as his wife, son and friend attempted to get to him. "Nobuyuki huh," he trails off, drawling out the words almost lazily. There is silence as he stares forward, watching the ending scenes of the movie with something seemingly on his mind. Fuck it; he's going to ask her. "What is he to you?"

"Yuji?" She tilts her head, curious about the sudden question, "He's my best friend. More like a brother than anything. Kind of like how I guess you and Momoi are- you guys are childhood friends, aren't you?"

"Yea," he answers shortly, "So you guys never...".

"Dated?"

"Yea".

"Nah," she denies, "I know he had a thing for me in middle school, and we went on a few dates but nothing serious followed. We didn't become a couple or anything...Why did you ask?"

"No reason," Aomine denies. Good. He's pleased to hear her answer, and it's obvious thanks to the up beat lilt to his voice. "Just wondering".

"No way, there's no way there was no reason," she persists. Aomine doesn't ask questions without a reason behind his asking. He's not stupid like that. Then again, Aomine isn't stupid at all. Lazy, yes. Stupid, no way in hell.

But Aomine instead flips his person over, giving his bare abdomen the ability to drink in fresh air. "You should do my front too," he suddenly demands, arms thrown under his head to again pillow it. "I'm sure it's all knotted up too".

Seeing the abdomen in all its cut places, Tatsumaki turns away, standing to her feet. "I only said I'd give you a back rub," she denies and works to hide her red face. Damn hormones. "You're gonna have to suffer with a sore front". The click of his tongue and 'was worth a shot' whispered not so quietly amuse her, allowing her face to cool down and her shoulders to relax as she gathers up the movie's disk and places it back into its home. She blinks, however, as she realizes just how dark it had gotten. "You know, it's getting pretty late," she allows as she makes it to her bed side, "You should probably head on home; your parents must be worried about you".

But Aomine doesn't move even when she nudges his shoulder, shaking him from the state of half sleep he was entering. If she wasn't going to work her magic on his front as well, then he might as well as give into the sleep that calls his name. "Nope. I sent an email mom's way; told her I was hanging out at your place. She said to have fun and be good or something like that".

"Yea, and then come home after you were done hanging out," she insists.

"It's okay," he assures, "My folks are pretty easy going now that I'm in high school. They won't mind if I spend the night. Just like when you slept over at my place". Opening an eye to look at her hovering over him from her own bedside, he reaches out and grasps her wrist. "Come on. Go to bed," he utters. When she doesn't move, he tugs on her person, effectively catching her surprise and causing her to fall onto the bed next to him. Satisfied with this, he rolls onto his side and curls around her, his other arm making to wrap around her smaller frame. Effectively spooning her against her will. "Stop squirming". He curls closer to her, his grip on her tightening in an attempt to get her to sit still. In his sleep dazed state, he finds that this is correct, that this is what he wants. Tired. Much too tired to actually judge that maybe he shouldn't actually snuggle up to his hostess as though they were an item. However, holding her like his feels nice. He likes it. She's warm and soft and feminine, something he's never felt before- he's never held anyone other than his mother in a hug. Now if only she would stop moving around.

Tatsumaki is not comfortable. She doesn't feel right. This is wrong- very wrong. She shouldn't be snuggling up to her friend- whom is still shirtless- like this. He shouldn't have his arms around her like this. Since when does Aomine snuggle to begin with? She doesn't understand. Why is he being so difficult? Why is he...Why is he so warm? No. She needs to focus, "Aomine, let go," she demands, attempting to, with her free hand, pry his arms from around her so she can have freedom. She ignores his command for her to stop squirming, only wanting to move more as his breathing becomes slower and his body save his arms more lax. "I'm not your personal body pillow; release me," she demands again, "Aomine". However, when she gets no answer, she looks over her shoulder to find a relaxed expression on his face and his breathing slow and deep. She dead pans his way. "You've got to be kidding me," they didn't do that much so why the hell is he so tired? However, as she lays there, she can feel her eye lids getting heavy too, her vision growing fuzzy and warped. Her head, which had been lifted off the soft fabric of her bed, slumps into it. Her body forces her to relax as the warmth that comes off of the larger teen envelopes her like a blanket, coaxing her into sleeping. Until finally, she cannot fight it any longer.

A few minutes won't hurt, right?