The rain had not let up all day, so you were wrapped in a blanket on the couch, as you scrolled through Instagram, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time due to your recent breakup when a knock echoed throughout. When you opened the door, there he stood. Midorima, soaked, his uniform jacket plastered to him, glasses fogged and dripping with green hair that stuck to his forehead. The moment he saw your face his grip tightened around his small porcelain cat, which you assumed to be his lucky item of the day. For a second he didn’t speak. He only looked as if he ran way here in the cold rain. “I shouldn’t have come,” he said at last, voice shaking ever so slightly. He pushed the cat into your hands, not because you needed it, but because his fingers were trembling. “I calculated that distancing myself from you would be… efficient. Less complications, fewer misunderstandings. I told myself it was the reasonable thing to do.” He swallowed, eyes never meeting yours. “But the calculations were wrong. Everything I tried to be precise about, every schedule I altered, none of it made sense without you in it. It was meaningless.” He took a breath as he weakly straightened himself. “I cannot pretend the space between us did anything but make me miserab-"
You watched as the composure Midorima always clung to slipped, his body swaying toward you until you caught him.
“Shintaro?!” you gasped, quickly guiding him inside. You sat him on the couch, handed him the spare clothes he kept at your place, and grabbed with a towel as he changed. His skin was burning when your hand brushed his cheek.
“I never thought you’d do something so reckless,” you whispered.
His eyes dropped down staring at his hands. “I couldn’t wait any longer. And conversations like this should never be done over the phone.”
You exhaled softly. With a small smile you said, "the gesture did win me over I'll give you that...Soo...I’ll give us another chance… just don’t push me away again shin.”
His smile was faint definitely there as he clasped your hand. “I won’t repeat that mistake twice. Not with you.”
He leaned his forehead to yours, his words quiet, but steady. “From now on… stay by my side always.”
༺═──────────────═༻
Daiki Aomine
You were walking home from school when you heard footsteps slowly creeping up behind you. Once you turned, you saw your now ex Daiki Aomine walking up to you, hands shoved into his pockets like he.
“Yo Y/N. Just talk to me for a sec,” he said.
You immediately dismissed his request with a scoff. “Hell no, Daiki. You had your chance. We’re done.”
“Baby, come on… just hear me out-"
“Don’t even start with that, Aomine.” The way the name, his last name, left your mouth hit him harder than you meant it to. He blinked as hurt flashed across his face.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” you yelled, trying to shove the guilt away. He let out a short yet bitter laugh. “Because I’m fuckin in love with you. You think it’s easy hearing you call me ‘Aomine’ like I don’t matter?” His voice was rougher than usual enveloped with hurt. “I know I messed up. I know I was an ass. But god, Y/ N I want one chance. Just one. Shit only feels right with you.” He always did know how to use his words with you. You crossed your arms, and took a deep breath. “Okay.”
He blinked like he didn’t expect it. “Okay?”
“I’ll give you a week. Be my boyfriend again for a week. If you do the same shit, it’s over for good. No more chances.”
He looked up at you, brow lifting, a grin creeping back. “Sounds like you know I’ll pass.” You shrugged, trying to keep your voice steady. “Maybe. Now walk me home and let's talk about things more...Daiki.” He grinned with relief hearing the name. He then wrapped his arm around your shoulders.
“Alright babe, let's go.”
༺═──────────────═༻
Ryouta Kise
It was late at night when the constant ringing of the door bell echoed throughout your apartment. You got up from your bed and looked to the side to see the clock on your nightstand that read '1:47AM'. You groaned, dragging yourself out of bed as you rubbed your eyes, wondering who the fuck would be insane enough to come at your place at such late hour, only to freeze when you peaked through the peephole, immediately opening the door.
“Ryouta?”. His usual bright smile was nowhere to be found, replaced with wide and teary eyes.
“I can't do this” he blurted, voice trembling. “I can't sit at home pretending like I’m okay with this. I’m not okay. Not without you.”
The speed of his words showed how distressed he was and it was making your heart ache. "Ryou...I-”
“I know, I know! I was selfish, I was dumb, I took you for granted. You don’t have to say it. I already hate myself for it.” He stepped closer, tears streaming down his face. It was a horrendous site to see a boy who's always so bright crying like this. “But I love you. I love you too much to just… to let this happen.” You looked away, but he caught your hand, holding it against his chest where his heart pounded. “Please just give me a chance...I’ll be better. I'm sorry,” he cried. “Just give me another chance to prove it.”
You swallowed hard, as the tears built up. This sight was just enough your heart shatter into pieces.
"Of course, Ryouta…” your voice cracked as tears slipped free, “of course I’ll give you another chance. Please let's just talk about this alright...don't cry anymore.”
You said crying as you pulled him into a hug, and the moment your arms wrapped around him, he cried loudly into your shoulders. His hands gripped your back gently but tightly, his shoulders shaking as his tears soaked into your shirt.
“Thank you,” he said, voice muffled against your shoulder. “Thank you, Y/N… I love you so much."
༺═──────────────═༻
Taiga Kagami
You were heading up the steps to your apartment when you heard someone call out.
“Y/N!”
You turned, startled, and saw Kagami bracing against the railing, breathing heavily like he’d just ran for hours. His hair was a mess and his eyes were red, letting you know, he had little to no sleep the previous night. “What are you doing here?” you auestioned. “We don’t have anything left to say.” His fists clenched at his sides. “Bullshit. I can’t-" His voice cracked, and he swore under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair. “I can’t just let it end like that.”
You crossed your arms. “You should’ve thought about that before.”
“I know!” His voice was loud, echoing in the stairwell. He then took a step forward. “…I know I screwed up. I was too damn stubborn, too caught up in my own head. But Y/N, I-" His sighed as he forced it out. “I love you. I love you so damn much it scares me.” Your breath caught, tears stinging your eyes, but you stood there firm with all the strength you could muster.
“I don’t care if you yell at me, hit me, whatever,” he muttered, voice breaking. “Just don’t walk away from me. Please. I need you.” The silence was long and gruesome for some time. Until you finally stepped forward, your tears slipping free as you threw your arms around him. His body loosening with relief, and he clutched you tight.
“…I’ll do better,” he whispered, “I swear I’ll do better, Y/N.”
༺═──────────────═༻
Tetsuya Kuroko
You didn’t want to come at first when you saw the message lighting up your phone from your ex. His message had been short and simple, “Can we meet after school? Just once.” But here you were, standing in the empty park as the sun slowly began to set. Kuroko was sat on the bench, hands folded neatly in his lap, staring down at the ground until he heard your footsteps.
“Y/N,” he said softly, rising to his feet. “Thank you for coming.”
You stood a bit far to keep your distance. “Say what you need to say, Tetsu.”
His lips pressed into a line and for a moment, he was silent then his shoulders trembled, and his voice cracked.
“I thought I could respect your decision,” he admitted, his tone still quiet but shaking. “I told myself if I loved you, I should let you go.” His eyes then lifted to yours, glassy with tears he was desperately trying to hold back. “But it hurts. Every day, it hurts too much.” Your eyes widened seeing the boys fragile state.
“I love you, Y/N. I don’t care if it makes me sound weak. I need you. More than basketball, more than anything else.”
When the first tear slipped down his cheek, you couldn’t stand it anymore. You ran towards him and hugged him tightly, prompting the boy to cry quietly into your shirt, your heart hurt as you felt how much he cried. "I'm so sorry Tetsu. I love you so much more. Never again will this happen I promise."
༺═──────────────═༻
Atsushi Murasakibara
Your body jolted when something thudded against the window. It was loud enough to rattle the glass. You drew the curtains aside and froze. There on your lawn like was Murasakibara, cradling not pebbles or eggs like a normal person would throw but a ridiculous stack of chip bags.
“Atsushi what do you think you're doing?" you yelled through the glass as you yanked it open. He blinked, and then set all the bag of chips down, only leaving one in hand.
The chip bags tore in his hands with a loud crinkle. "I was just trying to get your attention." He then tossed it toward the window sill and it landed on the porch with a crunch. “Here,” he announced, like presenting a peace offering. “Chips.”
You rolled your eyes. “How generous."
You then looked at him with a serious expression. "Now cut the crap, why are you here" He then sat down on the grass. He shoved a handful of chips into his mouth and chewed with an exaggerated slowness. “I miss you, and I wanted to win you back." You scoffed with the absurdity.
“And this is your grand plan for winninge back?” He shrugged, chip crumbs raining onto the grass. “Yeah. Snacks, and I wait. until you open the door. I can wait here all day.” He said bluntly. “If you really want me to go away, I'll go. I just wanna like...explain myself.." You crossed your arms and glared, but your annoyance subsided at the sight of him there, so big yet so baby like, enjoying his bag of chips as he waited to explain. It softened your heart a bit. You then sighed.
“Fine,” you said at last, annoyance turning into something like defeat. “I’ll come down and hear you out. I hope your explanation is good." His face lit up. A small smile spreading across his face “Good,” he said, shoving another chip in his mouth. “I'll be waiting."
༺═──────────────═༻
Seijuro Akashi
The rain fell hard. You stopped mid step when the splatter of the puddles coming from the footsteps behind you grew closer. Akashi trailed behind you after the intense argument you'd just had resulting in a breakup. He emerged from the downpour, uniform soaked to the seams, hair sticking to his forehead and eyes fixed on you.
“What did you follow me?” you called, voice sharp against the rain. “Go home, Seijuro.”
He did not move.
“You will listen to what I have to say,” he said, as he he folded to his knees on the wet pavement. The sight of him yielding, so unlike the man you knew stole the air from your lungs. His hands rose out to you. “My empress. My queen. My heart"
Rain trailed down his face. “You are my priority, Y/N. You are more precious than anything else in my life. I refuse to accept a life in which you are absent.” Your chest tightened. "I'm sorry for making you feel as if you were so little in comparison to me." He then looked up with you, eyes filled of pure sincerity. "You're my equal Y/N and I love you. I need you. How can one such as myself be without his queen." You then found yourself lowering to the wet ground beside him, hands resting on his shoulders.
“I'm so sorry my love...,” you whispered, voice small under the rain. “Let’s fix this. Let’s talk.”
Akashi looked up at you. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Then speak,” he said. “I will listen to every word you have to say. And I will understand it."
༺═──────────────═༻
Shoichi Imayoshi
You were stuffing books into your bag after class when you heard his voice behind you.
“Still ignoring me I see.. that hurts, y’know.”
You stiffened. “Go away, Shoichi. We’re done.” He leaned against the doorframe, his usual grin plastered on his face. “C’mon, don’t be like that. You really think anyone else is gonna put up with me the way you do? You’re one of a kind.”
“Stop joking.” You slung the bag over your shoulder, brushing past him. “I don’t want to hear it.”
His hand shot out, catching your wrist, not rough, but tight enough to stop you. “Who said I was joking?”
You turned, ready to snap at him, only to freeze. The smirk was gone. His eyes, usually sharp and playful, looked… tired. Hurt one might say.
“I know I fool around too much. I know I pushed you away without meaning to.” His voice was lower now, stripped of its teasing lilt. “…But don’t think for a second I didn’t love you. Because I do. More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
Your breath hitched. “Then why-"
“Because I’m a fool,” He then let your wrist go, running a shaky hand through his hair. “…I thought if I kept it light, I wouldn’t drag you into how fucked up I really am inside. But now I’ve lost you anyway, huh?”
You stared, stunned at the rare vulnerability on his face. “Y/N… I can’t let this end like some bad joke. Please. Give me one more chance. No tricks. Just me.”
for @shoulmate for the Milestone Event Week 6 (open)
“Babe?!”
You freeze. “What?!” You yell back, scrambling to meet him at the door. “What did you do now?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Daiki’s answer comes immediately, his tone defensive. “Why do you think I did something?”
“It’s in your voi-” You stop dead when you spot him. “What is that?”
“A smoothie,” Daiki offers the drink to you. You glare at him.
“You know damn well I didn’t ask about the smoothie. What is that?”
“Oh,” he steps to the side as if only now registering the probably 60 pound dog sitting by his side. “That. That’s Queenie.”
“And what’s Queenie doing with you?”
“Well, now that you’re asking-” He scratches his neck until he catches your glare. He sighs.
“Okay, listen, it’s pretty simple.” Daiki turns to look down at Queenie who’s panting softly. “Queenie used to work for our Department. But she’s getting retired and apparently she’s hard to adopt just because she’s a Pitbull.”
“So?”
“So when no one wanted to give her shelter until they find a forever home for her, I couldn’t just let her go to the shelter. Babe! Do you know how many lives she saved?”
“Why? How many did she save?”
Daiki falters. “I dunno, I didn’t count. But she’s a good girl. Well trained. Look.” He raises his right leg. “Queenie. Shoe.”
Queenie gently takes his shoe into her mouth and pulls it off, putting it on the ground. She immediately sniffs it too, sitting back down when she deems it safe, an opinion you don’t share.
“We’ve talked about this,” you point out. “You promised not to bring home more stuff we don’t need or can’t afford.”
Daiki sighs. “She’s a living being and not a gift basket you more than deserved.”
“Fine,” you sigh too. “You have a point there. But you’re doing the work.”
-
Despite your earlier doubts, Queenie is extremely easy to handle. She does not pull the leash, she follows every order and if her only fault is the habit of climbing into your laps while you’re watching TV than you can probably say you’ve got the best dog ever.
You can tell Daiki doesn’t want to give her up. He hasn’t brought it up yet, but you can tell. It’s in the way he talks to her before going to work, how he asks her to take care of you while he’s gone.
How he takes five minute to say goodnight to her before slipping into bed, smelling faintly of dog when he pulls you close.
He wants her to stay and you’re very close to sharing that sentiment.
-
“Let’s go Queenie.” She hops out of the car when you open the door for her, siddling up to your right side as if to guard you.
It’s only the parking lot of a 7-Eleven but you don’t mind her closeness. You feel safer with her.
You lock your car and turn around, freezing when you notice the guy walking over.
There’s something unsettling on his face, something you can’t quite place yet, though it sets of every alarm in your body.
Queenie starts barking at your side, something you haven’t heard her do in the two months you have her now. She’s right in front of you, barking at the guy who has stopped dead in his tracks.
“Can you call her back?” He asks, pointing.
“Why should I?” You ask him, grabbing her collar. She visibly calms down, her barking turning into a low growl. “You can move around. There’s enough space.”
“Sure, sure,” he waves his hands, giving you a wide berth. Queenie only stops growling when he’s out of sight and you breathe out in relief as she turns back into the angel she has been before.
That is, until you get back out of the store.
She’s immediately on edge again, not letting you walk up to your car.
“What’s gotten into you?” You ask her when she starts crowding you back toward the exit of the store.
But as you take another step back to avoid walking into her, you spot the guy from earlier. He’s standing just a few feet away from your car, seemingly doing nothing but staring over.
When he catches your eye he turns, walking away. Queenie only calms down when he’s out of sight again, finally letting you get back to your car.
Back in there, you immediately drive off, only feeling safe when you’re back in your apartment.
“Here,” you put a bowl of whipped cream down in front of Queenie, knowing full well it’s her favorite treat aside from peanut butter. “You did great today.”
Watching her enjoy yourself you pick up your phone to text Daiki.
“Gonna tell you later what happened today, but in short: We’re keeping Queenie.”
Situation: There was an accident where Aomine survived, but his partner didn’t. His partner died right in front of him. Aomine buried them, attended the funeral, and regularly visited the grave. But during one of those visits, he discovers that the grave has been dug up and the body is gone. When he returns home, he finds dirt on the floor leading to his partner’s former room, the door slightly ajar, even though it had always been kept closed after their death. Entering the room, in complete darkness, Aomine finds his long-buried partner covered in dirt, standing in the middle of the room, turned sideways to him, staring at the wall.
The first feeling is shock. Aomine’s inner voice just shuts off. He doesn’t move, doesn’t blink, doesn’t breathe, only tries to comprehend that the person standing there is the one he buried himself.
The funeral flashes through his mind instantly: the coffin, the earth, the smell of damp soil. Aomine can almost feel the shovel in his hands again. That memory clashes violently with what he’s seeing now.
He doesn’t dare to speak right away. His chest feels tight, his breathing rough, and when his voice finally comes out, it’s barely audible:
— “…Is that… you...babe...?” — and he immediately regrets it, because the figure doesn’t respond or move.
His athletic body betrays him. Aomine, who’s always in control of himself, now feels every muscle tremble as if he’s facing something alien, impossible.
Inside, it’s a mix of terror and hope. Part of him wants to rush forward, to hold his partner, to press them to his chest. But another part knows that this cannot be the person he loved.
The room itself feels sacred. He never opened it after the death, and now it feels defiled by this return. The dirt on the floor looks like tracks not just from the grave, but as if from something far worse.
He notices the details: dirt packed under the “partner’s” nails, wet, tangled hair, torn clothes, the same ones they were buried in.
With every second, fear turns into anger. Aomine hates his own helplessness, hates not understanding what’s happening, is this a trick? a hallucination? a nightmare? He starts getting angry at the figure itself for standing there in silence.
Maybe he turns on the light and sees the “partner” begin to turn toward him, but not fully: only the head, slowly, with a sickening crack, as if the joints don’t belong to the living.
After this, Aomine will never feel safe in that house again. Even if the “visitor” disappears, he’ll hear footsteps in the empty room, see muddy traces on the floor, and feel the smell of damp earth lingering behind him. Every day he will feel like he is going more and more crazy, but after this event he will definitely never recover from your death, no matter how much he wants to.
Aomine groans as he wakes up, stretching his arms, Well no practice at least. He rubs and squints his eyes as he sees a tail wagging at the edge of his bed. Wha- “I was wondering you could take care of Tetsuya 2 since you won’t be playing for a couple of days.” Kuroko talks calmly, looking up at him in anticipation. “Yeah sure.”
The bell goes off in Aomine’s head, Wait a second. His brain short circuits, as he looks between Kuroko and Tetsuya 2 subsequently. ”What-how- WHEN DID YOU GET IN.”
Kuroko just smiles and puts Tetsuya 2 on Aomine’s lap. “Thank you.” Momoi speaks from the other end of the room,”Riko said you should still be there.”“ Aomine short circuits again, “You are here too?!!”
Momoi giggles as Aomine grumbles, “Remind me to change my locks.”
“You will be there right?” Momoi Satsuki, who is the chief analyst of the Basketball Association, studies his expression tilting her head. Normally Aomine would have skipped, since what’s the point of going if you can’t play ball but your pretty face pops into his head and he responds, “Yeah, whatever.” As he scratches the back of his neck.
To his dismay, you don’t show up at the practice, something about recovering from jetlag and sleeping in late. To his further dismay, he was now the errand boy for the group.
“Hey Mine-chin, can you get some fruit chuppets for me? Im not feeling it without ‘em today. And since you’re not doing anything..” Murasakibara trails off in his usual jarring tone. “And if you’re getting those, can you also get some Sparkling Water, Aominechhi?” Kise peeps from behind Murasakibara. Aomine gives them the death stare and soon, there’s a list of errands he has to run for everyone.
He groans and starts dragging his feet to the supermarket along with Tetsuya 2. Upon paying for all the things he just bought, his phone dings. “Can you get my knee pads? - My apartment is on the way. The door code is 458902” - Kagami. Great. Him too. He rolls his eyes. Just keeps getting worse this day.
He starts making his way with the little pup following him enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, at your place, you step out of the cold shower with a towel wrapped around yourself, the ends of your hair still dripping wet. You finally feel better from sleeping in late and taking the cold shower. You blast music on max volume, Feel it Still playing as you rock along the beat.
You start grooving to the music, your feet and body moves animatedly pretending to be a sexy dancer. You bend down and pick up your panties from your suitcase, you get up sexily with your hips moving in circular motion, you do a final hairlip as you get up.
You flip around to your make-believe audience, with your left hand on your waist and right hand raised holding your panties. You scream in shock as you see the same blue-haired male standing in front of you, same shock etched on his face, his mouth open in bewilderment.
Your mind is racing like the wind and face is getting red in embarrassment. You watch him slowly close his mouth and gulp. You both look at each other in stupor, unable to form words.
As the music dies down, the silence pierces through the room, breaking the stupor. Your eyebrows start scrunching up in anger, and he takes it as a queue to look away from you, you can see a red hue forming on his cheeks. You fold your arms, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I uh-“ Before he could finish, he’s interrupted by a loud shriek, he looks back at you only to find you on top of the coffee table pointing at Tetsuya 2, “What the hell is that?” You notice the little pup and start freaking out, you have never been a dog person, and are scared shitless of them.
Tetsuya 2 on the other hand just wags his tail and pounces around the coffee table trying to get to you. Aomine starts laughing looking at the scene in front of him, his eyes forming tears.
“What the hell are you laughing at” You scream as you jump from one couch to the other. “Take it back!!”
At this point Tetsuya 2 manages to jump on your couch. Shrieking, you jump from that couch to the one near Aomine, but right before your take off, Tetsuya 2 bites down on your towel.
Aomine’s eyes become wide as you jump onto him, completely naked, shrieking and putting your arms around him, his basketball reflexes catching you bridal style. He freezes as he looks down at you, naked, drenched, and in his arms. Your hair dripping water onto your soft body. You are breathing hard, your eyes are closed in fear.
Aomine chuckles and commands Tetsuya 2, “Hey 2, sit.”
You open one eye and see the pup sitting down, wagging his tail, no longer jumping on you.
You sigh in relief and look up at Aomine, still in his hold, and then back to your body. You shriek watching yourself completely naked and get off Aomine in a hurry. “S-stop looking!”
Aomine turns around trying to control his laughter, he walks to the pup taking the towel clutched between the pup’s teeth and handing it you, with his back still turned towards you. You quickly take it and wrap it around yourself. He picks up Tetsuya 2 in his hands.
“And what exactly are you doing here?” You walk back to your suitcase. “Don’t look.” You pick up a sweatpant and a loose hoody.
“I came here to get Kagami’s knee pads. He forgot ‘em here.” Aomine states with his back turned to you. You quickly put the clothes on you. “Im done.”
Aomine turns around to look at you, little pup smiling in his hold. “Aomine Daiki”
“Y/n L/n.” You open the drawer and toss the knee pads at Aomine.
He catches ‘em,”Nice to meet ya.” He says with a shit-eating grin.
“Yeah, whatever. Close the door on your way out.” You speak calmly, trying to act cool, as if nothing happened.
He walks towards the door, when he turns around, “Im uh-..Im sorry about the..whole thing”
“Cool.” You shrug looking away.
The door clicks as he exits.
“Ughhhhh” You groan loudly and lie face down on the couch, burying your face in the pillow. You’re embarrassed as hell, and start screaming into the pillow, “The fuck! The fuck! The fuck!” You groan once more.
You hear someone clearing their throat, and you look up from the pillow, your eyes blowing out of their sockets. He’s still here. Just kill me already.
“I-uh. I forgot to take the groceries.” He says with the shit-eating grin.
“Just leave.”
He quickly picks up the groceries and winks at you before turning back to open the door.
“And never come back again.”
“Sure thing.” He says while leaving. You can feel him grinning and are staring daggers on his back. The door clicks shut.
You groan, “I hate this life.” And bury your head in the pillow again.
~
Summary > One > Two > Three > Four
Author’s Note:
- I hope it came out as hilarious as I imagined it in my head. :D
- Interaction is my motivation juice. Taglist is open.
PREMIUM ECONOMY: A TRIP TO LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA WITH KAGAMI TAIGA! @vespersposts
╰┈➤thank you for visiting eunoia airlines! ah! another great trip for the lovable you! enjoy this trip with your love one as you roam around la with them! we hope you'll enjoy this trip and come back again!
songs to listen to: i. ii. iii. iv. v.
WARNING!! THIS CONTAINS SUGGESTIVE CONTENT, BEWARE I DON'T WRITE SMUT. JUST SUGGESTIVE FICS, AND THIS IS ONE SUGGESTIVE FIC. I HAVE CONSENT POSTING THIS FROM MY BEST FRIEND. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
D IS FOR DANGEROUS
cw: a bit suggestive, mentions of alcohol and alcohol consumption, a tinge of jealousy, mentions of insecurities, fluff, pet names (doll, love, baby, babe.)
a/n: IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAYED POST, MY MENTAL WAS JUST NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO WRITE. IT WENT LIKE THIS 📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📉📉📈📉📈😭😭😭😭😭
kagami sipped on his wine glass, the taste gliding along his tongue. he felt the way it burned his throat a bit but his gaze was only focused on one person. you.
rather it was the person you're talking to.
you both went to los angeles for his game that was a few days away, and a concert of the arctic monkeys the week after. not this.
you were chattering all and about, yet he could feel the way his nerves were irking as he gripped the wine glass tighter. kagami burnt holes on the back of the man's head, somewhere within himself denying what he was feeling. jealousy.
he knew it was a contagious disease but he couldn't help it. why would he when kagami had you?
the booming music through this small bar-club typa building didn't even help at all. he could see from a few meters away his teammates, aomine with his girl, akaashi inspecting his surroundings, midorima sipping his drink with a distasteful look, murasikabara not having a care in the world as he was chewing the cherry and kuroko trying to stop kise from chugging down another drink. then he sees you.
talking to a man.
you suddenly came in to his life and stole his heart.
he had you, and you had him. your fingers wrapped around each other as your feelings were confessed on that night before.
kagami feels special as he looks at you, you were chortling and he couldn't even care about the man.
it made him feel special at the thought that you chose him out of everyone.
he felt so lucky, as if he just won a lottery prize as you cheer for him at his game, making him attain victory. he never knew were it started but you were the very person he needed.
the woman he loves who was the brightest star in his universe, a trophy that nobody has but him. to kagami, you were the river flowing down in a slow steady ocean in amsterdam. to kagami, you were the very air he breathes. the one who steadies him on the ground as the world crumbles behind him. you were his home.
kagami believed that love was an emotion that was passionate, something that everybody has to wait for. but when he looks at you, he can't help but be proud of the way he suddenly confessed his feelings back then. (albeit embarrassing to him.)
he could still remember the way your lips first felt like against his, hovering as if there's no tomorrow. kagami could still remember the way you wrapped him around your finger, forever stealing his heart as he did with yours.
it felt like yesterday, when the both of you were walking and he suddenly had the urge to clasped his hands around your much smaller ones. the beating of his heart against his ribcage and the clammy feeling of his hands wasn't something he'd forget. ever.
it already was embedded in his head the moment your delicate hands were wrapped around his calloused ones.
kagami could never forget this feeling. he will never forget the way he would get all jittery and nervous with the way you smile at him, or with the way you reserved a soft spot in your heart for him. like the way you did with yours, he had an even more softer spot for you.
anyone could see his gaze, kuroko was really wet from the rain yet he offered you his umbrella, leaving his light-blue haired partner sneezing the next day.
kagami could feel this feeling wouldn't fade. it was like you were his very memory his brain muscle can never forget, maybe like a broken record replaying over and over in his head.
it was no lie that you were really beautiful, yet a mystery to everyone. they couldn't fathom what was so different about you. they were intimidated with the way you gaze at them, yet the red hair saw nothing so different.
you were so perfect in his eyes.
everything, every moment and every second spent with you feels like time is slowing down. the laugh, the smiles, the echos of it all- you slow down time.
kagami could feel it, he feels like a kid- the happiness, the innocent touches, and the adrenaline rush. everything about it was so special to him.
it was like butterflies were the things he ate in the morning as he hears your laugh, even when his joke was so unfunny.
love consumed him. everybody could tell.
but what do they know?
do they know how you brighten up his day and make him so fuzzy? does everyone know that you make kagami so weak in the knees for you as you whisper sweet-nothings in to his ear as the monsters of insecurities come back crawling to him? would everyone know that your lips against kagami felt so right to him? that it felt so good?
you're the blood running along his veins, the pulse through his life. the heart his yearns for and has, and the way it pumped out with so much adrenaline and blood filling up his body. you're the seratonin that makes him much more happier and much more lively.
you were the adrenaline that rushed across his whole body as he plays basketball and he could hear, see you in the stands cheering wearing his jersey on. you were the the iron streaming along his blood. the one that functioned his heart beat everyday.
oh gosh, no dopamine swarming in his head can conquer his happy days with you.
and it makes him warm and fuzzy that you chose him. out of everyone. you could've chosen somebody rich and more good looking than him. somebody more who has self-control and discipline. but it goes all away out the window as you tell him "i love you and only you."
it feels like he won the lottery ticket that can conquer all his bills. yet he knows this isn't just a lottery ticket he won.
to kagami, you were much more than that. you were worth everything.
kagami could feel his jaw slacking as he sees you smile at the man. you know he's looking, yet you were teasing him with this.
clearly, you had no likes for the man. the wedding ring against your ring finger says so.
kagami knows your his. and only his.
but this man was no ordinary man, he could see the way this random man was looking you up and down. he even ignored kagami's presence when he walked up to you and dragged you away from where you were!
having enough of teasing the love of your life, you sauntered your way over to him with a smirk he's all too familiar with. that teasing smile of yours only pumping him up.
making your way to him, you let out a short chuckle with the way his arms immediately wrapped around your waist, wine long forgotten as he placed it on the side. he lowers his face to the crook of your neck where he could feel your pulse surging as he placed a lazy kiss over it, making you gulp and sigh from the sensation.
" were ya teasing me back there doll?" kagami mutters out lowly, face nearing below your collarbone. "if you're trying to make me jealous then it's working. you win the game now." his voice on your collarbone sent vibrations throughout your whole body as he placed another even more lazy kiss.
carding your way through his red tussles of hair, you chuckled at his admit of defeat, making him groan even more as his body came back to his full height. "aww, is my poor taiga jealous?" you teased out as you sent him a wide grin, only to receive a low growl from him.
"ofcourse i am, did you see the way he was looking at you? it was like he was a predator! i was ready to come swoop you out there!" taiga whisper-shouted in your ear as the grin on your face only widened.
"aw, but you know im only yours right?" you muttered out near his lips as your arms wrapped around his neck pulled him down to your height. breath fanning over his, making him groan lowly against your lips as you didn't make the move kissing him.
kagami's hand immediately went to the base of your neck, pushing it forward as your lips crashed on his. the kiss was sweet at first, which quickly turned passionate as he pulled you closer, hands around his neck as he circles small shapes at your sides.
kagami let's out a small groan as he feels you tug his crimson tussles, hands on your waist tightened more if that was even possible. you feel yourself move, kiss not breaking yet even when your back collided with the wall.
his teeth tugged at your bottom lip, biting it as you let out an incoherent sound. the loud sound of music filled both your ears but you didn't care as you tasted the wine he drank from before, you could feel his body all over yours.
taiga was so warm, like this kiss you were sharing. his hands being placed next to your head to the wall as his whole figure covered you from the view of the man you were talking to- paying him no mind.
your lover gave you no space to breathe as he pulled away but as immediately as he pulled away, he kissed you again. it was dangerous game to play like this with kagami-the jealousy of this man was really contagious.
but you loved the sensation he sent through your body as he places a few wet kisses on your jaw, making you sigh from the sensation as he lowered himself up to your neck to press more fervent kisses there before staring up at you.
"i wonder what goes through your mind, doll." taiga started as he finally went up to his full height. his red eyes stared at yours, eyeing you as if you were a prey as you stared back at him.
you hummed out as his hands went back to your waist, circling shapes around it as your hands were still wrapped around him. "you know how to rile me up. do you always have to do that so that you could get a big kiss from me? you could just ask me, you know?" he curiously asked, music so loud.
He knew what he wanted to say
But he didn't know how to word it
The dirty little Herbert was seeking an escape
The guiltiness that started
Soon as the other part had stopped
you smirked up at him, a glint in your eyes as you stared at him through your lashes. "baby what's the fun in that? plus you look hot when you're aggressive." you said out to him as he growled once more, tugging your waist as he lowered his face near your face again.
D is for delightful
And try and keep your trousers on
I think you should know you're his favourite worst nightmare
"if you wanted that then you could've said so, baby." kagami said so lowly near your ear, breath fanning over you ear lobe, making your face flush as he places his head on your shoulder.
you could feel taiga chuckle against your skin as it sent vibrations throughout your whole body, leaving you speechless. "speechless right now babe? im sure that man would've loved to hear more words from your mouth." he added as you groaned, face flushing as you buried your face on his toned chest.
"stop teasing taiga!" you squeaked out, face still flushed against his chest as kagami chuckled more. "but you did that to me, love. one can play the game too." he muttered out as you looked at him, cheeks coated with tinges of pink. kagami's smirk grew wider as he saw your face. victory.
"okay fine. you win!" you blurted out as he laughed, the sound making the flowers bloom once more in your chest. "that's what i thought. never knew los angeles was going to be fun this season!" he laughed out again, you soon joining as he left a small peck on your forehead.
Ok I have another req! Could I request a fem reader x taiga who's used to guys only expressing interest in her body and sexuality and sexualising her so when taiga doesn't do that it makes her think that he isn't into her? Angst and miscommunication and misunderstandings but it gets resolved in the end!
Hiiii bby 💕 so so sorry I took so long to work on your request, it took me longer than expected bc the premise kinda hit too close to home and I had a hard time seperating my personal feelings from what I was writing 😭 here it is and I hope you enjoy it! I was very happy to write on Kagami for you again <333
Doubts // Kagami Taiga x Fem! Reader
Context: you're so used to boys sexualizing you that when a certain Kagami Taiga enters your life, you don't know what to expect from him anymore. Characters are aged up (18+) for plot context.
Warnings: college!au, angsty, reader is insecure, trust issues, implicit mentions of sex but nothing detailed so still sfw, Kagami being a bit oblivious, reader and Kagami have a little misunderstanding but it's resolved at the end <3 fluff towards the end bc I'm a romantic at the core 🥰
The sun hits your face as you get out of the lecture hall, the sweet scent of spring reaching you and giving you a false sense of rest. It doesn’t last long; the other students follow behind you, and soon enough you are stuck in a crowd that wander aimlessly, following the flow when really you should be walking the opposite direction. It’s noon, you should be going home to a miserable sandwich, take a quick nap and wake up wondering if you truly want to show up to the next lecture or just do nothing for the rest of the day.
A voice calls for you, and you turn around, tired eyes opening up slightly when you recognize the silhouette coming towards you. Taiga runs to you, big body forcing everyone to get out of his way so he can reach you. And he does, Taiga with his honest smile, and his old backpack nonchalantly hanging on his broad shoulders. You smile, though your body tenses up.
“Wanna have lunch with me?” he asks.
You are tempted to decline the invitation, like every time he comes to you. It’s more a reflex than what your heart truly wants, and you are fully aware of it. So in confusion, you urge yourself to give an answer:
“Was heading home to eat, actually” you say, hoping that he’ll let you go.
But he doesn’t because Kagami Taiga never does. It irritates you in some ways, probably because you can’t make sense of it. He’s not the kind to hang out with you now, is he?
Kagami Taiga has always been the “out of your reach” kind of person. A handsome guy that walks the campus by turning all heads, yet he appears somewhat oblivious – or maybe he’s grown accustomed to the looks he gets at everything he goes. He’s the one people invite to their parties although they barely know him, and the one girls wish they could date one day. He’s all that, with his cool aura, a constant frown on his face that make him look more intimidating than he really is, and his reputation as the best basketball player the university has ever had.
So, considering all that, maybe it makes sense that you’re suspicious when he’s suddenly taken a liking to you. It cannot be without intentions, and you suspect that they aren’t pure. It’s just something you know. Men always disappoint you.
Your friends tell you that you are dramatic for making such statement, and you’ve wondered for a long while if you’re just not too pessimistic. At the end of the day, men are humans too, aren’t they? What is the point of assuming that they’re not capable of love, or rather, of loving you? You’ve struggled on multiple sleepless nights, grieving the false hopes you’ve built for yourself – just because a guy said the right words, and hold you the right ways, and made your heart pound at the right pace. It’s always started like a dream, too good to be true, you’d repeat to yourself. Because it never took long for your prince to turn into a frog, dropping you the moment he no longer found pleasure in your body. And the circle would start again, with a new guy, and new words, new feelings, till he nonchalantly confessed how you were nothing more than a piece of meat to him. Always a “hump and dump”, so are you wrong, to be suspicious of all men?
“You know, I wanna cook for you one day” Taiga’s voice resonates as you keep walking out of the campus to reach your place.
“Why would you want to cook for me, anyway?”
It’s a genuine question – something like that can hold so many meanings, so you wonder what it could signify for him. You have your own meaning of it: you’ll only cook for the one you love. A gesture of love, exclusive, and that you believe you’ll never get to make, considering how things are going for yourself.
“I’m a fucking good chef, for one, and it’d make me happy to see you eat my food” he replies with his usual straightforwardness.
The romantic undertones of his answer do not go unnoticed and your heart pounds in your chest, despite all your efforts of keeping it down. Every one of his words, every one of his actions, takes you back to the days when you were just a teenager having crushes and dreaming of the kind of romance that you’ve got to learn doesn’t exist in reality.
“Well… we’ll see about that” you reply, not wanting to reject him as the tiny glimpse of hope that he is genuine guides your actions.
He smiles, striking you right in your most sensitive spot – it’s hard not to smile back, but you’d be a fool to do so. He’s no different from the others, you repeat to yourself. Yet, here you are, walking in the soft sun of spring and honestly enjoying his presence. He doesn’t have to do much or say much, his aura somewhat soothing to you. You feel like you’re falling for a spell, aware of it but still uncapable of resisting it. You sigh, looking at the time on your phone as you rack your brain for a way out of here. It’s not quite that you want to leave Taiga, but more that you need to. You fear what will happen if you extend these simple moments with him, if you let your guards down and don’t think twice as the space between you gets smaller, and smaller.
So, you need to flee the situation. For your own sake, for your own heart. It hurts you to leave him, but you’re convinced there’s truly a greater purpose to you digging the distance between the basketball player and you. But you fail, and you really can’t bring yourself from stopping him from walking you home. For a second there, you look up at the sky like it holds these answers you’re seeking for.
It’s insane, how your heart beats at the simple thought of Taiga. His warm smile, the way his hand lingers on your waist when you walk together in crowds, his voice when he calls your name – all so confusing, yet so consuming. And then you stop and think back to all those who were there before him. Those who praised your body at night and ignored your soul in the daylight. Those who charmed you with smiles and words, making you feel at the top of the world for a second, and made you realized that you worthed no more than dust the next second. It’s always promises of stars in your eyes, till it turns out to be nothing but dreams. It’s destructive, this circle you’ve got yourself into inadvertently. And you hate yourself for letting it get the best of you. You hate yourself for letting it install all these doubts in your mind. Maybe you’re too cautious, maybe you’re running away from a true opportunity; there’s just no way of knowing for sure. It’s simply that you’re brought to lose all trust in men, and despite the warmth Taiga brings you, he can’t be an exception.
He can’t be right? It doesn’t matter how he makes you feel, he’ll hurt you, too… won’t he?
But under the soft rays of the sun, he’s no more than a human that you love. You may inch away from him at each step, but he doesn’t give up. And you wait in frustration that he shows himself to be no better than others. The moment he’ll touch you with clear intentions of consuming your body, or that he’ll outright tell how you’re nothing more than an attractive body. He’s yet to say or do anything of that sort – does he even like you, in any way? Taiga has always kept a fair amount of distance, despite never leaving your circle. He stays in proximity, yet never comes to close, and you keep waiting for the moment he’ll reach and turn your fear into reality. You always wonder why he doesn’t do like the others, when he’s had countless of occasions to act. He’s never once let his fingers linger longer than needed on your waist, he’s never once looked at you with lustful eyes, he’s never once made a suggestive comment. But he doesn’t go away either, and here you are, confused and struggling.
“You never give me straightforward answers when you I invite you to stuff” he lets out.
You slow down, struggling to hide your reaction upon the realization that he’s somewhat noticed that habit of yours. Granted, you’re probably not as sly as you think you are. After months of him suggesting things that you may do together, and you answering in the most elusive way possible, maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise that he’s noticed that pattern of yours.
“I really don’t, do I?” you try to laugh yourself out of the spotlight.
Yet, you fail. He’s caught you, and you still have to figure out how much has he picked up on.
“Well, you know me” he stops mid-sentence to stretch his arms.
You don’t say anything. Do you truly know him, you wonder. He seems to think so, but at the same time, it might just be a ruse. For all you know, you can’t never truly know someone. You don’t see how he’ll be any different.
“Just say it, if I piss you off” he reprises, “I’ve never been good at reading minds.”
“You don’t annoy me” you reply immediately, before you can even think of an answer.
It’s like something has taken over you, a part of you you’d usually repress for you believe it’s incapable of making sensible choices. You sigh, as a silence settles between both your bodies. Only the chirping of the birds and the sounds of cars passing by interrupt the quiet. It’s not comfortable at all. If anything, there’s a lot left unsaid. After each step, each breath, each side glance at each other, you feel the tension build up.
“Hey, d’you even like me?”
Taiga’s voice sounds up, snapping the tension in a sharp move. You’re defenceless, but somehow fishing for a semblance of barricade to build up.
“You can’t ask that kind of silly questions…”
“You can’t keep being avoidant like that.”
“Fuck.”
He’s really got you cornered. For some reason, the more it goes, the more you feel yourself crumbling. You feel like crying, yet tears don’t fall. You just have the feeling that at any point, you’ll just falter and break in tiny pieces in front of him.
“Yeah… you know what? I better stop right now. I sound like a fucking looser trynna pass for a nice guy. Sorry for being a bitch about my own doubts. They have nothing to do with you.”
You furrow your brows, stopping in your walk as you register his words.
“Are they real?” you ask.
“Huh?”
“Your doubts… are they real? Or are you just saying that to make me feel something?”
He ogles at you, seemingly shocked by your words.
“The fuck you’re saying? I just feel like I like you more than you do, that’s just it.”
“Yeah, but do you really like me, Taiga?”
You sniff, your deepest thoughts cracking through your barricade.
“Yes I do! I thought I was being obvious enough” he replies, eyebrows raised in incredulousness.
“Pardon me, but it’s hard to believe so” you reply, not daring to confront his gaze. “Guys like you…”
You stop before finishing your sentence. It hurts you to say these words to someone that you love despite everything. And you feel stupid enough for loving him, like you haven’t learned your lesson yet. You shouldn’t let him in, he’ll use you and leave you, like they all do.
“Hey…” Taiga’s is voice is soft in your ears, comforting, exactly what you need at this instant which makes you even more cautious of him.
“Leave it, Taiga. You don’t have to comfort me” you say as you take a step back. “You don’t have to be nice to me at all, actually. It’s pointless, because…”
You take a breath, wondering why it’s so hard to speak, yet as soon as you open your mouth, it feels like an unstoppable flow of words. Just all your deepest insecurities coming to the surface and embracing you in their vile hands, to the point where you are nothing but your fear of being used by someone you love.
“The moment you’ll realize you can’t get what you want of me, you’ll leave, anyways. They always do, guys like you.”
For a moment, neither of you speak. You can’t say more for your part, and as for him, he doesn’t know what to say. It’s rather conflicting; should he defend himself, or take you in his arms? Or should he, simply, walk away if the sight of him hurts you so much? Despite everything, he finds himself unable to move anywhere further from you. It’s like some force drives him to stay by you, even if you might hate him.
“I’m sorry” he finally says.
If you dare look at his eyes, you might be surprised by the sight. The flame that usually shines so bright in his eyes is almost inexistent, replaced by the wavering glimmer of humid eyes. Your overly cautious self isn’t quite sure what these words mean. It could be an admission of guilt, and that prospect shatters your heart in countless little pieces.
“What for?” you risk yourself asking.
“For not showing you properly how I feel about you. Have I been more straightforward… you’d probably think of me differently. You wouldn’t have to love me back, either way, but I’d have the comfort of knowing that you knew that I was genuine” he answers, hands digging in his pockets. “And I’m sorry I can’t prove myself to be better than the assholes who’ve treated you like shit before. Just say the word, and I’ll go. Or say nothing, there’s meaning to that, too.”
He doesn’t say a single word after that, the sound of cars passing by crashing between your two silent bodies. You feel the tears well up in the corner of your eyes, almost spilling but being kept there, on the edge of your eyelids. The seconds pass by faster than you want them to while you are yet to say or do anything. The more time passes by, the more Taiga feels something break in him. He’s never been really good at relationships – he isn’t a reader of people, and up till recently, he’s never really taken the time to reflect on the way he feels. But things somewhat changed when he met you, the heat you brought to his heart being a novelty he’s been on a quest to understand. And then he figured that it must simply be love. Maybe he’s been expressing it wrong, maybe he should have been more observant, he would have caught on the signs that you’ve lost all trust in others.
It takes everything in him to take a step away from you. Kagami Taiga has never been the kind to give up. But he still fights against himself and move, digging the distance between you. And at the sight of his tall frame going away, your hand reaches forward by itself. You tug at his t-shirt, forcing him to turn around to look at you. Teary eyes stare at each other as your fingers don’t let go of the fabric of his t-shirt.
“Could you… could you hold me then? Just once, to show me that you truly like me.”
Your request surprises him. Everything till now has been convincing him that you need him the furthest away from you, yet, when he looks at your pleading eyes, he realises that this might just be his window. Before he truly has to let you go, he should hold you the way he’s always wanted to.
And he does, strong arms pushing you towards his chest where you hear the erratic beat of his heart. You cry, as his fingers pat your head with a gentleness that you’ve always been craving. You don’t want him to let you go, and by the way he holds you, he doesn’t either. That much is made clear to you, and here in Taiga’s embrace you figure for once that maybe, yeah maybe, someone can truly love you.
“I don’t like you, dummy. I love you” his voice sounds smoothly in your ears.
Truer words have never been spoken to you, and they go straight to your aching heart, somehow mending it back together.
“You do?”
“Yeah, and I’ll prove it to you every day till there’s not a single doubt left in your pretty head.”
Sooo you want angst? How about a fic/hc/scenario where a fem!reader who's friends with Aomine and liked for a long time (since Teiko) but Aho-mine takes her for granted because: 1. He knows she likes him 2. She's not like Horikita Mai 3. She's not affiliated to the basketball club. The reader is left heartbroken and eventually gave up. He only realized that how important she to him is when she's gone, and that he always liked her too when he sees her with someone else. (Bonus points if it's Kagami~) Especially when he sees that guy being all gentle and sweet. Angst and regrets for Aomine, but a bit fluffy for the reader~ "You'll never know what you have until you lose it, *Aho*mine"
Aomine x f!Reader
Word Count: 12,784
yes this is 39-40 pages on the doc, I’m warning you guys, it’s a bit long, but hey~ get your christmas reading in, I guess?
Note: I can’t believe I had to track down the general timeline for this to the point where I found a reddit thread that had the mangaka’s notes on these types of things. The dates given aren’t canon, but the months should be canon in terms of when mentioned canon events happen? The new school year date I’m 99% sure is correct, since it starts the day after spring break.
current 🏷: @nadav-ii, @carinacassiopeiae, @kendrex13, @roppongiperfume, @thesongstressayre, @kimigiri09 (it’s unfortunately not tagging you? i can only make a link to your tumblr)
wanna be in the taglist? check out this post!
»»————— ☼ —————««
[2 years ago]
“Hey…” a boy with cropped hair turned to you sheepishly with a friendly smile. “My bad, but… could you help me with these questions? I don’t really get it, and you seem to know your stuff.”
“Huh?” You looked up from your desk to see a bashful expression for him, clearly finding it embarrassing to ask for help. To help him save face, you quickly agreed, patting the empty table next to you for him to sit. It was before class, an ordinary day in Teiko, though nothing is really “ordinary” in a school like Teiko to begin with.
“Thanks,” he grinned at you.
You nodded at him before asking, “What is it you have trouble on… um…”
“Aomine Daiki,” he finished for you. “And on these questions. I don’t get them…”
“Okay, Aomine-san,” you nodded, leaning closer to properly read the questions. “Here’s how you do them…”
. . .
“Holy crap, you’re an actual life-saver!”
Aomine quickly rushed to the front of your desk after class to thank you, nearly scaring you out of your wits while you were clearing out your space.
“It’s nothing, really…” you insisted, putting your hands up out of shyness. Being praised out of nowhere like that definitely wasn’t a part of an “ordinary” day.
“I’m serious!” he shot back earnestly. “If it weren’t for you, I woulda failed that pop quiz…” He gulped at the thought of Akashi and Midorima figuring out his academic scores. “So I really appreciate you teaching me, even if you didn’t even know me at all!”
“Pfft,” you laughed. “You’re more than free to come ask me for help.”
“Oh yeah,” he turned to face you, with an expression oddly serious for someone like him. “I never got your name.”
You smiled at his outstretched hand and shook it with your own.
“(l/n) (y/n).”
———
[December 12th]
“Aomine!! You made Momoi cry again?”
“Shut up already, and quit naggin’ so much or you’ll grow wrinkles.”
You only give a huff of indignation before sending your best glare to him. He merely looks at you from the corner of his eyes before closing them with a sigh. That was an indication that he wanted this conversation to end—to change the subject elsewhere that wasn’t as annoying to think about.
“... Go easier on her, okay?” you give a sigh of your own before turning away from him. “She only does these things because she really cares for you. I’m really serious.”
Because I care too.
“Everyone worries for you… Kuroko has been really down in the dumps lately… did… something happen between the two of you?”
“You really are more annoying than Satsuki,” Aomine mumbles, getting up from his resting position to sit up with a slouch. You turn around to face him to participate in a banter again, but his pointed look at you stopped all the words from forming on your tongue. You only stare at him when he continues again. “Seriously, I just wanted a nap on the rooftop and you’re always pestering me, for what?” You furrowed your brows to snap at him.
“To practice, Aomine! Practice sucks, I get it. I personally would want to sleep and chill all day, too. But the fact is, everyone is doing their best on the courts, whether in games or drills, and I know that a part of you wants to also be at your best when the games come, so it’s just so frustrating to see you throw away practices like this—”
“What do you know about me?”
You flinch. You have his entire attention now, his sitting position turned completely to face you. His arm is propped up on a knee, and his lips are pulled in a taut line. What does he even mean…? You’ve been friends for years… right? You hesitate before continuing.
“... I might… not know you as well as Momoi, I know that for sure. And Kuroko, too—but when I see those two visibly upset for your sake, I just can’t help but hate to see how your friendships together are just—you guys were so close and then just, something must’ve happened—”
“Shut the fuck up already.” His eyes finally sharpen into a clarity that fully reflected anger. Clearly, your words touched a nerve. “People like you who act all high and mighty when you have no idea what you’re talking about are the most irritating.”
“... Did something happen at practice recently?”
He abruptly stands up before he walks to the ledge of the higher concrete structure, his back to you. You have no idea what his face looked like at the moment, but after a moment of tense silence, he finally lowered his head as if he thought hard about something.
“... You wouldn’t understand.”
And with that, he jumps down, not even bothering to use the ladder to get down. A harsh screech of the bulky door was the only indication that Aomine left the rooftop to no doubt sleep somewhere else. Silence follows.
“I wouldn’t understand… huh…” you whisper out to no one in particular, staring at the city view obstructed by the safety fencing around the rooftop. You bite your lip in hopes of tamping down the awful feelings threatening to bubble out of you—the powerlessness in helping the person you love; the frustration of him never opening up to you; the lost isolation of being constantly left in the dust. This wasn’t the first time he did this to you, always storming off in his own tantrum when you confronted him on these matters—you weren’t a stranger to them at all. You’ve known him for nearly three years now—you shouldn’t be surprised. So why… why do you feel this way now?
But he’s never lashed out on you like this… ever.
You rapidly blink in hopes of regaining your composure, the kind that would pretend everything was okay and that his words didn’t really hurt you at all.
Yet, even when your lips begin to quiver uncontrollably, your eyes take on a glint of determination, your mind made up. It’s been years since you’ve known him, and you’re going to try to get to the bottom of this.
I want to understand him.
———
[December 13th]
“Aomine doesn’t hate you, (l/n)-san.”
“Eh?” You shoot your head up at Kuroko’s words. You decided to look for Kuroko the next day to confide in him about what happened at the rooftop, even when you two aren’t particularly close to each other. But you knew that Kuroko wouldn’t turn you down if matters were about the Generation of Miracles, let alone Aomine. Kuroko is just far too kind to turn away from people in need of help. Even when you know he’s busy, he insists that you two sit together on a bench to talk things out.
“I… I don’t know,” you whisper. “I think I said something that seriously messed up our friendship.” Kuroko offers you a consoling pat on the head when he sees you trying to hold back tears.
“Aomine-kun… tends to say things he doesn’t mean when he’s angry.” Kuroko sighs a bit, but something lurks deep within his eyes before it disappears altogether. “He’s going through a tough time right now, so I think it’s best to give him space.”
“A tough time?” You widen your eyes a bit before turning away. How come Momoi never told you this? Why didn’t Aomine confide in you? “... May I ask what happened?”
“... As much as I want to tell you,” he begins, “it’s not in my place to say. You’d have to ask Aomine-kun himself when he’s ready.” He drops his hand from the top of your head and faces ahead of him, presumably observing people walking by you two as a form of distraction. He’s thinking about something, and you feel that this conversation has been progressively turning more intrusive on your end. You opt to also stare at the passersby while you ask the next pressing question in your mind.
“Then, is it in your place to tell me what happened between you and Aomine?” You instantly regret your question when you see Kuroko stiffen up and bow his head lower to hide his face. “I… just wanted to ask, because I don’t like seeing how you two practically became strangers in a day, when you guys used to hang out so much, as if you two were inseparable… I thought Aomine’s foul moods lately were because of that… but—you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to!” You add the last part in a rush in fear of sounding too demanding.
“Yeah…” he trails off in response. “It’s a bit complicated… I’m still not sure what happened either. It was during our game against Kamizaki when Aomine-kun changed.”
“Oh… Kamizaki…” you reply, uncertainty taking over your voice as you scramble your brain to try to figure out a connection, but to no avail. You mentally curse yourself for not knowing enough about the sport to help out Aomine. “Um, Kamizaki is…?”
Kuroko, thankfully noticing your confusion, patiently explains the context. “Kamizaki is one of the strong teams that gave us a hard time during one of our national matches last year. Aomine had been looking forward to going against them again.”
“Ah!” you chime as if a lightbulb went off in your head. “So you guys lost this year?”
“No, we won that game.”
“Then…” you mumble, furrowing your brows. “I don’t get it… he’s upset that he won?”
(“You wouldn’t understand.”)
“I think it’s something more than that.” Kuroko gets up from the bench while facing you. “Sorry, it’s almost time for practice. I’ll have to get going soon, (l/n)-san. And please don’t be disheartened by Aomine’s words.”
“I’ll try to apologize to him and make amends,” you say with a smile. “If he can scare me away that easily, then I have no right to call myself his friend!” Kuroko gives a small nod and a miniscule smile of his own as he readjusts his book bag on his shoulder.
You only give an automatic wave and nod of your own before he turns to walk away. You, however, miss the somber light in his eyes as he departs for the gym.
———
[December 16th]
You constantly tail after him like a lost puppy at every chance you get, Aomine notes, watching you dash to him with a wave of your arm and a huge smile the moment the school bell signaled the end of the day. He frowns a bit when your eyes fall to the ground when you stop in front of him. Surprisingly, he’s being patient, waiting for you to face him and say what you needed to say. A part of him doesn’t like the troubled look on your face.
“I’m sorry.”
He’s absolutely bewildered, his face giving away what he felt. There’s no way he expected to be forgiven so easily after what he said to you. As much as he knew that he meant every word he said, there was a bitter aftertaste in his mouth after he harshly reprimanded you the other day. You didn’t really deserve him lashing out on you.
“Huh?” He narrows his eyes as he takes a closer read at your face and body language. What the hell? Were you messing with him? “What are you doing?” A rhetorical question he proposed, knowing that no sane person would be this apologetic for something he knew was the one more at fault in the situation. His pride refuses to let him voice out his thoughts though.
“No, really. I’m really sorry for what I said a couple days ago. It was out of line and not in my place to speak when I don’t even know the whole situation and still assume things… so…” you trail off, scratching your cheek in trying to summon up the rest of the words you practiced for your apology for the entire day prior to meeting up with Aomine.
“Oh…” he blinks at your words, replaying the scene at the rooftop in his mind. “That? It’s whatever. Don’t think too much of it.” It’s not really your fault.
“Argh, I’m serious about this, y’know!” you scowl, a complete 180 from the uncertainty on your face seconds earlier. “How could you forget it already?” Despite your words, you’re relieved that he didn’t come to hate you. Besides spending the day practicing your dreaded apology, you spent another day coming to terms with the high possibility that he’d hate you for the rest of his life… and thus, you played out nearly every scenario in your head in how you’d have to beg for forgiveness or find ways to be in his good graces again. The woes of liking someone like Aomine Daiki really came to bite you in the ass quite frequently recently.
Aomine’s eyes follow your hand gestures and explosive outburst before they fall to your side in a weird moment of silence coming from you. You’re thinking about something unnecessary, it seems.
Your thoughts are interrupted when he lightly flicks your forehead. “O-Ow! What the hell?!”
“You’re thinking way too hard about this. Don’t worry about it.” He’s back to his normal self, face impassive once more as he looks down at you. “Geez… you take things way too seriously.”
“R-Right…” you mumble, clearing your throat after a few seconds of him staring at you. “Anyways… I made an extra bento box today, considering that I heard from Momoi that you’re always stealing food from everyone when you’re hungry… just take it. As a token of apology, or something…” With that, you pull out the lunch from your bag and nearly chuck it at him out of embarrassment before you run out the opposite direction where you came from.
“Heh…” he huffs out a chuckle, half-exhale, before looking at the bento box in his hand. “Token of apology, huh…” He opens up the lid to find every part of the lunch meticulously cooked and delicately placed. Octo-dogs were placed in the corner on top of a small pile of rice, while you made small veggie animals with shredded nori sprinkled generously around. A smirk grows on his face when he observes how much work you actually put into it, and if anyone who knew him saw him right now, they might dare to call his smirk somewhat boyish. “Now that’s a load of crap if I’ve ever heard one in a while, (y/n).”
Now… where should he nap for today? He didn’t want to go back to the rooftop for a while, now that either you or Momoi might come up again to disturb him, and there aren’t a lot of locations who can offer that same level of quiet. Aomine grabs an octo-dog to munch on while he walks down the hallway, thinking about where to go for today. That is, until he hears hurried footsteps that he’s very much grown accustomed to for many years now.
“Dai-chan!” Momoi huffs out of breath before she slows down her running to match his stride. “You didn’t even wait for me to get out of class! You’re such a meanie, ugh!”
“Yeah, yeah…” he automatically replies, already drowning out her voice as he keeps walking. He grabs a cat-shaped carrot to pop into his mouth before noisily chewing it to further block out her chattering of anything that may have happened in the Teiko practices lately. Momoi suddenly stops her usual chirping to tippy-toe to get a better look at what he’s holding.
“Eh? Isn’t that (y/n)-chan’s… lunch?” Momoi’s inquisitive voice brought him out of his mind at the mention of your name. He turns to look down at her pouting face.
“Huh? What about her?”
“Don’t tell me you stole it from her! Mou, if you’re gonna keep doing this to people, at least spare (y/n)-chan! Actually, you should stop stealing people’s lunches—”
“Tch,” he clicks his tongue. “Don’t get it twisted, Satsuki. (y/n) gave me one. Said she had an extra.”
“Oh… I… see,” she drops any further assumptions and turns rather thoughtful, something that Aomine never associates with anything good if her mind wasn’t thinking about something basketball-related.
“You better not think of anything stupid,” he says, proceeding to lazily pick up another octo-dog while picking up his walking speed. Momoi, noticing that he’s trying to divert the topic, also picks up her pace to catch up to him.
“(y/n)-chan is a nice girl, isn’t she?”
“Huh?” He stops walking abruptly. Momoi, in trying to catch up, bumps into Aomine’s back before she takes a few steps back to face an annoyed Aomine. “What the hell’s that gotta do with anything?”
“Nothing like that,” she responds, still deep in thought. She continues with a concerned tone of voice. “Just treat her nicely okay? I saw her crying the other day with Tetsu-kun when I was looking for him.”
“And you think it’s my fault for making her cry,” he coldly finishes her thought, not liking where the conversation is going.
“I-I didn’t say that!” Momoi raises her voice defensively, surprised at his unusual reaction. “I was just trying to see if you knew anything about it, Ahomine! Besides, I’m just warning you to be gentle with her or else you’ll never stop hearing it from me!”
“First you’re gonna nag me about basketball, and now this thing with (y/n)? You’re not my damn mom.”
“Because I know you’re never honest about your feelings!” she retorted, getting straight to the point. “If you’re gonna be an asshole, leave her out of it, seriously! (y/n)-chan’s my friend, so any business she has with you is also mine!”
“What (y/n) does is none of my business.” His voice takes on a more hostile tone. “Unlike you, I don’t hover over her constantly.”
“Liar,” she hisses, dropping her playfulness. “Then what was that whole thing about when you scared off some guys who were going after (y/n)-chan two weeks ago? You clearly were around her a lot more to the point where even Tetsu-kun asked me if you had a thing for her!”
Something rises within Aomine when he hears Momoi’s accusations—sickenly warm and terribly uncomfortable, as if his entire body was feeling the effect of pin needles from lack of blood flow. Whatever it is, he hates it.
“I don’t care if they wanna get close to (y/n) all they want. They were invading my damn personal space,” he spits out. “Those dickheads aren’t her type anyways.”
“So you like her then—”
“Hell no,” he scoffs with an inscrutable expression. “She’s definitely not my type. Let’s get that straight, Satsuki.” He finally decides to look at Momoi with his peripheral vision, but all he discerns is her face clearly glaring at him. “The hell are you looking at me like that? Are you gonna tell me that I can’t have a preference now?”
Momoi softens her harsh expression at his question. “Well… no, but…” She stops before she sighs and decides to drop her interrogation. “I just have that womanly instinct, you know? I think (y/n)-chan might see you as—”
“... I know.” His tone becomes one of defeat, his face also softening from his usual frowning countenance.
“Dai-chan…?” Momoi, immediately noticing his change, tries to look at his face to peer into his eyes, but Aomine averts his eyes away under her scrutiny. “You’re going to have to at least tell her, you know that, right…?”
He grunts under his breath as his only response, but his eyes fixating on your half-eaten bento as he keeps walking ahead speaks volumes to Momoi about his inner turmoil.
She drops the subject for his sake.
———
[January 17th]
You’ve stopped bugging Aomine about basketball entirely.
Bringing it up, you reason, seems to be a really sore spot for him as of late, and it’s hypocritical of you to lecture him on it when you have no clue on the topic to begin with. Maybe you can entrust that role completely to Momoi… after all, he’s much closer to her than he is with you. Maybe instead of “being his mom,” like Aomine says, perhaps you should take the time to observe and appreciate the things around you and mind your own business. Like the trees starting to bud… the refreshing breeze… and white noise of students excitedly talking to each other as they pass by buildings… the therapeutic page flips next to you as Aomine slouches to get himself comfortable on the concrete. Though, that’s what you tell yourself as you continue to hear Aomine give an occasional hum of approval.
The knowledge of the content inside those pages isn’t therapeutic in the slightest. But you’d rather endure your petty feelings of jealousy than to risk upsetting him again. You clench your skirt pleats with every increasing number of page-turns you hear… he’s been going through his new collection a lot faster than usual, too…
You hone your focus on your modern history worksheet on your lap instead, hoping that staring at the printed figure of Yamagata Aritomo hard enough could somehow transport you into Meiji-era Japan and escape your current predicament. Still, you’re grateful that you have the chance to sit next to him at the usual rooftop once again. You don’t know how exactly you two agreed to come up to share the space again, but when you decided to come up to the rooftop on a whim, Aomine was already there. All he said was a lazy “yo” before he went back to reading his issues, which you took as a way for him to tell you that he didn’t mind your presence. And you settled yourself a few feet away from him, making yourself comfortable on the concrete before settling down your bag. Hence, leading up to this point… which you sort of regret being here now.
No matter, if you’re already here, you might as well actually start studying for your high school entrance exams. Normally you’d also turn to Aomine to scold him to take his studies just as seriously, but when you habitually turn to face him and open your mouth… you stop.
What am I thinking? You’re not his mom, remember, (y/n)? You want him to see you as a desirable woman. Stop being naggy!
You give a wry smile to yourself, watching Aomine at peace in this shared moment between the two of you, even if his object of his undivided attention was Horikita Mai.
It’s okay… you think. As long as I get to remain by his side like this, I won’t ask for more.
You force yourself to peel your gaze away from him to look back at the historical figure printed rather crookedly on the paper. You resolve yourself to pick up your pencil and start writing.
You don’t really know how much time passes between the two of you. It could’ve been only thirty minutes; it could’ve been a couple hours. But you begin to find solace with the rhythm of the graphite sliding across your paper, your mind too occupied with recalling lecture notes and your ears too filled with the sound of your pencil scurrying across the print to register anything on Aomine’s end. At last, you finish the last short-answer question on the page, and you gently drop your pencil as your body finally releases all the pent-up tension. Shifting your seating position slightly, you dare to take a peek at the ace of Teiko…
… only to find that his eyes were on you.
Both of you jump and look away at the unexpected shared eye contact, both equally mortified that the other had caught each other staring.
“S-Sorry…” you mumble, “I was just checking on you after I was done with work on my end…”
“Tch… you got too quiet, so I thought you got replaced or somethin’...” he trails off before he goes back to his usual cocky self. “Seeing your ugly face though was more than enough proof that you’re still here.”
You gape at him. “Eh?! What’s that supposed to mean, Ahomine!? Like you’re one to talk, stupid!”
He lazily blinks before putting a pinky in his ear to further irritate you. “Dunno, whenever you’re here, you usually get steam coming out of your nose, like some folklore monster.”
“What?!” you gasp. “I do not!”
“Just like that.”
“Geez…!” you click your tongue, turning away from him to disengage from the banter. “I might have an ugly face, but your nasty attitude won’t get you anyone either, idiot.”
“So what?” he shrugs languidly. “All I need is Horikita Mai-chan, anyways.”
You involuntarily grimace at his serious tone… even if there was (or so you hope) a slight chance that he’s just joking. Thankfully, your face was already turned away for him to notice.
“Yeah, yeah,” you sigh, trying to sound casual. “All those magazines are pretty self-explanatory, y’know.” You then nod your head in his direction, referring to a few scattered booklets strewn around his legs. Turning away, you stretch your legs out, put your things back in your bag, and get up to stand with one final stretch.
“You’re leavin’ already?” he raises a brow at your sudden movement.
“You know that sitting on cement like that for so long isn’t ideal for studying,” you half-chide, inwardly thankful that coming up with excuses has become much easier lately. “I’m probably gonna head home right now before it gets too dark. Are you really gonna stay here all day?”
“I’m too tired to move.”
“You’re so childish, you know that?” You give a small laugh at his antics. “Well, do whatever you need to do. I’ll be on my way. Seeya.”
You skip a bit, eager that you get to escape without raising any suspicions. Aomine might not excel academically, but he isn’t stupid… quite the opposite, in fact. You often get annoyed at how sharp he gets for the most random situations.
“Oi.”
You’re on the first ladder step going down when he calls out, freezing as you grip the sides of the ladder. You watch him get up into a comfortable sitting position, before he looks at you for a bit.
“Er… did you want something?” you tilt your head in slight confusion.
“Never mind,” he sighs. “... Had something on my mind, then forgot. Make me a bento for tomorrow, yeah?”
“He averts his gaze when he lies,” Kuroko said.
You were walking home together, deciding that visiting the convenience store for a quick snack would be a good detour.
“Who?” you stopped licking your ice pop to look at Kuroko’s stare boring into you.
“Aomine-kun.”
“Eh? Why are you telling me this?” you raised a brow at the odd turn of conversation.
He only gave you a knowing look that you couldn’t completely understand before he replied: “I noticed he had this habit recently, and I was wondering if you also noticed it too, seeing that you guys hang out a lot, (l/n)-san. Even if we grew distant, he’s still an important friend to me, so I was hoping if you knew something that was possibly troubling him. I did tell him that I wasn’t going to make him tell me anything he wasn’t comfortable with.”
“No,” you shook your head. “But I’ll keep your words in mind.”
“Thank you.” He smiled. “If you ever have something that’s troubling you, you can come talk to me. You’re my friend, too.”
He’s not looking at you.
You open your mouth to ask what he was about to say, but you close it just as quickly. It’s not your business to prod, after all. Your own gaze skids away while your lips pressed together.
“Well, then…” you say. “If that’s all, then I’ll be off. No promises on the bento, though.”
The sound of metal squeaking and clothes rustling follow your descent down the ladder before metal screeches echo as you open and close the door of the rooftop entrance.
(“You’re going to have to at least tell her, you know that, right…?”)
Aomine sighs loudly in annoyance before he goes back to indulging everything Horikita Mai had to offer in the 27th volume special.
———
[January 22nd]
“What did I say about taking (y/n)-chan’s food?!” Momoi trails after Aomine with a scowl as he continues to walk unbothered. “This is the 5th day in a row!”
“Is it really a problem if she lets me?” Aomine holds your bento box in one hand while covering his face with the other as he yawns. “You can ask her yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“You really don’t understand the heart of a lady—ugh! I swear, you’re as dumb as a rock!”
“Whatever.”
Momoi harshly knits her brows at his apathetic attitude towards you. What should she do? Should she tell you? Should she keep pushing Aomine to be honest? She swallows before deciding it best to keep quiet. But her heart hammers in fear of witnessing another friendship between you, Aomine, and herself crumbling before her eyes again.
Dai-chan… she thinks, looking at his back as he munches on your onigiri. Stop being an idiot for once, would you?
———
[March 1st]
“Thanks,” he says, immediately snatching your bento box out of your hands the moment you pulled it out of your bag.
“What the hell?!” you glare at him, putting your hands to your hips.
“I know you packed an extra one, (y/n). Don’t get mad at me now.” He merely picks up the chopsticks before digging into the tempura. “Ish perrty good shrimp.”
You widen your eyes, forgetting completely to be angry at the sight of Aomine genuinely enjoying your cooking. You avert your gaze at the compliment. “T-Thanks…”
Aomine looks at you, the you that has grown to become compliant and bashful in his presence recently.
(“You’re going to have to at least tell her, you know that, right…?”)
He goes back to finishing your lunch instead of thinking about the difficult things. A part of him likes the current dynamic you two share recently, a nice balance between entertaining banter, peaceful privacy (especially when you stopped yapping his ear off as of late), and free food. Saying the things that Momoi wants him to say could ruin everything you two had. So he doesn’t say anything.
Since when did you start making him lunch every day without him saying anything? It’s been a month since this started, ever since he made that one off-comment about making him lunch to throw you off from his uncharacteristic silence. You never complained that it was too much work, and you certainly never slacked off on your craft when it came to your bento boxes. Every lunch he’s eaten from you was carefully curated and cooked to near perfection.
It’s unfair for you, he knew. What would he say though? He’s never been one with words at all. He frowns.
“Something wrong with my lunch?” you tease, and he looks up to see you staring at him so fondly.
Quit looking at me like that…
“Tch, it’s edible enough,” he slightly sulks at your good-natured tease before shoving another helping into his mouth.
“Say,” you begin, eagerly leaning forward to get his attention. “What school are you thinking of enrolling in a couple weeks?”
“None of your business,” he snorts, already satisfied at seeing your fond, sappy look turning into a more combative expression. There it is.
“Oh come on!” you insist. “So you already chose a school without telling me? Let me guess, it’s one of those… Kings of… schools—the really strong schools for basketball?”
“Three Kings of Tokyo,” he corrects you. “Nah.”
“Tell me,” you huff with your arms crossed. “Or I’m not making you bento anymore, and you can starve to death.”
“Geez, I was about to tell you anyways,” he drawls, already finishing the last bite. “That one school called Touou.”
“Huh? But I’ve never really heard of that school from anywhere though, especially for basketball.”
“Yeah, got an offer, though.”
“Oh…” you hum, packing away your own lunch into your bag. “If that’s the case, I might consider that school too, then.”
“Hah?” He raises a brow. “Why?” He puts his utensils down to look at your figure.
“Uh…” you mumble, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. “Someone’s gotta have to keep you in check, right? Besides, I personally don’t have any idea where to go yet either.”
“If you’re just coming to tag along with me,” Aomine begins, narrowing his eyes. “Forget it. Satsuki is already coming with me, no matter how much I tell her to buzz off. I don’t need another person to nag me 24/7.”
“But—!” you counter, raising your eyes to meet his own. “How are you gonna manage with lunch and all?”
“I’m not a kid, (y/n), and you know that,” he coolly responds. “They have cafeterias, vending machines, and fast food spots. I can manage without you.”
“Um, even so…” you argue, though your voice dwindles at his strong attempts of pushing you away. You feel uneasy at the inevitable argument that’s to come right around the corner. “I’m not as easy to get rid of either like Momoi, you know that more than anyone, too.”
Goddamn it, why were you so stubborn at the wrong times? Can’t you take a hint?
(“You’re going to have to at least tell her, you know that, right…?”)
“Look…” he sighs, eyes looking straight at you to convey his message across. “I know you like me, and all. But you’re not my type. I don’t see you that way.”
But even though he tries his damn hardest to look at you, he can’t. He chickens out at the last sentence and looks away.
“I-I… I know… I’ve known,” you weakly reply. “But staying by your side as friends is more than what I can ask for. I value our friendship more than anything else.”
“And I’m not the guy for you, either,” he carefully continues. “Can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but choose a school for your own good—”
“Who are you to decide whether or not you’re good for me?” you snap, visibly frustrated at the turn of events. Weren’t you two just enjoying each other’s presence a few minutes ago? Was it all in your head? “I make the choice of whether or not I want to spend time with you! And you know how persistent I can be… I’m sure Touou has a really good curriculum and selection of extracurriculars, too, I can make it work—”
“You’re an actual dumbass,” he hisses, his short temper getting the better of him after you went hostile on him. How could you not see his point? “How does this shit keep flying over your head?”
You flinch, the feeling so familiar to the time he lashed out on you at the rooftop. He’s glaring into your widened eyes, but he doesn’t care right now, the words he’s been struggling to form and tell you for months now flowing out of him with no filter. If he only realized you liked him a couple months back, how long have you actually liked him? A year? More than that? The adrenaline right now is the only crutch in giving him the courage to give you some type of closure you deserved, even if a part of him hates to see you upset.
“... The hell’s that supposed to mean…?” Your voice cracks at the end, and your hands grip the straps of your book bag so hard they’re shaking.
Where’s the boy I liked from 2 years ago?
“I mean exactly what I said,” he spits out, his own frown further deepening into a visible crease on his face. “Look, (y/n), you can’t keep tailing after me forever. That’s hella annoying.”
“What about Momoi…?” you whisper. “I get that you’re childhood friends, but how come you always let her stay by your side?”
“Look,” he shoots back. “Satsuki is different—”
“Aomine-kuuuun!” Momoi’s voice rings across campus, and Aomine whirls around to see her running to him at breakneck speed. “Hey, hey! There’s a new coffee shop around the corner! We should totally try it together! I’ll even pay for you if you ask nicely enough…”
You stare at the floor, trying to hold back unshed tears by gripping your bag straps even harder. “... Excuse me.”
“Wha–hey!” Aomine turns back to face where he presumed you were at, only to see you gone from his sight.
“... Was that (y/n)-chan?” Momoi shoots a curious glance behind his back.
“Tch, don’t worry about it.” He gives a long, winded sigh before scratching the back of his head. “Just leave her be.”
She only gives a worried look at him before she continues with her prior conversation.
———
[March 4th]
You avoid him for the next few days… that much he expects. He’ll never say it out loud, but he finds it sort of amusing to see you try to keep yourself completely hidden from him. The way you duck when you see him; the way you scramble to grab your belongings before you book it; the way you try to run so fast to escape his line of vision when he can easily catch up to you if he just jogs. But he doesn’t.
Because even though he’s a bit bummed about what happened the other day, he now doesn’t feel the pressure to stick around you just to build up his courage to finally give you that closure.
It feels quite nice to not have any obligations and demands expected of Momoi or you. Naps have never been so peaceful now that his sense of conscientiousness has been relieved. Other than Momoi occasionally bothering him, but that’s manageable… he’s quite used to that.
He’s not 100% used to not seeing you around him every day, though.
It’s probably for the best.
Still, maybe he was too harsh on you (like always). But there’s no way in hell he’s going to march up to you and grab your arm while you’re running and then apologize. That might give you the wrong idea—
“Pssst, hey, (y/n)-san seems distant from Aomine, lately.” A small group of people huddled around a desk, surrounding a guy sitting on it, who appears to be the source of the voice.
“Weird, isn’t it? She follows him around every day, and he’s always guarding her or something.”
Bullshit. He doesn’t “guard” her—his resting bitch face and his ridiculous athletic build have always been advantageous for both (y/n) and Momoi to repel off the creeps. Not that he cared. It’s only when they get so noisy and too close in his bubble that he gives them verbal threats of violence. And that almost always works to scare them away.
“Think I can have a chance with her this time?”
“I dunno… (y/n)’s not the passive type to go along with it. I mean how else could she deal with Aomine every day?”
“... You’re right.”
“I mean… there’s Momoi…”
Aomine sighs. They really have nothing better to do, huh.
They’re right that they’re the type of people (y/n) wouldn’t like in the slightest. He doesn’t know what you see in him, but at least your standards aren’t abysmally low where you’d happily go along with one of them. He scoffs to himself in a way to mock their desperate attempts.
They don’t know what’s coming to them if they actually were serious about dating her. Avoiding her romantic advances is like dodging a bullet, actually.
He kinda misses your cooking, though. His self-assured grin instantly flips into a frown at the stray thought.
———
[March 5th]
Imagine his unadulterated shock when he sees you casually walk up to his desk and drop a wrapped package of (what he assumes) his bento box the next day.
“What,” you dryly say. “Did you think you could get rid of me that easily?”
“... Whatever.” He merely eyes the lunch before he carefully tries to get a read on your face. Holy shit, you look awful, eyes slightly puffy probably from all the crying you did behind closed doors. He chooses not to acknowledge the weird pang his heart does at the sight of you.
“Aw, don’t be like that,” you goad, though you sound a bit too exhausted to be provoking. “At least, until we graduate and go into our high schools, let me continue making lunch for you. As… a symbol of our… good friendship.” You hesitate to try to find the right phrasing for the last part… Now that you really thought about it these past few days… were you two really friends? You just bothered and tagged along with Aomine your entire three years here at Teiko, and you always tried to cater your schedule and interests around him. Here you were, trying to understand him as best as you can.
Did he even try to understand me at all the entire time we’ve known each other?
“... What’s your game?” he says, clearly thrown off guard, He opts to look away from you to stare at the window by his desk. “... Did I not make it clear last time?”
“Yeah, yeah… I know.” You give a sad smile before your grin grows unnaturally wider to hide your vulnerabilities. “You were unusually honest. So honest, it threw me off.”
No more… I’m not opening my heart to you any longer.
“Are you here to just embarrass me or something for revenge?”
“No one has that type of deplorable thinking like you,” you chastise, seemingly back to your old self. “Besides, we’re friends, first and foremost, and I can’t ignore a friend in need. You were probably starving yourself like an idiot, or something.”
Aomine was still facing the windowsill, but at your words, his eyes flitted to look at you once more. “... You sound like Tetsu.”
“Oh wow!” you gasp, putting a hand to your mouth in surprise. “How’d you know we’re dating?”
He whips his head to you. “What?! What the hell are you talking about?—”
“Kidding,” you interrupt him before he gets too explosive on you. “You can’t be that much of an idiot to not be able to call out that bluff.”
“Screw off.”
He can only click his tongue in absolute annoyance as he hears you laugh to yourself walking out of the room before the school bell rings.
Yeah, you're definitely back to your normal self.
He’s a bit reassured that he’ll still have you in his life.
———
[March 15th]
It’s been two weeks since Aomine completely crushed your hopes of a romantic relationship with him. You don’t feel okay, not at all, but you’re eagerly counting down the days before you can go to Seirin with Kuroko.
And no, you never planned to go in order to be by Kuroko’s side. It was a mere coincidence that you found out.
[March 8th]
“(l/n)-san, what’s wrong?” Kuroko sipped his vanilla shake, popping up out of nowhere while you were in the middle dwelling in your negative thoughts alone at your table. Your burger was left half-eaten, and your fries got cold.
“EEP!” You were shocked out of your daze, jumping in your seat. You eyed a worried Kuroko across the table. “Ah, geez, it’s just you. When’d you get here?”
“For a while actually,” he admitted. “I first called out your name from afar, but it didn’t seem like you noticed me.”
“Well,” you sweatdropped. “I don’t think I would’ve noticed you anyways under any other circumstances…”
“When you’re upset…” Kuroko said. “You have your own habit of looking down, whether it’s your lap, the floor, or what’s in front of you.”
“Leave it up to you to easily figure that out,” you sighed. “You’re always with me when I’m thinking about something dumb or just messed up. Sorry that you constantly have to deal with that.”
“It’s not a problem, (l/n)-san.”
“Yeah…” you mumbled. “So, I’m gonna get straight to the point… Aomine knew he liked me, and yeah, it didn’t end well…”
“Ah.”
“Don’t worry, though,” you reassured him. “I knew all along that it would… end up this way.”
“... Even if you hoped for more?”
“I can’t help that, can I?” you sighed again. “Anyways, right now, I was thinking about what I want to do after I graduate from Teiko… I never thought about these things like that. ‘Cause, you know, I thought I could figure things out on the go while being by both Aomine’s side… but I guess he’s right that I shouldn’t mindlessly follow him everywhere… and Momoi has her own plans of going to Touou as their basketball manager. I should leave those two be.”
Kuroko stayed silent for you to continue.
“Seirin seems like a good school… It’s new, but it has really good facilities, and even if I don’t know what to do, it seems like it can give lots of good opportunities, and if anything, it can give me a fresh start.”
Kuroko slightly widened his eyes. You noticed and tilted your head for him to explain his reaction.
“I’m also going to attend Seirin.”
“E-Eh?!! That’s a scary coincidence… What’s your reason for picking it?”
“... They seem to have a good basketball team,” he quietly replied, his eyes looking as if they’re looking so far back. “I like their teamplay. I’ve been wanting to be in that type of team for a long time.”
“I see…” you murmured. For a moment, you noticed Kuroko’s pained look… but remembering Aomine’s words about being nosy, you decided not to press into it.
You give a long sigh again. And here you thought that you can end your last year at Teiko well and happily. Right now, you would usually look for Aomine in his usual spots: Maji Burger, the school rooftop, or the local park. It’s different now. Sitting on an empty table outside to finish up the rest of those pesky kanji worksheets, you finally truly take in your surroundings… the trees starting to bloom this time… the refreshing breeze… and white noise of students excitedly talking to each other as they pass by buildings… but there are no longer the therapeutic sounds of page flips next to you as Aomine slouches to get himself comfortable on the concrete. Though, you pretend you’re next to him as you continue to somehow hear Aomine give an occasional hum of approval at whatever filthy page he feasted his eyes on.
Once again, the knowledge of the content inside those pages you imagined isn’t therapeutic in the slightest.
It hurts.
And there’s no way you can focus on the questions, not when thoughts of Aomine continue to pervade and fill up every damn crevice—every crook and cranny—of your mind.
Were you missing something? Were you not pretty enough? Were you not relatable enough? Was there another way for Aomine to consider seeing you as a romantic partner?
For the first time, you really let the implications of Aomine’s words sink in… If you had more agency—more independence—in the first place, would he have considered letting you tag along to Touou? What if… you had more knowledge on basketball like Momoi?—
“(y/n)-chan…!”
A familiar, chirpy voice breaks you out of your wallow in self-pity and a flash of pink fills your vision. Of course your thoughts accidentally summoned her here, you wrly think. Momoi represented the complete opposite of your current emotional state, flouncing around quite cheerfully to grab your attention. Though, if you are completely honest, she has the same look of sorrow in her eyes similar to Kuroko’s.
“What’s wrong, Momoi?” you ask, giving her a reassuring smile to encourage her to share her potential troubles.
“Eh…? What’s wrong with me?” she frowns in confusion.
“You look a bit down, that’s all. You and Kuroko share the same look in your eyes sometimes.”
“Oh…” she averts her gaze. Normally, she would squeal about having something in common with her “true love,” but she takes on a somber note of acknowledgment. “I guess you can say that… but more importantly!” She directs the subject of conversation to you. “You! (y/n)-chan! You look like you need more comfort than me.”
She takes a seat next to you and eyes at your worksheets, noting the sporadic dried splotches across the paper. You’ve been crying.
“I guess it takes a sad person to know another one,” you joke, though your smile doesn’t quite reach your eyes. Momoi frowns at her only friend (besides the GoM) in such a distressed state, even if she knows you’re actively trying to hide it.
“It’s about Dai-chan, isn’t it?”
“Ah…” you look down at your worksheets. “So you knew.”
“Sorry…” she murmurs. “I told him to be gentle and honest with you.”
“Well he certainly gave me the latter,” you softly laugh. “Hey, hey… there’s no need to be down for my sake.” You immediately reach out to gently ruffle her hair with a head pat. She widens her eyes at the unexpected physical contact.
“Sorry, did I push my boundaries?”
“No, no…!” she denies, shaking her head to reassure you. “You reminded me of Tetsu-kun right now… that’s all.”
“Huh, I guess he’s been rubbing off on me,” you muse. A thought comes to you. “Actually, can I ask you something?”
“Eh?” She blinks. “Sure, I’ll try my best to answer whatever it is.”
You finally look up to face Momoi head on. “Was I ever too overbearing on Aomine? I wonder if I crossed any boundaries with him at any point. If you noticed anything at any point, please tell me everything.”
“No,” she firmly reassures. “You didn’t do anything wrong at all. Dai-chan is the real idiot here. You’ve only done what’s best for him, and I would’ve done the same in your place.”
“Pfft, he always calls us nagging grandmas, doesn’t he?”
“Right? He has no tact, at all!” Momoi huffs, puffing out her cheeks in a pout. “Despite all that, he cares for you, (y/n)-chan. I’m serious. Even if he’ll never admit it like the idiot that he is.”
You give a rueful smile. “Thank you, Momoi.”
Turning away from Momoi, you look up at the trees, so full of flowers that it fills the void in your heart by gazing at them. You sense that she’s also doing the same.
“... Hey, Momoi?”
“... yes?”
“You love Kuroko, don’t you?” You turn back to face Momoi. She gives an innocent simper at the mere mention of his name.
“I do. But even though he’s not the type to date, I want to be by his side.”
You smile too, her joy too contagious to ignore, but that smile somewhat deflates when your thoughts go back to Aomine against your will.
“Hey… how do you love someone who doesn’t love you back?”
She pauses and takes in the many implications of your question. “I don’t know,” she admits. “It just happens, you can’t always control it… I’ll wait for Tetsu-kun, even if it’s the most idiotic thing to do. I just can’t help it. That’s what love is, I think.”
“I see…”
“It’s not for everyone. Loving someone like that.”
“I thought I could do that…” Your whisper comes out so hoarse. “With Aomine—I thought… as long as I got to be by his side, I wouldn’t ask for more… but it hurts to go back to being friends—it hurts to see him… I don’t want to see him anymore.” The last part of your confession ends up being a choked sob.
“Shhh…” she hushes you to console you. “It’s okay, it’s good to cry it out.” She rubs down your back as tears endlessly plop onto your worksheets, no doubt ruined by now.
“Please… please don’t tell—”
“I won’t tell anything to Dai-chan… I promise.”
Dai-chan… were you truly honest with (y/n)-chan?
———
[April 6th]
“Aomine-kun! There you are! Where were you? Sheesh, we don’t want to miss the entrance ceremony!”
Aomine towers over the crowd, his eyes clearly scanning—looking—for something amidst the countless students walking around and socializing amongst one another. Even as Momoi tugs on his new uniform blazer (not properly worn, no doubt) to get him to walk, he stands to face the front gates expectantly.
“... Where’s (y/n)?”
“Huh?” Momoi looks at Aomine like he grew three legs. “She’s not at Touou, Ahomine. What are you even talking about?”
“... Thought she woulda tailed me here too.”
“You told her off to choose a different school!”
“I did not,” he grunts. “I told her to choose a school for a reason that’s not on me. Besides, my words never stopped her from annoying me all the time… Wait, when did you hear me say that?”
“You were shouting at her that day! Anybody nearby could’ve heard that!” She glares at him. “And well, those words of yours certainly stopped her now. Do you hear yourself right now?”
“The hell…” he ignores Momoi and curses, kicking the gravel before lazily walking with his hands in his pockets to his assigned seat for the ceremony. Of course, Momoi tails after him despite being pissed off.
Words from all the speeches from the faculty and student alumni went in one ear out the other for him in a continuous slur of nonsense. His body goes on autopilot, standing and sitting when everyone else does the same, while he continues to scan over the hundreds of heads, thinking he must’ve missed your dumbass by mistake. Of course he notices Momoi sitting a short distance away from him; the way everyone ogles at her is obnoxiously contagious and far from discreet.
But where are you?
———
[April 10th]
“... Do you mind if…” you hesitate, turning to Kuroko after he signs his name on the basketball club interest form. “... You teach me more about the sport?”
Kuroko looks at you curiously at your question, and you quickly clarify yourself. “It’s not for Aomine’s sake, or anyone else’s for the matter. I just want to watch a few of your practices, and things like that… it might be fun… I wanna try something new.” You give a small smile, albeit nervously. “I won’t be in the way, I promise—even if I don’t know what’ll be happening most of the time—”
“I’ll ask the coach when the time comes,” Kuroko reassures you, his own smile mirroring your own growing grin at his answer.
“Alrighty!” you cheer. You stop yourself when you see a student who easily towered over everyone at the basketball club booth. “What the… that guy’s a high school student?!”
“Oh,” Kuroko turns to where you were pointing. “He seems like someone with a hot temper.”
“Reminds me of a certain someone, doesn’t he, Kuroko…?” You give a soft elbow jab and a playful lilt, though both of you knew you were both still recovering from the emotional blows from last year.
He quietly nods before he follows you to the other club booths nearby.
———
[April 20th]
“Where did Kuroko go…!” You’re breathless at the bench, watching the game between Seirin and Kaijo. This is just a practice game? It’s way too intense to be considered such.
Riko, amused at your reactions, gladly explains what’s going down on the courts as it happens. “Kuroko’s greatest strength is using his lack of presence for his misdirection—”
“And wait—Kagami is—!” You near-completely ignored Riko’s explanation when Kagami steals the show with a dunk, completely leaving you in awe with his impossible vertical. “What kind of person jumps that high… what the hell?” She merely chuckles with a hand to her lips before she turns her full attention back to the game.
Kise experiences his first taste of defeat soon enough.
You ignore the way your heart flipped when Kagami dunked the final basket on Kaijo.
———
[May 23rd]
Aomine lays serenely on the rooftop, but his mind is far from relaxed. Tomorrow is the day Touou would crush Seirin in the Inter-High preliminaries.
… Seirin, huh.
He remembers when Momoi broke the news to him when they walked home together after the entrance ceremony. Thinking about it still pisses him off—he can’t help it though, he can’t stop thinking about it… his mind involuntarily plays that conversation in his head over and over. No amount of porn magazines could bury the dull thuds in his chest when he thinks about you.
[April 6th]
“She’s at Seirin right now.”
“What?!” His eyes slightly widened as he stopped walking to incredulously look at her. “You’re seriously pullin’ my leg right now, Satsuki.”
“I would totally yank your stupid legs if I could, Ahomine,” she petulantly grumbled. “But I’m telling the truth. She told me before we went off on our spring break when we said our goodbyes to each other. I told her I was going to miss her, and I also told her to take care of Tetsu-kun for me and let me know if anything happened over there.”
What the hell? When did you get close to Satsuki enough to confide in her? How come he didn’t hear shit from you?
“Hah, so you’re telling me she’s tailing Tetsu now that she can't follow me?” He gave a derisive snort, not liking the development of your relationship with Kuroko for some reason. Momoi gave him that knowing look of admonishment.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, idiot! One! They don’t see each other like that, and two! How (y/n)-chan decided on her school is none of our business. I’m sure she has her own reasons, and you have no right to judge her at all!”
Aomine stared at Momoi, who’s usually so compliant to his demands and harsh words. To see her stick up for you so adamantly was more than surprising. He furrowed his brows before walking ahead of her in a feeble attempt to cut the conversation short.
“Tch… I know that already…”
He releases a heavy sigh. His ego wouldn’t allow him to simply go up to Kuroko and ask about your wellbeing, let alone asking him to set up a time and place for him to meet up with you. What were you doing over there right now? Were you doing okay? Are there random people harassing you or bothering you now that he’s not there with you to scare them off?
He slings his arm over his eyes and sighs again.
“... This is annoying. I’m tired…”
God, it sucks so bad, but he really misses your lunches. Satsuki’s atrocious cooking is still lethal to this day, and Sakurai’s octo-dogs he sometimes steals only measures up to a fraction of the taste of your own octo-dogs.
He’s been hallucinating for a bit—even while he naps, he’s sworn that he always hears pencil scribblings and annoying sighs nearby. He swears that it’s you, that you’re actually enrolled in Touou and that somehow, you roped Momoi into agreeing into this sick prank to get back at him for all the shit he’s done to her all these years. He swears he can hear you muttering the questions out loud before you deftly solve them. He swears he can hear you nagging him to practice even if you haven’t had a clue what basketball entails.
What the hell… He thought that you two would still be friends—attached to the hip, even if a romantic relationship was out of the question. He supposes that it’s a bit naive on his end to think that. Damn it, damn it… Seirin isn’t that far from Touou either… wouldn’t you normally find the way and time to stop by and annoy him like there’s no tomorrow, anyways?
———
[August 14th]
“Kuroko, who do you think would win?”
“I don’t know,” he replies. “This is the first time I’ve seen two Generation of Miracles starters play against each other… However, Aomine-kun inspired Kise-kun to play basketball.”
“Really?” Kagami turns to him in surprise. You stand nearby, listening to Kuroko’s words carefully. After all, they pertained to Aomine.
“They used to play one-on-one a lot, but Kise-kun has never won.”
Aomine… was THAT good? You blink in surprise, remembering about Seirin’s practice match against Kaijo before you turn your attention back on the court. Well, you shouldn’t be that surprised, considering that the Seirin returned with a loss against Touou in the preliminaries… before getting eliminated altogether later on. Knowing how amazing Kagami and Kuroko are at basketball… if they both got single-handedly defeated by the ace of Touou, you shouldn’t doubt Kuroko’s words about Aomine’s strength. You weren’t there to watch that game after all.
You feel a warm, heavy hand pushing on top of your head.
“H-Hey!”
“You have a scary look on your face that I almost mistook you for Aomine,” Kagami says quite seriously, though if you squint, you swear that he’s teasing you. Irk marks pop onto your temples as you try to shoo his hand off of you.
“Oh—come on! Lay off, will you? I do not have a scary face! If anything, it’s you!”
“The hell do you mean by that?!”
“I mean exactly what I said, Kagamidiot!”
Kuroko, unbeknownst to anyone, observes your interaction with Kagami with the faintest smile before turning his attention to see the referee starting the jump ball.
“Everyone, it’s starting.”
———
[December 7th]
He… he lost.
He finally lost.
Aomine stares at Kuroko and Kagami, still reeling from the foreign sensation of defeat creeping into him.
“Why are you acting like it’s all over?” Aomine snaps out of his daze to focus on Kagami. “Things are just getting started. Let’s play again. I’ll take you on.”
Aomine stands there at a loss for words until he scoffs at him, but if anyone was to look at Aomine right now, they would say he’s relieved and pleased to hear those words. “Shut up, idiot.”
“Aomine-kun…” Kuroko calls out, bringing Aomine’s attention from Kagami to his former “shadow.” A moment of reflection is shared between the two of them before Aomine finally acknowledges Kuroko’s style of basketball.
“You win, Tetsu.”
Kuroko contemplates for a bit before opening his mouth. “Can I ask you for a favor?” Kuroko raises his hand in a fist bump before Aomine makes a noise for him to continue. “You still haven’t returned my fist bump.”
“What?” he retorts, slightly flustered at the sudden request. “Who cares about that?”
“No,” Kuroko says, deadpan as ever. “Try putting yourself in the shoes of the ignored.” Aomine gives a long look, hesitant and unsure before he finally relents.
“Fine. This is the last time though… Next time, I’ll win.”
“Okay.”
While still holding the fist bump, Aomine finally brings himself to ask the question plaguing in his mind for the past couple months: “Hey… is it true that (y/n) is in Seirin?”
Kuroko widens his eyes in momentary surprise before he carefully responds. “Yes, she’s actually been cheering us on these past couple months. She’s somewhere in the stands right now. Though, I’m not sure where.”
“I see…” The ace of Touou separates from the fist bump first and turns to get ready for the team lineup, looking rather thoughtful.
Kagami raises a brow at the question that came out of seemingly nowhere for someone like Aomine, but in truth, he knew. You told him everything about what happened between you and Aomine a couple weeks ago while shedding tears.
“There’s nothing wrong with you at all.”
“Eh?” You attempted to wipe the last of your tears before you looked at Kagami to see his reaction. He still could see how red your eyes were even despite trying to remain unbothered about the ordeal. He remembered how distraught you were retelling your past friendship with him… and how you used to like him. How did you even manage to think that you weren’t pretty enough? Helpful enough? And how did you manage to believe yourself to be the most annoying person in the world? Remembering what you said made him boil.
“I can’t believe that guy’s full of it even outside of basketball, that idiot!”
“Honestly…” you gave a sardonic smile to mock your own weakness. “What do you mean?”
“Huh? Well…” He looked away with a comical pout before facing you again. “If I was him, I wouldn’t take you for granted like that. Who the hell would read dirty magazines in broad daylight like that? Seriously, it’s so funny I could bust a spleen!” His response took on a more mocking tone at the end, and he noticed your eyes taking on an amused light at his reaction.
“Didn’t Kuroko correct you that it’s ‘gut,’ and not a ‘spleen’ way back months ago?”
“What? It’s the same thing.” He crossed his arms with a sigh before he looked at your face again, satisfied to see you slightly cheered up. “Anyways, if I ever become like that type of guy, feel free to hit me or something.”
“The way you went and above at being pissed for my sake, I don’t think I’d have to worry about that, Kagami.” Your smile grew to be teasing and affectionate, and his heart started to race at the sight of it.
“Uh—well…” Kagami averted his gaze, scratching his cheek to hide his flushed cheeks. “It’s just… I think you’re fine the way you are.”
You widened your eyes at his words.
“Really…?”
His heart broke at how truly surprised you were at his candor. He meant it; he really did, and it wasn’t fair for you to live like this just because some prick didn’t have the balls to be nice to you, something you deserved again and again.
“I’ll wake that idiot up for you, I swear it.”
You started laughing at him, catching him completely off-guard as his face started heating up even more. “What—hey! What the hell’s so funny?! I’m trying to be serious!”
“Ah…” you breathed out, wiping out the last of your tears after doubling over for a few minutes. “Don’t worry, Kagami. I believe in you. Beat his ass in the Winter Cup for me, yeah?”
Kagami cleared his throat before he mustered up the courage to give you a gentle head pat (albeit very clumsily).
“Y-Yeah…”
Kagami frowns, wondering if you and Aomine will ever sort things out after this game. Part of him worries that your next encounter with him wouldn’t go very smoothly, knowing how complicated Aomine is as an individual.
Kuroko looks at the floor before continuing, almost as if he read Kagami’s mind. “We should also move to line up, Kagami.”
“... Yeah.”
———
[December 8th]
“Shopping is such a damn pain,” Aomine yawns, holding his box of new basketball shoes under his arm. Momoi, of course, is already next to him ready to scold him into oblivion.
“Did you forget that your feet are humongous? Of course the shops wouldn’t have your size,” she sighs at his childish attitude. “Now you’re going to try this new pastry shop with me! You promised to come with me if I went with you to shop for your shoes.”
“I don’t remember promising anything.”
“Meanie! You did! Now don’t be like that and wait here! I’m going to check the lines and available tables.” And before Aomine can wedge another complaint in, Momoi dashes like her life was on the line, clearly risking everything for a chance to taste the strawberry mille-feuille that the shop was famous for.
Geez… he mentally sighs before deciding to look for a place to sit. She better hurry her ass up.
Luckily for him, there’s a spare empty bench near some trees despite the busy crowds. Taking the opportunity, he plops himself down while settling his shoe box next to him. He looks at the box for a moment. He finally has a rival now, huh. Seirin… he wonders how long it’s been since he last saw you… a couple months? Actually… it’s been almost a year.
Indulging Horikita Mai-chan feels off now, and indulging even more of her featured volumes made him feel worse than if he didn’t read any of them to begin with. The temptation to pick up a new racy issue has declined drastically, and Wakamatsu’s threats of burning them are becoming less dire as the days go by. If he actually burned them now, he probably would remain just as unphased and still not show up to practice. Well, now he’ll consider showing up to practice with or without the threats anyways, now that Kagami can keep him on his toes.
He gives a rueful smile. You’re always meddling in his affairs and ruining the consistent routines he’s set up for himself, even if you’re not physically by his side. That’s just like you to ruin him like this. He frowns. Or maybe you’re doing this on purpose as karma for him being an asshole to you all this time. Maybe you’re an Imayoshi, and you’re playing him like a fiddle?
Nah, he thinks, a small chuckle escaping from his lips. You’re too much of an idiot to think like that. You’re too easy to read, (y/n).
He shoves his hands into the pockets of his navy puffer jacket, and he leans forward on the bench with a long exhale. This isn’t good, he’s been thinking about you way too damn much. It’s actually concerning. Is it because he feels bad about chasing you off? Is it because of the uncertainty of his current standing with you in terms of your friendship? Maybe.
He amended his friendship with Kuroko through basketball, something that he’s very comfortable in navigating about. But you? How is he going to approach you?
He’s too much of a coward to stop by Seirin and look for you and get the answers, though.
“Your grades are absolutely atrocious, what the hell? How are you gonna fare well on the final exams for the semester?”
“That’s… we’ll worry about that when the time… comes.”
“Wrong answer! We can’t have you failing when you’re just a first year!”
“Oh come on, I still have two more years to pick up my slack, don’t I?”
Aomine slightly perks up at the familiar voices, the conversation breaking him out of his own thoughts. He freezes when he sees you.
The sight of you sends his own heart into a frenzy, his heart pounding against his chest so incessantly—painfully. The adrenaline he accumulated from his last game is no match for the compressions he feels at this very moment. Is it because he hasn’t seen you for nearly a year that he feels this way? You look different—older for sure—and definitely just as expressive as you were back in Teiko. You’re wearing your casual clothes and the biggest smile he’s seen from you yet.
But the person who’s making you smile like that isn’t him. His eyes finally stop focusing on you to look at the bigger picture in front of him. His eyes widen further when he registers that it’s none other than Kagami.
“Oh come on,” Kagami sighs at your pout. “Don’t be like that…”
“Look, I’ll even offer you tutoring free of charge, but you can’t neglect your studies.”
“Fine, fine…” Kagami ruffles your hair to appease you. “Just know I’m not that good with these types of things. You’re gonna have to take it easy with me.”
“Obviously! Did you think I was gonna bust out a master theory textbook on you? I’m not heartless! Honestly…” You punch his arm before you smile at him. “Before we get going, how’s your legs? You haven’t pushed yourself too much, have you?”
“Nah, I’m okay now.” He sweatdrops when he sees you raising your brow in suspicion. “I’m serious this time!”
“Pffft,” you snicker at how easy it is to get a reaction out of him. “How about to celebrate your win, we can go try that new pastry shop down the street? I heard the strawberry mille-feuille is really good there… maybe we can both try our hands in making a homemade recipe after?”
“Huh, I haven’t had that in a while, actually. Sounds pretty good.”
“Actually, what types of desserts do Americans even serve over there? We can save a day where we can bake the team an entire stockpile for them to try? Though, I hope Riko doesn’t somehow tamper them with protein powder…”
It’s comical to see Aomine having his eyes so bugged out of their sockets that they look like they might fall out with a nudge. But he doesn’t care—his mind’s racing so much, overclocking and overworking in trying to connect the dots at the scene he’s trying to register and comprehend.
“Where’s the shop again?” Kagami asks, scanning around for any sign that indicates “sweets” and “baked goods.”
“There.” You point ahead of you in a general direction, and Kagami, taking advantage of his height, easily spots the shop. What catches Aomine’s attention is how you wrap your other hand around his arm. What really bothers him though, is how nonchalant Kagami is at your touch.
“Come on.” Kagami snakes his hand to gently encapsulate your hand, the same one that casually wrapped around his arm moments earlier. Aomine’s breath gets caught in his throat, watching you two like a hawk. Kagami tugs your hand behind him as he leads you through the crowd, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
It shouldn’t be natural, though. It shouldn’t be Kagami holding your hand. It should’ve been—
(“And I’m not the guy for you, either.”)
Yeah, Aomine knows that he sure as hell ain’t the guy for you. But Kagami? Of all people? Aomine grits his teeth watching you two. He’s sure as hell that Kagami isn’t the one for you either. He would even rather prefer Kuroko being by your side like this than him… But he can’t deny how Kagami does a better job at making you happier than he himself could ever do. You’re in good hands, and he doesn’t have to worry about any potential asshats bothering you at Seirin, or anywhere for that matter from now on.
So why… Why does his heart continue to pound so hard when he sees how gentle his rival is with you? Why isn’t his chest letting up? Why does he feel like his windpipes are constricted? His mouth is parted like a fish, his body motionless, his new shoes forgotten. He doesn’t move until you’re no longer in his line of vision, completely swallowed up by the crowded lines and mobs of other shoppers.
Did Tetsu know about this?
He finally closes his mouth, allowing himself to swallow, though his mouth is impossibly too heavy and dry to do so comfortably. Still leaned forward, he rests his elbows on his knees, his eyes opting to stare at the cracks and dried gum. His brain’s had enough from all the processing.
What the hell’s wrong with me?
This isn’t like him. You’re dating Kagami. So what? And he’s not a bad guy. He still has you as a friend, and it’s not like he didn’t lose you for good… right?
His body contradicts his rationalizing when his hand tingles against his will… as if it wants to be held by you. He clicks his tongue in annoyance, gritting his teeth before giving a despondent chuckle.
I’m pathetic, aren’t I… all this time, I’ve never realized that…
He sees a flash of your clothes before you disappear around the block, holding your dessert box to-go while still holding hands with Kagami.
… that what I wanted was…
“Dai-chan!” Momoi races to him after emerging from the crowd that you just came out of earlier. He looks up to face her. “I finally got myself their house special! Luckily for you, I got another one before they sold out! Here, be grateful!”
She hands him a daintily packaged box with a fork, and he opens it to face the popular strawberry mille-feuille. He stares at it.
“Uh… is there something wrong?” Momoi tilts her head at his unusual lack of scathing comments, slightly unnerved at his extended silence. Aomine stares at the dessert for a second longer before looking up to see her face contorting into an expression of worry. He averts his gaze.
(“Because I know you’re never honest about your feelings!”)
