Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Murasakibara looked on like he always did, droopy-eyed with boredom. The crunch of a potato chip he bit into was sharp and familiar but it was something new altogether when he said, “...All right.”

“You’ll really do it?” Honestly, Aomine could hardly believe that it was that easy that he had to ask and confirm.

Murasakibara nodded, “Mn.”

The tall Center’s monosyllabic agreement along with that nod pretty much closed the deal and Aomine had to grin, “All right! Then we’re gonna do this.”

Muraskibara ate another chip.

“So Kise, you’ll just wait for Murasakibara’s list and you go get the stuff okay?”

“What?” There was that whiny tone in Kise’s voice already and that stupid pretty face was almost fixed in a frown. “Me? Why do I gotta get the snacks?”

Aomine looked at him like he was a moron. “I don’t have the money to get all he wants.”

“So mean!” Kise was in full-on whine mode, lips pouting and eyebrows drawn, looking butthurt and betrayed. There were even some tears ready to fall from his eyes. “Aominecchi’s totally using me!”

Aomine just looked at him, unimpressed. Murasakibara ate another two chips.

“Then you can’t watch.”

“I wanna watch!”

“Then go get the snacks.”

“Maybe if Kisechin gave Minechin a copy of his latest photobook it’d be okay.”

Kise stared at Murasakibara who just spoke, mouth opening and closing. “Wha--”

He was cut off by talking more when Aomine started to shove him off. “Just go and get them!”

“But I don’t have a list yet!”

“Just go!”

Kise went off muttering about “stupid lists” and “being only used for his money” and left Aomine to stare suspiciously at Murasakibara.

Murasakibara hardly paid him any mind and just dug his hand into the bag of potato chips.

“Ah.”

It was empty.

“Who’ve you been talking to?”

Murasakibara sighed but didn’t even bother to look at Aomine at his question. The silver end of an empty bag of potato chips, one of the saddest sights in the world. “I’m taller than you. I see things.”

Aomine kept on eying him and Murasakibara kept on not giving a damn until Aomine started getting restless.

“Tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ll send Kisechin my list in a bit.”

The next day after basketball practice, Midorima took one look at Murasakibara’s new mountain of snacks, Aomine and Kise’s very expectant and excited faces and Kuroko’s bland but obviously pissed off expression and made to leave the gym.

“I’ll be in another gym if anyone needs me though I suppose you don’t need me to insist you in your stupidity as always.”

Casting one last disapproving and disappointed look toward Murasakibara, Midorima took his lucky item (a bunny-eared headband) and left.

“Akashicchi said it was okay!” Kise called after Midorima like it meant something, which it probably did because Akashi actually gave the "okay" to Aomine’s surprise. Akashi had also excused himself from the activity, though, citing an emergency planning session with Nijimura-san…

“Akashi-kun.”

Kuroko’s voice was hushed and spoke of very dire things but it didn’t seem to register on Aomine who still looked pretty pleased with himself.

“So Tetsu, you ready?” He asked with an excited grin.

“No, I am not, Aomine-kun.” was the very polite but also very frank response and the blankness of that stare bordered on murderous. “I would very much appreciate it if you decide to call this off.”

“Ha?” Aomine blinked, tilting his head curiously, cluelessly. “Why?”

“Because it’s embarrassing.”

(“...Well that is true.” Kise murmured out of earshot to Murasakibara who was supposed to help but was of course very preoccupied with his new snacks now.)

Aomine looked taken aback. “But it’s a good idea!”

“To you, perhaps.”

“Tetsu,” Aomine begun, looking ready to reach forward to place his hands on Kuroko’s shoulders because he just could not believe what his best friend was saying. “you can’t tell me you don’t wanna dunk?!”

Kuroko looked calm but pained. “Not with the help of Murasakibara-kun.”

(“It’s stupid...”

“...Then why did you agree??” Kise looked at Murasakibara incredulously.

Murasakibara chewed placidly, grazing contentedly on his limited edition lemon cheese cake pocky. “Minechin was getting me snacks…”

“You mean I did.”

“Mn.”)

In the end, Kuroko didn’t dunk, Murasakibara ate everything before dinner time and Kise had to treat a sulking Aomine to dinner (and Murasakibara and Midorima too) because obviously, that surprise just didn’t turn out the way Aomine envisioned it.

And that really sucked.

Chapter Text

“Oi, Kagami, get me another cup of coffee, will you?”

If Aomine were to look over, he would see Kagami with this look on his face like he wanted to maim him. It was a normal enough expression from Kagami whenever Aomine so much as breathed so Aomine hardly paid it any mind anymore.

“You could at least come up here and get it, asshole.” Kagami replied after getting a bit of a look in return from Kuroko at the cash register. “I’m not your personal barista.” He said this even as he poured another large mug of brewed coffee for their permanent guest. Noticeably, though, he didn’t add the small complimentary chocolate chip cookie that usually came with a serving of plain black coffee.

Aomine hummed distractedly from his usual table, a few steps away from the pick up counter but far enough that he won’t get distracted by the people coming up to get their drinks. It had a good view of the rest of the coffeeshop floor which was perfect when Aomine felt like people watching or was just so frustrated or bored out of his skull that he had to look away from the screen of his laptop for a while.

Nothing came from Aomine’s little corner for a few minutes, not a single tap on a keyboard or an audible noise that could give a clue as to how he was feeling. That was, until he noticed.

“Kagami, my coffee.”

This time, Kagami aimed that look at Kuroko, practically daring the cashier to stop him from going over there and giving Aomine his coffee. Kuroko sighed softly and turned a bit to address Aomine more directly.

“Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun is busy. Please get your coffee yourself.”

Aomine didn’t move right away but then sighed deeply, aiming a bit of a sulky, peeved look toward Kuroko before finally dragging himself up toward the pick up counter where his coffee waited. “Fine, fine…”

“Thank you.”

The coffee was still thankfully steaming hot when Aomine finally came up to get it. He sighed as he looked into what should be hot, comforting darkness in a cup but he only felt empty, disappointed. Coffee was usually more effective at getting him into the flow of things but the muse had been fickle for some days now. He’d start typing after feeling the caffeine hit and ten pages later, he wanted to throw his laptop out the window. Nothing was working and it was really frustrating the hell out of him. And don’t even get him started on Satsuki and Imayoshi who both won’t get off his back as they both tried to be helpful but were both just pissing him off with their efforts.

He had a deadline and at the rate he was going, he had a feeling he’d have to push it back and he hated that. Writing was what he did and if he couldn’t do it well like he always did, he got really, really grumpy and that was never fun for anyone.

Aomine was contemplating just going on up to his apartment for a nap when the door to the coffeeshop opened.

“Good afternoon!” greeted the new customer cheerily from the door and Aomine had a ready scowl on because he was definitely not having a good afternoon. He had it ready, it was practically his default expression, but then he found that he couldn’t.

Standing at the doorway was a guy with a face that was on almost every billboard in the city. Heck, Aomine could look out the nearest window now and see a particularly big one with him on it. He looked a bit different, less airbrushed, shiny and perfect, but he still looked ridiculously pretty for a man and that was probably why he made a living using that face.

It was kind of strange to see Kise Ryouta moving, walking toward the display and looking up to survey the drinks menu. Sure, he starred in some commercials but his print ads were more popular. Maybe that was why it was kind of weird to see him blinking those golden eyes and worrying that lower lip, absently fingering the strap of the bag that hung across his chest.

“I think I’d like to try out your lemonade.” Kise Ryouta said after a while, smiling to Kuroko but also looking a bit sheepish about ordering a drink that was not coffee in a coffeeshop. “Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Kuroko answered easily enough, taking down his order as he did. “Will that be all?”

The blond model nodded and paid for his lemonade after it was rung up. He walked to the side and waited for Kagami to finish preparing his drink, even flashing a smile at Aomine who was still standing there like a moron with his cup of coffee that had been ready for ages. Aomine took that as his cue to go back to his table but he nodded back in answer to that smile because why shouldn’t he?

From his seat behind his laptop, Aomine continued to observe Kise Ryouta. He was tall but Aomine was still a bit taller with a slender but athletic build. His hair wasn’t as brightly blond as the ads made it out to be but who knew if that was really the actual shade of it. His clothes were fashionable, obviously, and were probably even tailored to fit him because they fit him very, very well. And Kise Ryouta was apparently the kind of person who couldn’t stop moving--fiddling with his phone, looking around, tapping his foot as he hummed a quiet tune. He was very gracious and gave another one of those bright smiles at Kagami when his lemonade was handed to him. After thanking them, he started making his way out.

Aomine continued watching him as he made it to the door and it was as if he felt Aomine’s gaze on him because he turned and looked over his shoulder right at him.

Kise Ryouta had probably mastered making use of spaces to their full potential so as to best display him. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was still bright but shadows were starting to come out. He stood by the doorway, the sunlight framing him like a halo but his smile was brighter still, and just like that, Aomine saw something that just sparked inspiration.

With that, he put fingers to his keyboard and started to type. The words flowed out of him so effortlessly that it was almost like a deluge. He hardly noticed the time pass, hardly even stopped to eat, drink or rest until Kuroko had to interrupt him because they were closing for the day. By then, Aomine had written forty pages, the first two chapters of a new book about a young kitsune with golden hair and eyes who was tasked to protect the city of Tokyo from supernatural entities that threaten its peace.

He was pretty sure Satsuki will like it and Imayoshi will probably have a lot to nitpick about it but Aomine wasn’t thinking about what they had to say at that point. He had a new story to write, a new hero to explore, and he knew it was going to be great.

Chapter Text

“Your hair is getting long.” Kise observes one morning, murmuring softly to Aomine who’s half asleep and mechanically brushing his teeth beside him. He smiles when lidded blue eyes turn to look at his reflection on the large bathroom mirror they’re currently sharing.

In answer, Aomine just grunts, still too zoned out to bother with actually talking and Kise stands up from his seat to get a closer look. He reaches to lightly touch along the base of Aomine’s head, fingers gently playing with the thick dark hair that is actually starting to curl there.

Kise lifts his gaze to look at Aomine on the mirror. “Do you want me to cut it?”

“...Tomorrow.” Aomine finally responds with a word but it’s still muffled with his toothbrushing. Eventually, that gets done and Aomine bends to rinse. All through this, Kise still has his fingers in Aomine’s hair, lightly playing with it and Aomine doesn’t stop him. It’s no secret that he likes it when Aomine’s hair is starting to get long. More for him to play with and Aomine does like it when he gets extra attention though he never says so.

A few, peaceful seconds later and Aomine straightens. Kise smiles wider when Aomine turns to him and sighs quietly, contentedly when he’s drawn closer. He closes his eyes when Aomine’s arms close around him. They’re almost the same height but Aomine has always been larger and that’s always good for cuddling, especially on quiet, peaceful mornings when they don’t need to rush like today.

Aomine’s skin is a bit cool from his shower but Kise knows that won’t last long. Somehow, Aomine always feels warm to the touch and Kise likes to joke that he’s his own personal furnace. Touou’s former Ace takes it with his usual grumpy resignation but hardly refuses a demand for a cuddle so Kise knows Aomine actually doesn’t mind being his favorite heat source. He is especially Kise’s favorite when he’s fresh from a shower and smells all clean and so good.

Kise presses his nose lightly against Aomine’s bare shoulder, taking in the distinctive scent on his skin and smiling to himself. He knows that smell.

“You’re using the soap I got for you.”

Aomine grunts again, sounding a bit irritable, and Kise chuckles quietly. Those arms tighten around him in a way that his poor boyfriend probably means to be reprimanding but Kise just huddles in closer. How is that supposed to be a punishment when it feels so good to be brought even closer to all that hard, toned muscle? A shirtless Aomine is never a punishment.

“It’s expensive shit.” is Aomine’s gruff explanation for his actions and Kise snorts, not moving away an inch.

“Admit it. It smells nice and you like it.”

“Whatever.”

And you like spoiling me. Kise declines to say for now because it’s clear as day and well, he can let it go for now. He’s too content to move.

But of course cuddling between them doesn’t usually last long, not when Aomine is half naked and Kise himself isn’t completely dressed either.

Aomine’s lips on his are soft and warm and no matter how long they’ve been together, Kise somehow knows that that will almost always be a surprise and he likes it that way. What is not surprising are the width of his hands, the clutch of his fingers and the firmness of his chest. Kise takes it all in, even wallowing in greed as he pulls Aomine closer, his own fingers grabbing onto Aomine’s hair and caressing down his back. He feels Aomine arch and lean into his heated touch, tastes the wanting groan in his mouth and Kise just wants more of him in whatever way he can have him.

Their lips part in breathless sighs and somehow they’ve gotten Kise up on the counter, legs parted, Aomine settled in nice and close between them. Aomine’s got his hands under Kise’s dressing robe, hands hot and kneading along his thighs. Meanwhile, Kise’s got Aomine’s face between his own hands. Those dark eyes are lidded still but now there’s heat in their gaze that Kise can feel all the way to his toes. Aomine’s lips are swollen and wet with kisses and Kise’s always thought that’s a good look on him, especially since he’s responsible for it.

The mirror and marble behind him is cold but Kise hardly feels it. It’s impossible when Aomine draws even closer and won’t let him focus on anything else, traps him with the heat of his body and the weight of his gaze though Kise isn’t really protesting at all.

“Let’s go back to bed…” Aomine murmurs against his ear, that voice irresistibly deep and smooth, and of course Kise is happy to oblige.

Chapter Text

The blank piece of paper was mocking him in its blankness. In typical Aomine Daiki fashion, the suitable way Daiki decided to deal with it was to scowl at it until something happened. Obviously, nothing did and he had to look away before it pissed him off.

His seat in his classroom was in the back beside a window and it gave him a good view of a class of girls playing soccer. His classroom was at the third floor so it was probably never going to happen that a ball was going to get kicked up to disrupt his class. Still, it was a nice view of the girls in their PE uniforms as they ran around and kicked a ball. Or tried to. There seemed to be more running around and jumping and cheering and well. That wasn’t bad. Not bad at all.

In the background, the teacher was still droning on and on and Daiki sighed, feeling warm and lazy. He pulled his gaze away from the girls’ soccer game reluctantly to look back at the piece of paper. It was still blank and his mind was still as equally empty of words. He looked up to the front of the class.

Nope, Algebra wasn’t going to inspire him, not even a little bit.

It was as if whatever God there was took pity on him and the bell signaling the end of that class rang. He got up along with his other classmates, shoving his things into his bag as he did. He still had another class before lunchtime but today didn’t feel like a day when he should be in class or at school even.

Time for him to go. He had other things he wanted to do.

It took Momoi until lunchtime to find out that Dai-chan had skipped class and of course, she wasn’t happy about it. It was a failing that drove home the fact that she had been too soft, too negligent with him lately and she had to get her act together. Sure, Dai-chan was better about basketball now among other things but that didn’t mean that he completely become more responsible. If anything, he had other reasons for his irresponsible behavior.

She frowned down at the mail she received from him in answer to hers that demanded where he was.

Out  the message simply said and it was enough to make her blood boil.

“Dai-chan, you idiot.” The words came easily, familiarly and with Momoi’s usual brand of exasperated impatience whenever it came to her childhood friend doing something he shouldn’t. “Don’t tell me you’d skip on practice too.”

“A-Aomine-san is gone.”

Momoi looked up from her furious typing on her phone to find Sakurai standing there, looking as nervous and apologetic as ever. He clutched a nicely packed bento box in one hand and looked about ready to cry.

“I-I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him. I didn’t know he was going to skip classes. I’m so sorry!”

Sakurai being frantically apologetic happened all the time but that didn’t mean Momoi had ever gotten really good at managing him. It was bad enough she had to make sure Dai-chan was fit for human interaction; she didn’t need another person to take care of but a lot of the time, it seemed that she had no choice.

“Don’t worry, Sakurai-kun.” She said, smiling and trying to be placating. “It’s not your fault Dai-chan needs a kick in the ass. I’ll find him.”

That seemed to work a little and now Sakurai just looked worried. “Do you think he’ll be back for practice?”

Momoi paused to think about it. Given how he skipped right after first period and didn’t even bother to tell her where it was he was going, she could only conclude one thing.

“Doubtful.”

“Oh nooo…” Sakurai looked about ready to start rocking nervously. “Wakamatsu-san won’t be pleased.”

Momoi sighed and went back to typing up her message. “I know…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Sakurai-kun, really. It’s not your fault.”

“I made Aomine-san a bento today. He sent me a message for it yesterday.”

Momoi looked over at the prettily packed bento lunch. Well, if there was one thing Momoi learned when it came to trying to manage a child like Dai-chan, it was to enjoy the little surprising perks the task afforded.

“Well, I think it’d bad for that to go to waste. Give it here, Sakurai-kun. I’m sure it’s delicious.”

(And it was definitely levels above her own bento lunch…)

I’m sorry, Momoi-san. I don’t really know where Aomine-kun is.

Hah? How am I even supposed to know where Ahomine is???

Eh, I dunno. Maybe Akachin knows.

I refuse to be disturbed by insipid questions like this. Don’t you have a class you should be focusing on?

Have you tried asking Ryouta? I’m sure he knows.

Sorry, Momocchi! （ﾉ´д｀）He’s here. I’ll let him know you’re looking for him. He probably turned his phone off again. Don’t worry! I’ll take care of it! ☆～（ゝ。∂）

Kise sighed as he put his phone away, aiming a bit of a glower at Aomine who was indeed standing beside him. “You shouldn’t have skipped school. I mean, I’m happy you’re here,” he was quick to assure him, “but now Momocchi’s mad and you’re really gonna get it when she sees you.”

Aomine shrugged, too preoccupied with the Gori-gori-kun he was eating at that moment as he walked beside Kise, “So you’re gonna have to hide me for a few days.”

“Like that’s gonna work.” Kise quipped though he was kind of smiling at the thought. Hiding away with his boyfriend for a few days… It was enough to distract him for a little while from his current… Weird thing. Kise glanced on down to the bouquet of sunflowers that he had managed to collect after a whole day of finding them in places he frequented on campus. “The person who sent these really put in a lot of work.”

That was also the excuse he gave Aomine when he met him with the flowers though Aomine hadn’t even asked about them, which was also kind of weird but at the moment, he was more preoccupied with being intrigued. He had been finding the flowers with these strange notes and he didn’t know if it was sweet or creepy. His fans could get really creative sometimes and they liked giving him letters but the notes he got were just not the usual fan letters.

“I’m telling you, Aominecchi, this person’s creepy!” Kise said, picking up the thread of their conversation before Momoi interrupted it with her Aomine Daiki Search Mission. “They’re saying stuff like, ‘Make sure you eat something before work so you won’t go hungry and I won’t have to worry.’ I mean, it’s sweet and all but why are they saying that like they know what I’m going to be doing today?”

The whole tirade ended in a bit of a whine and it made Aomine sigh and give Kise a bit of a bland look. “You say he’s creepy and you bring around his flowers.”

Kise held the bouquet closer, almost defensively. “But I like sunflowers.”

“I know.” Aomine bit on his ice cream stick. “And your creepy person seems to know that too.”

Now Kise was conflicted. He really liked the flowers but they did come from a very questionable source. What if they really had nefarious plans for him? What if they knew more than they should? What if it was flowers and notes today and kidnap and ransom tomorrow?

“...Aominecchi.” Kise whimpered, looking like he’d start crying then, and still held the flowers close like he couldn’t let them go, “I think they want to catch me unawares and kidnap me. You gotta stop them!”

For a long, quiet moment, Aomine stared at him. Just looked at him, then heaved a sigh, reaching to put a hand over his eyes, “How are you this dumb?”

“Hey!”

“I sent you the notes and those flowers, idiot.”

That made Kise pause and stare too, his stomach doing a funny little flip, “...You did?” Aomine sent him the notes and left flowers too?

“Yeah…” Aomine still won’t look at him and kept on fidgeting but Kise thought he was just being shy. He was so cute when he was being shy.

“Aww,” Kise cooed, coming closer. “You’re so cute.”

“I am not…”

He was really so cute, looking all shy and embarrassed over his surprising sweetness; Kise had to reach out and hit him upside the head.

Aomine’s hands came up instinctively to shield himself, “OW! What the fuck--”

“You idiot!” And Kise tried to give him another but he dodged. Stupid Aho and his stupid fast reflexes. “Don’t act like one of my crazy fans!”

Aomine stared at him incredulously from under the shield of his arms, “You kept whining about wanting anonymous love letters!”

That caused Kise to blush. Just a little. “I-I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” Because Aomine Daiki? Give him sweet, anonymous love letters? Pigs will fly first but apparently he was wrong.

“Well I did, okay?” Aomine won’t look at him again but this time he was tense, arms crossed over his chest defensively. He grumbled under his breath but Kise heard it anyway, “‘Not gonna do anything for you anymore. Just watch me...”

The sunflowers were facing up at Kise when he looked at them and it was probably silly but it was like they were staring at him accusingly. Aomine obviously put in a lot of work for this stunt and those flowers were proof. It wasn’t as if Aomine gave him flowers everyday or even at all.

“...I did say it was sweet though.” Kise said, his voice soft with a touch of apology. Aomine wouldn’t look at him so he just continued on looking at him instead. Eventually, Aomine would have to and when he did, he would see a smile.

The smile sort of did the trick, Kise saw, when Aomine finally relented and looked at him. His shoulders loosened up and a while later, reached out his hand for Kise to take. It was easy enough to slip his hand into his and they continued on forward, walking toward Kise’s Kanagawa apartment.

“...So, you are gonna be putting me up for a few days, right?”

“Nope, sorry. You have to face Momocchi on your own.”

“You’re evil.”

“But you love me.”

“Gross…” and Aomine’s hand tightened over Kise’s, making Kise smile brighter, and the day spent writing notes and sneaking around Kaijo wasn’t wasted at all.