Chapter Text
Aomine wasn’t a full-time parent for a reason. Well, many reasons. Anyone who met him even once would be able to list at least ten. Satsuki had known him all her life, so she could probably list more. That’s why, even if she acknowledged Daiki as the boy’s father and reluctantly accepted him into their lives, she was determined to raise Sota on her own and never expect too much of Aomine. Which was a smart thing to do, Daiki had to admit.
He liked the kid just fine, and it was most probably mutual – who wouldn’t like a father who only ever took you to basketball games and gave you as many sweets as you wanted? Satsuki was a busy woman but she mostly relied on her “exceptionally qualified” nanny, Kuroko, so Aomine didn’t see Sota that often. Which didn’t particularly faze him; he wasn’t a warm and loving person who would create a healthy environment for a child.
His responsibilities were mostly limited to occasionally taking Sota to and out of school or babysitting on weekends. He was a good kid, much better than Daiki was his age. Although he did seem to inherit Aomine’s laziness and a bit of his mean streak, he definitely had Satsuki’s brains, for which Daiki was infinitely grateful – he was lucky to have enough talent to get him through life despite his stupidity, but that didn’t happen to everyone.
All things considered, Aomine seemed to be doing okay as a part-time dad, and he was getting better and better with time. He no longer forgot to give Sota lunch money, for example, and they were never late for school anymore. Well, almost never – they were late now, because Daiki ended up playing video games until late and only woke up when Satsuki was already on his parking lot, hitting the car horn until Aomine showed up on his balcony, begging her to stop.
He used to question the fact that she apparently had time to drop Sota at his place but not to drive him to school, but it soon turned out it was Kise-sensei’s fault. That man was the clingiest and most talkative person Daiki had ever met and, while all kids adored him, parents avoided him like the plague. Aomine still had war flashbacks from the first time Kise got him in his clutches. He shivered at the thought of going in there and apologizing for Sota’s tardiness.
There was another person with a kid loitering outside the classroom when they finally arrived. Daiki’s first instinct was to drop Sota and run, but he faltered when he took a closer look at the man. It wasn’t that he was a stunning beauty or anything, but Aomine did have a type – big eyes, kind smile, and generally pretty but not too hot to be out of his league. He immediately grabbed Sota’s arm and spun him around.
“You have to do something for me.”
“Mom says I don’t have to do anything you tell me because I’m smarter than you.”
Daiki groaned. “And she’s right, basically, but I need you to do something for me. I need you to get friendly with that girl over there.”
He certainly hoped Sota wouldn’t ask what was in it for him, because what could he even offer to this kid? Doing his homework for him? But Sota simply looked at him, unimpressed.
“I’m already her friend. Her name’s Sakurai Mio and her mom’s dead.”
Aomine stared at him blankly. “You’re just saying that so I feel too guilty to make a move on her dad. I hate you.”
“But I want you to make a move on him,” said Sota, offering him a shit-eating grin that was one of the few proofs he was actually Daiki’s kid. “It’s always hilarious to watch you-”
Aomine muffled the rest of that sentence with his hand and grumbled as he hauled Sota up to carry him to the classroom. The brat bit him before he could make two steps, and Daiki’s loud yelp caught Sakurai’s attention.
“Uh, I’m sorry, are you late too?”
He had a nice voice and Aomine really needed him to be at least a little bit gay. Sota jumped off him and honest-to-god skipped on his way to little Mio’s side, grinning at her. She offered him a small smile in return before looking at Daiki and bowing slightly. It was adorable as hell – truly awful.
“Yeah,” he muttered eventually, rubbing his bitten hand. “Not sure how to walk in now and avoid Kise-sensei?”
Sakurai nodded. “I’m sorry! I know it’s horrible, but he’s just…”
“I know! How about just-”
Aomine didn’t finish that sentence because the door to the classroom flung open and Kise greeted them with a blinding smile. He ushered the kids inside with a playful warning and immediately turned to them. Daiki panicked, not sure how to save them from the inevitable onslaught of inappropriate question and/or flailing over children he couldn’t care less about.
“I’m sorry, sensei!” yelped Sakurai before Kise could even open his mouth, and grabbed Aomine’s hand. “I’m truly sorry but Momoi-san was bit and we really need to go to the nurse right this instant! The dog was a huge vicious beats but he fought bravely! Make sure to tell that to the children! I’m sorry! Good bye!”
And he bolted, just like that, dragging a maniacally grinning Daiki behind and leaving Kise stunned into silence. That was probably the first… Aomine stopped abruptly when he deemed it safe enough, and Sakurai almost toppled over, his back hitting Daiki’s chest.
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine,” muttered Aomine as he helped Sakurai stand straight. “Just, the nurse’s office is in the opposite direction and my name is not Momoi. It’s Aomine.”
Sakurai frowned slightly. “You’re not Sota-kun’s dad?”
“I am. Part-time. His mom and I aren’t together. Never were, actually. Long story. Not that long, actually. I-”
God, why was he so nervous? It’s been way too long, was why. He rubbed his neck, hot from embarrassment, and cringed, unable to look Sakurai in the eye. But then he heard a light chuckle, not the mean kind, the kind that made you feel like you said something funny, completely intentionally, and it worked.
“It’s nice to meet you, Aomine-san. I’m Sakurai Ryou, I… should have a card here somewhere… Ah! I’m sorry! Your hand! I- It doesn’t actually need medical attention, does it?”
Daiki shook his head, grinning. “I think I can handle a bite from an nine-year-old. I’m more embarrassed you even saw that…”
“Mio doesn’t look like it, but she’s also a biter.”
Luckily, Aomine bit back the question whether her father was a biter too, because the next thing that came out of Sakurai’s mouth was, “She has her mother’s temper.” Daiki swallowed, rubbing his hand on his chest absentmindedly.
“Uh… I, ah, heard from Sota that-”
Sakurai flailed his hands, blushing. “Oh, I’m sorry! Please, don’t worry! It’s been years, it’s- It’s fine, really! I’m sorry for making you worry! Please, let’s change the subject to something less depressing!”
Aomine sighed in relief and chuckled, nodding. They walked out of the school and it turned out that Sakurai had a day off, so Daiki came up with some lame excuse to ask him out for coffee (“I don’t know any other parents and Satsuki got promoted so I think, maybe, I’ll be spending more time with Sota now and… you know…”). The bright smile Sakurai offered him before agreeing almost slayed him at the spot, and Aomine walked all the way to the café on unsteady legs.
Sakurai worked for a manga-publishing company. The job was demanding and time-consuming, but he was able to work mostly at home, or take Mio with him to the company. He drew manga himself, but he claimed he wasn’t talented enough to be published, so he decided to do the publishing instead. Sakurai’s eyes lit up when he talked about Mio and Daiki couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever look like that because of about Sota.
When Daiki told him that he played for the national basketball team, Sakurai nearly went cross-eyed and almost took his eye out with a tea spoon.
“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you before, I’m so sorry! This is so embarrassing! I may not look like it, but I used to play basketball… This is such an honor! I’m sorry, I mean- I don’t mean to, like- Oh god, what are you even doing here with me, Aomine-san? Don’t you have fans to beat off with a stick?! I’m so sorry for wasting your time!”
“You wouldn’t believe how many people are too scared to approach me even if they do recognize me,” said Aomine with a laugh. “And what about your fans? Don’t tell me your doe eyes and offensively adorable daughter didn’t get you any, because I won’t believe you.”
It was Sakurai’s turn to laugh. “I’m sorry, but you wouldn’t believe how many people feel too sorry for me to actually go out with me. It’s my first date since-”
Sakurai didn’t finish the sentence, because Daiki unceremoniously started choking on his coffee. Sakurai panicked, flailing his hands uselessly as Aomine hit his chest with a fist until he could breathe again.
“Is this-” he wheezed, coughing. “Is this a date?!”
Sakurai’s eyes widened in horror as his face turned beet red. “Oh god, I’m so sorry! I’m sorry, I just assumed! Oh my god, I think I’m gonna die of embarrassment, I’m so sorry!”
He hid his face in his hands, peeking through his fingers and Aomine was at a loss for words for a moment. Just how cute could this person get was beyond his comprehension, but he had to saysomething because Sakurai started whining softly in mortification.
“No, I- you, uh… you assumed right,” he stammered eventually.
Sakurai dropped his hands immediately. “Really?!”
He sounded way too happy about it for Aomine’s comfort because, really, no one was that happy about spending time with Daiki, including his own mother. He decided to play it cool despite his obvious embarrassment, and leaned back in his seat nonchalantly. Unfortunately, just as he threw his elbow over the back of the chair, the waiter walked by and Aomine’s wristband caught on a pen. As the waiter passed him, he dragged Daiki’s hand with him, making the chair tip back, and Aomine ended up sprawled on the floor.
Of course he did.