Chapter Text
The day dragged on like flies on caramel, the syrupy smothness nauseating and entrapping, leaving you feeling in the emenency of drowning in the slow and sweet density of hours that refused to pass. If not for the pressing matters at hand, you would have given up on trying to work straight through this neverending day long ago, but with the deadline of this project fast approaching and your role in the group being scripting the entirety of the presentation, you decided to seclude yourself in the library in hopes of finishing off the base on which everyone will work out their own parts.
Your group of peers were as involved in the planning of the project as rats are involved in the admnistration of a professional kitchen — which is to say they intented to take all of the marbles and none of the responsability. You tried to resent them, but there was already enough on your plate to chisel away your forbearance for you to knowingly create a matter out of this. To put it simply, you rather just be done with it.
You felt the steady beating of your heart in your temples, rhythmic like the drumms that made thousands march into war, a collective percussion of thunder and lighting that, for a split second, even made your vision lose focus. You'd definetly be needing something for that headache later.
You use your tired hands to rub your face, trying to wipe away the exhaustion brought on by overworking yourself beyond the typical studying hours; ambition and sacrifice always walk hand-in-hand and you, aspiring and young student, seems somehow forever stuck in the liminal space between the two. You get your phone to check the time and catch a glimpse of your reflection on the sleek glass screen; your last year, and all of which that came with it, was visibly taking it's toll on you.
Checking the time, you knew the library would close soon. Only a few — those who were desperate in long and strenuous study sessions and the reckless, like yourself, who worked with little to no regard for their personal well being and health — remained in scattered tables full of their personal choices of research medias. You tried an experimental stretch and decided, as soon as you heard the painful cry for help coming from your spine in form of a loud and obnoxious "crack", that it was time to call it a day and give some rest to the tissues that held your existence together. It wasn't like the topics of your research were still making sense anyway; you'd get nowhere with this considering your current state of fatigue.
You had slowly started gathering your things, packing in no rush at all and even stopping at some point to just contemplate your aliveness and feel your own breathing, when you heard a familiar voice coming from behind you:
"I had a feeling I'd find you here."
You felt the soft warmth of hands on your tensed and weary shoulders and stretched your neck to look up at the source of that dark and sweet voice, rolling like molasses off Aomine's tongue and reminding you that the reason for every sugar rush you ever had since you met him was this saccharine tone.
You made a small murmured sound of greeting and composed your face into a more recptive expression, letting your youthful joy transpire into your features and allowing your lips to form a spent smile that revealed not only the whites of your teeth to the blue-haired boy but also your contentment with his presence.
"Oh, hm... Hi, Daiki. I was just finishing up." You whisper to him while you try to rub away the fatigue off of your eyes when his airy laugh fills the silence sorrounding both of you as he sits down on the chair opposite of yours, not even trying to keep his tone down. This granted some stares from tables closer to yours, but you dind't noticed; the gravity of his presence was so jarring that you could do nothing besides let yourself be pulled to orbit around him.
"They really didn't come to help you out at all, did they?" he shakes his head, clicking his tongue on his front teeth, incredulous when you purse your lips and shrug, responding with a neagative "hm-hm". "You should just take their names out of the project and not tell anyone. Your doing all the work anyway, so is only fair." He muses, unimpressed, like it's only logical.
"That's cruel, even for you." you laugh, gathering the rest of your belongings and packing everything up nicely enough. "You know I can't do that. Besides, I much prefer it this way. I can do everything how I so please and they don't get to question it. They only get to say 'Thank you, _______, you'd saved us so much time' and at least try not screw up the presentation. Y'know?" Aomine gives you an impressed whistle and rests his elbows on the table between you.
"That's bossy." he reaches in your direction and tucks a stray strand of hair behind your ear, his warm and calloused hand soft against the skin of your cheek, staring into your eyes like he just found one of the wonders of the world shining in them, showing you the most handsome, most desarming, most youthful and playful smile he has in store. "I love it."
You can feel your blush creeping up your face in the direction of you ears, like fire burning up a hill. Your heart if so full of delight in that moment, being the sole object to that gaze. Aomine stares at you like you are the most precious rarity he has ever had the honor to look upon and the verity that blooms in the bright of his dark blue eyes never fails to make you feel exactly like treasure. You're caught so off guard you don't now how to respond, but that is not a problem considering that Aomine continues talking to you.
"You know, I was alredy planning on taking you out to eat or something today, but I guess I'll have to take you to that new place you been nagging me about. You deserve it after all of this.work" your eyes roll at that, but you had, in fact, been talking a lot about that new ramen place that opened just down the school street. However, his intonation surprises you, the choice of placement for the emphasis seemingly strange, and your confusion must be clear in the furrow of your brow because he explains: "Since you seem so tired and all... I think your not well enough to walk all the way there."
You open you mouth to protest, yet more confused than you were before, your frown even deeper. When Aomine stands, faster than what should be possible for someone as tall and broad as him, comprehennsion starts to dawn on you like the first lights of the day. Your slow and tired brain cannot bring you to react fast enough and, when you finally realize, he is alredy scooping you up into his arms along with all of your belongings.
"Daiki!" you protest, trying your best to keep your school skirt in place while on his firm hold and also trying to stop you backpack and folders from falling to the gound. You pass by the librarian in record speed right as she notices the ruckus your sappy boyfriend is causing in this place of knowledge. Most of the other worn-out students don't even have time to react to him as you pass them, you don't even notice how some girls stare in envious amazement. You turn to stare at Aomine's face and scold him but lose the courage as soon as you notice his expression, shinning eyes and big childish smile composing his features into something you cheerish more than anything else in this world.
It's insanely captivating, this bright expression of his, — which is something you have alredy said to him, albeit his desbelief in it — and before you even realize your expression starts mirroing his. You feel silly, and happy and warm and the long day of work seems like a speck of a faraway memory by the time he has ran with you out of the school library.