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Laughter comes from the other room, unmistakably Kagami’s, though Kuroko joins him a few minutes later. Curious, Aomine saunters in to see what all the commotion is about, laptop tucked underneath his arm.
“They’re talking about you again,” Kagami says by way of greeting when Aomine deposits himself on the beanbag chair opposite from where Kuroko is practically sitting on Kagami’s lap.
Aomine blinks. “Huh?”
“You and that model you do the YouTube videos with. I just found a Tumblr blog dedicated to both of you.”
While recognition of that sort is usually a good thing, something about the way Kagami is trying to hold his laughter in piques Aomine’s interest. “What do you mean ‘dedicated’ to both of us?”
Kagami’s will power breaks and he turns his laptop around so Aomine can see, his face buried in Kuroko’s neck to muffle the sound.
It seems Kuroko is better at keeping his cool. “Apparently, people ship you two.” He nods toward the laptop, deadpanned, and adds for emphasis, “Together.”
“Ship... us?” Aomine asks, confused. His brow shoots up as he leans closer to get a better look. True to what his friends have said, the website features pictures of him and Kise Ryouta, fashion model, actor, and sometime-music-co-collaborator, in various locations. It isn’t until he scrolls down that he comes across a picture that makes the blood rush to more places than he’d care to mention. “What the actual fuck.”
There’s no way anyone's found out.
“AoKise, Aomine-kun,” Kuroko confirms, his calm wearing thin as Kagami’s laughter becomes uncontrollable. “They’re calling your ship AoKise.”
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: u busy?
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: Aominecchi! I was just about to text you! (ノ^_^)ノ
[text]: I have an idea for a song we can do
[text]: but I wanted to run it by you first (ღ′◡‵)
[text]: We got requests for it on both our channels
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: about that
[text]: wanted to talk to u bout something
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: (/ω＼) Oh god, you’ve seen them, haven’t you?
[text]: I swear I was going to tell you
[text]: but I didn’t want to make it awkward. (*;´□`)ゞ
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: u know about the sites?
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: I didn’t think it was a big deal! ;;;(/;◇;)/
[text]: My bff actually found a few accts on different sites
[text]: Kazunaricchi hasn’t shut up about it since
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: u dont think its weird?
[text]: being shipped with me?
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: A little
[text]: But my fans do it all the time when I have shoots with people
[text]: And when I get parts in movies
[text]: Besides, I don’t mind it so much. For once, they got it right. LOL
[text]: You’re not mad, are you? (இ﹏இ`｡)
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: a little weirded out maybe but nah, not mad
[text]: just not used to that shit happening to me lol
[text]: wonder how they found out
[text]: havent told anyone
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: Me neither
[text]: Is it really all that bad if people know? (இ﹏இ`｡)
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: got an idea
[text]: if ur up for it
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: Sure! (´⌣`ʃƪ)
[text]: Wait, you’re not going to make me do another boy band thing
[text]: One of those throwback videos, are you? ┌∩┐(ಠ_ಠ)┌∩┐
Aomine splutters when he reads the text, remembering the time he’d made Kise curl his hair like Justin Timberlake from his N’Sync days. With a smirk, he shoots back another reply.
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: hey that shit hit 500k in less than 2 days
[text]: u werent complaining after u had girls throwin themselves at u
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: Mohhhhhh, girls throw themselves at me all the time! 〜(^∇^〜）
[text]: ( ﾟДﾟ)＜!! Stupid Aominecchi and your bright ideas!
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: I know ._.
[text]: this one youll like though ;]
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: I’m intrigued. What did you have in mind? (ღ′◡‵)
[text]: (;¬_¬) Better not be something embarrassing.
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: me? embarrass u? no way 0;]
[text]: u up for flyin out?
[text]: maybe do a session here while ur at it?
There’s a lull in response and the wait makes Aomine edgy, makes him wonder if he should have brought it up. Though they’ve communicated for a while, everything has been online and through apps on their phones - video chats, iMessages, Snapchats, Skype. Every interaction electronic, a considerable distance between them.
Until now.
He holds his breath as he waits for a reply. Kise’s privacy is important and it’s the only reason he’s skirted around the shipping ordeal for as long as he has. Then his phone chimes and the message makes him crack a smile.
Received From: Model-chan
[text]: On one condition
[text]: Aominecchi has to promise that I get to pick the song. (♡´艸`)
He stares at the response and exhales.
Sent To: Model-chan
[text]: idiot lol
[text]: better make it a good one
“What if we missed him already? You sure you wrote down the right terminal?” Kagami asks, fingers tapping against the steering wheel. He anxiously glances over his shoulder at the guard attempting to organize airport traffic. “We’re not supposed to park here.”
“You worry too much,” Aomine says, squinting through the sliding glass doors leading into the Arrivals gate area. Kise wouldn’t be hard to spot, considering his usual harem of fangirls following him everywhere, but Aomine takes out his phone to check anyway; just to be sure. “He said he’s flying Delta; terminal number’s right here.” He shoves his screen in Kagami’s face, laughing and barely dodging a smack aimed for his head. “Maybe I should text him?”
“Hold up...” Kagami trails off, nodding toward the airport entrance with a sly grin. “I think your boy’s here. Shit, you weren’t kidding when you said he had an entire harem trailing after him.”
Aomine follows Kagami’s gaze to find Kise struggling to roll his luggage behind him, guitar case strapped to his back, while trying to lose the persistent crowd. He bites back a chuckle and rolls down the window, head dipping and sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. “Hey, I heard Model-chan needed a ride,” he calls out, mouth twitching into a barely hidden smirk.
“Maybe you should help with his luggage instead of trying to flirt with him, dipshit,” Kagami says and this time, he makes sure to add the head slap for emphasis. He mutters something under his breath as he shakes his head and Aomine swears it sounds something like ‘You’re not into him, my ass.’
Kagami doesn’t hide his curiosity the whole ride through, his expression pinched as though he were trying not to laugh. He loses his subtlety all together when Momoi arrives at the loft, armed with a twelve-pack and a bottle of tequila. She seems unusually excited for someone who doesn’t care much for Kise’s celebrity status, but Kise chatters on as though they’re his friends as much as they are Aomine’s. By the time they have the drinks laid out, Kise has filled Kagami in on the whole shipping incident -- all the way down to an anecdote about one of Aomine’s fans believing the rumors enough to “accidentally” knock over a glass of red wine directly on Kise’s crotch.
“That must’ve been fun,” Kagami muses with a chuckle. “Does that happen a lot when you’re shipped with other people? Do they actually think you’re together?”
Kise’s brows furrow as he chews on the end of his lime wedge. “Not that I can remember. The shipping stuff doesn’t usually last this long, so I guess people are getting pretty sensitive about it. Can’t say I blame them, though--” He catches himself, shrugs, and flashes Aomine a grin. “I think your fans might be as bad as mine, Aominecchi.”
“No way. Yours are definitely worse,” Aomine counters, throwing back the shot Momoi had refilled for him. Without thinking, he drapes an arm over Kise’s shoulder and hands him one of the brimming shot glasses. “Your turn, Model-chan.”
“Isn’t it weird, people shipping you two together?” Kagami asks, earning a pointed look from Kuroko, who only shakes his head. “What? I’d be weirded out by it. It’s kinda creepy, especially with the stuff they do with your pictures.”
“I don’t know,” Momoi says, stealing a glance at Aomine just as Kise is leaning in to whisper something in his ear. “I think it’s cute. I ship it.”
Aomine palms his face and laughs, vaguely aware that Kise’s chin is resting on his shoulder while sipping tequila from his shot glass. “Shit. You, too, Satsuki?”
She shakes her head and exaggerates a sigh. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Dai-chan?”
Aomine’s makeshift bedroom is the second story loft floor, all open space with little privacy. But even with Momoi fast asleep on the couch and Kagami and Kuroko shut away in their bedroom, he doesn’t hesitate to pull out his guitar, hoping Kise would follow suit.
He scoots over to the middle of his bed, back propped up against the wall. Guitar in place, he begins strumming - quietly at first, feeling out the new song he’s been practicing while poring over site after site detailing his “relationship” with Kise, all the while laughing about how close they were to the truth.
Kise is sprawled on the bed, cheek resting on his forearm, watching Aomine work through the chords and rifts in silence before he says, “I think it’ll sound better with just your guitar.”
“You sure about this? Can’t take it back after it’s posted.”
Kise forces himself to sit up, his grin sleepy but giving off a sort of excitement Aomine mirrors. He crawls over to where Aomine is sitting, leans in to steal a quick kiss, before making himself comfortable to his right. The laptop is already open in front of them, ready and waiting. “Start recording, Aominecchi.”
Aomine nods, tapping a few clicks into the keyboard before he begins strumming again. After a few bars, his voice fills the room, Kise joining in a moment later.
“I kinda dig this,” he says when the song ends, “no studio shit. Just us.”
“Me, too, babe,” Kise murmurs sleepily. “Just us.”
He cuts off the recording then, idly running his fingers through Kise’s hair while he posts the video. Under the description, he writes:
Unexpectedly - Jason Chen (AoKise cover)
In case you missed that... hell yeah, I ship it. - A.D.
Kise’s nearly asleep, his head on Aomine’s lap, when the first wave of comments start to come through. The first of the barrage is from Kagami, short and sweet.
About damn time. Idiots.
-eyeofthetaiga