Imperfect match // Daiki Aomine (Kuroko no Basuke)

25. Cassiopeia

After a lovely dinner, where Kagami has kept his distance, worried that the situation might have deteriorated because of him, they all arrange to meet up with other friends at a campfire, further along the beach.

Bags filled with booze, they walk together, the sky changing to gorgeous orangey sunset brushstrokes.

Momoi takes Aomine to the side.

"So? All good? Seeing how close you guys are, I assume she accepted your confession?"

"I didn't confess."

"What? But..."

"I don't want to confess. I don't know what I would say. I just know I want her in my life. I've never had a girlfriend. I don't know if that's what I want."

"Bullshit. You're just scared."

"Listen, I nearly lost her. What if I scare her off by confessing. She's like me, she doesn't get attached."

"But you're attached to her, and her to you."

"Yeah as friends. She even repeated it once we made up. If something bothers me, I should tell her because we are friends."

"Argh you guys need to stop going around the bush." Momoi says annoyed.

"It's easy for you to say, you have Tetsu."

"Yeah so? I put myself out there and it took him a while before he accepted the fact that he also had feelings for me but I never gave up."

"You were a teenager, fearless. I feel like I have more to lose if I do. We are friends. It's better this way."

"When were you gonna tell me you live together? Do you think it's a good idea seeing how you feel about her?"

"Give me a break! I only realised how I feel since we've come here. Before, we were just gonna have sex if we felt like it. Now... I can't stand seeing her with another man. I think about her all the time when I'm with her, my heart beats louder, and if she touches me, it beats faster. It sucks."

"If you don't want to confess, you need to move on and with seeing her all the time, how easy do you think it's gonna be?"

"Not very. But I'm not a quitter."

It hurts her to see him like that, even though he tries to hide it by putting on a façade that she is way too used to see through.

Seeing Aomine talking to Momoi, Satori catches up with Kagami.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi."

"Are you okay?" Satori asks seeing him behaving a little awkwardly.

"Yeah!" He answers smiling, keen to reassure her seeing her concerned expression.

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

"What? Why do you ask?"

"I'm worried I might have scared you with my burst earlier... and the whole drama with Aomine."

"Haha! Not at all. He was out of order, I would probably have lost it too if that had been me."

"Good."

"How are your toes?"

"Fine thanks. But I'm gonna stay in flip flops for a while."

"It's alright, it's not too cold at the moment."

"I forgot to say thank you." She says bumping into him as they walk.

"What for?"

"For looking after me before everyone showed up and the chaos happened." He smiles.