Imperfect match // Daiki Aomine (Kuroko no Basuke)

35. The smell of warm sand and sunscreen

Back at the villa, everyone nicely tired out by playing basketball, football and having fun on the beach, they split.

Some are snacking in the kitchen while others have settled on the terrace with a drink. Satori heads to the bedroom as soon as she passes the front door and her unusual quieter mood is worrying Aomine. Standing in the living room like a stick, looking towards the corridor, he's not sure if she needs space or comfort.

She seems to have shut herself down.

"You should check on her." Momoi says, a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know."

"At least go tell her that you're there for her if she wants to talk." He nods but has the unpleasant feeling that something bad is coming.

Reluctantly, he enters the room after knocking, closing the door behind and, finding an empty room, he looks around until he hears the shower.

Sitting on the bed against the frame, he waits, his thoughts flying around.

He doesn't know the guy but seeing Kuroo in such emotional state could mean two things:

They had a fight unrelated to him and their friends with benefit situation, unrelated to what Kenma mentioned and Satori and Kuroo's bond.

Or, Kuroo got rejected for good and his heart was broken by Satori who ended any opportunity for him to regain his friend with benefit spot because she has realised that his unrequited love for her was making her feel guilty.

Something in Kuroo's eyes and what he said makes Aomine convinced it is the latter.

If she feels that bad about Kuroo, does it mean she will do the same to him, stopping what they have?

Maybe Kuroo tried to push her into a relationship and that's why they clashed.

It's not even been twenty four hours since they finally got more intimate.

But with hindsight, Aomine is now convinced that he shouldn't have confessed.

Why did he admit it? Did he really think he could change her? How arrogant of him!

His problem right now is that he knows she cares for him and won't want to hurt him like she knows she hurt Kuroo.

The question is: Will she let it continue?

Did he do enough to keep her wanting him more than she did previous flings?

What if there was more though? If he managed to make her fall for him, she'd have no other choice than accept her feelings and give him a chance.

Will she accept this even though she is so stubborn?

Probably not.

Stuck with himself and his pessimistic side taking over, he's now convinced that he has lost her and his chest hurts.

How can she make him physically feel this way? This is ridiculous.

Is she some kind of witch?

He hates it. He hates seeing himself feeling these palpitations because of a woman. He's not that kind of a guy. He's not a wimp. He's a strong man, ambitious, hard working, focused.

She's just managed, without him noticing and probably without her wanting either, to become one of the most important things in his world.

Her attention, her gaze, her smile are the only thing he craves for.

Would he drop everything for her if she asked him to? Absolutely not. But he would be heartbroken not to please her.

Is this state healthy? Definitely not.