1.  Aomine Daiki: Shoe Shopping

        You pushed open the door, a small bell letting out a soprano chime. The smell of rubber and leather met your nose as you stepped inside, a tall dark-skinned man following you. He let out a yawn, stretching his arms over his head and lazily looking around with dark blue eyes. You headed over to the towering aisle and he threw himself onto a couch. He shifted the pillows around and watched your smaller form shuffle through cardboard boxes.

        “What about these ones?” You asked, picking up a red pair of Nikes. You turned to the dark-haired bluenette, easily picturing him wearing them in your head. “They’re cool.”

          Aomine spared one glance at the shoes before shutting his eyelids again. He leaned back on the couch, his sprawled out form blocking anyone else from sitting down. “No," he said. “I don’t like red.”

          You pursed your lips into a tight line and placed them back on the shelf. Scanning the aisle, you grabbed the same style of Nikes but in yellow and weighed them in your hands. It amazed you sometimes how big the basketball player was. Something else that amazed you was how your best friend, Momoi, put up with him every day. The only reason you went with the dark-skinned beast was because she had a last minute appointment and wanted you to go in her place. Despite all of your protesting, you somehow ended up going.

          It’s not like you don’t like Aomine. You actually sort of had a huge crush on the basketball player. But he always pushed your really short patience. Now wasn’t an exception, as he lay on the couch dozing off and you looked for his shoes yourself. It was hard enough finding a shop that sold monster-sized shoes, and now he wasn’t even helping you.

          “What about these?” You asked, holding up the yellow Nikes. “They’re like the red but they’re yellow.”

          “No, I don’t like that style.” Aomine replied, not even bothering to look.

          “Fine then,” you hissed. You narrowed your eyes and roughly shoved the sneakers back in place and grabbed laidback-looking green Adidas shoes. “What about these?”

          You were met with, “No,”

          “You didn’t even look!” You huffed, finally snapping. “Why am I looking for your shoes while you’re doing nothing? You need to get off your butt and help me!”

          Aomine let out a groan and sat up. “This is why I go shoe shopping with Momoi. She never complains this much.”

          You were insulted by that remark, turning away from him. It wasn’t easy being close friends with the drop-dead gorgeous pink-haired girl. You were always hearing people comparing her to you – personality, grades, athletics, looks. Most of the time you can brush it off, but hearing Aomine say it stuck a bitter cord within you. Hot tears pricked your eyes and you quickly wiped them away, darting back into the aisle.

          You should’ve known better, you thought as you fought back the waterfall wanting to pour from your face. There’s no way he would pick me over Momoi. Heck, there’s no way he would like me period.

            Tears began to fall again and you threw the sneakers into the box, not bothering to wipe them away. You gritted your teeth and began to carelessly toss different styles aside to take out your frustration. It was so hard to bite back your sobs and you wouldn’t dare let Aomine hear you sniffle. You squeezed your eyelids together and buried your face in your hands, willing the tears away.

          Aomine watched as your retreating form slunk behind an aisle not in his view and frowned. Despite his reputation of skipping classes, he wasn’t stupid. He’d seen how you deflated before him before trudging away with heavy steps. It was similar to that of teams he’d beaten in basketball. But why? All he did was mention Momoi and you fell silent.

          He rose to his feet, quietly striding over to the aisle. You stood in the middle of it shaking, the faintest whimpers meeting his ears. Complete shock filled Aomine. How? Why?

          “Are you okay?” Aomine asked, taking a step towards you.

          You froze like a deer in the headlights, taking your hands down from your face. Your face was red and blotchy, tears staining your dampened cheeks. (E/C) eyes were glassed over with tears, hurt and horror clearly evident. You took a step backwards so you were against the wall, wishing you could curl up into a ball and block him out. Opening your mouth to speak, nothing came out of your parched throat. So you stared down at your feet, not knowing what to do.

          Aomine rubbed the back of his head, wishing Kise was with them. Kise would easily raise her spirits, giving her a loving hug and murmuring words of comfort. Even Kuroko would do! The small boy always calmed down Momoi by patting her on the head, so why couldn’t he do the same? You had a soft spot in Aomine’s heart that he could never explain. Maybe it was the way you would give him compliments after every game, or that you bought him a birthday present a few months ago.

          Awkwardly clearing his throat, he stepped towards you and enveloped you in his arms. You became as still as a statue, not even daring to breathe for a few moments. What was he doing? Aomine began to rub circles in your back and seemed to curl around your form, resting his chin on your head.

          “Did I do something?” He questioned quietly, his chest rumbling.

          You licked your lips and whispered, “Not really,”

          He let out a sigh. “What’s the matter?”

          “It’s just what you said.” You answered in the same hoarse, quiet voice. You couldn’t help but lean into his embrace, weak arms lacing around him. “But it’s nothing, really,”      

          Aomine removed one of his hands from your back and cupped your cheek, tilting your chin up to him. You were surprised to see his usual stoic midnight blue eyes soft and questioning, genuine concern on his face. “It doesn’t seem like nothing if you’re crying.” He muttered. “Tell me what I did.”

          It was almost as if you were in a trance when you softly replied, “It’s just that I don’t like being compared to Momoi, okay? People do it all the time and it’s mean.”

          “I’m sorry, then. I didn’t know.” Aomine whispered, his thumb brushing your cheeks. “Is there anything else, (Y/N)?”

          In a split second, your eyes darted down to his lips before returning to his eyes. He noticed it and chuckled, his arm bringing you closer so you were chest-to-chest. Heat spread from your neck to your cheeks when he set his forehead against yours, (E/C) orbs never leaving blue.

        A hint of a smirk shown as his face and he captured your lips with his. Your eyes widened, not processing the action for a second. However, his were sealed shut as he gently worked his lips against yours and you slowly responded. Eyelids fluttering shut, you leaned into it. It was as if you were soaring high in the sky and melting into a puddle of goo all at once. Pure bliss swelled within you at the contact, everything about it seeming to be sweet.

        Time passed too quickly and he pulled back, small pants escaping from both of you. The heat instantly depleted, making you feel oddly empty. Small smiles grew on both of your blushing faces, even though Aomine’s was less noticeable.

“I, um, we should get your shoes.” You stammered.

        Aomine chuckled, pulling you along with his calloused hand encasing your smaller one. Despite the difference, they seemed to fit together like two puzzle pieces. The small thought filled your heart with joy, your smile never fading. Your head was up in the clouds and rainbows and sunshine was all you could see. Unbeknownst to you, Aomine was feeling the same exact way.

~Extended Ending~

“Hey, those are the shoes I first picked up!” You gasped.

“Eh, they’re not that bad.” Aomine shrugged, one hand carrying a plastic bag with red Nikes and the other entwined with yours. “Let’s go eat.”