Title: Declarations of Love in a Time of Social Media
Characters/Pairings: Aomine/Kuroko, Momoi
Summary: In which Aomine demonstrates why it is inadvisable to drink and use Twitter, the MiraGen et al. offer snarky commentary and other witty banter, and Kise explores the dramatic possibilities inherent in maintaining a public persona on social media platforms.
Notes: General audiences. 6468 words. Crackfic predicated on the premise of "What if the MiraGen all had Twitter accounts and Aomine decided that this was a good way to confess his unalterable devotion to Kuroko?" Just so we're clear on what you're getting into here. Some of these Twitter names actually exist, but most have absolutely nothing to do with this fic or the Skittles at all. Special thanks to Andrea for helping me brainstorm Twitter handles for the Skittles and for being the on-call English-to-inebriated-typing translation algorithm, as well as for shamelessly enabling me in my madness.

Declarations of Love in a Time of Social Media

It was Saturday night—okay, more like early Sunday morning, but who was counting?—and as far as Aomine Daiki was concerned life was pretty damn good. How could it not be? The semester was over, he was pretty sure he'd passed all his classes, and he'd worked up an awesome buzz during the thank-fuck-that's-over party. Best of all, he was staggering more or less in the direction of his apartment with Tetsu. Daiki wasn't exactly sure whether he was holding Tetsu up, or whether it was Tetsu keeping him upright, but that was just details. It was him and Tetsu laughing under the streetlights, and there wasn't anything better than that, not really.

Well, maybe there was one thing, if he could just find the balls to go ahead and go for it.

They lurched along the sidewalk, doing a good job at staying in sync despite the alcohol and the fact that Tetsu was still a head or so shorter than him—all the better for slinging his arm around Tetsu's shoulder and leaning on him. Tetsu just leaned against him, keeping him from overbalancing; when they passed into the pool of light beneath another streetlight, Daiki saw that Tetsu was looking up at him, wearing one of his small, private smiles, the kind he was nearly always too guarded to show in public.

Fuck, he loved it when he got to see Tetsu looking at him like that, the way he had back then, before things had gotten off track.

Okay. Okay, he was going to do this, he was going to stop dicking around and man up and—

Tetsu stopped walking.

Daiki was the epitome of grace—he had the article that said so pinned up over his desk, so it had to be true—and he didn't fall over, but it was a near thing. "Hey, what the hell?"

Tetsu's laughter was always the subtle kind, more about the way his eyes crinkled up at the corners and the shape of his smile than anything else. He was definitely laughing now. "This is your apartment, Aomine-kun."

Huh, so it was. Daiki looked up at and frowned. That had come up faster than he'd expected it to.

Tetsu waited a moment, then lifted his eyebrows just a bit. "Do you need help up the stairs?"

"Fuck you," Daiki told him, good-naturedly. "I'm not that drunk."

For some reason, Tetsu didn't look convinced. "Have you already forgotten that you were singing? You only sing when you're completely trashed." He didn't wait for a reply and began moving, steering them in the direction of the stairs that led up to Daiki's apartment.

"Wait, I was singing?" Huh, he didn't quite remember that.

Tetsu grunted a little as they hit the stairs and he began the climb up. "You liked the echoes in that alley, remember?"

Memory stirred, dimly; Daiki grinned over them. "They were pretty awesome echoes," he agreed. "Still don't see what that has to do with the stairs." He was managing them just fine, between Tetsu's shoulder and the handrail. No worries at all.

"It would be a shame if you fell down them and broke your neck," Tetsu said. "Humor me."

"Since it's you," Daiki agreed.

They toiled up the rest of the flight in silence and Tetsu kept his shoulder under Daiki's arm for the walk down to the apartment he shared with Satsuki, who probably wasn't going to make it home until late tomorrow afternoon at the earliest—maybe even later than that, they didn't have classes on Monday because the semester was finally fucking over.

Actually, if he was going to sack up and finally say something, this was pretty much the best possible time to do it, huh?

"Hey, Tetsu," he said, fumbling with his keys. "You wanna stay over?"

He might have been working a good buzz and all, but he wasn't so drunk that he missed the way that Tetsu went still under his arm. The light outside the apartment door was on the blink; it flickered on and off like a cheap strobe light and cast funny shadows across Tetsu's face. "Why would I want to do that, Aomine-kun?"

Something twisted in Daiki's stomach, fluttery like the feeling of nerves before an important game, because Tetsu had gone reserved on him. He looked down at Tetsu, hesitating—but fuck it, if he didn't do it now, when was he gonna do it? "Because," he said, stooping and kissing Tetsu.

Tetsu's lips were dry, a little chapped, and for a single glorious second, they were warm and soft against Daiki's mouth. Then they thinned and went tight and Tetsu pushed him away. "No, Aomine-kun."

The lurch of disappointment was worse than almost anything he'd ever felt, at least until he realized that that was regret on Tetsu's face, not revulsion. "Why not?"

Tetsu continued to push him away, sliding out from beneath his arm and pushing him to arm's length. "You're drunk."

"So are you," Daiki said, trying to reach for him anyway.

Tetsu stepped out of reach. "Not as drunk as you are."

It was true, and deeply unfair: Tetsu had an amazing tolerance for booze for such a little guy. Daiki refused to be diverted by that. "So come in and sleep it off with me."

Tetsu didn't even look tempted to smile at the double entendre, which Daiki couldn't help taking as a bad sign. "Do you really think that would make any difference?"

Daiki puzzled over the expression on his face, difficult to read under the flickering light, but Tetsu looked sad, maybe. Resigned or something. "We'd be sober?"

Tetsu smiled, but it wasn't one of the smiles that Daiki liked to see him wear. This one was tired and maybe a little bitter. "So what? It's not like you'd say anything if you were."

If that stung—and it did—Daiki thought that maybe it was supposed to. He protested. "I would so!"

Tetsu looked at him, eyes dark and distant. "You never have before."

Ouch. Ouch. "I will," Daiki said. "Tetsu—"

Tetsu took another step back when Daiki reached for him, until Daiki had to let his hand drop back to his side. "Go to bed, Aomine-kun," he said, quietly. "You won't remember this in the morning."

"Are you kidding? Of course I'll—" Daiki began. He stopped himself when that skewed the smile on Tetsu's face even further. "Tetsu...?"

"You never remember," Tetsu said, quietly. "Go to bed, Aomine-kun. I'll see you later. Sleep well."

Before Daiki could ask him what that meant—what did Tetsu mean, he never remembered?—Tetsu turned and made for the stairwell at the other end of the building, head down and his hands in his pockets. He did not look back.

Eventually Daiki remembered the keys in his hand and let himself into the apartment, trying to make sense out of what Tetsu had said and all the things he had not. He never remembered? He never said anything sober? Daiki kicked off his shoes and picked his way through the dark apartment, heading for his bed while his head spun. That sounded like—almost like he might have tried to say something to Tetsu before. Only he couldn't have done that, because fuck, he'd remember doing something like that!

Wouldn't he?

Daiki dropped himself onto his bed without bothering to undress and buried his face in his pillow. Fuck, that conversation wasn't supposed to have gone like that at all. Damn it.

At least his mattress reached out to embrace him, warm and soft beneath him. Daiki rolled over, yawning and making himself comfortable. This was a mess, but fuck. He'd made messes before, he could figure this one out in the morning, after his head had stopped spinning, right?

Unbidden, Tetsu's voice came back to him: You won't remember this in the morning.

Daiki pried his eyes open and stared at the shadows on his ceiling. "Fuck that," he said, pushing himself up and achieving something resembling verticality. He'd just have to make sure he didn't forget, right?

Right.

The glare of his phone's screen hurt his eyes, but Daiki blinked the water out of them and hunched over it, typing as carefully as he could when his thumbs were far less coordinated than usual. Whatever, though. A few typos didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and anyway, all that really mattered was remembering this in the morning.

He typed until he was certain that he'd given Sober Daiki enough context to go on in the morning, then closed his phone and slumped back down, burrowing against his pillow. The last thing thing to pass through his mind before sleep claimed him was a certain sense of satisfaction over his clever solution—there was no way he'd be able to forget this.

Aomine Daiki awesomine
ookay soh ey

Aomine Daiki awesomine
listen up this is imprtant

Aomine Daiki awesomine
SUEPR IMNPORTSNT

Aomine Daiki awesomine
ok so ttetsu is rly rly fuckin great and hes one oft he best thinsg that evr hapend to me (xcept fr sathsuki)

Aomine Daiki awesomine
totaly thebset thing taht EVER happneed tome

Aomine Daiki awesomine
THATS tetsu

Aomine Daiki awesomine
hes my bestst friedn and i still mis playng whtih him, buts tis good havin him asn ooponnent too

Aomine Daiki awesomine
ANWAYYA tahts besdes the ponit

Aomine Daiki awesomine
casue th point is tshis

Aomine Daiki awesomine
I LOVE YOU TETSU.

Aomine Daiki awesomine
andn fuck you if yuo thikn i wont say it sober cause i TOTALY will jsut wahtch em

Aomine Daiki awesomine
i WONT FRORGET and noone let me eithr

Aomine Daiki awesomine
so TEHRE.

When Daiki finally woke up, it was reluctantly, and mostly down to the fact that while he would have been perfectly content to loll around in his bed all afternoon, his bladder was making certain urgent demands on his attention. He untangled himself from his blankets and shambled to the bathroom to attend to that, listened to the apartment, and decided that Satsuki must not have come in yet. He took a shower anyway, on the principle that he probably needed it and that it might do something to relieve the dull ache of his head. It didn't, really, so he rummaged around in the refrigerator for something edible, turned up some leftover takeout that didn't smell too funky, and settled at the kotatsu to eat that and watch some television.

Fuck, he was glad the semester was over. High time, too; even though he knew for damn sure that all the exams were over and all his assignments were complete, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he was forgetting, something important that he'd left undone.

Daiki grimaced and shoveled some more noodles in his mouth; if he was lucky, that feeling would pass in a day or two. In the meantime, the apartment was all his and that meant that it was time to see what sort of basketball he could find to watch.

As he picked up the remote to start surfing channels, he heard his phone go off, but he ignored it. It was probably just his mother wanting to know when he was going to come over and visit anyway.

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
awesomine well finally.

Akashi Seijuurou godemperor
awesomine Were those supposed to be direct messages? Because you seem to have posted them in public.

Imayoshi Shouichi sweetsarcasm
RT awesomine andn fuck you if yuo thikn i wont say it sober cause i TOTALY will jsut wahtch em #SoTouching #IMayCry

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
awesomine You are appalling, I hope you know that.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
statsuki Are you aware of what your roommate posted last night? Shouldn't you do something about this?

Kagami Taiga brighterthanyou
I just want to point out that after this NO ONE gets to call me Bakagami anymore. #ahomine

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
awesomine sixthman OH MY GOD WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING SOONER

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
awesomine sixthman HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
awesomine sixthman I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING, YOU NEVER TELL ME ANYTHING

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
awesomine sixthman PROMISE ME I CAN BE IN THE WEDDING

Akashi Seijuurou godemperor
kissmeimcharming This has been going on since junior high, Kise. Haven't you been paying attention?

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
godemperor I thought that was just their weird partnership-rivalry thing!

Akashi Seijuurou godemperor
kissmeimcharming I fail to see your point.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming How can they get married, they're both men.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes I HAVE WAYS MIDORIMACCHI. LET NOTHING STAND IN THE WAY OF TRUE LOVE.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming I don't think a drunken rant full of typos constitutes true love.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes There is no romance in your soul.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming Thank goodness for that.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
kissmeimcharming goddisposes Oh, I wouldn't go THAT far.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
eyeofthehawk What is that supposed to mean.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
goddisposes Have you forgotten last night already? Shin-chan, you wound me.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
eyeofthehawk Not yet I don't. But give me a moment. I can fix that.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
eyeofthehawk goddisposes WAIT WHAT

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
eyeofthehawk goddisposes WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
eyeofthehawk goddisposes MIDORIMACCHI WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
eyeofthehawk goddisposes NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
kissmeimcharming can you really blame us?

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
sweettooth MURASAKIBARACCHI HOW CAN YOU BE SO MEAN

Kasamatsu Yukio basketballmaniac
kissmeimcharming Simmer down, brat. Also, how did you not notice? Even I picked up on that one.

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
awesomine DAI-CHAN. DAI-CHAN, NO. WHAT ARE YOU DOING. #DaiChanNo

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
awesomine What have I told you about using the internet when you're drunk? #DaiChanNo

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
awesomine Dai-chan, pick up your phone.

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
awesomine PICK UP YOUR PHONE

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
awesomine DAMN IT DAI-CHAN

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
awesomine ALL RIGHT FINE I'M GOING OVER THERE MYSELF.

Kagami Taiga brighterthanyou
statsuki Just remember that if you get blood on the carpet you probably won't get your safety deposit back. #ahomine

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
statsuki DON'T KILL HIM MOMOCCHI KUROKOCCHI WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
statsuki ALSO IF YOU KILL HIM THEN I CAN'T BE IN THE WEDDING

Akashi Seijuurou godemperor
statsuki Do let me know if I can be of assistance in removing any bodies.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
Man, goddisposes' friends are way better than television. #munchespopcorn

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
eyeofthehawk They're not my friends.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes MIDORIMACCHI HOW CAN YOU BE SO MEAN

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes TO SAY THAT YOU'RE NOT OUR FRIEND

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes I'M CRYING, MIDORIMACCHI. THERE ARE TEARS RUNNING DOWN MY FACE.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
goddisposes NOW SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE? I JUST HOPE THAT SOMETHING MELTS YOUR COLD HEART SOMEDAY.

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
What on earth

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
who are you people

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming Kise! Kise, call off your fans!

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming KISE

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming KISE DO SOMETHING

Midorima Shintarou goddisposes
kissmeimcharming KISE MAKE THEM STOP

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
kissmeimcharming Yo seriously do something about your fans, they just melted Shin-chan's feed.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
kissmeimcharming Like he's getting all the hatemail in the world right now because he hurt your feelings.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
kissmeimcharming So maybe you can do something about that?

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming I hope you're happy now.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming My previous account was suspended for harassment and abuse and spam.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming I LIKED that username.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
PSA: I AM ACTUALLY VERY FOND OF MIDORIMACCHI AND HE IS VERY FOND OF ME SO PLEASE STOP BOTHERING HIM OKAY? MWAH!

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming Please die.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven You just never learn, do you, Shin-chan?

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
so where are awesomine and sixthman anyway?

The first indication that Daiki had that all was not particularly well came when Satsuki came blowing into the apartment like a winter storm. He'd barely managed to look up from the game and say, "Hey, you're back," before she stomped over to him and slapped the back of his head. "Ow! Satsuki, what was that for?" He ducked away from the next smack and fended off her hands, more puzzled than annoyed. Usually Satsuki gave more warning before she decided to deploy the corporal punishment.

"You know very well what that was for!" Satsuki set her hands on her hips and glared down at him, and wow, she looked seriously upset. "Dai-chan, how could you?"

Daiki rubbed the back of his neck and ransacked his brain for what he might have done to get Satsuki this annoyed, but he couldn't really think of anything—he'd been too busy with the end of the semester to get into much trouble, and as far as he remembered, last night's drinking party had gone pretty well. Wasn't anything wrong with his knuckles, anyway, which meant that he hadn't gotten into any fights. He gazed up at her, bewildered. "How could I what?"

Satsuki continued to glare down at him, not at all appeased by his confusion. "It's one thing if you want to make a fool of yourself," she said, tart as lemon, "but it's another thing entirely to make a fool of Tetsu-kun. Dai-chan, what were you even thinking? How could you do that to him?"

"What's this about Tetsu?" Daiki straightened up, frowning up at her as her irritation took on a whole new level of significance. "What's wrong with him?"

Satsuki rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with Tetsu-kun? It's the same thing that's been wrong with him for ages: he's in love with a complete blockhead."

Something twisted in Daiki's gut, sick-making, and he suddenly regretted the leftovers he'd inhaled a while ago. At the same time, he felt the first red edge of anger rising up. "What did that asshole do to him?" he demanded.

Satsuki opened her mouth and then stopped herself, forehead creasing up like she was confused. "What do you mean, what did that asshole do to him?"

"Kagami." Daiki scowled, already picturing just how good it was going to feel to smash his fist into Kagami's stupid face. "What did he do to Tetsu?"

Satsuki shook her head. "What are you talking about? Kagamin hasn't done anything to Tetsu-kun."

"But you just said that he was what's wrong with Tetsu," Daiki said, because it wasn't like he was stupid or anything. He had eyes and knew how to use them, even if he didn't always like what he could see. Some things a person just had to live with because there was no fixing them, and no going back to undone what had already been done.

Satsuki opened her mouth again, then closed it as she folded up, collapsing at the kotatsu next to him. She bent over and banged her head against its surface a couple of times, muttering things under her breath that Daiki was pretty sure he was better off not listening to too closely. Eventually she sat up again, forehead pink where she'd been knocking it against the kotatsu, and she heaved a monumental sigh. "Okay," she said. "Let's start this conversation over from scratch. Dai-chan, have you looked at your phone this afternoon?"

"What does my phone have to do with anything?" he asked, now seriously confused.

"And that answers that question." Satsuki dragged her purse over and fished around in the depths of it for her own phone. "Here, I have something you should look at." She fiddled with it and passed it over to him; uneasy—there was something stirring at the back of his brain, like there was something important he needed to remember—Daiki took it.

She had her Twitter feed pulled up and had scrolled back through it to a post from last night. A whole series of posts, in fact, with his name attached to their badly spelled contents. Daiki puzzled through them slowly, in dawning horror as memory began to stir, and came to the one that was perfectly spelled and perfectly damning: I LOVE YOU TETSU.

"Oh, fuck," he said, remembering now. He'd kissed Tetsu, and Tetsu had said—and he'd decided that no, he'd make sure he remembered that, and—"Oh, fuck."

"And this is why I keep telling you that you're not allowed to mix alcohol and the internet," Satsuki said, but some of the outright anger had melted out of her tone. She plucked her phone out of his fingers. "Honestly, Dai-chan, I don't care how funny you think you are, this was really mean."

Daiki raised his gaze from his empty, nerveless fingers and focused on her instead. "What do you mean by that?" he said slowly, because it was that or focus on the fact that he'd finally gone and done the one thing he'd been determined not to do ever. (He'd had his chance with Tetsu once and blown it and most days, it was enough that they'd learned how to be friends again. Most days.)

Satsuki made an exasperated sound. "Dai-chan, come on. It's not nice to tease Tetsu-kun like you do, and to post something like this—" she waved her phone around "—it's like you're trying to get his hopes up. And in public, too!"

"What hopes?" Daiki said, because it sounded like she meant that Tetsu—"He's into Kagami, isn't he?"

Satsuki stared at him. "Kagamin?" she said, right before bursting into laughter. "Oh, Dai-chan, are you serious?"

Daiki watched her prop herself up on the kotatsu, giggling like she'd never heard anything so funny, and felt a little hurt. "It's a legitimate question! Haven't you ever seen the way they look at each other?"

Satsuki laughed even harder at that, until her face was flushed pink and there were tears standing at the corners of her eyes. "They're best friends," she wheezed eventually, still giggling breathlessly. "And teammates. Honestly, Dai-chan."

"So were we," Daiki snapped, nettled. "What's your point?"

Satsuki sobered abruptly and peered at him, frowning. "Wait," she said. "Wait, Dai-chan, are you actually serious?" She shook her head without waiting for him to answer. "What am I even saying? Dai-chan, are you really this much of an idiot?"

Daiki shut his mouth tight and looked away from her, refusing to rise to that bait.

Satsuki was silent for a moment, and when she said his name, this time her tone was gentler. Daiki refused to look at her, at least until she laid her hand on top of his. When he glanced at her, her expression had softened quite a bit. "So those posts—those were for real?"

Daiki scowled at her, but she didn't even bat an eye. He looked away again. "He said I wouldn't remember in the morning." And the hell of it was that Tetsu had been right, at least until Satsuki had rubbed his nose in the evidence.

She sighed and shook her head. "Dai-chan, I want you to listen to me very carefully." She prodded him until he was looking at her, more or less. "Tetsu-kun may be in love with an idiot, but that idiot is not Kagamin."

Daiki nearly choked on the breath he sucked in at that. "Satsuki—"

She huffed softly and patted his hand. "Just sit and think about that for a little bit, hm? Maybe you'll figure out what you want to do next if you do." She rose and stretched. "And while you do that, I'm going to grab a nap."

He cleared his throat as she turned. "Hey, thanks."

Satsuki smiled at him, wry. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Aomine Daiki awesomine
okay so first of all, all of you are assholes. especially you, kagami. #bakagami

Aomine Daiki awesomine
i mean it. assholes. all of you. i don't know why i hang out with you people, youre all a bunch of dicks.

Aomine Daiki awesomine
THAT SAID there are some things i need to clear up

Aomine Daiki awesomine
godemperor NO those were not supposed to be direct messages

Aomine Daiki awesomine
kissmeimcharming how the fuck did you not know that midorima has been banging his little point guard like a screen door in a hurricane

Aomine Daiki awesomine
kissmeimcharming i mean seriously how did you miss that

Aomine Daiki awesomine
kissmeimcharming he was making the guy cart him in a RICKSHAW ffs and the guy DID IT i mean seriously now

Aomine Daiki awesomine
ANYWAY thats beside the point

Aomine Daiki awesomine
BECAUSE THE POINT IS THIS

Aomine Daiki awesomine
those were not supposed to be direct messages last night

Aomine Daiki awesomine
and okay i was super drunk and all

Aomine Daiki awesomine
but that doesnt mean that i didn't mean what i said

Aomine Daiki awesomine
wait fuck that doesnt make sense, let me try that again

Aomine Daiki awesomine
OKAY SO the point is im sober now okay?

Aomine Daiki awesomine
and its still true: I AM IN LOVE WITH KUROKO TETSUYA

Aomine Daiki awesomine
and i dont care who knows it. so there.

Aomine Daiki awesomine
sixthman so call me or something if you wanna talk about this

Aomine Daiki awesomine
sixthman or not, if you dont

Aomine Daiki awesomine
statsuki what do you mean this wasnt what you had in mind?

Momoi Satsuki statsuki
DAI-CHAN NO. #DaiChanNo

Aomine Daiki awesomine
well fuck

Satsuki'd had some pretty sharp things to say about trying to fix things with Twitter—things like You're an idiot and what on earth made you think Tetsu-kun would appreciate that, honestly Dai-chan and I meant that you should, I don't know, call him to talk things over—before she'd finally thrown her hands in the air and surrendered. "I give up," she said. "I absolutely give up." She shook her head. "Why don't you stay off the internet for a little while and just think about what you've done?"

Then she looked at the time and exclaimed something about having an appointment to get to, and headed out while Daiki was still trying to explain that no, really, it had seemed like a good idea. He'd started the whole mess in public, and once something was on the internet it was forever, so why not finish it on the internet? Besides, there had been the way Tetsu had looked at him, not expecting him to ever say anything sober. Not believing he'd ever own up to feeling anything when there wasn't alcohol in the mix.

It made sense, didn't it? This way he couldn't take any of it back or pretend it hadn't happened.

He slouched at the kotatsu after Satsuki went out, staring at his phone and wondering whether he should go ahead and just call Tetsu up and try and fix this mess, or whether he should give it a little time to see if Tetsu wanted to react. He couldn't make up his mind—couldn't do anything, really, but watch the stream of responses on Twitter as his feed scrolled past.

Man, he really did hang out with some real dickheads.

Kagami Taiga brighterthanyou
awesomine Whatever, it takes one to know one. #ahomine

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
awesomine SO THIS DOES MEAN I GET TO BE IN THE WEDDING, RIGHT?

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
awesomine YOU WOULDN'T DEPRIVE ME OF THE RIGHT TO BE YOUR BEST MAN WOULD YOU?

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
kissmeimcharming wouldn't statsuki be his best man? considering.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
sweettooth MOMOCCHI CAN'T BE A BEST MAN, SHE'S A GIRL.

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
kissmeimcharming don't be sexist.

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
kissmeimcharming it's the twenty-first century. she can be the best man if she wants to be.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming I don't think you should count on there being a wedding just yet.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming Consider who you're dealing with here.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven BUT I WANT TO BE SOMEBODY'S BEST MAN BEFORE I DIE.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven WAIT WAIT WAIT

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven MIDORIMACCHI

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven I CAN BE YOUR BEST MAN, RIGHT? RIGHT?

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming what

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming what are you talking about

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven WHEN YOU MARRY TAKAO OF COURSE. I CAN BE YOUR BEST MAN THEN!

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven YOU ARE GOING TO MARRY HIM RIGHT? AND MAKE HIM AN HONEST MAN?

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming We're both men.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming We can't get married.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
kissmeimcharming Even if we WERE inclined to get married. Which we are not.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven About that...

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
eyeofthehawk About what?

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven I know what's hidden in your underwear drawer, Shin-chan.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven Unless you're planning on giving that thing to someone else?

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven In which case I'm calling up your friend Akashi for help disposing of a body. Or two.

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
eyeofthehawk That was supposed to be a surprise.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven I fold the laundry, remember?

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
eyeofthehawk Damn it.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven It's all right, you great big tsundere. I still love you.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven SO THIS MEANS I DO GET TO BE THE BEST MAN, RIGHT? :DDDDDDD

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
Those weren't direct messages, were they. Damn it.

Takao Kazunari eyeofthehawk
luckynumberseven You're just not very good at this social media thing, are you?

Midorima Shintarou luckynumberseven
eyeofthehawk Shut up.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION MIDORIMACCHI.

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven AND MAY I JUST SAY THAT YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE A LOVELY BRIDE?

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
kissmeimcharming you do realize that will make you his maid of honor right?

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
sweettooth DETAILS, DETAILS~

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
luckynumberseven eyeofthehawk CAN IT BE A JUNE WEDDING? JUNE WEDDINGS ARE THE BEST. :DDDDDD

Akashi Seijuurou godemperor
kissmeimcharming Ryouta, I'm starting to be a bit concerned with your fixation on weddings.

Akashi Seijuurou godemperor
kissmeimcharming Is there something you need to tell us?

Kise Ryouta kissmeimcharming
godemperor I JUST LOVE WEDDINGS, THEY'RE SO ~ROMANTIC~

Murasakibara Atsushi sweettooth
sixthman so are you actually dead of embarrassment? or are you just plotting your revenge?

Daiki was trying to decide whether Kise was honestly obsessed with weddings, simply trying to wind up his followers (who numbered in the thousands and had an average age of fourteen, collectively), or was making a coded, desperate cry for help when someone knocked, a quick and decisive rap that startled Daiki out of his reflections. He pulled himself out of his slump across the kotatsu and had the brief, irrational thought that it must be Tetsu, come to talk things over directly. Then he shook himself, because there was wishful thinking and then there was delusional thinking, and picked himself up, fully prepared to let Satsuki back into the apartment and to help conduct the search for her keys, wallet, phone, or whatever tchotchke she'd left behind on her way out.

He pulled the door open, already saying, "What did you forget this time—" and choked on his words when he realized that actually, it was Tetsu after all.

Tetsu's expression didn't give anything away at all; he stood with his hands on his pockets, silently, while Daiki gaped at him.

Daiki said the first thing that came into his head: "...I should go out and buy a lottery ticket or something."

Tetsu knit his eyebrows together. "Or you might have used up all your luck for your natural life," he offered, which was why Tetsu was the best: who else would have been able to follow his train of thought like that? He waited a moment longer and coughed, gently. "Are you going to invite me in?"

Daiki stepped back, hurriedly, standing aside for Tetsu. "Come in," he said, hearing his voice gone awkward and tense in his own ears. "Please." Tetsu did, inclining his head and stepping into a pair of guest slippers while Daiki stood back and tried desperately to figure out what he ought to say next. He couldn't think of anything, so he did the next best thing and tried to figure out what Satsuki would say. "Can I get you something to drink?" he blurted.

Tetsu glanced up at him, the faintest suggestion of a smile touching his mouth. "No, thank you," he said.

Daiki relaxed, just a little—things couldn't be completely terrible if Tetsu was willing to sort of smile at him. "So, uh. What brings you over?"

"I thought that this conversation would be better if we had it face to face rather than over the phone," Tetsu said, which—okay, Daiki hadn't really thought there was any chance that Tetsu might have given checking his Twitter feed a miss, but perhaps he'd hoped for it, just a little bit. Tetsu gestured at the kotatsu. "Should we sit?"

"Yeah. Um." Daiki dropped himself down and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to recapture the feeling of certainty (or had it been bravado?) that had led him to bare his soul to the entire internet. He heard the soft rustle of Tetsu taking a seat as well and peeked through his fingers at him. Well, the good news was that Tetsu didn't look furious. "So I guess you saw...?"

"Four different people called me before I even got out of bed this morning, several people texted me, and Riko-san very kindly screencapped everything and emailed it to me," Tetsu said, matter-of-fact. "Yes, I saw."

Daiki closed his eyes. Really. Everyone he knew was a complete asshole. "...yeah. I... should have figured." He pressed his fingertips against his forehead, kneading it in the faint forlorn hope that it would make things clear, and then dropped his hands to look at Tetsu. Tetsu watched him, silent, waiting for something, Daiki didn't even know what.

Well, at least Satsuki had left him with some constructive suggestions before heading out. "Sorry," he said. "I—you said I wouldn't remember. So I had to be sure I would. It... my phone was right there, and it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Tetsu absorbed that and tilted his head to the side. "And this afternoon?"

Daiki groped for the right words to explain himself. "I—it had to be clear that last night wasn't a joke," he said at last. "That it wasn't something that I was going to take back, even once I was sober. And I'd already made an idiot of myself, so there wasn't any point in trying to pretend I hadn't."

"I see." Tetsu clasped his hands in front of them, curling his fingers together. "I suppose that does make a certain kind of sense."

Daiki couldn't quite keep himself from sagging in relief. "It does?"

"It's not exactly normal logic," Tetsu murmured. "But I suppose it is Aomine-kun logic."

"I'm not sure I like the way you said that," Daiki said, but he was smiling as he did, because it was far better to have Tetsu teasing him just a bit than any of the alternatives he could think of.

Tetsu smiled faintly. "But your logic is a phenomenon unto itself." His smiled faded away then. "Sometimes it's very difficult to unravel." He went quiet, and it took a while before he finally said, "I couldn't figure out why you only ever said anything when you were very drunk."

…right. That. Daiki grimaced, embarrassed. "We already talked about the part where I'm an idiot, right?" he tried. That didn't seem to be a sufficient explanation, because Tetsu continued to simply look at him. Daiki glanced aside, fiddling with his phone. "Figured there wasn't any point. Not with Kagami in the picture. You know?"

"Kagami-kun?" Tetsu echoed, sounding somewhere between startled and incredulous. "You thought—but—Kagami-kun?" He shook his head, clearly puzzled. "But he's not—" He gripped the bridge of his nose. "Why on earth would you think that?" Before Daiki had done more than open his mouth to try to explain why it had only made sense to assume that Kagami had managed to supersede him in this, too, Tetsu let go of his nose and held up his hand. "Never mind. It's because you're an idiot."

"Hey," Daiki protested, a little hurt by that. However true or not that might have been, it wasn't something he wanted to have thrown in his face.

But Tetsu wasn't done. "Though I have to say that you're not the only idiot." He pressed his lips together and sighed. "I should have realized there was something going on in your head when you wouldn't say anything. If not the first time, then the second. Or the third."

Daiki didn't know whether to be horribly embarrassed or just horrified. "How many times...?"

Tetsu tipped his head back, gazing at the ceiling; his lips moved as he counted silently. "Five," he said eventually. "Six if we include last night."

Daiki groaned and let himself slump forward; Satsuki had clearly been on to something when she'd beat her head against the kotatsu. "Oh, fuck."

"As I said. You're not the only idiot."

Daiki groaned again, because that wasn't really the point. Before he could articulate himself more clearly, he felt the weight of Tetsu's fingers against his nape, cool against his skin.

"I admit, it's a little embarrassing that you used Twitter to announce yourself." Tetsu's voice was quiet. "On the other hand, I think I'm glad that you did, because now I know. And now I can say that I love you, too. I have for a long time." When Daiki lifted his head to look at him, jarred out of his self-recriminations, his smile was a bit rueful. "I really should have said something myself a long time ago. At first I waited because I thought you would do it yourself, and then I waited because it seemed like it was just something that you joked about when you'd had too much to drink, and then it was just easier not to speak. I'm sorry. I should have thought better of you than that." He traced his fingertips along the corner of Daiki's jaw. "We're both idiots together, I suppose."

Daiki had to clear his throat before he could make his voice work. "I'm okay with that if you are."

Tetsu smiled at him and curved his fingers around Daiki's cheek as he leaned into them. "Yes," he said. "I really think I am."

Kuroko Tetsuya sixthman
awesomine The feeling is mutual.

end

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