Re: play
Pairing: Aomine/Kise Rating: PG Summary: Aomine and Kise visits a circus together. Shenanigans follows. A/n: This fic was meant to be sort of a future!au to an existing thread that we never got around to completing. To everyone other than shi, it may get a little bit weird/confusing at the end ahhaha sorry bout that (not that i think anyone else would read this tho lmao). Happy Birthday to my aho @formlessblue ♡ This fic is inspired by, written for and dedicated to you. I hope you like it. Thanks for putting up with me for so long, ily.
Soft snowflakes drifted down from above, artistically painting the dark skies with scattered patterns of whites and greys as the cold wind blew. Kise pulled his maroon scarf up to cover his mouth, warm puffs of breaths quickly leaving his lips as he hurried towards his destination. Fashionably late, is what he would like to call it, but being a little more than an hour late was pushing it a little. Even for Aomine.
But, Kise glanced down at the thin, glossy slips of paper in his hands, the corner of his lips lifting into a smile, it’s gonna be worth it.
After graduating, Aomine had taken that endless talent of his and pursued a career in basketball while Kise decided that his future was with modelling (”I can’t let these good looks go to waste, can I?”). He didn’t regret his decision to decline an offer to go pro, even if that meant that their schedules would sync up and they could spend more time together, no. There had been a time where there was nothing the blond wanted more than to stand on the same court as Aomine again, but things have changed--somehow their path had diverged. But that’s okay, Kise thinks. Plus, it would be nice to be Aomine’s personal cheerleader!
Unfortunately, this arrangement meant that they saw little of each other during peak seasons despite sharing an apartment together. He sighed, their lifestyles were so fast-paced, even back in high school, with countless matches in between cramming and studying for tests that sometimes, Kise wished that they could just spend time doing nothing together. A glint of gold from the tickets in his hands, reflected from the warm orange glow of the street lights above, caught his eye then and Kise shook his head as if erasing all of his previous negative thoughts. He tightened his hold on it, crumpling the the edges of the once-smooth white tickets. Yes, he brightens up, today marks the end of both basketball season and his latest modelling gig. Finally, after so long, they could spend some much needed quality time together! “I'm home, Aominecchi!”, Kise greeted once past the front door, hastily slipping out of his shoes and leaving them scattered at the front porch. “Oi, you’re late, idiot Kise.”, Aomine’s grumbled from the living room. Kise mentally swooned at how deep his voice is; one that had matured over the years, tugged down by exhaustion and rough around the edges as if speaking was too much a bother but still held that tinge of comfortable affection that he had perfected over the years. “I missed you too~” Kise replies in a sing-song manner, a knowing smile on his lips. Oops. Aomine must have been worried. After throwing his jacket and scarf onto the rack, Kise steps into the living room. The television was on; happy, bubbly pop music playing in the background as a couple of girls danced and sang on a large stage with bright flashing lights in their even flashier costumers. Aomine was lounging lazily on the couch, legs propped up on their coffee table and an arm dangling over the arm rest as he watched the performance with a lazy, almost disinterested look in his eyes. He’d already slipped into more comfortable clothes--a baggy black shirt with a small faded touou logo at the sleeves and those ridiculous crayfish-patterned boxers.
Kise left the tickets on the table and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Aomine’s boxers even as he flopped onto the couch, slipping under his arm and snuggling closer to the other. Oh and he’d already bathed too, Kise noticed, smelling that distinct scent of coconut butter and green apple that was very obviously the model’s shampoo. Geez, he huffed affectionately. “How was your day?”
“It was okay. But, ahh~ I’m so tired.” Kise whined, stretching his arms out and almost hitting Aomine in the face before shooting him a look beneath long lashes. Aomine dodged the hand easily. “I’m not giving you a massage.” He deadpan. “Ehhhh~ but you’re supposed to be my super loving boyfriend!”, the blonde pouts, tugging at the sleeves of the other. “Where’s my welcome home kiss huh?” Only then does Aomine spare him a glance, brow raised and a smirk playing on his lips. “You’re such a needy wife.”, he chuckled, clearly pleased. With the arm hooked around Kise’s shoulder, Aomine pulls him in and gently places a soft kiss at his temple. And then another closer to his ear. Kise giggles, nuzzling closer and basking in the rare moments of gentle affections.
They sat quietly for awhile after that, Aomine flipping through the channels while Kise rested his head on his shoulders. The blonde let his gaze wander, smiling contentedly in his current state of comfort, before his gaze landed on the glossy tickets sitting quietly on the table.
“Oh!”, Kise jerks forward suddenly, pulling Aomine’s arm along with him in his momentum (and hearing a pained grunt from behind him), “I almost forgot! Aominecchi~!! Look what I got!” He grinned, waving the pair of tickets in the other’s face. “Its this super cool circus that everyone’s been talking about! Do you know how hard it is to get these tickets? Oh my god, I had my assistant queue for like almost two hours you know?”, the blonde rambles on in his excitement as he shifted on the couch, turning to Aomine with his best puppy dog look. “Its for this Saturday, so let’s go!” Aomine scowled, partially from almost having his arm pulled off the socket, sticking his pinky in his ear as he half-listened to his over-excited boyfriend gushed about some circus. If it wasn’t for the fact that Kise was practically radiating with joy and excitement, he would have smack him with a pillow, just to get him to shut up. He sighed. Honestly, circus or those artsy performances weren't really his scene or choice of date for that matter. It was too crowded, too noisy and not enough basketball.
But... he stole a glance at Kise, it was difficult to say no to that face of his. Aomine sighed again before finally snatching the tickets from the blonde’s hand. All that waving around was starting to irritated him anyway. “Okay, okay, fine. What’s this shit about anyway?” It was a fairly simple design. Each ticket came with a serial number and a brief summary of important details like opening hours and such. The ticket itself was white with bold, golden cursive letters “Cirque Des Rêves” printed across the front. Aomine frowned, staring intently at the printed words. “Circle .. the..what? The heck, I can barely read any of this!” “Oi Kise, you sure you didn’t get scammed?”, he grumbles, throwing the tickets away with a flick of his wrist. “Ah--Aominecchi!”, Kise hurriedly catches them in mid-air and pressing it against his chest protectively, “These were really hard to get you know! Ugh, I can’t believe you just threw them like that.” But after Aomine’s words, Kise couldn’t help but try and read the words too. How did people pronounce those words again..? “Its.. Its obviously, um, circu..no. Um, cirq..? The..reefs..?”, he stammers, trying his best to decipher the foreign words, lifting it here and there as he scrutinises it from all angles. “Well, its just the name of the circus! Just because you can’t read it doesn’t mean its fake!”, he stuck his tongue out cheekily. “Maybe you should study harder next time, stuuupid~” “What-- Oi, oi, you can’t read it either..”, Aomine mutters, grabbing hold of the blond in a headlock and using his weight to tackle him onto the couch. Their laughter quickly warming up the apartment; a clear contrast to the biting cold beyond these walls.
They had to park their car further away than Aomine would had liked to but the short walk to the entrance of the circus had been pleasant. The weather was still cold enough that they had to wrap scarves around their necks and wear gloves that made holding hands difficult but Aomine’s black jacket had a nice, big pocket at the front that Kise liked to monopolize his hands with. So that was okay.
“Did you know, Aominecchi?”, Kise begins softly, staring at the soft fairy lights hanging on the branches of nearby trees, “I’ve always liked the circus.” “Heh? Why? Because you like magic? Shiny things?”, Aomine teased, nudging the other with his shoulder.
Kise laughed in response, stumbling for a moment before stepping closer to the taller male and bumping back into him. “Maybe.”
Cirque Des Rêves was established decades ago. What first started out as a wandering circus with an initial band of social outcasts later became a world renowned entertainment for the masses. They prided themselves on quality and unique performances with both talented performers and well trained animals. The circus today still continues to wander all over the world, providing the people a sneak peak behind their glittery curtain for less than a week before they moved on elsewhere.
Kise, suffice to say, was excited. Once they entered the main area of the circus, his bright golden hues were shifting rapidly, taking in all the sights and sounds like a five year old in a toystore, tugging at Aomine to look at this or that. The scent of popcorn and candyfloss filled the air and the comfortable buzz of the crowd created a very warm atmosphere within the circus grounds.
Smaller tents of white and gold, filled with booths that sold both food and trinkets pave the way to the main attraction---a huge golden tent, decorated with silver ribbons and thousands of tiny light bulbs. All the performances were held there but guests were welcomed to take their time strolling through the multiple, smaller booths leading up to it. With the way it operated, the circus was almost like a festival. There were mascots and games and brightly dressed performers to see; delicious candied apples and sweets to eat; with laughter and cheer at every corner.
When they arrived at the main tent, there was an ongoing performance where a group of performers were trapezing through the air, gliding gracefully and skilfully towards the hanging bars. They took their seats near back, quietly sharing whispered comments of awe (”Woah~ that looks so cool!”) and badly veiled envy (”Bet you I can do that too”).
Overall, the performances were pretty exciting, even if Aomine acted like he was bored throughout most of it--though he did seem to be a little more interested when there were animals on stage. Getting lions and tigers to jump across hoops and perform tricks did seem really impressive, Kise agrees. But the highlight of those performances was probably watching that childlike, excited gleam in Aomine’s eyes. The way they seem to light up with life and happiness--it’s pretty cute. Not that he would ever tell Aomine though, Kise laughed quietly, storing the moment away in his memories.
It was about an hour later that they left the main tent, having skipped out on the rest of the performances in favour of filling their own stomachs. Aomine slipped an arm around Kise’s waist, hurriedly guiding him through the crowd and heading towards the food stands, practically drooling at the thought of food. Kise laughed.
He supposes not many people are well acquainted with the diet and stomach capacity of a hungry, fully grown basketball player. Kise stifles a giggle behind Aomine as he repeats his order for the third time, for yes, fifteen burgers, in frustration.
Kise continues to laugh even after they’ve collected the huge pile of burgers from the counter.
“Seriously, why does this always happen.” Aomine grumbles, as he takes a huge bite of burger #1, walking comfortably even as he carries the other fourteen burgers in his arms.
Kise peeks up at his scowling face, hiding his laughter behind his cup of hot chocolate. “Eh~ It is pretty weird you know. I bet people are staring because they think you’re part of the circus act.”
“Shut up.” Aomine’s glare was less than amused. But with his face stuffed with burgers, Kise didn't think he looked as intimidating as he would have liked.
They decided to continue down the path of tents as they ate, mostly because Kise was insistent about wanting to cover the entire circus ground before they left. And it was on burger #10 that they realized that the path they turned into halfway had lead them to a quieter, more deserted part of the circus.
“Eh~? DId we get lost?” Kise tilts his head curiously, staring at the some of the older looking tents; these were definitely much less glamorous than the ones of the main street.
“Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be much here, let’s head back.” Aomine yawns as he turns and walk off in the opposite direction.
As it turns out, neither of them are good with directions. One wrong turn leads to another and twenty minutes later, they were no more knowledgeable about their surroundings than before.
“Maybe we should check one of these tents. There might be someone around to help.” Kise suggested cheerfully.
It seemed like a good idea so Aomine nods and turns to the tent beside him. It was slightly bigger than the other tents beside it and creeping closer, he noticed it smelt.. slightly worse than the other tents as well. Aomine frowned, taking a deep breath and carefully lifting the sides of the tent to stick his head in.
In the darkness of the tent, sharp golden hues greeted him. Belatedly, Aomine recognized its presence akin to something he’s experienced on court before. He swallowed nervously, dropping his gaze down to its huge, sharp silver gleaming canine teeth bared at him. “u-um..”
A resounding roar from the lion shocked him into stumbling backwards and out of the tent, slamming straight into an equally terrified Kise. “F-Fuck!” he swore, grabbing Kise’s hand and bolting down the path.
Once they were sure that they weren’t being chased by anything, they slowed down to a stop, panting heavily. For a moment their panic-stricken gaze met and all of a sudden, they were both laughing hysterically.
“Oh my god” Kise wipes the tears from his eyes, “That was so uncool, Aominecchi!”
“S-Shut up! It was your idea.”, he retorts, laughter still bubbling up his throat.
“Okay, okay. No more tents.” Kise agrees, lips twitching in barely held-back laughter.
They’ve been strolling for a good thirty minutes now and Aomine was starting to feel annoyed. He stuffed his hands into his pants and grumpily followed behind Kise’s cheerful steps. It had been the blond’s idea to follow the sound of chatter from the crowd. However, seeing how his last idea had almost gotten the both of them killed, Aomine wasn’t too enthusiastic about it. “I found something, Aominecchi!”
Aomine lifted his gaze from the dirt path and found the blonde a couple of steps ahead, waving excitedly beside a notice board of some sort. He brightens up considerably as hope rises in him. Please, please let there be a map or something, he prays.
Unfortunately, the board was a mess of papers and posters pinned to it. Aomine groaned, looking through the pieces of papers that held the timings and schedules of the different performers in the circus. Recent advertisements and newspaper clippings of the circus were also pinned to the board, though they were obviously much less regarded by the cast seeing as how they were torn at the sides and half-heartedly folded to make more space for more important details.
“This doesn’t help us at all.” Aomine says gloomily.
Honestly, he’s just about done with this. Maybe, he could start living at the circus. It wouldn’t be so bad, you know, learn some tricks, perform with Kise on the stage, eat some tasteless grub and sleep in those tents that smelled like animals---
“Oooh~ Look at this, Aominecchi!” Kise laughs from beside him, pulling him out of his daydream.
He lifts his gaze and found Kise scrutinizing a particularly old poster, squinting at the faded images.
Aomine gives a half-hearted look at the faded poster that Kise holds up. The paper had browned over the ages and the bottom left of the poster had torn through the middle. The barely-there black print on the poster suggests some kind of advertisement of the performers back when the circus first opened. He furrowed his eyebrows, running a hand through his hair, unable to fathom how exactly does Kise thinks this would be able to help them in this situation. Aomine sighs, maybe he should really rethink he reason for dating this blond idiot.
“.....What.” Aomine deadpans.
Kise tilts his head, bright golden hues reflecting the warmth from the hanging fairy lights above their heads. “Its a cool poster, look!”, he explains.
Aomine shoots him an unamused look.
Kise rolls his eyes at Aomine’s clear enthusiasm. “Can you believe they used to have snake man here? Woah!” He points to blurry image at the corner of the poster, that was surely completely indistinguishable from the rest.
“Kise, I'm not really interested in this right now---”
“Oh my god, Aominecchi. They have a bearded lady too!!”, the blond interrupts him with an excited squeal.
“--No way.” Okay so he was only slightly interested.
“Yes way! Look at this, oh my god.”, Kise grins and shares the flimsy poster with him.
Under the somewhat dim lighting, it was hard to make out the blurry figures in the poster. But sure enough, under a particular muscular figure, the faded words spelled out ‘Bearded Lady’.
"Woah.”, Aomine breathed out.
"Uh huh" Kise laughs gleefully. "Pretty cool huh?" He puffed out his chest almost comically, clearly proud of his achievement.
Peering over Aomine's shoulders, Kise picked out yet another interesting character from the poster. "Oooh~ Look at this, Aominecchi! This guy's called 'Black panther'." he points.
Aomine turns just in time to catch Kise's starstruck gaze, staring down at the poster. An unfathomable, uncomfortable feeling rises up in him and even though he knew it was completely illogical, Aomine couldn't help but feel a mild distaste for that particular performer.
With the old poster already losing its novelty, Aomine scoffed and threw it over his shoulders, hitting Kise in the face. “Hmph. Black Panther’s a pretty shitty name.” He scowls, digging his hands into his pockets and walking off.
Quickly pinning the poster back to the board, Kise jogs to catch up to his boyfriend. "Eh~ I think it sounds pretty cool.", the blond laughs, putting his hands behind his back and leaning forward just in time to catch Aomine’s signature glare.
"Sounds like an obnoxicious asshole."
"Hahaha~ are you jealous, Aominecchi?" he smiles teasingly, mirth dancing in his golden hues.
"As if, idiot." Aomine frowns, playing off the disinterested look but even Kise could see the fondness in his eyes. As much affection one can get from an insult like 'idiot' anyway.
"This guy's got nothing on me." Aomine continued, slipping an arm around Kise's waist and pulling him closer, as if to prove his point. He pressed a kiss to the top of the blonde's head, grinning at Kise's increasingly flushed face.
The blond averted his gaze and bit his lips, more so in an attempt to stop the corners of his lips from lifting too much than a sign of nervousness. Although rare, the instances when Aomine gets riled up by jealousy and becomes really possessive with him makes Kise secretly happy.
He loves how strong and sturdy Aomine’s arm feel around him, how large his hands are against his body, and most of all, how warm they are pressed against him. The left hand is said to be the closest to the heart, and Kise truly believes he has felt the warmth all the way from Aomine’s core.
As with every arduous journey, there must be an end. And their light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of a popcorn stall, just in the horizon. The blinking lights that signalled their freedom and the scent of freshly made butter popcorn beckoned them forward. They exchanged looks, grinning widely.
“We made it~!”, Kise jumped for joy, pulling away from Aomine to run forward, his footsteps crunching down on the dirt path.
Aomine watched him go. He raised a hand to rub his chest, feeling a slight pinch of nostalgia as he watched Kise’s retreating back, as though a sharp needle had gone through his chest.
Thinking nothing of it, Aomine took a step forward when time suddenly slowed down. He squinted at his surroundings, vision heavily tinted in sepia. The tents around him seemed much more familiar, torn and tattered at the edges with wild grass growing near the sides of it.
And Kise--he tilted his head--had been replaced with a small boy, no more than the age of ten. Aomine froze. The child, who had his back turned to him, had blonde hair that danced in the wind and laughter that chimed like bells. And as he turned around in slow-motion, Aomine gaze landed on the child’s beautiful golden eyes. One that was all too familiar. The child waved, almost shyly, opening his mouth to speak. His voice was soft and angelic, but hollow in its impact as if Aomine was hearing an echo of his voice. “Aomi--”
“--necchi..?”
Aomine blinked. The next time he opened his eyes, his vision had turned back to normal. Circus music was playing in the distant and the faint murmurs of the crowd drifted him back into consciousness. Kise was at the exact same spot in front of him, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side and looking at him curiously. “What are you doing?”
It seemed like barely a second had passed, and yet Aomine felt like the moment lasted for an eternity.
He breathed deeply, shaking his head. “Nothing, let’s go.” Aomine closed the gap in two large strides and grabs Kise’s hand. Kise sent a questioning glance up at him, tilting his head as if to ask if there’s something wrong. Smiling softly, Aomine shook his head and tightened his grip.
Maybe he’s gone delusional from all that walking, or maybe its a memory from a distant past; either way, Aomine doesn’t give it much thought. The present is all that matters after all. This future, with Kise, is all that matters.
тo тнe end oғ a ѕтory тнaт never really ѕтarтed cιrqυe deѕ reveѕ
