Return the favour ~Aomine x reader~

Chapter 8 ~ This Saturday ~

"You should watch where you're go—" she started, only to stop herself mid-scold.

I followed her gaze and immediately understood. Standing in front of her was Kise, the guy she liked.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice warm as he handed her one of the bags.

"Y-yeah! I'm fine," she stuttered, her face going pink as she took the bag from him.

"Glad to hear it. You can finish yelling at me though—it's my fault for not paying attention," he joked, standing up and offering her a hand.

"No, no, it's not your fault! I should've moved," she said quickly, stumbling over her words.

Oh dear. She was crumbling.

Kise glanced at the bags she was holding, his brows lifting in curiosity.

Mai noticed and quickly jumped to explain. "Ah, it's not what you think! This is a present for someone! I don't eat this much, I'm on a diet!" she blurted out, waving her hands.

He chuckled. "Even if it was for you, it'd be fine. I'm not really into diets anyway—they're not healthy." With a dazzling smile, he gave her a small wave and walked off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Mai sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands.

"I just made a complete fool of myself," she groaned.

"Yeah, you did," I teased, laughing.

She shot me a glare. "Just take the bags. I'm going outside."

I sighed, grabbing the bags and following her to the store exit.

While waiting for Mai to cool down, I spotted a bookshop nearby. The window display was filled with interesting titles, and I wandered closer, peering through the glass.

ut as I stared through the glass, I felt a tall figure standing just behind me. I turned around and—of course—there was Aomine.

Seriously, what was with today?

I groaned loudly, not bothering to hide my irritation.

"Tch, why are you everywhere I go?" Aomine grumbled, giving me a tired, annoyed look.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," I retorted, equally frustrated.

His gaze shifted to the bags I was holding, and for the first time today, he actually looked confused.

"I'm holding them for a friend," I explained briefly, not wanting to get into it further.

He gave a small nod, clearly not interested in asking more questions.

I suddenly had an idea. A mischievous smile crept onto my face.

"Hold my bags, please," I said, offering them to him with a self-satisfied grin.

He blinked, looking at me as though I had just asked him to jump off a building.

"Huh? You're a gorilla. I'm sure you can handle that," he grumbled, clearly annoyed.

I chose to ignore the insult. I was getting used to them by now.

"I said, hold my bags," I insisted, this time with more authority.

He looked at me like I was insane, but I wasn't backing down.

"This is the first form of payment I'm asking for, unless you'd prefer to pay me with real money," I added with a flourish, waving the bags in front of him.

With a deep sigh, Aomine grabbed the bags, clearly not happy about it. I couldn't help but feel a little victorious.

I took a sweet from one of the bags and casually began eating it while I waited for Mai.

When Mai finally returned, she gave us both an amused look. Her eyes darted between us, a smirk tugging at her lips. I shot her a warning look, silently pleading with her not to say anything. She seemed to get the message and just smiled, walking past without comment.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Aomine followed us around, holding the bags like a well-behaved servant while Mai and I browsed the shops. Time flew by, and before I knew it, it was almost time for tutoring.

"Alright, you two get going," Mai said, taking the bags from Aomine with a sweet smile. "I'll head back."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "He can carry them for you."

Aomine shot me a glare that could melt steel.

"It's fine, thanks anyway," she said, winking at me and giving Aomine one of her signature bright smiles before walking off.

Aomine muttered something under his breath and started to walk away.

"You need to be more like her if you want to get a boyfriend," he said, shaking his head at me in mock sympathy.

"And you need to keep your mouth shut," I shot back, rolling my eyes as I followed him back to his place.