I have no excuse.

The two redheads sit quietly at their table as they wait for their food to arrive, Akashi's arms crossed firmly over his chest. Kagami looks at anything but the captain in front of him, his eyes landing on a man standing outside talking to someone with a cigar in his hand. Maroon eyes catch this and Akashi snaps his fingers, the ace turning his attention to the shorter male.

"Don't look that way. Look at me," he says firmly, smiling gently when Kagami nods, "Taiga, you have no idea how proud I am of you right now."

"You sound like my dad," the redhead says with a dry laugh, pointing his gaze down to the floor.

"That may be so, but I am telling you the truth. Quitting is quite hard, especially if you must go cold turkey." Before Kagami could reply, their waiter comes back holding two mugs and a plate of chocolate mochi, setting everything down before doing a quick bow and walking away. The ace reaches for one of the cups of green tea, taking a small sip before grabbing one of the sweets. He notices Akashi doesn't move to grab anything, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Aren't you going to have some?"

"Yes, but I want you to have as much as you want first." Kagami rolls his eyes and shakes his head, pushing the other cup over to the Miracles captain.

"Yeah, that doesn't fly with me," he says as he counts the mochi in his head, "Since there are 8, you get 4 and I get 4. It's only fair."

Akashi stares blankly at the redhead before a chuckle slips past his lips. He looks at the ace fondly, motioning towards him.

"And here you say that you have turned into an asshole." Kagami looks away, a deflated expression on his face. He lets out a dry, humorless laugh.

"You know, I've actually been really thinking and it's hard to see why anyone even likes me. Hell, I can't understand why Aomine loves me! I'm a terrible person," he begins, a slight waver in his voice as his vision becomes clouded, "Even before all this shit, I've always been stubborn and hard to deal with. I don't have any interest in anything other than basketball and I don't really talk about anything else. I'm boring."

"Taiga, where is this-"

"Plus, I'm a spoiled brat. I always got whatever I wanted when I was young and that has made me grow up to be self-centered. I'm just selfish."

"Now that is not true," Akashi's stern voice cuts in, Kagami finally meeting garnet colored eyes, "You are far from selfish and self-centered. I know for a fact that you would do anything for your team and for Aomine. Hell, I believe you would do anything for the Generation of Miracles too."

The smaller teen reaches across the table and grabs one of the ace's hand and squeezes it, keeping eye contact. Kagami swallows thickly as the redhead in front of him shows him a soft expression.

"Listen to me, Taiga. You are a very special person to many people, including me. You have saved each and every one of the Miracles, especially Daiki. I can see how much he loves you just from the way he looks at you. And whenever you two are not together, you're the only thing he talks about," the captain sighs, a gentle smile spreading across his face, "You have reunited us. I don't think you have any idea how amazing that feat is and how much Tetsuya wanted that. You've helped him since the day you two met."

There's a long pause between the two high schoolers. Kagami looks away, taking in everything that had been said. He takes a deep breath, trying to keep himself together before he even dares to look back up.

"Does Aomine seriously only talk about me?" he asks with a quiet chuckle. Akashi's smile widens as he laughs.

"Even before you two started to date he would talk about you all the time. Tetsuya told me about how he once called him out to talk and he said that he wasn't sleeping because, and I quote, 'Whenever I closed my eyes, I remembered parts of the match. I had already forgotten these sensations.' And a week after our match, he called me to ask for advice on how to ask you out."

Taiga felt his heart begin to race and his face heat up, gripping onto the shirt he was wearing. He had accidentally taken it out of Aomine's bag, but the bluenette didn't seem to mind. Just the thought of the tan ace made Kagami feel butterflies in his stomach. In the beginning he hated it, but he quickly learned to love it as well as the blue haired boy. He takes a large gulp of the tea that had begun to cool, finally eating the mochi he had picked.

Kagami checks the time and makes a face. Akashi raises an eyebrow at this, cocking his head to the side. Before he could ask what was wrong, the redhead put up his finger as he typed something into his phone.

"Sorry, I promised Aomine that I would text him if I wasn't at the hotel. He's worried since we're in a part of Japan that neither of us are familiar with. I know he'll feel a lot better knowing I'm with you instead of on my own," the ace says with a giggle, "He can be somewhat of a mother hen at times and then denies it."

"Sounds like he would make a great father," Akashi laughs, not noticing Kagami's body going stiff. The redhead quickly sends the text, staring down at his feet as the smaller male's comment worms its way into his mind. Aomine would make a good father. But if he continued to be with him…

Kagami could feel his heart deflating at the thought of Aomine being held down by him. He couldn't let that happen; he loves Aomine too much to do that. Maybe if he…

"Taiga? You do realise that that was a joke? Daiki hates the idea of having children." All the worries that had begun to build walls around Kagami quickly came crumbling down. But one thought remained. What was wrong with him? He knew that. Aomine always curled his lip up at noisy kids in public and would complain about shows that have bratty children in them.

Why did he suddenly become so self conscious? So scared? He usually isn't like that…

"Hey, Akashi?" Kagami asks as his gaze meets the other's, "Is another withdrawal symptom messed up confidence?"

"No, but that is a symptom of depression which is also a symptom of withdrawal. This is why I am worried about you," Akashi states, his demeanor changing, "When I quit smoking, it was during middle school and when we were all drifting apart. I had no one and I was experiencing depression as well as all the other symptoms. I almost did many things and I am lucky that I just… Didn't.

"Taiga, I will say this again and as many times as you need me to. You may call me at any time. Day or night I will be there for you."

"Thank you. That… Really means a lot to me."

"Of course. Now, why don't we drink and eat before everything goes cold."

Kagami sighs as he finally makes it back to his hotel room, practically throwing off his clothes as he walks to his shared bed. As he turns the corner, he sees Aomine sitting on the edge of the bed, staring absently at something in his hands. He hadn't noticed the redhead yet and Kagami begins to move silently, wanting to sneak up on his boyfriend. As he gets closer, he is able to make out the object in the other's tan hands.

The redhead goes frozen, eyes locked onto the small white and red box that the Touou ace was holding. Without thinking, Kagami reaches out and snatches the cigarettes away from Aomine. The bluenette looks up with wide eyes, getting to his feet to face the blank faced ace.

"Kagami, this isn't what it looks like," he says frantically, his limbs starting to shake. Kagami says nothing, his mind finally grasping the situation. A scowl forms on his face, his lips curling up in anger as he throws the box on the ground. With no hesitation, he stomps on the container and grinds it under his feet, destroying the smokables inside. He looks up at his lover, the same enraged look on his face.

"That's where they went," he mutters dangerously low, "You took them when I wasn't looking."

Aomine opens his mouth, but quickly shuts it. He looks away sheepishly and begins to twiddle his thumbs. The redhead just growls and shakes his head, placing a hand over his face as his whole body trembles.

"I can't believe you would fucking do that. I can't fucking believe you would do this and not tell me."

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Aomine bites back, finally looking up at the shaking boy, "I only found out because they fell out of your backpack while you were showering! How do you think I feel? You've been lying to me for a year!"

Kagami stays silent, never showing his face as Aomine becomes even more angry when the other won't respond. The redhead could feel the heated gaze on him and it finally broke him.

"Why did you take them?" he says in a quiet voice.

"Why? Because, Bakagami! I'm not gonna sit back and watch you kill yourself! Why the fuck didn't you tell me?!" Aomine waits with his arms crossed for Kagami's reply, but there is none. He was still covering his face and his shaking had gotten worse. "Well?"

"Because I was…"

"You were what? Not ready to give them up? Not up to it? What were you Kagami?" the tanner male shouts, flinging his arms up in rage. He almost immediately calms down when he hears Kagami's breath hitch followed by a sniffle.

"I was ashamed. I didn't… I didn't want you to know because I didn't want you to think less of me. Because God damnit," he finally looks up, large tears flowing down his cheeks, "I can't understand why you like me. You can find someone so much better, but you chose me. I didn't want you to leave me."

Aomine feels his mouth go dry, his arms wrapping around the sobbing teen's middle and pulling him close. He sits down and settles Kagami comfortably in his lap, petting his hair as he rocks back and forth to calm him down. The bluenette showers the boy with kisses, sighing in relief as the crying stops.

"Taiga, I'm sorry. When I found the cigarettes I should have just talked to you about it. But because of my dumbass self, I forced you to do something you didn't want to do. Not to mention you had to go through withdrawals."

"It's okay. Not really, but because your intentions were good, I'm not too mad. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I understand. I feel the same as you." Kagami blinks and leans back, putting his hands on Aomine's shoulders.

"What? How do you feel the same?" The tanner teen smiles lovingly at the redhead, kissing the other's forehead before speaking.

"Taiga, you are so amazing. You're funny, you're kind, sweet, talented, hot as fuck, and just so caring that I'm terrified that someone will snatch you away. I'm just so lucky to have you in my life and even luckier that you want to date a guy like me. I love you so much."

"I love you too," Kagami says as he pulls Aomine into a sweet kiss, "I promise I won't lie to you anymore. Because Lord knows I felt fucking terrible about it."

"Yeah, same here," Aomine says with a yawn, "Why don't we take a nap and talk more about it when we wake up?"

The redhead quickly agrees and they lay down in each other's arms. And for the first time in a week, Kagami was finally able to sleep.

Didn't y'all ever wonder where Kagami's cigs went? (I had this planned from the beginning, I swear.)

Until next time!

~Sweet-Lemonade