A/N: First update of the year! S-sorry again for the wait ;; Hope you all enjoyed the holidays!

Kurogamine-The Light Shadow: aaw thank you always for your reviews! I always enjoy reading your thoughts haha

scAries: oh man thank you so much! That really means a lot. I'm really glad you think all that and that you like this little fic of mine u I really appreciate it!

kantellis: Thank you!

#

Haizaki was no Kise—much less a celebrity—but he knew how to keep up appearances, especially in the entertainment business. He'd know more than the average person, even, since he was so closely involved with some of the frontrunners in the field. Haizaki would even say he's gotten a pretty good handle on it, and the fact that he still had his job was cold hard proof of that.

Haizaki was Haizaki, however, so sometimes he would decide a resolute "fuck it" and do whatever the hell suited him, appearances be damned. The fact that he still had his job either way was a testament to just how damn lucky he is to be allowed at Kise's side, shitty personality and all.

That said, he probably should have expected karma to eventually bite back like a bitch, but Haizaki definitely did not expect it to happen in the form of a certain ex-captain unceremoniously stepping right into his life just as easily as he'd left.

"What the fuck," Haizaki growled. "Are you doing here?"

The ill-concealed venom in Haizaki's voice made the others around them flinch in surprise. Kise only snorted out an airy snicker, while Nijimura's brow twitched, immediately—almost reflexively—annoyed.

"I see you're still a punk, huh," Nijimura sneered. As if on instinct, Haizaki tensed defensively, and he inwardly cursed at how he still had that reaction with him.

Beside him, Kise was saying something about how Nijimura was a senpai from middle school, and how it's been years since they've last seen each other, and that it was a surprise that he was there. At some point, the others shuffled away to give them some time to catch up, but Haizaki could barely spare them any attention when those sharp eyes seemed to freeze him solid.

Haizaki huffed, brows furrowing. "Why the f—"

"Nijimura-san!" Kise jumped in, his glee rolling off of him in waves. He grinned with pure, unfiltered delight. "Long time no see! It's been years," he gushed, leaning forward and bumping shoulders with Haizaki.

Haizaki couldn't suppress the way he flinched at the contact, shoulders tightening for half a second as his body got caught in between jerking away or leaning into that warmth, and almost on reflex, Haizaki grit his teeth at his own stupid reaction, brows knotting and his frown deepening. When he shifted away from Kise in what he hoped didn't look as conflicted as he felt, he was met with steel eyes looking straight at him.

Nijimura stared at him, one brow raised inquisitively. His gaze lingered for a moment, in that same way that always meant he could see right through Haizaki, then he turned back to Kise.

"I've been in America the whole time, after all," Nijimura shrugged. He looked at both Kise and Haizaki, a small, pleased smirk curling up his lips. "And it looks like a lot has changed."

Haizaki glanced at Kise just as Kise glanced at him, and Haizaki's frown deepened as he tore his eyes away from Kise's stupid grin in favor of glaring at Nijimura again.

"Well, we'll have a lot of chances to catch up," Kise said delightedly, shifting his weight from one leg to another. "I'm so happy you're my new trainer!" Kise paused, considering. "Or. Well. Maybe not. I'm probably going to go through some Spartan training huh."

Nijimura grinned. "Probably."

Kise grimaced, looking just a tad less excited. "Well in any case, I'm glad to see you again." He opened his mouth to say something more but was cut short by his phone vibrating in his pocket. Kise pulled it out and peeked at the screen from his hip, and his eyes visibly lit up.

"What is it?" Haizaki asked, if only to distract himself from the feeling of restlessness that had been speeding up his heart and rattling his limbs.

"It's from Aominecchi," Kise said. He couldn't quite control the way his lips wanted to form a smile, and Haizaki could see the excitement just piling up in Kise as if he were a fire being fed some wood. "I'm free tonight, right?"

Haizaki's brows knotted together, and he had to shut his eyes to wrack his brain into proper movement (stop thinking about Nijimura suddenly appearing; stop thinking about those marks on Kise's neck). He was annoyed at how slow he managed to respond, and grunted, "Yeah. If you finish your five o'clock early you should be free at around eight. Why?"

"Aominecchi and Kagamicchi are going to have dinner with the others tonight," Kise said. "If you're free, you wanna come too?"

Haizaki grimaced. "Hell no."

"Aw, c'mon!" Kise pouted, twisting into Haizaki's view.

Haizaki pushed his face away with a grumble. "I said no, I don't want to eat with you lot. Stop that face."

Kise's lip only jutted out further, but he straightened back up with a sigh. "Fine, be that way," he huffed. "Ah! Nijimura-san, what about you? Do you want to come? They're gonna be happy to see you too! I've gotta tell them you're here—"

Nijimura chuckled, putting his hand out on Kise's hair and ruffling it. "Slow down there, tiger," he smirked, eyes sparkling with both joy and amusement. "I can't tonight. Still have to sort out a few things. Also—" he said, shifting his eyes to Haizaki and making him flinch. Nijimura reached forward and grabbed Haizaki's collar, dragging him under his arm in one smooth motion. "This punk's gonna be busy helping me out."

"Hah?!" Haizaki sputtered, struggling under NIjimura's grasp—damn his arm was fucking strong. "Let go, dammit—who the fuck said I'm 'helping you out', you—"

"I did, punk-ass," Nijimura spat. He tightened his hold on Haizaki for a short moment, not by way of forcing him down, but in a nudge—the kind that made Haizaki calm down with a grunt, feeling a familiar, almost comforting warmth: a strong pillar to lean on, just as much as Nijimura was holding him up. Haizaki glanced at Nijimura, and his former-captain's eyes were soft; understanding.

Haizaki looked away, if only to keep NIjimura from seeing right through him any more than he already has. He exhaled a deep sigh through his nose, shutting his eyes for a beat, then felt the warmth of NIjimura's arm loosen.

Haizaki weakly shoved his arm away, straightening up with a grumble. "Goddammit," he spat, sidestepping away from both Nijimura and Kise. He turned to his stupid blonde charge and fixed him a look. "We'll talk about your dinner later—I'll let Tanaka-san know. He'll be driving you since I'll apparently 'be busy' tonight."

Kise blinked, eyes darting between Nijimura and Haizaki a few times, then smiled a small, gentle smile that kicked at Haizaki's heart. "Got it, boss," Kise said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stepping back, grinning at both of them. "Let's get back to work, yeah?"

"Yeah," Haizaki huffed, feeling himself relax just at the sight of Kise being bright and happy and at ease. Despite everything, it calmed him, and allowed Haizaki to accept that weight settling heavily against his chest. He didn't ignore it, not as Kise looked a hundred megawatts brighter just from a text, not as Haizaki recalled the unconscious brush of fingers on Kise's cheek, or the hidden marks on Kise's neck. Haizaki let the weight wrap around his heart and make his limbs both heavier and stronger, and he let it all be.

A gentle warmth landed on Haizaki's head, and then his head was shaking, hair mussing up as strong fingers tousled through it. Haizaki stammered as he looked up to see Nijimura smiling at him, with that same crooked smirk curved softly into a fond, almost tender expression.

"What," Haizaki growled, his glare blunt around the edges.

That one corner of Nijimura's lips quirked just a little bit higher. "You've grown up," he said, moving his hand from the top of Haizaki's head to the back of his neck as he followed Kise. Haizaki felt heat surge from his chest up to his neck, his legs automatically moving as Nijimura lightly pushed him forward. Nijimura's hand slid from Haizaki's nape to softly squeeze at his shoulder, and Nijimura spoke with a warm voice, just for Haizaki to hear, "I'm proud of you."

"Even though you're still a punk." Nijimura let go and ran his hand playfully back up Haizaki's hair, giving it one last ruffle before he strode ahead. Haizaki stumbled as if walking was confusing without Nijimura to guide him, and he stopped, watching Nijimura as he walked away. His heart thumped with renewed force, and he felt his chest swell with heat, his eyes anchored to Nijimura's back; that same broad, strong back he used to follow without much reservation.

Haizaki let go of a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, feeling that weight in his chest melt into something like fire in his veins, sparking life into his limbs. Before Nijimura could get any further, Haizaki spurred into motion, and started walking forward.

#

Aomine had spent years in America, more or less living the dream. He was drafted into a good team and made regular in practically no time, and Aomine quickly fell in love with how big everything was. The pay was damn good, the food servings were fucking huge, and Kagami was there to do all the difficult English-speaking (and pound Aomine into learning the language, but that's beside the point). He was more or less famous, getting offers here and there, but the most important part was that he was playing basketball, and with damn fine opponents at that. It all suited Aomine, and everything was more or less perfect, give or take a few things, but Aomine would be lying if he said that he didn't miss Japan.

It seemed that the longer he actually stayed in Japan, the more he realized he missed it. Everything was more or less the same—not much had changed since he was last in his home country—but the moment his eyes landed on bright, amber ones, and a loud, unmistakable voice yelled, "Aominecchi!" (followed by the heavy, warm hug), Aomine felt that he was home.

Aomine thought that maybe it was the people: the familiar faces he grew up with and left behind when he whisked himself away to America, headstrong free spirit and all. He wouldn't deny the natural grin that tugged at his lips when he saw Midorima again, nor the jolt of nostalgia at his heart jumping at Tetsu's not-so-sudden sudden appearance. Aomine couldn't help the glowing elation that warmed his chest and lit up his smile at seeing them again, nor the joy from doing a fist bump with Tetsu, and the cozy contentment of being surrounded by his oldest friends. It was like settling in front of a fireplace during the winter, wrapped up in a thick quilt while cupping a mug of hot chocolate between chilled hands. It was comfortable, nostalgic; familiar. But somehow, when Kise stumbled in and pulled off his disguise, looking all windblown and lightly dusted pink with the cold, everything seemed complete. It was as if Kise was the fire in the fireplace—the glow and the warmth, the golden light painted into an otherwise cold scene. It was home.

"Sorry I'm late!" Kise said, half breathless, folding his scarf and beanie away from his face. He tugged off the facemask and thick-rimmed glasses and shook his head, those fair locks falling delicately back into almost infuriating perfection. He blinked around the private room and beamed. "Kurokocchi! Midorimacchi! Long time no see!" Kise almost squealed, his sparkles practically radiating off of him.

Kuroko's lips curved up in a small smile. "It's been a while, Kise-kun."

"It hasn't been that long," Midorima huffed.

Kise's smile only widened, and Aomine couldn't help the small smirk that tugged at his lips. After Kise finished stuffing his celebrity disguise into a small pack and chuckling excitedly at the others—as if he were the one who'd just returned from overseas—their eyes met, and Kise's wide smile turned shy, his cheeks flushing just a little darker. A corner of Aomine's lips quirked up, his own cheeks feeling a tad warmer, and when Kise bit his bottom lip against a coy grin, Aomine's chest warmed about as much as his cheeks did. For a moment, Aomine thought of freeing Kise's bottom lip from that bite, of smoothing his thumb over the moist, pink skin, and how soft those lips feel—

Aomine's stomach fluttered, his heart doing a small jump at his own thoughts when he realized exactly what he'd been thinking. Kise settled beside Kuroko, immediately gushing about not having seen him for so long, and Aomine kicked his earlier thoughts to the back of his mind, vaguely hoping that he wouldn't find them again later on.

"In any case," Tetsu was saying. "It's nice that you were able to come despite your busy schedule."

Kise smiled. "I was lucky today! Gemini was in first place, after all."

To one side, Midorima clicked his tongue. Kise giggled.

"You check that Aloha-sa thing now?" Aomine raised a brow.

"It's Oha-Asa," Midorima frowned, half-disgusted.

"Sometimes. It's become a habit," Kise shrugged with a tiny snicker. "Enough about me though, what were you all talking about just before I got here?"

"We were talking about the upcoming Slam Dunk competition!" Momoi answered cheerily. "Kagamin's participating!"

"Ohh!" Kise's eyebrows shot up as he turned to look at Kagami. "That's amazing, Kagamicchi!"

Kagami's lips twitched upward in a smirk, a shy blush faintly tinting his cheeks. "It's not that big of a deal, but thanks."

"No big deal my ass," Aomine spat. "This guy's gonna give Hanamichi a run for his money."

"He means the current Slam Dunk champ, and one of the favorites to win," Momoi supplied matter-of-factly. "I agree with Dai-chan though. Our Kagamin's definitely going to make it a tough competition."

Tetsu smiled, looking brighter. "Good luck, Kagami-kun. I'll be rooting for you."

Kagami's face lit up even more, and he looked just about ready to take on any battle he's thrown into. "Thanks," he grinned. "I'll make sure to win."

"Damn right," Aomine nodded, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. Kise chuckled lightly at him, and Aomine felt his shoulders relax. It looked like Kise was fine, despite getting way too drunk the previous night and still having to go through a full day's worth of work (Aomine had knocked out on Kise's couch about thirty minutes after Kise had left—unless it was basketball, Aomine couldn't imagine having to get off his ass for anything after a night like that). It also looked like Kise was willing to overlook what the two of them got up to that last night, or was acting like it wasn't a big deal or anything serious—they'd gotten drunk, after all—or Kise didn't remember a thing, which was worse in more ways than one.

Whatever the case, Aomine had to…they both have to straighten things out. He may have been drunk, but Aomine he—he knew what he was doing. Kise was drunk off his ass and was definitely operating on the alcohol more than anything, and Aomine had responded to Kise's inebriated actions with near-complete awareness. He had moved on impulse, as he usually did, but more than that, Aomine wanted it. When Kise had pulled him down, when Aomine had a taste of wine-sweet lips and felt like he was breathing in the sun, Aomine's first instinct was desire. He wanted more. More than the alcohol, it was Kise that intoxicated him. Aomine had gotten drunk on Kise with just that one soft brush of lips, and the only thing that Aomine could blame the alcohol on was the fact that he couldn't stop himself from going on.

Aomine wanted to blame the alcohol—it made everything simpler, and not anything like the fucking pit of confusion and denial that Aomine had fallen into. He wanted to blame the alcohol and Kise, but Kise had been drunk; Kise had become a celebrity and Aomine had no idea how much he'd changed since they last saw each other. For all Aomine knew, Kise liked to just screw around. Maybe Kise was lonely and pent up with all the work he's been too busy with. Maybe Kise had forgotten that previous night and everything was just the cliché alcohol-driven fling. All Aomine knew was that instead of pulling away, he'd kissed back. And if that wasn't confusing enough, a nagging guilt kept churning in his stomach. That Aomine may have—and likely—taken advantage of Kise when he was drunk and vulnerable chewed at Aomine's conscience like a stupid parasite. The way Kise had shied away from touch before then made Aomine feel worse, and the thought of hurting Kise was a grinding clutch at his chest that made him feel like grade A scum.

When Aomine slowly got back to his senses and really thought about what happened, it all started to drive him fucking nuts. His heart had made a racket in his chest and his face heated up so much he had to cover it with his hands. That morning, he had groaned through a damn headache comprised of alcohol and hormones and Kise, and fuck if it didn't make him goddamn confused.

Apart from his own self, the source of all of Aomine's problems was sitting almost directly across from him, looking so damn perfect for a guy who got plastered overnight and spent the next ten or so hours working a ridiculous cramped up schedule. And more infuriating was that all it took was Kise's bright smile to make Aomine feel okay. He knew that Kise was an actor—and a damn good one at that—and as much as the guilt in Aomine's gut was trying to make him think that Kise was just acting, more than he knew, Aomine could feel that Kise was fine—and more importantly, that Kise wasn't mad at Aomine.

Maybe it was because Aomine had been gone for so long, but without really meaning to, Aomine had somehow become so keenly aware of Kise. He couldn't seem to keep himself from watching Kise; observing him—the way his hair elegantly fell around his face, the different widths and brightness of his smiles, the small quirks and movements and mannerisms he did—somehow, Aomine noticed them all.

Across the table, Kise was happily chatting with Tetsu, and occasionally turning to everyone else to give them all attention. He was smiling, and his eyes were twinkling with unreserved joy. The way his body moved was relaxed, content—it was as if he'd settled in his home, as if he was relieved to be around his friends. Aomine remembered the Kise he saw while at work: so perfect, too perfect, always this shining sun that was both dazzling and alone. As if he'd settled back to earth, sitting and eating and drinking beside friends, Kise looked at home. He was happy.

"Nope, you're not getting any more than that," Aomine told him, snatching away the bottle of sake before Kise could sneakily get another refill.

Kise pouted (his brows furrowed, his nose did a tiny scrunch, his shoulders sagged just a fraction). "Ehh, but I can still—"

"Nope," Aomine interjected. "You're a damn lightweight and I'm not carrying your ass back to your place tonight."

Kise's face scrunched up even more, and his shoulders tightened for a moment before he relaxed with a huff. A faint hint of pink colored his cheeks, and Kise had tilted his head to look up from under his long lashes. Some of his hair tumbled over his eyes, and Aomine held back from reaching out and tucking them behind his ear.

"I'm not that much of a lightweight…" Kise muttered, stuffing his mouth with some sushi. "Oh, this one's great."

Aomine rolled his eyes, picking up the extra sushi from his plate and dropping it on Kise's. "You've got your stupid hectic schedules, have sushi instead."

Kise lit up and immediately popped the sushi in his mouth, chewing happily. Aomine sighed, unable to keep his smile from showing. "I'm so touched, Aominecchi, you care so much," Kise dramatically put a hand on his chest, blinking his eyes to some fake moist.

Aomine snorted. "I care about my ass not getting kicked by your sister."

Kise raised a brow, smirking. "What about Shougo? He's the bodyguard."

"Nah, I can take him," Aomine said in between bites. "It's your sister I'm worried about. Girls are fucking scary. Just look at Satsu—"

Satsuki shot Aomine a very pointed look, smiling with a face that screamed suffering if anyone dared cross her.

Aomine swallowed, turning his head away. "What'd I tell you?" he said with a cough.

Kise chuckled, his cheeks flushing and shoulders shaking. Aomine's smile came easily and naturally, as it seemed to always do whenever he's around Kise, and everything felt okay. More than okay, it felt like home.

Kise brightly continued from there, chatting with everyone, asking all sorts of questions, telling all sorts of stories. He asked Midorima how his internship was going, and Midorima puffed and pushed his glasses back, saying everything was fine, he was excellent as usual. Kise asked him about Takao, and Midorima almost choked on his drink. Kise smiled and laughed as he offered Midorima a glass of water.

At one point, Kise sprung to life upon remembering something, and he excitedly told them that he'd met their former-captain, Nijimura, earlier that day, and that he'd become a trainer for athletes and celebrities. Kagami lit up and said that he met Nijimura once, back in America, and that Tatsuya was friends with him. Kise's excitement doubled, and he proclaimed that one day, they will all get together again, but with everyone.

It was as if Kise was this contagious ball of energy and light that made everyone more animated, and made everything more alive. The only moment that caught Aomine's eye was when Tetsu had mentioned that he was made the adviser to the basketball club at the school he taught at.

"Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun," Tetsu said. "If you have time, maybe you could come visit?"

Kagami cocked his head as he chewed on his nth meal that night. "Sure, I guess? I'm not that busy, anyway."

Aomine shrugged. "I dunno. Why not." He turned to Kise. "Kise, what about you?"

"Huh? Me?" Kise blinked.

"That would be very nice, actually," Tetsu nodded. "A lot of the members love the series you're starring in, Kise-kun."

"They'd love it if you'd come!" Satsuki chipped in. "It could be good publicity too!"

"Ooh yeah, Kise," Kagami nodded. "I saw the trailer and everything, and I could see that you weren't acting when you were playing basketball. It looks like you're still playing."

Aomine saw Kise's shoulders tense, just a little, and if he wasn't watching him so closely he would have missed the way Kise forced his body and his expression into a shift. Suddenly, he seemed to have closed off, and the smile he wore was like a choice instead of a natural thing.

Kise rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, I guess?" he chuckled. "I'll have to check, though."

Tetsu raised a hand. "Ah, please don't feel obliged to go," he said. "I'm sure the kids will appreciate it, but please go only if you want to."

Kise smiled, and Aomine could see that there was a tad more sincerity in it as Kise looked at Tetsu. "Thank you, Kurokocchi, I'll see what I can do!" Kise seemed to shift gears again, putting on a wider smile. "And like Momocchi said, it could be good publicity!"

Tetsu sighed, Satsuki giggled, and Kise went back to smiling and laughing alongside everyone else. Despite that, Aomine couldn't shake the feeling that Kise had changed at the mention of basketball, receding into himself and behind the celebrity face that Aomine was slowly starting to distinguish.

Aomine can't say he was that good at being observant, so adding that to his pile of questions only served to jumble up his brain even more. After some time, he'd pushed the thoughts at the back of his mind, and those memories from the previous night started to flood in when they were finishing up their small gathering.

After they'd paid for the bill (and after Kise posed for a picture with a waitress), they all started to stand up to leave.

"It was really great seeing you all again," Kise smiled, sincere, and just a little bitter. "I wish we can all meet again soon."

Tetsu smiled. "I'm sure we can," he said. "Just call."

"Yeah. Aomine and I will be around for a while, so just call us," Kagami agreed with a grin.

Kise beamed. "Thanks guys."

"Don't forget your appointments," Midorima mentioned, poking his glasses up his nose. "Sensei's starting to ask again."

"Ack, right," Kise smiled sheepishly (and there it was again, Kise seemed to close off). "I think I've got one scheduled. I guess I'll be meeting you again sooner, Midorimacchi!"

Midorima huffed, turning away. "Don't be so excited about it."

Kise chuckled, pulling his scarf around his neck and over his mouth. He pulled on his glasses and made a Midorima impression on the way out of the room, making the others snicker as Midorima tried to hide his half-annoyed, half-amused expression.

Together, their group hoarded attention simply because of their heights, and without really thinking, Aomine had wrapped his fingers around Kise's wrist and tugged him to one side, where Aomine, Kagami, and Midorima shielded him from view.

There was a short moment where Kise tensed, and Aomine gently let go of his wrist, brushing his fingers against fair skin before tucking his hand into his pocket. Aomine caught the way Kise buried his face deeper into his scarf, and when their shoulders bumped, neither of them moved away.

Once outside, they all said their 'see you's and went their separate ways. Kagami and Tetsu went off to some other place together, and Midorima waved as he escorted Satsuki into his car after offering to drive her home (it was on the way, he explained).

After Midorima's car faded into the distance, it was just Aomine and Kise.

Vaguely, Aomine felt his heart drum at his chest. He took a deep breath, and the two of them sighed at the same time.

They looked at each other, then both broke into a smile, and somehow, the tension between them eased. Kise started walking along the sidewalk, and Aomine followed beside him.

"Man, it's been a while since I've hung out with friends like that," Kise sighed wistfully, looking up at the night sky.

"You don't go out with other people or something?" Aomine gave him a sidelong glance, shifting his hand buried in his pocket to keep from brushing Kise's hair back.

"I do, sometimes," Kise answered. "With Kisumi and Toorucchi—fellow models and actors—but we don't get a lot of time to hang out. And I like them a lot but we haven't known each other that long? Or that much? Not like us high school and middle school friends."

"I think I get it," Aomine said, comfortable in the gentle brush of their shoulders. "I missed it, too."

Kise hummed in agreement, and the two of them walked in silence for a while, just breathing in the cool air, with the backdrop of the dark sky and city lights illuminating their surroundings, the vague whirr of life slowly dying down as the night grew later. Aomine's breaths seemed to match Kise's, and neither of them moved away from each other even as their sides lightly bumped.

"Hey," they both said.

Again, the two of them looked at each other, and they both smiled, shifting uneasily as the air around them brought back memories of that last night.

Aomine cleared his throat. "About…last night…"

Kise tensed, moving his shoulder just a fraction away from Aomine's. "Um," Kise started. "Right. I forgot to thank you for…bringing me up to my place." Kise coughed, and the tips of his ears turned red.

Aomine definitely felt his heart start to thump rapidly in his chest. Without warning, images of Kise's flushed cheeks and moist, red lips flashed in his head, and the back of his neck where Kise had touched him seemed to tingle with heat. "Ah, it's fine. I, er, sorry for getting you drunk."

"No, that's my fault," Kise shook his head, and his blush seemed to travel down his neck. "I went and became a burden again."

"You weren't," Aomine said immediately, and he felt like kicking himself for how quickly he blurt that out. "It's fine. I should have paid more attention."

Kise opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He just turned a deeper shade of red and flustered. "Thank you," he said with a small voice.

Aomine felt his own cheeks heat up, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. They walked in silence for a few moments before Aomine sucked it up and cleared his throat again, taking a breath to speak just as Kise ducked his head deeper into his scarf and said, "Um, Aominecchi?"

Aomine swallowed again. "Yeah?"

"Last night, did we…" Kise bit his lip, his shoulder's tensing again. "Did we um…you know…"

Aomine blinked at him, eyebrows climbing. "You…don't remember last night?"

Kise turned even redder, jolting in a short panic. "I do! I just—not all of it?" he worried his lower lip again, and Aomine had to fight the urge to get him to stop that. "I remember bits and pieces but they're so…fragmented? I was. Very drunk. I…sorry."

Aomine bit down on his bottom lip like Kise did. "Oh. Um. Well. We, uh—" Aomine cleared his throat again, steeling himself. "Fuck this is so awkward."

"S-sorry!" Kise half-wailed, putting a hand over his eyes. "It's my fault, I just—"

"We didn't do it."

Kise stopped, turning to Aomine with wide eyes. "Huh?"

Aomine felt the heat crawl down from his cheeks. "We—" Aomine groaned. He felt his neck start to heat up to match his face, and he scratched the back of his head in mild frustration and embarrassment. "Okay. We fucking—you kissed me, I kissed back, things kind of went on after that—we kind of got…into it…but—" Aomine was sure he was fully red in the face now. "We didn't do it."

Kise was also damn red, his eyes wide and lips slightly parted, and at some point the two of them had stopped walking and were just staring at each other. "You mean we didn't…"

"We didn't have sex, no," Aomine let out, feeling like he'd just dumped a huge weight off of his chest right there at his feet. He smacked a hand over his face, feeling just how hot it was, and groaned. He wasn't usually so reserved about things like kissing and fucking, but with Kise everything just seemed that much more complicated and goddamn confusing. Everything threw him off, and Aomine was barely able to follow.

Kise stood frozen, his face a deep crimson, blinking as if he was very slowly processing the information and was struggling to decide how to react. Aomine wanted so bad to brush away the strands of Kise's hair that had fallen over his eyes, but he couldn't move, couldn't risk doing something that would make Kise recoil or hate him. Instead, Aomine clenched his fists, unsure.

"I—" Kise started, slowly moving to bury his mouth back into his scarf. "I um. Thank you."

Aomine blinked, and all at once every one of his doubts and worries crashed down and dissipated. His shoulders relaxed, and suddenly he could breathe again.

Kise seemed to relax too, heaving out a sigh as if he'd expelled all of the tension in his body. For a few beats, neither of them said anything, but everything felt calmer as they settled into almost unexpected, but entirely welcome relief. Kise's hair fell over his eyes, framing his face in blonde, and before Aomine realized, he'd reached forward and tucked a stray clump behind Kise's ear.

Kise blinked, but instead of flinching away, he looked straight at Aomine, and there was a moment—and neither of them knew exactly how long it was—where they gazed right at each other's eyes, searching (for what, exactly, they weren't entirely sure). And Aomine didn't pull his hand away, instead just lightly resting his hand over the side of Kise's face, barely brushing against his faintly flushed skin. Looking at Kise then, it was so different from that previous night—where Kise's eyes were dark, glazed over with alcohol, and his expression a mix of pain and desire—and Aomine found better comfort in this Kise: eyes bright and full, like warm honey or liquid gold, his expression open and honest, looking directly at Aomine just like he'd done before.

And Aomine remembered that night, the way Kise had pulled him down, the way Aomine had frozen stiff and felt something inside him crack and crash like a breaking dam. He had kissed back, had run his hands through Kise's soft golden locks, his jaw, his sides. He had littered his neck with kisses and sucked on the skin until they left a mark—and he wanted to leave a mark, wanted to somehow taste and breathe in as much of Kise as he could. Kise had kissed back, soft moans and gasps escaping those lips until Aomine had muffled them with a kiss. Aomine felt like he was burning, his heart surging in his chest and his mind only filled with more, closer, again—Kise, Kise, Kise.

Aomine had thrown all notions of boundaries and friendship the moment Kise had parted his lips for him, letting him in, tracing the muscles on his neck and back and sending more fire through Aomine's veins. Half-drunk and falling into Kise, Aomine couldn't stop himself, couldn't feel that anything was wrong, not if the taste of Kise—the feeling of Kise—felt so good; felt like life.

Amidst the heated kisses and touches and moans, Aomine felt the slender hands around his shoulders tremble. Kise was panting hard, shaking, and tears clung to the edges of his eyes. His heart was pounding, and Kise had tensed, shuddering breaths as he screwed his eyes shut, looking like he was battling something that left him paralyzed and wracked with fear and conflict; something that he tried to fight, leaving him vulnerable, and hating the fact that he was vulnerable.

And Aomine stopped. The tightening in his chest overpowered his desire. He looked down at Kise, who tried so hard to keep from breaking apart where he lay, and couldn't help but kiss him. Aomine pressed his lips against Kise's, softly, tenderly, without the heated fervor from earlier. Kise whimpered, a single tear sliding down his eye, and kissed back. Aomine pressed closer, just a little, and felt something surge inside him, something that made him want to go further, to take Kise, but also stopped him from doing just that. He pulled back, hovering right above Kise, their noses almost touching, and gazed at him. He brought his hand to cup one of Kise's cheeks, and smoothed his thumb over the corner of his eye, wiping away the tear that threatened to run down his face. Aomine gently brushed Kise's hair from his forehead, threading his fingers in his hair once, twice—again and again, until Kise's trembling had lessened.

"Kise," he breathed. "Kise."

Slowly, Kise opened his eyes, and that tightening in Aomine's chest came back stronger, making him swallow. Kise's eyes shone with tears unshed, and Aomine felt the heat inside him melt into liquid fire, settling down into something that felt like it was glowing in his chest. His heart thumped hard, and his breath caught in his throat. There was nothing about what was happening that Aomine could process and make sense of at that time, and he was definitely not using his brain as much as he should there, but there was one thing he was sure of: that he didn't want to hurt Kise. It was the one certain thing on his mind, and Aomine didn't want to betray it.

"Ao…minecchi…?"

Aomine swallowed, willing his heart to slow and his mind to settle. "Yeah," he said, softly. "I'm right here."

A fresh sheen of tears threatened to fall from Kise's eyes, but he closed them, breathing deep. Aomine continued to stroke his hair, pressing their foreheads together, both of them trying to breathe—slowly, deeply, breaths mingling with each other and chests rising and falling together. Without thinking, Aomine wiped away every tear that managed to escape Kise's eyes, and pulled the blanket over Kise's shoulders. Kise hiccupped once, turning to his side and burrowing into the sheets, and Aomine didn't leave him alone. All he could think of doing was staying there, next to Kise, as he continued to thread his fingers through Kise's hair, rubbing circles over the blanket covering his shoulder, and breathed beside him. Eventually, Kise had stopped shaking, and Aomine didn't know how long he'd been lying there, just running his hand through Kise's hair, until Kise shifted, burying his head into Aomine's chest. For a moment, Aomine froze, his heart picking up its pace again, but when Kise relaxed, breathing deep and even against him, Aomine calmed. He continued to stroke his hair, pressed just a little closer, and fell asleep to the sound of breathing.

Aomine pulled his hand back, stuffing it in his pocket, and neither of them broke eye contact. Kise let out a breath, and slowly smiled. A faint flush of red tinted his cheeks, and he broke out into a dazzling grin that would have made Aomine stagger if he weren't standing still. "I really appreciate it, Aominecchi. It…means a lot. To me. I'm sorry for being a horrible drunk and not remembering."

Aomine let out a sigh of his own, feeling his shoulders relax. "Eh, no biggie. At least now I know how bad a drinker you are."

Kise pouted. "I'm not that bad!"

"Well you're not that good either," Aomine smirked, and again, they both started walking. "You're lucky I was there to carry your ass back to your place."

Kise smiled into his scarf. "Yeah," he said, just barely above a whisper. "I'm really lucky it was you."

Aomine swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, just vaguely spotting Kise's driver stepping out of a car parked up front. "So…" he coughed. "We're good?"

Kise looked at him, blinking once, twice, and smiled. "Yeah," he said. "We're good."

Aomine felt more relieved at hearing that than he expected, and couldn't help the small smile that spread up his lips. They continued to walk until they reached Kise's car, and were greeted by a cheery Tanaka-san.

"Good evening!" he said.

"Good evening," Kise smiled. He turned to Aomine, "Want a ride home?"

Aomine shook his head. "Nah, I want to walk some more."

"Oh, you sure?" Kise raised a brow. "Don't stress out that ankle too much."

Aomine rolled his eyes, but remained smiling. "Yeah yeah, Kagami's place isn't that far from here anyway. Besides, you probably have another stupid schedule tomorrow, so just get home and sleep already."

"Alright, alright," Kise chuckled. "I'll see you around then…?"

"Yeah," Aomine shrugged. "I'll be around."

Kise tilted his head to one side, smiling softly. Aomine reached forward and brushed away the stray strands of hair that fell over his lashes. Instead of flinching away, Kise leaned into the touch, just slightly, and Aomine felt his breath catch.

"Have a good night, Kise," he said, pulling his hand back into his pocket.

Kise's smile spread wider, crinkling the corners of his eyes. "You too, Aominecchi. Thank you."

Aomine just nodded, one corner of his lips quirking up in a crooked smile. He watched Kise step into the car and waved behind the window, and Aomine raised a hand in a single wave as the car drove away.

When the sounds of the car faded off into the distance, Aomine dropped his hand and let out a sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck, grumbling to himself as his chest seemed to swell with warmth. Relief washed over his whole body, and it was almost surprising how worried he was that he fucked up somehow, and how so goddamn relieved he was when Kise had smiled and thanked him. All his impulse-driven, go-with-the-flow, shoot-first-ask-later tendencies be damned—of all people, it was his friendship with Kise that he didn't want to fuck up the most. It was Kise who had stumbled into his life just with a simple, stupid hit in the head with a basketball, and it was Kise who didn't stop sticking with him, believing in him. When he had nothing, felt nothing, it was Kise who seemed to barge in like a fire that brought that spark back in Aomine. Kise, he—he understood Aomine the most, maybe even more—maybe all along it was the other way around. Before the basketball club, Kise was already known to have excelled in all the other sports he tried, and he quickly beat any of the best he encountered. He always looked bored, exactly like Aomine turned out to be after a few years. He had known the emptiness of boredom, of not having a challenge or a fire to spur him into life, way before Aomine did, and more times than Aomine experienced.

That Aomine only started to think about all of that right then—after more than a fucking decade of knowing Kise—frustrated him to no end. He roughly ran his hand down his face with a growl, feeling like the world's densest, most inconsiderate prick, and mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. Kise had found that fire in Aomine, had nagged him day after day to play against him, had always been the one to give Aomine something to look forward to, and yet Aomine almost fucks up by being a self-centered little shit. He already fucked up once with Tetsu, and it was just a damn miracle he didn't manage to completely wreck his friendship with Kise—or rather, that Kise managed to put up with him through everything.

If anything, Aomine found consolation in the fact that he was just barely able to keep himself from screwing things up that night. Be it subconsciously or not, he was at least a little more careful with Kise. It was just a little hard to reorganize his thoughts when he had that kind of night hanging around in his mind, effectively confusing the fuck out of him at every turn. The way Kise had clung to him, the way he looked up at him, pulled him down, kissed him—

("It's because I love Aominecchi.")

Heat flared through Aomine's cheeks, and he covered his mouth with a hand, brows furrowed deep as he trudged on at a damn slow pace, and for all his walking—it's been a few blocks now—Aomine couldn't for the life of him stop thinking about Kise. Those one-on-ones until the sun set, the way sparks seemed to fizzle in the air when they played, his weight and warmth when he'd hugged him, the shine in his eyes, the glow of his smile, the music of his laughter; the way 'Aominecchi' sounded in his voice as he beamed or laughed, or pouted or wailed, or gasped and moaned against his lips, almost like a prayer. Aomine could still feel the warmth of Kise's skin, the thrumming of his pulse against his chest, and the way their mouths fit together almost as naturally as they breathed. His hand almost shook at the electric current coursing through his fingers at the memory of Kise's skin, the wet of his tears, the soft locks of his hair that he'd stroked for as long as it took for Kise to calm down and fall asleep in his arms, as if he belonged there—as if Aomine wouldn't have it any other way.

"Goddamn," Aomine swore under his breath, and the air was chilly that night but he felt like a fire was pouring heat through his limbs and face. Since turning away from Kise, not a step went by when Aomine didn't think about him, and he cursed at himself as his mind descended into a disorienting pit of confusion and chaos, and at the fact that of all his messed up thoughts, the one that he couldn't quash the most—and alarmed him the most—was how much he wanted to kiss those lips again.

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[tbc]

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A/N: next up: the cameo