He has been on the court for more than two hours now; he is tired and just about done.

Kagami elevates himself from the cold, rough floor he had been lying on. Sweaty and aching he grabs his old basket ball and performs one last masterpiece with it, before leaving: his signature slam dunk, as he likes to think of it.

He can almost hear the teasing clapping that usually accompanies such said shot. He can almost see those eyes, the color and unpredictability of the ocean, staring back at him; the lazy smirk in his face, as the other man congratulates him on a wonderful attempt at flying.

Although, Kagami is alone in that court, there is nothing to greet him but the constant pounding of the ball on the floor, as it comes down from the basket. Slowly, he lowers himself down, snatches it and starts to walk away.

The redhead ponders on what he should do next. A small smile creeps up his lips as he reaches his answer: go buy some groceries and then head straight home.

As he shuffles trough the meat section at the grocery store, another grin escapes as he decides to cook teriyaki burgers, his partner's favorite meal. He catches himself and blushes slightly. Kagami realizes he seems to do that a lot whenever he remembers that place, that person, the times they spent together. Those memories are accompanied with tears also, but mostly they leave Kagami beaming and thankful.

Be it the loud, messy fights; the days spent simply sleeping together in the same bed, taking in the sight of each other; the hard break ups, followed by the nearly as immediately sweet as candy reconciliations, almost always accompanied by mind blowing, even sweeter sex; the ecstasy shared when they played together on court; everything between them was as welcomed as magic.

The cashier smiles at him as he registers his shopping, but the crimson eyed male hardly notices. It has been that way for a long time in fact. Kagami has a hard time noticing anyone but Aomine, or anything that isn't partially related to the indigo haired man, he is expected by, waiting at home.

Leaving the grocery store, now fully supplied, he lets his mind be taken entirely with reminiscences of the past twenty years. He closes his eyes, confessing that no matter what pain or hardship, he wouldn't trade all of those years -right back since they were sixteen- he spent at Aomine Daiki's side, as a fellow player, as a boyfriend, as a husband, as a life partner. Regardless of everything Aomine is his soul mate in every sense of the word.

He climbs the steps to his apartment two by two, as these thoughts hit him hard in the torso, leaving the redhead with a roughly overwhelming feeling of longing. He refuses to act on it and submit to heat welling up in his nose, instead reaching for his door fast and opening it without hesitation.

"I'm back." Kagami declares, almost shyly.

"Welcome home." A smooth as velvet voice receives him.

Home, he repeats to himself joyfully. Kagami smiles as he drags himself and the groceries to the kitchen. He begins dinner quickly, not allowing himself time to shower, not allowing himself time to think.

It only takes him about half an hour to get everything ready, and when he is finished, he hauls his bulky stature down to a chair, sitting at the table in the middle of the living room, placing the plated burger he had been holding in front of himself. The redhead glances up from his meal.

There, on the middle of the dinner table, also stands a small, dark blue frame.

The gesture comes out completely naturally, this being his 'ritual' for almost ten years now. Kagami draws out his arm and catches it, caressing the small painted object, pausing longer on the photograph it holds inside.

There, inside its wooden prison, lies a blue haired male. Staring back at him is an intense, powerful blue gaze full of bliss and challenge, and a crooked, sinful smile, that Kagami has grown to consider as the man's all own.

Before his pride can hold him back, tears start flowing and he rests his head on his forearm.

The thirty six year old male tightens the grip on the frame, which releases a cracking sound, mimicking perfectly the nearly excruciating clench now growing inside his whole body. His stomach, throat, his forearm which he grasps strongly with his other hand, his chest… He simply welcomes the feeling, now so well known to him, just about as a part of him as basketball as been for the past years of his life.

"It's been ten years, Bakagami. When are you going to move on with your life?" The so familiar voice calls him out.

Kagami simply loses himself in his sorrow, because no matter what his friends advise him or encourage him to do, that is a question not even the determined, confident redhead has the means to answer. Basketball and Aomine, those were everything he had left, he always assumed the two of them would always be holding hands. But Aomine wasn't there anymore; he would never be anywhere else anymore and Kagami had never felt so out of himself, so lost, so broken.