Last Night on Earth
Disclaimer: I don't own Fujimaki Tadatoshi's Kuroko no Basuke or Green Day's "Last Night on Earth".
Death is always there, lurking in the shadows, in the closet, under the table, like a rat or a curtain of dust, so very real. Either one of them can die at any moment, heart attack, accidental self-asphyxiation, aneurysm, mysterious allergy, stroke. Either one of them can die any moment on the job, shot in the back, smoke inhalation, run over by a drunk driver, jumping out of the window and missing the trampoline, knifed, crushed under debris.
They knew what they were getting into when they chose to be a cop and a fireman, and no one understands what it's like to be in one profession quite like the other.
They talk about it brazenly, openly, freely, bravely because they have to. Death is real. They've got all their passwords in a safe deposit box. Their wills are prepared. Every conversation is ended with, "I love you."
Kagami gets home first today, because that's the way his shifts are compared with Aomine's. He's dirty and sweaty but he gets dinner ready and in the oven before he takes a shower. The grime and soot trails down the drain, grey and black and almost staining the tub permanently (it seems like they clean it every other day, but it's always dirty) until it fades and washes clean. He scrapes a hand along his chin; it's rough already. He needs to shave, but he needs to get back to cooking first so he steps out of the shower reluctantly and throws on a pair of old jeans and a wife beater.
Aomine's already there, still in uniform and looking very cheerful as he takes the chicken out of the oven (bless him, he's finally learning something about what it means when the timer goes off) and serves them the meal (he made rice with vegetables, too! Although it's from a box, but still, small steps).
Neither has realized how hungry they are (then again, Kagami's always hungry), as they sit in silence, ravenously chowing down. Finally, they've slowed down enough to talk.
"You're home early," Kagami says.
"Yeah." The blue-haired man grins. "It was a good day today. We got called in for a burglary and found the robber still there, hiding on the top shelf of a closet. How was your day?"
"Boring. There were a couple of false alarms and a fire in an abandoned house that we were able to contain."
"But that's good, though."
"Yeah." No victims this time.
They finish dinner, clean up, and head to the living room. It's getting dark out, although the sky is still a light grey from the gathering clouds.
"You think it's going to rain?" Aomine asks, flicking on the TV.
"Probably," Kagami replies. "Check the weather."
The weather channel is on a commercial break, so they wait and talk about other things. Himuro's birthday is coming up and he's having a party next week. They need to buy new light bulbs for the floor lamp in the bedroom.
Kagami shifts; he's gotten tired faster than usual today. He lays his head in Aomine's lap and swings his legs around, a strange position due to the couch's small size and his legs end up hanging most of the way off the end. Aomine laughs, stroking his hair. Kagami loves that laugh, deep and throaty and beautiful. He captures Aomine's hand in his, long fingers meeting similarly long fingers, tracing outlines.
"Taiga?"
"Hmm?"
"It's raining."
"The weatherman said it wouldn't," he mumbles.
"You should get to bed if you're this tired."
He wants to say he doesn't want to, wants to ask if the other wants to get rid of him, wants to tease and talk and all this stuff and he's definitely been spending too much time around Kise. Talking is overrated, says the dominant part of his brain, and instead he turns on his side and buries his face in his boyfriend's stomach.
Somehow, he ended up in bed last night, although he can't recall how. Aomine must have carried him or something. Nevertheless, his alarm is ringing and he thrashes around his hand to turn it off, finally hitting the snooze button. Aomine stirs beside him, rolls over on top of him.
"Get off; you're heavy," Kagami mutters.
Aomine just snuggles closer.
Ten more minutes won't hurt. And Aomine really isn't that heavy anyway. He's kind of like an extra blanket, warm and able to cover his whole body.
The alarm rings again. Was that really ten minutes? With a sigh, Kagami rolls out from under Aomine's embrace and shuffles to the bathroom. His morning routine is the same as always, shave, brush teeth, shower, dress. He'll get breakfast at the station, only a short walk away.
He returns to the bed where Aomine is just beginning to wake up. "Be safe," he says, kisses him lightly. "I love you."
He pulls away, but Aomine is definitely awake now and pulls him back. "Morning, sweetheart." He kisses him full-on, and damn his disgusting morning breath but it's still kinda good and still turns him on.
This is why Kagami always leaves extra time in the morning. This is usually how he spends it (not that he has any real reason to complain). Eventually, though, he drags himself out of bed for real, kisses Aomine one final time.
"Tempura for dinner?"
"Mm. You know I love fried food." Aomine smiles and sits up. "Have a good day. Save a lot of people, though I hope you won't have to."
"You, too. Love you."
And he's out the door. There's no sign of last night's rain, no puddles or damp sidewalks. The air is crisp and dry. The sky is blue, and only a few clouds drift by.
Soon after he makes it in on time and starts catching up with his buddies, the siren sounds and they have to head out to the business district. The blaze has spread faster than they've anticipated within the two-story office building. Most of the workers have evacuated, but they have to get inside and make sure, just in case. Kagami and Fukuoka are the ones checking it out, and Fukuoka soon finds a cat on the third floor and races out with the animal.
Kagami is alone, with one floor left to check. There's smoke up ahead of him, grey, black, billowing. He can't hear anyone screaming or scratching, just the roar of the flames and the creak of the building foundations, growing louder every second. If there's anyone there, they've probably passed out already. He makes his way over to the staircase, which is already completely engulfed in orange flames.
Kagami senses the building collapsing under its own weight, tearing itself up from the inside out, feels the boards of the staircase splinter beneath him and hears the ceiling beams and pillars crack above and around him. His mind is blank with the shock of having the floor torn out from under him, and that split second seems to last an eternity.
Then he thinks of Aomine's arms around him.
And he falls.