Kagami hadn't even given him time to say a word. Aomine's mouth had opened to do so, one hand raised in the beginning of a wave, but before he could so much as blink he was being tackled by a whirlwind of solid muscle, grappling hands and wild, red hair, and Kagami was pressing his face into the juncture between his neck and shoulder, holding him close and hard as if he would try to escape if he let go. He wouldn't have dreamed of it.

"Ka-haha-gami," he laughed, taking a step back to maintain his balance and not topple both of them to the polished linoleum floor. Unable to fight the grin taking over his face, he stroked one hand down his lover's cheek as Kagami looked up, fixing him with those burning crimson eyes that he had missed with an ever-present, relentless ache during their seeming eternity apart. In a heartbeat, Kagami's mouth was crashing into his, kissing him deep and fierce and full of raw, desperate emotion, not seeming to care that they were in the middle of a crowded terminal at the moment, in plain view of at least a hundred people arriving and departing from the airport. Well, that was different...not that Aomine was complaining...he supposed they'd both had plenty of time to change since their last goodbye.

"Someone's a little eager," he smirked when he was allowed a breath, putting his arms around the redhead's shoulders and hugging him back.

"Of course, dumbass," Kagami said, with nothing even closely resembling heat in the words, only endearment and soul-shattering relief, "It's been over four years." Trailing his eyes, and then his hands, over the strong tan arms embracing him, he gave Aomine a small, amused smile, "You've buffed up…"

Where before his body had been sleek, lean, and limber, geared more toward speed and agility than strength, more recently Aomine had gained some considerable muscle mass from his training, and from living the rugged lifestyle he had, the past few years; his chest and shoulders had filled out, his forearms thicker and more angular and his biceps firm and swollen, the ridges and tendons standing out in high relief, flexing beneath his skin.

"Yeah," he agreed, tightening his grip briefly around Kagami's back with a grin, "So I can do this." With a teasing, snickering growl, he picked the redhead right off the floor and spun him around, only laughing harder at Kagami's startled yelp as he was suddenly airborne, before setting him back on his feet and stealing a quick, fleeting peck on his lips. Then they just looked at each other, breathless and elated, studying and memorizing and devouring with their eyes without speaking or daring to look away.

"...I've missed you," Kagami surprised him by murmuring, after a moment, curling his hands into the fabric of his shirt, just below his broad, powerful shoulders.

"I...yeah, me too," Aomine answered, dipping his head to lightly touch their foreheads together, lowering his hands so that they were loosely looped around Kagami's waist, "I thought about you every day...wondering what you were doing and what you were thinking about...and if you'd moved on, or...forgotten me."

Usually he wouldn't admit something like that so openly, so candidly, but something about having the man he'd thought about and waited for and longed after for so many months dragging into years in his arms pulled the confession out of him, almost without him realizing, until Kagami's eyes widened.

"I wouldn't forget you," he protested, sounding shocked and a little insulted, poking him in the chest, just above the silver dog tags hanging around his neck, "I meant it, you know, when I said I loved you and I'd wait for you, no matter how long it took."

"I know," Aomine sighed, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck self-consciously, "I just...you shouldn't have to…"

Leaning up, Kagami pressed a soft, slow kiss to his lips, smoothing a hand up into his hair, and for an instant Aomine's knees went weak and shaky and he completely forgot what he'd been trying to say.

"Shut up," Kagami said simply when they broke apart, exasperation and love in his shimmering red gaze, and in the tiny smile tilting up the lips that had been on his a moment ago.

Slightly out of breath, Aomine looked into those bright, beautiful, passionate eyes he had loved for seven years, sometimes from afar, and would continue to love for a hundred more, if he could. He couldn't help but bridge the distance between them again, tasting and lapping at Kagami's mouth gently, but with an air of sensuality and rapturous desire burning just beneath the surface this time.

After a moment, Kagami broke away, color riding high on his cheeks as his chest rose and fell rather unsteadily, "Idiot, we're in public."

"Hm," Aomine said carelessly, smirking with amusement, "Didn't stop you."

"That's different," Kagami insisted, embarrassment evident in his voice and face, but his hand stroked down the taut, coiled sinew of Aomine's arm to his wrist just the same, linking their fingers together, "...Let's go home."

Grinning, swinging their arms between them like a child, Aomine was only too pleased to hoist his heavy backpack over his shoulder and walk with him, side by side, out of the airport and into the cold.

.

.

Aomine gazed around the entryway to the apartment as he stepped through the door, before seeming to relax and loosen his posture significantly as he breathed out a soft sigh of relief, "This place hasn't changed at all."

Kagami glanced at him, raising an eyebrow dubiously, "Sure it has…" When Aomine looked at him in confusion, he lightly nudged their shoulders together, "It hasn't been the same without you."

Aomine snorted, but didn't reply, setting his bag down beside the door and crouching down to untie the laces of his boots. "So how's everyone been doing? It feels like forever since I've seen anyone."

"Fine," Kagami answered, leaning back against the arm of the sofa and reveling in the casual conversation he'd missed just as much as...well, everything about Aomine while he'd been gone. "Let's see, Tatsuya moved back to America last year, Momoi's about to start grad school...oh, and a couple months ago Kise and Kuroko got engaged…"

"Hah?" Aomine blinked, looking up in surprise, "Tetsu's getting married? ...I thought he and Kise broke up."

"They did, but they got back together about a year after you left for the academy… Kuroko sounded like he thought it was gonna be for keeps this time."

"Tch," Aomine muttered, kicking off his other boot and standing up straight, "Like we haven't heard that tune before."

"You aren't happy for them?" Kagami asked, looking at him reproachfully.

Frown dissolving into a resigned smile, Aomine shrugged, "Sure I am. I mean, their constant will-you-won't-you games drove me up a fucking wall, but they're good for each other." He was silent a moment, coming over to stand next to Kagami, cocking a leg up against the side of the couch, and then glanced at him sidelong, "What about you? How's your life been these past four years?"

"A never-ending vortex of loneliness and despair until a couple hours ago," Kagami deadpanned, in perfect monotone.

Narrowing his sharp indigo eyes, Aomine scrutinized him for a moment, and then lifted the corner of his mouth in a hesitant smirk, "...You're kidding, right?"

Kagami burst out laughing, harder than he could remember doing in a long time, pushing Aomine's shoulder teasingly, "You should see your face! ...Yeah, Aho, I'm kidding." He lifted his shoulders slightly, his smile still persisting, though it had turned a little distant and wistful, "I've been alright, I guess; my team didn't make it to the championship this year, but we kicked some serious ass the year before, and practice has been going fine. Other than that...Kuroko and I have been hanging out a lot, when he's not at work or with Kise, and I was thinking of visiting Alex and Tatsuya in America for the holidays, until I heard you were coming home."

There was another moment of amiable silence, and Aomine's hand sought his out on the arm of the couch, closing around it and squeezing lightly.

"How about you?" Kagami asked eventually, seeking out his gaze. Aomine glanced at him, and he smiled with only a slight edge of humor, "Any thrilling war stories you'd like to share?"

"Not really," Aomine shrugged, dismissively, "After boot camp I moved from place to place a lot - that's the thing about the army, is they'll keep you busy - but I didn't see a whole lot of action while I was over there."

Kagami swallowed a sigh of relief. Picturing the man he loved - who put up a front of uncaring disdain and cold arrogance on the outside, but who Kagami knew had a soft, almost vulnerable heart deep down - in the bloody chaos of battle, fighting for his life and shooting down adversaries in a desperate bid for survival, still caused a jolt of worry and protective concern in his stomach, even seeing him here right now, returned safe and whole. He was glad to hear that that didn't seem to have been the case.

"There were just a couple of skirmishes," Aomine went on, folding his arms over his chest, "And some of them were sorted out without a single shot being fired. ...I kind of felt like we were just there for show, sometimes, but…" He trailed off, lowering his gaze, and Kagami felt his own shoulders stiffen with unease.

"But…?" he prompted, unsure if he wanted to hear that sentence completed. Aomine didn't say anything, but allowed their eyes to meet. Just looking at the hard set of his jaw and the shadow that fell over his face was enough to tell Kagami that his concern hadn't been unwarranted after all, and Aomine had, in fact, been made to kill while he was away, maybe more than once. And he clearly didn't want to tell Kagami about that; perhaps not wanting to dampen their reunion or make him worry, so he'd emphasized the lighter, easier aspects of his time overseas for his sake.

Pushing off the arm of the couch, he turned to face his lover of many years and reached out, almost without conscious thought, to wrap his arms around him securely, placing a light kiss on his forehead. Aomine looked up.

"Wha -?" he began, sounding bemused.

"I'm glad you're home," Kagami murmured, stroking a hand down his lover's strong, sturdy back and bringing their lips together briefly, "I'm proud of you, Aho."

Aomine looked at him in surprise, and then slowly broke into a smile and flicked him in the forehead, "Bakagami," he teased gently, and just as Kagami opened his mouth to retort, guided him closer by the back of the neck to kiss him hard, easing between his parted lips with a slow, confident stroke of his tongue. Resistance didn't even cross Kagami's mind, and he welcomed him in, reaching up to tangle his fingers in the short blue fringe of bangs shadowing his forehead as their mouths melded together, reuniting and refamiliarizing themselves with each other.

Bracing a knee against the arm of the sofa, Kagami leaned up to bear down on Aomine harder, stroking lightly down his chest as he grasped and sucked and ate at his lips, unable to get enough. With a blissful, contented sigh, Aomine closed his eyes and started to fall back, unsupported, before catching his balance with a hand shooting out to grab the back of the sofa, keeping them both from tipping. Kagami blinked, and started to say something, but Aomine shushed him with a kiss, smirking against his mouth. Then, wrapping his arms around him, he stood up, practically bending Kagami backwards with a deeper, stronger press of lips as he enfolded him in his embrace.

"Kagami, I want to make love," he breathed against the side of Kagami's neck, dropping lingering kisses on the delicate skin of his throat and collarbone, and stroking his rough, calloused, but still gentle hands down his shoulders and arms to squeeze his fingers, "It's been too long…"

Kagami shuddered, eyes fluttering closed as the ministrations of his lips against his neck incited him to tip his head back, breathing in short, uneven bursts and feeling his face grow warm. "Okay," he managed, in little more than a whisper, holding onto his big, strong, beautiful lover as if he would never let go. He didn't want to ever have to.

Aomine barely waited for the word of permission to leave his lips before he swept them up in another breath-stealing kiss, wrapping his hands around the backs of Kagami's thighs and hiking his legs up around his waist. Startled, Kagami reflexively threw his arms around his neck for balance, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"I-is the picking me up going to be a frequent thing?" he stammered, glancing down at the floor uncertainty. Kagami was not a small man, by any means, and was not at all used to being made to feel like he was. Aomine wasn't even necessarily that much bigger than him; a few centimeters taller at most and just a little bulkier, more recently, but even with the more obvious muscle tone, it was still surprising just how strong he was, and how unafraid he was of showing it, making Kagami feel...strangely more vulnerable, like Aomine could snap him like a twig if he tried.

Immediately, upon hearing this, Aomine set him back down, though he didn't move his hands from where they were, caressing the corded steel of his thighs, "Does it bother you? Sorry, I won't - that is, I didn't mean -"

"No," Kagami interrupted, unable to hold back a smile at how frantic Aomine seemed to become the very instant he thought he might have been making Kagami uncomfortable. It spoke volumes of how much he cared. "Just kind of unexpected; I haven't been lifted up like that or anything since I was a kid."

Aomine seemed to think about this, shifting his hands up to Kagami's hips and drawing little distracted circles there with his thumbs, "Well…" he said slowly, "You aren't light, but...I dunno, I just got caught up and I wanted to pick you up and hold you and carry you...so I did."

"It's...impressive," Kagami admitted, a little shakily, having a hard time stringing two thoughts together with the warm, clever fingers playing at his waist and the glitter of desire and deep affection in those dark eyes fixated on his own, "I-if it does become a frequent thing, that's fine, just...maybe a little warning next time?"

"Sure," Aomine said, dropping his gaze for a moment with a rather sheepish grin, "Yeah, of course."

Unable to help himself, he was so adorable, Kagami leaned up and kissed him on the nose, then on his still smiling mouth the moment he started to open it to speak. "Guess what?"

Wetting his lips, Aomine looked at him questioningly, sliding his hands along Kagami's ribs to cup his shoulders, "What?"

"I love you."

Aomine started, surprise and delight flashing across his face as he promptly hugged Kagami, with an exuberance that had his feet once again lifting off the floor a few inches. And then his lips were being enveloped in another fervent, heartfelt kiss, a warm, eager tongue diving into his mouth to stroke against his own.

"Love you too," Aomine murmured at last, his nearly transcendent face falling for an instant and turning a little apologetic as he released him to stand on his own two feet.

Kagami laughed, and teasingly pushed him, though it had about as much effect as if he'd shoved a solid brick wall - this was going to take some getting used to - before ducking out of reach as Aomine growled and attempted to tackle him in retaliation. They were both grinning widely, showing lots of teeth, as they tussled and chased each other all the way to the bedroom, and Kagami was still laughing out loud when Aomine finally caught him and laid him down on the bed, covering his face with short, quick, teasingly light kisses, gradually becoming longer and slower as he migrated down to his waiting mouth.

Then he just looked at him for a moment, his deep blue eyes soft and bright with blatant adoration, before pressing their bodies together, lining up every inch until they were as close as they could be.

"Alright..." he said softly, brushing a thumb against Kagami's cheek and smiling down at him, "...Now I'm home."

.

.

It had been snowing since the night before, but Aomine had driven out in the white, freezing mess anyway, even though he didn't have to, because it was really that important. Almost a month had passed since he'd arrived at the airport and been immediately, enthusiastically welcomed back into Kagami's life...and now he planned to solidify his place in it. He'd been thinking about it for weeks now - maybe longer, though it had just been absent, wishful thinking then - and had finally come to the conclusion that now was the time to make Kagami a promise that the love he'd never had to doubt the redhead felt for him was returned in full, and would continue to be, for the rest of their lives.

Forever...and didn't that word just sent a thrill of mixed excitement and nerves through him every time he thought about it? It was such a huge, terrifying idea, and yet...he didn't feel afraid, or even uncertain. He only felt anticipation, and the overwhelming feeling that this was right, and hell, it was about time, too. A lifetime by Kagami's side was not nearly long enough, no amount of time with him would be long enough, in his opinion...but he figured asking to marry him would be a good start. They'd been together for seven years already, and even during the four where they'd had to be apart, those had been some of the best years of his life, just knowing there was someone who cared for him and loved him as deeply as Kagami did; just knowing he'd found his one true match. It was about damn time he told Kagami exactly how much he appreciated all he'd done for him.

Pausing after parking the car and switching off the ignition, he fumbled for his phone and sent Kagami a quick message to let him know he'd be home soon, his fingers practically trembling as the enormity of the choice he was about to make hit him again. This was it. There would be no going back from this, and no way in hell did he want to go back from this, and he couldn't wait to get home and tell Kagami he loved him in person, but first…

Taking a deep breath, he got out of the car and shuffled into the store decorated with ribbons and snowflakes and brightly colored baubles in the spirit of the season, feeling more nervous now than he could ever remember feeling, even getting on a military transport helicopter for the first time, about to be carried off into hostile territory, into the unknown. That was nothing. This was the ultimate unknown; this was the first step toward forever, with the person he loved more than life.

And though it was terrifying, though his heart was pounding and his legs were shaking from more than just cold as he swung the door open with a jingling chime and stepped into the jewelry store, he was long past ready to take it.

Fin