Warnings: AoKise. Written for AoKise week.

On Tuesday Kise comes home around midnight. From the way he keeps walking into things and making noise, Aomine arrives to the conclusion that he's drunk.

Being very strict about his public image, Kise doesn't drink often, and when he does, he usually doesn't drink to the point of being completely wasted. Sometimes, however, he gets upset by something and gets smashed, and then it's Aomine's job to listen to his wailing and complaining about whatever the problem is each time.

To be quite honest that is one of Aomine's least favourite things to do. It's not that he doesn't like Kise – hell, they're roommates and no one in their right mind would live with someone they dislike, right? – no, it's because of what happened one time Kise was drunk.

It wasn't anything out of the usual: Kise came home late, very very drunk, and instead of going into his own room, he stumbled into Aomine's and refused to leave even after being told he was disturbing the other's sleep.

"Aominecchi, you're so mean! I just wanna talk…" Kise threw himself on Aomine's bed and refused to move no matter what. After a while Aomine gave up; Kise wasn't going to leave. "Today was horrible… the model I had a shoot with kept coming onto me." Finally the reason for Kise's drunken state was muttered and Aomine knew he had to listen, otherwise the blond would never go to sleep.

"I mean, she was pretty and all but I don't… I mean, I'm not interested in dating her." His speech was surprisingly clear, considering how drunk he was, but with every word came a whiff of the alcohol in his breath and it made Aomine wrinkle his nose. Just how much had the model drunk anyway? "What should I dooo?"

"Just tell her you're not interested, she'll understand." Aomine let Kise lean against his shoulder for balance. He'd comforted Kise on many occasions before, this was ordinary (though always extremely annoying).

"But Aominecchi," Kise's whining was starting to get on Aomine's nerves so he turned to face the model, intending to put him in a headlock or smack him on the head or something, but upon coming face to face with the other he froze because Kise was really close. So close that Aomine could count his eyelashes if he wanted and that made him uncomfortable.

They were friends and roommates, for crying out, not lovers; in Aomine's books, only lovers should be this close to one another. But Kise, being an idiot whenever he drank, seemed to pay no mind to it. In fact he leaned slightly closer, still sporting that ridiculous pout he pulled off whenever he wasn't happy with something.

Aomine panicked. "Oi, why the hell are you so close?"

They had been friends for how many years? Aomine couldn't remember exactly. Maybe five. Or more? Probably more, yes.

That being said, it was weird how Aomine had never noticed that Kise was actually very attractive. He was a model, of course he'd have to be good-looking, but… somehow the realisation came so suddenly that it wasn't fair.

"Are you judging me, Aominecchi? Do you think I should've gone on a date with her even though I felt nothing for her?" Even though it smelled, Aomine couldn't help but shiver at the feel of Kise's breath on his face. The situation was getting weird. Since when could Kise make him feel this self-conscious?

"One date would probably be fine right?" Aomine tried to scoot backwards, further from Kise, because somehow the lack of distance was really starting to make him feel dizzy.

The frown he got as a reply was confusing. Usually Kise didn't stop to think about whatever advice Aomine gave him; he just kept talking until he fell asleep.

"But… what if there's someone else I like? Even if nothing will ever happen between me and that other person, wouldn't it be leading her on to take her out on a date?"

Someone else I like. Aomine's heart jumped into his throat before plummeting into his stomach. Kise liked someone? Surely it wasn't Aomine?

Wait what?

"Are you even listening, Aominecchi?" Suddenly Kise's cold finger was poking Aomine's cheek. It was cold, Kise's nail was rather long and all in all it felt unpleasant. Still, something stirred in Aomine's stomach and just shit, who even cared, Kise was drunk anyway.

Giving no regard to Kise's surprised yelp, Aomine leaned closer to bring their lips together; somehow kissing Kise felt like the most logical decision at the time. And it would have been just fine, Aomine getting carried away by the situation and just trying to calm Kise down, but it wasn't.

Kissing Kise felt amazing. It felt right. It felt like finding the thing that had always been missing from his life. It felt like falling in love, except in this case it was only Aomine realising he was in love with Kise and probably had been for some time already.

The thing is, the next morning Kise woke up and remembered nothing.

"I'm so glad I made it home, I was afraid I'd pass out somewhere in the streets and get robbed or something," Kise said. He had a hangover, obviously, and felt horrible, but the kiss? No recollection whatsoever.

Aomine's heart shattered.

("Aominecchi? Are you okay? Did something happen?")

From then on, he's been careful with not letting Kise get too close to him when he's drunk. He doesn't want to take the risk of something happening again, and then having Kise forget about it. Again. He can't do that for the sake of his heart, broken as it already may be.

So now when Kise invade his room in the middle of the night and throws himself at Aomine, burying his head into his shoulder, Aomine hasn't got the slightest clue what to do. Pushing Kise away seems a bit too cold but letting him stay like that won't do either. Maybe trying to reason with him would work for once?

"Oi Kise, get off me, you're heavy!" Not exactly reasoning, that. Damn.

Instead of listening to Aomine, Kise tightens his hold on the other. Soon after, Aomine feels something hot wetting his shoulder.

"…are you crying?" Please say no, please…

"I knew it wasn't going to work out, why did I confess…" Kise is clearly talking to himself more than to Aomine which is why he fails to notice the way Aomine freezes. "Haaaa… I'm so stupid. Now we can't even be friends anymore."

This, Aomine thinks, must be what people mean when they something feels like a punch to the gut. It takes him several moments to gather himself enough to breathe properly, let alone form words.

"Who," Aomine hates the way his voice cracks and starts again. "Who are you talking about?"

"Don't ask, I don't want to…" The rest of the sentence is mumbled into Aomine's shoulder. Kise's arms are gripping Aomine like a vice, as if the blond is drowning and Aomine is his anchor, and Aomine supposes that in a way that's how it is.

He's the one Kise ran to first. Of course they live together and all, so maybe it isn't that big of a deal after all, but he'd like to believe that Kise wanted him to be the one to comfort him. It's just unfortunate that Kise will unknowingly break Aomine's heart while trying to mend his own.

"Come on, you woke me up in the middle of the night, you'd better make up for that." Aomine punches Kise in the arm softly. So far they've never run into a problem that couldn't be solved by talking; why should heartbreak be any different?

It takes a bit convincing on Aomine's part before Kise starts talking, but when he does, the words just keep pouring out. Having to listen to his crush talk about the guy he likes isn't maybe the ideal situation but damn it, Aomine wants to support Kise.

And doesn't Kise getting rejected mean that he's going to give up on his feelings? And that, in turn, gives Aomine a chance. A rather desperate excuse, he knows, but hey, at this point he'll take anything he can get.

(The one Kise confessed to was a friend, someone who Aomine didn't know apparently, and the model had harboured feelings for him for quite a while already. This confession was on an impulse, something Kise did because he panicked. In reality he had planned to never let the other party know and just work on getting over his feelings in silence.)

By the end of the night, Kise's eyes are all red and puffy, and Aomine feels like he could sleep a year. He doesn't regret staying up though, especially when Kise smiles at him and decides to stay in Aomine's room, in his bed, to get some sleep.

As they lie next to each other (it's really cramped and they're actually half on top of each other since Aomine doesn't have a double bed), Kise's fingers curl around Aomine's and give them a squeeze. "Thanks Aominecchi. You're a real friend."

Getting shot in the chest would probably hurt less, Aomine muses as he tries to swallow Kise's words. Friend. Right, of course. That's how Kise sees him. He cried all night over some guy that rejected him, not Aomine. Because Aomine would never reject him. But of course Kise is completely oblivious to that fact.

"No problem."

For now, Aomine will be fine with being friends. He'll get the chance to become more, he's sure, so why rush things and blow it? No, Kise can take his time to heal his broken heart. Aomine might not be the most patient guy but for Kise he will be.

For Kise he'll do anything.

It takes two months for Kise to start thinking about love again.

And, as usual, Aomine is the first one to know. It's during one of their movie nights – they rent some really stupid films and spend the night curled on the couch watching them and laughing till it hurts. This time Kise has chosen serious films, though, and Aomine frowns, sensing there must be a reason for the change.

Kise doesn't keep him waiting for an explanation for too long.

"There's a friend who... um, lately I've started to see him in a different light. And it's kinda awkward since we see each other a lot." Kise fidgets with his sleeves, suddenly seeming a lot more nervous than just moments ago. Aomine listens, barely managing to hide the fact that his heart's about to stop.

"The thing is, he's straight, or at least I think so… and I'm pretty sure that even if he is into guys, he only sees me as a friend. I mean, when I got rejected, he comforted me and was really caring…"

Wait.

Doesn't that sound an awful lot like Aomine? It does, and it makes him really happy. But then he stops to think. Kise has never indicated having those kinds of feelings towards him before. And just because he fell for a friend once, doesn't mean it would happen again. No, how could that be?

"Oh yeah? Have you confessed?" It's a miracle he manages to make his tone so disinterested when his thoughts are a mess and his heart's trying to break free from his chest.

"I'm not stupid, I'd never do that. Not with what happened last time. I'm happy with being just friends." Kise sighs. "Besides, if I confessed and got rejected, I'd have to start looking for a new place-"

The whole room seems to freeze for a moment; Aomine swears his heart stops for a second or two. This must a dream, it must be. Because wasn't what Kise just said an indirect confession? Holy shit, he's almost hyperventilating.

Apparently Kise notices the slip of his tongue too.

"Whoops, Aominecchi, you know I think I just kinda accidentally told you I like you." He bursts into laughter, the sound reverberating against Aomine's side. There's no awkwardness in it; Kise is genuinely amused and he just keeps laughing.

It's too damn contagious; before he knows it, Aomine's laughing too.

(He's so relieved.)

Wrapping an arm around a lean waist, Aomine pulls Kise into his lap and buries his nose into the golden hair. It smells like citrus, probably because of the same shampoo that always seems to scent their bathroom. The scent is something that Aomine connects very strongly to Kise and that makes him smile.

Kise has stopped laughing in his arms, his body stiffening in uncertainty. "…Aominecchi?"

"I love you too idiot," Aomine mutter into Kise's hair. His voice is quiet, just in case Kise's joking after all. He's giving Kise a chance to pretend he didn't hear Aomine's reply, to pretend nothing happened, and really it's the only way he can hope to protect his heart at least a little.

"…" The longer the silence that follows his words drags on, the more nervous Aomine gets. What if Kise can't handle this after all? What if this is the end of their friendship and them living together?

"Say something," Aomine pleads quietly and even as he's preparing himself for the inevitable heartbreak, he tightens his grip around Kise.

Instead of talking, Kise replies by starting to laugh again. "…we're both idiots, aren't we? We've been living together for such a long time now, and still we couldn't figure this out sooner. Jeez, Aominecchi, you shouldn't always claim that I'm the only stupid one of us two."

There's a beat of silence after which Aomine finds himself kissing Kise. Actually he's pretty sure Kise was the one to kiss him but he doesn't really care; they're kissing for the first time (although strictly speaking it's the second time but the first one might not really count since Kise doesn't even remember it).

Aomine forgets that being human, he needs oxygen, so when Kise pulls away from the heated kiss, he groans in disappointment, diving in for another kiss – only to be stopped by Kise's palm on his mouth.

"You really like me, huh?" What a cheeky brat Kise is, daring to grin like that at Aomine. The bluenette frowns in annoyance.

"You do too, right?" He counters.

Kise's smirk only widens. "Yeah, I really do. So if you're fine with me, I'd be glad to become your boyfriend."

Damn Kise, being able to say such embarrassing things without blushing. Aomine tries to keep his cool as well but fails when Kise starts laughing again and calls him cute.

"Shut up already…" Damn it all, Kise's laughter really has a way of spreading to Aomine too. They both end up laughing until they can't breathe, probably looking like idiots.

But then again, Aomine muses as Kise leans closer to press a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth, maybe being an idiot isn't so bad after all if it means he can date Kise.

A/N: angst is the reason I live but no one wants angst on AoKise week, amirite? So yeah there's only slight angst in this. Also my brain stopped functioning in English somewhere during the writing process so forgive me for all the mistakes OTL