Chapter 7: Aftermath

.

.

Kagami had a day off today, and he had decided to sleep in and relax the whole day.

He wasn't gonna get what he wanted though.

Trudging groggily to answer the door, he was ready to yell at whoever had dared to disturb the tiger from his slumber… But on yanking the door open, he was shocked to see a puffy-eyed, red-nosed, disheveled Kise outside his apartment with- what was that?!...his… or someone's luggage…

Still a bit disoriented by the sleep, he could only look at the model stupidly.

Until he was brought back to earth when Kise cleared his throat,
"Ehem!... umm.. Kagamicchi?"

Realizing what a horrible host he was being- having an uninvited guest or not- he immediately grabbed the luggage from his hands and invited him inside.

"Aah. Kise! … Um. Come in", just by looking at the blonde, he kind of had an idea what the model was there for.

"Ah gomen Kagamicchi… I should've called…but I-"

"It's ok Kise! Just come in first, and then explain. Ok?", Kagami could see the fragile state he was in, and felt obligated to help in any way…since the blonde HAD come to him for help.

A bit shocked, Kise just nodded and entered the threshold to the apartment that was Kagami's home.

Kagami immediately kept the luggage aside neatly, showed Kise to the living room, and went off to the kitchen to prepare something for them to eat. (-snickers- Kagamicchi's adorable and motherly hosting qualities –gets kicked-)

Trying to keep his mind out of the gutter for now, Kise decided to check out the living room… Only to realize how he and Kagami were more similar than he'd thought- and were in very similar situations: both being head-over heels in love, and being betrayed by "that one person"… Even though Kagami had seemed really angry at Kuroko that day at the restaurant- and he had every right to be- Kise realized it was just his iron-mask to hide his pain…for it was obvious with all the framed pictures of him and Kuroko, or sometimes just Kuroko occupied almost every empty space in the living room, carefully arranged.

Being reminded of his own bitter-sweet love, Kise felt like bawling again, remembering how their bonds had been severed forever. He wouldn't say he was surprised Aomine hadn't even tried to hold him back… just disappointed… more in himself to think he would than in Aomine for not having stopped him. But on the other hand, he was grateful Aomine hadn't tried to stop him; if he HAD, the blonde would've lost all resolve to do what's right.

Clearing his throat, Kagami effectively broke Kise out of his reverie,
"Aaaah… The table's set. Come, let's eat."

Putting on what he hoped at least LOOKED like a cheerful smile, Kise nodded at Kagami and went to wash his hands in the kitchen.

"Itatakimasu~"

"Itatakimasu~"

They dug-in into the delicious breakfast Kagami had prepared- or Kagami dug-in, to be more precise. Kise was mostly not eating- he'd barely taken four bites into his system before he stopped eating.

He himself didn't know how he'd managed to get even that much down his throat. He felt he'd choke if he ate anymore, so he stopped even pretending to eat.

All of this, of course, didn't go unnoticed by Kagami's blood-red eyes.

Just as he was about to ask the blonde though, Kise snapped, suddenly banging both fists on the table,
"I can't do this anymore!"

"Kise-"

"No! Listen to me Kagamicchi! Daiki and I- we're… we're done, ok?! I talked to him about it- just like you said- and we're breaking-up! I-I had no idea where to go… NO lemme rephrase that! I could go anywhere… but I … I wanted-NEEDED someone's presence! … I can't deal with losing him alone!... I don't know how you did… So I came here! And I'm sorry I didn't call before coming!...
But … just help me find a flat… in THIS building. It has to be here! … I can't …I feel like… I dunno… I feel like there's a strong spark of friendship between us… And with what we've been through, we might be able to help each other heal by sticking together… I just… -sob- I'm still not over Daiki… A-And I'm afraid if I'm completely on my own, I might go back… ugh… I-"

"Kise", firm but gentle. "It's ok. I understand." Reaching out across the table, Kagami grabbed the blonde's clenched fist firmly, comforting him, being his anchor.

"I'll book you an apartment in this building… And, to answer your question, I didn't do it alone either: I had my bro, Tatsuya, helping me through… I'll be that Tatsuya for you… O, and till I find you an apartment, you're staying with me."

A/N: -dives behind a table to hide from the flying knives- I'M SORRY! I can FEEL how much of a fail this chap is! OTL Oh lord! Help me! I hope my readers like it! Damn!... I'm an AoKise fan at heart!.. so you should know how painful this fic is for me to write… -sigh- Honestly though, chapter 6 was the hardest for me to write till now.

SeaWeedHead: Awh! You're makin me blush! Arigato for the kind words! X3 … Mhm -nods-… It was too kind I guess…but I couldn't stand to hurt them further by making them fight while saying goodbye.
Kyaaa! I'm an AoKi shipper at heart too! Waa! You are SMART! X3 Yes! It has to come to Kagamicchi!... Oh, don't worry about it…It will come to it…probably.

Naomi-yaoi-lover: Awnh! –hugs- I'm so glad you liked it Naomicchi!... And thankyou soooo much for the kind words!

Thecoldforest: Woa! Welcome recruit! ^^ Arigato gozaimasu for the review! –bows- Awh! I'm sorry if I made you cry! :'(

JennyPham7: Awh! Ihope it affected you in a good way! -smiles-
Oh gomen! OTL I try to make them as long as possible… but I also have to make sure I don't give too much away beforehand, ne?

LaDy MaRsHmAlLoW: O my gawd! Come here you sweet person! -hugs- Really?! Woa! …Seems like a perfect coincidence for you that it's raining while you were reading THAT chap! X3
Awh! I'm glad you liked that chap and didn't wanna kill me! X3 Woa! Everybody guessed where it was gonna go!

Myheartsbroken: O my gosh! Ehe! For a moment there I thought I'd have to hide from your knives and forks X3… I'm so sorry it's sad! orz … but arigato for the last line: I love chu too!

Zorie Aokisefan: Oh gosh! Thank YOU for the sweet review! I hope you like this chapter hun! I really enjoyed your review!