Thank you to Guest-san and Lemonade Ara san for commenting on the previous chapter. Thank you so very much. Encouraged me a lot.

Aomine dabbed the sweat formed on his forehead with a towel handed to him.

The practice match had just ended and he can hear the rampant apologies of Sakurai to Wakamatsu about something trivial for the tenth time that day.

Before walking towards the gym showers he fished out his cell phone, resting in his bag to check for any notifications. Cue to his expectations, there was a text message waiting for him from Kise.

As usual Kise had texted him about trivial things that included a barrage of emoticons.

After typing a quick reply in return, his phone chimed instantly, alerting him of another text. Kise informed him about the restaurant's name and the address, he had mentioned into the call. There was a quirk of a thin blue eyebrow as he realized the name was in English.

Aomine brought the pads of fingertips towards the screen again, in order to ask about something, he was rudely- "Aominecchi, meet me at the Rainbow Restaurant. From your house, it must be a 20 min-walk or so. The addr- " interrupted as Momoi's shrill voice rang throughout Aomine's ears when she read Kise's message out loud. It elicited a shuddering shock out of Aomine and he almost dropped the device from his grasp. "Oh, I know this restaurant, it's-"

"What the hell, Satsuki?" He cut her off just as rudely. "Don't just pop up out of nowhere!" He glanced over his shoulder only to see her peeking into his phone screen. Glaring at her, he tucked it away in haste.

"But I was just here." She smirked, the little tug filled with amusement. "I am the manager of the team, of course, I would be here."

Aomine rolled his eyes tediously. "What are you? Tetsu? Scaring people and then saying 'I was here all the time' and don't just breach my privacy like that." He grumbled, still seeming surprised.

Momoi repressed an urge to quip at him. There were more important matters to discuss.

"I see you've made up with Ki-chan." She chirped as the corner of her lips lifted upwards to form a genuine smile.

Aomine's brows shot up, his looks spelling, 'what makes you so sure?'

"Well, you know, since he texted the address of the restaurant to finally meet up with you and even called you 'Aominecchi'." She began, obviously knowing the peculiar look. "And also, you are in a better mood now. You are attending practices, you aren't aggressive while playing, and you aren't grumpy or sad. You are back to normal now." There was another flash of smile from her. "Well, normal according to your standards." She chuckled. "Sakurai-kun, Wakamatsu-san and the coach are also at ease now."

Heaving a soft sigh, Aomine commented nothing to deny her statement.

"Well?" Inquired Momoi, sternly yet softly, crossing her hands over her chest.

"Yes, yes, we did." Her childhood friend obediently gave in.

"Thank god, I was really worried, you know." She seemed relieved and ecstatic.

And she really was, about everything. How he will handle and sort out the mess, how things will turn out. But she knew he could get things right, especially when it comes to Kise, she had faith in him. For a moment, she wondered if he knows how careful yet reckless Aomine gets when it involves the blond.

"Well, you don't have to be worried anymore. I talked to him, about everything, and I apologized too. Believe me, everything is fine now."

"Really? Like everything?"

A nod in affirmation was granted by him.

"Everything including you being overly jealous and possessive?" She asked, her eyebrows shooting up in slight wonderment.

Aomine scowled a bit, hearing her phrase the sentence so crudely. Oh well, he knew she was right. "Yes, Satsuki. We talked a lot and really everything is fine now." The smile that then graced his face was enough to tell her everything, was enough to assure her.

She could feel her chest swell up with happiness and warmth.

She almost wanted to tell him that she's proud of him. Almost.

Aomine then walked towards the gym showers as he had planned to do so.

After they left school, Momoi accompanied him towards their walk home.

"Hey, Satsuki, you were saying something before." Aomine asked, recalling their earlier conversation, before he had interrupted her as a retort.

"Hm?" Momoi looked up at him, questionably.

"About the restaurant."

"Oh, that? Nothing much. I've just heard about that place. It's nothing too fancy but a classy one and kinda cozy. Just wanted to say, it's a good restaurant. It's rather famous for its food and for the warm ambience it possess."

Aomine caught her from the corner of his eye, his mind joining the dots. "Is that your way of saying 'be dressed nicely'?" He apparently learnt the subtleness that lies in her statements now. Or at least, he thought he has.

"Maybe." She tittered, giving him an all-too-knowing grin.

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he asserted, "If you're going to ask me to shop with you again then you can forget it."

"Well, I'm not even asking you to." She puffed up her cheeks, petulantly.

"Thank god! Shopping with you is really the worst thing ever. I'd rather stop eating Teriyaki burgers."

Momoi huffed.

"That reminds me, do they serve Teriyaki burgers?"

"Are you really asking that?" She wanted to drag her palm across her face. "You think a classy restaurant will serve a fast food burger?" The way she looked at him was enough to tell him that she thinks his question was downright absurd.

"Then what kind of a restaurant is it? And what's up with the name anyway? Thee Raynbow Reishturaant? Pfft!" He scoffed teasingly, his accent thick as he pronounced the words in English. "It's ridiculous."

She wanted to comment on how ridiculous his accent sounds but instead she opted to be witty. "I think it's ridiculous how you're a part of a certain Rainbow troupe yourself."

"Ha?" Confusion came over his features.

"Nothing." Momoi exhaled, thinking how thick headed he could be at times.

Letting a few moment pass by, she bit her tongue before asking, "So, when is Ki-chan meeting you?"

"This weekend," was the prompt answer given by him. "Apparently, he's got a shoot and then he will head over to the agency, and afterwards we're going for lunch."

She listened meticulously. "Hmm," she tapped her fingers under her chin. "At what time have you guys agreed to meet up?"

"At 1." A yawn left from Aomine. "Man, I wanna take a nap."

Calculatingly, she presumed they would be done in an hour or so.

"Enjoy your date, Dai-chan." Her tone was light and before Aomine could notice the Cheshire grin coating her features, she asked a question on a different note deliberately but impulsively, "What is this?" Reaching out her hand on his bag to touch, she ran her fingers through a certain trinket dangling by the chain.

"What does it look like?" Aomine bit his tongue.

"Well, it looks like a keychain."

"That is what it is."

She looked up at him and scanned his eyes carefully.

"What? You don't think I could buy such stuff?" questioned Aomine after seeing her perplexed face.

"No. You're not the type. It's so unusual for you to indulge in such things." She played with the keychain for a while. "Unless..." She drawled, shooting him a menacing look.

"Okay, fine! Kise gave it to me!"

"I knew it! Oh god, Ki-chan is so cute!" She squealed, her eyes practically sparkling with little hearts in them.

"What the fuck, Satsuki?" He grimaced.

"And you even accepted it. Oh my god, you guys are so cute!" The said person practically clapped her hands.

"Seriously, what the fuck, Satsuki?!" Aomine's lips twisted into a snarl. He snatched his bag away from her grip in annoyance.

Momoi laughed loudly.

Today is going to be a long day, Kise mused as Sunday arrived in a blink of an eye.

Amidst his hectic schedule, he didn't even realize when the weekend had announced itself. Not that he complained, he couldn't wait to be done with his job and finally meet up with Aomine.

Since his shoot was in the outskirts of Tokyo, he had to wake up early in the morning; he prepared and ate breakfast in the nook of the time. And since it was Sunday, his sister was sleeping in and not heading off to work herself.

He thought about Aomine for a moment, that he must be sleeping his ass off right about now. And he found himself to be a bit jealous. Although, Kise is a morning person, he wouldn't mind sleeping in once in awhile, and especially not if it's a damned Sunday.

He was cut off from his musings when his manager arrived at his doorstep, ringing the doorbell at 5am sharp.

As Kise opened the door, he greeted the man, "Aki-chan, gooood morning~" He sing-songed absentmindedly. "Just wait a moment, I'll grab my keys."

His manager, Hiroshigeki Akiyoshi, frowned. "Don't call me Aki-chan."

Kise returned, with a bright smile plastered on his face.

"Let's go, Aki-chan." That smile on his face was getting on his manager's nerves. "Stop calling me Aki-chan, Kise-kun." He stated again. Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears as Kise didn't bother to respond because as soon as he stepped out, he was greeted with a peaceful atmosphere and a cold wind caressing his body which felt way too pleasant. The sun wasn't up yet, the darkness of the night still lingered in the sky and yet he can see the brightness starting to seep in.

"Ah, it's such a beautiful morning." He exclaimed again.

"You're being too cherry at 5 o'clock on a Sunday morning. 'Come on, don't dawdle. We can't be late today."

"Roger, Aki-chan." Kise replied cheerfully.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Aki-chan?" Akiyoshi murmured, walking towards the car.

"Eh? Aki-chan sounds cute." Kise giggled, as he deposited himself in the front passenger seat.

"A cutesy name doesn't fit a grown man." There was a little growl in Akiyoshi's voice.

"Oh, come on, Aki-chan. A cutesy name can fit for anyone irrespective of their age." The pout forming on Kise's face was enough of a tell-tale for Akiyoshi, for he knows Kise is a stubborn little thing, and no matter what, he will always do what he wants to.

The old man could only sigh as he started the engine.

As his manager began driving, Kise sat quietly, watching the scenery of trees and tall buildings pass by him, the wind was soft and saccharine on his skin and it made his golden hair flutter. Only a handful of people were on the pavement alongside of the street and the lack of the hustle-bustle of the city, of the traffic and the lack of mostly every other sound which would usually envelop the city obnoxiously was void early in the morning, so Kise opted to lean back comfortably and let the breeze do it's wonders on him.

He has apparently begun to love car rides.

His manager's gaze flickered towards Kise for a split second before it returned towards the road that lay ahead of them. "Today is a big day, right? You will meet Mr. Marcus Kirihara." Kise blinked once before flashing a smile.

The delayed photoshoot for his album finally resumed and today will be the last shoot before the official release of his album.

"Shooting with him will prove beneficial to your career. You must have heard about him a lot, right? He has a lot of experience. You could learn a lot from him, Kise-kun. Not that, you're a rookie but you could always get better, yeah?"

Running a hand through his hair, Kise blithely hummed in agreement.

The rest of the ride was silent and comfortable. It's not every day his manager drives him around but when he does, it's usually for rare opportunities like these so Kise simply enjoyed the silent ride with the wind gracing his ears and the additional sound of birds chirping off in distance. It will take nearly an hour for their destination to arrive and one would think he would listen to music or at least turn on the radio but he preferred it to be quiet, preferred to listen to the combination of the various sounds gush through him, like music chords of a guitar.

Upon arriving on the destined place, Kise smiled in delight and nostalgia. He recognized the place as he had visited the place before. One of his shoots took place on the exact same location. He wasn't surprised to be here again, as the place was utterly beautiful. Tall lush trees and mountains surrounded everywhere. Birds chirped far off in the distance and the greenery surrounding him was refreshing from the concrete jungle back in the city.

He remembered visiting a certain place right up the hill, which no one knew about, back when he was in Teiko, back when loneliness and boredom pre-dominated his life. It was rather secluded and the most peaceful destination he had ever visited.

He gazed up at sky, it was now covered with bright blue with no signs of grey clouds covering it, it was crystal clear and he could see the sun rising now.

His thoughts shifted towards Aomine.

He stared at the sky for a good few minutes. Like a Sunflower that bends towards the sky to thrive on, Kise reached out for Aomine who seems like an endless vast expanse. Endless and unreachable.

"What are you doing? Stop spacing out!" His manager reprimanded him after seeing his dazed state.

Kise was brought out of his musings, and he shook his head in a futile attempt to keep Aomine out of his head. He proceeded to greet the staff and was happy to find that his photographer for today was Kazuya-san, the one who he felt comfortable with.

In a split second, his manager dragged him towards Marcus Kirihara for introductions.

"Hello, Kirihara-san. Good morning." Akiyoshi greeted, bowing to the man.

"Oh, hello, Akiyoshi-san. How are you this fine morning?" Marcus said, as he bowed back.

Behind them, Kise stared at Marcus with almost-wide eyes.

Marcus was a tall person, taller than Kise and had bright blond hair, much like him. Only difference was he didn't have bangs covering his forehead. It was short, and had an under-cut thing going on for him. He was only lightly tanned but if he were more tanned; his skin would resemble Aomine's. Another thing that grabbed Kise's attention were his eyes. They were a deep sapphire colour and had a black ring circling it, any deeper and his eyes would resemble the deep hue of midnight blue he has come to adore.

To Kise, It felt like he hadn't seen his boyfriend in months and he now he longs to see him, longs to see and stare into his deep blue eyes, yearns to burn like a blazing flame into his eyes. He only has to bear until afternoon, but he isn't sure he wanted to wait that long.

Kise breathed in harshly to repel such thoughts; he couldn't afford and doesn't usually allow himself much to distract him from work.

He has seen Marcus in magazines, interviews and albums before and he knows what he looks like. But it still felt like he was looking at him for the very first time. He could tell this guy oozes maturity.

Akiyoshi turned towards Kise. "Mr. Marcus. This is Kise Ryouta." He glanced at the both of them.

"Kise-kun, meet Kirihara-san. The guest star for today."

Kise bowed in front of him politely and respectfully. "Hello, Kirihara-san. It's an honour to work with you. I'm looking forward to the photoshoot." A professional smile graced on his face.

Marcus bowed as well. "Likewise, Kise-san. Let's work hard together."

The camera crew got ready with their equipment and on the other hand, the crew was setting up the lightning. Simultaneously, the models got their clothes changed and make-up and hair done which nearly took an hour.

Kise couldn't help but draw in a calming breath. The weather was absolutely delightful. The crisp of the morning tickled him. It was not too cold, not too hot. Just perfect. He made a mental note to visit this heavenly place again.

After everything and everyone was ready, the models began to pose as they were told.

Kise flashed his professional smile left and right, the smile that never reaches his eyes.

As the camera went off, Kazuya-san spoke, "I want to take some casual photos of you too, that will make it seem like you have known each other for ages." He smiled wholesomely. "So, you guys wouldn't feel like strangers doing a shoot but rather friends working together."

Both the models didn't seem to waver from the little proposition.

"Kirihara-san, if you could, please, place your arm on Kise-kun's shoulder and smile casually towards the camera," came an instruction from Kazuya-san.

Now, he was reminiscing Aomine's comfortable weight upon his shoulder. Kise sighed internally as he realized he was thinking of Aomine again before concentrating on his work.

"Kise-kun, please do the same with Kirihara-san." Kise followed his instructions. The photographer, Kazuya-san had also made things natural and comfortable between them.

Although, the shoot went on for hours, it was conducted smoothly as both the models were respectful and co-operative with each other. Kise indeed learnt a lot from him. Marcus taught him how 'getting-lost-in-thoughts' pose seemed really likeable, how a determined look was confident and passionate, how going with the natural flow will sometimes bring out the best in your shoots and other things as well.

Oh, I could do all of that if I think about Aominecchi, was Kise's fleeting thought. This then resulted in cursing himself mentally.

Kise noticed the time displayed on his phone, the shoot took quite some time and he had a hunch he's going to be late for the lunch. He hoped the interview wouldn't take long at his agency.

"Alright, it's a wrap!" The director announced at the end. "Kise-san, congratulations! Your photo album will be out soon."

"The shoot was carried out beautifully." Kise grinned ear-to-ear and extended his thanks to everybody, bowing to Kirihara-san, his manager and the director.

Soon, the crew began packing away and slowly, everybody retreated, some towards their home and some towards the agency.

Kise left with his manager again, towards Tokyo agency. He let his mind leisurely wander towards Aomine.

Finally, after reaching the agency, there was an interview for him. As Marcus was the guest star, he too accompanied him and they were questioned, mainly about the new photo album, and the interviewer asked Kise about his latest photoshoot experience and how it was to work with Marcus. It also featured some questions about Basketball.

The interview was diplomatic and nothing special to Kise, although he didn't let anyone know. He always remained on guard. The smile on his face was simply a pretend one and if Aomine were to see that he would get annoyed and tell him to knock it off.

Untowardly, the interview ran a little late. Kise rushed to text Aomine.

Aominecchi, I'm sorry! (*´･Д･) I'll be a little late! ｡･ﾟﾟ*(д)*ﾟﾟ･｡, came Kise's text as Aomine stood at the given address.

Aomine shook his head back and forth. Are you ever on time? He tightened his grip on the transparent plastic covering the stems wrapped in blue ribbon.

Gomen! The shoot ran a little late, I'll be there asap! へ (´д ｀へ )

Only a heavy sigh was let out in the air by the tanned male. He hasn't seen Kise for weeks and nervousness crept inside of him, like when they had met again at Maji's after their 'little' fall out.

After standing around for minutes, tapping his feet impatiently on the surface of the ground, kicking a few gravels underneath his shoes like it was the only thing keeping him sane, Aomine watched people pass-by, some girls chatting away in distance, a child crying in his mother's arms, and he released a shaky breath.

His heart was pounding, he felt like sweat drops were rolling down his face and neck, his fingers were shaky but he didn't loosen his grip.

Okay, Daiki, calm down. Take deep breaths, it's no big deal. You can do this. He paused. Oh great, now I am talking to myself. Getting pathetic and going crazy, Daiki.

He looked around and finally spotted a familiar mop of blond hair sprinting towards him. He swore his heart pummelled and stopped beating all at once and he had no idea how the damn thing managed to do that.

He quickly hid whatever he was holding behind him.

"Aominecchi..." Kise came running, completely breathless and stood in front of him. Placing his hands on his knees, he struggled to breathe. "Hah...sorry," he tried to wave. "I'm...hah, late." He managed to coherently mumble.

" 'S', kay" Aomine said. "Geez, you didn't have to run."

Kise took a deep breath to speak up. "I just didn't want to make you wait, anymore." He smiled lopsidedly as his breathing evened out.

"For god sake's, you're an athlete, Kise. What's got you so breathless?!"

"Mou, Aominecchi, I rushed everything after the interview, y'know. I even had to change my clothes in a jiffy." Kise pouted.

Aomine took a moment to look at Kise's face. The blond looked a bit flushed, from the exertion and he realized he had make-up on his face. Aomine groaned a little. Although, Kise did look handsome as ever, Aomine knew he looks better without his face all caked up.

Kise stood as if the time had frozen again and he too stared back. He finally let himself gaze into deep-blue eyes he missed so much with half-lidded orbs. When was the last time they met? Oh, it was at their first date. Why does it seem so long ago, he thought.

Aomine forgot the other people walking around, forgot the horns of the vehicles go by, forgot about children crying, forgot about a bunch of girls gossiping, he forgot about everything.

They both stood, face-to-face, for a few minutes, just staring at each other with no one breaking the silence.

Until Kise's eyes fluttered into a blink making Aomine blink back. He was brought out of his daze.

He awkwardly cleared his throat. He remembered the task at hand. Just get it over with, Daiki!

He then swiftly shoved something in Kise's face.

"H-here, these are for you..." Aomine muttered speedily, hiding and turning his face away from Kise.

Kise jerked back, from the sudden movement only to have his golden eyes widen in surprise.

In front of his vision, lay a beautiful mix of white Tulips and Sunflowers. The yellow-brown flowers that resembled his own honey-golden eyes, bundled around and between the elegant white Tulips which were secured together in a blue ribbon tied in a shape of a bow and were covered with transparent plastic.

Flowers. Aomine had gotten him flowers. It literally took Kise's breath away. His jaw dropped.

"I-I...you-you got me fl-flowers?"

"Y-yeah." Kise heard Aomine mumble behind them.

A long beat of silence emerged between them.

Kise stared at the flowers for quite a while; they were so beautiful and gorgeous and exquisite, he couldn't bring himself to do any movements, not even a blink of an eye as if afraid they will vanish if he allowed himself to do any kind of activity. Instead, his vision blurred lightly from the water welling up in his eyes.

"What are you doing? T-take them." Aomine let out a silent grumble, shoving them further into his face, not meeting his eyes.

Finally removed out of his stupor, Kise blinked back the tears in his eyes. God, he didn't want to cry in front of him. His pale, shaky hand came forwards to reach out for the small bouquet. He held it as Aomine let it go.

Aomine watched Kise accept the flowers graciously and his lips tugged into a very faint and bashful smile.

Kise pursed his lips. He clutched the flowers against his chest lightly, careful, not wanting to crush them within his embrace and that little gesture was seen by Aomine. Kise tucked a stray strand of his blond hair behind his ear shyly.

Kise couldn't meet Aomine's eyes but Aomine could see traces of pink blush covering his cheeks then turning into a deep crimson one across his face.

Holy fuck, this is embarrassing, Aomine thought, wanting to tear his eyes away from him but couldn't bring himself to. He wanted to kiss him.

As Kise's eyes gazed down, he felt too embarrassed and demure. He could feel Aomine's stare on him.

Mockingly he said, "So, now you're treating me like a girl, Aominecchi?"

Aomine pulled a face instantly, contorting into a shocked one. "What?" Incredulity bathed in his voice. "What? Of course not! I would never-"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, Aominecchi." Kise kind of regretted saying that. He looked back into Aomine's eyes. "I was just kidding." There was a smile appearing on his face.

"T-they are really beautiful, I love them." He complimented, caressing the petals gently underneath his fingertips. He took a careful and tentative step towards Aomine to peck his cheek.

At Kise coming too close to his face, Aomine flinched a little, albeit visibly. He backed away from the kiss and missed the flash of hurt pass through Kise's face.

Kise's stomach dropped a few inches. He felt like an idiot but he kissed his cheek anyway. He immediately pushed back any unnecessary thoughts that began to flood his mind. He retreated from Aomine's personal space and gripped the bouquet in his hold.

"Thank you so much, Aominecchi." He smiled sweetly at Aomine.

Aomine couldn't meet his eyes. "Y-yeah...anyway, let's go eat. I'm starving here!" He blurted out, rubbing his nape.

As he turned away, Kise could see the tips of Aomine's ears turn red.

Kise smiled warmly again but for a moment he wanted to cry. God, he hated feeling this way, why am I being so stupid.

Once they entered the restaurant, Aomine and Kise sat on a particular table, opposite of each other. Kise placed the flowers on the corner of the table facing the wall, carefully.

Aomine looked around and realized Momoi was right. The place isn't actually fancy but has a homey feeling to it. It still looked classy and yet it was warm and so very comfortable. When the sunlight peeped in through the windows, there was a visible rainbow carved up smoothly on the ceiling and on the walls, making it shine and bringing out the colours softly and whatnot.

Bringing his gaze back at Kise, he saw him gaze back.

"I frequented this restaurant a lot of times when I used to stay in Tokyo. Do you like it?" Kise asked with certain warmness basking his eyes.

"Yeah, it's a cool place." Aomine stated, after glancing around some more.

Someone soon approached them with poised steps.

Halting in front of the table, the man said, "Hello, good-afternoon. I'm Jacob Hara. I'll be your waiter for tonight." He smiled politely before bowing.

As his eyes fell on Kise, he was taken aback with genuine surprise. "Kise-san?"

The said person was looking at the waiter and a smile spread across his features.

"Hello, Hara-san." Kise greeted.

"It's been a long time since you've been here."

"Yes, it has. I had work in Tokyo so I came by here." Kise gave a curt nod to man before him.

"I see." The waiter took a brief glance at Aomine. "I see you have different company today. You either came alone or with your manager or with your sister."

Kise cackled a bit. "Yeah. He's Aomine Daiki." He paused before saying, "a friend of mine."

Aomine quirked an eyebrow at his words. "Hello," Aomine was quick to greet him.

"Hello, Aomine-san." The waiter smiled. "It's good to see you here and I hope you will accompany Kise-san again."

"Yeah, sure." Aomine replied. He could tell this guy wasn't entirely Japanese as his accent was little off. His pronunciation was almost correct.

They were quickly handed glasses of water and the menu cards.

"Call for me, Kise-san, Aomine-san, whenever my assistance is required."

Kise gave another brief nod before the waiter retreated.

After he left, Kise hunched towards Aomine. "God, I'm sorry, Aominecchi. Y'know, about introducing you as my friend." He gushed, sounding a bit guilty.

"What are you being sorry for, idiot? I know you can't directly introduce me as your boyfriend." Aomine chuckled, almost rolling his eyes. Of course, he understands that Kise and his relationship can't be just declared to anybody.

A giggle left from Kise.

"You know him, huh?" Aomine asked.

"Yes. Like I said, I frequented this place a lot so I became familiar with some of the staff." Kise answered.

"His Japanese is a little weird."

"Yeah. He's half Japanese and half American."

Well, that explains it.

Aomine skimmed through the menu but nothing held his interest, he didn't even know how to pronounce some of the English words.

Kise glanced at him from above the menu. "Aominecchi, what do you wanna order?"

Aomine scowled as everything went over his head. "Just order whatever. I'll eat anything."

Smiling, Kise said fine.

Kise then ordered quickly, for him and for Aomine as well. Aomine watched him order away, and noticed Kise wasn't so bad in English.

"So, how was your shoot today?" Blue eyes were focused on Kise.

"It was good." Kise began. He later continued on saying how everything went, how he had to begrudgingly wake up early in the morning, that his manager drove him to the shoot, that his manager only does it rarely, that he met Kirihara-san; who is a professional model, told him that he had to change his clothes four times during the shoot, and later goes on about the happenings of the agency.

Soon, their food arrived. The sight of the food was enough for Aomine to drool. Kise ordered some meaty dish and Aomine thanked god for his sacred existence.

Kise smiled genuinely when he saw Aomine's happy face and then resumed talking.

Mentioning more about his work, that his hair and make-up takes up a lot of time, that his photo book is going to be officially released, that he has been too busy as he always is, that he sometimes gets too tired at the end of the day, that he wants to take a break.

He talked and talked and talked like he hadn't seen Aomine in ages.

Aomine listened, getting caught up in Kise's stories and just in Kise. Kise makes this little hand gestures when he tells various things. If his one hand is occupied, he would make movements with the other. If his both hands were occupied, he would make gestures with his head. He would shake it in all directions, would make any movement possible. Aomine found it all cute and hilarious at the same time.

Of course, Kise loves to talk his head off and of course, Aomine had been with him before, but why hadn't he noticed this beforehand? Kise's eyes just seemed to shine brighter every time he was engrossed in telling his stories and his body language, his gestures, the way he brings the spoon to his lips for the food to go in, the way he swallows after chewing, the way he drinks water after taking a huge bite, the way he blinks or scrunches up his face, everything was just so mesmerising and so cute.

Observing every little movement of Kise, Aomine narrowed his eyes at him. "Your face is all caked up, Kise." There was a tinge of annoyance masking his tone.

"Eh?" Kise blinked but soon enough he understood what Aomine meant. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't get any time to remove the make-up."

There was a roll of azure eyes, it wasn't sarcastic or condescending, those eyes only wanted to see Kise's natural face. Not that they minded a face full of make-up, it's just Kise looked somehow more lovely without his face painted for a damn camera.

Aomine then continued watching him talk and talk, watched and his eyes followed every little smile, every little curve of his lips, every little hand movement, every little shine of his eyes, every little gesture, like Kise is the only thing in the world and nothing could ever matter.

"Aominecchi, I didn't know I was this hungry." Kise began another tale, as he continued eating like there's no tomorrow. "Today morning, I only ate so little and until now I had absolutely nothing. I usually have at least some energy bars to eat but I kinda left my apartment in a hurry so I couldn't take anything. You know, even the agency sometimes serves food to us."

"Hmm," Aomine grunted out, glancing at him as he jabbed his fork into his food to bring it to his mouth and eat it.

"Yeah, and sometimes they serve us sweets too. If Murasakibaracchi were there, he would have practically licked the entire table." Sweet giggles echoed through the restaurant. "The agency didn't provide us with anything today. So, now I'm probably going to eat and eat and eat." He parroted.

"Hah! No problem, since you're paying." Aomine winked at him.

"Yes, because I'm loaded!" Kise winked back. "One day, I might become so rich, I can even become your sugar daddy." There was a smirk playing across his face and then he was laughing when he saw Aomine choke on his food.

"I can't believe you said that!" Aomine thumped his chest before drinking his water.

Laughter rippled out of Kise again.

"Oh come on, I'll shower you with gifts, you can buy whatever you want." Kise wiggled his brows at him.

Hunching up from his seat, Aomine flicked his forehead.

"Eck! Not again, Aominecchi!" Kise whined, rubbing the spot.

Aomine cracked a laugh. "You are so stupid," with a fond shake of his head, he took another bite.

Kise's lips curled into a pout.

The rest of the lunch was filled with silly bickering antics of them.

"Hey, Kise, where is the restroom?" Aomine asked after he was done eating.

"It's um..." Kise rubbed his palm against his forehead, trying to remember. "Oh, just go straight from here and take a left."

Kise watched Aomine get up and his eyes followed his receding back.

His gaze fell upon the empty seat before him. He stared and stared, and it felt like ages although it was a mere couple of minutes.

And then there it was again, what he has managed to push back into his mind resurfaced. The feeling that threatens to swallow him right up. The feeling that he had tried so hard to push it in the back into his mind.

His stomach churned, his insides twisted. He knows whatever he's feeling is stupid, so very stupid, but damn it! He can't help it; he's a stupid human being.

It hurts, he thought as he bolted up from his seat.

A/N: Wonder what Kise is upto, eh!

I hope you guys like this chapter and thank you for reading :)