Kise wasn't joking when he said his room was huge.
Kagami thought as he looked around the modern interior of the living room.
The room was neat and clean, like the ones he had paid so little attention on the housing magazines. Kise had showed them the guest room with double bed and introduced them to the bathroom which sat opposite from the guest room's door and to where towels and spare toothbrushes were before he disappeared in his own room around the other side of the living room where both of them were currently standing in.
Aomine flopped himself on the light blue couch, stretching his neck from side to side. He inhaled deeply.
"Man, I'm so exhausted."
"You should get a shower and get change, Aominecchi. Sitting on the plane for too long can get you all cramped." Kise came into the room with a fresh cloths on him—a white sweater and a pair of brownish pants—he wasn't looking at the tanned man as he was busy typing something on his phone. "I will get something for you to eat. Though I doubt there would be any, given I left Japan for almost a month."
Kagami followed Kise movement in the open kitchen area. "Water's enough. We already had lunch and we can go out to grab something to eat."
"Oh, right." Kise's head popped up from behind the island. His sheepish grin adored his face. "I almost forgot you had lived here before you left to the States."
Aomine sighed wishfully. "You made it sound like we've been away forever. We've been there for what..." he started counting on his fingers. "ten years. Man, that long?"
"Told you." Kise handed Kagami and Aomine each bottle of water before settling himself on an opposite couch, to which Kagami followed. They sat in silence for a bit longer. Aomine closed his eyes, Kise typed something on his phone, and Kagami couldn't help himself but asked the owner of the apartment after running his eyes around the room and noticed something that piqued his interest.
"Say, Kise" He started, "It's all right for us to stay at your place,right?"
Aomine opened his eyes. Kise stopped what he was doing with his phone and looked at Kagami questioningly. "Yeah? Why do you ask that, Kagamicchi?"
Kagami glanced to the counter bar where two mugs sat quietly at the far side of it. It's not just that. He also spotted two sets of almost everything in this apartment. Two pairs of the same branded slippers with different colors. Two matching toothbrushes and towels in the bathroom, two sets of blankets folded neatly on one another beside the bookcase filled with hardcover books with some magazines in between. He wondered there would be more of those in Kise's bedroom. But that's not his business. He just wanted to be assured that their staying here wouldn't cause troubles to Kise and maybe to that someone who might have come in any minute, seeing they must have been important to Kise enough for him to allow that someone to share a live with him, in this room.
Kise followed Kagami's line of sight. He understood the redhead's unspoken question then. "Oh, that's—it's fine. We actually don't live together. With me being often outside Japan, and his home is closer to his workplace, we decide to stay at our own houses. Though I wish we could move in together some day soon." Kise sighed exasperatingly.
Kagami's thinking process was cut short. He blinked at the blonde. "He? A man?"
Kise smiled at him warily. "Yes, Kagamicchi. I'm seeing a man now. Would that bother you somehow?"
Though Kise didn't mean to sound so offense and childish, he couldn't help it. While Kagami and Aomine had struggled to be the regulars on the court on the opposite side of the world, Kise had had his own fight too. He stole a look at Aomine who, for once, has yet opened his mouth on the matter. Aomine just knew as much as Kise, maybe even more than so since Aomine had been the one to notice the change and told Kise before he went after Kagami.
But that was a decade ago. Aomine mused quietly. He was surprised himself that they could keep up their relationship for that long regarding the state of mind they had back then. It wasn't healthy. He once called Satsuki, out of the need to know and worry—heck, they were his friends all right?, to check on them and he was answered that they were doing well, considered that they both equally broken.
"Not psychically, Dai-Chan. That type of pain can be healed in no time." Satsuki's voice was muffled. Aomine didn't know if it's because of the signal or the subtle cry. "I just can't. Sometimes when I accidentally look at Ki-Chan and see how much emotions he tries to keep secured at the bottom of his heart. But you know, Ki-Chan can't lie." She sobbed then, "Dai-Chan, 'he' knows that too, given he is the most observant out of the rest of us. But he isn't any better than Ki-Chan at all. I know that they both are trying in their own respective way—to make this work. But sometimes it's just sad to see them smile knowing that they are crying inside."
Aomine was snatched out of his reverie when Kagami turned his head toward him, eyes fueled like someone just tossed the dry twig into the dying frame.
"And you know this?" Kagami growled. He couldn't believe he was left out on all this, for fuck's sake. "Care to let me know at all? After all that, despite how much I dislike your face, you dare to keep this to yourself and not telling me this?"
"Why should I?" Aomine snorted, plugging a finger in his ear. "It's Kise's. That alone leaves me enough reason to not telling you. It's non of your business."
"But Kise's a FRIEND!" Kagami yelled. He almost jumped on his feet and pointed accusingly at the tanned man who still sat lazily beside him. "If you had told me of this, I could have—"
"What could you have done, Kagamicchi?" Kise piped in. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes. His hands on his laps clenched. "Aominecchi's right. Though I really am appreciate your concern over my course of action, there's nothing you could do. Not now, not back then." He leaned against the back of the couch. "It doesn't matter what they call me. Gay, gigolo, queer or the odd ball. I'm just me who happen to fall in love with another guy. It's all up to me in the end. I just got to accept it, that's part of self validation, you know." He winked.
"Why are you so worked up, Kagami?" Aomine asked pointedly "Think that's you we are talking about?"
"The hell does that mean?" Kagami sputtered. But deep inside, he was confirmed.
They knew Kagami thought alarmingly. They knew, and I'm sure everyone else notices that too.
"Well, this is getting awkward." Kise shot to his feet, eyes still on Kagami. "I said that your's opinion was null to my decision. But it's still nerve-wracking to know if you're okay with that. You're a Bakagami, but a friend. After all."
Kagami saw through Kise's nervousness underneath his cheerful posture. He too stood and patted on Kise's shoulder. "It doesn't matter. You're you right? As long as you don't come out wearing make-up...Uh, I mean, that's okay too. But be sure to use ones with waterproof. It's just scary to see all colors smear on your face after a match of basketball or two." Kagami cast him an unsure look. "Still playing?"
"Just once in a while." Kise chuckled and smiled. "With those who still stick around, that's it."
Kagami's eyes glimmered. "Who're those?"
"Besides Akashicchi, almost everyone's here. I ran into Takao-kun just right before I left Japan a month ago." Kise said. "I don't know much about Seirin guys, but your coach and your captain open a fitness facility on the street two blocks away. Heard that Iron-heart is the head coach of some local basketball team. He really likes it when we come and join them in a quick match." He grinned. "They're pretty amazing. Though they're not there yet, I just know that they are going strong."
"What're they doing now?" Aomine asked and Kise knew who he was referring to.
"Like I said, Akashicchi is still in London continuing his PhD, last time I check. Murasakibarachi has a pastry shop not far from here, and man is it super delicious. Midorimacchi works at the private hospital. And guess what, he's a pediatrician now." Kise laughed not too graciously. "I visited him twice and can you imagine what I saw?" He grinned. "Midorimacchi was arguing with a kid who wanted the red balloon which I supposed it was his lucky item of that day, saying something like— This is not for you—nadonayo and if you dare steal it from me, I will make sure to prescribe a load of orange vitamins you hate so much and you have to suffer gulping down all of them until we meet again for the follow-up in two weeks time."
Kise's skills of copying anything he saw were still hilariously living its standard. Kagami drew some air into his mouth so he could pretend a cough instead of a bellowing laughter.
They allowed a moment of calm silence to hang in the air for a while when Kagami suddenly looked anxious. His brows knitted and he licked his lips.
"And kuroko?" Kagami breathed.
Aomine's body became tensed but he made sure no one saw it. Kise, on the other hand, remained uncharacteristically calm, like he was expected this question to be from Kagami and not somebody else.
"He's fine." Kise said. "He's a kindergarten teacher now. It's a surprise though that he seems to be noticed more by the kids than did us."
Aomine smirked. "That's because kids see something we can't"
"Ouch, don't let Kurokocchi know you call him a ghost." Kise shuttered. "He doesn't play basketball as often as before but his punches still send you fly a mile."
It stung to hear his former shadow decide to put a lid on the box but knowing he's good with what he was doing make him relieve too. "That's...good to hear."
It seemed Kise, and that Ahomine too, still kept in touch with Kuroko. And he had so many to ask. He wanted to be confirmed that during all those times since he's been gone to follow his dream, Kuroko was doing great on his own. That despite what happened between them on that last phone call, Kuroko was still that stoic yet gentle and kind. He just needed to be affirmed that he didn't do anything that could have broken his shadow—both physically and mentally.
A phone suddenly went off sending Kagami, being lost in his own thought, to almost jump. He muttered something under his breath and pulled it out of his pocket to see a familiar name on the screen.
Kagami's eyes were bright as he pulled the phone closed to his ear. "Hello,it's been a long time, coa—"
"Don't give me that shit, Bakagami!" a female voice screeched from the other end of the line, too loud that it almost deafened him. "After all this time and you finally got your ass back in Japan and don't even care to call us?! What is that running in your jelly brain!?"
"It's been a long time, coach" Kagami said quietly. He was wise enough to not enrage Aida Riko in such situation. He still wanted to be alive and didn't want this to be his last Christmas, thank you very much. "How have you been? Wait—how did you even know that I'm here in Japan?"
And just right before he could hear his coach answer/ yell, his eyes dashed to Kise whose lips pulled into a grin and was waving his phone happily.
His coach confirmed just that. that bastard "How? Why don't you ask Kise then?" Aida hissed. "You almost killed me, you know that? I was just trying this new machine at the gym while my phone suddenly got a new message from Kise—which was unusual for him to text me—saying 'hey, look what I got!' with a photo of you and Aomine loitering in his room attached to it! Thank God did I hit a stop button just in time, otherwise I would be sent flying a cross the building."
Kagami's sweat dropped. "That's...quite a picture." He cleared his throat. "Um, coach—"
"Stop calling me that, I'm not your coach anymore."
"—senpai." He amended quickly. In his brain, he almost foresee the chaos waiting for him just around the corner. "You didn't happen to tell all the Seirin of my arrival, did you?"
In all respects, he didn't have any intention to keep his coming back to Japan a secret. He had thought of informing coach—senpai and the others by the time his feet touched the airport but when Kise's voice suddenly rang through the cab, he just forgot all of it and instead sat frozen in his seat until the plane had landed safely.
"Oh what do you think?" Kagami was paled at the devilish and giggly voice. A flash of memory where his coach skipped in a practice with a menacing hum was enough to leave him shivered. "I give you and Aomine a total of thirty minutes to drag your ass here. I already sent you a location and rest assured Kagami, it's not just us that I informed. The whole bunch of our old friends will be here at the gym, waiting for you, you got me?"
The call was ended and Kagami was seen pulling Aomine to the door, despite Aomine's grunt of what the hell! and let me go! which Kagami only returned with shut up and our asses will be surely burnt unless we get out of here now
Kise was just standing rooted at his spot, no motion of following along. Kagami sent him a questioning look. "You coming?"
Kise smiled apologetically. He pointed at his phone. "Sorry Kagamicchi, I have to go somewhere too. But knowing Aida-san, you shouldn't be let go off easily. Give me a couple of hours and I will go join the fun!"
"I highly doubt it would be any fun." Kagami grumbled as he turned around and waved his hand. "We're going first. See ya!"
With his back against the blonde, Kagami didn't notice how Kise's smile faltered and Aomine's eyes rolled upward, his brows contorted.
"Oh boy," the tanned man muttered under his breath, knowing real well what was going to happen. "this's going to be a nightmare."