The next few nights were hard on Aomine and Kise both. Whilst the blonde was tossing and turning all night, his teeth chattering from how cold he was, Aomine was staring at him. The bluenette couldn't sleep knowing the blonde was uncomfortable. Though Kise always insisted on sleeping on his own side of the bed, at some point in the night, he always ended up curled into Aomine's chest. Aomine didn't mind. In fact, he preferred it that way. The blonde was just too stubborn to let him supply his warmth.

It was one of these nights, before Kise's inevitable change of heart, that Aomine's heart broke a bit in his chest. He'd been watching Kise intently, the blonde shivering more violently than most nights. Aomine had just decided to pull his boyfriend into his grasp when he heard him talking in his sleep. Brows furrowed, the bluenette leaned in closer, listening intently. His heart clenched when he heard the single word on the blonde's lips.

"Yo.. ri.."

XXX

The next morning, Kise couldn't understand why Aomine was avoiding his gaze. Furthermore, the bluenette was being short and curt with him, not his usual overly protective self. The blonde had itched to ask what was wrong, but had been too afraid to do so, remembering all too well the many times that vey question triggered Kotaro's violence.

In the end, Kise had watched helplessly as Aomine stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Everyone at school could tell a difference in Aomine the moment they saw him. Not only was he back to wearing his permanent scowl, his eyes were dark and dangerous, daring anyone to test him.

As the colourful group of friends all sat around the cafeteria table, Kuroko was the one that decided to break the silence that had accumulated.

"Aomine? Is something wrong?"

The bluenette grunted, not even meeting the smaller boy's gaze. Akashi's eyes narrowed like daggers.

"Daiki, Tetsuya asked you a question."

Aomine rolled his eyes, turning his apathetic gaze to the redhead. "Yeah, I know."

"You will do well to learn respect."

"Look, no offense, Akashi. But fuck off, okay?"

Akashi began rising to his feet, his intent to kill, until Kuroko pushed him back down. "It's okay," he whispered before turning back to his tan friend.

"Aomine, what's wrong? Is Kise alright?"

He scoffed. "No, how can he be, when he's stuck with me?"

The smaller bluenette's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? He loves you."

Aomine rolled his eyes again, groaning. "It doesn't matter, okay? Just drop it."

Kotaro, having happened to be walking by at that precise moment, stepped closer to the group. "Is something the matter, Aomine?" he asked. He peered down at the empty space where Kise should be. "Did something happen to Ryouta?"

Aomine growled under his breath. "Yeah, something happened to Ryouta. You fucking broke his heart!"

Kotaro cocked his head to the side, blinking at him innocently. "I thought he moved on, though. He is dating you, isn't he?"

"Doesn't matter, he's still calling your name in his sleep."

Emerald eyes suddenly shined with understanding. "Is that so?" he commented absentmindedly. "Is it, just my name?"

Aomine scoffed, looking at him like he was crazy. "Yeah, does that make it any better?"

"Oh no! I didn't mean it like that. I was just, curious."

"Well go be curious somewhere else."

Kotaro frowned, but nodded and made his exit.

Kuroko looked up at Aomine worriedly. "So that's what this is about?"

The taller boy sighed heavily, laying his head on the table. "I'm not good enough, dammit."

XXX

When Aomine came home, he was surprised to hear Kise crying. Even from the doorway, the blonde's sobs could be easily heard. He quietly made his way down the hall, pushing the bedroom door open.

Kise was sitting up on the bed, his face buried in his hands as he cried loudly. Aomine realized he'd gotten home a little earlier than usual. Kise probably hadn't expected to still be crying when he arrived.

He made his way over to his boyfriend, his heart softening at the rare sight of him. Reaching out, he lightly brushed his fingertips along the blonde's hair. Kise, having not noticed the bluenette, flinched at the touch, instinctively sliding himself up against the wall.

"D-Daiki-cchi," he muttered, "w-what are you d-doing here?"

Aomine frowned, feeling anger well in his chest for an unknown reason. Perhaps because just last night Kise had been calling another man's name, and now he dared talk to Aomine as if nothing had happened. "I live here, dumbass."

For once, the blonde flinched from Aomine's words. Not the words themselves, but his tone, enveloped in rage. Kise could feel the bluenette's deathly aura from where he sat.

"I-I.. Th-that's not-"

Aomine rolled his eyes, throwing his bag onto the floor. He either didn't notice the blonde's flinch, or he didn't care. "Quit stuttering. Tell me what's up."

Kise's eyes widened, tears threatening to spill over again as he stared up at his lover. "W-what? Y-you're the one-"

"Don't play innocent!" The blonde flinched into himself again, a small whimper escaping his lips. "What the fuck do you take me for, Ryouta? I'm not an idiot!"

"I d-don't know wha-"

"Don't lie to me!" Aomine's voice continued to become louder with each sentence, his arms flailing about wildly. "If you want to go back to Kotaro, just say so!" he finished, his hand flying above his head, fingers clenched into a fist.

Kise instinctively curled into the fetal position, crying out, "Please don't hurt me!"

Aomine paused immediately, his eyes wide and incredulous. Slowly, he turned to look at his own fist, held high in the air. Looking back to Kise, he found the blonde trembling violently, whimpering softly as he awaited an impact that wasn't going to come.

"Ryouta… I'm not going to hurt you…"

The blonde slowly peered out from under his arms. After a long moment of gauging the bluenette, he forced himself to relax, sitting normally once more. Aomine watched as he made a point to avoid eye contact at all cost. And suddenly, it all made sense.

The scars he'd noticed but hadn't mentioned, the days he came into school late, the fake smiles, the self-loathing, the disordered eating, the wrist surgery he desperately needed, and finally- whimpering Kotaro's name in his sleep.

"… That little shit."

Kise visibly flinched from the comment, though he knew it wasn't directed toward him this time.

Aomine fell to his knees, his eyes soft as he tried to coax Kise into meeting his gaze. Though his blood was boiling, and he itched to throw a punch, he forced himself to appear calm. He was no better than that filthy man if he scared his beloved boyfriend.

After a long while, the two sat together on the sofa, drinking hot tea. Aomine pushed the blonde's hair out of his eyes, looking deep into their golden depths.

"Ryouta," he whispered gently, and he was relieved to find the blonde looking back at him, not cringing away from his voice. "Kotaro hurt you, didn't he?"

Kise was eerily still for a long moment, until his body trembled and the tears came once more. Aomine quickly took the tea from his love just before Kise flung himself into his arms. Sighing under his breath, the bluenette placed the hot liquid to the side so that no one would get burned. Then he gently wrapped his arms around the blonde's torso, kissing his hair softly.

"It's okay, baby," he whispered, "I'm here. He won't hurt you ever again. No one will."