Chapter 6

They've both been lying on the floor for what seems like hours, and Kise is sure that the newspaper beneath him is practically glued to the fabric of his shirt because of the paint that had been freshly splattered all over the ground. He twirls a popsicle stick between his fingers, honey-brown hues watching with a bored glint, though that is not the case. The slightly irritating feeling of the dried paint on Kise's face causes him to scrunch his nose a bit as an attempt to crack the thin layer coating certain areas of his skin. Despite that, he's at ease… comfortable, and he feels if he were to put the stick down, he'd fall asleep, which is unideal at that moment. Kise had ordered pizza, being that he isn't the best cook, and he didn't want the tanned male to find out that much.

Aomine isn't within his vision, so conversing has been cut for the time being. They both lay in silence, relishing each other's company, and basking in the light of the setting sun. The sound of Aomine's breathing is the only thing that assures Kise that he's still there. It's soothing—the sound of the other exhaling softly and Kise even finds himself breathing in sync after a few minutes.

It isn't until another popsicle stick flings across the room and hits Kise directly in the forehead that he sits up with furrowed brows and an unsatisfied expression. Aomine's guilty smirk and quiet snicker only gives him away, and Kise flings the stick back at him, which causes the other to lift his hand up as to swat the stick away. A bit frustrated with having missed, Kise throws the other stick at Aomine; this time catching him off guard and successfully hitting him in the face. Aomine scoffs, then props himself up on his elbow, navy orbs glaring at Kise with a humorous glint.

It's not funny, Kise signs. Although the paint splattered all over Aomine's face is quite the comical sight, he manages to bite back his grin in order to make his point.

You should have seen your face after it hit you, Aomine says, and then begins snickering under his breath.

Before Kise can make any further comments, the doorbell rings, which causes him to turn his head towards the entrance of his apartment. Aomine, having not been able to hear the sound, continues snickering until the humor in the moment dies down.

"Where are you going?" Aomine asks as Kise stands up.

Pizza is here, Kise responds before grabbing his wallet and making his way out of the room.

The pizza man didn't hesitate to give the blond a critical look as he opened the door covered in pain, which Kise had completely forgotten about until that moment. "I was painting and then things got… a little hectic," Kise explains vaguely as he exchanges money for the pizza. The other doesn't seem amused with the fact; though he nods his head the slightest bit and forces a smile. Kise naturally returns the smile, and this seems to ease the awkwardness between the two.

"Enjoy," the pizza man says before turning on his heel.

"Thank you… Have a nice day!" Kise responds, and then nudges the door shut. The delightful aroma of the pizza causes Kise to realize just how hungry he is, and he lets out a low groan of impatience. As he sets the food on the counter, he prepares to call Aomine into the kitchen, only to bite down on his tongue and sigh disappointedly. Although he is getting better, he still manages to slip up and forget that he can't do things such as calling Aomine to dinner.

Kise makes his way into the main room once again, and he reaches up to run his fingers through the blond strands of his hair. Just as he rounds the corner, a tanned arm reaches out and causes him to stagger backwards until his back is pressed against the freshly painted wall of his living room.

Shit… Kise breathes in sharply as he feels the paint leaking through the back of his shirt.

Just as he's about to go off on a rampage, Aomine leans in closer and sets his hand on the wall behind Kise, his navy hues glaring into his honey-brown ones with indecipherable intentions.

And just like that, Kise's mind goes blank, and his mouth goes dry. The feeling of Aomine's breath brushing against his skin causes the hairs on his arm to stand up, and the fact that they're leaning against the wet wall is completely forgotten. He feels… nauseous; as though his stomach just plummeted to his feet. His breathing comes to a halt, and he's sure he's staring at Aomine with wide eyes that display his shocked state.

"Here," Aomine finally says, and then lowers his eyes down to the hand amid the two. Kise lowers his eyes as well, and his brows furrow upon seeing that Aomine is holding the popsicle stick that he had thrown at him a few minutes prior. He finally manages to exhale, though his heart continues to pound erratically against his chest as the distance between him and Aomine remains small.

Is this some kind of joke?

Kise hesitates before reaching up to grab the popsicle stick, his fingers a bit shaky.

"It's a winning stick." Aomine drops his hand and then backs away from Kise. "Aw, shit." He glares down at the paint coating his palm.

A bit confused, the blond turns the stick over in his hand to see kanji letters stating that he's won. He swallows over the forming lump in his throat before letting his lips twitch into the slightest smile. You keep it, it was your popsicle, Kise signs, and then extends the stick back towards Aomine.

No, you paid for it. Keep it. I don't want it anyways. Aomine shakes his head in disapproval, and then takes a few steps back. I'm going to go wash my hands.

Kise nods, and then slips the stick into his pocket. Although the gesture is practically meaningless—just a popsicle that costs no more than one-hundred yen at the convenient store—it only proves that the tanned male isn't as inattentive or self-righteous as everyone makes him out to be.

I'm going to start eating. I'm starving, Kise says. It's at that moment that he comes back to reality, and realizes that the wall they had just painted has a large hand, as well as the outline of Kise's back, imprinted in the paint. "Stupid…" He mutters under his breath.


After finishing the pizza, Aomine helps Kise repaint the small bit of the wall that they ruined, and then proclaims that he should begin heading home. They pick up the soiled pieces of newspapers spread along the carpet, and then made their way to the entrance of Kise's apartment. A smile graces on Kise's lips as he pulls the door open for Aomine and watches him begin to make his way past the door frame.

Kise bites the inside of his cheek before reaching out for Aomine's arm and grabbing him by his sleeve. I know you said you didn't want to come to my concert this weekend, but usually a group of friends and I go out the night before our performances. And I invited Kurokocchi and Kagamicchi, so I was wondering if—

As to cut him off, Aomine begins swatting at Kise's hands. "I'll be busy," he says, and then stuffs both of his hands into the pockets of his pants. "I'll talk to you later. Make sure you lock the door."

When Aomine turns around to continue his way out, Kise lets out a soft huff and narrows his eyes. It's as though Aomine is aware that if he turns around Kise will try to persuade him into going, so he continues to make his way down the hall without looking back. After losing sight of the blue-haired male, Kise shuts the door slowly, and hesitates before turning the lock and setting the bolt in place.


Fuck.

Aomine leans forward in his seat and shuts his eyes, the vibrations of the room pulsing through his feet and causing his head to throb painfully. He can't hear the music, but he can feel it. It's obnoxious… loud… something he certainly wouldn't be listening to even if he could hear.

Fuck… fuck, how did I get myself into this?

Somehow, he let the blond persuade him into going out that night. He kept bombarding him with texts, saying that it wouldn't be the same if he didn't go. Kuroko kept bringing it up throughout the day as though Aomine had no choice but to go, and eventually he gave in. Only because he'd rather go and get it over with than not go and have to hear about it for the next month… and he hates disappointing Kise.

It's bad enough that he refuses to attend Kise's performances—that he has to see him force a smile and say 'it's okay', though the glint within his honey-brown hues say otherwise. Such reactions don't usually bother the tanned male. He's doesn't care about the opinions of other people, and he never essentially thought he would.

With Kise it's different.

He can't figure out why, but everything is different with him.

Aomine's eyes flutter open, and he rests his forearms on the top of the bar. At some point during the night, he lost track of Kise, who is drunk and probably dancing his feet off somewhere. Everyone looks... extremely stupid. The way they're all moving; at different paces, like they're dancing to different songs—although it's just one song that Aomine can't hear. Seeing people like this is a main reason as to why Aomine doesn't enjoy getting intoxicated, or anything along the sorts.

Just as he thinks that he's found some time to himself, Aomine catches a glimpse of a girl sitting next to him in his peripheral. He gradually brings his gaze over to her, and then cuts his eyes as he sees that she's practically beaming. She's wearing a slightly revealing dress, the sweetheart cut making her rather large bust prominent. Her pink hair flows over her shoulders like water, and lies against minimally exposed skin of her chest with appealing contrast. It's almost impossible to not notice the voluptuousness of her breast, definitely for someone who's more likely to take his first glance at a girl's chest than her face.

It takes him a few moments to realize that she's trying to grab his attention… to talk to him, and when he turns his head towards her once again; her lips are moving at an unreadable speed. Aomine points to his ears and shakes his head as to nonverbally state that he can't hear, and after a few seconds of confused staring, she catches on and pulls a pen out of her purse.

She slides a napkin in his direction after having written on it. 'Why are you sitting alone?'

Aomine reaches over and takes the pen from between her fingers. 'Babysitting.'

Having found his response to be funny, the pink-haired girl begins laughing, a soundless action that looks to be boisterous. Aomine cuts his eyes, because he didn't find humor in the situation. Ever since Kise picked up his first drink, Aomine has been in charge of making sure that he doesn't wander off and get into trouble. It's not as though Kise needs Aomine's supervision, he's sure he's been out plenty of times before, but some part of Aomine feels… obligated.

'I hope you weren't expecting me to buy you a drink or something…' Aomine writes on the napkin, and slides the pen back towards the pink-haired girl.

She seems to be amused with this, and she shakes her head before proceeding to write back. 'No, I was hoping to buy you one. You look like you need it.' There's something about her grin that irritates Aomine, and he rolls his eyes as to display the fact. Aomine glances over his shoulder to see if Kise is anywhere in sight, only to have the girl seated next to him tap on his shoulder to grasp his attention. As Aomine turns his gaze to her, she points down at the napkin.

'I'm Momoi, by the way.'

Aomine takes the pen from her, and before he can write his name in return, and arm flings around his shoulder and causes him to draw a line across the napkin. Navy orbs instantly shoot towards the person with an angered expression, only to discover that the person is Kise. He smells like alcohol and fruity perfume, as though he's spent the majority of the night grinding on or being grinded on by girls. Aomine's glare only intensifies, and he shrugs the blond's arm from around his shoulder.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Aomine's not sure if his voice is loud enough, so grabs Kise by the sleeve of his shirt and pulls him down so that his ear is inches away from his mouth. "Do you plan on being hung over during your performance tomorrow? I'm taking you home."

Kise grins; his eyes half-lidded and his face flushed as he stands up straight once again. There's something about him at that moment that looks pathetic… embarrassing… yet surprisingly cute. And the realization only causes Aomine to grow more irritated with the blond. Disregarding what Aomine had said, Kise leans against the bar and tilts his head a bit so that he can get a better look at the girl sitting next to Aomine.

Who's that? Kise signs with his eyes still set on Momoi.

"Doesn't matter, I said let's go," Aomine nearly shouts, being that he's unaware of the volume of his voice. He isn't sure if Kise is asking because he's interested, or because he's curious, either way the familiar unpleasant feeling that writhes within his gut arises again.

Aomine quickly glances over at Momoi, who seems to be completely confused with the situation. "Sorry, I have to go." He then grabs Kise by his arm and begins dragging him out of the area. Kise stumbles a bit, and then quickens his steps so that he's walking by Aomine's side.

Why won't you dance with me? Kise asks. It's hard to decipher what exactly he's trying to sign with the way he's drunkenly moving his hand, and the dimness of the room. I don't want to leave yet, Aominecchi.

It's amazing how that simple pout the blond seems to be so fond of can make Aomine feel bad—the way he looks at Aomine through those long lashes, his bottom lip poking out the slightest bit as though he's a child. It fucks with Aomine's mind; makes him want to just give in to whatever Kise wants. And for just one second, he's hesitant in his decision of taking Kise home. Because he shouldn't care so damn much. If Kise wants to stay and drink himself into a coma, then he should be allowed to do it—Aomine has no say in how he lives his life.

But he can't bring himself to let go of Kise's arm… to stop walking out of the bar. It's not until they step outside that Aomine loosens his grip on Kise, and slows down his pace. A cool breeze brushes against his tanned skin pleasantly, and he can tell Kise is enjoying the sensation much more than he is. Kise leans his head back, and from the way his chest raises and falls, Aomine can tell he's laughing.

"Come on," Aomine says after letting the other relish in the fresh air for a few seconds. "Let's get you home."

And like a switch, Kise goes from laughing to pressing his lips into a straight line; his perfect brows pinched together, and his face completely drained of its color. He begins speaking, but his lips barely move, and it's hard for Aomine to make out anything he's saying.

"…throw up," is all Aomine can decipher from Kise's lips before he leans over and sets his hands on his knees.

"Don't throw up on the sidewalk!" Aomine rushes to Kise's side and wraps his arm around him. He begins leading Kise in the direction of his apartment. He can tell the blond is talking by the way his body vibrates against his, and after a while of one-sided conversation, Aomine sighs. He narrows his eyes, and his words come out a bit harsher than intended. "I can't fucking hear you, Kise."

Sorry, Kise signs, and then falls silent for the remainder of their walk. Something about the way Kise instantly shuts up makes Aomine feel like… an ass. He even contemplates apologizing for his rather brusque statement, but something holds him back, and causes him to bite down on his tongue ashamedly. It's always been difficult for him to verbalize his guilt—an issue that he doesn't run into often, because he doesn't find the need to apologize often.

It's a bit challenging for Aomine, walking with a drunken one-hundred seventy pound male putting all his weight on him. But somehow he manages to drag Kise all the way from the bar, up the stairs of his apartment complex, and to the door of his apartment without having to stop.

"Do you have your keys?" Aomine asks; Kise nods and begins patting the pocket of his pants. After a few minutes of unsuccessful searching, Aomine reaches forward and twists the knob of Kise's door, only to find that the idiot didn't lock it prior to leaving. "You really need to get out of that habit."

It's fine… Kise signs.

"Yeah, it's fine until someone walks into your house and steals your shit." Aomine begins dragging Kise to his room. "Idiot."

Kise rolls his head to the side a bit, and lets a small grin grace his lips. The look causes Aomine's irritated demeanor to falter, and he averts his gaze as to hide the fact.

"Lie down," Aomine demands as they finally make it to Kise's bed. Kise complies; rolling onto his mattress and burying his face deep into one of his pillows. "Take your shoes off," Aomine mutters; Kise doesn't move. A sigh escapes Aomine's lips, and he proceeds to slip Kise's shoes off both of his feet.

After dropping Kise's shoes on the ground next to his bed, he throws a blanket over the blond, and then turns on his heel as to make his way out of the room. Before he can take any further steps, Kise reaches out and grabs his arm, his face turned so that he can look up at Aomine with those dog-like eyes that makes him feel as though he's melting.

There's something about the way Kise is glaring at him, as though he's saying 'don't leave me'. The color that had previously drained from Kise's face returns and a slight pink tints his cheekbones. Aomine can't leave… not while he's looking at him like that.

Aomine's breath halts, though he manages to keep his expression unchanging as he stares down at the intoxicated male; his arm is limp in Kise's grasp. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be on the couch."

After hearing this, Kise drops his hand away from Aomine and signs, Good night, before tucking his hand under his blanket. The worried expression on his face diminishes, and he nuzzles his face further into his pillow.

"…Night," Aomine murmurs, and then continues his way out of the room. As he reaches the door to Kise's room, Aomine turns to look at Kise, who seems to have already slipped unconscious. The peaceful expression set on Kise's face causes Aomine to stare longer than he had intended, and it isn't until the blond twitches in his sleep that he breaks out of his momentary trance, and rolls his eyes before flipping the switch of the light off.