After Kagami had gotten over the initial shock of his realization that Aomine definitely viewed him in a sexual way, he bleached the tiles and continued his shower, vowing to go and give Aomine his bag and a stern lecture on hygiene to go with it when he was done.
He was a little pissed, embarrassed, and surprised, but he wasn't disgusted by the situation. He was more curious instead.
What did Aomine fantasize about?
Was it something tame or intense?
What did Aomine find erotic?
How did he do it?
As he rinsed himself one final time, he froze as his mind made a few connections that had previously eluded him.
He gripped the wall as the weight of the revelation pressed its burden onto his shoulders.
The reason behind all of his confusion lately, the strange desire to upset Aomine, the drive to see more of his hidden expressions, the way that he was more curious than upset at him, it all had a very simple reasoning behind it.
Why hadn't he noticed earlier?
It was like it had always been there, buried beneath a heap of other emotions, yet he knew that this was wrong. Aomine's confession had started something, some unnecessary chemical reaction in Kagami's brain and he wasn't sure whether he welcomed it yet.
As a final test, Kagami let his mind drift back to his musing on Aomine's 'extra activity'.
Without warning, the image flashed through his mind. Aomine with his head tilted back, water running down his skin and a smooth, relaxed face. The Aomine in his mind was leaning against one wall, one hand bracing himself off the opposing one while the other was occupied. He imagined a low groan curling from Aomine's lips, then he realized exactly what he was doing.
He looked down reluctantly, only to find his suspicions confirmed. He now needed to conduct his own 'extra activity'.
Fuck.
Aomine was sprawled out on the couch in his living room. He had gotten home over two hours ago, but his face still burned and his entire body seemed to be thrumming with some form of energy.
Kagami had accepted him.
He still couldn't believe how lucky he was.
Granted, it was a far cry from a mutual confession of love, but Aomine would very enthusiastically take what he was given, in this case, a chance. He rubbed his cheeks with his hands and grinned like an idiot.
Dammit, what was this?
The feeling was just as addictive as getting to play a horrendously strong opponent. Every cell of his body felt like it was vibrating with some unknown emotion.
Try as he might, he couldn't wipe the stupid, red, grinning expression off his face.
He kept on repeating Kagami's words in his mind like they were a mantra.
"Ah, dammit!"
He yelled and flopped from the couch onto the floor, where he covered his face and rolled around, smiling wider than he had in a very long time.
It was approaching noon when Aomine calmed himself down enough to function like a normal, albeit lazy, human being. He stretched out his arms and relished in the soreness from yesterday's game.
It may sound strange, but the pain felt great.
It was proof that he had actually worked to achieve his victory and he relished in every single jolt and sting of it.
It was a Saturday, so there was nothing to do. Well, there was homework but it was just another source of unnecessary annoyance.
Who the hell enjoyed studying a language anyway?
Wasn't speaking it enough?
Oh and Shakespeare, that guy was whole new category of hell no. Aomine really couldn't care less about his school workload.
In a random burst of thought, he recalled last night's unpleasant ending. Kuroko had drunk a lot, and he didn't have a Kagami to take care of him.
His face flushed again.
He swatted at his cheeks like he was trying to discipline them.
No, stop it!
He began feeling a little worried.
Kise could handle himself, seriously though that idiot needed a punishment if anything, but Kuroko was another matter.
Might as well call and see if he made it home alright.
Aomine walked to his room to find his phone, wondering whether or not Kuroko would be in any condition to play a game.
Probably not.
He dug through the mess on the floor near his bed where he normally left his bag, only to find it missing.
That's weird.
Aomine searched his entire room, cursing as he looked, but the bag was nowhere to be found.
Where the hell was the damn thing?
He had it when they played at the court yesterday and he remembered bringing it back to Kagami's place.
Then…
"God dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
He cursed and slapped a hand over his eyes when he realized where his bag was.
In his flustered rush to get away from Kagami's house, he had left it right next to the door.
This had to be the universe playing some kind of grand scale joke on him.
He groaned with frustration. If he wanted his phone back, he would have to go to Kagami's place.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
It would be impossible to deal with him so quickly. Even thinking about him made Aomine's face explode with colour. He couldn't imagine what he'd do if he had to deal with Kagami face to face.
Interrupting his thoughts, the doorbell rang.
Aomine rushed down to the door, expecting it to be the food service his parents had set up.
He flung open the door, then screamed shrilly, slammed it closed, locked it and ran away to bury himself in his bedding.
Standing at his doorstep, bag in hand, was the one person he was currently unable to deal with.
Kagami Taiga.
Aomine's scream was definitely not what Kagami expected to encounter. He tried the door handle and found it locked.
Huh, so he'll close his own door if he's in a panic but not mine.
Kagami sighed and sat down with his back against the door. After a few minutes, he began to feel impatient and flipped open his phone to fire off a quick text to Kuroko.
-You alive?-
He had to wait a few minutes for the response.
-Yes I am alive, though the next time I encounter Kise-kun I will Ignite Pass his stomach at least four times.-
-Well that's nice. Listen, you seem to be second only to Momoi on the science of Aomine so I hope you can give me a bit of help.-
-That is true. I will do my best.-
Kagami explained the situation to Kuroko as best as he could.
-Ah, so he hid back in his house?-
-Yep. Seems to be the case. How do I get him out? Or at least get him to open the door so I can give him his bag?-
-Give me a moment. I will get him to open the door. You do not need to do anything Kagami-kun.-
Kagami tucked his phone away and stood up. A few minutes later the door was flung open again.
Aomine stood in front of him, face slightly red and looking half-furious and half-petrified.
Exactly what had Kuroko done?
Kagami offered Aomine his bag, feeling a little awkward himself because of his recently acquired knowledge. Much to Kagami's surprise, Aomine grabbed his wrist instead and dragged him inside the house.
What?