Title: Art Appeal

Story: Set in an AU where there's no GoM and Kagami and Aomine go to university in America. Both of them get stuck taking an art course where they meet someone interesting and learn about more than just art.

Disclaimer: *I DO NOT OWN KUROKO NO BASKET OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS* Although I wish I did :'(

Hello…So I just wanted to say I'm so sorry for not updating in a very long time. A lot has happened over the past year and I sort of lost my motivation. Kuroko no Basket and AoKise are still a huge part of my life and I will always love them, but new fandoms come in and take over and things just get a little crazy.

But as I have said many times, I will see this story through. I know what it's like to be invested in a fic and have it be abandoned, and I promise even if it takes me a while this story will have a proper ending.

I would like to thank all of you who have stuck by and are still interested in this fic, and I would also like to thank those who take the time to leave a review. I really do appreciate it, and your kind words encourage me during my lack of motivation and writer's block.

In response to the Guests who reviewed:

Guest: In the beginning I made it seem vague as to who Kise would end up with, but all along I knew it was going to be Aomine. I'm sorry if I confused you or got your hopes up, but don't worry Kagami will find happiness too! And thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying my story so far :)

PatOno: I am so sorry for the long wait! I hope you can forgive me and I really hope you enjoy this update ~

Chapter 14: And The Winner Is…

By the time they arrived at the school, the parking lot was full with only a few stragglers making their way into the building. Upon entering the main auditorium, the two were met with an assortment of sounds and colors. There were art works all along the walls and some stand alones spread throughout the center. Students and family members were making their rounds and marveling at the amazing talent displayed in all.

Kise searched the room for his red haired manager or his flamboyant cousin, luckily finding the latter first. She was standing near the far wall in her usual mini shorts and boots with her hair tied up in a messy pony tail. Kise had no idea how she always managed to look so good without even trying. She's the one who should be a model, he thought briefly as he tugged on Aomine's hand, dragging them in the direction of the blonde teacher. As the two got closer he noticed she was talking to someone, that someone being their friend Kagami.

Kise's initial reaction was to release Aomine's hand, not that he was embarrassed, but because he didn't want to add salt to his friend's wound. Although the two had made up and talked it out, he didn't want to seem like he was rubbing his happiness in the others face. What kind of friend would do that? He turned to look at their clasped hands as they continued to make their way to the duo. Aomine seemed to sense what he was thinking so he squeezed Kise's hand in reassurance. The blonde looked up to meet his stare and his heart soared at the strong comfort he found in them. Kagami is our friend, but he knows how I feel. Smiling, he squeezed Aomine's hand back and continued to lead the way.

Kagami noticed the two first. He eyes met Kise's gleeful ones and for a second he was just as happy too, until his gaze turned down to see the locked hands and realized that Aomine was with him and that they were indeed a true 'couple' now. He quickly turned away to compose his features. He didn't want anyone to see how hurt he still was by the thought, trying his best to will away all negativity and concentrate on the bigger importance of friendship.

Yeah right.

He sighed and took a sip from his water bottle before turning back to the couple just as they were greeting the teacher in front of him.

"Well aren't you two a sight! Where have you boys been? You're a little late."

"Uh, sorry we got caught up playing basketball." Kise chuckled nervously.

The teacher looked down to notice their united hands and gave the model a big smile.

"Basketball, riiigghhht. That's what the kids are calling it these days?"

"Alexcchi we really were playing basketball, do you always have to be so embarrassing!" His face was bright red and he used his free hand to try and cover up as much of it as possible.

Alex just laughed and rubbed the blonde's arm to calm him down.

Kagami watched the spectacle in silence. He didn't know what to say. He knew this was going to happen and yet seeing it with his own eyes was much worse than he had ever imagined. He took another sip of his water bottle, trying to calm himself down before it seemed like he was wallowing in his own self-pity looking to cause another scene.

"Hey man, what's up?"

Kagami felt a slight relief at hearing the casual greeting from his friend. Despite it all, Aomine was still his best friend, and he knew he was putting forth an effort to make this better for everyone by acting as normal as possible.

"Not much. " He shrugged. "Alex and I here were just talking about this stupid art scholarship she thinks I can get. Like what the hell would I even do with an art scholarship?" He sneered, finding the whole thing completely ridiculous.

This in turn caused the other male to give a little laugh and he turned to look at the said teacher in question. "Woman are you serious?! You really think Kagami is cut out for some fancy-smancy art school?! You must be out of your mind."

Kise and Alex both glared at the tanned male, causing his laughter to stop short. Pissing Alex off was one thing, but pissing Kise off just when they were finally back on good terms, was another thing.

"For your information Mr. Aomine, I think Taigia is more than qualified to hold his own in a prestigious art school. With just a bit more help and education I think he would make a wonderful artist."

"Yeah Aominecchi! Besides, have you even seen any of his work? It's amazing!" The other blonde chipped in.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any of his friend's work. And despite feeling a bit sheepish at his previous remark, he also felt slightly offended that the others would think they know his best friend better than he did. He knew Kagami since forever and knew for a fact there was no way he'd tolerate being put up in some ritzy art school. It just wasn't his style, although from the comments given to him by the upset cousins, he found his own beliefs being questioned.

"Fine, then why don't you show us some Kagami?"

The red head's eyes snapped up to see his friend giving him one of his trade mark smirks, and could sense the tease in his words.

Kagami wasn't sure how he felt about art or his art in general. It was something he had just learned about himself, and with the help of Kise's inspiration and Alex's class, he actually didn't find it that bad.

For as close as they were, he realized Aomine may have never seen any of his finished assignments He shrugged and began to walk in the direction of the opposite wall. "Doesn't matter to me."

Kise was the first to catch up with him, talking animatedly about how much he loved Kagami's works and how good of an artist he thought he was, while Aomine was close behind just grumbling to himself about the whole thing. The blonde teacher seemed to have other things to do, because she just smiled at them and headed to another part of the room.

They reached their class' display area and Kagami began showing them the various pieces he had done throughout the semester. Aomine was genuinely surprised at the red head's talent, but baffled as to where the hell it came from. When did he get so good?

Kagami noticed the other's questioning expression as he continued to scan the few pieces in front of him. "I know you're probably wondering 'what the hell' but to be honest I have no idea myself." He laughed, a bit nervous.

Aomine nodded his head in thought. "Yeah I get it. It's still confusing as hell but it's whatever. Good for you man."

Kagami smiled at his friend's odd way of showing his support, but he understood him nonetheless.

"But the real prize winner is this piece right over here."

Kagami brought them further down their class' wall and stopped right in front of a sad looking blob.

It only took Kise and Aomine a second for recognition to hit and when it did Kagami couldn't help but feel proud of himself.

"That broad actually had the nerve to put this up! Who the hell does she think she is?!"

Kagami and Kise couldn't contain their laughter at Aomine's outrageous reaction to his displayed portrayal of a tree, or rather a 'stump.' He would have torn it down himself had it not been that all the works were covered within glass frames, so he just continued to seethe as his companions laughed and wiped the joyful tears from their eyes.

~ ~ XxXxXx ~ ~

The trio had made their way around the whole showcase, observing the many works and pieces throwing out comments here and there. It seemed Kagami and Aomine were new to this sort of thing, but considering his profession Kise had been to many art shows and things of the like before. But despite their lack of experience it seemed they all were having a good time.

But Kagami couldn't help but feel a little left out. He knew his friends were making an effort, but their continuous hand holding and their flirty gazes were making him feel not only extremely uncomfortable, but also extremely jealous. He kept on telling himself that they were all friends and that as long as they were happy, he would be happy too. But upon seeing the blonde grace Aomine with one of his dazzling smiles, he felt sick to his stomach realizing that his words were very far from true.

He was thankfully ripped from his painful thoughts as an announcement was made for everyone to head towards the stage area for the award ceremony.

~ ~ XxXxX ~ ~

The closer to the stage they got the more packed the room seemed to be.

Kise's eyes scanned the crowd once again for his red haired manager.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen him or Midorimacchi all night.

The blonde thought that was a little strange, especially considering how adamant the red head had been about his and Aomine's attendance. He knew Akashi was the one in charge of the whole show so he figured he must be busy attending to everything and making sure it all runs smoothly. He is a perfectionist after all, the blonde smiled to himself and followed Aomine and Kagami further to the stage.

Once the room was near capacity, the lights dimmed and the ones on the stage lit up. Akashi, along with Alex, made his way to the center of the stage followed by a loud applause. Most everyone knew of Akashi's modeling company and his major involvement pertaining to the art show. His exclusive scholarship had been talked about all evening, and the excited chatter surrounding the audience was evidence enough of how eager the students were to see who had been the tycoon's lucky choice.

As the clapping was dying down, Akashi's eyes met Kise's in the crowd and the red head gave a small smile and nod in acknowledgment.

Good. At least he'll know Aominecchi and I really did show up.

"Welcome to this wonderful evening of celebrating the arts. I am the event's host Akashi Seijuro, and I would like to thank you all for joining me here tonight."

Another swift round of applause filled the room.

"Joining me is the head of the university's art department Alexandra Garcia. She will assist me in announcing the evening's winners." He smiled towards the blonde and handed her a set of notecards.

"Ms. Garcia, may you please begin the award ceremony."

Not too keen on being called 'Ms.' Alex gave a strained smile and took the cards, looking down at the first one before looking back up at the audience.

"Certainly."

The awards were called out one by one in order of category. Each person received a warm applause as they made their way to the stage to receive their certificate, or in the case of the first place winners, their medals. Kise could tell Aomine and Kagami were bored with the ordeal and he would have offered to leave if he hadn't spotted Midorima watching them off from the side. Akashi must have planned for them to stay the whole time, probably wanting to make sure that Kise goes home with him instead of wandering the streets at night. The blonde knew he meant well, but his manager's protectiveness could sometimes be a little overwhelming.

Shifting his attention back to the stage he realized it was nearing towards the end, the only announcement left to be made was the winner of the prestigious scholarship.

Although Akashi had initially wanted Kise's help in choosing the winner, he one day claimed he had found the person himself and decided that his input wasn't necessary. At first Kise had been a bit hurt by the notion, but figured Akashi didn't mean any real harm by it, and figured if he had enough faith in this person, then they must truly be deserving of it.

Still, he was curious…

Akashi then took the center once again and settled down the slowing applause and the quiet murmurs from the crowd.

"Our last award tonight is a full scholarship to the esteemed art academy of Rose Haven University."

The murmurs amongst the students and family members had returned, but this time a bit more anxious then before.

Akashi continued. "This student I chose personally. To me their skills are among the best I have seen from a novice art student before, and I believe the proper education and training that Rose Haven will be able to provide, will only enhance this student's remarkable skills even further."

As he continued his praise, Midorima made his way onto the stage carrying a covered easel.

The crowd hushed and turned their focus on the concealed object, a curious buzz surrounding the entire room.

"I have brought my favorite piece from this artist, which I think is truly worth sharing with the masses."

The red head walked over to the easel and slowly removed the cloth.

There in front of the entire auditorium was Kagami's dark and twisted rendition of Kise.

Akashi turned toward the shocked crowd with a wicked smirk.

"Kagami Taiga, please come up and receive your prize."

A/N: And thus the big unveiling! (I'm so sorry Kagami!)

So we're almost to the end guys! Thank you all again for reading and please tell me what you think :D