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Just a couple of months spent buying fresh fruit and standing at the other end of the bed can do terrible things to a person, is what Kise realizes, when Nijimura’s haggard figure emerges at the entrance of the coffee shop, brittle and beaten and caressed by a cruelty accumulated from what feels like years more than the time he’d been initially tasked to receive. He’s become thinner since the last time Kise’s seen him, too (if it was possible at all); his chin is sharper and his are lips drier and up-close the expression that projects over his eyes seems almost vacant, flickering in and out of forced intensity.
“I don’t have time to order something,” he says to Kise immediately, after sitting down and scanning the shop with a faded sort of annoyance. “I’ll just have what you’re having. Don’t complain about it.” He leans over and presses a short, dry kiss into Kise’s mouth before grabbing Kise’s cup and swallowing a mouthful of semi-sweet latte.
“That’s fine, I’m happy that you could come meet me here,” says Kise, and he means it. “I just wanted to talk to you.”
“So talk to me, then.”
“I…” he starts, then pauses, unable to keep himself from staring at the dark bags under Nijimura’s eyes. “Are you really OK?”
“Never been better,” says Nijimura. He takes another gulp from Kise’s drink, and leaves it at that. “Well?”
“…Well. I played Aominecchi again two weeks ago. We didn’t win.”
“That’s expected.”
“…”
“What, did you think Aomine would let you off easy or something? Jeez, Kise, if it’s one you thing you should’ve learned from playing at Teikou–”
“I-I didn’t think that,” says Kise quickly. “I just. I wondered if he stopped caring. Completely.”
Nijimura wrinkles his nose. “Why does it matter now, anyway? He’s playing for a different school. He’s been playing for a different school for a while.”
Kise doesn’t look up. His fingers fiddle with a coffee stirrer. “I tried so hard to impress him back then, did you know? I-I did a lot of really shitty things. Sometimes I thought about throwing games, just to see if he would react and try to do something about it. But it was never about me. He could carry the whole team by himself, you know that. A-And I remembered that game we played at the championships in our third year, I suggested something really stupid because I thought it would make him more excited to play in a game–I was so fucking eager–but it ended up just making Kurokocchi super pissed at us for some reason. And that made Aominecchi pissed at me, too. I kept fucking it up. No matter what I tried, he never–he never– I guess that’s why it matters to me.”
A pause.
Nijimura’s gaze softens. “Hey, what brought this on?”
“…It’s his birthday this week.”
“Kise. It’s not your fault, you know. Or at least, it’s not completely your fault. If you really wanna look at it the way you’re doing right now, I had a hand in it too. Along with every other unfortunate piece of shit who went through the Teikou system.”
Kise looks up at Nijimura and bites his lip. “Huh.”
Nijimura smiles thinly. “You know something funny about Aomine? He kissed me in junior high, once.”
Kise’s jaw drops. “What? Really?”
“It was after practice. Ha ha ha, I was wearing that same expression you have on your face right now.” Nijimura winks, and for a moment he looked terribly silly. “…Nah, I’m sure he was just confused. Hormones, plus he was always kind of easily excitable in that way. You know he’s probably the type to get a raging hard-on just from playing a good 1-on-1. Or I dunno, maybe I am just super sexy.”
Kise snorts.
Nijimura grins. He places his hand on top of Kise’s and taps one finger against Kise’s knuckles. “Anyway, I’ve gotta head to cram school. Lots of shit that occupies your schedule, y'know, once you’ve stopped playing ball. And then I need to go to the hospital again. Evening’s free, though. Can you drop by the apartment for a bit? Not like anybody else will be there anyway.”
Kise nods. “Yes, please.”
“Good boy,” Nijimura chuckles. He stands up. “See you in a bit, then.” He forgets to kiss Kise goodbye.