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The first time Kise hears anything about it, it's just a casual mention.
Meeting Satsuki and Hikaru, is Aomine's curt reply when Kise texts him to see what he is up to because he's getting his hair done for a shoot and bored.
Hikaru? Kise just texts back, mildly curious.
Aomine takes a moment to answer, but that's nothing new.
When Kise's phone vibrates, the new message is just as short.
Friend of Satsuki's.
Kise is pleasantly surprised. Back in middleschool, Momocchi has sometimes had trouble connecting with other girls her age. Someone who was as smart and beautiful as her was easily made the center of jealously, especially since she spent most of her time with the renowed basketball team, or more specifically with the Generation of Miracles who were all quite handsome.
To see that now, in high school, she had a friend who was close enough to her to even be allowed to meet Aominecchi was a bit of a relief.
Have fun, Kise texts back, smiling down at the screen. In an afterthought he adds, Be nice.
Because Aominecchi is often callous and rude, which is proven by the fact that he doesn't text back. It certainly wouldn't be a good impression to leave on this Hikaru.
The second time already makes Kise perk up a little.
They've just finished a vigorous one-on-one when Aominecchi phone rings. He gets up from his comfortable position, splayed out on the street court, and trudges over to rummage through his bag.
“Yeah?” he asks gruffly. There's a pinch between his eyebrows because he dislikes talking on the phone, but Kise can see that he is not annoyed at the call itself.
“Nah, I'm still out,” he replies to whatever has been said.“Just wait at Satsuki's, alright, Hikaru?”
He hangs up without saying goodbye, but then he's already stuffing his phone again and shouldering his back.
“Momocchi's friend?” Kise asks curiously and a bit confused at why Aominecchi is suddenly getting ready to leave.
“Yeah,” Aomineechi says vaguely, not looking at him as a takes a swig from his water bottle. “Gotta go now. Call me if you feel like being thoroughly destroyed again.”
“I wasn't that bad!” Kise calls after him, although he has to admit that he's played better matches in the past.
Aominecchi just gives a lazy wave over his shoulder.
The third time is when Kise finally gets to meet Hikaru.
They are sitting at Maji Burger, him and Aominecchi and Kurokocchi.
With their last year of high school their friendship has mellowed down into something comfortable that is not entirely defined by rivalry and basketball. As usual, Kise does most of the talking, but occassionally Kurokocchi quips in with some dry remarks and Aominecchi slaps Kise's hands and kicks him under the table when he disagrees with something.
It's nice. They are eighteen and slowly starting to realize how silly they were being back in middle school when they had all thought themselves so terribly mature and fatalistic.
“Will Momoi-san and Hideki-san be joining us later?” Kurokocchi asks during a lull in conversation, directing his gaze at Aominecchi.
“They should be here in a bit,” Aominecchi replies, giving a shrug. “Hikaru wanted to buy something to wear for a wedding or something. Not like I would be of much help.”
“Momocchi's great at picking out the right clothes for someone,” Kise relates, thinking of the times they had gone shopping together. “Her analyzing skills are really not just limited to sports.”
“Too bad that Aomine-kun is still mostly immune to her influence,” Kurokocchi laments wryly, letting his gaze sweep over Aomine's ratty hoodie and faded t-shirt.
Kise giggles into his hand, letting his eyes sparkle back at Aominecchi who sends him an unimpressed glare.
“Aominecchi will never find a girlfriend like this,” Kise teases, and all a sudden the atmosphere at their table changes.
Aominecchi's face closes off and then he leans back, looking away as if something unimportant had momentarily distracted him.
Next to himself, Kise can Kurokocchi feel sit up straighter, placing his hands on the tabletop.
“Aomine-kun,” he says, imploringly and – strangely enough – in something like accusation.
“Eh?” Kise asks, trying to blinking away his confusion. “Did I miss something?”
“Tetsu-kun! Ki-chan!” a familiar voice calls out happily, and then Momocchi is already hugging Kurokocchi to her chest. At the expression on the other boy's face, Kise cannot help but chuckle again.
“Momocchi,” he says warmly, when Kurokocchi sinks back on their bench so Momocchi and Kise can exchange a hug.
“Hideki-san,” Kuroko greets then, but when Kise looks towards their second newcomer he finds himself rather surprised.
“Pleased to meet you again, Kuroko-san,” Hideki bows slightly, a polite smile on his lips.
Because Hideki Hikaru is not a girl, as Kise had always assumed, but a boy their age. He's pretty, almost cute in a way, but not overly so. In comparison to the other people Kise usually hangs out with – which are, admittedly, mostly models and dedicated atheletes – he actually seems rather plain. But there is a simple sweetness to his good manners that Kise know will make him easy to get along with.
Another thing that Kise can tell due his ability at reading people and his experience in the modeling business, is that Hideki is most likely gay. Not that Kise can judge, of course, but it's still worthy of observation.
“You must be Kise-san,” Hideki says in that moment, obviously having noticed the eyes on him. “I've heard much about you.”
“Nice to meet you, Hideki-san,” Kise replies just a politely. It's natural to slip into his public persona when in the company of strangers. It's not a hardship, really, but he does prefer to just be in the presence of his close friends where he had goof off and be a little obnoxious without having to worry how it will affect his reputation.
“I'm starving,” Hideki says then and laughs a little awkwardly. “Do they still serve these special chicken burgers?”
“Here,” Aominecchi answers casually and slides one of the burgers he hasn't eaten yet over.
“Awesome,” Hideki cheers a little and slides onto the bench next to Aominecchi, closely followed by Momocchi who always takes ages to decides on what she wants to eat, analyzing every option as though it would affect the outcome of the InterHigh.
Kise stares a little.
In all the time that he has known him, he doesn't think that he has ever witnessed Aominecchi sharing food. The occasional bottle of water, or whatever dreadful business Momocchi had cooked up, but no actual food that he liked and that he had paid for. In fact, he usually was the one stealing other people's food.
Kise would assume that maybe Aominecchi was just not hungry anymore and didn't want the leftovers to go to waste, if it weren't for the fact that he is already unwrapping another of his burgers and tucking in.
He can feel Kurokocchi watching him from the corner of his eye, but he is too busy watching the trio on the other side of the table.
The bench of their cubicle is short, so they are all brushing elbows. Momocchi's still critically staring at the menu above the counter, as though there would be much of a calorie difference between a strawberry or a banana milkshake. Hideki snags a fry from Aomiecchi and plops it into his mouth while Aominecchi follows the movement with his eyes, dropping to Hideki's lips before casually sliding back to his own meal.
It's absolutely nothing noteworthy. Yet all the pieces of the puzzle that Kise had not even suspected existed fell into place.
“Ah,” he calls out quietly, reeling back in his seat as though he were in a car and someone had violently slammed down on the brake. He certainly does feel whiplashed, especially when everyone looks at him, and all he can say is, “You're dating.”
Momocchi blanches while Hideki blushes, and that alone should be a dead giveaway. But it's the way Aominecchi's shoulders hunch up just the tiniest bit, the way his gaze falls away to solely focus on his burger, the way he keeps chewing obnoxiously that really says it all.
“I'm sorry,” Hideki says and hides his red face behind his hands. He gets a bit of sauce on his cheek and Kise wonders whether Aominecchi would wipe it away if they were alone.
“Was I being too obvious?” the boy asks, throwing a nervous glance at his- well, his boyfriend, apparently.
“Nah,” Aominecchi answers at length. “The idiot just knows me too well.”
Not well enough, it seems, Kise thinks to himself, numb with shock. Because in all the years, he had never once suspected that Aominecchi might be anything other than straight. Because if he had, then...
“Dai-chan,” Momocchi complains in that moment, her voice huffy. “Are you telling me that you didn't tell Ki-chan you were seeing someone?”
“Well,” Aominecchi leans away, even though Hideki is sitting between them to act as a buffer. “I did mention Hikaru. But, damn it, Satsuki, you know I'm not the one to spout out personal details to everyone.”
“I don't mind,” Hideki hurries to say. “I mean, I get that it's... difficult.”
“Don't misunderstand, Hi-chan,” Satsuki gently pats his hand. “All of out friends are very understanding. No one will judge you. I had just hoped that Dai-chan would be a little more mature in such matters.”
“It's only been two months, though,” Hideki mutters, clearly embarrassed. “I'm not expecting him to change his facebook status. If he had facebook, that is.”
“Can we not talk about this?” Aominecchi demands and reaches over to pull at Momocchi's hair.
However, the action mostly serves to put his arm around Hideki's shoulders who seems torn between inching away and leaning into the touch.
“Have you heard that Midorima-kun has already been accepted to med school?” Kurokocchi asks then, and it might seem like a reaction to Aominecchi's request to change the topic, but Kise knows that he is still being observed by the younger boy.
They chat some more, casually and without direction, relating some Teiko anecdotes for Hideki's benefit.
If feels wrong. Not simply that they have let a stranger into their midst, because that was never much of a problem, not with Kagamicchi or Takacchi, but how Aominecchi throws in that Kise followed him around like a puppy, that he still does to an extent, that he still cannot beat him.
It's a coarse reminder of the fact that he never even really figured on Aominecchi's radar.
“Sorry,” he says, squeezing past Kurokocchi. “I have to use the bathroom.”
Kurokocchi throws him a knowing look, but doesn't object.
In the bathroom, Kise holds his hands under the cold tab water and stares at himself in the mirror until he has calmed down and knows that his pokerface is back in place. Then he pulls himself up to his full height and saunters back to their table.
“I'm so sorry,” he says with a little whine. “My manager just texted me. She needs me at the agency.”
Hideki seems to be the only one who takes that at face-value. Aominecchi's eye just narrow a little, but Kurokocchi and Momocchi look more suspicious. No one questions him, though.
“I'll have to excuse myself as well,” Kurokocchi apologizes, standing up. “Nigou needs to be taken for a walk.”
They all bid their farewells, making vague arrangements to meet up some other time.
Once they are out in the cool afternoon air, they just walk side by side in silence, making for the nearest subway station.
“I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Kise-kun,” Kurokocchi offers, sounding genuinly conflicted. “I thought he would have told you by now.”
“What do you mean, Kurokocchi?” Kise lets his voice sound mellow and unaffected, but he can't bring himself to look at his friend. “Aominecchi doesn't owe me an explanation.”
“Still, it seems a little thoughtless of him,” Kurokocchi points out, and Kise cannot help but shrug.
“That's Aominecchi for you. He's always been like that,” he gives a derive little laugh. “Honestly, I'm more disappointed in myself for not noticing earlier. I didn't even know he was seeing anyone, much less... Well.”
The unspoken words hang in the air between them, but Kurokocchi smoothly moves past that. “Momoi-san and Hideki-san are classmates. They worked on a project together and grew quite close. Eventually he just started tagging along to her meetings with Aomine-kun.”
“Does he play basketball?” Kise wants to know because he cannot fathom anything else.
“He's interested in it, but he doesn't play himself,” Kurokocchi answers, careful and blunt at the same time. “I think he wants to be a journalist. He wrote an article about Touou's chances for the InterHigh this year.”
“That's nice,” Kise says blandly because he doesn't even know whether he means it. “I'm happy for Aominecchi.”
When they part ways, Kurokocchi does not comment on the fact that Kise's train is not one that would take him to his agency.
Kise gets home and locks himself in his room. He doesn't cry himself to sleep that night, but it's a close thing.
It's a month before Aominecchi texts him in demand for another one-on-one.
Kise declines, citing work commitments.
When do you have time then? Aomine wants to know, and like that Kise can't really avoid him, so he names a date.
Cool, Aomine replies. I'm meeting Hikaru before then. Can I bring him?
It's a small miracle that he even thinks of asking, and it's not like Kise can think of a reason to object.
I'm happy for Aominecchi, he reminds himself of what he has told Kurokocchi, has told himself for the past couple of weeks.
When he arrives at the street court, the other two are already there. Aominecchi has brought a ball and he's standing close behind Hideki, showing him how to properly aim it at the hoop.
Hideki, however, is not a natural at basketball, and in addition to Aominecchi's shit abilities as a teacher, the shot goes horribly awry. Or maybe it's just their physical closeness that prevents them from fully focusing on their attempt.
The ball bounces off the asphalt, but neither boy pays it any mind. Instead, Aominecchi tugs Hideki a little closer into his arms and fits his mouth against the exposed side of Hideki's neck. Hideki just laughs, throwing his head back.
Kise swallows, rooted to the spot.
The ball has rolled far enough into his direction that he can pick it up. It feels familiar in his hands, but strange as well. Tainted.
With a grit of his teeth, he comes to a decision.
The ball sails over the other boys' heads and into the loop with perfect precision. The sound of it is enough to make Hideki and Aominecchi finally separate and look around.
Kise cocks a challenging eyebrow at his old teammate, unable to look the other's boyfriend in the eye.
“Do you two need a room,” he mocks, allowing a smirk to settle on his lips. “Or are we going to play basketball?”
When it's done, Kise is completely soaked through with sweat, but doesn't let his exhaustion show.
Aominecchi is lying sprawled out on the ground and staring up at the sky, looking shocked. More than that. He looks utterly destroyed, as though run over by a bulldozer.
“What the fuck,” he wheezes, barely able to prop himself up on his elbows.
Worriedly, Hideki crouches next to him to offer him some water, but Aominecchi is so out of breath that he can't even drink without choking.
“That was amazing,” Hideki says, his eyes wide and flickering between the two players. He must have seen Aominecchi play at some point, must have known what a prodigy he was, at least according to Momocchi. And obviously he can't quite comprehend how the match could have ended like this.
Admittedly, Aominecchi seems equally unable to believe it.
“Holy shit,” he says, his voice hoarse and barely audible. “Did you take amphetamines?”
Because Kise has occasionally won against him, but never like this. Never every single match. Aominecchi had barely gotten four balls in.
Kise trudges up the energy to fake a convincing laugh, all amused and good-natured. “I just had a good day, I guess.”
“You went into the zone, Kise,” Aomine points out. “In a one-on-one.”
“So did you,” Kise pouts. “Also, I didn't think you would like me to go easy on you.”
“Easy on-? Fuck, Kise, you're talking like you've been able to play like this the whole time,” Aominecchi growls and he sounds upset. Betrayed.
“A magician never gives away his secrets,” Kise trills. “I've got to run now. I have an interview in two hours.”
He gathers up his things, not allowing his hands to shake after what he has just put his body through.
“We should play again sometime,” he calls over his shoulder, throwing in cocky wink. “Bye bye.”
Why does Dai-chan think you're taking drugs? Momocchi texts him later that night.
Because I have taught him what it feels like to have have one's world turned upside down, Kise thinks.
He's just a sore loser ¬_¬ , is what he texts back.
He says you were acting weird, Momocchi replies. He had me look up different kind of drugs to compare your symptoms.
Then, Is this about Hi-chan?
What kind of drug did I take then? (◡‿◡✿) (◕‿◕✿), he asks innocently, completely ignoring the question.
I'm guessing jealousy and hurt feelings, comes the blunt answers, and Kise should have known that Momocchi is impossible to fool.
I was a little caught off guard by it all, he admits reluctantly. But it's been three years. I'm over it.
I don't even know what Dai-chan was doing, even via SMS that confession sounds odd coming from her. When he and Hi-chan hit it off, I was completely blindsided.
That's how love is, Kise knows. It hits you over the head, completely out of the blue.
I'm happy for Aominecchi, he tells her, just like he had Kurokocchi. This time, though, he does no longer try to convince himself that it's the truth.
A few weeks pass, and Kise does what he does best: throw himself into work in order to forget his personal problems.
This time, it has the unpleasant side effect that his pettiness and vindication also make him forget his professionalism. Afterwards, he calls the only person which whom he feels he can properly talk about it.
“Momocchi!” he whines when she finally picks up after his third attempt, and he lets himself fall back on his bed, throwing an arm across his face in shame at his own idiocy.
“I had sex with some guy at work,” he reveals before she can even say anything, the words just bubbling out like a bottle of soda that's been shaken too hard. “Like, literally at work, in the changing rooms. What if someone finds out?”
For a long moment, there is nothing but silence. Then he can hear some loud rustling and the call ends abruptly. Kise pulls the phone away from his ear and blinks at it, wondering what just happened. Bad reception probably, that's why the call had taken so long to get through in the first place.
He waits for Momocchi to call him back at some point, but she doesn't.
Kise finds himself rather relieved at that, hoping that she never actually heard any of his confession. It's bad enough that he messed up like this; he can't exactly go around telling people about it. Especially since Momocchi would immediately link his faux pas to everything that has happened lately with Aominechi.
It was just a mistake, he tells himself, and it won't happen again. He won't look at other colleagues. And he certainly won't look at Aominechi.
Little over a week has passed when Kise gets a rather vague text message from Kurokocchi, asking him to come over to his place. It sounds pleasant enough, but Kurokocchi is not exactly the kind of person who wants to just meet with Kise for a friendly chat.
But Kise has always been unable to resists Kurokocchi's questionable charm, and a hour later finds him in front of Kurokocchi's house, just as Kuroko-san is slipping out to go buy groceries.
Kise barely notices her because, just like her son, she has a sort of unobtrusive air about her. But then she holds the door open for him and says how nice it is to see him. He thanks her and takes his shoes off, before padding up the stairs towards Kurokocchi's bedroom.
The door is not completely closed, and Kise can hear quiet voices talking which makes him stop, mildly confused. He hadn't known that Kurokocchi had invited anyone else. Then again, the message had been really vague.
He raises his hand to knock, but in that moment he realizes that it's Aominecchi's voice he can hear.
“So Aomine-kun broke up with Hideki-san?” Kurokocchi asks, his tone suggesting neither disapproval nor support, but it's enough to make Kise's breath catch.
“No,” Aominecchi drawls out, sounding annoyed that he has to explain himself. “He broke up with me.”
“I was under the impression that the relationship was going quite well,” Kurokocchi muses. “Considering you were much more attentive and affectionate than I would have expected of you.”
“Satsuki said the same thing,” the older boy complains. “Why does everyone assume that I am such a shit boyfriend?”
“Because you are unwilling to compromise and often disregard the feelings of those around you,” Kurokocchi points out, not pulling his punches. “Hideki-san did get to see a side of you that even I was surprised by.”
“So maybe I did go outside of my comfort zone to see whether that would make a relationship easier,” Aominecchi admits because his flings with girls had always been short-lived and disappointing. “We already had to tone it down because of the gay thing. Least I could do was treat him well.”
“Then why did he want to break up?” Kurokocchi – and Kise, too – wants to know.
“It started to get weird a little while ago,” Aominecchi hedges, as if he knows exactly what the cause was but doesn't want to disclose it.
“After the match with Kise-kun,” Kurokocchi suggests and, upon the subsequent splutter from Aominecchi. “Momoi-san mentioned it.”
“Damn her,” Aominecchi curses under his breath, but then surrenders himself into his fate.
“You should have seen him, Tetsu,” he reveals and sounds almost breathless with wonder. “I mean, Kagami, Akashi – those guys would have been just as blown away.”
Kise feels something hot swell in the pit of his stomach and he has to purse his lips so no exited sound can escape him.
Kurokocchi just hums a little. “Kise-kun has been very dedicated to his training.”
“That wasn't it, damn it,” Aominecchi must slap his hand against a desktop or something and the vibrations make the door in front of Kise tremble a tiny bit. “He was like possessed. And afterwards he just leaves without an explanation. I was so fucking- I wasn't even angry or envious. Just sort of...”
“Awed,” Kurokocchi finishes for him.
“Yeah,” Aominecchi agrees quietly. “Yeah, that's the word.”
“Kind of like Kise-kun was awed by you back in middle school,” Kurokocchi offers thoughtfully, but then presses on. “But why did that make Hideki-san break up with you?”
“He said I was acting strange afterwards. Like I was always preoccupied.”
“And were you?”
“I guess. " His shrug is practically audible. “I was thinking about how I could have blocked a certain shot. How Kise could possibly surpass me like that. How he made it look so fucking easy.”
“He once told me something similar about you,” Kurokocchi says. “And what kind of reasoning did Hideki-san give you?”
“... He said he doesn't want to be anyone's rebound,” Aominecchi probably has that scrunched up look of puzzlement on his face, like when he's staring at a complicated math problem for too long. “He used a basketball comparison and I still don't get it.”
“Then why are you only here now when it already happened last month?” Kurokocchi wants to know. “Is there something else?”
There's a moment of silence before Aominecchi asks another question, his voice dropping down to a low whisper. “Did you know Kise is bisexual, too?”
“He's not,” Kurokocchi shoots him down at once.
“He slept with someone at work,” Aominecchi snaps back, and Kise's eyes widen. So Momocchi did hear his confession, but he wouldn't have thought that she just tell Aominecchi about it.
“He told me himself,” Aominecchi continues, having reigned himself in a little bit. “Well, I answered Satsuki's phone and he accidentally told me instead.”
Oh God, Kise thinks, wishing the ground would just swallow him up. He cannot believe that actually happened. That stuff only happened in movies, didn't it?
“Kise-kun is not bisexual, though,” Kurokocchi corrects calmly. “He's gay.”
“... You're messing with me,” is what Aominecchi finally says.
At this, even Kurokocchi seems to have reached the limit of his patience, his voice growing slightly strained. “You didn't know that Kise-kun is gay?”
“No!” Aominecchi insists, obviosuly caught off guard. “Wouldn't that be too much of a stereotype what with the modeling and the hair and stuff?”
“Does that mean...,” Kurokocchi trails off, and he is verging off into disbelief now, “You didn't know that he was in love with you?”
“Haaah?” Aominecchi just says, but by now Kise's heart is beating so frantically that he can barely hear it.
“No no, you got that wrong,” Aominecchi insists with a laugh. “He loved how I played. He was in love with the idea of winning against me.”
“Momoi-san was right when she said that you are emotionally stunted,” Kurokocchi sounds vaguely impressed by so much concentrated ignorance. “How can you not have known? Remember when Midorima-kun kept bringing Kise-kun's respective lucky item of the day for an entire month?”
“I guess? I thought that was some sort of joke.”
“That was so Kise would finally properly win you over and stop polluting everything with his lovelorn sighs and sad eyes.”
It hadn't been that bad, Kise thinks in his own defense. Can't have been that bad if Aominecchi apparently had not even suspected anything.
“Bullshit,” Aominecchi chuckles akwardly. “Why'd he never say anything then?”
“Because he thought that you were just ignoring it so your friendship wouldn't get ruined,” Kurokocchi explains, though Kise had never explicitly told anyone. “And a rejected love confession would definitely have done that.”
“But,” Aominecchi tries, still floundering. “That was three years ago.”
“Yes,” Kurokocchi agrees.
“You can't mean that he's still...,” Aominecchi trails off, uncertain.
“Why don't you ask him,” Kurokocchi offers and suddenly the door opens in front of Kise. Curse Kurokocchi and his stealthy silent feet.
But Kise just stands there, held breath and wide eyes and all.
“Crap,” is all he manages, his startled look mirroring Aominecchi's face.
“I'm going to take Nigou for a walk,” Kurokocchi informs them evenly, the dog jumping up at the mention of his name and following him excitedly.
“Please don't defile my bed,” Kurokocchi adds over his shoulder, and then Kise is left alone with Aominecchi.
“So...” Aominecchi begins, his gaze moving away from Kise and listlessly swooping through the room, his fingers tapping against his knee where he is sitting on the rug. “You heard all that.”
“Umm, only if you wanted me to hear it,” Kise responds uncertainly, offering him an easy way out.
“Well, it's not like I can unhear any of the stuff I just found out." Aominecchi shrugs. “Is what Tetsu says true?”
For a split second, Kise considers lying. But then again, what would it change? All this time, he had thought that Aominecchi actually knew about it feelings and just didn't return them, that he was straight, that he just couldn't see Kise in that way. For Kise, everything will stay the same, now that the truth is actually out in the open. Unless Aominecchi is uncomfortable after all.
So Kise just nods numbly, his gaze dropping to the floor.
“I thought you were straight,” Aominecchi says, and at that, a small laugh escapes Kise.
“I thought you were straight,” he cannot help but tease. “What with all the male posturing and the gravure magazines.”
“That was in middle school,” Aominecchi scratches his head. “Anything else didn't really occur to me. I started thinking about it last year, I guess. Hikaru was just the first one were I thought I might as well give it a try.”
“Do you love him?” Kise asks, only just now noticing that his feet have carried him into the room, and he is dropping to his knees across from Aominecchi, the urge to move closer to him always unconscious and overwhelming.
“Nah,” Aominecchi pulls a face as though the notion were ridiculous. “He was nice enough. Easy to be around and not expecting much of anything. Just what I needed really. And... your guy at work?”
“Just some guy,” Kise waves off, though he can feel himself blush. “I probably won't even see him again.”
“So..." Aominecchi says, pursing his lips. “We're both single.”
“Yes?” Kise agrees tentatively.
“And not straight?”
A little laugh. “Definitely not straight.”
“And also kind of into each other?” Aominecchi prods, and just like that, Kise's breath stops.
“I, uh,” he stumbles over his tongue. “I was really sort of over you? I mean, it's been so long? But then I saw you with Hideki-san and... I was just... I had accepted that you were straight, but then suddenly you weren't and I realized that meant that you just... didn't even like me.”
It's the most honest he's ever been with himself about his own feelings, about how hurt he felt about having been ignored for so long.
Only that Aominecchi hadn't been ignoring him. Isn't ignoring him, not with his gaze fixed so intently on Kise's face that feels so vulnerable and exposed now that he can't even hide himself behind his professional smile.
“Kise,” Aominecchi says, slowly, thoughtfully, and so unlike him. “Can I try something?”
Kise opens his mouth to answer, even though he doesn't know what he should say to that. But then his voice catches in his throat and his eyes widen as Aominecchi suddenly reaches out and cups his palms around Kise's face, fingers curling along his chin.
It's an automatic response that Kise's eyes slide shut, instinctual and unknowing, and the last thing he sees is Aominecchi leaning closer.
Yet when darkness embraces him and slows his harried heart, the first thing he feels is Aominecchi's chapped lips on his.
It's not spectacular as far as kisses go, close-mouthed and somewhat perfunctory. It is, however, spectacular in the way Kise has been daydreaming about this for most of his youth, so a little whimper escapes him, all relief and fulfillment, his hands coming up to close over Aominecchi's.
A moment later, Aominecchi is already pulling back, but Kise keeps his eyes closed, head tilted back with an expression of utter bliss on his face, just drinking in the feel of those hands on him in such a strangely intimate manner.
Nothing else happens, and eventually he forces himself to return to reality, reluctant to see whether the other boy has changed his mind. But instead, Aominecchi is just watching him, eyes narrowed, yet pupils blown wide and lips parted.
Kise is good at reading people, and he knows lust when he sees it.
He isn't sure how exactly it happens, who makes the next move, but then they are tumbling over, Kise on his back and legs splaying open, just so Aominecchi might press closer from above.
When they kiss now, it's the thing that Kise has seen in movies, wet and passionate and lewd. It's a kiss that Kise feels in his entire body, down to the tips of his toes.
He keens when Aominecchi licks into his mouth, their tongues meeting, and Aominecchi pulls back to look at him, their noses almost touching.
He doesn't know what exactly Aomine sees just then, but a groan and a muttered “fuck” later he's already diving back in.
Vaguely, Kise thinks that they should be talking about this, about how things might go on from here and what they expect from this sudden turn of events, but every time Kise opens his mouth to talk all that he can manage are little, wordless noises that only spur Aominecchi on.
Later, Kise thinks, reveling in how perfectly Aominecchi's arms seem to fit around him, I've waited three years. We can always talk later.
They do defile Kurokocchi's bed.
He says he will never forgive them, but his smile is more fond than exasperated and annoyed.
Momocchi says all boys are idiots, crosses her arms and huffs a lot.
Kise and Aominecchi do talk later, much later, but it's mostly always in between gasps and moans, 'I love you's breathed against sweaty skin, fingers trailing along lips. It's not exactly eloquent, but still more than sufficient.
After all, verbal communication has never been their strong suit anyway.