Aomine Daiki ducked back inside the Metropolitan Gymnasium side doors and stalked down the dim hall, wincing a bit when he went to slide his hands into his pockets. Shougo had a jaw almost as hard as his thick skull, and Daiki’s knuckles were bruised and stinging. It’d had to be done, though; Shougo was the kind of idiot who would keep going until someone stopped him. Daiki’s mouth tugged up at one corner. He really was kind of like Kise, that way, actually.

He stopped at the edge of the main concourse, glancing around the thinning crowd with a bit of resignation. He’d told Satsuki to go ahead, but he knew she wouldn’t have. She worried too much about him. And okay, yeah, the year had been unspeakably boring up until just recently, but Tetsu had brought him a very nice opponent (better than chocolate any day) and Kise might just be a serious challenge the next time they played. She didn’t need to keep freaking out. He glanced indecisively between the main doors and the corner with the vending machines. Where to start?

“Aominecchi!”

Daiki snorted softly. It had definitely been a bad year—he’d almost gotten to miss the stupid things his teammates called him. “Kise.” He leaned against the wall as Kise eeled out of the crowd and trotted down the side hall to meet him, still flushed from the game and grinning all over his face.

“You came to watch!”

“Of course I watched. Good game.” Kise actually turned a little pink, at that, and Daiki rolled his eyes. Wasn’t like that was some huge compliment. “About time you got over your damn block about the rest of the team.”

Kise waved his hands indignantly. “Well, it was hard! All you guys are insanely talented and I’ve only been playing for three years, gimme a break!”

Daiki swatted at Kise, laughing when he ducked back. “Why should I give you a break when pushing you obviously works so much better? Isn’t that what you’ve always insisted on anyway?”

“Aominecchi is mean,” Kise accused, practically pouting at him, the way he did when he was teasing someone. Daiki rolled his eyes even harder.

Which meant he wasn’t looking and started when Kise caught his wrist in a grip that was always stronger than it seemed it should be, when you watched him clowning around.

“What did you do to your hand?” Kise demanded, frowning down at Daiki’s bruised and scraped knuckles.

“It’s nothing.” Daiki tugged against Kise’s hold; Kise didn’t let go.

“That is not nothing! I know you don’t need to be as careful with your fingers as Midorimacchi, but what are you going to do if you mess up your grip?” Kise glared up from under those ridiculously long lashes before turning Daiki’s hand more into the light from the concourse. “If you lose our next game because you let your hands get injured, I’m going to be really pissed off at you.”

“What next game?” Daiki finally twisted his wrist free. “You’re the one who still has games to play in this tournament, not me. You’re the one who has to be careful.” Which was why Daiki had gone looking for Shougo in the first place, after all.

And maybe he’d been thinking that a little too loudly, because Kise froze, staring at him. “Aominecchi,” he finally said, low and wide-eyed. “That wasn’t… Shougo-kun?” Daiki ran an exasperated hand through his hair, stifling a wince because he’d forgotten not to use his left hand.

“Quit looking at me like that. You’d better not backslide on me, Kise.” He’d done it because it was right, not for Kise’s admiration, for fuck’s sake.

Kise’s face hardened and took a long step toward Daiki, away from the bright concourse and slowing bustle there. “I can do both,” he told Daiki, chin lifted with every bit of the arrogance his sweet manners usually hid. “I can admire you and still fight you with everything I’ve got. And next time we do have a game, you’d better keep that in mind.”

Daiki smiled slowly. Those bright eyes were narrow and sharp, the way Kise always looked when he quit clowning and got serious about something. “You can, huh?” he asked softly. Kise took another step, right up in Daiki’s space where he leaned back against the wall.

“I won’t ever hold back with you again.” Kise’s mouth curved like the edge of a knife. “I promise.”

There was something hotter in his smile than Daiki had seen even during their games this year, and he wasn’t completely surprised when Kise reached up and curled a hand around the back of Daiki’s neck and pulled him down. Daiki let him, laughing against his mouth until Kise pressed up against him, biting at his lower lip just enough to jolt Daiki a little.

“Mmm.” Daiki pulled Kise harder against him, settling him snugly between Daiki’s legs, satisfied by the husky sound Kise made. “Bout time you finally decided to make a move. I was getting bored with waiting.”

Kise’s eyes glinted up at him. “You get bored so easily, Aominecchi, I guess we’d better do something about that.”

Even knowing Kise, even having watched him wind people up with his adorable-clueless-model-boy routine, even knowing that Kise and Tetsu were dead even for who had the evilest sense of humor, Daiki didn’t expect the feeling of Kise’s hand sliding down the front of his jeans. "Fuck!"

“If I’m not holding back, you’d better not be either,” Kise told him, breathless, and squeezed.

“Ryou,” Daiki growled, and kissed him hard and hot. Kise made a wanting sound into his mouth, and when his hand tightened again Daiki sucked in a quick breath. Kise’s grip was warm and strong, and made him think about the same hand wrapped around a basketball. About how Kise was, just maybe, catching up. About that promise not to hold back. He reached down to close his hands on Kise’s ass, pulling him in tighter and grinding their hips together. This time they both moaned, and Kise left off groping him to grab his shoulders with both hands and grind back against him. Hot pleasure licked straight up Daiki’s spine, and he laughed, low and husky.

“The next time we play,” he breathed against Kise’s ear, “it’ll feel like this. Only better. Look forward to it.” Kise moaned low in his throat, and Daiki pushed a knee between his legs. “Give me everything you’ve got, Ryou.”

Kise made a desperate sound and dragged Daiki’s head down again, fingers buried in his hair as he rode Daiki’s thigh shamelessly. Daiki dug his own fingers into the tight muscle of Kise’s ass with every flex of his hips, grinding him ruthlessly close, hot and wild with the hope Ryou and Tetsu had held out to him this winter. The hope put an edge on the pleasure winding his nerves taut every time he rocked against Kise’s hip, and it didn’t take long before it all spilled over. When he came, he muffled his groan in Kise’s mouth, kissing Kise like he could breathe him in and hold him that way. Kise answered him, just as open and passionate as he’d been two years ago, already relaxing against him, and that sudden sweetness made Daiki’s hands turn gentle even as his body wrung itself out.

When they’d both caught their breath, and Kise lifted his head and smiled up at him, Daiki smiled back, only a little tilted. “Next year,” he said quietly, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Or maybe before then.” Kise’s eyes glinted. “Come to the semi-finals and see how it goes. I have some revenge to get on Kurokocchi and Kagamicchi, after all.”

Daiki snorted, remembering how he’d been hauled to the Tokyo preliminary finals. “Doubt I’ll get out of it. Imayoshi-senpai’s being a complete bastard about that.” Even after he was supposed to be retired.

“You should have more respect for your senpai, Aominecchi,” Kise told him, contriving to look virtuous even while rumpled and flushed and straddling Daiki’s thigh. “Like me. I always do what Kasamatsu-senpai wants me to.”

“Kise!” someone yelled out in the concourse, sounding irate.

“Mostly,” Kise added with perfect aplomb.

Daiki had to laugh. He really had missed his old teammates, idiocy and all. “Go on, then.” He kissed Kise one last time, softer, and pushed him away. “I’ll be watching.”

Kise flashed a true smile, so much brighter than his model-smile. “Watch me win.” He brushed his uniform mostly straight, and trotted back around the corner calling, “Coming, senpai!”

Daiki slumped back against the wall and ran a hand through his hair, still smiling a little. That had been an impulsive thing to do, and now he had to find a bathroom and get cleaned up a little before he went looking for Satsuki. But he was glad he’d done it. Kise had spent a long time following him around, looking at his back. It was about time he started walking alongside, instead. Daiki made a pleased sound at the thought and pushed off the wall, stretching. For the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to the next game.

Maybe afterwards he’d find go find Kise again.

End