Chapter 8: If you can't be with the one you love, love the wine you're with.

Aomine sits at the dinner table with his hands interlocked together as if in prayer. He lowers his head against the tabletop. Shame and regret fills him. The damage was too irreparable. It is now a dark mark in his long list of mistakes.

"I'm so sorry, Satsuki," he chokes in grief. "If I could change the past, I would have done it."

Across the table is his long-time friend. However, that statement may have to be retracted today. All these years of unyielding friendship and loyalty have been erased like the imprints on a sandy beach. The bonds they shared ever since their childhood days are now meaningless. He severed them and ripped them into shreds.

"I know I don't deserve forgiveness," he says with a tremor in his voice.

He will forever cherish his relationship with Satsuki; her memory will forever be immortalized in his autobiography.

"You don't," the woman replies coldly.

"I won't ask for it," he says. He'll even give up his career as a bad guy for penance. However, his sins may have been too great to be atoned.

"You had one job." There is a steely gaze in her eyes. "I gave you one fucking job, Aomine Daiki."

Said Aomine flinches at her harsh tone. Shit. She must be supremely pissed to curse and call out his whole name.

"I know you're mad, and-"

"I'm not mad," she cuts in.

Damn. She didn't even let him finish his sentence. Instead, she automatically drops the atomic bomb.

"I'm disappointed in you," she finishes.

Her harsh words strike his heart, and Aomine simmers there, burning in utter shame.

Momoi Satsuki seats herself tiredly and slumps in her chair. Every movement practically screams fatigue and lack of sleep. She won't be surprised if she's diagnosed with insomnia at this point.

"Dai-chan, you don't understand," she sighs. "Those were my best wine glasses."

Aomine tightens his fists as his face flushes with that reminder.

"I'm very busy Dai-chan due to all of your requests," she continues. "So when I ask you to do the dishes since you obviously have the advantage to do so," she refers back to his powers, "I expect you to do the dishes."

If looks could kill, Satsuki's would slay him.

"Instead," she slams her palm against the surface, "You recklessly cleaned my wine glass and broke them."

The sound of skin slapping against wood rings in Aomine's ears.

"I know you can control your power… And yet you shattered every one of them."

The pitiful blue-haired man kneels at the ground and closes his eyes, begging for forgiveness at her very feet. "I'm sorry," he says miserably. "I promise I'll buy you new ones. I promise I'll do the dishes for the entire month!"

Satsuki huffs and scooches her chair away from Aomine's hunching figure. "No, I won't forgive you for this," she says.

Aomine closes his eyes tighter. He doesn't know how he can mollify her.

"Especially when I've forgiven you for this," he hears.

A shuffle of papers is the next sound he hears. He slowly opens his eyes, fearing for the worst. However, what greets him is not a manicured hand bitch slapping him in the face. It is not even a rolled up gravure magazine smacking him out of the galaxy. Instead, it is something worse than the both of the two combined.

His best friend gives him a sad smile. He hates it whenever she looks like that. It reminds him of the time when he was first branded as a criminal and escaped into her basement. Satsuki presents him a bundle of newspaper clippings and graphs. Under the stack are handwritten notes, or more importantly, his handwritten notes.

"I told you to stop invading my room," he grumbles.

He pushes himself up and stares at the papers blankly.

"I know," she replies. "But you forgot to drop off Akashi's schedule at my desk."

She spreads out the newspaper clippings first. Most of the headliners are related to the increasing number of people missing ever since Hanamiya's return. A few bodies found have traces that lead back to the immoral man.

"I didn't want to bother you," she explains, "So I quickly went inside to pick up the schedule." She pauses. "... Until I saw those," she says as she refers back to his handwritten notes.

They are rough drafts in ways to say goodbye to the one and only Kagami Taiga. By extension, this also marks her farewell to her beloved Tetsu-kun.

"I'm sorry," Aomine apologizes again but for a completely different reason. "I know how much you liked-"

"You don't have to apologize for that," she interrupts. "That is irrelevant. I understood the complications of staying by your side ever since that fated day."

The world abandoned Aomine Daiki years ago. That despairing day was the worst day of his life, but Momoi Satsuki is not the world. She is his best friend, and best friends stick together to the end.

She extends her hand and grips his shoulder tightly, pouring all of her feelings into that grip. "It's good that you are breaking your ties with Kagamin," she says with pained sorrow. "This way he doesn't have to be concerned over your alter ego. Even better," she gives him a strained smile, "He won't be too involved with our mission."

Years of friendship has trained him to perceive her unspoken fears. She doesn't want Tetsu to be involved either.

"Look at us," he laughs bitterly. "We're going to stuck pining for decades at this rate."

Satsuki gives him a forlorn look as she watches her friend in constant distress. The obstacles are abundant and merciless. Their goals seem almost unachievable. However, if there is one person who could overcome these rough patches in this long, winding road, that person would be Aomine Daiki.

This is what she thinks. This is what she believes. Sadly, she also knows that Aomine would deny her words, deflecting them as empty, false hope.

Therefore, she lets go of his shoulder and heads to the kitchen. She opens the top cupboards near the refrigerator and brandishes two plastic cups. Though wine glasses would be ideal for the occasion, she has to make do with them. As if they shared a telepathic message, her friend whips out a bottle of wine from their storage. She follows his lead and joins him at the table once more.

He pours her a cup and raises his in the air. "To heroes who never have good endings," he toasts.

"To us," she interjects, "Who will get our happy endings."

With that she clinks her cup against his.

She wanted to make a clinking sound, but with plastic, it makes a short, anticlimactic thump.

"Taiga, if you continue to stare at those poor hyacinths any longer, I fear they'll wilt by the time you're done with them."

According to the language of flowers, purple hyacinths are the flowers to use to apologize. Luckily, they are available during the springtime, so Kagami thought it was a good idea to drag Akashi out of his gloomy office to scope out for florists. Sadly, Akashi is an uncooperative companion. The man moodily shifts his baseball cap and tugs on his collar.

Since Akashi Seijuurou is recognized as a beneficial philanthropist and official member of the Generation of Miracles, he has to take caution whenever he steps out of the mansion. He cannot carelessly hang out with the other members of his team because that could compromise their secret identities. The newest member of their group does not seem to get that memo.

"I'm sure this Masamune fellow will forgive you if you simply apologized and batted your eyes," says Akashi. He can confidently say this since he is speaking from experience.

"For the hundredth time," Kagami sighs tiredly, "His name is Aomine."

The shorter male deliberately ignores that correction and adds, "You don't have to give Miuramine flowers-"

"Aomine," Kagami interrupts curtly.

"-Just for missing one date. If he truly cares for you, he would understand and accept whatever excuse you may come up with," Akashi finishes.

"... You're still salty over the seaweed thing, aren't you?"

"Taiga," Akashi says his name in an innocent, honeyed voice and gently puts a hand over his heart. "My sodium levels are fine. You don't have to be concerned over my salt consumption. After all, I just got the results from my physical last week."

Kagami can practically taste the sarcasm radiating off his leader. Actually, he's practically the embodiment of it. For a successful billionaire, he sure knows how to hold a petty grudge.

However, Kagami does not have time for trivial disputes. There are more pressing matters at hand.

The redhead palms his forehead and says, "You don't understand."

He pulls out his phone from his pocket.

"Thanks to a certain blue-haired villain," he explains with a quiet but furious tone, "I missed my first date and couldn't even immediately contact Aomine since my phone was still in the gym's locker room."

He aggressively pushes the brightly lit screen that displays his latest messages against Akashi's face. Since the electronic device is millimeters away from touching his cheek, he has to squint to read Kagami's point.

"You see that?" he asks a bit hysterically. "He didn't even reply when I apologized through text!"

"Taiga, you're overreacting," the other male calmly replies. "Your boyfriend was most likely busy and-"

"Then I tried calling him a few times, but he didn't pick up-"

"Taiga."

"Shit! Of course he wouldn't pick up the phone! He doesn't even talk!"

"Taiga."

"Oh my god! I can't believe I was so insensitive. I wouldn't even be surprised if he made a restraining order-"

"Taiga!" Akashi snaps and grips Kagami's shoulders to brace him. "You are making a scene," he hisses.

Kagami instantly shuts the hell up. Finally placated, he pauses and watchfully notices his surroundings. Embarrassingly, he is catching a couple of wary glances. There is even one mother who is shielding her child's eyes and escorting her out of the shop lest the crazy red-haired man approaches them.

Kagami furtively glances at Akashi. Akashi arches one brow.

"Oops," he laughs nervously.

Akashi clicks his tongue and determinedly heads toward the cash register to rectify this problem. He notches up his charisma in full blast and plasters on a charming, princely smile. Despite his disguised appearance, he is still quite the looker. He pulls out some pocket change from his breast pocket, and to make a clarification, pocket change is a vast understatement. In Akashi's world, pocket change translates to a small stack of bills that can total up to a couple hundreds, and with that stack of money, he graciously hands it to the florist's hands.

"I deeply apologize for causing a ruckus in your establishment," he says politely and bows in a perfect right angle. "I hope this will compensate for our impudent behavior. Please excuse us."

The owner of the floral shop gawks at the pile of cash in his hands. Then Akashi herds Kagami out of the establishment.

"So much for avoiding attention," he sighs and drags them to an emptier alleyway.

He travels further into the abandoned hiding spot until he is certain there are no pesky bystanders in their vicinity. Once he is done inspecting their surroundings, he turns to Kagami with an unamused face.

"Well?" he asks while tapping his foot on the ground. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm an idiot."

"And?"

"I'm sorry that I ruined your free time with my personal problems."

"And?"

"I shouldn't have endangered your identity like that?" Kagami says with hesitance.

"And?"

"What?" Kagami snipes back. "What else do you want me to say?"

A glimmer flits through Akashi's eyes. "In exchange for my forgiveness," he bargains, "You will have to promise me that you will stop adding seaweed into my tofu soup."

"I knew it!" Kagami argues back and points an accusing finger at him. "I knew you still held a grudge about that!"

"You also have to add extra tofu," Akashi demands.

"What?!"

"Promise me," he presses.

"Ugh, fine!" Kagami groans. It's like dealing with a petulant child. The latter thinks the same.

"I, Kagami Taiga," he announces snobbishly, "Promise to never add seaweed into your miso soup ever again." He looks away from Akashi's smug face. "Happy now?"

Appeased, Akashi replies with a slight smile, "Happy."

He checks his gold luxury wristwatch. "It seems that it is already lunchtime," he reveals as he begins to walk back to the main sidewalk. "Would you care to join me for lunch?" he offers. "Since I am in a fair mood today, I'll treat for the both of us."

Kagami perks up at the mention of food. There are stars in his eyes. Saliva pools in his mouth.

"Really?" he asks excitedly.

He follows after Akashi with light steps like a dog wagging his tail. After all, free food is the way to a man's heart. His stomach rumbles at the thought of mouth-watering food. He's famished and hungers for a mountain of burgers on his plate. He is ready to ramble about which meals he'll order until his eyes met with a familiar pair across the street. His once burgeoning appetite diminishes to dust, and his mouth becomes dry. The owner of those entrancing, dark blue eyes slowly stops with a frown marring his face. Kagami's heart plummets at the sight. Of course Aomine would be upset about his absence.

His fears are valid, but they are not the source of Aomine's dissatisfaction. He is not aware of the truth behind Aomine's frown. Rather, the root of it lies on the gentleman beside him.

Kagami nervously bites his lips. He's been rehearsing this moment ever since, but now that he sees Aomine in the flesh, he has cold feet.

"I see," he hears and breaks out of his trance. He gives Akashi a side glance, but Akashi continues to speak.

"So that is the man who captured your heart," he comments. He places his hand on the small part of Kagami's lower back and gives him the literal push he needs. "You should go and talk to him," he advises with a wry smile. "It's quite rude to gawk and stare like that."

Kagami blinks at the suggestion. "But what about lunch?"

"I'm sensible enough to avoid meddling in your personal affairs," he answers, cool and collected. "Furthermore, I forgot to bring my medication since somebody had a dire emergency."

Kagami has the right to look guilty. "Sorry about that," he apologizes.

"No worries," Akashi says with a genuine smile still on his face. "Though I should return right away. If I don't take them soon, I'll be coughing up blood any minute now," he laughs lightly.

Kagami cringes at the morbid joke. "Your sense of humor is still terrible…" he trails off.

"To each his own," replies Akashi. With that, he veers off to an adjacent street and makes a phone call, most likely contacting his personal assistant for a ride home.

Kagami's eyes flicker back to Aomine who is still wearing that unhappy expression. He wishes he could have the power to replace it with his usual trademark grin, but that would be wishful thinking. He strides forward with a palpating heart as the center of his attention stays frozen there like a deer in headlights. With that image seared in his mind, he steps closer with a renewed sense of determination. In the end, despite what happened, he gave this relationship a shot. He is Jump Squared. He is Kagami Taiga, and he is an individual who is willing to take risks despite the odds.

Instead of shackling himself to the past, he moves forward to the future and joined a superhero team. Instead of blaming himself for Tatsuya's death, he accepts his loss and continues to save countless lives.

Fundamentally, this is who he is, and logically, he shouldn't be afraid of what comes next.

"Aomine," he says in a tight voice. "Um…"

"Kagamin," he hears and jumps at the sudden intrusion. He was so hyper focused on the black-haired man, that he didn't notice Momoi standing by his side.

"Oh!" he exclaims and winces. He hopes he wasn't too obvious that he ignored her. "Hello Momoi," he quickly adds.

"Hello Kagamin," she replies.

Normally, she would casually start the conversation, but today she shows a tinge of sadness. The atmosphere feels dark and heavy.

"What's the matter?" he asks and turns to Aomine for answers. He furrows his brows. Aomine is wearing the same expression as his friend.

"We need to talk in private," says Momoi.

A/N: It's hard to write other characters, but it was fun to do a bit of research on Akashi like how he's really bad at making jokes. It's a goal of mines to try to flesh out relationships in this fic (And sorry for giving out GomxKagami vibes I try my best to tone that bias down). One fun fact is when Akashi said "Miuramine" because if you've read Fujimaki's new work, Robot x Laserbeam, you would know that Miura is the name of that character who looks like Aomine.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Kagami may or may not be captured next chapter. Let's find out.