Chapter Four

Happy Almost Birthday

It was a beautiful day in June. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was the perfect weather for shorts, t-shirts and sandals. Because it was such a nice day, Aomine had decided to take Amaya out for an afternoon stroll in the park. It had been two weeks since her ear infection had cleared up and he was pleased to be finally spending some quality time with his once again happy baby girl.

Aomine couldn't help but laugh as he heard yet another click of his sister's camera phone.

"She's not moved you know? She's still in the exact same position doing the exact same thing she was doing five minutes ago when you took the last picture."

"So what?" responded Haruko, "am I not allowed to take a picture of my favourite niece?"

"If you like her that much why don't you go and make one of your own?"

Haruko scoffed. "No thankyou. Besides, you have filled the quota for providing grandchildren. Mum's 'subtle' hints about me starting a family were getting depressing. So thank you for that."

"You're welcome" replied Aomine as he pushed Maya's pram down a pathway lined with trees.

"You know I love Maya to bits," Haruko continued, "but there's something nice about being the cool aunt who spoils her niece rotten but gets to hand her back to her parents at the end of the day. I mean no offense, but parenthood looks exhausting."

Aomine couldn't help but agree with her. "Yeah, it is. I don't think I've ever felt so tired in my life. I actually can't remember what a lie-in or a full night's sleep even feels like. But I'm starting to get used to it."

"Yeah, people make it look easy."

"Tell me about it. It's hard. In fact, it's very hard. But we're getting there. Somehow."

"But bright side, at least you'll be getting a lie in tomorrow right?"

Aomine chuckled. "Yeah, I don't know about that. The plan is to have Maya spend the night at mum's so me and Kise can have some quality time together and maybe even have a lie-in tomorrow morning, but I don't think the birthday boy is too keen on spending a night away from his little Watermelon."

"Seriously? Surely he'd jump at the idea of a night with uninterrupted sleep?"

Aomine shrugged. "I understand where he's coming from. This will be the first night since she was born that we've spent away from her. It's kind of scary."

"Yeah but she'll be in safe hands. Kise-san is staying over too right?"

Aomine nodded. "Yeah. He wanted to give us the house to ourselves, so he's helping mum out."

"That's very kind of him," said Haruko.

"It is. Kise needs this break even if it's just for a night. I mean, think about it…ever since he found out he was pregnant he's had one thing to deal with after another. And obviously with having Maya, things are a lot different now and especially with her increased appetite, not sleeping through the night and then her ear infection…he literally hasn't stopped. I practically forced him back into bed before I left and ordered him to sleep whilst I took Maya out. He needs to unwind and enjoy himself. I mean, it's his 18th for fuck sake. He's owed that much at least."

Haruko smiled. She was amazed and in awe of how much her baby brother had changed over the past year. And the main reason for that was now snoozing away in the pram in front of her. "You both deserve a break. Having a night to yourselves will be good for you. You both deserve it. No one's going to think any less of you as parents for having one night off."

"Thanks. But that's the other problem."

"What is?"

"The plan is to go out tonight with Satsuki and Tetsu and a few others. You know, have fun, dance, unwind. Like we used to." Aomine thought about it for a moment, "in fact I think the last time we did that was the night Maya was conceived."

"Gross. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Aomine laughed. "Don't worry, that lesson has been thoroughly learned. But my point is, even though he doesn't say it out loud, I think Kise's a bit nervous about the whole thing."

"That's understandable though right? He's been through a lot. You both have. Just go out tonight and have fun. Show him what it's like to be a teenager again."

"That's the plan."

Maya grumbling in her sleep made the pair of them look down.

"Oh my God" said Haruko as she reached into her back pocket, "that is the cutest thing ever!"

She opened up her camera, held up her phone so Maya filled the screen and snapped the picture. "That is going to be my new wallpaper."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aomine pushed the pram over the doorstep and closed the front door behind him. He waited quietly for a moment to see if he could hear any movement from upstairs. The silent house suggested that Kise had done as he was told and was still asleep.

Aomine positioned the pram to one side and gently scooped Maya out of it.

She was wide awake and alert to the world around her.

Aomine loved watching the curiosity in his daughter's eyes grow each day. Although she couldn't crawl yet, she was starting to move on her own and reach out for things that interested her. She was also starting to communicate more with her voice and laugh at things she found incredibly funny. In fact, it was only the other day that Kise recorded her laughing uncontrollably at him blowing raspberries on her stomach. He had sent the video to Aomine who was training with the Panthers at the time and being the proud parent that he is, the bluenette proceeded to show the video to everyone on the team.

Aomine held Maya against his chest as he slipped off his shoes. He then checked his watch. He knew it wouldn't be long before the peace and quiet would be brought to an abrupt halt the minute Maya began to feel remotely hungry. Their greedy little Watermelon would never go without a meal and knew exactly when it was feeding time, just like clockwork.

So with that in mind, Aomine began making his way upstairs.

"Hey" said Kise, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "I thought I heard you come in. Did you have a good walk?"

"We did. Auntie Haruko met us there whilst she was on her lunch break."

"Oh that's nice. Has she been asleep?"

Aomine nodded. "She has. She's just woken up."

"Oh, you know what that means?"

"Why do you think we came up here?"

Kise leaned forward and reached out for his daughter. Aomine carefully handed her over and watched lovingly as Kise held Maya close and kissed the top of her head.

Even though she was only ten weeks old, it was frightening how much Amaya looked like Kise. Her skin was pale, her hair was sunshine blonde and beginning to tuck behind her ears. She had long golden eyelashes and a smile that could stop time. The only thing of Kise's she didn't have was his eyes. Amaya's eyes were dark blue just like Aomine's.

And just as predicted, it didn't take Maya long to let the world know what time it was and that she demanded to be fed right at that instant. With her face scrunched up and her fists clenched she started to squirm in Kise's arms.

And then the peace was broken by hungry and demanding cries filling the room.

Kise handed her back to Aomine so he could take off his t-shirt and get comfortable. When he was comfy and propped up with pillows, Aomine gently passed her over so he could feed her.

Amaya knew exactly what she was doing and the minute she realised what was happening, peace was restored once more. The pair sat in silence and watched as Maya guzzled away.

"So…"said Aomine, "did you manage to get some sleep? You still look tired."

Kise laughed. "I always look tired. And yes I did. I just tidied up a bit and then I went to bed."

"Good."

"Do you think your mum's going to be ok tonight? I mean, my dad is used to waking up in the middle of the night but your mum isn't. What if she can't cope? She does realise that with Maya there is a strict no sleeping policy right?"

Aomine smiled. "Hey, if she didn't think she could do it she wouldn't have offered in the first place. Don't worry about it. They are both going to be fine and so is Maya. And besides, it's not as if neither of them have never done it before. Hell, it wasn't all that long ago when mum was woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of me falling through the bedroom window shit faced and half naked."

"Half naked?"

Aomine shrugged as if it was the most normal thing in the world, "I was hot. And the clothes were making me itch."

"Oh…of course."

"My point is… mum is no stranger to waking up in the middle of the night to deal with children. Ok maybe more recently, sixteen year old drunk children but children nonetheless."

Kise smiled. "Maybe you're right." He then looked down at Maya who continued to fill her boots. "I wonder if Maya will ever stumble in drunk and…naked." Kise practically shuddered at the thought.

Aomine scoffed, "not on my watch. It's only now that I have a child of my own that I'm beginning to realise the hell I put my mum through."

"Well, haven't you grown?"

"Ha ha very funny. Besides, we all know she's going to take after you so we have nothing to worry about. As long as she doesn't get pregnant before she finishes high school we'll be ok."

Kise was about to reply when a sudden movement from his daughter made him look down. "Oh, someone's full. Could you pass me the…" He didn't have to finish his sentence as Aomine grabbed the towel from the back of the desk chair and tossed it to him. "Thanks." Kise then placed the towel over one of his shoulders before gently propping Maya up against his chest and rubbing her back.

It didn't take long for the wind to come up along with some of her milk which Kise quickly wiped up with the towel. After several weeks of living with a new born, there were certain tricks of the trade you picked up along the way and being prepared for regurgitated food was one of them. In fact, Kise didn't think there was one item of clothing he owned that Maya hadn't thrown up on at least once.

After bunching the towel into a ball, Kise threw it across the room and watched as it landed soundly in the washing up basket.

"You know…" said Aomine, "you should start playing basketball again."

"I am nowhere near fit enough. It would be too embarrassing. I am so out of shape."

"You've had a baby. You're allowed to be out of shape."

"Thanks. I guess it would be nice to play again. I used to get so jealous when I watched you or the rest of the guys play. But the more pregnant I became, the less I seemed to mind. And now, between watching you play for the Panthers and looking after Maya…I don't really think about it anymore."

"It's a shame. And you will never catch me saying this again but …you were actually pretty good."

"Oh really?" laughed Kise, "pretty good? Is that it?"

"Well, I'll admit, you were better than most. Just…not better than me."

"And if you had said that to me a year ago I would have moved hell and high water to prove you wrong. But now even the thought is too exhausting."

Aomine leaned forward and placed a kiss on Kise's forehead. He then said, "if you do want to play again, I will happily help you get back into shape."

Kise raised his eyebrows. "You will?"

"Yeah. Then I would play you one on one and kick your ass so magnificently that it would be like nothing's changed."

With his free hand Kise swiped Aomine around the head. "You're an arsehole."

"Careful now" Aomine pretended to be shocked, "you don't want our daughter becoming a potty mouth do you?"

"Well, firstly she's only ten weeks old. And secondly…need I remind you who her other father is?"

"Hey, I seem to remember a few choice words coming out of your mouth ten weeks ago."

Kise was confused for a moment. "What you mean when I was giving birth? You try it next time and see how you feel. Idiot."

Aomine grinned back at him. He loved winding Kise up. It was true that Aomine had never heard Kise swear so much until the day Maya was born. It was also true that if there was anyone Maya was going to pick up bad habits from it would more likely be from him rather than from Kise. But of course, he was never going to admit that to anyone.

It didn't take long for Maya to fall asleep and once her dads had put her to bed, the pair of them jumped into their own. This was another trick of the trade they had learnt along the way. And an invaluable one at that: when baby sleeps, the parents sleep.

Starships

Kise stood in the middle of the room and examined his stomach in the mirror. He ran his fingers over the faded stretch marks before turning to one side and examining his profile.

He knew that it would take time for his body to get back to the way it was before he was pregnant. The pictures published in magazines of celebrities with their perfect post-pregnant bodies just days after giving birth were frankly complete bollocks.

It had been ten weeks since Kise had given birth to Maya and although his stomach was nowhere near as round as it used to be, it still had a slight saggy curve that was only noticeable when Kise took his top off.

Kise would be lying to himself if he said that his post pregnancy body didn't bother him a little bit. This time last year he was toned, fit and extremely well-trimmed. He'd worked hard at keeping himself in shape and took pride in the outcome. However, almost a year later and Kise's body couldn't have looked any more different.

Even though he never said it out loud, Kise couldn't help but feel self-conscious. He knew that it was one of the reasons he was unable to go further than a quick blowjob with Aomine (and that was with his top on), and the reason why he was a little worried about going out that night for his birthday. He also had a very high suspicion that his boyfriend knew how he felt as Aomine was constantly telling him how beautiful he looked and that he wouldn't have him any other way.

Aomine had also reminded him (on more than one occasion), that he had grown and carried a life inside him for almost nine months and his body had undergone drastic changes to bring their daughter into this world. Whenever Kise was feeling particularly down about the way he looked, he would remember those words and realise that his boyfriend was absolutely right. He had grown a life inside him and his body was undoubtedly going to change to accommodate for that life. It took nine months to grow a baby…things weren't going to go back to normal that quickly.

Besides, one thought about his daughter made it all fade into nothing and thinking about her and how much he loved her made every stretch mark and every extra bump and curve absolutely worth it.

A knock at the door caught Kise's attention.

"Mum's here" said Aomine as he entered the room. "She's downstairs with Maya and your dad."

"Ok. How do I look?" asked Kise as he pulled down his black jumper of choice and held out his arms to the side.

"Hot as fuck."

"Really?"

"Really." Aomine walked towards him, wrapped an arm around Kise's waist and pulled him towards him so their bodies were pressed against each other.

He then grabbed Kise's chin in one and hand and kissed him deeply. The second Kise was pushed against the desk, the blonde held a hand out to stop him. "Woah… let's not forget who's downstairs."

Aomine sighed. "You're right. Now is not the time to be flinging you over the desk and making you come so hard you pass out. I'll save it for tonight."

Kise couldn't help but turn red from ear to ear. He was also lost for words.

Aomine smiled. "How about we get going?"

Kise nodded and followed Aomine out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ok, so I've prepared five bottles: three with my milk which I've labelled for you and two with the Greedy Baby formula. The formula is in the bag because there is no doubt that she will need more just make sure you sterilise the bottles first and-"

"Kise-kun?" said Emiko from the couch, baby Maya on her knee.

"Yeah?"

"We've got this. You don't have to worry so much."

"I'm not worried. I just want to make sure you know where everything is." Kise then turned to his dad, "right dad?"

Hiroshi briefly looked from Emiko to his son who he could tell was dying to continue. "Carry on" he subsided.

"Ok… so I've packed her bottles, her nappies, clothes, toys and baby monitors along with a spare pair of batteries. She also has her…" Kise stopped rummaging through the bag and looked at Aomine. "Did you pack her blanket?"

Aomine looked confused. "You never asked me to pack her blanket…"

"I did. I said 'Aominecchi, can you please grab her blanket from her room and put it in the bag whilst I prepare the milk.' "

"You did?"

Kise sighed, exasperated. "Yes I did."

"Well, I'll go get it…"

"No, it's fine I'll get it."

The room went quiet for a moment as Kise stomped his way upstairs.

Aomine then turned back to Hiroshi and Emiko and (trying to make light of the situation), said "he's a bit...on edge."

"That's funny," said Emiko, "and here I assumed you would be the one worrying."

"I think he's worrying enough for the both of us."

No one replied as Kise stomped his way back downstairs and into the living room carrying Maya's pink and purple blanket.

Stuffing it into the bag, Kise explained "this is Maya's favourite blanket. She sleeps with it and it goes everywhere with her. If she starts crying and she's not hungry or needs her nappy changing, she's probably just tired or in a mood so give her her blanket. It calms her down. I also have…" he slid his hand into his back pocket and retrieved a slip of paper, "I've written down Dr Kanama's number and Dr Tanaka's in case there are any problems." He slid the paper into the bag, closed the top and looked back at Aomine. "Did I forget anything?"

Aomine chose his words carefully. "I don't think so. But… if you have, I'm sure mum and Hiroshi-san will be ok. And if they need anything, they will get in touch. Won't you mum?"

"Of course we will."

Maya gurgled in agreement.

Emiko slowly stood up and walked towards the boys. "So Maya, do you want to say bye to your daddies?"

Kise had promised himself that he wasn't going to cry but the moment Amaya was in his arms, he felt his eyes beginning to well up. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

Kise knew that if it wasn't for Aomine gently prying her from his arms, he would never have let go.

"Now princess," said the bluenette, "you be a good girl ok? Don't go giving your grandparents a hard time. And…if you do decide to sleep through the night whilst we're not there…you'll be grounded for the rest of your life."

Kise couldn't help but laugh at that. He then leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. "We love you, Watermelon."

Kise's promise to himself not to cry was broken the minute his daughter was in the car and they waved her off from the front door.

They watched the car disappear down the street and around the corner. Aomine slid an arm around Kise's waist and kissed the top of his head. "She'll be ok."

"I know" sniffed Kise. "But I miss her already."

"Me too."

Aomine then turned Kise to face him. "How about we go celebrate your birthday?"

"It's not my birthday until tomorrow."

Aomine shrugged. "All the more reason."

Kise smiled. "Ok."

After wiping away his tears and gathering their things, the pair of them made their way into town.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emiko walked into the living room carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.

"Here you go…" she said as she placed them on the table. "I hope that's enough milk."

"That's wonderful thankyou" said Hiroshi as he picked up his tea and a biscuit.

"Is she sleeping?" asked Emiko as she sat down next to Hiroshi.

"Like a log."

"Great."

Over the past week, Emiko had been decorating the spare room transforming it into her granddaughter's own bedroom for whenever she came to stay.

"Thankyou for letting me stay over tonight" said Hiroshi as he dunked his biscuit in his tea.

"Oh not at all. I enjoy the company. As long as you don't mind sleeping in Daiki's room?"

Hiroshi shook his head. "I'll sleep anywhere believe me. I just thought it would be nice to give them the house for the night. Some much needed alone time."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you. And I'm glad to help in any way I can."

The pair went quiet for a moment as they sipped their tea.

"So, Kise-kun tells me his mother is leading a research team in Egypt. Trying to find some famous emperor's tomb?"

"Yes, as far I am aware."

"Wow, that's incredible."

"She's an incredible woman."

"When will she next be in Japan?"

Hiroshi shrugged. "I have no idea."

Emiko frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"Oh no, it's not a problem. Misaki is…well, she's Misaki. There's no one else quite like her. She'll come when we least expect it." The older man took a drink of his tea.

"Forgive me for saying this, but does that not upset Kise-kun? Surely he would like his mum to be in his life? If not for his sake, then at least for Maya's?"

Hiroshi smiled. "I'm sure he would. And as you said, if not for his sake then definitely for Amaya. But Ryouta also understands his mum and what she needs. He doesn't expect her to change and he wouldn't want her to either."

Emiko sighed. "I wish I could say the same thing for my ex-husband. At least Misaki-san has seen her granddaughter since she was born. And keeps in contact. Akihiko thinks sending one text and transferring money into Daiki's account is all he needs to do. Well, money doesn't buy love and woebetide him the day he turns up and Maya has no idea who he is."

"At least she has you" said Hiroshi.

"Thanks. Although I must admit, I thank my lucky stars each and every day that I'm even allowed to be part of my granddaughter's life considering how I treated them both. Especially Kise-kun."

Hiroshi shrugged. "That's all in the past. What matters now is that Maya is surrounded by people who love and protect her."

Emiko smiled ever so slightly. "You're right."

The grumbles of a stirring baby sounding from the baby monitor put a stop to their conversation.

"I'll go" said Emiko as she placed her tea back on the coffee table.

"No" said Hiroshi, standing up, "you did the last one. Let me. You finish your tea."

Emiko smiled, "Ok", and watched as Hiroshi left the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kise, will you put your phone away" Aomine ordered.

"I'm just checking" responded the blonde as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.

"If there was anything wrong, we would know. No news is good news remember?"

"Yeah I know."

"So stop worrying and enjoy yourself. Speaking of…"

The pair watched as Haru, Momoi and Ando made their way over to their table carrying drinks.

"Here we go…" said Haru as they passed the drinks around. "we have tequila, a cranberry juice for the one who doesn't drink alcohol" he handed the glass to Ando, "and an orange juice for the one still breast feeding. Are you sure you don't want anything stronger?"

Kise rolled his eyes. "No thankyou."

"Ok then, well a toast…to the birthday boy!"

They held their drinks in the air and clinked them together before downing their shots.

"Yikes" said Aomine as he rode out the after burn, "been a while since I've had one of those."

"Oh!" shouted Momoi over the pounding music, "there's Tetsu and Kagami!"

"Sorry we're late" said Kuroko as they approached their table.

"Not at all" said Ando, "the night is just getting started." He slid two of the shot glasses in their direction. Kuroko picked his up first and downed it straight away, not even making a face afterwards.

"Tastes like paint stripper" said Kagami.

Haru shrugged, "that's cause that's basically what it is."

"It's packed tonight" commented Kuroko as he looked around. He hadn't been to Utopia for a while but it was full. Having turned 18 in May, there was also no longer any need for his fake ID. In fact, with the exceptions of Kagami and Aomine, they were all legally allowed to be there for once.

Whilst the others were engaged in some sort of conversation, Kise took the opportunity to check his phone.

However, he was soon discovered and it was snatched out of his hand. "Wait! Aominecchi!"

"Oh no way. I am confiscating it. In fact…Ando is confiscating it because I'll probably be too drunk to say no to you later. Here Ando." Aomine tossed the phone to the spikey haired blonde who stashed it in his pocket.

"That's not fair" argued Kise.

"Life isn't fair. But it's your birthday. And I'm not letting you sit there checking your phone every five seconds waiting for something bad to happen."

"Oh my God!" declared Momoi, standing up. "I love this song!"

She stood up, grabbed Ando by the arm and dragged him onto the dance floor. A couple of seconds later, Aomine did the same and pulled Kise with him.

"Wait Aominecchi-"

But his protest was cut short by Aomine's lips pressing hard against his making him forget what he about to say.

When they broke apart, the bluenette demanded, "shut up and dance with me" before dragging him into the middle of the dancefloor where the rest of the gang was waiting for them.

The rest of the night went by in a whirl of loud music and dancing and Kise soon forgot all about checking his phone. They drank, they danced, they watched as Haru flirted with any guy that looked at him, they laughed as Kagami attempted to dance while pissed as a fart and found a very drunk Momoi treating Ando like a stripper pole very amusing.

In fact, Kise couldn't remember the last time he'd felt more…free. As he danced and laughed with his friends, he suddenly remembered what it felt like to not have to worry about anything else.

They were teenagers once again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aomine kicked open the bedroom door and pushed Kise inside. The bluenette may have been slightly drunk but he knew exactly what he was doing. Besides, Kise was the one who had told him to carry on drinking and enjoy himself. So that's what he did. Sober or not however, his blonde certainly wasn't complaining as he attached himself around Aomine's neck and continued kissing him.

Aomine lifted one of Kise's legs off the floor and hoisted him onto the desk, not caring what was on it or what tumbled to the floor.

Kise locked his legs around Aomine's waist and practically ripped the blunette's t-shirt off his body.

The blonde moaned and groaned as Aomine held him close and made expert work on his neck and underneath his earlobe. Kise lifted his arms up as his own clothing was removed and let out a little yelp of surprise when he was literally picked up and thrown onto the bed.

It had been months since they had last had sex. However, whatever had been stopping them before had long gone as Kise gasped in sheer pleasure at the feeling of his boyfriend sliding into him.

Aomine wasn't completely lost in the moment to know that despite what their bodies were screaming at each other, they needed to go slow. Fortunately, it didn't take Kise long to get used to him and he was soon urging Aomine to go faster and harder as their bodies rocked together, perfectly in sync with one another.

Neither of them could remember ever feeling this alive before as the pleasure and euphoria completely took over and they climaxed in each other's arms.

Happy Birthday

Aomine woke up with a headache. He squinted as the sunlight hit his eyes and he looked at the sleeping blonde next to him. Kise was lying on his front with his arms tucked under his pillow, hair all over his face and the duvet just below his waist exposing his slender back. If Aomine wasn't in desperate need of some ibuprofen, a hot shower and a fry up, he would have taken Kise right there and then.

Instead, he slowly climbed out of bed. However, he instantly regretted his decision as his foot connected with something sharp almost sending him crashing to the floor. "Oh fuck…bastard…dick head…" he winced through gritted teeth as he clutched his now stinging foot and hopped one legged and naked around the room.

He wasn't quite sure what he had stood on but wasn't all that surprised when he realised that half of the contents of Kise's desk was now littered all over the bedroom floor.

Careful not to trod on anymore land mines, Aomine limped his way out the room and to the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The smell of bacon wafting under his nose was enough to wake Kise from his slumber.

Seeing the full cooked English breakfast on a plate in front of him made being woken up against his will completely worth it.

"Happy birthday" grinned the bluenette holding the plate out to him, dressed only in a pair of sweat pants.

"Thankyou" beamed Kise, taking the plate and tucking in. "What time is it?" he asked in between mouthfuls of egg and bacon.

"Just gone nine" said Aomine as he perched on the end of the bed with a cup of coffee.

"Nine? Oh my god!"

Aomine laughed, "feels good doesn't it! Actually waking up at a normal hour and sleeping through an entire night."

"Yeah it does. How's the head?" asked Kise, noticing the cup of coffee and his boyfriend's tired expression.

"It's getting there. I'm beginning to think my alcohol tolerance has lowered."

"You think?"

"Alright smart arse. Although must I remind you that it was both you and Haru ploughing me with drinks last night."

Kise shrugged. "I knew you wouldn't completely relax otherwise. Despite what you were saying to me, I also knew you were worrying as well. And just because I wasn't drinking didn't mean you didn't have to."

Aomine smiled. "Well thankyou for your consideration."

"You're welcome."

"Did you have a good night?"

"I had the best night."

"Good. I'm glad."

When Kise finished his breakfast, he pulled on a t-shirt Aomine handed to him and began to stand up. "Woah!"

His legs felt like jelly and his back and hips ached. He grabbed onto Aomine for support before commencing to glare at him. "I thought the days of aching joints were over?" he said sarcastically.

Aomine winked. "You weren't complaining last night."

Kise blushed before brushing past him and making his way to the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh my God, I can't wait to see her" said Kise as they made their way to the front door. "Do you think we've left it too long? What if-"

Aomine stopped in front of him and turned around. "What happened to not panicking? If there was some sort of SOS we would have known by now."

Kise nodded. "You're right."

"Although…" said Aomine with a pensive look on his face.

"What?"

"What if she doesn't remember us?"

Kise's eyes went wide. "What do you mean? That's not going to happen…is it?"

Aomine shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she thinks we abandoned her to complete strangers and ran away to rekindle our youth? Maybe she's already started calling them mum and dad…"

At his point Kise knew he was taking the piss and punched him in the arm. "That's not funny."

Aomine cracked a smile. "It's a little funny."

Kise rolled his eyes and rang the doorbell.

"How come no one's answering?" He asked.

"Maybe they've gone out?" suggested Aomine. He reached forward and turned the door handle.

The door was unlocked. "Hello?" called the bluenette as they stepped inside. "Mum? Hiroshi-san?"

No answer.

"Can I start panicking now?" said Kise.

Aomine, who was trying to keep his own panic at bay, took Kise's hand and led him towards the living room. "They're probably just-"

"SURPRISE!"

Kise jumped and grabbed onto Aomine as party poppers were popped and bits of streamer and shiny confetti came shooting their way. He then glared at Aomine accusingly who held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, don't look at me, I'm just as surprised as you are."

They then turned towards the people in front of them.

A long blue banner hung above the patio doors reading 'Happy 18th birthday'. There was a table full of presents, another table full of food and many cheery faces grinning accomplished back at them including Hiroshi, Emiko (carrying baby Maya who just looked perplexed about the whole thing), Haruko and her College Boyfriend, Rosie, Momoi and Ando.

"You're all crazy" said Aomine before pulling a rather stunned Kise towards them.

"Look who's here Maya" cooed Emiko.

"Hey princess" said Kise with his arms outstretched. He felt something ignite within him as he took hold of his daughter. It was as if the missing piece had been found. She also looked super adorable in her white summer dress patterned with yellow roses with matching socks and ribbon in her hair.

"Hey Watermelon" said Aomine as Maya wrapped her hand around one of his fingers, "have you been good?"

"She's been wonderful" said Emiko.

"Was you up all night?" asked Kise.

Emiko nodded. "Almost but we managed to get in a few hours."

"That's my girl" said Aomine. "Sleep is for the weak."

"She was fed not too long ago."

"Great" said Kise, "that means she should be dropping off soon." He then looked at his daughter and said, "we've missed you" before kissing the top of her head.

"Ok time for presents!" declared Haruko from the present table.

The wincing coming from Momoi made Aomine chuckle. "You ok Satsuki?"

"Shut up. I'm trying to ignore the marching band going off inside my head."

"She's a little sensitive to loud noises at the moment" said Ando, trying to supress a laugh.

"Yeah yeah" said Momoi, "can we please sit down before I throw up?"

Whilst Momoi shuffled towards a chair, Ando turned to Aomine and said, "it's all self-inflicted" before joining her.

As Amaya slowly fell asleep in Aomine's arms, Kise opened his presents.

"No way…" he exclaimed as he opened his dad's card. "Are you serious? Driving lessons?"

"Figured you could do with them" said Hiroshi. "Your mum is also paying for them. It's our joint birthday present to you."

"Thankyou so much."

"You're welcome."

Kise also received some vouchers for various baby clothing shops, chocolate, a bottle sterilising machine from Emiko, a collection of old Beatles records from Momoi and Ando and an all paid for relaxing day at the spa from Rosie.

Aomine had gotten him a selection of wooden photo frames joined together in the middle. The photos themselves were of Maya, including her seven month scan which was in the middle frame and a picture of her moments after she was born in Kise's arms.

"I love it" he told Aomine. "Thankyou." He reached over and kissed him on the lips.

"You've got one present left" said Aomine as he handed him the last package.

Kise opened the card first and read out loud, "to daddy. Happy birthday, love your Greedy Little Watermelon." He then opened the present and held up a New York Knicks t-shirt who happened to be Kise's favourite basketball team. Kise leaned closer to his sleeping daughter and whispered, "thankyou princess" before kissing her on the cheek.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of birthday cake, the party food Rosie had brought over as well as a couple of rounds of Exploding Kittens whilst Maya slept upstairs in her room.

When the grumbles from the baby monitor alerted them to her waking up, Kise was about to stand and go get her when Aomine placed a hand on his knee and said, "you carry on. I'll go get her."

He returned with their daughter five minutes later. "Someone needed their nappy changing."

They played a few more rounds of Exploding Kittens with Maya being passed around like a parcel so everyone could get a chance to hold her. However, when her face went red and she started to wail, she was promptly handed back over to her parents.

Kise was glad to be feeding Maya again. Although it had only been a night, he was already beginning to feel sore with the build-up of milk waiting to be drank. He was also relieved in a way. He tried to avoid bottle feeding as much as possible but of course, with her being a Greedy Baby, sometimes that wasn't possible. He was relieved to finally have her in his arms and feel that closeness and that bond he shared with her that he couldn't really describe to anyone else.

As Haruko triumphantly exploded one of Ando's kittens, Kise couldn't help but smile to himself. He couldn't have asked for anything more. He was well and truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people who loved him and supported him. It was quite possibly the best birthday Kise had ever had. He'd spent the night partying like any normal teenager and was now surrounded by those closest to him, including his dad, Aomine and of course his daughter. He'd even spoken to his mum on Skype.

It really was the best birthday ever.

A/N

Fluff, fluff and more fluff.

The whole idea of Kise's 18th and the boys going out with their mates to celebrate his birthday actually inspired this whole sequel. I had the idea about two years ago and couldn't wait to write it! Of course the whole night club scene is a lot longer in my head but if you just stick some music on and imagine them having the best time ever (with Aomine, Kagami, Haru and Momoi just getting more and more pissed), it is just great!

In the next chapter I intend Maya to be a little bit older and maybe (no promises though!) we might see the return (or mention) of some other characters. But I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

HollyWoodFix- I'm glad you liked it! Hope you liked this one too : D

HashiMadaTobiIzuxxx- Ha there are no plans for any more children just yet. But never say never! : D

Beatrice- I'm glad Emiko is involved too! She loves her granddaughter! Hope you liked this chapter : D

oOHypocriteOo – he loves his litter Watermelon more than anything else! Glad you're enjoying it! : D

Thanks for reading everyone!

I love you all!

RH

x