"Where have you been?"

He had just got into their apartment when the alcohol laced voice intruded his ears.

"I was out with some friends."

He threw his jacket onto the couch, making his way to the kitchen. Truthfully, he was not out with friends, but rather, he was walking around aimlessly not far from their apartment complex. He wanted to avoid going home too early.

"What friend? Was it a girl? Was it a guy?"

He gulped down the sky juice to soothe his building anger. He was a grown man for goodness's sake! Supposedly, he should be able to do anything he wanted, without having to report every single movement to the tall man standing in front of him.

"Some guy from work."

"Which one? Do I know him? You are not cheating on me, are you?"

He wished he could cheat on his lover. That way, he would at least feel deserved to have that kind of treatment. Why the hell did he not have the courage anyway?

"Hey, are you ignoring me? I'm talking to you!"

He gave an inaudible exasperated sigh. "What?"

His lover was moving closer to him. He could smell the foul alcohol's smell on the man's breath.

"I asked you who it was! You were cheating on me weren't you? You two timing whore!" He felt the strong blow land right on his left cheek, followed by a sharp pain at his stomach. He coughed, falling ungracefully onto the floor. This was why he wanted to avoid being home too early. He could almost picture the inquiring looks and questions that he would be receiving from his colleagues regarding the blue black bruise that was sure to appear the next day.

"I was not."

"Then why don't you fucking tell me who you were with, eh?!"

"…Why do I have to tell you everything? I am not your child." Sometimes he wonders why he was putting up his lover's daily abuse, when he could just walk out any moment.

Another hit on his cheek. Damn, all those working out had only made his lover stronger.

"I will not be having this conversation with you right now. Go to sleep. You're drunk." He tried to be calm for his lover. For both of them.

The man snarled at him. "You are not going to tell me what to do!" He was roughly pulled up from the floor, before he was dragged out of the kitchen. He snatched his wrist from his lover's grasp. The man's grip on his wrist would definitely leave marks.

He threw up both of his arms. "Please, I'm tired, you're drunk. Look, can we talk about this tomorrow?" His actions only seemed to fuel to fuel his boyfriend's anger when he was none-too-gently shoved into their bedroom. He only managed to prevent himself from stumbling when he was thrown unceremoniously onto the bed.

He closed his eyes, fully aware of where this was heading. His lover climbed onto the bed, hovering above him, with both of his hands firmly planted at both of his sides, trapping him.

"Strip."

….

He woke up at the sound of his alarm clock beeping. He winced slightly when he tried to lean at the headboard, recalling the scratches and bites he received the previous night during their rough lovemaking.

The stirring must have woken up his lover as an arm was suddenly draped across his lap, followed by a muffled good morning.

He gave the man next to him a smile. The man, however looked uneasy, his eyes worriedly scanning his body.

"I did it again, didn't I?" His lover's voice was soft, filled with regret. He trailed a finger along the angry red, scratch marks around his body. "Do they hurt, still?"

He gently wrapped his fingers around his lover's fingers. "No." He was lying, and they both knew it. He kissed the fingers, slowly, one by one.

His lover's eyes were filled with tears. "I am so sorry, I am so-"His words were almost drowned by his sobs. "Daikicchi, I am so sorry."

Aomine pulled Kise into a hug. "Shh, it's ok. It's not your fault." Kise was shaking, his mouth continuously spilling apologies. His tears were making Aomine's tanned skin wet, but neither seemed to pay it any attention.

Aomine ran his fingers through Kise's golden strands, his lips planting soft kisses at Kise's forehead, eyebrows, whatever he managed to get his lips on that moment.

"I am so sorry, Daikicchi, I p-promise I won't do it again. Please don't leave me, Daikicchi." Those golden eyes were trembling with fear. "Please, Daikicchi, please, don't leave me..."

The sight of his lover begging him almost broke Aomine's heart. He tilted Kise's chin so that he could stare into the topaz orbs. "Hey, you did not do it on purpose, I know, Ryouta." He tried to comfort the sobbing mess on his lap. "Why would I ever leave you, baby? What do I do without you?" He slowly kissed Kise's tears at his cheeks.

He knew that Kise would definitely repeat his actions again. After all, it was not the first time the blonde made such promise to him and it won't be the last either. Kise had turned to alcohol after he got into an accident that left a five inch scar at his left cheek. His modelling career fell into shrubs, but it was still okay, as Kise had been working as a pilot, modelling only on part time basis, for the past few years. What made him an almost alcoholic was his insecurities. He was terrified that Aomine might leave him as he was, according to Kise himself, hideous, no matter how many times Aomine tried to convince Kise that to him, Aomine, Kise was perfect.

Aomine could feel Kise's body relax. Like usual, it did not take much to reassure the blonde, just like the way it did not take much to make the former small forward feel insecure. Kise's emotions were like a roller-coaster, without any stop or end.

"Daikicchi." Kise snuggled closer to him, an affectionate smile forming on his lips. "I love you," Kise planted a soft kiss at his cheek, right at the middle of the bruise that was barely concealed by Aomine's natural tan.

Aomine broke into a soft smile, caressing Kise's back. "I love you too, Ryouta."

Sometimes, Aomine wonders why he did not walk away from Kise, when Kise was merely a shell of his former self. However, deep inside, he already knew the answer. Because during one of those rare moments when Kise was sober, he would return to his former affectionate and childish self. And Aomine, he was willing to go through the abusive, insecure and cruel Kise every single day, if it meant having the chance to see the old Kise again, even if it lasted only for a moment.

Because Aomine Daiki was head over heels for Kise Ryouta, and he knew, despite the constant mistreatment, Kise Ryouta was madly in love with Aomine Daiki too. And Aomine, being Aomine, he was never going to stop trying to make their love flames burn, regardless whether he was going to be harmed or killed in the process.