©dwindlingflame

Two Lumps of Coal

"I like you."

That was how their conversation started.

"But I'm not gay."

And that was how it ended.

Two years ago, Aomine dropped the bomb that changed their lives forever. A confession condemning them to two years of confusion, hope, joy, and broken promises. For two years, Aomine was good to him. He treasured him. He cherished him. They fought. They laughed. They cried. They lived.

But in those two years, they didn't love. They didn't make love.

Aomine wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't gay. Kagami thought, at first, that it was just a phase. He was a man, fresh out of college, who had fallen for another man. A man who was his friend, his rival, and his partner in crime. He was unsure of himself, unsure of his sexuality, and defintely unsure of his feelings. He just needed time and Kagami was willing to wait.

But after two years, Kagami wondered just what he was waiting for.

Was it another night of passionate kisses that stopped the moment his hands wandered too far? Maybe he enjoyed wrapping his hands around a flaccid organ, trying with all his might to excite it. Or maybe he enjoyed the way Aomine lied here, letting Kagami please himself while he tried to mask his disgust of having another man inside him.

He didn't know but it made him sick.

Kagami rolled on his side, staring into the dark blue eyes of the man he loved. Aomine smiled at him. He could see the guilt, the hurt, the frustration, the love.

"Merry Christmas…" he whispered, running his thumb along the curve of Kagami's lips.

Kagami smiled, puckering his lips against Aomine's wandering thumb. "Merry Christmas…"

Aomine leaned in and kissed him with a softest caress of his skin. "I love you."

Kagami felt his heart clench. "I love you, too."

He was kissed again. And again. And again.

One kiss lead to another. A tongue swiped across his mouth and a sigh escaped from between parted lips. Somewhere in the mess of limbs and the urgency of his kiss, Aomine found himself on top of Kagami, straddling his hips as he rolled his own downwards, knowing exactly what made his boyfriend twitch and jolt with pleasure.

Kagami could feel his heart breaking with every rush of heat along his spine and every soft kiss against his ear.

When Aomine pulled back, he reached down to his own shirt and began pulling it over his head. Kagami's own shaky hands reached down to Aomine's pants, reaching his hand inside and fisting the same unresponsive organ he was so familiar with.

Just as Aomine's shirt came up over his head, he froze when he felt cold fingers against him. He jolted, feeling the heat of fear crashing into his stomach. "Kagami…"

Kagami looked up at him. He wasn't sure what his own face looked like but whatever Aomine saw was enough to shut his mouth. The mood in the room was gone and Kagami knew it, but it didn't stop him from speaking. "It's okay, Aomine. Just think of someone else."

Why did Kagami stay with a man who couldn't fathom the idea of being with him sexually?

Maybe it was because Aomine wanted to stay with him too. Maybe it was because of how hard he tried to make things right despite his shortcomings. Or maybe -

Kagami's thoughts trailed off the moment he noticed tears pooled in the corner of Aomine's eyes. Aomine stared at him, looking so lost, pathetic, broken, Kagami almost felt bad. He could see the water building before Aomine's face crinkled and the tears fell.

He had never seen Aomine cry before.

Aomine's head dropped as he brought his hands up to his face. He hid himself behind his shirt, pressing the fabric to his eyes as a strangled sob escaped his throat.

"Kagami… I'm so sorry."

Kagami removed his hands from Aomine's pants, resting it down on his hips.

"I love you so much. I just…"

He wasn't going to cry too. "I know."

"I'm not gay."

Everything was blurry.

"I know."