Archive of Our Own ^beta

Momoi’s always been a sucker for a good cliché. The princess is saved by her knight in shining armor. The will-they-won’t-they couple finally get together. The workaholic modern woman gets not only the job of her dreams, but the man of her dreams. And of course, who could forget, ‘they all lived happily ever after’.

However, there was one cliché she always found rather oxymoronic; ‘If you love something, set it free’. In other words, let it go.

Personally, she’s had enough of people in her life giving up on the things they love to last her a lifetime, thank you very much. Whether those things be their passion for the things they love or their faith in their friendships… She had even given up on those things herself, for a time. The rest of the proverb would have you believe that stepping aside and doing nothing would prove if there was or wasn’t love present to begin with. But giving up without a fight, that was what really proved a lack of love, in Momoi’s humble opinion. Hard work and communication is what keeps the things you love by your side, and those things are what brings it back to you when life gets in the way. Maybe there’s also a touch of fate involved in the process, but there’s definitely also an unignorable element of effort (a sentiment she’s certain that even Midorin himself would share).

That’s why Momoi’s never liked that particular proverb. That’s not to say she doesn’t understand the sentiment behind it, but she thinks a more suitable revision of it - one more tailored to her own life - would be ‘if you love someone, help get him glammed up for his date with his boyfriend’.

If nothing else, Momoi has always been a very mature individual - whether it was watching over Dai-chan or managing a whole string of basketball players (two feats that seemed to take equal amounts of effort, most days) she prided herself on her ability to adapt and overcome. So when Tetsu-kun had confided in her that he was nervous for his and Kagamin’s apparently elaborate White Day plans and wanted her help preparing for it, she didn’t hesitate to swallow her feelings and clear her whole calendar.

Naturally, Tetsu-kun had revealed he and Kagamin were dating prior to this request. To Momoi’s understanding, she and Dai-chan were the first to know when it came to their old middle school gang, which was quite the honor. And while she felt her heart break a bit when she learned that her long-time crush was officially off the market, seeing Tetsu-kun’s soft smile whenever he shared something about his and Kagamin’s relationship with her was quickly mending it, piece by piece.

Over the past couple of weeks, she’s come to realize that she didn’t have to give up on her love for Tetsu-kun. It just had to change, that’s all.

That’s what Momoi kept reminding herself anyway as they took up occupation of her room, with Tetsu-kun sitting in front of her vanity as Momoi went to town planning his date night look. Not too long ago, having Tetsu-kun in such a position - alone in her bedroom, free reign to do as she pleased to him (decent things, like dress up and maybe some light canoodling, she isn’t a pervert like Dai-chan after all) - would have given her heart palpitations. Today, her heart had been beating faster from a different source of excitement entirely; it was her sole mission to make Tetsu-kun look so good that Kagamin would have no choice but to question his own self-worth and wonder how he ever landed such a stud.

(Okay, so maybe she was still a tiiiny bit bitter over losing to Kagamin - both when it came to Tetsu-kun’s affections and the Winter Cup. But, well, that was her right as a woman scorned, if you asked her).

Once upon a time, she would’ve longed to be the one causing Tetsu-kun to fret about before a date. But, well, being the one he trusted with his insecurities like this wasn’t so bad either. It wasn’t one of his senpai Tetsu-kun had gone to for this after all - not even his small-chested though infuriatingly fashion-forward Coach. It was Momoi he chose above everyone else and that had to count for something now, didn’t it? Especially when one of the people he could’ve gone to literally worked in the fashion industry.

“I really don’t understand why you didn’t come to me for this, Kurokocchi.” whined Ki-chan’s voice over the loudspeaker of Momoi’s phone. A bit uncanny really, as if he could sense that she was thinking about him. Though it wasn’t too surprising, considering that Ki-chan had brought up this particular grievance plenty of times thus far, both in person and over the phone. But that was just Ki-chan being Ki-chan and, well, Momoi personally hadn’t tired of hearing Tetsu-kun’s responses to Ki-chan’s laments.

“Because Momoi-san doesn’t give me a headache by asking the same thing over and over again. Or wear ties with t-shirts.” came Tetsu-kun’s succinct reply, right on cue. He had been bringing up a new ‘fashion crime’ Ki-chan had committed every time the model complained about not being asked for help by Tetsu-kun personally. Ties with t-shirts. Crossbody fanny packs. Opened vests with a long-sleeve tee underneath. Bowler hats. The list went on.

(Most of these looks were planned by his stylists, as Ki-chan had said in his defense, not that Tetsu-kun was particularly receptive).

Momoi admittedly felt a little guilty, since she had been the one to call Ki-chan in the first place. While she knew what she was doing in terms of the general atmosphere of the restaurant Kagamin had picked (a surprisingly classy establishment, owned by a client of Kagamin’s father, according to her research), she still appreciated the guidance. Ki-chan was admittedly better than her when it came to color matching and accessorizing, which is why she suggested involving him in the first place, as a sort of final opinion. And though he had a shoot today and was only able to call them after the fact, earlier in the week he had dropped off some items, which was great because Tetsu-kun didn’t have any money to spare on a nice outfit - not after he had gone all out for Kagamin’s gifts on Valentine’s Day. Momoi herself admittedly wasn’t very fashion-forward either, especially compared to Ki-chan. And when Tetsu-kun softly mentioned he feared his face didn’t suit the clothes or atmosphere of the restaurant, Ki-chan had been the one to guide Momoi through applying a subtle ‘no makeup’ makeup look he had worn hundreds of times for modeling shoots.

“I’ll have you know that that was an incredibly fashionable look, Kurokocchi!” Ki-chan defended himself before he quickly transitioned to, “Momoicchi, I’m downright jealous of your contour skills.”

Momoi’s phone was placed against her vanity mirror, so Ki-chan had the perfect view as Momoi worked on her handsome canvas. She wasn’t too good at complicated makeup applications, so she appreciated Ki-chan’s help and cheerleading. She also knew that Tetsu-kun did too, no matter how much he liked to tease the other boy.

Momoi had used a light pink crème blush on Tetsu-kun, which made his pale skin come alive. Combined with the porcelain-colored concealer, nude-colored eyeshadow that doubled as contour, and subtle, blue-tinted mascara elongating his already surprisingly long lashes, Tetsu-kun was practically glowing. To the untrained eye, it didn’t look like he was wearing much at all. Honestly, Tetsu-kun looked as effortlessly handsome as any model in Ki-chan’s photo shoots. Though despite the subtlety of the look, Tetsu-kun still seemed to have as many reservations now as he did when he first got here.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” Tetsu-kun asked, turning his face this way and that as he frowned at his reflection.

Momoi hummed, shaking her head. She picked up her brush and began to comb it through Tetsu-kun’s heavenly soft, though surprisingly thick tufts of hair. She was simply preening at this point as a distraction, since Ki-chan had already guided her through styling Tetsu-kun’s hair. She had parted it to the side, up and over in a way that gave it a swooping, almost fluffy-looking quality to it. They had discovered that Tetsu-kun’s proclivity for bedhead actually made his hair perfect for holding styles, so much so that Momoi and Ki-chan frankly envied it. It took them each respectively a gallon of hair spray and three handfuls of gel to get their flat hair to hold shape. Not Tetsu-kun though. A single pump of some nice smelling mousse simultaneously caused Tetsu-kun’s fly-aways to stay in place while also somehow giving his already voluminous hair even more body.

Enviable indeed, Momoi thought with an unvoiced sigh. Tetsu-kun was so handsome. Though as she observed her and Tetsu-kun’s reflection in the mirror, dusting non-existent impurities from off his shoulders, Momoi suspected her envy wasn’t really directed at Tetsu-kun or his (albeit magnificent) head of hair.

Here was her crush, looking and acting cuter than ever, who had come to Momoi directly for help on a matter that was very close to his heart. Only Momoi wasn’t the one Tetsu-kun was sharing his heart with. Not truly. That honor went to Kagami Taiga, just as so many other things seemed to these days…

Despite her depressing thoughts, she managed to pull herself out of her own head and smile widely at Tetsu-kun through the mirror. “You’re too humble, Tetsu-kun.” she said in a soft, chiding voice. Even more than her own heartache, she couldn’t stand Tetsu-kun doubting his own self worth, more than he already has in this lifetime anyway.

“Kurokocchi, you look perfect. Momoicchi didn’t even really do much to your face.” Ki-chan thankfully spoke up, undoubtedly knowing Momoi herself was incapable of saying more than that at the moment. Ki-chan had sent her many a love and support-filled text since the announcement of Tetsu-kun and Kagamin’s relationship. He knew Momoi’s heartache better than most and had honestly been such a major pillar of support for her. Not that Momoi had any right to be as heartbroken as she initially was. She and Tetsu-kun were never actually an item, after all, no matter how much she had once liked to go around and proclaim it.

As if sensing her trailing thoughts, Ki-chan then added, “Though she did a fantastic job. There’s no one else I’d trust for the job in my place.”

“I agree.” Tetsu-kun concurred, giving Momoi a soft appreciative look in the mirror that chased away all her heartache and instead caused her cheeks to turn rosier than Tetsu-kun’s blush-dusted ones. His eyes then fell back to the screen of Momoi’s phone. “Especially since I originally only asked Momoi-san for help and not you, Kise-kun.”

“You’re so mean!” came Ki-chan’s indignant cry as Momoi felt her chest flutter again.

As Ki-chan and Tetsu-kun’s familiar banter filled the air - with Ki-chan’s whines and Tetsu-kun’s platitudes - Momoi felt her thoughts drift back to the dreams she once had, most while sitting in this very vanity chair. There was a time when she once dreamed of having a day like this; planning the perfect outfit, styling her hair, and applying her makeup all in preparation for the perfect date night. Heck, there was a time when she was in this exact situation, preparing for an afternoon out with Tetsu-kun himself, back in middle school. Not that Tetsu-kun seems to know that it had been a date. It only seemed to register as one to Momoi’s rose-colored mind. Still, it was a day she cherished, even now.

…Though admittedly, there was one thing she had always wanted to change about that day (besides the one-sided awareness of it in fact being a date); Tetsu-kun’s attire. Momoi had definitely been over-dressed in comparison…

Overall, Tetsu-kun’s plainly dressed style left a lot to be desired. It’s not that he dresses bad per say. Generally, he color-coordinates well and his taste isn’t as casual as someone like Dai-chan, who didn’t seem to know that he owned clothing that wasn’t athletic wear (despite Momoi and his mother’s best attempts to diversify his wardrobe). But Tetsu-kun always seemed to rely on baggy articles that consisted of button ups, t-shirts, khakis, and light wash jeans. Now, those things suited him, but he just needed a little je ne sais quoi to take it from informal and into the realm of semi-formal that suited such a fantastical night.

That’s why Momoi thinks that Ki-chan really hit the nail on the head with this whole look. It was the perfect blend of veneered casualness with an air of distinguished care that Tetsu-kun was well suited for. That, combined with the subtle makeup and hair styling, and Tetsu-kun made for a magnificent sight to behold.

He was beautiful, Momoi couldn’t help but think as Tetsu-kun stood up from his seat, fiddling with his belt to be sure that the silver buckle rested front and center. Momoi felt her breath catch, as standing before her was a vision from a recurring dream, familiar yet ethereal. Or rather like a star, hazily radiant with an unfathomable distance.

Honestly, Kagamin owed her and Ki-chan big time. They had practically gift wrapped Tetsu-kun for him. That’s what Tetsu-kun was, after all; a gift to all those who knew him.

“Geez, Kurokocchi...” came Ki-chan’s voice over the speaker.

“How do I look?” Tetsu-kun asked, not seeming to understand Ki-chan’s breathy exaltation. He almost seemed like he thought Ki-chan’s reaction was a bad one.

“Like a dream, Tetsu-kun.” Momoi found herself saying aloud, not really meaning to. Her eyes widened, quickly breaking the unwavering eye contact she hadn’t realized she’d been holding with Tetsu-kun’s reflection. She covered her mouth with her palm in an unsubtle effort to hide the blush warming her face. Talk about the wrong time and place, Satsuki! her brain scolded her.

“You look amazing, Kurokocchi.” Ki-chan thankfully came to Momoi’s rescue, picking up on her spiraling thoughts no doubt despite Tetsu-kun not doing so. “Of course I always knew you were a looker, but damn.” Ki-chan continued. “Maybe I should give my agent your number…? he contemplated.

Tetsu-kun, despite nervously rubbing his palms against his slacks, replied in a droll tone, “No thank you. I can’t imagine a modeling career would help my misdirection any.”

“Hm. I guess that’s true. Even if it is a waste...” Ki-chan yielded in a tone that dripped with unconcealed disappointment. It didn’t last long however, as Momoi took note of Ki-chan rearranging his hold on his phone to place his fingers in the perfect position for screenshotting. In fact, Momoi noticed that he’d been taking a lot of pictures over the duration of their call. He did a good job of acting blasé about it, since Tetsu-kun didn’t notice. She’d ask for copies of those later. One was definitely going to be Tetsu-kun’s new contact photo. She’d consider it a consolation prize.

Suddenly there came the distant sound of a car horn on the other end of the phone. “Oh! My ride’s here.” Ki-chan clarified, scrambling to pack up his things from the cafe table where he had hunkered down. Through the end of a croissant he had shoved into his mouth, he muffledly requested, “Momoicchi, think you can send me that info now?” the sound of the wind and busy street, furthering to clutter the line. But she still heard him loud and clear.

Momoi shuffled forward, grabbed her phone and did as requested. “Of course~.” she hummed, noting curiously that there was little change in the information.

They haven’t moved in a while, she thought. Though she soon shrugged, not one to question fortunate happenstance. She then went ahead and shared the information, the sound of Ki-chan’s phone vibrating in the pattern of a successful receipt audible over the line.

“Perfect!” Ki-chan chimed, before the sound of a car door opening and closing bookend the sound of someone clambering inside the vehicle. “Hi. 21-1 Udagawacho, Shibuya, please.” was his slightly-muffled request to the driver, presumably. “Well, Kurokocchi, I’ll leave you in Momoicchi’s hands now. You look fantastic and I hope you have such an amazing time tonight!”

Tetsu-kun lifted a brow, giving Momoi a curious look. The exchange was no doubt a little too suspicious. Momoi simply feigned ignorance and shrugged again. “Thank you very much, Kise-kun.” Tetsu-kun eventually answered, sounding genuinely grateful, if not slightly embarrassed.

“Of course, Kurokocchi~.” Ki-chan cooed, rendered on the verge of tears by such an honest response. Though he had no more time to waste. “Bye!” he quickly signed off before he finally ended the call.

Another thing to find suspicious; Ki-chan was never eager to end a conversation, especially one with Tetsu-kun.

“What kind of ‘information’ did you send him, exactly?” Tetsu-kun queried, not one to let anything get past him.

Observant as ever, Momoi noted. Honestly, he was probably well aware of the fact that Ki-chan had been taking screenshots during their call too. My condolences, Ki-chan, she thought to herself with a giggle. “Oh, nothing. Ki-chan is on the hunt, is all.” she eventually answered in a vaguely teasing tone, not wanting to spoil anything.

Tetsu-kun’s expression turned more dubious somehow. But he knew better than to think he could pry information out of an unwilling Momoi, so he simply gave a curious hum himself, before turning to observe his reflection in the full body mirror on the back of Momoi’s door.

“Is it really alright for me to go out like this?” Tetsu-kun suddenly asked, fiddling with the stunning silver pendant Ki-chan had gifted him (‘a late birthday present’ he cheekily informed with a wink to a less than thrilled though still grateful Tetsu-kun). He wasn't really one for bells and whistles, a fact more than known to their friends, which is why Tetsu-kun looked so stunning modeling it now, in Momoi’s humble opinion. “I doubt Taiga-kun has put in half as much effort into his appearance as you put into mine, Momoi-san.”

‘Taiga-kun’ was what Tetsu-kun used for Kagamin, something he only did when he felt comfortable enough to let his ever-polite guard down. Momoi hasn’t heard him address Kagamin in this way in front of anyone else other than her. Not even Ki-chan.

Momoi felt a strange feeling flutter in her chest once more, but it didn’t feel like lovestruck butterflies or sinking surrender. Rather, it felt similar to winning a match or acing a test.

Perhaps it was her selfish pride shining through? Proud, because it was her Tetsu-kun had trusted to show his insecurities to? Not Dai-chan. Not Ki-chan. Not even Kagamin himself. It was Momoi who got to see this side of him. Momoi whom he’d discuss the matters closest to his heart.

She pocketed her phone, her realization weighing on her almost as heavily as a gravitational force. But then her fingers brushed against something else in her pocket, something she had bought especially for this occasion. Her eyes widened, shocked at herself that she had almost forgotten about it. This wasn’t about her, Momoi reminded herself. Today was about Tetsu-kun.

“Something tells me Kagamin wouldn’t mind feeling a little underdressed in comparison.” Momoi reassured with an airy laugh as she stepped forward. “You look amazing, Tetsu-kun. He’ll appreciate the effort I’m sure, but what’s important is how you feel. So, how do you feel?”

Tetsu-kun turned to her, his eyes expressing what his face did not; reluctance. “A little silly.” he admitted, fingers still fiddling with the chain on his pendant before he let it lay flat against his sternum, placing his palm over it. “It feels a little like playing dress up, if I’m being honest.” he explained, turning back to the mirror.

Momoi was slightly taken aback by such honesty, but again, it only served to further inflate her ego. But a worry now nagged at her mind, sparked by Tetsu-kun’s confession.

“Ki-chan and I didn’t bully you into this, did we, Tetsu-kun?” she pressed. Perhaps they had taken their fun too far? They had been a bit overzealous from the get-go once faced with the prospect of dressing him up... “I have some micellar water. We still have time to wash everything off before you have to go.”

But Tetsu-kun shook his head, turning part-way from the mirror to glance at her again. “No. I’m unnoticeable no matter what I do, so there didn’t ever seem to be a point in experimenting with my appearance like this before—”

And how ironic that was, Momoi thought. One of the kindest, most dazzling people you would ever meet, would go unnoticed if you didn’t stop to take him in; much like a passing comet.

Oh well, that just meant there was more Tetsu-kun to go around for those who did.

“I don’t mind looking this way though.” Tetsu-kun continued, finally fully turning his back to the mirror to face her again. “As I said, it’s sorta exciting to do something out of the norm.” he elaborated before offering a smile and concluding, “Besides, it's nice learning about my friends’ interests outside of basketball.”

Well, that solidified it. Kuroko Tetsuya; the perfect man. Kagamin damn well better be cherishing him, or he was going to have Momoi to answer to.

“The look does suit you. But there’s one thing missing.” Momoi began as she stepped forward, a new resolve in her heart. She uncapped the chapstick she had been keeping in her pocket and approached her target, her motions deliberately slow, so as not to startle Tetsu-kun. He stayed perfectly still, as expected, even as Momoi gently applied the bronze-tinted balm to his enviously plump lips (honestly, such pretty features were usually wasted on a boy, but Tetsu-kun was ever the exception). Once there was a proper coating, she placed the cap back on with an audible click, mushing her own lips together to prompt Tetsu-kun to do the same.

He followed her example, and right on cue, his eyes lit up once he caught taste of the flavor. “Vanilla?” he said, voice far too awestruck for such a silly reveal. It wasn’t like it was a very difficult flavor to find.

“I knew you’d like it.” Momoi smiled, extremely pleased with herself as she now tucked the tube into Tetsu-kun’s own pocket, so it’d be there whenever he might need it next. “And I suspect that Kagamin will appreciate it too.” she added on rather cheekily, with a wink and everything.

And Tetsu-kun’s face bloomed with color, a shade akin to cherry blossoms in Spring. “M-Momoi-san…” he stuttered, scandalized, and Momoi couldn’t help but laugh. And, despite himself, Tetsu-kun huffed in exasperated amusement and smiled too.

Embarrassed yet giddy. Yet another side of Kuroko Tetsuya that only Momoi Satsuki seemed privy to.

And though this dynamic - one of companionable confidants - differed from the grand romance she had once envisioned, Momoi found that her heart actually wasn’t aching quite as bad as she thought it would.

How could it be when faced with Tetsu-kun’s heartstopping smile?

The way Aomine sees it, White Day is just the day when all the sorry suckers who got chocolates on Valentine’s Day from the even sorrier suckers who had feelings for them had to scramble to get a gift in return because they were oblivious idiots who somehow didn’t see it coming, even if it was obvious as hell.

Aomine likes to think he toes the line of oblivious idiot and can’t-be-held-responsible-for-not-reading-people’s-minds. Growing up, Valentine’s Day and White Day were simply things his family (including Satsuki’s) used as an excuse to express their embarrassing affection for one another. Later in life, namely middle school, Aomine started to receive chocolates from people outside of his weird little extended family unit. Specifically, it started when Aomine’s reputation as a starter on the basketball team kicked off.

Now Aomine wasn’t as popular as guys like Kise or even Akashi. As much as his basketball reputation made him popular, it also made it pretty obvious that he wasn’t really interested in anything outside of it. That being said, there were still a few people here and there that either didn’t get the memo that he was a basketball junkie through and through or didn’t view it as the big fat bubble burst that it would inevitably end up being.

So he’s been blindsided by Valentines before. In his defense, he doesn’t think he should be held accountable for not expecting randos to have crushes on him of all people when usually the case is Aomine’s never spoken a word to the person (not to his memory). He realizes this may all make him sound like a big asshole, but it was the truth. Someone with a reputation like him was bound to get the occasional surprise in the form of an unknown love declaration. His method of giving his Valentines his month-old untouched batch of Satsuki’s tainted chocolates on White Day usually helped deter any new wannabe-lovers the following year. That is, if he even bothered to give them something in return, because again, nine-times-outta-ten these people were straight up strangers to Aomine and he didn’t feel any obligation to give them something in return when he didn’t feel anything for them.

Anyway, his point is, Aomine thinks there are those who should be called oblivious idiots when it comes to not expecting a Valentine, and those that shouldn’t be blamed for being blindsided by strangers.

But Kagami Taiga is definitely one of those oblivious idiots who should 10000% be blamed for being dumb as hell.

As far as Aomine knows, Kagami and Tetsu have been seeing each other for barely a month, maybe two. He didn’t care to learn the details, but they were an established thing. Even before that though, there was clearly some unspoken thing between them, even if they were too scared or stupid to admit it.

His point being, Tetsu and Kagami coming out as a couple had been a long time coming, and even then, it’s been at least a month or two of them being official. So there was no excuse for Kagami to be blindsided by the fact that on Valentine’s Day, Tetsu had made him chocolates (with a recipe borrowed from Murasakibara, from what Satsuki says) and even took him out on a date that involved going to a concert for some weird band Kagami liked (Aomine didn’t bother to remember the name) and treating him to dinner at an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place (which, also according to Satsuki, used up the last of whatever meager allowance Tetsu had for the next two months).

And the whole time, Kagami floundered, feeling like crap as he himself was empty handed on a day all about expressing your love for your partner.

What a dumbass.

There was no excuse really. Aomine’s pretty positive that they had Valentine’s Day in America, but Kagami was damn lucky that Japan had White Day, a holiday he’s pretty sure was invented by poor, oblivious bastards like Kagami Taiga who forgot about Valentine’s Day. Kagami knew that he now had the chance to make up for his blunder, so he had to make it count.

And how does Aomine know all this sensitive, personal information about Kagami of all people? Well, the poor bastard was apparently so desperate to make it up to Tetsu, that he had recruited Aomine for help planning something. He had no choice apparently, absolutely desperate for help planning something when he realized Satsuki was already busy doing something else.

(Unknown to Kagami, Satsuki was in fact already busy helping Tetsu get ready for the day, since Kagami had apparently hyped up the date enough to get Tetsu nervous about ‘looking presentable’, which was ridiculous, because this was Kagami they were talking about. Aomine wasn’t even sure that he owned a collared shirt - not that he was one to talk).

Aomine’s sole consolation for being roped into all this was the fact that Kagami had to suck up his pride and come crawling to Aomine for help (who of course made the redhead grovel and admit his inferiority before agreeing to anything).

That didn’t make this whole scenario any less awkward though.

Aomine was growing damn bored as he watched Kagami stare blankly at a wall of stainless steel Tupperware. There were somehow a million thoughts behind his eyes, and somehow also none at all. And as funny as it was to watch Kagami spiral over a container, Aomine felt his patience wearing thin. This was their 5th stop of the day, after all and it felt like they had covered every square inch of Tokyo. Kagami seemed to be compiling a goodie bag of sorts which held semi-random crap as of now. Snacks and candies Tetsu liked. A notebook and a fancy set of pens (Tetsu journals occasionally). A gift card to that book store Aomine remembered Tetsu frequented back in middle school (and apparently still does). And of course, homemade chocolates that Kagami made himself, which Aomine of course demanded to sample as another form of payment for agreeing to come along.

(Annoyingly, the chocolates were good as hell, even though Aomine personally preferred dark. And they somehow tasted like vanilla, which Aomine still wasn’t sure how the hell Kagami managed to do).

Aomine let out a great big sigh, one that had been building up steam in his chest for the past 10 minutes; or however long he’d been standing here. Honestly, he had lost track. His mind was wandering and he didn’t like it. That’s why he took so many naps.

Aaaand now he was yawning. Great.

“I still don’t get why you can’t just be happy with buying dinner and callin’ it a day.” Aomine broke the silence with a lie. He figured he might as well entertain himself with an argument. After all, he and Kagami had been going in circles about this topic not only all day, but for the last two weeks or so. Aomine’s pretty sure that Kagami had access to daddy’s credit card and again, Tetsu was flat broke, so Kagami shelling out for anything would be more than enough for Tetsu. But, like he said, Aomine was bored and a fight with Kagami sounded fun right about now, even if it was a familiarly dull one.

Right on cue, Kagami snapped out of his daze, his stupid, weird eyebrows furrowing in anger as he then turned his gaze to Aomine, glaring at the other teen with seemingly all he had in him.

“What the hell is wrong with you? How many times do I gotta tell you the same damn thing?” Kagami barked, easing up out of the crouch he had taken to inspect the low-lying shelves.

Aomine just shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. He’d give it to Kagami that they had gone over this an endless amount of times, but his question always remained genuine. “Until it stops making sense to ask. You think Tetsu is in the market for goddamn kitchenware? He barely knows how to use a rice cooker.”

Seriously, what were they even doing in this store? (Not that Aomine was one to talk. He was as shit in the kitchen as Satsuki and Tetsu were. Luckily his Ma was a hella good cook).

Kagami huffed as he turned away from the shelves, clearly annoyed with Aomine’s snark but probably knowing better than most how true that statement was (Aomine heard he was a decent cook and that Tetsu more often than not had dinner at Kagami’s most days since his own parents were pretty big workaholics).

“You didn’t have to come.” Kagami said, something else that had also been repeated throughout the day.

“What choice did I have?” Aomine shot back. “Leave Tetsu’s gift in the hands of Kise or Midorima?” he asked, tone dripping with offense on Tetsu’s behalf. Those were their options, after all, since they were the physically closest options when it came to people-who-knew-Kuroko-Tetsuya-well-enough-to-plan-a-surprise-for-him. Murasakibara lived too far away (and was simply just a major airhead in general). And though Akashi also lived far away, the real issue with him was that had they asked for his help, Aomine’s pretty certain that Akashi probably would’ve just shipped something to Tetsu himself. And Kagami was super against that because apparently it ‘didn’t count’ or whatever.

And that was how Aomine ended up here (after Satsuki denied Kagami’s request, naturally she was the first option since intel was her whole thing). “Or worse, leave you on your own?” Aomine concluded, giving not-so-subtle stink eyes to the shelves surrounding them.

“Screw you.” Kagami huffed, before he went over to the only non-shelf lined strip of wall, turned his back to it, then proceeded to slide down the brick until he was able to rest his butt on the floor, their various bags hitting the ground with a solid thud. He must’ve been feeling really defeated too, cause he was legit sitting on the ground. Gross.

Kagami sighed, looking at the ground sadly. Aomine suddenly got the sense he had dragged things into unfamiliar territory. Shit.

“Look, I know I’m being crazy about this I just…I just don’t want to mess this up more than I already have…” Kagami trailed, voice unsure and self-scathing, absolutely taking all of the wind out of Aomine’s sails. Despite himself, Aomine felt his sympathy for the stupid American-returnee spike. Picking on a Kagami that didn’t fight back was no fun at all.

With his conscience kicking in, Aomine scowled, stomping over to the wall opposite Kagami. He didn’t drop to the floor (again, gross) but he did lean back, even kicking a leg up behind him to further prop himself up. He groaned and groused, kinda in disbelief over what he was about to do himself; he was about to have a heart-to-heart with Kagami Taiga.

“Look, Tetsu’s not big into, like, physical shit. He’s more into…” he attempted to reassure Kagami, making a gesture with his hand as he searched his mind for the word…oh. That was it. “…gestures.” Aomine concluded.

In fact, the more he (unwillingly) thought on it, the more he realized that his and Tetsu’s friendship was mostly made up of small gestures. Joining him for his library club duties so they could play basketball and/or walk home together after. Remembering his favorite brand of sports drink. Putting aside his pride to teach him how to shoot in place of a proper apology for being a douche to him for the better part of a year. Cheering him on during his final match of the season. Showing up to play some pick up games with all their old teammates. Celebrating his birthday with him. Remembering he exists.

Tetsu didn’t expect much from the people he called friends. So, maybe that’s why Kagami was so insistent about doing something special for him…?

Dammit. Aomine thinks he gets it now.

“That tracks…” Kagami hummed, breaking Aomine away from his thoughts. Before he then turned to face the other with a skeptical look. “But are you saying all that ‘cause it’s true or just because you’ve never gotten him an actual, physical gift in his life?”

“Fuck you.” Aomine said, probably too quickly. It was beyond insulting to have an idiot like Kagami call him out so expertly after all. Especially after Aomine was trying so hard to be nice to the ungrateful bastard. “With Tetsu…just showing up is enough. But—” Aomine cut himself off, picturing his ex-partner’s face, his surprised look whenever he realized you remembered him. Whenever you put effort into something for his sake. “…it shouldn’t havta be...” he concluded, voice filled with self-directed annoyance.

Aomine felt Kagami’s gaze on him, weighing heavy as he seemed to think. “I’m not sayin’ this to be a dick or anything,” he began, turning his gaze back to the shelves but not actually looking at anything on them. “but I’m trying to be better than that.”

‘Better than you’ went left unsaid, but Aomine heard it all the same. Ouch..

“But it’s hard.” Kagami continued, not waiting for a response (not that Aomine really had a good one to give). “Putting aside the fact that we’re so busy with school and practice all the time, Kuroko’s just…he can be so hard to read sometimes. I mean, more like all the time.” he corrected himself, followed by a dry huff of air that was a poor excuse for a laugh.

“No he isn’t.” Aomine scoffed, the words leaving his mouth before he even realized it. Kagami’s head snapped back to face him. Aomine couldn’t help it though. He was amazed-but-not that Kagami had missed something so obvious. “Tetsu’s the goddamn biggest sentimental sap I’ve ever met in my life. If you’re happy, he’s happy. It’s as simple as that.”

Tetsu was often blinded by his emotions, which was what not only made him both such a good mind-reader and people person, but also a major self-sacrificial idiot. It was what endeared him so much to everyone he had ever met, if you asked Aomine. And it’s what Aomine both loved and hated most about him.

Kagami was stuck in stunned silence for a moment, hopefully searing Aomine’s words into his stupid skull. But then Kagami surprised him (as he so annoyingly often does).

“You know what he said to me? During the Winter Cup, after you taunted him and made him cry?” Kagami then asked. A seemingly random question, but Aomine felt like he had been doused in cold water, all the same.

‘Made him cry’…? Sure, Aomine has said some hurtful things to Tetsu in the past, but never anything awful enough to make him cry…right?

Dammit, dammit, dammit…

Unknowing of Aomine’s quickly spiraling thoughts - or simply uncaring towards them - Kagami pressed on; “He said that all he really cared about during that match was seeing you play with a smile again. A real one.”

Aomine’s mind came to a screeching halt. He knows he was the one who literally just said that Tetsu was sentimental as hell, but seriously? How freakin’ embarrassing…

“I told him I thought that was sorta wishful thinking.” Kagami continued, not waiting for a response. “I said that even if we won, there was no way to guarantee that you wouldn’t go back to being pissed off at life. I never really believed him whenever he claimed that you used to be nice, after all.” he said, voice laced with something that sounded pretty close to disgust. Definitely disbelief, at the very least.

Not that Aomine blamed him. Satsuki and Tetsu were the only ones who’d ever use ‘nice’ to describe him. Satsuki also was give or take on it. She really only complimented him like that when she wanted to be particularly sappy/teasing. But Tetsu…Tetsu had said that to his face before, gods know how many times. Called him ‘amazing’ and ‘kind’ and other mushy crap and had meant it genuinely every time, so much so that Aomine was often left spitting and spluttering, telling him to ‘shut up’ as he furiously tried to change the subject. It was mortifying to know Tetsu had been spreading that crap about him around. Especially to Kagami of all people, his rival. And before the Seirin duo was even dating and therefore expected to share everything with each other…

Ugh.

Aomine felt his chest start to ache, something that seemed to occur with almost painful frequency these days, especially whenever Tetsu was concerned. Yeah, ‘love-hate’ was definitely the right word for Aomine’s feelings towards Tetsu’s sentimentality… Though honestly, the ‘hate’ part of it was more so directed at himself than it was at Tetsu, if he was being completely honest.

Kagami stretched out one of his long legs in front of him, the motion drawing Aomine out of his thoughts. The change in position nearly closed the distance between the two boys in the narrow aisle, their long limbs and restless natures not meant to be confined to cramped quarters for as long as they have been. Confirming Aomine’s theory that he was merely expending some excess energy, Kagami then began swaying his foot back and forth while keeping his heel pressed to the linoleum. He watched the semi-untied lace of his sneaker flop about in veiled annoyance, but didn’t make a move to do anything about it.

“Kuroko also told me,” Kagami began again, voice almost subdued, as if he was forcing it to sound casual. “that back in middle school, the only reason he made the first string was because you put your own ass on the line and said you’d quit unless the coach gave him another chance to prove himself.” he revealed, finally looking up from his shoe as he reached the end of his sentence, as if to catch Aomine’s reaction.

And it was a good one too probably, since Aomine felt his temperature spike at least 20 degrees. Tetsu had heard all that? Even worse, he mentioned it to Kagami?

Aomine wanted to die.

Still, it stuck with Tetsu all these years, and Aomine’s not sure how he felt about that. Honestly, Aomine hadn’t really had many thoughts behind those words. He just sorta said them, as if they were a natural, involuntary response. At the time, Aomine couldn’t imagine a future that didn’t mean playing basketball with Tetsu, not after all they did to get to that point. Not after Tetsu worked so hard to earn that promotion from third to first string.

Obviously, Aomine’s sentiments changed, since he would later not only cast aside his passion for the game he loved, but also his partner. His best friend.

Kagami moved again, this time letting out a soft little noise of discovery as he now noticed a row of water bottles lying low on the shelf behind Aomine. “Oo, what about one of these?” he muttered, as if to himself as he crawled closer, resting on his thighs as he inspected each option, unknowing - or uncaring - of the massive fucking emotional wrecking ball he had just sent hurtling into Aomine.

Aomine felt his anger flare, pissed off at Kagami’s nonchalance and holier-than-thou attitude. Who did this guy think he was? Coming into their lives and making all these assumptions?!

“Eee-nuff!” Aomine drew out in a growl, pushing himself from off the wall and turning to Kagami, fists clenched in rage. Kagami merely peered up at him from over his shoulder. Aomine didn’t let that stop him though. “What the hell is your point to all this!?”

Kagami huffed, placing the bottle he had picked up back down with an annoyingly resounding metallic clank. “My point is, that if you ask me, you’re just as sentimental as he is.” Kagami said, as if it were a scathing insult. Which, honestly, it almost was. Aomine felt his anger continue to boil over even as Kagami continued without pause;

“And you’re important to him. You’re the first person who ever really believed in him. The first friend that ultimately decided to stick it out, even after all the crap you guys went through.” he said, absolutely draining every last bit of fight out of Aomine. After all, Kagami had just implied that Aomine pretty much outranked every other friend in Tetsu’s life, including that guy from Tetsu’s elementary days. Aomine was the one who came back first. Aomine was the one that continued to come back. Aomine was the one that was here now, with Kagami.

Aomine’s opinion was the one that Tetsu’s own boyfriend respected most when it came to knowing him best.

Aomine suddenly found himself trying very hard to keep the bitter stinging in his eyes and throat to a minimum. He had done enough crying over Tetsu and his own careless actions. Plus, he’s been trying to be better. Case in point, he’s here, in a goddamn department store, holding Kagami’s hand through the process of getting meaningful gifts for his boyfriend. He’s sure Tetsu and Satsuki would also argue with him if he mentioned the fact that he didn’t particularly like Kagami in the first place. It’s not that he disliked him. He enjoyed playing ball with him and appreciated what he had done for him and his friends, as much as he hated to admit it. But as much as he liked and appreciated those things, he also did get a great sense of satisfaction in riling the fiery redhead up.

The fact of the matter is, at the end of the day, Aomine struggled to call Kagami a friend. A friendly rival, maybe, sure. But not a friend.

The more Aomine (unwillingly) thinks about it, the more he thinks it’s a feeling that must stem from the fact that Aomine and Kagami were just…too similar.

Aomine vaguely recalled something Ryou had said to him once that stuck with him, regarding the glasses-wearing Seirin Captain; that there was a quote or something that went along the lines of ‘if you met yourself, you wouldn’t like you’ or something like that. Aomine personally has always thought he himself was pretty awesome, but since meeting Kagami… Well, Aomine has since done a lot of inner reflection about himself and his own actions, almost entirely against his will, especially when it came to the two Lights’ treatment of Tetsu. Kagami and Tetsu have had their fair share of fights, from the sound and look of it. But they also talked; about things outside of basketball too. They communicated their thoughts and feelings on a level that Aomine and Tetsu have only ever skimmed the surface of (not due to lack of Tetsu trying, but Aomine’s own awkwardness). Which Aomine still didn’t really get. How did Kagami, who Aomine once thought was as emotionally repressed as himself, get himself to talk about such embarrassing subjects? If they were supposed to be similar, how come Kagami was able to do it, seemingly without a struggle and not Aomine?

Kagami and Tetsu were dating though, which was all the proof necessary to see that Kagami had more emotional maturity than anyone really gave him credit for; a fact that really pissed Aomine off because it clearly overshadowed his own.

So yeah. He thinks he gets that saying. Maybe a little too well.

Aomine slid to his knees in the middle of the aisle, which was no-doubt over dramatic as hell, but he was too physically and emotionally exhausted to care. He noticed a clump of some kind of garbage near him, plastic or paper or dirt or whatever, and simply flicked it away. He knew he had good cause to think the ground was gross, but Aomine could only find the energy to fist his hands in his sweats.

Kagami merely looked to Aomine briefly, before going back to noisily rifling through the water bottles. When he spoke up again, his tone was dripping with that same false casualness that Aomine irritatingly found comforting right now, “And since Kuroko’s important to me, you’re also important to me, as much as I hate to admit it.” Kagami conceded with a sigh. “So, I think it’d be best for both of us if we could just put our shit aside and pretend like we can stand each other, if not for our own sakes, then for his.”

They both owed Tetsu at least that much, Aomine especially.

Kagami then made a frustrated sound, placing the bottles he had picked out back on the shelf, having come to no conclusion. He fell back onto his heels. “So, if you could pull your head out of your ass for 5 goddamn minutes and just freakin’ tell me what color Kuroko would like for a water bottle, that’d be great!” he declared, throwing his hands up into the air and everything.

Aomine couldn’t really blame Kagami for the outburst. They were talking about heavy, philosophical subjects when they were meant to be finding the last present for Tetsu before their big date tonight.

But Aomine wasn’t done yet, apparently. “Why d’ya call him that?” he found himself asking without realizing.

Kagami actually turned his torso to him this time, looking baffled. “Call who what?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused, the idiot.

“Tetsu.” Aomine answered, not resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He figured now was as good a time as any to bring up something that had been bothering him for a while now. “You guys are dating, but you still call him Kuroko? What gives?”

Seriously, what was that about? Aomine dropped using ‘Kuroko’ by the second night he and Tetsu hung out (which also just happened to be the day after they met). Aomine was never a fan of using family names for the people he felt close to. Call it rude or overly-trusting, but he doesn’t think he can get himself to stop when it comes to those he just clicked with. Satsuki was Satsuki. Tetsu was Tetsu. That’s just how his brain worked.

So…why weren’t Tetsu and Kagami past the hurdle of using their actual names with each other yet? Tetsu himself never used anyone’s given name because he was just an overly polite freak like that, but if Kagami and Aomine really were similar, Aomine expected him to use his own boyfriend’s proper name. After all, he’s pretty sure Kagami used that Yosen guy’s given name…

Kagami scowled again, but his face turned a satisfying shade of bright red, and just like that, Aomine felt his bad mood lessen. “I-I don’t see how that’s any of your business...” he grumbled, trying to dodge the question.

Aomine wasn’t gonna have it though. He’s spent the better part of his day at Kagami’s mercy, so it was high time Aomine turned the tables on him. He picked himself off the floor and dusted off his pants. “It kinda is, since you’re all up on your high horse about treating him better and shit yet you still can’t use his own name.” he declared, crossing his arms.

Not that Aomine was particularly eager for Tetsu and Kagami to cross that hurdle yet. Namely, he wasn’t exactly thrilled that someone else would be getting overly-familiar with his friend. Satsuki would say he’s over-protective for it and so what if he is? Sue him. It also didn’t help Aomine’s anxiety any to know that that Yosen guy had a similar name to Tetsu. So in the interest of avoiding confusion, Kagami was probably gonna avoid using plain old ‘Tetsuya’, which is what worried Aomine. ‘Tetsu’ was his thing (and Satsuki’s, but she didn’t count) and Aomine would be damned if he was just gonna let Kagami have it.

…Okay, so maybe he’s thought (worried) a little too much about this subject in particular, and not for reasons as nobly as he was trying to have Kagami believe, but well, his original point still stands.

“Again, not that it’s any of your business,” Kagami began, clumsily knocking into some of the bottles with his giant hands and fumbling to fix them. “but Kuroko and I do in fact have uhh, other things that we call each other besides our family names.”

Okay, gross. That’s not what he meant at all, but he should’ve known that Kagami called Tetsu by weird English slang like ‘honey’ or ‘darling’…

Still. It was nice to confirm that ‘Tetsu’ was still his and his alone.

“Gross.” Aomine decided to say, and right on cue, Kagami reacted, just as Aomine wanted him to;

“That’s not what I meant!!!” he exploded, earning some dirty looks from the old housewives at the end of the aisle and causing the redhead’s face to go even redder and Aomine’s satisfied smile to stretch even wider. Kagami noticed the unwanted attention they were getting too, and he hunched his shoulders and continued in a quieter voice, “I-I mean we use our names when we’re, like, alone. Normally alone. Like doing normal things, you perverted bastard!” he hissed.

“Alright, alright, keep your panties on, ya prude.” Aomine goaded, unable to help himself, even if that insult in particular didn’t make any sense. Picking on Kagami felt more normal than picking at his psyche, so he’d take any out he could get.

“That insult doesn’t even make any sense...” Kagami grumbled under his breath, as if reading Aomine’s thoughts and once again proving that he and Aomine had similar ways of thinking. “It’s not like I’m like, ashamed or anything to be dating him either. I don’t care who knows, its just… As much as he likes to stick his nose in other people’s business, Kuroko also kinda hates when the attention is on him like that, ya know? So we both kinda just keep it casual. But we don’t want things to be so, like, normal all the time. Believe it or not, he’s embarrassingly romantic.”

Oh, Aomine knew. He didn’t often make note of all the titles and things, but Tetsu liked to read - like, a lot - to the point where Aomine would have to be a real idiot if he never took note of a single plotline, especially with all the time they spent together in middle school. Over the years, there was an endless array of books, but they were usually on deeper, philosophical topics that all went way over Aomine’s head. So typically, the only ones that Aomine was ever interested in hearing Tetsu talk about (a thing they rarely did, but it never ceased to make Tetsu’s eyes light up when Aomine showed interest in something that wasn’t basketball) were the crime dramas and psychological thrillers. But every now and then, a book with a cheesy romance plotline or something would crop up in his catalog and Aomine would roll his eyes when he caught wind of the plot secondhand - usually through Kise or Satsuki asking Tetsu about it. But even back then, he thought the same thing he decided to voice aloud now;

“Makes sense.” Aomine shrugged, his eyes roving over the shelves surrounding them before his eyes fell on something in particular, made visible thanks to Kagami’s noisy fumbling around. “Tetsu’s always more happy to make other people happy first… Get that one.”

“Huh?” Kagami dumbly voiced, looking to Aomine in pure confusion. “Get what?”

Aomine rolled his eyes again, but decided to throw Kagami a bone (and end this outing once and for all) and pointed to the item he had spotted. “That one.”

Kagami followed his direction, finding the item Aomine had pointed to with relative ease - a metallic, navy blue water bottle that was abnormally wide with a shoulder strap for carrying ease, and a just-as-wide attachment at the top that seemed to be more like a bowl than a cu; which made sense when you noticed the black paw prints printed along the rim of the bowl-cap. It was a bowl for a dog.

“Ugh. That mutt will definitely love it—” Kagami admitted, looking very unhappy as he removed the cap and opened the secondary seal for the main bottle, as if testing how it’d work. Kagami’s tone was begrudging, tinged with lots of distaste, which is when Aomine vaguely recalled Kagami had a weird thing against dogs. But then Kagami sighed, closing the bottle and reattaching the cap, finally rising from the floor with the bottle in hand. “—So Kuroko’ll love it. Good find, Aomine.” he concluded, turning to the other teen and facing him with such a genuinely thankful and mildly impressed look, which pleasantly fanned the flames Aomine’s ego.

But since this was Kagami he was dealing with, Aomine merely hummed, trying to sound as disinterested as possible.

Having little time to spare, they soon made their way to the front of the store and paid, Kagami even shelling out the extra bucks to have the employees wrap it up all nice. What a rich boy…

Only when they finally returned to the street, Aomine realized he wouldn’t be given a break from this already exhausting day. In fact, it’d get worse.

“There you guys are!” Kise exclaimed, rushing over from the guardrail he had positioned himself against, as if to give himself the perfect view of the sliding doors of the store. “I was worried I missed you.”

“Kise? What the hell are you doing here?” Aomine asked.

“How did you know we were here?” Kagami asked, looking just as confused (and mildly annoyed) as Aomine was. Which was a fair question. He and Aomine had cut a pretty random path on their gift hunt. Aomine didn’t even know the name of the store they had just spent probably a good 45 minutes in.

“Geez, guys, don’t look too excited to see me.” Kise groused, looking equally as riled. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be in the mood for his usual theatrics today. But sometimes, a serious, pissed off Kise could be more bothersome to deal with than an overly cheery one. “And obviously, I’m here to help Kagamicchi get ready for his date since you’ve never been on time a day in your life, Aominecchi! You guys are really cutting it close.”

Kagami blanched, shuffling all his bags from arm to arm to get a hand free, before he found his phone in his hoodie pocket and noticed the time. He somehow went paler. “Shit shit shit shit…” he then began in a colorful mantra, suddenly in a panic as he looked around. “I have to go shower and change, goddammit—”

“Which is why I am here, since you guys have zero brain cells.” Kise declared, marching right up to Kagami and taking a bag or two before he began shoving Kagami towards a black car. “I figured this would happen, so I borrowed some stuff from work I think’ll suit you. It’s all in the trunk, since I figured we can just go to your place and get you all jazzed up there.”

“Wait, who’s fucking car is that?” Aomine suddenly realized, following after the two without really even knowing why (since his job was technically over). Kise didn’t drive. “Also you didn’t answer Kagami’s question. How the hell did you find us?”

“You should really already know the answer to that, Aominecchi. Momoicchi sent me your location.” Kise answered, as if it were obvious. Which, yeah, okay, Aomine would give him that. He was aware Satsuki had some sort of tracker on his phone that he didn’t really know how to turn off and honestly, it had come in handy more often than not, so he’s never really done anything to get rid of it. “And as for your second question,” Kise continued, before a freaking uniformed driver stepped out of the car and opened the trunk, taking the bags from Kise and Kagami both before opening the passenger doors. Kise thanked the man, who bowed respectfully before holding the doors open for them.

Kise looked to his companions, hands on his hips and concluded, “I think you can guess.”

Aomine took in the well-dressed driver, the shiny black car, the overall overdramatic theatrics and came to one conclusion; “Akashi.” Aomine said, more so a realization than a question.

Kagami jerked. “What?!” he barked, before Kise promptly shoved Kagami’s head down to maneuver him into the car.

“Oh don’t sound so surprised, Kagamicchi. You should know by now that this is just how we operate.” Kise said, once again sounding so out-of-character-ly in control of the situation that it was weirding even Aomine out. “We all just wanna make sure tonight goes smoothly for you and Kurokocchi, so Akashicchi just wanted to make sure you get there on-time, headache free - his words - and I’m here to make sure you look presentable. That’s not what you plan on wearing, is it? And what about your hair? What do you have at home to style it? Well, like I said it doesn’t matter since I brought some stuff you can use so let’s go! We’ve got no time to spare!” Kise rapidly fired off, not even pausing for answers as he slammed the door shut on a slack-jawed Kagami.

Aomine snickered, not bothering to hide his amusement. He should’ve known that Akashi would stick his nose into the situation despite no one asking. Not that his idea to give them a private car for the night seemed totally out of the blue. It was actually a pretty smart idea. And Kise coming in to help style Kagami made sense too. Say what you want about Kise, but he knows how to make a fashion statement.

Tetsu’s friends were weirdos. It looked like they were all trying to involve themselves in Tetsu’s life more since Seirin’s win, in their own weird ways. It just so happened that being involved in Tetsu’s life again now also included being involved in Kagami’s life too. And, well, there were worse prices to pay when it came to Tetsu. Satsuki, Kise, Akashi, and probably even Midorima and Murasakibara could attest to that too. And getting to annoy Kagami more was just another added bonus, as far as Aomine was concerned.

“Well, Aominecchi.” Kise spoke up once more, gaining Aomine’s attention. He was now standing on the other side of the car, holding the door open. “Aren’t you coming?” he asked, looking confused to see Aomine just standing there and not tripping over himself to get in the car.

And any other day, any other version of Aomine, even one from just a few months ago, would’ve scoffed and ditched the two. But this Aomine standing here right now knew better. Knew that opportunities like these wouldn’t always be an option for him. Knew that moments like these wouldn't last forever.

And so Aomine once again decided to drop his uncaring act - for the time being - and made his way around the car, hip-checking Kise so that he fell into the shiny-leather seats with a dramatic flail and cry, before climbing in himself.

His friends could be annoying and weird, but hell if they didn’t always make things interesting.