"Excuse me, but you are lifting my tree." Kuroko said as the tree that he was trying to figure out how to move did just that.
It was late Christmas Eve and there was only one tree left in the store near his house. He was going to get that tree.
A head poked through the branches to look at him, the face attached to it set in a startled expression, but that was nothing Kuroko wasn't used to. "When the hell did you get there?"
"I was here before you. That is my tree."
"You're, like, two feet tall. How are you even planning on moving this tree?" The guy asked, putting the tree down and moving around it to face Kuroko directly. He was irritatingly tall, just like some of Kuroko's other friends. It was moments like this that Kuroko was glad he knew Akashi, even if Akashi was taller than him it wasn't by much. The guy was also irritatingly good looking, but Kuroko was not going to let that distract him, especially when he'd just been called two feet tall.
The man in front of him was still in uniform from work, as a police officer apparently, and the name tag read: D. Aomine.
"I wanted to see if there were even any trees here before I asked one of my friends to help me move it back to my appartment." Kuroko told him.
"Well, I'm here now, and perfectly capable of moving a Christmas tree without calling people, so I think that makes this my tree."
"I was here first and was just about to pay for the tree. That makes it mine." Kuroko argued.
Aomine made a show of leaning down to inspect Kuroko's own name tag. The school had a Christmas Eve dance; Kuroko had chaperoned, and he hadn't had the chance to go home and put it away yet. "Well, Tetsu," Kuroko rolled his eyes at the nick name. "if you can get to the counter to pay for this tree first, I'd be glad to let you have it." Aomine said with a smirk.
Kuroko tilted his head at the challenge.
A little misdirection and he had vanished from Aomine's sight. As Aomine looked around for where he had gone, Kuroko sprinted over the counter, where a board looking worker was flipping through a magazine.
"Hey! That's cheating! I don't know what the fuck you did, but it was cheating!" Kuroko heard Aomine shout as the officer noticed him standing at the counter. Kuroko just flashed him a small smile before paying for the tree.
"It was nice to meet you, Aomine-kun, but if you'll excuse me I have to call one of my friends because apparently I'm two feet tall and can't move a Christmas tree."
"Fuck, Statsuki's gonna kill me." He heard the guy mutter as he pulled out his phone, debating on who he should call. He was pretty sure he wasn't meant to hear that. He replied anyway.
"Perhaps you should have shopped sooner if your girlfriend was going to be upset with you." Kuroko said, deciding on Kagami, since he lived the closest.
"My girlfriend?" Aomine made a face like he'd just bitten a lemon. "Gross, no. She's my best friend, practically my sister. And you're one to talk. You're buying a tree last minute too!"
"A group of my friends decided to surprise me by coming over tomorrow since my family can't make it. Fortunately Murasakibara can't keep a secret, so I got some advanced warning tonight. I should at least have a tree if I'm going to be having people over." Kuroko explained.
"Well, Satsuki's car broke down, so she can't go see her family, which means she's coming to my place, so I kind of need a tree too." Aomine told him.
Kuroko considered this for a moment. "Why don't the two of you just come join the Christmas party that seems to be happening at my house tomorrow? It starts at eight. The price of admission is helping me move this tree." Kuroko offered.
Aomine looked surprised for a moment before grinning. "Deal."
Kuroko took a pen out of his pocket and neatly wrote his phone number and address on Aomine's hand.
Aomine ended up coming over early the next day, bringing his friend along with him, to help Kuroko decorate the tree. He'd reasoned that he figured Kuroko couldn't reach the top to put a star on. It pained Kuroko to admit that the tree was starless because he really couldn't reach it.
"Dai-chan, that's rude!" Momoi had said, giving Kuroko an apologetic look.
"It's fine. Haven't you heard? Apparently, I'm two feet tall, so I'll be needing the help." Kuroko said, causing Momoi to look confused and Aomine to burst out laughing.
Momoi helped with other decorations around the room while Aomine and Kuroko decorated the tree.
By the time they finished, Kise was there and helping Momoi decorate.
Kuroko suspected Kise to be behind the mistletoe hanging from Kuroko's ceiling. He didn't notice it until he and Aomine were standing under it though.
Before the rest of his friends had shown up Kuroko already had a date arrange for the next weekend, and Aomine kept on dragging him back under the mistletoe.