Takao lingered in the sunlight while Midorima went inside to collect something he had forgotten. He yawned and stretched, much like a cat. It had been a long winter and cold too. The cold certainly had its uses; Takao found himself more energized by the cold, but after a while the days just started dragging and he began to long for spring. His grandmother would call it "youthful impatience" but sometimes Takao seriously doubted whether she'd ever been young at all.
Midorima came back outside, the gym door slamming shut behind him. He was clad in the Shuutoku's glorious orange jersey, having forgotten his shower stuff at home and not wanting to change back into his regular clothes all sweaty. Takao had commented on his friend's forgetfulness that day and Midorima, while rationally annoyed, was unsurprised. "Cancer is ranked last today," he had told Takao when he opened his gym locker after practice only to find it empty.
"Got what you needed, Shin-chan?" Takao said.
"I suppose." Midorima held his hand up over his eyes, blocking the sun.
"Then let's go!" Takao grabbed Midorima's hand and started pulling him away from the school. Midorima stuttered, but did not have enough to protest before the other boy started running, gleefully, toward the subway station.
When they reached the barrier and line of businessmen returning home, Takao dropped Midorima's hand and pulled out his pass, watching Midorima do the same. Thankfully, he hadn't forgotten his pass and they made it safely onto a subway. As they were boarding, a little girl caught sight of Midorima's green-hair and pointed. Takao grinned at her and waved back before the subway zoomed away.
"Sometimes, I believe my sister is actually related to you, not me."
"Why's that, Shin-chan? Has she not got the Midorima family's green-hair?" Takao reached up to ruffle the other's hair. Midorima slapped his hand away.
"She has the hair," he said, cross, "but she and you share a certain…lightness that neither I, nor my parents really, have."
"A compliment?" Takao asked.
"It's not a compliment," Midorima said, cheeks exploding into red, "it's an observation."
Takao grinned. He loved watching Midorima's facial expressions. He wasn't sure had ever found anyone who blushed more. "I'm just teasing, Shin-chan."
"Which means you're trying to provoke a reaction, correct? Are you unhappy you've succeeded?"
"Sometimes I forget how smart you are." It wasn't as evident as before, but as Midorima rolled his eyes and busied himself getting something out of his messenger bag, Takao caught his light blush and small smile.
The subway stopped and more people got on, crowding Midorima and Takao closer, almost toe-to-toe. "Say, what was your lucky item today? I didn't see you carrying it around."
"Something." Midorima was hiding behind some basketball magazine that sported Seirin's team on the front. The date was from a month ago, not long after the Winter Cup. Takao remembered reading the issue; the main article was about Seirin's rise to prominence, but there was also an exclusive interview with their coach Aida-san.
"Is that your lucky item?"
"No."
"...Is it something embarrassing?"
"It's always embarrassing. My lucky item can never be something normal, like a spoon or a pencil. No, it's always something embarrassing like a frog statue or a plushie or a tampon!"
"Your lucky item today is a tampon?"
Midorima jerked the magazine back up to his face, so close that there was no way he was actually reading it. "Maybe."
"It is your lucky day, isn't it?"
Midorima lowered the magazine enough so he could glare down at Takao.
"So, did you steal it from your sister?"
Midorima spluttered. "Have you no shame!?"
"Shin-chan, I spent the first five-years of my life thinking I was a girl, what with the amount of times my mother put both me and my sister in dresses and make-up, and I've spent most of the last year hanging out with you. How could I possibly have any shame left?" He rose onto his tip-toes and leaned toward Midorima. "Would you like to see the pictures?"
"No!" Midorima said this a little too loudly and the other people on the subway car turned toward them. Takao would bet anything that Midorima was wishing he could sink into the floor, based on the way the boy pushed back his glasses and stubbornly refused to move his hand from his face. In a loud whisper, he said, "You should not be allowed to have this much fun. Scorpio's not even ranked first today."
Takao shrugged. "I have my lucky item."
"You do?" He said, face wide in surprise. Then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What is it, then?"
Takao laughed. "Don't pretend you don't know, Shin-chan."
"A bird plushie," Midorima said automatically. He eyed Takao. "I don't see where you could be hiding it."
Takao shrugged. "You got me. I don't actually have it, but I know you do."
Midorima looked away. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Takao."
"Sure, Shin-chan." The subway stopped. "This is my stop." He readied himself to push through the stuffed car.
The other boy put his hand on Takao's shoulder. "I will accompany you, if that's permissible?"
"Of course." Takao smiled gently, the kind of smile he reserved for the sweeter things in life, like sunrises and kittens, his grandparents' devotion to one another, and watching Midorima slowly becoming friends with his old teammates—the kind of smile he never let anyone see.
They pushed their way out of the subway car, Midorima's height a great asset. When they emerged back onto the city streets, the sun had almost sunk behind the horizon. Midorima almost tripped a grand total of five times on their way to the Takao family's apartment, enough that Takao remarked, "I think I should be the one walking you home, Shin-chan."
They reached the apartment and Takao saluted Midorima. "It's been fun, Shin-chan. See you tomorrow at school?"
"Of course."
Suddenly, Takao lunged toward Midorima's bag and before he could stop him, Takao grabbed a bird plushie and pulled it out of the bag. "I knew it!"
Midorima scowled and wrenched the plushie out of Takao's grasp. "Shut up!" He stuffed it back in his bag and glared at Takao. "How did you even know?"
Takao feigned indifference. "I didn't," he said casually, "I just guessed and your reactions proved me right." He smirked at Midorima, ruining his nonchalance.
Midorima's scowl deepened. "Sometimes I forget just how evil you are."
"A compliment?" Takao said, echoed their previous conversation.
"Maybe."
"Does this mean you do want to see me in a dress? I'm sure my sister will have one that fits," Takao said, fluttering his eyelashes and leaning toward the other boy.
"Shut up!" Midorima, red as beet, turned away and marched out of the building. Takao unlocked the apartment and walked over to the window, watching as the last rays of sun disappeared. He wondered what would happen when both Scorpio and Cancer had the same lucky day.