Notes: intertwines with the ficlets where Kagami hosts an Alex meet-and-greet.
"What kind of idiot lets his shoes break during tournament season?" said Aomine, and she didn't want to see him, really, not so soon after they lost and while Seirin is still blazing its way through the Winter Cup, but she hadn't wanted to see Kuroko right after their loss, either, and look how that had turned out.
"I didn't do it on purpose," Kagami growled.
"His feet are just too big," Kuroko said, straight-faced. Aomine snorted at her.
"That's also not something I do on purpose," said Kagami, who can't actually be this dumb.
"It's alright," said Momoi. "I have her shoes. They should fit you, and they're the type you like, too."
Aomine almost snatched it out of his arms. "They're mine," she protested.
Kagami was looking at them, longingly. "The colour's nice," he said, but he doesn't lift them out of the box even though he clearly wants to. Aomine usually picks black for her match shoes, and because it goes with Touou's uniform. Once you've got a theme, you kinda want to stick with it. There's an entire shelf of the shining whites she wore when she played for Teikou, with their little accents, blue, red, black. This pair did go with the Seirin uniform, now that she looked at it.
"F-fine," huffed Aomine. It was ridiculous for a boy that big to look that dejected, and for Momoi and Kuroko to stare judgementally at her. "If you beat me, you can have them." She would have worn a different top, if she'd known she was going to be playing today. As it is, she tossed the jacket to Momoi and tucked her sleeves up her arms. At least she was wearing sneakers. They'll do; she doesn't want to exhaust him.
He'll do.
.0.
After the Winter Cup, Momoi was the one who passed on the message that Kagami had a person they have to meet, and apparently Murasakibara and Kuroko are going too, so Aomine can't not go. They'll play basketball after. They'll eat dinner there! It'll be so much fun! Club activities haven't resumed yet!
"Yeah, fine," Aomine muttered, though the urge to practice itches in her bones. "You want to spend time with Kuroko, you're so obvious."
"…yes," said Momoi. "Yes, that's it. I want to spend time with Kuroko-san." He paused. "At Kagamin's house."
Aomine patted his head. "Keep at it," she told him, loftily. "I'm sure your hard work will pay off."
"We'll go after school," Momoi said too-innocently, accepting this with equanimity. "I'll have something to pick up, so you might need to go first."
"Who are you picking it up with?" said Aomine, as if she doesn't know. He hasn't stopped chasing Kuroko since Teikou. Momoi laughed and left, promising to text the directions to her phone if he couldn't make it.
He obviously doesn't make it. Aomine considered texting Kuroko to make it clear she knew just what was going on here, but Kuroko would just ignore it. As it stands, it's not like it'll be hard to get there, Kagami was apparently on the way. Aomine stepped into the station to restroom to- well, she's been out all day, generally with her face stuck to her books or her desk. Short hair might have been easy to take care of, but Aomine's was still near-constantly mussed, and she didn't have a brush on her. Not that she cared.
And maybe she rolled up her skirt a bit. Just a bit. Kagami's never seen her in the Touou uniform before, and Aomine wears it as trendily as any other girl her age, but less fussy, because she's not, and will never be, a girly-girl like Kise is. But it'll be funny to see the look on his face when it's driven home that Aomine is, after all, a girl.
Kagami's look swept her from head to toe, then settled on her hemline and swept down once again before he dragged his gaze back up to her eyes, face a little red. He was clearly the kind of guy who's awkward around girls. It was kind of funny, but Aomine didn't laugh at him for it.
She liked the way he looked at her.
.0.
"Oh," he said, after, when she's sitting on the counter watching him wash up, with Himuro helping him, both of them wearing aprons and looking, as Alex remarked, like perfect house-husbands. Alex is a scream. "You know those basketball shoes?"
"You've used them," said Aomine primly. "I don't want them back."
"Like I would!" he snapped. "I mean- where did you get them? It's really hard to get my size." He looked down at her socked feet.
"What's that supposed to mean," said Aomine, prodding him in the thigh with her foot. Her skirt shifted as she did it, and Kagami hurriedly turned his gaze back to the sink. "I usually pre-order for the special editions. And there are a couple of shops- they know me, so I get notified as new ones come in."
"I need some more," said Kagami. "A spare or two."
"Match or practice?" said Aomine.
"Match," said Kagami. "Coach says we're getting a lot more practice match requests now that we're the champions."
She prodded him again for saying it.
"Ow," he protested, even though it couldn't possibly have hurt. "Anyway, I just thought you might know. Momoi told me to ask you about it."
Probably hoping that buying basketball shoes would keep her excited and interested. Momoi, Aomine decided, really needed a girlfriend. Or a hobby, since mangering was clearly not doing enough for him.
On the whole of it, Kagami clearly owed her. Hadn't she given up her shoes for him? Hadn't she lost? He had some nerve, trying to ask her for favours. But on the other hand… he had introduced her to Alex, and she was, in fact, wearing his shirt. A different shirt from the one she'd played in, obviously.
She'd keep his shirt.
"I'm going on the weekend," she said. "I'll take you."
"Really?" said Kagami. He coughed. "I mean, sure."
"We're not starting practices yet," she said. "I might as well. Who knows what idiot thing you'll do otherwise."
(Behind Aomine, in the living room area, Himuro watched as Momoi and Kuroko fist-bumped in what he could only assume was raptures of glee. Murasakibara rolled her eyes.)
.0.
Her pants were a little tight to be playing, but that was the price of wearing her favourites, jeans that basically looked painted on. She never failed to get hit on wearing these pants- except today, when Kagami stuck close and loomed over anyone who approached her, even at the sports shop when she was waiting for Kagami to help the owner bring out a selection. As the morning had turned into afternoon they'd obviously had to eat lunch together, and then after that they'd obviously had to test out the shoes they'd just gotten by playing a few rounds.
Aomine dropped from the hoop almost onto Kagami, sliding down his body and he caught at her automatically. "Oi," he protested, in a strangled voice.
"You shouldn't stand under the hoop," she told him. She pulled her shoulders backward, arching her back and stretching. Kagami choked; Aomine's shirt clung to interesting places and he quickly backed off. "Perv," she said.
"I'm not," said Kagami, but not very convincingly.
"You are," said Aomine, walking over to her bag to dig out her bottle. "I'm hungry."
Kagami looked at the park clock. "I was going to buy groceries before I headed back," he said.
"Yeah," said Aomine, thinking about it. "That's okay. We'll eat at your house."
"What," said Kagami.
"You're going to cook, right?" said Aomine. "We can eat at your place."
"That's not what I said," said Kagami. "Aomine, that's not what I-"
"It's alright," said Aomine, and turned to speak slowly, so he would understand, right into his face, so that her breath brushed his face. "We can just buy what I want at the grocery store. Anyway, I spent a lot on those shoes." She smirked into his face. "You can just make something I like, Taiga."
Kagami went scarlet, which was funny, and shut up.
.0.
After that week of downtime, they didn't get that many chances to see each other, or play basketball with each other, unless they made the time, catching up after practice for supper and hoops, or just mailing each other, beseechingly, about the sadness of exams and not being allowed to play basketball.
Aomine curled on her bed on one of those nights and she was wearing one of Kagami's shirts, which even on her went down to her elbows. She lay on her side and thought about how it smelled, about wanting to play basketball with him. About how after being caught in the rain, he'd stripped his shirt off to give it to her, and about sitting on his couch with her legs draped over his shoulders watching NBA highlights on his laptop, and the warmth of his skin.
About- oh.
This.
This can't be happening to her.