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Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Kuroko no Basuke.

Chapter 25: Getting Ready for Winter

The jet-lag that they all experienced after their plane touched down in Japan again was…well, it was there. They all slept for the entire day after they got back home. It was an extremely smart thing to for Kuroko to arrange for them all to have a few days home before school would start up again. They needed to get used to their regular lives again. Thus, when school started up again, they were all still a bit tired, but still functional.

After the third week back in school- they had all gotten used to it within the first week-, Kurokos' parents sent them a rough date of when they could expect Kurokos' mother to give birth. They still didn't know if they were having a girl or a boy or multiple children, mainly because Kurokos' parents wanted it to be a surprise for all of them. However, they knew that the date would be in either March or April. That would be perfect timing for them! After all, they'd be on spring break. Also, they'd get to visit during winter break for a couple of weeks. All in all, Kuroko could say that she wouldn't be lonely- she'd get to see her parents in a few more months, with her siblings following shortly after.

School life was going very well also. Murasakibara was getting decent grades, Aomine living up to his nickname of 'Ahomine', Kise getting more job offers for his modeling gig, Akashi constantly and continuously winning shogi matches and Momoi being taught how to make non-lethal onigiri. Kurokos' grades were at the top as always- only ever getting down to second place when Akashi decided he didn't want people getting full of themselves. Oh, and did I mention that it wasn't the top grade out of their class or year, but the entire Teiko Middle school? No? Well, now you know. Momoi actually only got around 31st place; Kise in 33rd; Murasakibara in 77th and Aomine in dead last.

Once again, Teiko Middle was getting ready for exams- the third major exam out of four. The final major exam would be held two weeks before the end of the school year. So basically, it would be a madhouse for studying right after winter break.

Not that Kuroko or Akashi minded- they welcomed a good academic challenge now and then. Ahomine was dreading it. Kise was a little worried because he feared that he'd be up late with his next photo shoot and would be too sleepy to do well on the test the next day. Momoi was multi-tasking- studying for the tests that would soon come and testing her cooking abilities. Murasakibara kept right on studying, consoling himself with promises of Kurokos' cooking. The seniors- Kiyoshi and Izuki- were studying as well, though at their own paces.

There was another week- give or take a couple days- before the mid-year tests would start. Everyone- including Akashi and even Ahomine- were studying. Murasakibara was studying on his own, though with a workbook Kuroko had made for him previously. Momoi was having Aomine help her with cooking while she offered her studying skills in return. Kise was studying every chance he got while at work- even going so far as asking his fellow models as well as his manager to help him study. Akashi was studying while playing shogi. Kuroko was studying in her room after having gotten her shower. This type of schedule for them all continued on right up until the final test day.

"12…11…10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0!"

"YAAAAAAAYYYYYY!" every student couldn't help but cry out in joy. They had done it. They had survived test week! They couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Hyuuga-sensei had things to say though.

"Oi, brats! Make sure that you keep on studying even if the exams are over. For those of you that decided they didn't need to study before, you'll be retaking the exams for the next week. So," he said while in clutch mode, "MAKE SURE YOU STUDY, YOU BUNCH OF BRATTY IDIOTS! CLASS DISMISSED! See you all back here on Monday."

All of a sudden, all the students gained superhuman speed and left the classroom before their scary homeroom teacher could get another word in. Of course Kuroko, Kise and Murasakibara were the only ones who didn't. Kise was too tired to care, Kuroko would rather not rush and be unlady-like and Murasakibara didn't want to leave Kuroko.

"Ne, Tetsu-chin~" he drawled while they were slowly making their way towards the schools exit. Club activities were cancelled for the entirety of the testing week, and today was no exception.

"What, A-chan?" Kuroko asked.

"Are you gonna make me some chocolate chip cookies again? We could stop by and get your vanilla milkshake on the way-," Murasakibara stopped as he saw Kuroko speeding up ever so slightly.

Smiling a bit lopsidedly, Murasakibara wordlessly followed the girl that had somehow captured his attention. Kise broke off of their little group to go to work, although he whined about having Kuroko save him some cookies as well. Murasakibara- for the first time in his lazy life- scoffed. That's right. He scoffed at the idea that he would let anybody other than him have Kurokos' homemade cookies. As if he'd save them or let Kuroko save them! He'd eat them all.

It didn't help him though that Kuroko nodded at Kise and agreed.

"Kise-chin is annoying. Makes me want to crush him," Murasakibara thought even as he and Kuroko walked from the convenience store to their apartment building only for them to make it inside before it started to snow. It was the second week in December now. They could expect their test results to come out next week, well, in a couple of days, and then they'd be packing up to go see Kurokos' parents once more.

After changing out of his school uniform and into his more casual- and sloppy- attire, Murasakibara left his apartment to go to Kurokos'. Kuroko had told him before they had parted that she'd be leaving her door unlocked and had asked him to make sure that he locks it before he collapses on her couch. So, he reached for the handle, opened the door and quickly ran inside, slamming the door and locking it behind him. Why was he in such a rush?

Somehow, during Kurokos' undressing and redressing, something of hers had gotten caught on the earrings that she now always wore. She took them off to shower and sleep, but other than that, they stayed on her. So, Murasakibara was faced with a half-dressed Kuroko- she had on her socks and pants, but, unfortunately for her, the fabric of the shirt she wanted to put on got caught on her left earring. This left Murasakibara able to see her bra- thankfully nothing else than that.

"Ahem, ne, Tetsu-chin? Do you need help?" Murasakibara asked the struggling girl, resulting in a quiet yelp and startled expression.

Kuroko hadn't even heard Murasakibara enter her apartment as she had been trying- and failing- to take her earrings off. Thus when she turned around she was surprised…embarrassment reached her not too long after. She got a nice dark red blush on her face, red enough to rival Akashis' hair.

Murasakibara had made sure to cover his eyes when he spoke, but when he heard Kurokos' yelp, he uncovered his eyes and quickly regretted it.

"KYAAAAAAHHHH! PERVERT A-CHAN!" Kuroko screamed.

"What? NO! NO- I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING TETSU-CHIN! I WAS JUST WORRIED AND I THOUGHT THAT-," Murasakibara was cut off as he saw Kuroko calm down.

"You…were worried? About me? *inhale…exhale* Sorry for reacting like that, A-chan. Will you please help me get this earring off so I can quit choking myself?" Kuroko asked in a somewhat joking manner, not that you could really tell from her expression, but Murasakibara knew her well enough that expressions were as useless to him as vegetables.

"Sure. I'm also sorry…for not telling you I was here earlier," he apologized, relaxing a bit as he saw Kuroko calm down. "I just have to take the earring off, right?" he asked.

Nodding her head, Murasakibara walked over to Kuroko and carefully- and quickly- took off the earring that had caused the bluenette so much trouble.

"Thank you very much, A-chan. I put my vanilla shake in the fridge. Do you want to eat supper first or work on dessert and then start with supper?" Kuroko asked the giant.

"…Let's work on the cookies so that we can enjoy them all after supper, Tetsu-chin," Murasakibara decided.

Nodding her head again, Kuroko and Murasakibara made their way to the kitchen and started working on their celebratory dessert.

…

An hour later and you could find both Kuroko and Murasakibara covered in flour, laughing about it and pulling out the last batch of cookies that they had made from the oven. Letting the cookies cool while they cleaned up- themselves and the kitchen- was a smart idea. They had both worn aprons, so the only thing that was messy about them was their faces. After the clean-up, Kuroko asked, "Do you want to order take-out, A-chan? Or home-cooking?" Kuroko asked.

"HOME-COOKING!" Murasakibara said, leaving no room for argument.

Kuroko could only chuckle. She didn't think that her cooking was top of the line, but she also didn't put herself down. She was a pretty good cook for a girl her age. The only people that really knew it were her parents and her friends as well as senpais. She didn't mind though- she loved getting to see Murasakibara eat her food and always ask for more, even stealing others' portions.

"Alright. The usual, right?" Kuroko asked for confirmation.

Nodding his head, Murasakibara watched as the girl that fascinated him got to work on cooking for the both of them. He found it a little funny- he was a good cook, even better than Kuroko. However, to him, Kurokos' cooking tasted heavenly- no matter what it was. Thus he ended up being the grocery provider while she was the food-maker. It helped with expenses and it was the only right thing to do- he didn't want to make Kuroko go broke from cooking for eight people when it was only really two. So that was the way that Kuroko and Murasakibara functioned together, all the way through middle school, high school and college, though that is for later.

Refocusing on the shorter of the two, Murasakibara could only marvel at how well Kuroko carried herself. Despite being below average in height, she didn't let it bother her, though some playful teasing would get a pout out of her. Deciding to help for once, Murasakibara got up off the couch and headed over to the kitchen, only to see that Kuroko had prepared everything that morning, apparently. Pouting a bit, Murasakibara grabbed the rag to clean the kitchen table before Kuroko could even blink. He could, at the very least, help clean up.

In another minute, they were sitting down and eating their meal. Murasakibara had come to enjoy the chamomile tea that Kuroko usually drank, making Kuroko mumble about how it was a good thing that she had bought an entire LARGE suitcase's worth of it.

They quietly sat and quietly ate their dinner, content with the comfortable silence that always reigned over their meals- though lunch with their friends always caused an un-needed amount of noise in their opinions. The only noises that ever met their ears while eating breakfast and dinner was the sound of their fork or knife clinking against their plate, their spoon against their bowl and their glasses against the table and occasionally against the edge of their plates. Other than that, silence reigned supreme.

After finishing their simple yet delicious- as always- meal, Kuroko got out her vanilla shake and the cookies while Murasakibara cleaned everything up. After a few minutes, they both made their way to Kurokos' living room area. Deciding to strike up a bit of conversation before he bit into the delicious smelling cookie, Murasakibara stated, "It started snowing after we got in, Tetsu-chin."

Looking up- cause even on the couch, she was shorter than him- at her friend, she smiled and said, "We're finally going to be getting snow. What do you normally do during winter, A-chan?"

"Hmmm…I normally just stay in and watch movies or cook," he replied.

"You cook?"

"Yeah,"

"Then, how about you cook me something tomorrow, A-chan? I want to taste your cooking for a change," Kuroko smiled up at him.

Feeling a bit of a blush coming on, Murasakibara looked away before he responded, "Sure."

It really is such a cozy feeling- wrapping up with something warm and enjoying the simple silence that seems to make its' way into their homes during winter. The two of them couldn't help but feel that snuggling up on the couch, offering each other's body heat was just right. They couldn't imagine it any other way- not even the way it used to be before the other walked into their lives. They couldn't wait to see it- the snow covering anything and everything in sight in it's lovely, clean and pure white. After all, isn't that what winter is all about?

….

Phew! Another chapter has made it from my mind to the Net! It's almost been a week since I last updated for this story. I hope that you were able to enjoy this chapter. Please review!