About a week has passed since Kuroko was invited to help out with Midorima's "surprise" party. The past few days were filled with nothing but supplies shopping and decorating. Most of the food was either bought by Momoi or made by Murasakibara.

Momoi had prospected that they shall decorate a few hours before the party, giving time for the guests to arrive and for the food to be set up. The pinkette made a list of people (not a very long list) and made sure to send an invite at least 3 days in advance.

The Oha-Asa fanatic's birthday, unfortunately, was going to occur on a Wednesday, much to Momoi's despair. Luckily, Akashi agreed to cancel practice that day, albeit reluctantly.

Everyone was instructed a duty beforehand; each had to get their tasks completed before the party arrived.

Momoi was in charge of getting Midorima to the park the day of the party. Everything else was planned by her, anyways, so no one had any complaints.

Akashi was in charge of making sure the guests arrived on time. Aomine and Kise were in charge of decorating (even though Momoi was hesitant at first). And last but not least, Kuroko and Murasakibara were in charge of making the cake.

Everyone found it cumbersome to buy one when the purple-haired giant was a master baker; Kuroko was indifferent about the whole thing, though.

So now, a day before the party, Kuroko found himself in front of an unfamiliar house, already cursing himself for being so 'nice'. Why did he agree to help again? He barely knew these people, he had no part in this.

Inwardly sighing, Kuroko strode up to the home before warily knocking on the front door. He waited a few minutes before it swung open in his face. Shockingly, the first thing Kuroko saw was a clothed chest.

Peering higher, the blunette had to crane his neck to look at the giant purple-head. Kuroko observed the male, taking note of the shrouding purple mop of hair and the tall and lanky body, adorned in a sweater along with a simple pair of jeans.

Somehow, Kuroko felt an easygoing and carefree aura coming from the teen. It calmed him, in a weird sort of way.

"Ne~ Are you the person Aka-chin was talking about?" Murasakibara pulled the teal-head from his muse, moving his large body from blocking the entrance. "You can come in, y'know."

Kuroko cleared his throat, feigning a cordial facade. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, it is an honor to meet you Murasakibara-kun."

Murasakibara nodded, stalking toward what Kuroko assumed to be the kitchen. "Let's get started, Sa-chin will be angry if we don't finish these sweets on time." Kuroko followed suit, inspecting all the ingredients littering the kitchen counters.

"What did you have in mind for the desserts, Murasakibara-kun?"

The center raised a finger to his chin thoughtfully, squinting his eyes in the process. "How about a triple layered cake?" Kuroko felt his eyes widen momentarily before letting out an inaudible exhale. "Something more plausible please?"

"It seems easy to me."

"There aren't enough people to eat that amount of food, Murasakibara-kun. Don't forget, we have other people bringing food as well," the blunette's reasoning was weak yet accurate. There was an estimation of, at the most, 10 people; a triple layered cake wouldn't suffice, not in terms of lacking, more of... it would be de trop.

Kuroko instantaneously grabbed the cookbook he had previously noticed, flipping through the pages aimlessly. Finding one that appealed to him, teal eyes focused back on Murasakibara. "I think we should make a selection of cupcakes, along with a simple cake. We could decorate the sweets with horoscopes and star sign designs to fit the theme."

Murasakibara let out a pout, crossing his arms defiantly. "Ne~ I wanted to make a lot, though~"

The blunette felt a sweat drop at the childish response. Placing the book down (a salt shaker holding his place) Kuroko grabbed the two aprons sitting on the table. "We can make extras for you later, Murasakibara-kun. Right now, let's focus on making enough for everyone else, alright?"

Kuroko saw the purple-head's face brighten ever so slightly, before he snactched the apron and swiftly pulled it on. "Thank you Kuro-chin~!"

"Of course."

As the teal-head was putting the apron on, he realized it was much too big for his, much smaller, body. The purple-head was a giant after all. Smartly folding the apron a few times at the 'skirt,' Kuroko used the band to hold it in place, tying it around his waist a few times. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Yes~"

xXx

It didn't take too long to finish setting up the ingredients, along with making the batter and frosting. The oven made a sound, indicating that the cupcakes had finished baking. Kuroko rushed over to the kiln, an oven mitt on, before slowly taking the tray out.

Murasakibara studied the unembellished treats excitedly, mouth comically dripping with saliva. "Those look amazing, Kuro-chin~"

The blunette let out a soft laugh as he placed the tray on the counter. "It's all thanks to you, Murasakibara-kun. I don't know the first thing about baking, so your help was crucial," the blunette padded toward the fridge, taking the frosting out. "Let's decorate now!"

The center gave a youthful smile before racing to grab one of the pipe tubes as well. The two of them had made a collection of different flavors as a result of Murasakibara complaining to the blunette that vanilla was too plain. Kuroko had pouted at his quip, but agreed nonetheless.

The flavors ranged from vanilla, to chocolate, to strawberry. Kuroko wasn't a big fan of chocolate or strawberry, but as long as vanilla was involved, he wouldn't argue.

Murasakibara arranged a couple of large plates in front of them hurriedly, using his large hands to grab the muffins and fixing them evenly on each plate. "There you go, let's decorate these quickly, Kuro-chin!" Kuroko had no objections.

A couple minutes passed by as the two were quietly icing the cupcakes, each had a relaxed smile lighting their faces. Kuroko felt an awkward silence surrounding them which, in turn, caused him to rapidly think of ways to start up a conversation.

Luckily, Murasakibara, who hadn't noticed the tense atmosphere, spoke up, "How do you know Mido-chin, Kuro-chin? Are you on our basketball team? I don't remember seeing you there, though..."

The smaller of the two let out a relieved sigh, looking up at the purple-head. "I recent;y met him after one of your practices. Aomine-kun and Kise-kun dragged him out to meet me." Murasakibara gave a terse nod in reply.

No words were spoken after that. The sound of icing and batter being moved around was the only noise.

"I feel like we've met before... even if it was brief. As I remember, you were waiting for Akashi-kun outside the student council office, am I right?" Kuroko finally said after a terse moment of silence.

"Eh~ Really? I don't remember~"

The teal-head felt his eyebrow raise. Murasakibara really didn't remember? Their 'meeting' wasn't recent but it certainly wasn't too long ago; give or take a month. It is possible the purple-head hadn't noticed him due to his lack of presence. Yet, Akashi had spoken to him, albeit rudely, so he should have been noticeable.

"Hold on..." Murasakibara trailed off, a thoughtful expression gracing his face. "Maybe I do remember you~"

Kuroko gave the center a pointed look. "Do you now?"

Clicking his tongue, Murasakibara shot an accusatory finger at the blunette. "You're the person Aka-chin was mean to, right?" Kuroko felt a vein pop in his forehead. That was how Murasakibara remembered him? Being the person Akashi was crude toward. How insulting.

"Y-yes, I believe that happened," Kuroko drawled, hands clenching the frosting tube rather stiffly. "Though, I'd say he wasn't 'mean' more 'rude'."

"Whatever you say, Kuro-chin." That response irked the teal-head a bit.

"A-anyways, how about we start on the cake? It's getting late and I'd rather finish this before it gets dark," Kuroko suggested, averting the conversation. He blamed himself for even trying. He was so bad at communicating with people. Having a low presence tended to get him out of talking to too many people.

Murasakibara gave another silent nod, grabbing the cake mix from the top cabinet. Kuroko always wondered what it was like to be over 6 feet tall. He wasn't particularly short-howbeit he was smaller than many kids his age. Murasakibara included. Well, LOTS of people were shorter than Murasakibara.

"Thank you," the blunette replied blandly, shortly after the center handed him the box.

Fixing the batter and hastily scraping it into a tray, Kuroko shoved it into the oven, opting to leave it in for about 30-35 minutes. Cleaning his hands on the makeshift apron, Kuroko gave a satisfied exhale. "Almost done!"

"I am excited to eat all these treats tomorrow, Kuro-chin. If there are extras, can I take them home?" Murasakibara queried, carefully setting the cupcake plates in his fridge. "I love sweet things."

Kuroko gave a passive shrug, washing his hands under the faucet. "I don't see why not. You should ask Midorima-kun first, though."

"Mido-chin doesn't really like sweets. I'm sure he will say yes," the giant replied before grabbing a bag of chips from the pantry. Kuroko watched him in amusement. Muraskibara sure could eat... maybe they should have made more sweets.

Shaking his head as a means to clear it, Kuroko turned back around to face the taller. "If you say so." The blunette didn't want to give any confirmations just yet. He honestly didn't find it his place. And, he didn't want to be held responsible for Murasakibara eating all the desserts.

"As long as you have Midorima-kun's affirmation, everything is fine with me."

xXx

Finally the day of the party rolled around. Aomine and Kise were able to get everything decorated and cordial. Akashi got all the guests to arrive on time (even though many weren't invited). And finally, Kuroko and Murasakibara brought all the treats, done and nicely bedecked.

Kuroko took a moment to admire the finely decorated benches and tables. The park wasn't huge, so it gave them some privacy. Not to mention, there weren't many people due to the fact that many were still doing after school clubs or sports.

"You guys did an amazing job on the decorating," Kuroko complimented, stalking toward the park tables which were coated with a green disposable table cloth. The blunette placed the tray of cupcakes down and looked around the hut again. "It looks exquisite!"

"Thanks Kurokocchi, we did our best!" Kise piped, leaning an arm around Kuroko's shoulders. Opening the cover of the cupcakes, Kise's eyes brightened at the sight. "Wow, these look so good!"

Kuroko slapped the model's conspicuously reaching hands before pushing the plate away from him. "These are for the party, Kise-kun. Please wait until the guest of honor arrives."

"Wah~ Kurokocchi, how mean!"

"I see you two are as boisterous as ever," the suave voice had the two turning their heads, only to find the mirthless, redheaded captain. Kuroko felt his mood drop drastically. "Akashi-kun..."

"Akashicchi, thanks for gathering everyone here! It saved us so much time! And thank you for making the sweets, Kurokocchi!" Kise exclaimed, hugging the two enthusiastically, before racing off to help Murasakibara blow up some balloons; evidently leaving Akashi and Kuroko alone.

Preferring to ignore the president, Kuroko busied himself with organizing the cupcakes and other food items brought by the guests. Akashi seemed to want the same fate, having been unperturbed by the blunette's actions.

Kuroko watched Akashi walk away from the corner of his eye before releasing another sigh of relief. Today was going to be a good day, Kuroko didn't need Akashi ruining it.

"Hey, I don't think we've met before! Are you one of Shin-chan's friends?" Kuroko jumped at the sound of someone's loud voice next to his face. Slowly turning to face his left, the tealnette took in black hair and narrow slate blue eyes.

Kuroko wasn't an easy one to scare, he was usually the one scaring others-he was used to not being noticed; however being noticed was always a shock to him. Shaking out of his stupor, Kuroko fumbled with his words.

"U-uh, yes?" It came out as a question and Kuroko cursed himself for being so impolite.

"Ah~ makes sense! I'm surprised Shin-chan has friends outside of basketball," the black haired male gave a loud laugh, slinging an arm around Kuroko's shoulders, an action the blunette was all too used to. "I'm Takao Kazunari, nice to meet you..." the trailed off response had Kuroko racing to regain his bearing. "Kuro... Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Nice to meet you Kuroko-kun! So, how do you know Shin-chan?" Kuroko gave a muddled look, to which Takao chuckled. "Midorima."

Kuroko felt his face heat up slightly in humiliation. How was he supposed to know 'Shin-chan' was 'Midorima'?! Those names sounded completely different if you asked him.

"K-Kise-kun and Aomine-kun introduced him to me after one of their practices. We talked a bit while the two argued," the blunette explained, despite being a bit blunt. The raven grinned moronically and slapped him on the back. "I'm guessing Shin-chan likes you then! That's an honor, especially since he dislikes almost everything. As long as you don't annoy him, you'll be good!"

That response evoked a nervous chuckle from Kuroko who shrugged off the arm on his shoulders. "T-that's good to hear, I guess..."

Takao either hadn't noticed the teal-head's discomfort or didn't care because he kept talking. "I attend Shutoku high school, we played against Teiko in the Inter-high. Unfortunately, we lost... I mean we did go against the Generation of Miracles, what else were we expecting?!"

Feeling his eyebrows raise, Kuroko vaguely remembered seeing teens with the Shutoku uniforms congratulating the Teiko team after their win. It was kind of hard to miss the bright orange uniforms.

Kuroko assumed Shutoku had lost to Teiko in their first match of the day, which would explain why they still had their sports gear on. There were only two games played on the final day. Shutoku vs Teiko was first. Secondly, Touou vs Rakuzan. Of course, Teiko won against Shutoku meaning they were facing whoever won the other game.

Unsurprisingly, Rakuzan won which left them to face off against Teiko. The results were final and Teiko knew who was gonna win. After Teiko won, they celebrated with some of the other schools. Kuroko guessed they knew kids from there but never questioned anything. The blunette did only attend one of the games- the one being Rakuzan against Teiko.

He didn't stay too long after the game. Once Teiko had won, he was out and opted to congratulate his friends the next day. It was surly but Aomine and Kise didn't seem to mind.

Knocking out of trance, Kuroko gave Takao a friendly, yet curt smile. "I'm sure you'll get your revenge during the Winter Cup. Teiko and Shutoku should be the main two selected in our block, correct?"

"You would be right my friend! I believe Shutoku and Teiko were the only two selected from our block, if I remember correctly," Takao's grin grew wider. "You're cool to talk to, no wonder Shin-chan doesn't mind you!"

"We aren't necessarily close. We met a little over a week ago, and our recent meetings have been brief," Kuroko explained. "How about you, how do you know Midorima-kun?"

Takao barked out a laugh. "Ah~ Shin-chan and I go way back! We met in grade school and so happened to go to the same junior high. I met Akashi and the rest there too! I decided to go to a different high school because most of my family went to Shutoku. I wanted to keep that ball rollin', y'know?"

Kuroko had to admire him for that. Even though Takao's friends all went to the same high school, he was determined to live out a family custom; all alone. The blunette didn't have many friends, but that must have taken a lot of spirit. Takao seems like the type to make friends easily though, so maybe the blunette was jumping to conclusions.

"That's brave of you, how are you liking Shutoku so far?"

"It's great! Everyone there is awesome and really good at basketball! Well not as good at Shin-chan and Akashi, but you get the point," another laugh emerged from the raven. "Do you play any sports?"

Kuroko shook his head, passively. "No, they never really interested me."

"Aw~ that's too bad. I was hoping to play basketball with you sometime. I guess that will forever remain a dream," Takao lazily placed his hands on his hips as he exhaled sarcastically. "Maybe some other time."

"For sure."

xXx

The guest of honor arrived not too long after everything was finished and set up. Momoi came, pushing a blindfolded Midorima toward the park. Kuroko swore he could hear the moss-head complaining from a mile away.

"Are we there yet, Momoi? This thing is terribly bothersome, nanodayo."

Momoi beamed gleefully as the decorations preceded her vision. "Almost Midorin, just a few more steps!" Pushing him forward, she yanked the cloth from his face before jumping in front of everyone. "Happy Birthday!"

The first thing Midorima perceived as his eyes opened to their full capacity was the multiple people standing in front of a banner that screamed 'Happy Birthday Midorima'. The green-head recognized the people as his basketball teammates, along with the exception of Kuroko and Takao.

"What is this, nanodayo?" the megane readjusted his glasses to hide a blush. "How is it that you knew when my birthday was?"

Momoi giggled as she approached him, proffering a lively grin. "Of course we'd know when your birthday is! We have been friends for years!"

"That's not my only issue..." Midorima started before averting his attention toward Takao. "Why is he here? You should be at Shutoku right now!" Takao gave a shrug as he reached for one of the cupcakes. "Sat-chan invited me, it would have been rude to decline."

"You-"

"Calm down there, Midorima. He's your friend isn't he? You shouldn't be so rude to someone that took time out of their day to come celebrate your birthday," Nijimura, the former captain of the Teiko Basketball team, slapped the greenette on the back. "At least show a little gratitude."

Midorima didn't respond but the furrow of his brows gave off the slightest indication of anger. Seeing the expression, Takao shook his hand dismissively. "Relax Shin-chan, we are here to celebrate the day of your birth! Smile! Wipe that scowl off your face!"

"I agree, we did all this just for you! You should be enjoying it!"

"Yeah, don't put our efforts to waste, bastard!"

"Aominecchi, you are so mean! It's Midorimacchi's birthday! You should be nice to him!"

A growl was forced out. "Shut up, Kise."

From then on, the party continued. Everyone was laughing, eating, partying, and telling stories. It had been a long time since Midorima had seen all his friends together, other than practice of course. Today really was a special day.

The cake had been cut and served after they sang the traditional 'happy birthday song' (Kise's exact words) before Momoi suggested they start opening the presents.

There was a separate table set out next to the food stand strictly for presents only, if the sign placed on it wasn't any indication. Momoi grabbed her gift quickly as she approached the megane. "Open mine first, Midorin!"

Pulling the tissue paper out, Midorima reached into the neon green bag instinctively retracting his hand at the feeling of something soft. "Momoi, what is this?"

"Just open it!"

Retrieving the item, Midorima observed the fluffy framed photo; one that he and his team had taken back when they were in middle school. Shoving the item back into the bag, Midorima cleared his throat and mumbled, "Thank you, Momoi."

The pinkette let out a giggle at her friend's tsundere antics. "You're welcome, Midorin."

"Ooh, ooh, open mine now, Midorimacchi!" Kise shoved the neatly wrapped gift into Midorima's hands. "I'm sure you'll love it!"

The moss-head rolled his eyes discreetly, ripping the paper off a brown cargo box. After getting the box open with a pair of scissors, he pulled out a basketball. Packaged and all. Wow, why was he not surprised?

"I already have dozens of balls, Kise."

"Y-yeah, well I thought you could use one for when you practice alone at the park or something. It's always good to have extras!" the blonde explained, the usual pout dusting his face. If he was being honest, Kise was stuck when it came to gifts. Midorima's only interests seemed to be horoscopes and basketball. Midorima had never talked about anything other than those subjects so he had limited options. Ultimately, he settled with the easiest decision.

"I suppose."

Momoi placed her hands on her hips with a frown growing. "Be nice, Midorin! At least Ki-chan got you a gift!" All she received was a grunt.

The present opening went on from there. Nijimura went next. His gift was a book containing pointers on shooting. Primary, 3-pointers; not that Midorima needed any tips on that subject. Murasakibara went next; Midorima should have expected to receive something food related. Murasakibara and his food occupied mind.

Aomine had given him a porno magazine. Again, not much of a surprise. The ganguro was always a pervert. Akashi had shoved a book into the green-head's hands after he placed the magazine in the trash. The book contained tips on shogi and how to 'win'. Once again, not much of a surprise.

The redhead's only words were: "I expect a challenge next time we play." Midorima replied with a simple, "Of course." before Akashi walked off toward another table. Lastly, Takao went and Midorima was grateful for a normal gift. He received a horoscope book. Not only was it a horoscope book, but it was one branded by Oha-Asa. Now, he could read about his astrology when at school.

Giving his reluctant show of appreciation, everyone went back to partying. Midorima found himself scoping the food stand where Murasakibara was stuffing his face with multiple cupcakes. The sudden tap on his shoulder caused him to jump a foot in the air.

Whipping around to the offended person, Midorima released a relieved sigh when he noticed it was only Kuroko. "What can I do for you, Kuroko?"

The blunette proffered a gentle smile, reaching into his pocket and handing a small charm to the greenette. "I didn't have enough time to wrap this so I decided to just give it to you personally. I know we don't know each other a whole lot but I'm glad to have been invited to your party."

Midorima had to wonder how Kuroko wasn't embarrassed to say such things in public.

Readjusting his glasses, the megane glanced at the item on his palm, instantly feeling his glasses crack in shock. "W-where did you get this?"

"I visited an astrology shop recently to buy you a gift and the lady suggested this. I think she said it was called a chalcedony. It's Cancer's lucky charm. I hope you can put some use into it."

Midorima had been given a chalcedony when he was younger. His mother at the time was always supportive of his horoscope obsession and would buy him anything he wanted. Unfortunately, sometime when he was in middle school, the item broke when he went to practice. Apparently, some kids were rough-housing it inside the locker room and he left the charm inside his jacket which he foolishly left on the bench.

Midorima assumed they hadn't noticed the charm was broken by the time they left the gym. He didn't have a good day after he found the item shattered inside his pocket. Seeing it again really brought back memories.

"T-thank you, Kuroko. I appreciate this sentiment."

Kuroko gave another soft smile before bowing. "Of course, Midorima-kun. Glad I could help."

xXx

A/N: Just some Midorima love -3-

The oha-asa fanatic deserves some love too considering he won't play that big a role in this story. Anyways- I know the chapters haven't been all that interesting,, but I'm trying! Like most of the action happens in future chapters- more of AFTER all this party bullshit...

Everything is planned out and the time between the timeskip and what I have next was completely blank- I have a google doc filled with notes shut up.

I'm thinking of ideas so just be patient with me LMAO

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!

To be continued...

~Rin