Here's my Christmas gift to you all! Happy holidays and hope you're all hanging in there! We've got bad weather so I thought this might cheer up any one dealing with the blizzard from hell. Anywaaaay, mostly filler, but fun filler! And fluff! (which we were in desperate need of lol) Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke

Warnings: bad language, violence, suggestive (? not really but to be safe) themes, bad editing


Sweet Sixteen

It should be illegal to have a birthday fall on a school day.

The whole thing was just wrong.

Hana was supposed to be cuddling with Nūdoru, sipping on the blessed liquid of the gods while watching cheap action movies with her dad. He'd make a special cupcake just for the day— big enough to be mistaken for a cake. They'd chat about school and work, maybe a few teasing jabs at the new intern he'd dragged into the bakery for the holiday season.

But nooo. Instead, Hana was trapped in the hellhole better known as high school.

"I'm going to drop out," her fingers thread through the loose strands of her ponytail before she yanked the rubber band through the tangled strands, "I'm not built for this shit. I don't want knowledge— I want sleep."

Kagami huffed ahead of her. He didn't slow his stride to turn around, but she caught the eye roll all the same, "Suck it up. It was just a history test."

"I don't do history. Why is there so much of it? No one cares about tax amendments—"

"I'm sure our teacher would disagree," Kuroko decided to interrupt and by interrupt, Hana meant scare the hell out of her. She hadn't even known he was there. "It was an important political achievement."

Do not test me today, Tetsuya. She knew for a damn fact Kuroko hadn't been there when Kagami'd snatched her from her final period. There was no way she'd missed him. Especially with the strange new visceral awareness her body seemed to have for all things rainbow flavored. Stupid boys and their stupid hair.

Hana wasn't too surprised he joined the grouping though. Ever since the Kirisaki Daiichi match, Kuroko had stuck to her side like glue. Didn't even need to buy the damn leash. The only way she managed to get rid of him was due to their conflicting class schedule and even then, he'd be waiting somewhere around the corner to walk her to her next class. Hana wasn't going to call it sweet— No, no. It was much too annoying for that label.

Unfortunately, despite her exasperation with the sudden attachment, she didn't hate it.

Which made it all the more frustrating.

Forgoing the urge to smack Kuroko upside the head in favor of a glare, Hana twisted her ire to him, "He upped the price of fruit by like a thousand yen. Dick move."

Unruffled, Kuroko blinked back at her, "It was amended to increase our public safety budgets."

"Yeah, but it was food. You shouldn't tax food—" Hana threw a hand out in emphasis, "Tax something rich people buy. Like, I don't know— boats."

"Can you shut up about the test?" Kagami cut in before Hana could dive deeper into the ethics of increased taxation on living staples, "You've been bitching about it since lunch."

Hardly. Lip curling in annoyance, Hana leveled a dark look at Kagami's back. He wasn't necessarily wrong, but he wasn't right either. Sure, she'd been in a bit of a tizz all day— but it wasn't because of the test. That was just a convenient scapegoat.

Her annoyance lay in the fact that she turned sixteen this morning and not once had she gotten a happy birthday. Not from her dad, not from Uoya, not from Kuroko and Kagami— Well, she couldn't really fault Kagami. He was stupid at the best of times and she knew he didn't pay attention to the calendar for anything more than salivating over basketball.

Still, it was beginning to rankle. She knew they knew.

Instead of voicing those pesky little thoughts, Hana tilted her nose into the air with a delicate sniff, "Fine."

Apparently, that was the wrong avenue of deflection. Kagami nearly tripped over his own feet as his neck twisted over his shoulder, one disbelieving eyebrow raised in skepticism. Even Kuroko's steps faltered— blue eyes flicking toward her face in surprise before silent comprehension settled in the lines of his face.

Great. Her own stare narrowed on the way Kuroko's mouth slowly pinched in amusement. Tetsuya mischief. Just what I wanted.

"You're just—" Kagami gawked at her, waiting for a comeback that wasn't coming, "That's it?"

"I'm practicing restraint," Hana didn't stop her stride to respond to him, marching past both boys toward the gym, "You should try it, Taiga."

Of course, to top off the crappiest birthday of all birthdays, they had practice today. Of course. On all the days Hana would have wanted to escape from Seirin's halls and buckle down in her bedroom, Riko sprung this on them. The coach hadn't given them much of a heads-up either. Instead, Hana had to learn about the surprise from Koganei of all people.

The cat-like upperclassman had hunted her down during homeroom and in a display worthy of Kise, basically tackled her to pass the message across. Hana nearly died. Figuratively and literally. For such a small guy, he packs a damn punch.

Behind her, Kagami continued to sputter, "You— restraint?"

"It means controlling your emotions," Hana offered drily, "I've got a dictionary if you need it."

A wonderful shade of red crawled up Kagami's cheeks, nearly matching his hair, "I know what it means, idiot!"

"I'm sure you think you do—"

"Please don't fight," Kuroko cut into the conversation before it could spiral out of control. He wasn't sly though. Hana could see that smile from a mile away. "We'll be late."

That was not the warning he thought it was. Hana could count on one hand the number of times the entire team made it to practice at the designated time. Three, if you were wondering. If it wasn't Kuroko running late, it was Kawahara and Fukuda. Hana didn't have a clue in hell what those two did all the time, but they were really pushing Hyuuga's restraint. Every time one of them snuck in five minutes later than they should have, she swore a new vein formed on the captain's skull.

"Ugh," she groaned anyway, already dreading the drills Riko briefed to her over the weekend, "I'm seriously dropping out. I'm quitting— for real this time. You guys can get a new manager."

"No, you won't," Kuroko obviously lacked common sense today. Instead of inching away from her temperamental outburst, he edged close enough to loop his hand into her own. She didn't fight it. "I promise you'll enjoy this practice."

Ha. Letting his thumb brush over her wrist, Hana cut her gaze toward him, "You know she's planning on endurance training today, right? Hope you liked what you had for lunch. Get ready to throw that shit up."

Kuroko's thumb paused as he blanched. He obviously hadn't known that little tidbit, "Ah, I wasn't aware that we were actually—"

"Oi!" Kagami broke back into the conversation, his huge palms landing on Hana's and Kuroko's heads respectively, "Stop talking and keep walking!"

"Are you—" Hana's retort cut off as Kagami pushed. It was one thing to be shoved around by the big lug herself, but with Kuroko still holding her hand, she nearly tripped over her shoelaces, "Chill the hell out! We're going!"

Beside her, Kuroko sighed, "You don't need to push, Kagami-kun."

"If you two would quit flirting, I wouldn't have to!" Kagami snapped back. Thankfully, he let his hands fall off their heads. Not so thankfully, he snatched the ironed edge of both of their collars instead and began to yank them down the hall, "You're both disgusting."

"We weren't flirting—"

"You're welcome to go ahead, Kagami-kun—"

Kuroko spoke at the same time she did, but for an entirely different reason. Throwing her head in his direction, Hana gaped at the side of his face. That's what you focused on?! He didn't look at her, but there was a strange pinch to his lips that almost looked like a pout. It was a surprisingly emotive response from the normally apathetic boy and Hana didn't quite know how to feel.

Mercifully, she didn't have to think too hard about it.

The gym doors were just in sight and as they rounded the corner of the hall, they opened. Furihata peered out into the hall— brown eyes growing wide as he caught sight of them. Before Hana could say hello, the jittery boy ducked back into the gym with a squeak.

"The hell…" Hana stared at the door as it slammed shut, "What's his deal?"

"It appears we're early," Kuroko didn't answer her question, instead turning his focus to Kagami, "Maybe you should go check on their progress?"

Today was just full of surprises. Instead of an annoyed grunt, Kagami narrowed his eyes on Kuroko, red irises scanning over the shorter boy in suspicion, "You're trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"

"Of course not," if a blink could be described as threatening, Kuroko nailed it, "It was only a suggestion, Kagami-kun."

"You—" Kagami huffed a long breath through his nose before throwing his hands up, "Whatever. You can deal with her dad yourself."

Without another word, Kagami marched toward the door. He barely stuck his head inside before a pale hand latched onto the front of his shirt and dragged him into the gym. What the absolute hell is going on here? For once, Hana didn't know what to say. Trailing her stare from the door and to the boy still hovering beside her, she glared at the pleased tint hiding in Kuroko's expression.

"You better start talking, Tetsuya," jabbing a finger into the firm skin of his pectoral muscle, Hana's eye twitched as the full force of his attention fell onto her, "What kind of shit am I about to walk into? Is Riko's dad here?"

He didn't respond right away and her irritation paved way to confusion. What's with the staring? His focus was solely on her, a quiet type of mirth hiding in the gentle curve of his cheeks. Instead of answering her question, Kuroko grabbed the finger poking into his chest before gently tugging her closer.

"I apologize for the confusion," Kuroko's mouth curled into a tiny smile as he gazed down at her. It was a strange expression. Too much emotion without a name, "I wanted a moment alone with you before you got distracted."

It was such a shock, Hana could do no more than gape as his arms wrapped around her waist in a quiet embrace. She swallowed as warmth surrounded her. Oh no.

This was dangerous territory.

It felt like a hug, but it was a tad too intimate. Her chest met his and even through the thick layers of Seirin's uniform, she could feel the steady thump of his heart. One of Kuroko's arms settled over her upper back, but another one settled lower, dipping into the curve of her back as Hana suddenly found herself enveloped by heat.

"Happy birthday, Hana," Kuroko's breath was warm against the curve of her neck, tickling the fine strands of hair on the back of her neck as he propped his chin atop her shoulder, "I apologize for not saying it sooner, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"You—" her tongue was nearly too dry to make words, "God, you're such a shit."

It took several seconds for her to categorize the soft jerk of his shoulders as a chuckle. The little asshole's laughing! Before she could snark at him for the trick, Kuroko's hands skimmed over her back before falling off her skin completely as he took a step back. Clear blue eyes met her own, something fond shining in their depths.

"Before we go inside," his hand dipped into his shoulder bag, "I'd like to give you this."

He better not. Green eyes narrowed in suspicion, "If it's another leash—"

Kuroko didn't respond to her accusation with words. Instead, he held out a beige bag tied closed with an orange ribbon. Oh. For a second, Hana didn't really know what to do. She'd gotten presents from friends before, but it didn't feel like this. Not knowing how to properly respond, she grabbed the bag from him in lieu of words.

Kuroko merely watched her, observing her in the same way she observed the present, "You don't have to open it if you'd rather do it in private."

That made Hana snort. Like hell am I waiting. Her nerves couldn't handle it. Without further ado, she carefully untied the ribbon and peered into the bag. The first thing she spotted was fur. Lots and lots of fur.

Carefully pulling the stuffed animal out of the bag, she gaped at it, "Is this—"

"A fox," Kuroko nodded at her silent probing. There was a strange sort of sheepishness creeping into his expression as he elaborated, "It reminded me of you."

Hana eyed the stuffed animal in question. It was smaller than the bear she kept tucked on her bed, about the size of her palm, but it made up for its lack of size through copious amounts of auburn fur. A black ribbon was tied around its little neck, highlighting the tiny canine smirk on the animal's face. But what really caught her attention though was its eyes— instead of brown like she'd expected, two plastic emerald-green eyeballs glittered back at her.

It was damn cute. Her hand ran over the tiny plushie's fur. Reminded him of me, huh?

"Well," a warm flush danced up her cheeks as she grinned back at the boy in front of her, "I like it. Matches the vibe."

Her lungs nearly exploded out of her chest when his gaze trailed down to her lips, that fondness seeping away in a wash of consideration as he observed her smile. Hana's heart was a second away from punching out of her throat as his focus lingered there. Thankfully, the attention didn't last long enough for permanent damage before Kuroko blinked and the expression vanished. By the time he met her stare again, his face was the picture of innocence.

Like he didn't just send her into factory reset, Kuroko tipped his head in acquiescence, "I'm glad."

There was a dragging moment of silence between them as Hana tried to figure out how to move the conversation from here. Kuroko's focus was a tad too intense— even though he'd moved his attention away from her mouth, he kept his stare drilled into her face. The heat on her cheeks grew and Hana knew without a doubt she'd turned into a poor imitation of a tomato.

Judging from the slight tilt of Kuroko's mouth, her suspicion was right. Dammit.

With an awkward cough, she tucked the animal close to her chest, "Thanks, Tetsuya. Guess you're off the shitlist today—"

"Just a moment," before Hana could blink, he'd taken a step closer to her, "There's another gift."

Without further ado, he reached for the messy strands of her hair. Say what now? Hana couldn't do anything more than gape as his pale fingers trailed through her hair and pushed the longer strands beside her face behind her ear— the soft skin of his hand tickling her ear as he tied something near the base of her scalp.

Hana's hand fluttered clumsily to the added weight in her hair, "What—"

"It's a ribbon," Kuroko didn't step back, his hand hovering near her neck as he finished tying the strands back, "To match."

Shit on a stick. He was watching her again. With her hair pulled out of her face, Hana had no way to hide from that damning stare. He knew it too. Fond amusement wrinkled the corners of his eyes as his hand fell away from her hair and landed on her shoulder. He took another step and for a solid second, all Hana could see was blue.

Kuroko's mouth parted as his head dipped toward hers, "Hana—"

Oh hell. She knew where this was going. She'd seen the movies! All those godforsaken Hallmark specials! She knew, god dammit— so why wasn't she moving? Her heart slammed against her chest hard enough for the adrenaline to kick in, but it was like her body had a mind of its own. The hormones are betraying me.

Instead of leaning back, Hana leaned forward.

"Hey! We're ready—" Kagami's voice immediately sputtered to a halt, "Are you kidding me?"

Oh my god! Hana jumped back like she'd been burned, throwing her attention toward the open gym door, and immediately dying at the sight that greeted her. Her whole team was staring at them. Riko's mouth was covered by her hands, barely muffling the squeal. Behind her, Kiyoshi blinked twice— a surprised expression pulling his eyebrows up.

At his left, Hyuuga was pinching the bridge of his nose, "Not in the hallway, idiots."

"We aren't—" Hana waved her new plushie in the air, trying to diffuse the situation, "He was giving me a gift, dammit! That's it—"

Kuroko cut his eyes toward her, a brow raised in quiet skepticism. Despite his silence, it didn't escape her notice that his cheeks were flushed a muted pink. Oh god, it was cute. It shouldn't be cute. Do not look at him, Hana. She turned her gaze to the ceiling instead, refusing to address her lingering teammates.

"I feel like we interrupted something," Izuki whispered to Tsuchida, "Is this normal?"

Behind them, Kagami scoffed, "This is nothing. Wait until you've seen her with the rest of them."

Well, that zapped her out of her embarrassment. Where a strange warmth had been building in her chest, Hana was suddenly doused with a flair of panic. She missed the rest of the conversation occurring around them as her mind repeated Kagami's taunt on a loop.

The rest of them— The rest of them!

Kuroko had been about to make a move and she was going to let him. Horror-struck eyes latched onto Kagami's face as realization sank in. For a second, she imagined the situation with another face and then another— Would she have moved? Dread sank into her chest as she allowed herself a moment of startling self-awareness and decided no, she wouldn't have.

Oh my god, I'm so totally screwed.

Thankfully, fate had her back today. Praise the gods for small mercies. Without letting Hana spiral into her thoughts any further, a loud noise echoed from the gym. It had a strange metallic tone to it— almost like a table falling over. Or three.

Before she had time to put that mental image together, a familiar voice shrieked, "The cupcakes!"

"Uh—" Koganei twisted his head over his shoulder, peering into the open door behind him and wincing, "That doesn't look good."

Hyuuga shuddered as his shoulders curved inward, "I knew this was a bad idea."

"You don't think—" Kiyoshi followed Koganei's line of sight before another loud clattering had him jumping away from the door in surprise, "Oh. That's… unfortunate."

For a second, Hana could only gawk at her team.

"Is that my dad?"

xXx

It was.

It also looked like she was right in her assumption that a table had fallen over. Speckled in flour and with his familiar apron tied around his waist, her fatherbustled around the gym in a panic— trying and failing to scoop up a multi-colored mess of cupcakes before Nūdoru and Nigou could eat them. While the dogs were limited in speed due to the brightly colored ribbons tied around their necks, they were obviously faster than her father.

As she stepped through the gym doors, Hana stared as Nūdoru managed to gobble down a pink cupcake.

Her dad wasn't the only surprise addition to their afternoon practice. The gym was decked out with balloons and streamers from one hoop to another and a fine layer of glitter tainted the waxed floor. The table— well, what was left of the table— had an orange banner draped over it. She could barely make out the words Happy Birthday!

Beside the broken mess, Uoya sighed in relief as the team moved back into the gym, "Thank god you're back—"

"Iseri broke the table," Kitano hovered near the stadium at the back of the gym, jabbing a finger at the boy in question, "Wasn't me."

Dark eyes narrowed, Iseri scoffed from where he'd managed to save a single platter of cupcakes, "You're a poor liar, Kitano-kun."

Hana wasn't the only one facing a loss of words at the chaos. The rest of her teammates watched the spectacle in disbelief and before she could stop herself, Hana snorted. Talk about a clash of cultures. Seirin thought they were the chaotic team— but they didn't hold a flame to her old Teiko team.

"We left them alone for five seconds," Hyuuga snarled under his breath, palming the skin of his forehead, "Five seconds."

Izuki was similarly gobsmacked, "I'm sensing a theme when it comes to Teiko."

"Oh, this is nothing," Hana chuckled under her breath, stepping into the madness and nabbing Nūdoru by the collar before he could continue his sprint around the gym, "One time they set the gym on fire—"

Hyuuga stared at her, horrorstruck, "They did what?"

"Yeah, we had to call the fire department and all that shit," Hana didn't elaborate, turning her attention back to the decorations. Despite her revelation from earlier, her mouth twisted into a tired smile as she eyed the getup, "So, surprise birthday party, huh? I'm impressed—"

That was the wrong word, but Hana didn't know the correct one. Well, she knew what it felt like, but like hell was she going to go and throw those emotions all over the place. No, thank you. She'd be keeping those warm fuzzies buried deep in her chest for the rest of the day. After Tetsuya's little hallmark moment, I'm done.

"You didn't think we forgot, did you?" A heavy hand fell atop her head, Kiyoshi's teasing chuckle ringing in her ears as he watched Fukuda and Furihata help try to mitigate the disaster, "To be honest, this wasn't our idea."

She blinked at that, peering up at the friendly giant in surprise, "What—"

"You have Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun to thank for this," Riko elaborated, coming to stand beside Hana with a fond eyeroll, "It was their plan."

Eyeing the boys in question, Hana felt that familiar surge of warmth creep back up her chest. Kagami was bitching at Kitano while Kuroko bent to help Uoya fix the table, holding a quiet conversation with the younger boy as they worked. For the millionth time that day, she didn't have words, "Oh."

"I think they were worried about you after the game—" Riko's elbow gently jabbed Hana in the side as she winked, "It was sweet of them. Don't tell them I said that though."

"You freshmen are something else this year," Hyuuga finally chimed in. His eye was still twitching at the chaos in front of him, but there was a reluctant curve to his lips, "If I'd known you'd all be this much trouble, I would have retired."

Oh, no. Hana's chest felt too hot. The feelings were leaking out.

Instead of acknowledging them, Hana bit her lip into her mouth and observed the rest of the gym. Kitano had broken off to stand next to Iseri, chatting animatedly with Fukuda and Kawahara. Kagami similarly moved back over to Kuroko— scowling down at Uoya as the two exchanged words. Behind them, Takeda had stepped out of his office to try and help wrangle the rest of the chaos with her dad, but ultimately, they were both unsuccessful.

"Thanks, guys. Seriously, it means— it means a lot," Hana hedged forward, refusing to look at the smiles hiding in her seniors' cheeks, "Well, uhm— I'm going to go help clean this shit up—"

She needed something to do so those gross, little feel-good fuzzies didn't embarrass her more than they already had.

"Before you get wrapped up in the party," Kiyoshi's voice stopped her steps short, "Here. It's a gift from the team."

Not giving her a chance to blink, he handed over a bland box. It was pure white with rounded edges and as she brought it to her chest, Hana's brow wrinkled at the weight of it. More presents? It only took her a second to open it before she nearly threw it back to him, flabbergasted.

"You got me a phone?" Hana gaped at him, dumbstruck, "How the absolute hell—"

It wasn't a cheap model. Her last phone had been a couple of years behind, but this monstrosity was nice. It looked like Momoi's— no buttons on the glass screen and a familiar, expensive, label plastered across the back.

"Technically you got yourself a phone," Kiyoshi scrubbed at the back of his head, winking at Riko when the coach snorted, "I don't think you realize how quickly you filled the swear jar up. Kagami helped, but it was mostly you."

No damn way. Hana's mouth refused to close, "But I thought— you said it was for travel—"

"We can handle the travel funds," Riko's mouth quirked, "We needed a manager who can do her job more."

The feelings weren't going away. They were here to stay. Faced with the six cheerful faces of her upperclassmen, Hana couldn't speak. Izuki had his hands crossed over his chest, a charming grin that matched Tsuchida's painting his lips. Even Hyuuga looked satisfied— taking in Hana's stumbling with a rueful smirk.

The heat in her chest crawled up into her throat and Hana swallowed. Dammit. I refuse to cry.

"I— shit," she used her free hand to scrub at her face, trying and failing to put her emotions into words, "Thanks, guys. I mean it— just, uh, seriously—"

Hana honestly couldn't form a response. It just wasn't coming. Nothing she could say matched the feelings in her chest. She trained her stare on the ceiling, forcing herself to breathe through the sudden roar of emotion in her chest. Why are words so hard?

"Don't hurt yourself, brat," giving her a rare moment of sympathy, Hyuuga's palm smacked her on the shoulder, "You're welcome."

He didn't linger around long enough to see the way her face struggled through the emotions making her chest cave in. With another tap against Kiyoshi's chest, Hyuuga marched toward the chaos still taking place within the gym. It didn't take long for the rest of the upperclassmen to follow. Sometime during the gift sharing, Nūdoru had gotten free and was reigning havoc on the poor guests.

"Jesus—" blinking away the mist still clinging to her lashes, Hana traded a look with the lingering Kiyoshi, "So, uh— You planning on helping?"

"No," Kiyoshi grinned, ruffling the fine strands of her hair with another head pat, "I think they've got it covered."

In direct opposition to his statement, Kitano cursed— falling to the floor as Nigou knocked him behind the knees. Iseri wasn't fast enough to grab him, but Fukuda managed to snatch him by the collar just in time to fall with him. Koganei's resulting giggle caught in his throat as Nūdoru blurred past him— jumping after her dad with accuracy that a blind dog shouldn't possess.

"Hana! Can you help me, sweetheart? There's—" her dad shrieked, trying to pull the plate out of Nūdoru's mouth.

Kagami snarled from beside him. He was trying and failing to hide behind Tsuchida, "Get your dog, woman!"

Uoya tried to help, Izuki stepping in at the last minute to grab the giant dog by the ribbon and haul him away from the last vestiges of the cupcakes. Unfortunately, that turned Nūdoru's attention onto them and Izuki nearly squealed as he found himself tackled to the floor— dog slobber and all. Standing next to Mitobe, Kuroko handed the silent boy one of the last cupcakes.

Kiyoshi's hand stalled on her head, sweat beading his brow as he watched, "I may have spoken too soon."

Hana's face broke into a grin.

Best birthday ever.

xXx

Nearly an hour later, Hana got her third surprise of the day.

After about thirty minutes of socialization, the party had broken apart. There were a few tearful hugs from her dad before he left— blabbering on and on about how Hana was so old and how she had such good friends. Hana suffered through the embrace with an embarrassed grimace, her eye twitching as Kagami smirked at her from across the gym.

Just wait until this weekend. She'd mentally warned him. No one will save you from Nūdoru then.

After her dad left with said dog in tow, it didn't take long for Kitano and Iseri to follow his lead. There were still hugs— but they weren't filled with tears. Instead, Hana was subjected to teasing. Kitano nearly broke her neck as he tugged her into an unwelcome chokehold, snickering as he avoided her kicks. On the other end of the spectrum, Iseri merely smiled as he departed, slipping her a gift card to the coffee shop across town.

Uoya was the last one to leave, having stuck around long enough to help clean the mess in the gym as her team broke apart for practice, "So, sixteen. Feel like an old lady?"

"Nah—" Hana chucked a ruined cupcake into the garbage, "Thought I'd have boobs by now, but whatever."

"Okay, no boob talk," Uoya grimaced as he tossed the last of the steamers into the trash behind her, "it's weird."

She smirked, tossing him a smarmy grin over her shoulder, "Hormones finally kicking in? About time—"

"Oh my god. Shut up, Hana—" he'd nearly turned purple before shoving an envelope in her hands, "Happy birthday. Try and take better care of yourself, you dummy."

He'd wrapped up the parting with a soft hug but didn't stick around much longer. It was a bittersweet feeling. Once upon a time, the entire day would have been spent with him. She'd never lose touch with her old teammates and her first real friends, but it was clear that her relationship with Seirin was growing. It was only to be expected, but Hana refused to let go. Uoya was hers.

So, obviously, the solution to that conundrum was to make sure he applied to Seirin for high school.

The sound of the door opening cut her out of her thoughts, but Hana didn't pay it any mind. She'd gotten used to the comings and goings of her teammates during practice. Sometimes one of the upperclassmen had to duck out early to take care of other club duties, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to hear the squeak of their tennis shoes crawl to a stop as practice halted.

"Hey, Hana?" Kiyoshi's voice catapulted her out of her cleaning spree, "I think you've got a visitor."

Pausing from where she'd bent to pick up a wayward balloon, Hana quirked a brow toward him, "What? Who—"

She answered her own question. Hovering awkwardly in front of the gym doors, Kise shuffled on his feet. His hands were tucked deep into his pockets as he tried to smile in the face of her team's attention. His hair was vaguely ruffled, blonde strands tossed by the wind. Hyuuga stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest as he stared down the miracle with all the strength of a captain.

Eyebrow twitching, Kise tried to appear nonchalant, "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Kise-kun," Kuroko was the first to actually speak, blinking in surprise at the unexpected addition, "I didn't think you were going to make it."

"You invited that idiot?" Kagami grunted. He brought his shirt up to wipe at the sweat on his brow as he scowled, "Seriously, Kuroko?"

Kise pouted, but his eyes were tight in annoyance at the jab, "Don't be rude, Kagami-cchi—" Without waiting for permission, he stepped into the gym like it was his own, "I didn't mean to be late, but I got held up at a photo shoot."

Now that he mentioned it, he did look prettier than normal. Instead of his normal Kaijou uniform, he was wearing a pair of dark-washed jeans and a collared shirt. There was also something on his eyelashes that Hana immediately pegged as mascara. She snorted. Completely and totally unfair to look that pretty.

"You missed the cupcakes," Hana threw out, trying to steer the conversation into neutral territory.

There was a strange protectiveness lingering amidst her teammates and for the hell of her, Hana couldn't understand why. This was Kise. He might be the most annoying of the miracles, but beyond that, he was basically harmless. He was like a puppy. He might chew your shoes, but he looked cute doing it.

"I can't say I'm disappointed about that," Kise grinned in response. Her attention was like a light switch, his brightness nearly blinding as he focused on her, "I don't want to think about what happened last time I had one of those. There was icing in my hair for days."

"Yeah, well, you learned your lesson," she snorted at the reminder, "Don't be such a dick and I won't do it again."

There was a chuckle as Kise rubbed at the back of his neck, "I don't think that's how that happened, Hana-cchi—" he glanced at the rest of her team with a surprising sort of hesitation before he abruptly blurted, "Do you want to get dinner?"

"Uh," Hana jabbed a finger toward her chest, momentarily stunned, "What?"

He was already nodding, a tad too fast, "If you're not busy! I know I missed the party but I was hoping I could take you out for your birthday. If that's okay!"

Sheepish was a weird expression on the blonde. Was he— is he blushing? Hana stared at the bizarre sight, static growing between her ears as the rest of her team broke out into a cacophony of noise. Strangely, Kuroko didn't look surprised. If anything, he looked fondly exasperated.

While she blinked at him, Kagami immediately went on the defensive, "Oi! You can't just come in here and kidnap our manager—"

He didn't get to finish his statement. In a move Hana would describe as almost sisterly, Riko stepped in front of the blonde and narrowed her eyes, "Is this a date?"

"Woah, woah, woah—" Hana threw her hands out, shaking her head in denial before Kise could even respond to the accusation, "There's no dating happening here—"

"Kind of," Kise interrupted her denial with an uneasy shrug, "If that's okay? I don't want to interrupt practice—"

Kind of?! Shooting the blonde a look of horror, Hana gaped at Kise's clumsy admittance. He wasn't supposed to— they weren't dating! Dates were for dating, dammit! Kise glanced at her gobsmacked expression once before shuffling on his feet with an awkward smile. It was so unlike his normal charisma that she nearly keeled over in shock.

Oh my god. Realization smacked her dead in the forehead.

He was being like this because he was shy. Kise— the charismatic asshole— was shy.

She'd never seen that expression on him before. Surrounded by adoring fans and coasting by with pure talent, Kise never stumbled. Not once did she think he'd actually be embarrassed about something like this— fake date or not. It just didn't match. How many personalities does this boy have?!

That little thought nagged at her until she finally considered the other facet of the observation. Which one is the real Kise anyway? Surely not this. Except, as a blush built on his perfect complexion, Hana had to retract that statement. She'd never seen him look so human.

Meanwhile, Hyuuga scoffed at the admission before rolling his eyes heavenward, "A little late for that."

"Kind of? What does that mean, Kise-kun?" Riko took a step toward him, cutting off his steps and pinning him in place. Her following smile was frosty as she leveled a dark look up at Kise's sudden blanch, "It's either a date or it isn't."

Unsurprisingly, Kise took a step back. He held his hands in front of his chest in uneasy submission as he plastered on another smile, "I'm sorry, I don't know what kind of answer you want—"

"Don't think about it too hard, Kise," Kiyoshi took the chance to come up on Riko's left, dark brows furrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest, "We're only trying to figure out your intentions with Hana."

It didn't take long for the rest of the team to abandon practice and join in on the impromptu interrogation. Before Kise could blink, Koganei was jumping to the front of the group, a thin finger pointed out accusingly, "Yeah! Hana-chan is our manager!"

"Hana?" Kise repeated under his breath, gold eyes blinking twice before he sputtered, "Kuroko-cchi— a little help here?"

Kuroko didn't move. With a slow blink, he turned his back on the group and stared at the wall behind him, "I'm sorry, I'm not here right now."

"What!" Kise's betrayed look went unreturned, "I can see you, Kuroko-cchi!"

No matter how loud he whined, Kise found no support in that avenue of conversation. Before the blonde could plaster on another smile, he was overwhelmed. The loudest members of her team began talking all at once. Kagami was the only one silent throughout the whole thing, but his smile was dark as his focus locked in on the blonde in satisfied reprisal.

As the noise climbed into a crescendo, Hana was left nearly speechless. She'd heard this tone before, but never from her team. It usually came from her dad when she came home too late or he was introduced to another boy in her growing basketball collection. You've got to be shitting me.

As Kise shook his head in fervent denial at another accusation, Hana couldn't help but deadpan, "Are you seriously giving him the shovel talk?"

There was no response to her observation other than Kise's terrified squeak.

xXx

Nearly an hour later, Hana found herself in one of the more upscale restaurants on their side of Tokyo.

Sometime after the thirty-minute mark, she'd decided to take pity on the blonde and dragged him out of the gym. If he'd stayed any longer, there would have been blood. She wasn't sure why she felt so forgiving, but it probably had something to do with the terrified sweat running down Kise's brow. Hana honestly thought he might start crying if Riko said another word.

So, allowing her mercy to overtake common sense, she let the blonde nearly drag her off campus. That's how she found herself here. Surrounded by stuffy businessmen and their wives, Hana eyed the garishly decorated restaurant as she took small bites of her dinner. This wasn't her type of place. They didn't even have prices on the menu, for god's sake.

But if Kise was paying, which he was, she'd suffer through it for the experience.

"Seirin is terrifying," Kise muttered petulantly into his drink, "Why are they so scary?"

"They've been like since the Kirisaki Daiichi game—" Hana waved him off with her fork, plopping a bit of salted crab into her mouth, "Don't take it personally."

His mouth ticked up with the hint of a small smile, "They're awfully protective of you, Hana-cchi."

"Come with the territory," chewing on the tough meat, Hana scrunched her nose up before elaborating, "All you basketball idiots have a manager complex. I'm sure you did the same thing for Momoi back at Teiko— if Aomine didn't kick their ass first."

The table next to them made a startled noise and Hana blinked, catching sight of a tiny woman clutching her pearls. Really? She rolled her eyes, chewing aggressively. Don't act so scandalized, lady. Meanwhile, Kise took her statement into consideration, bringing a bite of fish to his mouth as he rolled the thought over in his head.

"I guess you're right. It didn't happen often, but she had a few close calls," propping his cheek on his hand, Kise grinned at her, "We had to do it once for you too, you know."

She'd been in the midst of sipping on her water, but it caught in her nose as she snorted at the admission, "Oh, come off it. That's bullshit."

"I'm serious—" his grin grew brighter, nearly glowing in the low overhead light of the restaurant, "I think it was your third game with us? Anyway, there was a student reporter who really wanted to talk to you and he kept bugging Akashi-cchi—"

Figures. Hana rolled her eyes as she snarked, "I'm sure that went well."

"I'm pretty sure he made him cry," Kise nodded along to her sarcasm, ignoring the way her mouth dropped open, "It was kind of scary, but then Aomine-cchi and Murasakibara-cchi caught him waiting for you after the game. I don't know what happened after that, but we didn't see him at the next game."

"You—" Hana levied her fork in his direction, dumbfounded. She didn't know how to accurately respond to that admittance without acknowledging the fluffy feelings in her chest. Instead, she resorted to humor, "That could have been my soulmate and you assholes just traumatized him. No wonder I'm dickless."

Well, she thought it had been funny. Kise obviously did not. Choking on his food, he slapped at his chest twice before finally sputtering, "Don't just say that!"

Trying to get his coughing under control, Kise's ears turned red as he ducked his head. Hana's lips twitched. A little voice warned her that she was treading into dangerous waters, but dammit, it was so much fun. It was hard to tease Kuroko like this without worrying about crossing lines, but Kise was just so damn open.

Besides, it's not like she was flirting. They were talking about dicks, for god's sake.

"It's true," she motioned down to her lap, a smirk growing at Kise's burning cheeks, "No dick here. Want me to double-check?"

"No—" Kise stared at her in horror. It was a struggle to keep her laughter hidden, "Hana-cchi, no—" a chuckle finally escaped, and immediately, gold eyes narrowed, "You're playing with me, aren't you?"

Taking a sip of her water, Hana brought her hand up and pinched her thumb and pointer finger together, "Just a bit. It's fun watching you lose your shit."

It took a second for him to digest that information, but when he did, he straightened in his seat. Hana eyed the change carefully, taking in the determined curl to his lips. Don't start something you can't finish, Kise.

"That was mean," full lips pursed in a pout, but Kise's gaze was playful, "You're not very nice today."

"It's my birthday," she only shrugged, "I get to be a bitch with no consequences."

Laying his arms on the table, Kise leveled a strange look at her. It was too dark to be humorous, but it had an impish flare, "I wouldn't say that."

Gold eyes latched onto green, a peculiar resolve hiding in their depths. He didn't blink once— even when Hana plopped another bite of crab into her mouth. Her own eyes narrowed in response, the fevered attention making her chest feel tight. It wasn't a bad feeling per se, but it wasn't something she wanted to explore during this not-a-date.

Instead of acknowledging the heat creeping up her veins, Hana smirked, "I'd make a joke about spanking, but—"

Kise choked again, this time turning purple as he fought for air. See? Who needs to deal with emotions when you can just traumatize them? He reached for his water, but it was too late, the damage had been done. Whatever sly thing he intended to tease her with was forgotten as he collapsed against the table with a wounded groan.

"Hana-cchi! No—" He whined into the tablecloth, "You can't just say stuff like that!"

Taking a sip of her water, Hana hummed in faux innocence, "Did I finally break you?"

She'd take his silence as a yes. The only noise Kise managed to articulate was a defeated whine. Giving a toast to the horrified table next to them, Hana settled back into her seat with a victorious grin.

Mission accomplished.

When it was all said and done, it was no surprise to her that they got kicked out of the restaurant shortly after finishing their dinner. The way the lady at the table next to theirs looked a half-second away from fainting kind of cemented that observation from the get-go. Unfortunately, Kise didn't seem to be of the same mind. Ever since they'd been guided – forced out of the restaurant, he hadn't stopped pouting.

"You know, Hana-cchi," crossing his arms over his chest, Kise sulked down at her under the bus stop awning, "You're a lot of trouble."

Despite the admonishment, there was an affectionate layer to the air. Kind of like the feeling you get when a kitten knocks over a vase— except in this case, it was directed at her. They'd only been walking for a few minutes before Kise stopped, somehow choosing the best light downtown to stand underneath.

Blue and purple hues from the convenience store behind them made his face look sharper and highlighted the golden sheen of his feline eyes. Again, Hana was struck by just how unfair god was to gift this asshole such nice genetics. They were in downtown Tokyo, dammit. No need to look so good.

She only shrugged, keeping her observations to herself, "Got to keep you on your toes. God knows you assholes need it."

He shook his head, the streetlights catching on the silky strands of his hair, "So feisty—" gold eyes flicked back to her before he sighed in fond resignation, "I had a plan for this, but I guess I was too optimistic."

Kise reached into his pocket without further warning. When his hand came back into view, Hana blinked. There was a tiny black box in his hand with a faded silver script dotting the surface. For just a second, he frowned down at the box before gently handing it over.

He was unnaturally quiet as he watched her open the tiny box, "Happy birthday, Hana-cchi."

Hana didn't respond. Couldn't even if she wanted to. Her eyes were locked on the contents of the box, her mouth open in shock as the light caught the tiny stones of the necklace Kise just gifted her. It was a delicate little thing— a tiny heart with small green gemstones dotting the edges. Beyond her phone, it was probably the most expensive thing she owned.

"Kise, what the hell are you thinking—" she was going to puke, "Holy shit, this is too much—"

"Ryouta," he cut her off, taking a step forward and wrapping his hands around her own. Gold eyes peered down at her, unnervingly observant as he pushed, "Please, Hana-cchi?"

"Ryouta—" she hissed in response, trying and failing to shove the box back into his hands, "I can't take this!"

"Please?" He inched closer, forcing the box to press against her chest as he nimbly retrieved the little necklace from her hands, "I wanted— I wanted to make it up to you after what I did with your present."

Heart pounding at his proximity, Hana shook her head in denial, "That was a year ago— it's fine—"

"It's not. I know we already talked about it, but—" a warm hand fluttered down her cheek before tucking a rouge strand of hair behind her ear. With a steadying breath, Kise leaned his head down to rest his forehead atop her skull, "I still think about your face when I gave it back. It was stupid of me and I'm sorry, Hana-cchi. I didn't want to hurt you."

"I already forgave you, dumbass," her throat was too tight, emotions too close to the surface, "You don't need to give me some expensive gift—"

"I wanted to," fingers dipped to her chin and before Hana could blink, Kise was tilting her head up to meet his sharp stare, "Besides, it's not as expensive as you think it is. My sister has an employee discount."

She wanted to stay irritated with him. There was still a silent part of her that swore he'd stepped way past the invisible boundary they'd set up in regard to their friendship, but the way he was looking at her— god, Hana couldn't fight him anymore. He looked so damn earnest.

"You—" Hana couldn't put together words. Not with his face so close to her own, "Dammit! Fine! But I swear to god, Ryouta— I will kill you if you buy me anything this expensive again—"

Her threat cut off at the sight of his smile. It was damning. Kise was always pretty, but when his cheeks curved in and that brief flash of dimple appeared, it was devastating. It almost made her flinch— the expression was so youthful that Hana could barely take it. Taking advantage of her sudden stupor, Kise chuckled under his breath before pushing the rest of her hair behind her back.

Long fingers grazed the sensitive skin of her neck as he clasped the necklace around her throat. Without taking a step back, he tilted his head as he gently situated the tiny charm between her collarbones, "There. It's almost perfect."

What? Hana cut him a quick glare, "The hell do you mean almost?"

He didn't respond immediately, watching her face with a look she was becoming intimately familiar with today. Gold eyes skimmed down the curve of her cheek before latching onto the bottom half of her face as a brave finger tickled over her collarbone. A pleased smile took over his cheeks when she twitched in irritation—

Before she could open her mouth, he moved.

Warmth met her cheek, the soft flesh giving way as Kise pressed a quick kiss against her skin. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared and Hana almost thought she imagined it, but Kise's pleased smile tore those assumptions to shreds. He didn't.

"Now it's perfect," the sound of the traffic next to them nearly drowned out his response, "I guess it just needed a blush to match."

Her body would only let her stare at him, "You—"

This was so much worse than the forehead kiss. That kiss could have been disguised as familial— but this one? No way. It was intimate in a way that was almost worse than an actual kiss. It felt caring. It felt like adoration. It felt like things Hana sure as hell didn't want to feel. For the second time that day, her hold on her emotions flipped on its axis.

"Don't be mad, Hana-cchi—" Unknowing of her internal panic, Kise winked as he stepped back, "I couldn't help it. You're just too cute."

Asshole. She smacked him in the arm before she could think better of it, "I'll show you cute—"

Kise danced out of her range of fire with a chuckle, but he didn't go far.

She could still the warmth from his chest as Kise hovered next to her. As the silence clicked from minutes into seconds, it became clear he wasn't expecting a reply and Hana counted her blessings that he wasn't pushing. In its place, comfortable silence grew between them as he waited for the bus to arrive.

Instead of breaking the hush, she made her second mistake of the night.

Chancing a glance at the boy to her right, Hana's heart nearly caved in. Kise had his head tilted to the sky with a tired smile. Cast in purple from the sign of the convenience store behind him, he looked nearly otherworldly as he chuckled to himself. But it was his hand that held her attention, more specifically— it was the way he trailed his thumb over his lips.

It was a good thing he couldn't read her mind—

Because in that moment, Hana realized she was well and truly fucked.

xXxXxXx

Two days later, Hana found herself at Momoi's apartment.

It wasn't exactly a conscious decision, but it was sorely needed. She spent most of the school day avoiding Kuroko's puzzled looks and ignoring Kise's texts. Sure, it wasn't the best coping method, but it was all she had right now. What do you even say to the two idiots who single handled ruined your last stronghold of denial? Thanks?

Yeah, screw that.

Instead of facing her problems head-on like she was supposed to, Hana went for the next best option. Strategic retreat. Uoya was out of the question. He'd give his version of advice, but like all men, he had a bad habit of offering solutions instead of letting her vent. And by god, Hana needed to vent. She'd also briefly considered unloading it on Kagami— but well, that was a disaster waiting to happen.

So, she found herself at Momoi's, surrounded by pizza and mochi while she worked her frustration out through copious amounts of Mario Cart. Her fellow manager had listened to her whole speech with rapt attention, not even blinking when Hana threw Kuroko under the bus for starting this whole damn thing.

"Ki-chan kissed you?" Momoi gawked at her on the other end of the couch, a piece of pizza halfway to her mouth, "Just like that?"

"Yes!" Hana threw herself back, bringing a pillow over her head to try and smother herself, "It was on the cheek— but goddammit. What do I do?"

"Well—" Momoi blinked, chewing thoughtfully on the cheesy end of her slice, "Do you want to kiss him? Or should I say them?"

That was a question she didn't want to answer because Hana didn't know the answer. Kissing meant things. Kissing meant admitting that those feelings in her chest were more than friendship. But— she wasn't opposed to the idea, it just came with complications Hana didn't want to consider. Including the issue of them.

"Don't ask me that shit," Hana whined under her breath, refusing to elaborate on the question, "Ugh."

"That wasn't a no," an inelegant snort came from the other side of the couch, "Good luck with that, Ima-chan."

Hana didn't hesitate to lob her pillow at Momoi's face. There was a squeak at the assault, but it quickly died down to chuckles. Peeking one eye open, Hana glowered at the amusement twisting Momoi's mouth into mirth, "You're supposed to help me. Stop getting off on my pain."

"I'm not! I'm not— I promise," her giggles begged to differ, but Momoi continued anyway, "I just can't believe this happened. They're all so-"

"Emotionally stunted? Stupid? Egotistical assholes with god complexes?" Hana deadpanned, "I can keep going. Trust me. I've thought this through."

Momoi snickered, pulling her pink strands out of her face as she agreed, "You're not wrong, but I was thinking more about you. I thought we talked about this already."

Pink-haired goddess say what now? Hana blinked, "Me? What about me?"

"You probably don't remember it, actually— I bet you didn't even notice it," Momoi perched the pillow on her lap and leaned forward, irises sparkling like she had a secret, "But most of them had a crush on you in middle school. It drove Akashi-kun insane."

"You're shitting me," Hana scoffed. Apparently, Momoi's brain had been infected by Aomine's stupidity. Good to know. "No way in hell. I would have known—"

She'd read about crushes. Crushes spent time together. Crushes came with dates and cute gifts. Crushes were with— shit. Hana's spine straightened, a look of horror creeping over her face as she thought back to her interactions with the miracles. There'd been gifts. There'd been dates, not in the traditional sense mind you, but they'd hung out more than enough to check that box off.

"See?" Crawling over the couch, Momoi plopped down on her stomach in front of Hana, "I love you, Ima-chan, but you're kind of stupid sometimes."

Hana resented that statement. She wasn't stupid. Any girl with a shred of common sense would have missed that connection. Besides— there were six of them! Six! Maybe even seven if her hormones didn't pick a side. What idiot in their right mind would be ready to accept that kind of pain? Hana's eye twitched. Apparently, an idiot like me.

"I'm not dealing with this," Hana rolled forward on her knees to peer down at Momoi, "Are you willing to reconsider that sister wife offer? I'll stick with monogamy for you."

Momoi giggled, poking Hana in the forehead before teasing, "Not dealing with it doesn't make it go away, Ima-chan. If you're not careful, you'll be in trouble."

Yeah, okay, Hana could see that. Between Kise's and Kuroko's double assault on her emotional stability the other day, she was one move away from jumping off a cliff without a parachute. God. Hana shivered. What if they had actually kissed her? What would she have done then?

Dropping on top of Momoi's chest with a groan, Hana whined into her friend's hoodie, "What the hell am I supposed to do with them? Momoi— I've never even had a boyfriend. Like, ever."

"Never?" Momoi blinked at her twice in quick succession, "So you haven't—"

"Kissed, screwed, fondled, touched—" Hana peeked her head up to level the other girl a look, "Yeah, none of that. I'm going based on books and movies here and they're not following the damn script."

For a second, Momoi could only stare at her, "Oh. I didn't think about that."

"Well, now you know," throwing herself back against the couch beside Momoi, Hana scowled up at the ceiling, "I'm not stupid. I know there's like a process to this kind of stuff—"

Brows hiking into her hairline, Momoi balked, "Ima-chan— there's really not—"

"But I don't know the right steps! I tried to ask around once but no one would give me a straight answer," with a huff, Hana crossed her arms over her chest, "It was always the same shit. When you know, you'll know. What kind of fluffy, bullshit answer is that? Obviously, I don't know—"

This is the kind of stuff people don't warn you about when your mom ditches you. Hana never had the birds and the bees talk— her dad tried, but it was more of an anatomy lesson than anything. The rest of her knowledge came from pop culture and observation, which wasn't exactly a stellar guidebook. Between Fifty Shades of Grey and high school drama, Hana was basically walking into this new dynamic blind.

"Ima-chan— you can't just plan this stuff," Momoi winced, rubbing a hand over her suddenly pink cheeks without meeting her eye, "That's not going to solve your problem."

"But it'll be a start! I can deal with the feelings later—" she waved her hands in front of her chest as she plowed through her explanation, "If I know what's supposed to happen, then I'll know how to deal with it if it does happen. It makes sense, dammit—"

"You can't intellectualize feelings," rubbing her temples, Momoi sighed as she gifted Hana a particularly frustrated look, "That isn't going to work, Ima-chan."

Why the hell not? Rubbing her palms into her eyes, Hana groaned, "Then what am I supposed to do? Wait until one of them makes a move and hope I don't stick my tongue up their nose? I'd rather die, thanks."

"You're worrying about the wrong things," Momoi reached across the couch to grab her hands, "This is about how you feel. The physical stuff doesn't matter right now. How do you feel about Ki-chan?"

Okay, Hana was really regretting choosing Momoi for this heart to heart. She should have gone to Kagami. At least that idiot would smack some sense into her instead of whatever this was. Hana wanted the feelings gone. Not nurtured, dammit.

"Irritated. Pissed off most of the time," Hana's eye twitched before she spat out the next part of her sentence, "Comfortable. I guess— I don't know, it's easy to talk to him."

"And Tetsu-kun? Midorin?" Momoi probed, pink eyes locked on her face, "Do you feel the same way?"

Dragging a hand through her hair, Hana groaned, "Yes, dammit! That's the issue— there's too many. I don't know where the hell I stand with Murasakibara and I know Akashi's out for the count— but—"

This was not covered in her books. There was supposed to one prince charming and one princess. Or— whatever, you get the point. Hana didn't know what to do with this. For one, they were in high school and high school wasn't conducive for this kind of shit. For two, they were them. They didn't even get along half the time!

"You think you could care for them too," Momoi finished for her, filling the silence that Hana refused to touch, "That's okay, Ima-chan. You didn't do anything wrong."

Easy for her to say. She wasn't lusting after a pack of skittles.

"Oh my god, I'm a hoe-" a pillow smacked into her chin and Hana doubled over in shock, "Ow!"

"You are not a hoe," pink crept up Momoi's cheeks as she rolled to her knees, a sharp fingernail poking Hana in the collarbone, "Don't talk like that! If it's anyone's fault it's theirs—"

That caught Hana's attention. If there was one thing she loved more than violence, it was shifting blame. She quirked an eyebrow in interest, "How?"

"Well, has anyone actually told you they like you?" When Hana's face scrunched, Momoi sighed, "To your face, I mean. I know Tetsu-kun told me, but has anyone mentioned it to you?"

"Like in words?" Hana blinked, thinking through the conversations in the past year, "Nah, I mean Tetsuya acts like it but I probably wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't told me— Same with Kise and Midorima—"

Other than what might have been dates, Kise was more physical than everyone else and there was that time she caught Aomine checking out her ass. But words? There had been no words. Hana would know. If there had, she didn't think she'd survive the conversation without finding the nearest cliff.

"You're joking," Momoi eventually deadpanned, "Please tell me you're joking, Ima-chan."

"Uh… no?" Watching Momoi mutter under her breath, Hana tried to ease a bit of the tension by explaining, "I mean, they've probably hinted at it a few times, but— no one ever flat out said, "I like you and want to kiss you" or something like that."

With a groan, Momoi curled inward as she cupped her head with her hands, "I can't believe— I taught them better than that."

Despite the topic, Hana couldn't help snorting. Just imagining a younger Momoi teaching a randy middle school version of the Generation of Miracles proper dating etiquette was hilarious. I'd pay good money to have that lesson revisited.

"They can't just— What did they think would happen?" Momoi's griping snapped Hana out of her thoughts, the fellow manager frowning at the floor as she sighed, "No wonder you're confused."

"Yeah, well," Hana trailed off with an awkward shrug, "I'm still more worried about the fact that there's even a they to begin with. I don't know— shouldn't they have drawn straws or some shit?"

Because if even Hana was picking up on the social cues surrounding her, they had to have noticed too. Kuroko especially. He seemed to have a hand in everything going on that was even a tinge miracle flavored. Hana immediately scowled at the thought. I bet that damn group chat came in handy.

"It just seems stupid—" Hana continued, missing the sound of the door clicking open, "What happens next? Kissing? That's not a group activity—"

There was a clattering noise from the front hall and Hana immediately stopped talking. Momoi sprung up, twisting over the couch, and bringing a lip to her mouth in the universal sign of silence. Several seconds passed before they heard movement. I swear to god. If that's her parents, I'm jumping out the window.

Thankfully, it wasn't her parents. It was something much worse.

Stepping out of the hall, Aomine stared at them. She wasn't too surprised to see him. Hana knew he spent the majority of his time at Momoi's house, but she'd been hoping that her girl time could finish without another rainbow-colored interruption. Obviously, she'd expected too much.

For a hot minute, Aomine didn't speak. His hair was wet and there was a sweat stain on the front of his grey shirt, obviously done with training. He looked more exhausted than normal, but it did nothing to hide the strange shadow in his cobalt eyes as he narrowed his stare on the two of them.

"I wasn't sure you'd still be here," Aomine droned, flicking his gaze toward Hana before tossing an envelope at her, "That's from me and Satsuki."

Momoi sighed, scowling at him, "Don't just throw it—"

"It's a gift card," Aomine rolled his eyes, stepping into the living with a stretch, "What's it going to do? Break?"

He didn't respond further than that, moving across the room to plop down on the sofa beside Hana. She wasn't given any time to move before his arm draped over the cushion behind her back, sinking his body into the couch with a long sigh. Hana's eye twitched before she shot a look at Momoi. See what I deal with?

Ever observant, Momoi zeroed in on that movement and questioned, "I thought you were busy tonight."

"Plans changed," Aomine drawled, letting his head fall against the couch as he flicked his dark gaze toward her, "Why? Am I interrupting something?"

Hana would like to say yes, but she'd gotten used to Aomine's impromptu drop-ins. Ever since she ended up here a few weeks ago after the Torio fiasco, it seemed like the former Teiko ace had a radar specifically for interrupting her girl time. Honestly, he did it was such effectiveness, Hana was beginning to think he set a tracker on her.

"No," Momoi smiled sweetly. It was a look Hana knew intimately well considering she'd been on the receiving end of it for the last hour. "Just curious. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I knew you were worried about Ima-chan."

Aomine scoffed but sitting so close to her, Hana could still feel his arm tense, "Like hell—"

"He's been talking about the Kirisaki Daiichi game for days," Momoi pretended to whisper, eyes sparkling with mischief as she leaned forward, "Dai-chan was so worried he texted Tetsu-kun."

Oh. Hana blinked for two reasons. One, because that was news to her. She didn't think he'd kept up with the outcome of that match, but the quick flick of his focus to her bruised knuckles rendered that thought void. Two, Hana didn't know Momoi had such a vindictive streak.

Why is that hot? That shouldn't be hot.

"Shut your mouth, woman," Aomine snarled under his breath, cutting a sharp look at Momoi, "Don't go around spreading bullshit."

Momoi pouted in a remarkably Kise-like manner, "But Dai-chan—"

"I said cut it out, Satsuki."

Stuck between the two of them, she watched as they lobbied insults back and forth. They were just like siblings, except with more creative vocabulary. For just a second, Hana wondered if this is what her spats with Kagami looked like. And god, wasn't that just horrifying?

"Thanks for caring, I guess," instead of dwelling on that gross little nugget of thought, she snorted, "I knocked his ass down if you were wondering. Hurt like a bitch, though."

She wasn't expecting much of a reply to that statement, but Aomine surprised her yet again. Indigo-hued eyes scanned over her face and down the front of her shirt before landing on her hand. Before Hana could blink, he snatched the appendage up.

Shooting a startled look toward Momoi, Hana stared at the back of Aomine's head as he brought her hand closer to inspect it, "Uh—"

She didn't get a chance to see Momoi's response. Without looking at her, he flipped her wrist around to get a better look at the damage. Honestly, it wasn't too bad. She'd bruised the first two knuckles and while they were still a muted brown tone, it wasn't the ugly purple it had been. At least, that's what Hana thought.

Dragging a calloused finger over one of the bruises, Aomine's lip curled in thought before he abruptly dropped her hand back into her lap. He didn't speak for several seconds, choosing instead to stare at her hand, but whatever he was thinking was quickly washed away with a strange sort of pride.

"Good," there was a dark tilt to Aomine's smirk as he focused on the paused game, "Bastard earned it."

Well, Hana was just learning all sorts of new things about herself today. Between Momoi's vindictiveness and Aomine's brutal satisfaction, she was quickly realizing she had a bit of a thing for bloodlust. Only when it wasn't directed at her, of course. Sorry, Akashi.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room's inhabitants fell into a comfortable silence. Momoi ended up clicking the game off the television and switching it to a rerun of an old Olympic basketball match while Aomine tried to sink further into the couch. Despite being blocked in on both sides by her current rivals, Hana almost felt relaxed.

Of course, that meant Aomine had to ruin it.

"What were you talking about when I walked in?" Aomine broke the silence, finally voicing the thought he'd been sitting on.

Well shit, Hana thought he'd forgotten about that. Exchanging a look with Momoi, Hana waved her hand in the other manager's direction to take the lead. Judging from the wide flare of panic creeping into Momoi's eyes, Hana made the wrong choice.

"Nothing!" Momoi shook her head, squeaking, "We weren't talking about anything!"

Navy eyes shifted between them in suspicion, "I thought I heard—"

Aomine chose the worst time possible to probe. With most of her grievances already aired, Hana had finally hit the don't give a shit phase of her psyche. She'd probably look back later and cringe, but right now? Right now, she didn't give the slightest damn about what he thought.

He was part of the problem anyway. Let him suffer too.

"Kissing Momoi," Hana said instead, tilting her head to the side to blink innocently up at Aomine, "And don't eavesdrop. Shit's rude."

The only other girl in the room squawked, "Me?"

"A kiss is a kiss, gender doesn't matter—" Hana waved off their incredulous looks, "Don't judge me."

This time, it was Aomine who gawked at her, "What the hell are you saying—"

"We're sister wives," Hana refused to elaborate, turning her attention away from the flustered manager beside her, "Keep up with the times, dude."

Ah, stunned stupor looked good on him. It was clear he was running Hana's admission through his brain by the way his brow furrowed, but obviously, things weren't clicking together in the way he wanted. After several seconds of this, Aomine scowled before flicking his gaze from Momoi's startled gape and Hana's practiced apathy.

"You—" for once, the egotistical bastard was speechless. His stare landed on her with an odd intensity before he scoffed and crawled to his feet, "Whatever. I'm getting a shower."

Neither girl spoke as he stalked down the hall, slamming a door behind him. Okay, drama queen. Hana almost felt bad. Keyword— almost. Only when the shower turned on and filled the apartment with white noise did Momoi break the silence. It was almost like she couldn't stop herself, curling inward as she began to giggle uncontrollably.

"Ima-chan—" Momoi gasped, cupping her face as she snickered, "His face."

Hana smirked, twisting on the couch to whisper, "You think he bought it?"

"I think so— I've never seen Dai-chan so confused," Momoi tittered into her hand, flopping back onto the couch with a pleased grin, "I wish I'd gotten a picture."

"I'm sure we can fix that," stretching out her legs, Hana leaned back into the sofa and reached for the last piece of pizza, "Sorry for marrying you without your permission. Hope you can forgive me."

Picking up the long-forgotten game controller, Momoi rolled her eyes fondly, "There are worse people to be married to. At least you clean up after yourself."

Hana didn't respond to that taunt with anything more than a snort, accepting the controller Momoi passed over without complaint as she held her pizza between her teeth. Clearly, Aomine ruined the rest of their secret girl time, but Hana didn't mind too much. It would have been nice to pick Momoi's brain a bit more, but the big issues had been settled.

The only thing she had to do was move forward.

Except

"You know what," smirking, Hana leaned back into the couch with a plan forming in her head, "I can work with this."

She may not know what the hell she was going to do with these new emotions in her chest, but Hana was about to make them everyone's problem. She wasn't going to be the only fish out of water, no damn way. If no one wanted to actually communicate, fine. She'd take matters into her own hands.

"You're not—" Momoi gaped at her, her giggles trickling to a halt at the look on Hana's face, "Ima-chan, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's about time for them to get a taste of their own medicine," twisting on the sofa, Hana perched her arms on the back of the cushion and grinned with way too many teeth.

"Momoi. Teach me how to flirt."

xXx

The opportunity to test out Momoi's teachings came quicker than Hana expected.

The gist of flirting wasn't too hard. According to Momoi, Hana had been doing it long before she realized it. She called bullshit. Sure, she said some suggestive shit, but it wasn't flirting. Not in the way Hana thought at least. Momoi vehemently disagreed.

Tossing away a receipt, Hana made a mental note to apologize to Kasamatsu next time she saw him. Apparently calling someone out for their captain kink counted as flirting. Who would have known?

So, it was with those thoughts ringing in her head that Hana heard the door to the bakery open. Saturday mornings were always pretty busy. They didn't get a lot of customers, but it was enough that her dad liked her to pull a half-shift and man the register so he could keep up with stock. It didn't help that he'd chased off his third intern of the year last week.

Without looking up from where she was wiping down the counter, Hana spoke, "I'll be with you in a minute."

There wasn't an immediate response and Hana found herself thankful. Sometimes they caught some interesting clientele. She wasn't sure how it happened, but her dad's bakery ended up on one of those Most Interesting Places to Visit lists. She was pretty sure it was a jab at his decorating skills, but hell— if it brought business in, she wouldn't complain.

"Sorry for the wait—" wadding the cloth up, she tossed it under the counter before blinking at the customer, "Oh, uhm. Hey, Midorima?"

The boy in question didn't speak for several seconds. His green eyes were locked on the garishly decorated wall behind her. She couldn't even blame him. Her father's taste took some getting used to. Hana's eyes flicked to the wall in question and winced. Unfortunately, he really had a thing for neon these days.

"Good afternoon," after a moment, Midorima blinked the surprised stupor away and turned his attention to her. Green brows furrowed behind his glasses before he swallowed, "I was in the neighborhood. I apologize if I interrupted."

"Nah, you're good—" Hana waved him off, propping her arms on the glass counter and leaning forward, "I'm not busy. You want to order something?"

His gaze flicked toward the cupcakes on the display rack before he visibly winced, "No, thank you."

Taking the chance to look him over, Hana quirked a brow at his barely hidden disgust. Nowadays, it was strange to see any of the Miracles out of their school uniform and Midorima was of no exception. His green hair was neatly side-swept across his forehead and a thin beige scarf shielded his neck from the brisk wind outside.

"Don't blame you. The pistachio one is decent enough. Better than the other shit he makes," tapping her fingers above the cupcake in question, Hana tilted her head as the silence grew between them, "So—"

"Here," before Hana could blink, Midorima was basically shoving a cup of coffee into her hands, "For your birthday."

It wasn't the cheap shit. Actually, Hana didn't think she'd ever had coffee from this place. Judging from the titanium cup and the fancy, golden embossed label, it was well out of her price range. For a second, she could only stare at it. How do these assholes afford this stuff? The sweet tint of hazelnut crept through the top and Hana brought it to her chest, relishing the heat with a relieved sigh.

"Awh, hell yeah. You're the best," cradling the cup like a baby, Hana grinned at him over the counter, "Seriously, I was like a second away from dying—"

"Don't look into it too deeply," Midorima fixated his stare on the ceiling, refusing to meet her eye even as a blush crept up his cheeks, "I'm merely returning the favor. You gave me a gift for my birthday, so I did the same."

He didn't wait for her reply and Hana honestly couldn't find it in herself to be offended. The way the poor guy's cheeks were bleeding red was more than enough incentive to let him leave. Thank god I'm not the only blusher. Without another second to waste, Midorima turned on his heel and nearly stalked toward the door.

Unfortunately for him, Hana wasn't letting him get away so easily.

Propping her hand on her chin, she tried to remember the lessons Momoi taught her. They were more useful for guys like Kise and Aomine, but she could wing it. Besides, it didn't hurt to get a little bit of practice in before she took on the big guns. So, straightening her ponytail with her free hand, Hana put her plan into action.

"Hey, Midorima?" She called out before he could leave.

He peered at her over his shoulder, his hand barely touching the doorknob as his steps halted, "Yes?"

"You're my favorite," Hana's grin grew mischievous as his eyes went wide in surprise, "Just thought you should know."

His face went tight in surprise before pink bloomed on his ears. Hana didn't have to see the way his stare dragged over her face, she could damn well feel it. His focus had always been intense— always been a bit too much when combined with his intellect, but she didn't mind it right now.

"I— of course— yes," Midorima nodded once before nearly choking out, "Thank you, Imamura."

"You can call me Hana if you want," her lips quirked as his stuttering washed away in favor of incredulity, "You already did it once. I don't care, you know? Everyone else does it."

Oh man, this was fun. Hana could feel her heart beating as he stared at her, but for once, it wasn't overwhelming. Even as Midorima's green eyes narrowed behind his glasses in thinly veiled suspicion, she didn't feel that familiar drag of nerves he usually brought on. Who knew finally accepting those pain-in-the-ass feelings would come with that kind of benefit?

"I see," Midorima eventually managed, the response nearly lost as he spun on his heel and escaped through the exit, "… Thank you, Hana."

She chose to ignore the way he almost smacked his face into the door frame.


You guys came in clutch last chapter. I have never smiled so much reading reviews like I did last chapter. It really encouraged me to keep pushing through this beast of a story and give you all something you enjoy.

Next update is scheduled for 01/15 and it will include another review response shoutout.

Love you guys!