A/N: Of course, I couldn't stay away for too long. I really appreciate all the feedback and reviews I received after I posted the last chapter for this though! You guys are so sweeeeet. And, to clear up any misunderstandings, it is not Momoi-chan's birthday today (but it will be in exactly a month!). Anyway, this story has to do with the green sweater Momoi is often seen wearing. I found myself thinking one day, "what if it was dai-chan who gave it to her as a present?" and then this came about.

title: happy birthday, idiot
rating: k
themes: birthday, sweater, pre-teikou/teikou (?)

A short sigh passes through his lips as he stares at the piece of clothing situated in his lap, crudely folded up into a messy ball. The fabric is soft, and the inside of the sweater is warm and soothing, but he still can't help but feel that it just isn't enough.

Aomine Daiki has taken multiple wrong turns in his life. However, as he stares down at the soft jacket in his hands, he realizes that this might just be his worst misstep.

He is a prankster. He relishes in the feeling of watching the ridiculed faces of others, especially when it comes it her. But he had quickly realized that the thing in his lap was going to be her birthday present; that he would be presenting her with a stupid, utterly pathetic joke on her own special day of birth.

The idea had been initially appealing; giving her a sweater the same color as frogs, the creatures she despised so much. He thought he could casually hand it to her, and then laugh when she made a face of disgust. As he thought about it though, it struck him that actually he didn't want to play a prank on her on her own birthday. He knew his morals weren't that bad.

Frowning, he tosses the green sweater into his closet and slams it shut, deciding that it might as well just stay in there forever.

Of course, it isn't long before she discovers the abandoned gift herself. Two days after her birthday, two days after he had presented her with a half-eaten bag of BBQ flavored potato chips, she's roaming around his room, as always. He's loitering around on his bed and the fact that the sweater is in his closet is completely forgotten.

"Dai-chan, this isn't yours, is it?"

He sits up abruptly at that question and throws his magazine to the floor, because he realizes that there is nothing else she could be asking about except the frog-colored sweater. Aomine turns, and there she is, holding up the crumpled article of clothing, looking curious. It's apparent that she can tell that it doesn't belong to him, judging by the size of it.

"…It's not," he finally answers back after seeing her tilt her head to the side. He watches as her fingers gingerly rub against the fabric, and as she places the cloth on her cheek, before smiling fondly.

"It's warm," the pink-haired girl informs him with a hum. He gazes at her before clearing his throat and looking away, picking up the magazine that had fallen to the floor. He leans back into his pillows to resume his "reading," and leaves her to her activity. The sweater is hers, after all.

"…Dai-chan, you…" He hears her mutter, and his heart practically stops beating when another particular tidbit comes flowing back into his memory. The young teen pulls his magazine down to see her standing directly in front of him, holding out the sweater. She's showing him the tag, and he can just feel the heat rising up his neck and onto his face.

The words Happy Birthday, Idiot, are messily scrawled onto the tag in permanent, black marker, and she's standing there with a questioning look in her eyes. His mouth hesitantly opens to say something before quickly closing again. Finally, he pushes the piece of clothing back towards her, deciding not to speak as he stubbornly snaps his gaze away.

When Aomine looks back, Momoi is smiling brightly, and the sweater is already zipped up and snug around her tiny body. He blushes even more, because he knows that she has understood, but most of all, because she is happy.

Her smile is simply idiotic in his eyes, and he draws his magazine back up to his face. He realizes that she probably hasn't figured out the story behind the color of the sweater she is wearing, and the faint murmur of, "Stupid," is heard, followed by a short chuckle.

A/N: It's really, really short. And I probably won't be posting here again in a very, very long time, so I apologize for that. I just happened to type this up, posted it to tumblr, and then decided to transfer it here. Which, reminds me... There is a link on my profile page to the one shots and drabbles I post to tumblr. They currently consist of only Kagakuro and Aomomo, so it's really up to you if you want to check those out or not~ I also post new drabbles there once in a while, so check often if you'd like~

As for multi-chap fics, I'm currently on a hiatus for this site because of upcoming AP tests and finals, but I'll also be graduating, so hopefully I will have a lot more time to write after all of that! Until then, I will leave you with this~