Title: Of Awkward Friendships
Words: 3,058
Notes: Written for Week 1 of the Kuroko no Basuke Secret Santa on Tumblr. My partner was lostsunsets.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kuroko no Basuke.

-x-

It started with that short moment.

Fiery crimson orbs met bright peach in surprise. Shock was plastered on both teenagers' faces. When it finally wore off, they were left with nothing but awkward silence. The man, because he didn't know what to say towards a girl without offending her. He always viewed them as delicate creatures to be treated with care, but with his personality... He was certain he scared off the other sex most of the time. It had happened before after all. On the other hand, the female was just embarrassed. She figured the other was probably wondering why she was alone on this joyful night, in which everyone was busy celebrating with their friends, family, or lover.

Despite how clueless he may have been regarding most matters, he definitely didn't miss the sadness that briefly flashed across the female's eyes before quickly disappearing. Forcing a smile, the female asked, "What are you doing here alone, Kagamin?"

He grimaced at the nickname. "It's Kagami. And I can ask you just the same... Uh, Momoi-san...right?" He only remembered that the girl was Kuroko's ex-girlfriend, or something along those lines anyway.

Huffing, the girl puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "That's mean of you, Kagamin, not remembering my name."

"Geh!" He flinched back in response, not just because he might've insulted the girl but also because of that accursed nickname again. Flustered, he begun uttering out an apology, when he saw the cheeky smile that graced Momoi's lips. She was mocking him!

At that realisation, he was about to say something crude but stopped himself in time. Instead, he chose to release a big sigh and apologised just for the sake of it. You know, in case Momoi did feel insulted but was just that good at hiding it. At least that was how Kagami reasoned with himself.

Giggling, Momoi waved him off. "I was just joking, Kagamin."

"Oh," he started lamely, "good," and finished just as lamely. He felt like banging his head against the wall at this point.

The two lapsed into silence as soon as their conversation ended. Kagami stood awkwardly towards the side, unsure of what to do. Momoi, on the other hand, continued sitting on the wooden bench facing the beautiful Christmas tree, lit up with many different colours of Christmas lights, tinsels and baubles, in the middle of the town square. She stared at the couples surrounding the pine tree, and a quick look at her expression told Kagami that she was envious of them.

Coughing, he brought Momoi's attention back to him. He didn't know why, but he didn't like that expression on her face. Heck, no one deserved to be wearing that expression on such a joyous night.

Momoi stared curiously at him. Scratching his red head, he quickly thought of something to say.

"Erm... You never answered my question." When Momoi simply raised a pink eyebrow at him, he clarified, "Why are you alone?"

The change was immediate. Momoi suddenly went from neutral, curious, or whatever the heck she had been feeling to glum. Shit! He did it again! He wasn't sure what he had said wrong though.

"Uh..." Snapping out of his internal self-reprimanding session, he turned back to the female. When Momoi noticed the red head had his full attention back to her, she continued. "I usually spend Christmas with Dai-chan—ah, Dai-chan is Aomine-kun—but this year..."

She paused there and Kagami felt that something was off once again.

"This year...?" He continued pushing anyway.

"...This year, Dai-chan's spending Christmas with someone very special to him." She managed a smile, but everything about it screamed wrongwrongwrong to Kagami. Despite smiling, it didn't reach her eyes. It was a contradiction, really. Smiles were supposed to represent happiness. However, her eyes showed nothing but sadness, loneliness, jealousy.

Whoa. Kagami was a little unsure about the bitterness he saw in those pink orbs. Because didn't Momoi like Kuroko? If so, there was no need for the other to be jealous over another girl being with Aomine. Or maybe the girl actually liked Aomine after all, like he suggested once before (in which he made her cry at the time)?

Now uncomfortable, Kagami tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "No way! That Ahomine managed to get a girl?!"

It probably wasn't very smart of him, especially when there was a chance Momoi was upset precisely because Aomine had a girlfriend. But hey, he wasn't thinking properly at the time. He had just wanted to ease up the atmosphere.

"Ah..." Just from that soft gasp, Kagami already knew he did wrong once again. Laughing awkwardly, Momoi brushed her fingers through her pink locks in an attempt to distract herself. "Yeah..." she confirmed. "With Tetsu-kun."

Silence ensued.

For one, Kagami thought he might've misheard. No, he definitely misheard. He thought he heard the other say 'Tetsu-kun' for a moment, but there was no way, right? Aomine was a pervert who kept talking about big breasts and curves. Kuroko didn't have any of that.

When the name finally registered in his head, however, he let out a—

"What?!"

—high pitched screech.

All heads in the town square turned his way and he growled back at them in embarrassment, his cheeks flushed a beautiful red rivalling his hair.

Well, if Aomine and Kuroko were currently together, it explained many things. Like why Kuroko wasn't present at the Seirin Basketball Club's Christmas party. Kuroko had politely declined the invitation and only said, "I'm sorry, but I've already made plans with an important friend." Everyone had merely accepted that, and so Kuroko was the only member absent from the party. Kagami was on his way home from said party when he encountered Momoi.

Glancing at the aforementioned from his peripheral vision, he understood why the girl was so gloomy now. Her childhood friend and her crush were currently together, spending Christmas as lovers. Ouch. That must've hurt. Momoi was doing her best to be happy for her childhood (and probably best) friend. Yet it must've been difficult to cheer for him when the person he liked was also the person she liked.

A sharp sound of sneezing alerted him, snapping him out of his musings. Turning back to Momoi, he noticed her arms crossed, her hands frantically rubbing her upper arms.

In a moment of complete bizarreness, the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Do you want to come over to my house?"

When he realised what he had said (and Momoi's disbelieving stare, he was certain that would bore holes through his head), he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, you seem cold and my house is close so..." He was complete red in the face, on par with a tomato. Kagami knew if his team mates were there to witness this whole fiasco, they would've been cracking up.

Breaking into a grin at Kagami's thoughtfulness, Momoi was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to tease the boy again. After all, it made it difficult not to when he was bright red, even the tips of his ears were tinted pink and the blush reached all the way to his neck. It was amusing observing this man. He had so many similarities with Aomine, yet he was so sweet in comparison. Of course Aomine also had his own thoughtfulness and showed them in only rare occasions, and Momoi figured that was also one of the reasons why Kuroko liked him, but as mentioned, they only happened minimally.

"Yes, I'd love that."

The smile that graced Momoi's lips at that moment was full of sincerity. It nearly blew Kagami's mind away. Kagami liked this expression on her more than the one that donned her face previously. While he knew it wasn't Kuroko's fault for liking Aomine as one simply couldn't choose who they liked, Kagami believed Kuroko deserved a little punishment. If anything, a punishment for not telling him about his relationship with Aomine or that he was gay.

Don't get him wrong. Kagami didn't have anything against homosexuals. While Kuroko decided to remain discreet about his sexuality and his relationship, Kagami would respect his decision. However, that wouldn't stop him from teasing the boy later on, now that he's found out. (Later on, he'd regret his decision of teasing his blue-haired partner, for the other gave him too much information on details he'd much rather not have heard.)

The walk to his house was quiet, only filled with small talks here and there. Kagami much preferred this comfortable silence over the awkward silence they had at the town square though.

Reaching his apartment, they entered and Kagami immediately situated Momoi on the sofa, turning the television for entertainment as he prepared their drinks. Upon returning back to the lounge room with their hot cocoa, he noticed Momoi had curled up into a ball, a cushion hugged against her chest, and the television turned off. She looked so crest fallen. It kind of brought out the protective urges within Kagami.

At that thought, he nearly banged his head against his wall. Where the hell had that came from?

Clearing his throat, not only to alert Momoi of his presence but also the erase that disturbing thought, Kagami approached the girl who remained curled up on the sofa. He had simply placed her cup of cocoa on the glass low-table a metre away from them, and sat uneasily next to her still form.

The silence continued to stretch. Kagami was nearly at the wits of pulling at his hair, when Momoi suddenly spoke up, her voice soft, the words barely reaching his ears.

"I'm a bad friend..."

Arching an eyebrow, the red head asked, "Why do you say that?"

Another muttering of words. "Dai-chan and Tetsu-kun are finally happy together, but here I am sulking. I should be cheering them on, but I'm feeling so conflicted... Dai-chan even asked me if I was all right with him going out with Tetsu-kun... He knew that I'd be hurt."

Well, that certainly was a surprise. Or maybe not so much, after he contemplated over it. Considering the two were childhood friends, Aomine was bound to care about her to some extent despite his attitude being that of a jerk's...right?

He thought about what to say. Damn it! Giving love advice wasn't his forte! All he had in his mind was basketball, food, and more basketball. There was never any room for love in his heart.

Sighing, he scratched at his head. Well, he might as well just get this over and done with, right? Of course he wouldn't just spout nonsense though. Momoi was bearing herself wholly for him. It wouldn't have done her justice if he replied with half-hearted words.

"I... don't think it's wrong to be feeling that way," he started, feeling uncomfortable the moment the first word escaped his lips. Momoi remained in her position, merely waiting for him to elaborate or maybe she was ignoring him, rejecting his words. After all, she had no reason to be listening to him either, right? They barely knew each other. Kagami would worry about that later though.

"Aomine asked you for permission because he knew you liked Kuroko. He might be a jack ass, but he cares about you." Kagami wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore. Heck, he knew little to nothing about Aomine except negative things. It felt kind of weird to be sort of complimenting him for once.

"When you gave your permission... He probably knew you were feeling conflicted. However, you did your best to support him anyway. I'm not Aomine, but... He probably respects you for that."

Was it possible to feel any more awkward than they were? Apparently it was as the silence resumed. Taking a deep breath, Kagami continued.

"Despite liking the same person as your best friend, you didn't scream at him, didn't hate him, didn't break off your friendship. Instead, you did your best to smile, did your best to encourage him, did your best to remain strong..."

He wasn't even sure where he was going anymore. All he knew was that he had to keep talking, keep pushing at it, keep convincing Momoi it's all right to feel depressed. That it's all right to cry.

"You're a good friend."

When the first sob broke through the silence, Kagami thought he was mishearing things. Had he finally reached her?

"A-am I really?" she stuttered out in broken syllables. "Dai-chan doesn't... h-hate me?"

He couldn't resist a snort at this. Combing his fingers through streams of pink locks, he replied, "Idiot." The insult was said half-heartedly, if anything, it was kind of endearing. "There's no way he'd hate you. Aomine's a dumbass, but he knows a good friend when he meets one." A pause. "Probably. Can't say for sure since he's stupid, but if he hates you then he's damn well undeserving of you."

A soft giggle mixed in with the sobs as Kagami mocked his rival. The red head couldn't help the small smile that tugged on his lips when he heard the sound.

Pushing herself upright, Momoi turned her head away and wiped her tears with the sleeves of her sweater. Kagami assumed she didn't want him to see her tears. But that was fine. It was best to make her as comfortable as she could possibly be.

When she directed her gaze at him, Kagami was speechless for a moment. The skin around her eyes were puffy, swollen from crying too much and her fierce rubbing, and her eyes were red. Despite all that, the most beautiful smile graced her lips. The sincere smile previously nearly blew his mind away, but the smile current adorning Momoi's lips... That angelic smile had Kagami's eyes widening, his heart thumping loudly against his ribcage.

Shit... This was bad... It couldn't possibly have been love, right...?

Laughing awkwardly, he brushed it off. Of course not, there was no such thing as love at first sight. He firmly disagreed with that saying. To fall in love at first sight meant falling in love with someone's appearance, right? That just didn't seem right at all. Then again, as he mentioned before, no one had a choice in who they fell in love with. If your heart liked the person, they liked the person. That was that.

He was cut off from his inner turmoil as Momoi wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into his neck.

"Thanks Kagamin."

It was that accursed nickname again, but he couldn't help but blush beat red this time. Or maybe it was due to her sincere gratitude? No, obviously not, albeit her gratitude did make him feel a little embarrassed. The distance, or lack of, was evidently what had his mind reeling!

Unsure of what to do, he had his hands held up behind her. It was just hanging in mid-air, uncertain of whether to hold her back or...well, at least do something. They were interrupted by a beeping sound though. Momoi, who instantly recognised it came from her cell phone, whipped out the device, staring intently at the screen.

Suddenly standing up on her feet, Momoi shocked the red head with a loud screech. "Ahh!" Shaking his head to clear out the ringing in his ears, he asked what was wrong. She beamed at him. "Dai-chan said he wants to spend the rest of Christmas Eve with me!"

Relieved that she was back in high spirits, Kagami managed a small smile back. "That's good. I'm assuming he's done with Kuroko then?"

At the mention of her crush's name, she marginally deflated again. The red head was already internally berating himself for his stupidity, but Momoi surprised him with another smile. It was tinted with a little sadness, but she remained strong.

"Yeah, probably."

She was already re-wrapping her scarf around her neck. When she reached the door, Kagami following behind her, she said, "I...don't think I can get over this any time soon." An awkward laugh followed afterwards. "But I'll do my best! Dai-chan and Tetsu-kun have finally reconciled and everything, after all, and are now happy so I'll be happy for them too!"

Stepping out, she whirled around, her hair flowing in an arc at the movement, another smile on her lips again. Kagami was once more mesmerised by her beauty.

"Thanks Kagamin!" It was the same words as just a moment ago, but he was blushing a deep red once again. It wasn't even due to the lack of distance this time as they were several feet apart. And he didn't even grimace at the nickname anymore. In fact, he kind of liked the sound of it coming from her lips.

As she turned to walk down the stairs, Kagami stopped her, his hand quickly latching around her wrist. Surprised by his own actions, he immediately let go. Momoi was staring at him curiously.

"Erm..." C'mon, an excuse... Quickly! "Cell phone!" he screamed out, shocking Momoi. "Could I please have your number?"

And that sounded like he was hitting on her. Damn. He swore his face was burning at that moment. From Momoi's laughs, he had no doubt about it.

"I actually already have Kagamin's number."

He was about to ask how, when he realised it was probably due to her information network. He wasn't going to push for anything more than that, though, not wanting to know anything about her network.

"Oh," he could only manage dumbly. "Then, um... Call me if you ever need to talk."

"Only if I need to talk?" Was he hearing things wrongly again? She nearly sounded disappointed.

"Of course you can call any time! Even if it's just about nothing in general."

Boy, was this awkward. It nearly seemed like they were in the process of becoming friends and then eventually dating. Wait, process of becoming friends? Would it have been safe to assume they were already friends?

"Then I'm going!"

"Ah! Wait!" Stopping her for the second time, he clumsily stepped down the stairs before her. "I'll walk you there. It's unsafe for a girl to be out alone at this time."

Watching as another smile lit up that angelic face, Kagami decided it was fine. Even if they weren't friends yet, they'd make it happen in the near future.