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Kuroo Tetsurou was bored. Like, extremely bored. He was now eight years old and already halfway through his elementary school career, but he had basically no friends. His older sister Riki didn't count.
The boys in his neighborhood were okay, they hadn't done anything wrong, but Kuroo just… didn't like them. They were fishy, looked like they'd be bullies.
A bit further along the afternoon, Kuroo was proved right. A lot of the kids he recognized were all stood inn a circle around a boy (or was it a girl? They didn't have very short hair like most boys here, but they didn't look much like a girl either). Kuroo had never seen him around before.
He looked very scrawny. When he saw one of the boys pick up a Nintendo ds from the ground and saw the small bit eyeing it, he concluded it was his and the other boys must've pushed him to the ground.
Kuroo gave himself a few seconds to feel triumphantic; he so had been right about the boys. Then he silently walked up to them and easily snatched the ds out of the hands of the biggest boy.
They were with five and Kuroo was alone, but he wasn't scared of them. He was always told he was big for his age and he once heard the girls from class talk to each other about how scary he looked. Plus, he was determined now. Determined to kick the bullies’ asses, save the day and (maybe) finally get a friend.
“Hey, what do you think you're doing ma- K-Kuroo?” the tallest boy (who was still a head shorter than him) said, quickly growing less confident when he saw Kuroo.
“I could ask you the same,” Kuroo sneered. “What are you doing?”
“Just playing around,” another boy said. Kuroo knew he was the oldest, even two years older than Kuroo. He was always told to respect your elders, but he decided this ‘elder’ didn't need his respect.
“Well, fun’s over,” he said, stretching his body out to appear even taller.
“Fine,” the oldest said, and grumbling to each other they walked away. Kuroo let out a huge, relieved breath he hadn't realized he was holding. That went a lot smoother then he'd expected it to go.
Then he turned around top the boy (girl?). He looked a bit like a… a cat? Yes, a cat, Kuroo thought. A small, baby cat. He looked very cute and cuddly.
Crouching down so he was on eye level with the boy, he handed him back his ds and flashed him a (what he hoped was friendly) smile.
“Hi there, kitten.”
The boy simply looked up at him with a neutral expression. “No.”
Kuroo wasn't sure if he'd heard that right. No?
"What?" he asked. Wasn't 'no' of of his soul lines? He didn't remember, but he also didn't want to take his eyes off the boy, afraid he'd run if he looked down to check.
"Don't call me kitten," he replied drily, standing up and turning his back to Kuroo.
"What can I call you then?" Kuroo eagerly asked. "I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, and I think you're new. I've never seen you around before, and I know everyone here."
"My mom and I moved here last week," the boy said. Kuroo only now noticed he talked very quietly and he was... blushing?
It looked cute, Kuroo wasn't complaining, but why? Had he been too forward again, already calling the new boy nicknames? Shit, Kuroo thought, I should really learn when to shut up someday. This is why I don't have friends. Or...
He quickly looked at his bare wrist. Three black lines. One was a simple "no".
"Can I- can I see your wrist?"
"Maybe later," the boy said shortly, almost cutting Kuroo off. "My... name is Kenma."
Kuroo immediately lit up and walked over, looking at Kenma's line(s) before he could protest.
"Ha!" Kuroo cheered triumphantically upon seeing his line along with two others. "Hi there, kitten."
Black. They were all black. Soulmates.
"You're stuck with me now, Kenma!"
"Fun," Kenma softly said, looking at the ground so his dark brown hair fell in front of his face.
Kuroo beamed. "Yeah! Can I call you kitten now?"
"No," Kenma said, but he did walk after Kuroo when he grabbed his wrist and started to walk to his house.
"Come on, I have a fun game I want to show you!
Finally, Kuroo thought. A friend.
*^*
The first time Kuroo met Bokuto and Akaashi, he had just turned eleven. It was in the nearest supermarket to his school, with his mom.
He had accidentally bumped into the boy (smaller than him) with the black curls, who stumbled and dropped a few coins from the force. Kuroo quickly picked them up and handed them to him.
He didn't want to lose sight of his mother, but then the boy said something to him and Kuroo also didn't want to be even more rude.
"Oya?" he just barely heard him say in a surprised tone.
The boy behind him turned around at an alarming speed, and all Kuroo could think was hey, he's almost as tall as me before the boy blinked and blurted out "oya oya?"
A smirk grew on Kuroo's face. There was number two. "Oya oya oya!" he then couldn't help saying. It was too good of an opportunity, he couldn't just pass it up.
The yall boy's eyes widened. He reminded Kuroo of an owl, with how big his eyes were. They were also a very cool color. Almost... gold?
"Bro!" the boy yelled.
"Hey," Kuroo said, smiling smugly. "I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, you?"
"Bokuto!" he yelled in response. "I'm Bokuto Koutarou, and we're soulmates right?"
"We are!" Kuroo enthusiastically said. "But... I already have another, so I-"
Bokuto's face grew very sad for a second, until the other boy whispered something in his ear. Did Bokuto also already have a soulmate? But just a single "oya" was not one of Kuroo's soul lines, so he wasn't Kuroo's other soulmate.
His third soul line was a lot longer, with his soulmate insulting his hair. He couldn't help it that he had a terrible bedhead that would never listen to him.
"Oh, right!" Bokuto then exclaimed, clearly all cheered up again. He shoved his wrist (almost) in Kuroo's face, showing him not one, not two, but three lines. All black.
Just like him. And Kenma.
Kuroo gasped. "Maybe you and Kenma match too!"
"Kenma?" Bokuto asked.
"My other soulmate," Kuroo explained. "We met, I think... I don't know, a few years ago. I was eight, I think. So three years. He's really nice, and he looks a bit like a kitten. We both have three lines too!"
"Woah!" Bokuto said (loudly) in wonder. "Then maybe we all match! Well, not 'Kaashi, he only has one line, but you and me and Kenma!"
"'Kaashi?"
"That would be me," the smaller boy said softly, but he spoke with a clear voice. "I'm Akaashi Keiji, and before you worry, I'm not matched to Bokuto. We're just friends."
"Yeah!" Bokuto yelled again. Hm. He'd have to tell Kenma about this. Kuroo wasn't sure he'd appreciate how loud Bokuto was.
"I've known him since he was born, 'cause I'm a year older."
"Tetsu?" he then heard his mother call out somewhere behind him. "Are you coming, we're leaving."
"Oh, right!" he said. He'd completely forgotten about his mom.
He luckily found a pen in his pocket and managed to fish it out. He quickly wrote the e-mail address he'd created a little while ago on both Akaashi's and Bokuto's hands and ran off.
"Bye!" he heard Bokuto say behind him, and he quickly waved over his shoulder before taking his mother's hand and following her to the register.
"Mom," he started when they were on their way back home, "did you see the boy with that big eyes and the spiked hair? He's my soulmate!"
He saw his mother's eyes widen and frowned lightly. Was there a problem?
"Wasn't Kenma already your soulmate?"
"Yeah," Kuroo said, tracing the multiple lines on his wrist. "But you know I have more lines, right? You've seen them!"
"That's true," she said, smiling at him. "I just didn't expect for you to find them all so soon, I only found your dad when I was almost thirty."
"Oh, but they weren't both my soulmates," Kuroo quickly corrected, "only the bigger one, Bokuto. Akaashi only had one line."
"So it's polyamorous..." he heard his mother mumble. "How lucky."
He looked at her and was shocked by the sad look he found in her eyes. "Mom, what does that mean exactly, poly- polyamorous? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
His mother sent him a sad smile. "It's a good thing, Tetsu. Don't worry. Well, not everyone thinks that, especially since you have it with boys, but it's a happier thing.
It means... Well, in your case it means you have multiple boys who are soulmates with you and each other as well, so everyone is matched. If nothing goes wrong, you can be in a relationship with three other people when you're older."
"And... what's the other thing?" he asked cautiously.
"The other thing... That's when you have more soulmates after the first. Then, if the first leaves you or... or dies, then you'll know you have another. It's not a very happy thing, though, because then you know the first will leave in some way. I also had another, first. She... she died in a car accident, two years before I met your dad."
It was silent for a while. "Oh," Kuroo then breathed out. "I didn't know that."
After a bit of thinking, he still had another question. "But... what if Bokuto and Kenma don't match? Does that mean that I'll lose Kenma?"
"Oh no, honey," his mom said, ruffling his hair. "I'm sure they'll match, you won't lose Kenma. I promise. And you won't lose Bokuto either."
"Okay," Kuroo said. He didn't feel assured.
*^*
He'd played and e-mailed with Bokuto and Akaashi a few times now, and had also played at Bokuto's house once. Today, Bokuto was coming to play at his house and he'd secretly invited Kenma too.
His mother's words hadn't fully managed to assure him, so he wanted to test it today, if they matched. Both Kenma and Bokuto didn't know the other would be there, though Kuroo had told them both more about the other.
Bokuto had immediately said he wanted to meet Knema, so he could help him with some of his games. To this Kenma had reacted that it was fine fine and Bokuto could come to Kuroo's one day. Today was that day.
Kuroo and Kenma were just lying around on Kuroo's bed, Kenma playing one of his games and Kuroo watching over his shoulder, when the doorbell rang.
Kuroo bolted upright and pulled Kenma along to open it., and as he opened the door he immediately shoved Kenma forward.
"Bo, this is Kenma! Kenma, Bokuto."
Bokuto gasped loudly and he also stepped forward. "Oh my god!" he then exclaimed."Kuroo was right! You're so cute, like a baby kitten!
A relieved sigh left Kuro's mouth as he felt Kenma tense up.
"You're standing on my foot," Kenma said drily in return, and Kuroo felt like crying. They matched. The three of them matched, and Kuroo wouldn't be losing anyone.
"So," he casually said, not wanting to show them how extremely relieved he was. Kenma noticed, of course, but Bokuto excitedly turned to him.
"Kuroo, we match!" he yelled.
"I know," Kuroo said smiling. "I noticed, but what I wanted to say; who's number four?"
Bokuto stilled again. Frowned. It was silent for a minute. "I don't know, man," Bokuto then said. "But we'l find them for sure!"
*^*
They ended up comparing their fourth line and coming up with possible meeting-scenarios all day, but the lines were so different from each other it was impossible to pinpoint a time, age or place.
Kuroo's exact line was "and your hair is even worse than your flirting".
Kuroo didn't even properly know what flirting meant, but Bokuto's and Kenma's were even worse, with cursing. Bokuto's was "can you please shut the fuck up?" and Kenma's "how the fuck do I get them to stop?"
Now Kuroo knew why Kenma's mom had always insisted (and proceeded to do so herself if he didn't) that Kenma should always cover up his mark; she didn't want Kenma (or other kids) to start cursing because of his line. Not that Kenma interacted with many people for them to even see his line, but still.
Kuroo at least knew they'd be older when they met them, probably high school or even later. When Kuroo knew what flirting was and kids were no longer afraid of saying bad words.
*^*
Once Kuroo and Bokuto had gotten into high school (different ones because Nekoma was closer for Kuroo and Fukurodani was Bokuto's best option) they started searching for their fourth person. Kuroo flirted endlessly and as annoyingly as possible with everyone he met (for the first time), but he never got the right response. Bokuto was already loud, but not many people dared tell him to shut up since he'd started to gain quite some muscles once puberty hit (not knowing that Bokuto wouldn't hurt a fly without bawling his eyes out).
In their second year, Kenma followed Kuroo to Nekoma and Akaashi (who had also become a very close friend to them all those years ago) followed Bokuto to Fukurodani to 'keep an eye on him'.
No one ever spoke to Kenma, and Bokuto and Kuroo still booked no success.
The three of them officially became a thing (was it called a couple when you were with three?) halfway through Kuroo's second year, and he and Bokuto (and even Kenma and Akaashi) made new friends on their volleyball teams; Yaku, Kai, Yamamoto, Komi, Fukunaga, Konoha, Sarukui, Washio...
But no fourth soulmate.
In Kuroo's and Bokuto's first year of university, they moved in together in a big enough apartment for four people, always hoping. Always looking.
Of course it was great with the three of them, but they all felt the missing part. Even when Kenma joined them in the apartment a year later, it didn't feel right. Not completely.
The couch was just too big, the bed too empty. Bokuto and Kuroo both liked to be the big spoon, Kenma (when he felt like cuddling) liked being the little spoon more. There was always one person missing. No one fell out of the loop or was a third wheel, it just wasn't complete.
*^*
When Akaashi told them he'd found his soulmate, they were all ecstatic. They had teased him a lot for his line before, but Kuroo was secretly very relieved and happy was Ennoshita Chikara and who his friends would be together with for the rest of his life (hopefully).
Ennoshita Chikara was a nice man, good for Akaashi (plus they looked super pretty together). Kuroo was already happy he wasn't some creep, which they'd all been afraid of. Of course, if it'd been a creep, they'd still have been Akaashi's destined lover, but still. It was nice to know Akaashi also had a good person.
But, if Kuroo had to be honest- he was also sad. It had been so much easier for Akaashi to be complete. Just one person. Kuroo had already sought out two, but they still needed one more. They had been looking for so long, for that one person, just like Akaashi, ut Akaashi had found his and they still hadn't. Still weren't complete.
Kuroo wished they'd just come find them already (or the other way around of course, like they'd been trying to do for almost eight years now).
He wished the day would come soon.
*^*
When Akaashi told them he'd found their soulmate, they were out of their minds with happiness and shock. They couldn't really believe it when Akaashi told them he'd left their numbers and names with him and had said he wanted to meet them one day. Even Kenma showed his (usually hidden) enthusiasm to everyone that day.
They kept asking Akaashi and Ennoshita (since their soulmate appeared to be an old teammate of Ennoshita) for news about him, but all they told them was that he was now in his third year of high school, almost eighteen years old and just as tall as Kuroo, if not taller. They couldn't wait to hear from him.
*^*
When he first contacted them, they could not believe their eyes and almost forgot to reply out of shock. They talked for a bit. Kuroo cried. Bokuto was dead silent the entire evening. Kenma kept softly ranting to himself and fidgeting.
They were happy.
*^*
he hesitated for a second. was this the right decision? yes, go surprise and meet your soulmates, his heart yelled. yes, the education program is excellent, his head said. yes, this was a good decision.
so he applied.
*^*
When Akaashi told them a few months later, three weeks into Kuroo's third year, that he was right there, in their university's library, where entrance was only allowed for actual students at their university, they were so happy they couldn't think straight.
Akaashi had to keep them (Kuroo and Bokuto) from running around the library, assaulting everyone for a look at their wrists. Instead, he pointed to a lanky, blond, pissed off looking, beautiful young man with glasses, sitting at a table by the window, studying.
He came to our university, was all Kuroo could think. Then Bokuto was gone, and Kuroo quickly grabbed Kenma to follow him. He knew Bokuto's soul line was pretty harsh, and he couldn't (didn't want to have to) stop him from shutting down. Plus, the boy (Akaashi and Ennoshita had been stubborn and mean enough to not tell them his name) looked very angry, tired, cranky... Name it. He was not in a good mood.
Probably got a bit too much on his plate in his first month of uni.
"Hey hey hey!" he heard Bokuto yell, and damn it, it was too late to tell him this was a good moment to try be a bit more tactful than usual. "Can I please see your soul lines?"
The boy (man, really) looked up, right at Bokuto and glared. Hard.
It was a deadly glare, so cold it made Kuroo shake in his shoes. Almost. Because damn, he was beautiful. His eyes were a golden brown, his face all sharp angles. But his hair, oh god. His hair looked so, so soft.
"Can you please shut the fuck up?" he said in a grave, angry, (cute) tone. It was wonderful to finally hear their (or at least Bokuto's) fourth soulmate. His voice was like roses; beautiful, gentle, soft, but sharp as a knife when addressed wrongly(and Bokuto was pretty damn tactless there).
Kuroo quickly took Bokuto's place as he swooned, eyes filling quickly with happy tears at a high speed"Now, now, sweetheart," Kuroo said, his voice slightly thick with pent up emotions. "You're way too pretty to be so mean." He didn't have to wait much longer after that for the sentence he'd longer for for eight years.
"And your hair is even worse than your flirting," the boy fired back, and that's what did it. Kuroo burst out crying, and he joined Bokuto in his happy-wailing fest. The boy looked exasperated, but he was smiling. So was Kenma, as he kept looking at the boy with his pretty, cat-like eyes.
"How the fuck do I get them to stop?" the boy asked Kenma, loud enough so Bokuto and Kuroo could hear it.
Kenma's voice was a bit shaky as well as he sealed it. "Kiss them. Works every time for me."
And he did. And went to Bokuto. Came back. He went back and forth a few times, before he hugged Kenma closely. He was also blinking back tears (aggressively), Kuroo noticed as he wiped his own away.
"My name is Tsukishima Kei," the boy - Tsukishima - no, Kei, said. Kuroo heard his voice was also a bit thick.Bokuto and he walked over to them and completed the cuddle pile, in the middle of the library, not caring about the looks they were getting.
They were so wrapped in each other, telling each other small nonsense about themselves, they didn't even notice the whistling or clapping from the people who understood what had happened here. They stood there a few blissful minutes, then stepped away and left to walk. They had a lot to fill Tsukishima in on, and Kuroo didn't doubt Tsukishima had enough to tell them about himself too.
*^*
A few months later, Kuroo found himself in his (earlier so empty) apartment, crawling in bed with three other people. They'd bought an extra bed and pushed the two together. There was enough space to accommodate the four (quite large) men. Still they slept close together, holding tight, not letting go of each other until one of them had to leave first in the morning.
Silent "I love you"s were exchanged, small and sweet goodnight and good morning kisses, delivered by Koutarou, as per usual.
The bed was full, their hearts fuller.
They were complete.