Work Text:
1.
It’s stupid how his laugh resonates against the silence of the night, but it’s too soon yet to blame The Night for staring a bit too much. At least, that’s how Kuroo feels when he sees Bokuto throw back his head in open laughter, laughing so hard that the whites of his teeth reflect in the moonlight. “You’re a real riot, Kuroo!”
“Of course I am,” Kuroo says quietly, looking away from Bokuto’s brilliant radiance. His eyes drop to the ground and he picks at some of the grass. “Glad you think so too.”
“You’re the funniest guy I know!” Bokuto agrees and to prove his point, he heartily slaps Kuroo on the back repeatedly. He’s being way too loud for the middle of the night, even if they are a good ways away from the training camp gyms and classrooms. “But you know, somebody might get the wrong idea if you joke like that.”
Kuroo raises his eyebrow and leans close to his buddy, practically resting his chin on Bokuto’s shoulder. In a goading tone, he challenges: “Oh yeah?”
Firstly Bokuto shrugs Kuroo off his shoulder, and then he smirks, taking on a sharp, nearly seductive edge. Kuroo swallows thickly; the person in front of him isn’t Bokuto, not the one he knows anyway. Bokuto’s face is suddenly a lot closer than it was seconds ago, and the glint in his eyes is bright and piercing. “Yeah. But I love you, Kuroo.”
Kuroo feels his cheeks widen at the same time his chest tightens with a warmth like no other. His face is hot and his eyelashes begin to flutter and Kuroo closes the space between them. Bokuto’s lips are dry and chapped, a bit rough from where he’s bitten them during practice games, but it’s everything Kuroo’s dreamed of. When Kuroo rests a palm on Bokuto’s cheek, Bokuto rests his hand on top of Kuroo’s.
They part just as quickly as they came together, Bokuto smiling just like he was moments ago, like nothing between them ever happened. “See? Something like that. Wouldn’t that be weird? You’re lucky you have me. I’d never judge you like that, dude.”
“Definitely,” Kuroo says, a bit choked, as he separates from Bokuto in the way they started. He hugs his knees to his chest and does his best to smile. Of all the ways he expected Bokuto to react to Kuroo’s brief confession of, “hey, Bokuto, I think I’m in love with you,” that isn’t what he expected.
-
2.
It’s stupid how his laugh resonates against the silence of the night, but it’s too soon yet to blame The Night for staring a bit too much. At least, that’s how Kuroo feels when he sees Bokuto throw back his head in open laughter, laughing so hard that the whites of his teeth reflect in the moonlight. “You’re a real riot, Kuroo!”
“You think it’s funny too, right?” Kuroo hooks an arm around Bokuto’s shoulders and pulls him close enough to rest his chin on Bokuto’s forehead. Bokuto shifts beneath him, snaking both of his arms around Kuroo to pull their bodies flush, and Kuroo breathes happily against Bokuto’s warmth in the chilly night breeze. “I thought so. Can you believe nobody laughed when I tried it on Kenma earlier?”
“Major let down,” Bokuto agrees. He pulls away after a squeeze but his hands remain on Kuroo, messing up his hair as he grinds his knuckles into Kuroo’s head. “I would laugh twice as hard to make up for them, but instead I’ll give you a noogie.”
“I think you already laughed twice as hard for them,” Kuroo says with a bat of his hand to move Bokuto’s hands away, “but thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Always.” Bokuto reaches out and grabs Kuroo’s hand. It makes Kuroo’s heartbeat skip, even if Bokuto’s doing nothing more than holding it like he’d hold anybody else’s. “I always got your back, Kuroo.”
Kuroo grins back at the Bokuto’s easy smile, all the more beautiful in the pale moonlight. (Because he doesn’t want to acknowledge that it might be his brain sending him Bokuto-is-extra-pretty-tonight signals throughout his entire body.) “How would you react? If I said it. To you.”
Bokuto’s grin drops a bit, but Kuroo doesn’t mind because Kuroo knows it to be a sign that Bokuto’s considering what he said seriously. “You mean if you said, ‘hey, Bokuto, I think I’m in love with you,’ completely out of nowhere?”
“Yeah.”
“You already did though,” Bokuto points out in a laugh.
“Yeah,” Kuroo says, muttering, “don’t be a smartass,” under his breath while bumping his shoulder against Bokuto’s, “but if I meant it…?”
Bokuto closes his eyes, puckers his lips out, and hums exaggeratedly, a parody of critical thinking. “You’re great, Kuroo. You’re cool and funny and I like you. I don’t know. Maybe… Maybe I’d say it back?”
“Cool,” Kuroo says quietly, holding Bokuto’s hand and giving it a squeeze under the moonlight.
-
3.
It’s stupid how his laugh resonates against the silence of the night, but it’s too soon yet to blame The Night for staring a bit too much. At least, that’s how Kuroo feels when he sees Bokuto throw back his head in open laughter, laughing so hard that the whites of his teeth reflect in the moonlight. “You’re a real riot, Kuroo!”
“Hey I mean it!” Kuroo squawks back defensively, punching Bokuto’s shoulder for good measure. Joke’s on Kuroo: Bokuto’s shoulder is just as thick as the rest of him, and it makes Kuroo’s knuckles hurt more than Bokuto’s shoulder. “Don’t make fun of my sincere confession!”
“Whoa, uh… Your what?” Bokuto asks eloquently, his cheeks flushing. It’s too dark to see for sure, but Kuroo can tell that Bokuto’s blushing as thickly as Kuroo is now. “For real?”
“Yeah.” Kuroo squirms beneath Bokuto’s scrutinizing gaze. Sure, Bokuto’s adorable when he’s caught off guard and blushing like that, but Kuroo can’t help but be uncomfortable by the sudden suspicion in his best friend’s voice, the way his eyebrows are bent almost in hurt. “I like you. A lot. I might be a little in love with you too?”
“You’re not just saying that?” Bokuto asks again, like he can’t believe it. He throws his head back but it isn’t in laughter, letting out an annoyed roar and scratching his head in frustration with both hands. “Aww man! Was I too obvious or something? Wait, wait.” He ends up slamming them on the ground between the space between him and Kuroo. “This really isn’t a joke?”
Kuroo swallows and know it’s now or never. “No joke.”
“Kuroo,” Bokuto whispers, soft and quiet. He crawls over on all fours until he’s right in front of Kuroo. The way he’s settled blocks out what little light there is from his face, but Kuroo can see the honey gold of his wide, clear eyes perfectly. “Man, I’ve been in love with you for close to two years now.”
The warmth that’s been tickling the edges of Kuroo’s ribs since he realized what his feelings for Bokuto were begins to flood his chest. He’s not trying to smile but he can’t be bothered with trying to look cool right now, not when Bokuto’s saying the words he’s fantasized about in his daydreams. He’s about to ask Bokuto to officially be his boyfriend, but what comes out is: “Me too, dumbass! Why didn’t you say anything!”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Bokuto counters, expression now moody and pouting. Unwarranted, Kuroo thinks, since Bokuto’s the one who doubted Kuroo three times in as many minutes.
“I just did!”
“Yeah, so I’m saying it back!”
“Ugh,” Kuroo groans, dragging a hand down his face, “this is beyond stupid even for us. Can we just fast-forward to the making out part?”
“Please tell me we can.” And Kuroo doesn’t miss the hopefulness in Bokuto’s voice; he never has.
“C’mere, noisy owl,” Kuroo taunts, but he doesn’t have to because Bokuto is already launching himself at Kuroo and rolling them around in the grass, his chapped lips wet, warm, and pressed against Kuroo’s.