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When he and Bokuto signed the lease to what would be their apartment for the entirety of their college years, Kuroo didn’t expect to develop a gigantic crush on him. How could he have known that there would come a time when his high school rival and friend would become the object of his adoration? That there would come a time when Bokuto’s loud, boisterous laughter would go from being slightly obnoxious, to becoming one of his favorite sounds in the world? That there would come a time when he would find his heart thumping wildly against his ribcage every time Bokuto said his name, or looked at him with those big yellow eyes of his?
He couldn’t. He couldn’t have possibly known, for fuck’s sake.
He should have known, though. Bokuto is as fine as can be, and Kuroo has always been keenly aware of that fact. Of course, there is a big difference between admiring your friend’s looks, and wanting to pin him against a wall and kiss him breathless every time you see him leave his bedroom in the morning in nothing but his boxers, Kuroo can admit that to himself. But the more time he spends with Bokuto, the more Kuroo realizes that falling for him was the most obvious outcome of sharing an apartment with him.
Not only is Bokuto a hunk, he is also sweet, and funny, and caring. They have dozens of shared interests, and their senses of humor complement each other in the best of ways. Over time, even Bokuto’s denseness ended up becoming endearing to Kuroo, something that he would have never thought possible. That doesn’t mean that Kuroo doesn’t get the urge to kill him whenever he forgets to separate the laundry and ends up dying their white clothes pink, or whenever he places things in the fridge in the exact place where they’ll fall once either of them opens the fridge again. It’s just that being Bokuto Koutarou’s roommate implies developing a great amount of patience, and a certain fondness for his antics.
Besides, Kuroo is aware of his faults as a roommate as well, with his habit of getting up at 3 in the morning to pour himself a bowl of cereal, his inability to cook anything other than rice, and a couple variations of eggs, and a tendency to leave the laundry in the dryer. He can’t go judging Bokuto too harshly.
It took him nearly a year to admit to himself that he had a crush on Bokuto, and another half a year to admit it out loud, once he could no longer stand Kenma’s judgmental looks every time his eyes trailed on Bokuto’s butt as he walked away, or he laughed a little too long at one of his dumb jokes.
By the middle of his sophomore year, Kuroo realized that he was slowly going from having a crush, to falling completely in love. So, knowing full-well that his feelings would never be returned, Kuroo decided to get over his crush, and move on.
But that soon proved to be much harder than he initially thought, especially for one particular reason: as it turns out, Bokuto is an incredibly affectionate and cuddly person. And that would be fine, maybe, if Kuroo’s heart didn’t do all kinds of somersaults and cartwheels every time he felt the warmth of Bokuto’s skin on his own. Maybe, if he wasn’t steadily falling head over heels for him, Kuroo would have been able to handle the insane amount of physical affection that Bokuto gave and demanded. But that wasn’t the case, and remaining calm and contained whenever Bokuto casually cuddled up to him like it was nothing was becoming increasingly hard.
Bokuto’s tendency to touch Kuroo started simply enough: an arm slung over his shoulder while they watched movies together, a soft pat on his hip on his way to the fridge, a foot resting on his calf when they sat on the floor doing their homework together. Kuroo was fine with that. He could manage that, and he would be lying if he said that he didn’t like it.
But soon enough, it evolved into big, tight hugs whenever Kuroo came back to their apartment, and resting his head on Kuroo’s shoulder while they watched movies, and doing their homework on Kuroo’s bed instead of the floor, with their legs casually tangled together.
When Kuroo found himself being spooned by Bokuto in the middle of their monthly Saint Seiya marathon, he had the sudden realization that, no matter how hard he tried to forgo any romantic feelings for him, if Bokuto kept cuddling him and touching him all the time, he would never achieve his goal.
He kept trying, though. Kuroo Tetsurou may be many things, but he is not a quitter.
Right now, as he stands in the hallway of their apartment complex in front of their door after a very long and exhausting day, he tries his best to muster enough energy to deal with Bokuto’s oblivious affection without snapping and proposing to him on the spot, or something stupid like that.
Heaving a defeated sigh, Kuroo pushes his key into lock, and pushes the door open to step into his and Bokuto’s apartment. He hasn’t even finished taking off his shoes, when Bokuto’s head pops in from behind the doorway to the living room, his trademark broad, bright smile already in place. Kuroo both hates and loves how the mere sight of him manages to make his heart flutter.
“Hey, you’re back!” Bokuto exclaims, stepping out of the doorway and towards him. He reaches him in three long strides, and promptly wraps his arms around him in a tight hug. Kuroo closes his eyes, and breathes in slowly. Bokuto smells of apple-scented hair wax, soap, and something he can’t quite discern, but it’s so undoubtedly him, that Kuroo can’t help but to love it. His warmth feels so familiar surrounding his body, cold from the chilly breeze that blows outside, and Kuroo welcomes it eagerly, not without a pang of longing in his chest.
“Hey, Bo,” he returns the greeting, wrapping his arms around Bokuto’s broad, strong back, and patting him on the shoulder a couple times.
“I missed you!” Bokuto exclaims once they step away from their hug, and Kuroo instantly misses being inside his arms. Bokuto gives his shoulder an affectionate squeeze before returning to the living room, with Kuroo trailing behind him. “How was your day?”
“It was…” Kuroo stops to consider the question for a couple seconds, and then shrugs his shoulders. “Meh.”
“Well,” Bokuto starts, flopping down onto the couch and grabbing the TV remote. “Nothing that a Saint Seiya marathon can’t fix!”
“Saint Seiya again?”
“Come on, bro. We both know you can never get enough of Saint Seiya.”
“True,” Kuroo concedes with a tiny smile. Bokuto pats the couch right next to him, and Kuroo is there in a heartbeat.
He does sit on the other edge of the couch, though, determined, for the sake of his cardiac health, to not fall victim to Bokuto’s cuddly nature again.
But before he can do anything about it, his head is resting on Bokuto’s lap, and Bokuto’s fingers are combing through his hair, his nails scratching his scalp in the most pleasant way. Kuroo mentally curses his lack of self-restraint, but also makes no effort to get out of the very comfortable position he is currently in.
He tries his darned best to focus his attention on the screen, instead of on the feel of Bokuto’s fingers playing with his hair. But it is a useless effort, and he becomes more and more aware of every single one of Bokuto’s movements with every passing second.
“Bro, your hair is so soft,” Bokuto mumbles all of sudden, his voice filled with a strange sort of admiration.
Kuroo turns his head on Bokuto’s lap to look at him, eyebrows arched in surprise at the sudden compliment. Bokuto smiles down at him, and Kuroo is very mad that he manages to look so innocent when he is the one to blame for the inhuman rhythm at which his heart is currently beating.
“Maybe if you eased down on the hair wax, your hair would be soft too.”
“Hey, are you saying you don’t like my hair?”
“I’ve been telling you that your hair is ridiculous for years!”
“Like you’re one to talk!”
Bokuto jabs his finger into Kuroo’s waist right underneath his ribs, making him squirm and laugh a little. Kuroo immediately slaps his hand away, but Bokuto doesn’t relent, quickly pressing his fingers against Kuroo’s belly in a way he knows is gonna tickle. Kuroo responds with an indignant yelp, and sits up and away from Bokuto, shooting him a nasty glare.
“Don’t,” he whispers, eyes squinted and hands raised in defense.
“It’s too late, bro.” Bokuto, who is far from being deterred by the warning tone of Kuroo’s voice, slowly inches closer with a mischievous grin, and a look that can only be described as ‘predatory’. If he wasn’t so worried about protecting his dignity, Kuroo would probably be more than a little turned on at the sight.
“I’m warning you, Bo, don’t-!” Kuroo’s final warning is cut short by a high-pitched scream when Bokuto practically pounces on him, his fingers mercilessly digging into his belly, and his undignified scream is soon turned into loud, desperate laughter. “No! Get off me! Get off me, you big jerk!” he begs whenever he can catch a breath in between loud bouts of laugher. Bokuto merely laughs in response, refusing to stop his assault on Kuroo’s ribs for more than one second at a time.
Kuroo kicks his feet and pushes at Bokuto’s face and chest to no avail. Bokuto is too strong, and while Kuroo is the first one to admire the magnificence of his gigantic biceps and broad chest, right now he curses them more than anything.
But despite being initially overpowered, Kuroo emerges victorious after a couple minutes when he manages to get all of Bokuto’s 180 pounds off of him by wrapping his legs around his waist, and throwing both of them to the floor. Bokuto’s back slams against the carpet, and he lets a tiny “oof” when Kuroo lands on him, straddling his hips to keep him in place. Before Bokuto can even attempt to resume his assault, Kuroo grabs his wrists, and has his arms pinned on both sides of his head in no time.
“Hey, let go of me!” Bokuto whines, struggling against Kuroo’s hold.
“It’s over, Anakin!” Kuroo exclaims, tightening his grip on Bokuto’s wrists, and pressing his knees against Bokuto’s ribs. “I have the high ground!”
“Ugh, you nerd!”
Kuroo laughs heartily, a mocking remark already making its way out of his lips. But the sentence crashes and dies at the back of his throat before it gets the chance to be uttered, as soon as a couple facts catch up to him. The first one: he is currently sitting on top of Bokuto, with his ass resting quite comfortably on Bokuto’s crotch. And the second one: Bokuto is blushing a very deep shade of pink.
“Um, Tetsu?” Bokuto’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. Kuroo’s eyes widen when he realizes that Bokuto is probably very aware of Fact Number One, and a blush of his own starts to creep its way into his cheeks.
“Mmm?” he hums in response, unable to come up with a more eloquent response.
“Dude, you’re kind of…” Bokuto clears his throat, and tears his eyes from Kuroo’s face, suddenly finding the ceiling immensely interesting. “You’re kind of, like, sitting on my junk right now.”
Kuroo doesn’t move an inch, his brain still attempting to compute the situation that he suddenly finds himself in. Then, without a word, he hastily lets go of Bokuto’s wrists, and scrambles to get off him as fast as he can.
Before he can, though, Bokuto grabs him firmly by the hips to stop his movements. Kuroo freezes in place, a wave of shock washing over his entire body. Meanwhile, Bokuto’s face has reached a shade of pink that Kuroo would have never thought the human body was capable of achieving.
“Um, Bo?” he mumbles after a momentary silence. “What… are you doing?”
Bokuto is doing his best to avoid his gaze, his lower lip worried between his teeth, and his brows furrowed over the bridge of his nose. He doesn’t answer right away. His fingers feel impossibly warm on Kuroo’s hips, a warmth so pleasant that he nearly doesn’t notice that they are trembling slightly.
“I… I really don’t want you to move,” Bokuto’s voice finally shatters the silence, barely louder than a whisper.
And for the first time in nearly two years, Kuroo considers the possibility that, maybe, maybe, his crush isn’t as unrequited as he initially thought.
He can practically hear his blood rushing to his face as his heart begins to beat even faster than before, slamming wildly against his ribcage. He stammers and splutters for a few moments, struggling to utter more than two coherent words together.
“You can move if you want to!” Bokuto exclaims when he notices Kuroo’s sudden inability to function normally. He hastily lets go of him, but Kuroo quickly grabs his wrists to place his hands back on his hips.
“I don’t want to move!” Kuroo exclaims, wide-eyed.
Bokuto blinks owlishly up at him, returning his wide-eyed gaze with more than a little surprise. Then, he sits up in one fluid motion, and, without a warning, crashes his lips against Kuroo’s.
Kuroo doesn’t stop to think. He knows that if he does, his head will probably explode, or melt, or both. Instead of that, he focuses on returning the kiss, burying his fingers in Bokuto’s ridiculously waxed hair. Bokuto pulls him even closer to his chest, his fingers digging into Kuroo’s hips even harder than before. The kiss is awkward at first, their lips pressed together in a way that makes their teeth clash, and their noses squeezed against one another almost painfully. And still, it is more than either of them could have ever asked for.
Kuroo manages to get his body to move after a few seconds, tilting his head in the right way so that their lips slide together more comfortably. Bokuto can’t hold back a whimper, tightening his grip on Kuroo’s hips, and Kuroo nearly does the same. Bokuto’s lips are so ridiculously soft and full that it nearly makes him angry. But he is kissing them right now, after nearly two years of wanting nothing more than to do so, and anger is the last thing he could feel right now.
They part only when breathing becomes a difficult task, taking in big gulps of air, and sighing heavily against each other’s lips. They stare silently at each other with heavily-lidded eyes, barely moving at all, both of them feeling like their hearts are going to jump out of their chests any second.
“I can’t believe I just kissed you,” Bokuto whispers after a few moments. The sound of his voice breaking the silence carries with it a stunning realization that hits them both with the force of a freight train.
Kuroo leans away from Bokuto, fingers still buried in his hair, and gives him a look of utter shock and disbelief.
“I can’t believe you just kissed me!” he exclaims loudly, and Bokuto immediately mimics his expression, also leaning away from him.
“Dude, I’ve had a crush on you since we moved in!” he nearly yells.
Kuroo momentarily wonders if he somehow managed to fall into some sort of alternate reality without realizing.
“Bro, me too!”
“I-I thought you’d never like me that way!”
“Why the hell would you think that!?” Kuroo exclaims, fully aware that his attempts to hide his feelings for Bokuto were nothing short of mediocre. Even someone as dense as Bokuto had to have his suspicions.
“I don’t know, you never made a move!”
“That was only because I thought you weren’t interested in me!”
“What!? Dude, you’re, like, perfect! Why wouldn’t I be interested in you!?” Bokuto’s words are filled with indignation, as if the mere implication that he could be anything but head-over-heels for Kuroo is nothing short of offensive.
Kuroo has to take a moment to appreciate such an adorable confession, his heart swelling with sheer, uncontained adoration.
“Is that why you kept cuddling me?” he asks after regaining his composure a little.
“Duh! I thought I was being obvious!” Bokuto frowns, a tiny pout forming on his lips. “What, you thought I was, like, exceptionally cuddly or something?”
“Yes!”
Bokuto slowly shakes his head in disbelief, his mind unable to process the amount of Kuroo’s obliviousness.
“God, Tetsu, for being such a smart guy, you’re actually pretty dumb.”
“Shut up,” Kuroo says, a badly concealed smile tinting his voice.
He leans in to kiss Bokuto again, their lips finding their perfect place against each other on the first try this time. And they keep kissing, and laughing, and talking, and teasing each other well into the night, tangled up on the living room floor, and then on the sofa once the carpet is no longer comfortable enough.
The next morning, the first rays of sunlight find them a mess of tangled limbs on top of the cushions, with their Saint Seiya DVD still playing in the background. And when those first rays of sunlight hit Kuroo’s eyes and awaken him, the first thing he sees is Bokuto’s sleeping face, so familiar, yet so full of unknown subtleties he longs to discover.
And as those first rays of sunlight hit Bokuto’s eyes and awake him as well, Kuroo’s loving gaze is met with soft, golden yellow. And at that moment, Kuroo thinks that, maybe, having a massive crush on your high school friend and roommate is not such a bad thing, after all.