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Hot tears slid down both your cheeks as you trembled violently in his tight embrace. You were on the floor, curled in on yourself as tightly as you could be. Kuroo was shaking too, but not as badly as you. And he wasn't crying. You wanted to stop. He was going to think you were such a wimp!
"Babe, it's okay," he murmured in your ear, the arm around your shoulders holding you tight against his chest. "I doubt those guys were even aiming at us." His other arm left its place around your lower back, and he started running his fingers through your hair. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
"You're not bulletproof either," you reminded him, though without the slightest hint of venom in your voice. You were far too worried for both your safety to feel any anger at him for trying to comfort you. "It's just the fact that it happened only a block away from our home."
Sighing, he pulled your head from where it was tucked between your chest and your knees to lay against his shoulder instead.
You hid your eyes against his neck.
It had been terrifying.
You had just walked to the electronics store where Kuroo was working, to meet him as his shift ended and walk with him back home to your shared apartment . It was mid-Fall, and the weather was the perfect combination of warm air and cold wind, so you both enjoyed the walk. It saved on gas and gave you both some fresh air.
Today, though, after rounding the corner of the block next to your apartment complex, you and Kuroo stepped in front of an alleyway and almost immediately heard gunshots from within it. At such close range, they had sounded so loud. As if they were being fired from only a few feet away. Hell, they might've been.
Kuroo had grabbed your arm, putting himself between you and the sound of firing guns and sprinting out of the mouth of the alleyway. The break for the complex was a blur to you as all you could register was being pulled along by Kuroo as he kept glancing back over his shoulder to see if the two of you were being followed. He had thought quickly and protected you, using himself as a shield while all you could do was take in the details of what was happening at snail's pace and begin to panic once the reality of the situation had set in.
"If they had hurt you," you shuddered and choked on a sob. "I swear to God I would've hunted them down, one by one, and killed them in the slowest, most tortuous way imaginable." Your voice was becoming raspy with rage.
Who the actual fuck did those guys think they were?! What was wrong with people?!
"I would've done the same," he whispered, and it just now occurred to you that you'd spoken that thought out loud.
With your heart still hammering, you lifted your head and looked into his eyes. You knew your face was probably tear-streaked, red and splotchy. You could feel your makeup running and could only hope that your nose wasn't doing the same.
But his face calmed you. Those eyes were focused solely on your, boring into you and reading you like his favorite book. And at that moment, he smiled. "We'll be more careful, Princess."
Your heart fluttered at the pet name. He rarely called you "Princess", and when he did, it was to soothe you. It was his favorite name for you, but you had always been embarrassed when he called you it. Now though, you realized just how you loved hearing the word on his lips. You would have to give him permission to call you Princess more often. It would make his day.
"No more walking to meet me at work," he said. "We'll take the car. Gas won't be that bad. It's only a few blocks from here. Don't go anywhere by yourself, okay?"
That last part was probably overkill, but you would do anything to keep him from worrying. You nodded your head quickly, closing your eyes and finding that they nearly ached from how hard you'd been crying. You hadn't known that was possible.
The feeling of arms tightening around you and lips pressing to the side of your hair had you sighing in relief. He was there. He was there, and he wasn't going anywhere. As long as you were together, you were both safe. These were the thoughts you repeated in your head like a mantra until a small chuckle had you opening your tired eyes to find him smiling fondly down at you with an expression so sweet no one would ever believe you when you told them Kuroo made it.
You felt yourself blush, knowing that your face looked like an absolute mess. And now that it was heating up with the blush, it probably looked even worse, and-
He pressed his lips to ours and you almost melted into it before realizing that you couldn't breathe through your now stuffy nose and pulling away gasping.
He gave you one more smile before standing up, pulling you up along with him. You could never get over his physical strength. It was such an attractive quality to you, though he assured you time and time again that you weren't nearly as heavy as you thought anyway.
You took initiative this time, looping your arms around his waist and burying your face in his chest.
"I swear, I'm gonna protect you," you heard him say. And never in your life had you felt or been more secure.