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Kuroo is in the middle of painstakingly measuring out the exact amount of washi tape to put in his journal when a message pops up on his phone. A glance tells him who it’s from: his friend on tumblr that he’s been messaging on and off since they followed each other a year ago. He goes back to his journal, carefully cutting as straight as possible and lining it up.
Once he’s done, he relaxes with a sigh, rolling his shoulders and picking up his phone. The message reads, “Look at my spread,” with all the spelling errors and exclamation marks that come with texting this particular person. Grinning, Kuroo goes to his friend’s blog, eyes immediately catching on the first post.
He only knows his friend as Duo, taken from his URL, duoowlstudies, and Duo only knew him as Iron, from ironmind. Their friendship started easily, with compliments on bullet journals and tips on how to take better notes. It got to a point where they talked almost every day, from small things like the cat that lives in the apartment next to Kuroo, to heavy things like Duo’s psychiatrist appointments, and they got close fast.
So it makes sense that Duo’s latest journal spread is focused on their upcoming meeting.
Kuroo’s eyes follow along the lines of Duo’s script, the drawings of cats and owls scattered along the pages, the picture of himself from the mouth down that he sent with a fluttering heart beat late at night, the yellows and the golds and the reds. He’s always been amazed by how detailed Duo’s spreads can be when he’s excited about the topic (he once made a spread about his new favorite D.Va skin), because the guy’s monthly spreads were hastily done and his notes almost nonexistent. Seeing the things Duo loves and is excited and passionate about just makes Kuroo happy.
He feels lucky that he’s included in that category too, that Duo likes him enough to meet him and spend time on his bullet journal for him.
Quickly, he snaps a picture of what he’s working on, a checklist of what he needs for his visit, and sends it to his friend, along with a bit of gushing over the other’s spread. He hopes that’s enough to convey how excited he is. He hopes it doesn’t reveal how hard he’s crushing.
But Duo responds in kind, just as eager, and Kuroo smiles at his phone, heart warm.
----
The train ride is only three hours long, but Kuroo spends the entire time being anxious about the meeting and every possible thing that could go wrong. What if Duo isn’t who he says he is? What if he’s a serial killer? What if he hates Kuroo in real life?
What if it’s Daishou catfishing him? (Is it catfishing if they aren’t dating?)
By the time Kuroo steps onto the station platform, he’s a nervous wreck, and he quickly glances at his phone for Duo’s description again. “Okay, dyed, spiked hair, pale yellow sweater, cheesy sign….” There’s no way this is just a ruse to catch him off-guard and kidnap him miles away from his home as he looks for someone that isn’t there, right?
That train of thought is cut off when he actually sees the sign. You’re the iron in my veins . “It really is cheesy,” he murmurs, smiling fondly. Duo is good at that, making him smile at the silly things he does.
His eyes finally take in the wide-eyed person holding the sign, staring at him like he has three heads. “ Bokuto ?”
“Kuroo?”
They step closer, slowly at first, then they’re crashing into each other, laughing. It’s the first time Kuroo has seen Bokuto in at least six months, and it feels good to be in the same town as him, the same space as him. “Shit, dude, I haven’t seen you in forever! And you just so happen to be the guy I’m planning on staying with for a week? It’s like a dream come true.”
Bokuto shakes his head, tightening his arms around Kuroo’s shoulders. “I can’t believe I didn’t guess it was you by the description alone. A shirt that says meow, a Kiki’s Delivery Service backpack, and nasty bedhead ? It was so obvious!”
“There’s gotta be someone else out there that likes cats and has bedhead.”
“Nah,” Bokuto says with a blinding smile, “there’s no one like you.”
----
In true studyblr obsessed fashion, as soon as Kuroo’s settled in at Bokuto’s apartment, they have their journals out, showing each other unfinished spreads and hilarious mistakes. Kuroo sheds tears laughing at Bokuto’s multiple pages of dicks, and Bokuto gushes at the sticky notes of inspirational quotes covering Kuroo’s mistakes. It’s fun, being together again, like they’d never been apart.
Kuroo almost forgets about his huge crush. Almost.
As he plans his new spread, he thinks about his old crush on Bokuto and his new crush on Duo. The fact that they’re the same person is slowly sinking in, and it feels like all of his feelings are just doubling in size. He doesn’t know how he’s going to be able to hide it now.
Sighing, Kuroo looks up, intent on gathering his markers, when he sees Bokuto holding his bullet journal. Not his recent one, but his old one, the one from the summer before college, the one with pages upon pages of badly drawn owls and Bokutos and hearts. The one with lists of how to confess, of potential dates and gifts, of dreams, of memories.
The one that will ruin his entire life, it seems.
Kuroo shoots out of his seat, snatching the book and holding it close to his chest, eyes wide with horror. “What are you doing? Where’d you find this?”
“You…,” Bokuto looks dazed, and Kuroo feels his heart sink like a rock, “you said I could look through your new stuff, and I thought… I hadn’t seen that before, so I just…” He stands up, takes a step closer, and freezes when Kuroo backs away. For a moment, he seems lost, like he doesn’t know what to do anymore, before that disappears in the wake of his determination. He digs through his stuff, quickly pulling out his own journal and shoving it in Kuroo’s hands.
With a frown, Kuroo opens it, a little upset that Bokuto is doing this now after seeing Kuroo’s heart and soul spilled out in ink. Doesn’t the other man realize that he’s having a crisis?
The crisis doesn’t matter after he starts reading the journal.
It’s set like a diary at first, Bokuto writing about how Kuroo’s journey into the studyblr world inspired him, and it eventually turns into handwriting practice of Kuroo’s name and pictures of them together and pictures of just Kuroo with little excerpts on what he did that day. And scattered throughout are small, simple, What I like about Kuroo most today sections.
(One of the answers is that apparently, Kuroo is a twunk. Kuroo takes offense to that.)
A hand on his shoulder catches his attention, and he looks up from reading about when they went to the zoo in their third year, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks. “Kuroo,” Bokuto says. “I like you. I’ve liked you since second year.”
“I see that.” Kuroo reluctantly sets the journal down, turning to give Bokuto his full attention. “I like you too. Only since after graduation though.” Almost reverently, he puts his hands on Bokuto’s face, cupping his cheeks and resting their foreheads together. “You like me.”
Bokuto’s smile is a little nervous and a lot affectionate. Kuroo swears it’s the prettiest thing he’s ever seen. “Yeah, just two guys that like each other being pals. Pals that should get ready for a date.”
“A date, huh? I can do that.”
The kiss they share is short and sweet, and maybe they both fall a little bit more in love with each other.