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“Tsukishima, right?”
Kuroo looks down at the blond where he sits, back facing Kuroo, at the Slytherin table. This is the only way Kuroo is ever going to look down at this kid. He’s probably at least Kuroo’s height, if not taller. Which is infuriating, since he’s only a fifth year, and most likely has some growing left to do.
“Who wants to know?” he responds, without looking back at Kuroo. That’s a little insolent, doesn’t he think?
“Show some respect for your elders, kiddo,” Kuroo says. Ah, that got his attention. Tsukishima turns around and looks up at Kuroo.
“Oh,” he says. “Sorry. I didn’t realize.” He doesn’t look all that sorry. He looks up at Kuroo with an expression that is flat, but bordering on annoyed. Annoyed? What right has he got, to be annoyed? If anyone should be annoyed, it should be Kuroo, as an upperclassman.
Kuroo narrows his eyes, but doesn’t mention Tsukishima’s attitude. “I heard you’re a Prefect now,” Kuroo says.
“It would appear so,” Tsukishima says, glancing down at the shiny new Prefect’s badge pinned at the breast of his robes. Kuroo’s own badge has long since grown a little less than shiny and new. He’s had it for years, after all. “My apologies, do I know you?”
“Kuroo. I’ve been your upperclassman since you got here, you know.”
“Right,” Tsukishima says, slowly. Really, it’s completely ridiculous of Tsukishima to not recognize him even a little bit. The castle is big, but they’re in the same house, and only two years apart. By rights Kuroo should be recognized and revered, as a seventh year. “Kuroo.” Tsukishima says it less like he’s trying to commit the name to memory, and more as if he’s trying to appease Kuroo to get him to go away. Kuroo ignores his tone, though he’s not sure how much longer he’s willing to do that.
“Look, you’re a Prefect for Slytherin now,” Kuroo says. He puffs his chest out a little. “I suppose that means I should take you under my wing.”
“I don’t need to be taken under any wings,” Tsukishima responds.
“Nonsense,” Kuroo says. “My wings are broad and warm and they will shelter you, while I nurture.”
“That seems both unnecessary and uncomfortable,” Tsukishima says. Kuroo can see him quickly losing interest. With an almost imperceptible roll of his eyes and a short, exasperated sigh, he turns back to his food. “Can’t you nurture someone else?”
“Kenma was busy,” Kuroo comments. He perches next to Tsukishima on the bench at the Slytherin table. He reaches for a biscuit and some jam.
“Who’s Kenma?” Tsukishima asks. He pauses for a beat. “Oh, wait, I don’t actually care.”
“Mean!” Kuroo exclaims. “How’d you get to be a Prefect, with that attitude?”
“Luck, probably,” Tsukishima says dryly. Kuroo knows it isn’t that. Tsukishima probably acts like a perfect angel around professors, enough to get him the job. It’s a talent Kuroo himself has, and he makes use of it even today.
“Come on, now, Tsukishima, would it hurt to accept a little of my wisdom?” Kuroo asks. “I can teach you things, you know.”
“Doubt it,” Tsukishima responds.
Kuroo gives an indignant snort. “The leftmost shower in the Prefects’ bathroom has been cursed for years – it laughs at you whenever you step into it. That’s something you should know, since you’re a new Prefect and all.”
“That’s practically useless.”
“It’s the tip of the iceberg!”
There’s a pause for a moment, during which Tsukishima finishes the last of his toast. “I have class,” Tsukishima says, by way of excusing himself, standing from the table.
“Classes don’t start for half an hour!” Kuroo calls after him. Tsukishima only waves a noncommittal hand and strides out of the Great Hall.
***
“Tsukki,” Kuroo says, leaning over the back of one of the armchairs in the Slytherin common room. Tsukishima is bent over a text book that sits in his lap. Well, not so much bent over as examining with detachment. Looks like Potions, from the diagrams on the left-hand page.
“Don’t call me that,” Tsukishima says.
Kuroo lets a hand rest on one of Tsukishima’s shoulders. “It’s just a nickname,” Kuroo says. “Heard your little Hufflepuff friend call you that. There’s worse nicknames in the world, you know. For example – ”
“What do you want, Kuroo?” Tsukishima asks. He shuts the textbook with a dull snap.
“To take you under my wings, of course,” Kuroo reminds him. To emphasize his point, he wraps his arms around Tsukishima from behind, folding them at the wrists as if he were a giant bird enveloping Tsukishima in broad, feathered wings. “Remember?”
Tsukishima holds stock still, but his voice drips with anger. “Get off.”
Kuroo considers it for a moment, but ultimately releases his grip on Tsukishima. He sweeps around to sit in front of Tsukishima on the ottoman in front of the armchair.
“Studying Potions, then? I could tutor you,” Kuroo says. He says it with a sly grin, the way he says most things. But he’s taken an interest in Tsukishima. When Kuroo takes an interest, he always ends up getting his way. He’s done a damn good job with it every time, too – take a look at Kenma.
“Potions is my best subject,” Tsukishima says coolly. “I’m top of the class.”
Kuroo shrugs this off. “Then maybe you’ve let something else fall by the wayside. I’ll tutor you in something else. Transfiguration? Charms?”
“Not really,” Tsukishima says. “I’m near top in those, too.”
Kuroo lets out an exaggerated impressed whistle. “Looks like we’ve got a genius on our hands. Can’t believe the Sorting Hat didn’t throw you in Ravenclaw, with the rest.”
Tsukishima sniffs. “The Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin without any hesitation. And don’t call me a genius.”
“Come on, Tsukki, let me help you out,” Kuroo says. “I’m an upperclassman, and one of the best in my year. And you’ve sparked my interest. You should be grateful for the chance.”
“I don’t need your help,” Tsukishima scoffs.
Kuroo gives Tsukishima a long, examining look. Tsukishima’s expression is as always; flat and unimpressed, but with criticizing eyes and a considerable amount of venom hiding behind his composure. Tsukishima looks squarely back at him under the rims of his glasses.
“Hey, you’re cute, you know?” Kuroo says. “I almost didn’t notice before.”
Tsukishima frowns deeply and breathes a heavy, long-suffering sigh. “Go away, Kuroo.”
Kuroo gives up on the game, for now. Tsukishima doesn’t play along the way Kuroo likes, doesn’t get flustered in the right places and doesn’t banter quite the way he should. It’s intriguing, though. Kuroo has no intentions of leaving him alone altogether – just for the moment.
“Whatever you say, Tsukki,” Kuroo says. He stands, and purposefully brushes against Tsukishima as he leaves the common room, heading for his dormitory.
Really, Tsukishima is attractive. He hadn’t just called him cute to rile him up (though that certainly had been part of it). Tsukishima is old enough now that he’s lost the baby fat in his cheeks, has grown taller and filled out a little, started to look more like a man than like a child. All of a sudden, he’s a viable dating option. He’s not so much younger; only two years. Seventh years date fifth years all the time. Kuroo lounges on his bed, and wonders what kind of face Tsukishima would make if Kuroo were to kiss him.
***
“Hey, Tsukki,” Kuroo says. He stops Tsukishima, who had been walking the opposite way past Kuroo, with a hand on his chest. “Got a minute?”
“What is it now?” Tsukishima asks, sounding weary and irritated. “If you’re still upset that I don’t want to be your protégé or whatever, you should get over it.”
“It’s not about that,” Kuroo says. “Though I still don’t understand why you’d pass up the chance. Anyway, I was wondering.”
“That can’t mean anything good,” Tsukishima quips.
“Don’t interrupt me!” Kuroo says hotly. He takes a breath to compose himself. “Like I was saying. I was wondering if you want to come on a date with me. It’s a Hogsmeade weekend this week, so.”
There are a few people wandering past them in the hallway, people who could be witnesses to this if they stopped long enough to pay attention. Tsukishima glances around and then leans close to Kuroo.
“I saw you planning this,” Tsukishima mutters, so that only Kuroo will hear. “At lunch, with that Ravenclaw kid, with the blonde hair. He should keep up with his roots better, the dye job looks terrible.”
“Don’t make fun of Kenma,” Kuroo says defensively. He shakes his head slightly to remind himself to give a proper retort. “Saw me planning it? Hah! For all you know, I could have been pointing out how pretentious you are, with your glasses and your Prefect’s badge and your perfect grades.”
“Mm. But you weren’t.”
Kuroo doesn’t have a quick comeback, and bites back the pang of anger that surges in his chest.
“Anyway,” Tsukishima says before Kuroo can recover, “no.”
Kuroo blinks. “What was that?”
“My answer. It’s no. I’m not going to go on a date with you. That should be obvious.” Tsukishima looks bored, one hand dusting crumbs from the sleeve of his robes and his eyes, sardonic as ever, looking off somewhere to Kuroo’s left.
No? Kuroo hasn’t ever been turned down when he’s asked for a date before. It’s not like he thinks he’s entitled to it, or anything, but he really hadn’t been expecting this. What had he been expecting, though? For Tsukishima to blush and stammer and say, “O-of course, Kuroo-sama, I would be honored to go on a date with you”? That had certainly never been in the cards.
“Why not?” Kuroo asks.
Tsukishima pushes past him, shaking off Kuroo’s hand as he does so.
“Because you’re terrible,” Tsukishima calls as he rounds the corner of the hallway.
***
This is not the last time Kuroo asks Tsukishima out.
He tries once more the nice way, asking Tsukishima at dinner if he would please, just once, go for a date with him. “Tomorrow is Saturday and we could even go to Madam Puddifoot’s, if you like, Tsukki,” he’d said. Tsukishima had turned up his nose at the suggestion and given some scathing remarks. It leaves Kuroo with the distinct sensation of being looked down upon, which he finds he really doesn’t like.
He resolves to get Tsukishima to agree to a date, one date, by any means necessary. Kuroo isn’t afraid to play a little dirty. Eventually, it becomes sort of a game, seeing how far he can wind Tsukishima up with his proposals. It’s a mental challenge Kuroo relishes, even if the proposals aren’t totally serious anymore. Granted, Kuroo would still like to go on a date with Tsukishima. He’d like to kiss him, see the color of his cheeks, hear the little noises he’d make. But the sport is more pressing.
Kuroo puts a very clever charm on Tsukishima’s bed that makes flowers appear from nowhere when he sits on it. However, Kuroo may have slightly miscalculated the actual strength of the charm, and it turns out that any movement at all while on the bed will cause more flowers to materialize. Soon, his bed and then the whole room are covered in fragrant flowers, and the more Tsukishima tries to struggle out of them, the more bloom into existence. It’s Daichi who bursts in to help with the problem, after hearing Tsukishima’s squeals of surprise and outrage, trying to Vanish the flowers as quickly as they are appearing. Kuroo barely hears the dressing-down Daichi gives him later through his own loud cackling at the mental image of the situation. Both Tsukishima and Daichi have a lingering smell of flowers for the next few days.
Kuroo plans his next trick with Bokuto for days before it comes to fruition. The Great Hall is blessedly silent when the Howler Kuroo had sent lifts itself from Tsukishima’s hands and opens its paper mouth. It screams one phrase, perfectly delivered in Kuroo’s magically amplified voice: “DATE ME.” Tsukishima’s face is as red as the stationery of the Howler when he glances down to where Kuroo is sitting, resting his hand on his cheek with a smirk, at the other end of the Slytherin table. There’s general laughter all around, but the loudest of it comes from Bokuto, who appears from the Gryffindor table to give Kuroo a high five before doubling over with his giggling.
Then there’s a stroke of genius (partially orchestrated by Kenma) that Kuroo will look back on fondly. It had involved transfiguring Tsukishima’s bath towel into a box of chocolates while he was in the shower. Of course, Kuroo had stuck around to watch the fireworks. It was meaningless if Tsukishima didn’t know who was trying to get him out on a date, after all. It had been worth it for the heavy sigh Tsukishima had given when he’d reached out for his towel, but the image of Tsukishima holding the box of chocolates in front of his privates so he could reach for his wand in the pocket of his robes was the real treasure. When Tsukishima noticed Kuroo sitting there in the Prefects’ bathroom, watching him, he’d given a shout of surprise and stumbled backwards, and directly into the leftmost shower. Kuroo’s own laughter had almost drowned out the cursed shower’s derisive laughing and sneering taunts.
No matter what Kuroo tries, however, Tsukishima ignores his proposals. He doesn’t say no, not once since the first time, only turns up his nose and holds his head high and ignores Kuroo’s antics. It’s maddening, but each time he does it, Kuroo resolves to do something that will really get his attention. He might be overdoing it, a little, he sometimes thinks – but mostly, he ignores that feeling just as soundly as Tsukishima has been ignoring him.
***
“Kuroo!” Tsukishima bellows, bursting into the dormitory Kuroo shares with the other Slytherin seventh years. It startles Kuroo a little, but he doesn’t let it show. Kuroo looks up at Tsukishima from where he’s sitting on his bed, a roll of parchment stretched out in front of him.
“Oh, what are you going to do,” Kuroo says, glancing down at the wand in Tsukishima’s hand, “Jinx me?”
“Hex,” Tsukishima says. His fingers adjust their grip on his wand. “I was planning a hex. Several hexes.”
“Harsh,” Kuroo says. Admittedly, Kuroo’s game of asking him out had gotten a little out of hand, since he figured he had to take things up a notch each time. But Tsukishima’s hexes are likely to be pretty powerful, with the skill he has and the emotion behind them, and Kuroo doesn’t want to end up in the hospital wing. He keeps his hands still where Tsukishima can see them, making certain Tsukishima sees that he’s not going to go for his wand. “What’s all this about?”
“Stop!” Tsukishima seethes. “Trying! To get me to go on a date with you!”
“Okay,” Kuroo says.
This response takes Tsukishima off-guard for a moment. “Wh – really? You’re going to give up that easily?”
“Sure,” Kuroo says. “I didn’t really think you would go for it in the end anyway, no matter what I tried. I was just fucking around at a certain point.”
“Then – ” Tsukishima starts. His wand hand is drooping lower, the resolve he’d had to curse Kuroo when he’d first walked in fading a little. “So – so it was just a game, then.”
Kuroo shrugs. “Yeah. Mostly.”
That’s strange – Tsukishima’s face doesn’t look the way it normally does. When he’d burst in here, his expression had been twisted with anger, and even then it hadn’t looked out of place. But now his face shows a weird mixture of confusion and embarrassment and… is that sadness?
“Sorry, Tsukishima,” Kuroo says. “It got out of hand.”
“It’s – ” Tsukishima starts. He closes his mouth and looks at his feet. What had he been going to say? “It’s fine”? Now, that probably isn’t true, given the sort of publicly humiliating stunts Kuroo has pulled up to now. Kuroo feels like he should say something more, maybe apologize again.
“I wasn’t kidding about wanting to go on a date with you, though,” Kuroo says. “I want to. Really.”
When he looks back up at Kuroo, Tsukishima’s face appears to have regained its usual qualities. His scowl is remarkably determined, and when he takes a step forward, for a second Kuroo isn’t sure that Tsukishima isn’t actually going to hex him after all.
“Tsuk – ” Kuroo starts to say as Tsukishima draws close to his bed. He’s cut off, however, by the feeling of Tsukishima’s lips on his.
Kuroo lets his eyes droop closed in response to the kiss. Tsukishima is leaning over Kuroo where he sits on his bed to kiss him, and he kisses hard. Tsukishima is still holding his wand in one hand, and the wood of it presses to Kuroo’s cheek as Tsukishima holds him close in the kiss with his hands on Kuroo’s jaw. Kuroo pulls Tsukishima a little closer with a hand gripping the front of Tsukishima’s robes. Kuroo responds to the kiss fluidly and naturally, letting Tsukishima do most of the kissing. That’s only fair. Kuroo had given him such a hard time. Kuroo parts his lips to let Tsukishima’s tongue push against his, but Tsukishima stops kissing him and pulls away.
Tsukishima’s face is burning red all the way to his ears when he straightens and looks down at Kuroo. He keeps his hands on Kuroo’s face and glares when he speaks.
“One date,” Tsukishima says firmly. “But if you so much as mention Madam Puddifoot’s, I’ll hex you so hard you won’t know your head from your feet.”
“Agreed,” Kuroo says.