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Kuroo never particularly considered himself lucky.
In fact, his luck seemed rather sour in comparison to his friends. Like that time in the third grade a test of courage landed him a broken arm and a strict scolding from his father. Or how in middle school he was the one caught cheating from the smartest kid in the class despite the fact his friends were doing the same exact thing.
He figured that his rotten luck in all aspects of life were retribution for the fact he had a soulmate.
Kuroo doesn’t even remember meeting Kenma. As far as Kuroo knew, he always lived in the house next to Kenma’s and Kenma was always there. They didn’t have some dramatic first meeting, they simply… were.
Most of his first memories were with Kenma. Laying in the grass on summer afternoons, snow-filled fun in the winter, sharing lunches and catching bugs. Childhood was easy and simple with Kenma at his side.
One of his most vivid early memories came from when he was merely 5. Him and Kenma had been drawing their favorite anime characters when he noticed something out of the ordinary.
“Grandma, Grandpa, look!” Kuroo called. He dragged Kenma beside him and propped out his arm. Then, holding out his own arm, Kuroo drew a straight line down from his elbow; some force made the exact same line appear on Kenma as well.
Kuroo’s grandparents simply chuckled, giving the young boys warm smiles.
“What’s going on?” Kuroo asked. “Everything I draw on myself shows up on Kenma too!”
Kuroo’s grandmother, despite her creaking bones, came to bend down before them. She softly removed the pen from Kuroo’s tiny yet firm grasp. “You’ve heard of soulmates, right?”
“Soulmates?” Kenma questioned, his voice low. He quickly averted his eyes down before he could see the old woman respond.
She drew a line on her own skin, her movements shaky. “Like the bedtime stories you’ve heard or the movies you’ve watched, soulmates are real. Once in a blue moon, these special pairs of people touch and are able to draw on one another. Tetsurou, your grandfather and I are lucky enough to be soulmates. See?”
Sure enough, a small heart on the inside of her wrist was mirrored exactly the same on Kuroo’s grandfather.
“You two are very lucky,” Kuroo’s grandfather said with a soft smile. “Soulmates are very hard to come by. Especially a pair as young as you are. Now you two can be together forever.”
Kuroo excitedly turned towards Kenma and wrapped him up in a tight hug. Even with his grandparents’ careful explanation he didn’t truly grasp what being a soulmate meant, he only knew that Kenma would be by his side.
Elementary school brought a whole new world where people didn’t have soulmates. People would stare and eagerly ask questions about the scribbles that lined Kuroo’s arms and legs. Even the teachers seemed amazed to see kid so young with his life seemingly figured out.
But quickly the amazement turned to jealousy. Try as he might, Kuroo couldn’t ignore the growing whispers of his classmates. By the time he was 8, there were few kids left he genuinely could consider his friends. He had Kenma, of course, and his volleyball teammates but few others could contain their opinions about Kuroo’s soulmate.
Eventually, it began to keep him up at night. He’d lie in bed, mind swirling with a million thoughts. The notion that him and Kenma would be ‘forever’ was what got him the most. He was just a kid who couldn’t think about what he was having for lunch tomorrow, let alone what forever entailed.
The only thing Kuroo knew for certain was that he wanted to be with Kenma.
He sprang out of bed and began his desperate search for his flashlight. After retrieving it successfully in the depths of his closet, he shone it outside his window and directly into Kenma’s bedroom. He flashed it a few times for good measure before Kenma’s head popped up, hair awry. Kuroo didn’t necessarily remember making up this communication system, but it’d proven to be useful time and time again.
Kuroo opened his window and leaned out it just a bit. “Were you sleeping?” He called out across the divide.
“Not really…” Kenma replied, cracking his window open just a bit. Kuroo could see the light of some gaming device shining from Kenma’s bed.
“Let’s get on the roof!”
“Okay…” Kenma sighed.
Kuroo gave him a huge smile and began to make his way up on the roof. They’d just discovered the best climbing method, much to their parents’ dismay, and would meet up on the roof when neither of them could sleep at night. Kuroo would use the balcony from the guest room and get up on the railing to successfully pull himself up. The adrenaline coursing through his veins and the view from the top made it Kuroo’s favorite spot in the entire world.
He’d then get to the spot where their roofs nearly touched and make the jump onto Kenma’s. He was never really afraid of falling but the thought had crossed his mind once or twice.
Kenma struggled his way up, Kuroo giving him a hand to make the final climb. They settled along the shingles, lying down next to each other with their elbows barely brushing. There was a nice silence that settled between them despite the sounds of chirping cicadas and grasshoppers.
“We’re soulmates… right?” Kuroo asked in a small voice.
“Yeah?” Kenma said with a slightly confused tone.
“So that means we’re gonna be together forever right?”
“I guess so…”
Kuroo sat up with a start. “Do you promise? That we’re gonna be together forever? No matter what anybody else says?”
Kenma was silent for a moment, his eyes averting Kuroo’s firm gaze. “Yeah…”
It wasn’t exactly what Kuroo wanted to hear but it took it regardless. But some big, gushy move and long speech wasn’t Kenma. Kenma was stolen glances and subtle nods. He was quiet movements and deep thoughts. He was Kuroo’s everything.
He intertwined his fingers through Kenmas, giving his hand the smallest of a squeeze as a sort of thanks. They stayed like that all night, their conversation quiet and about whatever kids talked about. It was them.
Their days of childhood bliss came to a quick end. Kuroo’s first year of middle school was terrifying to say the least. But he kept himself sane by doodling all over his arms and legs just to feel connected to Kenma even if he wasn’t actually there.
On rare yet wonderful occasions, Kenma would draw back. Sometimes it was his favorite video game character or a small sketch of a cat; it didn’t matter the quality Kuroo gladly accepted whatever he got back.
He’d sit there for hours completely lost in creating amazing designs all over his body. It became a sort of stress reliever on his worst days. Just knowing that the same design could be copied over onto Kenma gave him all the confidence he needed to experiment.
“Kuro?”
He peeked up from one of his intricate drawings to see Kenma squatting before him, arms wrapped tightly around his knees. He wore an oversized hoodie, completely covering up all of the marks Kuroo was making.
Kenma refused to look him in the eyes; instead he kept a locked gaze just to the right of Kuroo. “…Why do you draw so much?”
Kuroo’s breath faltered, his heart feeling like it was tumbling down a flight of stairs.
He pushed himself off of his stomach and scooted closer to Kenma. He still refused to move his head despite Kuroo meeting him dead-on.
“I dunno,” he said, trying to contain the rising panic in his voice. “Does it bother you?”
Kenma pressed his lips together. “Not necessarily… it’s just a lot of kids comment on it. They think they’re really good.”
“But do you think it’s good?”
“... Yeah.”
Kuroo could physically feel his heartbeat return back to its normal pace. While he showed off his soulmate marks with unbreakable pride, Kenma tended to hide them. Kuroo would never force him to reveal them but Kenma’s eternal need to not draw attention to himself wasn’t exactly aided by extravagant drawings.
A dreadful sense of guilt embedded itself in Kuroo’s stomach. It grew slightly bigger each and every day; a parasite slowly eating away at his seemingly impenetrable soul bond. Was he the reason Kenma got noticed so often? Were his drawings just some silly little measure to claim Kenma as his own?
These feelings he tried so hard to keep buried deep, deep down bubbled up and exploded the moment he saw Kenma surrounded by a group of bullies during his third year of middle school. At first, Kuroo was stunned in place as they taunted Kenma’s soulmate marks and stripped away his hoodie. He wasn’t even trying to fight back, he just accepted the increasingly aggressive jeers.
Before Kuroo knew what he was doing, his legs had taken off towards Kenma and the group of bullies. His fist, somehow, connected with one of their faces which sent them flying towards the ground.
“What the fuck?” The boy snarled, a steady stream of blood pouring from his nose. “What’s wrong with you?”
Kuroo clenched his fist even tighter, ignoring the pain that fired throughout his knuckles. “What’s wrong with you? What the hell are you doing, making fun of someone for having a soulmate?”
“Kuroo…” Kenma cooed, tugging at the edge of his sleeve.
He brushed him off in favor for grabbing the bully on the ground by the shirt. “No, these morons shouldn’t be making fun of anyone just because they’ll never find anyone that could begin to put up with their shitty personalities. You would be so goddamn lucky to even meet a person who could tolerate your idiocy for a whole minute.”
“Kuro,” Kenma said, this time with a sense of urgency creeping at the back of his voice.
The bully pushed himself away as arms hooked around Kuroo’s elbows and dragged him back. He tried wriggling himself out of their grip but they stood strong as the bully neared him. His blood dripped down onto Kuroo’s shirt as he positioned himself above with a purely menacing grin upon his face.
He landed a clean hit to Kuroo’s stomach, then another to his lip. Kuroo kicked back but the bully dodged it easily and punched Kuroo in the gut once more. His breath escaped from his lungs and he felt himself sagging in the arms of the bullies as he attempted to regain any semblance of air.
“TETSUROU,” Kenma shouted, his tone full of panic masked behind undeniable fortitude.
Even the bullies stopped to gawk at this tiny kid who never seemed to act much out of place, let alone raise his voice. Kenma radiated a strange sense of power that made Kuroo’s attackers begin to back away.
Kenma’s golden eyes squinted at the boys. “Leave. Now.”
They dropped Kuroo to the ground and scuttled away without a second thought.
Kuroo, heavily breathing, brought one arm to his sore stomach and another to his busted lip. His fingers pulled away with trace amounts of blood he hoped were just from his mouth and not from internal bleeding.
Kenma sat in front of him, still radiating with anger. “What the hell? You didn’t need to step in.”
“You were getting picked on because you had soulmate marks,” Kuroo argued. “I’m the one who draws them all, so I’m the one who has to protect you.”
“I don’t care! They weren’t doing anything. If you hadn’t stepped in then you wouldn’t have gotten beat up! Look, now you’re bleeding all over the place now, it’s gross.”
A strange thought ran across Kuroo’s mind. “… When’s the last time you ate?”
Kenma, a little taken aback, still replied with a “HUH?” at full force.
“When you’re worn out you get really angry. You’re probably emotionally exhausted and starving so your anger is at an all time high. Come on,” Kuroo pushed himself off the ground and lent out a hand to Kenma. “Let’s go home.”
Kenma accepted it with a grunt. “I’m not done yelling at you.”
“I know you’re not but you will be once you get some food in you.”
Kenma ended up ranting to him about how stupid and reckless he was the entire walk home. But his hand stayed firmly grasped in Kuroo’s and tightened each time his voice cracked with worry. Kuroo wouldn’t let it go for the entire world.
Luckily, those boys never picked on Kenma again. Kuroo made sure of it. But when he went into his high school, Kuroo had this gut-wrenching feeling something bad would happen to Kenma. As it turned out, Kuroo would actually be the one to struggle.
The transition into high school turned about to be even more difficult than his transition to middle school. Without seeing Kenma between class periods there was a sort of emptiness Kuroo couldn’t quite place.
Volleyball was a different monster all together. He’d gotten used to the dynamics of his great team in middle school but now he was singled out as the tall first-year who was particularly talented at blocking. Spiking balls that Kenma hadn’t set just felt… weird.
Kuroo got along well with his fellow first-years but none of them truly got him. It wasn’t until his first training camp where he actually felt at home in his new volleyball team. Surprisingly, it was an insane wing spiker from a different school that made Kuroo appreciate his own.
After a long day of practice matches, a two-toned, spiky haired guy came up to Kuroo with a big smile. “I’m Bokuto! Your blocks are insane , man!”
Kuroo put down his water bottle. “Oh, uh, thanks. Kuroo.”
Bokuto held a volleyball forward with one hand. “Wanna practice with me? I’m tryna get all of the best guys from each school to play a little 3-on-3. You in?”
A small laugh escaped Kuroo’s lips. “Sure.”
“Hey hey hey! That’s more like it, Kuroo! Say I’ve been wondering but are those soulmate marks?”
Kuroo gave his doodles a cursory glance before looking back at Bokuto. “Yeah…”
“Dope! Anyways, ready to set up some blocks for me?”
Kuroo raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to ask about my soulmate?”
Bokuto bounced the volleyball on the ground, getting a good feel for it. “Huh? I mean I can, but only if you wanna talk ‘bout it. Right now though I wanna try and get through your disgusting block.”
Kuroo couldn’t remember the last time he met someone new and their conversation didn’t dissolve into a discussion of soulmates and how lucky Kuroo was and how amazing his soul bond was. Bokuto was a refreshing change to say the least.
So Kuroo indulged him and blocked a handful of spikes for the guy. He got discouraged rather easily, a shame considering how powerful he could be if he was in the right mindset. After Kuroo managed to totally block out his straight, Bokuto announced he was unable to spike any more and called it quits for the night.
A surge of energy was still coursing through Kuroo though. He wouldn’t be able to sleep now if he didn’t manage to get his jitters out so he did what he knew how to do best.
“My soulmate’s name is Kenma,” Kuroo said, wiping away the sweat collected on his brow.
Bokuto looked up from his water bottle, his eyes becoming big and bright. Even his hair seemed to stand up a little bit more from his obvious excitement. “Oya? What’s he like?”
Kuroo pursed his lips. “Quiet… but intense when he wants to be. He’s a big gamer but he plays volleyball too. Although I’m pretty sure he just joined to make me happy.”
“Aww, that’d be so nice!” Bokuto screamed, running his hands through his hair. “I’d kill to have a soulmate who would play volleyball with me. Say, how did you guys meet? I thought most people met their soulmates when they were like, 30 or something.”
“We’re next-door neighbors so we’ve always known one another.”
Bokuto lit up. “So cool! What’s it like having a soulmate?”
Kuroo scoffed. “If you really want advice, might be best to ask someone else.” He tried not to frown at the truth but he couldn’t help it. He’d known Kenma was his soulmate for over a decade and it still felt like nothing had changed between them. He surely wasn’t expecting a grand romantic gesture or anything, but even a kiss might be nice.
Bokuto let out his own hmph. He put his hands on his hips, stepping a little closer to Kuroo. “Dude, you’re like the only person I know with a soulmate. I’m really not gonna ask my teacher or my aunt ‘bout it.”
At his high school, Kuroo was now one of four kids who had a soulmate. Four. Two of them were a pair so it really only left him and another girl as the so-called experts of love. He couldn’t remember a world where he wasn’t barraged with questions about what it was like. Kenma had never been very loud, so even the kids in the year below came to Kuroo for help. It was tiring to say the very least.
“I don’t know man,” Kuroo finally said at last. “It’s not like you could call Kenma and I dating though. We’ve always just been best friends. Not much has changed since.”
“Ah, who cares if you’re dating?” Bokuto nudged Kuroo a bit with his elbow. “You’re still soulmates regardless. Who says soulmates have to be super romantic in the first place? You love him, right?’
Kuroo nodded slightly.
“Then that’s all that matters! Anyways, whenever I find my soulmate, they’re gonna be, like, super pretty. Like to the point where I blush every time I see ‘em because they’re just like a total woah. And they’re gonna be a setter who can set me only the best balls. And they’ll know how to perfectly deal with my mood swings and never get annoyed with me when they happen. Oh and they’re gonna be good at cooking. I’m pretty bad so it’d be nice to have a soulmate who is, like, the best cook in the world.”
Bokuto’s childish words of hope and futures somehow managed to ease the built-up tension in Kuroo’s shoulders. When most people discussed soulmates with Kuroo, it was a bit too serious and real for his liking. Bokuto was the complete opposite; it was complete joy.
Kuroo let out a small chuckle. “That’s quite a long list of requests.”
Bokuto jumped a little bit, readying himself for some more spikes. “What can I say? I’m a high-maintenance man. I need a soulmate who can handle it.”
“And what if you don’t find a soulmate?”
Bokuto seemed to consider it for just a millisecond before he let out a hearty laugh. “Guess it doesn’t matter! I think we’re meant to be with other people even if we’re not connected by some supernatural ability to draw on each other. I mean when you think about it too much, it’s kinda weird not gonna lie. I’d much rather be able to read my soulmate’s mind or something. Now that would be cool.”
“Thank you,” Kuroo said without realizing it.
“Huh? What’d I do?”
Kuroo just smiled. “Nothing really. Ready for round two?”
“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s go!” Bokuto roared back.
The more he interacted with Bokuto, the clearer Kuroo’s mind became. Bokuto was a friend he could never see in a romantic light. Kenma was his best friend he knew everything about; he didn’t want to just stay friends with Kenma.
Yet Kuroo was still able to hug Bokuto and have a teary goodbye at the end of the training camp with the promise they would soon play again. His emotional rollercoaster alone was enough to make Kuroo completely pass out on his bed once he got home. His eyelids were starting to become heavier with each second but an intermittenment flash of light disturbed his oncoming slumber.
He poked his head up to see shining from outside his window. Intermittent flashes that told Kuroo all he needed to know. So he made the ascension up to his roof like he’d done so many nights before to see Kenma sitting there like life was usual.
The climb was a breeze now in comparison to when he was young. Long limbs and a lack of fear aided him in jumping over to Kenma’s side and coming to rest beside him.
“My, my, what do we have here?” Kuroo teased. “Did you actually want to see me?”
Kenma side-eyed him. “How was camp?”
“Exhausting, but worth it. I can’t wait for you and Hinata and Tsukishima to attend next year. We have some pretty interesting foes.”
Kenma nodded. A comfortable silence fell between them. It was almost like he was being recharged in the presence of his soulmate; Kuroo knew how much he personally missed Kenma but could never determine what was going on inside that head.
Then, with a voice barely above a whisper, Kenma asked, “Can I kiss you?”
Kuroo was a man who relied on rationality; despite his troublesome attitude, he thoroughly thought through most of his actions. He was well aware of the risks he was taking with some of his decisions and decided to take them anyways.
But in this moment, he threw reason out the window as he cupped Kema’s jaw and connected their lips.
It was soft to say the least. Like cuddling a cloud Kuroo absentmindedly thought as his thumb stroked Kenma’s chin. His heart fluttered rapidly and his stomach sank.
Why… didn’t it feel nicer?
Kuroo pulled back but Kenma had already turned his eyes away.
Kuroo let his breath fall. “Why do you want to kiss me?”
“You looked like you wanted to,” Kenma said.
“Did you want to?”
The cacophonous silence gave Kuroo a clear answer. His heart unwittingly dropped at the realization and Kuroo nodded in lieu of acknowledgment.
He knew, he knew, that being soulmates with someone meant they were a couple and needed to do couple-y things. He knew that better than anyone considering the fact him and Kenma had never acted in that way. Kenma was his best friend, no questions asked.
But this swirl of emotion consisting of years of pent up feelings was making Kuroo reconsider their entire relationship. Did he even want to become romantically involved with his soulmate? Or were his feelings a direct consequence of being told his entire life that Kenma was his ‘Other Half’?
Kuroo lowered his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn't have rushed you into anything. We can wait... or not do anything like that at all."
He left soon after.
For the first time in their lives, Kuroo and Kenma ceased talking. It was a short-lived phase, but it occurred nonetheless. They didn’t spend every waking moment together like they had as children but instead took their time together with quiet nights on the roof and occasional stops to the grocery store.Even when Kenma began his first year of high school and joined club activities, they were still relatively distant.
Then Kuroo awoke one morning only to not recognize himself in the mirror.
He didn’t dare rip his eyes away from the mop of blond hair that sat atop his head. He always wondered what he would look like with a different hair color but this… this just proved his messy hairstyle was plenty as is.
How did this even happen? He went to bed with black hair but somehow he woke up and found himself a bleached mess. A nagging thought pressed at the back of his mind.
Kuroo left the bathroom in a hurry, running through his bedroom until he flung open the window.
“Kenmaaa!” He screamed, not bothering who he woke up.
Sure enough, Kenma appeared a few moments later with an identical blond head.
Kuroo let out what could only be described as a growl and made his way downstairs, out his front door, over to Kenma’s, and up to his bedroom. Luckily, Kenma’s parents went to work early in the morning so they wouldn’t be able to behold this travesty. Even so, Kuroo’s unannounced appearance in their home was something they’d learned to get used to over the past decade and a half.
Kuroo slammed the door closed, making Kenma jump. He could spot a vial of hair dye in the bathroom off of Kenma’s room and a pair of used gloves.
“Why did you dye your hair?” Kuroo questioned, trying his best to hide the anger rising in his chest.
Kenma avoided his gaze. “Someone said I looked like that girl from The Ring with my hair all dark and long. I didn’t want to cut it because I like my hair long so I dyed it.”
Kuroo sighed, letting himself fall onto Kenma’s bed. “You realize that with blond hair you look like some sort of thug, right?”
“Do not.”
“Do too.”
“Do not.”
Kuroo ran his fingers through his own hair. “… Okay maybe not but I do. I didn’t even know hair dye was applicable to the soul bond.”
“Neither did I.” Kenma dropped his face even more.
Kuroo sat up with a start. “Do you want to dye it back?”
“Not really… ”
“Alright then. Where’s your razor?”
For as long as Kuroo could remember, he had the same haircut. He never spent much time styling his hair in the morning; the unusual combination of a half-fringe with spikes was the unlikely result of squishing two pillows against his head while he slept. He didn’t bother much with his hair but the blond style was not for him.
Kenma led him to the bathroom and dug out an old razor for him. Without a second thought, Kuroo shaved away all of the blond hair. Kenma luckily hadn’t gotten his roots very well so Kuroo ended up with a black buzzcut.
He really looked like a thug now.
“Why’d you do that?” Kenma asked in a soft voice.
“Because I look ugly with blond hair and you didn’t want to dye it back,” Kuroo said matter-of-factly. “Besides, my hair grows fast. It’s no big deal.”
At least, that’s what Kuroo thought about the situation. He received a heavy amount of comments when he walked into class and the Snapchat he sent Bokuto landed him an hour-long call of non stop laughter.
In practice, he made sure to draw attention towards his hair change before his teammates noticed Kenma’s. While he still received a few comments, the vast majority of them couldn’t get over Kuroo’s buzzcut. Kenma kept sending him silent glares he knew were actually a sign of gratitude.
Kuroo’s hair went back to normal slowly but surely; yet the thing that changed most of all was his relationship with Kenma. They’d known each other for so long Kuroo didn’t think they could change really but going into his last year of high school things became… different.
For one, him and Kenma were no longer the center of soulmate gossip at their school. Hinata’s soulmate reveal on its own was big enough to send shockwaves throughout the prefecture; hiding behind that big drama was the fact Tsukishima of all people now had a soulmate.
Just seeing them interact with their respective soulmates made Kuroo's swirl of soulmate-related emotions return with a vengeance. While he could still tease them about their relationships, in actuality he was slightly jealous. Hinata was so carefree and would openly show off Kageyama to anyone that asked. And while Tsukishima kept Yamaguchi a little more to himself, Kuroo could still clearly see the budding relationship.
Kuroo had Kenma... but he didn't have that.
But Kenma was slowly starting to reach out more. He’d willingly visit him during lunch and would stick around for additional practice (even if he only managed to set about 5 extra balls). It was comforting to see him there, even after all of those years. He'd seek out Kuroo's hand on late-night walks after practice, although the other one had his phone and his undivided attention. He was starting to adapt.
Yet time was fleeting and soon the night before Kuroo moved away came.
His entire life was stored in a bunch of boxes. The only trinkets to remain were the pieces of his childhood he couldn’t bear to bring along to college. His first skateboard, now a splintery mess, sat in the corner of his room still scuffed with the marks of tiny sneakers. There were worn-out, deflated volleyballs stacked in his closet next to a pile of games he bought just so he could play with Kenma. Projects from school were shoved in the desk drawer with all of the drawing supplies he bought in middle school when he went through an art phase.
On his bed was a cat plushy Kenma had given him for his 9th birthday. Kuroo picked it up and looked at it closely. He seriously considered bringing it along as a way to keep Kenma with him but ultimately decided against it. He couldn’t let the plushy bare witness to any unfortunate decisions he was going to make.
Kuroo fell back on his bed, letting the plushy settle onto his chest. His ceiling was still littered with those little glow-in-the-dark stars his father graciously put up in elementary school. Kenma was deathly terrified of the dark so the stars were a little compromise they made in order to convince him to spend the night. Those early slumber parties were filled with video games, a little too much junk food, and laughing until tears came to his eyes.
This room was his life. He didn’t know anything different.
A familiar flashing drew Kuroo out of his head. He peeked out the window to see Kenma point to the roof before disappearing back into his room.
Kuroo couldn’t refuse the smirk that rose to his lips.
He put the plushy back to its normal spot, gave it a little pat, then began the journey to the roof like he’d done so many times before. A short-lived yet terrifying thought made him consider that this could be the last time he’d ever pull this stunt; he forced the idea away before it could burrow into his anxieties.
Kuroo pulled himself onto the roof only to see Kenma sitting on his side.
“Ah? What is this?” Kuroo asked, coming to sit beside him. “I thought you couldn’t make the jump to my roof.”
Kenma kept his gaze low, twiddling with his fingers. “I never said I couldn’t, I said I didn’t want to.”
“Oh, but you wanted to today?” Kuroo said with a slightly teasing lilt to his voice.
Kenma shot his eyes towards Kuroo for a split-second then let his head tilt back towards the sky.
A pleasant memory rose of a particularly humid summer evening one year while they were still in elementary school. They ate popsicles under the big tree in Kuroo’s yard and talked for hours about whatever kids talked about. They set off little fireworks which landed them a nasty scolding from Kuroo’s grandmother but was totally worth the trouble in Kuroo’s mind. While the dazzling colors danced in the sky, he couldn’t take his eyes away from the look of awe covering Kenma’s face. He was completely and utterly captivating.
That same magical warm feeling Kuroo had experienced that night was coming back full force and stronger than ever. It eased that constant swirl of emotions Kuroo had been building up over nearly his entire lifetime. The waiting and the wanting and the jealousy and the uncertainty and the protectiveness and the love. The unabashed love Kuroo had decided was the best term for how he felt about Kenma.
So when Kenma finally met his gaze after so many years of wandering eyes, it was like a weight had been lifted in Kuroo’s chest.
Kuroo was suddenly being jerked forward by his jacket collar and into Kenma’s space. Kenma kissed him passionately and fully with all of the good intentions their first kiss on this same rooftop lacked.
Kuroo instinctively wrapped his arms around Kenma’s waist and couldn’t help himself from smiling against his lips. His heart was racing in the best way possible and a growing warmth inside of him rose against Kenma’s breath.
Kenma let out a little chuckle before deepening the kiss, switching his hands to the back of Kuroo’s head and running his fingers through his messy hair. Kuroo, in return, caressed Kenma’s hips, his thumbs making their way underneath his shirt.
Kuroo slipped his tongue inside, almost like he was testing the waters, and felt Kenma shudder at the touch. He took that as a good sign.
Kenma pulled back breathless. He repositioned himself so that he was almost sitting in Kuroo’s lap, his legs draping across his thighs.
Kuroo had always thought Kenma was beautiful in his own way but now he could truly see it. He practically basked in the moonlight, his golden eyes firm and inviting.
“Thank you for waiting,” Kenma said with a small smile, his fingers still playing with the smooth strands of Kuroo’s hair. “I honestly wasn’t sure if you were going to keep putting up with me…”
“You mean continue to hang out with my best friend who also just happens to be my soulmate?” Kuroo quipped back. “I never ‘put up with you’. I chose to be around you because I wanted to. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that we’re soulmates but honestly fuck whatever predetermined bullshit dictates how we should spend our lives. The universe didn’t force me to like you; I liked you way before I could even comprehend what being a soulmate entailed.”
Kenma’s lips curled into a closed smile. “Do you remember when you asked if we were going to be together forever?”
Kuroo nodded.
“At the time, I agreed but I didn’t really know what that meant. But I know now. And I want to be with you for eternity.”
Kuroo brought him in close, nustling his head against Kenma’s shoulder. They must have stayed like that for hours just basking in each other’s presence.
To meet Kenma and be with him for eternity… Kuroo considered himself to be the luckiest bastard in the world.