Work Text:
On this beautiful winter evening, Kuroo sat on their new sofa, watching the news. Their home was on a fairly quiet outskirts of Tokyo, so apart from the strong wind, he didn't hear any unnecessary sounds. Outside the window, you could see snowflakes were falling from the sky and almost completely covered the huge tree in their front yard.
Their living room was on the first floor, and today, on a whim, Kuroo decided to use the fireplace that is located right under their huge TV screen. Kenma had argued with him that the fireplace was completely unnecessary when he could just buy a kotatsu since the effect would be the same, or even better. And it was not that Kuroo didn't agree with him. Kenma was absolutely right. Kotatsu was fantastic, and not to mention, some of his best childhood memories are associated with his family sitting under Kotatsu in winter. He and Tsukki even bought one for their first rented apartment. So what made Kuroo opt for a fireplace? It was very simple, his work colleague.
During one of his JVA friend's bachelor parties, the entire crew was invited to the future groom's house, and while most of these people were just drinking and chatting, a half- sober Kuroo noticed a small fireplace in the center of that living room. This addition to the home interior certainly made the whole room look much more fancy and elegant. He didn’t know who amongst the dozen drunk guys had said that it was a good idea to light the fireplace, but after a while, the fire started to sparkle in the fireplace. And apart from it, there was no other light source in the room. He wasn't sure if it was alcohol that was speaking for him or simply his sappy self, but in that instant, he felt blissful and even melancholic. The flames reflected and sparkled among the darkness, creating a truly magical atmosphere.
Yes, I want one in my house, Kuroo thought to himself. If I ever have my own home, of course.
Tsukki never mentioned it to him, but when Kuroo returned to their apartment that night — clearly drunk — he began talking about his plans for the fireplace before going to bed. Interestingly enough, they had never even talked about any plans to buy their own apartment, let alone a house. So when Kuroo started mentioning this fireplace so enthusiastically, Tsukki did not have the heart to interrupt him, and despite his exhaustion, he still listened with interest to his thoughts and plans for —, as Tsukki hoped—, their shared future. That was one of the reasons why, 3 years later when they finally managed to buy a house on the outskirts of Tokyo, Tsukki didn't have any problems with Kuroo's crazy idea for a fireplace. It was just one of the nicest memories of the days when they started living together in their rented and cramped flat.
So when Kuroo was reminiscing about that bachelor party, the heat radiating from the fireplace coupled with the crackling and sparkling flames warmed the whole living room and gave it a wonderful atmosphere. Tsukki was taking a shower and was about to join him on the sofa. As a large part of the second floor has not yet been finished, they both spent most of their time on the ground floor hence using their guest bathroom for the time being. When Kuroo stopped hearing the sound of a running shower, what followed was the sound of Tsukki loudly complaining about the lack of hot water.
“Tsukki!” Kuroo shouted. “Don't tell me you used up the entire hot water.”
In response, he heard a soft laugh coming out of the bathroom.
Well, this time he would need to have a cold and refreshing bath. Not the first and not the last time this had happened in this house. They urgently needed to solve this problem but the prospect of being warmed by his husband in their shared bed is overwhelmingly encouraging.
Kuroo didn't even notice when Tsukki entered the room. He was moving almost noiselessly, and the only thing that revealed that he was in the room was the sound of the floor panels. Kuroo was about to say something snarky about the cold water, but what struck him at this particular moment was how blissful Tsukki looked in this lighting.
The first thing he noticed was his shimmering eyes. He wasn't wearing glasses today so his eyes were even more visible. Kuroo always thought that his beloved's eyes were something unusual and special, but looking at them in that particular light made them shine even brighter. His name: Kei, 蛍, Firefly. How fitting.
Kuroo’s eyes traveled to his hair. He wasn't the only one who noticed how unusual it was to have natural blonde hair, but as Kei mentioned to him a few years ago, his mother has European roots hence his hair and eyes are so surprisingly bright. For several years now, Tsukki had started growing his hair again and whenever Kuroo saw his hair slightly damp or completely wet from a bath, he couldn't help but compliment his delicate appearance.
“You simply look angelic, my Moonshine.”
Tetsurou turned his eyes back to his face once more and couldn't take his eyes off his mouth. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he just got out of the shower or the lighting from the fireplace but his lips looked especially full. Shining again.
He was literally glowing in the middle of their living room.
How is it possible that the sight of him still takes my breath away after so many years?
How is it possible that he looks even more beautiful with every new day?
“You are truly beautiful,” Kuroo said without thinking. Still staring in his direction, he didn't know which part of his body to focus his eyes on. He couldn't find the right words to express how perfectly his beloved looked at the moment. “Beautiful,” he repeated himself.
Tsukki, visibly surprised, looked down at his clothes and asked confusedly, “Is it thanks to your old T-shirt or the full credit goes to my wet hair?”
“You are ALL beautiful,” Kuroo replied quickly and suddenly became thoughtful. “If you still have to ask then I'm clearly not doing a good job of reminding you how spectacular you look.”
“Stop!” Tsukki calmly but firmly stopped him. The dim light should not show his blush which had begun to spread from the ears to the neck. And that was definitely a lie. No matter how many times Tetsurou compliments his appearance, Kei always feels a little embarrassed. And it was not that he hadn't been complimented in the past. Whether in high school or college, people often noticed his unusual hair color, and, intrigued, wanted to get to know him better. It's just ... no one had ever called him beautiful before. He was called in a variety of ways, most often as handsome, attractive or even intriguing. Never beautiful.
He always associated this statement with the opposite sex and fragile people. He never thought of himself as delicate or even in the similar category. So by the time he and Tetsurou started dating, his at-the-time boyfriend started complimenting his appearance more often. When he heard Kuroo saying this word for the first time to him, beautiful , he truly didn’t know how to interpret it. He couldn't sense any malice in his words and instead saw his boyfriend staring at him with incredible intensity.
So nothing really changed since that day?
Tsukki made his way towards the sofa where Kuroo was sitting and leaned slightly and gently kissed him on the lips. Without taking his eyes off his mouth, he softly whispered, “Thank you, Tetsurou.”
Instead of sitting down as Kuroo expected, Tsukki quickly straightened up and began heading towards the stairs. After a moment, he turned towards him and exclaimed, “Can you please take care of the fireplace now? And once you are done with a shower, head back upstairs. I'll be waiting for you in bed.”
Even before Kuroo got up from the sofa, he looked at Tsukki’s silhouette once more and thought,
simply beautiful.