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The airport is crowded with the shuffling noises of passengers and visitors moving each at their own paces, filling the skylit dome with chattering and brisk air.
Kuroo sits on a bench next to a baggage claim, the place where his boyfriend of two years had asked him to be when he and the rest of his volleyball team came back from their games in upper Japan. He waits, impatiently, with his best friend beside him on a gaming console. Kuroo, however, can’t even fathom opening his phone. His leg shakes at a speed faster than light as he waits, mind racing and heart aching. It was only three weeks he had to spend away from Bokuto, but to him it felt like ages. It was the longest the two had ever been apart, and after recently moving in together Kuroo didn’t want to let him go.
But now the yearning is over, Kuroo finally gets to see his boyfriend again and hug him again and kiss him again as soon as the plane lands back in Tokyo. Now, all that plagues Kuroo is this inevitable wait.
“Kenma, shouldn’t the plane have landed by now?” He murmurs to his friend beside him, clicking away at a game splayed on a bright screen. It takes a few moments for Kenma to look up, let alone reply, but Kuroo knows him well enough to know that he’ll garner a response within a few minutes.
Once his round is over, Kenma looks up and sets his device on his lap. “It’ll be here soon, Kuro. We’ve only been here for fifteen minutes or so.”
Kuroo shrugs, pursing his lips and pulling out his phone. He checks for a text from Bokuto, who said he would text when they landed, but his notifications are empty aside from a few Twitter buzzes. He sighs.
Kenma stretches his fingers out, leaning back in his chair. “Do you miss him that much?” He grins. His eyes narrow into a very cat-like shape. “You’re shaking your leg like you’ve been waiting for an hour.”
“Yeah, I do miss him,” Kuroo scoffs, looking down to cover the blush that spreads over his face. “We haven’t been apart this long before.”
Air whistles through the lobby where the two sit, and Kuroo perks up--hoping that the plane is in sight. He hurries to the closest window to look out at the lot, but sees no planes landing, only one set to depart. His shoulders sag down as he defeatedly walks back to his seat beside Kenma. The latter snorts.
“It’s not even 10:30 yet, Kuro. That’s when the plane should be here.”
Kuroo pulls out his phone, glancing at the time. Kenma’s right--it’s only 10:28. But a slim part of him still hopes that Bokuto will walk in the door right now and pull him into a tight hug, lifting him off the ground as he kisses him. Kuroo knows that’s not going to happen though, he’ll probably just have to awkwardly look at Bokuto and smile seeing as they haven’t come out to anyone but Kenma and Akaashi yet. Also, as far as Kuroo knows, Bokuto doesn’t plan to come out to his coworkers anytime soon.
Especially not with their family members all surrounding the baggage claim where Kuroo sits.
He panics. “Kenma? Kenma, what am I going to do when I see him? Just stare at him?”
Kenma shifts in his chair to sit on his hands, then turns his head to look at Kuroo, wide-eyed from his sudden realization. It’s as if on cue that the loud sounds of a plane engine coming closer blow into the airport, the steel gray of a plane’s metal wings floating downwards to the ground displayed outside of the window.
“Uh, I don’t know. What would you normally do when you see him?” Kenma asks, watching as the plane’s wheels hit the ground. He smiles, then looks back up to see Kuroo pale as a ghost. He frowns. “Kuro, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t kiss him in front of everyone here, not in front of the team, Kenma--”
Kenma interrupts, “Then don’t. Take him aside somewhere to do it. It’s not like he has anyone else to talk to when he gets off, we’re his ride home anyways.”
Kuroo bites his lip, then nods. “Okay,” he says as the plane rolls into its spot near the entrance to the airport.
From across the way, he hears the loud call of a child yelling, “Shoyo’s back!” just to be ushered into her mother’s arms. Kuroo recognizes her as Hinata’s younger sister, and immediately his heart throbs over and over. He doesn’t want to out Bokuto in front of his team, let alone their families. But at the same time, he doesn’t want to just stand there. He’s been alone for three weeks without the boy he’s been with for four years now, the most time they’ve ever spent apart. He wants nothing more than to scoop Bokuto into his arms--he doesn’t know if he should sacrifice the team’s unknowing for his selfish desire. Deep inside he knows the answer, but God, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to restrain himself when he sees Bokuto in the flesh again.
The doors to the plane outside open as soon as a staircase is put beside it. Kuroo takes a deep breath and looks at Kenma, who is smiling brightly. “Aren’t you excited to see him? I’m excited to see Shoyo.”
Kuroo nods, fear and excitement fluxing in his stomach. “I miss Kou so much..,” he murmurs, chest tightening as he sees the familiar faces of Bokuto’s teammates start to depart the plane and make their way towards the airport entrance.
Within a few minutes of Kuroo staring at his thighs, attempting to calm himself down, he starts to hear the loud voices of Hinata Shoyo fighting with his teammates. His ears listen for Bokuto’s voice, but he isn’t able to hear it, so he looks up. He sees a barrage of gray and gold uniforms and hoodies coming towards them. Hinata leads the pack, followed by a few people of whom Kuroo can’t remember the names of. He watches, and as soon as his eyes meet Bokuto’s sturdy frame, all of the voices around him dissipate and he shoots up and out of his chair.
Bokuto walks into the lobby at the back of the team’s parade, eyes immediately searching the waves of people for the one person he wants to find more than anyone: Kuroo.
He hears Sakusa murmur something to him, but he ignores it as they protrude forward. His heart races as he scans the airport lobby, and in the middle standing beside a meekly sitting figure, he sees his boyfriend with starry eyes watching him as he walks into the room.
The air blows static as Bokuto’s mind goes blank. He grins, shoulders relaxing as he darts past Sakusa and into the room—dragging his luggage behind him.
Kuroo watches, his heart about to throw itself up through his throat, as Bokuto runs towards him with a face-ravaging smile spread over his lips. “Tetsu!” He shouts as he comes closer. He drops his bags when within a few feet of his boyfriend.
He throws his arms over Kuroo as if he hasn’t seen him in years and holds him closer than he thinks he ever has before. Kuroo lies his head in Bokuto’s neck to hide from the public surrounding them, and Bokuto lifts him off his feet to hug him even tighter.
“Kou, I missed you so much,” Kuroo whispers, his circulation half-cut off by how tightly he’s being held. He doesn’t mind, though, and presses a kiss into the nape of his boyfriend’s neck. “Don’t leave me for that long ever again.”
Bokuto scoffs, pushing his head against Kuroo’s to kiss his cheek. “I won’t, I don’t want to leave you again, ever. I missed you so much. I love you.”
“I love you,” Kuroo murmurs in reply, lifting his head up to see Bokuto’s face. He’s surprised when he sees Bokuto smiling at him with such soft eyes, but he’s even more surprised when he sees tears dripping down his cheeks. Immediately, Kuroo brushes them away with his fingertips. “Kou, what’s wrong?”
Bokuto shakes his head, grabbing Kuroo’s hands from his face and holding them to his chest. “I just… I missed having someone to talk to, that’s all.”
Kuroo bends to lie his head back on Bokuto’s shoulder when he feels a tug on his shirt. He spins around to see Kenma standing behind him with wide eyes, peering around the room.
“Kuro, people are staring. I thought you two weren’t ready to come out yet,” Kenma whispers, letting the fabric of Kuroo’s shirt (well, it’s actually Bokuto’s) drop from his fingertips. He continues to look around, sneering at anyone who makes eye contact with him.
Bokuto turns a deep shade of red, but refuses to let go of Kuroo and cradles him in his arms. He scoffs, then laughs, and buries his face in Kuroo’s neck. “I don’t want to let go,” he murmurs, embarrassed but at the same time so desperate and excited to see his boyfriend again that he can’t bear to depart.
Kuroo bites his lip, looking at Kenma who wears reassuring eyes, before pulling Bokuto’s face away from his chest to make eye contact. “Then don’t,” Kuroo replies, grinning.
Bokuto doesn’t.
Instead, he leans forward and presses a kiss to Kuroo’s lips, wrapping his arms around Kuroo’s abdomen and sliding one hand up to cradle Kuroo’s neck. He worries for a split second about how Kuroo will react, but relaxes when Kuroo kisses him back and hugs him.
“Jesus Christ, Kuro,” Kenma spits, and the two hear it. They ignore him, until Kenma pulls on Kuroo’s shirt once more, hissing, “Guys.”
Kuroo looks up, then freezes when he sees the majority of the lobby staring at him and Bokuto. In retaliation, he looks down at the floor and lets his hands drop. “Kou, they’re all looking at us.”
Bokuto looks up, gasping when he sees all of his teammates watching him with confused looks on their faces. Instinctively, Bokuto holds Kuroo tighter. But he relaxes his grip and lets Kuroo separate from him as soon as he sees one of his teammates’ mothers with a repulsed expression on her face.
His heart drops to the floor, the room is completely, utterly silent aside from the damn static.
Kuroo sighs, almost inaudibly, and whispers to himself, “Shit.”
Bokuto looks at him, then back at the people in the lobby. His eyes rest on one Atsumu Miya, who stands with his brother and mother. He feels tears prickle hot in his eyes, and Atsumu notices almost right away how dire the situation is.
His reaction is to look back at Sakusa, who stands alone still waiting for the Miya family reunion to be over so he can hitch a ride home. He cocks his head when Atsumu mouths the words ‘say something’ under his breath. It takes a few more times, but eventually Sakusa catches his drift.
He turns back to look at Bokuto, only seconds away from an entire breakdown, and decides the wisest words in this situation would be to ask over the silence as loud as he possibly can, “Who’s that?”
The embarrassment Kuroo stifles is stronger than anything else in the room. He looks at the floor as his skin lights up in red, red, red. He bites his lip and feels as Bokuto’s arm snakes around his waist, reassuring him that the situation will be dealt with.
“This is Kuroo,” Bokuto starts, tugging Kuroo closer by the waist. He makes solemn eye contact with Sakusa across the room, and as soon as a hint of a smile crosses Sakusa’s lips, every nerve falls apart. Bokuto grins back, loopily albeit, as he finishes, “My boyfriend.”
Kenma’s breath catches as he watches Kuroo with his head still aimed at the floor, everyone staring at the pair of them. Hinata stands beside Kenma with his family, and his sister whispers something quietly into his ear. Hinata frowns at her, and Kenma watches with his teeth grit together tight, tight, tight.
Nobody speaks, but Bokuto continues to hold Kuroo who flushes bright red. The silence is uncomfortable and the room is cold, but everyone stands still as towers in the bright, winter city.
Eventually, Atsumu breaks the silence.
“That’s awesome man, I’m proud of you.”
He walks towards his teammate with a wild grin splayed across his lips, teeth bright and ravaging his entire smile. He swings Bokuto into some sort of ‘bro hug’, forcing the latter to let go of his boyfriend and fall into Atsumu’s awkward embrace.
Atsumu takes the time they’re close to whisper into Bokuto’s ear, “I’m here for you, really. I won’t let any stupid shit happen,” before patting him on the shoulder and separating from their hug. Atsumu coolly walks back to his family and hoping to take the attention off of Bokuto and Kuroo, starts to talk to Osamu.
However, the rest of the room doesn’t copy, and Hinata walks towards the couple with Kenma on his tail.
“How long have you guys been together?” He asks, to which Kuroo stiffens. He wasn’t expecting to come out today, let alone explain his relationship to anyone. He looks to Bokuto for an answer, but his boyfriend remains mute.
“Uh, almost three years now,” Kuroo manages to spit out, once he realizes that Bokuto won’t be doing him any favors.
Hinata’s eyes widen, and he grins. “Wow! You guys could get married now if you wanted to!”
Kuroo rolls his eyes, awkwardly forcing himself to laugh. “Yeah, if it was legal, maybe…”
The room stiffens with him, and Sakusa takes the silence as an opportunity to speak up.
“It’s not illegal, it’s just unrecognized. You could still get married,” He says, thinking he’s helping the situation when really it’s just making everything worse. The team’s families are all still staring, and it steels itself away in Kuroo’s soul with a hard queasiness.
Bokuto takes a deep breath and slips his hand into Kuroo’s. He squeezes it before replying, “Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for supporting us.”
It’s then that Kenma notices how uncomfortable his best friend looks, almost on the verge of tears and trembling under the static air in the airport lobby. It’s then that he takes himself uncharacteristic, as he says aloud, “So! How were the games? We were watching on TV, it seems like they went over pretty great!”
He’s not the only one wanting to change the topic, though, as the rest of the room immediately respond in conversations and watch as Hinata launches into telling a story, accompanied by bold hand motions and everything.
Only then does Bokuto hold Kuroo’s hand tighter, and slowly start walking away from the lobby towards the restrooms where they could have a more private reunion.
Once they walk into the restroom, Bokuto quietly looks around to see if they’re alone. When he realizes they are, he throws his boyfriend into a hug as he sighs in relief.
Kuroo sighs as well, and lies his head back on Bokuto’s shoulder. He murmurs, “Shit, Kou,” and shakes his head.
Bokuto hums in agreement, placing a kiss on Kuroo’s head as he does so. “I’m sorry, I should have contained myself.”
“No, it wasn’t just you. It was me too,” Kuroo replies, smiling briefly when he lifts his head up to see Bokuto’s face. Bokuto places a soft, evanescent kiss on his lips. “And to be honest with you, it went over better than I thought it would.”
Bokuto nods. “I’m surprised Miya cares that much about me,” He scoffs, to which Kuroo giggles.
“Poor Kenma though, he was even reminding me before the plane landed to make sure I kept myself with dignity when I saw you. Obviously, I couldn’t do that.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I missed you so much,” Bokuto says, grabbing Kuroo’s face to place another kiss on his lips, then again. “I’m going to take you with me next time, okay?”
The vents in the bathroom air loudly over the couple as they kiss once more. Fortunately, the room remains empty as Bokuto takes Kuroo into his arms warmly to embrace him.
Kuroo nods, then sighs when Bokuto tightens his hold. “I’d like that.”
“And… now that we’re out…,” Bokuto starts, then takes one of Kuroo’s hands in both of his. “Maybe we can start thinking about the next step?”
He rubs his fingertips over Kuroo’s ring finger, to which Kuroo gasps quietly. He blushes when Bokuto places a soft kiss on his neck before intertwining their fingers.
“I… I would like that a lot,” Kuroo replies, breathlessly. He runs his own fingernails over Bokuto’s ring finger, then blushes harder when he feels a kiss hot against his neck once again.
After a few minutes, Bokuto opts to let go of his boyfriend (though he leaves their hands tightly intertwined).
Kuroo cocks his head, body turning cold almost immediately after he leaves the grasp of his boyfriend (and soon to be fiance). “What?”
Bokuto grins. “Let’s go get Kenma and go home,” He says, leading Kuroo out of the restroom as he swings their arms in unison. “I want to go look at rings!”
Kuroo’s heart swells as he follows Bokuto out of the restroom, their hands linked tightly all the way.