Work Text:
No one knows how it all started, just that there was no way to stop it. Elemental abilities began to show up here and there, and with them came new laws and regulations to control the mutation and put a hindrance on the abuse of power. The years went on and a pattern in children arose as the elemental activity proved to increase dramatically. Further study confirmed that the development of elemental abilities was caused by a recessive gene triggered by puberty and, as humanity evolved, the gene continued to mutate into a dominant characteristic possessed by a majority of the planet’s population.
When his elemental abilities manifested, he was terrified. They had developed prematurely by a whole three years, surprising both himself and his family when the ten year old first grasped his fiery potential, but the element itself was the most troubling development and he remembered the incident vividly.
A feeling of anger beyond anything he had ever known, unbidden and uncontrollable, leading to a blast of burning orange that circled him like a cyclone, expanding before it dispersed. The walls of his room were scorched black, his overhead light bulbs had popped from the exposure to such an intense heat, but as his anger vanished, so did the remaining simmering flames—though it did nothing for the slow ebb of the residual heat. She’d heard the scream he let loose upon seeing the blaze and came running. His mother had no way of knowing how hot the doorknob would be. In her haste to check on her son, she had burned her hand on the scalding metal.
He’d had a breakdown when he saw his mother’s hand, blistered and sporting an angry red color, and he was scared. For a child to “earn” a fire element was a rare and dangerous occurrence, as was the case with many light elements, but to have it manifest at such a young age was like adding fuel to a raging flame, so he tried to hide it. Years went by, years of bottling up his element, hiding what he was capable of until it became too much.
The second incident started much as the first had.
Intense emotion boiled inside of him, churning and bubbling with a tenseness that made him want to explode. It was his last year of middle school and most of the kids in his class had started to develop elements of their own, the more ballsy ones taking to bullying those who had yet to discover their element; they had been convinced that he was such a child. Their pestering had grated his nerves, annoyance quickly evolving into anger, but they refused to heed his warnings and leave him be. Orange brilliance had leapt forth, spiraling as it had the first time it manifested, pushing back his classmates of whom were in awe of the use of a rare element. No one bothered him again and few of his peers beyond the volleyball club dared to approach him afterwards.
His first year of high school was when he attempted to start using his element more regularly as to relieve the ever building tension within him and prevent another unwanted outburst. With this method, he found a safe middle ground and a newfound control of his blaze, and his mother commented on how he had mellowed out immensely.
He continued to keep his attribute under wraps, knowing how people would react if he let them in on his biggest secret. It was difficult, pretending to be something he wasn't, but things went on without a hitch until-
I
Health class was a boring requirement that he regretted not getting out of the way sooner, mostly because of the subtle embarrassment he felt at being one of the only second years sitting in the classroom, as was his penance for taking an extra science course his first year (he still wasn’t sure if he was actually allowed to do that or not and he was pretty convinced that he just slipped through the cracks of the administration) but he didn’t regret it at all. Although, he wondered if the teacher’s droning on the subject of elemental classification would’ve been more interesting the previous year as he watched an underclassman scribble notes on the lecture with gusto in anticipation for the test at the week’s end. With a sigh, he nibbled on his pen and stared at the blank pages of his journal in dismay despite the fact that he had no doubt in his mind he’d pass the test without the notes that eluded him. His gaze lazily swayed to view the teacher’s messy scrawl on the board, his gut twisting painfully at the thought of trying to decipher the rushed notes and he resolved to actually pay attention to the routine lecture he had to sit through in biology the previous year when they had briefly touched on the subject.
“...And the basic classifications, rudimentary as they may be, are still in place in today’s world. Though some are harder to come by than others in this day in age,” she recited, going through the motions as she continued the lecture, long memorized over her many years.
He had to hold back a groan.
“While earth, water, and wind-classed elements are commonplace, Fire-based elements have faded into the background and are facing near extinction.”
His brow furrowed at the statement, an exaggeration no doubt, but that didn’t make it any less irritating to hear. He continued to fidget in his seat, gaze darting all over the room, eventually settling on two boys spitting little balls of ice at each other; frozen globs of their own spit, no doubt. Disgusting. If the teacher saw the duo, she paid them no mind and continued on her merry way.
“This short unit is so that you can learn about element related illnesses and how to avoid them,” she continued as she erased the mess cluttering the whiteboard. “Avoidance is key since we don’t have cures for everything yet, and even then, life is unpredictable,” she managed as she heaved a sigh. “This typically includes Extreme Hypo or Hyperthermia and Hanahaki of the nonfictional persuasion,” she stressed when a herd of girls at the back of the class let loose a torrent of high pitched giggles. “Surgery can generally fix that, but the former two, Extreme Hypo and Hyperthermia, have no known cures and some of the lowest survival rates since the Black Death.”
His chest ached with the pain of a buried memory, but he kept his jaw firmly shut all the same.
She pivoted, facing the class. “More details are in chapter ten of your textbooks,” she explained as she retrieved a stack of papers from her desk. “This is the assignment for tonight’s reading, due at the beginning of class tomorrow. I will not accept late work.”
.
Classes ended with the final bell, the second year taking his time to make it down to the gymnasium for volleyball practice, catching sight of two first years along the way, both of them familiar and visibly agitated. A smirk crawled across his face as he approached, making it a point to ruffle the duo’s hair affectionately as to make his presence known.
“Hey! I don’t have to get Fukunaga-kun to douse you again, do I?” he greeted in a teasing tone, his voice melting the tenseness in their shoulders.
Kenma turned with the smallest of smiles. Yamamoto actually let out a laugh at the memory with a quick “No, sir” and a grin.
“So what’s got you two in a mood, huh?” he asked, continuing on his way towards the gym.
The first years were quick to follow, a brief explanation that someone had been so bold as to tease Kenma for being a non elemental falling from Yamamoto’s lips. Admittedly, not a first; though it still stung the first year when people brought it up.
“Do I need to learn how to get rid of a body?” he offered with an arched brow and a look over his shoulder at the non elemental.
“Of course not,” he muttered in response, looking down to check his phone, having long since mastered the elusive art of multitasking. “I’ll do that.”
Tetsurou let out a laugh in response, not at all a flattering sound, and the group fell into silence again quickly after, no one daring to break it until they reached the gym, the sound of volleyballs smacking the wooden floor very prominent in the cool afternoon air.
Tetsurou smiled in approval at his fellow team members. “A little early today, huh Yaku? Kai?”
The duo paused in their actions, their ball rolling away as their attention was diverted elsewhere. “What? Surprised that you guys aren’t the first ones here for a change, Kuroo?” Yaku teased with a good-natured grin.
Kai’s smile was more subdued, but it was still there. “Fukunaga-kun isn’t with you?”
Yamamoto shook his head, brows furrowing as he crossed his arms. “When I messaged him, he said he’d be late.”
Yaku looked suspicious. “And when did you message him, exactly?” he probed with narrowed eyes, a slight breeze picking up in the room before the wind elemental was able to put a cap on his irritation. “Not in class, I hope.” When Yamamoto’s eyes darted to the side in an attempt at avoidance, Yaku sighed, kicking a discarded volleyball into the teen’s shin. “Pay attention in your classes!” he scolded with a huff.
Kenma rolled his eyes and Tetsurou let out a snicker at the action while Kai looked unamused. From then on, practice continued without a hitch for about fifteen minutes, after which Yaku voiced concerns regarding the absence of Fukunaga and the worry began to spread and linger for a while until the young man barreled through the doors five minutes later, a pack of dried squid from the vending machine in his grip and an uncharacteristic grin on his face, surprising everyone in attendance.
“Who are you and what have you done with Fukunaga-kun?” Tetsurou asked with an incredulous gaze.
The boy went on to mutter something.
“Speak up, c’mon!” Yamamoto prompted, and Kenma halted his serve to nod along in agreement.
“We have a practice match.”
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then, Kenma spoke, “With who?”
“And how are you the first to know?” Yaku added.
Tetsurou could only smile.
II
The next week found them on the five o’clock train, sans the third years who were suffering through exams.
The group of red-clad teenagers stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the other evening commuters.
Kenma’s eyes were glued to his phone screen as the train carried them across the wide expanse of Tokyo via the subterranean railways. Tetsurou, ever the curious one, found himself peeking over his friend’s shoulder, of whom was scrolling through the bottomless pit that was Tumblr. Yamamoto had his headphones in, the muted notes escaping into the otherwise quiet air while Kai read a book next to him. Yaku didn’t look very flattering, taking a nap with his cheek squished against the window, and Fukunaga’s dazed look wasn’t much better as he absently watched the lights on the walls of the metro flash by.
Coach Nekomata sat a few rows away from the rest of them with his eyes closed, but Tetsurou doubted that the old earth elemental was asleep. However, seeing as assistant coach Naoi had been sick with a severe fever for the past few days, Nekomata was currently left without his usual company for these day trips, so he wouldn’t put it past the man to nod off for a while.
A female voice chimed above them, announcing their stop and rousing Yaku from his light slumber, the wind elemental grumbling in protest and rubbing at his pinkened cheek. Kenma glanced up at the sound, but paid it no true mind and quickly returned to his phone. Yamamoto, however, remained blissfully unaware of the development until Fukunaga turned around in his seat and swatted his nose, gaining his attention and earning a scowl. Kai took it as an opportunity to find a stopping point in his book, smiling softly at the pair as they exchanged light jabs.
When the team stepped foot off of the train, they leisurely made their way to their final destination, eventually catching a bus in order to put an end to Yamamoto’s griping regarding the “excessive walking” they’d have to suffer through otherwise. Tetsurou had been quick to chime in on the fact that Yamamoto had young legs and could very well walk a mile or two with no trouble; even Nekomata tossed out a comment that the teen was being too lazy.
When they disembarked, the team found themselves about a block away from the high school they were visiting for their practice match and the fire elemental could feel his body heating from the excitement. Kenma, who was standing next to him, nudged his arm with an elbow in warning. Tetsurou gave the non elemental a halfhearted glare, to which the other teen rolled his eyes.
“You’ll thank me one day,” Kenma muttered, tapping away on his phone.
He huffed, but did his best to keep his temperature in check. His friend smiled at the effort, knowing the difficulties the fire elemental faced in keeping tabs on his abilities and his attitude towards how dangerous the flames could be. Especially the reluctance he faced in using his powers ever since the accident with his mother, and Kenma still had to beg the boy to release the pent up energy from time to time. That reluctance had only been enforced in middle school when he had unintentionally lashed out at his peers thanks to the insane amount of energy that was reserved in his body from years of constant disuse.
Nekomata spoke up when the door of the gym came into view, gaining everyone’s attention, “I want all of you on your best behavior.” He turned to them with a smile overflowing with charm. “You’re here representing the Nekoma name, after all...and I would hate to give you all extra laps during tomorrow’s practice.”
The evil glint hidden in the eyes of their coach had a shiver of dread running up Tetsurou’s spine, but the opening of the gym doors created an air of excitement that trumped the old man’s threat and he found himself sucking in a large, awed breath. Kenma followed his friend’s reaction with careful eyes, mindful of the teen’s subtle heat, before returning his sight to the open space before him. Confusion over the fire elemental’s excitement seemed only fitting, as Kenma saw nothing inherently special or out of the ordinary about the gym, except that it might have been cleaner than that of Nekoma High.
An unfamiliar voice rang out, attracting the attention of the Nekoma volleyball team and a few curious ears stationed throughout the gym, “Welcome to Fukurodani Academy.”
Coach Nekomata turned slowly and, as if recognizing the voice, smiled pleasantly when he spoke, “Thank you for having us.” He offered a hand to the approaching man. “Good to see you, Yamiji-san.”
Fukurodani’s coach was on the older side with glasses that slid down the bridge of his nose, his eyes peering carefully over the tops of the lenses due to being near-sighted.
“And you, Nekomata-san,” he returned with a firm handshake. “It’s good to see other teams. The kids could always use the experience,” he said, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
Tetsurou half heartedly ignored the coaches in favor of scanning the room, taking in the faces of the Fukurodani team, slight anxiety pooling in his gut.
When his eyes finally ended their sweep, he briefly met the gaze haltingly golden eyes and a rather unique hairstyle that made the fire elemental smile with mild amusement.
How much product did he have to put in his hair?
For a moment, Tetsurou mulled over waltzing across the gym and asking just to sate his curiosity, but his train of thought was derailed when the coaches called out to their respective teams to line up for the greeting.
He found himself at the front of the line across from the strange looking, golden eyed teen he’d spotted mere moments ago, much to his muted surprise. It was difficult for him to decide if it was merely the lighting of the gym or something more, but he could’ve sworn that when he dipped his head into a bow, those eyes were glowing.
“...Thanks for having us,” Tetsurou managed, looking on with a wary gaze.
The owlish boy’s eyes unfocused briefly before a smile split his face and he mimicked Kuroo’s bow. “Pleased to have you.”
.
By mid-match, the mystery behind the stranger’s eyes was driving him into a state of near insanity.
Kenma had sent him mildly concerned looks every chance he got. The fire elemental simply sighed and stewed in his own frustrations regarding the strange teen across the net. He was beginning to wonder if he was seeing things, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was... off.
He made it a point to shadow the peculiar wing spiker, to be the first one there when he tried to attack, to make eye contact as much as he could in order to get a good look at that yellow glow, barely discernible beneath the harsh gymnasium lights, but yes , it was there. His curiosity was piqued and his mind was reeling, his brain attempting to create reasonable explanations as to how, because statistically speaking, it was impossible, but it was staring him in the face.
.
Eventually, the time came for Nekoma to leave the court and Kenma took it as an opportunity to snatch Kuroo away and pursue a more direct line of questioning instead of relying on his usual arched brow of expectancy.
“Speak,” the non elemental demanded, crossing his arms and meeting the hazel gaze of the teen that stared down at him.
“Did you see it?” he asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, looking at something beyond the first year’s shoulder.
Kenma blinked, expecting the teen to elaborate, but nothing came.
“Could you be more specific?” he probed, following the other’s gaze out of curiosity. What the non element saw was not what he expected. “The wing spiker?”
Tetsurou stopped his shifting. “Yeah...”
Wary caramel eyes searched his face. “What about him...?”
The fire elemental could only shake his head, not entirely sure on what he should say, if he should say anything at all.
“I overheard some of his teammates call him Bokuto,” Kenma informed, trying to be helpful. “If maybe you needed a name for the face...”
He narrowed his eyes as he watched the owlish teen— Bokuto nod along to something his setter said before the blue eyed boy left, giving the wing spiker a pat on his shoulder. Tetsurou took that as an opening.
“Thanks, Kenma,” he muttered, walking forward with a determined gait. When he was within hearing distance, Tetsurou called out to get his attention, “Hey, it’s Bokuto, right?” The unsuspecting teen startled slightly at the sudden voice, the jerk of the teen’s shoulders making him stop short rather involuntarily, apology falling from his lips in what was mostly habit with only a hint of sincerity, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to freak you out.”
Bokuto shrugged but his lips were quirked in a way that suggested that he knew Tetsurou didn’t feel very sorry, and he turned to look in his general direction with those softly pulsating eyes of his. He was surprised he even noticed the glow at all with how faint it actually was, even up close.
“It’s all good,” he assured, his gaze seemingly fogged despite the bright light brought on by whatever ability he possessed. “That was a good game,” he added, offering his hand. “You had me on a run for my money, bro.”
“Kuroo Tetsurou,” he offered, reaching for his hand and giving the appendage a squeeze. “You weren’t bad yourself, Bright Eyes.”
The nickname had the wing spiker going stiff for a moment, eyes flickering with an emotion he was all too familiar with: panic.
“...Thanks...” the teen managed, about to pull his hand from the middle blocker’s grasp, but a sudden wave of warmth washing over his skin stopped him. “What was-?”
“We’ve got a few things in common, it looks like,” he muttered, releasing Bokuto’s warmed hand and ignoring the slack-jawed look of awe he had on his face in favor of turning around and leaving the gym to regroup with his team.
III
He couldn’t get the memory of those eyes out of his head.
In the following weeks, they had haunted his dreams and crept up on him during the day at the most inopportune of times, much to his chagrin. At some point, it had stopped bothering him and he found himself actively recalling the glow and reveling in the knowledge that he was not alone in the world as far as his abnormal elemental abilities were concerned, though he lamented the fact that he had no way of getting in touch with the idiosyncratic individual.
His attention, or lack thereof, was grasped by the tell-tale vibrating of his phone, hidden away in his pocket as he made his way to the park, his young mutt walking on a slack lead next to him. The dog took pause to inspect a strip of grass invading the pavement and Tetsurou took the opportunity to check the notification, noting it as a text from Kenma before he swiped it open.
They Killed Kenny
18:05 u r walking ur demon right?
He rolled his eyes and typed out a response as Kabuki’s attention was grasped by a passing beetle. The curious young lady crouched to watch it crawl across the path.
Me
18:07 Your grammar is horrendous, Ken Doll, but I’ll let it slide today.
18:07 And Buki-chan is an angel. You’re just jealous of how majestic she is.
They Killed Kenny
18:08 i hate you
Me
18:08 !!!!!!
18:08 Such strong language, Kenma. You’ve wounded me.
Kabuki, the sweet girl, met his gaze and wet her nose, the red-brown patterns on her snout scrunching with the motion. Her gaze seemed of a curious nature as she rose to her paws and took a tentative step forward.
Me
18:08 But yes, I am walking her.
18:09 Why? What’s up?
They Killed Kenny
18:09 i need ur help
Me
18:09 Oh no, Ken… You didn’t kill Yamamoto, did you??
18:10 You’re asking me to help you burn the evidence, aren’t you?
18:10 I’m flattered.
He started forward again, much to his pup’s delight, though he refrained from slipping his phone back into his pocket. The duo continued on their merry way to their destination, the only sound at the moment being that of Kabuki’s tags jingling on her collar. It took a minute for Kenma to respond to Tetsurou’s habitual bullshit and the non elemental was unimpressed.
They Killed Kenny
18:13 if i needed help getting rid of the evidence i would ask yaku
18:13 all the offense
Me
18:15 Some taken.
18:15 So what do you need?
The park was relatively small, surrounded by a wrought iron fence with a few scattered benches throughout, the trees still young and thin with their vibrant leaves. He removed Kabuki’s lead and made his way to one of the welcoming wood benches to sit and relax while he waited for Kenma’s reply, watching his dog sniff and wander for a while before she eventually grew bored and trotted back to sit at his feet.
They Killed Kenny
18:21 come over i wanna talk
When he saw those words across his screen, he sighed deeply and shared a look with his dog, the canine simply looking up at him with her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
Me
18:21 Can I bring the dog?
They Killed Kenny
18:21 …
18:22 u can bring the dog
.
Kenma’s mother was milling about the kitchen when he welcomed himself in, his dog curiously sniffing the air as she followed, and the older woman greeted him with a smile, “Okaeri.”
He responded in his usual calm demeanor, “Tadaima.”
“I’m making some lemonade. Would you like some, Tetsurou?” she asked, the ice elemental cupping her hands under the running faucet of the kitchen.
“Sure, Mum,” he replied absently, the woman smiling as he watched the water in her hands freeze into uniform cubes with an audible crackle.
“That childish fascination of yours never went away, did it?” she asked with a laugh, amused at his awed expression.
He flushed and looked away, clearing his throat. Fuyuko smiled her sweet smile as she went about her business, humming to herself. The woman viewed Tetsurou as a second son, having known him since he was a young lad, and she loved him like her own. Any teasing she subjected him to was always good-natured and, if he was being honest, very welcome.
He took a deep breath.
“Is Kozume in his room?”
Fuyuko smiled with a nod and handed him two glasses of iced lemonade. “I’ll be out back reading, if you need me,” she offered with a playful wink.
He took the offered beverages with a small smile of his own and made his way into the back hallway, having to use his foot to push open the familiar bedroom door. Kenma’s idle form greeted him silently, his keen eyes trained on the screen of his handheld, his fingers moving fluidly. He closed the door behind him with his foot and offered an arched brow.
“You wanted to talk?” he asked, placing Kenma’s glass on his side table.
The teen gave him a sideways glance before returning to his game. “You remember that team from our practice match, Fukurodani?”
Tetsurou froze. “Yeah, what about them?”
“Well...” Kenma paused his game and peeked over the console at the dark haired youth. “Their setter sent me a friend request over PSN.”
Blue eyes accompanied by sharp, owlish yellow came to mind and he could’ve sworn he felt his temperature skyrocket for the briefest of seconds as his pulse hammered in his ears.
An arched brow on Tetsurou’s part and his brain helpfully supplied him with a suitable word, filled with a subtle disbelief, “What?”
The non elemental rolled his eyes and unpaused his game. “I said what I said, Kuroo.”
“Did you... y’know ,” he offered, rather lackluster in his delivery.
“Use your words, Kuro,” the other teen drawled, mashing some buttons on the console.
He barely refrained from rolling his eyes. “Did you accept his friend request?”
He mumbled, almost too low for Tetsurou to hear, “I did, but….” The non elemental sighed, “That's what I need your help with...”
He motioned for Kenma to continue with a nod as he made to sit at the foot of his friend’s bed. “Do tell,” he prompted with an infuriating smirk. “I’ll do my best to share with you my extensive expertise on someone that I know absolutely nothing about.”
Kenma glared at him and Tetsurou’s smirk evolved into a broad grin that was full of mischief, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Why do I even talk to you?” the non elemental grumbled out, his brows furrowing.
“Because I said hello.”
They fell into silence for a moment, both knowing how true that statement was; if not for his outgoing nature in their elementary school days, Kenma would likely still be the odd one out for everything. He had been the one to expand Kenma’s horizons, so to speak, and it was thanks to such a chance encounter between the two boys (and, admittedly, a little help from their parents) that they managed to become friends at all.
“But anywho...” he trailed off, his smile softening some. “What about this whole ‘new friends’ thing has you all bent outta shape, huh?”
Intuitive eyes met his before they managed to slide away, the boy’s attention returning to his video game. “He wanted to meet up for lunch next Saturday.”
Tetsurou noted the way his friend’s cheeks tinted pink and he huffed out a laugh. “Got a bit of a crush, Kenny?”
He said nothing, but with the way the younger teen’s body tensed, the answer was fairly obvious. “...Shut up...”
“So,” he hummed, plucking at a loose thread on the comforter.
“So?”
“ So, you have a crush on him-”
“ I never said- ”
“-And you’re a bit freaked out about being alone with him?”
Kenma sighed and gave a jerky nod.
“And you got the bright idea to drag me along?” he muttered, feigning irritation at his friend’s expense.
He gave another solemn nod.
The fire elemental pretended to think it over for a moment before he broke out into a grin. “Yeah, okay.”
Kenma released such a gargantuan sigh of relief that, for a moment, Tetsurou thought that he had finally sighed himself into another plane of existence.
IV
A volleyball smacked into his forearms in a seamless receive, Kai smiled at him, pleased. Tetsurou took a moment to rub his reddening skin in hopes of soothing it to no avail.
“Nice spike, Kai,” Yaku shouted from the bench, a bloody tissue poking out of his nose from a poor encounter with one of Yamamoto’s spikes; the apologetic earth elemental had run off to fetch the irritated teen a fresh bottle of water. “And Kuroo, nice receive,” he added with a grin, though it took a teasing edge with his follow up of, “How’s your arm?”
He smirked evilly, “Better than your nose.”
Yaku actually looked affronted and the red appearance of the wind elemental’s cheeks brought forth a snicker from the fire elemental.
“It’s getting late and I need to head home,” Kai informed. “Early day tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah,” Yaku declared with a snap. “You and your mom were gonna go see your little sister’s volleyball game, right?”
Kai nodded with a smile. “She’s getting really good.”
“Well, she does have you to look up to—and I don’t think she could find a better role model than you, Kai,” Tetsurou added with a smile of his own.
“Woah there, Sunshine!” Yamamoto declared in surprise, walking in at the tail end of his praise. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”
The fire elemental shrugged. “It’s Friday.” He could almost feel Kenma’s anxiety for the lunch date they had planned the next day with that Akaashi guy from Fukurodani. “And I have a good feeling about this weekend,” he added with a wink. Then, “Why don’t we stop here for today?” He turned to Nekomata, the old earth elemental sitting and reading a book on the bench. “What d’you say, coach?”
Nekomata checked his watch and nodded. “You kids head on out. Good work today.”
.
He slammed his hand down onto his screaming alarm and heaved a heavy sigh, slowly dragging the pillow off of his face with a groan. “I hate mornings.”
“I know.”
He turned slowly until Kenma’s face came into view and he contemplated smacking him for the briefest of moments, but then he realized that the non elemental was sitting too far away. Kenma turned to look at the disgruntled teen and smirked from his spot on the floor, the futon he slept on still spread out beneath him.
“...The things I do for you,” he muttered, stretching and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “D’you ever, y’know, sleep ?”
Kenma turned his attention back to his phone. “Sleep is for the weak.” The non elemental met his eyes for the briefest of moments and smirked, “And you, good sir, are very weak.”
“Ouch, Ken. You’ve hurt my nonexistent self esteem,” he huffed out with a laugh before quieting down to stare at the ceiling for a while.
“When do we have to leave?” he asked as he sat up, running a hand through his hellish hair while glancing at the clock.
“Two-ish hours.”
“Cool. I’m ‘onna shit n’ shower.”
Kenma snorted. “You’re gross.”
Tetsurou stood to find his towel; he never was good at putting things back in their place. “Excuse you, I’m fabulous.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Kuro.”
The fire elemental snorted and fled to the bathroom for some well deserved morning solitude and by the time he came back, towel-clad with dripping hair that still refused to sit flat, Kenma had welcomed himself to the older teen’s bed. Kabuki trotted into the room behind him happily, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, and Kenma’s nose scrunched up when she scrambled onto the bed to shower him with affection.
“Aw, she likes you,” Tetsurou cooed, though it held a mocking edge.
“Get this manga eating monster away from me,” Kenma growled, nudging her muzzle away from his person with a scowl.
“Oh, c’mon! It was one time,” he groaned, holding out one finger for emphasis.
With a roll of his eyes, Tetsurou snatched her up in a hug and gave her a scratch behind the ears while he told her what a good girl she was.
After a moment, he cooed, “Don’t listen to Uncle Kenny. He’s just a salty boi.” Kabuki huffed an affirmative and the sound drew a chuckle from him. “Alright, Ken, out you get.”
Kenma arched a questioning brow.
“I need to get dressed, dude,” he explained. The corner of his mouth quirked upwards in a minute smirk that the non elemental barely registered and his brows wagged suggestively. “...Unless you wanna see me naked?”
“I’m leaving.”
The fire elemental had never seen his friend move so fast before, the sudden movement shaking the bed frame and leaving a gust of wind in his wake, the door shutting behind him.
With a snicker, Tetsurou surrendered Buki to her own devices and went about getting ready for their unofficial kinda-sorta-date-thing with Kenma’s totally-not-crush.
In truth, he was anxious. Not only would he be a third wheel, but he knew that he would end up being the awkward third wheel; the one that turns into an annoyance really quickly. There was a knot forming in his stomach and he felt a wave of nausea coming on, but he was Kenma’s friend— his best friend —so he would tag along, because that’s what Kenma needed him to do.
Nevermind the fact that most of the people he met thought that he was an asshole…
Kabuki whined as though she’d heard his thoughts and he sighed. “The things we do for our friends, huh girl?”
He found himself walking down the hallway of his room looking like a hopeless mess; his hair was in a wet, wild disarray and, having foregone contacts for the day, his glasses sat slightly skewed. When he reached the main living area, his mother was there serving Kenma a plate of what Tetsurou could only assume was their leftovers from last night. The elder Kuroo gave him a once-over and her nose wrinkled.
“What?” he offered her with a shrug.
She smirked, a similar expression so often seen upon her son’s face, “Never were one to dress up, were you?”
He looked down at his wrinkled T-shirt and faded jeans with a wry smile. “I guess not.”
She gave Kenma a pat on the head and motioned for her son to head back into the hallway with a wave of her hand. His arms came up in mock surrender as he obeyed the silent order. By the time he was able to open his door, she was already upon him. She sat him on his bed and lunged for his closet, humming as she went about thumbing through his shirts.
“First of all,” she began, pulling a red cardigan off of its hanger, “it’s supposed to get chilly later, so put this on.” The dark haired woman chucked the garment at his face without having to take aim and immediately turned her attention to the opposite end of the space in front of her, where he hung all of his dress pants, and pulled out a pair of black, slim-cut slacks. “And secondly, slacks look good on you, you need to wear them more often.”
He smiled softly at her, appreciating her enthusiasm, then his mother turned on him and narrowed her hazel eyes in suspicion, marching into his personal space and grabbing his shirt in an accusatory fashion before daring to sniff it. The action made him blanch.
“Kuroo Tetsurou, did you pull this out of the dirty hamper ?”
He gulped, “Maybe?”
A small smile curved her lips as she chuckled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “So much like your father...”
He swallowed.
Her eyes widened for a second before she shook her head and straightened with a sniff.
“Find a clean white shirt, Tetsurou. Please be sensible and pick something without wrinkles.” He arched a brow. “None of your sweat-stained, hole-ridden, dog-mauled shirts, kiddo.” She moved to march from the room, stopped and turned sharply on her heel to give him a pointed look, “And stop being so nervous.”
The door closed and he was alone again, this time with a smile, and he noticed with mild amusement that the feeling of dread was ebbing away.
When he reemerged from his room, admittedly looking more put together than he had before— Christ, his shirt even had buttons—his mother gave him a thumbs up and smirked with mild satisfaction. Kenma on the other hand simply arched a brow.
“Who are you trying to impress?” the other teen grumbled.
Tetsurou fixed his glasses and looked up at his parental unit with an exasperated sigh, though his eyes were bright with endearment. “No one, she made me.”
Kenma rolled his eyes. “Let’s head out. We have a train to catch.”
He stood and pocketed his phone before looking at Tetsurou expectantly.
.
The train ride was quiet, uneventful, with the pair huddled close, Tetsurou deciding that the best place to be was standing behind Kenma with his chin attached to the first year’s shoulder, watching as the teen scrolled through his instagram feed. They were still a few minutes early when they made it to the cafe, a full ten if his phone was accurate, so they made themselves at home and ordered a couple of drinks, a double espresso for the night owl and a green tea for himself. They were barely a few sips in when they were joined by not one, but two familiar faces; he almost choked.
Akaashi—those sharp blue eyes were still startling—was looking just as awkward as Kenma was the day before, though he hid it a little better. His companion, however, looked...confused. His golden eyes still held that peculiar glow as he stared in Tetsurou’s general direction and it made his heart flutter and his body temperature rise; noticeably, as it were, and Kenma had to kick him under the table to pull him out of his stupor.
Tetsurou swallowed and chuckled, at a loss for what to say, because he had fully expected to be the odd one out in this scenario, but as it turned out, their tricycle had become a full-blown car.
Akaashi had started talking at some point, introducing his guest, “I-I hope that you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of inviting Bokuto-san for, uhm... ” He fumbled a bit for words and Tetsurou had to try and hold back an awkward laugh of his own.
That shit was contagious.
So he spoke up instead, his shit-eating grin already in place in a poor attempt to smother the nervousness in his gut.
“Nervous?” he asked, standing and offering his seat. “Don’t worry, dude. So is Sunshine over here.”
He pointedly ignored Kenma’s glare and met Bokuto’s gaze. He noted the fact that the teen had left his hair down. Or maybe it had deflated, but it sure did look softer than the last time he had seen it.
Then, in a lower voice than the one he'd used to address the blue eyed setter, “How’ve you been, Bright Eyes?”
Bokuto’s ears turned a bit of a pinkish hue as he responded, his gaze still looking unfocused as he stared in his general direction, but he had a smile on his face nonetheless. “Fine, Kuroo… And you?”
“Better, now that I know you remembered me.”
He returned his attention to the sitting pair. Both of them looked a certain brand of confused, with Akaashi looking a little alarmed on top of that.
“I think we’ll go ahead and get out of your hair,” Tetsurou offered as he reached to place a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder, watching closely as that subtle glow brightened and subdued, ebbing and flowing like the tides with the movement of his hand. “There’s a free table over there, and I think we have things to talk about,” he declared, grabbing his beverage from the table.
Bokuto nodded enthusiastically, brows furrowed as he followed Kuroo’s silhouette to the free table and sat down. Tetsurou sat before him with a sigh, staring at that entrancing light for a long moment.
“This entire meeting is a statistical improbability, but I’m sure that you know that already, right?”
“Right to the point, huh?” he muttered with a lame chuckle that sounded more like a brief exhalation. Bokuto shifted, gaze focused just beyond the middle blocker’s shoulder as he sighed. “I’ve realized.” He sounded awfully serious, his jaw set in a determined way, like he was struggling to solve a crossword. “Y’know, I didn’t even expect to meet you again so soon,” he revealed with a shrug.
“You’re not the only one, bro.”
The wing spiker cracked a grin. “Oho? Then who’s to say that we won’t have a repeat of last time? Maybe you’ll never see me again.”
He shook his head, letting out a breathy chuckle. “I doubt that, and I hope you realize that you’re not leaving me today without giving me a valid phone number,” he informed, bringing his cup to his lips.
“Oya? How forward, dude.”
The fire elemental laughed, the sound transitioning into a contemplative hum as he toyed with the rim of his cup with a smirk plastered on his face, though the slight upturn of his lips fell fairly quickly. “You make me curious.”
The silver haired teen closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. “Yea, I get that a lot...”
“If anyone can even notice that lovely light show of yours, but I doubt that many people can.” He paused, then added in a mild whisper, “At least, probably not at first. And I doubt as quickly as I did.”
Bokuto’s golden eyes cracked open, a sudden and brief flare-up casting a yellow glow onto his cheeks. “That’s right.” He leaned forward and rested his folded arms on the table with a small smile. “So what do you wanna know?”
“Whatever you’re okay with telling me.”
He looked taken aback, eyes flickering with bright surprise before his smile returned tenfold and he let out a rowdy laugh that turned a few heads; it was equal parts obnoxious and endearing.
“Well,” he managed, a bit breathless. “That’s a bit of a first. Most people just kinda dive right in...” He rested his jaw in his hand and his face distorted a bit with the action, the corners of his eyes crinkled with his next grin, pleased.
Tetsurou smiled back, but it held a bit of a bitter edge. “Well, we’re not most people, are we?”
“No, we’re not.” Bokuto straightened.
“So,” he began, tilting his head and watching as his companion’s eyes brightened as they registered the action. “Who’s asking first?”
“Oh? We playing twenty questions now?” he asked with a smirk of his own.
He laughed a bit. “Sure. You first.”
“What’s your Attribute?”
Tetsurou felt that baseball in his gut again and he turned his head away, reaching to scratch at his nape. He hesitated. “...Fire. Base element. And you?”
The wing spiker looked contemplative. “I… It’s just light,” his voice got quieter with each word as he pondered.
His curiosity rose, but he didn’t press. “Hmm. And your upstairs lights? Those just a Manifest?”
Manifests were pretty common; the constant reminders, pieces of physical evidence on the body that told of one’s elemental abilities without any real outward acknowledgment needing to be had.
The elemental smiled a bit bitterly. “Not really.” And, as if to make a point, the light dimmed until it vanished.
Tetsurou decided that he didn’t like that.
“I’m blind,” Bokuto elaborated with a shrug in what was obviously faked dismissal. “My element helps me see. Maybe I’ll explain it better some other time...” The light returned quickly. “And you? Got a Manifest? Since you brought it up.”
He gave a crooked smile. “Really high body temperature,” he offered. “I can guarantee that I’m the hottest guy you’ve ever met,” he joked with a halfhearted smile.
“...How high we talkin’ here?” he asked, warily.
The fire elemental pondered for a moment, biting his bottom lip, “Don’t freak out?”
Bokuto looked uneasy, but nodded.
“I usually run at around 43C.”
“That is... terrifying ,” he decided with a shake of his head. “I’d hate to think what your fevers look like...”
“Highest fever I ever had was 48 degrees,” he informed with a shrug. “My mom almost had a heart attack. Took me to the doctor. I was fine, but the doc said that if I were normal ,” he spat the word like it tasted disgusting as it passed over his pallet, “I would’ve died for sure. I was still really young when it happened, though.”
Bokuto bit his lip at the information. “...And… What about hyperthermia…?” he mumbled.
Tetsurou clenched his jaw. “No, thankfully,” he whispered, breath catching at the thought.
A memory briefly flickered to the forefront of his mind. He was quick to shove it back in its box.
“Word...” Bokuto agreed.
V
Bokuto was fun to be around. That was the long and the short of it.
Tetsurou found himself venturing out with the teen whenever the opportunity arose, the duo fostering a friendship first out of some solidarity and then out of a genuine chemistry that was only rivaled by his relationship with Kenma. It was certainly a startling realization, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind.
His phone vibrated from its home in his back pocket. He dropped his bag with little effort or regard for its contents and swiped the screen open.
Bright Eyes
17:11 [Audio Message.amr]
He upped his volume, collapsed into bed, and hit play.
Bokuto’s staticky voice flooded his bedroom and Kuroo smiled at the sound, “ Bro! Akaashi is gonna hang at Kenma’s this weekend and my family’s out of town ‘til Wednesday. You wanna hang here for a few? If not, totally cool! I just don’t like how quiet it gets here, y’know? ”
He gnawed his lip.
They’d never gone to each other’s houses before, always keeping their outings to cafes and fast food joints before they went to run rampant through the streets until it got dark enough that Bo had to squint to see anything clearly; something about there not being enough light reflecting off of things. Tetsurou had blanked during the explanation because it had involved too much terminology he wasn’t familiar with and was half-convinced that Bokuto didn't entirely know the meaning of.
He sat up with a huff and shuffled to his bedroom door to holler into the house, “Mahm!”
Her equally loud voice answered, “Whaht?”
Then, quieter now that he had her attention, “Would you mind it if I spent the weekend at Bokuto’s place?”
Her voice carried a teasing lilt to it, “Yeah, just remember condoms-”
His scream of indignation ricocheted off the walls. “Mom!”
Her familiar cackle echoed back.
.
Come Friday afternoon, Tetsurou stepped onto the platform with a huff and a grin that held a nervous tinge. He gave the station a cursory glance, keeping an eye out for a familiar head of spiked hair and ignoring the disappointment that settled upon realizing the search was fruitless. With a frown beginning to tug at his lips, he pulled off to the side, out of the way of the crowd, and took refuge by a bench.
He pulled out his phone, foot tapping with some cocktail of nervous, excited, and paranoid bubbling through his system. It only took Bokuto two rings to answer.
"Hey, hey, hey, bro!" the energetic teen answered, much louder than what was necessary. "What's up?"
"Hey, man." He spared one last glance to his surroundings, hoping he was in the right place. "Just got off the train. Where you hiding?"
Bokuto's voice took on a pleased edge, "Dude, nice! I'm topside, right by the metro sign, I think…"
Tetsurou smirked and started off toward the stairs that would lead him up. "You think, huh?"
"Hey, man! All these signs are shaped the same, and it ain't like I can read them," he reminded, and tetsurou could hear the grin in his voice.
He scoffed, all in good humor, "Freak."
The answering guffaw was both charming and grating, "Oh, like you can talk, Mr. Human Torch!"
Tetsurou felt his step falter from the reference, bold as it was. Bokuto had likely said it without thinking, as was his sad disposition and the subsequent bane of Tetsurou’s existence.
He shook his head, thought nothing more of it.
"Not cool, bro… It was one time in middle school and I told you that in confidence!" he remarked, a patronizing tone leaking into his voice.
He could practically hear Bokuto shrug. "Too late now, dude. It already happened, might as well laugh about it." Silence for all of point-two seconds, then, "You walk so slow , bro!"
Kuroo snorted, picked up the pace. He could see the afternoon light ahead of him, filtering in from the station entrance.
"Oh, sorry, would you like to walk for me?"
"If it would get you up here faster…"
"Awe, that excited to see me?"
It was an obvious tease, but that fact did nothing to stop Bokuto from audibly balking. Tetsurou couldn’t help his chipper laugh as he bounded up the final few steps and turned for a quick three-sixty sweep. His grin tugged further at his lips when he finally— finally —saw that head of spiked hair sticking out like a damn near two meter tall sore thumb amidst the foot traffic. Tetsurou ignored the babbling on the other end of the line and ended the call without a word, watching as Bokuto jerked his head back, lip quirked with some bastardized version of offense.
It was a bit below the belt, he knew that, but he persisted.
Tetsurou stalked his way behind a sulking Bokuto and slowly encroached on his space. Then, when he was within earshot, he breathed out a simple boo.
Evidently, karma could be instant.
Bokuto’s instinctual reaction was to jerk his head back, the bulk of his cranium making harsh contact with Tetsurou’s nose. At his groan of pain, the light elemental whipped around to face his crouched outline as he bent over, drawing out the dramatics for the hell of it now. Bokuto, for his part, looked to be attempting to hold in a satisfied grin.
“Bro, you shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that!”
Tetsurou was quick to straighten and pull a frown that didn’t reach his eyes. “ No? Really? ” he hissed, the sarcasm biting and, moreover, habitual.
Bokuto threw his head back in a laugh that made a sincere smile tug at Tetsurou’s cheeks. His face was gonna hurt come the end of the weekend, he could already tell.
.
“It’s just us, so go ahead and toss your stuff wherever and we can take it upstairs later.”
Tetsurou nodded rather dumbly and did a quick spin in place, taking in the new space.
“I get how this could be a shit place to be alone in...” he muttered.
Bokuto just hummed in response and chucked his keys onto a small table in the entryway before he started to wander away. He called over his shoulder, “Want some tea? It’s not fancy or anything, just some bottled stuff.”
“Sure...”
The place was huge, certainly one of the bigger houses he’d ever been invited to; unlike those empty places, the Bokuto household looked well cared for and properly lived in. The couches were worn with mismatched throws and pillows, the coffee table sported the occasional ring despite the very visible coasters, hanging plants swayed by bay windows framed with soft looking linens, and the walls were covered in family photos and other memorabilia.
It felt warm.
Tetsurou dumped his overnight bag behind the couch and slunk over to a shelf that housed some displayed awards, curious. Soccer and swim trophies, volleyball ribbons and medals, academic plaques, and pair diplomas from Fukurodani and another from Tokyo U.
They were framed.
“My mom never bothered framing my sister’s stuff...” he noted off-handedly when he heard Bokuto re-enter the room.
“You have a sister?” he asked, a cold bottle of jasmine tea in hand as an offering. “You never told me that.”
Tetsurou shrugged and took the drink. “It never came up,” he offered. “And Haruka lives in Osaka now, anyway, so I don’t see her much anymore...”
He heard Bo shuffle in place beside him, but he didn’t bother to look away from the display.
“I’m sorry, man… I can’t imagine having to go without seeing Aki or Tatsuki.”
The crack of a bottle sounded from Kuroo. He didn’t talk about his sister often anymore. Especially since Haru and their mom had parted ways on rock ground after-
“Why’d she leave, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Kuroo spared him a glance from the corner of his eye and sighed when all he saw was innocent confusion on his friend’s face. “It’s fine. It was years ago, anyway...” He pulled a swig from his tea as a half-hearted way to stall for time. “She left when our old man kicked the bucket. And not long after, well...” He motioned to himself lamely.
Bokuto managed to register the action and his face fell. “Damn...”
Kuroo scoffed. “Yeah. Damn.” He let out a heavy breath and shook out his shoulders. “I haven’t talked about it in a long time.”
“I don’t blame you, dude. Sounds like it was a lot.”
“That’s one way to put it,” he muttered darkly.
He shifted, moved to sit on the couch. Bokuto followed close behind.
“Does she know?”
“Who know what now?” Kuroo quipped.
He could feel the disapproving glare burrowing into the back of his head with absolute clarity.
“Your sister. Does she know about you?”
Tetsurou slumped into the cushions and saw to fiddling with the tassels on one of the knit blankets, the fleeting curiosity of if it was handmade crossed his mind and vanished in the span of a breath. Bo slipped a thick and fluffy throw around his shoulders, getting comfortable and preparing for some impromptu story time from his friend. Tetsurou smirked, willing to humor him with the ever so riveting saga of his youth.
No one outside of his family really knew what went down, so he was hesitant to say the least, but he and Bokuto did have some common ground that neither of them shared with anyone else, so just this once… Just this once, maybe it would be okay to share.
“She knows,” he answered with a sigh. “It’s the reason she never came back. She’s scared of me.”
Bokuto looked like he had some choice words to share, but to his credit, he seethed in relative silence. It made Tetsurou’s lips quirk into some semblance of a smile.
“Our dad had abilities, too. Not nearly as flashy as mine, but still.” He gave an awkward little laugh and licked his lips. Nervous ticks he had never quite been able to shake. “He was like you and me, but his Attribute was heat. He… He was in and out of the hospital for as long as I knew him,” he managed, voice trailing off to a whisper.
Something must have clicked in Bokuto’s head because his face twisted in anguish.
He couldn’t bring himself to speak up much when he continued, “Yeah. He was a severe case.” His throat tightened and he choked on his words, “He combusted”
Bokuto let out a tortured sound and shuffled forward to press into kuroo’s side, to offer comfort in one of the few ways he knew how. Tetsurou liked that about him; of the people who did know about his Attribute, he was one of the few who touched him without fear.
Sometimes even his mother flinched away from him, not that he could blame her, but the pain of that silent rejection lingered in every forced touch.
Tetsurou pulled his friend in close enough to press his cheek to the top of Bokuto’s head with a long, suffering huff. He found himself stroking Bo’s arm as the shared quiet grew. It was refreshing and relaxing in the way that it scratched an itch that Tetsurou hadn’t known was there until he had Bokuto buried in his chest. He decided that he rather enjoyed it.
After a few minutes of calm silence, he continued, speaking directly into the safety of Bokuto’s temple, “Haru couldn’t handle it. She wanted to get away for a bit, and she decided to stay with a family friend in Osaka.” He swallowed. “I had no one. Mom was closed off from everything. Dad was dead. Haru had run off. I think...” His eyes flickered around the room. “I think that’s why it happened so early.”
He felt Bokuto shift in his arms.
“I was ten when my Attribute manifested.” He closed his eyes. “Violently.”
His companion’s breath hitched. “What happened?”
“I just got so angry ,” he whispered, and he sounded on the verge of tears. “I couldn’t hold it in or stop it. It spiraled out… All the windows, lightbulbs… Everything shattered. My room was, was scorched ...”
Kuroo sniffed and a cool, rough hand tentatively found his cheek and the wetness there, a gentle thumb wiping it away silently.
“Mom heard me scream, came to check on me… Touched the doorknob and burned some of her skin off.” He sounded so small and broken, helpless as he leaned into the hands on his face. “She has scars. And when Haru found out, she-”
He felt himself hyperventilating.
“Kuroo… Tetsu , please breathe with me,” Bo implored.
He tucked his face under Tetsurou’s chin, took a deep breath, in and out, and Tetsurou made a valiant effort to match his pace. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.
“You don’t have to tell me anything if it makes you upset. I’m sorry...”
“No.” Tetsurou shook his head with a wet laugh and buried himself in Bo’s hair again, his solid presence a grounding focus. “It’s fine. I want to talk about it.”
Bokuto sat up, tried to meet his eyes the best he could, and Kuroo had to applaud him for getting so close. “Your mom. It wasn’t your fault, y’know?” Right when he was about to disagree, he was interrupted by a poorly-directed finger point and a passionate scowl that took his breath away. “It’s not. It was inconvenient and scary, but it wasn’t your fault.”
“Bokuto...”
“I know, Tetsu,” he began. “I really do. I know that fear. I know that loss of control.” His voice wavered at the edges, but he held firm. “I wasn’t always blind.” He motioned to his own face, a sombre edge taking over. “And Aki wasn’t always half deaf.”
Kuroo blinked, confused. “Wha- I don’t...”
“When my attribute manifested, it was without warning, like a flash-bang went off in our living room. Aki was right there , next to me.” He shook his head, and Kuroo looked on with wonder. “It took me years to come to terms with what had happened, but I had people who knew it was out of my control.”
Tetsurou was floored. Never would he have imagined being subjected to a moment of emotional clarity with the help of Bokuto Koutarou of all people. He couldn’t help but laugh. A sad watery thing that had more tears running down his face.
.
When Tetsurou managed to open his eyes, he found himself in a bed not his own with a pair of arms around his middle. His sleepy mind tried to comprehend the situation; one minute passes, two...
Bokuto .
The small amount of tension that had managed to sneak into his body in that brief lapse of awareness melted away with a single breath after realization dawned on him. He was in a safe place, mind almost physically lighter.
He felt surprisingly at peace with himself after their night of tear-filled affirmation. Talking with Bokuto was its own form of catharsis, yet another instance in which he had not known he was lacking. He felt a grin pull at his features when his company began to stir and didn’t bother to stop it.
“Morn’” he mumbled, earning a tired gurgle in response when Bokuto made the executive decision that he needed to burrow deeper into Tetsurou’s back. “Still sleepy?”
“...Kinda.” he huffed and rolled over. “Time?”
Tetsurou rolled over to check his phone. “07:49...”
“My alarm won’t go off for another hour,” Bokuto groaned, eyes still closed as he stretched languidly.
Kuroo watched absently, jaw a bit slack.
He had slept without a shirt, claiming he would overheat if he was to wear it while Tetsurou was in the bed with him, being the breathing space heater that he was, and Testurou was not ashamed to admit that there were mutual benefits.
He snapped his jaw shut, and shuffled out of bed. Bo’s eyes opened, the glow they usually held slowly returning as he awoke.
“Where you goin’?”
Tetsurou swallowed. Bokuto’s voice was deep and gravelly with the remnants of sleep and it made something in his chest twist. He swallowed, struggled to think of a feasible reason why he would want to leave the comfort of Bokuto beyond his own mounting nerves and struggled to come up with anything cohesive as his eyes roved over the expanse of bare skin before him.
Damn...
“Bathroom, breakfast, coffee… Y’know… Morning things,” he muttered.
Bo’s lips quirked. “Oya? Gonna make me breakfast-coffee-morning-things?”
Tetsurou rolled his eyes and moved to smack his— hella toned, oh my god —arm, his usual smirk pulling at his mouth. “Not anymore, ass.”
He stood and retreated to the bathroom, the sound of Bo’s halfhearted protests following him.
VI
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that something in their relationship had shifted that weekend, and Tetsurou couldn’t bring himself to mind.
The soft touches became a constant; kneading hands at his nape, his nose buried in Bo’s hair, their thighs pressed together at any opportunity. Then there were the soft words spoken into his neck, the tease of lips against his ear.
It was sweet and it was theirs.
Tetsurou tried to be grateful for what they had, but all he wanted was more, to take what he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that Bokuto was willing to give.
He kept his desires to himself through the constant temptation of their hangouts, which had grown more and more constant.
Time dragged on and Tetsurou was suffering, his heart clenching from the want and his brain telling him how much of a disaster trying would be. He was a mess with shit self control.
His sister’s voice echoed in his mind more and more often.
“Monsters like you — ”
He remembered it vividly. Haruka had been livid when she’d heard about what he had done to his mother. She’d raced all the way back to Tokyo, spitting hellfire and bullets.
“She’s just hurting,” his mother had cooed into his shoulder, her bandaged hand placed carefully out of his line of sight. “She’ll come around.”
Except, she never did. She had lingered in their family home until their mother had forced her out, seething, ready to attack him at a moment’s notice, and he had found himself sleeping at Kenma’s more often than not. Fuyuko, angel she was, had just sat with him in silence on the back patio when he couldn’t sleep, but even she dared not touch him anymore.
“She doesn’t understand,” she whispered into the dark, eyes on his house, just beyond the fence.
No one seemed to. And the one person who might have was gone.
But-
“It wasn’t your fault.”
No one had ever told him that before Bokuto. Bokuto, who wasn’t afraid to touch him, who tried to meet his eyes despite not being able to see them, who spoke hushed words into his skin.
Bokuto, who he lo-
Tetsurou’s eyes snapped open and his hands went lax, the plate he had been about to put away falling to the ground with a crash that startled his mother in the other room. Her yelp was audible.
“Tetsurou, what the hell was that?” she managed, her rushed footsteps skittering towards the kitchen. “Are you alright?”
He slowly brought his eyes to meet hers, breathless. “I broke a plate.”
Her shoulders went limp and she propped herself against the counter and shook her head. “I see that.”
His breath hitched. “I think I’m gonna faint.”
“ What!? ”
He remained conscious just long enough to see her eyes bug out of her head.
.
Of course, his mother never let him live down what they had started calling The Kitchen Incident, and had taken to throwing jibes at him whenever possible. And when he informed her that Bokuto would be coming over the following weekend—for the first time, mind you—to spend the night, she spent what had to have been hours ribbing him, gushing over how she hoped he at least looked faint-worthy to compensate for all the trouble she had to go through to drag her son out of the kitchen.
When Friday evening came, Kuroo was in his living room, waiting, as Bokuto had declined his offer to meet him at the station seeing as Akaashi would be with him, the setter having been invited to Kenma’s for yet another weekend visit.
His mother was with him, eyes switching between her most recent novel and her son as he fidgeted with his shirt sleeves from his place on the sofa. They both sat ramrod straight when the familiar cadence of their doorbell echoed through the house, Tetsurou bolting out of his seat as soon as his brain was able to fully comprehend the sound.
"I got it!" he chirped excitedly, though the exclamation was unnecessary.
He almost wiped out and collided with the wall in his rush, but he managed to remain unphased. He threw open the door, a none too subtle grin splitting his face in two when his eyes fell on Bokuto's familiar form.
"Hi," he breathed, tension he didn't know he had falling from his shoulders.
"Hey, man!"
Bo threw up a welcoming arm and motioned him forward into a hug. Tetsurou was quick to comply and tug him inside with a huff of pleased laughter and a sneaky brush of lips against Bokuto's temple.
"Thanks for coming."
He pulled away and watched the elemental's eyes flare with light as his grin broadened.
"Happy to be here, bro."
"You boys wanna stand in the entryway all night or you gonna actually come inside?"
Kuroo flinched at his mother's voice and turned to face her rather smug grin.
She motioned to her son's company with a quirked brow. "Bokuto?"
The teen in question offered an awkward bow and an affirmative in place of a proper introduction. His mom had the audacity to appear flustered as she urged him to relax with the, albeit lacking, formalities.
She held out her hand and Bokuto's brow furrowed at the action.
"I'm Kuroo Sasaki. Nice to finally meet you, Bokkun."
Bo's face took on a pink tint as he tentatively took her hand, seemingly struggling with the depth perception required to accomplish the action. "Likewise."
For her part, Sasaki arched a brow at the sluggish movement but made no comment on it.
"Why don't you boy's head to Tetsurou's room and I'll call you when dinner gets here?" At Bokuto's questioning look, she elaborated, "We're due for a shopping trip, so I ordered from our favorite yakiniku joint."
Bo immediately brightened, his eyes very visibly flaring in interest. Sasaki's eyes widened, her head snapping to meet Tetsurou's eyes for confirmation. He only shrugged with a sly little smirk, enjoying her apparent surprise.
Bo broke the tension easily enough, "Oh, dude, I love yakiniku!"
She nodded slowly, at a sudden loss for words, so her son took charge, leading Bo down the hall and up the stairs to his room where they would both be staying.
.
Midnight saw the two of them sitting in companionable silence with music playing softly in the background, Tetsurou staring at his blank phone screen and Bo laying tucked against his side with his eyes closed while he hummed along to the tunes he recognized. The sound of his low hums were as entrancing as they were off-key.
“You’re bed’s kinda small, bro.”
Tetsurou startled at the voice, head snapping to Bokuto’s face. The golden eyes that were locked on some point just behind his ear looked slightly miffed at the sudden movement and Tetsurou carded his hands through Bo’s wilted hair apologetically, succeeding in breaking up what little spikes remained from when he had fixed it that morning. From the smile that curved his tempting lips, Tetsurou guessed that he didn’t mind much.
“Sorry. I can pull out the futon if you want? I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”
Bokuto snorted, eyes flaring again. Tetsurou still wasn’t quite sure what that meant.
“You’re not sleeping on the floor.”
Tetsurou quirked a brow. “Then did you wan-”
Bo shook his head. “I’m not gonna sleep on the floor, either.”
Tetsurou felt his face heat. “There’s not gonna be much room.”
He caught Bo’s smile before he could bury his face in Tetsurou’s chest. “I know.”
Oh.
He felt his cheeks pull as they often did around Bokuto. Tetsurou leaned to toss his phone onto his bedside—he hadn’t actually turned it on since Bo had started humming—and rolled to engulf his bed companion in his perpetual warmth, evoking a whine from Bokuto that had his cackling.
“What’s wrong, Bo?”
His voice was muffled and affectionate when he spoke, “You’re heavy. And hot .”
Tetsurou sucked his teeth but lowered his body temperature with some concentrated effort. “Better?”
Bo shook his head and pulled away a bit. “Not what I meant.”
Tetsurou’s face fell a bit, but before he could ask for an explanation, Bokuto had leaned up and smashed his nose into his cheek, lips pressed to the edge of his mouth.
Oh.
Oh.
Tetsurou grinned and shifted so that their lips met properly in a swift peck before he pulled back a fraction, laughing when Bokuto whined.
“That’s it?” he asked, voice pitched incredulously.
Kuroo pulled him closer and threw a leg over Bo’s hip. “No.” He pushed up to hover over the wide-eyed elemental, knowing that his body heat was fluctuating wildly. “Just needed a better angle.”
Tetsurou took the lead this time, Their lips meeting in a series of chaste kisses that progressively grew longer and leaned more towards sensual. Tetsurou’s tongue teased the edge of Bo’s lower lip and the involuntary moan that he let out was delicious. He hummed into the contact and-
There was a low hum and the familiar tink of a cracked lightbulb before the lamp on his bedside went out. Bokuto yelped, eyes springing open. It was the first time Tetsurou had ever seen them in the dark, the soft glow almost eerie now.
Bokuto let out an awkward little laugh. “Sorry, I got excited...”
Tetsurou felt his eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “Kissing you broke the lightbulb?” he asked, voice holding a wondrous edge of doubt.
“You should do it again.”
Tetsurou laughed but obliged. He could always buy more lightbulbs.