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"Koutarou? Dear? What is this?" Tsukishima asks in a voice that's uncharacteristically gentle and murderously fake. He has a little smile pressed thinly onto his lips—also fake—and he blinks at Koutarou like he's an alien.
Koutarou blinks back, bouncing on his feet and nearly clapping his hands together with an excitement that cannot be contained in his body that feels way too small at the moment. He bites the inside of his cheek to hold back the massive smile that threatens to split his face. He tries to speak calmly but it all comes out in a bit of a splutter, muddled by his overwhelming excitement.
"It's a present!"
Tsukishima blinks again, as if his eyes are dry behind those thinly rimmed glasses. He looks down at the package in his hands, back up at Koutarou, and down at the package again, a pattern he continues until he seems to realize that attempting to understand the situation is fruitless and nothing will ever make sense unless he asks. That thin smile tightens impossibly.
He looks a little tired, a bit surprised, and very—very—confused. But Koutarou figures, in his optimistic mind, that that'll make the gift better. It's always nicer to receive things when you aren't feeling your best, in his professional opinion.
"I can see that, but why?" Tsukishima jostles the bag around. He peaks through the short ribbon handles to the gift that isn't at all concealed within (Koutarou ripped all the wrapping paper trying to make it look nice).
"It made me think of you," Koutarou says, a sappy smile spreads warmth through his entire body, starting at his heart and pulsing outwards until he's sure he might explode from the mixture of pleasantness he's experiencing.
"Kou..." Tsukishima starts, he lets the bag drop to the kitchen island, lets it open fully to display the present inside, "...Why?" He asks with a disbelieving shake of his head, thin eyebrows inching up ever so slightly, thin as the smile still pressed onto his lips as though glued there.
"I just thought you'd like it!" Koutarou's smile dims slightly. He feels his lips press less tightly against his teeth, feels his cheeks sag a little, feels his heart drop to his stomach. All from the icy realization that Tsukishima seems disappointed with the gift.
"Koutarou..." Tsukishima repeats his name as if that might drill the way he feels through Koutarou's skull and into the deep depths of his brain, as if that might help Koutarou to understand his reaction.
He pulls the gift from its bag, a simple green dinosaur plushie with a face that made Koutarou's heart melt at first sight. He knew instantly he needed to get it for Tsukishima. Like plants need water and like humans also need water he needed to have this. Koutarou personally thinks the little dinosaur is the cutest thing on the planet, second place only to his boyfriends, all of which are tied for obvious reasons.
Tsukishima sighs, a little fond, a little disappointed. "I'm an adult." He says it so simply, so plainly and void of emotion.
It's just three words.
But it shatters Koutarou. His shoulders sag, his wide eyes droop, his eyebrows fall to a rest, his smile disappears completely as his lips press into a gentle frown.
"I got it for you, though," He mumbles, muffled by the way his throat closes. He chokes on nothing and on everything.
"I appreciate the thought." That gentle and coaxing tone is back, cooing at Koutarou like he's an injured animal. "What am I supposed to do with it?" It seems genuine enough, void of the mocking or teasing Koutarou has come to love and expect.
"Um..." He thinks for a second. What did he expect Tsukishima to do with it? He hadn't really thought about it. It was more of an impulse purchase Koutarou had made through the hazy film of he'll love this and I need to get this.
"C-cuddle it?" He stammers, suddenly so very unsure of himself.
Tsukishima laughs through his nose. He squeezes the little dinosaur with both hands and stares at it. His eyes are calculating something, the worth of the item, maybe. What exactly he's going to do with it, maybe. How to get rid of it when Koutarou isn't looking, maybe.
"Does it have a name?"
Koutarou scrunches his face in confusion. He'd expected many other things from Tsukishima's mouth, something generally distasteful towards the gift, after his original reaction. But this is a pleasant surprise.
"Nope!" Koutarou fills with white-hot glee, shoulders popping up and smile finding its way back to his lips as he wrings his hands in excitement rather than guilt.
"You want to give it one?" Tsukishima's smile falls away, only to be replaced by a genuine one seconds later. Warm and bright and feeling just as golden as his eyes.
"I'll leave it to you," Koutarou decides with a little nod.
Tsukishima strokes at the short-cropped fluff of the plushie, no longer staring at it in a confused manner, now looking at it like it's a treasure beyond comprehension. He chuckles at it through a little smirk. "Thank you, Kou," He says without looking up.
Koutarou giggles a little. He can't help it, he's proud of himself. "Of course!"
•
"Keiji! Keiji! Keiiiiji!" Koutarou whines, high and grating on all ears in the general vicinity, as he bounds into the living room.
"Shh!" Kuroo hushes rather aggressively from his vantage on the couch. "He's sleeping."
Koutarou, upon further inspection, sees that Kuroo is correct. Akaashi sits curled up on his side, face pressed into Kuroo's lap, glasses abandoned on the cushion next to him, and drooling a little. The sight is absolutely adorable. Koutarou thinks Sleeping Boyfriend should be added to the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
He bounces on his feet, leaning back and forwards as his fingers tap at the gift he holds in his hands, it makes a dull thumping behind his back.
He knows Akaashi needs sleep, he really knows that, but he's got a present! That seems pretty important in Koutarou's opinion.
"But-" He starts, only to be cut off by Tsukishima sitting on their other couch.
He lowers his phone to glare at Koutarou. "Shhh!" He's even more aggressive than Kuroo had been.
Koutarou huffs and waves the gift around, wordlessly trying to communicate that this is important. He should be allowed to give Akaashi the present!
Akaashi shifts slightly in Kuroo's lap, he mumbles something small and incoherent before settling back into a gentle slumber.
Kuroo and Tsukishima glare at Koutarou, two pairs of golden eyes burn into his skull as he's met with the aggression of men who firmly believe their boyfriend deserves his beauty sleep.
"'M not sleeping," Akaashi mumbles, cheeks squishing into the meat of Kuroo's thighs.
"Look what you did," Kuroo grumbles, a little smile betraying any anger he may have held towards Koutarou.
Koutarou leaps at the opportunity, shuffling across the floor to shove the little gift right into Akaashi's face.
Akaashi, still vaguely blind without his glasses, blinks rapidly and squints at the hands pressing a curious rectangle towards him. He sits up, reaching for his glasses, before taking the gift—a book—in his hands.
"Why didn't you get me anything?" Kuroo asks in a teasing tone, he slips his arm around Akaashi's waist as the latter continues to observe the cover of the book.
Tsukishima grumbles something along the lines of "greedy asshole" and continues his aimless scrolling. The bright blue of his phone reflects off his glasses and gives him a threatening glow. Kuroo doesn't dare argue with him.
Akaashi shoots the both of them a glare, before turning soft-eyed to Koutarou. "Thank you very much." Ever so polite, something Koutarou loves about him, presented in such a tone full of the contained excitement a reader exhibits upon being given new material.
"'Course!" Koutatou exclaims. He never doubted that Akaashi would love the book, but the confirmation sparks a wonderful bout of happiness from deep in his gut.
Akaashi really does love it, as is proven hours later when the sun has set and Kuroo and Tsukishima have retired to bed. Their mumbled argument echoes down the hall, hushed whispers that are more lighthearted than not. Koutarou's about ready to join them, to tell them to stop bickering, when he spies a little sliver of golden light coming from the living room.
He creeps around, peering into the room on high alert. He doubts there's an intruder, but he is a firm believer that one can never be too careful, much as it doesn't always work out for him.
Instead of whatever horrors he'd expected, Koutarou finds Akaashi folded up under a blanket, reading the book he'd bought.
"Keiji?" Koutarou whisper-shouts across the room.
"Kou?" Akaashi looks up from the page he's reading, a little surprised at the sudden interruption.
"What are you doing?" Koutarou asks. He crosses the room in a tired little shuffle.
Akaashi lifts the book up. "Reading."
"It's late," Koutarou says.
Akaashi just hums.
"You're gonna be tired tomorrow," Koutarou offers.
"I had a nice nap earlier," Akaashi says, not looking up from his book.
"I'm not opposed to carrying you to bed."
"Don't do that."
"You leave me no choice."
Akaashi sighs and closes his book. He stands, reluctantly, and folds the blanket he'd been using into a nice pile. He places it on the couch before following Koutarou to the bedroom.
"Thank you again for the book," Akaashi says.
Koutarou just chuckles, "Tell me all about it?"
Akaashi chuckles right back, "Of course."
•
Kuroo runs his fingers through Koutarou's still-damp hair. It falls in Koutarou's eyes, grey and black blurring the vision of Kuroo laying next to him. Fresh out of the shower, he's aware he's getting the sheets damp. But it's the guest bedroom, the one that hardly ever gets used, so it doesn't matter all that much. The two lay on top of the sheets, not bothering to tuck themselves underneath. They're plenty warm as it is, and neither wants to deal with Tsukishima scolding them to make the bed when they're done with their little cuddle session.
It's one of the few moments when the two of them are calm together. Their energy is contagious in a way that tends to get them both riled up. Their overly competitive natures often clash and end up in loud displays. But here they are, Kuroo still clad in his work clothes, and Koutarou in nothing but a towel, laying next to each other with fingers tangled in damp hair and eyes roaming to stake their claim.
"Hey, Tetsurou." Koutarou speaks quietly, wary of disrupting the serene environment they've created between them.
"Yeah?" Kuroo whispers. He presses a short kiss to the crown of Koutarou's head.
"I got you something," Koutarou all but whispers. It isn't his usual excitement when presenting one of his boyfriends with something. This isn't the usual gift. Instead he's filled with a roiling kind of anxiety. He knows Kuroo will love the present, at least he hopes so, but something about the importance of it get Koutarou worked up.
Kuroo laughs through his nose. "What is it?"
Koutarou pulls a little box out from underneath the pillow. He'd stashed it there earlier, knowing this moment would come.
"Oh my god—" Kuroo starts, his eyes widen and his jaw hangs ajar.
"It's not what you think!" Koutarou is quick to assure. It's not the grand ring Kuroo must be expecting from such a small box, instead it's something a little different.
Kuroo takes the box in his free hand, extracting his other from Koutarou's hair for only a moment to tug the gift open. Inside he finds a glimmering golden watch fit for only the most elegant of businessmen. The hands tick steadily, onyx against the otherwise solid gold, with only the crown shining a deep crimson red.
Kuroo breathes out a shocked little noise, taking the watch in his fingers and turning it around and around. Koutarou spots the exact second Kuroo registers the words engraved on the back, when his wide eyes shoot even wider, when his lips mouth the outline of the phrase and he takes it all in with the rawest of gasps.
Until the end of time.
"You fucking sap," Kuroo whispers. Tears gleam in the corners of his eyes. It's no ring, surely, but it's still a promise.
(Two identical boxes are hidden around the house, one containing a brilliant pair of golden cuff links—Tsukishima's—and another with a dainty necklace—Akaashi's. Each has the same message, each the same meaning. Each a promise, tying the four together.)
"You like it?" Koutarou asks, confident the answer will be yes. He knows these things. It's branded into his mind, the exact way to someone's heart through gifts. He gives and he gives, and in turn he receives. Smiles and thanks, kisses and warm words. In the end, it's worth every penny.
"I love it," Kuroo chuckles, "And I love you."
Koutarou thinks it really is worth every penny. To hear that breathy chuckle and to watch eyes so fixated by golden shimmers in dim lighting. It's perfect. This is perfect.
"I love you, too."
The smile Kuroo flashes as he straps the watch to his wrist is unparalleled. The feeling Koutarou gets from watching is even better.