Chapter Text
“Dude your boyfriend has you so whipped.” Daichi groans and drops his head into his hand. He really should know better by now than to answer his phone when it starts ringing obnoxiously and that cheshire cat grin pops up on the screen. But something in him refuses to let him ignore the caller. It’s a something that sounds suspiciously like Suga’s voice when it chides him and asks how he’d feel if it was a genuine emergency and he ignored it.
“Did you actually want something Kuroo?”
“Well,” it’s not the voice that drives him crazy, Daichi decides as he finishes packing his bag and hoists it onto his shoulder, it’s that smug laugh, “I was going to invite you to a captain’s date at the coffee house but since someone’s boyfriend fell down the stairs and needs to be babysat for the weekend I guess that’s out.” He had stopped trying to get the other three to stop calling their get togethers dates when he realized that the only people who would agree with him that it was ridiculous were, in fact, mostly vice-captains - and his own vice-captain personally thought it was hilarious.
“Oh I didn’t know that Akaashi fell down the stairs. Give him my regards.”
“Dude,” Kuroo hisses, “don’t even joke about that. Akaashi did fall down the stairs and hurt his ankle one time. He was a freaking tyrant. I still have nightmares about it sometimes.”
“Good to know.” Daichi locks his door behind him and starts out for Suga’s house. His parents had plans for the weekend they couldn’t cancel and Daichi had promised them he’d be there to watch over Suga while they were gone.
“Besides I was talking about your boyfriend not Bokuto’s.”
“Suga is not my boyfriend, Kuroo. You know that.” He turns onto Suga’s street and watches the house grow closer as Kuroo snickers in his ear. Some days he regrets agreeing to sharing his number with the other captains, regardless of the fact that he’s actually been comforted from time to time during their captain’s meetings by being reminded that they have just as many worries and insecurities as he does.
“So you deny that he’s your boyfriend but not that you’re whipped.”
“Is Kozume your boyfriend?”
“What? No. Don’t change the subject. You. Are. Whipped. Sweet little Sugawara has you wrapped around his finger. He doesn’t even have a sprained ankle it’s just a little swollen yet you’re giving up your whole weekend to keep an eye on him.”
“It’s Suga.” Daichi says as if it explains everything and, well, if Kuroo really knew Suga it would explain it. He leans against Suga’s door and sighs. “You wouldn’t get it.”
“Maybe I should just come over and see what the fuss is all about. Oikawa wouldn’t shut up about your “refreshing setter” the last time he called me to talk.”
“Oh please don’t,” Daichi mutters and then grunts when the door behind him opens and he stumbles backwards, dropping his bag and his phone to the ground. He glares as he goes to grab his phone.
“Were you just going to stand outside on my porch all day, Daichi?” Suga asks with a pout.
“I’d considered it,” Daichi grumbles and then frowns when he sees Kuroo disconnect their call before he can bring the phone back to his ear. He has a bad feeling about this.
“That’s mean. And here I limped all the way to the door just to let you in.”
“You really shouldn’t have done that.”
There’s a reason Daichi didn’t deny he was whipped when Kuroo teased him. He is and he couldn’t care less.
–
Kuroo didn’t get it. He could see, more or less, how Bokuto was so easily manipulated by Akaashi. Though manipulated wasn’t really the right word. He wasn’t sure whipped was either. But there was no denying the fact that nine times out of ten if Akaashi wanted something or wanted to do something Bokuto was all over it. And as far as he could tell Bokuto loved it. He loved being a bouncing puppy showered in Akaashi’s affections.
Kuroo could even see how Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s borderline friendship/boyfriends thing worked out seeing as how they’d known each other practically forever and that the give and take was actually fairly equal between. Despite Oikawa’s fluttery appearances he was just as willing to drop everything for Iwaizumi as Iwaizumi was willing to work around Oikawa’s wants.
But Sugawara. He just didn’t understand how everyone was so drawn to him. Had he missed something at the training camp and practice matches that the other’s didn’t? He wonders about it as he takes the train with his overnight bag propped in his lap. He could have missed something, he figures, since he was largely focused on provoking Tsukki when possible and doing all those extra practices with Bokuto.
He tries to figure out what exactly it was that seemed to enchant everyone else.
Sure Sugawara was nice to look at and be around. Not subtly pretty in the way Akaashi was or outright charming like Oikawa was practiced at. He wasn’t overly friendly and excitable like Hinata or Bokuto. Nor was he reserved like Kenma. He reminded Kuroo the most of Yaku but he didn’t see Yaku with anyone eating out of the palm of his hand, except maybe Lev and that was mostly because Lev was like that with almost everyone.
Kuroo tosses and turns the thoughts as he leaves the station and heads towards where he thinks Sugawara’s house is.
He knows it’s the right house when he knocks and Daichi’s distrustful glare answers him.
“What are you doing here?”
“If you’re not there the date’s not as much fun so I decided to come see you and to bring Sugawara these.” He pulls a small bouquet of flowers with a small teddy bear holding onto the stems from behind his back with a grin.
“Daichi who was at the door?” Sugawara calls out and Daichi frowns.
“Just a pain in the ass cat.”
“Oh I like cats,” Sugawara calls back and Kuroo grins even wider. Daichi takes a deep breath, probably to tell Kuroo to go far, far away and then spins around when Sugawara peeks in from down the hall. “Don’t make him stand there all day invite him in.”
“Suga!” Wide brown eyes blink innocently at Daichi.
“What?”
“You’re supposed to be resting. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I answered the door. So you can rest.” Daichi hurries down the hall and leaves Kuroo in the doorway to toe off his shoes and close the door softly behind him. Sugawara’s laugh makes Kuroo look up and he takes a deep breath at the way the light hits Sugawara’s hair and makes it shine, makes him look a little unreal. Like Kuroo shouldn’t be looking directly at him. He catches Kuroo’s eyes and smiles at him.
That’s it.
It’s over.
Kuroo. Is. Screwed.
“Are those for me?” Sugawara waves Daichi out of the way when he spots the bouquet in Kuroo’s hands and starts down the hallway towards him - why did he even buy it anyway it was supposed to be a stupid cheesy joke, a way to irritate Daichi even more, but the way Sugawara’s eyes light up when he sees the bright flowers and tiny teddy bear makes Kuroo’s stomach flip flop and when he meets Daichi’s eyes over Sugawara’s shoulder he can’t even resent the knowing grin slipping onto Daichi’s face.
A few steps away from him Sugawara winces and Kuroo suddenly remembers why he’s here, why Daichi’s here, and he steps forward to put a steadying hand out.
“Sugawara as much as I enjoy disagreeing with Daichi you really should be resting.” Sugawara frowns a little and carefully takes the bouquet out of Kuroo’s hand, tilting his head down to sniff delicately at the flowers. He leans ever so slightly into Kuroo’s touch and smiles up at him though there’s a touch of strain to the edges of it as he shifts his weight further off his swollen ankle.
“You’ll stay and keep Daichi and I company, right?”
“Of course,” Kuroo replies with a smile of his own before he can even fully register the request, practically before Sugawara even finishes talking. Daichi coughs in a poor attempt to cover up his laugh at Kuroo’s almost eager response.
“And you called me whipped?” Daichi asks as he and Kuroo step into the kitchen for a moment after getting Suga settled on the couch in the living room, with his flowers on the end table and holding the tiny teddy bear above his head and looking up at it with a smile. “You don’t even know him and he has you right where he wants you.”
“I’m not entirely sure what happened,” Kuroo mutters as he takes the bottles of juice Daichi hands him. “One minute I was thinking how I was going to make fun of you for getting scolded by him and the next thing I know he’s smiling at me and, shit.”
Daichi laughs and pats him on the shoulder. “That’s the power of Suga. Welcome to the club.”
“Do I key chain for selling him my soul? Cause I feel like I should have at least gotten a key chain.”
–
That night the three of them are curled up on the couch and Suga smiles contently as Daichi’s head drops onto his left shoulder and Kuroo’s messy hair tickles his neck from his spot on the right side of Suga’s chest. He reaches for his phone, careful not to disturb either teen asleep on him, and gives the camera a sly smile as he snaps a picture.
You’re next, he captions the picture and sends it off.