Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kuroo leaned his hand on the doorknob. "Morning, Akaashi."

Akaashi's mouth twitched at the sleepy tone in Kuroo's mumble. He extended his hand, phone in palm. "You took my phone last night instead of yours."

"Yeah, I noticed something was wrong with my phone but I didn't bother."

Akaashi paused at the trivialization of it to just something wrong. 

"You might as well come in," Kuroo said. He stepped back to let the door swing open fully, prompting Akaashi to step aside. 

Akaashi visited Kuroo's house several times, sometimes with Bokuto and other people, and rarely by himself. Akaashi preferred being with someone when he was around Kuroo so he wouldn't be confronted with direct silences and unavoidable eye contact. Dealing with Kuroo brought heavier weight to contact, weight that settled in Akaashi's stomach, much heavier than the sensation that filled Akaashi when he talked with Bokuto.

"Your phone's right here." Kuroo gestured at the table. He took a seat in front of a bowl of food, and Akaashi realized he was in the middle of breakfast.

"Sorry for interrupting." 

"Don't be sorry." Kuroo flashed him a sleepy smile. The pull of his mouth held more sincerity than usual, but Akaashi assumed that it was from being too tired to care about disguising anything.

Akaashi picked up his phone, still standing. After a minute, Kuroo convinced him to sit, but he didn't convince Akaashi to stay for longer than half an hour. Akaashi didn't think he could tolerate this closeness, sitting casually across from Kuroo with Kuroo in pajama shorts. Akaashi viewed himself as calm and reserved, even at the expense of social gain, so he wasn't afraid that he might show nervousness. He was afraid of the bare leg accidentally brushing his, and the casual confidence outlining the friendly sentiment in Kuroo's face underneath the sleepiness. Kuroo's eyes flicked around, landing on Akaashi and fixing him with a light gaze. Akaashi stared around it, intent on the shoulders that rose and fell with Kuroo's arm movements, the warm breadth and loose motions to them, and how they rounded off in a curve that Akaashi was sure his hand could fit around.  

"Do you want to catch a movie?" Kuroo asked after a yawn. "If you say you have plans, I won't believe you. It's Sunday, and I know you're not doing anything with Bokuto today." 

Akaashi gave him a firm no. Kuroo led into light teasing and a short whine, but Akaashi didn't relent. He walked out of Kuroo's house, correct phone in hand.

Kuroo readily accepted any kind of closeness with Akaashi. It was vexing how much Akaashi wanted to read into it, but he remained as appropriately friendly as he could, replying to Kuroo's text messages and listening to the sound of Kuroo's voice vibrate through the phone and into his ear. 

Kuroo's arm around his shoulders felt heavier than any other arm. Akaashi gave a grunt of surprise when that happened, such as now, Kuroo leaning over Akaashi and tipping his weight onto him. Bokuto stood next to them, but he wasn't touching either of them.

"Last weekend I asked Akaashi to go to the movies, and he said no. Let's actually go this weekend."

To Akaashi's gratitude, Bokuto groaned. "There's nothing good playing. Why don't we come over to my house?"

Akaashi listened with his eyelids set to a dull level. He was walking in between them, but he didn't want to intervene.

"Nah. Why not Akaashi's?"

Kuroo was compelling enough to persuade Bokuto into agreeing, and Akaashi was guided along by Kuroo's arm. None of them mentioned anything about it, even though Kuroo held it there almost the whole walk over.

Kuroo and Bokuto took over his living room, setting up the TV for a movie and microwaving popcorn. Kuroo sunk into one corner of the couch, and he tugged on Akaashi's wrist encouragingly. Bokuto was already sitting on the other side, leaving Akaashi stuck with the middle seat.

Even though the movie was Bokuto's choice, Bokuto fell asleep. Bokuto's head lolled to the side, hovering over the armrest quietly. They were halfway through the movie, so Kuroo and Akaashi didn't bother waking Bokuto up. Akaashi didn't blame him for falling asleep; it was dark out, and while he didn't have his phone nearby to check the time, he knew it was getting late.

Akaashi just liked having someone else around to ground him, even if the person was unconscious. There needed to be something to focus on, something other than the sound of Kuroo snorting and laughing, or Kuroo leaning closer to make a sarcastic comment about the movie. Akaashi felt a rush of hot air flood around his head when Kuroo did that.

Since Kuroo was so comfortable with small gestures and distances, there wasn't anything else Akaashi expected, anything new for Kuroo to do. Kuroo handled things with nonchalant ease, things like handing Akaashi a piece of candy with almost deliberate slowness, or repeatedly shifting his arm to bump it into Akaashi's to alert him to a scene. Akaashi shook with the momentum, and he stared around while still eating popcorn, determined to not give the wrong response to Kuroo.

Kuroo was friendly with Kenma, Bokuto, and Akaashi, but not as much with other people, so Akaashi felt a tiny satisfaction in being with Kuroo like this. Akaashi thought he could be content with just always sitting next to Kuroo, and turning his head when he knew Kuroo was smiling. He knew how Kuroo smiled, sometimes with his shoulders rising if he was also laughing, and sometimes with his mouth behind his wrist. Kuroo didn't laugh as loud as Bokuto, and his voice had a pleased ring to it, deep warmth lining his tone.

It was the same wherever they went, at the movie theater or a restaurant, or a shared practice between Fukurodani and Nekoma. Akaashi was subjected to Bokuto's prodding in whatever topic they were on, but he was especially prone to Kuroo's teasing and joking.

There was never an acceptable excuse for just the two of them going out somewhere, unless Bokuto was busy with something that didn't include Akaashi. Akaashi still ended up alone with Kuroo sometimes, conveniently, such as a couple days later at a bakery. They didn't bump into each other at the bakery; Kuroo messaged Akaashi and persuaded him into joining him for some dessert. Akaashi insisted that he agreed purely out of a craving for sweets, but that was more to himself than Kuroo, even though he wasn't in denial.

Kuroo waved at the display case. "Take your pick. My treat."

Akaashi took out his wallet anyway. He tried to refuse the payment, but after choosing a few pieces of chocolate, Kuroo hurried to the cashier and paid in Akaashi's place. He let out an exhale of triumph when he handed Akaashi the wrapper with chocolate inside, and Akaashi grabbed it in a quick movement.

"Thanks," Akaashi said. He picked up a piece and nibbled at it as they walked out, content with occupying himself like this. Kuroo picked at the wrapper of his cupcake before taking a bite.

"Hm, this is pretty good," Kuroo said. After a minute of walking down the street, Kuroo turned to Akaashi. "Want a piece?"

"It's fine, you don't have to share," Akaashi said.

Kuroo tore off a piece anyway. He bent to hand it to him, and Akaashi moved to dodge. He didn't try very hard, and when Kuroo's hand came to his mouth, he gave in. Akaashi opened his mouth to accept, and when he gently bit down, he realized that his mouth was around Kuroo's fingers.

Akaashi was very, very afraid to move. The cupcake sat in his mouth, frosting and all, melting around his tongue. The best thing to do would be to just move away, except Akaashi didn't know how to do it. He didn't want to make more of a mess, and he wanted to hurry up. He didn't want to look up and see Kuroo's face either, so he kept his head down.

Akaashi bristled and went for it, closing his mouth more and pulling away. Akaashi swallowed and licked his lips together, tasting the lingering flavor and wistfully thinking of what the frosting felt like before it was shoved into his mouth.

Kuroo let out a strangled noise. The cupcake was still in one hand, and Kuroo didn't look like he knew what to do with the other. His shoulders hiked up, and he coughed.

"Akaashi, did you just lick my hand?"

Akaashi's eyes flickered down as he took another piece of chocolate. "It was an accident," he said, quiet but with a heated streak to his cheeks.

"Akaashi, you sucked on my fingers." Kuroo wiggled his hand in front of Akaashi.

Akaashi angled his head away. "Accident," was what he managed to say.

"Accident," Kuroo repeated. He wiped his hand on his pants, and after he dried it, he reached for Akaashi's hand holding the chocolate.

Akaashi let his hand move limply. He didn't know what to expect until Kuroo tugged it close to his own mouth, and by then Akaashi was frozen in place. His eyes went wide as Kuroo took his fingers in his mouth, briefly wrapping his lips around and dragging the chocolate away with his teeth. A shiver wracked across Akaashi's shoulders when he felt a sucking sensation, Kuroo's tongue bumping into his fingers.

Kuroo pulled away and rubbed his mouth with his arm. "Now we're even," he said after he chewed the chocolate.

Akaashi almost choked. He caught a glimpse of pink on Kuroo's face, but other then that, Kuroo didn't seem embarrassed by it.