Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Tsukishima Kei, in the twenty agonisingly long years you've been alive on this Earth, this is the biggest fuck up you have ever fucked up, you fuck."

…

Fact #1: Kei has a tendency to say 'fuck' a lot when he’s cold or pissed off.

And in this very instance, he was both.

But this time, he had no one else to blame but himself. Not that he wouldn’t try to pin the cause on someone else, though.

After waking up at the very brink of dawn to sit an exam (which he had definitely aced), he had gotten distracted taking notes. Just as he was asking his professor questions in the woman's office- the bag that held his apartment keys was left in his classroom, completely forgotten.

Until right now.

Right now being about an hour away, in the freezing cold snow.

Logically, he should have probably checked he had it with him before he trekked the cold-as-fuck forty-five minute commute home. But no. Apparently he’d misplaced his common sense alongside his keys back in the classroom.

Kei clicked his tongue.

The entire thing had left him stranded, ankle deep snow, in a country that was not his own, without a way to get back into his dingy old apartment and twenty flights of stairs up the second building on the left. Which, in retrospect, wouldn’t be completely horrible if he wasn’t freezing his ass off.  

Okay, no, actually, it was still quite horrible.

Fact #2: Kei wasn’t a pessimist, he was a realist.  

This situation was one of the shittiest he’d been in for a while.

Kei blew frosty air out of his lungs in irritation, already feeling bits of snow piling at the bridge of his nose where his glasses were perched, feeling completely hopeless, alone, and without a clue on what to do. He definitely couldn’t sleep at a friend’s house. Considering his nearest friend was in another Goddamn country.

Fact #3: Kei moved from Japan to The States a couple of months ago to attend college.

Not that he was regretting his decision of leaving, particularly. It just really sucked right now. He was left with two decisions:

1. Break into his apartment and risk being wrongly incarcerated.
2. Go all the way back to his classroom to get his bag

Both didn’t sound particularly appealing to him, but Kei knew that the latter was definitely the least risky of the options.

And yet…

Going all the way back in this weather sounded like suicide. It had just began snowing moments ago and Kei was certain that it would only get worse before it would get better. Kei knew that if he was going to get enough mental strength to even seriously think of going back all the way to his campus- he would have to somehow get warm first.  

Death was inevitable but there was no way Kei was going to die of hypothermia just because he was the biggest jackass in the world.

No, that was just lame.

Kicking his soaking sneakers out of the white dust that accumulated around them, Kei began to form a plan in his head. He started walking in the general direction of the main street. In the middle of god knows where in New York, North America, and he wouldn’t stop unless he saw some sign that everything would be alright for once.

Until then, he’d have to look on the bright side.

So he tried his best. 

‘At least my feet aren’t completely numb from the melting snow anymore. Having a footpath to walk on was so much better…’

‘Good. Good. Kei, keep it up.’

He racked his brain for more thoughts but came up with absolutely nothing else.

Well, nothing else positive.

Glass half full was a glass Kei never drank from. 

The winters here were so much worse than the ones in Japan. They were incomparable and Kei just knew he wouldn’t be able to get used to them. It was the kind of cold that settled deep within your very bones and wouldn’t leave until your body was practically on fire. It left you with saturated overcoats and a lingering shiver through the draft of the windows.

It was not very pleasant at all, to say the least.

‘You were doing so well, why do you have to be so emo all the time?’

'All this negativity is going to kill you someday.'

Kei scowled at his feet before finally turning his head upwards to look at the pure white scenery around him. Sure, it was cold and miserable…Yet there was still something so very beautiful about the way the snow hit the thousands of pine trees in Central Park. How the buildings glimmered with some kind of shine. Kei found the sight indescribable to the unseeing eye. It was foreign, it was new and it was scary yet freeing at the same time.

This was Kei’s home for the next couple of years. And yet even though romanticizing things was really lame in his books, he had to do something to stop being so miserable right now.

‘Think of your happy place, Kei…’

Kei could only dream of piping hot coffee in the warmth of his own crappy apartment. A blanket around his shoulders as he listens to the calm murmurings of his favourite musicians, their voices carrying him off into a world of everything he could have ever dreamt of, singing him to sleep in his most favourite lullaby… It sounded like a piece of the home he had left behind in Miyagi and Kei couldn’t help but think of the fake situation fondly.

The thought helped him calm down a bit. It made him forget he was in the middle of an icy winter, thousands upon thousands of miles away. But only the slightest bit. Dwelling on the past was never a good idea.

And Imagining things wouldn’t make Kei any warmer…

‘You know what would though, Kei? GETTING YOUR FUCKING KEYS.’

...Now he was back to square one.

Kei inhaled what felt like ice into his lungs once more, the after effect leaving him coughing and sputtering about. The strangers passing him by gave him odd looks, their reddening noses shrivelling up in mild disgust as they pushed by him. The old fashioned human politeness being lost in all of the snow.

Instinctively, Kei reached his hands up to cover his mouth. Soon realising that they were bright pink and shaking rather violently from the cold.

That couldn’t be good. No, definitely not.

Basic warmth. Then keys. He decides reluctantly. Setting his mind back to the task at hand. He had to find someplace warm where he could formulate a proper plan…But where?

Kei felt lost in a crowd of people just as freezing as he was and couldn’t help but feel a little hopeless all over again.

‘This day definitely couldn’t get any worse.’ Kei declared to his lonesome, just about to crawl into a ball and hope someone picked him up and magically transported him back to his apartment.

Oh how lovely that would be-

That’s when he heard it.

It was a sound that broke him out of his reverie and a sound that made him turn himself around completely in the middle of a crowded sidewalk.

A voice, Kei realised, of course it was. A man’s voice singing loud above the crowds that were muttering and shuffling.

It sounded beautiful.

Kei swore it was only from the increasingly cold, but goose bumps soon raised on his pale skin.

He knew he had to go to wherever this sound was coming from.

It was a voice so warm and sweet that it was almost as if it granted a safe haven for Kei, just by the sound of it…

Blindly, Kei followed the melody, the song not at all familiar to him but feeling like a home all the same. He stumbled around, guiding with his ears to the sound of the voice that woke him up.

The music grew louder and louder as Kei walked along, his heart pounding harshly within his chest in anticipation.

There were only a few more steps now. He could feel it.

Three.

Two.

One.

And at last, he found it.

The singer’s voice belonged to a small café all the way across the other side of the street. The sign out in the front of the building spelling out its name in hiragana.*

It made Kei feel homesick at the sight of it all over again.

ふくろ

“Fukuro?” Kei breathed, his eyes scanning the letters. “Owl?”

Strange…

He looked inside the space, and spotted the old timber floors and the mismatched tables and chairs. He watched as a waiter placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of a customer, steam drifting from the beverage.

It looked like the most wonderful thing he’s ever seen…

Well until-

Kei’s eyes weren’t on the latte for long though, his attention being captured once more by the person at the very corner of the shop.

The one who caught his attention all the way across the street was stealing it all over again.

There’s a man singing on the stage back there, his voice sounding even more appetizing than the drink Kei saw on the table.

Which was rather impressive.

The man strummed a guitar to the sound of his voice like it was nothing at all, his eyes were scanning the crowd and his mouth moved so rhythmically, it was like he had done this a million times.

And his voice. His voice-

Fact 4# Kei doesn’t believe in love at first sight.

It was the first time Kei noticed the man’s appearance. Or more specifically, his enchanting weird face.

The man looked almost like a stray cat with his twitching nose and his distinctly feline eyes…

Not to mention his absolutely absurd, unruly hair…

Kei squinted his eyes a bit in suspicion.

It certainly was odd to see a sly black cat in a café distinctly named ‘Owl.’

Kei waited at the window for a few more minutes, watching the guitarist play, hitting every note perfectly- well practiced and faultless. It made him forget about how cold he was. How miserably infuriated he had been with himself beforehand.

This stranger had cheered him up easier than anyone ever had.

And he wasn’t even aware of it…

It only took the updraft of the warm air within the shop to draw him all the way in after that. He stopped being stubborn.

It only took the fresh smell of brewing coffee beans to make him sit down.

It only takes the sound of that cat’s beautiful voice to draw Kei’s gaze to him once more.

“こんばんは*,” Murmurs a voice from beside him.

Kei jumped, his glasses falling to the tip of his nose. His trance, at last, broken. “Eh?”

A young man, about the same age as Kei (and quite possibly that mysterious singer) peered at him with curiously narrowed eyes.They blink at him strangely, and Kei is reminded of a bird.

An owl.

Of course.

The man raised his eyebrows at him. “Sorry for startling you, was I incorrect in assuming that you’re Japanese?” He almost looked disappointed in him- like some kind of mother figure?

Kei raised his own eyebrows, in surprise. “いいえ、日本人です。” He replied, awkwardly- in Japanese.

The dark haired boy smiled the tiniest bit this time before turning to someone obscured from Kei’s vision, “I told you he was Japanese, Bokuto-San.”

Almost being summoned by his name, ‘Bokuto-San’ emerged from his hidden place. “Aw man, I thought the blonde hair might have meant something.” 

“He probably dyes it,” The other mentions, talking to the other man like Kei isn’t in front of them at all.

“Oh… That makes sense. I hadn’t really thought of that.”

“You don’t really think of much, Bokuto-San.”

“Hey!”

Kei cleared his throat. ‘Bokuto-San,’ almost like he was remembering that the object of his speculation was right there in front of him, looked straight at Kei.

Now this man (alongside the straight faced waiter,) was definitely someone who looked like he worked in a place meaning ‘owl’. His extremely unusually spiked hair and beady eyes were a dead giveaway in that department. Kei almost wanted to ask if he’s nocturnal too, but he held back.

“Sorry, man, we just don’t really see many Japanese people around here. It’s kind of exciting!”

Kei raised his eyebrows. “But we’re in New York, everyone from everywhere lives here.”

“Yes but there’s not as many Japanese people as there are in Japan, though.”

“Well… Yeah,” Kei supposed, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I wonder why.”

“Bokuto-San.” The other man beside the owl spoke, interrupting the two of them briefly. “I think you’re forgetting something rather important.”

“What do you mean Akaashi?” ‘Bokuto-San’ Asked, his large eyebrows raising. He looked genuinely perplexed.

'So the other man’s name is Akaashi…'

“We’re running a café,” Akaashi stated to his companion dryly, crossing his arms around his chest.

“Yeah…”

The shorter man gave the other a look almost like he was waiting for the other to realise something...

Kei counted down the seconds watching, anticipating.

4…3…2…1

Bokuto eyes lit up in realisation.

“Oh shit, sorry, hi~ welcome to Fukuro, what can I get for you today?”

Akaashi nodded at him, and then looked back at Kei, “He’s usually back in the kitchen but I’m teaching him how to be a waiter just in case.”

“It’s working great,” Kei replied.

Akaashi smirked a little bit before motioning for Kei’s attention back on Bokuto.

Kei’s mind blanked, “Well, actually, I came here in the first place because I heard singing-“

“Oh man, you mean Kuroo!” Bokuto yelled excitedly, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the café. His waiter persona was promptly forgotten as soon as he'd picked it up. Hell, Bokuto had thrown it out the window.

“Inside voice, Bokuto-San,” Akaashi whispered to him disapprovingly. Sending him a warning look of disapproval.

Bokuto deflated like a balloon. He looked utterly heartbroken for being under the scrutiny of the other man.

Kei died a little bit inside- praying to God that this illicit ‘Kuroo’ didn’t just hear his companion from all the way over the store.

He was out of luck though, because the stray cat himself looked over at them while he was adjusting his sheets of music. In a break between the songs, probably. He scanned the crowd mechanically and uniformly, nodding at both Akaashi and Bokuto, who nodded right back.

But then his cat-like eyes finally stop at Kei.

Kei’s heart stopped the moment their gazes locked and he thinks he was going to die. ‘Kuroo’s’ stare pierced his insides and he felt like he couldn’t breathe at all.

Kuroo either doesn't sense his panic or pretends nothing is wrong because he simply grins at him. It was a smile that sent shivers down Kei’s spine. It oozed out mischief and all kinds of not-that-great things that Kei was certain were a farce. It was like a weird mask- but it didn’t at all feel bad. 

Which was what worried him.

Kei was certain enough that his brain was overloaded with strange thoughts.

But then- then the icing on the cake was finally added. The proverbial cherry on top that Kei definitely didn’t order.

Kuroo winked at him.

The bastard winks at him.

“That’s our friend, Kuroo,” Akaashi supplied for Kei (who is only half listening, half melting,) the owl’s arms are crossed as if he were smug. “He performs here most days.”

“He’s really good, isn’t he?” Bokuto added, very proud. "I picked him out myself."

“I don’t know,” Kei mumbled as he snaps out of it, his ears going pink. Trying his very hardest not to think about that stupid wink he’d just been given a minute ago.

Nope, definitely not working. He was doomed. His mind wouldn’t leave the subject. Kei cursed the heavens in his mind and didn’t pay much attention to the outside world for another split second. He didn’t realise the other two before him were giving each other knowing looks before it was far too late.

“What are you staring at?” Kei asked accusingly, his eyes narrowing behind his framed glasses.

“Nothing,” They both said simultaneously.

Kei didn’t believe it for a second though, he could see Bokuto’s shit eating grin even in the dim lights.

Kei wasn’t impressed with the expression. Not one bit, but tried for nonchalance regardless. “Anyway, I guess I’ll just have the biggest coffee you have.”

Bokuto nodded at him, “Sure thing.”

The grin still didn’t wear off.

“What are you smiling at?” Kei finally asked, growing flustered with the complete ambiguity of that smile.

And the fact that it was targeted at him.

Two smiles shot at him in one night. This was entirely too much attention. 

“Nothing,” Bokuto said innocently, kicking the invisible dust on the ground. “The coffee’s on the house.”

Kei’s suspicions worsened. “Why?”

“No reason, I just think I’m gonna like you.”

Akaashi elbowed his partner in the side. “Don’t be creepy, Bokuto-San.”

Bokuto ignored him this time, “I’m gonna go make that coffee now!”

“Please do, Bokuto-San.”

It took another second, but soon, Bokuto was rushing away back in behind the counter and Kei and Akaashi were alone again.

“It was nice meeting you…” Akaashi paused, waiting for Kei to fill in the gap.

“Tsukishima,” Kei supplied, suspecting that both ‘Bokuto’ and ‘Akaashi’ were the other two’s last names anyhow.

He just couldn’t get used to people he barely knew calling him ‘Kei’ anyway. It made him uncomfortable. 

“Well, Tsukishima, I guess we’ll be seeing you around,” Akaashi finished, standing up straight before doing his rounds once more.

Kei didn’t get a chance to ask what he meant, but he was sure it couldn’t be good. Those two owls were definitely up to something and it made Kei feel very uneasy. Especially the way they both smiled at him. It was like they knew a secret about Kei that he didn’t even know himself. And they’d just met him for God’s sake! What had he done to deserve this?

Kei sighed, his mind in a little bit of a jumble after the longest day in his life. He couldn’t wait to just slip under the covers of his bed and sleep like the dead- Which would be a possibility, if he hadn’t left his keys in the classroom. And there he was, back to the start once more.

Kei could feel himself getting agitated again and took two deep breaths to calm himself down once again. Staring straight ahead into the crowd of people in front of him to focus on something else. The café was full on that Friday night. Which was a given, but Kei was certain that wasn’t the only reason.

The reason, himself, in fact, was now standing a couple of metres away from him. In front of a dozen fawning girls that Kei almost felt like joining them for a split second.

Stupid!

Kuroo smiled at the crowd one last time before his eyes were fixated on the strings of his guitar. His easy grin sobered into one of concentration and his face turned to stone.

And just like that, Kei felt calm again.

Which was entirely stupid, because such a thing wasn’t like a switch in his brain. He couldn’t just hear a voice and be at ease.

...Could he?

Kuroo’s voice was deep but smooth. Light and dark. It felt like moonlight on Kei’s face and the slow strumming of his guitar only seemed to add fuel to the fire that was his heart right now. Kei realised he was staring about a second too long because when Bokuto brought back a steaming cup of coffee, the owl gave him another one of his stupid grins.

“Enjoying the show?”

“Tch.” Kei clicked his tongue, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mhm.” Bokuto hummed, hands on his hips. “You’re drooling a bit.”

Kei instinctively wiped at his mouth. (which was dry, thank you very much) and then, realising he had been made fun of- scowls darkly at Bokuto, feeling like a fool. 

“Very funny,” He snapped, indignant. Crossing his arms.

Bokuto chuckled, “You’re fun to mess around with. Don’t worry about it.” The waiter/chef then proceeds to mimic the man posture, right down to the slant in his shoulders.

“Hmph.”

Kei gave no more of a response than that.

The owl at his side sighed.

“I see you're distracted, 'guess I’ll leave you with your precious Kuro-“

Bokuto stopped himself after seeing Kei give him a death glare.

Normally it wouldn’t phase him but this time, he legitimately feared for his life.

He quickly amended his mistake.

“Kuroffee- Yeah! Kuroffee! That’s what they call coffee in the states, ya know?”

Kei didn’t look at all convinced but simmered down. Perhaps he was coming off far too bitchy. “I’m sure that’s true, ‘Bokuto-San’.”

Bokuto smiled at him, “I like you, you’re kind of an asshole.”

“Gee, tell me what you really think.”

“No, no! I mean it in the best way! I respect that you say whatever you want.”

“I’ve known you for about twenty minutes.” Kei deadpanned.

“And we’re already friends! How ‘bout that?” Bokuto cheered, hooking Kei around the neck with a hug from but one of his terrifyingly toned arms. Obviously not at all that shaken anymore from the menacing look Kei had given him about a minute prior.

Kei just kind of sat there with Bokuto’s arm around him, frozen in mild terror and discomfort- completely bewildered by how forward and ‘hands-on’ Bokuto was.

He’s supposed to be Japanese, isn’t he? Doesn’t he know a thing personal space?

Luckily, however, he didn’t have time to ponder the question for long, because his knight in a shining sensible dress shirt came to inadvertently rescue him.

“Bokuto-San, help me! There’s something in the kitchen that only your amazing expertise can manage!” Akaashi called dramatically from somewhere unknown (presumably from the kitchen.) His tone was emphasised, but there was truth to his words, Kei could tell.

Like the sentence was made of magic, Bokuto immediately backed off, and rushed like a kid in a candy store back into the anonymous abyss that was the ‘staff only’ door.

Kei breathed a great sigh of relief, taking a thankful sip from his piping hot drink to calm himself down for the thousandth time this evening. This day continued to get more and more strange and he didn’t know how much more he needed (or wanted) to see. He didn’t think he could handle anymore new people coming into his life so suddenly and so abrasively.

“Hi,” Called a voice from his left.

Being a normal human being, Kei looked over to the source of the sound and-

Shit.

The object of his attention for the last thirty minutes was standing right in front of him. Kei hadn’t realised the music had stopped. He hadn’t realised that Kuroo had packed up. And he most definitely didn’t see him approach.

“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

…

Shit.

Kei was going to need to write his eulogy in his head for now- he was certain he was not going to make it much longer if these things kept happening to him.

What if Kuroo was over here to confront him? Did he see Kei staring at him this whole time?

“Shit,” Kei breathed aloud.

Kuroo looked at him, taken aback. Immediately confused, but also apologetic. He glanced around the shop, from the edgy brick wall to the peeling hipster posters by the counter. Before deciding that the blonde man had, in fact, been talking to him.

“I’m sorry?”

Oh my God, I really just said that out loud! Kei realized in absolute horror, his brain malfunctioning. He wants to dive into his giant coffee mug and drown.

God, he was always so composed. Why did today of all days have to be the one time where his head was more fucked up than he was?

“Fuck! I mean, I’m Fuckishima- I mean- No! I’m Tsukishima!” Kei blurted out like a madman, his heart thundering in his chest.

God this was so lame…

Kei cleared his throat, pretending like nothing had just happened. “Hello, I’m Kei Tsukishima.”

“Nice to meet you, Fuckishima.”

Kei put his face in his hands. Death didn't sound like such a bad option right now.

He heard Kuroo laugh from slightly above him. It sounded fucking beautiful. Kei wanted to listen to that for the rest of his life.

“I’m just kidding, it’s nice to meet you, Tsukki!”

Kei raised his eyebrows, “Tsukki?”

Kuroo gave him a toothy grin before plonking down on the space next to him.

Shit.

“Sorry, is ‘Tsukki’ no good? I thought it was pretty cute. It suits you.”

“We just met each other.”

“Ah, I see, so I must earn the noble right to call you ‘Tsukki,’ what a wonderful challenge!”

“Please no.”

“Hey, it’s better than Fuckishima.”

Kei groaned. “Please don’t tell 'Bokuto-San' I said that. That man would have a field day.”

“Ah I thought I saw you and him goofing off.”

“I was not goofing off,” Kei said matter-of-factly, pouting just a bit.

Why the fuck was he doing that?

“You guys were hugging, it was really adorable!”

“You must be mistaken, I barely know him.”

“Doesn’t matter. Bo hugs everybody he deems worthy."

“Oh so he never hugs you.”

“Oi, how unkind.”

Kei smirked at him, about to open his mouth for another comeback but was interrupted by a rather raucous, yet slightly familiar voice.

“Kuroo! Kenma called, he needs you to pick him up!” Bokuto yelled from behind the corner, his eyes getting a mischievous glint about them when he saw that the two of them were sitting together. 

“Well, I gotta go,” Kuroo spoke reluctantly, like he wanted to stay here longer with some stranger he’d just met. He looked troubled.

Impossible.

Standing up from his chair in front of Kei rather clumsily, it was like he was nervous or something.

Kei couldn’t tell whether he was relieved or disappointed that Kuroo was leaving him by himself.

It was terrible.

“I’ll see you around here again, right?” The cat asked Kei, looking genuinely hopeful, fidgety. Like he was missing out on a lifetime opportunity.

“Uh…”

Kuroo took that as a yes apparently. His eyes sparkled and Kei didn't have the heart to tell him no.

“Great! I’ll see you around, Tsukishima!”

Kei didn’t know why, but even in the cold-as-fuck snow, in the middle of a freezing-ass journey back to get his house keys.

There was a spring in his step.

Fact 5# Kei thinks cliché romantic comedies set in New York are fucking stupid.

Chapter Text

“Kenma, let me get this straight,” Tetsurou grunted, his hands on the tattered leather wheel of his car.

A car that was not moving for the life of it.

God bless New York traffic…

“You, a functioning adult, thought it was a good idea to go outside in the middle of winter, walk an hour out of your way just because there was a video game sale on the other side of Manhattan?”

Kenma, beside him in the passenger seat, looked unimpressed as per usual. (Maybe a little bit pissed at being ridiculed.)

“You were at work and I don’t have my own car.”

Tetsurou looked at his best friend, miffed. His eyes narrowed into even more diabolic slits at the man’s indifference, which was certainly strange in itself…

Surely, his, slightly strange, foul mood wasn’t entirely because he’d missed out on talking to that weird guy back at the café. Right?

There were definitely other things to consider… Like how that it just so happened to be peak hour for traffic… In the middle of New York… In the winter…

Yes, there were plenty of aspects to think about!

But none of them usually bothered him this much…

Tetsurou Kuroo risked a disgruntled groan, resting his bedhead on the middle of the steering wheel- causing the horn to sound, loudly, across the city.

Tetsurou’s head bolted right up at the sudden sound while Kenma stared at his idiot of a best friend very blankly.

His best friend who was still looking around to see which bastard had honked at him…

The cat’s eyebrows twitched as he gripped the wheel, letting the distraction go and moving back to his original thought process.

No, it didn’t make sense why he was so disappointed today. He had no reason to- despite Tetsurou’s outwardly shifty (yet undeniably attractive) appearance, the man, if anything, had overwhelming patience.

So all that was left was…

Tetsurou sighed, wondering just why he couldn’t get ‘Fuckishima’ out of his head.

Well, maybe it was just his incredibly memorable first impression…

The stray cat smirked at the thought of it… He’d actually noticed the blonde staring at him when he came into the café. The first thing Kuroo noticed was that he was tall, much taller than what would be considered the norm for Japanese people.

And Tetsurou was certain he knew it.

He carried himself with a weird kind of stuck up half-confidence that felt a little bit faked and a little bit too real.

Which Kuroo found enthralling in itself.

But in the end, the lasting impression was the completely and utterly bewildered expression that he’d had on his face when Tetsurou had seemingly appeared right in front of him.

It was too adorable…

Gulping, Kuroo returned to the thought at hand, wiping away the thoughts of the stranger he’d only talked with for two minutes (Jesus Christ, Tetsurou.)

“Why didn’t you just buy the game online?”

“Oh how could I not think of that? A virtually bought video game will look great on my shelf,” The younger quipped, his eyes focused on the small case with utmost fascination.

Tetsurou felt his eyes roll to the back of his head but didn’t press the case any further.

Kenma could be hurtfully sarcastic sometimes.

Sometimes meaning most of the time…

“I, uh, met this Japanese guy at work today,” Tetsurou began, not quite sure if Kenma cared or not.

To his surprise, Kozume’s eyes widened in curiosity as if thinking,

Maybe this is why Kuroo is been acting so strange…

Fascinating…

“Hmm?” Kenma hummed, feigning indifference.

”Yeah, he was really weird.” Tetsurou smiled, continuing, “He swore a lot.”

Kenma squinted at him. “Was he cute?”

Tetsurou squawked, his face flushing before he could think of a proper answer. “I didn’t notice!”

Bullshit.

“Mhm,” Kenma replied, disbelieving; looking like he was about to call him out on it.

The other’s quick mind saved his ass for the millionth time in his life just in time.

“So!” He began, loud enough to make Kenma jump. “Tell me about this video game of yours!”

Luckily, albeit suspiciously, Kenma took the bait.

Tetsurou liked it when Kenma spoke to him about the video games he played. It was one of the only times he’d talk a lot- and it was one of the things he was so passionate about that it made Tetsurou happy enough not to notice how graphic most of the plot really was.

Tetsurou was comfortable with just listening for the time being anyway, his mood lifting once more when he got his car moving from the traffic. (Even if it was agonisingly slow.)

Maybe it was just the slow traffic after all…

Looking out into the snow blanketed awnings of all the quirky shops of central New York City, Tetsurou was almost reminded of back home…

Almost.

Luckily though, his thought process stopped completely when his eyes were assaulted with an oddly familiar, tall, head of blonde hair about twenty feet ahead of him, walking somewhat glumly on the sidewalk.

“Holy shit!” Tetsurou exclaimed suddenly, rolling down his window, startling Kenma once more.

He cupped his hands into the shape of a megaphone, peaking his messy head all the way out of his car.

All before he could think about what he was going to do,

“TSUKISHIMA!”

…

“TSUKISHIMA!”

Kei felt his head turn at the sound of his name on instinct.

Where the fuck did that come from?

…

“I don’t think he heard me,” Tetsurou mumbled, disheartened.

“I think everyone in New York City heard you, Kuroo,” Kenma replied, nonplussed (and mortified) from the other side of the car.

Not willing to give up for some odd reason, Tetsurou drove to get a closer look.

Yes, that was definitely Tsukishima.

…

Kei was still in shock as the crowds moved all but through him to get past. His eyes looked for anyone who could have made the noise but found nothing and no one.

“HEY!” He heard from his left, much closer this time.

…

Kozume put his face in his hands. “Oh my God.”

…

Kei was about to scowl at the car haggling at him before he realises who’s incredibly messy head is peeking out of it.

He scowled anyway.

No person, no matter how incredibly attractive had a right to bypass one of Kei’s dirty looks.

“Kuroo,” The blonde greeted from the sidewalk, his eyebrows raising in mild confusion.

The stray cat grinned up at him from his crappy old car, an elbow hanging out of the windowsill casually.

“Long time no see… Where you going?”

Kei eyed him suspiciously. “I forgot my keys in my classroom, so I’m going back to get them.”

“But it’s snowing!”

“Thanks for making me aware of that fact, but there’s no other way to get there since all the trains getting there are closed due to the shit ton of snow in the system.”

…

Tetsurou frowned this time, analysing the situation at hand before making a split-second decision.

He could hear Kenma behind him muttering things and he could tell it wasn’t good.

“Wanna ride?” Tetsurou added a wink on instinct and died on the inside when Tsukishima just glared at him.

“What?”

Kuroo quickly elaborated- not wanting to melt under the other’s gaze.

“Where’s your university? I can drive you there.”

…

“About another half an hour on foot that way-” Kei began before stopping himself, remembering what his father told him about common courtesy and strangers.

‘No Kei, it’s not ‘lame’ to learn about this! You need to know not to get in cars with strangers no matter how far the walk is!’

Kei eyed the car. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

No matter how much he was freezing his ass off...

“Oh please! I live right around there!” Kuroo chirped, showing Kei his pearly white fangs once more that night.

…

“No we don’t Kuroo,” Kenma whispered.

Tetsurou slapped a hand over his mouth, cutting off the other boy’s air circulation.

…

Kei weighed his options.

His two, (count them) options.

“Are you sure it’s not any trouble?”

He went with the one that could get him in bed faster.

With the day Kei was having, possibly being kidnapped didn’t sound that terrible at all…

“No! No! Not at all!” Kuroo smiled at him like he was an old friend.

It made Kei feel strange inside.

But not in a bad way…

Which was even worse.

…

Tsukishima still looked suspicious of Tetsurou. Which he rightfully should be, really.

Only Bokuto would just jump in a stranger’s car for a ride...

The tall blonde sized up the vehicle, watching Tetsurou carefully before asking one thing.

“You’re not going to murder me are you?”

…

Tetsurou said it before he realized it, “Not tonight.”

Kenma rolled his eyes, despite being slowly suffocated.

…

“Edgy,” Kei scoffed, somewhat convinced with the answer, despite the ambiguity of it all.

With one last thought that this was incredibly stupid, he climbed into the back of the car.

At least if he died, he died in a warm, comfy seat instead of of frostbite.

…

Tetsurou was still smiling as Tsukishima climbed in, slowly letting go of Kenma’s face to let him breathe.

Kenma kicked him before taking a gasp of (somewhat fresh, but still pretty polluted) New York air.

He took note of the passenger, now sitting uncomfortably in the back of the car before the stranger noticed him.

He was tall, Kenma could tell now. His legs were folded strangely on the seat, barely fitting behind Kuroo’s seat. He looked indignant about being helped- but definitely too cold to refuse the offer.

If situations were reversed, Kenma was sure he’d do the same.

Ironically enough, Kuroo would probably yell at him for that.

…

Kei noticed another, much smaller cat staring at him after about another twenty seconds inside the car and nearly jumped out of his skin from the surprise.

He didn’t show any outward reaction though.

This man looked a bit younger than Kuroo, but maybe it was just how he wore his hair- up in a tiny dyed blonde ponytail that was just barely holding it together.

He looked a lot less scary than Kuroo- Though he still held the same weird eyes that were undoubtedly feline.

Just how many weird animal people were in this city?

Kei and the other meet each other’s eyes for a matter of seconds, sizing each other up almost.

It wasn’t as if it was awkward.

It was just… Weird. Like the two of them didn’t know how to greet like normal humans.

Luckily though, Kuroo did the honour of breaking the odd staring match between his roommate and his… His… Acquaintance, in the hopes of introducing both of them.

…

“Kenma, meet Tsukishima. Tsukishima, meet Kenma.”

Kenma broke eye contact first, turning back in his seat. “You were right Kuroo, he is cute.”

Tsukishima paled.

Tetsurou spluttered, trying to form a sentence but having no capability to do so.

This was definitely revenge for nearly suffocating Kenma a moment ago wasn’t it?

He glanced to his side at his best friend, and the tiny smirk on his lips confirmed it.

Kenma turned to the back seat briefly once more. “Hi, I’m sorry if Kuroo was weird. He’s like that when he’s nervous.”

Tsukishima didn’t have a time to speak before Tetsurou started to form a pitiful excuse.

“Oh I’m the weird one am I?” Tetsurou cried out incredulously, his face turning a bit pink.

‘From the cold!’ he swore, ‘definitely the cold!’

“Yes.” Kenma deadpanned.

Tetsurou let out a ‘ hmph’ and turned back to face Tsukishima, who was still as white as a ghost.

…

“Uh… Sorry,” Kuroo mumbled awkwardly.

“You think I’m cute?”

“Uh…Shit.”

“That’s my line.”

…

Kenma slowly wondered when the two accompanying him in the car were going to stop flirting so they didn’t die in a car accident.

Then again, if Kuroo was going to be this embarrassing, Kenma wouldn’t mind if they did...

…

The cat grinned at Kei before turning his eyes back to the road, “So where was this school of yours?”

“Ah, if you follow the road all the way to the main street- turn right and it’s there,” Kei supplied plainly.

“No problem.”

“Are you sure this is okay?” Kei asked warily, still feeling uncomfortable about asking a total stranger for help like this.

“Hey, it’s fine we’re friends!”

Kei looked at him incredulously. “Huh? I’ve known you for like, an hour.”

‘Two friends in one day… Wow Kei, this beats your high score from last time; one friend in two decades!’

. . .

. . .

. . .

He told his mind to fuck off.

“Well let’s take this time to get to know each other!” Kuroo sang, making it sound like the easiest thing in the world. He turned to his travelling companion- Kenma, “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Kenma fixed Kuroo with the most venomous gaze possible and Kei was pretty sure he was going to like Kenma.

Basic social interactions from before have lead Kei to this moment, so he knew it was his right and turn as a guest to ask a question.

He sized up the two in the front seat. Their mannerisms and the way they acted around each other. How close they were and how much they seemed to bicker-

It was the obvious question, Kei was sure of it now.

And yet it still made his insides feel kind of weird…

Kei swallowed his pride and asked anyways.

“How long have you two been dating?”

Kuroo processed the question silently, his eyes widening momentarily before he let out the most absurd laugh.

It sounded like a cat being doused with water over and over again relentlessly.

But it makes Kei’s heart do a backflip nonetheless.

Even Kenma started guffawing the tiniest bit at the question.

Kei just stared at the two cackling in the front, wondering what the hell he’d done wrong.

…

Once Tetsurou finally finished wiping tears away from his eyes, he took a deep breath and answered- still holding a little bit of laughter in, “Yeah uh- we’re not dating. Kenma’s about as interested in romantic relationships as he is in running marathons. Besides… He’s like my irresponsible little brother.”

Kenma, in reply huffed, but didn’t say anything to deny it.

…

“Oh,” Kei said simply, wondering why a strange sense of relief was settling in his chest.

Fact #6: Kei wouldn’t know a crush even if it hit him square on the nose.

Tsukishima Kei was never one for prolonged social interactions with people he barely knew.

Then again, he didn't know anyone that was.

And yet, he felt like he needed to make an effort because the two guys in front of him were...

Well, they were basically saving him from another hour of freezing his ass off. In other words, he was eternally grateful- not that he'd let Kuroo know that.

Kei looked ahead at the two men bickering in the front seat of the car and couldn't help but smile a little.

He didn't know why, but there was definitely something about this situation that seemed so ridiculous it made him want to either cry or laugh.

Despite his pessimistic nature, he decided on the latter.

Maybe he was feeling generous for once...

"Tsukishima?"

Kei's head cleared at the sound of his name being called ever so suddenly. And he realized a bit too late that Kuroo was talking to him.

"What?"

"I said 'how long have you been living in New York for?'" The stray cat repeated uncomfortably. "If I'm, uh, not overstepping."

Kei nearly laughed at his awkwardness.

For someone who looked so suave in the harsh lights of the stage- he really was a bit of a dork.

"I moved here after graduation- last winter," The blonde answered simply- not giving away too much information, but not being stingy either.

‘Kei, you're a little bit inept when it comes to conversation sometimes, I know- but don't even you know that you have to ask a question in return when someone asks you one?’

God, the voice in his head was such an asshole...

‘It’s because the voice in your head is you.’

And yet, he couldn’t help but comply.

Clearing his voice once more, Kei asked another question, "How long have you lived here?"

"In America? I've lived here my whole life," Kuroo answered, looking back at him in a manner that may cause an accident. "I have... family over in Japan though."

"I've also lived here my entire life, if you cared," Kenma mumbled sardonically, Kei could tell it was only teasing though.

Kuroo elbowed him but Kenma didn't stop.

He must have been pissed at Kuroo for something...

Or maybe Kenma just had no filter.

Either way it was kind of fun to watch Kuroo squirm...

Well, until Kenma opened his mouth again.

"I mean if you guys want me to drive while you make out in the back I guess I'm okay with that... It's better than Kuroo killing us all while he tries to stare at you."

And with that, Kei almost wanted to kill him as much as Kuroo did...

Except that Kuroo looked like he was considering it.

"Could you?" Kuroo asked with curiosity- his eyes immediately going wide at the implications. "I mean! Can you drive while I talk to Tsukki...shima?"

Kuroo cleared his throat awkwardly again.

Kenma rolled his eyes, "Go on, pull over."

And that was how Tsukishima Kei and Kuroo Tetsurou came to be in the back seat of a shitty black hatchback- both of their rather long legs folded uncomfortably on the back of the seats.

Kuroo fidgeted with the hem of his red shirt- almost looking far too happy with the outcome.

Kei in turn, looked dubious.

Almost like Kuroo had been planning this the whole time.

But in the end, maybe he was happy about this too...

At least this way he got to stare at him from the side...

"Kei…  What the fuck?" His mind cried, his chest feeling all kinds of strange. "What is this? It's terrible I hate it."

…

‘Tetsurou, calm down- and for God's sake don't accidentally touch his hand-‘

He had to think of something else, something to keep his mind preoccupied from all kinds of weird shit…

‘Think of something to ask him. ANYTHING.’

"So uh... Pineapple on pizza, thoughts?"

‘God fucking dammit, Tetsurou.’

...

"Uh... Thanks for dropping me home and stuff. It was really nice of you." Kei muttered, bowing his head instinctively. His eyes training on the concrete pavement outside his apartment.

He had to remind himself that he was not in Japan anymore. Still...

Slightly flustered- but still stone faced. Kei raised his head- snapping back attentively.

"Hey, if you need a ride from me again- I'd be more than happy to oblige."

Kei just looked at him, almost waiting for the other to process his own wording.

Kuroo paled. "Shit! Just-" he groaned, "you know what I mean."

"I don't have your number," Kei said simply, expectantly.

‘Kei, what are you doing?’

"Oh! Come here." Kuroo extended his hand out and placed a piece of crumpled up paper into the blonde's hands.

Almost like he had already planned to give it to him…

'KEI' The voice in his head warned.

He decided to ignore it.

"Thanks again... See you later I guess," Kei said as a final farewell, already thinking about how good his mattress was going to feel.

"Yeah, maybe next time we could do something a little more fun~ Jesus Christ I'm sorry."

Kei raised his eyebrow. "Goodnight," He mumbled- turning on his back to leave.

…

"Oh my God, Kuroo," Kenma said quietly, mortified for his friend's sake.

"I know," He groaned back...

Tetsurou spent the rest of the ride home with his face in his hands, trying to hide the ridiculous expression on his face.

"So... Pineapple on a pizza?" Kenma mimicked him sarcastically.

"Urghhhh."

Chapter Text

Home at last...

The thought alone dragged a sigh of relief out of Kei's mouth.

This increasingly strange day had gone on for far too many hours than it should have. It was overwhelming. It was weird. And the best of it all, it was over.

Thank God.

And yet, he supposed, something good did come of it, in a sense.

A twisted sense, but nonetheless.

He now had the number of Kuroo Tetsurou. Café Singer, cat look-alike, and possible axe murderer-

Whom he hadn't even known before today.

But that was hardly the point. Past Kei definitely would have high-fived him for that feat and then called him a fucking idiot.

Just like he wanted to do now, actually.

It looked like he hadn’t changed much then.

Kei's hands were still closed around the scrap of paper that Kuroo had handed to him no longer than five minutes ago. God forbid it flew right out of his hands due to an updraft or something as preposterous as that…

Kei’s hands clenched around it just for safe keeping. Which he knew was stupid but at least no one could read his thoughts…

But just in case they could, Kei’s mind began drifting to his phone anyhow. The number would be a lot safer if he just entered it in… Maybe tested it out a couple of times...

No, it was far too early to call now. He didn’t want to seem desperate or something lame like that. That was just stupid. It was far too early to even know what Kuroo wanted from him.

He should probably just wait it out.

That was the most logical and ‘Kei’ thing to do.

And that was what he would do.

Just because Kei’s head was clouded with… Some kind of feeling, it didn’t mean he had lost sight of most of his common sense for the time being.

Okay, maybe that was saying too much.

But he did know that it was stupid to call so soon.

He knew that for certain.

On the other hand, he did have to check his messages... That was a fact. If his dad had called and Kei hadn’t answered, the man would fly all the way to America to get one.

And that was something Kei definitely didn’t want right then.

Thinking of it as an exercise of self-control, Kei gave in and grabbed his phone.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Kei didn't resist the temptation of the device. Kicking off his soaking shoes and flopping onto the foot of his bed, he put the scrap of paper with Kuroo’s number safely inside his bedside draw.

He squinted at the brightness before his eyes adjusted to the contrast. Pushing past his wallpaper, he still hadn’t changed since he’d gotten this phone.

He looked at the notifications on the screen blankly.

Every night seemed to resemble the other these days. It was always the same couple of people speaking to him. And they were all thousands of miles away.

The only difference was that they usually texted him.

But today…

This time he had two missed calls. Meaning that it had to be important.

One from Akiteru.

One from Yamaguchi.

The thought of having to deal with double the emergency made Kei turn his phone off completely, his interest in the device dropping to the bottom of the Earth.

He really didn’t want to deal with them right now…

Not now.

It was so much of a pain.

Kei decided to call the two of them back later, hating and loving the fact of how much of a dirty procrastinator he truly was at heart.

(At least he didn’t let it interfere with his school work.)

Most of the time.

Besides, he had to wash off all of the filthy snow that had sunken in through his clothes before he caught a cold... Yeah, that was a reason.

Shower first. More socialisation later. That sounded like a plan. Leave it to future Kei, fuck yeah.

Ugh, this day seemed never ending.

It was past eleven when he finally returned to the comfort of his own blankets, having had something to eat, a shower, and a very large contemplation on what the hell he was doing-

He finally decided to return the bountiful calls he had received, with only a tiny bit more enthusiasm than before.

It didn't really matter how late it was- they were all in Japan anyway.

They were all so far away…

He decided to call Akiteru first, knowing that that conversation was probably going to be the most painful of the two .

Kei had a strange relationship with his brother. But then again, most sibling relationships were rather strange. The two of them had gone through a rough patch of sorts a few years back... It boiled down to a few stray lies but in the end, it was all okay.

They had always had each other's backs and that was what was important.

But still, it didn’t stop the older Tsukishima from being overbearingly affectionate towards the younger. He was insufferable on most days.

But in a loving kind of way, Kei supposed.

At least it was only on the phone, he couldn’t hug him from Japan. Ha!

"Hiya~ you've reached Akiteru." His brother's sing song voice reached his ears. It was a little too loud for so late at night.

"Akiteru. It's Kei."

"Kei!" The older man acknowledged- the sound of city life shuffling around in the background.

It must have been noon- his brother was probably on his lunch break. Kei pictured it now, the busy streets of Sendai bustling about with life. It wasn’t completely unlike New York, he supposed, and yet it still felt worlds away...

"What did you call me for?" Kei asked more accusingly than he probably should.

Akiteru scoffed in offense, Kei could practically see the man clutching his heart in fake hurt.

He smiled.

"Is it against the law for an older brother to check up on his little bro?"

"We usually text."

"We send each other memes, that's not the same."

Kei huffed out a laugh. "So it must be important then."

Akiteru chuckled along with him for a moment before Kei could hear his breathing sober and the giggles faded away with them.

"Dad wants to know when you're coming back home for the wedding."

Oh. The wedding. That was what he was calling for.

That made sense.

"Oh."

It wasn't a lie to say that Kei was uncomfortable with his father getting remarried. It wasn't as if he hated his betrothed; she was a lovely woman.

And yet... Kei couldn't help but feel distrust.

The Tsukishima family wasn't exactly prestigious per see- but they were definitely on the upper side of upper middle class. They could afford nice things. They lived in a house that was a bit too big for three people…

They could afford to send their son to New York to study in one of the best Palaeontology programs in the world…

Things like that.

Kei had seen the women his father had gone out with after his mother-

They just wanted their money. He could see it.

Madoka was different. She had made her own way in the world. She had a daughter who was close to his age. She truly loved his father-

Kei would just have to learn to get his shit together, he supposed. It was getting ridiculous; his distrust in this woman.

And yet he couldn’t help it. And he hated it.

"Uhh.."

This was why Kei had called his brother first.

Worst should always go first.

And when Akiteru called him- it always did seem to be bad.

"I'll tell dad you're still arranging it." Akiteru sighed on the other side.

"Thanks."

"He misses you, you know."

Kei scrunched up his nose. "I know it's just..."

"Weird?"

"Yeah,” The younger Tsukishima agreed, nodding along despite Akiteru not seeing him. He stopped, feeling a bit like an idiot.

Akiteru made a noise of thoughtful approval before continuing. “I guess we both never thought he'd get married again. It really looked like he didn't want to ever get over-"

"Akiteru. Can we not do this?" Kei interrupted, feeling his insides clench a little bit.

This was a touchy subject for the both of them.

"Oh thank god I was so uncomfortable."

Kei scoffed, leave it to his brother to say that...

"Tell dad I'll figure it out later."

"You better."

"Bye, Akiteru."

"Have fun, Kei, make some friends."

You have no idea...

Kei hid a little smile from himself and pressed 'end call' on his phone.

Talking to his brother always made Kei feel a little bit better- even if it was nonsensical and stupid.

Kei knew that it was probably because of after everything that happened with his mother- Akiteru was the one that calmed him down the most. Even if he was only young himself...

Nothing could make him forget that. Not even all the misunderstandings in the universe.

Fact #7: Kei’s values his relationship with his brother over most things. But he’d never, ever, admit it to him because that would be the death of him.

And he meant that truly.

Kei felt his eyes begin to close and soon enough, they were too heavy for him to keep them up for too long. It had been a long day, it was to be expected, he supposed.

He'd have to call Yamaguchi later...

One-for-two in a night still wasn’t a bad track record anyway…

Kei yawned, his hair still slightly damp but not having the right mind to dry it off before. His mind drifted off into a half dream land filled with a dark cat dancing around in it.

He didn't really need to connect the dots, even in a half conscious state, to know who that cat was.

But it still sucked regardless.

"Kuroo, you need to get your shit together," Kenma mouthed snarkily, throwing his house keys in that stupid bowl Tetsurou had bought one day.

"Look at it Kenma, it has sparkly kittens on it. I couldn't not buy it."

"I know," Kuroo groaned. "I've never been like this before. It's so weird..." Tetsurou scratched his head, utterly puzzled.

He seemed genuinely confused as to why he was acting like a total idiot in front of Tsukishima.

Kenma had figured it out in less than minute.

The dyed blonde scoffed at his best friend’s cluelessness but said nothing of the sort. Instead opting for another snarky joke.

Kenma really did love teasing Kuroo. He just never let anyone know it.

Which was what made him truly evil.

"Kuroo, Tsukishima said he's studying to be a paleontologist right?"

Kuroo raised a shaped eyebrow at his roommate.

"Yeah...?" He confirmed lamely, as if he added on the ‘and?’ behind it emotionally.

Kenma lowered his voice to match Kuroo’s, a perfect imitation if you asked him. He’d been practicing it for years.

"Hey Tsukishima, you work with dinosaur bones, so I'm sure you'd be able to handle my giant bone-"

"Kenma. Stop."

"Hey, it's better than some of the things you whipped out tonight."

Tetsurou nearly giggled at the innuendo before he stopped himself.

He was spending way too much time with Bokuto and it was starting to show.

Oh, this definitely wasn’t going to be good.

Don’t make a dick joke, Tetsurou.

Don’t make a dick joke, Tetsurou.

Don’t make a dick joke, Tetsurou.

Eh, it was low hanging fruit anyway…

Low hanging fruit…

FUCK.

Don’t make another dic-

Tetsurou cleared his throat and his head, swearing to himself to stop listening to Bokuto talk for a while. He was a sort of functioning adult and he was going to act that way!

Most of the time.

"You're never gonna let this go are you?"

"That's what best friends are for," Kenma announced, moving towards the TV to begin playing his new game, now bored with teasing the living daylights out of Kuroo, thankfully.

He couldn’t survive a full roasting under Kenma’s speculative gaze tonight anyway.

Tetsurou groaned unattractively, putting his pounding head on the cool kitchen counter, wondering just what kind of evil spell that devilishly handsome college student had cast on him...

Because it was definitely working. And it was fucking terrible.

Mainly because he hadn’t found such a curse first, but nevertheless, it still sucked.

"Tsukki!"

Kei cringed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Why did he decide to call Yamaguchi so early?

Oh right, because he was an idiot.

"Ugh, Yamaguchi, it's like 6 am here."

"Sorry Tsukki."

"Ugh yeah, what did you call me for last night?"

"When are you coming home for your dad's wedding?"

The blonde swallowed his coffee a little too harshly, a sour look taking up his face. "You too?"

Yamaguchi huffed out a little laugh. "Yeah, your dad keeps mentioning it to me."

Kei nearly spat out his Cheerios this time. "You've been talking to my dad?"

There was silence on the phone for a while but then Yamaguchi returned sheepishly.

"It's like he's using me as a part time son while you're over in America. He misses you a lot, Tsukki."

"Hmph."

"I miss you too, Tsukki."

"Shut up, Yamaguchi," Kei grumbled, not at all experiencing a warm feeling in his heart from having people that care about him.

Not a chance.

Yamaguchi, however, didn’t seemed phased, moving onto his next plan of attack.

"Mhm, anyway. Who's the guy you have a crush on?"

This time Kei actually did spit out his Cheerios, the tiny circles splaying onto the wall with a gross splat.

"What. The. Fuck?"

"Oh wow, how much older is he?" Yamaguchi gasped on the other line. "Is he like thirty?"

"Can you shut the fuck up for a second? How do you know I even like guys, let alone have met one I favour?"

Yamaguchi answered like it was obvious.

"Remember when we watched Jurassic World drunk and you told me in detail how bad you wanted Chris Pratt in your ass? Well actually you wouldn’t remember you were pretty wasted... Anyway… Yeah that."

Kei took another tentative sip of his coffee, muttering a quiet, "Shit."

"Yeah, anyway. I just know, Tsukki, you’re very obvious. So just tell me all the goss."

"I don't have a crush on anyone!"

"Tsukki~"

“That’s not going to work, Yamaguchi. It never has.”

“Please, Tsukki~!”

Kei groaned, his nose flaring in irritation.

“Tsukki~!”

Kei felt his mouth open involuntarily and could already tell this wouldn’t be good.

"He's like, not even an acquaintance so don’t shit yourself or whatever. I watched him sing in a cafe and he gave me a ride in his crappy old car, which was nice I guess because it was fucking freezing in the snow. He’s Japanese as well, which was basically how we started talking, but he looks weirdly like a cat though. But like an evil kind of cat which is super weird in itself, but not in a bad way. Because it kind of works for him in a way I don’t even know and- Oh shit."

Cold realization punched Kei in the guts. This senseless babbling, the disrupted thoughts.

Oh no.

"Awwww Tsukki."

"I want to die."

Chapter Text

When Kei finally did text Kuroo, it was about two days later while he was walking home from class.

It seemed simple enough in theory, really, but it did take a few tries to get right.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

What's shakin'?

Fuck no.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Hey remember me? The fuck up from the café?

Too existential this early in the game.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Hey. It's Tsukishima.

Nailed it.

He wants to put his face into a pillow and shriek ‘bloody murder’. This ‘crush’ (Yamaguchi’s words, not his) he had on this boy was beyond ridiculous. He knew it. But no one else did. Yamaguchi said it was ‘completely normal.’

Then why did it feel so weird?

Fact #8: Kei never had a crush on a real person before.

Sure, there had been fictional characters he’d idolised; singers and songwriters he’d thought to be pleasing to his eye, but never like this. It felt completely different.

And he’d just met the guy!
Maybe it was because Kuroo seemed caring enough but also kind of snarky. With a loud enough personality to be different from Kei but not rowdy enough for the blonde to find him too irritating. Maybe it was silky singing voice. The way the lyrics cascaded into the air from his mouth in a way Kei had never heard before. He was weird, completely different from what he seemed to look like on stage.

But Kei didn’t seem to care. It was one of Kuroo’s main appeals for some reason.

He almost enjoyed his brain replaying that cackling laugh the cat had over and over. He almost felt his face heat up when he thought about when Kuroo had directed one of his goofy smiles at him…

Almost.

It was too early to even begin to think about that stuff, right?

Kei didn't expect to get a reply back any time soon after such a lukewarm greeting. He sighed before shoving his phone in his bag along with his multiple textbooks for now.

He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to gain from talking to Kuroo. Kei vaguely knew of his own feelings, but at the same time, why would he confront such a thing? Wouldn’t it be better just to shove such emotions down with the rest of them?

‘That’s real fucking healthy, Kei. While you’re shoving this next emotion away, make sure you dust out some of your deep seated resentment for your mother down there. It’s gathering cobwebs.’

Ugh. Kei frowned before tugging his coat closer towards him.

Unexpectedly enough, his phone beeped about two minutes later.

It was a message from Kuroo.

(// ‿ ¬)

Hey Fuckishima~ I was wondering when you were gonna message me ;)

Kei scoffed, looking down at his phone with heightened curiosity, pondering whether he should say anything back.

God, why was he like this?

He gave in eventually. His fingers were twitching towards the keypad every moment he held back.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Worried that I wasn't going to message, were you?

Kei could almost see Kuroo sputter over that. He smirked.

(// ‿ ¬)

Nope, I'm irresistible after all.

Kei rolled his eyes. This guy was so full of shit that it was funny.

But in an annoying kind of way.

And maybe also in a kind of cute way.

Ah, fuck.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

I'm swooning. Really. Our last conversation was so entertaining, pineapples.

If Kuroo got to call him Fuckishima, there was no way he was going to let that ‘pineapple pizza’ incident go either.

If Kei suffered, Kuroo bloody would too.

It wasn’t much longer to the train station so Kei pocketed his phone, focusing on his directions just in case he got lost again. He would have to save the antics for later.

And boy was he anticipating it.

But before he did, he saved the cat's name under the number that was given to him.

God that was practically admitting to everyone that Kei liked him now. Ugh. How lame.

…

When Tetsurou's phone beeped while he was on break, he practically dove for it.

The only people who texted him regularly were Kenma and Bokuto, and those two were standing right in front of him, taking sips from their respective drinks.

Kenma's coffee was so bitter it reflected in the very person drinking it. Whereas Bokuto's tea was more sugar than anything else, really.

Which also seemed to reflect in his personality.

Odd.

"Who's that?" Bokuto eyed the phone in Kuroo’s hands mischievously, taking a half-hearted swipe at the device.

Kuroo's reflexes were surprisingly quick today though, and he backed away just in time. His expression sobered, trying to maintain something normal looking on his face to keep cover.

When in reality his heart was beating like a drum in his chest.

"Uh... It's my... It's... Iwaizumi- from work," Kuroo lied, his eyes training on the ground out of instinct.

The pair accompanying him stared at Tetsurou like he'd just begun growing wings out of his ass.

"Kuroo, Iwaizumi is as good at texting as you are at lying," Kenma retorted, taking a sly sip from his coffee, giving him a pointed gaze with those golden feline eyes of his.

Tetsurou scoffed, this was true. If there was some way to voice a grunt or sigh of distaste, however... Iwa would be a pro. "Fine. It's Tsukishima."

Bokuto gasped dramatically and Kenma raised his eyebrows.  

"You mean he actually texted you?" Kenma exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey," Kuroo warned.

Bokuto smirked. "I saw you giving him googly eyes at the café. You looked like such a dork."

"Well this dork managed to land Tsukishima's number!" Tetsurou declared proudly, pointing to himself with his thumb. His usual antics up and orderly…

But then Kuroo's phone beeped again and his eyes dart down before he could tell them to hold the fuck up.

He let out a small squeal.

It was Tsukishima.

"Yesssssss...."

"Haha, you are screwed, dude." Bokuto laughed, scoffing into his drink as he watched his friend.

Kuroo didn't give an intelligible answer, opting to just grunt instead. He typed out a reply before he could think better.

He saved Tsukishima's number with the man's name and an embarrassing emoticon next to it.

He also promised himself to never let Bokuto or Kenma see his phone ever again.

…

It was about two hours later when Kei checked his phone again.

He nearly regreted it. Not really.

He got two times the notifications as last night.

But alternatively, they all happened to be texts from Kuroo.

(// ‿ ¬)

If you call me pineapples in front of Kenma or Bokuto I will end my own life as swiftly as possible. Pls do not.

It read that an hour passed before the next three texts.

It appeared that Kuroo didn’t care at all about double texting. Or triple and quadruple texting for that matter… Good to know.

(// ‿ ¬)

Hey Tsukki.

(// ‿ ¬)

Fuck, you don't want me to call you that…yet. But hey, it’s better than Fuckishima ;)

(// ‿ ¬)

Well, anyway- I hope you remembered your house keys this time! ;) come to the café sometime, Bokuto and Akaashi keep asking about you.

Kei read the texts out loud in a voice that mimicked Kuroo and made himself snort. He typed out a half assed reply and changed Kuroo’s contact name to ‘Pineapples’ out of spite before he went to shower.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Maybe...

After he got dressed there was another text.

(// ‿ ¬)

Bruh.

That was how the texting war began.

But it was most definitely not where it ended.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Wow, did Bokuto take your phone or something?

(// ‿ ¬)

Ah no, but that would make sense lol.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

You guys seem pretty close by the way he talks about you... Are you guys childhood friends too?

What was with Kei today? Why was he actually making text-small-talk with a stranger?

And why was he interested about it?

(// ‿ ¬)

Nah, we just met by chance on the street. I needed a job, he had a café... we just became friends.

It was weird though, turned out we could have unconsciously versed each other a few times in volleyball back in high school. We both played...

Volleyball?

That piqued Kei's interest. Volleyball wasn’t exactly in the niche category for extracurricular activities but it definitely wasn’t one of the most popular things to do in the world.

The fact that Kuroo had actually played it and presumably enjoyed it was an almost eerily coincidental occurrence to him…

It intrigued Kei to learn more, but he swore he wouldn’t push. Not now anyway.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

You played volleyball?

(// ‿ ¬)

Why did you have to italicise the ‘You,’ is it really that surprising?

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

I don't know, you just don't look like you played volleyball...

(// ‿ ¬)

Ohoh? And what do i look like?

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

A dork.

(// ‿ ¬)

Ouch, i'm wounded... Tell me Tsukishima. Have you always been so snarky to people you just met?

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Nope. I tend to tone it down a bit in front of strangers. It’s only you.

(// ‿ ¬)

Awww.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

No. Not cute.

(// ‿ ¬)

Kinda cute.

There was a pause in the situation after that, almost as if the two of them were asking themselves the same inevitable question.

Where did they go from this?

Kuroo, thankfully, took initiative... Sort of.

(// ‿ ¬)

Are you free tomorrow/ do you want to hang out?

The ambiguity of the sentence made Kei's stomach turn, but it wasn't exactly in a bad way.

There were so many questions to be answered, but no way to say it.

The blonde bit his lip. Waiting a minute before answering back.

…

Tetsurou hugged his pillow, his eyes glued to his phone screen, waiting for rejection but praying for a positive ending, just this once.

He barely knew Tsukishima.

But the strangest part was that there was a desperate desire within him to find out more about the strangely enticing man that had cursed him with bashfulness.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Yeah, I am. Yeah, I do.

And for all intents and purposes, Tetsurou was certain Kei had at least the tiniest bit of interest in him too.

Right?

Tetsurou's eyes scanned the text and he let out a great 'woop.'

Kenma, in the other room, kicked the wall to get him to shut up.

But it didn't really matter. Not now anyway. He was too happy.

Tetsurou coudn't help but feel unbelievably giddy as he typed.

(// ‿ ¬)

Great. I'll pick you up at seven. I know where you live.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Kuroo, what the fuck?

(// ‿ ¬)

Lmao. Sorry, sorry. Came out way creepier than it should have! Goodnight, Tsukki <3

This time Kei didn't correct Kuroo on his nickname. Because really, it was better than Fuckishima by an entire mile.

Chapter Text

Tetsurou wasn’t quite sure what he did to the world to make it hate him so much. He was a good person… Most of the time. He always said thank you and was friendly enough that no one was uncomfortable.

So just why in all things holy was he stuck in a blizzard with a clusterfuck of ideas jumbled together like a terrible cocktail of sarcasm and sexual tension?

Was it because he didn’t open the door for that lady carrying bags yesterday?

Was it because he called Bokuto the human embodiment of fruit loops?

Actually…

Ugh, still this was stupid.

“This is insane,” Kei mumbled to himself, glancing out of his window.

Tetsurou had just gotten to picking Kei up for their uh… ‘hang out thing’ when the pair had gotten side tracked debating whether or not Cornflakes could sustain you in the event of a zombie invasion.

Tsukishima had fought against, Kuroo had gladly proven him wrong.

Unfortunately, they both had sour looks on their faces when their phones had sounded at the same time.

This is a weather alert for New York City.

Strong easterly winds alongside mass amounts of snow are expected to come within the next hour. Please stay under cover or find shelter if you aren’t currently in one.

Kuroo nearly wanted to cry out of disappointment. He had so much planned for tonight. He was going to take Kei to his favourite record store and they would pick something out for each other that they thought the other would like… Then they’d go have dinner and then a walk down the snow covered streets of the nicer part in town. And then under an icicle blanketed willow tree, they’d share a romantic-as-fuck first kis-

Okay, maybe he was getting ahead of himself just a little bit. But still, he could dream. He and Tsukishima had been texting non-stop on the nights leading up to this. It hadn’t been anything to deep, Kuroo supposed. Mainly just friendly bickering.

And yet he couldn’t help get a bit excited.

“This sucks,” Tetsurou moaned, brushing his shoes against Tsukishima’s hard wooden floors.

“There’s not much we can do,” Kei said neutrally, a blank expression on his face. He wasn’t quite sure how to comprehend the situation at hand.  

Kuroo was in his apartment, pouting like a little kid- unable to leave.

Kei wasn’t sure if this was a dream or a nightmare.

“Tsukki, do you have twister?”

Oh nevermind, this was definitely a nightmare.

“Do I look like I would own twister?”

Kuroo scrunched his eyebrows, tilting his head a little that looked far too feline for it to be actually natural for a human.

“Yes?”

The blonde fixed him with a dark gaze.

Kuroo, however, was unfazed. “Uno?”

“Do I look like-“

“Yes.”

“You’re right but there’s no way I’m going to play Uno with you.”

“Well what else are we going to do for an indefinite amount of time?”

Kei pondered the thought, a hand resting on his chin. “Listen to music?”

And like clockwork and because the world just wanted to fuck with Kei particularly hard that day-

The lights in his apartment flickered until they at last went out, alongside all of the electricity.

“Fuck,” Kei mumbled solemnly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I think I have some candles, hold on.”

Five minutes and several dimly lit tea light candles later, Kuroo and Kei both sat on Kei’s beat up old couch, watching the flame in the centre candle flicker about.

Tetsurou opened his mouth. “So what about-“

“No Uno.”

“Aw shit, man, come on. What else is there to do?”

“… We could talk,” Kei mumbled, his long legs folding up onto the seat of his lounge.

“What?” Tetsurou asked, the other was being too quiet.

“We could talk,” Tsukishima said louder this time. “Make it some kind of game or something.”

Kei swore he could see Kuroo’s toothy grin in the corner of his eye.

“Like truth or dare?”

“Are you twelve?”

“Only when I’m trying to get into movies for free.”

Kei scoffed. “Does that actually work?”

“Why don’t we play and you can find out… If I choose truth, of course.”

“Fine. Kuroo, truth or dare?”

Kei was sure this time he could see Kuroo’s shit eating smile. “Dare.”

One look from the blonde and he could tell he’d made the right wrong choice.

“Go up to my land lady. Ask her out on a date.”

Kuroo wrinkled his nose. He’d spoken to that woman as he ascended the stairs to Kei’s apartment. She looked about a hundred years old and smelled oddly of stale bread.

(Tetsurou suspected she had thousands of slices stashed in her pocket.)

“Truth.”

“My, my, are you chicken, Kuroo-San?”

“No, pretty sure I’m human.”

“Ugh, dad jokes.”

“I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing, Tsukki.” Kuroo wiggled his eyebrows obscenely.

Apparently when the lights went off, Kuroo just got even more fucking weird.

Kei flushed, but he was lucky because he couldn’t even see himself in this light.

“Fine. What do you do for a living?”

“Ah, so harmless. I thought you were going to ask me about the movie theatre.”

“I don’t want to know how you flirt your way into a cheap watch of a new shitty rom com flick.”

Tetsurou smirked at that, he wasn’t wrong. “Okay. Well, as you saw about a week ago. I sing and play at Bokuto’s café, but I also work a few other jobs to make a decent enough living.”

“Please elaborate.”

Kuroo began listing things off his hand, a finger for each job. “I sometimes bartend for a club owned by another one of my friends. I usually get a couple of guitar gigs every so once in a while and I volunteer at the animal shelter a few blocks away from here.”

“You don’t get paid for being a volunteer though.”

Kuroo nearly looked offended. “They pay me in the love and affection of adorable animals.”

“Fair enough.”

Tetsurou nodded along with that, his thoughtful expression slowly turning more deviant. “Truth or dare, Tsukki?”

Ah shit, the worst part about this game was when he had to do something.

Surprisingly enough, Kei wasn’t actually all that against the mechanics of truth or dare. In reality, he was quite nosey in his own sense. But when it came to answering deep dark questions about himself…

It made his palms feel a little clammy.

“Truth,” The blonde stuttered out smoothly.

“Why did you agree to get in my car that night I drove you home?”

Shit.

“Uh… It was cold and I didn’t want to freeze to death?”

“I was a perfect stranger, I could have been a murderer.”

“I don’t know… I guess, you just seemed really… trustworthy,” Kei mumbled, low enough to hope that Kuroo didn’t hear it.

He did.

“That’s the first time anyone has ever called me trustworthy.” He looked genuinely touched.

“That’s not a good thing.”

“Eh?”

“Truth or dare?” Kei asked once more, swiftly changing the subject, oddly eager to keep asking questions, but not at all excited to return them now.

And yet the balance was just right that it didn’t make him want to stop.

“Truth.”

“How did you first start singing?”

Kuroo looked at Kei strangely. “Is playing truth or dare just your way of asking questions to get to know me?”

Kei didn’t see any harm in just answering honestly. He was always quite famous for his brutal bluntness anyhow. “Yes.”

Kuroo, taken aback by the straight answer shifted a bit in his seat. “Do you want the real, deep answer, or the answer I give everyone else?”

“I get a choice?”

“Only you,” Kuroo said sheepishly, averting his gaze.

“In that case, better go in deep.”

Tetsurou giggled, Kei rolled his eyes at the childishness.

“Come on, now I’m really interested,” Tsukki prompted, his voice not portraying his enthusiasm at all. It was one of his very many talents.

Kuroo’s smile straightened back into a thin line. He looked at the wall in front of him as his eyes glazed over a little. “We didn’t have much money when I was little. Since I couldn’t get a job being six years old and it not being the industrial revolution- I picked up my grandfather’s old guitar and learned a few songs on it by myself. I’d never really had much interest in it before so it was kind of hard. I couldn’t get the rhythm right. It was only then that I realized I could keep in time by singing. It worked and I started playing on street corners with an old lunch box to put tips in. And after that I guess I never really stopped.” Kuroo wasn’t looking at Tsukishima anymore, he was just staring at the wall with a fond smile on his face.

And yet Kei could see his eyes were tinged with sadness.

He wanted to prompt just why that was so.

But it wasn’t his turn or right to ask, really.

Not yet, anyway.

Like he was being snapped back to normal, Kuroo turned his head quickly back to the blonde. Retaining his attention back to the normal world. “So that was my tragic backstory, yeah uh, I don’t want to dwell on that so… Truth or dare?”

Kei looked surprised, Kuroo was being so candid with him. Someone he had practically just met. He had a feeling that Tetsurou didn’t talk about that stuff a whole lot with other people, which just compelled the blonde to ask more.

But Kuroo didn’t really want to talk about it and Kei could definitely empathise with that.

There was something very intimate about sharing such things with people. Things that you and your mind only know…

It was something that Kei had never really been able to do.

That’s why, this time, he chose dare.

Tetsurou, almost expecting the answer, gave him one of his usual grins. Apparently back to his normal, ridiculously goofy self.

It was a relief.

“Dramatically read me a paragraph of the sauciest book you have in your possession.”

“You had this one planned, didn’t you?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Kei thought about the dare for a moment, his mind going through his bookshelf, automatically crossing out his work textbooks and embarrassing picture books he hadn’t thrown away from his childhood. He didn’t read all that much, but then again- not much to Kei was probably a tremendous amount for another person.

And then, at last, he remembered it.

“Technically, it’s not mine but…” Kei began, a small smirk playing on his face. “My friend Yamaguchi… His mother said he was throwing out some books he didn’t want. She asked if I wanted them. Anyway, I went through them and at the very bottom of the box was one particular book I’d never expected Yamaguchi to have in his possession.”

Kuroo placed his hands on his mouth, practically on the edge of his seat.

Kei got up to fetch the book he was certain he still had on his shelf. He kept it just in case he needed blackmail, but in reality he was just too amused by it to actually let it go.

“Hey Kuroo, do you know what BL is?”

Tetsurou’s face paled. “Oh shit.”

“Senpai, please go faster.” Kei read, his emotionless voice really adding to the entire aura about him.

Kuroo just sat on his sofa, his blushing face stuffed into a pillow, wondering just why he was the one getting flustered when Kei was the one reading that junk.

“But Kouhai-chan, I might injure you,” Kei continued, his voice going slightly deep for the change of character.

Kuroo groaned.

“I don’t care anymore. Senpai, I love you. Please just shove your doki doki stick inside me, I need it.”

“Stoooooooop,” Tetsurou cried. “This is terrible.”

“That was my intention,” Kei replied, setting the book down on the coffee table for Kuroo to eye like it was a cockroach.

“Kenma plays some BL games and he always has it on such a high volume setting… We’ve gotten complaints from our neighbours.”

“Ah, so I awakened some bad, long lost memories did I?”

“They aren’t long lost when they were last Tuesday,” Kuroo answered miserably.

Kei just laughed at him.

“Truth or dare?” Kei almost wished the snow storm would never pass. He was having quite a fun time.

“Truth.”

“Why did you come over to me that night at the café?”

Kuroo blanked before his eyes went wide. “Uh…”

Kei didn’t offer any kind of assistance, just sitting right beside him, trying to keep his curiosity at bay.

Finally, Tetsurou found something to say.

“To be completely honest, I’d seen you look into the café that night, staring at me… You kept catching my eye. And then when you finally came into the light inside, looking like the tall, blonde icicle you are. I couldn’t stop myself from talking to you. You fascinated me… I wanted to get to know you better.”

“Woah.”

“Uh yeah… Don’t be creeped out.”

“I’m not,” Kei replied honestly, “You were the whole reason I went inside, after all.”

Tetsurou looked at him, surprised. “I was?”

Well, looks like Kei was going to have to spill the beans anyhow. He uncomfortably moved himself towards Tetsurou, not wanting to say this any louder than he absolutely had to.

Curious, Kuroo met him halfway, turning himself sideways on the couch to look at the other.

Kei didn’t meet his eyes for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

He was about to do this wasn’t he?

Oh God.

“That night in the cold, I was freaking out because everything was going wrong for me. And then I heard you and you were like some kind of beacon that kept me on the ground while my head was swimming. Your music helped me gain some kind of composure to get my mind on right.”

Kuroo’s eyes were wide from the moment Kei begun speaking. There wasn’t a smirk on his face anymore. It had been completely wiped off.

Kuroo didn’t say anything else, just three words.
“Truth or dare?”

He didn’t notice how close they were from each other’s faces until he could practically see the little silver flecks in Kuroo’s eyes.

Kei was in too much of a daze to answer well enough, but he did say something.

“Dare.”

Kuroo didn’t even need to think about it.

“Kiss me.”

And so Kei did.

Chapter Text

Fact #9: Kei regretted many things in his life, but kissing Tetsurou Kuroo was definitely not one of them.

The kiss wasn’t exactly anything special when it comes to execution. In the end, it was the moment that really mattered.

Kei was certain he’d remember this for years to come.

He wouldn’t say it was his first kiss. That had been and gone. But it was definitely one of the only kisses that he knew would last in his memory.

It was sudden and all at once just like the snowstorm they were trapped in. Full of confusion of what this could possibly mean for the two of them together.

Together.

Did this mean Kuroo liked him as well?

Kei felt Kuroo’s hands drift to encircle his waist, pulling him closer into the kiss.

I guess so.

Hesitantly, Kei returned the gesture. Not quite sure what to do but not wanting to stop at all. He felt so warm despite the cold weather and he was certain it didn’t have to do with the fact that he was inside.

The heating system in the building was pretty shit.

Kuroo was the first to pull away and Kei tried to bite back a whine of annoyance.

“Holy shit.” He breathed, his feline eyes growing wide with surprise. Kuroo ran a hand through his gravity defying bedhead and laughed shakily.

Kei, unperturbed, just stared at him, waiting for him to say something else. If he was going to rudely interrupt that oncoming make out session, it had better be for a very good reason.

“What- what did-” Kuroo stuttered. Kei couldn’t see very well in the dark of the room but he was certain that the other is blushing profusely.

“What does this mean for us?” Tetsurou choked out finally. The shock of the situation hitting him full on.

Wasn’t he the one that had asked Kei to kiss him in the first place?!

Tsukishima sighed, pulling his face away slowly. “I’m not going to lie. I like you, and not in the friend kind of way. Well, I do want to be your friend. But I also want to…” Kei trailed off, trying to think of the right words. “I want to get to know you better. I want to go on- well, dates I guess. I’m pretty new to relationships. I don’t know why, but you’re different and I like that. But if you don’t feel the same way I understand.”

Kuroo stared at the other for a moment before he let out a laugh. “If I didn’t like you that way I wouldn’t have asked you to kiss me.”

“You mean-”

“Yes.”

Kei resisted the urge to throw his fist in the air.

Kuroo, unknowingly, thought the same thing.

“So does this mean we’re dating now?” Kei asked a bit nervously. He didn’t let his voice betray it but he was still wavering with uncertainty.

Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.

“Oh God I hope so,” Kuroo answered, placing a hand on Kei’s chin, pulling his face closer to his again. “I hadn’t even begun to use tongue, I need to redeem myself.”

“You better keep to your word,” Kei whispered, not letting himself get out-flustered. He moved his face in closer until the two of them were touching foreheads. They were so close to each other, Kei could hear the beating of Kuroo’s eyelashes.

Tetsurou choked out yet another ‘holy shit’ before steeling himself and moving in closer.

“Are you going to kiss me?” Kei asked, his patience wearing thin.

Kuroo didn’t answer with words, but rather with his lips. He pressed them against Tsukishima’s for the second time that night.

“I hope Kuroo-San is okay.” Akaashi thought out loud (to himself mostly), his head resting on the countertops of the café’s kitchen. Both he and Bokuto had been snowed in there as they were preparing to leave.

“Oh don’t worry about that. Kuroo and Tsukishima are probably sucking each other’s faces off,” Bokuto answered simply, a sly grin on his face.

“Surely not, Tsukishima doesn’t seem like the person to go so fast into something.”

“You only saw one half of the spectrum. Kenma told me that the two were practically ripping the clothes off one another when he dropped Kei home.”

“Kenma-san needs to stop reading fanfictions on the internet,” Akaashi murmured, completely certain that there was no way that Tsukishima and Kuroo were ‘sucking each other’s faces off.’

“I’ve never seen Kuroo act like this. Tsukishima must be special,” Bokuto returned, unfazed by the negative reaction he had received.

“I would say that, at least.”

Bokuto hummed in agreement, resting his head on his hand and meeting Akaashi’s eyes.

“Well since Tsukishima and Kuroo are tooooooooootally not making out on their end… Do you want to?”

Akaashi made a face, thinking about it for a moment in his head. They were trapped in the middle of a storm with no power and nothing to do…

“Absolutely.”

Kenma raised his eyes from his video game about the fiftieth time his phone beeped at him.

Either Kuroo had found a box of stray kittens or something was actually wrong.

Kozume thumbed the screen to open his notifications, his eyes resting on the alert that had been bothering him for a past hour.

Not enough to actually prompt him to do anything, but still.

“Oh… A snow storm,” He said to himself, placing the phone back onto his bedside table.

He didn’t waste any time unpausing his PSP game and continuing.

It wasn’t like he wanted to go outside any time soon anyway.

He just hoped Kuroo hadn’t done anything stupid or reckless.

“Is what we’re doing stupid?” Kuroo asked in between kisses, his own uncertainties not letting him enjoy it as much as he would like. “Are we being reckless?”

Kei met his eyes with a hand on either side of the other’s face.

“How so?”

“We hardly know each other.”

“If it bothers you that much. We can stop for now.”

“Oh God, no.”

Kei sighed, thinking up a scheme in his head. “I am Kei Tsukishima. I’m twenty years old. I am a first year at university, my major is palaeontology because I am interested in dinosaurs. I’m half Japanese on my father’s side. My mother was an American. I can speak English and Japanese equally as good as each other. I have a brother and a step-sister. I moved to New York to rethink some things. I’m gay and I would really much rather be kissing Kuroo Tetsurou than be spilling all this information to him.”

“Woah.”

“Your turn.”

“What?”

“Thirty seconds of pure information, go.”

“Um okay-” Kuroo fumbled, bewildered for a moment. “My name is Kuroo Tetsurou. I just turned twenty-three. I like singing but I would much rather write songs. I’m fully Japanese but can speak English better. I grew up in America but I don’t have any relatives living here anymore. I have no siblings, unless you count my bro, Bokuto. But he’s just my friend. I’ve lived in New York for five years. I love cats. I’m bisexual as fuck. And I’m scared about how much I already care for Tsukishima Kei.”

The blonde felt a smile on his face before he could stop it. “There. We know each other pretty well now. But you forgot one thing.”

“What is it?” Kuroo asked, confused, his eyebrows raising.

Kei got a ridiculously dubious smile on his face and Tetsurou could tell it wasn’t going to be good. “You like pineapple on pizza.”

“Oi… fuck off.”

“Can’t. We legally have to stay where we are.”

“You legally have to stay in my lap?”

Kei flushed, only now realizing their current positions. Apparently he’d casually just gravitated closer and closer until…

Well, may as well go with it.

“Yes.”

Kuroo let out a thoughtful noise. “I could certainly live with that.”

“Good.” Kei only moved closer, his jeans creating more friction against Kuroo’s and making the other whine.

Wonderful.

The blonde didn’t leave the other waiting much longer, enclosing their lips once more for about the five hundredth time this evening.

It still felt special.

When Kei had left Japan, this definitely wasn’t what he’d been expecting to do with his time. He’d expected to study a lot, keep to himself. And truth be told, he did do that.

But now he could just add ‘making out with a very attractive dork ’ to his repertoire of things as well.

Good thing he was flexible enough to fit it into his life schedule.

Yeah, definitely.

Pulling back for air, Tetsurou rested his head against his shoulder. Kei’s nose getting tickled by his crazy hair and absentmindedly, he began petting it. Kuroo purrs. He fucking purrs.

Kei was going to die.

”You’re so warm,” Kuroo murmured, using his strong arms to pull Kei flush against his body. “Your burning inner rage keeps you nice and toasty.”

“Ah, and you said we hardly knew each other,” Kei remarked, sinking into Tetsurou’s touch quite comfortably. He couldn’t help but realize how the pair of them fit like a jigsaw puzzle together.

Almost too perfectly.

Fact #10: Kei was constantly worried when his life was going perfect, therefore making it imperfect once more.

Brilliant.

You better not fuck this one up, Kei.

The blonde heard himself in his head and freezed out the words.

He wasn’t going to ruin this for himself, not now anyway.

Kei almost liked cuddling Kuroo like this more than kissing him. Which was ridiculous, right? He was never much of a PDA person but now… What the hell? He couldn’t move himself away from the guy right now.

Or more like he wouldn’t.

He had never been more comfortable in his life and heaven be damned he would move on his own accord anytime soon.

Tetsurou was basically in heaven right now. He had Tsukishima in his lap with no intentions of moving at all.

Unfortunately, most of what he could think of during the moment was,

‘God I hope he doesn’t notice how hard I am right now.’

That would just make things really awkward.

… Right?

Oh God he had no idea. Just like Kei had said himself, Kuroo was also relatively new to relationships himself.

Well, actually. He knew how to do physical stuff just fine. It was just the fluffy pieces he hadn’t really picked up before. Mainly because he hadn’t had much need to. He had had a girlfriend back in high school but even then he was always working. It had lasted about four months before she’d broke it off with him.

Truth be told he had been rather indifferent anyhow, they had grown apart in the end and faded into nothing.

That thought alone made Tetsurou fear for his future romantic relationships. Would it all be like that? Would it be all spark for the first few days and then burn away into embers and ash?

Add that with his anxious need to succeed and earn enough money to live off of. He didn’t really have time to care.

It all changed when he’d seen him walk through that door though.

That’s how it always went in ridiculous romcoms like this, anyhow. Kuroo wouldn’t want to have it any other way if he was honest with himself.

Hell, the only reason he was in his current situation was because he was finally honest with himself.

And look where that got him.

With Tsukishima in his arms in the middle of a fucking snow storm. Trying very hard (heh) to conceal a boner from the other.

All things considered, it was still pretty great.

“Hey Tsukki…” Kuroo mumbled, the nickname rolling off his tongue like second nature.

It didn’t seem to bother the blonde anymore at all. It was a relief, ‘ Tsukishima’ was a bit of a mouthful to say sometimes.

All that and for some reason… It just felt more intimate that way. Which meant that Tetsurou had succeeded in something at least.

“Mhm?” Kei returned, his head shifting a little.

“I’ve never wanted a snowstorm to last forever until today.”

Oh my God, Kei was gone he was fucking gone. Nope, he was dying tonight. He wasn’t going to make it to morning like this. No way.

How could he say such embarrassing stuff so easily??

“M-me too.”

Chapter Text

"I swear to God, Bokuto! I already told you. It's not a threesome if the third partner is a body pillow!" Tetsurou half yelled, earning a few strange looks beside him on the sidewalk.

He gave them an awkward smile as an apology that was about as useful as a fucking blockbuster gift card.

"But it has a person on it."

"It's a fucking pillow, Kou."

"But-"

"Remind me why Akaashi is dating you?"

"Akaashi is dating ME because I am handsome and witty and really good at blow jobs."

Kuroo sighed, hearing a quiet 'you got the last one very correct ' from the receiving end. Obviously, it was Akaashi.

Or Bokuto mimicking him.

He wasn't all that sure these days... Especially on the phone. Koutarou had only gotten better. Especially since they had begun living together last May.

'Oh Bokuto-San, I love you so much, please be mine and only mine. My king, allow thee to suck thy offeth.'

Nevermind, definitely Bokuto.

"I hate you," Tetsurou groaned, deadpanning. Making his way up the streets in the freezing cold all the way to the supermarket, he had to go get some more milk for the next morning.

To be completely honest he and Kenma only used the stuff for coffee but…

It just so happened that a hoard of stray cats had begun pawing at the creaky loft stairs outside their second story apartment.

Their mewls and bright eyes… Kuroo couldn’t say no.

It also helped that he was in an especially good mood these past few days. He always woke up on the right side of the bed when there was another text from Kei.

Which was kind of pathetic really, but why stop a good thing.

The pair of them had started this whole ‘dating’ thing off rather awkwardly. Sudden and rushed was not something they were both used to. Maybe that’s why in the end it worked. They had been dancing around each other the moment they met. That snowstorm was a match made in heaven.

Nothing much had changed recently, though. Both Tetsurou and Kei had been mostly just conversing via text message since their last meet up, four days ago. They both usually just snarked at each other, making quips like there was no tomorrow. They kept each other on their feet.

The only change from before was that instead of Kuroo getting to be subtly gay- he got to be super gay.

Which was a huge step in itself, really, because the guy himself admitted that he sometimes didn’t have much chill.

Kei found it funny though, not that he’d ever admit it. Kuroo’s forwardness in this sudden situation was a breath of fresh air from other relationships Kei had been in. He was different from anything Kei had seen, heard, or liked in general. He was like a completely different genre of song that Kei hadn’t even listened to before.

‘We’re going with music metaphors to talk about your boyfriend now, are we?’ His mind chided him.

Boyfriend

Fuck, he had a boyfriend.

How did that even happen?

Kei rubbed the bottom of his reddening nose, making sure there were no icicles as he made his way across the cold streets to class. He picked up his phone, deeming it safe to not really watch where he was going. He looked back on his late night texts with Kuroo.

{3 am}

(// ‿ ¬)

THE TITANIC WAS SUNK ON PURPOSE BECAUSE THE OWNERS WANTED INSURANCE MONEY.

( ≖᷆ ︵︣ ≖)

What the fuck. Kuroo go to sleep.

(// ‿ ¬)

CAN’T. PUT REDBULL IN COFFEE TO STAY AWAKE AT WORK. I THINK THIS IS WHAT BOKUTO CONSTANTLY FEELS LIKE. I CAN HEAR THE SUN.

For someone Kei was certain was incredibly intelligent, Kuroo really could be a bit of a dumbass sometimes.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

The sun also says to go to sleep.

(// ‿ ¬)

IT ACTUALLY JUST KEEPS SINGING OCEAN MAN.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Jesus Christ. Do you want me to come over?

(// ‿ ¬)

NO I’LL B FINE. I’M STILL AT WORK.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

This late? Ask Akaashi for an aspirin or something.

(// ‿ ¬)

NOT THAT WORK. AT THE BAR.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Oh, yeah that makes more sense.

(// ‿ ¬)

OIKAWA THINKS IM ON DRUGS LMAO..

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Oikawa?

(// ‿ ¬)

GUY I WORK WITH. VERY HOT. VERY ASSHOLE.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Good to know.

(// ‿ ¬)

DEATH IS NEAR, TSUKKI, BABE, I CAN FEEL IT IN MY EAR LOBES.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

That’s it I’m coming to take you home.

(// ‿ ¬)

WAIT.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

What.

(// ‿ ¬)

I am at home.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

WHAT.

(// ‿ ¬)

Oikawa… He disappeared… he was just my lamp shade. Oh fuck… remind me to never do this to myself again.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

If you do I’ll come to your apartment to kick your ass myself.

(// ‿ ¬)

If that’s what it takes to get you in my apartment, I’ll gladly do so.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Kuroo, no.

(// ‿ ¬)

KUROO YES.

Kei made a vague noise of exasperation, wondering if he should check up on Kuroo after class. Not that he actually knew where he lived… Okay that put a hole in his plans.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

You still alive?

The reply was practically instantaneous, typical Kuroo. Kei snorted at his phone.

(// ‿ ¬)

As alive as I’ll ever be working in retail.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

At the café today?

(// ‿ ¬)

I finish late afternoon.

( ≖ ᷆ ︵ ︣ ≖ )

Wanna go somewhere after?

(// ‿ ¬)

Fuck yes.

“Kuroo?” Kei stuttered out, shifting his school bag to his other arm. His heart was thundering with shock and mild embarrassment.

There, right in front of Kei, was Kuroo Tetsurou. Outside of his university with a bouquet of fucking flowers, looking like a blushing idiot. The man hadn’t seen him yet and he kept fidgeting around with the packaging of what Kei could see where sunflowers.

He could see that everyone around him was staring at the mysterious guy parked out front of the school, leaning on his decidedly shit car, wondering just who he could be waiting for.

There were even some jealous stares.

Kei smirked just a little bit despite his dismay, his pettiness stopping him from being completely and utterly flustered.

“How long were you waiting here?” Kei approached Kuroo, an eyebrow raised in a way of greeting.

“Hey Tsukki!” Kuroo’s head shot up at the sound of the blonde’s voice. “I remembered which way you took to get to your classroom last time. I’m glad I got it right.”

Fact #11: Kei had never wanted to kiss someone more.

The blonde’s heart warmed at Kuroo’s answer. The fact that the man had remembered in detail just where Kei had gotten out of school from the ONE time he’d seen it.

It was… nice.

“These are for you.” Kuroo grinned nervously, thrusting the sunflowers at Kei’s chest in excitement. “These were so pretty and Kenma told me that flowers are worth relationship points.”

How the hell could he go from perverted to blushing school girl so easily? Did Kei mix up his emotions just as much as Kuroo messed up his?

“I’m pretty sure Kenma was getting that knowledge from video games,” Kei replied, smiling before finally meeting Kuroo’s eyes. “Thanks. I love them. I’ll make sure to get you some next time.”

“Thank God I thought you might have hated them…” Kuroo deflated in relief. “Guys are usually just like ‘flowers are for girls’ but I’m just- if you give me flowers I would probably keel over and die from happiness. So I was hoping you kinda shared that sentiment.”

“Of course I would. Guys who say that are lying.”

Kuroo looked so pleased right now that Kei wanted to take out his phone and capture the image for the rest of time.

But he figured he’d just have to save it in his head.

“You made the right choice with sunflowers,” Kei said off handedly as Kuroo drove. He was gazing into the yellow and orange abyss, the bright colours reminding him of someone from his old high school momentarily before he shook the thought away.

“Ohoh? Why is that?” Kuroo asked, expertly dodging a huge icy puddle on the road.

“My mother used to buy some every month and put them in a big vase on the kitchen counter,” Kei supplied, slightly more melancholically this time.

“Oh shit, I didn’t mean to stir up any bad memories,” Kuroo said guiltily, glancing at Kei with a concerned look. “I kind of noticed you said you had a step-mother and not a mother.”

“It’s fine, it was ages ago.”

Kuroo frowned, his face now sombre. “How old were you when she died?”

“Eh?” Kei exclaimed in shock. “She isn’t dead... Well at least I don’t think so.”

“But-“

The blonde sighed. “It’s kind of a long story… I don’t want to make this day boring…”

“Hey, if you want to talk about it. I’m all ears.”

“I’m… I’m okay,” Kei rejected, hugging the bouquet closer to himself in a moment of insecurity. “I talked about it enough with others-“

Therapists, mostly. God knows, dad pretends like she didn’t even exist.

“No problem, Tsukki. I get it. Some shit is just too personal sometimes. But whenever you’re ready… Don’t think I won’t want to listen.”

“I’ll agree to that as long as it applies for you too,” Kei returned.

“Hey, I’m an open book!” Kuroo declared, hands lightly tapping on the steering wheel as he turned to face Kei for a split second.

“Are you?”

“No. I am chock full of repressed memories and thoughts but boy am I great at hiding them.”

Kei smiled at that answer, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu.

“Holy shit, I’m starting to think we’re the same person,” The blonde said quietly, the curve of his mouth not thinning whatsoever. His long fingers reached out to stroke the colourful petals of the sunflowers absently.

“I like to think that we’re both mildly fucked up but not fucked up enough to actually do anything about it.”

“That’s good I might have to start using that.”

“Really?” Kuroo asked, his grin returning once more.

Kei just hummed in agreement, perfectly content with just watching the bright yellows of the flowers he held in his lap in an odd moment of perfect clarity.

---

There was build up to it, they just hadn’t seen it.

Kei could look back on the memories he had of many years clearly and see the things he had missed in the events leading up to when he was eight years old.

His mother’s hesitant smiles fraying at the end of the rope. Her tired eyes. The fed up sighs that had been heard through the walls of the kitchen.

She had never really wanted to be a mother.

Anna Tsukishima had studied abroad in Japan in her junior year in college. Back then, her surname was only one that she could pronounce- she was an American that stood out like a sore thumb. She had been a bit too feisty, loud, but overall a friendly person. Her blonde hair was what Kei’s father had noticed at first according to him.

Kei and Akiteru’s father had met her by chance one night. He was six years her senior but in the end, age is an ever closing gap as you grew older.

It wasn’t many months after that the discovery was made. Anna was pregnant with Akiteru.

Kei’s father’s family was a traditional one- it wasn’t long after that they were wedded.

Kei wasn’t all that sure whether the two had loved each other or if it was because of the circumstance they were in. As he grew older he began deciding it was the latter, knowing full well that was what Akiteru had accepted it as.

Kei was eight when she left. It had happened in the night. The mumblings of both English and Japanese growing louder and louder until they reached shouts. A jumbling of languages that Kei had to wrack his brain to keep translating to himself. It would have been better if he’d just put a pillow over his head.

‘What about the children, Anna? Will you just abandon them too?’

‘Don’t pull that, you know I never wanted them.’

‘How can you be so cruel?’

‘I want better things in life, Seijurou! It has been long enough. They’re fine without me, and I know you are too. Face it… We gave this a chance, and in the end, no matter what the situation, we were never truly happy.’

‘Anna…’

‘I’m leaving. I know you’ll do the right thing. For what it’s worth, there were days that I loved very much. But I’m tired- I’m so tired, Seijurou.’

‘You’re giving up on us.’

Kei could hear his mother’s soft laughter from down the hallway. It had never sounded so chilling.

‘There was never really an ‘us’ to begin with. I’m still young. I want to start anew. I want to fall in love. And I know you still want to as well.’

‘I loved you.’

‘The past tense was the most important thing in that sentence- and even then it was a lie.’

‘Anna-‘

‘Goodbye, Seijurou, tell Akiteru and Kei to be good boys. They’re strong, I know they can fight on without me.’

That was the last thing Kei heard his mother say before the familiar sound of the front door closed shut.

And then there was silence.

Akiteru was the first one to find him under the bed with sheets wrapped around his little body. It was obvious that the young teenager had heard his parents as well.

He put on a brave face anyway.

‘Did you hear-?‘

‘Yes,’ Kei answered firmly, far too solemn for it to be properly coming out of someone so young.

‘Don’t cry, Kei. We’re strong. Just like mom said,’ Akiteru murmured, brushing the quilt from his face to get a better look at his little brother.

‘But… You’re crying too,’ Kei replied, wiping the tears from his own eyes as he looked at the shining droplets rolling down his brother’s cheeks.

Akiteru just smiled, his mouth twitching a little bit.  

‘I know.’

It was quiet for a long time after that. Kei fell asleep at some point, but he always wondered if Akiteru stayed up that entire night; thinking; waiting; seeing if anything would happen until the morning.

If it did, he didn’t tell Kei.

It was odd for a period of time after that. Kei woke up in the morning to see that all of his mother’s things had completely disappeared from the house. Like the woman had been a ghost that was haunting him and had suddenly been banished.

His father didn’t speak of her. He pretended like he didn’t even know what Kei was talking about when the child asked about her. It took the blonde realizing how hard his father was clenching his fists to finally stop and be silent.

Akiteru helped the most, even though Kei was certain he was hurting just as much. His brother just smiled through it like he did with everything. He acted cheerful for both of their sakes.

It was his strength and his weakness. Kei wondered why he wasn’t like that.

He didn’t know why he hid all this discontent inside of him like a ticking time bomb. It was dangerous and unhealthy.

But that was just the way he was.

And it would be like that until he got closure.

Until then, he drowned himself in music- in false lyrics that gave him fake promises of all kinds of different things he knew weren’t for him.

Music made him feel lost and found at the same time. It was a melancholy of different kinds of feelings that Kei couldn’t quite put his finger on. A myriad of emotion that was never quite happy or sad but both of them all the same. It took him to a different place every time. It took him away from his thoughts by drowning him in others.

Kei realized it now, why Kuroo’s voice had gripped him that winter night.

Thousands upon thousands of songs had taken him places unseen before.

But only his had made him feel like home.

Kei looked at Kuroo now, the man humming melodically to a tune that Kei could easily pick up on but didn’t quite want to. He liked Kuroo’s version of it better.

He liked Kuroo’s version of everything better.

Chapter Text

“Mommy! What’s this one called?” A young Kei asks, gesturing with his little hands to the picture of a strange looking dinosaur sprawled out on his giant book of his.

His mother smiles at him tiredly. The lamp light that had been blurring her vision for so long making it hard to focus on the pages.

She picks the book up and reads out the name with a faint familiarity. The elongated shape of the creature’s nose making her huff in amusement. “This is a Liopleurodon. It was like the crocodile of the early Jurassic period!”

Kei’s eyes widen in amazement. “Did you hear that Akiteru?” Kei turns to his brother enthusiastically.

Akiteru only nods back, equally as enthralled. “That’s so cool.”
Kei couldn’t have been older than six then.

He wonders if it was around then that his fascination with dinosaurs and the like was discovered. Whether it was or not. He definitely knew that it was from his mother’s influence that he chose his life aspiration. 

Whether she was there to see it or not.

“Tsukki?” Kuroo’s voice calls him out of his daze, the man’s hand waving in front of the other’s face in mild panic.

“Huh?” Kei says unintelligibly, blinking like an idiot.

Kuroo raises an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

Kei yawns, his little memory daydream making him the slightest bit drowsy. “Mhm, fine.” He mumbles, stretching out his long arms. It had been a long day for Kei, after all. He’d had classes stretching from early morning long into the afternoon that day.

It was just common sense that he would be a little… well, exhausted beyond belief.

“If you’re too tired we could just go back to my place and watch movies.” Kuroo supplies helpfully, looking at Kei with a kind of concerned expression.

Kei ponders the exposition for a moment. His hand resting on his chin in thought.

Tetsurou Kuroo was offering to give up a night of quite possibly crowded restaurants (it was Friday night in New York after all) and possible park stabbings (Once again… New York) because he cared about Kei’s wellbeing as a human…

God, Kei could get used to this whole romance thing.

He smiles at his companion. “Do you really mean it?”

Kuroo nods with a dopey smile on his face, “Nothing sounds better to me right now.”

“If we get takeout, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Sounds awesome.” Kuroo smiles, looking out of the windscreen at the growing grey clouds. “The weather looks shit anyway. Movie night sounds perfect.” Almost as if it was prompted, Kuroo yawns too. “Especially after a long day.”

Kei watched Kuroo. And then he has to yawn again. “Ugh, stop yawning is contagious.” Kei groans, looking away.

Tetsurou grins back at him, “That’s your fault. You started it.”

Kei frowns, knowing he had been defeated for now. “So… does this movie night mean I’m sleeping over?”

Kuroo, in return to the response, flushes. His eyes blowing wide as he gripped the steering wheel. “Ah… if you- um- if you want to- I mean don’t think you have any obligation to- uh- do anything if you’re not ready-“ Tetsurou fumbles with his words, making it come out even more awkward.

Well meaning, but very awkward.

“Jesus, Kuroo. I’ve dated people before, you don’t need to be so fidgety.”

Fact 12# Kei Tsukishima was not a virgin.

“I know, I know.” Kuroo murmurs, “It’s just… I don’t know. With you everything just seems so special...” The man then looks back onto the road, as if he was embarrassed about what he had just said. “Forget that, it sounds stupid.”

Kei can’t help but feel oddly touched over Kuroo’s sentiment and threads the other’s hand with Kei’s. “It’s not stupid…” Kei allows, “It’s pretty lame though.”

Fucking hell, Kei.

Kuroo huffs but doesn’t say anything in retort. He just holds on to Kei’s hands a little tighter than before.

“How does pizza sound?”

Kei smirks at him. “Pineapple pizza?”

“No. Fuck off. Nevermind we’re getting Thai.” Tetsurou mumbles grumpily. His lips pouting in a certain way that made him look like a pissy little toddler.

“Cute.” Kei says out loud, not entirely realising it coming out of his mouth before it was far too late to do anything about it.

“I know you are but what am I?” Tetsurou replies haughtily.

“That’s a compliment, Kuroo.”

“Shut up.”

…

“Oh hey, you’re home pretty early. Did Tsukishima dump you?” Kenma asks in a form of greeting the moment Kuroo stumbles through their apartment door carrying a bag full of food. The younger boy was carrying a bowl of macaroni and cheese in his hands that looked like it was still steaming from the microwave.

Kei, almost as if being summoned by name, appears from the corner at Kuroo’s side. Taking in the tiny house’s appearance.

It wasn’t much, but it felt a lot homier than Kei’s own apartment. Kei could tell that the pair of friends had been calling this place home for a long time now. The hard wooden floors were perfectly shiny and there seemed to be a lot of aspects of character on the walls. The wallpaper was plain cream coloured but was covered with tonnes of pictures, posters and framed records that it was hard to tell it was boring to begin with.

They even had a red throw rug on their couch. That was the real sign that they had their shit together.

“We were hungry and tired so we can back here instead.” Kuroo provides, shaking his shoes off alongside Kenma’s appearing line.

Kenma eyed the pair of them at the door with a kind of disdain that only he could manage to pull off. He then looked to his bowl of pasta, weighing his options.

“You can’t have any of my mac ‘n’ cheese.”

Tetsurou rolls his eyes at him. “Calm down, we brought food.”  Kuroo then holds the bag up to him, gesturing to the boxes inside.

Kenma’s eyes widen. “Oh Thai food. Can I have some?”

“Are you serious?”

Kei just digs his hand through the bag, pulling up a white coloured box. “Stop playing, Kuroo. You know you got this for Kenma.”

“You didn’t have to tell him!” He whines. “I was about to lecture him on sharing.”
“Macaroni and cheese is not a sharing matter, Kuroo.” Kenma returns, hugging the bowl to his chest.

“Here,” Kei sighs, holding the box of pad Thai up to Kenma. “I hear Thai food and macaroni and cheese mix really well together.”

Kozume takes the box in his free hand with a nod.

“Out of the people Kuroo has brought here. You are definitely my favourite.”

Kei boy then scuttled back into his room with the food items. Eyeing the pair of them one last time before he left.

“Don’t have sex on the couch. I left my PSP there.” Kozume doesn’t wait for a reply, simply closing the door after him.

“Jesus Christ.” Kuroo mutters, a hand on his face. “For someone who isn’t interested in his own romantic life. He sure does like to make fun of mine.”

“To be fair. You are pretty fun to tease.” Kei smiles, fishing through the bag of takeout once more for his own food. A moment of affection washing over him as he pecks Kuroo on the cheek.

Tetsurou’s eyes widen as he places a hand over the spot where Kei had kissed him, his mouth parting in surprise.

Tsukishima takes a moment to marvel at the other’s expression before he lazily makes his way over to what he could only assume was a shelf full of old DVD’s. His own cheeks burning with the thought of what had just came over him. Kei doesn’t take a glance back at Kuroo, but he is fairly certain that the other is still standing in his own entryway, rather dumbfounded with a pleased smile on his face.

It was nice. Kei wasn’t used to having this kind of effect on people. He was usually responded to with a scowl- which was natural because that was how he always conducted himself. Kei wasn’t blind to the fact that he was a bit of an asshole. In fact, it may be one of his defining character traits to himself. But, even then- he’d always been confirmed of his loyalty from Yamaguchi. Only he was allowed to be snarky to the people he was closest to, after all!
He was all bark and no bite and he knew it full well. It was all of his past experiences that had made him the man he was today. He didn’t blame himself for the way he turned out, in fact he didn’t blame anyone. After all, everyone is a product of their life experiences. Just as everyone is a human being some form or another. As a species we are able to be altered, but our willingness to do so is just another defining character trait in a puzzle piece of personalities.

In other words, you are who you are. You either live with it or try your best to make yourself different.

And Kei, right now. Felt no need to put up any kind of personality defying wall up between he and Kuroo.

Kei’s eyes scan each shelf, in search of anything that particular piqued his interests. Scanning, scanning, scanning, until-

“Holy shit, Kuroo, you have The Notebook?”

“Oh fuck… No.”

Kei smirks, pulling the dusty case out of its place on the highest shelf. He tilts his head back to see Kuroo’s reaction.

“That’s not mine.” The cat lies through his teeth, looking everywhere but at Kei.

“Mhm. Just like all these-“ Kei pulls another deliciously hidden pile of soppy movies from its place. “-Aren’t yours?”

“Would you believe me if I told you they were Kenma’s?”

“Nope. Kenma has his own shelf. I can tell. It’s down below, because you’re taller than him.”

“And you know they are Kenma’s because…?”

“After your rather flustered reaction to my enigmatic reading of a BL novel. I just kind of assumed you wouldn’t have a shelf filled to the brim with soft-core yaoi anime.”

“-it’s called shounen-ai.” He hears Kenma add from the other room. His voice muffled from the wall. Even with the lacking sound he can sense a haughty tone in his voice. “And it’s art.”

Kei snorts.

Kuroo finally gives in, “Ugh fine. I have-“ He glances at the rather large pile of movies. “-Some. Guilty pleasure movies. At least I don’t watch anime.”

Kei can’t help but agree with that. “Yeah, who would do that…”

;)

“I can hear you guys.” Kenma replies once again, as emotionless as ever.

“You may as well come out here if you going to talk, Kenma.” Kuroo grumbles.

“No. This is just my way of proving how thin the walls are. Have fun.”

Tsukishima and Kuroo exchange glances with each other. A smile breaking out on both of their lips.

“I’m sure we’ll keep that in mind.” Kuroo half shouts to his roommate. Watching Kei’s back as he turns to look at movies. Seemingly had enough with teasing Kuroo about his movie tastes.

It’s then that he hears a tiny gasp that could have only come from Kei.

“You have ‘The Land Before Time?” He asks quietly, incredulous.

“Please don’t roast me for that too. I know it’s not scientifically accurate or whatever but it’s just-“
Kuroo is cut off when he sees the fascinating glimmer in Kei’s eyes. He clutches the dated show with a certain kind of gentleness that couldn’t be described as anything less than adorable.

“These movies broke me.”
“So… you want to watch them?”

“Fuck yes.”

The movie night at Kuroo’s was one experience that was like many other situations Kei had been in. But different at the same time. It was one of those things that even though they are so mundane and overused everyone has done them, but when things are slightly different it changes everything.

Watching movies with Kuroo was definitely interesting. The man’s facial expressions were as interesting as the characters on the screen and Kei found himself watching him more than the movie sometimes. How he bit his lip every time something tense happened, his soft gasps when there was a dramatic moment.

It was hilarious.

And the fact that they were watching a series of movies aimed for children only made it better.

Eventually, after around the three in the morning mark. The pair of them crash on the couch. Discs upon discs sprawled on the rug before them. The two tangling their legs and arms together in a weird pretzel that would most assuredly be uncomfortable in the morning.

Nothing remotely sexual happened. Much to Kei’s surprise (but not quite dismay.) In fact, it was far from it.

When Kei wakes up next there’s dried drool on Kuroo’s chin and the man is so close to his face he can hear the soft snorts of his nose. Tetsurou had fallen asleep after Kei, he had remembered that much.

He even had a blanket around his shoulders to prove that.

There was also the fact that it looked like Kuroo had joined him in that said blanket. Kei could imagine it now, the man embarrassedly leaning his head on Kei’s shoulder as he fell asleep.

Maybe Kuroo hadn’t even realised it. They were sitting so close before it was highly probable.

Either way, gross or not. Kei didn’t really want to move yet.

So he just sighed contentedly and closed his eyes once more.

…

Kei opens his eyes once more and to his disappointment, Kuroo isn’t there anymore. He hears the soft sizzle of something in a pan and the sound of chatter a few metres away. Kei concludes that Kuroo and Kenma must be making breakfast- or something of that sort. And they weren’t aware he was awake yet.

“Kuroo, you’re making bacon? You must really like him.” Kenma looks over his friend’s shoulder at what he’s cooking. His eyes widening in surprise.

“Yeah.” Kuroo says truthfully, not batting an eyelash. “I do.”

There’s a half lidded smile on Kenma’s lips that Kuroo can’t see because he’s concentrating so hard on not fucking up the eggs on the right side of the pan.

…

The weekend passes by with Kei mostly scabbing it at Kuroo’s house. After he eats breakfast with him and Kenma. It just seems he can’t shake them. Not that he would want to, actually. Which was a surprise in its self. Usually social interaction just got tiring after a while.

But with them…

It was nice.

The pair of days don’t seem to last long enough and soon enough. Kei is hauling his frozen ass back up to class. Idly skimming through his emails on his phone. He’d been so distracted that he didn’t read them the entire weekend.

Kei scrolls until he finds one from his ecology professor.

Good Evening, all!
This Friday afternoon I am attending a teacher’s conference this week and will not be back until the following Friday.  Don’t expect to get extensions for the assignment I gave you last Monday. I have Professor Carter taking you for classes this week.

Regards, Professor Dante

Kei eyes the new professor’s name with mild disdain. Hiking his backpack up further on his shoulder as he enters the building. Finally being shielded from the cold.

His gaze is glued on to his phone as he sits down at the back. His usual placing in this class. It was easier to take note when he was watching the rest of his fellow classmates taking them for some reason.

The room begins to fill with students, some hungover from the weekend’s activities, some still hyped up on coffee or energy drinks. A delicious liquid breakfast that would probably end up causing a lot of health problems. Not that Kei could look down on them. Studying was hard and coffee was his only companion sometimes…

“Good morning class! If you received Professor Dante’s email at the beginning of the weekend. You will know who I am.”

Kei’s gaze shoots up at the sound of a voice at the front of the classroom. The sound itching at the back of his mind.

His blood turns to ice.

“If you have no idea what I’m talking about. Then I’ll introduce myself.”
Kei’s eyes widen and he blinks, once, twice, three times to try and shake himself from this weird kind of illusion.

“I am Professor Carter, Anna Carter.”

Her blonde hair was a lot longer than the photographs Kei still had. And she looked older but at the same time less tired.

But even with all these little intricacies that could contradict Kei’s confirmation of who this substitute professor was…

There was no doubt about it.

“Mom?”                                                        

Chapter Text

Kei’s mind races at what he sees in front of his very own eyes.

His lasting final memory of his mother, the solemn sound of a door closing in the dead of night- It diminished before him as he scanned the woman up and down.

She rattles off the student roll without looking up once more. Her light hair tucked behind her ears- an old habit Kei remembered from when she used to read him bedtime stories.

She goes through the surnames, alphabetically. Until finally, she pauses on ‘T’.

Of course she would.

There’s no way she wouldn’t recall.

Her eyes widen and Kei can see a tremor in her lips. It’s nothing compared to what he’s feeling in his chest right now. His heart is pounding so fast that he feels like his body can’t keep up.

“Kei Tsukishima…” She breathes, finally looking up in shock. Her eyes scan the crowd until it fixes on her youngest son’s. Kei can feel the horror coursing through her face right now. The utter terror of what was going to happen next.

Kei can’t take it anymore. The look in her eyes-

For some reason it was painful.

He stands and meets her gaze one last time before he rushes out of the classroom. Leaving a trail of confused whispers behind him.

---

He needed to leave, he needed to get out of here.

And he needed to quickly.

His shaking hands fumble through his bag to find his phone, momentarily stopping him in the middle of campus. The shuffle only makes him feel more and more anxious- but he can’t help it.

Kei couldn’t deal with this right now. He’d had it all planned in his head how he’d see his mother again. It would be on his own terms. He’d find her. It wouldn’t be some kind of stupid coincidence like this.

No.

His thawing fingers press a single contact into his phone. His escape.

It takes five rings, but he picks up.

“Kuroo.” Kei tries to keep his voice level, he really does. But even he can tell in this state that he’s not doing a very good job of it.

Kei can sense the confusion on the other side of the line. And not only that, but the worry.

“Tsukki? What’s wrong?” There’s a certain urgency in Kuroo’s tone that even someone as oblivious as Kei could feel. The wavering concern in Tetsurou’s voice was for him.

“I-“ He begins, mixing his words up entirely. “I need you to pick me up.”

He can hear Kuroo shambling around wherever he was- the sound of a little static in the phone making it seem like he was moving rather quickly. “Where are you? What happened?”

Kei sniffles from the cold.

It makes Kuroo take a sharp inhale of breath. “Please just tell me. Wherever you are I’m on the way.”

“I’m at the campus.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No… It’s…”

“Wait outside the usual spot if you can. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Kei can’t hide his relief as he picks up the pace. “Thank you.”

“Are you okay?” Kei can hear the familiar slam of Kuroo’s car door.

“I’m not injured, Kuroo.” Kei replies, slowing his breathing. “I-I’m fine.”

The seriousness in Kuroo’s voice was starting to make Kei believe that Kuroo was freaking out just as much as Kei. In another instance, he would have found that heart-warming. But right now, all he could think about was getting the hell out of here. He needed to think. Alone.

Of course he could have braved the streets alone that morning. He could have taken a train back to his apartment.

Kei still isn’t fully sure why he didn’t do that. Why he didn’t just talk to Yamaguchi about it later. Mull things over enough to calm the fuck down.

No, he called Kuroo. Like it was an instinct.

“You don’t sound fine.” Kuroo counters.

Kei almost smiles, only could have Tetsurou called him out on his own bullshit. And made him admit himself.

“You’re right. I’m not. I’m fucked up.”

Kei must have been going through some kind of breakdown that he wasn’t aware of because the words slip out from under him before he can stop them.

“Tsukki. Calm down. I’ll be there soon. Whatever it is, just hold on.”

“Kuroo I-“

Kei is stopped by the shouting call of his name, it’s from a few metres back. But it’s still tangible. Kei’s insides freeze up and so does his body. He’s left standing there on the entrance sidewalk to his school like a statue. Blatantly, wide eyed staring at the woman approaching him like he was a wounded deer.

“Tsukki? What’s wrong?” He hears Kuroo speak over the line. There’s an odd strain to the man’s voice and it makes Kei’s heart clench.

“I don’t…” Kei mumbles, “It’s my mom.”

“Your mom?”

“My mom.”

“Your actual mom-“

“Yes. The one I haven’t seen in over a decade. Yes that one. I- I know you don’t know the situation yet. But please hurry.”

He hears Kuroo swear quietly on the other line. “I’ll be there as soon as possible, Tsukki.”

“I know. Thank you.”

His mother inches forward, looking tentative but not saying another word. Kei just stares right back at her. “I need to go.” He talks into the phone. “I’ll see you soon.”

Putting the phone away from his ear was a hard thing to do. It feels like a heavy weight in his hands that only grows in size every moment he’s without it.

The dead silence in the way is more deafening than Kei’s ever heard as the pair both size each other up.

Finally. The woman speaks up.

“Kei. You’re all grown up.” She speaks, sentimental. There’s a warm flush on her face from running all the way after him and she looks at him and smiles.

As if he meant something to her.

“Yes, well. That tends to happen to most living beings. Whether you’re there or not.” Kei snaps back, almost enjoying his mother flinch back slightly. Her expression sobering into something much more neutral.

“Kei, I-“ She begins, reaching a hand up to close some kind of distance between them.

Kei sees the shine of a ring on her finger and takes a step back.

A wedding ring.

It gleams of silver- still new. It couldn’t be the one she wore when Kei was little. That one had been gold.

That meant-

Kei sneers, eyeing the jewellery with a certain kind of pettiness he wasn’t all that used to from even himself. But the worst part was that it scathed him.

“I see you’ve been fine without us.” Kei quips, not concealing his glare whatsoever. “At least that makes one of four.”

“I never thought I’d see you again.” Anna replies, her expression a mix of surprise and full -fledged disbelief. Her other hand daintily covering the ring on her finger. As if she was ashamed of it.

“Thought or hoped?”

The woman pulls a difficult expression to read, scrunching her eyebrows. “Kei, you have to understand that I tried- I tried so hard for so many years for me and your father to work out but It just-“
“I don’t care if you left dad!” Kei shouts, incredulous, “I care that you left all of us! I care that you didn’t think that me and Akiteru weren’t worth even seeing again! I care that after all these years, you never even thought to contact us!”

Kei sniffles again, and he’s not sure it’s because of the cold this time.

“Kei…” His mother soothes, reaching out to touch something dropping onto his cheek.

Kei just flinches away, slapping the hand back. “Don’t touch me!”

Anna retracts her arm, looking hurt that she couldn’t comfort him. As if she had the right to. As if she had the audacity to after all these years of nothing. Nothing at all! Radio silence on her end. No birthday wishes, no congratulations, no nothing.

Maybe Kei was less okay with this than he originally thought.

“Kei. I’m so sorry. I never knew it would affect you like this… You were always so quiet, so apathetic-“

“Yeah, I know, I’m an emotionless fuck up- but you have no right to tell me any of that shit when you weren’t even there to watch me do this to myself… And then… I finally felt free again! I moved here and I got to do everything I could have wanted. I found something precious and I… I- I lived out my dream. I experienced everything I never knew I wanted to. I found someone that made me feel like I was home. But a much better home than I ever was in. It was a new home that he’d made- for me. And then you-“ He fixes his gaze right on his mother. “You came right in and, well.” Kei gestured to the space around him. “I guess I was wrong about myself. I am way more fucked over about this than I ever thought I was.” Kei puts his face in his hands, feeling the icy prickle of his fingers on the side of his face. Composing himself in a way that he never thought he would have to do.

He waits a moment. And then another.

Until finally, he breathes.

Lifting the blindfold on his face and putting his hands back at his sides, he meets the eyes of his mother again.

“I missed you.” He whispers, more to himself than anyone else. His voice catching and his lips twitching. “But you were never there.”

The woman facing him widens her eyes, a hand to her mouth.

He watches his mother fall apart, her eyes well with the slightest aspect of tears grazing the edges of them. Her lips tremble. “I am so sorry, darling.” She says so quietly that Kei can almost not quite hear her.

But he does, and he bites his lip.

The pair of them stare at each other, neither one breaking the distance or the gaze for a few moments before Anna reaches into her purse. Pulling out a strip of paper, holding it out for Kei for a split second.

“My phone number.” She clarifies. “I want you to have it.”

Kei feels himself scoff, “After all that shit I said you? You still want to talk to me?”
It’s a sweet, sad smile that he’s returned with. “It’s especially because of that.”

Kei doesn’t get to reply as he takes the scrap of paper, his surprise and the answer hitting him like a bomb on his insides.

He hears the sound of a car engine rev up from behind him. The muffled slam of a car door.

And finally;

“Tsukki!” Kuroo calls in a panic, rushing over to him with no regard for the space around him.

Kei’s certain Tetsurou doesn’t even see the woman standing a few metres away from them.

He doesn’t hesitate before gathers Kei in the biggest hug Kei has ever felt in his life. It felt warm despite the freezing cold of the outside. It was comforting and snug like a blanket on an icy night. It was home.

“Thank God you’re okay. When you called I freaked out so much I couldn’t really breathe properly.” Kuroo gushes, his mouth muffled because his head was burrowed in Kei’s shoulder.

Kei relaxes into the embrace as if It was second nature now. His legs going weak as he leaned into Kuroo. He sighs in relief and just breathes in the familiar scent for a while. Falling into Kuroo like he was his lifeline for the moment.

But then Kei hears the sound of a throat clearing and immediately the moment is gone.

The pair break apart and look at the figure in front of them. Kei can see Kuroo’s eyes widening at the striking resemblance between the two of them before putting two and two together finally.

Kei meets the others eyes and just nods at him.

The cat decidedly leaves one arm on Kei’s shoulder with a slight narrow of his eyes, saying nothing with words. Kei appreciates it more than anything, and he’s not sure why.

“Who’s this, Kei?” Anna asks curiously, a slight edge to her voice. Glancing at Kei and the mysterious man hanging over his arm.

“My boyfriend.” He says matter-of-factly. Almost wanting a negative reaction just so he could have another reason to scream at her more.

Kuroo’s hand around Kei’s shoulder tightens in anxiety for a moment. Almost as if he was waiting as well.

Waiting for her to make a move.

Instead she just gives a small smile.

“I want to meet with you again, Kei. There’s just things we need to discuss and I- I have no way of putting into words how lost I am in this situation.”

“What makes you think I would want to?” Kei snaps, defensive.

“You said you missed me. And you meant it.”
“It doesn’t mean I wanted to miss you.”

A tight frown graces Anna’s mouth once more. “Even if it’s to scream at me. Kei, I want us to talk.”

“What about Akiteru? What about dad?”
“It’s up to you.”
Of course, she’d slide that burden on to him. He clicks his tongue. Figures.

“I’ll think about it.”

The sigh of relief that he hears his mother exhale is unexpected. It’s one that tugs at his heart more than he should let it.

“Thank you.”

Kei’s silence almost prompts her to continue.

“I don’t suppose you’ll be returning to class with me?” She asks, hopeful.

“No, I- I need time to think.”

Her gaze falls to one more suiting a disappointed toddler. “I thought as much.” She turns to meet Kuroo’s eyes. “Please take care of him for me.”

Kuroo’s face is serious. It’s an expression that suits him but scares Kei a little at the same time. It’s not his usual goofy smile or his dastardly little smirks. His mouth is a thin line and he almost looks like a blank canvas.

“He doesn’t need me to. But I will, on my life.”

Anna gives him another smile that’s filled with an odd kind of gratitude Kei can’t place. Before she turns her back, walking in the direction of the way she came. Kei idly wonders if she’ll just return back to the class, completely composed and calm. She’d just put it to the side of her mind. It’s a weird thought to think about.

Kei doesn’t waste any more time shuffling around. He feels his arms wrap around Kuroo’s shoulders again in another hug that he definitely needed. Kuroo’s head shifts so that they fit together like two perfect pieces of a jigsaw and he close his eyes.

“Thank you for coming.” Kei whispers.

“I never did anything. I felt kind of useless.”

“You just being there for me was what meant the most.”

The two pull away and Kei can see Tetsurou’s eyes glimmer with happiness for a moment. The sentiment had obviously made him a bit emotional.

“Where do you want to go?”

Kei blanks for a moment before deciding. His weird sentimentalities clouding over what would probably be best for him.

“The café.”

---

Kuroo gives Kei and confused look. Hadn't he just told his mother that he'd wanted to be alone?

Kei almost seems like he reads the other's mind because he sighs in return. Looking off into the distance.

"I don't know either. That place is just so calming. And it's the furthest place from here that I know, I guess." He scratches the back of his neck in awkwardly. His expression not displaying at all what he was truly feeling inside. His head was a thunderstorm of thoughts that he didn’t have the strength to process.

"I'll explain everything about her as you drive." Kei mentions, "You saw the end of that conversation. But I- I want you to know."

Tetsurou frowns, unconvinced but unwilling to disobey Kei right now. He was compelled.

"Okay." He nods, "But if it's too much, you don't have to."

---

The drive to ふくろ is a long one. Both physically and metaphorically. Kei speaks for half of the time. Detailing the aspect in his life that he let very little people in on. Kuroo just listens intently, his mouth turning downwards every so often towards the end.

At the end, it's strange. But Tsukishima feels much better than before. Like a strange weight had been lifted off of him for the time being.

It's silent for a moment before Kuroo speaks up again.

"You're not a fuck up." He says quietly, his eyes on the road and his heart in his throat.

Kei looks at him questioningly.

"That thing you said to me on the phone while I was driving- You're not a fuck up."

"I- It probably just slipped out because I was freaking out."

"Yeah. But that means you thought it to yourself."

"Well..."

"Tsukki, you are the most impressive person I have had the privilege of dating- no, had the privilege of knowing. You haul ass to school early in the morning and study so hard you start texting me in Japanese sometimes." Kuroo laughs, "you have a passion for something. And you're doing something about it! You speak two languages! You manage to look cute and terrifying in a matter of seconds! You're amazing and I won't let anyone bully you. Not even yourself."

"Kuroo..." Kei breathes in amazement.

The cat flushes and doesn't meet the other's eyes. Nervously gazing away.

Either that or trying not to get into a fucking car accident.

Kei smiles, a small smile. Leaning his head on the other's shoulder in a form of endearment that was completely foreign to him. He'd seen it in a couple of movies once and thought it was pretty stupid.

But right now, he wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

He was home.

---

"Hey, hey, hey! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Koutarou comes bounding up to them the moment they enter, wiggling his eyebrows. It was a slow morning in the café, with only a few patrons sipping on their drinks sagely.

Kei just looks the main dead in the eyes. Feeling an overwhelming layer of snark that had been pooling in his chest. Waiting to come out.

"This is a cafe, Bokuto. I'm sure you can figure this out."

Tetsurou guffaws and Bokuto just slaps Kei on the back playfully. "Ever heard of the saying, 'don't insult the people who handle your food?"

"Isn't Akaashi the one cooking for today while you practice serving?"

Koutarou gives him a shit eating grin. "Nope!" He declares popping the 'p.' "Just me today! Akaashi is shopping for something." The man's expression then turns to a perplexed frown. "But he wouldn't say what it was for..."

Kei exchanges looks with Tetsurou.

"It's Christmas time, Kou." Kuroo grins at his friend. "He's probably buying a present for you."

Realisation in 3…2…1…

The loud owl gives a large hoot of happiness, clapping his hands together. "You're probably right!"

“You know I am.” Tetsurou gets Bokuto in a headlock, ruffling up his hair in a way that would probably make the other shriek if it was anyone but Kuroo.

…Or Akaashi.

Kei just looks on at the sight in amusement. The relationships Kuroo had formed with everyone around him was unique. They were never similar to each other and yet, Kei was sure they all held a special place in his heart.

The fact that Kuroo held him in that kind of regard as well made Kei’s chest flutter embarrassingly. It clears his mind for a moment and leaves him with a warm glow in his heart.

Maybe that was why he’d stuttered out that he’d wanted to be here after what had just happened.

Maybe this was just the place he needed. The place that started everything.

“You alright there, Tsukishima? You’re looking a bit cloudy all the way up there!” Bokuto laughs, waving his hand in front of Kei’s eyes.

“I’m like… five centimetres taller than you.”

Doesn’t stop Kei from being snappy with comebacks, no matter how far away he was in his own mind.

“And I’m sure you won’t let me forget.”

The owl smiles at the two of them and sighs. Clapping his hands together in an official gesture. “Ah, so, lovebirds, allow me to lead you to our finest table~.”

Kuroo eyes him, “The finest table is the one by the window-“ He points toward the seat being occupied by a pair of tired looking office workers. “And it is currently taken.”

Koutarou doesn’t miss a beat. “Allow me to lead you to our okay-est table~.”

---

“Are you going to call your mom?” Kuroo asks, a mug of coffee at his lips. In all honestly it was probably more milk than coffee- but nevertheless.

Kei meets the question with a bite of his lip. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been considering it this entire time. Yet it felt hard approaching the thought head on.

“I’m not sure. It just makes things difficult especially with the timing…”

Tetsurou raises his eyebrows.

“My dad is getting married in like a month.”

Kuroo spits out his coffee. “What?”

“He’s bought me a plane ticket home and everything and I’m- well, I’m a little hesitant about going. Even more so now. I don’t want to spill any shit that will ruin the day.”

“I see…” Kuroo’s expression sobers as he sets the cup down on its saucer.

“I think I’ll call her afterwards….” Kei fidgets with his own drink, hot chocolate this time. An odd sentimental feeling washing over him.

Fact #13. Kei believed his mother’s hot chocolates were better, still.

“Can you wait that long?”

Kei gives the other a wry grin. “No. I’ll probably explode.”

Kuroo gives the other a sad smile. “Please talk to your mother. I can tell she misses you.”

“She could have missed me a lot sooner.” Kei says bitterly, taking a sip of his beverage with a new kind of emotion bubbling up. He furrows his brows.

“I’m only saying this because your predicament isn’t…” Kuroo pauses, finding the right words. “Well, It’s not exactly foreign to me.”

There’s an odd kind of expression on Kuroo’s face that Kei can’t quite place properly. It’s a cocktail of so many emotions that it’s hard to just pick one to focus on.

It only interests Kei more.

“You-“

“You told me everything about your dramatic past, Tsukki. Do you want to hear about mine?”

It eats at Kei, finally now, that he realises that Tetsurou hardly ever mentioned his family. He wanted to know why but he never wanted to pry. Because Kuroo never did with him. The man had told him one tidbit of sadness from his childhood and even then it felt like pushing.

But now he wanted to say everything?

“Only if you’re okay with that, Kuroo.” Kei said hesitantly. If Kuroo backed out now, Kei would honestly be pretty disappointed. But that wasn’t what mattered right now. Tetsurou, in that moment looked more vulnerable than he’d ever seen him. So much so that it didn’t feel right to put him on the spot in such a public space.

Tetsurou nods, “I’d like you to know. I don’t really want this relationship to have any secrets.” He looks up and meets Kei’s eyes. “If that’s okay with you.”
“My parent’s marriage was nothing but secrets and lies. I’m more than okay with being nothing like them.”

Kuroo gives him a smile.

“Back to my apartment then?” Kei suggests, already draining his drink from the cup. Standing up from the table he gestures out his arm for Kuroo, holding his hand out for him to take. “Shall we?”

Tetsurou looks up at him before taking his hand in his. “Yeah, that would be better.”

---

“I feel like this is a lot of build up for such a shitty story.” Kuroo jokes on the couch, his fingers fiddling around- depicting how nervous he was in truth.

“Nonsense. It adds to the drama.”

“Guess I should just get into it then, huh?”

Kei nods in affirmation. Kuroo’s already looking at the wall with a faraway look- just like he had last time he was here.

“It started when I got my first boyfriend when I was 17.”

Kei feels a sinking in his chest. He could tell this wasn’t going to be great.

“My parents and I weren’t close. They were always working and well, so was I. I spent most of my time at my grandma’s house because there was food there and I couldn’t cook for shit.” He laughs quietly, “Still can’t, to be honest.”

It’s the silence that urges him on.

“One night I brought him home and well, my stupid luck- my parents were actually there for once.” He sighs, reliving the memories with a kind of dated melancholy. “I’d brought over girls before but this just made them lose their shit. I never took them for homophobic people- but I guess I didn’t know them well enough. That night after they’d finished screaming at me, I just took all my shit and booked it to my Grandma’s house. She didn’t ask any questions she set me up in the spare room and gave me a glass of milk and a cookie and hugged me while I cried. I lived there for about a year after that before she died...” He sighs sadly.

“I’d made enough money through that year to pay for college but that then went to a shitty apartment instead. I couldn’t swallow my pride and ask to live with my parents again.” Tetsurou runs a hand through his hair, his jaw set firmly. “I rented with Kenma after that, I’d kind of fallen off the grid after that night for a while so it took some explaining. He actually convinced me to go talk to my parents. He said I needed ‘closure’ or some shit like that, I mean, I definitely did. But it still fucked me over for a while.”

Kuroo begins pulling on the sides of his sleeves absentmindedly. “I finally got the courage to knock on their front door when a stranger answered. Apparently they’d moved back to Japan without telling me. Luckily enough though they’d left a number-“

Tetsurou felt the dial tone ring for far too many seconds too long before the phone is picked up by a familiar voice.

“ もしもし？“

Kuroo feels a clenching at his heart. “Dad?”

“Tetsurou-“
“Why did you move without telling me?”

“I didn’t think we were on speaking terms.” The man says in finality. A cold dejected tone in his voice. “And we had our own reasons.”
“I deserved to know.” Tetsurou all but snarled. “I wanted to talk to you.”

His father on the other line sighs for a moment. Almost like he was debating with himself in his mind whether to continue this argument for longer. He didn’t. This wasn’t even worth his time anyway.

“Your mother’s aunt is terminally ill, Tetsurou, they couldn’t afford the treatments alone so we moved back here to help out.”

Tetsurou feels his stomach drop. “W-what?”

“Her health’s been declining for a while. There’s only so much we can do. Your mother was distraught. She said she wanted to be around family.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before you left? I could have tried to-” Kuroo declares.

“No.”

Kuroo sputters with incredulity. “Why not?”

“Your mother doesn’t want you there-“

“Bu-“

“She saw you that night just as I did- Your arms around that boy so promiscuously. It was revolting. I think the shock of seeing you again would only make her worse.”

Kuroo feels his insides curl up in rage. “How dare you.” He feels wounded tears sting the backs of his eyes. He’d sworn to himself he’d been over with this. He was wrong.

“She doesn’t want to see you.” His father’s voice is so level it only infuriates Kuroo more.

“Why don’t you let her be the judge of that?”

“She’s still disgusted with you, Tetsurou. And so am I.”

“This is just because I like guys as well as girls? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Goodbye, Tetsurou.”

“I never really got closure that day.” Kuroo sighs, a frail smile gracing his lips. “I’d never felt so angry before. The night I ran away- I was more just well, devastated.” He clenches his fists. “But this time. Well, I was just infuriated.”

Kei watches, his heart twisting with empathy.

“I had no one left. For some reason I’d still held on to hope that they’d learn to accept me with more time. But it turns out I’d just left them stewing. So much so that they moved across the world to get away. I knew they were just looking for a reason to leave me. Apparently that was good enough. It was a moment too late when I realised that my grandmother never even had any sisters to begin with, there was no sick Aunt. Just a fake excuse they could use to keep me away.” Kuroo senses that his eyes are watering but doesn’t move to wipe them. “It’s kind of then that I swore I would make something great about myself just to rub it in their stupid fucking faces.”

Kei watches on with quiet amazement. How Tetsurou could be so strong through all of this Kei would never know. Behind his easy going exterior was a story that didn’t match at all.

Tetsurou was amazing.

“So yeah, Tsukki, please call your mother. That’s what I would have wanted. Even if I was pissed, it would have been nice to know I was worth the effort.” Kuroo’s voice cracks at the end and he gives Kei a shaky smile.

Kei turns to Kuroo completely, making sure that the pair’s faces were looking at each other.

He places his hands on Kuroo’s face and looks at him with a serious expression.

“They don’t know what they’re missing out on. Kuroo, to me, you are extraordinary.”

Tetsurou looks away biting his lip. The words filling his empty heart with a warmth he hadn’t felt before.

“Which is why you’re coming to Japan with me.”

Tetsurou’s eyes met Kei’s again and his mouth opens in surprise. “What?”

Kei looks sheepish. “I mean, if that’s okay with you…”

Kuroo’s plastic smiles from before are melted away now and are placed with one of the most gracious grins that Kei has ever heard. The cat can barely hold his excitement in when he grabs Kei by the shoulders and kisses him straight on the lips.

“I would love to! A holiday sounds great!”

There’s a smile on Kei now too as Kuroo’s and his foreheads meet together and they’re just staring at each other with light blushes on both their cheeks.

“Nothing sounds better.”

Chapter Text

“Kei! I haven’t spoken to you in ages.”

There’s a light smile on Kei’s face.

“Hey dad.”

“Are you packing for your trip back home?” The other man asks.

Home? Japan hadn’t felt like home to Kei in a rather long time. Kei thought rather dejectedly. The lights of New York had bewitched him with their glints and shimmers a matter of months ago.

“Yeah… Uh, that’s actually what I wanted to ask you about…” Kei begins, trailing off into what felt like an oblivion of uncomfortable.

Fact 14# Kei was a little too much like his father for his own liking. Even he saw it.

“What is it, Kei?”

“I’m- uh, I’m bringing someone with me.”

The surprise is palpable in his father’s tone and Kei almost takes it as an insult. He thinks back on what his mother said to him, how he was so isolated with himself sometimes. His thoughts had been drifting back to his mother these days. Kei always finds himself looking at the number he’d put in his phone. It had been a week now and he still hadn’t called her yet. Kuroo’s words had really gotten to him, but he, himself knew he needed time to figure everything out...

“You’ve met someone?”

“Uh… Yeah.” Kei tremors off awkwardly, cringing at the sound of his own voice. “That’s okay, right?”

“Of course it is! That’s wonderful I’m looking forward to meeting them.” Kei doesn’t’ notice the lack of pronouns in his father’s speech.

If he did he probably would have realised he was less conspicuous than he thought.

-

“YOU’RE BRINGING HIM TO JAPAN?” Yamaguchi shouts on the other line, almost incredulously. Kei wasn’t sure if it was out of shock or excitement.

“Is it that weird?” Kei asks back, grimacing at the sounds his best friend was making.

“NO THIS IS GREAT!”

“Why are you so excited?”

“I don’t know??!?!?” Tadashi returns, unsure of himself. Yet still increasingly excited about the situation. “I just haven’t heard you talk about anyone like you talk about him, I guess. Does your father know?”

“Yeah… And he was almost as excited as you are. Too bad he probably thinks I have a girlfriend.”

Yamaguchi just snorts on the other line. “I seriously doubt that is going to be a problem, Tsukki, I know your father pretty well. Besides, it’s pretty obvious that you’re-”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

-

“Dad hasn’t shut up about how you’re bringing someone back home for the wedding since you called yesterday.”

Kei sighs, “Great.”

“So who is this...” Akiteru pauses, choosing his words lightly, “-Person?”

Kei just puts his face in his hands. “How does everyone know that I’m gay?”

“Kei. You were watching Jurassic World-“

“So I’ve heard!”

-

The handful of days Kei and Tetsurou have left before the pair of them leave on their trip is spent packing, studying and working. With occasional relaxing hours spent in the café with Bokuto, Akaashi and occasionally Kenma as well. When Kei tells the other three about he and Kuroo’s escapades to Japan- the trio give each other such an odd look Kei can’t place it. And neither can Kuroo apparently. It doesn’t go unnoticed, but it does go unaddressed.

“Dude, bro, you need to get me some green tea kitkats.” Koutarou breaks the comfortable silence eventually. Of course the first two words being well- that. “I had them when I visited my grandma three years ago and began stockpiling them for the way home. I cried for a week when I ran out.”

Akaashi just nods in agreement. “He really did. Every time a customer asked for green tea he’d burst into tears.”

Koutarou voice catches even now. “They were just so good.”

Tetsurou cracks up laughing, “I remember. Don’t worry I’ll get you some.”

Bokuto clutches his heart. “I love you, bro.”

“I love you too, dude.”

Tsukishima and Akaashi exchange glances with each other. “Maybe we should give them some romantic time alone?” Kei suggests, raising an eyebrow at the pair.

“I wouldn’t. Last time I left them alone together I came back to the sound of police sirens.”

Kei laughs. “Sounds about right.”

Kozume rolls his eyes and continues his work on the game he’d just bought. A playful smile giving away his true feelings about the group’s banter.

-

Kei watches the street light speed past him, the bright white blurring against the midnight sky. He yawns, stretching his arms out before looking to the driver of the car he was in.

“Thanks for driving us to the airport, Kenma.” Kei says earnestly, watching the other boy’s flat expression as he drove through the night roads.

“It’s nothing really. I know how much this meant to Kuroo and I needed the car to go to a con this week anyway.”

Kei fixes the other with a perplexed expression, “Con?”

“Comic book convention.”

Tsukishima smirks a little bit, “should have known.”

The two lapse into a comfortable silence. One that would have been definitely diminished if Kuroo had been in the vehicle.

It was late at night and Kenma had just picked him and his impossibly large suitcase up from his apartment. Telling Kei that Kuroo was at work at his second job and that they were going to pick him up now.

It would be interesting to see where else Kuroo worked. Kei had already seen the dinky old café that the man sung at- but a bar? That was something entirely different.

“I do have to warn you about a few of Kuroo’s co-workers.” Kenma begins, not meeting the other’s heightened gaze. His mouth is set in a firm line.

Kei raises his eyebrows.

“They’re a bit… Odd.”

Kenma waits in the car and ushers Tsukki into a building- the bar Kei presumed. Kei has just enough time to read the neon blue sign before he pushes himself into the busy club.

SEIJOU

Another Japanese name? How odd? Was there some kind of group chat in New York that he wasn’t a part of?

The bar on the inside is a flash of monochrome and teal. White and blue aspects colouring the place tastefully with bright cushions and skittle coloured cocktails. It was swanky, Kei was certain of that. And Kei felt terribly underdressed in just his old jeans and converses.

His eyes scan the place, in search of a familiar bedhead but they come up blank. He looks through the whole place and finally, back to where he started.

Only now, there was a man in front of him.

He wears a tasteful bartender get up, bow tie and all. With his wavy brown hair bushed back to see his forehead. The man’s eyes scan Kei’s for a moment as if he was assessing him before he gives Kei a knowing smirk.

“Well hello there.”

Kei isn’t sure if he likes this guy. He seems almost scary despite being one of the prettiest typical pretty boys Kei’s ever seen.

Kei frowns at him. The few centimetres of height he had on the guy making him feel a bit better about the situation.

“I’m looking for Kuroo.” Kei states blankly, his eyes challenging the other.

“Ah~ So I was right.” The brunet’s feature erupt into a smile. One that was a lot brighter than before.

Kei liked it better.

“You’re Tetsu-Chan’s boyfriend!”

“Tetsu-Chan?” Kei’s breaks out laughing in incredulity at the stupid nickname.

The brunet pays no mind to it though, extending his hand in a western greeting despite his eastern appearance. He must have grown up in the states as well.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Tooru Oikawa.”

Kei is taken back to the jumble of texted words Kuroo had sent him about that illicit ‘Oikawa’ character. It wasn’t much to go off, in all honestly. Tetsurou had only spoken about him a handful of times, and it hadn’t always been good.

Kei returns the other’s handshake. Not leaving his gaze. “Kei Tsukishima.”

“Wow you’re pretty strong? Do you work out-“

Oikawa is interrupted by light hit on the head from another shorter stranger. “What the hell are you doing, idiot? You’re supposed to filling in for Kuroo.”

The brunet clutches his head, a dramatic pained expression crossing his features. “Iwa-Chan, I was just talking to Kuroo’s boyfriend~ He wouldn’t shut up about him so I wanted to know if he was as hot as he’d said.” Oikawa glances at Kei one last time. “Tetsu-Chan was right.” Tooru then fixes him with what Kei could assume was a signature wink.

‘Iwa-Chan,’ hits him over the head again before shooing the man off to the bar. “Sorry about him.” He says gruffly, him too holding out his hand. “Oikawa may be a bit of a shit head sometimes but he’s a good guy.”

“No problem.” Kei takes the hand much more willingly this time. “I’m Kei Tsukishima.”

The man nods, “Iwaizumi Hajime, Kuroo should be out in a couple of minutes. Take care of him.”

Kei smiles. He liked Iwaizumi. His arms looked like they could straight up kill a man though. “You have my word.”

“Who’s this, Iwaizumi?” A head pops up from behind the shorter man.

“Could this be the man, the myth, the legend?” Another appears from seemingly out of nowhere.

The two taller men, one with strangely pinkish short hair and the other with the most impressive eyebrows Kei had ever seen assimilate beside Iwaizumi. Their tag team style leaving an elbow each on Hajime’s shoulder. Leaning casually on him.

“Get back to work.” The shorter one grumbles.

“Not until you introduce us!” The man with the light hair- on the left side of Iwaizumi grins. Poking Hajime on his cheek.

Iwaizumi slaps the hand away. Having had enough of their antics. “Fine.”

“Tsukishima. This shithead over here-“ He gestures to the left. “Is Takahiro Hanamaki. And this-“ he then gestures to the right. “Is his just as evil counterpart Issei Matsukawa.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m-“

“Kei Tsukishima?” Eyebrows- Matsukawa answers for him, a sly grin on his face. “We know who you are.”

Hanamaki places a dainty hand over his head dramatically. “Oh, guys, Tsukki is whisking me away to Japan.” He speaks in an airy voice trying to imitate Kuroo.

Matsukawa sighs romantically before joining in. “He’s so kind and loving- I can’t believe he’s dating me~!”

Hajime just groans like he hears this kind of antics all the time. He crosses his arms before closing his eyes and counting to ten. “Oikawa’s at the bar if you want to go torment him instead.”

The pair instantly snap out of their façade and make a beeline to the bar where the brunet was unknowingly about to be hounded for the unth time today.

“Nice meeting ya’ Tsukishima,” Hanamaki meets his eyes before giving him an informal salute as he slinks away.

“It was good putting an attractive face to an attractive name.” Matsukawa adds, the pair stunting away like birds of a feather.

Hajime just sighs from in front of him. Giving Kei an easy going smile. “Sorry about them as well. You’ll probably soon come to realise everyone working here is a little shit.”

Kei returns the expression. “Oh I know. I just thought that maybe it was just Kuroo.”

Iwaizumi laughs warmly and then Kei can hear the sound of glass dropping from the side of bar Oikawa was standing at.

Tooru clutches his heart at the scene. Iwa-Chan’s laughter. “So beautiful…”

Hanamaki snorts. “Pick up the glass you fucking moron.”

Iwaizumi either doesn’t notice or just doesn’t care because he slaps Kei on the back a little too hard and smiles. “I’ll go get Kuroo.”

“Thanks,” Kei says. Despite Hajime’s size, there was just something terrifying about him that made Kei not want to be- well, himself fully.

The shorter man soon disappears behind a door- and now sooner than he does. Oikawa as back at his side. His brown eyes are calculating and serious and he’s way too close for comfort.

“What did you say to Iwa-Chan to get him to laugh like that?”

Kei isn’t all that sure what he said was that funny. So he does what he does best and just deflects the question with another question. Genius.

“You like him, don’t you?” Kei squints his eyes.

Tooru stares at him and laughs. “I would hope I like him. He’s my fiancé.”

Kei sputters incredulously. “But he-“

Oikawa, as if wanting to show proof (or just show off in general) flashes a shining gold ring that Kei hadn’t quite noticed before.

“See!?”

Kei makes a non-committal sound at the back of his throat. One of disbelief- and he isn’t all that sure why. The pair were certainly odd. Almost polar opposites in a way. But then again- Tetsurou and him were the same, but different as well.

Maybe opposites really did attract? Or maybe it was something else entirely?

Tooru notices his shock and gracefully changes the subject. His gaze turns more serious as they lock eyes again. “Please don’t hurt Tetsu-Chan. He’s a good guy even though he overworks himself and sometimes drinks too much coffee- and starts crying about stray cats.”

“Don’t worry. Your fiancé has already given me the once over.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Tooru smiles as he looks away. A dreamy far-away look in his eyes. Kei wondered if that was what love looked like and realised that it probably was.

His thought bubble is abruptly burst when Kuroo kicks through the door Kei had watched Hajime enter into. He’s in his usual outfit of jeans and a t-shirt as well so that they both look as equally drab in this swanky place. Tetsurou carries two medium sized suitcase trunks in his hands and a smile on his face.

“I. Am. Ready.”

Oikawa is back to his usual sly self because wiggles his eyebrows before patting Kei on the shoulder. “Go get ‘em.”

Kei scowls away the flush creeping up his neck.

The route to the airport is a long one, but it doesn't feel so in this particularly kind of company. Tetsurou talks for most of the time about the strangers Kei had just met for the first time. Kenma occasionally chimes in with extra comments or embarrassing stories about Kuroo. It’s a nice cycle that sets Kei’s mind at ease as they approached the time for their flight. And soon, the time for Kei to face his father again. Kenma and Kuroo notice Tsukishima’s silence throughout the trip. But they don’t stop him. Tetsurou knows not to- he can see Kei’s content smile through the rear view mirror.

As they say their goodbyes to Kenma. Kozume gives them a final farewell that has the two of them smiling even bigger for a while.

“Have a wonderful time.”

It’s nothing special with words, really. But coming from Kozume Kenma of all people- it’s a treasured possession. Kei can see Tetsurou’s eyes shine.

“I’ve always find airports kind of interesting, you know? All the people here have a reason to be here. There’s no dawdling.” Kuroo continues, slinking down on the plane seat as they waited for take-off. “Other places just aren’t like that. You go to a shop with no clear goal in mind- and that’s normal. But if you go to an airport like that it’s just weird.”

Kei hums thoughtfully, his eyes trailing over the people he had to be sharing the next 10 hours with. He points at a shifty looking business man.

“He’s returning to Japan. Back to his wife and-“Kei squints his eyes. “Three kids. He had an affair with a concierge named Karen and is using jewellery to get rid of his guilt.”

“Holy shit.” Tetsurou whispers before pointing to another tired looking woman. “She’s going to Japan to get away from her sister who keeps pestering her for money. She has a lover over there that her family doesn’t know about.”

They spend a couple of hours like that on the plane. People watching. It makes Kei wonder what everyone else thought about them.

Eventually Kei falls asleep on Kuroo’s shoulder and Tetsurou soon follows suit. They both weren’t all that afraid of planes. Kei was more worried about when he got off it.

“You are now arriving at Sendai Airport. Please do not remove your seatbelts until the plane is completely stopped.”

Kuroo’s practically vibrating with excitement.

How could anyone look that good after a 10 hour flight? Kei was sure he had dark circles around his eyes so huge they could be mistaken for a makeup mishap. And God knows what his clothes looked like. He sighs.

“I’m really excited to meet your family.” Tetsurou grins, on the edge of his seat.

Kei can’t help but find it adorable. The nervousness in his stomach easing just the slightest bit. How could anybody not like Kuroo?

“I’m really excited for you to meet them.” Kei returns sleepily, a lot more subdued. (Like a normal person, in all honesty.)

Tetsurou looks at him so tenderly that it makes him flush an embarrassing shade of pink. He avoids Kuroo’s eyes in hopes of making it better. It doesn’t.

Kuroo reaches over and places a kiss on Kei’s cheek.

“Thank you for doing this.”

God if his family didn’t love Kuroo as much as he did. He wouldn’t be sure if they were even human.

Wait, love?

“What does your family look like, Tsukki? I don’t think they’ll be holding up a sign like in the movies…”

Kei gives him a look. “They look like me.”

Tetsurou grins at him sneakily, wrapping an arm around Kei. “You-“

“Kei!”

“Tsukki!”

They both raise their heads at the sound of Tsukishima’s name being called and embarrassedly separate.

Kei sees the happy face of his brother and Yamaguchi running towards him. His father trailing slowly behind impishly. Like he was embarrassed to be making a scene.

Kei really was like his father in so many ways.

Akiteru’s the first one to reach him and he practically tackles Kei into a hug.

Kei makes uncomfortable noises, muffled by his older brother’s jacket.

“Oh, Kei, I’m sure you missed your darling big brother soooo~ much!”

“Tsukki, you’ve grown your hair out! Did you forget to go to a hairdresser?” Tadashi chimes in from behind, his eyes shining with excitement from seeing his best friend in the flesh for the first time in ages.

Akiteru finally releases him so he can meet the eyes of his father.

“Hi dad.” Kei greets, out of breath.

“Welcome home, Kei.”

Kei and Akiteru’s father was a regal looking man. With dark hair and golden eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. He always had a stern expression but was surprisingly kind hearted and laid back most times.

Kei stands in front of the three people he’d missed the most since he left Japan. He can’t help but feel a little bit of guilt for not visiting sooner.

The three men gaze over Kei, to the man residing pretty far behind him to give them all space. Out of hearing distance. A stranger to all three of them- but someone important to Kei.

Tetsurou doesn’t waste any more time. He approaches the three of them, nervous all of a sudden. Before stuttering out Japanese like there was no tomorrow.

“こんにちは、おれは黒尾 鉄朗です。どうぞよろしく.“

Kei laughs, “Kuroo, they speak English.”

“Oh well- Thank God, actually.” Tetsurou laughs and scratches the back of his neck. “Hello. My name is Tetsurou Kuroo, it’s lovely to meet you all. I’ve only heard very good things.” The cat smiles at all three of them before bowing politely.

Kei’s father looks upon him sternly for a moment and Kei tenses. His heart thunders in his chest.

The older man looks at Tetsurou for a few seconds more. Kei can see Tetsurou gulp in fear.

Seijurou Tsukishima lets out a bark of laughter before slapping Kuroo on the back. “Nice to meet you.”

Kuroo coughs, straightening himself up awkwardly before grinning back. “It’s an honour.”

Kei wants to scream. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. He was worried- but this wouldn’t be too bad right?

“Uh… Dad, so uh. Kuroo. He’s my- He’s- uh-“

“Kei. I know you’re gay. This must be your boyfriend, correct?”

Kei gasps dramatically for a moment. “Maybe he’s just my faithful travel companion.”

“I don’t think you’re allowed to un-come-out-of-the-closet, Tsukki.” Tetsurou whispers cheekily. Kei elbows him lightly in the side.

Kei meets his father’s eyes- Yamaguchi’s, then his brother’s.

He gestures to Kuroo, deadpan in his expression. “This is Kuroo Tetsurou. He is my boyfriend. Which isn’t a surprise at all, apparently for some reason.”

The three of them sigh.

In perfect unison, it’s almost scary. The trio begins.

“One night we were watching Jurassic World-“

“Stop.”

Chapter Text

Fact 15# Kei was never one for small talk. But God, everyone else was in his family.

His father, his brother, his best friend and his boyfriend. (Christ…) All stood around the strange revolving baggage pick-up carousel in the airport- chatting like there was no tomorrow.

“So, Kuroo- what do you do for a living?” Kei and AKiteru’s father asks politely. Still sizing up the boy’s suitor surreptitiously.

“I’m uh- I sing and play guitar at a café and I do some bartending, uh- I help out at the animal shelter sometimes- I’m kind of just everywhere right now.” Tetsurou laughs, scratching the back of his head.

“Wow, so many jobs- maybe Kei could lend you a hand.” His father reprimands, giving Kei a look.

“I have a fulltime job being a waste of space.” Kei replies back nonchalantly. “I go to school and when I’m not at school, I’m thinking about how I can get better at school.”

“Nerd~” Akiteru teases, Kei glares at him.

Kei keeps his eyes on the carousel after that. Looking for his suitcases so he could collapse into his father’s car. He was so tired- even after sleeping on the plane for a while. It seemed that any real needs didn’t count if you didn’t do them on solid ground.

Halfway through a yawn- Kei spots the three bags that he and Kuroo had collectively brought. All lined up in a row. Hell, they could have wrapped a bright red bow on them.

He’s making a beeline toward them when he hears his name being called by the group he’d left behind.

“I’m getting the suitcases.” He answers impatiently. His toes tapping against the marble floor.

“I’ll help.” The four all say at once.

“Dad, Akiteru-“ Kei decides, having been a bit chuffed with them over the previous comment. They’ll have to do the heavy lifting now.

Kuroo feigns hurt with a hand to his chest, but Yamaguchi actually does look a little wounded.

Kei feels bad, “Yamaguchi, Kuroo- uh… Get to know each other.”

The pair reinflate after being given a task, so it seems. Because they both exchange glances with smiles on their faces.

“Tsukki really likes you.” Tadashi beams up at the cat-like man. He was everything like Tsukki had described to him. Right down to his somewhat scary grin. Though the bumbling words he’d exchanged at their meeting had rendered him to be completely harmless in Tadashi’s mind.

“I really like him too.” Tetsurou replies as he watches Kei stalk off with his brother and father. Soon enough, he looked to his side back at Kei’s best friend of many years. The man was as meek as he had freckles on his face. And so polite as well- how were he and Kei friends?

Then again, the same could be said about himself and Kenma, he supposes. Shrugging to himself.

Yamaguchi makes a happy sound in the back of his throat. The two watch as the trio of Tsukishimas easily grab the suitcases and begin to return back to the rest of the group.

Kei was arguing over something again- Akiteru was probably teasing him. There was a smile on both of their faces though.

Kei must notice the other two staring at him because he raises his gaze and gives them a chastise grin as well.

No matter how much Kei denied it. He had missed his family.

Yamaguchi tilts his head to look back at Kuroo. He looks serene as he quirks his lips up. “If you hurt him, I’ll make sure they don’t find your body.”

“What-”

Kei appears in front of the two of them in no time. His family following suit. “Let’s get out of here. I want to see if Akiteru got rid of all my palaeontology books that I left here, like he said.”

Akiteru smirks behind him.

Kuroo’s just trying not to have a heart attack from Tadashi previous comment. He stares down at the little brunet- who’s smiling cheerily as ever and gives a shaky laugh.

He whispers to himself quietly, “What the fuck?”  

Kei regrettably sits in the middle seat. Despite being one of the tallest beings in this little group of theirs. Apparently height didn’t matter when Akiteru calls shotgun and his father drives. 

Kei is sidled in between Kuroo and Yamaguchi. Which wasn’t too bad, he supposed. Kuroo’s hair kept tickling his cheek making him snicker every time they turned a corner. But otherwise- it wasn’t terrible.

“Madoka and your sister are looking forward to seeing you again.” Seijurou begins, looking forward onto the road like a respectable driver. Unlike other people Kei knew- Kuroo.

“Step-sister.” Kei corrects haughtily, his arms crossed around his chest.

“Oh come on, you’re her little brother!” Akiteru chides with a sly grin on his face.

Kei gasps incredulously. “She’s like twenty days older than me!”
“That’s practically twenty years.”
“Oh, so she’s forty years old? At least she’s still younger than you, I guess.” Kei bites back. A satisfied smirk appearing on his face when Akiteru sputters.

“I am a spritely man in his twenties, thank you very much.” His brother replies, incredibly offended.

“Late twenties.”
“Eat a dick, Kei.”

“Language.” Seijurou warns emotionlessly. “We are speaking English on behalf of Kuroo-Kun, but that does not mean we can use such words.”

“Uh… Yeah. Thanks for that.” Tetsurou says awkwardly, his gratitude being masked. “I’m not that great at Japanese. I never lived in Japan, really.”

“Did your parents?” Kei’s father asks once more.

Kei feels Tetsurou tense up slightly from by his side and Kei grabs on to his hand.

“Uh yeah, they’re living here now, actually.” Kuroo replies calmly, a wavering smile accompanying his words.

Kei just holds onto his hand tighter.

The Tsukishima house was nice. The two storey traditional style had a front yard the size of Kuroo’s apartment with gorgeous evergreen trees and maples littering the pathway up towards the main entrance. It was mostly pathed with stones and meticulously threaded sand. It made Tetsurou’s jaw drop straight to the beautifully pathed floor.

Kei stands beside him with a nostalgic kind of disdain in his eyes that Kuroo’s learned to take as the closest Kei Tsukishima has to sentimentality. It makes his golden eyes glimmer that bit stranger and sends the other’s heart aflutter.

Tetsurou grins, turning back to Kei’s father.

“Your house is beautiful, Tsukishima-San.”

The older man chuckles at him, ruffling his messy hair a little more. “Thank you very much, Kuroo-Kun.”

Tetsurou’s too busy noticing the tiny tresses in the walls to see Seijurou turn back to Kei. Giving him a slight nod with a raise of his eyebrows.

Kei sighed in what almost felt like relief. His father was so taken with Kuroo already he wasn’t sure if he’d ever let them go back to New York.

The moment they open the door there is a little kerfuffle waiting for them.

“Surprise!” The two women call, releasing a flurry of colourful string over the group of airport returnees.

The younger girl, Kei and Akiteru’s step sister beams up at them from her tiny stature. Her blonde hair rising up in certain strands like her hair was just as excited. She approaches meekly, towards the group first- and then to Tetsurou and Kei.

“Hey bro,” She greets awkwardly. Smiling up at Kei with a wide grin that makes Kuroo’s heart melt a little bit.

She was too cute.

She then turns her gaze to her step-brother’s counterpart. Her eyes go wide a bit and she slinks back reflexively. “You must be Kuroo-San.” She says with a hesitant smile. She was still sizing him up it seemed. Which was fair, Tetsurou supposed. Kenma always told him he looked a bit shady to new people. ‘But when they actually know you, they realise you’re actually just a dork’ he had stated once.

Tetsurou bows politely just as the girl does. “Kuroo Tetsurou, it’s lovely to meet you.”

Deeming that semblance enough, the blonde girl nods.

“I’m Yachi Hitoka. Kei’s step-sister to be. Y-you two look very adorable together.” She sputters, her face going a bit red in embarrassment. Like she hadn’t meant to let that last bit out.

The other pair flush as well. Unable to fully comprehend what to say.

They can hear Akiteru and Yamaguchi in the background laughing at them- Kei even swears he can hear his father chortling alongside them.

Once Tetsurou finally gets past his embarrassment- he once more faces up against the fifth new person he’s met since he got off the plane.

Madoka Yachi. As she had introduced herself. Was a very beautiful woman. With peach brown hair and curls that would make anyone jealous. She had a kind smile but a stern face. But overall, Kuroo found her mildly terrifying. But in mom-ish kind of way, which was nice.

“It’s an honour for us to finally meet you. Seijurou was so excited to hear that Kei was bringing someone home.”

Kuroo laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sure you were all disappointed then.” He says modestly.

“Oh don’t be silly, Kuroo-Kun. I haven’t seen Kei smile at someone like that since- well, ever!” Kei’s father chimes in.

Kei himself makes an incredulous noise at the back of his throat. “You guys are all delusional.” He replies gruffly, shuffling further into the room with his suitcases. Not willing to face the torment head on for today. God, he was so tired.

“Hold on, Kei- I need to set some ground rules.” Seijurou calls, prompting Kei back into the hallway with a shift of his hand.

The blond reluctantly returns back into view with a groan.

He looks to Tetsurou and Kei.

“You guys are sharing Kei’s room for tonight before we head off to the wedding venue. Even though it’s across the house from the rest of us, I don’t want to be able hear any funny business.” He says seriously.

“W-what?” Kei looks horrified.

“You know.” Seijurou continues, awkwardly making some vulgar hand motions. “Funny business.”

“Oh my God! No- I didn’t want clarification- We haven’t even- You know what- I’m- I’m going to take a nap. I’m really tired. Kuroo. Do you want to join me?”

Tetsurou nods vigorously, yawning exaggeratedly as his cheeks grow redder by the minute.

Kei nods back, taking his boyfriend by the hand and practically dragging him to the next room.

There was no way his family was going to see him looking this embarrassed twice in one afternoon.

“No funny business!” His father calls after him again making Kei scream in incredulity. Leaving his family chuckling.

Tetsurou pops his head around the wall.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality.” He smiles. “Please let me know if I can help with anything.”

Kei just drags his away before he sees their reaction. “If you keep being so nice to them, they’re not going to let us leave when we have to go home.” He hisses.

“I like that boy.” Seijurou chuckles, talking to no one in particular.

“He seems very charming.” Madoka mentions, agreeing with her fiancée’.

“He would make a good brother-in-law.” Hitoka sighs before planting a hand on her mouth in horror. “Oh no, I think I just jinxed it.”

Kei sighs into his pillow, inhaling the forgotten scent of his bedroom as he dives into his mattress.

“I’m sorry about them.” Kei grimaces, his voice muffled from the cotton pillow case he held under his mouth.

Kuroo just huffs in an effort not to laugh. “I love them.”
Kei raises his head, his eyebrows raising as his glasses slip from his nose. “You do?”

“Absolutely.”
“That’s a good thing, I guess, because they all seem to love you.” Kei grumbles, “They’re probably photo shopping you into family photographs as we speak.”
Kuroo soon enough flops down beside him with a ‘oof’ sound coming from his mouth. “I’ve forgotten what it’s like.”

Turning his head now, Kei tilts it in question. “What it’s like?”

“To have- that.” Tetsurou gestures to the door, the outside. Where his family (+ Yamaguchi, he was practically related to him at the point) were all preparing for dinner, probably. “A family.”

His heart seizes at that comment- Kei subconsciously moves closer to Kuroo, his hand grazing over the other’s in a gesture that was completely foreign to him a few months ago.

“We can try and find them, if you’d like.“ Kei says quietly. Staring up at the ceiling like he himself didn’t really know what he was saying. It was like an afterthought he couldn’t help but let out.

He feels Kuroo turn his head to face him. “You’d do that?”

“Only if you’d want to.”
Tetsurou purses his lips, his eyebrows drawing together in thought. “Would you be okay with that, Tsukki- I haven’t spoken to them in years.”

“I would do anything for you- “ Kei says before he can stop himself. He feels his hand grace over his mouth in shock of what he’d just said out loud.

It was even more surprising when he found that he was speaking the truth.

Tetsurou just holds onto his hand tighter. “You have to be there for your dad, Tsukki. I can’t take you away from him when he just got you back.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Kei murmurs, “We’re here for more than a week. That’s plenty of time for them all to get sick of me.”

Kuroo laughs softly from beside him. “I can go by myself.”
Finally, Kei sits up- finally meeting Kuroo in the eyes as he stared at his face. “You’re not doing this alone, Kuroo. We have all of tomorrow free before we leave for my dad’s wedding venue. I think we should go then.”

“It won’t be fun.”
“I know.”

“God knows what they’ll do- they might not even have it in them to see me- they could have moved-“
“I know.”
“You’re really stubborn.”

A smile touches Kei’s lips. “I know.”

Jetlag soon catches up to the pair of them- the excitement of the day was no longer enough to keep them afloat and they soon drifted off into each other’s arms. It hadn’t been the first time they’d fallen asleep together. Kei had stayed at Kuroo’s house before and Tetsurou at Tsukishima’s respectively. But this, for some reason felt more intimate than before.

But it wasn’t bad.

That’s what scared Kei a little.

Chapter Text

Tetsurou wakes up first again, he rubs his eyes to adjust to the light. His head not comprehending he was in a different place at first.

But then it all comes back to him and he smiles. The memories of what had just happened, before he’d fallen asleep with Kei… They had flooded in all at once. It was overwhelming, but oh so welcome. It made him feel warm inside and out.

Not wanting to disturb Tsukishima, he lightly moves off the mattress laid out for them. His restlessness unable to be quelled for much longer.

He tugs the blanket over Kei when he notices that the other had started shivering the moment he left the bed. Placing the softest kiss on Kei’s forehead he could manage.

Kuroo makes it out of the room without another sound and smiles happily to himself.

It takes him a while to try and find where everything was in Tsukishima’s house alone. The place was huge and it only seemed to expand more and more the more Tetsurou saw.

But luckily enough. He hears voices. A sound pathway that lead him to where he wanted to be.

Laughter trickles in from the light of the door down the hallway. It gives Kuroo a jolt of nostalgia from his own life. Back when his parents still seemed to care about him. Back when they though he only dated girls, kissed girls- was interested in girls. It was crazy how fast things had changed.

It wasn’t as if they had been the greatest of parents. They always had worked a lot- Tetsurou probably saw them once a week at most. But at least it was something he had to hold on to.

But now-

Well, now he didn’t have them at all.

His grandmother had kept him anchored to the ground for most of his childhood. God knows what would have happened to him if she hadn’t been there for him. He remembers how long she’d scolded him when he saw the bruises on his knuckles from his first fight. How she’d told him firmly that violence meant nothing if the other person didn’t understand why. She told Tetsurou to use his words, to count to ten when he was angry. She shoved a volleyball under his hands and told him to play to release those feelings.

Tetsurou wasn’t quite sure who he would be today without his grandmother. Or even if he would be here today.

But she was gone now. And so were his parents. Who played so little in the part of his life- yet he still couldn’t let go of.

“Kuroo-Kun! Why are you standing out there in the hallway! Come help us, we’re making Kei’s favourite!”

Tetsurou feels himself be snapped out of his own head by one Hitoka Yachi. The small blonde girl (possibly sunshine in disguise,) standing a few metres away from him with an apron on. Covered in what looked to be shortcake batter.

“Strawberry shortcake?” Tetsurou says absentmindedly- still not fully out of his own head.

Hitoka nods her head, “Do you want to come in?”

“Absolutely.”

Kuroo soon finds himself in Tsukki’s kitchen with all of his family members staring at him expectantly. A weird bout of stage fright covers Tetsurou from head to toe as he brings himself to grin nervously. “Uh… Good morning?” He says it like a question.

“Kuroo-Kun, it’s 6 pm.” Seijurou scrunches his eyebrow as his lips quiver- as if he was trying not to laugh.

“Wha-What?”

“You were asleep for a four hours.” Akiteru whines, “You just got here and we’ve barely seen you two.”

“Sorry, the time difference really must have messed us up.”

“Ah, don’t mind that, Kuroo, you’re awake now aren’t you?” Madoka supplies, grabbing him by the arm. “Now you can help us make dinner.”

Tetsurou feels his brain shutdown a little bit. Dinner? He was so bad at cooking… But he couldn’t just say no- everyone would hate him. But what if he burnt the food-

“Mom, Kuroo-San is our guest. He shouldn’t make food. He should sit down and relax.” Hitoka chides, a spatula in her hand.

Yachi Hitoka. A guardian angel. Kuroo puts his hand on his heart.

“Ah, I do suppose you’re right… Hitoka, he can help you with the strawberry short cake.”

The blonde squeaks, “That’s not really what I had in mind. Besides I’m sure Kuroo-San is still very tired from the flight. I wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

“I’m fine, really.” Tetsurou speaks, as if his mouth was on auto-pilot. “I’ll do whatever you’d like me to do.”

In the end, Tetsurou does end up helping out Hitoka with the shortcake. ‘We should call it a short-kei-ke,’ Kuroo provides much to everyone else’s chagrin.

Well, Hitoka finds it hilarious so at least he does something right.

After that bout of laughter, Hitoka does seem to warm up to him a little more. What once was nervous small talk drifted into a full blown conversation between the two of them.

“You’re very good at this Kuroo-San,” Yachi provides, watching carefully as Kuroo mixed the batter. “You’ve got a good technique.”

“I call it the ‘stir the bowl and pray to god I don’t mess up’ technique.”

Hitoka giggles, slicing up strawberry right beside Tetsurou.

 “So how long have you and Kei known each other?” Seijurou interjects the conversation from the kitchen counter. His eyes scanning a newspaper. Tetsurou could see he wasn’t really reading it though.

Kuroo stops his process, thinking for a while. “Four months, I think?”

“And he didn’t say anything until a week ago!” Akiteru gasps, his expression one of extreme despair.

“Tsukki told me about you the day he met you.” Yamaguchi provides, for the first time since Kuroo entered the room.

“He did?” Tetsurou’s eyes widen- a tiny blush crossing his cheeks. “What did he say?”
Tadashi just puts a finger on his lips. “It’s a secret.”
“Boo.” Akiteru sticks his tongue out at Tadashi. “You suck.”
“Snitches get stiches, Yamaguchi.” Kei says, appearing from the side of the room. His messy blonde hair sticking up at weird angles due to the length of the strands at the side.

And yet he looks intimidating.

But still adorable.

Always adorable.

Tetsurou smiles for what feels like the millionth time this morning.

“Kuroo and I are going to go out tomorrow morning.” Kei says matter-of-factly. Still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Tetsurou is struck once more by how different he looks without his glasses on. It makes his eyes stand out more- they look more full and golden. Like sunlight catching on an amber shade of glass.

“Where are you going?” Akiteru asks curiously, still leaning over the counter- his hand resting on his chin.

Kei looks to Tetsurou. Not knowing whether to make something up or tell them the truth.

Kuroo doesn’t want him to have to lie to his family. It felt wrong.

“We’re visiting my parents.” Kuroo says tautly, his mouth a thin line. “I haven’t seen them in… quite some time.”

There’s a knowing look in between the sea of confused faces. Kei gives him a firm nod. “We thought we should see them before the wedding.”

The mood drops from something casual to something a bit more obscure. Tetsurou isn’t sure if it’s just him that can feel it. But everyone’s expressions seem to sober.

But they don’t ask anymore questions. They don’t pry. They’re not like that.

They’re wonderful.

Kuroo doesn’t find a frown on his face despite himself. Instead he turns to his boyfriend with a proud smirk on his face. “We’re making strawberry short Kei-ke for you, Tsukki. Hitoka-Chan tells me that it’s the only thing you’ll eat when you’re sick. So much for soup, eh?”

Yachi coughs, “Hiktoka-Chan?”

“That isn’t true.” Kei grumbles. “Plain strawberries are fine as well.”
“Aww…” Kuroo sighs, looking at him like he was a bunny rabbit or something, it makes Kei scowl right back.

“Please tell me he’s been eating some real food while he’s been in New York, Kuroo-Kun.” Seijurou reprimands with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Uh…” Tetsurou’s words are stuck on his tongue. He thinks back on every time he’s eaten with Kei and grimaces. “Does pizza count?”

It makes the family chuckle, and soon the whole kitchen is alight with laughter once more. It makes Tetsurou’s heart feel sunny inside just as much as it makes his chest hurt. It felt like he was already one of them after only known them for a matter of hours. Kei’s family had shown him the most familial attention in a matter of hours than Kuroo had felt for years.

It was nice.

He notices Kei glancing off to the side at him. Almost checking if he was okay with all of this. Like he was concerned that something would be wrong. That Tetsurou wouldn’t be enjoying himself- or that his family would hit a rough spot with him.

But as the night wore on, all the tension in his brow seemed to ease away gradually. He finally trusted his family and Tetsurou together.

That was nice as well.

Kuroo knew his family. He knew what he would be getting himself- and Kei into the very next day. They would need all the relaxation they could get until tomorrow morning came.

There was a storm brewing in the clouds and in Tetsurou’s heart. And he was certain that Kei couldn’t sense just how tough this could be within a matter of hours. No matter how wonderful Kei’s family were- nothing could change the parents Kuroo had came from. Nor could they change the hateful words he’d been told throughout his lifetime.

His bloodline was not a choice, it was a burden that Tetsurou felt in the fleeting moments of twilight and the quite times of the morning.

They were his blood. But he could resign himself in recognising them as only that and nothing else.

Just as he was sure they felt the same way towards him.

It didn’t mean it hurt less. He wanted closure. He wanted to know for sure. That after all those years… Maybe they thought of him more than he of them? Maybe they realised they were wrong?

Possibilities flooded Kuroo’s mind just as they always did when he thought too much.

“Are you okay? You’re frowning.” Kei asks, his mouth also turning down as he inspected his boyfriend’s face.

Tetsurou shakes off the thoughts creeping up at him. “It’s nothing- I think I’m just tired.”
Kei’s frown deepens, not believing him for one second. Kei had an amazing skill of smelling bullshit from a mile away. “If you want to talk about it. Tell me now. I don’t want you to bottle stuff up, that’s lame.”

The words tease a soft smile onto Kuroo’s face. “Thanks, Tsukki. But I’m okay.”

“It’s only fair.” Kei says simply in return. “You’ve helped me out more than you can imagine.”

“You helped yourself. I was only there to push yourself into it.”

“That’s kind of you to say.”
“I’m always this kind…”

“Yeah, right.” Kei snorts.

“It’s like they’re lost in their own little world.” Madoka sighs- almost proudly, a hand on her cheek in fascination as she watches the pair. “Do they even know we’re still here?”
Seijurou curls his arm around his soon-to-be wife’s shoulder, “Nope.” He declares, taking a sip of his green tea smugly. “Maybe Kei moving to America was best for him. He seems really happy.”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with what country he’s in Otou-San.” Akiteru chimes in, clutching at his heart, “Little baby Kei is in looooove.”

Kei, himself doesn’t even hear his family’s teasing of him. Like they said, the pair of lovers were just as fixated on one another as opposite sides of two magnets.

Just maybe not as stuck together as them though.

It’s on a whim that he calls her that night. Kei isn’t all that sure why he does. Maybe it’s all those thoughts whirling around his head- fresh from the words that he and Tetsurou exchanged. The value of his family, all of it.

“Hey Mom.” The blonde greets, the moment the phone stops ringing. He spots Kuroo from the corner of his eye. Sitting on the small wooden veranda outside of Kei’s room, watching him with an absent minded gaze.

He gives him a small smile, almost like he was reassuring him that he wasn’t going to have a breakdown like last time.

“Kei!” His mother says in surprise. “I didn’t think you would call!”

“I didn’t either.” He replies honestly, “it wasn’t my own doing.”

He chances a glance back at Tetsurou, who is now watching the fireflies gather around the large trees in the backyard. The night sky giving them all the glory for their luminescence. His hair almost looks like a dark blue in the moonlight. It’s beautiful.

“Kei-“

“I want to speak to you in person. When I get back.” Kei blurts quickly, so fast it’s almost like he knows his brain is going to regret it afterwards. His heart has other ideas, however.

“Get back?” She asks, not following.

“From Japan. I’m here for-“The blonde stops himself.

Should he tell her?

Did he dare?

“To visit family.” He recovers.

He can almost see the smile on his mother’s lips. It’s one of relief. He remembers the number of times he’d seen that expression on her face. His chest folds in on itself.

“I would like that very much, Kei.”

The next morning is cold. There’s icy dew drops falling from the branches outside Kei’s window, and yet he feels warmer than ever.

Tetsurou’s unconscious talent of being a space heater really helps Kei out a lot in instances like this.

They hadn’t started this close to each other when they’d fallen asleep that night. It was all Kuroo’s fault for stealing all the blankets. Kei needed to find heat somewhere.

And so, when they both awoke. Kei soon realised that what he had been curled around all night was not in fact, one of his pillows or blankets. But a very dubious Kuroo with a smirk on his face- even when he slept.

Kei can already feel his cheeks reddening and he really wants Tetsurou to pay for it.

He rises from the bed and kicks Kuroo lightly on the side, rousing the man from his undoubtedly perverted slumber. Compromising whatever stupid dream he was probably having.

“Ngh.” Tetsurou groans non-committedly, shoving Kei’s foot away.

“Wake up.” The blonde hisses, prodding Kuroo’s side once more.

“No. Fuck you.” Kuroo says, more coherently this time.

Sighing at his own thought process, Kei changes his tactic. Leaning down promptly to give Tetsurou a kiss on his neck- the one part of his body that wasn’t covered by a blanket, pajamas or his crazy hair.

Besides, Kei knew it drove him crazy.

“Oya, what’s this?” Kuroo gives him a side smile, his face still pressed into his pillow. “Do that again.” He purrs.

Kei retracts cockily. “No. Fuck you.” He repeats Tetsurou’s words back to him, followed by another nudge to Kuroo’s back. “Get up.”

Kuroo whines but complies eventually. Only after another kiss though.

It’s the least solemn part of the morning. Kei doesn’t want to think about what’s going to happen today. Not to mention how it will effect Kuroo. It makes his brows set with worry.

But for now, they could have this moment.

It only takes a few minutes to actually plan out where they’re going after that. Kuroo had relatives in Japan that he’d never met before, but it doesn’t hinder the search much. A stray phone call here and there, and all of a sudden they’ve easily narrowed down a house in the middle range of Setagaya, the outskirts of the city of Tokyo. It will take a few hours to get there, but it’s a return trip they’ll probably only be making once.

“You don’t have to do this.” Kei whispers to him as Tetsurou stares at the house where his parents now reside in. A nice one story house with manicured lawns and absolutely nothing extraordinary about it.

“No. I want to.” Kuroo declares, holding the hand outstretched to him tighter. “I really do.”

The time leading up is shorter than Tetsurou would have wanted. He wished that the train ride had lasted forever. He knows his delaying the inevitable, but Kuroo’s certain that’s what he does best. Kei doesn’t let go of his hand once. It’s the only thing that keeps him grounded to the earth. The only thing that keeps him from floating far away into the atmosphere.

It’s the only thing that keeps him from running away from the doorstep.

“Are you ready for this?” Kei asks him, a whisper that had more effect than any kind of shout.

“No.” Tetsurou smiles, his grin faltering slightly.

Kei frowns.

Kuroo steels himself, reaching out his hand.

He knocks.

Chapter Text

“Tetsu, are you sure?” He asked between gasps for air, pressing back on the other’s shoulders. “Aren’t you worried about someone seeing us?”

“My parents aren’t home. Don’t worry.” was the reply, an absentminded smile on his face. It was gone the next moment, stolen with another kiss. Hurried hands and oh so agonisingly slow kisses are stolen as they made their way into the house. Kuroo closed the door with his foot behind him, not minding the noise he made. He was certain they were alone anyway.

He was wrong.

A second later, the lights flicker on and burnt out every kind of warm feeling that Tetsurou had had at the moment. His father stood in the hallway, his mother at his side. He felt a familiar sense of dread welling up from within him as he looked at their expressions. They broke away as quick as lightning, on instinct- out of fear.

The boy beside Tetsurou went frigid as well. Kuroo could see the pupils in his eyes going small in fear. He looked like he wanted to jump out of the window in haste of getting away. He wanted to run.

Tetsurou felt guilt welling up in his throat. “You should go,” he whispered to him- wishing he would stay. He wouldn’t. This wasn’t his burden to bear, nor was it right for him to have to bear it. They hadn’t been dating for too long now. Kuroo had really liked him, he couldn’t let him go through this, especially not when he didn’t have to. Or want to, for that matter.

There wasn’t any hesitation as he turned for the door, which stung a little, Tetsurou had to admit. His dark brown hair blending into the night as he rushed out of the home. It would be the last time he saw him, no doubt about it. Tetsurou felt his heart twist painfully. A shame, really, Kuroo could have sworn they had enjoyed each other’s company. Maybe it had only been one sided after all.

The door closing behind him sent Tetsurou back to reality. Back to facing the two people in the hallway he never knew would catch him in the act. They were always out somewhere; whether it be work or God knows where else. Kuroo couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had a conversation with his parents that had lasted more than a minute or so.

“Tetsurou,” his father spoke first. It wasn’t hard to sense the unguarded rage in his low, rumbling voice. It made Kuroo shiver.

A step forward, another, and another. His father approached him quicker and quicker until all of a sudden Tetsurou was looking up into the tall stature of a man that had been but a shadow in his life.

He didn’t see the hand reaching up to strike his face. But he did feel it. Tetsurou’s father had never hit him before, but the man had done it so proficiently it was like he’d been doing so for a long time now.

Tetsurou stumbled back, his hand on his cheek- the wound burning red in the light of their living room. Tears welled up in his eyes and no matter what he screamed at them- they didn’t seem to go away.

He heard his mother gasp at the other end of the room, the rough sound of the hit reached her conscience in that moment.

“What the hell was that, Tetsurou?” his father boomed, he kept his voice calm but loud. It made it all the more terrifying. His eyes looked almost red in this light- like a demon’s.

Tetsurou met those wretched eyes with his.

“I’m sure you saw enough to know.”

“Tetsurou, you’ve had girlfriends over the past- why would you even think of doing this?“ His mother interjects. She didn’t sound angry. But what comes from her voice made it worse.

Disgust.

“I-“ Tetsurou stuttered, “I like both.” He says quietly, so quietly he’s not even sure if his parents could hear him. “I’ve dated girls… and guys.”

There was a moment of silence where his parents weren’t quite sure what to say. Tetsurou kept his eyes to the ground, worried of what he would see.

Finally, his mother speaks.

“… Are you that desperate for attention?”

The question hit Kuroo like a sucker punch to the gut. “I… I don’t understand- you don’t understand. I-“

“Tetsurou,” his father interrupted him. He felt like he was suffocating. “I’m sure we can put all of this business behind us if you get out of this- this ridiculous phase you’re obviously having. We’ll forget about it and you’ll go back to being normal after today.”

“Phase? Normal?” The words branded him, fire hot and agonising. “This is who I am.”

“No, it’s not.” his mother chastises, “You’re sick.” She approached Tetsurou as well, he flinched. “Like your father said- we can forget all about this.” She stuck her pointer finger in the air. “If you promise us you’ll never do anything like this again- that you’ll only ever be with girls. You’ll be normal, Tetsurou. Can’t you promise us that? You’d be hurting us if you didn’t, you know?”

“I can’t promise that,” Tetsurou said, it’s the truth. “I can’t promise I won’t fall in love with someone that just so happens to be a man.”

The answer resulted in another slap, this time from his mother.

She grabbed him by the collar, yanking him down to her level. “You’re not my son then, I don’t even know who you are anymore.” She shrieked, her body heaving with unmasked rage. “We nurtured you and gave you shelter, a home, a family and this is how you repay us?”

Tetsurou knew in his heart- his heart so heavy with grief- he knew what he had to do now.

“You didn’t have to give me any of that,” Tetsuruo said through gritted teeth. “And you don’t have to now.” The words weren’t as scathing as they possibly could be- there was wobble in his throat and a catch in his voice. “I’ll pack up my things.”

Staying there would be suicide, Tetsurou was sure of it. Never before had his parents struck him, but Kuroo was certain that if he didn’t do anything- if he remained how he was- where he was, it wouldn’t be the last.

His parents weren’t there when he left through the front door an hour later. All that accompanied him was the cold darkness of the winter night. It burnt like hot coal on his skin.

Tetsurou didn’t know how long for, but all he did was run. He ran with every belonging on his back. He ran until every single tear that rolled down his face was dry. He ran until he was so numb with the cold of the night and the warmth of his blood- the pain in his face. He ran. He didn’t stop until he knew he was safe.

He stood at another door now. One he’d never seen before but just knew somewhere in his heart that it would have no different outcome. His hands shook slightly after his knuckle graced the wood of the door.

He had to try.

Another hand covered his and Tetsurou soon realised that this could be different.

“You can get through this,” Tsukishima murmured from beside him, “and I’ll be here helping you.”

The words alone made Tetsurou’s heart erupt with warmth. It gave him the boost of courage that he needed. He could get through this. He needed to do this, and then he would be set for life. The closure he needed would be gone. He could completely move on.

The door jitters, coming to life with another human’s touch on the other side.

Tetsurou steeled himself, he could see Kei stiffen beside him, but Kuroo was sure of it now. Tsukki would never run.

The entrance was finally opened to reveal exactly what Tetsurou had expected. His mother, aged slightly since he’d last seen her. Wavy jet black hair that he’d gotten from her tied up in a bun- messy.

Her eyes doubled in size when she saw him.

“T-Tetsurou?” she stuttered, aghast. “How did you-“ Her voice stopped short when she looked around her surroundings. She spotted a stranger. Her eyes narrowed, the initial shock growing into something a little more venomous.

Composing herself once more, she straightened the blouse she wore. Clearing her throat, she started again.

“Tetsurou. How did you find us?”

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Kuroo returned solemnly, his face is devoid of any kind of personality that Kei was used to. The kind that he loved.

It scared him.

“Have you come to apologise?”

Kei felt a snarl gracing his lips before he could stop it. But Tetsurou’s expression was as icy as ever.

“No.” he declared.

“Acceptance? Do you want us to welcome you back with open arms after what you did to your father and I.”

“No.” he repeated once more.

Almost being called by name, Tetsurou’s father appeared from behind the wall, his own shock mirroring his wife’s.

“Who’s this?” is the first thing he said, gesturing to Tsukishima.

Kuroo remained silent, Kei decided to answer for himself.

“My name is Tsukishima Kei, I’m the youngest child of the chairman of the Tsukishima group. I am dating your son.” he said simply, trying to keep his words not as scathing as he would really love to make them.

There was an instant reaction between Kuroo’s parents. Their lips curled up in disgust upon hearing the last sentence spoken.

“I’m sure your father is pleased with your abnormal activities,” Kuroo’s father said through gritted teeth. “Hasn’t the Tsukishima group had enough of mess in their family?”

Of course he’d know about that. All over the news- Kei even remembered now. He was just a little kid but he could still remember reading articles spread over the table about the Tsukishima company- questioning the business stability after his mother had run off and left his father, leaving the man, a wreck, for the better part of half a year. Just another thing that had added onto the pile of resentment Kei had built up towards his own mother all these years.

Kei felt Tetsurou’s hand curl around his own, silently speaking more words than anything ever could.

Kei let go of the rage boiling over the edge of his chest and took a deep breath. They wanted a rise out of one of them.

He’d never let them have that.

Kei felt his mouth smooth out into a smile. “Apparently not. My father is very proud of me even though everyone apparently knows that homosexuals are huge pains in the ass.”

The wording even made Tetsurou snort with laughter in a time like this. It made relief pool into Kei’s chest. Maybe his Tetsurou wasn’t completely gone after all.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Tetsurou?” said his mother, incredulously. “Why have you come here?”

Tetsurou met her eyes with a smile. “Yeah. Okay. I’m sorry.” He paused, just enough so that everyone else’s confusion was realised. “I’m sorry that your lives are so bad you have to make everyone else’s miserable. It’s really a great mindset, seriously, props to you guys. It fucked me over for years. I’ve only just realised it now, actually.” He looked to his mother and then to his father.

No, were they even that to him anymore?

“I think I’ll always miss the memories of you both. But now that I see the people you’ve become- no, the people you are. You’re nothing but memories to me. If you really loved me, none of this would have happened, right? Right?” Tetsurou laughed, feeling tears roll down his cheeks as he did. “I just realised you do choose family. And you guys aren’t there if you don’t accept for who I am.”

Their silent expressions didn’t leave anything to the imagination.

Tetsurou finally turned to Kei. There was meaning in the expression, and it made Kei’s heart beat faster.

“I’ve said what I wanted, Tsukki. Let’s go. They’ve made their decision.” Kuroo declared with a watery smile on his face and a miserable sniffle. He held out his hand for Kei to take once more.

Kei took it without hesitation, wiping a stray tear from the corner of Kuroo’s eye.

“You’re making a mistake, Tetsurou, we could get you help. But here you are, just running away from us all over again for absolutely no reason at all,” his father called from behind them.

Tetsurou turned around without any more hesitation. One last comment before it was all over. “I was always within an arm’s reach, dad, you were just never bothered to actually reach out and catch me. That’s really what I think counts.”

Kei had never been so proud of someone before.

The visit had been short and powerful. Kei had not been all that sure what he was to expect encountering a situation like this. It had been nothing like anything he’d ever experienced in his life. His family was almost overbearingly accepting. It made him feel grateful for that. Looking at Tetsurou now, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for taking it for granted.

The escapade had taken up most of the day, the sun was setting into dusk as they made their way towards the train station. Kuroo, taking long strides in front of Kei, his expression a stone mask- rid of any sign of what he was feeling. There was nothing that Kei could read, there was nothing Kei could say- he just couldn’t tell. It drove him crazy.

Tetsurou took another turn, detouring from the station just as the skies turned orange. Heading into the horizon, the light made his eyes shine with flecks of gold.

Kei made no effort to stop him. He only followed. There was always an end. He just didn’t know what Kuroo’s was.

It would take ten minutes before he finally stopped. His sneakers, caked in dirt, fell on the green grasses of a deserted park. The view of a river that Kei was certain he’d never seen before was dancing before his and Tetsurou’s eyes. But he paid almost no attention to it.

“…How are you still here?” Tetsurou whispered, his back shaking.

“What?”

Kuroo turned, facing Kei for the first time in what felt like ages. His eyes were filled with glittering tears, on the brink of falling. “Why did you stay?” He choked out, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. “You deserve so much more than being burdened with a mess like me and my own demons, Tsukishima.”

Kei’s jaw set at his full name. The words Tetsurou was speaking made his judgement more clouded than it ever had been.

“What do you mean, Kuroo?”

Tetsurou sniffed. “I thought I would be fine. But I’m not. Why am I not okay? Why is this bothering so much? What didn’t I do? Why do they still have an effect on me? They don’t mean anything to me anymore and yet I- I’m so sorry, Tsukki. You don’t need to see this, you deserve better. I’m not even sure who I even am anymore-“

“Tetsurou Kuroo!” Kei shouted, his own throat clotted with emotion. He stepped closer to him before Kei’s hands were on the other’s shoulders. He looked Tetsurou straight in the eyes, their faces so close that their noses almost touched.

“You are Tetsurou Kuroo. You are twenty-three. You love cats and you love your friends. You have the voice of an angel and a demon and you are the reason I get out of bed some mornings. You will heal from this. Time heals all wounds. I know it hurts now but it’s nothing that your family; Bokuto, Akaashi, Kenma and I- it’s nothing we can’t help you through. You are you. You laugh at the bad jokes you make and you burn food all the time. You help old people across the street and eat pineapple on pizzas.” Kei laughed. “And Kuroo Tetsurou, I have fallen in love with you.”

The words made Kuroo cry harder, but it was different this time. Kei could swear it. There was a lilt to his sobs, like he was laughing and wailing at the same time. He pressed his ruffled bedhead into the crook of Kei’s shoulder and shook, clinging to the other like a lifeline for so many moments that they blur together.

When Tetsurou finally pulls away, the sky had grown darker and his eyes had gone red around the edges.

“Do you really mean it?” He asked, his voice still heavy with tears.

“Every word.”

Tetsurou’s shaky smile was the confirmation that Kei had done the right thing by telling the truth for a change. It isn’t words Kei has trouble with, really. Nothing pales in comparison to dreaded feelings. The ones he feels for Tetsurou were strong. It didn’t take long to figure out why. Not at all.

“I love you, Kei,” Kuroo said in return, his eyes still holding the little sun kissed flecks of gold from the sunset.

“I love you too, Tetsurou.”

It was in that forgettable park in Japan,after all the tears had been shed that Kei finally realised he wanted nothing more than to wake up in the morning next to Tetsurou, for the rest of his life.

They were both a little broken, everyone was. But Kei was certain that Tetsurou’s imperfections were what made him perfect in his eyes.

He wouldn’t change him, not for the world. He was Kuroo Tetsurou. And he was Kei’s.

Chapter Text

“I kind of feel like… I can finally move on with the rest of my life now.” Tetsurou says out of the blue. His eyes watching the last remainders of the sun dance along the horizon. They were on the last train needed to be back at home, and they were both really starting to feel the exhaustion in every inch of their body.

“Kenma was right about the whole closure thing, then.” Kei mentions, his head lulling to Kuroo’s side. Making the side of his glasses ride up slightly.

Tetsurou hums in agreement. An absentminded expression on his face.

It’s another few minutes before he speaks again. So much time passing that Kei nearly drifts off to the sound of the track of the train switching and clicking.

“I never would have gotten that opportunity without you, Tsukki. I don’t think I would have had the guts to face them alone. I… I want to thank you for that.”

“You were the brave one today, not me, Kuroo. I just gave you a little push. Just like you did with me… It’s what lovers do right?” Kei mumbles, half yawning. Almost not hearing the little sputter Tetsurou lets go of. “Oh yeah.” Kei shifts upwards from his position on Kuroo’s shoulder. His mind reminding him of something important. “I asked dad if we could have your favourite for dinner tonight. I thought you’d need it after today.”

Tetsurou’s heart swells with happiness, with gratefulness, with love.

“It astounds me how much I care for you, Tsukki.”

“Chill, it’s just grilled fish. We were probably just going to eat it tonight anyway. It’s going to be nothing but weird fancy shit for the wedding after that anyway.”

Ah, back to usual.

Kuroo’s smile widens as he pulls the other in with his left arm. “Make fun of me all you want for liking something as bland as mackerel pike. It doesn’t stop the fact that you’re favourite food is strawberry shortcake.”

“That’s a perfectly valid favourite food, it has all the food groups in it and it is delicious.”

“Tell me, Tsukki, what are these food groups you speak of?”

“Sugar, Strawberry, Cake, Cream and happiness.”

“Thought so.”

Kei’s nearly home when he gets a text from Hitoka.

( ✿ ≧ ~ ≦ )

Hey Kei-Ani :D Mom and dad were wondering If Kuroo-San and you wanted to eat dinner with us or alone. They were really worried after you guys left looking so sad. They didn’t want to intrude…   

Kei bit his lip and looked to Kuroo. Would it be insensitive of him to thrust him back into his own family after he’d just broken apart his for good? His eyes scanned over the words, reading them over as he mulled things through in his head.

“I would love to eat dinner with your family.” Tetsurou answers for him, looking over Kei’s shoulder while he squinted his eyes. “It’s nice of them to ask, though. It’s very considerate. I didn’t even think about that.”

Kei jumps out of his own skin, his phone nearly flying off into space. “It’s rude to spy on people’s messages!”

Tetsurou pouts. “Sorry, I saw words and my eyes couldn’t help but read them.”

He wasn’t sorry at all.

“You~!”

( ≖᷆ ︵︣ ≖)

Yes. Kuroo said he would love to eat with you guys. He’s reading this over my shoulder as we speak. He says hi. Will be home soon.

( ✿ ≧~ ≦)

Yay! We can bring out the old photo albums! :D

“Oh God no,” Kei exclaims out loud, his hand covering his mouth.

“Oh God yes,” Tetsurou says even louder, a manic grin on his face. His pointed chin stabbing into the tip of Kei’s shoulder.

“Tadaima*.” Kei calls quietly from the front entrance of his childhood home. Slipping off his sneakers at the door. It was a custom that had never really stopped for him, even when he’d set off for New York.

He hears the tell-tale noises of feet pattering and he can already tell by the light foot falls that it’s definitely not his sure footed father or his bumbling older brother.

“Okaeri*.” Hitoka smiles unsuredly. Scanning the men in front of her. Looking for any kind of tell-tale sign of how they were feeling.

They looked tired, wrung-out- Kuroo’s smile wasn’t as warm as it had been. Kei’s eyes were colder than usual.

It didn’t deter her. She knew those feelings weren’t directed toward her. At least, she hoped they weren’t. After all, Hitoka had quite missed her ‘younger brother’ (it would make Kei scowl to hear her say that.) Alongside his boyfriend, who she was quite certain would become a very good friend to her.

As soon as they notice her at the door. Their expressions warmed to something to more of the norm. No matter how much Kei tried, Hitoka knew that he had a soft spot for her.

Fact #16 Kei Tsukishima was all bark, no bite. All salt, not seasoning. He was like a candy you expected to be sour but turned out to be sweet inside. Deep inside. But nevertheless.

“Dinner’s almost ready. Dad is just finishing up. You still want to eat with us, right?”

Kei feels himself nod, looking to Kuroo for extra confirmation.

Tetsurou claps him on the shoulder. “It would be a pleasure, Hitoka-Chan. I’m really hungry and it smells delicious.”
The positive reply makes Yachi flush prettily.

The three of them hear more footsteps. Much louder, much faster. All of a sudden Tadashi and Akiteru are sliding around the corner with all the gracefulness of baby giraffes.

“Tsukki, Kuroo-San, welcome back.” Yamaguchi smiles, a tuft of his brown hair not stuck in a little ponytail blowing in front of his eyes. He flicks it off with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah, I got sick of having no one to make fun of.” Akiteru grins light-heartedly. Trying to ease the slight tension with his stupid humour.

“Whatever did you do when I was in New York?” Kei chides back, a raise to his eyebrow.

“Dunno. I teased Hitoka for a while about stuff but she’s just too-“ He looks to the blonde girl, his mouth flattening out. “Hitoka.”

“It didn’t stop you from trying.” Hitoka replies, quietly- mild disdain in her voice.

“It did not.” Akiteru chimes proudly.

Tetsurou gasps, “How could you? Kei, we’re taking Hitoka-Chan back to New York with us.”

“No~.” Yamaguch whines, “If you do that, he’ll turn on me next.”

“I don’t think I could ever find something to pick on you for, Yams.” Akiteru replies, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

“Yams?” Tadashi chokes. “I don’t even like yams.”

“I looooove yams.”

Yamaguchi turns pink. Tetsurou and Kei share a glance.

Kei doesn’t know what the fuck is going on with his brother and his best friend. But decides it’s best to just leave it for now. “I think dinner’s ready.” He declares, making his way down the hall into the dining room. Besides, they were adults. They could do whatever they wanted. It wasn’t like they were in a relationship, right?

…Right?

Oh God. Kei gags. Was Akiteru just flirting with Yamaguchi just then?

“Looks like your brother has a Yams and you has a Pineapples.” Kuroo whispers to him, leaning at his side so no one else could hear.

It makes Kei sputter.

“Ah, Kei, Kuroo-Kun, you’re home.” His father notices them as soon as they walk through the hallway. The wooden flooring not leaving much to the imagination. Seijurou Tsukishima holds a frying pan in his right hand and a glass of wine in the other. Kei desperately hoped he didn’t season the chardonnay with salt instead of the fish. It would probably lead to a rather unpleasant surprise.

“Yeah. Sorry for being out so long.” Kei returns, “Tetsurou and I just had something to take care of.”

Kei doesn’t notice his father’s lips quirk at the mention of Kuroo’s first name.

“Nonesense, Kei, dear. We can’t expect to hog you and Kuroo-Kun for the whole time.” Madoka chimes in, a glass of wine at her own lips. “Though I do hope you can brace yourself through all the wedding preparations. It’s going to be a long couple of days.”

“You say it like it’s a hassle.” Seijurou laughs.

“Love is never a hassle, darling.” She returns. “I just wish we could skip right to the good part of the wedding.”

“As do I.”

Kei’s lips curl in disgust. “Ew. Old people. Stop it.”

The words just make the two in front of Kei chuckle. Something that Kei doesn’t feel annoyed as he should be at. Seeing his father smile like that made him well up emotions he’d rather not have. Did he ever smile like that when he was with Kei’s mother? He couldn’t remember. He wouldn’t dare to do it. He’d know what he’d find.

“How many people are coming to the wedding?” Kuroo asks smoothly, keeping the subject light. Well away from where he and Kei had been for the day.

“About 1000.”

“What?!” Kei and Tetsurou exclaim.

“Well, we have many relatives, friends and co-workers. What with all the collaborative projects we have had in the past. It would be rude not to invite everyone.”

“How did I not know this beforehand?”

“We did. But when we start talking about weddings your head automatically just starts playing ‘kokomo’ by the beach boys to drown us out.”

Kei sighs, “Ugh, I’m going to have to socialise.”

“Come on, plenty of our friends have sons your age.” Madoka soothes, “I’m sure they’d be happy to talk to you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid about.” He grumbles.

“I could just tell everyone that you got your tongue cut off in a ninja incident and now I’m your personal body guard.” Kuroo suggests, looking at Tsukishima with the utmost seriousness.

Kei says ‘yes’ the same time both of his parents say ‘no’.

Dinner goes without incident. There’s a constant quiet chatter amongst the table that makes Kei’s chest warm ever so slightly. It was nice to see his family so… together like this. It hadn’t been just Akiteru, his dad and him for a long time now. And for the first time that he’s realised, he’s thankful for it. He’s thankful that all these people that he gazes at night… He’s thankful that they are all in his life.

Even more shockingly so; Kei begins to think of his mother at a time like this. How she was so set on rekindling some kind of relationship between them and yet had expressed no interest in knowing about the others she left behind. Did she even wonder about how Akiteru was going? His father? Did she even care?

These were all questions he’d love to have answered in one fell swoop. But apparently patience was a virtue that was good to have, but hard to obtain.

“I’m so excited for tomorrow.” Hitoka expresses, smiling as she presses a cup of cooling green tea to her lips. “I’ve never been to a western-type wedding before.”

“Yes, it’s definitely good to change it up every once in a while.” Madoka confides. “I’d been to so many of what felt like the same wedding…”

Seijurou nods in agreement.

It had always been a fascination of his father’s. How the east contradict so greatly with the west in factors- but comparable with others. His mother might have been a good example of such a thing.

When her and his father had gotten married. It had been traditional, Japanese. Kei had seen the pictures locked away in a cabinet, forgotten. Her mother had looked so out of place in that colourful uchikake,* so different from the crowd with her blond hair and her complexion. She looked like an outsider.

She probably felt that too.

Maybe that was why this wedding wouldn’t be as such a traditional one. Seijurou didn’t want to have to compare the two of them. He wanted a clean slate. Something completely different.

He wanted change. A new beginning. Another chance at love.

It made sense in a way, but it made Kei’s head hurt a little too much.

“Are you sure you’re not just excited because Kiyoko-San is going to be there, Hitoka?” Akiteru laughs through his tea, watching for a reaction.

He gets one. The blonde girl sputters, her face turning pink. “NO!” She goes silent for a moment. “…Yes.”

“Aha!”

“If you do marry Shimizu-San. It will do wonders for our company, she’s pretty up and coming in her father’s law firm business, so please make an effort.” Seijurou says casually, picking at another slice of mackerel in his bowl.

Hitoka just bangs her head on the table in response. Little grains of white rice sticking to the top of her forehead and hair like glue.

It sends the whole table into hysterics for the next few minutes.

“Tsukki, I’ve decided, we’re staying here forever.” Kuroo sighs, flopping into the mattress with a large thumping sound.

“That might not be our decision. I think my father might hold us here against our will.” Kei replies, sitting down on the bed before lying down right next to Tetsurou.

“They’re just so… nice.”

“They love you.”

“Really?” Tetsurou turns to him, oddly touched. He has an expression on his face that’s hard to place.

“Of course they do. If you can get me, the great Tsukishima Kei, to love you. Then how can anybody in the world not love you?”

 “Showering me with compliments, Ah Tsukki, don’t tempt me to do it.”

“Don’t tempt you to do what?”

Tetsurou’s grin turns mischevious. “This!” He pounces on the man beside him, Tetsurou’s arms resting at either sides of Kei’s head before he leans down and peppers Tsukishima with little kisses on every inch of his face. So much so that the sensation leaves Kei giggling while trying to slap the man away.

Kei’s giggling makes Tetsurou start too and suddenly they’re both a mess of titters and roaring laughter. Showering each other with an affection that Kei never would have known a matter of months ago.

But now it’s something he’s sure he can’t live without.

When Tetsurou smiles down at him like that. It leaves his heart to do erratic things inside his chest. It makes his body react in ways he couldn’t imagine. It makes him feel warm and cold and it makes him feel crazy in the best way possible.

Love.

"Tsukki. I know we haven’t really brought up this subject that much but… Do you think you would consider uh-“ Kuroo flushes, his fingers beginning to fidget. Kei watches from below him with mild amusement. “-When we finally get to a place with more… privacy… Would you want to- You can say no- But would you want to-“

“Yes, Kuroo, I would love to have sex with you.”

Tetsurou goes red, slapping a hand over Kei’s mouth. “Why don’t you just put it on loud speaker for the whole world to hear?!”

“Alright.” Kei smirks, cupping his hands to make a circle around his mouth. “Kuroo, I want to have se-“

He’s tackled before he can utter another word. But it feels like the plan is set in stone.

Well, not really. But at least Kei knows that at some point. Now that they’ve discussed it. It’s not just a ‘what if’ situation. It’s just a ‘when.’

“I’ve heard you sing Celine Dion in the shower. I honestly think that’s more intimate than you shoving something of yours up something of mine.” Kei confides truthfully, Kuroo still on top of him.

Kuroo’s expression turns to horror. “You heard that?”

“I’m pretty sure the whole of New York had heard that... And it was beautiful.”

Tetsurou gets this odd smile on his face that Kei's never seen before. With his eyes half lidded and his head tilted to the side. It such an expression that seems so incredibly intimate that it makes Kei want to kiss him. 

So he does.

Chapter Text

"You know, I've always wondered what it would be like to say 'I object' in the middle of a wedding. I mean, it always happens in movies but in real life... People usually have their shit together before that."

Kei placed a dainty hand over his face, exasperated. “Just keep getting dressed, Kuroo."

"I mean it. Do you think your dad will let me do it tomorrow at the ceremony?" Tetsurou said beyond the confines of the bathroom, where he was getting ready. Kei could only spot a silhouette of the man's hair from the door.

"As much as my dad loves you, I don't think he'd want to marry you."

I’m sure he’s already planning our wedding, though.

Tetsurou scoffed like that was impossible. "Nah, like, I just yell 'I object' and then after just say it was all for a meme."

"Oikawa and Iwaizumi-san are getting married soon. Why not just try then?" Kei resolved, tying his own ridiculous tie. This ceremony of sorts would last another few days- each day requiring him to wear a suit. That, added social interaction with old relatives, made this up to be Kei's literal nightmare.

"Oikawa would totally let me do it- just for the drama, but I’m pretty sure Iwaizumi would kill me."

Kei hummed in response, nodding along, thinking about the situation in his head and then smirking.

"I object!" Tetsurou practiced, clearing his throat. "It's wrong for Iwaizumi to have to hide his arms away from the world for any occasion, ever."

That made Kei laugh as he adjusted his own outfit. "Are you objecting to their marriage or the practicality of suits?"

"Suits! Ties are literally the worst thing in the world." He heard Kuroo sigh. "...Can you please come in here and help me?"

Fact #17: Kei had known about his sexuality for quite some time now, but nothing reaffirmed it like now.

"Holy fuck, I am so gay," Kei breathed, looking at Tetsurou. He'd never seen the man in a suit before- he just might keel over. Kuroo's hair was still as messy as ever, but it added some kind of edge to the outfit. The perfectly fitted suit- the darkest shade of grey before it was classified as black. It accentuated his long muscular legs and his slim frame. Kei honestly thought he was going to die. Kuroo looked to him, a glance to the side with an easy smile- a red tie hanging at his fingertips.

God I wish he'd tie me up with that...

…

…

…

-JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, KEI.

Tetsurou turned when he heard Kei at the door. He was going to reply when his eyes swept over Kei.

And for once, Kuroo Tetsurou was speechless.

"You-" he stuttered, "uh-" he tried again. Tetsurou groaned, scratching his head with a frustrated expression on his face. He couldn't look at Tsukishima without getting flustered again. The soft grey of the suit contrasting so nicely with the black waistcoat and white shirt, the outfit made Kei's legs look longer and the colour in his eyes shimmer. He looked like a tall glass of water and, Jesus Christ, was Tetsurou thirsty.

Finally, Kuroo looked to the tiles in defeat, drilling his socks into the floor. "You will outshine everyone at this wedding, Tsukishima Kei."

The sentiment made Kei smile, a soft blush appearing at his face as he took the tie in Kuroo's hand. "Everyone but you, Kuroo Tetsurou."

Kei made quick work of the silk tie, an expert after being in the spotlight for a while as a child. He could do it with his eyes closed.

"I know I kind of forced you into this but... Thanks for coming with me," Kei confided. "This would have been hell without you."

Tetsurou stilled the hand Kei had been tying his tie to hold it. "I wanted to come, Kei, and I'm glad I did, even if it was difficult for a second there." Kuroo let out a shaky laugh. "I love you."

The words still felt foreign on both of their tongues. It wasn’t something either of them were used to, but it was true and it was honest, and it made Kei's heart thunder whenever he thought about it.

"I love you too."

Tetsurou kissed him for what felt like the hundredth time, but it never stopped feeling special.

"Get a room!" He heard from outside- his brother, no doubt- shouting at them.

Kei sighed, a disappointed look on his face. "This is my room, Akiteru, get the fuck out," he hissed.

"I would love to, but you need to get your asses in the car."

Kei looked at the clock on the wall and his stomach dropped. "Shit."

"Time flies when you're in loooooove," Akiteru teased, a smug grin on his face.

"I wish time would fly in through the window and hit you in the balls," Kei returned, re-shuffling the hair on his head that Kuroo messed up.

"Madoka and dad are already in another car ahead of us, so we should totally stop and get McDonald’s on the way there." Akiteru smiled, motioning for them to follow him. "No doubt it's just gonna be fancy shit for the rest of the couple of the days."

Tetsurou nodded along with him. "Do you think we could get some green tea Kit Kats around there as well? I just remembered a promise I made to my friend."

"Yeah, if we don't get them he might not let us back into America," Kei continued, shuddering at the thought of a disappointed Bokuto. The world would probably implode- at the very least Akaashi would.

After a prompt break of burgers and fulfilled promises, a car consisting of both Tsukishima brothers, Tetsurou, Tadashi, and Hitoka start on the rest of their journey.

"Hitoka-chan you look adorable." Kuroo grinned at her. The girl was wearing a light pink dress, adorned with a white bow around her waist.

The cloth was covered in ruffles. It made her look younger than the twenty years she had behind her, but Yachi herself still looked like a high school student anyhow.

Hitoka flushed as she fumbled for her words, absolutely terrible with compliments. "Mom said it made me look like a cupcake," she exclaimed awkwardly, gesturing at the pink frills.

"Oooh, I bet Kiyoko-san likes cupcakes," Akiteru said, a toothy smirk on his face as he leaned closer.

"Stop teasing her when you’re just as terrible with Yamaguchi," Kei retorted on her behalf. Akiteru turned red.

"Eh?" Yamaguchi squawked, looking down at his own attire. “What did I do?!”

"That's right I'm onto you two," Kei squinted his eyes at his brother and his best friend. "Not as onto as you are on each other evidently but still."

"Tsukki!" Tadashi cried, face in his hands- practically steaming. "Stoooop."

"Fine, fine, I'll stop. Just... don't fuck up- whatever this is," Kei finally relented. "I'm not sure which one I'm supposed to talk to the other about anyway." Kei hadn't the slightest clue of the depth of their relationship. Nor was he one to judge them, he supposed. Hell this could all just be one small thing after all, so why should he be the one to go into it. That would be a pain in the ass. One look from Kuroo and he knew he made the right decision.

Akiteru and Tadashi exchanged glances, smiling at each other, a look that makes Kei feel intrusive for seeing it.

"Oh God." Hitoka sighed. "I'm a fifth wheel!"

The venue was what Kei expected it to be; lavish and huge. A large hall set up for the reception and a garden waiting for them outside- a day early. Tomorrow would be the big day.

It was beautiful, adorned with the most pure white flowers that he’d ever seen. The grass looked disturbingly green- almost fake. This was where Kei would inevitably watch his father get married to another woman that wasn’t his mother. And strangely enough, he was okay with it.

It was much better this way.

The circumstances could have easily been different, however. if not for the interference of his own mother. The accidental appearance had left him shocked. But in the end, Kei wasn’t all that sure what to think- what to say- how to feel. The ring on her finger told him she’d moved on without them, so why would his father wait?

“Akiteru, I need to talk to you,” Kei mumbled as he scoped out the nearest hiding place. He could already see the flood of guests arriving and shudders. “It’s important.”

He had to get this out before they both got distracted. It wasn’t vital. Akiteru didn’t need to know… But she was his mother as well. He had every right to know, right?

Kei wasn’t even all that sure anymore…
The urgency in his voice must have caught Akiteru’s attention, because all of a sudden the easy smile on his older brother’s face sobered into something more neutral.

“Okay.”

Kei waited until he was certain he was out of earshot from anyone.

“I saw mom,” he spilled, not wanting to skirt around the truth for much longer- it would be more painful otherwise.

Akiteru’s eyebrows raised, his mouth agape in shock. “You mean-“

“Yes. Our mom. She was filling in for one of my professors at school and-“

“Did she recognise you?” Akiteru’s voice sounded oddly devoid of emotion. It wasn’t something Kei was used to hearing coming from his brother’s mouth.

“If she hadn’t before, my name on the role did. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.” Kei returned. “She didn’t seem happy to see me at all.”

A sharp intake of breath. Akiteru closed his eyes in thought. “Did she say anything?”

“She did. I- there were words exchanged.” Kei picked his sentence carefully, thinking. He looked to the perfectly manicured grass at his toes. “I lost my cool and screamed at her but she didn’t recoil at all… She seemed upset that I was upset.”

Akiteru’s silence was a cue for Kei to go on. The two weren’t looking at each other.

“There was a ring on her finger. She’d gotten married again. After the initial shock of everything… I think she looked like she genuinely missed me… She gave me her number to get in touch with her when I was ready.”

“…She didn’t ask about me or dad, did she?” Akiteru’s question came out more like a statement, if anything. The coldness in his tone made Kei swallow uncomfortably.

“She didn’t. But I- I’m sure she wants to see you as well. I could give you her number. I have it in my phone.” Kei reached into his pocket, fumbling for his phone.
“No,” His brother interrupted. He wasn’t even looking at him anymore. He already sounded like he made his decision.

He sounded like he made it a very long time ago.

“Kei… It’s fine.” From his voice, Kei didn’t think it was fine at all. “She obviously doesn’t care that much. To tell you the truth, I don’t either… I was older when she left, Kei. I saw the signs but I didn’t want to acknowledge them. I was preparing for her to leave for a long time and when she finally did, I guess that’s when it became apparent to me that she was- never really much of a mother to me. More like a friend, really. Someone to take care of me sometimes. Someone that I’m sure she resented for keeping her imprisoned in a loveless marriage for all these years… It’s not like I’m angry at her or anything. I just-”

“Akiteru…”

“Kei, I don’t want in. Her life is her own- just like mine is. I think it’s better if we stay separated for the rest of it.”

Kei’s jaw hardened, resigned. “It’s your choice. But if you ever-“

“I won’t,” Akiteru declared, hands in the pockets of his dress pants, already walking away. Kei was left outside alone, wondering not for the first time about the depths of his own brother’s heart. Kei was not the only one with emotional scars from this. He just carried differently.

He’d have to respect that.

Kei watched from the hall; watched the people move about for a while after that. He watched people accumulate around their respective tables; all here for his father’s wedding.

For someone so closely related to the guests of honours, you’d expect Kei to recognise more people. But all he could really see was a bunch of vaguely familiar faces- smiling, laughing, drinking wine. It was all mundane, especially for the kind of week Kei has had. It was all leading up to this. But when it all came, it didn’t feel all that significant at all.

The dining hall was beautifully western with large intricate ceiling patterns and gorgeous crystal chandeliers. Platters of food had been laid out for the arriving guests- some that Kei wasn’t even sure he’d ever seen before.

It was all so… formal. So different.

“You look like you’re about to burst a vein.” Tetsurou appeared almost out of thin air, leaning on the other side of Kei, an easy smile on his face. He looked as beautiful as ever in that suit. Even more so when he tilted his head like that. Kei swallowed.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked.

Tsukishima just glanced back at the party. No one had seen him yet, thankfully. Well… everyone except for Kuroo.

“Nothing matters,” Kei said dryly.

The reply didn’t take Kuroo by surprise. His smile just got a little bit larger. He leaned in closer in an endearing fashion and crossed his arms. “Oh, Tsukki. Nothing in this world matters unless you want it to matter. You just gotta pick the right things.”

Kei tilted his head. “How do you do that?”

That, however, did take Tetsurou by surprise. It wiped his grin off of his face.

“Do what?”

“I throw existential shit at you out of nowhere and you- you Kuroo all over it.” Kei furrowed his eyebrow, his unethical wording making him frustrated.

“Is… Is that a bad thing?”
“No, it’s just refreshing, you know? If I said that to anyone else they’d just be like ‘woah there Kei, step the fuck off the edge, you emo shit’ They’d be right, but regardless. I like that about you.”

Fact #18: Kei ABSOLUTELY had an emo phase. Black hair and all. Even now he’s kick-ass at doing eyeliner.

Tetsurou smiled again, it was warmer that time. “Can this emptiness be filled with a kiss from a charming prince?”

Kei rolled his eyes. “Sure. Where is he?”

The answer made Kuroo pout adorably. Kei smiled, quickly ducking around the front of Tetsurou’s face to peck him on the cheek. “All better… And there’s plenty more of that later.” Kei winked at him before finally walking into the room he’d only been staring at minutes ago.

Tetsurou’s hand reached up to touch his cheek, dumbfounded; wondering just how in the hell he’d ended up in Japan. At a wedding. A western wedding. In Japan, with the most amazing person he’d ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Said most amazing person was currently hiding behind the punch bowl, tucking as many mini shortcakes in his trouser pockets as they’ll take before retreating behind a plant, successfully hiding from any relatives trying to talk to him.

Oh, he loved him so much.

Chapter Text

As the night grew older, the music sounded blurrier. The third champagne glass he held in his hand may have had something to do with that, though. Tetsurou yawns surreptitiously, trying not to seem rude- he covers his mouth with his hand. He’d lost Kei earlier on in the night and he wanted nothing more than to grab him and go to sleep.

All in due time though, Kuroo supposed. He would have to wait until his boyfriend was finished being stampeded by old relatives.

He had to admit, It was pretty funny watching Kei’s ultimate changing looks of disdain when he was spotted time and time again. Dragged into conversation after conversation. He was just so noticeable; tall and blonde. It was inescapable, and to Tetsurou, utterly hilarious.

He leans himself on a marble pillar on the side of the room. Right beside the punch bowl. The soft music making his eyes flutter a little.

To keep himself scarce, he begins mumbling the lyrics. The song coming to him like a dream. His soft voice barely loud enough for himself to hear it. It’s enough, apparently. Kuroo’s weariness has been fought off, for now. Tetsurou feels his eyes settle on a small fixture on the side of a window, the slightly cracking side adding character to the room. It looks too forced, like it was on purpose. Strange. It does distract him though, and that’s what’s important.

“Kuroo?” He hears a voice call his name. It’s deep and a little rumbly. Not Kei.

Tetsurou’s eyes focus, his name taking him by surprise. All of a sudden he’s looking at the face of a very surprised man staring at him.

How did he know his name?

Tetsurou squints his eyes. Focusing further at the build of his body. The short brown hair and matching eyes. He’s shorter than Kuroo but looks the same age-

Wait-

“Daichi?” Tetsurou whispers, his eyes going comically wide.

The other laughs warmly, “Ah, its good you remember me. It would be awkward if you didn’t.”

Sawamura Daichi had been a classmate in his extracurricular music class back when Kuroo had been in his first year of high school. Not only that but they went to rival schools and played volleyball against each other... The two had been rather close. Tetsurou had to admit that he always did feel bad for falling out of touch with him after Daichi moved.

“What are you doing here?” Tetsurou asks once more, forgetting his manners for the moment.

Daichi just brushes it off. “I left America after sophomore year to stay with my mom in Japan. Tuition fees over in the states are insane. So I wanted to go to a university in Japan. She’s really good friends with Tsukishima-San so naturally I got invited here as well.”

“It’s a small world.” Kuroo sputters, a smile of disbelief on his face. “It’s good to see someone I know.”

Daichi nods along, making a noise of agreement. “Are you related to the Madoka family? Or…” He trails off, trying to figure Kuroo out.

“I’m actually dating the youngest Tsukishima son.” Tetsurou says, a sheepish smile on his face. “I’m here as his plus one.”

Daichi’s expression is one of shock once more, twice in one night. “You-“

“Ah, Daichi there you are.” Calls a slowly approaching voice.

Suddenly another man joins Daichi. He has extremely light blonde (?) hair that’s neatly parted in the middle and a mole under his eye. He gives Kuroo a warm smile when he sees him.

Daichi looks to the man, his face softens. “Suga.”

“Who’s this?” Suga asks, gesturing to Kuroo, who still looks a little confused about this entire situation- if he was honest with himself.

Daichi sighs, “Sugawara Koushi meet Kuroo Tetsurou- my old friend.” He introduces awkwardly, using both of his hands to gesture at both of the men. “And Kuroo Tetsurou meet Sugawara Koushi- my fiancée.

“Holy shit you’re actually getting married?” Tetsurou exclaims a little too loud. His mental filter being thrown down the drain. “I swear, you were born at the mental age of forty-five so it’s about time. Congratulations.”

Daich scrunches his nose, unimpressed.

Sugawara, however, just erupts with laughter. Clapping Sawamura on the shoulder. “Oh my God he’s totally right.”

Tetsurou decides he likes Suga.

Daichi loosens up a little as Koushi laughs and Tetsurou’s heart warms a little just watching them. All of a sudden however, Sawamura’s gaze turns wide again- as if remembering.

Suga doesn’t notice, taking a sip from his respective glass.

“Wait… You said you’re dating Tsukishima Kei?” Daichi questions, an eyebrow raising. “Tall, blonde, grumpy?”
Koushi spits out his drink. His eyebrows reaching his hairline. “What?!”

“That’s the one.” Tetsurou declares, suspicious. What was with the surprise? He felt almost insulted.

“Well… My mom knows Tsukishima’s dad but… Suga and I were third years at the same high school as Tsukishima back when he was a first year. We were his Senpai.”

Kuroo all but squeals with excitement.

“Oh my God this is awesome. Please tell me everything embarrassing he ever did. I need something to use so he’ll stop teasing me for getting scared in the first Jurassic Park movie.”

Sugawara grins at him. “Oh yes. You are perfect for each other.”

Kuroo really takes the comment to heart. It makes his chest warm as he realises that though it may have been implied. He’d never actually been told that. He and Kei were as different as they were similar. They both loved music, movies, coffee. But Tetsurou liked being loud sometimes, he was more emotional- Kei was quiet and snarky and adorable.

A match made in heaven if Kuroo did say himself.

“Thank you.” Tetsurou says with a far-away smile. Daichi catches it and lets out a whistle.

“You haven’t really changed all that much since high school.” He declares, a nostalgic look on his face.

Kuroo can’t help but find himself agreeing begrudgingly. He was still a hopeless romantic, still sentimental and still about as smooth as crunchy peanut butter.

“I do remember you being a lot less vibrant at school though.” Daichi mentions, to himself mostly a hand at his chin. Looking at Suga. “This guy was a genius, freshman year he just listened to music most of his classes and still beat me.” He still looks a bit upset about that.

Kuroo scratches his head awkwardly.

“Does that remind you of someone, Daichi?” Koushi nudges, a sly smile on his face.

Just as Sawamura’s brown eyes light up in recognition, the ‘someone’ emerges from the crowds to be at Kuroo’s side again.

“What are you two talking about?” Kei asks his two senpai, squinting at them suspiciously. A sparkling glass of what could only be more champagne in his pale hands. He holds onto it in a way that his fingers overlap with each other on both sides. Tetsurou thinks it cute.

“You never told us you had a boyfriend!” Koushi scolds, his pointer finger moving about in reprimand. “Just because he is a wonderful boy doesn’t change anything.”

“Boy?” Kuroo sputters, “We’re like, the same age.”

Kei just sighs, as if he was used to this kind of squabbling. His expression does hold something sentimental about it though. Even if he does deny it.

Fact 19# Kei might have been the tiniest bit excited about seeing his old senpai again… Only a little bit though. He’d never admit it.

Ugh, if Kenma were here, Kei is certain he’d be calling him a ‘tsundere’ right now. And then Kuroo would burst out laughing and agree with him. Sometimes those two had a special language only they could speak. It was admirable, really. Kei had something like that with Yamaguchi- but it was more based on Kei’s constant ‘tch’ and ‘heh’ noises. Somehow it made sense to Tadashi.

He always did appreciate that as well.

“It’s not like you’re my parents.” Kei replies with a lot less fire than he usually would.

Daichi looks him dead in the eyes. No shame at all. “You accidentally called Suga ‘mom’ at training camp. I think that warrants giving us a call every once in a while.”

The blush that reaches Tsukki’s ears feels like fire coursing through his veins.

“I did not!”

Tetsurou’s raucous cackling certainly didn’t help his case.

“This really would have been awkward if we had just been friends.” Kei decides, walking about the room he and Kuroo would be sharing for the next few nights. “My dad’s assumptions were right when I said ‘I was bringing someone’, but god.”

Kei looks upon the room with mild exasperation. The suite right down to the cherry red throw across the white duvet was dripping with the kind of clichéd romantic aura that Kei had only seen in movies he’d hate to admit he enjoyed. The slightly dimmed lighting, the plush cream carpet. The handsome man in a suit by the door way.

Kuroo, seemingly unfazed, kicks off his shoes and begins stripping off his clothes. His bright red tie matching far too well with the rest of the surroundings as he throws it dramatically into the bathroom (presumably.) Tetsurou tousles his hair a little than it already was naturally before he lets his arm fall at his side again. Stilling for a moment. Almost thinking about what he was going to do next. His eyes meet Tsukishima’s and he winks at him.

Kei’s own pupils widen, his mind going a million miles at once. “Wha-What-“

Then the bastard bypasses him and just fucking dives into the overly decorated bed.  

“Aw yessss.” Kuroo’s muffled voice heard only barely by Kei. 

Kei nearly wants to suffocate him with one of the thousand pillows on this god damn bed.

“You’re ridiculous.” Is what he says instead.

Before Kei can realise, Tetsurou’s head pops out from his little cave of comfort. His black hair sticking up like a beacon. His cat eyes squints at him and then without another moment’s hesitation. Kuroo’s legs encircle Kei’s, locking onto the back of his knees as he moves to pull the man on to the bed with his ridiculous legs.

Kei, unprepared, falls right into him. Suit and all into the silky sheets and into Kuroo. All of a sudden Kei is on top of Tetsurou’s their faces just inches from meeting.

Tetsurou grins up at him, his eyes crinkling in a way that Kei could tell he was truly happy.

“What’s on the cards for tonight, my strawberry shortcake?” Kuroo purrs, his eyelashes fluttering about above his dark eyes. Innocent, hardly.

Kei, unamused meets his gaze. “Sleep.”

“Ha?”

“Tetsu, you’re drunk.”

“Am not.” Tetsurou pouts, his point only being proved wrong as he hiccupped and then giggled at the sound of it.

Kei can’t help the fond smile on his face. He kisses the man under him lightly on the tip of his nose. Maybe another night. “You can’t sleep in a suit.”

Kuroo yawns, stretching out his arms. The muscles in his limbs extending, Kei could see every detail of them through Tetsurou’s shirt. “You’re right.” He yawns. “I’m going to sleep NAKED.”

Tsukishima looks at him bemusedly. “Go ahead. Just know that Akiteru’s coming to wake us up tomorrow. And he has a habit of ripping the covers off the bed to get me up in the morning.”

“If I slept naked though, there would be no problem getting you up. Heheh.” Kuroo smirks to himself. Completely out of common sense for the evening, evidently.

Kei sighs in defeat, his body flopping onto Kuroo’s as he nestled his head in the crook of Tetsurou’s shoulder. “That was a good one.”

The high-five he and Tetsurou exchanged next was not Kei’s finest moment.

He can feel Kuroo’s smile as he breathes right beside him. “I love you.” Tetsurou mumbles, his voice slurring ever so slightly. He gives Tsukishima a congratulatory pat on the head.

Not a minute later he’s snoring.

So much for not sleeping in a suit.

“I love you too.” Kei whispers, he knows Tetsurou can’t hear him.

Lo and behold, just as Kei had warned. At around eight in the morning, Tsukishima Akiteru bursts in through the room, his own outfit immaculate alongside his dirty blonde hair. “Wake up sleepyheads!” He cries, prancing over to the bed. “You better not be naked!~”

“Heh,” Kei laughs groggily into the sheets. “Told you.”

Tetsurou snorts.

Akiteru promptly wastes no time ripping off the duvet from the two of them like a magician.  Without hesitation, no mercy.

“Urghhh.” Tetsurou moans, curling in on himself to keep the heat in.

“Get up! The wedding of the century is happening in four hours. If you don’t get your asses down there on time, Madoka will personally mail you back to America in separate little pieces!”

“If it’s a free flight I’ll think I’ll take my chances.” Kei snarks right back, sitting up anyway. He reached blindly for his glasses on the bedside table, the unfamiliar room making it a bit harder to circumnavigate. Hell, the first time he slept at Kuroo’s place he’d nearly fallen of his bed. Kei was almost blind without his glasses. Once Tetsurou found that out he kept calling him Velma from Scooby-doo for two weeks.

Kei got him right back when he finally put on his glasses and looked at the monstrosity that was Kuroo’s actual bedhead.

“Woah, yikes.” Akiteru recoils, looking at the pair of them. Ruffled with dark circles on their eyes. One blind and the other, well-

“Are you sure your hair isn’t sentient, Kuroo-Kun?”

“It’s more sentient than I am right now.” Tetsurou replies back, rubbing his eyes. He sits up more straight and looks down at himself. “Heh, at least I’m already dressed.”

The two Tsukishima brother’s look at him in horror. “No the fuck you’re not.”

“Round two of suits.” Kuroo declares, begrudgingly shedding his old one for yet another. Light grey this time, with a dark blue tie. He’d had to borrow it from Akiteru, meaning it was a little tighter. But it still fit all the same.

It also left Kei malfunctioning.

“At my wedding, I’m just going to wear sweat pants.” Tetsurou continues on, adjusting the sides of his jacket. It seemed he’d gotten a hang of tying ties, to Kei’s disappointment. He watches Tetsurou’s eyes light up in excitement. “We could wear matching tracksuits for our weddi-“

Kuroo stops himself, his once busy hands resting at his sides. He goes redder than the pillows on their hotel room floor. “Uh…”

Kei can feel his heart thundering in his chest. But he keeps his cool. He moves over towards his boyfriend, lightly kissing him on the cheek. “Let’s just get this wedding done with first.”

Tetsurou’s little smile is a small comfort. “Okay.”

The ceremony was outside, the manicured lawns of the venue still fresh with the dew from the morning. A soft violin was playing in the background as guests took their seats. The soft smell of the garden flowers fill the air. Kei feels a swell of nervousness well up inside of him. He would be standing at the very front with Akiteru. Technically making his brother and him his father’s best men, he supposed. Kei wondered if that was because they were his sons or if his father just never really got that close to anyone else, really.

Well, except for two.

Yachi reappears in another dress. Fresh as a daisy and as lovely as ever in a soft orange strapless dress right at the side her mother would soon be at. She gives Kei a smile when she realises he’s looking at her. She looks nervous as well.

Kei wasn’t all that certain what had happened to Hitoka’s father. Just like his own mother it was only ever disclosed very quickly and never again. All he knew about him was that Madoka had run away from him when Hitoka was only three. She’d started a new life for her and her daughter and never looked back. It was admirable really. Madoka was strong but caring. Stern but fair. Tough but very kind.

She was what a mother should have been like. Kei realises numbly.

“This is weird.” Akiteru says beside him, looking off into space. There’s meanings behind the three words that Kei’s not fully sure he comprehends. 

“Yeah.” Kei agrees anyway. “But… It’s okay.”

Fact 20# It was.

“Yeah.”

Kei nods along, for the first time looking out into the crowd. He spots Kuroo easily enough. His black hair not exactly sticking out in colour but in shape. He’s a few rows back but as soon as they meet each other’s eyes. It’s like there’s no one else there.

Is this what Kei’s father felt for Madoka? Is this the kind of feelings that meant you wanted to spend eternity with someone? The thought was terrifyingly daunting- but still… appealing when he imagined Tetsurou there with him.

That in its self was a little scary.

God, why did weddings always make people realise things about themselves? It wasn’t even Kei’s own wedding.

The words Tetsurou had said in the bathroom float back to him from the back of his mind. Did Tetsurou feel the same? Could he see himself with Kei there as well?

Or was he just crazy?

“Come out for some fresh air?”

Kei jumps, the cold night breeze leaving him on edge. The ceremony had gone without any bumps or hitches- or any objections from Kuroo. When the priest had gotten to that point Kei had pointedly stared at Kuroo to see if they’d meet each other’s eyes.

They had. Kei had to try not to laugh in the middle of one of the most important moments in his father’s life. He had succeeded, thankfully.

The night, it seemed, would be ending the same way as the last had. With socialisation and celebration. And Kei was certain that he’d explode if he had to talk about his love life to a distant relative one more time. It was fun to watch them squirm when he admitted that he had a boyfriend, though- but even then that had gotten boring. He just wanted to be alone.

That’s why he’s here now. Alone, leaning on the pure white railing of the gazebo that had been packed with people a few hours ago. Tiny blue tea lights littered the nearby bushes, giving off lights like absent, faraway stars in the sky.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve met my social quota for… life.” Kei smiles, turning to the newly appearing Tetsurou. His suit is slightly more ruffled than the last time but his smile is still warmer than any sweater Kei’s ever loved to wear. “Besides, watching old people dance with each other and get all gooey… it’s kinda gross.”

“Oya? Not a dancer, Kei?” Tetsurou grins, moving to be at Tsukishima’s side. Their shoulder’s brushing ever so slightly. “You seem like the type that would have two left feet.”

“Hmph.” Kei smirks, cocky. Turning to meet Kuroo’s gaze face on. “How much do you want to bet on that?”

“I thought you didn’t want to go back inside.”

Kei nods. “I don’t. We don’t have to.” He grabs Tetsurou’s hands. Pulling him closer until their faces are inches from each other.

Tetsurou makes a mischievous noise in the back of his throat and reciprocates. Wrapping his arms around Tsukki’s waist.

Kei sighs, pulling up his arms to wrap around Kuroo’s neck as they slowly started swaying. The motion coming back to him as easy as riding a bike.

“There’s no music.” Kei mentions idly.

“Nonesense.” Tetsurou declares. “I suppose we need a musician- Oh! That’s me.” He grins, triumphant. “Any requests?”

Kei smiles back, looking at the features on Tetsurou’s face. “Surprise me. You always do.” He doesn’t wait any more time. Slowly swaying to the sound of the fireflies. Kei puts his head on Tetsurou’s shoulder as they move. And then, Tetsurou begins singing. The soft hum of his voice turning to words. Kei feels a jolt as he remembers this was the reason he’d met Kuroo in the first place. His voice. The honey sweet lyrics of a devilish angel that had accidentally come to rescue him.

It was still just as beautiful.

The song isn’t familiar to him but it sounds like home. It sounds like warm sheets and soft rain by the window sill. It sounds like Tetsurou lying there beside him with his guitar, pawing through pages of notes as he hummed.

They move out of time to the song but it feels right, they aren’t trying because they know they’re the only ones in the world here. Outside with the light of the moon, the stars and whatever blue tinted bulbs were in the greenery. Under an old looking shelter of off-white away from the party they were both missing.

Kei melts into him as his eyes close. It was moments like these that didn’t make him uncertain anymore.

He’s the most sure he’s ever been in his entire life.

Chapter Text

Kei really wishes he didn’t have to go back inside.

He wishes he could stay out here with Kuroo for all of eternity underneath the stars. Swaying to the sound of Kuroo’s voice, head on his shoulder.

But alas, if this life was all magic- nothing would be anymore, right?

“Woah, Hitoka-Chan, how many champagnes did you have?” Kuroo laughs, steadying the stumbling girl right in front of him. They’d caught her running into the appetiser table on the way to the dance floor. Bad idea. The mini quiches had gone everywhere.

Hitoka squints at him, looking to her feet, wondering why she’d been stopped. “Two-ty three.” She slurs, trying to shimmy out of Kuroo’s grasps. “M’fine.”

She’s definitely not.

Yachi Hitoka was always a cautious girl, determined but always a little too meek. But now…

She might as well just be another person completely.

“I think it’s time for bed Hitoka,” Kei placates, trying not to laugh. He’d never seen his step-sister this drunk before. There must be something really eating at her for her to get like this. “You’ve had too much to drink.”

The pink flush on her face makes it hard to take her too seriously. “No. Fuck youuuuu. I’m a man on a mission.” She slurs, scrunching her nose at the two of them- her skin almost as bright as her dress.

Kuroo covers his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. It felt like there was a toddler swearing at him- equally hilarious. “And what mission was that exactly?”

Yachi gives him a twitchy glare and points to a raven haired girl standing on the edge of the dance floor. She wears silver framed glasses and a lovely light blue dress that reaches the bottom of her knees. Unmistakeable. A certain realisation passes Kei and he tries harder to stop laughing. Shimizu Kiyoko.

She then looks back to the pair in front of her. “Mission fucking impossible. My poor les-bean heart is in dangerrr.” She sobs into Kuroo’s jacket. “She’s so beautiful. I want to be that mole on her face!”

“I just wanted to go back to the room.” Kei sighs in defeat, looking at Hitoka as she drunkenly cried into Tetsurou’s jacket. Kuroo just stands there, awkwardly patting her back.

Kuroo mouths ‘I know’ before giving him a sympathetic smile. Kei gives him a knowing look. Good things come to those who wait.

God, he was awful.

Hitoka sniffs, “No, just leave me here. Go have the sex- I need another drink.”

Kei and Tetsurou flush. “Uhh…” Kei begins.

“We can’t leave you here, Hitoka-chan just tell us what’s wrong.” Tetsurou finishes, changing the subject.

Hitoka wipes at her eyes. Sobering up the tiniest bit… Maybe. “I was drinking to get my courage up to go ask Shimizu-Senpai to dance with me. But now everything is blurrryyy.”

“Hitoka, that was a bad idea. How come Akiteru didn’t talk you out of this?” Kei puts his hands on his hips. A little bit peeved at his older brother.

“He went off with Yamaguchi,” Yachi hiccups, “I haven’t seen him for a couple of hours…”

“We’re the most supportive sons ever. Both absent at their father’s wedding.” Kei sighs to himself, sarcastic.

He didn’t regret it though. If Kei had to answer the question ‘so… how’s school?’ one more time he’d have to kill himself.

“Ughhh. I wish I had someone to sneak off with!” Hitoka cries, dramatically splaying an arm over her face. “Kuroo-San catch me!” She falls as if she’s going to faint. Tetsurou scrambles to catch her- making sure she didn’t accidentally slip from his grasps.

Drunk Hitoka is a hilarious, yet troublesome Hitoka, apparently.

Just as Kei’s about to suggest Kuroo grab her legs and Kei her arms to forcefully carry her up to bed. He gets a tap on his shoulder.

“あの。。。すみません、仁花ちゃんはだいじょぶですか？*”A women’s voice asks in elegant Japanese, sounding concerned.

Tsukishima turns and sees the very unknowing object in the centre of this ordeal. Kei feels his mind blank. What was he to say? He looks to his step sister. She wasn't exactly okay- but she couldn't tell Kiyoko what she'd been saying beforehand, it would be a disaster. 

“いいです”* Kei placates, glancing out between Hitoka and Kiyoko.

Shimizu still frowns, her eyebrow furrowing her pretty face. “Hitoka-Chan, what’s wrong?” Kiyoko asks In English. She moves closer towards the blonde girl, her eyes still dramatically closed against Kuroo.

“I wanted Shimizu-Senpai to dance with me but now I’m too druuuuunk.” She whines back, unaware of just who she was talking to- she must have been that out of it.

A smile touches Kiyoko’s face it makes the mole on her chin stand out a bit more. It was the kind of expression that made sunflowers grow. “You could have just asked.”

Yachi jumps a mile out of Kuroo’s arms and nearly falls over, with a shriek she faces the girl she’d been dancing around all day- but never dancing with. “Shimizu-Senpai…”

Kei and Tetsurou exchange a glance. “I think our work here is done.” Kuroo smiles, dusting off his hands. “Let’s leave these two alone.”

“Shimizu-San, I can trust you can get Hitoka to bed without our help?” Kei asks, surprised that the girl had reverted to English so easily. Tsukishima had been under the impression that Shimizu hadn’t studied English in high school at all.

Kiyoko nods, “You can rely on me.” She says, her words a little more accented than Kei was used to with his family. He feels like a fool for doubting her. She was the daughter of one of the most extensive law firms in the country. Of course she knew English.

Kei gives her a nod of thanks and turns back to Tetsurou.

“I’m feeling rather tired, Tetsurou.” Kei yawns, stretching out his limbs in a way that he’d hope looked seductive.

Tetsurou’s cheeks heat up, it must have worked. “Ah yes, good sir, I must assist you back to your room.”

“It is a rather cold night… I may need someone to warm me up.”

“Ohohohoh, If you insist, sweetheart.”

Fact 21 #  If flirting was a sport. Tetsurou and Kei would have won gold at the Olympics and still be flirting over who really deserved it.

God, Kei was never like this before- flirting was such an abstract concept that he loathed with a passion. But this playful banter just seemed to come so easy to him when he was with Kuroo. Who was he really?

It wasn't as if he was a different person, Kei was certain of that. He still wasn't fond of people all that much and he'd rather listen to music. But Kuroo was... different. He made Kei feel a different kind of the same thing before that somehow felt so much brighter. Kei felt truly, that Tetsurou could sing any song- even if it was one Kei hated-he'd still listen to it for the longest of times. He'd have it on repeat in his brain for a lifetime, branded into his memory with a sweet slow burn that was as bitter as hot chocolate. 

Kei decided, that no, he hadn't changed, not particularly. It was more that Kuroo brought through parts of him that he'd kept locked away for a long time. Parts that he might have deemed far too lame to be redeemable at a point most likely. 

He does think that now as well, truth be told.

Kei's just found someone that he wants to be a dork with this time. A pair of lovable dweebs on an adventure to be so grossly in love that it destroys other people. 

Amazing.

He loved Kuroo Tetsurou with his whole being and he wouldn't change that for the life of him.

When they arrive back at the room. There's a touch of awkwardness there, more out of nerves than anything Kei's certain. Sure, they were close. Intimate in a way Kei had found unfamiliar before. They weren't virgins, the two of them just hadn't had sex with each other yet. They hadn't gone that far- for some reason Kuroo had always hesitated. He wanted it to be special.

"Uh..." Tetsurou mumbles, scratching his head. "Wanna do it?"

Kei bursts out laughing. "Tetsurou are you twelve?"

The man scrunches his nose, a flush blossoming on his face. "I would hope not. What i'm about to do to you would be very illegal if i were."

"Holy shit. What." 

Tetsurou's composure cracks and he flops face down on the bed. "It's been a while, Kei, i don't even know how to start." He sighs, hopeless- his voice muffling into the mattress. He digs further deep into the cushion-y surface letting out a frustrated groan.

Kei looks at him.

"It depends, are you trying to have sex with me or the mattress?"

"I would like to have sex with you on the mattress."

"Best of both worlds."
"Sick Hannah Montana reference." 

"Kuroo please don't bring up Hannah Montanna right now, we're about to make love for the first time."

Tetsurou giggles. "Sorry."

Kei just smiles, his cuteness was really hard to be mad at. "Just kiss me.” Tetsurou grins from the other side of the bed. Shuffling over to do just as Tsukishima asks.

"That, I can do." Kuroo's face moves closer to his as his hands brush the other's cheeks. Tetsurou's eyes soften when he looks at Kei's eyes- the golden color alight as they stare back at him. Their faces are so close their noses brush together and finally, their lips touch. It's an innocent kiss at first, one with the purest intentions in the world. But it doesn't stay that way for long. It deepens, hungry but slow. It was a devouring kiss. One that held a much more present meaning. 

It was a kiss that promised much more to come. 

"You ready?" Tetsurou asks out of the blue. His nervous smile making him bite his lip. He felt like he was made of fire, burning promptly but pleasant throughout his whole body.

Kei even feels a bit anxious now that it truly was happening. He was insecure- were his legs too long for his body? Was he too bony to even be attractive? Would Kuroo like what he saw after everything? 

He looks to Tetsurou, awaiting his answer so patiently. He was well-intentioned but eager. The first thing he wanted to make sure of was that Kei was comfortable with it. Kei couldn't help but feel loved, insurmountably so. 

"I am."

Love was blind. And so was he without his glasses. It was all in perspective. 

Kei isn't sure who kisses who first but he knows it won't be the last for the rest of the night.

Twilight blends into the darkness and soon enough. The pair aren't sure which part of one of them ends. Entwined into an embrace filled with lust and love. They are together. As one. It's different from the experiences both of them had. It was obvious.

Fact 22# Taking Kuroo to Japan with him was definitely the best decision Kei had ever made.

"Well at least we can say we waited until marriage... just not our marriage." Kei mutters dryly. Looking up at the ceiling dreamily. His head rests lightly on Kuroo's shoulder, comfortably hard muscle as his pillow.

Tetsurou cackles from beside him as his arms wrap him around tighter. A closeness that was more comforting than anything Kei had ever known. 

"That was so gay."

Kei blows air out of his nose in amusement. "Hell fucking yeah it was." He raises his arm to high five Kuroo. Without even looking Tetsurou returns it. That was the pinnacle of a relationship right there.

"Do you think the people next door heard us?" Tetsurou wonders out loud.

"Christ i hope not. Akiteru and Yamaguchi are over there." 

Kuroo can't help but let a mild expression of horror cross his face before a bash on the other side of the wall interrupts him. 

"We can hear you guys. Paper thin walls. You better hope my little brother can walk tomorrow." Akiteru chides, his muffled reproach making the pair flush in embarrassment. 

"Aki~ Leave them alone." They hear Tadashi chide, seemingly flustered as well.

"Yeah, Aki, leave us alone." Kei mocks, smug. Fighting his embarrassment with sarcasm evidently. "Isn't it time for all the old people to go to bed, Big brother?"

"I would already be asleep if you guys STOPPED FUCKING."

"Touché." 

The morning afterwards is not any less special. If the two of them had been back at home, Kuroo probably would have made of breakfast. But since the privacy level was condensed into a couple dozen square metres, it’s not exactly the same.

“Kei wake up, I got a fuckload of choc-chip muffins from the buffet downstairs. Eat as much as you can before we get to the airport. Plane food sucks ass.”

That beat ‘good morning, sweetheart’ by a mile. Taking in the sweet smell of the cake in front of his nose. He yawns, reaching out to fumble for his glasses, blinking to try and focus. Frowning slightly from the effort.

In front of him stands Kuroo in his usual clothing of jeans and a shirt, holding a heaped pile of aforementioned muffins. He looks down at the plate in pride, practically glittering. “This is the best day of my life.” Picking up the food by the top, taking an eager bite.

He draws back, in horror.  

“THIS ISN’T CHOC-CHIP. IT’S BLUEBERRY. ” Tetsurou says tearfully, looking down at the muffin like it personally offended him.

Kei blinks at him, his face a blank canvas. “You’re an idiot.”

Kuroo huffs, indignant. “I’ll have you know I got A’s in every class, I even went to cram school.”

“And you can’t tell what a blueberry looks like?”

Before Tetsurou’s about to retort, they are interrupted by a phone call erupting in his pocket. Buzzing as it lit up in the caller’s name.

Kuroo fishes it out of his jeans, balancing the plate of food on his knee before Kei finally begrudging takes it from him and puts it on the nightstand. Taking one for himself to nibble on as he waited.

“It’s Akaashi.” Tetsurou states, looking down at his phone in mild confusion. “Maybe he’s wondering if we got Bo’s kitkats.” He looks upon the ringing phone for one more moment before he presses answer with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Hey, What’s up Akaashi?” Tetsurou says smoothly, a light smile on his face. “I didn’t expect you to call me.”

Kei can’t hear what the reply- he strains his ears to hear but it doesn’t help anything. He’s as deaf as he is blind right now.

But Tsukishima doesn’t even need to see properly to know that the crooked grin on Kuroo’s face is wiped off in seconds. The expression change is abrupt and wildly concerning.

“What?” Tetsurou’s frowning now, his brows is furrowed. His silvery eyes growing wider and wider by the seconds.

“What’s going on?” Kei asks, the anticipation killing him inside as he watches his boyfriend’s expression go from bad to worse. “What happened?”

“Are you okay?” Kuroo continues, not hearing Kei. His lip quivers.

Kei’s heart clenches in his chest.

How could this morning have gone from laughter and love to such a tense atmosphere?

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Tetsurou says, the last thing before he ends the call with a shaky hand. His expression is unreadable- it eerily reminds Kei of the short time they’d spend with Tetsurou’s parents. It wasn’t a fond memory.

Something terrible must have happened.

“What is it?” Kei repeats him, his eyes frantically searching Kuroo up and down to try and figure it out himself.

Kuroo looks down at the phone for another few moments before finally meeting Tsukishima’s eyes.

“It’s Bokuto. Apparently in the snow a car had skid over to the side walk. Him and Akaashi had gotten hurt- Bo pushed Akaashi out of the way and took most of the damage. He’s in hospital. We need to get home right away.”

Kei can’t form words.

So he just nods.

Chapter Text

Bokuto was the first person to make him laugh after his parents had thrown him out.

It had been pouring down rain, coming in icy sheets, unrelenting, cruel and unconscious of the fact that Tetsurou had been having a bad enough day as it was.

His grandmother had gotten worse. She had trouble remembering more things- she slept more, talked less. It was the way of the world- the old would always perish. But it didn’t change the fact that it hurt. It also didn’t change the fact that Tetsurou felt so useless in all of this. His grandmother already didn’t have much money to begin with- now she was faced with more medication and care prices than ever and no way at all to pay. Not to mention Tetsurou living with her. The guilt curling up on him every time Kuroo though that was engulfing and dark. He knew he needed help. He needed money.

He needed to hang on to the last piece of family that didn’t hate him.

Tetsurou thinks about calling up Kenma again but at the very last minute shuts his phone off. There was nothing his best friend could do for him- all it would do was burden him and Tetsurou was sure of that. They’d just started talking again after Kuroo had fallen off the radar for a couple of months. He’d never heard Kozume so angry.

No, this was a problem that was his own.

Kuroo steps in a particularly deep puddle on the sidewalk. Soaking his foot up to his ankle in freezing cold water. Well, he hoped to god It was water. Grimacing, he couldn’t help but feeling like he was supposed to cry now. He’d travelled an hour out of his way to go in the city. New York City, the city of opportunities, right? He had to try. He had to get money.

He couldn’t just cry over a puddle in the pouring rain, no matter how much he desperately wanted to.

So instead he just shakes his leg of the water and sighs.

“Haha dude, if you think that was just water urine for a big surprise. I saw a dude pissing in there five minutes ago. Nasty.” He hears a voice to the side, not scathing- just highly amused. Kuroo cranes his neck to the right to take a look at his offender. Looking to probably deck him over the head and run away.

His eyes affront him with the most peculiar looking young man he’d ever seen.

Handsome in an odd kind of mystical way. His hair is hilariously spiked black and white- holding up in the rain somehow. He grins at him easily- his golden penny eyes blinking at him. There was an almost an owlish tint to him that was mildly unsettling.

There’s no ill intent in the way this guy stands. He looked proud of himself for making the comment. Like he’d been waiting around for some poor bastard to step into the puddle.

“Were you waiting for someone to step in the puddle just so you could say that?” Tetsurou asks, genuinely curious albeit a bit pissed off. He tilts his head, quickly moving away from the puddle- shaking his leg a little more in disgust.

“Yep. I’m late for work because of it.” The other says truthfully.

Tetsurou can’t help it. He starts laughing. For so long that his stomach hurts- he sounds like a crazy person.

God, it felt like such a nice thing to laugh and really mean it.

The rain hits his back at odd angles, sending chills up his spine but he’s numb to it now.

“That’s pretty fucked up.” Kuroo finally declares, wiping a stray tear from his eye. Not all that sure when it had fallen- or why.

“When you looked my way I thought you were gonna wack me. You looked pretty… pissy.”

Kuroo tries really hard not to laugh again.

He fails.

“Where you headed, bro?” The man asks him. “Hate to keep wherever you’re going waiting.” 

Tetsurou huffs out a sigh, his good mood diminishing. “Out looking for a place that hires singers or guitarists… or poor people.” He left his tragic backstory out. Not wanting to seem too clingy to a man that he’d met a solid thirty seconds ago.

“Holy shit, really?” The man whistles. “I don’t believe my luck.”

Tetsurou squints. “What is it?”

“What’s your name?” The owl questions, his eyes scanning Kuroo up and down like he was examining him but didn’t quite know which way his brain was going at any given time.

“Tetsurou Kuroo.” He supplies, bewildered into a state of compliance.

“Koutarou Bokuto.” The man greets, a pearly white grin on his face now. Kuroo felt like this was his natural resting face. His eyebrows raised and his smile never-fading.

Bokuto nods to himself, putting his hands on his hips- finished deducting evidently. “Come with me.”

“Wait what- I can’t-“ It’s too late Koutarou is already dragging him down the busy pathways of the city, down another two blocks at such a speed that it has Tetsurou panting for air.

The pair of them practically burst through a tiny café- hand in hand. Koutarou still has a silly smile on his face. He looks to the only person inside the joint- the place evidently not having been opened yet.

The younger man wipes down the tables but stops to look.

Bokuto holds up Kuroo’s arm like he was the victor of a wrestling match. “Akaashi I found live music for the café!”

“Bokuto-San what have I told you about kidnapping people?” ‘Akaashi’ turns to Tetsurou. “I’m sorry he’s like this.” He then turns back to his co-worker. “You’re late!”

Koutarou grins at Akaashi sheepishly. “I had a good reason.”

“I think you mean pee-son.” Tetsurou corrects.

“Ayyy.” Koutarou raises his hand for a high five.

Kuroo returns, giving him finger guns.

Akaashi looks at the pair of them with horror. “Jesus Christ there’s two of them now.” He thinks as he feels dread pooling in his stomach.

“Well,” The youngest puts his hands on his hips, consoling himself. Giving Kuroo a questioning gaze. “Can he sing?”

Tetsurou gapes, “Wait you actually want to hear me?”

It’s a good thing Tetsurou Kuroo has the voice of an angel.

Keiji and Koutarou’s job offer couldn’t have come at a better time. It had been a light when everything else felt darker. Bokuto had helped him more than he could help himself. Out of sheer kindness, when he didn’t have to… He’d practically saved him. In the most ‘Bokuto’ fashion as well.

Bokuto didn’t ask questions. Kuroo didn’t answer when he didn’t want to. He was a person he could laugh with. And at that point and time of his life.

Tetsurou needed that.

He needs it now as well.

“Tetsurou?” Kei’s voice brings him back to the present. One that’s crumbling before his eyes. He notices his hands shaking but he doesn’t feel much of anything at all.  He tries to snap out of it- lifting his gaze to meet Tsukishima’s worried eyes.

“Look at me, Tetsurou.” Kei says calmly, quietly. His hands raise and Kuroo feels hands at his face. The world stops spinning a little bit. “We need to go.”

“Your parents-“

“They’ll understand. I’ll see them downstairs and explain everything in a second. You just get changed and get ready.” Kei assures, already moving away from him. He throws open his suitcases and begins piling things in them- no particular order of neatness in it at all.

Not like Tsukki.

The shock must be getting to him as well.

Tetsurou feels himself nod, dawdling around the room. Following the motions of packing his own bags. It goes by like a blur as his mind whirs around him.

“When you and Tsukishima get back from Japan- I was thinking…” Bokuto trails off, uncharacteristically quiet. His eyes meet the ground.

It was just he and Kuroo there, packing away chairs and cleaning tables for the night.

“I was thinking of-“Koutarou gulps, swiping at the timber with a rag. “I was thinking of p-proposing to Keiji.”

Tetsurou nearly drops the chair he’s holding. “Kou! That’s great! It’s about time!” He smiles wide at his friend. He moves over to his friend, giving the man a heavy pat on the back.

Bokuto gives him a sheepish grin back at him. His mouth twitches with nervousness.  “I’m worried he’ll say no.”

Tetsurou tilts his head, raising his eyebrows- incredulous. “Akaashi saying no to marrying you is the day that the sky falls from the sky.”

“You really think so?”

“If I say yes I get to be your best man, right?”

Bokuto’s finally grinning again- open wide and free. Back to his usual self. “Of course, dude.”

Kuroo’s so overwhelmed with happiness for his friend that he pulls Bokuto in to a hug. It’s a strong hug that almost crushed both of them- but their smiles don’t waver.

 Kuroo’s eyes waver on the white lilies at the front desk at the airport. They glint romantically from the second hand sunlight they receive through the window. He remembers the fresh flowers Bokuto brought in for Akaashi every so often. He thinks of the sunflowers he brought for Tsukishima. Flowers were such a universal gift for love, for affection. Yet all they truly were were colourful beings sprouting up from dirt that humans found to be beautiful. We plucked them from their home so easily- knowing full well that they would die because of it.

Flowers weren’t permanent. But what they represent should be. Love is eternal. It is immortal. Flowers aren’t.

Rocks were immortal. They didn’t move. They didn’t do shit. They were unchanging and they were solid.

Flowers deteriorated- meaning they were a horrible symbol for a person’s hopeful relationship. Unless of course they weren’t meaning for it to last.

God, when had Kuroo gotten so cynical? Tsukishima must have rubbed off on him.

“Kuroo you should try to eat something… remember you said ‘plane food sucks ass’?” Kei speaks to him, but his voice is quiet- muffled even. Like he was speaking to Tetsurou through a thin glass window.

Tetsurou nods towards him, “I’m not hungry.” He decides. He’s not much of anything right now.

Kei frowns, “Kuroo-“ He puts a hand on his shoulder.

Kuroo flinches it away, shaking away the touch. “Don’t.” He snaps, his voice is dangerously low- and so emotionless.

Tsukishima draws back, visibly wounded. But doesn’t retaliate. He rests his arm on his lap and doesn’t move it again. He resigns himself to stare at the carpet under his shoes.

There’s guilt in the pit of Kuroo’s stomach but he pushes it down for now- numbing it with the rest of his feelings.

Kei gets up a few minutes later. He doesn’t tell Kuroo where he’s going- Kuroo doesn’t ask. He just keeps staring at the lilies on the desk as they wait for the plane that will take them back home. It’s early in the morning but the airport is buzzing with people commuting to god knows where. Some wear suits, some gaudy holiday outfits. If it were a different situation, Tetsurou was certain he’d be trying to analyse their life stories with Kei.

Instead he just waits for something to happen. He doesn’t try to talk to Akaashi again, he’s afraid of what he’s going to say to him next. If he’s gotten worse- if he’s already-

Kuroo doesn’t realise how hard he’s gripping the armrests on his chair until Tsukishima appears before him again. Tentatively, Kei places his hand on Kuroo’s left. Not forgetting what had happened last time- but not particularly caring.

Tetsurou relaxes slightly.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbles tiredly, he’s not looking at Kei, he’s staring ahead- but from the corner of his eye he can see Kei frown again.

“What for?”

“For- being like this.” Kuroo gestures to himself vaguely, wondering if he’d gotten his point across.

“I’m worried about you.” Kei confides, still frowning. “You shouldn’t be sorry. You should be looking forward to the look on Bokuto’s face when he sees you again with his kitkats.”

Kei pushes something into Kuroo hand. It’s a piece of chocolate with strawberry filling. He has the other half and is gnawing on it nervously.

Tetsurou wears a sad smile on his face as a single tear drips down from his face onto his shirt. He fiddles with the food in his hand. “Since when were you the optimistic one?”

Kei tilts his head endearingly as his eyes squint. “Someone has to be, Tetsu.”

Kuroo sighs shakily, the tears showing more in his breaths than his eyes. Without another word he presses his head against Kei’s shoulder and waits for the next step.

Kei doesn’t stop stroking his hair until they begin to board the plain- but he never lets go of Tetsurou’s hand.

The flight is far more tense than their original departure. Kuroo doesn’t sleep and nor does Tsukishima. They just sit in their seats, checking their phones at times. Tetsurou finds a notebook in his bag and begins writing things down. His thoughts, his feelings.  Kei looks over his shoulder at times, reading over what he’d written. But he doesn’t say anything about it.

Coping mechanisms were different with everyone, it seemed. Kuroo must like to keep his hands busy- he must need a distraction to stop him from overthinking. It would explain the adamant gaze on the flowers- the long stares into nothingness on the train home from his parent’s house. The numbness. Tsukishima understood now that at those times he just needed to be left alone for the moment. He would come back in his own time.

Kei understood because he was like that too.

It’s not a question on where their destination would be when they finally landed back in New York. Jet lagged or not- their goal was set the moment Kuroo had gotten that phone call.

The hospital. As soon as possible.

If Kei had thought the plane ride was tense, then he would be wrong. It was a cake walk compared to the anxiousness quelling in his stomach the moment they rounded the corner to see a big grey building with a cross on the front of it. The fact that Kei and Tetsurou had seen it right in front of them somehow made the situation more real. Less like a terrible nightmare.

It makes Kuroo’s heart seize in his chest and he absentmindedly grabs at his shirt to see if he could feel it from the outside. He couldn’t.

“Let’s go.” Kuroo swallows, his eyes forward. Looking into the windows of the building, for some strange reason. He thought he’d be able to already see Koutarou on one of the beds by the window. He couldn’t.

Kei does all the talking at the from desk. Kuroo’s too busy looking around the space in anticipation of what will come next. He disappears out of Kei’s site momentarily, a matter of minutes crossing between them and Kei feels a well of panic rising up within him. Where had he snuck off to?
Tetsurou appears not a minute later with a bunch of pale white flowers in his hand and a frown on his face. They were lilies, just like the ones that he’d seen in Japan. An odd choice for Kuroo. Kei knew how much he loved colourful things- to see him with something so colourless and dull was off-putting to say the least.

“Can we go see him?” Kuroo asks, not paying attention to the deepening lines in Kei’s frown.

“We can.”

They see Akaashi first, he’s sitting outside the door on one of the hard plastic chairs that always hurt your back no matter how little time you sat on them. He’s hunched down in a matter so uncharacteristic for him that Tetsurou has to do a double take to make sure it’s actually him there.

Keiji’s arm is in a sling with canvas wrapped around his wrist. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a while and his perfectly styled hair is in shambles for the moment. He has his head in his hands and his heart on his sleeve. He doesn’t hear them approach and they have to say his name to get him to look up.

“Akaashi.” Kei says first, quiet.

Keiji looks up, his gaze neutral. It was the same as ever but it felt so… wrong. Like it was forced.

“You’re here.” He states, “I’m sorry- I shouldn’t have interupte-“

“Don’t be ridiculous, Akaashi.” Tetsurou chides, his eyebrows are furrowed as if he were angry. But the catch in his voice betrays his true feelings. “…How is he?”

Keiji takes a deep breath, looking at the two.

“He woke up a couple of hours ago. The doctors said he should be fine but his ribs are broken and his legs are fractured- it’s going to take a while to recover.”

Kuroo can’t help but feel relieved over the very fact that his best friend had survived. That, in its self was enough to make him want to cry.

Keiji hadn’t finished talking.

“When it had happened. We were walking down the streets, I hadn’t even seen the car- I was closest to the road but Koutarou had seen it. He’d pushed me out of the way and- and he got hit.” Akaashi’s staring off into space- it’s haunting. “He hit the concrete so fast…” He breathes, his eyes widening as if it was right there in front of him. He inhales, shaky. “There was so much blood.” He sniffles. Kei notices the familiar shimmer of wetness in Keiji’s eyes and it unnerves him to an extent that he feels like he’s going to cry as well.

Akaashi didn’t seem like the one to cry over trivial things- he didn’t seem like one to cry ever. So seeing him like this was just so-

Terrifying.

“I could have lost him.” He whispers, so quiet that the pair before him almost couldn’t hear him. Akaashi doesn’t look at them- he just drags his legs up and hugs them to his chest.

Kei can’t help it. He hates seeing Akaashi like this. His friend. A person that he’s always seen as immovable and calm. Losing it completely. He hates it.

Without knowing what to do next- but knowing he couldn’t look at Keiji anymore. Kei notices how he steps forward and wraps his arms around Akaashi. Hugging him close to his chest as he cried. Keiji seems shocked at first, his quivering breaths shuddering a bit harsher at first. But then he leans into the touch. Resting his chin on Tsukki’s shoulder.

He’d needed someone to hug for a while now.

Kuroo just watches in stunned silence as the two most ‘non-hug people’ in the world hug each other as if it was the most natural thing ever.

And then he joins them.

He wanted a hug too.

The three of them stay like that, embraced for a matter of minutes until Akaashi’s whimpers quelled. It was a moment that would be with them forever.

Kei was oddly okay with it.

Having multiple friends was a new thing that came to him as he left the proverbial nest of his home. He’d always had people he looked up to, associates, friendly acquaintances- Yamaguchi. But never multiple people who he would call all of them friends.

But this closeness he felt- it came to him so naturally it was as if it had always been there, all along.

Akaashi sniffles, seemingly done with his bout of overcoming emotion. He wipes at his eyes and composes himself once more, the best he could. The rings around his eyes still blaringly red- all of their eyes were probably like that.

“He’s probably awake again now if you want to see him.” His voice is hoarse, it sounds clogged and he averts his gaze once more. But Keiji looks nothing but grateful for the love he’d just received from his friends.

Kuroo just felt bad he went to go through this alone at the start.

Tetsurou doesn’t wait anymore- after given the permission. The unwritten word of Keiji. He took it as gospel and practically burst through the door. Soon following Akaashi and Kei… It was as if he were ripping off a band aid.

He stifles a gasp.

His hair is hilariously spiked black and white- holding up in the rain somehow.

Bokuto lies there. His shocks of hair flat against his face, completely down from its ridiculous up do. It’s jarring. He’d never really seen Koutarou’s hair like that. He’d always had it put together ever since Kuroo has known him. His bangs reach the tip of his nose, tinted the light colour of silvery white- the hair nearly covers his eyes.

His eyes.

There was an almost an owlish tint to him that was mildly unsettling.

Black, bruised rings around them like he’d just been in a fight. The golden aviary pupils being encircled with purple like the contrast between the night sky and the sun.

The rest of his body is hidden under the sheets. Presumably held with slim casts on his legs and his chest. His arms rest limply on the middle, fidgeting away at his fingernails until he hears the door open.

He looks so pale against those sheets…

“Bo…”

Kuroo’s afraid of what he’s going to say. Has this incident scarred him? Would he ever be the same? What was going through his head as he’d thrown Akaashi out of the way to save him?

Would Bokuto still be Bokuto?

Koutarou looks bewildered upon seeing his friend here. His mouth hangs open awkwardly and the gold in his eyes grows to the majority.

He doesn’t really know what to say. Bokuto chuckles uncomfortably to himself. Not liking the serious situation at hand one bit.

“So...” He claps his hands together. “How was Japan?”

Tetsurou meets his question with a blank stare.

The room was stunned into shocked silence. The question was just so utterly Bokuto… But it had blind sided everyone. Even in a situation such as this-

Oh, Koutarou.

“It was alright.”

Bokuto grins at Kuroo’s answer.

“What about you, anything much happen here?” Tetsurou asks.

“Nah.” Koutarou decides, waving the question off. “Same old same old.”

What the fuck. Kei’s so confused about this situation that he’s having trouble getting out of his own head to actually listen. Kuroo had been agonising the entire day about Bokuto and now… now this?

Kuroo looks to Bokuto and vice versa. They stare and smile at each other for such a long time Kei wonders if he’s actually frozen the world in a space.

But then Tetsurou blinks. “I’m so glad you’re going to be okay.” He says, so silently- yet so warmly that it makes the cold room light up. There’s more emotion in those words than Kei’s certain he has in his entire body.

Koutarou brushes it off. “Nothing can kill this beast.” He beams, winking at Keiji. “I’m your knight in shining armour.”

“Next time please remember the armour, Bokuto-San.” Akaashi replies grimly.

“You guys… don’t look at me like that.” Koutarou whines.

“Like what?” Kei asks, it’s the first thing he’s said since he entered the room.

“Like I’m some kind of breakable toy. I’m Koutarou Bokuto! I have the durability and strength of a Nokia phone from 2005. I’m surprised I didn’t break the car with my killer body!”

It’s a strange attribute that some people have. To make a room light up with laughter so easily.

Bokuto is one of those people.

He’s what everyone needed right then.

Chapter Text

Fact 23# Hospitals were always a depressing place.

No matter how glad Kuroo and he were that Bokuto was well enough to still crack jokes. The pale white sheets against his bandages dwarfing him in light. It made him look like a ghostly angel that kept asking for food.

“I have no fucking idea how they managed to make coffee taste like ass and mud at the same time. But it blends so well with the Spongebob bland sandwich they served with it that I’ll just have to ask.” Bokuto grumbles throwing the bread down onto his plate like a petulant child. He stuck his nose in the air and frowned. Koutarou was only ever like this when he was grumpy and hungry. A terrible concoction that made him revert even further back on the aging scale.

“I know they’ll never ever be as good as your drinks and sandwiches, Bokuto-San, but you have to eat something.” Akaashi reasons with him nonchalantly, his composed expression leading Kei to believe he was feeling much better after his episode outside of the man’s room.

Bokuto just pouts, crossing his arms. Not taking the bait. “I’m not hungry.”

Keiji stares at him, not having any of it. “Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

“Mhm, is that so?”

Kuroo frowns at the pair of them before turning to Koutarou. “Kenma’s coming in about ten minutes with Thai food.”

Koutarou slinks back into his pillows. “Oh thank fuck I was starving.”

Kei feels the back of his mind light up with realisation. His eyes opening a fraction wider. “I brought dessert.” He mentions, reaching for his bag.

Bokuto rubs his hands together licking his lips with a sultry gaze. “Ohohoh?”

Kei curls his nose at the expression. “You’re gross.”

Koutarou pokes his tongue out at him. “I’m sure you would have liked it if Kuroo did it at you.”

Tsukishima reddens and returns his full attention to rifling through the bag for the aforementioned snacks. He says nothing because he has no retort. Koutarou was absolutely right and Kei hated him a bit for that.

Tetsurou smacks his friend over the head lightly with the newspaper. “You’re correct, it’s his favourite face of mine.”

And to think Kei thought Kuroo had come to his defence. “You suck.” He jests, frowning at the pair of them smirking at each other. It seemed nothing would ever the shake the two of them from being great friends. They could part for years and they’d still be the same. Something terrible could happen to one of them and they’d still crack jokes with each other. Case and point.

“Not for free.” Kuroo declares and then winks at him.

Kei stands, throwing a bag onto the bed. “There’s your payment.” A large bag of green tea KitKats, all separately packaged into sticks of two. There had to be about fifty in there.

Bokuto lets out a large whoop in excitement. He practically starts vibrating. His golden eyes are vibrant against the fluorescent light. “I love you Tsukki, be my bride.”

Kuroo giggles at his excitement. “Ha, gaaay.” He croons swiping the bag and picking a chocolate for himself before Bokuto can take any.

“No shit, Sherlock.” Koutarou quips, reaching out to grab the food. Kuroo dangles it just out of his reach.

Bokuto scrunches his nose. “You’re a dick.”

“You are what you eat.” Kei replies, enjoying the bewildered expression on Kuroo’s face. He even throws in a coy wink for good measure.

Tetsurou practically has steam coming out of his ears and he covers his mouth. Typical. Tetsurou could say as many sexual things as he wanted without being all that fazed. But the moment it’s directed at him instead. He turns into a mess.

Bokuto smirks, “You two are perfect together.”

Tetsurou’s warm smile is enough of a noise of agreement. Feeling sheepish, he throws the man on the bed a chocolate while opening one for himself as well.

“Those were for dessert.” Tsukki scolds.

“You’ll spoil your dinner.” Akaashi adds, putting his hand in the bag and picking out a sweet for himself as well. “Very irresponsible.” He chides, biting the chocolate in half- the wrong way. Like a fucking animal.

“That’s not how you’re supposed to eat it!” Koutarou shrieks, horrified.

“What?” Keiji chews, his eyebrows raising at the group’s reaction. “This is how I always eat them.”
This only illicit another round of horrified gasps from the rest of the room.

Kenma soon arrives afterwards, a plastic bag brimming with aromatic smelling takeout. “You have no idea how hard it was to get this in here.” He labours, looking haunted.

“We appreciate your sacrifice.” Kei smiles as he’s handed a contained of what looked to be satay chicken.

Despite their location in the hospital. Despite the constant sounds of beeping and rushing footsteps. Kei doesn’t mind the space he’s in right now. The sound of his friend’s laughter drown it all out. The smell of heavenly warm food gets rid of the antiseptic aroma all about. And Bokuto’s toothy grin makes him look as if he wasn’t ever injured at all. It’s an unlikely group of friends. Kei’s infiltrated through the group within a matter of months despite all of their intricate histories between each other. They’ve accepted him as their own with a laugh and a smile.  It’s something Kei had never wanted before. But now that he’d landed here, with a group of loud, obscure friends...

He wouldn’t trade anything for it.

The beginning of Kei’s first winter in New York had started off in a lonely pile of snow.

Now with winter long gone- they were chasing the tale of summer. Six months- half a year and so much had changed- for the better.

His father was happy. He’d found someone. He’d found someone Kei actually thought well of.

His brother was happy. He’d found- he’d found Kei’s best friend. That was still going to be hard to figure out. Regardless, Kei couldn’t say he didn’t like his brother’s boyfriend nor could he say he didn’t like his best friend’s boyfriend. That would certainly be uncomfortable.

His mother-

Now that was a concept he’d really have to wrap his head around. Now that he was back in New York- there wasn’t anything holding him back from talking to her again. The only thing was himself. God knows six months ago he wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of speaking to her again.

But a lot has changed. He’s seen and heard a lot more stories that make him think about giving her another chance.

He resolves to call her when he gets home to set a date to speak to her in person again. Whether it be the last time or the first of many- that would be undecided. But it was a start at least.

It was the most he could take now.

“A penny for your thoughts, Kei?” Kuroo asks, looking at him from the corner of his eye as he drives. Home for the both of them sounded amazing right now. Kei idly wonders if that meant he would be going to his apartment or Kuroo’s. It was even more striking when he realised it didn’t particularly matter which one to him.

He then realises that Kuroo’s waiting for an answer and snaps back to reality.

“Uh… Just thinking about my mom.” Kei finishes lamely. His indignant expression causing Tetsurou to frown.

“You don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, Tsukki. If this is out of obligation- I- well, I just don’t want you to think that I was guilting you into reconnecting with her. I just…“ Kuroo realises he’s rambling and cuts himself off. “You get to make the decision what you do. But that’s kind of a loaded statement since you’ve seen all the biased shit going on with me.”

“No, I-“ Kei mutters, “I feel like I should- no- I feel like I want to see her… But I want you to come with me.”

A smile tinges at Tetsurou’s lips. “Then we shall, my dear.”

“Stupendous, darling.” Kei returns, not exactly hating the nickname rolling off his tongue as much as he thought he would. Dammit.

“Can we stop for slurpies before we go home?” Kenma asks from the backseat, not taking his eyes off his phone. Even so, Kei could tell he was rolling in his eyes.

“Fuck!” Kuroo yells in surprise. “I forgot you were-“

“In here?” Kozume answers for him. “Yeah, who do you think brought your car? Anyway, blue raspberry please, make it a large… At the rate you guys are going maybe get some condoms as well.” Unfazed and blunt as ever. God, Kei had missed Kenma.

Tetsurou definitely didn’t at the moment. His ears turn red and he nearly misses the turn towards their apartment.

Half an hour and two (2) large blue raspberry slushies and one (1) strawberry later. The trio of friends arrive back at Kuroo and Kenma’s apartment. Suitcases clogging up the hallway- the place has a distinct smell of a pizza and takeout perfuming across the place.

Tetsurou scrunches up his nose in disgust. “You ate nothing but takeout the entire time I was gone, didn’t you?”

Kenma meets his accusing tone with a neutral expression. “Don’t be absurd. I had potato chips as well.”

“I know you don’t have to leave the apartment for your job- but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go outside sometimes.” Kuroo scolds, hands on his hips. Like a mother hen.

It took Kei two whole months to figure just what in the fuck Kenma did to make enough money to rent half a pretty decent apartment in New York City. His friends were all within the hospitality industry but there was no way Kei could imagine Kozume in a bartender get up for the life of him.

Turns out it was nothing like that. Kenma Kozume was a game designer. Which made complete sense, really. The boy did nothing but play games most days. What really surprised Kei was the kinds of games he made;

“Tsukishima, you ever heard of the game Kira Kira Doki Doki Boy’s love Maid Café?”

“If I ever admitted I did, I would have to kill you and then myself.”

“So is that a yes?”

“…Yamaguchi had some weird shit in his room.”

Fact 24# He may have spent a few drunken nights playing it with him before he’d left for America. Kei swore by the white haired neko boy with the bow tie. No one else could compare.

Tetsurou, seemingly exasperated with his room mate, flops down ungracefully onto the couch. Kenma waves him off, slinking back to his room as he slurps on his drink. “It’s nice to be home, though.” Kuroo decides, looking up at the ceiling with a faraway expression. “Even though I had some of the best moments in my life over in Japan.”

“Mhm?” Kei’s eyebrows raise in interest. “It was so chaotic, you really had a lot of fun?”

Kuroo rises from his position, tilting his head in the feline way he had seemed to master a very long time ago. “You told me you loved me for the first time, Kei, even if it had been the worst vacation in the world, it would still be my favourite.”

Tsukishima feels his cheeks heat up. “Stop it.” God that was such a Kuroo thing to say, he hated it.

But he loved him for saying it.

“Do you think she’ll show up?” Kei frowns, looking at the time at his phone. He sat in a café (that was not Fukuro- it had been closed while Bokuto recovered. Akaashi refused to leave his side.) Bokuto would be calling him a traitor until Kei told him his coffee was better anyway.

“Of course she will.” Kuroo replies with an easy smile. “She’s your mother.”

Kei’s expression doesn’t budge, he takes another tentative sip of his drink before placing it down on the dark wooden table.

“Didn’t seem to mean much to her in the first place.” He mentions idly, wiping away the ring that the mug had made on the timber. He felt overwhelmed with his family of current. Kei had just finished getting off the phone with Akiteru. Apparently they were all coming to visit them in the autumn. This was great, really, Kei really thought it was good they were making an effort to see him. But God, were they implying they were going to all stay in Kei’s shitty old apartment?

“Just give her a chance, just one. If she gets here and she pisses you off we can leave straight away. Hell, I princess carry you out of here if you so desire.”

Kei had been worried about his father being mad at him for leaving so suddenly. But all the man had asked was if Bokuto was okay and if they’d made it home safe. It was heartwarming and it make Kei smile. He’s sure if they moved things around they’d all fight in his tiny living space just fine…

“Might have to hold you to that.” Kei lets the edges of his lips quirk up. He fiddles with the hem of his sweater sleeves, his bitten nails not doing much damage at all.

Well, it wasn’t his sweater actually. Admittedly, Kei had rather haphazardly discarded his previous night’s clothes at Kuroo’s place. And though he now kept a small collection of his clothes over there (Vice versa for Kuroo at Tsukishima’s place alongside that.) He’d run out of shirts that were clean. Kei had been certain Tetsurou wouldn’t mind. So when he’d approached the man at breakfast in a light red sweater that was a bit too big for his skinnier frame. Kuroo had gotten so distracted he’d started cracking eggs into the kettle and pouring coffee into his cereal. 

He’d deny it though. ‘Haven’t you ever heard of coffee cereal, Tsukki?’ he’d mumbled, stomaching a mouthful of expresso and cornflakes. His grimace decreed that he hadn’t heard of it either.

The sound of the door chiming with a new customer makes Kei’s chest seize with anxiety once more. He sees her blonde head before she sees him-he has a moment to compose himself.

He still wasn’t all that used to seeing her again. The last time had been such a shock- but now it was of his own volition and still-

He still wasn’t prepared enough.

Kei watches as her eyes widen when she looks his way. She smiles at him and makes her way over to the table immediately afterwards.

“Kei, Kuroo.” She greets, the smile on her face twitches with emotion. “I’m so happy to see you.” She looks almost teary, the way she holds herself makes her look as anxious as Kei felt.

Kei only nods, gesturing to the seat opposite himself and Kuroo. It was almost as if it were a job interview set up.

She takes the chair, looking pleased at the peace offering. “I want to know everything about what’s happened in your life for the past years, Kei. I want to know what you’re studying, who your friends are- how nice of a man your boyfriend is. Tell me it all.”

Blunt as ever, it appeared. No small talk necessary. Kuroo nearly spits out his hot chocolate from surprise.

Kei wasn’t sure if he’d gotten it off his mother or father. Perhaps it was a bit of both of them.

Kei meets her gaze. “You first,” He challenges. Not entirely hostile- but pretty shy from actual friendliness. “I want more answers than what I received that day.”

“That’s understandable.” She folds her arms across the table, leaning in. She was unchallenged but compliant. Her blonde hair fell in a fan across the side of her face- unlike the day she taught Kei’s class. It was up in a ponytail to the side- like the way she wore it when she was cooking. The only differences were the mere wrinkles now littering the sides of her face.

Kei wonders if the hairstyle was on purpose. Like it would jog his memory to a time where he was far more fond of his mother.

“Dad pretty much pretended you were dead after you left.” Kei informs, hesitant on whether he should actually be sharing this information or not. “So I never got to ask so many things- I only got to think and overthink and assume. I want the truth. I want to know the whole story about how you and dad met, why you got married- and why you left without saying a word to your children.” Kei doesn’t say it with as much animosity as he expects himself to. It’s more quiet, accusing- but it still makes the woman before him swallow uncomfortably.

“If I must.” She places her hands in her lap and sits up straighter, preparing herself. “I’ll start from the beginning.”

‘What about the children, Anna? Will you just abandon them too?’

‘Don’t pull that, you know I never wanted them.’

“I had been studying at university in Japan. I couldn’t have been much older than you are now... Seijurou and I had met at a party. A friend of a friend of a friends something like that. I was 18 he was 24, I was in a foreign country with a firm grasp of the language- I’d had nothing to lose. I’d moved to get away from my parents, my life- the world that had surrounded me. And there he stood, so tall and handsome with the most peculiar expression on his face. It was like he’d never seen a girl before. He was in this prickly suit and looked lost under the dimmed lights of the party. I thought he looked cute so I started to speak to him with rapid fire Japanese like a professional. He’d been very impressed, but I was even more shocked when he’d started replying back with English. After a while we’d started dating, we’d have this quirk to our relationship where we’d speak half in Japanese half in English and I’m certain no one else would understand at all what we were saying.” She laughs hollowly, fond of a long forgotten memory.

“After a few months of dating, I found out I was pregnant.” The smile on her lips fades, “I’d been in my first year of university. I’d had my life ahead of me. And I-“ She looks to Kei. “I’d never wanted kids. I was afraid that I’d be like my mother. I never wanted that. So when I found out, there was this overwhelming despair in the pit of my stomach that just seemed to grow there.” She fidgets with her hands, not looking up again.

“But Seijurou had just grabbed me by the shoulders and asked me, ‘What do you want to do?’ He’d looked as scared as I was. I remember not saying anything at all and just crying in his arms for what felt like days. He didn’t push me into anything… What made me want to keep the baby was when Seijurou and I had been out walking about a week later. We’d passed by a father and his two children, ice cream in their hands giggling with the sun shining in their hair. Seijurou had looked so hopelessly at them with wanting that I- I couldn’t change my mind after that. I cared enough for him to go through with it. His family pushed us into marriage when we told them. It felt like another tonne of cemented piling onto me, creating permanent foundations without my consent. I had to quit school- I had to quit everything. I was so miserable. But I’d made my decision and I didn’t regret it.” Anna sighs before a warm glint to her eyes softens the blow.

 “When Akiteru was born I knew that I’d made the right decision. I loved him so much but I was still so afraid… Soon the years added up, I’d fallen into a strange kind of acceptance, complacency if you will about my situation. I had you a couple of years later. I was- It never felt completely right. I felt like I didn’t belong in my own home. It felt like I was putting on an act for someone- but who was it, exactly?  The question plagued me and soon I began forgetting just who I was in the first place. I’d lost that independent, loud, fun girl I used to be. I was in my mid-twenties and I had accomplished nothing of what I’d wanted to. I-“ She stops herself, pausing to hesitate on her words.

“It makes me a terrible person I know but… I began resenting all three of you. I was angry at myself for not living up to my own expectations, I was angry at your father for getting me pregnant- I was angry at my two sons for being born. I was just so angry.” Her voice cracks. “I had to leave. I had to leave or I knew I would become so much worse.” There’s tears freely falling down her face as she finishes. The reddened eyes of his mother meeting his own.

“I want you to know that I wasn’t miserable the entire time. There were times back then that I treasure to the bottom of my heart. But I just couldn’t live a lie to myself anymore. I love Akiteru and I love you, Kei. I couldn’t stand the thought of watching you boys begin to hate me as much as I did myself. But now I know it’s had the opposite effect and I’m just a selfish fool.”

“Mom…” Kei whispers, his eyes alight with surprise. His mother had been so brutally candid with him. He wasn’t sure what to feel at all. The only thing he’s sure of is Kuroo’s hand on his under the table, squeezing ever so slightly. A silent support in all of this.

“I can understand if you don’t want to see me again after this. After what I’ve told you there would be no blame at all.”

“I-“ Kei’s words are failing him with all the raw emotions being conveyed right now. He’s sure he looks a fool, grasping at strings so desperately. He moves his free hand to the top of the table, holding onto his mother’s shaking one.

“I understand.” He breathes, “I’m not saying what you did was right or wrong. But I understand what it feels like to be lost and I- I can’t be angry anymore after what I’ve heard.”

“Oh, Kei.” His mother sobs, pushing her chair out to rise from her position.

Kei doesn’t push her away this time.

For the first time in over ten years. Kei receives a hug from his mother.

He doesn’t feel as lost as he did about her story now. Only a mutual understanding of sorts.

It fills a puzzle piece in his heart that was long since neglected.

He’s a very long way from being whole. Every human is, really. There’s always something else, someone else. A point that some people reach and others don’t. The resentment in his heart would not fade easily, time heals wounds. Some quicker than others. The things Kei heard the night his mother left would not go forgotten, but now he’s sure they can be forgiven.

With time, love and candour, anything is repairable.

Chapter Text

Romance was in the air.

It had polluted Kei’s lungs- alongside the smell of actual pollution- and it made him think somewhat irrationally. Ugh. He was never one to follow trends, but it certainly didn’t help that everyone he knew was in love with someone (including himself.) Therefore people were influencing each other and it made it even more of a mess. Flowers and chocolates were tossed around like currency and it wasn’t even fucking Valentine’s day.  

The one exception in the group, of course, being the invincible dear Kenma. Who was generally just more interested in feeding the strays by his apartment and the hot apple pie from Fukuro.

Bless him, some days he’d even cook dinner so that when Kei had come back from school and Kuroo from work they didn’t have to cook for themselves.

It may usually taste exactly like the Chinese takeout from down the street, but at least he tried.

Outside, however, Oikawa and Iwaizumi had finally set a date for their wedding and they were all expected to come. Making it a sure fire way of something terrible happening. God knows what shenanigans would ensue with a group of people like Bokuto, Kuroo, Hanamaki and Matsukawa all in one place.

In typical Tooru fashion, Kei soon figured out, it would be an extremely extravagant affair- but in typical Hajime fashion, it would be in good taste. They balanced each other out well enough that Kei knew it wouldn’t be a complete train wreck. But he had sneaking suspicion Oikawa may be the ring leader in this affair.  

“Iwa-Chan doesn’t think a ‘make your own sundae bar’ would be ‘suitable’ for the ‘wedding.’ I personally think that is ‘bull’ for the ‘shit.’” Oikawa huffed, using air quotes as he pouted at his fiancé. “Tsukki, you have to be on my side!”

“I said you could have the sundae bar if you cut down on the other useless bullshit. In rebellion, you added even more useless bull shit. So no ice cream for you, dumb ass.” Iwaizumi mentioned, seemingly unfazed by the other man’s qualms. He wipes down the bar with one fell swoop, not paying much heed to Tooru’s dramatic noises.

“Excuse me, a musical number dedicated to our undying love for each other is not ‘useless bull shit’ it is beautiful!”

“You emailed Beyoncé and asked if she’d be willing to be our wedding singer.”

“She’s a queen, Hajime. I won’t have anyone else!”

Everywhere Kei walked there was some stranger being all lovey dovey with someone else. He’d always scowl at them. Which made him a hypocritical prick because that was him now and he needed to remember that. He’d been in love with Kuroo for months now and he still couldn’t come to grips that he was one of them now. He felt like a traitor.

People all around had different ways of showing love for one another. Whether it be the dreaded public PDA or the smaller more mindful touches that Kei definitely preferred. Tsukishima had definitely begun noticing it a lot more.

He’d taken note of the couples around him. How Akaashi always moved closer to Bokuto when they sat on his hospital bed together. How Bokuto would lace their pinkies together when he thought Keiji wouldn’t notice.

When Oikawa winked at Iwaizumi and he’d scowl. But when Tooru had turned away, Hajime would have this tiny smile on his face. He’d glance at the ring he wore on his finger with such a soft expression Kei felt like he was intruding just being near him.

He wondered what gestures he and Kuroo had. They were so subconscious that he wasn’t all that sure. But that, he supposed was the whole beauty of it all.

Love was changing and it was never the same for everyone. It was platonic, romantic and everything in between. Love was love.

So maybe Kei was okay with it being in the air every once in a while.

“You want pancakes for breakfast, Tsukki?” Kuroo calls from the counter, holding a bottle of liquid pancake mix- completely shirtless and smirking like an idiot. “Or do you want me?” He gestures to himself, cocky as he blew a stray hair near his eye out of place.

Well, that’s what he intends to do. Instead it doesn’t move away and the strand just gets stuck in his eye. He shrieks in pain, flailing around, trying to move it. Completely destroying anything sexy he’d had going for him in that moment.

Yes, this was good. Kei was very okay with this.

“Pancakes, please.”

Kuroo puts his hands on his hips. “Smartass.” He remarks.

Kei just smiles back at him, smug. Moving his head to look at Tetsurou’s back. “Nice ass.”

Kuroo cranes his neck to look at himself. Nodding along.

“Okay I’m not mad anymore. You’re right- Hey! I brought strawberries yesterday, you can eat them off me- I mean the pancakes!” He clears his throat. “Eat them off the pancakes.” 

 If this was Kei’s love. Then he wanted nothing else for the rest of his life.

---

Kuroo loved his job. Music came so easy to him. Naturally talented, as they would say. It was only a shame that he couldn’t just do such a thing to keep himself from going bankrupt. Having two jobs was something many people had to have to make enough money. And Kuroo was thankful for having such positive workplaces. Both Fukuro and Seijou were always alight with happiness and fun.

But Tetsurou really couldn’t help but long for more. He wanted to pursue his passions with all he had.

He never envied Tsukishima’s college education. Though he was academically inclined in a way. There was nothing that particularly interested him. It was probably his greatest downfall, in a way.

He saw his friends living out his dreams and couldn’t help but wonder about himself. Akaashi and Bokuto had always wanted their own business. Bo loved baking and cooking- he loved impressing people. Akaashi loved making people happy, he liked running numbers and having the freedom of independence. Kenma made video games, it was his dream job since he was a dweeby little kid. Kei was following his love for dinosaurs he’d gotten from his mother.

But then, what was he to do?

It felt like he was living through other people’s dreams.

“What’s eating at you, Tetsurou? You’re never this quiet.” Kei pokes him lightly in the cheek, making the other snap to attention. They had been watching a shitty movie on Kei’s less shitty laptop in bed at his house and Kei must have noticed he’d stopped making fun of it with him.

“Wah?” He says dumbly, blinking.

Kei smirks, huffing out a laugh. “What’s up? You must be thinking really hard about something.” He presses pause on the movie. Leaving the woman on the screen mid-sentence with her mouth agape.

“I- I’m not really sure, actually.” Kuroo admits raking a woeful hand through his hair. “I think your existentiality has rubbed off on me. I’m questioning my life goals.” He sighs, looking down at his hands laying limply on the sheets. “Everyone else is working towards a life they want. But I’m- I’m kind of just there. Making sure they don’t shut the power off on us.”

Kei frowns, tilting his head as he looks closer toward Tetsurou. “I don’t have a right answer for you, Tetsu. It’s something you need to figure out for yourself… But I will support you in any decision that you make. Even if you want to go to clown school.”

The comment makes Kuroo stifle a giggle. He leans closer to Kei until he’s resting on his shoulder. “Thanks, Tsukki.”

“Expert advice, as always.” Kei cries at himself, sarcastically. Shutting his laptop off, disinterestedly- leaving the woman frozen in the same expression. He burrows deeper down into his pillows until only his hair, eyes and nose can only be seen from the outside.

Kuroo places a kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight.”

“Don’t agonise over this too much, okay? Just… talk to me about it. Not that I can help that much but…” Kei trails off, feeling foolish. “I’ve been there before, so maybe I can give you advice. You’re good at everything so I know you’ll be able to do whatever you want. Remember you’re not alone.”

Kuroo flicks the light off, not giving an answer as he snuggles closer to Kei. It’s dark in the room but he can see the outline of Kei’s eyes, still staring at him. Waiting his reply before he tried to sleep.

Tetsurou frowns, pensive.

“Don’t worry, Tsukki. It’ll pass.”

Kei gives a non-commital noise in answer before closing his eyes. “G’night.” That would have to be enough for now.

-

The darkness keeps Kuroo awake alongside his mind. He tosses and turns and just as Kei said, he overthinks it all. The dead of night was not a good time for anyone not asleep, it seemed. Nothing good ever happened after one in the morning, after all.

“Kuroo.” Kei whispers, sleep slurring his speech. He’s drowsy- as if he was tired but he’d woken up some time in the middle. Possibly to Kuroo’s fidgeting.

“Mhm?” Tetsurou returns, feigning tiredness as well.

“I can’t get back to sleep… Can you sing to me?”

“Hmm.” Kuroo hums, debating the request, knowing full well he could never say no to Kei when he sounded so cute. “Okay.”  

Tetsurou thinks it over, wondering just what to begin with.

He begins humming the melody of his guitar, the song coming to him as he looked at the outline of Kei.

'Cause I've been trying way too long,
To try and be the perfect song,
When our hearts are heavy burdens,
We shouldn't have to bear alone.

So goodnight moon,
And goodnight you,
When you're all that I think about.
All that I dream about.
How'd I ever breathe without-

A goodnight kiss
From goodnight you,
The kind of hope they all talk about.
The kind of feeling we sing about.
Sit in our bedroom and read aloud,
Like a passage from goodnight moon

Tetsurou never anticipates that he would lull himself into a state of sleep. His own voice trailing off as drowsiness took over.

He never anticipated that that was Kei’s plan all along to get him to sleep.

Kei was a sneaky little shit.

The two finally fall asleep together. Their bodies slowly gravitating toward each other in their unconscious states looking for warmth. Kei sleeps with his head on Tetsurou’s chest and Tetsurou sleeps with his hand still stuck stroking Kei’s hair. His voice stuck on a note of a song that he would have long forgotten he’d sung the next morning.

---

A month or so passes and the thoughts move to the back of his head. Other things take a hold of him for a while. He doesn’t know if they count as distractions but they work. Fukuro finally re-opens after Koutarou leaves the hospital. Keiji and him are just as they were before now, it seemed. Perhaps even closer, though. Kuroo noticed them looking at each other while smiling far more now. Kuroo starts to recognise what Kei had been talking about to him one night. Love was everywhere at the moment. It filled him with a certain contentedness Tetsurou hadn’t felt for a while. It was a useful thought hinderer, it kept him busy with other things.

“Hey, Kuroo.” Bokuto taps him on the shoulder to get him to turn his way. Tetsurou does as expected, turning to see Koutarou’s face inches from his own.

“Gah!” Tetsurou cries in surprise, shrinking back.

Koutarou just laughs at him, “Now that I have your attention.” He adjusts his waiter’s uniform before plonking himself down on top of the break room table. “I need your advice on something.” His expression is oddly serious for someone like Bokuto.

“Hmm, yeah?”

Bokuto rifles through his pockets, pulling out a velvety box the colour of granite. Flipping open the top to reveal an engagement ring. It was modest, but beautiful. With tiny birds engraved into the outside, turning into what looked to be a black diamond. He must have been saving up for it for ages.

“Yes, Bokuto, I will marry you.” Kuroo jokes, a grin appearing on his face. He slaps Koutarou on the back, gently (he was still recovering after all.) “You son of a bitch I was wondering when you were going to go for it, dude! Akaashi’s going to be so happy.”

“I’m going to do it at our re-opening party next week- with all our friends. I want you to make sure I don’t chicken out.”

“When have you ever chickened out of something?”

Bokuto just gives him a nervous grin. “When have I ever been so anxious about something?”

“You do have a point there.” Kuroo decides, a calculating hand at his chin before he smiles at his friend. “Of course, I’ll help you out as best as I can. Akaashi loves you with all of his heart, even if it’s the worst proposal ever, he’d still say yes.”

After knowing Koutarou for a matter of years, Kuroo came to realise that his smiles always meant something different. Some were fake, some were real- most of them. Some meant nothing at all and others were full of all kinds of emotions.

His grin was filled with meaning as he tucked the box away for safe keeping. Hidden away until the promised day.

“Thanks, dude. I needed to hear that.”

Kuroo returns the sentiment with a hug. Holding his friend tight. “Don’t worry about it. You won’t mess it up. You love him with all of your heart as well.”

“U-huh.” Koutarou whispers, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s fucking amazing.”

---

Tetsurou’s on the final chorus of a song he’d finished writing the morning before when he notices Daichi sitting at one of the café table, concentrating on him- his serious face making it seem far more intimidating than he probably thought. That’s why they’d gotten on so well, Daichi was stern-scary and Kuroo was creepy-scary. It was odd how often he didn’t notice people as he sung. It was like he was in his own special world.

The one exception was Kei.

“Long time no see.” Kuroo smiles easily as he drifts his way toward the man’s table, guitar still in hand. He couldn’t shake the surprise on his features in time.

“You were extraordinary, Kuroo.” Daichi says simply, as if it were a fact. Like it was his plan all along to come here… Perhaps it was. “That song you wrote sounded like something on the radio.”

It flusters Tetsurou. “Ah Jeez, Daichi, I’m just the same as I was in high school.”

“No… You’ve- your music has changed. It’s so much different. It feels like there’s so much more emotion in your voice when you sing.”

“I guess I- I guess I found my muse.” Tetsurou declares, straightening his shirt with pride. “It makes it easier to sing about love when you have someone to think about.”

“Yes, speaking of Tsukishima…” Sawamura was always as sharp as a tack. “I spoke with him a few moments at the wedding when you left to get him a drink. He told me all about how good you were with your music… I’d never heard so many compliments come out of his mouth. I had to see for myself.”
Kuroo looks confused. “You came to New York to hear me sing?”
Daichi smiles then, almost like he was expecting that. Anticipating for the moment Kuroo finally asked. He stands up, meeting Kuroo’s eyes in the honest way that Tetsurou had always associated Daichi with.

“No, I came to New York to offer you something.”

Kuroo’s eyebrows lift in surprise. That ‘something’ must be very substantial. “And what would that be?”

“After high school I decided on the pathway that sent me straight to the publishing and editing branch of music. I got offered a job at a newer music company. It was good money and I get to travel and well- it was something that didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out.  Song writing and composing was always a passion of yours, I remember I would always see you writing stuff down in your notebook in class- and I know it wasn’t actually class work, god forbid that. So when one of our writers opted out of the deal due to a midlife crisis last week. I couldn’t think of anyone else except you to ask first.”

Kuroo is speechless, he clutches the neck of his guitar. “Are you… offering me a job?” He chokes. “I can’t speak Japanese very well let alone write it- why would you-“

“It won’t be a problem. I work with the English and Japanese branches. One of the perks of being bilingual, I suppose.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Tetsurou’s mouth is agape- he nearly drops his guitar.

Sawamura frowns at him. “Kuroo, I am very well not ‘shitting you.’”

“But this- this is too good to be true, you know. There’s got to be a catch right, like, I’ve got to move to Antarctica or kill a man or something.”

“You can stay where you are Kuroo. You can even keep singing in the café if you want, as long as it doesn’t affect deadlines.”

“Do I have to kill a man?”

“N-“

“Hold on, I’m thinking about it.”

“That’s worrying but no, you don’t have to kill a man.”

‘Why me?” He whispers, incredulous. Kuroo was sometimes too much of an honest person. It wasn’t good for him. Surely there were people out there far more talented then him- people that had actually studied their hearts out for something like this.

“You’re Kuroo Tetsurou. Why not?” Daichi returns. “You are talented, you love music and you are the most trustworthy person I know…” Daichi’s face falls. “Unless you don’t want-“

“No!” Kuroo cries, “I’ll fucking do it! Oh my God! Seriously? Are you sure you aren’t shitting me? Is it April fools? Are you Bokuto under that mask?” Tetsurou pulls at the skin around Daichi’s cheeks much to the other man’s displeasure. “Nope! Oh my God.” Sawamura is wrapped into a bouncing hug from his old high school friend that is practically vibrating with energy. “What the fuck?” Kuroo cries, happy but so, so confused. This wasn’t a dream was it? Daichi gasps for air under the hold and he has to tap Tetsurou’s shoulder to make sure he doesn’t die from asphyxiation.

“Wonderful. I’ll call you later to organise everything.” Daichi declares, looking pleased with himself. “My boss will be happy I found a replacement so quickly.”

“I have a whole notebook of songs that I’ve written. Holy shit, does this mean famous people get to sing them? Do I get to meet them?” He gasps, “What if one of my songs become a meme?”

“Don’t hurt yourself, Kuroo.” Daichi places a hand on his shoulder. “Just stay put until I call you tomorrow night.”

“I’m going to have to quit bartending at Seijou… That’s okay, there’s the newbie with the angry face and the weird ass bumblebee hair that wants a go at it anyway. Oh my God.” He squeaks, putting a hand on his mouth. “I’m going to be able to go to sleep at a normal time.”

“You’re not listening to me at all are you?” Daichi murmurs, looking exasperated but glad over Kuroo’s reaction to the news.

“I’ll be able to pick up Tsukki from class and go on dates with him at night time- even on SATURDAYS. Oh my God. OH MY GOD I HAVE TO TELL TSUKKI.”

Kuroo gives Daichi another enormous hug before rushing out of the shop, not saying anything else other than a “call me ASAP, bro, I’m mcfucking ready to live.”

Daichi ponders what a ‘mcfucking’ would cost at Mcdonald’s, shudders, and then sits down to finish his coffee in silence. Smiling to himself at his friend’s enthusiasm.

He’d done the right thing.

-

He hears feet pounding up his stairs from inside his kitchen.

“What kind of idiot can’t wait to get inside of this shithole?” Kei ponders aloud, setting a tray of little cupcakes out to cool. They were going to be a consolation present for Kenma for walking in on he and Kuroo doing some… extracurricular activities. Ugh, he was starting to think Kozume was doing it on purpose just so he could get free shit. That sneaky little cat- Kei wouldn’t put it past him.  

It’s then that he hears the unmistakeably sound of “TSUKKIIIIIIIIIII!!!” coming down the halls that he realised who the idiot is.

“My idiot.”  

He doesn’t stop the fond smile on his face. Good news, obviously.

*****

“Holy fuck.”

Fact #25: Kei has a tendency to say 'fuck' a lot when he’s cold or pissed off.

Yet in this instance, he was none of the above and still saying the word like it was gospel. Ironic, really. He had the grasps on two languages and it was probably his favourite word still.

Then again, most humans had something they said on instinct when they were shocked or surprised. Kei was both the former and latter as he stared at Kuroo, utterly flabbergasted.

Kei had finished his final day of his first year in University. Getting the break over the summer to try and relieve some stress. He’d returned to his own apartment in no particular hurry. Taking special care not to forget his bag at school. He had been planning to get changed and then head straight down to Fukuro to see Bokuto and Akaashi. The café was finally re-opening after Koutarou’s recovery and the couple were holding a get together of sorts.

A quick trip by his apartment, right?

Wrong, apparently so.

When Kei stepped into his cramped three rooms of space there was definitely something amiss.

It was beautiful.

The creaky old floorboards had been littered with cheesy bright red rose petals. Highlighted by tiny little tea lights creating a pathway in the hall. It made the light reflect off the walls. Giving the space a warm orange glow that felt homey despite having never experienced anything like it before.

Kei stifles a gasp.

Soft music playing in his lounge room. The rhythmic sound of a guitar and a man’s voice filling the air with honey and sweetness. Kei almost doesn’t keep moving. Staying frozen in place in the oddest trance of disassociation.

Was this… for him?

Of course it was, no one else lives here, dumbass.

Kei swallows, his heart filling with emotion as the song becomes clearer. He steps, one, two, three, until he’s out of the entry way and into his lounge area. There’s even more candles and flowers in there. Decorated beautifully throughout the room- it must have taken hours.

There’s also-

The one who caught his attention all the way across the street was stealing it all over again.

The man strummed a guitar to the sound of his voice like it was nothing at all, his eyes were scanning the crowd and his mouth moved so rhythmically, it was like he had done this a million times.

The man looked almost like a stray cat with his twitching nose and his distinctly feline eyes…

Not to mention his absolutely absurd, unruly hair…

It was the same song. Kei was certain of it. But it had taken on a new tone. It was so much warmer. It was like hot coffee on a cold winter night and Kei had actually remembered to get his apartment keys this time. It was home.

If Heaven and Hell decide,

That they both are satisfied,

Illuminate the No’s on their vacancy signs,

If there’s no one beside you,

When your soul embarks,

Then I’ll follow you into the dark.

Kuroo’s voice bounces off his walls like the most beautiful thing Kei has ever heard. He watches Kei as he sings. He smiles like he knows exactly what he’s doing to him. Curse him.

Tetsurou winks at him, his voice doesn’t falter. It stays as solid as it did that night in Fukuro when they’d first met. He is beautiful in the orange light of the candles. Like a devilish angel with an intent to destroy Kei with the one thing he’d had been hesitant of his whole life.

Love.

Tetsurou had broken down a wall of problems for Kei with the slightest lilt in his voice, it seemed. He had helped him with an easy smile and a helping hand. He wasn’t perfect, but that was what made him so perfect to Kei. He had problems of his own that made him human- problems that Kei could empathise and sympathise with at different times. They assisted each other when the only light seemed to be coming from one another.

Kuroo’s finishes the final verse with ease and it still gives Tsukishima chills. It had been a song he’d sung many times before. But this time it felt different.  It felt personal in a sense that he felt like he wouldn’t sing this in a large crowd ever again. It was Kei’s song now. The one that brought him to Kuroo. And nothing could take that away from him.

He can’t help feeling a little teary eyed now. Forever sentimental. Tetsurou smiles up at Kei, who seems frozen in place. He hadn’t known that half a year from now he’d be so sure about everything in his life. That he was certain that the person he loved with all of his heart and soul stood right before him in the flesh. That he had something he wanted to do with his future. That he had a family that loved him for who he was entirely.

Kei was the catalyst in all of it.

He didn’t run, not from anything. He wasn’t afraid. He was Kei Tsukishima. The most stubbornly endearing little shit on the planet. With an astounding wit and intelligence and the most beautiful golden eyes that Kuroo had the pleasure of seeing when he woke up every morning.

“Tetsurou.” Kei breathes, it feels like he stares right into Kuroo’s soul as he does. “What is this?”

“Kei.” Tetsurou replies back, as easy as a gust of wind. His smile doesn’t falter despite the wetness in his eyes.  “I wanted to give this place a proper send off. We have stashes of clothes piling up in each other’s houses. Toothbrushes, shoes- hell, I think some of the stray cats have started following me to your apartment… I love you, you love me. And you’re way better at making my bed than me. I think- I think it’s time to ask… Would you like to move in to my shitty New York apartment with me?”

Kei’s smile is a soft one. Filled with the warmth of a thousand suns but none of the scathing burn.

“No home would be shitty with you by my side.”

Tsukishima doesn’t grimace at his own words. They’re corny but, well, everything in his life seemed so awfully corny right now. The drama of it all. A wedding, social discord, the long drawn out speeches and the dancing into the night with tea lights clearing the path. Falling in love at a coffee shop, the sheer romance of it all, the comedy. The rose petals at his doorstep to his very own serenade from the love of his life.

Kei was living in a romantic comedy.

“That’s wonderful to hear, but seriously, I’m pretty sure half the light fixtures are painted on there.”

“We just need to buy some lamps, then.”

“Aw fuck yeah, Ikea road trip.”

It was amazing to think that this was the same man that had just finished serenading him with a love song from the night they had first met. Kuroo Tetsurou had many sides, evidently and Kei loved all of them. Kei had found something that his parents had spent half their lives searching for- something that some people may never find. Someone he could laugh with, someone he could kiss goodnight and see their sleeping face beside them. Someone that stole the blankets in bed and ate all of his cereal. Someone he could absolutely decimate in video games. Someone that brought him flowers. Someone he wanted to marry.

Someone he would stand beside for all eternity.

Fact #26; Kei thinks cliché romantic comedies set in New York are fucking stupid.

It didn’t change the fact that he loved the one he was in.