Chapter Text
“Are you sure this was meant for me?”
You lowered the paper from eye level, your brows knitted in confusion, looking up to the teacher who stood before you. You had not expected to be pulled from class during your cherished lunch break and lovingly crafted bento box to be handed a single sheet of paper – an application form, no less, where every box meant for your own information was already filled out for you. And by the quality of the typeface, complete with ink smears and scribblings out, it was certainly not written by a teacher.
From the brief summing up of the form in the time you had been given to recover from your shock, you had come to the conclusion that it was a volleyball managerial application. Somehow you knew this was for you even before you asked that question. Well, your name being written at the top gave a lot of that away.
“I'm sorry about this, [Y/N], this is incredibly rude and unprofessional of me,” they started, crossing their arms with a solemn face. “I was asked by a student of mine to give that to you. A Kuroo Tetsurou. He said you knew him well? He was 'too busy' to give this to you in person, and so I offered to do so.”
Of course. Kuroo.
Your face fell, a sigh leaving your lips. It wasn't a sigh of anger or annoyance, but more of sympathy and desperation. Kuroo was a good friend of yours. He was also the guy who had been trying for weeks to get you to cave in to his constant pleads to become the manager of the Nekoma volleyball club. It was not like you had kept saying no out of spite, really it wasn't, you really liked Kuroo's company. It was just...
Having to watch him work up a sweat, muscles tensing, shirt rising and falling with his rapid movements and many other horrendously overwhelming images of your friend would send you into a fit of heavy blushing, nail biting and a crazily beating heart. Being the manager for the person you were so heavily head over heels for seemed like too taxing of a job for you. To say you had a crush on Kuroo would be an understatement.
But also, the commitment. Your grades weren't the best. Not awful, but nothing to write home about. Your parents had made it pretty clear that they expected your marks to go up by at least one grade by next year – and you didn't like getting them mad. Being the manager of a rowdy bunch of volleyball players certainly seemed like a lot of work, which would take away from your studies. From what you had seen of the team during your visits to see Kuroo during practise and small conversations with Coach Nekomata, it required a lot of time and energy. 'Like herding testosterone driven sheep', as he had so delicately put it one time.
You let out another sigh as you tore your eyes from the form for the third time, giving a respectful bow to your elder with an earnest thanks as they gave a nod, finally leaving you in peace. Eyes back on the paper, you found your legs again – which for a short while, had turned to jelly during your extremely brief and inappropriate imagination – as you sat back at your desk. It was pretty obvious how much Kuroo wanted this. He was never one to make a decision on your part, especially with something that would change the future of your academic life, so for him to fill in the form himself was either an act of desperation or extreme idiocy.
To be honest, you wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. This was Kuroo, after all.
“Damn it...”
You slid down in your chair, shrugging off your classmate's concern with a small wave of dismissal, eyes on the ceiling. You had gone off your bento at this point, you certainly weren't hungry. Why was this bugging you so much? Why was this so hard to figure out? This wasn't the million yen question on a game show, for goodness sake. You had said no every other time he had asked, so why was it so much more difficult to stomach it this time?
Perhaps because since last time, your feelings for him had doubled? To see his disappointed face...his normally sharp eyes fall into a doe-like state, natural smirk vanishing and being replaced with a heart-wrenching lip wobble. You certainly couldn't handle that. He was your best friend...
...Wasn't he?
Something deep within your gut seemed to be trying to tell you different. You knew things felt odd. Perhaps you were just being paranoid. It wouldn't be the first time you jumped conclusions.
What were you supposed to do now?
Your heart betrayed you.
Stepping foot into the gym did the familiar acrid smell of light sweat and must hit your nose. As odd as it sounded, the smell wasn't that unbearable. It sort of sealed the deal for you how hard these guys worked, how much they trained and exercised and schemed positions. Of course, hardly any of that would be possible if it weren't for Kuroo.
Offering a polite nod and a smile to Nekomata, you wandered over to his side, placing your bag down by the collection of water bottles. You wanted to wait until their break, after all, preliminaries were coming up soon and you wanted to give them as much time as you could without breaking their flow. Perhaps that was why Kuroo was so desperate? Did he want their team to have a manager before prelims?
Speaking of Kuroo...
“[Y/N]!”
Your head whipped to see the raven jogging towards you, stopping before your smaller frame. He placed his hands on his hips, his signature grin plastered over his face as he pointed down at the paper in your hands. “So you got the message?”
“Yes I did, dumbass,” you scoffed, folding it up for the twentieth time as you placed it into your pocket. “Why did you fill out the form without even asking me? And how did you get some of that information?!”
Choosing to ignore the second question, Kuroo answered the first. “Because I knew you'd say no.”
“You're right I would say no,” you sighed, running your fingers back through your [H/C] locks, sounding more flustered than irritated. “You had no right to do that, Tetsu. It was selfish of you...”
Kuroo's golden eyes watched yours with an emotion that you couldn't quite pinpoint, head turning towards the court. “Guys! Give me five minutes, will you? [Y/N], come with me a minute.” He waved his hand, ushering you to follow him back out through the gym doors.
You blinked yet obliged your raven-haired friend, lashes yet again fluttering when he slammed the doors behind you. Palms to the metal, his head bowed, a sigh escaping his lips as he seemed to stare at the ground like it was the most interesting thing on Earth. You watched him, concerned. “Tetsu?”
“[Y/N],” he began, voice low before he stood up straight, turning to you and meeting [E/C] eyes. “I really need your help.”
Your heart seemed to skip a beat. Kuroo...needed you? You wiped your palms on your school jumper, clearing your throat, all anger draining from your system. Anything for Kuroo. “W-What do you need my help for, Kuroo? Are Nekoma not doing well?”
“I'm not doing well.”
The speed of his answer seemed to catch you off guard as you tilted your head, brows knitting in slight confusion. “What do you mean...?”
A loud sigh billowed from Kuroo's lips, rubbing his forehead as his other hand rested on his hip once more. That seemed to be a token stance for him. “I need to see you more than I am, [Y/N]. We used to walk to school every day, me, you and Kenma. We had lunch together, we would study together – don't give me that look, I know I hate studying – and now we...hardly ever do it. We don't text as much, we don't talk until three in the morning like we used to...I just...miss it. I miss us.”
I miss us.
Every word he spoke, it was all true. You had noticed this issue long before he seemingly had done so himself. Hell, you hardly even spoke to Kenma anymore. But as conceited as it sounded, you didn't really blame yourself. “Kuroo...” you began, trailing off to stare at his shoes.
“[Y/N]?”
“What do you take me for?” You brought your head up, the hot sting of tears in your eyes. “Of course I've noticed that. But...that's not my fault! You are so focused on volleyball, you didn't even notice that you would take twice as long to reply to my texts until it turned into one a day. You never realized that you passed my home in the mornings until you were at the school gates, even when Kenma tried to remind you. I tried very hard to keep us close but...you didn't seem to want that.”
“Of course I want that, [Y/N].”
“Then why did you allow us to drift apart?”
Kuroo's eyes widened. Was it really his fault? To know that he had hurt the feeling of this girl who he cherished over all others, it made his heart ache. Badly. He moved forwards, clasping her hands in his own which caused her to look back up into the forlorn eyes that also seemed to be clouding over. “[Y/N] ...I'm so sorry. I know, I am such a jackass. But that's why I filled out the form.”
You blinked the tears away. “How would that help? Doing it behind my back? If you wanted to work this out between us, why did you think doing it by yourself would work?”
“I told you, because I'm a jackass. But I thought that getting you to be our manager could help us get closer again. We could spend more time together, I could keep doing what I love. Being around you and volleyball.”
You let a chuckle leave your lips. You knew you'd never replace volleyball, that much was a given, but it felt nice being the first priority in the list. “So, you want me to risk my grades so I can manage your herd of a team?”
“Well...yeah.” There was that goofy grin again. God, you wanted to wipe it off his face sometimes. “You don't have to do it if you don't want. I know I've been a pain in the ass, asking you all the time. I really want you to be our manager, [Y/N]. I don't get to see your pretty face enough. But if you don't want to, I will back off.”
“H-huh?” Had you heard him correctly? Your eyes widened, watching the captain. “Pretty...?”
Kuroo seemed to have noticed his slip up and he pulled his hands back, itching his nape nervously as a light pink dusted his cheeks. “U-uh...I mean, all girls are pretty, right? Chivalry and all that stuff.”
You offered a smile, leaning up to press a soft kiss to his cheek as you took the paper from your pocket once more, pressing it into his palm. “Here, re-write this neatly and give it to Coach Nekomata. I will be your manager. But you've really gone about this the wrong way.” The Kuroo way.
“You... – really?” Kuroo's eyes lit up, though his lips remained parted in shock of the kiss.
“Yes. But, I expect to see you every morning outside my house to walk me to school. Plus, if my grades ever drop due to my loyalty to your team, you will be the one to take my parent's punishment. Understand, Tetsu?”
“O-of course, [Y/N].”