Archive of Our Own

Kuroo hums a nameless tune as he walks side by side with Kenma on their way to school, the younger tapping away on his game while skillfully dodging trash cans and other obstacles on the road. The taller male still watches out for his friend, an amused smile plastered on his face when Kenma stops abruptly to let the stray cats pass in front of him before continuing his journey. Kuroo has to pull the shorter boy every now and then when he's too into his game to notice his surroundings and then dislodge him from his gaming world once they reach their school.

"Shrimpy's going to be here soon," Kuroo reminds the other when Kenma tries to grab his PSP, a small pout forming on his lips when his best friend puts the device high up above their heads, "so you better get changed and warm up. You know how much that one tires you out." The taller male smirks before pushing the PSP into his gym bag, smiling softly when he hears Kenma mumble something unintelligible.

Their futons are side by side again, much like every other time they had a training camp. And he's sure Kenma will rummage through his bag for the device come night time but he trusts his best friend to follow his words as captain and go through practice first before anything else.

"Kenma! Toss to me!" Kuroo hears Hinata's request even from the other side of the court and for a second he feels bad for his best friend but then it changes, thinking this would actually be good to train the younger's stamina.

"Ohoho, that smile is different!" Bokuto's voice is resounding and even without looking, Kuroo is sure that megawatt smile of his is already pulling the corners of his lips wide.

"What do you mean, you owl?" Kuroo doesn't bother looking at his friend, continuing on practicing his digs by himself while the rest do their own thing before they get rounded up for morning practice by team.

From the corner of his eyes, Kuroo sees the Fukurodani ace lean closer as if to inspect him, placing a hand on his chin for good measure, "Something's special about it." He leans back but doesn't remove the fingers that are rubbing his chin, "Is it Kenma?"

Kuroo almost fails to receive the ball when it lands back down, having to lunge forward when he miscalculated the distance from where he is to where it should land. This reaction seems to pique Bokuto's interest more as he places both hands on his hips and grins.

"Ohoho, looks like I'm correct! As always!"

"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi calls the ace's attention, face expressionless when he jogs up to the two. The setter bows in greeting to Kuroo as if they hadn't seen each other a while ago and exchanged their hellos. "Please stop bothering Kuroo-san and come to practice already."

Ah, thank god for Akaashi.

"Akaashi!" With a huff, Bokuto faces his setter and looks to grumble even more to the younger. He stops short however when the other speaks once more.

"Or maybe you don't want to get any tosses later?"

Bokuto's shoulders slump and if Kuroo isn't trying to get to at least fifty continuous digs he would have laughed when he hears his friend whine, "Akaashi!"

The setter bows to Kuroo again then walks away without saying another word, expecting Bokuto to follow him immediately without having to say more.

"We're not yet done here Kuroo Tetsurou!" Bokuto warns him before jogging to catch up to Akaashi, gesticulating about how Hinata threw down that toss Kenma just gave him.

Kuroo tries not to think too much about what Bokuto said but with no one else to take his mind away from it and nothing but the volleyball accompanying him, he can't help his mind from wandering.

Is it really because of Kenma? What does that even mean?

The Nekoma captain is unable to think through it when the person of interest comes into view. If a while ago he was able to save the ball from hitting the ground, now his brain completely short-circuits when Kenma pulls his hair up and ties it to a ponytail before bending down to get his drink where it stands beside Kuroo's. The forgotten ball hits the middle blocker on the head and wakes him from his trance, realizing just then that his heart has started beating too fast and too loud, he fears Kenma can hear it even from two meters away.

"Kuro," the younger calls out to him and the taller male immediately schools his face from the dumbstruck look it had into something more normal.

"Y-yeah?" Kuroo stutters out and he almost slaps himself when he sees Kenma's countenance change, even though slightly, into something curious from his usually uninterested one – questioning why he can read the other's expressions too well.

"Uh, Coach already asked us to assemble," Kenma nods to where Coach Nekomata is standing with his hands on his back, eyes surveying the floor.

Not trusting his voice just yet, Kuroo just nods and takes the ball that has fallen on the ground a few meters away from him before walking to where their Coach is. He can already see Kenma's face changing again but he doesn't want to think too much about it, forcing himself to be on captain mode again, pushing thoughts of his best friend and Bokuto's words to the back of his mind, for now.

Nekoma's first game with Shinzen was quite easy, having already known what their opposing team will do. Ubugawa was a bit tougher but those sets still paled in comparison to their matches against Fukurodani. Karasuno was, as usual, a difficult match. Unlike Fukurodani that forces their way through blockers with Bokuto's spikes, one can never be sure what Karasuno will do, their combinations so unprecedented – and with such high risks – Kuroo always wonders what it would be like if he played with them and not against them. Though that would mean not being with Kenma, so he quickly dismisses the idea.

Ah, there it is again. Kuroo thinks as he scrubs down the built up sweat from the day's training. His thoughts went astray from volleyball to Kenma again. Bokuto really did a number on his brain with such a few words.

The captain shakes his head, willing the images of Kenma's face to be gone, not thinking that those are good visuals especially when he's in the middle of his shower. Quickly, knowing that it would actually be hard to push away such thoughts when nothing else can occupy his mind, he rinses and steps out of the cubicle to dress himself for bed.

Kenma wouldn't appreciate you thinking about him like that. Kuroo reprimands himself as he rubs the towel on his hair, hoping to dry them soon, while he walks towards the room assigned to their team. He prepares himself to scold his boys when he sees the light is still switched on and he hears a few sniggers from inside. The captain halts just by the entrance, however, when Kenma's voice, gentle and with a little quiver, flows out from the open door.

"I don't mind if it's Kuro," the setter says, words clipped and giving nothing else for the taller one to give context to his sentence.

"I guessed as much," the captain hears Yaku say, "I mean you guys are close and I'm sure Kuroo wouldn't mind either." After a while, the libero adds, "He'd probably be ecstatic even."

Now Kuroo is getting even more curious but he doesn't want to blow his cover yet, wanting to listen in and not make Kenma uncomfortable by his presence, considering the fact that he seems to be their current topic. Unfortunately, Lev spots him hiding and instantly points it out.

"Ah! Kuroo-san is here!" The half-Russian points a finger to the door, unnerved by their captain's presence.

"Wanna join us Kuroo?" Kai asks from where he's leaning against the wall, a bit far from where the team has gathered around to form a disfigured circle.

"I would say no but Kenma looks a little red, so you have my attention." His best friend glares at him, to which he responds with a smile before settling down beside the setter.

"We were just talking about who everyone would be willing to kiss in the team," Yaku informs him, the pink tinting his cheeks visible even though it is nothing against the red on Kenma's face.

Kuroo swallows at that, forcing his head not to turn to where his best friend has most likely curled in on himself again, burying his face in the space between his pulled up knees and chest.

"Inuoka says he'll kiss Shibayama because he's the only guy in the team who is genuinely nice," Lev adds, looking a little irritated but this quickly changes when he continues, "And I said I'd kiss Yaku-san if that's the only way to make him stop from being so mean to me."

This makes Fukunaga laugh and counters the freshman's thoughts, "If anything that'll only serve to make Yaku-san angrier at you." The rest of the team agree which makes the tall boy huff and pout, sinking his shoulders when he sees the official libero glare at him with red painting his cheeks.

"How about the rest?" Kuroo asks with interest, looking towards the others, already knowing Kenma's answer.

"Yaku said he'd kiss Shibayama too," Kai responds, Kuroo noting their first year official-libero-in-the-making hunching with an embarrassed and flattered blush. "Yamamoto declined answering at first but said he'd kiss Kenma just to piss him off." This pulls Kuroo's gaze to finally look at his best friend, who is thankfully throwing dagger-like looks towards Taketora to even notice the captain watching him. "Then I said I'd kiss Yamamoto," Kai then looks at Taketora, lifting his hands to make quotation marks in the air when he adds his reason, "just to piss him off."

"How about you Kuroo-san?" Lev inquires after having fended off Yaku's deadly slaps to his arm, not even letting Kai continue.

Kuroo know this is probably not the best answer at the moment but he just couldn't help himself, especially when he sees a glint of hopefulness in Kenma's golden orbs.

With a knowing smile on his lips, the taller boy answers, aware that this is not just for laughs but what he really wants to say, "I don't mind if it's Kenma."

It's as if the whole room holds a collective breath with how silent it is. Even Lev who always has something to comment on has his mouth shut, eyes trained on Kenma like the rest of the team, including Kuroo who is gauging his best friend's reaction.

The younger, as always, shrinks at the attention he's getting, swallowing before leaning his head down enough to keep his face away from interested eyes. Kuroo doesn't see that as a good response but before he can even save the situation, Coach Naoi enters the frame with an angry tone.

"Lights out now or you'll do ten laps on the oval tomorrow before the training starts!"

The boys scram, their little circle quickly disappearing to leave Kuroo and Kenma who are already on their futons to begin with. Greetings of good night fill the air once the lights are turned off, the silence settling over them not even a minute after.

When they can hear nothing but Yamamoto's snoring from the other end of the room, Kuroo removes the pillows he placed on either side of his head to look to where he knows Kenma is still playing his game.

There is a faint glow coming from underneath the younger's blanket, proving Kuroo's earlier assumption. Leaving his own futon, he slowly lifts Kenma's blanket, placing a finger on his lips when the other turns with a gasp. The setter's voice is hushed when he sits up and asks what his best friend is doing. Kuroo lightly pushes the smaller boy back down before taking the space beside Kenma, smiling when he sees the bewildered expression on his best friend's face.

It's nothing new for them to share a bed. It is new though when Kuroo wraps an arm around Kenma, pulling the stunned boy towards him. Maybe Bokuto is right. Maybe he's smiling differently because of Kenma. And as with everything, Kuroo accepts that idea and nuzzles his face into the blond hair, smelling the fresh scent that is undeniably Kenma, soothing and reminds him of home.

Kuroo knows his best friend must be confused because of his actions and when he pulls away, shock still paints Kenma's features and he feels a bit guilty. The taller one pulls his arm from where it was draped earlier on the setter's waist, smirking when he sees a grimace ripple through Kenma's face for a fraction of a second from the loss of contact. Kuroo places his hand on his bestfriend's cheek, thumbing the warm skin pulled taut over the younger's cheekbones, his breath hot as it fans across Kenma's face.

"You don't mind if it's me, right?" Kuroo's voice is silent when he asked. Sure, this may not be the most romantic way to show Kenma how he feels but he's too excited and he knows he won't be able to put it off until tomorrow.

The taller male waits patiently, following the bob of Kenma's adam's apple when he swallows after. Golden eyes roam Kuroo's features to find a hint of insincerity, a reason to not allow the other. So the elder keeps his gaze steady, thumb caressing Kenma's cheek with the gentlest of touches, trying to convey the emotions he has in the smallest of actions.

Kenma finally nods and Kuroo almost crashes his lips against the other a second after but he doesn't want his best friend to read him wrongly. Kuroo leans down slowly, gradually decreasing the space between them all while keeping his eyes trained on the other, both to watch for any signs if hesitance and to show that his intentions are genuine.

When their lips meet, it's soft and warm, Kuroo even sighs in contentment when he feels Kenma relax. He's a little surprised when a hand comes up to clutch at the fabric of his shirt once he begins to pull away. He didn't want to rush things, afraid that it will all seem too sudden to Kenma. But who is he to deny the other of what he wants when from the very beginning that's all he's ever wished to do for the younger, give him everything he wants and deserves. Their lips are unskilled and clumsy but to Kuroo – and he hopes, to Kenma as well – everything is perfect, even with Yamamoto snoring in the background joined by the cicadas and Kenma's game lying forgotten beside them, the blue light casting shadows on their faces as they move to meet their lips over and over and over again.