Archive of Our Own

1.

Kuroo Tetsurou was drunk. Okay – maybe he wasn’t drunk-drunk, but he was definitely buzzed. It was Friday night (or was it Saturday morning already…) Either way, it was late and the music was loud. He knew for sure Bokuto and him would be receiving some complaints from angry neighbors come the morning, but that was a problem for the future. All Kuroo cared about was the fact that he was well on his way to drunkness and surrounded by people. He knew most of them… well, actually, he probably only knew about a quarter of the people he was seeing, but that was fine. Bokuto had always been more of a socialite so it wasn’t surprising that his party was crowded.

Speaking of people, wasn’t he talking to someone?

Kuroo blinked a few times to refocus. Ah, he remembered. A pretty girl with blonde hair sat beside him on the couch and was chatting animatedly about… something. Roommate drama, it sounded like. Kuroo forced himself to nod along even though he wasn’t really listening. The girl – what was her name again? Akiko, Akane… Akemi! – was cute. She almost sort of reminded him of Kenma, though she was talking way too much for that to be an accurate comparison.

Kenma. What was he up to tonight? Kuroo pulled his phone out of his pocket without much thought, still half-listening to Akemi’s long winded story about the last fight her and her roommate got into. It was a only little past midnight, and with no school tomorrow, Kuroo knew exactly what Kenma would be up to. There was a  text from him from a few hours ago that read, “call me before bed if you want. ill be up” They had gotten into the habit of calling each other every night, even if they sometimes only talked for a few minutes, it was part of their routine.

“Do you maybe want to go somewhere more private?” The direct question came as a shock, but Kuroo was quick to school his expression into a lazy smirk as he turned his attention back to the pretty girl in front of him.

“Yeah, sure. We can go to my room,” Kuroo offered. “If you want to avoid your crazy roommate, you can stay the night.”

Akemi’s eyes lit up, most likely just happy that Kuroo had been listening to her rambles at all, and she nodded in agreement. They stood up together and Kuroo pocketed his phone before downing the last of whatever alcohol concoction was in his cup. He took Akemi’s hand before making his way through the sea of people.

This is it, he thought. The entire reason he even agreed to let Bokuto throw a party, as crass as it sounded, was to get laid. It was only his first year in university and he’d been here for months, but the number of people he had actually hooked up with was embarrassingly low – single digits, count on one hand kind of low, and that was only if you counted the few study-dates-turned-make-out-sessions from the start of the year. Not that Kuroo cared about any of that, per se, but he was definitely starting to feel a little pent up.

His main problem? Kenma.

The realization that Kuroo was down bad for his childhood best friend happened only a couple of weeks after he moved away for university. He never realized how much he relied on Kenma until he wasn’t around him every single day. He missed him bad and after a lot of self reflection (emotional breakdowns and unpalatable anxiety), Kuroo had decided his best course of action was to shove those feelings into a metaphorical box, lock them up, and throw away the key. He loved Kenma too much to ruin their friendship by bringing feelings into the mix.

That worked at first. Until Kuroo visited during summer, a few months into the school year, and Kenma called him out for acting weird. Weirder than usual, he had said, and Kuroo crumbled. Not fully. He wasn’t able to admit out loud that he had any sort of romantic feelings towards Kenma, but they talked. Kenma had admitted that he missed him too, and by the end, Kuroo felt a lot better about their friendship. Now all Kuroo had to do was get over his pesky crush – which was exactly why he needed to get laid.

Kuroo’s bedroom was small, but it wasn’t horrible. Bigger than most of the dorms on campus, that was for sure. Him and Bokuto had opted on getting an apartment together their first year instead of subjecting themselves to on campus living.

As soon as Kuroo shut the door behind them, Akemi was pressing against his front. “Hey, so I hope this isn’t too forward,” she whispered, staring up into Kuroo’s eyes. “But I just broke up with my boyfriend a couple of days ago and I’m not really looking for anything serious, and if you’re down…” she trailed off.

Kuroo’s head was spinning, but after a second he registered what she was hinting at and smirked. “Fine with me,” he murmured before he leaned down and connected their lips in a kiss. That was perfect actually, because Kuroo wasn’t looking for anything serious either. He just needed to get over his little crush and then everything would be fine.

—

The next morning, a blaring alarm is what woke Kuroo up out of a dead sleep. He groaned as he reached for his phone, which he had left unplugged on his nightstand the night before. Akemi shifted beside him, but seemingly didn’t wake up. Kuroo wanted to strangle his past self for setting an alarm on a Saturday, but when he looked at his screen, he realized it wasn’t an alarm, but an incoming call from Kenma.

“Hello,” Kuroo grumbled as he placed the phone to his ear. Fuck, his head hurt.

There was a soft sound on the other side of the line, Kuroo recognized it as a sigh. “Good morning,” Kenma said.

“Morning,” Kuroo mumbled back. He was only half awake, his eyes still adjusting to the light filtering in through his blinds. “What time is it?” he asked, though he didn’t wait for a response, instead pulling his phone away from his ear to glance at the time. 8:45am. “Damn, what are you doing awake?”

It was silent between them for a few seconds before Kenma spoke again, “you didn’t call last night.”

Kuroo stretched, his back and shoulders cracking. “Yeah, sorry about that. You didn’t wait up for me, did you?” he asked, suddenly feeling a little guilty for blowing him off.

Kenma scoffed and Kuroo could practically hear his eyes roll. “Not really. I was up late anyways,” he admitted. “Set an alarm to call you in the morning to make sure you didn’t die.”

“Aww, you really do love me,” Kuroo teased. Akemi stirred, pressing herself closer and nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.

Kenma groaned and Kuroo smiled wider.

“Did you miss me, is that it? You just can’t get enough of your ol’ pal, Kuroo Tetsurou, huh?” he continued to tease.

“Mm, who’re you talkin’too?” Akemi mumbled against Kuroo’s skin. He shifted away from her slightly, much more interested in continuing his conversation with Kenma, before he finally sat up. Akemi rolled over, easily falling back to sleep.

“Is someone there?” Kenma asked after a beat of silence.

Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah,” he said. “I was pretty drunk last night, invited a girl to sleep over,” he admitted.

Kenma was silent and Kuroo could feel that something was off. He opened his mouth to say something else, literally anything else, but no words were coming to him. “Sorry,” he eventually settled on. Kenma and him had never talked about their sexual relationships before and that was probably why Kenma was suddenly uncomfortable.

“It’s…” Kenma started and Kuroo could immediately hear the shake in his voice. “It’s fine.”

Kuroo could feel a lump the size of a baseball in his throat. This was exactly what he had been trying so hard to avoid. He didn’t want to make Kenma uncomfortable, ever.

“I’ll call you later, alright? You’re probably exhausted,” he said softly into the receiver. “I should go take a shower.”

Another long stretch of silence before, “yeah, okay. I’ll talk to you later, Kuro.” The call was ended and Kuroo felt dread wash over him.

What the hell was that all about?

///////

2.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there,” Kenma’s soft voice drifted through the phone. Kuroo was standing in his bathroom, attempting to tame his hair after his shower. There really was no hope, though, and he gave up after a few minutes.

“It’s fine, Kenma. I really don’t need you to take time off of school and miss practice just to come see me for my birthday. I’m a big boy now, I think I’ll survive,” Kuroo joked. He walked back into his bedroom, towel wrapped snuggly around his waist.

Kenma huffed, but Kuroo could pick up on the laugh he was trying to cover. Things between them had gone back to normal relatively quick after the strange phone conversation they had a few months ago following Bokuto’s party. Kenma never mentioned it and Kuroo easily followed his lead. There was no reason to make things awkward.

“Are you guys going to celebrate?” Kenma asked. There was rustling on his side of the phone, the sound of a zipper being zipped.

“Uh yeah actually, I think Bokuto’s invited some people over, but he’s been keeping quiet about it. I think it’s supposed to be a surprise party or something,” he chuckled. “What are you doing over there anyways? Sounds like you’re getting ready to go somewhere.”

Kenma was silent for a split second. “I am,” he answered. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to come see you today, so I set up an impromptu practice with the team. I’m about to head to the gym.”

Kuroo narrowed his eyes, even though Kenma couldn’t see him. “You, Kozume Kenma, set up extra practice on a Friday?” he questioned. He stood in the doorway of his closet, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be getting dressed.

“… yes.”

He was hesitating. Why was he hesitating? Kuroo opened his mouth to push, to ask for more details until Kenma eventually cracked and confessed what he was really up to, but he stopped himself when Kenma spoke again, “Tora said it would be a nice tribute to you, since it’s your birthday and everything,” he said. “I didn’t feel like arguing.”

Kuroo laughed because yeah, that sounded more like Kenma.

“Whatever, weirdos. You know I’m not dead, right?”

Kenma only hummed in response. Kuroo began riffling through his shirts. He needed something casual enough that Bokuto wouldn’t suspect he knew of his secret birthday party, but also nice enough that he didn’t look bad during said party.

“I hope you have fun tonight,” Kenma said and Kuroo could hear the sincerity in his voice. “With whatever Bokuto has planned.”

Kuroo sighed, but he was smiling. “Thanks, Ken… and I’ll see you soon. I’m coming home for a weekend in a couple of weeks, so don’t worry about missing out on today. I promise whatever Bokuto has planned probably won’t be your scene anyways.”

“Yeah,” Kenma sighed, “you’re probably right.”

—

Kuroo had been right in suspecting a surprise party. It wasn’t as rowdy as most of Bokuto’s parties, but that was perfectly fine because Kuroo wasn’t really looking to get fucked up. He was more than happy to just have a couple of beers and hang out with his friends. He’d probably call Kenma before bed, like usual, and they’d talk for a few hours before Kuroo would eventually pass out. Their nightly routine was still going strong.

Mission: ‘Get Over Kenma’ was slow moving, but Kuroo was determined. Especially after what happened before. There was no way Kuroo could ever let Kenma know about his feelings. He refused to put Kenma into a position where he felt pressured or uncomfortable. Kuroo would rather just forget all about this weird, one-sided crush and continue being Kenma’s best friend.

Despite it not being as crowded as usual, Bokuto had still invited more people than necessary. At least Kuroo knew everyone here this time. There was still a hole in his heart though, knowing that Kenma wouldn’t be here to celebrate with him. This would be his first birthday without Kenma by his side in well over ten years.

He scanned the living room, taking account everyone who had come and he smiled when he made eye contact with a girl from one of his classes. Mika, he remembered. She was a cute, petite brunette that Kuroo had met at the beginning of the year. They had bonded over their shared hate of their literature professor.

She came bouncing over, the drink in her hand swishing, but never spilling. “Hello, Birthday Boy!” she cooed as she wrapped one arm around his back in a quick hug.

Kuroo hugged her back, laughing. “Thank you for coming. Bokuto invited you, I assume?”

“Oh yeah, he was pretty excited about setting everything up. I can’t believe he managed to keep it a surprise for so long,” she said.

Kuroo just smiled, repressing the need to tell her that he really didn’t keep it a secret. Kuroo had caught on over a week ago, but had still acted surprised regardless, so he didn’t ruin the fun. He appreciated Bokuto, but the man had never been able to keep anything a secret. When he had first confessed to Akaashi back in third year of high school, he had called Kuroo to gush about it only ten minutes after leaving Akaashi’s house, despite promising Akaashi he’d keep their new relationship a secret.

Mika leaned up on her tiptoes so she could whisper into Kuroo’s ear. “I have a present for you, but we’ll have to go to your room for it.”

Kuroo felt his cheeks heat up and he covered his surprise with a small laugh. “Okay then,” he said easily. Who was he to deny that sort of request?

He lead her down the hall and into his bedroom, clicking the door shut behind him. He didn’t even have a chance to lock it before Mika was pressing her lips to his. This wasn’t their first kiss – Mika had been one of Kuroo’s first studying-turned-make-out-session dates – but Kuroo still felt himself blush at the contact.

When they parted, Mika was smiling up at him. Her drink was long gone; she must have discarded it on their walk to the bedroom. She placed both of her palms against Kuroo’s chest. “Get on the bed,” she whispered.

Kuroo complied, getting onto his bed and sitting with his back against the headboard. Mika climbed into his lap, straddling him with one knee on either side of his thighs. Then they were kissing again, long and drawn out. Kuroo placed his hands on her hips while Mika’s hands roamed freely over his chest and shoulders. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there making out, losing track of time as Mika’s hands slipped under his shirt.

The sound of his bedroom door clicking open startled both of them.

“Oh.”

Kuroo pulled away from the kiss, looking around Mika’s body to see who the hell was interrupting them. He was not expecting to see Kenma standing in the doorway. He had his backpack slung over his shoulders and a duffle bag in his hand.

“Hey, a little privacy-“ Mika began, but she was cut off when Kuroo pushed her off of his lap. She bounced on the bed, staring at him in disbelief.

“Kenma, what are you doing here?” Kuroo asked, smiling despite how embarrassed he was to have been caught making out with a girl in his bedroom.

Kenma’s eyes flicked between him and Mika, who was still sitting on the bed. “Um,” Kenma hesitated. “I wanted to surprise you for your birthday,” he said softly. “You came home for mine, so… and Akaashi offered to come with me after Bokuto told him about the surprise party he was throwing for you.”

Kuroo wrapped his arms around Kenma and his backpack, squeezing him tightly. “Oh my god, I’m so happy you’re here,” he whispered into Kenma’s roots. “I missed you so much.” Kenma felt tense in his arms for only a second before he relaxed into Kuroo’s hold.

“I missed you too, Kuro.”

Kuroo shuffled them deeper into the room. He caught a glimpse of Mika getting off his bed, but honestly he wasn’t paying any attention to her. Kenma watched her leave though, golden eyes following her as she left the room in a huff. Kuroo helped Kenma with his bags, placing them carefully next to his bed.

“Sorry you had to see that,” he said with a laugh.

Kenma didn’t respond right away and Kuroo felt that sense of dread creeping up his spine again. Shit, he thought, I made him uncomfortable again.

“It’s fine,” Kenma eventually said. “I understand.” There was something in the way he said it that made Kuroo feel uneasy. He understands what?

For the first time in their life, the silence between them felt awkward. Kuroo cleared his throat. “Let’s go enjoy the party,” he suggested.

Kenma fidgeted with his fingers. “I’ll stay here,” he said. “But you should go. It’s your party after all, you should be there. I’m staying until Monday, so.. we’ll have time to see each other.”

Kuroo didn’t want to leave. Kenma had come all this way to see him, it felt wrong to leave him alone now. Especially when he seemed so… sad? Maybe he was just uncomfortable and feeling awkward about walking in on him with Mika, and he needed some time alone. That was understandable… if he had ever walked in on Kenma making out with someone, he’d probably react the same way.

“Okay,” Kuroo said. “But I’m only going out there long enough to show face and then I’m coming back and we can hang out for the rest of the night. We can play whatever games you brought with you.”

Kenma nodded. He grabbed his PSP from his bag before crawling into Kuroo’s bed. Kuroo watched him, hesitating by the door for a minute longer before he forced himself to walk back out to the party. Just give him some space, he told himself.

—

Kuroo returned no more than an hour later, carrying snacks and a couple of sodas. He had made his rounds, thanking everyone for coming and for wishing him a happy birthday. In the end it didn’t take too long before Bokuto was herding everyone out, apologizing for ending the party early, but not very sincerely. To be fair, Akaashi’s here, was a valid excuse. Everyone who knew Bokuto knew how much he loved his boyfriend.

Since the party was over and Kenma hadn’t gotten to enjoy any of it, Kuroo decided to bring the party to him, and you can’t have a party without snacks and sodas.

“I’m back,” Kuroo sang as he walked into his room. He froze however, as his eyes landed on Kenma. He was laying in the bed, facing the wall, with his legs pulled up to his chest.

Kuroo placed everything on the nightstand before he climbed into the bed behind him. “Kenma,” he said softly, leaning up on his arm so he could look over at his face. His chest ached at the sight that greeted him. Kenma was crying. Oh my god, why is he crying? Kuroo placed a hesitant hand on Kenma’s shoulder. “Kenma,” he repeated. “What’s wrong?”

Kenma sniffled and another soft, broken sob fell from his lips. Kuroo was panicking, his heart pounding as he tried to think of what to do. He knew he shouldn’t have left him alone earlier, he should have insisted that he stayed in his room with him, party be damned. It was obvious that something was bothering him.

“I feel like I’m losing you,” Kenma finally whispered.

Kuroo could practically feel his heart snap in two. “Losing me?” he asked, wrapping a protective arm around Kenma’s small frame. “I’m not going anywhere, Kenma,” he promised. “Nobody else here tonight will ever be more important to me than you.”

Kenma had never cared about Kuroo having other friends before, but with the distance between them now, he must be feeling pretty sensitive. He guessed it would have been a little overwhelming to travel over an hour to surprise your best friend, just for him to ditch you for a party full of his new university friends. Kuroo squeezed Kenma against his chest as an apology.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he reiterated. “You’re going to graduate soon and then you’ll be here with me, right?” Kenma sniffled again, but nodded his head. He wasn’t sobbing anymore, so that was a good sign. “I won’t need anyone else once you’re here,” he whispered.

Perhaps in hindsight, Kuroo would have realized that Kenma wasn’t upset about his friends.

///////

3.

Kuroo absolutely, undoubtedly hated Valentines Day. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t completely true. Maybe he was just bitter because while everyone around him was happy and acting lovey-dovey with their significant others, Kuroo was left alone to wallow in his own self-pity. Even Bokuto had abandoned him in favor of going to visit Akaashi.

At least he still had Kenma.

Since the birthday party fiasco, things had settled between them. They had spent the rest of the weekend together, playing games and having movie marathons, just like old times. Kuroo was still suppressing his feelings, and even though it was hard, it was for the best. Kenma seemed much happier having things go back to normal between them. He didn’t need to know that Kuroo had to repress popping a boner every time Kenma leaned on him, cuddled him, hell – even looked at him. Kuroo promised that he would not let these annoying feelings make Kenma uncomfortable ever again.

That was why, when Kenma had offered to take the train in to spend time with him on Valentine’s Day, Kuroo had hastily declined. Keeping his feelings inside around Kenma was hard enough on a normal day, he couldn’t imagine trying to hold himself back on such a romantic holiday. He would have cracked for sure. Kenma had seemed a little surprised by Kuroo’s rejection, but Kuroo reminded him that he had school and shouldn’t be missing so many days just to hang out with him.

“We’ll video call though, it’ll be fine,” Kuroo had promised. Kenma reluctantly agreed.

That had been a few days ago. Now it was officially the big day and other than his virtual ‘not-date’ (as Kuroo was calling it in his head) with Kenma, which was scheduled for later that evening, he had absolutely no plans. He did have a class at 9am, but that had been hours ago, and Bokuto had left to visit Akaashi before he got back, so the apartment was unusually quiet.

Kuroo threw himself down on the couch face first, groaning into the cushion. God, he was so lonely. Mission: ‘Get Over Kenma’ was still a work in progress. Maybe he needed a new tactic. None of the mindless hookups he had engaged in seemed to be doing anything to squash his crush. Maybe he needed to put himself out there more, maybe try dating. Kuroo grimaced at the thought. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t ready for dating.

The sound of his front door unlocking startled him into sitting up. He looked over the back of the couch just in time to see Oikawa toeing off his shoes in the entryway. Kuroo rolled his eyes before plopping back down into his previous face-plant.

“Go awaaaay,” Kuroo groaned.

Oikawa laughed. “Stop with the whining, Tetsurou. Are you still moping about your silly little crush on Pudding-chan?”

Kuroo rolled over onto his back, so he could glare up at Oikawa. “Shut up. Why are you here, shouldn’t you be forcing Iwaizumi to participate in some lovey-dovey bullshit activity?”

Oikawa crossed his arms and huffed. “Iwa-chan ditched me. That doesn’t matter though because we aren’t dating. He’s made that abundantly clear,” he said, annoyance obvious in his tone. “Which is why I’m here.”

Kuroo sighed as he forced himself to sit up. He patted the couch next to him as an invitation, which Oikawa gladly accepted. He all but threw himself down with a long, drawn out sigh and Kuroo had to stop himself from laughing at his dramatics.

Oikawa was one of his closest friends at university. They had never officially met in high school since their teams never got a chance to play each other, but Kuroo had recognized his name the second they met. Oikawa Tooru. Kuroo had been surprised when they met, to find out that Oikawa wasn’t the grand king, ladies man the sports magazines made him out to be. He was a great volleyball player, that wasn’t up for debate, but he was also a huge brat, uselessly gay, and utterly incapable of doing anything without the help of his precious ‘Iwa-chan,’ who he was also completely, head-over-heels in love with.

Kuroo was not in the position to judge though.

At least Oikawa and Iwaizumi would probably end up together. That was Kuroo’s theory at least. Anybody who saw them together knew that Iwaizumi was just as gone for Oikawa as the brown haired boy was for him. Everybody except for Oikawa and Iwaizumi themselves, anyway.

“What does Iwaizumi ditching you have to do with me and my apartment?” Kuroo asked. “I gave you that key for emergencies, you know. Not for you to barge in whenever you need one-sided marriage counseling.”

“… so I was thinking-“

“That’s never a good sign.”

“Shut up. I was thinking, since you’re trying to get over your little crush on Pudding-chan and I’m trying to get back at Iwaizumi for ditching me, and since we’re both alone on this lovely, romantic day… maybe we could fool around a little?”

Kuroo’s eyes widened. “What? That’s how you want to break down the walls with Iwaizumi? Using me to make him jealous, and then what? He kills me and that’s how I get over my feelings for Kenma – because I’m dead?”

Oikawa groaned, throwing his arms over his face. “I don’t know! I’m just so tired of this stupid game we’re playing and I thought, I don’t know, maybe if he saw me with a few hickeys, he’d maybe get a little jealous and speed things along.” He peeked at Kuroo from behind his hands. “I’m not asking you to fuck me. Just… mark me up a little bit. I won’t even tell him it was you!”

Kuroo rolled his eyes because yeah, right. He was about to decline – he respected Iwaizumi too much and trusted Oikawa too little to keep it a secret… but would it really hurt? Iwaizumi wouldn’t kill him, probably, and if it got them together faster that would only help Kuroo, who had money riding on them getting together by the end of the school year… and it might help get his mind out of the gutter about Kenma before their virtual ‘not-date.’

He sighed in defeat. “Fine,” he grumbled. “But I’m only giving you a few hickeys, nothing else, got it?”

Oikawa was smiling and throwing a leg over Kuroo’s lap before he even finished talking. “Whatever you say,” he sang before leaning down to press their lips together.

—

Okay, so maybe they got a bit carried away.

Kuroo’s phone blared with the familiar ringtone he had set specifically for Kenma as they both scrambled to get themselves put together. “Dammit, Oikawa,” he growled through clenched teeth as he pulled his pants back up.

“Why are you blaming me? You put your hand down my pants first,” Oikawa argued. He grabbed his shirt off the side of the couch before slipping it back on, moving at a much more leisurely pace.

Kuroo could only glare at him as he grabbed his phone. “Just – be quiet,” Kuroo muttered. He took a deep breath before he accepted the video call, praying he didn’t look as disheveled as he felt.

Kenma popped up on his screen and Kuroo immediately smiled. “Hi,” he greeted. Kenma looked… really good. He had his hair pulled into a cute, half-up/half-down style, with a few wispy pieces of his bangs framing his face, and – wait, was that – “are you wearing eyeliner?”

Kenma blushed. “Yeah, um,” he said. “Just a little.”

Kuroo could feel his heart beating against his chest. Who did Kenma get so dressed up for? He must have had a Valentines date after all. He… didn’t know how to feel about that. He was jealous – of course he was, but really, what did he expect? Kenma was a good looking guy, it really wasn’t surprising that someone had noticed and asked him out. He did feel a little hurt that Kenma hadn’t told him about it though.

“It looks really good, I kind of wish you had gotten all dressed up for me,” Kuroo said before he could stop himself. Kenma‘s face scrunched up and Kuroo cringed.

Before Kuroo could jump into damage control, Kenma’s face changed slightly. “Are those…” he hesitated. “On your neck…” Kuroo furrowed his eyebrows together before he looked at himself on his screen. Dammit, Oikawa. There was not one, not two, but three darkening marks down the column of his throat. So much for keeping it a secret.

“Um, yeah –“ Kuroo started to explain, but he was cut off when Oikawa accidentally bumped into the coffee table.

“Ow.”

“Is someone there?” Kenma asked, a shakiness in his voice.

Kuroo glared at Oikawa despite his apologetic look. “Yeah,” he admitted. Oikawa smiled brightly as he plopped back down on the couch, happy that he was given the opening to show himself. He crowded into Kuroo’s space so he could be seen on the camera.

“Helloo, Pudding-chan~” he sang.

Kenma’s eyes widened. “Oikawa,” he said softly. “Hi.”

There was that awkward silence again. Kuroo felt like his stomach was weaving itself into a massive knot. Even Oikawa seemed unsettled by the sudden mood shift.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Kenma said slowly. “I should go.”

Kuroo immediately shook his head. “No, Kenma you - you didn’t,” he said quickly. “Oikawa was just leaving anyways. Let me – um, let me call you back on my laptop in a few minutes, okay? Then we can watch a movie or something together,” he offered.

Kenma looked between him and Oikawa for a second before he nodded. He ended the call a second later without a goodbye. Kuroo stared at the black screen of his phone, making eye contact with his reflection. What is going on?

Oikawa broke him out of his trance by standing up off the couch. “I really should get going,” he said. “Iwa-chan is probably wondering where I ran off to.”

Kuroo merely nodded, too lost in his own head to really hear what Oikawa was saying. “Yeah, I’ll see you later,” he mumbled before he pushed himself to stand up. He started towards his bedroom, but he didn’t get very far before Oikawa stopped him.

“I think…” Oikawa said, “I think maybe you should tell Kenma how you feel.” He walked towards the front door. “There’s definitely… something going on between you two.” Kuroo blinked at him. He watched as Oikawa slipped on his shoes. “I don’t know,” Oikawa sighed. “Maybe I’m just projecting,” he said before he was walking out the door.

—

Kuroo breathed out slowly, releasing a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, as he made himself comfortable in the middle of his bed. He had his laptop propped up on his knees and he easily navigated to Kenma’s contact. Maybe he would tell Kenma how he felt… if someone like Oikawa, who was notoriously bad at picking up hints, could sense something between them, maybe Kuroo’s one-sided crush would turn out to not be as one-sided as he thought.

He took a deep breath before he pressed the call button.

Kenma didn’t answer.

///////

4.

Kuroo, unsurprisingly, did not end up telling Kenma how he felt. He didn’t get a chance because Kenma figured it out on his own. After their fight on Valentine’s Day (is that what it was?), Kenma had ignored him for the rest of the night and then nearly the entirety of the following week. He didn’t fully cut contact, thank god because Kuroo probably would have sent himself into a depressive spiral if he did, but honestly, the dry texts that were few and far between were probably worse.

By the end of the week, Kuroo had had enough. Honestly, if he wasn’t up to his eyebrows in finals prep, he would have jumped on a train and camped outside of the Kozume residence until Kenma agreed to talk to him again. But since he didn’t have time to do that, he would just have to settle for the next best thing and spend his entire weekend spam calling him until he answered, and if that didn’t work… then dammit, he really would get on a train and head home, finals be damned. All he needed was for Kenma to answer the phone, just once, because he had a plan.

Kuroo Tetsurou was going to tell Kozume Kenma that he was in love with him.

Except… things didn’t go exactly as he would have hoped.

By the time his last class ended on Friday, Kuroo was buzzing with nervous energy. He sprinted the entire way home, hoping to begin his new mission of annoying Kenma until he talked to him again early. This had been the longest they had ever gone without talking and it was starting to really effect him. He could only hope that Oikawa wasn’t delusional when he said he sensed something between them because this had to work out. Even if Kenma didn’t reciprocate, as long as they were able to remain friends that was all that truly mattered.

As soon as Kuroo got home, he kicked off his shoes and rushed to his room, locking the door behind him because he did not need Bokuto interrupting such an important moment. He settled on his bed with his laptop propped on his knees once again, and with a deep breath, he began his mission.

—

Thirteen ignored calls later and Kuroo was starting to lose hope. Maybe Kenma wasn’t home yet? Was he wasting his time? He slumped against his pillows, feeling only slightly discouraged. He pressed the video call button again. Fourteenth time’s a charm. As the ringing neared the end of its cycle, Kuroo sighed. Maybe this was a bad idea… just as he was sure the call would once again go unanswered, the screen changed and for a split second, Kuroo perked up.

All of the confidence he had leading up to that moment immediately flew out the window however, as soon as Kenma’s camera focused and he came into view on the screen. Because… because he was crying, evident by his red-rimmed, puffy eyes… and he was glaring. Hard.

Kuroo didn’t know what to say, so thrown off by Kenma’s appearance, so he said the only thing he could think of. “You’re crying.”

…

“Astute observation.”

“Right, sorry.” Kuroo shifted his laptop. The silence between them seemed to stretch on forever. Kuroo kind of felt like crying himself.

Kenma wiped his eyes. “So? What’s so important?”

“I just… you’ve seemed upset and… I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I missed you. I missed your voice..” and I just wanted to say that I love you. I’m in love with you.

“I am upset,” Kenma admitted softly. Kuroo’s heart fell into his stomach. “But… I’m trying not to be.” He fidgeted with his hands. “The whole… situation, it just makes me a little uncomfortable, you know?”

Kuroo felt his entire world crumble. That was the one thing he was trying so hard to avoid, but really, was he surprised? Kenma had always been so observant. Of course he’d eventually figure out that Kuroo had feelings for him, and of course it would make him uncomfortable. Kenma never seemed like the type who would be interested in anyone romantically, let alone him.

“I’m sorry,” Kuroo said softly. “I’m just – I think I’m just trying to cope with you not being here, y’know? I miss you so much and it’s just… it’s been messing with my head.”

Kenma sniffled, wiping away more tears from his face. “I know,” he said. “It’ll be better once I’m there, right?”

Kuroo bit the inside of his cheek and nodded instantly. “Yeah, Ken. I promise, it’ll be out of my system by the time you get here.” Kenma remained silent. “You barely have a month left and then you’ll be moving in with me and everything will be fine.”

“Yeah,” Kenma sighed. “I love you.” But not like that, Kuroo’s brain supplied, unhelpfully.

His heart squeezed. “I love you too.”

—

As the end of his lease with Bokuto grew closer, Kuroo began to panic when he realized how little progress he had actually made in finding a new place for him and Kenma. Originally, the plan had been for Bokuto to sign a new lease at their current apartment, this time with Akaashi, and Kuroo and Kenma would find their own place, but then Bokuto had suggested they it would just be easier to stay together, at least for one year. Everyone collectively agreed.

“We’ll have a share a room,” Kuroo had warned Kenma as they talked over a video call.

Kenma had furrowed his brows. He’s uncomfortable, you make him uncomfortable. But then, “Yeah… that’s fine.”

That had been nearly two months ago. The end of the school year went by in a flash of final exams - which Kuroo, thankfully passed all of, thanks to the help of the 24-hour coffee shop between his apartment and campus. He hadn’t realized how distracted he had been until he really had to force himself to sit down and study.

Kenma and Akaashi moved in after their respective graduations. Bokuto was overjoyed, nearly vibrating out of his skin for an entire week afterwords, and Kuroo was jealous that he couldn’t experience the same joy. He was happy, of course he was, Kenma was his best friend and they had been talking about moving in with each other since middle school… but unlike Bokuto, who didn’t have to push away his feelings for Akaashi, Kuroo felt scared. Scared that he’d do something, or say something, that would push Kenma further away, something that would make him upset.

While Bokuto and Akaashi got to enjoy their first month of officially living together, Kuroo found himself walking on eggshells. Kenma noticed – because of course he did, but instead of forcing him to stop acting weird like he would have done – like he did do – months ago, he didn’t do anything. They continued to do everything they used to, but things were… different. There was an awkward tension between them, and Kuroo knew why.

He needed to get over his crush, immediately. No more kicking his feet and hoping it would fade away with time. He needed – he needed to do something about it. Actively force himself to move on because, because Kenma deserved his best friend back, and Kuroo missed him.

Fuck, he needed to get laid.

—

All of that to explain why and how Kuroo ended up in an unfamiliar bed on a Saturday morning, a little over two months into living together. The new semester was just getting started and the added stress from his new classes was only the cherry on top.

As soon as he became conscious, Kuroo groaned at the throbbing between his eyes. He recognized that he wasn’t in his own bed immediately. It was too small and the body beside him was not Kenma. Oh – because that was also a thing, wasn’t it? Ever since Kenma moved in, they had shared a bed. Kuroo’s bed, specifically, because Kenma didn’t even bring his. Kuroo had offered to get a futon and sleep on the floor, but Kenma had given him a weird look, and said that it was fine. Kuroo understood, sort of. His bedroom was far too small to fit two full beds, and a futon on the floor wouldn’t be practical either, so... bed sharing it was.

Kuroo stretched as he sat up. His head was pounding and his limbs felt heavy. He didn’t blackout, but he definitely drank way more than he intended to last night, but it had been necessary at the time. He couldn’t… the entire night, he couldn’t get Kenma out of his mind. No matter what he did, who he talked to, all he could think about was going home and spending the rest of his night with the one person he actually, truly wanted.

The alcohol had helped. He loosened up and stopped sulking in the corner, and once he was drunk enough he found himself flirting with a cute guy he recognized from one of his classes.

Kuroo looked down at the sleeping form next to him and sighed. Kenma crept back into his mind and he was too powerless to stop it, no longer armed with a bottle of vodka. He forced himself off the bed and began gathering his clothes. He found his phone and wallet still in his pants pockets, thank god, and he checked the time after pulling his shirt over his head.

Damn, barely 8am. Kuroo cursed his internal clock as he clicked through his notifications. Two missed calls from Kenma from around 1am, and a handful of texts asking if he’d be coming home after the party. Nothing too alarming. He pocketed his phone before letting himself out.

“This is my first walk-of-shame,” Kuroo thought as he dragged himself down the street. He nearly laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. Was he ashamed about what happened last night? He certainly didn’t feel great about it. The guy – oh god, he couldn’t even remember his name now – had been fun and just distracting enough to keep Kuroo’s mind from wondering… but it still hadn’t been enough. Nothing would ever be enough, he realized bitterly.

He wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake as he let himself into their apartment. Bokuto and Akaashi were notorious early-risers, but even they enjoyed sleeping in on the weekends, and Kenma almost never got up before eleven, maybe even noon. So he was a little surprised to see both Akaashi and Kenma sitting on the couch as the door clicked quietly behind him.

Akaashi’s eyes made him feel frozen in place, but he forced himself to walk further into the living room regardless. “Good morning,” he offered, voice still rough from the night before. The air around them felt thick with unspoken tension.

Akaashi looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. He looked at the half-blonde, the two of them communicating in a way that Kuroo thought only he’d be able to do with Kenma. After a second, Akaashi nodded once, squeezed Kenma’s hand, and then retreated back to his and Bo’s room. Kuroo felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He had never needed a translator for Kenma before, but as of recently, it felt like he couldn’t read him at all anymore.

With Akaashi gone, Kuroo’s eyes finally fell onto Kenma. “Did you sleep last night?” he asked, concerned now that he could see how tired Kenma looked. His eyes were swollen and bloodshot, his hair a mess. Kuroo knew the answer before Kenma even began to shake his head. “Are you – is everything okay?” He felt stupid asking, but Kenma was giving him nothing. Not a look, not an eye roll… just nothing, but a blank face.

“It’s - ” Kenma looked up and Kuroo could see unshed tears prickling his lashes. “Fine,” he finished. “Just… can you take a shower and then come to bed… with me?”

Kuroo nodded. “Yeah, Ken… go to bed, I’ll meet you there.” It was slow going, but Kenma eventually pulled himself off the couch and made his way to their shared bedroom, and crawled into their shared bed. Kuroo watched him for a long moment before disappearing into the bathroom, his head spinning and his eyes burning. Something was wrong and Kuroo didn’t know what. Kenma was upset about something… something more than just Kuroo’s feelings for him. It felt like everything around him was crumbling and he was unable to do anything to stop it.

“I promise I’ll do whatever I can to fix this,” Kuroo whispered to himself. Maybe he didn’t know what this was yet, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying. He was tired of seeing Kenma cry because of him. Whatever it was he needed to do – he’d do it.

///////

5.

It was only three weeks later when everything became abundantly, terrifyingly clear.

Kuroo groaned into his textbook for the third time in the past ten minutes. Bokuto laughed from where he sat across from him, Akaashi ignored him, and Kenma simply nodded in agreement. The four of them had been camped out in the library for over four hours, each with their own individual books and homework. Akaashi even had his laptop open, typing away at some research paper he was working on.

“I think my brain is at capacity for today, guys,” he mumbled.

Kenma hummed as he fixed his posture, cracking his back in the process. “I guess I can pause for the night,” he agreed.

“Its not too late, maybe we can grab some food on the way home?” Bokuto suggested. He began packing away his own materials, nudging Akaashi to do the same. With a sigh, Akaashi clicked a few things on his laptop before closing it. He was really the driving force behind these study sessions and typically got the most done out of all four of them combined.

“The usual?” he asked as he slid his laptop into his tote bag.

All three of them nodded. Kuroo chanced a glance at Kenma. He had his hair in a messy, low bun, with his bangs hanging in his face. He looked gorgeous, but Kuroo kept that thought to himself. Things had been okay between them as of recently. Kuroo really wasn’t sure what changed, but something definitely had. Kuroo had been putting more effort into being normal around him again. He decided to take a break from Mission: ‘Get Over Kenma,’ and instead, turn his focus on just being a good friend again. Whatever it was that had been bothering Kenma so much, slowly disappeared over the course of the past three weeks. Kuroo hadn’t seen him cry once… maybe he really just needed some more quality time with his best friend.

Bokuto immediately wrapped his arm around Akaashi’s shoulder when they stepped outside and Kuroo tried to ignore the jealousy stirring in the pit of his stomach. He glanced down at Kenma again as they walked. Make a move, his brain tried, but Kuroo shook his head. Absolutely not. Kenma was finally, finally acting normal around him again and he’d be damned if he ruined it.

Still… what would old Kuroo do? The Kuroo he was before he realized his feelings for his best friend? He’d definitely wrap his arm around Kenma, no doubt about it. But… would it be weird now? Would Kenma view it as a come-on and get uncomfortable?

He didn’t realize he was staring until Kenma looked up and met his eyes. He smiled easily and all of Kuroo’s worries left his mind. He smiled in return before throwing his arm around Kenma’s shoulders. The small blond huffed an annoyed sound, but he was still smiling, and Kuroo considered that a win.

—

The restaurant they frequented wasn’t far and it was convenient as hell – equidistant of the campus library and their apartment. Typically they would get their meals to-go, but since it wasn’t too late, they decided to give dining in a try. They found an empty booth near the back and sat down. Akaashi and Bokuto on one side, Kuroo and Kenma on the other.

Kuroo had never really looked around the place before, since they only came in for a second to pick up takeout, but it was actually nicer than he thought. There was even a sushi bar that he had not once noticed. He’d definitely be taking advantage of that tonight.

Their waitress came by and took their drink orders and appetizers, but Kuroo offered to head to the bar to order some sushi for the table instead. After skimming the menu and agreeing on what they wanted, Kuroo slipped out of the booth and headed to the bar to place their order.

“What can I get for yo– oh, hey,” the man behind the bar said with a smile. Kuroo startled for a moment, having not expected to run into someone he knew, before he smiled in return.

The person, who Kuroo now knew was Hikaru, was the same guy Kuroo had hooked up with three weeks prior. They hadn’t really spoken since that night, but they did share a class together so it wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other around. Hikaru had been pretty easy going about Kuroo’s whole ‘leaving before he wakes up’ thing, thankfully.

“Hey, I didn’t know you worked here,” Kuroo said.

Hikaru shrugged easily. “Most of the staff here are university students, I just happen to be one of them.” Kuroo hummed. “So, what can I get for you?”

Kuroo gave their order and Hikaru immediately set out on making it. Kuroo leaned on the counter, still smiling, as he watched him work. “Ah, no wonder you were so good with your hands,” he teased.

Hikaru laughed. “Fuck off,” he said. “Aren’t you here with your boyfriend? Shouldn’t you be using your lame pickup lines on him?”

Kuroo’s eyebrows furrowed. “You mean Kenma?” Hikaru nodded and Kuroo shook his head. “He’s not my boyfriend,” he said, glancing back towards the table for only a second. If I’m being honest, I wish he was, he thought.. “Nope, we’re just friends.”

“Oh – I thought I heard – never mind then,” Hikaru said. He continued to work, his hands never stopping, even when he looked up to meet Kuroo’s eye. “So… single, then?”

Kuroo smirked. “Yeah. You?”

Hikaru nodded. Kuroo was close enough that he could see the faint blush dusting his cheeks. “I never did get your number, you know. After that night,” he mumbled.

“You want my number?” Kuroo asked, still smirking, still teasing. This was good, this was progress in his mission to get over Kenma. Maybe if he had a regular fling instead of mindless, drunken sex, maybe his heart would finally take a hint and move on.

Hikaru rolled his eyes, but his smile never left his face. “Yeah, maybe I do.”

Kuroo pulled his phone out. “Alright, I’ll text you.”

Kuroo headed back to their table carrying one sushi platter, with his phone now one contact heavier in his pocket. The first thing he noticed as he approached was that Kenma wasn’t there. He set the platter down on their table. The second thing he noticed was the suddenly tense energy coming from Akaashi and Bokuto as he slid into the booth across from them.

“Uh,” he said awkwardly. “Where’d Kenma go – bathroom?” he asked.

Akaashi was glaring at him, it was the same look he received three weeks ago, and Bokuto’s hands were balled into fists on top of the table. What is happening?

“He left.” Akaashi’s tone was angry and Kuroo raised his eyebrows.

“What, why – ”

“Dude,” Bokuto said, and shit, he was angry too. “How long has this been going on?”

Kuroo had absolutely no idea what was happening. “What are you talking about?”

Akaashi shook his head. “Stop with the act, Kuroo,” he said harshly. “Kenma’s been telling me everything, you know. Ever since the first time, so you can’t lie to me.” He took a breath, as if to calm himself down. “It was bad enough doing it when he wasn’t around, but to do it right in front of him?” Akaashi scoffed. “You’re a real piece of shit, Kuroo, and I really hope Kenma finds the strength to dump you after this.”

Kuroo’s eyes widened. “What?” he yelled, causing a few other patrons to look towards them. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice again. “I’m – I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come off it,” Akaashi laughed, the sound bitter and mean. “You’ve been cheating on him for months. Don’t try to play dumb now.”

Cheating on him? Kuroo’s chest was tight and he felt bile rising up his throat.

It just makes me a little uncomfortable, you know?

“Oh my god,” he choked out. Akaashi seemed confused by his reaction, but he was still glaring. “Oh my god. I have to talk to him. Please, I – I promise, I didn’t… I didn’t know.” Bokuto’s eyes widened and Akaashi’s glare changed to a look of genuine surprise.

“Oh my god,” Akaashi whispered back as all of the pieces finally clicked into place for all of them.

Kuroo stood up. He fumbled with his wallet for a second, throwing money on the table, before he turned and sprinted out of the building. Kenma would have gone home, right? He wasn’t very social, so he definitely didn’t go to a friends house. Kuroo started running towards their apartment, praying that he would be there.

I feel like I’m losing you.

Kuroo’s eyes were burning. Oh my god, how could he be such an idiot? Everything made so much sense now. Kenma’s appearance for their Valentine’s Day ‘virtual not-date,’ which apparently had been a virtual real date all along. His reactions, the red-rimmed eyes, the awkward tension between them every time Kuroo… every time he – he cheated.

—

The apartment door ricocheted off the wall as Kuroo rushed inside. He couldn’t even be bothered to care in the moment though. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air as Kuroo ran to their bedroom. “Kenma!” he called, wanting to announce his presence – as if the door slamming wasn’t enough.

The bedroom was empty.

Kuroo’s shoulders slumped as he looked around the room. He walked back out into the hallway, stopping when he realized the bathroom door was shut. He could see a shadow moving under the door.

“Kenma,” Kuroo said, much softer this time, as he pressed himself against the door. He tried the knob, but unsurprisingly, it was locked. There was a sniffle from inside and Kuroo’s heart ached. “Kenma, please open the door. I need to talk to you, please.”

Kenma didn’t say anything, but Kuroo could hear him crying.

“Please, this is important,” he begged. He felt desperate, like he was going to crawl out of his skin. Tears rolled down his face. “I just need you to tell me,” he paused, resting his forehead against the door. “Have I been cheating on you?”

Silence. Kuroo couldn’t even hear a sniffle from the other.

Suddenly, the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a teary eyed Kenma. He stared up at Kuroo, his face a mixture of sad and confused. Kuroo wanted to wrap his arms around him and take away all of the pain he had unknowingly caused him, but he refrained. He needed to hear it.

“Just… answer the question,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “Have I been cheating on you?”

Kenma looked down before giving a singular nod. “Yes.”

Kuroo nodded, mainly in shock. His hands were shaking by his sides. “Kenma, I need you to listen to me. I swear to you, I didn’t know we were dating. When… when did that happen?”

Kenma swallowed. “Last summer, when you came home… I called you out for acting weird and you – you confessed, Kuro,” he said, his face red. “I didn’t make that up in my head. You told me that you couldn’t live without me and I – I told you that I loved you too.”

Kuroo remembered. “I thought you meant as a friend. We say I love you all the time,” he argued weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. “We never – we don’t kiss.”

“At first I just thought you wanted to take things slow and then we barely got to see each other during the school year… and by the time I moved here, you were already ch-” he cut himself off. “I didn’t think you wanted me to kiss you,” he admitted softly.

Kuroo’s head was spinning. “Kenma, it’s May,” he stressed. “If we started dating in July, it’s been nearly a whole year. It’s been a whole year of me ch – cheating on you… and you didn’t say anything?”

Kenma looked away, eyes still shining with tears. “You kept saying everything would be fine when I got here,” he whispered.

“I meant – Jesus, Kenma… I meant that I’d stop acting weird. I meant that my crush on you would be under control, so I’d stop making you uncomfortable.”

They stood silently, Kuroo staring at Kenma and Kenma staring at the floor.

“I’ve been in love with you since middle school,” Kenma admitted. He reached up to wipe his eyes as Kuroo balked at him. “So when you confessed, or – when I thought you confessed, it was one of the best days of my life. I was finally going to be able to call you mine.” He fidgeted with his hands. “And when you started… cheating, I was upset, but I figured… it – it wasn’t fair to you, to expect you to stay faithful when I wasn’t here.”

“Kenma…”

“It hurt, but I could get over it because you told me everything would be fine, and I believed you… but then I got here and things didn’t change, and I just…” he sniffled. “Akaashi kept telling me I should dump you, but I didn’t want to. I know it’s so pathetic, but I had spent so long being in love with you, I couldn’t bear to let you go.”

Kuroo threw his arms around Kenma, pulling the smaller boy into his chest. “Oh, Kenma… I am so sorry,” he said. “I can’t believe…” more tears slipped down his cheeks. He pulled back just enough so he could look into Kenma’s eyes, still holding him close. “I need you to know that I would never, ever intentionally do anything to hurt you and if I ever do, I want you to kill me because that means I’m likely already dead and the Kuroo you know is an imposter.” Kenma huffed a sad, wet laugh and Kuroo wiped his eyes for him. “I spent the past year trying to get over my feelings for you because I thought I was making you uncomfortable, but I couldn’t do it. Mission: ‘Get Over Kenma,’ was an epic failure.”

From their proximity, Kuroo could feel Kenma’s heart beating against his chest.

“I can never take back how I’ve acted this past year, but I will do everything to make it up to you moving forward…” Kuroo promised. “If you’ll still have me,” he added quietly, nervously, because honestly – there was a chance that Kenma could reject him after this. He could call Kuroo a liar, if he didn’t believe him, or even if he did, the damage could already be done.

Kenma just shook his head and for a moment, Kuroo’s heart sank, but then Kenma’s lips were on his. Kuroo brought one hand up to gently caress his still damp cheek, his other arm still wrapped protectively around his waist. He would never let him go, not for as long as he was alive. He’d love Kenma the way he deserved and he’d make it up to him everyday going forward.

Whatever he needed to do, he’d do it.

///////

+ 1.

Kuroo smiled at the barista who handed him his order before walking to the small table he had left Kenma at when they first walked in. “Apple pie and caramel frozen coffee with extra caramel and whipped cream for you,” he said happily, sliding into his own seat. “And a cinnamon roll, and boring iced coffee for me.”

Kenma rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Thank you. You know you don’t have to treat me every time, right?”

Kuroo waved his hand. “I already told you, I am going to treat you everyday, for at least a year… maybe even forever,” he said. “Honestly, yeah, definitely forever.”

Kenma hid his smile behind his coffee. “You’re dumb.”

“Extremely,” Kuroo agreed easily. “Now eat your pie.”

It had been over a month since everything… came to light, and things had honestly never been better. Kuroo wasn’t stupid, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to rebuild his trust with Kenma overnight. He knew that even if Kenma believed him when he said he didn’t know, there would always be a small part of him that would always wonder… so, that just meant that Kuroo needed to be extra attentive, which as it turned out, was not hard now that he could express his feelings freely.

Kuroo couldn’t believe how blind he had been. Kenma was so obvious with his love that he was flabbergasted that he went so long without realizing. His Kenma translator was officially up and running again, and he couldn’t be happier.

“Pudding-chan!!”

Kenma jumped at the sudden shriek from across the café. Kuroo groaned and put his head in his hands. People were staring. Dammit –

Oikawa approached their table, pulling Iwaizumi behind him. The man was as stoic as ever. Kuroo peeked at him through his fingers, but quickly looked away when they made eye contact. Ah, he thought. Oikawa definitely told him.

“What do you want?” Kuroo asked, finally pulling his hands away from his face. “Can’t you see I’m on a date with my boyfriend?”

Oikawa smiled wide. “I can see that, thank you.” Iwaizumi grabbed the back of Oikawa’s neck and forced him into a low bow. Oikawa yelped, slapping uselessly at Iwaizumi’s hand. “Ugh – you brute!”

“Apologize,” Iwaizumi said, his voice even and calm, despite his actions.

Oikawa stopped fighting and sighed, his head still bowed. “Kenma-kun,” he started. “I am terribly sorry for what happened between Kuroo and I,” he said. Iwaizumi released him and Oikawa looked back up, eyes locking with Kenma’s. “Even though I was unaware, it still happened and I’m sorry.”

Kenma’s eyes were wide and he glanced at Kuroo, who was staring at both of them with a look of bewilderment. Oikawa Tooru. Apologizing for something that arguably wasn’t even his fault. “It’s okay,” Kenma said after a beat of silence. “I appreciate the apology, but it’s really unnecessary. Like you said, you weren’t aware.”

Oikawa smiled. “I knew you’d forgive me,” he cooed, but the way his shoulders relaxed made Kuroo think otherwise. “I assume Tetsu-chan is treating you well now that he’s not being an absolute idiot?”

Kenma nodded and Kuroo rolled his eyes. He had no argument because – well, he had been a colossal idiot.

“Let’s leave them alone,” Iwaizumi mumbled, tugging on Oikawa’s arm.

Oikawa nodded quickly. “Enjoy your date, lovebirds,” he sang.

Iwaizumi locked eyes with Kuroo for a final time and Kuroo ducked his head, nervous laughter bubbling out before the other couple walked away. Kenma was smiling when he looked back up. “You’re scared of Iwaizumi,” he teased.

“Absolutely I am,” Kuroo agreed and Kenma laughed, a small sound. “Seriously, if I ever go missing, your first suspects should be Iwaizumi and Akaashi.”

Kenma hummed in agreement. “I don’t think Akaashi blames you for what happened anymore.”

Kuroo shrugged, ripping a piece of his cinnamon roll off. “Sometimes I can still feel his glare on me and it sends a shiver down my spine. Have you seen how he looks at me while he chops vegetables?”

“Well, you know,” Kenma mumbled, “don’t cheat on me again – for real this time – and he won’t castrate you. Probably.”

Kuroo smiled. “Deal.”