The Cat and the Crow

Kei leaned back at his desk, stretching after finishing his classwork. There was still about an hour left of school, and then he’d head home. Earlier at lunch, the team got together to celebrate his birthday. Even Coach Ukai had stopped by, telling him that he didn’t have to stay late this evening. In fact, he said Kei could just go home after school, as a birthday present from him. No one seemed to object, so Kei agreed, thanking them all.

Now, after turning his work in, he started getting his stuff together. He opened his bag, and turned on his phone, waiting for it to stop buzzing with the amount of notifications that he’d received through the day. It was mostly the squad group chat blowing up, as usual, and one from Kuroo. Without thinking twice about it, he tapped on that one first.

[HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope it’s been a good one, so far.]
[I love you]

Kei smiled, and looked up from his phone. He caught Tadashi watching him, and he flushed. His best friend picked up his stuff and came to sit at the empty desk in front of him. Neither of them spoke, but now it seemed that Tadashi was waiting for something.

“What’s going on?” Kei asked suspiciously.

“Nothing. Nothing at all. Why do you ask? Aren’t you going to text him back?”

Kei squinted. “How did you know…?”

“Oh my god, Tsuki! It’s written all over your face! Just… text him back, already.”

“Tsk. Sus,” he muttered, staring hard at Tadashi. “Could you at least give me a hint?”

“Okay. The hint is… text Kuroo back.”

“Not helping.”

“Not at all.”

Kei squinted at him for a few minutes before going back to his phone. A new message had popped up, this one from his brother. Curious, he tapped on it.

[Happy birthday, lil bro! When you’re done, meet me downstairs at the gate.]

“That’s weird,” he said to himself. He replied to Akiteru and glanced at Tadashi, who was looking even more excited, and then he went back to reply to Kuroo’s message.

[Thank you. It’s been… interesting.]
[I love you, too]
[What’s going on?]

He waited.

[I have a surprise waiting for you]
[What is it?]
[Can’t tell you. That would ruin the surprise]
[Does Tadashi know what this surprise is?]
[Yeah, kinda]
[Akiteru, too?]
[Yup]
[Am I the only one who doesn’t know?]
[Again, that would ruin the surprise, don’t you think?]
[Kuroo?]
[Yeah?]
[Shut up]
[LOL! Right. So… are you coming down, or what?]

“Wait… what??”

He suddenly looked up at Tadashi, who’d taken his school bag, replacing it with another. Confused, he looked around, and noticed most of the rest of his classmates were also watching them. One of them pointed in the direction of the door. From where he sat, he could see nearly everyone on the team looking back at him. Suga and Daichi especially, as they were literally standing in the doorway.

“Come on, get up. Let’s go,” Suga said, smiling so bright Kei thought he’d need sunglasses. “Grab your bag.”

“But…” he mildly protested, even as he did as told.

“No ‘buts,’” Daichi added, moving out of the way so Kei could pass. “Get going.”

“Does everyone here know about this surprise??” He asked no one in particular, and stopped in the middle of the hallway.

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” Noya said from behind him. “But we are under strict orders not to tell you anything.” Putting both hands on Kei’s back, he started pushing. “Come on, let’s go!”

Left with no real choice in the matter, Kei let himself be pushed until they got to the stairs. Then he went down, being passed by Hinata and Kageyama, who tended to make everything a race, and then by Tanaka and Noya, who made it a game to chase them. Everyone else stayed close, and kept moving so that there was no chance to stop again.

Once he reached the bottom, he noticed several things. First, Kageyama had caught Hinata, and held him close. Tanaka and Noya were both grinning madly, giving him a thumbs up. Behind him, everyone else was smiling, though Daichi tried to look dad-like and serious. He wasn’t doing very well.

Then, Suga went, “One! Two! Three!” and everyone else yelled, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TSUKI!!”

“Thank you, everyone,” he said, bowing. “Although, I still don’t know why my birthday is such a big deal.”

“Nevermind that,” Daichi said, pointing towards the door. “Get going. Your surprise is waiting for you.”

“Yes, dad,” Kei said sarcastically. Everyone laughed as he went out the door.

And immediately stopped.

At the gate, just in front of his brother, stood Kuroo. He was still wearing his school uniform, so he had to have left Tokyo around lunch time. Kei’s gaze flitted over Kuroo’s dark, perpetually messy hair, and his mischievous smile. But most of all, he noticed the twinkle in his dark honey eyes.

Dropping the bag he’d been carrying, Kei made his way to Kuroo, picking up speed as he went. He ignored the team cheering behind him, ignored Akiteru as he caught the bag that Kuroo had practically tossed at him. None of that mattered as he threw himself into Kuroo’s arms.

“Happy birthday, my love,” Kuroo said quietly in his ear. “How do you like your surprise?”

“Best. Surprise. Ever,” Kei replied.

“You don’t know how much I wanted to see your face after I sent that last message,” Kuroo admitted. “But now that you’re finally here…”

The world ceased to exist when Kuroo kissed him. Kei didn’t care about anything else as he kissed him back. When they came up for air, Kei noticed everyone, including his brother, conspicuously putting phones in pockets. Except Noya and Tanaka, who blatantly took several more pictures.

“Don’t you dare share that!” Kei yelled at them.

“Too late!” Tanaka yelled back. Kei felt his phone vibrate, and he quickly brought it out to look. There, in the team’s group chat, were several shots of Kuroo and him kissing.

Kuroo laughed, slowly letting Kei go, and pulling his phone out, too. “Might as well share that with me, as well as Bokuto and Akaashi.”

“I’m guessing they knew about this, too,” Kei quipped, saving the pic to his phone, and then sending it to the squad.

“They helped me plan everything,” Kuroo said.

“Why do I get the feeling you have another surprise?”

Kuroo gave him a roguish look. “I might.”

“Tell me.”

“Not a chance!” Kuroo winked and then started backing up. “Let’s go home.”

“Come on, Kuroo. Tell me!” Kei said, following him.

“If you want to know that badly, you’re gonna have to catch me!” And he took off running.

Kei stood there a moment, bouncing on his feet, and then chased after him, the cheers of his brother and teammates egging him on.

[The Second Surprise]

“Wait… what??” Kei asked for what felt like the millionth time today.

“You’re going to Tokyo,” Akiteru replied, laughing. “Kuroo’s here to pick you up. And you’ll be staying with him while you’re there.”

Kei didn’t know how to feel. He was happy, of course, but also stunned and confused, maybe a little nervous. This was almost too much. He looked at Kuroo who was sitting across from him at the table, staring at him and smiling.

“But, it’s only Thursday. What about school tomorrow?”

“Your teachers told me you are far enough ahead that one day out won’t hurt your grades,” his mother said from the stove. She was cooking his favorite meal for his birthday. “I cleared it with the school, as well.”

“And practice?”

“Coach Ukai said he was fine with it, too. Takeda-sensei wants you to try to get a little practice in,” Akiteru said, and he looked over at Kuroo.

“Bokuto and Akaashi will be coming over, so we’ll try to fit it in,” he replied. “We’ll have all day Friday and Saturday to do stuff, and I have a few things planned. Sunday will be a stay-at-home day, before you’re due back here.”

“Sounds like fun,” he said quietly. Kuroo’s smile fell a little, and he rose from the table. “Can I steal him for a little bit?” he asked.

“Sure,” Kei’s mom replied. “Dinner still has about an hour to go. When does the train leave?”

“9pm from Sendai station.” Kuroo came around the table and took Kei’s hand. “Come on. Walk with me.”

“Okay,’ he agreed, and followed Kuroo out of the house.