The Cat and the Crow

“Make sure you keep those straights shut out,” Tetsuro said as he came up to stand beside Kei. They were taking advantage of an empty gym, and Bokuto was gearing up for another spike.

Kei grinned at him, but did as told, jumping up to block as Akaashi set up the ball. Bokuto reared back to make his spike, but right at the last second, Tetsuro moved his arms to the left, making a kill block and shutting Bokuto down.

“Awww man!” Bokuto complained as he went to chase the ball. “Let’s do another!”

“Sure, but we’ll just shut you down again,” Tetsuro taunted, slinging his arm around Kei’s shoulders.

“Did you really just…” Akaashi started to say, but Bokuto yelled over him.

“CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”

Kei just smiled and watched them banter with each other, enjoying the fact that they were back together again. It had only been a week, but he’d missed them all so much. The road trip here seemed endless, and now that they were here, time was flying by so fast.

“Hey,” he heard his love’s voice whisper in his ear. “Missed you.”

“Missed you more,” he replied. He would have said more, but they both saw Bokuto bouncing a ball impatiently. Reluctantly, they parted, but not before Kei kissed his cheek.

Tetsuro’s face flushed, his eyes went wide, and his fingers touched the spot Kei had kissed. “You did that on purpose,” he accused, squinting at Kei.

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t,” Kei replied with a little shrug. He was trying not to laugh.

“Tease!”

“You love it, though.”

“I mean, true, but…” Tetsuro looked ready to retaliate, but Akaashi sent a ball over the net that dropped down between them.

“Friendly reminder that this extra practice was your idea, Kuroo,” he said.

“Right,” they both replied, which made them all laugh.

“We’re ready,” Kei told them, and they started up again.

Bokuto sent the ball to Akaashi, who set it up for him to spike. Kei’s eyes were focused on the ball, but he listened to Tetsuro’s pointers, as well:

“Read blocking works. It takes persistence, training, and endurance. And when you master it, you’ll always get the last laugh.” He proceeded to get a one-touch off a spike Bokuto, and Kei went back to receive it, sending it back to Kuroo, who sent it back over the net.

“When you run in, leave your options open. Stop, assess, and then jump.”

“Try to avoid sideways jumps. If you can, make sure you stop and jump straight up.”

“Insert power all the way to your fingertips, so they’ll never be blown back.”

“When you’re going one-on-one against a spiker, you don’t want to stand square in front of them. It’s much better to be standing right in front of their dominant arm.”

“Oh yeah! Don’t put your hands straight up, either. Stretch them out. So you can teach this owl with frosted tips a lesson!” Tetsuro pointed at Bokuto, who immediately made a face.

“You wanna talk hair, huh?”

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Kei said, trying to look innocent.

Akaashi snorted and broke out laughing. Tetsuro and Bokuto attempted to look offended, but eventually laughed as well. They decided to take a break, then, and went to sit down right in the middle of the court. Kei was going to sit down next to Tetsuro, but instead found himself in front, wrapped up in his arms.

“Much better,” Tetsuro muttered as he rested his chin on Kei’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Kei agreed.

As if by mutual agreement, Bokuto and Akaashi moved closer, so that they could talk without anyone overhearing. Not that there was anyone else in the gym right now, but the doors were open, so people could show up at any given moment.

“Show us the rings,” Bokuto said eagerly. “Pics are one thing. I want to see them in real life.”

Kei pulled his necklace out from under his shirt, and then did the same for Tetsuro, who stared heatedly at him the whole time. Wrenching his gaze back to the others, Kei smiled a bit shakily.

“You never take them off, do you?” Akaashi asked.

“No,” they both said in unison.

“Even during games?”

“Well, so far they’ve remained hidden during practices, so unless it’s absolutely necessary to take it off, I’ll keep mine on,” Tetsuro said quietly, toying with his ring.

“Yeah, same,” Kei agreed.

“Where did you find the rings? I don’t remember you buying them in Kyoto,” Akaashi asked.

“They were my parents’ promise rings,” Kei replied quietly, and then told them the story, all the way up to the day he’d given Tetsuro his ring.

“Are you ever going to wear them?” Bokuto asked, and then added, “I mean, on your fingers, and not on the necklaces.”

“It’s definitely an option,” Tetsuro answered. “But we’d need to get them resized, first.”

“We really can’t do that until after Nationals, anyway,” Kei added. “Easier to wear it on the necklace, then have to take it off and on constantly.”

“Understandable,” Bokuto said with a nod.

They talked for a little while longer before Hinata and Lev showed up, begging to practice with them. “Quality time’s over, guys,” Tetsuro said glumly. He stood up first, and then helped Kei up, quickly kissing him on the cheek.

“You did that on purpose.”

“Payback for earlier.”

Kei snorted. “Dork.”

“Nerd.”

“Children, children,” Bokuto said in a high-pitched voice. “No name calling! Now, get ready for more spiking practice.”

Kei rolled his eyes.
Tetsuro groaned and added a facepalm.
Akaashi looked ready to throw the ball at Bokuto’s head.
They all laughed so loud that anyone passing by could hear.

“Since we have enough people, let’s play 3-on-3,” Tetsuro suggested. They all agreed, and split up into two teams: Bokuto, Akaashi, and Hinata on one, and Tetsuro, Kei, and Lev on the other. For the next few hours, they played. Tetsuro continued giving pointers and advice on blocking to both Kei and Lev, while Bokuto took Hinata under his wing and gave pointers on spiking.

[Finally Alone]

“Kei, pick a star,” Tetsuro said quietly. They had snuck off to their little spot away from the school, and hidden from view.

“Okay. But why?”

“I’ll tell you after you pick one.”

Kei lifted his head from Tetsuro’s chest and looked up at the star-studded sky through the trees. After a few minutes, he pointed up at the star he picked.

“That one,” he told Tetsuro. “The one right next to that big, bright one. The little star that’s twinkling more than the others.” He looked down at his love, and then settled back down.

“Star light, star bright,” Tetsuro recited. “First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might. Have the wish I wish tonight.” He went silent, and gently caressed his hand up Kei’s back, and ran his fingers through his hair.

Kei shivered and smiled. “I’m going to guess that you won’t tell me that wish.”

“Nope! Won’t come true, if I did.”

“Okay, well, then you pick a star so I can make a wish.”

Having already anticipated that, Tetsuro pointed upward. “The one that is next to yours, burning steady, and maybe a hint of reddish tones.”

Kei repeated the poem, and fell silent afterward.

“We should be getting back,” Tetsuro suggested reluctantly. “Bokuto and Akaashi can only cover for us for so long.”

“Just a little longer?”

“I mean, we could stay out here all night, but that’s asking for trouble.”

“Fine,” Kei grumbled as he sat up. “Probably going to have a tough time sneaking into the room, anyway. Dadchi and Sugamom are both light sleepers.”

Tetsuro burst out laughing. “You seriously call them that?!”

“Most of us do,” Kei told him. “They act like the team parents, and stopped minding when they realized we wouldn’t stop calling them dad and mom. They take their honorary titles seriously, too. Willing to help any of us out when we need it.”

“Well,” Tetsuro said as he stood up, and reached down to pull Kei up after him. “I wonder if they will adopt a cat into the family.”

“To be perfectly honest, I think they already have.”

“Good to know. Come on, then. Let’s go.”

They walked back to the school, and crept along the halls, splitting up after a kiss goodnight. Neither of them shared their wish, though, if they had, they’d have discovered they wished for the same thing…

“I wish to spend forever with you.”