The Cat and the Crow

In order to keep from being seen leaving, Akaashi put phase two into action, as soon as Kei met them in front of the gym. Kuroo had already texted him with the plan.

“We’ll go first,” he said quietly. “You wait until we go around the curve, and then you follow behind us. We’ll wait for Kuroo there.”

“Okay,” Kei replied. Sneaking around was making him more nervous than he should be. Everyone seemed to have everything under control. He was just along for the ride. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” he asked, his voice heavily laced with suspicion.

“Well, yeah. Duh!” Bokuto answered with a grin. “Anyways, see you in a few minutes!” He grabbed Akaashi’s hand and took off running.

“Not even a little conspicuous, Bokuto.” Kei said sardonically as he watched them go, deciding he wasn’t going to run. Walk fast, maybe. But definitely no running.

He found a dark area and hid there, keeping his eyes on Akaashi and Bokuto. When they finally disappeared from sight, Kei assessed his surroundings, made sure no one was around, and followed. He grinned, thinking himself cast in a spy movie, or something. Hands in pockets, he walked quickly until he rounded the curve. What he found made him avert his eyes politely. Bokuto and Akaashi were kissing, deeply.

“You didn’t say I’d have to announce my arrival,” he said loudly. He heard them break apart, and when he deemed it safe, he looked at them.

Akaashi gazed at him curiously. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“Should I be?”

“I guess not,” Akaashi replied with a smile. He glanced down at his watch, and then pulled his phone from his back pocket. The phone was bright, indicating he’d received a notification. “Kuroo is on his way.”

[No words]

[YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN HIS FACE!]
[Bokuto, anyone would have reacted that way.]
[I’M LAUGHING INTERNALLY!]
[Your face says you're laughing externally, as well.]
[What happened?]
[Tsuki caught us kissing.]
[And he was surprised?]
[No, not really. See you when you get here.]

Kuroo picked up his pace just a little. He’d purposely waited a few minutes longer before making his way to his friends, but now he was curious. And he really wanted to see Tsuki. That alone made him want to run the rest of the way, but he kept his cool. Only a little further to go.

When he rounded the curve, he stopped dead in his tracks, held up his phone, and snapped a picture. Then, zoomed in and took another. Even in casual attire, they were all looking good. He immediately sent both photos to Akaashi and Bokuto, and then walked toward them to join the group. He stopped next to Tsuki, and showed him the pictures, too.

Akaashi was dressed in a red and white diagonal striped shirt, a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark navy jeans, and black shoes with stark white laces. He wore a watch on his left wrist and a gold necklace with volleyball, owl, and cat charms on it.

Bokuto wore a grey, long-sleeved shirt (also with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows), light blue jeans, and suede boots with leather cords tied around the ankles.He’d made a bracelet out of another leather cord, which hung loosely around his right wrist. His gold necklace matched Akaashi’s. On various occasions, Bokuto would leave his hair down. Clearly, this was another such occasion. Kuroo wondered how he’d managed to get it done in the time it took to leave the cafeteria and the school.

As for himself, he chose to play up the nickname Kenma had given him years ago. He wore black t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of black boots. Around his neck was the same gold necklace, bearing a volleyball, cat, and owl charm. He’d also wanted to leave his hair down, but he hadn’t the time to fight it into submission. But that was a small loss compared to the massive gain he got when he first saw Tsuki looking absolutely gorgeous in the moonlight.

He wore a button-down, blue plaid shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and several buttons undone at the top, a pair of stone-washed grey skinny jeans, and a pair of red high-top sneakers. A light red scarf was hung loosely around his neck, and his hair shone golden in the moonlight.

Kuroo counted his blessings for fate bringing this wonderful person into his life, and for seeing fit to bring them together. Might be a good idea to visit a shrine after this weekend is over, he thought, making him laugh softly. He really wasn’t that holy, not while in Tsuki's presence.

On a whim, he quickly switched his camera to front-facing, wrapped an arm around Tsuki’s neck, and snapped a pic. He handed his phone to Tsuki, and smirked. He said nothing to anyone, but just started off in the direction of the restaurant he was taking them to. Bokuto and Akaashi already knew where it was, so they went ahead, holding hands.

He kept his pace even, and soon enough, Tsuki came up beside him, matching him. “Here.” Kuroo took his phone back, and immediately checked his contacts. It was a good thing it was dark out because he felt himself blush. Oh yeah, he had it bad, alright. He sent a text with the photo of them attached, and Tsuki pulled out his phone, saving the number to his contacts.

“Achievement unlocked: numbers exchanged,” Tsuki joked.

Kuroo looked at him. “Do you game?”

“Sometimes,” he answered with a shrug. “But not much.”

“Same here. I’d rather be playing volleyball, or just enjoy the outdoors.”

They talked like that the rest of the way there, and only stopped when they met Akaashi and Bokuto at the restaurant’s entrance. Kuroo opened the door, and in went his friends, with Tsuki going last. He smiled and winked as he passed, and Kuroo was sent. He swore he couldn’t feel the floor beneath his boots as he followed Tsuki inside.

[Make it Official]

Once seated at their table, Bokuto across from Akaashi, and Kuroo across from Tsuki, they all perused their menus for something to snack on. Bokuto ordered potstickers, and Akaashi chose vegetable sushi rolls. Kuroo wanted onigiri with pickled plums, and Tsuki picked dango. As they waited for their food, the waitress brought them the drinks they’d ordered: iced tea with lemon for all four.

They all raised their glasses for a toast. “To the newest member of our squad!” Bokuto cheered. “Here, here!” Kuroo and Akaashi added. Their glasses clinked, and they all took a drink. Tsuki looked adorably flushed, but his golden brown eyes were sparkling, and there was the smile that had captured Kuroo’s heart.

After a moment, Tsuki asked, “What’s with the necklaces? You’re all wearing the same one.”

“Official squad merch!” Bokuto replied immediately, laughing at his own joke.

Akaashi rolled his eyes, but reached down to hook a finger around the gold chain he wore, and the charms settled in the palm of his hand. “We’ve only had them for a year or so,” he explained. “It was Kuroo’s idea, and he’d brought us the chains with a volleyball and cat charms added. We bought the owl charms to add on to it.”

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to procure crow charms,” Kuroo said, mimicking an old tv show, voice and all.

Bokuto burst out laughing.

“How droll,” Akaashi said, even though he’d laughed, too.

“Giving us very much Mission: Impossible,” Tsuki teased.

“I see you’re cultured,” Kuroo winked. “But really, you find those crow charms. We’ll give you your own necklace and charms in a couple weeks.”

“Okay,” Tsuki agreed. Moments later, their food arrived, and they all ate heartily, even though Kuroo and Bokuto ate the majority of it.

An hour later, they made their way back to the school together. Once they were sure the coast was clear, they snuck back into the gym building. They changed back into their practice clothes, and took their things back upstairs. At one point, Bokuto and Akaashi went down the hall toward the room the Fukurodani team was using, wishing Kuroo and Tsuki a goodnight.

Kuroo walked beside Tsuki as they walked another way, heading toward the Karasuno room. He was reluctant to leave him. It was too soon. They hadn’t had enough time. He reached out and held Tsuki’s hand, enjoying the feeling all over again.

Tsuki turned to face him. “What is it?” he asked, equally curious and concerned.

“It’s too soon,” Kuroo replied. “I want more time.”

“We can’t.”

“I know.”

Kuroo laced their fingers together, and the feeling sparked again. “I hope that sensation never goes away,” he said, smiling softly.

“Yeah,” Tsuki nodded. After a few minutes of silence, “I have to go.”

“I know,” Kuroo replied. He tugged on Tsuki’s hand, bringing him closer. “I forgot. Can I share your number with Bokuto and Akaashi? We have a group chat for our squad, and they wanted your number, anyway…”

Tsuki smirked. “You’re stalling.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Of course not. And I don’t mind if you give them my number.”

“Good.” Kuroo tugged again, bringing Tsuki even closer. “Kiss me goodnight?” he dared to ask.

Tsuki hesitated. “Not yet. It’s not that I don’t want to,” he explained hurriedly, as if to apologize for hurting his feelings.

With his free hand, Kuroo gently caressed Tsuki’s face. “It’s okay. I’ll wait until you’re ready. Until then, though,” he leaned in and kissed Tsuki on the cheek. “That will have to do,” he smiled as he slowly backed away. Tsuki looked adorably flustered, one hand on his neck, and the other touching his cheek.

Kuroo wondered if he’d looked that way after the first time he’d kissed Tsuki’s cheek. Fishing his phone out from his things, he quickly snapped another photo.

“Not sharing this one,” he said as he turned and walked away.