Live Journal FeedHe put his hands on Tsuki’s waist, and pushed back a little, giving them both some room. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to be rough. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You weren’t. I’m not,” Tsuki protested. Kuroo simply stared at him. “Okay, maybe a little. But I’m not made of glass, Kuroo. I won’t break.”
Kuroo exhaled and grinned, but then backed up more. This was going to be harder than he thought. He turned away from Tsuki, and ran his hands through his hair. Looking around, he put his hand in his pocket and remembered. The necklace! He needed to give the necklace to Tsuki.
And he was totally stalling.
Turning to face Tsuki, Kuroo took out the necklace. He’d already attached the little volleyball and cat charms to it. They’d figure out when they’d give him the owl, and the crow would be added whenever Tsuki chose.
“We were going to give this to you while we were eating lunch, but, well … that’s clearly not going to happen, now. Here,” he tried to hand it to Tsuki so that he could put it on himself. But he didn’t take it. When Kuroo looked up at him, he saw Tsuki gently smiling, his head tilted a bit to the side.
“You do the honors. You put it on.”
“I’m trying to behave, here, Tsuki,” Kuroo complained, but he went back to him.
Unhooking the clasp, he wrapped the chain around Tsuki’s neck, and then hooked the clasp again. He gently ran his fingers over his skin, and then made sure the little charms were laid flat. That’s when Tsuki surprised him, by holding his hand against his heart. A heart that was beating just as fast as his own.
“You said it before, But I’ll say it again. I hope that sensation never goes away,” Tsuki whispered.
“Tsuki…” he groaned, leaning forward and resting his head on Tsuki’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but I’m glad you came into my life, you know?” He lifted his head and looked at Tsuki, who was about to interrupt. Kuroo gently laid his hand over Tsuki’s mouth. “Let me say this. Let me be a babbling idiot. Please?” Tsuki nodded, blinking rapidly, and Kuroo removed his hand. “Maybe it’s too soon, I don’t know. But, that day when we first met, that first practice game, I think I fell in love with you. I didn’t know for sure until we met again two weeks ago. I know I’m still moving faster than you want me to. I know that by telling you all this now, I could ruin everything. But I couldn’t not tell you. I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. I love you."
Tsuki remained quiet. Kuroo wanted him to say something, anything, but there was nothing. Shit. I messed up. He’s going to hate me. Turning around, he started to walk away. Until he was stopped by Tsuki, who’d grabbed onto his shirt with both hands. He felt it when Tsuki rested his head against the back of his neck.
“Tsuki?”
“Don’t. Don’t turn around, and don’t stop me.” His voice sounded strained, like he was crying… but he didn’t move. “It’s not too soon. I feel the same, since that first practice game. I fell in love with you, too,” he whispered. “You are moving too fast, still, but when you try to slow down, glacial advance is more of a threat. Find something in the middle. You didn’t ruin anything, but can you give me a little time to process this?”
“Yeah, sure,” Kuroo agreed quickly. “Do you want me to stay away?” Please, not that. Please don’t make me stay away.
“No. I’ll just sit with Suga and Tadashi. Okay?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“You can tell the others, or they’ll never leave you alone.” Tsuki lifted his head and slowly let go of his shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. Kuroo felt it all, and was tempted to turn around, but he stayed still. “I’m going to go. Don’t turn around until you hear the door close behind me.” He felt Tsuki leaving him, and he dared not move a single inch. When he heard the door close, he fell to his knees. After a few minutes, he took his phone out of his pocket and texted Akaashi.
[Hey, I need you to find Kenma and tell him I’m missing the first set]
[Why? What happened?]
[I’ll explain later. Has Tsuki shown up yet?]
[No. What did you do, Kuroo?]
[I’ll explain later. Find Sugawara. Send him after Tsuki]
[Alright. Do you know where he went?]
[No clue. But there’s a restroom near here.]
[Understood. I gotta go.]
[See ya]
Kuroo dropped his phone, and shifted so that he was sitting cross-legged on the ground. He rested his arms across his knees. His back was still facing the door. Tsuki said he hadn’t messed up, and that he felt the same way, but even so… it still felt like he had just scared the best thing that ever happened to him away forever.
[A Little Help]
“There you are,” he heard a familiar voice say. “Took us forever to find you, too.” Kei looked up and saw Suga coming into the team room, and Daichi behind him. He was about to tell them he was fine, but Suga shook his head.
“Akaashi told me you needed someone. Daichi overheard, and I couldn’t lie, so here we are.”
“Don’t worry. I’m only here to keep watch. We didn’t leave unnoticed, but we figured Fukurodani’s ace would be enough of a distraction for the kids that they won’t follow.”
“You two really are like parents,” Kei said, half-joking.
“Yes, and when one of our kids needs us, we’ll be there,” Suga replied with absolutely no shame. “Now, tell us everything.”
Kei saw no reason not to keep quiet. Besides, Suga already knew most of it, so this was more for Daichi’s sake than anything. So, he began at the start of it all. He left very little out, and by the time he was finished, Suga was smiling and Daichi looked thoughtful.
“You did what you thought was right, and I agree with you. It’s all so new to you, that just a little time apart might help you figure things out. Sound about right?” Suga asked.
“Yeah,” Kei affirmed. “But then, why do I feel like I shouldn’t have walked away?”
“Walking away from someone you love can hurt,” Daichi said quietly from the doorway. “But it doesn’t mean you can’t go back. In your case, neither of you are angry with each other, so it wasn’t a fight that set you apart. I think it’s more that you both need space to figure out how to move forward.”
“You basically just said what Suga did, only with more words,” Kei said with a grin.
“What can I say? I’m a wordsy fellow,” Daichi joked back. “Just so you know, I talked to Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei. You’re not in trouble for missing warmups, but you will be expected to do your part from now on. No more missing practices or meetings.”
“Yes, Dad,” Kei replied sarcastically.
“Don’t make me give you extra penalties.”
“God forbid.”
Suga laughed. “Are you joining us for meals?”
“Yeah. Just for a little while.”
“Good. Then we’ll see you downstairs in ten minutes.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“If Daichi’s giving you extra penalties, I’ll make you eat bigger servings. You eat like a bird, anyway.”
“Heinous offence! I think I’ll talk to Coach, myself…”
“Who do you think he’ll believe?”
Kei grinned. “Point taken.”
“See ya in ten,” Daichi said as Suga went out the door. He slid it shut, and Kei was left alone again.
He tried to clear his mind, but that wasn’t happening. He’d forgotten to set his phone to silent, so naturally, it was blowing up with messages. Picking it up, he went to his settings and muted the team chat (which he was the main subject), and he muted the squad chat (Bokuto was trying to help, and Akaashi was trying to shut him up). Kuroo was noticeably silent, but he still kept active status, so he’d either silenced his phone, or just didn’t talk. Since there were no new messages, he started to put his phone away for the day.
But then, the light flashed. It was a private message. From Kuroo.
[Can we talk?]
[I won’t block you, if that’s what you mean]
[Not really, but that’s good to know]
[
]Kei almost thought he was done texting, but another message popped up.
[Akaashi asked me when would be a good time to give you their owl charm]
[Whenever is good. I’ve been told I have to go to practices and meetings, so not then.]
[We didn’t get you in trouble, did we?]
[Not at all. Besides, it was my choice to go, so if anything the fault is mine.]
[But we did sort of pressure you to go]
[Kuroo?]
[yeah?]
[Shut up
][LOL! Right.]
Glancing at the clock, he saw he had a few minutes to get downstairs. He sent a message to Kuroo and shut off his phone, putting it in his bag. Then, he went downstairs to meet Suga before they went into the gym for warmups and their first match of the day.
