TO BE GROWN UP . KUROO TETSUROU 🌱
——
“Is it weird that we don’t have many friends?”
Kuroo looks up at you from his spot on the ground. He’s leaning against the couch, legs sprawled out in front of him and golden eyes blinking at you with sleepy confusion. It’s eleven at night and you’re currently waiting for the brownies to finish baking in the oven. Needless to say, the flat smells amazingly of chocolate and sweetness.
“Define ‘many’,” he says.
It’s not uncommon for you to sometimes get stuck in your head, your thoughts. You find that disadvantageous, especially when you go down this rabbit hole that you can’t escape so easily. For an overthinker like you, you could go round and round in circles, never finding the right answer to your question while slowly realizing that the world, the more you think about it, is a sad and desolate place to live in.
You can’t help it. It sucks.
“I mean you have Kenma, Bokuto and the rest of your volleyball team,” you pillow your head against the edge of your couch, your murmur ringing out in the silence apart from the tv playing distantly in the background, “I only hang out with Yachi. And that’s on a good week. Usually, I don’t see anyone apart from you.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.”
He turns towards you then, one hand going up to rest on the edge of the couch so that he can pillow his head against his hand, “okay, what’s with all those questions? What’s got your brain brewing?” He says it with a smile that sends comforting running along your spine. It’s not everyday you find someone who can tolerate your weird impishness like Kuroo does. You love him all the more for that.
“I just—I see all these people you know, trying to socialize and stuff,” you can’t stop your hands from fidgeting with the throw blanket that you’d initially buried into half an hour ago before the movie started, “and I just wonder— am I weird? Are we weird? We hang out with each other, but—that’s just because we’re used to each other. It doesn’t count as socializing. And I don’t know, I feel like I’m missing out on stuff.”
Kuroo is quiet for a moment, probably pondering over your question (or trying to avoid it for fear that this conversation might go on forever, who knows?). He shifts, one of his arms reaching for your hand as he grasps it gently, cups it in his huge palm. His thumb runs along your outer knuckle and your body automatically sighs, relaxing into his hold.
“I don’t think it’s weird,” he murmurs, his face open yet serious, “I think it’s completely normal.”
“But what about the rest of the world who’s out having fun while we—“ you motion towards the tv, “—we waste our time watching tv?”
“You call that a waste of time?” He fakes a gasp and mockingly puts a hand over his chest, “wow Y/N. How cruel of you--"
“Oh you know what I mean,” you huff, though not pulling away from him in favour of savouring his warmth just a little longer, "we don't do stuff. We come home, watch tv, eat, sleep. And we do the same thing. Over and over again."
"Is that a bad thing?" He cocks his head.
"No, but--oh I don't know anymore," you groan before leaning back against the couch with an exasperated sigh, "it's like-- we're disconnected from everyone else. I like it. I do. It's just--I can't help but wonder...you know?"
Kuroo hums in agreement and out of habit, your other hand trails through his locks absentmindedly. You caress the back of his scalp and he leans into your touch unconsciously, warm breaths hitting your bare legs.
"So you're scared you might be missing out," Kuroo finally says after a short silence.
"Kind of. Yeah." A pause. "That's embarrassing to admit."
"Well, there's nothing wrong about that," his hand moves from yours to grasp your fingers tenderly, "I think disconnecting with people is normal. You grow up and you have different interests. It's normal you're going to drift away and move on, lose friendships here and there."
"But that's so sad."
"It is."
You mull over Kuroo's words, wonder whether that's the answer you were looking for. It comforts you just a little that you're not the only one that thinks it's okay to be alone.
"You say I'm close to Kenma and the boys," Kuroo's voice brings you back to the present, "but I haven't seen them in over a month."
You blink, "really?"
"Yeah. Kenma's doing things for his channel. The boys, well, we all work. The only time we meet is during volleyball, and that's not every week."
Huh. You'd think Kuroo would see them more often than that. It comes as a surprise.
"So yeah, you're not the only one who's losing friends and growing up," he presses a soft kiss to your knuckles, "I am too. We all are."
Your lips curl up at the edges, "yeah, I guess so."
"You know what though?" Kuroo's smile widens into a grin, one that he sports every time he's about to be mischievous, "I hang out with you a lot. That's more than enough for me."
"Oh shut up," you can't help but color with embarrassment, "you're just saying that--"
"I'm not though."
The way his eyes lock on yours causes a shiver to run up your spine. You want to look away but decide otherwise.
For there's a certain tenderness, a loving affection in those golden pupils.
"I'm not just saying that to be nice. I like spending time with you. That's enough for me, honestly."
There’s a smile that’s threatening to burst out of your lips, but you try and settle for a small smirk as you hit his arm playfully, “smooth talker.”
“This is what I get, after professing my love to you?” Kuroo shakes his head before he sighs in a manner so dramatic you wonder briefly whether he should’ve graduated with Theatre instead of Bio-Chem, “how awfully rude of you, Y/N—“
He yelps when you suddenly throw yourself at him, arms wrapping around his neck with such force he almost topples to the ground. His hands find purchase onto the floor as you bury your nose into the depths of his neck, smiling secretly when he yells out your name in surprise, “what the—you can’t tackle me out of the blue like that, you dwarf.”
“Who’re you calling a dwarf?” Your fingers inch under his arms without warning.
Kuroo yelps with an even girlish peal, laughter threatening to splutter from his lips, “don’t—“
“Oh yeah?” Your fingers itch even higher as he howls, struggles to hold in his breaths long enough to say, “okay okay! Yes, your majesty—queen—whatever your heart desires.”
“Thank you, that’s better,” your fingers retract like kitten claws before you settle atop his chest. His arms wrap around you out of pure instinct and for a moment, you cuddle into him in silence, relishing in the way his heart beats in rhythm to yours. It’s so loud, yet so deep and strong. It makes you feel safe, like you’re right at home.
Almost impulsively, you nuzzle even closer, “I like spending time with you too,” your whisper is barely audible as it brushes the side of his neck, “and you should probably take that as a compliment, considering I don’t like people in general.”
“That’s a pretty bold statement,” Kuroo’s fingers are carding absentmindedly through your long strands. His lips follow with a kiss along your temple, “but I’ll take it.”
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