The Word (Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader)

The sounds of classrooms, papers, and loud students were drowned out as you left the building and made your way to the gym. A tall, dark-haired, volleyball captain followed close behind you, only saying things to you now and then, but whenever he did say something, it reeked of sarcasm and amusement. He didn’t have a pressing reason to follow you to the gym, he could have very well waited for you in the classroom, but he decided to follow you and occasionally annoy you with a witty comment.

 
    “Kuroo, I can get your bag for you, just please shut the hell up,” you said politely, despite how impolite your words were. His only response was a smug smirk and a shake of the head.

   
    “Why are you so eager to get my stuff for me?” he asked, only asking for an answer that went along the lines of ‘because I love you and will do anything for you, oh Kuroo-sama.’

   
   “Don’t get your hopes up; I need to get the sign-up sheet for the first years anyway, so why not grab your bag while I’m at it?” You slid the doors to the gym open and walked in with full confidence that no volleyballs would be smacked into your face despite the many volleyball players spiking balls over the net. It’s as if everyone noticed that you had no intention of moving for any ball flying past you, and they were all careful to aim as far away from you as possible. You were known for losing your cool when someone accidently sent a serve flying straight to your face. It’s not your fault that the ball accidently went flying straight to the guy’s crotch.

   
   “Here,” you said simply, handing Kuroo his volleyball bag.

   
   “OH SHIT,” you heard someone yell, and you glanced around to see a volleyball heading straight towards you. Instead of completely stepping aside and avoiding it, you quickly went into receiving position and the ball flew back to the terrified high schooler that had hit it.

   
   “Practice your aiming a bit more, would you?” you said coolly before turning around to look for the first year signup sheet. You were aware that the gym was silent for a couple seconds after you had successfully received the ball, but just as quickly as the silence had fallen, the normal sounds of a gym filled with volleyball players were heard.

   
   “Damn, (Y/N), where did you learn how to receive like that?” Kuroo said, leaning against a wall next to you.

   
   “You really think that I could watch Nekoma’s volleyball team for three years straight and not benefit from it?”

   
   “I guess that makes sense.”

   
   “You guess?”

   
   “Even just from seeing it a lot, you couldn’t simply get the whole receiving form down without practicing, could you?”

   
   “Nope, that’s why I practiced.”

   
   Kuroo raised his eyebrows and put his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t used to people being straight with him, especially not girls. Most of the girls he talked to would get easily flustered and shy, blushing whenever he teased them and getting embarrassed whenever he pointed out something about him. You were different, though. You stood by your actions without embarrassment, you countered his sarcastic comments without hesitation, and you rarely lost your cool when he teased you.

   
   “You practice?”

   
   “Don’t act so shocked, Kuroo. It’s difficult to watch you guys play a match and not be motivated to learn some volleyball.”

   
   “Who do you even practice with?”

   
   You sighed and started to walk out of the gym with the signup sheet in hand, and Kuroo followed close behind.

   
   “Kenma, whenever he feels like it. Sometimes I just practice by myself. What’s the big deal?” you inquire, glancing at him momentarily.

   
   “I’m just disappointed that you didn’t come to I, the Nekoma team captain and volleyball coach extraordinaire, for your volleyball desires,” Kuroo said sarcastically as he opened the door for you and followed you into the school.

   
   “I wouldn’t last one training session with that cocky attitude of yours,” you laughed as you taped the signup sheet to the door. Kuroo smirked and leaned against the wall.

   
   “Not even one little training session?” Kuroo asked and you swore you could hear a slight beg in his voice. You raised your eyebrow and crossed your arms.

   
   “Someone’s a bit eager, hm?”

   
   “You could say that.”

   
   “I’m not training with you.”

 
    “Is (Y/N) scared?” Kuroo taunted, following you as you walked down the halls of Nekoma high school.

     
   “Oh yes, I’m terrified,” you said emotionlessly as you glared at the volleyball captain.

   
   “C’mon, it’s just one training session,” Kuroo chuckled.

   
   “If I say yes, will you leave me alone?”

   
   “I can’t guarantee that, but I’ll say yes anyway.”

   
   Once you agreed, Kuroo quickly went back into the gym to get a ball. You two were standing outside despite the chilly air, and Kuroo was far too excited.

   
   To your surprise, the training session wasn’t intense at all. Kuroo simply tossed the ball to you, you tossed it back, he would spike, you barely returned, and that repeated until you could easily return his spikes. The opportunities to tease you had multiplied since you were doing an activity that Kuroo was better at, and he took those opportunities with zero hesitation. Whether he said something witty or just chuckled when you returned a spike that caused you to land on your face, the teasing was nonstop, but it didn’t faze you.

   
   Before you knew it, it was considerably dark outside and no one else was around. You lay on the grass, looking up at the sky and Kuroo lay next to you.

   
   “That wasn’t too bad was it?” Kuroo questioned, glancing at you before focusing on the dark, clouded sky above.

 
    “It was fun,” you said, causing Kuroo to raise his eyebrows at you. Your bluntness had surprised him yet again, but he admired it.

   
   “Why do you do that?” you ask, looking at him with a slight smile on your face.

   
   “What?”

   
   “Look at me like that.”

   
   Kuroo smirked and shifted his gaze back at the sky, “If you don’t like it when I look at you like that, just say the word and I’ll keep on doing it.”

   
   “I thought as much,” you laughed as you let your hands fall to your sides. It seems that Kuroo had done the same, because when you put your hands on either side of you, you unconsciously rested your hand on top of his. Before you could skillfully slip your hand off his, he took hold of your hand. As I said, you’re not easily flustered, so all this action did was make you glance at Kuroo. He didn’t seem to think twice about it and was still looking up at the sky. You let out a small sigh and did the same.

   
   You acted as if the simple gesture of holding your hand had little effect on you, you even convinced yourself of it. You had convinced yourself of things like this before. You ignored your feelings for Kuroo and labeled those feelings as simply a “strong friendship” but Kuroo wasn’t an idiot. He knew the difference between friendship and romance, and his relationship with you seemed to be a combination of both.

   
   Kuroo let go of your hand and sat up so he was looking down at you. You couldn’t come up with an excuse for yourself as to why you felt disappointed when his warm hands let go of yours, so you just brushed it off and looked up at him. He was looking at you intently; slightly similar to the way he looked at you before, but with more purpose.

 
    “What is it?” you asked, sitting up so that the two of you were sitting down and facing each other. He didn’t respond, but continued to look at you with the same expression. Before you could say anything else, Kuroo’s hand moved closer to your face and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. You didn’t say anything and neither did he. You couldn’t stop him, or maybe you didn’t want to. With every second that passed by, Kuroo’s dark eyes seemed to be getting even closer to yours. Before you knew it, you were millimeters from each other’s face.

   
   “If you don’t like it when I look at you like this, just say the word and I’ll keep on doing it,” he breathed. Soon you felt tired of lying to yourself, and like a breath of fresh air, you let yourself feel something more than friendship towards Kuroo.

   
   Instead of saying ‘the word’, you placed your hand on his cheek and leaned in just a bit closer. His eyes trailed down from your eyes to your lips and he leaned in closer as well so your lips and his were brushing against each other.

   
   Kuroo was the one to close the small gap in between the two of you, but if he had waited another second, you would have been the one to give in. After what was seconds but felt like hours, the two of you broke away simultaneously.

   
   “You have no idea how long I wanted to do that.”