note: this was written for hqot3week (you can find out more at hq-ot3week on tumblr) back in july. it was the 17th to he 21st. and i, evidently, choose kurokentsuki bc i am very much in love w/ this pairing and it's dynamics but there's like 7 fics on ao3 and one of them is mine so. yeah. anyways.

day 1: pets

in which kenma tugs on heartstrings, kuroo gets deeply offended, and tsukishima says nothing but the truth.

It's unusually quiet for a Friday night.

Kenma is gone for the evening, which means that their habitual video game tournament is postponed. Kuroo is sorting through some paperwork in the living room, sighing and grumbling as he works through it. Tsukishima is sitting on the couch, headphones plugged in and eyes closed.

Ten minutes of peaceful silence pass before the door opens slowly and shuts just a bit too loudly.

Kuroo looks up and sees Kenma standing in the doorway. Drenched from head to foot. Coat bulging. He wastes a moment being confused before scrambling towards the bathroom and returning with a towel. When he comes back Tsukishima has Kenma sitting on the couch, jacket partially opened, a cat curled in his lap.

"Is that a cat?"

Tsukishima looks up as Kuroo sits beside Kenma on the couch. He scowls in a way that doesn't quite reach his eyes and says in his best I-sound-annoyed-but-I'm-really-not voice, "What does it look like?"

"Don't be mean," Kuroo chides as he starts to dry Kenma's hair, peering into his eyes. Kenma looks away, obviously disgruntled at being treated like a child. "Why do you have a cat? Aren't you supposed to be hanging out with that Hinata kid right now?"

"I found it," Kenma says flatly. Too simple an answer, as always. "I'll text Shouyou later."

"Yeah, okay. But what are you doing with the cat?"

"I found it," Kenma repeats the words slowly, as if talking to a very small child. Then he turns to stare at Kuroo wordlessly. His expression is almost perfectly bland, just a hint of hope in his eyes and the tiniest tremble of his lips. Quietly, softly, he says, "Tetsurou, can we keep it?"

There's a moment's pause before Kuroo says weakly, "We don't have the money…" Kenma just keeps staring. Kuroo looks from Kenma to the cat, his determination crumbling fast. The cat turns to Kuroo and blinks sleepily, a purr rumbling deep in its chest. Kuroo makes a quiet noise of frustration.

Without looking, Tsukishima reaches out and jabs him in the side. Kuroo screeches unattractively.

"Jesus, Tsukki! What was that for?!"

"You were about to cave and say yes."

"I was not," Kuroo argues.

"You always give Kenma what he wants."

"I do not!"

Kuroo spends the rest of the evening trying in vain to prove that he does not give Kenma everything he wants. Tsukishima spends the rest of the evening idly countering Kuroo's arguments and wondering if Yamaguchi will help them get the cat settled. Kenma spends the rest of the evening scratching their new cat behind the ears and thinking of names.

1. kuroo and tsukishima are such pushovers when it comes to ppl they cares about. tsukishima thinks that no one has noticed and he's maintained his cool and aloof image. he's so fucking wrong.

2. kenma almost never asks for anything. (mostly bc kuroo and tsukishima tend to do stuff before he can ask.) but whenever he asks for something, it's always something big and potentially life altering. like getting a cat. or going on this month long road trip to get to a gaming convention.

3. yamaguchi knows a lot about pet care. he was briefly obsessed w/ it the summer before their last year in high school. and he does help them get the cat settled. and proceeds to make continuous excuses to come over and see the cat bc it's adorable as hell.