A/N: Finally posted a fic for the HQ! fandom! This is based on a post on the imaginethehaikyuukids blog, the one about Kuroo being tender-headed and his teammates accidentally find out that if you pet his hair, he purrs.

Disclaimer: Haikyuu! Belongs to Haruichi Furudate. This fic was written solely to entertain.

Stroke Your Kitty

For the record, it is technically an accident.

But to be fair, it is a little bit Kuroo's fault…actually, it is mostly his fault.

Even after years of friendship, sometimes it's still hard for him to know when Kenma's not in a great mood, and he realizes after the fact that perhaps he had been bagging on his younger friend and setter a little more than usual today. He also forgot how precise Kenma's serves can be when he makes the effort, though at this point it is still a mystery to him as to how exactly Kenma managed to hit him in the face when he was behind him.

Kuroo finds himself lying face up on the floor in the middle of their gymnasium, the worried and semi-amused eyes of his teammates spinning in doubles in a circle above his head.

"Dude, are you alright?" Someone asks, though he's not sure who at the moment. All he can focus on is the dull throbbing at his hairline. He can already feel a giant bruise forming. "Yeah,"He groans after a moment and sits up, hissing in pain as his vision begins to spin again. A pair of arms comes into view and his head is carefully tilted upwards until he's looking up at Yaku's concerned face.

Yaku turns his head this way and that, regarding the minor injury clinically before sighing. "You'll be fine. But honestly, that's what you get for being a dick." He says bluntly, and everyone laughs around him.

Kuroo groans, but nods anyway. "Yeah, yeah. Does it look bad?"

"Well, it's not great," Yaku admits, "but I think your bird's nest absorbed some of the shock."

"For once your crazy bedhead did you a favor, captain!" Yamamoto shouts from behind him, laughing as he roughly palms Kuroo's head in what is intended to be a good-natured and reassuring show of affection towards his captain.

"Mmnn…"

The laughter ceases almost immediately.

Murmurs of 'What was that?' and 'Did you hear that?' echo around the group. Everyone looks down at their captain, whose face is now as red as their uniforms.

"Kuroo…was that…you?" Yaku voices after a few stunned seconds, and Kuroo sputters.

"N-no," he stammers in a voice that is uncharacteristically small for someone usually overflowing with confidence, "Yamamoto just touched the spot where the ball hit me. It hurts, you know."

"But captain-"

Kuroo turns back and shoots Yamamoto a glare that screams 'a hundred laps if you say anything else' and Yamamoto wisely quiets himself. Yaku, however, isn't intimidated by their captain at all, especially not in the position he's in.

"Really." Is all he says, before running a hand over the top of Kuroo's head, ruffling his hair slightly. Kuroo lets out small sound before scooting back, out of Yaku's reach.

"It was you!" Someone says from the back of the group.

"Kuroo, your hair is surprisingly soft. Hunh, wasn't expecting that at all." Yaku says as he reaches out and rubs his captain's head again, from his fringe to the finer hairs at the nape of his neck. Kuroo glares at him, but doesn't move away this time, so he keeps doing it, in a way similar to someone stroking their pet, all the while a small grin growing on his face.

"Yaku, goddammit! Stop petting me!" Kuroo swears weakly at his teammate, trying to swat Yaku's hand away, but as the libero's hand continues to calmly and repetitively pass over the mess of hair atop his head, his protests gradually begin to die down. After a moment, Kuroo finally sighs in relent and leans slightly into Yaku's hand.

"Aww, look, he likes it!" Someone croons, and for their sake it is best that Kuroo doesn't know who they are because if he did, he would punch them right in the mouth. And he would've made the effort, but Yaku's hand feels way too good to ignore.

"…nnn…" Kuroo groans softly as Yaku's hand comes back to his hairline, pushing his fringe back a little.

"This…is weird."Fukunaga says quietly, and a few people nod. Everyone briefly hopes that their club advisor and coach don't come back from their meeting right away, because there are just way too many things that need explaining at this point. They're all standing around Kuroo like some kind of kinky fetish cult, watching –unabashedly leering, in some cases- as their captain gets caressed nearly to completion. Many conclude that this probably doesn't look okay.

Yaku just laughs to himself as he gets comfortable with the realization that he is indeed sitting here, petting his team captain and friend like a freaking cat. A big, sweaty, sexy cat.

A new hand suddenly enters the mix. "Can I?" Lev asks, nearly glowing with weird curiosity. Yaku shrugs and moves over a little to let Lev have his turn petting their captain. Just having that thought in his mind is enough to send the libero into a giggling fit.

Unlike Yaku, who simply continues stroking the top of his head, Lev makes a show of entangling his long, wiry fingers in the soft tufts of hair, massaging his scalp and reveling in how nice Kuroo's hair actually is.

"You're right, it is really soft."

"Uh huh…" Kuroo agrees dreamily, falling seemingly in slow motion away from Yaku's touch and right up against Lev's side, nudging his head into Lev's hand just like a cat would nudge if they wanted to be petted more. Lev just smiles widely and obliges him.

"Captain…does that feel really good?" Inuoka asks. It's a harmless question to the first year, but everyone blushes a little at the obvious implication. Even more so when Kuroo lets out a breathy 'yeah' in response, nuzzling Lev's hand with his cheek.

Lev moves his fingers closer to Kuroo's left temple, using his nails and fingertips to massage clockwise and almost immediately, a low, deep rumble sounds from their captain, and Lev stops petting him. It's a familiar sound in that they all know they've definitely heard it before, but no one can quite pin it down yet.

"Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…nnmm….rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

It takes a second, but when they finally do process what the sound is, everyone looks down at Kuroo with even wider eyes than before.

"Dude, are you purring?" Yamamoto says from somewhere behind him and at that moment Kuroo's eyes, which had fluttered shut at some point, snap wide open.

Oh shit.

With the spell abruptly broken, Kuroo is on his feet in a flash, his cheeks and ears flushed dark red. He is absolutely speechless; it is awkward for everyone involved seeing him stumble over his words as he clumsily backs towards the exit, muttering about practice being dismissed early before turning and racing out of the gym.

Everyone just watches him go, still too stunned to say anything.

"So that happened…" Nobuyuki says after a beat, still staring at the spot their captain had just vacated. Everyone just sort of nods in absent agreement at the statement before dispersing to clean up the gym.

"You know," Lev says to no one in particular sometime later, when they're all leaving, "he's probably super embarrassed about it, but…" Lev's voice drops a bit, "that was kind of hot."

"Lev!" A couple of people shout exasperatedly. "What?" He asks innocuously, "Don't tell me I'm the only one who thought that was hot?"

There are several loud and awkward sighs, but shockingly enough, no one disagrees with him.

In the back of his mind, Yaku wonders if it's because seeing their normally cocky and infallible captain in a position of such abject vulnerability is something the team had always secretly wanted to see, or if it is simply some weird mutual yet undisclosed attraction the team shared towards their captain that had finally been serviced in some way.

Either way, he knows practice tomorrow is going to be very awkward.

Everyone knows practice is going to be weird today. And oh, is it ever.

Conveniently, Nekomata-sensei and their club advisor are stuck in a continuation of the meeting from the previous day, so as team captain, Kuroo is next in the chain of command. At this moment, however, it feels far from it. Kuroo is attempting to lay out the day's training regimen, pointedly looking away from everyone, but of course, no one is actually listening to anything he's saying and he can tell.

As it is, everyone on his team is currently huddled at his feet, looking up at him with the exact same face; like they all want to say something but aren't really sure how to say it, some while also trying not to laugh. That is, everyone with the exception of Kenma, who is boredly texting someone and not paying attention anyway.

Kuroo is annoyed and his head still hurts from yesterday, so there is no way in hell he's going to give anyone the satisfaction of-

"So are we going to talk about it at some point today, or are we just going to pretend that yesterday didn't happen?" Yaku bluntly asks what everyone is obviously wondering and at that moment Kuroo wants nothing more than to crawl in a hole and die. So much for maintaining his dignity.

"We're not talking about anything. Now get up and go run your damn laps." Kuroo snaps loudly and everyone scurries to warm up. Practice from that point on is uncomfortable and tense and silent, a silence that follows them from the gym right into their club room. Though they are too apprehensive to speak to him, Kuroo can feel that everyone is still giving him that look and it's making him crazy. A few people are having quiet conversations amongst themselves, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out who and what they're talking about.

Kuroo supposes in that instant that he should probably just get it over with. The sooner they talk about it, the sooner he can work on rebuilding his now shattered image.

"Okay fine, I admit it." He finally says out loud and everyone jumps at the voice suddenly cutting through the tension. A couple of stammered responses float into the air, but Kuroo ignores them. He closes his locker loudly before turning to lean against it.

"Yeah, I'm really tender-headed, okay? Get over it." He says, folding his arms across his chest.

"Kuroo, a lot of people are tender-headed," Yaku intones as he changes out of his shirt, "but most people don't purr like a jungle cat in heat when someone strokes their hair. That's all you, I think. Though I guess it's not surprising that you have such a kinky habit, seeing as how you're a giant perv at heart."

"Look who's talking!" Kuroo snaps back, though there is no real bite to his tone, "You're the one who went out of your way to do it again as soon as you heard me!"

"It was amusing, sorry." Yaku says simply, shrugging.

No one says anything for a few seconds after that, until a small, bored voice interrupts the silence.

"Is that why you never bother to brush your stupid rooster hair?" Kenma asks, still tapping away at his phone at the speed of light and Kuroo can hear in his tone that his younger friend is still a little peeved at him. Nonetheless, he nods, albeit embarrassed to acknowledge it.

"My scalp is insanely sensitive, so…yeah, combing my hair kind of hurts sometimes." He mutters.

"…So when you wash your hair, do you like… get off a little?"

Though he is secretly expecting the question, as it is obviously the next logical question in the mind of teenage boys, it still makes his stomach sink to hear someone ask it out loud. Kuroo groans and lets his head fall into his hands.

"So is that a 'yes'?"

"No!" He shouts hurriedly; a little too hurriedly apparently, because nearly everyone in the room stares at him, unconvinced.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that? I haven't!"

"Kuroo, you don't have to be so embarrassed about it." Nobuyuki says with a small grin, "Besides, after what we saw yesterday, nothing you say is going to change anyone's mind, anyway."

"Yeah, you were sooo into it, dude," Yamamoto laughs. "You were like pushing your head into Yaku's hand so he would pet you more. You were like a big horny animal."

"Oh, come on." Kuroo says, rolling his eyes.

"Mmmmnnnn Yaku, pet me more!" Yaku moans loudly, rubbing his head. Everyone laughs and Kuroo's ears redden at the tips.

"It wasn't like that!"

"No you're right; it was more like this, 'ooooooooooohhhh yes, Lev! Right there, unnnnhhh! Purrrrrrrrr, purrrrrrrr'" Yamamoto cuts in loudly, slamming and dragging his entire body up against the lockers in mock ecstasy. Lev joins him after a second, followed by Yaku, and then Inuoka, and soon the entire room is filled with the sound of boys moaning. His teammates are doubled over in tears, laughing hysterically, but Kuroo just growls in annoyance.

"You guys are the absolute worst. And it isn't 'purrr, purrr'. You don't do it from your mouth, you ass." Kuroo suddenly grabs Yamamoto and presses his lips to his ear, a devious grin on his face. "It's a guttural sound, more from your throat. Like this: Prrrrrrrrr.'" He purrs loudly against the shell of Yamamoto's ear, causing the other boy to yelp and stiffen in his grasp.

Everyone quiets, watching the exchange with wide eyes and open mouths. Despite his annoyance, Kuroo is strangely pleased to have their complete focus on him; especially Yamamoto, who is now holding his bright red ear and gaping at his captain.

"See, like that. If you're going to make fun of me, at least do it right."

To his left, he hears Kenma snicker quietly and at that moment Kuroo is really tempted to grab Kenma's phone and throw it out a window, but before he gets the chance, a hand comes into his periphery.

Kuroo cranes his head out of reach, covering his hair with his hands. "No! Get the hell away from me!"

His teammates are crowded around him, all looking as amused as before.

"Come on, captain, just one more time!" Lev teases, wiggling his fingers. They're enjoying this way too much, and Kuroo hates it. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it?

"Back the hell off!" I'll fucking hit you, I swear!" Kuroo snaps. Everyone does back off a bit this time, though some are still laughing. Someone still manages to ruffle his fringe lightly, but before Kuroo can say anything, Yamamoto, having quickly regrouped, chimes in, "Sorry man, we're just teasin' ya," as he swings an arm around Kuroo's neck. "But seriously, can you imagine if the girls at school found out? They'd be all over you!"

"They're already all over me, dipshit." Kuroo quips arrogantly, shoving his younger teammate in the side, laughing as Yamamoto's face sinks with the realization that their captain is indeed more popular with the ladies than he could ever hope to be.

"Some people here are definitely all over you, too." Yaku says with a laugh, "You probably ruined a few pairs of underwear yesterday…and just now, for that matter."

"Oho?" Kuroo turns to the libero, face suddenly back to the sly, coquettish expression that usually graced Kuroo's face, "You think I sound hot when I purr, Yaku-chan?"

He is expecting a sputtered, semi-annoyed response, but to his dissatisfaction, Yaku simply grins and shrugs. "Clearly, there's no one in this room who doesn't think that, Kuroo."

"…Really?"

"Really."

Kuroo, for the second time in two days, is rendered speechless, though this time it doesn't last long.

"So can we?"

Kuroo turns to Inuoka, who is looking up at him expectantly. If he had a tail, Kuroo imagines it would be wagging furiously.

"Can you what?" He knows what they want, but feels compelled to ask anyway, if only to cement in the fact that his teammates are indeed as weird and apparently secretly perverted as he thinks they are.

"Can we pet your hair again?"

"Why?"

"You know we need a sense of closure, captain."

"'Sense of closure' my ass. You guys are enjoying this waaaaay too much. No wonder none of you have girlfriends. You're too busy getting off on making fun of your dignified, esteemed capt-"

"Oh shut up, Kuroo." Yaku says and shoves his hand right into Kuroo's fringe, pulling it roughly.

The sound that comes out of Kuroo's mouth is destined to become everyone on the team's ringtone, after being lovingly recorded, tweaked, autotuned and dubstep remixed with a powerhouse bass drop by Kenma.

Thanks for reading! Tell me if you like it!