Every time he'd tried to picture Kei's older brother before, Kuroo always ended up inventing some enormous, extremely buff jock standing guard at the door, cracking his knuckles menacingly and snorting like a bull staring down a puny, trembling matador. Sucked for Kuroo that his Nekoma tracksuit happened to be bright red.
Of course, Tsukishima Akiteru wasn't anything like he imagined. Wasn't any taller than Kuroo himself, and didn't seem much tougher on the outset; and had just enough of his younger brother in his face to throw Kuroo off guard, but the nerves that swooped in Kuroo's stomach when he laid eyes on the guy were definitely not of the same breed as the butterflies he sometimes experienced looking at Kei.
In short, there wasn't anything inherently scary about meeting his boyfriend's older brother, but even so...Kuroo was plain terrified.
His knees were shaky and his throat felt thick as he returned the polite greeting he was given at the entrance to the Tsukishima household, dipping his head respectfully for good measure, and he stumbled inside at Akiteru's prompting, hearing the door click closed like a thunderclap; too loud to be real, still jarringly audible over the rushing in his ears.
He was conscious of Akiteru looking him up and down critically, and for the first time in his life, he wished he'd done something to make his hair look at least sort of presentable. It would have been a futile task anyway; the rat's nest he sported ate combs and stubbornly defied gels and creams and sprays of all kinds, but still...he felt like an uncivilized, shaggy troll doll and he didn't think the piercings were helping his case. Kei liked them, or so he gathered, though he'd never said so straight-out, but right now he thought the round black studs and helixes might as well have been a Circle-A tattooed on his face.
"Um…yo," he began; off to an eloquent start, scratching the back of his neck and feeling his stomach drop another few notches as Akiteru folded his arms over his chest imposingly. "I-I mean hey. I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, maybe you've heard of me from - I mean...seen…sign language, right… Man, I'm really blowing this first impression thing, aren't I?"
To his credit, Akiteru managed to ease a little bit of his nerves as the corner of his mouth lifted with amusement, and some of the hard, leery edge left his frighteningly familiar eyes.
"I know who you are," he said coolly, leaning a shoulder against the wall behind him, "Kei's told me about you, at length, I just didn't expect…"
"Yeah, I got it," Kuroo mumbled as he trailed off, shuffling his feet self-consciously. He surely didn't look the respectable, straight-A, straight-laced part he was supposed to be playing (though his grades were actually perfectly fine, as were his manners, in his opinion), but while he hadn't been dead-set on impressing when the time came to meet Kei's family, he had at least hoped he'd be given the benefit of the doubt. Apparently not.
"No, I mean…" Akiteru said slowly, tapping his chin as if considering the right phrasing, "You don't seem like...the kind of person he'd hang out with...voluntarily?"
That wasn't any less deflating to hear, but Kuroo just lifted his shoulders in an absent, helpless shrug. He supposed he understood the sentiment, at least; it had surprised him too at first that Kei actually...seemed to enjoy his company, underneath the front of dismissive exasperation he'd put up early on. Now he made a bit less of a secret about it, though he still went out of his way to make fun of Kuroo however he could, and keep him in the dark about how he really felt at any given time. It was a little frustrating hanging around someone whose idea of flirting was blatant mockery, or affectionate gestures and compliments that only his snide expression gave away as sarcasm. But by some strange, backwards logic, it was also kind of endearing. Kuroo still couldn't quite get his head around that.
"Well he's put up with me so far…" he began tentatively, adjusting the collar of his shirt that was starting to feel entirely too tight, cutting into his neck.
"I can see that," Akiteru said, pushing away from the wall and standing straighter, "...And you've also put up with him."
It was a casual, offhand remark, but Kuroo still got the feeling he was being tested. "'Course," he said quickly, feeling blindly for the correct response, "I like being around him...a lot."
"Even though he can't talk to you?"
At first the question didn't even compute, and Kuroo had already opened his mouth to ask what he meant by the time the implication finally dawned. Another test; he was sure of it, and picked his words carefully in light of it.
"He does, though. We talk all the time."
Akiteru hesitated, a flash of guilt crossing his face before it hardened again resolutely. "And it's not frustrating for you? Having to do all that extra work just to get him to understand you?"
"I - what? No way," Kuroo objected, holding up his hands in supplication, "It's no trouble, and he's been really patient with me…"
"Alright, cut the bullshit already," Kuroo blinked, and glanced up to find Akiteru glaring at him, impatience and distrust evident in his spearing gaze, "What're you really after?"
"W-what d'you mean?"
"Is Kei sleeping with you? Is that it?" Akiteru demanded, poking him in the chest accusingly, "What are you getting out of this? There's no way he'd -"
Under attack, Kuroo raised his hands without thinking, palms up, haphazardly wiggling his fingers as he stumbled back from the onslaught until his back hit the wall behind him. Akiteru paused, as if instinctively responding to the sign for "wait", and tilted his head to the side slightly, the defensive anger wiped from his face to be replaced with confusion.
And only then did it register with Kuroo that he had signed the command instead of saying it out loud. He was more used to resorting to that with Kei when he couldn't keep up with what his hands were saying, or on the rare occasion that he invaded his personal space without explaining his intentions. Who would have guessed that under that cold, introverted disposition, Kei could sometimes be downright intrusive around people he was comfortable with? (Not to mention an occasional tickle monster; Kuroo had learned to be on his guard whenever he got close remarkably quickly).
Glancing down at his own hands, then up to see Akiteru watching him with apparent forbearance, Kuroo decided to make use of his attention on him. Raising one hand to his ear, he formed an L with three fingers and crooked the tips of them.
"Listen," He turned the hand toward his own chest briefly, and then held both palms up once again, raising and lowering them alternately, "I might…"
He hesitated, biting his lip as he felt his cheeks heating up. He'd never said it - with his voice or hands - before, but the sign was as familiar as any of the very first, basic motions he'd memorized through crappy YouTube tutorials and the picture dictionaries he'd checked out when he and Kei were still little more than acquaintances.
He sighed, and closed his hands into fists, crossing them over his chest. He saw Akiteru's eyebrows lift in surprise as he gestured to him, before bringing one hand to his forehead and stacking it on the other, "...love your brother."
Akiteru's eyes had gone very wide, and after a moment of total silence he lowered his rigid shoulders and seemed to slump slightly with shock, "...Oh."
"And uh...no," Kuroo felt he ought to add, squeezing his fingers together awkwardly and clearing his throat, "We're not...sleeping together, we've kissed and...and stuff, but I don't think either of us are ready for that."
He watched Akiteru process this, lowering his gaze for a moment, and when he looked back up the apology was clear in his eyes before he even opened his mouth.
"It's fine," Kuroo waved him off hurriedly, allowing a dismissive half-smile and shoving his hands in his pockets, "You were just protecting your little brother, I get it. We're cool."
"I just…" Akiteru sighed, practically radiating embarrassment. Kuroo noticed that when he flushed, it reached the tips of his ears, just like Kei, and couldn't help grinning to himself even as Akiteru went on haltingly. "He's so stubborn...he won't let anyone try to help him, or keep him safe. It's...it'd be...so easy for someone like you to walk in and take advantage of that."
Kuroo's grin shifted into a fond smirk, and he shrugged slightly, "Not that easy. Yeah, he's kinda shy - and really quiet, obviously - but he takes zero shit, trust me."
"You're speaking from experience, I'm guessing."
"There are times I've feared for the safety of my face," Kuroo agreed morosely, "Or my ribs...or whatever's in striking distance. If he's not happy with something, he lets you know."
"I -" Akiteru started in a rush, before clearing his throat and going on more cautiously, "I was really rude to you, just now, and I leapt to conclusions before I knew anything about you. I'm sorry." Lowering his head in a deep, conciliatory bow, he looked up a moment later along with Kuroo at the sound of heavy, deliberate footfalls coming down the stairs, announcing the approach of the subject of their discussion, making no secret of his arrival.
Leaning over the edge of the banister, Kei took in the scene before him for a few seconds before frowning and descending the remaining few stairs. Gesturing rapidly between his brother and Kuroo, he planted himself firmly between them and jutted out his lower lip as he signed to the former.
"When did Tetsurou get here?" He pointed to Kuroo, who couldn't help but feel a flutter of warmth to see him use the sign he'd invented for his given name (he'd claimed that spelling it out took too long, though the sign itself was uncannily similar to the one for "toilet", which Kei had insisted was purely coincidental). "Why didn't you come get me?"
Akiteru quickly made a fist and circled it against his chest in apology, before glancing at Kuroo and going on with fluid, efficient motions that matched his brother's, and spoke of many years of memorization and practice. "I wanted to talk to him...alone. I was going to text you once we were done."
"That's not fair," Kei argued, bringing the tips of his fingers together with a deeper frown, "You could have been shouting all this time and I wouldn't know."
"It's fine," Kuroo cut in, once he was sure Kei would see it, "No one was shouting." He'd actually never seen that particular sign used before, but imitated it as best he could anyway, as he was pretty sure he was reading the right context. A lot of his communication with Kei relied on his ability to infer, but he learned a lot more in conversation with him than he ever had from videos or books.
The corner of Kei's mouth lifted ever so slightly in amusement, which told Kuroo he must have stumbled a little bit over the foreign gesture. If they were alone, Kei might have patiently repeated the sign or taken his hand and manipulated his fingers until he got it right, but he just pressed his lips together thoughtfully and moved on, "What did he say to you?"
"He just wanted to know…" Kuroo hesitated, thinking of how to phrase it delicately. Kei's eyes started to narrow and he went on quickly, "...what I wanted with you."
Kei braced his hands on his hips and turned back to his brother reproachfully. Akiteru had the grace to look properly ashamed, and averted his gaze.
"I worry…" he explained meekly, waving his hands in front of his face, "I didn't know, but…he told me..."
"Um…" Kuroo interjected, and Akiteru's hands quickly fell to his sides, an echo of a smirk reaching his lips as he glanced up at him sheepishly.
Kei glanced between them, his eyebrows drawing down as his glasses flashed, and his hands lifted and shook back and forth in confusion. "What?"
"Don't you say a word," Kuroo warned, willing his face not to flush in embarrassment as he was reminded of confessing the feelings he was in no way ready to try to express to Kei just yet. This was definitely not the time or the place to get all romantic and shit, and if Kei found out what he had admitted to a total stranger ten minutes ago but was too goddamn scared to say to him, he would probably either hit him or laugh in his face. Either way he'd never live it down.
Though, he reasoned - as Akiteru breezily mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key - having his boyfriend's older brother hold something that devastating over his head for however long he chose to waffle would probably be the death of him.
...So there was that.
Fin
((So tumblr user pufferfishtsuki has this AU where Tsukishima's deaf and also dating Kuroo...and it caused about a million ideas to pop into my head at once. Why this was the first to make it into fic form, I have no idea, but there will probably/definitely be more, this is challenging but very fun to write, and I'm head over heels for this pairing.
Reviews give me live, feed the author! Also be sure to check out the source material over on pufferfishtsuki's tumblr, their art is fantastic and their comics are adorable!))