Cat Person
A Haikyuu! oneshot
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. Been a while since I wrote Kurodai. This is what happens when I go reading doujinshi and listening to sappy Jpop. :3 Read, review, and enjoy!
- ^-^3
Sharp, yellow-green eyes. A curious gaze. And a sense of overfamiliarity.
Sawamura Daichi didn't understand it, how some neighborhood cat could come over to him without beckoning and just decide to befriend him. Weren't cats supposed to be loners? Picky and unsociable? Dogs were the ones who loved unconditionally, even if a person was cruel and didn't deserve it.
Yet here he was, squatting down two streets over from his house, his arms folded across his knees, letting his shins be lovingly head-butted by a young, stray, black cat with gray-tipped ears.
He thought about reaching out to pet it—the cat's fur against his legs was soft, and he enjoyed the warmth despite the summer heat—but he refrained. He didn't want to ruin the moment, but he also didn't want to disrupt the little fellow. The cat seemed to be enjoying having the chance to shower affection on him for the second time this summer, and Daichi was content enough just to watch him, wondering if maybe he hadn't seen him before because he was still a young cat or maybe because his family had moved into the neighborhood only recently.
Daichi's phone rang then, startling him from his thoughts, but the cat didn't leave him alone even while he answered. "Ah, Suga…"
"Don't you 'Ah, Suga' me, mister," the vice-captain scolded on the other end of the line. He sounded impatient. "Asahi and I have been at the crossing for nearly five minutes already! Where are you?"
"Sorry, sorry… I got a little distracted." He stood up and gave the cat an apologetic look, because the doe eyes it gave him made it hard to leave. "I'll be there in two minutes, I swear," he promised, tearing his eyes away.
Suga sighed on his end. "Fine. Two minutes, Daichi! Then we're heading to the school without you! You know Ukai-san won't stop to pick up anyone who's late." His voice took on a gleeful tone. "But I'm sure Tanaka could call Saeko-san to come and collect you…"
"No, no, no need! See you soon!" He hung up before Suga could threaten anything else, but Daichi already had nightmares of such a car ride after what Hinata had told them earlier in the month when Saeko had driven him and Kageyama to the training camp.
He took once last glance at the cat behind him. The cat meowed, as if saying, "I'll see you when you come home."
"Yeah… See you next time, too."
- ^-^3
"You sound like an old man," Suga griped on the bus after Daichi had told them about his delay.
"Suga…," Asahi interrupted, but he wasn't very good at getting between him and Daichi. Granted, he didn't need to; Daichi wasn't taking the bait.
"Yes, yes, I'm Grandpa Daichi and I like the neighborhood animals," the captain stated as he flipped through the barebones itinerary Coach Ukai had given them to peruse before they arrived in Tokyo. As if the training camp with Fukurodani, Nekoma, Shinzen, and Ubugawa hadn't been enough—now they were taking every other weekend to get some extra practice with other teams in as the summer wound down. Coach Ukai had mentioned that they were trying to see if they could squeeze in a few more weekends during the start of the fall semester since the Spring High prelims were coming up, and fast, but Daichi had to wonder how feasible it was, when they'd practically have to turn around as soon as they'd arrive in order for that to happen.
"Was the cat cute, though?" Asahi asked from Daichi's right.
Daichi shrugged. "It was a cat."
"What kind was it?"
"A black one…?"
"No, what breed?"
Daichi frowned. He hadn't really noticed. Besides, cats mostly all looked the same to him… Dogs were much simpler to tell apart.
"Mr. Details wasn't paying attention to anything, Asahi," Suga insisted, "so forget it."
"Hey." Daichi gave him an exasperated look. "I do pay attention. And I already apologized for being late…"
Suga waved him off. "It's just annoying since you were the one who wanted to meet up like usual, Daichi. I'll take your snacks as your punishment," he announced, and he reached across the aisle and snatched Daichi's overnight bag before the captain could protest. Suga even found the half-eaten bag of hard candies on the first try, in the side pocket, hidden lamely underneath Daichi's water bottle. Trophy in hand, he tossed Daichi's bag back to him and flashed him a victory sign. "There. Now you're forgiven."
Daichi rolled his eyes, but he chuckled. A Suga who'd gotten his way was a happy Suga, and he was fine with that. Besides, him, Suga, and Asahi—three years later, and he could count on them being what he expected. Suga, surprisingly hard only on him. Asahi, ever the timid peacekeeper. And him, Daichi, the dependable one…and sometimes the butt of the joke.
He let his thoughts wander from there as the ride dragged on steadily and he stared over Asahi's napping form out the window. He hadn't paid much attention last time, because he, like Asahi now, had slept, too, since they'd had to get up so early in order to make it to the training camp. Yet now he watched the scenery outside shift and morph, going from near-rural to suburban to urban. From the highway outside the city, he could see Tokyo Tower's hazy silhouette, and he fought down a snicker at recalling how Hinata and Kageyama had called it the sky tree…
Or, at least, he wanted to snicker until he remembered that he'd thought the same thing and, despite not having said it aloud, Kuroo had read his mind and lightly teased him for it. At least Kuroo hadn't told Bokuto or the others about it, nor had he teased Daichi for the duration of the camp about it.
Thinking of Kuroo made his pensiveness evaporate, and an uneasy feeling settled—not in his gut, but in his bones. No need to feel this way, he told himself as Tokyo Tower faded from sight amongst the skyscrapers and they entered the chaos of Tokyo's streets. One, two, three, five, eight—the more times you meet him, the more you'll get used to him.
The sun had been directly overhead when Karasuno's bus arrived in Tokyo, and it was setting by the time they got to Nekoma High School. Coach Naoi, Kuroo, Kozume, and a few of the other players were waiting for them outside.
"We were beginning to think you got lost," Coach Naoi joked when he walked around to Coach Ukai's driver's-side window.
"Ah, shut up… There was more traffic than usual," Karasuno's coach told him. He turned around to face the crows. "Oi! Why don't you guys head inside with the Nekoma kids while we go park? If you're up for it, you can stretch and warm up, but no one plays until I see everyone's decidedly awake. That especially goes for you four," he added, pointedly staring at Nishinoya, Tanaka, Hinata, and Kageyama. He glanced at the managers. "I'll leave the boys to you, Shimizu, Yachi."
Daichi wanted to protest. What about him?! He was the captain, for crying out loud… Though, as soon as he set foot on the pavement, he understood why Coach Ukai hadn't spoken to him. He was itching to play, too.
He, like his teammates, stretched his stiff muscles as he headed up the steps to join up with Nekoma. "I'd say it's been a while," Daichi joked to the other captain.
Kuroo turned and waited for Daichi to fall into step with him. His grin, as usual, was hard to decipher. "Yep. We've been seeing each other so much lately, it's hard to figure out if we're really rivals or not."
Kuroo's words made his mind go blank for a beat. Then Daichi blinked, and the mental fog cleared. "Have you guys been practicing all day long?"
"Pretty much, though we've been taking it a little easy since we knew you guys were coming. Wanted to save up some stamina to expend on you." He grinned while facing forward, sliding his eyes to look over at his fellow captain. Then he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "'Sides, Kenma didn't want to be tired or sweaty or anything when Chibi-chan arrived."
Even without looking, Daichi could hear that Hinata was wide awake, chirping to Kozume about…whatever it was they talked about. Still, the captain glanced back and saw how both Kozume and Kageyama were enrapt by Hinata's ramblings. On Kozume's other side, Haiba appeared to be having a middle blocker stare-down with Tsukishima. Beyond them, Nekoma's tiny libero, Shibayama, chatted animatedly with Asahi and Yachi, even helping them carry some of Karasuno's things.
It was a strange sight, and yet it wasn't. It was kind of…familiar, and comforting.
Daichi sighed, amused, and returned his attention to Kuroo. "…you're right, about our rivalry."
"It's not a bad thing," Kuroo pointed out.
Daichi considered that. Maybe it wasn't.
"Oh, and, by the way," Kuroo continued, suddenly looking like a guilty cat, "Bokuto…kind of knows about you guys staying this weekend. So I'm not sure you can avoid playing with him." He held a hand up and tried to smile, but even he looked tired, no doubt imagining having to block those superhuman spikes. "Sorry."
The crow captain shook his head and clapped him on the back. "Well, at least we're in the same boat."
Kuroo was quiet.
Daichi picked his head up and looked at Kuroo, but it was just in time to see the other teen look away. There was no grin this time, but his expression was as inscrutable as ever.
"You guys are staying in these classrooms," Kuroo explained after they passed the gym on the way in to the school building. "You can take your time, but we have to get back to practice." His eyes sidled over to Kozume, who didn't appear ready to part from the group just yet. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, join us when you're ready," he said, rubbing the back of his neck before disappearing out into the hallway. Haiba and Shibayama followed, but Kozume dawdled until Hinata and Kageyama left with him.
Daichi and Suga assigned everyone to a room—the third years, Kinoshita, Narita, and Nishinoya in one, and Ennoshita, Tanaka, and the first years in another. Shimizu and Yachi would sleep on the other side of the first years, and Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai would take the room on the other side of the third years. The captain and vice-captain thought this was best, that way Nishinoya and Tanaka couldn't get up to any nonsense together, and Tanaka was around to keep Hinata, Kageyama, and Tsukishima in line. Of course, Ennoshita and Yamaguchi would be present to keep Tanaka in line himself.
Once settled and regaining the feeling in their limbs again, Karasuno headed outside, moving towards the gym. However, Daichi dawdled, distracted for the second time that day, but this time by the early evening sky.
"Daichi?" Suga prompted. He was a few feet ahead, and Asahi was several steps beyond that. But even their ace turned at the sound of Suga's voice.
"It's nothing," Daichi fibbed, plastering on a smile and jogging to catch up with them. It's just that, he thought as they entered the gym, the sky here is the same as the one in Miyagi.
- ^-^3
Whatever Kuroo had concluded and Daichi had agreed with, the rivalry was well and alive on the court.
By the time Karasuno had finished warming up, Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei had dropped off their things and joined everyone in the gym. Their coach evaluated the players, and only Asahi was told to be on the sidelines for tonight. Apparently the ace was still too groggy from the ride down.
Asahi's absence allowed for Ennoshita and even Kinoshita to get in a decent workout in three sets against Nekoma, and workouts they were. Haiba was still clumsy and not very reliable, but Yamamoto's power was as unbelievable as before, and Fukunaga always seemed to be right there to attack when no one was looking. More annoyingly so, Kuroo's and Yaku's receives were well-balanced and trusty—they were Nekoma's Daichi and Nishinoya.
At one point in the second set, things got so frustrating when the players managed to keep a true volley going, passing back and forth and back and forth well over a dozen times. Kai and Ennoshita managed a good receive each, but mostly it was captain and libero versus captain and libero.
"It's gotta end sometime, Sawamura!" Kuroo called excitedly as Yaku sent it back up.
Don't waste your breath talking back, Daichi told himself. But he at least spared Kuroo an unconvinced glance as the ball came back to them, Kageyama set it, and Tanaka pushed it through Inuoka and Haiba's block, ending the volley.
Kuroo cursed while Yaku snapped at him and even Kozume glared at him, but Kuroo was far too amused by karma to let it get to him. "Yeah, okay, I should've seen that one coming," he laughed as he passed by Daichi when they switched sides. "That is some calm head you've got there," he remarked appreciatively.
Daichi looked away, not sure what to do with such a compliment.
After the third set, the two teams split up to do some individual practice before supper, which was being served in the cafeteria. Daichi sat with Suga and Asahi, and they were joined by Yaku and Shibayama.
"I feel so silly, doing nothing for once," Asahi whined as he took a sullen mouthful of rice.
"You are silly, being too tired to play!" Suga laughed, finding it hilarious. "Don't look now, but Hinata's going to overtake you with that energy he has."
"Suga-kun…," Yaku started, and he sounded like Daichi felt—tired and not sure it worth the effort to remind Suga that he was being painfully honest at the moment.
Daichi finished first and got up just as Shibayama tried cheering Asahi up about how there was still plenty to learn from the sidelines—as noted by a permanent benchwarmer—and the captain debated getting seconds. He wasn't entirely hungry, perhaps not for another serving, but he still wanted something. Damn Suga taking his candy earlier…
"Oh. You going for seconds, too?"
Daichi looked up and found himself face-to-face with that grin again. "Ah, no, probably not…," he told Kuroo.
The cat captain shrugged and tossed his trash, too. "Me either."
Daichi raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I was, but…" Kuroo shrugged again. "I'm hungry, but not that hungry."
That made Daichi chuckle. "Ah, I'm the same. Do you guys have vending machines around?"
"Yeah, but one's off and the other's busted." He rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a second. "Oh. You know, I think I've got Choco Shrooms left over… Do you want some?"
Daichi's stomach grumbled, and he was embarrassed, but Kuroo must've not heard it. "Sure," Daichi said hastily, hoping to cover up another rumble as they left and headed to the classrooms.
Nekoma's players were staying on the same floor as Karasuno's, just at the other end of the hall. Daichi waited outside the classroom door while Kuroo ducked in to grab the treat, and they went to a window in the hallway when Kuroo returned. He passed Daichi the box and struggled to open the window to let in the cool, evening breeze while they ate. "Grr," he grunted at the pane. "This window needs to be fixed, the vending machines need to be fixed…"
Daichi chuckled again. "Your school sounds just like ours—too much that's old." He popped a chocolate mushroom into his mouth and waited for it to dissolve before he spoke again. "You should see our clubroom. The inside's not bad, but the outside could use a coat of paint." He paused, thinking. "Actually, the stairs are pretty old, too… Now I'm not sure about how reliable they are."
Kuroo licked some chocolate off his fingertips. "Well, has anyone ever fallen down them or through them?"
"No…but now that you've said it…"
Kuroo laughed and bumped Daichi's shoulder with his own. "Oh, so you're that type of guy, huh?"
"What type of guy?" Daichi asked, red-faced at being laughed at.
"The one who thinks something's going to happen just as soon as he thinks it could happen." Kuroo raised his eyebrows. In the city lights, his grin was more of a smirk, and Daichi's sense of unease from before returned. It was so hard to anticipate anything about Kuroo—it was probably what made him such a formidable opponent, Daichi surmised.
Daichi looked away.
He was aware of being watched for a while, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he let Kuroo do as he pleased, though it was surprising when Kuroo asked, "So do you do this a lot?"
"Do what?" Daichi asked, and he fished another mushroom out of the box while he watched lights start to go out in a nearby office building.
"Stare at the sky."
Oh. Whoops. His mind flashed to Suga and Asahi noticing earlier. "It's nothing," he said, an echo from a few hours ago.
"Really." Kuroo's eyes were on him again.
"I'm just daydreaming a bit," Daichi confessed, and it wasn't exactly a lie. His mind really was elsewhere. It had started drifting off since the training camp with the other schools earlier in the summer.
"About what?"
Hmm. To tell Kuroo or not? Kuroo was a surprising guy… Friendly when Daichi expected them not to get along. Never teasing him about things that Daichi would've, if he was the teasing type like Suga. So Daichi pursed his lips, debated for half a second, and then said, "That the sky is the same everywhere."
Kuroo, confused, made a face. "Well, yeah… Why wouldn't it be?"
Daichi shook his head, not sure about going any further. It'd probably sound weird, anyway, if he did explain what was on his mind. He dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand and laughed at himself. "No, never mind. I think my mind's just been wandering when I've not had volleyball to keep me occupied." He peeked into the box of Choco Shrooms and saw there was one left. He looked back at Kuroo. "Mind if I finish…"
Sharp, brown-gray eyes that looked golden in the city lights. A curious yet knowing gaze. And, of course, a sense of overfamiliarity.
But this time, too, there was a grin, and Daichi tried not to think about how comfortable he was with that smile.
"Go ahead," Kuroo said at last, leaning towards him with the nearly-empty box. His shoulder brushed Daichi's again as Daichi took the last mushroom and pushed it into his mouth.
The chocolate and biscuit dissolved on his tongue, but this one seemed to take longer than the previous ones. All the while, Daichi didn't move from his spot at the window, his eyes fixed on the office building as he enjoyed Kuroo's warmth despite the summer heat. Even when Kuroo shifted to rest his arms across the sill and bare skin touched bare skin, Daichi didn't mind. His unease faded and he wanted to talk to Kuroo more…but he feared he'd say the wrong thing.
Daichi's phone buzzed in his pocket, and the crow captain's heart just about jumped into his throat at the sound. Kuroo glanced at him and shooed him to get it, so Daichi reluctantly took it out and saw he had a text from Suga, wondering to where Daichi had run off.
"I guess our absence has been noticed," Daichi told Kuroo after he pocketed his phone. He put his hands behind his back and stretched, though Kuroo remained leaning at the window. He ducked into the classroom where Kuroo was staying and tossed the empty Choco Shrooms box in the trash. Back in the corridor, he returned to Kuroo's side. "Kuroo?"
Kuroo cupped his cheek in his palm and raised his eyebrows, but he, too, straightened up. Still, his eyes seemed to say, "Same time tomorrow?"
Daichi averted his eyes again, and they rejoined their friends…but not before Daichi impulsively gave him a little nod.
- ^-^3
"Hey, hey, hey!"
That was what a death toll sounded like in volleyball, Daichi determined.
Bokuto and a regretful-looking Akaashi showed up the following morning shortly after breakfast, dressed for practice in shorts, t-shirts, and their light team jackets. Daichi sighed simultaneously with Kuroo, and even Nekomata-sensei aged a few more years when the Fukurodani duo appeared. Kuroo gave Daichi a "What did I tell you?" look and went to greet them as they shrugged out of their jackets and changed their shoes, leaving Daichi to exchange a look with his teammates about what was to come now that the two owls had arrived.
"I thought we signed up for a training weekend with Nekoma," Suga pointed out with a queasy look as Daichi signaled for a break and the third years grabbed a drink.
"I think that's what the staff thought, too, but…well, they seem happy enough," Daichi commented. He and the other two watched Hinata and Haiba go greet Bokuto, and even Tsukishima gave Yamaguchi a minute to himself by going to catch up with Akaashi.
"And here I thought miracles didn't happen," Suga said of the interaction between taciturn middle blocker and equally-reserved setter.
Coach Ukai discussed some tactics with the team while Nekomata-sensei and Coach Naoi decided what to do with Bokuto and Akaashi. Karasuno had just about settled on the route of doing more blocking practice when Bokuto exclaimed about something and Kuroo told him to shut up.
"But Kuroo…!" the exuberant ace groaned, almost loud enough to echo around the gym.
Kuroo sent him a scathing look and glanced at Karasuno…no, not quite.
At Daichi?
But Daichi had no clue why. Unless the captains were planning on making Daichi and his team relive the horrors of the grueling training camp…
As it turned out, that wasn't quite the case. The coaches mixed the teams up a bit for a pre-lunch game, and Daichi found himself opposite Bokuto, Akaashi, Yaku, Inuoka, Hinata, and Tanaka. On his side, he had Kageyama, Nishinoya, Tsukishima, Haiba, and Kuroo. The rest they divvied up by age groups, with Bokuto's team backed by the second years and Daichi's by the first and third years.
"Since when did owls join the trash heap?" the crow captain remarked to Kuroo as they lined up at the start of the first set. He eyed Kuroo while the other teen rolled his shoulders, looking…anxious. Ah. Well, at least Daichi wasn't alone in facing Bokuto.
"Since they can't stay out of others' business," Kuroo muttered.
Or, at least, Daichi thought Kuroo had muttered that. But he didn't have the chance to prod Kuroo about it when Shimizu blew the whistle and the match began.
Losing all those times before to Fukurodani and the other teams had helped to build Karasuno's stamina. However, Bokuto didn't know the meaning of "hold back." The only person who came even close to matching his energy level was Hinata, and even he had a hard time jumping all over the place on Bokuto's heels. By the end of the first set, everyone was breathing hard. By the end of the second, Suga had subbed in for Kageyama twice, Yamamoto had taken Tanaka's place, and Yamaguchi had come onto the court instead of Haiba. There almost wasn't a third set without Daichi's and Kuroo's positions narrowing Bokuto's and Hinata's trajectories so that Nishinoya had an easier time keeping the ball in play. But, because of Nishinoya, they stayed in the game, and that gave them enough time to wear Bokuto, Hinata, and Yamamoto down so that they made some mistakes. Daichi's team won on a technicality, but they still won.
It was interesting, seeing Bokuto pout because he'd lost. Daichi turned to Kuroo with a huge grin on his face and held up a hand for a high-five, which Kuroo returned after a surprised second. "Gotta say…we make better teammates than rivals," Daichi quipped.
Kuroo grinned, too, but it wasn't his usual grin—it wasn't even that comfortable smile he'd shared with Daichi last night. It was genuinely cheerful and rather innocent. Kuroo ran his hand over the back of his head, mussing up his messy coif and laughing gently. Then he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah. Me, too."
Like yesterday, Kuroo's words made his thoughts disappear. Then Daichi blinked, slowly, and let Kuroo's words sink in, trying to detect if his unease would return again…but it didn't. And Daichi wasn't certain what to make of that.
Having faired against Bokuto and Akaashi's combo well, the coaches called for an early lunch, and Akaashi insisted that he and his captain wouldn't be staying. "Thank god for that," Kuroo stated within Bokuto's earshot, and Daichi sighed when the cat stuck his tongue out at his friend when Bokuto got riled up.
"Kuroo!" he growled. He pointed at him dramatically. "So a bet's a bet and you can do things your way! But I want details later…!"
"Bokuto-san, that's enough," Akaashi said exasperatedly, and he tugged on Bokuto's jacket, trying to get him to budge.
"But, Akaashi…!"
Daichi looked curiously between the cat and owl captains and saw that Kuroo appeared anxious yet again, with his brow creased and his lips pursed in the prologue to a frown. Bokuto was easy to wind up—but what on Earth had Bokuto said to get Kuroo to look so unbalanced? Frankly, Daichi knew he'd love to know; he was fine with baiting his opponents every once in a while.
Kuroo only breathed a sigh of relief when Akaashi muffled Bokuto and finally got him to leave with the promise of lunch at some restaurant—Akaashi's treat, of course—and Kuroo let go of the tension in his brow.
"Ah, Kuroo…lunch?" Daichi prompted since his fellow captain had begun to space out.
"Right, right…" Kuroo caught up with him, and they were some of the last ones out of the gym.
They grabbed some food and Daichi started to head in Suga and Asahi's direction, but he stole a peek at Kuroo beside him and made the conscious decision to eat with Kuroo instead. Besides, it wasn't as if he had the chance often, and Karasuno would be heading out in the morning. Then again, Daichi recalled at the last minute that he was a crap conversationalist when it came to initiating things; he usually let Suga or Nishinoya do the talking in groups, since they were natural-born chatterboxes. "So, uh… It wasn't too bad, having them practice with us."
The taller boy lifted one eyebrow so high and let the other sink so low that Daichi couldn't fathom a more unconvinced expression. "Please don't let the next thing out of your mouth be anything like 'Oh, you two get along so well.'"
Daichi laughed. "Well, you kind of do." He ate a few bites of his lunch before adding, "Can't say I'm close enough to anyone to place bets, although I lose to Suga in various things far too often…"
Kuroo shrugged with both his shoulders and his eyes. "I guess Bokuto and I are friends in that way, although it's hell facing him on an official court." He pushed his remaining food around on his plate and leaned his elbows on the table, cupping his cheek in his palm again like last night. He observed Daichi, but Daichi was starting to get used to it and so didn't let the action disturb him.
Ah, maybe he kind of knew why. "I think I'd prefer being friends over rivals," he said nonchalantly. Though, really, he had a feeling that was only part of it.
Kuroo blinked once, twice. Then his lifted his head up and picked up his fork. He glanced between his and Daichi's plates. "You left some fish flakes on your plate."
It took a lot for Daichi not to laugh at that, since he pictured that neighborhood cat brazenly meowing for food. "Yeah, they put too much on mine. You can have them."
So Kuroo took them off his hands and lunch wound down, better than it had begun.
- ^-^3
Evening practice was over faster than Daichi would've preferred, or maybe it just seemed that way after the intense game in the morning. But practice ended, the athletes cleaned up and put things away, and dinner was a quiet affair much like the night before. Daichi ate with Suga and Yaku after Suga teased him for running off with Kuroo during lunch and even Yaku looked at him curiously for that, but he got up and tossed his trash as soon as he was done eating. He planned to wash up before the others, but he'd no sooner stepped into the hallway leading to the classrooms than did his stomach release a tiny growl for dessert.
Ah, damn it.
Kuroo came from the direction of the bathrooms, at the other end of the corridor, and he picked his head up. In the quiet, there was no doubt he'd heard that.
Double damn.
Yet Kuroo eased into his characteristic smirk. "I'm fresh out of chocolate tonight, Sawamura."
Daichi ran a hand through his hair as he walked towards the other captain, embarrassed. "No, no, it's fine… I wasn't expecting anything, though I appreciate you sharing last night."
Kuroo stared at him. "I mean I don't have chocolate, but I've something else? Kenma's mom always packs a bag of apple candies in his bag and in mine, knowing how he gets." He patted Daichi on the shoulder and turned. "Give me a sec. I'll get them."
Truth be told, though he'd been expecting nothing, Daichi rather liked that Kuroo was being friendly again. And not that pseudo-friendly when they'd met towards the beginning of the year and had first shaken hands. No, he mused when he went to wait by the window and located the office building from before. No, that first time, Daichi had thought they'd be bitter rivals, but…he found he liked Kuroo the more he got to know him.
"Thinking the sky's the same everywhere again?" the other boy said, closer to Daichi than the crow would've guessed. He held up the candy bag and popped one into his own mouth.
"No," Daichi corrected, a tad annoyed at Kuroo bringing that up. He leaned on the windowsill after Kuroo got the window open again.
"You never did explain that to me, you know." His eyes were piercing and curious, signaling that he really did want to know.
Oh, boy… But did Daichi feel like explaining? He ran a hand through his hair again, opened his mouth to say "Promise you won't laugh," and stopped. Despite the little he knew about Kuroo, he instinctively knew that this surprising guy wasn't going to laugh, no matter what he said. So Daichi summoned some courage—What for? he thought—and grabbed a candy. It grew warm in his hand as he said, "Okay…so…I've been thinking…"
"Hnn?" Kuroo prompted as his candy clinked against his teeth.
"If the sky's the same everywhere, then everywhere should be the same, right?"
Kuroo said nothing.
"Like…when you meet people and can read from their character how they're going to act. It's predictable, y'know?"
The other boy half nodded, half shrugged.
"Then why are there some beings who seem to contradict the way they're supposed to behave?"
Kuroo lifted a curious eyebrow and snorted. He swallowed his candy and bit his lower lip, but he clearly wanted to laugh.
"What?" Daichi inquired, slightly irritated.
"I'm not laughing at you for the topic," Kuroo evenly said, bumping Daichi's shoulder with his own. He leaned against the sill, too, leaving their arms touching. "But your word choice is funny—'some beings'? Not 'some people'?"
Oh. That. Daichi forgot his irritation and wanted to laugh at himself, too. "That's just… Yeah, mostly I'm thinking about people, but there's this cat near my house, too—decided it liked me one day, completely out of the blue. I mean, I didn't do anything to deserve its attention. He just likes me. I'd expect it from a dog, but…" Daichi rubbed the tip of his nose, thinking about how he was looking forward to seeing the little guy when he got home. "I guess I kinda like it, though I've never encountered something like this before."
"So you're okay with it?"
The candy felt sticky in Daichi's palm. He'd momentarily forgotten about it, but now he ate it and nodded, reaching for another.
"Then it's okay for me to like you, too, completely out of the blue?"
Daichi's hand froze halfway to the candy bag. Come again?
Yet Kuroo seemed genuine. He looked a bit anxious like earlier, and he rubbed his neck while he obviously tried to figure out what to say next.
Daichi pushed the candy towards the inside of his cheek and mumbled around it, "You like me."
Kuroo nodded.
The thing was, Daichi wasn't utterly stunned. Kuroo had been friendly since the training camp, and they'd gotten along so well during and since then. It was only when Daichi had met the cat that he had considered Kuroo might be sending some strange affection his way. …well, okay, it wasn't strange affection—calling it "strange" seemed mean—but it definitely appeared out of nowhere. That was why Daichi had been uneasy this weekend. What if Kuroo cozied up to him again like this? Now that Daichi was almost certain why, would he be all right with it?
Kuroo continued to stare at him, but his anxiety was coming through more the longer Daichi remained quiet. Seeing uncertainty in his eyes was refreshing, and Daichi felt a morsel of guilt at enjoying this rare moment when Kuroo, for once, was an open book.
Finally, he alleviated the tension by leaning against Kuroo's arm some and staring out the window again. "So is this why Bokuto was bugging you earlier? Bokuto knew?" Oh, hell. Bokuto had wanted details—Kuroo must've been planning to confess to him this weekend no matter what. Daichi felt his ears burn red while he felt oddly pleased at the idea.
The other captain groaned. "Of course Bokuto knew. It's the only thing he's not an idiot about," Kuroo muttered when Daichi raised his eyebrows. "Well, that and volleyball, kinda."
Daichi nodded.
"So…you're okay with it?" Kuroo prodded after a couple of silent minutes.
"I guess I kinda like it, though I've never encountered something like this before."
Kuroo scoffed and held the candy bag back. "You little… Am I going to be nothing but a cat to you?"
Daichi snorted and tried not to laugh. "I didn't say that—" He stopped short, though, when Kuroo turned his head and pressed his arm flush against Daichi's, leaning towards him and leaving a space the width of a single candy between their faces.
"I like you this much. The cat does not," Kuroo elaborated for him.
Daichi held his breath…
…and Kuroo backed away, reaching for another apple candy.
"The cat also wouldn't toy with me like that," the crow spat, hating how hot his face burned.
Kuroo grinned, pleased with himself. "I pegged you yesterday, Sawamura—you're the type of guy who thinks things will happen just because they could happen. But this is good."
"How?" Daichi couldn't help his flat tone of voice.
"Because you got your hopes up. It means only the neighborhood cat's love will go unrequited."
"You're really far too confident than I like…"
"Yes, but you like me, so I'd say the weekend has been a success."
Daichi gave him a little glare, but Kuroo beamed at him.
They now could hear voices coming from the direction of the stairwell to the cafeteria, and Kuroo glanced at their positions, how their arms still touched.
"Time to call it a night, I guess," Daichi said, only somewhat relieved. He started to straighten up but stopped when he caught Kuroo's eye.
"Why? The kids still have to get ready for bed, we've still got sweets to eat, and I don't have your number yet." He raised his eyebrows and held up the candy bag, and Daichi swore it was Kuroo's way of purring.
So he sighed and grabbed another candy…not expecting it to be the one from Kuroo's mouth….
- ^-^3
Despite a swollen—just partially—cheek, Kuroo's grin was bigger and more Cheshire than ever in the morning. And Daichi was doing his best to be immune to it.
"Yes, I'm okay with it, but not in front of everyone else," the shorter third year grumbled as he stood in front of the bus and talked with Kuroo. Most of the crows were getting on the vehicle, though Daichi wasn't alone. Tanaka and Yamamoto were shedding manly tears once again, Hinata looked to be a second away from giving Kozume a hug goodbye, Suga and Yaku were chatting lightly, and even Asahi was doing well since Shibayama no longer seemed to be frightened by him in the least bit.
"Yeah, you kinda made that clear last night," Kuroo murmured, rubbing his cheek and wincing.
Daichi felt a pang of regret for hitting him. "I'm sor—"
"It's fine. I promise I won't kiss—"
Daichi stepped on his foot, hard. Panicky, he glanced over his shoulder, but no one had been eavesdropping or even noticed the two captains were still talking. He turned back to Kuroo and gave him his most intimidating stare, one that'd been known to scare his teammates.
"All right, all right…," Kuroo caved, holding his hands up in defeat. "Just…come to Tokyo again soon, yeah?" His eyes softened, like a cat's before a long, luxurious catnap. And Daichi had to swat away all daydreams involving him joining Kuroo in such a manner.
"Well, we'll be back to train soon, I'm sure," Daichi said.
"Outside of training, Sawamura."
The crow captain nodded.
He got on the bus then and gave Kuroo a brief smile through the window. Then, the crows headed home.
The drive back took several hours but was cheaper than taking the Shinkansen—Karasuno was not as well off as Fukurodani or even Nekoma—and it gave Daichi the chance to let his mind wander again, though now his worries about the sky and people's unpredictability seemed like last year's musings as new excitement and curiosities filled his thoughts. Only a text chime on his phone disrupted his reveries, and he snorted with laughter when he opened the message.
"Did something happen, Daichi?" Suga asked. He peered around Asahi since they were sitting in the seats across the aisle from Daichi.
"Uh… It's the cat. My mom came across him and sent me a picture," he adlibbed.
Asahi smiled. "The cat's cute, right?"
Daichi glanced at the dumb text Kuroo had sent him:
-*nya* ( =①ω①=)
"Yeah…the cat's cute, all right."
- ^-^3
Someone save me from cute Kurodais. XDDD Honestly, much as I enjoyed writing the angst in "What shall we eat today?" and "Today I eat alone," I found myself in some serious need of OTP fluff, and ta-dah~! Here we are. -w- This turned out a HELL of a lot longer than I thought it would (6,500 words? HOW?), but I like it. I like to think that Daichi begins to think of that cat as Kuroo, but he can't think of the cat once he starts dating Kuroo properly, because they're captains who want to cuddle and more… B3 And Kuroo stealing a kiss—cute. Funnily enough, I kind of find it hard to write them (and draw them… -_-;), but I just love this pairing too much. I need to draw them… (Visit my tumblr—le-amewzing—for fanart.) Anyway, I like to think that a) Kuroo was done in by that unexpected smile Daichi gave him before the bus rolled away and b) Kuroo's the type to use too many emojis and kaomojis, but Daichi doesn't know this yet so he finds this initial text to be cute. AHHHH, Kurodai. *combusts from the fluffy feels* Those Choco Shrooms, btw, are a real thing, but they're far too sweet for my tastes… :P And lastly, I think Suga might seem a little OOC here, but he isn't, really. He acts and speaks a bit differently when it's just him and Daichi and Asahi, and I was trying to show that here. :]
Thank you very much for reading, and please review! Check out my other [HQ!] fics, especially if you enjoyed this one!
-mew-tsubaki :3c