Ok, this here is mostly a lot of little snippets from after Eloquence ends –this probably won't even be half as long as that, but oh well-. I wasn't even really planning to write anything that followed it, and in fact the next fic in this series was supposed to be the KageyamaxHinataxKenma mess that I alluded to in Ambiguity -which I am writing, but its killing meeee- alas, that one is taking longer than expected, real life has gotten in the way all too often –I'm back at my hometown which means half as much time in the computer and three times the alcohol intake-, and my muse for this is being hyperactive.
So, here, have some fluff -and a little bit of angst, because let's face it, everything I write ends up having angst, one way or another- a whole lot of it (the fluff), in fact.
Gentleness.
This is way more awkward than it has a right to be.
The knee-jerk reaction of walking off the stairs at the second floor catches Kei by surprise when he's already stepped into the hallway of the apartment that he once shared with Tetsuro.
Though it makes sense, it is weird, since he hasn't so much as stepped foot in this building in eight years.
Memories flood into his head, both bitter and joyful, though now they all have a tinge of sunlight, even those from times that he prefers not to dwell too much into.
His fist clenches around the handle of the rather heavy convenience store back and he turns around.
Upstairs, he finds Kuroo's new apartment with ease, it's at the end of the hall, like their old one, and someone –something tells him it was Bokuto, despite not having seen the man in quite a while either- has put a black cat sticker under the door number.
With decided steps, he walks towards it.
It's slightly upsetting, the whole atmosphere of it, though they've talked everything out already, coming back here feels like things might go bad again with the slightest misunderstanding, which rationally makes no sense.
Despite this, his step doesn't falter, and he rings the doorbell with firm fingers.
Maybe he'd allow himself to doubt things more if he wasn't here because Tetsuro's voice was way too raspy and he seemed to lose track of his thoughts easily when he called earlier saying that he couldn't make it tonight –it is a cold, by all accounts, but he sounded awful- and Kei found himself rushing over without thinking much about it.
They haven't met since Tuesday, when Tetsuro left for work after they spent the whole weekend watching Kuroo's weird TV shows and with the older man overfeeding him at any chance that he got –he understands the concern, even if Kei did fit in a few mother hen jabs here and there- since then, the older man has been busy –calling in sick on Monday brought on a surprising amount of paperwork- and Tsukishima has only just returned to work from his mostly unwilling leave of vacation.
He still can't believe how they were just a week ago –time is such a funny thing-.
Kei smiles to himself as quiet shuffling is heard inside the apartment.
When the door opens and a bedhead messier than usual greets him, he has to fight the urge to let it become a full blown grin.
"Uh- Tsukki?" Tetsuro's tone is surprised.
His –boyfriend? Lover? Whatever- is looking at him from behind the messy black locks, his nose and his cheeks are red and he's holding a fluffy blanket around hunched wide shoulders –given how tall Kuroo is, it doesn't really cover down to his ankles, and Kei can see that he's wearing socks, a rarity for Tetsuro, at least, when it isn't winter-.
Black bags lay beneath his eyes.
"You sound surprised" Kei states, stepping inside, Kuroo doesn't try to stop him, he rather doubts the other man can stand to move anything other than his right hand out from beneath the blanket.
"Well, I did tell you I was too sick to do anything" Kuroo answers, voice raspy, he walks inside and all but collapses on the couch.
"You don't really have to do anything" Kei says, mildly awkward, it's not like he's used to acting actively concerned for the other, they have always been more about passive, constant care that becomes a part of the background. "In fact, I'm not letting you do anything"
Still, he got worried, and anyways, what they were doing before didn't quite yield the best results.
"Kinky" Kuroo doesn't miss a beat, but his voice lacks the usual heat, he coughs into his hand seconds later "But seriously, you could catch whatever bug I have Tsukki."
Kei raises an eyebrow at him "I'll be fine, I won't die from a cold; if I even catch it."
The other man is clearly too tired to argue, his expression softens and he pats the spot beside him in the sofa "Come cuddle me, I'm cold"
Tsukishima blushes, but he is about to slip his arms around the other man –who shivers when he spreads his arms and opens the blanket- when he feels the heat all but radiating from Kuroo's body. Kei hesitates "Maybe it'd be better if you ate something first?" Kuroo's face falls "I- I mean, you look pale and you never bother to try and cook when you're sick- and you can cool down while I- "
"But Tsukkiiiiii" Tetsuro whines "'m not hungry" he's extending his arms towards Kei now, he wonders for a minute if he could just curl up with Kuroo for a bit, but quickly scraps the idea, overheating aside, he's almost sure that the other hasn't eaten all that much and Kei himself is tired from his first day of work in a week, and he didn't come here just to fall asleep on the sick man.
"Just some soup" he lifts the grocery store bag –the leek is sticking out-.
Kuroo's face goes redder and he smirks despite the fever "You're going to make a pretty good husband Tsukki "And then it is his turn to sputter and blush. Abashed, Kei breaks off the eye contact and Tetsuro balks a little "Sorry… too soon?"
Sometimes he forgets that he isn't the only one sailing around uncharted waters, Kei looks back at Tetsuro. The other man has flinched away, pulling the blanket tighter "N-No" Kei mutters "It's fine, you just surprised me"
There's uncertainty in Kuroo's expression when he looks up. "Are you sure?"
Usually, the dark haired man is the one who initiates most physical contact, Kei himself being either too embarrassed and sometimes too insecure to do so. However, it was one of the first things that he learned about Kuroo when they started living together all those years ago, that he is the kind of person who gets about one cold a year, but it's awful and just so happens to make him very weak and fidgety –and whiny-.
And as such, he figures just for this once, he can push past the awkwardness of their still-mending relationship and lean in to press a chaste kiss against Tetsuro's heated lips –which are soft and pliant and just meld with his-.
When he breaks away, red- faced and with a racing heart, for a second-from the blank expression in Kuroo's face-, he thinks he's broken the other, that is until Tetsuro's face splits into the most adorable grin and Tsukishima has to stand up and head for where –he supposes- the kitchen is. "Do you have a thermometer?" He calls out from the kitchen.
"Wha- Uh, yeah."
"Good, take your temp while I make something"
Five minutes later, Kuroo walks into the room, face still fairly flushed, but without the blanket and holding the thermometer in place with his lips.
He proceeds to sit in a chair on the corner and observe Tsukishima as he flutters around the kitchen.
It's just chicken soup –cooking has always been more Kuroo's thing anyway- he finds himself growing a little restless under the other's gaze.
The timer for the soup goes off and Kuroo takes the thermometer out, squinting a bit to check the number –Kei decides in his mind that there's no way the fever isn't high if the other man has to do that-.
"Huh, hasn't gone down" He holds the device out for Kei to take, it marks 39.1 degrees "My head hurts"
"I got some medicine, it's in the bag" Kei says, pouring the pot's contents into two bowls as the shorter man fumbles while trying to pop the pill out.
It smells good, the soup, and he carries the bowls to Tetsuro's table with the other man following close behind.
They eat slowly, though he has to fetch the blanket for Kuroo after a while–it is chilly in the apartment, though, and it is summer, why is that? - "Did you turn the AC down?" He asks, and the other looks up from his near finished bowl.
"Uh?" A confused frown descends upon Kuroo's face.
"You didn't…" Kei says "Where is it?" Well, that makes sense
Kuroo smiles "Remember how it gets here on summer Tsukki?"
"I'm not going to turn it off" He says, fondly recalling their one summer there "Just up a couple degrees"
"Ohh" Kuroo's cheeks redden slightly, his glassy eyes shift to the side of the couch "The control box is around there, but it gets a bit moody sometimes" he says, pointing in the panel's general direction.
Kei laughs and walks towards the thing, it is true that the buttons jam a couple of times and until he changes some of the settings, the thing insists to switch between ten and thirty degrees, though eventually, he manages to set it at a comfortable twenty and turns back to find that Kuroo has stealthily carried the dishes to the sink and is looking at him, leaning on the table.
There's fondness in his eyes, and it makes Kei flush.
He brushes past the other, headed for the sink.
A hand grabs ono the back of his shirt "Tomorrow" Kei's head turns to the side, eyes meeting with Tetsuro's. He sort of should go do the dishes… "Come cuddle me, I'm tired"
Then again, Tetsuro looks cute and sick, and Tsukishima can handle the dishes in the morning when a long work week isn't on his back and the other's eyes aren't glassy and his voice is less hoarse.
He nods mutely and follows Tetsuro to his room. It's neater than he expected, there's barely any socks on the floor and the only litter Kei can spot are some papers at the foot of the bed and the ashtray's contents.
Then, a second later he finds himself crashing half into the bed and half into a solid mass of warmth. Kuroo shuffles them up until they're mostly on the bed, and proceeds to press his face into Tsukishima's chest.
When the dark haired man's breaths even out and his hold on Kei's waist relaxes, the blonde tugs the blanket over both of their bodies, and sleep finds him with surprising ease.
In the morning, he finds himself nose to nose with Tetsuro and his soft, sleepy smile.
.
.
He's watching amusedly from the sidelines.
For once, he doesn't really want to join the conversation.
After all, Akaashi is already making a pretty good job of keeping Bokuto's threats in line –honestly, they've acted the part since forever, long before they actually got married- the owl has always been a little sour on Tsukki for what happened after all.
And Kei seems to be putting up with them well enough.
Kenma's little death glares, however, are a different story.
Tetsuro's sure that he sees his boyfriend cower at some point during the intimidation session- the former setter is visiting for the week, Tetsuro worried that it'd cause friction with Tsukki, but so far, so good- as Kenma nods at Bokuto's words.
When his friends –finally- release Kei, the blonde has a frightened expression all but painted on his face.
He also looks very, very guilty.
Akaashi has called Bokuto over to help with dinner and Kenma is on one corner of the big couch, he shoots Kuroo a look and proceeds to pull out his phone, giving them some space.
Tetsuro understands.
Honestly, they've dealt with the wounds of the past pretty well in the three months since they got back together, it's just Bokuto spoke a bit more than he should've.
He turns to look at his lover.
Kei doesn't often show how he's feeling, he likes to look strong too much, but Kuroo can tell in the set of his jaw and his shoulders, he's mentally berating himself.
Quietly –because right now is not the time to talk about their issues, and he's sure that everyone will be back to normal now that they've gotten their frustrations towards Kei off their chests- he brings his hand to cover Kei's closest and interlaces their fingers, then he leans into the other's shoulder and lays his head there.
Such a small gesture, but it's nothing that they used to do.
He can feel Kei relax slightly as he brushes his thumb over the other's knuckles.
When Tetsuro pull away, the blond is looking at him with a calm, open expression.
He plants a Kiss on Kei's cheek and the other turns his head, pressing his lips to his.
Tsukishima Kei is going to be the death of him.
A loud crashing sound is then heard from the kitchen, along with someone yelling, they ¡, however, are in their own little world, Tetsuro thinks that it's a bit gross how much like teenagers they can be sometimes, but he's been enjoying every second of it.
"Woah, woah, guys, not in front of Kenma" A frazzled looking Bokuto says, having at some point walked out of the kitchen with a bottle of bourbon in hand.
Kei turns to look at Kenma "I'm sure Kozume can handle it"
In his corner of the couch, Kenma makes a non-committal sound, eyes still stuck to his phone.
"Keiji is going to be a while with dinner" the Owl says with an apologetic smile. Tetsuro is suddenly very sure that Akaashi is regretting having asked for Bokuto's help with dinner "So I'm bringing out the booze early"
Tetsuro laughs and leans back "Finally, I was beginning to think married life had softened you up"
"As if bro" the Owl says indignantly, and places shot glasses in front of the three of them –Kenma keeps true to his 'no drinking' habit- "Now Tsukki, buckle up, I'm getting you smashed before you two leave"
Kei snorts, wordlessly taking the challenge and downing his first shot.
Tetsuro takes his too, he sips at it and leans into Kei's body again.
.
.
It takes six months before he asks.
For the second time, Kuroo Tetsuro is asking Tsukishima Kei to come live with him, this time as his boyfriend.
And Kei is being a stubborn little shit.
Not about the moving, -that was a done deal from the start- but about how they are going to organize things once he's brought all of his here.
"I don'tmind the figurines, but we can't put so many books in the room" he says, annoyed "There's a studio for that"
"Can't the figurines stay in the studio?" Kei counters "I like to check up on things by the bed"
Kuroo grunts "You know that the figurines will end up everywhere" The little smirk that takes over Kei's face is devious, Tetsuro sighs "Fine, but only one or two"
"Ok but we move the beanbag somewhere else" Kei says looking at the offending piece of furniture –it does clash with the living-room horribly and is possibly his oldest piece of furniture –Tetsuro bought it with his first paycheck- also, Kei keeps tripping over it, almost as if his brain refuses to acknowledge the thing's existence.
Kuroo glares at him and his gaze slips towards said beanbag, he likes the beanbag, even if its old, it has some sentimentality attached to it "Why? No"
"I don't want you to throw it out, just put it somewhere else" Tsukishima argues. "I keep tripping over it and it's not even pretty"
Honestly, even after all this time, it's like his boyfriend just walks into these little traps "Oh it's not that bad Tsukki" he says smirking "I could make you like it loads better"
He gets a cushion to the face "Kuroo"
"The bedroom, then"
"Fine"
"Really?"
"We'll put it in a corner, so long as it stops tripping me over"
"It's a piece of furniture Tsukki" he drawls "It can't trip you"
Kei huffs and throws another cushion at him and with a shit-eating grin plastered all over his face Tetsuro proceeds to make him, at least, tolerate the poor beanbag.
.
.
It's late, he has come home from a rather busy day –and finding his interns all but fucking in the nurse's station, Kei's glad now that the only time he's ever fainted in the lab was before those two started dating- and he's in all honesty, very tired.
He gets on the train and heads for one of the usual stations, for once glad to not have a car, seeing how traffic is.
Maybe Kuroo will be asleep, he's had some unusually draining cases lately.
On one hand he hopes not because he's hungry and Tetsuro gets too stressed or simply doesn't like to cook for himself sometimes; instead deciding to live on delivery pizza and chips. On the other hand, however, Kei's falling over and even though it's not that late –he went jogging at what Tetsuro called an ungodly hour of the morning- he really is considering dealing with his stomach tomorrow.
As he climbs the familiar stairs and sees the apartment's lights are on, he figures he's getting something to eat.
There are voices coming from the apartment, one high pitched and chirpy and the other low and playful.
What is going on here?Tsukishima rubs at his eyes and turns the key in the lock.
Golden light spills from inside, it smells like something sweet and warm and his boyfriend is sitting on the dining table half covered in chocolate and accompanied by half a dozen of bowls containing strawberries chocolate and white sugar.
Subsequently, an equally chocolate matted, barely blonde head appears behind the bowl of chocolate.
"Suzu-chan?" he asks confused, as the tiny girl crashes into him.
"Uncle Kei!" The damage is worse than he'd thought, both her shirt and shorts are stained through and he's sure Yachi's not going to like getting so much chocolate out of her hair. "Uncle Kuroo and I made dessert"
Instinctively, he lifts her and she settles comfortably in his arms.
Tetsuro is shooting him a loopy smile from the end of the table, there are shadows under his eyes, but he seems happy.
Key stares at his boyfriend, silently demanding an explanation for both the mess and his goddaughter's appearance. The dark-haired man stands and walks over to plant a kiss on his cheek "Hey, love"
Suzume laughs, delighted and grabs his hair. Kei can't help but smile.
"Hey" he'd lean into the other man's warmth if he wasn't holding the girl. "Why is Suzume here? Why is there so much chocolate?" he asks.
Tetsuro rubs the back of his head nervously "Well, Freckles is at that business trip and something came up for Yachi at work. She said she called you, but someone always forgets his charger" which is true, his phone died a couple of hours into the afternoon "And apparently no one else could babysit, then she called me to see if you were home and I offered, she said that she'd be over at around midnight-"
"You should've told her to just leave her overnight" Kei said, walking further in and shutting the door behind him.
"-As for the chocolate, she wanted to make some, I thought it'd be kind of…" a blush rises to the older man's cheeks "Cute, but it turns out that we're pretty bad at it-"
"Uncle Kuroo kept stealing the strawberries" the little girl accuses, and runs back to the table to present Kei with a tray of formless bundles of chocolate "We were trying to make bunnies with these" Her smile is the same as her mother's, so is her hair, though across her cheeks lay scattered Tadashi's unmistakable freckles and they have the same eye color.
The corners of Kei's mouth twitch, he leans down "I think I can see how this one" he picks a random one off the tray and smirks "Looks like it has ears"
Suzume laughs "Meanie uncle Kei" she says "You like them, even if we messed up a little"
And it is true, it is also true that the girl has inherited Tadashi's ability to read Kei's expressions.
Tsukishima takes a bite anyway.
It tastes good, even if it's formless.
He ruffles the girl's hair and looks up at Kuroo, who's leaning on a chair, looking positively out of it. "How about you both help me put the chocolates on a jar while I clean up and make dinner?" He says, mostly to the girl, who squeals in delight and begins gathering the –various- trays and plates of chocolate –and Kei wonders how he and Kuroo are ever going to eat so much chocolate-.
He stands up straight just in time for Kuroo to press a chaste, thankful kiss to his lips and walk off after Suzume.
Kei makes quick work of the chocolate stained bowls, dumping them in the sink and deciding to deal with those in the morning.
A simple meal of rice balls, stir-fried vegetables, and grilled fish is ready soon.
It feels ridiculously domestic to shout "Dinner's ready!" and head, after a couple of minutes and some grunts, two sets of footsteps come from the living-room, Suzume looking cheery and dragging a sleepy looking Kuroo by the hand.
"Itadakimasu" Suzume exclaims and digs in.
The two men eat silently, occasionally responding to the girl's excited chatter.
When they finish, Suzume expresses her desire to go back and finish the program she and Kuroo were watching as Kei made dinner.
"You should head to bed" He says, noticing how his boyfriend all but pales at the suggestion and wrinkles his nose "After a shower"
"Thanks" Kuroo says, and crouches down in front of the girl "See you later Suzume-chan"
"Why does uncle Kuroo not wanna watch tv with me?" she asks, face scrunching up. "Do I bore you?"
Kei begins to panic until Tetsuro ruffles the girl's hair and says "Uncle Tetsuro had a rough day, we can make more candy next time you visit"
"Promise"
Tetsuro grins "Promise"
A couple of minutes later, the shower begins running.
And so, they sit on the sofa, with Suzume in the middle and Kei draped over one of the arms, eyelids growing sleepy by the second.
At some point –he believes it was somewhere between the caramel river and the funny looking things with Christmas hats- he must've fallen asleep, as he slowly awakens to hushed voice.
"… she behaved" he hears a slightly awkward laugh "We made a bit of a mess, but that was as much my fault"
"O-Oh seriously, was Tsukishima-kun mad?"
"Nah, he's used to it now, just scoffed and went to make us dinner"
"I'm really sorry for the trouble, Kuroo-san"
"I don't mind" a pause "She's Kei's goddaughter, after all, I think he missed her"
Tsukishima's eyes open to glimpse at shadows illuminated by the light coming from the hallway.
One is his best friend's wife, still in scrubs and with a stethoscope around her neck. The other one is Kuroo holding something, wrapped snugly in a blanket.
"I'm glad you two found your way back"
He can hear the grin in Kuroo's voice then "It took us a while, but I'm not letting him go again"
And then Yachi's voice drops an octave "You better not Kuro-san" only to come back up to its usual cheerful tone "Thank you, Kuroo-san, you really saved us"
Kuroo hands the bundle over to her and Yachi cradles her daughter lovingly in her arms "Anytime"
"Goodbye." Still unsteady from sleep, Kei gets to his feet.
"Goodbye"
The door clicks shut and Kuroo turns around.
"Oh Tsukki, you're awake" he says.
"Yeah" Kei walks up to him, in the deep darkness of the living room and plants a kiss on his lips "Let's go to bed"
Kuroo's hands wrap around his waist and he nuzzles Kei's throat "I love you, you know?"
"Yeah, it's mutual" he says "Now really, take me to bed, I was ready to drop before I got home"
He half expects it when the man smiles sleepily, hooks an arm under his knees and carries him all the way to their room.
.
.
It has been ages since he has laughed like this.
In retrospect, it wouldn't be so funny if his boyfriend wasn't making such a flustered face and glaring at him from over the rim of his glasses.
"And you have to wear them all the time?" he says, trying to breathe normally, the glasses themselves aren't very funny –thin, wire-rimmed and rectangle shaped, it could have been worse, Kei still remembers his first thick rimmed, round spectacles- in fact, before Kuroo's face twisted into abject horror, and hilarity took over, a pang of arousal coursed through his body at the sight.
The dark haired man pouts "No, they're just for reading, computer stuff and TV"
"Really? You're lucky-" He says, slightly envious.
"Well you are half-blind to anything that's more than a meter from you if you don't wear yours" Tetsuro interrupts.
"-for an old man" Kei continues, still snickering slightly.
Tetsuro places the glasses over the bridge of his nose again and turns to playfully growl at him "You're a brat"
"Well, you always were the one telling us how we were still in diapers" Kei reminds him. "Can't complain now"
Tetsuro laughs and throws his head back "Yeah, you, Lev and Shrimpy. At least, you and Lev grew taller" And it was true, though Kei's growth was just a bit more than an inch while Lev eventually reached the same height as that one two meter's tall spiker that they'd played against in first year.
"Hinata did too" he deadpans "or so Kageyama says"
"He's blinded, Shrimpy is still Shrimpy" Tetsuro raises his head to look at Kei "How are those two doing, anyway?"
Kei sighs a bit, he hasn't missed the very slight protectiveness in Kuroo's tone, it's completely understandable, Kenma is his best friend –Tsukishima has come to terms with it, finally after basically torturing himself for eight years, and he's happier for it, sometimes he can't believe how much they missed due to similar misunderstandings that their friends could see more clearly than either of them- and though the former setter has gotten over Hinata, he can tell that Kuroo still fears some backlash –and the fact that Kenma was a mess after that break up- "Fine" he says "As far as I know, it's Tadashi that talks to Hinata, not me" then the fact comes to the forefront of his mind "Though we might get invited to their anniversary in a couple of months"
Tetsuro raises an eyebrow at him, the glasses shine along with his eyes "Really?"
"Yeah, they've dragged me in the past two years" he says, trying not to stare too directly at his boyfriend and his terribly hot glasses.
Tetsuro sounds mildly impressed "They've managed to?"
"They enlist Noya-san's help" Kei says "he's… insistent"
"Makes sense" Kuroo leans back into the couch and pushes the glasses back up his nose.
It suddenly seems like all of the blood in his body is singing and rushing places it shouldn't be "U-uh have you tried contacts?"
"No way!" the other says, suddenly bewildered "The doctor tried to teach me to put one on and I nearly poked out an eye" he bellows making another kind of warmth bloom in Kei's chest "I don't look that bad do I?"
No, in fact I'm having trouble with not starting to undress you.
Thankfully, Kei would never say that –unless woefully inebriated, but he isn't- so he only blushes and chokes a bit on his own spit as Kuroo panics.
Kuroo turns and stars checking his reflection in the glass of the window –that's another good thing, they're too far up for the streetlamps now- "No, they don't look that bad"
And that is when he notices hid lover's flushed face "Tsukki…" he says, deviously "Could it be that you like them?"
Kei blushes further, feeling a bit of fight rise up within him.
After being together for eight months, he hasn't gotten accustomed to Kuroo teasing him again.
Sometimes he wonders if it's old habits coming back, because back in the day, he both at first loathed to admit that he wanted the older man, and afterwards, he didn't want to feel like he was being clingy of someone, whom he'd thought wasn't and wouldn't ever be his.
And Kuroo has been taking advantage of that fully.
Well, no more.
Still blushing furiously, Kei leans forward and smiles at his lover.
Kuroo seems taken aback.
Good, now…
And so, one of his hands starts brushing its way up Tetsuro's thigh.
"Oho" Their noses are inches apart now, Tetsuro smirks and leans in, capturing Kei's lips with soft insistence, until the blonde relents and, as his hand skillfully undoes Tetsuro's belt, surrenders control over the kiss.
Worshipping eyes rake over his face when they part and Kei feels terribly overexposed.
Warmth blooms along his whole body from so many things –lust, amusement, embarrassment, love- as he yanks Kuroo's pants down over his raised hips and a possessive grip finds its way over the hair that Kuroo won't let him cut past a certain point anymore –Kei doesn't mind, the sensation of fingers tangled through his hair is terribly comforting and arousing at the same time-.
Kei strips himself of his pants and climbs on top of his lover.
Later, after they've somehow made their way to the bedroom, he's feeling blissed out and like a couple of Rhinos have run over his body.
Later on, he will attribute his statement to that "You look really fuckable with those glasses"
Tetsuro's muffled laughter against his shoulder is the last thing he hears.
.
.
"A cat?"
"Are you going to deal with the hair they shed?" Kei makes a face
"A dog?" Tetsuro says hopefully.
"So long as you take him out to do his business in the morning" He responds.
"Tsukiiiii" His boyfriend whines "You're the morning person"
Kei smirks "A lizard then"
"We have enough figurines Tsukki" he says "Also aren't those illegal?"
Kei just shrugs "A fish"
"Those are no fun" Kuroo's face lights up "How about a bird?"
"We are not getting a bird, Tetsuro, we have enough noise as it is" he says "At least not for now, I would like one, but neither of us has any time, maybe later"
"Not even one of those cockatoos that look like Oikawa?" Kei shoots him an annoyed look "Ok, fine, fine, no pets. How do you feel about kids?"
Kei goes beet red, It's a recently approved law that, he knows, has been floating around Tetsuro's face since the official announcement.
He tries to imagine Tetsuro holding a baby, small like Suzume was when Tadashi first handed her to him.
He scoffs and turns his head to the side, still blushing "Same answer"
Kuroo's smile is blinding.
.
.
Babies come around soon though none are theirs.
No one has ever sworn as much as Tsukishima Saeko, of that Kuroo is sure as he and Kei sit in the clinic's waiting room.
Tetsuro makes up his mind to bring the issue up soon, though, when he sees Kei holding his first, very blonde nephew, with a tiny Suzume jumping around him, demanding to see the new baby.
.
.
"Kuro, we have gone over this five times" Kenma drawls –distantly Tetsuro knows that he's spending a small fortune on this call, but he really needs the support and last time he called Bokuto, Akaashi's breathy voice answered that they were currently very, very busy, along with some moans- "He probably thinks you've got diarrhea or something"
"Oh shush" he answers "I haven't been that long"
"It's been twenty minutes"
"Crap" he exclaims, almost banging his head to the stall's wall "Fine, last time- "
"Kuro you know this thing by heart" Kenma says "Now go out there and do it before he thinks you've ditched him"
"But Kenma- "
"-Now, Kuro, you know he's going to say yes"
"But- "
"He loves you"
"Fine" Tetsuro says "But you're picking up my pieces if I mess up in the speech and he doesn't want me anymore"
Kenma laughs on the other side of the line "Fine, just go out and say it"
"Ugh, bye" Tetsuro hangs up and exits the stall, he checks that his hair is in its usual messy style –because Kei has admitted that were it not a requirement in court, he'd get rid of the hair gel of the world- and that his suit doesn't have any awkward wrinkles and the ring box isn't an obvious visible lump through the suit jacket –which Bokuto assured him it wasn't when they bought it.
And he steps out of the bathroom.
Their entrees have already arrived when he sits, and so, he figures that he can't ask while Tsukki's eating –what if he chokes? What if Tetsuro chokes? Yes, he's being silly, but he is when he's nervous- and then the main course is there, having given him just enough time to gather the courage but not to ask the actual question.
He drinks almost half the bottle of wine before he realizes what he's doing.
Kei is looking at him strangely too, a mix of impatience and fondness.
What if he's fed up with his fidgeting?
And so as the desert he specially preordered –some strange, fancy, cousin to the strawberry shortcake in monstrous portions, his which Kei will finish, he knows- is set on the table, Tetsuro pushes himself to his feet and walks around the two-person table.
Kei-who has been eyeing the dessert since it was brought out of the kitchen- looks confused at first, before, Tetsuro offers him his slightly shaking hand and he stands.
"Tetsu, wha-" Kuroo cuts him off.
"You know, I had a speech, and I think I remember parts of it" he says, and the blonde, anticipating what's about to come and with the gazes of strangers heavy upon them, blushes "Kenma said I'd be alright though so I'm just gonna go with it because I think I'll get the point across even if I keep forgetting the part about high school or about the cat I plan to get and god I'm rambling" He pauses for a moment, and looks up into his boyfriend's steady gaze "I love you Kei, and I have for almost a decade, you made an impression from the start, of course, the tall snarky French fry from Karasuno, but then I got to know you and god, it was so much more, and well so many things have happened that recounting them would make us both stay here for ages, but the thing I really want to say is that even though we were apart for so long, even if I didn't know it at the time, I never really stopped. Now that I've actually had you, even if it's for only a fragment of that time, I know I can't let you go, I know that I'm not willing to ever let anything get between us again and I know I can be just a bit obnoxious but you seem to like me either way and I'm so happy Kei, so happy" his emotions have been getting the better of him for a while, but then he feels tears stinging at his eyes –it's almost fine because Kei's are equally glassy- and even if he has forgotten half the speech, he knows it's the moment. Tetsuro drops down on his right knee and fumbles for the ring box in his jacket, for a second worrying that it has fallen somewhere, as he finds it, he pulls it out and presents Kei with its contents. "Tsukishima Kei, will you marry me?"
Kei chokes, and blushes, and people are whispering now, but it doesn't feel malicious –more like the well-natured commentaries of older ladies and teenaged girls- and he finally smiles in a way that he has rarely seen and speaks "Yes"
Tetsuro is on his feet in a second, securing the ring where it belongs and capturing Kei's lips in a kiss.
The people of the restaurant clap.
Afterward, they sit back down, grinning like idiots with a secret, and Kei does indeed finish most of Tetsuro's dessert.
.
.
"Actually, I found the ring last week" Kei says later, wrapped around his lover, he feels Tetsuro shift and breathe underneath him
"I hid it so well too!" Tetsuro exclaims without much heat.
"I wear ties on the occasion too, you know?" Kei says, thinking about the party for Tadashi's twenty-eight birthday.
Tetsuro chuckles "Not the yellow ones"
"Still…" he seems to think for a bit "I love you Kei"
Kei buries his head into his fiancé's chest, his voice is muffled but he knows that Kuroo will hear "I love you too Tetsu"
.
.
The officiator is looking at him expectantly, so is Kei and all of their friends.
Tetsuro stares up into golden eyes and the knot at his throat dissolves.
"Yes, yes I do"
And then Tsukishima Kei proceeds to kiss the life out of him.
So, there it is, my sappy side had a field day, next comes the whole Ken/Kage Hina mess, though it's proving to be somewhat long –longer than Ambiguity at least, and angsty as hell- and that will be the end of this verse, I have half a mind to write some IwaOi afterwards, or DaiSuga.
As always, I love to hear what you think