Kuroo's fingers trace lightly down the middle of your exposed back, his feathery touch slowly moving down into the curve of your body and then back up and under the concealment of your raised shirt.
The room is silent aside from the quiet breathing coming from the both of you, and minutes full of his careful stroking slowly pass. You find that the steady rhythm leaves you in an almost hypnotic-like trance, and you feel yourself being lulled into a spell through his comforting caress.
"Are you still awake?" he suddenly asks.
There's a pause. The question slowly registers through your mind before you finally let out a light hum in reply, but the sluggishness of your response was answer enough. He lets out a soft chuckle and continues to move his hand softly over you.
"You just love to be pet, huh?" he muses. The question leaves you smiling lazily into the pillow below you, your expression left unseen by the raven-haired boy who is stretched out opposite of you.
Silence falls over the two of you once again, and your steady breathing slowly begins to wane, deepening along with your drowsiness as you teeter into the numbing realm between sleep and wake. You feel that you are close to being taken in by your weariness when the soothing motion on your back comes to a sudden stop. The cease of movement pulls you back from your approaching slumber, and you take notice of Kuroo's now still hand lying over you.
You lie still and wait for his words to come. When none do, you find your eyes fluttering to a close yet again, figuring that the boy had fallen asleep himself.
"Hey," he suddenly mutters, catching you from drifting off once more.
You let out a light sound in response, being slightly muffled by the cushion beneath you. No reply comes, leaving you unsure of whether he actually heard you or not. As you start to speak again, you find yourself pausing at the sudden return of his stroking touch. Just as suddenly, you feel the unexpected press of his lips on the top of your shoulder.
An immediate warmth blossoms in you, and you try and fight the stupid grin from growing over your face.
"Heeey," he says again, in a low tone. "You awake, (y/n)?"
He's feathering the top of your back with soft kisses and you decide to stay silent in feign slumber, enjoying the attention he was giving you.
"(Y/n)." You shudder at the sudden proximity of his voice as he practically breathes your name into your exposed ear. Goosebumps run over your body as he repeats your name once again, his warm breath spreading over your neck and his fingers continuing to trace patterns over you.
He presses his lips onto the sensitive area beneath your ear, still hovering closely over you even after pulling away. There's a long silence that follows, and you can practically feel his stare boring onto the side of your flushed face.
"I love you," he suddenly whispers.
You freeze at this and just as soon roll from his grasp—completely conscious and alert now. Your stunned expression is met with his amused one, a crooked smile soon growing over his face as he watches you color considerably.
"What?" he asks innocently.
"T-that's—you can't just say that so suddenly!" you sputter out.
"Say what?" he questions, as if he didn't know what you were referring to. The smirk on his face suggested otherwise.
You frown at him. "You know what!"
"What's wrong with what I said?"
"I…" You break away from his gleaming stare and pout. "I wasn't prepared…"
"Ohhh," he coos with a teasing tone. "Well, are you prepared now?"
You snap your head towards him, sending him a scowl. "What? Of course not—"
You're cut off by the familiar press of his lips against yours, and you find yourself flinching in surprise, but you don't pull away. His lips are warm on yours, and amazingly soft. You start to push yourself towards him, wanting to be closer, but he soon pulls away.
You let out a soft noise of disappointment, receiving an amused chuckle from him in response. He affectionately pats at your head and then slowly moves to caress at your warmed face, watching you through a hooded gaze. You feel your breath catch in your throat at the sudden intensity of his stare, and can't find it in yourself to look anywhere but at his gazing eyes.
"I love you, (y/n)," he slowly repeats. His tone is unwavering, and his eyes are nothing but sincere.
There's an immediate and powerful burst of warmth in your chest at the statement. Your face grows hot, and your hands fidgety. Even your breath comes out shakily, as if you were afraid anything more could bring this precious moment of yours to an end. You find yourself rapidly blinking your eyes, damning the sudden tears that managed to spring into them from the overwhelming emotions drawn by his words.
There has already been so much that you've experienced with this grinning boy ahead of you, yet here he is managing to make a mess of you once again. And the cheeky smirk he now flaunted sure as hell didn't help matters.
You desperately wipe at yours eyes before reaching towards him. He flinches at the sudden movement, but freezes as soon as your hands cup both sides of his face. He eyes you expectantly and even seems to start leaning towards you for a kiss before you proceeded to push his cheeks together, causing his lips to form a ridiculous fish-like pucker.
There's a pause of silence as you simply take in his expression before you burst out laughing (the annoyed look he sends you only amusing you further). After getting past your fit of hilarity, you lean in to give him an apologetic kiss onto his puckered lips.
You soon begin to draw away, but he then suddenly stops you and grasps at the back of your head, gently pulling you closer and deepening the kiss between the two of you for a moment longer.
By the time the two of you part again, you're both slightly flushed and out of breath. You then find yourself smirking at his hooded expression and playfully pinch at his cheek, leaning towards him so that your lips lingered besides his ear. "I love you too," you whisper.
You watch as his expression falters at this, a red hue soon spreading over his face, and you giggle at the sight. He pouts at your laughter and you simply grin warmly at him in response, moving to press your lips against his colored cheek in apology before tackling him over with an overwhelming hug.
"I love you so much," you insist, embracing him tightly and smiling into his chest.
You feel his arms wrap around you in response, and he squeezes you closer to him, just as firmly as you held him. "And I love you," he mutters softly onto the top of your head. "Even if you do snore in your sleep."
"I do not!" you immediately quip in defense, looking up only to feel the instant press of his lips touch the top of your head.
"Kidding," he says, shooting you a crooked grin and ruffling at your hair as you pout at him in response. "But I wouldn't care even if you did."
"Good. Because the fact that you smell like fish all the time is kind of off-putting, but I still love you anyway."
He laughs at this and lightly pinches at your cheek. "You'll get used to it," he teases before pulling you back into his tight embrace.
You find yourself laughing into his chest and squeeze him back, feeling the pure bliss of the moment overwhelm you with an irrefutably cheerful warmth. And, along with the euphoric feeling fluttering in you, it is this warmth that makes you completely confident in saying that you truly do love Kuroo Tetsurou.