I loved raspberry, and you loved mint. We, by all means, should never have come across each other. Yet on that very fine afternoon, across the river, in the waterfall of raindrops, I saw you, Kuroo. Separated by the flowing water between us, my eyes met yours, and yours did mine, but it was soon followed by my aversion of gaze. Your hair was a mess...and that's probably what college does to its students.

Your eyes were a nice shade of hazel, I suppose, and perhaps it was because I was still nothing but a naive person who'd never fallen in love, I thought we were meant to be.

It was really awkward for me at first, and you must have noticed. Behind my curtain of blonde hair, I could see your attentive eyes staring kindly back at me. You were the one who first asked for my name, and my number. Kozume, I mumbled, Kozume Kenma. You smiled, and introduced yourself as Tetsurou Kuroo. I remember thinking that had to be the most absurd way people introduced themselves, but it was interesting.

We went out on a date. Then another, and another. I was still in high school then, but you were already in college. Maybe it was from then that the Universe started dropping us hints. It was difficult to meet up, but we still made it work. Some way, somehow. You'd buy me a raspberry ice cream and you'd get yourself a mint one. Then we'd sit together under the same oak tree we sat by every alternate day, rushing assignment after assignment, yet still managing to find time to tell each other about our lives.

I told you my dream was to become something that didn't require much work or moving around, like a Youtuber, and you said you wanted to become a something that revolved around volleyball. Perhaps that was the Universe's second hint, but we ignored it anyway.

As we sat under the tree that day, a few drops of rain began to fall. I shut my eyes, too tired to move, or perhaps I just felt it was a waste of energy. You insisted we get to proper shelter immediately, but I sat there, unmoving, for a moment more. I'd always found peace in the rain.

Then it came; the day you told me your parents had previously arranged a marriage between you and some other girl. I felt hurt and betrayed, memories from all those nights you'd spent convincing me I was the one for you all seemed like a lie in that moment, but I believed you when you told me it would all work out between us.

That must have been the Universe's third hint. I surely had to be blinded by love to not see what was happening between us, Kuroo. Maybe I'd chosen not to see, but either way, I ignored it.

It was only through a message from Akaashi that I realised you had already gone to plan your wedding that other girl, yet I was still sure you had a plan. A plan that would keep us together, forever. I was stubborn that way.

I didn't even care about how you'd felt in that moment, as a person attracted to guys, being forced to marry a girl you barely knew. You and I were soulmates, I brainwashed myself. It was impossible for us to not be together.

Yet as I sit here, under the same oak tree, writing this, I'm flipping through the many pictures of you and her as newly-weds. Yeah, I was there when you two got married. She's gorgeous, Kuroo, she's perfect for you. Really. And I say this from the bottom of my heart.

I just know that she'll be faithful to you, forever, so as much as I hate to admit it, I have come to accept that college students do not mix with high school students, that Youtubers don't click with sports oriented people, and raspberry will simply never go well with mint.

I look up through the shade of the leaves, and I can hardly contain a wistful sigh; it's raining. It's rained on the most significant dates of both your life and mine, and perhaps the significance behind today is that it marks the last time I'm longing for you.

As the rain slides down the sides of my face and some into my eyes, the memory of you pulling me under the shelter that day comes to mind, and I smile, basking in the feeling of rain against skin. Tears and rain run down the side of my face, but I don't seek shelter. I lift my arms towards the sky, a few raindrops slipping through my fingers and some pool in my palms.

No, I won't hide from the rain. Not today.