Chapter 2

Day Three & Four, Sound|Silence, Dark|Light

It had been a few days since the incident, and Daichi was back to his usual daytime shift. It had been a quiet day. He and Koji went on their patrol, helped an old lady with directions, and then came back to the precinct.

The day had been slow, which was probably a good thing since Daichi had been completely distracted the entire shift. His mind would always go back to a certain messy-haired cat with a dopey smile.

Huh. He wondered how Kuroo was doing. He was concerned about his injuries. Was he healing properly? Giving himself time to rest?

Maybe he should pay the university a visit...

"Sergeant!"

Koji came by his desk and waved, smile wide.

"Ah, Koji. What's up?" Daichi asked.

Koji pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "We're heading out to the bar. You're coming, right?"

Another officer behind him chuckled. "And you're inviting Sugawara-san again, right?"

Koji laughed a little. "Yeah! Invite Sugawara-san! He was really fun last time!"

Daichi raised an amused brow at him.

"Fun? You mean when he got so hammered that he harassed the bartender for not giving him that little umbrella?" Daichi asked.

"Aw, he didn't cause any harm," Koji said.

"Except that the bartender almost threw us all out," Daichi said, looking back down at the paperwork on his desk.

"Yeah, but it was all in good fun! You convinced him not to go any further, anyway," Koji said. "So, you coming?"

Daichi smiled politely at him and shook his head. While he normally would accept—after making sure Suga could come, too— he couldn't keep his mind off of Kuroo.

Ah, Suga would be disappointed.

"Sorry, not tonight," Daichi said, stacking his papers neatly on his desk. "Got somewhere to be."

Koji frowned hard. "Aw, really? You sure?"

"I'm sure."

Koji frowned and slumped, tossing his bag over his shoulder.

"Man. Okay. But next time, right?" Koji asked, looking more hopeful.

"For sure. And I'll bring the crazy one with me," Daichi said.

Koji smiled and then saluted him with two fingers from his temple. "Have a good night, Sergeant!"

"Night," Daichi said.

He watched Koji and the others leave while the night shifters came in to fill their empty desks. He sighed, deciding that his paperwork would never get finished tonight.

After hiding the paperwork in the locked drawer of his desk and quickly changing into his civilian clothes, he headed out and meandered down the street towards the university. The sun was still a bit above the horizon. He wondered if he could ask Kuroo to dinner.

He rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks feeling hot. Would that be too… forward? Too soon?

Ah, what if he was reading too into this? Kuroo might not even be interested in anything like this.

Daichi sighed, hanging his head. No, he shouldn't get his hopes up.

He was just about to talk himself into a depression when he felt a buzz in his pocket. He pulled out his phone to see an incoming call from Suga.

Ah, Daichi thought. Here comes the waterworks.

"Hey, Suga," Daichi answered.

"Daichi! When are we going to the bar?" Suga's voice chimed over the speaker. "Asahi is in! And I think a few others are coming, too."

Daichi twisted his lips. "I'm not sure I'm going tonight."

"Huh?!"

Daichi moved the phone away from his ear just as Suga screamed into it. He sighed and put the phone back, waiting for the scolding.

"Why?!" Suga asked, practically whining. "I was going to style my hair and everything!"

"You won't ever fix your cow-lick, Suga. Just give up now."

"Hey. Don't underestimate my skills here."

Daichi chuckled softly, his steps still guiding him towards the university. He looked at the signs for the sciences building and headed in that direction.

"So, what are your plans today, then? They must be important if you're skipping hanging out with us," Suga said.

"Ah, I'm actually meeting someone," Daichi said.

"Huh?! You're meeting someone?!" Suga exclaimed. "Sawamura Daichi, are you going on a date? Oh, tell me! What does she look like? How'd you meet her?"

Daichi rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. He had a bad feeling about this.

"No, it's uh… it's not a date," Daichi said. "I'm meeting an old friend."

Suga let out a disappointed noise. "Ah, a friend. So, who is it?"

Oh, boy.

"It's… Kuroo."

There was a brief pause, followed by a curious squeak.

"Eh? Kuroo? As in Kuroo Testurou? From Nekoma? That Kuroo?" Suga asked, his voice growing more and more excited with each word.

Daichi sighed as he turned at the corner of the building and headed towards the front doors of the sciences building.

"Yes, that Kuroo," Daichi said.

"Interesting," Suga said teasingly.

"Suga," Daichi warned.

"Now why on earth would you, Sawamura Daichi, go out of his way to meet Kuroo, a guy he hasn't seen in years?" Suga teased.

Daichi rolled his eyes. "It's a long story."

"I've got time," Suga said cheerfully. Damn, why was he always so sly?

"Ugh, Suga, don't read into it, okay? He was just… part of a case I was working on a few days ago and bumped into him," Daichi said. He decided to leave out the little details for now. If he spilled everything that happened that night, Suga would never hang up. "So I'm just checking in. That's all."

"Ah…" Suga's voice trailed off. "There has to be more to it."

Daichi sighed. "Suga."

"Okay, okay! I won't push," Suga said. "Yet."

"Suga!"

"Okay! Don't get all grumpy," Suga laughed. "Have fun! But I'm definitely calling you tomorrow for details!"

"You're insufferable," Daichi said with a sigh. "Talk to you later."

"Bye!"

He quickly hung up before Suga could add anything else to the conversation. He was in no mood to be teased about this.

So what if he's only dated one person? And that person happened to be Yui?

Ugh. Daichi was the worst. He was such a baby.

Daichi shook his head, flinging the thoughts away, and he hurried into the sciences building. He glanced around, watching as students walked down the halls. He spotted one walking by herself and he walked over to her to ask where the labs were. He was pointed in the direction of the south hall, last door on the left.

He meandered down the hall, trying his best to look like he belonged. Although, with his broad shoulders and thick build, it was obvious he wasn't a scientist or even an awkward 18-year-old. But, he tried to remain inconspicuous as he made his way down the hall and stopped in front of an opened door. At just a glance, he could see the lab room, but it looked mostly empty.

But, Daichi poked his head inside to find that it wasn't empty.

There Kuroo was, standing in the corner and holding a clipboard in his hand. His right arm was still in a sling, although it looked twisted as if he struggled to put it on properly.

Daichi furrowed his brows. Had no one been helping him with daily life since he's been in a cast? It didn't even look like anyone signed it.

He moved inside the room, about to call out to him, when suddenly, Kuroo dropped the clipboard from his hand.

Daichi's eyes widened. "Kuroo?"

The man stumbled forward, barely catching himself on the lab table with his one arm. Kuroo's sling bumped a stack of beakers, all of them falling to the ground and clattering to the floor.

"Kuroo!" Daichi shouted as he hurried to Kuroo's side. He gently wrapped an arm around his waist and supported his weight. "Kuroo, are you okay?"

Kuroo blinked blearily at him, his brows pushing together in confusion as he stared at Daichi's face.

"Sawamura? What are you… doing here?" Kuroo's voice was pinched, and there was a light sheen on his forehead.

"Here, sit down first," Daichi said, guiding him to one of the lab stools. He gingerly lowered him down, and as soon as he relaxed, Kuroo let out a sigh in relief. "Kuroo, what happened? You looked like you were about to faint."

Kuroo hunched over on his knees, his left arm supporting himself while his right arm stayed plastered to his chest in the sling.

"Ah, I was?" Kuroo asked. He lifted his head to touch his forehead. "I was just… looking at some numbers for my professor." He peeked up at Daichi through one eye. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I came to check up on you. I guess it's a good thing that I did," Daichi said.

Kuroo groaned and sighed, his shoulders slumping. Daichi pulled up a second stool and sat down next to him, putting a hand on Kuroo's good shoulder. Now that he was sitting close, Daichi could see the dark circles under Kuroo's eyes.

"Kuroo, what's wrong? You look like hell," Daichi said.

He glanced around, looking for a water bottle or something. Kuroo, who seemed to notice his floundering, flopped his hand down on his lap and pointed towards his bag that was on the floor. Daichi knelt down and rummaged through it, grabbing the item he was looking for.

Kuroo sat up and took the bottle gratefully. "Thanks," he said, trying to uncap it one-handed. He frowned as he struggled with the lid.

"Oh, shit," Daichi said, quickly uncapping the bottle for him. "Sorry."

Kuroo shook his head as he took big swigs of the water. Once he was done, he leaned forward and gasped, half of the bottle gone.

"Thank you," Kuroo said. "I guess… I'm more tired than I thought."

Daichi frowned. "What's been going on?"

Kuroo seemed hesitant to answer at first. He adjusted on his seat and looked down at the bottled water in his hand. He took in a deep breath, suddenly shrinking under Daichi's gaze. It was that same look he had on his face the night they reunited.

And Daichi hated it.

"Well, I… I guess I haven't been sleeping well," Kuroo said. He set down his water bottle and then rubbed the back of his neck. "The apartment's a little…"

His voice trailed off, and realization donned in Daichi's mind. He leaned forward, trying to lock eyes with Kuroo.

"Kuroo, are you… scared of being in your apartment?" Daichi asked.

Kuroo looked up at him, shame in his eyes, and then quickly glanced away. Daichi sighed and sat up, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why didn't you call someone for help?" Daichi asked. Me? he wanted to say. Why didn't you call me?

"I… don't really know anyone around here. Kenma's really busy with his business, and my dad is… well, I don't really want to bother him," Kuroo explained. "I kinda came out here alone, so…"

Daichi furrowed his brows. "But you could've called me," he said. He huffed, lowering his eyes. "I know I'm no Kenma, but… I considered us friends, at least."

Kuroo blinked at him, a little owlishly. "I don't have your number."

Daichi snapped his gaze back up at him, his face flushing a deep red at his mistake. He scrambled for his phone in his pocket and searched through his contacts. There was no Kuroo Testurou to be found.

"A-Ah…" Daichi fumbled, scratching his cheek. "I guess… that's true." He pursed his lips and then held out his phone to Kuroo. "So, we should change that, right?"

Smooth, Daichi. Real smooth.

And as if right on cue, Kuroo smirked.

"If you wanted my number that badly, Sawamura, all you had to do was ask," Kuroo said, taking the phone from him.

"Watch it," Daichi said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Heh," Kuroo chucked softly. He input his number and handed it back over. "How'd you know I was here?"

"I didn't really. But I knew you were in the sciences program," Daichi said with a shrug. "Thought I'd stop by and see if you were here, at least."

"You remembered, huh?" Kuroo said with a huff and a smile. "How thoughtful of you."

"Yeah, well… I had to check up on you. See if you were doing alright," Daichi said. He tugged on the sling and untwisted it. "You said you were having trouble sleeping?"

Kuroo sighed, his free hand reaching up to rub his eyes. "Yeah, I… it's too quiet in my apartment," he admitted. "And every little noise I hear freaks me out, so I don't really sleep very much."

Daichi finally got the sling corrected and he tilted his head at Kuroo. An idea popped into his head and he sighed.

Oh, boy. Suga would never let him live this down.

"Why don't you stay with me for the night? So you can get some rest?" Daichi asked.

Kuroo snapped his head up at him, eyes wide and jaw dropped slightly. He blinked at Daichi silently for a few moments, leaving Daichi to feel self-conscious.

"R-Really?" Kuroo asked. "You… You'd let me stay with you?"

"Of course. Let me help you out," Daichi said. "Um, well… that is, if you want. There's no pressure. At all."

Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes lowering to his fixed sling. After a minute, he smiled, genuine and shy. He looked up at Daichi and tilted his head.

"Sure," Kuroo said. "That… sounds nice."

Daichi smiled and hopped off of the stool, moving to help Kuroo stand up on his own. He leaned down and grabbed his bag for him.

"Let's go to your place first and grab what you need for the night. Then we'll go back to mine. Sound good?" Daichi asked, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah. That's cool," Kuroo said, following him out of the lab. "But hey, no foolin' around, got it? I still have class tomorrow, and I don't want a sore back."

Daichi kicked the back of his leg on the way out.

They had gone back to Kuroo's apartment, and Daichi found that there was still a hole in the wall and a missing spot where the coffee table used to be. But everything else had been cleaned up to the best that Kuroo could do with one arm.

Damnit, Daichi thought. He really should've come back inside that night after he drove him back home from the hospital. There was no telling how traumatic that must've been. He could picture it: Kuroo coming home after having been frazzled out of his mind and finding that his apartment was still a mess. It was no wonder the poor guy couldn't sleep.

He chastised himself. Stupid. That was such a stupid mistake.

But Kuroo seemed much better now that he was leaving the apartment. Daichi carried his bag along with his computer bag back to his apartment.

"Make yourself at home," Daichi said as he opened the door to his apartment. "It's not much, but it'll do for now."

Kuroo looked around, a somber look on his face. "Wow, Sawamura. This is nice," he said. "I guess the police pay well. This is much bigger than my place."

"You're still a student, technically. Don't beat yourself up," Daichi said. "Guest bedroom is on the left down there. I'll start on dinner."

Kuroo gave him a charming smile before disappearing down the hall to drop off his bags. Daichi felt a flutter in his chest at the sight. Ah… he is in way over his head here.

He and Kuroo spent dinner catching up on the past few years; he apparently had been doing well at his job before, but he felt stuck. He reached the top of his company in no time, but he never felt appreciated. His boss sounded like a real piece of work. By how Kuroo described him, he was borderline verbally abusive. Daichi was glad Kuroo moved on to better things.

For more reasons than one…

He talked about how he and his dad had a falling out over his decision to move, and he excused the poor behavior for his grandfather's death. And Kenma even questioned his decision, calling it "rash."

They put on a random movie, but Daichi couldn't concentrate. His eyes were locked on the man next to him, how close they were to each other. Their thighs brushed every so often, and Daichi had the urge to slide his hand over to touch Kuroo's knee.

But he resisted, his hands instead bunching up his shorts.

Ugh, kill him now.

The sun had long set, and the credits were scrolling on the screen. Daichi yawned and stretched his hands above his head, working out all of the kinks from his workout the day before.

"I'm beat," Daichi said. He glanced over to Kuroo and rolled his shoulder. "You must be exhausted."

Kuroo gave him a weak smile. "Y-Yeah. I am... very tired."

Daichi noticed Kuroo's left hand fidgeting in his lap. He frowned, wondering if he had said something wrong.

"You okay?" Daichi asked, reaching over and gently grabbing Kuroo's shoulder.

Kuroo jumped at the touch and looked at Daichi with a panicked look in his eyes. But it was only there for a moment before Kuroo wiped it away with a smirk.

"What did I say about getting handsy, Sawamura?" Kuroo teased.

Daichi rolled his eyes and leaned over to smack Kuroo's thigh that he had been eyeing to touch all night.

"C'mon. Let's get you to bed. You look like you're going to keel over at any second," Daichi said as he stood to his feet.

Kuroo scoffed. "You're being dramatic. I don't look that bad."

Daichi smiled at him as they walked down the halls to the bedrooms. He put his hand on his door and looked back to Kuroo, who stood in front of the guest bedroom door.

"If you need anything, just knock," Daichi said, to which Kuroo nodded. "Night, Kuroo."

Kuroo nodded once, his smile looking a bit strained. "Night."

Daichi turned off the hall light and went off to bed. He hoped that Kuroo would actually rest tonight.

He thought of Kuroo's face, how skittish he looked suddenly. Should he have spoken to him beforehand?

He shook his head. He would have to talk to Kuroo tomorrow about it.

Daichi's peaceful slumber was interrupted by a loud scream coming from the down the hall.

His instincts immediately kicked in—he reached for his handgun and charged out of his room and down the hallway, barging into Kuroo's room and looking around the dimly lit room.

Kuroo was sitting up in bed with the lamp on, and as soon as Daichi ran in the room with his gun drawn, Kuroo flinched back against his pillow.

"Kuroo?" Daichi asked, lowering his gun.

"A-Ah," Kuroo stuttered. He was covered in a shiny sheen of sweat, but his body was trembling fiercely. "Sawamura… Sorry. D-Did I wake you?"

Daichi put his gun down and hurried over to his side. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Kuroo, putting a hand on his damp shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked him, looking him over.

Kuroo's free hand gripped the sheets, his hair more unruly than usual. He shook his head, looking more ashamed than he had been earlier.

"Nothing," Kuroo said, winded.

Daichi frowned and squeezed his shoulder. "Hey. Don't do that," he said. "Talk to me. Was it the dark?"

Kuroo rested his forehead in his palm and let out a long sigh. "No, I… I just had a nightmare. That's all."

"A nightmare?" Daichi echoed. He processed the words for a few quick seconds, and horror struck him. "Kuroo, have you been having nightmares since the break-in?"

Kuroo groaned and covered his eyes. "It sounds even more ridiculous when you say it out loud."

"It's not ridiculous," Daichi said. "You can't control your dreams."

"Yeah, but…" Kuroo sighed. "I'm almost thirty years old, for crying out loud. I shouldn't be acting like this. Nearly crying from a nightmare."

Daichi sucked in a breath and moved his hand to flatten it on Kuroo's back. He rubbed soothing circles in between his shoulder blades, hoping it would bring some sort of comfort to him.

"You're being too hard on yourself," Daichi said. "I'm not judging you, if that's what you're afraid of."

"Heh. I'm more embarrassed than anything else," Kuroo admitted. He paused, his smile diminishing. "And… a bit scared."

Daichi frowned. "Are you worried the robber will come back?"

Kuroo shrugged one shoulder. "I… guess?" he said. "I mean… in my dreams, it's always the same thing: I walk in on the guy robbing my place." He paused, eyes narrowing. "But instead of stabbing my arm, he stabs my chest instead. Or my throat, or… whatever. But I don't survive it."

Daichi scooted closer, his side pressing up against Kuroo's. "Is it because… you're in here alone?"

Kuroo winced and averted his eyes. After a long moment, he nodded.

Daichi pursed his lips and laid his hand flat on Kuroo's back.

"What if I slept here with you? Would that make you more comfortable?" Daichi asked.

Kuroo whipped his head up to look at him, eyes wide, and Daichi felt his body stiffen with cold panic. Shoot, was that the wrong thing to say? What was he supposed to do now?

The longer the silence grew, the more Daichi regretted opening his big, stupid mouth. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the ceiling, finding the random stain more fascinating than anything else in the room.

"Ah, if that was too much, then I can try sleeping on the floor, or… I dunno, maybe we can watch another movie?"

Daichi was fumbling now. This was such a disaster. Suga would definitely scold him for screwing this up. But even worse, Kuroo probably thought he was a pervert.

"Or… I'll just make some tea," Daichi suggested, moving to stand.

But before he could even get off of the bed, Kuroo's hand shot out to grab his bicep, making him stay on the bed. He glanced at Kuroo, seeing a slight blush darkening on the skin underneath his eyes.

"Um… I shouldn't mind you staying here," Kuroo said.

No way.

"Ah, is that so?" Daichi asked.

"Y-Yeah," Kuroo answered. "You don't need to sleep on the floor. The bed is big enough."

No freaking way.

Daichi's heart was doing kick-flips in his chest. He had to calm down or the pounding of his heart would give him away.

"Okay. Yeah, I'll just…" Daichi crawled into bed and slipped the covers up the both of them. They both laid back in the bed and adjusted, Kuroo choosing to lay on his left side, leaving his bandaged arm up. "There. You have enough room?"

"Yeah," Kuroo said, staring right at him.

Daichi nodded and leaned up to turn off the lamp. Then he settled back under the covers and turned to face Kuroo.

"Was that okay?" Daichi asked. "Should I leave the lamp on?"

"N-No, it's fine," Kuroo said, and Daichi could hear the tremor in his voice.

"What usually helped you sleep before?" Daichi asked. "Did you read? Or watch something?"

Kuroo hummed and paused for a moment. "Well… you're going to think this is a little weird, but I normally sleep with two pillows shoved over my ears."

Daichi blinked at him in the dark, but Kuroo seemed to understand it. He sighed and let out a little groan.

"Yeah I know, it's really… weird," Kuroo said.

"No, no! Everyone has a different way of sleeping," Daichi said. "I was just wondering if that's how you get your hair to be how it is every day."

"Ugh," Kuroo groaned. "I try so hard to get it to look different. But it's the only way that's comfortable for me to sleep!"

Daichi couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out a snicker or two, and then he just let it all out, giving big, belly laughs.

"Oh, c'mon! It's not that funny," Kuroo murmured, and Daichi could picture him pouting.

"Sorry, sorry!" Daichi said, calming down. "It just explains a lot."

"Oh, whatever…" Kuroo grumbled.

Daichi pictured it. Kuroo's face smooshed in between two pillows, awkward sleep lines on his cheeks… Ah, he wondered how soft he was in the mornings. It almost made him giddy to think about.

"I guess since I broke my arm," Kuroo suddenly continued, "I'm not really capable of balancing the pillows around my head."

Understanding flooded through Daichi like a wave.

"Oh! So that must be it," Daichi said.

He scooted closer to Kuroo and held out his hand, feeling around Kuroo's face until he felt his ear. He cupped his hand over Kuroo's ear and pressed down gently. He could feel the man shaking under his palm, and he wondered if he was still reeling from his unsavory nightmare.

"Is this better?" Daichi asked.

Kuroo let out a small breath, and Daichi imagined a look of relief on Kuroo's face.

"Yeah, it… it actually feels pretty nice," Kuroo said. The shaking slowed down and then disappeared completely as Kuroo relaxed under Daichi's touch. It filled Daichi's chest with warmth. "Thank you, Sawamura."

Daichi smiled. "You're welcome, Kuroo," he said. "Good night."

Kuroo let out a sleepy breath. "Good night, Sawamura."