Scratch

Chapter 18:

Reckless Happiness

"Merry Christmas!" Kuroo announced as soon as the door opened, smiling at his boyfriend. Passing through the threshold, he put down the present he had bought on the kitchen counter. He turned to face Kenma, not incredibly surprised to see him frowning.

"Tomorrow is Christmas," he pointed out, yawning and rubbing at his eyes. Kuroo had probably woken him up from a nap, but it couldn't be helped.

"As much as I enjoy spending time with you, I have to spend Christmas Eve and the next couple of days with my grandparents. I don't see them except for Christmas break." Kuroo explained, tapping his fingers on the counter. "I didn't really have any other time to see you, so here I am."

Kenma didn't respond, eyes still bleary with sleepiness.

"I brought you a present," Kuroo coaxed.

"Mmkay," he mumbled after a few moments of contemplation, making his way to the couch. He flopped down onto it, knowing Kuroo would follow him, present in hand. Within seconds, another body had made its way onto the couch, just like expected. Kenma glanced at his boyfriend and said, "You're lucky I already got you your present, otherwise you'd have to wait until after Christmas..."

"And that's no fun," Kuroo finished for him, grinning lopsidedly. "What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than opening presents early?"

Kenma looked at him sideways, a small smile tugging at his lips. Turning in place to get comfortable, he faced the man next to him. He finally got the opportunity to look at the present… Actually, it wasn't even a present, per se: it hadn't been wrapped. Instead, it was a small wicker basket with a bunch of brightly colored tissue paper.

Smiling to himself, he couldn't help but think that the basket suited Kuroo. It was difficult to imagine him taking his time making sure a present was perfectly wrapped when a basket could be just as pretty. Which, in this case, it was. The present didn't seem to be random tissue paper mixed with a small basket, either. Obviously some thought had been put into the gift.

Kenma reached over the couch to the side table and opened the drawer, pulling a small box out. He held it out for Kuroo, watching as his eyes lit up. This present was an actual box, wrapped tightly with a bow and everything.

"You first," Kuroo said as they traded presents.

He nodded, looking down at his basket. Trying to contain his smile, lest Kuroo get any cocky ideas, Kenma untied the bow at the top. Plastic wrap fell down to the sides, revealing the tissue paper and small items. Removing the paper, he laughed. He took each item out of the basket, impressed with the amount of thought put into the collection of … things.

A slice of apple pie on a cute plate, wrapped in plastic, along with the recipe. A new box of hair dye, some playing cards,

- "I wanted to get you a game," Kuroo cut in, "But I'm a lowly veterinarian and you probably have them all already." -

A pair of binoculars,

- "Because you like watching people," he explained again. -

And finally, a coupon for a free check-up for his cats. Incredible, really. The explanations were valid points as well. Kenma laughed again, the happy laugh he rarely gets to laugh, and leaned over to hug Kuroo. He checked the coupon again, unable to hold back his amusement: he got Kuroo a coupon, too. Several coupons, actually.

"Thank you, Kuroo, this is great," Kenma said, "Your turn."

Kuroo nodded and unwrapped the present carefully, determined to enjoy the moment to the fullest. There wasn't much to unwrap, though, and he was done within seconds. He opened the box and beamed, pulling out a small book.

A coupon book.

"No way!"

Kuroo laughed, nothing could have been better. The book was beautifully made, the front cover design was great. The words "Merry Christmas, Kuroo," were typed in a fancy font across the cover. He flipped the book open, reading each of his coupons from Kenma. Each page had a different coupon:

A coupon for a free hairstyle to get rid of the bed hair. Four displays of affection at any time and any place. Two free meals. One request for anything at all. (In small font below the last coupon, it read: as long as the request is reasonable.)

"This is great!" Kuroo laughed again, pulling Kenma into a very much welcome hug and kissing him on the cheek. "For the hairstyle, do you do hair dye as well?"

"I could… but you look good with black hair," he mumbled, turning his head away.

Kuroo paused for a moment, taking a second to decipher what Kenma had said. Definitely a compliment. He smiled, moved by Kenma's progress. Though they hadn't really known each other for that long, Kuroo was able to notice their development.

Over the course of the last two months, Kenma had slowly opened up, becoming more comfortable around Kuroo. His change wasn't improvement, exactly, because there wasn't anything that Kuroo would have wanted to change. All it was, really, was development in their relationship, in each other.

There wasn't much Kuroo would have asked for.

A chorus of meows startled him from his inner contemplation. He turned his attention back to the conversation and he grinned, running a hand through his hair. Jokingly, Kuroo said, "I do look good with black hair, don't I?"

Kenma snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I take it back, you don't look good with black hair," he declared, standing up to attend to his cats. Holding his basket close to his chest, he shuffled to the kitchen and gently put the basket down on the counter. He glanced at it for a second, thinking about something, then rearranged the tissue paper the way it had been before.

The basket didn't look out of place at all in his kitchen. Rather, it looked kind of charming: a small apartment kitchen, with a wicker basket and colorful tissue paper decorating the counter. It wasn't a bouquet of flowers, nor an edible arrangement, but still looked appropriate in its spot. Finally, when Kenma was satisfied with the appearance, he smiled softly to himself and turned to feed the cats.

The entire set-up was incredibly domestic, and Kuroo couldn't help but feel at home. This was all he wanted out of life. He had a boyfriend, dressed in pajamas with messy hair, feeding Clyde and Lynn. There was a colorful arrangement on the kitchen counter, brightening the room up. He had exchanged presents with a loved one, cheap presents that had made especially for each other. There wasn't need for expense when they knew each other that well; well enough to make something instead. Kuroo was cuddled on the couch, a blanket thrown over him, the remaining cats curled up next to him.

"Do you want something to drink?" Kenma called from the kitchen, opening the fridge to see what he had. He brought out the orange juice and put it on the counter, shuffling over to a cabinet to grab a cup.

"No thanks," Kuroo managed to croak, still a little choked up at how peaceful this all was. It wasn't a big deal, and he knew that, but he couldn't help it. This is what he had been missing. A peaceful, domestic life, with the people he loved.

He watched as Kenma poured himself a glass of orange juice, skillfully avoiding any cats underfoot. Clyde jumped onto the counter, nearly bumping into the glass, but Kenma wasn't phased. Instead, he picked up the glass just in time, and pushed his cat away long enough to put the carton back into the fridge. Kuroo chuckled.

"What are you so happy about?" Kenma asked, shutting the fridge door. He made his way back to the couch and sat down, careful not to spill his drink. "You look more content than usual."

"Nothing, really. I just thought it was funny, you know, with Clyde."

Kenma looked at him closely, his eyes calculating. His expression changed, as if he knew something wasn't right. Eventually, he looked away again, and shrugged. "If you say so."

They were both quiet for a long time, sometimes catching each other's gaze, sometimes watching the cats interact. Under the scrutiny of Kenma's stare, Kuroo had to fight back the urge to spill everything. He wanted to explain why he was so happy, why the entire situation felt more comfortable than anything he had experienced before.

But he was scared.

Kuroo was known for being that guy. He was known as the guy that joked about everything, that he hardly got mad or upset. Happy-go-lucky. Dorky. All of the synonyms in the dictionary. Kind of ironic, considering when people first meet him, his dark hair and his cunning approach to any situation caused people to think he was somewhat aloof and smug.

Both interpretations were way off the mark. Sure, he liked to joke around, make people laugh, but that wasn't him. In the end, that wasn't what all of his personality boiled down to. There were things that made him sad, there were things that made him scared, there were things that made him mad. His feelings got hurt, along with everyone else.

So when there were things - people - that made him happy, he had to hold onto them. Kuroo sighed. He wanted to hold onto Kenma. That meant being honest with him.

"Nothing gets by you, huh?" he joked half-heartedly.

The saying laugh so you don't cry popped into his head, and Kuroo couldn't help but chuckle. That was definitely something he lived by.

Kenma turned, his head tilted in curiosity. He stayed quiet, respectful, waiting for his boyfriend to talk and explain what was going on. It took a few moments, but Kuroo eventually found the words.

"It's just… this makes me happy," he started, thinking how to explain his thoughts. A pause. He cleared his throat and began again, "Being here with you, exchanging presents… it's all so domestic, you know? I didn't have domestic. When I was younger, my family was in the midst of something like a civil war. My dad cheated on my mom, they were getting a divorce. For years, there wasn't a holiday that went by without a fight."

"Is that why you're visiting your grandparents, and not your parents?"

"Yeah," Kuroo responded, a slight smile on his face. Really, nothing got by his boyfriend. "So, the family separated, went their different ways. You would've thought they would put their differences aside for their kids, but they didn't. I went to live with my grandpa and grandma when I was sixteen, and refused to see my parents after that."

Kenma was quiet, going over what had been said in his mind. He changed positions on the couch and leaned against Kuroo, trying to help in some way. "That's a lot to take in."

Kuroo chuckled, wrapping his arm around Kenma. "Isn't it? So that's why I was happy. Because this type of easy, relaxed, domestic life is something I never had."

"Do the cats help?"

"The cats help."

They laughed together, cuddling under a blanket on the couch, willing the cold of December away. Maybe the cats knew they had been summoned, or maybe they sensed the happiness and warmth. For whatever reason, Clyde and Lynn ran from the kitchen and jumped onto the couch, burrowing themselves in the pile of human and feline bodies.

Kuroo felt better, now that he had finally told Kenma about his family, and was met with no hostility or disdain. They were finally even, both had opened up about their lives, about their past. It didn't matter what had happened in the past, not for Kenma, not for Kuroo. They were moving forward, both individually and as a couple. Whatever could happen, they were there for each other.

He was definitely happy, and this was definitely the life he wanted.