Summary: "And indeed, it was not the last time his path crossed that of Hercules Mercury."
Chapter 8 : Fucking T.O.P
And indeed, it was not the last time his path crossed that of Hercules Mercury.
The first time their paths crossed again, the individual appeared out of nowhere while Kuroo was quietly enjoying his meal at the university restaurant in the company of his dear diva. Kuroo had almost jumped when he felt someone lean over to his ear. In a whisper, a sensual voice murmured to him, "Your eyes are so blue that I would like to kayak in them." Kuroo immediately recognized the voice of his dear Hercules Mercury, who disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. Once he had digested the initial surprise, Kuroo burst into laughter, amused by the absurdity of the situation, under the worried gaze of Oikawa.
The second time, it was Kuroo who acted first. As he headed to his class building, he saw Mister Mercury sitting on a bench. He approached stealthily to avoid being noticed. Once he reached him, he leaned in and, in his most suave and sensual voice, whispered, "Is your mother a farmer? Because you're a darn pretty chick," and ran away giggling.
Thus began their bizarre correspondence. The fleeting exchanges continued, each seeking the other to escalate their competition of 'who can come up with the silliest pickup line.' As their game persisted, the absurdity intensified, growing more and more farfetched with each passing day.
"Is your daddy a farmer? Because you're a real shiny tractor" marked the end of their competition. Kuroo laughed so hard he almost choked.
Do not be worry: their story did not end there. Certainly, no more fleeting jokes before running away, but they began to spend more time together, occasionally meeting on campus to eat together or simply hang out. Their conversations, however, lost none of their absurdity: they could spend an entire meal expressing themselves only in onomatopoeia, approaching with a scholarly attitude topic like 'fishes and bicycles: for or against aquatic sports,' or simply chuckling foolishly while looking at photos of blobfish. Their exchanges were sparkling and youthful, absurd and whimsical, perplexing and comically prolific. All these scattered threads had eventually woven a tender bond between them, and each day new threads came to tighten the weave of their friendship.
-/-
"Bro... What do we do now?"
Kuroo lifted his head to face his sidekick. They stared at each other for a while without saying anything, before the brunet spoke again, "I don't know... Go somewhere else to study?"
The initial plan was to meet at the central library to study together. However, their studious inspiration quickly evaporated, replaced by a penchant for cerebral vacuity and foolishness. So, they began to trace the epic tale of a Penny the Pencil embarking on a mystical crusade around the globe. Unfortunately, their little stories had to be cut short when the sacred palace, constructed solely with Bic pens, collapsed. The resonance of its collapse echoed through the library walls, leading, of course, to fits of laughter. Unable to contain themself, the loudness of their hilarity quickly led to their downfall: expulsion from the library by an irritated librarian and a horde of disgruntled math students.
Bokuto wrinkled his nose, eyebrows raised, "We can... But I don't feel like working anymore."
"Me neither," confessed Kuroo. "So, what do we do?"
"I don't know." Bokuto sighed and slumped down next to his accomplice.
"We can't give up like that, no?" Kuroo asked.
"No... But where do we go?"
"I don't know, we can go downtown," the brunet suggested
"Too many people..."
"No need to go to the city center, I know some coffee shop that are pretty nice..."
"Hmm...or…" Bokuto let his head fall onto his knees.
"Or ?" Kuroo continued.
"We go into downtown..."
"Yes?"
"But we don't study."
Kuroo chuckled, "I'm listening. What do you have in mind?"
"I heard there's a new cool place that just opened, but no one wants to go with me."
"Poor you. What's there?"
"Oh, nothing, not sure you'd be interested..." Bokuto cast a mischievous glance at his companion, "Just an arcade, some food, a trampoline park, and..."
"Shh!" the brunet abruptly cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips. "Say no more".
Bokuto grinned widely, and Kuroo did the same; the excitement was bordering on madness. They both straightened up, grabbed their backpacks, and rushed towards the metro, giggling like kids.
-/-
Despite their enthusiasm, it was only two hours later that the two comrades arrived at the venue. The journey there had been filled with obstacles. First, they passed by a candy store in the metro gallery. Not wanting to miss on their duty as citizens, they emerged from the station with two bags of poorly nutritive treats filled with glucoses. They then passed by numerous clothing stores, which they, of course, visited one by one. What was initially an innocent session of window shopping turned into a competition of "who will have the most outrageous look for dancing," each outfit accompanied by a proper runway show. Kuroo finally conceded defeat when his accomplice presented himself dressed in a neon green crop top, topped with a bright yellow bikini top, canary yellow shorts with blue dots, and socks adorned with small multicolored ducks. Kuroo laughed so hard that the store's employee, who had already endured their giggles for a good half hour, kindly asked them to leave.
Bokuto looked at the bag he held in his hand. Kuroo chuckled when he saw him make a face.
"I still don't understand why you bought them..."
"I panicked, alright?" Bokuto replied, "I couldn't leave empty-handed!"
"Well, now you're stuck with these abominations."
Bokuto opened the bag to reveal his brand-new... pair of multicolored duck socks. He looked at them for a long time before saying with little to no conviction:
"They're not that bad, right?"
The brunet giggled.
"If it makes you feel better, sure!"
His accomplice sighed deeply:
"I don't know what I'm going to do with them; maybe I can give them to someone..."
"Pff, would you really give that to someone?"
"Yeah, you're right... But hey, I'm sure they'll come in handy someday! Imagine if I'm invited to a costume party with a duck theme!"
"A very common theme indeed ," sarcastically replied the brunet.
When Kuroo turned to meet his gaze, he found him with a silly smile on his face. He raised an eyebrow:
"What are you thinking about?"
Bokuto looked up.
"I know who I can gift them to," he replied, a hint of tenderness in his gaze. "Alright, let's go, bro!"
Before the brunet could ask, he grabbed his arm and threw him inside.
Now is the time to imagine the kind of cinematic sequence typically found in romantic comedies. The ones where the two protagonists embark on picturesque adventures, often childish, sometimes delinquent, always adorably stupid. A skillful ellipse set to a background of commercial pop music.
Kuroo saw this sequence unfold in his head, in real-time, incorporating every glance, every laugh, every spark, every light, every second, with the firm intention of keeping each moment engraved in his memory. He cursed himself; his cheesiness struck him with horror as much as it filled him with joy. And then, finally, he let go.
They explored the entire complex, not missing a single pinball machine, dance game, or motorcycle racing simulation. Kuroo laughed so much that he was convinced he would wake up the next day with terrible soreness and an extra set of abs. The final blow came when they went to the trampoline park and ended up playing dodgeball with a dozen children no older than ten. Those rascals were not bad despite their small size, and escaping them had not been an easy task! In the end, in the panic, the two comrades ended up violently colliding, which made them fall backward, bounce, and collide again. The children took advantage of this to throw a dozen foam balls at them. The two young men took about ten minutes to recover, stifled with laughter.
Only one thing remained to be tested, and it promised to be memorable: the go-kart track. In the twenty-two years of his earthly life, Kuroo had not yet had the opportunity to fulfill such a fantasy. The day had finally come!
He discovered the entrance to this wonderful place while looking for the restroom. He stopped to read the conditions written on the door. Nothing would stand between him and the realization of this childhood dream:
- Height: 1m50: check
- Age: 13 years: check
- Weight: 40 kilograms: check
- T.O.P: no idea what that meant, but check
All conditions were met; they just had to hand over their ID cards for the equipment rental, and they were good to go.
Kuroo hurried to empty his bladder before joining his compadre to inform him of his discovery. He found the latter with his mouth full of dorayaki, surrounded by all the kids they had played with earlier. Kuroo braved the youthful crowd to grab Bokuto's arm and told him about his discovery. However, he was somewhat destabilized to find that his plan did not seem to delight his accomplice, which, knowing the character, was quite strange.
"They don't have any conditions?" Bokuto finally asked.
"No, just over forty kilos, I think you'll make it, right?" joked the brunet
"They don't ask for anything else?" insisted Bo, not even bothering to react.
"No, over thirteen years is fine; you just need the ID for the rental. Do you have it?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Let's go!" Kuroo was already fidgeting.
Bokuto pulled out his card with a timid gesture. Kuroo didn't even notice it and seized it instantly. He grabbed his companion by the arm and dragged him to the entrance of the track. He only let go of him in front of the door and rushed to the counter inside.
"Two tickets please!" shouted the brunet without further ado as he arrived in front of the young man behind the counter.
His eagerness seemed to amuse the latter, who let out a smile before addressing him:
"Certainly, I just need your ID cards."
"Kuroo-san, wait!" intervened Bokuto behind him.
He frowned: Kuroo-san? Seriously? He handed the cards and turned to his companion. His confusion only increased when he found the latter standing in the middle of the hall, looking panicked.
He was about to ask him what was wrong when the voice of the seller reached him:
"Excuse me, sir, do you have an authorization?"
Bokuto looked down. Kuroo turned again to the employee.
"Uh, authorization for what?"
The seller turned his gaze to Bokuto and returned to the brunet. He lowered the volume of his voice and spoke in a strange tone, mixed with disdain and pity :
"From the alpha."
Kuroo frowned:
"What alpha?"
"Um, the alpha's authorization for the omega accompanying you."
Kuroo froze, deeply dismayed by what he had just heard. He turned his gaze to Bokuto and felt a violent stab in his heart as he discovered that he still had his eyes downcast, his features crumpled with shame. That was enough to make him boil with rage.
"Are you kidding me!" he retorted, forgetting all forms of politeness.
The young man in front of him recoiled, readjusting his posture before adding:
"No, sir. We are simply applying the rules of the treaty for omegas protection; as you can see here."
He pointed to the symbol "T.O.P" written on the counter.
"What the hell," muttered Kuroo to himself.
"I'm sorry, sir, but without it, I can't authorize..."
"Go to hell," cut in the brunet.
He took the IDs, grabbed Bokuto, and headed toward the exit.
"Kuroo..."
"What a bunch of fuckers, damn it! Come on, let's get out of here."
In the end, something had indeed thwarted the realization of his childhood dream: stupidity.
-/-
" Authorization, my ass! Seriously, what the hell is this? Do you have the authorization to be a jerk like that?" grumbled Kuroo, kicking a stone.
It had already been a good ten minutes since they left the complex, but the brunet was still fuming.
He turned his gaze to Bokuto, sitting on the steps in front of him. He hadn't said anything, just staring at the ground. Kuroo's heart was breaking. The anger subsided a bit; he approached his friend and tapped gently on his shoe. Bokuto looked up:
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be", the brunet replied, "it's not your fault if they're idiots... Damn, it's freaking unfair..."
Bokuto managed a smile, without joy.
"I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't be... Have you seen yourself? You're heavier than their pseudo-racing cars"
Bokuto chuckled:
"I know."
"Sure hope you do!"
Kuroo's heart warmed a bit when he saw Bokuto smile - a genuine one this time.
"I'm sorry."
Bokuto raised his head, giving him his best owl-in-the-headlights look.
"For what?"
"For insisting... For exposing you like that..."
Kuroo sat in front of his friend.
"Don't worry, bro... it's nothing!"
Bokuto gave him a reassuring smile. The brunet could see that it was far from "nothing" to him, and it made him want to break everything or burst into tears, whichever came first. He did neither and decided it wasn't up to him to take up so much emotional space. Silence stretched for several minutes before Bokuto spoke again:
"Kuroo... Just promise me one thing, ok ?"
"Hmm?"
He hesitated. With his gaze fixed on the ground, he continued in what was almost a whisper:
" Promise me that... Even if you know my secondary now, it won't change anything between us, okay?"
"Bo..."
He said nothing to emphasize his request.
"No, Bo, I promise you it won't change anything... Except that I have mad respect for you now, for putting up with this kind of bullshit!"
Bo smiled sadly.
"Thank you..."
Kuroo returned his smile. He then leaned his head on his knees. His friend leaned forward to let his head fall onto his own. They stayed like that for a while, calming down in each other's presence.
After a few minutes, Kuroo tilted his head to the side, and his friend raised himself slightly, enough for their gazes to meet again. The brunet smiled:
"Good thing we left, there was a bomb in the building."
"What ?"
"You, you're the bomb"
Bokuto frowned but giggled.
"Pff, you're stupid.".
Maybe, but it was worth it: Bokuto was smiling.
-end of the chapter-
Thanks for reading!
Next chapter: Serendipity
"What the heck is wrong with him?" mumbled Kuroo to himself.
"What?"
"What's wrong with who?" Sugawara asked, unabashedly sipping Yamaguchi's drink.
"No one."
Sugawara insisted.
"Just Oikawa. I don't know, it's been a few days... he's acting weird."
See ya