Chapter 23: Butterfly Farm 3
Kuroo wasn't great with GPS. He usually turned at the wrong intersection or continued on his way for far too long, never considering turning back and trying again. He just continued on his merry way until he found himself utterly lost. So he preferred to wait for the GPS to recalculate its route rather than backtrack, which usually dramatically increased his travel time. And that's exactly what he did, once again.
After a few minutes standing on the sidewalk, Kuroo glanced down at Bokuto's phone and started walking. Of course, he interpreted the GPS route as if it were a piece of classic literature open to interpretation. As a result, his travel time quickly went from five to fifteen minutes. Being in the middle of a residential area didn't help either. He vaguely looked at the houses around, with children's bikes abandoned in front of expensive cars. Great! He had gotten lost in an upscale neighborhood!
When he looked down again, the screen had gone black. Kuroo pressed the buttons on the side and eventually managed to bring up the home screen. He swiped his finger across the screen. He recreated the pattern he had seen Bokuto draw to unlock the screen. "Incorrect pattern" the device announced. Kuroo frowned and repeated the drawing. "Incorrect pattern. Attempts remaining: 2." Kuroo inhaled, was his memory playing tricks on him? Yet he clearly saw Bokuto draw the pattern before his eyes. Confident, he tried again. Still wrong. Attempts remaining: 1. Well, he needed to act wisely, one misstep and he would be lost in a residential neighborhood without any means of communication.
He sighed. Perhaps he had missed a point while drawing the pattern? Yes, that must be it! As he prepared to redraw the unlock pattern, he almost dropped the phone. He caught it just in time.
Unfortunately for him, his fingers swept across the screen, forming a random pattern. "Incorrect pattern. Device locked." Damn it!
Kuroo lifted his eyes. He looked around like a shipwrecked sailor lost at sea. He remembered the time he lost his parents at the summer festival when he was a child, a dark day in his existence... He had cried in a corner and completely missed the fireworks. His parents had eventually found him, and they told him that if he ever got lost again, he should go back to the last place he remembered. A wise advice. He sighed and decided to turn back, trying to make his way back to the street where Bokuto left him. Easier said than done, all the houses looked more or less the same, and dozens of junctions presented themselves to him. He tried to keep calm, but the more he progressed, the more he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He was four years old again, lost in a supermarket aisle, and the sensation wasn't exactly pleasant.
He eventually recognized a corner, and a smile of relief escaped him, certain he was on the right track. He reached the adjacent street, which bore no resemblance to the one he had left earlier. He threw up his arms in the air, he was definitely lost... Great! What a stupid idea to leave him like this! He didn't have the...
"Ji!"
His heart somersaulted upon recognizing the voice. He turned, his heart filled with hope. It was with immense joy that he saw Kenma a few steps away from him!
"Kenma!"
He hurried in his direction and embraced him tightly once within reach. The blond chuckled, returning his embrace.
"What are you doing here?"
Kuroo finally let go of him.
"I got lost."
"Don't you have GPS?"
He held up the phone in front of his eyes:
"I locked down Bokuto's phone..."
Kenma looked at him, incredulous, before bursting into laughter.
"I should have known!"
"Yes! That was a bad idea! Never to that again!"
"Okay, okay! Come on, Romeo."
Kenma set off, and he followed suit. They remained silent. Kuroo didn't mind, he was used to their silence, Kenma wasn't a big fan of small talk, and it didn't bother him much.
"How was your day?" the blond eventually asked.
Kuroo nodded yes, blushing slightly. Kenma smirked.
"Did you guys go shopping?" the blond asked, indicating the bag Kuroo was carrying.
He laughed:
"Yeah, look what Bokuto found, it's marvelous!" he said, holding out the bag.
"God, what again…"
He opened the bag and stopped. He eventually let out a slight laugh.
"It actually suits him quite well, but well, I think some adjustments will be needed," Kuroo said, pointing out the tears in the flower dress.
"You can't imagine how many times this kind of thing happens to him..."
"He must have an interesting wardrobe."
"Yes... I swear he's going to wear that dress," a smirk almost demoniac formed on the blond's lips.
Kuroo laughed, and they resumed walking, Kenma telling him about all the stylistic monstrosities that lived in his mate's wardrobe.
"We're here," Kenma finally announced.
Kuroo lifted his eyes. They had just stopped in front of a house with modern style, consisting of three cubic-shaped floors, the last of which was admittedly smaller than the others, but still three floors nonetheless. On the side of the second floor, Kuroo saw a large bay window, and a small garden extended behind a wooden fence. Kuroo was speechless.
"Wow... Is this your place?"
"Ours."
"Wow... The rent must be astronomical... Well, I guess that if you split the rent three way it's fine…"
"We don't pay rent."
Kuroo raised an eyebrow.
"I bought it."
The brunet blinked several times.
"You bought it? The whole house?"
Kenma nodded, a tad proudly.
"Well, technically Keiji is the owner since I can't be a landowner, but it's mine. Shall we?"
Kuroo, unable to speak now, nodded and followed him.
"I didn't think playing video games online could earn so much..."
Kenma raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's not bad. But the money doesn't come from there..."
"Then from where?"
"I developed a data encryption program that I sold last year. And two, three other things for big companies too."
Kuroo stopped.
"You can do that?"
Kenma smiled.
"Yes."
"Wow. I didn't know you studied that kind of thing. Like… coding, I don't know."
"Hmm, I did one year after high school… Drop out when I realized I could manage on my own."
" Wow, okay."
This man would never cease to impress him.
Kenma unlocked the front door and stepped inside. Kuroo followed him. The place was rather dark, and unappealing; he was almost disappointed. Kenma must have noticed because he added:
"This is just the garage and the laundry room."
He bent down to take off his shoes at the bottom of the stairs. Kuroo did the same and followed him upstairs. Kenma opened the door and they stepped inside. This time, Kuroo was far from disappointed. The place opened up to a charming living room, the light from the bay windows infiltrating everywhere, revealing the space in a warm clarity. On his left was a lounge area, separated by a bar from a fully equipped kitchen. A wood table was set in a dining area on his right. The place was tastefully decorated, filled with colors, various decorative objects, and plants. Kuroo let out a smile, delighted.
"Nice!"
"Kōtarō took care of the decorations."
"Really?"
"He doesn't know how to dress, but he has taste. Surprising, I know."
Kuroo chuckled. He walked into the room. At the end, on the side of the kitchen, he discovered a long hallway, where he counted five doors.
"Damn it! It's huge! Do you have, like, three game rooms and an indoor pool?" he joked.
"No... But we have four bedrooms."
"Four?"
"We wanted a place where we could have our own space without tripping over each other."
"Well, you've succeeded. But why four?"
"One for each of us... The fourth one was originally a guest room."
"Originally?"
"It became a shared room, Kōtarō and Keiji stay there most of the time... And the additional bathroom is convenient when we have to leave at the same time in the morning."
"You have two bathrooms?!"
"Yes, well, one bathroom and one shower room."
That was impressive nonetheless. He barely had a shower room in his pitiful and ugly apartment!
Kenma gave him a quick tour of the place. Upstairs, under the roof, was a small room cluttered with a myriad of incongruous and mismatched objects: easels stood beside tangled balls of wool; a pair of roller derby skates shared space with an old single-string guitar and a unicycle skateboard. Apparently, Bokuto had many hobbies that never really took off. He claimed earlier that day to have countless hidden talents, but Kuroo hadn't expected those to include potential roller derby skills. The room, however, looked like it hadn't been used in a long time, though Kuroo didn't comment on it.
Downstairs, on the left, was Akaashi's room—small, simply furnished with a bed and a desk cluttered with stacks of books. The bathroom, in contrast, was breathtaking, with a stunning corner bathtub that made Kuroo feel like he'd stepped into a five-star hotel suite. The master bedroom was equally luxurious and clearly much more lived-in than the others. Kuroo was particularly struck by the gargantuan dimensions of the bed. Where on earth were they finding sheets to fit that kind of mattress?!
They finally arrived at the last door.
"And this is my room."
He opened the door. Kuroo expected to find a geek's den, where wires ran in all directions and the ceiling was covered with screens, but he was surprised to discover a cozy and well-organized space.
"Oh..."
Kenma raised an eyebrow.
"No, it's cool... I love the mushroom-shaped lamp..."
"Hmm?"
"I just expected something more… gamer-like, you know ? A futuristic setup and all"
The blond smirked.
"My office is next door," he pointed to a door at the back of the room.
Silence.
"Do you want to see?"
Kuroo nodded and stood in front of the door. Kenma followed him and opened it.
Kuroo let out a sigh of amazement. The place was much more futuristic and mystical than he could have imagined. The west wall of the room was almost completely covered with acoustic panels. Across from it, behind a chair whose price must have already exceeded that of two months' rent, stretched three curved screens. In front of them, a keyboard with sleek curves blinked in all colors. he desk itself was cluttered with control panels and a microphone that looked as if it had been plucked straight from an international space station -surely capable of communicating with the neighboring solar system. Three monitors were hanging on the wall, forming a near-panoramic display. Two towers, the hearts of this electronic ecosystem, were installed on each side of the desk, the entrails of these beasts visible on the side and shining with a bluish light.
"That's crazy!"
Kuroo was 13 again and he loved it.
"Why are there two towers?"
"One for gaming, one for streaming."
"They must be beasts!"
"Hm, yeah. It cost me the same price as my first car, but they're reliable."
"Wow."
Kenma unexpectedly started talking again, meticulously describing every component of his setup. Kuroo had rarely heard him speak so much, and even though he didn't understand a word of it, he let him continue. Kenma's usual nonchalance melted away, replaced by an expression lit up with passion. Kuroo smiled, genuinely touched to see him like this. Eventually, Kenma noticed.
"You didn't understand a thing, did you?"
"Nope."
Kenma smiled and finally said:
"Come on."
Reluctantly, Kuroo left the wonders' den.
"Oh, wait, I'll be right back."
Kenma went back into the office, tackling a nebulous task. Kuroo detached himself from him and walked into the room.
Being in this house felt anticlimactic. On the one hand, he had this nagging feeling of discomfort, not yet knowing how to move around in the space, not really able to make it his own. On the other hand, it was somewhat familiar. He remembered the days of their childhood when they spent their weekends at each other's places. He smiled to himself and walked across the room, noting every detail composing the space. He chuckled to himself. Despite his punk, grunge style, the room was decorated like some kind of fairy den populated with pastel-colored garlands.
He stopped at the desk, adorned with mnemonic artifacts that he scanned with his eyes without understanding the memories attached to them. Until he came across an object he knew, which brought forth cherished memories within him. It was a small figurine of Kiki riding her broomstick, Jiji the black cat nestled in her bag. He picked up the figurine and spun it between his fingers.
"You still have that thing?!", he said as he heard Kenma returning to the room.
"Hm?"
Kuroo turned to show him what he had in his hands. Seeing the object, Kenma smiled:
"Of course."
"Oh, you care about me!"
"Of course, idiot, otherwise you wouldn't be here."
"Well,ok, but still!"
Kenma rolled his eyes, but Kuroo had no trouble seeing his cheeks starting to blush.
"I had saved up a lot of pocket money for..."
He stopped, Kenma had approached his bed and was currently trying to crawl underneath. Intrigued, Kuroo approached. The blond finally pulled out a shoebox and placed it on the bed.
"What's this?"
Kenma didn't answer, he just sat down on the bed and invited him to do the same. Once done, he handed him the box.
"Open it."
Kuroo complied. He smiled as he discovered its contents. It was a true time capsule, brimming with drawings they made as children, painted rocks, and photographs. Kuroo picked up the first one: it was a picture of them as children posing in front of a Christmas tree, both dressed in hideous sweaters.
"Oh, I remember that year... Look at your grumpy face"
Kenma picked up the photo:
"I'm not grumpy! I'm super happy here!"
Kuroo just laughed, not a hint of bliss was visible on the child's face.
"Don't laugh, it's true!"
"I believe you!"
"Yeah, right...It was the Christmas I got my Nintendo DS."
"Oh! Yes! I remember because I snuck out that night to come play!"
"Ha, yeah, and you crashed to the ground when you tried to leave."
"Oh yeah... I limped for days, my parents kept asking me if I had problems at school."
They burst into laughter.
They continued to travel through their memories through the small relics kept in the box. The minutes passed without them feeling them: they had entered a parallel dimension where time almost ceased to exist.
"I still can't believe you kept playing volleyball after that."
"Hm, to be honest, I thought about quitting when I started high school."
"Why?!" protested Kuroo.
"I wanted to quit earlier, but my parents wouldn't let me. I had devised a plan to quit when I entered high school."
"Really?"
"Hm, pretty easy, I just had to tell them the team was full of terrifying alphas and that I preferred to do something else."
"How could they have believed that, you're scarier than any alpha I know."
"True, but my parents didn't seem to think so."
"And so? Your plan didn't work out?"
"I didn't have to put it into action."
"Oh, why?"
Kenma grimaced, a twisted smile spread across his lips. Kuroo could almost guess the teenager he had been at that time from his features.
"What?"
"It's pretty dumb now that I think about it, it's so stereotypical..."
"Pff, why?"
"Because, I kept playing because..."
He cleared his throat.
"Because there was a guy in my class who I had a huge crush on who was part of the volleyball club."
"Oh?"
Kuroo raised his eyebrows to tease the blond. Kenma rolled his eyes, pretending to be exasperated, but eventually let out a smile.
"So, this guy played in the volleyball team?"
"Yep... So I signed up, only to find out that the guy already had a boyfriend, and I couldn't stand that guy. Plus, he was also on the team, so I had to put up with him every week."
"Oh... So then you met Akaashi and Bokuto and forgot about your crush?"
"No."
Kuroo frowned.
"But... Akaashi told me you met at the beginning of high school... Oh! He was your crush!"
"Yep."
Kuroo chuckled.
"You couldn't stand Bokuto?"
"No, really couldn't."
Kuroo burst out laughing:
"Damn, poor guy! Akaashi told me he couldn't stand him at first either."
"Well, to be fair, he was a pain in the ass! He wouldn't stop screaming all the time, and he'd make a scene during the games. But, I still hung out a lot with Keiji, so with Kōtarō by extension. And..."
"And?"
The blond turned his eyes towards the ceiling, and a tender smile spread across his lips.
"And I fell in love."
"Ow, cute!"
"Shut up, and no, it wasn't cute! You don't know what it's like to have feelings for two people that..."
Kuroo cleared his throat. Kenma turned his gaze in his direction and saw him raise an eyebrow.
"Really, I don't know?"
The remark amused Kenma:
"Okay, okay, but I already knew they were together."
"Yeah, me too, remember the ambush?"
"Okay, okay! But I was young, and... And that's also how I realized I like boys and... Well not really but I had avoided the question long enough to forget it, anyway, it was a mess."
" Well, I guess it didn't end too badly for you."
"No..."
"What happened?"
Kenma sighed:
"One day they took me aside. They ambushed me in a corridor."
"How romantic."
"Ah, yeah. I was afraid they had figured it out and they had come to settle the score with me."
"That's not really like them..."
"It was the only hypothesis I had but actually..."
"Hm?"
"Well, they confessed their feelings for me."
"And you just left."
Kenma seemed surprised:
"How do you know?"
"You told me."
"Oh... right. Anyway, I tried to… avoid them. Which wasn't easy because I was seeing them every day."
"Hm... So how did it end?"
"They courted me for six months and... I ended up giving in. And... here we are today."
"Six months!"
"Hm."
"You're hard-core!"
Kenma let out a smile but didn't add anything.
The silence stretched between them. Kuroo felt that the blond wanted to tell him something. Maybe he did too, but no clear thoughts could form in his head anymore. The atmosphere had changed, and the brunet didn't know how to handle it.
"Do you want to play Mario Kart?" Kenma eventually asked.
" Are you asking me if I want to play Mario with a pro gamer who's going to kick my butt?"
"I'm not a pro at Mario Kart."
"I doubt that."
"So? What do you say?"
Kuroo thought about it. Ultimately, it wouldn't change much. Even as a child, Kenma was much better than him, but that hadn't stopped him from playing. Plus, he had had the chance to practice with Chris, maybe he stood a chance after all?
"Okay!"
They left Kenma's room and settled in the living room to start the game. As expected, Kuroo was thoroughly crushed. But that didn't dampen his spirit! The task was daunting, but he knew he had a chance—however slim it might be. After about ten rounds, Kenma suggested switching to a different game, but Kuroo refused: his honor was at stake!
Determined, he chose the next track—the one he knew by heart, with every turn etched into his memory. With dramatic intensity, he threw himself into the race. It was challenging and fraught with obstacles, but in the end, he finally emerged victorious. As he crossed the finish line, he shouted in triumph, feeling the thrill of victory wash over him.
After an impromptu victory dance, he turned to gloat to his opponent, only to see Kenma watching him with a faint, knowing smile. Kenma didn't look the least bit bothered—in fact, he seemed almost... satisfied..
"You let me win, didn't you?"
"No, not at all."
"Come on, no!" complained the brunet before sprawling on the couch to sulk.
"I had to give you a chance."
"I don't want your pity!" he retorted dramatically.
Kenma chuckled and Kuroo threw a pillow at his face. The blond didn't back down and returned the favor. Their squabbling continued until Kuroo took an elbow to the eye. His battle wound didn't seem to affect the blond much, who just chuckled.
"You hurt me!"
"Sorry."
"You don't look sorry."
"Yeah, I'm not. I don't care."
Kuroo burst out laughing.
"You're still mad at me and taking revenge!"
"Why would I be mad at you?"
"I don't know, Bo told me you were pissed."
"I wasn't pissed."
"Hmm? Really?"
He sighed.
"It's just that, at the time, realizing suddenly that you've been cozying up with my mates for months, it kinda... bothered me."
"Bothered you?"
"I didn't know if you were just doing it for fun, or if you were sincere."
"Hmm..."
The information still felt strange in his brain, but he was getting used to it little by little.
"Then I remembered it was you."
"And?"
"And, I couldn't see how you couldn't be sincere."
Kuroo smiled at him.
"Akaashi told me you were mad at him too."
"Hm..."
"Are you still mad?"
"No."
They smiled at each other.
"I was angry and hurt that he didn't talk to me about it earlier. Kōtarō, I get it, knowing him it must have hit him out of nowhere without him realizing it before, but Keiji... He clearly knew what was going on, and he didn't say anything."
"He probably thought I wouldn't understand, I guess. So... no need... I suppose."
Kenma rolled his eyes.
"Bullshit, he's just a stubborn alpha, keeping everything to himself because he thinks it's up to him to handle everything."
"Does that annoy you?"
"Yeah... But well, in the end, I guess I'm lucky."
"Lucky?"
"Lucky turned out like this... That you're here."
Kuroo smiled, feeling his heart start to flutter in his chest. His palpitations worsened when Kenma left his spot to come lie down on him. He crossed his arms over his chest and rested his head on it, never letting go of his gaze. He felt the echoes of his heartbeats resonate in his ribcage, joining the rhythm of his own.
"Tetsu?"
He shivered. It had been years since he had called him that. Feeling that his voice would falter if he answered aloud, he simply nodded.
"Do we have to chase after you for six months for you to accept us?"
His heart was now beating so hard that the resonance was almost deafening.
"I wouldn't last that long, I don't have your stamina."
They smiled at each other.
"Um," Kuroo averted his gaze, "maybe you'll have to go easy on me... I'm still pretty lost, and... well, yeah..."
"Okay, I understand. So...?"
"So...?"
"Is that a yes?"
Kuroo blushed furiously and tried to hide his face behind the couch cushion.
"I don't know if I have much of a choice, I've already kissed the other two before. Do you think I can go with all the bachelorettes?"
Kenma didn't answer. Worried about his reaction, Kuroo turned to meet his gaze. Unexpectedly, Kenma was looking at him, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"What's with that face?"
"You haven't kissed all the bachelorettes."
Kuroo felt his heart swell, swell, until it became gigantic, until it pounded against his rib cage like a taut drum, sending spurts of blood so violently throughout his body that he immediately felt feverish. So violently that his head began to spin.
"Hmm, yeah, but I think we can fix that."
Kenma smiled at him, and he straightened up to get closer to him. Kuroo met him halfway, and their lips met.
It's boiling in his head, and his organs are bubbling. It sparkles and jingles, it loops, it spins, it rises like a huge wave and overturns everything in its path.
They split up, and he opened his eyes again.
"It feels weird."
"What is?"
"That it's you."
Kenma raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
"Well, I mean... you're my childhood mega crush and... my best friend... it's a bit weird."
"It feels weird for me too."
"Hmm, I think we should try again, just to make sure."
Kenma chuckled and leaned in again.
"So?" the blond asked after their kiss.
"So I think I could open a butterfly farm with all the ones growing in my stomach."
"They...grow?"
"Yes, well, you get it..."
"No Ji, I want to know if you think butterflies grow on trees."
"Well obviously they do!"
Kenma rolled his eyes. He finally smiled at him and lay back on his chest again.
"So is that a yes?"
"Yes."
"Nice."
"Nice, is that it?"
"What do you want?"
"Another kiss."
"Hmm... Hold on, the goofballs are here. They've been waiting downstairs for ten minutes."
"When did you take out your phone?"
"I didn't take out my phone."
What?
"I still can't believe you call them goofballs."
"It's Konoha who calls them that."
"You're friends with Konoha-san?"
"Yeah, he's cool. And he's the only other Sô-kita I know, so…"
"Hmm... Well, he terrifies me."
"Not surprise, he can be pretty frightening, that's why I like him I guess..."
Just as Kuroo was about to speak again, he heard footsteps running up the stairs. Bokuto swung the door open. As he was probably about to yell something, he reconsidered upon seeing them.
"Oh, am I interrupting something?"
"No," Kenma said.
"Perfect!"
He dropped his things on the floor and rushed to the couch. He crouched down in front of it, resting his head on the edge to face Kuroo.
"So?"
"Hmm?"
"Do we have a boyfriend?"
Kuroo smiled. He looked up and met Akaashi's eyes. Then he turned his gaze to Kenma, and then to Bokuto. He had no more doubts in his heart.
"Yes."
Bokuto let out a joyful babble and threw himself into his arms. Luckily, Kenma moved back quickly enough to avoid the collision. Kuroo laughed out of pure euphoria.
He did not really know what he was doing or where it would lead him. But he knew, deep within his core, that he had made the right choice.
-end of the chapter-
Kuroo officially went from 0 to 3 boyfriends. Please cheer for him!
Next chapter: "The Beginning of a New Story."
"Bro, since we're on this..."
Kuroo turned his head to face him.
"Just... are you okay?"
The brunet frowned.
"Yes, why?"
"I don't know, just checking. It's a big change. I've never really thought about it because it's what I've always known, but for you, I don't know..."
"No, I'm fine. I'm... happy."
Bokuto smiled at him.
"I was just scared."
"Of what?"
"I don't know... the unknown?"
"Are you still scared?"
Tetsurō shrugged. He could feel Bokuto's gaze on him; his own was still turned toward the horizon.
"A little, yes... but it's not the same. And," he turned his gaze, catching his boyfriend's, "I want this."