Chapter 30: Hanabi

Life was strange sometimes, even a little creepy. Oral myths, books, and now the internet were full of stories like that: a shadow lurking in a dark alley, a creaking noise in an empty house, the rustle of wind through a sinister forest. Japanese folklore, the same lore that shaped Tetsurō as he grew up, had fueled his imagination with strange creatures—Yokai and other mysterious entities. He wasn't usually one to believe in these ghostly tales, but now, those childhood stories were creeping back into his thoughts, as he faced an utterly surreal experience: he was alone on a subway platform. In Tokyo. Was that even possible?

He had been waiting for a train for about ten minutes now, alone in this deserted station. After leaving Oikawa's place, he took the bus to the nearest subway line. He wanted to avoid a long and overly eventful journey, deciding that adventure and exploration would suit him better. Unfortunately for him, it was starting quite poorly.

He glanced down at his phone's black screen. His battery had died earlier, and he didn't know his current location. He sighed, dismayed. He knew it would probably be wiser to leave and take the route he knew best, but the idea that the train might arrive anytime soon prevented him from turning away. He sat down, waiting for the universe to decide for him on what to do.

Suddenly, Kuroo jumped, hearing footsteps nearby. He looked around, but no one was there. He heard the footsteps again. It wasn't coming from the platform but from the depth of the tunnel.

A rat maybe?

Of course, Tetsu, a very obese bipedal rat! He chuckled to himself. However, he was soon overcome by terror: what if it really was a huge mutant rodent thirsty for blood?!

No, no, come on... Even though he could well guess the delirious nature of his thoughts, the fact that he couldn't find a logical explanation made his amygdala go into overdrive, his reptilian brain triggering his fight or flight instinct. Of course, he didn't take it into account and stood up to approach the tunnel. Maybe it was a maintenance worker for? In that case, he could certainly ask them if the service was going to resume any time soon. His heart was pounding in his chest.

What if it was Teke-Teke? This young woman whose legs were cut off in a subway accident and who, as a vengeful spirit, imposed the same fate on anyone unlucky enough to cross her path! What was he supposed to say to her again?

The footsteps were getting closer; it was now too late for him.

"I need my legs!" he blurted out as a silhouette began to emerge from the darkness.

The person who had just appeared, whom he could now clearly see, didn't even glance at him; the headphones on their ears had probably protected them from the nonsense the brunet had just let out. Kuroo was just deeply relieved to see that it wasn't a monstrous creature, just a human being. However, he was forced to admit that it was certainly not a person in charge of maintenance. He knew that clothes didn't make the man, but there were limits. The person emerging from the tunnel did not look like someone working on track maintenance at all: long bleached blond hair tied in a loose bun, piercings, a long black skirt falling over a pair of blue Doc Martens, oddly matched with a long shirt adorned with pastel-colored dinosaurs.

They finally looked up, surprised to see him here.

"What are you doing here?"

The familiarity unsettled Kuroo. Did they know each other?

Kuroo often doubted his abilities as a physiognomist; once again, it failed him.

"Uh... What are you doing here?"

"I was taking pics," declared the mysterious individual, pointing to the camera hanging around their neck.

Kuroo frowned. He glanced towards the tunnel.

"In there?"

"Yes."

Ok...

"You know that the station is closed, right?"

Ah, he did not know that.

"How did you get in?"

"Through the… stairs."

"Ah, my bad, I must have left the gate open."

The trespasser, though they were clearly breaking the law, didn't seem phased by it. They approached the edge to climb back up.

"Can you hold this for me?" they asked, handing him their camera.

Kuroo complied without asking further questions.

The stranger climbed back onto the platform without any trouble, apparently used to this kind of acrobatics. Once back on the platform, they readjusted their skirt and took back their camera.

"You should go before you get caught here."

"Uh... same goes for you."

Kuroo was caught off guard by the sound of the camera flash.

"Dude, did you just take a photo of me?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

The individual facing him grimaced:

"Ich, I'm not a dude."

"Oh, sorry," replied Kuroo, genuinely sorry for misgendering them.

"It's okay."

"But you still took a picture of me without my consent! You know, consent?"

"It's art"

Kuroo was completely taken aback by this remark. He tried to reply, but nothing intelligible came out.

"And you used the flash, I don't see how that can be art! I'm going to look awful."

The trespasser smiled and turned their camera so he could see the screen. Well okay, he didn't look half bad, he even looked pretty stylish, handsome even. That was surprising considering his been trapped in there for a while now.

"So?"

"Ok, it's not that bad."

However, this little trickery was not forgiven.

"See! Plus, the subject is pretty photogenic, so I don't get all the credit."

Kuroo frowned: was that a compliment? A flirting attempt? Why was this person, wandering in a closed station, complimenting him? Kuroo still wasn't sure if he was safe; a meeting with a serial killer could happen so quickly after all! Politeness might save him.

"Uh, thanks."

He received a vague nod in response.

Should he return the compliment? Surely etiquette would require it in this context, right? After all, it could only benefit him.

"Um, I like your style."

He saw a smirk form on his counterpart's lips.

"Sounds gay."

Kuroo almost choked on his saliva.

"What?"

"Didn't say it was a bad thing."

Kuroo blinked several times.

It was becoming completely surreal. Not that the remark was off base, not at all, but the context was.

"You just said you're not a guy, so it's not gay."

"I'm not a girl either, so it's still gay."

The brunet frowned.

"Well, no, technically not."

"What do you mean, technically?"

"Well, since hetero comes from the Greek word for "other," if you're not a guy or a girl, it's always hetero, right?"

Was he really debating labels with a perfect stranger in an empty subway station?

His remark seemed to deeply displease his counterpart:

"How dare you!"

"I'm just stating the truth!"

"Okay, but if we assume that in this context the use of the term 'gay' refers to 'queer', then it's always queer, so always kinda gay, you know?".

Kuroo chuckled.

"If you say so."

"I do say so."

Silence.

"You're really bad at flirting."

Kuroo was once again completely taken aback:

"I wasn't trying to…"

New smirk:

"You think I'm gonna believe that?"

What was he supposed to say to that exactly?

He didn't have time to think about it any longer; the trespasser had just walked away, retrieving their bag hidden a little further to store their camera. They came back to him and gestured for him to follow. Kuroo complied.

"Well, there's a bus over there, or else the next subway station is a ten-minute walk in that direction" the subway stranger indicated once they emerged from the station.

Kuroo simply nodded. They exchanged a bow and finally parted ways. Tetsurō chuckled to himself: sure, he hadn't lost his ability to find himself in impossible situations. But he almost came to bless the universe for this form of misfortune that sometimes put unlikely encounters on his path.

-/-

August was already ending. The air was hot and humid, almost stifling, clinging like a second skin to the damp epidermis. Kuroo had grown up in the north and wasn't acclimated to Tokyo's summers yet. That would surely come with time, but for now, the only thing he could do on hot days was to wait for nightfall, trying to make as few movements as possible to conserve his energy in the meantime. Time seemed to slow down, which was astonishing in this buzzing capital where everything was constantly in motion.

A storm had eventually broken out during the night. The rain had continued to fall all day long. Yet the temperatures hadn't dropped much. It was heavy and muggy. Kuroo was sprawled on Akaashi's bed, in his boxers, stranded like a shrimp washed up on the sand at low tide. His lover was beside him, reading the book he had in his hands out loud, talking in a language that eluded him. Kuroo had made this request; he didn't necessarily want to understand, listening to the music of his voice was enough. He let it lull him, carry him into a state of ataraxia, lost between sleep and wakefulness. As the minutes passed by, he sank deeper into this paradoxical state, diluting time and sensations.

He suddenly snapped back to reality when the door swung open. Keiji fell silent. Tetsurō turned his head to see who had dared to burst their little bubble: Kōtarō stood in the doorway.

"Can I come in?"

Akaashi shook his head, Kuroo let out a plaintive groan, still vexed at being brought back to reality. Kōtarō didn't mind, he even dared to chuckle. As he approached the bed to join them, Kuroo grumbled:

"No! It's too hot!"

"Come on, move over, make room for me!"

He did no such thing.

"Tetsu," Akaashi intervened to persuade him.

The concerned one sighed, exasperated. He moved to lie down on Keiji, resting his head on his chest. The brunet set his book down at the foot of the bed and ran his hands through his hair. The caresses calmed him down a bit.

"Are you done sulking?" Bokuto asked, lying down beside them.

"No."

His childish attitude only amused his boyfriend, who leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

"Gross," muttered the brunet, not yet ready to give in.

Unfortunately, Kōtarō was already far too accustomed to this kind of behavior to really care, he just smiled at him.

"You asked, I said no, you still came in , that's rude. Why am I surprised, it's not like you care anyway."

Bokuto smiled, amused, but frowned, not necessarily understanding where he was going with this.

"Why do you say that?"

"Babe, you chatted with Kenma for ten minutes last time when…" he choked on his own words, "Damn it, I'm not going to draw you a picture!"

From the look Bokuto gave him, he understood that, maybe, a drawing would indeed be necessary…

"What?"

"You don't remember?"

"...No."

"You don't remember what you had in your hand?"

Kōtarō seemed to search his memory quite intensely.

"A pillow?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"Oh well, nothing, just my dick."

He saw his eyes widen:

"Oh…"

He burst out laughing:

"Oh yeah, that's right."

Apparently, the event hadn't been recorded in the same way by both parties. Kuroo remembered it as a moment of extreme solitude. Even Akaashi didn't offer him a shred of comfort, laughing at his misery.

"Well, sorry babe, but it was too funny, I had to tell Kenma! Oh wait, Keiji, I have to tell you!"

Kuroo had overlooked this detail.

"No !" he protested.

"In short, he..."

Tetsurō placed his hand over his mouth to prevent him from continuing. Keiji, as the traitor that he was, took his hand to release Kōtarō from his grip.

"He thought he was going to accidentally get me pregnant."

"I wasn't thinking! I panicked!"

Akaashi looked down at him, surprised. Kuroo buried his head in his hands. The brunet chuckled.

"You panicked?"

Yes, he panicked. His brain, already engulfed in hormones, had failed to take certain details into account. In his defense, he had never had the opportunity in his life to sleep with people who could get pregnant. There were plenty of stupid things he could catch, but not babies. The question was rather: why had his brain chosen to derail at that moment? Life was full of mysteries...

The extent of his stupidity had become apparent to him afterward: the existence of an estrus implied that outside of it, except in very exceptional cases that Kuroo was physically incapable of triggering, there was absolutely nothing that his little soldiers could conquer... Kuroo was a scientist, his psychological structure should have absorbed that, but it hadn't...

"You've watched too much porn again..."

"I didn't!"

"Then I told Tadashi and…"

"You told Yamaguchi?" Kuroo cut in.

"Yeah, he said he had already explained it to you."

Kuroo squeaked, overcome with shame. He leaned to the side to hide behind Akaashi. Bad move, he almost fell. Fortunately, his lover caught him just in time to prevent the fall.

"Already?" Akaashi insisted.

Tetsu really didn't want to answer that question. He was saved from this torture when he heard a knock on the door. They turned their eyes to the door, Kenma entered before they could respond. He didn't bother to look up from his phone and asked:

"Yūji is asking if we want to come see the fireworks tomorrow. Apparently, there's a nice spot where we can watch it from. Are you in?"

"Definitely," Kōtarō replied.

The other two nodded. Throughout the month, they had only managed to see fireworks reflected in the windows of buildings, giving up each time on the idea of being able to see anything properly.

"Okay," they said in unison.

Kenma, who had resumed tapping on his phone, turned on his heels to leave. Before he could close the door, Bokuto called out to him:

"Cuddle?"

The request pulled the blond out of his bubble; he finally raised his eyes and turned his head in their direction. He considered the request for a second. Finally, he approached, set his phone on the bedside table, and threw himself onto them.

"Tetsurō, you were telling us that Yama-kun gave you sex education lessons, could you elaborate?"

Damn it.

He let out a sigh of pure distress. The other three burst into laughter.

-/-

Kuroo was standing in front of the Fukuro. He had to pick up Akaashi after his shift so they could join their other two boyfriends later. Kenma and Bokuto had gone shopping, in preparation for the evening. Kenma had suspected that if Kōtarō and himself ended up in a supermarket together, they would end up buying everything except what was on the list. Wise indeed.

Kuroo hadn't been back to the Fukuro for a long time: partly because he no longer needed to go there to see Akaashi, but also because he feared running into Konoha-san again, whose icy gaze still sent shivers down his spine.

The coffee shop was already closed. He leaned in to see if he could spot his boyfriend. He saw him behind the counter, probably busy counting the cash. He gasped in surprise when he noticed that the person busy cleaning the tables was none other than Konoha-san. He startled and took a step back. The blond eventually looked up, and their eyes met. Damn. He clung to the shreds of social courage he had left to smile at him and offer a wave. His discomfort was not difficult to guess.

He saw Konoha roll his eyes. He began to seriously panic when he saw him approaching. He cast a desperate look in Akaashi's direction. Unfortunately, the brunet still hadn't noticed his presence. Too late, Konoha was already there. He turned the lock and opened the door.

"Uh, hey," Kuroo said, unsure.

He was already mentally preparing for the vehement response.

"Hey," said Konoha.

Tetsurō blinked several times. The blond had spoken to him without a hint of animosity in his voice. He hadn't greeted him joyfully either, but the neutrality of his tone was surprising.

"Well, come in," Konoha urged impatiently.

Kuroo complied.

"'Kaashi, your goofball's here."

Kuroo felt deeply honored: he was part of the "goofballs." No greater honor could be bestowed upon him!

His lover finally looked up. Kuroo forgot about Konoha's presence and maintained eye contact until he reached him. Tetsurō leaned on the bar, tilting his head, adopting the charming attitude he had often displayed towards Akaashi in the early days of their relationship. Keiji smirked. Kuroo continued his little game:

"Excuse me, I know we've never met, but I have to tell you that you are the..."

Before he could say anything more, Akaashi grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. He let him go and immediately returned to his cash register as if nothing had happened. Tetsurō was left dumbfounded, completely caught off guard.

"Keiji," he murmured in a choked whisper.

The addressed one smiled.

"It is just us and Konoha-san. I doubt he minds..."

"It does bother me!" interjected the concerned party.

Akaashi turned towards his colleague, raising an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"He is use to it," Akaashi said.

Konoha clicked his tongue but said nothing more.

Kuroo smiled to himself: the young man's diva attitude could rival that of his dear Oikawa. Putting them in the same room would be a... unique experience. Terrifying? Intriguing perhaps? He didn't really want that to happen anytime soon, but the idea was worth exploring.

"Here, for you."

Kuroo blinked several times, incredulous:

"For me?"

Konoha looked at him, almost exasperated with his response.

"Well, I just told you. A latte with oat milk, that's what you usually get, right? Anyway, I'm cleaning the machine now, so if you don't like it, tough luck."

Kuroo lowered his eyes to the cardboard cup he had placed in front of him.

"Oh... thank you."

He raised his eyes, still amazed by the young man's attitude towards him.

Konoha raised an eyebrow:

"What?"

"Nothing…"

"Good."

"I'm just not used to you being nice to me..."

Akaashi chuckled.

Konoha crossed his arms:

"I'm always nice."

Kuroo didn't know how to respond to this brazen lie.

"Really?" Keiji intervened, amused.

"You kidding? Remember who told you to give him a shot!" he turned to Kuroo " I was on your side, you know! It's him who played the stubborn alpha! I was just being a loyal friend."

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, very unconvinced.

"I swear! It was 'Kaashi who thought you were a clueless beta, not that I didn't think so too, but hey."

"Uh... thanks for believing in me?"

"Don't push it, I wasn't there yet... Drink up!"

Kuroo complied, unable to suppress a smile. Konoha rolled his eyes but said nothing more, returning to his cleaning. Ten minutes later, they were kicked out of the coffeeshop by the blond armed with a bucket of water and a mop, claiming that their presence was only slowing him down.

Once outside, Kuroo cast a final glance inside before turning to Akaashi.

"I never thought I'd see this day but, does that mean I have Konoha's blessing now? What an honor," he declared, placing a hand over his heart.

Akaashi rolled his eyes.

They simultaneously received a message from Kōtarō in their group chat. He informed them that he would pick them up in a few minutes.

"Do you know where it is?"

His boyfriend nodded.

"Um, so how is he like?"

"Terushima-san?"

"Yeah."

Akaashi posed.

"Very friendly."

Kuroo frowned, not quite sure if the comment was positive or not. He'd have to figure it out on his own.

"Actually, I have to mention that…"

Keiji was cut short, startled by a car horn. Kenma and Kōtarō were here.

"Never mind, you will find out soon enough."

"Find out what?" Kuroo insisted.

Keiji didn't answer, already settling in the back of the car. Kuroo followed him, and they set off.

Without really explaining why, Kuroo felt a hint of stress starting to creep in. It didn't take him long to identify the source: he wanted to play it cool, but meeting someone new was stressing him out. It was nothing he couldn't overcome, of course, and certainly nothing he couldn't hide with finesse.

"Do you know where Yūji is taking us?" Kōtarō asked the blond.

"No idea."

The remark elicited a sigh from Keiji, but he didn't add anything more.

"They just told me to wear good shoes," Kenma finally added.

They? Multiple new people! Oh no!

"Who's going to be there?" Kuroo couldn't help but ask.

Kenma caught his gaze in the rearview mirror:

"Well, just us and Yūji."

Okay...

Kuroo felt like he had missed something and didn't like that very much. He didn't inquire further. They eventually arrived in the Asakusa district, on a narrow street lined with old buildings from the seventies with faded facades. They parked in a small outdoor lot squeezed between an old building and a construction site. The street was so narrow that the twilight struggled to penetrate. He helped carry the groceries and followed his boyfriends.

They finally arrived in front of a ten-story building, much less outdated than the rest of the neighborhood's buildings but with small white tiles on the facade that perfectly imitated the floor of an old municipal pool. They entered and went up to the sixth floor. As they were about to arrive, Kuroo remembered that he had forgotten to ask if their host was aware of their relationship, or if he should play the card of "just a very good friend." Kuroo tended to forget that the rest of the world existed and that he still lived in Japan, where the subject was still taboo (no, not taboo, it was downright uncharted territory). Keiji rang the doorbell before he had time to ask. The door opened, and as Kuroo was about to politely greet their host, he froze, instantly recognizing the person facing him: blond hair, piercing, a flower dress matched with a baseball polo?! (seriously, who had the idea to match a flower dress with an old baseball polo?), No doubt, it was the subway trespasser. His eyes widened and he saw his counterpart's eyes do the same:

"It's you!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Do you know each other?" Kenma asked.

"Uh... We crossed paths," Kuroo replied, following the rest of his boyfriends inside.

Yūji closed the door behind them and replied:

"Crossed paths? He totally hit on me in the subway!"

"No, I didn't"

"Typical," Kenma casually interrupted, which made Bokuto chuckle.

"No, but he... she... uh...," he paused, turning to the person in question, unsure of the pronouns he should use.

Yūji smirked.

"I use she and they, but no sweat."

"Oh, okay, um..."

"He called me straight," Yūji interrupted.

Kenma and Kōtarō gasped.

"I had arguments!"

"I don't see what argument you could possibly have," Kōtarō retorted.

"Doesn't matter, it's forgiven..."

Kuroo rolled his eyes.

"Pleased to finally meet you, Terushima Yūji," the subway stranger introduced themselves.

"Kuroo Tetsurō."

"The famous Jiji," they glanced at Kenma, who rolled his eyes.

" How did you meet? Knowing you two, I'm sure it's something impossible again," Kenma remarked, placing the grocery bags on the small kitchen table.

"Hmm, I was taking pics in the subway, the station was closed but he managed to get in, so..."

"Yū, you're going to end up in jail one of these days, I need you, you know..."

"Barely, you'd manage just fine without me. And don't worry, they already know me pretty well down there, they practically all follow me on Insta, real fans."

"Hmm," Kenma responded, not very convinced.

"Okay! I'm just going to change, it'll be easier to climb with pants on, and then we can go."

"Climb?" asked Keiji.

"We're not eating here?"

"No, we'll take care of it there, it's starting to get dark, it would be stupid to miss the beginning!"

"We went through all this trouble to bring everything up, and now you tell me this!"

"Yeah," and they disappeared behind a door.

Yūji reappeared a few minutes later in an outfit more suited for "climbing": black jeans under their flower dress. Kuroo couldn't understand how this attire had the audacity to look good on them. Yūji grabbed her camera bag, and once all their provisions were gathered, they went back down to the car. Kōtarō, Keiji, and himself had to squeeze into the back of the car so Yūji could sit in front and guide Kenma. Unfortunately for them, their co-pilot was only moderately qualified: the directions were vague, and they had to reverse down one-way streets several times, abruptly change direction, or make U-turns to find the hypothetical path to their destination as quickly as possible. Kuroo was impressed by Kenma's calmness, who followed the somewhat crappy directions without complaining. Well, at least at first; he finally cracked after about ten minutes. However, this had the merit of refreshing Yūji's memory. They finally arrived in an old deserted industrial area.

"We're here!"

Kenma parked the car in front of an old, dilapidated building towering over twenty stories.

"Seriously?" the blond asked. Disheartened, he turned to his friend, who simply responded with a smile.

"What is this thing?" Kuroo murmured to himself.

"It's an old textile factory! Cool, huh? It burned down in 1923 during the Great Kantō Earthquake. They started renovation work, but they were never completed, and no one ever bought it."

"Is it safe?" Bokuto asked.

"Um... yeah, it's fine. I've taken pics here before, and I'm still here, so it's okay."

They fell silent, collectively not very convinced by this argument.

"Are we allowed to be here?"

Yūji turned to Kenma.

"It's a grey area"

"So, no."

"Grey area."

Kenma rolled his eyes.

"Okay, let's go."

They got out of the car, and once all their belongings were retrieved, they embarked on their journey. Yūji led them around the side of the building; all the doors they passed were locked with heavy chains and padlocks. They arrived at a pile of metal and debris that Yūji meticulously moved to reveal a breach in the wall for them to enter. Kuroo's three boyfriends collectively sighed, apparently all too accustomed to this kind of plan. However, they did not comment and ventured inside. Kuroo followed them, his body stirred by a mix of anxiety and excitement. The night had completely fallen, and he couldn't properly make out what was inside; only a few moonbeams revealed a faint glow of a vast desolate expanse, littered with rubble, dust, and broken glass. Yūji turned on their flashlight, revealing a bit more of the surroundings. However, there wasn't much else to see besides walls blackened with almost century-old soot.

Their guide invited them to climb a miraculously still-standing spiral staircase. The iron had held, but some places were eaten away by rust. Their footsteps producing metallic echoes bounced throughout the building, amplifying the already strange atmosphere enveloping the place. They avoided speaking, as the slightest voice crack reverberated ominously around them, and simply followed Yūji in silence. They had to cross several floors, still inhabited by some old offices, overturned shelves, and broken chairs. Kuroo tried to push far, far away in his brain the idea that it could resemble a map from Resident Evil and that a monster could emerge at any moment. They climbed more stairs until they finally reached the top of the building. They stopped in front of a service ladder leading to a hatch in the ceiling. Yūji went up first and opened the hatch. The night air and city sounds reached them: they had reached the roof. Yūji helped them bring up the cooler they had already dragged through all the floors, and they finally emerged.

"Ta-da!" Yūji exclaimed, opening their arms.

Kuroo let out a sigh of wonder. The roof stretched over hundreds and hundreds of square meters; all around them lay the city, illuminated by thousands of colored hues.

"Not bad," Kenma conceded.

"Isn't it?"

They heard an explosion sound: the first fireworks had been set off. The sky in front of them lit up in red, then silver, green, and blue. Down below flowed the Ara River, where the fireworks were launched. The colors danced in the water; above, the sky exploded before their eyes, torn by lights and noise. Kuroo stepped closer to the edge, looking up, watching the fireworks fall like rain just above their heads. He snapped out of it when he heard a clicking noise to his left. He rolled his eyes look when he realized it was Yūji once again deciding to take his picture without his consent. "It's art," was their only defense. She approached him to hand him the camera.

"Hmm, not bad."

Really not: Kuroo had his head tilted back, golden and garnet light beads dancing around him, their glow reflecting in his eyes.

Yūji smiled at him.

"Damn, I'm talented."

"Pff, ego much?"

They didn't even respond, grinning stupidly at her camera.

"Mind if I post it on my Insta?"

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, surprised by the request.

"If you want."

"Yes!"

And they went off to chat with Kenma. Kuroo watched her go, then turned his eyes back to the sky. He crouched down. Soon, he felt a presence behind him: Akaashi had just sat down behind him. They smiled at each other; Keiji planted a brief kiss on his cheek and rested his head on his shoulder. Kuroo leaned back against his chest and welcomed his embrace.

Damn, life wasn't too bad these days.

-/-

Two days later, Kuroo was awakened by the incessant vibrations of his phone. He wasn't the only one to be woken up: Keiji grumbled, and Kenma threw his pillow at his face. The brunet mumbled a vague "sorry" before grabbing his phone. With half-open eyes, he unlocked it, finding his screen overflowing with Instagram's notifications. He nearly choked when he opened the app.

"What the hell," he murmured.

"What?" Kenma asked.

"650 people who just followed me, like in ten minutes!"

"What?" Kenma exclaimed, panicked.

He sat up and grabbed Kuroo's phone.

"You're not private?"

"... No."

"Shit."

Shit?

"You don't have any photos of me, or the goofballs, right?"

"Um, not of you, but of Kōtarō and Keiji, yeah... But there's not much. My mom follows me, I try not to out myself."

"Damn. Well... Okay, that's fine," Kenma said as he scrolled through his profile.

Kuroo took back his phone, scrolling through his notifications, trying to find the source of his sudden popularity. He found the first notification: "DRel'ik mentioned your name." He clicked on it, not recognizing the name of the person who mentioned him at all.

"Oh, the idiot…" the blond said, reading over his shoulder.

"Who is it?"

"Yūji.""

"Oh?"

Indeed, although their face wasn't visible anywhere, he could recognize their style: the old, abandoned buildings, empty metro stations, and dimly lit narrow alleys. He recognized himself in the last post: it was the photo taken on the night of the fireworks. Somehow Yūji had found his username, and he was tagged as "Ji the black kat." Kuroo was impressed by the number of likes on the photo; his ego was even more flattered when he scrolled through the comment section: apparently, people collectively didn't find him too repulsive, and that wasn't unpleasant. He found the moment when things went haywire: some people had made the connection between his username and his Twitch account. "Isn't he Applepie's friend?" "OMG, Yes!" "I knew Drel' worked with him, but I hadn't thought they knew each other," and so on. Kuroo smiled, flattered indeed, but still bewildered by this sudden fame.

He shrugged; all these people would eventually lose interest in him after a while anyway. He put his phone on silent mode, placed it at the foot of the bed, and went back to sleep; he was far from having had his share of morning cuddles.

-end of the chapter-

Next chapter : parenti aquisiti

"Kuroo took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

Tetsurō looked up at Bokuto. "No!" he thought.

"Yes... just a little, um... anxious I guess."

His boyfriend smiled at him.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"L.O.L," he thought to himself, trying to smile back, with little to no success."

See ya