Chapter 26: Back Home

The anthracite sky welcomed Kuroo when he arrived at Sapporo Okadama Airport. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, but he didn't mind. The air was humid and carrying the scent of iodine: it smelled like home. Before crossing the gates, he pulled out his phone and texted his boyfriends to let them know he landed safely. They instantaneously replied back with a voice message, wishing him a good stay. He felt his heart flutter, happy to just be able to hear their voice. He smiled and put away his phone.

He passed through customs security and it took him no more than ten seconds to spot his entire family. Even his father was there. He smiled and approached. He barely had time to say hello before his mother threw herself on him, hugging him so tightly that he was on the verge of suffocation.

"Oh my baby!"

"Hi mom. Hey dad," he greeted his father with a wave.

"Hello son!"

"Look at you," his mother said, "haven't you lost weight? Are you eating properly ?"

"Uh... I started to jog again, that must be why."

"Oh! That's good news!"

His mother let go of him, snatching his bag and tossing it into his father's arms. They set off, heading towards the exit.

"Hey, ugly face," Kasumi greeted him.

"Is it because you're fucking like rabbits that you've lost weight?" Natsume whispered, a smug smile on her lips.

Kuroo rolled his eyes. Great, he had just arrived, and she was already making that joke. Ironically, it was the complete opposite of the truth. That was actually what had ruined his night.

"Well, yeah, that's exactly it. You caught me," he replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

His younger sister beamed at him, fully aware of the nonsense she was spouting, and gave him a hearty slap on the back.

"I hope you missed seafood because that's all we're gonna eat," Kasumi warned.

He grimaced. He had to admit that after the crab incident, he wasn't sure he could eat seafood again.

They arrived at the car, and Kuroo quickly realized that he had lost his big brother privileges, as he found himself in the middle seat in the back of the car, sandwiched between his two sisters. His parents bombarded him with questions about college and his life in Tokyo. Kuroo answered them in a detached tone, not wanting to draw too much attention to his personal life. He could escape the invasive questions for long though. His father caught his gaze in the rearview mirror and asked enthusiastically:

"So, no girlfriend?"

And off they went.

He saw his sisters contorting themselves, trying their best not to burst out laughing while trying to hide behind the seats so their hilarity wouldn't be obvious. Kuroo didn't react. He glanced up at the rearview mirror to gauge his mother's expression. She looked embarrassed but did not comment.

"No," he simply replied.

It wasn't as if he hadn't already come out to them. He had done it years ago. His mother just chose not to talk about it, and his father was apparently in denial. Or he just thought it was a phase. He could even reply, "No, but I have three boyfriends," and his father would simply nod and forget about it until the next time. He vaguely considered himself lucky; at least they didn't hate him, they hadn't changed the way they treated him... He was well aware that the bar was on the floor, but well.

"Have you met any alphas?" Kasumi finally asked.

"Yeah, lots, most of my friends are alphas."

"Really?" his mother intervened, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Yeah, they're cool."

"And omegas?"

"Yeah, omegas too. Wait."

He pulled out his phone and scowled through his photo album. He found the latest group photo they had taken the last time they were together at CATO. Akaashi, Kenma, and Bokuto were in the photo, but they were far enough from him that it wouldn't raise any suspicions.

"Here," he said, handing the phone to his sister.

"Oh, they look cool."

"Let me see!" Natsume intervened, snatching the phone from her older brother's hands. "Oh, yeah. There are some hotties in there," she turned to her brother, raising her eyebrows suggestively. My… that was going to be a long week.

"Look, Mom."

She handed the phone to her mother, who took it. Kuroo saw her eyes soften, finally able to put faces to her son's friends.

"They seem very nice. Not many girls, though."

"Hmm," Kuroo commented.

It was true that he needed to diversify his relationships a bit; the ladies were severely lacking in his social circle…

"Do they have girlfriends?"

"Um, no."

He gestured to his sisters to indicate that none of them were straight. Once again, his sisters had to restrain themselves from bursting into laughter.

"Oh, but my goodness, is that Kenma-kun I see! You said you met him again! I didn't recognize him at first. He's grown so much!"

This time Kuroo let out a genuine smile.

"Let me see!" Kasumi exclaimed, leaning between the seats to snatch the phone from her mother, crushing her older brother's bones in the process.

"Where?"

Kuroo pointed him out:

"Ohh, he's so cute!"

She showed the photo to her sister:

"Love the bad boy vibe."

"What is he doing now?"

"Playing video games..."

His mother frowned.

Kuroo would have liked to specify that he was a famous streamer and a fierce competitor, but explaining the very concept to his mother would probably give them both a headache. And he also didn't want to reveal the blond's secret identity.

"And occasionally he develops encryption programs for big companies."

He had to defend his boyfriend's honor there.

"And he bought a house."

His parents let out a surprised gasp.

"Oh, well, he's doing well!"

"Very well."

"Perfect!"

The topic eventually drifted away, thanks to his sisters' intervention who had sensed that the questioning was getting a bit lengthy. Kuroo let out a sigh of relief. He was happy to see them again, but he had forgotten what it felt like. What it felt like to not be able to be completely himself with his loved ones.

-/-

He quickly found his bearings in his family home. The sensation was strange. During his bachelor's degree, he never stayed away from his parents for long. Partly because he worked at the fish market on Saturday mornings for several years (a dark part of his past), and partly because, well, free food and all. Well, and also because every time he came back home, he was pampered as if he were the chosen one (which greatly annoyed his sisters for a while). Now that he couldn't go home often, it had amplified: he wasn't the chosen one anymore, but a god among men. Or a ten-year-old child who needed nurturing, he wasn't sure, but the feeling wasn't unpleasant either. Even his sisters had softened. Sure, they still teased him, but he could see that they had missed him. He had rarely spent so much time with them: they went for walks along the Shakotan Peninsula together, spent their afternoons frolicking in nature and talking about everything and nothing. His sisters told him all about their latest adventures, which he listened to attentively. In the evenings, they all gathered together in Tetsurō's room, cuddled up to each other to watch a movie together on his laptop. They talked until late, sometimes falling asleep together. He had feared that by moving away, he would lose his bonds with them. But that wasn't the case at all.

That evening was no exception. Kasumi pitched them a sappy drama and they all agreed to watch it. The story had no originality whatsoever: a poor girl having a tumultuous relationship with a wealthy young man, particularly hot-headed and presumptuous, while her best friend, a charming and caring person, tried to win her heart in vain. The plot of almost every drama out there really.

"Ohhhh, come on!" whined Natsume, "We all know how it's going to end!"

"What, do you think she'll be able to find the crystal heart?"

Oh yes, and there was also some ridiculous magical quest.

"Of course she will, but that's not what I meant!"

"What did you mean?"

"We all know she's going to end up with the other idiot! When clearly the best option here is Kosuke!"

"Kosuke is a wimp. Kijima is, first of all, much more handsome, and he's been hurt, it's not his fault! Deep down, he has a heart!"

"I don't care, he's a jerk!"

"You don't get it, Tetsu, what do you think?" Kasumi interjected.

Tetsurō turned his gaze away from the screen: his sisters seemed particularly interested in his opinion. He sighed.

"Hmm... I don't know... Kajima is a jerk, sure."

"Ah, see, I told you," Natsume interrupted.

"But Katsu-Katsu is right, he has a good heart, and whatever we say, he makes Megumi happy. Kosuke is a nice guy too. Each of them brings something different to her... Kijima and she have something electric, but deep, and he pushes her forward, whereas Kosuke is more about comfort, simplicity, and security... We all know she's going to end up with Kijima, but Kosuke is a good catch too."

His sisters nodded, agreeing with the accuracy of his analysis.

"You're right," said Kasumi.

"Yeah, actually, she should end up with both."

Tetsurō gasped in surprise and turned to his younger sister. Kasumi let out a high-pitched "what" and did the same.

"What's wrong with that? No need to choose if both make her happy."

"Are you out of your mind!"

Tetsurō did not comment. He just looked at her as if she had grown a third head.

"What's wrong? Oh, you're so old-fashioned!"

He felt his heartbeats quicken and blood rush to his head. He tried to conceal his turmoil by burying his head into the pillow he held in his arms. He hadn't expected that from Natsume... Sure, he knew his sisters weren't closed-minded; they accepted him unconditionally. But still... It showed that the younger generation wasn't so bad. He tried his best to control his breathing rhythm. Could he tell her? Them? Maybe they wouldn't react as badly as he thought.

"And besides, it's just a drama, it's not real."

"Ah, you scared me!"

"But the argument still holds."

He felt an immense weight pressing down on his chest.

Ah, just as he suspected.

His sisters continued talking about the show.

He was feeling like he was sinking into the bed, struggling to breathe... He hadn't thought earlier about what his sisters might think... His parents, he had given up on for now, but them... What would they say if they found out? What if they rejected him? If they refused to see him ever again? What if he were to lose them? He felt trapped, anxiety choking him.

"Tetsu, you're okay?"

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. His sisters were looking at him, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired."

"Yeah, me too, we should go to sleep. We'll get scolded again if we wake up at eleven tomorrow."

His sisters got up from the bed, chanted "oyasumi" and left the room. Kuroo stared at the door for a long time. He sighed and turned off the light. He tried to fall asleep, unsuccessfully. He felt terrible. He hugged the pillow tightly to his chest to ease his anxiety. His head was spinning. He tried to distance himself from it all, to completely disconnect himself from what his mind was screaming at him.

He eventually picked up his phone: 3:30 AM. Everyone must be asleep... Maybe not Kenma, but if he was streaming, he wouldn't reply. Still, he opened the conversation and sent:

"I miss you."

Just as he was about to put his phone down, it vibrated in his hand.

"We miss you too."

Kenma had replied in less than a minute. He smiled.

"Can I call you guys tomorrow?"

"If you want... Alright, go to sleep."

"Hmm, goodnight, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

He put the phone down and fell asleep almost immediately.

-/-

Kuroo woke up three hours later. The sunlight flooded his room. The lack of sleep made his head spin, but he couldn't fall asleep again. So he got up, put on an old pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, and went outside through his bedroom window. He shivered; it couldn't have been more than fifteen degrees Celsius outside, and the air was still damp with dew. He set off; a little morning jog would surely do him good. He only stopped when he reached the coast. Down below the cliff, waves crashed against the rocks. He lay down in the grass, gazing at the sky, with the sound of the sea in the background, and fell asleep. He only woke up several hours later. He felt calmer now, the turmoil had left him. Perhaps temporarily, but he savored the silence in his mind. He got up and started running again. When he got back home, everyone was up, having breakfast in the kitchen. He smiled and joined them.

-/-

"I can not believe you vandalized the only tree on the beach," Akaashi said.

"I can't believe you're such a romantic, "Bokuto mockingly said to Kenma.

The blond rolled his eyes.

"Come on, it's true, you've never carved my name into a tree as far as I know," he continued.

"I'm not ten years old anymore Kōtarō, I'm not going to vandalize nature for that," Kenma replied.

"For that? You mean for me!" Bokuto intervened, feigning outrage.

Kuroo let out a euphoric laugh. He adjusted the screen of his computer to see his three boyfriends properly.

"I can't believe I thought I was straight for so long," the blond finally added.

The remark caught the other three off guard, and they burst into laughter.

The conversation resumed, Kuroo telling them about his stay. He described to Kenma how the city had evolved since his departure, sharing childhood memories, with the blond occasionally chiming in to add certain details.

He had to stop midsentence when the door of his room suddenly opened. Kasumi stood in the doorway. From the look on her face, she hadn't come to tell him something important. She was just there to tease her brother. Her expression quickly changed upon realizing that he was in the middle of a conversation.

"Who's that?" she asked.

She stood in front of the computer before even waiting for his answer.

"Oh! Kenma!"

"Kenma?" he heard someone shout from the corridor.

His second sister didn't take long to barge in as well.

"Oh, Kenma! Hi!"

Kuroo barely had time to open his mouth when he heard his mother calling out the blond's name in the hallway. She at least had the decency to knock on the wide-open door before entering. Kuroo was now sandwiched between the three women of his family, who were making exaggerated gestures at the camera as if the recipients were far away at sea. Kuroo pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out an exasperated sight.

"Kenma-kun! You've grown so much!"

"Hello, Kuroo-san"

"Hatsuko, my boy," his mother cut in. "Oh, sorry for barging in like this, I see you're not alone. Nice to meet you, I'm Tetsurō's mom."

The brunet let out one last sigh and finally managed to speak again.

"Mom, let me introduce you to Akaashi Keiji and Bokuto Kōtarō," he said. The two bowed their head at the mention of their names. "Kenma's... roommates."

He saw Bokuto struggling to hold back laughter, temporarily disappearing from the camera to avoid arousing suspicion. Akaashi closed his eyes, only a slight twitch of his lower lip betraying his amusement. Kenma, true to himself, managed to remain impassive.

"I'm so happy to see you, Kenma-kun. You look healthy. How are your parents?"

Everyone's gaze fell on the blond; they all knew perfectly well that he hadn't seen his parents in years.

"They're fine," he simply replied.

"Perfect, then give them my regards. And what about your love life?"

"Mom," Kuroo scolded.

This time Kenma had a hard time not reacting; Kuroo saw him smile. He managed to pass it off as a polite smile.

"Fine, thank you."

"Good, good. I'll have Tetsurō bring you some homemade shokupan. Will you do that for me, Tetsu?"

"Of course, maybe a little crab too?"

This time the remark made the whole assembly laugh. Except Hatsuko, who frowned.

"Don't get upset Mom, thanks to my crab story I made many friends!"

"I was just trying to be a good mom," his mother almost pouted. "Well, I'll leave you boys alone. Akaashi-kun, Bokuto-kun, nice to meet you. Kenma-kun, I hope we can meet again soon!"

"Me too, Hatsuko-san."

They all waved goodbye, and Hatsuko left the room. Kuroo let out a sigh.

"What are you still doing here!" the brunet grumbled to his sisters.

They didn't seem impressed and remained in front of the camera.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Kasumi interjected.

Kuroo rolled his eyes.

"Kasumi, Natsume, my sisters, there, now out!"

The two young women, unimpressed, did not move.

"So... Kenma-kun, you're filthy rich, huh?" remarked Kasumi.

Kuroo nearly choked. He heard Bokuto laugh.

"Filthy rich, I don't know, but I'm doing alright."

"Wait, Tetsu told us he bought a house, why does he have roommates then?" Natsume remarked without addressing the person directly concerned.

Kuroo froze. Oops.

"I like having company," the blond replied.

"And we're poor," Bokuto added.

The remark managed to lighten Kuroo's mood, and he let out a discreet laugh.

"Hmm..."

As she caught her breath to speak again, Kuroo cut his sister off:

"Okay, that's enough, now get out!"

This time the brunet used force to make his sisters leave. He let out a long sigh when he was finally alone.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"It is nothing," Akaashi replied.

"We got to meet your family! Your sisters seem nice!" Bokuto continued.

"Nice?"

Akaashi and Bokuto nodded.

"I was glad to see them again," Kenma commented.

The brunet gave a tender smile.

The silence stretched for a few seconds before the blond intervened again:

"And we're poor..." he repeated, rolling his eyes.

"Well, what can I say? It's true! If you dump me, I'm out on the streets!"

"For one, I'm not going to dump you, Kōtaro, and, you'd be fine. Your family is loaded."

"And so what? It's not my money."

"Do you really think they'd let you be homeless?"

"No."

"Well, there you go."

"Can we change the subject? I don't want to think about that!"

"You're the one who started it!"

"Hmm... Keiji, you'd be forced to live with your sister."

Akaashi visibly tensed up. The idea seemed to utterly terrify him.

His mates burst into laughter. Kuroo eventually joined in.

"Oh! I should probably get going," Akaashi said.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go to work."

"Oh... Say hi to Konoha-san for me."

The brunet smiled, amused by the insolent tone he had taken:

"I will pass on your regards, I am sure he will be pleased. Kenma, can I take the car?"

"Hmm... The keys are on the bar."

"Thank you. Kuroo, sorry to leave like this, see you soon."

"Yeah... I miss you. I miss you guys."

Akaashi let out a tender smile.

"I miss you too. I have to go, sorry!"

He momentarily disappeared from the camera's view to retrieve his belongings.

"Did you find the keys?"

"Yes."

Kuroo saw him reappear when he came to kiss Kenma. He gave one final wave before leaving.

"Wait, can I come? I need to pick something up!" Bokuto called out.

"If you want, but hurry up."

"Okay."

Bokuto kissed Kenma on the cheek and sent a flying kiss to the camera:

"See you soon, bro!"

"See you, Bo."

He smiled at him and disappeared from his field of vision.

Kenma watched them leave, his gaze only returning to Kuroo when the door closed.

"I won't be long either," the brunet said. "It smells like food, we'll probably eat soon."

"Hmm, okay."

"It was nice talking to you guys."

Kenma let out a smile.

"I'm glad too."

Silence.

"Ji..."

"Hmm?"

Silence.

"Uh..."

"Hmm?"

Kenma adjusted his position, apparently embarrassed.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

The blond's gaze caught his. His seriousness sent a shiver down Kuroo's spine.

"About what happened last time."

Kuroo felt his anxiety rising. He exhaled slowly to regain his composure.

"Oh... I know. But… can we talk about that later, face to face ?"

He needed time to think it over on his own. To clarify everything, to figure out how to explain what he was feeling.

"Okay."

Kuroo smiled at him, wanting to convey that no matter what happened, no matter what was happening, it didn't change his feelings. Kenma understood and returned his smile.

"I miss you," he murmured.

"Me too."

"Bye…"

"Yes, bye, see you soon."

Kenma left the conversation. Kuroo looked at the screen for a long time before sighing. He wasn't going to escape it, was he?

"Tetsu, lunch's ready!" his mother called.

"I'm coming!"

He closed the computer and left his room.

-/-

And so, the rest of the week eventually passed by. Kuroo remembered the exact moment he had arrived a few days earlier, and now he was there, luggage in hand, ready to leave. Only his parents had accompanied him this time. His mother was giving him advice, speaking faster and faster as tears were starting to well up in her eyes. She finally stopped when her father placed a hand on her shoulder. They exchanged a glance before turning back to their eldest son.

"Have a safe trip back, Tetsu."

"Yeah."

"See you soon, baby. Enjoy the rest of your vacation, and study hard for your summer classes."

Oops, had Kuroo invented summer classes to be able to cut his trip home short? Yes, yes, he did. He loved his family, but the prospect of spending the summer in Tokyo was much more enticing to him.

"Okay... Well, I'm off."

He hugged his mother and passed through security. He turned one last time, waved to his parents, and walked away.

When he arrived at Narita Airport, he felt a sparkling and sweet feeling wash over him. Quite different from what he had felt the first time he had set foot in Tokyo. The excitement had turned into something tender: the sensation of being back home.

-end of the chapter-

Next chapter : Skewers and Barbecue

"The brunet tapped the floor next to him, and Kenma approached. He sat down beside him, and they both watched the laundry spin for a moment. Kuroo was the first to speak up again:

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked, knowing perfectly well the answer.

"About sex."

Oh boy... Kuroo felt the anxiety rising, but he tried his best to hold it back. He took a deep breath. Before he could say anything, Kenma spoke up again:

"And about me."

Oh? Kuroo expected them to talk about him, but... He glanced over, surprised.

"Oh, okay... Uh, I'm listening."

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