I've Always Loved You | Kuroo Tetsurou

fourteen

The month of April passed fairly quickly, the summer air soon approaching. It was now May and the cherry blossoms had stopped blooming a couple of days ago. The weather was still nice which made you happy considering the nasty rainy season will soon arrive. 

Kuroo and Kenma have continued to hang out with you, but you slowly stopped being around Kuroo before and after school. You're not sure if he could tell that you were distancing yourself a bit. He seemed to be acting the same around you. Kenma also never brought up the topic of you having a boyfriend - that was a relief. You really didn't want Kuroo knowing about Sakusa right now. 

"Kiko!" Kuroo's voice called out for you from the bottom of the hill. Somehow he managed to find you at the old park both him and Kenma used to hang out at. You turned your head in the direction he seemed to be coming from. Your eyes slightly widened when you saw him approaching you with a reusable cloth bag in his left hand, and a tray with two Boba drinks in the other. "I was looking for you at your house... your dad said I would most likely find you here, and he was right! Oh I brought you some food, thought we could have a small lunch together since we haven't in a while." 

"Thank you..." Your voice was soft - a little unsure of what to say. "How come you want to have lunch together?" He sat down next to you placing the bag and drinks in between you guys. 

"We haven't hung out in a couple of days, it almost seems like you're avoiding me." He chuckled at his joke, but it made you panic. Was he really aware that you don't want to be around him much? "Just kidding! I know you'll never avoid my hot self." Normally you wouldn't have been bothered by his flirty remark but now that you had a boyfriend, it just felt wrong. 

Scoffing, you pulled whatever food he had in the bag, "As if, Kuroo. You're not hot at all." His right hand slapped against his chest, faking having his feelings hurt. "Kiko, words hurt!" Both of you shared a light giggle which quickly turned into silence - peaceful silence. 

"I um, I wanted to ask you something..." your attention went back to him, but he seemed to be hesitating with his words. "Would you like to go to the Wisteria Festival with me this weekend? Golden week is ending soon and I kind of want to go see the flowers." This was shocking. You certainly weren't expecting for him to ask you on what seemed to be a date. And how do you simply reject that offer? Would it be considered cheating if you went with him? There wasn't enough time to think exactly of what to say, so you had to come up with a lie. 

"Oh, I actually was going to the Nagano prefecture to visit some family this weekend... My cousin has been wanting to see me for a while." His mouth formed an 'o' shape as he looked away. "I'm really sorry, Kuroo. Maybe we can go to another festival with Kenma some other time?"

"Yeah you're right... with Kenma..." He looked at you and forced a smile on his face, but to you it seemed real. Kuroo was really hoping you would go with him to the Wisteria festival, maybe that would have been the chance to get you to have some sort of romantic feelings for him. It was a risk even asking you, but he was willing to take it just to get closer to you. Too bad you were busy. "Sorry, I should've asked if you were busy before I asked that."

"Don't worry, Kuroo, you didn't know. Plus, we're hanging out right now aren't we? These egg sandwiches aren't going to eat themselves." He nodded, quickly grabbing the other half of the sandwich from your hand. Both of you took a bite at the same time, silence settling between the two of you again, this time it being awkward. 

"So how old is your cousin, if you don't mind me asking?" His left hand reaches for the sugary drink next to him, watching you eat when he looks up. 

You hum before answering, "He's 16. A second year at Kamomedai High." He nods while sipping on his milk tea. "What's his name?"

"What? Are we playing 21 questions now?" He chuckled giving you a small smile, you gratefully returning it. "His name is Sachirō Hirugami." His eyebrows arose at the sound of the popular name. You gave him back a confused look. "What? Do you know him?"

"I don't know him personally. But that boy is so scary in the volleyball community. He's like an immovable wall." This time your eyebrows rose at the weird nickname. 

"Does he suck or something?"

"No no no, he's actually amazing. His blocking is way better than mine. Psh, the whole volleyball team is known for having a better blocking technique than Date Tech." It was nice seeing him talk volleyball again. The way his eyes had a small spark when he mentioned the sport made your heart warm up. It was a similar feeling you felt when Sakusa spoke about volleyball before. What you didn't notice is that you kept on staring at him as he spoke. "What? Do I have some food on my face?"

"Oh! Sorry I didn't mean to stare..." To Kuroo this felt like a win. Were you finally starting to like him? "Stop it, you're staring at me now with that creepy smirk you always have!" You grabbed a handful or grass, attempting to throw it at his face. "I was just thinking how much of a chemistry and volleyball nerd you are." A light giggle escaped from your lips as his smirk faded away. 

"Oh shut it! This nerd helped you pass chemistry, your grades weren't looking too good before the project was due."

"I told you to never talk about that!" You push his shoulder a bit too hard causing him to fall over laughing. "Ugh, Kuroo, you're so annoying." Pouting, you took a sip of the boba slightly choking on the pearls coming up the straw too quickly. He sits up quickly taking a picture of your struggling face. Once you retain your calm manner, you glare at him. "Delete it now!" He shakes his head and shows you the embarrassing picture he has of you now. 

"I'm making this your contact picture." 

"Kuroo you're the worst!" 

"Only for you, darling." Your smile faded, but your face started feeling hot. He slightly panicked when your smile was no longer visible. Maybe it was too soon to be calling you silly petnames. 

"The sun is setting, I think I should get back home before it gets dark." He nods again, helping you pack up the remaining sandwiches you didn't finish. "Let's walk together." 

He shakes his head, mainly because he's embarrassed and doesn't want to be anymore weird around you. "I have to go practice a little bit with Lev and Yaku, if I don't go then Lev might not be alive tomorrow morning." A forced chuckle comes out of his lips, and you give him back a small giggle. 

"Right, well thank you for the food, Kuroo. I really liked the sandwiches." He gave you a small smile. 

"Thank you for eating with me, Kiko. See you later." Both of you part ways in the opposite direction. 

The whole time you felt a bit awkward with him. Was that considered a lunch date? No, it didn't last more than 15 minutes. But you were sure he was definitely flirting. Never has he called you darling. And you also weren't going to tell Sakusa about it, he would most likely get upset and jealous. You sighed as you continued walking on the pavement sidewalk. 

On the opposite side of the sidewalk, Kuroo walked looking down at his shoes. His mind was racing with thoughts over the events that occurred a couple of minutes ago. Had he been too flirtatious? Maybe he made you uncomfortable in the end? He kicks a rock in front of him, landing in the grass beside him. All he wants is for you to like him, not just as rekindled friends, but as something more. Asking you out on a date like that was too soon. He should've said Kenma was going, and maybe you would've given it a second thought. A deep sigh escapes his lips for the nth time that afternoon. At least he isn't embarrassing himself around you anymore, he's hoping he can relieve some stress at the mini practice with the other two boys. 

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late update but we don't talk about that hehe - sorry i was busy this weekend with studying for exams and easter weekend but i got the chapter out today :))

kind of a filler chapter but lmk what ya think of it (not proofread oopsie), i would love getting some kind of feedback :)

also! i am hoping to get back to my regular scheduled update this weekend