my first and last | t. kuroo, h. iwaizumi

(old man voice) ah, young love

kuroo pov.

five months ago.

emiko, my current secretary, handed me the stack of resumes. five of the fifteen were flagged with a cute cat-shaped sticky note. she always had good taste in stationery, picking the most adorable things.

"i marked the top five candidates. they have drive, excellent social skills, and a good personality. none of them have previous experience, but they seem competent enough," she nodded toward the stack.

"then i'll only look at those. why bother with the other ten?" i grinned, shrugging as i leaned back in my chair. "i trust you." i added a wink for good measure.

"do you need anything else?" emiko asked, stepping back toward my office door.

"is there really no way i can convince you to stay after you get married in september?"

emiko was phenomenal at her job. she had been working for me since i first got the position as part of the japan volleyball association's sports promotion division. we had great chemistry; she was able to infer exactly what i was thinking before i even knew or verbalized it. it was going to be such a loss to have her leave, but i understood the need to follow true love to the ends of the earth–even when it took my secretary to another country.

still, i was sad that she was leaving. i hoped she trained her successor to seamlessly take over her position. (a useless worry, considering i had full faith in her capabilities.)

she nodded and walked out of the office. i watched through the glass as she gathered her things, nodding at her wave goodbye. i set the résumés down on my desk after briefly glancing through them. i stood, turning to the window as i slid my hands into my pockets.

it was time for me to go home as well.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"kenmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," i groaned out. i walked into our shared apartment, kicking off my shoes. i walked further into the living space, repeating myself once i found him sitting in his usual spot in the living room.

i set my work bag on the couch and began my usual at-home ritual. i took off my pants, shirt, and tie. i sat on the couch, spreading my legs as i pulled out the top five applications. i flipped through them quickly, skimming over the qualifications. two were eliminated immediately because they didn't have any experience with volleyball. 'why work for a volleyball association if you have no personal attachment to the sport?' i wondered as i tossed the applications back onto the coffee table.

i sighed, leaning back to watch kenma play for a while. he looked so preternatural with the way his fingers dancing over the keys, his eyes darting between monitors as his head fixed in one position. he whispered an incantation into his microphone as i grinned.

this was his natural habitat.

i stood up, making my way into the kitchen. i pulled a plate out of the cabinet and some crackers from the pantry. moving to the fruit bowl, i found in empty. i sighed as i placed a bottle of water and the now-plated crackers onto his desk. with my hands on my side-cocked hips, i looked at kenma, content waiting until he could pause.

"what?" he asked, not looking at me.

"i'm going to the store to buy some apples."

he nodded, which i liked to interpret as "be safe, kuro!~ i'll miss you!!"

i walked to my bedroom to put on some clothes as that was required in a public sphere. wearing my best pair of gray sweats and white t-shirt, i picked up my keys and wallet before making my way downtown.

well, down the street.

* * * * * * * * * * *

the best part about going to the grocery store on a weekday evening was the possibility of a meet-cute. if it had been a high school award, i'm sure i would have gotten 'most likely to get a girlfriend first.' but it wasn't. still, i was certain that among my old teammates, i'd be the first to get a girlfriend.

i grabbed a basket and waved to the cashier, silently cursing that it was a male instead of the usual female. it was going to be an off-day, i could already feel it in my bones. i browsed the aisles, throwing in some packages of instant ramen, a few energy drinks, some more crackers, body wash, and strawberry-scented shampoo.

i walked to the fruits section, first selecting some strawberries and peaches. i glanced over at the apple section, my eyes lingering on a girl who was holding an apple in each hand. she looked deep in thought as though she was trying to guess the weight to win a prize. she was dressed in a similar outfit like mine. 'probably belongs to her brother,' i assessed. she looked like the kind of girl with an older brother that handed down his old clothes.

"are you going to buy both of those?" i asked, walking toward her.

she looked at me blankly. "which is bigger?"

"so you like them big, huh?" i smirked as i moved closer to her.

"gotta get more bang for your buck, y'know?" she commented. she set one of the apples down, the other in her basket.

as she glanced into my basket, i took a moment to do the same. she had the same shampoo, men's razors, instant ramen, and instant coffee. 'definitely has an older brother,' i thought.

"thanks for your help!" she smiled, looking back at me as she made her way to the checkout counter.

"cute," i whispered as i continued to shop before heading to the counter myself.

* * * * * * * * * * *

when i returned, i stocked the groceries into their proper places. taking one of the apples, i washed and cut it for kenma. i hummed 'part of your world' absently as i completed the task. i set the slices onto a new plate and gave him an energy drink.

'i'm such a good roommate,' i thought as i patted myself on the back.

i made my way back to the couch, unable to shake the image of the girl i had seen at the grocery store. there was something familiar about her, but i couldn't figure it out. i leaned back into the plush seat and rested my head as i looked at our ceiling. my arms lay limp beside my body as i shut my eyes.

where had i seen her before?

i cursed myself for not getting her number. opening my eyes, i sighed as i reached for the remaining three applications. the first two were similar, relatively standard: fresh new graduates, business degrees, played volleyball, standard portfolio photographs...nothing special.

the last one caught me off-guard. she had a biology degree and previously managed the karasuno volleyball team. her picture had her hair down, shoulders adorned by a bright pink blouse, a bright smile on her face. i read emiko's notes that stated she was highly personable, funny with a fresh personality.

so it was settled. (y/n) would be my new secretary.

...

why did that name sound so familiar? i racked my brain, (y/n)...(y/n)...(y/n)!

it was her. the girl from high school who got hit with volleyballs. the girl who i almost performed CPR on. the girl i had just seen at the grocery store.

what were the odds?