Wingless (KuroTsuki)

Prologue

(Warning - mentions of abuse, the scenes aren't that detailed though)

It had been this way for as long as he could remember.

Kei's father and mother had fought a lot, though mostly it was his father starting the arguments. They had a divorce, and while his mother had custody of Akiteru, she couldn't get custody of him. His father took him to Tokyo where his new job was, and Tsukishima was alone. He had just finished the school year so it was summer break.

He was seven years old, and as far as he knew there was nobody else around his age in the complex. His father left him in the house during the day while he was at work, and so Tsukishima was so alone. He couldn't go outside and fly, which he loved doing when he was with his mother and brother, and he had to make his own breakfast, lunch and dinner. From the beginning, he was treated badly, but it was always worse when his father came home drunk.

Kei learned very quickly never to disobey his father, to do exactly what he was told. The cheerful boy he once was, that bright and kind personality he had, was dimmed by the hurtful and damaging ways of his father. That spark that he had was gone, and his beautiful, white wings (his mother often said they were like an angel's) lost their sheen since he couldn't care for them like he used to.

He was crying on his bed one night, louder than usual. His father would slap him if he was too loud, but he was out for the whole night and Tsukishima could be as loud as he wanted. What he hadn't expected was for there to be a knock from the other side of the wall, and the muffled voice of a boy. It sounded something like 'are you okay?', but he couldn't be sure.

Instead, he broke out into more sobs, curling up into a ball. He had never noticed the walls were that thin before, he'd known that their apartments were close but he'd never really heard much from the other side. Nobody ever really cared about him anymore; his mother and brother never called or made an effort, so Tsukishima knew he was truly alone in this world. Because of that he didn't bother thinking much of the boy on the other side of the wall.

He'd never imagined he'd hear a knock on the front door.

He stiffened as soon as he heard it, automatically wiping his tears and getting up. If it was his father, he had to go and open it for him, incase he'd not been bothered to get out his keys or was too drunk to put the keys into the lock. He made sure he has his sweater on (he had a few bruises on his arms from when his father grabbed him), turned on the lights in the hallway, and quietly opened the door.

On the other side there was a boy who looked to be about his age, maybe a little older than him. His black hair was messy and had the worst bed hair that he'd ever seen, but this boy was also very pretty. He had smooth tan skin, beautiful ebony black wings, and these golden-hazel eyes. Tsukishima knew that he wasn't meant to like boys, his father had gotten very angry when he brought it up, but he liked this boy a lot already. He had this concerned look on his face, and it seemed like he cared even if they didn't know each other.

"Hi, I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, I'm nine and I live next door! Are you alright? I heard you crying," he asked, a worried tone in his voice. Tsukishima just stood there silently, unsure of how to act. His father probably wouldn't like this, but this boy, Kuroo, he was so nice.

After fiddling with the hem of his sweater for a while, eventually he spoke up, not looking at Kuroo when he did so. "I'm fine, I guess. You d-don't need to worry about me," he whispered, barely audible.

"But I do though, you're my friend and you were upset, so I gotta help you out. What's your name, or do I just gotta call you Moonshine? Since your wings look so pretty in the moonlight," Kuroo said, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a smile. The concerned look was still there, but an eager one was there as well.