|| KUROKEN ONESHOTS ||

Through The Ages

Spring

"This is so fucking boring," Kenma says. They're cluelessly walking in circles in the grocery store and he just wants it to stop already.

"Dude, it was your man's idea," Yamamoto replies. "Plus, you aren't even doing anything."

That's very true: Yamamoto's pushing the cart and picking up the items Fukunaga reads from a list on his phone. Kenma's just following them around and making annoying and unnecessary comments. He lets out an amused hum. "Kuroo's ideas are lame and cheesy and I don't respect them," he says.

"Ha, I see," says Fukunaga, nodding sagely. "You just keep him around for his hot bod."

Kenma clicks is tongue, producing a sound that he hopes comes off as a You get it! Then he continues. "It's not even the idea I'm against. But why do the second years have to do all of the hard work?"

The problem is this: Kuroo has planned a Textbook Kuroo Goodbye Party. Granted, he hasn't specified that it is a Goodbye Party, because no one really wants to admit that they are saying goodbye. But it's the end of March and the air smells like pollen and melancholy. Soon it will be April and Kuroo's feeling sentimental and there's no point in trying to hide the reason why.

Nekoma High already feels empty.

So, they're having a picnic. They're a team, so each member must give some input. Kuroo provided the idea, so he's legally allowed to not do anything else ever. When this right of his is questioned, he will answer, How dare you, I'm your captain, or something along the lines. Predictable. Kai is going to provide a backyard and an empty house, which in all fairness is the most important addition needed. Yaku arbitrarily decided he's in charge of the music, which Kenma was very tempted to call bullshit: since when does a picnic need music? The first years have been mercifully spared of any chore, because they already are going to be forced to watch and listen to their senpais whine and reminisce all night. Their duty is to simply bring themselves to the party.

Which leaves food.

"Kenma, this isn't hard work," Yamamoto says. It's an ironic thing to say for a guy who's pushing a cart with one arm and holding three different bags of chips on his other arm while his friends watch. "This is grocery shopping."

"Whatever. Are we getting the hell out of here or not?"

"Not," Fukunaga says. Then he snickers. "Not before you pay."

Kenma narrows his eyes at him. What a fucking backstabber.

He pays and they bring the food to Kai's house. Kenma spends the journey wishing he didn't feel like everything was ending and laughing at Fukunaga's nonsense and worrying about things that Kuroo might say to him about the future and answering Yamamoto's taunts.

At the party, the atmosphere is lighter than Kenma had anticipated.

Kai doesn't say Welcome, he says, "Finally! We were all waiting for you."

"Yeah, honestly I'm worried for the future of the team," Yaku continues. "You're going to starve our children."

Kuroo's smiling like he can't help himself. "Truly, you have learned nothing."

The smile doesn't leave his face after he's spoken, and it makes Kenma want to squish him. It's unexpected that he doesn't look sad at all, but a good kind of unexpected. Better to leave a party with your cheeks hurting, rather than your heart.

"Are we the children in this sci-fi scenario?" Lev asks.

Yamamoto scoffs. "Do you even know what sci-fi is?"