WHAT LOVERS DO ❨ kuroo tetsuro ❩

oo. what most lovers do

Loud and obnoxious. That was how Kimura Rin first perceived Kuroo Tetsuro. From the first day of high school, she could hear his voice from the back of the classroom, in the hallways, when passing by the gym, in the cafeteria— everywhere. He was everywhere, and definitely noticeable.

Enigmatic and somewhat pessimistic. That, on the other hand, was how Kuroo Tetsuro saw Kimura Rin when he first saw her in class. She was always by herself, either reading or writing, her gaze typically darting out the window as if she was completely uninterested in class— yet she always gets such high marks. Interesting, he thought, and so he approached her one day.

All first impressions crumbled when they first became friends.

Physical Education class was what Kimura Rin hated most, but that was simply because she couldn't take the physical activity with her poor stamina. She felt like she always had to catch her breath and fall behind, but her determination to still catch up and produce decent results amused Kuroo in a way.

It was during PE class when they had their first conversation. She was taking deep breaths as she was sitting down on the floor of the gymnasium, when suddenly a cold sensation reached her cheeks. She flinched and almost jumped, earning her a chuckle from the guy who sat down beside her.

His hazel eyes were fixed on their other classmates doing their cool downs, but his voice was directed to her. She almost wanted to hit his arm for the cold sensation from earlier, but she realized that he had offered her a bottle of water since he saw her struggling to catch her breath.

"You should try to exercise a bit more to improve your stamina," he stated, "But I have to commend you for working hard for a subject you clearly despise."

"Maybe I will," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and muttering a quick thanks for the water he gave. "Kuroo, right?"

"Yeah. I sit a couple of seats away from you in class."

That small encounter paved the way for more— Kuroo made it his mission to interact with her more after realizing that she didn't really dislike interactions, she simply preferred the quietness of being alone. He greeted her every morning, offered to eat lunch together, study together, and gave her tips on working out. She wasn't really opposed to such interactions with Kuroo, as she found herself growing more comfortable around him. He was, after all, always taking an extra mile to establish a friendship with her. She appreciated his efforts and started to initiate interactions with him herself, which delighted Kuroo in many ways than one.

Gradually, they became close friends and he always brought her along to his volleyball practice. It was during one class project that he learned they lived in the same neighborhood. He was delighted to know, and he took it as a chance to invite her to go home together everyday. Not that she opposed. Quite frankly, he and Yaku were the only people she could comfortably interact with in their class. If Kuroo hadn't taken the first move to start their friendship, Rin knew to herself that she would probably just keep to herself as usual.

"Just ten more minutes," Kuroo told Rin, who was sitting on the bleachers, as he packed his things. They were in the gym, the boys' volleyball club just finished with their cleanup and were getting ready to leave the gym. "I'll buy you ice cream if you wait for me patiently."

Although she didn't explicitly state it, Kuroo smirked at the sight of the sparkle in her eyes. It indicated that she loved the idea, even though she furrowed her brows and looked away from him. He found it amusing that even with such few words from the girl, he was starting to understand her more.

"Stare some more and it'll take you fifteen minutes instead of ten to pack your stuff," Yaku stated, making Kuroo flinch and snap out of his trance. He realized he had been staring at Rin, and his warm smile soon faded to a frown.