WHAT LOVERS DO ❨ kuroo tetsuro ❩

one. to like a friend

If there was something Rin enjoyed tremendously, it was reading. She loved flipping the pages of a book and indulging herself in the fictional world inked on them, branding it as her little escape from the tiring hours of her everyday life. Whenever she was waiting for Kuroo and Kenma to finish their volleyball training, she would either watch them or read a book while on the bleachers of the gym.

Kuroo would always have a small smile on his face whenever his eyes would drift to Kimura Rin, and everyone else would notice— except the girl herself. It was very much obvious to everyone around them that he was so fond of her in ways that was more than a friend could. She always dismissed his smiles and remarks as something close friends would give, frustrating the volleyball captain even more.

But he could live with that.

What he couldn't live without was being away from Rin, the possible heartache that could drift her away from him. He would rather keep her close as a friend than lose her after confessing. He could live with such regrets, and that was what worried him.

"I don't understand why you're so hesitant with confessing. You're too obvious anyway. What are you so afraid of?" Yaku asked him, as they were stretching after the training itself. "She's not the type to just avoid anyone without good reason. I'm sure she treasures your friendship as much as you do, if you're afraid that you'll lose her if you confess."

"I hate that you're smart enough to understand that without me having to tell you. Thanks, but I'd rather be her friend than be nothing at all. I don't want to be pushy about my feelings, she might not like that."

Rolling his eyes, Yaku didn't know how else he could put up with both Rin and Kuroo. It's not like they had all the time in the world. They were already in their final year of high school, and things are bound to change even if they live nearby each other. They might grow apart and just remember each other as friends from high school, and it frustrated Yaku to know that Kuroo was not making any move despite having a crush on Rin since their first year.

He thought he was foolish for not taking the risk, Kuroo thought he was just being cautious and considerate.

Rin's fingers flipped the page of the book in her hands, but her eyes drifted off to Kuroo who had been stretching with his team. His brows were furrowed and he looked out of it, as if he was lost in his thoughts. She wondered, what could he be thinking? With the years they had been close friends, there were times that she couldn't tell what the guy was thinking. Although they knew each other very well, at times she was still confused with him.

Especially when he would smile at her very gently in a way that he wouldn't do so with others. Truly, he was the type of person who would smile at others and be encouraging, but at times, it felt a little more tender for her. She would dismiss it as him treating her better since she was a lady, but then he wouldn't bat an eye on other girls. Except for one— Haiba Alisa. Whenever Rin would start to think that maybe Kuroo was giving her some signals that he was interested in her a bit more than a friend was, he would be talking to Alisa comfortably and with his charming grin on. It was hard to tell whether he just knew Alisa because he was taking care of Lev as his captain, or he was genuinely interested in the older woman.

She couldn't quite explain the pang on her chest, but she would often dismiss that— she was just a friend and there was no way she had any right to feel bad about Kuroo talking to others.

"I don't understand, I'm already in front of you and you're still absorbed in your book. Am I nothing but a side character to you?" Rin flinched when she heard Kuroo's voice behind her. He chuckled, sitting down next to her and placing his gym bag down. "Kenma said we should go on ahead, he's probably going to check out a new game."