WHAT LOVERS DO ❨ kuroo tetsuro ❩

two. let's talk about love

The fact that they were already in their third and final year of high school rested anxiously in the minds of Kuroo and Rin. It was a year of changes and transitions, of moving on from one lifestyle to another, but there was one thing that they both wanted to stay in their lives— the presence of each other. It was pretty much obvious to those around them, but they all agreed not to interfere, given that Kuroo himself stated that he wouldn't dare confess to his close friend.

Yaku felt the slightly awkward atmosphere between Kuroo and Rin a few days after, and he wanted so bad to find out what was happening. Instead of directly asking, he decided to ask the third years to study together. Perhaps he could just observe and tell Kuroo what he thinks he could do.

"Biology is such a headache, especially with the nervous system," Kai muttered, slightly tapping his pencil against his temple.

"It's mandatory for us to study science, so we really can't do anything about that if you find it troublesome. Besides, it's fun," Kuroo replied, "And you excel on other subjects, Kai! I'm sure you'll do well on the entrance examinations."

"Kuroo's always very convincing, it makes me think what kind of career he'd take," Yaku started, smiling as he looked at their volleyball captain. "What do you guys wanna do in the future?"

"If not related to volleyball, I think I'd love to work closely with plants," Kai stated, earning nods from his fellow third years— Kuroo, Yaku, and Rin.

"Anything related to volleyball." Folding his arms across his chest, Kuroo answered.

Rin leaned on the palm of her hand, her elbow placed on the table. She tilted her head to look at Kuroo, their eyes locking. Her long hair swayed to one side which made the guy want to play with it, but he held back. God, does he love her long hair. He didn't want to get distracted, but it was a good thing that Rin spoke so that he snapped out of his trance.

"I think that would suit you. You're so passionate about volleyball, and I know that if you're not going to play as an athlete in the future, you'd at least work in a company that's volleyball related. Promotion of the sports, maybe? You're good at motivating people and it makes me think that maybe, that kind of job suits you."

Everyone fell silent for a few seconds after what Rin said. She wasn't one to voice out her opinions often, but what she mentioned hit so close to what Kuroo might do in the future. He grinned, delighted by the fact that he knew her well and thought of him so positively. He then wondered, given the time they have spent together, did he know her well enough to predict what career path she might take in the future?

"What do you want to be in the future, Rin?" Kuroo asked, copying her body language. Right then and there, Yaku and Kai wanted to disappear— he was making it obvious that he was interested in her, she was just too oblivious to notice. "I hope you won't forget me after high school."

What did she want to be in the future? That very same question drove her to a train of thoughts. What did she really want in the future? Sure, she had always tried to do her best in academics, but was there a specific thing that she wanted to do? A specific job that she wanted to have? She wasn't so sure about it, now that they tackled such topics.

"I... I'm not sure," she admitted, and her tone worried her friends. Was it the right thing to open up that topic? Yaku didn't know. Rin looked seriously conflicted.

"It's alright, you can still discover what you want to do in the future," Kuroo replied, giving a warm smile to Rin. "Personally, I think you'd do well in Psychology. You're good at reading people and I think that's a nice trait to have if you're going to take Psychology."

"Yeah! I think so, too. As for me, I still want to play volleyball. It seems like we all have different paths we wanna take, but let's not forget about each other in the future, kay?" Yaku closed the topic, smiling as he flipped the pages of his textbook.

Surely, their intention earlier was to study together, but after an hour and a half of studying, drowning themselves in their textbooks, their brains became too tired and could not absorb any more information. Perhaps, a break was necessary, or a small chat.

"What do you think about romance in the future?" Yaku's next question caught everyone off guard.

He gazed at Kuroo, as if knowing that he had been conflicted about his feelings for Rin— Kuroo didn't know if he wanted to thank Yaku or hit his head for dropping such a bomb all of a sudden. Then again, he wanted to know what Rin thought of it.

"I'm not opposed to it, I'd love to have a nice family in the future. I hope I meet someone nice in the future," Kai replied, smiling gently in which made the guys laugh at him.

"So cheesy," Kuroo joked, earning him a slap on his shoulder from Kai himself.

"I'm not actively looking for romance, but it would be nice to have a girlfriend while I'm playing as an athlete in the future. I want a supportive partner." Yaku said, grinning as he imagined a future for himself. "What about you, Rin?"

"Me? Uhm, I've thought about that before. I'm alright with having no one and having someone. It doesn't matter. If I am meant to have someone by my side, I'd love for it to be a person who knows me very well. They said that to be loved is to be known, and I love the idea of having a partner who knows me well— my likes and dislikes, what makes me happy and what angers me. I'd love to know someone deeply, too." Rin answered, furrowing her brows as she answered the question.

Given that she wasn't able to give a proper answer about Yaku's previous question, she felt that she had to elaborate on the second one. They were very transparent, so she thought that it would do her no harm if she told them about her perspective on romance.

Perhaps it was due to the amount of novels she had read, but she had fallen in love with the idea of being in love with someone who knows you like the back of their hand. She wanted to know someone intimately, and be known by someone deeply— exclusively. She was afraid of showing all of her to everyone, but to have someone she's comfortable enough to share everything with... that idea melts her heart.

"That's nice. I didn't know you were a hopeless romantic, Rin." Yaku joked, chuckling as Rin narrowed her eyes at him.

While the two were exchanging jokes and remarks, Kuroo couldn't help but observe Rin and reflect on what the girl said. So she wanted someone like that... He smiled softly, perhaps too softly, because he heard Kai chuckling at the background and muttering how lovesick he looked.

He made a mental note to take an extra mile to memorize what makes Rin happy and not, what her likes and dislikes were. Perhaps, if he knew her well enough, she'd start to see him as a potential partner rather than just a close friend.

"I guess, you could say that." She admitted, her cheeks stained pink and warmed up. Kuroo's eyes widened at the new side of Rin that he saw. They never really talked about love, so this side of Rin was new to him. He couldn't say that he hated it— in fact, he loved her reactions. Hearing her views made him feel like he was able to read an extra chapter in Rin's manual.

"So friends to lovers is not crossed out, but preferred?" Kai teased, grinning. Rin rolled her eyes and went back to reading her textbook.

"I shouldn't have answered Yaku's question." She said, earning laughter from the three guys.

"What do you think about dating Kuroo?" Yaku added, teasing her more, but Kuroo immediately slapped Yaku's back to keep the shorter male from continuing their agenda.

Too focused on shutting Yaku up, he didn't notice the slight blush which formed on Rin's cheeks.

"Just cut it out, let's go back to studying," Rin stated, and Kai agreed while Yaku kept teasing Kuroo.

God, if only she knew.