WHAT LOVERS DO ❨ kuroo tetsuro ❩

three. wanna come?

You'd think someone as confident as Kuroo Tetsuro would also have the guts to flirt with the lady he liked, but that was actually quite the opposite. Sure, he was friends with Rin and even Haiba Alisa, but those two were different. That, however, wasn't known by Rin.

Alisa was a hopeless romantic, and the moment she watched Kuroo gaze somewhat longingly at the girl beside her one time when they were having a match, she immediately knew that he had a crush on Rin. It just so happened that Rin was sitting beside her, and being the hopeless romantic that she was, Alisa approached Kuroo after under the guise of thanking him for looking after Lev. Sooner, she revealed that she thought Kuroo liked Rin, and he never denied it.

From that, they formed a friendship which was centered on Alisa giving Kuroo tips on how to drop hints to Rin that he was interested in her. Not platonically, but romantically.

"You're so provocative and dominating in the court, but you're such a coward when it comes to love," Alisa said, chuckling and shaking her head as she talked to Kuroo on the phone. "You're running out of time. Just a few more months and you might have to separate ways."

"Wow, thanks for the encouragement," he joked. "I know, you don't need to remind me. How can I even make it any more obvious if my friends and the whole team already knows, she's just the only one left who doesn't?"

"Since she's so oblivious, why don't you try to level up your game? Be more obvious, be more intentional when interacting with her. Carry her bag, give her her favorite snacks, take the extra mile to let her know you care about her, don't treat other girls the same way you treat her. Let her know she's special." Alisa's advice was something Kuroo knew already. He was simply afraid of pulling it off, and having Rin distance herself from him.

Then again, if that happened, he could just stop it and continue being friends with her. He just has to keep it all in and conceal it until it fades away. He didn't want to make Rin uncomfortable with his presence, when it was obvious that she was most comfortable around him.

"But-" before Kuroo could continue what he was going to say, someone was already knocking on his bedroom door. "I'll talk to you soon. By the way, tell Lev to study more because we don't want him failing or he won't be able to join the training camp with the rest of us."

The call ended, and Kuroo opened the door of his bedroom to be met by Rin herself. He froze on his spot, not knowing how to process Rin's sudden appearance. Did she come here for a reason, or was she simply bored that she ended up visiting? Either way, he wasn't ready to face her and what didn't help was the fact that his hair was messier than usual. After all, he had been staying in his room, rolling on his bed and talking to Alisa— asking for advice.

"Rin... what's up?" He greeted, but he was met with Rin's chuckles which warmed up his cheeks a bit. "What's funny?"

"Your hair's all over the place. Here, let me fix it for you." She replied, her fingers carefully running through Kuroo's hair in an attempt to fix his mess of a bedhead.

His heart was thumping loudly against his chest, and he just prayed that she wouldn't be able to hear or feel it with how close she was. Still confused, he fixed his eyes on her, watching how concentrated she was with fixing his hair.

"Why are you here?" He asked, when she finished fixing his hair. She gave him a smile, before peeking into his room.

"Well, your dad and my mom decided to have dinner together. So hurry and get ready." She replied, smiling at him.

"Wow, and I found out about it from you than my father himself. So much for being family, huh?" He joked, opening his closet to look for a hoodie to wear. "Why are you still over there? Come in."

The thought of entering Kuroo's room with just the two of them clearly made her feel uneasy— but not in a bad way. She felt like he was letting her into his little cave, and just being there was enough to expose what type of person he was. There were volleyball posters on one side, a bookshelf on the other, some notes scattered on his desk, and a few discs of volleyball match replays. She smiled as she entered, sitting on his swivel chair as Kuroo was putting on his hoodie.

Of course, having her inside his room was enough to make his heart race. Just a few minutes ago, he was talking to Alisa about Rin, and now she was right in front of him, observing his room like a hawk.

She smiled at the thought of Kuroo being passionate on both his studies and volleyball. No matter how much time he spent on the said sport, he still gave enough time for his studies which resulted in good grades. In that way, she admired Kuroo. He was a volleyball captain, and at the same time an academic achiever. Her thoughts then flew back to her conversation with Kuroo the other day— he had someone he liked. Rin thought, how could anyone reject someone like Kuroo? Passionate, encouraging, caring, loving, and supportive. Aside from that, he was strong and smart. He was everything.

"Studying for entrance exams?" She asked, turning the chair to face him. He now had his hoodie on, leaning against the door frame while watching her. He immediately stopped smiling when he realized that he had been staring at her with what Yaku would call a lovesick smile. Kuroo hoped that she didn't catch on.

"Yeah. I studied before watching some middle blockers from Brazil, I thought we could learn from them. Apparently, Karasuno's joining us for the training camp," he replied.

"Karasuno? They're not from Tokyo, are they?" She clarified, and he nodded before walking closer towards her.

Still behind her, he leaned forward and pointed at some of the notes he had taken earlier. From behind, it would look like he had been hugging her from behind due to the close proximity, which Kuroo tried to do smoothly. Rin gulped, her mind going elsewhere due to his actions. Here he goes again, being so close to her with his nice and charming smile, making her wonder how he managed to pull her in every time he was nearby. That was something she was finding hard to admit— she was, indeed, attracted to Kuroo, but she didn't want to be.

They were friends. Close friends. How can she like a close friend? If it had been Yaku or Kai, it would have been easier since they weren't as close as she was with Kuroo. It was ironic that she wanted to love and be loved in a way that they knew each other inside out, but she was very much afraid of having her flaws and uncertainties known. She was hesitant, because Kuroo seemed out of this world and out of her league. It could never work out. At least, she thought it wouldn't. It was just a silly crush, if she could call it that.

"See this? Kenma told me about his friend Shoyo and we once played a practice match with them too. This shrimp is so short but he jumps as if he had springs on his feet. Aside from him, they have this other tall first year which is called Tsukishima. I'm interested in fleshing out his potentials. If I observe him closely and try some new tricks while playing against them, it would be helpful when trying to come up with a strategy. Basically, Karasuno's a bunch of oddballs. They take high risks when playing. That's kind of their strength, though," he said, "Though Kenma's our brain, I'm sure he's as interested in playing against such a freaky team."

Rin nodded in understanding, amused by how invested he was in this team called Karasuno. "When's the training camp?"

"This weekend. Wanna watch?"

"Can I?"

"Of course. I'll tell our coach about it."

Before they could continue their conversation, a knock sounded against Kuroo's door before it opened. It was Kuroo's dad, a brow raised. Kuroo immediately stood up straight, clearing his throat before they cleared out of his room.

Rin walked ahead of them, and Kuroo's dad walked slower— he whispered to his son, "You like her, don't you?"

"Is it obvious? She doesn't seem to notice, though."

"It'll come through, son."

Oh, how Kuroo wished things were easier.