Haikyuu One-Shots

Like You (Koutaro Bokuto)

Wizzy: Just want to say that this relates to a dream I had involving Bokuto and Kuroo, which then sparked the idea for this. However, this is a bit different than I'd originally planned.

When I'd left the house this morning, I never thought I'd run into anyone I knew. Of all the people I knew, there were two I hoped I would never see. From those two, one of them was very important to me. And it was just my luck that I'd run into those two.

Kuroo merely seemed surprised to see me. It was only natural since we used to be friends and we hadn't spoken in almost a little over seven years. Not since just after graduating high school.

Bokuto though, looked almost like he wanted to run away. I couldn't blame him. I'd cut off all contact with him very suddenly. The last thing he'd ever heard from me was a single text saying that I hated him. No explanation, nothing.

Those last words had been a lie though. I've never hated and probably never could. But he had to believe I did or it might have ruined his life. The same had happened with Kuroo and my best friend too. It probably looked suspicious when the two of us just all of a sudden dropped out of their lives at the same time without giving a reason.

"Hey, Koutaro..." I could felt my heart aching as I looked at him. He probably moved on a long time ago, but a small, selfish part of me wished he hadn't. We might never have officially been a couple, but we were close enough to be one. There was even one time we'd shared a very passionate night together.

Bokuto wouldn't look at me, instead keeping his eyes to the ground. "Hey..." This was getting really awkward really fast.

"Mom, who are they?" a little boy whispered, peeking out from behind my legs. That would be my son, who was about seven years old and looked just like his father.

Next to him, peeking out on the other side was his best friend and adopted sister. She was the same age as him, but she looked a lot like her mother. Unfortunately, she'd inherited her father's hair. She was left in my care after her mother, a very close friend of mine, had been killed in an accident. No one knew anything about the whereabouts of her father besides her mother and myself.

Bokuto's gaze shifted to my two children. He looked even worse now than he had before. It was too painful to see, so I turned my focus to Kuroo. Kuroo's eyes flicked from my son to Bokuto and then back to the child. I could almost see the little lightbulb going off in his head. Secrets were about to spill.

Kuroo approached the little boy, who looked up at me with a "is this okay?" expression. I nodded to the child and he stepped out from behind me. Kuroo then held the boy's hair up, mimicking the way Bokuto had always done his. "Look familiar, Bokuto?"

The former ace of Fukurodani had never been a very bright guy, so it was no surprise that he didn't seem to get what his best friend was hinting at. I'd almost been expecting that. What I didn't expect though, was Bokuto then copying Kuroo and trying to mimic his friend's hairstyle on the little girl.

While the boy, Koushiro, was a bit uncomfortable with what was going on, the girl, Tomoko, was laughing. "You're silly, Mr. Bokuto," she giggled, trying to shake his hands off. "You're just the guy in the stories Koushiro's mommy tells us about his daddy."

The owl-haired boy looked over to me, still looking very hurt. I could almost hear what he was thinking. You left me for some guy like me and now he's not even around?

I wanted to tell him the truth. I wanted to tell him that Koushiro was his son. To tell him that I'd walked away because I knew he wasn't ready to be a dad and that I didn't want to ruin anything for him. He was one of the top five aces in the country then and he had the potential to become even better. But if I'd stayed back then, his life might have been ruined. But no matter how much I wanted to say all of that, the words just wouldn't form.

Luckily, Tomoko was there to save me. "You know, Mr. Bokuto, you look like the man in the pictures of Koushiro's daddy." Bokuto still didn't seem to really get it yet.

"The kid's yours, dumbass," Kuroo said, finally annoyed with trying to hint at something the guy was clearly not going to figure out.

Bokuto finally looked at me. All the pieces were starting to connect in his head now. That one night we'd spent together, the mean text, my leaving so suddenly, the little boy that looked just like him... everything was beginning to fall into place. And for the first time in his life, Bokuto was left speechless.

Eventually, he got over his shock and I explained everything. I even revealed that little Tomoko was Kuroo's daughter. She, being a very friendly and outgoing type, quickly warmed up to her father. Koushiro, however, seemed to be rejecting any attempt Bokuto made to establish a good relationship with him.

All day long, Kuroo and Tomoko would do classic father-child things. And every single time, Bokuto would try to get Koushiro to do it too. But for reasons no one knew, or maybe just because he was shy, the little boy refused.

Once while Kuroo and his little girl were holding hands and walking, Bokuto tried to copy them. But the boy refused him, instead holding onto one of my hands with both of his. It was then that Tomoko spoke up, saying that "Koushiro's just really shy. But if you want to, you can hold my hand, Mr. Bokuto."

In the end, the three held hands together. In a way, Kuroo and Bokuto almost looked like a gay couple out for a stroll with their daughter. Unable to resist, I snapped a quick picture with my cell phone camera. It would be a cute one to share with everyone, especially the boys' former teammates.

It wasn't until late that evening when the five of us returned to my home that Koushiro began to show even the slightest sign of accepting Bokuto. Of course, I think that was a result of a little talk that little Tomoko had given him.

The little boy was hesitant to approach the energetic and still very childish man who was now staring down the floor. Bokuto was clearing feeling defeated and probably in one of those moods that I remembered so well. After a push from his friend, Koushiro finally stepped forward, tapping the former ace on the shoulder.

He looked up at his son, who held out a cookie to him but still refused to look him in the eye. "Mom's been hurting because of you. I know she wouldn't ever say it, but I know she is," the child said quietly. He suddenly looked at Bokuto with a fierce look. "But Mom still loves you, so I guess I'll try this. But only for Mom."