When the Sun Stops Shining

Chapter Thirty-One: Jack-Off Lantern

"Kuroo, you look like a jack-o'-lantern." Tsukishima was back to his usual self, letting his usual phrases slip through with that signature smirk on his face. "Why are you smiling so much?"

"Because." Kuroo couldn't stop thinking about what had happened between the two of them yesterday. He'd thought about it all night while lying awake in his futon. He'd thought about those sounds Tsukishima had made, the things that they'd said to one another. Tsukishima likes him. Ever since realising that, Kuroo had been unable to stop smiling.

"I sense something," Suga said, scrutinising the two with careful eyes. Although it had taken him a while, Suga was slowly beginning to regain his usual liveliness. His eyes were still dull and his hair was desperately craving a good wash, but he was beginning to smile again. It would never be as radiant as it had been all those months ago, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"They fucked," Kenma said, taking a bite out of his tamago gohan. "Kuroo spent the entire night whispering 'Tsukki' to himself. He's gone a whole morning without complaining about how much he wants some dick. That's a new record."

"Kenma!" Kuroo had gone bright red. Usually, Kuroo didn't get embarrassed when it came to sexual things, so this was new. Very new. Kenma could tell that this meant that his best friend might actually be planning to take things with Tsukishima seriously. "We didn't fuck!"

"Well, something happened."

"Stop being so forward about it!"

Tsukishima himself had gone a little quiet. He was sporting a small blush on his cheeks as he thought back to what had happened with Kuroo. Since he still didn't find himself regretting it a day later, Tsukishima had decided that it meant that he might be feeling something for Kuroo.

Kageyama sat down at the table, having just arrived. He'd dropped the notebook off at the Johzenji dorm before going to breakfast. While he hadn't been there for the whole conversation, he had an idea about what they were talking about. "He's telling the truth. Kuroo was just—"

"Kageyama, shut up! You need to stop telling the truth!"

"But Kuroo, lying is bad," Kenma said.

"Well, maybe if Kageyama had lied in court, he wouldn't have gotten such a long court sentence," Kuroo muttered. "Like, come on. Why would you confess to every single crime?"

"I didn't confess to all of them, otherwise I'd be behind these bars for life. I just chose some of my favourites," Kageyama explained. "Like that time I accidentally got a double headshot. Then, some guy crashed his car right after because of the dead bodies that fell in the street. They called it a 'triple homicide'."

"Tsukishima, Kageyama's here to take your sadist title. What are you going to do about that?" Ennoshita was thirsty for drama, as per usual. The others could've sworn that Ennoshita was selling gossip to the Shiratorizawans in exchange for new notebooks and pens. Ennoshita didn't have anyone on the outside to put money into his commissary, so it was the only way he could be getting new ones on a weekly basis.

"Sadists enjoy inflicting pain. Snipers kill instantly. I don't. I let my victims suffer," Tsukishima explained. "Weren't you there for the debut of my documentary?" He had a proud grin on his face.

"You killed like one person a month. You worked slow, Tsukishima. If anything, I deserve the movie," Kageyama muttered. "Where's my recognition?"

"You'll get it when my time's up," Ennoshita said. "You'll all be on the big screen. I'm telling you. It's gonna be Hollywood. Flashing lights, Walk of Fame. We're all going to be there."