𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙸𝙾'𝚂 𝙱𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁

Chapter 24*

Kuroo pulled away slowly, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. When the realization of what he had just done sunk in, his eyes widened and his face grew flushed.

"Y/N, I..."

The (h/c)-ette lifted his hand up to his mouth, still feeling that warmth lingering on his lips. "Hm..."

Kuroo didn't know what to make of that reaction. "W... What is it?"

"A warm, fuzzy feeling..." Y/N mumbled, directing his gaze back to Kuroo. "Right...?"

Those piercing eyes of his... Kuroo gulped and nodded. "Yeah..."

"I feel it... A little bit," he said.

Just that was enough to make the feline captain happy. "Really?"

Y/N averted his gaze, not having expected Kuroo to be happy with such an answer. Fueled by this cute action, Kuroo left behind feelings of embarrassment and began getting a little bolder.

"Looks like I was able to make Y/N feel love~"

The (h/c)-ette turned back to him, narrowing his (e/c) eyes on him. "Is that really enough to satisfy you?"

Kuroo nodded without hesitation, the grin on his face never leaving. "Still..." Y/N said. "Isn't it kind of... unfair to you?"

At that, the middle blocker raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Well, you like me, right? But I'm not even sure if I like you that way, yet you're happy with such a half-assed answer. Isn't that unfair to you?"

Kuroo chuckled and pulled Y/N into a hug. "Hey--!"

"I don't mind," came the feline captain's simple answer.

This time, Y/N was confused. "What?"

"I don't mind hearing that answer because..." he said. "All it means is that I have a chance to sweep you off your feet."

In that instant, Y/N's eyes widened and his face reddened a bit. "Huh--! What does that--? You--!"

Kuroo laughed, loving the way he'd managed to render the (h/c)-ette speechless. He then laid his head to rest on Y/N's shoulder. "I love you..." he mumbled quietly, not expecting a reply in return.

Y/N eventually relaxed and laid his head to rest on Kuroo's shoulder too. "Why me...?"

"Hmm...?"

He closed his eyes, focusing on the steady heartbeat coming from the other. "I'm not the best person... And even I can admit that my personality could use some work... Hell, I can't even stand being myself. I don't see what's so good about someone like me... What about me is good enough to make someone fall in love with me?"

Kuroo hummed, showing he'd listened to every word he'd said. "You don't see it... because you've always burdened yourself with the bad parts of you. You continue to believe the words of the people who put you down, so you do the same to yourself..."

Y/N opened his eyes and stared down at the floor, clenching his hand into a fist. What he had said was true. He'd only ever seen himself as a horrible person, someone who was undeserving, all because of what he'd done in the past. He allowed himself to believe their harsh words toward him and that blinded him from recognizing any good he had done.

"When I look at you... I see someone who is protective over the people you care about. You might act like they're a pain in the ass, but you care a lot about your teammates... I mean, you went as far as to scare off the guy bullying your first-year manager."

He recalled that moment clearly. Naoki had begun arriving late to practice with the occasional bruise. Eventually, Y/N found the culprit behind the first-year's injuries and didn't hesitate to have a word with him. Needless to say, no one ever dared to hurt or even badmouth Naoki since then.