Ill-Fated Calf-Love

Kuroo

"Then, Oikawa tripped and fell face-first into the fountaian. He was so mad, but the next thing we knew, security was dragging him out of the mall and Iwaizumi laughed so hard he nearly peed himself."

Kuroo laughed upset he'd had a doctor's appointment and hadn't been able to go to the mall with them the day before.

It was out of the corner of his eye that he saw him, sitting behind the bleachers, nose stuck in a book, dark hair framing pretty, pale features. He elbowed Yaku, so the other wouldn't walk away without him. His only movement as Kuroo approached was to flip the page, and Kuroo leaned over him to glance at the book. "Hey, you're that kid in my gym class that's never there, right?"

The boy met his eyes, shock coloring his features and tinting his cheeks pink. "Who are you?"

Kuroo expected Akaashi to tell him to go away, to leave him alone. There was no  way a kid who was never in class could be this friendly, this open to conversation, but he answered each question Kuroo asked and helped him with his homework without complaint. Akaashi was perfect and Kuroo wanted nothing more than to be his friend.

He had to force himself away to attend second and third hour, barely able to focus as time drug on through them. When the lunch bell rang, he rushed Yaku, Iwaizumi, and Oikawa through the line despite their complaints.

"Don't look so heartbroken, Kuroo. He probably went to grab his own lunch," Yaku assured, taking a seat in the empty spot behind the bleachers. "I'm sure he'll be back in a few minutes.

Yaku had been right. It was only moments later that Akaashi came around the corner, conflicted emotions of shock and annoyance coloring his face as he spotted the group. Kuroo made it clear that Akaashi could tell them to leave and they would understand. In fact, he expected him to kick them out of his spot right away, but he simply took a seat next to Kuroo with resignition. Akaashi was too nice to speak up for his own solitude, so Kuroo made a silent vow to himself to keep the group from overstepping and making Akaashi uncomfortable.

Kuroo watched him closely as the days passed, and it became easier to learn Akaashi's tells as they spent more time with him. Each time agitation began to coat Akaashi's voice, or Akaashi fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, Kuroo steered the group away to give him a break. The tells came half as often after only a week. Instead, Akaashi opened up, cracking jokes and smiling.

As he did, Kuroo felt himself fall.