Sitting alone on one of the many benches of the girls' locker room, I take three deep breaths. This is it, the beginning of my future. The girls should be on the court right now, hearing the chants of the audience cheering for their favorite team. I needed this alone time, I've always needed it before my big games, and this is no exception. I've been a real idiot by turning a blind eye on my passions just because of some stupid high school girls, I could have achieved so much more if I had just opened my eyes a bit earlier...But yet again, I couldn't have done it without him. As much as I hate admitting it, he did push me into this, he always believed in me. And the last thing I want right now is to disappoint him.
One last breath and I'm up, nervously pacing up and down the tiny aisle that the two lines of lockers form in between. I don't think I have that much time left, probably just a few more minutes until having to run for my life across the interminable hallways and onto the court. "I can do it, I can take them down." I think to myself. But then again, I remember that I'm not alone, never have been and never will be. "WE will take them down". I smile, a sudden streak of confidence brightening my face. Not confident in myself, but in my amazing teammates, who are just as talented and have worked just as hard as I have. With this new aura surrounding my body, I leave the locker rooms, and just as I place one single foot outside the suffocating room, I see him.
Of course he is waiting for me, all brilliant and radiant, with a concerned frown upon his face. He's always known me too well, from the first moment our eyes crossed paths, he knew exactly who I was; and he could foresee my every movement. He is nervously fidgeting with his fingers, looking at them with anxiety. He is tapping the ground with his feet at a quick rhythm and murmuring inaudible stuff to himself to keep calm. But once he sees me, all of his distress just vanishes into thin air, and his face relaxes into a big white smile. He opens his arms wide and I don't take even a second to think about what I was about to do. My feet move on their own, and I let them soar through the few meters that kept us apart. I jump straight into his warm embrace, which lifts me off the ground and spins me around quite a bit. I inhale his sweet smell while my face is buried in his neck, and press myself even closer to his body once I hear a burst of tiny happiness laughter coming from his chest.
After a few spins, he finally puts me down. I look up at him - I've always loved looking up at him, ever since that moment - his height always makes me feel protected. His brown eyes stare back at me, clearly supportive and encouraging. It's so easy to read him, kind of like reading a comic book - the balloons popping beside his head and telling me what's going through his mind. He opens his mouth, about to say something, but I place a finger on his lips to shush him.
"There's nothing you could say that you haven't already told me." His smile widens even more and his eyes sparkle more than ever. He leans down to kiss me, ever so gently and then caresses my cheek while putting a lock of hair behind my ear. He reaches for his pocket and, without saying a single word, he hands me a bandaid. I was about to say something in return, but this time he puts his finger on my mouth and says:
"Don't, I know."
My eyes fill with unshed tears and I try so hard no to crumble because I know that once one of the little rats comes out, the others will follow. And soon enough they'll become the Niagara falls. I bite my lips, trying to toughen up, and close my eyes for a tiny second. I take three deep breaths again, and let my eyelids slide wide open. With a conviction that could fool anyone into believing any gibberish I said, I look him in the eyes and nod decisively. I know we are going to win. I know it. And he knows it as well.
I stick the bandaid around my middle finger with his help, then I innocently grab his hand.
"Will all players please approach the court? The game is about to begin"
Both of us smile instantly after the announcement.
"Are you ready?" he asks. I nod once again, never taking the grin out of my mouth. I grab harder onto his hand, and on the count of three, we dash through the multitudes through the almost immaculate hallways until the brightness of the court blinds us both. Here, he lets go of my hand, freeing me into the new and scary future awaiting for me. I look back at him, feeling a bit more terrified now that I don't have him by my side. But he suddenly shouts:
"I BELIEVE IN YOU! GO GET THEM!"
An inevitable grin invades my face from ear to ear. Kuroo always knows what to say.
YOU ARE READING
Bandaids
Fanfiction"My legs were jello. My mouth was a pool. My crotch was a tap that had been left running. Images of the two of us flooded my mind. I couldn't move. I couldn't think of anything else but Tetsurou Kuroo running his long slender fingers through my whol...
