Ill-Fated Calf-Love

Kuroo

Gym was livelier with Akaashi attending. Their classmates initially groaned upon seeing him, associating his presence with testing, but the resentment grew turned to curiosity by the third day. When he and Kuroo walked in, they swarmed him, forcing Kuroo out of the way to ask questions. Kuroo tried to push back through them, but each time he got one classmate out of the way, another took their place. He knew Akaashi needed out of the crowd and felt himself panicking as he lost sight of him behind taller students.

"STOP!"

Akaashi's voice echoed through the gym, silence filling it's wake, followed by two quick, loud claps for attention from the coach's office. As they all turned to look, Yukie put her hands on her hips, assuming her role as teaching assistant which she rarely used.

"Akaashi is not comfortable being trapped in crowds. I know you're curious, but he needs space. Crowd him again and you'll all be running the mile. Understood?" She waited for the chorus of yeses and the bulk of the crowd to disperse. "Good. Grab the dodgeballs from storage. Aone and Terushima, you're the captains. Split the class into two teams."

The class followed her instructions and Kuroo couldn't help the ping of jealousy that went through him as Akaashi thanked her.

They ended up on opposing teams, Terushima picking Kuroo off the bat, but neither captain knowing if Akaashi was even athletic, so Aone chose him almost last. Kuroo hoped one of his teammates would get Akaashi out so he wouldn't have to. Yukie blew the whistle to start and Kuroo lost sight of Akaashi in the chaos that ensued. Balls flew through the air, knocking players out left and right in nearly even amounts from both sides. Kuroo did well, dodging balls thrown at him, or catching them to throw back across the line. He caught the ball, pulling his arm back to throw it at Aone when another ball slipped beneath it, hitting him in the side. He glanced up to see Akaashi's smug smile before focused determination took over and he caught the ball thrown at him. Akaashi launched it back across the line as Kuroo made his way off the court.

From the sidelines, he watched Akaashi play, catching and throwing a few more balls before he attempted to catch one and it bent his finger backward and slipped out of his grasp.

Shaking his hand, Akaashi stepped off the court to stand next to Kuroo with a scowl.

"I didn't expect you to get me out."

"I wanted to win. You were in the way," he stated matter-of-factly as though he were simply telling Kuroo what he ate for lunch.

Kuroo realized how competitive Akaashi truly was, surprised he always sat on the sidelines when they played at the park. He watched as Akaashi stared at the court, barely blinking as he tracked the balls back and forth, the only tell the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth up or down, but unsure whether it was positive or negative. Akaashi's competitive streak was dangerous and it scared Kuroo.