level up | kuroo tetsurou

23 | a need for reassurance

"Are you still hanging out with your ex?" Yuko asked as soon as they reached an isolated area, somewhere near the gym.

"Kitten, you have nothing to be jealous of," Kuroo tried to reassure her, bringing out his typical suave self.

"Don't kitten me," she hissed. Kuroo was starting to understand that when she gets mad, she goes all out tsundere. "What's with her?"

"But I'm honest with you. There's nothing my kitten needs to worry about," he continued and even sneered.

It wasn't any help mitigating his girlfriend's anger. Right now, she was a grumpy cat rejecting all sorts of affection.

"Do you still have lingering feelings for her?" she asked again, clicking her tongue shortly aftetwards.

"I swear I'm over her," he emphasized.

"Then, I'm giving you a minute to explain what was going on earlier. Does she stick around you like glue?" Yuko demanded answers, her left foot tapping on the hard ground.

"One minute's too short, baby."

"55 seconds," she sneered mockingly. A complete tsun now.

"She wanted to have closure, she wanted another talk," Kuroo explained, fully knowing his girlfriend was one playful comment away from snapping.

"See? It took you less than ten seconds to explain."

"Well?"

"What did you say after?" Yuko asked.

"I rejected her. I'm already very happy with my girl," he answered. "And I'm not talking to her again, I swear."

Yuko pressed her lips together, still unamused. "Did she listen?"

"Um," Kuroo hesitated to answer, "No, not really."

Though it wasn't as surprising to hear, a sigh escaped her lips and she crossed her arms. Kuroo, knowing she was really irritated this time, had to say something.

"I'm going to talk to her, one last time, and clear things up. Is that okay with my baby?" he asked, maintaining his signature smooth and cool demeanor.

"Just do something about it," she demanded, not realizing how demanding it really sounded. And by this time, Kuroo understood Yuko wasn't the best in handling anger.

"Okay okay, as you wish," Kuroo obliged and smiled, rather sincerely this time.

"Then, I'll go home now." The tsundere side remained, making him rack his brain to remedy this.

"But you came all the way here. Won't you watch our training?" Kuroo spoke and tried changing her mind. "I'll treat you to dinner if you want."

Food as remedy for her anger? He figured her out without even knowing.

"I don't know, my boyfriend's ex is still here," she responded.

"She goes to Nekoma too, okay?" he chuckled and placed his hands on her shoulder to pull her closer, one hand crawling to her jaw to gently cup her cheeks.

"But my girl has no love rival, there's no competition, baby," he added more reassurance. She resisted on leaning closer to him but it was no use.

"My baby's really cute when she gets jealous," he remarked, now placing his arms around her shoulder for an embrace.

He was good at this sort of stuff, words that made Yuko feel giddy and jumpy, expressiveness that gave her butterflies. He just had to time it well.

"Don't baby me," she hissed again, her arms now idling on her sides.

"No can do, baby," he whispered on her ear. "Do you prefer kitten more? Or babe?"

"I prefer my boyfriend to handle his ex issues," she answered.

"And I'll do that, I promise. Anything for my Yuko," he vowed.

"You promise?" she asked, still in a proud tone, still pouting, an attempt to supress the corners of her lips from curving upwards.

Yuko caught herself quickly being swayed by his words. After all, she broadcasted that it was her love language and Kuroo mastered his way of compliance.

"Yes, really," he guaranteed.

"Fine," she hummed, now not knowing what else to say. She finally placed her hands on his back, returning the embrace.

Yuko rested her chin on his shoulder, slowly feeling much more reassured. With her so close to him, she even noticed the scent of Kuroo's perfume. Yuko felt strange for liking it; it sent her butterflies. And as for Kuroo, being quite deprived of hugs, didn't feel any different.

As they broke the embrace, Kuroo spotted a small smile reluctantly forming on her face. It was cute, he thought, the way Yuko insisted on her tsun side.

"Let's go, kitten," Kuroo invited.

When they returned to the gym entrance, Mimori was nowhere to be found, and so was Kenma. Kuroo opened the gym door and spotted Kenma already changed, relieving him.

The two believed Mimori already took her leave and proceeded to the gym. They've all seen Yuko at least once, but Lev was more than excited to see her again. "Oh, DiA!" he exclaimed. "I didn't get your signature last time," the giant reminded.

"Heh, sorry about that."

"I'll just go get changed, kitten," Kuroo said, to which Yuko responded to with a nod.

"I'll watch from uh," she spoke and looked for a good spot, "There," she pointed at an empty area.

"Okay okay," he hummed before ruffling her long hair.