level up | kuroo tetsurou

24 | come as you are

Watching him practice, seeing how passionate he was for volleyball, Yuko's mood lightened. She observed how much of a dork he was to his teammates and though it was refreshing to see that side of him, she wanted him to loosen up to him like that too.

"Hey kitten, one more round for the serves and we'll be done," Kuroo informed during the water break.

"Ah, okay okay."

"Do you mind if I introduced you?" he asked and tilted the cap of his water bottle.

"Y-you mean," she stuttered, a light blush visible on her cheeks, "As your girlfriend?"

"Mhmm," he answered before drinking water.

"Then, are we going public about us?" Yuko asked as well, hope shimmered in her eyes.

"I think that's more for you to decide, kitten. It might affect your viewers."

"No, no, I'm more worried for you, Tetsu. I mean, some of them are mean," she said, shaking her head.

"Aw, my kitten's a total sweetheart," he complimented. Not one minute passes by without Kuroo thinking of a playful comment to tease her.

"Kuroo," Kenma spoke from afar, barely getting heard.

"Well, looks like the team needs their captain now," Yuko said and waved, "Let's go public about our relationship but we can talk about that later."

after practice
6:00pm

"Ah, wait, before everyone heads home, I'd like to make a short announcement," Kuroo raised his voice, enough for everyone to hear. Yuko approached upon hearing him, thinking it was the dating announcement.

"Kitten, come here."

"Oh, so they are dating," Lev speculated and looked at Kenma, who appeared unfazed as ever. He kind of predicted the two to get close, both bursting with chaotic energy, though their relationship leveling up like that wasn't so expected.

"This is Daiwa Yuko, she's my girlfriend," Kuroo emphasized with a proud smile, the same can be said with Yuko.

He placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer while she leaned her head his shoulder. The two looked so immensely lovey dovey, it made Kenma put on a disgusted expression for a second. PDA wasn't his thing, not at all.

"Nice to meet you," she said and lowered her head.

"You're dating DiA, Kuroo-san?"

"I'm DiA, but it'd be nice if you can call me by my actual name," she advised.

"Daiwa-san, how long have you been dating?" Yaku asked, a little curious too. He knew Yuko matched the description of Kuroo's type, even sharing some faint resemblance with Yuka Kashino of Perfume.

"Alright, that's all I really wanted to say, heh," Kuroo chuckled, "Let's all go home."

Shortly after, as the two finally readied to go eat dinner, Kuroo wondered what she wanted to eat. Now that he thought about it, she hasn't really opened up much about her likes and dislikes.

"What would you like to eat?" he asked as they walked on the sidewalk. He planned on taking her to a nearby plaza with lots of choices for food.

"Katsudon," she immediately answered, "It's my favorite. And you?"

"Fish is my favorite" he answered as well.

"Oh, just like Ryo," she commented.

"I mean, fish is rich in docosahexaenoic acid. And it's especially good when Ikejime is done," he shared, not realizing how nerdy it sounded. Yuko, on the other hand, was all ears.

"Ikejime?" she inquired, telling him to keep on going.

"It's the humane way to kill a fish. Not only does it make it taste better, the nutritional value of it is retained. It's an old technique, really, and it all started here, in Japan," he continued.

"How does it make fish, uh, tastier?"

"Well, the acid builds up in the muscle tissue and it speeds up processes in the fish that gives it a bitter mushy taste," he explained.

"Wow, Tetsu, you sound so smart," she chuckled, the corners of her eyes wrinkling from her smile. "Well, you are smart."

"Too nerdy for you, baby?" he asked half-jokingly, half hoping she'd say no.

"No, no, absolutely not. You should tell me more," Yuko insisted.

"Really? You like these random pieces of info?" he confirmed.

"Uhuh," she hummed and looked at his reaction. He was surprisingly blushing, and if her eyes weren't deceiving her, she was sure he even looked a little bashful. Where's the smooth talker now? she thought.

"Well, how about the science of love? You wanna know all that?" he joked and held her hand.

"Come as you are, Tetsu."

"I mean, you can talk about what you want when you're with me," she clarified with a reassuring smile.

Kuroo, quite struck with her words, speechless for the first time, just let out soft chuckle. He was falling for her bit by bit, and there was no stopping now.