"I really don't think it's that hard of an ask, Mom..."

It hadn't exactly been a great move, choosing the brief break between sets to try and call my mother, but it had been the only time I knew she wouldn't likely be busy. It was hard enough getting in contact with her at all these days.

"When do you think I'd have the time to go chasing it down? Honestly, (Y/N), I can't drop everything whenever you want something." My mother scolded me from the other end of the line, as though I had asked her to lasso the moon or something ridiculous like that.

"I mean...I haven't even bothered you you since you dumped me here...I just really want to-"
"You know what I want? Peace and quiet, but no, between you, and work, and planning a wedding, I can't have a moment!" She cut over the top of me, and my hand grew tight over my phone.

"Wedding..? Whose wedding, Mom..?" I was pretty sure I knew the answer before she responded, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't going to make myself upset over nothing.
"Oh, right, I must have forgotten to tell you! Eishun proposed! You should see the ring, too! It must have cost him an arm and a leg!"

Drawing my lips between my teeth, I stared through faceless people to the other side of the building, the noise from inside the indoor gymnasium behind me nothing but white noise now.
"C..Congrats...Which, uh, which one is Eishun again..?" I'd seen a lot of men, and heard a lot of names, and the fact that I couldn't recall made my head hurt.

"Haha, funny. You remember Eishun. Saotome Eishun? The lawyer?" She pressed, expecting me to instantaneously remember.
"Oh, yeah...him..." I still had absolutely no clue. "So, when is the wedding..?" Whilst I wasn't thrilled to be gaining a step-dad, it was at least a chance to spend some time with my mother. I couldn't remember the last time we'd actually been together.

"Three weeks from Saturday! I have so much to do! He booked the fanciest yacht for the ceremony, too! I'll have to send you a picture!" This was entirely too much to take in all at once. Was she serious? Three weeks from Saturday?
"W..Wow, really..? On my birthday..? What a present..." I had to clear my throat, hoping my disappointment wasn't apparent.

"Hmm? Oh, it doesn't matter, it won't disrupt anything you have planned. We've decided on a child free wedding, anyway." Hitching a breath, I reached behind me to the wall, not finding anything to grab ahold of.
"Wait, but I'm not a kid..? I..I'm invited, right..?"

"Don't get all huffy, (Y/N). It would be too much to get you all the way here for one measly day, and we've already booked the food and tables. Believe me, you'll understand when you grow up and get married yourself one day." I could not be hearing this right. We hadn't exactly been close for, well, most of my life, but there was no way.

"That...isn't fair, Mom..! I want to-"
"Don't you start. Listen, I have to go for my final fitting, but you have fun at your little tennis game or whatever it is, and I'll talk to you later. Kisses!" Again, she spoke over me, smacking kisses into the microphone before the slight blip of a finished call sounded.
"W..Wait, Mom! Mom!"

What the fuck..?!

There was no possible way this was happening right now. Had I been sucked into some B-grade daytime soap opera? My own mother was getting married, on my birthday, and I wasn't important enough to be invited? This had to be some sick joke.

I wanted to cry, and I could feel tears try to break their way through, stinging behind my eyes as I just stood there, staring down at the blank screen of my phone. A wave of nausea swept over me, but I knew I wasn't going to be sick. At least not for a while.

"Oi, Runaway, we're about to-" I flinched, hard, when I felt a hand come down upon my shoulder, and I spun to meet eyes with Kuroo, who paused the second he took sight of me. "What's wrong?" Of course he could tell. I hadn't exactly been prepared to hide it, after all.

"I..Is that your way of telling me I look like shit? Wow, and here I was thinking I was a real cutie." It was harder than I'd expected to force out a laugh, waving him off. He wasn't convinced, brow kind of creasing as he studied me. Had his gaze always been that heavy?
"You know you can, like, talk to me, right? If there's something wrong-"

"The only thing wrong is that there's nowhere to get a decent coffee in this dump. You'd think they'd spring for the good stuff for a bunch of athletes, right?" I gave his chest a pat, glad that I had the perfect opportunity to drop my smile when I felt the warm dampness of his sweat. "Great. Now I have to cut my hand off. Gross, dude."

I knew I could trust Kuroo, and he would probably be a great listener, but my problems weren't anything important. Poor little (Y/N), her mother doesn't pay enough attention to her, wah wah wah. He had more important things to focus on, like the final set of this damn volleyball match.

I started back in to sit with Coach Nekoma on the sidelines, thinking I had escaped, but Kuroo's hand came squishing down atop my head. He really had fitting hands for a blocker. They were huge.
"Once we win I'll run down the street and get you a decent coffee, my treat, okay? As long as you cheer for me." He smiled down at me, but it wasn't his usual, lazy grin. It was softer. Caring. It had a purpose.

"I cheer for all of you. It's literally my job." I chuckled quietly, lifting his hand from my head, but I kept it in my grasp. It wasn't a conventional hand hold, his hand horizontal across my palm, but it felt nice. A little too nice. Kuroo's cheeks grew a shade or two darker, and the absolute second I felt heat rising in mine I let him go, spinning so fast on my heel I nearly did a complete three-sixty.

Nope! That there is a friend! A bro! An ol' buddy ol' pal! A homie! A chum! An amigo!

I fled to the safety of my spot between Coach Nekomata and Coach Naoi, and that was where I remained for the rest of the match, letting out nothing more than the occasional whoop or holler whenever one of my teammates scored. I still felt gross in the guts, but I didn't want to excuse myself again. The last thing I wanted was for Yaku to assume I was running off, and I kind of genuinely wanted to see them win, anyway.

It was an easy victory. Nobody had been concerned about it to begin with, but it was still great to watch them celebrate the win. Nationals would be a piece of cake if things continued going so smoothly. Playing it cool was easy enough, too, sprinting circles around the seating to avoid being enveloped in sweaty arms, squawking like a maniac. Nobody would be the wiser.

Except for that perceptive captain.

"Am I too stinky to sit here?" He stood in the aisle of the bus, motioning to the free seat beside me, and I gave it a bit of a tap.
"Eh, debatable, but you're welcome to it, man." I shifted over closer to the window so we wouldn't end up pressed against each other. He may not have been the buffest guy around, but that didn't mean he was small, and he took up a fair amount of room with those long legs of his.

"So...Coach said I wasn't allowed to go on that coffee run for you. My bad." He kicked off our conversation with a half-assed, unnecessary apology, lessening the spread of his legs once he realised I'd bunched myself up against the wall.
"Don't worry about it. I feel a little too icky for caffeine anyway."

Should have left that last part out. Now he's going to ask me why...

The bus lurched as we set off back to the school, everyone chatting amongst themselves or, in Kenma's case, passing out almost immediately.
"Here." When I felt something cold touch against my bare arm, I turned to find that Kuroo was offering me his water bottle, and whilst I quirked a brow I still accepted it.

"Your mouth been on this, Cap?" I asked with a bit of a teasing lilt to my voice, and for a split second he looked somewhat sheepish, using the fringe of his hair to cover his face when he tilted it.
"Y..You worried about cooties or something? Cuz sorry to break it to you, but you would've caught them when you stole a bite out of Tora's sandwich last week."

Puffing out the notion of a laugh, I unscrewed the cap and took a small sip, not wanting to risk sloshing up my stomach and throwing up in such an enclosed space. I was just tired, more than anything, which was ironic, considering I had done the least physical activity out of the entire lot of us.

"Mmm. Boy germs. My favourite." I handed the bottle back to him, letting my head fall back against the rest. All I could think about was that damn wedding. This Eishun guy was going to be my new step-dad, and I couldn't even recall meeting the guy. Why wasn't I important enough to my mother to get an invitation? It was only a few hours to travel, and I wouldn't have missed school on a weekend, so why?

"You still planning on double crossing us?" Glancing to Kuroo, I realised he mirrored my position, his unruly hair somehow looking even messier pressed against the headrest.
"Come again?" Without context, I was lost. Perhaps I had zoned out on something else he had said?

"For paintball. You still joining forces with Bokuto?" I made a faint sound of realisation before offering a smirk, though it was weak.
"He made me pinky swear. Sorry, my guy, but we stamped that shit. My hands are tied." I sighed, giving him a teensie nudge. "Why? You scared you're gonna lose without me?"

The ravonet nudged me back, fondly rolling his eyes.
"No, but you're supposed to be my manager. Check your loyalty." As crappy as I felt, he was just making it too easy. I couldn't resist.
"Your manager, huh? Possessive, aren't we, my dearest captain..?"

It's a little bit cute. Scratch that. Nope.

Oh, but it was. Seeing Kuroo get into a fluster over such small things was so funny, and pretty endearing. He was really trying to keep his usual, lazy composure, but he wasn't very good at it off the court. Not with me.
"Well, f..forgive me for thinking I was a closer friend than Mr. Frosty Tips. I'm a much better strategist, too." He huffed, all in good fun, sighing when I kind of leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Both are true, but a promise is a promise. No matter how much I prefer you, I cannot break the sacred oath of a pinky swear. You know how it is." I knew I wasn't doing myself any favours by resting against him, but at the same time, it was making me feel ever so slightly better. He was the closest friend I had in Tokyo, and I was like this with all my friends. It wasn't any different.

We rode in silence for ages, my head on his shoulder, just staring at the back of the seats in front of us. I was exhausted, and it wasn't long before I started to let myself begin drifting off, wanting nothing more than to forget that phonecall.

"I don't know what's got you upset," Kuroo hushed his voice so that it was purely for me, and I could see his hand from the corner of my eye plucking a loose thread on his shorts. "but whatever it is, just know I'm here if you want to talk. If not, just think about kicking Yaku's ass at paintball, so buck up, sport."

There was no stopping the snort that came out of my nose, and I butted into him a little more, which also assisted me in getting more comfortable.
"Buck up, sport? Pffft, okay, Grandpa." I felt his body shake with his laugh, jostling me along with it.
"Yeah, that wasn't my greatest motivational moment."

Stifling a yawn, I closed my eyes, tucking my arms around myself and allowing the gentle sway of the bus and Kuroo's rhythmic pulse lull me into a much needed state of rest, a smile still tweaking my lips.

"No...but I guess it did the trick..."

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***KUROO POV***

Girl.

Pretty girl.

Pretty girl sleeping.

Pretty girl sleeping on me.

Help?

Aaaaaa?

I had no idea what to do. My entire body was struggling not to go rigid due to internal panic. It was hard enough having her attack me with flirtatious banter left right and centre, but I had never seen her quite this...soft? It was excruciatingly hard to keep myself from covering my face and squeaking like some J-Pop fan girl.

"Hey, you're, uh, a little red there, Kuroo. You crushin', buddy?" To make matters worse, Yamamoto decided to alert the whole bus of my current state, and I wasn't equipped to defend myself.
"N- It's the light reflecting off the jersey against my skin, idiot!" I hissed quietly, not wanting to disturb (Y/N).

"Click click click." Fukunaga had turned around in his seat too, phone camera peeking over the headrest. "Precious memories." Oh, I was about to explode with embarrassment. It would have been the perfect time to suddenly melt into a puddle and become one with the evaporation cycle.

"Aw, come on! You like her! Don't think we didn't notice you gettin' all territorial when she was hanging around with the Fukurodani captain at camp!" Yamamoto chortled loudly, and I felt (Y/N) shift a little against my shoulder.
"If any of you wake her up, then that will be twenty hill climbs when we get back! I mean it!" I snapped again, still keeping my voice as low as possible.

That seemed to shut him up, and both he and Fukunaga turned back around, though I knew those little snapshots would find their way into the group chat, exposing me to everyone else who hadn't turned our way. It wasn't like I could do anything about my little 'crush' anyway. Me? Asking out a girl without simultaneously throwing up and pissing my pants? Unlikely.

"Hey." I glanced up to find that Yaku had walked down from the front of the bus, a hand on the back of my seat to keep himself steady. "Is she feeling alright? I noticed she was off most of today." He seemed concerned, and in my opinion he was justified.

"Not sure, but she's keeping it to herself, whatever it is. Said she felt icky. Could be the heat, or a bug? Could even be menstrual cramps for all I know, man." My shrug was implied, but Yaku still looked like he was unsure.
"If it was any of those things she would not have shut up about it. She won't tell me anything anymore, so I'm worried it might be an actual problem."

Can you blame her, though? You two have horrific communication...

That was most definitely an inside thought, for the time being. It wasn't my place to pry, and if I ever intended to I wouldn't have started on a school bus after a game.
"I've got her, don't worry." It came out before I could think about any possible miscommunication, but then again, was it wrong?

Yaku was silent for a few torturous moments as I held my breath, eyes flitting from my face to (Y/N)'s. I kept forgetting that she was his literal aunt, so if he expected I was falling I wasn't sure how he'd react.
"Thanks, Kuroo." He finally responded, quiet relief apparent in his tone. "I mean it. She needs a positive influence, and you seem to be it. Things have been better lately."

I haven't done anything aside from hanging out with her. I don't get it.

"Compared to what..?" It may as well have been a rhetorical question, because I knew I wouldn't be getting an answer to it, especially with how Yaku quickly scanned the aisle, making sure nobody was paying attention.
"Hopefully just...stuff that won't be an issue anymore..."

Before I could respond, (Y/N) stirred again, making some strange, squeaky little noise before nestling right back against me again, almost nuzzling my shoulder. It was painfully cute, and an almighty shiver tingled down my spine, not going unnoticed by my friend. He gave me a look. A quick, but oh so very direct expression that was basically saying 'you are whipped, my good man'.

Where was the lie?

"Yaku, sit back down before you're sent flying!" Coach Naoi called from the very front of the bus, and the ginger stuck out his tongue in minor defiance before trudging back to his seat, leaving me to ride out the rest of the trip with (Y/N) cuddled up against my shoulder, my flustered little brain screaming the entire way.