***(Y/N) POV***

"Oh my god. That hair is NSYNC personified."

I gawked as we approached the train station, my companion pointing out two boys standing by the schedule board. One looked completely normal, if not unfairly pretty for a man, but the other was...loud. He just looked loud. I liked loud.

"Kuroo! Thought you weren't gonna make it!" Frosty Top waved us over with both arms, head tilting when he noticed he wasn't alone. "Ohoho? Is this the new managerette you mentioned?"

Owl. That is an owl in a skin suit.

Plopping his hand on my head to ruffle my hair, Kuroo gave me a little nudge forward.
"Mmhmm. (L/N), this is Bokuto Kotaro, and Akaashi Keiji. They're from Fukurodani." He said that like I knew where or what the hell that is or was, but I smiled all the same, giving them both a wave.

"Sup? Also, just call me (Y/N). You too, Bed Head." I nudged Kuroo in the side, and he squished my head down more.
"Only if you quit calling me that." Yeah, he was right. He needed a better nickname. I'd have to think about that.

"Come on, the train will be here in a minute." Akaashi sounded exactly like he looked. I was kind of jealous that someone could both look and sound so pretty. We all followed, tapping through the gates and only just managing to reach the train on time.

It was packed, as it usually was on a Tokyo weekend, so we were all stuck standing. That was no problem for the boys, but me?
"This is discrimination." I muttered, having to stick my arm straight up to even get my fingers to curl partially around the grips hanging from the roof.

"Aw, it's okay, pipsqueak. You can hold onto my arm for support." Kuroo teased, but I was more than ready to play that game today.
"Eh, Bokuto's looks sturdier. You mind, bro?" I turned to throw on my charm, but it wasn't needed. Bokuto had already readjusted his arm to be the perfect handle for me.

"Be my guest!" He beamed, and I wasted no time in hanging onto him. Sneaking a peek towards Kuroo, I was hoping to find some sign of jealousy, but if he was ticked off he sure wasn't showing it. It wasn't as though I was trying to make him upset with his friend, it was just fun to rile him up.

"So, you guys all know each other from volleyball stuff?" I asked, both hands on Bokuto's arm as I kind of swung back and forth, keeping my feet planted on the ground so I wouldn't put too much weight on him.
"Bokuto and I met through middle school tournaments, and we both met Akaashi when he started high school." Kuroo answered, shifting a little so a few people could move past him.

Humming, I leaned to address Akaashi, who was just standing there quietly with a hand in his pocket.
"Is it some kind of regional requirement for captains to have funky hair?" I asked, not entirely as a joke, and he uttered a snort, finally cracking a bit of a smile as the other two voiced their complaints.
"It sure seems like it, right?"

It didn't take long for us to reach our stop, and it was a short walk to the Ice Rink, which thankfully wasn't quite as busy as we had all expected it to be on a warm Saturday.
"Oh! Pizza! They have pizza! Let's get pizza for lunch!" Bokuto bounced up and down the moment we passed through the entryway, spying the little pizzeria inside by the admittance desk.

"I second that notion!" I chimed in, glad that somebody else finally understood my desire for a greased up meal.
"After we skate. You'll both throw your guts up if we eat beforehand." Akaashi warned, and for a moment he reminded me of Morisuke. Just a little.

"I've actually never skated before." I mentioned casually as we sat upon the sidelines of the rink, tying our skates.
"Neither have I! But I bet we'll be awesome at it!" Bokuto just kept getting more and more relatable, and I was starting to think that maybe this wasn't as lame as I had initially thought.

"Oh, this'll be rich." Kuroo murmured to the dark haired setter, who nodded in absolute agreement. Ignoring them, Bokuto and I helped each other to stand, heading out towards the ice. One step, two step, then legs sliding out from beneath us.

Yelping in near perfect unison, we broke apart, scrambling to grab onto the barrier to stop ourselves from eating icy shit.
"Why is it so slippery?!" The Fukurodani captain complained in immediate annoyance, but I just simply glared as Akaashi and Kuroo entered the rink with no issue whatsoever.

"It's ice, bro. Ice is usually slippery." Kuroo chuckled, turning his attention to me. No matter how hard I tried my feet just wouldn't stay still, and I was already regretting thinking that this wasn't lame as hell. "You need a hand, Runaway?"

My pride will not take a hit today!

"Nope. I'm just getting used to this Tokyo ice. It's different from what I'm used to." Wow, that was the worst lie I had ever concocted, but I had to stick to it now that it had come out of my mouth. Rolling his eyes in amusement, Kuroo shrugged and kicked off to do a lap, leaving me to silently curse at myself.

"Hey...maybe if we support each other we'll get the hang of it, yeah? I got ditched." Bokuto called to me from a few meters down the barrier, motioning to Akaashi, who had given him the same treatment Kuroo had given me.
"It's worth a shot. Come here, then."

"No, you come here."

We both stared at the distance between one another, realising that we'd have to just suck it up and awkwardly wobble ourselves to meet halfway, and that was what we did. It took a little while, but we finally managed to grab hold of each other.

Not even a few seconds in and it was obvious it wasn't going to work. Skidding and sliding, we clung awkwardly to each other as we inched out into the rink, making horrendously stupid sounds every time one of our legs tried to shoot out from under us.
"How can little kids do this shit?!" I whined, watching a pair of girls that couldn't have been older than six whip past.

"Think I can get over to Akaashi without breaking my ass bone?" Bokuto asked, one hand on my back gripping my sweater for dear life while the other held my shoulder. I looked to where Akaashi was casually gliding around in little circles, maybe ten or so feet away.
"I very much do not think so, no."

If he tries to I'll also end up breaking my own ass bone!

Not heeding my warning, Bokuto squirmed out of my desperate grasp, knees buckling and legs comedically far apart as he began to slowly slide towards his friend.
"Look! I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" He kind of was, even if he wasn't getting very far, and I tried to do the same, though my balance wasn't nearly as good, and within a few moments I was scrambling on my feet, ready to kiss the ice with either my ass or my face.

I hated the squawk I let out when I felt someone catch me under the arms, looking over my shoulder to find Kuroo, his lips sucked in tight as he tried not to openly laugh.
"Tokyo ice that different, huh?" He snickered, slowly lifting and turning me around, letting me balance myself on his arm.

"Would you believe I was doing that on purpose?" I shrank down a bit, eyeing a group of boys skating past, chortling about something that very well could have been my pathetic display.
"If you were trying to recreate Bambi on that frozen lake, then sure, I'd believe it."

"AKAASHI, CATCH ME!" We looked across the ice to find Bokuto flailing his arms about, nearly dragging his setter down with him.
"Bokuto, back up!" Well, at least I wasn't making that big of a scene.
"I'll let you teach me if you shout me some pizza after?" I turned back to Kuroo, watching his brow quirk up.

"Oh, you'll let me? I could just let you eat shit and save myself eight bucks..." He started to move his arm away, but I gripped onto it harder, which caused me to slide closer, almost up against his chest.
"I'll shout you pizza if you teach me, then!" I reworked my deal, and Kuroo rolled his eyes, nose and cheeks a little pink from the cold.

"What if I don't feel like pi-" Getting annoyed, I made a move to grab his other hand, losing my balance yet again and breaking my partial fall with my face smack against his chest.
"Just help me, damn it!" I barked, muffled by his jacket.

I was usually a fast learner, but ice was not my friend. After a good hour of struggling, falling, swearing and laughing at Bokuto being worse than I was, I only managed to do one lap of the rink without falling, and that was only because Kuroo kept hold of one of my hands.

"Can we please agree to never do this again? I'll take literally anything else..." Akaashi complained as we sat down at one of the tables by the pizzeria, rolling the sleeves of his cardigan up to his elbows. He'd been through the ringer, ending up squashed between Bokuto and the ice more times than I could count.

"Seconded. If humans were supposed to walk on ice we'd have knife feet." I agreed, snatching a slice of pizza off the plate before Kuroo even had it on the table.
"Oh! Oh oh oh! Paintball! We should do paintball next time!" Bokuto spoke with a full mouth, and I nodded enthusiastically, having to hammer my chest a little so I wouldn't choke.
"Please! I haven't been in years!"

Slinging an arm over the back of his seat, Kuroo shared a look with Akaashi, and the latter was the one to speak their minds.
"The thought of either of you with any kind of weapon is terrifying." He deadpanned, but there was definitely a hint of a smile once the Fukurodani captain and I spluttered in offence.

"But I'd win! We should get some of the other guys to come, too!" Bokuto defended our honour, bickering with the second year, and Kuroo took the opportunity to get my attention.
"So," He had lowered his voice a little so it would be just for my ears. "was this lame and boring too, or did you actually have fun?"

Kuroo may have thought he had been slick, but I had caught on from the get go. He was trying to sway me from sneaking out and behaving poorly by showing me nice, clean fun. I had to commend him for it, but at the same time, it was pretty pointless.

"Of course I had fun." I replied, tapping the crust of my near finished slice to my lips. "I like you guys, and it's great finally being out of that madhouse, but just because I had fun today doesn't mean I'll stop having my usual fun too."

For a brief moment Kuroo looked taken aback, but he was quick to recover, lazy smile present as he brought the straw of his soda to his mouth.
"Who said anything about stopping anything?"

Cute bluff, Captain.

Reaching over, I plucked the can from his hand, leaving the straw dangling from his lips as I took a sip, handing it back as he watched, confused and visibly a touch flustered.
"I'll tell you what...If you can keep getting me out of the house, I might just let you tag along with me one of these days...and show you some real fun..."