(For KuroTsuki week)
Tsukishima Kei was not the type of guy to go on blind dates. That much was to be expected, seeming as Kei wasn't exactly ready to open up and be nice to people that he hadn't ever met before, even if it was a date. It wasn't like he had the looks to compensate for his closed off personality either; he was average looking. He wasn't an eyesore at least, he made sure to be presentable in the clothes he chose to wear and he kept his hair neat, but it wasn't like he was extremely attractive either, at least in his own opinion.

Not only that, Tsukishima did not enjoy going on dates. Perhaps he'd just never found the right person to go on a date with, but it didn't seem appealing to go out and willingly spend time alone with someone else, where there was no way to avoid talking without making the whole thing awkward or seeming rude. Small talk wasn't particularly appealing either, though that was again the result of not being willing to open up to someone new that he wasn't comfortable around.

And so, at the age of twenty four, out of university and working at a museum in Tokyo, Kei had never had a boyfriend. He had also never been kissed aside from on the cheek by that particularly flirty guy (Oikawa, if he remembered correctly) sometime three years ago when Yamaguchi had first forced him to begin going on blind dates.

Maybe his best friend would have stopped if he admitted that he was in fact in love with someone already, but that would open up a whole new can of worms that he just wasn't ready for. Only Akaashi Keiji knew, having figured it out and asked him a few years ago with a promise not to tell another soul. Besides, despite the fact that Tadashi argued that it was a lonely life, having gone this long without ever being in an official relationship, it wasn't like Tsukishima had a chance with the guy who he was in love with. The blond wasn't even surprised at the feelings that had developed, if he was being completely honest, because how could he not hopelessly fall for the massive sweetheart and stunningly handsome guy that was Kuroo Tetsurou?

They had been roommates ever since Kei moved to Tokyo and needed a place to stay, and as the past six years came and went, the pair of them only got closer together; it just wasn't in the way that he would have wished they could grow closer. The fact was, Kuroo had been in multiple relationships over those six years with all sorts of guys and girls, for various lengths of time. Calling him a player would be a stretch and a blatant lie, though; he wasn't dating a new person all the time, nor was he constantly going around looking for a good time. No, the older male was just looking for someone to love and be loved by, but was just unfortunate enough to end up in a string of disastrous relationships.

If Tsukishima was pitiful for having not been in a relationship, Kuroo was pitiful for having been in too many. While Tsukishima couldn't get anywhere past the first date, Kuroo could find a date easily, but could never make a relationship last. The amount of times Kei had come to find him sulking after yet another person had apologised and  said that they just weren't right, the amount of times he heard the same 'I really thought we were getting somewhere' or 'I thought he/she was the one this time, that we would last', the amount of times that he was one to pick up the pieces and marathon movies or do whatever was needed to cheer him up, and each and every time it caused his heart to break seeing him in that way.

Deep down, Kei wished that he could be the one to finally bring love to Tetsurou's life, a love that would last. He wanted to be the one that would make the dark haired male happy, but the chances of that were extremely minimal. They were roommates and friends, but that was all that they would ever be, because he couldn't bring himself to admit how he felt when the other male clearly wasn't interested in someone like him.

And so, yet again, he was sitting in a café for a blind date, this time one organised by Keiji of all people. It was unlike the older male to be so persistent, but apparently he had a friend that he thought would be a 'perfect match' and was really insistent that they go on a date together. There was no way that Kei would refuse when his friend was acting so unusual, and despite not particularly wanting to go, he got there five minutes early and was now waiting for the guy to arrive.

The café itself was a dull place to be, in all honesty, and even though he'd just barely sat down to begin his wait, he was already sick of the place. It was obviously meant to be more modern and striving for a minimalistic look, but in his opinion, it was rather clinical and cold. The prices were particularly high for coffee that he highly doubted was good quality, and they didn't even have strawberry shortcake in that display case of overpriced petite treats that probably looked significantly better than they tasted. Even though it had been Akaashi that chose the place they would meet, Tsukishima had to seriously disagree with his choice, and hoped that this mystery friend of his would make it one hell of a date if this was where it would be happening. Otherwise, it would be good money and a few hours of his time wasted on something that simply wasn't worth it.

All of this was without mentioning the little kids running around and squealing while their parents were meeting up, the group date in the other corner that was much too loud, and the modern day pop songs that were playing that Kei wouldn't even label as music — rather a mix of synthesised nonsense. It wasn't really his scene, and that was saying something seeming as he was known to frequent coffee shops and cafés on the rare occasion he went out on his own. In addition to the headache that was beginning to develop, he was pretty sure he looked pissed off, or at least like he didn't want to be there. (He didn't want to be there, but usually he tried to at least give the date a chance even if he knew anything coming from it was unlikely.)

He actually felt sorry for the poor soul that would have to deal with his bitter mood, and prayed that because this guy for the blind date was one of Akaashi's friends, that they wouldn't have to see each other again following this. From the corner of his eye he spotted a woman complaining about how her coffee was too hot, and some kid had begun to cry (probably because his mother refused to buy him that slice of chocolate cake he saw in the display), and Kei's eye twitched. He'd only been there for five minutes, but if Tsukishima had to stay in this place for the rest of the date, at this rate he was going to walk out no matter how good the guy was. He was certain it was going to be a disaster, because there was nothing that he could imagine that would make things turn out well.

He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes and pulling out his phone to check the time and see if he could reasonably leave the venue before the date had even started. It was 3:02pm, and two minutes late wasn't exactly that late, not nearly late enough to be considered being stood up or validated leaving. Kei groaned, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in a mixture of disappointment and annoyance, before glancing down to the photo that was visible beneath the numbers on his phone. Just for an instant, he could block out the noise of the café and focus on the photograph; it was one of him and Kuroo together at a park when they'd been hanging out with Bokuto and Akaashi, and best of all, they were both smiling in it. Not that he would admit it to anyone, but just seeing Tetsurou smile could brighten up his day considerably. It was cheesy and kind of silly, but Kei supposed that was the sort of thing that love did to him.

And then, once again, he was brought back into the fact that this café was literally the crappiest one he'd been to in a very, very long time. The poor waitress bumped into the woman who was complaining about the temperature of her drink earlier (probably a Karen, from the looks of it), and spilled the tray with coffee and someone's food that she had been carrying. Kei winced as he heard the ceramics shatter, and then heard her get yelled at, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his jacket and sighing heavily. It was just then that he heard a very familiar voice call out to him, one that he could recognise in a heartbeat even through a crowd. "Kei, what are you doing here?"

The blond looked up, honey brown eyes meeting hazel, and his heart just about leapt out of his chest. Standing in front of him was Tetsurou, who was clearly dressed for a date. He was wearing a wine red sweater (god, he always did look nice in red) with a white button up shirt, and Kei knew that the older male only wore button ups on dates or special occasions. For a moment he considered the possibility that Kuroo could be his blind date, but he doubted Akaashi would do that to him, and that the world was that kind. "Hello, Tetsurou," he said softly, standing up and fiddling with his fingers as he awkwardly greeted the other male. His heart was beating fast in his chest, and though chaos was still erupting around them, he found the majority of his annoyance seemed to melt away when he saw the bright smile that the older male was giving him. "As for why I'm here, well... courtesy of Akaashi, I've been once again roped into a blind date, and I'm meant to be meeting him here."

"Huh... that's interesting," Tetsurou mumbled in response, furrowing his eyebrows in that way adorable that Kei had become so fond of seeing over the years even if he never told him so, before without warning he brightened up. "Well, hello then, date. I believe we've been set up by Akaashi," he continued on with a chuckle. The blond's heart skipped a beat, seeing that warm smile, full of fondness and directed at him. He couldn't help but blush a little and avert his gaze as he heard those words accompany that smile.

Tsukishima cleared his throat, trying to keep cool even when his mind was going into complete overdrive. This couldn't possibly be real, right? Akaashi hadn't just set him up with the guy he loved for a date, surely this was some sort of joke. But it wasn't like the older male to joke about this sort of thing, and Kuroo seemed genuinely as surprised as Kei was. If he made it out of this alive, he would either worship or kill Keiji for doing this to him when he knew that Kei was in love with Kuroo. "I suppose we have been," he replied, glancing up and giving the other a hint of a smile, albeit a nervous one. "You don't find it weird to go on a date with the guy you've been living with for the past six years?"

"I don't see a problem with it," Kuroo said with a shrug, giving him an almost bashful smile and scratching the back of his neck. Again, the action was cute, leaving Kei to question how one person was legally allowed to be so sweet. "It's just a date, there's no promises that it'll get anywhere. If it doesn't work then we can forget it ever happened and go back to how we were, but I think it's worth giving a chance, don't you? Besides, I've wanted to take you on a date for a while, a few years actually, but I just never knew how to ask."

"I... yes, we can go on a date. I'd like that," Kei said softly, the blush on his cheeks darkening a little so that it was more visible and impossible to hide or be played off as a trick of the light. Going on a date with the guy he'd liked since he was fifteen — in his first year of highschool and spending time with him practicing blocks in the third gym — and then had been seeing on a daily basis since he was out of school and into university, the guy he lived with and had gotten to know so well, it was almost unreal. Tsukishima was struggling to fathom how this was possible, and that Tetsurou actually wanted to take him on a date. Not only that, he'd wanted to take him on a date for a few years, meaning that Kei's feelings were probably not unrequited like he originally thought.

Yet, it was real, he was certain of that. The way that Tetsurou's face lit up once again when he'd agreed, the feeling as the dark haired male gently took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, it was so much better than he'd ever imagined, too perfect to be a dream. "Okay then, Kei. Seeming as we're doing this, I think the first thing to do is to ditch this place, don't you think? If my eyes didn't fail me as I walked in, they don't have any strawberry shortcake, so obviously this café isn't worth our time," Kuroo suggested, a very familiar warmth in his voice as he spoke. It was one Tsukishima knew very well, a warmth that he was certain he'd only heard directed at him, even if he hadn't recognised that fact until just now, and the realisation along with the thoughtfulness of the words caused his heart to flutter.

A small smile made its way onto Kei's lips, one that he found coming out whenever he was around Tetsurou, and he didn't hesitate to nod. "Oh, god yes, I've already been in here long enough," he said, rolling his eyes in disgust as a different kid dropped his cake pop and then ate it after it had been on the floor, causing Kuroo to laugh and grin at him. "Even if I am with you, my patience is quickly reaching its limits, and you know how I am when I get frustrated... I wouldn't want to ruin this because of it,"

"I sure do know, though I don't think you'd ruin it either way, so don't worry. I know you, and you know me, and we've both seen each other at our worst already. So, Kei, just relax and let me take you on the best date you've ever been on, because it won't be in here. The first thing I thought of when I came in was how much you'd hate it," he admitted with a chuckle, leading the blond by the hand and out of the café with that loving smile directed right at him.

Kei rolled his eyes playfully at him, but his eyes had also lit up when he heard his words. "It better be the best date ever then, Tetsurou," he replied softly, lacing their fingers and following close behind him. "Don't worry though, something tells me you'll keep your promise."

Tsukishima Kei was not one for blind dates, but this was not just a blind date. This was a date between two people who had already opened up to each other, who were comfortable in both silence and in conversation, who understood each other and cared deeply even knowing their flaws. It was a blind date, because Tetsurou and Kei had been blind to the fact that the other reciprocated their love. All it took was some organisation and a crappy café for them to be able to see, and the love that they saw when their eyes were opened was truly beautiful.