how kuroo found himself in a situation he could not come back from, he couldn't tell. one minute he was in a lecture, fuming inside, raging a war and tapping his foot in anger - the next minute he was out and waiting for bokuto to pick up his things so the two of them could go grab a coffee together.

if anything, there was something very clearly wrong with that picture. that something being bokuto, who, as much as kuroo is concerned, used some weird dark magic to get him to talk to him and actually not want to rip his head off his shoulders. it was either that or him sneaking some sort of drug into his water - there is no logical explanation on how else he would have ever agreed to this.

as kuroo stood there by the lecture hall, he took a deep breath. kenma is at home, akaashi is also there - there is no need for him to worry about anything. 

"oh thanks for waiting" bokuto said as he finally appeared out of the classroom, his bag hanging on one of his shoulders. 

"don't thank me" kuroo answered rather coldly, still scolding himself for whatever was going on. i mean, didn't he just say a couple of days ago that he would rather die than even talk to bokuto? will he have to commit seppuku after this?

"so, do you want to go to the cafeteria or like an actual place? do you have anything else to do today?" bokuto asked, awfully happy with himself for his new-found courage to talk to a man who almost tore him to shreds once.

"i don't have anything, actually. so we can go to an actual place" kuroo sighed.

the two of them made their way out of the university, not being able to avoid weird stares from people around, the two of them were not exactly known to be good friends - a rumour about a fight most likely was brewing somewhere on the forums but thankfully, neither akaashi, nor kenma ever read those. 

at some point on their way to a local cafe, the conversation shifted towards more likely topics, such as movies and tv shows, and intensified without the two of them even noticing. soon enough, they couldn't shut up.

"no, i'm telling you, it is by far the worst movie i have ever seen. like, i'm not even that good with horror and this movie was ridiculous!" kuroo complained.

"i mean, a horror movie set on zoom? that sounds like the shittiest plot of all time. did their cameras freeze and then unfreeze to show a dead body at any point?" bokuto snickered.

"yes! actually yes! i couldn't fucking believe it. kenma slept through the entire movie, i started scrolling midway. never gonna watch shit like that again. money wasted on tickets..." kuroo sighed deeply, thinking about how he could have watched a decent movie instead of that monstrosity (not in a good way).

"you know, i feel like i've wasted so much money or random things i simply refuse to use" bokuto added, watching as kuroo nodded furiously in agreement.

"i have a pair of socks with pizza on them. i don't wear them, ever. they just look nice. money wasted." kuroo agreed.

"dude, socks are not that bad. i have a sticker pack which i refuse to use because i don't know where i would put the stickers and i don't want to commit to putting them in a wrong place. so they are just there" bokuto laughed, thinking about how he debated for an hour with himself on whether or not he should use the cute dog sticker on his fridge and ultimately deciding no, because 'what if i move out tomorrow'?

"stickers? you and stickers? that don't sound right" kuroo chuckled.

"hey, don't talk shit about my interests" bokuto smiled at him.

the two, while keeping the small talk, entered the cafe, finding the nearest table to put their stuff at. the conversation never seemed to die down, there was always something new to talk about. their conversation shifted from stickers to books, to wildlife, to dreams...

"i think my issue is that i don't know how to not worry" kuroo said in response to bokuto's question about peace of mind.

"doesn't that get tiring?"

"it does" kuroo said. "but at the same time it keeps pushing me forward. if i ever want to provide for my loved ones, i must strive to do better and better. of course, i know my limits, but there is something inherently satisfying about being able to come home, tell my babes about what happened in my day, about how hard i worked and for them to comfort me and appreciate me. maybe i'm just a sucker for compliments, really" 

"i feel like most of my energy nowadays is consumed by me trying to better myself. just recently i attended my first therapy session." bokuto said, earning a confused look from kuroo, question marks flying around the air. "oh, yeah, i decided to go to therapy. you know, repressed trauma and all that"

"therapy helps as far as i am concerned." kuroo gave him a sympathetic smile.

"it's hard for me to open up though, mostly because i don't even know where to start talking" bokuto sighed, taking another sip of his green tea. "you know i envy you'

"envy me?"

"yeah, for being able to be so... you. so incredibly authentic. i feel like i barely know who me is" bokuto added, gulping down the rest of his drink.

kuroo sat there for a minute, thinking about what bokuto had said, and more importantly, thinking about different he seemed from when he last talked to him, a few months before. not that it was much of a talk, more like a threat, but the man from then and a man in front of him now were to very different people. akaashi was right, perhaps, he had changed for the better - and even if it was a long way to go - maybe one day he will become a proper person worthy of trust in kuroo's eyes.

"hey, are you listening?" bokuto tapped kuroo's hand, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"huh? sorry, was lost. what's up?" kuroo blinked a few times, trying to remember where he was staring while lost in his thoughts, hopefully not at some person.

"i was asking whether you want to get takoyaki? there's a really good stall nearby. my friend kotori showed it to me - i think you'd like it" bokuto suggested, hoping kuroo agrees.

the other thought for a second. and nodded. it wouldn't hurt to spend some more time with bokuto, actually.

it's not easy to change your opinion on someone overnight, if anything, it's almost impossible. unless it's for the worst, that's easy - but if someone you only knew as an asshole actually turns out to be a decent human being - it can be hard to adjust. kuroo wanted to give himself more time, not even to get to know him, maybe somewhere deep down kuroo was hoping he'd slip up, or fuck up real bad so he could keep his bad opinion about him but... as time went on that almost seemed impossible.

bokuto had changed, not fully, but something inside of him was turning and kuroo felt awfully proud of the man for finally acknowledging his wrongdoings.

the wonderful smell of takoyaki filled his lungs as they ventured near the stall. ah, the smell of octopus... if only there was a candle that smelled like that - kuroo would buy a thousand.

"takoyaki is on me" bokuto said as the two of them waited in line.

"huh? no. don't try to buy my kindness" kuroo answered as he nudged him slightly.

the other smiled. "no, it's a token of appreciation. i honestly thought you'd bury me alive when you agreed to go" bokuto laughed.

"i was planning to" kuroo added.

"well, i'm glad you didn't. i enjoy your company..." bokuto said, getting more quiet towards the end, clearly embarrassed to say it. "i'm glad you don't want to end my life anymore..."

"... you know, i hate to admit it, but i liked talking to you as well." kuroo said, not facing bokuto.

somewhere out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw a figure dressed in a way only akaashi would dress, but as he turned his head to look he could no longer see him. maybe it was a manifestation of akaashi, laughing at him for hanging out with bokuto, or perhaps just someone with an impeccable sense of style.

"here" bokuto handed kuroo the takoyaki. "let's go find a place to eat" he said as he began making his way through the crowd and into more open spaces. the evening markets were setting up, getting ready for the people to end their work day and get hypnotized by the enticing smells of street food.

the conversation between the two persisted as they found a table to sit at, one portion of takoyaki soon turned into two and three, the minutes passed and turned into hours - a weird, invisible connection formed between the two guys - former enemies, current acquaintances. kuroo found himself simply unable to leave, as the topics of their talks was something he was interested in. kenma or akaashi, while they shared similar interests, were not interested in certain topics that kuroo was passionate about - yet this guy he used to hate was.

getting a better look at him now, maybe he didn't look as despicable as kuroo had previously imagined. his awfully dyed hair was close to being it's natural black color, messy but in a good way, and his facial features were not that bad too. he was built similar to kuroo himself, just ever slightly shorter. definitely not a piece of turd, as kuroo thought before.

and only by the time the sky had turned dark, did the two of them finally decide to part ways. 

"so, thanks for hearing me out today. i needed that" bokuto said, smiling, holding out his hand.

kuroo hesitated for a second but shook his hand a moment later. "no need to thank me. i'm... sort of glad i agreed too"

"i know i'm not really in a place to ask but, could you give me your number?" bokuto raised an eyebrow.

"...sure, why not" kuroo said and pulled out his phone.

after the glorious number exchange, the two of them finally parted ways. kuroo knew, he could see, that bokuto wanted to ask about akaashi, and their relationship but never mustered up the courage to, maybe next time?

with a slightly confused heart, kuroo made his way back to kenma's condo, rethinking his life choices while leaning his head on the bus window. the front desk lady recognized him immediately, permitting entry to the penthouse - as the elevator rose, kuroo's heart settled down more or less - now his thoughts were flooded with images of akaashi and kenma and how much he wanted to see them.

using his spare key, he unlocked the door, opening it wide. he could see the light on in kenma's bedroom, the smell of wine somewhere in the apartment. he tiptoed to the bedroom...

"you have some explaining to do" a voice boomed from behind him. it was kenma.

kuroo turned around to see kenma with very messy hair. "ah, what do you mean?"

"number one, you're late. number two, you were hanging out with bokuto?" kenma dropped a bombshell.

oh lord, there's no getting out of this one.

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....

hola amigos

it's me.

hope you enjoyed!

hey we are making progress here! at least we can establish one bond with bokuto.

-hatari.