the kittens next door
tetsurou kuroo x reader
word count: 1065
the neighbour that you dislike brings in kittens
you kind of disliked your neighbour. it wasn’t that he was rude or anything, if anything he would smile at you every time the two of you came across each other. a smile that you only returned weakly. because you just wouldn’t have it. he had taken over your crush’s home.
it was silly really, your crush - your college classmate, used to live in the space across from yours. he had been kicked out by his landlord for “bringing too many people over.” he was a college student, for christ’s sake.
so the next person who took over was kuroo tetsurou, a working man who was three years older as per your flatmate’s intel. sure, he was hotter but you missed your crush. gone were the days of small talk in the hallway of your apartment building.
kuroo tetsurou (office worker, 24) was convinced that the cute uni student next door hated him. what he had done, he wasn’t sure but the lack of response whenever he tried to greet you made it quite obvious. he shouldn’t care really but not being liked by a stranger for no reason was unsettling.
however there were more pressing matters at hand. he parked his car in the basement and opened the backseat door, pulling out a small cage. tiny mewls could be heard from it and kuroo let out a sigh at what he had gotten himself into.
he took the cage upstairs, unlocking his apartment with one hand and placing the cage on the living room floor. he quickly changed into comfortable clothes and sat down on the floor in front of the cage. prying it open, he looked inside. three tiny pairs of eyes stared back at him.
two hours later, you opened the door to your apartment, looked around the hallway and closed it again. this was the third time you had done it this evening. where the hell was that damn meowing coming from?
you loved cats. the prospect of a cat hanging out in the hallway of your apartment building excited you. you were so sure it was there and then you would open the door and - nothing.
it was the fifth time that you opened the door when you finally realised it. the sound was coming from your crush kuroo tetsurou’s apartment. your body moved on its own and you rang the bell. you had no idea what you were going to say.
kuroo opened the door and peeked out. his eyes widened in surprise. he flashed a small smile. “good evening, how can i help you?”
you hesitated, “umm this may sound weird but…any cats in there?”
“oh yeah, um,” kuroo opened the door wider for you to peek in and spot the three kittens on the living room floor. you immediately cooed and looked at kuroo with slightly pleading eyes, “can i…?”
kuroo chuckled and let you in, “of course”
you immediately beelined towards the kittens and kneeled down on the floor. “you keeping all three?” you asked.
“i’m keeping none. i’m only looking after them for a few days till my friend finds them a permanent home.” kuroo explained.
you pouted at that. cute, kuroo thought. “you like them?”
“i love them,” you lightly brushed your finger against the black kitten’s head as it approached you curiously.
“take them then”
you deadpanned him, “do i look financially stable enough?”
he chuckled, “fair enough.” he took a seat on the couch as he watched you. the kitten had now climbed into your lap and you were trying to usher the other two closer.
“i could help you with the food and everything. you don’t have to pay for it. just keep them,” kuroo suggested.
“you hate ‘em or something?”
kuroo smirked, raising his hands in surrender. “i love them but that’s a lot of responsibility. i’m gonna have to work from home for the first few days and then come back home every lunch break for a month at least till they find someone to take them in. having you in on this would make it a lot easier on me. and i know you only have classes for the first half of the day”
“you know an awful lot about me,” you narrowed your eyes.
“hey, it’s not my issue that your roomie talks to me and you don’t”
you just hummed and held the black kitten to your chest while the orange one tried climbing onto you.
“so what do you say?” kuroo asked.
you took a moment before turning back and extending a hand towards him, “deal”
kuroo chuckled and took it, shaking it firmly. “i’m a dog person anyway”
you scowled. “i hate you even more now,” you blurted before you could stop yourself.
kuroo raised an eyebrow. “you…hate me?”
“i didn’t mean that”
kuroo poked your shoulder, “c’mon, tell me about it”
you groan, “okay fine…my crush used to live here before you moved in.”
kuroo let out a teasing “ooh~”
“shut up…” you blushed, forcing your attention back to the kittens.
“y’know the apartment was full of roaches before i moved in?”
you grew flustered, “that’s just how boys live!”
“i wasn’t like that in uni”
“he was a nice guy!”
“if you say so”
you huffed, turning to face him while holding up a kitten. “he’s being mean..” you mumbled to it.
kuroo laughed, taking it from your hands and placing it on his thigh. he pet it gently before looking back up at you, “so you in this 100%?”
you nod, “financial part on you though”
“no worries,” he handed the kitten back to you before grabbing the bag of kitten food and toys that he got from his friend.
the two of you took the kittens and their sparse belongings to your apartment. after making sure they weren’t in the line of fire of any dangerous object, you left to see kuroo off.
“take good care of them, alright? i’ll come over every evening,” he leaned against the doorway of his apartment as you leaned against yours.
you nod, “me or my flatmate would be here.”
kuroo nodded and turned to shut the door. he looked back at you one last time.
“oh and y/n? you can still have a crush next door. i don’t mind,” he winked before closing the door in your reddened face.