KUROO-SAN // @roostercapt
something white hot sprints down the back of his spine and he swears he can feel his shoulders cramping from how taught he holds them. panic sets , pulsing low in his chest , can feel the quick thumpthumpthump of his heart beat right between his ribs. and kuroo wants to fucking bolt.
run into the bathroom and lock himself in until akaashi leaves. only he wouldn’t , and that’s what keeps him set in place. he’d rather the embarrassment lick greedily at his cheeks than endure how absolutely pathetic he’d feel cowering in the tub. and it’s , god , it’s fucking ridiculous the thoughts that are filling his head. the rejections that are waiting for him.
it’s unfamiliar territory. crossing over the line of like into love. they haven’t talked about it , no , but kuroo wants to believe it was always there. in the way akaashi would run his fingers through his hair when he’s too exhausted or having a shit day ; gentle and soothing against tangled roots. in the way akaashi will reserve his smiles for him and only him ; making his heart soar straight out of his chest and right into akaashi’s hands. the fact kuroo is so willing to let him wield something so delicate , so easily damaged , fucking terrifies him.
to give over that trust so easily , effortlessly. to hand over his very soul to the one he loves … and kuroo can only pray to whatever higher power out there that akaashi was willing to accept such a selfish request.
he exhales , stuttering out a breath and laughs. hands shaking as they rub over the curve of his cheeks , palms digging out the sting behind his lids because shit yeah. he loves him. he loves him.
wearily , he lifts his head. turning his gaze to the other with a smile , small and fond and with so much hope it aches. “ yeah. guess i did. wasn’t how i wanted to tell you , but , yeah. i love you. i love you so fucking much , akaashi. and i —— fuck , man , i really hope you feel the same. please tell me you feel the same. ”
It wasn’t his delusions after all. He did in fact hear those exact words. To be honest, he was so HAPPY it wasn’t his ears picking up things he WANTED to hear said to him. Just wow... I love you. It was said to him. Something verbally said to him, and even if Akaashi had read it in text by his parents, and Kuroo didn’t seem READY to drop the L-word to him, he did.
His breath hitched, and his face flushed. The desperation in Kuroo’s voice when he expressed that he INDEED was in love with him hurt. Did...Akaashi not express that he shouldn’t be afraid to admit that? Was Akaashi not being loving enough to the boy he gave his heart to that he had to feel so distraught in his unplanned confession of love? True, the setter knew he was not a man of emotions, or rather, expressing his emotions publicly, but Kuroo was one of the few who got to see his smile. It was a rare sight to see a genuine smile from him; a smirk was even difficult, but he had given that to another as well in front of others.
Did Kuroo not realized...how much he showed to him that he showed so few, to almost NO other people?
Of course, that wasn’t going to be the case in this moment in time. No. Kuroo wanted --- NEEDED --- to heard Akaashi tell him he loved him back. It was his OWN turn to confess what he’d been feeling since the first smile he gifted the other. The first time they held each other so closely; oh how he could remember placing his ear against the other’s chest and hearing JUST how fast his heart beat for him. Oh...Of course he loved him... He loved him so much... It scared him. And he knew he had to be honest about it.
╰ ❇️ ╮ ❝ Kuroo-san... Of course I love you... I’ve loved you...so much... I-it...scares me
sometimes. Kuroo-san... I’m not used to it. I’m not used to BEING so
in love...feeling so loved...wanting to just be with someone so much... K-Kuroo-san... ❞
His face was red, and his throat was clenched and closing. Did his heart go into his throat? It surely felt that way. Oh dear... He couldn’t help it. He needed to be selfish. Grabbing the other’s face, he just gave him one wide-eyed look before nearly smashing his own lips against Kuroo’s. He could feel at any moment he may cry, and oh how he didn’t want to. Showing so many emotions...it was still so foreign to him. But Kuroo just brought the all out with so little ease. For a brief moment, he broke the kiss, but only kept a small distance between them.
╰ ❇️ ╮ ❝ Kuroo-san... I love you so much... I’m so afraid of how much I love you
because I...I don’t know how to show it to the fullest. I-I just... ❞
He shut his eyes and pressed their foreheads together.
╰ ❇️ ╮ ❝ I love you too...so much... ❞