"i need you to pretend we're dating."
you slowly lowered the book in your hand, and peered over the pages to meet kuroo's pleading, golden eyes. he was frantically looking around the cafe, nervous even.
"why?" you asked, squinting your eyes suspiciously. you've only known the man for a few weeks, but it was still long enough to know kuroo was always working some kind of angle. that, or he finally found a situation he couldn't weasel out of simply by flashing that dazzling smile.
kuroo lowered his voice and jerked his head to the left, discreetly pointing to a woman dressed in a simple olive green button up, placing her order by the register.
"my ex is over there and just-- please," he croaked, clearly distraught.
to say you were enjoying seeing kuroo so flustered was an understatement. the man was so cool, so level headed, so disarmingly charming all the damn time that you often questioned his mortality. but alas, the crack in his confidence confirmed kuroo tetsurou was indeed a regular human being, and you quite liked watching him squirm.
"what's in it for me?" it was a rhetorical question. you had already made up your mind to help him, but still, you were curious to see what he would offer up.
"anything," he whispered, and your lips curled upwards as your mind reels with all the possibilities.
she spotted kuroo from across the room and her eyes immediately brightened. with a pastry bag full of sweets in hand, she navigated her way through the crowded cafe.
kuroo nervously shifted between each foot, and you took his hand in yours, giving it a gentle, reasurring squeeze.
"tetsurou! how are you?" her voice was airy and light, and her smile didn't falter.
"good. reiko, this is my girlfriend," he said, introducing you to her. your named rolled off his tongue like honey, and you were surprised at how much you liked it-- being called his girlfriend.
the pair conversed for a few more minutes, and as you quietly listened in, you were confused to find how natural and lighthearted their conversation seemed to be. there weren't any awkward pauses or passive digs you would typically find with exes. in fact, there wasn't any semblance that these two had dated at all. why was kuroo so nervous?
come to think of it, where was that nervous, fidgety kuroo you saw just a few moments back?
"well if you’ll excuse us, we're running late to dinner," you heard kuroo say as he gently tugged you towards the exit.
"bye, tetsurou! tell your mom i said hi!" reiko called over her shoulder as she found the table where the rest of her friends were seated at.
wait, why was she still talking to his mother?
you were vaguely aware that you were still holding kuroo's hand when he pulled you to the side. you tried to pull your hand away, but he takes the opportunity to turn you so that you were facing him, playing with your interlaced fingers.
"what are you doing?" your voice quivered as kuroo took a strand of your hair and neatly tucked it behind your ear. he leaned in and gently nosed up and around the shell of your ear, then just under the lobe.
"we need to make it believable, right?" he breathed, his voice was low and sultry, and it made your eyes flutter closed. you swore the room just got ten degrees hotter.
he pulled away, golden ambers studied your eyes as his thumb traced your bottom lip, index finger expertly placed beneath your chin.
he leaned in and you could feel his eyelashes flutter on your own cheeks, stopping just a few mere millimeters away your lips as if asking for permission.
just when you were about to close the gap, kuroo cleared his throat and straightened up to his full height. confused as to why you weren't feeling his soft, plump lips on your own, your eyes peeled open to find kuroo with an amused grin, his arms folded triumphantly.
"thanks for playing along," he playfully quipped, ducking out of the cafe before you could fully process everything that happened.
you spotted kenma behind the register. bingo.
after a minute and a half of waiting in line, you placed an order for some pastries you very much did not need.
“so,” you started as nonchalantly as you could muster, “how long ago did they date?”
"y'know, kuroo and reiko," you pressed, trying to squeeze out the answers you needed in case kuroo came back.
surely kenma would know about his best friend's dating life?
"reiko's not his ex," kenma slowly explained. his lips curled into a smirk as the realization of his friend's antics finally settled in.
angst list | fluff list | masterlist
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