Work Text:
Whenever Bokuto’s in town, he finds his way to Kuroo’s apartment - and his bed. They were together for a while, but they broke up because of the distance and their busy schedules. Kuroo hasn’t sought out other relationships, and he’s pretty sure Bokuto hasn’t either. He’d love to make it work somehow, but for now, this nameless something more than friends with benefits will have to do.
If nothing else, it meant he got to kiss Bokuto on the regular. Kuroo has kissed his share of volleyball players, from high school to the V.League, and Bokuto's a darned good kisser. His breath is always fresh, his lips are firm and plush, and he's good with his tongue.
It's been far too long since they've seen each other, and Bokuto barely manages to close the door before Kuroo pulls him into an embrace and kisses him soundly, quickly turning open-mouthed and messy. When Bokuto pulls away, Kuroo chases his lips greedily.
“Missed me, Tetsu?” Bokuto says, grinning as Kuroo presses kisses along his neck.
“Yes, work’s been a nightmare. It’s strategic planning season and —“
He doesn’t get a chance to finish the sentence as Bokuto scoops him up and carries him to the bedroom.
A few hours later, Bokuto takes a shower while Kuroo orders takeout. Bokuto walks into the living room clad only in a towel slung low around his hips, a few drops of water still clinging to his chest and Kuroo
“Dinner should be here soon, and there’s a Frogs game starting in a few minutes.”
Bokuto pumps his fist. “Yes! I can’t wait to watch Tsukki in action. Who’re they playing?”
Kuroo consults the schedule on his phone. “Looks like the Penect Jaguars. They’re another strong team.” The doorbell chimes and he smacks Bokuto’s ass. “Dinner’s here, go put some clothes on.”
They settle in with their food and turn on the tv in time to catch an interview with Tsukshima before the game starts.
“Tsukishima-senshu, first of all, congratulations! I understand you’ve recently been elected team captain for the Frogs.”
Tsukishima smiles thinly. “Yes, well, that’s what happens when you’re not in the room when the vote is taken.”
Suddenly Koganegawa, the Frogs’ setter, bounds into the frame. “Captain! We gave you the chance to decline the post, but you said you wanted to get the team to Division 1!”
Tsukishima glares at him, but turns so that the camera doesn’t catch it. Koganegawa yelps “Sorry, captain!” and hurries back to the court to continue warming up. He sighs and turns back to the camera with a
“It’s true, I would like to help the team get to Division 1, and I think we could be competitive there.” He looks directly at the camera. “We could even beat the Black Jackals and the Adlers.”
“Bold words and a challenge from the Frogs’ new captain! Thank you Tsukishima-senshu, and good luck in today’s game. We’ll be back with the starting lineups after this commercial break.”
On the couch, Bokuto and Kuroo are laughing uproariously. “He’s got the captain voice down, that’s for sure!” They high-five each other, then point at themselves and say in unison, “He got that from me!”
Koganegawa and Tsukishima combine for a block, Bokuto winces in sympathy, Kuroo cackles, then pulls up the Frogs’ website to check out Koganegawa’s bio. He nods knowingly.
“The setter played for Date Tech up in Miyagi. They beat Karasuno when Tsukki was a second-year and went to Nationals.”
Bokuto whistles in appreciation. “Iwaizumi-san's mentioned Date Tech a few times. And he’s so tall! He’s going to be tough to deal with.”
“Already scouting them?”
“If Tsukki said they were going to get to Division 1, I’d be a fool not to believe him.”
The next point, Tsukishima gets a one-touch and the libero sends it to Koganegawa, who sets to Kyoutani, who slams it down for a point. “Ooh, that’s a wicked cross shot,” Bokuto says appreciatively. “Kyoutani - now where have I heard that name? Oh! I remember - he was one of Iwaizumi-san’s kouhais,”
Kuroo finishes typing and looks up from his phone in time to see the replay. “You all are definitely going to have to step up your game when, not if, the Frogs move up.”
The Frogs easily take the first set, then narrowly lose the second. Tsukishima gives the team a pep talk after the second set; they can’t hear what he’s saying, but everyone looks energized when he finishes, and he cracks a joke that breaks the tension at the end. Bokuto and Kuroo grin at each other and clink their glasses in a toast.
“I’ll give you that one, Tetsu. He definitely got that from you.”
The third set is a battle. The Frogs lead the Jaguars, then the Jaguars battle back to tie and take a slim lead, but the Frogs are not giving up. They blow past the 25-point mark and are trading a 1-point lead back and forth. Kuroo and Bokuto are riveted, cheering along as if they were in the stadium.
The Frogs are ahead 31-30 when the Jaguars call a time-out and both teams move to the sidelines. Tsukishima is sweating, but is still energetic, pulling Koganegawa and Kyoutani close to discuss strategy.
Kuroo refills their glasses and sends a quick text to encourage Tsukishima, even though he won't see it till the game's over.
“All that jumping and he’s not even winded. His stamina has really improved!”
“Mmm, he’s got good stamina, all right.” Bokuto gets a faraway look on his face and Kuroo shoots him a questioning glance.
“On the court, or somewhere else?”
“Definitely off the court, Tetsu.” Even though they’re the only ones in the room, he looks around before saying, “So, Tsukki and I, well, we hooked up once or twice in college.”
Kuroo nearly drops his glass. “Wait, so did I! Not in college, but after.”
“What??!”
“Hold on, they’re back.”
The players are back on the court and the Jaguars send a jump floater serve at Koganegawa, who receives it overhand and manages to send it to Kyoutani; instead of spiking, he sends a high set to Tsukishima, who slams it down to win the game. The crowd erupts in cheers, as do Kuroo and Bokuto, who high-five each other and down the last of their beers in a gulp.
“Now, where were we? Talk, Kou.”
“Ok, so he was in town for a college game. You were out of town with the JVA, so we went out with the team for dinner. That was some good yakiniku,” he says with a fond look in his eye. “Anyway, he said he’d always kind of had a thing for me, asked if he could kiss me, and then, well, you know. He said I was a really good kisser!”
“Huh, he said that to me as well,” Kuroo says.
“When did you two hook up?”
“He was here for some promotional thing, we met up for dinner and then he pinned me against the wall, kissed me breathless and said he’d gotten tired of waiting for me to make a move.”
“Dude, you never made a move? Ever?”
Kuroo blushes and shakes his head. “I wanted to make it special, make it romantic, but it was never quite the right time.”
Bokuto snaps his fingers. “I just had the greatest idea! You and me couldn’t make it work because of our schedules, but what if it was you, me,” he points at the court, “and Tsukki? We both travel to Tokyo a lot, your schedule brings you to Osaka and Sendai, and we wouldn’t be alone as much.”
Kuroo is silent for a long moment. “It’s crazy enough that it just might work.” They both reach for their phones and start texting.
After the game, Kei endures the post-game interviews and team meeting, then he’s finally able to shower and change. He reaches into his bag for his phone and immediately drops it with a muffled curse - it’s an older model and has overheated from all the texts he’s received.
He sighs and scans the messages, almost all of which are from Bokuto and Kuroo. Most of it is game commentary; Kuroo compliments him on how well he did in the pre-game interview, then sends him excited texts congratulating him on blocks throughout the game, while Bokuto's texts tend more towards excited keysmashes, interspersed with compliments for the team.
He scrolls through those, then stops when he sees a full sentence from Bokuto:
Tsukki, don’t get mad, but I told Kuroo we hooked up
Followed by a group text created by Kuroo
That means you’ve kissed us both!
Now I need to know - who’s the better kisser?
Tsukishima sighs and types back:
Must you turn everything into a competition, Kuroo-san?
Kuroo immediately responds:
But this is a fun competition. So, who is it?
Tsukishima smirks, then types: It’s been a while, I’ve forgotten
Bokuto responds immediately with a string of keysmashes, then types What do u mean, Tsukki?
Moments later, their phones ping. Tsukishima has sent them a voice text. "Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san, I’ll be in Tokyo next week, if you want to help me -" he pauses before continuing in a low, sultry voice, "- refresh my memory."
Bokuto and Kuroo respond with keysmashes and exclamation points.
One week later
Tsukishima and Kuroo are curled up on either side of Bokuto. Tsukishima absently pats Bokuto as he rests his head on one of Bokuto’s ample pecs.
“I think we could make this work. I’m willing to try if you two are.”
“Really? Hell yeah!” Bokuto sits up abruptly and pumps his fist. Tsukishima frowns at losing his pillow and Bokuto quickly lies back down.
“So, Tsukki, who’s the best kisser in volleyball? Me, or Kuroo?”
“In volleyball?” Tsukishima puts a hand on his chin and looks up thoughtfully. “Neither.”
“Whaaaat? Who is, then?”
“Akaashi-san,” Tsukishima says smugly.
Bokuto sighs. “Yeah, that’s fair.”
“No! I demand a rematch,” squawks Kuroo, reaching across Bokuto and pulling Tsukishima close to kiss him again.
Meanwhile in Osaka
Akaashi sneezes loudly, scattering a sheaf of papers on his desk. As he looks for a tissue, Osamu pokes his head out of the kitchen.
“You okay, babe? Someone must be saying good things about you.”
“What a silly superstition. How about a kiss instead?”