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Kuroo has some free time today, and decides to drop by the gym where the Olympic team is practicing. Yaku's been home for a few months now, but Kuroo will never get tired of his big, pretty eyes and stupid face, so he stops by a konbini to pick up some snacks and then heads on over.
When he gets there, he finds the boys having a 6v6 practice game. He leans against the wall, absentmindedly snacking on one of the rice balls he bought as he watches Hoshiumi scowl across the net at Yaku, who laughs back at him. It's familiar, watching Yaku's back as he digs and digs and digs, always positioning himself in the perfect spot to receive the ball no matter who's hitting or which blockers are in front of him. Komori on the other side of the net does just as well, of course, but Kuroo allows himself to be a little biased and cheers for Yaku. Besides, it seems as if Yaku's having a bit of an easier time of it.
Ushijima's on the other side of the net from Yaku as well, and when he hits, Yaku pauses and then calls, "Out!" Sure enough, it's over the line. Bokuto, who's on Yaku's team, cheers and says something about Ushiwaka being a scaredy-cat. Ushijima makes a face that might be a pout on anyone else, and Yaku grins at the much taller man and tells him not to run away. Ushijima nods, still slightly miffed. He looks at his southpaw like it's betrayed him, and Kuroo snorts. Funny guy.
"Ugh," comes a voice from beside him. At some point while Kuroo was eating and watching the practice game, Iwaizumi had come out of his PT cave to join him in observing the team. When Kuroo makes a questioning noise and offers the konbini bag for Iwaizumi to dig through, the other man waves his offer away but elaborates, "Yaku was on your high school team right?"
Kuroo swallows the last of his salmon onigiri and nods. "Yeah. Why?"
"Just imagining playing against him," Iwaizumi replies with a shudder. "He just made Ushiwaka overcompensate by like, standing there."
Kuroo chuckles, inordinately proud. "Yeah, he tends to do that. It's no wonder he ended up scouted by the Russian League; he really just pops up wherever you're about to hit."
Iwaizumi grimaces. "Annoying," he says. "I'm not sure if I'd've been able to deal with that."
They watch Yaku dig another one of Hoshiumi's spikes, and Kuroo waits for Hoshiumi to finish yelling before he asks, "You were the ace right? For the Grand King." He smirks at Iwaizumi as he says it, remembering all the tall tales Hinata and Kageyama told over summer camp meals of the Grand King and their rivalry. He remembers Kenma's smile when Hinata texted saying they defeated their school as well, and eventually even Ushiwaka's.
What a year.
Iwaizumi smiles, the memories apparently having lost their bitterness. He knows Iwaizumi trained with Ushijima's father for whatever certifications an Olympic athletic trainer needs, so he supposes they must have settled whatever Miyagi rivalry differences they must have held. Last he heard, Hinata had become best friends with the former Grand King as well. Kageyama was making a particularly funny face when he'd relayed the story and showed him the selfie.
"Yeah, I was, " Iwaizumi says. "We were pretty adaptable as a team. I suppose even if Yaku-san was always there to dig my hits, Shittykawa would have found his way around it for us."
"We were adapatable too," Kuroo threw back. "Our whole thing was about defense, y'know. Pretty sure we were the first ones ever to deal with Karasuno's freak quick."
Iwaizumi hums. "We defeated it too, the first time," he replies. "Though we never got past Shiratorizawa. I still can't believe Yaku made him run away even during a low stakes practice game."
"Yaku's just amazing like that. He's always been someone you want at your back," Kuroo replies happily, then adds, "If you're gonna run away though, practice games are the place to do it. You can catch the mistake now instead of when it matters." He watches Yaku split-step and hop to effortlessly dig one of Miya's jump serves. It goes right to Kageyama, who sets it to Bokuto. Hyakuzawa blocks it with his long arms, but Yaku once more bumps it back easy.
"Yeah, that's true," Iwaizumi agrees, leaning against the wall more comfortably. "God, this rally is going on forever."
"Yaku and Komori are good at keeping the ball up," Kuroo replies. He sees Hinata dig a ball over to Kageyama and amends, "They all are."
Bokuto jumps up high to spike it down and this time manages to aim far away from Komori. Too far, because it's out. Bokuto's arms go up as he yells, and Ushijima asks about whether or not he was being a scaredy-cat in a tone so serious Kuroo's only half-sure the man is being snarky. Iwaizumi snorts though, so Kuroo assumes Ushijima was, in fact, joking. The way Bokuto agonizes over his hit is familiar too, as is the way Hinata starts bouncing about, fluttering around Bokuto until Kageyama cuffs him over the head and tells him to calm down.
Inevitably, Kuroo's eyes are drawn back to Yaku, who's just settled back with his hands on his hips, his posture the same as it always is when he watches two kouhai loudly bicker. It seems almost instinct then for Yaku to turn around to catch his eye, as if to say, Can you believe these guys? Whether it's Hinata and Kageyama now, or Kenma and Tora back then, Yaku's incredulously fond look is the same.
Somewhere, a whistle blows, but Kuroo doesn't look away from Yaku's eyes. Instead, he raises the konbini bag in offering, and Yaku's eyes light up; he doesn’t wait to make a beeline for Kuroo.
Yaku's speaking before he even fully gets to where Kuroo's standing. "Did you get—"
"Chicken rice balls and a Pocari Sweat, yep," Kuroo replies. "There's some extra stuff just in case other people wanted some, but those things are for you." Yaku opens the bag to find his food, and then takes out a small tray of packaged beef skewers. "Oh yeah, that's for—"
"Bokuto, I know," Yaku replies with a grin. "You and that owl. Same brain cell, I swear."
"And I keep it, right Yakkun?" Kuroo asks with a pout. When Yaku just dimples up at him, Kuroo scowls.
Iwaizumi laughs, cutting into their banter. "I didn't realize you guys were this close," he says, actually mostly to Yaku. "Finishing each others' sentences."
Yaku chuckles. "Like you and your high school team aren't just as close," he replies.
"Touché," the athletic trainer says. Yaku offers him a box of Pocky, and this time Iwaizumi does take him up on it.
Kuroo squints, feeling some kind of way about it that he can't articulate. Iwaizumi has no problem taking snacks from Yaku, and they seem casual. They're probably friends—work friends, at least, who spend time together in the gym where they work. A gym Kuroo can only visit when he has free time.
Yaku apparently catches whatever look is on Kuroo's face, and interprets it faster than Kuroo even knows how to articulate his own feelings, because the next thing he knows, Yaku is tugging at his sleeve to pull him down. He smells overwhelmingly like busy gym and sweat, and the heat radiating off of Yaku from his physical exertion is almost tangible, but when Yaku presses his lips on his cheek, that weird feeling that had started stirring in Kuroo's gut settles.
"It's nice to see you during practice, Tetsu," Yaku says warmly. "I'm glad you dropped by."
Kuroo blushes but rallies. "You were just craving your stupid rice balls."
"Those things are not mutually exclusive."
"Oh, I see," comes Iwaizumi's voice again. Kuroo had almost forgotten he was there, oops. The other man smirks. "Your boyfriend was bragging about you earlier, Yaku-san."
Kuroo's face probably turns redder—the boyfriend label is new for them. Yaku, on the other hand, seems unphased. Actually, he seems positively gleeful, turning a grin onto Kuroo. "Oh yeah, Tetsu? What were you saying? Tell me."
In response, Kuroo pushes his whole hand into his stupid boyfriend's face. "Shut up, Mori."
"Don't be too embarrassed, Kuroo-san," Iwaizumi chuckles. "Yaku likes bragging about you too. He's been all, my boyfriend this, my boyfriend that, for the last week. He wouldn't shut up about you since you started dating. I just hadn't realized it was you because he's only ever called you his boyfriend." Beneath Kuroo's palm, Yaku starts spluttering, swatting at Kuroo's wrist. Though his expression is covered, Kuroo can still see Yaku's ears turning a bright red.
"Oh?" Kuroo teases, removing his hand so he can look his boyfriend in the eyes. "Like the label that much, do you?"
Yaku scowls, face as red as the Olympic jersey he wears for the country—well, the alternate one, since as the libero, his main jersey is mostly white.
Still, his voice is even and he's as undaunted as ever when he declares, "Yes. I do." He puffs out his chest the same way he does when he tells people he's an Olympian. "I like bragging that I have a boyfriend because that boyfriend is you. So what?"
Kuroo's mouth opens and then closes, his heart pounding in his chest as he struggles to do something other than drag Yaku into the nearest supply closet and kiss him senseless. They are at their place of work during work hours and they are professional adults and Kuroo absolutely, positively cannot make out with his boyfriend right now, no matter how much he wants to.
When Kuroo catches Yaku's eye again, his stupid boyfriend smirks like he knows exactly what he's done to Kuroo. Which, really, he probably does.
"I regret saying anything now," Iwaizumi interrupts, munching on a stick of chocolate Pocky. He's still here? "You two are gross." He then turns and yells, "Hey, Bokuto!"
Across the gym, Bokuto—and Hinata, and Kageyama, and Ushijima and Hyakuzawa, all of whom had been chatting in a group—turn to look at their little trio. Iwaizumi holds up the package of beef skewers. "Kuroo-san got you something!" he calls.
Bokuto perks up and immediately ditches his conversation to join them, trotting forward enthusiastically like a puppy so he can bowl Kuroo over. "Bro!" he exclaims. "I always knew you were my favourite!"
Kuroo laughs, pushing at Bokuto until he loosens his grip and goes for his snack. "You're my favourite too, dude," Kuroo replies amiably.
"Lies," Bokuto says, and then eats the first stick of barbecue in one go. No one bats an eye, Kuroo and Yaku having gotten used to it during their three years of training camps together, and Iwaizumi presumably having eaten lunch with the whole team on multiple occasions.
With the clean skewer stick, Bokuto points at Kuroo's face. "There's always Kenma," he says, and then moves the stick so it's pointing at Yaku, "and there’s no way I can be your favourite when Yakkun exists."
"You better not poke my eye out with that, Bo," Yaku says, wrinkling his nose at it. It's very cute.
"You'll be fine, we have Iwa-chan!" Bokuto exclaims.
"I don't think you know what my job is," Iwaizumi says, exasperated.
Bokuto turns big eyes at Iwaizumi. "What?"
Kuroo laughs. "As long as he knows what his job is."
They talk until the whistle blows again for the boys to head back to court for another drill. Before they go, Yaku gives Kuroo one last kiss, this time to the lips. It's casual, and Kuroo loves that it's casual. Kissing Yaku is momentous, but it's also no big deal because he can do it every single day they're in the same place together.
When Yaku pulls back, he smiles bright. "See ya tonight?"
"Yeah," Kuroo replies, a little breathless.
Yaku pauses, and then goes to kiss Kuroo again, apparently just because he can. He pulls back and then darts one last kiss real quick to the corner of Kuroo's mouth, and then he's gone, back to the court.
"You two really are gross," Iwaizumi says, pulling Kuroo's attention away from Yaku's back. The athletic trainer is smiling good-naturedly as he folds his empty Pocky box and neatly stashes it in his pocket. "Thanks for the snack, Kuroo-san. I'm sure I'll see you 'round here again soon." His tone is teasing, but friendly.
He's not wrong.
"For sure," Kuroo replies. "See you tomorrow." He waves as Iwaizumi turns to head back into his office.
Kuroo turns to leave as well, but not before one last look at Yaku's back.
It's a nice view.