Archive of Our Own

“Are we almost there yet? I’m hungry and I ran out of food a few miles back.”

“How the hell did you run out of food already? We barely left the rest stop an hour ago, and you had enough bags of chips to feed a small army!”

Bokuto shrugs and pouts, rolling the window of the passenger side door up and down dejectedly. It’s a truly pathetic sight. Kuroo sighs and reaches into the backseat for his own stash of snacks.

“Here, you can have some of mine. We’re almost there anyways.”

Bokuto perks up instantly and happily holds out his hands for the mini plastic-wrapped cake Kuroo offers him, like an owner rewarding his enthusiastic pet dog with scraps of meat.

“Thanks, man, you’re the best!” Bokuto takes a big bite, scanning the horizon curiously. “Are we really almost there?” Crumbs spill from his mouth and land in his lap. If he ends up sitting on them and rubbing them into his car’s upholstery, Kuroo is going to shave his eyebrows in his sleep.

Kuroo consults the map spread across his lap, then squints into the mid-morning sunlight, shielding his eyes with one hand and pointing with the other. “Right there, you see the tallest single oak in the tree-line? That’s where we’ll supposedly find the House of Mages.”

“Ooooh,” Bokuto’s eyes widen, swallowing the food in his mouth. “I’ve never been this far out of the city before. It’s kinda scary, don’t you think?”

“Scary how?” If anything, Kuroo finds it peaceful being so removed form the crowds and the noise and the bright lights of Tokyo. It’s been miles and miles of rolling hills and green countryside, open skies and fresh air that makes Kuroo feel clean when he breathes, unlike all the smog in the city. He’s never been to Sendai before, but he quite likes what he sees so far.

“I mean, you’ve never seen a Mage before, have you?”

“No. Not many people have, though.” Mages notoriously kept to themselves, living in secluded Houses like these all over the world. The only ones who ever saw them were those seeking their help, like he and Bokuto were today.

“That’s what I’m saying!” Bokuto’s eyes are so wide his eyebrows nearly touch his hairline. “We have no idea what we’re walking into here! What if they’re dangerous? What if all the stories were wrong, and the Mages actually live out here in the middle of nowhere so that they can kill you where nobody can hear you screaming?”

“Mages aren’t dangerous, Bo. Well, I mean, they are,” Kuroo amends. “But they help people.”

“They’re the most powerful magickal beings known to mankind! You’re telling me that doesn’t make you even the slightest bit nervous?”

Kuroo shrugs. “Not really, no.”

“Well they creep me out,” Bokuto grumbles. “They’re so mysterious and reserved. It’s weird.”

“You shouldn’t talk about them like that.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Bokuto snorts. “They can probably hear me right now. If I suddenly turn to dust, we’ll know why.”

Kuroo laughs and shoves at Bokuto’s shoulder, causing his friend to choke on a bit of his mini cake.

“Hey!”

“Are you on of the bravest, most badass Hunters in all of Tokyo, or aren’t you?” Kuroo pokes Bokuto in the center of the forehead. “I’ve seen you run headfirst into a pack of Werewolves with nothing but a shovel and your bare hands. I’ve seen you take on a shapeshifter three times your size, and Wendigos with claws bigger than your fucking legs! You’re not really that afraid of a little magick, are you?” Kuroo simpers, tilting his head to the side in mock-sympathy.

Bokuto puffs out his chest and knocks Kuroo’s hand aside, eyes blazing. The easiest way to get to Bokuto was appealing to his ego, a fact that Kuroo had learned how to exploit all too well in their years of being friends.

Some may call it manipulative, but Kuroo preferred ‘strategic persuasion’.

“Of course I’m not really scared! I was just asking to make sure you weren’t, is all.” Bokuto says confidently (obviously lying). Then, eyes shifting nervously, adds, “But if we get there, and there’s a bunch of people dressed in black cloaks with hoods and pig’s blood all over their faces, I might not be proud of what I do next.”

“Why would they have pig’s blood on their faces?”

“I don’t know!” Bokuto throws his hands up. “Maybe it makes their powers stronger or something!”

“You’ve been spending too much time visiting with Sugawara. His stories are starting to get to your head,” Kuroo says. He may be good luck and all, but the Sprite certainly had a flair for the dramatic.

Bokuto pouts. “But I love Suga’s stories.”

“I know you do, buddy.” Kuroo pats him on the shoulder. “And so does your overactive imagination.”

*

The first time Kuroo sees a Mage is nothing like he expects it to be.

Following the path they were instructed to take, straight towards the tallest oak tree, the main road had eventually narrowed into a dirt road, barely big enough for one car to fit on. They had to roll up their windows to keep the branches from the trees lining the path from creeping in and poking out one of their eyes. At the very end of the path is the tree, and that’s where the road ends.

Kuroo cuts the engine a few yards away. Neither he nor Bokuto move to get out of the car yet.

There are two individuals standing just in front of the tree watching them.

“They sensed us crossing onto their lands. Probably noticed us coming miles away, even.” Kuroo explains when he can feel Bokuto’s anxiety levels skyrocketing beside him. “They’ll meet with us and hear us out, then decide whether or not to let us pass on to the House of Mages.”

“And if they decide ‘no’?”

Kuroo doesn’t actually have an answer to that. Bokuto’s hand instinctively rests on the holster of his gun, and this time Kuroo can’t say he blames him. Even from this distance, the raw power emanating off of one of the figures is nearly suffocating. Kuroo thinks he could get drunk off of it.

From afar, the pair looked like just a couple of normal guys (magickal aura excluded). A shorter guy dressed simply with ash colored hair, and a taller one with pale cornflower-yellow hair, wearing more traditional clothing. A decorated robe the color of a perfectly clear blue sky with an ivory sash cinched tight around his narrow waist.

There were no black cloaks and hoods, and there was no pig’s blood, but when they approached, Kuroo saw that there was definitely something completely out of the ordinary here.

It was the taller boy; the blonde one. The Mage.

He was the most unearthly beautiful person Kuroo had seen in his entire life.

His features were delicate, like painstakingly carved marble, round and angled in all the right places. Honey-sweet eyes, so intense he could practically taste the sticky delicacy on his tongue when they met his. A thin, straight nose turned up just the tiniest bit at the tip so that he always looked like he knew he was better than you. Sunny hair that reminded Kuroo of summers spent running through wheat fields, and soft-looking, like it would slip through his fingers like the finest silk money could buy.

His expression was guarded and cold, his gaze sharper than even Kuroo’s most trusted blade, but he looked like he’d be so warm to the touch.

The first time Kuroo sees a Mage, he falls in love.

“Gods…” Kuroo whispers under his breath.

“Woah!” Bokuto blurts out. Loudly, because he’s Bokuto. “He’s really pretty!”

The Mage’s companion slaps a hand over his mouth, trying in vain to cover up a giggle, while the blonde’s eyebrow twitches.

“Sorry! Sorry, we’re still training him on normal human behavior,” Kuroo apologizes desperately, grabbing Bokuto by the back of the neck and forcing him into a deep bow with him. “Tell the powerful and respected Mage that you’re sorry, Bo,” he hisses.

“I - I didn’t mean to offend -!” Bokuto sounds like he suddenly remembers the whole ‘getting turned to dust’ conversation.

“Nonsense,” a pleasant voice cuts Bokuto off. Kuroo peeks up and sees the brown-haired boy waving his hands carelessly. The blonde still looks annoyed. “Though the delivery could have used a bit more tact, it was a very flattering compliment, nonetheless. You’re flattered, aren’t you Tsukishima-san?” He sounds almost teasing.

Tsukishima, Kuroo repeats a few thousand times in his head. He really wants to see what it would feel like on his lips, to speak the name aloud, to whisper it reverently, to moan it in the throes of passion…

Slowly rising from their bows, Kuroo really notices the shorter boy for the first time. He originally thought him short, but that was only in relation to the man beside him. He is, in fact, quite tall himself, with long hair and haphazard freckles across his cheeks. Based on the simple way he’s dressed and the formal way he addresses Tsukishima who's a Mage, he’s most likely a Tender of the House - a regular person who’s devoted their lives to serve and protect the House of Mages. Though, from the way they’re standing and what Kuroo has seen of their interactions so far, he’d say the relationship between the two was much more friendly than it was that of master and servant.

“I’m positively blushing,” the Mage drawls, leveling Bokuto with an unimpressed look. Kuroo has to bite back a snort of laughter. They’re already on thin enough ice here as it is.

“If I may,” Kuroo interrupt as politely as he can before anything else can go wrong. “My name is Kuroo Tetsurou, and this tactless man here is my partner, Bokuto Koutarou. We’re Hunters from Tokyo.”

“Yes, we gathered all of that ourselves,” Tsukishima drawls. “What do you want?”

You, Kuroo’s brain supplies very unhelpfully.

“How did you know all that already?” Bokuto blurts out, eyes wide. “Can you - Can you read our minds? What am I thinking of right now?”

“You’d have to have a mind for me to read it,” the Mage snaps. This time Kuroo can’t hold back his sharp laughter. The Tender gives Tsukishima a disapproving look, and the blonde heaves a sigh. “And even if you did, I wouldn’t be able to read it. I can clearly see that you two have no magickal aura whatsoever and guns on your hips. Not to mention people in the countryside don’t have bright, ugly cars like that.”

“Now that’s just getting personal,” Kuroo protests. Theres really no need to drag his baby into this.

“I didn’t read your minds, I just read the situation,” Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “Now why. Are. You. Here?” He enunciates every word slowly and clearly, and the air crackles with his growing frustration. It doesn’t feel threatening, more like he’s just annoyed with them, which is a pretty standard response from most people, but still. It send a shiver down Kuroo’s spine.

“We’re here to ask for your help. We need a Mage to travel North with us, to help protect us and ensure safe passage to Hokkaido.”

“Something special waiting for you in Hokkaido?”

“The Council of Magickal Beings, for one.”

The Mage frowns. “You’re going to Hokodate to see the Council. Why?”

“We need their help,” Bokuto says. “We got a Vampire problem in Tokyo.”

“There are always Vampires in Tokyo,” the Tender points out. “They’re a part of the urban ecosystem.”

Kuroo shakes his head. “It’s not the Tokyo Vampires causing problems. A few months ago a whole group of them came over from mainland China. New blood, don’t really play by the rules, you know the type.”

“The Hunters of Tokyo can’t handle a few ruffians on their own?”

“Not like these,” Kuroo says seriously. Haunting memories of limbs torn from bodies and alleyways painted in blood flooding his mind. “They’re relentless. Brutish and cruel just for kicks. They’ve killed over a hundred tourists and locals just in the past three months.”

The Tender sucks in a sharp breath. Tsukishima’s frown deepens.

“And no one has been able to stop them? Not a single one of you Tokyo Hunters? Not even the Tokyo Vampires?”

“Oh, sure,” Kuroo nods. “We’ve stopped them plenty. Without the Hunters, the death toll would probably be somewhere in the five hundred range by now. But like I said, these guys don’t answer to anyone. There are just too many of them for us to handle ourselves.”

Tsukishima still doesn’t look totally convinced. “How do we know you’re telling us the truth?”

“If you could read our minds, you would know,” Bokuto mutters. Kuroo smacks him sharply upside the head.

“Hey,” The Tender snaps his fingers. “That’s not actually a bad idea! Tsukishima can’t read your minds, but he can sense if you’re lying to him!”

“Wicked,” Bokuto breathes.

Tsukishima glares, annoyed, at the Tender for half a second before relenting. “Oh, fine.”

Kuroo tries not to be too jealous when Tsukishima grabs Bokuto by the wrist and drags him forward until they’re nearly toe-to-toe. Bokuto’s face is tomato red and he squeaks when the Mage grabs him by the face with a hand on each cheek.

“U-uh, what are -“

“This better not be a waste of my energy,” Tsukishima gripes. Then, he tilts his head back so that his face is completely bathed in sunlight and stares up at the sky.

“Is this gonna hurt?”

“Shhh!” The Tender hisses. Bokuto’s jaw clacks shut. Kuroo’s not sure how his companion can even speak right now, with the way the air is pulsing and creasing around them.

It’s Tsukishima’s power, Kuroo knows it is. It’s the same thing he felt when they first approached, but it’s almost suffocating now in the best possible way. Like a weighted blanket. After only a few moments, Tsukishima lowers his hands and blinks his eyes back open slowly. They’re dancing with mesmerizing sparks, like embers off a flame.

“Hm. Appears they’re telling the truth.”

“Of course we are!” Bokuto shouts, immediately cowering when Tsukishima turns sharp eyes on him.

“Great!” The freckled boy claps his hands together. “In that case, we’d be happy help you!”

“Really? You guys are so nice! You’re not weird or creepy at all!” Bokuto says happily.

“Do you ever think before words come out of your mouth?” Tsukishima asks, sounding genuinely curious.

“Nope!” Bokuto says, still just as happy. He seems to be quickly getting over his fear of Mages.

“You two can come with us, and I’ll show you the House now.” The Tender beckons them to follow him. “My name is Yamaguchi. I’m a Tender to this House of Mages, and I’ll be available for any assistance you need.” Yamaguchi prattles on politely as he leads the past the oak tree towards what looks like a large farmhouse in the distance. “And this ball of sunshine here is one of our House’s most powerful Mages, Tsu -“

“Tsukishima.”

The word is met with abrupt silence and a snicker from Bokuto. It takes Kuroo a few seconds too long to realize that he was the one who cut Yamaguchi off, too eager to taste the blonde’s name on his lips to stop himself at the next opportunity.

“You, uh, you already said it. Earlier.” Kuroo wants to bury himself alive, can feel how badly his cheeks are flushed.

But it had tasted so good. Worth it

“Oh,” Yamaguchi laughs it off easily enough. “I guess you’re right!”

Kuroo tries to pay attention to Yamaguchi’s words and ignore Bokuto’s elbow jabbing teasingly into his ribs. He’s doing okay, following along relatively well and making sounds of polite acknowledgment to the Tender.

But then, Tsukishima turns back to look at him.

It’s only barely. He glances over his shoulder just enough for Kuroo to get a glimpse of his profile, and it’s so fast that if Kuroo hadn’t been staring at the back of Tsukishima’s head he might have missed it. But as it was, Kuroo had been staring, and when Tsukishima turned back, their eyes locked for the briefest of moments.

Tsukishima whips his head back around so quick, it could have all been a figment of Kuroo’s imagination.

But there’s this pretty pink flush creeping up the back of the Mage’s fair neck that Kuroo doesn’t tear his eyes away from the entire walk to the House.

*

Tsukishima, Kuroo learns from Yamaguchi’s explanations on their tour of the House, is a Mage of Light.

It makes perfect sense when he thinks about it. He's known the Mage only a short time, but while he clearly tries to give off a cold exterior, everything about him screams ‘light’. From the embers in his eyes, to his summery locks, and even simply the bright and even timbre of his voice.

Tsukishima is light.

And he is also, unfortunately, gone now. Once Yamaguchi had started his tour, Tsukishima parted ways with them with a simple, “Yamaguchi, you can handle them from here.”

“Where’s he going?” Kuroo couldn't help but ask, watching the blonde wander away from the house towards a clearing of trees.

“Don’t take it personally. Knowing Tsukki, he’s probably just going to meditate or something. New people make him nervous.”

“Tsukki?” Bokuto echoed gleefully.

Yamaguchi slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. “Oh, crap! Don’t tell him I called him that in front of you guys!”

“Your secret’s safe with us,” Kuroo promised.

Tsukki. How cute. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep that promise after all.

But the tour of the grounds is about over now, and Yamaguchi is leading them to the front door of the House when Kuroo finally spots Tsukishima again.

Well, more accurately, Bokuto spots him.

“Hey, uh, Yamaguchi? Does he normally do that?”

Kuroo looks up, following Bokuto’s line of sight and his breath catches in his throat.

Cross-legged in the middle of a clearing of trees, bathed in the morning light, Tsukishima sits, looking all at once like the most peaceful and dangerous creature Kuroo has ever seen. His face is the most relaxed Kuroo has seen it so far, without his mouth set firmly or his eyebrows pinched together. His lips are slightly parted, chest rising and falling steadily with his breathing, and he looks younger and even lovelier like this.

He’s also glowing.

Not the way he was glowing before, when Kuroo first met him, with the sun’s rays dancing across his pale skin. No, he’s glowing glowing now. There’s a shimmering golden outline around his body, flickering and moving around him like a living thing. It’s the most magickal thing Kuroo has ever seen.

Oddly enough, the last thing Kuroo notices is the fact that Tsukishima’s also hovering a few feet off the ground.

“Ah, knew it. Meditating.” Yamaguchi nods to himself.

“Sure, sure, but what about the, uh, the glowing? Is that normal?” Bokuto squints and rubs his eyes, making sure he wasn’t imagining the whole thing. Kuroo had the same idea for a second there, but no. He couldn’t make something this extraordinary up, even after everything he’s seen in his line of work.

“Perfectly normal, there’s no reason to worry.” Yamaguchi gives them a reassuring smile. Almost everything about the Tender’s presence in reassuring, calming in a way. “When Tsukishima-san meditates deeply, his true aura tends to bleed through. It’s kinda pretty, don't you think?”

“Yeah,” Kuroo agrees, dazed. Absolutely gorgeous. He still hasn’t managed to take his eyes off of the blonde, so he misses the little smirk Yamaguchi gives him before turning to continue the tour.

“Kinda creepy…” Bokuto mutters under his breath.

“Now, if you follow me inside, I’ll introduce you to…” Yamaguchi’s voice tapers off and Kuroo knows it’s because Yamaguchi’s getting further away and Kuroo should really be following him, but it’s like he’s in a trance.

“Hey. Hello. Earth to Kuroo?” Bokuto pokes Kuroo a few times in the shoulder.

“Hm?” He sounds lovestruck even to his own ears.

“Oh, no.” Bokuto firmly plants both hands between Kuroo’s shoulder blades, shoving him towards the House and breaking his Tsukishima-trance. “No, no way. We are here on a mission, Kuroo! All of Tokyo is depending on us! The fate of the people rests in our hands, so no, man, we do not have time to let ourselves get distracted by pretty little Mage - “

Bokuto stops short when they enter the House, nearly throwing Kuroo to the ground in front of him.

“Oh, there you both are! This is Akaashi-san, he’s a Mage of Darkness and he’ll be accompanying the two of you on your travels once night falls.”

Yamaguchi gestures to the man standing next to him, and even Kuroo has to admit that he’s impressed. Akaashi’s a little on the shorter side, with dark hair and analytical eyes and raven’s wing-lashes framing an angelic face.

Gods, the Mages around here were lovelier than any human had any right to be. But then again, they weren’t really human, were they?

“You were saying?” Kuroo teases Bokuto when his friend still hasn’t moved from his spot, frozen and slack-jawed in the doorway. He forgets all about making fun of his friend when Yamaguchi’s words register, falling like a heavy stone in his stomach. “Wait, so you mean… Ah, so is Tsukishima-san, uh, is he not going with us?”

Yep. He definitely played that one off very cool.

Yamaguchi gives him a funny smile. “Seeing as how Tsukishima-san is a Mage of Light, and you’ll be traveling through the night, it wouldn't make much sense for him to join you.”

“Tsukishima-san’s powers are weakest in the darkness, just as mine are weakest in the light,” Akaashi adds. He has a careful voice, almost monotonous but not boring. Bokuto swoons a little bit behind Kuroo.

“Which is exactly why the two of you are so perfect together!” Yamaguchi says.

Akaashi hums, a fondness softening his eyes and his voice when he says, “I suppose so.”

Together? Like, together together? Kuroo’s heart sinks even further. Of course, it makes perfect sense. Tsukishima is far too pretty for someone like Kuroo to ever have a chance with him. Someone as lovely as Tsukishima deserves someone almost as lovely as he is, and Akaashi was certainly right up there with the blonde.

“Oh, right.” Kuroo laughs awkwardly, scratching his head. “Obviously. I don’t know why I even asked.”

“It’s settled then!” Yamaguchi claps his hands together. “The three of you will leave when night falls, and Akaashi-san will see you safely to Hokodate. Will you be taking the Shinkansen or the ferry?”

“Ferry,” Kuroo answers.

“Really?” Akaashi raises an eyebrow. “Even with all the sea monsters?”

“I prefer to drive myself as much of the way as possible. Had a nasty run-in with some Hellhounds on the Shinkansen a few years back. You know what it’s like being stuck in a train car with a pack of Hellhounds, Akaashi-san?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

“It ain’t pretty,” Kuroo promises. He has the scars down his chest to prove it.

“We’ll trust your judgement, then. Akaashi-san is a will be perfectly capable of protecting you whether by land or by sea, just as long as you get there before sunrise.” With that, Yamaguchi nods to the three of them, before bowing and saying something about finding another Tender named Iwaizumi to start prepping for the day’s meals.

“I’m Bokuto!” The silver-haired man breaks the silence left in Yamaguchi’s wake jarringly, causing both Kuroo and Akaashi to wince at the volume.

Akaashi’s calculating gaze travels the entire length of Bokuto’s body, slowly up and down.

“I’m sure you are,” he simply says, before turning and exiting the room as well.

Bokuto fidgets, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and breaks after not even thirty seconds. “So, I’m just gonna go uh…”

Kuroo drops his head into his hands, waving him off hopelessly. “Go ahead. We can’t possibly get any more screwed than we already are.”

“Great!” Bokuto cheers, running out of the room, hot on Akaashi’s heels.

Great, Kuroo’s mind echoes sarcastically.

*

Kuroo does his best to keep busy and keep his mind off of Tsukishima.

He graciously accepts a late breakfast from Yamaguchi, and even offers to help him and the other Tender, a man with stern-looking eyebrows named Iwaizumi, get everything prepared in the kitchen. The two have cooking together down to a science, however, and Kuroo doesn’t do much but get in the way, so he just ends up sitting in the corner and watching. (Bokuto and Akaashi never show up to eat, oddly enough.)

After breakfast, Yamaguchi shows him upstairs to the room he’ll be staying in, and left alone to his own devices, Kuroo busies himself with sharpening his best blades and whittling his stakes, separating all of his bullets by material, and unpacking, then repacking everything in his bag to make sure he still has everything he needs for the rest of the journey.

It only takes about 20 minutes total.

He paces the floor back and forth a few times before aimlessly wandering over to the small window on the far side of the room, wanting to simply enjoy the view of the countryside and the greenery while he still can.

How the hell was he supposed to know that it would perfectly overlook the small clearing of trees where Tsukishima is still meditating, glowing like a small sun?

Kuroo is drawn to him like a planet in orbit.

He knows he shouldn’t bother the Mage. He should probably just ignore the fact that he even saw him at all, maybe go find Bokuto or do some pushups or something to get out his restless energy. But Bokuto is probably off with Akaashi somewhere, trying to charm the pants off of the pretty Mage, and watching Tsukishima sounds like a lot more fun than pushups.

So, sneaking for some reason, as if he’s doing something illicit, Kuroo slips out of his room, down the stairs, and out of the House. If he’s going to do this, he might as well do it all the way.

There are plenty of trees in the area surrounding the spot where Tsukishima sits - er, rather, floats? Kuroo picks one of the thickest ones, and, feeling like the world’s biggest creep, hides behind it.

He’s at just the right angle that he can see the way Tsukishima’s lips are parted around his deep breaths, his chest rising and falling under the thin blue fabric of his robe in perfect time. It feels like all of the air in the clearing is pushing and pulling along with Tsukishima’s breath, like it’s alive and bending to his will. Subconsciously, Kuroo finds himself syncing up with the blonde’s breathing, too. There’s a calmness that settles over him when he does, and he thinks he’s more at peace than he’s ever been.

With the warmth of the sun beating down on his skin where his shirt doesn’t cover his arms and shoulders, and Tsukishima’s breath in his lungs, Kuroo would happily stay right here for the rest of his life. Just plant himself right behind this tree and bask in Tsukishima’s light during the day, and protect him from the dark when night fell.

He’d probably do just about anything to stay right here.

“Could you please stop staring?”

Kuroo startles, jerking away so that he’s fully behind the tree now, pressing his back against the bark so hard it bites at his skin through his shirt. His heart is beating in his throat.

He’d been so relaxed and caught up in the haze of Tsukishima’s presence, he hadn't even noticed the blonde cracking one eye open to glare at him.

“Oh, gee, I wonder where on Earth he could have gone,” Tsukishima muses aloud, sarcastically.

Sheepishly, Kuroo steps out from behind the tree, scratching at the back of his head, ruffling his already disastrous hair. “Ah, what? Me? I wasn’t - I was just, uh…”

“Staring.”

“I may have been a little bit staring, yes.”

Tsukishima’s lips curve into an amused smile and Kuroo’s heart does a double-take. “I thought your friend was the one without the filter.”

“True, but I’m the one who can’t keep his mouth shut around pretty boys.”

Tsukishima turns his head away with a scoff, but not before Kuroo catches the faint blush staining the tops of his cheeks. So, unbearably lovely.

“I’ve got a feeling yours simply never shuts, no matter the circumstances.”

Kuroo chuckles, pleased by the light banter.

It would be one thing if Tsukishima were simply the prettiest face Kuroo had ever seen, but the fact that he’s been nothing but sharp tongue and devastating wit since the moment he first opened his mouth made him all the more tempting to Kuroo. He never did like the perfectly docile and agreeable kind, and Tsukishima was certainly anything but that.

With practiced and graceful movements, Tsukishima unfolds his long, slender legs and sets them firmly back on the ground, balls of his toes first, then the heels, the golden shimmer around him gradually fading away.

“How was the, uh, meditating?” Kuroo breaks the silence. Tsukishima raises an eyebrow as if to say point made.

“It was fine. I took a look into the path you’ll be traveling tonight, it looks to be all clear.”

“You can see that?” Kuroo asks, surprised. He would never claim to be some sort of expert on what Mages could and could not do, but it seemed like the new things he learned here would never stop coming.

Tsukishima shrugs. “I can see everything the light touches.”

“Everything?”

“Not many things try to hide during the day. Most things that don’t want to be found come out at night.”

“Like me?” Kuroo grins cheekily. Tsukishima blinks at him a few times, then gives a slight nod of his head.

“Exactly. If Akaashi were meditating at night, for instance, and looking for you, he’d have a much harder time finding you if you were making an effort to hide yourself.”

Kuroo nods to himself, absorbing the information. “Man, you’d have a pretty hard time finding my friend Kenma. You’d think he was allergic to the sun with how badly he tries to avoid it and stay locked away in his room with his video games all day.”

Tsukishima quirks a half-smile. “Some people find the light scarier than the dark.” His smile turns into a smirk. “Which are you more afraid of, Kuroo-san?”

The sun has reached its highest point in the sky now, shining directly down on them from above. It makes Tsukishima’s eyelashes cast spindly shadows down his cheeks and his eyes burn like wildfires.

“Light. Definitely light.”

His answer startles an amused huff of breath from the Mage, who assesses him slowly, as if it’s the first time he’s seeing him all over again. Kuroo doesn’t know why he likes that so much. Why Tsukishima’s gaze, even from several yards away, makes his blood thrum in his veins.

“I’m going for a walk,” Tsukishima announces suddenly, catching Kuroo off guard. He spins sharply on his heel and starts towards to tree-line of the surrounding woods.

Kuroo hesitates, not sure if that was Tsukishima’s kind way of saying ‘I’m through with your company now’, or if he should follow. The blonde stops at the edge of the trees, turning to look back over his shoulder.

“As our guest, you’re welcome to have free reign of the House’s grounds. That does include the woods,” he adds pointedly.

The next time Tsukishima takes a step forward, Kuroo takes one, too.

*

“Wait, really? You’ve never left Miyagi before?”

“I’ve never left these grounds before,” Tsukishima admits, stepping gingerly over a fallen branch. His footsteps are so light, they barely even make a sound on the earth beneath him.

“Never left the - That’s crazy!”

Tsukishima huffs. “I was taken to this House when I was a baby and raised here. I have a duty to this House. Not all of us can just run off on dangerous missions around the world whenever we want to.”

“I’m sorry,” Kuroo backtracks hastily, “it’s just that… You’ve never seen the sea? Or the Cherry Blossoms? Or the - “ Kuroo gasps. “You’ve never seen the Festival of Lights!”

A wistful sort of look crosses Tsukishima’s face, forlorn and frustrated all at once. Kuroo wants to kiss it away and make everything he possibly can better.

“No, I haven’t. But I’ve heard stories about them from travelers who come through here. They sound beautiful and…magickal.”

Like you, Kuroo doesn’t say out loud, but he has a sneaking suspicion that Tsukishima hears it anyways, or at least sees it written across his face, because the blonde suddenly ducks his head and nearly trips over a stray root.

“Careful,” Kuroo murmurs, trying to smother his grin. Tsukishima glares sharply at him, but it lacks heat. “I’ll take you to see it all someday, if you want.”

“You’re hardly the first traveler to offer me that.” Tsukishima rolls his eyes.

“I’ll be the last,” Kuroo promises.

“That could be construed as a threat.”

“You know, you’re making it pretty difficult for me to be charming here.”

Tsukishima hums like he knows exactly how difficult he’s making it. “I hadn’t even realized you were trying to be charming. You must not be doing a very good job.”

“Careful, those are fighting words,” Kuroo warns.

Tsukishima hums like he knows exactly what kind of words they are. Kuroo grins like a fool and follows the blonde further into the maze of trees.

The forest is alive with sound, even when Kuroo and Tsukishima don’t say a thing. Birds of all types calling to each other across the treetops, insects buzzing around, and twigs crunching under their feet. Living in the city, Kuroo is used to constant noise, but nothing like this.

There’s a slightly worn path that they loosely follow, and Kuroo is sure it’s the product of Tsukishima walking this same route day after day. He can’t help but feel flattered that he’d been invited along on the blonde’s ritual.

“So, we met Akaashi,” Kuroo finally hedges.

“How lovely for you,” Tsukishima says blandly, giving nothing away.

“Yeah… He’s, uh, very handsome.”

Kuroo can’t see Tsukishima’s face because the blonde is trailing a little ahead of him at this point, but he can see the way his shoulders tighten. The air around them seems to get heavier.

“He is.”

“How long have you two been together?”

Tsukishima turns back, and Kuroo sees the confused scrunch of his eyebrows and nose. It’s so unfair of him to be so cute when Kuroo’s asking him about another man.

“What do you mean? Are you asking how long we’ve known each other?”

Kuroo shakes his head. “No, I mean… How long have you been together?” He raises an eyebrow meaningfully.

Tsukishima stares blankly back at him. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“How long have you two been in love, or whatever?” Kuroo grumbles, kicking petulantly at a rock on the ground. It’s heavier than it looks and he ends up stubbing his big toe, but he refuses to let the pain show on his face.

“Oh.” Tsukishima says finally understanding. “No. Akaashi and I aren’t like that.”

Kuroo trips over his own feet in his haste to catch up to Tsukishima’s side.

“Wha - Really?”

“I care very much about Akaashi - as a friend. More like a brother, even. We grew up and trained closely together because of the nature of our powers, always told that we were meant to balance each other out and to fill in each other’s weak spots. But that’s all it is.”

Kuroo narrowly stops himself from starting to skip happily. That’s what Yamaguchi had meant by saying they were ‘perfect together’. They were like two sides of the same coin, darkness and light, working in tandem together.

“Oh,” Kuroo breathes, visibly relieved.

He considers reaching for the blonde’s hand, or at the very least letting the backs of their hands brush against each other. He’s suddenly starving to finally touch Tsukishima, even if it’s just the barest amount, to know what it feels like.

Kuroo kills that thought and pulls his hands back quickly when he sees the very dark, very annoyed cloud that has passed over Tsukishima’s expression.

Please don’t dust me, please don’t dust me, please don’t dust me.

“Uhhh, are you - ?”

“So you can go ahead and feel free to try and court him, or whatever ridiculous thing you have planned. It won’t work, I can assure you, but don’t let me stand in your way.” Tsukishima’s voice is all venomous bite, such a far cry from the teasing lilt Kuroo was starting to get used to.

Kuroo doesn’t trip this time, but he still feels like he loses his footing.

“Wait - what?”

Tsukishima’s lips press into a thin line, and he refuses to meet Kuroo’s gaze. “That’s why you asked me about him, right? And why you were so happy when I said we weren’t together? You’re interested in him.”

“No!” Kuroo waves his hands frantically. “No, that’s not it at all!”

“Then why?”

“I’m interested in you!”

Of course, the entire forest took that exact moment to go completely silent, making his words ring out too clunky and loud in the quiet.

“Oh,” Tsukishima says quietly after what feels like a small eternity.

“I thought I was being pretty obvious,” Kuroo chuckles, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Don’t get me wrong, you were pretty obvious,” Tsukishima says wryly. “But, that was before you met Akaashi… I just thought that after meeting him, maybe you had changed your mind…” His voice trails off uncertainly at the end, teeth catching his bottom lip and biting down on it distractingly.

“Changed my - “ Kuroo gapes. As if he stood a chance of ever falling for someone else again from the moment he met the blonde. “I’m offended that you think my affections to be so fickle, Tsukki!”

Another hurricane cloud passes over Tsukishima’s face, and Kuroo panics. What did he say wrong this time? Should he not have been so forward after all?

And then, Tsukishima says in the most terrifying voice Kuroo has ever heard in his life: “What did you just call me?”

Kuroo pales. “Uh… Nothing?”

Suddenly, there’s an accusing finger being jabbed right in front of his face. “Did Yamaguchi teach you that? Did he tell you to call me that? He thinks just because he’s my best friend he can get away with these things, but I swear, one of these days…” Tsukishima trails off threateningly.

And he just looks so unjustly wronged by a simple, cute little nickname that Kuroo can’t help but laugh loud enough to startle the nearby birds from the trees.

*

Kuroo had a crush on a girl once. Only once, back when he was just on the cusp of turning fourteen years old and there was a new transfer into their school.

Sana was a year older than Kuroo, with bright red hair down to the small of her back and bandages around her knees from when she scraped them falling out of a tall tree. Kuroo thought she was terribly cool, and when he did finally manage to win her affections, a sweet peck on the lips behind the school building after class one day, his stomach fluttered happily.

She moved away the next year, but for the longest time, those feelings that Kuroo had for her were his only experience with anything even remotely romantic. Sure, as he got older he’d slept with plenty of people here and there, went on a few dates even, but none of them made his heart beat a little faster the way Sana did.

The way Kuroo felt when he was with Tsukishima was a whole new beast.

He knew, from the moment he laid eyes on the Mage, that this was something completely different than he’d ever felt before. His mind supplied him with the word ‘love’, and Kuroo didn’t really feel the need to correct it, even though it probably wasn’t love, not the real thing, at least. But the beginnings of it, maybe. The seedlings of something with the potential to bloom so much bigger.

It takes more than a day to really fall in love, Kuroo knows that. But this feels so damn close.

“So, how many of you live here?” Kuroo asks, ducking under a low branch.

Tsukishima has been surprisingly tolerating all sorts of questions from Kuroo about Mages on their walk. He’s already asked when they develop their magic (“At birth. Everyone can just tell you’re a Mage the moment you’re born.”), how they know what kind of powers they have (“If you don’t stumble upon it by the time you turn twelve, there’s a testing system.” “How did you find out?” “Kinda hard to miss the sun.”), and various others ranging from his friendships with Yamaguchi and Akaashi, and what he likes to eat for breakfast.

“Eight of us, in total. There are the two Tenders who you’ve already met, Yamaguchi and Iwaizumi, and four other Mages. They’re all away on jobs right now, so you probably won’t get to meet them before…” He looks over at Kuroo, then quickly away.

Before I leave, Kuroo fills in the blanks, a sort of melancholy sadness seeping into his bones.

“What are they like?” He quickly distracts them both from his impending departure.

“Loud.” Tsukishima answers immediately. “Annoying. Obnoxious. Conceited.”

Kuroo laughs. “Wow, no wonder Akaashi’s your favorite.”

Tsukishima huffs, but Kuroo can see the amusement in his eyes. He’s just glad he was able to distract the blond enough to cheer him up. “There’s one other Mage who isn’t as loud as the rest, but he’s almost too quiet sometimes. I wouldn’t say I have a ‘favorite’, though. We all grew up here together, so unfortunately we’re more like siblings than anything else.”

“They drive you crazy, but you love ‘em like hell?” Kuroo asks, thinking about Bokuto and grinning.

“Something like that.” Tsukishima snorts. “It’s like, most of the time I want to bring down the entire sun on their stupid heads, but if anyone else tried to hurt them, I’d do anything to stop it.”

“Can you…Actually bring the sun down on people’s heads?”

“Not sure. Haven’t tried yet.” Tsukishima shrugs.

“Comforting. Remind me to never piss you off.”

Tsukishima smirks at him. “Not sure I could stop you even if I tried.”

“It’s a hazard that comes with the personality,” Kuroo admits. “Hey, what’s that?”

“Hm?” Tsukishima stops and turns back to where Kuroo has paused, looking up at something hanging from the tree branch above him. It’s a bright green little pouch and seems to be holding something inside of it. “That? It’s just a chrysalis.”

“A what?” Kuroo wants to reach out and poke it, but it looks delicate and he doesn’t want it to break.

“Oh?” Tsukishima grins, coming up next to him and looking up at it. “Am I going to teach you something here, Mister World Traveler?”

“You’re lucky you’re cute when you’re being so unbearably smug.”

Kuroo’s teasing is rewarded with a pretty flush across Tsukishima’s cheeks.

“Just shut up and listen, city boy.” Tsukishima cups his hand around the back of the tiny green pouch, and suddenly there’s a soft light emanating from the palm of his hand. The light makes the skin of the pouch translucent, and Kuroo can see the pattern of wings inside. Kuroo’s seen a lot of things in his life, but never anything like this. “You know caterpillars? Those ugly, hairy worms with legs? They build themselves a chrysalis like this around themselves, and when they come out, they become butterflies.”

“Wow, I’d love one of those for myself.”

“You could certainly use it.” Tsukishima smirks and lowers his hand, letting the light go out. He doesn’t step away though, still standing close enough to Kuroo that their shoulders almost touch, head tipped back with little sun spots dancing across his cheeks.

Kuroo has to remind himself to breathe after a few seconds. It’s so easy to just lose himself in this, in the sight of Tsukishima’s gently curving lips as he teases Kuroo, the way his blonde hair curls just behind his ear, the subtle curve of his soft jawline, so unlike Kuroo’s own sharp and stubbled one, especially from this angle -

Wait.

“You’re taller than me!”

Tsukishima startles, blinking down at him - down at him! - and pursing his lips.

“You’re just now noticing that?”

He says it like it’s something completely obvious, but it’s really only a centimeter or two, at most. Still, though, as Kuroo looks at him now, standing so close together, he can finally see it.

“Most people aren’t, so I guess it just took me a while,” Kuroo admits. “It makes sense, though.”

Tsukishima frowns, looking tired before he even asks, as if he’s expecting Kuroo to say something exhaustingly stupid. “Why is that?”

Kuroo looks up and waits until Tsukishima follows his gaze, up, up, all the way up to the sky.

“You’re closer to the sun.”

Priceless gold eyes snap down to meet his, and they’re close enough that Kuroo can feel Tsukishima’s sharp exhale ghost across his cheeks. His eyes follow the action down to Tsukishima’s lips, still slightly parted and pink like the inside of a ripe strawberry. Kuroo wonders if they would taste just as bitingly sweet.

Tsukishima clears his throat quietly and Kuroo’s gaze jerks back up to meet his eyes. They’re a little glazed over, but Kuroo is sure they’re nowhere near as bad his are. Abruptly, Tsukishima takes a half step back and turns away.

“I’m a Mage of light, not a Mage of the sun.”

Kuroo blinks, forcing his brain to get back on board with something other than kissing the beautiful boy in front of him.

“But it still makes you more powerful, right?”

“Among other things, yes.”

“Then I stand by it.”

A sly grin quirks at the corners of Tsukishima’s mouth, and fuck, Kuroo wants to kiss it.

“You know, by that logic, you’re closer to the dirt.”

Kuroo throws his head back with a laugh.

“You got me there.”

*

“Do you have a family?”

Tsukishima rolls his eyes so far back in his head, it looks painful. “Of course I do, don’t be ridiculous.”

“How would I know! I’m just trying to make conversation. Do you ever get to see them?”

“Once a year all of our families come to visit.” Tsukishima says with a soft, faraway look in his eyes. “We have this big celebration, like we’re having every holiday all at once since we don’t see each other the rest of the year. Everyone makes different kinds of food, and there’s music and singing… It’s nice.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Kuroo says, and he can just imagine it. Tsukishima surrounded by warmth and laughter, begrudgingly getting roped into singing and dancing with everyone else, fighting a big smile the whole time.

“Is anyone else in your family tall like you are?”

“My older brother is pretty close, but I finally overtook him a few years ago,” Tsukishima says smugly.

“You have an older brother? You’re so lucky! I just have a younger sister and she’s a total pain.”

“Trust me, older brothers can be just as much of a pain.” Tsukishima’s face scrunches up in a cute, annoyed expression.

“Guess I’ll just have to take your word for it.” Kuroo sighs forlornly, but it’s mostly an act. He always wanted a brother, but luckily he got Bokuto instead. “Is your brother a Mage like you?”

“No,” Tsukishima answers simply, and then he’s quiet for long enough that Kuroo thinks that’s all he’s going to say. But then, slowly, he starts to elaborate. “They thought he would be. Our great grandfather was and it usually skips two generations. It’s also usually the oldest child in a family, but for some reason…Akiteru wasn’t. Everyone thought that was it, that it had skipped our generation and there wouldn’t be any Mages in our family, but it turned out that it was just me, instead. So no, my brother’s just a regular guy.” Tsukishima grins wryly, looking up at the sky like he’s in a silent battle with it.

“You sound a little jealous,” Kuroo points out. Tsukishima looks down and meets Kuroo’s gaze levelly.

“Would you choose this life if you had the choice?”

There’s a lot of weight behind the question, and Kuroo can tell it’s something he’s spent a lot of time thinking about. Tsukishima must feel cheated, being forced into this life when it should have been his brother instead. Sent here when he was just an infant, tied down to this House, only able to see his family once a year…

But he’s a Mage. He’s got magick and powers that most people can only dream of, and he’s got his own family here. Yamaguchi and Akaashi and Iwaizumi and all the other Mages who he can tell Tsukishima loves to the ends of the Earth. It’s not a simple life, and it’s not an easy life, but it doesn’t seem all that bad. Seems exciting, really.

But would Kuroo choose this life for himself?

“I’m honestly not sure,” Kuroo answers finally. Tsukishima doesn’t look satisfied by his answer, eyebrows still creased as he distractedly pushes a low-hanging branch out of both of their ways. “Think of it this way,” Kuroo adds with an impish grin. “If you weren’t a Mage, you never would have met me.”

“What a devastating loss that would have been,” Tsukishima says in the most monotone voice Kuroo has ever heard. But he doesn’t look so troubled anymore, so Kuroo takes the jab as a win.

“I’m serious, the chances that we would ever cross paths outside of this House are practically none! You’re originally from the South aren’t you?”

Kuroo had suspected it from the moment he laid eyes on Tsukishima. There wasn’t anyone who looked like Tsukishima up where Kuroo was from.

He sincerely doubted there was anyone else in the world who looked like Tsukishima.

“My family is from the South, yes.”

“And Freckles, too, right?” Kuroo could also tell just from looking. Tsukishima nods. “Did you know each other when you were kids, or is it just coincidence that you both ended up here?”

Tsukishima’s steps slow and Kuroo matches the blonde’s pace. He isn’t looking up at the sky while he thinks this time, he’s looking down at the ground.

“I was brought to this House when I was only an infant, but Yamaguchi’s family and mine were always very close back home. When Yamaguchi’s family found out that a Mage had finally been born in the Tsukishima family, they acted like it was some kind of miracle. They went to my parents and basically offered up their unborn son as a Tender to look after me. When Yamaguchi turned eleven, his parents sent him to this House specifically, because it’s where I was.”

“Jeez, that’s pretty intense. So that’s how they choose the Tenders of the House? You just gotta volunteer?”

“Not quite.” Tsukishima shakes his head. “You can’t just decide that you want to be a Tender, you have to go through a rigorous training course. What Yamaguchi went through was intense - even more so than what the Mages had to go through sometimes. Most people who volunteer to become Tenders don’t even make it past the first month of training.”

Kuroo whistles low, impressed. His first impression of the easygoing, freckle-faced Tender hadn’t been that he was a particularly tough, but Kuroo’s been wrong about first impressions before. If Kuroo ran into him in a dark alley at night, he might think twice before taking him on knowing what he does now.

“He must have really wanted to stay here with you.”

I know the feeling.

“Of course he did,” Tsukishima shrugged, a gesture that would have been careless if it wasn’t for the tightness in his shoulders. “He spent the first eleven years of his life being told by his parents that I was some kind of miracle child, or something. Before he even met me he was practically being brainwashed into believing that I would be worth all of the trouble he went through to get here.”

Kuroo could feel the conversation entering dangerous territory again. He hasn’t known Tsukishima very long at all, but he’s definitely getting pretty good at reading the blonde’s moods. What he looks like when he’s open to playful banter, when he wants Kuroo’s honest opinion about something…and when he doesn’t want Kuroo to push.

Unfortunately, Kuroo has always been big on pushing.

“I think Yamaguchi would agree that you’re worth all the trouble, even after knowing you.”

“Maybe. But I guess we’ll never know for sure.”

“Hold on.” Kuroo stops in his tracks, holding his hands up and shaking his head. “You’re kidding me, right? There’s no way that out of all people, you doubt Freckles’ loyalty to you.”

Tsukishima stops and turns back to face Kuroo, arms crossing defensively over his chest. “I don’t doubt his loyalty, I doubt the origins of it.”

“Don’t be dumb, Tsukki.”

The blonde jolts back like he’s been smacked. “What?”

Kuroo chooses his next words carefully. He likes pushing people not because he’s reckless with it, but because he’s good at it.

“That kid doesn’t look at you with some kind of blind devotion, like you’re this miracle or something. He looks at you like you’re a friend. Like you’re someone he knows every part of - good and bad - and still wants to be around. I’m pretty good at reading people, and from the moment I saw the two of you together, the bond between you was written on your faces clear as day. It’s a rare look, so I know it when I see it.”

The way Yamaguchi looks at Tsukishima; it’s the same way Tsukishima looks at Yamaguchi, too. And the same way -

“Like you and Bokuto?” Tsukishima seems to read his mind.

“Yeah, like me and Bo.” Kuroo agrees with a fond grin. “I’d take a goddamn knife to the heart for that guy. He’s my best friend in the world. I think Freckles would do even more than that for you, but not because he thinks you’re some kind of God. I think it’s because despite everything he was told, he knows that you aren’t.”

Tsukishima opens his mouth. Snaps it shut again. The wind blows, ruffling his blonde waves, and he finally lets out a little disbelieving laugh. He tangles a hand in his hair, holding it out of his face, and tilts his head to the side. He’s breathtaking, looking at Kuroo with that lingering smile of his.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“So unnervingly honest.”

“Oh,” Kuroo laughs, rocking back on his heels. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Why?” Tsukishima blinks both wide, golden eyes at him with an expression more open and childlike than Kuroo has seen on him all day. It’s hopelessly endearing.

“Never gained anything by lying to people.”

He waits a moment for Tsukishima to roll his eyes, to smirk and contradict him just to get a banter going between them, but it never comes. Instead, the blonde just smiles the most heartbreaking smile Kuroo has ever seen.

“We should head back soon. You need to rest before you leave. There’s a long night of traveling ahead of you,” Tsukishima says quietly, shattering Kuroo’s dreamlike fantasy and bringing a hammer of reality crashing down on it.

He’s right, Kuroo realizes, when he looks up at the sky and sees the sun starting to make its slow descent to the West.

“I’d rather stay with you,” Kuroo says honestly.

Tsukishima looks pained by his admission, and Kuroo thinks for the hundredth time how unfair it is that he can’t just kiss all of his worries away.

“What would Bokuto do without you?” The blonde teases weakly.

“I have a pretty good feeling that Akaashi-san would be perfectly capable of handling him.”

“Strange way of saying, ‘kill him and dispose of the body somewhere no one could find it.’”

“Nah,” Kuroo grins. “Bo has a way of getting under people’s skin.”

“You two have that in common then?” Tsukishima asks dryly.

Kuroo beams. “Are you trying to say that I’ve gotten under your skin, Tsukki?”

“Don’t call me -“

Tsukishima’s words break off into a gasp as Kuroo’s knuckles lightly graze the side of his face.

He hadn’t even done it consciously, it felt like something in him just finally broke after holding back all day and his body moved on its own. Like he was answering a Siren call, helpless to stop the pull.

It was everything Kuroo had expected, and so much more. Sparks.

He’s broken out of his marvel by Tsukishima stepping back as quickly as if Kuroo had been an open flame burning him. His eyes wide and startled, lips popped open, cheeks cherry-red. It was impossible to read how Tsukishima felt, and Kuroo prepares for the worst.

“I’m sorry,” he says earnestly.

One of Tsukishima’s hands starts to drift up towards the side of his face Kuroo had mapped with his gentle touch, but he quickly catches himself and drops it back to his side.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

He walks past Kuroo, careful to keep their bodies from brushing even the barest bit, and leads them back towards the House. Kuroo spends the entire time fighting against every instinct in his body that screams for him to touch Tsukishima again.

*

Yamaguchi doesn’t seem all that surprised to see Kuroo and Tsukishima walking back to the House together. Knowing what he does about Yamaguchi and all of his training now, Kuroo kind of feels like an idiot for ever trying to sneak out in the first place. Yamaguchi is a Tender of this House, of course he knows everything that goes on inside of it - and outside.

“Oh good, you’re both back!” Yamaguchi smiles friendly as ever, so Kuroo figures he isn’t in trouble for trying to slip past him. “Kuroo-san, you should really get some rest. And I think Akaashi-san was looking for you, Tsukishima-san.”

“You don’t have to call him that in order to keep up appearances around me, you know.” Kuroo toes off his shoes in the doorway. Yamaguchi pauses.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Tsukishima sighs, pushing past them both. “Give it up, Yamaguchi. The damage is already done.”

Yamaguchi looks quickly between the two of them, eyes widening. “Damage? What -?”

“Isn’t that right, Tsukki?” Kuroo croons happily, even as the Mage scowls and his eyes start to glow an eerie shade of pale yellow.

“Oops?” Yamaguchi offers with a nervous laugh. Tsukishima just rolls his eyes and cuffs the shorter boy on the back of the head when he walks by and up the stairs, presumably where Akaashi is waiting for him. Kuroo distantly wonders where Bokuto has gone off to, if he’s up there with Akaashi, too.

“He’s in a good mood,” Yamaguchi smiles to himself after the blonde is gone. He turns back to Kuroo with a knowing smile. “You guys had a nice time, then?”

“That’s a good mood?” Kuroo asks, mostly for show. He doesn’t know Tsukishima as well as Yamaguchi does, but even he can tell that Tsukishima isn’t doing much more than putting up a very thinly veiled facade of grumpiness.

“He doesn’t take to most people very easily,” Yamaguchi continues, ignoring Kuroo’s question. “Tsukki draws people in like moths to a flame, partly because of his natural power and aura, but also partly because a lot of the people who pass through here enjoy the challenge he poses. But it’s very rare that he ever reciprocates.”

“He has high standards, as he should.” Kuroo says carefully. Something about this feels like a test, and he doesn’t know why, but he really wants to pass it.

“It would take someone very special to ever get Tsukki to completely lower his walls.” Yamaguchi takes a step closer to Kuroo, tilting his head to the side and examining him with critical eyes. Kuroo instinctively squares his shoulders under the scrutiny and it makes Yamaguchi break into a small grin. “Someone very special, indeed.”

“As long as they make him happy, isn’t that what’s important?”

Yamaguchi blinks slowly at him and says very seriously, “As long as Tsukki’s happy, that’s all that matters to me.”

For a brief moment, something in his tone and his expression reminds Kuroo of his conversation with Tsukishima earlier. About Yamaguchi having a blind, almost reverent devotion to the Mage. He can see why Tsukishima might get confused sometimes, with the intensity of Yamaguchi’s faithfulness to him. But really, there’s nothing blind about it at all.

“You’re a good friend, Yamaguchi. I hope Tsukishima has you by his side for a very, very long time.”

The smile that gets him in return is one of the purest, brightest things Kuroo has ever seen in his life.

“Thanks so much, Kuroo-san! Now really, you should get some rest. Nightfall will be here before you know it.”

Kuroo looks over Yamaguchi’s shoulder out the window on the wall behind him. The sun is already partially hidden behind the tops of the trees, casting long shadows across that ground that reach towards the House like ghostly arms.

It’ll only be a few hours now before it’s completely set and the darkness settles.

*

The sound of his bedroom door quietly sliding open wakes Kuroo from his not-quite-sleep.

He’d been laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, drifting in and out of wakefulness, for some time now. He knew he needed a nap or something if he was going to make it through the night completely on his guard, but he was restless and itching, unable to completely relax.

To his surprise, but certainly not his displeasure, it’s Tsukishima he opens his eyes to find standing in the doorway. He watches wordlessly, feeling like the world has stopped around him as Tsukishima takes a step into his room and closes the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, a little breathless, still a little unsure that he isn’t still asleep.

“You’re not the first traveler to want me,” Tsukishima informs him, head held high but voice wavering.

“I never assumed I was,” Kuroo shakes his head in confusion, sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed.

Tsukishima takes another step forward and Kuroo catches his breath.

“You’re not the first, and you’re not nearly the most charming. Not even the most handsome.”

“Okay, ouch?”

All of the sting of Tsukishima’s words disappears when the blonde walks right up to Kuroo’s bedside. Without needing to be asked, Kuroo widens his knees and Tsukishima steps between them. His hands tremble at his sides, and Kuroo can’t stop himself from reaching out to take them, to provide him with comfort. He’s pretty sure he knows what’s happening here, and he’ll be damned if he lets the blonde scare himself away.

“I - I don’t understand it,” he whispers, biting down on his bottom lip.

“Don’t understand what?” Kuroo asks gently.

“Why, out of all of them, out of every man who came before you, why do I - Why are you - “ Tsukishima breaks off with a frustrated whine. “I - I - “

“Go on,” Kuroo urges, trying to stay composed. “You can tell me, Tsukki.”

A silent war rages over Tsukishima’s lovely features, his eyebrows furrowing, mouth opening and closing without any words coming out. He seems lost and unsure, and Kuroo hates to see the normally so bold and witty blonde like this.

“How about I go first? Will that make it easier for you?”

Tsukishima pauses to think it over, then gives a tiny nod.

“I want you,” Kuroo breathes and Tsukishima makes a sound like he’s been wounded. “I want you like I’ve never wanted anything or anyone before in my life, and it’s crazy and it makes no sense, because we literally just met, but - “

“I want you, too.” Tsukishima’s voice shakes like leaves in a storm but the words are clear and unmistakable.

It’s all the confirmation Kuroo needs, before he’s grabbing the blonde by his narrow hips and pulling them flush against each other. Tsukishima’s hands are sliding into his hair and Kuroo happily tips his head back and lets him lean down and initiate the first press of their lips at his own pace.

It’s agony to wait for it. Only a second or two at most, but agony.

Kuroo didn’t know what kissing felt like, not really, until this very moment. All he knew before now was the feeling of flesh against his, warm and sometimes wet, but never like this. Never so alive like this, that every nerve ending on his body felt the light brush of Tsukishima’s lips over his. Never so warm and tender, something more than just physical.

Never before has Kuroo felt a kiss on his very soul.

“Oh,” is the only thing he’s capable of saying when the kiss ends, all too soon, and Tsukishima pulls away, looking down at him with his lip caught in his teeth.

“Oh,” Tsukishima echoes, sounding incredibly short of breath. “I’ve never done that before.”

“You’ve never…” Kuroo says slowly, processing. “You’ve never kissed anyone before?”

Tsukishima flushes, averting his gaze. “I never wanted to. Is that a problem?” He challenges, but Kuroo can hear the anxiousness in his voice.

“No, no,” he uses his thumbs to stroke Tsukishima’s hipbones reassuringly, reverently like he’s the most precious thing in the world because right now, to Kuroo, he is. “That’s not a problem at all. In fact, that is the opposite of a problem. I’m honored, Tsukki, really I am.”

To think that he, Kuroo Tetsurou, some scruffy Hunter from Tokyo, would be deemed worthy of someone like Tsukishima’s first kiss was almost too miraculous to be believable.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” Tsukishima admits quietly, hands coming up to slide into Kuroo’s hair. Kuroo hums appreciatively at the feeling of his long, dextrous fingers scratching lightly at his scalp.

“You’re doing just fine, don’t worry so much. We don’t have to do anything that you’re not - “

“I want to do more,” Tsukishima cuts him off, blushing furiously at his own words. Kuroo himself is far from unaffected. “I mean, I want to do it all. Everything. I only want to do it with you.”

“Are you sure?” Kuroo frowns in concern. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not saying no here, but wouldn’t you rather wait a little longer? You did just have your first kiss, like, thirty seconds ago.”

Tsukishima shakes his head forcefully. “I don’t want to wait. I can’t wait.”

Kuroo doesn’t understand the urgency in his voice at first, but then he gets it.

They only have until the sun goes down.

“You’ll tell me if you change your mind, right? If at any point you want to stop, you just say the word and I’ll - “

“Yes, yes, I promise.” Tsukishima crowds him back onto the bed, crawling over him and pressing terribly distracting kisses all down his neck.

“I’m - ah - I’m serious. If anything doesn’t feel right, or you just need a second to catch your breath - “

“Kuroo.” Tsukishima sits back and looks right into his eyes, gaze piercing. “If I want you to stop, you’ll know. And if you don’t, I’ll blow your dick off.”

Laughing, gently guides Tsukishima’s face up further so he can connect their lips again. Now that their kisses are lasting longer, going a little deeper, it becomes more evident that Tsukishima has never done this before. He’s a beat behind Kuroo at certain times, and it takes him a second to readjust when they change position. He doesn’t even realize that Kuroo is trying to get him to open his mouth until he pulls back and asks him to do so.

But damn if he isn’t a quick learner.

In no time at all, Tsukishima grows a little more confident in his movements. He doesn’t shy away from Kuroo’s tongue, and instead lets them slide against each other. When Kuroo bites gently at Tsukishima’s bottom lip with his teeth, Tsukishima does the same back to him, drawing a deep groan out of Kuroo’s gut.

Eventually, his trembling arms get tired of holding himself up, and he lets his entire body lay flush along Kuroo’s, and oh. Oh that’s a whole new can of worms Tsukishima is about to open up here.

He knows he shouldn’t be since this is Tsukishima’s first time and all, but he’s still surprised when he feels how hard the other is through the thin fabric of his robes. Tsukishima’s mouth drops open at the first hint of friction, panting into Kuroo’s mouth and rutting against his thigh so feverishly, Kuroo can’t do anything but hold on tight, pulling him closer and whispering words of encouragement in his ear. This is the first time Tsukishima has felt anything like this, and Kuroo is more than content to just lay back and let the blonde use him for his pleasure.

“Oh - Oh, Gods, Kuroo, fuck!” Tsukishima moans, bodies pressed close enough that Kuroo can feel the vibrations rumbling all the way down to the soles of his feet, and it’s all so hot that Kuroo can feel himself getting fully hard almost immediately.

Within moments, Tsukishima’s body is going taut against him, grinding down in abortive movements, then shaking completely apart as he comes whining Kuroo’s name, wrapped in his arms fully clothed, without Kuroo even getting a single finger on him.

Fuck.

Kuroo holds Tsukishima to his chest, running soothing hands down his back as his breathing settles. After a few minutes, he huffs an incredulous laugh, bringing his hands up to cover his face.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to - That was just so - Shit, I’m so embarrassed.”

Kuroo shushes him, continuing to stroke his back. “You have nothing to apologize for, stop that. And embarrassed of what? Being the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life? Because you were, Tsukki. You were fucking incredible.”

Tsukishima makes a small noise of surprise when Kuroo wraps his arms around his waist and flips them over so that Tsukishima is sprawled underneath him now. The blonde looks up at him with pupils blown wide, breath hitching slightly.

Kuroo leans down to nose at his throat, gently biting his way up to his ear.

“You said you wanted it all, right?” He feels Tsukishima shudder beneath him. “Is that still what you want? Because I’ll give you everything, Tsukki, you just have to tell me.”

A helpless whine tears brokenly out of Tsukishima’s throat, his hands coming up to grasp at Kuroo’s back, nails digging in through layers of clothes.

“Oh, Gods, yes, Kuroo - “

“Tetsurou.” Kuroo cuts him off. Tsukishima looks up at him in confusion, so he clarifies: “This time when you come, I want you screaming my real name.”

Tsukishima drags him down into a hungry, frantic kiss.

“Yes, yes, Tetsurou, please,” he begs so sweetly that Kuroo has no choice but to comply.

It’s not until some time later, when Kuroo’s already got them both stripped of all their clothing, Tsukishima’s long, pale legs spread around him and three spit-coated fingers squeezed into the tight heat of Tsukishima’s ass, that the blonde seems to suddenly remember.

“Kei,” he whispers. “Call me Kei.”

Kuroo feels like he’s just been told all the secrets to the universe.

And Kuroo calls him ’Kei, Kei, you’re so lovely, Kei,’ and he calls him ’Good, you’re doing so good, Kei. You feel so good, Kei,’ and ’Does it feel good, Kei? Do you feel good?’

Tsukishima cries when Kuroo finally pushes his entire length inside of him.

“Am I hurting you?”

“It’s s-so much.” Tsukishima throws his head back and sobs. “Tetsurou, I’ve never felt this m-much before.”

Kuroo kisses up and down the column of his long, slender throat while Tsukishima trembles and cries and holds Kuroo perfectly still against him with strong legs wrapped around his back, until finally the trembling subsides and he tells Kuroo, “More.”

Kissing Tsukishima had felt like a soothing caress on his soul, but fucking him felt like setting the entire thing aflame.

There was a certain debauched pureness to the way Tsukishima blushed and writhed and begged for more beneath him. The fact that Kuroo was the first person to ever do this, to ever have Tsukishima like this, only fueled him further. Made him want to make Tsukishima feel so good, wanted to be the only person to ever have the Mage like this ever again.

He’d happily spend the rest of his life right here in this bed, feeling Tsukishima’s body against his and hearing him chanting his name, Tetsurou, Tetsurou, like he was some kind of God. Like Tsukishima was the human, and Kuroo was the all-powerful being.

Kuroo tries to hold out as long as he can, to make it last as long as possible, but the second time Tsukishima comes, screaming his name and spasming tight and warm around him, he can’t hold it off anymore. He comes harder and longer than he ever has in his life, pulling out just in time to paint Tsukishima’s stomach and chest sticky and white. His vision clouds around the edges and all his tunnel-vision can see is two bright golden eyes staring up at him.

“Oh,” Tsukishima pants, staring up at the ceiling.

“Oh,” Kuroo repeats, collapsing on the bed next to him, just as breathless.

“Is it always like that?”

“No,” Kuroo swallows hard past the lump in his throat. “No, it’s not.”

It had never been like that for Kuroo before in his life. It probably never would be again, and the thought of this being their first and only time together, the thought of leaving Tsukishima now…

“Thank you, Tetsurou.”

Oh.

*

Kuroo grabs a wet cloth from the bathroom (luckily attached to his room) and wipes Tsukishima down carefully, down his chest and between his legs, before doing the same for himself and flopping down in the center of the bed. Tsukishima, as if drawn like a magnet, sticks himself right against his side. Kuroo wraps an arm around his should and prays he’ll never have to let go.

Tsukishima’s fingers dance across his skin, delicately tracing over various scars and bruises Kuroo’s earned over the years.

“What’s this from?”

Kuroo peers down at the claw marks Tsukishima is referring to, right across his left pectoral.

“Hellhounds. It’s a long, nasty story. I won’t bore you with the details.”

“Hm,” Tsukishima smooths over it sympathetically. “And this one?” His fingers slide over to the burn on his ribcage.

“Baby dragon. He wasn’t trying to be mean or anything, he just got a little spooked when we tried to get him into the crate to send him off to Romania.”

“What about the bruises on your shins?”

Kuroo laughs hard, nearly startling Tsukishima off of him.

“Those are gifts from my dear elven friend, Yaku. Though I really have no room to complain, Lev’s got it way worse than me.”

To be fair, the tree spirit was asking for it most of the time, always riling Yaku up and teasing the elf about his height.

“I met an elf once,” Tsukishima says. “His name was Nishinoya. Loudest goddamn being I’ve ever had the misfortunate of traveling with.” He laughs. “Gods, our lives are weird.”

“You can say that again,” Kuroo agrees.

“I wonder,” Tsukishima says a bit sadly, “what it would have been like if we had met under different circumstances, as normal people.”

“Why would that matter?” Kuroo asks. “We met now, didn’t we?”

*

Kuroo’s still not quite asleep, but something close to it - warm and peacefully blissed out - when a gentle knock on the door startles him. Tsukishima, who fell asleep on Kuroo’s bare chest, freezes and looks up at him with wide eyes. Kuroo is going to ask him what the problem is when Tsukishima suddenly grabs the blanket and wrenches it over his head, like whoever is out there can see through the door into Kuroo’s room.

Which, actually, they probably could if they really wanted to. In which case, the blanket wouldn’t really do much as a last line of defense anyways.

“Kuroo-san?” It’s Akaashi’s placid voice that calls from the other side of the door. Kuroo stifles his laughter and wraps a comforting arm around Tsukishima underneath the blanket.

“Yes?” He makes sure to use his best ‘I Didn’t Just Have Sex and Fall in Love With Your Friend’ voice.

“Yamaguchi sent me up here to tell you that it’s time for dinner.” There’s a brief pause. “You too, Tsukishima,” he tacks onto the end, and Kuroo swears he can hear a little bit of humor in his voice.

Tsukishima groans loudly, burying his nose in Kuroo’s sternum and Kuroo doesn’t bother to hold back his laughter this time.

“Oh man, you guys are terrifying. How the hell do you guys keep any secrets in this House?”

“We don’t.” Tsukishima pops his head out from under the blanket with a hauntingly somber expression. Kuroo shudders and doesn’t ask for any further clarification.

“Aw, c’mon, aren’t you excited to show me off?” Kuroo waggles his eyebrows and rolls them both over to hover over Tsukishima. He looks like a wrecked angel, laying underneath him with his miles of pale skin, marked over countless times by Kuroo’s teeth, on display, and his blonde hair fanning out around his face like a halo. Kuroo wants to hire the best painter in the country to create a portrait of Tsukishima in this exact moment so he can see it again whenever he wants to.

“No.”

Kuroo laughs and kisses each of Tsukishima’s cheeks in turn.

“Well I’m excited to show you off, how about that?”

“Nonsense. Everyone here knows what I look like already.”

“Nah,” Kuroo shakes his head. He traces a finger down the side of Tsukishima’s face. “You look different now, I think.”

“It’s all the hickies,” Tsukishima deadpans. Kuroo laughs.

“Didn’t hear you complainin’ a few minutes ago.”

Tsukishima blushes and shoves at Kuroo’s shoulders.

“Get off, I need to get dressed.”

Kuroo gallantly rolls back off of the blonde to allow him to stand and start picking up his discarded robes from the ground. He knows he should be getting dressed too, but he allows himself just a few more moments of basking in the afterglow, watching Tsukishima’s lithe, graceful form moving around the room with slow, purposeful movements.

“You’re really the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen, you know that?”

The ties to Tsukishima’s robe go slack in his hands, looking up at Kuroo with lips parted slightly in surprise. Slowly, a little grin, too honest and pure for Kuroo’s mortal heart to take, takes shape.

“You’re not all that bad, yourself.”

Kuroo swoons exaggeratedly.

“I’m blushing, honestly I am.”

“Idiot.” Tsukishima laughs and chucks Kuroo’s own bundle of clothes right at his face. “Let’s get going, before Yamaguchi comes up here to get us himself. He doesn’t have quite as much respect for privacy as Akaashi does.”

There are a lot of things that Kuroo wants to say to Tsukishima in that moment. Confessions and promises and questions about the future, but the Mage looks so carefree, humming to himself lightly under his breath and taking Kuroo’s belt out of his hands to buckle it for him himself that Kuroo can’t bring himself to break the peace.

Tsukishima looks up at him when he’s finished with the belt, resting both hands on Kuroo’s chest and smiling softly. There are little pops and shimmers of golden light that have been dancing on an endless loop in his eyes ever since he woke up, and a looseness to the slope of his shoulders when he curls himself against Kuroo and tilts his head for a chaste kiss.

“Yeah,” Kuroo mumbles against Tsukishima’s lips. “They aren’t gonna recognize you at all.”

*

“This chicken is really good, Iwaizumi-san.”

“Thank you, I used herbs I grew myself for the seasoning. What are your intentions with Tsukishima?”

Kuroo promptly chokes on his delicious bite of chicken.

“Really?” Tsukishima sighs, knocking his fist into Kuroo’s back a few times until the meat dislodges itself.

It’s kind of romantic, in a grossly domestic sort of way.

“What?” Iwaizumi shoots back, crossing his - oh yeah, wow - very impressive arms over his chest. Kuroo is pretty confident in his own strength, but he’s not too sure he could hold his own against Iwaizumi. “You don’t think we have a right to be concerned here?”

“What I do in private isn’t really any of your concern.”

“But you are,” Yamaguchi points out softly. “You’re our concern, Tsukki.”

“Wait a second,” Bokuto looks between the other occupants of the table with rapidly growing confusion. “Did I miss something here? I feel like I missed something.”

“Um,” Kuroo clears his throat, holding up a finger. “If I could interject for a moment here -“

“Your friend here took our sweet Tsukishima’s innocence,” Akaashi explains to Bokuto, grinning innocently when Tsukishima turns a fiery glare on him.

“He didn’t ‘take’ anything from me, you’re all being ridiculous!”

“Yeah!” Kuroo jumps in. “He gave it to me! Completely consensual!”

Iwaizumi’s glare deepens and the muscles in his forearms bulge threateningly. Yamaguchi just bursts into wicked little giggles that he barely manages to hide behind his hands, and Akaashi smirks while Bokuto gapes at them all.

“Kuroo,” Tsukishima says tiredly. “You’re not helping.”

“I can see that now, yes.”

The blonde rolls his eyes, and Kuroo grins helplessly at him. If he was being completely honest with himself, he had every intention in the world for Tsukishima.

As far as awkward family dinners go, Kuroo is kind of enjoying this one. After a few more minutes of light-hearted teasing, everyone goes back to eating, though Kuroo can’t help but notice the threatening looks that Iwaizumi throws him every so often, mixed in with a few teasing eyebrow waggles from Bokuto.

They’ve all nearly cleaned their plates when Tsukishima suddenly sits up ramrod straight, drawing all of their attention as his eyes bleed into a pure gold, completely washing out his pupils. It’s eerie and beautiful.

“Oikawa and Aone are back,” he says.

“Oh, good!” Yamaguchi beams. “There are plenty of leftovers for -“

“Something’s wrong.” Tsukishima’s words are definite and chilling.

Iwaizumi half-rises out of his seat. “What?” He demands, just as the gold is bleeding back out of Tsukishima’s eyes and his pupils return to their normal color. “Is he - Are they okay?”

Tsukishima abruptly pushes away from the table and stands.

“I don’t know, but we need to go. Now.”

*

The first thing Kuroo notices when they reach the man staggering towards the House at the edge of the clearing is that he’s just as inhumanly beautiful as all the other Mages he’s met. Which, is only two, but still. That’s a lot of disgustingly pretty people to meet in one day.

He’s got flowing chestnut brown hair and warm, earthy eyes with long lashes and a sharp nose. He’s also trembling so badly from the waist down, Kuroo is pretty sure he’s going to collapse into a heap on the ground at any second. Luckily, before the pretty Mage can hit the dirt, Iwaizumi is shouldering past everyone else and taking him in his strong arms.

“Toruu,” he whispers so quietly and reverently that Kuroo almost feels bad for hearing it. “What the hell happened?”

“We were on our way back when we crossed paths with a group of Vampires.” Toruu - which one is that? Oikawa or Aone? - looks over Iwaizumi’s shoulder and his eyes immediately lock on Kuroo and Bokuto. “You two,” he continues, raising a shaking hand to point at them. “They were after you. They’ve been following you all along.”

An icy feeling drags down Kuroo’s spine. Someone winds their fingers tightly in the back of Kuroo’s shirt, and he doesn’t have to look to know it’s Tsukishima.

“The Chinese Vampires,” Bokuto says, voice shaking with anger. “But how? We were so careful when we left to make sure nobody saw us. We even had a Witch cast a cloaking spell on us!”

Kuroo doesn’t miss the way every Mage’s nose scrunches up in displeasure at the word ‘Witch’. He doesn’t know exactly what the beef between the two groups is, but only that it’s centuries old and has something to do with Mage’s considering themselves the superior magick wielders because of their natural powers, looking down on Witches for conjuring up ‘artificial magick’ using books and spells and magickal objects.

After just being around Mages for a day, Kuroo can already definitely concur with the fact that their powers are much stronger, not that he would even tell Yahaba that. Their Witch friend has definitely gotten them out of more tight spots than he can count over the years, and Kuroo has no desire to get on his bad side any time soon.

“Unless the Witch themselves were traveling with you, the spell would wear off the second you got out of range of their…magick.” Oikawa looks like the word physically pains him to say.

“The Vampires probably caught your scent the second you got too far for the cloaking spell to work,” Tsukishima says. His voice is level, but his hand trembles against the small of Kuroo’s back.

“What do you know, Oikawa?” Yamaguchi asks, his normally carefree face creased with seriousness.

Toruu - Oikawa, Kuroo mentally corrects - shrugs his shoulders, looking at the two Hunters again. “I know they’re very eager to drain you two of every drop of blood in your veins and put your heads on pikes. I don’t know why, and I don’t care why, but whatever the case, we’ve got an angry horde of Vampires on their way here right now.”

Tsukishima’s hand tightens in Kuroo’s shirt, and Kuroo shifts his weight to stand slightly in front of him, like he can physically put himself between Tsukishima and any and every harm in the world.

“There’s another House a few miles North.” Yamaguchi offers. “I’m certain Ushijima-san would be willing to let us hide out there. Do we have time to - ?”

Oikawa presses his lips together and shakes his head grimly. “There’s barely any time at all. It took all of mine and Aone’s powers just to get away from them and back here in time to warn you all.” He gestures to the empty space beside him.

“Uhh, who?” Bokuto peers curiously at the space, cocking his head left and right like an owl. Kuroo looks, too. He had completely forgotten about the mysterious Aone.

“Aone.” Oikawa repeats like it should be obvious. “He’s right here, though he’s too exhausted to let you see him. Aone is a Mage of Stealth, and as such his natural state is undetectable to the human eye. It takes more effort for him to be seen than not.”

Kuroo must look as confused as he feels, and Bokuto doesn’t appear to be following along any better, because Yamaguchi jumps in to explain.

“When a Mage uses up too much of their powers, it has a detrimental physical effect on them. Aone loses the ability to be seen, and since Oikawa is a Mage of Speed, he - Oh.” Yamaguchi trails off, face paling. “That.”

Kuroo follows his line of sight and has to swallow hard to keep Iwaizumi’s delicious chicken safely in his stomach.

Oikawa’s pant legs are stained a deep red, and there’s a puddle of blood forming at his feet.

“Toruu, you moron, you know your limits!” Iwaizumi growls, tightening his arms around the other man’s waist, taking almost all of his weight onto himself.

“Well excuse me if I chose a little blood over my damn life!” Oikawa snaps back, but he’s looking a little woozy.

“You almost never overuse your powers.” Tsukishima interrupts solemnly. “Was it really that bad?”

Oikawa’s eyes go distant and haunted, and he clings a little tighter to Iwaizumi’s neck. “Thirty of them. Maybe forty. There wasn’t much time to count.”

A hush falls over the group. It’s way more than Kuroo expected for a party sent out to stop just two men. But if they knew they’d be fighting Mages, they must have planned accordingly. Doubled - tripled - up on men.

Kuroo’s gut churns guiltily. This is all our fault.

“There’s an obvious solution here.”

“Do tell.” Oikawa raises an eyebrow at him.

“Bo and I are the ones they’re after. If we leave now - “

“If you leave now, we’ll be down two able-bodied fighters and left to fend for ourselves.” Oikawa cuts him off sharply. “Do you really think they’re just going to come politely knocking on our door and peacefully continue on their way when we tell them you aren’t here anymore? It’s Kuroo, isn’t it?” He asks. Kuroo nods. “Do they strike you as the type of Vampires to pass up on a few delicious meals just like that, Kuroo-san?”

Kuroo doesn’t respond. He thinks they all know the answer to that one, even if they didn’t see it firsthand. Not the way he and Bokuto had.

“We’re stronger together,” Akaashi says finally.

Oikawa sighs. “It’s certainly our best chance.”

“When are Kageyama and Hinata due back?” Iwaizumi asks.

“Not until tomorrow morning.” Yamaguchi says. “They usually finish their jobs early, but we can’t count on it.”

“Eight of us, then. They outnumber us nearly four to one.”

“But they don’t have any Mages on their side,” Bokuto points out. The sudden burst of optimism seems to catch everyone off guard.

Akaashi gives Bokuto a small smile. “Magick is in our favor,” the dark-haired boy says.

Yamaguchi nods decisively, looking around at each person in turn. One by one, they all seem to stand a little straighter.

“We have no other choice, then. We stay here and defend our home. We fight.”

*

The next few hours pass in a frenzied blur.

Iwaizumi takes Oikawa and Aone to heal them up, while Bokuto and Akaashi head off to Gods know where and Yamaguchi says he needs to makes some calls. Kuroo unpacks all of his weapons that he had just meticulously packed only a few hours ago, gathering his best head-chopping blades and all of his wooden bullets, strapping his guns to his hips. At a certain point, Tsukishima slips quietly into his room and perches on the end of his bed, not saying anything, just watching as Kuroo prepares.

It was as if a switch in him had been flipped when he learned of the Vampires coming after them. Kuroo the Person took a backseat to Kuroo the Hunter, and all of his Hunter instincts kicked in. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and he was practically buzzing in anticipation for the upcoming fight.

Still, with Tsukishima so near that he could hear his steady breathing in the quiet of the room, he couldn't help but feel a little more centered than usual.

“So, what happens to you?”

Tsukishima tilts his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Yamaguchi said something about overusing your powers having an effect on you, like that Aone person going invisible and Oikawa’s legs bleeding. What happens when you overuse yours?”

The Mage shifts uncomfortably on the bed, crossing one leg over the other, then switching them. “We don’t know.”

“That strong, are you?” Kuroo teases.

Tsukishima doesn’t laugh.

“No, it’s just too dangerous to risk finding out.”

This gets Kuroo’s attention. He puts down the knife in his hand and shifts in his spot kneeling on the floor to rest his chin on Tsukishima’s knee, looking up at him. “More dangerous than it is for the others?”

Tsukishima slides a hand into Kuroo hair, carding through the strands gently, looking somewhere out the window.

“When a Mage overuses their power, their bodies become too weakened to contain the magic that resides within them. The magic sort of…consumes them. Tries to return to its natural state of being. For Oikawa, that means his legs are no longer strong enough to withstand the effects of his speed. Aone, as you saw - or, rather, didn’t see - becomes too weak to keep up a visible appearance. Akaashi’s body merges with his shadow, it’s actually quite terrifying to see. But me… We don’t know what would happen to me, because we’re pretty sure every atom in my body would revert to nothing more than particles of light with nothing holding them together. Millions of pieces of me would be scattered into the atmosphere, and it’s highly unlikely they’d ever come back together again.”

Kuroo moves closer, his arms coming up to circle Tsukishima’s waist protectively. The blonde still won’t meet his eyes.

“So, if you overused your power…” Kuroo trails off weakly, the words refusing to leave his mouth.

“I would die.”

*

“They’re nearly here.”

Kuroo looks up at Tsukishima’s words, finding the blonde’s eyes fully golden. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been sitting like that, with his face buried in Tsukishima’s lap and gentle fingers carding through his hair, but he knew it wasn’t long enough.

He wasn’t sure if he’d ever think he’d had enough time with Tsukishima.

They walk the halls of the House together, knocking on doors and gathering everyone for the fight.

Bokuto and Akaashi are in a room at the end of the hall together, sitting close together with the Mage’s hands secured tightly in Bokuto’s. Kuroo almost can’t bear to break them apart. Oikawa and Iwaizumi are together as well, and the Tender is just finishing wrapping Oikawa’s legs in gauze and medical tape when they knock on the door. Yamaguchi is already downstairs, along with Aone - big and blonde and very much visible now.

“Nice to finally meet - or I guess, see you?” Kuroo extends a hand. Aone takes it wordlessly into his own giant palm, pumps it once with an incredible force, and then drops it again.

“I think he likes you,” Tsukishima says.

“Please let me know if he ever doesn’t, because I will be sure to remedy it immediately.”

The Vampires are close enough that Kuroo can smell the tinge of copper blood wafting through the air. Yamaguchi gives them all one last look, before pushing the door open and stepping outside first. Kuroo goes to follow, but stops when he notices Akaashi holding Tsukishima back with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Tsukishima…” The dark-haired Mage starts patiently.

“Don’t.” Tsukishima snaps, but his voice shakes. “Don’t say it, don’t you dare even try to tell me -“

“You have to.” Akaashi says sternly. “That’s how this works, remember? That’s how this has always worked.”

Kuroo walks over to them, partly in curiosity, and partly to stop whatever is about to happen next when he notices the shadows growing dangerously darker at Akaashi’s feet and the crackling light at Tsukishima’s fingertips. The last thing they need right now is any of their magickal powerhouses wasting their energy fighting each other.

“Woah, woah, what’s going on?”

Tsukishima turns his chin away sharply. “Akaashi is trying to send me to my room like some child having a tantrum.”

“Well you’re certainly acting the part right now,” Akaashi says coolly. Tsukishima turns blazing eyes on him.

“This is too serious, we need all the help we can get down here. Even without my full power, I can still -“

“No.” Akaashi steps forward, forcing Tsukishima a step back and the shadows bend around him. Even coming from a friend who would never do him any real harm, Kuroo’s body won’t let him stand idly by while Tsukishima is threatened.

He puts a hand on Tsukishima’s chest and pushes the blonde behind him. Akaashi raises a dark eyebrow, but the shadows ebb.

“Okay, hold on a second,” Kuroo says, holding his hands in front of him. “I’m not saying I disagree with you or anything, but why does Tsukki have to stay in his room? Bo and I don't have any powers, but we can still fight, and if you’re worried about him getting hurt, I can look after him. I promise I would never let anyone hurt him.”

Akaashi’s eyes soften. “I know you wouldn’t, Kuroo-san, but unfortunately, this goes far beyond worrying for Tsukishima’s safety. It’s about the legacy of the House itself. One of the Mages has to survive the House, or all of the magic in these grounds will disappear completely.” The House seems to shudder around them at the very thought. “The responsibility has always fallen on either myself or Tsukishima, because of the nature of our powers. Whichever one of us is at our weakest at the time of a battle waits it out somewhere safe, so that if things start looking bad, they can run.”

Tsukishima shoulders his way out from behind Kuroo, getting nearly nose to nose with Akaashi. “The odds are already stacked so heavily against us, it would be stupid not to let me fight!”

“Enough, Kei.” Akaashi says with enough finality and power backing the words, even Kuroo finds himself unable to open his mouth again. “You think I’ve wanted to sit out every fight that I’ve had to watch from afar? You think I’ve enjoyed watching from my window as you all put your lives in danger? Of course not. I wanted to argue, just like you, every single time. But I didn’t. And do you know why? Because I trust you all. I trust you to defend this House. So just trust us, alright? Don’t let everything we’re fighting for go to waste. Don’t let our Home fade away to nothing.” He puts a hand on each of Tsukishima’s shoulders, gentle this time. “Please, Kei.”

Kuroo holds his breath. All of the magick in the air is so potent and heavy, he’s afraid the little farmhouse won’t be able to contain it all much longer.

Suddenly, Tsukishima’s shoulders sag and all of the tension slips out of the air like it was sucked up by a vacuum.

“Fine.”

Akaashi exhales shakily, gripping Tsukishima tight and pulling him into a hug, whispering something that Kuroo doesn’t catch.

“I’ll stay with you, then.”

The Mages part, both of their brows crinkling in confusion.

“What?” Tsukishima asks.

“I’ll keep guard over your room.” Kuroo elaborates. “Please, Kei, let me stay by your side. I don’t think I could keep my head on straight down there if I didn’t know for certain that you were safe.” Kuroo isn’t usually one to beg, but the end of days feels like a pretty good time to start.

Tsukishima turns to him, holding his face carefully in his hands. Kuroo has to fight to keep his eyes from fluttering shut at how tender the touch is. “Don’t be ridiculous, Tetsurou,” he says quietly. “They’ll need you down there. I need you down there, keeping my family safe.”

“But - But what if one of them manages to get past us and into the house, and if you’re in there all alone without your full power - “

“Then you’ll just have to stop them down there before they can get in the front door.”

Kuroo doesn’t say anything more to that. He knows when he’s lost an argument. Instead, he wordlessly crushes Tsukishima against him tightly, letting each piece of their bodies slot together like a puzzle. Inhales the bright, clean smell of Tsukishima’s skin and memorizes the warmth that radiates off his slim body.

Akaashi clears his throat and mutters something about ‘privacy’ before leaving.

“I hate this,” Kuroo says miserably into the skin of Tsukishima’s throat.

“Trust me, nobody hates this more than I do.”

“Listen, before we do this -“ Kuroo starts.

“Shh.” Tsukishima pulls back and puts a finger to his lips, a serious look in his eyes. “Not now. Tell me after. After we’ve won.”

“But Tsukki -“

“Promise. Promise you’ll tell me after,” Tsukishima repeats, more desperately this time. Kuroo realizes he needs to hear Kuroo say it more than he needs air to breathe in this moment.

“I promise.” Kuroo brushes the tips of their noses together before pressing in for a soft, lingering kiss. “Stay safe, Kei,” he whispers, pleads.

“You, too.”

Kuroo prays to any Gods that might be listening that those aren’t the last words they’ll ever speak to each other.

*

Kuroo has fought hundreds of Vampires before. Killed just about every one of them, too.

And he did it all without this fire burning underneath him, telling him to do it to keep Tsukishima safe.

No matter what.

Keep. Tsukishima. Safe.

*

He had nearly forgotten how goddamn ugly Vampires could be in a fight. All animal, no human. You’d almost think they were Werewolves with how carnal and bloodthirsty they got.

There’s no fanfare when they arrive. No negotiations, no small talk. They come running across the clearing a full speed, the whole lot of them, with eyes black as a Demon’s, rows and rows of sharp fangs bared, jaws dripping in blood from their most recent kills. They must have made quite a few pit stops on their way here, feeding all the while. To keep at forty of them fed so well, they must have left quite the trail of bodies in their wake.

Kuroo cocks his pistol, hearing Bokuto do the same next to him. He lines up the shot, aiming for one of the front-runners, the leaders of the pack.

He takes a deep breath, thinks only of Tsukishima, sitting up in his room watching out the window, waiting for Kuroo to come back to him.

The wooden bullet lodges itself right into the Vampire’s chest, and the body drops to the ground, writhing in agony for a few moments before bursting into flames. A few yards away, another Vampire has met the same fate, and Kuroo looks over to see Bokuto grinning like a maniac, gun still smoking.

A few of the Vampires slow, looking around at their fallen comrades nervously, until a very large, very loud Vamp right in the middle of the pack lets out a shrieking roar, and the entire pack is descending on them again.

“Bet I can shoot more than you!” Kuroo grins at Bokuto out of the corner of his eye.

“You’re so on, dude!” Bokuto laughs, twirling his gun around his finger while his other hand reaches to his holster for another.

Kuroo grabs a second gun off his hip as well. Just to even the playing field.

The battlefield descends into absolute bloody chaos.

It’s hard to keep track of everything going on around him, but Kuroo does his best to at least keep track of the people on his side, but they all seem to be holding their own just fine.

Oikawa and Aone - or what Kuroo assumes to be Oikawa and Aone - are dropping bodies faster than the human eye can follow. Aone is silent and deadly, tearing heads off of shoulders before the enemy can even swing in his direction. Not that they’d know where to swing anyways, since the guy was completely invisible.

Oikawa didn’t have as flawless as a defense, but his speed more than made up for it. He was a blur daring through the crowd, plunging stakes into hearts left and right. Every so often, one of the Vampires would manage to catch him blow for blow with their own enhanced speed, but whenever that happened, Iwaizumi was already right behind him, jumping on the Vampire’s back and sawing their heads right from their bodies.

Akaashi and Yamaguchi worked somewhat as a pair as well, though much more defensively than Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Kuroo could see exactly why.

The two of them had placed themselves right in front of the House and weren’t budging a single inch. Akaashi’s shadows were whipping around him like extra appendages, battering away any Vampires that go too close to the House. Yamaguchi had something that looked like a double-edged spear in his hands, twirling and jabbing it with expert precision. Any time the blade came in contact with a Vampire, the monster hissed and withdrew, so Kuroo was pretty sure the tips were coated in vervain. Brilliant.

He and Bokuto were matching each other’s pace pretty evenly, though once the Vamps caught wind of their wooden bullets, they were quick not to make the same mistakes as their fallen brethren. They started moving around more, moving faster, dodging too quickly for the bullets to catch them. Eventually they looked over at each other and shrugged, dropping their guns to the ground and switching to machetes.

Kuroo always got much more satisfaction out of decapitation than shooting anyways.

That did mean they were almost all fighting in close combat now, though, which with Vampires was never a great thing.

Because of the fangs and all.

Kuroo is feeling pretty good about their chances, looking across the burning mass of bodies they’ve already dropped. He wonders if Tsukishima will be too grossed out by the blood splattered on his face to kiss him right away, if maybe he’ll make Kuroo take a shower first. Maybe he could convince Tsukishima to shower with him if that was the case.

He smirks to himself, feeling his blade easily slice through another Vamp’s neck. These fuckers don’t stand a chance against him, not as long as he’s got a pretty, snarky blonde waiting for him at -

His internal celebration was too soon.

It’s hard to see in the darkness, but Kuroo can feel it. Can hear it. The ground rumbling beneath them and the piercing shrieks in the darkness.

He meets Bokuto’s eye and they both know what that means.

Reinforcements.

They don’t have the luxury of turning their attention to the new Vampires however, still too preoccupied with the first wave they haven’t managed to completely wipe out yet. There are at least fifteen of them still left. Kuroo is willing to bet there are at least that many more on the way.

The first thing that breaks the tree-line is a blur of orange, followed closely by someone shouting, “Idiot, slow down! You have no idea what you’re running into, idiot!”

“Who the hell are they?” Bokuto shouts to him over the fray. Kuroo shakes his head in bewilderment, but he does know one thing.

Those two are Mages.

“Hinata! Kageyama!” Yamaguchi is suddenly waving his spear in the air, trying to get the new pair’s attention, just as the fresh wave of Vampires comes flooding out of the forest. They must have been hot on the Mages’ tail.

Obviously taking in the scenario quickly, they jump into the battle. Kuroo doesn’t know exactly what their powers are, but the taller, dark-hair Mage seems to slow people in their tracks. The air around him shimmers and warps, and any Vampire that gets too close to him starts to move like their stuck in molasses. Then, the orange blur pops up (seemingly out of nowhere) and gets both hands in the Vampire’s mouth, tearing it open in both directions until it cracks completely in half.

For some reason, he seems completely unaffected by the slowing of time that the other Mage causes.

Hell of a team, Kuroo thinks, grateful that they’re on his side.

For a moment there - for a good, long moment - Kuroo thinks again that they’ve got this. The Vampires can bring in all the reinforcements they want, because they have reinforcements of their own. The stench in the air is putrid and makes it hard to breath, and there’s a ringing in Kuroo’s ears from the constant, piercing shrieks of the Vampires, but he feels good. He feels good.

And then, Akaashi screams.

Even Mages must have blind spots, because it appears that one of the Vampires go through his. With the shadows stretched out around him a full 360 degrees, it seemed like Akaashi had a full, impenetrable defense. Kuroo never even considered that just because the shadows were there, didn’t mean Akaashi could control them all at once.

There’s a Vampire’s jaw clamped down like a vice on his shoulder.

The resulting series of events were unavoidable, at best.

Kuroo quickly turns to look at Bokuto, knowing that if Akaashi were Tsukishima he would completely lose focus of his surroundings, only able to zero-in on the blood pouring down his arm and the front of his robes.

As expected, his friend looks as pale as the Vampires themselves, eyes locked only on Akaashi and not on the Vamps around him.

“Bo, behind you!”

His body moves before the words have even finished leaving his mouth, lunging over Bokuto’s shoulder with his blade and catching the Vampire across the face, cutting his nose clean off, but not managing to get the entire head.

“Shit,” he curses, pushing Bokuto out of the way and lunging for a second swipe.

“Get your fuckin’ hands - er, teeth - off him!” Bokuto shouts, and Kuroo manages to catch a glimpse of him charging across the battlefield towards the House. It looks like he’s actually gonna make it, too, until he bumps into an invisible brick wall.

”Shit,” Kuroo curses again, finishing off the Vampire in front of him. Aone starts to blink in and out of visibility when Bokuto collides with him, and a gang of Vampires hone in on him. Despite his massive size, it becomes pretty clear that his fighting prowess came mostly from his ability to not be seen. Bokuto tries to clamber to his feet to help, but doesn’t manage to make it any further than his knees. He's a good fighter, one of the best Kuroo knows, but even he is going to have a hard time fighting Vampires from the ground.

Everything seems to move in slow motion around Kuroo at that point.

Oikawa gets caught up in the Time Mage’s radius of molasses, and his legs buckle beneath him. Iwaizumi lunges towards him, positioning himself over his prone body and fighting off Vamps in all directions. He’s holding up pretty well, too, until one of them comes crashing onto his back from behind, knocking him to the ground, a bunch more piling on top. Kuroo can’t even see what happens after that. He’s not sure he wants to.

The Vampires have started to get wise to the two unknown Mages’ powers and keep a careful distance, baiting them closer and closer until Kuroo can see sweat start to bead at the dark-haired boy’s temples. He can’t hold time that slow for too long, Kuroo realizes. He’ll wear himself out.

In the middle of it all, Kuroo looks up towards Tsukishima’s bedroom window and feels oddly at peace.

Run, Tsukki, run, he thinks desperately, as if the blonde could read his mind.

You’d have to have a mind for me to read it, a snarky, beautiful voice in his head reminds him.

Kuroo smiles to himself, letting his arms hang loose at his sides.

He hopes someone takes Tsukishima to see the Festival of Lights one day.

Tsukishima… What a lovely final image… He looks so beautiful right now…

Wait.

Wait, what?

Kuroo blinks into the darkness to make sure he isn’t seeing things. But no, Tsukishima is really there. Strolling across the bloody battlefield, stepping daintily over fallen bodies, pale hair glowing in the moonlight like some kind of avenging angel.

His mouth opens, but no sound comes out. Somehow, Tsukishima locks gazes with him from dozens of yards away and gives him a dazzling, if not sad smile.

“Tsukishima!” Akaashi’s voice tears out in the night. “Don’t!”

“Tsukki! Please!” Yamaguchi echoes him, sounding just as wretched and broken.

The other two Mages have stopped in their tracks as well, shouting something to a similar effect, moving towards Tsukishima. But they’re too far away.

Everyone is too far away.

Tsukishima raises his palms to the sky, and his hands glow with a bright, pure white light. The darkness around them seems to get darker, while Tsukishima only gets brighter and brighter.

Kuroo looks around in confusion. It’s nighttime now, Tsukishima’s powers shouldn’t be so strong. And why does his light look different now? It was more golden in the daytime, like sunshine, but now -

Kuroo gasps and looks up just as the dark clouds part and a full moon shines through.

I’m a Mage of light, not a Mage of the sun.

No - No way.

The shouts and screams from his friends are becoming more pleading and desperate, begging him to stop, not to do it, and Kuroo has no idea what’s going on, but he knows that these people love Tsukishima and would never want anything bad to happen to him.

His feet are moving faster than he knew they could.

His hand grabs the back of Tsukishima’s robes, just as an explosion of light whites out the entire world.

And then, there’s only darkness.

*

The sun needs to be turned down a few goddamn notches.

That’s the first thing Kuroo thinks to himself when he wakes up, the bright light stinging his eyelids and making him want to pull the covers over his face and burrow back into his bed for the rest of the day. He can just try again tomorrow.

With a groan, he raises an arm to cover his eyes, and is surprised by how sore his muscles are. What the hell did he do yesterday again…

“Kuroo! Dude, are you awake!”

Why is Bokuto in his room so early?

“Am now,” he grunts. The bed dips by his side, and he knows Bokuto is hovering over him now.

“How do you feel?”

How does Kuroo feel? This is admittedly not the weirdest starts to one of his days, but it’s up there for sure.

For the first time since he woke up, Kuroo takes his time to answer Bokuto’s question and finds that - oh. Oh, he does not feel good at all. He’s felt worse, but he’s definitely felt better.

“Mouth tastes like Phoenix ashes,” he settles on, smacking his lips a few times. No use boring Bokuto with all the details of his aching bones.

“How do you know what Phoenix ashes taste like?”

“Funny you should ask, Yamaguchi - “

Wait. Yamaguchi? Who the hell -

All of it comes flooding back to him at once - The House of Mages, the Vampires, the bright light, Tsukishima.

Kuroo’s eyes fly open and he shoots up, ignoring the screaming in his muscles.

“Woah, woah, calm down there buddy,” Bokuto puts a firm hand on his chest and eases him back against the pillows. “Don’t push yourself, your body is still healing.”

“Where is he? Is he okay? What the hell happened?” Kuroo’s breath comes in quick pants, eyes scanning the room desperately, but finding it completely empty, save for Yamaguchi watching him with concern from the foot of his bed.

“Everything’s okay, bro. It’s over, just relax. It’s all over.”

“Tsukishima?” Kuroo asks again desperately, his body finally giving in and falling back against the pillows.

“He’s okay,” Yamaguchi assures him with a warm smile. “Thanks to you, he’s okay.”

“And everyone else?”

Yamaguchi’s eyebrows pinch and Bokuto looks away with a small whine.

“A little banged up,” the Tender admits. “But everyone is going to be just fine.”

Kuroo exhales and relaxes a little further. Akaashi’s bite must not have been too deep, then. And Iwaizumi ended up being strong enough to fight off all those Vamps and keep Oikawa safe, after all. And everyone else, they all made it out okay, too. Things had been looking so bad for them all, and then… And then what?

“Can someone please tell me what the hell happened? Last thing I remember, I was getting ready to meet my damn maker, and then Tsukishima showed up and - Wait, what did you mean ‘thanks to me’ he’s okay?”

All the pieces of the puzzle are shifting restlessly around in Kuroo’s head, trying to jam themselves together and making his temples throb.

“Tsukishima saved the day!” A new, bubbly voice jumps in. The red-headed Mage from the battle was nearly vibrating excitedly in the doorway, with his dark-haired and scowly counterpart by his side. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to eavesdrop, we were just coming by to see if you had woken up yet. I’m Hinata, and this is Kageyama!”

“Oh, uh, hey.” Kuroo raises a hand in a weak wave.

“Kageyama is a Mage of Time, and Hinata is a Mage of Space,” Yamaguchi explains as the two enter the room. The way the two fought suddenly makes a lot more sense, with the molasses air around Kageyama and the way Hinata seemed to move from one place to the next with no regards for physics.

“So you guys are like Tsukishima and Akaashi, huh? Light and Dark, Time and Space - a package deal.”

“Yup!” Hinata answers at the same time Kageyama says, “Ugh.”

They bicker and Kuroo waits for Yamaguchi to break it up so they can continue their conversation. He spots a glass of water on his bedside table and reaches for it, eager to remedy the dry, ashy taste in his mouth.

His hand completely misses, and the glass shatters to the ground, spilling water and splintered shards all over the floor.

The rest of the room goes silent.

Kuroo freezes, staring at his outstretched hand in betrayal. “Sorry? I don’t - I didn’t - “ He fumbles his apology, not entirely sure what he’s apologizing for. He has no idea how or why that just happened.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yamaguchi interrupts him with a nervous smile. “That’s to be expected. It’ll take a little while for your depth perception to adjust.”

The words slowly drip into Kuroo’s brain like a leaky faucet. His depth perception? Is that why he missed the glass so completely? What happened to his depth perception?

Bokuto darts a glance up at him, lingering on a certain spot on his face, before wincing and looking away.

Kuroo raises a hand to the his left eye, and his fingers meet not flesh, but an eyepatch instead.

“Something tells me this isn’t here because you dressed me up as a pirate while I was sleeping for fun, huh?”

Bokuto laughs, but it sounds forced. “Nah, man. I wish, though. That would’ve been pretty funny.”

“I’d make a pretty hot pirate.”

“You sure would, bro. Maybe I’ll get myself a matching one.”

Kuroo grins and Bokuto grins back, easily this time. They’ve been through worse than this together, and as long as they’re still together with their hearts still beating, it’s a win at the end of the day.

“Alright,” Kuroo puts his arms behind his head. “Why don’t you all tell me the regaling tale of Tsukki’s heroics now?”

Taking turns between the four of them (Yamaguchi was the main storyteller, with Bokuto and Hinata getting too overly excited at some parts to keep quiet, and Kageyama butting in to correct Hinata’s facts every one in a while), they do just that. According to Yamaguchi, Kuroo’s guess had been correct. Tsukishima could draw on the light of the moon, the same way he could from the sun. It wasn’t nearly as strong, though, and took a lot out of him to even be able to use his powers at all.

When they saw him in the middle of the battlefield, glowing the way he was and gearing up to use a large amount of his power, they knew what was about to happen.

Tsukishima planned on making the sacrifice play. He was going to overuse his power, and fade away into billions of light particles to save the rest of them.

“But you said he’s okay? What happened?”

Yamaguchi smiles. “Don’t you remember, Kuroo-san? You did. By reaching out and touching him in that moment, you put yourself in incredible danger, but you also held him together. You kept him grounded to his physical form and saved his life.”

“Unfortunately, it came at a cost.” Kageyama crossed his arms over his chest. “Being in such close proximity to his light like that - “

“You went blind in one eye,” Hinata cuts off his counterpart, earning himself an annoyed glare.

“Huh,” Kuroo says, processing.

In the grand scheme of things, going blind seems like a tiny, minuscule price to pay for saving Tsukishima’s life. If he had known in that moment everything that was going to happen, and the consequences of his actions, he would have done it all over again. Wouldn’t have hesitated for a second. And it’s a decision that he knows will have him sleeping soundly at night for the rest of his life.

“Well, that’s alright then,” he declares with a cheeky grin, “I only need one eye to see my Tsukki with, anyways.” He frowns. “Speaking of, where is he?”

*

Kuroo’s question had been met with a vague air of discomfort and awkward shuffling.

“What?” He asked, suddenly nervous. “You said he was okay, didn’t you?”

“He is,” Yamaguchi assured him quickly. “He’s fine, he’s just… He can be a bit… I think maybe he blames himself for what happened to you. He’s being pretty hard on himself.”

“He hasn’t come out of his room in three days,” Hinata supplies.

“Three day- Wait. Have I been out for three days?”

He then proceeded to flail and panic himself right out of bed and onto his ass (luckily nowhere near where the broken glass was).

Three days. Kuroo can’t recall a time a fight ever took him out for that long. With a confusing and pleasant mixture and fear and pride, Kuroo realizes Tsukishima must be the strongest magickal being he’s ever met.

Also, the most stubborn, since Kuroo has been knocking on his bedroom door for the past five minutes straight, and has yet to be granted access.

“C’mon, Tsukki,” Kuroo pleads for what feels like the hundredth time. “Just open up and let’s talk. We don’t even have to talk! Just let me see that pretty face of yours, please? I just need to see for myself that you’re okay.”

“I’m in perfect health,” Tsukishima says bitterly. “Now go away.”

“Say it as many times as you want, darlin’, I’m not leaving.”

“Yes, you are!” Tsukishima suddenly explodes, flinging the door open. Kuroo startles and loses his balance from where his hand had been resting on the door, catching himself on the frame. And then Tsukishima is right there, face screwed up painfully, radiating heat like a small wildfire. “You are leaving, and the only thing I’m leaving you with to remember me by is a fucking blind eye!”

No, no, no. That isn’t right at all. Tsukishima is so painfully off base, Kuroo wants to laugh, but his heart hurts too much.

“Oh, Kei,” Kuroo whispers, taking Tsukishima’s face in his hands, ignoring the fact that his skin burns his palms. “You’ve got it all wrong, sweetheart.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Tsukishima spits, but his voice wavers and he doesn’t pull out of Kuroo’s hold. If anything, he seems to make a conscious effort to cool himself down so he doesn’t hurt Kuroo’s hands as much.

“I’m not - “ Kuroo glances around before taking Tsukishima’s hand and leading him into the room. “Come on, let’s not do this out here.”

“I don’t recall inviting you in.”

“Could say the same to you.” Kuroo holds Tsukishima’s hand against his chest, right over his heart. “And yet, here you are, Tsukishima Kei. And here you’ll stay.”

The last of the resistance and anger drains out of Tsukishima’s body, and he lets Kuroo pull him onto the bed, sitting so close their knees overlap and Tsukishima’s eyes are nearly blinding when he looks right into Kuroo’s.

Well, Kuroo’s one eye.

With trembling fingers, Tsukishima gently traces the skin around Kuroo’s eyepatch, his touch impossibly soft and careful in a way Kuroo’s never been touched before.

“I did this to you.”

“I don’t care.”

“But you should,” Tsukishima whispers, voice cracking. “You should care. You should hate me for this, for the entire mess. If I hadn’t been acting so recklessly - “

“No ‘ifs’,” Kuroo cuts him off firmly. “You’ll only drive yourself crazy with ‘ifs’. In case it wasn’t perfectly clear, I don’t hate you for this. I’m not even slightly annoyed at you for this, okay? Because if it wasn’t for this,” Kuroo points to his blind eye, “you wouldn’t be sitting here with me right now, and I wouldn't trade that for all the eyes in the world.”

“You’re stupid,” Tsukishima sniffles, tears starting to gather in the corners of his eyes. He valiantly wipes them away. “You’re so, so stupid, Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“While normally I’d agree with you there, I think it’s actually you who’s the stupid one this time.”

Tsukishima’s eyes narrow and he wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “What did you just - “

“First of all,” Kuroo holds up one finger. “Even if I were to walk away right now and never see you again, this eye is the last thing that would come to mind when I thought of you. The only thing to remember you by? Are you kidding me, Tsukki? You gave me an entire lifetime’s worth of the best memories of my life in one day. If anything, this eye would be a brilliant reminder of the fact that you’re alive, and that I would have given up much more than my eyesight to keep you that way.”

“But if I - “

“Second of all!” Kuroo holds up a second finger. “Even though I’m not mad at you about the eye, I am mad at you about something else.” Tsukishima shrinks a little under his gaze, keeping his shoulders held high, but averting his gaze. “You knew. Don’t even pretend you didn’t because we literally just had the conversation earlier that day. You knew you were probably going to die, and you used your powers like that anyways? What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I couldn’t live with myself if I just sat up in my room and watched you all die out my bedroom window!” Tsukishima snaps.

“And you think, what? That we all would have just gone on with our lives like nothing happened if we had to watch you die for us like that?”

“In time, you all would have realized that - “

“Bullshit, Tsukki!” Kuroo yells. “You weren’t thinking about any of us, you were only thinking of yourself!”

“It’s my life!”

“Are you really that selfish?”

“Selfish?” Tsukishima rears back. “Are you kidding me? I wasn’t trying to take my life, I was just trying to save all of yours!”

“Did you even hear them?” Kuroo asks incredulously. “Did you hear the way they begged you not to do it? Do you have any idea how much they all love you?”

“Of course I do, I love them all just as much! Which is why - “

“Which is why nothing!”

Kuroo takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. When he opens them again, Tsukishima is flushed and scowling, but - oh, fuck, when had he started crying? Kuroo had been too riled up to notice, but now he can see the tear stains tracking down his porcelain cheeks.

Wordlessly, he opens his arms and without hesitating, Tsukishima melts into them.

“Damnit, Kei, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be cruel, you know that, right? I was just so fucking scared.”

Tsukishima rubs the tip of his nose against the side of Kuroo’s neck, exhaling shakily. “I’m - I’m sorry, too. For scaring you. And, y’know, the eye.”

“Enough about the eye, please, you’re giving me a complex here.”

“Sorry,” Tsukishima apologizes again, and Kuroo can feel him smile into his skin.

“Hey,” Kuroo pulls him back gently by the shoulders so he can look him in the eye. “You know that even if you wouldn't choose this life for yourself, that they would choose any life for you over no life at all? You get that, right?”

“Who says I wouldn’t choose this life for myself?” Tsukishima asks curiously.

“Wha - I mean, in the woods, you asked me if - “

“But you never asked me back,” Tsukishima points out with a small smile. Kuroo gapes at him.

“You were a trickster spirit in your past life, weren’t you?” He accuses. Tsukishima laughs. “So would you? Choose this life, I mean?”

A small, fond grin graces Tsukishima’s lips. “Yeah. Yeah, I would. I mean, where else am I gonna find so many idiots who care this much about me?”

“You’d be surprised. It’s a big world out there.”

“Plus,” Tsukishima adds with a smirk. “If I weren’t a Mage, I never would have met you.”

*

“Do you want to know the third thing?”

“Hm?” Tsukishima tilts his head to look up from his spot resting on Kuroo’s chest.

“I only told you my first of all and second of all. I had a third one, too.”

“As long as you aren’t going to yell at me again.”

Kuroo winces, even though Tsukishima is clearly teasing.

“Okay, so, third of all, you were right.”

“I’m listening.”

Kuroo pinches his side and Tsukishima squirms, laughing.

“Little shit,” he says fondly. “Let me finish would ya? You were right when you said that I’m leaving.” The grin slides off Tsukishima’s face. “Probably in a few hours, if Doctor Yamaguchi gives me the go ahead. Those Vamps that we fought the other day weren’t even a fraction of what’s left in Tokyo, and now that we’ve come this far, Bo and I can’t just give up and leave all those people to die. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Tsukishima whispers.

“But the thing about leaving, is that you can always come back. You can leave and come back and leave again as many times as you want to, and Tsukki? I want to leave and come back and leave this place a million times if it means I can keep seeing you for the rest of my life.”

Curled around him the way he is, Kuroo can feel the way Tsukishima’s heart stutters in his chest.

“It’s not going to be that easy,” he protests weakly, even as his arms clutch Kuroo tighter. “Tokyo is hours away, you’ll get sick of the drive.”

“I love driving.”

“You’ll get sick of me!”

“I highly doubt I ever could.”

“I’m bound to this House for the rest of my life, Kuroo.”

“I like it here. Plus I’ve always wanted to retire to the countryside.”

“You would get bored.”

“We can always take vacations.”

“I can never stay away for too long.”

“I’ve always found that coming back home is the best part about traveling.”

“This is ridiculous!” Tsukishima buries his face in his hands.

“Isn’t it?” Kuroo grins, kissing the top of his head.

Neither of them say anything for a few minutes, laying together in silence and taking in the entirety of what Kuroo has just suggested. It’s an enormous commitment, he knows, but this isn’t something he would ask if he weren't one thousand percent sure.

For him, it’s Tsukishima. It was always gonna be Tsukishima, from the moment he laid eyes on him.

He can’t completely give up his life in Tokyo, not yet. He has a life there, and he knows Tsukishima understands that. He has his job as a Hunter, and he has Bokuto (though he suspects his friend will be joining him on every trip back to see Akaashi). He has fiends and a community that depend on him to keep them safe. Kuroo loves traveling for jobs and seeing the world, but wouldn’t having Tsukishima to come back to make everything even better?

As long as this House was here with Tsukishima in it, Kuroo would always come back.

“Are you sure?” The Mage finally asks, muffled from behind his hands.

“More sure than I’ve ever been of anything in my life.”

Slender fingers part and Tsukishima peeks up at him with bright golden eyes, bleeding through like the sunrise.

“Can we still go see the Festival of Lights?”

Kuroo laughs and cups Tsukishima’s face in his hands, kissing him over and over until his lips are tingling, his entire body pleasantly warm, and Tsukishima is giggling and trying to push him away without letting go.

“Tsukishima Kei, I would take you to the sun if you asked me to.”

*

Epilogue

“Are we almost there yet? I’m hungry and I ran out of food a few miles back.”

Kuroo sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Bo, you know exactly where we are, we’ve done this drive a dozen times and no matter how many times you ask me if we’re ‘almost there yet’, it doesn’t make it go any faster.”

Bokuto sinks into his seat, pouting.

“There are extra chips in the glove compartment, you heathen.”

With a fair amount of cheering and declaring Kuroo his ‘favorite person on planet earth’ (which Kuroo already knew), Bokuto procures a bag of chips and munches happily. Kuroo rolls his eyes, but he can’t really find it in him to be annoyed.

Not only because Bokuto is the purest, most innocent soul he’s ever met, but also because nothing can bring down his good mood right now.

He’s on his way to see Tsukishima, after all.

It’s been nearly three years now since the fateful day Kuroo first met a Mage and fell in love. Three years, full of highs and the occasional lows, whisking Tsukishima away on surprise trips to the beach and the mountains and the city, and falling in love a hundred times over again every time Kuroo sees him.

The car tries start to crunch as the road turns into a familiar gravel path beneath them, and as if the sound has conditioned him to associate it with the best, most amazing things, Kuroo’s heart soars like he’s riding on a Sphinx’s wings. Bokuto pops up straight in his seat, cranking down the window and whooping happily. Kuroo is sure Akaashi has been able to hear him for miles.

“Hello, House! We’re back!”

There are two figures standing beneath the tallest oak tree in the line. Kuroo puts the car in park and they both clamber out excitedly. There’s a strong magick dancing in the air, coaxing Kuroo closer.

“Welcome to the House of Mages,” Tsukishima greets with a smirk, one hand on his narrow waist. “How can we help you?”

Kuroo chuckles, taking the blonde into his arms while Bokuto greets Akaashi by enthusiastically lifting him off his feet, being careful not to jostle his bad shoulder too much, and kissing him loudly.

“I can think of a few things.” Kuroo winks and loves how after all this time, Tsukishima still rolls his eyes and blushes.

“I told you that you didn’t have to come this week. You’ll just have to drive back up in a few days for the celebration anyways,” Tsukishima says, though he doesn’t seem like he minds one bit.

“I know that, I just wanted to spend as much time with you as humanly possible.”

“You know I’m not human.”

“Even better, then. I can spend as much time with you as inhumanly possible!”

Tsukishima groans at the cheesy flirting, like he always does, but Kuroo knows that he secretly likes it. “You’re disgusting. My mother is going to adore you.”

“I’m counting on it,” Kuroo winks with false confidence.

Tsukishima doesn’t need to know that he’s been practicing introducing himself to his family in the mirror for the past month, ever since his boyfriend invited him to this year’s family affair at the House. He and Bokuto had both earned themselves invites this year, making them the first non-blood related people to ever do so at this particular House.

But no pressure or anything.

The four of them walk back to the House together, talking about this and that and nothing at all. Tsukishima is walking slightly ahead of Kuroo, bickering with Bokuto while Akaashi watches them fondly. The sunlight makes his hair glow like a golden halo around his head, and he’s clearly fighting a grin as Bokuto’s silly argument gets louder and more exaggerated.

Kuroo wants to reach out and take his hand, but he doesn’t want to break the moment, so he just hangs back and enjoys the view.

Yamaguchi and Hinata greet them at the door, the redhead already practically doing backflips for Bokuto’s attention and talking at him a mile a minute. Somehow, Bokuto had adopted the little Mage as a devoted follower over the years.

The delicious smell of Iwaizumi’s cooking, and the sound of Oikawa whining ’Iwa-chan!’ at him, filter through the house, and they pass Aone and Kageyama playing a quiet game of chess on the porch. Tsukishima turns back from where he’s talking with Yamaguchi now and gives him a small grin.

“I’m going for a walk,” Tsukishima announces suddenly, holding out a hand for Kuroo. “You coming?”

It’s more of a tradition than anything at this point. Tsukishima knows he doesn’t ever need to ask.

“With you? Anywhere, everywhere, and nowhere, baby.”