HONEY CULTURE, haikyuu

( breathing cities. ) kuroken

kuroo tetsuro & kenma kozume

the sky outside grew patches of dark lilacs - the sun falling to splash the colours of sunset into the city before him. hazel orbs narrow at the large expanse of the sky with endless shooting stars that slip past his dreamy gaze, dripping from the cosmic crevices to form a constellation of nostalgic memories into his mind and stringing saturn's halo into his heart.

    tokyo's vibrant nights always seem to make tetsuro kuroo brimming with raw emotions. now he rarely takes a break to just see stars blinking, or hearing the static hum of busy streets. it was his favourite hobby when he was a mere teen, pointing constellations to his teammates every time practice dragged out into the night hours.

     kuroo sketches his fingers through his dark hair, sipping smoke from his cigarette and scattering it into the crispy air. his feet dangles from the apartment rooftop, the winds caressing cold bites into his cheeks and neck. suddenly, he felt a hand slapping the back of his head making him choke out in surprise.

"geez, kuroo. when did you ever start smoking?"

from the corner of his eyes beneath the darkness - he spotted his childhood friend and roommate staring down at him with those golden orbs. his pudding locks flowing through the air.

"kenma." kuroo acknowledges with a smile. the boy does not utter a word as he settles down beside the black-haired male. plucking the oozing cigarette from his fingers and replacing it with strawberry milk, making the ex-captain of nekoma pout grumpily. albeit this was the first time kuroo had seen kenma outside of his room in a week. he could tell because he looked like he just woke up from a slumber; tousled hair, ruffled clothes and sleepy eyes. kenma even had that cat plush - that kuroo gave him - embraced towards his chest making kuroo's cheeks blush red.

they both sat still and wordless as their eyes continued to venture through the now glittering sky, inhaling the city scent and vanilla clouds along the way. kenma tugs his hoodie when the cold air rushes to bite them.

"you know the others would be here in awhile, we should head inside it's also getting frosty here."

kuroo hums, slurping on the strawberry milk kenma had gave him. "just a little bit more."

kenma's face twists narrowly, he hugs the cat plush closer towards him burying his nose on the fabric. "i swear you purposely try to get ill so you could not go to work."

"whats that?" kuroo's head snap towards the blondie, his hazel eyes wide in utter disbelief.

"you heard me."

"well I'll have you know that I don't purposely try to get myself sick. my routine is just about healthy thank you very much."

    kenma gave the pouting male a look turning his eyes towards the sky. smoking is part of a healthy routine then? though the blond stayed silent, swiping locks of his hair away from his face.

"it's kinda nostalgic isn't it?"

kenma turns his head towards the boy, kuroo's eyes glisten softly.

"sitting in rooftops?"

"watching stars like this." kuroo corrects. "the last time we saw stars like this is before we third-years graduated,"

"oh, you mean back in high school?" kenma says, pulling the plush closer towards his warm figure.

"Yeah."

"well, its the holidays now and we invited them into our apartment." the blond says. "no need to get sentimental."

    "kenma why you gotta ruin the mood like that?"

the two shared a laugh, like the fond memories they ones cherished are resurfacing. kenma goes to lightly punch the male's arm, knuckles brushing the thick fabric of his jacket. they stop for a moment, filling their cheeks with the strawberry milk they consumed.

"oh hey, so you two were here all along?"

their time was cut shortly when they spotted their high school teammates with big grins at the entrance of the rooftop. lev haiba was the one who greeted first, waving his arms frantically. green eyes that sprouted vines in his lashes and snow coated hair that looked longer than the one he styled in high school.

kuroo places a hand over his mouth. "hey, its been awhile come sit with us!"

behind lev came yaku and kai who had matching smiles on their faces as they tug their scarfs down and greeted. "happy december."

it wasn't long before the entire team was reunited, lev sat crossed-legged near the edge, his green eyes grew stars as he childishly pointed up at the sky excitingly. sou inuoka brushes his cinnamon tresses as he gave a glance at shibayama - the two listening onto the silver head's random banters.

teshiro arrived after, greeting and waving at them before he idled beside yaku. yamamoto proceeds to ruffle the hair of the indifferent male.

kenma and kuroo never ones shifted from their place as kai and fukunaga sat on other side of them. kenma silently offers the cat plush he had on his arms to fukunaga shohei when the blond notices his silent yet starry gaze that never ones left the stuff toy, and kenma swore he saw glitters and stars floating around him when he gave fukunaga the toy.

"can't believe you manage to find time for all of us to be back again." yaku morisuke states with an amusing smile on his face, dreamy gaze casted towards the stars. he exhales, a thin cloud leaving his lips and condensing into the night. "takes me back to my youth days."

"you know yaku-san you're still pretty short compared to when you are in high-"

"and you're still a skyscraper and a dumbass Lev." the brunette spat, proceeding to slap the back of his head, making everyone laugh at the familiar yet nostalgic interaction between the two.

kenma musters a genuine chuckle before his gaze lands on the black-haired boy beside him.

"kuroo, you okay?" he notices the boy's glistening eyes and unshed tears, laughing at his friend's concern.

"so, happy memories can truly be relived after all." the boy turns his gaze. His soft hazel eyes clashing with the pure golds of kenma's.

kenma blushes.

kuroo grins wider, pink hue dusting his cheeks. he lifts his fist and states,

"cheers to being partners till the end, kenma."

it was small and ghost-touched but the boy with pudding locks smiles ever so faintly, lifting his fist to mirror his friend. then for a long moment, memories of high school flashes before his eyes. he never ones bothered looking back at what he had done and only continued looking forward at the obstacle before him. but at that moment, kenma remembered the people he had befriended,

and he missed them dearly.

"yeah," he says softly, their knuckles touched in a fist bump.

"cheers to being a part of nekoma, and merry christmas kuroo."

end.