Chapter Text
When Tadashi asked him why he was moving in with Bokuto and Kuroo, Kei answered that they were the only people in Tokyo he was close enough with to call friends. He needed a place to live, and as the two men’s best friends relationship had recently upgraded to a lovers relationship, a room became available in their apartment. When he asked them if it wouldn’t be a problem having someone breaking into their intimacy, they said it was alright as their relationship wasn’t really new, and they really needed to rent the extra space to save some money.
Of course, what Kei wouldn’t ever admit in front of a living soul was that Tokyo was big and scary and that even if Bokuto and Kuroo were the biggest dorks he knew, moving with them ensured he wouldn't be alone while starting his new life in the big city.
Oh, and they were hot.
Fuck lord were they hot.
Which was a plus, obviously.
Imagine two former semi-pro athletes. One huge and beefy enough to have been scouted as a model by a notorious brand of underwear as soon as his pro volleyball career ended; and the other tall, lean with delicious golden skin and a shiny smile that could make you mistake him for a Baywatch lifeguard. The latter was actually manager for JVA, though, which meant he wore suits, every, damn, day.
Kei had figured that since he was starting a new life, with a new job at the Museum of Modern Art of Tokyo, there was no reason that at least the view couldn’t be worth the trip.
----------
It was six in the afternoon on a Friday in July, and the sun had been hitting the building for a while now. Summer in Tokyo was Hell on Earth. The temperature was at its highest when Kei had finally moved all his boxes up into his new apartment. Sweaty and gross, he decided to take a shower and change his clothes. He took his time to freshen up properly, and by the time he returned to the living room to search for clean clothes in one of his waiting boxes, he was met by Bokuto just coming back from work.
“Oh hello, Bokuto-san.”
The model dropped his bag, it hit the ground with a loud thud. He eyed Kei from head to toe.
To be fair, Kei was only wearing a small towel around his hips, and it probably wasn’t the best way to greet his brand new roommate. Or was it? But in his defense, all his clothes were boxed up in the living room, so making his way through it was inevitable if he wanted to get dressed.
“H-hello, Tsukki. Did you get all your boxes in?”
Kei mentally clicked his tongue at the cheesy nickname, but refrained from saying anything. He eyed the forest of cardboard boxes extending from the genkan to the bathroom door.
“Yeah, I was just taking a break before sorting out what goes where and starting to put it all away.”
He started rummaging through a box labeled clothes in a black ink.
“No worries, take your time!” Bokuto said a bit uselessly.
Kei finally found what he was searching for and retreated to his room for some privacy. While his disassembled bed was waiting to be taken care of he put on his clothes and went back into the living room.
Bokuto was now in the kitchen, searching through the cupboards. Kei picked up one of his boxes and was about to head back to his room when Bokuto called, “What would you–”
A loud metallic clunk resounded in the kitchen, and Kei whipped around to see what happened. Bokuto was looking at him, face crimson and lower lip trembling.
“S-sorry,” Bokuto mumbled with what looked like extra effort. “What would you like to eat for dinner?” The model swallowed heavily, making his Adam’s apple bob in a way that Kei couldn’t help but notice.
“Anything’s fine with me,” he said sternly, before turning around and bringing the first box to his room.
Bokuto's behavior might have been odd, but Kei knew exactly what made him lose his composure. Since the weather in Tokyo was so hot, Kei had adapted his wardrobe quite drastically and invested in short shorts to keep him nice and cool during the deadly season.
And of course, he may or may not have predicted what kind of effect his long legs would have on most of the well constituted gay men in the city. Those shorts suited him all right; they fit like a glove.
----------
After putting away everything he could, Kei went out to see what Bokuto was up to in the kitchen.
“Can I do something to help, Bokuto-san?”
Bokuto looked above his shoulder, his gaze dropping briefly to Kei’s shorts before turning back swiftly.
“Yes! Actually you can!” He gestured toward an onion and some leeks on the counter. “Can you chop the vegetables, please?”
Kei went to the counter beside him and grabbed a knife. Bokuto was two hands deep kneading a bowl filled with what looked like dough for a pie.
“Where are the cutting boards?” Kei asked, and Bokuto looked up at the cupboard above them.
“Ah just right here, but–” He looked pointedly at his floured hands, then at Kei with an apologetic smile.
Kei put down his knife and shifted to stand behind Bokuto, facing the double-doored cupboard. Bokuto was tall, but Kei was taller. This promised to be interesting . He leaned slightly forward to open the doors, while Bokuto unsuccessfully tried to make himself smaller. Kei extended an arm to reach into the cupboard, but his chest inevitably brushed against Bokuto’s shoulder blades.
When Kei moved back to his post, a cutting board in hand, he couldn’t help himself and glanced sideways at Bokuto. He was still kneading his dough but had visibly ducked his head down, probably trying to hide how his cheekbones were dusted in pink. Kei suppressed a snort and started chopping the vegetables as he was asked to.
Kuroo arrived when the pie was already cooking in the oven and Kei and Bokuto were leaning against the kitchen counters, drinking beers and chatting about Kei’s work arrangements.
“Hello you two! I can see that you started without me,” he accused with a snarky smile.
Bokuto put (nearly dropped) his beer on the counter and flew to the genkan to greet his lover.
“Kuroo! You’re here!” He threw his arms around the other’s shoulders and kissed him loudly on the mouth. “Kei and I made a pie for dinner!”
Kuroo staggered under the heavy weight of his man, but dropped his bag to kiss him back anyway.
“Oooh, what a lucky man I am to have not only one but two wives to make me dinner when I get back from work.” He smiled mischievously.
Of course, Bokuto followed the joke, “Well, dear husband, can I interest you in a beer and a bath before dinner?”
Kuroo cracked a laugh. “Just a beer would be fine.” He cupped Bokuto’s jaw and stroked his thumb over his lover's cheek. “I’m lucky to have you,” he added fondly.
Bokuto, as easy going as always, gasped and beamed at Kuroo with big, shiny eyes. Kei could have sworn he saw stars shimmer around him as he said, “I’m lucky to have you too!”
Kuroo kissed him on the cheek and started to remove his shoes. Bokuto went back to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge for Kuroo.
“Did you have the chance to move in most of your stuff, Moonshine?” Kuroo asked Kei before sipping at his beverage and bringing his other hand up to loosen his tie.
Kei mentally clicked his tongue for the second time that day, but knew it would be a lost cause to argue over the nicknames issue. They would probably take it as a challenge to call him by even more stupid nicknames.
“Yes, I did, but I think I need your help to assemble the bed, if that’s okay with you two.”
“Of course, we could do it while dinner is cooking!” Bokuto said with enthusiasm.
“Fine by me,” said Kuroo. “But set a timer to remember when to turn off the oven Kou, we know what happens when you don’t.”
Bokuto pouted and mumbled something Kei didn’t understand, but he still picked up his phone to set an alarm.
“All right.” Kei left the kitchen and started to head towards his room. When he passed by Kuroo, the man looked down and his eyes widened slightly. Until then, Kei's lower half had been hidden by the kitchen island, so Kuroo hadn’t seen his outfit.
A sly smile was painted across his face as he pushed open the door of his bedroom.
----------
They started to assemble the bed while Kuroo told stories about his work and how his favorite part was working with kids, even though it sadly didn’t happen often enough. At some point, they realized they had made an error while following Bokuto’s instructions, and had to disassemble everything to start again from the beginning. Bokuto went back to the kitchen to turn off the oven. In the time he was gone, Kei had taken over the instructions, being the most able to follow the indication sheet.
With the sun setting, the temperature began to drop, but not enough to call it fresh. So the beers were more than welcome to keep them cool while they finished putting the bed together. At some point, Kei oriented the conversation to ask about the apartment rules and Bokuto shouted happily that there weren’t any. Kuroo chided him, saying that of course there were, for example, no shouting because they didn’t want to have problems with the neighbors. Then he said that most of the rules were common sense and they mostly only applied to Bokuto anyway.
When they had tightened the last screw and put the mattress on the bed frame, Bokuto plopped himself down on it with a heavy sigh, quickly followed by Kuroo, who snuggled up to him with a happy smile.
“Your mattress is very comfortable, Tsukki.” Bokuto said.
“You two haven’t even showered,” Kei huffed. “You’re gross. Get out of my bed.”
Bokuto started to whine and Kei was about to protest when Kuroo grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him down into the bed. He crashed face first into Kuroo's chest with a groan. He pulled himself up on his elbows.
“You two are insufferable,” he adjusted his glasses, which had gone askew with the commotion. “No wonder why you’re boyfriends, you match each other perfectly.”
Kei was expecting a joke or at least a scoff to counter his snarky remark but instead was met with Kuroo clearing his throat and a shy silence from Bokuto.
“In that regard…” Kei sat back on his knees to look at them properly as he felt something important was coming. “Bokuto and I aren’t boyfriends.” Kuroo said.
Kei raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”
“You know I’m kind of famous, right, Tukki?” Bokuto asked with a wide smile.
“Yeah, I know you’re kind of famous, Bokuto-san,” Kei said with a sigh.
Bokuto didn’t acknowledge his sarcastic tone and continued unperturbed. “Well, as cool as it makes me,” Kei suppressed a snort, “it also means I can’t really have a romantic relationship with another man.”
Kei frowned. If he was honest, he hadn’t considered this issue at all.
“We prefer not to label our relationship, since I sometimes get involved in mild flirtations with women for the sake of our tranquility,” he said scrunching up his nose. “We don’t want paparazzi to come dig around my love life too much.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah, plenty of fun to be gay in Japan, am I right?” Kuroo said jokingly, but Kei knew all too well what he meant.
“Plenty of fun to be gay anywhere,” Bokuto mumbled beside him.
“Tell me about it.” Kei confirmed and two sets of eyebrows shot up.
“Oya?”
“So you are gay!” Bokuto exclaimed a bit too loudly. Kei felt his cheeks heating up. “See, Kuroo? I told you so!”
Kei stood up and brushed his bangs away from his face. “I am bisexual, but my last two relationships were with men, so I know what you mean, yeah.”
“Yay, Tsukki is one of us!” Bokuto nearly shouted. Kuroo slapped the back of his head, scolding him about the apartment rules and how the neighbors didn’t need to know about their sexuality, either.
Kei snorted, hiding a smile behind his hands. He wanted to ask more about their relationship, to have Kuroo’s point of view on Bokuto’s flirting with other people, but it wasn’t something he could see himself asking without seeming rude, so he didn’t.
Watching them, it occurred to Kei that he ended up in a strange household, but he also realized that he didn’t mind at all.
-----------
Once they finished dinner, Bokuto and Kuroo proposed to take care of the dishes while Kei resumed organizing his room.
When he had sorted out all his books by authors and by collections in his maplewood shelf, it had already gotten pretty late. He figured he should check on his roommates to see if they needed anything from him, or maybe wanted to watch a movie.
Just as he was about to return to the living room, he heard animated whispers from across his bedroom door. He figured he wasn’t supposed to hear the conversation happening in the kitchen, but he couldn’t help to eavesdrop.
“And did you see those shorts?” Kuroo was asking with dismay.
“Of course I saw them!” Bokuto answered in a weird and inefficient whisper-shout.
“Shh, he’s gonna hear you!” Kuroo scolded.
“Sorry,” Bokuto tried in a lower sound level, “But they are insane, man, those legs, I almost died on the spot when he came back from his room like that.” Kuroo snorted. “Oh! And when we were assembling his bed! Tetsu! Did you see when he bent forward on his knees to screw the metal thingy.”
“It’s called a bolt, sweetheart, and yeah, I have to agree with you, what happened back there was insanely hot! Tsukki holding a screwdriver in those short shorts was transcendent.”
Kei started to feel red creeping onto his cheeks. This time, neither the temperature nor the beer were at fault.
“Did I tell you I had a glimpse of him wearing only a towel around his hips when I got back from work?” Bokuto asked and Tsukki could feel the wide smile in his tone.
“No way! This is so unfair!”
“Hehehe,” this time Bokuto laughed without any whispering filter, “I wish I could have just crossed the room and gotten rid of that useless piece of cloth.”
Kuroo shushed him for the second time and Bokuto burst into heartfelt laughter.
Kei was perfectly aware of the erotic power of his legs and sure, he had wanted to make them lose their mind a little bit; to be on the same level, letting the hot guys know he was hot too, but this … He didn’t think his new roommates would be that open with each other regarding their fantasies with other people.
Kei couldn’t take it anymore, he had to do something to make them stop, this was too embarrassing. He forcefully opened the door to the living room, only to wince a little when it crashed into the bathroom wall with a loud resonating thud. He entered the room muttering an apology and smiled weakly at the two men looking at him from the kitchen.
Bokuto looked like a thief caught in a flashlight, but Kuroo sported his trademark indecipherable smirk.
Kei cleared his throat, “I thought maybe we could watch a movie or something…” He trailed off.
Bokuto’s expression immediately turned into a beaming smile.
“Or…” He crossed the distance separating him from Kei in two strides. “Since nobody is working tomorrow,” he said glancing towards Kuroo, “we were thinking we could drink some more and catch up on what happened to you since we drifted apart!”
Kuroo snorted, tearing him away from his thoughts. “Kou, be careful with your words please.” He smiled at Kei, “But yeah, it could be fun to catch up if you’re down for it.”
Kei nodded his approval. He wasn’t really put off by what Bokuto had said. It was true that they drifted away, life happened. They had tried to stay in contact after Bokuto and Kuroo had graduated, and even if they managed quite well considering they didn’t live in the same city and they weren’t brought together by volleyball events anymore, once Kei started college, life was suddenly a little busier on his end, since he had to balance school and a volleyball career, but they still keep talking consistently in their group chat. But when Kei entered his senior year and started his internship in Sendai Museum, his days were so busy he couldn’t keep up with the high paced flow of conversation the former two captains were maintaining.
So yeah, they drifted apart, and it was mostly Kei’s fault, but he didn’t regret it, because now he had the job of his dreams and he had achieved a great volleyball career as well.
Bokuto and Kei settled on the couch and Kuroo went to the kitchen to bring them three more beers and sat down on the soft yellow rug, at Bokuto’s feet.
“So, Moonshine! Congratulations for your new job!” Kuroo cheered, opening his can and raising it in Kei’s direction. “You must be very proud.”
Kei opened his can too, “Yes I am, I had to suck some dick– Figuratively,” he added darkly at Bokuto who was already straightening up on his seat interested, “It was hard to get it because of volleyball, the board was concerned I wouldn’t give it my whole.”
“But you would! You always had awesome scores in class all the while doing tournaments on the weekends!”, Bokuto defended him against no one.
“And it’s exactly what I told them, and I had to prove it during the application period.” Kei took a sip of his beer. “And it worked,” he added, failing to suppress a proud grin.
“You’re amazing, Tsukki!”
The blond had forgotten how Bokuto’s enthusiasm always warmed him up. “I’m mostly bench warming nowadays anyway,” he brushed off before a blush crawled onto his cheeks, then tried to divert the topic. “You are too, mister supermodel-of-the-world.” He said it sarcastically, but it didn’t mean he thought any less of Bokuto’s career. It was more than impressive to a mere mortal like Kei.
“I am, aren’t I?” The model said with an unwavering smile and Kuroo snorted at his feet. “I just wish I wasn’t as famous as I am right now.” His face dropped slightly.
Kei raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? The more famous you are, the more money you get.”
“Well yes, but-” Bokuto didn’t finish his sentence, obviously confused because he was about to complain while Kei had a very good point.
“Fame doesn’t always pay, Moonshine,” Kuroo said, his eternal smirk saddening. “Bokuto is often stopped in the street for photos or autographs. We can’t go to restaurants together anymore because we are always interrupted or the media gets in our faces.”
“Yeah,” Bokuto continued, his irritation revived by Kuroo’s support. “I love my fans, but I’m not paid for those moments, moments they literally steal from my private life. And–” He hesitated again, “And nobody knows I’m with Kuroo. My entire relationship is stolen from me, you know?”
Kei realized then that the person suffering the most in their situation might be Bokuto. Kuroo put a hand on his partner’s knee and gave him an encouraging smile.
“It’s just, I love Kuroo, and I wish the world could love him too,” Bokuto added with a sad smile.
“Yeah, I get it, I’m sorry,” Kei said, regretting that the conversation had taken this turn. “But hey, I promise that any time you want to have a date at home, I will leave you guys alone.”
“You’re welcome to stay with us, Tsukki!” Bokuto blurted out.
“We enjoy your company, Moonshine.” This ridiculous nickname again . “We would love to have a date with you,” Kuroo added with a wink.
Kei was confused. Kuroo’s wording made it sound like they wanted to have a date, not in his company, but with him, which were two very different things. Kei hid his bewilderment by sipping on his beer, silently promising himself that this one would be the last one of the night or else he wouldn’t be able to hide his blush anymore.
Bokuto tugged at his lover’s sleeve, and if Kei wasn’t at his third beer, maybe he would have understood what it meant.
Kuroo exchanged a glance with Bokuto then continued, “Do you have a boyfriend, Tsukki? I mean, is there someone we will meet soon?”
Kei snorted, “No, it’s just me.”
“You can bring home whoever you want, Tsukki!” Bokuto said cheerfully. Kuroo slapped his thigh and gave Bokuto a significant look, which Kei missed, caught up in his own thoughts. “I mean…” Bokuto looked at Kuroo worried, “We want you to feel at home.”
“I won’t bring anyone home.” Kei said, feeling alcohol untangling his tongue, “I don’t have time to meet new people or to date, I work too much.” He didn’t want them to hear the bitterness in his words but it was already late and his tongue wasn’t as sharp as it should be.
“It’s okay, Moonshine, you do you, we only want your success.” Kuroo said and Kei’s stomach fluttered at the soft tone of his voice.
“Thanks,” he answered awkwardly and took another sip of his beer. “And uh… you guys?” Kei should have stopped here, he was too tipsy and too curious so he continued anyway, “Do you bring other people home sometimes?”
Bokuto gasped beside him, “It’s not– We’re not– Well we are but not–” The model couldn’t form his words and Kei secretly congratulated himself for this exploit.
Kuroo put a hand on his partner’s knee to calm him down and spoke, “What Kou is trying to say is that he never brings any of his commercial flirts home. We call them that because it’s what they are, a way for Koutarou to show the world what a good straight guy he is.”
“Yeah no, I never cheated on Tetsu.” Bokuto said almost sheepishly, “We have some fun , sometimes but it’s always together and we would never bring them home.”
Kei’s attention perked up.
Kuroo saw his sudden interest and proceeded, “Koutarou means, we can have some stuff going on with other people, it’s rare but we do sometimes…” He didn’t finish his sentence to make the idea simmer in Kei’s mind, “We’re very discreet anyway in general, I, uh, I’m greysexual so we don’t overindulge in this area either, if you follow me.”
Bokuto must have read the confusion on Kei’s face because he explained, “Tetsu doesn’t like to have sex a lot, so we don’t do it a lot. It’s periodical mostly.” He looked at his partner, “Did I use this word right?”
Kuroo nodded at the model and Bokuto proudly beamed in return.
Kei glanced at Kuroo for confirmation on what Bokuto had said, “Yes, it’s a bit more complicated than that but basically yes, it means we won’t be a nuisance for you.”
Kei wanted to ask more about it. He wanted to know what Kuroo meant by a bit more complicated , but since he didn’t seem ready to share more tonight, Kei didn’t insist.
Since Bokuto clearly didn’t have the same level of tact as his lover, he answered Kei’s unformulated question anyway. “Tetsu likes some stuff like masturbation, being used and voyeurism,” Bokuto snickered. It’s usually a lot of work to get him excited but it’s always worth it,” he added with a wink.
Kei almost gasped at this sudden deluge of information, but quickly managed to hide his surprise with another sip of his beer. Kuroo, on the other hand, started to blush furiously.
“K-Kou,” he blurted out, “we already had this conversation. Be mindful who you share stuff about our sexual life please.”
“But it’s Tsukki!” the other replied as if it was the most natural thing, “He won’t judge us and I’m sure he was curious about it anyway.”
On this, Bokuto was perfectly right, but Kei didn’t say anything to confirm it.
Kuroo let out a groan of frustration and brought a hand to cover his red face. “Aaaah, you’re so embarrassing sometimes Kou.”
“I’m sorry Tetsu!” Bokuto said, joining his hands in front of him, “I know! Tsukki tell us something you like in bed, that way you guys will be even.”
Kei seriously considered not answering this but then almost against himself he said, “I like being watched.”
Of course he immediately perceived what it meant in the context. Bokuto gasped and Kuroo uncovered his face to look at him. He took another sip of his beer to avoid their gazes and suddenly realized that maybe what had become his protection mechanism during the evening might be the source of this commotion. He put his beer away, taking the solemn decision to be careful with alcohol when around his two new roommates from now on.
He stood up abruptly, “It’s late and I drank quite enough already, I’m going to bed.” He said it like it was simply logical and not a strategic retreat to avoid this uncomfortable discussion. Even if no one was fooled.
He put his drink on the coffee table and entered the safe space of his bedroom, a place completely devoid of any sexual tension.
Well, if he didn’t count all the erotic fantasies that popped up into his mind as soon as he closed his eyes to fall asleep.