Chapter Text
The Fukurodani Hanger on Aoba 5 was a busy place. It was private, of course; the only people that flew into it were somehow associated with the corporation. Since Fukurodani had a powerful presence on the planet, however, traffic was still heavy.
New people came in and out of the hanger all the time. Most of the time, Bokuto didn’t notice them. They weren’t important. He was important - well, he and his partner. They were some of the best Peacekeepers that the Fukurodani Corporation had on this rock.
Still, something about the pair that had just disembarked caught his eye enough to distract him from cleaning his gun - and it wasn’t just that the taller one had a great ass.
Though he did. Bokuto prided himself on noticing these things.
For one, he was pretty sure they were Alephian. There was just something about the way they held themselves, separate from all the hoi polloi that wandered past them. They were both wearing tight red and black skinsuits, though the shorter had a jacket on over his. The taller one had messy dark hair and a threatening aura. Bokuto gave him a nod when their gazes locked.
Didn’t hurt to be friendly, after all. From the way the taller man had his hand on the shorter’s shoulder, however, it looked like they were probably together. Well, that and the affection that crossed his face when he looked down.
“It’s not like you to get distracted,” a voice behind his shoulder said.
Bokuto grunted. “They look interesting,” he said, craning his neck around to look up at Akaashi. His partner was looking at the others himself.
“They are,” he said, looking down at Bokuto.
“Because they’re Alephian?”
Akaashi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Good eye,” he said.
“Well, my partner’s half, so I know some of the signs.”
“Yes.” Akaashi said, sitting down next to him. “You are correct. Though they aren’t unbonded like I am.”
“Really?” Bokuto asked with interest, looking back over. “They’re still part of a tribe? How can you tell? Is it some super-secret Alephian thing?”
A low chuckle came from Akaashi’s throat. “No, it’s not some super-secret Alephian thing. I’ve read their file.”
That made Bokuto glance over with interest, waiting for more details.
“They’re the ones that headquarters pulled in to be our partners on the next mission - and longer, if things go well. Kuroo Tetsuro and Kozume Kenma, of Clan Nekoma in the Tribe Dikastis.”
“Justice freaks?” Bokuto said, looking back over. “I thought they only left their planet to work for the KTs. Didn’t know they hired out as mercs.”
“Well, ever since the incident with their head family, there’s been a lot of turmoil in the smaller clans. I’d imagine those two just decided to strike out on their own for some reason.”
“I see,” Bokuto said, looking back over at them. “Partners, huh? I wonder what that tall guy - which one is he? - I wonder what he’s like in a fight.”
“Kuroo, I believe. The one with the dyed blond hair is Kozume. Kozume will be our computer technician. Kuroo will be your partner out in the field, so it’s possible you’ll get to see what he’s like in a fight.”
“Yeah, yeah, but I mean -”
Akaashi turned and looked at him. “Are you going to try something?”
Bokuto did his best to look innocent. “Why would I do that?” he said, pouting a moment before his expression changed to something more sly. “Besides, he’s not bad looking, eh?”
A bit of color graced Akaashi’s cheeks. “Of course. He is Alephian, after all - it’s part of our genetic makeup.”
“Yeah, I know, I get to look at your pretty face all the time,” Bokuto said, nudging his partner. “I wonder if the shorter one’s good looking too. Can’t see with those baggy clothes and all that hair in his face.”
“You should be professional, Bokuto,” Akaashi said.
“I’m professional well enough with you, aren’t I? Besides, if we’re gonna be trusting each other with our lives, well. It’s good to know what you have to work with.”
“I suppose... that might be true.”
“Exactly,” Bokuto said, looking back over and catching Kuroo’s gaze again. “And what the people at headquarters don’t know won’t hurt them.”
~~~~~~
“I don’t like this place,” Kenma said.
He was huddling into his jacket, sitting on one of the narrow beds in the room they’d been temporarily assigned. It was sparse even by their standards, just a couple of beds that folded out from the wall, a desk with a vidscreen and connection port, and a small shelving unit for storage.
“You always say that, kitten,” Kuroo said.
“It’s always true.”
Chuckling Kuroo crouched down in front of him. Kenma didn't want to look at him though. Looking would just remind him of all the reasons he already didn't like it here.
"It's going to be a good place," Kuroo said, gently pulling at Kenma's jacket. He let him, let his hands slide to his knees and looked at his left hand, fingers tapping out a rhythm.
"It's just a place. Everyone's strange, and so..."
"They're human," Kuroo said. "They can't help it. They won't be that bad."
"But I'll be alone."
Kuroo paused a moment, then lifted up a hand to run his fingers through Kenma's hair. "You'll be linked to me all the time."
"It's not the same. You'll be out there in the field by yourself."
"I'll have a partner," Kuroo said, moving to tug at the zipper of Kenma's jacket.
"A human partner. He'll be slow, and weak -"
"He's one of their best, from what I read. And I'll have you watching my back, if we need extraction."
Kenma just sat, letting Kuroo ease the jacket down off his shoulders and toss it onto the other bed. He was the one who felt weak right now. "That's not enough," he finally said.
"It will be. It'll be fine. Besides, who else is going to manage the computer stuff better than you? You'll be fighting battles on your own field, and I won't be able to be with you for that."
"Yeah, but that’s -"
Different. Safer. Kenma glanced up at Kuroo then, communicating without words.
Kuroo answered back with a wry little grin, tugging at the zipper of the top of Kenma's skinsuit a moment until Kenma gave a slight nod and looked down.
"I won't be able to be there if you're in danger," Kenma said finally. "If we're too late..."
Long fingers pushed the fabric of his top down and over his shoulders, coming back up to trace the bumps and ridges of scar tissue that covered the top of his right shoulder and trailed down over his chest. They both knew what it was like to be too late.
Kuroo leaned forward and kissed the ruined flesh like he always did, like at some point his kisses would convince Kenma that the scar wasn't ugly. It was though. It was an ugly reminder that he'd been too slow, that they'd barely been lucky enough to make it out alive. He could still remember the face of the insurgent who'd ambushed them, remembered jumping to try and make sure the round aimed at Kuroo's heart missed. He hadn't even seen the acid trap until it exploded.
He was lucky he'd been wearing a helmet, or else his shoulder wouldn't be the only thing that was ruined.
"You won't be too late," Kuroo said, looking up at him. "We're just going to be on a team again."
"Not our team," Kenma said, letting his head fall.
There was too much sadness in him right now. Too many memories, regrets, and silenced hopes. Sometimes he didn't know why Kuroo didn't just leave him be, walk out and wait till the mood passed and Kenma was fit to be around people again. Some days he pushed it hard enough that Kuroo actually did leave.
Those were miserable days.
Today, though, Kuroo just eased him back onto the bed and finished undressing him, letting Kenma watch him in silence as he finished taking off his own clothes.
"Scoot over," Kuroo said. "Hopefully our next quarters will have a bigger bed."
Kenma just nodded, starting to curl on his side facing the wall until Kuroo tugged him to lie on his back. Kenma closed his eyes, feeling passive as Kuroo kissed him. He let him deepen the kiss, feeling the way Kuroo's fingers traced over his side. He wasn't really in the mood for anything, but Kuroo was warm. Kuroo knew him. Kuroo was kissing down to his scars again, as if he could heal them.
It was possible. If they'd been different, a different tribe -
But they weren't, and Kenma didn't really want his scars healed anyway.
Kuroo didn't stop. His mouth traced patterns over Kenma's skin in counterpart to his fingertips, speaking a language that they both knew by heart. He wasn't asking for more. Today, that made Kenma grateful. Selfish, but grateful.
He threw an arm up over his eyes as Kuroo made his way down, massaging and kissing and marking his skin. Kenma knew Kuroo needed this as much as he did, really - needed to remind himself that Kenma was still alive, still here, still his. It was an easy indulgence for Kenma to grant, today at least.
He'd give anything to Kuroo. Anything he could.
It would never be enough.
"You're beautiful," Kuroo said, pushing up.
Kenma knew he was looking down at him. He wasn't surprised at the press of lips to his own mouth, just moved his arm so that it didn't get in the way. It was a slow and easy kiss. Kuroo pressed against him, letting their bodies rest together, skin to skin. If Kenma could he would always want to be like this. Close enough to feel Kuroo's breath.
That probably wasn't true. Some moments even Kuroo was too much. But it was a nice fiction, and right now he'd take it.
Slowly he eased his arms down around Kuroo's back, letting his fingertips trace over the skin that stretched across muscles and bone. There were pictures on that skin, he knew, lines and curves and beauty. He could spend hours running his fingers over those patterns, watching them in the light. They knew so many languages together. Skin on skin was the easiest, though.
Kuroo broke the kiss, giving another small one before saying, "We should get some sleep before tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day."
Kenma nodded, waiting for Kuroo to lift up before turning onto his side. The language of sleep was something they knew well too, different words for different spaces and different nights. On nights like these, Kenma always felt best with Kuroo pressed firmly to his back, knees tucked behind knees, Kuroo's large hand curled around his chest like he was holding his heart. Kuroo huffed a bit to get stray hairs out of his face before pressing a kiss to Kenma's neck.
"Will you dream?" Kuroo asked.
"Maybe. Probably not."
That was a lie and they both knew it. Any dreams tonight would probably turn into nightmares, where fears he pushed down in the day would try to rise up and claim him.
Kuroo would be there to fight them off, though.
Always had been.
It was a comforting thought, and for a moment Kenma could pretend that always had been meant the same thing as always would be.
~~~~~~~
"Oh ho ho!" was the probably going to be the thing Kuroo thought of first when it came to his new partner. The loud one, anyways.
It seemed to be Bokuto's favorite saying.
It was the first thing that he'd said when Kuroo and Kenma had walked into the meeting with their new teammates. Kuroo had remembered the guy - both from the picture in the file Kenma had showed him and also from the hangar when they arrived. The other one - the quiet one - looked better in person than in his photographs.
Bokuto was -
Well.
Bokuto was all motion, and action, and words. He was leading them onto a ship now.
"This is where we'll live," Bokuto said, "as well as work. Hope you don't mind the close quarters. We have separate rooms, of course - unless you two want to share?"
Kuroo wasn't sure if he liked the way the human was looking at Kenma when he said that. No one here should have a problem with them being together - it wasn't like back home - but if Kuroo knew anything, it was that anyone could be an asshole.
It would be just his luck if their new captain was one of them.
"There's a shared kitchen down there," Bokuto said, motioning down one hall, "as well as rooms for sleeping. All the rooms are keyed to open to me because I'm the captain, but don't worry. That's just in case of emergencies. Bikes and equipment are down this way - you do ride, don't you?"
"Yes," Kuroo answered, glancing down at Kenma to see how he was doing. He'd been silent the whole morning, but watchful, so he was probably ok.
The fourth member of their group - Akaashi - was trailing behind them. He was quiet as well. Then again, with Bokuto around, it was a wonder anyone else got a word in edgewise.
"Good, good. Oh, and up here's the main control room," Bokuto said, leading them inside. "Akaashi sits up here, and so over there, Kozume, will be - eh?"
Kuroo stifled a laugh. Yeah, Kenma was alright.
He'd evidently figured out pretty quick which station was his, and was already seated, fingers flying over the screens to log in.
"Ah, Akaashi will probably have to -" Bokuto started, looking around helplessly for his teammate.
"It appears," Akaashi said, moving over to glance at Kenma's screens, "That he's found his way in just fine."
"You did ask for the best," Kuroo said, watching as Kenma's head tilted to the side in slight acknowledgement of the complement.
"Yeah, yeah," Bokuto said, still staring at Kenma's screens.
It was amusing, but Kuroo also knew that Kenma wasn't overly fond of having strangers watch him work. "Maybe you could show me the equipment room, Bokuto?" he asked.
"What? Oh, yeah, sure," Bokuto responded, looking back over at him with a sheepish grin. That was different. "You two be alright in here, Akaashi?"
"We'll be fine, Bokuto-san," Akaashi replied.
Kuroo hoped they would be. He hated leaving Kenma alone with a strange man. It was an irrational feeling. If anyone could take care of himself, it was Kenma - especially against someone unaugmented.
He followed Bokuto out of the room and into the corridor.
"So, that Kozume," Bokuto said. "How long have you known him?"
"All our lives," Kuroo said. He made note of the hallways they walked down, grey metal with occasional patches of color to break things up.
"Ah, lucky, lucky." Bokuto said. "He seems like the quiet type. Akaashi is too - well, most of the time. Heh. Sometimes he can be really loud."
Kuroo wasn't sure what to make of the look Bokuto shot him with that statement. Was he saying -
Huh. Well that would be interesting. Might make him have to revamp a few ideas about the guy.
"This is our practice room," Bokuto said, opening up a door into a large space covered with padded flooring. "We can work out, lift, spar - whatever's needed. I'm assuming you guys need to work out, even with your, ah, abilities."
"Yeah," Kuroo said, smirking.
Most of the humans he'd worked with before weren't quite so naive about what it meant to be Alephian. They didn't know the details, of course - no one outside of Aleph really knew what made them what they were - but learned pretty fast that just because someone was a Dikastis that didn't mean they had superpowers. Sure, he had an edge in strength and speed, but Kuroo still needed to train just like anyone else.
"Huh," Bokuto said, turning to give him a slow look up and down.
Kuroo posed, looking at the other just as blatantly. There didn't seem to be anything outright flirtatious in Bokuto's gaze, though. It was more of an assessing look, with a hint of challenge.
"You know," Bokuto said, glancing up at him, "I always like to get to know my partners before I go out with em. Get a taste of who's gonna be watchin my back. You game?"
"Well," Kuroo said, "I wouldn't want to hurt you."
The grin Bokuto shot back at him was positively predatory. "Oh, I'm not too worried," he said. "I'm pretty sure I'll be able to hold my own. Though you're welcome to prove me wrong."
"I'll do my best," Kuroo said, smirking.