I Don't Think I Regret it

Domesticity isn't Always Bliss, but Sometimes it is

Though it pained her to admit, Kuroo had some sound relationship advice. She had been dating Reo for a few weeks and he still hadn't kissed her. He never made any move to touch her. When she tried to be in any way physically affectionate, he would blush and make up an excuse. Ai was starting to think that maybe it wasn't just that he was embarrassed about the PDA. It made her feel uncomfortable and unwanted. It didn't feel like they were dating. She was an idiot for suggesting they do anything more than hold hands, she jinxed it.

Ai spent her mornings with Kuroo and Kenma, her afternoons with Reo, and her nights catching up with her mother. It seemed balanced and perfect. The only thing she could never divvy up was her weekends. Kuroo would try to drag her to a movie with Bokuto and a jaded Akaashi, but she was bored of horror. She felt like she needed to make her new relationship work by spending more time with Reo, then he would be more used to her, but that is what she did every day. But she couldn't force him to like her. Then there was her mother, who worked so hard for her but she only saw for maybe two or so hours a day. The weekends were their only time to spend quality time. Recently, her mother was following her love life like a soap opera. Though most people would find their parent's interest in their relationships rather unsettling, Ai was used to it. She didn't lie to her mother about anything. Total transparency was their policy. Of course intimate details could be omitted, but Ai wouldn't lie about having a boy over.

It was Saturday morning, Ai was kneading dough for some bread in the kitchen while her mother was flipping through a magazine. "When am I going to meet you boyfriend?"

Ai was pressing the air out of the dough after it had been sitting. "I don't know mother, he's not my boyfriend, besides I don't want you to scare him away." She pounded into the dough.

"Well if you haven't already done that yourself, he should be fine." Her mother commented nonchalantly, flipping another page in her magazine.

"Haha, very funny." Ai said in a deadpan voice.

"Hey," Ai's mother leaned over the back of the couch, she pushed her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose, "how about we have him over for dinner?"

"If he's not busy, sure." Ai wiped her hands on her apron and go tour her phone to send him a text. "Let's have him over at seven."

"Ai, can you go out to the market? I want to make Okonomiyaki." Ai washed her hands and untied her apron.

"Of course, Mother." Ai changed out of her pajamas and pulled on a pair of jeans and a striped tee shirt of yellow, blue, red and white before she slipped her hair into a bun.

Her mother handed her the grocery purse on her way out "Don't forget the pork belly."

Ai grunted as she shoved her feet into her sneakers. Kuroo was sitting on the steps leading from the top floor of the apartment complex when she left.

"What are you doing sitting here all alone?" Ai asked, sighing and rolling her eyes as she made her way down the steps. She stood a few steps above him and ruffled his hair, making it messier, if that was even possible.

"Thinking." He said vacantaly.

"Mmm no wonder I thought I smelled burning." Ai bounded down the last few steps and yanked on Kuroo's arm. He looked at her astonished, confused, and there was something else. She had never seen him look like that. A new face, it caught her off guard at first but she shrugged it off. "If you're gonna think, put yourself to good use."

"Where are we going?" Kuroo asked, letting her drag him down the street. He could have easily caught up in a stride or too, but Kuroo seemed terribly listless that day.

"You're going to help me buy some groceries today." She flashed a toothy grin at him. "I'm lucky you were there, we are out of just about everything except eggs and rice. I don't know how I would be able to carry it all."

Ai still had her hand around his wrist. Though her hands were small, his arms were slender and she could wrap her fingers around his wrist. His wrist seemed fragile, like she could crush it. Still, he was well built, but in comparison to Bokuto, he was all noodle. "Ouch! Ai-chan, you're so mean!" Kuroo wailed, pulling his wrist back and rubbing it dramatically.

She hadn't meant to squeeze his wrist but she didn't apologize. "Come on you big baby," she rolled her eyes as the doors to the supermarket slid open. Ai grabbed a shopping cart and maneuvered around the aisles. She picked out the choicest ingredients she could while being as penny pinching as she could. She picked up cabbage and pickled daikon just in case.

"So what are you making?" Kuroo asked, taking over the cart while Ai was looking through the meat that was on sale.

"Mother wants to make Okonomiyaki for Reo-san." Ai sighed. "It's such a big fuss but I'm glad he'll get to eat one of the better meals my mother makes."

"Sounds nice, inviting your boyfriend over." Kuroo poked her in the ribs playfully. She squirmed and swatted him with a package of Boston butt.

"Hands off, cockatoo! And he's not my boyfriend!"

"Eating Okonomiyaki with your family." He continued to taunt her, evading her attempts to hit him with packaged meats. "I'm so jealous." He caught her wrists and she couldn't move her arms.

"I'll bring you leftovers tomorrow then." Ai huffed, "Now could you let me go?" Her face was flushed. "We are in public!"

"If you're having Okonomiya, I'll be able to smell it through the walls." Kuroo moaned, his stomach growled. Ai placed a package of pork belly in the cart and moved on.

She shook her head like a disapproving mother. "You're hopeless, let's check out."

Kuroo carried more than his share of the groceries back to their apartment complex. "Come on inside, there's some bread for you inside."

When they entered the apartment, Ai's mother was already slicing up the bread and smothering it with blackberry jam. She bit into a slice herself.

"Oh, you helped Ai carry groceries?" Her mother smiled with the air of a mischievous cat. "Oh what has my daughter done to deserve such nice men in her life."

Ai was busying herself putting the groceries out and preparing for cooking. Her mother nudged into her arm. "Give me some of that luck, stingy!" She wailed melodramatically.

"Mother, you're getting too worked up." Ai complained getting out a skillet and some additional ingredients from a cupboard. "It's not a big deal."

"Ai-chan, you're so cold," Kuroo played along, licking blackberry jam off his thumb. "Can't you see how lucky you are to have me?"

"Alright, that's it!" Ai huffed, "Kuroo, it's time to get home."

"Aw~ Ai-chan, but I love spending time with you!" Kuroo teased as she pushed him out the door.

"Go home, you big oaf!" Ai rolled her eyes.