Parlay bets are high risk, but have the potential to garner increased odds and payoffs. Rather than place multiple single bets, the parlay combines several other, often smaller, bets. Say we're looking at sports betting. Then the parlay bet would be a small to medium sum on several teams, rather than a large sum on one team.
There is a catch, however. In exchange for higher odds and increased payoff, the risk for a parlay bet is high, because in order to win each bet must win. So, if you bet on five sports teams, and all five win, then hooray for you! One loss out of five, and you lose everything.
See how that may be more of a risk than you're willing to take. Typically, frequent gamblers choose not to place parlay bets. The payout is often not enough to make what they stand to lose worth it.
~~
Kuroo stood there, wide-eyed at the ball gently rolling away from the net. He looked at his hands in disbelief. The roar of the crowd around him nearly burst his eardrums while Bokuto and the rest of his teammates leapt onto him in exultation. Sweat-slicked and on the verge of collapse, he mechanically stood on the back line, bowed to his opponents, bowed to the spectators that came to support his team.
It was like Kuroo was in a trance when he headed for the locker rooms with his team. There was so much running through his mind that everything felt a static numbness. It was until a familiar dulcet voice called out to him that snapped him out of his trance.
"Kuroo!" (Y/N) yelled from down the hallway.
The boy's attention snapped to her form sprinting at him.
~~
Parlay bets are best placed by those who don't gamble very often. For Kuroo, a lot has to go right for him to get what he wants.
One, (Y/N) cannot still have feelings for Oikawa or have feelings for anyone else.
Two, he himself must have treated her sufficiently well as a human being. These are the conditions of the bet, but be that as it may, when it comes to her, Kuroo would never settle for 'sufficient'.
Three, she has to love him back.
~~
Kuroo took a step towards her and opened his arms. Without missing a beat, (Y/N) ran and jumped into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck.
Deciding, 'Fuck it,' Kuroo leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss.
(Y/N) yelped a little in surprise, then relaxed, melting into the embrace. Her hands came up to cup his face while they ignored the loud ribbing from the Tokyo U team behind them.
Kuroo was, surprisingly, the one to pull back first. Not very far, but he separated their lips just enough to ask her, "What are you doing tonight?"
"Nothing yet."
"Great. See you at seven?"
"It's a date."
~~
A cool breeze blew through the Tokyo U campus as (Y/N) and Kuroo walked through the main quad. The tall middle blocker had thoroughly refused to tell her where they were going, even as they walked up the fourth flight of stairs in the biology building of the university.
Once they arrived at the roof access door, Kuoo produced a single key with a little green tag on it.
"I have my ways," he had told her.
Upon opening the door, they were greeted by a completely barren rooftop garden. The planter boxes were filled with soil and nothing else. Empty pots accompanied uncovered trellises, and the small birdbath was completely dry. It's hard to see very many stars in a city like Tokyo, but from the rooftop, the lights from the high-rise buildings, and streetlights, and headlights from cars dotted the landscape like heaven on earth.
The night air ruffled (Y/N)'s hair soothingly. She stared out at the city lights in wide-eyed wonder.
Kuroo's shoes shuffled against the concrete rooftop as he shuffled to her side and leaned against the rail. "I've lived in Tokyo my whole life. I used to hate that you could never see the stars around here, but... I think the city lights are a different kind of beautiful, don't you think?"
In the bright moonlight, the girl's face glowed with amazement. The Tokyo skyline was something she could only dream of as a young girl growing up in rural Miyagi prefecture. Even then, her greatest wish was to attend university in the big city. That dream was the whole reason she had been studying so hard from the start, and she got what she wanted. At Tokyo U, it felt like she could pursue whatever her heart desired, even if that, too, was problematic for her.
"I've been wanting to see a sight like this since I moved to Tokyo," she rounded on him with a look of sincerity, "Thank you for bringing me here, Tetsurou. It's perfect."
His heart beat louder in his chest. Suddenly, the cool night air was much too warm for his burning face.
(Y/N) started again, "And I love this garden, too." She gestured all around them at the empty pots and planters. "Even if there aren't any flowers, I like this setup. There's nothing here yet, but that just means there's infinite possibilities for what could be here, right?"
The tension in Kuroo's shoulders faded away almost completely.
"I was thinking," he moved close enough for their shoulders to brush each other's, "I think..." He paused again. Damn this was hard.
"Some things. Some plants. Grow."
'Okay, Tetsurou. Good start. You got this.'
Gaze flickering over to his companion's, encouragement filled him when he found her nodding at him to continue.
The tall young man took a deep breath, "This garden doesn't have plants in it because the plants aren't in season. They're real pretty, but stuff only grows when it's time for it to do so... because it's not ready."
He rubbed his shoulder in discomfort. It was becoming too much for him and he looked away from her, only for her to use a gentle hand on his cheek to return his focus to her.
"So," she said gently, "Would you say these plants are still out of season? Or do you think spring is on its way?"
Who else could understand his jumbled mess of a monologue like she could? Kuroo was grateful for the way she could understand him, jumbled and anxious as he was. He sighed and took her hand.
"I'm sorry, being poetic isn't really my thing. I need to suck it up and be straightforward with you. I want to be with you, (Y/N), I really do. I can't tell you how much I would love to hold your hand and take you on sappy dates and give you my jersey to wear at my games and just think to myself how lucky I am to have someone like you by my side. I think about doing all those things constantly enough to where it's become a serious issue, but..." he ran a hand down his face in frustration, "I don't know if I'm ready. Whenever I see you with Oikawa or with whoever, I just think about how you could be a great partner for anyone, so it's hard for me to understand why you would choose me. It's not that I think you're shallow. At all. It's me. It's me thinking I'm not good enough to be worthy of being by your side."
(Y/N) stared at him with rapt attention and something else Kuroo could've sworn was surprise, "Tetsurou... I had no idea you felt that way. I mean, when you're not around me, you always seem so confident."
"I-- Ugh, I don't know. When I'm with my team, I'm thinking about so many different things. With them, as a leader-type, I'm concerned about them and their needs. When I'm with you, you're all a think about. Then I have time to be insecure about all that crap."
The black-haired male rested his weight against the railing. He hugged his flannel to himself a little closer. It wasn't easy being vulnerable like this, especially not after being a team captain, where he didn't need to think about himself so much. Strangely, though, he felt a bit better. Lighter, even.
(Y/N) rubbed his arm to comfort him.
"That makes sense. So, what now? What is it you want?"
"I want to be your boyfriend."
"Already? I don't want you to feel pressured."
Kuroo shook his head, "I don't know about a lot of things, but one thing I know I want is to be your boyfriend. Whether that be today, yesterday, or ten years down the line, I know that's what I want, but..."
"But?"
"But not right now. I'm not entirely sure what I need right now, but I don't want everything I'm afraid of to hang over our relationship. I feel like I need to get stronger, mentally. For myself, but especially for you. Does that make sense?"
(Y/N) couldn't suppress her grin. She took both of Kuroo's hands in hers.
"Completely."
~~
"You are only afraid if you are not in harmony with yourself."
Hermann Hesse
~~
(Y/N) wasn't doing anything special. It had been a few months since she and Kuroo had their talk on the rooftop. Since then, they had been spending time together, with Kenma, the team, or just the two of them. With a little time, they were beginning to understand each other better. The two of them seemed more comfortable together, at peace, even. Slowly, but surely, Kuroo had become much kinder to himself. His own worst critic was learning to take it easy on himself.
(Y/N) had done quite a bit of soul searching herself and in the months since their talk, she was ready to choose a major and enter a program.
"I want to do everything, but the longer I hesitate, I'll end up being too late to do anything," she explained.
She'd spent ages studying for her entrance exam. Knowing how she was when she was studying, the best either Kuroo or Kenma could do was bring her food, make sure she had enough light when she studied at night, make sure she was drinking water, and other small favors. The two of them just wished they could do more.
Neither of them were surprised when she got into her program on the first try. Kenma swears that he lost his hearing for a while after hearing her squealing over her acceptance letter.
Now, (Y/N) was washing dishes with a thick textbook propped up in front of her. Her classes hadn't started yet, but she told her friends that she "wanted to get ahead!" Secretly, though, Kuroo knew she couldn't wait to read the new material. She was practically bursting at the seams when she came home from the bookstore with the large tome.
She was so focused on her reading, Kuroo noticed that she had been washing that same bowl for the past five minutes. One of her sweater sleeves had rolled down and was dragging in the soapy water. If she had noticed, there was no way to tell.
It wasn't that she was doing anything special. Perhaps it was because she wasn't doing anything of note at the moment that gave Kuroo butterflies, but the sight he saw in front of him was just so her, he couldn't help himself.
Before he knew it, the words had already left his mouth.
"I love you."
(Y/N) froze. She blinked, as if she had been woken up from a deep slumber.
Her head turned slowly until her tentative gaze met his.
"Wh-- What?" she gasped.
Kuroo smiled back at her, more sure than he'd ever been.
"I love you."
There was a quiet thud as the bowl she was washing sunk to the bottom of the basin.
Kuroo continued, "You deserve someone who would give you the world. I'm ready for that person to be me."
(Y/N)'s face split in an uncontrollable grin. She ran and practically jumped into his arms for a hug. With her arms wrapped firmly around Kuroo's neck.
"You're sure? We can still wait if you want."
"I'm sure. Do you still want to be my girlfriend?"
She pecked his cheek, "Of course I do."
Kuroo gazed down at her fondly. She already had his heart. She could crush it under her heel, leave it a broken mess in the dirt. But somehow, for some reason, he felt like she would take good care of it.
Of course, there was no way to be sure, but that was a bet he was willing to make.
fin.