Your eyes narrow on the mans face. He seems to falter slightly with the familiarity of his voice slipping past your lips.
"Y/N." Kuroo softly says your name and you feel a cold sensation send chills down to your toes. Your heart reacts to your name being called out and you hate it for doing so. Feeling your legs weaken the longer you're under his gaze, you turn around to avoid his lurking hazel eyes.
You try to regain your strayed emotions. You managed to pretend you're okay around others this past week but seeing his, Kuroo's, face right now is breaking this fake appearance.
Kuroo keeps his distance. He watches Y/N close her eyes, her jaw clenching together and her breath seething between her teeth. She's trying her best to look strong but he knows her well. Even with the ten year gap, he's the closest one to her besides her family members. He knows her every emotion well.
He timidly raises a hand to rest on her shoulder but he stops himself halfway.
What right does he have to act so familiar with her?
"Y/N!" A panicked loud voice rings out from the front entrance of the gym. A tall gentleman with brown shoulder length hair calls out to her. He leans over on his knees, catching his breath. Y/N flutters her eyes open to see the owner of the voice. "Asahi?" She raises an eyebrow, hurrying over to meet up with him at the entrance.
Asahi ? Y/N is on a first name basis ?
Kuroo keeps his eyes trained at the gym entrance. The tall gentleman stands upright and it's much clearer to see their face.
That person is indeed Asahi Azumane.
Kuroo hardly recognizes him without his hair up in a bun. It seems like Azumane has ditched the hair ties completely and he's grown his hair out.
"He looks like a model." Kai mutters to Yaku. The two whispering behind Kuroo.
"Was he always handsome? I just remember him being gloomy every time we'd poke fun of him." Yaku adds in.
Kuroo notices how close Y/N and Azumane appear. She rests her hands on Azumane's arms, looking him over to see if he's alright.
"Are they dating?" Yaku mutters more loudly than he intends to and it catches Kuroo's ears. Kuroo turns slightly to eye Yaku from the corner of his eye. This makes Yaku tense up and awkwardly darting his eyes elsewhere.
"What are you doing here Azumane?" You slowly pull your hand back to your side after noticing nothing is wrong with Azumane himself. The way he called your name gave you a fright. He reaches into his pocket and raises a phone out to you. The phone looked exactly like yours.
That's when you put two and two together. You reach inside your purse to find that you don't have your phone with you. You must've left it at your desk when you left the office for the night.
"I was going to leave a few notes on your desk for you to see tomorrow before I headed out and I noticed you left your phone behind. Luckily, you're still here." Azumane wears a lopsided smile. He exhales deeply and groans. "It's been awhile since I've done any running."
You thank Azumane for returning your phone to you. "Sorry for making you come out here to give me this."
"It's no trouble. I know you would do the same for me." Azumane lightheartedly chuckles. "Anyway, I should let you enjoy the rest of the reunion. I'll see you tomorrow Y/N."
Pursing your lips, you stop Azumane from turning around by grabbing his wrist.
Ten years without Kuroo lead you to Azumane. The two of you stumbled into each other in the same university and funnily enough attended the same classes. The universe also aligned for the two of you to be accepted at the same fashion agency.
He became the light of your life.
A best friend.
Azumane softens his gaze on Y/N's face when he notices her distant eyes. "Is it not enjoyable here? Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have urged you to come here." He frowns at the sight of her melancholy expression.
He tries to change the topic by pointing at your hair. "Wait, did you come here looking like this? No one would believe you if you worked for a fashion agency Y/N. Come here." His large hand gently pulls you closer to him. His fingers delicately pull off the scrunchie that's barely holding your hair together.
"I'm an expert at hair buns." His low voice fills your ears from above you. He chuckles lightly and you feel his fingers run through your hair, combing through them.
This isn't the first time Azumane's fixed your hair for you. The first one is an embarrassing memory that the two of you can laugh at now.
You were drunk after drinking several shots with a business client and Azumane had to drive you home.
Being weak to alcohol lead you to throwing up on his shirt but he was too worried about you and rushed you into the bathroom. Your hands held onto the sides of the toilet while he tried to tie your hair up. It was a complete mess of a night.
"Ta-da." Azumane steps back to look at your properly tucked bun.
"Asahi." The sly voice from earlier joins the conversation between you and Azumane. Azumane turns to see Kuroo, Kai, and Yaku. His eyes beam when he sees their familiar faces.
"Oh wow! It's been awhile since I've seen you three." Azumane speaks freely but nervously. "Sorry for crashing your high school reunion." He awkwardly scratches the back of his head.
Yaku shakes his head. "No, don't apologize. It's nice to see other faces again. You've grown more handsome. Did you gain confidence and become a model or something?"
Kai nudges Yaku in the side for his blunt question. A pink tinge forms on Azumane's cheeks and he shakes his head. "No, I'm not a model or anything. I just work at a fashion agency with Y/N. We both design apparel."
You tug on Azumane's wrist. Not wanting him to say anymore with Kuroo around.
"Apparel?" Kuroo smiles at the thought. His hazel eyes fall onto you. "Makes sense. You always loved to go shopping and you dressed well every time."
You only stare at Kuroo in response.
Azumane notices Y/N's cold behavior towards him and he finds himself in a sticky situation.
"A-Anyway, I should get going. I have a few designs to look over before discussing it with a client in the morning. Actually, I need your input on them Y/N. Do you have the time right now?" Azumane darts his eyes to the side quickly, hinting you that this is your time to escape.
"Sure." You remain calm when answering him. Casting your eyes back over to Yaku and Kai, you say your goodbyes to them. "If you could make it to the funeral, I'd be grateful. Sorry for cutting the reunion short."
Yaku and Kai nod their heads, sympathetic to your situation. You briefly look over at Kuroo. He seems a bit dejected from your cold behavior but he doesn't speak out on it. Seeing his downcast expression reminds you of the past.
That very expression would let him have whatever he wants. Azumane nudges you slightly, realizing how cold you've been to Kuroo. He was there when you mailed off the letters to everyone. So he knows you purposely kept Kuroo in the dark about your grandfather's passing.
Giving into Azumane, you reach into your purse and pull out the letter you never sent to Kuroo. Biting your bottom lip, you hold back the sigh that wants to slip past your lips.
Your grandfather meant just as much to you as he did for Kuroo. You know that full well. No matter how badly the two of you fell out, that has nothing to do with his relationship with your grandfather.
Quietly, you extend the letter with Kuroo's name written on it.
Kuroo raises his eyes to look at you and then the letter. You press the letter to his chest, urging him to take it. Without another word Kuroo takes the letter from you and you quickly pull your hand to your side. Not meeting his eyes, you pull Azumane along. "Let's go Asahi. We can't pull an all nighter again."
"W-Wait, can you slow down Y/N? I don't want to run again and you're in heels."
"How could you let me outrun you, long legs?" You look over to Azumane, slipping your heels off of your feet and practically dashing off.
"Y/N! You shouldn't run in a dress either! What if you trip and fall?!" Despite complaining about running, Azumane chases after Y/N in distress.
Yaku and Kai laugh at their banter. Kuroo is left feeling empty when he watches Y/N act friendly with someone else. He also decides to leave, softly muttering a goodbye to the other two.