She invited Kuroo over for leftovers the next day, as promised. Dinner had been very awkward and quiet. Deepening the worry situated in Ai's gut.

Her mother had left to eat dinner and go drinking with her work friends again, so Kuroo and her were alone. Ai popped the tab on a beer and settled down on the couch next to Kuroo after they had finished dinner. They were watching an action movie this time, her choice of course. They had both had a beer with dinner and a case was set in front of them on the coffee table along with some chips and other savory snacks.

Both of them drank at least three more throughout the movie. Ai was feeling warm and buzzed, her head was a bit foggy but she was okay. Kuroo seemed to be better than the last time since he had eaten beforehand. They watched the credits roll before the screen went back to the main menu. It was dark all around them, but they were illuminated in the pale blue glow of the television.

Ai got up and stumbled into the kitchen, she kneeled on the counter, trying to grab something out of the highest shelf. Once she had retrieved it, she leapt off the counter and galloped into the living room. She presented what she had to Kuroo. It was a bottle of whiskey. He looked at her in a perplexed manner.

"Let's play truth or drink." She declared.

"I am assuming it's exactly what it sounds like?"

"Well aren't you just Sherlock-fucking-Holmes?" She snorted. "Let's start this off with something good."

"Okay." He matched her with an aura of dark fighting spirit.

"Do you use product to style your hair or is it naturally like that?"

Kuroo took the bottle and took a swig of whiskey.

"No way, you jerk!" She snatched the bottle from him. "Tell me!" He gave her his signature grin. "Trashy."

"How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Two."

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

"None." Kuroo said quietly.

This didn't surprise Ai greatly, but it also wasn't what she expected. Kuroo was tall and athletic and smart, surely some girl would overlook that weird personality of his and date him.

"What's the most illegal thing you've ever done?"

Ai snorted. "We are both drinking right now, that's pretty illegal." Kuroo nodded. It made sense.

"Who's one person you know from volleyball that you would fuck?"

"Bokuto." Kuroo said without missing a beat. Ai took a drink because she wasn't expecting that.

"When was the last time you cried?" Ai drank.

"How often do you watch porn?" Kuroo drank.

"Why did your last relationship end?" Kuroo ventured, offering the bottle.

"He and I didn't talk much after I moved to Tokyo, I lost interest. I need more than a text every other week to keep me happy." Ai pushed the bottle of whiskey back to him.

"That's rough."

Ai shrugged. "Least favorite thing about me."

"Your violence." Kuroo opened a can and drank half of a can of beer in one gulp and offered the other to Ai. She accepted it and didn't seem offended at his answer.

"I'll ask the same thing, what's your least favorite thing about me?"

"Your goddamn hair." Ai drank her beer. "It's a catastrophe."

"Best physical attribute someone can have?"

Kuroo thought for a moment. "Good thighs." Ai giggled but seemed to respect his answer.

"Would you ever hook up with a woman?"

Ai didn't miss a beat. "Depends on the woman, but probably." Kuroo nodded his head, validating the vague but good enough answer.

"Are you a virgin?" Kuroo drank.

"I'll take it as a yes."

"You can take it whichever way you want, Ai-chan."

"Have you had sex with, what's is name? Reno? Roni?"

"It's Reo, and no, he's not very physically close."

"And you're okay with that?" Kuroo asked.

Ai glared at him "You only get one question at a time."

"Are you afraid of the question?" Kuroo teased.

"You won't like the answer."

Kuroo scoffed. "Either way it doesn't matter."

Ai gripped the neck of the bottle tighter. She looked away. "How am I supposed to feel?" She was frowning. Alcohol made her emotional and she hated that someone else was there to see her like this. She had to contain her emotions. "It feels like rejection." She tried to regulate her breathing. "I know he doesn't mean it that way, but it hurts every time I see him make that face, like he's appalled by me approaching him." Her eyes hurt and she pinched them closed to keep from crying. "I'm such a selfish person."

"Maybe you're not selfish. It's normal to want to be close to him?" Kuroo was giving advice again and it irritated her. "You want to get close to him in any way possible."

"I might just be really horny." She shrugged, then she turned to him with a glint in her eyes. "Besides, you shouldn't be one to talk, you've never even had a girlfriend before." Ai took a long drink and winced after swallowing.

"Why are you even dating him in the first place? If it's that difficult, break up before you get too attached! " Kuroo lectured. "Or if all you want to do is have sex, you shouldn't string him along, at least."

"I still don't know if he's my boyfriend." She sighed. "I don't like him but he's cute and he likes me, I think."

"You shouldn't date someone with those half-assed feelings! You'll end up hurting both you and the other person!" Ai didn't want to listen to him, even if she knew he was right.

"Now," Kuroo raised his hands and wiggled his fingers, "let's turn that frown upside down!" He started tickling her and she was laughing chaotically. 

"Kuroo, you ass!" She snorted, her hair was flying every which way. Ai was pushing back against him and ended up shoving him off the couch and straddled him to the floor. She was heaving her breaths. "I've got you now!" She snarled.

Kuroo easily flipped her and pinned her arms down by the wrists. "Oh really now?"  Kuroo had his signature shit-eating grin. She could clearly see his eyes. His irises were always so small, she never really could tell what color they were. Now Ai could see that they were the color of golden honey. Her eyes widened as she felt his grip loosen on her wrists. She brought one of her hands up to his face, but didn't touch him.

"I never realized what color your eyes were before, they're so pretty." Ai spoke so quietly, it was almost a whisper. Her face was red from alcohol and exertion. She cupped his cheek. "You're really pretty." Her voice was soft, like if she had said anything louder it would have startled him.

The lights flicked on. "Oh my, what's this?" Ai's mother had a flushed face and obviously had had enough to drink on her outing. "The two of you got into the whiskey this time?" She completely ignored the fact that her neighbor was pinning her child to the floor and that her daughter was practically mooning over him.

"Ah, sorry ma'am." Kuroo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's alright," Ai's mother looked just like Ai did, long black hair, rolling green eyes, and a mole under her eye. "It was a gift from the bastard anyways." She grinned, taking the bottle back to the kitchen and setting it on the counter.

"Anyways, I am cutting you two off." She clicked off the television with the remote. "Tetsurou-kun, you can stay over if you wish, there's an extra futon in the hall closet."  Her mother went off to her room muttering something about having to buy another bed for Kuroo if he was going to stay over all of the time.

Ai wordlessly began cleaning up the beer cans and half-empty bags of chips she was red up to her ears. Her mother went in to take a bath.

Kuroo took a bath after Ai's mother, even though he had to change back into the same clothes he had worn before. Ai had lain the futon out next to her bed, on the floor. She left without a word to go take her bath.

Kuroo was sitting on the futon, messing around on his phone when she came back in. Her pajamas were just an oversized tee shirt and a pair of shorts. His hair was down and Ai felt something in her stomach twitch. She turned off the lights and ruffled her hand through his flat hair affectionately before she flopped onto the bed. "Good night, Kuroo." She said singsongly.