#how many sidestory that can be unlocked each week

[little-lanterns]

Whenever i look at trials of navigator i always wonder what it feels like for new player who are unaware of like 50% of the map/boss mechanics

[kythen]

Haikyuu!! - When life gives you apples,

Pairing: Kurodai

Summary: The Sea and the Shore AU (Merman!Daichi). Make apple pie to impress your merman boyfriend. Also found here on AO3.

Fics in this series:

The Sea and the Shore (main story) "Sex on the beach" (a pwp sidestory for Kinktober - NSFW warning) When life gives you apples, (this fic!)

Fic commission for @huii-2d !

Word count: 2,519

A figure stands on the shore, the waves lapping at his feet and his lanky body ramrod straight as he peers out at the horizon, watching for the moment that Daichi breaks the surface of the ocean. The figure starts waving the moment Daichi takes a gasp of the oxygen-rich air, his body filtering out the water in his system to prepare him for breathing above water. Even at this distance, Daichi can see the smile wide on his face, his arms cutting through the air at a speed so fast that Daichi worries he might pull something. He is calling Daichi's name, his mouth moving but his voice lost to the crashing of the waves, and a smile tugs at Daichi's lips as he waves back with a flick of his tail before he heads to the shore, towards Kuroo.

The water gets shallower as he gets closer, his tail beginning to scrape against the sand, but Daichi pushes on, gripping the seashell hanging from his neck. It had taken Shimizu a bit of work and a couple of weeks before she could restore the seashell charm and she had handed it over to Daichi with a firm warning not to break it again. There was only so much magic a tiny inanimate object like the seashell could take before it gave up its form entirely, and that shell had been from Yachi so Shimizu preferred if that didn’t happen. Daichi had meekly promised to take good care of it and Kuroo had promised to take good care of Daichi so it all worked out and Daichi was here again, stepping foot on land he hadn't expected to return to.

Daichi heaves himself onto the sand, the water far too shallow for him to swim any further, and a rush of magic courses through him, centred in his tail as he curls it in the shallows. Its form blurs and shimmers, tingling in a way that doesn't feel entirely unpleasant, before solidifying into two very human legs. Daichi wiggles his toes and shivers as they move accordingly. He had forgotten how it felt to have legs again and it feels just as weird as it had been the first time he got them.

Daichi stands, pushing himself up with his hands, his legs wobbly with disuse, and stumbles. But Kuroo is already there to catch him, his hands finding their way to Daichi's forearms and holding him close as Daichi finds his footing in the sand.

"I thought you had gotten much better at this," Kuroo teases as Daichi looks up at him. Underneath his floppy fringe, Kuroo's smile is crooked and his eyes bright and fond, catching the sun and reflecting it back to Daichi.

"Not everyone has legs to practise with every day," Daichi shoots back, digging his feet into the sand as he pushes himself up to meet Kuroo. The seashell charm digs into their chests as Daichi closes the gap between them in one swift movement and Kuroo's breath hitches in his throat as Daichi presses his lips against Kuroo's.

When Daichi pulls back, Kuroo's cheeks are dusted pink, like the start of a sunburn under the summer sun, and his smile is lopsided as he blinks back at Daichi. Kuroo's hands sneak around Daichi's back, cupping the dip of his lower back, and his arms trap Daichi in a loose circle against him as he tilts his head down to bump his forehead against Daichi's. Kuroo's eyes are dark, hazy with pleasure in a way Daichi remembers from their various encounters on the beach over the recent weeks, and Daichi curls his toes in the sand as a shiver works its way down his spine.

"Mm, you've definitely gotten better at this though," Kuroo murmurs, stroking the base of Daichi's spine with his thumb.

"This? I had practice with. Thanks to a certain someone." Daichi grins back at him, patting Kuroo on the cheek fondly. "Now, didn't that someone say something about a date once I got my legs back?"

---

As usual, they end up walking. Summer is still going strong and Daichi's shirt sticks to his skin, his shorts clinging to the back of his knees. Beside him, Kuroo looks comfortably cool in a loose tank top and Daichi thinks about reconsidering his fashion choices the next time he comes up on land. Maybe Kuroo could lend him something of his.

The road they follow is familiar, with the scent of green things on the wind and a hint of apples in the distance. Daichi thinks that Kuroo is bringing him back to the apple orchard until they turn down a side road, away from the road leading to the orchard. There are houses along this road, small but each one surrounded by a sizeable amount of land, their walls painted in cheery colours to match the green of the grass and the blue of an afternoon sky. Kuroo leads him to the front of a red brick house, pushing open a short, creaky gate set between two stone walls that run around the perimeter of the land surrounding the house. A small wooden sign reading "Kuroo" hangs from the stone wall just to the left of the gate and Daichi observes the house before him with a renewed interest.

Kuroo tugs on Daichi's hand, walking him down the path leading to the house and naming the sporadic patches of flowering plants and vegetables growing around the house. When they reach the front door, Kuroo unlocks it and holds it open for Daichi with a flourish.

"Welcome to the illustrious Kuroo family home," Kuroo says grandly, with a quirk to his lips. "It's nowhere as grand and spacious as what you're used to underwater but it keeps me warm when it should and gives me a place to call home when I'm not at school."

"If you grew up in it, it can't be that bad," Daichi says, amused.

"Oh, it was definitely worse before, but I cleaned it up before inviting you over. Can't have you thinking that your boyfriend's a slob," Kuroo says, ushering Daichi in with a hand on his back.

"I've seen your hair," Daichi tells him as they cross the threshold. "I have my expectations set accordingly."

"Hey, I thought you liked my hair." Kuroo sulks, reaching up to touch his hair.

"I do. It keeps my expectations of you realistic." Daichi grins and reaches up to ruffle Kuroo's hair. He won't tell Kuroo just yet, even though he is sure that Kuroo would have caught on by now, but he likes touching Kuroo's hair, running his hands through the soft spikes and watching them spring back into shape, completely unfazed by Daichi's prodding. He likes it even more when Kuroo melts into his touch, his eyes half-closing in contentment like a cat Daichi once saw napping in the sun.

Kuroo shuts the door behind them and Daichi lets his gaze travel across the inside of Kuroo's house, his eyes adjusting to the abrupt change in lighting after spending the past hour under the blazing brightness of the sun. He hasn't seen many—or any—human living spaces so he wouldn't be able to tell if this was neat or messy by Kuroo's standards. Kuroo's house is cluttered, but that makes it looks more lived-in than messy by Daichi's standards. The walls on the inside of his house are pale blue and Daichi recognises the seashells and corals decorating shelves and alcoves, bits of the sea that had found their way onto land and into Kuroo's house. The room that the front door directly leads into contains all kinds of furniture, soft and hard, regular shaped and irregular shaped, places for sitting and a big electronic box against a wall. Daichi steps forward to take a better look when he inhales and the scent of something mouthwatering and distinctively apple-flavoured catches his attention.

"Something smells good," Daichi says wonderingly, distracted from his surroundings as he turns his head side-to-side to follow the scent.

Kuroo takes Daichi's hand and Daichi doesn't protest as Kuroo leads him through the room and into a smaller room off to the side, where the heavenly aroma comes from.

"I made apple pie before leaving to meet you and got Kenma to watch the oven for me," Kuroo explains, lifting a wide netted cover off the table in the middle of the room to reveal a glistening lattice pie underneath. It is a perfect golden-brown circle, except for a conspicuous triangular slice carved out of it. "To be honest, it was meant as a bribe in case you decided that my house was too much of a junkyard to hang out in. But it looks like someone else who was supposed to be watching it got to it first."

Daichi can see signs of the crime in the telltale crumbs scattered around the pie and he smiles, empathising wholeheartedly with Kenma. "I mean, I'd have done the same thing in his place."

Kuroo gazes down at the pie, looking somewhat crestfallen. "It's not like I wasn't going to share it with him later. I just wanted to impress you with it first and it doesn't look very impressive with one chunk missing."

"I'm very impressed and I would be more impressed if I could taste it," Daichi assures him, his mouth practically watering at the sight of the pie reconciled with the delicious scent that had lured him in here.

The dejection on Kuroo's face fades away as he glances at Daichi and something like smugness replaces it as he turns to grab plates out of a cabinet. The knife he sinks into the apple pie cuts through it as smooth as butter, the metal surface of the knife steaming from the lingering heat as it pulls away. With a practised motion, Kuroo levers a neat slice onto a plate and pushes it across the table towards Daichi.

Since coming up onto land, Kuroo has introduced Daichi to all sorts of food, cooked or fresh, prepared in all sorts of ways that Daichi has never tried before. He has had cake, waffles, and pancakes, but nothing like the oozing apple pie Kuroo sets before him and Daichi is more than eager to try it. He uses his fork to prod the very tip of the slice, inspecting it, and he can see chunks of cooked apples in it, engulfed in a thick amber syrup that smells like cinnamon. As Kuroo watches him, his eyes glinting with amusement as he pauses in the motion of cutting another slice for himself, Daichi takes a bite of the pie. A thick sweetness coats his tongue, flaky pastry melting in his mouth and apple bits crunching between his teeth, and Daichi turns to Kuroo with wholehearted appreciation in his wide eyes.

"S'good!" Daichi tells Kuroo through his mouthful, gesturing enthusiastically to the pie with his fork.

Kuroo chuckles and takes a slice of pie for himself, looking pleased with Daichi's reaction. "I'm glad that the bribe's working."

Daichi swallows his first mouthful and digs his fork in for a second. "It's so good. I thought apples were great by themselves but this," —Daichi pokes the slice with his fork— "this is something else altogether. It's in perfect harmony. It's like a symphony of apples, cinnamon, and that flaky thing."

"The flaky thing is pastry. But please, don't let me interrupt you. Tell me more," Kuroo preens.

Daichi stuffs his second bite into his mouth and mumbles around it, "It's delicious. I didn't know you could cook."

Kuroo takes a seat opposite Daichi, folding his long legs into place under the table. "You pick up a few things working at a restaurant. Apple pie was actually one of the first things I tried baking since we always have an overabundance of apples and it's Kenma's favourite. You might even call it my specialty at this rate."

"That's amazing," Daichi says honestly. They had food underwater, good food that had its own ways of preparation, but cooking with fire and heat is one of the things that had amazed him the most after coming up onto land. Ever since he introduced apples to the village, the merpeople had gone crazy over apples and any other fresh fruit Kuroo brought over on his visits. They would absolutely lose their minds over apple pie and Daichi finds himself wracking his brain for ideas on how to bring it underwater with him.

"I could teach you, you know," Kuroo offers. He waves his fork in the air with energetic swipes, his eyes alight with this bright new idea as he elaborates, "How to bake, how to cook. You now know where I live and my kitchen is always open for classes."

Daichi likes the idea of that, not just learning how to cook fantastic food, but spending more time with Kuroo. When he had been unable to come up on land, Kuroo had gone down to the village to see him almost every day and Daichi had shown him around, introducing him to his friends and family and letting him see how merpeople lived for change.

Kuroo has taken him on countless dates on land but Daichi has never seen Kuroo's home and now that he has, he wants to see so much more, to learn so much more about Kuroo. He wants to see how Kuroo decorates his home, how he keeps his home clean, and how he cooks. He wants to see how Kuroo is at home, just as Kuroo has seen him in his.

He wants to learn how to cook and bake and he wonders if that would count as a date if Kuroo is the one teaching him.

"I'd like that," Daichi tells Kuroo with a smile, the warmth of the apple pie settling in his stomach and fluttering a bit when Kuroo smiles back at him. "It's a date."

Kuroo perks up at Daichi's words, a slow, knowing grin forming on his lips. He looks proud of himself and Daichi wants to kiss and kick him in equal parts for making such a big deal out of it. Daichi thinks Kuroo must sense the imminent danger to his shins—and to a lesser degree, his lips—because he rests his chin on his hand, his head tilted to the side and his dark eyes never leaving Daichi's, and, oh, Daichi can't bring himself to kick Kuroo now.

"It's a date," Kuroo agrees and those words have always sounded much better coming from Kuroo, ever since the first time Daichi agreed to meet him on land when all he had was a tail and not the legs he needed for that excursion. That moment feels like a summer away with all that has happened between them but Daichi is here again, on land, in Kuroo's house, with his own two legs, and Kuroo is barely an arm's length away, so close that Daichi could reach out and kiss him again if he wanted.

And so he does.