Chapter Text
Kenma had been distracted since their conversation last night. He went through his day thinking back to their conversation and artwork he left in his profile. It wasn’t that he didn’t like those pictures, he actually liked them, but he meant to take them down a while ago. He never got around to it though. He thought he could focus when got home, but he didn’t. He thought he could push it back with one of his games when it didn’t happen either. Kenma paused his game, pulled out his laptop, and opened his old fanart folder again. A folder he hasn’t looked at in about a few months.
He may have posted his art in his profile because he knew many people didn’t check it out since he always stuck to threads about minor characters that had a few pieces of art here or there. It was much easier than trying to post in those threads with the popular characters. Those threads always had so many fans, so many different pieces of artwork, and their expectations about the way the character should be drawn. Which led to some “true” fan telling him how to draw or how he didn’t draw said character right and…
The screen blurred in front of him as he sat back and took a few breaths to calm down. He almost entered dangerous territory there about the times he started to draw fanart and picked a popular character to practice. The way people would look over his shoulder when he told them not to or their “helpful” comments. He thought it would be easier when he started to look online for help. While there were some nice people who did help him, there were others that would pester him with some small detail he missed every time he posted a picture. After the last time someone took his picture and posted it with everything he did “wrong” about drawing the warrior he shut down his page and placed his art of the archer in his profile.
He decided he wouldn’t do it again, that is until he talked to him.
Kenma could still see the excited words on the screen. How they gushed about his fan art for the archer. It had been awhile since he entertained the thought of drawing some fanart again. He actually wanted to take one of his pieces and finish it. What was happening? Kenma sighed as he leaned back against the couch and took the bun out of his hair. He slid his fingers through his hair to calm down when he saw a glass of water next to him. He looked up to see Kuroo holding the glass as he watched him carefully.
“Hey, you alright?”
Kenma nodded as he took the glass. “Yeah, thanks.”
“No problem.” Kuroo took a seat next to him, his concerned eyes not leaving Kenma’s face. “Anything happen today? You’ve been really quiet since you got home. Did something happen in the forum yesterday?”
“No everything went well. It’s just…he wants to see my fanart.” Kenma said quietly before he took a sip from the glass.
“Oh, well, isn’t that good? I remember how you used to draw that all the time, but you stopped. Bokuto misses your fanart, you know. Akaashi too.”
Kenma hummed as he took another sip from the glass. “…Does he still have that one I did for him of the mage he wanted?”
“Yeah! It’s still in his room in that plastic to protect it from getting messed up. Akaashi still has the picture you drew him too. You used to love doing fanart, are you going back to it?”
Kenma looked back at the folder before he looked back at the water in his glass. He shrugged and took another sip. “I want to. I’ve wanted to for a while, but…”
“But…” Kuroo repeated.
“But I don’t want to go through that again. Do you know how many messages I got at one point? All because I changed the outfit of the warrior a bit. I don’t want to go through that again, but I want to draw again.” Kenma sighed as he slid a hand through his hair again. “I have so many things I haven’t finished before I got my job that I want to finish them.”
“Well, finish them, and you can make a private thread or page for you two to share fanart? When you’re ready to post it publically then you can open it up. When or if you do let me and Bokuto know. We’ll be moderators and take care of anyone who wants to come in and act like a jerk. How does that sound?” Kuroo grinned.
Kenma looked back down at the glass as he moved it around in his hands a bit. Between Kuroo, Bokuto, and crowarcher10, he really had to learn his name, maybe he could go back to fanart again. He nodded as he finished the rest of the water then handed the glass back to Kuroo. “Okay, I’ll think about it. I’ll let you and Bokuto-san know when I’m going to do it okay?”
Kuroo nodded. “Okay. Are you alright though? Did you need to get some air? Want something to eat? Anything?”
Kenma shook his head. While he hated whenever his anxiety would kick back up again like it did in high school, he was glad Kuroo understood. Bokuto and Akaashi did too they tried to help out as best as they could, something that Kenma appreciated. “I’m alright. I’m going to take a nap though, okay?”
Kuroo frowned a bit and Kenma hoped he wouldn’t ask him anything else when he wanted to take a nap. He nearly let out a breath of relief when Kuroo didn’t press and nodded instead. “Alright, I’ll let you know if I decide to get something.”
“Okay. Thanks for the water.” Kenma said as he got up.
Kuroo grinned. “Don’t worry about it. You go catch a cat nap okay?”
“Okay.” Kenma shook his head with a small grin on the way to his room. Sometimes Kuroo’s use of his old puns about their high school could be too much. He shuffled over to his room and got into bed. He checked the time on his phone, it was 6:30, still pretty early. He would take a quick nap, sign in to the forum for a bit, and then check on his work. With his mind made up Kenma closed his eyes and fell asleep.
*~*~*
Kenma stirred awake a few hours later as he sat up and slid his fingers through his hair. He noticed it was dark as he reached over for his phone. He glared at the time that shone back at him. It was 9:30. He grumbled a bit as he got out of bed and pulled out a hair tie from his pocket to tie his hair up. He stretched his arms over his head on the way to the bathroom. He slept a bit longer than he should have, then again it’s been a while since he got some sleep. His current project kept him up, until late at night before he had to wake up early in the morning again. He knew he had to change his sleeping habits soon or it wouldn’t be long before he was a walking pile of nerves again.
After Kenma used the bathroom he walked into the living room to grab his bag when he saw a familiar head of black hair on the couch.
“Hey Akaashi-san.”
Akaashi looked up from his book as he gave a small wave. “Good evening Kenma-kun. I’m sorry if we disturbed your evening, but Kuroo wanted to get some food from the other side of town. He told Bokuto and they insisted on making sure you didn’t wake up to an empty apartment.”
Kenma nodded as he took a seat on the couch and grabbed his laptop. “It’s fine. I just have some work to finish.”
“Alright.” Akaashi returned to his book while Kenma turned on his laptop. He really hoped Kuroo didn’t tell them what happened earlier, though he did like not waking up to an empty apartment. He had to push back the thought that he messed up Bokuto and Akaashi’s evening though. Kenma pulled up his work to distract himself before he moved to sign into the forum and send a quick message.
Hey, um, is it too late?
Kenma flipped back to look at the details of his latest design when his email pinged. He flipped back to the forum and clicked on the message.
No, but I have some work to finish. >< It won’t take me that long though, so I’ll be on in an hour! But before I do how was your day? Thanks again for the guide. I won’t be able to play the game yet because I’m swamped with work, but when I have the time I’ll definitely use the guide! Oh and I started to make some fanart! I’m sorry if I made you feel bad yesterday I wanted you to know that I really liked it!
Alright I got to go now!
Kenma read the words again. He apologized for yesterday and started to make fanart too. He encouraged someone to make fanart too. Well, that was the first time that happened. He didn’t want them to feel bad about his reaction. They sounded like they were very different than other people who have passed through the forum. He quickly typed his response.
It’s alright. Don’t worry about yesterday. I have more guides if you need them. Um, can I see your piece when you finished?
…Thanks again. I still have some pieces I haven’t finished. I could send them to you when I’m finished with them. If you don’t mind. Alright see you in an hour.
Kenma sat back with a small smile as he clicked back to his work again. While he checked the details of the background of the piece, he stifled a yawn behind his hand. Akaashi noticed as he looked up from his book. “Do you want to get some more sleep?”
Kenma shook his head. “I overslept. I want to finish this piece tonight. I have about two more to work on and finish by the end of the week.”
“Okay, if you want to go back to sleep let me know.”
“I will.”
An easy silence fell over the room again when Akaashi looked up from his book. “Oh, I meant to ask did you talk to the person Kuroo mentioned? Bokuto-san was ready to go talk to them, but I managed to talk him out of it.”
“Oh, yeah, I talked to him a bit before I started work.”
“How is he?”
“He’s fine. We’re both busy today. I don’t know how long we can talk today, but we’ll talk a bit more after we finish our work. He, um, draws too.”
“He doesn’t sound bad. Are you going to exchange codes with him soon?”
“Maybe. It would be nice to play with someone who likes the archer too.”
Akaashi nodded as he marked the place in his book and sat back on the couch. “Bokuto-san is going to get the game for us soon. I’ll let you know when we do.”
“Sure. I can give you the guides on how to get some items too.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Akaashi opened his mouth to ask something else when the front door opened and Bokuto walked in followed by Kuroo.
“We have to definitely go back there! I want to do that ice cream challenge.”
“Why? When you know you’ll lose against me.” Kuroo smirked as he closed the door then locked it behind him.
Bokuto returned it as he carried the food bags into the living room. “We’ll see.” He grinned when he spotted Kenma on the couch. “Hey Kenma! You’re up!”
Kenma gave a small wave. “Hello Bokuto-san. What did you get?”
“These burgers that takes about thirty minutes on the train to get them. They’re really good though, so it’s worth it.” Bokuto added as he carried the bags into the kitchen.
Kuroo shrugged when Kenma looked over at him. “What? I had a craving for these burgers today and wanted to go out to get them. Are you still tired?”
Kenma nodded. “A little.”
Bokuto poked his head out the kitchen while Akaashi went through the bags and set out the food. “Have you been getting enough sleep? I have something that will help if you haven’t.”
“I’ll be able to sleep once I’m finished with this piece today.” Kenma said.
“Okay let me know!” Bokuto popped his head back in the kitchen. “Hey Akaashi! They have these new fries that look really good. Want to try them with me?”
While Akaashi agreed Kuroo took a seat next to him. “I didn’t tell them about what happened. I told Bokuto you were taking a nap and I’m sure Akaashi told you the rest. So, did you talk to him today?”
Kenma nodded. “For a little bit, but we’re both busy. I’m going to talk to him again in an hour.”
“Isn’t that soon?” Kuroo asked as Kenma checked the time. “Oh yeah it is. I better eat now.” He saved his progress before he got up and walked over to the kitchen. He looked around for his food when he spotted a few apple pies. He couldn’t resist the small grin on his face as he pulled them out and placed them on the side. He pulled out his burger and fries as he took a seat at the table. He started in on his food a bit faster while Bokuto whistled. “Woah I guess you were hungrier than we thought. Why the hurry?”
“He’s going to talk to that guy again tonight.” Kuroo said as he walked in and took a seat next to Bokuto.
“Oh ho! Kuroo told us all about him. He’s sounds pretty cool! He’s not giving you any trouble is he? He’s not a troll or anything right.” Bokuto said as he narrowed his eyes.
Kenma shook his head. “He’s not, he’s pretty nice actually. He even likes my fanart that I posted a few months back.”
“Well, your art is pretty awesome.” Bokuto said.
Kenma looked down at his food as he shrugged. “It’s not the best, but thank you.”
“It is and you’re welcome. So, did anyone catch last night’s episode of that magic show? I missed it.” Bokuto started as Kuroo and Akaashi joined the conversation. Kenma listened as he nibbled on a fry while his mind returned to his fanart folder.
After they finished dinner, they returned to the living room where Kenma worked a bit more on his work while Akaashi returned to his book and Kuroo and Bokuto flipped through the t.v. looking for something to watch. After a while Bokuto decided to put on a movie. Kenma knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate very good with it on. He excused himself to his room to finish up. Bokuto invited him to watch the movie with them when he was done. Kenma agreed before he took his laptop back to his room.
Kenma walked in his room and over to his desk. He settled at his desk, turned on his lamp, and focused on his work again. When he finally finished the details of one piece he checked it one more time. After he was satisfied he flipped back to the board to check his message again. He felt good when he saw a message in his box.
I would love to see your piece when you finish it! I’m gonna work on one too then we can exchange it if you want to. Sorry for being a little late I accidentally knocked ink on my page and had to redo it over again. ><
Kenma chuckled as he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. Okay I’ll pick one to finish and we can exchange when we’re done. That’s alright. I had work to do too.
It wasn’t too long before he received a response. Really? That’s great! I’ll let you know when I’m finished. I’ll make sure to do a really good one too! Ooo which bow are you going to draw?
Kenma sat back as he thought about which one he was going to draw. It had been a while since he drawn one he would have to practice drawing them again. I’m not sure, probably the water one.
That’s my favorite one! Oh yeah I almost forgot, um, what’s your name? Er sorry if that’s weird, but I wanted to know if there’s anything else I can call you? Oh and any other contacts too.
Kenma chewed on his bottom lip as he looked over at the skype he used for his job. Well, there was the name he barely used that he made specifically for his fan and gaming activities. Then he had a tumblr too that he barely used and only got it after Lev bugged him about it. He put the link in the page, but he never checked it. He read the message again and made his mind.
Yeah I’ll link you to them. Kenma felt a bit of excitement going through him while he placed the links in the message. Let me know if they work. He moved around a bit in his chair while he waited for a response. It wasn’t long before he got a ping on his skype. He clicked on it and saw a message with a smiley face on it.
sunnycrow10: ^_^ It works! I followed you too. Oh and you can call me Hinata! Do you want me to use a nickname for you?
gamingcat5: I’m glad it works. You can call me Kenma.
sunnycrow10: Okay Kenma! I can’t stay on long tonight either. >< But I can this weekend! Maybe we can exchange friend codes and play together?
gamingcat5: I would like that.
sunnycrow10: Yay! Okay I’ll see you tomorrow!
gamingcat5: See you.
(sunnycrow10 has logged out)
Kenma sat back in his chair as he messed around with his mouse. He did it. He got their name, they were going to talk on skype, and they were going to play together this weekend. His fingers twitched as a small grin inched across his face. He really looked forward to it.
Kenma moved to put up his work again when his fanart folder caught his eye. He saved his work project and clicked on his fanart folder. He forgot how many things he started and didn’t finish. There were a bit to choose from and he didn’t know which one to pick. Well, he did tell Hinata that they were going to exchange a piece and he didn’t want go back on it. He would have to look for the one that was closest to being finished. If he couldn’t pick one he would ask Bokuto and Kuroo which one they wanted to see. He wondered which piece Hinata would do.
He hadn’t felt this excited about a fanart in a long time.
Maybe he could do fanart again.