Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

You rush through the door breathlessly, quickly glancing around the dimly lit entrance. 

“That’s weird; he always gets here first and I was running late.” You mutter to yourself, doing a double take of the entrance. Maybe he already went in? Your unspoken question is answered when the door opens behind you and slams shut as none other than Kenma himself slips through it. 

“ Hide me!” He hisses, ducking behind a cardboard cutout just as the door flies open again. You jump, clutching your chest. 

“DID HE COME THROUGH HERE? IS KODZUKEN HERE??” A breathless kid shouts and you shake your head no. 

“No one’s come in since I got here a few minutes ago.”

“He’s not in here either...” They mutter, then without a thank you or even a nod of acknowledgement- they’re off to find the next unsuspecting door to wrench open in his search.

“I see your #1 fan never changes…” You shake your head before continuing, “A little on the crazy side, that one.” You’re answered by a heavy sigh as Kenma presumably flops onto the floor, if the tips of his sneakers are anything to go by anyway. “You gonna be okay there?” A long groan answers you. Peering around the cardboard skirt of the cutout you tease the breathless boy. “Lucky for you , this cutout is a fair bit more... opaque than Princess Daphne's usual attire.” 

“Lucky me they always have her in this weird pose too.” He comments, still catching his breath. “Why is that anyway?”

“Why are you asking me?” He shrugs. 

“You're the artist, I thought you might know.” Eyeing the pose thoughtfully for a moment you sigh. 

“Well, admittedly, it is a weird pose. All curled up and... floaty. However , it’s also an iconic pose. Given that’s how you find her in the dragon’s lair.”  He makes a face and you can’t help but giggle. “What?”

“I’ll never get why you like that game.” You scoff in mock hurt. 

“Because it’s the best game.”

“It’s literally just QTEs.” 

“And?”

“ And there's no skill to it!” 

“And yet , it was a hella popular game.” You counter. 

“I repeat, it requires no skill .” You roll your eyes. 

“It’s not always about skill . It’s about having fun , silly . ”

“I have fun. Getting a top score is fun. ” He grumbles, crossing his arms and pouting slightly. 

“That’s your type of fun. My fun includes QTE’s and DDR.” Kenma shudders at the mere mention of DDR.

“Well there ‘Dirk the Brave’ , you almost ready to stop hiding behind the princess and get to our date?” Rolling his eyes, he nods.

“I don’t think they’re coming back at this point, but…” He trails off, glancing at the door in concern. You wrap yourself around his arm, ready to drag him into the arcade. 

“You know…” you squeeze his arm reassuringly, “ if they come back we can always hide and make out in the photo booth again.”

“I’m starting to think you just like being on camera…” He teases in a low voice. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You insist, pointedly avoiding eye contact as your face heats up at the implications. 

“I like your embarrassed face, it’s cute.” 

“Sometimes I miss when you were the one to get so easily flustered…” You whine, hiding your face against his sleeve. Kenma laughs gently before tucking your hair behind your ear, causing you to look up in surprise. 

“Cute,” is all he says before leading you into the arcade with a small smile. 

“Twenty tokens, please.” You ask, placing down a bill. The teen behind the counter drops a roll of tokens without looking up from their phone.

“Enjoy your time at The Dragon’s Lair and remember to tag us @Dragon’sLairArcade.” They had the enthusiasm of a wet potato.

“Thanks.” Turning back to Kenma you roll your eyes, mouthing kids these days. He merely shrugs, apparently quite used to such behavior.

Scanning the area, you were a little surprised at how busy it seemed. Almost half the games were in use, and several of the more popular games had large crowds around them.

“I know it’s a Saturday and all, but this place must be pretty popular.” You muse, Kenma nods. 

“I’ve seen this place advertised quite a lot lately.” He eyes the crowds warily. You lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek. 

“It’ll be fine. Besides, I haven't seen you in over a week…” You give him your best puppy eyes and he relents, shoulders dropping slightly as he tries to relax. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” You shake your head. 

“Don’t be sorry silly, just come play a game with me. I bet I can kick your butt at Pac-man.” He snorts.

“Only if you cheat.”

“It isn’t cheating, it’s more like… a handicap.” You argue with a smirk.  

“It’s distracting .” He corrects.

“You love it though.” 

“Debatable.” He smiles as he says it, though he tries to hide it.

Kenma lets his head drop to your shoulder with a frustrated groan as he gets Pac-man trapped between two ghosts with no powers ups or lives left to save him. You lean back against him, smiling when he raises his head to give you a look. 

“And that is my victory.” You announce proudly.

“I really think you cheat.” He grumbles jokingly. You gasp in mock offense. 

“I do not cheat -”

“Right. You ‘distract’ .” He air quotes before letting his hands fall to your waist. You tilt your head back, smiling up at him cheekily. 

“All I did was stand here and watch…” You fake innocence as he tucks a stray hair behind your ear. 

“And wiggle .” 

“Can I really help it if I get excited watching you play?” He chuckles, letting his forehead rest against your hair. 

“I think we both know you make a point of making sure I’m the one who’s ‘excited’ .”
“Well, you’ve got nine more rounds to even out the score.” You challenge, and you can already see the gears in his head turning as he scans the available machines.

“How about this one then?” He asks with a wide grin. You eye the red and blue consoles with their little plastic guns and foot pedals.

“Time Crisis…?” You read the title but don’t recognize it personally. 

“It’s even two player, we can consider whoever dies less the winner.” 

“Hrm, Why do I get the feeling I'm at a disadvantage here?”

“I’ll gladly show you the controls first. It is Co-op after all.” 

He was being suspiciously nice about it, but neither of you ever actually vetoed any of each other's choices. Though he had basically perma-vetoed DDR after what happened with his fans... Panic attacks are never fun- and are only made worse by lots of loud, concerned people and arcade ambience. 

“Alright, show me how this thing works then…” He smiles broadly and quickly explains the controls and general goal of the game. 

“You got all that, Puddin’?” You nod. 

“Yeah, I think so. Press the pedal to point and shoot, release the pedal to duck and reload. Shoot the bad guys and try not to get shot, that's basically the whole thing, right?” He nods. 

“Basically.” 

“Let’s do this then.”

“Ahh shit, lost another life.” You grumble, eyeing the single life you have left. “Wait... are they throwing barrels of fruit at me right now?” You question with a laugh.

“Yeah, just shoot them.” 

“The people or the barrels??” You wonder out loud. 

“Both. Generally speaking - just shoot everything that’s not me.”

“Okay, Okay I think I got th- Whyisthereatank?!?! ”

“Shoot it!”

“With WHAT? The pistol ISN’T GONNA BEAT THE TANK!” You insist, firing wildly at the men around the tank.

You watch as he unloads into the tank and sure enough, explosions ensue. “That is the least realistic thing I have ever seen. I cannot take this game seriously after that.”  

“Well, there are two more acts,” He laughs, looking over at your screen. “And you have… Oof. One life left. You’re not gonna make me solo this, are you?” He teases, causing you to grumble as you shoot the ‘Continue’ button. 

“I got this - just you wait and see.”

“Wait and see she says-” He all but snorts with laughter as you feed the machine another token. “That was the first area. ”

“I wasn’t expecting the tree to fall on me!” You look away as he chuckles to himself. “And you died too!”

“Only because your reaction to dying was so funny I forgot about the game for a moment.” You groan, burying your face in your hands as he launches into an impersonation of you a few short moments ago. “And I quote ‘ Holyfuckingshit- the TREE IS FALLING! Ahhhhhhh- ...fuck .’” 

“I-” You look away and shoot ‘ Continue ’, grateful that the staff’s no-fucks-to-give attitude meant that at least you hadn’t been reprimanded for your language... yet. “Not gonna get me this time.” You mutter as the cutscene begins again. Kenma grins the rest of the playthrough.

“Oh man! That was kind of rough… I used like three tokens just to make it to the end.” You whine, stretching out your shoulders. He laughs gently.

“That’s actually pretty good, it's not the easiest game.”

“I don't know... you certainly make it look easy.” He shrugs, replying. 

“It is a lot easier when someone is too busy playing to ‘distract’’ ” He air quotes. 

“Is that why you picked it?” He nods.

“Well, it’s your turn to pick the game now… so what’s next, Puddin’?” You hum thoughtfully, spotting your all time favorite game off in the corner. 

“Dragon’s Lair!” You half rush over as Kenma rolls his eyes. 

“Do I have to?” He jokingly grumbles and you chuckle. 

“No.... but I'm going to. It is the ‘Dragon’s Lair Arcade’ after all, and-” You can’t help but laugh a little. “And you kinda owe Princess Daphne for hiding you behind her skirts earlier.” 

“Oh look, they have Tetris over here too.” He diverts the topic. Surprisingly neither game was in use, in fact the whole corner was strangely empty in comparison to the rest of the arcade.

“This must be the ‘underappreciated’ games corner.” You joke. 

“Tetris is underrated, Dragon’s Lair is a mindless series of QTE’s that belongs in long forgotten corners.” 

“ Rude.” You stick your tongue out childishly. “I suppose you’d rather set the top score in Tetris than rescue the world's corniest princess…” You lament sadly, he nods in agreement. 

“Race you?”

“What?” He blinks a few times, in confusion. 

“Beat the top score on that machine before I rescue the Princess - loser buys lunch!” Without time for protest, you slip a token into the game and watch as the castle loads in front of you. You start the familiar pattern of ducking, dodging and fighting your way through the castle. 

“Hey wait-!” Kenma quickly tosses a coin into the machine, eyes drifting to the edge of the screen to check the high score. It was lower than he expected. “Oh, you’re going to regret this challenge…” He smirks as he speeds up the pieces, completing rows with lightning precision as you steadily work your way through the game. 

“Oh I hate this part… No, No, No-noooo! ” 

“Sounds like I win by default-” 

“Have you beaten the top score yet?” You interject. 

“Almost.”

“Didn’t think- Wait, what ?” You check over his shoulder and sure enough he's a few lines away from beating the top score, which is surprisingly low. “Huh, I guess I should’ve checked that first.” You muse aloud.

“Guess so.” He agrees, sliding a L shape piece into place and popping three lines at once. “It might be a while before I lose…” He admits without looking away. 

“Want me to get some food for us and bring it back here while you work on setting an actual high score?” He nods. 

“Yes please. I’ll try to do it quickly...” He mutters, almost to himself.
“Nah, take your time. No reason to mess yourself up because you're rushing, right?” He nods quickly and you give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Be right back.” 

“Alright so the line was atrocious, but - and yes, I did find an upside to it - the food is hot and fresh.” Kenma glances at you briefly, taking in the sight of you holding several trays of food before his eyes dart back to the game. 

“Mine will probably get cold anyway…”
“Not this time! I was thinking about this after you spent like five hours without eating because you were insistent on setting that Galaga high score at that one place-”

“The one by Kuroo’s?” 

“Yes, that one-”

“He just likes to brag that he knows me in person and apparently more people believe him when I have a top score there.” Kenma explains offhandedly. 

“Huh. Right. Well, my point was; I got worried when you couldn’t pause the game to eat so I came up with a solution.” 

“Which is…?” He asks, glancing over at you nervously. 

“I’ll just feed you while you play.” 

“Oh. That makes sense actually...”  

“What did you think I was going to do?” You question with a chuckle. 

“Kuroo once unplugged a machine mid game on me…” You gasp.

“The monster- ” His stomach lets out a growl and you can’t help but giggle. “On second thought, he might've had his reasons... Let’s get you fed before I find some too.” He nods sheepishly. 

“After that piece is lined up just say ah.” You watch as he maneuvers the piece a few times, spinning it before turning towards you, eyes still glued to the screen. 

“ Ah ~” You bring the takoyaki into bite range. He goes for it, right as you go to feed him. Leaving you giggling and him with sauce on his nose. 

“I’m sorry,” You giggle, “Here, let me get that...” You carefully wipe his nose with a napkin before trying again. “Alright- just open your mouth and I’ll do the rest, okay?” He nods, lining up his next game piece.

“ Ah ~”
This time it does make it into his mouth and he hums his appreciation.

“See? No cold food today.”

“Just shoved into my nose first.”

“You did that all on your own actually.”

“Oh is that so?”

“Do you want me to let yours get cold?” You threaten, he pouts before shaking his head.

“ Ah ~” 

“That’s what I thought.” 

You continue to hand feed him takoyaki and rice balls as he clears level after level. Racking up three times the original high score, and he was still ahead. 

“I’m starting to see how unfair that race was gonna be… You’ve been at this for almost an hour already.” He merely shrugs before replying. 

“Some games take a long time. Pac man is usually worse… Ah ~”

“Is it?” He nods, chewing his rice ball. “I don’t think I’ve seen you play a single run longer than an hour, tops.” You insist. 

“That's because it gets really monotonous after the first twenty boards and you, ” he risks a glance over, “are the most distracting person I’ve ever met.”

“It sounds like you're blaming me for making you bad at Pac-man.”

“Nope, I just get caught up thinking about whatever mischief you're up to and I completely lose my focus.” 

“Oh, well as long as it’s a you thing.” He rolls his eyes, nearly misplacing his Tetris block from laughter. 

You dispose of the lunch trash as Kenma gets into his zone. Recognizing it’s going to be a while, you wrap your arms around his waist and carefully tuck your chin over his shoulder to patiently wait it out. You watch as he easily slots piece after piece together. His hands move deftly over the controls, hands that fit perfectly in yours. Almost like Tetris pieces … You think wistfully.  

“Hey, Kenma…?”

“Yeah?” 

“I’ve been thinking about moving…”

“Uh huh... “

“And I was just wondering if you had any thoughts about it?”

“Sorry, what? He glances away for a second, cursing himself as a piece lands incorrectly. “Um, can you just… sorry, I can’t - just let me finish this first.” You nod quietly. He scrambles to recover his focus, and you watch as several pieces that look like they should fit end up leaving awkward, unfillable gaps in the otherwise flawless rows. What if I move to be closer and it ruins everything? He might think I'm being clingy and needy… Am I? No… we get along great… Or do we only seem to fit? 

After a few minutes of awkward, mildly panicky silence on your end, and seemingly intense focus on his, you sigh. Mumbling into the back of his hoodie. 

“I’ve missed you…” You don't bother trying to hide the crack in your voice, or mask the pain that goes along with only seeing him once every week or so. He seems so focused that you assume he probably won’t even hear you.

This turns out not to be the case however, as he freezes in your hold. Awkwardly, he manages to twist around -despite your grip around his waist- until he’s able to hug you properly. 

“Kenma…? What about your game…?” He squeezes you tighter. 

“It’s fine, it’s just a score…” He holds you for nearly a minute before speaking. 

“Would you like to go do something simple together? Something where we could… talk about your move?” You blink up in surprise, you hadn’t really been sure he was even listening before. You nod, not fully trusting your voice in the moment.

“Oh, hey!” A claw machine catches your eye and you run up, pressing your hands to the glass as you scan the assorted toys. “C'mon… cat plushies aren't that uncommon.” You mutter to yourself. 

“A... cat plush?” He questions, before pointing to a black plush. “Like this one?” 

“Oh that would be perfect actually!” You spot a matching calico cat plush and point to it. “Oh! And the calico in the left corner!!” 

“Two cat plushies coming right up.” Kenma tosses a token into the machine and carefully maneuvers it over the black cat plush. “So…” Kenma breaks the silence, risking a quick glance at you. “Moving, huh?”
“Well…” you trail off, a little embarrassed, “yeah. I’ve been meeting with a ton of new clients with all this driving back and forth and I’ve negotiated with most of my repeat clients to do remote meetings. So, yeah… I figured I’d look into affordable places around the city.”

“...Wait, the… city? As in… Tokyo? You’re moving here?” He turns suddenly, relief evident on his face. This causes the claw to swing too quickly and drop the plush in the process. 

“Where did you think I was going?” You chuckle out as he feeds the machine another token with an embarrassed look.
“I don’t know… I’ve never asked you if you had somewhere you wanted to move to before- Do you? Have a place you want to live, I mean?”

“Um,” you think it over as he makes a second go for the plush, “no, I don’t think I do. If I'm being honest,” you can feel your cheeks heating up as you hesitate, “I just wanted to be able to see you more often.” He blushes, choosing to focus on successfully getting the plush. 

“You know, I was thinking about getting a bigger place…” He watches you still from the corner of his eye. “And it would probably be easier to find a place together… if you wanted to.” His voice is soft, almost hard to hear over the ambient sounds from the arcade.
“...Are you asking me to move in with you?” The black cat plush falls into the drop. He looks over at you shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, I guess I am. I need a bigger place anyway; ran out of room for my consoles if you can believe that.” 

“I… You know I can believe that, actually.” He turns back to the machine, hiding his face. 

“The calico in the corner, right?” You nod. Thinking about his proposal. There was no reason not to move in together. You’d been seeing each other for months, you'd both spent the occasional night at each other's places… and you were literally moving to the city anyway- but you didn’t want to rush things either. Though his offer to move in together certainly implied he was on the same page as you were with everything… 

“Puddin’?”

“Huh? Oh.” He hands you the two cat plushies triumphantly. “You’re crazy good at these, you know that?” He shrugs, turning back to the machine and feeding it another token. 

“Oh, see one you like?” He nods. While he struggles to grab the last plush you search through your purse. Where did I…? Aha! Pulling out two small, plush-sized red jerseys bearing the numbers 1 and 5. You carefully get to work slipping the stretchy fabric over the plushies. It wasn’t quite perfect, since you’d sewn them a little big to be on the safe side. 

“...Are those?” You look up to see Kenma holding a large pudding plush, yet staring at the red outfits you’d been hiding in your bag. “Nekoma Uniforms?” You nod excitedly. 

“Supposed to be anyway. I always thought it was kind of funny how you and Kuroo are both kind of like cats yourselves considering it was your school mascot.” He makes a face that says he wants to disagree with you, but knows you’re at least a little bit right. “Honestly, you have no idea how long I’ve been carrying those around for…”

“Probably about as long as you’ve been excitedly running up to claw machines whenever we go to an arcade.” You look away, flustered by how oddly obvious you must’ve been. 

“Guess you do know then.” 

“You know…” He starts, fiddling with the pudding plush in his hands. “You never answered my question.” You hum thoughtfully, pretending to think about it. 

“I guess it depends… Is that plushie for me?” You ask, pointing to the pudding plush. 

“If I say yes, will you move in?” He jokes. 

“Oh, I think I’d have to. It’s a very cute plush after all.”

“In that case, I guess it's a good thing it was for you.” You can’t help but smile as he hands you the plush, making your arms quite full. “Well, I guess you leave me no choice.”

“May I take that as a yes? He asks hopefully. You stand on your toes, arms full of plushies to press a slightly unbalanced kiss to his cheek.

“You can. Now help me carry these.” He chuckles as you hand him back the big pudding.
“Ready to go home?” You nod, enjoying the way home sounds for once. 

“Sounds good to me. Mind If I crash for the night?”

“I just asked you to move in, what do you think?” He laughs into the plush and you find yourself rolling your eyes as you smile. 

“Guess I deserved that one.”