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“Kenma!” You scurried over to the pudding-headed boy in the hallway. He glanced at you and stopped, still playing with his game console.
“Hi (Y/n),” He briefly looked at you once more before going back to his game. You shrugged and began to give him a side hug, one in which he didn’t return. It didn’t deter you though, you simply smiled and continued to walk with him towards the gym.
You and Kenma had been dating for five months now, though you two weren’t ones to have skinship-or rather Kenma just wasn’t comfortable with it.
“So Kenma,” you spoke, “Today, you’re playing a practice match with Karasuno, right? How do you think they’ll do?”
You heard the boy hum, “I don’t know. We’ll win.”
Once you two entered the gym, you waved to all the other members that were currently there. Kuroo immediately came up to you and ruffled your hair.
“Kuroo! Can’t you lay off the hair? Just ‘cuz you’re tall doesn’t mean you can do that.”
Kuroo smirked as he leaned closer to you, “Aww, I can’t help that you’re cute (Y/n)-chan. Ha, I wonder how Kenma got someone like you.”
You blushed at his words as you saw Kenma elbow Kuroo in the ribs. You laughed it off and continued walking to the bench to set your things down. Kenma followed after you. He sat next to you and pulled out his game device. You had your head rested on his shoulder as you looked at his game progress.
“Ah Kenma, you’re doing so well! You beat it in just a few seconds!” You exclaimed excitingly. You didn’t notice Kenma blush on his face as he only shrugged in response.
After a few moments you went off to fill the water bottles for the members before their practice match. As soon as you walked off though, Kuroo immediately pulled up next to his friend, wrapping an arm around the smaller boy’s shoulder, “You know, (Y/n) wouldn’t mind if you showed some affection. She can’t stay like this for long.”
At this, Kenma glanced at his friend, then back at you. You had started talking to Morisuke as you filled the bottles. He noticed how close you were to his teammate and how you laughed at something he had said. It was stupid, it really shouldn’t have meant anything, but Kenma couldn’t help but feel a sort of anger looking at you two.
Just as quickly though, you had walked back to Kenma and Kuroo. Kuroo engaged in a conversation with you while you all waited for the other team to arrive. After a while, you heard the gym door open. You perked up and grinned at the two.
“Ah look! They’re here! I wonder what-wait-Tobio-kun?” You quickly got up from your seat and ran over to the boys from the opposing team. Your smile grew wider as you jumped onto a black-haired boy’s back.
“Tobio-kun, I missed you! I didn’t know you went to Karasuno. Why don’t you tell me these things?” Kageyama tensed before looking back to see your smiling face and relaxed a bit. His face was tinted red as he tried to pry you off his back.
“(Y-Y/n)-chan? What are you doing here?”
“I’m the manager for Nekoma’s volleyball team,” you proceeded to get off of him, pointing to your teammates.
Kenma had completely lost interest in his game at that point. Seeing you and Kageyama converse so well made him feel a bit insecure.
“So, is it too late to say I told you so?” Kenma quickly jabbed his elbow into Kuroo’s side, who only held his stomach while laughing at his friend’s reaction. The captain called to gather his team and give them the run-down of the rest of the day. You had decided to stay with Karasuno and talk to their team and manager for a bit more. Kenma couldn’t help but glance at you every few seconds. He saw how your hand was placed delicately on Kageyama’s shoulder. He saw you smile at him, and he saw the other team look at you with hints of blush on their faces.
Kenma couldn’t help but feel a flurry of anger mixed with slight jealousy, and it was apparent in the way he played. Though relatively small, Kenma acted keener with the plays during his game. He wanted to shut down Kageyama as much yet subtle as possible. Each set Nekoma played, they won. Every now and then Kenma would glance in your direction. He would feel a surge of pride fill up in his chest, hearing the fast beating of his heart-was it because of you or the game, he wouldn’t know-seeing you look at him with awe. You had always been fascinated with the way he played, even though in his opinion, it was nothing special.
All too soon, the games between the two teams came to an end. Kenma followed you closely with his eyes as he saw you heading towards the Karasuno team after giving his team their waters. You had immediately walked over to Kageyama and his teammates, conversing quickly.
“Hey, what’s (Y/n)-chan doing?” Lev had bounded up to Kenma, pointing in the direction Kenma was already looking at. The shorter boy glared at the first year, not at all amused with his outstanding curiosity.
You were laughing alongside the Karasuno team as you held up Kageyama’s phone.
“There,” you said, handing the phone back to Kageyama, “you have my number. I better receive a text from you later, okay Tobio?”
Kageyama nodded, no words coming out of his mouth as his team sent little jokes his way. You continued to talk with his team for a couple more minutes before they had to leave. You waved them off, waiting until their bus became just a little dot in the distance before rushing back to Kenma and Kuroo. You hadn’t noticed the discomfort on Kenma’s face as you walked beside him. He was only looking down at his game, listening to you and Kuroo talk.
“So,” Kuroo started, “you know their setter? Why didn’t you tell us (Y/n)-chan?” he smirked.
You only shrugged, “You never mentioned it. Tobio and I went to the same middle school. When I first saw him, he was just the cutest little thing. We were very close, but once I left, we stopped talking. I’m glad he’s grown up so much though.”
Kenma had paused his game upon hearing your praises for the Karasuno setter. Had you ever talked about him with such gentleness? Did you ever talk to anybody about him? He didn’t want to feel insecure, but he did. It was a wonder how you two ever started dating, with you initiating most of the conversations up to the point where it was you who had asked to be in a relationship. Kenma wasn’t the most forward person, and he appreciated that you understood that. Though, was his inability to offer any type of affection deterring you from continuing this relationship? He saw how friendly you were to someone who you had not seen in a while. Were you in need of some type of affection?
He was so into his own thoughts, Kenma hadn’t noticed that he was already walking home with you; Kuroo had explained earlier that he was spending time with other friends and left. You two were in a comfortable silence, next to each other at a good distance.
‘Maybe a little initiative wouldn’t hurt.’ Kenma thought. He wasn’t one to outwardly speak his feelings out; you kind of just knew what he was thinking. So, turning off his game and putting in in his pocket, he slowly reached for your hand.
At first you only thought he had accidently brushed his hand against yours, so you paid no mind to it. But then you felt his surprisingly soft hand wrap around your own. You cocked your head to the side, staring questioningly at your significant other, but he only stared straight ahead (though you were sure you saw a hint of a blush on his face).
A soft smile crept up your face, you gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Hey Kenma, why don’t you show me that new game you bought. It seems interesting!”
It was just those few sentences (and that bright smile you were giving him) that relieved Kenma’s insecurities. He nodded, muttering ‘sure’ under his breath. He lightly pulled you along with him, moving slightly faster to reach his house.
It was subtle, it wouldn’t have meant anything to other people. But to you, it was another step in your relationship with the setter. And to him, it was a way to calm his nerves; it was a way for him to wash his worries away. Looking at you, talking animatedly about one of his interests further assured his thoughts and he quickly pushed those insecure thoughts out of his mind. Kenma let out a soft sigh, yeah, he had absolutely nothing to worry about.