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Soft light shines through the blinds and sets stray hairs ablaze. Kenma admires how the morning sun frames Hinata’s face as if he had a halo. There, in the comfortable quiet, a feeling of utter contentment washes over him. He lets his gaze roam over Hinata, taking in the beautiful features and committing this heavenly sight straight to memory. I wish I could wake up like this every morning.
Gently, he lifts the covers off himself, trying his best not to wake Hinata, and he slips out of bed, the cushy carpet lining the room luckily dampening the sound of his footsteps, though it’s not like Kenma would’ve made too much noise anyway. Or like Hinata would have woken up if he did. That idiot could sleep through a hurricane if it was wrecking his house.
After he’d put on some clothes, including his favourite old red jersey with ‘NEKOMA’ in big white letters plastered on the back, he goes downstairs to make some breakfast before sleeping beauty woke up. Kenma smiles to himself. Worthy of the title, in more ways than one.
But what to make… The fridge is scarily empty, he should do groceries soon. A thorough inspection of the fridge doesn’t yield a great reward, only some eggs, a leftover slice of pizza from last night they’d had the mind to put in the fridge, a couple forgotten apples and a packet of ham. Scrambled eggs and ham it is.
With his arms full of an egg carton, butter and ham, he closes the fridge door with a swing of his hips. He gets out the toaster, turns on the stove and heats the butter. After putting two slices of bread in the toaster he turns up the volume on the radio, cheerful jazz filling the house. Kenma is glad his parents went on a weekend trip to a renown onsen. It gave him the time to work out how to confess to his best friend how every time he sees Hinata, a liquid warmth takes a hold of his heart. Oops, almost burned the eggs. I’ll take this one.
Speaking of confessing, he wanted to last night, but blurting out his feelings between a bite of pizza and a win in Smash Bros would’ve seemed very half-hearted. It never really seemed like the right time. Even while getting ready for bed, both brushing their teeth in comfortable silence, or right before they fell asleep in the same bed, the air felt too light, too cozy to potentially ruin. He’s happy the evening played out the way it did though, because he might just have gotten a great idea. I guess I’ll have to call in that favor from Bokuto…
The creak of the stairs and a loud yawn break him out of his concentration. “Kenma, why does it smell like delicious toast and eggs?” Hinata mumbles just loud enough for Kenma to hear over the music and sizzling of the pan, still half asleep. Of course food is the first thing on his mind.
Kenma smiles again, gently, surreptitiously. “That’s because I’m making you some.”
Hinata is now behind him, looking at breakfast in progress with wide eyes and a watering mouth. “You even have ham!” Kenma transfers the last of the scrambled eggs to a second plate and proceeds to bake the thin slices of ham for a bit, browning them on both sides and releasing that wonderfully tasty grease. He hears Hinata guffaw when the smell fills the kitchen and hurries to plate everything and carry it to the table, Hinata following along like a duckling following its mother, drooling, knowing food will come.
Kenma sets the plates down with a soft clink and motions for Hinata to sit down.
“Eat up.”
The twinkle in the redhead’s eyes flares up and he zips onto a chair and takes a bite within the same second. Kenma finds the noise of pure delight that leaves his throat quite delectable. He sits down to eat as well, every so often peeking from behind his hair to steal a look at Hinata, seeing him enjoy food that he made makes a certain something in his chest hum. I would gladly cook for him every day if it meant I could see him like this.
“Hey Shouyou?”
“Mmhmm?”
“I have to go out for a bit to get groceries, feel free to hold the ps4 hostage but ju-“
“Yahoo!” Hinata has just enough grace to not spit half-chewed toast and egg everywhere.
Kenma resumes with a huff, ”As I was saying, just don’t overwrite any saves.”
A little calmer, though still with a very audible bounce of happiness, Hinata answers, ”Can I even play Ori and the Blind Forest?”
“Yes, even Ori.” If he hadn’t already been smiling, Kenma surely would’ve cracked at that. The look of wonder and excitement on Hinata’s face really makes him look like a small child discovering the world for the first time. He’s not sure if he could ever say no to that face.
Begrudgingly, and after staring for what may have been a couple of seconds too long, Kenma tears away from Hinata’s expression and starts to clean up his plate. I wonder how he hasn’t noticed yet, is he really that thick-headed?
“Put your plate in the sink when you’re done.” Kenma calls from the kitchen.
“Okay.”
The smile is evident in his voice. So goddamn cute. Kenma unlocks his phone and sends a text to Bokuto. He’d need his sappy as all hell opinion on his budding plan. And a favour.
To: loud owl
11.37: Hey Bokuto, can we meet up today?
11.37: I need a favour
Without waiting for a response, he slips his phone back in his pocket and goes to get his shoes and coat. “I’ll be back in a couple hours, ” he says when he passes by Hinata, “ don’t make too much of a mess, you know where everything is supposed to be.” He only gets a faint hum of approval in response, probably already off daydreaming…
-+-
Once outside, Kenma shivers, he wishes he’d brought his scarf, but he’s already closed the door and taken a few steps so it would just look silly to go back now. Not that anyone is actually in the street, but you know, what if.
He sets off to the closest supermarket, hands tucked deep into his pockets and small crystalline clouds appearing every time he breathes out. It’s snowing lightly and a single snowflake lands on Kenma’s nose.
Christmas must be getting close huh…
After exiting the supermarket he checks his phone to see if Bokuto has answered.
To: me
12.29: ofc you little nugget
To: loud owl
12.56: Stop giving me weird nicknames
12.57: Anyway, can I come over?
12.57: I just finished buying groceries and I need a fridge
12.59: Nvm I’ll be there in five
To : me
13.00: you’re always welcome you smol kitten
Kenma rolls his eyes and pockets his phone, trying to remember Bokuto’s apartment number. He lives in a large apartment complex, a big, fuck-off block of concrete in the middle of the city. Every single door, hallway and stairway look exactly the same. Even though Kenma manages to remember the number by the time he arrives at the block, he still has to search around for the right hallway. Every. Single. Time.
By the time he rings the doorbell he’s checked about three hallways before realizing he was on the wrong floor and managed to find it first try one level above. Bokuto opens the door with a grin, “I thought you’d never come!”
“Well now I’m here so can I please put the chicken in the fridge?”
Bokuto opens the door further to let him in, “What’s got you so irritated?” A look of confusion graces his mug.
Kenma scrunches his nose and takes off his shoes, “It’s cold. I hate the cold.” He takes off his coat and shuffles over to Bokuto’s electric heater. “Could you put the groceries in the fridge for a sec, I have found the love of my life.”
“Okay okay, don’t snuggle up too close though or you might get burned,” Bokuto says, one eyebrow raised amusedly, “ Want some tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate milk? I’m getting some for myself either way.”
“Coffee sounds good.”
And off he goes.
Bokuto starts chattering about how he doesn’t really know how Kenma likes his coffee, but that recently he’s learned that Akaashi likes his with a lot of milk but no sugar, yada yada. Akaashi this, Akaashi that… He always finds a way to talk about the setter he’s absolutely not in love with. Mhm. Totally believable. What a silly suggestion.
Kenma’s quite amused by the situation though, it’s the total opposite of his. The energetic captain is head over heels for his calm and collected setter yet he doesn’t realize, or doesn’t want to realize, that he is. Meanwhile Kenma has known about this feeling of his for quite some time now but it’s never been the right moment to confess. Nor has he mustered up the courage, because, in all honesty, he’s scared. He’s scared to lose something precious, to muck up the friendship they have now, I should be able to be content with the status quo. But somehow my heart keeps calling for a little more every time.
For the second time today, he’s shaken out of his reverie, this time by the ping of the coffee machine. He lets himself be led by the smell of strong coffee to the small coffee table and follows Bokuto’s example, taking a pillow to sit on. The cup is hot to the touch, so Kenma chooses to leave it there for a while to cool off, instead he looks around for the sugar and milk and is pleasantly surprised that Bokuto thought to bring some. He looks at Bokuto, only to see him sitting almost ceremoniously, with closed eyes, opposite him.
“So,” Bokuto says, opening his eyes and breaking the silence that Kenma hadn’t noticed had fallen over them, “You needed to talk about something?” He’s suddenly all serious and calm and it’s weirdly reassuring. “So talk.”
Kenma looks at his cup, unable to look Bokuto in the eye, even though he knows his friend will be approving, “Well, you know I like Shouyou, like a lot,” Bokuto hums affirmatively, “and I still have to confess, …”
“Don’t tell me you have a plan?” Bokuto’s face lights up.
“I have a plan an-“
“Hell yes! Our smitten kitten is gonna tell his little birdie he loves him!” Bokuto jumps up and starts dancing around like a kid in the snow.
Too loud.
“Shh don’t shout! I don’t need your neighbours knowing about this.” Kenma whisper-yells, afraid to make the problem worse. “Please stay calm.”
Bokuto calms down a bit and sits back down, he looks like a puppy getting scolded for a split second, but he slips back into a giddy grin quickly. “And I thought it was something really serious!”
Another sigh. “Well, I need your opinion on the plan and a favour to complete it.”
Bokuto leans forward, chin on his folded hands, elbows firmly on the table. “I’ll do anything.” He says with a huge grin.
Here we go.
-+-
When Kenma leaves Bokuto’s place he almost forgets his groceries, but he leaves with them in hand and reassurance in his heart. Even though he’s mostly wild and unpredictable, he has enough sense to know how to make Kenma feel secure. His strong presence is strangely comforting. Thank you for lending me some confidence.
It’s snowing even harder now, still not coming down particularly hard but the sidewalk is covered in a thin layer of white.
Turning down a corner, Kenma checks the time: 14.43.
Still enough time for a round of Skullgirls, he smiles to himself. Or rather, a smirk pulls at his lips with only a hint of deviousness. He knows perfectly well he’ll trash Hinata since the redhead only plays a single character which Kenma has purposefully learned to counter. Hinata still manages to one-up him sometimes though, pulling off that one annoying combo every once in a while.
Before he knows it, he’s at his door and searching for his keys, struggling to find them for a bit, and then opening the door to the heartbreaking sound of a crying Hinata.
What in the…
Hinata must’ve heard the door open, because he cries out: “Kenmaaahaa-!”
Hiccups and sobs overpower him for a second and when he regains control of his voice they’re still dotted throughout, breaking up his heartfelt story about the emotional end of the game. “The bird- hic- wasn’t b-bad, at, at all- sob- she just- she just-“
“Mhm.” Kenma hums in understanding.
At this point Hinata starts honest-to-god wailing: “She just w-wanted to take care of her baby birds!” Hinata launches himself into Kenma’s arms, crying in his sweater, accompanied by smearing his snot all over it.
Kenma only minds a bit, after all, he had his cute Shouyou in his arms, and he was hugging the life out of Kenma, begging for attention. He tries to comfort Hinata as best he can, he pats his shoulder, then rubs circles over his back. His efforts don’t seem to do much though, so he decides to give in to temptation and hug Hinata. He slowly and only a tad awkwardly, puts his short arms around Hinata and the moment he does, the smell of sunflowers hits him. Kenma wonders what shampoo could ever give off such a scent. Or is it Shouyou himself? He feels the fluffy orange locks against his face and Hinata’s slender body beneath his hands, the tremors of empathic sadness slowly leaving him.
Kenma notices the sudden urge crop up to feel more of this softness, let his fingertips drink in more of this warm being.
Don’t.
Not yet.
You might regret it.
So they stand there for a while, Hinata’s sobbing slowly dying down and all kinds of fluffy scenarios flitting through Kenma’s brain.
After a while Hinata stills, “Hey Shouyou,” Kenma says, hesitant to break the spell that’s currently possessing the moment. He feels Hinata nod against him, probably too afraid to use his voice. Kenma pauses, suddenly unsure of what to say. He forgot why he even started to speak. How can I cheer him up? Or at least take his mind off it?
“I have a surprise for you after dinner.”
Hinata shoots up, an excited look on his face. Kenma surprised himself, he wasn’t planning on telling Hinata. At all. He wanted to just whisk him away into a fairy-tale evening.
Oh boy.
Whilst Kenma is ruminating on his mistake and trying to fix the plan accordingly, Hinata is bouncing around the living room, blurting out guess after guess of what the surprise could possibly be. In his ramblings he notices the duffel bag lying in the entrance beside the groceries, “Ooh! Does it have something to do with that bag?!”
At this Kenma startles, “Ah- That old thing is… is nothing.” He blurts out, adding a muttered “Maybe…” at the last second. Unfortunately, Hinata doesn’t seem to buy it and looks a bit apprehensive. Then Kenma freezes.
The groceries.
“I need to get this in the fridge, Shouyou can you help for a bit?” Kenma hopes this will distract Hinata enough to stop asking about the duffel bag because he can barely lie to him, even if it is such a small white lie for a good cause. He just can’t muster up the bravado to not speak the truth with a straight face to that pure and honest being incapable of dishonesty himself. Even that worthless attempt at concealing the importance of the bag took much more out of him than he would ever admit.
After all the things are where they should be, Kenma asks Hinata if he’s up for a couple matches of Skullgirls. Hinata, as expected, confirms enthusiastically.
So they pass the time just like that, groans of frustration and shouts of exhilaration filling the house when combos get interrupted or opponents defeated, along with the fast-paced jazzy background music of the game.
-+-
Hinata’s stomach growls despite him visibly trying to ignore it and continuing to play. Kenma sees his chance and floors Hinata’s character with a low kick and combos him to death, finishing off their hundredth match. “Oh come on! That’s so unfair!” Hinata yells, exasperated. The counter now shows 63 wins for Kenma, 37 wins for Hinata.
Neither of them noticed how dark it got outside but now Kenma feels the strain on his eyes from staring at the TV in the dim room for so long. He rubs at his eyes for a bit and tries to dismiss the black spots that linger a little too long for comfort.
Hinata’s stomach growls again and his face contorts from hunger, his stomach complaining loudly all the while. An idea strikes Kenma, one that could have a very cozy outcome and would fix their current predicament quite nicely. He fixes his gaze on Hinata and he feels a small pang in his chest when he sees the mildly pained expression on the redhead’s face. He wants to take care of Hinata, make him smile like the brightest star in the galaxy and make sure he has everything he needs to stay happy.
“Do you want to cook with me?” Kenma says, still looking straight at Hinata, wishing oh so hard that he’d agree.
“Of course! I really can’t cook though and mom always complains that I’m in the way but I really want to help!” The rapid change from happiness to disappointment to annoyance to happiness again is interesting to watch, Hinata’s like an open book and he’s incapable of hiding his emotions behind a mask so every small fluctuation in mood is visible on his face and it’s fascinating to Kenma. This is one of the many reasons why he’s so enamoured with the little fireball. He never fails to pique my interest.
“Okay, we’re gonna make some crispy chicken breast with fried rice and lettuce,” Kenma says with a smile. He really can’t seem to stop smiling around Hinata. Maybe I finally went mad from unrequited love .
Hinata jumps off with a happy squeal and rushes to the kitchen, woes seemingly completely forgotten. Calmly Kenma follows, grabbing an apron covered in shrimp print on the way and walks into the kitchen asking Hinata to take out the ingredients while he takes out the pots and pans.
After everything is laid out and the recipe book is in front of them, open on the right page, he hands the apron to Hinata, looking to the side, hoping he wouldn’t notice that Kenma had bought it just because it reminded him of Hinata.
“Wouldn’t want you to get your clothes dirty.” A slight blush creeps up Kenma’s cheeks as he half-mumbles.
Hinata looked at him curiously and asked: “But don’t you need one too?”
Kenma faltered a bit, unfortunately, Hinata noticed and said with a cheeky grin: “Or are you saying you’re just a better cook?”
“No I uhh…” Kenma sputtered, brain short-circuiting. Why did he notice something now of all times, why exactly now?
“Just kidding!” Hinata smiles wide and accepts the apron without further ado.
This boy does things to me.
Kenma tries his very best to hide how many beats his heart skipped but Hinata has already turned around and is tying the ties behind his back, focussing on the recipe, so Kenma’s botched attempt went unnoticed. Luckily. Like he doesn’t want the floor to swallow him whole enough already.
Thank the gods for his obliviousness sometimes.
To shift his thoughts as best he can, Kenma quickly concentrates on getting things ready for the sauce and salad first, leaving the time sensitive chicken and rice for last. He lets Hinata chop the vegetables in thin strips while he measures the soy sauce and rice vinegar.
Just try to not think too much about how domestic this is.
Concentrate on the food.
An easy silence settles in, only broken by short instructions and light banter. Things get a bit more heated when Hinata tries to cook the chicken and nearly burns it, however Kenma quickly takes over and avoids a right disaster. Hinata sits to the side for the rest of the cooking, admiring Kenma’s skills with the pan from afar.
Once at the table and eating, Hinata seems to be buzzing with curiosity, eyes twinkling suspiciously. Hinata is looking everywhere but Kenma, clearly burning to ask a question yet trying, in vain, to hide this fact. Kenma knows he only notices this because he’s spent countless hours observing him, but he quickly pushes that though away and blames it one Hinata’s tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve. Whatever the cause, he already knows what Hinata wants to ask.
“No I won’t tell you what the surprise is.”
Hinata’s eyes lock on to his, incredulity written in them. “Not even a hint?” Something in his eyes shifts.
“Not even a hint.”
“Ple~ase~?” Hinata whines.
Kenma has to avert his eyes, otherwise he will give in to those bright, innocent eyes. He sighs, “No, a surprise is a surprise.”
“Awh, but I really want to know!” Hinata laments.
Kenma no longer feels the expectant gaze burning a hole through him and when he looks up, Hinata is looking down at his plate, pouting. Kenma stands, pushing his chair back, and grabs his plate, “Still no.”
While in the kitchen, Kenma makes sure the redhead isn’t looking and recovers a picnic basket from a hidden corner. He’d prepared it the day before, when the idea was just a little inkling in his mind. He had filled it with cake, paper plates, cutlery, fizzy drinks, home-baked cookies he was especially proud of and a couple of other extras.
His heart starts to beat faster at the thought of spending the evening together. Hopefully he gets the hint.
Suddenly he feels a body slam into him from behind, clinging to him.
“Kenma! I put the dishes away, do I get a reward now?”
Shit, the bask-
“Ooh, what’s this?” Hinata says, a mischievous lilt in his voice. Kenma freezes up, his spine locking in place and eyes going wide. Panic starts to creep up on him as his thoughts speed up, trying to think of a misdirection, a solution, an excuse, anything.
Nothing comes to mind because Hinata is right there on him, chin digging into his shoulder, his lithe body weighing down on him, the pleasant warmth seeping through the fabric of his suddenly too thin shirt.
After a couple of awkward seconds he manages to answer cryptically: “You’ll see in a bit.”
Once again, I can’t keep my head on straight when around him.
To Kenma’s amazement, Hinata gives up with nothing more than a huff and slides off his back.
“Fine.” Hinata pouts.
Cold.
The unexpectedly chilly rush of air on his back kickstarts his brain. Coats. We need to get outside before I get a crush-induced heart attack. ”Shouyou?” Kenma asks, tentatively, “Do you wanna go for a walk?” He still doesn’t know how he can remain so calm outwardly while inside he’s panicking.
“Hmm.”
Oh.
I made him upset.
Hinata is pouting still. Arms crossed and head turned away he’s standing with his back towards Kenma.
Not ready for another minor panic attack, Kenma tries to bribe him: “It has something to do with the basket?”
Hinata visibly perks up but tries to hide the obvious excitement nonetheless. He wants to play hard to get huh. Luckily Kenma knows Hinata all too well and has the perfect remedy.
“I’ll buy you sparklers if you come?”
As if on cue Hinata whirls around, the usual big goofy grin plastered across his face, perfectly happy. He’s practically skipping upstairs to go get some proper clothes on. “I’ll be right back!”
Truly, Kenma has no idea how he even deserves this literal ball of sunshine, light and happiness in his life.
Not even a minute later the stumbling from upstairs turns into hard thumps running towards and down the stairs, then there is a bright, slightly out of breath Hinata right in front of him. Kenma didn’t even have the time to find both their coats. He can’t bear Hinata’s glittering eyes on him much longer and prefers diving into the dusty coat rack to try and get their jackets.
This time he does find his scarf. He hands Hinata his coat and puts on his own. Looking down at the scarf in his hands, fluffy and a deep red colour, he notices that it compliments Hinata’s vibrant orange hair perfectly. Before he can catch himself he finds his hands already draping the scarf around the redhead’s neck. Hinata’s eyes catch his and he stops in his tracks. Those warm pools of deep brown are sucking him in and he doesn’t want to try and save himself from drowning.
Hinata blinks away and pulls Kenma out of his stupor. Only now does he notice the faintest of blushes tinging Hinata’s cheeks and the tips of his ears, while Kenma himself feels his face heat up rapidly.
“I uh... It’s hot in here isn’t it huh? I muh-mean, with the coats and all?” Yep, totally smooth Kenma. He’s scratching the back of his head nervously. Surely even the thick-headed Hinata must get it by now. Does he even really have to confess anymore after this blunder? The total adoration and absorption must’ve been written clear across his face for all of the world to see. Too bad his entire world was standing right before him.
“Then why did you give me your scarf?”
Kenma once again looks at Hinata only to see the latter smiling bashfully at the ground, tufts of orange hair obscuring his eyes just enough.
I can’t say it now, it’s not the right time.
“I-I, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t gonna be cold, yes, cold, it’s been snowing after all.” By the end of the sentence Kenma has more or less gotten his shit together and manages to once again look at the redhead with only a lingering heat in his face.
For a split second Kenma thinks he sees a sliver of disappointment flicker across Hinata’s eyes, but he quickly ascribes it to his own imagination.
This is the last time I’ll keep a secret from you.
I promise.
By this point he just wants to get it all over with as quickly as possible.
So he grabs the duffel bag that was shoved in a corner of the entrance hall, slings it over his shoulder and takes the picnic basket in one hand, opening the door with the other.
“Let’s go, Shouyou.” He manages to mask his stress just barely with a relatively chipper tone and steps outside, feeling his foot slip a bit on some ice right in front of his doorstep. “Be careful, there’s a patch of ice right here,” he warns Hinata. Kenma holds out his arm for Hinata to grab for support, but he ignores it. Instead he determinedly takes a step down and… Immediately slips and grabs Kenma’s arm to stabilize himself. Kenma can even feel his searing touch through his thick jacket sleeve, but he’s most likely imagining it, for the moment Hinata regains his balance he lets go of Kenma’s arm as if it were a hot stove.
Kenma really isn’t sure what to think anymore, Hinata is so oblivious, yet in that moment just now something clearly clicked between them. And now the atmosphere has shifted slightly, it feels like dashed expectations. So does Hinata know or does he not? If he does,
does he feel the same way?
Kenma shakes his head, trying to banish that question from his mind. He would deal with that after he made his feelings clear. A bit selfish, he admits, but he would only fall into a rabbit hole of different scenarios if he let his mind wander that route.
The streets are covered in a thin layer of white powder, making everything look like a winter wonderland. The beautiful sight doesn’t register with Kenma though, he’s too preoccupied with his own mind, too busy focussing on the upcoming scene and on the surprise. His body is on autopilot, it’s a wonder he manages to not trip. Meanwhile, Hinata is falling a bit behind in step, completely silent.
Like that the two walk quite a while, not saying a word, the fresh snow crackling beneath their soles the only audible sound.
Minutes pass. It feels like hours. They keep walking. The light from the streets has dimmed considerably, they’re nearing the edge of town.
We’ll be there soon.
Every step towards their destination makes Kenma’s heart sink deeper. He has no idea what to do, how to feel. He’s a little scared of how Hinata will react. Deep down he knows that they won’t lose their bond built through years of friendship, but there’s still a little insecure part of his brain that’s trying to whisper to him all of the ways in which this silly attempt could go horribly wrong, running through all the worst cases, what if Hinata doesn’t like him back, what if Hinata is shocked, what if he is repulsed by Kenma?
No, that won’t be. Hinata isn’t like that. If he doesn’t like me back, he’ll accept me for who I am.
That flicker of disappointment flashes before his eyes again.
Could he… have expected something?
Surely Kenma must be fooling himself at this point. There’s no reason to impose his own desires onto Hinata, especially not because of just one expression. An expression that lasted for only a split second no less.
But he can’t deny the little sprout of hope blooming in his chest.
Right at that moment, as if the universe arranged it, Kenma hears a small voice from behind him:
“Don’t you like me anymore?”
Kenma stops and turns around, Hinata stopped in his tracks and now keeps his gaze trained firmly on the ground, hands clasped together and shuffling his feet. It would’ve been incredibly adorable if Kenma wasn’t so bewildered with the situation.
They’ve reached the edge of the forest next to their town. The last street light is flickering faintly, doing it’s best to cut through the onset of darkness but failing tragically. Only the rapidly vanishing light of the sun illuminates their small figures now.
Kenma has to think carefully about his answer, it feels like one wrong word could make everything crumble down. Every second that Kenma hesitates, Hinata grows more and more restless.
“I...” Kenma starts, still unsure of how to continue but unwilling to leave the redhead hanging for a moment longer. He takes a step towards Hinata. “I do like you, Shouyou. I really do,” he finally blurts out.
At this Hinata raises his head and smiles gently at Kenma, seemingly satisfied with that answer. His eyes are closed and Kenma can’t gauge how Hinata is feeling at all. Those usually open windows of bursting emotion are hiding something.
Once Hinata’s eyes open, there’s no trace of anything beside content, but Kenma’s worries are only partially laid to rest. Hopefully it’ll be okay after all this.
Hinata walks towards Kenma and says: “Shouldn’t we get going? It’s getting kinda late huh.” Shaking off the weird taste in his mouth, Kenma turns back around and they go on their way, now walking beside each other. Soon they enter the forest and navigate it to the best of their abilities with the flashlights on their phones. At some point Hinata grabbed Kenma’s hand and now Kenma was trying his best not to let all of his focus shift to the hand that is oh so warm and soft in his own. Whenever they traverse some difficult terrain Hinata squeezes his hand and Kenma is so incredibly distracted all of a sudden that they nearly fall a couple times. Eventually they reach a clearing, relatively unscathed.
Busy trying to make sure the picnic basket and the duffel bag are still intact, Kenma asks Hinata if he’s alright. When he doesn’t get an answer right away he looks up quickly and sees Hinata, framed by moonlight, looking up at the night sky, completely mesmerized. Night had draped the forest in absolute darkness but here in the clearing, far away from the light pollution of the town, the tapestry of stars decorating the sky was clearly visible. Kenma didn’t notice this because he was looking at the sky, rather, he saw the stars reflected in his beloved redhead’s sparkling eyes.
Kenma’s breath hitches in his throat. How can he be so damn heart-stoppingly beautiful?
Right at that moment, Hinata turns his gaze towards Kenma, looking straight into his eyes. Both are caught off-guard and stay locked in place, losing themselves in each other. What feels like hours pass.
I truly love him don’t I.
The spell is broken when Hinata flushes a bright red and breaks away, seemingly too embarrassed to do or say anything more. Kenma could swear the redhead was giving off a warm glow, the blush was that bad. Maybe there is nothing to worry about.
He tears himself away just long enough to catch his bearings. “Come on Shouyou, let’s set up the picnic,” he manages to choke out between his heart beating in his throat and the thick blood rushing through his veins.
While they’re putting out the sweets and cutlery on the checkered picnic blanket Hinata gets very excited when he sees the cookies and cake, his sweet tooth getting the better of him. After everything is laid out they dig in, Hinata letting out a hurried “Thanksforthemeal!” before all but inhaling the home baked goods. Kenma unhurriedly fills his plate with some cake and permits himself to steal a couple glances at Hinata. The way he’s eating is almost grotesque but it makes Kenma feel a warmth spread through his chest nonetheless, the redhead is eating and enjoying his hard work. It doesn’t matter if he looks like a puppy that hasn’t eaten in the last week.
Once all the desserts are gone, Hinata having eaten the grand majority of them, they lay back for a bit, looking up at the night sky.
“Do you see that really bright star there?” Kenma asks, the question floating through the thick air. He feels the urge to compare the bright little creature next to him to the balls of fire and energy a million miles away.
“Mmhm.”
“That’s not actually a star, that’s Venus.” Hinata looks up at Kenma in surprise, eyes wide and wondrous. Kenma was waiting for this moment, this is exactly the reason he called in that favour. “Hang on a second, I have something awesome.” Kenma gets up and unzips the duffel bag that was set to the side to reveal a large, hard black case. He fiddles around with the locks a bit and notices that his hands are shaking a bit. The moment of truth is almost there huh.
Eventually the locks pop open and reveal a beautiful telescope. Thank the gods for Bokuto’s astrophysics phase.
“Whoa...” Hinata looks at the intricate device in awe, “Can we see Venus with this?”
Kenma carefully takes it out and goes to set it up on the picnic blanket, grateful that he didn’t have to assemble the thing. “We can’t see a lot of details but yes, we can see Venus.”
Maybe it’s because it’s late and Hinata is already tired but he isn’t really as energetic as he usually is, Kenma notes. The fire and bounce have made way for a gentle kind of happiness, the kind that seeps into the cracks of Kenma’s being and makes everything alright.
Kenma shows Hinata how to use the telescope and they spend a long while looking at the stars, planets and the moon. Even with his limited knowledge of astronomy he still knows quite a few star names and locations, which he admittedly mainly uses to impress Hinata, whose eyes fill with wonder and amazement every time Kenma shows him something new. It’s not the first time today that he wishes this moment, this feeling, this atmosphere, would last forever.
After a while Hinata falls down backwards and just lies there. Already tuckered out from a moving day, the small little baby crow. Kenma starts packing up the telescope, trying to give Hinata some time to rest before they make the trek back home.
“These are the best two days I’ve had in a while,” Hinata says with a smile in his voice, breaking the delicate silence. Love seeps trough Kenma’s throat like a burning trickle of thick, viscous lava, making him unable to speak. He tries to sort his thoughts but there’s so much orange and warmth and comfort and just a sliver of unfounded panic. “Kenma,” Hinata sits up and looks into Kenma’s eyes, ”You’re important to me you know.”
...
Kenma completely shuts down. Nothing could have prepared him for this. Rejection yes, acceptance yes, but not a confession before he’s even gotten to that point himself.
At first his mind is empty, every thought blasted away by this sudden development, then a barrage of colours and words burst into his brain violently. Everything he’s wanted to say for so so very long crosses his mind at the same time. He can’t manage to get a single syllable out.
It’s Hinata who breaks his stupor.
“Hey Kenma?” Hinata says, his voice quiet, as if he’s insecure about what he’s about to say.
“Y-yeah?” Kenma wrangles the word from his rapidly closing throat.
“What you said before, do you really like me? Like, like like me?”
A beat of silence.
Kenma puts everything down, takes a deep breath and sits himself facing Hinata. He takes a moment to think, but then decides he’s better off following his heart this time. He looks Hinata straight in the eye and gathers every last shred of courage he has. His hands are still shaking.
“Shouyou..”
The redhead’s eyes widen almost imperceptibly.
“I... I’ve been wanting to tell you something for a while now. You’re... incredible, Shouyou, you’re so full of life and warmth and you make me smile uncontrollably whenever I see that stupidly big grin of yours, you trust so completely and feel so intensely that I become breathless just being around you. My heart skips a beat every time you look at me, ever since high school, those tournaments, the adrenaline of competing, challenging each other, forcing each other to become better, faster, stronger...
I might’ve, no, I have, fallen for you.”
He swallows, the weight of his next words paralysing his tongue.
“I love you Shouyou, I really do.”
Hinata bites his lower lip hard, trying to keep from crying but failing miserably, big wet tears are already rolling down his cheeks, falling onto his hands and darkening the red and white checkers. The dam breaks.
Sobbing, Hinata flies into Kenma’s arms, holding him tight like his life depends on it. Kenma doesn’t know what to think, what to do for a moment, until his instincts kick in and he cautiously hugs him back, happy but still unsure if Hinata feels the same way he does. However, he doesn’t have to wait long for the answer.
“I-i-i thought I was the only o-one that, that-“ A staggered intake of breath, “had f-feelings like these!” Hinata weeps into Kenma’s shoulder. He buries his face into Kenma’s warm jacket, red scarf and a smattering of orange the only visible things. Hinata says something, but all Kenma is aware of is the deep hum reverberating through his chest.
Kenma gently lifts up Hinata’s head, their noses only a hair’s breadth apart. Where did I get this confidence?
“What did you say Shouyou?”
Those warm eyes shift to the side and the red of his cheeks becomes even more intense, Kenma doubts it’s just from crying and the cold.
“I said I love you too,” Hinata mumbles a bit, ”You big dork.”
A feeling of absolute contentment with little sparks of barely concealed euphoria washed over Kenma. Everything is okay. He grabs Hinata tighter, wants to never let go of this warmth, this welcome feeling of finally being home. He feels inexplicably small and delicate yet incredibly huge and full at the same time, his heart finally settling where it belongs.
They’re moving impossibly closer, magnetized, until their lips meet in a gentle kiss.
Soft.
Kenma doesn’t mind the cold of the winter night, the icy wind trying to penetrate their warm coats, the small snowflakes falling onto them, for nothing can disturb the warm bubble they find themselves in. Like a ray of sunshine breaking through the rolling storm clouds, they are an oasis of spring in a winter wonderland.
Kenma wouldn’t mind it if this never ended.