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It started after a typical day of practice, when Kenma was walking out with his eyes on his PSP and Kuroo was beside him, going on about what had happened in his class that day. The second year could hardly comprehend what his best friend was saying, mostly because he was completely focused on finishing the final stage of his game that he’d spent the past few days on.
“...And then guess what happened?”
Kenma shrugged, still looking at his game console. “You tell me.” He didn’t have the mind to make logical guesses now that he was about to land his last strike on his opponent and end the battle.
“She confessed to me,” Kuroo said, sounding as if in disbelief. “Apparently after working on a project with me for a month, she’s ‘in love’ with me.” He made air quotations as he spoke, then turned to look at Kenma, his voice softening. “Love is a strange thing, isn’t it?”
Finally putting away his game console after finishing the battle, Kenma responded, “It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.” If he’d remembered correctly, Kuroo had told him a similar story sometime last year.
Kuroo wore a shit-eating grin on his face. “Maybe I’m just very attractive --- that’s why so many people keep falling for me.” He nudged Kenma playfully and the second year rolled his eyes.
“As if,” he mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring at the ground as he kept walking. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“Why?” Kuroo asked in a teasing voice, putting an arm around Kenma’s shoulders. “Afraid you’ll fall for me too?”
Kenma made a face and shook his arm off. “Keep dreaming.”
“Excuse me?” Kuroo said defiantly, pursing his lips.
Kenma blatantly ignored him.
“Of everyone in the world, I find it hard to believe that you wouldn’t fall for me,” Kuroo said, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. He was certainly stepping into dangerous territory with his words. “I’m sure in just one week you’ll be taking your words back.”
Kuroo was really underestimating Kenma and overestimating himself. “Is that a challenge?” Kenma asked with a small scowl. “What happens if you’re wrong?”
Kuroo halted his footsteps and rummaged through his bag, taking out two post-it notes and two pens, passing one of each to Kenma. “Write down what you want on this piece of paper and whoever’s right has to give whoever’s wrong what they want.”
“Childish,” Kenma muttered, but took the pen and sticky note anyway. He thought for a while, then scribbled down the latest video game that he was interested in, before folding the note and passing it back to Kuroo along with the pen.
Wearing a confident smile, Kuroo folded his note neatly and passed it to Kenma. “For safekeeping,” he explained, prying Kenma’s fingers open and pressing the post-it to his palm. “I’ll keep yours, and you keep mine.”
Kenma sighed and stuffed the paper into his pocket. “And when does this ‘one week’ start?”
There was a moment of silence, then Kuroo leaned closer to Kenma, whispering into his ear, “Tomorrow.” A shiver travelled through Kenma’s body and he took a step away. He wasn’t one for intimate things, at least he didn’t think so.
Kenma quickened his footsteps and walked away. Whether tomorrow would be a nightmare or a dream, he wouldn’t know just yet.
###
[day one]
A ray of sunlight trespassed the small gap between the curtains and the window sill, entering Kenma’s bedroom. Hiding under his blanket, Kenma sighed at the thought of having to get out of bed. He reached out from under his blanket, fumbling for his phone on his bedside table and pulling it under his blanket.
The light from the phone screen shone brightly in his eyes and he covered them for a few seconds, letting himself adjust to the brightness. He lowered the screen brightness to a minimum and squinted at the words on his phone. He still had a few minutes --- three, to be exact --- before he had to get out of bed.
Kenma finally gave in to the passing time and got out from under his blanket, sitting with his back against the headboard and his knees to his chest. There were several unread messages, most of which were spam from the team chat and a few messages from Kuroo. Reading his best friend’s name on his phone threw his memory back to a day before. Kenma sighed in frustration and tilted his head up. Why did he have to accept that? It would only make things awkward and honestly, he had no idea why Kuroo had thought of that idea in the first place.
He opened the chat and stared at the messages he’d gotten from Kuroo.
kuroo: kenma!!
kuroo: i’m waiting outside your house <3
Kenma frowned and left the messages on read. It wasn’t like that was very different from usual, other than the heart at the end. Leaving his phone on his table, Kenma headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
###
“Took you long enough,” Kuroo said as Kenma stepped out of the house. “But it’s alright, I can wait.”
Kenma huffed and started walking. It was barely seconds later before Kuroo quickened his footsteps and caught up with Kenma, slowing to match his pace after.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, a completely innocent question.
Ever since he’d finished his video game, he didn’t have any new ones to start on yet. He’d probably stop by the store later in the day, but for now, he’d have to continue without one. “Maybe,” Kenma said, because he didn’t know the answer. He’d find out later once he was in class, whether he had enough energy to stay awake or if he’d fall asleep as usual.
Kuroo shrugged. “You aren’t playing with your PSP today,” he noted out loud. There was a brief pause before he continued, “You ran out of games?”
“Yeah,” Kenma said, sighing quietly. It was as if Kuroo had read his mind. “I’m thinking of stopping by the games store later.”
“I see,” Kuroo replied, slotting his hands into the pockets of his track jacket.
They spent the rest of the journey talking about school and random things that’d surfaced in their heads, before parting at the school gates for their respective classes.
Kenma unsurprisingly ended up sleeping in class, much to the annoyance of his teacher. Still, it went unsaid that sleeping in class wasn’t going to pull down his results, because he had Kuroo to teach him things ahead of time. Kenma shifted on his seat as he thought of that. It was pretty nice of Kuroo to take time to teach Kenma schoolwork when he could be doing other stuff. Maybe Kenma was relying too much on him.
He drifted in and out of sleep as the lessons continued. He’d learnt most, if not all, of what the teacher was going through anyway. Again, thanks to Kuroo. Occasionally, he’d take out his phone under the table or tap his pen rhythmically against the table, but at the end of the school day when the bell rang, he was asleep with his head resting on his arms, which were folded on the table.
It was only after he felt a gentle nudge that his eyes opened and he lifted his head off his arms to sit upright. “Yes?” he said groggily to the classmate that had tapped him.
“School’s over,” his classmate notified him, then nodded his head in the direction of the classroom door, “and someone’s waiting outside for you. I think it’s a third year.”
“Thanks,” Kenma said quickly, then packed his bag and walked out of the classroom. As he’d guessed, he knew exactly who was the “someone” waiting for him.
“Fell asleep in class, huh?” Kuroo said with a playful smile. “Aren’t you afraid that your grades will fall?”
Kenma shook his head, stretching his arms subtly as his body felt stiff. “You’ve taught me everything they’re going through already...I’m not actually missing much.”
Kuroo laughed. “I’ll have to stay back for a while because I’m meeting the other third years, so if you want, I could meet you at the games store near the train station.” He looked at the tired expression on Kenma’s face, then added, “...You’re still going, aren’t you?”
“Is that even a question?” Kenma was tired, but he was never too tired for video games.
It was a fifteen-minute walk to the train station, but halfway through, Kenma felt a small droplet of rain hit his shoulder. He shook his head in disbelief. It didn’t take much thought for him to know what that meant --- he’d soon be caught in the rain if he didn’t hurry. From what he could estimate, it would likely take him another seven minutes to get to the store, given that he’d have to take a detour from the way to the train station if he wanted to arrive on the correct street. Worst of all, there was absolutely no shelter around, excluding the tiny bus stop that he didn’t want to be trapped under for who knows how long.
He quickened his footsteps, taking out his jacket to cover his head and his bag. If there was one thing he hated it was getting drenched from head to toe, especially when it wasn’t by a willing choice. He’d forgotten an umbrella that day, despite his mother constantly reminding him to bring one. It wasn’t his fault --- he’d merely been rushing out to meet Kuroo because he felt a little bad making the third year wait for him.
Five minutes away, his jacket was completely soaked and wasn’t really helping to block out the rain anymore. At this rate, Kenma guessed he’d be soaked when he reached the game store, whether or not he used his jacket to cover his head.
Then all of a sudden, the rain stopped.
Or at least, it stopped hitting him. All around, the rain was still falling and hitting the ground lightly in a constant rhythm. But nothing touched him. Kenma looked up to see the droplets colliding with the surface of a transparent umbrella that cast a light shadow down on him, unable to get to him like the small rays of sunlight could.
“You should probably bring an umbrella next time or you’d catch a cold,” he heard a familiar voice. Kenma turned around, looking up to find his golden eyes meeting Kuroo’s hazel ones.
“Kuro, I thought you had a meeting?” Kenma asked, a little surprised at the third year’s sudden appearance.
Kuroo started walking and Kenma followed his footsteps, not wanting to be under the rain again. “I did,” Kuroo said, “but it ended really quickly and I rushed over when I saw the sky darkening...I was pretty sure you didn’t bring an umbrella.”
Kenma smiled silently, trying his best to hide it. It wasn’t anything that Kuroo hadn’t done before, but when he thought about it, it wasn’t something you’d do for just a regular friend. His mind shot back to the deal they’d made a day ago. No, this was just what best friends did. They continued walking.
###
[day two]
When Kenma walked out of his classroom the next day, Kuroo was already waiting outside. The team was having lunch together on the school rooftop that day, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. Without a word, Kenma walked over to beside Kuroo, his school bag packed and slung behind him.
“So how was your day?” Kuroo asked casually as they neared the staircase and began to ascend it.
Kenma shrugged. “Same as usual,” he replied simply. They reached the roof and Kuroo pushed the door open, the two of them walking in to find that the rest of the team was already there and seated in an oddly-shaped circle.
“About time,” Yaku remarked as they sat along the wall next to each other, taking out their lunches. “We were starting to think the two of you ditched to eat without us.”
“This is a team lunch, isn’t it?” Kuroo replied, opening his lunchbox to start eating. “As the captain, there’s no way I could skip this.” He nodded his head towards Kenma. “Kenma’s class was dismissed late,” he explained.
The setter remained silent, eating his rice with his chopsticks. He didn’t exactly find that he had anything he had to say, anyway. He stopped eating after just a bit and took out his game console, turning it on to begin his game.
“Kenma, stop playing your game and eat,” he heard Kuroo say to him and felt a gentle nudge at his side.
“Later,” he mumbled, continuing to play his game. He wasn’t that hungry in the first place and he’d probably have skipped lunch if not for Kuroo dragging him here. “Let me finish this round first.” Of course, he’d just start a new round after that, but Kuroo didn’t have to know.
“You can play after you’re done eating,” Kuroo tried again, reaching for the game console and causing Kenma to shift his hands with the console away.
“Kuro, you’re not my mom,” he said flatly, his eyes glued to the screen.
Beside him, Kenma heard Kuroo sigh and from the corner of his eye, saw Kuroo transferring a piece of fishcake to his lunchbox. “That’s your favourite,” he said to Kenma. “You’ve gotta eat a bit of lunch or you’ll feel sick during training later.”
A few seconds of hesitation later, Kenma finally paused his game, staring at the food in his lunchbox before picking up the piece of fishcake from on top of the rice and eating it. Maybe he really was a little hungry. He continued to eat the food slowly and in small quantities.
“I thought Kenma didn’t like fishcake,” Yamamoto commented, to which Kenma blatantly ignored since he was busy eating and didn’t feel like talking. Well, it was true. Kenma typically didn't like fishcake.
“He doesn’t,” Kuroo confirmed, then as a few team members looked at him in confusion, he continued, “unless it’s steamed like that.”
The setter didn’t respond to any part of the conversation. He found it rather sweet that Kuroo had actually remembered that, since he’d only said it a few times, though he had eaten it in front of Kuroo before. Funny that he’d noticed.
He glanced at Kuroo’s lunchbox, wondering if he knew Kuroo’s food preferences. His expression gradually turned to a frown as he realised that no, he didn’t. He stared down at his food, picking up a bit of rice to eat. He’d offer Kuroo some food in return, but he wasn’t exactly sure what, so he didn’t. Kenma sighed inwardly.
“You okay?” Kuroo asked him, and he looked up.
He gave his best friend a look that asked “why”, and Kuroo shrugged.
“Your expression changed,” he said, “and you look a little” --- he gestured wildly with his hands, as if trying to find the right word --- “downcast.”
Kenma blinked, then looked at him for a while more. Had it been that obvious? “It’s nothing,” he said, his mind wondering if the rest of the team had noticed that too. It didn’t seem that way, however. It’d just been Kuroo.
Kuroo looked at him worriedly for another second before continuing to eat. He’d always noticed, Kenma realised. Whether it was his apparently “excited” expression, or when something was troubling him. Kenma shook his head subtly and poked his rice with his chopsticks, the bet from two days ago coming back to his mind. Was Kuroo doing this for the sake of that? No, Kuroo was always like this.
Subconsciously, Kenma finished his food. He’d been so deep in thought that he hadn’t even realised he’d been eating. With a sigh, he closed his lunchbox and looked at the rest, who’d finished as well.
“Let’s go,” Kuroo said, standing up and the rest of the team following suit. It was about time to head to the gym for training, and that meant, there was no more time for Kenma to be distracted by minor things. He stood up as well. He’d have plenty of time to think later.
###
[day three]
The next day passed unusually normally, and Kenma headed to practice wondering if Kuroo had given up, or forgotten about, the bet. Well, that would mean that Kenma would win, so he honestly didn’t mind.
They neared the entrance of the gym and all of sudden, Kenma felt faint and stopped in his footsteps. Since Kuroo had gone for a meeting with the third years during lunch, Kenma had casually skipped it. Which of course, meant that he was going to train on an empty stomach. Probably not the best idea, but he’d had to finish that stage of his video game so it was most definitely worth it.
“Kenma?” Kuroo asked, gently putting a hand on Kenma’s shoulder as the setter rubbed his temple with his thumb, trying to get rid of the traces of soreness. “Is something wrong?” He didn’t sound like he was asking if something was wrong, but what was wrong.
Kenma clenched his teeth and took in a sharp breath before the pain faded, though small residues remained haunting his head. “Nothing,” he said, regaining his composure. He’d likely spent too on video games and not gotten enough energy since he hadn’t eaten. Whatever the problem was, hopefully it wouldn’t come back during training. “I’m fine. Let’s go.” He continued walking before Kuroo could ask any more questions.
He could hear Kuroo quickening his footsteps and catching up in a matter of seconds. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Kenma replied with an exasperated sigh. It wasn’t that he was upset about Kuroo asking, but perhaps he was just tired. “As I’ve said, I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t speak another word to Kuroo during practice, other than what was necessary. His setting was a little off, though that wasn’t a surprise given his state. At least, it was still a relatively acceptable standard. Still, it seemed to be a noticeable change, especially when he missed a set with Lev and it wasn’t the first year’s fault.
Kenma put down the ball in his hand. “I’m going to the bathroom,” he mumbled, not sure if anyone could hear him but nonetheless turning around and walking briskly to the door.
The moment he stepped out of the gym, his head began to throb and he pressed the palm of his hand to the side of his head, as if it’d somehow stop the pain. His footsteps quickened and he stumbled a few times, running towards the bathroom to wash his face with cold water and possibly get rid of the pain.
With his hands at either side of the sink, he stared down with water dripping off his skin. The headache had gone away to a minimal amount, though traces of it had remained persistent in causing him pain. It was a sharp sting at the side of his head, thankfully only on the right. He still had to return to training, he decided, lifting his chin to stare into the mirror.
“...Kuro.”
From his reflection, he could see the captain standing at the entrance of the bathroom, looking at him. The mirror linked their paths of sight and even backfacing Kuroo, Kenma found himself looking into his best friend’s eyes.
“You just ran out of the gym like that,” Kuroo started. “Are you alright or is something bothering you?”
He couldn’t seem to lie his way out of this situation, so Kenma just turned around, looking at Kuroo. “Just a headache,” he replied emotionlessly, hiding the pain as much as he could. “It’s nothing much.”
Taking a step closer, Kuroo sighed. “You keep saying it’s nothing, but I’m not sure I believe that anymore.” As he got closer, Kenma felt his body stiffen, though he wasn’t sure why. Kuroo lifted his left hand, holding it to Kenma’s forehead. His touch felt cold against Kenma’s skin and a noticeable shiver ran through Kenma’s body. “I think you should take a break for today,” Kuroo concluded, his voice laced with concern.
Kenma opened his mouth to protest, but went silent knowing there was no way he could argue his way around Kuroo. “...Fine,” he said reluctantly, averting his eyes and lightly taking Kuroo’s wrist to push his hand away before letting go. He didn’t wait for another word before walking towards the gym, and Kuroo stayed a few metres behind him as though he wanted to give Kenma some space.
Compared to him usually pestering Kenma no matter what, this was different. In fact, it was nice, to have Kuroo silently watching over him from behind. Feeling his face heating up at the thought, Kenma quickened his footsteps. There was no way he’d thought anything about that. No way at all.
The rest of the practice passed by quickly and Kenma spent nearly the whole time observing his teammates. Well, mostly Kuroo, but nobody had to know that. There was just something about the way his muscles contracted and relaxed, the way he shirt stuck to his body and traced out his well-toned body, and even just the way he’d smile in genuine satisfaction after blocking a spike --- Kenma couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but as he looked at Kuroo play as a spectator rather than a teammate, there was something attractive about him.
“C’mon, let’s go back,” Kuroo said, walking over to where Kenma was after practice. “You should get some rest ‘cause you don’t look too well.”
Kenma quietly stood up, following beside Kuroo as they left the gym. His head was still stinging at intervals and he couldn’t help but feel mildly dizzy. Perhaps it was just the side effects from before. That wouldn’t be a surprise. He kept walking, his footsteps in sync with Kuroo’s but slowly enough to make sure he wouldn’t trip.
All of a sudden, Kuroo stopped walking. Kenma looked at him curiously, giving him a look that asked if something was wrong. “Your face is pale,” Kuroo stated, and Kenma didn’t know how Kuroo could tell that in the dimly lit area under the darkened sky. “Are you sure you’re able to walk?”
“...I don’t have much of another option,” Kenma said, shrugging it off as nothing even as he felt a sharp pain in his head. “I’ll be fine.” He started walking, only for Kuroo to grab his wrist firmly, tugging him back.
Kenma bit his lower lip and sighed. “What is it?” he asked quietly.
He watched as Kuroo lowered himself in front of Kenma. “Let me carry you home.”
“Kuro, I---” Kenma cut himself off. He hesitated, but knowing his best friend wouldn’t be giving in, he got on Kuroo’s back. It felt a little strange to be this close to Kuroo, even if it wasn’t the first time it’d happened. He’d previously dismissed it as nothing, never paying too much attention. But as he was more conscious of it now, he’d only just realised how it gave him the most unfamiliar feeling.
Letting his whole body relax and hoping that his headache would go away, Kenma leaned his head gently against the side of Kuroo’s neck, his breathing slowing down. Maybe this was just the third year’s attempt at winning the bet, to make Kenma fall in love with him. But the more Kenma put the pieces together, the more he found that it didn’t make sense that way, especially since they’d done this before.
“Thank you,” he finally said, in a quiet mumble that he wasn’t sure Kuroo was able to hear. Whatever his reason for doing this was, at least it’d saved Kenma some pain. To Kenma, that was good enough.
###
[day four]
Unsurprisingly, Kenma fell sick the next day. On the bright side, it wasn’t a school day so he didn’t miss out on any lessons. But of course, that also meant that he’d be spending the weekend in his house. He sighed at the thought of that, knowing that he’d be missing out on a lot of time he could be spending doing something else, especially since his mother had taken his video games and his phone out of the room so he’d rest.
He tossed and turned in bed, restless and trying to entertain himself but finding that he couldn’t. Pulling the blanket over his head, he curled up on his bed, relaxing his body. As much as he wanted to get these two days over with, the time would still pass slowly and he did have to find some way to pass time.
There was a knock on his window, surprising him, though he remained under his blanket. Kenma grumbled quietly at the disturbance, then sat up abruptly as he heard a second knock. Being on the second storey of his house, he wasn’t sure how someone had knocked on his window, but he dragged himself out of bed and looked down at the road below.
“...Kuro?” he said quietly, even knowing the third year below couldn’t hear him. On the pavement outside the entrance of his house, Kuroo was looking up and waving at him, visibly holding some small pebbles in his hand. Kenma frowned. Part of him wanted to ignore Kuroo, since he’d told him time and again not to throw pebbles at his window even if it wouldn’t cause any damage. Still, he didn’t exactly want to be alone again. With a reluctant sigh, he turned around and left his room, going downstairs to let Kuroo in.
“Kenma!” Kuroo said the moment the door was opened. “How are you feeling?” He stepped past Kenma into the house, lifting a hand to touch Kenma’s forehead. Strangely enough, a warm feeling shot through him at Kuroo’s touch, something he hadn’t felt since a day ago. He didn’t know when he’d become like this, but Kenma only pursed his lips and brushed his thoughts away.
“Better,” he finally settled on a single word, before turning around and walking towards the stairs to return to his room. He could hear Kuroo’s footsteps as the older male followed beside him, silently as if he’d intended to do this the whole time. Not that Kenma would complain at all.
After entering the room, Kenma closed the door behind the two of them and flopped onto his bed, burying his face sideways in his pillow and stretching his hands out in front of him. Kuroo took a seat beside him, reaching out to ruffle his hair with a smirk on his face. “Tired, hm?”
Kenma sighed. “Bored as well.” He sat upright, crossing his legs and staring at the blanket below him. “Do you think you could persuade my mother to let me have my phone? Or at least...one of my game consoles?” He looked at Kuroo pleadingly, watching as the third year bit his lip and looked away.
“You do need to rest,” Kuroo replied, sounding like he was choosing his words carefully. “Maybe later.”
With a quiet huff, Kenma turned around so his back was facing Kuroo. He heard his best friend exhaling quietly, taking one end of the blanket and covering Kenma’s body with it. Kenma closed his eyes, snuggling into the warmth of his bed. But even then, he couldn’t seem to sleep.
As he heard Kuroo getting off the bed and his footsteps beginning to lead away, Kenma flipped around in bed. “Kuro,” he said softly, but audible enough for Kuroo to hear, “can you stay for a while?” At his own words, Kenma gulped. It’d come out sounding a little different from what he’d expected, and Kuroo seemed to think the same from how he’d turned around with his face mildly red.
“Y-Yeah, sure,” Kuroo said, walking over to the bed. He sat down at the edge of the bed where he’d been early, angling his body sideways so he was facing where Kenma’s head was. He smiled, so faintly that if Kenma hadn’t been watching, he wouldn’t have noticed. “I’m coming by tomorrow again,” Kuroo said softly, “so is there anything you want me to get for you?”
Kenma thought for a while before he answered, “Apple pie.”
“Alright, I’ll get that for you.” At Kuroo’s words, Kenma smiled gratefully. Some part of him was probably imagining things and he was probably just hallucinating from his sickness, but for some reason, he swore that Kuroo seemed to look at him a little differently from usual.
###
[day five]
As he’d promised, Kuroo came over early in the morning with a box containing a slice of apple pie for Kenma. “You’re awake early,” the older of the two stated, kneeling on the ground beside the bed so he was on level with Kenma, who’d yet to sit up.
“It’s not that early,” the second year grumbled, lifting his upper body up slightly to look at the clock, and then realising that indeed, it was early. He sighed, collapsing back onto his back with his head turned to face Kuroo’s. For an instant, he felt his heart skip a beat. They’d only been inches apart, and while it wasn’t the first time it’d happened, Kenma had been more conscious of it than usual.
Kenma immediately sat up, rubbing his temple lightly to remove a slight dizziness he’d gotten from moving too suddenly. “Did you get the apple pie?” he asked, trying to distract himself.
His best friend grinned, taking a plastic bag with a pastry box inside from Kenma’s bedside table, where he’d likely placed it earlier. Beside it, he’d prepared some metal cutlery from the kitchen downstairs, wrapped in a small cloth. “Of course.”
With a small smile, Kenma reached towards the box, only for Kuroo to pull it away before he could get it. Kenma frowned, reaching towards it again but yielding the same result. “Kuro,” he said with a small sigh, “what do you want?”
The third year smirked, pointing to his cheek. “I want a kiss.”
Kenma drew in a sharp breath. “Kuro, I’m not well. I’m not going to pass my sickness to you.” He could always count on Kuroo to come up with silly antics.
Kuroo pursed his lips, looking disappointed. “I guess you’re right about---”
Before he could finish speaking, Kenma leaned forward to press a quick kiss to Kuroo’s cheek, pulling away immediately after and leaving the latter completely stunned. It was just a kiss after all, Kenma decided. It wasn’t like Kuroo could get sick from that. Gradually, Kuroo’s face began to be taken over by a bright shade of red and he tried to speak, but all that came out were bits of stutters.
“I’d like my apple pie now,” Kenma said flatly, though he felt his face heating up as well. There was a moment of silence before Kuroo finally passed Kenma the box, then stood up and began to pace around the room, deliberately avoiding any eye contact with Kenma. The setter began to worry that Kuroo had actually just been joking around.
When Kuroo finally returned to sit at the edge of the bed, cross-legged and facing Kenma, he seemed to have calmed down a little. “Kenma,” he said in a wary voice, “you can’t just suddenly kiss me like that.”
Throwing his head back for a moment, Kenma sighed. “But you asked for it.”
“I wasn’t serious!” Kuroo argued, but then buried his face in his hands and made a muffled noise. The second year stared at him, still holding the now opened box of pie in his hand but not yet consuming it.
Kenma couldn’t help but smile in amusement. It was funny that the bet had been for him to fall in love, but as time progressed, he was starting to think it’d have been better the other way, with him as the one making Kuroo fall in love.
He took out the metal fork that Kuroo had brought and gently poked the pie a few times, then cut out a small slice and ate it. “Thank you,” he said quietly, looking down at his pie as he continued to eat and completely oblivious to the fact that Kuroo was staring at him.
“Anything for you,” he heard Kuroo reply. Kenma felt a warm feeling surge through him.
Cutting out a piece of the pie, Kenma held his fork out to Kuroo with the piece on it, offering it to him. Since Kuroo had likely gone out early in the morning to get this for him, Kenma decided it was only right that he shared it.
Kuroo looked taken aback. That was honestly no surprise, since apple pie was Kenma’s favourite food and if he was having some, he normally wouldn’t be letting Kuroo or anyone else eat any of it. “...For me?” Kuroo asked.
“It’s not for the air,” Kenma said with an exasperated sigh, looking away while still holding the fork out. Kuroo was making it seem like a big deal, even if it might be to him. Was it really that strange for Kenma to be sharing something he liked?
Without looking, the second year could tell that his best friend had taken the fork and eaten the piece of pie, before returning the cutlery to Kenma. “...Thanks,” Kuroo said softly once he’d swallowed the food.
Kenma stayed silent, finishing up the rest of his pie and trying not to think about the fact that Kuroo had just used the same fork he was now putting in his mouth.
###
[day six]
Having almost fully recovered, Kenma returned to school the next day. He wasn’t in the best mood, since his head would drift in and out of a mild headache every few hours. It wasn’t too bad, though. Kenma was sure it could have been worse.
Nevertheless, he found himself unable to pay attention to the lessons, not just because of the headaches but also because his eyes were constantly trying to shut themselves. Yes, Kenma was sleep deprived. As agreed upon previously, Kuroo had somehow managed to convince Kenma’s mother to let Kenma use his game consoles --- a terrible decision, since the setter had ended up spending the whole night trying to get past a level, then the next, then the next and so on.
Of course, he wasn’t going to let Kuroo find out about that. Thankfully, the eye bags under his eyes hadn’t been too obvious and he’d dismissed them as nothing more than shadows under the lighting. Kenma rubbed his eyes and covered his mouth as he yawned for the fifth time in one lesson. He could feel the teacher’s eyes looking disapprovingly at him, but Kenma didn’t have the energy to sit upright as much as he wanted to. His mind was shutting itself down and the only way he was staying awake was thinking about the strategy he’d use the next time he continued his video game.
The gentle whirring of the fans on the ceiling were enough to put him to sleep, with their rhythmic and steady tempo. Kenma rested his head in his arms, though he peeked out with one eye and stared at the worksheet beneath him. He could hardly hear what the teacher was droning on about, something about quadratic graphs and functions or whatever those were. He slanted the position of his head, enough to catch a glimpse at the time on the clock.
Two more hours, he deduced, shifting his head again to a more comfortable position. The teacher seemed to have given up on him already, which wasn’t a surprise since Kenma had always been coping well even if he frequently slept in class. His classmates probably thought he was some sort of prodigy, though he only had Kuroo to thank for helping him with whatever he’d missed or didn’t understand.
The moment lessons had ended, Kenma stood up so quickly that the whole class had probably heard the loud scraping of his chair’s legs against the floor. Not that he cared if everyone was giving him strange looks --- all he could think about was getting out of the classroom and campus and back home where he could sleep and definitely not continue gaming. He quickly packed his belongings into his bag and then hurried out of class, wondering if Kuroo would be waiting at the gate for him.
“...In a rush somewhere?”
Kenma stopped walking when he heard someone speaking to him. He turned in the direction of the too-familiar voice, finding that Kuroo was standing outside his classroom, leaning against the wall opposite. The second year had no idea how his best friend had gotten here so fast. “Kuro,” he said, sounding surprised as he acknowledged Kuroo’s presence.
Lifting his back off the wall, Kuroo walked beside Kenma, the two heading to the staircase and then towards the school gates. “You were sleeping in class again,” the older of the two remarked, keeping his gaze ahead as he walked with his hands in his jacket’s pockets. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?”
Kenma contemplated whether or not he should tell Kuroo the truth, because if he did then he might not be getting his game consoles for quite a while. “...Kinda,” he said, neither outrightly confirming nor denying the question. His stomach growled quietly but audibly, reminding him that he hadn’t had lunch because he’d unintentionally slept through it.
It was clear that Kuroo had noticed, for he took a turn at the end of the first street, heading towards the convenience store with Kenma following beside him. “Something in particular you want to eat or is anything fine?” Kuroo asked as they neared the store entrance.
The second year shrugged. He’d honestly say he was fine and that he’d just eat something at home, but knowing Kuroo, there was no way the volleyball captain would accept that.
“Wait here, I’ll be right back,” Kuroo said, entering the store and vanishing from Kenma’s view. With a sigh, Kenma sat down on one of the benches outside the store, parallel to the road. He took out his phone, starting to play one of those mobile games that he’d downloaded to pass time.
His fingers swiped across his phone's screen as he controlled the movement of his character in a simple mobile game, trying to get as far as possible without dying and having to restart. He frowned as the words “game over” flashed on the screen for the third time. Indeed, Kenma was good at games. Just not mobile games. He was more of a game console or computer games person.
After many defeats, he finally gave up on beating his high score and stood up, having decided to go into the store and look for Kuroo. He’d taken no more than two steps before he felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around to see a man in his late 20s looking at him in a way that Kenma certainly didn’t like.
“You alone?” the man asked. His voice sent a chill down Kenma’s spine and the setter took a step back.
“I’m not interested,” Kenma stated flatly, because whatever this was, he wasn’t keen on finding out. “I have to leave,” he continued quickly, then turned around swiftly and took another step.
He felt a painfully tight grip on his wrist and a forceful tug so that he was facing the man again. “Don’t leave so fast,” the man said with a smirk that Kenma absolutely despised. “We---”
An arm slipped around Kenma’s upper body and he pulled again, this time away from the man. “Are you alright?” he heard another voice, then lifted his chin to see Kuroo looking at him, visibly concerned. Kenma shifted closer to him, his back pressed against Kuroo’s chest.
“He was bothering me,” Kenma said, nodding his head in the direction of the man who was now standing awkwardly and looking at the two of them. Kenma could sense a change in the atmosphere and without looking, he could tell that Kuroo was glaring sharply at the man.
“Leave my boyfriend alone,” Kuroo said in an icy voice, completely emotionless save for the small hints of menace in his words. Kenma bit his lip lightly, not exactly sure why he did so.
It was only a few seconds later that the man turned around, leaving and saying something along the lines of “just my luck”. Kenma immediately heaved a sigh of relief, letting out a breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding.
“Thanks,” he said, moving away from Kuroo. For a moment, the captain’s arm remained firmly around Kenma, but then he seemed to have snapped out of his trance in a moment and let go, mumbling a quiet apology followed by a “no problem”.
Kenma had to admit, he’d almost been convinced by Kuroo’s acting. If he’d been an onlooker instead, he’d have believed it when Kuroo had called him his boyfriend. At the thought of that, Kenma drew in a sharp intake of breath and started walking again.
He could hear Kuroo walking beside him, footsteps matching his pace. “What did he do to you?” Kuroo asked, turning his head to look at Kenma.
“Nothing,” Kenma said quietly, “because you got there before he could do anything.”
Maybe it was just his imagination, but for some reason, he felt like Kuroo was walking closer to him than before. Kenma most definitely was not going to point that out.
###
[day seven]
The moment he turned his phone on in the morning, Kenma’s eyes landed on the date. It had been exactly a week since he’d made that foolish bet with Kuroo and if the captain hadn’t forgotten, then he’d be bringing it up again today.
Kenma placed his phone back down on his bedside table, screen facing downwards. Now that the bet had come to mind, Kenma had started to remember why it'd started in the first place. He felt a strange feeling rise within him.
“Of everyone in the world, I find it hard to believe that you wouldn’t fall for me.”
Kenma gulped, sitting at the edge of his bed and staring at the ground. Had he fallen for Kuroo, his best friend? “Hah,” he exhaled, standing up and shaking his head slightly. He’d probably just been convinced by the show Kuroo had put up, just like he had been yesterday. He couldn’t deny that he’d felt unusually different around Kuroo several times during this span of a week, but as far as he knew, it’d only been normal reactions. His face turning red when Kuroo got too close, feeling his heart race when Kuroo did something nice for him, not minding that Kuroo had touched him more frequently this week (or maybe he’d just been more aware of it now)...all of it seemed reasonable to him.
To think I almost fell for this, he thought with a sigh, walking over to the bathroom to get changed for school. He’d worry about this later, not that there was anything to worry about. Who knew, maybe Kuroo had already forgotten about the bet. Perhaps Kenma was just overthinking. The setter took his school bag, slinging it behind him and then walking out of his room.
###
For the rest of the day, everything passed as per usual. At no point did Kuroo bring up the bet, and Kenma was starting to wonder if he’d really forgotten. If he had, Kenma didn’t know what to feel about that. It’d be one less thing on his mind, yet at the same time a part of him wouldn’t like that too much.
The whole situation was messing with his brain and as Kenma stepped into the subway station with Kuroo right beside him, he didn’t know what he was expecting anymore. He remained silent, not saying a word and drowning his attention in his mobile games while he sat on a bench waiting for the subway to arrive.
Kuroo sat down beside him. With one arm stretched out and resting on the back of the bench around Kenma, Kuroo turned to look at him. “It’s crowded today,” he remarked, causing Kenma to look up and notice that there were much more people than usual.
“Maybe it’s because we stayed back for a while after practice,” Kenma guessed, returning to his game after.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Kuroo shrug. The captain retracted his hand from around the bench as the announcement about the subway’s arrival came from the speakers. Kenma flinched as he felt Kuroo unintentionally touch his skin.
It wasn’t like that hadn’t happened before --- of course it had --- but somehow, Kenma realised that he’d suddenly become a whole lot more aware of it than he had been before. He forced the thoughts out of his head, keeping his phone in his pocket as they boarded the subway.
Unsurprisingly, it was just as crowded inside as it was outside the train. Passengers were crowded around the centre, making it hard for the two to avoid being jostled around. Kenma stuck close to his best friend, not wanting to get separated and have to find his way home by himself. Not that he didn’t know the way back to his house, but he didn’t want to be alone amidst this sea of strangers.
“Kenma?” the third year said, having noticed his best friend’s unease. Kenma remained silent, shifting closer to Kuroo. He felt an arm wrap around his back and Kuroo guiding him towards an emptier part of the carriage, near the corner. “Better?” he asked quietly and Kenma nodded.
Well, better except for the awkward position they were now in. As an attempt to keep Kenma away from the crowd, Kuroo had fortuitously trapped him between his chest and the corner of the carriage. There was a little space between them, though “a little” wasn’t very much. But even so, they were best friends and they’d been even closer than that before. By any type of logic and consideration of their relationship, that should have been completely alright.
Except that it wasn’t.
Except that for some stupid reason, Kenma was trying the best to hide his reddening face at the thought of the two of them staying like that for the rest of the journey. Kenma gulped, his eyes travelling the faint outline of Kuroo’s body through his shirt, then shooting back up as he’d neared his waistline.
The moment he’d looked up, his eyes caught Kuroo’s and he saw the most indistinct traces of a blush on Kuroo’s cheeks. “Sorry,” Kenma mumbled, not exactly sure why he was apologising but feeling like he should anyway.
Kuroo averted his eyes. “It’s fine.”
And in that split second, it all came together.
In the span of a week, Kenma had really fallen for Kuroo. Or maybe, he’d already had a crush on him since a long time ago, only that he hadn’t realised it until now. Kuroo hadn’t done anything especially different either, as far as Kenma could remember, but being increasingly conscious of Kuroo’s actions was enough for him to fall.
Frustration crumbled within him like a piece of paper being crushed, making him realise that now that he’d realised he was in love with Kuroo, there was no way he could go on as usual. In fact, he wasn’t sure if Kuroo liked him in that way in the first place. What if he’d been kidding about this all along and would think Kenma was weird now? It’d been a childish bet, hiding no other intentions as much as Kenma knew.
Maybe it had been a terrible idea from the start.
Kenma hadn’t noticed his face tensing up, though his best friend --- now also his crush --- was aware of the change. “Kenma?” he said softly causing Kenma to look at him again. “Is something wrong?”
There was an extended silence, sending a nervous feeling throughout the second year’s body. The train was still crowded and there were still audible mumbles and noises, but the sounds drowned in Kenma’s head before they could register in his mind. “I think...” he started after a while, unable to control the words spilling out of his mouth in small splutters, “I...like you...”
Kuroo froze, his body going completely stiff.
Not knowing whether to take it as a good sign or a bad sign, Kenma worried he’d messed up and started to speak again, hoping he wasn’t too late to falsely correct, or override, his words. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that,” he mumbled, turning his head to the side. His speech came out in a flurried mess, words blended together and hard, though not impossible, to understand. “It may have come off as sudden but I meant that in a platonic way so please don’t pay any mind to it.”
“I’m lying” was written all over Kenma’s face, but he himself seemed to believe his acting was convincing. Unfortunately, the captain didn’t share the sentiment.
“...Are you sure?” Kuroo questioned, his voice dipping in a mild yet obvious disappointment.
Kenma put on a fake smile. “Yeah. Very sure. A hundred per cent---”
Before he could finish speaking, Kuroo leaned down and kissed him, breaking the kiss a mere second later and not giving Kenma time to react or kiss him back. His lips lifted off Kenma’s, he remained only inches away. “Tell me,” Kuroo said between quiet breaths, his voice nearing a plea, “that I wasn’t the only one who wanted that.”
With his lower lip trembling in the most minimal way, Kenma tried to get words out of his mouth, only to be stuck in silence. He tugged onto the hem of his uniform shirt. Kuroo had already kissed him, so that meant he did like Kenma, didn’t it? He didn’t have much left to lose anyway. Kenma pushed aside his worries for a while.
‘a while’, being sufficient time for him to lift his chin, just enough to seal the gap between their lips again.
It was only then that Kenma found his voice back. “Remember a week ago, when we made that bet?” he asked, sounding slightly uncertain of himself, though that uncertainty was wiped away when Kuroo nodded. Kenma bit gently on his lower lip, then finally had the courage to look at Kuroo directly in the eye. “You win.”
Kuroo smiled. It wasn’t that smirk that he wore when looking at everyone else or just at random times, but a genuine and soft smile that was melting Kenma on the inside. “The paper,” he said, “do you still have it?”
After fumbling in his wallet for the small crumpled slip, Kenma managed to find it and took it out, passing it to Kuroo, who shook his head. “You open it,” the third year said, nudging Kenma’s hand that was holding out the slip back towards him.
As instructed, Kenma carefully unfolded, rather, uncrumpled the note. His gaze landed on the line of text neatly handwritten in the centre and he looked up at Kuroo in surprise, opening his mouth to speak but finding himself speechless once again. His eyes travelled from Kuroo, to the note, then back at Kuroo again. Subconsciously, his grip on the paper tightened.
Be my boyfriend.
Had this been Kuroo’s intention all along? Then, that must mean that since the start of the week, Kuroo had already liked Kenma in that way. From this perspective, it felt different. In a good way, though, because it meant that it hadn’t been one-sided on either of their parts at any point in time, or at least from what Kenma could tell.
“Your answer?” Kuroo asked, sounding needlessly unsure of himself as though he believed that Kenma could have rejected him after all that had just happened.
Slowly, a smile began to form on Kenma’s face. It didn’t matter that they were in the crowded train anymore, or that the public could see them and whatever they’d done or would do. Kenma let go of the fabric of his uniform, uttering no more than two words --- “Of course.” He didn’t have time to say anything else before Kuroo leaned down to kiss him again, a little restrained at first but then all traces of hesitation fading away as Kenma gradually kissed him back.
Maybe miracles did happen in seven days.
Or maybe, this wasn’t a miracle at all.
Sometimes, Kenma realised, when people started to pay attention to things around them more than they had before, parts that’d never once stood out began to flash in brighter colours. And now that Kenma had seen those colours, he’d gladly take them for good.