Archive of Our Own

Kenma’s first year of university was the loneliest time of his life. It was only after he’d left his teammates behind that he knew exactly how important they had been. He’d tried out for the University of Tokyo’s volleyball team of course, and was pleasantly surprised when he actually got in (not that he didn’t know his own skill, but then skill was never his real issue). But the team didn’t fit right in the hole Nekoma has left in his life; it just wasn’t the same without his high school teammates, and without all their many familiar rivals. On top of that, classes were tough (it was university after all), and quitting organized volleyball left Kenma more time to complete his coursework, thereby keeping his anxiety in check; so quit he did.

It wasn’t as though he was completely isolated; he still texted Kuro several times a day and kept in touch with most of his former teammates, as well as Shouyou and some members of the other Tokyo teams. When he could he took the train nine stops to practices at Nekoma, on orders both from Kuro to watch over the team for him and from Morisuke to keep a certain ace’s head from swelling too much. And every time he arrived, he was greeted by his name shouted loudly from across the gym followed by a surprisingly gentle hug from long, pale arms that he always complained about but never tried to free himself from. (He was just touch-deprived, that was all. Nothing more. Right?) He'd share his "great wisdom" (as Sou put it) with the new setters, or help even out scrims, or even just keep score; and of course, catch up with his kouhai. As it had ever been, Lev was always the most enthusiastic to talk to him - he would prattle on about everything and anything, from the most recent Tokyo training camp to the cat he'd rescued last week, the fifth one this month, and was always sure to ask Kenma how he was doing as well. Though once Kenma might've been annoyed, he now found it a comfort in his new university life. Even with the voice in the back of his mind nagging him about how much potential study time he was missing, his visits to his alma mater were a welcome reprieve from the isolation he found himself surrounded by on campus.

Eventually, the school year began to wrap up. Kenma went with Kuro to watch Nekoma play at Nationals - they ended up beating Karasuno to take second place overall, and Kuro cried. Afterwards they met up with the team at an izakaya near the stadium, and it was there that Lev told Kenma that he would be attending UTokyo too, for veterinary school, and he was so excited to spend more time with Kenma on campus, and wouldn't it be great if they were roommates? Kenma was struck with a brief flash of anxiety - he liked Lev quite a bit, but could he really live with someone so loud and excitable? But then he thought back over the past year, and realized all the times he'd been most happy were when he was sitting next to Lev on the floor of Nekoma's gym, listening to him complain about university entrance exams, or venting about his own academic woes, or silently watching Lev beam with pride at his team. It might actually have been good for Kenma's mental health to have someone like that around more of the time. And anyway, living with a roommate would be cheaper than his single dorm room had been, so it made sense, right?

Kenma told Lev that yes, that might not be so bad.

Living with Lev was challenging, in some ways. He could be a bit of a slob, leaving clothes laying around on the floor or notes scattered in various places around the room since he liked to pace around while studying. He would frequently be too loud at night for Kenma's liking, but a single "Lev, be quiet now." would get the point across, and he would silence himself until morning, often picking up his thoughts right where he left them off, which Kenma found more amusing than anything. And though he was already aware Lev was something of a Hatsune Miku fanboy, Kenma didn't quite realize the extent of his mania until their first semester midterms, when he had a playlist of nothing but Miku songs playing near-constantly, another one of his studying habits. But Kenma had noise-cancelling headphones and his own studying playlist (made up mostly of video game soundtracks, an obsession of his own; glass houses and all that), and so he was able to survive the onslaught of the chipper electronic popstar and still ace all his exams.

The trade-off was, of course, that Kenma was no longer alone. That all-consuming isolation he'd experienced his first year was gone, replaced by lunches with Lev, studying sessions with Lev, video games with Lev watching over his shoulder and cheering when Kenma felled another boss. Lev also tried out for the volleyball team but, unlike Kenma, he actually stayed, and Kenma would often come to his matches to show his support, smiling in spite of himself whenever Lev would score a point and immediately look up at him in the stands, searching for praise. They played two-on-two with Shouyou and Tobio when the national team's schedule allowed the legendary duo the time, sometimes being joined by Shouyou's boyfriend Takanobu, who attended Tokai, or other high school friends of theirs who happened to be in town. Around anyone but Shouyou Kenma might've been nervous, but something about having Lev there made him open up more to the others and really enjoy himself. (He even finally befriended Tobio for real after having been intimidated by him when they were in high school, despite Kenma's supposed seniority.)