Archive of Our Own ^beta

He sat on the cold bathroom floor, tears rolling down his cheeks. Bleach blonde pieces of hair falling onto the tiled floor. The sound of scissors cutting, quiet sobbing, the buzzing of a phone against the floor was heard. Kenma the boy who hated having a wide field of vision, who was a creature of habit, who hated change, who never did anything on impulse was now sitting on the cool floor of his small bathroom which was weirdly comforting only wearing a hoodie and underwear, cutting his long locks of hair that he has never cut before in his life while crying. Why was he so sad? And most importantly why was he cutting his long hair which he said he would never cut? Only Kenma knew.

He kept on cutting his hair until it was short enough to his own liking. He slowly put the scissors on the ground and buried his head into his knees, continuing to sob. 

His best friend Tetsurou was supposed to come over that day to hang out because they haven't seen each other in a while. However, Kenma looked horrible and distraught. Kenma's hair was messily cut, but it didn't look too bad, his face stained with tears, his big golden eyes were puffy. But he had absolutely no motivation to take care of himself or clean the bathroom floor that was covered in his hair right now. 

He heard a piercing ring coming from his apartment entrance. He stayed in the bathroom until he had enough of hearing the doorbell over and over again. Slowly picking himself up from his position on the floor, he walked over to the door of his small apartment. Twisting the door lock of his home, he opened the door to see his best friend Tetsurou with what looked like a grocery bag and movie DVDs.

"You look terrible" was the first thing Tetsurou told Kenma. 

"Shut up" The blonde was too weak to send the bedhead a glare.

"What happened to your hair?" Tetsurou took a strand of shorter boy's hair in between his fingers examining it.

"I cut it"

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Tetsurou hummed in response and walked into Kenmas kitchen where he set his items down on the small kitchen table. He pulled out a bunch of snacks like a bag of chips, soft drinks, and a bunch of other snacks. He handed Kenma the movie DVDs.

"Go choose a movie and put it on, I'll be there in a sec"

The shorter boy nodded and headed towards his living room. The movie selection was pretty small, but it was all of Kenmas favorite movies. After thinking for a few seconds he decided the one he wanted to watch. He put the disc into the DVD player and snuggled up on his small brown couch in his living room. Thoughts flooded his mind, but before he could break down again the bedhead came into the room with his hands full of snacks and drinks. Tetsurou sat down next to Kenma, leaving some space between them to put the snacks. 

"What are we watching?" he asked looking at his distraught best friend.

"Spirited away," Kenma muttered and turned on the movie.

They watched many movies that night, played video games, stayed up late, and ate unhealthy food. Kuroo ended up staying over at Kenmas, but he was planing to sleepover anyways he didn't want to see his best friend this sad. He was glad he was able to take Kenmas mind off of whatever he was sad about. He made a note to himself in his mind to ask his best friend what made him this upset to the point of cutting his long hair. Tetsurou did try asking before, while they were watching the movie, however, Kenma didn't talk at all.

The next morning was quiet, they didn't talk a lot, but they decided to hang out again that day. And Tetsurou being the amazing friend he is made breakfast for them which was pancakes with bananas. They ate in comforting silence. Kenma was amazed at how good the pancakes were. They were not too sweet and not too bland. Perfect. Tetsurou had made him food a lot whenever they had sleepovers, but this time he really noticed and appreciated how good those pancakes were. Who knew Tetsurou could make such amazing pancakes? 

"These pancakes are really good" Kenma looked up from his plate to look at his friend who was sitting in front of him.

"I know, it's because I made them with my blood, sweat, and tears" the bedhead looked at him with his signature smirk plastered on his face, Tetsurou was still not used to seeing Kenma with such short hair. 

"You're so annoying" he couldn't help, but smile at how his best friend was such a dork.

"But you like my pancakes don't you?" 

"Yeah, I guess I do like them"

They sat on Kenmas bed, Tetsurou scrolling away on his phone, while the other boy was playing some sort of game on his switch curled up in the sheets of his bed. They sat in silence, the sound of buttons pushing and fingers tapping on a screen the only sounds in the room. Tetsurou was really worried about his best friend and he needed to find out what hurt him yesterday. He put down his phone, he started to fidget with his fingers not sure what to say or ask. 

He chewed on his lip before finally deciding to speak.

"Hey, Kenma?"

"Hm?" he didn't look up from his game.

"What was the real reason you cut your hair yesterday?" Tetsurou scooted closer to Kenma.

"It's a stupid reason, Kuro..." he continued to push buttons on his switch.

"It's not stupid if it made you cry and cut your hair, Kenma, I care about you"

Kenma kept playing with his switch until he died in his video game. Putting his gaming console aside he took a deep breath and sighed and looked the bedhead in the eyes.

"I'll tell you some other day, I don't want to talk about it right now" Kenma looked at his best friend with an intense stare.

"Alright, I'm going to the store. Want anything?" Tetsurou tried to lighten the mood.

"Strawberry ice cream" The shorter boy went back to playing his games.

Just like that, the bedhead left Kenmas apartment to buy more snacks for them. Now that Kenma was left all alone, his mind was slowly flooded with thoughts again just like yesterday. Thoughts like 'Am I unlovable?' 'Am I good enough?' 'What do I need to change about myself?'...

He didn't even notice the tear droplets that fell on the screen of his switch. He put down his game, not even caring if he saved his progress in the game or not. He curled up in the sheets, completely hiding himself. And just like yesterday, he began to cry. Every tear that rolled down Kenmas wet cheeks got his pillow soaked with salty tears. Kenma was really hurt and he couldn't hide it like other times. He wanted to disappear or just be alone, but he also wanted someone to hold him close and comfort him.  Gloomy thoughts continued to swarm his mind. He cried until his eyes started to hurt again just like the day before. He didn't even notice Tetsurou coming into his bedroom.

"Hey I'm back with the-" the bedhead dropped all the items he had bought onto the floor and rushed to Kenmas side.

The shorter boy pulled down the sheets so his face could be visible. He snapped out of his crying and looked at Tetsurou with tears still threatening to spill. Kenma tried to wipe away his snot and tears before Tetsurou stopped him and handed him a handkerchief. The troubled boy stretched out his arms as an invitation to hug. The bedhead gladly accepted it and hugged the other boy. 

"It's okay, Kenma. I'm here now" Tetsurou patted Kenmas back as he started crying again, soaking Kuroos shirt. Tetsurou didn't mind the only thing he wanted was for his best friend to be happy. They stayed like that for a few minutes and eventually Kenma stopped crying. 

"Thank you" the shorter boy pulled away from the hug, he definitely felt a little better now. "Let's go play Mario Kart and eat ice cream, yeah?" the bedhead suggested.

Kenma nodded in response, scooting away from Tetsurou. Tetsurou got up from his seat to pick up the items he dropped on the ground while Kenma turned on the Tv in his bedroom and then turned on his gaming console. While he was setting up everything, the tall boy went to grab two spoons from the kitchen and quickly came back. 

"I'm so gonna beat you in Mario Kart!" Tetsurou said as he sat down next to Kenma and opened the tub of ice cream he bought for them then handing the boy next to him a spoon.

"You wish" the shorter boy scoffed at him, as he took the spoon from Tetsurous hand and started to dig into the ice cream.

Kenma took a bite of his ice cream with a surprised look on his face.

"You got my favorite brand of ice cream"

"I know"

The rest of the day they spent playing video games again. Laughing and eating ice cream until they were full, but Tetsurou insisted to make them some healthy food too, but in the end, they were too full of ice cream to eat anything else. Kenma had completely forgotten that he had broken down earlier that day. And as much as he didn't want to admit it Tetsurou did beat him in Mario Kart one round that day. Tetsurou slept over at Kenmas apartment once again. And Kenma really appreciated it.

Kenma walked into his kitchen to see Tetsurou standing near the stove and preparing something.

"Today we're having a self-care day!" Tetsurou announced as he was cooking something.

"A what?" Kenma rubbed his eyes as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"A self-care day!" the bedhead set two plates of what looked like some sort of very healthy breakfast.

"That's fine with me I guess" Kenma poked his food and examined it before finally putting some of it into his mouth and eating it.

"When we're done with breakfast let's go outside, alright" Tetsurou stuffed his mouth with food.

A whine from Kenma could be heard in response to Tetsurous words. They ate their breakfast together, Tetsurou rambling about what they're going to do that day. It was nice to hear Tetsurous voice when Kenma was too drained to talk. The bedhead had apparently already planned out what they're going to do today. And as much as Kenma didn't want to and was too lazy to do any of the things Tetsurou listed he knew that his best friend would still drag him outside and then the pudding head would proceed to complain the whole time they were outside, even though deep down he appreciated his the bedhead for looking out for him.

Maybe it would be for the better if today they didn't just sit at home and eat unhealthy snacks and play video games or watch movies he's already seen hundreds of times. Kenma definitely needed some fresh air and something else to do. 

"Go change from your sleep clothes to something else, Kenma," Tetsurou told Kenma.

"Yeah, I'll be there in five minutes"

And five minutes later, Tetsurou and Kenma were putting on their shoes to go outside. 

"Do I really have to go, Kuro?"

"Yes, you've already put on your shoes. So let's go" Tetsurou extended an arm to help Kenma stand up from the floor.

Kenma opened the door to his apartment and they walked out of the door. Quickly locking the door and making their way outside the cold autumn breeze hit their faces making their cheeks flush a light pink from the cold. 

"Where are we even going?" 

"To the park!"

Kenma grumbled again as they made their way. Kicking the warm color painted leaves as they walked along the sidewalk. Leaves falling from trees when the cold wind whirled. It wasn't too chilly today though, the weather was great. Tetsurou talked the whole way there about some Tv show he recently watched. But before they even reached the park, the bedhead guided them to a cafe that was not too far away from the park. The cafe building was not big and it didn't seem to have many customers.

"Why are we here? The park is that way, Kuro" Kenma motioned his hand in the other direction.

"Don't you wanna get a warm drink before that? Like a hot chocolate" Tetsurou pushed open the glass door of the small cafe and walked in dragging the shorter boy along.

"But you said we would only go to the park and then home" Kenma grumbled once again.

"Stop complaining and let's go, I'll buy a hot chocolate"

"Fine"

They walked up to the counter, a short lady with blonde hair worked at the counter, she greeted them with a warm smile. They ordered two hot chocolates and waited for the lady to make it for them. A few minutes later the short employee handed them two hot chocolates with whipped cream and sprinkles and even gave them two cookies for free. They paid and thanked the lady then walked out of the small cafe. That lady was nice Kenma thought to himself. Eventually, they reached the park.

They strolled around the park with Tetsurou rambling again about something. There weren't too many people at the park that day which was nice. Only a few people were walking their pets or just roaming around. Kenma licked the whipped cream off his hot chocolate before he started to drink it. Unlike him, the taller boy downed his drink in less than 5minutes. Tetsurou looked at Kenmas face and started laughing. What was so funny to him?

"What?" Kenma looked at Tetsurou with a confused look on his face.

"You have whipped cream on your upper lip. You look like you have a white mustache!" Tetsurou pointed out and continued to giggle at Kenma. The shorter boy complained and licked off the whipped cream on his upper lip.

"Is it gone now?"

"Yeah. Anyway, we should head back to your apartment." Tetsurou suggested.

They got back to Kenmas home quite fast actually.

"Kenma, you should go take a bath. You probably haven't bathed since I came over" and just as they got back Tetsurou was already telling Kenma what to do. "I'll run a bath for you" Tetsurou continued.

"Fine. Tell me when it's ready, Kuro" Kenma plopped himself on the couch. Ten minutes passed and the tall boy came out of the bathroom to the living room where the shorter boy was laying on the couch.

"Your bath is ready, Kenma. Also, I've put clean clothes for you on the washing machine." Tetsurou brushed away some of the hair from Kenmas eyes as he leaned down to tell him.

Kenma stood up from his position and made his way to the bathroom. He entered the small bathroom that he had just cut his hair and cried in a few days ago. He got himself ready to go step into the bath. Before stepping into the bath, he tested the water by putting in one foot, and the water was warm. He stepped into the bath full of water. He laid himself down in the bath, relaxing as the warm water hugged his bare skin. He laid like that for a good 20minutes before the water started to go cold. This was actually nice and refreshing.

He sat up to wash his hair. It had been a few days since he cut his hair, and he was still not used to it. The last time his hair was this short was probably back in elementary school. He always liked to hide behind his long hair. But it was nice to change it after a long time of having the same haircut. Although he will definitely be growing it out again. As he massaged his scalp as he thought about how he was going to talk to his best friend about why he cut his hair. 

After washing himself he stepped out of the bath and drained the water. He watched as the water went down the drain before cleaning himself off with a towel. He put on the clothes that were neatly placed on the washing machine. He really did appreciate that Tetsurou put some new clothes for him to wear. He dried off his hair with a towel and finally left the bathroom. Just as he left the bathroom he could smell something good coming from the kitchen. He walked down the hallway to his kitchen to see Tetsurou cooking something.

"Oh, you're done bathing? I made us lunch. Later after we eat we can go watch some anime or play video games" Tetsurou handed Kenma a plate of food and sat down at the table with his own plate of food.

"Sure," Kenma said.

They sat on the small couch of Kenmas apartment, watching some sort of cliche romance anime. The day was slowly ending. Today was a good day Kenma thought to himself. After his best friend, Tetsurou had done so much for him the past few days, his friend definitely deserved an explanation for why he was sad and cut his hair. 

Kenma sat on his couch with Tetsurou. He sat with his knees pulled to his chest, his chin resting on his knees, PSP in his hands. The smaller boy was playing a game on his console. Deep in thought. Tetsurou on the other hand was sitting comfortably on the couch next to Kenma. The bedhead was watching a volleyball match on TV. Kenma would occasionally look up from his PSP to catch a glimpse of the match that was playing on the screen. Tetsurou commented about the match a few times. With the smaller boy just humming in response. This was very calming to them. Just spending time together, just like when they were back in high school. 

"This match is so boring! Like-" The bedhead started speaking before he was cut off the boy sitting next to him. 

"Kuro" 

"What?"

"I need to tell you something" Kenma paused and put down his PSP next to him.

"Tell me then"

"This might be stupid, but-"

"Kenma, it's not stupid, just tell me" Tetsurou looked Kenma in the eyes, reassuringly.

"Okay" sigh "so about what happened a few days ago..I think you deserve an explanation, Kuro" he fiddle with his sleeves before continuing again: "You know how I've liked Shouyou for a while now?"

"Yeah, you've told me about it" 

"We were hanging out a week ago together and I-.. I just don't know what got to me, but I just... I kissed him" Kenma was speaking as if he had killed a man, he felt guilty of his action. He felt bad for kissing Shouyou. Why though?

"You did?" the tall boy looked at him with a surprised face.

"Yeah..but he pushed me away and it got so awkward so I ran back home" he looked down, "I thought it was okay to kiss him because I thought he liked me back"

"Why did you think that he liked you back though?" 

"Sometimes Shouyou would kiss me on the cheek and I just assumed he liked me back?"

"Kenma, have you talked to Hinata since all of that happened?" Tetsurou kept the conversation going.

"No, but he has sent me a few texts and I haven't responded since" Kenmas voice was quiet.

"What did he text you?"

"I don't know... I haven't checked, yet"

Tetsurou took out Kenmas phone from his pocket and pressed the power button to open it. "Hey! Give it back, Kuro" Kenma reached with his arms to take back his phone from the bedhead's hands.

"No, unless you talk to Hinata" Tetsurou had his arms up in the air so the shorter boy couldn't reach his phone.

"I can't, he probably hates me after that" Kenma looked down to his lap.

"Please just talk to him, he's probably worried about you. Kenma please"

"Okay...I'll try, just give me back my phone" He reached for his phone again.

Tetsurou gave back his friend his phone. With the information, he had learned today. He really didn't think Kenma would be so bold to kiss his crush. Kenma was never the type to initiate anything. Tetsurou was still stunned by that. But he just wanted his best friend to not be sad, so he did anything in his power to see him happy again. Kenma had changed a lot over the past week Tetsurou thought. First, he kissed his crush and then he cut his hair. Didn't sound like the Kenma he knew. But he had grown to like Kenmas new haircut, it really did suit his face. 

"Alright, you're going to text Hinata and talk it out with him," the bedhead told him.

Kenma nodded in response and opened his phone, going straight to the messaging app. He slowly scrolled through the contacts before eventually finding the contact named 'Shouyou :)' he gently pressed on the contact name. All the messages from the ginger-haired boy showed up on his screen. There were exactly 12 text messages from him. Most of them being like "Hey" "Are you okay, Kenma?" "I'm sorry" etc. 

"Kuro, what do I say?" he looked up at his best friend for advice.

"Ask him to meet up with you so you two could talk" 

"Alright, I'm gonna text him" He looked back at his phone.

17:38

To: Shouyou :)

From: Kenma

Hey, Shouyou. Want to meet up tomorrow? I want to talk.

Kenma pressed 'send' and turned off his phone, throwing it onto the couch. He was so scared, he really didn't want to ruin his friendship with Shouyou. A few minutes later both he and Tetsurou could hear a ping sound coming from his phone. Kenma quickly picked up his phone, to see a notification from 'Shouyou :)' 

17:42

From: Shouyou :)

To: Kenma

Hey!! Yeah, I'm free tomorrow, let's meet up at X cafe at 14:00? :D

Kenma breathed out a sigh that he didn't know he was holding in. At least he doesn't seem upset right? Kenma thought. He quickly sent a reply agreeing and put his phone back into his pocket. He was so worried that Shouyou hated him. He was so scared for tomorrow.

"So?" Tetsurou started speaking.

"I'm meeting up with him tomorrow, to talk" the shorter boy placed his head into his knees, relaxing a bit.

"That's great! I'll walk you there" 

"No, I can walk by myself there just fine"

"Whatever, I'll still walk you there" Tetsurou had his famous smirk plastered on his face.

Kenma rolled his eyes at him, the bedhead just laughed.

It was the next day. Kenma was just putting on his black sneakers and jacket. He checked if he had his wallet, keys, and phone. He seemed to have everything. He was really nervous, Kenma was bad at feelings, he never liked talking about his feelings. It made him feel weird and uncomfortable. But he had to talk Shouyou, he couldn't just run away from what happened. He was about to twist the doorknob open of his apartment when Tetsurou ran up to him.

"Wait! I said I was going to walk you" Tetsurou quickly put on his shoes.

The shorter boy sighed and rolled his eyes at him and stood there waiting for the bedhead to get ready.

"Alright, we can go" Tetsurou finished tying his shoes.

"Okay" Kenma opened the door and stepped out with the tall boy next to him.

The cold autumn air hugging their faces. They walked in silence. Kenma put his hands into his pockets warming them up. His mind was filled with so many worries. He looked at his shoes the whole time they were walking. His hands started to get sweaty from the nervousness. Tetsurou noticed how nervous the shorter boy was.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. I'm sure Hinata isn't upset" the bedhead tried to lighten the mood as they neared the cafe.

Kenma only kept quiet as they walked closer and closer to the cafe eventually reaching it and stopping at the door.

"Kuro, Thank you" Kenma looked up at Tetsurou before opening the door of the cafe and entering it, leaving the tall boy outside.

"Oh" he was left confused, he waved at Kenma as he watched his small figure walk over to a table where the short orange-haired boy was sitting at. Tetsurou decided to go back to Kenmas apartment and wait for him there, he had a spare key anyways so why not? 

Kenma walked into the cafe, immediately spotting his friend Shouyou sitting at one of the tables far in the back of the cafe. He walked over there slowly, his palms starting to get sweaty again. Finally reaching the table, he pulled out the small chair next to the table and sat down. The ginger boy had already gotten them coffee so Kenma didn't have to worry about ordering a drink.

"Hey, Kenma- wow you cut your hair? It looks really nice on you!" Shouyou greeted him with a big smile on his face.

"Hi Shouyou, yeah, thanks I guess," Kenma spoke with a quiet tone of voice, scratching the back of his head.

"Anyway, so, you wanted to talk?" he put his hands around the cup of coffee that was set in front of him on the small table.

"Yeah...I wanted to say sorry for kissing you last time, I thought it was okay to go for it. I probably made you uncomfortable and upset...I'm- I'm sorry again, Shouyou" Kenma tried to keep eye contact with his friend but he was just too anxious and nervous, he fidgeted with his fingers.

"No, It's totally fine I  should be the one apologizing for reacting the way I did, and plus I'm really sorry for giving you false hope, I don't know I just kind of thought of it as a friend thing, I'm really sorry, Kenma"

"Wait...But aren't you upset and mad at me?"

"What?! No, of course not, I was so worried about you Kenma! I'm just glad you're okay and that we're on good terms again" Shouyou really was worried about him, they were close friends after all.

"Really, Shouyou?"

"Yeah, really" he softly smiled at his friend, to which the other boy smiled back at him.

"Anyway, why did you cut your hair? It really does look good on you" Shouyou changed the topic, he knew Kenma didn't like talking about feelings and all that.

"Oh, I just thought maybe it was time for a change, and thanks again" Kenma took a sip of his coffee, it felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders, he missed hanging out with the shorter boy.

They talked for another hour before Shouyou had to go, apparently, he got a new part-time job. Now they were both standing at the front of the door of the cafe entrance. 

"It was nice to hang out again with you, Kenma!" Shouyou said as they both walked out of the small cafe.

"Yeah, I enjoyed it too," they said their goodbyes as Kenma smiled at his friend before turning around to the other direction to walk home.

Kenmas mind was filled with happy thoughts as he walked home. He was so happy to hear that Shouyou wasn't mad or upset. He was glad to be on good terms with his friend again. Maybe he even got over his long-time crush on the boy over the past week. Maybe cutting his hair was a good choice. Maybe he will find someone new to crush on. Who knows?

After a short walk, Kenma had reached his apartment. He twisted the door handle to open the door of his home. He took off his shoes and jacket, setting them in their place. He walked into his living room. There sat his best friend Tetsurou.

"What are you doing here?" Kenma asked him.

"Wow is that how you treat your best friend," the bedhead said dramatically.

"Shut up, Kuro, I just thought you already went home" Kenma rolled his eyes at him and walked over to the couch to sit next to Tetsurou.

"You wound me, Kenma" he dramatically put his hand over his chest where his heart would be as if there was a wound on it. "Anyway, how did it go with Hinata?" he changed the topic.

"We're on good terms now and we both apologized, and he wasn't upset at me at all" the shorter boy smiled at the memory of him and Shouyou hanging out earlier today.

"I told you!" the taller boy had his signature smirk on his face.

"I guess you were right, Kuro" Kenma sighed in defeat. "Thank you for being here with me, I appreciated" he looked down at his lap and then at Tetsurou who was sitting next to him.

"You've been saying that a lot lately as if you're going to die or something!... Um, you wanna play Mario Kart before I go home?" Tetsurou said.

"Yeah, I'd like that" 

Kenma was wearing his warmest jacket, a big scarf, and a beanie hat that day. His nose and cheeks were flushed red from the cold air. He kept complaining about how cold it was that day and how he absolutely hated winter. He mostly didn't like it because it was too cold, but he also didn't like how he had to wear too many layers to stay warm. He tried not to go outside that much during winter because he hated being cold in general. But here he was outside in the freezing cold with Tetsurou. 

Tetsurou had managed to persuade and convince Kenma to go ice skating with him. The ice skating rink they went to was free of charge that day, so they barely had to spend any money. 

The short boy sat on one of the benches at the ice rink, putting on the ice skates that the ice rink employee gave him. He had trouble with tying the ice skates. And the taller boy noticed. 

"C'mere let me help you" He turned to Kenma.

"No, I can tie it myself, Kuro" he kept trying to tie the ice skates

"Obviously you can't, let me tie it for you, Kenma"

"Fine" he let go of the laces of the skates.

Tetsurou leaned down to tie the shorter boys' ice skates. And in just a few seconds both of his ice skates were tied correctly. "Thanks," Kenma said to him when he finished tying his shoes. They both stood up from their seats and headed towards the ice rink. There were a lot of people there. Mostly for the reason that people could skate for free for however long they wanted that day.

Once they reached the ice rink, Kenma immediately went to the railing to hold onto it. 

"What are you doing there?"

"Kuro, I don't know how to skate"

"Just come here, Kenma" He gestured to him.

"No, I'll fall down" he gripped tighter to the railing.

"I'll catch you then" He stretched out his arms as he was preparing to catch the boy.

Kenma gradually let go of the railing he was holding onto, trying to maintain his balance on the ice. The first steps he took towards Tetsurou were easy but just as he was trying to keep his balance on the ice he slipped and he fell forward. But that's okay because Tetsurou promised he would catch him if he fell. And he did. Kenma fell into the bedhead's arms. He looked up from the ground to see the taller male's face that had a small smile on his lips. The shorter boy got some sort of weird, but wonderful, nice feeling in his stomach. Sort of like butterflies? He wasn't sure. However, he tried to ignore it.

Tetsurou helped him stand up on the ice and let go of him.

"See, you didn't fall, because I caught you"

"But, I still don't know how to skate"

"I'll show you" He smiled and took Kenmas hand in his dragging him along on the ice making Kenma almost trip in the process. Kenmas face started to flush a bright shade of pink from realizing he was holding Tetsurous hand, he got that strange but nice feeling in him again. Why did it feel so different and strange to hold his hand? They've held hands when they were kids and he didn't think anything of it. So why now?

They skated across the skating rink in random directions. Tetsurou still holding the shorter boy's hand before stopping and softly laughing.

"Okay, I'll actually show you now" he let go of Kenmas hand. He started to explain how to skate in the simplest way possible to him. At first, Kenma didn't understand, how to skate, It was all too confusing and tiring. However sooner or later he got the hang of it. After some failed attempts. Some of them being him falling on his bottom, while the taller boy laughs at him.

Now Kenma could skate all on his own without Tetsurous help. They skated for a little while on the ice together. Tetsurou even tried skating backward, but bumped into someone and fell. They definitely had fun that day. Maybe it wasn't so bad that Tetsurou dragged him here. But Kenma would probably never admit that.

Later they got hot chocolate at a nearby coffee shop. It was like a tradition almost, they would always get hot chocolate together in the colder seasons. 

"And when you fell, oh my god you should have seen your little scrunched up face!" Tetsurou giggled remember the fun memories from earlier.

Tetsurous laughter sounded so nice. That nice feeling in him again he felt. That feeling reminded him a little bit of when he would hang out with Shouyou, however, this still felt different. What was it? Maybe it'll go away.

It was the early morning at his local train station. Well, it was only 10 am, so it wasn't that early, at least to Tetsurou. What was Tetsurou doing here so early anyway? It was the weekend too and he only worked on weekdays. There weren't many people at the train station at this time of the morning. Mostly people who looked like they were tired of life, but were hurrying to be somewhere anyways.

He saw a small figure slowly approaching him. It was Kenma. What were they planning to do? And how did Tetsurou make Kenma get up so early to be here? He knew Kenma was never a morning person. 

"Kuro, why are we at the train station at 10 am?" he lazily looked up at the taller boy, rubbing his eye with one hand.

"We're going to Yokohoma!" He pulled out two train tickets from his pocket, showing them off to Kenma. "C'mon let's go, the train should be here in a few minutes" he started pulling the shorter boy by the arm.

Kenma yawned and just allowed himself to be dragged. 

They reached their train and boarded it. Kenma sat near the window while Tetsurou sat next to him. The train wasn't as full as other days, so it was nice and quiet.

After a 48minutes long train ride, they reached Yokohoma. They stepped out of the train. 

"What are we gonna do here, Kuro?" 

"You'll see, Kenma" the bedhead smiled at him and started walking.

"Wait for me" the shorter boy, ran towards Tetsurou to catch up.

Walking out of the train station they were met with a nice city, that was just as lively as Tokyo. Yokohoma city was the second biggest city in Japan after all. Tetsurou started to lead the way to their first destination. Since it was the weekend there were a lot of people in the city that day. They got lost a few times going through the crowds of people and unknown buildings and areas.

"Kuro, we've been walking for 20 minutes now, are we there yet?"

"Almost" eventually after more walking, they reached an arcade. What are they doing at an arcade in another city? They could've just gone to an araced in Tokyo. So why did they go out of their way to go to a different city to just play at an arcade?

"You know we could've just gone to an arcade back in Tokyo" Kenma pointed out the obvious as he was walking into the packed arcade.

"Yeah, but they probably have different games here, besides it gets boring going to the same one all the time" they walked through the various game machines in the dimly lit building. "What game are we going to play?"

Kenma looked around the game machines, before deciding which one he wanted to play. "How about this one" he walked over to one of the cool-looking arcade machines. Kenma took out the coin purse from his pocket and got a few coins to insert into the machine. Inserting the coins the machine lit up and started. Kenma had chosen a rhythm game. He was really good at them. However, the one he picked to play today was one he had never played before.

The game began and he was very good at it, even though he's never played it before. But Kenma was always good at video games so it wasn't surprising he was good at this one too. Ttesurou just watched in awe.

After playing the game for a bit he decided he wanted to play something else. "Let's go play something else" Kenma tugged at the taller boys shirt, trying to grasp his attention.

"Alright, let's go play other games"

They played a few more games before leaving the arcade building. They played a few multiplayer games, with Kenma having 6 wins and Kuroo having only 2 wins. They played some shooter games too, a few more rhythm games. Kenma wasn't going to lie he did have fun at the arcade and it was refreshing to play some new games he's never played before. 

"How do you keep winning?!" Tetsurou asked, he had lost to the shorter boy once again.

"I'm just better at games than you are" Kenma teased.

"Not fair"

Kenma laughed at how upset the taller boy was for losing so many times. It was kinda cute, Kenma thought. Cute? He's never thought of Tetsurou as cute. What was this strange feeling again of joy and happiness in him during this moment?  He tried to ignore and push it away.

They played a little bit more before deciding to leave the arcade. 

"What now?" Kenma asked as they stepped out of the building.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, kinda"

"Then let's go eat!" they started wandering the big city again. Wandering through crowds of people and unknown buildings and areas. They walked and walked and walked. Eventually, they found a noodle shop. It seemed to be very popular in the city. There were a lot of people eating there.

"You wanna eat here?" the bedhead looked at the shop and then glanced back at Kenma.

"Yeah" they walked into the packed noodle restaurant. Just as they walked in their mouths started to water from the amazing smell of the food there.

"Wow, it smells amazing here," Tetsurou said. They took a seat near one of the windows, you could see a great view of the city life from there.

The menus were already set on the table so they only had to pick what they wanted and wait for the waitress to come and take their orders. The menu was filled with many options of different kinds of ramen and noodles, there were sushi and other traditional Japanese foods. Kenma quickly picked out what he wanted while Tetsurou stared at the menu for a bit longer before deciding what he wanted. Just like that the waitress came and took their orders.

"You wanna go to a park later, I heard there's a really nice one here"

"Sure" Kenma didn't look up from his phone.

"Hey, we're hanging out, you should put down your phone, Kenma" 

"Okay, okay" he shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Besides our food is going to be here soon," Tetsurou said, "You remember when we went ice skating a few months ago?"

"Yeah, it was fun, Kuro" Kenma softly smiled as he remembered the memories from that day.

"Yeah, I had fun too, I'm glad we're hanging out more often"

Kenma nodded, they continued to talk about the memories they had made over the few months. Kenma liked hanging out with Tetsurou, after high school they didn't hang out as much, but they kept in touch, so now that they started hanging out so much again, made him happy. He wanted to make more memories with him.

Later they got their noodles and started feasting. They ate their food in silence with Tetsurou occasionally commenting about how good and delicious it was, how he could never get sick of this food. They finished eating, they paid for their meals and left the restaurant.

Now they were walking to the park the taller boy had mentioned when they were at the noodle restaurant. It was getting late, but Tetsurou insisted they go. Kenma just couldn't deny his best friend. But after almost getting lost in the city they knew nothing about they finally reached the park.

They walked into the park, it wasn't as big as they expected it to be but it was still nice. There were a lot of plants in the park. Since it was getting dark there weren't many people here. Only a few people either walking their dogs or couples on dates.

They walked in quiet, they didn't need words they just wanted to admire the beauty of the park they've never been to. Plus, they've talked enough all day, and Kenma was out of energy to talk anymore. As they walked Kenma remembered it was cherry blossom season. Summer was coming soon. That means he would get to spend more time with his best friend. Whenever he spent his days with Tetsurou like this, he'd get that warm and nice feeling in him. Although he still didn't understand them, however maybe soon he'll understand these new feelings.

Later they decided to leave this city, so they wouldn't miss their train home. They walked out of the park and it was petty dark outside and it was getting kind of cold even though it was spring. They wandered around the city to find the train station. They walked around for 20 minutes then it turned into 40 minutes and eventually they wandered for about an hour.

"Kenma, I think we're lost"

"Yeah, we've been walking for an hour" Kenma looked at him with a 'no shit' face.

They wandered for a little bit longer but somehow they managed to find the train station. They entered the train, it was very quiet and there were almost no people on the train. Kenma had fallen asleep on the train, he was so exhausted he had no energy left in him. 

Tetsurou however didn't fall asleep, he was wide awake as a morning bird and watched as Kenma doze off to dreamland. He brushed away the hair from Kenmas sleeping face. Over the few months, Kenmas hair had grown back a little, it was now chin-length, it used to be really short when he first cut it. Kenma looked good with any haircut in Tetsurous opinion.

The train ride felt really long, but the bedhead didn't mind, he had a good day today. He softly smiled at the shorter boy as he stroked his soft hair. 

They later arrived in Tokyo and Tetsurou walked Kenma home as it was almost 1 am.

"Thanks for today, I had fun"

"No problem, goodnight Kenma" He smiled at Kenma.

"Goodnight, Kuro" he closed the door of his apartment.

It was a terribly hot day. The sun was scorching hot. Tying his hair back felt like it didn't help to cool down from the heat at all. Even drenching himself in water didn't help. And what did Kenma agree to do on this terribly hot summer day? Go to the beach with Kuro, Akaashi, and Bokuto of course. He really only agreed to go because he had nothing better to do.

Sound of the waves in the ocean and the feeling of warm prickly sand caressing your feet as you walk. The smell of the ocean water and nature infiltrating your nostrils. Kids, playing in the sand, running around while their parents worry about them. It felt nice. So refreshing. Perfect time for a beach day with your friends.

"Hurry up, Kenma! Bokuto and Akaashi are already waiting for us" 

"But it's so hot today, I don't think I can take another step" The shorter boy shuffled behind Tetsurou, sweating profusely.

They could see that Keiji and Koutaro were setting up their things on the sand. Tetsurou ran towards his friends.

"Hey, Bokuto!" Tetsurou jumped at Koutaro. "Hey, Kuroo!" He hugged back.

"Oh, Kenma, Hi!" Koutaro waved at the shorter boy.

"Hi, Bokuto, Hi, Akaashi" Kenma glanced at them. Keiji only waved back at Kenma and Tetsurou. They all set up their things like towels, food, sunscreen, blankets to sit on, and all of those important things you take to the beach. It was pretty much like a picnic only near the seaside.

"Let's go swimming!" Koutaro shouted while throwing his arms in the air. "Yeah!" Tetsurou jumped up in the air.

"I don't want to get wet" Kenma whined as he laid on the blanket, neatly placed on the warm sand under the beach umbrella. 

"Well Bokuto and I are going swimming, are you coming with us Akaashi?" Kuroo turned to look at Keiji who was sitting on his and Koutaros blanket.

"Sorry, Kuroo-san, but I'll be reading my book" He looked up from the book in his hands.

Koutaro and Tetsurou ran off to the ocean. Jumping into the water, getting their hair wet, accidentally splashing random people with ocean water, splashing each other, laughing until their lungs start to hurt. While Kenma was playing games on his portable game console, continuously smashing buttons and Keiji reading the book he mentioned earlier, occasionally flipping a page. Everybody was in their own little worlds they've created. They all stayed like that for a while. Later the bedhead and owl boy ran back to their spot with multiple different color popsicles in their hands. Koutaro handed one of the many popsicles to Keiji and kept the rest for himself. Tetsurou also gave one of the popsicles to Kenma.

"Kenma," he said. "Kenma" twice he said and the third time he called out his name "Kenma" a bit louder this time. Looking up from his game which he was so pulled into, that it felt like he was inside the game, fighting monsters and what not. "Oh, thanks" he took the popsicle out of his hand.

"Took long enough for you to answer" he laughed. "Sorry, I was just so into this game I didn't notice you" Kenma unwrapped the plastic off of the refreshing ice dessert and began biting at it.

Keiji and Kenma were left alone at their spot once again. They weren't as close friends as the other pair, but they still talked and interacted with each other. Sometimes they'd even hang out alone together, but it was pretty rare for that since Keiji had a stressful job as a manga editor. As they were eating the cold treats Keiji began to speak:

"Do you like Kuroo-san? Like more than a friend" He turned to look at the boy who was staring at the chaotic duo, who were once again in the water, but this time while eating the popsicles they'd bought earlier, Kenma had a small smile plastered on his face.

"Huh? Why, do you think that?" he snapped out of his daze a little flustered by the sudden question he was given.

"I just noticed you smile a lot more around him than before when we used to all hang out and you look at him differently than everything else around you" Keiji explained. Kenma got quiet. Was this the feeling he was feeling towards his best friend? Love? But they've been friends for years, it would be weird to like your own best friend right? He did feel like this when he used to like Shouyou before. Maybe he did like Kuro? He did feel differently around him. He'd noticed that over the past months. However, he would just brush them off like they were nothing and unimportant.

"I guess," he spoke, "I don't really understand how I feel" he continued.

"Kenma, want to help me and Akaashi, bury Bo in the sand?" Tetsurou pointed at the pair who ran off and started digging up the sand from the beach as if they were little kids again. "I guess" he put down his game. Tetsurou smiled and walked over with Kenma to bury their friend in the sand as if he were a dead corpse. Everyone got to work digging up the sand, even Kenma tried his best to dig up as much sand as he could though he was already exhausted from all the summer heat and people.

Now Koutaro was buried in the sand, only his head poking out of the ground. Keiji and Tetsurou laughed at the moment of him in the sand like that, he looked so ridiculous. After minutes of Koutaro being buried in the sand like this, he pulled himself out of it. He was all covered in wet sand. He didn't seem to mind it though. Most people would find being covered in sand uncomfortable. 

The sand-covered boy ran to the water to wash off the sand he was wrapped in. This time though Kenma and Keiji were brought to swim in the ocean with Tetsurou and Koutaro after helping him get off the sand. Kenma was pushed into the water by Tetsurou and Koutaro, where as Keiji willingly got into the water. 

The day was slowly turning to an end. It got pretty late however it wasn't dark as night as it was the summer time. After the fun and joyful time, everyone went home. It wasn't as warm anymore which Kenma liked, there was a small breeze grazing past him, he absolutely hated being sweaty and hot. And finally, the day was to an end. Today was fun he thought, he always thought that after spending time with his best friend. 

It was the end of summer. Late August. Days were becoming shorter as the summer time was coming to an end. Leaves on trees were changing color. It started to get a tad bit colder and rained more often. September was slowly approaching. Everything that happened over the summer felt like it flew by like a breeze. Summer was fun for Kenma and Tetsurou. They did many things together. And would continue to hang out even if the summer ends. They are the best of friends beyond everything. However, Kenma would seemingly want to change that.

Kenma put on one of his favorite sweaters, it wasn't as warm today as other days. Putting on a pair of jeans, tying his hair back which had grown back almost to its original length, paired with the same black pair of sneakers he's been wearing for probably 2 years now. How have they not torn apart yet after wearing them for so long? But Kenma didn't care that much about that, as long as they were still comfortable and decent-looking, he wore them.

He was hanging out with Tetsurou once again. Them hanging out became an almost daily thing. After work, they would hang out, on weekends, whenever they could, and whenever they found the time to.

They decided to have another picnic. They would do this pretty frequently. At first, Kenma wasn't very fond of the idea, since he hated going out, but he came to like it, because of Tetsurou. They would usually go to the park near Kenmas apartment. However this time they went to a different park for fun and to try out something new. The park wasn't far, but they've never been to it so going there wasn't an easy task too.

Kenma walked on the gray pavement with his usual bad slouching posture, slightly bouncing as he walked as if he were a happy sunflower, softly hopping up and down. He passed by the park they would usually go to. Turning his head to look at it, his mind was painted with memories of him and Tetsurou there. He was reminded of all the good times they had there. He smiled and proceeded to walk in his bouncy manner.

Eventually reaching the other park, he was met with Tetsurou, right at the very entrance of it. That was probably Tetsurou making sure Kenma didn't get lost or wander off anywhere. They greeted each other and proceeded to search for a perfect picnic spot.

"Kenma, want to play a game as we walk?" he said and swung the picnic basket in his hands as they walked.

"What game?" he looked up from the ground.

"Let's name words starting from the same letter"

"Alright, the letter H, you start, Kuro"

"Happy"

"Hallucinate"

"Hat!"

"Hair"

"Hammer"

"Habitat"

"Hand!"

"Umm...handle" Kenma struggled to think of a new word, but they'd already found a nice spot to set up their picnic at.

"That was fun!" He said as he put down the picnic basket on the young grass, Kenma nodded in agreement and helped Tetsurou set the blanket and everything. The view from this spot was astounding, you could see the whole lovely park from it and all the liveliness of it. They definitely chose an amazing spot to have a picnic at. They were fortunate no one else stole their spot.

"Wow, the view is nice" Kenma said as he sat down next to Tetsurou on the blanket, taking off his shoes and putting them on the grass near the blue blanket. 

"Hmm, I dreamt of a goose today," Tetsurou said out of the blue.

Kenma laughed "That's stupid"

"What!? No, the goose was really cool, he was big and juicy and he had a great personality."  He tried to show the shape and size of the animal with his hands, it definitely looked ridiculous.

"Yeah, right" Kenma continued to laugh at Tetsurous statement, covering his mouth with his hand from all the laughter.

"Well, then what did you dream of?" He tried to act as if he was mad and bothered.

"Hm...Let me think" looking up at the sky he started to think, minutes later he spoke, "I guess I didn't really dream of anything today"

"You probably just don't remember it," Tetsurou said as he pulled out a thermos that had warm tea in it from the basket and 2 cups. "You want tea?" He handed a cup to Kenma, Kenma nodded in response. He poured some of the warm tea for him and Kenma, it was chamomile tea. It smelt so sweet like a subtle and airy warm fresh smell. 

"Did you bring apple pie, Kuro?" Kenma took a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, I did, because I know you love it" He pulled out an apple pie from the basket. They would usually only bring pie and tea to their picnics, other times they would bring something else to eat.

"Wow, you got this whole apple pie? You could've just brought a few slices, I'm not complaining though" he said as he watched Tetsurou slice the pie with a plastic knife. Tetsurou gave one of the slices to Kenma. 

"Is it good? I made the pie this time instead of buying one at the store" Tetsurou watched as the shorter boy stuffed his face with the apple pie. 

"Yeah, I like it" Kenma continued to eat the pie. They stayed like that for a while. They stayed there for hours. They talked and talked. Most people were already leaving the park by the time the sun started going down. 

A mirage of colors ranging from orange to purple spread across the sky as the sun began setting. Sitting close to each other on the blanket, shoulders touching they stared up at the sky and clouds. They looked like different animals and shapes scattered in the sky. Kenma smiled at the thought. Sitting beside him was Tetsurou his best friend who was also looking into the sky above them. 

"I think this is the prettiest sunset I've seen," Tetsurou said as he continued to stare, a small smile forming on his lips. 

Kenma turned his attention to the taller boy next to him. His heartbeat sped up because they were sitting so close to each other. Well, they have been close like this before, when they were younger, but this was different. It felt different at least to Kenma. At that moment Tetsurou looked so perfect to him. He nervously smiled. Tetsurou then turned to face Kenma as he sensed that the smaller boy was looking at him. Tetsurou softly grinned at his best friend. He looked into Tetsurous hazel eyes. Kenma wasn't thinking straight anymore. 

At the spur of the moment, Kenma cupped Tetsurous face with his hands. Making the taller boy flushed. He pulled Tetsurous face closer to his, his golden eyes still locked on Tetsurous hazel ones. Kenmas mind was empty, he just acted without a care in the world. Finally, Kenma closed his eyes as he intertwined his lips with Tetsurous. Even tho the taller boy was shocked he kissed back. The kiss didn't last long, but it felt like years to Kenma. The kiss felt so perfect like it was meant to be, like something he has been waiting for forever. It felt like home.

He pulled away, his hands still on Tetsurous cheeks. He looked into his eyes once more. It felt like they were stuck on a whole other world, or planet together somewhere in space. It was like their own little world they had just created within a few moments. 

"Tetsurou..I...I think.." Kenma struggled to turn his thought into words. "I think I'm in love with you"

Bonus:

After what happened that one late summer evening, Kenma and Tetsurou became a couple. Kenma was shocked to learn that his best friend(now boyfriend) reciprocated his feelings towards him. Apparently, Tetsurou has been waiting for Kenma to love him back for a long time. Now they were together and more than happier.