Chapter Text
Kenma opened the door to his new room, unsure of what to expect. He was getting settled into his new college dorm before classes began the following day. He glanced around the barren, cramped room, surprised his roommate wasn't in yet. It was already almost dinner time, and orientation started at 8 the following morning. Shrugging, Kenma grabbed his bags off the hallway floor, tossing them onto the bed to the right of the door. Kicking the door shut, he took a moment to fully inspect the room.
It was slightly larger than he had originally expected. There was a bed on either side of the door, complete with a headboard with built in shelving, and two small desks pushed up against the far wall, one on either side of a window seat. Kenma strolled to the window, frowning when he saw that the view consisted solely of the circular track that he had been shown during his campus tour. The jocks had been in awe at the obnoxious loop of rubber, as well as an outdoor gym facility that had been built in one of the green spaces on the far end of campus.
Turning away from the window, Kenma sighed, and set about unpacking his bags. Closer inspection of his side of the room showed that the bed frame had drawers built into it, instead of a dresser taking up what remained of the limited space. The short blond made quick work of putting away his things, as he really didn't have much; his clothes and video games were basically all he had brought. A hasty check around the walls revealed a power outlet by the foot of his bed, where he plugged in his handheld game system and phone charging cables.
Satisfied everything was in place, he quickly made his bed with the contents of his second duffle bag. He shoved that and the first bag – which had contained his clothes – into one of the drawers under the bed. The games from his backpack were neatly organized in the headboard, and the backpack of school supplies was tossed carelessly on the desk. Content with his work, he grabbed his phone, popped his earphones in, and curled up in the window seat, enjoying the warmth of the sun while he fired up a game.
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Akaashi gave a sigh of relief as he finally found his dorm room. He had been travelling all day, and it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. He really just wanted to eat and go to sleep. He pushed the door open in time to see a short blond person climbing into the window seat on the far end of the room.
'Great,' he thought bitterly, 'as if my day wasn't bad enough, my roommate is a girl.' He had known there were co-ed dorms, but he didn't expect to be in one.
"Uh, hello," he greeted, uncertainly. The girl in the window startled and turned to face him, and- oh. It wasn't a girl, but a boy with long, dyed hair.
"Hi," the blond murmured timidly as he pulled out his earphones.
"Akaashi Keiji," the dark haired boy introduced, throwing his bags on the empty, unmade bed.
"Kozume Kenma," the shorter boy nodded his greeting, looking at anything and everything besides Akaashi's face. Akaashi gave a small nod in return, face expressionless as he set about unpacking. He shot a sideways glance over at his new roommate to see he was being watched. Kenma quickly looked away sheepishly. The boys remained silent as Akaashi unpacked, trading glances as they tried to figure one another out.
"Well, I guess we're stuck together for a while, huh?" Akaashi finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the room.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Kenma trailed off nervously. 'What was that supposed to mean?' He wondered, taking a moment to study the taller male. Much like Kenma himself, Akaashi's face was basically blank, with a permanent semi-scowl etched onto his face.
"Have you been down to the dining hall yet?" Akaashi spoke again, startling Kenma, who shook his head. "Great, I'm starving. Let's go check it out," he stated simply. "We may as well try to be friends since we'll be living together, and I'm starving. And, you look like one of those people that needs to be reminded to eat," he explained flatly when Kenma froze. The blond nodded after a moment, slowly getting up to follow his roommate out into the hallway.
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The hallway was pure chaos. Most of the doors along the corridor were propped open, with people streaming in and out, yelling at one another. Kenma almost turned and went back into their room. Akaashi must have somehow noticed, because his hand shot out, grabbing Kenma by the arm.
"Just push through them. They're just a bunch of idiots and I need food." Akaashi grumbled, dragging Kenma through the hoards of people. Eventually they made their way down to the building's dining hall, which was surprisingly empty. The university was so big that it had several dorm buildings across the complex, each with its own dining hall, so while they hadn't been expecting hundreds of people, they also didn't expect there to be only one solitary guy eating by himself.
"Hey," the lone man greeted as they entered the hall, a flicker of surprise passing over his face. "Glad to see it's not just obnoxious dumbasses here."
"No kidding. What exactly is going on up there anyway?" Akaashi grumbled back.
"You didn't see the signs earlier?" The stranger asked, incredulously.
"We just got here," Kenma spoke quietly, also curious as to what the commotion was about.
"Lucky you guys. A group of idiots met up and decided they wanted to have a 'meet and greet'," he emphasized with finger quotations.
"In other words, they wanted an excuse to have a stupid party," Akaashi supplied while the other dark haired man simply rolled his eyes.
"Basically," he agreed. Akaashi shook his head, partly out of disbelief, but mostly irritation, and walked away to get some food. Kenma followed hesitantly. Maybe it wasn't too late to back out and go home. He wasn't sure he could handle university after all.
Akaashi waited for Kenma to get his food before heading back to the room's only other occupant, the blond trailing behind.
"Pardon the intrusion," Akaashi began as he approached the other man. "Do you mind if we join you?"
"Knock yourselves out," the previously irate man replied almost friendly. "Iwaizumi, by the way. Iwaizumi Hajime," he introduced himself as his new companions took seats across from him, leaving an empty chair between them.
"Akaashi Keiji," he leaned forward slightly in an attempt to bow, which wasn't easy as he had a table and plate of food in front of him.
"K-Kozume Kenma," the blond mumbled in turn.
"Nice to meet you," Iwaizumi nodded at the awkward duo.
The three boys studied each other, all pretense of disinterest gone as they analyzed one another.
"So, which floor are you on?" Akaashi asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the trio.
"Second, you guys?"
"Same. We're in 218."
"Hey, you're just across the hall from me. What are the odds?" Iwaizumi laughed. "My roommate is a total dumbass though," he growled out as an afterthought.
"Well, if you need a break, I have no problem with you hiding out in our room. Kenma?" Akaashi turned to his timid roommate questioningly, unwilling to open their new home to a stranger without consulting with the other boy.
"I wouldn't want to be in his position, but if I was, I would be grateful if someone gave me the same offer," Kenma muttered absentmindedly, not looking up from his plate. After a moment of silence, he glanced up to realize he was being watched, the black haired duo wearing blank expressions. "Come over whenever you want." The blond stated, returning his focus to his food.
"Thanks," Iwaizumi chuckled. Silence began to settle over the small group again, until the hall doors flew open with a bang.
"Iwa-chaaaaaan," the brunette at the entrance half sang, half whined. "You're missing everything!"
"That's the point," Iwaizumi scowled at the newcomer, his entire demeanor changing as though a black cloud had settled over him. "And I told you not to call me that."
"You're so mean, Iwa-chan," the brunette pouted, his gaze drifting over the other two men at the table. "Who're your new friends?" The taller boy strolled over casually.
"The only people I intend on being friends with," Iwaizumi snapped in response.
"So, so mean, Iwa-chan," he pouted again, taking the empty seat between Akaashi and Kenma. "Oikawa Tooru." He beamed as he looked at Kenma, who shrunk away from the boisterous man.
"Leave them alone, Trashykawa," Iwaizumi interjected, hoping his idiotic roommate wouldn't scare off his sane saviours.
"That's not nice!" Oikawa screeched, earning a glare from all three of his tablemates.
"This must be your dumbass roommate," Akaashi deadpanned, keeping his gaze on Iwaizumi, who nodded as he swallowed the mouthful of food he had been chewing. "In that case, you can just move in with us."
"Agreed," Kenma spoke, surprising the dark haired boys, but getting a smirk from each of them.
"Wow, rude." Oikawa stood up, pouting at Iwaizumi and Akaashi, all but ignoring the small blond. "Fine then. I'm going back up to make new friends. Have fun being boring, you big meanies." He spun dramatically on his heel before storming out of the hall. Iwaizumi sighed heavily as he slid his plate away, dropping his head on the table.
"He should grow his hair out," Kenma commented quietly, receiving confused looks from his companions.
"What?" The black haired duo asked in unison.
"Well if he grows his hair out, he can flip it over his shoulder and complete the look when he does that." Kenma explained simply, causing the others to erupt with laughter.
"I think this will be an interesting year," Akaashi noted as they began to calm down. The other two nodded in agreement, still wearing shit eating grins. "Wait, so you guys just met and he already calls you Iwa-chan?"
"Unfortunately, no. I've known him for years. I came to this school to get away from him. Apparently he also applied, then put me as his desired roommate. I wanted to kill him when he walked in. Hell, I almost did," the dark haired man admitted darkly.
"Can't say I blame you," Akaashi stated, sympathetically.
"Isn't that considered stalking?" Kenma asked suddenly.
"Pretty sure, yeah," Iwaizumi agreed. The three boys chuckled as they stood up. Having finished eating, they disposed of their empty dishes, and began making their way back upstairs.
By the time they arrived on the second floor, they were relieved to see that most people had turned in for the night. A handful of doors were still open, with their occupants lingering in the hallway chatting, but seeing as classes started in approximately 11 hours, it was quiet at last. The new friends said their goodnights and disappeared into their own rooms.
"Do you think Iwaizumi-san will kill his roommate tonight?" Kenma asked as he crawled into his bed.
"It wouldn't surprise me if he did," Akaashi said, matter-of-factly.
"Well hopefully he doesn't go to jail. I like him."
"Me too," Akaashi laughed, turning the light off.