Chapter Text
The message tone of his cell phone just wouldn’t quiet down. Kenma thought about locking it and putting it on his nightstand, but that would have meant closing his game as well.
So instead he ignored the messages and played on to complete the next level. One level became three and soon he heard nothing but the lasers from his character’s gun. Or so he thought …
“Oi, Kenma!” He ignored him, knowing that he was going to walk through the door to his bedroom anyway. And just when he had finished his thought, the other one entered. “Oi, didn’t you hear me?”
“Mh,” was the only sound that escaped Kenma, still looking at his phone.
He heard him sigh in frustration. “Kenma, you have to get up and start the day. It’s almost noon!”
“I am dressed, Shouyou.”
“This is not what I meant.”
Kenma paused his game to look at his best friend for two full seconds — Shouyou was wearing an expectant smile — before he shrugged his shoulders and continued playing. “Hm.”
Shouyou’s face must have fallen apart because the right next moment he landed head first on the bed to Kenma’s feet. Muffled sounds came from where his mouth must have been, but Kenma couldn’t make out any of them. He was so dramatic. More than Kuroo even.
Kuro …
“What did you say?” Souyou asked. Kenma looked up in surprise to see his best friends face turned toward him. Brown eyes were searching for any signs of discomfort. Knowing each other for over five years they could easily read the other.
But what surprised him was not Shouyou’s look, but the meaning behind his question. Had he really just been thinking out loud? Dammit.
He turned his eyes back on his phone screen to avoid Shouyou’s stare. “Nothing.”
Out of the corner of his eye he could see the other sitting up, but he remained stubborn. “Kenma.”
“Shouyou.”
The orange haired man did not waver from his gaze. Only when a minute must have passed, he sighed out again. “Okay. But you know that I am here for you, right?”
“Yeah.” Kenma gave him a little smile. It was genuine. “Thank you.”
The door opened again as Kageyama came in. “Hinata, we have to go.”
“Mh, I’m coming.” It always fascinated him how quickly Shouyou’s gaze became gentle when he saw his boyfriend. Even though they often bickered, they really loved each other. He stood up and gave Kageyama a kiss on the cheek before he walked out of the room. “I’m just going to the bathroom, then we can go.”
“Okay,” Kageyama said, his cheeks slightly pink. He looked after Shouyou and then turned to Kenma. “And how are you?”
“Fine, I guess,” Kenma said, shrugging his shoulders once again.
“When’s Kuroo supposed to come home?”
Just the name gave him goosebumps and the next second his heart would ached as always. He never gave up the thought that his best friend from childhood would come back one day, but the fact that this day was approaching … that scared him.
There were those warm arms again, wrapping around him from behind while he was just engrossed in his game. These strong arms that have always protected him. They appeared in every dream, no matter if it was day or night. He remembered his fast heartbeat, the soothing smell … how much he missed him.
He remembered a moment when they sat just like that. Kuroo’s arms had been wrapped around him while Kenma had focused on the Nintendo in front of him. That had happened a lot at that time, back in their school days, he recalled. And that day, Kuroo had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Kenma hadn’t even noticed until he lost the level and there was no cackling from his best friend, which he was already used to. So when Kenma turned to him, he noticed that Kuroo had fallen asleep. As he had lain there, his face hidden in his neck, Kenma had remained motionless. The black hair had tickled his chin, but he hadn't cared. He hadn't often gotten this close to Kuroo without having to look away.
It had felt good. So good, in fact, that he couldn’t help but lay his head on top of Kuroo’s.
He remembered how Kuroo had woken up after a while. They had both lifted their heads and looked into each other’s eyes. They had been so close. Kenma had felt Kuroo’s breath on his lips.
At that time, he couldn’t resist a curious look at Kuroo’s own lips. It wouldn’t have taken much ... but even at that moment it was impossible for Kenma to look Kuroo in the eye. So when he had turned back to his Nintendo, they both went back to what they have called “normal”.
“Kenma, you alright?” Kageyama asked and Kenma snapped back into reality. The younger man almost looked worried. Well, he probably was worried, but only Shouyou could say that for sure.
“Huh?” Kenma scratched the back of his neck as he realized how long he must have been silent. “Uh, y-yeah. Sorry, I was … lost in thoughts.” His heart was still beating fast.
“You know, Hinata is not the only one who would listen to your concerns,” Kageyama said.
Kenma knew this.
“It’s okay. We can talk about that later.” He raised an eyebrow. “Instead, how about you tell me how you plan to teach Shouyou’s family about that ring you bought, and without him knowing, huh?”
Kageyama’s rosy face instantly turned red. He cleared his throat and tilted his head to the side. “Well, I wanted to wait u-until he fell asleep.”
“And if they fell asleep before he did?”
“I … I didn’t think this through.”
“I can see that,” Kenma chuckled, but send him a sympathetic smile. “I wish you both the best of luck. Don’t worry, he really loves you. I am sure his answer will be a tearful ‘yes’.”
Kageyama looked down with one of his rare smiles. It wasn’t often that anyone other than Shouyou could get him to do that, which is why those facial expressions said and meant so much. It was really touching to see how these two idiots interacted, to see that two different types of people could fit together so well. It reminded him of a certain person ...
“Okay, I am ready,” Shouyou said as he walked up to Kageyama and hook his arm up to his boyfriend. Kageyama winced briefly, which Shouyou noticed immediately. “Hey, you alright,” he asked concerned.
“I’m fine,” Kageyama said and walked past him into the hallway to get her things. Then he said goodbye to Kenma, who then heard the front door open. “Come on, stupid.”
Shouyou sighed. “And here I thought he would call me bae for once.” He smiled and then stepped closer to hug Kenma goodbye. “Are you going to be okay all by yourself?”
“Mom, you can be sure that I’m having a great time. I have chips and games. I lack nothing except the will to live,” Kenma grinned.
“Please stay alive.”
“No promises,” he chuckled, but before his best friend could say anything else, he took the floor again and gently pushed him away. “Now go and have fun without me as I will have fun without you.”
“I’ll call you when we get there.” Shouyou said goodbye with a final wave before disappearing from his sight and Kenma heard the door closing.
It was quiet.
Those days would last long.
When nothing exciting happened in his game after an hour, he pressed save and closed it. His stomach was rumbling, so he got up to get at least a granola bar. After all, Kenma promised Shouyou to stay alive.
With the candy bar in his mouth, he sat down at the kitchen table and watched a few videos of other players before gulping down the last bite. Afterwards, Kenma stood up and threw the paper away while he pulled up the group’s messages; the Nekoma-Chat showed him 93 unread messages. He took a quick deep breath, his eyes closed. Why did they all have to be such extroverts?
When Kenma opened his eyes again, he scrolled all the way down when a video caught his eye. It had been sent about an hour ago. Kenma tapped play and was immediately greeted with the face of that tall, grey haired idiot.
“Hi guys! For all those who are not there, here’s the good news: Kuroo has arrived home safely. Kuroo, say hello!”
Kuro is back?
Time stopped briefly for that one second and it was as if an eternity passed before Kenma properly registered what he had just heard. Kuroo was back in Tokyo. He was here ...
The camera moved so that a few other familiar faces were now visible, but Kenma’s focus was only on the young man with the horrible looking bed hair.
“Oi, Lev! I told you not to film!”
“Lev, you dumbass, this is supposed to be a surprise!” That was Yaku.
Kuroo walked up to him. “Give me that phone!”
The camera whirled around again so fast that nothing could be seen. Only Lev’s startled wince along with the pained expression on his face could be seen.
“How do I delete—”
Then it was over.
The ticking of the clock was the only thing in the apartment that could still be heard, although for Kenma everything was just noise. He stared at the screen of his phone until it went black. Very slowly, he raised his right hand and brought it to his chest. There, where his heart was, he felt that long familiar pressure of longing.
After almost two years, he was finally back.
They had never lost contact and it was far from enough that it could break them apart. But to be able to have him here again now, to have Kuroo with him again …
But he was finally back.
“Ah.” Kenma jerked up as he became aware of this.
Kuroo was here!
He put his first foot down so fast he almost fell, but caught himself at the last moment and in the next he was out the front door. Kenma was hardly seen running, but right now on this day, at this hour, at this minute, he didn’t care. Now the most important thing for him was not a game or a nap. Now he had only one goal. And he was getting closer to it with every step.