Work Text:
kenma didn’t know when he began exerting more energy than he ever needed or wanted.
all he knew, was that he never wanted this moment to end.
laughter rung through his ears. it reminded him of the windchimes that sang to him on the balmy midsummer weekends he used to spend at his grandma’s. he remembered, (very vividly) laying on the porch with the fan at its highest setting, a faint ringing in the air as the humidity suffocated him; his sweat clinging to his skin.
he remembered the watermelons, the popsicles, his younger cousins that pulled at his sweat-soaked shirt because they wanted to play.
kenma huffed a quiet laugh as he watched you, pouring more bubble solution into the tiny machine you found on clearance at the end of last summer; you reminded him of his cousins.
that carefree, child-like freedom. it was ironic considering you had just turned eighteen. but kenma thinks that he likes you as you were.
he liked that carefree, child-like freedom that bled into his veins long when summer had just begun.
truth be told, kenma, as unenergetic and lazy as he was, he didn’t mind chasing after you as the setting sun made the clouds turn pink and the sky bleed orange.
he didn’t mind sneaking out to go watch the sun rise with you. he didn’t mind going to the beach (even if he just laid under the umbrella, playing games), or spending the whole day on his feet (actually, he always resisted this one).
but even if he came home feeling as though his life was sucked out of his body, he did it again and again.
because he didn’t mind you.
and because summer was all he had left—it was all you had left.
“kenma!” his head jerked up to see you messing with the tiny machine. “are you still up to go see the shooting stars tonight?”
he smiled, nodding.
teenage rebellion.
it was a concept kenma wasn’t all that interested in. however, as he spent yet another night with you under the stars (his poor parents, they believed he was asleep in his bed), he thought that perhaps he was missing out.
he knew you snuck out a lot. he knew there wasn’t a night last summer where you weren’t sneaking around. his chest felt as though it was pinched, at the thought of you being alone for the entirety of the season, but kenma also knew, he would never last.
it wasn’t for him, this kind of life that so many teens chase after like fools.
however, he understood why so many did it.
“are you almost done packing?” he mumbled, keeping his eyes trained on the unmoving stars, waiting for the moment where they fell across the midnight skies.
you were doing the same, focused eyes seemingly counting the stars as you replied, “yeah. you’re commuting, right?”
he hummed.
“my parents wanted me to do that,” you whispered, head lowering to watch your fingers rake against the grass. “they really wanted me to stay here in japan.”
i want you to stay, too.
“but,” you sighed, smiling, head tilting up, “everyone has their own place that calls to them; mine just happened to be far away.”
kenma nodded, wishing that he could toy with the strings of fate.
from the beginning of summer, kenma made a plan. it was a stupid plan, but kenma thought that if he went through with most of your bizarre ideas, that summer (which he loved and hated so much), would extend into the season of winter—that maybe, the life with you as he knew it, wouldn’t have to change.
it was silly and more than childish, it was so unlike him. but you, or anyone else except kenma, would never know the impact you had. the refreshing feeling of dumping cold water over his head after a practice held in the heat of summer, or the satisfaction of clearing a new level on his game—it could never even hold a candle to the way every moment spent with you felt brand new. there was never a time with you where he didn’t feel like he was holding the world in his two, calloused hands.
however, that plan was fatal, because now he thinks he likes you even more. (and now, his energy felt like it would take years to regenerate).
you gasped, whacking his shoulder as you pointed up at the sky, “there! did you see?”
he squinted, (a stupid move, since it wouldn’t help him in that situation), before his eyes widened as dozens of stars began racing through the night sky.
his mouth fell open. it was unlike anything he’d ever seen.
laughter rang through his ears once again. he watched as you sat up on your knees, that starry sky reflected in your eyes. your lips curled into an awestruck smile, hands reaching up like you could grab one of the falling stars.
you’re beautiful. he thought, his gaze now stuck on you.
and he wished, that this moment, this you, this season, could last forever.
kenma had never felt like this before. it was like his heart could lurch out of his chest; his heart beating so loud that he worried you might hear.
kenma didn’t know if he liked you or your familiarity for the longest time. it wasn’t something he pondered on often, but as he sat a little ways from you, watching with stars in eyes, he knew. and he knew for sure.
i like you.
“are you gonna come back to japan?”
“hmm?” you turned around, an almost sad smile on your lips as you looked back up at the sky. “i don’t think so.”
i want you to stay here.
“i’ll come to visit for the holidays and whatnot, but i think when i finish school, i’ll stay there.” you smiled.
the little whispers of his heart pleaded. his chest ached, but he smiled, leaning back on his arms as he looked up at the night sky.
it was dark again. it seemed the stars had decided to stop falling.
“wasn’t there some place else you wanted to go?”
the final days leading to your departure were creeping up on him, breathing down his neck. it was just one summer, he told himself, one season where he could drop his psp and run around under the sun so he could be near to you for the final time.
you nodded. “yeah.” you looked over your shoulder, “it’s weird though, kenma. i always thought you hated going out and exerting a lot of energy.. but you’re here.”
“what?” he mumbled, laying down on his side. “i can’t be a stereotypical teenager, too?”
“not what i said!” you laughed, turning around. “i’m grateful i got to spend my last summer in japan with you.”
a dream. you were his midsummer dream. he didn’t dare overstep his boundaries with you, only following along, stars dancing in his eyes as he wished to never wake up from this moment.
kenma looked at you, smiling softly as the wind caressed his cheeks, this, he thought, really sucks.