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Kenma honestly had no idea why Hinata had dragged him along to this pet store. Hinata had mentioned something about fish, but that didn’t explain why the orange haired idiot had begged Kenma so desperately to come with him. Pets were Hinata’s thing, not Kenma’s. Kenma was pretty much content to just have Hinata and his gaming consoles, he didn’t need a little thing that would constantly need their attention and come in at the most inopportune moments, no , he didn’t need any of that. So why did Hinata want him to come so badly? Kenma had half the mind to ask him, but by now Hinata was gone. He was already gushing over all the little toys and decorations. That was bad enough, but when Hinata saw the section with the live animals, he all but lost it.
Hinata was running around like a child, excitedly pointing at all the pets, the rabbits, the mice, the turtles, everything. Kenma could swear he was dating a child trapped in a man’s body.
“Kenma, Kenma, look at this one!” Hinata pointed to a cat that was napping in its enclosure, one with orange and black coloration. “This one looks like you!” Hinata joked.
“That does not look like me at all .” Kenma said plainly. “For one, I’m not even a cat.”
“Oh, c’mon, lighten up a little! There has to be something here that you like!” Hinata exclaimed.
Kenma looked around, but failed to see anything that sparked his interest. He glanced back at Hinata, giving him a glare that told his boyfriend he was quickly growing tired of this escapade.
“Hmmmmm… fine. But we need to go by the fish section before we go.” Hinata said.
Kenma saw this coming. A month ago, Hinata had ordered a fish tank from Amazoo, an online retail store, and had set it up and everything. Kenma loathed the idea of a rotting tank of water stinking up their apartment, but it made Kenma happy, so he let it slide. As Hinata began stocking the tank with plants, Kenma secretly hoped that he would just be content with those. A pet plant, Kenma thought. That seemed perfectly fine.
However, now that this pet store had opened up, things had taken a turn. This pet store, in particular, had a fish section, something all the other pet stores in the area didn’t have. He knew exactly where this was going, and he didn’t like it one bit. But Kenma, eternally a sucker for Hinata, found himself roped up along in Hinata’s scheme to find a wet pet to fill his tank with. They walked into the fish section, moving past oodles of tanks stocked to the brim with colorful tropical fish. They were no doubt aesthetically pleasing in a certain way, but nonetheless, Kenma found himself wishing he was back home playing on his video game console.
Hinata was positively brimming with happiness, though. He was eagerly pointing at all the fish, asking the staff about each of them.
Kenma by now had tuned out the chatter, instead playing a video in his mind of a game he very much desired to play. He found himself wandering a bit while Hinata spoke to the staff, absently viewing the tanks as he lived out his gaming fantasy in his head.
But then, that was when he saw it. Something strange, something he didn’t expect to find in a pet store, something he didn’t even know existed.
It was cute?
How can a fish be cute? Kenma thought. Like this, apparently. A round little thing with a portly belly and big, curious eyes. It had a fan-shaped tail and glorious, glorious black and yellow stripes adorning its back. This was, of course, an unforeseen development. Kenma found himself intrigued by this creature, which had taken him out of both his daydream and his boredom. He found himself wanting to ask many, many questions about this fish, and so, he found his way back to Hinata, who by now was almost going to make a purchase of a handful of platys.
“Hinata, I found something…” Kenma said, awkwardly.
Hinata perked up upon hearing this.
“Oh, did you find something you like?” Hinata asked snarkily.
“...Maybe.” Kenma conceded.
Hinata followed Kenma over to the tank where the rotund fish was dwelling, and almost immediately called out in surprise.
“A Pufferfish?” Hinata said in surprise.
“That’s what that is? I thought those were all… prickly.” Kenma asked.
“No, there are tons of types.” Hinata explained. “I didn’t think they would have any here, though.”
A member of staff came over, noticing their interest in the fish.
“Ah, that’s a Figure Eight Puffer,” the staff member said. “They’re a cool fish, they start out in freshwater but have to move to brackish water later on. They also puff up like most fish do, but don’t get them to do it on purpose, it’s not good for them.” the man continued.
Kenma listened with wonder as the man explained more about the fish, eagerly digesting the information being told to him. Part of him wondered why he was so interested in the fish, but then he realized why. It was so comical, so precious, so adorable, it was almost like a video game creature in real life. He had no idea such fantastical creatures could be kept as pets.
“Kenma, what do you think? It sounds like they’re a lot of maintenance.” Hinata asked, somewhat concerned at the prospect of having to care for the puffer.
“If you’re filling up that stupid tank of yours with fish, then we’re getting this guy.” Kenma spoke.
“But-” Hinata protested.
“No but’s! I am letting you have that fish tank so I should at least be able to decide what goes in.” Kenma said, firmly.
Hinata whined, but eventually gave in to the request. He was at least happy that Kenma found some kind of pet he actually liked.
So, the couple ended up buying the puffer. They named it Neko, because it was funny to name a fish after another animal. That’s what Hinata said, anyways. Kenma just went along with it, eager to see how the fish would behave in their home.
By the time they arrived at their apartment, Kenma just wanted to dump the fish in the tank and watch it swim around. The tiny plastic bag it was in had to be uncomfortable for the fish, he thought. But Hinata exclaimed loudly when Kenma said he was going to dump it in.
“You can’t just dump it in there!” Hinata panicked. “It’ll get sick!”
“Huh?” Kenma asked, confused.
“If you dump it in there it’ll get shocked, and stressed. You need to slowly get it used to the new water.” Hinata explained.
“Ohhh.” Kenma said, understanding. It was kinda like climbing a mountain, you have to take breaks to get used to the air.
So the two set up a system that slowly dripped water from the tank into the bag, gradually acclimating Neko to the conditions of the tank.
After about 30 minutes, Hinata decided it was good to go. They undid the bag and released Neko into the tank. Kenma couldn’t help but smile as the adorable little fish explored the environment of the tank, prodding at rocks and wood and swimming around joyfully.
The two spent several hours just observing the fish, Kenma himself was completely surprised at how active and personable Neko was. It even spent several times playing with them as they traced their finger against the glass, the fish eagerly following it.
Kenma was smiling the whole time.
Hinata was happy too, happy that he had managed to get the black haired boy out of his comfort zone.
“Hey Kenma?” Hinata asked.
“Hmm?” Kenma replied.
“I love you.” Hinata said, looking deep into his eyes.
Neko was probably traumatized by the icky, gooey, sickeningly sweet displays of affection that followed.