Chapter Text
Kenma never liked children. They were loud. They were annoying. They never give you any space. They suck and Kenma would barely be able to tolerate them. At least that’s how Kenma saw them.
When his mother told him that she wanted to adopt another child, Kenma nearly fainted. Okay, that was just an exaggeration. But, he definitely wasn’t happy about having a small kid running around. He could barely deal with people his age who were able to understand what he’s saying. But, a child? A child who probably would cry over the simplest thing? Yeah, no. Kenma did not want to deal with that.
His mother seemed excited and happy to adopt a child and Kenma didn’t want to ruin his mother’s happiness, so he just nodded and went to his room without saying anything. Of course, the next day, he complained to Kuroo about everything.
“She knew this for months and didn’t tell me. Like, what the hell? I’m happy if she’s happy but seriously?” Kenma groaned and used Kuroo’s pillow to cover his face.
“Oh, come on, Ken. It’s not going to be as bad as you think. Children are sweet!” Kuroo smiled as he flipped through a random magazine. He sighed and placed the magazine down when Kenma let out an annoyed groan again.
Kuroo walked towards his bed where Kenma was lying down and laid down next to him.
“Kids aren’t that bad, you know? Once you get to know the kid, you’d probably love him.” Kuroo said.
“Love is a strong word, Kuro.” Kenma grimaced.
“Okay, maybe not love. But! You would definitely like the kid.” Kuro chuckled as Kenma took the pillow off of his face and glared at Kuroo.
“I hate children.” Kenma growled.
“Hate is a strong word, kitten.” Kuroo smirked and Kenma groaned again.
“By the way, did your mom tell you the age?” Kuroo asked and Kenma turned his head towards him.
“Yeah. He’s around six, almost seven. The worst age for children.” Kuroo laughed at Kenma’s statement.
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When the boy first walked in, Kenma was definitely taken by surprise. He thought he would be seeing a smiley child with blonde hair for some reason that would babble on and on about nonsense.
The boy had ocean blue eyes that, to be honest, made Kenma uncomfortable. He also had black hair, darker than Kuroo’s hair, in Kenma’s opinion. He was quiet, to Kenma’s surprise. He preferred to observe and listen rather than talk. He, Kenma thought, was the weirdest child he had ever seen.
Kageyama Tobio was his name. But, his mother changed it to Kozume Tobio. Kenma preferred if she didn’t but he couldn’t do anything about that now.
“Kenma, darling, please look after Tobio for a bit. I have a little get together with my old friends.” His mother told him as he walked into the kitchen.
“Okay.” He sighed.
“You can invite Tetsuro over. I think Tobio would enjoy more company.” His mother smiled. Kenma disagreed. The boy seemed to be terrified of people. He definitely would hate Kuroo.
“Nah, It’s okay.” Kenma shrugged and walked into the living room with his drink that he had just grabbed from the fridge.
He walked in and saw Tobio sitting on the floor. There’s a couch right there, Kenma didn’t understand why he would rather sit on the floor than on the couch. Doesn’t it hurt when you sit on the floor for a long time?
Tobio immediately looked at Kenma when he heard Kenma walk in. He stared as Kenma sat down on the couch before focusing back on whatever he was doing. Like usual, he stayed quiet. Not bothering to start a conversation and talk about things children usually talk about.
Kenma hesitated for a moment before he slowly slid down from the couch and sat right next to Tobio. He could see Tobio tensing up for a moment. Damn, he hates people as much as Kenma, eh?
“What are you doing?” Kenma tried to start a conversation. He wasn’t very good at talking.
“Drawing…” Tobio answered quietly after a couple of seconds. Probably thinking whether or not it’s a good idea to respond. Kenma looked at the paper that was in front of Tobio. It was a drawing of someone. A person with orange hair. It’s basically the only thing that Kenma could make out of the drawing.
“Who’s that?” He asked.
“A friend.” Ah, must’ve been another kid from the orphanage. Perhaps an old friend that he had to leave behind. Kenma didn’t know why, but he felt sad. He couldn’t imagine a life where he had to grow up without Kuroo by his side.
“What’s your friend’s name?” Kenma asked softly. Maybe being nicer to the kid wouldn’t be that bad.
“Hinata Shouyou.” His answers were always short, simple, and straight to the point.
The name sounded familiar to Kenma. Hinata. Where has he heard that name before? He’s sure that he heard it somewhere. He needed to ask Kuroo about that later. Kenma stayed quiet as he watched Tobio color the picture more. He’s observant and precise. Coloring inside the lines he created.
In some way, they were similar to each other. Quiet, observant, preferred to listen than to speak, barely talk at all. It’s eerie and it definitely creeped Kenma out the more he thought about it.
“I’m going now! Have fun and don’t do anything dangerous!” Kenma’s, no, their mother cheered before leaving the house. Suddenly, the house was filled with an awkward silence. For Kenma at least. What should he say? Should he just walk up to his room and leave Tobio alone? Should he listen to his mom and call Kuroo? Yeah, maybe he should call Kuro-
“Nii-chan.” He heard Tobio’s voice and his eyes widened. Woah, he didn’t expect for Tobio to talk first.
“Uh, yes?”
“Do you play volleyball?” Tobio looked up at him with big and intrigued eyes. Hmm, interesting.
“Yeah, I do. My best friend made me play it when I was around your age.” Kenma nodded his head. Remembering the days where Kuroo would force him out of his house just to play volleyball with him.
“Really? What position do you play?” Kenma had never seen Tobio so excited before. Well, he wasn’t smiling or anything but his eyes definitely showed what he was feeling.
“I play setter.” He answered and for the first time since Tobio stepped into his life, he smiled. A big and happy smile. Kenma was taken back. Holy shit. He couldn’t believe that he was able to make this quiet kid who never seemed to be happy with anything smile. Give Kozume Kenma a fucking reward.
“Wah, I like setters!” Tobio cheered. So, volleyball seemed to be the subject that brought out the child in him. At first, Kenma noticed that he seemed too mature for his age. He didn’t seem to be living in his childhood. He was just….there. Kenma didn’t know why it was so relieving to see Tobio smile. For the first time, also, he noticed the dimples on Tobio’s chubby cheeks.
It was almost like Kenma was staring at an angel.
“Do you also play volleyball, Tobio?” Kenma tilted his head.
“Mhm!” Tobio nodded his little head.
“My friend is a captain on our volleyball team. Do you want me to call him so we can play volleyball together?” Kenma didn’t know why, but Tobio looked at him with a shocked face. Then, to Kenma’s dismay, all of that excitement died down as quickly as it came. A frown made its way onto Tobio’s cute face.
“What’s wrong, Tobio?” Kenma started to feel worried. He was just smiling a second ago, why was he so upset now?
“Can I play with you?” His voice was small and timid. He sounded as if it was impossible for him to play with Kenma and Kuroo.
“I mean, of course. Do you not want to?” Kenma’s question seemed to spark that fire again.
“Of course I want to!” Tobio replied, shocking Kenma once again.
“Alright, calm down. Let me call him first.” Kenma, unexpectedly, chuckled.
Kenma grabbed his phone while Tobio looked at him eagerly. He pressed Kuroo’s contact number and called him.
“Sup, kitten.” Kuro immediately picked up.
“Hey, my brother wants to play volleyball with you.” Kenma explained, not realizing he had just called Tobio his brother.
“Brother? Oh my. I was right, you do like him!” Kuroo laughed while Kenma rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Just meet us at the park.” Kenma said with a bored tone.
“Course! I haven’t actually seen the little one since he’s always asleep whenever I come over.” Kuroo said.
“Well, you’ll get to see him now. See you.” Kenma sighed before hanging up.
Kenma looked back to see Tobio looking at him with excitement. He shook his head in amusement before standing up.
“Come on, let’s put your shoes on.”
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“Nii-chan. What is Kuroo-san’s position in volleyball?” Tobio asked as they walked.
“He’s a middle blocker.” Kenma responded.
“Woah, is he super tall?”
“Yeah, definitely taller than me.” Kenma sighed. Tobio hadn’t even met Kuroo and yet he was already impressed and mesmerized by everything Kenma told him.
When they arrived at the park, they saw Kuroo sitting on a bench while playing on his phone with a volleyball beside him. He didn’t seem to be bothered by his surroundings. But, as soon as their eyes landed on him, he immediately perked up as if he could sense their presence. He, too, was somewhat similar to Tobio in some aspects.
Kuroo grinned as he stood up and made his way to Kenma and Tobio. Tobio slowed down and started to hide behind Kenma. Kuroo’s presence was perhaps too much for him. Kenma was right, he definitely is taller than him.
“Is this the little one?” Kuroo asked when they were close enough to hear each other.
“Of course. Do you think that I would just bring a random child?” Kenma rolled his eyes.
Kuroo crouched down to Tobio’s level and gave him a friendly smile. “Hi, my name is Kuroo Tetsuro. What’s your name?”
Tobio hesitated for a moment before responding, “Tobio.”
“Kenma over here told me that you liked volleyball. What position do you like the most?” To this question, Tobio’s shyness disappeared almost instantly.
“Setter! Setters are super cool!” He exclaimed. Kuroo chuckled at his reaction.
“Well, in that case, let’s play volleyball!”
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By the time they were done playing, Tobio was super tired. He could barely walk straight. His eyes were droopy and it was almost like he could just fall asleep at any second. Kenma didn’t really want to be the one to carry Tobio home, so he forced Kuroo to accompany them. Kuroo, though, had no complaints and just agreed. It seemed that he had already gotten attached to the blue eyed angel.
“He’s extremely talented for his age.” Kuroo said as they were walking back home. Tobio had already fallen asleep in his arms. Kuroo adjusted him a little so he wasn’t super uncomfortable.
“Yeah. Very precise in his setting already.” Kenma nodded his head in agreement. He was shocked at first when he saw Tobio play. For a six year old kid, he sure as hell was talented.
“As much as I want him to be a middle blocker, I think setter fits him more.” Kuroo smiled.
“Why are you talking as if he’s your child and you want him to follow in your footsteps?” Kenma frowned.
“Oh, come on! Everyone knows middle blockers are the best.” Kuroo gave Kenma a smug look. No, he did not.
“That’s not true at all.” Kenma glared at him.
“Oh, sure it is.” Kuroo responded.
“Us setters are the most important.” Kenma argued.
“To each their own, I guess.” Kuroo shrugged. Dismissing Kenma’s statement.
“It’s a fact, you rooster-head.”
“Hey!”
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Tobio woke up right as they entered the Kozume household. Kuroo let Tobio down and made sure the little one didn't fall since he still seemed pretty tired.
“Alright. I think it’s time for me to go home. Bye.” He waved his hand at Tobio who gave him a wave back despite looking really sleepy.
“Say bye to Kuroo-san.” Kenma told Tobio.
“Bye bye, Kuroo-san.” Tobio said softly while waving. He wanted to sleep.
“Awe, see you tomorrow. See you, kitten.” Kuroo smiled at Tobio before saying goodbye to his best friend.
“Hmm.” Kenma hummed and waved. Soon, Kuroo left and Kenma decided that he needed to give Tobio a shower before he went to bed.
After showering Tobio and dressing him in some pajamas, Kenma held his hand and led Tobio to his bedroom. When Tobio laid down, he immediately fell asleep. Kenma placed a blanket over his baby brother’s sleeping body. He sat down beside him and stared at him for a minute. Kenma then pinched Tobio’s cheek lightly before standing up and turning off the lights. He looked at Tobio one more time then he left to go to his own bedroom.
He, too, was exhausted. So, he also fell asleep as soon as his body hit his comfortable bed.