Work Text:
"This is impossible! Bokuto, are you seeing this?" Kuroo shouted, shocked. Despite the volume of his voice, his words were drowned out by the noise of the gaming machines distributed throughout the arcade. However, his best friend was able to hear him.
"Yup, they have completely outdone you, dude" Bokuto replied after nonchalantly sipping from a soda, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation.
Kuroo grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him intensely in the eyes, and Bokuto blinked several times, getting a little cross-eyed at the closeness of his best friend's face "Exactly! And by almost thirty thousand points... this has to be some kind of joke, I've been holding the first place for almost a whole year!"
"You were" Bokuto pointed, earning a slap on the back of the head. Kuroo released him then, and checked the name at the top of the screen with a frown as Bokuto massaged the sore spot.
On the list, just above Kuroo's score, the name 'PIE' seemed to be laughing in his face.
48 hours earlier
The day of the move, the elevator broke.
Kenma hated going up stairs with his whole heart, especially if his new home was on the seventh floor and his father had forced him to help carry some boxes. To make things worse, the summer heat was clinging to his body cruelly, and Kenma was beginning to feel small beads of sweat collecting on his scalp.
His legs sagged under the weight of the box containing his PS4 and some of his games. When after what seemed like hours he finally reached the top of the stairs, he wondered how he hadn't collapsed on the floor yet, considering this was an overexertion for him (never in his two years of playing volleyball had he exercised this much). He decided that was as far as his cooperation went after he pulled up the second box and his vision blurred around the edges.
He slipped out of the small kitchen where he had positioned the box and quickly went into what he and his mother had already decided would be his new room. His father and the men who had trucked in the furniture had already brought up most of the bulkier things, so at least there was a mattress against one of the walls in the dreary space that stretched out before his eyes.
As there was still no electricity Kenma was plunged into almost absolute darkness, the good thing was that he had nothing to trip over on his way to the window. Once he got there, he had to make some effort to manage to open the shutter that had surely been closed for more than a year.
So it was like that, with his eyes getting used to the light and feeling his sweat starting to trickle down his neck because, again, there was no electricity yet to turn on the air conditioning, how his father found him lying on the mattress, just staring at the ceiling.
"Aren't you going to help anymore?" the man asked between heavy breaths from going up and down the stairs so many times.
Kenma knew that if he didn't come up with an excuse in less than two seconds his father would force him to go back downstairs for more boxes, and that was an experience Kenma didn't plan on repeating again for the rest of his life.
"I'm going out with Shouyou," he said then, looking sideways at his father, still lying on the mattress.
"You're going out with Shouyou? Right now?"
The truth was that he hadn't made any plans with the redhead, but his father had no way of knowing that.
"Yes, he's going to show me around this place" Kenma replied. The man stood in the doorway for a second, thinking.
"Fine, as long as you don't just stay there doing nothing" and after that his father left him alone.
Kenma took out his phone and opened the chat he had with Shouyou.
Can you get here in, like, 10 minutes?
To your new place?
I'f I pedal really fast!
Cool, do you want to go somewhere?
Sure, I know a place you'll love :D
I'll send you my new address
Actually, Shouyou already knew where the building he moved to was, but Kenma sent it to him just in case. In fact, Shouyou was the only person who knew his new address, since he was the only person Kenma knew in his new town. They would be going to the same school at the end of the summer −although Shouyou was a grade below him− and they were practically neighbors. His friend had been very excited to learn this fact, and assured him that he would introduce him to all his friends and show him all the cool things in town. Kenma was only vaguely excited about this.
Within 10 minutes Kenma was waiting outside, and a few seconds later Shouyou appeared with his old bike, out of breath but with a huge smile.
"Kenma!" he exclaimed, standing on the sidewalk near the moving truck "Get on the back!"
Kenma only had five seconds to consider everything that could go wrong if he rode a bike with Hinata Shouyou before he tugged on Kenma's shirt sleeve and forced him to stand behind him.
"You'll see, you're going to love it!" he was saying as Kenma clung on to him for dear life, pedaling at full speed downhill. The only good thing about it, Kenma thought, was that the wind was relieving some of the hellish heat he was feeling "I go there all the time with my friends, especially Kageyama, because we have a thing where we go around counting who has more victories and..."
Kenma didn't understand how Shouyou could carry more or less twice his weight on a bicycle while talking the whole way and not have run out of breath by the time they finally reached their destination.
It was the largest arcade Kenma had ever seen. It wasn't like he had seen many in his life, since where he used to live there was only one and he had always preferred to play video games at home, but he could understand why Shouyou had thought he would like a place like this. The truth was that Kenma couldn't help but be attracted by all the lights and sounds of the games inside, it was possibly one of the few public places where he could easily have a good time.
When he managed to look away from the huge sign at the entrance, Kenma turned to find that Shouyou was having trouble chaining his bike to a pole a few steps away.
"Don't worry about me, Kenma!" Shouyou shouted from where he stood, earning a few glances from a group of people passing by "You go on inside, I'll be right there."
So Kenma did exactly that.
As soon as he opened the door, an overwhelming amount of sounds flooded his ears. It wasn't as if Kenma was a stranger to gunshots and video game music (he was the first one to have the volume on his headphones extremely loud during his games), but truth be told, he had slept a minimal amount of hours the night before, so all the noise coming at him at once from all directions left him a bit disoriented for a split second.
Kenma approached the first machine to his right, where a couple of kids around 12 years old were collecting the tickets they had just won. It was Space Invaders Frenzy.
As if by magic, Shouyou suddenly materialized next to him "Have you ever played before?"
"Only the original" Kenma replied unfazed, approaching the machine as the children left.
Shouyou sat down on the seat in front of the screen, pulled two coins out of his pants pocket, and smiled broadly at him, his gaze determined.
"Want to try it?"
They spent about two hours in the arcade, and Kenma won every single time he played against Shouyou, as well as setting some records of his own that were registered on the machines. Kenma didn't find a challenge to it, the top positions' scores weren't too high, or at least they were nothing he couldn't easily beat.
"'PIE'?" Shouyou asked amused when he saw the name Kenma entered on the machine.
"What? I like pie" he replied. Shouyou snorted, and Kenma smiled a little as he pressed 'Start'.
Now
"Akaashi says that over the weekend the scores were the same as usual, so it had to be on Monday or yesterday" Bokuto informed him after returning from taking a walk around the arcade "He doesn't know the exact day because he didn't come to work yesterday or the day before"
"That's good" Kuroo muttered, except he wasn't paying much attention, he was too focused on the screen in front of him and not getting crushed by a stupid barrel.
Bokuto realized he was being ignored, and stared at the only two coins left on the machine his friend was currently playing on "Dude, how much money did you spend here today?"
"Almost half of what my parents gave me for graduation" he said, just as 'Game over' appeared in red on the screen, and Kuroo let out a small grunt. "How did this 'PIE' guy do it? In this one he beats me by only 500 points, but in at least four games he doubles me in points!"
Bokuto could feel how his friend was about to pull his hair out, so he forced him to stand up and grabbed his two remaining coins. "Kuroo, keep this, you'll get it another day... preferably one where you're not willing to go broke."
Kuroo took in air through his nose slowly "You know what? You're probably right... what a weird thing to say" Bokuto frowned, and Kuroo smirked "Anyways, I'm in no hurry, I have all summer to first of all, regain my top positions, and secondly, find out who this 'PIE' is that dares to surpass me."
That said, Kuroo started walking towards the door, with Bokuto following close behind.
"Geez... He really is a sore loser" Bokuto whispered to himself.
72 hours later
Shouyou entered his room like a hurricane.
"Kenma get ready! We're going out!" he shouted as he approached him, so that Kenma could hear him through his headphones (which wasn't necessary, thank you Shouyou). Kenma paused the game and watched his friend pacing, seemingly unable to sit still.
The redhead was by his window in an instant, opening the blinds suddenly and making Kenma have to close his eyes if he didn't want to go completely blind.
"...Who let you in?" Kenma asked, blinking awkwardly.
"Your mother. I told her I was going to take you out for a while and she just replied 'please do'."
Kenma rolled his eyes and finally turned off the console with disdain "Of course she would say something like that."
"Come on Kenma, it's summer! You can't stay here like a hermit" Shouyou reproached him, offering his hand to help him up. Kenma let out a long sigh before taking it.
The elevator was still broken so they went down the stairs, Shouyou took them two at a time, waiting for Kenma on each floor.
"So" Kenma opened the street door for his friend, then followed after him "Where are we going?"
"We're going to the bowling alley!" Shouyou said, excited "And if you want we can stay at the arcade after that, it's in the same establishment!"
Kenma wasn't very good at bowling, but it wasn't the worst plan in the world either. He figured it wouldn't be an absolute torture to have left the comfort of his room after all.
Or so he thought until Shouyou stood in front of his old bike, but it was too late. Kenma had been too slow to realize what his ride would be.
"Oh no" he whispered, full of dread.
Shouyou only flashed a sweet smile at him.
15 minutes later
Kenma should have figured it wouldn't be just the two of them going bowling.
"It will be fun Kenma! They're nice people, I'm sure you'll like them!"
Kenma watched them from afar, most of them were above the national average in height, and Kenma had never seen a more imposing group of teenagers in his entire life. Shouyou practically had to pull him up to where the others were.
The crowd of boys turned at once, Shouyou's hair acting as a possible traffic cone, drawing everyone's attention, but it quickly found itself directed towards the two-colored haired stranger he brought with him.
"Oh?" one of them said, his eyes bright and wide. He reminded Kenma of an owl. "Who did you bring with you today, Hinata?"
Kenma cringed a little at the attention on him, unused to it, and was glad that the question wasn't directed at him, and that it was Shouyou who answered.
"This is Kenma! He just moved here and I thought it would be nice to bring him along, I hope you don't mind"
No one seemed opposed to the idea, and one by one they began to introduce themselves; starting with the yellow-eyed, Bokuto, followed by Kuroo, Yamaguchi, Kageyama and finally, after a few brief seconds, Tsukishima. Kenma was not good at remembering names, so as soon as they were said his mind discarded more than half of them. Oblivious to this, they began to address him as if they hadn't just met half a minute ago, as they made their way to the counter and discussed how they would split into two teams.
The black-haired -Kenma was pretty sure his name was Kuroo- approached him with his hands in his pockets, and Kenma swallowed, his whole body tensing up. However, the boy only wraped an arm over his shoulders amicably, looking at him with drooping eyelids and a sideways smile, and Kenma couldn't help an unfamiliar warmth settle throughout his body.
"The little guy goes with me" he said, and Kenma didn't bother to warn him of how bad he was at bowling, Kuroo would have to be the one to regret choosing him. The other black-haired ended up being the last member of their team, at the insistence of both he and Shouyou that they couldn't go on the same team because it was of utmost importance to see which of them would win against the other.
The teams then got ready to play. Hinata made quite a show of being the first, weighing several balls until Kageyama yelled at him to hurry up. He then went over to the lane and did several ridiculous poses before throwing, all for the ball to go out of the lane immediately.
Next to him, Kageyama let out a small 'dumbass' and Kuroo laughed the ugliest laugh Kenma had ever heard, while Bokuto patted Shouyou on the back encouragingly.
The first few rounds were not too good overall, but Kenma knocked down a decent amount of 6 pins, and Kuroo smilingly congratulated him.
The only one who made a truly good throw was Kuroo himself, his chest puffing out as he scored the strike, his face breaking into a smirk.
"Nice job, Kuroo!" Bokuto cheered.
"He isn't even on your team" Tsukishima pointed out, his tone bored.
Kenma was quick to analyze and pick up on the dynamics of the group of friends in the first twenty minutes being with them, whether it was because of his keen perception skills, which had helped him in his years as a setter and playing video games; or simply because Shouyou's friends were an open book. Between Yamaguchi's constant compliments on Tsukishima's throws, the bickering between Kageyama and Shouyou to see who could score the most points, and the ever-present laughter from Bokuto and Kuroo, Kenma didn't have time to feel uncomfortable, to feel like he didn't belong there.
He barely felt like that group of people were complete strangers. He didn't know if it was because they were just that way and had the ability to make people feel comfortable around them or because they had made a special effort to make him feel included, though it was possibly the former. Kenma was a person who shied away from large groups of people, especially if they were noisy. Ninety percent of the time he wasn't comfortable and wanted to run away as soon as possible, but this time that wasn't the case.
It was true that Kenma had grown up; he was no longer the same introverted boy who always hid behind others, away from any focus of attention, he no longer always avoided social events pretending to be sick to play video games. However, although it was true that Kenma was no longer that same person, these boys were not making it difficult for him to stay a little longer.
Halfway through the game, Kenma scored a strike for the first time. As he turned around, triumphant, his eyes connected with Kuroo's, and Kenma saw that the softest of smiles was placed on his lips.
Kenma's heart began to beat just a little bit faster.
1 hour and 30 minutes later
Comforting Bokuto after a defeat entailed the great sacrifice of buying him a strawberry milkshake and taking him to see the attractive guy behind the bar -"Akaaaashi" Bokuto pouted, approaching him before starting to tell him how unfair the game had been, under the boy's poorly disguised smile-. Shouyou also seemed somewhat displeased, but the promise of a rematch in the arcade against Kageyama seemed to make him forget it.
So the group dragged Bokuto back with them, who in turn dragged his friend -Akaashi- who happened to have just finished his shift. Kenma was glad that apparently not everyone who hung out with Shouyou was as full of energy as he was, as at least Akaashi seemed to have a calmer attitude.
As soon as they reached the arcade, the group started to disperse; Tsukishima and Yamaguchi headed to some hook machines -"Tsukki really wants that dinosaur plushie" Yamaguchi told them in a whisper so that the blonde couldn't hear him-, and Kageyama started dragging Shouyou towards a motorcycle racing game.
Shouyou managed to shout something before disappearing completely into the crowd though.
"Kenma is an ace at any video game, you should try to beat him!" and even though he knew Shouyou only had good intentions to integrate him, Kenma wanted to be swallowed up by the ground right then and there.
Kuroo and Bokuto shared a silent gaze, debating by some sort of telepathy something completely unknown to him. Then Kenma found himself locked under the watchful gazes of both of them.
"Is that so?" Kuroo asked, a half smile making itself present on his lips. Kenma swallowed "Well, to believe it, we'll have to see it first."
And that was how Kenma was forced for the first time in his life to play video games.
He never thought a day would come when he would try to turn down an offer to play a video game, but there he was. He tried to turn around and disappear into the crowd, but Kuroo stood in his way, and when he tried to look at Akaashi for help, Akaashi just gave him an apologetic smile, and it was clear to Kenma that he could not escape the situation.
The four of them crossed the arcade to head to the new The Walking Dead game, which had been installed two days earlier (and which Kenma had already played for a good amount of hours), and once there, he waited before sitting down, looking at Kuroo.
"Oh, no" Kuroo waved a hand in the air and shook his head "I think we'll just watch this first game. Then we'll kick your ass" he added with a smirk.
As he stood in front of the controls and pulled a coin from his pocket, Kenma was fully aware that he was being watched.
'It's okay', he said to himself, 'it's not the first time you've played this, the first score is yours anyway and you're good at it, why are you so nervous?'
The game started immediately after he hit start, and for a few seconds, Kenma entered his 'gaming mode', where absolutely nothing disturbed his concentration, it was Kenma and the machine, and his fingers moved freely and his mind worked at full speed, oblivious to anything but the game in front of him. It was nice, it was familiar. The way he could get completely lost in the screen, everything was easier that way.
However, Kenma began to be fully aware that there were three people behind him. And even more so, that Kuroo had a hand on his seat.
Kenma had never felt so studied in his life. In those moments he could feel Kuroo's breath on the top of his head, and his eyes were like daggers on his hands. Why? Why did Kuroo seem so interested in watching him play? Was it because Shouyou had said he was good? It was as if Kuroo was looking for something specific in the way he played, and it was making his hands sweat more than usual on the controls. He was on edge, and he wasn't sure why Kuroo was having that effect on him.
Kuroo's hand moved slightly, and his knuckles brushed against Kenma's back. The wall that Kenma had built to separate the video game and reality suddenly collapsed.
Kenma noticed the precise moment his gameplay began to falter, until finally, poorly, he lost the game in the most embarrassing way possible. And even if the score he had achieved was not that low, Kenma had never played worse in his life.
Kuroo instantly turned away from the chair, and a part of Kenma (a very stupid part) almost missed having all his attention focused on him. Somehow, he had wanted to impress him. However, Kuroo made a humming sound, and his initial interest in discovering the secrets behind his playing method seemed to disappear quickly.
Kenma didn't have time to think much about it though, as Bokuto practically forced them to play air hockey against him and Akaashi.
Kuroo returned to that competitive state he'd been in for the entire bowling game, and directed a smirk at Kenma -the one he was starting to get used to and, needless to lie, like- while Bokuto pulled Akaashi by the wrist and Akaashi simply let him.
"What do you say to beating the crap out of them?" Kuroo asked invitingly, and Kenma could only smile back, getting caught up in his enthusiasm.
30 minutes later
When they won, after a superhuman effort to stop Bokuto's brutal throws, Kuroo laughed hysterically and, in what seemed like the adrenaline of the moment, grabbed Kenma in a hug that lifted him off the ground for a split second. Kenma could swear his heart stopped beating at that very instant.
Kuroo didn't seem to have noticed, but in the time span of a couple of hours, he had completely unhinged Kenma's world.
24 hours later
Kenma didn't usually get many text messages or calls. Apart from Shouyou he didn't have many other friends, so his chats were reduced to the ones he had with his parents and some guys from his former volleyball team.
That was why he was surprised when his cell phone popped up with a new notification from an unknown number.
Kenma paused the game he had been playing as he took off his headphones, and before standing up he turned up the power on the fan, which at the moment was doing a poor job of keeping the sweltering heat away from him. His knees and back popped pleasantly as he stretched, and after brushing the remnants of potato chips on his pants he set about finding his phone among the pile of soda cans on his desk.
Hey, Kenma!
It's Kuroo :D
I asked Chibi-chan for your number.
Kenma blinked twice before his brain processed what he had just read, and once it did, his hand closed tightly over the device.
He took in air through his nose slowly, because for some inexplicable reason his nerves had shot up... normally that was enough to calm him down, but even that wasn't able to keep his nerves at bay for long, considering the next message that popped up on his screen.
Would you like to grab a bite with me later?
His heartbeat started to act strangely again, speeding up and driving all the blood to the deepest part of his stomach. However, Kenma didn't have time to indulge in panic; he needed to decide fast.
He had two plan options for what was left of his afternoon; spend an unhealthy amount of hours playing the new shooter game update that had come out a couple of days ago, or accept Kuroo's proposal. Both plans sounded pretty good in theory, but the truth was that going out with Kuroo would mean he would have to leave the house and make an effort to be minimally friendly (or at least be able to follow a conversation), and Kenma might have other qualities, but being sociable was not one of them.
Which led him to doubt why Kuroo would even want to spend time with him, with someone he had barely spent a couple of hours with the previous afternoon, and Kenma didn't remember being overly charming, just his usual awkward self.
But despite not understanding the reasons Kuroo might have for wanting to invite him to lunch, Kenma would be lying if he said he didn't want to go out with Kuroo.
A beat of silence.
And then, "Mom! I'm going out for a while!"
25 minutes later
"Come on Kenmaaa" Kuroo moaned, poking his cheek insistently "You can have anything, it's on me!"
Kenma slapped his hand away, in a futile attempt to get rid of it, but it came back just as quickly as it had been pushed away.
The coffee shop they had gone to was a place Kenma recognized -despite the fact that he barely left his house due to the sweltering heat and that he had been living in the area for less than two weeks- due to the fact that it was near Shouyou's house, and he had walked past it once. He had been surprised upon entering, as the layout of the space was cozy, much nicer than the outside of the place. The tables were small, round, but the seats were large, pastel-colored armchairs.
That's right, they were large, just enough to fit one person and leave a little room to move around comfortably. Nothing more. And yet, for some reason, Kuroo decided that the two of them could fit in one armchair, and squeezed between Kenma and the armrest.
Kenma only forgave him for invading his personal space because the grin he put on afterwards caused a single dimple to appear on his right cheek, and Kenma felt too weak on his knees to move to the other armchair.
Kuroo picked up the menu from the table and started showing him all the toppings that could be added to the pancakes and what he usually ordered to drink, and Kenma found himself noticing the expressions he put on -and which changed depending on whether he liked the food he was talking about more or less-, the way his lips curved into little smiles and how his fingers gripped the edge of the menu.
So when Kuroo asked him what he wanted to drink of all the choices, Kenma realized that he really had no idea what the options were, because he hadn't been paying attention.
"Tea is fine" he said, looking away from Kuroo's excited face.
"Just tea?" Kuroo asked, raising an eyebrow. That was when Kenma's treacherous stomach started growling, and Kuroo smirked.
And then he started to poke Kenma's cheek.
After about two minutes of Kuroo moaning and insisting that Kenma ordered whatever he wanted, a young waitress approached their table, pen ready over a small pad. Kuroo didn't seem to immediately notice her presence, and the girl stared at them with a look somewhere between uncomfortable and amused, before clearing her throat and finally getting Kuroo to look at her. Kenma was pretty sure his cheeks were red, so he hid them a bit behind his hair.
"Well," Kuroo handed him the menu for him to hold "what will you eat then?"
"Kuro, I don't feel like eating anything, really" he said, now already out of sheer stubbornness, not really processing the words.
He didn't understand why all of a sudden Kuroo's eyes started to glow as if he had just been given a new toy. "'Kuro'?" he asked excitedly.
Kenma then turned red completely "Shut up" he muttered, hiding his face behind the menu "I'll have the apple pie." he said, if only to get Kuroo to stop talking.
The waitress wrote it down in her pad, and then Kuroo ordered his food and the girl left.
"So," Kenma looked at Kuroo, and Kuroo had a smirk on his face "Apple pie?"
"What? I really like pie" Kenma replied defensively.
The expression Kuroo then made was one that Kenma couldn't recognize "I see..."
1 hour and 45 minutes later
It so happened that they both had to take the same bus.
It was already getting dark when they left the cafe. Kuroo hadn't noticed the time passing until they decided it was a good time to go back, and from the slight surprise in Kenma's eyes as he looked at the time, he hadn't noticed either.
They walked leisurely under the slowly darkening sky, and Kuroo couldn't help but be thankful that the temperature had dropped at least a little as the hours had passed, for these last few days had been a veritable hell. They walked in a comfortable silence, and Kuroo thought this was a nice change to spending his time with people like Bokuto, since with Kenma he felt like he could let his guard down, take things easy, and didn't need to exhaust all his energy to have a good time.
It was just nice spending time with Kenma.
They had to wait 10 minutes until their bus arrived, so they sat at the empty bus stop side by side, only their knees touching. Kuroo closed his eyes for a moment, craning his neck back. He opened them again when he heard lively music next to him, and saw that Kenma had pulled out his phone and was playing something.
"What's that game about?" he asked, mildly surprised at the speed at which Kenma's thumbs were moving over the screen.
"I can show you, if you want" he replied, his voice monotone and without stopping his movements.
Kenma took the moment when the words 'STAGE CLEAR' appeared on his screen to tuck his hair behind his ears as the game marked that the next level would be number 131, and then moved the screen between the two of them so Kuroo could see it better.
"Ok, so... first you have to keep in mind that..." Kenma started explaining the game and demonstrating at the same time how it worked, but Kuroo was barely processing what was happening on the screen.
"You're really good" he said, surprised. Kenma just shrugged a shoulder.
"I guess."
That night, when he got home, Kuroo downloaded the game. Just to try it out.
He didn't make it past the second level.
A suspicion began to form in his mind.
60 hours later
"I get that you came here because you have some weird obsession with discovering PIE's secret identity" Bokuto said, shuffling beside him "But why do I have to come? It's too hot, I'm gonna die!"
Kuroo ignored his friend's complaints and kept walking "Don't be dramatic, no one's going to die"
"I am! Can't we at least go inside...there's air conditioning there..."
"If we go in and he sees us, he might think we're stalking him" Kuroo then found the perfect spot to hide; behind a wall, with a clear view of the building's entrance. He dragged Bokuto there.
As Kuroo pulled out binoculars, Bokuto remarked, "Oh, but you're definitely stalking him"
"I'm not! I'm just following my instinct"
Bokuto blinked twice. "Your instinct is telling you to wait in front of an arcade in the sweltering sun to spy on someone who's better at video games than you are?"
In his defense, Kuroo would say it was a pretty foolproof plan; he'd spent the entire morning trying to regain his first position in a racing game, until he'd eventually succeeded... if his main suspect came out of that arcade and PIE had once again overtaken him in the game's ranking, it would be a pretty conclusive proof when added to the ones Kuroo had somehow already compiled.
Right at that moment the victim of all his suspicions entered his field of vision, and Kuroo placed the binoculars over his eyes. Bokuto looked at him in confusion, and then his eyes followed the direction Kuroo was looking in, until his gaze locked his target. First, his eyes widened in surprise, and then his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"That's stupid" Bokuto growled, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the edge of his T-shirt "Your suspect is Kenma? We saw him play that zombie game, he wasn't bad at it, but he wasn't up to the level of-"
As Kenma opened the arcade doors, Kuroo motioned his friend to be quiet, focusing on Kenma's figure until the last second before he disappeared.
Kuroo couldn't help but think that Kenma looked good; his hair shone in the sun, he wore a white t-shirt that was slightly too big for him, and he walked slowly, unhurriedly, his eyes scanning the surroundings, almost spotting Kuroo behind the wall if he hadn't moved to his right to avoid those eyes that were so captivating, a gaze as intense as it was warm, a gaze that-.
Kuroo cleared his throat in an attempt to interrupt that train of thought.
This time, when he looked back at Bokuto, it was with a wicked grin on his face.
"Now we wait."
1 hour later
"Anyway" Bokuto commented, breaking the silence, chewing absently around a candy wrapper he had found in his pocket twenty minutes ago, the crinkling sound driving Kuroo insane "How did you know Kenma would go to the acade and when he would do it? We got there about five minutes before he did."
Kuroo stiffened for some unknown reason before answering "We were texting when I came up with the plan, so when I decided to test it out I casually asked him if he would go and... yeah" he ran a hand down his sweaty neck, somewhat uncomfortable.
Bokuto raised an eyebrow, and finally (finally!) stopped chewing on the damn wrapper "You were texting?"
"Yeah, these past few days we've been... talking" he looked away.
Kuroo didn't need to add that he had been checking for Kenma's replies every five minutes, nor that they had been talking every hour, nor that they had been texting until at least three in the morning.
Talking to Kenma made him feel... something Kuroo didn't want to put a name to yet. Kuroo never thought he would find in Kenma such a deep trust, such a sincere comfort. He had fallen into Kuroo's life like a block of tetris, and he had fit right in.
Speaking of the boy who had flooded his thoughts since he had arrived, Kenma was now exiting the building. Kuroo ducked behind the wall that had been serving as their hiding place until then, dragging Bokuto with him by the collar of his shirt, causing him to let out a high-pitched squeal that he hastily masked clearing his throat.
Kuroo waited a few minutes, plenty of time for Kenma to be long gone. After that, only the final (but most crucial) part of his plan remained. Kuroo didn't know if he was excited, nervous, or something in between. He wanted to know if his intuition was right, but most of all, he wanted to know once and for all who PIE was.
Kuroo knew his investigation was child's play but, for some reason, he couldn't let it go. At first he had been frustrated, sure, but now it was simply something to keep him entertained, to give him something to do and think about on long summer afternoons.
Because Bokuto could say his obsession was childish, but honestly? Kuroo wanted it to be. Next year he would be going to college, and in some strange way he felt like this would be the last summer he had to be able to do things like this, to feel like the kid he was so afraid to let go, the one who loved to play volleyball and spend entire afternoons playing games at the arcade with his best friends. Like the kid who would want to discover and beat the mysterious person who was infinitely better than him at arcade games.
Kuroo dragged Bokuto inside the arcade, and hurried over to the racing game he had spent several hours on earlier that morning, nearly knocking over a child in the process.
Just as he had suspected, he had fallen back to second place. Above him, PIE was about two hundred points ahead. His plan had gone perfectly, he couldn't believe it.
Kuroo smiled triumphantly "Bingo."
12 minutes later
Bokuto made him buy him an ice cream afterwards for the inconvenience of having kept him in the sun for more than an hour. Kuroo reluctantly complied.
Now, Bokuto nibbled on a mango popsicle absentmindedly, as he walked beside Kuroo in the direction of a small park where they used to play volleyball.
"You know it might have been someone else who was already inside that got their score back, right?"
Kuroo didn't have to think long about the answer, because he had asked himself that question before "I know, but it just so happens that Kenma was my main suspect, and to be honest everything points to it being him."
Bokuto simply nodded his head, not doubting his best friend. "Besides" Kuroo continued, a half smile on his lips "I have a plan."
"Another one?" Bokuto asked, not too surprised.
Kuroo licked a drop of melted ice cream that was falling from his cone before confessing his master plan to Bokuto, a perfect plan he had concocted while paying for the ice creams. It was impossible for it to fail "We'll invite Kenma to the party you'll be throwing at your new apartment this Friday, and then I'll use my charms to seduce Kenma and get him to admit that he's PIE!"
Bokuto stayed quiet for a second. "I can't help but think that the 'seduce Kenma' part takes a very appropriate approach for your personal benefit" Bokuto commented, chuckling lightly.
Suddenly Kuroo's cheeks lit up "No it isn't! It's a necessary and indispensable part of this plan!"
"Whatever you say, man" Bokuto laughed "Anyways, I don't think that a plan is necessary, I'm pretty sure that if you asked him, Kenma would have no problem admiting that he's PIE, it's really not a big deal"
Kuroo gasped "It is! I have to be subtle so Kenma doesn't get suspicious!"
Bokuto shook his head, realizing that there was no possible way to persuade Kuroo not to go through with that idea. "I still think you just want to flirt with him."
"Shut up Bokuto, this is an important mission" he said, standing straighter "Success is much more important than my feelings, I can't fall for Kenma, he's my enemy" he concluded solemnly.
Bokuto looked him up and down.
"You play too many video games, dude."
76 hours later
Kenma wasn't a big fan of parties.
To be honest, he hadn't gone to many parties throughout his life. He wasn't invited to a lot of them to begin with, and the few he had gone to (dragged by someone) had been reluctantly and he hadn't had a good time; the music was always too loud, the people too drunk, and the place too crowded.
And despite everything, he had not hesitated to accept Kuroo's invitation to attend Bokuto's party.
Kenma knew it was stupid, but for some reason he felt that he would accept anything Kuroo suggested.
But even more stupid was the crush that Kenma had developed on the boy. Kenma didn't usually have crushes on people, but despite that, Kuroo had managed to not only get Kenma's attention -which was already complicated to begin with if you weren't a new video game that had been announced at the conventions Kenma watched religiously- but also draw him in hopelessly. Kenma was a blushing mess every time Kuroo sent him an audio when he had just woken up, when his voice still had traces of sleep in it; he was a nervous wreck every time Kuroo sent him a picture making a stupid face (which Kenma still found stupidly attractive); he laughed at the memes he sent him, which matched Kenma's strange humor.
So yes, Kenma had been foolish for having let himself be persuaded by Kuroo, but it couldn't have been otherwise either, so Kenma had just accepted his defeat.
Kenma had arrived at Bokuto's house by train in Shouyou's company, and at first Kenma decided that he would not separate himself from his side. That had been the case for the first hour and a half at least, then Shouyou and his boundless energy had disappeared down a hallway when he was informed that Kageyama had arrived, and the redhead set out to challenge him to a drinking game.
Akaashi had also kept him company for a while after that, introducing him to some people Kenma had never seen before, and with whom he tried to be mildly cordial. During that time, his mind constantly wandered to Kuroo, and he tried to find him with his eyes, but he would not let himself be seen.
At some point in the evening Kenma seriously considered going home alone, but as if listening to his internal dilemma, Bokuto magically appeared with a plastic cup in hand from the kitchen, and made him take it, assuring him that it was not too strong and that he would have a better time once he had some alcohol in his system. Kenma didn't give it a sip until Bokuto had taken Akaashi from his side -the latter with an apologetic look on his face as he was being dragged away, but Kenma understood that Bokuto was a force Akaashi couldn't and didn't want to fight against- and felt he would need it to deal with all the strangers dancing and talking loudly around him.
The decision to hide in an empty room had not been entirely conscious. Kenma found himself searching for a room away from the noise, one that was miraculously empty, and silence welcomed him once he closed the door behind him.
From what Kuroo had told him, this would be Bokuto's new apartment, since he had graduated and needed a house closer to where he would train now that he would be taking up volleyball professionally. He had recently moved in, so Kenma assumed that all the boxes in that room were there for that reason. Otherwise, the room was empty.
On the far wall was a door leading to a small balcony, and Kenma walked to it without thinking, deciding that the heat inside was already too much for him and stepping out onto the balcony without a second thought, sitting down on the floor and resting his now nearly empty glass next to him.
Kenma decided that, since Kuroo was nowhere to be found, he could stay there for the rest of the night, until he had to find Shouyou and go home.
10 minutes later
"Kenma! I was looking for you!" Kuroo exclaimed, slurring his vowels a bit.
Okay, he was a little bit drunk, but he had been avoiding Kenma all night, too nervous to go over and talk to him, until Bokuto told him he had to stop acting like a child and to have a drink and go get his man.
Kuroo had perhaps taken this too seriously and had a little too much to drink, but he was just a little tipsy.
At least he had found Kenma; he was sitting on the balcony, his eyes and skin shining beautifully in the moonlight, and as Kuroo took a seat across from him, he had the urge to reach out and stroke his cheek. If he hadn't had a cup in his hand he probably would have.
"How long have you been out here?" Kuroo spoke again, this time trying to vocalize better.
Kenma waved a hand in the air, circling a finger around the rim of his empty glass with his other hand "A couple of minutes, I just sat down."
"Good thing you found this place then" Kuroo commented with a smile "I wanted to talk to you, so at least this way we can do it more easily."
A slight blush covered Kenma's cheeks upon hearing this, and Kuroo wished he could get that color out of his face more often.
Because Kuroo, at some point, had discovered how much he liked Kenma. He just wanted to kiss him. He wanted their lips to brush and to feel Kenma's breath on his, but he also wanted to get to know him. He wanted to buy him ice cream and for them to share more summer afternoons just enjoying each other's company, until, eventually, he could call him his boyfriend.
Kuroo shook his head, this was no time to think about that; he had an identity to uncover.
"So..." Kuroo started to say "Basically, I wanted to tell you that since I've met you, I think we've developed a pretty good relationship... don't you think?"
Kenma suddenly looked a little more tense, his hand closing tightly around his drink, but after a second he nodded slowly. It was confirmation enough for Kuroo, who continued speaking.
"If you had any secrets..." Kuro frowned, choosing his words better "actually no, not necessarily a secret, if you have something you want to get off your chest, I want you to know you can count on me. Whatever concerns or secret identities you may have, I'm here if you want to tell anyone."
"Well..."
Kenma seemed to be debating something, fiddling with the edge of his shirt nervously, so Kuroo decided to give the final push, he was sure Kenma was about to fess up, to tell him that he was PIE. His plan was going to be a total success.
"Come on Kenma, it's okay, I've more or less been able to figure it out" and although Kenma seemed surprised at this, it was what apparently managed to convince him.
"I like you, Kuro" Kenma finally confessed, without looking him in the eyes.
1 minute later
Kuroo suddenly began to feel a little dizzy; his stomach was spinning, and his head was completely blank. He looked at his cup in confusion, and wondered if he had really had too much to drink after all.
That was definitely not the confession he had been expecting.
It took Kuroo half a second longer to throw his cup behind his head, get on his knees and approach Kenma, placing both his hands on Kenma's cheeks, looking intently into his eyes.
Kenma gave him the same look, and a lock of blond hair tickled Kuroo's knuckles.
'Screw it' Kuroo thought at that moment 'This confession is a million times better.'
Maybe it was the extra courage the alcohol had given him, but Kuroo didn't hesitate for a second when he asked; "Can I kiss you?"
Kenma's eyes widened in surprise, as if Kuroo's question was something totally impossible, as if he couldn't believe his feelings were reciprocated. Despite this, it didn't take him long to recover from the initial surprise and nod.
Bells rang in Kuroo's head, and after that the path in front of him was clear, and his lips collided with Kenma's in one movement.
The kiss was simple, sweet and slow. Kuroo didn't have it in him to do much more, he was too happy, he couldn't believe this was happening to him. Kenma took it upon himself to set the pace in the face of Kuroo's inability to do so, and his lips moved over Kuroo's, prompting Kuroo to follow, and he complied happily.
The kiss tasted slightly of alcohol, and their hands were quick to seek out any part of the other's body to latch onto, wrinkling clothes and spreading heat on skin.
It soon turned into a messy kiss, but Kuroo and Kenma just wanted to be closer and closer, and fireworks were going off in their heads, and nothing mattered more in that moment than that kiss.
Extra: 20 minutes later
When they broke the kiss, it took Kuroo five minutes to compose himself, regaining his breathing and his thoughts.
It took at least another five minutes for him to remember his mission.
Kenma was now curled up next to him, both leaning against the wall, and when Kuroo looked at him, Kenma tilted his head up and looked back.
"Are you PIE?" Kuroo asked suddenly, his voice still somewhat hoarse from the kiss.
Kenma blinked once.
"Kuro, you're drunk."
Kuroo rephrased his question after an embarrassing five seconds where he didn't understand what the confusion could have been "No, not like actual pie, do you use that name in the arcade?"
Kenma nodded slowly, and Kuroo finally had the answer he had been looking for after so long.
Well, that had been easy, Bokuto was right.
"How dare you beat me in every single game?" Kuroo whined, putting a hand to his chest and making a pained face "I thought you cared more about me than that."
Kenma looked confused "I still don't understand what's going on."
Kuroo then brought a hand up to Kenma's face and grabbed it by both cheeks, pulling it a little closer to him.
"It's okay, I'm over it, we can go back to kissing" he said with a cheeky grin.
Kenma frowned, but his cheeks flushed.
"Idiot" he muttered, and Kuroo smiled.
Kenma ended up kissing him again.
Kuroo counted this as a small victory.