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Kenma was a wallflower. Even on the court, he had the least flashy position. He observed and calculated, and he enjoyed it. Winning was a way to gain peoples approval, which he desperately craved, no matter how hard he tried to pretend he didn't. So, he the needy wallflower, was planted in the corner with Fukunaga, exchanging quiet conversation during the "bonding time" between Nekoma and Karasuno.
Fukunaga was good company, and he rarely spoke but Kenma was similar enough to him that he was privy to the jokes he was always snickering to himself about. For the most part they just watched the others, or the taller boy watched Kenma play his game. It was a good time for them. However, as soon as Kenma spotted another video game at the party, he immediately needed to know what the boy was playing. It was easy to find out with how loudly he was proclaiming the coolness of it to Nekoma's thirstiest wing spiker.
Someone else he actually knew had Monster Hunter. He was torn between rushing up and asking for his username and shrinking away before someone mentioned he'd been playing the game nonstop for two weeks. He chose instead to just sign in and see if any of his in game friends were already playing. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw sae online. Good, they were always a good party member. He quickly met up with them and tensed when he heard his username.
"Oh yeah, applepi! Saeko talks about this person all the time. They've defeated all but one boss in the game, and they're grinding levels and helping her with missions at the same time." Kenma cringed at the loud words of Karasuno's wing spiker and shrank back in his seat, hurriedly turning around and running the opposite direction of his friend in game. "Wait, wait where's he going? Noooooooo come back, you're so good at quests!"
To Kenma's left, there was a sharp bark of laughter as his best friend clutched Yaku for support. "Kenma stop running from the poor guy before he cries."
'You have betrayed me, how dare you,' he thought as he stared down his closest childhood friend. 'This offense is unforgivable and shall not be forgotten.'
Before he could actually do or say anything, he was distracted by Fukunaga laughing and then a sudden, loud presense beside him. "Woah! Seriously? You're applepi? You're so close to beating the game! Saeko told me all about how you kick ass against every boss."
Kenma shrank down at the praise and shrugged. "Even if a game doesn't seem clearable at first, after playing it over and over again, you can conquer it."
Tanaka chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Exactly! Which is why we're gonna kick your asses at volleyball soon." He plopped down next to Kenma on the couch and zeroed in on the game. "So what quest were you gonna do next?"
He shrugged weakly and scooted away a bit. "I don't know."
Tanaka laughed loudly and wrapped an arm around him. “Well then we can work on the next one Saeko was doing! She's been having trouble with it, so she loaned it to me! It's even better that you're here to help me!”
“...Okay.” They spent a while like that, Kenma carrying Tanaka through the fights and people teasing them about it the whole time. Then someone brought out some food and everyone except the quiet outliers crowded around to get some.
Kenma sighed and leaned against Fukunaga. “You're a jerk.” The whole time Tanaka had him captive, Fukunaga just sat and giggled to his own jokes, not even sharing them with the quiet setter. “I wanna go home.” His friend just ruffled his hair and stood to go get something to eat.
Kenma's freedom was only brief because the loud spiker returned with food for both of them. “Here, Kenma! You've gotta try this it's like the stuff in the game!”
For a second, he swore he was in a dating sim with the way his heart skipped a beat. He didn't know the other boy could be so thoughtful and considerate. He was a sucker for anything related to games, so he just quietly ate, refusing to acknowledge how sweet the gesture was. “Thanks.”
Tanaka grinned at him. “We should hang out some time and play more!”
Kenma just gave a small nod and carefully wiped off his hands before returning to his game.
A few weeks later Kenma got an unexpected text. Tanaka wanted to meet up the next day. He was going to Tokyo and thought it'd be fun to spend the night. Kenma sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It wouldn't be terrible, but... He couldn't even think of a reason to deny the request. They were more friendly now. They chatted and played games online, and Kenma even linked him to some of his favorite videos sometimes.
'okay... bring an overnight bag I guess?'
Once Tanaka confirmed the plans, Kenma was left to sulk and accept his fate. He was used to having Kuroo or Fukunaga over all the time, so it wasn't that he was uncomfortable with someone new in his room. In fact, it was more that someone so exuberant could just worm his way into his life. First Kuroo then Shouyou... Who was next, Bokuto? He sighed and crawled into bed and started his daily routine of checking his app games. Whatever. It wasn't that big of a deal. They'd just play some games and go to sleep, then he'd go home.
When Kenma accepted his request to spend the night he absolutely did not sign up for Tanaka's girl talk. He brought a dating sim. On top of that, it was one of the ones Kenma hated the most. The route choices were so obvious that he wanted to burn the thing on the spot. He absolutely refused to let that terrible thing infect his perfectly good gaming systems. “No. Burn it.”
“What? But I bought it just for tonight! C'mon it's gotta be fun!”
“That thing is a disgrace to games, I can't believe you're even touching it. I want it out of my house.”
“Kenma? No, wait. C'mon you're overreacting! Ow ow ow I'm sorry okay I'll put it away! You didn't have to bite.” Tanaka was pouting, but Kenma just plopped back into his chair in satisfaction. “I just wanted to play a dating sim.”
Kenma glanced back at him. “Fine. I have one.”
Tanaka gasped and sat up excitedly. “Seriously?”
He nodded and chewed on his lip. “...It's probably not what you're expecting.”
Tanaka flopped over his bed, smiling like a fool. “I just wanna look at the characters and talk about types and stuff. It'll be fun!”
Kenma sighed and signed onto steam, starting up a game and covering his face. “It's the only one I have, don't take it too seriously...”
Tanaka rolled off the bed and hopped over to sit in his lap. “What is it?”
Kenma tensed up and froze at the sudden weight in his lap. Error 404 logic not found. “H-Hatoful Boyfriend?”
“Wait, what? Like you're the boyfriend?”
Kenma stood and let Tanaka fall to the ground, hurriedly exiting the room. “I'm getting some snacks. Just start playing.” His heart was pounding as he hurried to the kitchen, sticking his face into the fridge as he wheezed softly. “That guy's gonna be the death of me...”
Tanaka pushed himself up from the floor, careful not to tangle with any of the wires as he stood. Geeze what was with Kenma? Saeko and him always shared a chair when they were playing games when they were younger. They didn't really have that problem now that they mostly played on the TV or on Saeko's PSP. He plopped down in the chair and spun around as the game loaded. Maybe it was because Kenma didn't have any siblings? Yeah, that was totally it. He grinned and stopped his spinning to see the start screen.
“Huh. A dating sim for birds? In a bird school. Cool.” When he started the game, that's when he realized. The protagonist was a girl. The birds were guys. He shifted uncomfortably and just huried through their introductions. “They're just birds... I can pretend they're girls.” He ended up choosing the shy one that loved books. “Hah... Kinda cute...” As he played he started to see the similarities between the bird and Kenma. “It's like I'm... Trying to date Kenma...” He laughed wryly and cut that thought off. “Nope. Not even going there.”
Kenma walked back in with his arms full of snacks. “Going where? You didn't pick the doctor did you?”
“Uh! No. Just. One of the choices. You didn't tell me the birds were guys?”
Kenma looked at the screen and shrugged. “It's a good game.” He giggled quietly. “Kuroo said that one's like me. Can you believe that? Like I'd just go after for someone for... A game...” Even though that's how he first spotted Tanaka. Okay maybe he was like the bird boy.
“Well, anyway, I like his type. Quiet girls are so cute, especially when the open up and get all lovey dovey.” Tanaka grabbed some snacks from him and sat back on his bed again. “What's your type?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “2D ones?”
“That's not a real answer! C'mon like... Pick a girl from one of your games! That's at least more specific.”
He chewed on his lip. “Luis Sera.”
He frowned. “Luis? What a weird name.” He laughed and munched on the chips Kenma brought. “What's she like?”
He shrugged and sat down in his computer chair. “Confident... Cute... Sassy sometimes? Kind of flirty.” He cleared his throat. “It's sad when he dies, though.”
Tanaka dropped the bag and stared at him. “Wait, you're gay?”
Kenma shrugged. “Some girls are cute, I guess, but I like guys better.”
Tanaka nervously licked his lips. “I... I know what you mean. Some... Some guys are really cute.”
Kenma spun around in his chair. “So which bird would you pick?”
Tanaka stood and slowly walked over to look at the screen again. “The green haired one? He's kind of adorable.” Then he looked down at Kenma, trying to silently convey his meaning.
The blonde boy looked up at him without moving his head, a sly grin on his face. “So you choose me?”
Tanaka blushed and took a step back. “You were planning that?”
He shrugged and leaned back in the chair. “I guessed how you'd react.” He slowly pushed himself up and moved to stand in front of the older boy, tilting his head and smiling. “You're loud, and you don't think before you act, but you're still kind of cute sometimes.”
“I... Shit. You really are like a cat. Does this mean... We both like each other?”
Kenma reached up and gently cupped his cheek. “You're my boyfriend now.” Then he leaned up the few centimeters it took to reach his lips and kissed him, pulling back after a few seconds. “Okay?”
Tanaka was stuck for a few seconds, his brain trying to catch up to the past thirty seconds. Once he finished processing the new information he blushed and stared down at the shorter boy. “Holy shit. Okay.”