Archive of Our Own

Petrichor – the earthy scent produced when rain drowns in dry soil; the smell hadn’t been hanging around as often as the children had liked it to be. When the earth’s odor scattered to scent the wind, children’s laugh would hurry up and follow wherever the smell might be present. Cracked soil soon becomes flooding puddles on muddy grass which children’s boots are made to jump on. 

This time, a gust of wind delivered the message of the rain to a class of second years through a slightly titled window. That first blow was highly anticipated ever since the heatwaves started early in March. At the very back of the class, a certain dyed blonde hair lay vulnerable in his seat, sprawling across his whole desk, dripping in buckets of sweat – for him that first blow of wind too was like a year's worth of good luck finally came true. He dragged his head up to see the front of the classroom where the teacher was talking gibberish from a distance as his vision cleared. He smelled it too – the petrichor. 

“Kenma, kenma, I think it’s going to rain really soon! I’m so excited I think I’m just going to go home in the rain!” a seatmate beside him whispered to him with excitement in his eyes. To this, Kenma simply just butt his head down back to his table. So it’s going to rain soon huh….

Kenma never had really liked the rain – it was wet and dirty and cold, but this time, he felt as if it was better than getting drenched in his own salty sweat. The blonde felt more relaxed as more wind blew to his side, playing with his hair which was unruly due to the stress of heat – and from him touching it every now and then so it wouldn’t stick to his sweaty face. Before he realized it, he dozed off, enjoying a rare cooling breeze. 

***

Kenma….Kenma..

“ Kenma~, let’s go home!” A loud voice woke him up in a panic, when he finally lifted his head he could see that he was the only one in the classroom left. He had been scared to be caught by the teacher during class period but he was glad it wasn’t the case. He looked to his left briefly and saw the glass windows of the class illuminated gorgeous gradients of orange hues, he sighed knowing 2 things – he had slept through his last 2 periods, and the fact that Kuroo had already waited for at least an hour. 

“Ah, Kuroo, sorry you must’ve waited for a while..” Kenma slurred his words apologetically, still pretty much dazed from his sleep, then briefly pushed his desk aside. He grabbed his bag and stood up, walking behind the big stature of his childhood best friend.

The way outside the classroom was quiet, making the dazed Kenma almost fall back asleep as he walked. If Kuroo hadn’t suddenly stopped in his steps, Kenma would’ve probably fallen off the stairs. 

“Hm!” Kenma sounded as he bumped into Kuroo’s back. 

“Hey Kenma! You almost fell asleep didn’t you?” Kuroo knew Kenma all too well and Kenma knew it as well. “Wake up, you’re gonna fall on some stairs if ya don’t~,” he said in a playful tone as he briskly jogged down the stairs. 

“Ung..” Kenma responded and followed down the stairs, forcing his heavy eyelids to peak through just enough so he didn't accidentally miss a step. As Kuroo’s figure disappeared off to the locker shoes near the school's entrance, Kenma’s sleepiness abruptly came up again, making him dozy in his steps. With lazy steps and half-opened eyes, he followed Kuroo as he opened his shoe locker and took out his shoes. 

“Hey!” Kuroo hit his back hard to shock him out of his sleep. This made the once quiet Kenma woke and irritated now. 

“Kuroo! Don’t do that!” he hissed at Kuroo. He tried to intimidate Kuroo by doing so but he just looked so much like a cat that just found a cucumber on the floor. 

“Sorry, sorry...Now, c’mon, you’re so slow!” Kuroo walked away. 

Kenma had no choice but to quickly put on his shoes and to not get left behind. 

“You…Why do we need to rush so much anyways, geez!” Kenma shouted off to a distance where Kuroo was standing still.

“It’s going to rain soon,”  Kuroo answered swiftly without looking back, his tone monotone. To this, Kenma couldn’t do anything but agree because as hot as it had been, drenching in cold wet rain would still be horrible; Kuroo was already 30 steps ahead of him, he had to focus on pacing himself. 

***

The sky in front of them may look the same hue of orange but when they look behind themselves, it is as if a storm is coming up. 

“Hey Kenma!” Kuroo suddenly stopped in his steps, “I’m going to graduate next week!” He abruptly shout it at Kenma as it if was a promise. 

“I know Kuroo,” Kenma answered like usual. 

“Make new friends like how you did with Shoyo, alright?” 

“I’ll try,”

“Continue volleyball too, won’t you?” 

“Sure…” Kenma wasn’t sure of the direction of this conversation. Moreover, he is confused by Kuroo isn’t looking at his eyes when they’re having a conversation. 

“Good!” Kuroo just suddenly started walking again without ever looking back at Kenma’s eyes. 

“...Is that all you have to say?” 

A scoff could be heard from Kuroo’s mouth, it was distant but still audible to Kenma, “That’s all I have to say..” his words trailed off in a weak attempt of trying to try to sound loud but all his cool guy facade dropped when suddenly a warm breath tickled down his spine. Kuroo's skin shivered and couldn’t help but turn to look back at Kenma then, who was already looking back at him with a fierce look. Kenma was closer than he had thought when he last felt his breath on his back. 

“What’s wrong Kuroo?” Kenma was trying to decipher the reason Kuroo was hiding his sad frown when he saw Kuroo’s ears turn slightly red. “Were you sad you are going to graduate first?” 

“N-NO!” Kuroo stepped back, “NOT AT ALL!! It must have been you who will miss me to ask you that question.” Kuroo's voice boomed in the calm afternoon air. It had startled Kenma and the dogs that were near the neighborhood they walked by as they let out a noisy bark toward them.  To this, Kenma gave out a small chuckle.

“Of course, I will miss you, Kuroo.” Kenma smiled as he looked at the Kuroo who was all flustered, “You’ve introduced me to something I thought I would’ve never liked and made me find a hobby I could finally be excited for - other than gaming.” Kenma was fidgeting this the hems of his messy buttoned-up shirt, “Sure you pester me a lot at the beginning to go practice volleyball with you, but I’m very glad you did just that.”

Kuroo looked at Kenma with a slight blush on his cheeks and his eyes were watering up. “K-kenma-kunn~,” Kuroo's arms were wide open, ready to give a hug to Kenma. 

“Shut up! I won’t talk about this anymore!” Kenma brushed Kuroo's hug away and walked past him briskly, completely embarrassed to have admitted all of that to his friend out of nowhere.

“KENNMAAA…I WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH!!!” Kuroo follows suit, attempting to cling onto Kenma for another attempt of a hug. 

“Shut up! You’re too loud!” Kenma dodged Kuroo’s arm and walked faster out of the embarrassment that someone might see them.

*** 

“Ahhh, I kind of don’t think I want to graduate!” Kuroo slumps down on Kenma’s shoulder while walking together.

“You have to, end of discussion.” said Kenma as he brushed Kuroo off. 

“But if I leave, who will be your friends? Won’t you be too lonely~?” Kuroo said trying to make Kenma beg him to stay back for a year. 

“I have the whole volleyball team at my mercy once I’m captain,” Kenma slowed down his steps and smiled to himself. 

Kuroo stopped in his tracks once again, but this time looking straight dumbfounded by what he just heard. “You’re interested in being captain?” 

“Yeah, why not? I want to give it a shot.” Kenma just casually brushed it off. "It's not like they'll immediately agree on it though,"

Kenma looked away, huffing a breath as he felt slightly embarrassed to want to become captain when he wasn't close with most of his teammates. 

"Kenma," Kuroo looked him in the eyes, holding both Kenma's shoulders to make him stand up straight. "You're more than capable and I'm sure they'll welcome you if you were to volunteer to be captain." He gave Kenma a reassuring squeeze as he continued, "After all, you are my disciple, myegugeuehe," Kuroo let out a sarcastic laugh, irritating Kenma to his core as he tried to shake himself off of Kuroo's hold on him.

As Kenma broke free from his grip, Kuroo turned around and started to walk again. “Why though?” asked Kuroo genuinely curious. "What makes you suddenly want to become captain when you only began to actually like volleyball just recently?"

“Well...you seem to be having so much fun when you’re the captain so I want to have fun too.”

Thinking of what to answer back to that question instead of gaping like a dumbass, he asked “Do you want my jersey? I have a spare one at home,”

“No thank you. It’s too big for me…,” refused Kenma.

“Then should I give it to the underclassman that wants it? She said she has been a fan of mine for a while and I don’t have a use for it anymore,“ Kuroo had actually already made up his mind on not giving it to an underclassman whom he didn't know personally but used this excuse to try and get a reaction from Kenma.

“Eh? Even if you don’t have any use for it anymore, you should just keep it as a part of your memory...don’t give it to someone else, dumbass.” Kenma answered like usually. 

Sad he didn't get the reaction he was hoping for, Kuroo hummed. 

“What?”

“I was hoping Kenma would fight over custody of my jersey~”

“Again, what use do I have with it Kuroo? Your torso and shoulders are longer than mine…”

“I don’t know...stuff~” Kuroo could name a few things Kenma could use it for like for example: pajamas. He kind of thinks it will be cute to see Kenma using it like a nightgown as it will be too big for him anyways. Thinking about this was like giving his lips a brain of its own as it turned upwards to a cheeky little smirk.

Visibly annoyed by Kuroo's facial expression, Kenma instantly answered, “Haa? What are you-” Before Kenma could finish his sentence, rain started pouring down hard. The dry and once-ashy streets became darker and wetter as it became flooded with the humid rain.

“Ack!”

“Quickly under there!” Kuroo shouted, pointing at a nearby empty store that had a canopy on its front, as he held his bag above his head to cover himself from the rain. 

Kenma followed urgently and took cover to bellow the canopy beside Kuroo. The canopy itself wasn’t the most useful one yet – it looked like it was only there to decorate the front part of the small quaint shop as it was made out of merely water-resistant cloth. The rain was pouring down hard, penetrating through the water-resistant canopy as little bits of water droplets ticked down on Kenma’s shoulder. Seeing this Kuroo reached his arm out to Kenma, pulling him closer to himself to get him away from the water.

As he pulled him close, he heard a little sniffle from the shorter, followed by a big sneeze.  “Achoo! Ugh, I’m all wet now..” Kenma was surely soaked as his buttoned white shirt became stuck to his skin and see-through. Kuroo briefly saw his body frame but soon turned away to gaze at the shop behind them instead. 

The store behind them didn’t look like it offered much to begin with, the place was already run down and seemed abandoned for quite a while. The windows and doors were barricaded shut with wooden planks. There was a broken window and Kuroo took a peak inside; judging from the rectangle-patterned brown spots on the white tiled floor and a bunch of broken clothes hangers from the other side, it seemed to look like it was once a laundry service shop. It was an odd place to have a laundry shop considering it was quite far away from the residential areas like Kuroo and Kenma’s neighbourhood. 

Beside him, Kuroo heard Kenma busy rustling through something – he was searching for something in his bag. “Kuroo, did you bring an umbrella? I didn’t bring mine today,” Kenma looked at Kuroo in annoyance.

“No, I didn’t bring it as well. It was way too hot to even predict rain could happen,” Kuroo reached a hand out to the rain and felt the lukewarm sensation tickling his skin. “Not even the forecast showed a high percentage of precipitation. I didn't come prepared this time.”

“Ughh, achoo,” Kenma sneezed again. “Cold…”

“Here,” Kuroo took out his volleyball jacket from his bag and handed it over to Kenma, “Use this for now,”

“Why did you bring your volleyball jacket? We don’t have practice on Mondays anymore,” 

“Well…it was actually from last week,” Kuroo looked away sheepishly, “I forgot to take it out of my bag,” Kenma had a disgusted face on as he tried to look the sheepish Kuroo dead in the eyes. “But don't worry!” Kuroo quickly reassured, “I only used it for a minute, I promise,” Kuroo laughed away his embarrassment.

Kenma eyed him, frowning, to then say, "Never mind, you can keep the jacket!"

"Won't you get cold, then?"

"I'd rather be cold than to come in contact with your germs," Kuroo only laughed dryly to respond to the salty Kenma. 

His laughter died down and now it was only the rain, the wind, and the petrichor. He took in a big whiff of this smell and closed his eyes– admiring both the silence and the long-awaited rain. 

“I’ll surely miss this in college,” Kuroo stayed quiet and let the rain do all the talking before he started once again.

"I'm pretty sure it'll still rain where you're going off to College Kuroo,"

"No, that's not what I mean, Kenma." Kuroo tilted his head to the side to see a glimpse of Kenma who was confused by his answer. He could explain it to the shorter but he felt like it wouldn't sit well if he did, even though he had said so just recently as they were walking together back then; the settings were different and something was tugging him to not bring up a playful facade, which will make the atmosphere awkward and tense. He'd rather keep the air around them loose and light like now because it wasn't the rain Kuroo would miss: it was the days he spent with Kenma. They'd been neighbors for all their lives and now even went to the same high school together - Kuroo felt as if he was being separated from his brother - no, Kenma was more than a brother to Kuroo. Kuroo didn't understand why but something within his heart just didn't want to accept Kenma as merely a brother to him. He scoffed lightly, not understanding what he wanted, and just tried to avert the topic to distract himself from thinking about it further. 

“Anyways, I don’t think I’ll pursue Volleyball in the long run. Ever since losing against Karasuno in the Spring Nationals, I felt like I wouldn’t make it big with just Volleyball. Right, Kenma?”

“So you don’t like Volleyball anymore?” Kenma responded to the new topic Kuroo had brought up, not understanding why but just followed with.

“It’s not like I don’t like it anymore or anything like that. I still enjoy playing it but I think I want to have a real job – a corporate one with suits and ties that make you look all fancy and cool.”

There was silence for a moment. 

"Do you like a corporate job?" Kenma asked seriously.

"Well, I could bear it I guess, as long as-" 

Not letting Kuroo finished, Kenma quickly intervene, “Why bother doing something you don’t like for a normal office job?”

“Well,” Kuroo’s head was turning to come up with another answer than “To make good and stable money of course,”

“No no, I get that. But why can’t you do both?” Kuroo’s eyes widen. “You’ve always liked Volleyball ever since we were little and you’ve worked so hard to get to the point where we finally could have the Dumpster Battle with Karasuno. I don’t think you were just persistent for the sake of the Coach who was going to retire soon, right, Kuroo?” Kuroo jolted at his name being called out. He looked at Kenma’s eyes which showed he was saying this with all his heart. Seeing this, Kuroo just couldn’t help but be a little more moved than he had liked.

“So why let go of it now? I'm sure you could work in the advertisement department for the National Japanese team or something like that, maybe..” The intensity in Kenma’s eyes died down and he reverted his gaze to the rain. 

Kuroo remained silent as the conversation died down. It was now only the rain's lullaby and some slight tension that Kenma wasn’t comfortable with. 

He glanced up at Kuroo who was towering over him and to think that this person was about the same height as he was when they were in elementary was simply mind-boggling; now Kenma was barely as tall as his chin. Kuroo didn't seem like he was his usual self today and it was overly visible for Kenma who had known him for years; it seemed like he had a lot on his mind lately – it was given, considering that he would have to graduate and leave to college soon. 

“Are you worried about College?” Kenma spoke up. 

“Yeah,” Kuroo simply answered not long after. "Very."

Kenma stepped forward and leaned in towards his big stature, giving him a weak but warm embrace. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Kuroo.” 

Kuroo’s whole body tensed up at the touch of Kenma’s arms, he was shocked and happy simultaneously. His monotonous friend had come so far and learned so much about caring for others and developing a passion for volleyball - something Kuroo thought would take another hundred years to achieve or when he was dead.  Kuroo didn’t hesitate any further from plopping his whole body down to Kenma and reciprocating Kenma’s embrace. 

He sighed in relief as he spoke in a soft voice, “Thank you, Kenma.”

“Ahh! Kuroo, you’re heavy!” Kenma wailed in his stance. 

Kuroo laughed enthusiastically, "You know you're someone really special to me, right~?" 

Kenma pushed Kuroo off suddenly as he thought to himself, Huh? What was that? out of nowhere?  He couldn't help but hide his reddened face with his long hair as he looked to the concrete and towards Kuroo's shoes. Kuroo's eyes when he said those words kept replaying in Kenma's mind - it shone up, lighting his face, but it looked reluctant; it seemed as if it took Kuroo's whole body to reject giving those eyes to someone he acknowledged as his best friend. Kenma didn't want to look at Kuroo with those eyes because his heart stung and batted a little harder the first time Kuroo did it. Kenma was scared of what his heart would do if he looked up and faced those gleaming eyes again. It was scaring Kenma; his body was reacting the way he didn't want it to react but he couldn't stop it even if he tried. 

He saw that Kuroo's shoes started to walk towards him. Startled, Kenma took a few steps back. However, this didn't stop Kuroo from continuing to walk towards Kenma.  Kenma realized he had walked too far when he felt the cold rainwater glide down his back, soaking back the already semi-dry clothes. Kuroo slithered an arm around Kenma's waist, pulling him farther from the void of rain and towards his own warm body. Kenma was still refusing to look Kuroo in the eyes so he reached out to ear the strands of hair that were covering Kenma's face. Kenma couldn't help but look up at that moment. 

"H-huh?" Kenma's voice was wavering as he shivered from the water that he just had contact with. 

"You feel really cold to the touch right now," Kuroo's eyes held the same gaze as they did before. It was toned down by concern but still gleamed brightly. 

"I-I'm fine. I can- Achoo!" Kenma couldn't help but sneeze again. Kuroo didn't waste a minute more to take Kenma to his proper embrace. "W-what are you doing?"

"I'm transferring my body heat to you," Kuroo said without letting Kenma go for a second. His breath was heavy and quite frankly, his heart was beating out against Kenma's chest. Kuroo was sure Kenma would feel and hear the pounding against him as it bats quite loudly for Kuroo. He tried to regulate his own breathing, to tone down his heart rate and anxiousness of his self. He was unknowingly restless; he stayed up late nights pondering why he was so reluctant to let Nekoma go. If he had asked his first-year self, he would've definitely been ecstatic to finally graduate, especially when he had made the most of his high school years; there could have been nothing more to have made him feel so unwilling to go. 

"Uh, Kuroo? You're squeezing me too tightly," whispered Kenma. Kuroo hadn't realized his grip had hardened. 

"Oh, sorry." Kuroo eased up his grip. His heart was still beating uncontrollably even though he had done those exercises - the exercise he often used right before playing a match against powerhouses. Wait- this wasn't his heartbeat? He could barely even hear his own now, this is- It couldn't be.

It was Kenma's. The shorter was just pounding as loudly as he had. Kuroo had just realized it but Kenma had also gotten warmer now.  Kuroo felt his ear touch the side of Kenma's face and felt a warm and tingly feeling. Kuroo retracted his head to see Kenma's face. He was red, really really red; it was a pretty hue. 

"Are you-?" Before Kuroo couldn't finish his question, Kenma took out both of his hands and slapped it on to his face to hide it. 

"D-don't look at me like that!" Kenma shouted. 

Kuroo was dumbfounded, a little red flushed his cheek out of playfulness. Kenma was so cute right now that Kuroo just couldn't help but want to tease him more. 

"Kenma-sann, are you crying~?" Kuroo retorted while smiling with a grin that etched wide across his face. He pushed his head closer to where Kenma's hands cup his own face. "Kenmaaa~ Hello~? Is anyone home~" Kuroo brushed his nose against the number of Kenma's fingers, causing Kenma to startle. 

"Oi, stop it! I mean it," Kenma's hand was overheating because of his face. He wanted to push Kuroo away from him but he couldn't afford to uncover his face, not when he was this red. Hiding his face also meant blocking his vision of view and so when Kuroo didn't make any more jokes to embarrass him, Kenma started to wonder what he was doing instead. However, before Kenma could even peek through his fingers, he felt a soft kiss on the back of his hand near where his mouth is supposed to be. He jolted and finally took his hand off his face. He abruptly struck Kuroo's face, freeing himself from Kuroo's embrace.

"S-stop that!" Kenma distanced himself from Kuroo in case the other wanted to do something funny again. 

"Sorry," Kuroo stood back tall while holding his nose, "Was I being too persistent?" Kuroo tried to hold his nose bridge but touching it only made him wince.

"Y-yeah," Now Kenma feels bad, "Sorry, does it hurt?" Kenma let down his guard and walked closer to take a look at the damage that he had cause. 

Before Kenma could get closer to Kuroo, Kuroo stopped him, "It's fine, I'm fine. Receiving volleyball with your face hurts more than his," Kuroo let out a chuckle "Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry -"

"Don't mind, don't mind!" Kuroo smiled. 

Kenma couldn't help but still feel bad, "I'm sorry-"

"Hey Kenma, if you do feel bad, do me a favor won't you?"

"Sure! Of course! What favor though, I'm not really good with any-" Kenma answered. 

"Just answer my question truthfully," 

"Oh, ok then!" Kenma was confused, what question could he possibly ask? Some part of Kenma was nervous about the question the taller was going to ask and the suspense is making his heart palpitating, or was it due to the suspense?

"Do you like me?" Huhhhh "More than just a friend. Do you have romantic feelings for me?" Kuroo asked while looking straight at Kenma's eyes. 

Huhh, it's so sudden. Kenma panicked at the question, he was finding an answer to give Kuroo; his eyes swarmed all over the area, acting like a puddle next to him had the answer he was looking for. Kuroo noticed that Kenma was starting to get a little fidgety and instantly felt bad. He had put the shorter on the spot and it was only normal to feel awkward about it, especially when you don’t really feel the same way.

Kuroo had already made up his mind that maybe the tingly feeling that he had was just something wrong but his body these past couple of months. Kuroo thought to go to the doctor once it became too awkward for Kenma to be around him anymore. He sighed, bringing an arm to his neck, and rubbed his nape, “I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. You must’ve felt weird. Just forget I ever asked.” Kuroo chuckled dryly to drown out the nosy sound of silence that was between them. He took a deep breath feeling as if he had ruined something special between them. 

It took a while before the shorter could answer, "Sorry!” Kenna bowed deeply to Kuroo as if he had done something unforgivably wrong.

The anxious Kuroo looked confused, “Ehh?? Uh, you don’t have to say sorry Kenm-“

“I can’t answer you right now-“

“No, no Kenma it really fine if you don't like me that wa-“

“You’re wrong!” Kenma looked up at Kuroo with a flushed face, standing up straight from the position where he bowed. His eyes were screaming Please listen to me so Kuroo couldn’t do anything but hear him out now.

“Please give me time to think over it!” Kenma’s hands were scrunching the cloth of his pants - it had looked like he was the one confessing instead. At this, Kuroo couldn’t help but let out a laugh of relief. He closed the gap between him and Kenma and brought Kenma to his embrace, letting out a big sigh.

"Why are you laughing?" Kenma’s muffled voice hinted that he was lost. 

"It's just, I feel the same way about you," Kuroo got down from his high, snuggled into the nape of Kenma’s neck and he continued, "I also want to know what I’m feeling right now. It has been eating on me for months.” Kuroo let go of his embrace and held the shorter firmly at the side of his shoulder, basking in every inch of Kenma’s nervous and awkward red face, and grinned to himself, “If you'll let me, I want to explore this feeling with you. Do you mind joining me?"

Kenma raised both of his eyebrows and couldn't help but snort out a laughter of relief, "Sure, why not?"

The air around them was only getting colder but their bodies were only getting warmer. As the harsh rain started to penetrate through their canopy made out of cloth, the rain didn't show any signs of stopping any time soon. Kuroo chuckled as he took the bag he set down a while ago and put it over his shoulder. 

“Let’s go home, Kenma,” Kuroo took out a foldable umbrella from his school bag and opened it. 

Kenma was in utter disbelief, “You! You told me you didn’t bring one!" 

“Oops!” Kuroo smiled cheekily as he grabbed the still-agitated Kenma and cuddled him with one arm to walk beside him under one small umbrella.

***

"Hurry up, Kenma."


"Why are we in a rush?"


"Ah, yeah. You're right. Let's take our time."