Archive of Our Own

Tetsurou stares out the window at the unfamiliar surroundings that are supposed to be his new home. There’s one tree in his yard, drastically different from the nature that surrounded his real home. But no, they had to move. Be closer to family. 

That’s what everyone keeps saying to him, you’re supposed to be closer to family when someone dies.

But Tetsurou didn’t want to move, he never wanted to leave behind his friends and his little town to live in the bustling city.

“Tetsurou!” he hears his dad call from downstairs. With a sigh, Tetsurou drags his feet to the top of the stairs to see what he wants.

“Your grandparents are on their way, they said our next door neighbors have a son around your age, we’re going to head over there for dinner.”

Tetsurou’s eyes widen in panic, his stomach dropping. His dad is already climbing the stairs, stopping in front of his son. He crouches down to his level and places a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” he says with a warm smile, “Baba said he’s a really nice boy. I think you’ll get along.”

“I don’t want to go.” Tetsurou whispers, lip quivering.

His dad just pulls him into a hug, so tight it almost hurts. “We’ll be leaving soon. Why don’t you bring your volleyball?” he suggests, ruffling his son's hair and going back downstairs.

Tetsurou frowns, turning on his heel and going back to his room. 

It’s too clean, all of his belongings perfectly unpacked in the right spot. He finds his volleyball easily. His stomach drops further at the sight. Quickly, he shoves it far under his bed, hidden away from any curious eyes. He does not want some strange boy he’s never met before using his most prized possession.

He goes back to his window and stares once more. His grandparents are making their way down the road, their own house a few spots down from this one. He watches them come to their door and hears the doorbell ring.

Maybe if he stays quiet, they’ll forget he’s upstairs and go without him. Even still, curiosity gets the best of him. He listens intently for what they’re saying. It’s impossible to hear. His bedroom is the furthest from the front door, unlike his old room which was directly above it.

Tetsurou huffs out a sigh. He doesn’t want to be in this too big house with no good memories. He tiptoes into the hallway, straining to listen. The hallway is bare. There’s no memory of his mom humming as she cleaned, calling out to him to tidy his room. He quietly makes his way down the stairs, where there’s no dried paint in the carpet from his mom’s various DIY projects. He can finally hear his dad and grandparents talking in low voices, and he pauses.

“I’m worried about him,” his dad murmurs.

“It’s only been a few months, you can’t expect him to be like how he was before.”

“It’s not that, he barely even talks anymore,” his dad lets out a long sigh, “Hana would know what to do.”

Tetsurou frowns involuntarily at his mother’s name. It deepens as he processes his dads words. He knows they’re worried about him. Everyone is. He’s gotten enough sad looks from the world. The boy with the dead mom. 

Tetsurou can’t stand it.

He’s so lost in his thoughts that he has no time to escape back up the stairs. His dad brings him his coat, and the four make their way to Tetsurou’s doom.

The Kozume’s house is directly next to theirs, so the walk is incredibly short. Tetsurou tries to take as small steps as possible to prolong his ultimate demise. But his father’s steps are much longer, and since he refuses to let go of his dad’s hand, he’s forced to keep pace with him. He’s gripping his father’s hand so tightly that both their knuckles turn white.

The Kozume’s door is bright green and reminds Tetsurou of a portal to an alien world. He hides behind his dads legs as he knocks on the door.

A woman with large, golden eyes and warm smile opens the door and welcomes them inside. Her husband is waiting at the threshold, and a very small boy is tucked behind his leg. Tetsurou says nothing as they all go through introductions. He watches them cautiously.

The boy’s eyes are trained on the ground, one arm loosely wrapped around his fathers leg.

“And this is Tetsurou,” his father says, leading him forward slightly. Tetsurou clings onto his hand, feet dragging.

“Kenma, say hello!”

Kenma finally looks up, and Tetsurou is struck by the impossibly wide, bug eyes that look at him. The boy has a curtain of black hair that obscures most of his face and his mouth is drawn tightly together, making him look like all eyes and nothing else. 

Both boys simply stare at each other. 

The adults all laugh lightly. Tetsurou wants to huff and ask them what's so funny but that would require opening his mouth, and there’s no way he’s doing that.

Tetsurou refuses to speak during dinner as well, sitting across from Kenma. Any time he looks up, Kenma is looking at him with those freaky eyes. His hair is still half in front of his face, even as he eats, making him look like a character from a horror show. It’s unnerving.

Tetsurou dutifully clears his plate once they’re done eating and brings dishes into the kitchen to help clean up.

“Thank you so much for your help, Tetsurou.” Kenma’s father says.

Tetsurou nods, walking back over to his father. He telepathically asks him to leave. Dinner is over and that’s why they’re here. No reason to stay longer. His father smiles, oblivious to the message.

“Kenma-chan, why don’t you two go play one of your games?” Kenma’s mom says with a warm smile.

Tetsurou wants nothing more than to not do that, and he tries the telepathic message again. 

We have to leave NOW

But Kenma is nodding and turning around with a glance at Tetsurou, beckoning him forward. With a small push from his dad, Tetsurou follows behind the other boy.

They go up to his room, where a television is set up. Tetsurou’s slightly impressed. His parents don’t let him have a TV in his bedroom.

“Wanna play Virtual Fighter?” Kenma asks.

Tetsurou shrugs.

“You can sit down.” Kenma offers.

Tetsurou sits.

It’s stiflingly quiet as Kenma picks up the remote and changes the TV input. Tetsurou glances out the window and he can see his own bedroom just across the way. He wishes he was there instead of here.

“How old are you?” Kenma asks as he sets the game up.

“Eight.” Tetsurou answers, the first word he’s said all night.

Kenma stares at him. This kid does a lot of staring.

“I turn eight next month.” Kenma says.

“I’m turning nine the month after.” Tetsurou says. Not sure why.

“You’re older.”

“Okay.”

They don’t speak for the rest of the night. Kenma beats Tetsurou in almost every match and Tetsurou is getting frustrated. This game is no fun when you get killed over and over. He finally manages a kill during the last match they play before he leaves. He counts that as a success.

A few days later Tetsurou has his first day at his new school. He transferred partway through the year so he’s even more anxious to start. Even if there were other new kids in his class, they’ve already been there a few months and by now have made friends and joined clubs on their own.

To make matters worse, there is no one available to watch Tetsurou when he gets home from school. His dad and grandparents discuss different options, like his grandmother taking off afternoons or his grandfather closing the store early, but his dad refuses to inconvenience them.

To Tetsurou’s horror, his dad’s perfect solution is asking the Kozume’s if Tetsurou could spend a few hours there a week when no one can watch him, and they happily agree.

So, four days a week Tetsurou finds himself sitting in Kenma’s room, playing Virtual Fighter and not talking. The one plus is he’s actually getting better at the game, and he’s beaten Kenma almost at least once a day. The rare occasions they do talk, Kenma is giving pointers on how to play the game.

“If you press A now, you can do a special move.”

“Okay.”

“Try using the shield when I do that attack.”

“Okay.”

“Your character has a gun. Use it.”

“Okay.”

“Is there anything you want to play?” Kenma asks one day during week two, his large eyes peering into Tetsurou’s face expectantly.

He’s never asked that before. Tetsurou assumed the only thing Kenma does is play Virtual Fighter.

“Uhh…” Tetsurou starts. There is something he wants to do, but does he really want to tell Kenma?

But it’s been so long since he’s played. Tetsurou really misses it.

“Do you want to play volleyball?” he asks quietly.

He hopes Kenma says yes.

“I don’t have a ball.”

Tetsurou perks up at that, “Oh, I do. We can go get it.”

The pair make their way down the stairs, Tetsurou with a small spring in his step, and out the door to Tetsurou’s house.

“I was on a team back home, or well, where we used to live. It’s really fun,” Tetsurou explains as he unlocks the front door. 

They head up to his room, Kenma taking in his surroundings as they do.

“My old team won a whole four set match once. That means we played for even longer and still beat the other team,” Tetsurou says with pride. 

He crawls under his bed, reaching for the ball he had hidden there. When he emerges, Kenma is looking around his room curiously.

“I got that for Most Improved,” Tetsurou boasts, puffing his chest out as he points at the trophy Kenma was looking at. It’s of a volleyball player hitting a spike, a brilliant gold color on a bright red base. It’s one of Tetsurou’s most prized possessions.

“Cool,” Kenma says, and he actually looks impressed.

Tetsurou leads them back outside and over to the field near their houses. He’s already spent plenty of time here, sitting and watching the river flow by.

He feels the sudden urge to show off, to prove how fun volleyball is.

“Usually it's six people per team, but since it’s only us two we can just pass the ball around. Do you know how to set the ball? Or bump?”

Kenma looks wary, staring at the ball in Tetsurou’s hand with apprehension. His skepticism reminds Tetsurou this is the most he’s ever spoken in the other boy's presence, and he feels himself growing nervous. Kenma doesn’t look like he wants to play at all.

“Uhm…” he stalls, feeling his hands start to sweat. Why had Tetsurou just assumed Kenma would play with him? He dragged him all the way out here for nothing.

Kenma looks at his face now, and something in his expression changes.

“How do you play?” 

Tetsurou’s immediately relieved, and starts explaining the simple rules of the game. They spend the rest of the afternoon in the sun playing. Tetsurou teaches Kenma the best way to hold his arms, how to hold his fingers so the ball sets higher. 

Tetsurou hasn’t enjoyed himself this much since moving to Tokyo and he finds it hard not to smile. Kenma looks exhausted, his dark hair plastered to his head in sweat and back hunched over.

“Can we–can we stop for a sec?” Kenma asks, breathing hard.

“Sure,” Tetsurou says, breathing just as heavily.

He feels tired head to toe, that familiar ache back in his legs. His grin can't disappear even if he wanted it to.

The boys sit down on the grass quietly.

“Did you have fun?” Tetsurou asks after they’ve both regained their breath.

“Eh,” Kenma takes a breath, “I don’t really like all the running. Or the sweating. And I keep missing.”

“You’ve already got way better than earlier though! You’ve only missed, like, four passes just now.”

Kenma shrugs, laying back in the grass. Tetsurou follows suit.

“When I asked if you wanted to play something else, I thought you were gonna pick a video game.”

“Oh,” Tetsurou says softly. His stomach twists.

“But I’m not mad you didn’t. Once I get better, I’ll beat you.”

Tetsurou grins again. Kenma wants to play more.

The following days they play volleyball every afternoon. Tetsurou can’t help but smile as he watches Kenma improve, no longer missing every other ball. But he can tell Kenma isn’t exactly loving it. He gets tired more quickly than Tetsurou and he’s obviously having a hard time being at a lower level. Even still, Kenma asks him over and over for tips and where he should focus. It comes to a point where Kenma’s asking such specific skill questions that Tetsurou can’t answer. Luckily, he has just the solution.

Instead of playing volleyball themselves the next day, Tetsurou comes over with different DVDs of professional VLeague matches.

“My mom used to record every match that was on TV for me when I was at school and couldn’t watch them,” Tetsurou explains as he sets one up for them to watch.

“That was really nice of her,” Kenma says, eyeing the screen in excitement.

Tetsurou hums in response, “She watched them all with me too. I haven't seen these ones yet.”

Tetsurou grabs the remote and sits beside Kenma. Their stash of “stolen” goodies from Kenma’s kitchen sits in a pile on his bed. Just as they begin to dig in, Tetsurou pulling open a bag of chips, he realizes this is the first time he’s brought up his mother to Kenma. It’s also the first time in what feels like forever that someone hasn’t  given him those sad eyes when he mentions his mom. Kenma hadn’t even made a comment on how sorry he was or anything like that.

Tetsurou smiles softly to himself.

He’s glad.

That’s how they spend the next few days, discussing professional strategies and things they noticed from each match. Tetsurou even gets them outside for a few hours to practice the moves themselves.

“You know, Kenma,” Tetsurou starts, kicking the gravel under his foot nervously, “there’s this training camp this weekend. For volleyball. I want to go but…” Tetsurou trails off, losing his nerve.

“Want me to go with you?” Kenma asks.

Tetsurou’s eyes widen, “Only if you want to! I know you don’t like volleyball as much as me,”

Kenma is silent for a moment before he says, “I don’t mind.”

Tetsurou’s stomach flips happily, and he beams at Kenma.

That Sunday, the boys are up bright and early and in the car on the way to the volleyball camp.

“Have fun you two!” Tetsurou’s dad calls for a final time as he drops them off. “I’ll be back as soon as it’s over, call me if you need anything.”

The boys nod, Tetsurou’s stomach twisting into knots. He glances at Kenma who seems to be just as nervous. For some reason, it makes Tetsurou feel better.

They get inside and there’s plenty happening already. There’s lots of kids around the gym, all trying different things while they wait for the camp to officially start. To their left, a group is spiking the ball over the net and Tetsurou almost loses his mind at how cool they look.

Back at his old school, they hadn’t been allowed to start learning spikes just yet. And now, they’ve been stuck playing either in the field beside their houses or in one of their backyards for almost three weeks. It’s been even longer since Tetsurou's played on a court. 

“Kenma! Can we please try that!” Tetsurou yells in a rush, pointing excitedly at the other group.

Kenma nods and they find a vacant spot to start practicing.

Tetsurou hits the ball again and again, trying to spike it over the net but it’s just too high. He’s getting frustrated.

“I can’t do it,” he says, a defeated slump to his shoulders.

Kenma offers him an apologetic smile, “Maybe we haven’t unlocked this yet.”

An older man is beside them then, giving them a kind smile. “We’ve just got to lower the net, huh?” he says and starts unwinding it until one side dips lower. He does the same on the other side.

“No point in playing if we can’t have a little fun. Or else we’ll lose the joy in it,” the man says.

He motions for Tetsurou to try again. Both boys look at each other warily.

Nevertheless, Kenma sets him the ball, one of the best sets he’s done thus far, and Tetsurou is slamming the ball on the other side of the net for the first time. He lets out an excited yelp, turning to Kenma whose mouth is open in shock. He pulls Kenma into an excited hug, jumping up and down.

When he turns back around, the man is walking away to patrol the rest of the gym. Tetsurou stares at him in wonder, the bright red Nekoma on his jacket attracting him like a moth to a flame.

The training camp is grueling, but Tetsurou hasn’t been able to wipe the smile off his face the entire time. He catches Kenma looking at him, and he just beams wider, the sweat trailing down his brow. 

He watches Kenma too, and for all that he complains when they play, he’s improved so much from the first day. Tetsurou can tell he’s implementing things they’ve watched from the VLeague recordings. Kenma dumps the ball on the other side of the court during a mock game, and Tetsurou is so excited he tackles him onto the ground.

They get back from the training camp exhausted and happy, Tetsurou chatting happily the entire car ride home. 

“Wait here,” Tetsurou says when they get home, running into his house and leaving Kenma on the sidewalk in confusion.

He runs all the way up to his room, grabbing what he’d gone up there for, before darting back down the stairs.

He stops in front of Kenma, “For you.”  

He thrusts his Most Improved trophy forward with a grin.

Kenma’s face turns bright red. “Are you sure?”

Tetsurou nods, “It’s your first achievement.”

Kenma takes the trophy carefully in his hands, and then throws his arms around Tetsurou harshly. The trophy hits him lightly on his back but Kenma is retreating before Tetsurou gets a chance to hug him back.

“Thanks, Kuro,” and Kenma’s running into his own house, staring down at the trophy.

His dad ruffles his hair as they walk into their own house, laughing lightly.

Tetsurou’s not sure when hanging out with Kenma stopped feeling like a punishment. He’s not sure when he started to think of them as friends. But, as he crawls into bed that night and stares at the now empty spot on his shelf, he’s grateful.

Something changes in Tetsurou that day. He finally joins his school's volleyball club, starts talking to people again and actually makes some friends. He feels happier too. When he thinks about his mom he isn’t only filled with grief. He remembers the good memories more and more and feels more comfortable talking about her more and more. He and his dad had set up the small memorial spot in honor of his mother a few days after they moved in, but Tetsurou had been too nervous to go near it since. His dad told him to take his time, and just talk to her when he was ready. And Tetsurou finally is. 

He starts talking to his mom about his day in school and keeping her updated on the VLeague matches he and Kenma watch. He makes sure to update her on his own team too, they’ve made it all the way to playoffs and Tetsurou is regularly a starter. It fills him with pride whenever he thinks about it.

His heart hurts still, of course it does, but he’s learning that that’s okay too. People still sometimes give him those sad looks, but it bothers Tetsurou less now. 

Tetsurou’s favorite part of the day hasn’t changed though. Even now with volleyball practice after school, Tetsurou and Kenma still find time to hang out. They’ll do their homework side by side, and then either play video games or Tetsurou will show off the new skills he’s learnt at practice. He might have plenty of friends now, but Kenma is by far his favorite.

A few months into their friendship, Tetsurou wakes up with a terrible stomach bug. Neither of them have cell phones but Tetsurou needs to make sure Kenma knows he won’t be going to school that day. His mind foggy with a fever, it never crossed his mind that his father would obviously let the Kenma’s know. Instead, he hastily writes in large print on a piece of paper:

I’m sick :(

No school today

and taped it on the window facing Kenma’s bedroom.

Then he laid back down and promptly fell back asleep. When he woke up, throat sore and nose stuffed, he could just make out through his window to Kenma’s own note:

:(

Get better! New character unlocked in Street Fighter

He rolled back over with a tired smile and snuggled further into his blankets.

Since then, they use their note system whenever they want. It’s usually a lot of silly things, jokes written to make the other boy laugh or poorly drawn pictures of whatever they're currently obsessed with.

Besides those, they both make certain signs they keep at the ready:

Come over! Can I come over? Sleepover? Yes No

Usually, if Kenma doesn’t have his come over sign up, Tetsurou will hang his. More often than not, the two are together whenever they have free time.

Their sign system has become so ingrained in his everyday life that Tetsurou forgets to take down his sign inviting Kenma over one day. 

Kenma finds Tetsurou hiding under his blankets, crying silently.

“Kuro?” he asks timidly, crossing across his room.

Tetsurou gulps, wiping his eyes quickly. He sits up and tries not to sound like he’d been crying when he asks, “Kenma? Why are you here?”

“Your grandpa let me in, are you alright?” Kenma’s eyes are blown wide, not an expression Tetsurou has seen before.

He shrinks under the gaze, deflating like an old balloon back onto his pillows.

“I’m…I don’t want to talk about it,” he turns his back to Kenma, feeling more tears start to fall, “I don’t want to play today.”

“Okay,” Kenma says, and then the bed is dipping beside Tetsurou.

Tetsurou cranes his neck to look. Kenma is pulling out his PSP and leaning against the headboard. He turns on his game without a word.

“Um, Kenma?” Tetsurou asks, completely bewildered. 

“What?”

Tetsurou stares at him until Kenma finally turns to look at him.

“You’re crying, I’m not leaving you alone. We don’t have to play, or talk. You can kick me out if you want to be alone. But I’m not leaving otherwise.”

Tetsurou feels his tears come back, this time for an added reason, and he turns his face back into his pillow. Kenma simply sits there, the sounds of his game the only thing in the room.

After a while, Tetsurou turns back to Kenma and watches him play his game. Kenma doesn’t ask him to talk about why he was crying, and Tetsurou is grateful.

It isn’t until almost three years later, when Tetsurou is 11 and Kenma is 10 that Tetsurou tells Kenma about his mom. 

Of course, Tetsurou’s spoken about his mom before, telling stories about her and sharing pictures that are around the house. And Kenma obviously knows they moved here after she died, but Tetsurou’s not spoken to anyone about how she died before.

The anniversary of her death is a few days away, and like usual Tetsurou starts to feel himself withdrawing slightly. They’re in Kenma’s room, silently working on their individual homework. Tetsurou can’t concentrate though. Hasn’t been able to since the week started, honestly.

He shifts in his seat, knees twinging against the floor. He puts his pencil down and then picks it back up, twirling it anxiously between his fingers. He sighs.

“Thursday…Thursday my dad and I are doing our memorial. For my mom. I don’t know if you’d want to come, but…well, I’m sure she’d like to meet you properly.”

Tetsurou doesn’t look at Kenma when he looks up. He keeps his eyes trained on his homework.

“After dinner?” Kenma asks.

Now Tetsurou does look up. He nods.

“Okay, good. My dad is making fried catfish so I don’t want to miss it. What was her favorite color again?”

Tetsurou sniffles and clears his throat, “Purple. She really liked purple,”

It could be because Kenma’s heard so much about her through Tetsurou, but when Thursday rolls around Kenma is right there beside him without a hint of nerves.

He bows low, “I’ve heard so much about you, Kuroo-san. I’m Kozume Kenma, we live right next door. Kuro–Tetsurou actually introduced me to volleyball. Did he tell you that? I’m sure he did, it’s all he talks about,”

Tetsurou bites his lip to stop a laugh.

Kenma continues on, “You know, the Snakes are top of the league so far this season, but I think the Jackals are going to beat them tomorrow. Tetsurou told me you liked the Jackals best and so do I. They’re the best team in the league. If Tetsurou doesn’t tell you who wins, I will.”

“We can watch it together here, that way we’ll all know at the same time,” Tetsurou offers.

Kenma nods and then reaches into his pocket, “Oh, I got you this,” and he pulls out a bundle of wildflowers that look identical to the ones that grow beside the river. They’re mostly white, slightly wilted, and tied together with a purple ribbon.

“Kuroo told me your favorite color was purple but I couldn’t find any purple flowers,” Kenma says as he places the flowers beside her picture.

“Those are very nice, Kenma-kun,” Tetsurou’s father says with a kind smile.

Kenma nods, a bit of red dusting his face.

He reaches out and squeezes Tetsurou’s hand in his.

They watch a “Best of the Jackals” video and Kenma doesn’t hesitate to talk not only to Tetsurou but to his mom and dad too.

Tetsurou’s heart feels too big for his chest. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

-=-=-=-

As they get older, even more of their time together revolves around volleyball.

They spend hours in the sun, Tetsurou teaching Kenma everything new he learns at practice. He constantly tells Kenma he should join the team, but Kenma always refuses. 

“This is more fun,” Kenma says, “I don’t have to worry about messing up for real.”

“But it’ll be like a real level up,” Tetsurou counters with a grin.

He can see the temptation in Kenma’s eyes but still he shakes his head no.

Tetsurou never gives up though, not throughout their years in elementary school or his first year in middle school.

“But you’re not even on the team anymore.” Kenma reminds him, pulling up blades of grass between his fingers.

Tetsurou shrugs, “But then you’ll be even more prepared for next year when we’re back in the same school,”

Kenma remains steadfast in his refusal. 

Finally, a week before Kenma starts his first year of Junior High, they have a breakthrough.

“So, Kenma-chan,” Tetsurou starts, overly nonchalant. They’re at Tetsurou’s house, a rerun of Dragon Ball playing on the television.

Kenma raises an eyebrow at him, already suspicious.

“This Thursday is the first tryout for the volleyball club.”

Kenma groans, and Tetsurou grins. “We’ll be back in the same school again this year.”

“But I hate all the running. And the sweating.” Kenma replies quickly. 

It’s a rehearsed conversation.

Tetsurou shakes his head, “I know, but think about it! If you’re the setter you control, like, the whole court. It’s like a real life strategy game! You’ve already got a great sense of the game, even if you can barely run,”

Kenma punches him.

“Please, Kenma,” Tetsurou laughs, “it’ll be fun! Plus the setter barely has to run at all.”

Kenma shoots him an unimpressed look, having watched more than enough VLeague games to know that’s not true.

“I’ll think about it.” Kenma answers, rolling his eyes. 

Tetsurou pumps a fist into the air. It’s the first time Kenma hasn’t flat out said no.

He’s going to join, Tetsurou knows it. And he’s going to make the team, no doubt about that.

Tetsurou’s right, of course, and Kenma makes the team, just like he knew he would. For the first time since that training camp, Tetsurou is back on the court with Kenma beside him.

Tetsurou loves volleyball, there’s no question about it. But he loves it even more when he’s playing with Kenma. The two of them just have this connection, they don’t have to speak when executing plays. It’s like they know exactly what the other is planning. Years of backyard volleyball has made it so Kenma can tell when Tetsurou’s feeling confident in a play, or when he’s itching to spike. And it makes Tetsurou able to tell when Kenma needs to be pushed just a bit further or when he’s ready to try a new play they’d watched.

His team was never bad last year, but they’re definitely winning more games now with Kenma. And Kenma himself is advancing even more than Tetsurou had imagined.

Watching Kenma on the court is exhilarating. His game sense is the best in the team, and it leads to him advising the older players on what to do. He’s got an almost scary knack for figuring out what the other team is best at (their number 2 is the best hitter, their number 8 has the hardest serves but can’t receive). Tetsurou knew Kenma would be good, but he feels an incredible burst of pride every single time Kenma walks out onto the court with him.

Their two years together in Junior High fly by. It’s a rush of new friends, stupid fights, volleyball wins, and volleyball losses. The one constant in it all is Kenma.

On the day of his graduation, Tetsurou is feeling on top of the world. He’d gotten accepted to Nekoma, gotten a scholarship to Nekoma. Things were only looking up for him in the coming year.

The cheers for him feel almost deafening as he crosses the stage for his diploma. He grins wide, peering out into the audience in the direction he had seen his father and grandparents before. He doesn’t catch them as he walks but he can feel their love even without seeing them.

As soon as the ceremony concludes Tetsurou looks out at the crowd to find his people. He sees his family watching with proud smiles. The Kozume’s are beside them, looking just as proud. He looks towards the students. He finds Kenma in the crowd too, with his class, eyes trained on Tetsurou.

In that moment their eyes meet, Tetsurou feels the air punch out of his throat. He chokes, coughing into his hand at the unexpected feeling. Kenma’s gone from his eye sight, new people meandering to find their own families. And suddenly all of those happy thoughts are replaced with one singular feeling: he can’t lose Kenma.

Tetsurou feels like he can’t breathe all of the sudden. He doesn’t want to lose this, any of this. There’s a pang in his chest. He doesn’t want to go to school without Kenma, he can’t .

A hand lands on his forearm.

“Kuro?”

He looks down and Kenma’s wide eyes are looking at him curiously. It’s strange how this is the moment Tetsurou fully notices their height difference, notices how he has to peer down at Kenma. When was the last time they were eye to eye? Why doesn’t Tetsurou remember it changing?

“Kuro,” Kenma says again, tightening his grip.

“I don’t want to go to school without you,” Tetsurou whispers.

It doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t encapsulate what he means, but he doesn’t know how to put it into words.

Kenma tilts his head, examining him. “We’ve done it before,” he says softly.

Tetsurou nods but let’s out a shaky exhale.

“It’s okay,” Kenma says and then he’s pulling Tetsurou into a hug. 

And this too feels new. Feels different. Another change. Kenma isn’t a physical person, he never has been. Tetsurou can do with or without it, but that means the two of them don’t have too much physical contact.

Kenma pulls back after a moment. “We’ll still see each other everyday. We’re literally next door neighbors. I’m not gonna let you stop hanging out with me.” Kenma says, a ghost of a laugh. 

Tetsurou nods again and looks at Kenma’s face. There’s a hint of worry behind his small smile and, whoops, Tetsurou guesses he’s never really reacted to anything like that before. But he’s feeling calmer already with Kenma’s words and hands on his arms.

“Tetsurou!” 

They both turn, his family coming towards him with huge smiles. Tetsurou turns back to Kenma, a small but genuine smile crossing his lips. Kenma squeezes his arm once more before letting go, stepping back to make room for the barreling hug Kuroo’s father is about to give.

-=-=-=

It’s fine. It’s good. His first year at Nekoma is fun. His confidence grows (and so does he, shooting up even taller than he had been just a few months prior. Tetsurou teases Kenma relentlessly as Kenma remains a foot shorter than him:

“Kenma-chan,” he purrs, coming up behind Kenma to reach onto the top shelf for a glass, “let me help you, poor thing,” snatching the glass before Kenma can reach it.

Kenma elbows him in the stomach, sharp, and grumbles, “Get out of my house,”

Another time they’re setting up their net to play some volleyball by the river. Tetsurou gets one side situated before turning to look at Kenma, who’s struggling to set the pin on the top of the other side.

“Let me,” Tetsurou says, sauntering over exaggeratedly and whispering saccharine sweet in Kenma’s ear, “you can always call me when you need help, Kenma-chan,”

It leads to Kenma flipping him off and heading back to his own house. He comes back five minutes later anyway). 

Tetsurou makes new friends and even an enemy—the most annoying boy in the world named Yaku who Tetsurou absolutely despises until suddenly he doesn’t anymore. He even becomes friends with kids from other schools, going on a weekend training camp and meeting lots of different people. His favorite has to be Bokuto Koutarou, a loud and somewhat overly emotional first year from Fukurodani high school. He’s known of him since middle school but never actually spoke to him before. However, as soon as they arrive at the training camp the two of them hit it off like a house on fire. 

And yet he still can’t help but count down the days until he and Kenma are back at the same school, on the same team, and on the same court.

It’s not like he and Kenma don't hang out all the time anyway. Kenma was right, Tetsurou had been worried for nothing. Kenma will bring his homework to Tetsurou’s house and the two of them will try in vain to focus before putting on the TV or just abandoning their books in favor of talking.

Kenma comes to watch his games at Nekoma, while Tetsurou goes to all of Kenma’s games that he can. Usually, watching his old team play without him makes him feel a little bittersweet. Kenma’s had to come into his own since Tetsurou left, and the younger boys all seem to look up to him even though Kenma’s still as quiet and antisocial as always. It makes Tetsurou’s stomach clench to watch Kenma play without him, reluctantly guiding the team to victory.

Soon though, Tetsurou keeps reminding himself, he and Kenma will be back on the same team.

At around the same time Tetsurou starts to notice his pants are falling shorter and his sleeves are tighter again , he comes home to surprise. He opens the door to his bedroom and instead of the familiar sight of his twin bed, a new double bed is in its place. The rest of the room is relatively the same, some of the furniture rearranged to accommodate the bigger bed.

“We figured it was time,” his dad says with a soft smile.

Tetsurou grins and says, “Thanks,” before flopping down on his new bed and stretching out like a starfish.

He dad laughs good naturedly before leaving and shutting the door, letting Tetsurou enjoy his new room.

The first thing he does is pull out his phone to text Kenma. Then, an idea strikes him and he launches himself off his bed and to his desk.

He opens different drawers, scattering pens and pencils and old assignments around as he does. He pulls out old drawings and things he’s made over the years before finally shuffling through the stack of papers that he hasn’t thrown out. He pulls out what he’s looking for and smiles.

Sleepover?

It reads, Tetsurou’s childhood handwriting messily scrawled on the paper. This page was one of their most frequently used and it’s obvious.

The paper itself is all beat up, corners torn and taped over, crumpled creases from when he was less than careful storing it. There’s various speckled stains from both his and Kenma’s grubby hands during said sleepovers touching the paper and leaving traces of whatever they had been snacking on.

Tetsurou rips a piece of tape off of his dispenser and then hangs the piece of paper off his window. He didn’t have practice today (fresh off of Inter High) but Kenma’s team did, so Tetsurou was home earlier than him for once.

When Tetsurou and Kenma had their first sleepover, Tetsurou learned something he hadn’t expected about the other boy. For how closed off and quiet he is in real life, Kenma seemed to lose all apprehension in his sleep. He may be smaller than Tetsurou now but back then they were pretty similar in size. Even still, Kenma had starfished across his whole bed and Tetsurou had woken up in a confused heap of blankets on the ground.

One might think this would make Kenma impossible to sleep next to, but not for Tetsurou. He had been fascinated on this new fact he learned about his friend.

Tetsurou tried to explain it once when they were younger, when he didn’t have the right words to express himself.

“When you’re awake you’re all,” Tetsurou wrapped his arms around his legs tightly, curled into a ball, and frowned, “but when you sleep, you’re like,” and then he splayed his arms out wildly, kicked his legs out across the bed and flopped on his back.

Kenma had stared at him with growing embarrassment until Tetsurou said simply, “I like it.”

Their sleepovers have become less frequent as they've gotten older, both preferring to sleep in their own beds, but there’s still plenty of times where they’ve stayed up too late and just crashed in one another’s room.

Sure, Tetsurou could just text Kenma like usual, but something in him wants to do it the old fashioned way today.

He’s in the kitchen about an hour later helping his father make dinner when their front door opens. They both turn, Kenma coming in and dropping his overnight bag in the entranceway.

“Hi,” Kenma says, bowing slightly to Tetsurou’s dad.

“Good to see you, Kenma-kun, dinner’s just about done,”

Kenma nods and turns to Tetsurou next.

“Nice sign,” he says with a grin.

Tetsurou grins back, “Figured why not,”

They eat dinner comfortably, Kenma is a member of the family at this point. Tetsurou’s dad asks him about school and if he’s looking to go to Nekoma next year (“of course he is, what kind of question is that?” Tetsurou grumbles) and how their volleyball team is doing. Once they’re finished with their meal and cleaned up they take over the living room. There’s no school tomorrow so both are under the unspoken agreement to stay up as late as they can and eat junk food. Kenma greets his mother, talking to her photo as Tetsurou scrounges up some snacks for them to eat. They decide on a movie and settle in, side by side on the couch.

“Yaku said this movie is good,” Tetsurou says as he breaks a double chocolate cookie in half, handing a piece to Kenma.

Kenma takes it without a word and bites into it before asking, “So you two are getting along now?”

Tetsurou shrugs, “I guess so. He’s still annoying but…not as bad as before,”

Kenma snorts in response. 

“We can start with it then,” Kenma adds on. 

Tetsurou presses play on the remote and then puts his feet up on the table to stretch out. Kenma tucks his legs under him so of course Tetsurou can’t help himself as he asks, “What? Can’t reach the table from here?”

“Shut up,” Kenma groans before leaning forward and pushing Tetsurou’s legs off the table with one quick shove. 

Tetsurou laughs a full bodied laugh even as his legs hit the ground uncomfortably hard. Kenma continues to reach forward to the table and takes a sip of Tetsurou’s glass of water before settling back against the couch.

They calm down once the movie starts to play, getting absorbed in the mysterious intro. Aside from quips here and there they watch the movie in relative silence. Their plan to spend the whole night gaming and watching movies seems to grow more and more unrealistic as the movie continues. They’re both yawning into their hands, slouching more and more into the couch. Neither of them fall asleep—the movie is honestly captivating—but once it’s over they wordlessly stand up and stretch. They go up the stairs and retreat to Tetsurou’s room.

“Woah,” is what Kenma says as soon as they step into the room, eyeing the new bed.

“Right?” Tetsurou smirks and once again flops down against it.

They wash up and change for bed before crawling under the new sheets. They smell pleasantly like laundry detergent and the faintest bit like Tetsurou’s room.

“Wow,” Kenma breathes out, “I’m never leaving your bed again,”

Tetsurou snorts but finds himself agreeing in his head. This new mattress feels almost too good, like it should be made for a king and not some whiny fourteen year old. Then again it could just feel that way since Tetsurou had been sleeping in the same springy mattress since he was eight. Either way, he feels boneless as he lets himself sink deeper and deeper into the plush mattress.

“Night, Kenma,” he breathes out softly, eyes already shut.

“Night, Kuro,”

-=-=-=-

“I’ll show you where your classroom is first, then mine. If you need anything you can come and ask me,” Tetsurou says to Kenma, who’s gripping the train pole with white knuckles.

His expression (wide eyed, tight lipped) makes Tetsurou’s heart pull with various emotions. Excitement that they’re finally back at the same school, worry for Kenma’s emotional well being for the start of the new year, as well as pride in Kenma and unfounded anger towards anyone who might give Kenma a hard time.

“The school isn’t that big, you’ll have no issues getting around,” Tetsurou adds, even though he knows Kenma knows that, he’s been to Nekoma multiple times before.

“Your teacher should have club application forms already, but if not we can go to the office together and get one. I’d fill it out today so they know you’re serious. Tryouts aren’t til Friday though,”

Kenma nods along with every sentence. It’s clear that he’s not really listening though. (Not that it even matters, they’ve spoken about this whole plan at length for the past month already).

Tetsurou drops his hand and ruffles Kenma’s hair.

“Don’t stress, Kenma-chan,” he grins.

Kenma’s face instantly shifts into displeasure, reaching up to smooth the hair Tetsurou had messed up.

As they get closer to Nekoma, the train starts to fill with students in matching uniforms. Kenma keeps his gaze locked onto Tetsurou’s shoes.

He had joked earlier in the month that he didn’t need a chaperone, but as they leave the train and start to walk the few blocks to Nekoma, Kenma sticks to his side like glue. Or rather, like glue that’s being slowly ripped off of two pieces of paper, stringy and not exactly attached but close enough to tell they’re together. Various people greet Tetsurou as they walk, most acknowledging Kenma even when he says nothing back. They all seem to take it in stride, waving to Tetsurou as he makes his way to the first year wing.

“Okay, Class Three,” Tetsurou mumbles, scanning the class room signs, “ah, right here.”

They stop in front of it and peer inside. There’s quite a few students already in there, some mingling and some sitting quietly at desks. Tetsurou glances down at Kenma.

He’s lost the wide eyed look from the train, adopting a more bored and blank expression. His dark hair is falling over most of his face.

“And your classroom?” Kenma asks.

It’s the first thing he’s said since they boarded the train.

Tetsurou brings them back down the stairs and over to his classroom.

“Hey, Kuroo!” Yaku calls as soon as they appear in the doorway.

“Yakkun!” Tetsurou yells back with a broad grin, “have you seen Kai yet?”

Yaku shakes his head as he walks over to them, “He’s probably still asleep,”

“This is Kenma,” Tetsurou introduces, “Kenma, this is Yaku. He’s our libero,”

“If it isn’t about time,” Yaku says with a laugh, “Kuroo can’t go more than ten minutes without mentioning you,”

“That is not true,” Tetsurou denies.

“You’re right, it’s more like five minutes.”

Kenma lets out a quiet laugh at that.

“You’re gonna try out, right?” Yaku asks Kenma.

“Yeah.” Kenma responds quietly.

Yaku grins, “Kuroo says you’ve got a killer sense of the game. Think we can count on you to win?”

Kenma glances at Tetsurou, who’s already nodding.

“Of course we can. It’s Kenma,”

Kenma just nods slightly in response.

Overhead, the warning bell rings throughout the halls.

“We were just stopping by,” Tetsurou says, “I’m gonna show Kenma his classroom and be right back,”

Yaku nods, “Alright, yeah, see you later, Kenma. Nice to finally meet you!”

“You too,” Kenma says, at a more audible level than last time.

They walk back upstairs to Kenma’s classroom. At the door, they both pause.

“Make lots of friends, Kenma-chan,” Tetsurou teases under his breath. 

Kenma rolls his eyes.

“I’ll see you later,” Kenma says.

He takes a deep breath.

“I can pick you up here after class,” Tetsurou offers, suddenly hating their plan to meet at the front gates.

Kenma gazes up at him, eyes slightly lidded in that bored expression from earlier, “I’ll be fine, Kuro,”

Tetsurou swallows roughly but nods. Kenma walks into the classroom and doesn’t turn back, even though Tetsurou waits until he’s at a seat. When the bell rings it’s final warning, Tetsurou rushes down the stairs and just barely makes it into his room on time.

He tries to enjoy his first day back and seeing his friends and classmates he hasn’t seen in a while, but the back of his mind is busy thinking about how Kenma is getting on. It’s kind of foolish, Kenma is almost fifteen and he’s more than capable of handling himself. He just…he doesn’t want Kenma to be having a bad time. He wants Kenma to like it here as much as he does.

At the end of the day he follows Yaku to change their shoes and gather whatever else they’ve left in their lockers. They meet up with Kai there as well, and he talks a little bit about his teacher and some new kid in his class. Tetsurou keeps his eyes peeled for Kenma but there’s no sign of him. However once they head to the front gate, he can see Kenma waiting at the side, staring down at his phone.

“Wanna run down to the conscience store? Mom gave me an allowance for today,” Kai says as they near the gates.

“Ooh, yeah I’m down,” Yaku says.

“Hey, Kenma,” Tetsurou says once they get closer.

Kenma looks up and quickly scans the trio in front of him.

“This is Kai, he’s one of our spikers,”

“Hey,” Kai says, a warm smile on his face, “heard a lot about you, Kenma.”

Kenma nods.

“You coming, Kuroo?” Yaku asks.

“Nah, we’re gonna head home,” Tetsurou answers, motioning to himself and Kenma.

“Alright, see you tomorrow!” Yaku says.

The others call out their own goodbyes and Tetsurou offers them a wave before slinging an arm around Kenma’s shoulders.

“So,” he smirks, “tell me all about your first day,”

“I just…” Kenma brings his hair from behind his ear to curtain in front of his face, “I don’t want to force you to hang out with me,” he mumbles.

Tetsurou stops walking. Kenma stalls too but doesn’t look at him.

“Kenma,” he says, which does make Kenma look up.

Tetsurou’s places both of his hands on Kenma’s shoulders and leans down enough so they’re eye level.

“I like them, I really do, but I’d rather hang out with you all the time than any of them.”

-=-=-=-

They’re laying in Tetsurou’s bed, both scrolling through their phones silently. It’s Kenma’s birthday so both their parents agreed to let them have a sleepover at Tetsurou’s house to celebrate. They’d just finished an all too late gaming session considering they have school in the morning, but Tetsurou can’t find it in himself to regret it.

This is usually a favorite time of year for Kenma. He uses this time to make every comment he can about them being the same age, teasing Tetsurou for being so young. Tetsurou can’t even catch a break when his birthday rolls around, because as soon as it passes, Kenma switches the joke to teasing Tetsurou for being so old.

Oddly enough, Kenma hasn’t made any jokes about it despite them hanging out all day. He’s been a little bit on edge all afternoon but Tetsurou can’t tell why. He just knows Kenma’s been more jumpy and more lost in his head than usual. 

From the corner of his eye, Tetsurou watches the light dim from Kenma’s phone as he puts it down and sighs. Tetsurou follows suit. The main light overhead is off and so now the only light in the room is the moonlight cascading in from the window.

Tetsurou isn’t going to come right out and ask Kenma what’s wrong, he knows him well enough not to do that. So he waits.

He hears Kenma shuffling. With his eyes slowly adjusting to the shadows, he sees Kenma pull his legs up towards his chest and hug them.

“Some of my classmates are teasing me,” Kenma starts.

Tetsurou feels a surge of anger, already trying to pull up mental images of Kenma’s classmates.

“What?”

“They keep saying Mina-chan has a crush on me. And that she’s going to confess to me.” Kenma says quietly.

Tetsurou’s anger simmers down and a new, foreign feeling bubbles up.

“Oh?”

Kenma sighs again, somehow sinking lower into the mattress. “I don’t want her to. I don’t like her like that.”

Tetsurou takes a moment to digest the information and figure out how to support Kenma. His classmates are teasing him, but it seems to be somewhat good naturedly. However, Kenma doesn’t like it. That’s the most important issue.

Okay. Game plan figured out.

Tetsurou nods, “Maybe she doesn’t actually like you like that, and everyone’s just teasing you two for no reason,”

“But what if she really does confess to me? I can’t say yes.” Kenma’s voice is soft but sure.

“You don’t have to say yes. Your feelings matter too, not just her.”

“How do I…how do I make sure no girls confess to me?”

Tetsurou pauses. 

Kenma takes the pause as a sign to continue.

“You’ve had girls confess to you, right? How do I make them not do that,”

“Well, yeah, I’ve had a few confessions. But like I said Kenma, if you don’t like her you don’t have to say yes. I’m not really sure how to make them not confess, it’s kind of their decision to tell you or not. But there’s really no need to be so nervous about this. I’m sure at some point a girl you actually like will confess to you.”

“I’m gay.” Kenma says abruptly.

Tetsurou’s mouth drops open in surprise, whatever he was about to say being cut off without a sound.

“I’m gay,” Kenma says again, voice both softer and impossibly louder in the room.

After a beat, Tetsurou says, “I guess we’re looking for a Mino-chan, then?” 

“Shut up, god.” Kenma says, shoving Tetsurou with an exasperated huff.

It’s hard to see him in this lighting, most of him is hidden in shadow, but Tetsurou can make out the outline of his face, the shine of his eyes, and how he keeps his legs pulled up to his chest. He seems to curl a little bit back in on himself.

“Thank you for telling me.” Tetsurou says, feeling the need to let Kenma know how grateful he is that Kenma trusts him.

Kenma shrugs, but Tetsurou can feel the restless energy coming off of him. 

“You’re the first person I’ve told,”

Tetsurou is at a loss for words.

“But I always planned on telling you first, you’re my best friend.”

Tetsurou’s heart is beating fast as Kenma’s future flies through his head. What if he gets teased for being gay in school? What happens if his parents don’t accept him, or if he can’t find a job because people discriminate against him?

“Are you–are you nervous about it?”

Kenma shakes his head, “No, it’s just a part of who I am. And besides,” he says, and Tetsurou can hear the grin in his voice, “if anyone gives me shit for it I’ll just call you to beat them up.”

Tetsurou grins back. Yeah, he’d definitely be there in a heartbeat.

“How did you know? Or, did you always know? Either one is fine, by the way. Everyone is different!” 

His rambling gets an honest laugh from Kenma, and the sound is enough to ease Tetsurou slightly. Kenma even stretches his legs back out, leaning back against Tetsurou’s headboard.

“I never really thought about it until…two years ago? Or maybe last year. I just remember…” at this Tetsurou can see Kenma averts his gaze, the whites of his eyes shining away, “well, volleyball has been eye opening I guess you could say,”

Tetsurou barks out a laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth.

“Oh my god,” he laughs, “you must really like balls,”

Again, Kenma shoves him. This time he adds in his legs too, kicking at Tetsurou repeatedly as Tetsurou tries to cower away.

“You’re so annoying,” Kenma grumbles.

He turns away on his side and pulls Tetsurou’s covers up to his chin.

“I’m going to sleep,” he mutters, but Tetsurou can hear the smile in his voice.

Tetsurou laughs as he settled against his pillows.

“Hey, Kenma,”

“What.”

“Happy birthday. I love you,”

A beat.

“I love you too. Now shut up,”

Tetsurou closes his eyes with a grin.

Tetsurou wakes up slowly to the feeling of numbness in his arm and a knee digging into his hip. There’s an arm thrown across his neck that feels like it weighs over a ton. He cracks open his eyes.

Kenma is settled into a familiar position: laying on his back, right leg bent and resting against Tetsurou’s hip with his right arm thrown over Tetsurou’s chest, hand like a dead weight on his neck. Tetsurou’s left arm is partially trapped under Kenma’s body, entirely numb.

It would be cuddling if Kenma was actually facing him. Like this, it’s as if Tetsurou is just an extension of the mattress.

He gently removes his arm from under Kenma to regain blood flow. Kenma sleeps like the dead so he doesn’t stir at all as Tetsurou pats around the bed for his phone. He finally finds it under Kenma’s elbow.

They have another half hour before they need to be up for school so Tetsurou closes his eyes yet again and waits.

After school, it’s obvious Kenma’s acting weird. Tetsurou didn’t realize it at first, because they’d been running slightly late that morning and Kenma’s usually half-asleep on their journey there anyway. Having to usher him away from the street and around lamp posts is nothing new.

But when they’re walking home, Kenma’s lack of response is telling. He’s not even gaming. His hands are stuffed in the front pocket of his sweatshirt, pulled in close to his body. Tetsurou cracks a joke—something stupid about one of their teammates, something that would usually get a snort from Kenma—only to be met with silence. 

Despite not playing any kind of game, Kenma is still completely distracted. He’s staring ahead but very obviously not seeing his surroundings, almost running into two different benches. Tetsurou reaches out a hand to guide Kenma like normal, and sees Kenma flinch.

He draws his hand back quickly in surprise. 

Neither of them say anything about it. 

He watches Kenma for the rest of the walk home and takes in how withdrawn Kenma looks, folded in on himself. A bad feeling wedges up in his throat but Tetsurou bites his tongue.

They get to Kenma’s house in terse silence, heading straight up the stairs to Kenma’s room.

Kenma sits on his bed, right at the edge, while Tetsurou lingers by his desk. Still sitting atop is that trophy Tetsurou had given him all those years ago, ‘Most Improved’ still shining up at them because Kenma takes such good care of it even today. It brings a smile to Tetsurou’s face. Back then it had seemed like it was made of real gold, incredibly precious and valuable. It’s obvious now it’s some kind of metallic plastic, but it still feels just as valuable to Tetsurou.

“Do you feel…weird around me now?” Kenma asks once Tetsurou finally takes a seat on the bed.

Kenma had moved slightly further away, and the distance between them is unnatural.

“Huh? Why would I?”

Kenma shrugs but doesn’t say anything, rubbing his hands over his arms.

“Should I be?”

“No!” Kenma protests, blushing. “It’s just, usually people get weird, don’t they? Like, assuming they’re friend has a crush on them.”

Huh. That thought hadn’t crossed Tetsurou’s mind at all yesterday.

Tetsurou cocks his head, “Do you have a crush on me?”

Kenma stares at him, his cheeks still red from the previous question. “Well, I’ve never had a crush on anyone, so I don’t think I do.”

Tetsurou makes a thoughtful sound, “Alright, cool.”

“Have you ever had a crush on someone?” Kenma asks him.

Tetsurou pauses. Has he? He’s thought girls were cute in the past, but the tripping over his feet, stumbling over his words kind of crush? One of those crushes that people obsess over? He doesn’t think he has.

“I don’t think I have either.” Tetsurou answers honestly.

“When do you think it happens?”

Tetsurou shrugs, “When I find out, you’ll be the first to know.”

-=-=-=-

“Do you think I stand out too much?”

“Huh?”

They’re walking home from getting dinner, just about to reach their homes. Before this they’d been mostly silent, Tetsurou with a hand against Kenma’s back, guiding him as he plays a game on his phone. 

“Like,” Kenma rolls his eyes, but his cheeks darken, “do I attract too much attention,”

Tetsurou squints down at Kenma in confusion. “No? What do you mean?”

Kenma sighs, “Tora said I look like Sadako, like from the Ring movies. And that everyone probably thinks that.”

Tetsurou can’t help but think back to his first impression of Kenma, how he had a similar, eight year old thought. Based on Kenma’s reaction and the fact that he brought it up unprompted, Tetsurou doesn’t want to tease him about the question.

“Well…” Tetsurou starts, voice unintentionally an octave higher as he tries to think of what to say. 

“Oh god,” Kenma groans as he throws his head into his hands. 

“It’s not a bad thing! It’s just, since you walk around staring at your game, it kind of looks like her. A little! But like, barely.” Tetsurou rambles.

Kenma still has his head in his hands, grumbling with every new word Tetsurou says. His game lets out the telltale fail sound, lighting Kenma’s forehead with a red glow. He looks up abruptly and turns his head towards the opposite end of the street.

“I told my mom I’d pick up some stuff on my way home.” Kenma says.

“Okay, where are we going?”

Kenma shakes his head, “I’ll just go on my own. We’re already home and you’ve got that chemistry test to study for,”

Tetsurou frowns. Kenma’s right though. If he studies tonight he won’t have to cram tomorrow on their day off.

“Alright, text me when you’re back,”

Kenma nods before turning around and walking back down the road. Tetsurou walks the few steps to his house, dropping his bag as soon as he’s inside and sinking onto the couch.

He spends the next two hours mindlessly scrolling through his phone and listening to random shows on TV. Kenma texts him to let him know he’s home almost two hours later. He refuses Tetsurou’s invitation to come over. Deciding to be responsible for the both of them, Kenma teases, so Tetsurou has nothing to do but study.

The next day Tetsurou messages Kenma.

Me ● 11:38 AM

Kenmaaaaa

Come over

Kenma ● 11:39 AM

out rn

Tetsurou frowns at his phone.

Me ● 11:39 AM

Boo >:(

What time are you gonna be back

Kenma ● 11:39 AM

probably 3 or 4

keep studying

Tetsurou sends back a string of annoyed emojis before putting his phone down. He gets up from the couch and goes to make some kind of lunch for himself. He watches TV from his vantage point in the kitchen, eating while hunched over the counter instead of at the table.

It’s fine, his dad is away for the weekend for work so Tetsurou can be as lazy as he wants. He does clean up after himself though, wiping down the counters before grabbing his textbook from his room and coming back down. He doesn’t study so much so as he has the open book resting on his lap as he watches TV.

After watching yet another rerun of an anime he’s already seen, the clock now reads 2 pm so Tetsurou decides to actually start studying. He turns the TV off and begins reading, comparing the textbook to notes he had taken during class.

He gets a good hour and a half worth of studying done before he’s staring at his chemistry notes and bored out of his mind. Kenma should be coming home soon if he wasn’t wrong earlier. Tetsurou only needs to last another half hour.

His stomach growls so he decides to get himself something to eat. He grabs a handful of shrimp crackers to eat while he rummages through the kitchen. His dad had made extra dinner the night he left so Tetsurou still had some leftover. Not that he can’t cook for himself, but his dad knows he’d probably just throw in some chicken nuggets and fries and call it a meal.

Which, Tetsurou checks in the freezer, they’ve got a bag of frozen french fries just waiting to be made. He preheats the oven as he sets them out on their tray.

Luckily for him, it is less than 15 minutes later when there’s a knock on his door.

Tetsurou shuts his book and jumps up, rushing to the door. He throws it open, ready to tease Kenma for missing him, but the sentence dies in his throat.

Kenma’s standing in the doorway, hands wringing together, eyes fixed to the floor, and hair a dazzling blond. 

The light from the sun is reflecting off his hair, making it look golden and shiny and all too captivating.

Tetsurou lets out an unintentional strained noise. It makes Kenma’s eyes shoot up, so familiar yet so different in their uncertainty. 

He swallows roughly. His mouth has dried up, his throat feels like it’s been coated in sand. They stand there staring at each other for multiple long, long seconds.

“Well?” Kenma finally asks, raising his eyebrows with a scowl. 

Tetsurou sees right through the facade. Kenma’s nervous. He’s never nervous in front of Tetsurou anymore. It’s making Tetsurou feel all kinds of strange. 

He clears his throat, coughs once and says, “Holy shit Kenma, you look great.”

Tetsurou swears on his life that this hair color makes Kenma’s eyes glow. That’s the only explanation for how they seem to brighten at the compliment, pupils dilating but the gold irises shine up at him. The nerves seem to completely melt away from Kenma’s body, shoulder relaxing and a small smile crossing his lips.

“No more Sadako?” Kenma asks.

Tetsurou laughs—stilted— and agrees, “No more Sadako,” 

He finally steps aside to let Kenma in. 

“Did you do it yourself?” Tetsurou asks.

He’s trying to ignore the weird tightness in his chest.

“Fuck no. I went to a salon, I’m not gonna do all of this myself. What if it came out horrible?” 

Tetsurou thinks Kenma could never look horrible, and opens his mouth to say as much before stopping himself. 

Why would he say that?

“Well it really looks good, Kenma-chan.” Tetsurou teases, ruffling Kenma’s hair to overplay the weird feeling in his chest.

Kenma ducks out of the way with a string of expletives, swatting at Tetsurou’s arm. Tetsurou watches the newly blond hair swish with each turn Kenma makes, catching the light and looking unnaturally soft. 

Tetsurou wants to run his hands through it. The thought makes his stomach pull.

“Want to play Monster Hunter? You promised you’d help me beat that one part.” Tetsurou says just to say something. 

Kenma nods, “You’ve got any snacks?” and he heads over to Tetsurou’s console to set it up himself.

“I think we’ve got some leftovers I was gonna heat up. I haven’t had dinner.”

“Oh nice. Did your dad make that really good mackerel again?”

“Yeah, I was about to throw on some fries and we can eat the rest.”

Tetsurou hears Kenma hum happily in the other room. The sound of the game booting up fills the space as Tetsurou measures out the rice.

Kenma seems entirely unphased. Only at the start, only when he was revealing his new hair, was he nervous. But now he’s comfortably making his way around Tetsurou’s living room while Tetsurou is standing around like a freak.

He feels like he’s been knocked sideways against the head. The whole world feels askew. He’s almost unsteady on his feet, stumbling around his kitchen to complete the simple task.

Briefly, he wonders if he’s come down with some kind of illness, a dormant stomach bug that’s only now making itself known. He glances back at Kenma, at the golden halo resting against Tetsurou’s couch, and feels his heart flip three times over.

Ho-ly Fuck what is wrong with him.

“Kuro,” Kenma calls without turning around, “get me a drink,”

“Get it yourself, lazy ass,” Tetsurou says.

His voice is unusually strained in his own ears.

Kenma does turn around this time, glaring, “I’m the one doing you a favor. If you want to try and beat this level for another month, be my guest,”

Tetsurou’s response gets caught in his throat at the intensity of Kenma’s gaze. He turns around wordlessly and grabs a glass from the cabinet.

For the next few minutes Tetsurou busies himself in the kitchen, listening to Kenma game. He puts the tray of fries in the oven and sets a timer. 

His reaction is…strange, yeah. But it’s the first time ever that Kenma’s made such a big switch like that. He’s only ever known him as brunet Kenma. That’s all.

“Kuro, hurry up,”

Tetsurou glances at the timer. He’d been standing there for almost fifteen minutes.

He looks to Kenma, who’s turned around to face him again. Same old Kenma, same big eyes and lips in a pout, golden pupils bright yet analyzing, like he’s dissecting Tetsurou with his stare. And he’s hit with a sudden, intense, realization.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming, just busy making you food,” he answers back, stomach clenching as Kenma turns back to the television. 

He's acting weird because Kenma looks good. Like, attractive good, not best friend good. As in ‘you changed your hair and it made me realize you grew up just like I did but also you grew up well’ .

Tetsurou is undeniably attracted to Kenma right now.

It’s not even like Tetsurou is notoriously shy or awkward around people he finds attractive. He’d even go as far as to say he’s somewhat suave and chill about it. But something about it being Kenma is absolutely throwing him for a loop. 

Despite his mind blowing realization, Tetsurou gets back to work. He takes the fries out of the oven and assembles their plates, giving them both a handful of fries and some fish.

He carries their food out into the living room and settles the plates on the table. He sneaks a glance at Kenma, who’s already watching him, and smiles shakily.

Kenma frowns.

“Oh, your drink. Let me grab it,” Tetsurou says. 

He heads back to the kitchen where the glass has been abandoned in the countertop and fills it with water. He gets one down for himself too.

“You’re acting strange,” Kenma accuses when Tetsurou comes back in.

“No I'm not!” Tetsurou loudly denies, wincing at his own volume.

Kenma’s frown deepens but he focuses back on the game. A piece of hair falls from its spot tucked behind Kenma’s ear when he turns back to the screen. Tetsurou reaches out without a second thought and tucks it back behind Kenma’s ear, smoothing out the strands before pulling away.

Kenma doesn’t react but Tetsurou feels himself instantly start to sweat, his hands growing clammy and his face flushing. 

This is normal for them. It always has been. 

He tries to distract himself by eating while Kenma continues fighting whatever monster is attacking him, taking fries from whichever plate he reaches for in between hits.

“You’re staring.” Kenma says after the fifth time he’s caught Tetsurou looking at him.

“Can you blame me?” Tetsurou murmurs, breathy and soft. 

That—

Oh god.

He’s flirting. That totally sounded like something he’d say if he was flirting with Kenma.

He rushes to add, “It’s just different from what I’m used to.” 

Kenma must’ve caught it too, because his face has a dusting of pink on it as he stares at the television.

Tetsurou turns back to the screen with a flaming red face. Oh my god. He cannot be serious right now. He is not flirting with Kenma. He can not do that. He is not flirting with his best friend.

Onscreen, Kenma slays another beast and collects the rewards. His character abruptly stills in the open field beside the carcass as Kenma drops the controller into his lap. He turns to Tetsurou with an almost imperceptible frown.

“Is it that bad?” He asks, reaching up and touching the ends of his hair.

“No!” Tetsurou yells.

Kenma’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Then why are you being so weird!”

“I—your—” Tetsurou pauses.

If he says the truth it’ll be embarrassing. But he’s never lied to Kenma before. And he definitely doesn’t want Kenma feeling self conscious when he’s got absolutely no reason to.

Kenma is still staring at him waiting for an answer.

How do you tell your best friend their new hair color just made you realize they’re incredibly attractive and keep it casual?

“Okay,” Tetsurou sighs, “You can’t make fun of me, alright?”

Kenma nods but he looks even more wary than before.

“I wasn’t expecting you to have dyed your hair,” Tetsurou starts, “…and I think the color…really suits you.”

A moment passes.

Two.

“Wait,” Kenma’s face scrunches in thought, “you were acting this weird because you didn’t know how to give me a compliment?”

“No, it's just—ugh,” he trails off.

Tetsurou should have just agreed. Now he’s made it even more weird by disagreeing but not adding a reason.

Kenma’s eyes narrow as he stares at Tetsurou. Tetsurou can’t maintain eye contact so he ends up looking at the couch between them.

“I’m right, it's something else.” Kenma says.

Tetsurou glances up in time to watch Kenma’s expression morph yet again.

His gaze sharpens and his lips curl up, “You totally think I look hot, don’t you,”

“What! No! Shut up!”

Kenma’s eyes fill with glee as he leans over and teases, “Oh my god, you do! Who knew you had a thing for blondes?” 

“Not me,” Tetsurou breathes out softly.

Kenma laughs some more as he leans away, reaching to the table to grab some fries from Tetsurou’s plate.

“Is that really it, Kuro? You were blinded by my beauty?” Kenma continues to tease.

“You’re actually so annoying, you know?” Tetsurou says.

But it doesn’t take long before he’s joining in and laughing along with Kenma. He lets his face drop into his hands, laughing into them as he shakes his head.

“You’re such a weirdo,” Kenma says.

He’s already back to gaming, the sounds of a sword connecting with monster flesh filling the room. 

“Anyone else would’ve just said I look good, why’d you have to go and have a crisis about it?”

Tetsurou lifts his head as he rolls his eyes, “It wasn’t a crisis. Just…how would you feel if I turned up randomly hot all of a sudden,”

Kenma shrugs, “That already happened to me when I was thirteen,”

The admission has Tetsurou shutting his mouth in surprise. Kenma thinks he’s…hot?

“Please,” Kenma snorts, “don’t let it get to your head, Kuro. Your ego’s already big enough for the two of us,”

“Fuck off,” Tetsurou mutters, pushing Kenma lightly.

Kenma just laughs some more as his attention focuses more fully at the screen in front of them.

-=-=-=-

Looking back, if Tetsurou had to guess, this was the moment everything started to change. But the change was so gradual and slow, like an hourglass dropping just one grain of sand a day, that it was almost impossible to notice. It wouldn't become apparent until years later when there is virtually no sand left to drop.

-=-=-=-

They need one more point to secure this win. It’s his third year at Nekoma, his final year playing with Kenma on his team. He can’t have their last season end at Inter High, he wants to play for as long as he can.

Tetsurou turns to Kenma with a bright grin, and receives a tired one back. Kenma is sat on the court, the last rally long but secured them this set. He’s breathing in heavily, staring up at Tetsurou and looking like he’d rather not move ever again.

Tetsurou’s own blood is pumping, the good kind, and he feels unstoppable. His breaths are heavy too but he feels energized with it. Sweat is dripping from every single one of his pores. He lifts the hem of his jersey, wiping the sweat from his face. 

They’re tied 1-1. They need to play even harder if they want to win the next set.

Tetsurou drops his jersey, taking in a deep breath that gets choked off at the sight in front of him.

Kenma is staring at where his jersey has just dropped, bottom lip in between his teeth. Tetsurou freezes and watches as Kenma’s eyes very clearly rake up Tetsurou’s chest and over his arms. 

When Kenma finally reaches his face and sees Tetsurou watching him, his eyes go impossibly wide and his face goes as bright as their jerseys. Kenma looks away from him immediately, turning completely away from Tetsurou as he stands up.

Tetsurou’s still frozen in place. He can’t get Kenma’s expression out of his mind. Tetsurou swallows roughly.

“Oh captain, my captain,” Fukunaga says from right behind him, startling Tetsurou enough that he jumps, “care to give another invigorating speech?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah,” Tetsurou says, “alright, heads in!”

The team gathers at the bench as Tetsurou tries to gather his thoughts. Kenma is looking resolutely at the floor and still beet red.

“Okay, this is the final set. We’ve got them exactly where we want them. We know they’re going to keep using Number Three so we just need to keep pressuring him.”

“Kenma, what was it you were saying before about their setter?” Yaku asks.

All eyes look over to Kenma.

“Shit man, you need a break?”

“Yeah, Kenma, you look like you got melted by the sun,”

Kenma, somehow, goes an even darker shade of red.

“I’m fine,” he mumbles.

Tetsurou’s throat closes.

“Their setter seems to favor synchronized attacks but almost always gives the ball to their ace. If he’s not in the game, then it’s Number Three. And,” Kenma turns around to where the other team is coming to the court, “it looks like their ace is gonna be in play.”

“Okay, great. Let’s focus on blocking him for now. We’re gonna win this!” Tetsurou says.

The rest of them cheer loudly, and those starting begin to head back onto the court. Tetsurou looks at Kenma, his stomach flipping. Kenma is visibly refusing to meet his gaze.

“Hey,” he says, not sure what else to say but hating that Kenma won’t look at him.

Kenma finally looks up. His face isn’t as red as it was, but it’s still obviously flushed. Tetsurou isn’t sure if it’s from the game or not.

“We’re gonna win,” Tetsurou says again.

Kenma lets out a small breath and gives him a tiny, tiny, smile.

“Yeah,” he says.

Tetsurou reaches forward and ruffles Kenma’s sweaty hair. 

“You just gotta last a little longer,” he teases.

Kenma rolls his eyes and tries in vain to smooth down his hair.

Tetsurou’s heart soars.

He can’t stop thinking about Kenma looking at him like that.

He wants him to do it again.

-=-=-=-

Realizing he likes Kenma isn’t an earth shattering moment for Tetsurou. There is no whirlwind of emotions or a cacophony of angelic trumpets in his brain. There’s no heart stuttering moment or montage of their time together.

It’s Kenma sitting beside him, snorting out a laugh at the game show they're watching, and Tetsurou realizing he wouldn’t mind sitting there for the rest of his life. It’s Kenma laughing even harder, collapsing into Tetsurou’s side and looking up at him to make sure he’s laughing too. 

It’s looking at Kenma and feeling like he’s home.

Even though Tetsurou realizes his feelings, he decides to keep them to himself for now. 

The timing isn’t right; he’s going off to his first year of university while Kenma is busy applying to schools and co-captaining Nekoma to victory.

He’s almost positive Kenma knows—how could he not? Tetsurou has never been a subtle person—but neither of them mention it. And, Tetsurou is…83.2% sure Kenma feels the same way.

[Percentage breakdown courtesy of Tetsurou’s college Statistics class:

+33%= Notorious physical contact hater Kenma let’s Tetsurou be touchy with him.

-10%= Kenma let’s Shrimpy do the same.

+30%= Tetsurou has—on more than one occasion— caught Kenma checking him out.

+7%= Tetsurou is still the first person Kenma shares big news with even after all these years.

+12.2%= Kenma sticks to Tetsurou’s side like a cat, especially now when Tetsurou visits home from school.

+11%= Kenma (and Tetsurou) cried the day he moved away to college.

So yeah…Tetsurou is 83.2% sure Kenma feels the same.]

Even still, he resolves himself to wait until they’re both on more stable ground.

Kenma ends up enrolling in the same university Tetsurou is in. It’s not—like all their friends keep saying—because of their “codependency issues”. It’s because the school has both an excellent business management major and game development major that Kenma is keen on double majoring in. And since he’s visited the campus multiple times since Tetsurou started, he already knows he likes it.

They decidedly don’t live together. They had discussed it over the summer and both agreed it would be better if they didn’t. 

(“Kenma, if we live together you’re never gonna leave the apartment and meet new people,”

“I don’t need to meet new people. I know enough people.”

“Fine, if you live with me then I won’t leave the apartment and I kind of need to if I want to go to school and volleyball still,”

“That’s not my problem,”

“It literally is your problem. It’s your fault I won’t want to leave the apartment.”

“And? It’s your fault for liking me so much,”

The conversation ends with a bubblegum tension between them that lingers throughout the night. That kind of thing has been happening more and more often with them.)

Ultimately, Kenma begrudgingly agrees he should live in the first year dorms while Tetsurou will be living off campus alone in the same building as some of his volleyball team members.

Kenma doesn’t join the volleyball team, which Tetsurou is more than okay with. He’s not going to pressure Kenma into doing something just for his sake. And Kenma’s actually fairly busy outside of school now. He’d started live-streaming his gaming sessions back in his third year of high school and has garnered a fairly decent following over the past year. His most recent stream had 300 viewers.

By Tetsurou’s third year of university they’ve fallen into a pretty regular rhythm. Tetsurou still lives in the same apartment but Kenma has since moved off campus to his own—still school sanctioned but slightly nicer accommodations. 

They meet up to get dinner together at least three times a week. Kenma comes to a majority of Tetsurou’s home games, and Tetsurou watches every stream Kenma does that he can. He’s even been dubbed “biggest kodzuken simp” by the others in the chat (started by his awful Nekoma ex-teammates and solidified by the newer fans Kenma has gotten). 

So what? 

He’s extremely vocal about supporting his best friend. As he should be!

(“Shouldn’t you be worried about future employers seeing you obsessing over a twitch streamer?” Yaku teased him one day.

“Nah, they’re gonna be begging for a kodzuken sponsorship one day, mark my words,” Tetsurou had replied.)

Kenma will sometimes stop by the gym while they’re practicing, doing some of his homework with the familiar sounds of the court behind him. None of Tetsurou’s teammates say anything about it. A few of them have their significant others stop by somewhat frequently too.

Not that Kenma is his significant other. He’s just…a significant…other. In Tetsurou’s life.

Yeah.

It’s nearing the end of their winter term and Tetsurou wants nothing more than to be doing absolutely nothing. He can’t wait for classes and exams to end so he can rot on his couch back home, or rot in bed, or rot in Kenma’s bed. Regardless of where he is, he’s going to rot.

They’re in Tetsurou’s apartment, Kenma turning up  with rosy cheeks and skin dusted with ice flakes as he braved the snow to get here. He’ll undoubtedly be staying the night, though neither of them have said so.

“Thanks,” Kenma says as he accepts the tea Tetsurou has carried over for them.

He’s already got one of Tetsurou’s blankets thrown over his lap. Tetsurou’s apartment isn’t huge but it’s one of the larger student accommodations they offer. He’s got a couch nestled against the wall separating his bathroom. There’s a small table in front of the couch that also holds his television that is currently off. Against the left wall is his bed and directly across from that behind his television is his desk.

Just a few feet behind them is his small kitchen area where he’s got some ramen boiling for them. Kenma had demanded it as soon as he entered, but Tetsurou isn’t an idiot so he’d already had the water boiling before Kenma arrived. The window on the opposite wall shows off the still falling snow and the yellow lamplight from the streets below. 

It’s nothing fancy, but Tetsurou has made it his home over the last two years.

He goes to sit across from Kenma on the couch. Kenma doesn’t move his legs from their slightly bent position and so Tetsurou sits on his toes. Kenma makes the vaguest disgruntled expression. Tetsurou says nothing, just takes a sip of his tea and admires Kenma. 

The roots of Kenma’s hair have grown out more since high school. The brown extends almost past his ears and has long since been added to the list of things Tetsurou finds endearing.

Kenma holds his tea in his lap, his hands cradled around it. His eyes look tired but happy, content little smile on his face as he takes a sip of his tea. He’d been up late streaming, Tetsurou had to tap out in the middle of his raid to be up for his early class.

Kenma gives him a soft smile when he notices Tetsurou staring. It’s as if the sun resides in Tetsurou’s chest with how warm that smile makes him. Something about the snow softly falling outside mixed with the spiced tea in the air and Kenma’s warm expression has Tetsurou wishing he could frame this moment forever. He doesn’t want to hold himself back anymore. So he doesn’t.

“I love you,” Tetsurou says.

They’ve said it before, yes, but this time it’s different. And Kenma knows it.

His lips fall open slightly before pulling up into a shy smile.

“Are we finally gonna talk about it?” Kenma asks, cheeks beginning to pinken but it’s obvious he isn’t embarrassed or uncomfortable.

His eyes brighten and he leans just a little bit closer to Tetsurou.

Tetsurou laughs softly, “Yeah, yeah I think so,”

“Well, I love you too. Obviously,” Kenma says, still smiling.

“Honestly, I’ve probably been a little bit in love with you since I met you,” Tetsurou says, unable to stop the grin that’s overtaking his face.

“Me too. I’ve probably had a crush on you since you gave me that trophy,” Kenma says, “I think I told my dad later that day that I was going to marry you,”

Tetsurou can’t help the bark of a laugh that escapes his mouth. 

Kenma grins, “I’m just glad he never told my mom, or else she’d have never let it go,”

Tetsurou can picture it perfectly. Kenma’s mom has always been an outspoken, quick witted person since he’d known her. If she’d ever gotten wind of Kenma having a crush on anyone she would have (lovingly) pestered him until the end of time.

“She’s going to be teasing you now,” Tetsurou’s points out.

Kenma scoffs, “Believe me, she has been. Why do you think I’m always rushing us out of the room when she’s there?”

Tetsurou can’t help but laugh again. He’s filled with so much joy he wants to yell about it, scream to everyone that he loves Kenma and Kenma loves him. 

“My dad asked me once if we were dating,” Tetsurou tells Kenma, “in my last year at Nekoma,”

Kenma gestures for him to continue.

“He was real stoic about it. Like,” Tetsurou lowers his voice in a poor imitation of his father, “ “if you and Kenma are together, I’m happy. He’s a good kid. Your mother would be proud to call him her son”.”

Kenma’s eyes squint together in silent laughter, “And what did you say?”

“I’m pretty sure I thanked him? And then mumbled something about us not being together yet. It was all embarrassing. You know how my dad is,”

Kenma nods, grinning.

“I’ve kept my mom updated for ages though,” Tetsurou continues, “I used to ask her for advice on what to do. She probably knew I liked you even before I did, I talked about you so much,”

“Same with my parents. After my…second year? Yeah, right before you left for university they kept giving me these looks whenever I brought you up. I tried not to talk about you as much but, well, you’re my favorite topic, so.”

That sentence finally has Tetsurou blushing, his stomach flipping over and over. A small lapse of quiet fills the space. The ramen on the stove bubbles louder.

“Why now?” Kenma asks, “What made you say it now?”

Tetsurou shrugs, “I didn’t say it before because it felt like too many changes at once. Like, I was starting college, then you were starting college, and all the other things with it. I kind of…assumed you knew,”

Kenma nods at that.

“So I didn’t feel like we had to rush it. I mean, I was pretty confident you loved me too. But now we’re pretty settled, I think, and I’d like to actually call you my boyfriend instead of Yaku saying it just to tease me,”

Kenma’s face starts to heat up.

“If that’s what you want, of course. We can start slow, no need for labels,” Tetsurou adds on.

He’s eager, yeah, but he wants nothing more than Kenma to be comfortable and happy too.

“You can start by getting me my dinner,” Kenma says.

“No fair,” Tetsurou pouts despite the fact he’s already starting to stand up, “I’ve been getting your food for years already.”

“Plenty of practice to be the best boyfriend then,”

“Brat,”

“You’d call your boyfriend a brat?”

“When he’s acting like one, yeah,”

“Rude.”

“I love you,”

“I love you too.”

-=-=-=-

The train ride home isn’t terrible, and they’re already in the last leg of it. The train car had been packed once they transferred but now it’s just the two of them, standing next to the pole that Tetsurou is holding, along with a hand on Kenma’s waist to keep him steady while he plays on his phone.

It’s their first time back home since they started dating two weeks ago. Honestly? Not much has changed. Tetsurou keeps joking that they’d practically been dating for years but now they finally ‘leveled up’ to kissing. The first time he said that Kenma refused ti kiss him for 4 hours.

(Yes, Tetsurou timed it. And yes, he whined the whole time. Can you blame him? He’s trying to make up for lost time!)

The familiar landscape rushes past them and Tetsurou knows they’re almost home. They’re the only ones left in the car, so he drapes himself across Kenma’s back, letting his full body weight rest against him. Kenma lets out a huff of protest but doesn’t try to move Tetsurou off.

“Nice kill,” Tetsurou says.

Kenma snorts, his character on screen celebrating their win.

“Thanks,”

Tetsurou smiles. He presses a soft kiss against Kenma’s neck and straightens up, wrapping his arms around Kenma’s chest.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Kenma murmurs.

Tetsurou grins, tightening his hold on Kenma, who leans back into him.

“I know.”

They pass a high school, not Nekoma, but Tetsurou thinks about it anyway. He thinks about what it might have been like to be dating Kenma back then, walking the halls with him as his boyfriend and not only his best friend.

“Should we visit Nekoma and make out in an empty classroom or something? You know, pay our respects,”

“Gross. You want us to get arrested?” Kenma asks, hitting Tetsurou’s chest lightly with his head. “I’m not kissing you anywhere near a school, Kuro,”

“What about on a train?”

Kenma grumbles something unintelligible.

“An empty train even,” Tetsurou adds.

Kenma twists around in Tetsurou’s hold, and Tetsurou is already leaning down to meet him halfway.

It has yet to get old, kissing Kenma. His lips are cold and a little chapped from the weather, but he tastes like the cherry cough drop he’d just finished, and his hands go straight to Tetsurou’s neck like they always do. His phone just barely bumps Tetsurou in the process.

Tetsurou smiles into the kiss and nips lightly at Kenma’s bottom lip just to hear him grumble some more. One of his own hands cups Kenma’s jaw, cradling his face by his ear so he can reach Kenma’s hair. Kenma hasn’t let him live down his obsession with his hair, but Tetsurou doesn’t mind at all. He’s been touching it every chance he gets for two weeks now.

They pull apart and Tetsurou’s heart swells at the look on Kenma’s face. Soft and content and pink and beautiful.

“I love you,” Tetsurou whispers.

Kenma’s eyes shine.

“Tell me again?”