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“Kenma-chan, you certainly are looking cuuuuuhyoot today!”
Kenma shivered and tried to walk a little faster without being obvious that he had heard the call.
“Kenma-chaaaaan!”
A little more faster.
“Kenma-chan, seriously, it’s almost like you don’t want to be around me,” Harumi Yuto said petulantly as he caught up to the second year.
“Mm,” Kenma muttered, trying to inject as much distaste in the sound as possible. Sadly, it didn’t translate and Harumi merely grinned fondly.
“Awww, cuuuhyoot as usual,” the tall boy cooed. Kenma scowled. Harumi giggled out, “Even your scowl is cuuuhyoot!”
Kenma didn’t bother to reply and continued to his class, trying his best to ignore the first year walking leisurely next to him.
“You knoooow, there’s a super duper cuuuhyoot puppy cafe that opened,” Harumi hummed thoughtfully, like the idea had just popped up in his mind. “We. Should. Goooo!”
“I like cats,” Kenma immediately muttered in response, ears ringing from aftershock of hearing such a loud, high-pitched voice right next to his voice.
“Awww, that’s cuuuhyoot. That makes sense, since you’re just like a little kitty kitty!” Harumi smirked and brought up his hands to make a silly pawing gesture. Kenma wanted to punch something. The blonde boy next to him made another one of his obnoxious humming noises and then asked again, “Okaaaay, so we can go to a cat cafe together!”
“I’m busy.”
“I haven’t said a date yet, Kenma-chan,” Harumi scolded playfully, wagging a finger at the shorter boy.
“Looks like I’m at my room, goodbye,” Kenma hastily mumbled out before rushing into his classroom and shutting the door. A muffled voice called out, “Have a good day, Kenma-chaaaan!”
Kenma groaned inwardly and sat down in his seat next to Fukunaga who lifted his head to stare at his fellow teammate.
“Annoying,” Kenma pronounced.
“Yes,” Fukunaga agreed.
Kenma had met Harumi a week ago. It was Tuesday during lunch break and Kenma was at the vending machine, grabbing a drink for himself. Usually Kuroo went to buy them food and drinks, but Kuroo had come down with something during the weekend and couldn’t make it to school. So, Kenma had to get his own lunch that day.
He’s not exactly sure what happened, since he’s usually so observant. Maybe he was focusing on something else, maybe he was thinking especially hard about another thing- he can’t remember and frankly doesn’t care. All he knows is that he pressed the wrong button and a can of cold, black coffee had come out.
Kenma hates cold, black coffee.
“If Kuroo hadn’t been sick I could have given it to him instead”, Kenma thought bitterly before shaking his head slightly. He couldn’t blame this on Kuroo.
Anyways, Kenma had been about to toss it into the trash or place it somewhere when someone had plucked it out of his hands. The ‘someone’ was Harumi Yuto, a tall, obnoxious, blond first year who had no sense of boundaries or social norms.
“If you’re not drinking this, can IIIIIIIII?” the boy had drawled out. Kenma had nodded and moved to walk away. The boy asked for his name, Kenma had reluctantly given it, and then all of a sudden this Harumi guy was everywhere.
What a nightmare.
“Kenma-chaaan, are you freeee?” Harumi screeched, wildly waving his hands like a demented windmill to grab Kenma’s attention.
“No,” Kenma bit out, tucking his head down to try and make himself smaller.
“That’s no fun at allll,” Harumi pouted. “What are you doing?”
“Volleyball.”
“Hoooowww fun! I should join! We could play together! That would be soooo cuuuhyoot!” Harumi clasped his hands together and smiled wide enough to split a log.
Disgusting, Kenma thought to himself.
“No,” Kenma replied.
“I don’t know why you’re so mean to me,” Harumi said, his voice dropping. Without the addition of drawn out words or the stupid nickname, Kenma found himself vaguely apologetic.
“Sorry,” the setter said. Harumi’s huge eyes widened like saucers and the mouth shot up into a cheshire grin like usual.
“You know what you can do to make me feel better, Kenma-chaaaaan?” the first year sang. Kenma could feel a headache coming on.
“No. I have practice,” Kenma escaped through the gym doors and bolted for the lockers.
“You’re certainly in a hurry,” Yaku commented as Kenma bursted into the changing room.
“I’m being stalked,” Kenma ground out. Yaku rose his eyebrows.
“Should I be worried?”
“He keeps- He keeps,” Kenma narrowed his eyes at the floor. “Talking to me.”
“I didn’t know it was a crime to talk to you now,” Yaku slyly said, mouth twitching. Kenma turned his glare to the libero, who laughed.
“It’s not funny,” Kenma whined. Yaku just laughed harder.
“Ok ok sorry. If you’re seriously bothered, just go tell Kuroo,” Yaku giggled and then walked out the door to go practice. Kenma sighed and pulled his shirt off his head, quickly undressing and then changing out for his uniform. Kuroo was still sick. Telling him would be useless.
“Say Kenma-chan, why won’t you go on a date with meeeeee?”
Kenma didn’t respond.
“Kenma-chan, you know, I’m a verrrryyyy handsome guy. All the girls in my class say so,” Harumi boasted. “And you’re so cuuuhyoot! We’d look good together!”
God, Kenma never wanted to hear that mangled excuse of a compliment ever again.
“Aren’t we perfect? You don’t talk hardly ever, and I looooove to talk!” The blond boy rambled excitedly. Kenma grimaced slightly. Yes, Harumi definitely loved to talk. Kenma knew. He 100 percent knew that. The other part though, Harumi was wrong about that. He might not be a babbling brook like some, certain people, but he talked to people. People he liked.
Harumi continued to talk and talk and talk and Kenma looked for a way out. He checked his phone. Nothing.
“My mom texted me, I have to go,” Kenma explained as we walked in the direction of the nearest house he knew, which was Kuroo’s. He pretended not to hear Harumi calling out for him to wait.
“Why are you still sick?” Kenma complained. Kuroo sat in his bed, holding a steaming cup of tea Kenma had prepared for him.
“I’ll be back day after tomorrow,” Kuroo reassured the younger boy.
“You better be,” Kenma threatened before flouncing off.
“You look poooositively adorbs. Totally cuuuhyoot!” Harumi said immediately once he reached Kenma. Kenma bit his lip in some poor attempt to keep himself from saying something rude.
“You know, I think we should go somewhere today!” Harumi continued. Kenma shook his head no. The taller blond hesitated a second before brightly continuing to say, “In fact, we will go somewhere today!”
“No,” Kenma vocalized.
“No no no, that’s all you ever say. Well today it’s a yes! I want to go on a date,” Harumi demanded and the younger boy’s tone of voice sent chills down Kenma’s spine. There was a hint of malice underneath the flowery pitch that Kenma hadn’t detected before.
“Uh, really. I’m busy,” the setter protested. Harumi waved it off like his words were physical and not even worthy of his attention.
“I want. A. Date. With my very darling, super cuuuhyoot Kenma-chan,” Harumi slowly said. Kenma looked around helplessly. Nobody was paying them any attention and none of his friends were nearby.
“Uh,” Kenma whispered out. Harumi’s eyes gleamed.
“Hold my hand so we can be like a real couple, Kenma-chan!” Harumi didn’t even wait for a response and grabbed the shorter teen’s hand. The first year’s hand was frighteningly hot and a little sweaty. Gross. Kenma tried to subtly take his hand back, but the other blond tightened his hold, gripping the appendage like a lifeline. Harumi smiled cheerfully, his big, soft brown eyes narrowing into tiny slits as he swung their linked hands together.
Kenma wanted to throw up.
“Aren’t we just the cuuuuuhyootest couple, Kenma-chaaaaan?”
Kenma wanted to scream.
The day continued in similar fashion. Harumi would do something or say something annoying or overly romantic or inappropriate, Kenma would try to pull away, and Harumi would just hold on even more. Kenma felt like a rodent, caught in the claws of some predator.
It was dark when Harumi finally proclaimed their “date day” was over. Kenma was relieved beyond belief and had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t give Harumi any chances to even see him after the day was over and he was safely home. However, Harumi had different ideas.
“Kenma-chan, where do you live?” The teen asked innocently, eyes wide as saucers and smile sweet as sugar. Kenma didn’t trust him farther than he could toss him. Which wasn’t very far admittedly, but it was the best line he could come up with on the spot.
“Uh. I can go by myself,” Kenma said, shifting uncomfortably.
“Now now, we can’t have that! I need to walk my very darling boyfriend home and kiss him goodnight!” Harumi laughed loudly, like Kenma walking home alone was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard.
“No, that’s ok,” Kenma tried again. The taller boy’s face seemed to take on a darkness as he smirked.
“Is my cuuuhyoot little Kenma-chan shyyyyyy by any chance?” Harumi tilted his head playfully, but there was nothing playful in the atmosphere at all. Kenma wanted to run away, but Harumi kept him trapped with an intense gaze as he walked forward, attempting to cage Kenma in against a wall. Harumi smirked, “Maybe I’ll just kiss you here then.”
“You can walk me home,” Kenma quickly said, ducking underneath Harumi’s arms. He heard a lighthearted chuckle behind him and then the sound was at his right side. Kenma felt his heartbeat speed up, along with his legs as he walked faster. Harumi kept pace.
“Well, this is it,” Kenma announced, stepping backwards towards the door. Harumi walked towards him. It was just as the first year was leaning down that Kenma closed his eyes and jammed the doorbell. If he was correct, then-
“My my my, what do we have here?” A low, silky smooth voice called out as the door creaked open. Kenma had never felt more relieved or grateful in his life.
“Kuro,” he breathed out.
Kuroo assessed the situation. One Kenma, one boy he didn’t know, and one very awkward, very tense atmosphere. The third year pursed his lips thoughtfully and then reached out to drag Kenma in front of him, wrapping long, defined arms around the slender teen possessively. Kenma breathed out and leaned back into Kuroo’s comforting warmth. Kuroo would take it from here.
“So, who are you?” Kuroo asked lightly, voice calm and even- not giving even a mite away.
“Harumi Yuto. Who. Are. You?” The first year spat out. Kenma didn’t know if his annoying stalker was just brave or a fool.
“Kuroo Tetsurou,” the tall boy - much taller than Harumi - purred out. The grip on Kenma tightened slightly.
“Doesn’t mean anything to me,” Harumi stubbornly said.
“It will,” Kuroo’s hooded eyes lowered and if Kenma could see his face, he would surely see shadows dancing over the brunette’s eyes. Kenma just stared straight at Harumi’s rapidly paling face. Kenma thought he could see the boy tremor. For all of Harumi’s bravado and his own malicious eye gleams and scary persistence, he couldn’t face off with Kuroo. Nobody could face off with Kuroo.
Kuroo was tall. Kuroo was strong. And Kuroo was scary.
Kenma could almost hear Kuroo smirk as the tall teenager began to talk cheerfully.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to leave now, and you’re never going to come around again,” Kuroo brightly intoned.
“Because,” Kuroo’s voice deepened, “If I ever see you around my boyfriend again, I’ll kill you.”
And with that, Harumi meekly nodded, stuttered out that he understood, and scampered away like the skittish rat he was.
“You’re so scary, Kuro,” Kenma murmured gratefully, turning around in his lover’s arms to wrap his own around the brunette’s thick torso.
“Please tell me sooner about this sort of thing,” Kuroo just sighed in response and nuzzled his face into Kenma’s hair.
“I didn’t want to disturb you. You were sick,” Kenma explained.
“Please disturb me,” Kuroo pleaded. Kenma didn’t say anything so Kuroo repeated his plight. FInally, after a few beats of silence, Kenma nodded with acquiescence.
“Are you still sick?” the shorter teenager asked. Halfway through Kuroo’s “no”, Kenma reached up and pulled Kuroo’s face down for a tender kiss.
For the rest of the year, Harumi would dash into hiding when he so much as glimpsed Kuroo or Kenma.
And Yaku, for that matter.
Harumi’s still not sure what he did to piss Yaku off.