Chapter Text
Kenma screamed as talons dug deeper into his shoulders. “Help! Help!” he screeched, his legs kicking in midair.
The dragon’s wings beat the sky, making a clapping sound as the air was forced to move around its massive wingspan. Kenma watched the ground below, the open fields of his family farm disappearing beneath the clouds. Kenma gasped for breath, either from fear or from the dwindling air pressure.
He screamed again.
The dragon let out a roar above him, knocking the wind out of Kenma’s lungs. Fire filled the sky, and Kenma closed his eyes as a blast of heat hit his face. He coughed on smoke. The smell of singed hair filled his nostrils. The heat was overwhelming, and Kenma felt his body go limp in the dragon’s hold.
He blinked his eyes open when the smoke finally cleared. He caught sight of the ground again, the charred remains of an abandoned castle coming into view. The earth had turned to glass from the heat of the dragon’s fire, and only one thing stood out from the blackened landscape: a white stallion galloping up the hillside.
Kenma’s eyes widened and he struggled against the dragon’s clutches. “Help!” he shrieked. “Help me! Help! Hel-“
Kenma was cut off when the dragon released his grip. His feet kicked uselessly as he was hurled through the sky and into an open window at the top of one of the castle towers. His body flipped over and over before he finally hit the ground.
He heard something snap just before the dragon roared again. Kenma held his arm to his chest and kicked himself away from the window. He gasped as the dragon dove past: a mass of red scales flying by.
Kenma took a minute to gather his wits. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying to find some sense of calm, but the sounds of fire and metal outside made him crawl over to the window, still keeping his right arm tight against his chest. The stallion from before was kicking behind its rider.
A knight.
Kenma grabbed onto the stone window ledge, leaning over to try to get a better look. The knight had nothing but a flimsy shield to try to block the dragon’s fire breath. His sword didn’t look long or strong enough to pierce through the dragon’s flesh, but Kenma knew it was his only chance of getting saved.
The dragon released an impressive wall of flames. Kenma held his breath as the knight barely managed to duck behind his shield. The metal warped under the heat.
Don’t look up, Kenma wanted to shout.
Even if he had managed to get the words out, it would have been too late. Just as the knight peaked over his shield, the dragon dropped into a nosedive, it’s mouth open and teeth glistening. Kenma squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look.
He waited for the sound of teeth snapping through bone, but it never came.
Cautiously, Kenma peaked over the window frame. He blanched when he first saw the pool of blood staining the ground. The dragon lay limp across the rock, and that’s when Kenma realized.
It was dead.
He sat up straighter, not sure he could trust his own eyes. There was a clear slice through the tip of the dragon’s nose and up through the top of its head. Its skull was cut neatly in half. Kenma gagged at the sight of brain seeping through flesh and scales.
Someone banged on the door to the tower, and Kenma jumped three feet in the air. He stood frozen, not sure what to do.
There was a thump. Another thump. A third thump, and a man dressed in full armor beat through the door with his shoulder. Kenma yelped and pressed back into the wall. This was the knight who just killed the dragon. He killed a dragon. Kenma cowered in fear.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to save you.”
Kenma cracked an eye open just as the knight removed his helmet. Black hair shinier than his breastplate fell into the knight’s eyes as he tucked his headgear under one arm.
“I-“ Kenma couldn’t finish his thought. He wasn’t sure he had one in the first place; he was too overwhelmed.
“It’s time to get you out of this tower, don’t you think?” the knight asked, extending a gloved hand towards him. Kenma bit his lip and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, squirming nervously. The knight, meanwhile, smiled at him sympathetically. “I’m Kuroo,” he said, introducing himself.
“Kenma,” he squeaked. He reached out to take the knight –Kuroo’s- hand.
Kuroo’s glove was warm, and Kenma’s skin was pink from flying through fire. Kuroo’s hand tightened around his, and Kenma’s eyes widened when Kuroo pulled him close.
Kuroo’s arm wrapped around Kenma’s waist, and while Kenma should have felt trapped by the metal armor and strong muscle keeping him in place, he only felt safe. “I’ve got you now, Kenma,” Kuroo said.
Kenma made an embarrassing noise in the back of his throat as Kuroo ducked into kiss him. He closed his eyes, mouth parting for the kiss when~
~~~~~~~~
“-ma. Kenma... Kenma! Hello! Earth to Kenma!”
Kenma blinked his eyes slowly at the sound of Hinata’s voice, coming back into reality. He stretched lazily, his blanket slipping off his shoulders, and turned his head towards Hinata. “Yes?”
Hinata raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Staring at Kuroo again?” he asked.
Now that was enough to catch Kenma’s attention. He sputtered. “What? No. I just... I just like sitting here,” he said, gesturing to the window bench.
Kenma spent just about all of his time curled up in the sun like a cat, watching people walk by on the sidewalk. If Kuroo happened to leave every morning at 10 AM and come back home every night with Hinata after volleyball practice, and if Kenma just happened to be sitting in his usual spot, and if he happened to notice Kuroo walking by, well... That was no one’s business but his own.
“I know,” Hinata replied, his cute little nose crinkling. He knelt up on the bench next to Kenma and opened the window. Kenma frowned at the first scent of fresh air. “You’re always sitting here. When’s the last time you even left the apartment?” Hinata asked.
“I bought eggs.”
“That was three days ago, and the convenience store is literally right next to our building,” Hinata complained. Kenma opened his mouth to say something passive to try to get Hinata to leave him alone, but as he glanced up, he saw the look in Hinata’s eyes pass from annoyed to concerned.
Crap.
“I’m just worried about you,” Hinata said. “It can’t be good for you to spend so much time locked away up here. Aren’t you bored? Aren’t you lonely?”
Kenma sighed. “I’ve told you, I have-“
“Course work, I know. You’re taking classes online or whatever. But that can’t possibly take up all of your time. Why don’t you spend some of the time you usually spend on video games to go outside and like, I dunno, see the sun? Smell the roses? Don’t you think you’re missing out?” Hinata asked. He had practically crawled into Kenma’s lap, and Kenma pushed him back a little.
“You’re thinking too much about this,” he said. “I’m fine.”
Hinata pouted. “But Kenma.”
Kenma found himself sighing again. “Not everyone is a special social butterfly like you, Shouyou. You might like being with people all the time, but I’m happiest when I’m by myself. It’s tiring to talk to other people. I need to... recharge,” he explained.
“Fine,” Hinata said, throwing his hands up in defeat. Kenma blinked. Hinata’s attention span had always been short, and while he was stubborn enough to continually bring up the same argument, the conversation never lasted long. “I’m gonna go shower, okay?”
“Good, you smell gross,” Kenma said, burying his nose into his knees.
Hinata took this as an invitation to try to shove his smelly armpit into Kenma’s face, but Kenma shoved him away before he could. Kenma threw a pillow at him as he ran away, and Hinata’s laughter filled the house as he locked himself up in the bathroom.
Kenma rolled his eyes and grabbed his blanket again. He looked back out the window.
The next morning, Kenma woke up to a note from Hinata on the table. It took him a solid thirty seconds to decipher is cramped handwriting, but when he did, Kenma ended up balling up the Post-It and throwing it into the garbage.
Go outside today, if you can! The vitamin C is good for you!!!!
xoxoxoxo :) :) :D
First of all, Kenma was pretty sure your body absorbed Vitamin D from the sun, not Vitamin C. Second of all, Hinata was an idiot.
It’s not that Kenma couldn’t go outside, he just didn’t want to. Whenever Hinata took him out for dinner or for a quick shopping trip, he acted like Kenma was on the verge of a panic attack. Kenma had panic attacks, but he didn’t get them from leaving the house.
Although, that didn’t mean he was comfortable outside. He was notably more anxious in public than he was at home. He felt safer when he was holed up in his shared room with Hinata, but Kenma was fairly certain that most people felt safer at home. It wasn’t a problem.
Besides, his classes were all online and his internship only asked for deliverables. His boss didn’t ask him to come into work. As long as he got enough animation work done for his employer, he didn’t care whether or not he showed up at the office.
It didn’t matter if Kenma spent all his time at home. It didn’t matter if he stayed locked up all day, every day. It didn’t matter if he preferred to people-watch out the window and make up their stories rather than go down to the street and actually meet any of them.
It was easier for Kenma to pretend to know someone than to put himself out there and actually talk to someone.
Kenma jumped when the door to the apartment flew open. “Kenma! I’m home! And I brought people over! I hope that’s okay!”
Kenma sat up fast and snapped the door to their bedroom closed. The voices on the other side of the shoji were slightly muffled but Kenma could still hear them clearly.
“Is he okay in there?” one of Hinata’s friends asked.
“Yeah, he’s just shy. He might not come out to say hi,” Hinata explained.
Kenma hugged his knees close to his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. There was no reason to feel embarrassed -he hadn’t actually seen or talked to anyone- but his cheeks still felt flushed.
He sighed and toppled over to his side, his knees still curled close. He stared through the crack under the door. He could see feet and a couple people sitting down. He recognized Hinata’s tiny panda socks as he ran around, filling up glasses and passing out snacks.
Someone said something funny, and everyone laughed. Kenma, meanwhile, felt his bottom lip wobble.
He didn’t mind when Hinata invited people over, but sometimes it was hard to be stuck on the other side of the screen.
Instead of moping, though, Kenma decided to pick himself up and crawl over to his window seat. He slipped under his blanket and leaned against the glass.
A woman with a baby hurried by, and Kenma imagined she was on the way to the grocery store to pick up an ingredient she needed for dinner. A man on a run jogged by a moment later, and Kenma pictured a giant minotaur chasing him down the street.
When he sees Kuroo walking home, he imagines an orchestra swelling.
Kuroo is by far the most interesting person Kenma had never met. He had wild black hair that fell into his eyes and a build that seemed wasted on a volleyball player. Kenma could see him doing something that required more strength, like swimming or boxing.
Kenma didn’t know much about him, only the handful of things Hinata had shouted at him while Kenma hid his face under his pillow, humiliated. (He hated owning up to his crush, but Hinata seemed determined to play matchmaker, telling him about Kuroo whenever he got the chance.) However, the smirk on Kuroo’s face said he was a little sly, a little too smart. Boxing might be the best fit.
Kenma’s eyes glazed over as he imagined Kuroo fighting someone or –better yet- fighting someone for him.
~~~~~~~~
“Eels? Really?” Kenma asked, dangling from a rope. The tank of eels beneath him hummed with electricity. “As an aspiring video game designer, I can promise you that this is pretty weak. Not even a mid-level boss would do something so cheesy.”
“Silence!” Evil Doctor Octopus demanded. His tentacles wriggled wildly with the exclamation. “You won’t sound so confident when you’re begging for mercy.”
Evil Doctor Octopus hit a button on his controller, and the rope holding Kenma started slowly lowering. Kenma arched an eyebrow, unconcerned. “Yeah, I wouldn’t count on that happening,” he said. He didn’t flinch when one of the eels jumped out of the tank, snapping it’s teeth a little too close to Kenma’s nose.
“But they’ll electrocute you!” Evil Doctor Octopus shouted.
Kenma snorted. For a super villain, the octopus didn’t have a very threatening voice. If anything, he sounded small and mousy. “They won’t electrocute me,” Kenma said confidently.
The octopus’s tentacles undulated violently in frustration. “And why do you think that?” he asked.
Before Kenma could answer, the back wall of Evil Doctor Octopus’s warehouse exploded inward. Rubble crushed the crates and experiments the octopus had resting against the wall. As the dust settled, Kenma could make out the sight of a powerful figure crouching amongst the debris.
Kenma smirked. “That’s why,” he said.
His smirk grew into a smile as Evil Doctor Octopus’s eyes widened in fear. The hero stood up slowly, keeping his face hidden until he had risen to his full height. Kenma rolled his eyes as Kuroo lifted his head, dramatic as ever. “Funny,” Kuroo said, the sight of his iconic black mask making the octopus’s tentacles quiver. “I thought octopi were supposed to have eight legs.”
“I do have eight legs,” Evil Doctor Octopus said, confused.
Kuroo smirked. “Not for long,” he promised before springing into action. Kenma gagged when Kuroo jumped into action and ripped off one of he octopus’s meaty tentacles. It writhed on the ground even after it was separated from its body.
The rope holding Kenma dropped him closer and closer to the tank, but Kuroo was quick on his feet. He managed to tie the octopus’s remaining tentacles together, leaving him in a tangled, immobile mess on the ground. With Evil Doctor Octopus subdued, Kuroo was able to stop the mechanical pulley system before Kenma could drown or be electrocuted. Kenma blinked at the eels swimming beneath him, bored.
“What if, instead of saving me every time I get abducted, you stopped villains from ever kidnapping me in the first place?” he asked.
Kuroo pouted and jumped up on the edge of the eel tank to untie Kenma. “What, no thank you? Weren’t you impressed?”
Kenma rolled his eyes. Kuroo certainly demanded a lot of praise. “I guess I was a little impressed,” he said begrudgingly, even if it was the third time Kuroo had saved him from a super villain this week alone. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“Anything for my damsel in distress,” Kuroo said, kissing Kenma’s forehead. Kenma blushed. He would never get over Kuroo just kissing him whenever he felt like it. “I’ll always save you, kitten. You never have to worry.”
Kenma managed a tiny grin. “I never do,” he promised as Kuroo finished with the knot. He fell into Kuroo’s arms, narrowly avoiding a painful death in an eel tank. “I know you’ve got me.”
“I thought that maybe when we started dating, I’d stop thinking about him so much, but I think it might just be getting worse,” Hinata said, swirling his tea with a spoon. Kenma kept quiet, waiting for Hinata to continue after he took a sip. “He’s just so cute and squishy. He doesn’t think he’s cute and squishy, but when he’s all shy and grumpy, he’s just... the cutest,” Hinata cooed.
“And the squishiest?” Kenma asked.
“Definitely the squishiest,” Hinata lamented. “I think you would like him. I keep trying to bring him over to meet you, but I think he’s more nervous than you are. Something about wanting to make a good impression.”
Kenma blinked. While he knew Hinata thought it was important that he approved of all his potential boyfriends, there wasn’t much Kenma could do if he didn’t like a guy Hinata brought home. “What’s his name again?”
“Kageyama Tobio,” Hinata answered.
Kenma hummed. He warmed his hands around his own mug of tea. “And he’s your setter?”
Hinata nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! And he’s a starter like me! Isn’t that crazy? He’s so good. Like probably better than I am, and you know I don’t like admitting that.”
Kenma tucked a piece of hair behind his ear in lieu of laughing. Hinata absolutely abhorred admitting anyone was better than him at volleyball. Saying he ‘didn’t like it’ was an understatement.
“Whatchya thinkin’?” Hinata asked when Kenma stayed quiet for a minute.
Kenma curled a little further inwards on himself. Sometimes Hinata could be a little too much for him. Kenma wasn’t nearly as expressive or energetic as Hinata was. (Some would say he wasn’t expressive or energetic at all.) It sometimes felt draining to be his roommate.
However, all it took was a cup of tea and some good conversation for Hinata to calm right down. Most nights, after he showered, Kenma would pass him a mug, turn on their overhead twinkle lights, and force him to sit side by side on his futon. It was moments like these that reminded Kenma why they were friends. (That, and Hinata was the only one who didn’t get bothered when Kenma didn’t answer his questions right away or went awhile without talking.)
“I’m thinking about how good a friend you are,” he answered honestly. And then –because he had foresight- he grabbed the mug out of Hinata’s hands before he could spill it everywhere.
“Aw, Kenma!” Hinata cheered, throwing his arms open wide. He pulled him into a tight hug. “I think you’re a good friend, too.”
Kenma reluctantly returned the hug. He wasn’t sure he was a good friend. He made Hinata do most of the grocery shopping, and sometimes he needed Hinata to write his work emails and submit his school projects when he was feeling particularly nervous. However, he tried to return the favor by cooking most nights and paying for most of the rent with the money from his internship. “I try,” he said awkwardly.
“You succeed,” Hinata promised. “Honestly, more people should have you as a friend, Kenma! You’re so great.”
Kenma flushed. “I don’t know about that.”
“No, really! You made our apartment look really nice and cozy, and you make sure everything is clean, and you help me out when I’m tired from class, and work, and volleyball practice.... It makes me sad that you don’t talk to more people,” Hinata said, pulling back to make eye contact.
Kenma squirmed under Hinata’s gaze. He didn’t ever know how to handle him when his eyes got too wide and shiny. He looked too genuine. “Um...”
“Kenma, when is the last time you went on a date?” Hinata asked out of nowhere.
Kenma felt a shiver run down his spine. “Excuse me?”
“Have you ever been on one?”
“Shouyou-“
“Because I could set you up,” Hinata continued. “Dates are really fun! Like, going out with Kageyama has been really fun, and I didn’t think it would be, you know? I thought I would be scared, but Kageyama is really nice. And I think I know who you like, and I know he’s really nice, so together you might have a really nice time! You should think about it!” he exclaimed.
Hinata’s face had inched closer and closer to Kenma as he spoke –as it often did- and Kenma pushed him away with one hand. “You’re crazy. I don’t like anyone,” he said, even if Hinata had caught him staring out the window at Kuroo more times than he would like to admit.
Hinata made a whining sound. “That’s not true! You should just let me introduce you guys!”
“Why don’t you just drink your tea-” Kenma asked, passing the mug back to Hinata. He usually settled down when he had a drink in hand, “-and stop bothering me.”
“But-“
“Tell me more about Kageyama,” Kenma suggested before Hinata could get another word out. Hinata’s eyes lit up at the question.
“Okay!” he answered. “So he does this thing with his eyebrows when he tosses? Like there’s this little crinkle? And it’s so cute, Kenma, it’s almost unbelievable. But I only stare at his eyebrows sometimes because most of the time I need to focus on the ball and sometimes I’m looking at his hands. He has the biggest hands.”
Kenma let Hinata’s voice wash over him as he took another sip of tea. Usually, he liked listening to Hinata talk about his life –it was much more interesting than his own- but today his thoughts were elsewhere.
His eyes flickered over to the window. He wondered if Kuroo was walking by.
Kenma stretched his arms as he woke up. He peeled himself off the bed slowly, cracking his neck as he stood up. He could hear Kuroo singing in the kitchen and the sound of the rice cooker beeping.
Kuroo turned around as Kenma staggered into the kitchen. “Ah, look who it is!” Kuroo said, turning to greet him.
Kenma blanched when he realized that Kuroo was shirtless. He was cooking breakfast shirtless with a newborn baby snuggled up in his arms. (Somewhere in the back of Kenma’s brain, he realized this was quite possibly the most ridiculous daydream he had ever had, but he decided to roll with it.)
“Do you want to hold Ichigo?” Kuroo asked.
Kenma focused on the matter at hand. “We named our daughter after a strawberry?” he asked, reaching out his arms to take the baby from Kuroo as he stirred miso paste into the fish stock warming on the stove.
“It was her mother’s only wish,” Kuroo said factually. He held out a spoon of broth for Kenma to try. “Taste?” he asked.
Kenma leaned forward and frowned when the soup hit his tongue. “It needs more miso.”
“Will do,” Kuroo answered, throwing in another tablespoon or so. Kenma didn’t pay much attention. He was too busy ogling Kuroo’s biceps as he moved. Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? Who cooked without a shirt on?
Kenma tore his eyes away before he could start staring at Kuroo’s pecs. Instead, he looked down at their baby. Ichigo yawned, her tiny hand reaching out to fist up in Kenma’s t-shirt.
Kenma’s heart melted.
“Wanna see something cute?” Kuroo asked, noticing how taken Kenma was with their daughter. Kenma nodded, and Kuroo moved to pull one of their curtains open. The bright morning sunshine splayed across Ichigo’s face, and her nose immediately crinkled.
Kenma cooed when she sneezed. “She’s so precious,” he said, as Kuroo snaked his arms around his waist from behind. Kuroo kissed his ear.
“Yep, and she’s all ours.”
~~~~~~~~
“Staring again?” Hinata asked, making Kenma jump back into reality. He clutched at his heart.
“Shit, Shouyou, don’t startle me like that,” he said.
Hinata laughed. “Sorry, sorry,” he said. Kenma glared. He didn’t sound sorry at all. “You were really spacing out there.”
Kenma declined to say anything, instead pulling his blanket up a little further over his shoulders. Kuroo was lingering on the sidewalk outside, presumably waiting for Hinata so they could walk to they gym together. It was Saturday, so there was no reason to be up so early, but Kuroo and Hinata both liked to get in as much individual practice as possible on the weekends.
Hinata stood on his tiptoes to look over Kenma’s shoulder. He tilted his head cutely when he realized whom Kenma was staring at. “It’s funny how you always say you don’t like Kuroo because stuff like this makes me think otherwise.”
“Shut up,” Kenma glowered, shrugging Hinata’s hand off his shoulder.
Hinata jumped up and down a couple times at his side. “You know, we’re on the same volleyball team, are you sure you don’t want me to introduce you two?”
“Definitely. No, thanks.”
“But why?” Hinata asked. Kenma grimaced. He sounded determined. Usually he could side step around these types of conversations by asking about Kageyama or making a face like he was about to cry, but when Hinata got whiny like this, there was no escape short of cardiac arrest or an asteroid hitting the planet.
“Because,” Kenma said, “I don’t know... I don’t even know him. I just like the idea of him. That’s not enough.”
“The idea?” Hinata asked. He had his gym bag on his shoulder, but he sat down on the bench next to Kenma like he didn’t have anywhere to be.
Kenma nodded. “Like... it’s just nice imagining things about him. But he can’t possibly be anything like the person I’ve made him out to be in my head.”
“But how would you know unless you talk to him?” Hinata asked.
“I just know.”
“But how?”
“Because I’ve made him out to be perfect,” Kenma explained.
“But Kuroo is perfect!” Hinata chirped. “He’s great, I think you would really like him.”
“Hinata, are you sure you can even talk about this right now? Aren’t you supposed to be meeting him?” Kenma asked, trying to deflect the conversation.
“Oh right!” Hinata said, standing up abruptly. He quickly ran his hands through his hair, trying and failing to tame his bedhead. “We’re heading over to the gym. I’ll see you later, okay?” he asked.
“See you later,” Kenma replied.
Hinata knocked over a lamp as he tried to leave the apartment, and Kenma’s nose twitched at the sound. He ignored him in favor of staring at Kuroo.
However, as soon as he looked down at the street, he realized Kuroo was looking up at him. His breath caught in his throat, and he looked around, trying to find something else that might have earned Kuroo’s attention, but there was nothing. When he looked back to Kuroo, the other boy’s mouth had pulled up into a smirk.
Kenma raised his hand in an awkward wave, and Kuroo winked at him.
He winked.
Kenma’s mouth dropped open just as Hinata jumped out of their apartment building. He tackled Kuroo in a hug, effectively stealing his attention, and Kenma placed a hand on his forehead and the other on his heart. He needed to lie down for a minute.
Kuroo had winked at him.
He had winked.