Chapter Text
Kenma rushes toward the door. Slipping on his shoes in the entryway, he crushes the backs of his running shoes under his heels. “Kuro’s on his way,” he calls over his shoulder, backpack already on. “Bye!”
“Ah, ah, ah,” his mother tuts as she walks over, and Kenma stops his flurry of movement. “Aren’t we studious on the first day?
“You know me. Can’t wait to get back to classes.”
“I do know you.” She holds up her phone. “I birthed you. I raised you. I know what it looks like when you’re trying to get out of something.”
Kenma glares but stays put. “Fine. But if I’m late on the first day, it’s your fault.”
“You can give your teacher my cell phone number so they can yell at me instead.”
Kenma’s phone vibrates in his hand, followed shortly by a knock.
Kuroo’s here . He hides his happiness from the eyes of his mother and opens the door. There’s no need for her to call him out twice in one day. She doesn’t need to spend the morning analysing why he’s so excited to see the boy he saw less than twelve hours ago.
Honestly, it’s been an easy transition from friends to boyfriends in a lot of ways. So, Kenma wants to spend every waking moment with his newly minted boyfriend? No problem. He spent all of his free time with Kuroo anyway. No one has to know that they no longer spend their hours in his room playing video games.
Kenma really didn’t think he’d ever find anything more enjoyable than one hundred percenting a game. Turns out he just needed to try kissing. He wonders if he could ever one hundred percent kissing… He should ask Kuroo if he’d be willing to help Kenma get that achievement.
He blinks back to the current situation.
“Morning.” Kuroo smiles at him like they’re sharing a secret, and he guesses they are.
“Hi.”
“Tetsurou-kun,” his mother says in greeting. “Can you believe Kenma tried to get out of first day photos?”
Kuroo gasps. “The scamp! Doesn’t he respect tradition?”
“Thank goodness he has you to keep him in line.”
Kenma snorts. If she only knew. “If Kuro’s the responsible one, we’re in trouble.”
“I’ll make you run laps for that comment,” Kuroo threatens.
“I’d like to see you try.”
They’re probably staring at each other too closely, even with the pretense of intimidation.
“Ah, you’re right. I couldn’t do it.” Kuroo swings an arm around Kenma, and faces them toward Kenma’s mother. “You’re too pathetic. I’d feel bad.”
“Call me whatever you like, as long as it gets me out of laps.”
“You two are like an old married couple.” His mother smiles as she snaps a few pictures.
Kenma hopes his blush doesn’t show up in the photos. He’s fighting an uphill battle though, given that Kuroo’s hand is still resting on his shoulder and his mother’s words are ringing in his head.
At least he won’t look like he spent the entirety of the winter break inside. Maybe he’ll look something other than pasty in a picture for once.
~
“Are you ready for try-outs, captain?” Yamamoto asks. The six returning volleyball members from last year are sat together at lunch.
Kuroo looks a mixture of proud and embarrassed to be called captain. They all thought of him as the team’s leader last year after the third years left, but Kenma thinks it means something different to him now. Now it’s his turn to make Nekoma’s volleyball team into the team he wants. Kuroo doesn’t take the responsibility lightly.
Kuroo nods. “I think so. Nekomata-san won’t be there for the first try out.” He turns toward Kenma. “Would you stick around after practice to help me put together some notes for him?”
“What’s my other option?”
“You can go home on your own.”
“Who’s going to make sure I don’t walk into traffic?”
“You can always just not play games while you’re walking.”
Kenma scrunches his face. “I guess I’ll stay.”
Kuroo holds his hands against his heart. “I appreciate this sacrifice, Kenma-kun.”
“As long as you make it up to me.”
Yaku interrupts them with a loud click of his tongue. “Ah, we don’t need to hear the details.”
Kuroo goes red and ducks his head. Oh, huh. Yaku must know. Not that Kenma cares, but there’s not really anyone for Kenma himself to tell. He thinks it might be fun to tell a friend.
“Wait – when you say ‘make it up to you’, you better not think about getting out of passing drills.” Yamamoto waves his arms as he talks. The boy has entirely too much unspent energy. “I’ll stay and help you, Kuroo-san, and you don’t even have to owe me anything.”
Kenma bites the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Kuroo holds up his hands and awkwardly forces a smile. “That’s okay, Yamamoto-kun, really! Kenma was just teasing me. Right, Kenma?”
He considers making Kuroo listen to Yamamoto’s rambling notes on the first years. Except Kenma would be lying if he said one-on-one time with Kuroo in the club room isn’t something he looks forward to.
“I don’t mind, Tora. I’ve already spoken with Nekomata-san about the holes in our team that our first years should focus on filling.”
Kuroo looks at him like Kenma invented volleyball itself, rather than simply playing it at a novice level. “See, Kenma’s got me.”
Kenma has to avert his eyes. He should really talk to Kuroo about not looking at him like that in public. How is he supposed to respond? Doesn’t Kuroo realise how obvious he is? Ah, of course he does. Kuroo likes being obvious. If he could, Kenma thinks Kuroo would hang a sign over the railing of the bleachers that said KT <3 KK.
Kenma likes him so much.
~
“Whoa. That kid’s a giant.” Kuroo’s mouth drops open as a silver-haired boy enters the gym. The other new recruits are doing some light passes to warm up.
“I know, right?” Yaku has his hands on his hips. “I saw him talking to some of the basketball guys and stole him.”
“Isn’t that kidnapping, then?” Kenma asks.
Kuroo snorts. “Yakkun, you’re not allowed to kidnap the firsties.”
“I won’t do it again.”
“Yaku-senpai!” The giant waves brightly and runs over.
“Oh, he’s…” Kuroo widens his eyes and stretches his fingers wide. Somehow that’s enough to explain how much space this kid takes up.
“This is Lev,” Yaku introduces.
Lev gives them both a wide smile. “Hello! Who are you?”
“Oh, uh, Kuroo Tetsurou.”
“That’s the captain’s name!”
“That’s me.”
“And what about you?” Lev turns to Kenma and tilts his head. “Are you our manager? Water boy? Cheerleader?”
He gets closer and closer with each question, eventually towering over Kenma. Kenma leans back, his neck stretching as far away as it can reach.
“He’s our brain,” Kuroo says from behind Lev, right before he yanks Lev back by the collar of his shirt. “And our heart. Though more officially, he’s our setter.”
“Oh.” Lev tilts his head this way and that, clearly not bothered by the way Kuroo’s hand is still fisted in the back of his shirt. “But he’s so short.”
Kuroo lets go. “Get changed and you’ll see.”
~
The team is lined up for a hitting drill; the front of the line is stacked with all of their experienced players. Kenma stands by the net, waiting to receive a throw from the first person in line.
Kuroo throws the ball easily to him. Kenma barely has to shift before he's directly under the ball, which is just fine by him. The less he has to move, the better.
Kuroo begins his run up and Kenma sets the ball to the place he knows Kuroo likes best. He’s had to adjust in recent months; Kuroo's continued growth allows for a higher and higher peak. Kenma likes that. He likes seeing Kuroo level up, likes being pushed to do the same.
Kuroo spikes the set easily, showing the rest of the team a cross shot to the opposite side of the court. It's powerful. It's impressive. Every once in a while, Kenma will remember that Kuroo isn't just his embarrassing and shameless friend from down the street. No — he's a demanding presence and talented competitor.
At moments like this, Kenma is annoyed that he doesn't get to claim Kuroo as his own. At least not in public. Privately, in the space of his mind, Kenma very much revels in the title of Kuroo's boyfriend.
"Wow!" Lev calls from the back of the line.
"Thanks," Kuroo turns around. "Don't feel like you have to be at the same skill level as the seniors on the first day."
Kenma gives Kuroo a small and proud smile. Kuroo's already done more to make the first years feel welcome on day one than last year's captain did in Kenma's entire first year.
Kenma gives Kai the next set - a little wider, a little faster, not quite as high. Yaku gets the third and Yamamoto the fourth.
"Oh, that's what you do." Lev nods in deep understanding.
Kenma blinks in confusion as he realises Lev is speaking to him. "Huh?"
"Why Kuroo-san said you're so important," Lev says after Fukunaga has his turn. Lev stands next in line. "No one can do their job if you're bad at yours."
"I guess." Kenma feels embarrassed by the phrasing. Most of the time the hitters are the ones that get the attention when on the court. Kenma is more than happy to settle into the background and let the others shine as Nekoma's stars.
Lev throws the ball to Kenma. Its arc is off course, forcing Kenma to shuffle into place before he squares himself off for the set. Annoying.
He's still able to give a satisfactory toss. He doesn't know any of the first year's preferences yet; doesn't know their maximum jump heights or run up speeds. He figures that's what he'll talk about today with Kuroo after practice. Nekomata will want to know his analysis.
Lev hits the ball, though with not nearly as much power as Kenma expected. Oh...no...that form... Kenma does his best not to show his less than positive opinion of Lev’s spike on his face.
Lev turns to him. "Thank you for the toss, Kozume-san!" He doesn't seem to realise his spike was subpar.
"Uh, you're welcome." Kenma's not going to be the one to tell him. Kuroo's the captain. That's his job. "And you can call me Kenma. Everyone does."
The first years aren't bad , per se. They just...need a lot of work. Especially Lev.
It turns out Yaku, not Kuroo, is the one that takes on the task of constantly correcting Lev's form. Which is interesting. Maybe Yaku feels personally accountable for Lev's success, since he is the one that recruited Lev. If that's the case, then he'll have his hands full this spring.
"Goodbye brain-san!" Lev waves and skips out of the gym.
Kenma makes a face at the nickname and Yaku points and laughs. "Brain-san."
"I told him to call me Kenma."
"Brain-san," Yaku repeats.
"This is your fault." Kenma hits Kuroo on the arm. "You and your little speech at the beginning of tryouts. Did you need to turn volleyball into a circulatory system cosplay?"
"Ow. Sorry." Kuroo flinches, but he's smiling the whole time.
Kenma clicks his tongue. "No, you're not."
"Nah, I'm not."
"He has to say that weird stuff to keep his status as president of the Kenma-kun fanclub," Yaku says as he finishes putting his volleyball stuff away. "Though I think Lev might come for your title eventually." He snorts again. "Brain-san."
"What? That's ridiculous." Kuroo's quick to argue against Yaku's point. Kuroo's kind of always quick to argue against Yaku's point. No matter what the point is. Or if he actually disagrees with it or not.
“What’s ridiculous? That you’re the president of Kenma’s fanclub, or that Lev is trying to usurp you?”
“The Lev thing. The other thing is obvious.”
Kenma blushes. He’s just thankful the rest of the team is gone. It’s one thing for Yaku to know that they’re seeing each other . It’s a whole other thing to be outed to the entire Nekoma volleyball team.
“I’m just saying, you might not be the only one with a crush on Kenma.”
Kuroo throws his arm around Yaku’s neck, pulling him close to rub his knuckles on Yaku’s head. “Don’t say such annoying things.”
“Hey! Hey! Stop!” Yaku grabs onto Kuroo’s arm to push him away. “This is why no one has a crush on you .”
“Kenma does!” Kuroo fights back, and Yaku looks to Kenma in disappointment.
Kenma shrugs. “It’s true.”
Yaku shakes his head. “You had such a bright future too.” He pats Kenma on the back. “Get well soon, Kenma-kun.”
“Liking me isn’t a sickness!” Kuroo tries to kick him in the backside, but Yaku’s too quick, laughing as he jumps out of the way.
“See you later, lovebirds!” Yaku calls over his shoulder.
Kuroo’s grimacing at Yaku’s retreating form “That guy…”
Kenma waits until Yaku’s turned the corner around the gym to make his way off campus before he tugs on Kuroo’s shirt. “Do you want to go make out in the club room before we make notes for Nekomata-san?”
“Oh, absolutely.” Kuroo pushes him bodily toward the locker room, Kenma giggling in his grasp.
They don’t end up writing down any notes that night.
~~~~~~
Tetsurou has his phone out, the maps app directing him to their destination. “Alright. So, I’m pretty sure…” He looks up at road signs and store fronts, turns himself around a couple times. “This way.”
The team trails behind him out of their lodgings. They took the bullet train up to Miyagi yesterday for a few practice games. The first game went well. The team was clearly rebuilding after losing some key third years.
“Today’s lineup of games should be more interesting,” Tetsurou says to Kenma beside him. Kenma’s eyes are glued to his phone screen as he taps away at whatever mobile game he’s currently obsessed with. It changes so quickly, Tetsurou has trouble keeping up.
Kenma hums along with Tetsurou’s words. It’s enough of a confirmation that he’s paying attention. Kenma only really gets chatty when he’s in one-on-one situations. And especially when he’s in one-on-one situations with Tetsurou. Tetsurou preens a little at the thought – he gets all of Kenma’s most vulnerable moments.
“And then Karasuno is tomorrow.” Tetsurou smirks. Ever since it was confirmed that Nekomata was coming back, Tetsurou has made it a personal and team goal to make the Battle of the Garbage Heap happen again. First, he made it happen as a scrimmage. Next, he’s going to make it happen at the National level.
“You’re really excited for that,” Kenma says. He’s still looking at his screen but he’s smiling now. Tetsurou thinks the smile is for him.
“I am! We’re going to destroy those crows!” Tetsurou clenches his fist in celebration of future victories.
“Kuroo-san!” Inuoka jogs to the front of the group to grab Tetsurou’s attention. “I think I forgot my volleyball shoes at the dormitory.”
“Did you look in your bag already?”
“Kind of? It’s hard to do while walking.”
“Here.” He puts his hands palm up. “Let me look.” Inuoka hands over his bag and Tetsurou starts looking through it. Wow, this kid packed a lot. He digs through manga, socks, snack wrappers, t-shirts, more socks. Did he think they were going for a month instead of a week?
His eyes dart up quickly to check the road signs around them. Ah, they need to turn here. He heads left, leading the rest of the team. Rooting around in the bag, he touches something cold, something wet, and ah! There! Something hard enough to be the sole of a shoe. He gets a hand on it and pulls and…nope. That’s a sandal.
“Are you planning on going to the beach on your time off?”
“It’s for the shower.” Inuoka frowns. “My mom said you can get foot fungus in public showers. She worries a lot.”
“Right.” He keeps digging. Oh, another turn in their route. The school should be on this street.
“Kuroo-san?” Inuoka asks, and Tetsurou pulls out a pair of volleyball shoes tied together at the laces.
“Ah-ha!” Tetsurou says happily.
Inuoka doesn’t seem happy with this development. “Kenma-kun’s gone.”
Tetsurou stops in place. His face goes slack, his mind blank. The shoes drop from his hands to the ground. “What?”
He scans every direction for Kenma. He wasn’t paying attention. He knows Kenma gets distracted by his games, that he relies on Tetsurou tugging him this way and that to stay on course. Even before they started dating, ninety percent of Kenma’s sense of direction was Tetsurou’s hand on his shoulder.
“Shit ,” Tetsurou whispers. He’s an idiot.
Yaku walks up beside him. “Get it together. He’ll be fine.”
Tetsurou nods. Right. It’s fine. Kenma’s just alone in a city he’s unfamiliar with and it’s all Tetsurou’s fault. But it’s fine.
“Come on, guys. He couldn’t have gone too far.” Yaku turns them all around. “Eyes open for the pudding head while we retrace our steps.”
Tetsurou is very thankful for Yaku.
It takes the longest five minutes of walking in Tetsurou’s life for them to find Kenma. He’s sat on the ground. There’s someone crouched down near him. The kid doesn’t look dangerous, but Tetsurou can’t be sure.
“Kenma!” Tetsurou calls out to him and Kenma’s face snaps up. He feels an instant sense of relief in seeing Kenma again.
“Kuro.” Kenma stands, quickly starts moving toward Tetsurou. “Got to go. See you later, Shoyo.”
They continue on their way toward Tsukinokizawa. “Shoyo?” Tetsurou asks once they’re a block or two away.
Kenma nods. “Hinata Shoyo.” His phone is thankfully in his backpack. “He plays on Karasuno’s team.”
“Hmm. Shoyo .” Tetsurou doesn’t like the way the name feels in his mouth. “I didn’t realise you were missing long enough to be on a first name basis.”
Kenma squints at him. He didn’t mean to sound annoyed, but Kenma calls this guy by his first name? He can count the number of times he’s heard Kenma say Tetsurou on one hand. That doesn’t seem fair at all. Hmph.
“I guess.” Kenma is clearly filing this interaction away for a different time. “He was really weird. I think you're right. It might be good to play Karasuno again.”
~
They win easily against Tsukinokizawa, which makes Tetsurou very happy. He felt like he had something to prove after overhearing the other team talking shit about Kenma. Tetsurou takes a lot of joy in proving people wrong about Kenma’s ability. One day he’ll make sure everyone in Japan knows how amazing Kenma is. And not just at volleyball.
They’re settling into their sleeping arrangements. Tetsurou stands by the room’s door as he watches over the first and second years finding their futons and quieting down. Kai and Yaku push past him and into the room with their toothbrushes.
“Kuro?” Kenma walks up to him in his pajamas and slippers. “My stomach’s hurting. I know it’s past curfew, but can I walk down the street to get anti-nausea medication at the corner store?”
Tetsurou frowns. “What happened? Was it dinner? You barely ate. You probably didn’t eat enough.” He quickly goes through each possibility in his head. It’s been years since Kenma got sick because of volleyball.
“Can I go or not?”
Tetsurou scans the room while he considers. “Kai,” he calls to the vice-captain.
Kai steps over his already resting teammates. “Yeah?”
“Kenma’s not feeling well. I’m going to run and grab him some medicine.” Tetsurou slides out of his indoor shoes and grabs his trainers. “Do you feel comfortable supervising for a bit?”
“Do I feel comfortable being in charge of a room full of sleeping guys?” Kai asks. “I think I can handle it. And there’s always Yaku to yell at them if I need him to.”
He claps Kai on the back. “Thanks.”
“I’m going to go to the washroom for a bit.” Kenma has an arm across his stomach as he follows Tetsurou out of the room, closing the door behind them.
“I’ll come find you in the bathroom when I’m back.”
“Where are you going?” Kenma puts a hand on Tetsurou’s waist to stop him.
Tetsurou blinks, confused. “What? To get medicine. Aren’t you the one that asked?”
“I thought you’d figure out I was lying.”
Tetsurou’s shoulders drop, his mouth hangs open. “Lying?”
Kenma nods. “There’s an unlocked door down the hall.” He takes Tetsurou’s hand and drags him along.
Tetsurou gasps in mock scandal. He’s caught between wanting to giggle and needing to be quiet. “Kenma, are we sneaking out so you can have your way with me?”
“Obviously.” Kenma opens the door to what looks like a custodial storage room. He switches on a light, though it doesn’t do much to illuminate the room.
As soon as they get inside, Tetsurou turns on Kenma and pins him to the door. “You’re a bad influence, Kozume-kun.” He’s leaning over Kenma as he smirks at him, teasing Kenma with his lips just an inch or two away from Kenma’s.
“You haven’t kissed me in days .” Kenma’s hands are fisted in Tetsurou’s shirt. His voice is a full-on whine. Tetsurou definitely understands his frustrations. They haven’t been able to find alone time since they came to Miyagi. It’s the longest they’ve gone without kissing since Kenma’s confession all those months ago.
“Let’s fix that then.” Tetsurou tilts Kenma’s face upward with a crooked finger under Kenma’s chin.
Kenma melts into it. Even with his eyes closed, Tetsurou can feel the change in Kenma's demeanour; the way he relaxes against Tetsurou, his body so readily giving in to Tetsurou. It's a heady feeling - having Kenma this malleable in his hands.
He moves, his hands grabbing onto Kenma's hips to keep them close. He's learning that kissing Kenma is always an overwhelming experience. Kenma's mouth is so warm against his, Kenma's tongue skillful and teasing. He feels Kenma’s hands trailing down his chest until they rest against his stomach.
Kenma’s mouth opens for him so easily now. Every kiss between them quickly turns heated. He tilts his head, slots his mouth more perfectly against Kenma’s. When Kenma’s tongue presses against his, he feels his whole body shiver with the thought of again, yes. Do that again .
It’s like the days of waiting have put them both on edge. He feels needier because of it. He wants to have Kenma, wants to claim him, mark him in some way so everyone knows Kenma is off-limits. In a shameful, jealous part of his mind, he imagines sucking on Kenma’s skin in front of the boy who Kenma is already calling by his first name.
If everyone already knew Kenma was his, then they’d be able to touch in public – he wouldn’t have to wait for alone time to hold him and kiss him.
“Kenma – ” Tetsurou’s voice is breathy when they break apart. “Can I kiss your neck?” His eyes are stuck to the pale length of Kenma’s neck when Kenma responds with a small yes , his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallows.
Tetsurou moves his mouth to Kenma’s throat, kissing along his jaw and down to his collar bones. It’s different like this – with Kenma’s mouth unoccupied, he starts making these noises . It sets Tetsurou’s blood on fire, makes him open his mouth, makes him lick Kenma’s skin. Kenma rewards him each time with another tiny whine.
Tetsurou can feel the vibrations of Kenma’s noises against his mouth. Tetsurou bites at the feeling, his teeth dragging across Kenma’s throat. Kenma squirms against his body. “Kuro.” His voice is shaking.
“Why don’t you call me by my first name?” Tetsurou asks. Kenma calls lots of people by their first names, why not him?
“It’s embarrassing.” Kenma’s face is a barely visible flush in the dingy closet.
Tetsurou kisses his neck again. His lips ghost softly up the column of Kenma’s throat until they hover by Kenma’s ear. “Please.”
Kenma groans. When this all started, Tetsurou wouldn’t have guessed that of the two of them – Kenma was going to be the noisy one. He moves his hands to Tetsurou’s hair and tugs. “ Tetsurou. ”
Tetsurou can’t help himself. He sucks on the place he was previously kissing – mouth connected to Kenma’s neck to mark him. Kenma doesn’t tell him to stop. In fact, he holds Tetsurou’s head against his neck, keeping him there as Tetsurou leaves his skin mottled.
Tetsurou leans back, puts enough space between himself and Kenma to look at what he’s done. Kenma stands pressed against the closet door, his eyes are glassy, his lips slick and red, and on his neck is a deep purple bruise. He shifts in place and tugs on Tetsurou’s shirt.
He feels his cock begin to fill in his shorts. Fuck . Kenma is a wet dream come true.
Tetsurou takes a deep breath and pushes his forehead against Kenma’s. “We need to stop.”
“Why?”
He keeps his eyes closed and steels his resolve. “Because if we don’t stop now, then I won’t stop at all. And we’re in a janitor’s closet.”
“So?”
He gives a self-conscious laugh. “I don’t really want to do the things I’m thinking about doing for the first time next to a pile of brooms and mops.”
Tetsurou opens his eyes at the sound of Kenma’s breath catching. “What are you thinking about doing?” His voice is low, like the question and its answer is something delicate, something he doesn’t want to scare away.
“Everything, Kenma,” Tetsurou answers, his mind filling with the endless possibility of Kenma’s skin. Every inch he’s memorised, every inch he’s only imagined. He wants to see it all. Wants to touch it all, taste it all, ruin it all.
“Alright.” Kenma kisses Tetsurou softly, then twists the handle of the door and removes himself from the cage of Tetsurou’s arms. He straightens out his clothes, runs a hand through his hair. “But soon? Can we? Soon?”
“Yeah.” Tetsurou can’t wait to get back to Tokyo. “Soon.”