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“I’m in love with Shouyou.” Kenma stated so plainly, as if he simply were stating a fact about the weather, that Kuroo’s feet stopped moving as his mind tried to figure out what he had just heard. His lips formed the words and sounds that he could find.
“Uh, what?” Kuroo asked, even though he had heard it so clearly. It made sense, in a weird way, but it threw him off.
He watched Kenma turn to look at him through tired eyes and that ever present phone in his hand. “I love Shouyou.” He repeated again. He looked like he could say it again and again until someone told him to stop, and then he would say it once more just because he could. Kuroo grinned.
“The shorty?” Kenma nodded. “Then you should tell him.” The smaller boy looked dumbfounded at the idea.
Continuing the walk to the bus station, the captain looked at Kenma, who was staring at his phone. He wasn’t typing or playing a game as he normally did, he was instead reading something – a text – over and over. Kuroo just barely caught a glimpse of it before he almost walked right into a pole: ‘See you soon!’
A simple message, but he could tell that it was worrying his setter.
Once they had boarded the bus Kenma sat nestled into a window seat on the bus, his eyes flickering from his phone to the window as the landscape rushed passed. He stayed quiet as the city gave way to the more rural areas and the rest of Nekoma’s male volleyball team chattered away in separate conversations. He’d be able to see Hinata for the first time in what felt like forever and his heart fluttered at the thought.
Eventually the bus fell into silence as the rest of the team fell asleep. Only a couple of others remained awake, but none of them were talking to each other, and Kenma couldn’t care less about them at the moment. Right now, only Hinata had his full attention. With every text notification, Hinata was the only thing he could think of as his heart sped at the thought of going to see him, at the thought of c-c-con-confessing to him.
The setter’s face was bright red as he thought of standing in front of Hinata, imagining some scenario that was never going to happen, but he was allowed to dream.
Kenma could envision the scene so clearly. ‘I love you,’ he would say. ‘I can’t imagine a life without you. Please go out with me.’ Hinata would smile so brilliantly that he would glow. His brown eyes would catch the sun’s light and they would feel like home to Kenma. Hinata would reach out and hold his hand, interlocking their fingers, and they would love each other forever.
That is exactly how it was going to happen. He’d rehearsed it over and over again that morning in the mirror, during breakfast. ‘I love you. I can’t imagine life without you. Please go out with me.’ As they were nearing their destination he realized how plain those words seemed in comparison to how he felt.
How could he possibly tell Hinata that he meant so much to him? When he thought about him he felt uneasy and when he saw his face the butterflies in his stomach tried to break free. When Hinata smiled it was as though the sun itself had smiled on him. How was he supposed to tell him all of that? And more?
His heart sped up as the bus came to a stop outside of Karasuno High. And his breath caught in his throat as the Nekoma volleyball team started to wake up and file out of the bus. He clutched the straps of his bag tightly, suddenly more nervous than he had felt in a very long time. After a few minutes the sounds of the team died away with their departure. Kenma stood in the aisle by himself. He took a deep breath and his feet moved, one right after the other, until Kuroo wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lowered his head to Kenma’s level.
“You’re really going to tell him today?” He asked, almost surprised, but a grin spread across his face when Kenma nodded his head.
“I want to tell him in person and we can’t meet up a lot.” The boy clarified his original reply, in an unexpectedly calm voice. “So it has to be today.” He finished his thought just as they arrived at the gym, where Hinata grinned and waved at him as they walked through the doors. Kenma sheepishly waved back and he had to look away before he got too embarrassed.
Nekoma huddled around their captain, as he spouted off about something probably weird and annoying, Kenma wasn’t paying attention but just hearing Kuroo’s voice was enough to calm him down and even though he only caught the last bit of the speech that Kenma had heard quite a few times somehow he felt much more at ease, especially when he stepped out onto the court.
Kenma’s face was determined to win as they all took their positions on the court. His amber eyes flickered over to Hinata just as the ball flew into the air. Being distracted wouldn’t do anyone any good, but fortunately it was surprisingly easy for him to get his head in the game. Hinata jumped as high as ever, but he’d gotten better, that setter too. Karasuno had been practicing, but so had Nekoma.
Nekoma easily took the first set. The fired up look in Hinata’s eyes gave Kenma a strong sense of pride.
Nekoma took the second set with some difficulty. Their opponents were getting more excited, and Nekoma realized simultaneously that they had to try to win now. It seemed like they had forgotten how talented the cat was. It seemed like these crows needed a reminder. Both teams had a wild look about them.
Karasuno stole the third set with 32 points.
Good sportsmanship was shown all around when Nekoma won the fourth – their third – set, except from Karasuno’s Tanaka and Nekoma’s Yamamoto, who couldn’t do anything but get in each other’s face. The match had been good for Kenma, who was feeling calmer than when he had arrived. When Hinata walked up to him, he became shaky and his face turned red. Kenma chalked it up to the intense match they’d just had. Before Hinata could say anything, Kenma started to talk.
“I need to tell you something..” He began, a blush forming on his face. He didn’t make eye contact with Hinata. “Outside.”
Hinata only nodded his head and led him out of the gym. “Kenma, I need to tell you something too.” Hinata’s voice was as shaky as the rest of his body was. He couldn’t seem to stay still. His hands were clasped behind his back and Kenma sighed. Now was as good as any to do it. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth to let go of the words he’d practiced for so long, the ones that he’d chosen.
“I really really like you!”
Wait. Those weren’t his words. That wasn’t his voice. His eyes reopened, his face grew redder with every heartbeat and he froze. He hadn’t said that. That wasn’t him.
“Please go out with me!”
A crumpled up paper was shoved at his chest, pushing him back just a little. He held the paper numbly in his hands, the contents of it could hardly be read, most of it had been scratched out and only one phrase was legible: ‘Just say it’. It was more of an order to himself. His eyes widened with the realization of what just happened.
It was Hinata. Hinata confessed to him. Kenma was supposed to do that, he had practiced. Hinata was the one that was supposed to be in his place, he was the one who was supposed to feel like the most important person in the world. Hinata was supposed to be swooning but here Kenma was, so much more in love than he had been when he woke up that morning with only one boy on his mind.
Hinata clutching tightly to his shirt, his face blushing and nervous. His body was tense as he waited for Kenma’s reply. Kenma felt his chest tighten, head over heels in love with Hinata and it only grew and grew the cuter Hinata got. And he really was so cute.
“Shouyou,” he said to grab the boy’s undivided attention. He looked so cute and small in that instant that he looked up at Kenma. He reached forward, grabbing onto the boy’s hand and wrenched them from his shirt. He held his hand delicately as though it were a baby bird. “I love you.” And he smiled because even though it hadn’t gone exactly as planned it had gone exactly like it was supposed to. And Hinata smiled right back and they both got lost in each other’s eyes, leaning forward until their foreheads touched.