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“Kenma.”
It’s warm, so warm. Kenma could stay here forever.
“Kenma.”
The pleasant feeling surrounds him, leaves him feeling like he’s floating on a cloud. Yes, it’s perfect. It’s soft, and cozy, and oh so very warm, like soft arms embracing him on a chilly autumn morning. An image comes to mind of the sun, of a bright, bubbly ball of sunshine bouncing around with excess energy. A bright smile that’s almost blinding as it stretches from cheek to cheek. A cheerful laugh as his name is whispered.
“Kenma. Kenma. Kenma.”
“Kenma, if you don’t get up right now I’m going to delete your save files from that game you’ve been playing.”
Kenma shoots up in his bed.
“Ah, there we go.”
Kenma scowls menacingly in the direction of the voice, though its impact is lost between golden eyes half-shut with sleep and two-toned bedhead that sticks up in every direction. Kuroo snorts.
“What do you want, Kuroo?” Kenma grumbles, flopping back down onto his bed and pulling his blanket above his head. Maybe if he closes his eyes now he can go back to his dreams of a certain soft smile instead of staring at his childhood friend’s cheshire grin. It seems not even college could keep Kuroo away from disturbing Kenma’s peace.
“I’m hurt, Kenma,” Kuroo said, sounding anything but. “And after I came all this way to give you a birthday present.”
Ah, right. That was today.
Kenma feels something thin and rectangular poking at his cheek through the blanket. He frees one arm from his blanket cocoon, snatching the item out of Kuroo’s hand and bringing it back to his chest. Without even looking at it, he can tell it's a case for a video game. A quick peek at the cover reveals one of the new games Kenma had been looking forward to for months. He mumbles a quiet thank you. He hides a small smile under the blanket.
“You’re welcome. But I’m not quite done yet.”
Kuroo whisks the blanket away. Kenma shrinks into a ball as all of the warm air disappears from around him.
“Kuroo,” he growls. Kuroo simply smirks at his friend’s displeasure.
“Alright, get your lazy butt up. There’s a surprise waiting for you.” Kuroo folds the blanket up while he speaks, placing it on Kenma's computer chair, away from the bed. With that out of the way, he makes his way back over to the bed, dropping down heavily beside Kenma and making him bounce. Kenma groans.
“Fine,” he grumbles. He sits up again, shooting Kuroo the dirtiest of looks. Kuroo snickers. He hands Kenma a small envelope. The envelope is nondescript, plain white with only the word “Kenma” written on it in small, neat handwriting. Kenma gives Kuroo a questioning look. Kuroo only gives his trademark grin in response.
Kuroo stands up. “I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you later today, Kenma. Don’t keep your surprise waiting.” He playfully ruffles Kenma’s already disastrous bedhead, to Kenma’s displeasure, before heading out, closing the door behind him.
Kenma sighs. Instead of opening the letter, he reaches for his phone. There’s birthday wishes from last year’s Nekoma group chat. Despite his upperclassmen’s graduation, the chat still remains lively. Kai and Yaku offer polite congratulations. Yamamoto’s, Inuoka’s, and Lev’s well wishes are enthusiastic and filled with far too many emojis between the three of them. Fukunaga sends a cryptic birthday GIF that makes Kenma snort. Checking his texts, he sees messages from Bokuto and Akaashi, as well as some from his relatives.
There was no message from Shoyo.
Kenma frowns. The two hadn’t had as much opportunity to talk as much as usual lately. With the Spring Tournament preliminaries just around the corner, both teams were working overtime to try and secure their spot in the tournament. For Kenma, this would be his last chance at revenge for the Battle of the Garbage Dump. It would also be his last opportunity to play against Shoyo. For that reason, even Kenma was pushing himself harder to improve. As a consequence, though, the two had fewer and fewer opportunities to talk. Some days their conversations only consisted of a quick “good morning” before morning practice and a “good night” before bed (Usually with a reminder from Shoyo not to stay up too late playing video games). Kenma understands. Still, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little upset to not even see a quick morning greeting.
At the very least, he hoped that his boyfriend would remember his birthday.
Kenma sighs. He isn’t going to make a big deal of it. He knows how Shoyo can be when he has volleyball on the brain. The boy had a one track mind with the sport, and sometimes lost sight of other things as a result. He sends Shoyo a quick text before putting his phone down. His curiosity finally gets the better of him and he pulls out the envelope. He spares a quick glance at the lettering on the back before carefully opening it. Inside is a plain white card with a short message, written in the same neat handwriting as the envelope.
Let’s play some volleyball.
Kenma groans. Of course whatever birthday surprise Kuroo has for him involves volleyball. He debates just tucking himself back into bed but he knows Kuroo would just drag him out of bed again. Kenma pulls on some comfortable clothes and tucks the card into his pocket. With one last look towards his bed, he’s out the door.
***
There’s two places this card could be hinting at. Option one is Nekoma’s gym. If Kuroo’s plan was to play volleyball, it’d be the easiest place to do so. That being said, the gym would be locked at this time and it was highly unlikely Kuroo would have the key. Not impossible, though. Kenma didn’t feel like commuting the entire way to school to take that risk. The second option is a far more likely bet. Near his neighborhood is a little outdoor volleyball court that Kenma and Kuroo would often practice on as kids. It was where Kenma honed his skills as a setter, training with Kuroo to pull off intricate maneuvers that left their opponents in the dust.
During Shoyo’s first stay at Kenma’s house, he brought him to this court after Shoyo begged Kenma to set for him. Kenma could hardly resist those big pleading eyes. Despite how tired he felt after the impromptu practice session, it was worth it to see how Shoyo practically glowed as he was in his element. That was the moment Kenma realized he was in love.
He makes his way over to the court. He was fully expecting to find Kuroo standing there with a volleyball in hand. The court is empty, not a soul in sight. Still, Kenma’s hunch on the location was correct. At the base of the net, by one of the poles, is a white envelope pinned down by a small rock. Kenma picks it up. It’s identical to the one Kuroo handed him. Kenma opens it to find another card.
How about a birthday treat? Go ahead and grab yourself something sweet to eat.
Well this one was certainly more vague. Kenma thinks about it. Generally speaking, he didn’t have much of a sweet tooth. However, if there was one dessert he couldn’t resist, it was a good apple pie. Immediately his mind goes to a small bakery about a 15 minute walk from his house. They had the best apple pies. Growing up, after an especially good match, they would stop by on their walk home and pick up some treats. Pocketing the second card, Kenma starts walking down the familiar path.
***
“Welcome!”
Kenma gives the old lady behind the counter a small nod. He starts to look around, pretending to be eyeing the wrapped packages of breads and pastries while he keeps his eye out for another envelope. He was praying this was the right location and that he didn’t just make a fool of himself walking in here for no reason. The woman behind the counter eyes him closely and Kenma starts to feel a little embarrassed under her gaze. He tilts his head forward a little, letting his hair fall around his face.
After a minute or two, she asks, “You wouldn’t happen to be Kenma?”
Kenma’s eyes widen a little and he looks back towards her, giving her a small nod. He racks his brain quickly to figure out if he should know this woman or not. She chuckles a little.
“I see. I’ve been waiting for you.”
She reaches down behind the counter and pulls out a plastic bag. She hands the bag over to Kenma. Kenma peeks into it. Inside is a cardboard box with two slices of apple pie and two wrapped forks. Sitting on the box is a white envelope.
“A charming young man asked me to give this to you. He said it was a birthday surprise. What a sweet friend you have there.” She smiles, and there is a knowing twinkle in her eyes. He flushes a little under the attention.
Kenma loops the bag around his forearm and grabs the envelope. He opens it, taking the card out.
Wanna play with some kittens, Kitten?
Kenma rolls his eyes. Kuroo would call him that occasionally to tease him, saying that his height and cat-like eyes made him look like a “small kitten.” Kenma would always tell him not to call him that, which would only make Kuroo’s mischievous grin grow wider. Shoyo picked up on the nickname.
“I wish he wouldn’t call me that,” Kenma grumbled.
Shoyo laughed, giving Kenma’s hand a little squeeze. Their interlocked hands swung between them while they walked to a secluded spot on Shinzen’s campus to eat their lunch. The weather at the training camp had been beautiful throughout the week and most of the boys had taken advantage of their breaks to enjoy the sunshine.
“I think it’s cute,” Shoyo said. Kenma blushes a little, turning his face to hide it.
“It’s embarrassing,” Kenma mutters.
Shoyo lets go of his hand, jumping ahead a little so he's directly in front of Kenma, faces only inches apart. He looks up at Kenma with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“What about if I call you that?”
Kenma blushes harder. He breaks eye contact, feeling like if he stares into Shoyo’s eyes any longer his heart would burst.
“I….think I’d be ok with that.”
Shoyo presses a quick kiss to Kenma’s lips.
“Ok, Kitten.”
Kenma has a good idea as to what this one means. There’s a cat cafe a little further into the city. Kenma first discovered it from his teammates back in his second year. Some of the boys decided to visit it after a Saturday morning practice. Kenma followed behind, not particularly interested but not uninterested either. It was amusing at least, watching his teammates reduced to putty at the sight of the small kittens. Yamamoto burst into tears when a kitten fell asleep in his arms. Fukunaga had a stare down contest with one of the cats. Kenma wasn’t sure how long they went at it, but when they both blinked at the same time, Fukunaga chuckled to himself. A couple of kittens decided to climb Lev at once. Yaku laughed at him, saying it was because he was as tall as a cat tree. Kenma sat at one of the tables, playing a game on his phone while he sipped a soda. At one point, he felt a nudge at his leg. Looking down, he saw a small calico cat. She jumped up onto his lap, curling up against his stomach. Kenma scratched behind her ear, smiling to himself as she started to pur. It was a fun experience, Kenma admitted as he recounted the story to Shoyo on the phone later. He promised to take him to the cafe the next time he visited Tokyo.
Kenma decides to head for the cafe. He thanks the woman behind the counter. She offers him congratulations on his birthday. With a small bow, he takes his leave.
Kenma heads to the train station, hopping on the one that takes him in the direction of Nekoma. The cafe is a few stops before the one he gets off of for school. Thankfully, the train wasn’t too busy. Kenma settles down on one of the seats. He pulls out his phone. There’s still no text from Shoyo. Kenma frowns.
Kenma: Hey Sho. Are you at practice?
Kenma waits a few minutes, staring blankly at his phone, but no reply comes. He shoves his phone back in his pocket and throws his head back against the window. He screws his eyes shut, ignoring the slight burning behind his eyes.
***
A bell chimes as Kenma opens the door, and he is immediately greeted by the sound of several mewls. A worker greets Kenma at the door, showing him to a table. He orders a soda just to be polite. While he waits, several kittens press up against him. He looks towards a nearby cat tree, where a familiar cat is perched, taking a nap. When the server comes back with his drink, Kenma sets the bag with his pie on the table and makes his way towards the cat. As he approaches, she wakes up, giving an excited mewl.
Shoyo bounces around like a kid in a candy store. He gushes over every cat that comes his way. He tousels with some of the more playful ones, offering the calmer ones scratches behind their ears. He points to a cat Kenma is familiar with.
“Kenma! Look at this one!”
He bounces over to the calico that had taken a liking to Kenma on his first visit. Kenma follows behind his boyfriend to greet the kitten. She nudges her head into Shoyo’s hand, purring as Kenma scratches under her chin.
“She’s so cute,” Shoyo coos. His eyes twinkle the same way they do when Hinata watches a cool play in a volleyball match. Kenma finds his own heart fluttering.
“She kinda looks like you,” Hinata notes. Kenma gives him a flat look.
“I think you’re taking this kitten thing too far.”
Shoyo laughs. “I’m serious! Look at her eyes. They look just like yours. And her fur kinda reminds me of your hair. Plus she’s cute like you.” Shoyo chuckles as Kenma’s face goes red. He presses a small kiss to the tip of Kenma’s nose.
Kenma takes Shoyo’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “If anything, she reminds me of you. Look at her name.” He points to the nametag on her collar, the name Hina printed on the metal. Shoyo lights up.
“She’s so perfect! We should adopt her,” Shoyo declares. Kenma breathes a small laugh.
“Oh? And who is going to take care of her. My parents aren’t particularly fond of pets.”
Shoyo sighs, his bright smile dropping into a pout. “Mom would kill me if I came home with a cat.”
Kenma squeezes Shoyo’s hand.
“Who knows? Maybe one day.”
“Hello Hina,” Kenma greets. She sits up, nudging her head into Kenma’s palm as she stretches. He scratches behind her ear in the spot that always gets her purring. She’s sitting in her favorite spot in the cafe, the place Kenma usually finds her whenever he comes to visit. While he’s scratching her, he notices a white envelope resting on the platform she’s sitting on. He reaches for it, confirming that it matches the ones he’s found scattered throughout the city.
“You must be Kenma-san?” The server who brought his drink asks, approaching Kenma. He nods.
“A young man brought that envelope over, asking if he could leave it by Hina. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do at first, but she just curled up around it the second he put it down. She’s been protecting it the entire time.”
Kenma smiles, scratching beneath her chin. “Thank you, Hina,” he whispers.
Kenma returns to his seat, sipping at his soda while he reads the next card.
Good job on making it this far. Only one more stop to go. It might be a little too early to lay among the stars, but we can at least take a walk along the water. I’ll meet you under the biggest tree.
Stars? What did it mean by stars? The first thing that comes to mind is a planetarium. Kenma does a quick search on his phone. The two nearests planetariums are each a city over. If Kuroo thinks Kenma’s going to commute that far on a hunch then he’s crazy. Kenma decides to focus on the second half of the note. Water and trees? That doesn’t narrow it down much either. Kenma thinks it over. There’s a river nearby, but not too many trees by it. There’s a shrine in the center of town surrounded by trees, but he can’t recall a water source near it.
Then it hits him. There’s a large park not too far from the cafe with a large pond in the center. A walkway goes along the perimeter of the pond then branches off into multiple paths that go deeper into the park. One path leads to a large tree surrounded by a wide open grassy area. The tree is known to be a popular site for picnics and photographs in the spring when it’s branches fill with beautiful blossoms that float gently on the spring breeze.
It is under this very tree, Kenma remembers fondly, that he and Shoyo had their first kiss. The spent the day out on the town, visiting some of the sights of Tokyo that Shoyo had been dying to see. As day faded to night, neither were willing to end their date quite yet and found themselves wandering into this park. They spent the night under the tree, lying beneath the stars, sometimes making quiet conversation, other times just basking in each other’s presence. It was in one of these quiet moments that Kenma looked over at Shoyo and found him already watching him. Shoyo leaned in. Kenma found himself drawn to Shoyo’s gravitational pull. When their lips touched, it felt like an electric current sparked between them, tingling down his spine to the very tips of his toes. Shoyo cupped his cheek gently to pull him closer and Kenma melted into the touch. It was in this moment, kissing Shoyo under the gentle light of the stars, that Kenma felt really and truly alive.
Kenma wants to see Shoyo.
He really, really wants to see him.
He checks his phone. Nothing. He blinks back tears. His fingers shake against his phone screen.
Kenma: I miss you
Kenma’s phone remains silent. He shoves it into his pocket along with the last card. At this point he wants nothing more than to just get this stupid scavenger hunt over with so he can go back home and lose himself in a video game. He sets the money for his drink on the table and gathers his stuff. Stopping to give Hina one last pet, he is out the door.
***
“Alright Kuroo, I’m here. What is this ‘big surprise’ you have for me.”
Kenma looks around him. In front of him is the park’s famous tree. Kenma spies a couple of people walking along the pathways. He hears the laughter of children playing nearby. But he sees no sign of his childhood friend. What he does see, however, is the corner of what looks like a blanket peeking out from around the other side of the wide tree trunk.
“Kuroo, is that you?” He asks as he approaches the other side. There’s a quiet shuffling. When Kenma peeks around the other side, he sees a picnic basket resting on top of a large blanket. There’s no one there, though, even though Kenma knows he just heard someone.
“Seriously, Kuroo, if this is some kind of prank then I’m going home.”
Kenma takes another step forward before a pair of hands slide over eyes and make his vision go dark. He yelps a little, not expecting the sudden loss of vision. He’s just about to push the person off when a familiar voice stops him.
“Guess who?” The voice singsongs. Kenma goes weak at the knees. He would recognize that voice anywhere. It was the voice he’s been so desperate to hear.
“Shoyo?”
Kenma turns around the second the hands loosen their hold. Standing there is his boyfriend, dressed in a button down shirt and nice pants. In his hands is a small bouquet of flowers. The smile on his face could outshine the sun.
“Happy Birthday, Kenma.”
Kenma bursts into tears.
“Wh- ah, Kenma!” Shoyo panics. He sets the flowers down onto the blanket before rushing over to cup Kenma’s face. He wipes the tears away with his thumbs before pulling Kenma’s face down a little to press their foreheads together. Kenma wraps his arms around Shoyo’s back. They stand like that while Kenma takes a few shuddering breaths to calm himself.
“I’m sorry Ken Ken. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Shoyo whispers. He pulls back enough to kiss Kenma’s forehead before returning back to his original position.
Kenma shifts his gaze, feeling a little embarrassed now that he’s calmed down. “I thought you forgot. And, well, I guess that wouldn’t be a huge deal or anything. But then you didn’t say anything to me and you weren’t responding to any messages. Which, again, that’s fine. It’s just…” Kenma trails off, feeling heat rising in his cheeks. Shoyo doesn’t say anything, but he presses a quick kiss to Kenma’s cheek and lets his hands settle at Kenma’s waist. Kenma sighs.
“We’ve both been so busy lately and I just...I missed you,” he finishes, so quiet that if it were not for their proximity Shoyo may not have been able to hear him. Shoyo pulls him even closer.
“I missed you too. You’re on my mind constantly and I just wish I could spend every second with you.”
Shoyo grabs Kenma's hand and gives it a squeeze. He leads Kenma over to the blanket he has set out. The pair sit. Shoyo hands Kenma the bouquet. The flowers bring a smile to Kenma’s face.
“I’m sorry about ignoring your texts. I wanted to surprise you and Kuroo-san said you’d be really surprised if you thought I’d forgotten.” Shoyo rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
Kenma was gonna kill Kuroo.
Shoyo laughs at the look on his boyfriend’s face. “Don’t be too mad Kenma. He helped me get this all set up. Oh, Yachi-san helped as well. I thought you might recognize my handwriting on the cards so I had her write them for me.”
That would explain the neat writing. Kenma supposes he could forgive Kuroo. After all, thanks to his help he gets to spend the day with his boyfriend.
“I have a present for you Kenma.” Shoyo reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black box, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He hands Kenma the box. Kenma gently sets the flowers aside so that he can open the box. Kenma looks inside and his eyes widen. He blinks. Kenma looks up at Shoyo, then back down. He blinks again.
“You got me...a ring?” Kenma asks slowly. Sure enough, sitting on a velvet cushion is a gold ring, a small sun design engraved on it. Around it rests a thin matching gold chain.
“Yeah!” Shoyo chimes enthusiastically. There’s a pause as Kenma just stares at his boyfriend. Then a realization dawns on Shoyo.
“No, no, no, no, no, wait no it’s not like that!” Shoyo waves his hands frantically, blushing a brilliant red. He laughs nervously. “I mean, like, maybe one day but like not right now cuz like we’re still in high school and everything. I mean you’re almost out but I’ve got a whole other year and like we don’t need to rush anything cuz we’ve got plenty of time I just-”
Kenma throws his head back and laughs, a full-body laugh that brings tears to his eyes, this time for an entirely different reason. Shoyo’s rambling stops dead. He takes in the sight of his boyfriends as his body shakes with laughter and it brings a smile to his face. Shoyo starts to laugh along with him. Their laughter fills the air around them. They laugh until their stomachs hurt. They laugh until they can’t breathe. When one tries to stop, they share a look that makes the other start up again. They laugh, and laugh, and laugh.
Eventually, they settle down, with only the occasional giggle between them. Kenma scoots up next to Shoyo and interlocks their fingers, resting his head on Shoyo’s shoulder. He holds the ring box in his other hand.
“So,” Kenma prompts, “you got me a ring?”
Shoyo hides his face in Kenma’s hair. Kenma snorts.
“Yeah. We’re always so far away from each other. I wanted to give you something to keep with you whenever we’re apart. That way, no matter where we are, you can look at it and know that I’m right there with you.”
Kenma feels his heart skip a beat. He traces around the ring with his index finger. He pinches the gold chain in between his thumb and index finger.
“I got the chain as well just in case. I figured you’d probably get a bunch of questions if you started wearing a ring out of nowhere. Plus, you can’t play volleyball with a ring on!” Shoyo looks proud of his smart thinking. Kenma laughs a little under his breath. Of course Shoyo would be thinking about volleyball as well.
Kenma picks the ring from the box, looping the chain through it. He holds the jewelry out to his boyfriend. “Will you put it on for me?” Shoyo nods, taking the chain from Kenma. Kenma turns around, pulling his hair out of the way. Shoyo fastens the clasp, pressing a quick kiss to the back of Kenma’s neck before he lets go. When the chain is secured, Kenma turns back around and immediately loops his arms around Shoyo’s neck.
“I love it, Shoyo.” He kisses Shoyo, who melts into the kiss. They stay like that for a while, trading sweet kisses back and forth. When they pull apart, Kenma settles down with his head in Shoyo’s lap. Shoyo runs his hand through Kenma’s hair, massaging at his scalp. Kenma practically purrs at the touch and his eyes slip closed. The golden ring hanging from his neck glimmers in the sun. Shoyo rests his own head back against the tree, basking in both the feeling of the warm sun on his skin and the sight of his beautiful boyfriend in his lap.
It’s all so perfect.
“Me too,” Kenma mumbles. Shoyo gives Kenma a questioning look, though his eyes remain closed. He snuggles up closer to Shoyo. “I’m always with you too. My heart is yours, Shoyo.”
Shoyo’s gaze softens. He brings his hand to Kenma’s cheek, the gentle touch prompting him to open his eyes. Gold meets amber. Shoyo smiles.
“And mine, yours, Kenma.”