Chapter Text
It all happened very quickly, beginning with a practice match against Fukurodani.
It was the second set, 22-21 Nekoma with Nekoma just having scored two consecutive points, and Kuroo was feeling pretty good. He wiggled his eyebrows through the net at Bokuto, who had been successfully coaxed out of one of his moods by their long-suffering setter just moments ago, and got a raspberry blown at him in return. Kenma sighed from somewhere behind him.
The serve went up. The other team's libero neatly received it, and their setter ran forward impassively, glancing at his teammates.
On the other side of the net, Kuroo grinned as Akaashi's hands came in contact with the ball. After Bokuto's earlier episode, there was only one way the toss could be going. He jumped up with a little snarl, arms outstretched to block Bokuto, as did Lev beside him. But, more to his annoyance than surprise, Bokuto leapt a split second after they did, and his spike blasted past them--
straight into Kenma's face.
Kenma yelped, his head snapping back from the force of the hit, and Kuroo turned around just in time to see the ball go flying off to the side as Kenma fell backwards. He lay on the floor, unmoving.
There was a pause, and then a few things happened very quickly.
Bokuto, probably caught between saying "MY BAD" and "OH SHIT," shouted, "MY SHIT!" at the top of his lungs. Inuoka let out a strange half-scream from off the court. Yaku ran to Kenma's side and kneeled down, followed by the rest of the team and all of the coaches. Lev started to yell something but went silent when someone elbowed him in the side. Yamamoto began advancing toward Bokuto, threatening to cause him bodily harm. Fukunaga slapped him on the back of the head.
Kuroo shook his head and jogged over to his other teammates, shoving Lev out of the way to kneel next to a very pale-faced Yaku. Kenma, sporting quite an impressive nosebleed, had his eyes closed. Worry fluttered in Kuroo's stomach.
"Oi, Kenma," Kuroo said gently, tapping Kenma's shoulder. "You alright?"
After a very tense moment, the setter stirred. A sigh of relief swept through the crowd around him as his eyes fluttered open, then squinted.
"Kuroo?" Kenma mumbled dazedly. He turned to look at Kuroo, but was stopped by Yaku.
"Try not to move your head. Act under the assumption that you have a concussion," Yaku said, wringing his hands agitatedly.
"Yeah, yeah! I mean, holy shit, the sound when it hit your face was like a frickin' cannon!" Lev said excitedly. "I was so sure you d-"
Lev wheezed before he could finish the sentence, having been jabbed in the stomach by Yaku.
Kenma, despite Yaku, Kuroo, and the coaches' protests, insisted on sitting up. He huffed and brushed his hair out of his face, as well as some blood from his nose. He winced, but looked up at Kuroo with a small pout and mumbled, "I'm fine, Kuro. Guys."
The clouds must have shifted outside just then, because a glorious shaft of sunlight suddenly came shining through the nearest window. When it hit Kenma, his blond hair seemed to glow, and his golden eyes looked strangely otherworldly. Somewhere in the gym, Megumi Hayashibara began performing her 1995 rendition of "Fly Me To The Moon."
Or, maybe it was just Kuroo's delusional, sudden-heart-failure-induced thinking, because when Kenma batted those lashes up at him (had they always been that long and pretty?), for one terrifying moment, Kuroo felt his pulse come to a halt. A few more things happened very quickly.
His heart, after finally remembering it had a job to do, took to racing. The back of his neck turned uncomfortably warm. He thought to himself, Shit, look at that pout, he's so cute, and felt his lips curl into a grin for no reason. Other than his (annoyingly overactive) heart, his body seemed to stop functioning as Kenma blinked up at him in confusion.
It got worse when Kenma, fidgeting nervously from all his teammates' attention, instinctively grabbed Kuroo's forearm to ground himself and dropped his eyes to his own lap. Kuroo's chest felt like it was about to burst.
Were his hands always this small and skinny? He's got really cute hands. No wonder he tosses so well, it would be hard not to with such nice hands. He felt his face grow warm as well.
"Are you feeling alright?" Coach Nekomata asked. Kuroo's shoulders jumped as he thought, Shit, was it that obvious?, before realizing the question was directed toward Kenma.
Kenma nodded slowly and Yaku hissed, his fingers twitching with the urge to keep him from moving his head excessively. Kenma stopped, eyeing Yaku nervously, and replied, "Well, um, the lights seem kind of bright and my nose hurts a lot, but I feel okay."
"Did you hit your head on the floor when you landed?" the Fukurodani coach asked.
Kenma hesitated. "I... I don't remember," he admitted. "I mean, the back of my head kind of hurts too, so maybe?"
Kuroo could see Yaku anxiously twisting his shirt in his hands out of the corner of his eye. The three coaches had a brief, quiet discussion before Coach Nekomata spoke up again. "Well, as Yaku said, it's more likely than not that you have a concussion. Naoi-san is going to accompany you to the hospital in a taxi, so you'll miss the rest of this game. I'll call your parents for you. Is that okay?"
The setter bit his lip, looking reluctant. Kuroo nudged him. "Hey, I'll tag along, if you want," he offered. He looked to the coaches questioningly.
"Yes, that's fine," Coach Naoi said. Kenma glanced at Kuroo gratefully, causing Kuroo's heart to squeeze violently, and gave the coaches a soft "Okay."
"In the meantime, try not to move very much, alright?" Coach Nekomata added. Once they received an affirmative from Kenma, the coaches left, Coach Naoi to call a taxi and Coach Nekomata to call Kenma's parents. The Fukurodani coach followed after Coach Nekomata for a few steps, speaking to him in a low voice, then doubled back. He clapped loudly, calling for the students' attention.
"Alright, all of you! Can't let yourselves get cold, so I want you all running laps around the gym until we can set the game back up!"
Everyone groaned and the coach narrowed his eyes. "No complaining or I'll make you run around the school instead! Come on, up, up, get to it!"
The Nekoma team members dispersed with some grumbling. Kuroo sighed and reluctantly moved to get up, but Kenma tightened his hold on his forearm, a plea in his eyes. Kuroo could literally feel his own heart cracking in half.
"Oi, you! Number 1!" The Fukurodani coach nodded at Kuroo. "Your coach said you can stay with your friend for now, so make sure he doesn't try to stand, got it?"
Kuroo shot the coach a thumbs up, then settled back down. Kenma relaxed beside him, and the two sat and watched as the others switched from doing grapevines to butt-kickers, the sight of which Kuroo snickered at.
"Why do only you get to slack, Kuroo-san?" Yamamoto demanded as he passed by, his heels slapping his butt with every word.
"Get back to kicking your own ass before the coach does it for you," Kuroo shot back. He heard Kenma chuckle under his breath and felt weirdly smug about it.
After a minute or so, Kuroo was startled by the sound of Kenma clearing his throat.
He turned to look at him questioningly. "What's up?"
Kenma's eyes flickered away from Kuroo's face, then away. Kuroo was suddenly hyperaware of the fact that Kenma still hadn't let go of his arm.
Kenma cleared his throat again. "Um, sorry about all of this, Kuro," he said. He gave Kuroo a timid smile.
Then the hand on Kuroo's arm suddenly fell away. Kenma's eyes rolled back and closed, and his body sagged.
Quite a few more things happened very quickly.
Kuroo, with a startled shout, managed to catch Kenma before his head hit the floor again. Every head on both teams whipped toward them, and the entirety of the Nekoma team changed course mid-lap to come running back to them. A very frantic-looking Bokuto, probably freaking out about many things at once, and as a result getting stuck between saying "IS HE OKAY?" and "I'M SORRY," screamed, "IS HE SORRY?!" from across the gymnasium. Yaku, now even more pale-faced than before, shouted, "CALL AN AMBULANCE!" at the Fukurodani coach, who immediately whipped out his phone and dialed 119. The libero then turned to face Bokuto with promises of a painful death in his eyes. Bokuto grabbed his own hair out of panic, accidentally elbowing Akaashi in the face. Yamamoto roared and tried to charge at him but was held back by Fukunaga, which didn't help in calming Bokuto down. Inuoka sobbed, "Don't die, Kenma-san!" as Lev swore and began running around in small circles.
And Kuroo, laying Kenma carefully back down onto the floor with trembling hands, was having trouble telling whether the horrible increase in his heart rate was from the panic of having just barely managed to keep Kenma's head from hitting the floor, or from seeing Kenma's tiny, shy smile.
------
An ambulance arrived within minutes and Kenma was whisked off to the hospital, accompanied by Coach Naoi. The taxi that the coach had called for pulled up just two minutes after the ambulance left, and Coach Nekomata was left to explain the situation and apologize to the driver.
The next hour was hectic, to say the least. Akaashi, who already had a nosebleed of his own from having been elbowed in the face by Bokuto, was hit in the face once more as he tried to keep Bokuto from running after the ambulance while yelling apologies. Because the general atmosphere was no longer fitting for a productive match, the coaches called it off. This resulted in an outburst of pleas from the Nekoma students, who eventually managed to convince Coach Nekomata to take them to see Kenma. A few minutes later, a Fukurodani first-year saw blood on the floor and fainted into Lev, who in turn went flailing into the Fukurodani libero, who went down with a small scream as he was crushed by the combined weight of the two huge players. When Yaku turned around to yell at Lev, Yamamoto escaped from his grip and pounced at Bokuto with a battle cry. Further chaos ensued.
Somehow though, after Onaga had been woken up, Komi had been successfully excavated from beneath Lev, and Kuroo had threatened to make Yamamoto follow the van on foot, all of Team Nekoma and the coaches of both teams made it to the waiting area in the hall outside of Kenma's room at the local hospital with Kenma's parents. Bokuto and Akaashi were there as well, simply because their coach had deemed it easier to allow them to come than to continuously shoot down Bokuto's incessant begging.
Akaashi, sporting a black eye and a bruised nose, had given up on trying to fend off a crying Bokuto, who insisted on trying to kiss his injuries better. The coaches were off to the side, talking to Kenma's parents. Lev had fallen asleep and was drooling onto Yaku's shoulder. Yamamoto was taking photo after photo of the scene, snickering at the libero's discomfort (and apparent unwillingness to wake Lev up), while Kai stood by, looking like he wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or chide Yamamoto. Inuoka and Shibayama were talking excitedly about some show, and Fukunaga was listening in with what seemed to be genuine interest.
Kuroo listened as his friends fooled around, not really paying attention. He crossed, uncrossed, and recrossed his legs, jiggling his feet and generally fidgeting so much that Akaashi, looking distinctly pink, eventually turned to him and asked him to stop, apologetically claiming that it was making him slightly nauseous. Bokuto stopped planting kisses all over his friend's face long enough to shoot Kuroo a glare.
"Sorry," Kuroo muttered, not really caring. He stopped fidgeting, and leaned forward in his seat.
Truth be told, ever since the initial shock had worn off, he'd been really freaking out. Kenma should be okay, assuming it was just a concussion. They usually weren't anything to worry about too much, right? Kuroo knew plenty of people, including himself, who'd gotten concussions before. They were all fine. Still, he couldn't help imagining things going horribly wrong. Thoughts like, People can die from concussions, and, I should have tried harder to keep him from moving, bounced around in his mind until he was so anxious he felt like vomiting. After all, he wasn't made of fucking stone, and Kenma was like a little brother to him.
No, he's too cute to be your little brother, a voice in his head chimed in.
Kuroo put his head in his hands and groaned. He'd forgotten about that problem.
Well, at least it distracted him from the possibility of Kenma being severely injured (don't think about it, don't think about it, he's just fine).
Was it a crush? Nah, it couldn't be. A few years ago, and he would have thought nothing of developing a crush on Kenma. The kid was quiet and smart and infuriatingly adorable in that weirdly cold way of his, and really good at volleyball no matter what he said about himself. Hell, Kuroo probably would have acted on his (hypothetical) feelings without a second thought. But now? No way. Couldn't be, it was just too abrupt. Kuroo didn't believe in shit like love at first sight, but that didn't really apply, since he'd known Kenma for a pretty damn long time. Maybe more like love at first concussion?
Don't call it that, he scolded himself. You just think he's cute. And that he has nice hands. And gorgeous eyes, and really silky-looking hair, even though it's bleached. And -
Oh, are we listing the things we like about little Kenma-chan?, the same voice from before chimed in. Strange, why was it starting to sound like someone Kuroo knew?
Well then-- holy shit, he definitely knew this voice, he just couldn't put his finger on who it was-- what about how he can be a sarcastic little shit sometimes, but always in a really subtle, seemingly bored way? It just kills you, doesn't it? Speaking of subtle and seemingly bored, what about how his sense of humor sometimes really gets to you, but other times, you can't even tell if he's joking or not unless you look for that teensy little one-pixel smile? And how when his teammates are upset or hurt, he gets really anxious and looks like he wants to comfort them but doesn't know how? He always ends up awkwardly patting their head or back, but it works just because it's him doing it. Oh, and don't forget how his face lights up even without changing expression when he sees a new video game he wants, and how he always looks at you right after with huge eyes, then back at the game, like he has to confirm that yes, it's real. And also -
Yeah, yeah, all of that too, Kuroo begrudgingly agreed.
Not to mention, the voice smugly continued, the wonderful way he handles balls--
Okay, enough, Kuroo thought firmly (something he'd previously never thought he'd have to do).
You liiiiike him, the voice sang. Tetsu-chan has a cruuuuush.
Whoa, who says I like him? Kuroo wildly thought. I just think he's really fucking cute, and funny, and nice, and all that other stuff you said. He's my best friend, it's allowed.
Yep, it sure is, the voice agreed. And so is blushing like a middle school girl when he looks at you, and feeling all warm inside when he smiles, and suffering from heart failure when he touches you. You know what else is allowed? Having a crush on your best friend! It happens, you know. And I mean, take a look at yourself, Tetsurou. You're a mess right now.
Somehow, Kuroo couldn't really argue with that.
Both inwardly and outwardly, he sighed. Okay, so maybe I like Kenma. Just a little. You happy now, asshole?
Of course I am, it said. Wasn't so hard, now, was it?
Fuck off, Kuroo thought.
Then, after a very weird pause, he thought, Did I really just tell a voice in my head to fuck off? Actually, did I just hold an entire conversation with a voice in my head? No, wait, why is there a voice in my head separate from my own in the first place? Why the fuck did it call me Tetsu-chan? What the hell is happening?
It's a result of lovesickness, the voice simply replied. You're in deep, Tetsu-chan.
Well, that was just fucking great.
Really, Kuroo would have thought that if he had to go and develop a crush on his best friend of a billion years or whatever, it would have happened gradually, over a long period of time, and not in, like, ten fucking seconds. And, while on the topic of Things That Didn't Happen The Way Kuroo Wished They Had, developing a crush on his best friend ideally would not have resulted in the appearance of a voice in his head that made his life feel that much harder, and from which he had no privacy, presumably because it was technically still his own, even though it reminded him more and more of someone he actually knew with every word it said. And called him Tetsu-chan.
Also, since Kuroo was already complaining to himself anyway, the timing was just horrible. If Kenma didn't already like him, there was no way Kuroo's weird, gooey feelings would ever be returned, after having spent such a long time as best friends. Kuroo was absolutely unwilling to do anything that could potentially ruin their friendship.
Yeah, but you started liking him, like, half an hour ago, Voice-That-Needs-to-Shut-Up argued. Who says it can't happen both ways?
Shut up, Kuroo replied. The voice shut up.
Anyway, it probably wasn't, like, a Big Serious Thing. If he left it alone, it would pass. That shouldn't be too hard, right?
He let out another groan.
Upon looking back up, he briefly made eye contact with Yaku, who grimaced and nodded, almost like he'd heard what Kuroo had been thinking (and arguing over with a voice in his head that had apparently taken it upon itself to represent a singular spark of pointless hope in Kuroo's increasingly bleak-looking life, a spark that Kuroo was determined to ruthlessly stamp out before it ignited properly).
Or, maybe it was because Lev, who was apparently a clingy sleeper, had moved from Yaku's shoulder to his chest and wrapped both of his arms around the third-year's body. Yamamoto seemed to be in real danger of dying from a lack of air, and Kai had finally chosen to laugh along rather than scold.
Kuroo chortled and noted with interest that Yaku, whose face looked more like a goddamn sunset with every passing second, seemed to be trying to fight back a smile. He stored his own observation away for later use.
Just then, Coach Nekomata hurried past them. Kuroo looked up as the coach greeted a doctor. He jumped to his feet and followed suit, bowing quickly and giving her a hurried "Good afternoon."
"How's Kenma?" he demanded, before she'd even had time to register his greeting. The coach tsked at his rudeness, but Kuroo ignored him. The others all stopped and faced the doctor, suddenly quiet and grave.
The doctor blinked in surprise at the sudden silence, but chuckled good-naturedly. "He's just fine," she assured them. "A mild concussion, not a huge problem. It seems his loss of consciousness was the result of a minor stress response and exhaustion, rather than a result of his head injury. We'll be keeping him overnight, just in case any complications happen to pop up, but he should be out of here in no time."
A collective sigh of relief sounded through the hall, and Kuroo felt quite a bit of tension leave his body. He jumped in surprise when Kenma's father clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Can we see him?" Inuoka chirped up.
"Shouldn't be a problem, but be quiet, okay? Don't want to make his head hurt-- at least, not any more than it already does," the doctor replied with a smile.
Since there was a limit to how many people could be in the room at one time, there was a bit of squabbling over who'd get to go in after Kenma's parents. When they came back out, Bokuto leapt in (to Yamamoto's protests) with Akaashi close behind him (the doctor did a slight double take at the state of Akaashi's face).
"Tetsurou-kun," Kuroo heard someone say. He turned to find Kenma's mother's smiling face.
"Oh, Kozume-san." He inclined his head respectfully. "What's up?"
"It's nothing, you just looked incredibly tense before," she said with a small laugh.
"Yeah, I've kinda been freaking out since Kenma keeled over," Kuroo admitted. "Like, a lot. I'm really relieved to hear it's nothing worse than a concussion. That's kinda like, been there, done that, y'know?"
Mrs. Kozume smiled affectionately. "I know I've said this many times before, but I'm so glad Kenma has someone like you looking after him. And everyone here seems lovely. I'm truly happy that my son has such wonderful friends."
Kuroo chuckled. "Ah, I don't know, Kozume-san. I mean, I wasn't really all that useful today. Plus, I feel like Kenma looks after me more than I look after him. Keeps me out of trouble and all that. As for everyone here being lovely, well..."
She laughed, and the door opened again. Bokuto marched out of the room toward them. (Akaashi followed him part of the way, but was flagged down by the doctor, who insisted he let a nurse check him. The tired second-year was dragged away, protesting half-heartedly.)
"Sir? Ma'am?" Bokuto said, addressing Kenma's parents. Mrs. Kozume raised an eyebrow, but Kuroo didn't miss the hint of amusement in her eyes. Mr. Kozume frowned at Bokuto, more appraisingly than angrily.
The owl-headed idiot bowed abruptly. "I'm really sorry for injuring Kenma-kun! I swear it was an accident!"
Mr. Kozume's frown cleared right up. "Oh, straighten up, son, it's alright. As long as Kenma's fine, we are too. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't ever been injured like this before. Some of his playmates weren't exactly gentle when he was a kid." He glanced at Kuroo, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Just be careful, young man. Don't let anything like this happen again," Mrs. Kozume added sternly.
Bokuto nodded frantically. "I definitely, definitely won't!"
Mrs. Kozume stared him down for a few more seconds, then broke into a smile again. "Alright then, I'll take your word for it. You seem very honest."
Bokuto beamed. Then he paused, as if realizing something, and turned around.
"Uh, where's Akaashi?"
"Some nurse kidnapped him to see how badly you broke his face," Yamamoto replied, and Bokuto yelped and took off, calling Akaashi's name. Kuroo shared a good laugh with everyone else.
Kenma's parents stayed for a few more minutes after that, then peeked back into the room to tell Kenma that they needed to return to work but would be back later. They spent some time thanking and bowing to the doctor and the coaches, and when they were finally ready to leave, Mrs. Kozume offered Kuroo a ride home. Kuroo politely declined.
"I haven't gotten to check up on Kenma yet," he said with a grin, and Mrs. Kozume chuckled and patted his cheek.
------
When Kuroo returned to the group, he found Yaku, no longer pink, struggling to escape Lev's embrace without waking him up.
"Just slap him or something," Kuroo said amusedly. Yaku turned to him with genuine distress in his eyes.
"I can't do that for something that's not his fault," he hissed. "He's just a sleeping first-year. And look at him, he obviously still gets tired like a frickin' child."
"What, so you think he's cute or something?" Kuroo said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
Yaku's ears darkened and he shot Kuroo a very disdainful look. "I think he's an idiot," he retorted.
"Ah, but you didn't say you don't think he's cute," Kuroo pointed out with a grin.
The blush returned to Yaku's face and he grunted as Lev tightened his grip and buried his face further into his chest. He glared at Kuroo. "You are such a pain in the fucking ass. I don't find this little shit even remotely cute."
The thought, I can't believe you're calling Lev "little," flashed through Kuroo's mind, but he was kept from blurting it out by a muffled voice coming from somewhere in Yaku's shirt.
"Yaku-saaaaan," it whined.
Time seemed to come to a crawl as Yaku looked down.
Lev turned his face upward with an absolutely catlike grin and Yaku's expression morphed into one of horror, then embarrassed rage. "It's not good to lie, you know. And stop moving so much, I can't relax."
Yaku, tomato-faced and fuming, ended up slapping the "sleeping" first year anyway.
------
Lev, it turned out, was quite tenacious when it came to pointless things, and possessed a fairly strong grip, as well as seemingly endless arms. By the time Yaku managed to peel the cackling first-year away from himself (with the halfhearted help of a few teammates, though most of them were just enjoying the show), the only people who had yet to visit Kenma were the two of them and Kuroo, who had completely broken down in laughter after the first slap and was still clutching his stomach and silently shaking with his face in the seat of a chair.
Somehow, all three of them managed to get as far as standing in front of the door. Kuroo wheezed with laughter every other breath, one arm still clamped over his stomach and the other wiping away tears. Lev was pretending to pout as he offered clearly insincere apologies to Yaku (the one before last had been, if Kuroo's laughter-drunk mind remembered correctly, something along the lines of "If you forgive me, I'll let you pet my hair, since you obviously think I'm super cute"), and Yaku, face still glowing like a stop light, was determinedly ignoring him.
Actually opening the door was another challenge entirely (mostly due to Lev's stupid antics), and by the time they finally toppled into the room, Kuroo's laughter was almost under control, and Yaku's face was more pink than red.
Kenma had turned when the door opened. "Oh, it's you guys," he said disinterestedly.
The blank whiteness of the room had a very sobering effect on all three of them. Whatever laughter had been remaining in Kuroo was sucked out of him, along with all the air from his lungs, when he saw his best friend lying in a hospital bed, looking pale and tired. Yaku gave him a sympathetic glance and took it upon himself to approach Kenma first.
"How're you feeling?" he asked gently. He sat down on one of the chairs beside the bed and smiled sincerely at the boy. Lev draped himself over Yaku's back, before deeming it too uncomfortable and choosing to stand by the wall.
"I'm okay," Kenma replied, twisting the bedsheets mindlessly. "Just kind of bored, and a bit tired. The doctor says that I won't be able to play video games for a while, so I've been thinking about how I'll pass the time."
As Yaku said something in response, Kuroo finally regained feeling in his legs. He made his way over to the bed and sat down on the chair next to Yaku, gazing silently at Kenma as he shrugged at whatever Yaku had said.
"Wait, so no volleyball either?" Lev asked in a too-loud voice.
Yaku immediately shushed him. "Do you have to be so damn loud all the time?" he hissed. "And of course not, he has a damn concussion."
Lev pouted reproachfully at Yaku's first comment, but asked his next question more quietly. "Do you know for how long, Kenma-san?"
Kenma looked away uncomfortably. "Well, um, it depends on how long it takes for me to heal properly, but the doctor says she doesn't want me playing or going to practice for at least a month."
Lev gaped at him in disbelief, and Yaku leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Kuroo's heart sank, but he shook his head at himself and patted Kenma's knee. Kenma turned to look at him.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Kuroo said, smiling. "We'll keep the court warm for you. And once you're better, I'll be working you ten times as hard to make up for all the missed practice."
Kenma's eyes widened in horror, and Kuroo couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, maybe not ten times as hard," he said with a grin, although his heart rate had picked up yet again at how frickin' cute his friend was. "And definitely not right away. But once you step back into that gym, you better be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort so you don't fall behind the rest of the team, got it?"
Kenma sighed. "Alright, mom," he grumbled.
"Oho?" Kuroo raised his eyebrows and grinned wickedly. "Well, young man--"
"Wait," Lev cut in. "Kuroo-san can't be the mom. Yaku-san is the mom, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I'm-- wait, what?" Yaku turned to gape at Lev. "What do you mean, I'm the mom?"
Kuroo snickered and Kenma looked down to hide the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Well, you're the most mom-like person on the team," Lev said matter-of-factly, ignoring Yaku's indignant sputtering. "You're the most caring, and you keep the rest of us out of trouble. Also, you always know what to do when someone's upset or hurt. Plus you help me out with my homework sometimes, even though you say it's not your job. You're just like a mom." He smiled brightly.
(Yaku had gone very red, very still, and very quiet somewhere during Lev's explanation.)
The room was entirely silent until Kuroo loudly cleared his throat. "Hear that, Kenma? I'm not the mom," he said jokingly. Yaku, seemingly coming back to his senses, ducked his head, still red and quiet. Kuroo and Kenma exchanged looks.
Lev, noticing them, cocked his head questioningly. "Wait, was that weird or something?" he asked, looking back and forth between the two.
"Meh. Only a little," Kuroo replied with a shrug. Kenma made a small noise of assent.
"Ehh, really?" Lev asked, looking genuinely surprised. "But you agree, don't you?"
"I think you're killing Yaku," Kenma commented mildly, as Yaku put his face in his hands despairingly. Kuroo bit back laughter.
Lev opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the door opening. Inuoka popped his head in and said, "Coach says we have to leave soon, so you should wrap it up."
"I think we're done here anyway," Yaku hastily called back, obviously relieved for the diversion. Inuoka nodded and ducked back out.
Yaku stood and inclined his head to Kenma with a rushed but sincere, "Feel better soon!" and hurried out of the room.
Lev followed after him, waving at Kenma as he ran out with an earnest declaration of "I'll come over to your house to keep you company, Kenma-san!" to which Kenma responded, "Please don't," although he gave a small wave of his own.
"They have a thing, right?" Kenma asked Kuroo quietly as Lev jumped out of the room. "Will they be alright? In general, I mean."
"They'll be just fine," Kuroo assured him. "Yaku thinks too much and Lev hardly thinks at all, so they balance each other out perfectly. I'm sure it'll work out." Kenma hummed thoughtfully in response.
"The question, hotshot," Kuroo continued, scooting his chair closer, "is if you'll be alright. I can probably get the coach to leave me here, y'know. I'll just take the train home later."
"No, you should go home," Kenma said with a small yawn. "I'll probably fall asleep in a little while anyway. And you have a history test tomorrow, don't you? Shouldn't you be studying for that? "
Kuroo groaned and put his head down on the bed. "Don't remind me," he grumbled.
Kenma flicked his forehead with an almost inaudible chuckle. "Alright, roosterhead," he said. "You better get out before the coach gets mad."
"You're not nice at all," Kuroo whined as he looked back up. Kenma amusedly tilted his head with a quiet hum of a laugh, and Kuroo swore he could feel his own soul rising out of his body, which was quickly dissolving. If a breeze happened to pick up just then, the dusty remains of Kuroo Tetsurou would have scattered around the room and caused a gross mess for some poor janitor to have to clean up.
"I never claimed to be nice," Kenma said, apparently unaware of how Kuroo was dying in front of him. "But seriously, Kuro, I'll be fine. You should go home."
"Alright, alright, if you really hate my company that much," Kuroo managed to say.
"Well, now that you mention it..." Kenma drawled, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Hey!" Kuroo said indignantly, and Kenma broke into a real, albeit sleepy-looking, smile. Kuroo's whole body felt really warm at the sight, but not exactly in an unpleasant way. "You're lucky you're injured, Kenma."
Kenma settled back and yawned again in an unexplainably kitten-like way, which made Kuroo's heart spasm weirdly (he was considering getting it checked while he was still in the hospital). "Like it would make a difference if I wasn't injured," Kenma mumbled, his eyes lidded but still fixed on Kuroo.
"It probably wouldn't," Kuroo agreed. Kenma snorted, and Kuroo flicked his arm. "Alright, I guess I'll go then. You better get some rest, you hear?"
"Whatever, not-mom," Kenma said with another, bigger yawn. "Good luck on your test." He turned away from Kuroo and closed his eyes.
The door opened again, and Inuoka peeked in once more. Seeing Kenma, he whisper-shouted to Kuroo, "Coach says we really have to leave now."
"Got it," Kuroo replied. Inuoka ducked out again.
"Hear that, Kuro? Get out," Kenma stage-whispered, eyes still closed.
"Go to sleep, asshole," Kuroo whispered back. Kenma huffed out a laugh.
After that, a few things happened very quickly. Or perhaps extremely slowly, Kuroo couldn't tell the difference.
Without really thinking what he was doing, Kuroo placed a gentle hand on Kenma's forehead, and brushed his friend's hair out of his face.
Kenma sighed contentedly, barely loud enough to hear, and opened his eyes just slightly to blink up at Kuroo.
Kuroo slid his hand down to cover Kenma's eyes.
He leaned down, pressed a soft kiss to Kenma's forehead, and whispered, "See you later."
Then, before he knew it, he'd left the room, then the hospital, then the van, and then it was dark outside and he was lying awake in his bed, not having studied a single bit for his test.
Oh, Tetsu-chan, Voice-That-Needs-to-Shut-Up sighed in his head. You're so fucked.
Shut up, Kuroo replied, rolling onto his side and turning off the light.