Kozume and Kuroo step out onto the balcony to get some fresh air and for Kozume to have a clear mind before he publishes his post on all social media platforms.
One of his members from the game development team sent a screen shot of Kozume's name trending on Tweeter. The photo only makes Kozume groan in response.
"What now?" Kuroo curiously looks over at Kozume's phone. Not caring anymore, Kozume hands his phone over to Kuroo. Quietly, Kozume runs both hands through his hair.
"This day feels like an eternity." Kozume grumbles under his breath. Kuroo knits his brows together and gently pats Kozume's back, extending his phone back to him. Kozume takes his phone and slides it into his pocket.
"It'll be all over once you clarify things. I'm sure your silence is just making them more anxious." Kuroo pulls his hand back from Kozume and slides them into his pockets. A silence drifts into their conversation. "How about we return to the topic we spoke about in the kitchen before Asahi came over?"
Kozume's face pales slightly from Kuroo's words but he shrugs and doesn't defy the suggestion.
"Where did we leave off at?" Kozume folds his arms on top of the balcony railing. His eyes gaze out at the many buildings in Tokyo. A breeze flows through causing his hair to flutter wildly.
"You mentioned her heart? But I'm fine with you speaking what's on your mind. I'm here to listen to you Kenma." Kuroo turns around to lean his back against the rail, his eyes stare up at the bottom of the upstairs neighbors balcony.
Kozume remains quiet for a moment. He debates whether he should start from the very beginning or just summarize how his feelings got to where they are right now. Discussing his feelings for Y/N might relieve this pent up weight he's carried around. But he's hesitant to since the very person who's hearing him out is the man Y/N will most likely be with. He doesn't want to make Kuroo feel guilty on his behalf.
"What are you thinking Kenma?" Kuroo turns to look at Kozume's blank face and troubled eyes.
"If I should really tell you or not. I don't want my feelings to conflict with yours." Kozume speaks nonchalantly. His eyes gaze over to Kuroo's hazel ones.
Kuroo wears a smug grin, a look of confidence. "Trust me Kenma, whatever you say won't waver my feelings for her. I will only hate myself for being the one who's taking the person you feel so strongly for."
Kozume's lips form a thin line. He stares at Kuroo with a tense gaze before dropping his eyes down. "My feelings for Y/N...it must've happened sometime in middle school. Probably during summer vacation when you left to visit your extended family back in the countryside."
Kuroo's brows raises from the mention of his vacation trip out of Tokyo. He faintly remembers the memory. "Didn't Y/N cry a lot when the two of you said your goodbyes to me that summer? Or...wait a minute. You cried too!" Kuroo stands upright and points at Kozume.
"Shut up. Why did you remember that detail specifically." Kozume puckers his lips out, giving Kuroo a look of embarrassment.
Kuroo snickers and scratches the side of his nose. "I was worried the two of you wouldn't get along since I was the glue holding the three of us together."
Kozume scoffs under his breath. "We got along. We just didn't have much to say to each other. Anyway." Kuroo lets Kozume continue on with his story without any other interruption.
🏐･ﾟﾟ･｡.
𝐹𝓁𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀
Kuroo's dads sedan car drives further out of the neighborhood and becomes a small blurry speck through Kozume's tears. He hears Y/N quietly sniffle. She tries to wipe her tears away but she fails to harbor back her flowing tears.
Not wanting both of them to cry over Kuroo, Kozume bottles up his remaining tears. "Kuroo won't be happy if he finds out you're still crying over him Y/N."
"I-I know." She speaks between sobs and hiccups.
Pursing his lips, Kozume extends a hand out in front of her. The small girl lowers her eyes to his extended hand, forming a confused expression with a frown. "Let's go play video games. That might cheer you up."
Y/N calms her sniffles and nods her head. She carefully places her hand in Kozume's. The heat of her skin against Kozume makes him nervous but he gives her small hand a firm squeeze. He quietly leads her back to his house.
"Did you give Kuroo a proper send off on his trip Kenma?" Kozume's mother turns around to look at him from the living room. Her smile falls when she notices how red his and Y/N's eyes are. She quickly gets up from the sofa and rushes over to the two kids.
Worried, she looks over Kozume and carefully wipes the tears off of Y/N's face. "Did you two cry?"
Y/N cries harder at the mention of crying while Kozume tries to remain strong. He shakes his head despite how red his eyes are. Kozume's mother sighs and forms a small smile. "I'll grab some snacks and drinks for the both of you. Go upstairs and try to have some fun. I'll bring your goodies up shortly." She pats Kozume's shoulder before excusing herself over to the kitchen.
Kozume gives Y/N's arm a gentle tug and she follows right behind him.
It's odd for the two to hang out like this but Kozume's only worry right now is to make sure Y/N stops crying. He's never managed to cheer her up before. Kuroo seems to be the only one who could make her smile. Kozume's unsure how he could manage to make Y/N smile during the summer break they shared together. Just the two of them.
This is a difficult quest he's accepted.
He let's go of Y/N's hand the moment they step foot in his room. Quietly, he walks over to his T.V. to turn it on. He then looks in a small box of video games he's tucked under his bed.
What game would cheer up Y/N?
He sulks when he realizes a lot of these games are fighting games. Rummaging through the collection, Kozume's managed to find a game his mother bought for herself but she never got around to playing it.
A farming simulator game. One that Kozume's only played to kill time.
A smile forms on his face when he stares at the cute box art. He hurries over to his console and inserts the game disc in.
Y/N quietly sits on the floor with a controller in her hands. Kozume joins her side after grabbing a blanket for the two to share.
Thankfully the game allows up to two players so Kozume's also able to distract himself from Kuroo's lack of presence too.
"What game did you pick Kenma?" Y/N looks over to Kozume with a red button nose from her crying. He thought she looked cute and silly at the same time.
"A game where the two of us can be farmers. We could build a barn and manage animals once we get enough funds." Kozume gives some details about the game to Y/N and he hopes she doesn't find it too boring.
Her silence and focused eyes on the screen tells him that she's captivated by the idea.
"Let's make a huge farm with lots of crops. We could also show Kuroo what we built together without him." Y/N's mood brightens incredibly and her perky mood also makes Kozume excited about playing a game like this. Usually he'd much rather battle a boss in chaos mode. But a simple farm game is a nice change of pace.
The two spent hours each day working on their farm together. This is probably the longest time they've spent together and spoken to each other without Kuroo. Y/N warmed up to Kozume over the next few weeks and she doesn't hesitate to speak her mind.
One day specifically, her parents allowed her to have a sleepover at Kozume's place. The two secretly stayed up late when his parents had fallen asleep. They lay on their stomachs with controllers in their hands, eyeing the illuminated television screen in the dark room.
"Did you water the crops already Kenma?" Y/N whispers as softly as she can beside him. Her attempt makes him chuckle a bit.
"Yeah, did you feed Mr. and Mrs. Cow?" Kozume walks his character over to the barn. Y/N panics and rushes her character over to the barn.
"Wait! Don't feed them yet. Let's feed them together." Y/N quietly cries out and Kozume stifles his further chuckling.
"Okay, okay. I won't."
The two share a moment of laughter when they focus on the farm tasks. Neither of them aware of the door that's slowly opening in Kozume's bedroom. Their laughter cuts short when the bright light of the bedroom flicks on.
Kozume and Y/N both lower their controllers. They hesitate to look at the person by the door.
"I thought you two agreed to sleep at 10PM? It's midnight now you two." Kozume's mother stands at the door with her arms crossed but a playful smile on her face. She walks over and turns off the television. The two of them hand her the controllers and shuffle back to their spots. Kozume lays in his bed and Y/N crawls into the futon they laid out on the floor besides Kozume's bed.
His mother kisses the two goodnight on their foreheads before turning the lights off and closing the door. They wait a moment before whispering to each other.
"Sorry Kenma. I probably giggled too loud and she caught us." Y/N mutters under her breath, eyeing the ceiling above her.
Kozume rolls over to his side to look down at Y/N. His eyes readjust to the darkness and he notices the frown she wears. Kozume shakes his head, his hair ruffling against the pillowcase. "No, I was probably loud too. It's not all your fault."
Y/N's eyes flick over to Kozume and he reassures her with a small smile. "If we sleep now, we can wake up bright and early tomorrow to play some more."
A smile spreads across Y/N's face at Kozume's words. She eagerly nods her head.
"Okay!" She speaks excitedly and forces her eyes closed. Kozume stares at her for a moment. He feels a bit guilty having her sleep on the floor while he's sleeping on a cushioned bed.
Biting his lower lip, he clutches tightly on his blanket. "Y/N?" He whispers her name, his voice cracking halfway. Without opening her eyes she responds back. "Hm?"
Kozume bites his tongue and musters the courage to ask her the question on his mind. "Do...Do you want to sleep on the bed?"
Her eyes flutter open and she looks over at Kozume. "I'm fine. The floor isn't too bad." He feels a bit dejected from her response and it must be apparent on his face since Y/N quickly changes her mind. "But your bed does look comfortable." She shuffles out of the futon and grabs her teddy bear. "Is it okay if I sleep on the bed?"
Kozume pulls away from his moment of sadness and nods his head. He gets out of bed and tells her to sleep by the wall. He was afraid she'll roll off the bed in the middle of the night. Kozume didn't have the biggest bed but the two are small enough to share the space.
She wears a smile when she makes herself comfortable. Kozume pulls the blanket over the two when he gets back into bed. He's the one to suggest the idea but now he grows nervous at the reality. Y/N has been close to him like this before when they're playing games together. But it's different when the two are sleeping next to one another. Thankfully her teddy bear gives a small divider between the two.
Kozume keeps his eyes on the ceiling and Y/N slowly closes her eyes, hugging her teddy bear close. Her forehead gently rests on Kozume's shoulder as they share a single pillow. His body tenses and he tries to relax himself.
"You have goosebumps Kenma. Are you scared? Do you want to hug my teddy bear?" Without a chance to answer her, Kozume finds a teddy bear placed in his arms. He timidly wraps his arms around the warm bear. "Can I tell you a secret Kenma?" Y/N carries on the conversation. He nods his head slightly.
"I don't like the dark very much." Y/N sheepishly admits. She raises her head off of Kozume's shoulder to look at him. Her breath tickles his face and he feels his heart race.
The feeling unusual.
"Oh? Here, take your teddy back then. It gives you comfort right?"
Y/N stops Kozume from handing her bear back. She shakes her head. "You need him right now too. We get goosebumps when we're scared right?"
Kozume's goosebumps are for a different reason. A reason he's not too sure about.
"Oh!" Her voice is much louder being by his ear which causes Kozume to flinch. "If I hug you, maybe you'll give me the same comfort as my teddy." Y/N smiles at the thought. Kozume widen his eyes and parts his lips slightly but no words form. "Can I?" She asks nervously, her eyes pleading in the darkness of the room.
"S-Sure." Kozume manages to find his voice. His body litters with nervousness and he holds his breath as he anticipates Y/N's embrace. She easily places an arm over him, nuzzling her face into his shoulder. She hums with happiness when she feels his warmth.
Kozume's face heats up when he feels her breath seep through his t-shirt sleeve. He tightens his hold on her teddy bear to calm his nerves.
"Thank you Kenma." She quietly murmurs between a yawn. He stiffly nods his head. Sleep pulls Y/N away but Kozume remains wide awake. He carefully turns his head to look at Y/N's sleeping face. She wears a smile as she holds onto him.
Y/N was always cute and a bit emotional at times. But at this moment, she looks absolutely adorable.
Kozume hesitantly rests his head on hers before closing his eyes. The smell of strawberries from her and vanilla from him, intertwine together.
Sleep soon lulls Kozume away.
Little did he know, the emotions he felt that night was puppy love.