“eating instant ramen again, ken?” you throw out a rhetorical question at your boyfriend, who was preoccupied on the new game you noticed he downloaded on his phone some several nights ago.
he hums absentmindedly to acknowledge your unexpected yet welcomed presence in their living room — one of his parents must’ve let you in. kozume kenma wants to give you a hug (and maybe more) but right now he had to finish the level that he worked hard to reach that’s playing currently in his screen. he shaped up his character and enhanced their skills continuously throughout the week for this reason, and that was to beat the final boss so he could open a new chapter in the story.
“this is the third consecutive time you’ve eaten this, ken. are you not worried?”
“if it’s delicious, i don’t mind not being healthy.”
kenma hears you snort and sees you pick up the utensils and noodle cups he used to eat earlier. he instantly focuses on the battle when he hears his character take damage but resumed conversing with you.
“(y/n), don’t clean it up. i can do it myself after i finish this.”
“and wait until your mom sees this mess?”
“just let her scold me then.”
he’s not surprised when you don’t listen to his words and continue with fixing their kitchen table. he can see you moving a lot in his peripheral vision. you’re placing the dishes in the sink, putting the trash in the bin, wiping the surface from any mess and pulling your sleeves up to ready with washing.
“(y/n), i seriously won’t forgive you. i said, i’ll do it later.”
you notice kenma’s tone go lower, an apparent indication of a warning. it’s not as if it’s the first time he’s acting stern with you so you still paid him no mind. you know when he’s genuinely mad and this isn’t that.
“it’s okay, ken. no pressure! i’m doing this because i want to.”
when he doesn’t respond, you looked back to see him furrowing his eyebrows, expressing annoyance as he ruthlessly taps on his phone. you shrugged and then proceeded to wash the dirty plates and utensils. this goes on for a few minutes until you stopped when kenma groans in frustration.
“so uhmm i’m guessing you didn’t win?”
“…no.”
“well i’m sure you’ll succeed next time.”
he stands up from the couch and sluggishly went to you. in your peripheral vision you see your boyfriend giving you a deadpan look probably because you ignored what he just told you. you give him a closed eye smile and crunch your nose in hopes that he understands that you’re really fine with helping him with his chores plus you wanted kenma to think you were cute so he would let you off easily.
it seems to have worked because kenma positions himself behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, burrowing his nose on your neck and inhaling the light perfume you know he likes on you.
“i don’t want you spoiling me too much…”
your boyfriend mumbles that you almost couldn’t catch what he had said (you can practically imagine that tiny pout he does). you laugh and playfully pushed him back with your weight as you replied,
“why? you scared you’ll be dependent on me and need me forever?”
“am not scared of that. i need you forever no matter what. just don’t want you to overwork yourself with things i can do on my own.”
it’s a great thing your boyfriend couldn’t see you, you swear you were making weird faces from the way you were stopping yourself from outright giggling. he takes calming intakes of air and exhales deeply, a telltale sign of him wanting to nap. as if on cue, kenma asks you if you’re done and you answered with a nod of your head.
he helps you dry your hands and led you to his room after. kenma made sure to massage your fingers when you both plopped down on his bed. you invite him in your arms knowing he favors being the little spoon when he’s exhausted from gaming too much. he leans more to you when you start untangling the small knots that formed in his hair and brushing it neatly.
you gaze at kenma’s face to see him begining to doze off. you booped his nose and he opens his eyes to gaze at you softly. you see him smile slightly and pushed himself up a bit so he can give the overdue welcome kiss he wanted to give you since the moment you came waltzing in their living room.
“i l-word you.”
kenma whispers when he parts from you. you couldn’t stop the giggle this time around as you rolled your eyes at him.
“you’re such a dork,”
you then cup his face and grin.
“but you’re my dork so i l-word you too.”
he recaptures your lips with his and for a moment, kenma figured tiredness can take him later.
he would relish first this precious bit with you.
notes— don’t actually know if kenma lives with both of his parents but for the sake of the fic he does
it was unexpected when you had found out you were pregnant. even more unexpected when your boyfriend kenma agreed to help raise the baby. despite living apart at the moment, the two of you had a baby girl, just shy of seven months now. it wasn’t that you two were broken up or you didn’t want to live together, it was just difficult finding a house that could fit you three and afford with both incomes. at the moment, your daughter stayed between houses every few weeks, mainly at yours but this weekend she was with kenma.
you clicked away through your files on your laptop as you glanced at the house site tab every so often. letting out a sigh, as you go to call your boyfriend, he was already calling you on discord on his pc.
“hi bubs,” you smile at your boyfriend on the computer screen. “and hi pumpkin.” greeting your daughter, who was gnawing on kenma’s hoodie strings as she lay flush against his shoulder. her hands barely wave as she sniffles and chews. her hair is messily done pigtails, one drooping more than the other.
“love,” he sighs, playing with her fingers as he bounces her on his leg. “can you come get her?”
“why? what’s wrong?” you tilt your head. “was she crying?”
“i- yeah but i- she wouldn’t stop crying today,” kenma pinches the bridge of his nose. your daughter looks up at him, gripping his hoodie to get his attention. “and she pooped all over the bed so i don’t know what to do or why she doesn’t feel good.”
“she’s probably teething, that’s why she’s biting your clothes,” you gesture. she turns slightly to the screen, whispering small noises as she looks at you. “she chews on my hand when she goes to bed because her pacifier isn’t enough for her.”
“oh,” he looks at your daughter in defeat. you watch as he carefully pulls up her lips to expose four teeth creeping up in the front. she winces as he counts the teeth with the pads of his fingers. “she has four now.”
“four!? she’s growing up too fast. she had three last week,” you pout. “if she’s still hurting, rub her gums and if it’s too much for her, you can give her the tylenol in her bag.”
“well, me and stinkie are gonna go take a bath,” he says lifting her up, making her giggle at the motion. she reaches for his face, grinning down at her dad. “say bye to mama.”
she opens and closes her hand towards the screen, babbling softly. “bye bubby, bye pumpkin. mwah, mwah, i’ll come over tonight so i can sleep over m'kay?”
the call ends and kenma looks at his daughter as she drools down her onesie. “okay stinkers, you do need a bath.” he carries her to the bedroom, setting her down on the middle of the bed.
“baba?” she babbled. she pats her hands below her as she watched kenma place down new clothes and a fresh diaper. she picks up the items, giggling as bath time is her favorite.
“yes, baby, babas,” he agrees. “hopefully, mama and i can live together soon so i don’t need to call her every time you cry.” he squishes her cheek softly as she looks at him in awe. he lays beside her momentarily as she crawls over to him.
she reaches up to tug his hair, her way of asking for kisses. kenma lifts her up and peppers her face with kisses, pulling away only for her to lean into his cheek. she nibbles and drools onto him, making him cringe at the feeling. “okay stinkie, now we both are going babas, you gremlin.”
Kozume Kenma who short circuits every time you touch skin-to-skin because of how soft you are. Be it your hand intertwining with his. Or maybe you’re curled up on the sofa with his hand around your waist as he kneads your stomach. Or he had an urge to cup the fat of your cheeks in his hands. Either way, it’s so warm that he can’t help the fierce warmth that finds solace in his cheeks.
Kozume Kenma who can’t bring himself to initiate kisses often, so he beats himself up for not knowing how to show you he loves you in more “normal” ways. So, when he does kiss you (naturally of course, not by forcing himself to), it makes the occasion even more heart-wrenching and passionate and love-filled.
Kozume Kenma who spends his life hiding away from everyone until you hug him for the first time. He vows to himself that’s when he first understood the whole concept of love, before then the whole ordeal had been rather confusing, and he had simply seen it as a waste of time and a distraction. But as he felt himself melt into your touch, face subconsciously digging its way into any crevice which your chest or head or shoulder or neck may provide out of both embarrassment for the harsh blush that’s painted his face and the further seeking of the comfort he will now come to crave, he came to understand that there’s most certainly more to life than what he had previously assumed.
Kozume Kenma who would do anything to feel your hands constantly playing with his hair. It brings him what he previously presumed as an unattainable comfort but now is just normal for him after he has a rough day and refuses to care about the embarrassment of asking you for it.
Rain hammered down on the thick pane of glass that separated you from the outside world, dainty fingers clutching the keys which you had just used to find your welcomed shelter. Today had been a long day, you thought to yourself as you slipped your shoes off by the entry door. You had been soaked through, practically dripping onto Kenma’s hard floors. You had gotten caught in the rain on your way to his place, silently cursing yourself for overlooking an umbrella. Up the stairs of your boyfriend’s penthouse, you could hear the muffled sound of him talking. You had been dating for a good few months now, so you felt comfortable enough to welcome yourself to a hot shower in one of his modern bathrooms.
Kenma sighed softly as he heard the animals he had decided to stream with that day screaming to each other through his headset. Rather than staying silent and attempting to process the madness any longer, he simply mumbled out a small “shut up”, sparking the attention of the two buffoons in front of him, alongside the many thousands of people sat on the other sides of their screens. Following his miniature outburst, the laughs of said men could be heard cackling from their respective rooms. Dutifully admitting his over-due defeat, Kenma slumps further into his chair, allowing himself to succumb to the relief of the special-made gaming chair, golden globes refocusing on the screen for the umpteenth time that gloomy evening. He had always found the rain comforting, all he wanted to do was finish streaming and sit on his comfy chairs by the window, reclined with the one he loved most. As far as he knew, you were still out of sight, but definitely not out of mind.
You were always able to comfort him in ways no one else could ever dream, and he was eternally grateful to you for it. None had even come close to the warmth of your body, the plushness of your skin. He could spend hours admiring you for all that you were, yet still have more to say. He knew he was truly and utterly in love with you, and was partially angry at himself for being so bad at showing it.
Once finishing your shower, you suppose Kenma won’t mind you borrowing a few of his clothes, surely he’d understand from the state of the weather you’d gone there in. You grabbed a pair of his sweatpants and one of his various hoodies. It was marvellous how comfortable you felt in his penthouse, feeling as though you fit right into his life. You walk down to the sleek kitchen in possession of your rich boyfriend, deciding to make hot drinks for both yourself and Kenma, well aware of how tired he probably is. You get two colourful mugs out from his cabinet, prancing around his kitchen with ease, preparing them, assuming its contents would warm you up from the dreary weather outside. You also thought of how Kenma would need the sugar boost, knowing how much he tended to overwork himself.
As you timidly opened the door to his streaming room, you noticed his reclined posture. You gingerly shuffled over to his seat, mugs clutched tight in your grasp. You gave the camera a tender smile, and Kenma sees the chat start blowing up. It was a common occurrence for you to feature in Kozume’s streams, and his fans loved the two of you together, even if Kenma hadn’t specified you as his significant other. Fans were clever, and very persistent, dedicating their evenings to grasping at straws, making mountains out of what you’d consider molehills, digging and digging through personal details and sifting through hours of footage just to theorise of how you both were dating. Of course, said theories were not wrong, but if they had to dig for it that much, you thought they should conclude that you were private for a reason and to keep it at that.
The man’s eyebrows furrow together at the speed of the chat flowing, before spinning around and seeing you at the doorway, shuffling your feet with uncertainty and raising the mugs with a slight smile at him. He lets himself succumb to the smile that fights to overcome his features, back to the viewers and eyes trained to yours. You took note of the fatigue in his face and posture as you slowly started to edge closer to him at his beckoning. He grabs another chair and slots it next to his own, patting it softly. As you sat down, your eyes slowly drifted from the man to his stream, giving a wave and toothy grin, before placing your and Kenma’s respectful mugs in front of you both.
The stillness that overcame the room was pleasant. Kenma had taken off his headset upon realising he wasn’t alone in the room, and you both simultaneously picked up your drinks and took generous sips. The warmth that overcame your chest, both from the hot liquid and the love in your heart was both overwhelming and yet ever so simple.
Kenma insisted on teaching you how to play a game or two, and as you talked away to the stream and your joint friends, Kenma struggled to hold back visibly showing his emotions. He had always been good at hiding them, at least that was before you waltz into his life. Now, he has more trouble than ever masking his true feelings for you. And the knowledge of the thousands of people watching him irked him in the slightest sense, as he wanted the moments he shared with you to be just that- shared with you and you only.
But as he, Bokuto and Kuroo begin another game, he stills stiff as a board when he feels a weight on his shoulder. Looking over, he sees you’ve fallen asleep, and were using him as a pillow. He laughed to himself, urging the blush taking over his features to back away to save face from the multiple strangers watching for his reactions like hawks.
They’d definitely be able to distinguish between him now and him before you’d come in to join him. They’d be able to see how his facial features softened. They’d be able to see the harsh pink tint which overcame his cheeks. They’d be able to see how he let his lips turn upward, vulnerability flashing before you.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad they knew, he thought before ending the stream and taking you to bed.
