tivruskis:

3. things you said too quietly

“I like it when you stay over,” Kenma said, but Shouyou was already becoming a part of the masses on the station, and he turned and waved bye, grin wide and warm. He hadn’t heard him, and Kenma couldn’t shout it, so he just waved back, smiling.

*

“I like it when I can see your smile,” Kenma said.

“What?” Shouyou said. “Kenma, I think I have to turn my speakers up, man, my laptop is so crap -“

*

"I like it when we play together,” Kenma said, but the sounds of Karasuno cheering at their practice match victory was deafening. Shouyou gave him an ignorant grin and jumped over to him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and hugging him fiercely.

“We beat you,” he said loudly, happily, “do you think this means we have a chance at Nationals?”

“I think so,” Kenma said. “But we will beat you, though.”

Shouyou smiled and rubbed their cheeks together. “I’m going to become even stronger,” he promised after pulling away, “and we’ll win against you - we’ll win against everything.”

Kenma’s hands twitched. The air around Shouyou was electric, making goosebumps run down Kenma’s forearms. He wanted to see it, wanted to give his all against Shouyou on a proper court. This excitement wasn’t foreign, and it all accumulated into the effect Shouyou had on him - the distracting, warm, liquid feeling Kenma got whenever he was around him.

“I don’t think so,” he said, and Shouyou laughed.

*

“I like you,” Kenma whispered after they’d gone to bed, turned towards Shouyou, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Shouyou’s eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, the smack of his palms against his futon making Kenma wince and hope he hadn’t woken up his parents. “Whoa,” Shouyou said, and the wonder in his voice made Kenma want to hide his face in his pillow. “Really?”

Kenma nodded.

Shouyou smiled, the grin growing until he looked almost unstable, eyes shining in the faint light of Kenma’s lamp. “Me too!” he said. “That’s so cool!”

“Oh,” Kenma said, and then he did have to hide his face in his pillow. Shouyou burst into laughter, poking him with his cold toes.

“Kenma, Kenma,” he sang, “Kenma likes me, Kenma likes me~!”

Kenma nodded again, and he could hear it when Shouyou laid down next to him and rubbed his head against Kenma’s, still laughing a little.

“So cool,” he said again, almost reverently, and Kenma quickly decided to go to sleep before Shouyou said anything else that made him want to burst at the seams with happiness.