Just give me all the anxious Kenma you can possibly find, I love him. I actually had this saved in my drafts for a while, and I didn't realize it was done, so I just cleaned it up. Minimal effort, that's about it.
I might do a prequel, I guess further explaining the colors aspect, I dunno, just a thought.
It's a green day, they've been lucky enough to hit a break in all the red. Kenma's tying his laces over again while Kuroo watches with a gentle smile from the door.
"Ready to go?" he asks when Kenma sits back.
The response is nonverbal, but it's affirmation all the same. Kenma shuffles over, closer, slipping his hand held into his pocket and triple checking for his phone. Much to Kuroo's surprise, Kenma reaches for his free hand, loosely interlacing their fingers.
So, not only is it a green day, but it's a touch day to. Kuroo gives Kenma's hand a gentle squeeze before walking through the door.
There's a lazy breeze, balancing out the heat. Kenma bows his head to muffle a yawn in his shirt, already drowsy despite having woken up only a handful of hours ago.
"Still green?" he asks as they begin to approach the more populated area.
"Mm."
"Ice cream first, or video game store?"
"Ice cream."
Kuroo brings their joined hands up so he can kiss Kenma's knuckles. The action brings a tired smile to the other boy's lips, so Kuroo does it one more time.
Kenma presses closer as other people join them on the sidewalk. He's not quite touching Kuroo, rather hovering close enough that his hair brushes against Kuroo's arm. It's not terribly crowded, still green, but Kuroo slips his hand from Kenma's and moves to stand on his other side, acting as a barrier between the smaller boy and the other people milling about. Kenma holds his hand again almost immediately.
The ice cream shop is a little more packed than Kuroo expected, but Kenma seems okay still so they step inside. They stand in line together and Kuroo orders, Kenma not letting go of his hand so he has to get his wallet out with only one.
They settle in a booth and Kenma tucks into his ice cream, sparing a questioning gaze up at Kuroo when he realizes he's staring.
"Nothing," Kuroo mumbles. Kenma just rolls his eyes.
It's going well, really well actually, so it's only natural that something goes wrong.
A glass bowl, somewhere, gets knocked onto the floor. The resulting sound of shattering glass, and the panic that comes with such a hazard spooks a young child who begins to cry. The noise swells, Kenma jumps, and his breathing speeds up.
Kuroo's already got Kenma's medication bottle in hand, knowing what comes next. He gets a pill out and the bottle capped but he's a little too late.
Kenma claps his hands over his ears and bows his head, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Red, red, red, red," he begins to mumble.
"Kenma, take this, okay? Real fast, I promise," Kuroo says, standing up and moving to Kenma's side. The smaller boy's mouth drops open, not yet far enough into his panic that he doesn't know what Kuroo's talking about. He swallows the pill just as he begins to cry. Kuroo fears for a split second that he'll choke but the pill goes down without issue.
Quickly, Kuroo scoops him up, not willing to move his hands. Luckily, Kenma's too wrapped up in his panic by this point to process that, so Kuroo gets him down the street and onto a bench without too much issue. He sits down beside Kenma, careful not to touch him, but he keep his hand close just in case Kenma needs to hold onto something.
"Okay, Kenma, it's fine now, everything's fine. We're not there anymore, okay? We're outside, it's pretty quiet out here, it's safe, I promise."
He knows Kenma might not be able to hear him, not because he's covering his ears, but because whenever Kenma gets like this, he retreats, sometimes enough that he's unable to process anything beyond the alarm bells blaring in his head.
When a few minutes pass and Kenma shows no signs of coming back, Kuroo digs the boy's headphones from his bag and plugs them into his phone. Gently, he uses the headphones to nudge Kenma's hands away from his ears. Kenma's hands drop into his lap, his eyes are still closed but they aren't squeezed shut anymore. He had Kenma make a playlist for this very situation, it's the second most used playlist Kuroo has. He clicks up the volume just a little bit then leans back against the bench.
The breeze has mellowed out some; Kuroo closes his eyes and takes in a breath.
He doesn't know how long they've sat there, but his phones tells him that Kenma's eight songs into the playlist by the time he's gently poked at Kuroo's hand. The headphones are in his lap and he looks drained.
"I'm sorry," he says softly.
"No worries, Kenma, you know that by now," Kuroo bounces up onto his feet and puts the headphones in his bag, "You okay to walk?"
Kenma shakes his head and Kuroo's gaze darts to his legs. They're bouncing slightly, Kenma's hands seem permanently fixed to his knees, trying hard to keep them still.
"Are you okay with a piggy back ride?"
Just because Kenma was okay with touch earlier, doesn't mean he will be now.
But he nods and Kuroo crouches down in front of him. Once Kenma is comfortably settled, Kuroo begins walking.
"Color?" he asks after a minute or so.
"Um, 's yellow," Kenma says, resting his head on Kuroo's shoulder.
"Okay, how about we go back home and watch a movie? I'll make that tea you like."
Kenma nods, slightly flexing his grip around Kuroo's neck in emphasis.
When they reach Kenma's home, Kuroo walks him up to his room and sets him down on his bed, bending to kiss him on the forehead. He wraps the smaller boy up in his comforter before moving to the kitchen to make tea.
He doesn't return to Kenma until it's done, and by that time, Kenma has his computer set up, a disc in the player. Kuroo sits beside him, allowing a bit of space between them.
"Kenma? Can I kiss you?" he asks as the movie starts. Kenma's head shoots up, fixing Kuroo with a curious gaze before he nods.
"I guess so, yeah."
With a small smile, Kuroo leans over just enough to press a chaste kiss to Kenma's lips. The smaller boy blushes slightly before turning back to the movie, taking a sip from his mug to hide his smile.
Kuroo leans against the headboard, shifting a little to get comfortable. He's a little surprised when Kenma scoots back, closer to him. They aren't quite touching, that's okay though, Kenma's calm. And if the smaller boy settles his sleeve covered hand over Kuroo's, then that's even more okay.
Just for the sake of saying so, anxiety/panic attacks are different for everyone, not all of them are this serious or use these coping mechanisms. That being said, some do, I only write what I know so Kenma's attack was based on some of my own.