this was supposed to be a quick drabble before bed but oh look it's like 2 am and i'm a mess of kuroken feels haha welcome back to school
also why is there no 'fluff' tag on this site why that's the only tag i use for this ship basically
[title from carly rae jepsen's just a step away]
It's been thirty-eight minutes since Kenma excused himself to the bathroom, and he hasn't returned. Tetsurou takes this as his cue to excuse himself as well. He stands up, shaking out his legs that have fallen asleep after one too many drinks. Nobody gives him a second thought, too busy retelling tales of their glory days and drinking each other under the table, but Yaku catches his eye, and sends him a tiny nod, like go, he's waiting for you.
So he does.
Being Kenma's best friend for more than half his life, Tetsurou is used to the younger boy's tendencies. He knows what his favourite colour is (red), what kind of clothing he prefers (large sweaters, usually stolen from Tetsurou's own closet), what his comfort food is (apple pie, the cheap kind you can get at the konbini). He knows that Kenma hates taking notes in class but when he does he'll draw cats to accompany the formulas, he knows that Kenma likes taking showers in the morning so as to have more time to game in the evenings, he knows that Kenma can't handle the cold well but complains about the heat just as easily.
He knows that Kenma doesn't like crowds, never liked them, never will. And that's fine. Even Tetsurou tires of having to entertain and interject with sarcastic remarks after a while. And when he does, there's only one person's company that can recharge him.
"There you are."
Perched on the balcony on the second floor, half shrouded by darkness and half lit by the moonlight, Kenma is a still statue, face tilted to the twinkling lights of the city in the distance. He doesn't even have his phone out, which causes Tetsurou to furrow his brows slightly.
"Kenma? You okay?"
The other boy doesn't answer for a moment. Then slowly, he nods. Tetsurou takes this as permission to sit down next to him. They watch the night in silence for a while. There are no clouds tonight, and if Tetsurou squints hard enough, he can just make out the stars above them.
"Did you have too much to drink?" he asks eventually, glancing over at Kenma, who hasn't turned to face him yet.
Kenma shakes his head. He appears to hesitate for a while. Then, "You don't have to come looking for me every time, you know."
Tetsurou pauses. Throughout their entire friendship, Kenma has never commented on how, every single time he retreated by himself, Tetsurou would always, without fail, track him down on his own and stay with him until he was ready to go back. These situations have gotten less over the years, especially over the last few when they both graduated high school. They went to the same university, but in different departments, so he only saw his friend when they went home together. At first, Tetsurou worried that he was the one Kenma felt the need to hide from, which, gods forbid, because if ever Kenma decided that even Tetsurou was too much, he doesn't know what he would do. Kenma was such an important part of his life, so embedded in his life, that losing him would be like losing a piece of himself. But Tetsurou realized that Kenma had grown up too. He was less anxious, less nervous, more calm, more talkative. Which was different, but that was okay.
But asking this now, it probably isn't out of the blue, nor is it the alcohol talking. "I know," says Tetsurou, tilting his head back to look at the sky. "But I like to."
He catches Kenma peeking over at him. Tetsurou leans over, a small grin dancing on his lips. "Do you not like me to?"
Kenma blinks at him, flashes of gold reflecting in the moonlight. Then he closes his eyes, and leans forwards, until his forehead hits Tetsurou's shoulder. "I do," he whispers into his shirt.
"Good," Tetsurou whispers back, sliding his arms around the other boy and tugging him against his chest. The night is quiet, not too cold and not too warm, with just the right amount of stars to keep them a secret, as if they are the only two in the whole wide world, with all the time they ever need until they have to return to the loudness and rashness and vibrance of the real world.
"Good. Because I'll always come find you, no matter how many times and how far you go."
Kenma's only response is to tighten his own arms around Tetsurou, nudging gently at him until his face is fitted right in the crook of Tetsurou's neck and they are locked together just right, all warm and quiet and still and familiar and safe. For the first time since stepping into the reunion party, Tetsurou can feel his heartbeat slow to a calmer pace and his eyelids sliding shut.
Just like Tetsurou will always know where to find him, Kenma knows just as surely how to make him feel at ease.