Chapter Fifteen
As expected, he wakes up before Kenma, he pulls Animal Crossing out from under Kenma's thighs and starts to care for his town. Kenma told him that the game was an everyday task, and that he would have to talk to animals that lived near him everyday or that they would leave. He doubted that Kageyama's feline counter part, Bob, would ever leave him, seeing as real Kageyama hadn't done so and they fought every time they talked to each other.
He's planting a violet next to his mailbox when Kenma stomach shifts under his head, can feel the other boy start to roll, but stops after he seems to realize he's unable to move. "'m going to have an imprint on my stomach for a month." Kenma's voice is deeper than usual, he's not sure what to make of it. Mark you as mine. His neck cracks loudly when his head jerks away, plopping down on an unusual mattress. The words in his head tug at his lungs, and he tries to pull in a big breath but comes up empty.
He's on his third attempt when Kenma shifts next to him, his black-blond hair is loose and wisps across his cheeks. Kenma's hands under his back and pull him into a sitting position, he rests his forehead on Kenma's shoulder, but slides off when his body starts to tremble. Kenma's grip is loose, giving him the opportunity to run, but there's no feeling in his legs and hands, he whimpers. There's a distant part of his brain that wonders if his body is allergic to Saturdays, Have fun in Tokyo.
Hinata gasps into Kenma's shirt, the drag of oxygen relieving and terrifying, but it clears his blurring vision slightly. Kenma's long fingers drag down his back and slide back up slowly, remembers the way Kenma had played the piano yesterday. "Breath with me." Kenma's body inflates against his, "In." He tries, pulling in another big breath, but nothing goes into his lungs. "Out." He sighs with Kenma, his head slips further onto Kenma's body, his nose pressed into the crest of his friend's back.
"I can't." His voice is raspy, and not his own, but his brain is racing with more terrifying things than losing his voice. Grand King's hand on his hip, burning; Grand King's lips ripping parts of his soul through his neck. Grand King laughing and then not. Snake eyes. Mark you as mine. He did the same thing to Kenma. I'm becoming like him. The realization is much devastating, he tries to rationalize that it shouldn't be. Grand King loves me. Why am I so scared of him?
He should be more scared of Kenma, the power to show him things he could never see on his own, the power to calm his resistant lungs. Kenma's voice is soft in his head, "In. Out." A whisper, but he can almost hear the fear in them. I scare Kenma. He almost cries out, but there's nothing in his lungs right now and it sounds like he's choking. There's a burning itch in his eyes. Tears, such a fucking baby. He huffs into Kenma's shirt, irritated and scared. Scared of himself.
He can breathe again after a too long moment of his brain shooting sparks of panic, the settle like empty clouds, he can feel them but they're not affecting him. "Are you okay?" Kenma's voice is still laced with fear and Hinata wants to laugh, I scare him and he asks if I'm okay. He snorts, and nods, wiping baby tears from his cheeks. "Sorry." And Kenma's hand is off his back and holding onto his jaw, forcing his eyes to focus on Kenma's glare, "Don't be sorry for things you can't control." It's a hiss, a warning.
He's never seen Kenma this close, this terrifying before, a lump forms in his throat but he can still breath. "Sorry." He repeats, for a different reason. Kenma sighs, releases his face, and leans back onto his pillow. He's left sitting up, staring out at the sliver of suburban Tokyo, the sky is cloudy but bright. He looks down at Kenma, Kenma's looking at him.
He leans down, leans onto Kenma, lining their disproportionate bodies up, his face hovers over Kenma's, unsure if he could tuck his head under Kenma's chin or press their ears together and listen. He's not sure, about the contact, about his head position, Kenma stares at him with blank, open eyes."Can I kiss you?" It's a stupid, stupid question, but he doesn't think there could be a better one. Hinata watches Kenma's golden eyes blink, pupils shrinking as a line of sun is cast upon them.
His lips are on Kenma's before an answer is given to him, absorbs all the information that races through his senses, saves this moment, hopefully forever. He tries to come up with description of the kiss, of Kenma's lips against his. Warm, rough, dry, are his immediate thoughts, but they're not poetic, they're not right.
He pulls back, buries his head next to Kenma's, expecting to be yelled at, expecting to be condemned. "Sorry." He chokes into Kema's pillow, he comes up with his answer at the same time that Kenma finds his words. "Shoyo-" His name, his given name, and nothing more. Kenma's voice is quiet, stunned, scared. Hinata can hear him swallow, it's loud, and the noise frightens him. "Stop hiding." It's sharper than he expected, his head jerks up, looking at the fabric that surrounds the other boy, but not at him.
He expects to be hit now, I probably deserve it. Wonders why probably and not definitely, Kenma is -was- his friend, and he took advantage of that. He deserves it. The pressure against his face is sudden, but it doesn't hurt the way he expected, it's hot, like being burned alive. His eyes flicker open, wet again from useless tears, Kenma's eyes are close, too, too close to his. He jerks back, "What was that for?" He gapes down at Kenma, who just stares at him.
"You did it first." Is Kenma's tense answer, and he feels like screaming Don't you hate me? Why didn't you hit me? His questions remain in his head, Kenma's talking again, "I thought that's what you wanted." He asked for it, literally, and sighs. Kenma could -should- have said no, let him choke on his own breath and let Grand King pick up the pieces. "You could have said no." Kenma humms, he can feel it against his stomach, then gives him a ghost smile. "It was nice." I scare him, kiss him, and he calls it nice.
"Why didn't you stop me?" He wants to stop talking, make it go away, make it a dream, but he can't let it go. Kenma's smile drops into a deep frown, he's reminded of Kageyama, "I want to comfort you." It's a sudden answer, one he didn't expect, realizes his shoulders are still tense, waiting for the hit that won't come. "Sorry." He's not sure what for this time, forcing you to comfort me. Kenma lets out a big sigh, then all at once his world is upside down, Kenma's over him, long fingers pressing into his shoulders, then his face is warm again. Chin, cheek, other cheek, nose... lips.
His face is too cold too soon, Kenma's hair is on his face again, taunting him, and he opens his eyes. Kenma's face is dark, tense, and he swallows another apology. The other has him trapped in that cat-like gaze, it sends chills down his spine and makes his ears burn. "How's your village?" The look vanishes, and Hinata is allowed to blink. Does so. Once. Twice. He laughs into Kenma's drooping nightshirt. "Tom Nook is kind of jerk." He answers, Kenma snorts, lowers himself himself until his breath is right in Hinata's ear.
"He's just a raccoon trying to make a living, nothing wrong with that, Shoyo." And he laughs again, and cuddles into Kenma's arm as the other boy watches him talk to each of his villagers. He leans back, stares at Kenma's profile for a long time, then leans up. "Sorry." He whispers into the flesh, after his lips have pressed into it. Kenma's gaze shoots from Animal Crossing, and onto him, then that face is twisting, heat pushed onto his temple. "Thank you, Shoyo." He doesn't ask for what.
He's done with his town for the day, saves twice under Kenma's ominous warning, and then he's left staring at Kenma's socks. "Are you hungry?" He's not sure, his appetite usually tied to the presence of meat buns, but he finds himself nodding under Kenma's sharp look. His head jerks when Kenma's hand lands on it, once, twice, then a third time, then Kenma's rolling out of the bed. He takes a moment, In out. In out. Then follows the other boy out of the room.
He glances at the piano Kenma had showed him last night, remembered all the buzzing that rang in his head longer after Kenma's fingers had stopped. Remembered those fingers in his hair, making him sleep. Remembered those fingers on his back, letting him breathe.
Kenma grabs the bundle of towel and his clothes from yesterday from the counter, and looks at it, "I'll clean these for you." He wants to stop Kenma, to claim that that's unnecessary, but another voice stops him. "Good morning, Hinata-kun." His gaze was pulled away from the disappearing Kenma and up at his mother, "Good morning, Kozume-san." He shot her a smile, she returned it, drawing attention to her dangerously red lips. "I-I'm fine." He hates the way his answer is stuttered out and almost a question, "How are you?" He asks, brightening his smile as a recovery.
Her smile drops, eyes shining, studying him, again. He swallows and looks away, hoping for Kenma to come back. "Oh, I'm just fine, about to head to work. Thanks for asking." He feels guilty for no reason, and remembers to breathe as Kenma returns, hands free of clothes. "Are you okay, Shoyo?" Kenma asks as soon as their eyes meet, then the contact is gone, onto his mother, "Shoyo had another one this morning." Panic Attack, his mind supplies and his guilt is doubled when Kenma's mother looks at him again, with concern instead of interest.
"Do you know what caused it?" He shakes his head, Grand King rattles around his brain when he does. "Sorry." He mumbles, looking down and away from her too-knowing looks. "Sorry for worrying you." He can hear Kenma sigh as he apologizes twice in a row, but he can't help it, they come out at easily as breathing today and he doesn't know why.
She makes a soft noise, then there's footsteps, and tan stockings pull into his vision. His head jerks when her nails make contact with his scalp, she hums for a long time, like the music that Kenma had played for him last night. It's relaxing, even if the way her nails drag isn't. He swallows, glances up, she's still staring, looks back down. The contact ends after a small eternity, and he wants to apologize for pushing her away with his reaction, but barely holds it in, more concerned that it would return if he did speak.
"Any plans for today?" She asks, from farther away, he looks up to see Kenma hugging his mother, it's a nice sight. The resemblance between the two of them, and the warm contact just screams family. He wonders if he or Natsu looks like that with their mother. Kenma's mom pats on Kenma's hair, smoothing the out of place hairs quickly, and then pulls back. "Shoyo wants to dye his hair, so I'm taking him." Kenma's mother looks over at him, a red frown, "Aw, I like the orange, it's so cute on you. But it's your body." She shrugs, then looks back at Kenma, "Are you getting yours redone?" There's amusement in her tone, and her long fingers, Kenma's fingers, pull on Kenma's messy mix-matched hair. Kenma scowls up at his mother, she just laughs and walks towards the door, "Have fun with your girls' day, boys!" Then the door closes.
"What color are you getting?" Kenma asks once they're on the street, an umbrella hanging from his elbow and his phone in front of his face. Hinata adjusts the sleeves of jacket, again, it's one he borrowed from Kenma, his still currently in the washing machine at Kenma's house. He's brought back to Kenma's question after the sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, he had almost forgotten that he told Kenma about this. "I dunno. I was thinking just black for now." He chews on his lip, it shouldn't be a complicated answer.
Kenma just nods, then pauses, digging into his pocket and handing Hinata his cellphone and all too familiar bill, "Nearly washed this, kind of wished I had." He pouts as Kenma's lips quirk, "What's thatsupposed to mean?" He asks, almost offended. "That phone is like, ten years old, Shoyo." He's not sure how Kenma knows that, but he doesn't know anyone that knows technology better than Kenma, so he can't really say anything. "Well, maybe I like my phone." Kenma snorts, "It's almost older than you." He sighs, he might have to get an update, since his phone will no longer match his hair after today.
"I don't know anything about phones, they're all expensive, and you can't even close some of them." He flicks his phone open, claps it closed. Kenma glances at him, "You can do more than close a smart phone, like look up the weather instead of getting soaked." He can hear the smile that Kenma's face doesn't show and he shouts back at him, "Well, you could have warned me with your smart phone." Kenma just hums, nodding shallowly as he walks, "Probably." And he sighs.
He doesn't like the smell of salons, he realized as he stepped into the building Kenma had led him to, it was also too loud, unfamiliar machines whirring too loudly in his ears. "Kenma-kun! Long time no see!" A cheerful voice comes, then a tall, skinny woman with familiar messy, dark hair steps forward, her heels clicking annoyingly as she approaches. "Good morning, Kuroo-san." Kuroo? Like Model Boy Kuroo?Hinata blinks, tilting his head to take in the woman, mentally comparing her to Model Boy.
Besides the hair, and the height, there's not much to go on, physically, they're both loud though, but so were a lot of people. He tried to remember anything else he'd noticed about Model Boy. Tall, loud, thin, messy hair, uh- He glances at the woman who is now questioning a disinterest Kenma. Nosy. Check. He wonders if she can spike or receive like Model Boy can.
"Oh!" She squeaks, oh god, and Kenma's grin is obvious and completely depraved, Hinata shudders, "And who might you be? Are you on the volleyball club too?" Kenma sneaks off, and Hinata glares at him before answering, "I-uh, I'm on a volleyball team." She blinks, her smiles is warm and her eyes lack that irritating quality that Kenma and his mother have, "What school do you go to?" She asks, tugging on his wrist with too sharp nails, he hides a wince, "K-Karasuno." She nods, brows creasing probably trying to remember where that is.
"So, what are you boys in here for today?" He's pushed gently into a chair, thankfully one beside Kenma, he looks at him pleadingly, but Kenma just smiles back at him before speaking to Kuroo's mother for him, "He wants his hair dyed, and I want another touch up." Kuroo's mother rolls her lips, they scrunch up into a tight wad and then she's smiling again. "Alright then, you've done this before, right?" Her gaze lands on his mop of messy orange as he shakes his head.
"Do you now what color you want?" She asks from behind him, he squeaks when the back of the chair gives, and his hair is instantly covered in water. He nods carefully, trying not to show how uncomfortable he is, she probably knew what she was doing. He glances at Kenma from the corner of his eye, he's going through the same hell he is, but isn't looking as uncomfortable as Hinata feels. "Black." He answers quietly as those nails -daggers- start rubbing his scalp along with something that squelches noisily, shampoo.
The water is warm and almost relaxing, except for his possibly bleeding head, then those nails are on his chin, tilting it up while another set of hands ruffle his hair with a towel. Kuroo's mother stares at him, very intently, not in the same way Kenma or Grand King do, but in an appraising sort of way. She smiles suddenly, "Yeah, I can see that; the orange looks good too, though." She winks, and then there's hotnoise buzzing on his scalp. The other person that was drying his hair now had a device in his tattooed hands, hairdryer.
His can feel his hair squeak as it's tossed around, combed and adjusted, it's unusual, he wonders what special shampoo they used and where he can get a lot of it. Here, probably. Kuroo's mother is scanning a wall of shelves, then returns, still smiling, with two bottles. "Are you sure you want to do this? We only use permanent dye, and it won't come out until you redye it." His eyes widen slightly at that, he and Natsu will never have the same hair again, naturally, anyway. Mom will probably snap. He almost laughs and then nods, her smile widens.
A magazine is pushed into his hand, it's all in Romanji and he can't read most of it, stares at the pictures of too pretty girls with flowing hair and glittering accessories, trying to ignore the smell his hair is protruding or the crinkle of the aluminum foil. Is this a joke? He's dizzy by the time she leaves, a timer ticking over his shoulder, and he's grateful that he's alone. He thinks about his recent decision, No more sun nicknames, so that's something, now it's like the night, the sun's kind of in the night, so that's something I guess. I'm like space, a bunch of people filling spaces where nothing would be. I wonder if I have aliens in my hair. He realizes very quickly that the hair dye is making him really dizzy, but the timer is close to ringing so he'll suck it up.
He yawns and then the timer rings and Kuroo's mother is instantly by his side, pushing something sticky onto his forehead, he squirms. "This'll make sure you don't any dye on your face-" She paused, then laughed, a barking chuckle that doesn't surprise Hinata that she has, "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name. How embarrassing." He smiles easily at her, "Hinata Shoyo." He supplies and her hands freeze, "Oh! Of course! I should have known from the hair, Tetsuro talked a lot about you." He wasn't sure how to feel about that, didn't have time to process as she kept talking, "He said you can jump really high, most impressive thing he's ever seen!" She cackles, "I thought you'd be taller, though, but I guess Chibi-chan is a little more fitting now that I've seen you." He bristles at the mention of his height and that nickname, but if she sees it she doesn't care, she just keeps talking. Model Boy's name is Tetsuro. Hinata snickers to himself, cheerful my ass.
His hair is washed again, and then he's presented a mirror to look at the change. His breath exits his lungs and doesn't come back until Kenma talks, "It looks nice." Kenma is smiling, so he does too, Kenma's hair is entirely blond, it's unusual, but Kenma probably thinks the same of him, so he doesn't say anything. He's distracted by a memory, the day he fell in love with volleyball. The Little Giant had black wavy hair. His hair is more messy than wavy, but he can feel a connection to his idol now. He likes the look of it, it's shinier than Kageyama's but that's probably from the lighting, it's dark and reflective like crow's wings. He smiles into the mirror, and then offers the same look to Kuroo's mother. "Thank you very much!" Then inclines his head, a little shocked as black bangs cascade in front of his eyes.
He wondered for the first time what Natsu would think of the change, she probably wouldn't recognize him, then scream, then try to rip it off, then beg Sato to dye her hair too. He smiled to himself, and jumped out of the chair, taking in Kenma's now fully blond hair. "It's bright, like a lemon, or eggs, or the sun." Kenma's amusment is shown through a raised brow and a snort. "Are you hungry, Shoyo?" And Hinata's face heats up, "Sorry, I uh-I suck at words, but it looks good, so that's all that matters." He smiles up at Kenma, his face is blank now, then he nods.
Hinata hands Kuroo's mother the ten-thousand note, he's relieved that it's gone, like another mark being removed from his skin, she hands him back a stack of bills, three one thousand notes. He thanks her again, formally and with another bow, Kenma just waves, and then they're out on the streets again. "Do you want to go to Hokara?" Hinata felt his neck pop from nodding so quickly, he had been craving squid since he saw that place yesterday. "Is it really good?" He didn't really care but he was wondering how much his mouth should be watering, Kenma shrugged, "My dad really likes it, picks it up every Sunday." Oh? He swallows, "What's he like?" He's curious, Kenma seemed like almost a replica of his mother, what kind of habits did his dad give him? He thought about it all the way to the restaurant, Kenma hadn't answered his question yet.
He let Kenma talk to the person waiting at the door, he was kind of nervous about his and maybe his accent, Kenma just raised his brow and Hinata looked away, if his face was warm, he could just blame it on the nearby grills. His question got answered once they were alone at a table, "He's cool." It took you fifteen minutes to come up with that. He leaned forward, asking for for more details, watched Kenma's throat work. Kenma hummed, a sense of satisfaction rippled through him, "He's home more regularly than mom, uh-he has black hair, he's taller than me, but shorter than my mom." Kenma's lips roll, his mouth opens, then closes as a waiter pops up in front of the table.
Hinata smiles at him, the guy smiles back, exposing bright white teeth. Every fucking person in Tokyo. His tongue rolls over his teeth self-consciously, "What kind of drinks can I get you guys?" He looks down at the menu for the first time, but Kenma speaks before he can even find the drink menu. "A pot of Ichigo tea, please." The guy blinks, face falling for a second, but his smile is perky again as he writes down the order. Hinata feels the guy looking at him for a second longer than necessary and he tugs at his bangs awkwardly.
Kenma's phone is pushed in front of him after the tea arrives, "That's him." He looks down at the screen, Kenma's dad is taller than Kenma, and his smile is bright and warm, and there's nothing menacing behind the look in his eyes. He wonders how Kenma's parents got together, they seemed like opposites, she was tall and professional and observant and intimidating. Kenma's dad had a round stomach that pushed out the front of his casual t-shirt, his face was unshaven, hair short and messy. "Are you close?" Kenma is barely smiling compared to his dad, but he offers the camera a limp victory sign. He slides the phone back and sips at the tea that Kenma had poured was less sugary than the cup he had with Kenma's mother, but still leaves his hands jittery as he skims over the menu
The reappearance of the waiter makes him jump, but the guy is still smiling, "Ready to order?" He quipped, with joy that Hinata couldn't decipher. He must really like squid. "Daikon squid stew, please." He answers quietly, trying to punctuate his words properly, Kenma's brow raises slowly on his head, but it lowers when the waiter turns to him, notepad poised loftily, "Ginger squid." The guy nods, and then smiles, "Your food will be ready soon."
"Explain." Hinata almost asks about what, but Kenma's stare doesn't allow a playful answer, "Sorry." He murmurs into his tea, taking a long sip to avoid looking at his friend. Without answers, Kenma seems to see through him in an instant, "You don't have to pretend, nobody cares if you have an accent." He frowns, "I do." Kenma sips his tea, "Do you?" It seems like more than one question, it leaves him silent for a moment before he nods.
Kenma shrugs, "I like the way it." Barely heard over the sound of frying squid, his face heats up and they both look away. "Thanks." Kenma nods, tea against his lip again. He almost sighs in relief as the food comes, it gives him something to focus on. His eyes itch from the steam that rises up, and his hands are still shaking from the tea, which gives him even more to focus on. They eat in almost awkward silence, they don't talk much, but they share food, reject dessert but Kenma orders a to-go order of stuffed squid.
"For my parents." Parents. Plural. Am I going to meet Kenma's dad? He was caught between a smile and a frown, Never come back here. Kenma took the bag, and they paid their separate bills and walking into the mid-afternoon light. "That's enough outside time." Kenma mutters, he wants to mention that they were inside for the majority of their outing, but Kenma's walking a little too fast for him to walk and talk. Then the other boy pauses, Hinata looks around for the cause, but Kenma's fumbling with the umbrella he'd been carrying since they left. It opens just in time for the the first drips of water and Hianta almost throws himself under the shield, not wanting to soil even more clothes.
They don't have to walk long, Kenma's previous pace bringing them close enough they only need the umbrella to cover the last block and the gate to his yard, he pauses with his friend under the house's protection, to remove his shoes and for Kenma to close the umbrella. The house is loud when the door opens, and not from the rain, there's music, two instances of music he realizes. He looks at Kenma, who doesn't look surprised and in fact, almost annoyed. Kenma removes his shoes, places them on the floor instead of the rack and walks into the brightly lit corridor.
He follows Kenma, and the noise, to the big piano that Kenma had shown him the day before, a man was on the bench, pressing keys wildly, his feet tapping quickly on pedals he hadn't noticed before. There's a speaker on the edge of the instrument, also emitting music, he blinks. This is Kenma's dad. The guy is more serious looking than his picture implies, but he appears so drawn into the music that he doesn't notice two people walking in on him.
That's what he got from him. Music. He easily pictured Kenma's mother on the device, long, long fingers pressing keys with as much grace as Kenma could, if not more; but the guy on the bench looked easily as graceful, even with his quick movements and serious face. Both songs fade off together, he wonders if it's by design, and then the guy's face smooths out, and he falls of the bench with a thump. Hinata blinks, then surges forward, "Are you okay?" He asks, perhaps too loudly and with too much concealed laughter, for someone who's head just collided with the floor.
"Woah! Sorry, didn't notice you kids there-" He rub at his head, then stops when his eyes land on Hinata, "Sorry, who are you?" The tone isn't harsh but he flinches regardless. "Oh-uh, sorry, I'm Hinata Shoyo." The man blinks, and he offers the man a hand, he takes it and sort of helps him to his feet. "Ah! Kenma, my son, the joy of my life, where have you been?" Hinata blinks, then gapes. Kenma looks unfazed by the warm greeting, and only mildly annoyed when his dad pulls him into a hug. Hinata is sure he can hear one of their backs crack.
"Please let go of me." Comes Kenma's muffled voice, the man, Holy shit Kenma's dad, belts out a loud, hearty laugh, then puts his son back onto his feet. Kenma nods, "This is Shoyo." Kenma gestures to him and his dad's eyes fall back onto him, the man's face lights up in recognition, "Oh!" He belts out, "Right right! Number Ten, I thought you said he had orange hair?" His face flushes, Kenma had talked about him to his dad, it was a nice feeling, like more planets filling the emptiness of his solar system. I should really cut back on the sugar, and hair fumes.
"He dyed it today." Is Kenma's simple replay and his dad pouts, like a child and Hinata finds himself smiling, Kenma's dad is like a big child, who listens to music while playing music. His eyes fall back onto the piano keys, wondering how he stayed concentrated while playing and listening. "So," And Kenma's dad is grinning at both of them, a sparkling display of white teeth, and it's very unsettling. "You boys want to play some games?" Kenma looks like he wants to say no, which is very interesting, but they both agree; and that smile grows into a devilish smirk. He swallows out of habit, this can't be good.
"Shoyo-chan, the landing lag on that ability is fourteen frames, you should really consider using it more sparingly." Kenma's dad is talking about Smash Bros. like it's rocket science and he doesn't understand a word that's coming out of the man's mouth, but the message is clear. Kenma's dad is too good at video games. He briefly considers asking Kenma if his dad is a robot, but Kenma has an unsettling, grumpy look on his face. He's leaned over the sofa, elbows on his knees, joysticks moving wildly. Who the fuck are these guys.
The sound would annoy him if it wasn't so interesting. He'd seen Kenma on the court, playing his mobile games, on the piano; had felt them on his back, stomach, and face. This was not Kenma, this was a demon, a video game demon, but not quite. Kenma's dad was laughing, his eyes were serious though, he couldn't help but wonder what Kenma's dad did for a job. He doesn't linger on the thought long when there's a shout, it makes his head jerk, but the panic is replaced with joy when the older man hops up and starts dancing.
Kenma looks like he might murder his own father, I guess we know who won. He tries to offer his friend a reassuring look from around his dad's legs, but Kenma is smiling suddenly. This is very not good."It's a shame, I even got you something for when you lost." His voice is flat, and it sends shudders up Hinata's spine. Kenma's dad stops dancing, and is easy to read as his confusion plays across his face, "I won though- Do I get my prize for winning?" Kenma shakes his head, lips tilted up, but eyes cold, terrifying. "Sorry, dad. Only for losing." And then the older man loses it. He's on his knees, his head on Kenma's knees, begging. This goes on for several minutes before Kenma moves, the bag of stuffed squid placed on the couch next to him. Kenma's dad squeaks, almost as high-pitched as Natsu, and then dives at the bag before it can be taken away.
"I have the best son, thank you for giving me such a wonderful gift, I will cherish it always." He realizes all at once how intense the guy is, about food, about games, and music. He can see why Kenma's mother liked him now, he was nice and open, warm smiles where her's gave off a chill. It was still difficult to imagine them interacting without Kenma's mother analyzing every action that her husband did, but he'd seen her psychiatrist side more than her loving mother side, so his view might be slightly skewed.
"Another round, Shoyo-chan?" They'd done two rounds before he'd gotten his squid, they seemed to revitalize him into begging for seven more rounds. Hinata's eyes had started burning around the fourth round, but he couldn't say No to Kenma's dad. The man was open, but also a mystery, he asked Hinata a question, then revealed a lot about himself in return for the simple answers. His name was Kozume Haruo, but you can just call me Haruo, Shoyo-chan. He sighed when it had happened, but it was better than he thought it might have gone. Haruo had been married to his beautiful, wonderful, amazing Aki-Chan for twenty three years, and they had two sons, the wonderfully smart Manabu-chan, and my beautiful, youngest child, you is the joy in an otherwise dreary day, Kenma-chan. Hinata giggled wildly at the explanations while Kenma just glared at the screen in front of them harder. Haruo apparently only lost to his fiery, intelligent, dynamic Aki-chan in any game. Kenma told him it was because his mother could read the game and his dad at the same time. That sounds very unfair. Haruo didn't seem upset about it, quite the opposite actually, that unnerved him as much as it made him gush. This guy's so in love.
Haruo asked him about his career in gaming, which was a short narrative of, "Kenma gave me demon-related nightmares, and then he made me form a capitalist country for a bunch of animals." Haruo howled with laughter at that, he's still winning through, maybe he really is a robot, and asked him about his town. He told him about the cat that looked like his setter, and that Tom Nook was a very mean raccoon. Haruo's subsequent laughter made his stomach warm, and then Haruo decided the tournament was over and it was time for prizes.
By prizes, he meant pie, all seven pies that Kenma had purchased for him to try. "So, what other interests do you have, Shoyo-chan?" His lips tighten at that, he'd already talked about volleyball, which was pretty much the majority of his life, he shrugged and Haruo pouted, "You can't let one thing rule your life, Shoyo-chan, otherwise you'll get burnt out." He's not exactly sure what burnt out means, exactly, but if Haruo thought it was bad, it had to be pretty bad.
Kenma wasn't sure how the pie hierarchy should go for a newcomer, so he decided to start him off with one for tonight, it was peach, the gooey insides a pretty shade of pink. Haruo asked him how the pie made him feel, "Uh-Happy. I think." He's not sure what else to say, it does boost his energy a little, and the cup of water Kenma gives him eases the strain in his eyes. "Do you listen to music, Shoyo-chan?" He blinks, he has a limited experience with it, most of it too loud for his ears to handle for long. He shrugs his shoulders.
Then he was offered a piano lesson, he wouldn't have said no even if Haruo wasn't giving him puppy-dog eyes, three of them crammed onto the piano bench. Haruo teaches him proper posture, being short won't be hot when you're older. The comment only made his eye twitch a little, Haruo was talking again before he could figure out how to start a fight with his friend's dad. "This is middle C" He stated, pointing a key near the center, Kenma spoke up then, "The octaves go A through G, then repeat." Then Kenma's hand was guiding his again, showing him A through G and repeating. Haruo taught him warm-ups, then six hands were dancing on the keys, until one of them started a shoulder bumping war, then they ended up on the ground.
Kenma's dad left them soon after that, giving them smiles and a victory sign before darting out of the door, whistling. Kenma sighed as the door closed and he offered the other boy a smile, "Your dad is interesting." Kenma looked at him, his eyes looking like they'd just swam across the ocean. Twice. "A-are you okay?" Kenma nodded slowly, sighed again, "He's just a handful sometimes." He nodded, he could see how that might be true. Kenma led them upstairs, brushed their teeth together, and settled into bed. Hinata was hesitant for a long time, feeling awkward as he recalled the morning's events. "Hey Shoyo?" Kenma sounded half asleep already, he hummed in askance, eyes flicking up to where Kenma's head would be.
"Can I kiss you?" Hinata felt his heart start to race, he swallowed, it sounded too loud in his ears. He crawled forward, leaned down and pressed his lips blindly in Kenma's proximity. Feels like his cheek?Kissed right, nose. Down, lips. Kenma's lips pushed against his, he pushed back. Felt Kenma smile against him, he smiled back and settled his head against Kenma's shoulder, giving him a small peck on the cheek before Kenma started snoring.