Scratch

Chapter 9:

Knight in a Shining Lab Coat

Kageyama smiled angrily, his lips pulled tight, and he looked downright scary. His hands were still balled into fists as he stalked over to the two men. He towered over both of them, glaring down at Kenma.

"Hi, Tobio," Shouyou forced a smile. He knew that Kageyama wouldn't hurt him in any way, but he wasn't so sure about Kenma or his feelings. Kageyama's eyes snapped back up to Shouyou and frowned. "Did you hear? Kenma's cat had kittens…"

"That's nice," Kageyama replied harshly, clenching his teeth. His eyes flitted back to Kenma and his terrifying aura could be felt from miles away. "Why were you hugging him?"

"Tobio - " Shouyou started, but was cut off by a glare. He frowned, he would definitely have to smack some sense into him after this. This wasn't right.

"We were celebrating kittens," Kenma answered lamely.

"You were hugging my boyfriend," he snarled back. "Next time are you gonna try to kiss him, huh? Can't you tell? Shouyou doesn't want you."

"I - I know he doesn't," he said.

"Then why don't you stay away from him?!" Kageyama sneered.

"He's my friend," Kenma defended himself in fear, avoiding eye contact. Even if Kageyama was terrifying, he didn't want to lose one of his only friendships. He knew that Shouyou appreciated their friendship as well, so why, so why was this happening? He just wanted to be happy…

"No he's not," Kageyama laughed harshly in reply. "He doesn't want you. In fact, no one wants you."

"Tobio! That wasn't necessary!" Shouyou snapped, glaring at him. Of course, Kageyama ignored him. It was nearly impossible to bring him back to reality when he was angry. He was a joy when he wasn't angry.

"B-but," Kenma tried again, anything to soothe the problem, before being interrupted by Kageyama.

"Shut up!" he roared. Kenma thought he heard an elevator ding, but he couldn't be sure, since Kageyama was still yelling, "You're not wanted anywhere!"

He closed his eyes, trying not to tear up. In the background, he vaguely registered the sound of something being dropped, a thump on the ground. It was quickly dismissed when his emotions came back in full waves of dread. He willed himself not to cry. Not in front of Shouyou, not in front of Kageyama. Crying was reserved for his home, and his cats. Not here, not in public. If he hadn't closed his eyes, if he had been paying attention, he would've recognized the familiar elevator doors opening.

Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself down and mentally get away from the situation. But then, Kenma jumped, startled, as he registered an arm being wrapped around him. He opened his eyes in confusion: Shouyou had wrapped an arm around Kenma and smiled. His friend also nudged Kenma to look back at Kageyama.

Kenma turned his head slightly and steeled himself for harsh glares. He glanced back at Kageyama and oh. Oh, that's why.

"You again?" Kageyama scoffed.

Kuroo was there, and he looked furious. Kageyama had turned around to face the other man, and the two were glaring at each other. If the entire situation wasn't so terrible, it might have been funny.

"What did you just say?" Kuroo's words were quiet, but dripping with anger. Kageyama straightened up, obviously a tad intimidated. Understandable. Kuroo was three inches taller than the other man, and much, much broader.

"I said that Kenma wasn't wanted," Kageyama sneered in response.

"Really," Kuroo deadpanned, "He's not wanted?"

He took a step towards Kageyama, and he took a step back in turn.

"That's right."

"What would you say if I wanted him?" Kuroo asked, a frighteningly sweet smile on his face. Kenma was almost scared of him as well, but realized that it was only Kuroo. Nothing to be afraid of, he was just a big dork.

"That, uh, you're a dumbass," Kageyama responded, but it came out sounding more like a question.

"Right then," he chuckled. His angry aura seemed to disappear, maybe it took a second to relax, and it came back with full force a second later. Kuroo swiftly walked up to Kageyama and punched him in the face, a gross crunch from his nose, who stumbled backwards and caught himself on his knee. "Take your jackass boyfriend, Hinata. I like you, but your boyfriend seriously needs an attitude adjustment. I've had enough of him. That was the second time I've had to punch him, that's ridiculous."

Kuroo paused as Kageyama tried to stumble forward and insult them again. He pushed Kageyama back down, closer to the ground, and continued talking, "He needs to shape up, or I don't want you near Kenma either. He doesn't need any more shit than he already has. In fact, no one deserves this."

Shouyou nodded quickly, still stunned silent. He grabbed Kageyama's arm to pull him to a standing position, and dragged him back to the apartment. Though it wasn't clear what was being said, Shouyou was being a disciplinarian and talking in quick, angry tones. There were a few squeaks and cracks in his tone, but Kageyama followed, a hand pressed to his nose to stop the bleeding.

"I'm so sorry, Kenma," Shouyou called guiltily over his shoulder, before entering his apartment, pulling Kageyama in tow. It was obvious he felt terrible, most likely he felt he should have done more, too. The last thing that was seen was Shouyou's downcast expression. Soon enough, the 5th floor hallway was quiet, the elevator hum being the only sound that was audible.

Kenma let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and slumped back against his apartment door. He leaned his head back against the wood and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. Suddenly, Kenma felt a tall presence lingering in front of him and unintentionally tensed, even if he knew it was only Kuroo.

"Hey, look at me," Kuroo implored, voice desperate. Kenma shook his head in response, scared that seeing Kuroo's face would trigger a waterfall of tears. Instead of being met with another command, Kenma felt the other's hands hovering over his face, each hand cupping a cheek cautiously. His head was gently tilted upwards, and he felt Kuroo's thumbs wiping away the unshed tears.

"Will you look at me now?" he requested again, this time slightly less worried. Kenma let out a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was met with Kuroo's face close to his, dark eyes searching his own. Kuroo sighed in satisfaction and murmured a quick, "Thanks."

The two stood quietly against the apartment door, until Kuroo slowly removed his hands from Kenma's face. With a pathetic chuckle, he confessed, "I don't know what to say right now."

He snorted in response, the action triggering him to accidentally hit his head against the door. Pretending to be offended by his laughter, Kuroo asked, "What's so funny?"

"You said you don't know what to say, but you always have something to say," Kenma explained. "You never shut up."

His words sounded rude, but his tone of voice made them sound almost affectionate. When Kenma's lips quirked ever-so-slightly into a smile, Kuroo knew that things were heading in the right direction.

"How rude! You're breaking my heart, you know," he joked with a smile. Kuroo moved one hand to Kenma's shoulder, and used the other hand to bop him on the nose with a single finger. Kenma half-giggled, half-sighed and visibly relaxed, the scene from just a few minutes ago disappearing into the past.

Kuroo smiled; if Kenma felt better, then he felt better too. Without thinking, he kissed the top of Kenma's head affectionately. Thankfully, his boyfriend didn't seem to mind, besides a slight blush. They both relaxed more, standing in front of the apartment door in comfortable quiet, before Kuroo broke the silence with a muffled sound.

"Hey! I just remembered!" Kuroo exclaimed, glancing around, as if looking for something. All Kenma did in reply was a confused expression. Kuroo grinned, "I still have the picnic basket, and the volleyball!"

Kenma's face brightened a little bit, if anything could make him feel better, it was food. Or video games. But food worked too. Suddenly, Kuroo had the look of a kicked puppy on his face.

"Do… do you still wanna go?" He mumbled and looked away, biting his lip. He continued, "I mean, if you're not up to it, it's all good, cause that was pretty stressful and all..."

Even though Kuroo said it was okay if they stayed, Kenma still recognized the disappointment in the statement. He didn't enjoy people-watching for nothing, he was skilled at noticing the small emotions and their tells people have. Shaking his head, he decided that even though he didn't exactly want to go anywhere, he sure as hell didn't want to stay here. Not in such close proximity to Kageyama or what just happened.

"Okay," Kenma said simply. Kuroo stared at him, as if he had gone crazy. Maybe he had, who knows.

"Really?"

"Yes, Kuroo, really," Kenma agreed quietly.

"Okay," Kuroo echoed. He stook a step back, and was obviously at a loss what to do now. He wasn't expecting the other man to agree with him. "Okay," he repeated, as if convincing himself, before he blossomed into a bright smile. "Great!"

He turned around and headed back to the elevator. Everything was just as he had haphazardly thrown it: the picnic basket had (thankfully) stayed upright, sitting next to a wall near the elevator. The volleyball had pretty much stayed the same, as well, beside some rolling around. It was leaning up against a wall, wedged in a corner. Kuroo quickly grabbed the items and jogged back to Kenma, even if he was only a few yards away.

"Do you wanna go like, right now, or…" Kuroo trailed off. Thankfully, Kenma responded before he could even finish the question.

"Sure, but Sugar and the kittens need to be checked in on," he said.

Kuroo nodded, that made sense.

"I'll just run in and check on them, okay?" he offered. The animals would be fine, he already knew that. But if it would help Kenma calm down, then it was worth it. Kenma nodded, and unlocked the apartment door for the other man.

Kuroo made his way inside, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be right back!"

Kenma nodded again, this time to himself. It was… interesting, that they were going on a date - a picnic, no less - when not even ten minutes ago, he had been scared for his life. Well, not for his physical life, he reasoned to himself. Kageyama would have ruined one of his only friendships, if not the best one.

But maybe that was the whole point. A date after something scary. Kenma wouldn't be alone, he'd be with good company.

Kenma hated being alone. He had never enjoyed being alone for too long; that's why he had 4 cats to keep him company - or was it 8 cats now? Kenma had already lost Nekomata, there was no way he would lose Shouyou, either. There were only so many people that liked him, and that he liked in return.

Now there is one more, a voice in his mind reminded. Yeah, there is another person, that's for sure. It would be hard to forget Kuroo, considering how prevalent and stubborn he was. But that's not the only reason it would be hard to forget him, the same voice in his head chided.

"Hey, you ready?"

Kuroo's voice brought him back to reality. Kenma blinked. He hadn't realized that he was zoning out. With an air of finality, he pushed all the thoughts from his head, even the good ones. He would focus on the here and the now, and now the two were going on a date, as silly as that sounded.

They would have fun, he promised himself. He was determined to make the day even a little bit better. Last night he had moped and been depressed, but he wouldn't let this morning be ruined.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry," he apologized, "I spaced out there for a second."

"I could tell," Kuroo laughed. "You had an interesting look on your face. It was a weird combination of happiness and pain. Maybe nostalgia?"

Kuroo seemed to consider the options for what his expression meant, but Kenma made a noise that could have been taken for an affirmative to end the conversation. The sound, thankfully, was enough to end the conversation. In all honesty, he didn't know how to reply.

Seriously, what was it with Kuroo and being able to see through him so easily?

"I brought you your coat just in case it does get cold," Kuroo said, bringing Kenma back again from his slight day-dream. He held out the coat and Kenma blushed as he was helped gently into it, one arm at a time. "Great. Shall we?"

Kenma nodded as Kuroo grabbed the picnic basket and the volleyball. He took the volleyball from his boyfriend, just so the other man could have an arm free.

He looked down at Kenma, holding the volleyball in the crook of his arm. Kuroo smirked and moved to Kenma's other side, completely blowing off the confused look. He hooked his own arm through Kenma's free one, as if escorting him to the elevator.

(He was.)

"What do you say, old fella?" Kuroo teased, and led them to the elevator. Kenma scrunched up his nose in amusement, and gave Kuroo a half-hearted glare. He gave up and sighed, reminding himself to relax and at least try to have fun.

Instead of replying with some half-hearted insult, Kenma played along. With a small smile on his face, Kenma said, "I say, old chap, we shall."