A/N: I've had this fic on AO3 for a while, but I remembered I have a FFN account so I decided to post it here too!

Anyways, if this story seems familiar, that's because it was inspired by the Distractible podcast! Check out their Conventions episode for the less-romantic, but definitely funnier original version of this story.

"What do you mean, there's no seats left? I can see half the section behind you is empty!"

Tetsurou struggled to keep his voice calm as he leaned past the security guard to point out the vast amount of open seats in the panel room.

"We're almost at capacity, you need to join the line and wait to get in with everyone else," the guard repeated, sounding bored out of his mind. Tetsurou considered throwing his drink at him. Maybe it would elicit an emotion other than "I-don't-give-a-fuck."

"How can you be at capacity this is a ticketed event and we bought tickets-"

"Kuroo-san, calm down." Akaashi grabbed Tetsurou's arm and dragged him away before he could finish his sentence. "If they won't let us in, starting a fight with security isn't going to help."

"Yeah, we're gonna get kicked out!" added Bokuto, although he sounded strangely excited by the idea. "That would be kinda badass, though."

"We are not getting kicked out," Akaashi said firmly. "We have tickets, maybe there's someone we can talk to at guest services-"

Tetsurou turned away for a second, scanning the convention center in search of someone who could be useful. They'd skipped a day of classes for the convention, and paid extra for tickets to the panel – Akaashi and Bokuto because they wanted to see some of the streamers, and Tetsurou because-

Well.

Because Kodzuken was on the panel, and he was gorgeous.

Not that Tetsurou didn't appreciate his content, because he did! He was just also able to appreciate that the streamer was incredibly attractive. And he certainly wasn't only at the convention because of that, no matter what Bokuto said (it was also because he was the only one of their group with a car).

Tetsurou let his mind wander for a few moments, wondering if they would get a chance to meet Kodzuken somewhere else if they couldn't get into the panel – and then his mind was jerked back into reality.

"Guys, over there!" he said, interrupting whatever Akaashi was saying.

"What?" said Bokuto instantly, while Akaashi just glared at him.

"See that door?" He pointed at a doorway several meters away from the main entrance to the panel room, where a couple was being let in by a different security guard.

"…Yes?"

"Well, they just let people in over there, but they have different badges than us. What if we were part of the next group to go through that door?"

Bokuto frowned at him. "But we don't have the right badges."

Tetsurou grinned back. "Exactly. But if we're with people that do, and we don't let them look super close, we might be able to get in. And if they do look close, we can just say we were confused and got the wrong door."

Bokuto grinned and pumped his fist, while Akaashi stared at both of them. "You're actually going to get us kicked out of here, oh my God."

"Not if we don't get caught!" And with that, Tetsurou headed towards the door, Bokuto close behind him.

Akaashi followed, hissing under his breath, "Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san, get back here! You guys we're going to get into so much trouble-"

The group stepped in behind a few other boys approaching the door, also wearing the orange badges the first couple had instead of the general-admission red. The guard stepped out into the hallway again, checking the first boy's badge and then barely glancing at the others' as she let the group through the door.

"You guys can follow me down to the refreshment area and then I'll give you a few minutes to walk around, okay?" she said brightly, leading them down a much smaller hallway.

"Nice thinking, Ku-bro," Bokuto whispered, fist-bumping Tetsurou as they followed her. Behind them, Akaashi made a noise something like a rubber duck being stepped on.

"What's up, Akaashi?" Tetsurou whispered.

"Guys? We're in the backstage."

Tetsurou looked around for the first time and nearly froze in place. The hallway opened up to a larger room, with a table of food in one corner and the streamers for the panel pretty much everywhere else. The boys in front of them had already headed over to talk to someone Tetsurou faintly recognized from one of Kodzuken's collab streams, and the guard had continued over to the snack table.

"Oh my God," hissed Bokuto behind him as they followed her, not sure what else to do. "I'm pretty sure that's LastNight. And holy shit that's Audix-"

Akaashi nearly slapped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet, but he looked just as starstruck as his boyfriend. "We are so going to get kicked out."

Tetsurou was beginning to agree with him. "Just- just stay calm, okay? Act like we're supposed to be back here."

The guard turned to face them near the back of the room. "I have to go check something, just hang out here for a sec, okay?" She gave them a bright smile and disappeared through another door, leaving the group alone in enemy territory – at least, that's how Tetsurou was beginning to think about it.

"Guys, we should-" he cut himself off when he realized Akaashi and Bokuto weren't paying any attention, instead whispering to each other excitedly – probably geeking out over one of the streamers. He groaned, realizing that if they wanted to get out of this without getting in trouble, it would be up to him.

He turned toward the door the security guard had gone through. If he could figure out where that went, maybe they could sneak through it-

His thoughts were cut off as someone bumped into his side.

Tetsurou twisted to see a much shorter person next to him, staring at the floor with a hoodie covering their face. "Um, are you okay?"

The figure spoke with a muffled voice. "You're- you're blocking the snack table."

Tetsurou stepped out of the way, mentally scolding himself for drawing even more attention while trying to figure out an escape plan. The person stepped past him and grabbed a water bottle, lifting their head as they went to take a drink.

Tetsurou gasped.

Now that the person wasn't staring at the ground, he could see their face. And it was a very familiar face.

Kodzuken turned to look at him, his hood falling back to reveal bleached-blond hair. "Um, can I help you?"

Tetsurou winced. Way to look cool. "I, uh, yeah, everything's fine!"

The streamer stepped closer, squinting at his badge. "…You're not supposed to be back here, are you?"

Well, if they weren't in trouble before, they certainly were now. "…Yeah," he admitted, silently saying goodbye to any dreams he had of seeing the panel or exploring the rest of the convention. At least he got to meet Kodzuken, even if he would now be the person to get them banned from this place for life.

"How did you even get back here?"

Tetsurou's brain jumped back into reality, wondering why the other boy hadn't gone to find a security worker by now. "Uh, they weren't letting us in because apparently they were at capacity even though we had tickets, so we thought that we could just get in through another door since they weren't checking badges closely, but we didn't know where we were going and ended up back here instead…" He trailed off, mentally cursing himself for the rambling explanation.

"I swear all the workers at this place are incompetent," Kodzuken mumbled. "I can get you in without getting caught if you're quiet."

Well, that wasn't what he'd been expecting. "You can what?"

"There's another door into the panel room that we went through earlier to set up," he said. "If you and your friends follow me I can take you to it, they shouldn't question you if you're with me."

Tetsurou struggled to form a coherent response. "I- you- you'd do that for us? Even though we're strangers that snuck back here?"

Kodzuken shrugged. "You have tickets, don't you? And you're nice." With that he, turned towards the door the security guard had gone through.

Tetsurou hurriedly grabbed Bokuto and Akaashi's sleeves, dragging them after the YouTuber. "Dude, what the hell?" Bokuto whispered. "Where are we going?"

"Someone is getting us in through a back door, just don't question it," Tetsurou hissed back.

The three followed Kodzuken through the door and down another hallway to a propped-open door at its end. "This will take you out right by the seats," he said. And with that, he turned and walked right back down the hall.

"Was- was that Kodzuken?" Akaashi said in disbelief.

Tetsurou didn't answer, staring down the hall at the streamer's retreating back. He'd pulled his hood back up, he noticed, as if he were trying to hide his identity – although Tetsurou wasn't sure if it was from the convention staff or Bokuto and Akaashi.

"That was so cool," Bokuto said, voice echoing in the empty hallway as Kodzuken disappeared from sight. "We gotta go in now, we're gonna get caught! Kuroo, come on- Kuroo?"

Tetsurou shook himself out of his daze and grinned at his friend. "Yeah bro, I'm coming."

He let Bokuto pull him to a row of empty seats – seriously, there's no way this was anywhere near capacity – and settled in to watch the panel. Well, to watch one person in particular.

"Thank you for your purchase, have a great afternoon!"

The person working at the booth waved at Tetsurou as he walked away, tucking the keychain he'd just bought into his pocket. He'd sworn he wasn't going to spend any more money than necessary at this, but there was a chemistry-themed table with tiny Erlenmeyer flask keychains, and apparently that was all it took to part him from his cash.

He glanced around, wondering where in the room he should go next. He'd told Bokuto and Akaashi to go off on their own for a little, not wanting to third-wheel them the entire time. It was nice to walk around at his own pace, but he was starting to get a little bored.

"Oh my God, can I get your autograph?"

Tetsurou nearly jumped out of his skin at the volume of the girl's voice behind him. He twisted to see her join a crowd of several other people, looking to be grouped around someone at the center.

Must suck to be whoever got recognized by them.

"Can I get a picture?"

"Oh, me too!"

A familiar voice made its way through the din. "Um, one at a time, please…"

No way.

Tetsurou straightened up to his full height, and this time managed to catch a glimpse of the person at the center of the circle. Kodzuken, still in his red hoodie, with the hood knocked back to reveal his face once more. This time, though, he looked panicked. Like an animal stuck in a trap.

Tetsurou fumbled in his mind, trying to make sure he remembered the streamer's actual name. I can't believe I'm about to do this.

"Hey, Kenma!"

The crowd went silent for a moment, and Kodzuken craned his neck to see who'd called his name. When he made eye contact with Tetsurou, a look of relief spread instantly across his face.

Tetsurou moved closer. "We're still going to get lunch, right?" I can't believe I'm DOING this.

Kodzuken nodded and pushed through the crowd. "Um, sorry everyone, I wish I could stay. If you get the chance please come to my meet-and-greet tomorrow." And with that, he practically threw himself at Tetsurou, ducking to hide behind the taller boy.

The crowd looked disappointed, but started to disperse regardless. Probably in part because Tetsurou was giving them his best glare, trying to intimidate them away from the streamer.

When it seemed everyone had lost interest, he turned to face Kodzuken. "Are you okay?"

The boy nodded, hood back on. "I am. Thank you, I didn't think they'd recognize me."

"Consider it payback for helping me earlier, okay?" Tetsurou leaned down a little. "This might be kinda weird, but you still seem pretty freaked out. Do you want to go get some air? I can walk with you so no one tries to bother you."

Kodzuken finally looked up at him. Oh no, his smile is even prettier in person than on camera. "Actually, do you know anywhere to get food around here? I didn't get to eat this morning, I'm starving."

Tetsurou immediately felt blood rush to his face. There is no way this is happening to me right now. "Uh, I think I saw a café around the corner earlier? I bet they'd have something for lunch."

Kodzuken nodded. "Then if you'd go with me, I'd appreciate it."

If Tetsurou blushed any harder, he was going to burst into flames. "Sure! I mean, that would be great, um, Kodzuken-san."

"Just Kenma is fine."

"Oh."

"What's your name?"

I didn't even tell him my name, he probably thinks I'm going to kidnap him. "I'm Kuroo Tetsurou."

"Okay." Kenma began to walk, and Tetsurou started to follow before another thought hit him.

"You seriously agreed to go somewhere with me before you even knew my name? What if I was a serial killer or something?"

"Are you a serial killer?"

"No, but-"

"You seemed nice. And you got me away from a crowd, no one's tried to do that before."

"Oh." Tetsurou really needed to learn how to form coherent sentences around this guy.

"Now come on, I want food."

He smiled to himself as he followed Kenma towards the main doors of the convention center. He's even better in person.