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stars-tonight · 24 days ago

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Hello there 🫶🏻 I love your blog. I saw your post about requests, could I request something cute with Kenma x fem reader please? I'm a shy gamer like him, I'd really love if you could write something about a cute night in together playing video games. Feel free to ignore this request. I hope life is good for you right now. Thank you and bye bye 💕

MERMAID RUGS, GAMER RAMEN (FT. KOZUME KENMA)

synopsis: you and kenma bond over video games, from your first meeting to the confession. shy!reader, pre-timeskip, strangers to friends to lovers, first love, kind of slow burn, reader is fukurōdani’s manager

word count: 4344 (easily the longest fic i've ever written, actually what have i done smh)

being fukurōdani’s manager is fun. you had originally signed up because volleyball looked fun--and as you learn more about the sport, you realize it is fun. it took you a long time to get out of your shell, but the team had been very kind and welcoming to you. they’re like your older brothers--you’re a first year, and it’s nice to be friends with the older seniors.

weekend playdays against other teams in the fukurōdani academy group are the best. nearly every saturday morning, the team hops on a bus and drives to another school, or sometimes fukurōdani is the host school. for two days, the teams in the league play against and train with each other, eating and sleeping near the host school. you don’t usually go anywhere that isn’t school or home, so it’s extra fun being able to travel to different schools. you’ve only done it four times so far, but it’s quickly become one of your favorite parts about managing the team.

this weekend, you’re travelling to nekoma high school for the first time. the nekoma and fukurōdani teams are actually pretty friendly with each other--a friendly rivalry, if you will--but you’ve never talked to anyone from another team. they’re all tall, and scary, and sometimes rowdy. you prefer to keep your distance.

at the end of the first day, bokuto kōtarō’s energy is only about half spent. he nearly always stays behind after regular practices to run some more quicks with akaashi. you sometimes stay to help out; bokuto always asks, and you find it hard to say no to that puppy dog face. but akaashi’s always there for you; if you’re stressed and need to go home, he always somehow knows and makes sure you take care of yourself. you appreciate him more than he could ever know.

today is one of those days where you’re happily staying behind to help. bokuto had been blocked by nekoma’s captain today, and he’s been sulking ever since, determined to practice his hits until he’s certain that nobody can block them.

it’s almost an hour after training officially ended when bokuto finally stops his relentless practice. he and akaashi are both drenched in sweat. “food break!” bokuto declares. “then more practice.”

more practice? it’s nearly nine p.m., you think to yourself in disbelief. akaashi echoes your thoughts: “bokuto-san, we should go back and rest now,” he says calmly. “besides, if you eat and then come back to exercise, you’ll get an upset stomach.”

“but i’m hungry,” bokuto whines. “and i want onigiri.”

akaashi sighs. his eyes meet yours, and a mutual understanding passes between you.

at the start of the camp this morning, someone had said there would be snacks available in the sports director’s office, which isn’t far from the primary gymnasium. you manage to find your way there, but you stop short when you realize someone else is in the room. it’s the tall middle blocker from nekoma. the captain. the one who blocked bokuto today. he often stays for extra practices with bokuto and akaashi; you had been wondering why he wasn’t here today. kuroo, you think his name is.

he looks at you and grins. “hey, [y/n]-chan,” he says cheerfully. “come for a late night snack too?”

you don’t know how to answer. you nod shortly, then spot the small refrigerator, opening it and taking an onigiri out of the package. “is that for you?” kuroo asks curiously.

“no, it’s for bokuto-san,” you say quietly.

his eyes widen a little, and then his mouth opens and he laughs loudly. “so you do talk! i owe kenma that thousand yen now. you were so quiet, i thought you didn’t know how to talk.”

you fight back a sigh, unsurprised that kozume kenma, the quiet yet observant setter for nekoma, was the one who had bet on you being able to talk. “i can talk. and i thought you usually do extra practice with bokuto-san and akaashi-san.”

he chuckles. “yeah, but kenma had a chemistry project he needed help on. technically it was due yesterday, so i deemed him to be in desperate need of help. he’s a little hungry now--the little pudding head--so i came to get food.”

due yesterday! you can’t even fathom the idea of turning in assignment late. you’d stay up all night if it meant getting homework done.

you suddenly realize that kuroo is saying something else to you: “i’ll bet that owl-face is mad i blocked him today. you can go back and tell him i’ll do it again tomorrow. in fact, i’ll do it twice tomorrow.”

you almost laugh at this stupid rivalry between friends. “i will. good night, kuroo-san. don’t sleep too late.”

sunday morning passes normally. by noon, you’re starving. lunchtimes are the quietest, and it’s always been this way. players from different schools sit together at benches and on the grassy hills. the managers have their own table, but you don’t know any of them well enough to go ask if you can sit with them. after casting a doubtful glance over at the tables, you take your food and quietly go to sit on a hill, the same as you always do. you’re not upset by it or anything; your level of calm and quiet can be restrictive and unapproachable for some, and you understand this perfectly. you’re content to eat alone.

but then you’re not alone anymore. someone sits down next to you. you spare a sideways glance to see that it’s kozume, his nose buried in his gaming console, which you recognize as a nintendo 3ds. you sit in silence for several minutes before kozume speaks: “thanks.”

hm? you blink and turn to quickly look at him. “for what?”

“i’m a thousand yen richer now because of you.”

“oh.” you let out a small chuckle as you remember kuroo delighting over the fact that you can talk. you look at his console curiously. “do you really like video games? which one’s your favorite?” you love a good video game, although barely anyone knows this.

he hesitates, before nodding, not looking at you. “i like this one. it’s called animal crossing.” he tilts the console a little so you can see. on screen, a little cartoon human is walking around what looks to be a beach.

you nod, recognizing the name: animal crossing is extremely popular, but you’d never played it before. you silently watch as kozume’s character walks around on screen, picking up various items like seashells. he notices you watching and speaks hesitantly. “do you . . . do you want to try?”

your eyes widen. “uh. . .” you shift a little closer to him, hugging your knees to your chest shyly. “sure. . .”

he hands the console over to you, which is surprising. you put your pointer finger on the direction pad and press on it, unsure how to play the game.

kozume lets out a sound that appears to you like a breathy chuckle. “here.” he leans closer too, your heads almost brushing, and helps you move the character around the screen. you lean in, eyes wide, as you take in every animated object on screen. the rave about animal crossing isn’t for nothing, you think. this game looks awesome. you watch as kozume’s character picks up a seashell. you hand the console back to kozume, letting out a breath that you didn’t realize you were holding.

“thanks,” you say softly, mildly relieved you didn’t die and ruin his game. “looks fun.”

he nods. “i can show you how to set up your own game, if you have your own ds console.”

“i do,” you admit. you had brought it with you, in fact. “i have it in my bag.”

the corners of his lips tug up into what can only be described as a smile. “we don’t have time this weekend, but i can show you how to play next time. there’s supposed to be a new version coming out in november.”

you nod, another question piquing at your thoughts. “why. . .” you trail off, but kozume silently waits for you to continue, so you do. “why did you come over here? you usually don’t talk to anyone besides kuroo-san.”

he shrugs, then is quiet for a long time. you’re starting to think that a shrug is all the answer you’re going to get, but then he speaks, so quietly you have to strain to hear. “kuroo said i should. he said we were very similar.”

similar? you frown to yourself, tilting your head as you pondered. oh.

kuroo had been looking out for his friend. kozume couldn’t have much of a social life, you figure, although it doesn’t even appear like he wants one. but he’s going to have to talk to people sooner or later, and the former seems to be the case here as kuroo approaches graduation. and kuroo knew how quiet you are. maybe he’s also trying to help you out by sending you someone you’d hopefully connect with. you suddenly feel a new wave of respect for the nekoma captain. at least he meant well.

still, kozume’s response doesn’t give you the best peace of mind. “you didn’t have to talk if you didn’t want to. if you want to focus on your game, i won’t bother you anymore.”

“i didn’t say that. i don’t do anything i don’t want to. besides. . .”

his gaze shifts to you, golden eyes studying you for a few seconds before turning back to his game. “you’re nice.”

the next time you have a weekend training camp with the other teams in the fukurōdani academy group, you bring your gaming console. you hadn’t stopped thinking about kozume since last time, and you hoped he still remembered--and was planning on upholding--his promise about showing you how to play animal crossing. sure, you could always teach yourself, but you wanted an excuse to talk to kozume again. he had been really nice and easy to talk to.

luckily for you, he seemed to remember his promise too. at lunch on saturday, he takes the initiative to sit next to you on the hills again, although not before a lot of hesitation and a timid “can i sit here?”

he first shows you how to set up your character. the game is easy enough to pick up, and halfway through his demonstration kozume seems to realize that you know a lot about video games--he actually looks you in the eye and gives you a little smile here. “seems fun,” you say, as he wraps up his little demonstration speech.

“it is,” he says. “there’s no clear objective, it’s just a lot of playing and collecting items. you use those items to craft furniture. i don’t actually like most of the pieces, but i collect all of them to get complete sets. and the villagers will need certain items to be crafted before you can invite them to your village.”

you lean closer as he scrolls through his furniture collection. “that’s pretty,” you say as your gaze catches on a specific item. you point at it to show him.

kozume stops his scrolling. “the mermaid rug?” he tilts his head. “yeah, i guess so. it’s part of the mermaid series.”

“does it take a lot of items to craft furniture?”

“depends. bigger pieces take more items. the rug cost a few sand dollars and a pearl, along with the standard bells. the sand dollars are easy to find, but the pearl is a bit rarer. and some series are only available during certain times or seasons--i think the season for the mermaid series if over. depending on the item, the time it takes to craft will also be different.”

oh. that’s okay. you’re fine with being patient, you do it enough with some of the other games you play. “here, add me,” kozume says. “i can send you stuff this way. and little notes.”

so you do. and just like that, kozume becomes your first friend on animal crossing, and your best friend in real life.

“that was cold, kenma!” you laugh as the two of you share a high five. “lying to that person and luring them out into a trap? i never realized you were so strategic.”

he shrugs, but you can see a little smirk tugging at his lips. “that player was too trusting. that makes them an easy target.”

you shake your head. you are, in no way, bad at video games. but you have a lot to learn from kenma. “you’re so different when you’re playing games,” you say. “you’d never be this bold in real life.”

he thinks about it for a few seconds, then shrugs. “i guess so. have you made that mermaid rug yet?”

“mermaid rug?” you frown at his abrupt subject change, before realizing what he’s talking about. “oh. no. i don’t think they’re bringing that series back, i looked it up online.”

“oh.” he frowns a little. “i’m sorry.”

“no, that’s okay.” you smile a little, though you’re secretly actually really disappointed that you can’t have the mermaid rug. “anyway, how do you do it?” you ask curiously. “i always feel bad hurting others when i play games.”

he shrugs. “the objective of the game is to win, right?” he says. “that means it’s every player for themself. if you want to win, you can’t be hung up on making friends through the game. you’ll never meet these people in real life, you’ll probably never play with them again. it’s easy enough to do. sometimes it just takes some guts. a lot of things in life take guts.”

you look at him admiringly. “are you talking about volleyball?” you tease.

he scowls. “no.”

“no tears, kenma? not even a little?” kuroo pretends to cry. “your best friend is leaving you and you can’t even be bothered to cry?”

kenma stares at him, a deadpan expression in his eyes. “i don’t cry,” he says flatly. he’s still clutching his console tightly in one hand, however, and there’s a tightness in his face that tells you he’s as close to crying as he ever will be.

kuroo sighs. “take care of him for me, [y/n],” he says to you. “make sure he stays on top of his studies. don’t stay up all night playing video games with him again--don’t think i don’t know you guys do that. make sure he eats, drinks enough water, doesn’t slack off at practice--”

“i know, kuroo-san,” you say. “don’t worry. i’ll keep kenma alive and functioning.”

kenma scowls a little at the two of you. “i can take care of myself, you know.”

“yeah, yeah, of course you can. but it makes your captain feel a lot better knowing you have [y/n].” kuroo winks at the two of you--why can you feel your face heating up?--and stands up straight, looking handsome and put-together in his traditional japanese hakama.

you smile up at kuroo. “thanks for everything, kuroo-san.” it had been him who introduced you to your best friend, and he himself had helped you a lot with your studies as well. he was a really good guy. you were going to miss him, just like you knew kenma would.

kuroo smiles proudly at you. “same to you, [y/n]. go conquer the world for me, all right? even better if you can drag this pudding head around with you while you do it.”

“do you want water? food?” is the first thing kenma asks when you arrive at his house.

“no, thank you,” you say. “i got food on the way here.”

he frowns a little. “you can eat here, you know,” he says. “you don’t have to spend money on food.”

“i wouldn’t want to burden you.” you follow kenma as he leads you to his room. you often took the train over to kenma’s house after school and your respective practices ended. you would study together, even though kenma is a grade above you. the two of you more often ended up playing video games together anyway.

“it’s not a burden. my parents are happy enough that i have a friend i’m willing to have over. how far are you in animal crossing now?” kenma asks curiously as you set your bag down. “did you get my gift?”

he had sent you another gift yesterday. you’re his only friend on animal crossing--you checked--and you often sent gifts back and forth to each other. “yeah,” you say. you don’t play animal crossing as often as your other games, but you open it on occasion to interact with kenma.

“what game do you want to play today?” kenma opens his fridge--you’re still shocked, though not surprised that he has a mini fridge in his room for energy drinks--and pulls out his favorite caffeinated drink.

you shake your head. “kenma, you gotta stop drinking so much caffeine. it’s not good for you. and you should be doing your homework. i know you have a calculus exam tomorrow. have you even started studying?”

he stares at you. “who are you and what have you done with [y/n]?” he asks. “who are you to lecture me on studying?”

“i’m done with my work, kenma,” you say. “and i’m not the one who’s failing two classes.”

he scowls a little. “did you come here just to lecture me about school? because you can leave if that’s the case.”

you sigh, rubbing your temples. “i care about you, kenma,” you say.

he freezes. “what?”

“what?” you crease your eyebrows, looking up at him and realizing with a start that his face is tinted pink. “did i say something?”

he looks down. “no,” he mutters. “let’s just get started. i’ll do my work, okay? will that make you happy?”

you sigh again. “yes, kenma. that’d make me happy.”

he takes out his workbook, a little pout on his face--you don’t think he realizes it’s there, but it’s adorable regardless. “there are caffeinated ramen noodles now,” he says suddenly. “especially for gamers. it’s going really viral.”

“don’t even think about it, kenma.”

you don’t know why you’re so distraught.

it’s the end of another school year, meaning another graduation, meaning another one of your friends gone. but this time, it’s different.

kenma looks almost cute in his hakama. wait, what? you blink hard, shaking your head to rid yourself of the thought. kenma’s your best friend, and only your best friend.

“are you crying?” kenma stares at you, a little frown on his face. “what’s there to cry about?”

“i’m not crying, kenma!” you protest, furiously wiping away your tears.

he sighs, stepping forward and brushing your tears away with his fingers. “don’t cry, [y/n]. you have my phone number. i’m not going anywhere far or fancy for university. i’ll still send you stuff on animal crossing. we’ll play video games every night if it makes you happy.”

you shake your head, sniffling a bit. “what will you do in uni?” you ask. “how will you make any friends? you’ll be so sad and alone.”

he lowers his gaze, and it’s only when you see his shoulders shaking that you realize he’s laughing. it’s a quiet laugh, but you cherish the sound regardless. this must be what an angel’s laugh sounds like, you think to yourself.

“enough of that, [y/n],” he says gently, patting your head. “i’m not completely useless. i’ll join a video games club or something.”

“you’re such a liar!” you complain. “don’t laugh at me. i’m worried about you.”

he sobers up, stepping closer and taking your hands in his. “don’t worry,” he says softly. “i’ll be fine. you take care of yourself too, okay? drink water. eat food. don’t stay up all night playing video games.”

his hands are soft and cool. “you sound just like kuroo-san,” you say, sniffling. “but it’s stupider when you say it. don’t think i don’t know you’re going to buy those gamer ramen noodles as soon as i don’t have my eyes on you.”

he rolls his eyes. “they’re good, [y/n],” he says defensively. “and they actually work.”

“kenma! you tried them?”

he sighs, dropping your hands. “. . . i tried them.”

“kenma!”

“okay, okay.” he gives you a sarcastic little salute. “i won’t do it again. promise. will you stop crying?”

you blow your nose into a handkerchief that he hands you. “take care of yourself at university, kenma,” you say, your voice shaking a little. “i’ll miss you.”

he brushes some hair out of your face, a gentle smile on his own. “i’ll miss you too.”

and that was the moment you realized that you are hopelessly in love with kozume kenma.

you feel so lonely.

you’ve spent so much time with kenma the last two years that you hardly realized you didn’t make any other friends. and now that kenma’s gone, you’re alone. you talk everyday through text, sure, and you play video games for hours into the night. but it’s not the same as being with kenma.

it’s been almost two months since the start of your third year. you should be focusing on your studies. and you are; your grades have never slipped. but it’s been getting harder and harder to focus when all you can think about is how much you miss kenma.

you’ve never stopped loving him. you don’t think you ever will stop loving him. you miss him so much it hurts. but you could never tell him this. kenma has never given anyone a second look. he’s never liked anyone. and why would he like you, anyway? you’re great friends. that’s all you could ask for. but you still feel so lonely.

your phone buzzes. you let out a tired groan, rolling over on your bed. fumbling, you grasp your phone and check the message.

when’s the last time you played ac? i’m back from uni on break and just realized. you usually send me gifts back, but i’ve sent you fifteen this past month and nothing’s happened. are you okay?

kenma’s back! your face subconsciously breaks out into a huge smile. you’d have to go over to his house in the next couple of days to say hi. then you read his message again.

animal crossing! your eyes widen. it’s true, you haven’t played in a while. every time you open up the game, you can only remember those nights in the past when you and kenma stayed up for hours playing with each other. it hurt, so you eventually just stopped playing.

yeah, sorry, you text back. just been busy.

kenma responds quickly. you should check your mailbox. items will disappear if you don’t accept them in time.

so for the first time in nearly a month, you open up animal crossing. immediately, you’re flooded with notifications. you collect all the items in your mailbox, send kenma some gifts in return, and then you notice there’s a new item in your post office. a few clicks later, a note pops up, and an item is included with it.

it’s a mermaid rug. your eyes widen as you gasp softly. you only have one friend in the game, so there’s only one person this note could have been from. but why would kenma gift you the mermaid rug? he knows you love it, but why now decide to give it to you?

you look at the note. what you read sends you reeling, your heart skipping a beat as you nearly drop the phone.

it’s only six words, but those six words will change your life forever.

[y/n], i like you so much.

kenma’s house is only about a thirty minute subway ride from yours. you’ve been to his house so many times you could walk the route in your sleep. you practically run through the subway station and launch yourself onto the train. your leg jiggles impatiently as you count the stops: three left. then two. then one.

you burst through the subway doors, tearing through the station and up the stairs into the streets. your feet carry you all the way to kenma’s house. your heart is racing, your face flushed and your hands starting to sweat as you reach the familiar, charming little house. you hesitate at the front door.

“sometimes it just takes some guts. a lot of things in life take guts.”

the sound of you knocking on the door has barely faded away when kenma opens it. his eyes widen when he sees you standing at his front door. “[y/n]?” he asks, a rare emotion in his voice. “what are you doing here?”

his face is pink. your heart races as your mouth opens, then close again.

“[y/n]?” his eyebrows crease a little in concern. “are you okay?”

now or never. you take a deep breath. “i like you too,” you blurt out.

he blinks, frozen. you bite your lip nervously, shifting your weight from foot to foot. the seconds tick by, and you feel your face heating up.

he smiles a little at you, leans forward, and gently presses his lips to your cheek. it’s fleeting--you can sense he gets nervous halfway through and pulls away.

“i’m glad,” he says gently, taking your hand in his. “come in? we can play some games like we used to. unless you’re too busy studying to play games now.”

you shake your head, a grin spreading across your face. you lace your fingers through kenma’s and squeeze his hand. “i’m never too busy for a video game.”

“good.” he smiles at you. “i’ve been trying the new flavors of gamer ramen that have been coming out. the original are still the best, but the seafood one is good too. a bit heavy on the caffeine, but--”

he breaks off as he notices you staring at him. “what?”

“kenma!” you frown. “you’ve been eating gamer ramen noodles!”

he chuckles a little, ducking his head sheepishly. “is this a bad time to admit that i’ve been having them with energy drinks?”

“kenma!”

A/N: hi anon! i only have the mobile version of animal crossing so i might have some inaccuracies in gameplay. but anyway i did work really hard on this and i hope you like it and it does well! i know it isn't exactly what you requested but i lowkey got carried away lol

lightly inspired by @kageyamatobiyogurt

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