Thread by @todxrxki, "he's staring at kenma again."yaku turns to the side to acknowledge kai, [...]

"he's staring at kenma again."
yaku turns to the side to acknowledge kai, who's come up beside him, and lifts his shoulders in a gentle shrug. "god, when is he not."
"he's incredibly obvious," kai agrees. "but... do you think kenma feels the same way?"

it's an interesting question, one yaku hasn't contemplated often. most of their discussion revolves around kuroo and how obvious he is with his feelings. yaku stares at kenma, who's not looking back at kuroo - his eyes trained on the floor instead. does he feel the same way?

"well, he doesn't push kuroo off when kuroo shows affection," yaku comments.
"that's true," kai agrees. "but they've known each other a long time. maybe it's just a familiarity thing."
yaku shrugs. "maybe," he says. "he's played volleyball with kuroo for this long, though."

kai nods. "that is true," he says thoughtfully. "but... it's hard to tell with him."
"yeah," yaku agrees, his eyes still on his kouhai. kenma's expression is unreadable as he tells lev to stop jumping into the damn net. he's always been more difficult to read, that's for sure.

yaku doesn't think about the conversation much for the rest of practice. he's too preoccupied with getting lev into shape and perfecting his own receives. he doesn't pay it any mind on the way home, either. not until he passes out on his bed and his phone starts ringing.

yaku blinks. people don't usually call him - well, except his parents, who are both home and accounted for. this must be important.
what the hell is going on?
"hello?" he says cautiously.
"yaku-san!" comes a loud, wailing voice - lev, yaku recognizes.
"lev? what's going on?"

"yaku-saaaan," lev wails again. "i was walking home with kuroo-san and kenma-san since our houses aren't too far and then this car came out of nowhere and was swerving and it - it -"
there's a sinking feeling in yaku's stomach. "it what, lev?"
"it hit kuroo-san!"

shit, yaku thinks, shit. the feeling turns into a pit of lead in the bottom of his stomach. "where are you?" he says, doing his best to keep his voice under control as to not freak lev out.
"we're on the way to the hospital," lev says. "they wouldn't let us in the ambulance!"

"we? kenma's with you?"
"yeah, kenma-san is here," lev says, his voice wobbly. "but he won't talk to me!"
"he won't talk to you?"
"no, he's just staring out the window. i don't think he's blinked in the past few minutes."
that... doesn't sound good. yaku pushes himself back up.

"has kenma called kuroo's parents?"
"i did on his phone! they're on the way to the hospital too," lev replies.
"i'll meet you there too," yaku says, grateful yet again to have understanding parents, and sends them a quick text as he darts out of the house.

when he makes it to the hospital, he finds lev and kenma in the waiting room. lev waves at him, his face still distraught. "yaku-san, thank god you're here!! they're working on him right now so we can't be in the room and i'm really scared!"
"did they say anything to you?"

"nothing yet," lev says, his long leg bouncing up and down. yaku turns to kenma, and his heart immediately plummets.
kenma isn't exactly the most animated person at the best of times. but right now, he looks like a... a shell of a person, yaku supposes.

there's no expression at all on his face. he's not moving. yaku can barely even see him breathe or blink. he sits perfectly still, an unreadable expression on his face. yaku exhales slowly.
"he'll be okay," yaku attempts.
"you don't know that." kenma's voice is flat, dead.

it's kind of terrifying. yaku swallows and sits down next to him, sending a quick text to kai on his phone to let him know the situation and ask him to take over practice the next day. he gets the feeling none of the four of them will be in any shape to practice.

they sit in relative silence for the next hour. kenma doesn't move at all. lev tries to create conversation, but it falls flat, and yaku can't help the tumult in his stomach: worry for his friend, of course, but also for kenma, for the team, for everything all at once.

kuroo's father and grandparents show up. they greet kenma weakly, and kenma just stares at them. "he'll be okay, sweetie," kuroo's grandmother says, but it seems to do little to reassure kenma.
and then, finally, a doctor emerges. "he's going to be okay," the doctor says.

yaku breathes out a heavy sigh of relief as the doctor continues talking, saying that the extent of his major injuries were just a couple of broken bones and he should heal with time and rest. "he'll be asleep for a couple more hours, at least," the doctor finishes.

"you should all go home and get some rest too, then come to see him tomorrow once he wakes up."
everyone seems to nod in agreement, getting up from their chairs, until:
"no."
yaku turns around in shock. kenma's still sitting there, his arms crossed tightly across his body.

"wha..." he hears someone say.
"i'm not leaving," kenma says stubbornly. "i'm not leaving him here alone all night." there's still no tone of emotion in his voice; it sounds more matter-of-fact. he turns to the doctor. "please, can i wait in his room?"
"well," the doctor says.

there's a pause, and then the doctor gives a reluctant nod. "i suppose it couldn't hurt to have someone there with him in case he wakes up."
kenma nods and gets to his feet. "see you all tomorrow," he says, voice still toneless. "i'll take care of him."
well, yaku thinks.

interesting. he pauses by kenma as he's about to leave and says, "you know, you don't have to stay. he probably won't wake up until the morning anyways."
kenma's brows furrow. "i'm not leaving," he says, not a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "i'll see you tomorrow."

it seems, then, that there's no room for negotiation. yaku nods. "okay. see you tomorrow, then."
he comes back the next day after practice with a few of their team members in tow. he brings some food as well as a bouquet of balloons, picked out by lev, of course.

he enters the room to see kuroo in the bed, his eyes still closed, and kenma sitting in one of the hard hospital chairs that he's pulled close to the bed. the dark circles under his eyes indicate that he hasn't left the hospital once since yesterday.
"hey," yaku says simply.

"he still not awake?"
kenma shakes his head, his mouth zipped into a thin, tight line.
"he'll be up soon," yaku says encouragingly. "where's his family?"
"they went down to the cafeteria," kenma says, his voice hoarse.
"have you eaten?"
kenma shakes his head.

"you need to eat," yaku says, his voice firm. "and sleep - god, you running yourself ragged isn't gonna help kuroo get better, y'know."
"i'm not leaving," kenma says, and then, his voice rising in tone, pitch, and desperation, "i'm not leaving. i'm NOT leaving him alone!"

seeing the frantic look in kenma's eyes, yaku can't help thinking back to yesterday's conversation with kai. kenma's always been hard to read, that much is true. he's not usually one to show his emotions in an obvious way. but stressful situations bring out people's true selves.

and the look of desperation in kenma's eyes, the complete refusal to leave kuroo's side, the close proximity that kenma's sitting in to kuroo... all of these signals scream that kuroo's love is far from unrequited.
yaku can't help but feel guilty as he hands kenma a candy bar.

"we brought it for kuroo," yaku says, "but if you don't eat something soon, you're gonna be the next one in the hospital."
kenma accepts the candy bar and bites into it. "thanks," he says flatly.
"he's going to wake up soon," yaku says softly. "i promise."

"you can't promise that," kenma says, his voice thick. for a second, yaku thinks that kenma's going to cry. but then kenma swallows and turns back to kuroo's bedside. he takes one of kuroo's hands, absently playing with his fingers. "wake up, kuro. please," yaku thinks he hears.

yaku decides it's best to stick around a while longer, to watch out for kenma if nothing else. he takes out a book and gets to reading, his eyes scanning the pages, until he hears some rustling. he pulls his gaze away from the book.
"kuro," he hears kenma gasp.

kuroo finally blinks his eyes open, his gaze focusing on kenma and his lips tilting up. "kenma," he says in a slurred voice. "s'that you?"
"yeah," kenma answers. "i'm here."
"oh, god," kuroo says, wincing - in pain, yaku assumes. "what the hell happened?"

"you got hit by a car," kenma whispers, his voice still shaky. "there was a lot of blood - i thought - "
"i'm okay," kuroo says, lifting his one good arm to wrap around kenma's shoulders. "shh, kitten. i'm okay. i'm here."
yaku thinks that this moment feels a little too intimate.

he gets up to go, maybe tell the others to come into the room in a few, give them some space, but kuroo says, "hey, is that yakkun?"
shit. caught. "yeah," yaku says, walking over to his bedside. "don't do dumb shit like that again."
"hey - it wasn't my fault!"

"regardless," yaku says. he glances at kenma, who's on his phone now, and then leans in to give kuroo a 'hug'. next to kuroo's ear, he hisses, "stop being a fucking coward and confess to him already. he's so in love with you. he hasn't left your bedside once in almost 24 hours."

he pulls back, satisfied with the shocked and yet pleased look in kuroo's eyes, and then says, "i'll be right back," as he heads out. he sees kuroo turn to kenma, leaning close, and hushed voices follow him out.
it's gonna be a long road to recovery, yaku's sure.

but maybe... just maybe, this awful situation could help at least one thing turn out for the better.
(and maybe it'll help kuroo stop staring so hopelessly at kenma.... but probably not.)

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