five times kuroo introduced kenma as the world wide famous kodzuken, and the one time he didn't

1
"these past three years have been better than i could have possibly asked for."

kuroo looked at his team with pride, and tried not to let the stinging in his eyes distract him. he needed to give them a proper send off - one without him bursting into tears.

"kuroo-san!" lev wailed, clearly having no qualms about his own tears. "you can't leave, what are we going to do without you!"

kuroo grinned at him, both touched by his words and grateful for the change in subject. this was the thing he felt the most sure about.

"i'm leaving you all in good hands!" kuroo said as his eyes locked with the next captain of nekoma. he, the third years, and second years had discussed this, so now it was just a matter of announcing it.

"your captain next year will be the world famous kodzuken!"

all the first years blinked in confusion. all the second and third years face palmed. inuoka tilted his head. "who?"

"kuroo!" kenma hissed as he stepped up to slap his arm. "when i told you that you could tell them about the youtube channel, i did not mean like this!"

"wait," lev looked back and forth between kuroo and kenma. "kenma-san is our captain now! kenma-san is world famous?!"

"no," kenma deadpanned.

"not yet," kuroo corrected with a smile. "at least about the world famous part. he is definitely your new captain."

at his words, the first and second years all swarmed to kenma, congratulating and encouraging him. kuroo watched as kenma squirmed at the attention, but he caught the smile tugging at his lips.

he was glad. it meant he was leaving both the team and kenma in good hands.

2.
college had not been very kind to kuroo. it wasn't that it was too much work, but he was struggling with what he wanted to actually...do.

he'd thought after a year he'd have some idea, but he was just as clueless as when he came in. but luckily this year did have a perk.

"kenma, when we're done unpack your stuff, you should come with me to the coffee shop by campus."

kenma made a noncommittal sound as he pulled the last of his gaming equipment from the box. kuroo looked over and raised his eyebrow at the fancy camera on top of the coffee table.

"oho, whats this?" kuroo asked as he pulled the camera closer to him. he grinned as kenma tilted his face away, still managing to catch the blush rising up his cheeks. "is someone's youtube channel doing better than expected?"

kuroo laughed as kenma snatched the camera from him.

"incredible," kenma grumbled. "you managed to make me regret moving in with you in less than an hour."

"aw, don't be like that," kuroo said with a pout. kenma lgave him a withering stare. "c'mon the coffee shop even has a great apple pie..."

it didn't take any more than that for kenma to agree. once they finished packing the most important of kenma's things, they made their way to kuroo's favorite cafe to study at.

so it wasn't too big a surprise that they ended up running one of his former classmates.

"kuroo, how are you?" his classmate asked as kuroo struggled to remember his name.

"better, now that we're on break," kuroo joked. the guy laughed, and then he finally seemed to notice kenma. "oh, who's this? i haven't seen him in here with you before?"

kuroo looked down at kenma, and opened his mouth to introduce him like he usually did when an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"this is the world wide famous kodzuken," kuroo said with a grin as he clapped his hand on kenma's shoulder. "or kozume kenma. call him whichever."

kenma glared at kuroo. "kuro -"

"oh, hey i've heard of you!"

both kuroo and kenma looked back to see his classmate looking at kenma excitedly. "you did that stream where you beat fallout in like a day! that was so cool!"

kuroo grinned as kenma's eyes went wide "oh. um, thank you?"

"no thank you! that video got me through when i got rejected from an internship at the jva," the classmate replied, and kuroo perked up. he didn't know that jva did internships?

"seriously, you should keep up the streaming!" the classmate said with a smile. "i can't wait to see what else you come up with!"

"you see that, you're already making an impact," kuroo teased as the classmate walked away, but the smile on his face was genuine.

"shut up, why are you always so embarrassing," kenma said as he rolled his eyes. kuroo grinned and reached up to ruffle his hair, but kenma turned to look him in the eyes, making him pause. "you're going to make an impact too, kuro. a huge one. with whatever you chose to do."

kuroo's heart skipped several beats. "oh."

"yeah," kenma said, turning back and averting his eyes from kuroo. "so don't stress out about it too much, okay?"

kuroo smiled down at kenma, eyes soft. yeah. kenma being around this year was definitely going to make everything better.

3
kuroo could not believe this was happening.

"thank you so much again for the letter of recommendation." kuroo said, bowing to his professor for the umpteenth time. his professor just chuckled, and shook his head at kuroo.

"there wasn't anyone else i could think to give the letter to," his professor said with a small smile. "you've got an ability to bring people together like nothing i've ever seen before. if anyone's a fit for something like the jva, then its you."

kuroo tried not to let how much that meant to him show. learning about the jva, something that would let him continue to be a part of the world of volleyball and help others join that world was exactly what he'd been searching for.

and this letter was the last thing he needed.

"here let me walk you out," his professor said as he stood from his desk.

"oh, you don't to have to," kuroo said with wide eyes.

"i have a meeting i need to get to anyway, it's no problem." his professor said as he grabbed the keys to his office.

they walked through the door, and kuroo's eyes widened as he saw the person crouching on the floor across the hall.

"kenma?"

kenma looked up from his handheld with a bored expression, though he seemed to freeze when he realized who was beside kuroo.

"oh hello there," his professor said in surprise. he looked to kuroo with a quirked brow. "friend of yours?"

kuroo glanced down at kenma, and grinned when he saw the look of warning on his face. "yeah, this my best friend, the world wide famous kodzuken."

not that he expected his professor to know who kenma was. but ever since that day at the coffee shop he took every opportunity to introduce kenma as such. kenma loathed it, but kuroo couldn't help it - he was proud of him!

and he was determined to make it kenma's brand.

"oh?"

kuroo furrowed his brows at his professor's tone, and only felt more confusion as he held up his key chain. until he registered what was on it.

there, nestled amongst his keys, was a bouncing ball corp key chain.

"my grandson is a big fan," his professor explained as he pocketed the keys again. he smiled kindly at kenma, who's face was only getting redder and redder. "he's going to be so ecstatic when he realizes i met you today."

kuroo grinned and tried not to look too proud.

kenma nodded his thanks, and after a quick goodbye, they were both on their way out of the building.

"so it seems that bouncing ball corp was a good venture after all, huh," kuroo said as he nudged at kenma's shoulder. "i can't believe i'm friends with someone so famous."

"i'm not famous," kenma protested with a frown.

"kenma," kuroo said flatly. "my 70-something professor has your merch. i'm pretty sure that counts as famous."

"famous in tokyo maybe," kenma said before letting out a huff. "god, that was so embarrassing"

"what was embarrassing about it?" kuroo exclaimed. "he said his grandson adored you!"

"he did not say that," kenma rolled his eyes. "plus now he probably thinks his grandson is looking up to some college bum who only wears hoodies and hasn't cut his hair in forever."

"i like your hair," kuroo frowned, tugging at a strand that had fallen on kenma's face. kenma looked up at him at the action, and kuroo felt his face heat up.

"objectively," he said, hesitating before tucking the strand behind kenma's ear. "i like your hair objectively."

kuroo looked away from him then, missing the way kenma's lips quirked up for a moment.

"is there a way to like hair objectively?" kenma pushed, and kuroo laughed just a touch too loudly.

"anyway," he said, changing the subject with no grace. "we should do something tonight."

"we do something every night." kenma pulled out his handheld, and kuroo let out a relieved breath that he wasn't calling him out.

"yeah, well then something special since we're about to start break."

"i'm fine with whatever," kenma said with a shrug. "as long as it's just us, we can do whatever you want tonight."

kuroo looked down at kenma, and resisted the urge to pull his hand from his handheld so that he could lace their fingers together.

everything in both their lives seemed to be falling into place. he could see the future in front of both of them, and it looked so bright.

it just didn't look like their paths were intertwining anytime soon. not in the way he wanted at least.

but it was fine as long as he had kenma by his side.

"then how about /you/ cook me dinner tonight," kuroo said with a smirk, stuffing his hands into his pocket.

kenma scrunched his nose. "okay, i'm fine with anything but that."

kuroo laughed softly as he held the door of the building out open for kenma. "how about we cook together then?"

kenma's fingers paused over his button, and he glanced up at kuroo with a smile. "i like that."

kuroo's grip tightened on the door handle. god, did he like that too.

4
"this is my treat," kenma said firmly as they stepped into the nice restaurant. "this is to celebrate you getting the job at jva, so i'm going to be the one paying."

"sure, sure," kuroo replied, having no intention of actually listening to kenma.

kenma's glare made it clear he figured as much. "kuro, i swear - "

"reservation for two under the name kozume," kuroo interrupted, smiling charmingly at the hostess. he actively refused to look at kenma, who he was sure was fuming at his side.

"right this way!" she led them to a table in a quiet corner of the restaurant, and kuroo was grateful for their luck. "your server will be right with you."

kuroo plopped into his seat, and studied the menu in front of him, all while still avoiding kenma's pointed stare.

"kuro, we agreed i was paying for this dinner."

"i didnt agree to that," kuroo replied, looking over at kenma from the top of the menu. "you decided that, even though i was the one who chose this very pricey restaurant."

"of course you chose it, it's /your/ celebration dinner!" kenma snapped.

"yes to celebrate that i'm a salary man now, kenma," kuroo said with a smirk. he was happy abt his new job, and maybe a little smug too. he had worked hard for it. "and this salary man wants to pay."

kenma opened his mouth to disagree, but was interrupted by their waitress appearing at the table.

"hello, welcome to the last cat," she said with a smile. "what can i get..."

kuroo looked up, confused by the sound of her trailing off. until he noticed her staring at kenma.

"sorry!" she said as soon as she realized they noticed her staring. "you just look really familiar, and i got a little lost in thought."

"oh you might know him." kuroo tried not to wince as kenma kicked him under the table. "this is the world wide famous kodzuken."

"i'm not world wide /anything/ -"

"oh my goodness!" the waitress gasped. "i'm such a huge fan! you don't show your face often, so i didn't recognize you at first. it's such an honor to meet you, thank you so much for all the work you put into your videos!"

"it's nothing," kenma said, smiling softly at the girl. he'd gotten better at meeting his fans in public, and kuroo couldn't bite back his own smile at the sight.

"its not nothing!" the girl exclaimed. the both blinked in surprise, and she ducked her head in embarrassment.

"i'm sorry," she said softly. "it's just that your videos really inspired me. i'm actually studying here in tokyo even though my family's in canada because your videos made me feel like i could. like i could achieve my dreams if i just worked for it."

she at kenma with a small smile on her face. "it may seem a bit dumb, but your channel has really helped me make something of myself. /you/ have really helped me believe in myself"

"it's not dumb at all," kuroo said as he looked softly at kenma "i feel the exact same way."

kenma blinked slowly at kuroo, before turning back to the girl. "thank you," he said quietly. "i...i don't really know how explain how much that means to me."

"i really mean it," she said before chuckling. "sorry about all that! i'll give you some more time to look at the menu."

kuroo smiled up at the girl. he was glad there was someone out there to tell him, besides himself of course, how much what he was doing meant.

he was so grateful to her.

"also, you two make a lovely couple." she said before leaving.

he suddenly was much less grateful to her.

kuroo chuckled nervously, and played with end of his menu. "well i guess you can't fight me on being world wide famous now."

"kuro." kuroo looked up to see kenma staring at the table top. "did you mean it? when you agreed with her? that i helped you believe in yourself?"

"what?" kuroo said, sitting up straight. "of course i did. what kind of question is - "

"this feels kind of like a date, doesn't it," kenma interrupted. he still wasn't looking at him, but there was a light blush at the top of his cheeks.

kuroo's brain came to a grinding halt.

"uh..." kuroo said as he internally scrambled to try and figure out what direction kenma was heading towards.

"in fact," kenma continued, ignoring kuroo's panicking. "doesn't it feel like we've been going on dates for awhile now?"

he looked up at kuroo then, eyes wide but determined. "as in like, for the past six years."

kuroo gaped at kenma until he finally noticed how nervous kenma looked, fidgeting with the napkin in front of him.

"yeah," he breathed leaning forward to grab kenma's hand. "yeah. i do."

they stared at each other for a moment, the air between them charged.

"kuro," kenma said as he interlocked their fingers slowly. "i really like you. a lot. if that isn't clear yet -"

"i'm pretty sure i'm in love with you," kuroo blurted out. kenma's eyes went wide.

before kuroo could overthink anything, kenma started laughing. "that was the worst confession ever." he was smiling though, the big one kuroo only ever saw rarely. "guess this is what i get for falling for a boring salary man."

he squeezed kuroo's hand, and kuroo blushed hotly.

"how are you so smooth, what the fuck?" kuroo breathed, causing kenma to smirk.

"someone in this relationship has to be," kenma teased, but kuroo couldn't find it in him to mind.

"i can't believe i'm dating world wide famous kodzuken," he said in awe. kenma cheeks burned red.

"oh my god, stop it," kenma said, bringing a hand up to cover his face. kuroo smiled as he realized kenma kept the other hand locked with his.

"what i'm not wrong." kuroo said, wishing he and kenma weren't in a restaurant so he could kiss him like he'd been dying to for ages.

"you're plenty wrong," kenma said flatly. "but since you brought it up...i have some ideas for how kodzuken and the jva could maybe work together..."

kuroo smiled, listening as kenma continued to talk. he saw a new future for both of them, one they could walk into hand in hand.

5
kuroo loved galas like this. they were the most fun way to do the networking aspect of his job, and were perfect for getting in contact with some of the richest donors in the country.

plus he got to wear a nice suit. the only person he knew who looked better in one was kenma.

kenma was also part of the other reason he loved galas like this so much.

"hello, have you met the world wide famous kodzuken?" kuroo asked. he had lost count of how many times he had said this that night. he also lost count of the amount of times kenma had pinched his sides.

"you know if i'm so world wide famous, i shouldn't need you to introduce me like that," kenma said through a forced smile as the made their way around the room.

kuroo hummed in response, nodding at another person who passed. "but not all of them have seen your face before."

"and really is such a shame, since it is such a beautiful face," kuroo said with a grin as he looked down at kenma. kenma sighed, his breath causing the hair in front of his face to billow in front of him. the movement almost distracted him from the way kenma was blushing.

"why can't you just let me have peace for one night," kenma complained, even as he titled his head to rest against kuroo.

"you knew what you were getting into," kuroo said as he brought his arm up to wrap securely around kenma.

"oh hello, i don't think we've met yet," a woman said, coming up to them with a nod. "this is my first event like this, and i'm trying to meet as many people as possible."

kuroo smiled. "well, you're very lucky because this just so happens to be the world wide famous kodzuken."

kenma shifted against him, and kuroo blinked as kenma gestured at him. "and this is kuroo tetsurou, the youngest representative the japanese volleyball association has ever had in an executive position."

kuroo felt heat creep from his neck to the tips of his ears.

the woman looked at kuroo appraisingly. "i've heard of you. they're saying you're one of the reasons volleyball is surging in popularity these days."

she held out a business card, and kuroo floundered before he took it from her.

"sorry, i dont have a business card myself." kuroo said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"you should look into getting some." she said with a smirk, looking between him and kenma. "both of you, for that matter. i have a feeling you're going to need them."

she walked away from them with a small bow, and kuroo waited a beat before turning to look down at kenma in completely disbelief.

"what was that?" he demanded, his voice frayed and strained. kenma just looked up at him smugly.

"what, are you the only who get's to brag about your boyfriend's accomplishments?" kenma said with a small shrug.

kuroo heart lurched at the word boyfriend. but not for the reason is usually did.

because sitting in his jacket pocket, right next to the business card he had just tucked away, was a small velvet box. and inside that small velvet box, was a ring that would hopefully change them from boyfriends to something more.

hopefully.

"you're going to be the death of me," kuroo said, tucking kenma closer to his chest and praying he couldn't feel the way his heart was racing.

"hm," kenma rested his chin on kuroo's chest so he could look up at him. "is there any chance we can leave soon then?"

"yeah, we can leave in the next couple of minutes" kuroo said, studying kenma's face and playing with the ends of kuroo's ponytail. god, he was in love with this man. "i really like your hair like this, by the way."

kenma narrowed his eyes. "what are you planning?"

kuroo froze. "um, what are you talking about?"

kenma's eyes narrowed further. "you've been such a pushover all night. and you've been extra sappy. and you've been introducing me as kodzuken even more than usual - which is saying a lot."

"maybe the sight of you in a suit is too much for me to say no to." kuroo said with a shrug, feigning for nonchalance.

kenma studied him for a moment longer before he pulled away and reached down to hold kuroo's hand. "well if you're saying we can leave, i won't question it."

he began pulling insistently at kuroo's arms, already pulling them in the direction of the exit. kuroo laughed softly, before adjusting his grip on kenma's hand so that it was just a bit tighter.

no matter what happened tonight, he knew they'd be alright.

+1
"kuroo tetsurou!"

kuroo turned around to see a reporter trying to wave him down. he smiled at her and lead kenma by the hand so they could speak to her.

"hello, how can i help you?"

"i just wanted to ask, as the man who helped recruit the best national team japan has seen in years, how you feel about their odds for this first match of the olympics?"

kuroo smiled. "well you said it yourself - they're the best we've got. i'm sure they'll make us all proud."

"i'm sure you're absolutely right! she said before her gaze flickered to kenma. "and who's this you've brought with you?"

"oh?" kuroo looked down at kenma, squeezing his hand a little tighter and running his against the ring on his finger. "this is my husband, kozume kenma."

"oh!" she exclaimed, beaming at kenma. "you mean world wide famous kodzuken?"

kenma clicked his tongue with a frown, and kuroo laughed loudly.

"yeah, you can call him that too. both is fine with me."

///end.///