Chapter Text
The next day, Kenma woke up to his brother jumping on his bed excitedly.
“Kenma! Kenma!! Tobio and I made up!” The orange haired boy exclaimed.
“That’s good, Shouyou.” Kenma responded sleepily, he was happy for his brother, but it was like 6 am.
“He said that he basically saw us as mated already so when I said I wouldn’t marry him, it threw him for a real loop…I apologized but he said he deserved it for not making me feel special…” Shouyou explained, getting into Kenma’s bed without his permission, but only receiving a groan from the blonde omega. “And he said he’s taking me on a date tomorrow!”
The blonde gave his brother a lazy smile. “That sounds like fun and I’m happy for you…but can I go back to bed now?”
“Gosh Kenma! You know you’re going to have to get used to waking up this early for class right?”
“No…my classes start at 9 so I have to wake up by 8 and right now it's…” He checks his phone on his night stand. “6:23 am…” Kenma finished, but became distracted due to the messages from Kuroo that he missed last night.
“Who’s that?” His brother implored, peering over his shoulder.
Kenma quickly placed his phone down. “No one.”
Shouyou gasped. “Kenma!! Who are you texting???? Now I gotta know!” The boy shouted.
“Shut up!! It’s just…Kuroo-san.”
“Ohhh, your big handsome alpha bodyguard? Hehe.” Shouyou teased.
“He gave me his number last night just for work purposes.” Kenma said, picking his phone back up to respond to the man.
“Ohhh yeah, that’s why he’s texting you about…” Shouyou peaks at Kenma’s phone. “Some band he likes?”
Kenma’s cheeks turn a light pink and he slams his phone into his own chest. “What? We can’t talk about anything else?”
“I really don’t know what mom was thinking, letting you be alone with an Alpha…” Shouyou admitted.
“What do you mean?”
“Well he’s so protective of you! If he wanted to get you a bodyguard I thought he would get you like…a really big beta or something. But an unmated alpha?”
“Wait. You think he’s unmated?”
“Ooooh, Kenma! Why do you wanna know, huh?!” Shouyou teased, poking his brother’s sides.
“I-I was just curious! I mean, he’s old enough to have one…” Kenma was shoving his brother’s hands away.
“People don’t get mated so young anymore, Kenma. He’s only, what? 20?”
“25.”
“TWENTY FIVE???” Shouyou exclaimed.
“Y-Yes? What? Is that bad??” The blonde omega sputtered.
“No…I just thought he was around our age!”
“25 isn’t…out of our age…” Kenma muttered, now playing with his fingers.
“That’s 7 years older than you Kenma! I mean, if daddies are your type…”
“Oh my god! Shut. Up. I don’t even like him, stop being weird!” Kenma yelled, pulling his blanket over him and throwing himself to lay on his side.
Shouyou went to hug the blanket cocoon that Kenma was in.
“I’m just teasing, Kenma!!” He said, squeezing his brother.
Just then, Kenma’s door was opened by their mother. He was wearing one of his husbands collared shirts, and a pair of boxers.
“What are you boys doing up so early?” He asked, giggling at their current appearance.
“I couldn’t wait to tell Kenma about mine and Tobio’s date tomorrow!” Shouyou spoke for his brother.
“That’s nice, Shouyou. But try not to be so loud in the morning, okay?” The man pleaded.
Kenma peered his head out from under his blanket.
“How was your date with dad?” He questioned, but had already assumed what the answer would be based on his mother’s appearance.
Suga smiled at him. “It was wonderful, dear. Your father’s still got it!” He exclaimed, stretching his back out.
“Ewwww!!!” Shouyou yelled, grabbing a pillow to cover his face. Kenma also made a face at his mother.
The silver haired omega just laughed, turning to leave. “Get some sleep, you two!” He said, shutting the door.
“Can I just sleep here with you, Kenma?” Shouyou asked, already settling in Kenma’s bed like he knew the blonde boy would say yes.
He was right of course but still.
“Yeah, yeah…” Kenma responded, turning over to get comfortable in his bed.
Before trying to go back to sleep, he took one more glance at his phone.
Kuro 11:58 pm
Their music changed my life, I swear! Maybe we should go to a concert for your next little outing.
Kuro 12:06 am
I’m choosing to think you just fell asleep on me and this isn’t your way of saying “No absolutely not and your taste in music is shit.”
Kuro 12:15 am
Sleep well, Kenma.
The blonde omega happily sighed to himself before placing his phone back down onto his nightstand.
He’ll reply when he wakes up.
~~~
It had been exactly 4 days since Kenma visited his college campus with Kuroo.
The two of them have been texting nearly every day, they got along quite well over text.
Kenma was looking over his school email, reading about what textbooks he would need for his classes this semester.
He was definitely not looking for an excuse to go out with Kuroo again.
They had joked about going to concerts, cons, and even bars. But Kenma was fairly certain Kuroo was just joking. Kenma can’t even step foot in a bar!
But Kenma does need to buy his textbooks. Sure, he can buy them online but he also needed to get used to using the train to get to school!
The blonde omega excitedly stood from his desk chair and went to lay on his bed, while opening his messages app on his phone. He typed out a message to Kuroo.
Kenma 12:09 pm
I need to go to the college campus today to buy my textbooks.
Kuro 12:10 pm
I can be there to escort you at 1:00?
Kenma 12:10
That’s perfect.
Kenma smiled to himself, then picked himself up to get an outfit ready for his outing today.
~~~
Kenma eventually picked out a simple outfit. A t-shirt of an American band he knew absolutely nothing about, that fit him well, a pair of black cargo pants, and again paired with his converse.
He was in the bathroom fixing his hair when his brother walked in on him.
“Shouyou! Can you knock?!”
“You didn’t lock the door!”
“This is my personal bathroom in my bedroom. I shouldn't need to!!” Kenma argued.
His orange haired brother ignored him and simply propped himself up to sit on the counter, watching Kenma return to fixing his hair.
“Where are you going?” He asked, kicking his feet.
“College campus. Need to buy textbooks.” Kenma replied dryly, brushing his dyed blonde locks.
“Ohh, so you’re getting ready for Kuroo-san!” Shouyou teased.
“I’m getting ready to go to my college campus.” The other omega corrected.
“Mhm, okay…tell him I said hi!” The boy said, hopping off of Kenma’s counter and leaving the bathroom.
Kenma rolled his eyes but with no real animosity. He checked the time on his phone to see that Kuroo would be there for him in about 10 minutes. He quickly went back into his room to gather his belongings before heading downstairs.
To his surprise, Kuroo was already there.
The tall man sat in the living room with his mother, having a cup of tea. He was dressed more casually today. Instead of a jacket, he just wore a plain white collared shirt, paired with dark blue slacks instead of black. Kenma appreciated Kuroo taking Kenma’s image into account while being his bodyguard. The omega just wanted to be a normal student, a tall man in a suit was not going to help.
His mother was smiling and getting along with him well, and it made Kenma wonder.
Why did his mother hire an Alpha bodyguard? Shouyou was right, it didn’t really make sense. His mother had always been so protective over him. To allow him to be alone with an alpha for the time he spent out of the house was out of character to say the least.
The two noticed Kenma standing at the staircase.
“Hello, dear. Heading to campus?” His mother asked, sipping on his tea.
“Yes…I was about to tell you.” Kenma responded, before turning to Kuroo. “You’re early.”
“I’m punctual!” Kuro corrected him.
“It’s okay Kenma, you’re a college student now. You shouldn’t have to let me know every time you leave the house.” His mother said.
Kenma raised his brow.
“…Okay, I would like you to let me know but I’m not going to be angry if you don’t!”
Kenma gave him a look.
“……Okay I won't be super mad!”
The blonde Omega couldn’t help but giggle at his mother. It was funny how hard he was trying to be chill.
“I’ll text you when I’m coming back.” The boy said, going to lace up his shoes.
Kuroo then stood up and adjusted his clothes, getting ready to leave.
“Okay, I’ll see you later honey!” His mother called out as Kenma and Kuroo made their way out the door.
Like second nature, Kuroo opens the door for Kenma and Kenma quickly slides right into the back seat. Kuroo then closes his door and goes around the car to join him.
“We’ll just be driving to the station to take the train. I’m scared of your mom.” He joked.
As the car begins to move, Kenma fiddles with his fingers on his lap.
“Did you get a chance to listen to that band I told you about?” Kuroo started.
Kenma quickly turned his head to look at the Alpha. “Oh, yeah. I did…I like them. I really only listen to instrumental music or game soundtracks. So it was new to me, but I liked it a lot.” He responded, waiting for Kuroo’s response.
There was a beat of silence.
“I…didn’t expect you to respond so seriously.” Kuroo admitted, scratching the back of his head. There was a slight blush on his cheeks.
Kenma could feel his cheeks becoming red too.
“W-Well, you really like them…I was just trying to see them like you do, I don’t know.”
“No! It’s cool! Thanks…I’m not used to people taking things I say so seriously.” Kuroo gave the younger omega a genuine smile, not that confident smirk he always has on.
Kenma couldn’t help but smile back.
~~~
“……Ugh.”
Kenma and Kuroo stood at the entrance of Kenma’s college campus, just like the other day. Except the campus was absolutely packed with students.
“You should really get used to this, when the semester comes around.” Kuroo mumbled.
“……… Ugh. ”
The two slowly made their way to the campus’ bookstore.
“Wanna take a moment before going in? It’s most likely going to be packed again.” The tall man asked as they both stopped outside of the building.
“I…think I’ll be fine. I just wasn’t expecting it last time. I’ll be okay.” He reassured the man.
Kuroo simply followed the shorter man as he entered the bookstore.
It was definitely less crowded than the office the other day, but there were still quite a lot of people. Kenma pauses for a moment, trying to look around and locate his textbooks.
“Doesn’t that person look familiar?” Kuroo asks, looking at Kenma with his usual smirk and pointing to a person who’s crouching down at a bookcase to their right.
Kenma turns his head to the direction where Kuroo is pointing, and spots the person he seemed to be talking about.
“It’s Keiji!” The omega boy happily chirped, before making his way to his fellow omega. Kuroo carefully followed after him.
Akaashi seemed to be very focused, searching for a specific book that was probably on the list he held in his hand. Only when Kenma was standing right beside him and peering over his shoulder did the black haired omega turn to look at him.
“Ah…Kenma-san. Hello. Here to purchase your books?” He asked, standing up to greet the other. “And you’re here again.” He nodded to the tall alpha who stood behind Kenma.
“Jeez, nice to see you too.” Kuroo said, chuckling at the omega’s attitude.
“Yes. Only two of my professors have required texts. I figured I’d get it done early but….” He motions to the many people in the store with them. “I see I wasn’t the only one.”
Akaashi chuckled. “Yeah. That’s usually what everyone else does too. Would you like me to help you look for your books?”
“O-Oh I’m sure I can manage! I don’t want to interrupt you…”
“Nonsense, we can find both of our books together.” The other omega smiled.
God, Keji was so nice. How could he be so nice??
“Okay, let’s do that.” Kenma responded, a big smile on his face.
It took the group about an hour and a half to find all their books. Akaashi needed 2 textbooks and Kenma needed 4. This is gonna be a tough semester for the blonde omega.
They stood in line, Kenma and Kuroo waiting for Akaashi to finish paying. Once he did, Kuroo took the books up to the counter, turning to Kenma.
“I got these, you go wait outside with Akaashi.” He said with a smile.
Akaashi gave him a look, while Kenma thanked the man and quickly stepped outside of the store with his friend.
The two omegas stepped outside to see the campus with a little less people, but still pretty crowded. They took a seat on the nearby bench just outside of the building.
“…Kenma-san. If you don’t mind me asking, what is Kuroo-san to you?” The black hair omega started, taking his seat next to the other.
Kenma could feel himself tensing up.
“He follows you around and does stuff for you…it looks like he’s your bodyguard or something, haha.” He joked.
There was a beat of silence. Kenma couldn’t look away from his hands folded neatly on his lap.
“…You’re kidding.” The boy’s mouth was hanging open. “Is he actually a bodyguard?”
“…Yes.” The blonde boy admits, not being able to lie.
“Kenma…are you a celebrity or something?”
“N-No! My family just owns a very big company, and invests in others…” The omega sputters.
“I see. May I ask which?”
“Sawamura Tech—”
“Sawamura?? You’re related to Sawamura Daichi?” Akaashi’s mouth is again hanging open.
“Yes. My name is Sawamura Kenma.” He admits, bashfully.
“I thought the Sawamura family’s son had orange hair and a fiancé?”
“That’s my brother, and he doesn’t have a fiancé yet. But yeah, I wasn’t really doing…well so the public isn’t really aware of my existence at all.” The blonde omega explained. He was now staring at his own hands, fiddling with his thumbs.
“I see…well I’m glad you’re better now. And I’m sorry if I pried into your life too much.” Akaashi placed one of his hands onto Kenma’s hands, giving him a reassuring smile.
Kenma returned the smile.
“It’s okay. Honestly you’re the only friend I’ve made outside of my brother’s fiancé and my own bodyguard.” He phrased it as a joke, but his head and shoulders droop.
“Well, I’m honored to be your first friend then.” Replied Akaashi, and this causes the other omega to finally look up at him with a smile.
Just then, Kuroo makes his way to the two boys.
“Alright, I’ve got your textbooks and— did I miss something?”
The two omegas giggle to themselves, Kuroo continuing to be confused at their actions.
“I just told Keiji you’re my bodyguard.”
“Oh! Thank god, I was trying to think of an excuse. Like I’m your overprotective childhood friend or something.”
Kenma laughs at the alpha but Akaashi rolls his eyes.
“You two should just say you’re dating. I’d believe it.”
Kuroo and Kenma both blush.
“Yeah right, Kenma’s mother would kill me even if I joked about that!” The alpha argued. “He’s terrifying, Akaashi. Never get on Kenma’s bad side or he’ll kill you!”
The black haired omega scoffs. “I don’t think I’m the one who needs to worry about that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!”
Kenma can’t hold in the giggle leaving his lips. It truly feels like he’s just hanging out with friends. He thanks his mother in his head for choosing Kuroo. Kenma’s sure that if it were anyone else, he would not be having as much fun as he was right now.
~~~
Kenma stared at the new contact on his phone as Kuroo and him walked to the station.
“Happy about your new friend?” Kuroo asked with a knowing smirk.
“Yes. Very much so.” Kenma didn’t even try holding in the big smile on his face, as he named his new contact “Keiji 👓”
The taller man only chuckled but stopped once he noticed a store in the distance.
“Hey! Look, that’s my favorite Music Store!” He pointed at the brick building. It looked a little run down but well loved, adorned with string lights and stickers all over the window.
“CDs and Records? How old are you again?” The blonde teased.
To that, the black haired alpha clenched his chest and made a face of extreme hurt, placing the back of his other hand on his forehead.
“Oh Kenma! So charming but so cold to your humble servant!”
The small omega playfully punched him in response, holding in his laughter.
Despite their dialogue, the two of them step into the store. The outside looks quite rundown but clearly it’s just the aesthetic as the inside is clean and well kept. CDs litter the shelves from alphabetical order, and there are tables with boxes of records in them that are organized by genre. Kenma takes the store in, looking around with wide eyes. Towards the back of the store are three CD players and two record players along with headphones and a sign that reads ‘testing station.’
“Cool, right?” The taller man asks, to which the blonde just nods his head. He’s too busy looking around the store.
Kenma starts flipping through the records in a random genre and seems to be content with just looking at all the album art. He jumps when Kuroo taps his shoulder, the omega turns to see the taller man handing him the headphones from the testing station.
The blonde tilts his head down, allowing Kuroo to gently place the headphones over his ears. Kenma glances at the record that Kuroo put inside the record player. It’s in English, and the only word he could make out is “The.” He watches the alpha put on his own pair of headphones.
Kenma jumps a little when he hears the music begin to play. The sound of a soft guitar melody. He glances at the black haired man next to him, and sees that Kuroo’s eyes are closed as he gently sways to the music. As the singer’s voice begins to sing, Kenma does the same and closes his eyes, blocking out his other senses and focusing on the music in his ears.
Before he knew it, the song ended. Kenma was so immersed in the moment, enjoying the warm feeling he got, standing so close to Kuroo that their shoulders were touching and listening to nice music with their eyes closed.
Like they were the only people in that store.
Hell, maybe even the world.
“What’d you think?” The omega heard Kuroo ask.
Kenma slowly opened his eyes, turning to look up at the alpha next to him.
He was silent for a moment, just looking over the man’s face.
“I really liked it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Kuroo smiled at him, and Kenma didn’t need to look into a mirror to know that his face was bright red. He’s so relieved that his mother makes him take suppressants because he’s sure he would be leaking pheromones right now.
“I told you they were good.” The alpha responded, a toothy grin on his face.
Kenma smiled back.
Kuroo’s smile broke for a second, and he covered his nose.
“Ah, um. Did someone spray perfume in here?” He asked, looking around.
Kenma sniffed the air around him and shook his head.
“I don’t smell anything?”
Kuroo just rubbed his nose.
“Ah, um. Forget it. Let's get you home, yeah?” The man said, pushing his hair back, and moving past Kenma.
The omega lifted his arm and sniffed his wrist.
Were his suppressants not working or something?
~~~
The train ride was better than it usually was.
Kenma didn’t feel too overwhelmed this time, even though it was just as packed as all the other times they’ve been on. He was proud of himself for handling it better than usual.
Once they stepped off, they began their usual short walk back to Kenma’s house.
The two idly chatted with occasional silence, though it was comfortable and didn’t feel awkward at all.
Kenma really couldn’t believe how he and Kuroo could get along so well. He has the worst case of social anxiety and was terrible at making friends. Keiji is nice but Kenma still felt nervous around him, something he didn’t feel with Kuroo.
Sure, sometimes he felt flustered and shy. But never uncomfortable or anxious. Scared he might say the wrong thing, or that Kuroo would make fun of him.
They just clicked.
Soon, the two men arrived at Kenma’s place.
“Thank you for today.” Kenma said as he stopped right at the entrance to his house.
“I love how you thank me like this isn’t my job.” Kuroo laughed, but didn’t seem to be making fun of the younger boy.
“Yeah…but you don’t need to entertain me. You could be like other bodyguards with no personality, just following me around everywhere looking scary.” Kenma joked.
Kuroo chuckled at that. “I guess you’re right. But it’s not everyday I get a client as cute as you.” He said, with his usual smirk.
The blonde omega blushed.
“Oh please, you probably say that to all of your omega clients.”
Once again, the taller man laughed. “Believe it or not, you’re only the second omega client I’ve had…”
“Oh, really?” Kenma asked, his interest having peaked.
“Yup. I worked as a bodyguard for an omega a long time ago. But really it was more of a favor to a friend. Ever since then, I’ve been hired for rich alpha kids who needed protecting. Until you, that is.”
Kenma hummed at the response.
”Kenma? You’re home.” Suddenly, his mother’s voice pierced through the silence. He was standing just behind the door.
“O-Oh! Yeah, um, did you get my text?” He stuttered out.
”I did. Thank you for escorting him home, Kuroo-san.” The man smiled at the alpha.
”No problem, ma’am. I was just going to help him take these textbooks up to his room.” The alpha holds up the bag of textbooks he was holding.
Suga nods steps aside to let the boys in.
The blonde omega tries to make the trip to his room as quick as possible, he doesn’t want his mother getting any strange ideas about them.
Kenma beats Kuroo to his bedroom and opens the door, checking to see if he left it in a big mess. When he saw it was clean, he spun on his heels to go get the alpha but ran right into his body instead and tripped over himself.
“Jeez! Slow down, kitten. I didn’t know this was a race!” Kuroo laughed, catching Kenma by his waist before the omega could fall on his butt.
“S-Sorry I just! Um…” The omega struggled to explain himself but his brain seemed to stop functioning at the nickname.
Kuroo simply helped Kenma to his feet, then walked past him to set the bag of books on Kenma’s desk. Kenma’s gaze followed the man as he watched him take a look around the omega’s room.
“Oh hi Kuroo!” Shouted Shouyou, from the doorway, causing the blonde omega to jump in surprise.
“Shouyou! Where the hell did you come from!”
“Mom told me to stand right here.” He pointed at the floor of the entryway.
Kenma sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Hey shrimpy.” Kuroo finally replied.
Shouyou puffed his cheeks. “Hey!! Kenma gets a cute nickname and I get a diss?!”
Both Kuroo and Kenma blushed at that.
The taller man laughed and walked over to Shouyou and Kenma, ruffling the orange omega’s head.
“It’s cause of your hair!” He simply said, walking past the two boys. “Alright, I’ve gotta go. Contact me whenever you want to leave the house again, Kenma.”
The blonde omega just nodded in agreement, then watched as the black haired alpha took his leave.
“Shouyou! You were eavesdropping!” He whisper-yelled.
“I wasn’t!! Mom seriously told me to stand here and make sure there was no funny business!!” The orange haired boy yelped.
Kenma huffed and turned to enter his room.
“He’s so annoying.”
“Awww, please, you love him!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Kenma kicks his shoes off and flops himself onto the bed, his brother following and sitting at the opposite edge.
“Wanna play games?”
“In a bit, Shouyou. I need to recharge.”
“Okay! I’ll be in my room.” The boy said as he skipped his way out of the room.
The blonde omega pulled his phone out, opening it to Kuroo’s contact screen.
“….where should we go next?”