The Galaxy is Endless (I thought we were, too)

Chapter 5

"Oh my god, Keiji, the lights change colours!" Bokuto yelled loudly enough that the other patrons of the restaurant turned their heads to look at him.

Kenma tipped his head down, letting his hair obscure the view of the other people around him. Kuroo responded by wrapping an arm around him from beside him, further shielding him from anyone else's attention. Kenma was grateful for that.

"Yes, Koutarou. That's what the remote on the table is for," Akaashi replied in a smooth voice. Kenma had no idea how he was so constantly calm and collected with a soulmate like Bokuto. Perhaps the saying was true, opposites did attract.

In response to this, Bokuto picked up the small remote on the side of the table, pressing a multitude of buttons that shifted the colour of the lights fixed above them, shifting from red, to purple, to blue to orange. "This is so cool!"

Kenma sat, staring at Bokuto, watching his expression change along with the lights that they were bathed in. When it was blue, he frowned. Red, his eyebrows scrunched together. Yellow, he smiled. Purple, his mouth widened in a small 'o' shape. Kenma wondered if it was exhausting to be that expressive; he certainly would have been tired of he moved and felt in the same way Bokuto did.

Eventually, after flicking through every colour on the remote at least three times each, Bokuto settled on a green-blue colour. "Can we leave it on this one? It reminds me of Keiji's eyes."

A soft flush spread across Akaashi's face. Kuroo nodded, expression more serious than the situation warranted, and Kenma could only roll his eyes.

Double date night had become a common occurrence over the last couple of years of university. They all spent so much time together, Kenma didn't see why they then had to plan extra time together, but it made Kuroo happy, so by extension, Kenma was happy to go along with it too.

"How'd you find this restaurant, Tetsu?" Bokuto asked from across the table, eyes wide and eager as though Kuroo was about to reveal the secrets of the universe to him. Kenma leant into Kuroo's side to hide the way he smiled at that.

"You know me, I'm always looking for places to go that I haven't taken Kenma before. Otherwise he complains." Kenma straightened his back to retort that no he did not, but the shit-eating grin that Kuroo was swearing told him that he was trying to get a rise out of him. Alas, Kenma wasn't going to sit and take the quip, He lightly kicked Kuroo's ankle under the table of their booth.

Kuroo gasped in an over dramatic fashion, lifting one hand to his mouth. "Can you believe he just kicked me? I do nothing but provide love and affection, I work so hard to make him happy and- OW, Jesus Christ, Kenma that hurts!" Kenma had kicked him marginally harder than last time, but he knew it wasn't hard enough for it to actually hurt. So he didn't feel bad.

At least, he tried to tell himself he didn't feel bad. But Kuroo was still pouting at him, wearing a hurt expression that Kenma was officially struggling to tell was genuine or not, a product of his own overthinking. He had to cover his bases, he leant up and pressed a chaste kiss to Kuroo's cheek, a rare gesture of public affection for Kenma.

But it made all the difference to Kuroo, pout replaced with a soft smile, a pink tinge on his cheeks. That expression made the mortifying ordeal of public displays of affection worth it.

"You're cute," Kenma mused, eyes glued on Kuroo, whose blush only intensified. Kenma had always found it incredibly amusing that considering Kuroo was huge on affection, that he became incredibly flustered at the first sign of it from Kenma. It really was cute.

"Wow, you guys are worse than us," Bokuto crooned from across the table. "We have table manners, right Keiji?"

Akaashi lifted one hand over his mouth, to cover his laughter. "Yes, we're far more civilised."

"What did you just say about my Kenma?" Kuroo asked, jaw dropping. "He's the most civilised person on the planet. Not a gremlin at all. No way."

Kenma knew when he was being attacked, even when it was disguised as defending him. And he wasn't about to stand for it. "Akaashi's talking about you, Kuro."

"Whose side are you even on?" Kuroo asked, turning back to look at Kenma again.

Kenma tilted his head. "My own."

"You wound me, kitten." Kuroo leant over to rest his head on Kenma's shoulder. "I'm always on your side, too."

Kenma didn't question why Kuroo's moods sometimes swung from playful to sappy, but he wouldn't have had it any other way.

Kenma moved his hand to intertwine with Kuroo's, giving it a light squeeze. I'm on your side, too.

Bokuto was quick to interrupt their moment, throwing a scrunched up napkin at Kuroo's head. "The point of double date night was not to see you two be disgustingly sappy! I see enough of that every day!"

They didn't get the chance to defend themselves, the waitress approaching with a smile. "Are you gentlemen ready to order?"

Akaashi ordered first, followed by Bokuto, and then Akaashi again, amending Bokuto's order to something he was more likely to enjoy, followed by Bokuto whining, followed by Akaashi explaining, then Bokuto claiming Akaashi was 'the best ever', all concluding with the waitress wearing the most baffled expression that Kenma had ever seen in his life.

Once that had died down, the waitress turned to Kuroo and Kenma. "And for you two?" Her clutch on her notepad was tight, Kenma thought that maybe Bokuto and Akaashi had traumatised her, even just a little.

"I'll get the angel hair pasta, and he'll get the salmon on rice." Kuroo said with a definitive nod. The poor waitress eyed them for a moment before writing anything down, actively expecting an occurrence like the one moments prior, but Kenma nodded at her, giving Kuroo's hand another squeeze.

As soon as she confirmed their order and walked away, Bokuto looked at them again. "Do you two share a brain? Or?"

Kenma wasn't going to interject. Kuroo knew he detested talking to strangers, especially when it came to stuff like ordering food. But luckily for him, Kuroo knew him well enough to predict what he would have ordered. It was a good system, for Kenma at least.

Kuroo snorted. "Yes, Bo, we're one human separated into two bodies, and hence superior."

"That explains it. Kozume has all the brain cells. Kuroo has... the height, I guess." Akaashi took a sip from his soda, eyes not leaving Kuroo's.

"What the fuck is this? National Attack Kuroo Day? Do you see me as nothing more than my looks?" Kuroo rested his forehead on the table in a sign of defeat. Kenma had to bite his bottom lip to stop himself from giggling.

"I said height, Kuroo-san. Kozume has the looks, too," Akaashi finished.

Kuroo shot up, looking over at Kenma. "Well, you're right about that."

Nudging him in the arm, Kenma added: "Are you always such a sap?"

"Only when it comes to you." Kuroo, Akaashi and Bokuto said in unison. Kuroo's with sincerity, the latter two in a mocking tone. That was all it took for Kenma to clutch at his stomach, falling into a fit of giggles.

He was sure that Kuroo was glaring at the two of them with a look of utter shock, but there were too many tears of laughter in his eyes to see it.

He really did have the best soulmate on the planet, he was reminded of that every single day.