𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄. kenma kozume x reader

part 28; basketball

 just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough, just a second, we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again. it's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts, we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again- p!nk

kenma's POV:

I jam my hands in my pockets and trudge through the streets to the arcade, telling myself I'm going for my own entertainment, not because of some girl I knew 2 or 3 years ago. It's not like she'll be here, anyway. She doesn't seem like she'll still enjoy playing games and swearing at machines anymore. But still. Maybe. I shake my head at my paranoia and push the door open with my shoulder. Friday evening, holiday, Tokyo. I should've expected it to be packed. I push my way through the crowd and find myself standing in front of the basketball game. I shove some tokens through the coin slot and start to aimlessly hurl my the balls with limp arms towards the hoop. The first 3 don't make it in, so I actually start to try. 

"Don't spread your elbows out too much," I whisper to myself, repeating what I remember learning from her. 

"It'll make all the force escape from your elbows," a soft voice continues the line from behind me.

My heart almost stops. I hear the ball make it in with a satisfying swoosh, and it bounces on the  platform, accompanied by upbeat music. I let my arms fall to my sides, and I stare straight ahead. 

That voice. Maybe it'll go away if I ignore it. I pick up another ball and shoot it. Another clean basket. 

"You've gotten better," it continues. I lean over the table thing and grip my hands tight on the ledge. 

"What are you doing here?" my voice is unsurprisingly shaky and weak.

 I won't turn around and look. If I do, the possibility of me breaking down in front of her is too big. 

"Why not? This is where I went to high school," 

"What about Miyagi?"

"Good point,"

She doesn't elaborate. I wait, hunched over the game for her to leave, but she just stands there. I wonder if she's thinking, like I am. Thinking over us, seeing the ghosts of a boy and a girl flirting in front of some arcade games. 

Oh, god. They're getting to me. I see past images of the light dancing behind her eyes as she smiles that simple, sweet smile. I see myself wrapping my arms around her. I see us bumping into each other on the way back. I see myself kissing her goodnight. I shudder. Still too new. I can't get over her. 

Maybe turning around won't be such a bad idea. I give into my temptation. Aside from what little I have remaining of my dignity, I don't have much to lose. I whip around and expect myself to come face to face with a beautiful and mature woman wearing proper clothes and makeup just like I've seen on her social media, but instead, I find myself staring at the same person I remember. Her hair is dyed back a deep purple, and it's messy and wavy. She's wearing a black shirt and grey sweatpants.

"What-"

"I hate dresses,"

How could she act so nonchalant? We had that whole deal where we act like we never knew each other, and if necessary, just be absolutely toxic. It's not like I don't want her back- I want to be able to call her mine again more than anything,  but-

"The deal," she sighs, staring at the ceiling. "I know," 

She looks back at me. Her eyes are glistening with tears as she tries to blink them back. 

"Y'know, I never got in a relationship in college," her voice starts to shake. "It sounds stupid, but I-"

"Can't get over you," I mumble, half just thinking out loud.

"Yeah," she says softly. "I didn't approach you to... to argue. I just wanted to say hey," 

"Ok. Hey," my words start to grow thick in my tongue as my head starts to spin.

"Yeah. I- I'm gonna go now. See you," 

I should chase after her. I should hold her in my arms and tell her how I feel. I should tell her I should never have agreed to those rules. I should... I should. 

Too late. I see her leaving the arcade. I let myself stand there, dazed and numb for a while. I shake my head vigourosly, no. Before the logical side of my brain can stop me, I run towards the door and out onto the street, running until I see a figure running towards me. 

It's her. It's y/n. Her purple hair swishing around her face and shoulders, eyes glinting in the  dark. She sees me come towards her and slows down. 

"Kenma," she chokes, tears falling fast from her eyes. 

I don't reply, but I instinctively take on step closer, ignoring the fact that I should be cursing her name, but instead letting my teenage self take over and comfort his girlfriend. She leans into my chest, and at that exact same time, I wrap my arms around her. She cries into my shoulder, and I kiss the top of her head. Bold, I know, but it seems like she needs it. 

"Kenma, do you...?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think what we did was a good idea?"

I sigh. "Yes. No. I don't really know. I just think we never should've made those rules,"

y/n nods. "Yeah. Why did we do that?"

"High school logic," I try to smile through the heavy feeling of a bowling ball sitting in the pit of my stomach. 

"I think we thought we were being smart,"

"We probably did,"

"Have you... have you been thinking about this?"

I nod. "All the time. I never got in a relationship, either,"

Her eyes sparkle with tears as she looks up at me. "Really?" her voice comes out in a hoarse whisper. 

"Yeah," 

She suddenly comes closer and plants a kiss on my cheek. 

"Wait- we shouldn't-" 

y/n looks up at me with her sparkling eyes."Hey, I don't know what you want right now, but Kenma, we made those rules in high school. Don't you think anything's changed since then?"

I don't reply. Obviously I want her back more than anything, but I don't know if diving right back in is such a smart move.

"Listen," she continues, "I can't force you into anything, but if you feel the way I do, we can talk it over, yeah?" 

Trust her  to steal everything I wanna say. She turns away to leave, and this time, my fear of getting rejected melts away completely, and I grab her wrist. y/n turns  around a little, looking  startled. I pull her close to me again, and I see her tense face relax into a familiar  warm smile. 

"You know my answer," I say, letting my voice have an edge of flirtiness in it. 

Her response is just as coy. "Think you'd better clarify,"

"I can do that," 

I press my lips against hers, feeling her rigid body melt under my embrace as she wraps her arms around my neck. 

And we stay that way, tangled in each others' arms, for what seems like hours. 

With that, the bowling ball is gone, and I think I'm floating.