Framed Sunset

+ Frame Thirteen +

Hinata never got tired of going to Kenma's house.

The gamer had a habit of always having something new in his bag of tricks. This time, when Kenma's literal butler opened the door, Hinata could hear the sound of soft ballroom music playing in the background. Mind you, it was a little after ten o'clock in the morning, so Hinata had no idea what was going on.

"Right this way, Hinata," the butler, Joseph, murmured. Hinata offered him his hand, the butler taking it with grace and guiding the ginger through the house. Joseph was familiar with Hinata - he was also familiar with how much Kenma liked Hinata. In his eyes, this was probably the most important guest his employer ever had. A one-way ticket to unemployment would be to mistreat Shouyou Hinata in Kenma Kozume's household.

Joseph finally let Hinata go once they reached Kenma's main living room which was 'renovated' for the day. Standing in the center of everything was the famous gamer himself, and while he normally wore sweats, he was dressed in a business-casual type outfit for this particular visit.

"Shouyou," Kenma called. The ginger perked up immediately.

"Kenma!" He chirped, carefully maneuvering toward the center of the room. "What's going on?"

"I wanted us to have a little fun before we laze around all day," Kenma chuckled, taking Hinata's hand. The ginger nearly sighed when relief coursed over him - it was always a little easier to breathe when he had someone holding him as an anchor. "Since we're skipping out on a party to be together for the day... Why not have a party of our own?"

"A... Party?"

"Of course," Kenma mused. His other hand found Hinata's side, making the ginger jump. "And first on the agenda is dancing."

"I cannot dance!" Hinata shrieked. He tried to pull away, already dealing with enough stress these days, but his friend held him in place.

"Just for fun," Kenma assured him, "and I'll be leading. Please? Give it a shot?"

Hinata groaned. First Natsu was pushy, and now Kenma wanted him to do a ballroom dance?!

This was different, though. Hinata had to recognize that much.

Kenma wasn't pushing Hinata for any selfish purposes. He just wanted them both to create memories they could look back on fondly.

With some effort, Hinata managed to place his freehand on Kenma's shoulder.

"I'm trusting you here," he grumbled. The second he relented, the soft music got a little louder - Joseph was standing at the side of the room, controlling the volume and song at his employer's discretion.

"Much appreciated," Kenma teased. He applied light pressure to Hinata's side, then nudged the ginger's foot with his. Almost as if he'd done this before, Hinata slid that foot back with ease. Kenma grinned at the result.

When they sidestepped, it was a little harder, but Hinata soon got the hang of how far the step went out. Then he had to figure out how far forward to step, but Kenma easily helped him with that by pulling the ginger toward him each time. They went around and around, spinning around the living-room-turned-ballroom with giggles and musical laughs.

Kenma was entranced by the ginger's unfocused face as they danced. Sure, it took a lot of effort on Hinata's part to make their movements smooth and to improve the flow of their steps, but Hinata didn't portray that effort on his face. He was serene, calm, and beautiful. Light poured in, illuminating the ginger's face like he was standing before the sun, basking in its glory on purpose. The man, though not a dancer, was graceful in his own way, following Kenma with a step that got more confident the longer they twirled. Lords and Ladies would've clapped at the sight of their dancing; Kings and Queens would've been embarrassed in comparison.

At least, that's what it felt like to Kenma.

After what seemed like hours and seconds all at the same time, the two ran out of energy and retreated to one of Kenma's many sofas. Hinata laid his head on the gamer's lap, sighing when Kenma started running his fingers through the thick orange curls absentmindedly. Hinata's fingers traced up and down the gamer's bare arms, his mind wandering in the presence of familiar safety. He couldn't help but wonder; wonder what it would be like to give Kenma a chance. He could live without worry. He could be safe at any time of day. Truth be told, they'd make a great pair.

But that wasn't fair. Not to him or Kenma, because his friend deserves someone who loved him as much as Kenma loved them - not someone who just acted like it for their own benefit. The two were amazing friends, a power couple, and a duo to be reckoned with - but they couldn't be in a relationship unless Hinata loved Kenma back. The ginger couldn't do that to the person who'd accepted him from day one. Hell, Kenma was crazy enough to fall in love with someone like Hinata - someone who didn't have anything to give in return. The ginger knew how much of a burden he was. He often thought about it at night; what am I actually good for?

He didn't know that answer. Maybe there was no answer.

At this rate, he'd end up hurting Kenma.

And Kenma would probably let him - because Kenma knew Hinata well enough to know what haunted the ginger's mind. He knew how much Hinata would beat himself up, and he was familiar with the episodes when all Hinata could do was think low of himself. The gamer could predict all the things Hinata would forget to tell himself; Hinata would forget to remind himself of how he lit up everyone's lives. Hinata would forget about the way his voice made people smile, or how his smile could break through any clouds, or how beautiful he was through and through. He'd forget about all the things he did alone, without anyone's help, and all the things he did with the help of others.

Shouyou Hinata would erase the world, stare at a lonely, sunny reflection he'd never seen with his own two eyes, and degrade every inch of it.

"Shouyou?"

The ginger jumped a little, heading tilting toward the man who was currently playing with his curls. "Yeah?"

Kenma leaned down, his mouth hovering over Hinata's forehead. When he spoke again, Hinata's unfocused, golden eyes widened as he registered the lack of distance. "You wouldn't be acting like a boring, quiet, self-deprecating baka while you're supposed to be keeping me entertained, would you?"

The ginger squeaked, feeling Kenma's breath on his skin. "N-No! I was just thinking!"

"I already told you," Kenma muttered, smiling to himself. Hinata was just so cute. "When you're quiet, I know something's up."

With that, he pecked Hinata's forehead before slumping back into the sofa's plush cushions. Hinata freaked out, stuttering about 'keeping it PG.' The gamer snorted, flicking the ginger's forehead right where he kissed it moments ago.

"Relax, I'm just being friendly. Now, video games?"

"Video games?! Really, Kenma?"

"They're fun~"

"I can't play them properly, buttface!"

"My point exactly."