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tobiosmilktea · 4 years

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artificial paradise — kozume kenma

4.3k words | genre/s: fluff | warning/s: badly written basketball games | pairing: kenma x f!reader

↪︎ in which animal crossing became you and kenma’s artificial paradise

a/n: request for @lalesnotes, this prompt was so cute thanks for requesting ! i kind of had writers block while writing this as i’m broke and have never played acnh nor played basketball lol

three pm and an aching body is what best described you at this very moment. with the slight burning sensation radiating throughout your thighs, sprinting as fast as you could across the basketball court in which you shouted, “i’m open!” it was accompanied by the squeaking of your sneakers against the shiny gymnasium floors of nekoma.

within a fraction of a second, your eyes swiftly flickered towards the scoreboard and the time. the scores were neck and neck with the time for the last quarter of the practice team neared it’s last evident seconds.

10... 9... 8...

the ball was thrown towards you with its orange hues blending into a blur as you had snatched it midair. planting your foot firmly into the wooden baseboards of the court, you jumped high in the air. it was that very moment that everything felt like it moved in a slow motion, that everything muddied into nothing but that very moment; with the mixing cacophonies of shouting teammates and the thunderous pumping of your blood and adrenaline, nothing mattered but that shot.

and just as quickly the feeling of rising spiraling skies soared, they diminished like a crashing wave with your feet landing square on the ground again. your eyes were soaked in the liquor of the innate animistic adrenaline whenever you got too into a game. no matter whether it was just a simple practice game like this, you still took the sport you were most passionate about just as serious as a real game. an inaudible sigh was pulled out of your lungs as you watched the ball swish into the net the moment the deafening noise of the last buzzer.

cheers erupted from the sidelines, mostly from your teammates, the managers, and your coach lulled through one ear and out the other as your arms finally drop to you sides.

“great job today, (y/n).” your team captain compliments, patting your shoulder as her tall figure loomed over you. she was a basketball player and it shouldn’t be much of a surprise when your entire team’s average height was much higher than most. it would in fact be a lot higher if your height didn’t skew the numbers so greatly.

it wasn’t like you were that short. in fact, you were taller than majority of the girls in nekoma at a good 170 cm, not that it mattered anyway. you were still a substantial part of nekoma’s woman’s basketball team as their point guard, you always held such a title since you started playing in elementary school.

“thanks, yoshida.” you threw her a smile as you made your way towards the benches to grab your water bottle.

you tugged at the lid, getting ready to take a sip when your wandering eyes fell upon a familiar face lingering near the entrance of the gymnasium. kozume kenma in all his nonchalant glory was waiting near the entrances like he always did after school. since your first year together, he had that habit of arriving to the gym early to watch you play. however, never in a million years would he actually reveal that type of information to you as he seemed you would deem it as creepy. he didn’t want to sever the already lacking connection with you by saying something stupid. so yeah, his only excuse was that volleyball practice takes place after the basketball team’s.

it wasn’t at all a complete lie, it was true, which is the only reason why you don’t give him a mere look of disgust whenever you see him arrive to the gymnasium thirty minutes before his actual practice starts. usually you would greet him kindly once you had your bag all packed up and ready to leave. a simple wave and that sweet smile you always had on whenever you said ‘hi’ or ‘goodbye’ to him was always enough to fuel his yearning heart for you.

you were this close, and yet he couldn’t help but seem farther than he thinks he is.

your eyes finally left nekoma’s setter the moment you saw that he was too enamored in his game to even catch your glance like he normally does. you sipped quickly from you water bottle before packing your things up in your bag. grabbing one of the straps in a quick swipe, it lands on your right shoulder as you made your way towards kenma.

upon closer inspection, he was actually playing on his gray nintendo switch lite with little sound emitting from the console that rang familiar in your ears. the game’s nuanced cacophonies was far too iconic for you not to recognize from the villager’s incomprehensible mumbles and the sounds of getting a rare fish while fishing switched a flip in your brain. without a second thought, you approached kenma much faster than you anticipated.

you had definitely caught him off guard when he stared at you with enlarged eyes at your sudden burst. you didn’t even say ‘hi’ to him before bombarding the poor guy.

“is that the new animal crossing?” you beamed at him.

kenma’s heart jumped when you did so, only to beat faster than ever when you peered over his shoulder to watch his game. this was the closest you were to him and he could hear your gentle breathing and your warm aura completely surrounding his body in a warmth he didn’t actually hate for once. the was the thing he liked most about you. an action like this—ultimately invading his personal space like kuroo and lev always did—was something he always hated, but he didn’t mind if it was you. if anything he wanted you closer as you intoxicated him with your smell of sugarcoated cherries and dazzling psyche.

“yeah,” was all he could say. it was breathless and laced with a sudden shock that you didn’t mind knowing that he was usually quiet.

“your character is really cute, it looks just like you.” you complimented and kenma could’ve swore he would have confessed to you then and there when you literally just called him cute. you didn’t even notice his burning red cheeks as you continued, “you should add me so we can visit each other’s islands.”

kenma swiftly nods, trying to act as his usual, mellow self when he handed you his switch. he looked nonchalant, but in reality, he was bouncing off the walls. you typed in your info quickly before you offered the device back to him, your hands touching his slightly. “thanks,” kenma almost strains as he smiled at him one last time before waving him goodbye.

“i’ll get on later!” you exclaimed as you were already out of the gym, watching as the setter pursed a smile and waved back at you gently.

consider the following: how the hell did you and kenma end up talking about your love lives while playing animal crossing?

well the answer was simple, really. you and kenma had been playing together on animal crossing for a good few weeks now everyday after school once your basketball practice and his volleyball practice had finished; you two log on and go to each other’s islands doing nothing but occasionally trading a couple turnips, fishing, and catching spiders together. and in those past few weeks you and the setter have been getting to know each other through the game in a more or less practical way.

so far, your only way of communication is from chatting on the actual game, instead of perhaps calling each other or facetiming. you two literally had each other’s numbers, and yet you both loathe the fear and the racing pulse of asking the latter whether or not they wanted to talk over the phone instead.

you were surprised on how consistently fine you two were talking like this when it tended to get a tad bit annoying at times. like when kenma had so much more to say, but his message would’ve been too long and double texting was apparently something he was a bit embarrassed about. apparently, he thinks he’s being annoying if he responded more than once in a row. you on the other hand, believed that his short answers meant that he was starting to get bored of the small talk. honestly, it was understandable the amount of times you two talked about each other’s days while fishing.

so here you were, trying to spice things up in the conversation by talking about your love lives (or lack thereof) while hanging out on kenma’s island. it was a bit of a leap as you literally jumped from talking about your upcoming sports games to whether you two were in relationships.

lycheey/n: do you like anyone?

kenma practically felt his heart soar and going a bit lightheaded when you asked that question. his palms started to get clammy as he gripped onto his nintendo switch tightly, thumbs hovering over the keyboard as he hesitated to type.

the memory suddenly rang over him to early today when kuroo noticed how close you were standing next to kenma. you watched him play whatever rpg game he was incredibly enamored in, admiring his chamomile eyes and dry cheeks as you completely ignored kuroo who stood right there. kenma didn’t even notice how close you were next to him as the past weeks you had been hanging around him during lunch, he perhaps had gotten used to your presence—almost angelic and comforting. if anything, if you were to suddenly become absent from his side, he would immediately feel the lacking warmth of your aura he loved so dear about you.

“i think you should confess already,” kuroo had discreetly bumped his shoulder with kenma as he watched you walk away.

the setter had almost choked on his juice box as he gave a look towards the raven haired boy. “that’s not gonna happen.”

“uh, yes it will.” kuroo scoffs, pressing further into the topic. “i am not going to graduate from this high school without you confessing to (y/n)!”

“stop being so loud!” exclaimed kenma as hues of pink embarrassment tinted his cheeks. he attempted to block out his best friend’s stupid antics by focusing his attention back onto his game.

“i just think you should confess to her soon,” he muttered nonchalantly. “she does have a game after school on friday... maybe you could confess to her then.”

kenma ignored him.

but kuroo continued anyway, “if nekoma wins the game, it’ll be a good ass day for (y/n).” he tried to reason enticingly.

“and if our team loses?”

“(y/n) would be disappointed, but she would be immediately cheered up the moment the guy she likes finally confesses to her.”

kenma couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “she doesn’t like me back, kuroo.”

“are you kidding me right now, kenma?” his eyes widen in utter surprise, “she’s literally around you almost everyday during lunch and you two play animal crossing for hours after school. you’re telling me, that she doesn’t like you? kenma, any person with half a brain cell can see that you both have feelings for each other.”

from then on, that thought forever spiraled within kenma’s head the rest of the day. he figured it would’ve disappeared into oblivion by the time he hopped onto animal crossing with you, but the moment you asked him that damned question, it only ached in reincarnation. it turned his mind into a road of hurricanes as he finally noticed how long he was stuck in his thoughts that minutes had gone by of not answering.

without even thinking, he immediately typed:

kenmaclan: yes.

fuck. kenma thought, why the hell did i say that?

he swallowed his nerves as he straightened his posture the moment he saw that you were typing.

lycheey/n: i like someone too. i’ve actually liked them for a while now

there was an inkling within kenma as his throat suddenly dried upon reading your text. the inkling that perhaps you were talking about him (just as kuroo implied) left his imagination to completely explode into epiphanies of his dreams and wishes as his heart threatened to combust right then. you didn’t even confess to him and yet the setter found his fingers liking faster than his brain could comprehend what he was even doing

kenmaclan: i like yo-

but before he could type the full response, you had already sent another message.

lycheey/n: it’s getting late, kenma. it was really fun playing with you today, same time tomorrow?

kenma felt his shoulders shudder in relief as he immediately deleted his text. perhaps it was the world telling him it wasn’t a good idea so say at that very moment and he was incredibly thankful that you had sent your message a millisecond quicker. it perhaps spared kenma from another age of absolute embarrassment that he wanted to just crawl in a hole and live there for the rest of his life.

kennaclan: goodnight, (y/n) :)

today was perhaps the day that kenma would meet his demise. it was finally friday and the final school bell rang across nekoma in a uniform blast. almost immediately, students packed their things and made their way towards the gym to watch the basketball game as inevitably, kenma found himself within the migrating crowds as well.

his pumping nerves ached, palms perspired in a clammy mess, his heart thudding against his lungs and rib cage at a hundred miles per hour, and even his peachy lips swelled into a crimson from the amount of times he nibbled at them impatiently. was it obvious how nervous he was?

evidently, the day of kenma’s demise was the day he was going to confess to you and never in his life he just wanted to disappear. he was far too deep within his nervous psyche to even notice he was already in the gymnasium, sitting next to kuroo while he stared off into oblivion.

kuroo noticed your gaze glancing upon kenma, causing the volleyball captain to swiftly pinch his setter into reality to meet your eyes.

within a snap, kenma found you on the sidelines of the basketball court warming up. you smiled at him so sweetly with your usual wave of your hand towards him, the boy couldn’t help but immediately forget his nerves to smile back. it was so obvious how much to affected him, it was crystal clear. yet both you and kenma refused to wipe off the fog to fully see.

the game started as usual, nekoma had touched the ball first the moment the ref tossed it up high in the air. fortunately, nekoma was in the lead by a good five points, and yet that could easily change if anyone let’s their guard down even for a second.

you liked to think that you were always competitive no matter what. you were willing to turn anything into a competition from basketball games to racing on who could log into animal crossing faster. kenma always enjoyed that little fire within your eyes, especially when he watched your figure dash down the court with the ball in your grasp. dribbling it quickly, you tossed it up towards the hoop feeling the entire court’s eyes upon you as you watched the orange ball roll around the hoop before falling successfully through.

a cheer emitted from kenma and kuroo as they jumped up from their seats. it wasn’t the most groundbreaking shot as it only added two points to the score board, but any shot made by you was something kenma would always cheer for.

it continued like this for the rest of the game. it was you who often shot or assisted your team into scoring as you kept your team ahead from the cusp of falling behind. nekoma was only one point ahead from the opposing team in a constant pendulum of tying, to being behind, to catching up again, to getting ahead once more. it was stressful on everyone present in the gymnasium. it had kenma teetering in the balls of his feet as every sudden move the players made, he felt his breath hitch.

the sounds of hearts pounding in quick rhythms and blood surging didn’t cease, in fact it only worsened in the forth quarter of the game when nekoma and the opposing went neck on neck.

the desperation on both teams were evident as sweat and adrenaline left your body drenched in a heated fervor.

the opposing team swiftly attempted a shot from the right side of the three point line. you watched as the basketball spun in revolutions, travelling through the air beneath the bright harsh lights of the gym. you hadn’t even noticed yourself holding your breath as the ball neared the hoop, it was only then it ricocheted off the metal hoop and against the backboard, causing the ball to fall off to the side instead of making it.

relief coursed through your body as the ball landed into nekoma captain’s hands, immediately triggering your body to move. dashing towards the other side of the court, a player from the other team blocked your view from yoshida with frustrated sigh left your lips as you attempted to move away from the player blocking you, rising your hands up as if to call for yoshida’s attention.

the captain’s eyes flickered towards you and another teammate swiftly. you were in the perfect spot to make a spot, and yet you were stick being blocked by the opposing team. meanwhile, your other teammate was open and yet she was way to far to make a shot guaranteed to make it in. seeing that you were still too preoccupied, yoshida passed the ball towards your other teammate who dribbled her way towards to the hoop.

there was only twenty seconds left on the clock.

with everyone on the edge of their seaats, your teammate distracted the person blocking you enough for you to side step in front of them and retrieving the ball from your teammate.

“(y/l/n)!” she shouts, tossing it towards you. and with quick reflexes, you were already making your shot a millisecond after your retrieved it.

it was then you felt a major rush of familiarity.

10... 9... 8...

that same familiar ticking.

that same feeling of planting your foot firmly into the wooden boards of the court and jumping high in the air. it was that very moment that everything felt like it moved in a slow motion, that everything muddied into nothing but that very moment; with the mixing cacophonies of shouting teammates and the thunderous pumping of your blood and adrenaline, nothing mattered but that shot.

you swore you felt like you were back in the middle of a practice. from the past months of hard work was leading up to this very moment and you hoped to the gods that you were the one to make this shot. you were tired and fatigued, your legs burned at every step you took and your lungs ached at the freezing bite of the air conditioned gymnasium air. if you were to miss, the game would continue on to overtime with your ability to stay at top shape was quickly diminishing.

with exhausted eyes, you watched the ball fall into the hoop with a perfect swish.

the sound of the basketball barely touching the net was music to your ears. certainly the sudden outburst of cries and shouts from the nekoma side of the gymnasium was like a lovely orchestra as the ball bounced on the floor in a rhythmic beat. the thunderous buzzer sound echoed throughout the building as all of a sudden, you were engulfed in a tight hug from the sweaty bodies of your teammates. warmth surrounded you like a knit blanket, savoring that feeling of happiness and excitement of victory.

kenma was absolutely beaming at you. with a bright smile that could blind any sorry victim, his voice was on the cusp of completely being gone from how loud he was cheering for you. that all your hard work from practicing until your feet bled to even playing animal crossing with him despite being so incredibly tired, he was so proud of you, he wished you could see his face right now.

however, you were too preoccupied in your post-victory glow that you were with your team and shaking the hands of the opposing. to think that your usual aura of blossoming sunflowers was your very max was clearly wrong. if anything, you were brighter than ever know as kenma knew you could easily outshine the brightest of stars. he wanted to experience that—to make you so incredibly happy that you were irrevocably shining.

even when your team started lining up towards the sidelines, the setter immediately ran down the bleachers to see you. it hadn’t even hit him yet that he was basically at the cusp of confessing to you, but his excitement just to pull you into his embrace clouded his mind.

“kenma?” you say surprised as you saw his figure dash towards you.

your breath left your lungs as he pulled you close, “you did amazing, (y/n).”

in a sudden downpour of emotions, your cheeks heated up in pretty pink shades. you hoped that kenma couldn’t feel your swift beating heart through your chest as you buried your head into his neck. your rush of exciting adrenaline calmed at his signature aroma of sun-melted wax, wishing your could stay like this forever.

then the thought sudden rang through your brain that you were drenched in sweat and probably smelled like a bull’s ass. you immediately pull away as you threw him a nervous smile. “thanks,” you mutter awkwardly. “by the way, kuroo said that you wanted to tell me something?”

shit, kenma thought as it finally hit him. his fight or flight response was immediately triggered like nothing before with his usual nonchalant self was taken over by a bundle of nerves with blond hair.

he gulped, “i have to get home now, but i just wanted to say that we should meet on animal crossing once you get home, okay?”

your eyebrows furrow in sudden confusion. "um, okay.” you could barely say before the setter left the gym faster than he came to you.

a slight burning sensation radiated throughout kenma’s thighs, sprinting as fast as he could back to his house as the yellow enormities of the day blended into the dark blue hues of the night sky. he stumbled through the streets of tokyo, thanking the heavens that nekoma was only a couple blocks away from his house and not a whole train ride like you had.

it allowed him enough time to log into his animal crossing before you could in order to fix anything up on his island. you see, for the past two nights kenma had been purposely meeting at your island instead of yours as he was preparing something special for you. it needed to be perfect.

he was well aware that he did not have to guts to confess to you in real life, so his second option was the virtual safe haven you two had created on animal crossing. he had spent ages eating fruit from trees to get his character enough strength to break rocks in the right places he wanted them to be. turns out, it took hours of effort to do and lowkey it barely looks comprehensible. kenma definitely did have enough time to make it any better as he waited for the clock to tick to 7 o’clock. this was usually the time you arrived home and should be getting into animal crossing any second.

kenma’s nerves swelled for the umpteenth time today as this was the most nervous he had ever been. it wasn’t evident on his mellow visage, but inside he was could very well explode at any second. he was too caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t see the silhouette of the game’s airplane arriving to his island with you in it.

lycheey/n: i’m here! what did you want to show me?

the setter swallowed his pride, here goes nothing. surely, it wouldn’t be that bad right? he was confessing on animal crossing for fuck’s sake, if anything went bad then all he’d have to do is log off and never leave his room again!

kenma groaned frustratingly. why did it have to be this hard?

kenmaclan: follow me pls

each second that passed of their two avatars running towards the northweset side of his island, kenma fought himself to continue going and not just log out then and there.

the soft padding of your cute character’s feet came to a stop suddenly as your read the message written by the rocks and boulders. you felt your breath hitch with the thumping of your hide going into overdrive.

i <3 u

the message had said with dozens of flowers surrounding the rocks. if anything, you were glad you were alone in your room and away from kenma as you screamed into your own pillow. feeling your cheeks absolutely blaze in heat as even your ears tinted red from the sudden wave of adoration filled your veins.

this was so goddamn cute you were literally about to combust.

the thing is, you spent a good five minutes blushing to yourself that kenma was confused at your silence, your character wasn’t moving either and he was starting to think of the worse. what if you were laughing at him? what if you were thinking about ways to reject him? perhaps ways to loosen the harsh blow of it, maybe? but he was far from right. if anything, you were thinking of cute ways to respond, to correctly tell him your feelings that you both had for each other.

you finally regained your composure as you started typing.

lycheey/n: i <3 too

it was strange how a game like this had become your artificial paradise.

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