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Beep, beep, beep.
Kenma pushes himself up out of the bed, rubbing at his eyes. He’s been awoken to what could be a phone alarm, which seems like it would be within the realm of the normal, if not for one thing…
Kenma doesn’t set alarms on his phone.
Even now, in his second year of high school, he relies exclusively on his mother to wake him up. Or, on rare occasions, Kuroo, who is more than willing to burst into his house without invitation and shake him awake. He’s never once set an alarm on his phone.
So this is… alarming, to say the least.
Slowly, he opens one eye so that he can take in the room he’s in. It looks oddly familiar - the desk loaded with chemistry books, the corner with a volleyball, the clothes hanging neatly in the closet, including a Nekoma volleyball uniform with a #1 on it….
Shit. He’s in Kuroo’s room.
Had he fallen asleep at Kuroo’s last night?! No, that couldn’t be right. Kuroo himself seldom stayed at his own house, preferring to come over to Kenma’s and eat Kenma’s parents’ delicious cooking before passing out on the spare futon or in Kenma’s bed, depending on the night. And as far as he remembers, he’d fallen asleep in his own bed last night. So… what?
Had Kuroo broken into his house last night and carried him to his own bed? But Kenma would’ve woken up if that had happened, right? He blinks again in confusion, and suddenly is hit with a rush of alertness and energy unlike anything he’s ever felt in the morning - well, unlike anything he’s ever felt, period. Especially in the mornings, he typically feels exhausted and sluggish. So what the hell is going on?
He sits up, his heart pounding, and a piece of black hair falls into his eyes. A piece of black hair that’s far too recognizable.
“Kuro?” he mutters, but that’s ridiculous. There’s no one else in the bed with him, no warm body parts pressed against him. So where is the hair coming from?
Unless…
He darts out of bed, moving faster than he ever has to turn on the light switch and then stare at himself in the mirror. It’s not his reflection that looks back at him, though. It’s Kuroo’s.
Confused, he raises his hand to touch his face, and it’s Kuroo’s big hand that brushes against his face, the calluses on Kuroo’s fingers running along his cheek. He pulls his hand down as though he’s been electrocuted. Shit, what the hell is going on?
He heads to the front door, determined to talk to Kuroo - who apparently is in his body, or he’s gonna start to worry about what would’ve happened to it. But Kuroo’s already standing at his front door.
Or rather, his own body is standing at his front door. He’s never been able to look at himself objectively, much less down at his own body from above. Shit, his roots really do show through, he thinks somewhat regretfully.
“Kenma?” spills from his own lips, and God, does that sound weird. It’s Kuroo’s inflections in Kenma’s voice. “Is that you?”
“Yeah,” Kenma manages. “I’m assuming you’re Kuro.” Damn, his - Kuroo’s - voice is really deep. Kenma’s not sure he’s noticed this clearly before.
Kuroo laughs, which sounds weird coming from his own lips. “That’d be me,” he says. “God, I thought you were lazy, but it feels like I’m trudging through fuckin’ mud right now. No wonder you don’t want to run during practice.”
“No, you just have an inhuman amount of energy,” Kenma retorts back. “No one should feel this energetic at six AM.”
Kuroo-Kenma shrugs in response, then sags a little bit. “What the hell are we gonna do?” he asks. “School starts in an hour.”
“What can we do?” Kenma says. “We have no idea how the hell we ended up like this. So I guess we just go to school, try to act like each other all day, and then once we get back home, we scour the internet for a way to get back into our own bodies.”
“Ever the voice of reason, aren’t ya?” The smug tone doesn’t translate as well into Kenma’s quiet voice, Kenma thinks, and he gives a quiet snort - which is much louder than he’d anticipated given that it’s coming from Kuroo. Kuroo rolls his eyes at him, which he thinks is one of the more fitting things he’s seen Kuroo do in his body. “Your snorts are much less cute when they’re coming from my body.”
Cute? Kenma thinks, his eyebrows knitting together. Kenma isn’t cute. Does Kuroo think he’s cute? He frowns. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Kuroo says. “Anyways, some pointers. Don’t slump over so much, that’s a you thing and a dead giveaway. Talk more. Try to guide the team like a captain would. Don’t play games unless you’re at home. Smile more. Smirk more too, like you’re aggravating people.”
“I’ve known you for most of your life, Kuro. I know how you act,” Kenma grumbles. “I’m more worried about you. Don’t do anything weird or obnoxious in my body.”
“Do I ever do anything weird or obnoxious?!”
“Pretty much all the time,” Kenma says, crossing his arms. “You know how I am, I hope. Don’t be loud. Don’t say weird things. Don’t act like you.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll do my best.” Kuroo sighs, then looks up at Kenma. “Do you think that we can pull this off?”
“I mean, who’s gonna believe us even if we tell the truth?” Kenma says. “Yes, I’m Kenma in Kuroo’s body. How weird does that sound?”
“Yeah,” Kuroo admits. “You got a point there. But anyways, go get dressed! You can’t show up to school as me looking like that. ”
“I could.”
“You won’t,” Kuroo says, and the look on his face is almost frightening. Apparently threats work a lot better when they’re coming from himself. So Kenma trudges back up the stairs to change into the actual school uniform, grumbling all the while.
Once he makes it back down, Kuroo’s waiting there for him. Kuroo frowns. “What, you aren’t gonna do anything about my hair?”
“This is how it always looks,” Kenma deadpans.
“I comb it!” Kuroo protests, then grabs his hand. Kenma glances down automatically, feels his chest squeeze upon realizing that it’s his own hand holding onto Kuroo’s, their skin brushing together. He feels his heart speed up, but tells himself it’s ridiculous. None of this would be happening if they hadn’t swapped bodies.
Kuroo drags him up the stairs - well, it’s less of a dragging and more of Kenma following him, because Kenma doubts that his body has enough strength to be able to drag a determined Kuroo. Finally, Kuroo gets him to the bathroom and grabs a brush off of the counter. “I’m gonna try to tame this bird’s nest,” he mutters.
“If you managed to,” Kenma says, “you wouldn’t look like you.”
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Kuroo gripes, even though Kenma was being serious. His hands start to run through Kenma’s - well, Kuroo’s hair, soft and gentle even though he has to pull on the dark strands to get them in some kind of manageable order. Once he’s done, it doesn’t look all that different to Kenma, but Kuroo seems satisfied.
“Good,” he says. “Now let’s head off to school, yeah?”
Kenma takes a second to compose himself. He’s never been touched by Kuroo like that before. And logically he knows that Kuroo’s only touching him because he has to, because he wants to make his own body look presentable for school, but that doesn’t mean his body is aware, unfortunately. He breathes in to try to calm the pounding of his heart.
He sends up a silent prayer that they’ll be able to switch back into their own bodies soon. He’s not sure how much he can take of - of this.
.
Their first challenge comes with morning practice.
They show up together, which isn’t abnormal, but when someone comes up behind him and says, “Kenma-san!” he almost turns his head around impulsively. Luckily, he stops himself just a second before he turns all the way around, and Kuroo turns his head around instead. “Yes?”
It’s Lev, Kenma realizes as Lev yells, “Come toss a few balls for me before practice starts, Kenma-san!”
Kuroo looks like he’s going to say something for a second, but then he closes his mouth, fixing Lev with a sharp stare. Good. “I think I’ll pass,” Kuroo says evenly.
“Aw, but Kenma-san,” Lev whines, and Kenma realizes that Kuroo would probably say something.
“Just give him a few tosses,” Kenma says, elbowing Kuroo in the side. “It won’t kill ya.”
Kuroo stares over at him, his eyes just a little too bright to be Kenma’s. “It might.”
“It won’t,” Kenma shoots back.
“It might. You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
Lev looks back and forth between the two of them rapidly, his head shooting from side to side and eyes wide with confusion. “It’ll just be a few tosses!” he says, which Kenma knows to be a complete lie. “Please, Kenma-san.”
Kenma gives Kuroo another nudge, and Kuroo finally sighs, the long-suffering way that Kenma always does. “Fine,” he says.
Lev grins, putting his arm around Kuroo’s shoulders - which, thankfully, Kuroo nudges off pretty quickly. Yaku glances over at Kenma. “He gave in pretty quickly today, huh?”
“Yeah,” Kenma says. “Maybe he’s just in a good mood today or something.” He wonders if that’s something Kuroo would actually say, since he’s not entirely sure what Kuroo says about him when he’s not around. Yaku doesn’t seem suspicious, though.
“That’s a good thing for you, huh?” he says, raising an eyebrow at Kenma.
Kenma doesn’t know what that means. Maybe that it’ll be easier for Kuroo to deal with Kenma when Kenma’s in a good mood? Maybe that he’ll try harder in practice when he’s in a good mood? But he nods, because whatever this is sounds like something Kuroo and Yaku have discussed before. “Yeah. Of course.” Then, in an attempt to sound more like Kuroo: “Too bad you’re not in a good mood today, huh?”
“What? I’m in a fine mood,” Yaku hisses, already bristling just from the little comment. Perfect, Kenma thinks. Kuroo wouldn’t be Kuroo if he didn’t piss off Yaku at least once per day.
“Oh, maybe it’s just your face then,” Kenma says airily. “Perpetual stink face, I guess I should say.”
“You’re such an asshole,” Yaku grumbles. “See if I ever help you sort out your love life again.”
Love life?! What the hell?
This Kenma certainly hadn’t heard about. Kuroo tells him about almost everything - too much, Kenma thinks sometimes. He tells him about the meals he has, about his gross dreams, about the dumb thoughts that pop into his head during class. But he’d never mentioned anything about his love life, much less his discussions with Yaku about his love life. Kenma tries not to let his shock show on his face. He makes himself croak out, “Fine, I don’t need your help,” but his head keeps spinning. Does Kuroo like someone? Why hadn’t he told Kenma? What the hell?
His heart sinks as he heads out to follow Kuroo’s usual routine: getting everyone together before morning practice starts. It was just starting to feel like he knew Kuroo so well, that the two of them were able to pull off acting like each other perfectly, but maybe… maybe he doesn’t know Kuroo at all.
.
Inevitably, practice doesn’t run as smoothly as usual.
Kenma’s not bad at blocking, but he’s no Kuroo either, and he doesn’t know Kuroo’s jump times. He’s shitty at hitting, though, and Kuroo’s not fantastic at setting either. They keep having to move off to the side to discuss - Kuroo telling him to jump faster and Kenma telling him to keep his wrists looser. Their teammates just stare at them, confusion etched into their features. Kenma can’t think of any explanation.
After practice, Kai pulls Kenma aside. “Hey, Kuroo,” he says. “Is something wrong? You seemed off your game today.”
Kenma frowns and coughs the world’s most unconvincing cough. “Uh, no,” he says, trying to make Kuroo’s voice come out raspy. “I’ve been feeling kinda sick today. So maybe that’s it. Y’know, the, uh, lethargy and shit.”
That sounds like something Kuroo would say, right?
“Right,” Kai says, sounding mildly unconvinced. “I was talking to Yaku earlier, and he told me about your plans for today. Does this sudden sickness have anything to do with that, by any chance?”
Plans for today? Kuroo hadn’t mentioned having planned anything out of the ordinary. And if he had planned something, he should’ve let Kenma know, because Kenma will have to do it in his place. Kenma blinks. “Uh, no. Nothing to do with that. Seriously, I’m just feeling a little under the weather, but I appreciate your concern.” God, Kenma sounds like an old man. But, well, that is how Kuroo comes off a lot of the time…
“Okay,” Kai says. “Well, if you need anything, you know I’ve got you. Captain and vice-captain solidarity and all that.” He gives Kenma a sunny smile, and as he walks off, Kenma finally releases his breath.
Kai is too observant, Kenma thinks. But there’s no way that even Kai would suspect something like this.
“Hey,” Kuroo says, coming back behind him, and it startles Kenma for a moment because he hardly recognizes his own voice when it sounds like that. Kenma turns around to face Kuroo, and Kuroo continues, “What did Kai want?”
“He just wanted to see why my blocks were off,” Kenma says, grimacing.
“I told you that you need to jump three seconds sooner - “
“I’m not used to having all these limbs,” Kenma interrupts, raising up one of Kuroo’s absurdly long arms in protest. “The weight distribution feels off. Anyways, he asked me if my plans for today were throwing off my game. You didn’t tell me about any plans.” His tone feels almost accusatory, but well, it is an accusation. Kuroo typically tells him everything, and here’s yet another thing that Kuroo had failed to mention.
What he isn’t expecting, though, is Kuroo’s reaction. “Kai knows about that?!” he yelps, his cheeks going pink and eyes widening. “How the hell does
Kai
know?”
“He said Yaku told him. How the hell does Kai know about what?”
“Nothing,” Kuroo says, and Kenma’s never wanted to see such a panicked expression on his own face. “Nothing at all! Just, Yakkun has as little respect for my privacy as ever. But it’s nothing for you to worry about! Seriously! It’s not something you could do for me anyways.”
“Not something I could do for you?”
“Seriously, Kenma. Don’t worry about it,” Kuroo says, giving him a grin, but it’s kind of unnerving on Kenma’s own face.
“Don’t smile like that when you’re in my body,” Kenma grumbles, and Kuroo just laughs.
.
Kuroo’s classes honestly might be just slightly less entertaining than watching paint dry. Kuroo’s smart, too smart, Kenma thinks sometimes, which means that he’s a member of the top class in his year. Kenma doesn’t know what the hell the teacher’s even talking about and prays that the teacher won’t call on him.
“Kuroo. Can you answer this one for me?”
Shit. Kenma gnaws on his lip, wishing that he had a psychic connection with Kuroo or something, because he has no idea how he’s going to answer this. He stands up. There’s an equation written on the board. Kenma squints to see it - it’s some kind of complicated chemical equation that there’s no way Kenma can figure out. He sees a chemical name he recognizes and hesitantly says, “Uh, chlorine?”
The teacher just stares at him. “I recommend you start paying more attention in class,” she says measuredly. “Be seated.”
Kenma groans as he sits back down. Kuroo’s gonna be pissed at him for that one. But, well, what could he have done? He’s never learned about any of this, and it’s usually Kuroo himself who teaches him.
Thankfully, he doesn’t get called on again in the first half of the day. Lunchtime rolls around and Kenma darts out of Kuroo’s classroom. He doesn’t really want to interact with Kuroo’s classmates, and given that Kuroo sometimes comes to Kenma’s classroom to eat with him, he figures this won’t seem suspicious. He hesitates outside the door. Kuroo quickly spots him and makes his way outside.
“How’s it going?” Kuroo says under his breath.
“Well, no one has figured anything out yet,” Kenma says. “But I did mess up a chemistry question in class and your teacher seemed really disappointed.”
“Ugh, shit,” Kuroo says. “Thank god I don’t have an exam today. Though, Kenma, your teacher seemed surprised that you were paying so much attention when I got a question right today.” Kuroo gives him a look , a look that Kenma ignores. Kuroo should know by now that Kenma doesn’t particularly care to pay attention in class.
“This sucks,” Kenma states flatly. “And practice is gonna suck today too.”
“We’ll get through it,” Kuroo says soothingly, and weirdly enough, even though it’s coming from his own voice, something about hearing it from Kuroo does make him feel a little better. “But, uh, hey. If Yaku or Kai say anything weird today, ignore them, yeah?”
Kenma narrows his eyes at Kuroo. “What d’you mean?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” Kuroo says quickly. “I just… you know how they are! And how much they love to make my life a living hell!”
“What? They’re both nice people, Kuro.”
“They are not, ” Kuroo says. “They are nice to you, but they torture me.”
“
Kai
tortures you.”
“He does,” Kuroo insists. “You just don’t see the evil side of these seemingly cordial individuals, because they like you.”
“Have I ever told you you’re a dork,” Kenma responds, but even as Kuroo laughs, there’s something unfamiliar in his - Kenma’s - golden eyes. Kenma can’t help the sinking feeling that he’s still missing something. Something big.
.
Kenma manages to zone out during afternoon classes, scribbling theories about how this could’ve happened in his notebook instead of notes. A troublesome fae: though that sounds like something out of his video games. Some kind of head trauma: could that even be a possibility? A weird screw up in the universe: probably the most likely, but also horrifying, because that implies that this could never be fixed, that he could be Kuroo forever. Perhaps even worse: that Kuroo could be him forever.
Afternoon practice rolls around, and Kenma doesn’t feel any better. He does his best to go through the motions. Scold Lev, coach Inuoka on his blocks (using the advice Kuroo had given him before practice), set up a practice match, do his best to hit Kuroo’s sets. But Kuroo’s sets are too high or his jumps are too low, and he ends up jumping straight into the net. He can feel Nekomata’s hard gaze on the two of them and gulps. There aren’t many people in the world that he’s terrified of, but Coach Nekomata is one of them. There’s nothing like being on the receiving end of Nekomata’s “I’m disappointed in you” talks.
Sure enough, after practice ends, Nekomata says, “Kozume, Kuroo. I need to talk to you two.” He lowers his voice a little bit. “Is there something going on with the two of you? Is everything all right?”
Kuroo and Kenma exchange a glance. Even outside of his own body, Kenma can read Kuroo like a book, and so knows that Kuroo wants him to be the one to respond. Swallowing, Kenma says, “Yes, sir. Everything’s all right. It’s just an off day, I believe.”
“Understood,” Nekomata says. “But please keep in mind that your personal lives should not interfere with practice. Anything going on between you two will stay off the court, yes?”
Anything going on between you two? Well, there certainly is something going on between the two of them, but maybe not what Nekomata is expecting. But what could Nekomata be expecting?! What does Nekomata think is going on between the two of them?
Still, he says, “Yes, sir,” in unison with Kuroo and keeps his head down.
On the way out of practice, Yaku is standing by the doorway. “Hey, Kuroo,” he says. “Can I talk to you for a second? Just Kuroo this time - sorry, Kenma.”
Kenma shoots a quick look at Kuroo, who is staring at him with wide eyes. Still, there’s no good reason for him to say no, and they both know it. Plus, Kenma really wants to know what it is that’s got Kuroo so nervous.
So he turns to Yaku and says, “Yeah, sure. I’ll meet you outside in a second, Kenma?”
“Sure,” Kuroo says, but the look of pure panic in his eyes hasn’t left. It’ll be okay, Kenma tries to convey with his gaze. It doesn’t seem to convince Kuroo.
“What’s going on?” Kenma asks once he and Yaku are alone.
“The hell do you mean, what’s going on?” Yaku asks, his tone almost… angry. Kenma finds himself even more confused than before. “Did you do it or not?”
“Did I do what ?”
“What do you think?! Only the thing you’ve been worrying over for months. Confessing to Kenma! What if he says no?! What if he thinks I’m weird? What if he hates me for it, Yakkun? I can’t ruin our ten-year friendship! And then finally I managed to convince you to confess to him today, only for you to apparently forget you were supposed to do it!”
What. The. Hell.
Kenma’s head starts whirling. There’s no way that’s true. There’s no way that Kuroo was supposed to confess to him today. He half expects Yaku to crack, to hit Kenma’s shoulder and say, “Hah, I really got ya, huh?” But Yaku’s face is serious, no hint of joking in his features, and Kenma feels like he’s going to keel over.
Yaku had mentioned helping him with his love life before. Yaku has been helping him with his love life by helping him figure out how to confess to Kenma. Kenma is his love life.
Well, no wonder Kuroo hadn’t wanted him to know.
Kenma realizes he has to say something, so he clears his throat. “Oh shit, yeah, that,” he says, trying to appear casual while his heart is leaping into his damn throat. “I was going to do it this afternoon on the way home from practice, y’know? When it’s just me and him.”
“It was just you and him this morning too,” Yaku points out, his eyebrows narrowed.
“Yeah, but Kenma’s grumpy in the mornings. You know how it is,” Kenma says. He hopes that Yaku won’t notice the slight tremble in his voice. “He’ll probably be better equipped to handle it during the afternoon.”
“Hmm,” Yaku says, his gaze still hard as he looks at Kenma. “Fine. But if you don’t do it by tomorrow, I’m gonna personally kick your ass. And don’t underestimate me because of my height, Kuroo- kun .”
Yaku’s pretty scary sometimes, Kenma muses as Yaku walks away. He’s never heard Yaku talk like that before. Maybe Kuroo is right, after all; maybe there are sides of Yaku and Kai he’s never seen before. He finds it kind of hilarious, though, that they use it to provoke Kuroo of all people.
Kuroo. Shit, Kuroo. Kuroo was going to confess to him today.
What the hell is he supposed to feel about that?
He pauses for a second, observing the feeling in his stomach. It feels like nerves, anxiety, but more than that he doesn’t think it’s entirely unpleasant. It’s more like a light tickle in his stomach, a slight warmth in his chest. Does he want Kuroo to confess to him?
He imagines it, imagines both of them in their respective bodies, Kuroo turning to him with shining eyes and saying he’s in love with Kenma. He imagines saying no - the look of abject sadness on Kuroo’s face as his answer sinks in. He imagines the awkwardness, the underlying weirdness in their friendship as they try to approach normality in their friendship again. He imagines Kuroo moving on and dating someone else, eventually marrying someone else. The unpleasant twist in his chest tells him that he does not want that.
So what does he want?
He imagines saying yes. He imagines the smile on Kuroo’s face, stretching into a grin, and knowing that he was the one that put it there. He imagines Kuroo leaning down to kiss him, and his heart jumps into his throat again, but in a happy way this time. He imagines playing his video games with Kuroo behind him, leaning against Kuroo’s well-built chest, Kuroo’s hands running through his hair.
Oh. Oh.
He wants that. He wants Kuroo. He wants to say yes.
It all makes sense all of a sudden. He stares down at Kuroo’s hands, imagining them intertwined with his own smaller ones. He suddenly realizes that he’s in Kuroo’s body. In Kuroo’s body. And even though he’s seen Kuroo change a million times, the idea of changing as Kuroo feels like something else altogether.
“Kenma?” A soft voice cuts through the air, and he turns to see his own head peeking in the door. “Everything okay?”
Kenma turns around, getting his bearings. “Yeah,” he says. “Everything’s fine.”
“What did Yaku want to talk about?” Kuroo asks.
“Nothing,” Kenma says evasively. He doesn’t want to have to say it to Kuroo, doesn’t even know how he’d say it. Oh yes, he said that you were gonna confess to me today. And yeah, I’m kinda hoping you will, ‘cause I just figured out I love you too. Yeah, not happening.
Kuroo raises his eyebrows. “Yeah, so he singled you - me - out to talk to you, me, about absolutely nothing. That’s bullshit.”
There’s something in Kuroo’s accusatory tone that bothers Kenma. He decides he’ll torture Kuroo a little. “He said you had something to tell me today,” Kenma says. “So what is it? Go ahead.”
“Oh, uh,” Kuroo says, scratching the back of his head. “I mean, it’s nothing big. I can tell you another day.”
“He said he’d kick your ass if you didn’t tell me today. Also, not to underestimate him because of his height.”
“Shit,” Kuroo says. “Well, I could probably take Yaku, right? If I immobilized him somehow - and I mean, I have the height advantage - “ He stops, hearing Kenma’s quiet laughter - that he’d tried to make too quiet for Kuroo to hear, but stupid Kuroo’s voice is too much louder than Kenma’s. “He already told you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Kenma says. “He did.”
Kuroo sighs, his shoulders sagging. “Damn. I was really hoping he’d be vague about it. But I guess that’s too much for Yakkun.” He looks completely defeated, an expression that’s not unfamiliar on Kenma’s face, as he says, “Listen, we can just pretend this never happened, okay? I knew it was a bad idea. I knew it’d make things awkward between us. But I guess that this was out of my control, so…” He shrugs. “I’m sorry.”
Kenma doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like the sound of defeat, the way that he sees his own body shrinking in, the way that Kenma himself always does when he’s upset. He doesn’t want to think that he’d done that to Kuroo. So he quickly says, “Kuro, I’m not rejecting you. I just… want to hear it from you instead of Yaku.”
“Oh,” Kuroo says, his eyes huge. “Oh. Well, in that case…” He looks down, his hands fidgeting, looking every bit the nervous person that Kenma has found himself to be. “Ugh, how do I say it? I guess I might as well just come out with it, huh?” Kenma notices the hint of red on his round cheeks as he says, “Well, we’ve been friends for ten years now, and there’s no one who understands me quite like you, no one who will understand me like you. I can’t imagine ever caring about anyone as much as I care about you. And with the help of certain people, I’ve realized that… I’m kind of in love with you.”
It’s a serious moment, Kenma knows. Possibly one of the most important moments of his entire life. And yet, he can’t help the laugh that falls from his lips, followed by a snort until he’s dissolving into laughter. Kuroo stares at him. “What the hell - are you laughing at me?!”
“I’m not laughing at you,” Kenma says in between his snorts. “I’m laughing at the - absurdity of the situation - being confessed to by myself, what the hell.”
Kuroo’s stare continues for another second, until he himself huffs out a quiet laugh that leads him into a laughing fit as well. “Man,” he breathes out. “Is that what my laugh sounds like? No wonder Yakkun’s always calling it obnoxious.”
“Unfortunately so,” Kenma responds.
Kuroo shakes his head, putting his hands on his hips in the typical Kuroo way, but it looks unfamiliar with Kenma’s body. “So, what’s your response, Kuroo-senpai?”
“I’d never say that.”
“You should.”
“But my response is yes, Kuro,” Kenma says softly. “I love you too. Despite your laugh and everything.”
“O-oh,” Kuroo stammers, taking a second’s pause before he speaks again. “Uh, that’s nice,” he says, and Kenma can see the tears prickling in the corner of his eyes.
“Don’t cry when you’re in my body,” Kenma reprimands him, stepping forward to pull him into his arms. It’s weird, he thinks. Really weird to be the taller one, to be able to rest his chin on the top of Kuroo’s head, to be the one looking down at Kuroo for once. He glances down at the top of his head. Damn, he’s never seen that before.
And then Kuroo leans up.
He presses his lips against Kenma’s before Kenma can even close his eyes. It’s possibly the weirdest experience of Kenma’s life. He’s kissing himself - those are his own lips, his own eyes looking at him like that, and Kenma jerks back. Kuroo laughs. “Yeah, that was an awful idea.”
“We’ll just have to wait until we’re back in our own bodies,” Kenma says. “Speaking of, did you figure out how to reverse this switch?”
“Not yet,” Kuroo says glumly. “Honestly, I was kinda hoping that the kiss would do it. Like in the princess movies or whatever. True love’s first kiss.”
“Kuro.”
“It was worth a try, Kenma! I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda desperate here.”
“No, it’s not that,” Kenma says. “I… have to pee. Pretty badly.”
“Wha - oh. Oh. ”
“Yeah.”
“Just don’t look!”
“You want me to pee without looking?! That seems like a terrible idea.”
“Well, I did it earlier.”
“You did?!”
“I had no choice, Kenma! What was I supposed to do? Fuckin’ explode?”
“Yes.”
“You’re the worst - figure it out yourself.”
“Strong words coming from the guy who just professed his love for me.”
“Mmm, yes, I do love you. So so much. But you’re still gonna have to pee on your own.”
“Ugh.”
.
They head over to Kenma’s after Kenma figures out a convoluted way to go to the bathroom, and both of them get on the internet to search for information about their current situation. “Most of it is just weird stories,” Kuroo says, sighing. “Nothing actually scientific.”
“Yeah, no records of it happening,” Kenma says. “So… what do we do?”
Kuroo glances at the clock. “It’s getting late,” he says. “I guess we just sleep and keep searching for stuff tomorrow?”
“Kuro,” Kenma says. “I cannot take another day in your classes. I have absolutely no idea what the hell they’re talking about.”
“I’m sorry, kitten,” Kuroo says absently, kissing his forehead, before he jerks back. “Ugh, my hair tastes like shit.”
“We have to switch back.”
“I don’t know what else to do,” Kuroo says glumly. “There’s nothing online. So I guess we just wait. What else can we do?”
“Stay here?” Kenma requests, the tone in his voice suddenly unfamiliar. Kuroo observes him for a second before he nods.
“Of course,” Kuroo says.”I’ll call my dad real quick, but he won’t mind.”
Kenma falls asleep tangled up with Kuroo, trying not to think about how weird it is to feel his own body pressed against him. But there’s something comforting in being this close to someone in his sleep, someone that, despite the weird body, is someone he knows and trusts completely.
And then he wakes up with aching limbs and an overly warm body.
“Kuro,” he mumbles sleepily, attempting to push one of the heavy limbs off of his side. And then his brain catches up with him.
Heavy? Kenma’s not exactly muscular. His limbs shouldn’t be heavy.
He pushes himself up quickly, extricating himself from Kuroo’s grasp, and glances down at the bed. That’s definitely Kuroo’s body sleeping beside him, his messy bedhead, his muscular arms and thighs. So does that mean…?
Kenma jumps up and heads over to the mirror, observing his reflection. It’s him, he realizes. He’s himself again. He’s himself again.
He darts back over to the bed faster than usual, shaking Kuroo awake. Kuroo blinks at him. “It’s not time to get up yet,” he says.
“We switched back,” Kenma says.
“Oh,” Kuroo says, picking his hands up from the bed and glancing at them in bewilderment. “ Oh. We did. Oh my god, we’re ourselves again.” And then he pushes himself up and out of the bed to look at himself in the mirror in turn. “Finally, I’m hot again!”
“Thanks,” Kenma grumbles.
“You know I’m only kidding,” Kuroo says. “I was much hotter before. In fact,” he says, brushing a strand of hair behind Kenma’s ear, “I was the most beautiful person on the planet.” He pauses then, as if taking in what he’s just said, and goes beet red. “I-I mean, well, you know.”
“That was almost smooth,” Kenma says, but he can’t help but smile. And his smile only grows bigger as Kuroo leans down to kiss him - actually Kuroo this time, with his stupid hair and warm eyes and hand the size of Kenma’s face. His lips are warm against Kenma’s, and it’s still a little weird because it’s Kuroo, who he’s known for so many years now. But at the same time, it’s not weird at all. It’s… nice. Really nice.
“That was much better,” Kenma comments after he pulls back.
“Yeah, agreed,” Kuroo says. “We should do it again.”
And so they do, again and again, reveling in their newfound method of intimacy. It’s soft and sweet, yet with a degree of passion fueling it, their breaths mingling together in the air between them. Once Kuroo finally takes a step back, he says in a hoarse voice, “So, uh, yesterday. Are we gonna ever, like, tell people that it happened?”
Kenma shrugs. “Who would believe us?”
“True,” Kuroo says, “but what the hell even happened?”
“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” Kenma says. “But it worked out for us, so…”
“That it did,” Kuroo replies. “And, uh, maybe I should thank Yakkun. I can say his motivational speech to get me to confess actually worked.”
“Yeah. Plus, he’ll think that you actually were brave enough to confess unprompted.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know that I would’ve confessed yesterday regardless of if that weird body swap thing had happened,” Kuroo says, his brow creasing.
“Sure you would’ve,” Kenma says, not buying Kuroo’s words at all.
“You and your lack of faith in me,” Kuroo bemoans, but he leans down and rests his forehead against Kenma’s anyway. “I want to say it as myself,” he says in a softer tone. “I love you, Kenma.”
Kenma’s heart flutters in his chest. He glances up at Kuroo and lets himself respond, for once with no degree of sarcasm, “...I love you too.”
Kuroo kisses him again, a little more passionately this time, and Kenma’s never been so grateful to be in his own body before.
