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Ever since Lev joined the team, Kenma had a tall admirer hovering around him, bending to look at him and staring with bright eyes. Lev walked with him around the gym and asked him for advice on improving his receives, whining when Kenma refused. He whined more when Kenma criticized him, and he complained to Kuroo and Yaku, leaving them laughing and asking if he even knew Kenma.
Kenma could tolerate him, sometimes, but sometimes Lev was too loud, and his eyes shined with too much mischief. Lev was also everywhere, leaning over to talk to Kenma and making him feel small when all he could see was Lev when he glanced up. Lev hugging him gave him the sensation of being shrunken into a small dot surrounded by Lev. He didn't hug like Kuroo; Lev sprawled his arms and wrapped them tightly, his hands flailing in the air.
Kenma elbowed him and jabbed his stomach to stop him, darting away before he could catch a glimpse of Lev's face, and he never noticed his head hang until Kuroo told him.
"Lev likes you the most," Kuroo said grudgingly. Grudgingly, since it meant that Kenma could convince Lev to do extra practice much more easily than Kuroo, the kind of tedious practice to improve receives that Lev didn't like. Kenma could tell Lev to climb a tree and hiss like a cat, and Lev would do it. "Try being nicer to Lev. His moping is painful to look at."
Kenma didn't know why he was the one Lev latched on to, but Lev swooped in to hug and pat his head often. His hugs weren't slow and casual, they were quick and messy, and Lev's hands sometimes brushed his head and left his hair sticking out at odd angles. Head pats would be patronizing from anyone else, but Lev looked so sincere and pleased, and Kuroo's words rang sharply in Kenma's ears, so he decided to stand still for Lev.
Allowing Lev to touch him, pet him, and grab his arm was the worst decision Kenma ever made. Series of decisions, really, since he could say no each time but he didn't. He frowned and stared quietly as Lev bubbled with enthusiasm, and Lev nudged Kenma's comfort level more and more until he found Lev trying to tug him into his lap.
They were sitting on the floor, waiting around for practice to start, when Lev's hands on his arms startled him out of his phone app. Kenma felt the ground slide underneath him, and when his legs brushed Lev's, his head jerked up.
"Let me go, Lev."
Lev whined, "But why," and he pulled more. Kenma slid out of his arms and ran, running faster when he heard Lev's footsteps chase him.
Kenma tried to cut their tactile relationship off, but Lev leaned his elbow on Kenma's shoulder, brushed closer to Kenma than before and beamed. Lev hummed with pride when he was successful, and Kenma's eyebrows knitted from that. His lips tightened, his eyes flickered up to Lev, and he felt his stomach whir and climb into his throat. It got worse when Lev tried to hold him again, and Kenma squirmed away again.
Kenma let him get away with petting his hair. He really wanted to question Lev's fascination, but he didn't, and Lev pawed his hands over his head, or his arms or shoulders. Lev lifted Kenma's wrists and let them flop down, played with his arms using light touches and craning his head in curiosity. Kenma tightened his mouth into a frown, and he watched with his own curiosity, intently noting the arches and twitches of Lev's smiles.
It became harder and harder to refuse Lev, harder to take his deflated slumps when Kenma bothered to glance over his shoulder after he ran away. Kenma gave up after one particular time when he saw Lev turn dejectedly, eyes dulled and mouth pinched.
Kenma dragged his feet back to Lev. "Fine."
Lev raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked in a mumble.
Kenma tugged down on his wrist. "Sit down."
Lev's face smoothed into confusion, and he sat with his head tilted up, eyes on Kenma.
Kenma folded his legs beneath him slowly. After Lev saw him try to sit, he didn't wait, and he grabbed Kenma by the waist to yank him down. Kenma landed on his thighs, and he flinched from the impact, but Lev didn't. Lev was warbling happily, squeezing him and pressing himself close enough to Kenma for his chin to settle on Kenma's head. Lev rubbed his chin on his hair, and Kenma bristled as he felt his hair twist.
Lev pulled him into a routine, and he held Kenma in his lap before practices as Kenma played on his phone. Kenma narrowed his eyes when he saw Kuroo tremble under his hand from suppressed laughter, and he later discovered that this wasn't what Kuroo meant by being nicer to Lev. He didn't ask Kenma to indulge Lev. Kuroo informed him of this loudly enough for others to hear, and Kenma had to silence suspiciously entertained teammates with a glare.
He didn't have a problem with Lev holding him. Lev's bent knees around him dwarfed him, but he didn't mind the size difference that much. He didn't pull away until he felt something warm brush against his cheek during one session with Lev, and he whipped his head around with a wrinkled nose.
"Was that a kiss?"
Lev's lips pressed together in a guilty line, and he shook his head. Kenma's gaze flitted to his mouth, and Lev slapped a hand to cover it.
It was definitely a kiss. Only a pair of lips could imprint with that kind of pressure. Soft, warm lips that were hidden from view.
Kenma saw him wallow in practice after that, his receives clumsier than usual. He knew Lev's eyes and shoulders were drooping, but he watched Lev's mouth instead, his teeth running over his bottom lip and biting it as he made weak spikes. Kenma hated his train of thought, and he blamed Lev for getting him interested in a touch, for wanting to seal his mouth against Lev's and personally feel the way Lev's lips moved.
He tugged Lev's hands down and tested his own curiosity, and Lev lit up in surprise. Lev was as messy in kissing as he was with anything else, and Kenma didn't expect any other kind of kiss from him. Lev pressed him against the wall and bent down, but he ended up being too excited and squashed Kenma's face into his chest.
Kenma held his nose as he looked up at Lev. It didn't hurt that much, but Lev flailed in apology and offered to kiss his nose. Lev followed him home as he continued apologizing, and Lev sat on his bed with a flimsy pout and outstretched hands.
Kenma chose to sit at the head of the bed and played with his phone, and Lev leaned his elbows on the mattress and swung his feet in boredom. He didn't perk up until Kenma scooted closer, his phone still in hand as Lev tried to pull him over more and curl around him.
Lev vibrated warmth, with enough for Kenma to nod off sleepily, his phone falling on the bed. Kenma felt bad about falling asleep, and he invited Lev over again, slipping in between his legs on the couch to sit silently. Lev talked and stroked Kenma's hair, and Kenma could feel him bounce in his seat. Lev pulled his legs up and bent them like before, and Kenma flushed from the warmth thrumming from him. Lev's knees bumped into him as he shifted to try to make himself comfortable, brushing against Kenma more and jostling him, constantly reminding him of how close he was to Lev. His legs were long enough to knock into Kenma's arms, and Kenma felt like he was caged in by accident.
Lev tried to tangle his legs around Kenma, and Kenma ducked his head in embarrassment. Lev was determined to hold him as tightly as possible, and he backed up to bend his head and kiss the top of Kenma's ears and neck. Kenma stiffened from it, but thankfully warmth was a quiet kind of energy, and he didn't have to force himself to talk. Lev was content to just hold him.