Pancakes and Pudding «« Kozume Kenma x (fem!) Reader

Prologue || Meeting

"Ah." Kenma furrowed his brows as he stared at the tv, the words 'Restart' and 'Quit' flashed on the screen for the umpteenth time. He sighed, saving his game and shutting off the tv. The game had just recently come out and received good reviews online. Most comments complimented the plot and graphics of the game, whereas others complained about it being too difficult, stating that it was impossible to fully complete it. Kenma became interested after reading the reviews and managed to save enough money for the game. He hadn't played a new game in a while and thought that this one would help cure his boredom, and it did, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult. 

He huffed as he flopped down on his bed, burying his face into the pillow. He has been stuck on the same level for a couple of hours now and tried different strategies, and yet none of them seemed to work. He closed his eyes, thinking he'd do better after a nap.

Tap. Tap tap.

Tap.

Tap tap. Tap.

Meow.

That is, if he can take a nap with this annoyance. Kenma grumbled incoherently and sat up, unable to sleep with all the noise. He drew back his curtains and flinched at the brightness, instantly regretting his decision, and squinted as the sun burned his eyes. He opened the window in an attempt to shoo the cat away, but it quickly jumped into his room. Kenma sighed, realizing that he now has to make an effort to take the cat out of his room. He was highly debating if he should just leave it there. Kenma looked back, only to see the small Calico cat making itself comfortable on his bean bag chair. He decided that he'll deal with the problem later, a nap was much needed at the moment.

"Wait, Pancakes! Don't wha-woah!" He heard a yelp, followed by a loud thump. Slowly peeking his head out the window, he spotted a girl laying on the ground, leaves tangled in her (h/c) locks.  

"Ouch...at least I didn't break anything." She muttered, rubbing the back of her head. Kenma flinched as they made eye contact. 

"U-um." Kenma started but was unable to find the right words before the front door slammed open and a black haired woman ran out.

"Oh my! Are you ok?" The woman asked, helping the girl stand up. Kenma watched as the two conversed, his mother lead the stranger into their house after a few seconds. He walked towards his chair and crouched down. The cat stared at him return, letting out a small meow. 

"Pancakes, huh? What a strange name." Kenma commented. Pancakes rubbed against his hand, purring softly as Kenma pet his head. The bell on his collar jingled and he could clearly see the name 'Pancakes' engraved on the silver metal. 

"Kenma!" Said boy sighed as he stood up and walked towards the door. His mother most likely called him so he can introduce himself to that girl, and that was one of the last things he wanted to do. Why must his mother torment him like this? She knows that he's not good with people.

Kenma reluctantly made his way downstairs, making sure not to trip over the small cat. He peeked into the dining room, spotting the (h/c) girl sitting across from this mother. Much to his dismay, Kenma's mother quickly caught sight of him, calling him over as she pulled out the seat beside her. He kept his gaze low, not wanting to make eye contact with the girl.

"Ah I'm sorry about my cat, I saw him jump into your room earlier. I'll just take him and leave, I'm sorry for disturbing you, 'mam!" She exclaimed and bowed quickly. Kenma noticed that her hair was still disheveled with leaves sticking out in some areas. His mother laughed and the girl sat back down, pink dusting her cheeks.

 "No, no, don't worry about it dear, it's no problem, right Kenma?" His mother asked, and glanced at Kenma, assuming he would agree with her. What Kenma wanted to say is it was not ok. He was already frustrated because of his game and now his mother is making him sit with a random stranger. Not to mention her cat was in his room doing who knows what. But of course, Kenma didn't say anything and watched as his mother and the stranger talked. 

He tuned them out, their voices seeming more distant as the seconds passed. His eyelids felt heavy and he began to doze off, and would've fallen asleep if it weren't for a sudden disturbance. Kenma jolted, suddenly awake as the cat jumped onto his lap and began to make itself comfortable. He inwardly cringed at the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

 "Pancakes! Oh gosh, I'm sorry! Let me take him from you. He usually doesn't like people but he seems to like you for some reason..." The girl trailed off as she approached Kenma and scooped Pancakes into her arms. He stiffened as she got close, her (h/c) hair brushing lightly against his cheek. He didn't miss the annoyed look the cat gave the girl and noticed the small cuts on her hand. He couldn't help but wonder if the cuts were from the cat or the tree, but he chose not to ask.

"Thank you for helping me with Pancakes!" The girl said, standing in front of Kenma. He took this time to really look at the girl. She seemed to be around his age and completely normal. There was nothing that really set her apart from any other girl he's seen. Though, it's not like Kenma really paid attention to girls. He didn't know if describing a girl as normal would be considered offensive. In his opinion, being 'normal' would be a blessing. Kenma wished he could be a background character, an npc in his own game, someone that not a lot of people paid attention to. He loved imagining himself as the main character in his own fantasies, but in reality he'd much rather be a background character to avoid unwanted attention. He really did hate how aware he was of what others thought of him. 

He watched as the cat, Pancakes, pawed at her cheek, but the girl seemed unbothered by it. Kenma nodded and looked her in the eyes for the first time. He was, to put it simply, absolutely captivated. He didn't know why he was so amazed. He's seen this shade of (e/c) before, it wasn't anything special, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. It was as if time froze, (e/c) eyes met his golden ones and everything seemed so right. He didn't hear the sound of the cat's bell, nor the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. The light from the outside seemed to hit her eyes at just the right angle, leaving her eyes to have a sort of glow, a sparkle. His chest filled with warmth as he stared into her eyes, eyes filled with innocence and curiosity he's never encountered. His breath hitched in his throat and he didn't know long he had been staring, but he quickly snapped out of it when the girl broke eye contact and turned to the door. 

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I'll be leaving now." The two Kozume's couldn't even respond before she was out the door, a soft 'click' signifying it was shut.A few seconds passed before Kenma's mother let out a light chuckle. She stood up and ruffled Kenma's hair before heading to the kitchen. 

"Dinner will be ready by six, make sure to be down by then." Kenma let out a small 'yeah' before heading back to his room upstairs. He glanced at his window which was still wide open and went to close it. He peeked outside and saw the strange girl walking down the street. She stopped and looked back as if she could feel his gaze and quickly spotted him. She raised a hand to wave but Kenma had already slammed the window shut and drew his curtains back.

She had caught him staring.

How embarrassing.