Two different worlds - timeskip!Kenma x teacher!reader
That your car breaks down is annoying, especially when it forces you to run 15km in record time. But it also means Kenma Kozume is parked outside your school on a Friday afternoon.
“You could have woken me up and I would have driven you,” he replies in a short text message mid-morning.
The car is on the other side of the street, set apart under the shade of a tree and far from the line of parents’ cars coming to pick up their children. Inside, in the driver’s seat, is Kenma with a gray hoodie with the hood up. Sunglasses. And of course, the engine off.
He tells himself it’s simple. The operation consists of 3 simple steps: Wait → pick you up → leave.
There will be no interaction with anyone and he won’t draw attention. Or at least that’s what he thought, because he hadn’t taken into account one small detail: a car like his draws attention. Even if it’s a silver sports car with a simple style, it’s still a very high-end car.
The bell rings and Kenma sighs, resting his forearms on the steering wheel and letting his head fall between them. He lifts his head and sees himself in the rearview mirror, starting to regret a little having wanted to come pick you up. His attempt to stay unnoticed only makes him look more and more like a suspicious guy.
“Senseeeei!!” you hear as soon as you walk out the main door. Half a dozen arms wrap around you instantly. Suddenly there are arms everywhere.
Around your waist, your back, your arms:
“Careful— careful— I can’t breathe—!” you laugh, but you don’t pull away, instead you pat a few little heads.
“Don’t forget to read the story I wrote, Sensei!!”
“I’m going to finish the model this weekend!!”
“I’ll read the book you told me that doesn’t have pictures!!!”
You answer every single one.
“Have a good weekend, sweetheart”
“Show me on Monday, okay?”
“I’m proud of you, you know that? You’re working really hard”
“Don’t forget to rest too!”
Kenma watches from the car, not quite sure what to think about the situation. Very few times had he seen what your job actually consists of. And, without a doubt, it was very different from his. But, it had been a long time since he had seen you this happy.
You crouch down to a child’s level, fixing the zipper of their jacket. “Be careful, we don’t want you to catch a cold, right?”
One presses their face into your side as if that were their place while you battle with their classmate’s jacket.
It’s not just the kids, the parents also start approaching and surround you.
“Hey, sorry— a quick question about reading…”
You turn instantly, attending while you manage to close your student’s zipper and give their little hand a squeeze, guiding it to their mother’s hand.
Nodding, thinking, smiling softly.
“Maybe try shorter texts… something he enjoys, not just what he should read. If we force them we’ll only create rejection towards reading, maybe one manga panel a day could spark a bit more curiosity”.
The father exhales, relieved.
“That makes sense. Thank you. I was getting quite worried”.
Another parent joins. Then another. And in the end you’ve already spent 15 minutes at the school gate.
From the car, Kenma’s gaze doesn’t move.
“…Wow.” - a kid points toward the other side of the street - “…That car is so cool.”
You look where their little fingers are pointing and immediately recognize Kenma’s car. You smile.
“It must be really fast!” you laugh.
“I’m sure it is, but it’s important to drive carefully” - you say raising your index finger. They nod remembering the road safety lessons you had last month with the local police so they could ride their bikes knowing the traffic rules.
You realize how long Kenma must have been waiting for you. You got distracted and hadn’t taken into account that he was there. You say goodbye quickly and walk briskly toward the car, looking both ways before crossing the street and starting to run in your small heels as you cross.
You open the door casually, like it’s nothing and turn toward them raising a hand to wave goodbye again
“I wish! Alright, guys— go home, rest!
“Of course not!! I’ll see you on Monday” you smile.
And then you slip into the passenger seat.
“…Sorry,” you say, closing the door. “They get a little intense.”
Kenma looks at you. You kiss him briefly on the lips and then he fixes his gaze behind you at the group of kids still watching, waving.
“Wow, that really is a cool car” can still be heard in the background.
“Okay, yes, they’re very intense. They’re good kids.”
Outside, one of the kids waves again as he passes by the driver’s side with his father. You wave back instantly, automatically.
Kenma notices that too and starts the car in silence.
“…looks like they like you.”, he says, maneuvering out of the parking spot while you lean back in the seat.
“Told you. It’s like having a small army of tiny creatures. It’s very fun.”
“…You didn’t look tired.” You turn your head slightly.
“Out there.” - he nods toward the school, making half of his loose hair in his half-up style sway slightly.
“I told you I was fine. I just had to run a bit to get there on time.” He shakes his head once.
“You should have woken me up.”
You stare at him and for a moment you think you see a smaller version of him. The version you met training in the volleyball gym, by the way he still makes himself small, even in a car that stands out.
“Thanks for picking me up, Kenma.”
“Mm.” he rests his free hand on your thigh, right below where your skirt ends and squeezes gently. Kenma isn’t a person of many words, so many times, those small gestures of affection say everything.
“…They hugged you a lot.” - you snort with a little laugh.
“…No.” you turn your head to look at him and your gaze meets his from the corner of his eye
You blink. You turn fully toward him now.
“…Kenma Kozume, are you admitting jealousy of 10-year-olds?”
“…Don’t make it weird.” you laugh and at the corner of his lips there seems to want to appear a hint that looks like a smile.
You reach out your hand and interlace your fingers with his, since his hand was still resting on your thigh. He glances down at your joined hands and then back to the road.
“…Only with small humans.”
“…Why they like you.” you smile and taking advantage of the deceleration at a traffic light you’re stopping at, you kiss his cheek.
“So, are you going to have the meeting this afternoon or is it going to be—” - you’re mid-sentence, trying to figure out your boyfriend’s complicated and ever-changing schedule when you hear shouting.
You turn your head toward the sound, coming directly from the other side of the window and start listening more closely.
“SENSEEEEEI!!” You flinch, raising your shoulders and just before moving your head you see Kenma’s left hand tighten slightly on the steering wheel.
Waiting next to you at the light is a red car stopped with the window down and two kids practically hanging out of it.
“…Oh my god.” You say softly. They’re Torū and Yuri. The twins. Yuri… Yuri loves watching Kenma’s videos, he never stops talking about him… oh no.
Both of their faces light up instantly when they see you lowering the window.
“Hey!! What are you doing out of your seat—sit properly!” - you’re smiling too much for it to sound like a real scolding but they know you mean it and they settle back, putting on their seatbelts.
“I’m with my dad!! Look!!” the driver gives you an amused nod and waves briefly.
“Sorry, they recognized the car and knowing you were inside there was no stopping them. They didn’t stop until we caught up with you.”
You laugh at your students’ eagerness to see you again after you had just said goodbye to them four streets ago.
“It’s fine, don’t worry.”
Inside the car Kenma Kozume has gone completely still and pale, thinking that the smallest movement could trigger an explosion of screams and recognition. However, it’s the few strands of hair peeking out of his hood that make Yuri lean forward again in his seat, his eyes shifting from you to the driver’s seat.
Kenma’s hood is up. The sunglasses are still on and because of the position of the sun half of his face is still…
“…Sensei,” the kid says slowly.
“…Your driver kinda looks like—”
You freeze and blink, waiting for Yuri to finish the sentence. The wait at the light is starting to feel endless.
Kenma hasn’t moved since you lowered the window and you start to think maybe he has stopped breathing.
“—that streamer I told you about!”
His dad turns toward him.
You try to recover instantly and trying to act natural as best as you can.
“Yeah! The one I watch all the time!”
You nod, like it’s completely new information.
“Wow. What a coincidence.” you say while his father shakes his head in disbelief.
“He’s obsessed… sorry about that, the other day we caught him watching videos at night… we don’t know what else to do to make him sleep.”
The kid squints harder and leans even closer. Kenma tilts his head just enough in the opposite direction in a subtle and precise way.
“SENSEI, ON MONDAY I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I GOT FOR OUR BIRTHDAY, okay?” - says Torū from his seat. You smile widely seeing that, finally, the topic has changed.
“OF COURSE! I hope you have a great time Torū, on Monday I’ll bring something too, okay?”
“YES, SENSEI, you’ll see my grandpa said—” the kid is cut off mid-sentence when he’s interrupted.
“…No, but like— his vibe is the same,” Yuri insists, still staring at Kenma.
“Maybe he copied him,” you shrug trying to end it.
Kenma almost chokes hearing that. You must have sounded really impatient, because his father apologizes again.
“I’m really sorry, he doesn’t mean to make your… partner? brother? friend?… OH, no sorry, I don’t want to assume anything, it’s just Yuri and Torū…”
You’re starting to feel so much secondhand embarrassment that you feel the need to stop him. OH MY GOD WHEN DOES TRAFFIC START MOVING ON THIS STREET!!!
“YOUR BOYFRIEND SENSEI?? YOUR BROTHER SENSEI??” - they both shout at the same time
You start shaking your hands impatiently while the poor man starts apologizing again. Luckily, Yuri speaks again.
“Sensei, your car is SO COOL!!”
“It should be!! You’re the coolest, you deserve cool things”.
“Have a good weekend!!” - you say impatiently while slowly rolling the window back up. “Behave, okay?”
“…Most of the time,” Torū corrects
The light is still red. Time stretches as you keep raising the window. Your personal hell must be a very specific place and this is definitely one of its stations of penance.
“…Sensei?” Yuri calls again when the window was almost up.
“…DON’T FORGET WHAT YOU SAID!! BRING SOMETHING ON MONDAY!” - you soften instantly and your shoulders start to relax again.
Their father starts to drive. But they twist in their seats just to keep waving.
You wave back just as enthusiastically.
Kenma waits a few seconds before moving so he doesn’t cross paths with them again. Meanwhile, you both stay in complete silence.
“Kenma…” You look at him from the corner of your eye and see he’s a bit pale.
“I panicked. I’m sorry if I wasn’t able to— .”
Kenma exhales long and deeply.
“…You handled it well.” Hefinally says.
“Thank you, Ken.” - you say. It wasn’t the first time he had been recognized, or at least almost, but it was the first time you felt like it was because of you. You knew how much he hated attention, even more since he started streaming, but coming to pick you up had been risky.
“Mm.” - he doesn’t say more. You don’t want to push him, that never goes well. So you have to choose your words carefully
“…He almost recognized you, Kenma”
“…How do you feel about that?” he thinks for a few seconds.
Oh no. You knew it had been a very bad idea. He looks at you and sees your worried expression.
“But not because of him.” You smile slightly, lifting the corner of your lips
“Because of the attention?”
“He really likes you, you know?.”
“…I know” Kenma’s grip on the wheel loosens slightly. - “but I think it was because of you. They were waving at you like they were going to fall out of the car.”
“…You waved back the same way.”
“…You match them.” he says quietly.
You tilt your head like you don’t quite understand what he means. You don’t answer right away. You just look at him.
“Is that a bad thing?” You finally say
And after a few seconds, your hand finds his sleeve. Holding onto it as if you wanted to let him know you understood what he meant.
He shifts his arm slightly closer to you.
“Maybe I’m starting to understand why you like your job so much,” he says as he turns off the engine of the car he just parked in his parking spot.
