A Weird Kind Of Interesting

"You've got to be shitting me." Kenma says coldly, leaving Kuroo a little shocked. His voice doesn't rise or shake; it's flat, almost bored, like he's correcting something obvious. "I would never ever like a guy like you." Kenma says before continuing, eyes half-lidded like the conversation is already over in his head.

"I don't know who inflated your ego this much, but you seriously need to lower it." Kenma finishes with.

The words hang in the air after he speaks them, heavy in a way that doesn't match his calm expression. There's no anger in him, just a blunt dismissal, like Kuroo is something mildly inconvenient he's decided to step over. The silence that follows stretches longer than it should, thick and awkward, pressing into the small space between them.

Kuroo doesn't respond right away.

Instead, he stares at Kenma for a second longer, like he's trying to figure out if he misheard or if Kenma actually meant it that directly. The shock fades slowly, replaced by something more unreadable.

Then Kuroo lets out a small laugh.

It starts quiet, almost disbelieving, like he's amused against his will. But it doesn't stop there, it builds, a little louder each second until he's properly laughing, shoulders shifting slightly as he looks away for a moment. When it finally dies down, he turns his gaze back to Kenma with a slow, sly smirk that doesn't quite match the mood of the room.

"You're.. So unique." Kuroo mentions before he grabs his shirt back and puts it on.

The way he says it isn't teasing exactly, but it isn't praise either. It lingers somewhere in between, like he's tagging Kenma as something he doesn't fully understand yet but doesn't mind keeping in mind. He takes his time fixing his shirt, movements unhurried, like Kenma's words didn't quite land the way they were meant to.

Kuroo looks at Kenma for a minute longer, that same faint smirk still on his face, before turning away and heading to his room. The door closes behind him with a quiet, controlled slam, firm enough to be intentional, but not loud enough to echo.

Kenma stays where he is.

For a moment, he just stares at the space Kuroo left behind, expression unchanged. The room feels a little too still now, like it's waiting for something that isn't coming.

*What... was that about?*

The next day, Kuroo isn't around the dorm again when Kenma is up. The absence is becoming familiar in a way Kenma doesn't really acknowledge. He does his same little routine before heading out for classes again. He quietly yawns, rubbing at his eyes slightly as he drags himself forward. He seriously hates the mornings.

As Kenma steps into the hallways of his school, he spots Hinata from behind. That immediately reminds him of the small moment in the changing rooms between Kageyama and Hinata. It sticks in his head longer than it should.

"Ah.. Hinata." Kenma quietly says but surprisingly, Hinata hears him anyway, which then makes Hinata quickly turn around.

"Kenma\~!" Hinata says with excitement, quickly bouncing over like a cute stray puppy.

"Morning\~!" Hinata says again, full of energy. Opposite from Kenma, who always seems half dead in the mornings, expression flat and movements slow like he's still loading.

"Uh.. Yeah.. Can I talk to you?" Kenma asks.

"Hm? Me?? About what?? Don't tell me Kuroo did something!" Hinata says with immediate worry, leaning forward like he's already preparing to defend someone.

"When is he not?" Kenma mentions, almost automatically, but he quickly steers away from the topic before it drags him into something else. "But no, it's something else."

This perks Hinata's ears up and he straightens, attention fully locked in now.

"Yeah? What is it?" Hinata asks.

"Um.. How do I put it?" Kenma asks, pausing for a second before finally saying it. "Were you and Kageyama... friends before?"

That makes Hinata stop completely. The energy in him shifts instantly, like whatever was wagging inside him just freezes mid-motion. He looks at Kenma with slight surprise.

A small silence stretches out between them.

"Why do you ask?" Hinata asks carefully.

"Why?" Kenma repeats, blinking a little. "It just gives off that kind of energy."

Hinata lets out a small sigh before answering, voice a bit more serious than before.

"I don't know how, when Kageyama is such an asshole." Hinata says so bluntly it almost doesn't sound like him. It's the first time Kenma has heard him speak like that.

*Asshole...? Does Hinata not see the small care in Kageyama?*

"Yeah, we used to be friends." Hinata starts after a beat. "Best friends actually." He adds, a little softer now. "We met in the third grade."

That surprises Kenma a little. *That is a long time. How did things end up like it is now?*

"I know what you're thinking. How did things end up like how it is now, right?" Hinata says suddenly.

Kenma snaps out of his thoughts a bit too quickly.

"Uh..."

"No, no, it's okay." Hinata quickly says, shaking it off. "It's nothing big." He continues. "In the summer before heading to 9th grade, he ghosted me and didn't speak to me at all when we entered the same high school. It's been 2 years since."

*That's all? I thought there would be more to it.*

Before Kenma can say anything else, footsteps approach from behind.

Kuroo comes up from behind Kenma with Iwaizumi behind him. Without warning, Kuroo casually throws an arm around Kenma's shoulders like he's done it a hundred times.

"Morning, pudding head\~" Kuroo says with that usual sly smirk.

Kenma immediately turns his head slightly, unimpressed, and shrugs his arm off in one motion.

"Don't call me that." Kenma retorts.

"Why? Then stop having a pudding head." Kuroo fires back smoothly, that same annoying smirk not leaving his face for even a second.

Hinata just stares.

*Woah.. Does.. Kuroo like Kenma??* Hinata thinks to himself, completely thrown off.

Kenma just gives Kuroo a long annoyed look, then turns away and starts walking.

"Let's go Hinata." he says without looking back.

Hinata quickly snaps out of it and hurries after him, still glancing back once at Kuroo and Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi stares at Kuroo with a flat expression, one hand in his pocket, and the other briefly touching his neck.

"Wow, you really like annoying that Kenma guy." Iwaizumi mentions.

"Yeah, because it's fun\~" Kuroo replies easily.