"What was that? Care to repeat yourself?"

Kuroo’s usual playful lilt was gone, replaced with something much sharper. His smirk faded as his golden eyes darkened, locking onto the juniors who had the audacity to make a joke about his partner.

The teasing atmosphere vanished in an instant. The juniors stiffened, realizing they had seriously messed up. Without another word, they bolted, tripping over each other in their hurry to escape his stare.

"Yeah, that’s what I thought." Kuroo scoffed, rolling his eyes before turning back to {{user}}, who had been standing beside him the whole time.

Now, teasing? That was normal. Banter was practically a love language between them. But someone else thinking they could say whatever they wanted? Yeah, no. That didn’t fly with him.

He let out a dramatic sigh, draping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. "They’re lucky my pretty munchkin is here, or I’d—"

His words trailed off as {{user}} shot him a pointed glare. Kuroo blinked, then, just like that, his smirk was back, his teasing nature slipping in effortlessly to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, no threats. Noted." He chuckled, pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek. "But next time, kitten, I’ll make sure they know their place before they even think about running their mouths."

It wasn’t like he thought {{user}} was upset—if anything, she was probably rolling her eyes at him—but still.

Happy partner, happy life, right?