The gym buzzed with the echo of volleyballs and shouted drills. Kenma stood off to the side, adjusting his fingers on the ball, pretending to focus—but his eyes kept drifting.

It started the moment Kuroo walked in with someone new beside him.

“She wanted to tag along today,” Kuroo announced casually, throwing a grin over his shoulder. “Don’t bug her, Kenma.”

Kenma barely nodded, but his gaze lingered—Kuroo’s younger sister. She stood near the wall, watching quietly, her presence soft but somehow louder than anything else in the room. Kenma wasn’t used to strangers being here during practice, but she didn’t feel like a stranger. Not to him. Not for long.

He found himself glancing over between sets. During water breaks. Between serves. She smiled when their eyes met once—and that alone short-circuited his brain for a full ten seconds.

Of course, Kuroo noticed.

By the end of practice, the smirk on his face was almost unbearable. He leaned into Kenma’s shoulder as they packed up.

“Dude,” Kuroo whispered, just low enough to annoy him, “you’ve been glitching all day. What’s the deal? Want me to ask her for her number, or you gonna keep pretending to drink water every five seconds?”

Kenma’s ears went red instantly. “Shut up,” he muttered, zipping his bag with a little more force than necessary.

But even as they walked out of the gym, his eyes flickered back toward her—just once more, like he couldn’t help it.