Chapter Text
Kuroo was waiting at the corner for Kenma, just as he had done everyday since before either of them could remember. Kenma’s breath came out in puffs in front of his face, his cheeks red from the cold. He was pretty bundled up, but the chill of the morning seemed to cut right through all of his layers.
Kuroo was on his phone, appearing unbothered by the weather, but looked up at the sound of Kenma’s footsteps. Kuroo flashed one of his signature grins and Kenma had to school his expression to one of practiced neutrality. Kuroo held out his jacket, offering it to Kenma wordlessly.
“I’m okay, thanks” Kenma bit out. Even speaking was causing him to lose warmth. Not to mention that wearing Kuroo’s jacket would just encourage the feelings that Kenma tried to squash on a daily basis. Nope, he couldn’t do it.
But Kuroo just looked at him knowingly and as they fell in step beside each other, tucked his jacket over Kenma’s shoulders like a cloak. Kenma felt his cheeks instantly heat up, but he was pretty sure one layer didn’t work that fast. Maybe the jacket was magic.
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All day, Kenma wore Kuroo’s jacket over his own layers, the size just big enough so that it could fit without squashing any of his clothes. No one batted an eye until they got to practice and had to change in the club room, Kenma emerging in his practice clothes and Kuroo’s jacket, having elected to wear it instead of his own coat.
“Isn’t that Kuroo-senpai’s jacket?” asked a towering presence behind Kenma. He didn’t bother to turn around, simply nodding at Lev’s question. Had he grown in one weekend? That was impossible, right? Yet somehow he seemed taller. “Wow! That’s so cool. I wish I could wear someone else’s jacket. But I don’t know if anyone’s would fit. Well, maybe if I …”
Kenma let the words of his junior wash over him as he tuned out, both of them entering the gym. Lots of the team was already practicing and warming up, the sounds of shoe squeaks and chatter filling the space.
Kuroo turned to look at them as they changed their shoes and Lev shed his outer layers, but Kenma kept Kuroo’s jacket on, ignoring the looks being sent his way. Even if he initially refused it, he still had every right to wear it. It was offered to him, after all. But when he looked up, Kuroo wasn’t smirking. Instead, he had a strange, unreadable expression on his face. He almost looked pained. Maybe he had eaten something bad earlier that day.
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By the time practice was over, Kenma was exhausted. Having shed the jacket long ago, he sat in the corner of the gym mourning the state of his muscles. He could already tell he was going to be sore tomorrow. Kuroo sauntered over, all confidence, and offered a hand to help Kenma up.
Kenma took the offered hand, using it to haul himself up. He tried to ignore the sparks he felt from the skin-on-skin contact, the way that he didn’t want to let go of Kuroo’s hand. How he could feel the warmth of another person, and the way that the touch lingered long after they separated. These thoughts should definitely not be at the forefront of his mind after something as simple as his friend helping him up. But he still had to fight down a blush as they made their way to the club room.
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As they walked home, Kenma was forced to look around and listen to Kuroo because his PSP was dead. He thought he had charged it last night, but apparently it hadn’t been properly plugged in, and all day he had felt its absence. He watched a group of girls pass them on the opposite side of the street, his eyes honing in on one girl in particular.
She was wearing leggings and a pleated skirt, dark blue with a pink stripe around the bottom. Kenma envied the way that the skirt swished around her legs, the way it framed her waist and accentuated her figure. He wished he could wear something like that and look that pretty. As she walked, the bottom of the skirt moved, and Kenma felt a pang of longing.
He was pulled out of his reverie when Kuroo snorted, saying “are you even listening to me? Too busy ogling girls?” Kenma was caught off guard, the true reason he was looking at them so far from that that he was confused. But he just shook his head and they continued walking. He missed the sour look that crossed Kuroo’s face, though.