"I miss Shouyou."

The sentence stumbled out of their mouth before they could stop it. A blush rose immediately to Kenma's cheeks, burning up to the tips of their ears. Kuroo stared down at them, shocked, for exactly a second before a shit eating grin spread over his face.

"Oh ho ho, is that so?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. Kenma glared at him for a moment before looking down at their phone screen. The setter pretended to type, hoping the conversation would end there. They should have known better with Kuroo.

"No, I heard you say it," Testurou mocked affectionately. He enjoyed watching the blush across Kenma's nose darken. "How is Shimpy these days?"

Kenma considered ignoring their friend, but knew that the tall teen wasn't going to let it go. "He's fine. Karasuno played a game today."

Kuroo laced his hands behind his head, looking up at the dark sky casually. "Did they win?"

Kenma nodded, actually typing a congratulatory text to Shouyou now. They gave the smallest of smile, thinking about how bright Hinata's expression must be right now.

"That's good. Whenever the Shrimp is sad, you get all moody." He wiggled his hands mockingly, dragging out the o's in 'moody'.

Kenma scoffed, slight affronted. "I don't do that."

"Yes, you do. Trust me Kenma," the dark haired teen leaned in close with a slanted grin, "the entire team has noticed it."

Kenma's face burned red again, now spread all the way down to their collar. Kuroo laughed at the sight. "Don't be embarrassed. We're happy to see you happy." A warm sincerity had filled his voice. He nudged Kenma gently, giving a genuine smile. Kenma hummed in the back of their throat, but didn't reply. Bright eyes were locked on their phone screen, watching the small dot icon that showed them that Hinata was typing something.

Kuroo's voice pulled them out of their trance. "When is he visiting again?"

Kenma deflated some at the question, shoulders slumping dejectedly. "I don't know. They play another game at the end of the week, so probably next week." Saying it out loud filled them with disappointment. Kuroo heard this and frowned. He looked up again at the night sky, the stars overshadowed by Toyko's lights. He wasn't sure what to say; nothing was going to change the fact that it would be another week before Kenma might see their boyfriend.

The pair walked in silence until they reached Kenma's bus stop. Kuroo turned toward his friend, giving them an uncharacteristically gentle smile.

"Hopefully the week goes by quickly." Kenma just hummed in response.

Despite Kuroo's wishes, the week had crawled by agonizingly slowly for Kenma. Even lunch between classes stretched on too long. The only thing that they looked forward to was volleyball practice. During practice, they could focus solely on the motions. Serving, setting, receiving, diving. It all came from muscle memory and attention to their surroundings. For a little while, they could think about nothing but volleyball. Practices only lasted so long, though, and when they were done, Kozume as instantly thinking about Shouyou again.

Kuroo asked every day about how the Karasuno player was doing, knowing that at least talking about Hinata would serve to uplift Kenma's mood. The plan worked for the most part. Kenma's expression would light up while they talked about Hinata passing a test or beating Aoba Johsai in a practice match. Privately, Kenma was grateful for Kuroo, appreciating an outlet for their pent up thoughts about the Karasuno player.

When Friday finally rolled around, Kenma was a bundle of nerves. Most wouldn't be able to notice the shift, because Kenma's face seemed to be as passive as ever. Kuroo knew better, spending their entire lunch period just smirking at Kozume. Their eyes flickered around quickly, small fingers gently tapping on a wooden desk. It made the dark haired teen chuckle.

The final bell ringing brought Kenma jumping from their desk quickly. They whipped their phone out, swiping in the unlock pattern impatiently. A text from Shouyou was waiting for them, notifying them that he'd arrived at his bus stop. The setter blushed lightly at the end line.

'I can't wait to see you!'

They were moving through the halls quickly, ducking and dodging effortless around classmates. Kuroo caught a glance of a blonde head as Kenma rushed toward the door. The spiker grinned at the sight, making a mental note to explain why Kenma was missing practice today. The team would get a kick out of the idea of Kenma, of all people, rushing toward something.

Kenma hadn't seen their teammate, their attention solely taken up with thoughts of Shouyou. Shouyou, who they'd been texting for a week. Shouyou, who couldn't wait to see them. Shouyou, who was only standing a hundred yards away. All messy hair and awestruck smile. Kenma let out a breath they'd been holding all week, feeling the tension leak from their limps.

Hinata saw them almost instantly, waving enthusiastically and calling out their name loudly. The decoy ran the distance between the two of them, throwing slim arms tightly around his partner.

"I missed you," he muttered immediately, face pressed into Kenma's shoulder. The setter wrapped their thin arms around Hinata's waist, leaning into Shouyou's embrace. After a warm moment, filled with the relief of being with each other, Hinata pulled back. He laced their fingers together instantly, holding Kenma's hand tightly.

"Let's get to your place. I brought a new game to play!" Hinata's voice was bubbly, high with excitement. Kenma's smiled at the enthusiasm. They asked quietly what game it was, enjoying when Hinata started ranting about Tsukishima mentioning it during practice and agreeing to lend him a copy.

"He told me that if I scratch it even once, he'd steal my phone and hold it over his head until I could reach it." Hinata gave an offended scoff. "It's like he hasn't seen how high I can jump."

Kenma hummed in response. "You do jumped very high."

Hinata brightened at the sentence. "I jumped over Ushijima's head once," he bragged proudly, puffing out his chest. Kenma chuckled quietly at the statement, tightening their hold on Shouyou's hand. The wave of affection that ran through them was so strong that Kenma was left nearly breathless. It never ceased to amazing the setter how much they truly enjoyed Hinata's company. Their partner was a constant source of comfort for the blonde teen. Just being near Shouyou calmed the setter, easing any of their anxiety just by being near. Being with Hinata was as easy as breathing.

The decoy was still babbling along, though Kenma had lost track of what Shouyou was talking about. He was smiling though, big and bright and beautiful.

When the pair stopped at Kenma's bus stop, they leaned down slightly, mouth close to Shouyou's ear. "I missed you too," they whispered softly.

The resulting hug from Hinata was well worth the week of waiting.