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the sun comes out.

It's a cold winter day when the doorbell rings. The sun is of the watery kind, painting the sky in blurry greys, blues and whites, like it was about to snow. The trees outside are bare, but there are still a few birds sitting on their wispy branches, huddled together like a couple at a bus stop.

There are a few people out. He suspects that there will be, it's still too early in the evening for people to be heading home, and even though it's winter, the sun hasn't gone down into the horizon yet.

He shuffles out of his many rooms in his house, wrapping his arms around his body as he breathes steadily, trying his best to regulate his temperature.

His cat sitting on the windowsill meows in greeting when Kenma passes by him, patting his head as he does so. There's a satisfied purr in response, and Kenma smiles to himself.

Despite his fame and money, it's the small things in life that brings Kenma happiness, like completing an assignment a day before it's due or petting his cat. Simple things that helped Kenma remain humble and not get too hot-headed.

Not like he had ever been the hot-headed type in the first place. Throughout high school he kept to himself, only expressing himself to a select few people in his class and the volleyball team. After graduating, he took extra effort to make sure he would stay in contact with his friends, like Hinata and Inuoka, to name a few. Kuroo still popped by whenever he could, claiming he needed to make sure Kenma hadn't turned into a hermit crab yet.

Kenma muses that it's probably Kuroo at the door, with Yaku by his side like the last time he had gotten a visit. Yaku, or some person Kuroo had managed to drag into one of his crazy's laboratory shenanigans.

He reaches the door and braces himself for the blast of cold air that will come into his household, already shuddering at the thought. His nimble fingers tighten around the metal door handle, relishing in the last bits of warmth before the biting cold takes it away. Opening the door, he steadies himself for the icy air, but not for the extremely bright Hinata Shoyo at his door.

"Kenma!" his friend loudly exclaims, in typical Hinata style. Kenma's eyes are wide in surprise, but internally he's happy to see his old volleyball rival and friend. Hinata was the one of the few people Kenma enjoyed being around, although he never expressed his excitement in the bustling way Hinata did. But he's grateful for it: Hinata Shoyo kept things interesting for Kenma.

"Shoyo," Kenma softly greets, the shock disappearing in his eyes for it to be replaced by warmth. "It's nice to see you."

Hinata is beaming, just like those bright lights that lit up advertisements and billboards at the Shibuya crossing. His whole aura is one of glow and radiance, exactly like the sun. To this day, ever since Kenma first crossed paths with Hinata all those years ago, he's unable to comprehend how this orange-haired, crazy-jumping and enthusiastic ball of energy had managed to outshine even the brightest star in the universe.

He lets Hinata in, who's busy rambling about everything that's happened since they last saw each other. His brown eyes are lit up with glee as he excitedly speaks about his last year in high school with the volleyball, the regrets he had and the times he enjoyed. Kenma gives him an attentive ear as he leads Hinata to the living room, and heads to the kitchen to prepare a cup of green tea for himself and his guest.

"Yeah, so Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are planning to do different things in college, and Yachi-san is going to do design," Hinata says, gesturing with his hands as Kenma walks out of the kitchen, a tea tray in his hands. He places it gently on the kotatsu table, and doesn't have to say a word to Hinata as the latter takes the cup in one hand and sips the liquid too quickly, realizing how hot it actually was.