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“Shouyou,” Kenma mumbles, his voice soft and his eyes still fixed on his 3DS. “Can I ask you a question?”
Sat beside him in Kenma’s back yard, Hinata Shouyou tosses a volleyball up in the air and catches it, the repetitive noise of the ball hitting his hands soothing Kenma in a way he can’t explain.
Catching the ball, Shouyou hugs it and says, “Sure. What’s up?”
A ghost of a smile flickers on Kenma’s face, and he pauses his game. Still not looking at Shouyou, he manages to say, “How… how are you able to talk to people?”
“Huh?”
“How do you… have social skills?” he says, wriggling his toes inside his shoes.
He doesn’t look, but he knows Shouyou must have an odd frown on his face. “I, uh… I just do. It’s, um, something I’ve never thought about before. I just see people and thoughts rush into my head like whoosh and I know what to say and how and everything.” Shouyou stops rambling, shuffling a bit closer. “Do… does that not happen to you?”
Granted, Shouyou’s explanations are never the most concise, but he gets the gist. “No. I… interaction is hard. It’s like… everyone around me speaks a different language and, and I can… I don’t know.”
“No, I get it. So they don’t come naturally to you, social skills, I mean?”
Kenma shakes his head. “Only you and Kuroo… everyone else, I don’t know what to say.” He sighs. “It’s hard.”
“I bet it is. But it’s coz you’re autistic, Kenma. And it’s okay. One of us will always be there to help.” He spins the ball between his hands, grinning. “Hey, wanna toss for me?”
Forcing his self-deprecating thoughts from his mind, Kenma snaps his 3DS shut. “Okay. Thank you… Shouyou.”
“No problem.”