Chapter Text
It was already dark out when Ittetsu found himself parking in front of Sakanoshita, he knew Ukai-kun lived just upstairs; living quarters mixing with the store’s own storage space, as what once was a family home got repurposed as a storefront through the years.
Apparently the distinction used to be more clear-cut, the coach once confided in him during one of their quieter drinking nights: Things changed once his mother moved out to care for her sister.
He sometimes wondered if it wasn’t lonely: living by yourself in your childhood home, the people you used to share it with no longer around, for one reason or another.
He didn’t ask, of course, but the question still lingered on the back of his throat, like the burn of strong liquor.
Shaking himself out of such line of thought the teacher made his way towards the back of the car, intent on waking his slumbering colleague.
Ukai-kun slept on completely unaware, face sleep-soft in such a way that, for several long seconds, Ittetsu entertained the foolish prospect of carrying the man inside.
Which he didn’t do, because as appealing as the idea seemed, he knew the moment he tried to actually carry the other they would end up in an undignified pile on the ground and he very much preferred not waking him up via impromptu concussion.
“Ukai-kun” he calls softly, hand pressing down on a covered shoulder.
All he gets for his trouble is a low grumble, the glimpse of a scrunched up face burying deeper under black coats.
Ittetsu finds himself chuckling at the scene.
The same foolish part of him that wants to carry the other man inside, lack of strength be damned, whispers of running his fingers over the familiar face before him.
He doesn't do such a thing, although the notion lingers in the quiet night air.
“Ukai-kun” He tries a second time, gently shaking the prone figure.
“Mmn ?”
“You fell asleep, I brought you home.”
For a moment the coach doesn't seem able to do more than blink bleary-eyed at him, bleached hair going every which direction as he groggily sits up on the backseat.
And then realization hits.
“Oh shit, the kids!”
Ittetsu can't help himself, he laughs.
“The kids were fine, they even stretched all by themselves.”
The disbelieving look he got in response had him laughing even harder, arms coming up to clutch at the car's door as his body folded over itself.
“What's with the coats though ?”
A bundle of black fabric was held his way, by the size probably Hinata's or Nishinoya's.
“I was told you looked cold.”
Ittetsu couldn't keep the smile off of his face, mirth showing in the corners of his eyes.
“Damn kids.”
Ukai-kun's own smile seemed sleep-addled, all soft curves and open affection.
Their way inside the store and up the stairs felt like a small eternity – Ittetsu could feel the warmth of the body besides him like one might a furnace.
The other’s warm breath brushed the side of his face; the younger was taller than him, but at the moment the blond stood a bit hunched, exhaustion dragging his body lower with each step.
Circling an arm around Ukai's waist shouldn't feel so natural, still there they were. Ittetsu found himself tucking the other into his side, fingers shy of brushing the top of a hip, worried the coach would manage to topple over his own feet.
A sharp intake of breath had Ittetsu stealing a glance at his charge, he caught a glimpse of reddening cheeks between bleached hair – something inside his gut stirred, he wouldn't mind causing that color to spread over the other's face again.
“We're here” He found himself whispering, half-afraid it would break whatever spell had fallen over the two of them.
“Yeah I – thank you sensei, and sorry for the trouble.”
Ukai-kun stood propped against the doorway still looking drowsy, hair forming a halo of fluff around his head.
“You were no trouble at all, no need for that.”
“You're too nice to say so, but still you didn't have to put up with me and –”
“Keishin”
Ittetsu's voice rang in the quietness like a gunshot, his heart pounding against his chest as if it wanted to escape his ribcage.
The younger man stared from his place at the door, a startled expression blooming across his face.
“I may be too nice, as you say, but I don't make a habit of going out of my way for people I don't care about. I say it's no trouble because it isn't, not when it comes to you.”
The same way it came, the sudden courage crashes down against the wooden floors – The beginnings of an apology forming behind his teeth.
There are hands on his sleeves before he manages to cough the words out, something wild and desperate flashing inside those familiar eyes.
“Stay the night!” Keishin all but spits, heart on his throat as he scrambles to keep Takeda in front of him.
“You don't have to –”
And those hands are so soft as they pry him away, it feels like rejection and he hates it.
“Ittetsu stay the night, please.”
The other stills, brown eyes softening at his tone in a way that tugged against his heartstrings.
“All right”
The hands on his wrists climbed their way to his upper arms, squeezing gently as the other stepped closer.
“All right”
He found himself echoing back, almost whispering the words into dark curls.
The house seemed to breathe with them, for just a moment, stale air circling into something a little more welcoming.
They step inside not quite hand in hand, but together nonetheless – they pass by store supplies; the boxes of non-perishable goods waiting for reshelving; all the stuff mom left behind when she moved.
There's a brief squabble over sleeping arrangements since one of the bedrooms currently lacks a bed and space for putting down a futon (Keishin was going to get around to it, the lack of visits and excess of store related clutter just made it not much of a priority).
It ends up in a circular argument over who should take the beaten up couch in the living room that leaves both of them exhausted.
“Listen, we're both adults we can just share.”
Ittetsu had always been the best of them in arguing his way out of a tight spot. That's how Karasuno got a coach after so long, after all.
The coming morning found the pair waking side by side in a bed that felt a tad crammed.
Keishin could feel the face pressed against the nape of his neck, the arms around his waist tightening as he stirred and made to get up.
“If you try to get up anywhere in the next two hours I'll sike the kids at you.”
The older all but growled against his skin, sleep deepening the usually soft voice into something almost gravelly.
“Oh don't worry, they're already doing that without prompting.”
“Good.”
The pair dissolved into pearls of laughter, legs tangling together as they ended up chest to chest, breaths mingling into a single gust of warm air between their flushed faces.
Morning crawled by them in a hazy blur, comfort settling over the room like a blanket.
Somewhere between whispered words Keishin dozed off once again, Ittetsu's arm (and wasn't that a thought) a secure weight over him.
They would both come to regret it later on, although one wouldn't be able to tell by a certain teacher's self-satisfied smirk (he had a feeling he knew exactly what kind of student the man had been in his high school days, somewhere else Sugawara suddenly cuts himself off with a sneeze).
Club activities returned in relatively normal fashion, or as normal as they could, which is to say they returned to the concentrated chaos that was Karasuno’s Volleyball Club.
Keishin found himself tucking a smile against his own shoulder, lest one of the hell spawns got into their head he found their antics amusing (he did and it was none of their business).
Their more gossip inclined third-years (the captain and vice-captain no less) kept glancing at him and Ittetsu with knowing eyes, Sugawara's smile had that mischievous glint that bordered on fiendish; better put a stop on that, before it got out of hand.
And there in the middle of the same gym of his youth, surrounded by the people he learned to love, Keishin finally came home.