Chapter Text
In all honesty, Yuuki didn’t really know how he and Sakunami Kosuke had become friends.
Sure, they had a lot of things in common. They both played libero for teams with an airtight defense. And maybe they looked alike, kind of, save for Yuuki being a bare few centimeters shorter. They had bonded over the well-earned-but-nevertheless-annoying grudge against Karasuno. Not to mention all the nights spent lamenting over stupidly tall teammates they had to support in life-or-death matches because said teammates were unbelievably clumsy but also unbelievably cute -
Yeah, okay, Yuuki knew exactly why they were friends. Kosuke was the only one who understood - how useless it felt, sometimes, to play a defensive role when it seemed wholly unnecessary. What it was like being the shortest on a team of giants. The pressure of being the last resort to keep the ball up in the air.
How your crush probably didn’t notice you because you weren’t even in their range of sight.
“He patted me on the head earlier!” Yuuki groaned, burying his face into the pillow he was hugging. He was leaning against his bed, homework spread on the floor around him. “I think he mistakes me for a toddler sometimes. No, scratch that - a lot of times.”
On his laptop, a fuzzy image of Kosuke snorted. “At least he doesn’t just pick you up like a doll. You know Kogane does that to me instead of a high-five? He scoops me up and spins me around.”
“That’s kind of sweet,” Yuuki said wistfully. “Honestly, I’d rather have Haiba-kun do that than head pats.”
This was their usual Friday night routine: video chats and gossip and sappy emotional talk. Volleyball, more or less of the time. And pining. So much goddamn pining.
“Head pats don’t make you dizzy,” Kosuke argued. “Aone-senpai gets head pats all the time. He seems to like them.”
“Why don’t you just ask Koganegawa-kun to stop?”
Kosuke’s cheeks flushed pink. “He’s cute when he’s like that. I can bear with it.”
“You should tell Koganegawa-kun that,” Yuuki teased. “I bet it would really make his day.”
“Oh, fuck you,” Kosuke grumbled, his cheeks growing even brighter. “You know I’m not - I can’t - I’m not like that. Good with words or whatever. And I seriously don’t think getting a compliment from the least intimidating member of the volleyball team is anything to be happy about.”
Yuuki halfheartedly chucked his pillow at the laptop, because as much as he hated Kosuke talking down about himself, he could relate all too well. “Hey, volleyball has nothing to do with it. I know you don’t like him because he’s a good setter. You were complaining about his dump last week!”
“He’s getting better!” Kosuke protested, then added, “Why don’t you tell Haiba-san that you think his eyes are pretty? Or that you think it’s cute when he comes to school with bedhead?”
“Because I tell him other things already,” Yuuki shot back. “I give him plenty of other compliments!”
“They’re all volleyball-related, aren’t they?”
Yuuki sighed. “Yeah, they are.”
A minute of thoughtful silence passed, then Yuuki said, “You know, I’d probably have an easier time flirting with Koganegawa-kun than you.”
“What?”
“Think about it!” Yuuki said. “I could just show up in your place if we changed my hair a little bit. I could totally charm Koganegawa-kun. Because, you know, I’m not actually the one in love with him. Then you two get to live happily ever after!”
“Then I might as well woo Haiba-san for you,” Kosuke said dryly. “I’m sure he’d love an edgy, slightly meaner Shibayama Yuuki.”
“You might be right, actually,” Yuuki muttered, then shrugged when Kosuke shot him a look. “He seemed to like Yaku-san plenty when Yaku-san yelled at him most of the time. Kenma would know, though. He’d figure it out right away.”
“Then tell him first. It would be a big help to have Kozume-san on our side. And I’d have to tell Nametsu-san. I’m her favorite, so she’d probably go along with it.”
Yuuki snorted. “Yeah? Then what? It’s not like we can just pack our bags and meet at the train station with a plan to switch places.”
Another pause, then Kosuke said: “Why can’t we?”