Chapter Text

Ahhh, he looks amazing!!!

Tanaka ran his fingers through his hair. 

He had been letting it grow out for a while now. It had gotten to a good length and he liked the way it looked on him. Sure, longer hair meant more management and in a way, an extra responsibility, but Tanaka figured it was worth it. He liked changing his hair up every now and then so now was the perfect time to grow it out.

Okay, that wasn’t the actual truth. In reality, Ryu’s electric shaver had broken a day before his vacation and he didn’t have enough money to get a new one so he was stuck growing his hair out. Sure he could go to the salon and get his hair shaved but he preferred to do it himself or have his sister do it. Plus, it was a lot of money just to get his head shaved and his new hairstyle didn’t look half bad on him so he was going to wait until he had enough money to buy a new one. 

With longer hair (technically short hair but for Ryu, it was long), Ryu had to invest in several new products. He had to buy a brush, shampoo, conditioner, a comb, and some other stuff that Saeko insisted he gets to keep his hair healthy. Since he didn’t know much and trusted his sister, he bought whatever his sister suggested for him. But now that he looks back at it, there was no reason for him to buy most of it, disregarding the essentials. For example, why would he need a “hair mask”?

“Ryu!! Come on! We need to go get groceries!” He heard Saeko yell. 

Oh right, today was Sunday, which meant it was grocery shopping day for the Tanaka family. Ryu didn’t really enjoy grocery shopping but did anyone?

“I’m coming!” Ryu yelled back in reply. He ruffled his hair once more before grabbing his phone and running downstairs. 

Saeko was scrolling on her phone, tapping her right foot impatiently. She heard Ryu jump from the third to last step and looked up at her brother. 

“Wow, your hair is so long now,” Saeko blurted out. 

“Yeah, I might not even shave it honestly,” Ryu said as he slipped his shoes on. He looked back up at his sister to see a wide (creepy) grin on her face. 

“Yeah! You look good with your hair like this!” She encouraged. “What does your team think?”

Ryu pondered Saeko’s question. What would his teammates think of his new hair?

“I’m not sure. I don’t think they even noticed since we are always together.” Ryu shrugged. 

Curiosity filled his brain as he wondered how everyone would react once they finally noticed. He doubts that they would be mean and Yuu would most likely try to make him dye it. Kiyoko would… probably ignore it… and him. 

“Hey man, you okay?” Saeko asked with a frown on her face, matching her younger brother’s. 

Ryu shook his head, trying to get rid of his negative thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He opened the door and Saeko walked out first. Ryu followed her and closed the door behind him, still thinking about what Kiyoko would say. They entered the car and Saeko started to drive to the nearest grocery store. She glanced back at her brother, who was still sporting a frown on his face. 

“Ryu, what are you thinking about?” Saeko asked, not being able to take her brother’s silence.

He sighed. “It’s just… I try everything to get Kiyoko’s attention and she hardly bats an eye at me. Should I just give up?”

Saeko looked at him with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe the words that just came out of Ryu’s mouth. He never gave up, ever; he never stopped trying until he got what he wanted. 

“No!” She exclaimed loudly, startling Ryu. 

“But—”

“No buts! You have to keep trying. I know that you have made it obvious about your feelings for Kiyoko. Has she ever outright rejected you?”

Ryu went through all of his memories that included him and Kiyoko. “No, she usually just ignores it or moves away. But sometimes she tells me to tone it down a bit and I do.”

Saeko nodded. She couldn’t argue with Kiyoko; her brother could be a bit of a handful sometimes. But Ryu was the coolest younger brother anyone could get and she was determined to make Kiyoko see that! “Okay, then do what she says. Tone it down a bit by hiding your feelings. Try to be a bit more sensitive to what she wants. Girls like it when guys try to understand them.”

Ryu thought about what his sister advised. Kiyoko was a quiet person and showed her appreciation usually through actions, not words. For example, when she washed and cleaned the banner for their team. She was a quiet, smart girl who believes actions are louder than words. 

Smiling at his sister, Ryu said, “Yeah, that’s a good idea! Thanks!”

Happy to see a smile on her brother’s face, Saeko began to hum to the music playing on the radio. Ryu joined in and started to sing along with the guy singing. As a musician, Saeko thought he wasn’t half bad and joined him as well. 

They arrived at the grocery store and went in to buy everything they needed. Saeko grabbed a shopping cart as Tanaka followed behind.

“Go get milk and two cartons of eggs. I’m gonna be in the produce section,” Saeko said before wheeling off. 

“Okay,” Ryu said, walking towards the fridges that lined the walls. 

The dairy section was all the way down, past the bakery. He didn’t understand why the grocery store decided to do that. Aren’t milk and eggs much more important than cakes and cookies? Or maybe Ryu was thinking that because it was early Sunday morning and he wanted to go back to bed. 

~~~

Saeko’s hand reached for the red apples but stopped when something caught her eye. 

On the other side of the apples, next to the vegetables, were two very tall boys. One was very skinny and had blond hair, lighter than her own. The other boy was a few centimeters shorter yet he looked small standing next to the blondie. The shorter boy had olive green hair that was close to brown and looked pretty lanky. 

Their heads turned a bit towards Saeko and her mouth broke into a grin. She instantly knew who the two boys were. 

“Kei! Tadashi!” She called, dragging her shopping cart over to them. 

The two boys turned their heads over to the voice that called their names. Tsukishima tried to run away but Yamaguchi stomped down hard onto his foot, making him wince in pain. 

It’s not that Tsukishima had a grudge against the woman who called their names. No, in fact, he thought she was quite pleasant, despite her being quite… boisterous. He wanted to leave because if she was here, then that meant her brother was not far behind, meaning that Tsukishima wouldn’t have a peaceful Sunday morning with Yamaguchi. 

“Hello, Saeko-san!” Yamaguchi said, sending a small wave. 

“Hello,” Tsukishima said before turning towards the many peppers that were on his right. 

“Hey!” Saeko said, observing how Tsukishima shied away from her. Grinning, she asked him, “How’s Akiteru-kun doing, Kei?”

Kei flinched and grimaced before plastering a neutral expression on his face, not wanting to be rude. He turned to Saeko and responded, “He’s doing fine, I guess. If I may, why are you asking?”

Saeko cleared her throat, suddenly interested in the corn on her left. Hoping that her cheeks weren’t red, she turned back to both boys. She watched as they shared a knowing glance before looking at her for an answer. 

“Uh, just… you know… formalities. He is my former senpai, ya know?” Saeko stumbled out. She doubted her lame excuse worked since Kei had a dainty smirk playing on his lips while Tadashi broke into a full grin.

“Is that so?” Tadashi mused. Saeko had forgotten how much of a cheeky shit Tadashi could be but then again, he was best friends with Kei. 

“So, do you two always go shopping together on a Sunday morning?” Saeko asked, turning the tables on the other two. 

Kei’s cheeks flared, turning light pink, while Tadashi’s grin faltered a bit. Saeko had to bite her cheek in order to keep herself from laughing at the adorable sight. 

“Hey, guys!” A loud voice boomed, causing many heads to turn. 

Tsukishima’s and Yamaguchi’s eyes both widened at the sight they saw. Being the best friends they were, they shared the same thoughts. 

Is that Tanaka-senpai?

Gone was the normal shaved look that their senpai usually sported. In its place, long (for Tanaka anyway) dark brown hair cascaded from his head. It was nestled softly against his forehead as well, creating a fringe that was almost similar to their starting setter’s. Neither first year could deny it: Tanaka looked pretty damn good. 

“Did ya get everything, Ryu?” Saeko asked, watching as her brother put two cartons of eggs and milk. 

“Yep!” Ryu replied, before turning towards his kouhais . “What are you two doing here?”

“Grocery shopping,” Tsukishima deadpanned as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Ryu rolled his eyes at his haughtiness. “I got that, beanpole. I meant, why are you two grocery shopping together? It’s almost like you guys are a couple.”

Yamaguchi choked on air while Tsukishima gave Ryu a withering glare. Ryu grinned impishly at him in response, realizing that he hit the nail dead on. 

“So-So, T-Tanaka-senpai! Wh-Why didn’t you… you shave your head?” Yamaguchi eventually choked out, clearing his throat. 

Taking pity on him, Ryu decided to ease up a bit. “Ah, my electric shaver broke and I didn’t want to pay somebody just to shave my head. Plus, it kinda grew on me.”

“Do you like it because you heard Shimizu-san say something about not liking bald idiots?” Tsukishima said, his normal smirk gracing his lips once again. 

“No lamppost. I’m not gonna change the way I look because of a girl,” Tanaka replied nonchalantly, rolling his eyes once more. 

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi blinked at him in shock before glancing at each other once more. 

Did you hear what he just said?

Yeah, I can’t believe it.

Is he giving up on her?

Sounds like it. I still can’t believe it though.

Maybe being rejected so many times finally caught up with him.

Yeah, maybe. 

“That’s good,” Yamaguchi chimed in, picking up a red and green bell pepper. 

Feeling the tense air, Saeko decided that it was time to go.

“Well, come on Ryu, let’s finish up and go home. It was nice seeing you two!” She said before wheeling the cart away to the fruit section. 

“I’ll see you two tomorrow!” Ryu said, becoming his energetic self once again. 

But he couldn’t help but mull over Tsukishima’s words. Did everyone really think that his head was only full of thoughts about Kiyoko? Well, technically most of his brain was filled with Kiyoko-centered thoughts. But still! It’s not like he didn’t have a life outside of his crush. He was just very open with his expression of feelings. But did everyone really think that he would go so far as to change his hairstyle just to impress a girl? While Ryu certainly tried to make himself noticeable, he wouldn’t go through so much effort just to impress someone that wasn’t interested in the real him. 

Besides, he wasn’t going to totally stop expressing his feelings, but he did want to see what would happen if he toned down just a bit. 

Who knows? Maybe she’ll notice me.

~~~

The practice was definitely interesting, to say the least. 

From the moment Ryu stepped into the gym, all eyes and attention were on him. Well, almost everyone. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were busy stretching and gossiping, most likely about the team. Kiyoko was busy as always, writing down strategies and plays for their upcoming matches.

“Wow, Ryu! I almost didn’t recognize you! I’ve never seen you with such long hair!” Nishinoya exclaimed, jumping up and down on Hinata. 

“Yeah! Noya-senpai is right, Tanaka-senpai! It looks so cool on you!” Hinata added, yelling so loudly that Kageyama winced. 

“Boke! Calm down!” Kageyama barked.

“But he’s right, Kageyama. You do look pretty good with it, Tanaka,” Suga said, grinning widely at him. 

Tanaka matched Suga’s grin. “Thanks, Suga-san!”

“What do you think of Ryu’s new hair, Kiyoko-san?” Nishinoya yelled, causing Kiyoko’s head to snap up. Her eyes widened for a brief moment before she quickly looked down. Her hair acted as a curtain, hiding her face away from everyone. 

Tanaka felt a wave of disappointment rise before quickly shoving it down. He needed to be more aware of her feelings instead of prioritizing his own. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable with all the attention on her so Tanaka decided that he needed to divert it. 

“She’s busy, Yuu. We shouldn’t be bothering her,” Tanaka said calmly. Everyone’s heads snapped towards him in bewilderment but Tanaka could care less. He stole another glance and saw Kiyoko frozen still, not a single muscle moving. After a moment of this, she eventually relaxed and went back to writing on the clipboard with the same neutral expression on her face. 

“Why didn’t you shave your head?” Daichi asked, looking back and forth between Kiyoko and Tanaka. He figured that he would ask about it later. 

“My shaver broke and it costs way too much money to replace or have someone else do it for me,” Tanaka explained, thankful that the attention was back on him. 

“Isn’t your hair naturally blond?” Kinoshita chimed in, noticing how dark his friend’s hair was.

“Yeah but I still had some dye left over so I used it.”

“I wanna see what you look like with your natural hair—” Narita was quickly cut off by their coach. 

“Start stretching already!” Coach Ukai yelled, making everyone scramble to the court.

Little did they know, someone else was also having a field day with Tanaka’s new hair. 

~~~

Hearing her name being called, Kiyoko looked up to find the source. She struggled to keep her gasp in. 

Well fuck, he looks hot. 

Kiyoko looked at Tanaka quickly before looking back down at her clipboard. She couldn’t even remember what she was writing. Reading over her notes twice, her brain finally caught up and began to finish the lineup she was working on. However, it had yet to let go of the burning image of Tanaka’s new look. 

“She’s busy, Yuu. We shouldn’t be bothering her,” Tanaka said. 

All of a sudden, every coherent thought that was in Kiyoko’s head flew out the window. She almost dropped the clipboard in surprise. Carefully, she glanced over at Tanaka through her hair to confirm if she heard him right. From the surprised looks on everyone’s faces, it was safe to say that she had. 

A wave of sadness crashed over her upon hearing Tanaka’s calm voice. It was jarring to hear his voice like that: to not hear any excitement upon seeing her. 

Is he losing interest? Have I been too cowardly? I should have done something…

She heard Daichi ask a question, snapping her back to reality. Reading over the notes once more, Kiyoko finished up the rest of the lineup. Right on time since Coach Ukai yelled at the team to begin their stretches. 

“Kiyoko-san, are-are y-you okay? Your face is r-really red!” Yachi asked in a panicky voice. 

Feeling her cheeks heat up, even more, Kiyoko looked up at Yachi and muttered, “I’m fine.” Her eyes betrayed her as they flickered over the rambunctious second year. 

Yachi followed her senpai ’s eyes before looking back at her. Finally, she put two and two together.

“Oh my—You like Tanaka-senpai!” Yachi exclaimed a little too loudly, causing everyone to stare at her. 

“What about me, Yacchan?” Tanaka asked, intrigued to have heard his name being yelled. 

“Oh, sorry! We were just discussing a new lineup that involves you,” Yachi quickly covered up. Kiyoko was surprised to not hear one stutter or slip up from her kouhai but chalked it up to her becoming more comfortable. 

“Oh okay.” And with that, their practice continued. 

Kiyoko heard Yachi let out a sigh before feeling herself being dragged to the whiteboard. She looked at Yachi with confusion before being surprised once again with the confident expression on the girl’s face. Kiyoko couldn’t lie: it scared her a bit. 

“So, how long?” Yachi asked in a quiet voice, a smile betraying her lips. 

Kiyoko let out a sigh, realizing that there was no way in hell that she would be able to get out of this. 

“I’m not really sure. I guess it started last year but I realized my feelings when I saw how hard he worked with Hinata and Kageyama to get them to join the club,” Kiyoko admitted. The floor suddenly looked way more interesting than ever before. 

A squeal came out of Yachi before she began to speak, “I knew it! I knew you liked him! You’re always staring at him during practice, even if you pretend not to. Plus, you always blush whenever he takes off his shirt.”

Kiyoko blushed at Yachi’s forwardness, not realizing that she actually did some of these things. 

“You-You don’t think he’s noticed, right?” Kiyoko asked, finally looking up at Yachi. 

“I doubt it. You have a good poker face and Tanaka can be pretty oblivious sometimes,” Yachi assured. She glanced at the gym doors before looking back at Kiyoko. 

“Let’s go outside for a bit,” Yachi said, dragging her senpai once more. They went out the gym doors and walked a bit further from them in case someone could hear them. Satisfied with the distance, Yachi turned to Kiyoko and tapped her foot impatiently. 

Kiyoko looked back at the gym doors, checking to see if anyone had followed. No one seemed to notice their absence so Kiyoko spilled everything.

“How does he look so hot, Yachi? Like he looked pretty good before but now, he looks amazing! I can’t believe having hair would change him so much. Also, did you hear his voice? It was so calm and smooth and sexy. But he wasn’t being crazily obsessed with me today. Do you think he’s losing interest? Should I have done something? I should have, shouldn’t I? It’s too late now, isn’t it?” Kiyoko blurted out in one breath. She panted a bit, taking in her kouhai ’s surprised face. 

Yachi stared at her for a bit with wide eyes. They softened gently as she spoke, “Knowing Tanaka, I doubt he gave up. But why didn’t you ask him out?”

“I tried but I would get way too nervous and start talking about volleyball instead. Plus, he was always so open with his feelings that I assumed he would ask me out first.”

“But why don’t you just tell him that you accept his feelings? Isn’t that asking him out, in a way?”

“Because I’m not sure if he’s just infatuated with me and my supposed ‘beauty’ or he actually likes me for who I am. Plus, it doesn’t really help that I rejected him last year when he literally asked to marry me.”

Yachi pondered over what Kiyoko had just said. There was a possibility that Tanaka only liked Kiyoko because she was beautiful. Hell, that was the main reason Yachi joined the volleyball club in the first place. But upon further investigation, it was obvious that Tanaka’s feelings were much deeper than looks. On top of that, the boy asked to marry her, what more confirmation could the girl want?

“I think that you should ask Tanaka-senpai out,” Yachi said, glancing at the said boy. She watched as he hid behind a tree, obviously eavesdropping. 

Normally, Yachi wouldn’t have used his name but she didn’t want any misunderstandings like in the movies. Both her senpai deserved to be happy together and she was done watching them pine over each other. 

~~~

“Tanaka, can you go get the managers? I need to discuss something with them and I’m not sure where they went,” Coach Ukai asked.

“Sure thing, Coach,” Tanaka said, bounding towards the gym doors. He was happy to be the one picked to get them, even though he couldn’t complement Kiyoko like he normally did. 

He stepped out of the gym and scanned his immediate surroundings for two girls. Hearing familiar voices, Tanaka started to walk over in their direction. After a minute, he spotted the ravenette and blonde chatting about something. Kiyoko seemed to be a bit frazzled while Yachi was trying to calm her down. 

The coach can wait for a few minutes.

Since Kiyoko had her back to Tanaka and was taller than Yachi, neither of the two could see him as he ducked behind a tree. At this distance, he was finally able to hear their conversation. 

“I think you should ask Tanaka-senpai out,” Yachi said. 

Tanaka could feel his eyes bulging out of his head. What?

“But what if he says no? It’s obvious that he’s begun to lose interest in me,” Kiyoko said, sadness lacing her voice. 

I haven’t lost interest in you! I thought you didn’t like me pining after you so obviously! Also, who in their right mind would reject you?!

“Well, let’s just say on the off-chance that he does say no. You both are in separate years so the only time you’ll see each other in school is during practice. And even then, you don’t have to talk to him. But like I said, I don’t think he’s going to say no, nor do I think he’s lost any interest in you.”

Wow, when Yacchan isn’t panicking, she can be very helpful. Also, she’s right, I would never reject you!

“You can’t keep waiting for him to ask you out officially.”

Is that what she’s been waiting for? For me to confess to her officially and actually ask her out?

Tired of hiding in the shadows, Tanaka stepped out and made himself known. 

“Yaknow, you could have just told me,” he said. Kiyoko jumped and turned around. Their eyes locked before Kiyoko took off running. Not willing to lose her, Tanaka raced after her while Yachi went to get the rest of the team to come to watch. 

Eventually, Tanaka was able to catch up to Kiyoko and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her. Gingerly, Kiyoko replicated his actions, along with burying her face into his chest. Tanaka felt his breath hitch as Kiyoko relaxed into him. 

A few minutes of silence passed before Tanaka created a bit of distance between the two of them. His arms were still wrapped around her while Kiyoko’s palms rested on his chest. He was almost certain that she could feel his thundering heart. 

“Do you really have a crush on me?” Tanaka finally asked. 

Kiyoko gulped, wondering how she landed in another situation where she couldn’t escape. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and gazed into Tanaka’s dark eyes. 

“Yes, I do have a crush on you, Tanaka,” Kiyoko said. As soon as his name left her mouth, Kiyoko crashed into Tanaka’s chest once more, enveloped by the warmth of his arms. 

“I like you too, Kiyoko-san. Please accept my confession,” Tanaka whispered in her ear. A shiver racked up her spine before she pulled back a bit.

Tanaka struggled to keep his jaw from dropping as he saw the rare, graceful smile dance upon Kiyoko’s lips. It was mind-boggling how someone so beautiful could become even more beautiful. 

“I accept your confession, Ryu.”

“So does this mean you’re my girlfriend?”

A joyful laugh came out of Kiyoko, startling Ryu. She settled down before nodding her head in affirmation. “Yes, and you’re my boyfriend.”

“Can I kiss you?” 

Kiyoko blushed, nodding her head. Her eyes fluttered shut as soon as Ryu pressed his lips against hers. 

She noted how they were very warm and soft, albeit a little chapped. Their lips melted together slowly, perfectly made for each other. 

Tanaka’s arms managed to pull her in even closer, causing her to gasp. But to her surprise, he didn’t shove his tongue down her throat as she read in books. Instead, he just kept kissing her lips, occasionally flicking his tongue out to brush it against them. It was perfect; she didn’t want to stop. 

Kiyoko’s arms made their way around Ryu’s neck, caressing it gently. A pleasant hum came out of the boy, prompting her to keep going. She occasionally tugged on the smaller hairs on the back of his neck, feeling a smile on her boyfriend’s lips. 

Remembering that air was a necessity, the new couple parted. They drank in each other’s faces, memorizing their red lips and rosy cheeks. Most of all, the adorable grin plastered on both of their faces. 

“Go, Ryu!” A loud voice boomed, causing Kiyoko to hide in Ryu’s arms. 

“Dude shut up! You’re embarrassing her!” Ryu yelled back, not helping whatsoever. 

“Sorry, Kiyoko-san!” Nishinoya yelled back. She heard the laughter of her teammates before slowly peeling away from Ryu. He kept an arm wrapped around her waist—a necessity since she almost felt her knees buckle. 

“It’s about damn time!” Suga exclaimed.

“I know right?” Asahi said. 

“I thought that we were gonna have to set them up on a blind date with each other,” Daichi added, resulting in the laughter of the third years. 

Kiyoko rolled her eyes at her friends’ antics. “Shut up dumbasses.”

She broke away from her boyfriend reluctantly to go smack the third years in the heads. They all whined at how mean Kiyoko was being and how red suited her well, earning them another smack on the head. 

Ryu walked back to the gym with the rest of his team, answering all of their questions. Kiyoko slapped her hand against his mouth when Hinata asked who confessed first, making it obvious as to who it was. 

I’m the luckiest man in the world.