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He finds the pamphlets scattered around Takeda’s desk. They’re not even hidden! Hugs not drugs <3, one reads. Another pamphlet has a picture of a nasty black lung. Why did they need to show that? It looked gross!
Ukai wonders if Takeda is trying to send him some type of message. Why not just tell him straight out?
“Those? Those are for Karasuno’s Drug Free Week,” Takeda explains, and Ukai gives a loud snort in response.
“Oh, you scared me! I thought you were trying to get me to quit.”
“Well…” Takeda looks at the ground sheepishly, “Actually…” There’s a long pause and Ukai starts to get antsy for a smoke.
“You see, a couple members of the school administration are worried you might be a bad influence on the team.”
“What!? Why?”
“Everyone on the team really looks up to you, which is a good thing! But, especially during this rebellious teenage phase of their lives, they might try to emulate some of your...habits”
It's true, Ukai had been about their age when he started smoking. (Although he’d sure felt a lot older). At the time he didn’t think through the consequences, and admittedly he doesn't have nearly the athletic endurance he did before he started. It would be really stupid for one of the members of the team to take up smoking like he did. Really stupid.
“Anyway, I told the staff you’d be willing to quit for Drug Free Week.”
“You WHAT?” Ukai was following along just fine until Takeda brought up the Q word. Quit? He couldn’t quit. Smoking was, like, his only hobby besides volleyball. And now he can't even play that much anymore since his lungs feel like they’ll collapse if he runs over a mile.
“It’s just for this week! And it’s not even the whole 7 days, just the school week.” Takeda gives his hand a reassuring squeeze and Ukai melts a little at the touch. “After this week is recycling week, and everyone will have forgotten all about Drug Free Week. Promise.”
One week? Ukai could totally quit smoking for one week. Easy peasy.
**
It’s Monday of Drug Free Week and Ukai already feels like death bit him in the face. Takeda assures him the first day would be the hardest, and as he fumbles around for his absent cigarette pack for the hundredth time that hour, Ukai sincerely hopes he’s right. The gum and motivational speeches Takeda offers only help a little. (Their secret hallway kisses help a little more).
Well, Takeda lied when he said the first day would be the hardest, because Tuesday is definitely worse! A searing migraine pangs behind Ukai’s right eye for the entirety of the day. The kid’s voices feel like tiny people stomping on his face. During practice he loses his temper twice and at least one person cries.
After practice Ukai decides he can’t make it through the rest of the week. He can’t even make it through the rest of the day. Just as he’s about to veer off towards the nearest convenience store Takeda squeezes his shoulder, whispering, “I’m really proud of you”
Okay, perhaps he can go just one more day.
**
Ukai’s hands are up Takeda’s shirt, tongue in his mouth, but his mind is on a completely different plane. 2.5 days. Just 2.5 days until he can have a cigarette.
“You’re thinking about smoking aren’t you?” Takeda pulls away, and Ukai immediately feels guilty for losing concentration during their activity. But Takeda doesn’t seem mad, just concerned about Ukai’s state of being.
Ukai nestles his head close against Takeda’s chest, mumbling, “You really think I can last all week?”
“I do! In fact, if you really put your mind to it, I think you could quit for good.” Ukai almost laughs at that, but when he catches the serious look in Takeda’s eyes, he knows Takeda truly believes what he’s saying. Believes in him. It’s a weird feeling to have someone believe in you so much more than you’ve ever believed in yourself, and Ukai doesn’t quite know what to do with it. So, he just sort of shrugs and shifts the conversation in another direction.
**
Ukai does manage to last all week without smoking. But the minute Drug Free Week is over, he blows through a whole pack. He missed this so bad! As he tears the crinkly plastic off another pack, he's suddenly reminded of Takeda’s words from the other day.
If you put your mind to it, I think you could quit for good.
Although he can’t even begin to imagine quitting now, a warm fuzzy feeling surges through him as he thinks about how damn lucky he is to be with a guy like Takeda.