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Asahi was never one to initiate anything, unless he wanted it really bad. He usually hid behind other as better as he could with his tall frame, not wanting any attention to himself. Except when said attention came from the libero of Karasuno, their guardian deity, Nishinoya Yuu. His energetic underclassmen usually shouted along the court his compliments to Asahi, making him blush and thank him with a low voice, rubbing the back of his neck when all the heads turned to him. "NICE KILL ASAHI-SAN! THAT WAS AWESOME!" Noya's voice echoed around, with a big smile and a thumbs up, making Asahi's heart pound like crazy in his chest while his friends turned to compliment him as well.
Having a, as his teammates said, heart of glass, was really hard to deal with since he wanted Nishinoya, wanted to hold hands with him, hug him, he wanted to kiss his cheeks, the tip of his nose, his apparently soft lips, but was absolutely sure he would never be accepted by the smaller boy. Asahi sometimes noticed Noya staring when he was practicing his serves with Yamaguchi, or even talking to Hinata about their block. He always felt the libero's eyes on him, making chills run down his spine, but tried to ignore the stares for the sake of his heart.
During practice, like any other day, Nishinoya was forcing Asahi's back down with his hands, helping him to stretch even more. "Nishinoyaa, I'm gonna die if I keep doing this!" Asahi cried, feeling the burn in his legs as he tried get out of there, the feeling of Noya's hands on his back making his heart skip a few beats. In response, the short boy only laughed out loud, the sound making Asahi's face burn, and threw himself over Asahi's back, putting his arms around his neck in a weird hug "But Asahi-san, you'll get hurt if you don't stretch properly! I don't want my ace getting hurt!" Noya said with a smile, his face too close to Asahi's, making the boy freeze in place "U-uh.. ok-okay" he managed to mumble, trying to ignore all the things he felt with Noya around him like that. If he just turned his head, he could... Maybe...
His train of thought was cut by Nishinoya kissing his cheek with a loud smack "So finish it and let's play!!" the boy exclaimed while letting Asahi go, running to the other side of the court, going after Tanaka. The tall boy could feel his face burn while he breathed in and out, trying to calm himself. Suga came to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as Asahi sat up again "Are you okay? I hmm.. I saw what happened" the ash blond said calmly, sitting on the floor beside him. With a sigh, Asahi let his eyes linger on Nishinoya talking to other teammates before turning to his friend with a sad look on his face "I swear he does that on purpose, Suga. I can't take it" he grunting, hiding his face in his hands.
Suga was the only one who knew everything about Asahi's feelings. Hell, he knew it even before Asahi could accept it within himself, throwing the bomb one afternoon after school, when they were studying "Asahi, when are you going to tell Nishinoya you like him?" Suga asked that day, not even looking up from his notebook, still writing his notes "Wh-what are you what is this whaaaat?!?!?!" Asahi said with his voice rising unwantedly as he felt his face burning. Suga only looked up from his notes with that kind, bright smile "Oh dear, everyone else but you and him know that" he said, making Asahi's blush even more and hide his face in his notebook.
Suga rolled his eyes, patting Asahi's back "Oh boy, please do something about it, I can't stand seeing you like this" Suga said with a pout. "But Suga... I'm sure he'll hate me if I say I li-... If I say anything like this" he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. His friend grabbed his face with both hands and looked into his eyes "You big goofy crybaby, I'm sure Noya would be more than happy to have all your adorable feelings all to himself" he said softly, letting go of his face, ruffling his hair before getting up, leaving Asahi to his thoughts.
He thought he saw Noya's smile fade at the sight is Suga holding his face but we'll, Asahi had quite an imagination within him. With a heavy sigh, Asahi stood up and went to Daichi for instructions. This time the tall boy missed the way Noya clenched his fists, turning away to hide the pout in his lips.
Practice went well except for the fact that Nishinoya didn't compliment him, or even any of his friends for that matter. In fact, he was kinda quiet, serious even, but still energetic, jumping and sliding through the court, saving impressive balls. When they were done for the day, Noya sat down, his back to one of the walls, drinking all the water on the bottle in his hands. Asahi took a deep breath and went to sit down beside him, squeezing his own bottle "N-nishinoya... Are you okay?" he asked with concern in his voice "You seemed a little off today" he explained as Noya looked up at him with wide eyes, maybe a little blush on his cheeks? Nah, that must be from the practice.
"I'm fine, Asahi-san! Haha why do you ask?" Noya said with a smile that seemed a little off, but still made Asahi's heart make a backflip.
"I don't... I don't know, you were quiet today" the taller said, his voice low, embarrassed by letting his friend know he paid enough attention to him to know he was different. Noya bent his knees, hugging himself, looking away from Asahi now, pretending to watch their teammates stretching or still practicing while Daichi didn't force them out.
"I was just... focus! Yeah, I was focused! I wanted to master my new move to save some awesome balls for you!" he said now with more confidence flexing his arms to show his skinny but muscular arms, covered in bruises from his risky saves. Asahi pouted at the sight of Noya's bruises, he always did. He took a deep breath, looking up to the honey colored eyes in front of him.
"C-can I talk to you? Like, after practice?" Asahi managed to ask, his fists clenched, without a clue of why he did that. What was he thinking?? What would he even say?? He was probably crazy but it was too late. Nishinoya was smiling at him softly while he put his tiny hand over Asahi's, looking into his soul.
"Of course, Asahi-san! Let's go help the others clean up and we can talk. But first! Is there anything wrong? Are you mad at me?" he asked narrowing his eyes, placing his hand on his chin as if he was thinking hard about it. Asahi couldn't help but snort "I'm not mad. It's.. hm.."
"Thank God! I don't know what I'd do if you were mad at me!" Noya interrupted his babbling and stood up, signaling to their friends so they could help them and leave already. Asahi could feel his heart trying to jump out of his chest while he helped Tanaka put the net away, watching from the corner of his eye as Noya player with a ball with Hinata, laughing out loud as he usually did.
They all went to the showers, each one saying their goodbyes as they left for the day. Asahi was combing his hair when he saw Noya leaving the room, his silly heart pounding, his evil mind making him think that Nishinoya had forgotten to wait for him. He sadly tied up his hair and finished getting his things, being the last to leave the dressing room. He was about to take the stairs when he saw Noya sitting there, playing some game on his phone. His heart pounded even harder.
Asahi froze in place, fidgeting with the strap of his bag, thinking back and forth about what he should do, if he should lie and talk about something else other than his feelings. He was trying to make something up to tell Noya, when the boy turned around and saw him standing there looking guilty.
"Asahi-san! The dressing room was crowded so I came to wait for you outside" Noya said with a smile, standing up and going to Asahi, who was hoping the other boy couldn't listen to his loud, heavy heartbeat. He stood in place as Noya approached him. He looked down, into his bright golden eyes and swallowed dry, weighting his options. He could run the other way and pretend he got suddenly sick, he could talk about the weather or ask him to practice some volleyball moves.
"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Noya pressured him without knowing his inner battle. The words were right there, on the tip of his tongue, so heavy he could choke on them. He could say he liked Noya and, depending on the response, he could say "haha as I friend, of course" and make something work after that. But he couldn't hold it anymore. This crush on Noya was literally crushing him. He couldn't look the other boy's way without feeling his face heat up and his hands get sweaty. If Noya would hate him after this, he would just have to live with a broken heart forever, that's all.
"N-nishinoya.... I... have to..." he babbled, still thinking of leaving, but Noya would follow him and make him say anything so, that was it. Asahi took a deep breath, closing his eyes, gripping the strap of his bag as if his life depended on this. He opened his eyes and Noya was still there, staring at him with a small smile, hands on his pockets, swinging back and forth as usual, as he couldn't stand still at all. "I... I like you, Nishinoya" he managed to let it out finally. He watched his friend, possibly ex-friend, as he widened his eyes and his mouth, hands out of the pockets now, arms limp on the sides of his body. But what was setting Asahi on fire was the godamned blush spreading across his cheeks, which he didn't know the reason for why it was there, but he tried to memorize his adorable face once more before he lost his friend.
"Are you serious, Asahi-san?" it was barely above a whisper, but Asahi would never miss those words and the way Noya took a step closer, his face serious even with that blush going up to the tip of his ears. Asahi could never lie to that face.
"Y-yes. I'm s-sorry but... I like you. A lot" he said looking into those pretty eyes, not being able to look or run away, as much as wanted to. Asahi took a deep breath as Noya took another step forward and shakily reached for his hands that still gripped the bag, instantly letting it go to let his hands be held by the short notice in front of him.
"What are you apologizing for, goofball? I'm.. I've been in love with you too... for a long time" Noya said with a soft smile as he intertwined his fingers with Asahi's, who just stood there, unable to move or believe what he was listening, or feeling. He felt like crying, honestly. He looked down to where his hands were full with smaller ones and his heart apparently grew to three times his size as he closed his fingers around Noya's. He bended forward, closing his eyes as his forehead touched the smaller boy's and stood there for a second, enjoying the swell in his heart, the flood of feelings going through him.
"I'm sor-... I mean ugh.. I d-don't know what to do now" he mumbled, his eyes still closed as he felt Noya tilt his head up a little and their lips met in a small kiss, ending as soon as it started.
"Sorry, I should've asked first" Noya apologised, biting his lower lip trying to contain a smile as they looked into each other's eyes. Again, Asahi was never one to initiate anything, unless he wanted it really bad. And oh boy, he wanted to kiss those lips for a long time.
He loosened one of his hands from Noya's hold and placed it on his face. He was not shaking or sweating anymore. His feelings were reciprocal and he never felt anything like that ever in his life. He got even closer and pressed his lips to the ones he wanted to taste for so long, letting out a heavy sigh, he could feel himself relax as Noya used his free hand to grab the back of shirt, pulling him closer. Asahi caressed the smooth skin of his friend's cheek with his thumb, kissing his lips slowly, pulling a bit apart only to dive back several times, long kisses, short kisses, breathing heavily through his nose until his brain short circuited when Noya shyly pressed the tip of his tongue to Asahi's lips.
Asahi couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped his lips as he opened up for Noya, feeling his tongue slide in as the tall boy tried to make his brain and his own tongue work and respond to the kiss. Nishinoya let go of his other hand and grabbed the other's shirt on the other side, pulling him even closer as Asahi circled his waist, tilting his head a little bit to deepen the kiss.
"A-asahi-san... I wanted to kiss you since, like, forever" the libero whispered against Asahi's lips as they broke the kiss to breathe, as he rubbed his nose against the taller's, his eyes still closed. Asahi breathed heavily, clutching his hands in the shirt around the other's waist, he still couldn't believe how it turned, he didn't understand how he managed to hold Nishinoya in his arms like he was now, feeling his small hands in the back of his neck, caressing the sensitive skin there. He couldn't believe his friend was in his arms, looking up at him that way, so softly, adoringly even. He would never get used to the way that small form of energy held his face in those soft, bruised hands and pulled him in for a kiss.
They melted into the kiss again, forgetting they were still at school as they held each other impossibly close. Noya took a step forward, lightly pushing Asahi until his back bumped against the wall, making Asahi welp lightly, smiling into the kiss. He pulled away, leaving small kisses on his lips, his cheeks, not wanting to let Noya go ever again.
"W-we should go now" Asahi panted against his lips, almost crossing his eyes to look into the other's, lowering his hands to pull him closer in a hug.
"But Asahi-san!! How am I supposed to leave you now that I finally have you?" Noya added dramatically, squeezing Asahi's face with his hands, making him snort, a blush spreading through his cheeks. The taller sighed lovingly and tightened the hold around his waist, almost lifting Nishinoya into his arms, letting him tiptoeing to circle his neck, hugging back.
"Please bear with me for as long as you can, Nishinoya" he whispered as he closed eyes, inhaling with his face hidden in the curve of Noya's neck. He felt the shiver that run through the small body in his arms when he exhaled there.
"As if. I'll never get enough of you, Asahi-san" Noya whispered back, placing a kiss on he side of the Asahi's neck, nuzzling his face there. "Now we should go. We can have some ice cream on the way! My treat!" the small boy pulled back from the hug, a wide smile plastered across his face.
"There's no need, I can pay for that" Asahi tried to convince him, but Noya only shook his head, lacing his fingers with Asahi's, already pulling him away from their previous spot "No way! I want to buy some ice cream for my boyfriend!" he said as pink tinged his cheeks, his smile not faultering as Asahi felt himself melting at his words.
His head was spinning with everything that happened just then, but as he looked down to Nishinoya's, no, his boyfriend's hand in his, to his sparling eyes and bright smile, he couldn't help but smile back, bending down a little to kiss his temple, walking away feeling warm with Noya beside him.