Chapter Text
Yachi took a deep breath in, steeling her nerves. This was it – this was the day she would finally confess to Kiyoko. She clutched the notebook full of all the plans Hinata and her had thought of to her chest, breathing out slowly.
- Go to her favorite restaurant together, grab some tenmusu and casually ask for another date. If Kiyoko responds with confusion or disgust, play it off as a joke, no matter how red your face will get.
There’s really no ifs about it – Yachi had practiced confessing in roundabout and straight-forward ways in front of the mirror countless times. She’s never managed to stop herself from looking like a tomato.
- Write a letter and place in her locker.
Yachi was sure that Kiyoko had received plenty of confessions via letter before and wanted to try something a bit more original (do these ideas still count as original if she had help thinking of them?), something a bit more personal.
- Ask to practice volleyball over the weekend. Use learning the game directly in order to improve managerial skills as a half excuse (it’s a secondary goal, okay? These plans have layers). Toss her a ball with, “Will you go on a date with me?” written on it.
One of the possibilities Yachi worried about was her messing up so terribly and sending the ball towards a stranger in the park or worse, another student from their school. Or what if somehow Kiyoko only saw the blank side? Or what if Yachi embarrassed herself before Kiyoko had a chance to read the message? Tripping over nothing, getting hit in the face and getting the ball stuck in a tree were all situations Yachi imagined could easily occur.
- Tell her how much you admire her and how much Kiyoko’s helped you and ask if she can teach you one more thing: how to kiss.
Honestly, this was a plan Yachi was sure she’d never have the guts to try. It was only on the list because, according to Hinata, Kageyama’s former upperclassman Oikawa and started dating Iwaizumi through this tactic. But it had still taken them a year and a half since they started “practicing” kissing to actually start dating. And Yachi didn’t want to wait that long. Or act that brazenly (seriously, how do people do that?).
- Astronomy metaphors. Kiyoko is as beautiful as the moon and as life-giving as the sun. She’s as breathtaking as an aurora borealis. She’s a rare comet that you’re fortunate enough to see in your lifetime.
And Yachi…well, Yachi felt like she was a small moon lucky enough to get tossed into Kiyoko’s orbit. Hinata had berated her for not talking highly enough of herself and had called her JAXA – a hardworking explorer – and Earth – the kindest planet in the solar system.
She figured he was thinking about how Earth was the only life-sustaining body nearby, but she couldn’t help but think of everything dangerous on their planet (volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, jellyfish, Godzilla, etc.). Again, this was only on the list because it had worked for another couple – Tsukishima and Yamaguchi (apparently Yams really loved it when Tsukki compared his freckles to stars).
- Be forward. Just say it. Say that the first time you saw her, she took your breath away. Say she stunned you with her beauty and then kept you paralyzed with her kindness and passion. Say that every day you got to spend with her made you appreciate living a little bit more. Say that for as long as you can remember, you’ve been a bundle of nerves, but that her mere presence helps you breathe a little easier and worry a little less.
She can’t. Yachi’s legs shake just thinking about it: staring straight into Kiyoko’s moonbeam silver eyes (the astronomy metaphors really did suit her), their gaze on her unwavering. Being enamored by the scent of peaches and cherry blossoms (Kiyoko’s perfume? Shampoo? Or maybe that’s just her natural scent?). Hearing her gentle voice. Seeing her smile, oh, her smile. Yachi’s chest warmed every time she saw Kiyoko grin, especially when she recalls how difficult that used to be for her and how easily Kiyoko can smile in front of her now (just her though. Yachi’s seen her struggle in front of other classmates and the thought that Kiyoko’s smile is something special that she gets to see more than anyone else fills her with bittersweet joy. Because she wants Kiyoko to be able to express herself freely but she also adores being gifted with her secretly dazzling grin).
The list goes on for quite a few more pages, but Yachi has her heart set on Number Two: Message on a Volleyball, codename Lucky Strike (Hinata had insisted on codenames for every option, just in case they needed to talk about it outside of their rooms; Kiyoko’s codename was Midnight Princess).
The tiny blonde breathed in and out a few more times before walking towards Kiyoko’s classroom, where the raven usually waited for Yachi after everyone else dispersed.
But she wasn’t alone this time. She was talking to a dark-haired boy whose name Yachi was unsure of. Kiyoko’s back was to the blonde midge and the guy hadn’t noticed her. Yachi slinked to the side anyway, keeping her ear close enough to the entranceway to hear,
“I’m sorry, but I cannot accept your advances. I have a crush on someone else.”
What’s that? The sound of a heart shattering to millions of pieces? Because Kiyoko had a crush on someone and how could Yachi compete with a person amazing enough to earn Kiyoko’s affections? Her body shut down: her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton, her legs collapsed, her back dragged against the wall, her tear ducts turned into a waterfall and her chest collapsed in on itself.
She should have known she never stood a chance. When has Villager B ever gotten the Princess?
~
The next thing Yachi was able to feel was a hand on her shoulder, shaking her back and forth. Yachi’s eyes darted up to see a slightly blurry Kiyoko kneeling in front of her. Immediately, Yachi could feel her face warm up, surely evaporating the tears. Her gaze flew to the side.
Oh no. What could Kiyoko possibly be thinking, seeing her junior crying alone in the hallway? She’d think Yachi was an immature crybaby, too embarrassing to be seen with. She’d think Yachi was a desolate loser. She’d-
-carefully slide her thumb over Yachi’s cheek, wiping away a tear.
Barely above a whisper, Kiyoko asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
And that only made Yachi cry harder. She didn’t deserve this tenderness after spying on Kiyoko during what should have been an intimate moment alone with her suitor. No doubt she was causing Kiyoko to be late to a meeting with her crush.
So Yachi choked out a “I’m fine” that no one would ever have believed.
She tried to stop herself from crying and hiccupping. She really did, but being near Kiyoko right now was as bittersweet as her smile.
Kiyoko wrapped her arms around Yachi, making everything much better and much worse. Kiyoko’s arms around her – both to comfort her and protect her from onlookers – was something Yachi wanted to savor, but the unspoken rejection and guilt prevented her.
“I’m s-s-sorry,” she warbled.
“About what?”
“I h-h-heard you with that g-guy and-” more tears and a constricting throat cut Yachi off.
Kiyoko released her and backed away a few inches. A light pink dusted her cheeks.
Yachi groaned internally. She had embarrassed Kiyoko! And now Kiyoko would never want to talk to her again. She’d probably want Yachi to resign from the volleyball team, not wanting to be near slime who spied on others.
“So,” Kiyoko said, a hint of uncertainty coloring her voice.
“Of course I’ll quit being the team’s manager!” It was a reasonable request. She didn’t merit getting to learn from Kiyoko after listening in on her conversations.
“Is it really that horrible?” Kiyoko lowered her gaze.
“Y-yes!” Yachi waved her hands all around, needing Kiyoko to understand how deeply she regretted snooping. “My actions were horrible and I can understand if you’d never forgive me for eavesdropping like scum.”
Kiyoko scuffed her shoe against the floor. “Don’t worry. I forgive you for that. But how do you feel about the other half of the conversation?”
Yachi was sure smoke came out of her tilted head. “Other half?”
“When I said who my crush was.” She lifted her head again to look at Yachi, lips pursed.
Now it was Yachi’s turn to blush, but of course, she had been expecting that. “Oh, um, I kind of, sort of, collapsedafterthatpartandmissedtherestofyourconversation,” she rushed through, blush deepening. “I’m sorry!”
The corners of Kiyoko’s lips curved up. “It’s okay.”
Yachi’s thumbs warred each other of their own accord. “You can tell me who it is, if you want. I promise I’ll help you date them.”
The smile dropped from Kiyoko’s face. “Oh, I don’t know if that would happen.”
More loudly than she planned, Yachi exclaimed, “Only a fool would turn you down!”
And then that small, angelic smile that filled Yachi’s dreams was turned on her.
“Well then,” Kiyoko said, “would you like to go on a date with me?”
Yachi wasn’t ashamed to admit that she emitted a high-pitched scream and at least fifty yeses.
They stood up and hugged again, this time tear-free.
The notebook fell out of Yachi’s grasp. Kiyoko pulled apart at the thud.
“What’s this?”
Flames rose to Yachi’s cheeks and she averted her gaze. “Ah, that’s a list full of ways I could confess to you. I was going to today before,” she spun her hand in a circle, “y’know.”
Kiyoko’s smile widened and half the oxygen in Yachi’s brain flew away.
“Can I read some of them?”
“Oh, uh, I guess. But not aloud, okay? I don’t think my heart could take it.”
The medium grin turned into a full on smirk. “Of course.” Kiyoko’s eyes sparkled as she took in every word. “I like this idea,” Yachi stood on her tiptoes and craned over Kiyoko’s shoulder as she pointed at Number Nineteen: Go on a Picnic, Codename Basketful of Sunshine.
“Do you want to try it? It’s supposed to be really nice this weekend,” said the bespectacled beauty.
Yachi beamed. “That sounds great! There’s a small park near my apartment. We could go there.”
Kiyoko nodded. “Saturday?”
“Saturday.” And with that, Yachi decided that maybe she could be a little brazen after all. After a beat of hesitation, Yachi pecked Kiyoko on the cheek and ran off, hoping her face wouldn’t burn itself before her first date.
~
She sprinted all the way to Hinata’s house and rapidly knocked on his door. To her relief, the decoy himself and not any of his family members opened the door.
“Yachi!” A bright grin filled his face.
“I did it,” the blonde exclaimed, pumping her fists up and down while jumping in place. “I’ve got a date with Kiyoko this weekend!”
Hinata grabbed her in a celebratory hug.
“Which one worked?”
“Oh,” Yachi’s grin shrunk a bit. “N-none of them.”
Hinata opened and closed his fist in a gimme motion. The notebook and a pencil were in his hands in a heartbeat. They walked into his house and sat down in the living room, their shoulders touching. The pencil scratch-scratch-scratched across the paper as Yachi summarized her afternoon.
- Think of twenty-three ways to confess to your crush and then do none of those things.
- Cry in front of your crush.
- Surprise! She confesses to you!
The redhead then went through the notebook and replaced all the “she”s with “he”s and all the “her”s with “his”s.
“My turn,” Hinata beamed.