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"Sugawara-san, can I ask you something?"
Sugawara looked up from the cart of balls he was pushing to Kageyama, who was staring at the ground with a light blush and clenched fists. He offered a smile, even if he wasn't looking.
"Sure. What's up?"
"Um..." mumbled Kageyama, glancing up briefly and then quickly back down. Sugawara followed his line of sight to where Hinata was ogling Tanaka's biceps and raised his brows questioningly. "In... private."
"Ah," said Sugawara, a bit of comprehension dawning on his and he smiled warmly. "Of course. Wanna walk home together?"
Kageyama nodded stiffly and Sugawara reached up to roughly ruffle his hair, eliciting a pout. He grinned.
"Hurry up and help clean up then!" he encouraged, and continued to roll away the cart.
He raised a hand in farewell to Daichi as he and Kageyama hung back behind the rest of the team. The captain had understood the request for privacy; Sugawara did seem the type to give advice after all and this wasn't the first time it had been asked of him. Further ahead Hinata, Tanaka, and Nishinoya had managed to rope Asahi into a weird race, and Nishinoya was yelling at him from atop his shoulders to run faster as Hinata and Tanaka propelled ahead of them in a similar position.
"So!" said Sugawara, tearing his concern for his teammates safety away to smile at Kageyama as they started walking at a slow pace. "What's on your mind?"
Kageyama took a short deep breath and exhaled sharply, staring at the ground yet again as he walked. "I was just wondering if Sugawara-san has anyone he likes..."
Sugawara blinked and grew a little pink, turning his gaze to the dirt road as well. "Ahaha, I wonder..." he mused. "I guess... well, it's a little complicated. What about you, Kageyama? Do you have someone you like?"
Kageyama was silent for a moment in thought and Sugawara was finding it difficult to continue looking at his concentrating face. He jumped just a little in surprise when he finally said, "I do."
"Oh? That's great! Are you going to confess?"
"Well I'd... like to," mumbled Kageyama, embarrassment seeming to rush over him. "But I'm not experienced with anything like that. I don't know how I'm supposed to do it. Do you... have any advice?"
"Ah, hmm," said Sugwawara, glancing up at the star speckled sky. He didn't have any experience with it either, really, but... perhaps he had a bit more common sense than the first year. And he had an idea who he might be talking about. It certainly wasn't a long shot to think he'd be successful. "It's probably better to just be straight about it, right? There's no reason to come up with some silly elaborate plan. If you're truly sincere, then being honest and straightforward will portray that the best and get you the most genuine result."
"Is that so..." said Kageyama, apparently deep in thought.
"Absolutely!" said Sugwara, feeling himself get a bit more enthusiastic. "It's someone you really care about, right? I'm sure it will work out just fine! You should go for it!"
"Well, if Sugawara-san says so..." said Kageyama, stopping in his tracks and looking at his senpai directly for the first time that day. Sugawara stopped as well and turned back to look at his with an questioning smile. "Sugwara-san, I like you."
He felt his heart skip a beat and his eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the nervous face, the redness all but hidden in the darkness and he was briefly grateful of the fact it might hide his too.
"O-oh!" he managed, his gaze flickering anywhere but at Kageyama as he dissolved into an embarrassed mess. "Oh! I didn't... Wait, me?! I thought... I thought for sure it was... ohhh..."
Now Kageyama was staring with his brows knit in confusion at Sugawara as he fixated his eyes on the ground. He seemed alarmed to say the least, and it wasn't what the other boy had been hoping for.
"You thought it was who?"
"Well, I... I thought it was Hinata to be honest!" blurted out Sugawara, still avoiding eye contact, and Kageyama blinked in surprise. "Everyone thinks so, you just seem the type to be very obvious about who you like and we all just sort of assumed but... I didn't think... oh..."
Kageyama studied him for a minute and tore his gaze away again. "Hinata isn't really... he likes Tanaka-san."
Sugawara snapped his attention back to him in shock, mouth slightly open as he tried to figure out how he'd come to that conclusion, and they both stared at each other until Kageyama's raised eyebrow allowed him to process the information and... that made a lot more sense than he thought it did.
"Ohhhhhhh," sighed Sugawara, relaxing a bit as Kageyama exhaled. "Oh, yeah, okay, I... yeah. Got it."
"Yeah."
A somewhat awkward silence stretched between them and they began to walk again. Kageyama wasn't really sure what was supposed to happen now. Wasn't he supposed to get an answer? They continued on, Sugawara apparently lost in thought. Eventually it became too much and Kageyama stopped, pulling Sugwara out of his trance as he stopped and turned back again. His gaze was once again on the ground and it took another moment for him to speak.
"I said I liked you... you understand right? I was straight forward..."
"Oh, well, yes! Yes, absolutely, I..." Sugawara was having trouble forming his words because his chest and stomach had been playing ping pong with his heart and everything felt fuzzy and warm and weird. He sighed heavily and tried for an ounce of composure. "I got it. To be honest I've never really thought about it, so... can I have a bit of time to think it over? I promise I'll give you an answer soon, I'm just... really surprised! I didn't think you'd like someone like me..."
"It's only natural I would," mumbled Kageyama. "Okay. I understand. Please think about it."
Sugawara smiled at him fondly and they continued walking.
"Can I try something? To help me make up my mind?"
Kageyama hesitated a moment and nodded, before immediately tensing up as Sugawara's hand slipped into his own. He giggled and gave it a little squeeze as he stared up at the bright red face, practically a beacon in the dark. Yes, he would definitely have to think about it.